Gendered study choice: a literature review. A review of theory and research into the unequal representation of male and female students in mathematics,science, and technology

This article presents an overview of the recent literature on gendered patterns of academic choice in mathematics, science, and technology. It distinguishes in this literature micro-level, macro-level, and institutional explanations. Micro-level explanations focus primarily on psychological constructs, that is, variables at the level of the individual students. Macro-level explanations focus primarily on socioeconomic conditions and cultural understandings of gender roles. Institutional explanations focus on design characteristics of (national) education systems. After a presentation of these perspectives and of recent research progress that has been made, the authors critically discuss the lacunae that still exist in explaining cross-national variety, and provide suggestions for designing future research in this field.     

The effect of the Horsham Greenpower Goblin Challenge on children's attitudes towards science,engineering and technology

This research examines the effects of the Horsham Greenpower Goblin Challenge (HGGC), a hands-on science, engineering and technology (SET) project, on the attitudes of Year 5, primary-school children towards SET. The data collection centred on pre- and post-HGGC questionnaires using Likert scales and picture/word images of scientists and engineers. It was found that the HGGC did not significantly alter children's attitudes to SET and did not dispel previous negative images and attitudes. It was concluded that a greater understanding and acknowledgement of children's existing attitudes was required when designing initiatives aimed at dispelling negative and promoting positive images of SET.     

Teaching aspects of the interrelationship between science and technology: a research report on the design,enactment and evaluation of a teaching proposal

Background: Helping upper elementary and lower secondary school students develop an awareness of various aspects of the nature of science (NOS) and nature of technology (NOT) is a widely recognized goal of science teaching. In this study, we focus on the connections between science and technology (S&T).

Purpose: We report on the design, development, enactment and evaluation of a teaching-learning sequence (TLS) that combines hands-on activities in geometrical optics with explicit epistemological discourse for reflection purposes. The design of the TLS draws on perspectives from the inquiry-oriented and design-based teaching and learning frameworks.

Sample: The enactment of the TLS involved a class of 17 sixth-grade students, aged 10–11 years old, of a public elementary school in Cyprus.

Design and methods: We present findings from written responses to both closed and open-ended tasks as well as follow-up semi-structured interviews that probed students’ understanding of the difference between the main goals of S&T.

Results: The results illustrate elementary students’ readiness to engage with epistemic issues and demonstrate the potential of prompting young learners’ ability to develop informed awareness of the NOS and NOT. The results also provided feedback for the revision of the TLS so as to further enhance its effectiveness in achieving the stated learning objectives.

Conclusion: We discuss the implications of our findings for the teaching of the NOS and NOT and for the design and validation of TLSs. It is possible for students of this age group to develop an awareness of issues related to the NOS and NOT. TLSs can be improved through design-based research approaches to serve as productive tools to this end.     

An appraisal of an online tutorial system for the teaching and learning of engineering physics in conjunction with contextual physics and mathematics,and relevant mathematics

The number of students entering engineering schools in Australian universities has increased tremendously over the last few years because of the Australian Federal Government's policy of increasing the participation rates of Higher School Certificate students and students from low social economic status backgrounds in the tertiary sector. They now come with a diverse background of skills, motivations and prior knowledge. It is imperative that new methods of teaching and learning be developed. This paper describes an online tutorial system used in conjunction with contextual physics and mathematics, and the revision of the relevant mathematical knowledge at the appropriate time before a new topic is introduced in the teaching and learning of engineering physics. Taken as a whole, this study shows that students not only improved their final examination results but there was also an increase in the retention rate of first-year engineering students which has financial implications for the university.     

工程力学课程双语教学的实践与探索

本文简述了在海洋渔业科学与技术专业开设双语课程的目的和意义,介绍了在工程力学课程中实施双语教学的具体措施和结果,并根据自己的教学实践提出了在工程力学双语教学中应该尽量使用英文原版教材、采用循序渐进的教学模式等需要注意的问题和具体的实施方法。     

Guidelines to design engineering education in the twenty-first century for supporting innovative product development

In the twenty-first century, meeting our technological challenges demands educational excellence, a skilled populace that is ready for the critical challenges society faces. There is widespread consensus, however, that education systems are failing to adequately prepare all students with the essential twenty-first century knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in life, career, and citizenship. The purpose of this paper is to understand how twenty-first century knowledge and skills can be appropriately embedded in engineering education finalised to innovative product development by using additive manufacturing (AM). The study designs a learning model by which to achieve effective AM education to address the requirements of twenty-first century and to offer students the occasion to experiment with STEM (Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) concepts. The study is conducted using the quality function deployment (QFD) methodology.     

Towards a pedagogy of science teaching: an exploration of the impact of students-led questioning and feedback on the attainment of Key Stage 3 Science students in a UK school

This mixed method study investigated the extent to which the use of a model built around student-led questioning and feedback improved the learner engagement and attainment of a cohort of students. It compared outcomes from an experimental with a control group of students in Key-Stage 3 using a set of parameters. It found that the experimental group, who were taught using this model, showed improvements in engagement and attainment when compared to the control group. A model of discourse was proposed to help students take ownership of their learning and offered as a means of helping to transform science teachers’ classroom pedagogy.     

