The Epistemic Engine: Examining Confidence and Reasoning as Relational Factors in Scientific Thinking

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 9:45 am - Gold 4
  In Roundtable Session: Cognition, Confidence, and Emotion: Unpacking Metacognitive and Motivational Dynamics

Abstract

This study examined how prior knowledge, reasoning, and confidence predict epistemic outcomes during a scaffolded science lesson on fossil fuels and climate. Middle and high school students (N = 203) completed a pre-instructional survey assessing knowledge, reasoning goals (accuracy-driven vs. desired-outcome), and confidence. Results showed that prior knowledge and confidence positively predicted pre- to post-instructional shifts in plausibility judgments toward a more scientific stance. Students with desired-outcome reasoning showed significantly smaller shifts than accuracy-driven peers. However, reasoning orientation did not predict the quality of students’ written evaluations. Findings support theoretical models of epistemic cognition and conceptual development, highlighting the need to integrate cognitive and metacognitive supports to promote scientific thinking and belief revision in socioscientific contexts.

Authors

• John Rolfe Robertson, University of Maryland

• Melike Hanedar, University of Maryland

• Teresa Garcia, University of Maryland

• Doug Lombardi, University of Maryland