Factors that prevent learning in electrochemistry

Electrochemistry plays an important role in curricula, textbooks, and in everyday life. The purpose of the present study was to identify and understand secondary‐school students' problems in learning electrochemistry at an introductory chemistry level. The investigation covered four areas: (a) electrolytes, (b) transport of electric charges in electrolyte solutions, (c) the anode and the cathode, and (d) the minus and plus poles. Written tests were given to high‐school students in five cycles. The population from which random samples were drawn totalled 15,700 subjects. Students were asked to select the correct answers and to justify their choices. It was found that students based their reasoning on four alternative concepts: (a) During electrolysis, the electric current produces ions; (b) electrons migrate through the solution from one electrode to the other; (c) the cathode is always the minus pole, the anode the plus pole; and (d) the plus and minus poles carry charges. The results suggest a teaching strategy in which students first experience and learn about electrochemistry concepts. In the second step, appropriate concept terms are added, and students then are confronted with the alternative concepts described in this article. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 258–283, 2007     

Lernen an zwei Orten: das Problem des ‘Dualen System’ in der lehrerausbildung

On the basis of a study of the literature and of empirical research, the article puts forward suggestions for the improvement of teacher training programmes within a dual system.

A consecutive approach to training implies that a student spends a part of the training period in an educational institution and a part in a practical situation (i.e. on teaching practice). However, the consecutive system presents considerable problems in respect both of organisation and of the psychology of learning. Organisationally, there is the question of sequence to be faced, if the elements of theory and practice are to be brought together.

On the basis of a study of the literature of other forms of professional training, the following suggestions are made:

1. students’ activities in the school must re‐inforce their learning and be integrated with their work in the training institution;

2. their educational studies must support the acquisition of the competences needed by the teacher at the outset of his/her professional career;

3. attention must be paid to the learning needs and the potential of each student.

The article describes how a teacher training programme may follow these guidelines, leading to a ‘concurrent’ set of cycles bringing together elements of theory, practice and reflection upon practice, and in which a student may alternate between the academic institution and school practice.

After giving an overview of possible models of training the author focuses upon a specific example and provides a model of the institution‐practice link. What is important is that the learning style of the student be taken into account. Each student selects from four alternative programmes, namely: instructional variants, reflection variants, selfstudy variants, and practice variants. The contents of these four programmes are explained, and the learning outcomes of students from these differentiated programmes compared with those of students from undifferentiated, ‘normal’ programs. In summary, it is claimed that in the research project described there are positive indications for a theory‐practice link which gives students a choice of approaches and a better integration of their learning into the practical classroom situation.     

Science Teachers’ Use of a Concept Map Marking Guide as a Formative Assessment Tool for the Concept of Energy

In this study, we investigated the value of a concept map marking guide as an alternative formative assessment tool for science teachers to adopt for the topic of energy. Eight high school science teachers marked students’ concept maps using an itemized holistic marking guide. Their marking was compared with the researchers’ marking and the scores of a multiple-choice diagnostic test. Statistical analysis revealed that teachers evaluated students’ concept maps consistently, but the concept map scores were only mildly correlated with the multiple-choice test scores. We explored what each assessment method revealed in terms of students’ understanding with one student’s performance as a showcase. Teachers’ views on using the marking guide of concept maps as an assessment tool were also included. We discuss the value of the concept map marking guide as a formative assessment tool for science teachers to create and modify in order to encourage students’ conceptual learning.     

A nine‐country survey of youth in Europe: selected findings and issues

A nine‐country survey of the life orientations, values and institutional trust of 8948 young people at the upper end of the secondary school age range was set up at the University of Würzburg in the year 2000. Key findings demonstrate that these young people value personal autonomy and are orientated to success in their professional lives and that they especially trust human rights and environmental groups. Religion is associated positively with humanitarianism and in some countries negatively with modernity. These findings provide an indication of the typical life stances of future opinion‐formers and illustrate methodological issues thrown up by international research.