Student Teachers’ Knowledge About Chemical Representations

Chemical representations serve as a communication tool not only in exchanges between scientists but also in chemistry lessons. The goals of the present study were to measure the extent of student teachers’ knowledge about chemical representations, focusing on chemical formulae and structures in particular, and to explore which factors related to the education in school and university contribute to inter-individual differences. Using a quantitative cross-sectional design, 322 students from 12 German universities in different stages of their university education were tested with the Chemical Representations Inventory (CRI, Taskin, Bernholt, & Parchmann, 2015). In addition, a short questionnaire was administered containing demographic data and possible factors that could have an effect on students’ success in solving the items of the inventory. The data was analyzed by using Rasch modeling. The results show that student teachers’ knowledge about chemical representations is quite low, with an average of students’ total achievement of 50 % in the corresponding inventory on chemical representations. A multivariate linear model revealed that passing exam(s) in organic chemistry at university, the grade of school leaving certificate, gender as well as studying chemistry in upper secondary school on basic and advanced levels are significant predictors of student teachers’ knowledge. In total, these predictors are able to explain 30.3 % of the variance in the test results. The dominance of school-related variables in the regression analysis indicates that school education seems to be still important after several years of studying and is not equalized by education at university.     

A Study on Teachers’and Students’Beliefs about English Teaching

Teacher and learner beliefs have been found to play an important role in EFL teaching and learning.The present em pirical study explores a group of college teachers’and students’beliefs about English teaching by using questionnaire.The statisti cal result shows that teachers and students have divergent views about many issues in English teaching.     

A Qualitative Study of British Student Teachers’ Lesson Planning Perspectives

Abstract

Five student teachers on a one year, internship based Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) course, were tracked in an attempt to understand their lesson planning perspectives. The investigation concentrated on the key areas of the planning process as it related to their learning, their beliefs about planning, the process of planning and the factors that influenced that process. The data are presented in the form of two case studies and the discussion includes the implications for future research in the area, as well as recommendations for reforming the role of lesson planning in teacher education.     

Preservice Biology Teachers’ Conceptions About the Tentative Nature of Theories and Models in Biology

In research on the nature of science, there is a need to investigate the role and status of different scientific knowledge forms. Theories and models are two of the most important knowledge forms within biology and are the focus of this study. During interviews, preservice biology teachers (N = 10) were asked about their understanding of theories and models. They were requested to give reasons why they see theories and models as either tentative or certain constructs. Their conceptions were then compared to philosophers’ positions (e.g., Popper, Giere). A category system was developed from the qualitative content analysis of the interviews. These categories include 16 conceptions for theories (n _tentative = 11; n _certain  = 5) and 18 conceptions for models (n _tentative = 10; n _certain = 8). The analysis of the interviews showed that the preservice teachers gave reasons for the tentativeness or certainty of theories and models either due to their understanding of the terms or due to their understanding of the generation or evaluation of theories and models. Therefore, a variety of different terminology, from different sources, should be used in learning-teaching situations. Additionally, an understanding of which processes lead to the generation, evaluation, and refinement or rejection of theories and models should be discussed with preservice teachers. Within philosophy of science, there has been a shift from theories to models. This should be transferred to educational contexts by firstly highlighting the role of models and also their connections to theories.     

Teachers’ and Students’ Conceptions of Good Science Teaching

Capitalizing on the comments made by teachers on videos of exemplary science teaching, a video-based survey instrument on the topic of ‘Density’ was developed and used to investigate the conceptions of good science teaching held by 110 teachers and 4,024 year 7 students in Hong Kong. Six dimensions of good science teaching are identified from the 55-item questionnaire, namely, ‘focussing on science learning’, ‘facilitating students’ understanding’, ‘encouraging students’ involvement’, ‘creating conducive environment’, ‘encouraging active experimentation’ and ‘preparing students for exam (PSE)’. Significant gaps between teachers’ and students’ conceptions on certain dimensions have been revealed. The inconsistency on the dimension ‘PSE’ is particularly evident and possible reasons for the phenomenon are suggested. This study raises the important questions of how the gap can be addressed, and who is to change in order to close the gaps. Answers to these questions have huge implications for teacher education and teacher professional development.     

South African Primary Mathematics Teachers’ Experiences and Perspectives About Lesson Study

This study aims to investigate the perspectives of primary school teachers in South Africa, who participated in a Lesson Study (LS) project, on this professional development process and about their professional learning. The study followed a mixed approach, with data collected through a questionnaire, followed up by interviews. A novel approach in this study was to source teachers’ experiences of the individual stages of LS as well as of the integrated process. Teachers’ perspectives on LS were categorised into 5 themes: collaboration — commitment and the free rider effect, confidence issues, teachers’ knowledge and skills, misconceptions about the LS approach, and external issues including concerns over time of teachers and learners, systemic challenges and school management. Using teachers’ individual and focus group inputs in the questionnaire and the interviews, we report about their experiences.

