Cognitive conflict: Its nature and use in the teaching of science

Summary The thrust of this article is that although different theories may share some of the same terminology they may differ considerably in the interpretation which they impose on it and, therefore, on the educational practices which they underwrite. Specifically a brief examination has been made here of the concept of cognitive conflict as it occurs in the theories of Bruner, Case and Piaget-Inhelder, and of the similarities and differences in classroom practices which arise from theoretical commitment.     

Navigating the divide between scientific practice and science studies to support undergraduate teaching of epistemic knowledge

There is an urgent need to strengthen undergraduate science students’ epistemic knowledge, which requires having the scientists qua teachers on board. The divide between scientists’ perceptions of science and the perceptions held by those who study science is in this context problematic. Even so, this remains a sorely understudied area. The aim of the study was to identify pragmatic ways that hold the potential to facilitate integration of scholarly studies of scientific knowledge production with experientially based knowledge held by scientists to support the teaching of epistemic knowledge content to undergraduate science students. Earlier studies suggest that trust building is a central component. Our exploratory case study focuses on instructor perceptions and is based on informal interviews, participatory observation and surveys with instructors in a first-year undergraduate science course under revision. We identified the following central components as central to successful navigation of the divide between the scientific practice and science studies: Explicit formulation of learning objectives tied to epistemic knowledge acquisition; Conscious attention to vocabulary that triggers scientists’ aversion to science studies; Careful selection of historic and contemporary cases; and Systematic scaffolding of course activities. The conclusion regarding a common vocabulary stands out: by ridding our instructions from the vocabulary that caused concern among science instructors we succeeded in engaging them in conversations with students about the knowledge-producing process and challenge the view of science as characterised by facts and truths, rather than a form of scholarly inquiry that aims to produce knowledge about the natural world.     

Constructivism: Sound theory for explicating the practice of science and science teaching

Critics praise applications of constructivism in science pedagogy, but they argue that constructivism is severely impaired and hopelessly flawed as a theory. Flawed theory should not be employed to explain innovative practice. My purposes are twofold. First and foremost, I present a case to support my own and others' assertions that constructivism is a sound theory with which to explain the practice of science and science pedagogy. In accomplishing my primary purpose, I also fulfill my secondary purpose, to respond to constructivism's critics. My argument is presented in three parts. In Part 1, I delineate the epistemological ground with a brief synopsis of the purpose, nature, and orientation of radical and social constructivism. I then offer a synthesis of their foundations. In Part 2, I offer a constructivist account of five long-standing epistemological issues, including truth, solipsism, experience, instrumentalism, and relativity. Truth is the center piece of the argument, and I show how constructivism avoids the root paradox by embracing truth as coherence. Next, constructivism is shown to be a rejection of solipsism. Then, an account of experience based in neurophysiological theory, emergent properties, and the brain as a parallel data-processing organ is provided to support constructivism's inside-out view of experience, in which meaning making occurs within individual minds and in communities of individuals. In the final segment of Part 2, I present a constructivist account of relativity which focuses on physicists' acceptance of relativity, its translation to constructivist epistemology, and constructivists' request for silence regarding ontology. Response to critics' objections are also presented at appropriate points throughout Part 2. In the third part, I present constructivism as an epistemological foundation for a cybernetic perspective of knowing. I then summarize the value of constructivism in explaining and interpreting the practice of science and science pedagogy. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 35: 501–520, 1998.     

Locating the global: culture,language and science education for indigenous students

The international literature suggests the use of indigenous knowledge (IK) and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) contexts in science education to provide motivation and self‐esteem for indigenous students is widespread. However, the danger of alienating culture (as knowledge) from the language in which the worldview is embedded seems to have been left out of the philosophical and pedagogical debates surrounding research and comment in the field. This paper argues that one of the main ways in which indigenous knowledge systems will survive and thrive is through the establishment of programmes taught through indigenous languages so that a dialectal relationship between language and knowledge is established that continues to act as the wellspring. The article concludes by reviewing the situation in Aotearoa New Zealand with respect to the indigenous population, Maori, and the recent science education initiatives in te reo Maori (Maori language).     

