Scientific sensemaking supports science content learning across disciplines and instructional contexts

Science consists of a body of knowledge and a set of processes by which the knowledge is produced. Although these have traditionally been treated separately in science instruction, there has been a shift to an integration of knowledge and processes, or set of practices, in how science should be taught and assessed. We explore whether a general overall mastery of the processes drives learning in new science content areas and if this overall mastery can be improved through engaged science learning. Through a review of literature, the paper conceptualizes this general process mastery as scientific sensemaking, defines the sub-dimensions, and presents a new measure of the construct centered in scenarios of general interest to young adolescents. Using a dataset involving over 2500 6th and 8th grade students, the paper shows that scientific sensemaking scores can predict content learning gains and that this relationship is consistent across student characteristics, content of instruction, and classroom environment. Further, students who are behaviorally and cognitively engaged during science classroom activities show greater growth in scientific sensemaking, showing a reciprocal relationship between sensemaking ability and effective science instruction. Findings from this work support early instruction on sensemaking activities to better position students to learn new scientific content.     

Suchting on the nature of scientific thought: Are we anchoring curricula in quicksand?

Scientific thought and the nature of science have been perennial concerns of science teachers and science curriculum developers. That is, the development of students' scientific thinking patterns and understandings of science as a way of knowing have been formally identified as desired outcomes of science instruction since the beginning of this century, and arguably earlier (Lederman 1992). Our desire to help students develop scientific thinking skills and an adequate understanding of the nature of science continues to this day, as is evidenced by the various contemporary reforms in science education (AAAS 1993; National Research Council 1994). Wallis Suchting's comprehensive search for a definition of the nature of scientific thought (Suchting 1995) has significant implications for the aforementioned goals of the science education community. Notwithstanding the almost certain disagreements regarding Suchting's analytical methods, his ultimate conclusion that there is no final, ultimate answer to the question of the nature of scientific thought should receive careful consideration as it has significant implications for science instruction, curriculum development, research in science education, and the content and focus of science education reform. In particular, these implications relate specifically to the science education community's current conceptions of science process, nature of science, and multiculturalism in science.     

Evaluation of the Effects of the Medium of Instruction on Science Learning of Hong Kong Secondary Students: Students’ Self-Concept in Science

A longitudinal study has been conducted to explore the impact of a new language policy for Hong Kong secondary schools on science learning. According to this policy, only schools that recruit the best 25% of students can teach science in English, the students' second language, while the other schools have to teach science in Chinese, the students' native language. The study involved a student cohort of 100 schools starting from S1 for three years. The outcome of science learning is conceptualized as consisting of students' achievement and self-concept in science. This paper reports the possible effects of English-medium instruction (EMI) and Chinese-medium instruction (CMI) on students' self-concept in science, as measured by students' responses to a questionnaire. Comparing with the CMI students, the EMI students showed higher self-concepts in Chinese, English and Mathematics, but a lower self-concept in science. This finding suggests that the EMI students might experience greater learning problems in science than in other subjects, probably because science learning involves abstract thinking and the mastery of scientific terminology which make a high demand on language proficiency. The EMI students showed a greater interest in learning science than the CMI students, indicating that they were more academically oriented. The EMI students, however, formed a lower perceived self-competence in science than their CMI peers, despite that they performed better in the science achievement test than many of the CMI students. This perception supports the view that using English for instruction may have negative effects on science learning. It is also consistent with the observation that the EMI students perceived science as more difficult to understand and learn than the CMI students.     

The elaboration of concepts in three biology textbooks: Facilitating student learning

As the levels of scientific literacy and science achievement have become issues of concern, the necessity of investigating possible causes becomes more urgent. Since textbooks have been shown to have a tremendous impact on curriculum, this is one variable of science instruction that needs further investigation. The purpose of this article is to describe how three biology books present the content related to photosynthesis through the construct of elaboration. The textbooks were selected for their differences in target audiences, as defined by student abilities. Results are discussed in terms of quantity of elaboration, relevance of ideas used to elaborate major concepts, relationship of the nature of elaboration to intended readers, and the general relationship between how texts present information and student learning.     

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.     

Promoting Science Among English Language Learners: Professional Development for Today’s Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Classrooms

We describe a model professional development intervention currently being implemented to support 3rd- through 5th-grade teachers’ science instruction in 9 urban elementary schools with high numbers of English language learners. The intervention consists of curriculum materials for students and teachers, as well as teacher workshops throughout the school year. The curriculum materials and workshops are designed to complement and reinforce each other in improving teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, and practices in science instruction and English language development for ELL students. In addition to these primary goals, secondary goals of the intervention included supporting mathematical understanding, improving scientific reasoning, capitalizing on students’ home language and culture, and preparing students for high-stakes science testing and accountability through hands-on, inquiry-based learning experiences.     

