In‐service Training in Special Education as Research and Innovation Work

The article reports on a research and innovation‐based approach to in‐service training for special education in Norway, with a particular focus on vocational education.

The present basis of policy for special education in Norway is stated, and the author goes on to examine the needs of in‐service training in this field. The role of the Norwegian College of Education for Teachers of Vocational Subjects (NCETVS) is described, and the author examines also the developmental project based on Moholt and Brundalen Schools.

Particular attention is given to the role of evaluation in this project.     

The Effects of Incorporating Web‐assisted Learning with Team Teaching in Seventh‐grade Science Classes

Due to the implementation of a 9‐year integrated curriculum scheme in Taiwan, research on team teaching and web‐based technology appears to be urgent. The purpose of this study was incorporated web‐assisted learning with team teaching in seventh‐grade science classes. The specific research question concerned student performance and attitudes about the teaching method. Two certified science teachers and four classes of the seventh graders participated in this study. It used a mixed methods design, incorporating both quantitative and qualitative techniques. The main data included students’ scores, questionnaires, teachers’ self‐reflections, and the researcher’s interviews with teachers. The results showed that the average final examination scores of students experiencing the experimental teaching method were higher than that of those receiving traditional teaching. The two teaching methods showed significant difference in respect of students’ achievement. The research had limitations because of students’ abilities of data collection, computer use, and discussion, but more than one‐half of the students preferred the experimental method to traditional teaching. However, team teachers would encounter the problems of technology ability, time constraints, and entrance examination pressure.     

Mixed‐Ability Science Teaching in England

Summaries

English

In this short paper, the author looks back over the past few years at the experience gained in English schools of mixed‐ability teaching in science, and makes some personal interpretation of the lessons to be learned from that experience. It is hoped that some of these issues will be of relevance to other countries too.     

An Example of Large‐group Drama and Cross‐year Peer Assessment for Teaching Science in Higher Education

Undergraduate students pursuing a three‐year marine biology degree programme (n = 86) experienced a large‐group drama aimed at allowing them to explore how scientific research is funded and the associated links between science and society. In the drama, Year 1 students played the “general public” who decided which environmental research areas should be prioritised for funding, Year 2 students were the “scientists” who had to prepare research proposals which they hoped to get funded, and Year 3 students were the “research panel” who decided which proposals to fund with input from the priorities set by the “general public”. The drama, therefore, included an element of cross‐year peer assessment where Year 3 students evaluated the research proposals prepared by the Year 2 students. Questionnaires were distributed at the end of the activity to gather: (1) student perceptions on the cross‐year nature of the exercise, (2) the use of peer assessment, and (3) their overall views on the drama. The students valued the opportunity to interact with their peers from other years of the degree programme and most were comfortable with the use of cross‐year peer assessment. The majority of students felt that they had increased their knowledge of how research proposals are funded and the perceived benefits of the large‐group drama included increased critical thinking ability, confidence in presenting work to others, and enhanced communication skills. Only one student did not strongly advocate the use of this large‐group drama in subsequent years.     

Exploring Biology Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge in the Teaching of Genetics in Swaziland Science Classrooms

This study explored the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and its development of four experienced biology teachers in the context of teaching school genetics. PCK was defined in terms of teacher content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and knowledge of students’ preconceptions and learning difficulties. Data sources of teacher knowledge base included teacher-constructed concept maps, pre- and post-lesson teacher interviews, video-recorded genetics lessons, post-lesson teacher questionnaire and document analysis of teacher's reflective journals and students’ work samples. The results showed that the teachers’ individual PCK profiles consisted predominantly of declarative and procedural content knowledge in teaching basic genetics concepts. Conditional knowledge, which is a type of meta-knowledge for blending together declarative and procedural knowledge, was also demonstrated by some teachers. Furthermore, the teachers used topic-specific instructional strategies such as context-based teaching, illustrations, peer teaching, and analogies in diverse forms but failed to use physical models and individual or group student experimental activities to assist students’ internalization of the concepts. The finding that all four teachers lacked knowledge of students’ genetics-related preconceptions was equally significant. Formal university education, school context, journal reflection and professional development programmes were considered as contributing to the teachers’ continuing PCK development. Implications of the findings for biology teacher education are briefly discussed.     

