Michael Ford

Michael Ford
School of Education
University of Pittsburgh
5525 Wesley W. Posvar Hall
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
PHONE: 412-624-6021
EMAIL: mjford@pitt.edu

Full Time Faculty - Assistant Professor

A former high school teacher, Michael studies the development of scientific reasoning in classroom contexts and teacher learning. His research program draws resources from both philosophy of science and psychology of learning, two areas of scholarship that recently have taken a “practice turn.” For philosophers of science, community practices explain how authority is accorded to scientific knowledge claims; for sociocultural learning theorists, engagement in community practices motivates changes in individuals’ thinking. Overlap between these two areas of scholarship suggests that when students engage in the practices that ground scientific authority, they can develop a fundamental understanding of science, including inquiry abilities and scientific literacy. Michael develops instructional units that are based on this idea, studies what students learn, and explores what teachers need to know to teach this way.

School Affiliations

Department: Instruction and Learning
Department: Learning Policy Center
Program: Cognitive Studies
Program: Learning Sciences and Policy
Program: Science Education

Education

Ph.D., Educational Psychology, University of Wisconsin--Madison, 5/1/2003
M.S., Educational Psychology, University of Wisconsin--Madison, 12/1/1999
B.S., Foreign Service, Georgetown University, 5/1/1992

Recent Publications

Journal Articles

Ford, M. (2008). “Grasp of practice” as a reasoning resource for inquiry and nature of science understanding. Science & Education, 17(2&3), 147-177.
Ford, M. (2008). Disciplinary authority and accountability in scientific practice and learning. Science Education, 92, 404-423.
Apedoe, X. & Ford, M. (in review). Design tasks, material practice, and the empirical attitude. Manuscript submitted for publication.
Ford, M. (in review). Disciplinary practice, active learning, and a revision of constructivism. Manuscript submitted for publication.

Reviews

Ford, M. & Machamer, P. (in press). Apples and oranges can be good together. [Review of the book Philosophy, science, education, and culture]. Science & Education.

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Recent Course Instruction

Fall 2008 (2091)

Summer 2008 (2087)

Spring 2008 (2084)

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Recent Presentations

Ford, M. (March 2008). A dual-role theory of scientific reasoning. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New York.
Forman, E. A., Ford, M. J., Cheyne, M., Jones, T., Messineo, L., Wargo, B., & Passmore, C. (March 2008) Fostering argumentation in a science classroom: The role of hybrid discourse. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Resear

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