Das Institute of Science and Technology – Austria

Mit BGBl I 2006/69 wurde das Bundesgesetz über das Institute of Science and Technology – Austria erlassen. Der folgende Beitrag besch?ftigt sich mit der Rechtsform, den gesetzliche Aufgaben, der innere Organisation, der studienrechtliche Ausgestaltung sowie der Finanzierung des I.S.T. Austria.     

Reflections on “Science Teaching and the Nature of Science”

Science &; Education -     

K-16 Computationally Rich Science Education: A Ten-Year Review of the Journal of Science Education and Technology (1998–2008)

Computing is anticipated to have an increasingly expansive impact on the sciences overall, becoming the third, crucial component of a “golden triangle” that includes mathematics and experimental and theoretical science. However, even more true with computing than with math and science, we are not preparing our students for this new reality. It is appropriate and compelling therefore to consider how computer science can be fundamentally integrated into science education. This study is a ten-year review (1998–2008) of the Journal of Science Education and Technology, with the following research questions in mind: What are the intersections at the K-16 level between science and computing? What do K-16 science educators already know about the newly emerged field, computational science?     

The Aula EspaZio Gela and the Master of Space Science and Technology in the Universidad del País Vasco (University of the Basque Country)

We present the Aula EspaZio Gela, a facility dedicated to teaching Space Science and Technology at the master and doctorate level at the University of the Basque Country (Spain), and to promoting the development of this field in both public and private sectors. The one-year master's degree in Space Science and Technology (60 ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System)) offers a group of compulsory courses which give way afterwards to a set of elective matters in which students choose one of two tracks: the scientific, primarily oriented to basic research at the University, or the technological, leading to the space industry and space agencies. After completion of the master thesis, our students have direct access to a PhD in both curricular lines. Here we detail the main features of the master's degree and the experience acquired in three years, including a comparative opinion survey to the students. We also describe the facilities at the Faculty of Engineering consisting of a specific classroom (Aula EspaZio Gela), an Astronomical Observatory, and different laboratories.     

Naïve Empiricism and the Nature of Science in Narratives of Conflict Between Science and Religion

Scientific inquiry is both theoretical and empirical. It succeeds by bringing thought into productive harmony with the observable universe, and thus, students can attain a robust understanding of the nature of science (NOS) only by developing a balanced appreciation of both these dimensions. In this article, I examine naïve empiricism, a teaching pattern that deters understanding of NOS by attributing to observation scientific achievements that have been wrought by a partnership of thought and empirical experience. My more specific concern is the naïve empiricism promoted when teachers illustrate NOS through historical anecdotes about conflict between science and religion. Since the religious actors depicted in such accounts appear to reject evidence, these narratives lead readers to suppose that scientists draw their conclusions in exactly the opposite way, from empiricism alone. I illustrate this pattern by examining two representative treatments of the Copernican revolution. My methods are historical and critical.     

Clergy’s Views of the Relationship between Science and Religious Faith and the Implications for Science Education

Since many teachers and students recognize other kinds of knowledge (faith) based on other ways of knowing, consideration of these realities is appropriate for the science education community. Understanding the multitude of ways that clergy view relationships between science and faith (i.e. alternative ways of knowing) would assist in understanding various ways that people address complex issues arising from ideas about science and faith. We administered a questionnaire composed of multiple-choice and short answer items to 63 United Methodist ministers. Findings included (1) that formal, organized faith contexts (e.g. church services) serve as informal science education opportunities, (2) participants demonstrated considerable diversity regarding the types of relationships developed between science and faith, and (3) participants recognized a need exists for better understandings of science and its relationship to faith for them, their colleagues, and their congregations.

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Translator’s Subjectivity in Science and Technology Translation

Science and technology translation involves various industries and professions,with its own system of terminology and unique language features.For a translator,who is not a professional scientist or technician,it seems to be difficult to do science and technology translation accurately and properly.Consequently,it is necessary for the translator to give play to his subjectivity when translating science and technology documents or related interpretation:searching for related data to replenish necessary professional knowledge,consulting with professional technicians actively to clarify the jargon and common sayings,and thinking critically to scrutiny the source text.     

Science,Society and Trends in Science Education‐‐some Thoughts on the Development of Integrated Science in the Educational Systems of the World

Summaries

English

Before constructing a new curriculum for any level in integrated‐science education, it is very important to establish a basic philosophy of science teaching which reflects a symbiotic relationship between education and the socio‐economic development in a particular country of the world.

The curriculum structure of integrated‐science education should broaden the basis of curricular decision and should be designated to follow the expectations of the society in providing professional intellectual training so that education can make a significant contribution to the socio‐economic growth of the country. This basic assumption which established a link between cultural and socio‐economic growth, involves a diversification of the cultural trends of science education which must become appropriate to the economic and historical context of each country in a fast changing world of work.