In Search of Quality in Finnish Pre‐School Education

This study was conducted during the academic year 2002–2003 in a municipality in Eastern Finland. It focuses on pre‐school education assessing its quality factors from the parents’, teachers’ and children’s points of view. Theoretically, the study focuses on analyses of the purposes of the national core curriculum and pedagogical issues that are related to understanding quality in pre‐school education. According to this study, parents, pre‐school teachers, and children are satisfied with pre‐school education in general. They all emphasize its importance for children’s development in the areas of cognitive and social skills and development. Results clearly show that pre‐school education should be revised to meet the needs of improvement in the area of co‐operation, the expectations of modern society, and the aims of the national curriculum. In addition, pre‐school education is still searching for its own cultural position in the area of Finnish school and daycare systems.     

Scaffolding Science Teachers in Open‐inquiry Teaching

The present study deals with a school‐based professional development trajectory for secondary science teachers, aiming at scaffolding teachers in open‐inquiry teaching for the topic of water quality. Its design was based on the leading principle of ‘guiding by scaffolding’. Seven experienced teachers participated in institutional meetings and teaching at school. The research focused on designing scaffolding tools, addressing these tools in the meetings, and implementing them in the classroom. The main research data were obtained from meetings, classroom discussions, and observations. The results indicated that the professional development trajectory has promoted teachers’ learning of scaffolding students in open inquiry, especially the ability to know when and how to give students a well‐balanced combination of ‘structure’ for open‐inquiry learning and sufficient ‘space’ for that. The implications for science teacher education are discussed.     

The Self‐esteem of Pre‐service Physics Education Students

The self‐esteem as physics teachers of students taking pre‐service physics teacher education courses was investigated before and after the courses. It was found that students who dropped out from the courses had lower self‐esteem than either the students who satisfactorily completed them or similarly qualified students who did not take the courses. There was some evidence that learning pedagogical theory enhances self‐esteem if it takes place after practical teaching experience but has the opposite effect when taught first, in the absence of any practical teaching experience.     

Improving the Traditional Methodology In Teaching Listening

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The Influence of Informal Science Education Experiences on the Development of Two Beginning Teachers’ Science Classroom Teaching Identity

In case studies of two first-year elementary classroom teachers, we explored the influence of informal science education (ISE) they experienced in their teacher education program. Our theoretical lens was identity development, delimited to classroom science teaching. We used complementary data collection methods and analysis, including interviews, electronic communications, and drawing prompts. We found that our two participants referenced as important the ISE experiences in their development of classroom science identities that included resilience, excitement and engagement in science teaching and learning–qualities that are emphasized in ISE contexts. The data support our conclusion that the ISE experiences proved especially memorable to teacher education interns during the implementation of the No Child Left Behind policy which concentrated on school-tested subjects other than science.     

Effects of Model‐based Teaching on Pre‐service Physics Teachers’ Conceptions of the Moon,Moon Phases,and Other Lunar Phenomena

The purpose of this study was twofold. First, it was aimed to identify Turkish pre‐service physics teachers’ knowledge and understanding of the Moon, Moon phases, and other lunar phenomena. Second, the effects of model‐based teaching on pre‐service teachers’ conceptions were examined. Conceptions were proposed as mental models in this study. Four different questionnaires including 22 generative, explanation, and factual questions were used through the study. The pre‐service physics teachers’ mental models generated in response to lunar phenomena might be representations of their naïve knowledge as a result of their causal observations and experiences with the world, and their misconceptions as a result of inconsistencies between their naïve knowledge and scientific knowledge. Therefore, the pre‐service teachers’ mental models were categorized based on the work by Chi and Roscoe. Some of the pre‐service teachers’ mental models shifted from flawed or incomplete mental models to correct mental models of the Moon and lunar phenomena with the facilitation of model‐based teaching. The conclusions of the study carry implications for curriculum developers and teacher education.     

