Should students design or interact with models? Using the Bifocal Modelling Framework to investigate model construction in high school science

The Bifocal Modelling Framework (BMF) is an approach for science learning which links students’ physical experimentation with computer modelling in real time, focusing on the comparison of the two media. In this paper, we explore how a Bifocal Modelling implementation supported learning outcomes related to both content and metamodeling knowledge, focusing on the role of designing models. Our study consisted of three conditions implemented with a total of 69 9th grade high-school students. The first and second classes were assigned two implementation modes of BMF: with and without a model design module. The third condition, employed as a control, consisted of a class that received instruction in the school’s traditional approach. Our results indicate that students participating in both BMF implementations demonstrated improved content knowledge and a better understanding of metamodeling. However, only the ‘BMF-with-design’ group improved significantly in both content and metamodeling knowledge. Our qualitative analyses indicate that both BMF groups designed detailed models that included scientific explanations. However only students who engaged in the model design component: (1) completed a detailed model displaying molecular interaction; and (2) developed a critical perspective about models. We discuss the implications of those results for teaching scientific science concepts and metamodeling knowledge.     

Preservice Biology Teachers’ Conceptions About the Tentative Nature of Theories and Models in Biology

In research on the nature of science, there is a need to investigate the role and status of different scientific knowledge forms. Theories and models are two of the most important knowledge forms within biology and are the focus of this study. During interviews, preservice biology teachers (N = 10) were asked about their understanding of theories and models. They were requested to give reasons why they see theories and models as either tentative or certain constructs. Their conceptions were then compared to philosophers’ positions (e.g., Popper, Giere). A category system was developed from the qualitative content analysis of the interviews. These categories include 16 conceptions for theories (n _tentative = 11; n _certain  = 5) and 18 conceptions for models (n _tentative = 10; n _certain = 8). The analysis of the interviews showed that the preservice teachers gave reasons for the tentativeness or certainty of theories and models either due to their understanding of the terms or due to their understanding of the generation or evaluation of theories and models. Therefore, a variety of different terminology, from different sources, should be used in learning-teaching situations. Additionally, an understanding of which processes lead to the generation, evaluation, and refinement or rejection of theories and models should be discussed with preservice teachers. Within philosophy of science, there has been a shift from theories to models. This should be transferred to educational contexts by firstly highlighting the role of models and also their connections to theories.     

Using the “Indicators of Engaged Learning Online” Framework to Evaluate Online Course Quality

This article is a case study of the use of the Indicators of Engaged Learning Online (IELO) framework (See Appendix 1) as a guide to evaluate the quality of online courses. The framework lends itself well to measures of engagement, particularly, in terms of online course design because of its comprehensiveness. Six online courses were evaluated for quality in terms of engaged learning based on thirty indicators contained within the framework. Results ranged from a score of 21 to 71 out of a potential total score of 90. This 0–90 scale represented a continuum of passive to engaged learning. The purpose of the pilot study was to explore how the Indicators of Engaged Learning Online (IELO) framework could be used as a tool for evaluating the quality of online courses by instructional designers (IDs) and instructors. Insights into the practical use of the IELO framework and the need for improved guidelines for IDs and instructors as they assess the amount of student engagement designed in a course are provided. Recommendations for practice have implications for both aspects of engagement: how a course is designed and how it is delivered.     

Determining Virtual Environment “Fit”: The Relationship Between Navigation Style in a Virtual Field Trip, Student Self-Reported Desire to Visit the Field Trip Site in the Real World, and the Purposes of Science Education

In this study, a follow-up analysis of the data reported in Lin et al. (Learn Media Technol. doi: 10.1080/17439884.2011.629660, 2011), we investigated the relationship between student use of a virtual field trip (VFT) system and the probability of students reporting wanting to visit the national park site upon which the VFT was modeled, controlling for content knowledge and prior visits to the park. Students who were able to navigate the VFT in teams were more likely than their peers who had the system demonstrated by a teacher to want to visit the national park. In addition, students with higher pre-intervention content knowledge were more likely to want to visit the national park than their peers with lower pre-test scores, in both the teacher demonstration and student co-navigation conditions.     

