Is achievement in Australian chemistry gender based?

This paper compares the performances of female and male secondary students in the 1991 and 1992 Australian National Chemistry Quizzes. Male students consistently achieved a higher mean score in all Year groups (7 to 12), even though the numbers of female and male entrants were approximately equal. Implications for class tests and assessment tasks are addressed. Specializations: chemical education, environmental science. Specialization: chemical education Specializations: chemical education, analytical chemistry.     

Students' thinking in a chemistry laboratory

Despite the almost mandatory inclusion of a laboratory component in the school curriculum very little has been reported about the effects of laboratory instruction upon student learning and attitudes. The present study was undertaken to investigate the thinking of students in a chemistry laboratory. An interpretive research method was adopted in collecting and analysing data gathered from observations, general interviews and stimulated recall interviews. Four high school students were studied during their participation in a week-long university summer school program. This study reports how the four students responded differently to the same laboratory experience. Specializations: chemistry and biochemistry education, thinking in science and industry. Specializations: science education, teacher learning and preparation, teaching thinking.     

Determinants of the competence and confidence of teacher education students studying primary science education

Conclusion This study suggests that most students entering science or science education units in preservice primary teacher education courses have a positive attitude to the teaching/learning of primary science and see value in all domains of science for children at this stage. This was an unexpected finding. It was of concern however, that their interest in physical science topics was so low. This may be due to previous specific experiences in secondary science. Science and science education units should build on the positive attitudes of students and could develop physical science ideas through their significance in environmental and social problems. Specializations: science education, teacher education in science. Specializations: science education policy and practice, teacher education, school effectiveness.     

Developing networks of grass-roots science curriculum action

This paper describes an ongoing process of participatory curriculum development. It outlines some of the tensions which need to be explored in science curriculum development: debates about the nature of science, of society, of school science content and of learning theories. The process whereby action can arise from this debate is also explored. An example will be outlined of a network of science curriculum action which has developed from the work of a range of science education projects in Natal, South Africa. Specializations: science curriculum development from primary to tertiary level. Specializations: inservice primary science teacher development. Specializations: inservice teacher development, biology education. Specializations: environmental education, teacher development. Specializations: environmental education, teacher development.     

Teachers' perceptions of technology education: Implications for curriculum innovation

This paper describes research into teachers' perceptions of technology education carried out as part of the Learning in Technology Education Project. Thirty primary and secondary school teachers were interviewed. Secondary teachers interpreted technology education in terms of their subject subcultures as did some primary teachers. The primary teachers were also influenced by current initiatives, outside school interests and teaching programs. Specializations: investigations in science, science and technology education. Specializations: learning theories, history and philosophy of science, chemical education.     

A survey of pre-service primary teachers' experiences of science in schools

In 1990, a large proportion of third year primary trainee teachers at Victoria College had observed or taught very few or no science lessons during the first two years of their course. The students felt that a lack of content knowledge, a crowded school curriculum, and problems associated with managing resources and equipment, were the main factors contributing to the low level of science being taught in schools. By the end of their third year significantly more students had taught science than after the second year. There was also a change in approach to teaching science with more practical activities being included than previously. The science method unit taught to the students in the third year of their course contributed to this increase. The students considered the hands-on activities in class to have been the most effective aspect of the unit in their preparation for the teaching of primary science. Specializations: children's learning in science, primary teacher education. Specializations: student understanding of biology, evaluation of formal and informal educational settings. Specializations: gender, science and technology, environmental education. Specializations: children's learning in science, language and science.     

A college of science: Bridging the gap between school and university

Many tertiary institutions in South Africa have implemented schemes to help redress the unfair school educational system. This paper describes one such initiative to increase access and success of educationally disadvantaged students in science. The background of the College of Science and the success of its first intake of students is described with an emphasis on the physics component of the physical sciences course. Sixty six percent of the students passed all three courses in their first year with the most educationally disadvantaged showing the greatest gains. Specializations: physics education, language and communication. in science. Specializations: meta-cognition and conceptual development in physics, qualitative research in physics education.     

