Book Reviews

In praise of teachers: identity, equality and education Robin Richardson, 2002 Debates and developments in ethnographic methodology G. Walford (Ed.), 2002 Teaching modern foreign languages in secondary schools A. Swarbrick (Ed.), 2002 Aspects of teaching secondary modern foreign languages A. Swarbrick (Ed.), 2002 Teacher thinking twenty years on: revisiting persisting problems and advances in education M. Kompf & P. Denicolo (Eds), 2003 A vision for science education. Responding to the work of Peter Fensham R. Cross (Ed.), 2003 Girls' voices: supporting girls' learning and emotional development L. Cruddas & L. Haddock, 2003 Teaching cultures. Knowledge for teaching first grade in France and the United States Kathryn Anderson‐Levitt, 2002 Can the Japanese change their education system? R. Goodman & D. Phillips (Eds), 2003     

美国实施“优秀科学教师专业标准”经验述评

美国一向把科学教育看做提高国家竞争力的重要基础,高度关注科学教师的质量。建立专业标准是提高教师质量的基础和前提。联邦政府在长期支持"国家教学专业标准委员会"建立优秀科学教学专业标准并认证优秀科学教师的基础上,近年又在教育发展战略上强调"只有优秀的教师才能培养优秀的学生,高素质的教师队伍是保证教育质量的关键",并从政策上和经费投入上提出"投资卓越教学",推广优秀科学教师实践,借以加强科学教师队伍建设,进而促进整个教育质量提高。本文旨在解读分析美国"国家教学专业标准委员会"开发的优秀科学教师专业标准的准则、内容、特点,从而为我国试行教师专业标准提供可资借鉴的经验。     

Gender Difference in Teachers’ Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching in the Context of Single-Sex Classrooms

This study examines gender differences of teachers on their mathematical knowledge for teaching in the context of single-sex classrooms in Saudi Arabia. A translated version of the Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching (MKT) instrument (Learning Mathematics for Teaching [LMT], 2008) in Number and Operation Content Knowledge (CK) and Knowledge of Content and Student (KCS) scales were administered to 197 teachers (146 male and 51 female). Two-sample t test and multiple regression were conducted to compare the two groups and test the effect of teacher background variables. Female teachers significantly scored better than their male counterpart. Gender, years of teaching experience, and specialization significantly predicted teachers’ content knowledge, F(3, 187) = 13.180, explaining 41.8 % of the variance. Only gender and specialization significantly predicted teachers’ knowledge of content and student, F(2, 191) = 6.335, explaining 24.9 % of the variance. Further comparing items in the MKT instrument where female teachers outperformed male teachers confirmed that female teachers were better in attending to the content knowledge in the context of student’s learning.

     

IRT Item Parameter Scaling for Developing New Item Pools

Increasing use of item pools in large-scale educational assessments calls for an appropriate scaling procedure to achieve a common metric among field-tested items. The present study examines scaling procedures for developing a new item pool under a spiraled block linking design. The three scaling procedures are considered: (a) concurrent calibration, (b) separate calibration with one linking, and (c) separate calibration with three sequential linking. Evaluation across varying sample sizes and item pool sizes suggests that calibrating an item pool simultaneously results in the most stable scaling. The separate calibration with linking procedures produced larger scaling errors as the number of linking steps increased. The Haebara’s item characteristic curve linking resulted in better performances than the test characteristic curve (TCC) linking method. The present article provides an analytic illustration that the test characteristic curve method may fail to find global solutions in polytomous items. Finally, comparison of the single- and mixed-format item pools suggests that the use of polytomous items as the anchor can improve the overall scaling accuracy of the item pools.     

