Science-based laboratory comprehension: an examination of effective practices within traditional,online and blended learning environments

An increase in online education is causing science educators to evaluate student cognitive understanding after completing virtual, computer-simulated laboratories. Online education has demonstrated comparable learning gains when analysed to those of the traditional classroom, but research is mixed when reviewing students’ ability to manipulate tangible laboratory equipment after participating in online experimentation. The question remains, are students who are exclusively enrolled in online science courses equipped with the cognitive ability to operate laboratory equipment within a physical laboratory? When considering the optimal learning environment for science majors, educators have discovered the blended classroom may provide the perfect opportunity to combine the benefits of face-to-face instruction and feedback with the reinforcement of scientific theory through technology integration. New advances in virtual education provide promising examples of enhancing the online classroom laboratory in all scientific disciplines. Further insight into the blended classroom has the potential to influence the field of education towards an optimal learning environment for science majors in colleges and universities.     

发展认知神经科学及其对当代教育的启示

发展认知神经科学是认知科学、神经科学、人类发展科学的重要交叉学科,是儿童发展研究新的增长点。成熟理论、技能学习理论、交互式特化作用理论是发展认知神经科学目前已形成的三大理论。发展认知神经科学关于神经高级功能的可塑性研究,为终身教育提供了科学依据;关于神经发育的研究,为早期教育提供了科学依据;对神经发育异常的研究,为特殊教育以及神经康复提供了科学依据。     

Intelligent educational systems for anchored instruction?

Conclusion In this article, the potential for using Intelligent Educational Systems for anchoring instruction in macro contexts in science education has been explored. The rationale provided, the examples presented, and the issues posed should help to initiate research on anchored instruction using computers. An argument could be made that assuming the principles of anchored instruction are generalizable, they should be applicable to IES as they are to interactive video systems. Intelligent Educational Systems as computer-based systems have an advantage over video systems in terms of long-range use. IES environments might be more cost-effective than video systems in the long range. Also, IES are suitable for studying cognitive processes and for developing cognitive models to improve anchored instruction. His research interests include computer applications in science instruction ans assessment.     

Co‐constructing inquiry‐based science with teachers: Essential research for lasting reform

In this article we assert a potential research agenda for the teaching and learning of science as inquiry as part of the JRST series on reform in science education. Drawing on the theoretical frameworks of cognitive and sociocultural constructivism, cultural models of meaning, the dialogic function of language, and transformational models of teacher education, we propose that more research is needed in the areas of teachers' beliefs, knowledge, and practices of inquiry‐based science, as well as, student learning. Because the efficacy of reform efforts rest largely with teachers, their voices need to be included in the design and implementation of inquiry‐based curriculum. As we review the literature and pose future research questions, we propose that particular attention be paid to research on inquiry in diverse classrooms, and to modes of inquiry‐based instruction that are designed by teachers. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 38: 631–645, 2001     

Affordances of ICT in science learning: implications for an integrated pedagogy

This paper presents an analysis of how affordances of ICT‐rich environments identified from a recent review of the research literature can support students in learning science in schools within a proposed framework for pedagogical practice in science education. Furthermore other pedagogical and curriculum innovations in science education (promoting cognitive change, formative assessment and lifelong learning) are examined to see how they may be supported and enhanced by affordances of ICT‐rich environments. The affordances that I have identified support learning through four main effects: promoting cognitive acceleration; enabling a wider range of experience so that students can relate science to their own and other real‐world experiences; increasing students' self‐management; and facilitating data collection and presentation. ICT‐rich environments already provide a range of affordances that have been shown to enable learning of science but integrating these affordances with other pedagogical innovations provides even greater potential for enhancement of students' learning.     

