SCOM 5056 Design Theory in Science Communication week 2: the science content

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SCOM 5056Design TheoryinScience
Communicationweek 2 the science content

• Dave Goforth
• FA377 (Fraser)
• 705-675-1151 ext 2316 dgoforth_at_cs. laurentian.ca

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Science CommunicationDesign Process

• Goals, objectives, constraints
• Audience, context
• Knowledge
• Experience
• Artifact
• e.g., Museum of Science, Boston
• http//www.mos.org/exhibitdevelopment/index.html

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Purpose Gregory and Miller

• Appreciate science
• Understand science
• Understand how science works
• What is science communication for each?

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Science CommunicationDesign Process

• Goals, objectives, constraints
• Audience, context
• Knowledge
• Experience
• Artifact

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Models of scientific knowledge

• Toulmin formal argument
• Kuhn
• Giere
• Reigeluth

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Formal Science

• Understanding of nature () open to public
  criticism Toulmin
• Aim of argumentation is consensus
• Issues are at the edge
• Phenomena need explaining, anomalies
• Apply, extend, constrain, revise, replace
  existing ideas

Basic Standard (Applied) Research(Issues)
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Communicating science

• Education model
• Science communication model

elementary
secondary
undergraduate
graduate
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Real Science

• Thomas Kuhn, 1962 Structure of Scientific
  Revolutions
• normal science
• scientific revolutions and paradigm shift
• How science really works personalities, money,
  serendipity, trial and error and human intuition

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The Cognitive Structure of Scientific Theories

• Models in cognitive science
• attempt to match
• mental structures
• ? good models for learning?

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Giere model-theoretic view

• Vertical hierarchy of concepts by abstraction
• Horizontal distribution as central/peripheral

superordinate
basic
subordinate
central
peripheral
peripheral
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Concept analysis

• Examples from Giere
• Colours
• Birds
• Mother
• Shapes
• Weapons
• Vehicles

• Pendulums

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Giere model-theoretic view
Claim Central and basic concepts are historical
starting points for scientific exploration
Science communication Are these also good
starting points for learning, i.e., closest to
current understanding of audience?
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Science for Learning - Reigeluth

• This is instructional design
• How does it match or mismatch
• with design for free choice
• science communication
• in terms of
• Audience,
• Context, and
• Goals?

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Elaboration theory

• Scope and sequence
• Deciding scope (content) in a free choice science
  communication context
• Like training?
• Like education?
• Distinct how?

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Elaboration theory

• Scope and sequence
• Sequence is dependent on knowledge structure
• Many sequences (and other presentation formats)
  are possible from any structure
• Comment Scope and structure are knowledge
  design sequence is part of artifact design. So,
  focus on structures of elaboration theory

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Elaboration theory

• Knowledge structures
• Conceptual structure inclusivity
  relationships like Gieres (Fig. 18.3)
• - also applies to principles
• Causal model how principles relate to each
  other in systems to describe phenomena (Fig.
  18.2)
• Feel free to explore, create your own structures

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Elaboration theory

• Simplifying Conditions Method (SCM)
• is one approach to design of presentation based
  on the knowledge structure.
• Epitome plus elaboration
• How to design an SCM sequence contains useful
  ideas for all presentation/experience design

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An example Rubiks cube

• Can you design communication in a domain where
  you are not an expert?
• Model-theoretic structure
• of the knowledge

Rubiks cube presentation
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Organizing Structure of knowledge

• Some possible organizing forms
• Procedural
• Systemic (part-of, type-of, instance-of)
• Theoretical (principles, laws, theories)
• Tabular, taxonomic
• Historic ? model-theoretic

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Designing scientific knowledge

• What to include
• Toulmin, p 231
• Kinds of things
• Composition, behaviour of things
• Come to be causality, process
• Function of things

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Example

• How a fish extracts oxygen from its environment
• Audience / Context
• What to include
• Kind of organizing structure
• Model-theoretic categories

• What to includeToulmin, p 231
• Kinds of things
• Composition, behaviour of things
• Come to be causality, process
• Function of things

Structure Reigeluth Conceptual structure Causal
model
Organizing forms Procedural Systemic (part-of,
type-of, instance-of) Theoretical (principles,
laws, theories) Tabular, taxonomic Historic ?
model-theoretic
Hierarchical Central-peripheral