Traversing the Divide Between High School Science Students and Sophisticated Nature of Science Understandings: A Multi-pronged Approach

This study investigated the effects of a multi-pronged approach of increasing the nature of science (NOS) understandings of high school science students. The participants consist of 63 high school students: 31 in the intervention group and 32 in the control group. Explicit/reflective NOS instruction was imbedded within authentic inquiry experiences and supported by online discussions. The students in the intervention group were prompted to engage in various discussions focusing on essential tenets of NOS in an online environment that assured student confidentiality. NOS views were assessed through multiple data sources including pre- and post-intervention questionnaires as well as students’ responses to online discussion prompts. Results show that the instructional intervention used in this study which combined explicit/reflective NOS instruction with intense inquiry exposure along with ample reflective opportunities in an anonymous online discussion format led to positive learning gains in participants’ understanding the NOS aspects assessed. Implications for enhancing data collection with high school students and for promising professional development opportunities for science educators are discussed.     

Encouraging student engagement in a blended learning environment: the use of contemporary learning spaces

Research shows that some non‐traditional students find the university environment alienating, impersonal and unsupportive. The ‘Quickstart’ project combines traditional lectures and seminars with a sequence of carefully designed online tasks, aimed at lessening the impact of the start of year uncertainties for new students. One thousand students across two geographic locations participated in the programme. The project was evaluated by considering three sources of data: data generated by server statistics of 40,358 successful requests for pages in the first four weeks of teaching; student anonymous responses to an online end of course questionnaire as well as extracts from their reflective journals; and the student experience as viewed through the eyes of a researcher in the classroom. Findings offer insights into how the students blend classroom time with their own time; and student perceptions of their own learning experiences. A collaborative learning experience involving travel to a contemporary learning space (the Tate Modern Art Gallery) mitigated the possible isolating effect of the use of technology; instead the technology enhanced the discussion and participation in activities. The students visited the Tate Modern and then facilitated their discussions by sending each other SMS text messages; they bonded very quickly in the seminar groups, where weekly online tasks that had been prepared individually ‘outside’ the classroom were the focus of group discussion and debate ‘inside the classroom’; their end of semester reflective writing showed very clearly how valuable the early ‘friendship’ groups had been for them settling into university life.     

Learning to argue as a biotechnologist: disprivileging opposition to genetically modified food

In the public discussion of genetically modified (GM) food the representations of science as a social good, conducted in the public interest to solve major problems are being subjected to intense scrutiny and questioning. Scientists working in these areas have been seen to struggle for the position of science in society. However few in situ studies of how the debate about science appears in learning situations at the university level have been undertaken. In the present study an introductory course in biotechnology was observed during one semester, lectures and small group supervision concerning GM food were videotaped and student’s reports on the issue were collected. The ethnographic approach to Discourse analysis was conducted by means of a set of carefully selected and representative observations of how a group of students learn to argue and appropriate views held in the Discourse they are enculturated into. While socio-scientific issues (SSIs) are often associated with achieving scientific literacy in terms of “informed decisions” involving “rational thought and Discourse” this study shows that SSI in practice, in the context studied here, is primarily concerned with using scientific language to privilege professional understandings of GMOs and discredit public worries and concerns. Scientific claims were privileged over ethical, economical and political claims which were either made irrelevant or rebutted. The students were seen to appropriate a Discourse model held in the biotechnological community that public opposition towards GMO is due to “insufficient knowledge”. The present study offers insights into biotechnology students’ decision making regarding socio-scientific issues, while also demonstrating the utility of Discourse analysis for understanding learning in this university context. Implications for reflection on the institutional Discourse of science and teaching of controversial issues in science are drawn and the study contributes to the investigation of claims of scientific literacy coupled to SSIs and argumentation     

Cell Phones Transform a Science Methods Course

Abstract

A science methods instructor intentionally encouraged cell phone use for class work to discover how cell phones can be used as research tools to enhance the content and engage the students. The anecdotal evidence suggested that students who used their smartphones as research tools experienced the science content and pedagogical information associated with the course in a more thoughtful and reflective way than their classmates, providing additional opportunities for metacognition.     

Emotions in teaching environmental science

This op-ed article examines the emotional impact of teaching environmental science and considers how certain emotions can broaden viewpoints and other emotions narrow them. Specifically, it investigates how the topic of climate change became an emotional debate in a science classroom because of religious beliefs. Through reflective practice and examination of positionality, the author explored how certain teaching practices of pre-service science teachers created a productive space and other practices closed down the conversations. This article is framed with theories that explore both divergent and shared viewpoints.     

