What��s Missing in Model-Based Teaching

In this study, the author investigated how four science teachers employed model-based teaching (MBT) over a 1-year period. The purpose of the research was to develop a baseline of the fundamental and specific dimensions of MBT that are present and absent in science teaching. Teacher interviews, classroom observations, and pre and post-student assessments were gathered. Using a Generate-Evaluate-Modify framework as a theoretical guide, the author identified three fundamental aspects of MBT that were not apparent in an analysis of the teaching methods. Drawing on these findings, the author hypothesizes the consequent impact of the absence of these aspects on MBT on students?? experiences and performance in science. Implications for core science teacher professional development activities on MBT are discussed.     

Emerging: An Art Field Placement’s Impact on Practice

ABSTRACT

This exploratory study examined the experiences of 9 stakeholders in an art gallery field placement during their social work education. The study sought to understand how the nontraditional field placement prepared students for practice. In addition, personality traits of students that best fit the placement was examined. Findings suggest that students had been prepared to engage in a variety of practice behaviors, work independently, and be more creative. However, they also felt that the field placement setting did not give them enough direct practice opportunities. The two most salient personality traits were being flexible and an initiator.     

Professor Barry Fraser��s contributions to science education research

In this article, I endeavour to convey the depth of Barry Fraser’s contributions to science education research, including his tireless endeavours to promote and advance research, especially the field of learning environments, the realisation of his vision to create one of the largest doctoral programs in science and mathematics education in the world, his leadership capacity in terms of guiding and leading an internationally renowned centre and large-scale cross-national and cross-cultural studies, his dedication towards human capacity building in Africa, Asia and elsewhere, his capacity as a mentor and editor that have seen the publication of numerous journal articles and books and the ongoing success of science education research journals.     

M��lama I Ka ����ina, Sustainability: learning from Hawai��i��s displaced place and culture-based science standard

This response to Mitchell and Mueller’s “A philosophical analysis of David Orr’s theory of ecological literacy” comments on their critique of Orr’s use of the phrase “ecological crisis” and what I perceive as their conflicting views of “crisis.” I present my views on ecological crisis informed by standpoint theory and the definition of crisis as turning point. I connect the concept of turning point to tipping point as used in ecology to describe potentially irreversible changes in coupled social-ecological systems. I suggest that sustainable societies may provide models of adaptive learning in which monitoring of ecological phenomena is coupled to human behavior to mitigate threats to sustainability before a crisis/tipping point is reached. Finally, I discuss the Hawai‘i State Department of Education’s removal of its Indigenous science content standard Mālama I Ka ‘Āina, Sustainability and its continued use in community-based projects.     

Kinesiology’s Tower of Babel: Advancing the Field with Consistent Nomenclature

The knowledge base of kinesiology can be compared to the construction of a fragmented, diffuse tower. Much of the lack of identity and progress of kinesiology as the leader in the study of human physical activity may result from inconsistent nomenclature. Several examples of improper and inconsistent use of kinesiology nomenclature are noted and three solutions are proposed. A call to action for kinesiology organizations, editorial boards of kinesiology journals, and individual scholars on standardizing kinesiology terminology is presented to advance kinesiology knowledge and recognition of the field, and to support integrated, interdisciplinary scholarship.     

Labels DO Matter! A Critique of AECT’s Redefinition of the Field

AECT has recently (yet again!) redefined our field, reverting back to the use of the term educational technology. We believe this recent change is problematic for a number of reasons, but primarily because of the weak rationale offered for the change. This change affects how external audiences view our profession and is likely to confuse practitioners in corporate and higher education settings in particular. We offer a review of job postings, program titles, and listserv discussions to support our case. The labels we use to define ourselves are critically important - and we hope to see a stronger case made for changes for our foundational definitions in the future.     

A review of Catherine Milne��s book, The Invention of Science

Catherine Milne’s book, The Invention of Science, recounts the history of science (mainly Eurocentric) from cross-cultural, historical and philosophical worldviews. Scientists, science educators, and teachers would find this an interesting book, not only for themselves but also for those with whom they interact. Most accounts are of the great men in science with some to women in science, including reference to the exclusion of women from science. Milne provides thought-provoking activities to use in the classroom, like asking students to write the processes that occur when sugar dissolves in hot tea, with students including the three components of causal explanation. She also encourages teachers to use narratives to help students learn the context of discovery in science. In a comparison of analogical, deductive, inductive and abductive reasoning, she encourages teachers to pay attention to dialogical arguments. Book review author predicts that Milne’s book will fit well with the nation’s next generation science standards, still in development form. Milne succeeded in her goal “to combine aspects of the philosophy and history; not just to focus on specific scientific ideas but to provide a hint of the complex relationship between place and history, space and time, in the development of Eurocentric science.”     