Alternative constructs and cognitive development: Commonalities,divergences, and possibilities for evidence

The last fifteen years of research in science education has seen the emergence, flowering, proliferation, and now perhaps slight wilting of studies of pupils' alternative constructs. Meanwhile the older, broadly Piagetian, tradition of work rooted in notions of cognitive development was attacked as being, inter alia, deterministic, concentrating on what children could not do, and getting even that wrong since children could be shown to be a lot cleverer than the cognitive developmentalists claimed. The time has perhaps now come to look at these two lines of work together to see what assumptions they share and where their paradigms, aims, and methods differ significantly. In this paper I will claim that there is far less antagonism between the two traditions than is often represented, but that nevertheless the differences are fundamental and lead to different views of the purposes and potential of science education. Possible evidence that might be adduced in support of one view at the expense of the other will be considered and exemplified with recent results of a cognitive acceleration project. Specializations: cognitive development, curriculum development, in-service education, project evaluation.     

Towards a Conceptual Profile: Rethinking Conceptual Mediation in the Light of Recent Cognitive and Neuroscientific Findings

One important focus for science education researchers over many years has been the attempts to replace students' commonsense and non-scientific explanations of various phenomena by scientific explanations. The approach we adopted almost three decades ago was conceptual mediation, and this was shown to have a considerable level of success with both conceptual and attitudinal change. However, since that time, advances have been made in the application of both cognitive science and neuroscience to science learning. In particular, evidence has accumulated that, rather than the replacement of the commonsense view, the reality is that learners develop a conceptual profile which includes both the commonsense and the scientific. If this is the case, instead of focussing on conceptual replacement, science educators need to aim more actively at strengthening the learner's executive processes which select contextually appropriate responses and inhibit inappropriate ones. In this paper, the initial development, theoretical basis and the practical applications of conceptual mediation are introduced, following which, these are re-examined in the light of more recent findings. Within this discussion, several potential links to recent cognitive and neuroscientific research are drawn, and these raise issues for further research into the most appropriate teaching approaches for tackling existing non-scientific conceptions.     

建构主义对科学教育理论的贡献与局限

建构主义在教育上的贡献主要在于在教育思想上进一步强调了认知主体的主动性 ,在科学教育上指出了科学知识学习的困难性。但激进的建构主义认识论和方法论在根本上有悖于科学理性 ,将认知主体的主动性和科学学习的困难性夸大为科学知识不可传授 ,这给教育研究和实践带来了混乱。在我国进行科学教育理论探索和实践的过程中 ,在应用建构主义原理发展学生的自主性的同时 ,应注意防止激进的建构主义的负面影响     

How Relevant Is R.S. Peters’ Conception of Education to Science Education?

This paper discusses R.S. Peters’ concept of education, particularly his notion of cognitive perspective and its relevance to school science education. In light of the problems inherent in any attempt to define the notion of scientific literacy, it is argued that the development of cognitive perspective can be considered an important, if not the ultimate, goal of school science education. Such a goal not only provides an alternative way to view the development of scientific literacy, but it also points to a conception of scientific literacy that is neither too narrow nor too broad. In view of recent reform efforts that promote a utilitarian and instrumentalist conception of school science education, Peters’ notion of cognitive perspective can provide food for thought for all those interested in a science education that educates students in science by helping them understand the personal and the wider significance of scientific knowledge. Such a conception of school science education is in line with the view that education and learning should make students change their outlook on the world. In addition, such a conception can enrich the ongoing dialogue on scientific literacy as the primary goal of school science education.     

Science education as an exercise in foreign affairs

In Kuhnian terms, science education has been a process of inducting students into the reigning paradigms of science. In 1985, Duschl noted that science education had not kept pace with developments in the history and philosophy of science. The claim of certainty for scientific knowledge which science educators grounded in positivist philosophy was rendered untenable years ago and it turns out that social and cultural factors surrounding discovery may be at least as important as the justification of knowledge.Capitalizing on these new developments, Duschl, Hamilton, and Grandy (1990) wrote a compelling argument for the need to have a joint research effort in science education involving the philosophy and history of science along with cognitive psychology. However, the issue of discovery compels the research community go one step further. If the science education community has been guilty of neglecting historical and philosophical issues in science, let it not now be guilty of ignoring sociological issues in science. A collaborative view ought also to include the sociological study of cultural milieu in which scientific ideas arise. In other words, an external sociological perspective on science. The logic of discovery from a sociological point of view implies that conceptual change can also be viewed from a sociological perspective.     

