Technology and science education: Starting points,research programs,and trends

Over the past 25 years, information and communication technologies have had a convoluted but ultimately advantageous impact on science teaching and learning. To highlight the past, present, and future of technology in science education, this paper explores the trajectories in five areas: science texts and lectures; science discussions and collaboration; data collection and representation; science visualization; and science simulation and modeling. These trajectories reflect two overall trends in technological advance. First, designers have tailored general tools to specific disciplines, offering users features specific to the topic or task. For example, developers target visualization tools to molecules, crystals, earth structures, or chemical reactions. Second, new technologies generally support user customization, enabling individuals to personalize their modeling tool, Internet portal, or discussion board. In science education, designers have tailored instructional resources based on advances in understanding of the learner. More recently, designers have created ways for teachers and students to customize learning tools to specific courses, geological formations, interests, or learning preferences.     

An ecological perspective on research with computers in science education

This paper presents an “ecological perspective” on research with computers in science education. It is proposed that current and past research within the computer education field has been characterised by an over-emphasis on technical applications of the machinery, rather than a deeper consideration of the teaching and learning process. This tendency toward “technocentric thinking” has usually failed to take into account the important social and cognitive interactions within the computer learning environment. The view advanced here, is that an understanding of the effects of computers on students' learning can be achieved only through an analysis of the dynamic interactions between students and teachers as they work with computers in a particular environment. A theoretical framework for understanding this range of interactions is presented. Finally, an ecological model is proposed for conducting future research on the application of computers in science education. Specializations: information technology in education, science education, technology education, environmental education, and media education     

Affordances of Augmented Reality in Science Learning: Suggestions for Future Research

Augmented reality (AR) is currently considered as having potential for pedagogical applications. However, in science education, research regarding AR-aided learning is in its infancy. To understand how AR could help science learning, this review paper firstly has identified two major approaches of utilizing AR technology in science education, which are named as image-based AR and location-based AR. These approaches may result in different affordances for science learning. It is then found that students’ spatial ability, practical skills, and conceptual understanding are often afforded by image-based AR and location-based AR usually supports inquiry-based scientific activities. After examining what has been done in science learning with AR supports, several suggestions for future research are proposed. For example, more research is required to explore learning experience (e.g., motivation or cognitive load) and learner characteristics (e.g., spatial ability or perceived presence) involved in AR. Mixed methods of investigating learning process (e.g., a content analysis and a sequential analysis) and in-depth examination of user experience beyond usability (e.g., affective variables of esthetic pleasure or emotional fulfillment) should be considered. Combining image-based and location-based AR technology may bring new possibility for supporting science learning. Theories including mental models, spatial cognition, situated cognition, and social constructivist learning are suggested for the profitable uses of future AR research in science education.     

Supporting the Learning of Deaf Students in Higher Education: a case study at Sheffield Hallam University

The past decade has witnessed significant changes in the student population entering HE programmes of study. Such changes have been accompanied by increased central accountability and reduced central funding. This paper reflects on the role that computer-based learning (CBL) can play in supporting students, specifically adult learners, in such an environment. It suggests that the technology has demanded more attention than the pedagogic issues and argues that CBL must take advantage of adult learners' experiences to gain maximum advantage in the future .     

Human and machine diagnosis of scientific problem-solving abilities

Diagnosis of the problem-solving state of a novice student in science, by an accomplished teacher, is studied in order to build a computer system that will simulate the process. Although such “expert” systems have been successfully developed in medicine (MYCIN, INTERNIST/CADUCEUS), very little has been accomplished in science education, even though there is a reasonably close parallel between expert medical diagnosis of patients with physiological problems and expert instructional diagnosis of students with learning problems. The system described in this paper, DIPS: Diagnosis for Instruction in Problem Solving, involves a new line of research for science educators interested in interdisciplinary efforts and ways in which computer technology might be used to better understand how to improve science learning. The basic architecture of the DIPS system is outlined and explained in terms of instruction and research implications, and the role of such “intelligent” computer systems in science education of the future is considered.     

Policies Related to State Residential Schools of Mathematics and Science

Abstract

State residential schools specializing in mathematics and science are schools of choice for gifted young people who are interested in pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Fourteen states have such schools supported by state funding. These schools offer educational opportunities for high school young people who are ready for more advanced learning opportunities than are available in their home high schools. These specialized schools provide learning environments for engaging in high-level study and research. This article highlights policies establishing these schools and that guided their implementation as schools of choice.     

