Combining issues of “girl-suited” science teaching,STS and constructivism in a physics textbook

This paper outlines the design of a physics textbook that addresses issues of gender-inclusive physics teaching, STS and constructivism. Difficulties of addressing these issues in a textbook for normal classes, which has to compete with other textbooks on the market will be discussed. Specializations: constructivist approaches in science education research and practice. Specializations: gender issues in science instruction. Specializations: primary education, integrated science. Specializations: STS, phenomenological oriented physics instruction. Specializations: peace education within science education.     

Professional development and perceived needs of science teachers

About 100 science teachers in the Sydney Metropolitan West Region were surveyed to determine their professional development needs and the ways in which these needs could be met. The findings provide a ranking of science teacher perceived professional development needs, a list of possible incentives to motivate science teachers to complete inservice programs (in priority order) and an indication of the preferred modes of presentation to meet professional development needs. In general, science teachers stated a preference for professional development related to modern trends in science education directly related to classroom practice. In contrast to recommendations from DEET, science teachers indicated a preference for traditional models of inservice. Data related to preferred mode of inservice indicated significant gender differences. Specializations: science teacher professional development. Specializations: educational psychology and research design. Specialization: constructivist approaches in science education.     

Constructivism and empiricism: An incomplete divorce

The paper outlines the significant influence of constructivism in contemporary science and mathematics education, and emphasises the central role that epistemology plays in constructivist theory and practice. It is claimed that despite the anti-empiricism of much constructivist writing, in most forms its epistemology is nevertheless firmly empiricist. In particular it is subject-centered and experience-based. It is argued that its relativist, if not skeptical conclusions, only follow given these empiricist assumptions. Further it is suggested that such assumptions belong to Aristotelian science, and were effectively overthrown with the modern science of Galileo and Newton. Thus constructivism cannot provide understanding of post-Aristotelian science. Specializations: history, philosophy and science teaching.     

A constructivist approach to secondary school science experiments

The focus of this study was on the investigation of a laboratory instructional program on electricity designed for conceptual development using constructivist principles for conceptual change. This approach was compared with a traditional laboratory approach in a quasi-experimental design. The sample was 247 grade 10 students (boys) in a large non-government urban school. Covariance analysis with the corresponding pretest as covariate showed statistically and educationally significant gains for the experimental group on cognitive but not attitudinal outcomes when compared to the traditional group. Student and teacher interview data provide some evidence for the success of the experimental approach. Specializations: physics education, constructivist approaches to in practical work. Specializations: science teacher education, learning environments, conceptual change.     

Emerging issues concerning the future directions of Australian senior science education: The Queensland experience

Australia's changing political, social and economic agendas have triggered a critical analysis of school curriculum. Part of this consideration has been concern over the future of science education within the context of senior schooling. Following the completion of the Senior Science Future Directions Project commissioned by the Queensland Board of Senior Secondary School Studies, fifteen issues were identified. These issues, grouped by the needs of the science disciplines, society and the individual student, are discussed with the view of understanding the future design of senior science syllabuses. Specializations: biology teacher education, science curriculum development. Specializations: professional development, curriculum design and evaluation. Specializations: professional development, science teaching.     

Developing networks of grass-roots science curriculum action

This paper describes an ongoing process of participatory curriculum development. It outlines some of the tensions which need to be explored in science curriculum development: debates about the nature of science, of society, of school science content and of learning theories. The process whereby action can arise from this debate is also explored. An example will be outlined of a network of science curriculum action which has developed from the work of a range of science education projects in Natal, South Africa. Specializations: science curriculum development from primary to tertiary level. Specializations: inservice primary science teacher development. Specializations: inservice teacher development, biology education. Specializations: environmental education, teacher development. Specializations: environmental education, teacher development.     

Preservice secondary science teachers making sense of constructivism

This paper describes a naturalistic study of secondary pre-service science teachers and explores the process of implementing a constructivist approach to science teaching. Specializations: Gender and science, preservice education.     

