Reproduction of social class in the teaching and learning of science in urban high schools

The study examines the teaching and learning of science in an urban high school characterised by African American students from conditions of relative poverty. An interpretive study was undertaken involving a research team that included the teacher in the study and a student from the school. Despite the teacher's effort to enact a curriculum that was transformative the students resisted most of his efforts to enhance their learning. The study highlights the difficulties of engaging students when they lack motivation to learn and attend sporadically. In an era of standards-oriented science in which all students are expected to achieve at a high level, it is essential that research identify ways to tailor the science curriculum to the needs and interests of students.     

Seven place-conscious methods to stimulate situational interest in science teaching in urban environments

In this study, we explored how teachers can take advantage of a ‘place’ in urban environments outside the school and thereby stimulate pupils’ situational interest in science teaching. Drawing on the Sophos research method, we conducted a single case study including film-elicited interviews. The data consisted of transcribed interviews with 4 experienced teachers and 11 pupils. The interviews were elicited by films showing group work in science teaching in urban environments: a parking lot, a green public park and a zoo. We conducted individual interviews with science teachers, while the interviews with pupils were carried out in small groups. To analyse our data, we applied a hermeneutic content analysis. We identified seven place-conscious teaching methods that have the potential to stimulate pupils’ situational interest. These methods included: (1) handling objects; (2) integrating new places; (3) alignment between the environment and task; (4) integrating minimal cultivated places; (5) providing a science perspective on everyday places; (6) disseminating historical or cultural knowledge of places; and (7) surprises. Starting from a discussion drawing on studies that explored triggers of pupils’ situational interest, we argue that science teachers can draw on these seven place-conscious methods to stimulate interest in science teaching in urban environments.     

浅谈材料力学教学内容更新

现行高等教育《材料力学》教材部分内容已显陈旧,知识构架亦不完整,内容更新势在必行,要根据学生层次特点,结合学科基本结构的要求,在不失其教学意义的前提下,加以压缩删减,并适当引入新材料力学分析内容。     

中国城市历史街区保护与更新的问题及对策

当下中国城市历史街区的保护与更新还存在诸多弊端．本文从历史街区人文氛围的危机、保护与更新的力度和保护与更新的政策三个层面进行了探讨,提出了应对之策。     

Definition in science teaching

Summary Definitions, I have suggested, have both a function and a form. The function pursued and the form used should depend on the situation and on the term being defined. In the situation described at the outset, Mr. Beta should probably have seen to it that a stipulation of some sort was given-just in order to get on with the task at hand. The stipulation might have been based upon a true reported definition-or it might not-depending on political considerations and the linguistic flexibility of the people concerned. Since no one involved could plausibly have been trying to embody a program in a definition of dough, a programmatic definition was not appropriate in that situation.Several different forms for a definition of dough might reasonably have been used, but in this case the old reliable classification form was probably best, because of its completeness, neatness, and brevity. Two reasonable alternatives are the equivalent-expression form and the range form. The synonym, example-nonexample, and operational forms were probably not appropriate.My main point is that there is not just one way to define. I hope that my delineation of some major possibilities and variations will help those who read this article to be flexible in handling problems of definition when they arise; and they arise more often than most people realize.An ealier draft of this article was presented at a colloquium at the University of Illinois in honor of Professor B. Othanel Smith at his retirement.     

浅谈在科学教学中对生成性教学资源的有效利用

在课堂教学中包含着各种资源,教师必须有效利用这些资源,为教学服务。本文作者根据教学实践,对如何利用好生成性教学资源进行了探讨。     

Investing in high quality preschool: lessons from an urban setting

Abstract

Large numbers of children of low income families in the United States arrive at kindergarten already far behind their more affluent peers on measures of school readiness. In the absence of any federal preschool policy and amidst alarm about this growing divide, universal prekindergarten (UPK) programs have been launched around the United States, at both the state and local levels, to address the school readiness gap. Invest in Children, a public/private partnership in Cuyahoga County (Cleveland, OH) launched a UPK program of high quality, affordable preschool nine years ago. The program’s creation, implementation and challenges are discussed along with evaluation findings that document its positive impact on school readiness. Lessons learned are discussed in terms of the impact of political and economic shifts, as well as state policy changes, on this local program. The program’s planned expansion and enhancements to program design and evaluation are also described.     

