Questioning the evidence for a claim in a socio‐scientific issue: an aspect of scientific literacy

Understanding the science in a ‘socio‐scientific issue’ is at the heart of the varied definitions of ‘scientific literacy’. Many consider that understanding evidence is necessary to participate in decision making and to challenge the science that affects people’s lives. A model is described that links practical work, argumentation and scientific literacy which is used as the basis of this research. If students are explicitly taught about evidence does this transfer to students asking questions in the context of a local socio‐scientific issue? What do they ask questions about? Sixty‐five primary teacher training students were given the pre‐test, before being taught the ‘concepts of evidence’ and applying them in an open‐ended investigation and were tested again 15 weeks later. Data were coded using Toulmin’s argument pattern (TAP) and the ‘concepts of evidence’. After the intervention it was found that, in relation to a socio‐scientific issue, they raised significantly more questions specifically about the evidence that lead to the scientists’ claims although questions explicitly targeting the quality of the data were still rare. This has implications for curricula that aim for scientific literacy.     

The pupil as philosopher

Discussion of the need for an understanding of the philosophy of science to inform classroom practice is mostly directed at clarifying the nature of science, the history of science, the nature of scientific evidence, and the nature of scientific method for curriculum developers and teachers. The discussion assumes no input from pupils. The constructivist perspective, however, assumes that pupils do not come to lessons with blank minds. What insights and questions do students bring to lessons about issues relevant to the philosophy and history of science? Can these be used to develop understanding? Classroom discussions about the energy concept imply that students have valuable ideas and questions related to the exploration of philosophical issues. Rather than developing curricula to tell students about the philosophy and history of science, this paper argues for exploration of student’s ideas and questions when abstract concepts are being discussed in the classroom.     

Communications programs in higher education

Summary There has been a steady growth of communications programs in higher education. These programs are interdisciplinary approaches to the study of the mass media. Even though there continues to be active concern and questioning regarding the spread of these programs, they continue to be established and will continue to grow, if experience is any indication. There is little consistency in the administrative patterns of organization. The administrative labels cover the gamut from departments and loosely organized committees to schools and colleges. It is possible to find institutions which offer bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees in communications, the degree being dependent upon the institution. There are many traditional academic areas represented in the various programs but the three most common areas are: journalism, radio-television and audiovisual-cinema. All programs seem to draw heavy support from courses in the social sciences. This discussion leaves many unanswered questions. What are the forces which caused programs to be established? What is being accomplished under the communications label that could not otherwise be accomplished? How do the objectives and curricula compare? These and other questions will be answered in subsequent articles.     

Science, Worldviews and Education: An Introduction

This special issue of Science & Education deals with the theme of ‘Science, Worldviews and Education’. The theme is of particular importance at the present time as many national and provincial education authorities are requiring that students learn about the Nature of Science (NOS) as well as learning science content knowledge and process skills. NOS topics are being written into national and provincial curricula. Such NOS matters give rise to questions about science and worldviews: What is a worldview? Does science have a worldview? Are there specific ontological, epistemological and ethical prerequisites for the conduct of science? Does science lack a worldview but nevertheless have implications for worldviews? How can scientific worldviews be reconciled with seemingly discordant religious and cultural worldviews? In addition to this major curricular impetus for refining understanding of science and worldviews, there are also pressing cultural and social forces that give prominence to questions about science, worldviews and education. There is something of an avalanche of popular literature on the subject that teachers and students are variously engaged by. Additionally the modernisation and science-based industrialisation of huge non-Western populations whose traditional religions and beliefs are different from those that have been associated with orthodox science, make very pressing the questions of whether, and how, science is committed to particular worldviews. Hugh Gauch Jr. provides a long and extensive lead essay in the volume, and 12 philosophers, educators, scientists and theologians having read his paper, then engage with the theme. Hopefully the special issue will contribute to a more informed understanding of the relationship between science, worldviews and education, and provide assistance to teachers who are routinely engaged with the subject.     