Thinking Critically about Critical Thinking

As a philosophy professor, one of my central goals is to teach students to think critically. However, one difficulty with determining whether critical thinking can be taught, or even measured, is that there is widespread disagreement over what critical thinking actually is. Here, I reflect on several conceptions of critical thinking, subjecting them to critical scrutiny. I also distinguish critical thinking from other forms of mental processes with which it is often conflated. Next, I present my own conception of critical thinking, wherein it fundamentally consists in acquiring, developing, and exercising the ability to grasp inferential connections holding between statements. Finally, given this account of critical thinking, and given recent studies in cognitive science, I suggest the most effective means for teaching students to think critically.     

Examination of Changes in Prospective Elementary Teachers’ Epistemological Beliefs in Science and Exploration of Factors Meditating That Change

Epistemological beliefs refer to an individual’s thinking and beliefs about the nature of knowledge and knowing. The present study examined two research questions: (1) how do prospective elementary teachers’ epistemological beliefs in science change as a result of instruction specifically designed to improve their epistemological beliefs and (2) what role does the conceptual ecology for epistemological beliefs play in their development? The study was correlational with a sample of 161 prospective elementary teachers (148 female, 13 male). Self-report questionnaires tapping four dimensions of epistemological beliefs (certainty-simplicity, justification, source, attainability of truth) were given to prospective elementary teachers at two time points during an introductory science course. Results indicated that prospective elementary teachers became more sophisticated in their beliefs across all four dimensions of epistemological beliefs. It was found that one component of conceptual ecology for epistemological beliefs, thinking dispositions, was related to the development of epistemological beliefs. Prospective teachers with high thinking dispositions developed more sophisticated beliefs in comparison to prospective teachers with low thinking dispositions.     

Practicing Critical Thinking in an Educational Psychology Classroom: Reflections from a Cultural-Historical Perspective

Present standards include creative and critical thinking among dispositions essential for the teaching profession. While teaching introductory courses in educational psychology, I have noticed that even though students can easily describe critical thinking in the abstract, they rarely and reluctantly engage in thinking critically about their own educational experiences. Emphasis on assessment of critical thinking dispositions and skills requires students to demonstrate “the right way to think.” This emphasis, I argue, decreases students' inclination to practice critical inquiry and to feel this experience as intrinsically rewarding. Exploration of socio-cultural contexts of my own and my students' upbringing helps understand how such contexts condition the critical thinking practice. I offer the cultural-historical theory of Lev Vygotsky as an alternative frame of reference that will help students practice critical thinking in an educational psychology classroom.     

数学文化视角下小学教育专业的实数理论教学探析

小学教育专业的实数理论教学存在着诸多困难,笔者从数学文化视角对实数理论进行分析,认为实数理论在数学知识和数学思想上都具有较高的价值,为此,笔者认为小学教育专业的实数理论教学应从课程目标、课程内容等方面作出调整,以实现实数理论对于小学教育专业学生的教学价值。     

Learning and Assessment in the Science Classroom in Thailand

The 1990 national curriculum of Thai education and educational reform states that, at primary and secondary educational levels, schools must prepare the child to become a smart, good and a happy individual in the Thai learning society. Teaching and learning must emphasise learning to think, to do and to solve problems. A study into integrating assessment and learning as a single activity was conducted by the Department of Curriculum and Instruction Development to demonstrate that good assessment is an integral part of good instruction. Three major elements of science education are learning science, learning about science and doing science. In the assessment of science, the teacher assesses knowledge and recall of scientific facts, the application of scientific knowledge, processes of science and scientific skills and, of course, attitudes and habits of mind acquired through science education. The assessment procedures are in the form of open-ended paper-and-pencil tests, practical tests, students' work and reports, teacher observation of practical work during the semester, and parents' and peers' comment and criticism. The assessment is a continuous activity in parallel with learning activity.     

Achievement goal orientation and the critical thinking disposition of college students across academic programmes

This study links achievement goal theory and models of critical thinking by investigating the relationship between motivational goals and the thinking dispositions of college students enrolled in five different academic programmes in Thailand (N = 1336, males = 32.9% and females = 67.1%). We found significant differences in goal orientations and thinking dispositions across academic programmes. For example, nursing students were significantly more mastery goal-oriented and had a higher level of ‘analytical’ thinking disposition than students in business, engineering, education and vocational programmes. Multiple regression analysis found a positive influence of mastery goals and a negative influence of performance avoidance goals on the levels of critical thinking dispositions. We found that critical thinking dispositions are related to goal orientation response patterns and vary with the curricular context.     

A constructivist approach to change in elementary science teaching and learning

Constructivism is a set of beliefs that can be used by teachers to think about learning and teaching and to plan and enact a science curriculum. This paper is a fictional account of an elementary science teacher and her use of constructivism as a referent for her various roles as a science teacher. The paper also describes how the teacher came to teach in this manner, describing her involvement in staff development activities and an evolution in her thinking from an ojectivist to a constructivist system of semantics. Implications are presented for the reform of science education.     

