Conceptualizing Science as Explanatory Predicts Elementary-School Children's Science Learning

Beliefs and attitudes, like fixed mindset and science identity, are implicated in science achievement. Adult research also suggests that understanding the distinctive nature of science supports the acquisition of complex scientific concepts, like evolution. However, the relative predictive effects of these different constructs on science learning are understudied in children despite the relevance of elementary school to science understanding and engagement. This study examined whether U.S. third-graders’ fixed mindset, science identity, and conceptions of science predicted learning of evolutionary mechanisms from a curriculum on evolution. It also explored whether these variables showed changes after the life science curriculum. Fixed mindset decreased, and science conceptions shifted from stereotypical views toward core understandings of science as evidence-based and explanatory. The most consistent predictor of learning was children’s conception of science as explanatory. These results provide preliminary support for the idea that children’s abstract understanding of science is relevant to their science learning. Keywords: Conceptions of Science, Nature of Science, Mindset, Science Identity, Cognitive Development, Elementary Science Education.