Technology Use in Science Instruction (TUSI): Aligning the Integration of Technology in Science Instruction in Ways Supportive of Science Education Reform

This study describes the development of an instrument to investigate the extent to which technology is integrated in science instruction in ways aligned to science reform outlined in standards documents. The instrument was developed by: (a) creating items consistent with the five dimensions identified in science education literature, (b) establishing content validity with both national and international content experts, (c) refining the item pool based on content expert feedback, (d) piloting testing of the instrument, (e) checking statistical reliability and item analysis, and (f) subsequently refining and finalization of the instrument. The TUSI was administered in a field test across eleven classrooms by three observers, with a total of 33 TUSI ratings completed. The finalized instrument was found to have acceptable inter-rater intraclass correlation reliability estimates. After the final stage of development, the TUSI instrument consisted of 26-items separated into the original five categories, which aligned with the exploratory factor analysis clustering of the items. Additionally, concurrent validity of the TUSI was established with the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol. Finally, a subsequent set of 17 different classrooms were observed during the spring of 2011, and for the 9 classrooms where technology integration was observed, an overall Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient of 0.913 was found. Based on the analyses completed, the TUSI appears to be a useful instrument for measuring how technology is integrated into science classrooms and is seen as one mechanism for measuring the intersection of technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge in science classrooms.     

Mapping out the integration of the components of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK): Examples from high school biology classrooms

This study explored the nature of the integration of the five components of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK): (a) Orientations toward Teaching Science, (b) Knowledge of Student Understanding, (c) Knowledge of Instructional Strategies and Representations, (d) Knowledge of Science Curriculum, and (e) Knowledge of Assessment of Science Learning. Given the topic and context specificity of PCK, this investigation was conducted in the context of the photosynthesis and heredity instruction of four teachers who were working at the same high school with the same curricular materials. Data sources included classroom observations, semi‐structured interviews, lesson plans, instructional materials, and students' work samples. Data were analyzed through three different approaches: (a) in‐depth analysis of explicit PCK, (b) enumerative approach, and (c) the constant comparative method. Data analysis indicated five salient features of the integration of the PCK components: (a) the integration of the components was idiosyncratic and topic‐specific; (b) Knowledge of Student Understanding and Knowledge of Instructional Strategies and Representations were central in the integration; (c) Knowledge of Science Curriculum and Knowledge of Assessment of Science Learning had most limited connection with other components; (d) Knowledge of Assessment of Science Learning was more often connected with Knowledge of Student Understanding and Knowledge of Instructional Strategies and Representations than with the other components; and (e) Didactic Orientations toward Teaching Science directed Knowledge of Instructional Strategies and Representations inhibiting its connection with other components. This study highlights that the quality of PCK depends on the coherence among the components as well as the strength of individual components. From a methodological perspective, this study demonstrates the possibility to make PCK more visible and accessible by using a PCK Map, a pictorial representation of the interactions of the PCK components. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 49: 922–941, 2012     

New Pedagogies on Teaching Science with Computer Simulations

Teaching science with computer simulations is a complex undertaking. This case study examines how an experienced science teacher taught chemistry using computer simulations and the impact of his teaching on his students. Classroom observations over 3 semesters, teacher interviews, and student surveys were collected. The data was analyzed for (1) patterns in teacher-student-computer interactions, and (2) the outcome of these interactions on student learning. Using Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK) as a theoretical framework, analysis of the data indicates that computer simulations were employed in a unique instructional cycle across 11 topics in the science curriculum and that several teacher-developed heuristics were important to guiding the pedagogical approach. The teacher followed a pattern of “generate-evaluate-modify” (GEM) to teach chemistry, and simulation technology (T) was integrated in every stage of GEM (or T-GEM). Analysis of the student survey suggested that engagement with T-GEM enhanced conceptual understanding of chemistry. The author postulates the affordances of computer simulations and suggests T-GEM and its heuristics as an effective and viable pedagogy for teaching science with technology.     