Knowledge engineering: An alternative approach to curriculum design for science education at a distance

Most of the curriculum design models within the technical-scientific approach utilise the rational and sequential process of designing and inter-relating the various elements of the design process. While this procedure may be efficient and adequate for conventional education in which the designers are professional science educators, there is doubt if it satisfies the particular needs of distance education. The experience accumulated through a multi-disciplinary team approach to distance learning courseware development for higher education at the University of Southern Queensland Distance Education Centre motivated this study which primarily focused on a search for an alternative approach to curriculum development with a more satisfactory functional value. Using selected units in Engineering as a focus, an experiment was designed in which a variant of the classical Wheeler model was used. This paper reports the results of this experiment. The implications for contemporary curriculum development initiatives in science especially within distance education settings are pointed out. Specializations: science education, learning strategies, curriculum development, instructional design, research and development in distance education. Specializations: Cognitive Science, curriculum development, instructional design, expert systems, research and development in distance education. Specializations: science education, learning strategies, curriculum development, instructional design, research and development in distance education.     

Students' learning in science lessons: towards understanding the learning process

Constructivist views of learning have been applied to science education largely as a response to attempts to understand the origins of students' misconceptions in science, and therefore the learning process. As part of this effort to understand learning in science lessons, Appleton (1989) proposed a learning model drawn mainly from Piagetian (1978) ideas and generative learning theory (Osborne & Wittrock, 1983). This paper explores the development and evolution of the learning model as other constructivist view were applied, and as the model was tested against students' responses in science lessons. The revised model finally arrived at is then examined. It was found to be a useful means of describing student's learning processes during a science lesson. Specializations: primary teacher education, teaching strategies in science, cognitive change and learning theories. Specializations: secondary science teacher education, chemical education.     

Science and technology management: Designing an undergraduate course

This research focusses on the role of science educators in preparing technically educated graduates for their careers. A comparison was made between the skills and abilities in science and technology students desired by industrial employers and whether New Zealand graduates exhibit these qualities. To address some of the management-based issues identified by the research, the design of a new Science and Technology Management course is outlined. Specializations: science and technology education, co-operative education, development of professional skills. Specializations: co-operative education programmes.     

Teacher beliefs about learning and teaching in primary science and technology

It is argued that the introduction of many new curricular with their associated teaching practices have failed because the beliefs, views and attitudes of teachers have been ignored. This paper reports the implications of the initial belicfs of primary school teachers involved in a professional development program about science and technology education. In particular, a mismatch between teachers views of learning and teaching is identified and analysed. Specializations: Science education, professional development Specialisation: primary science and technology education     

Assessing the psychosocial environment of science classes in Catholic secondary schools

Much Catholic school and church rhetoric suggests that Catholic schools possess distinctive learning environments. Research into this aspect of Catholic schooling has been hampered by the lack of an appropriate assessment instrument. By drawing on contemporary church literature, the perceptions of personnel involved in Catholic education and existing classroom environment questionnaires, a new instrument was developed to assess student perceptions of classroom psychosocial environment in Catholic schools. The use of this instrument in 64 classrooms in Catholic and Government schools indicated significant differences on some scales. The distinctive nature of Catholic schooling did not extend to all classroom environment dimensions deemed important to Catholic education. Specializations: Catholic education, learning environments. Specializations: conceptual change in students, science teacher professional development, scientific reasoning, learning environments. Specializations: learning environments, science education, educational evaluation, curriculum.     

A case study of scientific reasoning

Concern is increasingly being expressed about the teaching of higher order thinking skills in schools and the levels of understanding of scientific concepts by students. Metaphors for the improvement of science education have included science as exploration and science as process skills for experimentation. As a result of a series of studies on how children relate evidence to their theories or beliefs, Kuhn (1993a) has suggested that changing the metaphor to science as argument may be a fruitful way to increase the development of higher order thinking skills and understanding in science instruction. This report is of a case study into the coordination of evidence and theories by a grade 7 primary school student. This student was not able to coordinate these elements in a way that would enable her to rationally consider evidence in relation to her theories. It appeared that the thinking skills associated with science as argument were similar for her in different domains of knowledge and context. Specializations: science learning, scientific reasoning, learning environments, science teacher education. Specializations: cognition, reasoning in science and mathermatics.     

