Engaging Students in Science Across the Primary Secondary Interface: Listening to the Students’ Voice

Most studies indicate primary students’ attitudes towards and interest in science decline as they progress into the secondary years. Longitudinal qualitative research exploring this phenomenon is rare as is research which focuses on the students’ voice as they cross the interface. In this study multiple qualitative data sources, supported by a ‘science interest’ composite scale, followed 20 students over 2 years. In contrast to baseline data on their peers these students, in general, maintained their interest in science. Apart from identifying the teacher’s pedagogical approach and classroom environment as two key issues in understanding these students’ journeys, the importance of listening to and heeding the students’ voice may be an even more critical concern in addressing the decline in students’ attitudes and interest in science.     

Free‐choice worksheets increase students' exposure to curriculum during museum visits

The museum visit is an important part of elementary school science teaching. However, a divide exists between teachers, who require curricular accountability, and museums, who emphasize free‐choice exploration. Can a carefully constructed worksheet bridge this divide by providing free‐choice exploration of curricular topics during the museum visit? In the present study, a theoretical framework was constructed to inform the design of worksheets as free‐choice learning devices. This framework was used to analyze the design of an existing museum worksheet. Subsequently, curriculum‐related conversations among school groups visiting a museum were monitored in groups supplied with the worksheet and in control groups without. Overall, the worksheet complied well with design criteria synthesized from the free‐choice learning literature. Furthermore, the use of the worksheet increased the number and diversity of curriculum‐related conversations among school groups during the visit. This study documents that the use of carefully designed worksheets may increase students' exposure to curriculum during a museum visit, and thus may help build better bridges between teacher needs and museum free‐choice identities. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 1389–1414, 2007     

Computer-based tools for instructional design: An introduction to the special issue

Modern instructional theories are characterized by their focus on rich, multidisciplinary and often collaborative learning tasks that are somehow representative for authentic, real life tasks. This new view on learning heavily increases the complexity of the design process and the resulting instructional systems. It is argued that computer-based instructional design (ID) tools may help to deal with this growing complexity. A framework to distinguish different kinds of ID tools is presented. This framework is then used to introduce the contributions to this special issue.     

Using Mind Maps to Make Student Questioning Effective: Learning Outcomes of a Principle-Based Scenario for Teacher Guidance

Research in Science Education - Student questioning is an important learning strategy, but rare in many classrooms, because teachers have concerns if these questions contribute to attaining...     

Prenatal Predictors of Postnatal Quality of Caregiving Behavior in Mothers and Fathers

SYNOPSIS

Objective. The quality of parental caregiving has been shown to affect children’s development from birth onward. Therefore, it is important to detect parents at risk for low-quality caregiving as early as possible – preferably before birth. Design. Observations of expectant mothers’ and fathers’ behavior when exposed to infant crying were examined as predictors of the quality of caregiving toward their own infant 6 weeks postpartum. Eighty-eight expectant mothers and 57 of their male partners were tested during the third trimester of pregnancy. Parents were filmed individually while caring for a crying Simulator Infant for 15 min; the quality of their caregiving was rated on sensitivity and cooperation. Also, cognitive interference on a working memory task and the ability to regulate physical force when exposed to infant crying were assessed. When their baby was 6 weeks old, parents were filmed and rated for sensitivity and cooperation during a 15-min interaction with their own infant at home. Results. Prenatal quality of caregiving behavior toward a simulator infant predicted postnatal quality of caregiving toward the own infant in both mothers and fathers. Cognitive interference and the ability to regulate physical force did not predict postnatal quality of caregiving behavior. Conclusions. Expectant parents’ quality of caregiving behavior toward a crying simulator infant predicted both mothers’ and fathers’ postnatal quality of caregiving behavior. Future research is needed to determine whether the simulator infant may be a useful screening instrument and training tool for parenting skills in at risk groups of parents-to-be.     

Social Justice in Swedish Post-16 Education? New Preparatory Programmes

Under a recent national curriculum reform in Sweden within a highly decentralised, competitive, and marketised education system, access to post-16 education is restricted. In this study, we map and analyse the early onset of new preparatory programmes. We draw on interviews with local politicians and school staff in six different municipalities, along with documents and statistics. The study is positioned within a framework of analysis of policy ideas and theoretical perspectives on inclusive education, equal education opportunities, and marketisation. Bernstein’s theoretical concept of “pedagogic rights” serves as a lens for the interpretation of the findings. The study suggests that the preparatory programmes tend to have marginalising effects for vast numbers of 16 plus students, in contrast to wider policy aims of social and economic inclusion and employability.     

The Role of Epistemic Emotions in Personal Epistemology and Self-Regulated Learning

The purpose of this article is to delineate the role of epistemic emotions in personal epistemology and self-regulated learning (SRL). We first review important tenets of personal epistemology and SRL and then present a model of SRL that situates personal epistemology within that model. We then define epistemic emotions, describe under what conditions epistemic emotions arise, and delineate how these emotions may facilitate or constrain learning processes and learning outcomes. Specifically, we present five antecedents to epistemic emotions and five consequences of those emotions during learning. The five antecedents are control, value, novelty, complexity, and achievement or impasses of epistemic aims. The five consequences are effects on planning and goal setting, motivation, cognitive and metacognitive strategies, learning outcomes, and revisions to antecedents. We end with a discussion of educational implications and future directions for research.     

Globalisation and internationalisation of teacher education: a comparative case study of Canada and Greater China

This article begins with a brief overview of the relationship between globalisation and the internationalisation of higher education. This serves as a backdrop for the focus of the article, which is the internationalisation of teacher education. In order to see the diverse ways that teacher education programmes have been internationalised over the past 15 years, a case study comparing internationalisation initiatives in Greater China and Canada is presented. This comparative case study demonstrates how different globalising processes influence various forms of internationalisation. Comparison also sheds light on the importance of attending not only to broader, global processes, but specific, local contextual factors. Rather than consider internationalisation as one set of practices that have been taken up globally, this article suggests that there are many different forms of internationalisation in teacher education that are influenced by both global and local contexts. In this respect, the study moves us towards a more nuanced and complex understanding of how teacher education institutions across diverse settings are being internationalised in the twenty-first century.     

Statistical modeling processes through the lens of instrumental genesis

Educational Studies in Mathematics - Digital technology is indispensable for doing and learning statistics. When technology is used in mathematics education, the learning of concepts and the...     

Rediscovering Development in Infancy

This commentary endorses J. Kagan’s (2008) conclusion that many of the most dramatic findings on early perceptual, cognitive, and social competencies are ambiguous. It supports his call for converging research operations to disambiguate findings from single paradigms and single response indices. The commentary also argues that early competencies must be placed into a longitudinal framework, thereby allowing researchers to (a) identify whether regressive phenomena play a role in skill development, (b) understand what functions (if any) given skills play in their precocious manifestations and whether these functions are comparable in later instantiations of skills, and (c) avoid rich interpretations by identifying how robust a suspected competency is across contexts.