The cognitive context of pupils’ alternative frameworks

The rationality of students’ alternative frameworks is discussed by considering the role played by their beliefs, their understanding of other views and the reasons they give to justify their own beliefs and to reject alternatives. These notions are used in an investigation of some of the cognitive effects of a series of introductory lessons about electricity on a class of 14‐year old boys. Changes which occurred not only in the beliefs of the students but also in the mental context in which these beliefs were embedded, were studied. Some of the implications of the findings for teaching science are briefly discussed.