Implicit and Explicit Processes in the Development of Cognitive Skills: A Theoretical Interpretation with Some Practical Implications for Science Education

" The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' (I found it!) but 'That's funny ...' " Isaac Asimov (Science fiction novelist & scholar: 1920-1992) As the quote above illustrates, there are facets of the scientific process that are prompted by feelings of intuition. Although this notion may seem closer to stereotypes of art than science, the notion that scientists can rely upon knowledge that is generated without their awareness has an empirical foundation in the literature on implicit learning (e. So, although the subjective experience of intuition may seem " magical, " researchers have begun to characterize the characteristics of such knowledge. One major theme of this chapter will be that implicit knowledge (knowledge gained directly from experience) and explicit knowledge (e.g. the explicit facts that are typically acquired in science instruction) may be fruitfully combined (and clearly are in mature scientists). To use the example above, the intuition that alerts one to the detection of an anomaly (e.g., " That's funny ") is likely to spur a more explicit reasoning process that involves trying to locate the source of the anomaly and understand its implications. Most educational settings focus on teaching conceptual (explicit) knowledge rather than setting up an opportunity for gaining substantial experiential (mostly implicit) knowledge. While this may be appropriate for some subject areas, other subjects areas may require learning information (e.g., features of complex systems or categories) that are better learned (at least initially) through extensive hands-on experience than with lectures or textbooks alone (that is, with explicit learning alone). This issue has a significant bearing on the question of the role of laboratory research experiences in science education (see, for example, the chapter by Taraban et al. in this volume). In general, lab experiences help to promote implicit and/or procedural learning, while classroom lectures and textbooks often promote explicit learning of explicit, conceptual knowledge. While emphasizing the importance of explicit knowledge, we should not downplay the significance of implicit learning and implicit knowledge in the overall learning experience. For example, to be a scientist is not simply a matter of accumulating a large amount of specific and explicit knowledge; it is, more importantly, a matter of developing intuitive (implicit) understanding and intuitive (implicit, procedural) skills for approaching and exploring scientific issues and for conducting scientific experiments (Sahdra & Thagard 2003). We believe that a major …