Comparison of personal and class forms of the science laboratory environment inventory

Existing instruments in classroom environment research have limitations when subgroups are investigated or case studies of individual students conducted. This study reports the validation and development of a personal form of the Science Laboratory Environment Inventory which is better suited to such studies. Further, systematic differences between scores on the class and personal forms of the instrument are reported along with comparisons of their associations with inquiry skill and attitudinal outcomes. Specializations: Science education, Preservice science teacher education. Specializations: Learning environments, science education, educational evaluation, curriculum. Specializations: Curriculum, science education, science laboratory teaching.     

Learning in professional practice schools: Beyond clinical experiences and teacher workshops

Over the past two years, Florida State University's Science Education Program and Sabal Palm Elementary have collaborated to develop a PPS. The formation of the Sabal Palm PPS was not based upon a predetermined design nor has one group served as an authority to direct how the PPS ought to operate. The success of this model relies on PPS participants working collaboratively to establish goals and plans for actions to be taken to support teacher-learning. The Sabal Palm PPS continues to evolve as dynamic model for creating a center for teacher and student learning. The purpose of this paper is to discuss our involvement in the formation a PPS and implications for enhancing teacher education programs. Specializations: professional practice school development, teacher research, primary science education Specializations: environmental science, primary science education.     

Keeping up: A dilemma for science teachers

This paper is based on interviews with seventy-five science teachers in twelve schools across Australia. The interviews were conducted as part of a D.E.E.T. Project of National Significance. The purpose of the project was to develop a strategy for the professional development of science teachers. The main purpose of our interviews was to listen to teachers' views on what such a strategy should try to achieve. We asked them to talk about conditions affecting the quality of their work, their attitudes to teaching, their professional development, their careers, the evaluation of teaching, and Award Restructuring. Through these interviews we came to understand how many science teachers are loosely connected with potentially valuable sources of support for their professional development. In this paper we focus on one group of “loose connections”; those between science teachers and scientists in other fields, research in science education, and their colleagues within science departments in schools. Specializations: Science education, reflective practice, teaching and learning. Specializations: Professional development, educational evaluation.     

The reluctant primary school teacher

The study attempts to identify the factors which affect teacher's reluctance to teach science, then explains an approach to help teachers teach science in a worthwhile manner over the school year while monitoring any changes in their confidence and competence. It was found that the condidence and competence of the teachers improved during the year such that they were able to teach successful science lessons on a regular basis. Specializations: primary science and technology education, curriculum development and implementation, teacher education. Specializations: primary science curriculum, early childhood education, gender and science. Specializations: primary science and technology education, issues related to girls in science and technology.     

Intention and practice in school science education

This paper reports on a study of the mismatch between science teachers' stated purposes and their actual teaching of science in a secondary school. Factors affecting teachers' practices include their personal beliefs about teaching, learning and the purposes of science education, the school program and the school culture. Specializations: science and technology education, professional development.     

Issues of teaching science to nurses in the tertiary sector

The shift of nurse education from the hospitals to higher education institutions has resulted in a large pool of students within the Universities requiring basic science instruction. Most of these students are female, often mature age, with limited science backgrounds. This paper discusses the type of science education demanded by the nursing profession, the view of science as a subject held by these students, and the key role played by constructivist thinking in dealing with both of these. Specializations: The language of science textbooks; relations between science and literature; science in nursing education.     

Effect of context and gender on application of Science Investigation Skills

Two parallel versions of a Test of Science Investigation Skills were developed to assess students' application of science investigation skills in biology and physics contexts. Repeated pilot testing and critical appraisal were used to ensure the validity of the tests and their equivalence. Both versions of the test were administered to 112 Year 10 science students. The results indicated a satisfactory level of test reliability, the test set in a physics context proved to be significantly more difficult than the test set in a biology context, and mean scores for male and female students were not significantly different. Specializations: science teacher education, development of problem-solving expertise, concept development and conceptual change, assessment of laboratory work. Specializations: Chemistry education, concept development and conceptual change, effective laboratory teaching.