��Romantic��, ��Classic�� and ��Baroque�� Views of Nature: An Analysis of Pictures About the Environment in Greek Primary School Textbooks��Diachronic Considerations

Taking the view that pictures are not a transparent but rather a deforming mirror of reality, shaping representations of the world bound up with the interests of the social institutions within which pictures are circulated and read, our aim is to explore what view of nature and of the human-nature relationship is built in Greek natural science school textbooks. The particular textbooks analysed have been recently introduced (in 2006 and 2007) into Greek education. The pictorial analysis suggests that a ??baroque?? view of nature and of the human-nature relationship predominantly emerges, according to which nature is constantly in motion, and therefore random and unpredictable natural change could be ??normal??. Natural environments are viewed in materialistic terms, being transformed by humans and serving as a resource. A comparison with our analysis of the older textbooks written in the early 1980s (Korfiatis et al. 2004) seems to indicate important conceptual differences between the two series of textbooks. The ??romantic?? and ??classic?? views of nature in the old textbooks could express the vigour, the optimism and the innocence characterising industrial societies (or in the process of industrialisation) about human interventions in the environment. Conversely, the ??baroque?? view found in the new textbooks probably marks the scepticism of post-industrial societies about natural phenomena.     

The effects of summary production and encoding condition on children��s metacognitive monitoring

Two studies were conducted to investigate whether context variations were suitable to improve metacognitive judgments in children in a complex, everyday memory task. In the first phase of each experiment, participants were shown a short event (video) and gave judgments-of-learning (JOLs), that is, rated their certainty that they would later be able to recall specific details correctly. In the second phase of the experiments, participants took part in a memory interview about the memory event and gave confidence judgments (CJs), that is, rated their certainty that the provided answers to the memory questions were correct. Study 1 specifically investigated the potential positive influence of giving a verbal summary before the JOL-interview on metacognitive monitoring, whereas Study 2 had a closer look on the effect of intentional versus non-intentional encoding on JOL and CJ accuracy. Results revealed no significant influence of giving a summary and hardly any effect of encoding condition on metamemory monitoring although children from age 6 on showed adequate monitoring performance. JOL accuracy appears to be a complex process, which is even more difficult to influence in children than in adults.     

Dynamical Behavior of Core ~3 He Nuclear Reaction-Diffusion Systems and Sun′s Gravitational Field

IthasbeenlongunderstoodthatthegravityplaysavitalroleinsuchinstabilityofhydrodynamicsastheBenardconvection. Itisworthnoticing, forareac tion diffusionsystem, thegravityfieldcouldbringaboutinhomogeneityinspace, leadingtothebreakofspacesymmetryandthenintroducingthepreferenceforstates[1]. Intheinteriorofastar, thecorenuclearreactionsareaffectedalwaysbythegravitationalfield,thepressure, thediffusionofparticlesandthemotionoffluid, amongwhichthegravitationalfieldwasbe lievedtobeareasonfordrivingt…     

Dynamical Behavior of Core ^3He Nuclear Reaction-Diffusion Systems and Sun＇s Gravitational Field

The coupling of the sun‘s gravitational field with processes of diffusion and convection exerts a significant influence on the dynamical behavior of the core 3He nuclear reaction-diffusion system. Stability analyses of the system are made in this paper by using the theory of nonequilibrium dynamics. It is showed that, in the nuclear reaction regions extending from the center to about 0. 38 times of the radius of the sun, the gravitational field enables the core ^3He nuclear reaction-diffusion system to become unstable and, after the instability, new states to appear in the system have characteristic of time oscillation. This may change the production rates of both ^7Be and ^8B neutrinos.     

George Glasson and George Bogg��s prospects on the environmental friendly relationship and ecojustice

This rejoinder to George Glasson and George Bogg’s papers provides additional conversation for considering the idea that we try to develop: leaving the classroom to continue teaching. Converting the teaching–learning process into research experiences brings our students not only scientific knowledge, but also an understanding of the research procedures. To be involved in field work, students can connect more personally the local action with global issues. On the ground in which we operate, environmental science, teaching of knowledge is insufficient if not accompanied by ecological experiences where students can see and share the needs of environmental protection and the idea of sustainability. Both response authors tell us about their own experiences in research in this regard. In their essays we can appreciate the desire to investigate human activities on ecosystems. Reading it makes us look with passion and awareness at the different consequences for our ecological environments: if we develop environmentally consequential behavior or harmful lifestyles for the planet. Furthermore, they warn us of the need to follow the development of students learning and reflect on the ways in which it produces time-causal relationship between persons and the environment.     

Alphab��tisation �� travers l��Initiative LIFE et le suivi de CONFINTEA VI au Maghreb

Literacy education through the LIFE Initiative and follow-up of CONFINTEA VI in the Maghreb ?C Illiteracy is seriously compromising the economic and social development of the Maghreb countries. In Morocco and Mauritania, for instance, national strategies and literacy programmes have been implemented. These efforts ought to be assessed so that lessons can be learned from them and the contribution of the national and international initiatives implemented in recent years can be evaluated. The Sixth International Conference on Adult Education provided an opportunity to launch a Maghreb-wide literacy cooperation process. Drawing on the experience of two high-priority countries (Morocco and Mauritania), the countries of the Maghreb created a mechanism for ongoing exchange within the framework of the Forum on Literacy for the Maghreb Region. The second meeting of this Forum, which was held in May 2010 in Nouakchott, was devoted to monitoring the implementation of the Belém Framework for Action and resulted in the creation of a joint cooperation programme in this domain.     

