Solving Physics Problems: The Conceptions and Practice of an Experienced Teacher and an Inexperienced Teacher

The results are described of two case studies on the conceptions and classroom practice of two Portuguese physics and chemistry teachers on the role of problem solving in the teaching/learning of science. One of these teachers was a novice and the other had about 20 years of teaching experience. The data were obtained from a questionnaire, a semi-structured interview, classroom observation, personal documents, and stimulated recall. The analysis was carried out with instruments organised into categories and specific indicators. The results showed there to be major differences between the intention behind the new curricula, the teachers' conceptions, and their practice. Some suggestions are put forward on the basis of these results for the initial and ongoing education of secondary education teachers of physics and chemistry in Portugal.     

Study Abroad and Developing Reflective Research Practice Through Blogs: A Preliminary Study from the United Kingdom

Blogs are seen as an important strand of social networking and a significant way of disseminating research ideas and sharing knowledge and perceptions with new audiences via digital platforms. The use of blogs within off-campus activities, such as study abroad field visits, have the potential to enhance students’ social media skills and confidence about becoming active researchers in public through communicating field research experiences and reflections on what they see, learn, hear, and do. Via a semi-structured questionnaire administered to UK-based university students participating in a recent Criminology program field visit to Slovenia in Europe, we assess the extent to which blogging facilitates student reflective practice on their lived experiences of undertaking research in culturally unfamiliar environments. We show that blogging combined with the whole experience of international fieldwork has a “learning gain” for students exemplified through a willingness to engage in reflective practice, self-awareness, and transferable skills.     

The knowledge audit: Meta-Matrix analysis

Knowledge Management Research & Practice - Knowledge management is a method for simplifying and improving the process of sharing, distributing, creating, and understanding organizational...     

Students’ Progression in Monitoring Anomalous Results Obtained in Inquiry-Based Laboratory Tasks

Research in Science Education - This paper examines students’ engagement in monitoring anomalous results across a 2-year longitudinal study with 9th and 10th graders (14–15 and...     

Improving the Effectiveness of Educational Development: Concerns,Constraints and Recommendations

A Higher Education Research and Development Unit (HERDU) is a specialised sub‐unit within higher education institutions whose members collectively act as a visionary, educational interest group. They aim to be critically reflective, dynamic agents of educational development and help to develop the practices and potential of individuals and groups. This paper defines HERDUs in organisation terms, clarifies educational development, and assesses the web of contexts that educational developers experience. The paper then canvasses international perspectives on improvement and effectiveness of educational development theory, practice and outcomes. Finally, it is suggested that coming to grips with long‐standing concerns might be aided by a set of performance indicators, a model of self‐review, and enhanced cooperation among educational developers to share research, theories, practices and experiences.     

漫步天堂海滩

Jim平时的消遣,多数是花在漫步海滩上面。享受着清新的海风,观察着海滩上的人来人往,猜测着他们的由来行踪,这是他认为最快乐的一种享受了。冬天拖着寒冷飞往南半球,剩下的就是合着春天的旋律,来欣赏天堂般的海滩。     

Gender,student perceptions,institutional commitments and academic dishonesty: who reports in academic dishonesty cases?

The academic dishonesty literature generally focuses on the causes of academic dishonesty, and outlines deterrence strategies, as well as the punishment methods used in formal sanction. Student self-monitoring techniques are becoming a more visible alternative that places greater emphasis on proactive prevention methods as opposed to reactive punishment policies. Increasing the formal level of student responsibility in deterring academic dishonesty assumes that students will actively monitor the behavior of their classmates. Our findings indicate that student perceptions of campus climate and gender differences are important factors when explaining student reporting of suspected academic dishonesty and may illustrate important prerequisite conditions that must exist prior to the establish of a successful student self-monitoring programme.     

Developing an Initial Learning Progression for the Use of Evidence in Decision-Making Contexts

This paper outlines an initial learning progression for the use of evidence to support scientific arguments in the context of decision-making. Use of evidence is a central feature of knowledge evaluation and, therefore, of argumentation. The proposal is based on the literature on argumentation and use of evidence in decision-making contexts. The objective is to develop a construct map describing a trajectory of evidence use in a decision-making context. The levels in the initial learning progression are characterised by students’ performance in practice. The framework is applied to a multiple-case study in 10th grade (66 students), structured around a marine resource management task. Data included audio and video recordings, as well as students’ written artefacts. Five levels of complexity in student performance are described; on the lowest level, students are able to identify and extract information in response to a problem and recognise general features in a set of data; on the uppermost level, they are able to articulate arguments by synthesising evidence from multiple sources and evaluate options based on evidence and scientific content. The framework also shows potential for recognising students’ difficulties in identifying and integrating data and evidence in their justifications and in drawing from domain knowledge to interpret evidence. Implications for educational practice are discussed.