Effects of Model‐based Teaching on Pre‐service Physics Teachers’ Conceptions of the Moon,Moon Phases,and Other Lunar Phenomena

The purpose of this study was twofold. First, it was aimed to identify Turkish pre‐service physics teachers’ knowledge and understanding of the Moon, Moon phases, and other lunar phenomena. Second, the effects of model‐based teaching on pre‐service teachers’ conceptions were examined. Conceptions were proposed as mental models in this study. Four different questionnaires including 22 generative, explanation, and factual questions were used through the study. The pre‐service physics teachers’ mental models generated in response to lunar phenomena might be representations of their naïve knowledge as a result of their causal observations and experiences with the world, and their misconceptions as a result of inconsistencies between their naïve knowledge and scientific knowledge. Therefore, the pre‐service teachers’ mental models were categorized based on the work by Chi and Roscoe. Some of the pre‐service teachers’ mental models shifted from flawed or incomplete mental models to correct mental models of the Moon and lunar phenomena with the facilitation of model‐based teaching. The conclusions of the study carry implications for curriculum developers and teacher education.     

Student Misapplication of a Gas‐like Model to Explain Particle Movement in Heated Solids: Implications for curriculum and instruction towards students’ creation and revision of accurate explanatory models

Understanding the particulate nature of matter (PNM) is vital for participating in many areas of science. We assessed 11 students’ atomic/molecular‐level explanations of real‐world phenomena after their participation in a modelling‐based PNM unit. All 11 students offered a scientifically acceptable model regarding atomic/molecular behaviour in non‐heated solids. Yet, 10 of 11 students expressed the view that, in response to added heat energy, atoms/molecules in a solid increase in movement to a degree beyond what is scientifically accepted. These students attributed a gas‐like model of atomic/molecular movement to situations involving a heated solid. Of the students who held two conflicting models of atomic/molecular movement in solids, almost all provided justification for doing so, indicating their holding of the conflicting models was unproblematic. These findings can be interpreted to mean that students may drop constraints of certain scientific representations and apply, assess, or revise models when explaining unfamiliar phenomena. In fact, we believe students may develop conflicting causal models as a result of misperceptions they acquire, in part, during classroom instruction regarding atomic/molecular movement. However, our findings may also be interpreted as an incidence of student model development that may later aid their understanding of a more complex model, one that involves substantial sub‐atomic electron movement to account for heat transfer in solids. Whether or not this is the case remains to be seen. Implications for student learning and instruction are discussed.     

Projects at the National Institute for Educational Measurement (Centraal Instituut Voor Toetsonwikkeling‐‐CITO), of The Netherlands

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Design‐based Research: Case of a teaching sequence on mechanics

Design‐based research, and particularly its theoretical status, is a subject of debate in the science education community. In the first part of this paper, a theoretical framework drawn up to develop design‐based research will be presented. This framework is mainly based on epistemological analysis of physics modelling, learning and teaching hypotheses. It includes grand theories, a specific theory that following Cobb, Confrey, diSessa, Lehrer, and Schauble is a “humble theory” in the sense that it does “real work”, and tools for design. In the second part, we will show how this specific theory and its tools led designers to develop teaching resources in the case of a teaching sequence on mechanics (Grade 10). We will explain how the components of the specific theory and tools guide the design at different levels; the conceptual structure of the teaching sequence, the chronology of the activities, the various choices of the type of activity and their wording. This presentation makes the bases of designing teaching resources explicit and therefore allows for scientific debate.     

Multi‐linear strategies for (re)presenting the complexity of young people in research

Within the current climate of unpredictability and constant change, young people at school are faced with a multitude of choices and contradictory influences. In this article, I argue that (re)presentations of young people in youth research need to reflect the complexity and multiplicity of their lives and changing priorities, and I attempt to (re)present a small group of young people in this particular milieu. I illustrate some of the competing influences in their lives, and I outline some specific strategies that are useful for (re)presenting these contextual worlds. The strategies I advocate disrupt the homogenous representations of ‘youth’ as a developmental phase and instead reflect the diverse spheres of influence which shape their subjectivities and practices.     

