幼儿园科学探究教育策略初探

幼儿园教育是人生发展的奠基性教育。对幼儿进行探究教育,有助于促进幼儿认知能力的发展与科学素养的养成。教师应在尊重幼儿探究特点和规律的基础上,进行有针对性的科学探究教育,以增进幼儿探究教育的适宜性。     

An investigation of experienced secondary science teachers' beliefs about inquiry: An examination of competing belief sets

The purpose of this study was to investigate the beliefs of six experienced high school science teachers about (1) what is successful science learning; (2) what are the purposes of laboratory in science teaching; and (3) how inquiry is implemented in the classroom. An interpretive multiple case study with an ethnographic orientation was used. The teachers' beliefs about successful science learning were substantively linked to their beliefs about laboratory and inquiry implementation. For example, two teachers who believed that successful science learning was deep conceptual understanding, used verification labs primarily to illustrate these concepts and used inquiry as a type of isolated problem‐solving experience. Another teacher who believed that successful science learning was enculturation into scientific practices used inquiry‐based labs extensively to teach the practices of science. Tension in competing beliefs sets and implications for reform are discussed. ? 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 41: 936‐960, 2004.     

DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF A MODEL OF PROBLEM SOLVING FOR EGYPTIAN SCIENCE CLASSES

Educators and policymakers envision the future of education in Egypt as enabling learners to acquire scientific inquiry and problem-solving skills. In this article, we describe the validation of a model for problem solving and the design of instruments for evaluating new teaching methods in Egyptian science classes. The instruments were based on an established model for problem solving and were designed to assess seventh grade students’ problem solving, experimental strategy knowledge, achievement and motivation towards science. The test for assessing students’ knowledge has been developed based on the topic, density and buoyancy which will be taught in seventh grade in a later intervention study. The instruments were partly self-developed and partly adapted from newly performed studies on strategy knowledge and problem solving in Germany. All instruments were translated into Arabic; the translation process and quality control are described. In order to determine the quality of the instruments, 44 students in Egypt completed the questionnaires and tests. The study’s aim to develop and validate the instruments did require an ad hoc and typical sample which was drawn from an accessible population. Accordingly, the characteristics of the sample are described. Data were analysed according to the classical test theory, but to underpin the results, the instruments were additionally analysed using the even stronger Rasch model. The findings demonstrated the reliability of the items and aspects of validity. In addition, this study showed how test items can be successfully developed and adapted in an international study and applied in a different language.     

Enhancing Digital Simulated Laboratory Assessments: a Test of Pre-Laboratory Activities with the Learning Error and Formative Feedback Model

Digitally simulated laboratory assessments (DSLAs) may be used to measure competencies such as problem solving and scientific inquiry because they provide an environment that allows the process of learning to be captured. These assessments provide many benefits that are superior to traditional hands-on laboratory tasks; as such, it is important to investigate different ways to maximize the potential of DSLAs in increasing student learning. This study investigated two enhancements—a pre-laboratory activity (PLA) and a learning error intervention (LEI)—that are hypothesized to enhance the use of DSLAs as an educational tool. The results indicate students who were administered the PLA reported statistically lower levels of test anxiety when compared to their peers who did not receive the activity. Furthermore, students who received the LEI scored statistically higher scores on the more difficult problems administered during and after the DSLA. These findings provide preliminary evidence that both a PLA and LEI may be beneficial in improving students’ performance on a DSLA. Understanding the benefits of these enhancements may help educators better utilize DSLAs in the classroom to improve student science achievement.