Students' Understanding of the Objectives and Procedures of Experimentation in the Science Classroom

As part of a project to identify opportunities for reasoning that occur in good but typical science classrooms, this study focuses on how sixth graders reason about the goals and strategies of experimentation and laboratory activities in school. Collaborating with teachers, we explore whether reasoning can be deepened by developing instruction that capitalizes more effectively on the classroom opportunities that arise for fostering complex thinking and understanding. The design of the study includes (a) a baseline interview probing students' understanding of experimentation in the context of a standard, 40-min "hands-on" activity that is part of the standard sixth-grade curriculum; (b) a 3-week teaching study, in which five teachers, informed by the cognitive science research concerning the development of scientific reasoning, designed and taught a special experimentation unit in their classrooms; and (c) a series of follow-up interviews, in which students' understanding of experimentation was reexamined. The findings from the two learning contexts-one more supportive of student reasoning than the other-inform us about the kinds of reasoning that are developing in middle-school students and the forms of instruction best suited to exercising those developing skills.     

Teaching Creativity and Inventive Problem Solving in Science

Engaging learners in the excitement of science, helping them discover the value of evidence-based reasoning and higher-order cognitive skills, and teaching them to become creative problem solvers have long been goals of science education reformers. But the means to achieve these goals, especially methods to promote creative thinking in scientific problem solving, have not become widely known or used. In this essay, I review the evidence that creativity is not a single hard-to-measure property. The creative process can be explained by reference to increasingly well-understood cognitive skills such as cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control that are widely distributed in the population. I explore the relationship between creativity and the higher-order cognitive skills, review assessment methods, and describe several instructional strategies for enhancing creative problem solving in the college classroom. Evidence suggests that instruction to support the development of creativity requires inquiry-based teaching that includes explicit strategies to promote cognitive flexibility. Students need to be repeatedly reminded and shown how to be creative, to integrate material across subject areas, to question their own assumptions, and to imagine other viewpoints and possibilities. Further research is required to determine whether college students'' learning will be enhanced by these measures.     

Taking stock of science in the schoolhouse: four ideas to foster effective instruction

In the opening discussion of this special issue, I take stock of science and schooling for students with learning disabilities (LD) before probing four ideas to foster effective instruction in contemporary schools: (a) Turn to science as the best trick we know for solving educational problems; (b) specify clearly what we hope to achieve in our instructional decisions for students with LD; (c) rely on instruction as the best tool we have for improving student performance; and (d) cultivate-and keep-competent and caring personnel. I invite commentary, from the perspectives of researchers, practitioners, and those who prepare teachers and administrators, to assess the status of science in the schoolhouse and to offer practical strategies for how the scientific orientation of schools might be enhanced.     

Developing Democratic Dispositions and Enabling Crap Detection: Claims for classroom philosophy with special reference to Western Australia and New Zealand

Abstract

The prominence given in national or state-wide curriculum policy to thinking, the development of democratic dispositions and preparation for the ‘good life’, usually articulated in terms of lifelong learning and fulfilment of personal life goals, gives rise to the current spate of interest in the role that could be played by philosophy in schools. Theorists and practitioners working in the area of philosophy for schools advocate the inclusion of philosophy in school curricula to meet these policy objectives. This article tests claims that philosophy can aid in the acquisition of democratic dispositions and develop critical thinking and considers to the extent to which these aims are compatible with each other. These considerations are located in the context of certain policy statements relating to the curricula of Western Australia and New Zealand.     

Should physicists preach what they practice?

Does one need to think like a scientist to learn science? To what extent can examining the cognitive activities of scientists provide insights for developing effective pedagogical practices? The cognition and instruction literature has focused on providing a model of expert knowledge structures. To answer these questions, what is needed is a model of expert reasoning practices. This analysis is a step in that direction. It focuses on a tacit dimension of the thinking practices of expert physicists, “constructive modeling”. Drawing on studies of historical cases and protocol accounts of expert reasoning in scientific problem solving, it is argued that having expertise in physics requires facility with the practice of “constructive modeling” that includes the ability to reason with models viewed generically. Issues pertaining to why and how this practice of experts might be incorporated into teaching are explored.     

Ways to prepare future teachers to teach science in multicultural classrooms

Roussel De Carvalho uses the notion of superdiversity to draw attention to some of the pedagogical implications of teaching science in multicultural schools in cosmopolitan cities such as London. De Carvalho makes the case that if superdiverse classrooms exist then Science Initial Teacher Education has a role to play in helping future science teachers to become more knowledgeable and reflective about how to teach school students with a range of worldviews and religious beliefs. The aim of this paper is to take that proposition a step further by considering what the aims and content of a session in teacher education might be. The focus is on helping future teachers develop strategies to teach school students to think critically about the nature of science and what it means to have a scientific worldview. The paper draws on data gathered during an interview study with 28 students at five secondary schools in England. The data was analysed to discover students’ perceptions of science and their perceptions of the way that science responds to big questions about being human. The findings are used to inform a set of three strategies that teachers could use to help young people progress in their understanding of the nature of science. These strategies together with the conceptual framework that underpins them are used to develop a perspective on what kinds of pedagogical content knowledge teacher education might usefully provide.