Junior high school science teacher preparation,teaching behavior,and student achievement

The findings challenge both practices and prejudices in junior high school science teacher preparation.     

Math acceleration in elementary school: Access and effects on student outcomes

This paper examines curricular acceleration in mathematics during elementary school using administrative data from a large, diverse school district that recently implemented a targeted, test-based acceleration policy. We first characterize access to advanced math and then estimate effects of acceleration in math on measures of short-run academic achievement as well as non-test-score measures of grit, engagement with schoolwork, future plans, and continued participation in the accelerated track. Experiences and effects of math acceleration differ markedly for girls and boys. Girls are less likely to be nominated for math acceleration and perform worse on the qualifying test, relative to boys with equivalent baseline performance. We find negative effects of acceleration on short-run retention of math knowledge for girls, but no such performance decay for boys. After initial exposure to accelerated math, girls are less likely than boys to appear in the accelerated track during late elementary school and at the start of middle school.     

提升小学数学概念教学有效性策略的研究综述

小学数学概念是小学数学教学内容的重要组成部分。目前,虽然我国小学数学概念教学已引起高度重视,但仍然存在一些问题。相关学者专家在对这些问题进行了分析和研究后,有针对性地提出了不同的概念教学策略。这些策略可分为纵横两个维度,不仅提出针对学生、教师、学习材料及学习情境方面的策略,还包括概念的引入、建立、巩固与深化策略。这些概念教学策略都为数学概念教学中操作性活动的研究提供了宝贵的经验。     

The team teaching experiences of pre-service science teachers implementing PBL in elementary school

The current phenomenological-qualitative case study examined the team teaching related experiences of 17 Israeli student teachers in the context of using the project-based teaching method in the course of their pedagogical practicum module conducted in elementary schools. The focus of the study was on participants’ experiences in terms of quality and content. Data collection methods included reflective reports and in-depth interviews. Data analysis was conducted using the qualitative method for content analysis. Findings of the study indicate that during team teaching, the student teachers underwent a process of four qualitatively different experiential stages, each of which is characterised by a unique set of experiences. There was also a qualitative difference at each stage between the experiences of student teachers who emerged with an overall positive assessment and those who emerged with an overall negative assessment of team teaching. The practical implications of the findings are discussed. This research contributes to the professional literature on the team teaching of science courses, and may serve to encourage educators to implement team teaching as part of student teachers‘ practicum involving a project based, student centred methodology.     

Exploring the effects of concreteness fading across grades in elementary school science education

The present study investigates the effects that concreteness fading has on learning and transfer across three grade levels (4–6) in elementary school science education in comparison to learning with constantly concrete representations. 127 9- to 12-years-old elementary school students studied electric circuits in a computer-based simulation environment, where circuits remained concrete (bulbs) throughout the learning or faded from concrete to abstract (bulbs to resistors). The most important finding was that the outcomes seemed to be influenced by a developmental factor: the study found a significant interaction between condition and grade level in relation to learning outcomes, suggesting that the outcomes generally improved as a function of grade level, but that there were notable differences between the conditions regarding the improvement of outcomes across the three grades. According the results, learning with constantly concrete representations either took less time or resulted in better learning compared to concreteness fading. Because transfer is one of the central arguments for concreteness fading, a somewhat surprising finding was that the concrete condition succeeded at least as well as the fading condition on transfer tasks. The study also discusses why the results and issues related to the conceptualisation and operationalisation of central concepts in the study call for caution towards generalization and for more research with young learners across different grades.     

小学科学课程实验研究

本文介绍了小学科学课程实验研究的概况,小学自然课的改革首先是个观念问题,其次才是技巧问题.目前的自然课教学,仍然是重视知识结论而不是提高学生认识事物的能力,应体现科学教育基本理念和整体目标,引导学生获取丰富的事实材料,加以整理综合得出结论,并解释其结果有何意义,从整体上把握科学、技术、社会、个人等因素之间的联系.提高学生的科学素质.     

The implementation of equitable teaching strategies by high school biology student teachers

Teachers can perpetuate stereotypic cultural beliefs regarding girls' ability in, aptitude for, and suitability for science by their teaching practices and behaviors. As teachers have a major influence on girls' career choices their equitable teaching practices in the classroom are important to encourage all students, but especially girls, to continue with science. Researchers have studied science classrooms and have defined common strategies and practices that can help create an equitable classroom environment. The purpose of this study was to determine if high school biology student teachers could transfer learned equitable teaching strategies to actual teaching and the support conditions necessary for that transfer. Two support conditions were assessed: cooperating teacher and peer group support. Seven preservice teachers were placed into three groups. One group had both support conditions, the second group had only one condition (peer support), and the third group did not have either support condition. Both qualitative and quantitative data sources were collected. Results showed that preservice teachers could transfer learned equitable teaching into actual teaching practice. However, they were more successful in achieving the transfer if they were supervised by cooperating teachers who are sensitized to the issue of gender equity in education. Being involved in a peer support group was not as crucial to using the strategies as having a supportive cooperative teacher.     

A meta-analysis of the effects of various science teaching strategies on achievement

This study is a meta-analysis of the question “What are the effects on achievement of different teaching techniques?” Twelve categories of teaching techniques were specified. Among these are questioning, wait-time, testing, focusing, manipulative, presentation approach, inquiry or discovery, audio-visual, and teacher direction. A coding form was then developed to allow for the uniform examination and recording of 76 variables from each study. One or more effect sizes were calculated and coded for each study. Over 300 microfilmed dissertations covering the past 30 years were examined. Some 2000 ERIC science abstracts were reviewed and suitable studies obtained. Finally, journal articles were reviewed. A total of 400 effect sizes representing 160 studies were produced. The main effect size overall was 0.34. Thus, for all samples considered the experimental science teaching techniques on the average resulted in one-third of a standard deviation improvement over traditional techniques. Mean effect sizes also were calculated for each technique. More than 20 other variables such as class size, community type, and science subject area were cross-tabulated with effect size.     

Primary school science: implementation of domain-general strategies into teaching didactics

In the present study we present a didactic method to help children aged 11 and 12 learn science in such a way as to enable a dynamic interaction between domain general strategies and the development of conceptual knowledge, whilst each type of scientific process has been considered (forming of hypotheses, experimenting and evaluating). We have used the didactics to stimulate metacognitive awareness and implemented them in a 2-month programme around eight different content domains (alternative energy, electrical circuitry, electromagnetism, the human body, slopes, the pendulum, friction, and sinking and floating). Results showed that children developed significant understanding with regard to the process and strategy domain of scientific thinking, but that this effect was dependent on the type of teacher involved (pre-service versus in-service teacher). In addition, we found that 12 year-olds showed some aspects of self-regulated learning in hands-on experimenting after they took part in the programme. At the level of attitudes, relative to controls, a significant drop in enthusiasm for science was found while both children of 11 and 12 years old viewed science as less difficult after the end of the programme. Findings were interpreted in the light of situated interest versus longer term personal interest in science and technology.