Science education and teachers: A Karplus lecture

This speech is devoted to science education reform and the pivotal role of the science teacher in the process.This paper comprises a speech, the Karplus Lecture, given at the National Science Teachers Association annual meeting, Atlanta, Georgia, April 7 1990.     

Science education — I: The spirit of science

In these two essays we explore the questions: what are the essential features of a workable context for science education? What are the givens, the “of courses,” the “fundamental dispositions” toward science and toward education necessary — or at least sufficient — to provide a fertile ground upon which a functional approach to science education can be established? In the present essay it is argued first that science education must reflect that science is a way of thinking — in fact, more comprehensively, a way of being; and second, and that the fundamentally antiauthoritarian spirit of science must be reconciled with education, with its built-in tendency to be authoritarian.     

Project 2061: Systemic reform of K-12 education for science literacy

Project 2061 of the American Association for the Advancement of Science is a long-term initiative for systemic reform of K-12 education in science, mathematics, and technology. The project was named after the next return of Halley's comet to envision a future where all Americans are science literate. To fulfill this vision, Project 2061 is developing a coordinated set of reform tools for educators to use in achieving the goals of science literacy.     

Thirty years of “improvement” in precollege math and science education

This article examines 30 years of the National Science Foundation's experience in impacting on science and engineering education.     

对中小学理科教育改革的探讨和认识

从七个方面对中小学理科教育改革进行了探讨和认识，强调了建构主义的理论对理科教育的发展产生了很大的影响。     

In-class examinations in college-level science: New theory,new practice

Every faculty member knows that exams drive student behavior. Testing and grading are part of every course, but generally of lesser importance to faculty members than course content itself. Recently, instructional methods and pedagogy. But as issues of grade inflation, student attrition, accountability, and authentic assessment grow in importance, we see some interesting innovations in testing methods and some interesting innovations. The authors are publishing a collection of some of these as described in their own words, by faculty themselves. Two questions underlie the study: 1) why is it so difficult to change tests and testing traditions in college-level science and 2) will the enormous efforts underway to reform pedagogy and curriculum in these disciplines have any lasting effect if testing does not have a prominent place on the reform agenda?     

科学教育与人文教育的融合

科学教育与人文教育的融合已成为高等教育重视并加以研究的课题。加强素质教育，促进科学教育与人文教育融合，培养全面发展的人才，是高等教育改革的重要内容。而更新教育理念，改革教学计划和课程设置是其融合的关键。     

人文教育与科学教育的分野:概念、问题与对策

科学教育与人文教育及其形成的文化对垒与分歧一直都是学术界的热点话题。由于历史上两种文化的分裂导致了科学教育的主宰和人文精神的流失,进而对教育实践产生着深刻的影响。从科学教育与人文精神融会和整合的角度,对此进行评述和探讨,能为我国教育实践提供某些方面的启示。     

Forum: dialogue about dialogue—cogeneration, research and science education

This forum discussion focuses on seven themes drawn from Sonya’s fascinating paper: the terminology of “cogenerative dialogues,” the roles of participants and their power relations within such dialogues, the use of metaphor and analogy in the paper, science and science education for all students, the ways in which students’ expectations about learning change in innovative classrooms, teacher research and the “theory-practice gap,” and the tension between conducting cogenerative dialogues with individual students or with whole classes. These themes by no means exhaust the ideas in Sonya’s paper, but we feel that they have allowed us to explore the classroom research she reports, and to extend our discussion beyond the paper to explore some of these themes more broadly.     

关于中小学科学教育改革趋向的几点思考

本文在了解建国以来中小学科学教育沿革的基础上 ,从科学价值观、目标、课程、教学、评价等五个方面 ,探讨我国中小学科学教育改革的趋向。     

Reconceptualizing Elementary Teacher Preparation: A case for informal science education

The purpose of this case study was to explore the ways in which 3 different informal science experiences in the context of an elementary methods course influenced a group of prospective elementary teachers' ideas about science teaching and learning as well as their understandings about the role of informal science environments to teaching and learning. In order to address this question, data were collected in a period of an academic semester through the following sources: journal entries for each of the 3 experiences, a personal teaching philosophy statement and a 2-hour long semi-structured interview with each of the 12 participants. Open coding techniques were used to analyze the data in order to construct categories and subcategories and eventually to identify emerging themes. The outcomes of the analysis showed that the inclusion of informal science experiences in the context of teacher preparation has the potential to support beginning elementary teachers' development of contemporary ideas about science teaching and learning related to inquiry-based science, the nature of scientific work and the work of scientists, connecting science with everyday life, and making science fun and personally meaningful. These findings are discussed alongside implications for policy, teacher preparation, and research under these themes: (a) addressing reform recommendations; (b) developing positive orientations toward science and science teaching; and (c) constructing understandings about scientists' work.     

A research model for the study of science teachers’ PCK and improving teacher education

In this article, a new research model for the study of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) is presented which aims to improve teacher education. This model called “educational reconstruction for teacher education” (ERTE) represents the framework for an integrative approach to the study of science teachers’ topic specific PCK, which is a largely unexplored field. By integrating the PCK concept, originating in the American Curriculum tradition, into the German (Fach)didaktik tradition, this model adds a new perspective to (Fach)didaktik. This paper, therefore, also aims to clarify the PCK concept and its relation to Fachdidaktik.     

A government prepared: Organizing for math and science education reform

The reform of K-12 math and science education will require a national, multisector, bipartisan effort sustained for at least two decades. The effort will involve all levels of government, communities, local businesses, and schools. The federal government has a pivotal role to play.     

科学教育与人文教育内在关联性探究

科学与人文发生严重分离,科学知识的灌输一直是我国教育的主导。科学教育与人文教育的分割与分离的弊端过强,严重影响了人才培养质量,客观上要求科学教育与人文教育必须达到新的融合。本文深入地考察了科学教育与人文教育融合的内在关联意义,提出既要培养具有人文关怀的科学精神,又要培养具有科学意识的人文精神的人才观念。     

Mary Monroe Atwater: A transformative force in science education

This article highlights the transformative contributions of Mary Monroe Atwater to the field of science education. Influenced by worldviews shaped by a segregated macro-society and the privileges of a micro-society, Mary stood against oppression in the early years of her academic career by desegregating academic settings and being the first and only African American in varied arenas for many years. As an aspiring academic, Mary challenged dominant paradigms and as an activist academic, she changed the landscape of science education. She broadened the knowledge base through scholarship and praxis and diversified the science education community through personal and professional efforts that were pioneering in nature.

Transversal traits in science education research relevant for teaching and research: A meta‐interpretative study

This study is a meta‐interpretative analysis that focuses on research conducted and published by other researchers. Concepts central to this study include global practical relevance, curriculum design, and formative situation. We analyzed 35 studies selected from 374 published studies in the years 2000 and 2001 in three journals referenced in the International Scientific Index. Using a replicable methodology developed specifically for this research, we found evidence of s clusters of variables that suggest the existence of transversal traits in the 35 science education research studies. These results form a reference framework of theoretical and practical knowledge relevant for research and practice pertaining to teaching and learning science. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 45: 574–599, 2008     

Instructional assessments: Lever for systemic change in science education classrooms

The Educational Testing Service/University of Delaware Science Education project has addressed the challenge of promoting systemic change in science education through the use of instructional assessments. Instructional assessments integrate performance-based assessments with curriculum and instruction at the classroom level. Instructional assessment provides a promising lever for promoting professional development and improving middle school science curriculum, instruction, and assessment.