Moral Socialisation in a Multi‐Racial Community

Abstract:

Various claims have been made for a connection between moral education and science. The most prominent of these‐‐'evolutionary ethics’ ‐‐ is examined and found to be philosophically unjustifiable. However, after an analysis of the form and content of scientific reasoning, it is concluded that some other claims are justifiable, in that there are connections of identity between science and morality in terms of logic, relevant knowledge, perspectives, and certain virtues, especially virtues of the will. These connections can be of value for moral education.     

A Conceptual Change Approach to Learning Science

Summaries

English

Learning science is complex‐‐a student has at different times to acquire new information, reorganize existing knowledge and even discard cherished ideas. In addressing this issue, the analogy between individual learning and conceptual change in scientific disciplines has been fruitful in providing aspects of a suitableframework for analysing science learning. In this paper a model of learning as conceptual change is developed. It investigates the conditions under which an individual holding a set of conceptions of natural phenomena, when confronted by new experiences will either keep his or her conceptions substantially unaltered in the process of incorporating these experiences, or have to replace them because of their inadequacy. The model illuminates the importance of addressing an individual's existing conceptions. It also pinpoints the importance of an individual's metaphysical commitments in influencing scientific learning.     

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.     

Selecting Appropriate Strategies for Laboratory Teaching: a Problem in Teacher Training

Teaching how to teach in the laboratory is one of the main aims of science teachers’ in‐ and pre‐service training. But teacher‐trainers must make some essential decisions concerning the type of laboratory teaching they are training for. At the time of ‘learning by discovery’ and of learning of discovery ('syntax of discovery'), the enquiry oriented laboratory was expected to give the pupils opportunities to perform miniature‐‐but exemplary‐‐research programmes. Later, a new approach stressed the technological and social implications of knowledge, i.e. its relevance to the pupil. At about the same time, constructivist theories of ‘conceptual change’ provided teachers with explicit instructions concerning the teaching of scientific concepts and principles. Another issue was the position of general cognitive skills such as logical and critical thinking, in laboratory teaching. Recently, the computer has opened new possibilities and introduced new strategies. Teachers must be trained to appreciate the various approaches as complementary and educationally fruitful, so as to select rationally the most appropriate strategies.     

A Course in Social and Ethical Issues in Computing

In recent years many computer science educators have struggled with the problem of how to include instruction on social and ethical issues in the computing curriculum. This article describes one approach to solving this problem. It outlines a course called Perspectives in Computing that the author has taught for junior and senior computer science majors. One unifying theme of the course is that computers alter human relationships‐‐they create relationships that would not have existed otherwise and they change existing relationships. The course both examines the nature of those relationships and studies the ethical dimensions of the computer's impact. A second unifying theme is that computing as a discipline affirms a set of professional values. The course attempts to help students discern those values and to develop a thoughtful critique of them.     

When the black box springs open: practical work in schools and the nature of science

The aim of this paper is not to bury practical work in school science but to (once again) reconsider it. We draw on three main areas of discussion: accounts of science and ‘school science work'; teachers and others’ views of the nature of science; and our own data on teachers’ reactions to ‘critical incidents’ and practicals which go wrong. We use this as a basis for re‐thinking the role of practicals. An account of practical work is suggested which has as its main feature diversity rather than a single model or template. Within this diversity we believe that teachers should be open and honest with pupils about which type of practical work they are doing and why. We advocate that students should be made aware of the different kinds of practical work they do and the purposes of this practical work. In short, teachers should explain to students what type of practical work they are doing and why. Our second message is that teachers’ views about the nature of science both inform and are informed by their classroom practices and experiences‐‐especially during lab‐work. To encourage, promote and support critical reflection of these classroom practices and experiences is therefore a vital part of teacher professional development; this in time will promote science curriculum development.     

Death Education in the United Kingdom

Abstract

This paper, which is in three parts, first surveys the development of some forms of informal death education in the United Kingdom since Gorer's (1965) post‐war survey of attitudes to death, grief and mourning. It notes how many of the responses made to the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, are part of such developments. Next it shows how the media in particular, together with exhibitions, courses and reports, continue to contribute to the attainment of four goals originally applied to American Death Education: (1) informing of facts not currently widespread in society, (2) learning to deal with feelings about one's own death and the deaths of significant others, (3) becoming informed consumers of medical and funeral services, and (4) clarifying one's values on social and ethical issues. The paper concludes by outlining some choices and challenges that death and bereavement present using Buber's I‐‐Thou perspective.     

