When the black box springs open: practical work in schools and the nature of science

The aim of this paper is not to bury practical work in school science but to (once again) reconsider it. We draw on three main areas of discussion: accounts of science and ‘school science work'; teachers and others’ views of the nature of science; and our own data on teachers’ reactions to ‘critical incidents’ and practicals which go wrong. We use this as a basis for re‐thinking the role of practicals. An account of practical work is suggested which has as its main feature diversity rather than a single model or template. Within this diversity we believe that teachers should be open and honest with pupils about which type of practical work they are doing and why. We advocate that students should be made aware of the different kinds of practical work they do and the purposes of this practical work. In short, teachers should explain to students what type of practical work they are doing and why. Our second message is that teachers’ views about the nature of science both inform and are informed by their classroom practices and experiences‐‐especially during lab‐work. To encourage, promote and support critical reflection of these classroom practices and experiences is therefore a vital part of teacher professional development; this in time will promote science curriculum development.     

Eliciting,Interpreting and Developing Teachers' Understandings of the Nature of Science

This paper covers three main areas : eliciting teachers' views of the nature of science; interpreting and understanding these views; and developing them in the context of initial or in-service teacher education. The three areas clearly overlap but we begin with eliciting : this section includes a look at past probes, and then presents the notion of critical incidents, with a range of examples. We argue throughout that critical incidents can be used partly as a means of probing teachers' views of science, but also have value as a tool for professional development. We then discuss interpreting and understanding teachers' responses to critical incidents, based on our research with over 300 teachers and student teachers who have worked with them. In the third section, on developing, we pursue the argument that teachers' understandings of the nature of science are located in their professional experience. We argue that if teachers' understandings are embedded within their professional practice this has important consequences for appropriate teacher education and professional development in the area of the nature of science.     

Assessment of Language Skills in Young Children with Profound Hearing Loss under Two Years of Age

This article presents an initial evaluation of a technique known as the Diary of Early Language (Di-EL), designed to obtain data about early lexical development in young children with profound hearing loss using cochlear implants, hearing aids, or both. The validity of the Di-EL, a parent report technique, was examined through comparisons with other measures of language development. Lexical data reported by parents using the Di-EL was found to agree with that reported by the same parents for the same children using the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories (CDI), although some differences in the lexical items were noted. Rate of lexical acquisition on the Di-EL was found to correlate highly with that measured by the CDI and with expressive language skills as measured by the Rossetti Infant Toddler Language Scale, suggesting that the Di-EL is a valid measure of early lexical progress. These results are discussed with reference to other diary studies, along with research and clinical applications of the Di-EL.     

Producing the evidence: Science teachers' initiations into practical work

The quantity, quality and fitness for purpose of much school practical work has come in for some criticism. This paper reports on questionnaire and interview studies with trainee science teachers. The study examined the reasons and justifications that teachers give for the way in which they conduct practical work. The particular focus is on counter-normative behaviour and what the behaviour indicates about the status of empirical work and the purpose of evidence in science classrooms. The questionnaire was completed by 40 trainee teachers. The analysis of the questionnaire determined the number of teachers who had produced results fraudulently either on their own initiative or had been initiated into it by experienced teachers and/or laboratory technicians. From the questionnaire we were able to select a small sample who we interviewed in order to unpack further the questionnaire responses. In discussing our data, a case for the re-evaluation of practical work in science education will be made and it will be argued that science teacher behaviour is best understood anthropologically. Possible implications for mentoring and school based training are mentioned briefly.     

Some Reflections on the Personal Impact of Thomas Kuhn

Science &; Education -     

Ethics in field work research: A case study

Most field work studies report findings but fail to deal with ethical problems encountered during their execution. This paper concentrates on four ethical problems which arose during the conduct of a field work investigation of the life experiences of three student teachers. The four problems were: acquiring permission to begin the study; how far to dig into personal lives to extract necessary information; the pitfalls of doing collaborative research; the more a participant tells, the worse he/she looks. A major implication is that ethical problems given the current bureaucratic and interpersonal climate in urban institutions (universities and city school districts) may be unresolvable, rather than simply a minor hindrance to the researchers and participants.