SELF BELIEFS OF KNOWLEDGE

SELF BELIEFS OF KNOWLEDGE

Stuent’s beliefs about the nature of knowledge have important concequences and critical thinking. Beliefs about the origin and nature of knowledge, or epistemological beliefs have been of interest since the Greek Philosophers. One of the earliest educators to investigate this phenomenon was Perry (1970). In the early stages, students adopt what Perry refers to as a dualist perspective, in which knowledge is viewed as either righ or wrong. Then Ryan (1984) provided an experimental test of Perry’s basic framework and concluded that relatibists not only hold different beliefs from dualists but also approach learning in a more sophisticated way.

Then Schommer’s study suggests that people hold extremely complex belief about knowledge that very across four separate dimensions. The first dimension, simple knowledge, refer to the belief that knowledge is discrete and unambigous. The second dimension, certain knowledge, pertains to the belief that knowledge is constant. The third dimension is fixed ability, that is the belief that one’s ability to learn is inborn and cannot be improved through either effort or strategy use. The final dimension, quick learning, refer to the belief that learning occurs quickly or not at all.

The amount of higher education that students receive is inversely related to their belief in certain knowledge. One important implication of this finding is that better educated people may be more willing to adopt a constructivist approach to learning because believing that knowledge is certain should rarely lead one to question the legitimacy of that knowledge. Another interesting finding is that females are more likely to believe that learning is gradual rather than quick. This belief may lead females to stick with a difficult to learn aubject longer than males and to feel less frustrated when an answer does not occur immediatelly.

An analysis of the relationship between beliefs about knowledge and information processing strategies showed that quick learning predicted oversimplified conclusions when students were asked to provide a written conclusion to a chapter on theories of aggression. Prior knowledge  also was related to the type of conclusions students drew in that more knowledge about the topic was associated with broaded conclusions.

Jehng, Johnson, and Andreson (1993) found that epistemological beliefs differ across academic disciplines among college undergraduate and graduate students. Students in soft disciplines, such as the humanities, were more likely to believe that knowledge is uncertain than studemts in hard disciplines, such as physics. Compared with undergraduates, graduate students were more likely to believe that knowledge is uncertain and develops incrementally (they did not believe in quick learning). Bundixen, Schraw, and Dunkle (1998) founs that epistemological beliefs were related to moral reasoning among adults. Kuhn and colleagues found that epistemological beliefs are related to one’s ability to argue persuasively. In this study, individuals were classified as an absolutist (one who believes that knowledge is absolutely right or wrong), a multiplist (one who believes that knowledge is completely relative), or an evaluative theorist (one who believes that knowledge, though relative, is constrained by situational factors such as commonly accepted rules) on the basis of their beliefs about the certainty of knowledge.

Elsewhere, Schoenfeld (1983) investigated concequences of quick learning. Schoenfeld reported that even experienced students who were asked to solve mathematics problems gave up after 5 to 10 minutes on the assumption that if they failed to solve the problem during this time, the problem could not be solved.

Together, these studies indicate that beliefs about knowledge and the knowing process affect the way one reasons, how long one persists at a difficult task, the degree to which one is metacognitively engaged in self regulatory activities, and perhaps what academic discipline one enters ( Muis, 2008; Schraw, 2001). They also indicate that epistemological beliefs are affected by home environment and in particular by educational level.

REFLECTIVE JUDGMENT

Another framework for studying beliefs about knowledge and how they affect behaviour is that of Kitchener and King (2004) and King and Kitchener (1994, 2002). The focus of this research is somewhat different from Perry's in that it emphasizes examining differences in the way people resolve dilemmas rather than differences in their beliefs per se. In their initial study, Kitchener and King (1981) developed a seven-stage developmental model of reflective judgment.

STAGES INREFLECTIVE JUDGMENT

Reflective judgment is assumed to develop in a sequential fashion; that is, individuals progress from Stage 1 to higher levels without skipping stages. This does not mean that each person reaches the highest stages or that two people progress at the same rate. Rather, development of reflective judgments highly idiosyncratic. Each stage is associated with a unique set of assumptions about reasoning. These assumptions pertain to certainty of knowledge, processes by which one acquires knowledge, and kinds of evidence used to evaluate claims about knowledge level Performance Certainty Justification of Conclusions.

Fixed Absolute; certain. Personal beliefs that is self-evident. No justification or evidence given. 2 Fixed Absolute; certain. Recognized authorities. Direct observation of world. 3 Fixed Temporarily uncertain. Authorities or direct observation when knowledge is uncertain. 4 Changes Permanently uncertain. Idiosyncratic beliefs. 5 Changes Permanently uncertain. Rules of inquiry for a particular context (e.g., societal norms). 6 Changes Certain in a context. Evaluation of objective evidence via personal criteria. 7 Changes Certain in a context. Formalized rules of inquiry (e.g., logic). Evaluation of empirical data.

