试谈理论物理的概念教学

本文通过对热力学中的概念——化学势,在单元系和多元系的具体形式的讨论,探讨理论物理的一些只引入而不去定义和讨论的重要概念的教学问题。     

Preparing elementary prospective teachers to teach early algebra

Researchers have argued that integrating early algebra into elementary grades will better prepare students for algebra. However, currently little research exists to guide teacher preparation programs on how to prepare prospective elementary teachers to teach early algebra. This study examines the insights and challenges that prospective teachers experience when exploring early algebraic reasoning. Results from this study showed that developing informal representations for variables and unknowns and learning about the two interpretations of the equal sign were meaningful new insights for the prospective teachers. However, the prospective teachers found it a conceptual challenge to identify the relationships contained in algebraic expressions, to distinguish between unknowns and variables, to bracket their knowledge of formal algebra and to represent subtraction from unknowns or variables. These findings suggest that exploring early algebra is non-trivial for elementary prospective teachers and likely necessary to adequately prepare them to teach early algebra.     

Using picture books to teach mathematical concepts

Summary We have just provided a few picture books and activities that can enhance children's understanding of mathematics. There are many picture books that can teach children about mathematics. We hope that this article helps you to begin to use those books as a starting point for creating a mathematics-enriched early childhood classroom.     

Development of professional knowledge in learning to teach elementary science

The purpose of this research was to understand how preservice elementary teacher experiences within the context of reflective science teacher education influence the development of professional knowledge. We conducted a case analysis to investigate one preservice teacher's beliefs about science teaching and learning, identify the tensions with which she grappled in learning to teach elementary science, understand the frames from which she identified problems of practice, and discern how her experiences played a role in framing and reframing problems of practice. The teacher, Barbara, encountered tensions in thinking about science teaching and learning as a result of inconsistencies between her vision of science teaching and her practice. Confronting these tensions between ideals and realities prompted Barbara to rethink the connections between her classroom actions and students' learning and create new perspectives for viewing her practice. Through reframing, she was able to consider and begin implementing alternative practices more resonant with her beliefs. Barbara's case illustrates the value of understanding prospective teachers' beliefs, their experiences, and the relationship between beliefs and classroom actions. Furthermore, the findings underscore the significance of offering reflective experience as professionals early in the careers of prospective teachers. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 36: 121–139, 1999     

Evaluation of a course designed to teach physics to students of physiotherapy

This paper describes the development and evaluation of a course in physiotherapy whereby the physics fundamental to the modalities of cold, heat and ultrasound therapies was integrated in lectures and actual physiotherapy activities. The design of the course is described together with the perceptions of physiotherapy students regarding the organisation of the course, safety aspects and how well the integration contributed to their understanding of the physics involved in electrotherapy. Specialization: Physics education. Specialization: electrotherapy. Specializations: Diagnosis of student learning difficulties and teaching for conceptual change, technology education, curriculum evaluation. Specializations: Material science, isotope studies, physics education.     

Growing the tree of teacher knowledge: Ten years of learning to teach elementary science

Pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) is a much debated and studied construct. In this article, we adopt an all‐embracing view of PCK to examine the development of one elementary science teacher's knowledge over a 10‐year period. We portray this teacher's knowledge at three critical points in her career—as a student teacher, beginning teacher, and established teacher—and represent and analyze the growth of her science PCK using the metaphor of a knowledge tree. The tree metaphor shows that while science knowledge begins as the major branch of science PCK, it is soon overshadowed by the general teaching and interactive knowledge branches of science PCK; however, taken together, all three branches contribute over time to the formation of a healthy, established tree of science PCK. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 42: 767–790, 2005     

Teaching the concepts of physical and chemical change to elementary school children

Replication of this study on instructional sequence and grade placement is in order. Do all children behave similarly in acquiring a concept of physical and chemical change?     

Using a discussion about scientific controversy to teach central concepts in experimental design

Students may need explicit training in informal statistical reasoning in order to design experiments or use formal statistical tests effectively. By using scientific scandals and media misinterpretation, we can explore the need for good experimental design in an informal way. This article describes the use of a paper that reviews the measles mumps rubella vaccine and autism controversy in the UK to illustrate a number of threshold concepts underlying good study design and interpretation of scientific evidence. These include the necessity of sufficient sample size, representative and random sampling, appropriate controls and inferring causation.     

Examining preservice teacher content and pedagogical content knowledge needed to teach reading in elementary school

Recently, increased attention has been placed on the importance of having knowledgeable and skilled teachers in order to influence reading achievement. Yet many international reports suggest that large numbers of children are not learning to read. How can we better prepare teachers with the necessary knowledge to teach reading? The current study examined the reading instructional knowledge of elementary education preservice teachers (N = 87) from two teacher education programmes. Programme A required five reading methods courses and Programme B required two methods courses. Findings indicate that the preservice teachers presented fairly robust levels of knowledge in the areas of phonological awareness, phonics, comprehension and vocabulary. However, we found statistically significant differences in knowledge based on the programme attended and the number of courses completed. Suggestions for improving reading teacher education are provided.     