     

Investigating Undergraduate Science Students’ Conceptions and Misconceptions of Ocean Acidification

Scientific research exploring ocean acidification has grown significantly in past decades. However, little science education research has investigated the extent to which undergraduate science students understand this topic. Of all undergraduate students, one might predict science students to be best able to understand ocean acidification. What conceptions and misconceptions of ocean acidification do these students hold? How does their awareness and knowledge compare across disciplines? Undergraduate biology, chemistry/biochemistry, and environmental studies students, and science faculty for comparison, were assessed on their awareness and understanding. Results revealed low awareness and understanding of ocean acidification among students compared with faculty. Compared with biology or chemistry/biochemistry students, more environmental studies students demonstrated awareness of ocean acidification and identified the key role of carbon dioxide. Novel misconceptions were also identified. These findings raise the question of whether undergraduate science students are prepared to navigate socioenvironmental issues such as ocean acidification.     

Student Perceptions of Teachers—A Factor Analytic Study

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to determine the number and nature of factors which account for student perceptions of teacher effectiveness. The technique consisted of factor analyzing the popular Teacher Image Questionnaire used by the Educator Feedback Center at Western Michigan University. The sample consisted of 1,427 classes yielding 42,810 student responses from teachers representing all academic fields in grades 7-12 from Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Wisconsin. A single factor accounted for an average of 61.5 percent of the variance in test items. The remaining 40 percent of the variance to be accounted for was evenly distributed among five other factors. The results of this study should help educators to recognize the limitations, strengths, and meaning of student reactions to teachers.     

Teaching Electric Circuits: Teachers’ Perceptions and Learners’ Misconceptions

Research in Science Education - An exploratory case study involving six grade 9 science teachers was undertaken to probe how teachers’ understanding of learners’ misconceptions relate...     

Exploring Early Childhood Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices About Preschool Outdoor Play: A Qualitative Study

This qualitative case study explored how early childhood teachers’ beliefs and practices influence the function of preschool outdoor play. Teachers believed that supervision was paramount. They perceived that the physical design of the outdoor environment posed limitations for planning, preparation, and implementation. Teachers’ recollections of their own childhood outdoor activities provided a shared value of freedom during play. Yet, during outdoor play teachers displayed an adherence to rules or a “philosophy-reality conflict” (Hatch & Freeman, 1988, p. 158). Teachers believed that outdoor play is important to the development of young children; however, minimal knowledge of outdoor play and motivation to promote it was not evident.     

Teachers’ Conceptions About the Genetic Determinism of Human Behaviour: A Survey in 23 Countries

This work analyses the answers to a questionnaire from 8,285 in-service and pre-service teachers from 23 countries, elaborated by the Biohead-Citizen research project, to investigate teachers’ conceptions related to the genetic determinism of human behaviour. A principal components analysis is used to assess the main trends in all the interviewed teachers’ conceptions. This illustrates that innatism is present in two distinct ways: in relation to individuals (e.g. genetic determinism to justify intellectual likeness between individuals such as twins) or in relation to groups of humans (e.g. genetic determinism to justify gender differences or the superiority of some human ethnic groups). A between-factor analysis discriminates between countries, showing very significant differences. There is more innatism among teachers’ conceptions in African countries and Lebanon than in European countries, Brazil and Australia. Among the other controlled parameters, only two are significantly independent of the country: the level of training and the level of knowledge of biology. A co-inertia analysis shows a strong correlation between non-citizen attitudes towards and innatist conceptions of genetic determinism regarding human groups. We discuss these findings and their implications for education.     

Preservice Teachers’ Conceptions and Enactments of Project-Based Instruction

We present results of an investigation of preservice secondary mathematics and science teachers’ conceptions of project-based instruction (PBI) and their enactments of PBI in apprentice (student) teaching. We evaluated their thinking and implementations within a composite framework based on the work of education researchers. We analyzed survey responses, both qualitatively and statistically, from three cohorts of preservice teachers both before and after apprentice teaching. In addition we interviewed and observed a subset of these future teachers. We found that in general the preservice teachers held superficial views of PBI, as compared to the researcher framework. Participants reported time and curriculum restrictions as major barriers; however, teachers for whom enactment of PBI was presented as an explicit goal, and who were given support toward that end, were more likely to enact authentic implementations, regardless of previous reservations about PBI. Without this additional scaffolding, even teachers with high affinity for PBI were unlikely to implement it authentically.     