Investigating the Links Between Students’ Learning Engagement and Modeling Competence in Computer-Supported Modeling-Based Activities

Journal of Science Education and Technology - The purpose of this study was to understand how students engage in computer-supported modeling-based activities (CSMBAs), and the relationship between...     

Challenging the Dichotomy Between “Urban” and “Suburban” in Educational Discourse and Policy

Abstract

This article builds a case for nuanced conceptualizations of “urban” and “-suburban” educational contexts and issues. The author analyzes data across two studies—one of upper-middle-class White parents with children in Chicago public schools, and the other of Black low-income and working-class parents who moved from Chicago to a Wisconsin suburb. The findings suggest that monolithic framings of urban and suburban educational issues and populations can mask patterns of inequality within and across particular locales.     

Using Animals to Teach Children Biology: Exploring the Use of Biological Explanations in Children’s Anthropomorphic Storybooks

Research Findings: Anthropomorphism—the attribution of human characteristics to nonhuman entities—has long been a staple of children’s media. However, children’s experiences with anthropomorphic media may interfere with biological reasoning instead encouraging an anthropocentric view of the natural world. To date, little research has addressed the typical content of children’s storybooks about animals: Do these storybooks present factual information that may support early developing biological reasoning, or do they instead focus on human-centered, psychological information that may encourage anthropocentrism? We analyzed the types of causal explanatory information that commercial storybooks about animals provide to children about 2 biological concepts that have been extensively studied in the experimental literature: biological inheritance and the transmission of illness. Using coding schemes similar to those used in prior experimental literature to assess preschool-age children’s biological reasoning, we found that none of the anthropomorphized books presented children with scientifically accurate causal mechanisms. These books focused almost exclusively on social-emotional experiences as opposed to biological explanations, which may inadvertently encourage anthropocentric reasoning. Practice or Policy: Understanding more about the content of informal sources of early learning can help inform educators on how to best support developing knowledge about the natural world and biological properties.     

Using Affinity Chromatography to Investigate Novel Protein–Protein Interactions in an Undergraduate Cell and Molecular Biology Lab Course

Inquiry-driven lab exercises require students to think carefully about a question, carry out an investigation of that question, and critically analyze the results of their investigation. Here, we describe the implementation and assessment of an inquiry-based laboratory exercise in which students obtain and analyze novel data that contribute to our understanding of macromolecular trafficking between the nucleus and cytoplasm in eukaryotic cells. Although many of the proteins involved in nucleocytoplasmic transport are known, the physical interactions between some of these polypeptides remain uncharacterized. In this cell and molecular biology lab exercise, students investigate novel protein–protein interactions between factors involved in nuclear RNA export. Using recombinant protein expression, protein extraction, affinity chromatography, SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and Western blotting, undergraduates in a sophomore-level lab course identified a previously unreported association between the soluble mRNA transport factor Mex67 and the C-terminal region of the yeast nuclear pore complex protein Nup1. This exercise immersed students in the process of investigative science, from proposing and performing experiments through analyzing data and reporting outcomes. On completion of this investigative lab sequence, students reported enhanced understanding of the scientific process, increased proficiency with cellular and molecular methods and content, greater understanding of data analysis and the importance of appropriate controls, an enhanced ability to communicate science effectively, and an increased enthusiasm for scientific research and for the lab component of the course. The modular nature of this exercise and its focus on asking novel questions about protein–protein interactions make it easily transferable to undergraduate lab courses performed in a wide variety of contexts.     

“Welcome to the Real World”: Navigating the Gap Between Best Teaching Practices and Current Reality

Preservice teachers sometimes experience a gap between best practices that they learn in teacher preparation programs and actual practices that they encounter in classrooms as student teachers. In this self-study, I investigate the gap between best and actual practices, as experienced by a university teacher educator who spent a year as a student teacher in a middle and high school English language arts program. Occupying the identities of a student, a student teacher, a teacher educator, and a researcher, I explored the gap from these multiple perspectives, with the intent of learning how to better support student teachers' development. My findings fall into three distinct phases: (1) In “Mind the gap,” I explain the dilemma I encountered as a student teacher. (2) In “Mine the gap,” I describe the process of exploring the nature and extent of this dilemma. (3) In “The gap is mine,” I analyze a shift in my understanding of where the gap is located. I then illustrate, in a series of short vignettes, the significant impact of that shift on my practice, both as a teacher and as a supervisor of student teachers, and how a core reflection approach to teacher education has supported me in that work. Finally, I discuss some broader practical implications for teacher education programs.     