Therefore, by critically removing outside influences in the transmission of scientific knowledge, there should be less uniformity in the context and methods of teaching, and considerable restructuring of education for each country should occur. Thus, considering the historical and geographical differences, a new order in international division of labour would come into being.

In such a hypothesis, a research‐oriented integrated curriculum in science education can play a central role (certainly a better one than in the traditional, discipline‐oriented scheme of science teaching) in obtaining an adequate interaction between scientific education and social problems; this is required for modern cultural and economic development of the world.     

Decision‐Making in Future Science and Technology Curricula

Summaries

English

In this article, the author argues in favour of a decision‐making orientated science and technology curriculum for secondary school students. To achieve this, the curriculum should (i) expose students to open‐ended problems within their natural setting, (ii) provide students with real decision‐making situations and (iii) involve them in scientific‐technological social actions, e.g. in community institutions or industrial plants.     

The effect of a ‘Science,Technology and Society’ course on prospective teachers’ conceptions of the nature of science

The aim of this study is to assess prospective teachers’ views of some aspects of the nature of science (NOS) and the effects of a “Science, Technology and Society” (STS) course embedded with scientific investigation (SI) on these views. A questionnaire consisting of 13 items was given to 212 prospective teachers enrolled in a STS course before and after teaching. During the semester, participants were engaged in a specially designed pilot SI combined with explicit NOS instruction. Majority of the participants held traditional views of the target NOS aspects at beginning of the study. After the course there were significant changes in the conceptions of prospective teachers in majority target aspects of NOS as the results of a Sign test indicate. We suggest that the more suitable SI, performed in an active learning environment, related to target aspects of NOS must be selected to develop the more constructivist views about the NOS.     

"President Zhu Qingshi of the Chinese University of Science and Technology Discusses ‘Foreign and Native Ph.D.s’"

Zhu Qingshi, president of the Chinese University of Science and Technology has said that since the state resorts to relatively high remuneration and good working conditions to attract "foreign Ph.D.s" back to China, whereas "native Ph.D.s" must wait in order of seniority for better treatment, who wants to study in China, to pursue advanced studies, or engage in research? Various departments, regions, and news media frequently make vigorous publicity for the sake of "image-creating projects" when one or two people who have gone abroad to study are attracted back to China by means of high salaries and good treatment. However, a large number of scholars inside China feel hurt when students who come back from abroad fail to convince people of their superior talent. Everyone knows that the best table-tennis players are to be found on the national team, and only those that the national team does not want, go abroad. If, one day, the public feels that the best scientific and technological talent is to be found in the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Engineering Academy and among only those who do not want go abroad, there will be hope for a change in the situation.     

Changes in Attitudes Towards Science–Technology–Society of Pre-service Science Teachers

This research focuses on use of a triadic teaching approach in a science–technology–society (STS) course designed for future science teachers for middle schools in Turkey. Forty-three pre-service science teachers were enrolled in a semester-long course organized around issues students identified and used throughout the semester. The triadic teaching approach includes library-online searches that lead the students to design and conduct investigations, to carrying out mini-scientific symposia, and to preparing and conducting poster presentations open to the entire student body and faculty. The results of a 30-item Likert scale, administered to the students as a pretest and a posttest, indicated that there were significant increases in positive attitudes towards STS issues from the beginning to the end of the study. Individual interviews were also conducted with the students to determine the individual effects of each component of the triadic teaching approach on their attitudes towards STS issues. All aspects of the new approach provided significant contributions to the development of more positive attitudes among the students towards STS via interviews and on all sub-scales of a survey administered that include: (1) pupil interest in STS issues; (2) teacher interest in STS issues; (3) general perceptions regarding importance of STS issues.

Science, Society, and Technology—Three Cultures and Multiple Visions

The article reviews the strikingly divergent viewpoints of intellectuals—scientists and non-scientists—about Science and Technology. It shows that while scientists implicitly accept the difference between Science and Technology, to non-scientists that difference is irrelevant. The most important differences between Science and Technology that lie in their relative scales, outputs and accuracy of predictions are highlighted. The complexity of and difficulty in trying to quantify the contribution of science and technology to economic growth are discussed. Views of science and technology that include their societal perceptions are recommended.     

The ‘Nature of Science’ and the Perils of Epistemic Relativism

Research in Science Education - There is an increasing demand in the field of science education for the incorporation of philosophical and sociological aspects that are related to the scientific...     

