Do Discrepant Events "work ?"

Read what a colleague has to say ----

This woman researched (1994) whether Discrepant Events really and truly did something inside the brain of students.

Do they work or are they just another unproved "gut feeling" we teachers use 99% of the time without questioning whether they work or not.

She heard me speak in Kansas City about this topic and we had several ensuing conversations about discrepant events.

june 1995:

read feynman's article on cargo cult science where he says that a lot of what we do in education is pseudo-science. We have no proof they work (scientifically) -- since educators work in a field of "good feelings" and "learning must be 'fun' (GAG)" we teachers might be guilty of cargo cult science (pseudo-science)

Festinger's Theory of Cognitive Dissonance

My colleague writes: "there is no pedagogical basis for the use of cognitive dissonance in the science classroom, yet this book, based on social learning and changing one's beliefs and attitudes, is quoted again and again by those convinced that D/E are a "must" for student motivation and conceptual change."

I have found very little information about the activation of the brain's Reticular Activating System (RAS) during a discrepant event . .(RAS = the part that "turns on" or "turns off" the brain).
are instructional objectives with discrepant events at the right level of difficulty . . .
I have seen too many DE used .... where students are not ready to assimilate what happened because they do not have the structures in place to note that what happened was a discrepancy -- (in other words, they are cute activities but the kid doesn't even know that what happened "wasn't expected" --- and that most adults would not haved assumed "it" would happen). Thus - it is entertainment and not education.
the DE becomes a curiosity or novelty rather than a discrepancy. October 1993

Date: Fri, 17 Feb 1995

Hi Mike...

Yes, I'm will defend the dissertation in March. Actually, the dissertation isn't about discrepant events although some of the info I gathered has helped. I wrote my position paper on -- Discrepant Events: Pedagogically sound or intuition-driven?

As you probably know, there are numerous articles claiming how and why to use discrepant events, but the actual research is very, very limited. That which has been done is, well, rather questionable?

I certainly am not against their use, but when and how is something that needs much more investigation.

Most of my elementary methods students can recall the EVENT, but rarely (and sadly), the EXPLANATION.

My dissertation deals with a scientific model ( phases of the moon ) and spatial projective structures. I targeted college science majors and 66% of them could not set up a 3-D model of the phases of the moon. The association with projective structures and the ability to explain this scientific model is quite high.

Later..