When I grow up: the relationship of science learning activation to STEM career preferences

This paper proposes three new measures of components STEM career preferences (affinity, certainty, and goal), and then explores which dimensions of science learning activation (fascination, values, competency belief, and scientific sensemaking) are predictive of STEM career preferences. Drawn from the ALES14 dataset, a sample of 2938 sixth and eighth grade middle-school students from 11 schools in two purposefully selected diverse areas (Western Pennsylvania & the Bay Area of California) was used for the analyses presented in this paper. These schools were chosen to represent socio-economic and ethnic diversity. Findings indicate that, overall, youth who are activated towards science learning are more likely to have affinity towards STEM careers, certainty about their future career goals, and have identified a specific STEM career goal. However, different dimensions of science learning activation are more strongly correlated with different aspects career preference across different STEM career foci (e.g. science, engineering, technology, health, etc.). Gender, age, minority status, and home resources also have explanatory power. While many results are consistent with prior research, there are also novel results that offer important fodder for future research. Critically, our strategy of measuring affinity towards the specific disciplines that make up STEM, measuring STEM and health career goals separately, and looking at career affinity and career goals separately, offers interesting results and underscores the value of disentangling the conceptual melting pot of what has previously been known as ‘career interest.’ Study findings also have implications for design of science learning opportunities for youth.     

Self-directed learning and retrieval practice: building a bridge through functional contextualism

ABSTRACT

While retrieval practice has been studied for over a century, it has gained a significant body of research within the past fifteen years in cognitive psychology and the learning sciences. However, there is little discussion in its study and application within topics of adult learning. In this article, we examine the historical and philosophical foundations of self-directed learning and retrieval practice and advocate for functional contextualism as a philosophy of science for self-directed learning research. Functional contextualism provides a synthesis between the norms of humanism and the scientific focus of cognitivism. Particularly, we look at retrieval practice as a potential area of research within self-directed learning, viewing it as an ‘act-in-context’. We hope this article reinvigorates research into self-directed learning, particularly the investigation of empirically-based self-guided learning strategies, the facilitation of metacognition for self-directed adult learners, and the adoption of a functional contextual approach to self-directed learning and other adult learning topics.     

Same place,different experiences: exploring the influence of gender on students’ science museum experiences

Providing learning environments that are motivating for female students and male students alike is a challenge for science educators. This overview of the research conducted in science museums provides initial insights into informal educational settings that allow female visitors to have experiences which foster development of science interest and learning. The discussion of the influence of gender on learning experiences in informal science environments raises questions and calls for further research and more comprehensive reporting of research results. Findings related to gender‐equitable learning in settings such as science museums would be beneficial and extend the present knowledge base in science education.     

Conceptual change: A powerful framework for improving science teaching and learning

In this review, we discuss (1) how the notion of conceptual change has developed over the past three decades, (2) giving rise to alternative approaches for analysing conceptual change, (3) leading towards a multiperspective view of science learning and instruction that (4) can be used to examine scientific literacy and (5) lead to a powerful framework for improving science teaching and learning.     

Examining the literacy component of science literacy: 25 years of language arts and science research

This review, written to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the International Journal of Science Education, revealed a period of changes in the theoretical views of the language arts, the perceived roles of language in science education, and the research approaches used to investigate oral and written language in science, science teaching, and learning. The early years were dominated by behavioralist and logico-mathematical interpretations of human learning and by reductionist research approaches, while the later years reflected an applied cognitive science and constructivist interpretations of learning and a wider array of research approaches that recognizes the holistic nature of teaching and learning. The early years focus on coding oral language into categories reflecting source of speech, functional purpose, level of question and response, reading research focused on the readability of textbooks using formulae and the reader's decoding skills, and writing research was not well documented since the advocates for writing in service of learning were grass roots practitioners and many science teachers were using writing as an evaluation technique. The advent of applied cognitive science and the constructivist perspectives ushered in interactive-constructive models of discourse, reading and writing that more clearly revealed the role of language in science and in science teaching and learning. A review of recent research revealed that the quantity and quality of oral interactions were low and unfocused in science classrooms; reading has expanded to consider comprehension strategies, metacognition, sources other than textbooks, and the design of inquiry environments for classrooms; and writing-to-learn science has focused on sequential writing tasks requiring transformation of ideas to enhance science learning. Several promising trends and future research directions flow from the synthesis of this 25-year period of examining the literacy component of science literacy - among them are critical listening and reading of various sources, multi-media presentations and representations, effective debate and argument, quality explanation and the role of information and communication technologies/environments.     