Studying Social Development and Learning Disabilities is Not for the Faint‐Hearted: Comments on the Risk/Resilience Framework

Studying social dimensions of learning disabilities is not for the faint‐hearted, in light of the multiple and interactive characteristics of these students and their social/cultural environments. Given the allure of the risk/resilience lens to make sense of these complexities, it would be easy to embrace these concepts too hastily. Four questions seem particularly important: What do we mean by risk and resilience factors? How do we characterize learning disabilities as risk factors?“At risk” for what? How should this framework guide intervention efforts? Rigorous thinking about these issues may enhance the promise of risk/resilience models for future research on social development.     

A comparative analysis of noss profiles on nigerian and American preservice,secondary science teachers

In this study American preservice science TEACHERS' responses on Kimball's Nature of Science Survey (NOSS) were used as a basis for analyzing the sense of the nature of science held by a group of Nigerian preservice science teachers. From an item-by-item comparison two salient differences were noted. These differences are quite interesting and important, and one would expect to see replication attempts in the near future. The primary difference was that the Nigerian students were much more inclined to see science as a way of producing useful technology. Given the national interests of a developing nation this is an understandable perception and one common among government policy makers. Nevertheless, it is a view with potential long-range dangers if this view of science is effectively transferred from teacher to student. For example, such a view is likely to raise false expectations in the general population, which when not achieved could result in widespread rejection of science. The second distinctive of the Nigerian students' sense of the nature of science had to do with the openness of science. These students perceived scientists as nationalistic and secretive about their work. This finding is troubling and indicates an important line of investigation: What image of science, especially Western science, is carried in the international media? How is that image understood in non-Western nations? What are the implications for international scientific cooperation?     

Special Issue: Leaving the academy

Abstract

The nature of science is not commonly considered in undergraduate curricula. Why not? To examine such issues requires an examination of one's own beliefs in both what science is and how it should be pursued. Such uncomfortable questions can be seen as hard in that they lack consensus answers. They are also perceived as peripheral to scientific research and therefore will tend to be avoided in a research orientated environment.     

Learning strategies and the learner's approach to a problem solving task

Summary In this paper data were presented about the differences in performance of several learners on a problem solving task. The nature of these differences was explored in terms of the learners' strategies and approach to the task. It was argued that the pattern of strategy application should be interpreted in relation to the way in which the learner engaged in the task. Furthermore, the pattern of strategy application was found to be most meaningful when interpreted within the framework of the learners' approach to the task. Success on the task appeared to be more strongly linked to the learners' approach than to the strategiesper se. This paper has provided further insight into what is meant by a deep and surface approach to a task. Evidence has been presented which shows that the learners' approach may be implemented in practice in different ways. It is hoped that the paper will stimulate many questions relating to learning on other tasks and in different contexts. For example, do learners have a characteristic learning approach? Does their approach vary according to the task or context? What factors influence the learning approach which is adopted? What implications does the notion of approach to learning have for classroom teaching?     

Not Saint Darwin

Charles Darwin’s name is going to be heard, read about, or spoken a lot this year, as it is the second centenary of his birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of the Origin of Species. And as great as his contribution to science and the modern world is, we might ask ourselves whether we are making rather too much of this man. Is Darwin the important person he is being taken to be? To answer this question I shall raise three more: first, why do we celebrate individuals in scientific history, when it is the work of many scientists that gives us the results? Second, how original was Darwin anyway — who else did the important work? And third, what role do scientific heroes play in current science? Answers to these questions will give us a better, more sober and balanced, and more useful explanation of actual science both in the past and the present, and perhaps also in the future.     

