Is it the Earth that turns or the Sun that goes behind the mountains? Students’ misconceptions about the day/night cycle after reading a science text

ABSTRACT

The present research tested the hypothesis that the reading of science text can create new misconceptions in students with incongruent prior knowledge, and that these new misconceptions will be similar to the fragmented and synthetic conceptions obtained in prior developmental research. Ninety-nine third- and fifth-grade children read and recalled one of two texts that provided scientific or phenomenal explanations of the day/night cycle. All the participants gave explanations of the phenomenon in question prior to reading one of the texts and after they read it. The results showed that the participants who provided explanations of the day/night cycle at pretest incongruent with the scientific explanation recalled less information and generated more invalid inferences. An analysis of the participants’ posttest explanations indicated that these readers formed new misconceptions similar to the fragmented and synthetic conceptions obtained in developmental research. The implications of the above for text comprehension and science education research are discussed.     

The first cut is the deepest: reflections on the state of animal dissection in biology education

School science discourse is analysed through professional research literature, curriculum materials, professional development materials, and popular and mass culture science materials, including the world-wide-web. The crucial role of fun is used as a node through which to understand how school science practice is intimately connected with theories of motivation so that school science practice can be interpreted as a technology of power. Web pages and television programmes are analysed as extreme cases of the application of this discourse, revealing an overarching representation of science curriculum. Alternative directions for classroom practice are suggested.     

Reviews

Making Sense of Standards and Technologies for Serials Management: A Guide to Practice and Future Developments for Librarians, Publishers and Systems Developers edited by Rosemary Russell. London: Library Association Publishing, in association with the UK Office for Library and Information Networking, University of Bath, April 2000. Pp. 192. Hardback, £39.95. ISBN 1‐85604‐338‐X Blown to Bits: How the New Economics of Information Transforms Strategy by Philip Evans and Thomas S. Wurster. Harvard Business School Press, 2000. Pp. 274, Hardback, £18.99. ISBN 0‐87584‐877‐X The Legal and Regulatory Environment for Electronic Information, 3rd edn by Charles Oppenheim. Infonortics In‐depth Briefings, 1999. Pp. 231. Hardback, £55.00. ISBN 1‐873699‐53‐0     

Intergenerational Narratives on Face: A South Asian Indian American Perspective

This study investigates the meaning construction of the South Asian Indian term izzat or face in intergenerational contexts. Interpretive thematic analysis revealed six themes. Key findings indicate: (1) for both older and younger South Asian Indian American (SAIA) generations, family izzat is of primary importance; (2) the motif of “respect” is central to both SAIA generations' in their narratives of izzat; (3) both older and younger SAIAs use the concealment-preventative and diversion-restorative facework strategies to save face. These findings uncover intergenerational communication challenges concerning the shifting boundary parameters of izzat in the diasporic Indian community in the US.     

A model of factors affecting independent learners’ engagement with feedback on language learning tasks

In independent learning contexts, the effectiveness of the feedback dialogue between student and tutor or, in the absence of a tutor, the quality of the learning materials, is essential to successful learning. Using the voices of participants as the prime source of data through a combination of data-driven and concept-driven approaches, this investigation attempts to gain deeper insights into the dynamics of the learning process as students express emotional reactions to the learning environment and in particular the written feedback from their tutors and the learning materials. To account for the different ways in which adult learners studying independently engage both cognitively and emotionally with external feedback, we propose a model based on four key drivers: goal relevance, knowledge, self-confidence, and roles. We conclude that only when these key drivers are aligned with each other can learners in independent settings engage with external feedback and learn from it.