Scientific literacy and informal science teaching

Two stages in research on scientific literary are identified: a composite saturation stage in which definitions covered all objects of science education and a stage where researchers focused on small manageable portions of scientific literary. Initial and continuous scientific literacy research in which the focus is on cognitive preference for science and informal science teaching is described. Underlying cognitive preference is a value preference for science. Three interdependent but clearly distinguishable forms of science teaching, formal, nonformal and informal, are described. Informal science teaching is identified as a condition for and an outcome of scientific literacy.     

教育神经科学的领域建构

教育神经科学是将生物科学、认知科学、发展科学和教育科学等学科的知识与技能进行深度整合的具有独特话语体系的一门新兴学科。教育神经科学重视整体人的研究与培养,因此将为教育奠定坚实的基础。建立研究基地、开设专业课程、对教师进行培训、形成共同的话语体系等是促进教育神经科学健康发展的重要保证。     

‘Ed Tech in Reverse’: Information technologies and the cognitive revolution

As we rapidly approach the 50th year of the much‐celebrated ‘cognitive revolution’, it is worth reflecting on its widespread impact on individual disciplines and areas of multidisciplinary endeavour. Of specific concern in this paper is the example of the influence of cognitivism's equation of mind and computer in education. Within education, this paper focuses on a particular area of concern to which both mind and computer are simultaneously central: educational technology. It examines the profound and lasting effect of cognitive science on our understandings of the educational potential of information and communication technologies, and further argues that recent and multiple ‘signs of discontent’, ‘crises’ and even ‘failures’ in cognitive science and psychology should result in changes in these understandings. It concludes by suggesting new directions that educational technology research might take in the light of this crisis of cognitivsm.     

The role of cognitive apprenticeship in learning science in a virtual world

This article extends the discussion started by Margaret Beier, Leslie Miller, and Shu Wang??s (2012) paper, Science games and the development of possible selves. In this paper, I suggest that a theoretical framework based on a sociocultural theory of learning is critical in learning in a virtual environment. I will discuss relevant research on the application of various components of the sociocultural perspective of learning in classroom environments and the potential for applying them in virtual worlds. I propose that research in science education should explore the processes underlying cognitive apprenticeship and determine how these processes can be used in virtual environments to help students learn science successfully.     

Mind, Brain, and Education: Building a Scientific Groundwork for Learning and Teaching1

ABSTRACT— The primary goal of the emerging field of Mind, Brain, and Education is to join biology, cognitive science, development, and education in order to create a sound grounding of education in research. The growing, worldwide movement needs to avoid the myths and distortions of popular conceptions of brain and genetics and build on the best integration of research with practice, creating a strong infrastructure that joins scientists with educators to study effective learning and teaching in educational settings. Science and practice together provide many potentially powerful tools to improve education. Neuroscience and genetics make possible analysis of the "black box" of biological processes that underpin learning. Understanding the biology of abilities and disabilities helps educators and parents to facilitate individual students' learning and development. Cognitive science provides analyses of the mental models/metaphors that pervade meaning making in human cultures, creating tools for avoiding unconscious distortions and crafting effective educational tools. Developmental and learning science produce tools to analyze learning pathways, including both shared patterns and learning differences. To reach the potential of grounding education effectively in research requires improving the infrastructure by creating (a) research schools where practice and science jointly shape educational research, (b) shared databases on learning and development, and (c) a new profession of educational engineers or translators to facilitate connecting research with practice and policy.     