Using Nikola Tesla’s Story and His Experiments as Presented in the Film “The Prestige” to Promote Scientific Inquiry: A Report of an Action Research Project

This paper reports on an action research project undertaken with the primary aim of investigating the extent to which situations that evoke a sense of wonder can promote scientific inquiry. Given the intense interest, curiosity, and wonder that some students had begun to develop after seeing the film The Prestige, a science teacher used this film, which showed Tesla’s demonstrations on the wireless transmission of electrical power, as a source of curiosity and wonder. The class that participated in this action research project was an 11^th grade class in a rural area of southern Greece. Through an analysis of students’ journals, observation, informal discussions, and paper-and-pencil tests, it was found that students (a) became involved with Tesla’s life and work, thus developing an interest in current electricity; (b) learned about the skin effect, the biological effects of AC and DC currents; and (c) better understood Ohm’s law in their attempt to find out the degree of damage or injury a certain measure of current can cause. Moreover, some students began to develop scepticism and open-mindedness, in addition to their sense of wonder. The paper also presents a planning framework for teaching the Tesla story.     

Using Cognitive Interviews to Explore the Many Different Meanings Undergraduate Students in China Attribute to the Term “College Teacher”

The cognitive interview method was applied to evaluate survey questions translated and adapted from a US-based college student survey instrument. This paper draws data from cognitive interviews with 45 undergraduate students in China and explores the different meanings they attribute to the term “college teacher.” Students understood college teacher as course instructor, academic advisor, class headteacher and counselor, student organization supervisor, and student service personnel. Students developed the understanding through a socialization process of student-teacher interaction. This paper also discusses the importance of using cognitive interviewing to improve questionnaire design, implications for research on student-teacher relationships, and suggestions on fostering student-teacher interaction in Chinese higher education institutions.     

Experiments with Industry's “Pair-Programming” Model in the Computer Science Classroom

Anecdotal evidence from several sources, primarily in industry, indicates that two programmers working collaboratively on the same design, algorithm, code, or test perform substantially better than the two working alone. Two courses taught at the University of Utah studied the use of this technique, often called pair-programming or collaborative programming, in the undergraduate computer science classroom. The students applied a positive form of “pair-pressure” on each other, which proved beneficial to the quality of their work products. The students also benefit from “pair-learning,” which allowed them to learn new languages faster and better than with solitary learning. The workload of the teaching staff is reduced because the students more often look to each other for technical support and advice.     

Lifelong Learning Between “East” and “West”: Confucianism and the Reflexive Project of the Self

Current theory, policy, and practice of lifelong learning are strongly influenced by ideas about the transformations that are taking place in contemporary societies. One influential set of ideas emphasizes that because of the rapid changes that are taking place in the (late-) modern world and because of the erosion of traditions, there is a constant need for individuals not only to learn new skills and knowledge in order to be able to adjust themselves to the changes, but also to reflexively (re)construct one’s self. Anthony Giddens has referred to this as the “reflexive project of the self.” It thus becomes a lifelong learning task. In this paper we raise some critical questions about Giddens’s views and their implications for lifelong learning. On the one hand we show, using ideas from Charles Taylor, that the construction of the self does not necessarily have to be understood in the reflexive and individualistic terms suggested by Giddens. With Taylor we argue for the importance of the social, moral, and intersubjective dimensions of the construction of the self. Against this background we then discuss ideas from Confucianism that also highlight the social, moral, and intersubjective dimensions of understanding the self. The latter view is not simply a theoretical option but actually continues to influence the ways in which a large part of the world population views their lives and their selves. Both for theoretical and practical reasons we therefore suggest that there is a need to take a broader outlook on what the personal dimensions of lifelong learning in contemporary society might look like.     

