Theoretical Foundation of the FOSS Program—Derived from Research

The theoretical underpinnings that support the FOSS program draw on both the Cognitive Perspective and the Situative Perspective as described in recent National Research Council publications (NRC, 2001). The Cognitive Perspective describes learning as an active construction of knowledge, during which new information is connected with prior knowledge.

Constructivism emphasizes the role of prior knowledge in learning. Students interpret tasks and instructional activities involving new concepts in terms of their prior knowledge. Errors are characteristic of initial phases of learning because students’ existing knowledge is inadequate and supports only partial understandings. As their existing knowledge is recognized to be inadequate to explain phenomena and solve problems, students learn by transforming and refining that prior knowledge into more sophisticated forms. Substantial conceptual change does not take place rapidly, and relatively stable intermediate states of understanding often precede conceptual mastery. (Smith, di Sessa, & Roschelle, 1993.)

Knowledge cannot be considered a simple accumulation of facts. While knowledge does require a solid foundation of facts, equally important are understanding how those facts fit into contexts of larger conceptual frameworks, and how to organize that knowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval and application (Pellegrino, 2002). These notions have been confirmed in novice/expert studies as well as research on learning and transfer (Bassok and Holyoak, 1989; Chase and Simon, 1973; Chi, Feltovich, and Glaser, 1981; Chi, Glaser, and Rees, 1982; Larkin, McDermott, Simon, and Simon, 1980; Lave, 1988). From these studies it has become clear that experts do have deep, specialized stores of factual knowledge, but because they have woven these facts into larger conceptual frameworks, they are able to represent and solve novel problems based on more complex underlying principles and relationships.

Another aspect of learning that must be considered is metacognition. Metacognition is generally thought of as the self-monitoring and selection processes that enable learners to reflect on and direct their own thinking (NRC, 2001). Metacognition often takes the form of an internal dialogue, but it cannot be assumed that this dialogue develops automatically. Palinscar and Brown (1984) have shown through their studies with reciprocal teaching that students can develop metacognitive strategies through modeling and practice. White and Fredericksen (1998), suggest that these sorts of activities must be incorporated into the particular subject domain that students are learning.  Metacognitive practices are important to learning in that they help students better define learning goals and monitor their progress in reaching them.

Woven around the theory described above is the perspective that knowledge is mediated in part by participation in the goals, practices, and habits of mind of a particular community—the Situative Perspective. This perspective emphasizes the idea that people learn through discourse and interaction with other people (Olson, 1996; Palinscar and Brown, 1984; Wertsch, 1998). Because science is essentially a human endeavor, much knowledge is embedded within systems of representation, discourse, and physical activity. Further, these systems are somewhat different for each specific domain within the science enterprise and must be differentiated as such. In the development of FOSS, the Cognitive Perspective informs the design of investigations to promote conceptual development for particular strands of knowledge, and the Situative Perspective informs a view of the larger purposes and practices in which these strands will be applied and used creatively (NRC, 2001).