Time: May 28, 2025 from 14:15-16:10 CET
Place: IND, Niels Bohr Bygningen, Rådmandsgade 64, 2200 Kbh. N, Lokale 0H154
Fee: Free
Target group: All interested
Language: English
Deadline for registration: May 21 2025. 00.00
Description:
The seminar focuses on the essential role of laboratory work in science education, emphasizing the significance of student engagement through two primary drivers: epistemic affect and epistemic conation. Framed within Knud Illeris’s triangular model of multidimensional learning (Illeris, 2018), the discussion highlights how emotions experienced during laboratory activities, such as curiosity and joy, can enhance learning, while negative emotions like epistemic anxiety and doubt may disrupt it but are shown to be an integral part of doing science.
The seminar also explores how dispositional, motivational, and volitional aspects—conceptualised as epistemic conation—impact students’ approaches to scientific inquiry. The novel construct is a critique of grit that tends to perpetuate a deficit view of student learning, by highlighting the dynamic and contextual character of what drives students to strive in their laboratory work. Two related studies associated with this seminar advocate for a holistic approach to laboratory education that integrates both conative and affective dimensions of learning. By recognizing the interplay between emotions and motivation in epistemic practices, educators can create more engaging and supportive learning environments. The findings suggest that collaborative learning, dialogic teaching, and recognition of both success and struggles are vital for shaping students' experiences in the lab, reinforcing their identities as future scientists. The implications extend beyond laboratory settings, as educators across STEM disciplines are encouraged to design learning experiences that intentionally address these factors.
Ultimately, this research calls for a reimagining of science education that nurtures not only cognitive skills but is also sensitive to the emotional and motivational aspects without being deterministic about the student and their learning trajectories.