Why "conceptual ecology" is a good idea

Abstract. This paper motivates the idea of "conceptual ecology " by critiquing the current mainstream of conceptual change research. Most research on conceptual change sulTers from too little theoretical accountability concerning the nature of the mental entities involved and too little use of the details of process data to support its theoretical view. Part of the consequences of these limitations is a vast underestimate ofthe complexity and diversity of conceptual change phenomena. In contrast, a conceptual ecology approach involves hypothesizing that conceptual change involves a large number of diverse kinds of knowledge, organized and re-organized into complex systems. To illustrate a conceptual ecology approach, we explain two very dilTerent kinds of mental entities, p-prims and coordination classes. P-prims arc small and n~mcrous intuitive elements that arc often quite conteX! specific in their activation. Coordination classes, by contrast, are large systems whose very existence entails a high degree of coordination across diverse contexts. We claim that both p-prims and coordination classes arc much mO{e explicit and precise in their assumptions than is typically the case, and they both survive substantial empirical test in the form ofanalysis of process data. 1