Conceptual Versus Algorithmic Problem-solving: Focusing on Problems Dealing with Conservation of Matter in Chemistry

The students?? performance in various types of problems dealing with the conservation of matter during chemical reactions has been investigated at different levels of schooling. The participants were 499 ninth grade (ages 14, 15 years) and 624 eleventh grade (ages 16, 17 years) Greek students. Data was collected using a written questionnaire concerning basic chemical concepts. Results of statistical factor and correlation analysis confirmed the classification of the problems used in three types: ??algorithmic-type??, ??particulate-type??, and ??conceptual-type??. All the students had a far better performance in ??particulate-type?? problems than in the others. Although students?? ability in solving ??algorithmic-type?? problem increases as their school experience in chemistry progresses, their ability in solving ??conceptual-type?? problems decreases. Students?? achievement in chemistry was measured by a Chemical Concepts Test (CCT) containing 57 questions of various forms. High-achievement students scored higher both on ??algorithmic-type?? and ??particulate-type?? problems than low achievers with the greatest difference observed in solving ??algorithmic-type?? problems. It is concluded that competence in ??particulate-type?? and ??algorithmic-type?? problem solving may be independent of competence in solving ??conceptual-type?? ones. Furthermore, it was found that students?? misconceptions concerning chemical reactions and equivalence between mass and energy are impediments to their problem solving abilities. Finally, based on the findings, few suggestions concerning teaching practices are discussed.     

Picking up the pieces: themes in Macedonian midcareer transitions

Addressing midcareer transition in post-socialist Macedonia, this work sought to provide practical help to participants through a range of techniques. Four themes are identified as important options for transitioners. Enthusiasm for ??entrepreneurship?? is tempered by a lack of funds and ??portfolio careers?? are also viewed with caution. ??Employment in a small firm?? provides participants with cause for optimism, although the link between lifelong learning and ??employability?? is not clear to them. Career support for Macedonians experiencing midcareer transition is valued.     

Elternvertreter mit Migrationshintergrund an allgemeinbildenden Schulen

Parents with a migration background are underrepresented among parent representatives at schools in Germany. However, increased involvement of these parents is essential for a lively democratic culture. To explore the motivations of parents with migration background regarding their school involvement, interviews with N?=?31 parent representatives with migration background were content analysed, starting deductively from a set of categories according to the theory of planned behaviour. In the analysis, the main category ??attitude?? was deductively subdivided into ??motivation in the course of action/intrinsic value??, ??results and consequences regarding own interests?? and ??results and consequences regarding others/altruistic motivation??. ??Subjective norm?? was inductively differentiated into ??other parents??, ??teachers and leadership team?? and ??other persons/perceived general expectations??; ??perceived behavioural control?? was differentiated into the subcategories ??assertiveness and freedom from anxiety??, ??language competence??, ??socioeconomic background??, ??availability of time??, ??setting in school and school district?? and ??field expertise and know-how??. Additionally, ??habit?? was deductively established and retained as a main category. Analysis of 513 statements resulted in an interrater-agreement of ???=?0.82. Implications for working with parents in an intercultural context are discussed.     

Gesturing for oneself

Most research on gestures (especially in the field of Mathematics Education) has focused on gestures in communication with others. In contrast, here, we focus on gestures which are not directed at others, but which we assume accompany inner speech or embodied thought, such as the gesticulation one makes by touching one??s fingers whilst silently counting; that is, whilst thinking, or communicating with oneself. Typically, these gestures are accompanied by eye gaze, which is detached from others who are present and turned either inwards or towards relevant artefacts present. Additionally, these gestures??whilst structurally similar??are much smaller than ??normal?? gestures used in interpersonal communication, suggesting an attenuation parallel to that found in inner speech. These physical gestures are in effect objectifications for oneself, which we can interpret as a not-quite-yet ??underground?? part of embodied thought. We suggest that they might be particularly vital for understanding the imagistic, visuospatial dimension of mathematics in general and fractions in particular.     