Teachers’ Conceptions of Gifted and Talented Young Children

Efforts by schools to cater more adequately for highly able students necessitate a shared understanding regarding the gifted and talented. This research aims to ascertain the qualitatively different ways in which teachers identify and describe gifted and talented children. It examines the variety of conceptions of giftedness held by teachers and analyses the patterns and inconsistencies among them. Initial findings of the study, conducted with 16 early childhood teachers (two male and 14 female), are reported. A qualitative phenomenographic research design was adopted because of its focus on revealing individual understandings (conceptions). These results show that teachers understand giftedness as a series of conceptions, namely excellence, potential, rarity, behaviour, innate ability, motivation and asynchrony. These are discussed with reference to existing theories and pertinent research. Results represent the initial findings of an ongoing major research project.     

Effects of Labels and Competence on Teachers’ Attributions for a Student

The extent to which special education teachers judged the mathematics performance of a fourth-grade youngster to be a function of his handicapping condition and/or his competence was evaluated. A videotape presentation and brief case study were reviewed and participating teachers were asked the extent to which various attributes were influential in the child’s performance. Differences were indicated for both labels and levels of competence. The results are discussed with regard to previous research and implications for reducing the effects of labels.     

Effects of Early Field Experience on Student Teachers’ Self-Concepts and Performance

This research was designed to determine whether (1) selecting a pre-student teaching field-based experience brought about significant differences in secondary student teachers’ self-concepts and performance; and (2) whether self-concept scores were predictors of performance ratings. Student teachers who had selected Project Interaction (PI) and those who had no early field experience (NF) were pre-and posttested on four self-concept variables, and rated on performance by cooperating teachers, supervisors, and by self-ratings. Pretest self-concept scores were correlated with performance ratings. Results indicated the PI group had significantly more conflict on the pretest, which was reversed on the posttest to produce a trend toward significantly less conflict. The PI group had significantly higher self-esteem than the NF group on the posttest. No significant differences were found on performance ratings, but cooperating teachers’ ratings did correlate with pretest self-concept scores. It was concluded that early field experience appeared to have latent positive effects on self-concept.     

Science Teachers’ Misconceptions in Science and Engineering Distinctions: Reflections on Modern Research Examples

The aim of this exploratory study was to learn about the misconceptions that may arise for elementary and high school science teachers in their reflections on science and engineering practice. Using readings and videos of real science and engineering work, teachers’ reflections were used to uncover the underpinnings of their understandings. This knowledge ultimately provides information about supporting professional development (PD) for science teachers’ knowledge of engineering. Six science teachers (two elementary and four high school teachers) participated in the study as part of an online PD experience. Cunningham and Carlsen’s (Journal of Science Teacher Education 25:197–210, 2014) relative emphases of science and engineering practices were used to frame the design of PD activities and the analyses of teachers’ views. Analyses suggest misconceptions within the eight practices of science and engineering from the US Next Generation Science Standards in four areas. These are that: (1) the nature of the practices in both science and engineering research is determined by the long-term implications of the research regardless of the nature of the immediate work, (2) engineering and science are hierarchical, (3) creativity is inappropriate, and (4) research outcomes cannot be processes. We discuss the nature of these understandings among participants and the implications for engineering education PD for science teachers.     

Misconceptions About Human Rights and Women’s Rights in Islam

This paper aims to clarify three current misconceptions about the Islamic faith and issues of human rights and women’s rights in the West. The first misconception is that Muslims are terrorists because they believe in Jihad. It is factually the case that Islamic teachings stress the value of peace and prosperity for all human beings. The second misconception is that Muslims prohibit scientific knowledge and only aim to seek religious knowledge. To the contrary, Qur’an emphasizes that the opportunity to seek all forms of knowledge is a human right and responsibility of all Muslims. The third misconception and perhaps, the most controversial, is that Islam oppresses women. In reality, Islam offers women the right to make their own choices in the areas of education, business, and property, to name a few. By sharing my own experiential narrative as a Muslim born woman and that of a Canadian women who converted to Islam, I can actually see the similarities between human rights in Islam and the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948).     

Third-Graders’ Conceptions About the Origin of Species Before and After Instruction: an Exploratory Study

This study examines how third-graders’ conceptions about the origin of species are affected by formal instruction and whether children can learn not only about evolution but also about natural selection. We interviewed the same group of third-grade children (8–9 years old) twice, before and after following a curriculum about these topics. Creationist answers were very rare at both pre- and post-tests. The number of evolutionist answers increased significantly after instruction. However, children learned about evolution in a piecemeal way; they gave evolutionist answers for only some of the animals they were asked about and made several errors when putting classes of vertebrates on a time line. In addition, only a minority of children learned something about evolutionary mechanisms. They said that new-born animals can be different from the parents because of mutations but did not mention differential survival. These results challenge the views, according to which, cognitive biases (i.e. essentialism, teleological and intentional thinking) make children unreceptive to evolution.