Assessing conceptual ecologies.

Abstract

The participants of this study developed diagrams and repertory grid matrices that assessed their perceptions of the relationships between concepts related to "research". The diagrams and matrices suggested a level of development consistent with each participant's level of expertise. The diagrams and matrices also suggested changes to the participants' conceptual ecologies that could best be characterized in terms of structure and shared understanding. However, further research is necessary to answering questions concerning those factors that, on the surface, appear to make the diagrams reflective of unique conceptual ecologies.

In this project, the researcher studied ways in which graduate students in research methods classes combined concepts into meaningful structures called conceptual ecologies (Posner, Strike, Hewson & Gertzog, 1982; Strike & Posner, 1992). Conceptual ecology theory suggests that concepts "adapt to an intellectual environment [prior learning] much as organisms adapt to a biological environment" (Strike & Posner, 1976, p. 111). This is often referred to as "accommodation" (Piaget, 1970) or "restructuring" (Rummelhart & Norman, 1978). This study considered the development of a method for characterizing changes in relationships between concepts, in an attempt to gain insight into each participant's structured knowledge.