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Lecture-free, problem-centered, collaborative course pattern built on model construction and evaluation

Design · All designs
Evidence · no claims cited

Description

The restructured Introductory Astronomy course was "lecture-free, problem-centered, and collaborative in structure." Rather than presenting the heliocentric model linearly, students retraced the steps of evaluating and justifying successive models, beginning with their own self-constructed cosmology. Observations such as retrograde motion of Mars and the phases of Venus were introduced to call each model into question, and students reconstructed improved models through group discussion and guided facilitation, learning the facts in the natural course of inquiry.

Design Implications

Context

Requirements

  • Guided facilitation and group discussion structures; observations that cannot be explained by the current student-built model must be available to drive model revision.

Constraints

  • The article notes the decentralization of authority was initially uncomfortable for both teacher and students, and the complexity of the social environment created unique challenges for students and teachers alike.

Target Learners

  • undergraduate non-science majors
  • elementary education majors

Target Goals

  • reflective judgment in science
  • understanding how scientific models are evaluated, changed, and discarded

Claims

Examples

Key Sources

  • Carr, K. M. (1997). A Constructivist Approach To Reflective Judgment and Science Literacy in Introductory College Science Instruction. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED414179
Page metadata
Field Value
type design
id constructivist-model-reconstruction-course-pattern
title Lecture-free, problem-centered, collaborative course pattern built on model construction and evaluation
description The restructured Introductory Astronomy course was "lecture-free, problem-centered, and collaborative in structure." Rather than presenting the heliocentric model linearly, students retraced the steps of evaluating an...
status review
generated by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-09-26
trust unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
sources 1 — carr-1997

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