Prediction/discussion-based learning cycle versus conceptual change text: comparative effects on students’ understanding of genetics

Background and purpose:

The purpose of this study was to investigate the comparative effects of a prediction/discussion-based learning cycle (HPD-LC), conceptual change text (CCT) and traditional instruction on 10th grade students’ understanding of genetics concepts.

Sample:

Participants were 112 10th basic grade male students in three classes of the same school located in an urban area. The three classes taught by the same biology teacher were randomly assigned as a prediction/discussion-based learning cycle class (n?=?39), conceptual change text class (n?=?37) and traditional class (n?=?36).

Design and method:

A quasi-experimental research design of pre-test–post-test non-equivalent control group was adopted. Participants completed the Genetics Concept Test as pre-test–post-test, to examine the effects of instructional strategies on their genetics understanding. Pre-test scores and Test of Logical Thinking scores were used as covariates.

Results:

The analysis of covariance showed a statistically significant difference between the experimental and control groups in the favor of experimental groups after treatment. However, no statistically significant difference between the experimental groups (HPD-LC versus CCT instruction) was found.

Conclusions:

Overall, the findings of this study support the use of the prediction/discussion-based learning cycle and conceptual change text in both research and teaching. The findings may be useful for improving classroom practices in teaching science concepts and for the development of suitable materials promoting students’ understanding of science.     

Student leadership in small group science inquiry

Background: Science educators have sought to structure collaborative inquiry learning through the assignment of static group roles. This structural approach to student grouping oversimplifies the complexities of peer collaboration and overlooks the highly dynamic nature of group activity.

Purpose: This study addresses this issue of oversimplification of group dynamics by examining the social leadership structures that emerge in small student groups during science inquiry.

Sample: Two small student groups investigating the burning of a candle under a jar participated in this study.

Design and method: We used a mixed-method research approach that combined computational discourse analysis (computational quantification of social aspects of small group discussions) with microethnography (qualitative, in-depth examination of group discussions).

Results: While in one group social leadership was decentralized (i.e., students shared control over topics and tasks), the second group was dominated by a male student (centralized social leadership). Further, decentralized social leadership was found to be paralleled by higher levels of student cognitive engagement.

Conclusions: It is argued that computational discourse analysis can provide science educators with a powerful means of developing pedagogical models of collaborative science learning that take into account the emergent nature of group structures and highly fluid nature of student collaboration.     

Assessment of electrochemical concepts: a comparative study involving senior high-school students in Indonesia and Japan

This study investigated Indonesian and Japanese senior high-school students’ understanding of electrochemistry concepts.

Sample

The questionnaire was administered to 244 Indonesian and 189 Japanese public senior high-school students.

Design and methods

An 18-item multiple-choice questionnaire relating to five conceptual categories (reactions occurring during electrolysis, differences between electrolytic and voltaic cells, movement of ions in voltaic cells, poles in voltaic cells, voltaic cell reactions) was administered.

Results

The findings of this study show that difficulties and alternative conceptions previously reported in the literature are held equally by students from a developing and developed country, Indonesian and Japan respectively.

Conclusions

Collectively, the findings suggest that students’ understanding of electrochemistry concepts is relatively weak. Students from both samples shared common difficulties and displayed several alternative conceptions dealing with electrolysis, electricity flow, the voltaic cell and the electrode reactions. Not surprisingly, the students displayed limited consistency in understanding of the concepts in the five categories. This study has implications for teaching and learning, particularly in classroom discussions using models and computer animations in order to reinforce understanding at the sub-microscopic level.     

Reviews and Update

Books reviewed:

Bleach, K. Raising Boys’ Achievement in Schools

Farrant, Ann Sibling Bereavement: Helping Children Cope with Loss

Mallon, Brenda Helping Children to Manage Loss: Positive Strategies for Renewal and Growth

Calvert, Mike and Henderson, Jenny (eds) Managing Pastoral Care

Holden, Cathie and Clough, Nick (eds) Children as Citizens: Education for Participation     

Emotional Intensity in Gifted Students: Helping Kids Cope With Explosive Feelings

Making Connections: Teaching and the Human Brain Renate Nummela Caine and Geoffrey Caine Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) 1250 N. Pitt St. Alexandria, VA 22314–1403 1991 $15.95 paper

Restructuring Schooling for Individual Differences William M Bechtol and Juanita S. Sorenson Allyn and Bacon 111 10th St. Des Moines, IA 50309 1992 448 pp. $39.95

You Can't Say You Can't Play Vivian Gussin Paley Harvard University Press 79 Garden St. Cambridge, MA 02138 1992 144 pp. $10.00