     

Laboratory apprenticeship through a student research project

There has been a long tradition of laboratory activities associated with science instruction. Despite constructivists' claims advocating open-ended inquiry and mentoring, little is known about what students are thinking when engaged in laboratory activities. Laboratory learning as a process of cognitive apprenticeship has been proposed as a metaphor to guide teacher practice and student learning. The viability of cognitive apprenticeship for learning science in school is discussed in relation to findings from an investigation of a research project involving high school students working in a university chemical engineering laboratory under the mentorship of a university-based scientist. Data from a variety of techniques were analyzed in an interpretive style. We found that the students were empowered to seek empirically viable knowledge claims as they became independent researchers. However, we argue that caution needs to be exercised before advocating open-ended inquiry as a general model for laboratory learning without additional studies in different contexts. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Portrayal of the History of the Photoelectric Effect in Laboratory Instructions

The literature on the pedagogical aspects of the photoelectric effect as used in the undergraduate student laboratory shows that little research has been done in this area. Our current study is an analysis of the instructions in 38, electronically published laboratory manuals for the photoelectric effect. The analyses were based on history and philosophy of science criteria that we had developed for evaluating the presentation of the photoelectric effect in introductory, university-physics textbooks. The results show that writers of laboratory instructions do not pay sufficient attention to the relevant background for the photoelectric effect. In our study, none of the instructions achieved a score of excellent, only 5% were scored as satisfactory, and only 7% mentioned the various aspects contained in our criteria. These results for our analysis of laboratory instructions are significantly less favorable than those achieved for physics textbooks in our previous study. Based on our work, we recommend that several historical aspects be included in all laboratory instructions for the photoelectric effect.     

实验室间比对病原菌分离鉴定质控考核分析

目的通过参加实验室间比对病原菌分离鉴定质控考核,提高实验室检测水平和对突发公共卫生事件处置的技术应对能力,保证检测结果准确、可靠。方法依据WS271-2007《感染性腹泻诊断标准》及GB/T 4789-2008《食品卫生微生物学检验》对模拟肛拭样品进行病原菌分离鉴定。结果检出小肠结肠炎耶尔森氏菌0：3型和福氏志贺氏菌2b亚型,考核结果为符合要求。结论实验室间比对质控考核病原菌菌株的鉴定应结合革兰氏染色镜检、生化试验和血清学分型综合判断结果。     

How to Help Teachers Develop Inquiry Teaching: Perspectives from Experienced Science Teachers

This study has two purposes: the first is to explore experienced science teachers’ perspectives on inquiry teaching, and the second is to categorize these perspectives into patterns. Fifteen junior high school science teachers experienced at inquiry teaching were selected, and a semi-structured interview was conducted to collect the teachers’ perspectives on inquiry and inquiry teaching. The findings indicate that these experienced science teachers hold multiple perspectives on inquiry and inquiry teaching. The two patterns generated from these teachers’ perspectives of inquiry and inquiry teaching were systematic-based inquiry instruction and learning-based inquiry instructions. Suggestions for science teacher educators are discussed in this paper.     

Positive reframing and the test performance of test anxious children

The present study tested whether the paradoxical technique of positive reframing, presented in the form of test instructions, could be used to reduce the cognitive experience of worry and thereby improve the arithmetic test performance of highly test anxious third-and fourth-grade children. Thirty high test anxious and thirty low test anxious children were assigned randomly to receive one of three types of instructions prior to taking an arithmetic word problem test: neutral instructions, reassuring instructions, and positive-reframing instructions, which encouraged the children to view worry as a positive attribute. The results indicated that the type of instructions given had no significant effect upon subsequent test performance. However, both high and low test anxious children who received positive reframing scored significantly higher on a state anxiety measure given post test. These findings suggest that, although positive reframing may have an emotional impact, it is ineffective in improving the arithmetic test performance of highly test anxious children.     

What are the relative effects of reasoning ability and prior knowledge on biology achievement in expository and inquiry classes?