Learning by doing? Prospective elementary teachers' developing understandings of scientific inquiry and science teaching and learning

This study examined prospective elementary teachers' learning about scientific inquiry in the context of an innovative life science course. Research questions included: (1) What do prospective elementary teachers learn about scientific inquiry within the context of the course? and (2) In what ways do their experiences engaging in science investigations and teaching inquiry‐oriented science influence prospective elementary teachers' understanding of science and science learning and teaching? Eleven prospective elementary teachers participated in this qualitative, multi‐participant case study. Constant comparative analysis strategies attempted to build abstractions and explanations across participants around the constructs of the study. Findings suggest that engaging in scientific inquiry supported the development more appropriate understandings of science and scientific inquiry, and that prospective teachers became more accepting of approaches to teaching science that encourage children's questions about science phenomena. Implications include careful consideration of learning experiences crafted for prospective elementary teachers to support the development of robust subject matter knowledge.     

Supporting prospective teachers' conceptions of modelling in science

This study investigated prospective secondary science teachers' understandings of and intentions to teach about scientific modelling in the context of a model‐based instructional module. Qualitative methods were used to explore the influence of instruction using dynamic computer modelling. Participants included 14 secondary science prospective teachers in the USA. Research questions included: (1) What do prospective teachers understand about models and modelling in science? (2) How do their understandings change, following building and testing dynamic computer models? and (3) What are prospective teachers' intentions to teach about scientific models? Scaffolds in the software, Model‐IT, enabled participants to easily build dynamic models. Findings related to the process, content, and epistemological aspects of modelling, including: (a) prospective teachers became more articulate with the language of modelling; and (b) the module enabled prospective teachers to think critically about aspects of modelling. Still, teachers did not appear to achieve full understanding of scientific modelling.     

Socio‐scientific controversies and students' conceptions about scientists

This article discusses the results of a mainly qualitative study into possible impacts of recent controversial socio‐scientific issues on a group of Portuguese secondary school students regarding their conceptions about scientists. The 86 participants: (1) answered a questionnaire with open‐ended questions; and (2) wrote a science fiction story involving a group of scientists working on a particular situation of her/his choice. Next, semi‐structured interviews were carried out to clarify and discuss the ideas embodied in the stories and mentioned in the questionnaire. All data underwent a process of content analysis. The socio‐scientific controversies recently discussed, and the way science and scientists are depicted in the media, seem to have produced some impact on students' conceptions about scientists. Based on the results obtained, some remarks and educational implications are discussed.     

Socioscience and ethics in science classrooms: Teacher perspectives and strategies

This study explored teacher perspectives on the use of socioscientific issues (SSI) and on dealing with ethics in the context of science instruction. Twenty‐two middle and high school science teachers from three US states participated in semi‐structured interviews, and researchers employed inductive analyses to explore emergent patterns relative to the following two questions. (1) How do science teachers conceptualize the place of ethics in science and science education? (2) How do science teachers handle topics with ethical implications and expression of their own values in their classrooms? Profiles were developed to capture the views and reported practices, relative to the place of ethics in science and science classrooms, of participants. Profile A comprising teachers who embraced the notion of infusing science curricula with SSI and cited examples of using controversial topics in their classes. Profile B participants supported SSI curricula in theory but reported significant constraints which prohibited them from actualizing these goals. Profile C described teachers who were non‐committal with respect to focusing instruction on SSI and ethics. Profile D was based on the position that science and science education should be value‐free. Profile E transcended the question of ethics in science education; these teachers felt very strongly that all education should contribute to their students' ethical development. Participants also expressed a wide range of perspectives regarding the expression of their own values in the classroom. Implications of this research for science education are discussed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 43: 353–376, 2006     

Science teacher candidates’ perceptions about roles and nature of scientific models

