The transfer of nature of science understandings: a question of similarity and familiarity of contexts

It is important to question the generalizability of the knowledge about the nature of science (NOS), and thus know whether the knowledge about NOS can be transferred to various contexts. As such, the purpose of this study was to investigate whether students were able to transfer their acquired NOS understandings into contexts that vary in their similarity to the context of learning. Thirty-eight 7th grade students in two intact sections participated in the study. The treatment extended over seven weeks and involved teaching a unit about plate tectonics, earthquakes, and volcanoes. Only one of the two groups was explicitly taught about NOS in relation to the topics under study. To assess the change in students’ understandings of NOS and their ability to transfer these acquired understandings, a five-topic open-ended questionnaire and individual semi-structured interviews were used. Some of the questionnaire topics focused on scientific issues and were considered similar to the context of learning, while other topics were socioscientific and were considered less similar. Results showed that the transfer of participants’ acquired NOS understandings occurred when the context was similar to the context of learning and when the context was more familiar based on prior knowledge. Interpretations related to knowledge base schema, the distance between contexts, as well as the explicit teaching about transfer were discussed.     

从科学的本质看科学教育的发展趋势

科学本质上是一种大科学,它包括科学知识、科学活动及其与社会的关系。大科学观决定了科学教育应从分科走向综合。科学教育的综合不仅是自然学科内部、自然学科之间的综合,还应包括与人文、社会学科之间的综合,实际的综合程度则应视具体情况而定。     

Representations of nature of science in high school chemistry textbooks over the past four decades

This study assessed the representations of nature of science (NOS) in high school chemistry textbooks and the extent to which these representations have changed during the past four decades. Analyses focused on the empirical, tentative, inferential, creative, theory‐driven, and social NOS, in addition to the myth of “The Scientific Method,” the nature of scientific theories and laws, and the social and cultural embeddedness of science. A total of 14 textbooks, including five “series” spanning one to four decades, were analyzed. The textbooks commanded significant market shares in the United States and were widely used in some of the most populace states. Relevant textbook sections were scored on each of the target NOS aspects on a scale ranging from −3 to +3, which reflected the accuracy, completeness, and manner (explicit versus implicit) in which these aspects were addressed. The textbooks fared poorly in their representations of NOS. Additionally, with a few exceptions, textbook scores either did not change or decreased over the past four decades. These trends are incommensurate with the discourse in national and international science education reform documents, which has witnessed an increasing emphasis on the centrality of NOS to scientific literacy and pre‐college science education during the same time period. Assessment and evaluation strategies, and policies need to be targeted if substantial and desired changes in the ways NOS is addressed in science textbooks are to be effected. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 45: 835–855, 2008     

Third grade African American students' views of the nature of science

This study examined the nature of science (NOS) views of lower elementary grade level students, including their views of scientists. Participants were 23 third‐grade African American students from two Midwest urban settings. A multiple instrument approach using an open‐ended questionnaire, semi‐structured interviews, a modified version of the traditional Draw‐A‐Scientist Test (DAST), and a simple photo eliciting activity, was employed. The study sought to capture not only the students' views of science and scientists, but also their views of themselves as users and producers of science. The findings suggest that the young African American children in this study hold very distinct and often unique views of what science is and how it operates. Included are traditional stereotypical views of scientists consistent with previous research. Additionally, participants expressed excitement and self‐efficacy in describing their own relationship with science, in and outside of their formal classrooms. Implications for teaching and learning NOS as it relates to young children and children of color are discussed. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 49: 1–37, 2012     

Communicating about science and engineering practices and the nature of science: An exploration of American Sign Language resources

Science classrooms have been demonstrated to be educational contexts with unique and challenging language demands. Enhanced cognitive and linguistic demands arising from an emphasis on the science and engineering practices (SEPs) and the nature of science (NOS) in the Next Generation Science Standards warrant consideration of how to support students with different language abilities. Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) students must negotiate multiple languages in the science classroom, including academic science vocabulary, written English, and spoken American Sign Language (ASL). However, science-specific ASL vocabulary is rather limited, and current development efforts mostly focus on developing signs for more traditional content vocabulary. Yet, effective science instruction for DHH students must also provide them opportunities to engage in and communicate about the NOS and the functions of the SEPs. The current study explores the availability of such ASL resources across a body of science-specific resources available for teachers of DHH students. Reviewing a body of publicly available resources, researchers identified a small list of 21 ASL signs that are common across multiple resources. These signs, and the larger data set, were reviewed to identify trends and patterns across them and how well they communicate scientific meanings for NOS and the SEPs. Issues that emerged and classroom implications are discussed.     