What factor(s) influence the likelihood a student will succeed in college biology? Some researchers have found the primary determinant to be the student's prior knowledge of biology, while others have found it to be reasoning ability. Perhaps the ability of these factors to predict achievement depends on the instructional method employed. Expository instruction focuses primarily on facts and concepts. Therefore, perhaps the best predictor of achievement in expository classes is domain-specific prior knowledge. Inquiry instruction focuses more on how science is done, i.e., on scientific processes; therefore, perhaps the best predictor in inquiry classes is reasoning ability. This study was designed to test these hypotheses. Students enrolled in a nonmajors community college biology course were pretested to determine reasoning ability and prior knowledge. The number of previous biology courses was also recorded as an indicator of prior knowledge. After a semester of either expository or inquiry (learning-cycle) instruction, students took a comprehensive final examination. Reasoning ability but not prior knowledge or number of previous biology courses accounted for a significant amount of variance in final examination score in both instructional methods and with semester examination and quiz scores in inquiry classes. This suggests that reasoning ability limits achievement more than prior knowledge among these biology students, whether they are enrolled in expository or inquiry classes. Reasoning ability explained more of the variance in final examination scores for students enrolled in expository classes (18.8%) than in inquiry classes (7.2%). The reason for this is not clear, but significant improvements in reasoning were found in the inquiry but not in the expository classes. These improvements were accompanied by significant differences in achievement in the inquiry classes. Perhaps the reasoning improvement facilitated the better and more equal achievement for students in the inquiry classes, thus reducing the correlation between initial reasoning ability and final achievement. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 35: 89-103, 1998.     

流体力学实验教学改革探索

阐述了流体力学实验教学改革思路,从教学模式、多媒体教学、开放实验室、考核制度等方面进行了积极的改革,提高了学生分析问题、解决问题的能力,激发了学生的求知欲望和创新意识,流体力学实验教学效果和教学质量显著提高。     

Analysis of verbal interactions during an extended,open‐inquiry general chemistry laboratory investigation

This study explores effects of participation by second‐semester college general chemistry students in an extended, open‐inquiry laboratory investigation. Verbal interactions among a student lab team and with their instructor over three open‐inquiry laboratory sessions and two non‐inquiry sessions were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed. Coding categories were developed using the constant comparison method. Findings indicate that, during open‐inquiry activities, the student team interacted less often, sought less instructor guidance, and talked less about chemistry concepts than during their non‐inquiry activities. Evidence suggests that the students employed science process skills and engaged in higher‐order thinking during both types of laboratory activities. Implications for including open‐inquiry experiences in general chemistry laboratory programs on student understanding of science as inquiry are discussed. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 1160–1186, 2007     

有机化学实验教学改革探索

高校有机化学实验对培养学生良好的化学实验技能和实验素质起着重要的作用,但其“教、学、考”几方面均存在一系列问题,我们应加强实验教学体系建设、转变传统的实验教学方式、推行多向度的实验成绩考核方法、开放式实验室等措施,才能更好地激发学生的学习兴趣,提高学生的实验探究能力和创新能力.     

Exploring the pedagogical features of integrating essential competencies of scientific inquiry in classroom teaching

ABSTRACT

Background: As inquiry-based instruction is not universally implemented in science classrooms, it is crucial to introduce instructional strategies through the use of contextualized learning activities to allow students with different background knowledge and abilities to learn the essential competencies of scientific inquiry and promote their emotional perception and engagement.

Purpose: This study explores how essential scientific competencies of inquiry can be integrated into classroom teaching practices and investigates both typical and gifted secondary students’ emotional perception and engagement in learning activities.

Sample: A case teacher along with 226 typical and 18 gifted students from a suburban secondary school at Taiwan participated in this study.

Design and methods: After attending twelve 3-hour professional development workshops that focused on scientific inquiry teaching, the case teacher voluntarily developed and elaborated her own teaching activities through the discussions and feedback that she received from workshop participants and science educators. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through activity worksheet, questionnaire, video camera, and tape recorders. Frequency distribution, Mann-Whitney U test, and discourse analysis were used for data analyses.

Results: Case teacher’s teaching activities provide contextual investigations that allow students to practice making hypotheses, planning investigations, and presenting and evaluating findings. Students’ learning outcomes reveal that typical students can engage in inquiry-based learning with positive emotional perception as well as gifted students regardless of their ability level. Both gifted and typical students’ positive emotional perception of and active engagement in learning provide fresh insight into feasible instructions for teachers who are interested in inquiry-based teaching but have little available time to implement such instructions into their classrooms.

