Beliefs about the Nature of Science and the Enacted Science Curriculum

This interpretive study of the teaching and learning of chemistry in an Australian high school examines the beliefs about the nature of science of a teacher and his class in relation to the enacted curriculum. Although the teacher and students tended to see science as an evolving discipline that was uncertain and changed over time, the manner in which the curriculum was implemented was a direct contrast. In the enacted curriculum science was represented as a catalogue of facts to be memorised and as algorithmic solutions to problems. The beliefs that had greatest impact on shaping the curriculum were the teachers beliefs about the nature of student learning, his beliefs about the distribution of power between himself and the students, and the extent to which restraints were accepted by the teacher as reasons for maintaining a traditional approach to teaching and learning chemistry.     

Self-control in the monkeymacaca fascicularis

Two experiments tested two cynomolgus monkeys’ self-control—choice of a longer, more delayed reinforcer over a shorter, less delayed reinforcer. In Experiment 1, subjects exhibited significant selfcontrol in a procedure in which reinforcer amounts and delays were held constant throughout a condition. In Experiment 2, subjects exhibited significantly greater sensitivity to variation in reinforcer amount than to variation in reinforcer delay in a procedure in which the reinforcer delay associated with the self-control alternative was adjusted until each macaque was indifferent between the two alternatives. Both experiments indicated that, in laboratory paradigms in which humans show self-control and pigeons and rats show impulsiveness, macaques show self-control. These results are inconsistent with the hypothesis that species differences in self-control are a function of language ability or of specific types of prior training. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that species differences in self-control are related to the ratio of brain size to body weight (a possible indicator of general cognitive ability) or to shared phylogeny.     

What does it mean to be an exemplary science teacher?

In order to provide a refreshing alternative to the majority of research reports, which malign science education and highlight its major problems and shortcomings, a series of case studies of exemplary practice was initiated to provide a focus on the successful and positive facets of schooling. The major data-collection approach was qualitative and involved 13 researchers in hundreds of hours of intensive classroom observation involving 20 exemplary teachers and a comparison group of nonexemplary teachers. A distinctive feature of the methodology was that the qualitative information was complemented by quantitative information obtained from the administration of questionnaires assessing student perceptions of classroom psychosocial environment. The major trends were that exemplary science teachers (1) used management strategies that facilitated sustained student engagement, (2) used strategies designed to increase student understanding of science, (3) utilized strategies that encouraged students to participate in learning activities, and (4) maintained a favorable classroom learning environment.     

More than meets the eye: patterns and shifts in middle school mathematics teachers’ descriptions of models

Modeling is a major topic of interest in mathematics education. However, the field’s definition of models is diverse. Less is known about what teachers identify as mathematical models, even though it is teachers who ultimately enact modeling activities in the classroom. In this study, we asked nine middle school teachers with a variety of academic backgrounds and teaching experience to collect data related to one familiar physical phenomenon, cooling liquid. We then asked each participant to construct a model of that phenomenon, describe why it was a model, and identify whether a variety of artifacts representing the phenomenon also counted as models during a semi-structured interview. We sought to identify: what do mathematics teachers attend to when describing what constitutes a model? And, how do their attentions shift as they engage in different activities related to models? Using content analysis, we documented what features and purposes teachers attended to when describing a mathematical model. When constructing their own model, they focused on the visual form of the model and what quantitative information it should include. When deciding whether particular representational artifacts constituted models, they focused on how the representations reflected the system under study, and what purposes those representations could serve in further understanding that system. These findings suggest teachers may have multiple understandings of models, which are active at different times and reflect different perspectives. This has implications for research, teacher education, and professional development.     

Exploring the boundaries: A study of multiple classroom learning environments

The study of learning environments has developed into a productive field of research in science education. Initially, the design and application of classroom perceptual measures of particular dimensions of science classrooms attracted much attention. More recently, such instruments have been used alongside of qualitative techniques to provide a richer understanding of sub-environments. We continue this trend in the present interpretive study by exploring the nature of multiple environments within a middle school classroom from the different perspectives of teacher, student and participant observer. In particular, we examine the activity settings of lectures and group work, as well as the issues of learning and assessment. We conclude by arguing that teachers need to adopt procedures that enable them to identify and plan for multiple environments.     

Catalysing Changes in Research on Learning Environments: Regional Editor's Introduction

Learning Environments Research -