The Significance of Physical Education Content: “Sending the Message” in Physical Education Teacher Education

Mind-body dualism has likely influenced how many view human beings and their behavior—mind (i.e., thinking) is elevated over body (i.e., performing)—even in Physical Education Teacher Education. The problem is that such a perspective makes physical education content (i.e., dance, games, play, and sport) subsidiary to more “intellectual” or “academic” content. This article invites Physical Education Teacher Education faculty to consider how to effectively “send the message” to future physical educators that physical education content is valuable and respectable and in many ways epitomizes intelligent human behavior. Specifically, Physical Education Teacher Education faculty are invited to (a) challenge traditional definitions of intelligence and introduce alternative definitions, (b) participate regularly in their own playgrounds, (c) provide a sufficient dose of activity courses in their curricula, (d) teach activity courses, (e) establish a performance-oriented culture, and (f) administer performance and/or game play evaluations.     

Upper Secondary Students’ Understanding of the Use of Multiple Models in Biology Textbooks—The Importance of Conceptual Variation and Incommensurability

In this study we investigate students’ ability to discern conceptual variation and the use of multiple models in genetics when reading content-specific excerpts from biology textbooks. Using the history and philosophy of science as our reference, we were able to develop a research instrument allowing students themselves to investigate the occurrence of multiple models and conceptual variation in Swedish upper secondary textbooks. Two excerpts using different models of gene function were selected from authentic textbooks. Students were given the same questionnaire-instrument after reading the two texts, and the results were compared. In this way the students themselves made a classification of the texts which could then be compared with the researchers’ classification of the texts. Forty-one upper secondary students aged 18–19 participated in the study. Nine of the students also participated in semi-structured interviews. Students recognized the existence of multiple models in a general way, but had difficulty discerning the different models and the conceptual variation that occurs between them in the texts. Further they did not recognize the occurrence of incommensurability between multiple models. Students had difficulty in transforming their general knowledge of multiple models into an understanding of content specific models of gene function in the textbooks. These findings may have implications for students’ understanding of conceptual knowledge because research has established textbooks as one of the most influential aspects in the planning and execution of biology lessons, and teachers commonly assign reading passages to their students without further explanation.     

Use of the “Tree” Analogy in Evolution Teaching by Biology Teachers

This work discusses the use of Darwin’s ‘Tree of Life’ as a didactic analogy and metaphor in teaching evolution. It investigates whether biology teachers of pupils from 17 to 18 years old know Darwin’s text ‘Tree of Life’. In addition, it examines whether those teachers systematically employ either the analogies present in that text or other analogies between the tree and evolution, and whether they adopt a specific methodology for teaching with analogies and metaphors (A&M). The academic training of teachers regarding use of A&M is review briefly. A diagnostic study was carried out with biology teachers in a public school in the town of Contagem in the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil. The data were obtained through direct observation, questionnaires and a focus group. The teachers pointed out in the questionnaires that some details of Darwin’s analogy are utilized as a resource. However, analysis of the data indicates that the ‘Tree of Life’ text is not known or utilized in class. At the same time, the teachers state that they use aspects of the tree as a didactic resource to teach evolution and that its use facilitates the learning of content. The teachers have little knowledge of specific methodologies of teaching with analogies and metaphors, revealing that their training is incomplete in this area.     

“Betwixt and Between”: Leisure-time Teachers and the Construction of Professional Identities

In 2014, a newly formed group of teachers graduated from Swedish universities. In addition to their qualification as leisure-time pedagogues, their degree includes teaching practical/aesthetical subjects in compulsory school. This group of teachers thus has to relate to dual professional identities and to maintain a balance between the socially oriented leisure-time centres and a goal- and results-driven school. In this article we describe their first two years after graduation, trying to get hold of their negotiation of professional identities and orientation in the professional landscape. Results shows that the graduates try to balance own ideals and hybrid professional intentions against traditional professional identities and labour market conditions and that position in a liminal phase might be crucial for the outcome.