The Birth of a Notion: The Windfalls and Pitfalls of Tailoring an SoTL-like Concept to Scientists, Mathematicians, and Engineers

Despite calls for greater agreement in defining the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), terms that resemble SoTL are proliferating. An NSF-sponsored center for teaching and learning coined its own term, teaching-as-research (TAR), believing it would resonate better with research-active scientists, engineers, and mathematicians. To understand whether this was a wise strategy, we interviewed 43 participants from courses that sought to explain and demonstrate TAR. Our study found that participants defined TAR with varying complexity and that disciplinary concepts generally provided “conceptual handles” for making sense of TAR. However, tailoring a term to particular disciplines entails several challenging tradeoffs.

Investigating the quality of project-based science and technology learning environments in elementary school: a critical review of instruments

This paper provides a systematic review of instruments that have the potential to measure the quality of project-based science and technology (S&T) learning environments in elementary school. To this end, a comprehensive literature search was undertaken for the large field of S&T learning environments. We conducted a horizontal bottom-up analysis of the aspects measured by the retrieved instruments and their operationalisation. We distinguish 11 components. The most frequently evaluated components are prior knowledge and backgrounds, connection with reality, science as inquiry and level of initiative and group work. Overall, the results suggest a considerable diversity in the operationalisation of the components found. Particularly, for connection with reality, science as inquiry and level of initiative and group work, this is related to (1) the object of measurement (e.g. variety in aspects evaluated) and (2) the extent to which the used concepts are clarified. Consequently, some scales, items and questions were found to be a closer fit with aspects of project-based learning environments than others. Additionally, most of the retrieved instruments cover science and not technology or project-based education. This review can be used when searching for a scale, item or question to measure particular aspects of S&T learning environments.     

Science,technology and the environment: the views of urban children and implications for science and environmental education in Korea

With science and technology playing profound roles in mediating human relationships with the environment, a key question concerns which expectations and views of science and technology have emerged and prevail in visions of the social and environmental development of contemporary societies. This study engages this question through examining children’s views of science and technology in South Korea. Eighty‐six sixth graders from Seoul, a highly urbanized city, were invited to share their views. A drawing and writing activity and an open‐ended questionnaire were administered for data collection. The study found that the children’s views are grounded in optimistic and positive expectations and visions of science and technology even as some of the children show awareness and concern about environmental destruction. They may also offer contradictory views toward social development and environmental destruction. The paper discusses these findings in light of the complex meanings of development in modern Korean society and the challenges teachers there may face in cultivating sustainable views and relations via science and environmental education.     

Information Communication Technology (ICT) integration in a science education unit for preservice science teachers; students' perceptions of their ICT skills, knowledge and pedagogy

There is an expectation that new science teachers will be able to effectively use a range of information communication technology (ICT) related resources inthe science classroom in order to enhance student learning. All school systems in Australia are in the process of providing teachers with ICT professional development and infrastructure. This paper outlines a range of initiatives designed to integrate ICT in a compulsory science education unit for students enrolled in a Graduate Diploma in Secondary Education. An action research model based on constructivist principles was used to evaluate the effectiveness of modelling, open-ended co-operative group activities and authentic assessment in enabling students to enhance their ICT skills, knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge in a science education context. Multiple sources of data were generated including a pre and post unit questionnaire that was analysed using Rasch modelling. The questionnaire determined students' perceptions of their preparedness to teach using ICT. The findings of this research suggest that some skills warranted greater attention in the unit, but students' pedagogical knowledge and knowledge and critique of ICT resources were enhanced over the duration of the unit.     

Using technology for teaching and learning in higher education: a critical review of the role of evidence in informing practice

The use of technology for teaching and learning is now widespread, but its educational effectiveness is still open to question. This mixed-method study explores educational practices with technology in higher education. It examines what forms of evidence (if any) have influenced teachers' practices. It comprises a literature review, a questionnaire and interviews. A framework was used to analyse a wide range of literature. The questionnaires were analysed using content analysis and the interviews were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Findings suggest that evidence has partial influence upon practice with practitioners preferring to consult colleagues and academic developers. The study underscored the difficulty in defining and evaluating evidence, highlighting ontological and epistemological issues. The academic developer's role appears to be key in mediating evidence for practitioners.     

Diversity and inclusivity at university: a survey of the experiences of lesbian,gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) students in the UK

The extent to which UK universities are ‘gay friendly’ has received some attention in the press. Whilst there are a number of published studies exploring campus climate for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) students and/or staff, these are primarily localised studies undertaken in State Universities and Baccalaureate Colleges in the US. The present study is a nationwide UK study of campus climate, based on survey data collected from a sample of 291 LGBT students from 42 universities across the UK. The findings show that despite the increased implementation of an equality agenda (e.g. equal access; widening participation) in UK Higher Education, homophobia on campus is still a significant problem and therefore universities are not perceived nor experienced by LGBT students as ‘safe spaces’ in which to be open about sexual orientation/gender identity. The implications of the findings for university policy and practice in relation to LGBT (and indeed all) students is also explored.