Why ask why? Toward coordinating knowledge of proximate and ultimate explanations in physiology

Matthew Lira; Kal Holder; Stephanie M Gardner

doi:10.1152/advan.00057.2022

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Why ask why? Toward coordinating knowledge of proximate and ultimate explanations in physiology

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Why ask why? Toward coordinating knowledge of proximate and ultimate explanations in physiology

Matthew Lira, Kal Holder and Stephanie M Gardner

Advances in physiology education, Vol.48(3), pp.431-445

05/02/2024

DOI: 10.1152/advan.00057.2022

PMID: 38695084

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https://doi.org/10.1152/advan.00057.2022View

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Abstract

In physiology education, students must learn to recognize and construct causal explanations. This proves difficult, in part, because causal explanations in biology manifest in different varieties. Unlike other natural sciences, causal mechanisms in physiology support physiological functions and reflect biological adaptations. Therefore, students must distinguish between questions that prompt a proximate or an ultimate explanation. In the present investigation, we aimed to determine how these different varieties of students' knowledge coordinate within students' written explanations. Prior research in science education demonstrates that students present specific challenges when distinguishing between proximate and ultimate explanations-students appear to conflate the two or construct other non-mechanistic explanations. This investigation, however, demonstrates that analytic frameworks can distinguish between students' proximate and ultimate explanations when students are provided explanatory scaffolds that contextualize questions. Moreover, these scaffolds and prompts help students distinguish between physiological functions and the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underpin them. Together, these findings deliver insight into the context-sensitive nature of student knowledge in physiology education and offer an analytic framework for identifying and characterizing student knowledge in physiology.

mechanistic reasoning

cognitive resources

scaffolding

explanation

causal reasoning

Details

Title: Subtitle: Why ask why? Toward coordinating knowledge of proximate and ultimate explanations in physiology
Creators: Matthew Lira - University of Iowa
Kal Holder - Purdue University West Lafayette
Stephanie M Gardner - Purdue University West Lafayette
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Advances in physiology education, Vol.48(3), pp.431-445
DOI: 10.1152/advan.00057.2022
PMID: 38695084
NLM abbreviation: Adv Physiol Educ
ISSN: 1043-4046
eISSN: 1522-1229
Publisher: AMER PHYSIOLOGICAL SOC
Grant note: This work was supported through internal funds at Purdue University (S.Gardner).
Language: English
Electronic publication date: 05/02/2024
Academic Unit: Psychological and Quantitative Foundations
Record Identifier: 9984623026402771

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