Joseph Priestley Across Theology, Education, and Chemistry: An Interdisciplinary Case Study in Epistemology with a Focus on the Science Education Context

This paper discusses the findings of a search for the intellectual tools used by Joseph Priestley (1733?C1804) in his chemistry, education, and theology documents. Priestley??s enquiring democratic view of knowledge was applicable in all three areas and constitutes a significant part of his lifework. Current epistemological issues in science education are examined from the point of view of the nature of theory and experiment as observed in Priestley??s writings and as espoused in modern philosophy of science. Science and religious faith issues in the context of science education are examined from the point of view of one??s understanding of sacred texts, and the suggestion is made that a Priestleyan model of ??the liberty to think for oneself?? and ??to hold knowledge with humility and virtue?? could prove helpful in dealing with the known divergent opinions in relation to science, education, and religion.     

‘In the hands of the Receivers’: The Politics of Literacy in The Savage by David Almond and Dave McKean

David Almond and Dave McKean??s The Savage is a hybrid prose and graphic novel which tells the story of one young man??s maturation through literacy. The protagonist learns to deal with the death of his father and his own ??savage?? self by writing a graphic novel. This article reads The Savage in the context of earlier, ??Northern?? literacy narratives??particularly Tony Harrison??s poem ??Them & [uz]?? and Barry Hines?? Kes??through the discourse of neoliberalism and the notion of the reluctant boy reader. It is suggested that Almond and McKean are influenced by currently dominant ideologies of gender and literacy.     

Learning among Older Professional Workers: Knowledge Strategies and Knowledge Orientations

A growing body of research and policy focused on ??older workers?? is attempting to address perceived concerns that older workers?? skills are declining, along with their participation in employment and in employment-related learning opportunities. The discussion here seeks to contribute to this research. Its focus is the learning of older professional workers, about comparatively little has been published. The article presents research conducted in Canada involving 60 personal interviews with older Certified Management Accountants (CMAs). This qualitative study was designed to understand older professionals?? participation in learning through their reports not only of when, how and why they participated in specific learning activities, but also through their stories of practice and work, their understandings of knowledge, and how they view themselves as knowers and as knowledge workers. The findings showed that older CMA professionals appeared to position themselves deliberately as knowers, performing particular knowledge orientations aligned with their work priorities, and to resent external provisions for and assessments of their ??learning??. Four orientations appeared most prominently, which are here described as ??consolidating??, ??outreaching??, ??re-positioning??, and ??disengaging??. The concluding section argues that far from withdrawing from learning, these older professionals are particularly strategic in what, when and how they engage. In fact most are astute in employing diverse strategies and resources in knowledge development, according to the knowledge orientation they adopt in their practice. These understandings may suggest ways to more effectively recognise and support older professionals?? learning in organizations and professional associations.     

Evaluation of children’s after-school programs in Taiwan: FAHP approach

The need of after-school programs has become urgent for school-age children in many industrialized countries due to social structure changes. This research develops a hierarchical framework to evaluate after-school programs from two distinct aspects??service quality from parents?? perspectives and marketing strategy from operators?? perspectives??each aspect respectively associated with five mutually independent criteria. Two different questionnaire surveys are conducted respectively to parents and providers in Hsinchu, Taiwan based on pairwise comparison on Saaty??s nine-point scale. Fuzzy analytic hierarchy process is then employed to calculate the relative importance of the criteria under each aspect. The results show that the top three concerns from parents?? perspectives are communication and attentiveness, teacher qualification and counseling, and fee and location, whereas the top three concerns from operators?? perspectives are promotion, price, and product. Our findings reveal a consistency between the concerns of parents and of operators, but the important rankings from the two perspectives are not exactly the same, implying that the parents and the operators do have somewhat different viewpoints in evaluating the after-school programs.     

Teaching the history of colonization and decolonization in France: A shared history or to each their own?

Strongly influenced by the paradigm of republican universalism, education policy in France favours an approach that largely relativizes, or even denies, the dimension of cultural diversity. The content of the secondary school history curriculum reveals this phenomenon. In the 2007?C2008 school year, 185 students in the final 2?years of secondary school in Amiens completed questionnaires about the importance their schools place on the history of colonization and decolonization. The analysis showed how the respondents?? relationship to this historical topic was linked to the degree of their own experience of migration. Although today??s classes are pluralistic, schools?? failure to take into account the diversity of the population??a legacy of history??diminishes students?? ability to think in terms of ??otherness?? and, as a result, to imagine a common history shared by the various populations living in France.     

