KNOWLEDGE BUILDING AS A MEDIATOR OF CONFLICT IN CONCEPTUAL CHANGE

This study examined how individuals and peers process scientific infor mation that contradicts what they believe and assessed the contributio n of this activity to conceptual change. Participants included 54 stud ents in Grade 9 and 54 students in Grade 12, who were randomly assigne d to four conditions: (a) individual conflict, (b) peer conflict, (c) individual assimilation, and (d) peer assimilation. Depending on the c ondition, students were asked to think aloud or discuss with their pee rs eight scientifically valid statements, which were presented in an o rder that either maximized or minimized the conflict between new infor mation and existing beliefs. Pretest and posttest measures of prior kn owledge and conceptual change were obtained, and student verbalization s were tape-recorded and coded for five levels of knowledge-processing activity. Two major approaches were identified from this analysis: di rect assimilation, which involved fitting new information with what wa s already known, and knowledge building which involved treating new in formation as something problematic that needed to be explained. A path analysis indicated that the level of knowledge-processing activity ex erted a direct effect on conceptual change and that this activity medi ated the effect of conflict. Knowledge building as a mediator of confl ict in conceptual change helps to explicate previous equivocal researc h findings and highlights the importance of students' constructive act ivity in learning.