合肥与杭州城市更新的比较研究

城市更新是当今世界各国普遍面临的重大城市发展课题。本文主要总结杭州城市更新与保护过程中的发展阶段以及若干重要的创新点,对比合肥的旧城改造阶段和现象,旨在为合肥城市更新问题的深入研究和进一步实践提出新的思路。     

对科学教学实践的思考

本文以问卷调查为基本方法 ,了解中学师生对科学素养概念的认识 ,了解师生对我国现行物理课程及科学教育的评价 ;并对我国科学教学实践进行了思考 ,提出自己的一些观点。     

Emotions in teaching environmental science

This op-ed article examines the emotional impact of teaching environmental science and considers how certain emotions can broaden viewpoints and other emotions narrow them. Specifically, it investigates how the topic of climate change became an emotional debate in a science classroom because of religious beliefs. Through reflective practice and examination of positionality, the author explored how certain teaching practices of pre-service science teachers created a productive space and other practices closed down the conversations. This article is framed with theories that explore both divergent and shared viewpoints.     

Science teaching in science education

Reading the interesting article Discerning selective traditions in science education by Per Sund, which is published in this issue of CSSE, allows us to open the discussion on procedures for teaching science today. Clearly there is overlap between the teaching of science and other areas of knowledge. However, we must constantly develop new methods to teach and differentiate between science education and teaching science in response to the changing needs of our students, and we must analyze what role teachers and teacher educators play in both. We must continually examine the methods and concepts involved in developing pedagogical content knowledge in science teachers. Otherwise, the possibility that these routines, based on subjective traditions, prevent emerging processes of educational innovation. Modern science is an enormous field of knowledge in its own right, which is made more expansive when examined within the context of its place in society. We propose the need to design educative interactions around situations that involve science and society. Science education must provide students with all four dimensions of the cognitive process: factual knowledge, conceptual knowledge, procedural knowledge, and metacognitive knowledge. We can observe in classrooms at all levels of education that students understand the concepts better when they have the opportunity to apply the scientific knowledge in a personally relevant way. When students find value in practical exercises and they are provided opportunities to reinterpret their experiences, greater learning gains are achieved. In this sense, a key aspect of educational innovation is the change in teaching methodology. We need new tools to respond to new problems. A shift in teacher education is needed to realize the rewards of situating science questions in a societal context and opening classroom doors to active methodologies in science education to promote meaningful learning through meaningful teaching.     

Is science itself the cause of ineffective science teaching?

In her article “A Possible ‘Orality’ for Science?” (Interchange, Vol. 23, No. 3, pp. 227–244), Rampal argues that science can be made more relevant to students if its language is reformed and replaced by one that contains elements drawn from oral cultures. There is some point to this policy proposal, but it fails to note that the dispassionate and impersonal prose of science has its own function in the on-going practice of science. The real task for the teacher should not be reforming the language of science but rather using oral culture to lead students in the excitement of scientific theories and the joys of scientific research, bringing them in the end to a mastery of the prose style that the scientific community has found serves well its goal of increasing our knowledge of laws of nature.     

Implementing microcomputers in science teaching

Conclusion The most important finding from this study is that if one adheres to the guidelines from the literature on staff development and educational change, teachers can and will change their teaching behaviors. It is very easy, however, to underestimate the time and resources required to implement change in schools. Even a seemingly simple change such as increasing use of educational computing, which teachers can implement in their individual classrooms without an overhaul of schools, is immensely complex and difficult. Helping teachers and schools change requires a systematic effort, with intensive on-going support over a period of three or more years. Science educators, school leaders, and the public must learn that school improvement is not an event but a continual process of renewal and refinement. This study demonstrates the importance of allocating resources to staff development and implementation along with those for curriculum development. Fortunately, the National Science Foundation has recognized the importance of implementation in school improvement by requiring that implementation be an integral part of all curriculum development projects it funds. As Hall (1986) said, “It is not enough to build pretty boxes; what is important is to get the boxes used.” This article is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. MDR-8470061. Any opionions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.