Personal epistemologies and intentional conceptual change

For some time psychological research has underlined how domain-specific knowledge, general strategic knowledge, and motivational factors such as goal orientation, interest, self-efficacy and self-regulation, all affect learning processes. Only relatively recently has research begun to argue that an additional element, namely epistemological beliefs, also influence thinking and reasoning. The key point of this chapter is that beliefs about the nature of knowledge and knowing may facilitate or constrain intentional conceptual change. Sinatra (2000, p. 15) defines the intentional learner as “one who uses knowledge and beliefs to engage in internally-initiated, goal-directed action, in the service of knowledge or skill acquisition”. It will be argued The chapter first situates intentionality in cognition and underlines the meaning of “intentional learner” by reference to the literature which depicts learners in broader terms than simply “active constructors”. This is followed by a review of research on beliefs about the nature and acquisition of knowledge that has flourished along two lines, one on the development of epistemological thinking and the other on their effects on learning in four fields of study: text comprehension and metacomprehension, problem-solving and transfer, science and mathematics, and conceptual change. This last topic becomes the main focus to argue how beliefs about the nature and acquisition of knowledge contribute to intentionality in learning. The few empirical studies on the influence of these beliefs on knowledge revision are introduced. In the subsequent sections the need of intentionaliy to solve problems of knowledge is discussed, followed by an examination of the crucial link between personal epistemologies and intentional learning in the process of conceptual change. Data from research with elementary and middle school students illustrate how self-initiated and self-controlled conscious and goal-directed learning actions are essential to intentional conceptual change. In particular, excerpts from students' written and oral discourse document how epistemological beliefs may, or may not, guide their efforts toward the learning goal of knowledge revision. The chapter concludes with some suggestions for future research.