Understanding Energy as a Conserved Quantity‐‐Remarks on the Article by R. U. Sexl

Summaries

English

A series of learning difficulties hamper the understanding of energy as a conserved quantity. For example, the aspect of conservation is not covered by the everyday use of the word ‘energy’, and the idea of energy conservation is formed very late in the course of children's development. Empirical investigations about learning the energy concept indicate clearly that learning the conservation aspect of energy causes the students greater difficulties than learning the conversion aspect. Taking the remarks of R. U. Sexl on the didactics of the energy concept (see the preceding article) into consideration, it is discussed how students‐‐as early as the 5th to 10th grades‐‐can be guided to comprehending energy as a conserved quantity.     

Funding Government Training Schemes: Mechanisms and Consequences

Abstract

This paper follows the path of public funds allocated to private institutions‐‐Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs)‐‐which, in turn, fund the delivery of Youth Training (soon to be replaced by Youth Credits) and Training for Work. The paper argues that the terms on which funds are allocated to TECs offers little financial incentive for TECs to support high cost, high quality training since their success and cost effectiveness is measured by indicators which take no account of the type of training provided, to whom it is provided and by whom. A TECs performance rating can only be improved if it devotes more of its resources to support for the cheapest, easiest and quickest routes to the government's set of output measures. However, this will do little to cure Britain's well‐known deficiencies in intermediate skills in occupations in which it is costly and lengthy to train.     

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.     

Making a map of science: General systems theory as a conceptual framework for tertiary science education

As a result of the reductionist approach to science curricula in tertiary education, students are learning science in a fragmented way. With the purpose of providing students with tools for a more holistic understanding of science, an integrated approach based on the use of general systems theory (GST) and the concept of 'mapping' scientific knowledge (its relationships, connections and generalities) is developed. GST is used as the core methodology for understanding science and its complexity. By analogy with geographic maps, we introduce scales of educational 'science maps' - scales of integration. Three principal scales of integration can be distinguished in GST, which we consider necessary for GST to be effectively applied in education. They are (a) the scale of branches and fields of science, (b) the scale of hypotheses and theories, and (c) the scale of structures and hierarchies. Examples of each of these three scales are provided from the field of physical science. The role of the scientific community in producing accessible, and essential, maps of scientific knowledge for science education is discussed.     

Computer Majors’ Education as Moral Enterprise: a Durkheimian analysis

Abstract

Recent commentators on Durkheim have stressed his work's emphasis on the moral dimensions of social reality. Building on this premise and using it to explore the contemporary education of aspiring computer professionals, we think many of Durkheim's claims are verified in the process. We posit that the college computer department studied has developed an interlocking set of images, maxims and operating assumptions‐‐a collective moral account‐‐which frames its curriculum, courses and student evaluation. In short, we contend that even in a profession dealing with arguably the most advanced edge of late 20th‐century technology, only a very thin boundary separates its technical professional education from its essentially moral claims.     

‘Am I Like a Scientist?’: Primary children's images of doing science in school

A considerable body of evidence highlights how inquiry-based science can enhance students' epistemic and conceptual understanding of scientific concepts, principles, and theories. However, little is known about how students view themselves as learners of science. In this paper, we explore primary children's images of doing science in school and how they compare themselves with ‘real’ scientists. Data were collected through the use of a questionnaire, drawing activity, and interviews from 161 Grade 4 (ages 9–10) students in Singapore. Results indicate that ‘doing science as conducting hands-on investigations’, ‘doing science as learning from the teacher’, ‘doing science as completing the workbook’, and ‘doing science as a social process’ are the images of learning science in school that most of the students held. In addition, students reported that they need to be well behaved first and foremost, while scientists are more likely to work alone and do things that are dangerous. Moreover, students often viewed themselves as ‘acting like a scientist’ in class, especially when they were doing experiments. Nevertheless, some students reported that they were unlike a scientist because they believed that scientists work alone with dangerous experiments and do not need to listen to the teacher and complete the workbook. These research findings further confirm the earlier argument that young children can make distinctions between school science and ‘real’ science. This study suggests that the teaching of science as inquiry and by inquiry will shape how students view their classroom experiences and their attitudes towards science.     

