Understanding the nature of science: A comparison of scientists and science teachers

Interpreting science in the culture is coming to be the responsibility of a science teacher. The author finds that some neophytes are prepareil.     

Undergraduate research experience for future science teachers: A first effort

Conclusion As a means of providing some insights into the research activity for future science teachers, the project was a qualified success. Throughout its inception and implementation there remained an uneasy compromise between conducting a piece of worthwhile research and providing the maximum possible range of experiences for the students undertaking the subject. The experience undoubtedly was valuable for the students, it provided them with insights which served as the bases for developing individual research proposals, for the evaluation of a curriculum change in a secondary school. In general, through, the scope of the project was too ambitious for the time that was available and this led to a feeling of frustration, if not in the students, certainly in the authors. The investigation itself suffered from obvious limitations which have been discussed above. However, the gains observed in favour of the class using SCIS materials are congruent with those identified by a four-year longitudinal study conducted by Renner et al. (1973) and suggest that a more rigorous investigation is warranted. It may be possible to engage our under-graduate students in a longitudinal study of the effectiveness of SCIS by involving different groups at different stages of the project. We believe that the first attempt has shown that it is a worthwhile component of pre-service teacher education.     

An in-depth study of a teacher engaged in an innovative primary science trial professional development project

The implementation of effective science programmes in primary schools is of continuing interest and concern for professional developers. As part of the Australian Academy of science's approach to creating an awareness ofPrimary Investigations, a project team trialed a series of satellite television broadcasts of lessons related to two units of the curriculum for Year 3 and 4 children in 48 participating schools. The professional development project entitledSimply Science, included a focused component for the respective classroom teachers, which was also conducted by satellite. This paper reports the involvement of a Year 4 teacher in the project and describes her professional growth. Already an experienced and confident teacher, no quantitative changes in science teaching self efficacy were detected. However, her pedagogical content knowledge and confidence to teach science in the concept areas of matter and energy were enhanced. Changes in the teacher's views about the co-operative learning strategies espoused byPrimary Investigations were also evident. Implications for the design of professional development programmes for primary science teachers are discussed.     

Checklist for assessment of science teachers and its use in a science preservice teacher education project

The purposes of this study were to develop instruments to assess the nature of student-teacher relations and classroom activities, and the personal adjustment of preservice science teachers in two concurrent programs and to see if the two groups differed significantly in the three areas measured by the Checklist for Assessment of Science Teachers (CAST). The CAST was completed by university supervisors, cooperating teachers, and classroom pupils in terms of 92 secondary student teachers at the completion of three student teaching quarters. Multivariate analysis of variance was used to detect differences between treatment groups. The major differences between the two groups of science student teachers were the types of classroom activities used and the nature of their student-teacher (teacher-pupil) relations.     

依托科研项目,建设环境监测创新实验

在对本科生的培养过程中,将环境监测科研项目与环境科技创新实验进行有机整合,大学生的实践能力和创新能力都得到了明显提高.     

Key competencies and characteristics for innovative teaching among secondary school teachers: a mixed-methods research

This research aims to understand the key competencies and characteristics for innovative teaching as perceived by Chinese secondary teachers. A mixed-methods research was used to investigate secondary teachers’ views. First, a qualitative study was conducted with interviews of teachers to understand the perceived key competencies and characteristics for innovative teaching among Chinese secondary teachers. Seventeen characteristics were identified underlying four key competencies that were perceived critical for innovative teaching. Secondly, an instrument was developed in order to validate the identified key competencies and characteristics and to measure teachers’ perceived importance of the key competencies and characteristics for innovative teaching. A total of 325 secondary teachers participated in the survey. The results show that the four-factor model of key competencies for innovative teaching was validated and the importance level of the perceived characteristics was also identified. This research has theoretical and practical significance with regard to the development of competence-based teacher education programs.     