A Topical Trajectory on Survival: an Analysis of Link-Making in a Sequence of Lessons on Evolution

This study explores the concept of link-making in relation to communicative strategies applied in the teaching and studying of biological evolution. The analysis focused on video recordings of 11 lessons on biological evolution conducted in a Swedish 9^th grade class of students aged 15 years. It reveals how the teacher and students connected classroom conversations, the frequency of references to conversations in whole-class settings, and the development of a theme focusing on species survival and extinction. Detailed examples from the data illustrate how this theme developed from its initiation during the first lesson, through discussion and clarification, to its wrapping up during the last lesson. They further illustrate how students made sense of what the teacher said and wrote, and how the teacher postponed issues, explained and developed topics, provided opportunities for link-making, organised the class, motivated students, and checked their understanding. The study’s methodological approach offers a way of including several time dimensions within research. Based on our findings, we conclude that the excerpts examined here did succeed in building ‘islands of coherence’ in the co-construction of curricular content. Moreover, the topical trajectory in relation to species survival provided opportunities for constructing a ‘scientific story’ in the classroom.     

The Nature of Pre-service Science Teachers’ Argumentation in Inquiry-oriented Laboratory Context

The aim of this study was to investigate the kinds of argumentation schemes generated by pre-service elementary science teachers (PSTs) as they perform inquiry-oriented laboratory tasks, and to explore how argumentation schemes vary by task as well as by experimentation and discussion sessions. The model of argumentative and scienti?c inquiry was used as a design framework in the present study. According to the model, the inquiry of scientific topics was employed by groups of participants through experimentation and critical discussion sessions. The participants of the study were 35 PSTs, who teach middle school science to sixth through eighth grade students after graduation. The data were collected through video- and audio-recordings of the discussions made by PSTs in six inquiry-oriented laboratory sessions. For the analysis of data, pre-determined argumentation schemes by Walton were employed. The results illustrated that PSTs applied varied premises rather than only observations or reliable sources to ground their claims or to argue for a case or an action. It is also worthy of notice that the construction and evaluation of scientific knowledge claims resulted in different numbers and kinds of arguments. Results of this study suggest that designing inquiry-oriented laboratory environments, which are enriched with critical discussion, provides discourse opportunities that can support argumentation. Moreover, PSTs can be encouraged to support and promote argumentation in their future science classrooms if they engage in argumentation integrated instructional strategies.     

Designing the Knowledge Integration Environment

The Knowledge Integration Environment (KIE) activities were designed to promote lifelong science learning. This paper describes the partnership process that guided the design as well as the Scaffolded Knowledge Integration framework that gave the partnership a head start on creating effective materials. KIE activities take advantage of internet materials to engage students in debate of science questions like 'how far does light go?', to make scientifically oriented design decisions, and to critique science claims in the popular press. Other papers in this collection describe the design studies carried out to improve KIE activities. These studies have implications for improving the Scaffolded Knowledge Integration framework and can inform future designers of science instruction.     

The effects of communication medium on argumentation and the development of critical thinking

The aim of this paper is to compare the effects of different communication media on the quality of arguments and the development of argumentative reasoning. The study involved 73 undergraduate students. It consisted of a pre-test, an intervention session consisting of either an asynchronous online discussion or a face-to-face discussion, and a post-test. The pre-test consisted of a mini essay to ascertain participants’ opinion of smacking, and a 21-point smacking scale, where participants indicated how much they agreed or disagreed with smacking. The online group participated in a seminar discussion over a period of 2 weeks. The face-to-face group participated in the seminar discussion for a 1-h period. The seminar discussion was about the detrimental effects of smacking on children's development. One week after the seminar discussion, the post-test was administered. No statistically significant differences were found between the two conditions in terms of improvement in the quality of the students’ arguments. However, the quality of the argumentation used in face-to-face was higher than that used in the online discussions. The implications of these findings for theoretical models of collaborative activity are discussed.     