Development and application of the Elementary School Science Classroom Environment Scale (ESSCES): measuring student perceptions of constructivism within the science classroom

This article describes the development, validation and application of a Rasch-based instrument, the Elementary School Science Classroom Environment Scale (ESSCES), for measuring students’ perceptions of constructivist practices within the elementary science classroom. The instrument, designed to complement the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP), is conceptualised using the RTOP’s three construct domains: Lesson Design and Implementation; Content; and Classroom Culture. Data from 895 elementary students was used to develop the Rasch scale, which was assessed for item fit, invariance and dimensionality. Overall, the data conformed to the assumptions of the Rasch model. In addition, the structural relationships among the retained items of the Rasch model supported and validated the instrument for measuring the reformed science classroom environment theoretical construct. The application of the ESSCES in a research study involving fourth grade students provides evidence that educators and researchers have a reliable instrument for understanding the elementary science classroom environment through the lens of the students.     

The Examination of the Classification of Students into Performance Categories by Two Different Equating Methods

This study investigates the comparability of two item response theory based equating methods: true score equating (TSE), and estimated true equating (ETE). Additionally, six scaling methods were implemented within each equating method: mean-sigma, mean-mean, two versions of fixed common item parameter, Stocking and Lord, and Haebara. Empirical test data were examined to investigate the consistency of scores resulting from the two equating methods, as well as the consistency of the scaling methods both within equating methods and across equating methods. Results indicate that although the degree of correlation among the equated scores was quite high, regardless of equating method/scaling method combination, non-trivial differences in equated scores existed in several cases. These differences would likely accumulate across examinees making group-level differences greater. Systematic differences in the classification of examinees into performance categories were observed across the various conditions: ETE tended to place lower ability examinees into higher performance categories than TSE, while the opposite was observed for high ability examinees. Because the study was based on one set of operational data, the generalizability of the findings is limited and further study is warranted.     

Assessing Knowledge Integration in Science: Construct,Measures, and Evidence

In response to the demand for sound science assessments, this article presents the development of a latent construct called knowledge integration as an effective measure of science inquiry. Knowledge integration assessments ask students to link, distinguish, evaluate, and organize their ideas about complex scientific topics. The article focuses on assessment topics commonly taught in 6th- through 12th-grade classes. Items from both published standardized tests and previous knowledge integration research were examined in 6 subject-area tests. Results from Rasch partial credit analyses revealed that the tests exhibited satisfactory psychometric properties with respect to internal consistency, item fit, weighted likelihood estimates, discrimination, and differential item functioning. Compared with items coded using dichotomous scoring rubrics, those coded with the knowledge integration rubrics yielded significantly higher discrimination indexes. The knowledge integration assessment tasks, analyzed using knowledge integration scoring rubrics, demonstrate strong promise as effective measures of complex science reasoning in varied science domains.     

The Long‐Term Sustainability of IRT Scaling Methods in Mixed‐Format Tests

Due to recent research in equating methodologies indicating that some methods may be more susceptible to the accumulation of equating error over multiple administrations, the sustainability of several item response theory methods of equating over time was investigated. In particular, the paper is focused on two equating methodologies: fixed common item parameter scaling (with two variations, FCIP‐1 and FCIP‐2) and the Stocking and Lord characteristic curve scaling technique in the presence of nonequivalent groups. Results indicated that the improvements made to fixed common item parameter scaling in the FCIP‐2 method were sustained over time. FCIP‐2 and Stocking and Lord characteristic curve scaling performed similarly in many instances and produced more accurate results than FCIP‐1. The relative performance of FCIP‐2 and Stocking and Lord characteristic curve scaling depended on the nature of the change in the ability distribution: Stocking and Lord characteristic curve scaling captured the change in the distribution more accurately than FCIP‐2 when the change was different across the ability distribution; FCIP‐2 captured the changes more accurately when the change was consistent across the ability distribution.     

THE IMPACT OF ITEM DELETION ON EQUATING CONVERSIONS AND REPORTED SCORE DISTRIBUTIONS

A formal analysis of the effects of item deletion on equating/scaling functions and reported score distributions is presented. There are two components of the present analysis: analytical and empirical. The analytical decomposition demonstrates how the effects of item characteristics, test properties, individual examinee responses, and rounding rules combine to produce the item deletion effect on the equating/scaling function and candidate scores, In addition to demonstrating how the deleted item's psychometric characteristics can affect the equating function, the analytical component of the report examines the effects of not scoring versus scoring all options correct, the effects of re-equating versus not re-equating, and the interaction between the decision to re-equate or to not re-equate and the scoring option chosen for the flawed item. The empirical portion of the report uses data from the May 1982 administration of the SA T, which contained the circles item, to illustrate the effects of item deletion on reported score distributions and equating functions. The empirical data verify what the analytical decomposition predicts.     

