The effects of a problem solving strategy on the achievement of earth science students

A review of the stated goals for education reveals a consistent emphasis on problem solving. Problem solving is compatible with the investigative nature of science and with higher order thinking. Consequently, a problem solving strategy was developed to improve the achievement of eighth grade students enrolled in earth science. The sample consisted of 287 eighth grade students randomly assigned to fourteen sections taught by four teachers. This resulted in seven control sections and seven experimental sections. The students in the treatment groups received approximately six weeks of instruction with the experimental groups receiving a variety of problem solving activities. A forty item posttest consisting of four subtests was administered to all students. The results indicate that the problem solving approach was useful in improving the overall achievement of students. It was particular effective in facilitating application of earth science subject matter. This problem solving approach appears to be a feasible strategy to use in most secondary science classrooms.     

数字地球——新生研讨课的探索与实践

数字地球是地球科学、空间科学与信息技术交融的前沿,用新生研讨课的形式开设这门课程,通过小班化的学生自主学习和师生互动研讨,有助于学生在互联网技术高速发展的背景下对地球科学前沿知识的了解和掌握,也有助于学生批判性思维的培养,同时还可以帮助刚入学的新生尽快适应大学的课程学习。本文介绍了数字地球新生研讨课的开设背景、教学目标与内容体系,8个研讨的热点主题、教学效果以及存在的问题和未来课程改进的方向。     

Teaching processes in elementary physical education classes taught by specialists and nonspecialists

The purpose of this study was to compare teaching processes in fourth grade elementary physical education classes taught by specialists and nonspecialists (N = 20). Physical education specialists exhibited higher levels of effective teaching behaviors. Differences were found for the total number of practice trials per minute, and for the mean number of appropriate and inappropriate practice trials per minute in classes of specialists and nonspecialists. Relationships also were found between the number of tasks and the number of appropriate practice trials and the total number of practice trials, indicating how teachers structure class influences practice and skill acquisition.     

Earth science concept list for grades K-12 curriculum construction and evaluation

The problem for this study was the identification of earth science concepts recommended by scholars in earth science for inclusion in the R-12 science curriculum. Three panels of earth science scholars assisted in the study. The third panel was selected in such a manner as to insure that the judgement of the entire memberships of five major professional organizations within the earth sciences would be represented within specified limits. The final concept list contained fifty-two earth science concepts. The claim is not made that the concept list which was developed is a complete list of earth science concepts which earth science scholars believe to be important for inclusion in the K-12 science program; the list is to be regarded as a sample of those concepts which would form a complete list. However, it would seem that due to the method of compiling the list that a majority of the earth science concepts which earth science scholars rate as most important for inclusion in the K-I2 science program would be present.     

A comparison of preservice and in-service earth and space science teachers' general mental abilities,content knowledge,and problem-solving skills

The purpose of this study was to compare in-service and preservice earth and space science teachers on their general mental abilities, their content knowledge or declarative knowledge of earth and space sciences, the Gagnean levels of their content knowledge or declarative knowledge, and the procedural knowledge used in solving earth and space science problems. This study used a contrast-group design to compare in-service (n = 30) and preservice (n = 30) earth and space science teachers. The in-service earth science teachers (a) bring more declarative knowledge to the problem-solving situation, (b) use fewer steps while problem solving, (c) generate more subroutines and alternate hypotheses, and (d) possess different structural knowledge than do preservice earth science teachers. Findings from this study support Norman's theory of learning that experts (in-service teachers) function at the tuning mode of learning, whereas novices (preservice teachers) function in an accreting or structuring mode. In-service earth science teachers exhibited smoothness, automaticity, and decreased mental effort not exhibited by preservice earth and space science teachers.     

Predicting elementary science learning using national assessment data

This study made use of data collected during 1981—1982 from a random sample of 1960 nine-year-old students from 124 elementary schools involved in a national assessment of educational progress in science sponsored by the National Science Foundation. This data base was used in secondary analyses which probed the validity of a model of educational productivity involving a set of nine aptitudinal, instructional, and environmental variables which require optimization to increase student learning. When controlled for other factors, ability, motivation, class environment, home environment, amount of television viewing (negative direction), gender, and race were all found to be significantly related to achievement. For an attitude outcome, the factors linked with attitudinal attainment were ability, motivation, class environment, and race. Overall the findings supported the model of educational productivity and suggested that elementary science students' achievement and attitude are influenced jointly by a number of factors rather than one or two dominant ones. Also the study attests to the potential value of science education researchers performing secondary analyses on the high-quality random data bases generated as part of this national assessment.     