Challenging the Potential: Programs for Disadvantaged Talented Youth Sherri Oden, Mario Kelley, Zhenkui Ma, David Weikart High/Scope Press 600 N. River St. Ypsilanti, MI 48198–2890 1991 400 pp. $29.00

Creative Thinking Problem‐Solving and the Arts Orientation John F. Wakefield Ablex Publishing Corporation 355 Chestnut St; Norwood, NJ 07648 1992 $22.50     

Resumens

Abstract

Interpretatión y educación ambiental no formal en el manejo de los recursos naturales. E. C. Olson, Mary Lynne Bowman, Robert E. Roth

Procesos cognitivos relacionados con la interpretación del ambiente William E. Hammitt

Demandas interpretativas del medio ambiente en la República Dominicana Clinton L. Shepard

Influencias en el recreo comercial en los ríos David Cockrell, Steve Bange, y Joseph Roggenbuck

Evaluación directa: Un medio administrativo para la justifacación, evolución y modificación de programas Paul F. Nowak

Beneficios económicos para los visitantes de un puesto de información interpretativa Ted T. Cable, Douglas M. Knudson, y David J. Stewart     

High-throughput sequencing identifies salivary microbiota in Chinese caries-free preschool children with primary dentition

Objectives: The study aimed at identifying salivary microbiota in caries-free Chinese preschool children using highthroughput sequencing. Methods: Saliva samples were obtained from 35 caries-free preschool children(18 boys and 17 girls)with primary dentition, and 16 S ribosomal DNA(r DNA) V3–V4 hypervariable regions of the microorganisms were analyzed using Illumina MiSeq. Results: At 97% similarity level, all of these reads were clustered into 334 operational taxonomic units(OTUs). Among these, five phyla(Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Candidate division TM7) and13 genera(Streptococcus, Rothia, Granulicatella, Prevotella, Enterobacter, Veillonella, Neisseria, Staphylococcus, Janthinobacterium, Pseudomonas, Brevundimonas, Devosia, and Gemella) were the most dominant, constituting 99.4% and 89.9% of the salivary microbiota, respectively. The core salivary microbiome comprised nine genera(Actinomyces, Capnocytophaga, Gemella,Granulicatella, Lachnoanaerobaculum, Neisseria, Porphyromonas, Rothia, and Streptococcus). Analysis of microbial diversity and community structure revealed a similar pattern between male and female subjects. The difference in microbial community composition between them was mainly attributed to Neisseria(P=0.023). Furthermore, functional prediction revealed that the most abundant genes were related to amino acid transport and metabolism. Conclusions: Our results revealed the diversity and composition of salivary microbiota in caries-free preschool children, with little difference between male and female subjects.Identity of the core microbiome, coupled with prediction of gene function, deepens our understanding of oral microbiota in cariesfree populations and provides basic information for associating salivary microecology and oral health.     

Resources In Review

Abstract

The RFF Reader in Environmental Science and Resource Management , edited by Wallace E. Oates. Washington, DC: Resources for the Future. 1999. Paperback. $22.95. ISBN 0-915707-96-9.

Science through Multiple Intelligences: Patterns that Inspire Inquiry , by Robert Barkman. Tucson, AZ: Zephyr Press, Inc. 1999. Paperback. 165 pages. $39.00. ISBN 1-56976-096-9.

Earth Report 2000: Revisiting the True State of the Planet , edited by Ronald Bailey. New York: McGraw-Hill. 2000. Paperback. 362 pages. $19.95. ISBN 0-07-134260-5.

Hard Green: Saving the Environment from the Environmentalists (A Conservative Manifesto) , by Peter Huber. New York: Basic Books. 1999. Hardcover. $25.00. ISBN 0-468-03112-9.

Song of the Meadowlark , by James Eggert. Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press. 1999. Paperback. 145 pages. $12.95. ISBN 1-58008-034-0.

The Greening of Planet Earth: The Effects of Carbon Dioxide on the Biosphere , Greening Earth Society, 4301 Wilson Blvd., Suite 805, Arlington, VA 22203-4193; tel. 703-907-6168; fax 703-907-6161; info@greeningearthsociety.org. 1992. Color. 27 min 50 s. $15.00.

The Greening of Planet Earth Continues: The Promise for the 21st Century & Beyond , Greening Earth Society. 1998. Color. 27 min 30 s. $15.00 (or both for $25.00).

Nature's Nation: An Environmental History of the United States , by John Opie. New York: Harcourt Brace and Company. 1998. Paperback. 515 pages. ISBN 0-15-500219-8.

Visions of Paradise: Glimpses of Our Landscape's Legacy , by John Warfield Simpson. Berkeley: University of California Press. 1999. Clothbound. 387 pages. $35.00. ISBN 0-520-21364-5.