Comparing student science performance between hands-on and traditional item types: A many-facet Rasch analysis

This study aimed to compare student science performance between hands-on and traditional item types by investigating the item type effect and the interaction effect between item type and science content domain. In Shanghai, China, 2404 ninth-graders from six urban junior high schools took part in the study. The partial credit many-facet Rasch measurement analysis was used to examine the instrument's quality and investigate the item type effect and the interaction effect. The results showed that the traditional item type was significantly more difficult for participants than the hands-on item type, exhibiting a moderate-to-large effect size. Moderate or large interaction effects of an item type with a specific content domain on student science performance were also detected. Students performed better on some science content domains with a particular item type (either hands-on or traditional). Implications for assessment developers and science instructors were also discussed.     

Applying the many‐facet Rasch model to evaluate PowerPoint presentation performance in higher education

This study investigated the usefulness of the many‐facet Rasch model (MFRM) in evaluating the quality of performance related to PowerPoint presentations in higher education. The Rasch Model utilizes item response theory stating that the probability of a correct response to a test item/task depends largely on a single parameter, the ability of the person. MFRM extends this one‐parameter model to other facets of task difficulty, for example, rater severity, rating scale format, task difficulty levels. This paper specifically investigated presentation ability in terms of items/task difficulty and rater severity/leniency. First‐year science education students prepared and used the PowerPoint presentation software program during the autumn semester of the 2005–2006 school year in the ‘Introduction to the Teaching Profession’ course. The students were divided into six sub‐groups and each sub‐group was given an instructional topic, based on the content and objectives of the course, to prepare a PowerPoint presentation. Seven judges, including the course instructor, evaluated each group’s PowerPoint presentation performance using ‘A+ PowerPoint Rubric’. The results of this study show that the MFRM technique is a powerful tool for handling polytomous data in performance and peer assessment in higher education.     

The Effectiveness of the Geospatial Curriculum Approach on Urban Middle-Level Students’ Climate Change Understandings

Climate change science is a challenging topic for student learning. This quantitative study examined the effectiveness of a geospatial curriculum approach to promote climate change science understandings in an urban school district with eighth-grade students and investigated whether teacher- and student-level factors accounted for students’ climate change knowledge achievement. The participants included 12 science teachers and 956 eighth-grade students. Data included a pre- and posttest climate change assessment measures for both teachers and students and a teacher measure of Geospatial Science-Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge. Paired-sample t tests revealed statistically significant gains from pretest to posttest on their climate change knowledge (p < .001; effect sizes being large on multiple-choice items and medium on the open-ended response assessment). Both ordinary least squares (OLS) multiple regression and 2-level hierarchical linear modeling found that students’ initial climate change knowledge and gender were significant predictors for students’ posttest scores, p < .05. Students’ pretest scores were the strongest significant predictor of the posttest scores, p < .001. Neither the teachers’ climate change knowledge nor their Geospatial Science-Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge had significant association with the students’ posttest scores. Teaching years was a significant predictor for students’ posttest scores in OLS regression (p < .001). The findings provide support that a geospatial curriculum approach is an effective science curriculum approach for learners in urban middle-level education.     