A Thirst for Justice in the Arid Southwest: The Role of Epistemology and Place in Higher Education

How is the university connected to the pressing social and environmental problems that confront citizens in its region? What sorts of communities will students build in this changing cultural and environmental landscape as a result of their experiences in education? In this article I explore how an ethnobotany seminar uses critical pedagogy of place to engage students in the social, economic, and ecological relationships beyond the university campus. I describe how ethnobotany, the study of plants used by human cultures, is one way for students to explore the epistemology of Western science and traditional ecological knowledge. In this course, I encouraged students to ask, What counts as science? Whose knowledge is valued? What knowledge can sustain our communities? In our ethnobotany seminar, the topic of access and quality of water in the Southwest became a focal point for understanding the relation between place, epistemology, and ecojustice.     

Legitimising transgression: design and delivery of a science Work Integrated Learning program that draws on students’ extant work in diverse,non-science fields

ABSTRACT

Recent focus on graduate employability has exposed the inadequacies of work preparation for science students, who need an employability toolkit to navigate the modern work landscape. An established mechanism to develop students’ employment awareness is Work Integrated Learning (WIL), but Australian mathematics and science students participate in fewer WIL activities than students in other disciplines. In this article, we present a conceptual discussion around the design of a non-traditional Bachelor of Science WIL program that transcends commonly held perceptions of WIL as primarily discipline-orientated and placement-based. This design dramatically expands the possibilities for WIL in science programs, enabling WIL participation for students unable to engage in a traditional science work placement. The program draws on and legitimises students’ experiences in diverse non-science, part-time workplaces and extra-curricular activities; we term this ‘transgressional learning’. Students engage in reflective and active learning opportunities designed to help them explore and articulate their skill sets in a manner that speaks to multiple future work settings. By drawing on students’ extant work experiences, the program explicitly supports students to foreground and expand on broad skill sets acquired in extra-curricular settings. This article suggests a new conceptual approach and a path forward for large-scale WIL delivery in generalist science degrees. It draws on the reflections of the project team and student participants to outline the goals and design ethos of the program and reflect on the legitimacy of this transgressional program as a science WIL offering.     

Intercultural language teaching as a catalyst for teacher inquiry

This study investigated how two teachers of languages, facilitated by university researchers, developed their practices with regard to intercultural language teaching. Taking a qualitative case study approach, we collected data from classroom observations, interviews, debriefing conversations, and guided reflective pieces written by the teachers. Findings indicate that the opportunities for teachers to inquire into their own practices shifted these teachers' approaches to language teaching to accommodate a curriculum expectation to develop students' intercultural communicative competence in plurilingual contexts. The study offers valuable insights for teacher education into the ways teachers' inquiries can support teachers’ responses to curricular change.     

Grade 5 Students’ Online Argumentation about Their In-Class Inquiry Investigations

This study examined the extent to which fifth-grade students participate in online argumentation and the argument patterns they produced about the inquiry-based investigations completed using the Science Writing Heuristic approach in their science classes. One hundred twenty-nine students from five classes of two teachers in a Midwestern public school completed two inquiry-based investigation units, one per semester, followed by asynchronous online discussions using the Moodle forum. Among the 129 students, 107 students produced 739 notes in the plant investigation online discussion and 111 students produced 686 notes in the human health investigation online discussion. Results indicate that students were actively engaged in the online discussions about inquiry investigations with comments being focused on providing more evidence and backing for claims and negotiating evidence in both investigations. The students also engaged in challenging and querying the test procedures and reference sources as the basis for evidence. Implications are discussed for science teaching and learning and further study on argument-based inquiry in online environments.     

Engaging whiteness: How racial power gets reified in education

The central question addressed in this essay is how students engage in a class that focuses on the political and social power of whiteness. Specifically, it looks at how whiteness gets inscribed and reified in our education practices, even as we try to disrupt its normative influence. The essay is based upon an in-depth qualitative study of a graduate seminar dedicated to addressing diversity issues critically. We conclude that despite students' expressed intentions and efforts at disrupting whiteness, they draw upon a variety of discourses that actually serve to protect and secure whiteness's dominant position. Twelve different discourses that students cite are described, grouped into four broad appeals: to self, to progress, to authenticity, and to extremes. Understanding how students invoke these discourses as an implicit way of resisting critical engagements with whiteness can help us to problematize these practices as well as cultivate more productive and enabling interactions.     