Tackling Suboptimal Bachelor��s Degree Completion Rates Through Training in Self-Regulated Learning (SRL)

In response to both problematic and extant gaps in Bachelor??s degree completion rates, this mixed methods study investigated whether a theoretically based undergraduate course intervention measurably contributed to participants?? competence as self-regulated learners. Respective quantitative and qualitative analyses of data collected from two samples showed that intervention participants experienced growth in the targeted self-regulatory constructs. Moreover, differential effects by race/ethnicity and gender were not observed. We conclude with a discussion of this study??s implications for institutions of higher education, pertinent considerations in designing and implementing this self-regulated learning intervention, and a review of the literature on effective practices for doing so.     

Fronti��res, traduction et politiques de la diff��rence : la tache herm��neutique de l����ducation compar��e

Borders, translation and politics of difference: the hermeneutic task of comparative education ?C Governments are making increasing use of international comparisons as a tool to run and reform education systems, through the establishment of competency norms and assessment standards. In light of this trend, this paper wishes not only to reiterate the crucial distinction, made by Max Weber as early as 1922, between scientific research and political action, but also to recall the principles of separation and mediation from which the comparative approach in education derives. The concepts that comprise a language, that are disseminated and become established in a social world, are borne of history, of dynamic uses, and are culturally rooted. By neglecting this social and cultural provenance of words there is a danger that one can end up with a comparability based on functional equivalencies alone; although there are strong pressures in this direction, it is probably the surest way, in the words of Marcel Détienne, of ??comparing the incomparable??. The purely instrumental rationality that favours the spread of such frameworks or interpretative models appears indifferent to questions of meaning and culture, apart from being irrational on an axiological level, if we follow Weber. Strangeness or even ??otherness?? tends to be erased. One wonders therefore what issues are raised for the comparativist when the illusion of spontaneity in translation is reduced to a functional equivalence. In keeping with the researcher??s responsibility to mediate, he/she must promote clarification and mutual understanding (inspired by C. Taylor), replacing the standardisation of words with a critical illumination of the semiotic variations generated by their use.     

Education abroad, human capital development, and national competitiveness: China��s brain gain strategies

This is a documentary study of education abroad policy in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) between 1978 and 2009. By examining the dynamics underpinning the PRC state’s efforts to shape the flow of Chinese students and scholars from and into China, this article reveals the major strategies that have enabled education abroad to become a source of brain gain. It argues that China’s brain gain strategies feature three characteristics: a proactive diplomatic approach to international educational relations; strategic dependence on foreign higher education resources and a decentralized economic mechanism to raise foreign-trained human capital. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of Chinese experience for our understanding of the complex and dynamic relations between the state, the market, universities and international relations as relating to cross-border academic mobility, international educational relations, and national development in a globalizing world.     

Field dependence–independence and strategic learning

Cognitive style may influence the acquisition and application of efficient learning strategies. Among the dimensions of cognitive style identified to date, field dependence–independence (FDI) has been shown to be particularly important, given the wide diversity and transcendence of its educational implications. In particular, the characteristics demonstrated by extreme field dependent and independent subjects in different intellectual tasks lead to differential preferences expected of them in the use of learning strategies. These, in turn, could correspond to differences in the efficiency of use of strategies. In this chapter a review of the studies carried out to date about this subject is offered.     

Principles Supporting the Perceptional Teaching of Physics: A ��Practical Teaching Philosophy��

This article sketches a framework of ideas developed in the context of decades of physics teacher-education that was entitled the "perceptional approach". Individual learning and the scientific enterprise are interpreted as different manifestations of the same process aimed at understanding the natural and social worlds. The process is understood to possess the basic nature of perception, where empirical meanings are first born and then conceptualised. The accumulation of perceived gestalts in the ??structure of the mind?? leads to structural perception and the generation of conceptual hierarchies, which form a general principle for the expansion of our understanding. The process undergoes hierarchical development from early sensory perception to individual learning and finally to science. The process is discussed in terms of a three-process dynamic. Scientific and technological processes are driven by the interaction of the mind and nature. They are embedded in the social process due to the interaction of individual minds. These sub-processes are defined by their aims: The scientific process affects the mind and aims at understanding; the technological process affects nature and aims at human well-being; and the social process aims at mutual agreement and cooperation. In hierarchical development the interaction of nature and the mind gets structured into a ??methodical cycle?? by procedures involving conscious activities. Its intuitive nature is preserved due to subordination of the procedures to empirical meanings. In physics, two dimensions of hierarchical development are distinguished: Unification development gives rise to a generalisation hierarchy of concepts; Quantification development transfers the empirical meanings to quantities, laws and theories representing successive hierarchical levels of quantitative concepts. Consequences for physics teaching are discussed in principle, and in the light of examples and experiences from physics teacher education.