New trends in science education

I intend to review the main contributions from the impressive developments made in science education research during the last decade. These developments have made the construction of a coherent body of knowledge possible allowing us to expect a significant improvement in the science teaching/learning process. I shall refer, in particular, to the new trends in science education research, both in the domain of science learning and science teacher‐training.     

Students’ Argumentation Skills across Two Socio-Scientific Issues in a Confucian Classroom: Is transfer possible?

This paper argues the possible simultaneous development and transfer of students' argumentation skills from one socio-scientific issue to another in a Confucian classroom. In Malaysia, the Chinese vernacular schools follow a strict Confucian philosophy in the teaching and learning process. The teacher talks and the students listen. This case study explored the transfer of argumentation skills across two socio-scientific issues in such a Form 2 (8th grade) classroom. An instructional support to complement the syllabus was utilised. The teaching approach in the instructional support was more constructivist in nature and designed to introduce argumentation skills which is uncommon in a Confucian classroom. The two socio-scientific issues were genetically modified foods and deforestation. This paper presents a part of the bigger case study that was conducted. Data collected from written arguments were analysed using an analytical framework built upon Toulmin's ideas. The whole class analysis indicated progression in students' argumentation skills in their ability to give more valid grounds and rebuttals during the transfer. The individual analysis suggests progression in the majority of students' performance, while several students demonstrated non-progression when they faced a different socio-scientific issue.     

Undergraduate Engineering Students’ Beliefs,Coping Strategies,and Academic Performance: An Evaluation of Theoretical Models

Research has identified factors associated with academic success by evaluating relations among psychological and academic variables, although few studies have examined theoretical models to understand the complex links. This study used structural equation modeling to investigate whether the relation between test anxiety and final course grades was mediated by personal control, self-efficacy, goal orientation, coping strategies, and self-regulation. Participants were 297 undergraduate students taking an algebra course designed for engineering students. Results indicated that the proposed theoretical model was supported by the data, although a modified model produced a better fit. Other competing models were also tested. Collectively, analyses revealed that the psychological variables played important roles in predicting students’ grades, as all the structural coefficients and R ² statistics were statistically and practically significant. Findings suggest value in the development and testing of additional models that contribute to the expansion of intervention programs to enhance academic outcomes among students.     

Relationships between Teachers’ Views on Education and their Socio-Economic Attitudes

Twenty preschool children identified as in the poverty group by OEO standards were compared with twenty preschool children from upper middle class families, as judged by father’s occupation, as to the extent and nature of their ability to recognize their own photographs from five other unidentified photographs on each of a series of six different views. Statistical analysis supported the hypothesis that preschool lower class children cannot recognize themselves from photographs as well as preschool middle class children (P = . 005). Although some views were significantly more recognizable by both groups of children (P = .01), sex and’’time to respond" differences were not significant.     

Comparing Class- and Task-Level Measures of Achievement Goals

Models of achievement goals suggest that different tasks and contexts influence the goals students adopt at a given time. However, many studies of achievement goals rely on measures assessed at the class level, analyze results with a variable-centered approach, and employ self-report questionnaires, which may reduce understanding of the contextual factors that arise as students interact with tasks. We compared a behavioral, task-level measure of middle school students' achievement goals to a self-reported, class-level measure and analyzed both measures' relations to task performance and quarterly grades using both variable-centered and person-centered approaches. Task-level goals predicted task performance but not quarterly grades, while class-level goals predicted grades but not task performance. The two measures of achievement goals were not related. This work demonstrates the importance of measuring goals at multiple levels and suggests opportunities for changing students' behaviors and achievement through motivation at the task level.     

Achievement Motive of Four-Year-Olds and Maternal Achievement Expectancies

The relationship between achievement motive, as measured by tendency to resume a challenging task, and maternal expectancies regarding achievement was tested in a sample of 80 four-year-olds. Results indicated that the number, magnitude, and direction of relationship differed according to sex and social class variables. Boys and girls in the lower class tended to exhibit higher achievement motive when the mother indicated moderate, rather than extreme, expectancies. In the upper class, girls had higher achievement motive when mothers believed in early training for achievement and expressed controlling attitudes, while higher achievement motives in boys were associated with late ages for achievement-inducing. Reasons for differential conditioning effect of sex and social class are discussed.     

The Cultural Politics of Progenic Auschwitz Tattoos: 157622, A-15510, 4559, …

Facing the loss of the last generation of Holocaust survivors, progeny of survivors have begun to tattoo their ancestors’ Auschwitz numbers on their own bodies. We investigate the rhetoricity of progenic tattooing through semiotic, affective, and pedagogical registers. We argue that shifting conditions of discourse across time alter decorum about public memory of the Holocaust. Further, the progenic practice, constituting a distinct form of trauma tattoo, enacts a mode of postmemory through a resignification of the original sign that makes visible the intergenerational trauma of the Holocaust.     

Mejora de la comprension lectora mediante diagramas de flujo

RESUMEN

El conocimiento de la estructura del texto discrimina a los buenos lectores de los peores. Una instrucción centrada en la estructura del texto debería facilitar la comprensión de la lectura. Se plantea una investigación cuyo objeto es ver los resultados de entrenar a los lectores menos diestros en fijar su atención en la estructura de los textos. El entrenamiento se centró en la enseñanza de la realización de diagramas de flujo utilizando las partículas como marcadores lógicos y estructurales del texto. Se demuestra que el empleo de diagramas de flujo como herramienta para buscar la estructura del texto y reconocer sus indicadores es útil y mejora las estrategias de lectura.