Group interactive learning with group process support technology

An effective seminar is about discussion, exchanges of ideas and developing understanding: but is this always achieved? This paper evaluates a pilot study into whether group process support technology has the potential to improve the learning experience of students in seminar groups by increasing participation and focusing debate. The trial involved 86 undergraduate students. The technology consists of wireless handsets, a PC and data projector. The use of the technology was varied to increase our understanding of how it could be used effectively. The Pilot Study received a positive evaluation by both the tutor and the student group. The results are encouraging, and the paper concludes by establishing further research issues, how this application of technology can be developed and briefly describes how the technology has been subsequently used in the University of Glamorgan Business School.     

FACTORS SHAPING STUDENTS’ OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE IN ARGUMENTATIVE ACTIVITY

This study examines how students’ opportunities to engage in argumentative activity are shaped by the teacher, the class, and the mathematical topic. It compares the argumentative activity between two classes taught by the same teacher using the same textbook and across two beginning algebra topics—investigating algebraic expressions and equivalence of algebraic expressions. The study comprises two case studies in which each teacher taught two 7th grade classes. Analysis of classroom videotapes revealed that the opportunities to engage in argumentative activity with the topic investigating algebraic expressions were similar in each teacher's two classes. By contrast, substantial differences were found between one teacher's classes with regard to the opportunities to engage in argumentative activity with the topic equivalence of algebraic expressions. The discussion highlights how the interplay between the characteristics of the mathematical topic, the characteristics of the class, and the characteristics of the teacher contributed to the shaping of students’ opportunities to engage in argumentative activity.     

Context-based learning in the middle years: achieving resonance between the real-world field and environmental science concepts

ABSTRACT

There is growing interest in how to engage middle school students in science to improve their enthusiasm for science and to arrest the decline in uptake in the senior years. Also, there is interest in improving students’ application of science to real-life situations, a requirement for international tests. One approach that offers hope for improving students’ connections between concepts and context is the context-based approach. Context-based units that connect canonical science with the real-world of the student’s local community have been trialled in the senior years but are new in the middle years. Research in senior classes has shown that students who were taught through a context-based approach demonstrated fluid transitions between the context and concepts in written work and student-student conversations. In the current ethnographic study we built on our previous work and investigated how students make connections between the environmental science concepts and the context of the weekly visits to the local creek. Students were immersed in the real-world context by completing an 11-week environmental science unit that required assessment of the health of a creek. Two assertions emerged; firstly, student-student conversations at the creek afforded students the opportunity for interconnections between environmental science concepts and the context (defined as resonance); and secondly, students’ written reports about the health of the creek demonstrated resonance. Furthermore, group work encouraged students the agency to complete sets of tasks that privileged visually obvious environmental science concepts such as pollution, identification of plants/animals or turbidity/flow rate.     

Learning of argumentation skills in networked and face-to-face environments

In a teaching experiment 16 face-to-face and 11 e-mailFinnish university students studied academic debatingin an argumentation course. The 19 students of thecontrol group did not engage in the course. The courseinvolved two lectures, exercises with argumentativetexts, and face-to-face or e-mail seminar discussionsbased on these texts. Free debate, role play,problem-solving and panel discussion were the devicesused in organizing the course. The level of thestudents' argumentation skills were measured in apretest before the course and in a post-test after it.The results were compared between and within thegroups. The results indicated that during the e-mailstudies the students learned to identify and chooserelevant grounds, while the face-to-face studentsimproved in putting forward counterargumentation. Thecontrol group did not improve in these skills. Thestudy suggests that argumentation skills can bepromoted by short-term e-mail and face-to-faceteaching, and that practising argumentation indifferent learning environments develops differentkinds of argumentation skills.     

Creating opportunities for students in large cohorts to reflect in and on practice: Lessons learnt from a formative evaluation of students' experiences of a technology‐enhanced blended learning design

This paper examines BA Social Work students' experiences of developing their reflective skills to work with diverse communities using a technology‐enhanced blended learning design. In response to growing student numbers, new teaching and learning resources were developed to provide opportunities for students to engage in reflection‐in‐action at critical learning stages with the support of tutors and peers. It is suggested that access to online lectures, communications tools, a workbook (to record learning development) and online video case studies can encourage students to reflect‐on‐action, allowing them opportunities to reframe and reinterpret existing knowledge, values and beliefs to assess the impact these may have on their professional practice when working with diverse communities. To cater for an increase in student numbers, a rationale for the learning design is outlined, and the paper then explores the lessons learnt from the students' technology‐enhanced learning experiences.