Understanding the basic ideas of chaos‐theory in a study of limited predictability

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Abstract
Theories of deterministic chaos have been given much attention in science and apparently have considerable appeal to many other fields. In science education these new ideas have also been given attention, but so far there appear to be no studies available that address the learners’ preinstructional point of view. This paper provides an overview of a research project that deals with the educational reconstruction of elementary features of chaos‐theory, i.e., with analyzing whether it is worthwhile and possible to introduce certain issues of the theory into science instruction. The approach of ‘educational reconstruction’ also includes empirical studies of students’ learning processes in this field as well as of the construction and evaluation of pilot instructional modules. The model of educational reconstruction is outlined. The focus of the paper is an exploratory study with Grade 10 students on the teaching and learning of elementary aspects of limited predictability.

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