Helping Primary Student Teachers Understand Pupils' Learning: Exploring the student‐mentor interaction

The school-based task is firmly established in teacher education in the UK. In the study reported, primary student teachers carried out tasks exploring children's learning in science and were told to discuss the outcomes with their classteacher-mentors. The tasks and their university-based training followed a "constructivist" approach to learning science. The mentors' role in debriefing school-based tasks has been assumed to be one of "reflective practitioner" able to unpack issues of pedagogy with the student teacher. The research reported here shows that discussions often lacked depth or reflected a superficial or different understanding of constructivism by mentors that conflicted with the student teachers' aspirations. The implications of the research for future practice in teacher education and specifically for the training of mentors in science are discussed.     

Science Learning in Special Education: The Case for Constructed Versus Instructed Learning

Throughout the history of education, debate has existed between the relative merits of instructed versus constructed knowledge. In this article, we review our program of research in science education for students with disabilities in order to reveal some insights into this debate. We review research in science curriculum, mnemonic strategies, text-processing strategies, hands-on approaches, coached elaborations, “discovery” learning, correlates of effective inclusive science classrooms, and class-wide peer tutoring with differentiated curriculum enhancements. Overall, both instructed and constructed knowledge are important and can be facilitated with appropriate instructional strategies. Implications for practice and future research are provided.     

A sociocultural perspective on mediated activity in third grade science

This ethnographic study of a third grade classroom examined elementary school science learning as a sociocultural accomplishment. The research focused on how a teacher helped his students acquire psychological tools for learning to think and engage in scientific practices as locally defined. Analyses of classroom discourse examined both how the teacher used mediational strategies to frame disciplinary knowledge in science as well as how students internalized and appropriated ways of knowing in science. The study documented and analyzed how students came to appropriate scientific knowledge as their own in an ongoing manner tied to their identities as student scientists. Implications for sociocultural theory in science education research are discussed. John Reveles is an assistant professor in the Elementary Education Department at California State University, Northridge. He received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2005. Before pursuing his Ph.D., he worked as a bilingual elementary school teacher for 3 years. His research focuses on the development of scientific literacy in elementary school settings; sociocultural influences on students' academic identity; equity of access issues in science education; qualitative and quantitative research methods. Within the Michael D. Eisner College of Education, he teaches elementary science curriculum methods courses, graduate science education seminars, and graduate research courses. Gregory Kelly is a professor of science education at Penn State University. He is a former Peace Corps Volunteer and physics teacher. He received his Ph.D. from Cornell in 1994. His research focuses on classroom discourse, epistemology, and science learning. This work has been supported by grants from Spencer Foundation, National Science Foundation, and the National Academy of Education. He teaches courses concerning the uses of history, philosophy, sociology of science in science teaching and teaching and learning science in secondary schools. He is editor of the journal Science Education. Richard Durán is a Professor in the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, University of California, Santa Barbara. His research and publications have been in the areas of literacy and assessment of English Language Learners and Latino students. He has also conducted research on after school computer clubs, technology and learning as part of the international UC Links Network. With support from the Kellogg Foundation, he is implementing and investigating community and family-centered intervention programs serving the educational progress of Latino students in the middle and high school grades.     

Book Reviews

ABSTRACT

Student foundational knowledge of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is formed in their elementary education. Paradoxically, many elementary teachers have constrained background knowledge, confidence, and efficacy for teaching STEM that may hamper student STEM learning. The association between teacher preparation to teach STEM and student achievement in STEM motivated the authors' professional development program. The authors created and implemented a professional development program to address K–5 teacher confidence for, attitudes toward, knowledge of, and efficacy for teaching inquiry-based STEM. Using data from 2 independent cohorts the authors found significant and consistent increases in pre- to postinstitute assessments of teacher confidence, efficacy, and perceptions of STEM. Further, they found increased participant attention toward linking STEM curriculum and instruction to learning standards. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

The effect of inquiry-based learning experiences on adolescents’ science-related career aspiration in the Finnish context