Background: Scientific models have important roles in science and science education. For scientists, they provide a means for generating new knowledge or function as an accessible summary of scientific studies. In science education, on the other hand, they are accessible representations of abstract concepts, and are also organizational frameworks to teach and learn inaccessible facts. As being indispensable parts of learning and doing science, use of scientific models in science classes should be reinforced. At this point, uncovering pre-service science teachers’ (PSTs) understandings of scientific models are of great importance since they will design and conduct teaching situations for their students. Purpose: The study aimed to provide an answer to the research question: What understandings do PSTs possess about scientific models? Sample: The sample of the study consisted of 14 PSTs enrolled in an Elementary Science Education program in a public university in Ankara, Turkey. Design and methods: Data were collected by using an open-item instrument and semi-structured interviews, and were analyzed by using qualitative data analysis methods. Results: Findings showed that PSTs held fragmented views of models by having informed views in some aspects while having naïve views on others. That is, although they displayed a constructivist orientation by acknowledging the presence of multiple models for the same phenomenon depending on scientists’ perspectives or creativity involved in the production of scientific knowledge, PSTs also expressed logical positivist views by believing that models should be close to the real phenomena that they represent. Findings further revealed that PSTs generally conceptualized models’ materialistic uses, yet they did not think much about their theoretical and conceptual uses. It was observed that roles like reifying and visualizing were overestimated and models were dominantly characterized as three-dimensional representations. Conclusions: It is clear that PSTs, having difficulties in grasping the concept of models, would possibly have problems in planning their lessons effectively and would not develop accurate concepts in their students. These findings apparently support the need for appropriate pedagogic training of PSTs to scientifically reflect on and professionally make use of models in science classes.     

Promoting scientific understanding through electronic discourse

This paper illustrates the on-going efforts of an innovative science program called “Kids as Global Scientists” to take full advantage of Internet technology for better learning and teaching. We analyzed electronic communication between students and scientists on the Message Board and the development of students’ scientific understanding through electronic communications. Our research shows that the Internet has great potential to foster the development of students’ scientific understanding, which is difficult to achieve through traditional instruction alone. Despite increasing interest in the use of the Internet in the classroom, research on the educational benefits of the Internet on learning and teaching are still limited. This study will serve in this continuing research base in order to help expand our understanding by opening a discussion around the following questions: What are the characteristics of new learning opportunities and interaction patterns that students experienced? What new classroom dynamics and challenges are introduced as a result of the use of our technological innovations?     

Kuhn and conceptual change: on the analogy between conceptual changes in science and children

This article argues that the analogy between conceptual changes in the history of science and conceptual changes in the development of young children is problematic. We show that the notions of ‘conceptual change’ in Kuhn and Piaget’s projects, the two thinkers whose work is most commonly drawn upon to support this analogy, are not compatible in the sense usually claimed. We contend that Kuhn’s work pertains not so much to the psychology of individual scientists, but to the way philosophers and historians should describe developments in communities of scientists. Furthermore, we argue that the analogy is based on a misunderstanding of the nature of science and the relation between science and common sense. The distinctiveness of the two notions of conceptual change has implications for science education research, since it raises serious questions about the relevance of Kuhn’s remarks for the study of pedagogical issues.     

Different People in Different Places

This article presents the results of an exploratory study of students’ knowledge about scientists and countries’ contributions to science, aiming at answering two research questions: “In which ways are students aware of the history of scientific development carried out by different people in different places of the world? What can be influencing and shaping their awareness?” Thus, this study aimed at depicting students’ knowledge about History of Science (HOS), focusing on what they know about science being done by people and communities from different parts of the world and on how this knowledge is constructed through their engagement with school science. An exploratory research was carried out at two multicultural state secondary schools in London, UK, involving 200 students aged 12–15 (58.5% girls, 41.5% boys) and five science teachers. The method involved an initial exploration of students’ knowledge about HOS through an open-ended survey, followed by classroom-based observations and semi-structured interviews with the participants. Results showed a disconnection between remembering scientists and knowing about their work and background, hinting at an emphasis on illustrative and decontextualised approaches towards HOS. Additionally, there was a lack of diversity in these students’ answers in terms of gender and ethnicity when talking about scientists and countries in science. These findings were further analysed in relation to their implications for school science and for the fields of HOS, science education and public perception of science.