Fostering a community of practice through a professional development program to improve elementary teachers' views of nature of science and teaching practice

This study explored the development of a community of learners through a professional development program to improve teachers' views of nature of science (NOS) and teaching practice. The Views of Nature of Science questionnaire and interviews were used to assess teachers' conceptions of NOS three times over the course of the study. Notes and videotapes taken during workshops and classroom observations were used to track influence of the community of learners on classroom practice. The community of practice (CoP) was fostered through an intensive summer workshop, monthly school site workshops, and classroom support to aid teachers in incorporating new techniques and reflecting upon their learning and practice. We found that teachers became aware of their changes in views about NOS once they struggled with the concepts in their own teaching and discussed their struggles within the professional development community. The CoP on its own was not sufficient to change teacher's practice or knowledge, but it created a well‐supported environment that facilitated teacher change when paired with NOS modeling and explicit reflection. Cases of three teachers are used to illustrate changes in views and teaching practice common to the teachers in this study. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 46: 1090–1113, 2009     

生态世界观对科技发展趋势的启示

对自然及其与人类之关系的错误认识使生态问题日趋严重。生态危机的发生让人类警醒。如何从本体论的角度找到科技发展的理念支撑,已经成为迫切的话题。生态世界观的兴起为科技发展提供了新的视角。20世纪70年代以后,对技术问题的理性反思与环境问题紧密结合产生了生态学批判理论。正是技术范式的生态化转向使绿色科技的产生成为必然。     

From scientific practice to high school science classrooms: Transfer of scientific technologies and realizations of authentic inquiry

The Biology Workbench (BW) is a web‐based tool enabling scientists to search a wide array of protein and nucleic acid sequence databases with integrated access to a variety of analysis and modeling tools. The present study examined the development of this scientific tool and its consequent adoption into the context of high school science teaching in the form of the Biology Student Workbench (BSW). Participants included scientists, programmers, science educators, and science teachers who played key roles along the pathway of the design and development of BW, and/or the adaptation and implementation of BSW in high school science classrooms. Participants also included four teachers who, with their students, continue to use BSW. Data sources included interviews, classroom observations, and relevant artifacts. Contrary to what often is advocated as a major benefit accruing from the integration of authentic scientific tools into precollege science teaching, classroom enactments of BSW lacked elements of inquiry and were teacher‐centered with prescribed convergent activities. Students mostly were preoccupied with following instructions and a focus on science content. The desired and actual realizations of BSW fell on two extremes that reflected the disparity between scientists' and educators' views on science, inquiry science teaching, and the related roles of technological tools. Research on large‐scale adoptions of technological tools into precollege science classrooms needs to expand beyond its current focus on teacher knowledge, skills, beliefs, and practices to examine the role of the scientists, researchers, and teacher educators who often are involved in such adoptions. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 48: 37–70, 2011     

植物科学实验教学的探索与实践

植物科学实践性很强,涵盖学科较多,其实验教学显得尤其重要。本文从植物科学实验教学的实际出发,对植物科学实验教学特点进行了细致分析,并对实验教学的组织与建设进行了总结。     

Memorisation methods in science education: tactics to improve the teaching and learning practice

How can science teachers support students in developing an appropriate declarative knowledge base for solving problems? This article focuses on the question whether the development of students’ memory of scientific propositions is better served by writing propositions down on paper or by making drawings of propositions either by silent or muttering rehearsal. By means of a memorisation experiment with eighth- and ninth-grade students, we answer this question. In this experiment, students received instruction to memorise nine science propositions and to reproduce them afterwards. To support memorisation students were randomly assigned either to a group that received instruction to write each proposition on paper or to a group that received instruction to make a drawing about the content of the proposition. In addition, half of the students in both groups received instruction to mutter and the other half of them received instruction to write or draw in silence. The main conclusion from the experiment is that after four weeks students who had made a drawing remembered significantly more propositions than those who had memorised the propositions by writing them down. Our research further revealed that it did not matter whether students muttered or memorised silently.     