Beyond the Land Ethic: More Essays in Environmental Philosophy , by J. Baird Callicott. Albany: State University of New York Press. 1999. Paperback. 427 pp. $24.95. ISBN 0-7914-4084-2.

The Morning After Earth Day , by Mary Graham. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press. 1999. Hardcover, 153 pages. ISBN 0-8157-3236-8.

Natural Resource Management and Institutional Change , by Diana Carney and John Farrington. New York: Routledge. 1998. Hardback. 120 pages. $60.00. ISBN 0-415-18604-8.

Green Ink: An Introduction to Environmental Journalism , by Michael Frome. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press. 1998. Paperback. 204 pages. $19.95. ISBN 0-87480-582-1.     

Facilitating the learning process in design-based learning practices: an investigation of teachers’ actions in supervising students

Background: In research on design-based learning (DBL), inadequate attention is paid to the role the teacher plays in supervising students in gathering and applying knowledge to design artifacts, systems, and innovative solutions in higher education.

Purpose: In this study, we examine whether teacher actions we previously identified in the DBL literature as important in facilitating learning processes and student supervision are present in current DBL engineering practices.

Sample: The sample (N=16) consisted of teachers and supervisors in two engineering study programs at a university of technology: mechanical and electrical engineering. We selected randomly teachers from freshman and second-year bachelor DBL projects responsible for student supervision and assessment.

Design and method: Interviews with teachers, and interviews and observations of supervisors were used to examine how supervision and facilitation actions are applied according to the DBL framework.

Results: Major findings indicate that formulating questions is the most common practice seen in facilitating learning in open-ended engineering design environments. Furthermore, other DBL actions we expected to see based upon the literature were seldom observed in the coaching practices within these two programs.

Conclusions: Professionalization of teachers in supervising students need to include methods to scaffold learning by supporting students in reflecting and in providing formative feedback.     

Résumés

Abstract

La simulation de l'ordinateur comme un outil de l'éducation de gestion du pare Robert E. Manning and Fletcher I. Potter

Un jeu d'interaction pour examiner les échanges entre les valeurs économiques et écologiques Paul J. Rago

Modèles d'integration dans la planification et décisions de l'environement David Clinton Kyler

La participation de la communauté dans la gestion des déchets dangereux: Une comparison entre une visite sur-site et une visite simulée Deborah Anne Simmons

Le développement et la conservation des attitudes vers l'environement des élèves des écoles primaires Harold H. Jaus

Une comparison entre l'attitude des étudiants américains et non-américains vers l'issue de l'environement physique A. Doyne Horsley     

Résumés

Abstract

La methode explicative et l'éducation écologique non formalisée en malière de gestion des ressources naturelles E. C. Olson, Mary Lynne Bowman, et Robert E. Roth

La familiarisation et la compréhension de l'environment William E. Hammitt

La tǎche de l'éducation écologique en République Dominicaine Clinton L. Shepard

La persuasion et la formation des attitudes dans les activités fluviales organisées David Cockrell, Steve Bange, Joseph Roggenbuck

L'évaluation directe: un instrument de gestion permettant las justification, l'évaluation et la modification de programmes Paul F. Nowak

Les bénéfices économiques réalisés par les visiteurs d'un centre d'information Ted T. Cable, Douglas M. Knudson, David J. Stewart     

‘It didn’t really change my opinion’: exploring what works,what doesn’t and why in a school science,technology, engineering and mathematics careers intervention

Background: It is widely agreed that more needs to be done to improve participation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Despite considerable investment in interventions, it has been difficult to discern their effectiveness and/or impact on participation.

Purpose: This paper discusses findings from a six-week pilot STEM careers intervention that was designed and overseen by a teacher from one London girls’ school. We reflect on the challenges for those attempting such interventions and the problems associated with evaluating them.

Sample: Data were collected from Year 9 students (girls aged 13–14 years) at the school.

Design and methods: Pre- and post-intervention surveys of 68 students, classroom observations of intervention activities, three post-intervention discussion groups (five or six girls per group) and a post-intervention interview with the lead teacher were conducted.

Results: Although the intervention did not significantly change students’ aspirations or views of science, it did appear to have a positive effect on broadening students’ understanding of the range of jobs that science can lead to or be useful for.

Conclusions: Student aspirations may be extremely resistant to change and intervention, but students’ understanding of ‘where science can lead’ may be more amenable to intervention. Implications are discussed, including the need to promote the message that science is useful for careers in and beyond science, at degree and technical levels.     