Changing primary teacher trainees' attitudes to science

A study of primary teacher trainees' perceptions and attitudes to science in 1990, has been useful in designing a semester unit aimed at increasing the confidence and interest of first year students at Victoria College. This paper outlines the background survey and discusses some, of the results and how they were used to develop the Professional Readiness Study-Understanding Science. This unit attempts to change attitudes by focussing on metacognition and encourages students to understand and control their own learning. Discussion involves teaching and learning strategies and alternative assessment approaches including the student's journal-the Personal Record. Specializations: technology for learning, health education. Specializations student understanding of biology, particularly genetics, evaluation. Specializations: children's learning in science, language in science.     

Students' learning in science lessons: towards understanding the learning process

Constructivist views of learning have been applied to science education largely as a response to attempts to understand the origins of students' misconceptions in science, and therefore the learning process. As part of this effort to understand learning in science lessons, Appleton (1989) proposed a learning model drawn mainly from Piagetian (1978) ideas and generative learning theory (Osborne & Wittrock, 1983). This paper explores the development and evolution of the learning model as other constructivist view were applied, and as the model was tested against students' responses in science lessons. The revised model finally arrived at is then examined. It was found to be a useful means of describing student's learning processes during a science lesson. Specializations: primary teacher education, teaching strategies in science, cognitive change and learning theories. Specializations: secondary science teacher education, chemical education.     

The graduate diploma in physics and education: A teacher training initiative

In Victoria, students intending to become physics teachers must choose to study physics in the final two years of high school, and then for at least two years at tertiary level. For those who have not taken this route there has been little access to the study of physics at a tertiary level and to a career in physics teaching. The Graduate Diploma in Physics and Education at La Trobe University offers graduates who have not studied physics as part of their undergraduate degree an opportunity to train as physics teachers. Implementation of the diploma has entailed a re-examination of the content and teaching style of undergraduate physics. In this paper, the course structure as a whole will be outlined and the physics taught as part of the diploma described. The preliminary results of the on-going course evaluation will be presented. Specializations: Physics education, gender and science teaching. Specializations: Physics education.     

First year university science-revisited

Specializations: transition to tertiary study, scientific literacy, chemical education.     

Children's interests in geology and biology

A study of students from a primary school and its local secondary school was conducted to investigate students' relative interests in geology and biology during the years prior to Year 10. Students from Years 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 were interviewed, using an innovative interview technique, and results show that interest in both subjects appears to be fairly evenly distributed throughout all years. This paper reports on the study conducted and illustrates the success of the interview technique developed to accommodate all students, especially those from younger year levels. Specializations: science teacher education, biology teacher education. Specializations: economic geology, mineralogy, geological education. Specializations: primary science education.     

Primary pre-service teachers' pedagogical reasoning skills

This paper discusses a preliminary investigation into primary pre-service teachers' pedagogical reasoning skills. Results from this investigation led to the development of a problem-based learning model which focused on improving primary pre-service teachers' pedagogical reasoning skills. The problem-based learning model uses pedagogical reasoning as the basis for creating problem situations for the pre-service teachers to investigate. The paper reports on pre-service teachers' views on the use of the approach to improve their pedagogical reasoning skills. Specializations: science teacher education, learning in science, chemistry education. Specializations: student learning, conceptual change, technology education, curriculum evaluation.     

How can we find out what 3 and 4 year olds think? New approaches to eliciting very young children's understandings in science

This paper outlines work in progress on a study which is investigating what children understand about natural and processed materials and how scientific learning on the topic could be extended and reinforced in the home. Four different interview schedules for eliciting children's understanding were developed and tried out. Children's understandings prior to each of the four units, and at the conclusion of the teaching program were documented through individual interviews. Family interviews were also conducted prior to and at the conclusion to the teaching. In this paper the difficulties associated with researching young children's thinking are explored. The rationale for a storytelling context for the interviews is presented, and there is a preliminary discussion on the effectiveness of the methodology utilised. Specializations: early childhood science education; the Curriculum Corporation K-3 Science Program. Specializations: primary science education, teacher education in science, adult experiences of science and technology; the K-3 Science Program.     

