Df. Treagust et Ag. Harrison, In search of explanatory frameworks: an analysis of Richard Feynman's lecture 'Atoms in motion', INT J SCI E, 22(11), 2000, pp. 1157-1170
Science is devoted to understanding and explaining the natural world and a
goal of science education is to communicate science knowledge to novice sci
ence learners and non-scientists. Learners are often provided with descript
ions of science phenomena rather than explanations and many students offer
a description when an explanation is needed. In this study, firstly the var
ious aspects of explanations that make up an explanatory framework and the
notion of pedagogical content knowledge are discussed. Secondly, an exempla
ry set of physics explanations are analysed, namely from Richard Feynman's
Six Easy Pieces, to identify the individual and holistic characteristics of
an effective explanation. To date, this research indicates that a variable
mix of science content, educational context, student factors and teacher f
actors contribute to effective explanations in educational settings. It is
likely that teacher attention to the explanatory framework exhibited by Ric
hard Feynman will enhance science classroom explanations.