he Utility of an Articulated Theory
The process of linking the implications of a theory back
to the theory itself has been called the articulation of the
theory (38). Articulating the theory of constructivism with
respect to laboratory practice provides a road map based on
research data for the classroom teacher to use in designing
labs, a road map to increased learning. Laboratory practice
with respect to constructivism is seen as being more than the
acquisition of process skills; it is an essential ingredient in
the understanding of science itself. The activities suggested
in these modifications, such as formulating explicit theories
(39) and making predictions and explanations (40), are seen
as essential activities in science.
Theories in education have been criticized as stifling
creativity and misleading researchers (41). Without debating the value of an explicit theory to researchers, such a view
overlooks the value of a compact, concise statement of a
theory of education to the classroom teacher. The classroom
teacher needs a theory that can be used, discussed, and modified. The purpose of this paper is to present such a statement,
which will allow a teacher to modify lab activities in a way
that is consistent with the present national standards in the
United States and with the theory of constructivism. As a
reviewer pointed out, modification may not be as difficult as
complete revision of an open-ended laboratory activity, but
modification with these methods will still be time consuming and will probably result in a reduction in the number of
experiments that can be done. On the positive side, the methods suggested here provide a coherent framework to make
incremental progress in increasing student learning from laboratory activities.
The value of theory to guide our efforts in education
has been put in an interesting way by Suppes (42):
It is often said that what we most need in education
is wisdom and broad understanding of the issues that
confront us. Not at all, I say. What we need are deeply
structured theories in education that drastically reduce,
if not eliminate, the need for wisdom.