An open task to promote students to create statistical concepts through modelling

This article reports on the solutions of a group of 22 students, aged 15/16 years old, when facing a statistical modelling activity. They were given the salary lists of 5 companies and were asked what could be said about their salary structure; no hint was given. The results show that students not only used a wide range of data concepts and procedures but also developed their own criteria to measure dispersion.     

Using integrated STEM as a stimulus to develop elementary students' statistical literacy

This paper presents insights from classroom practice where mathematical thinking, and in particular statistical literacy, are central to solving a STEM problem. We demonstrate that when an investigation sparks student interest and requires active participation, there are opportunities to experience the functionality of statistics.     

Using structured games to teach early fraction concepts to students who are deaf or hard of hearing

The study focused on the development of the concept of fractions in a group of 11- and 12-year-old students who were deaf or hard of hearing. The approach implemented in the study relied extensively on the use of games with very little formal instruction. It emphasized the development of appropriate language to facilitate an understanding of the notion of fractions through the investigation of concrete materials, pictorial representations, and interactions between students and teacher. The progress achieved by means of this approach is reported, and the implications of developing an understanding of fractions (and mathematics generally) among students who are deaf or hard of hearing are noted.     

An assessment of the effectiveness of a classroom activity designed to teach the value of lifelong learning

Many agree that educational systems should instill in students the value of lifelong learning (LLL), but few have suggested how to accomplish that or how to measure the effectiveness of those curricular initiatives. We developed a technique intended to strengthen students' beliefs about the value of LLL and piloted use of a recently developed scale to assess changes in commitment to LLL. Using a quasi-experimental procedure, we presented students with faculty members’ career biographies describing their personal career paths, including how they learned from their experiences and how they had to adapt and adjust to changing circumstances. To assess beliefs about LLL, students completed Bath and Smith's Propensity for Lifelong Learning (PLLL) scale. We found that students who listened to career biographies had significantly stronger beliefs regarding the value of LLL than the students who were not exposed to the career biographies. We concluded that listening to career biographies strengthened commitment to LLL and that the PLLL scale is a useful outcome measure of this commitment. We discussed limitations and future directions of our method and measurement instrument.     

The ability of elementary school children to learn child sexual abuse prevention concepts.

This research was designed to address several of the methodological problems in the current body of knowledge on the efficacy of child abuse prevention programs for elementary school-aged children. A new measure, the Children's Knowledge of Abuse Questionnaire (C.K.A.Q.) was developed, and its psychometric properties assessed. In total, 400 children were tested in four groups. Half of the sample participated in a child abuse prevention program Touching, and the other half were in a waiting list control group. Half of each group were pretested, and the other half were not, in order to determine whether the pretesting sensitized the students. All children were tested again 5 months afterward to investigate the long-term retention of prevention concepts. Results showed that children who participated in the prevention program scored significantly higher on the C.K.A.Q. than children in the control condition. Age was a critical factor, with significant improvements as age increased between the kindergarten, Grade 1, Grade 3 and Grade 6 students. All participants maintained their level of knowledge after 5 months had passed. The relevance and practical implications which stem from this research are discussed.     

Learning to teach science for all in the elementary grades: What do preservice teachers bring?

Implicit in the goal of recent reforms is the question: What does it mean to prepare teachers to teach “science for all”? Through a teacher research study, I have encountered characteristics that may assist prospective elementary teachers in developing effective, inclusive science instruction. I describe these strengths, link them to requirements for teaching, and suggest how science teacher educators might draw on the strengths of their own students to support teaching practices aimed at universal scientific literacy. My conceptual framework is constructed from scholarship concerning best practice in elementary science education, as well as that which describes the dispositions of successful teachers of diverse learners. This study is based on a model of teacher research framed by the concept of “research as praxis” and phenomenological research methodology. The findings describe the research participants' strengths thematically as propensity for inquiry, attention to children, and awareness of school/society relationships. I view these as potentially productive aspects of knowledge and dispositions about science and about children that I could draw on to further students' development as elementary science teachers. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 39: 845–869, 2002     

Preparing elementary education majors to teach science using an inquiry-based approach: the Full Option Science System

Science education traditionally has received insufficient attention. As a literature review shows, teacher preparation in science will be best served by improvements in pedagogy and in the content of required undergraduate science courses. The American Association for the Advancement of Science (1993, 1995) and the National Research Council (1993, 1995) have addressed this need in advocating a "science for all" that is highly significant for diverse learners. The No Child Left Behind Act emphasizes that reform of teacher preparation is part of an urgent national commitment to bring high-quality teacher candidates into the classroom. The Gallaudet University undergraduate teacher education program has developed an inquiry-based course that emphasizes integration of the sciences. Acquisition of the Full Option Science System, and its adaptation to and integration into the course, has resulted in specific curricular changes and positive results.