Undergraduate students’ earth science learning: relationships among conceptions,approaches, and learning self-efficacy in Taiwan

In the area of science education research, studies have attempted to investigate conceptions of learning, approaches to learning, and self-efficacy, mainly focusing on science in general or on specific subjects such as biology, physics, and chemistry. However, few empirical studies have probed students’ earth science learning. This study aimed to explore the relationships among undergraduates’ conceptions of, approaches to, and self-efficacy for learning earth science by adopting the structural equation modeling technique. A total of 268 Taiwanese undergraduates (144 females) participated in this study. Three instruments were modified to assess the students’ conceptions of, approaches to, and self-efficacy for learning earth science. The results indicated that students’ conceptions of learning made a significant contribution to their approaches to learning, which were consequently correlated with their learning self-efficacy. More specifically, students with stronger agreement that learning earth science involves applying the knowledge and skills learned to unknown problems were prone to possess higher confidence in learning earth science. Moreover, students viewing earth science learning as understanding earth science knowledge were more likely to adopt meaningful strategies to learn earth science, and hence expressed a higher sense of self-efficacy. Based on the results, practical implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Cooperative learning in industrial-sized biology classes

This study examined the impact of cooperative learning activities on student achievement and attitudes in large-enrollment (>250) introductory biology classes. We found that students taught using a cooperative learning approach showed greater improvement in their knowledge of course material compared with students taught using a traditional lecture format. In addition, students viewed cooperative learning activities highly favorably. These findings suggest that encouraging students to work in small groups and improving feedback between the instructor and the students can help to improve student outcomes even in very large classes. These results should be viewed cautiously, however, until this experiment can be replicated with additional faculty. Strategies for potentially improving the impact of cooperative learning on student achievement in large courses are discussed.     

Evaluating the performance of calculus classes using operational research tools

This paper compares the efficiency of calculus classes. Two kinds of classes are evaluated: the traditional ones and others that use computational methods in teaching. This experiment was performed at Fluminense Federal University, Niterói, Brazil, from 1998 to 2000. The emphasis of this paper is on the quantitative evaluation using two operational research tools: multicriteria decision aid methods (mainly using the MACBETH approach) and data envelopment analysis. The evaluating variables are the level at which students enter the university and the performance of the students after studying calculus.     

A Study of Teacher-Mediated Enhancement of Students’ Organization of Earth Science Knowledge Using Web Diagrams as a Teaching Device

Current research indicates that students with enhanced knowledge networks are more effective in learning science content and applying higher order thinking skills in open-ended inquiry learning. This research examined teacher implementation of a novel teaching strategy called “web diagramming,” a form of network mapping, in a secondary school earth science class. We report evidence for student improvement in knowledge networking, questionnaire-based reports by the students on the merits of web diagramming in terms of interest and usefulness, and information on the collaborating teacher’s perceptions of the process of implementation, including implications for teacher education. This is among the first reports that teachers can be provided with strategies to enhance student knowledge networking capacity, especially for those students whose initial networking scores are among the lowest.     

地学专业教育与大学生意义世界构建

意义世界的构建对大学生全面发展至关重要,地学专业教育对地学类大学生意义世界的构建起不可替代的作用。本文透视了新时期大学生意义世界缺失的现象及其影响因素,论述了地学专业教育的思想教育内涵,提出利用地学专业教育帮助学生构建意义世界的途径。     

Exploring Secondary Science Teachers' Perceptions on the Goals of Earth Science Education in Taiwan

The educational reform movement since the 1990s has led the secondary earth science curriculum in Taiwan into a stage of reshaping. The present study investigated secondary earth science teachers' perceptions on the Goals of Earth Science Education (GESE). The GESE should express the statements of philosophy and purpose toward which educators direct their attention, and provide the visions or broad aims that earth science education is designed to achieve. Based on this rationale, the purpose of this study was to explore teachers' perceptions on the GESE at secondary school level (Grades 7–12) in Taiwan. A national survey of 1,000 earth science teachers was conducted in May 2004, with a response rate of 70.2%. The results revealed that ‘Students acquire basic earth science concepts’ is the most important GESE both in teachers' preferred goal and their actual teaching practice in the secondary earth science education; that there is a major gap between teachers' preferred and actual GESE in terms of ‘Preparing students for the entrance examinations’; and that the differences between teachers' preferred and actual GESE are contingent on the teachers' age, the school size, and the teacher education background of teachers.     