Images of science teaching: An exploration of the beliefs of preservice secondary science teachers

Science graduates who enrol in a preservice Graduate Diploma of Education bring with them many years of experience as learners of science. These will have enabled them to develop implicit theories about what a science teacher is and does. Such implicit theories almost certainly affect the process of becoming a teacher, and may prove persistent despite the input from University and school during the Dip. Ed. year and beyond. This paper presents the research method and results obtained from a group of graduates on entry to their Diploma course. Concept maps and Repertory Grid interviews were obtained from eleven graduates, with varying life experiences. The paper presents analyses of these and explores emerging themes. Specializations: reflective teaching, general science and biology, curriculum and assessment.     

The response of pre-service teachers to a compulsory research project

This paper draws on 159 survey responses of fourth year Education students as they embark on a research project based in their internship school. The project explores predisposition to research and the level of preparedness to undertake a research project. The students who met most frequently with their supervisor and showed higher research self-efficacy were also most likely to want to undertake postgraduate study and reacted positively to good personal support and a feeling of belonging to a research “community”. Many felt they were “unconnected” to a learning community, and specifically to their supervisor. They were generally positive about their ability to do the tasks, such as finding and writing up literature, even though they were concerned about managing the overall commitment. Despite this they were optimistic about completion. Only 5% were sure they would undertake postgraduate study in the future, and 65% were sure they would not do so. In an environment where there is commitment to promoting research skills consistent with the needs of a knowledge society and drawing on evidence to inform practice, the findings not only raise the question of how best to support and give meaning to early research endeavours of preservice teachers, but also highlights the challenge of achieving this against a high level of disinterest in further tertiary study.     

The relationship between science process abilities of teachers and science achievement of students: An experimental study

The objective of this experimental study is to investigate the relationships among science teacher characteristics and student outcomes. The selected characteristics of teachers are their understanding of science processes and their ability to control variables, and the outcomes of students are the achievement in science contents and processes. The results support the hypothesized relationships and show that the teacher ability to control variables is a more valuable characteristic than the understanding of science processes for student achievement. Conclusions are drawn about the implications for the education of science teachers.     

Classroom environment in the implementation of an innovative curriculum project in science education

A curriculum project can be positively or negatively influenced by the environment of the classroom in which it is implemented. Analysis of the perceptions of students, teachers, and external observers has allowed us to study the influence of classroom environment in the implementation of an innovative project in science education. The main conclusions indicate that even though the global evaluation is positive, more so among teachers than among students, there are differences between the perceptions of the participants, probably due to differences in interests and needs. Moreover, in the classroom environment, the teacher and the actual dynamic and spatial organization are of great importance, and it can be difficult to maintain interest or to achieve a satisfactory evaluation on the part of those students whose academic performance is lowest. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 35: 655–671, 1998.     

The scientists: an experiment in science teaching

In an attempt to provide school science students with an appreciation and understanding of the work of scientists and the nature of scientific discovery, a project called ‘The Scientists’ was set up. The project is concerned with the development of curriculum materials which include biographies of scientists, instruction manuals and materials for carrying out experiments. The scope and nature of this project are briefly described.     

创新型教师的素质及其培养

创新是民族进步的灵魂,是时代特征的反映,是教育改革的需要。知识经济时代,需要以创新型人才作基础,而创新型人才的培养依靠创新教育,创新教育的实施在于创新型教师。因此,阐述创新型教师的内涵以及创新型教师的基本素质,分析培养创新型教师的途径,具有重要的理论意义和现实意义。     

Persuading teachers to reexamine the innovative elementary science programs of yesterday: The effect of anecdotal versus data-summary communications

Two anecdotal and two data-summary communications were prepared to test the effect of the communications on preservice teachers' attitudes toward supplementing traditional, textbook-based science programs with either SAPA or SCIS. The results of the investigation in which the communications were used indicate that communications of an anecdotal nature were more effective than data-summary communications in changing the attitudes of preservice elementary teachers. Also, attitudes changed by anecdotal communications were found to be less susceptible to dissipation than those changed by data-summary communications.     

法学研究生创新能力培养研究

法学研究生创新能力培养的目标是:不仅具有扎实的理论功底,而且具有高度的社会责任感,具有很强协同性、实践性和适应性的优秀法律人才。笔者针对当前法学研究生培养的现状,提出了为实现以上目标而应采取的具体措施。