Evaluating Instrument Quality in Science Education: Rasch‐based analyses of a Nature of Science test

Given the central importance of the Nature of Science (NOS) and Scientific Inquiry (SI) in national and international science standards and science learning, empirical support for the theoretical delineation of these constructs is of considerable significance. Furthermore, tests of the effects of varying magnitudes of NOS knowledge on domain‐specific science understanding and belief require the application of instruments validated in accordance with AERA, APA, and NCME assessment standards. Our study explores three interrelated aspects of a recently developed NOS instrument: (1) validity and reliability; (2) instrument dimensionality; and (3) item scales, properties, and qualities within the context of Classical Test Theory and Item Response Theory (Rasch modeling). A construct analysis revealed that the instrument did not match published operationalizations of NOS concepts. Rasch analysis of the original instrument—as well as a reduced item set—indicated that a two‐dimensional Rasch model fit significantly better than a one‐dimensional model in both cases. Thus, our study revealed that NOS and SI are supported as two separate dimensions, corroborating theoretical distinctions in the literature. To identify items with unacceptable fit values, item quality analyses were used. A Wright Map revealed that few items sufficiently distinguished high performers in the sample and excessive numbers of items were present at the low end of the performance scale. Overall, our study outlines an approach for how Rasch modeling may be used to evaluate and improve Likert‐type instruments in science education.     

The Additional Effects of Process and Outcome Feedback Following Brief In‐service Teacher Training

Three primary school teachers attended a half‐day, in‐service training workshop which targeted instructional and managerial behaviours identified as being functionally related to students’ academic engaged behaviours in class. Following the workshop, daily observations showed only temporary changes in the teachers’ and their students’ behaviours with trends back towards baseline measures. After this period of ‘no feedback’, three conditions of in‐class performance feedback were introduced in different sequences to each teacher: outcome feedback (based on measures of a sample of their students’ academic engaged behaviour during lessons), process feedback (based on measures of the teachers’ own instructional behaviours), and a combination of both outcome and process feedback.

A time‐series, multiple baseline across subjects design was employed which allowed comparison of measures of teachers’ and students’ behaviours during the immediate post‐workshop period and during periods of the three types of feedback. The results showed that the introduction of performance feedback had the immediate (and cumulative) effect of increasing the behaviours targeted in the workshop to high rates that were maintained even when feedback was withdrawn. There were, however, no differences in the comparative efficacy of outcome, process or outcome/process combination effects.

The study builds upon existing research which has shown performance feedback to be an essential component of effective professional development and staff training packages that target workplace behaviour change. It also adds to the limited research that has examined the efficacy of different types of performance feedback and suggests other variables, such as who presents the feedback, may be important.     

Effects of the Problem-Posing Approach on Students’ Problem Solving Skills and Metacognitive Awareness in Science Education

Research in Science Education - The interrelationship between mathematics and science education has frequently been emphasized, and common goals and approaches have often been adopted between...     

The Effects of Computer‐assisted Systematic Observation on the Attitudes and Efficiencies of Pre‐service Teachers

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of computer‐assistance during systematic observation on the attitudes of pre‐service teachers towards systematic observation and on the time required to analyze the data gathered. During their field experience, pre‐service teachers were randomly assigned to conduct systematic observation in a computer‐assisted group or traditional ‘pencil and paper’ group. Results indicated that pre‐service teachers who used computer‐assisted systematic observation required significantly (alpha – 0.01) less time to perform quantitative analysis. The data also revealed several significant differences in attitudes between the pre‐service teachers who used computers and those who used the traditional ‘pencil and paper’ methods of systematic observation.     

Reflections on “Science Teaching and the Nature of Science”

Science &; Education -