Evaluation of Affective and Cognitive‐Affective Domains in Socially‐Oriented Innovative Science and Technology Curricula

Summaries

English

The present work is an attempt to contribute to the field of evaluation of the affective domain in socially‐oriented innovative science and technology curricula. The main concern of such curricula is the long‐term development of the student's personality in terms of decision‐making capability, attitudes, intellectual power, and social involvement.

Since it appears that the realistic choice in the evaluation of such curricula is between ‘no measures’ (subjective judgements) and ‘imperfect proxies’, it is proposed to concentrate on finding adequate (and agreeable) measures to evaluate the long‐range intended (but also the unintended) effects of the programmes in hand, and only then to switch to evaluate the effectiveness of the curriculum in achieving these effects (i.e. the educational objectives) in the affective domain. Selected ideas with respect to the above are ‘translated’ here into manageable and applicable procedures within the science class, taking into consideration the ‘local realism of constraints’ within which every science teacher performs.

The development of feasible methods for measurement of curricular outcomes in the affective and affective‐cognitive domains is a precondition for future summative evaluation of socio‐technologically oriented science and technology curricula. Contending with the moral and value‐judgement components of any future science curriculum is therefore the inescapable task ahead.     

Educational Background,Teaching Experience and Teachers’ Views on the Inclusion of Nature of Science in the Science Curriculum

The aim of this research is to ascertain teachers’ opinions on what elements of nature of science (NOS) and science–technology–society relationships (STS) should be taught in school science. To this end an adapted version of the questionnaire developed by Osborne et al. is used. Our results show that experts consulted by Osborne et al. and Spanish teachers confer similar importance on the provisional, experimental, and predictive nature of scientific knowledge based on some of the procedures used such as the drawing up of hypotheses and the analysis and interpretation of data. We also look into the relationship between the teachers’ views and their educational background. ¹ 1. In this article, Educational Background means the scientific training gained by teachers at university. Results suggest that philosophy teachers are more concerned with the inclusion of NOS and STS topics in science curricula than science teachers, although further studies will be necessary. Some suggestions concerning the university training of science teachers are also discussed.     

Teachers’ and Pupils’ Perceptions of Technology and the Implications for Curriculum

The recent explicit inclusion of technology into the science component of the school curriculum in Western Australia necessitates changes in both curriculum materials and the nature of classroom teaching. This paper reports an investigation of the perceptions of technology of senior teachers who are heads of the science department in their schools, and relates these perceptions with those of a sample of 13‐year‐old pupils in this state. The investigation reveals that many teachers have a restricted view of technology which may be interpreted as a view that technology is dependent upon science. Such a view may neglect the historical aspects and societal influences on science and technology. Further, the available evidence indicates that local pupils have a low level of awareness of technology. The paper discusses the implications of these findings for curriculum change and suggests a starting point for achieving a successful balance in the teaching of technology, science and society issues in the classroom.     

Students’ Ontological Security and Agency in Science Education—An Example from Reasoning about the Use of Gene Technology

This paper reports on a study of how students' reasoning about socioscientific issues is framed by three dynamics: societal structures, agency and how trust and security issues are handled. Examples from gene technology were used as the forum for interviews with 13 Swedish high-school students (year 11, age 17–18). A grid based on modalities from the societal structures described by Giddens was used to structure the analysis. The results illustrate how the participating students used both modalities for ‘Legitimation’ and ‘Domination’ to justify positions that accept or reject new technology. The analysis also showed how norms and knowledge can be used to justify opposing positions in relation to building trust in science and technology, or in democratic decisions expected to favour personal norms. Here, students accepted or rejected the authority of experts based on perceptions of the knowledge base that the authority was seen to be anchored in. Difficulty in discerning between material risks (reduced safety) and immaterial risks (loss of norms) was also found. These outcomes are used to draw attention to the educational challenges associated with students' using knowledge claims (Domination) to support norms (Legitimation) and how this is related to the development of a sense of agency in terms of sharing norms with experts or with laymen.     

Implementing “Big Ideas” to Advance the Teaching and Learning of Science,Technology, Engineering,and Mathematics (STEM)

Although education experts are increasingly advocating the incorporation of integrated Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) curriculum units to address limitations in much current STEM teaching and learning, a review of the literature reveals that more often than not such curriculum units are not mediating the construction of in-depth STEM knowledge. In this paper, we conjecture that the challenge of generating integrated STEM curriculum units that overcome this limitation and facilitate in-depth learning of and about STEM can be met by the use of three types of big ideas: within-discipline big ideas that have application in other STEM disciplines, cross-discipline big ideas, and encompassing big ideas. We provide a six-component framework (together with an example of the framework in action) that can be used to scaffold pre- and in-service teachers’ development of integrated STEM curriculum units based around these types of big ideas. The paper concludes by discussing possible directions for future research and development in this field.