生命科学实践教学体系的改革与实践

实践教学体系是实践教学顺利进行的保障,是人才培养的基础。结合吉林大学国家级生物实验教学示范中心多年实践教学改革经验,从实践教学体系的建设思路、产学研结合实践教学体系的构建、课程的整合与优化、教学效果评价体系的建立等方面,阐述了生命科学实践教学体系的建设与改革经验。     

科技英语教学的实践与认识

科技英语阅读在语法结构、词汇方面都有其本身的特点,句子的容量大,语言简练,概念表达清楚明白,能体现科技发展的要求和特征。因此,如何提高科技英语的教学质量,达到教学目标便是当前教学改革中的一项重要课题。     

Preservice teachers' views of the nature of science during a postbaccalaureate science teaching program

The goals of this study were to determine preservice science teachers' views of the nature of science and to describe the changes in those views that occur during a teacher education program. Fifteen students in a postbaccalaureate secondary science teaching program at a large university participated in this study. The participants' views of science were ascertained by an investigator-developed survey and a follow-up interview administered before and after the university's science teaching methods sequence. Before entering the teaching program, the participants had a contemporary (i.e., postpositivist) view of scientific theory, knowledge, and the role of a scientist and a traditional (i.e., empiricist or positivist) view of scientific method. Initially, there was an equal number of traditional, mixed, and contemporary views of the different aspects of science. After completing the methods sequence, the number of contemporary views doubled and the number of mixed views decreased by more than half. The number of participants with an overall contemporary view of science rose from 2 to 7. Since there was little direct instruction about the nature of science, it is possible to make positive changes in preservice teachers' views of the nature of science in a teaching program in which contemporary teaching strategies such as conceptual change and cooperative learning are taught. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 34: 595–615, 1997.     

On the nature of teaching nature of science: Preservice early childhood teachers' instruction in preschool and elementary settings

This study explored whether early childhood preservice teachers' concerns about teaching nature of science (NOS) and their intellectual levels influenced whether and how they taught NOS at the preschool and primary (K‐3) levels. We used videotaped classroom observations and lesson plans to determine the science instructional practices at the preschool and primary levels, and to track whether and how preservice teachers emphasized NOS. We used the Stages of Concern Questionnaire (SOCQ) pre‐ and postinternship to determine concerns about NOS instruction, and the Learning Context Questionnaire (LCQ) to determine intellectual levels. We found that neither concerns about teaching NOS nor intellectual level were related to whether and how the preservice teachers emphasized NOS; however, we found that all preservice early childhood teachers began their internships with NOS concern profiles of “worried.” Two preservice teachers' NOS concerns profiles changed as a result of their internships; one to “cooperator” and one to “cooperator/improver.” These two preservice teachers had cooperating teachers who were aware of NOS and implemented it in their own science instruction. The main factors that hindered or facilitated teaching NOS for these preservice teachers were the influence of the cooperating teacher and the use of the science curriculum. The preservice teacher with the cooperating teacher who understood and emphasized NOS herself and showed her how to modify the curriculum to include NOS, was able to explicitly teach NOS to her students. Those in classrooms whose cooperating teachers did not provide support for NOS instruction were unable to emphasize NOS. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 47:213–233, 2010     

高校思想政治理论课实践教学模式的科学化探讨

当前加强对高校思想政治理论课实践教学模式的分析有着重大的意义,一方面可以使得当前高校发展过程当中相关理论课程的教学更好的与实际进行接轨,同时还可以使得理论教学工作的发展进入至一个崭新阶段当中。文章将针对这一方面的内容展开论述,详细的分析了高校思想政治理论课实践教学模式的基本现状,同时对教学过程当中的基本原则以及指导性的理念等进行了同步性的分析,旨在以此为基础更好的实现对教学模式的发展与创新改革。     

高中生物科学史教学中的科学本质教育

科学本质的教育是提高学生科学素养的核心内容。本文结合高中生物学教材中的科学史,阐明了科学本质的内涵,以及如何在教学中发展学生的科学本质观。