Project 2061: Systemic reform of K-12 education for science literacy

Project 2061 of the American Association for the Advancement of Science is a long-term initiative for systemic reform of K-12 education in science, mathematics, and technology. The project was named after the next return of Halley's comet to envision a future where all Americans are science literate. To fulfill this vision, Project 2061 is developing a coordinated set of reform tools for educators to use in achieving the goals of science literacy.     

Falling in love and staying in love with science: ongoing informal science experiences support fascination for all children

ABSTRACT

Ages 10–14 mark a period in which children develop a strong sense of whether science is ‘for them,’ a time that typically coincides with the start of middle school in the United States and their first exposure to more rigorous science classes and testing. Experiences with science in and out of school can shape children's motivation to choose science careers or participate in voluntary science classes later on, for better or worse. We explore the hypothesis that children who engage in more informal educational science experiences at the start of this period are more likely than their peers to obtain and maintain interest, curiosity, and mastery goals in science (together forming a construct called fascination). We measured 983 children's fascination with science at the beginning and middle of sixth grade. We found that the children who participated in informal science during this time were more likely to maintain or have greater fascination than at the start. These findings held while also controlling for many potentially confounding covariates and are robust across subgroups by gender and race/ethnicity. Further, the effects are largest for those children whose family generally supports their learning.     

美国大学提供科学教师真实研究经历的课程模式及其启示

实施探究教学需要教师具有从事真实的科学研究的经历,理解科学的性质,能够将自己的研究经历转化为在中学实施的探究教学。美国大学提供在职教师和实习教师研究经历的课程模式有短期模式,师徒模式和探究的课程学习模式。我们能从中获得有益的借鉴。     

Impacts of contextual and explicit instruction on preservice elementary teachers' understandings of the nature of science

This mixed‐methods investigation compared the relative impacts of instructional approach and context of nature of science instruction on preservice elementary teachers' understandings. The sample consisted of 75 preservice teachers enrolled in four sections of an elementary science methods course. Independent variables included instructional approach to teaching nature of science (implicit vs. explicit) and the context of nature of science instruction (as a stand‐alone topic vs. situated within instruction about global climate change and global warming). These treatments were randomly applied to the four class sections along a 2 × 2 matrix, permitting the comparison of outcomes for each independent variable separately and in combination to those of a control group. Data collection spanned the semester‐long course and included written responses to pre‐ and post‐treatment administrations of the VNOS‐B, semi‐structured interviews, and a variety of classroom artifacts. Qualitative methods were used to analyze the data with the goal of constructing profiles of participants' understandings of the nature of science and of global climate change /global warming (GCC/GW). These profiles were compared across treatments using non‐parametric statistics to assess the relative effectiveness of the four instructional approaches. Results indicated that preservice teachers who experienced explicit instruction about the nature of science made statistically significant gains in their views of nature of science regardless of whether the nature of science instruction was situated within the context of GCC/GW or as a stand‐alone topic. Further, the participants who experienced explicit nature of science instruction as a stand‐alone topic were able to apply their understandings of nature of science appropriately to novel situations and issues. We address the implications of these results for teaching the nature of science in teacher preparation courses. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., Inc. J Res Sci Teach 48: 414–436, 2011     

美国科学教师专业发展标准及其启示

美国科学课程教师专业发展标准是美国科学课程教师培养的重要依据,其特点为:重视科学课程教师正确的科学观与探究能力的形成,为科学课程教师构建综合、完整的知识结构,倡导终身、连续、一体化的培养模式。我国应加快研制自己的科学课程教师专业发展标准,使我国科学课程教师专业发展体现终身性、综合性、探究性与创新性。     

A government prepared: Organizing for math and science education reform

The reform of K-12 math and science education will require a national, multisector, bipartisan effort sustained for at least two decades. The effort will involve all levels of government, communities, local businesses, and schools. The federal government has a pivotal role to play.     