论地学形象的传播与保护

良好的地球科学形象是重要的学科软实力,塑造、传播和开发地学形象不仅可以提升地学本身的地位、影响和竞争力,且有助于提高大众的地球科学文化素养和防灾减灾意识。应充分利用各种媒体、重大地学事件传播地学形象,增强地学在新媒体的话语权。同时还要注重开发地学形象资源,培育地学形象传播人才,但在媒介发达时代要特别注意保护地学形象免受学术造假和恶意炒作的破坏。     

The progress of disadvantaged pupils in cognitive and affective processes by means of a specially tailored curriculum in physical science

This is the first time in Israel that an inclusive physical science curriculum, based on problems and phenomena of everyday life of school children, has been devised and tried. Through this curriculum we have succeeded both in teaching scientific concepts and in bringing about improvement in certain capacities of scientific thinking and in the attitudes to science among disadvantaged children in school. It is our belief that the approach exemplified by our curriculum can contribute to raising the level of personal and cultural achievement in this population of school children.     

Using videodisk instruction in an elementary science methods course: Remediating science knowledge deficiencies and facilitating science teaching attitudes

Inadequate science knowledge of preservice teachers enrolled in science methods courses not only limits their mastery of effective teaching practices, but also may foster negative attitudes toward science teaching. This study investigated the influence of science knowledge upon attitudes toward science teaching in a one-semester elementary science methods course by embedding a videodisk-based instructional component to remediate knowledge deficiencies. Preservice teachers in the experimental group first learned core concepts in physical and earth science through a series of 24 interactive videodisk lessons and then used the concepts as a foundation for preparing and presenting model science lessons. Results showed that the experimental group overcame their initial knowledge deficiencies by mastering the core concepts presented (mean proportion correct on mastery test = 0.91), with multivariate covariance analysis confirming that the experimentals gain in science knowledge was significantly greater than comparable controls in the parallel science methods sections. Additionally, as a result of mastering the core concepts underlying earth science, preservice teachers using the videodisk instruction also displayed significantly greater confidence in their understanding of science knowledge and more positive attitudes toward science teaching at the elementary levels. Implications for improving elementary science teaching through preservice and in-service training are discussed.     

新型稀土功能材料的研究进展

新型稀土永磁材料、稀土超磁致伸缩材料、稀土发光材料及稀土陶瓷材料已广泛应用到了我国的工业、农业、国防和高科技产业等领域,并在应用中取得了良好的技术经济效益,展示了广阔的发展前景。     

当代大学生地球科学素养现状调查研究

为实现人类、社会、地球和谐发展,时代要求大学生具有较高的地球科学素养。我们针对大学生地球科学素养现状水平问题,发放调查问卷1265份,从地球基本知识、地质资源、地质灾害及地球科学理论与历史四个方面进行调查,分析了大学生地球科学素养水平现状。     

Teaching experiences of students with special educational needs in co‐taught and non‐co‐taught classes

Co‐teaching has gained considerable interest as a service delivery model for promoting the inclusion of students with special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream classrooms. This study examines whether co‐teaching has an effect on the teaching experiences of 12 students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 10 students with intellectual disability (ID) as compared with the experiences of the same students in non‐co‐taught classes. We implemented 264 structured observations in 22 classes to identify students with SEN grouping arrangements, level of engagement, interactions with teachers and peers, and the nature of the interactions. We also conducted 44 structured interviews with co‐teachers to compound their perceptions with our observations. Observational results indicate that co‐teaching has a strong effect on students' with SEN level of engagement and on the nature of interactions. The grouping arrangements for these students and their interactions with teachers and peers were slightly different between co‐taught and non‐co‐taught classes. More statistically significant differences were identified between the two conditions for students with ASD than for students with ID. Also, co‐teachers reported that co‐teaching had a positive effect on students with SEN in all researched variables. Our study concludes that co‐teaching has some positive effect on the teaching experiences of students with SEN; nevertheless, there is still scope for improving the employment of co‐teaching in Greek mainstream classrooms. Implications of these findings for current practice are discussed.