Student affect and conceptual understanding in learning chemistry

This study explores the relationship between affective and cognitive variables in grade 9 chemistry students (n = 73). In particular, it explores how students' situational interest, their attitudes toward chemistry, and their chemistry‐specific self‐concept influence their understanding of chemistry concepts over the course of a school year. All affective variables were assessed at two time points: at the middle of the first semester of grade 9, and at the end of the second semester of grade 9, and then related to students' postinstructional understanding of chemical concepts. Results reveal that none of the affective variables measured at the earliest time point have a significant direct effect on postinstructional conceptual understanding. Looking at the different affective variables as intermediary constructs, however, reveals a pattern in which self‐concept and situational interest measured at the middle of grade 9 contribute to self‐concept measured at the end of grade 9, which in turn, has a positive, significant effect on students' postinstructional conceptual understanding. These results reveal the importance of a strong and positive self‐concept, the feeling of doing well in the chemistry class, for developing a meaningful understanding of scientific concepts. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 908–937, 2007     

Teaching about ethics through socioscientific issues in physics and chemistry: Teacher candidates' beliefs

The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify and explain the origins of physics and chemistry teacher candidates' beliefs about teaching about ethics through socioscientific issues (SSI). This study utilized a series of in‐depth interviews, while the participants (n = 12) were enrolled in a 9‐month teacher education program at an urban university in Canada. Our data analysis revealed that beliefs about teaching physics and chemistry using SSI derive from a complex web of fundamental beliefs exemplified by four archetypes representing the subject‐specific identities of our teacher candidates—Model Scientist/Engineer, Model Individual, Model Teacher, and Model Citizen. Furthermore, we found that the justification for belief change required by a particular teacher candidate depends on these subject‐discipline identities. Thus, the presence of each archetype in preservice classrooms has ramifications for the way a teacher educator should encourage his or her students to include SSI in their teaching. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 47: 380–401, 2010     

Instructional models for the acquisition of English as bridges into school science: effects on the science achievement of U.S. Hispanic English language learners

Science educators have suggested that, for minority and low-income students, gaps between home and school science cultures necessitate ‘border crossing’ for successful learning in science. Our analysis used National Assessment of Educational Progress 2000 and 2005 data to assess the impact of U.S. state-level policy regarding instructional models for language acquisition for the learning of science. Specifically, we assessed whether policy favouring structured English immersion led to better student outcomes than bilingual education among Hispanic English language learners in 4th and 8th grades in the U.S. We found significantly higher science achievement among 4th grade Hispanic ELLs in states with stronger bilingual emphasis in their policy, suggesting that policy support for bilingual education could provide a better bridge to span the cultural gap between home and school science, at least for younger students.     

Erratum: Student affect and conceptual understanding in learning chemistry

In this article (Journal of Research in Science Teaching 2007;44(7):908–937. DOI 10.1002/tea.20169 © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.), part of the author's affiliation had been inadvertently omitted. The corrected affiliation appears above. For the reader's information, the acronym “OISE/UT” stands for “Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto.” The author regrets any inconvenience this may have caused.     

Constructing school knowledge after the Wall: the case of textbook publishing in the former German Democratic Republic

Organisational ecology and world cultural perspectives are used to analyse the struggle of the former East German textbook publisher Volk und Wissen after reunification. We argue that the normative expectations of Western Germany with respect to instructional materials clearly emulate world cultural principles, and so Volk und Wissen’s transition into Germany’s fiercely competitive educational publishing market offers an interesting test of the effects of educational globalisation. Reliance on the marketing expertise of Cornelsen, a Western German firm that acquired Volk und Wissen in 1991, helped the firm survive, but also retaining a ‘monist’ epistemological stance that was consistent with that of teachers trained in the socialist system.     

Teacher interactions and effects on group triple problem solving space

ABSTRACT

Research shows that collaborative work promotes student learning and improves social skills, but teachers are still exploring how to best support problem-solving in a small group context, particularly in the science classroom. This study builds on prior research to characterise teacher interactions with small groups in secondary science and analyses how those interactions affect a collectively constructed space – the triple problem solving space (TPSS) – in which group members collectively understand a task (content/cognitive dimension), manage social interactions (social/relational dimension), and co-construct the emotional life of the group (affective dimension). Results of two biology teachers’ interactions with students in small groups working on inquiry and engineering design activities show that most interactions were administrative and had little influence on the group’s TPSS. Teacher interactions that engaged students in monitoring their problem-solving process, however, did have the capacity to increase cognitive work of the group, which subsequently impacted the students’ group affect and social dimension. These findings suggest that interactions focused on cognitive processes have the potential to support all aspects of a group’s TPSS. Though this research is only a first step in understanding the impact of teacher interactions on small group work, implications for teaching practices are discussed.     

A framework for exploring small group learning in high school science classrooms: The triple problem solving space

Instructional Science - Classroom activities using an inquiry approach often feature students working in small groups to reduce teacher-centeredness and maximize student autonomy. Within science...     

Science student role: Evidence of social structural norms specific to school science

Sociocultural studies of science education have consistently recognized the dialectic nature of students' agency to create and author positions for themselves and the structural constraints that may influence them. This mixed‐methods study explores one particular aspect of these potential constraints: the possibility of a social structure specific to school science, using the concept of a science student role as an indicator. The first phase of the study was qualitative and exploratory, using open‐ended questionnaires and interviews to understand students' views of the expectations placed on them as science students (n = 95). The second phase was quantitative (using items developed from the qualitative analysis), with both exploratory and confirmatory elements (n = 157). Results suggest clear and explicit role understandings among these students, characterized by references to expectations of intelligence, experimental skill, scientific mindedness, and appropriate classroom behavior. The consistency of these expectations across genders, science teachers and schools provides evidence that there is an element of social structure specific to school science that needs to be considered in studies of student agency and identity. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., Inc. J Res Sci Teach 48: 367–395, 2011