Conclusions: The results of our work begin to address the critical issues of inquiry-based teaching by providing an exemplary teaching unit encompassing essential scientific competencies     

The Israeli “bagrut” examination in biology revisited

The Israeli paper-and-pencil matriculation examination in biology has been one of the most powerful means for implementing an inquiry oriented high school biology program based on the U.S. BSCS. The first version of this examination was described and analyzed in JRST in 1972. This article describes the changes and effects of this examination during the years and compares the examination of the year 1982 with that of 1969. Implications for upgrading science education are discussed.     

Developing students' ability to ask more and better questions resulting from inquiry‐type chemistry laboratories

This study focuses on the ability of high‐school chemistry students, who learn chemistry through the inquiry approach, to ask meaningful and scientifically sound questions. We investigated (a) the ability of students to ask questions related to their observations and findings in an inquiry‐type experiment (a practical test) and (b) the ability of students to ask questions after critically reading a scientific article. The student population consisted of two groups: an inquiry‐laboratory group (experimental group) and a traditional laboratory‐type group (control group). The three common features investigated were (a) the number of questions that were asked by each of the students, (b) the cognitive level of the questions, and (c) the nature of the questions that were chosen by the students, for the purpose of further investigation. Importantly, it was found that students in the inquiry group who had experience in asking questions in the chemistry laboratory outperformed the control grouping in their ability to ask more and better questions. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 42: 791–806, 2005     

Knowing Inquiry as Practice and Theory: Developing a Pedagogical Framework with Elementary School Teachers

In this paper, we characterize the inquiry practices of four elementary school teachers by means of a pedagogical framework. Our study revealed core components of inquiry found in theoretically-driven models as well as practices that were regarded as integral to the success of day-to-day science teaching in Singapore. This approach towards describing actual science inquiry practices—a surprisingly neglected area—uncovered nuances in teacher instructions that can impact inquiry-based lessons as well as contribute to a practice-oriented perspective of science teaching. In particular, we found that these teachers attached importance to (a) preparing students for investigations, both cognitively and procedurally; (b) iterating pedagogical components where helping students understand and construct concepts did not follow a planned linear path but involved continuous monitoring of learning; and (c) synthesizing concepts in a consolidation phase. Our findings underscore the dialectical relationship between practice-oriented knowledge and theoretical conceptions of teaching/learning thereby helping educators better appreciate how teachers adapt inquiry science for different contexts.     

浅论英语的研究性学习及其教学实践

英语研究性学习具有问题性、过程性、主动性、开放性、合性综、指导性、合作性等特点。如果学习者有求知欲、好奇心、兴趣和问题意识,且学习内容具有研究性,就可以开展研究性学习。在这一学习过程中教师应做到适度设计教学方案、创设问题情境,激发学生探究的动机和兴趣,创设自由、民主、宽松的学习氛围,延迟评价,鼓励学生发表意见,让学生充分利用各种信息资源,提倡课内外学习相结合并进行必要的指导。     

Assessment of the laboratory learning environment in an inquiry-oriented chemistry laboratory in Arab and Jewish high schools in Israel

An inquiry-oriented laboratory in chemistry was integrated into the chemistry curriculum in Jewish high schools in Israel, and after a short period was also implemented in Arab sector. In this study, we investigated the effect of culture on the perceptions of laboratory classroom learning environments by comparing the perceptions of Arab and Jewish high school students who learned the inquiry-oriented chemistry laboratory. The learning environment is influenced by student-teacher relationship and we thought that this relation is an important issue in the inquiry laboratory and is different between the Arab and Jewish populations. However, until recently, the Arab teachers have remained in the centre of the learning process and their students perceived them as the main source of knowledge and information. In this study, we used both quantitative and qualitative methods to determine whether the laboratory learning environment was different in Arab and Jewish classes that learned in the inquiry-oriented laboratory in chemistry. A statistical comparison of Arab and Jewish inquiry groups revealed significant differences in their actual and preferred perceptions. From the qualitative part of the study, we found that the teachers and students from the Arab and Jewish sectors were statistically similar in the categories that we measured during the inquiry phase, but they were statistically different during the pre-inquiry phase of the laboratory. From the interviews with the teachers and the students, we found that there were differences in the student-teacher relationship between the two sectors.