From conceptual development to science education: a psychological point of view

A theoretical framework based on cognitive/developmental research is described. It is argued that science learning is a gradual process during which initial conceptual structures based on children's interpretations of everyday experience are continuously enriched and restructured. Conceptual change also involves increased metaconceptual awareness, cognitive flexibility, and theoretical coherence. Some of the implications of this research for the development of science curricula and for instruction are discussed. It is also argued that while cognitive/developmental research can provide us with important information about the process of learning science, it does not provide much information about the external, environmental variables that can facilitate cognitive performance and conceptual change. What is needed in the future is the development of a theory of learning that bridges science education and cognitive/developmental research. Such a theory should specify the mechanisms that can take an individual from one level of cognitive performance to the next and relate them to situational and cultural factors.     

How fascination for biology is associated with students’ learning in a biodiversity citizen science project

One way of engaging the public in major environmental issues, such as biodiversity loss, is citizen science. Up to now, the potential of implementing citizen science into formal learning environments has remained largely unconsidered. We engaged 276 German 10^th graders in a collaborative citizen science project on DNA barcoding as part of a biodiversity education module. Our research focused on monitoring the relation between fascination for biology and students’ cognitive performance. Following a pre-post-retention design, we measured content knowledge and fascination one week before, one week after, and six weeks after participation in the project. Our findings indicate fascination to be a variable positively related to science learning: in relation to their pre-knowledge scores, all students showed short-term knowledge gain. In the long-term, however, students with high fascination scores retained more knowledge than students with intermediate or low fascination scores.     

Emerging Technologies in Physics Education

Three emerging technologies in physics education are evaluated from the interdisciplinary perspective of cognitive science and physics education research. The technologies—Physlet Physics, the Andes Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS), and Microcomputer-Based Laboratory (MBL) Tools—are assessed particularly in terms of their potential at promoting conceptual change, developing expert-like problem-solving skills, and achieving the goals of the traditional physics laboratory. Pedagogical methods to maximize the potential of each educational technology are suggested.     

Studies of information processing rates in science learning and related cognitive variables. II: A first approximation to estimating a relationship between science reasoning skills and information acquisition

Performance in science reasoning tasks is a significant objective in modem science instruction and increasing emphasis is being placed on the development of higher cognitive processes in science education. An empirical analysis of the relationship between science reasoning skills and the amount of information acquired during science learning as predicted by a neuromathematical model of information processing is presented. As the neuromathematical model includes a variable representing verbal ability, it is to be expected that a direct relationship exists between the amount of knowledge gained as predicted by the model and reasoning ability. The purpose of this research is to derive a formal quantitative statement for the relationship between knowledge acquisition predicted by the neuromathematical equation and scientific reasoning skills. A linear regression equation is obtained relating performance on a science reasoning task to the amount of information acquired as predicted by the neuromathematical model. This research provides a first approximation to providing a theoretical and empirical link between information processing and higher cognitive thought processes in science education.     

开放学习视角下的公众科学发展研究——以“萤火虫守望”为个案

近年来公众科学作为一种基于网络的开放式研究和学习模式已在一些发达国家快速发展。通过对“萤火虫守望”这一公众科学项目发展历程的整理分析,可以看到公众科学项目是通过大规模志愿者的参与形成持续不断的知识生成来维持和发展的,其发展的实质是学习网络的不断扩大与复杂化。个案研究发现：公众科学项目本质上是扩大了的组织化学习系统,在项目运行中具有分布式认知责任与认知过程模式化相统一、技术支持下共同探究和共享知识库在交互中共同发展、线上线下无缝衔接等特点;项目管理的基本经验是通过技术支持落实“学习者中心”理念,培养、激发志愿者创新学习行为以推动项目发展。总之,学习和科研相互促进并在互动中推动公众科学发展,发展公众科学可以在推动科学发展同时实现人才培养模式创新。因此,我国有必要大力发展公众科学,并推动知识管理体制创新和创建更加开放的新型教育生态。