The development of seventh graders' views of nature of science

This study investigated the development in students' nature of science (NOS) views in the context of an explicit inquiry‐oriented instructional approach. Participants were 18 seventh‐grade students who were taught by a teacher with “appropriate” knowledge about NOS. The intervention spanned about 3 months. During this time, students were engaged in three inquiry‐oriented activities that were followed by reflective discussions of NOS. The study emphasized the tentative, empirical, inferential, and creative aspects of NOS. An open‐ended questionnaire, in conjunction with semi‐structured interviews, was used to assess students' views before, during, and after the intervention. Before instruction, the majority of students held naïve views of the four NOS aspects. During instruction, the students acquired more informed and “intermediary” views of the NOS aspects. By the end of the intervention, the students' views of the NOS aspects had developed further still into informed and “intermediary.” These findings suggest a developmental model in which students' views develop along a continuum during which they pass through intermediary views to reach more informed views. Implications for teaching and learning of NOS are discussed. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 45: 470–496, 2008     

On the nature of teaching nature of science: Preservice early childhood teachers' instruction in preschool and elementary settings

This study explored whether early childhood preservice teachers' concerns about teaching nature of science (NOS) and their intellectual levels influenced whether and how they taught NOS at the preschool and primary (K‐3) levels. We used videotaped classroom observations and lesson plans to determine the science instructional practices at the preschool and primary levels, and to track whether and how preservice teachers emphasized NOS. We used the Stages of Concern Questionnaire (SOCQ) pre‐ and postinternship to determine concerns about NOS instruction, and the Learning Context Questionnaire (LCQ) to determine intellectual levels. We found that neither concerns about teaching NOS nor intellectual level were related to whether and how the preservice teachers emphasized NOS; however, we found that all preservice early childhood teachers began their internships with NOS concern profiles of “worried.” Two preservice teachers' NOS concerns profiles changed as a result of their internships; one to “cooperator” and one to “cooperator/improver.” These two preservice teachers had cooperating teachers who were aware of NOS and implemented it in their own science instruction. The main factors that hindered or facilitated teaching NOS for these preservice teachers were the influence of the cooperating teacher and the use of the science curriculum. The preservice teacher with the cooperating teacher who understood and emphasized NOS herself and showed her how to modify the curriculum to include NOS, was able to explicitly teach NOS to her students. Those in classrooms whose cooperating teachers did not provide support for NOS instruction were unable to emphasize NOS. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 47:213–233, 2010     

The influence of explicit nature of science and argumentation instruction on preservice primary teachers' views of nature of science

There exists a general consensus in the science education literature around the goal of enhancing learners' views of nature of science (NOS). An extensive body of research in the field has highlighted the effectiveness of explicit NOS instructional approaches in improving learners' NOS views. Emerging research has suggested that engaging learners in argumentation may aid in the development of their NOS views, although this claim lacks empirical support. This study assessed the influence of a science content course incorporating explicit NOS and argumentation instruction on five preservice primary teachers' views of NOS using multiple sources of data including questionnaires and surveys, interviews, audio‐ and video‐taped class sessions, and written artifacts. Results indicated that the science content course was effective in enabling four of the five participants' views of NOS to be improved. A critical analysis of the effectiveness of the various course components led to the identification of three factors that mediated the development of participants' NOS views during the intervention: (a) contextual factors (context of argumentation, mode of argumentation), (b) task‐specific factors (argumentation scaffolds, epistemological probes, consideration of alternative data and explanations), and (c) personal factors (perceived previous knowledge about NOS, appreciation of the importance and utility value of NOS, durability and persistence of pre‐existing beliefs). The results of this study provide evidence to support the inclusion of explicit NOS and argumentation instruction as a context for learning about NOS, and promote consideration of this instructional approach in future studies which aim to enhance learners' views of NOS. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 47: 1137–1164, 2010     

近代西部地区教育变迁发展的历史反思

在我国教育早期现代化进程中,西部各省虽然在起步时差强人意,但由于种种历史原因而一直步履蹒跚进展滞缓。及至抗日战争爆发,随着文教西迁运动的到来,西部地区教育事业出现了历史的转机而获得持续多年的长足发展。考察近代西部教育的历史进程,经验和教训兼有可取。诸如借力中央政策、吸收外来资源、调动地方人士兴学热情、吸引普通民众向学热情,以及确保教育政策的稳定有效、确立教育优先发展的开发战略、营造教育便利发展的社会环境等,无不为今日开发西部发展其教育事业提供鉴益和启示。