B. Learning is a complex process requiring scaffolding
Instruction that builds on students’ prior knowledge views
learning as a process by which students iteratively modify
their understanding.
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In this way, students move from the
ideas they had prior to instruction toward ideas that are con-
sistent with generally accepted principles and concepts with
more explanatory power. This view of learning admits that
students’ knowledge develops gradually and that this process
takes time. Throughout the learning process, it should not be
surprising that a student’s understanding does not become
aligned with the target idea immediately and that states of
“partial knowledge” can exist. Such a learning process can
be facilitated by providing a high degree of guidance and
support
共“scaffolding”兲 for students as they take their first
tentative steps in modifying their initial ideas. As they move
toward mastering a certain concept or skill, the degree of
related scaffolding provided can be gradually decreased.
The structure of PET incorporates the gradual decrease of
scaffolding for student learning at the curriculum, chapter,
and activity levels. In terms of curriculum-wide themes,
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examples introduced in the later chapters are more complex
than, but build on, the examples discussed in the earlier
chapters. At the chapter level, each complex National Sci-
ence Education Standard
1
and/or AAAS Project 2061
benchmark
2
idea was broken down into smaller subobjec-
tives that make up the target ideas of individual activities, as
illustrated in Sec. III B. In addition, the target ideas ad-
dressed in the later activities in each chapter build on the
ideas introduced earlier. In the final activity of each chapter,
students apply the target ideas to explain real-world phenom-
ena.
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