Redesigning a General Education Science Course to Promote Critical Thinking

Recent studies question the effectiveness of a traditional university curriculum in helping students improve their critical thinking and scientific literacy. We developed an introductory, general education (gen ed) science course to overcome both deficiencies. The course, titled Foundations of Science, differs from most gen ed science offerings in that it is interdisciplinary; emphasizes the nature of science along with, rather than primarily, the findings of science; incorporates case studies, such as the vaccine-autism controversy; teaches the basics of argumentation and logical fallacies; contrasts science with pseudoscience; and addresses psychological factors that might otherwise lead students to reject scientific ideas they find uncomfortable. Using a pretest versus posttest design, we show that students who completed the experimental course significantly improved their critical-thinking skills and were more willing to engage scientific theories the general public finds controversial (e.g., evolution), while students who completed a traditional gen ed science course did not. Our results demonstrate that a gen ed science course emphasizing the process and application of science rather than just scientific facts can lead to improved critical thinking and scientific literacy.     

Positioning as not‐understanding: The value of showing uncertainty for engaging in science

Not understanding is central to scientific work: what scientists do is learn about the natural world, which involves seeking out what they do not know. In classrooms, however, the position of not‐understanding is generally a liability; confusion is an unfortunate condition to resolve as quickly as possible, or to conceal. In this article, we argue that students' public displays of uncertainty or confusion can be pivotal contributions to the classroom dynamics in initiating and sustaining a class's science inquiry. We present this as a central finding from a cross‐case analysis of eight episodes of students' scientific engagement, drawing on literature on framing to show how participants positioned themselves as not‐understanding and how that was consequential for the class's scientific engagement. We show how participants enacted this positioning by asking questions or expressing uncertainty around a phenomenon or model. We then analyze how participants' displays of not‐understanding shaped the conceptual, epistemic, and social aspects of classroom activity. We present two cases in detail: one in which a student's positioning helped initiate the class's scientific engagement and another in which it helped sustain it. We argue that this work motivates considering how to help students learn to embrace and value the role of expressing one's confusion in science.     

General Education,General‐Technical Education and Integration

Summaries

English

Answers to questions pertaining to general education and basic subjects, as well as to vocational education (general‐technical education in particular) and the principle of integration cannot be reduced to formal speculations or to bare definitions, no matter how elegant and correct. In our era, which is the era of logic and of data‐processing, of automation and computers‐‐the analysis of the question of general and general‐technical education and the corresponding basic subjects of contemporary education must have the qualities of logical and epistemological necessity. The renaissance of formal and mathematical logic in contemporary general education and the inroads made by these subjects into the content and structure of contemporary vocational training‐‐are facts and trends without precedence in the history of education and school. Other developments from which there can be no retreat are the inclusion of data‐processing into the content and structure of the general education school, and the heavy reliance on mathematics in the process of vocational training, combined with elements of cybernetics, formal and mathematical logic, and science of management and control. Also, the time has come for a new principle of teaching, the principle of integration.     

Chemistry teaching objectives in Italian secondary schools

Responses to a written beliefs test for 178 eighth grade students and interviews with a subset of the students are analysed to investigate students' beliefs about the tentativeness of scientific knowledge and about the autonomy and strategies appropriate for science learning. These three dimensions of beliefs are salient because they align with the image of science teaching promoted by current reform movements. Analyses focus on change in beliefs and relationships among dimensions of beliefs and between those beliefs and students' understandings of science concepts. Results show that students' beliefs do not change much during the one-semester course. Students who view scientific knowledge as tentative also try to understand science. Autonomous students do not hold the most productive learning strategies, though students with low autonomy develop significantly less coherent understandings of science concepts. Instructional implications focus on potential roles of teachers and technology in promoting productive beliefs about scientific knowledge and science learning. Implications for individualized instruction follow classroom-level implications.