Does Quantum Physics Refute Realism, Materialism and Determinism?

It is argued that the correct answer to the three questions in the title is ??no??: that the theses being denied derive from traditional philosophy, not from the way the quantum theories are used. For example, the calculation of the energy spectrum of an atom assumes the autonomous existence of the atom, rather than its dependence upon the observer. However, it is also suggested that the problem has been unnecessarily complicated by a careless use of the terms ??realism??, ??materialism??, and ??determinism??. Precise definitions of these words are proposed.     

Why Machine-Information Metaphors are Bad for Science and Science Education

Genes are often described by biologists using metaphors derived from computational science: they are thought of as carriers of information, as being the equivalent of ??blueprints?? for the construction of organisms. Likewise, cells are often characterized as ??factories?? and organisms themselves become analogous to machines. Accordingly, when the human genome project was initially announced, the promise was that we would soon know how a human being is made, just as we know how to make airplanes and buildings. Importantly, modern proponents of Intelligent Design, the latest version of creationism, have exploited biologists?? use of the language of information and blueprints to make their spurious case, based on pseudoscientific concepts such as ??irreducible complexity?? and on flawed analogies between living cells and mechanical factories. However, the living organism = machine analogy was criticized already by David Hume in his Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion. In line with Hume??s criticism, over the past several years a more nuanced and accurate understanding of what genes are and how they operate has emerged, ironically in part from the work of computational scientists who take biology, and in particular developmental biology, more seriously than some biologists seem to do. In this article we connect Hume??s original criticism of the living organism = machine analogy with the modern ID movement, and illustrate how the use of misleading and outdated metaphors in science can play into the hands of pseudoscientists. Thus, we argue that dropping the blueprint and similar metaphors will improve both the science of biology and its understanding by the general public.     

��Romantic��, ��Classic�� and ��Baroque�� Views of Nature: An Analysis of Pictures About the Environment in Greek Primary School Textbooks��Diachronic Considerations

Taking the view that pictures are not a transparent but rather a deforming mirror of reality, shaping representations of the world bound up with the interests of the social institutions within which pictures are circulated and read, our aim is to explore what view of nature and of the human-nature relationship is built in Greek natural science school textbooks. The particular textbooks analysed have been recently introduced (in 2006 and 2007) into Greek education. The pictorial analysis suggests that a ??baroque?? view of nature and of the human-nature relationship predominantly emerges, according to which nature is constantly in motion, and therefore random and unpredictable natural change could be ??normal??. Natural environments are viewed in materialistic terms, being transformed by humans and serving as a resource. A comparison with our analysis of the older textbooks written in the early 1980s (Korfiatis et al. 2004) seems to indicate important conceptual differences between the two series of textbooks. The ??romantic?? and ??classic?? views of nature in the old textbooks could express the vigour, the optimism and the innocence characterising industrial societies (or in the process of industrialisation) about human interventions in the environment. Conversely, the ??baroque?? view found in the new textbooks probably marks the scepticism of post-industrial societies about natural phenomena.     

Mario Bunge’s Materialist Theory of Mind and Contemporary Cognitive Science

Bunge??s writings on the mind?Cbody problem provide a rigorous, analytical antidote to the persistent anti-materialist tendency that has characterized the history of philosophy and science. Bunge gives special attention to dualism and its shortcomings, and this attention is welcome in view of the resurgence of the doctrine today. However, I focus my comments selectively on Bunge??s more controversial, provocative claims, not to dismiss them, but to engage with them seriously. For example, a difficulty arising from Bunge??s rhetorical style and its undoubted virtues is that not all the targets of his selfconfessed ??bashings?? (2010, xi) are equally deserving. For example, Bunge suggests ??most contemporary philosophers of mind are indifferent to psychology, or are remarkably uninformed about it??. This charge cannot be sustained today in light of the work of foremost philosophers today.     