Assessing the psychosocial environment of science classes in Catholic secondary schools

Much Catholic school and church rhetoric suggests that Catholic schools possess distinctive learning environments. Research into this aspect of Catholic schooling has been hampered by the lack of an appropriate assessment instrument. By drawing on contemporary church literature, the perceptions of personnel involved in Catholic education and existing classroom environment questionnaires, a new instrument was developed to assess student perceptions of classroom psychosocial environment in Catholic schools. The use of this instrument in 64 classrooms in Catholic and Government schools indicated significant differences on some scales. The distinctive nature of Catholic schooling did not extend to all classroom environment dimensions deemed important to Catholic education. Specializations: Catholic education, learning environments. Specializations: conceptual change in students, science teacher professional development, scientific reasoning, learning environments. Specializations: learning environments, science education, educational evaluation, curriculum.     

Chemistry concepts and group cognitive structure: A study of undergraduate nursing students

The long term aim of this study is to document changes in the nature and level of conceptual understanding revealed by a cohort of undergraduate nursing students. The outcome of such a study may be used in future review and redesign processes by curriculum planners. Conceptual understanding of physiology and pharmacology, areas which are central to nursing studies depends, in turn, on an understanding of certain chemical concepts. This paper describes the group cognitive structure of 60 first year preservice nursing students, with respect to 21 basic chemistry concepts. Group cognitive structure is represented by non-metric multidimensional scaling of data obtained from individual concept maps prepared by students. The impact of prior studies in chemistry on the level of understanding revealed is discussed. Specializations: Cognition and science education, behavioural ecology and ethology.     

Primary science education: Views from three Australian States

This paper reports an empirical study of science education in Australian primary schools. The data show that, while funding is seen as a major determinant of what is taught and how it is taught, teacher-confidence and teacher-knowledge are also important variables. Teachers are most confident with topics drawn from the biological sciences, particularly things to do with plants. With this exception there is no shared body of science education knowledge that could be used to develop a curriculum for science education. There was evidence that most teachers see a need for a hands-on approach to primary science education involving the use of concrete materials. A substantial proportion of teachers agree that some of the problems would be alleviated by having a set course together with simple, prepared kits containing sample learning experiences. Any such materials must make provision for individual teachers to capitalise on critical teaching incidents as they arise and must not undermine the professional pride that teachers have in their work. Specializations: science education, school effectiveness, teacher education Specializations: science education, teacher education in science     

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.     

VCE chemistry as a curriculum innovation

Conclusion The difficulty of sharing meaning of curriculum intentions between different groups is highlighted in this study. The acceptance of the novel features of the Chemistry Study Design is mixed. The longitudinal nature of the study helped to identify the difficulty teachers had in understanding the meaning of these novel features although the experiences of teaching units in the VCE chemistry course have enabled some teachers to shift in their construction of the meaning of the words and messages around them. Specializations: chemistry and science education, technology and industry links with sicence in schools. Specializations: science and technology curriculum, environmental education, educational disadvantage. Specializations: curriculum change, science career paths. Specializations: science education, computers in schools.     

Students' understanding of concepts related to plant growth

This paper reports on an investigation into students' understanding of the concept of plant growth. There are three aspects to the research. First, responses of Australian primary students to questions concerning plant growth are compared with those identified in British research (Russell & Watt, 1990). Second, the answers of secondary students, Year 7-Year 12, to questions concerning plant growth were analysed and common categories of responses were identified. Finally, the response categories were considered within the framework offered by the SOLO Taxonomy of Biggs and Collis (1982, 1991). In particular, interest was focused on whether the findings of an earlier study (Levins, 1992) in which cycles of development in the understandings of the concept of evaporation were established, might be observed in the concept of plant growth. Specializations secondary science curriculum, biology and chemistry teacher education. Specializations secondary mathematics curriculum topics, the SOLO Taxonomy, student cognitive growth.