Biology content cognitive structure: From science student to science teacher

The F-Sort of Biology Concepts was used to assess understanding of the relationships among 37 biology concepts by five groups: Preservice secondary science teachers, in-service biology teachers with 1–3 years of teaching experience, in-service biology teachers with 5 or more years of experience, scientists in any biological science field, and college seniors majoring in biology. Data collected from the F-sort were analyzed using latent partition analysis and alpha factor analysis with additional interpretation from multidimensional scaling. The subjects were asked to think aloud as they performed the F-sort and each session was audiotaped for later analysis. These analyses indicated that the biology major and experienced secondary science teachers were separated from the scientists by a dimension based on a deep-versus-surface structure understanding of the concepts. A second axis shows that scientists are separated from other groups by a fluid-versus-fixed cognitive structure dimension. That is, both experienced teachers and scientists were found to have well-constructed and ordered cognitive structures, but scientists were much more likely to see an item having a place in two or more categories, whereas experienced teachers tended to focus on only one aspect of an item, and therefore understanding that it rightfully belonged in only one category. It appears that teachers restructure their science knowledge as they become more experienced. There is an apparent transition from poorly organized to highly organized cognitive structures for biology concepts when comparing preservice, novice, and experienced teachers, respectively. The transition does not seem to be one achieving a deeper understanding of the biology concepts or to a greater degree of integration of the concepts, but rather a transition from a fairly large, loosely organized pool of biology concepts to one which is highly structured but limited to the expectations of the established curriculum. The results have implications for the well-known conjecture that teaching helps one better understand the content being taught.     

Reviews

Books reviewed in this article:
Diana Laurillard, Rethinking University Teaching: a conversational framework for the effective use of learning technologies
F. Ted Tschang and Tarcisio Della Senta, (eds.), Access to Knowledge: New Information Technologies and the Emergence of the Virtual University     

Development and exemplification of a model for Teacher Assessment in Primary Science

ABSTRACT

The Teacher Assessment in Primary Science project is funded by the Primary Science Teaching Trust and based at Bath Spa University. The study aims to develop a whole-school model of valid, reliable and manageable teacher assessment to inform practice and make a positive impact on primary-aged children’s learning in science. The model is based on a data-flow ‘pyramid’ (analogous to the flow of energy through an ecosystem), whereby the rich formative assessment evidence gathered in the classroom is summarised for monitoring, reporting and evaluation purposes [Nuffield Foundation. (2012). Developing policy, principles and practice in primary school science assessment. London: Nuffield Foundation]. Using a design-based research (DBR) methodology, the authors worked in collaboration with teachers from project schools and other expert groups to refine, elaborate, validate and operationalise the data-flow ‘pyramid’ model, resulting in the development of a whole-school self-evaluation tool. In this paper, we argue that a DBR approach to theory-building and school improvement drawing upon teacher expertise has led to the identification, adaptation and successful scaling up of a promising approach to school self-evaluation in relation to assessment in science.     

Assessment of Science Teaching Efficacy of Preservice Teachers in an Australian University

Research investigating science teaching efficacy was conducted in 1 Australian university. A sample of 314 elementary preservice teachers responded to the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (STEBI; L. G. Enochs & I. M. Riggs, 1990), which assesses 2 teaching efficacy dimensions: Personal Science Teaching Efficacy Beliefs (PSTEB) and Science Teaching Outcome Expectancy (STOE). Confirmatory factor analysis substantiated this 2-factor structure. The use of this instrument revealed that the completion of 2 science teaching subjects within the preservice program had a significant effect on the PSTEB, but not the STOE. Similarly, the number of high school science subjects studied by these elementary preservice teachers had a significant effect on PSTEB, but not STOE. However, neither gender nor the particular high school science subjects studied by these elementary preservice teachers had a significant effect on either the PSTEB or the STOE.     

Looking for a New Road for the Thorough Implementation of Quality Education

Recently a study group under the leadership of Professor Cheng Hejun of Hunan Normal University completed an experimental study on "The Integrated Course of Study and Psychological Quality Development," which is a key item of ther State Education Commission's Eighth Five-Year Plan in educational science. As a core part of the "Cooperative Teaching" experiment, a key topic in educational reform within the Eighth Five-Year Plan of Hunan Province itself, this study blazed a new path of implementing quality education. Its function is to lay a solid foundation for the cultivation of high-quality, highly creative, and psychologically healthy people of talent and ability for the future.