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Copyright by Carlos Fernando Carvalhido Oliveira 2012 Copyright by Carlos Fernando Carvalhido Oliveira 2012 The Dissertation Committee for Carlos Fernando Carvalhido Oliveira certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: The Teaching of Astrobiology to Develop Competent Thinking Skills in Non-Science Major College Students Committee: ______________________________________ James P. Barufaldi, Supervisor ______________________________________ Lupita Carmona ______________________________________ Leema Berland ______________________________________ John Kormendy ______________________________________ David Hoffman ______________________________________ Paulo J. Ferreira The Teaching of Astrobiology to Develop Competent Thinking Skills in Non-Science Major College Students by Carlos Fernando Carvalhido Oliveira, B.S. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin August, 2012 DEDICATION To my family. Coming to the USA was the fulfilment of a lifelong dream, and it wouldn't be possible without the support of my family. In particular, I would like to dedicate this work to the persons that had a stronger influence in raising me and made me the person that I am today: my godfather, Carlos Inácio da Silva Maximiano, and my grandmother who passed away when I was 14 years old, Rosa de Sousa Ramos. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the rest of my family: my godmother, my late grandfather, my father, and my mother. I also consider part of my family my goddaughter and her mother (who was raised with me and helped raise me). In addition, I would like to be thankful for the support of my girlfriend. Finally, a word of appreciation to my friends, who are so many that would take too long to write all their names – they know who they are and they were always on my mind too. Professor James P. Barufaldi has been more than a supervisor. His knowledge and especially his techniques as an educator were always an inspiration to me. More than everything, the best compliment that I can give him is that he always believed in me. I had opportunities during my PhD that I never thought I could have and that I probably wouldn't have in normal circumstances – like designing and teaching a college course. For that, I will be always be thankful to him. As a person, he is a truly kind and highly spirited. I admire him truly. Professor Bethel was an excellent graduate advisor. He passed away while I was finishing my dissertation. He always gave me great feedback about my work. I will miss him. Gail Seale was an excellent graduate coordinator. As I said to her innumerous times, without her help in daily bureaucracy I wouldn't have make it. I must also thank Professors Carmona, Kormendy, Hoffman, Berland, and Ferreira, for their feedback and contributions to my work. They all contributed with their expertise at different levels and were supportive of this study. Finally, I am grateful to the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, part of the Portuguese Ministério da Ciência e do Ensino Superior, in the form of the scholarship SFRH/BD/8180/2002, for their financial support during my doctoral program. v Projecto financiado pela Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, do Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior e pelo Fundo Social Europeu, no âmbito do III Quadro Comunitário de Apoio (Refª SFRH / BD / 8180 / 2002). vi The Teaching of Astrobiology to Develop Competent Thinking Skills in Non-Science Major College Students Publication No. __________________ Carlos Fernando Carvalhido Oliveira, Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin, 2012 Supervisor: James P. Barufaldi vii ABSTRACT We live in a scientific society. Science is all around us. We take scientific principles for granted every time we use technology, such as a car, a computer, or a cell phone. Paradoxically, the scientific literacy of the population is minimal at best. Having a basic knowledge of scientific principles is no longer a luxury but, in today's complex world, a necessity. To increase the scientific literacy of non-science majors, an astrobiology course was developed at the Center for Science and Mathematics Education at The University of Texas at Austin. The course subscribes to an educational philosophy that promotes the significance of teaching science to non-science majors, endorses the importance of multidisciplinary content knowledge, supports the teaching of the nature of science in an implicitly mode, advances the discussion of socio-scientific issues, and includes competent thinking-based teaching strategies using the dynamic discipline of astrobiology. The thesis reviews the problems in scientific literacy, outlines the characteristics of this innovative course, proposes a novel standard - competent thinking - to evaluate scientific literacy and analyzes the results of this course in terms of competent thinking. Data collected provided evidence of an increase of competent thinking skills among the students, especially in terms of self-reflection. Both the first and the second pilot study showed strong evidence that students transitioned from naive to competent thinking arguments. The main study demonstrated that students greatly improve their self-reflecting skills. The final study confirmed improvement in terms of self-reflecting skills, and showed that students gradually improve their arguments based on logic, reason, sophistication, and evidences. Therefore, the results show that this innovative astrobiology course is an effective tool for enhancing competent thinking skills among non-science major students. Key Words: astrobiology, critical thinking, competent thinking, functional literacy, science education, multidisciplinary, non-science majors, anthropocentrism, aliens are us viii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS ......................................................................................... ix LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................... xiii LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................. xiv CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Overview ................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Problem ................................................................................................... 4 1.3 Approach ................................................................................................. 7 1.4 Purpose of the Study ............................................................................... 10 1.5 Significance of the Study ........................................................................ 10 1.6 Methodology ........................................................................................... 11 1.7 Research Questions ................................................................................. 11 1.8 Limitations of the Study ......................................................................... 12 1.9 Data Generation ...................................................................................... 12 1.10 Data Analysis ........................................................................................ 13 1.11 Definitions of Key Terms ..................................................................... 13 1.12 Goals of the Dissertation ...................................................................... 16 1.13 Competent Thinking ............................................................................. 16 1.14 Organization of Dissertation ................................................................ 24 1.13 Work Plan & Timeline .......................................................................... 25 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Overview ................................................................................................ 27 2.2 Literature Search Method ....................................................................... 27 2.3 Findings .................................................................................................. 28 2.3.1 Scientific Illiteracy .................................................................. 29 2.3.2 Multidisciplinary ...................................................................... 33 2.3.3 Nature of Science .................................................................... 58 2.3.4 Big Picture ............................................................................... 83 ix 2.3.5 Critical Thinking ..................................................................... 96 2.4 Discussion ............................................................................................. 140 2.5 Competent Thinking .............................................................................. 144 CHAPTER 3: DEVELOPMENT OF AN ASTROBIOLOGY COURSE 3.1 Personal Framework ............................................................................. 149 3.2 Astrobiology Education ........................................................................ 157 3.3 Course Structure .................................................................................... 161 3.3.1 Background ............................................................................ 164 3.3.2 Course Content .....................................................................
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