Resumens

Abstract

Simulación en computadores como una herramienta en la enseñanza de parques y manejo de zonas de vida salvaje Robert E. Manning and Fletcher I. Potter

Un juego de interacción para examinar el cambio entre valores económicos ecológicos Paul J. Rago

La comunidad se integra en el manejo de desperdicios peligrosos: Comparación entre una visita a la zona y una visita simulada con transparenias Deborah Anne Simmons

El desarrollo y la retención de las actitudes ambientales en niños de la escuela primaria. Harold H. Jaus

Una comparación entre estudiantes americanos y no americanos respecto a las actitudes del medio físico. A. Doyne Horsley     

The Teaching Principal is a Supervising Principal

Educational Wastelands (second edition) by Arthur Bestor. Urbana, Ill.: University of Illinois Press, 1985, 292 pp.

In the Company of Educated Women: A History of Women and Higher Education in America by Barbara Miller Solomon. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1985, 298 pp. hardcover

Curriculum and Aims by Decker F. Walker and Jonas F. Soltis. New York: Teachers College Press, 1986, 716 pp., softcover.

The Duke Longitudinal Studies of Normal Aging 1955-1980 by Ewald W. Busse and George L Maddox. New York: Springer Publishing Co., 1985, 168 pp.,     

Review: Approaches to educational psychology‐some recent textbooks

Blair, G. M., Jones, R. S., and Simpson, R. H., Educational Psychology (4^th Ed.). New York: Macmillan, 1975. 624 pages. $8.95

Craig, R. C., Mehrens, W. H., and Clarizio, H. F., Contemporary Educational Psychology: Concepts, Issues, Applications. New York: Wiley, 1975. 558 pages. $9.95

Gage, N. L., and Berliner, D. C., Educational Psychology. Chicago: Rand McNally, 1975. 869 pages. $9.95

Lefrancois, G., Psychology for Teaching (2nd Ed.). Belmont, Cal.: Wadsworth, 1975. 372 pages. $7.95

Packard, R. G., Psychology of Learning and Instruction. Columbus, Ohio: Merrill, 1975. 480 pages. $9.95

Smith, M. D., Educational Psychology and its Classroom Applications. Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 1975. 574 pages. $9.95     

A Design for Teaching a New Land Ethic to Junior High Students

Abstract

Water: Sacred and Profaned , Bayland Productions. Palo Alto, CA: Foundation for Global Community. 1998. 27 minutes. Videotape (closed captioned). $20.00 plus $4.00 shipping and handling. ISBN 0-9638679-9-7.

Interactive Earth: A Global Learning Tool. WorldLink Media. San Francisco: Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley. 1997. CD-ROM with User's Guide. $89.95.

Vital Signs 1998: The Environmental Trends That Are Shaping Our Future , edited by Lester R. Brown, Michael Rentier, and Christopher Flavin. New York: Norton. 1998. Paperback. 204 pages. $12.00. ISBN 0-393-31762-5.

The Coming Age of Scarcity: Preventing Mass Death and Genocide in the Twenty-first Century , edited by Michael N. Dobkowski and Isidor Wallimann. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press. 1998. Paperback. $34.95. ISBN 0-8516-2744-0.

Exploring Ecology and Its Applications: Readings From American Scientist, edited by Peter Kareiva. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates. 1998. Paperback. $24.95. ISBN 0-87893-414-6.

Refraining Deforestation: Global Analysis and Local Realities: Studies in West Africa , by James Fairhead and Melissa Leach. London, United Kingdom: Routledge. 1998. Paperback. 238 pp. $22.99. ISBN 0-415-18591-2.

Greening the Ivory Tower: Improving the Environmental Track Record of Universities, Colleges, and Other Institutions , by Sarah Hammond Creighton. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. 1998. Paperback. 337 pp. $25.00. ISBN 0-262-53151-8.     

Book reviews

Levine, J. (1999). The Enneagram intelligences: Understanding personality for effective teaching and learning. Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey (320 pp., $24.95, cloth, ISBN‐O‐89789‐ 562–2; $59.95 hardcover, ISBN‐0–89789–561–4).

Jacobsen, M. (1999) Liberating everyday genius: Revolutionary guide for identifying and mastering your exceptional gifts . NY: Ballantine Books. (399 pp., $25.00 hb, ISBN‐0–345–42771–8).

Cline, S., & Schwartz, D. (1999). Diverse populations of gifted children: Meeting their needs in the regular classroom and beyond. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill (207 pp., $ paper, ISBN 0–13–399908–4).

Johnson, N.G., Roberts, M.C., & Worell, J., Eds. (1999). Beyond appearance: A new look at adolescent girls. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association (408 pp., $39.95 hb, ISBN‐1–55798–582–0).