Chapter 4: Concepts as Knowledge

This chapter explores what is meant by knowledge (in the context of educational discourse), and how concepts feature in someone's knowledge. The traditional notion of knowledge only encompassing true, reasoned, belief is shown to have limited application in educational contexts, as researchers and teachers are concerned with the development of learners’ ideas that have variable and shifting (i) match to canonical scientific ideas, (ii) explicit rational grounds, and (iii) level of commitment. The roles of procedural, episodic, and conceptual knowledge in knowing and learning are considered, as well as the extent to which implicit, tacit knowledge may be considered to be conceptual if it informs reflective, deliberative thinking. This background informs a discussion of how some chemical concepts may be characterised as being fuzzy, or manifold, in nature.