The Environment/Society Disconnect: An Overview of a Concept Tetrad of Environment

In the Western world, a paradigm exists that sees environment treated as one extreme of an adversarial binary, balanced in opposition to society. This paradigm, which I call the environment/society disconnect, infiltrates the secondary school system, leading to serious deficiencies in how students understand the social dimensions of environmental problems. The environment/society disconnect has been imagined and re-imagined by various philosophers, ethicists, historians, ecofeminists, and environmental educators. This essay contends that there are four interconnecting, overlapping, and reinforcing views of environment that maintain the environment/society disconnect. Together these views form a concept tetrad of environment. The concept tetrad of environment provides educators with a neat, if general, typology to explain the historical and cultural roots of our thinking on environment.     

Enhancing the Student Experiment Experience: Visible Scientific Inquiry Through a Virtual Chemistry Laboratory

Practical work is often noted as a core reason many students take on science in secondary schools (high schools). However, there are inherent difficulties associated with classroom practical work that militate against scientific inquiry, an approach espoused by many science educators. The use of interactive simulations to facilitate student inquiry has emerged as a complement to practical work. This study presents case studies of four science teachers using a virtual chemistry laboratory (VCL) with their students in an explicitly guided inquiry manner. Research tools included the use of the Inquiry Science Implementation Scale in a ‘talk-aloud’ manner, Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol for video observations, and teacher interviews. The findings suggest key aspects of practical work that hinder teachers in adequately supporting inquiry and highlight where a VCL can overcome many of these difficulties. The findings also indicate considerations in using the VCL in its own right.