ABSTRACT

Much research has been conducted to investigate the effects of inquiry-based learning on students’ attitude towards science and future involvement in the science field, but few of them conducted in-depth studies including young learners’ socio-cognitive background to explore mechanisms which explain how inquiry experiences influence on career choices. Hence, the aim of this study was to investigate in what ways and to what extent the inquiry learning experiences in school science affect students’ future career orientation in the context of socio-cognitive mechanisms based on socio-cognitive career theory(SCCT). For the purpose, Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015 data were used focusing on science literacy, and the sample of Finnish 15-year-old students (N?=?5782) was analysed by structural equation modelling with the hypothesised Inquiry-SCCT model. The results of the study showed that inquiry learning experiences were indicated as a positive predictor for the students’ career aspiration, and most of its effects were mediated by outcome expectations. Indeed, although self-efficacy and interest in learning science indicated positive correlations with future aspiration, outcome expectation presented the highest correlation with the science-related career. Gender differences were found in the model, but girls indicated higher outcome expectation and career aspiration than boys in Finland.     

A systematic review of trends and findings in research employing drawing assessment in science education

ABSTRACT

In this study, we reviewed 76 journal articles on employing drawing assessment as a research tool in science education. Findings from the systematic review suggest four justifications for using drawing as a type of research tool, including assessment via drawing as (a) an alternative method considering young participants’ verbal or writing abilities, and affective or economic reasons, (b) a unique method that can reveal aspects not easily measured by other methods, (c) a major method that reflects characteristics of science subjects, and (d) a formative assessment to diagnose students’ ideas to benefit their learning. Furthermore, five research trends of studies using drawing as assessment tools are identified, including: (a) students’ conceptions of scientists from the Draw-a-Scientist-Test (DAST) and evolving studies, (b) students’ understanding or mental models of science concepts, (c) participants’ conceptions of science learning or teaching, (d) students’ inquiry abilities and modelling skills via drawing, and (e) technology to support drawing. For each trend, we synthesised and commented on the current findings. A framework conceptualising phases and issues when designing research and instruments employing drawing assessments is proposed. The review provides insights into the design and future direction of research employing drawing assessments in science education.     

Explainers' perceptions of visitors' learning at an Interactive Science and Technology Centre

This paper reports part of a larger study into the learning of the general public during visits to an interactive science centre. Much previous research on visitors' learning has focused on students, whereas the explainers, who have most interaction with visitors, have rarely been used as a data source. Reported here are the views of a representative sample of explainers from a science centre. Data were collected through interviews and conclusions scrutinised by a wider group of explainers. The findings suggest that explainers believe that first, visitors have fun at the centre; second, learning is not the main purpose of the visit; third, their own role is to facilitate understanding of the exhibits, not to teach; fourth, learning occurs when visitors relate experiences at the centre to experiences in the outside world; fifth, analogies facilitate understanding; and sixth, incidental learning, unrelated to the intention of an exhibit, often occurs. Specializations: interactive science and technology centres. Specializations: gender issues and assessment in science and technology education.     

A Systematic Review of Remote Laboratory Work in Science Education with the Support of Visualizing its Structure through the <Emphasis Type="Italic">HistCite</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">CiteSpace</Emphasis> Software

Laboratory work, particularly the latest remote laboratories (RLs), has been assumed to have a general positive effect on science education because practical work can provide diverse learning experiences and enhance thinking skills suitable for the 21^st century. However, there has not been a synthesis of the science education research to support this assumption. The objective of this study is to systematically review the growth of educational research on laboratory work, particularly in RLs, utilizing a series of review processes with innovative software for visualizing structural relationships. The combined use and support of HistCite and CiteSpace software enabled the visualization of the citation structure and history of articles. The findings revealed that RLs were a state-of-the-art subset of laboratory work and a new way of conducting laboratory work that has gained fairly wide research attention in engineering education over the past two decades. Thus, this innovative literature review process has established a solid background for future research and development efforts on RLs in science education dealing with scientific and engineering practices.     

Can we avoid digital structural violence in future learning systems?

ABSTRACT

This paper introduces the concept of digital structural violence and examines the negative role it could have in future learning systems. To address it, we propose a new interdisciplinary research agenda at the intersection of three current but disparate lines of work that:

1. Use the concept of epistemic privilege to theorise the inclusion of marginalised learners in the design of learning systems, and utilise participatory action research and emancipatory methodologies to pragmatically ensure this happens;

2. Support young learners and teachers to understand and build their own artificial intelligence algorithms;

3. Develop sustainable interdisciplinary links with computer science to address digital structural violence at the algorithmic level and to make its societal implications and underlying processes more widely understood, especially by teachers.

Taken together, these provide for a material form of resistance to digital structural violence and a theoretically and methodologically coherent future research agenda for building just learning systems.