The Effect of Na?ve Ideas on Students’ Reasoning About Electricity and Magnetism

Traditional multiple-choice concept inventories measure students?? critical conceptual understanding and are designed to reveal students?? na?ve or alternate ideas. The overall scores, however, give little information about the state of students?? knowledge and the consistency of reasoning. This study investigates whether students have consistent alternate models when reasoning about Newton??s third law principle in the context of electromagnetics (EM), and whether these possible models are related to conceptual change and overall performance. Students?? conceptual understanding is evaluated with The Conceptual Survey of Electricity and Magnetism (CSEM) multiple-choice test. The data (N?=?118) are collected from an undergraduate static field theory course at the Helsinki University of Technology, Finland. The data are analysed using frequency distributions, Fisher??s exact test, and One-Way ANOVA analysis. The study shows that every fifth student has a consistent or partially consistent alternate model of Newton??s third law principle in the context of EM prior to instruction. Students with this alternate model perform significantly (p?=?0.01) better on the overall concept test and are more likely to change conceptual understanding towards a correct model compared to students in an inconsistent mixed model state.     

Expanding discourse repertoires with hybridity

In ??Hybrid discourse practice and science learning?? Kamberelis and Wehunt present a theoretically rich argument about the potential of hybrid discourses for science learning. These discourses draw from different forms of ??talk, social practice, and material practices?? to create interactions that are ??intertextually complex?? and ??interactionally dynamic.?? The hybrid discourse practices are described as involving the dynamic interplay of at least three key elements: ??the lamination of multiple cultural frames, the shifting relations between people and their discourse, and the shifting power relations between and among people.?? Each of these elements requires a respective unit of analysis and are often mutually reinforcing. The authors present a theoretically cogent argument for the study of hybrid discourse practices and identify the potential such discourses may have for science education. This theoretical development leads to an analysis of spoken and written discourse around a set of educational events concerning the investigation of owl pellets by two fifth grade students, their classmates, and teacher. Two discourse segments are presented and analyzed by the authors in detail. The first is a discourse analysis of the dissection of the owl pellet by two students, Kyle and Max. The second analysis examines the science report of these same two students. In this article, I pose a number of questions about the study with the hope that by doing so I expand the conversation around the insightful analysis presented.     

Students’ Conceptions About ‘Radiation’: Results from an Explorative Interview Study of 9th Grade Students

One basis of good teaching is to know about your students?? preconceptions. Studies about typical ideas that students bring to the science classroom have been and continue to be a major field in science education research. This study aims to explore associations and ideas that students have regarding ??radiation??, a term widely used in various fields and necessary to understand fundamental ideas in science. In an explorative study, the perceptions of 50 high school students were examined using semi-structured interviews. The students were 14?C16?years old and were chosen from 7 different high schools in an urban area in Austria. Following an interview guideline, students were asked about their general associations with the term ??radiation?? as well as about their general understanding of different types of radiation. A qualitative analysis of these interviews following the method of Flick (2009) revealed that the students?? associations were, to a great extent, very different from the scientific use of the term. Several conceptions that could inhibit students?? learning processes could be identified. Consequences for the teaching of the topic ??radiation?? in science lessons, which are based on these preconceptions, are presented in the conclusion.     

Beyond the sensible world: a discussion of Mark Zuss’ The practice of theoretical curiosity

In this article, Gene Fellner reviews Mark Zuss??s recently published The practice of theoretical curiosity (2012) and provides a synopsis of the book??s structure. These two sections are followed by a metalogue in which Mark Zuss, Welsey Pitts, and Fellner discuss curiosity and the conundrum of establishing limits beyond which curiosity should not roam. This is a central theme of Zuss??s book, and it is of particular significance today as curiosity, driven by developments in technoscience and transgenics, transforms nature and we who are part of it. Influenced by Merleau-Ponty??s phenomenological lens, Zuss discusses how our knowing the world through our senses is entering an uncertain future mediated by curiosity??s reach into everyday life.     

Objectification and semiotic function

The objective of this paper is to study students?? difficulties when they have to ascribe the same meaning to different representations of the same mathematical object. We address two theoretical tools that are at the core of Radford??s cultural semiotic and Godino??s onto-semiotic approaches: objectification and the semiotic function. The analysis of a teaching experiment involving high school students working on the tangent, shows how students?? difficulties in ascribing sense to different representations of a common mathematical object can be traced back to the kind of objectification processes and semiotic functions they are able to establish.