Concept Development and Transfer in Context‐Based Science Education

‘Context‐based courses’ are increasingly used in an address to the major challenges that science education currently faces: lack of clear purpose, content overload, incoherent learning by students, lack of relevance to students, and lack of transfer of learning to new contexts. In this paper, four criteria for the design of context‐based courses that would be successful in meeting these challenges are rehearsed. It is concluded that only a model based on ‘context as social circumstances’ would meet the four criteria for success. From this, the notion of concept development is presented based on the idea of the production of coherent mental maps. The notion of transfer is discussed in terms of how such mental maps may be useful for understanding other contexts. The definitions of concept development and transfer give a clearer view of how exemplars of existing context‐based approaches may be analysed to show their degree of facilitation of worthwhile science education. Research questions to be addressed in such analyses are presented.     

Analysis of the Educational Potential of a Science Museum Learning Environment: Visitors’ experience with and understanding of an immersion exhibit

Research pertaining to science museum exhibit design tends to be articulated at a level of generality that makes it difficult to apply in practice. To address this issue, the present study used a design‐based research approach to understand the educational potential of a biology exhibit. The exhibit was considered an educational environment which embodied a certain body of biological knowledge (Biological Organisation) in a certain exhibit type (Museographic Organisation) with the intention of creating certain learning outcomes among visitors. The notion of praxeology was used to model intended and observed visitor outcomes, and the pattern of relationship between the two praxeologies was examined to pinpoint where and how divergences emerged. The implications of these divergences are discussed at the three levels of exhibit enactment, design, and conjecture, and theoretically based suggestions for a design iteration are given. The potential of the design‐based research approach for educational exhibit design is argued.     

Enhancing Teachers’ Application of Inquiry‐Based Strategies Using a Constructivist Sociocultural Professional Development Model

This two‐year school‐wide initiative to improve teachers’ pedagogical skills in inquiry‐based science instruction using a constructivist sociocultural professional development model involved 30 elementary teachers from one school, three university faculty, and two central office content supervisors. Research was conducted for investigating the impact of the professional development activities on teachers’ practices, documenting changes in their philosophies, instruction, and the learning environment. This report includes teachers’ accounts of philosophical as well as instructional changes and how these changes shaped the learning environment. For the teachers in this study, examining their teaching practices in learner‐centered collaborative group settings encouraged them to critically analyze their instructional practices, challenging their preconceived ideas on inquiry‐based strategies. Additionally, other factors affecting teachers’ understanding and use of inquiry‐based strategies were highlighted, such as self‐efficacy beliefs, prior experiences as students in science classrooms, teacher preparation programs, and expectations due to federal, state, and local mandates. These factors were discussed and reconciled, as they constructed new understandings and adapted their strategies to become more student‐centered and inquiry‐based.     

探究式教学法在英语语音教学中的应用研究

探究式教学一直备受教育界关注,而新的课程改革目标之一也正是使学生改变接受性学习方式,学会探究式学习。传统的语音教学甚少运用探究式教学法,学生只是被动地接受语音知识,机械地练习语音技能,使得语音学习的有效性大打折扣。广大英语语音教师要深入了解探究式教学的内涵与外延,把握探究式教学的特征及其在英语语音教学中的具体运用,熟练掌握探究式教学的模式与方法,激发学生的主观能动性,满足学生的自主发展,培养学生的创新精神和实践能力,让学生在“活动”中习得语音知识,在“主动”中发展语音技巧,在“合作”中拓展语音能力,在“探究”中实现语音创新性地迁移。     

Innovations in Doctoral Education: Distance Education Methodology Applied

This study evaluated the impact of a distance education program to meet the practice learning needs of first‐year doctoral students. The program, a six‐session case‐based telephonic seminar, was taught to 19 first‐year doctoral students. Evaluation of the program included self‐report quantitative and qualitative data gathered pre‐ and postseminar, as well as qualitative data gathered three months postseminar. Quantitative and qualitative analysis revealed increased reports of practice competencies by the conclusion of the seminar. Analysis also illustrated the importance of continued evaluation given the small sample size and pilot nature of this unique distance education program.