Example in mathematics learning : if we want to improve our students mathematical concept beliefsinSelf-believe in knowledgewemust know about their needed. To improve it they need something which suport to improve it, that is motivation in competition so we can use some quiz to stimuling our student to improve their mathematical concept beliefs, and we give some award to them. Especially we must make them enjoy with mathematics and always believe about themselves in mathematics, they believe that they can do that (mathematics).

REFLECTIVE JUDGEMENT AND EDUCATION

The work of Kitchener and King raises important question about the nature of teaching and learning. Does some factors and aspects such as classroom environment, student autonomy, dispositional characteristics (someone's degree efficacy, attribution style, or personal goal orientation), age, educational background and home environment, have some relation in reflective thinking and reflective judgment?

A research of Kitchener and King result that high school and college student has similar ways in tended to reason about different kind of problems. Style of reasoning typically was confined to the same or adjacent stages, suggesting that people's basic assumption about knowledge lead to predictably similar conclusions. Subsequences research support the view that individuals reason at more or less the same level regardless of the problem type. Then there's a research about the relationship among age, educational experiences and reflective judgment. It result that the high school students tended to reason lower stages compared with college undergraduates or graduated students. This is suggesting that the amount of education that someone receives is clearly linked with the sophisticated of one's reflective reasoning. These findings are consistent with a number of other studies that indicate that continued education is related positively to relativistic beliefs and more sophisticated reasoning.

Although there's no differences were found between males and females in any seven stages, students' verbal ability was highly correlated with reasoning ability. Those with better verbal skills tended to to reason at higher stages than those with lower scores. One important finding was that the students progressed sequentially through adjacent stages rather than skipping or more stages. Another finding was that some groups progressed faster than others, although differences in the rate of development were attributable, in part to the facts that some groups started at a very high level. A comparison of these stage scores reveals several interesting points. First, the differences in reflective judgment need not to be viewed as permanent. Given adequate instructions and age-related maturation, most students can be expected to improve their reasoning abilities overtime. Graduate school improves one's reflective judgment substantially.

Example in mathematics learning :  The development of reflective judgment offers the teachers--mathematics teacher for example—information about how student at different age/educational environment level differ in the ways of thinking in which they assumptions about knowledge and reality. In this case, the teacher should choose the best learning method that can be used because the degree to which students' assumptions about reality and knowledge color how they understand in the learning process and consequently education itself may account for the varied interpretations of the educational process which student hold and which are often in conflict with the viewpoints of the teachers. When students learn about the concept of daily life mathematical problem in realistic mathematics, it can produce the students who can solve the problem maturely, making decision in right way of thinking and makes judgment wisely.

EDUCATION AND THINKING

Education major were far more likely than science major to believe in certain knowledge and quick learning. In general, undergraduate science majors held more sophisticated beliefs about knowledge, which appeared to effect their everyday decision. A classic study by Lehman, Lempert and Nisbett (1988), however, found that one's academic major can shape one's way of thinking in important ways. Results of the Lehman et al. study some of the important questions raised earlier. First, students' reasoning skills are affected by the intellectual training they receive. Second, students don't appear to choose an academic discipline solely on the basis of skills they already possess. None of the students differed initially on any of the reasoning tasks or on intellectual ability. Returning momentarily to findings summarized in Schommer-Aikins (2002), it is probable that under graduate education majors, compared with science majors, subscribe to different beliefs about knowledge for one of two reasons: either they are seldom required to question these beliefs, and so they do not, or beliefs supporting simple knowledge and quick learning are reflected in the classes they take.

A more recent study by Lodewyk (2007) found that beliefs and attitudes had different effects on different types of problem solving. High school students reported their epistemological beliefs using a measure based on the five beliefs described by Schommer (1990). Simple beliefs were related to lower levels of reflective judgment. In addition, beliefs were related differently to ill-defined versus well-defined problems in problems solving task. More sophisticated epistemological beliefs were related to performance on the ill-defined tasks, but not on the well-defined task. One explanation is that beliefs and assumptions may be more important when solving ill-structured problems.

Example in mathematics learning : When the students have had skills and academics knowledge about mathematical material, such as geometry, algebra, and trigonometry concept, then when the students face the mathematical problems—at school or in a daily life—they can solve the problems and making decision in the best ways of thinking. As mathematics teachers, they should giving the students mathematical concept beliefs and construct them so that the student can use it in the daily life.

Group :

1.      Rizqi Nefi Marlufi                              (13301241035)

2.      Muhammad Fajar Romadhonni       (13301241051)

3.      Endah Kusrini                                    (13301241075)

References:

Brunning, Roger H etall. 2011. CognitivePsychologyandInstruction. United States: Pearson