Tracking Pre-service Teachers’ Changing Conceptions of Good Science Teaching: The Role of Progressive Reflection with the Same Video

A CD-ROM consisting of videos of two lessons by different teachers demonstrating exemplary science teaching was used to elicit, develop and track the changing conceptions of good science teaching of student teachers enrolled for the one-year Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) at several stages during the programme. It was found that the videos acted as an effective probe to elicit student teachers’ conceptions and had significant impact on those conceptions at different stages of the programme through the provision of teacher models demonstrating exemplary teaching. The experience has extended novice teachers’ awareness of alternative teaching methods and approaches not experienced in their own schooling, broadened their awareness of different classroom situations, provided proof of existence of good practices and prompted them to reflect on their current conceptions of good science teaching. Most importantly, the strategy of asking student teachers to watch the same videos on three separate occasions at different times of the course was recognized by them as a crucial element in facilitating their reflection on their changing conceptions of good science teaching. PGDE is the standard form of pre-service teacher education in Hong Kong. It provides qualified teacher status within Hong Kong. Student teachers enrolled for the PGDE have completed a relevant undergraduate degree.     

Turning Crisis into Opportunity: Enhancing student‐teachers’ understanding of nature of science and scientific inquiry through a case study of the scientific research in severe acute respiratory syndrome

Interviews with key scientists involved in research on severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), together with analysis of media reports and documentaries produced during and after the SARS epidemic, revealed many interesting aspects of nature of science (NOS) and authentic scientific inquiry. This novel insight into practice in the rapidly growing field of molecular biology was used in the development of instructional materials for use in the pre‐service and in‐service teacher education programme at The University of Hong Kong. The elements of NOS and scientific inquiry identified in the scientific research on SARS were explicitly emphasized in our instructional materials. The contemporary real‐life context of SARS was found to be effective in promoting student‐teachers’ understanding of NOS and scientific inquiry, particularly in terms of: the realization of inseparable links between science and the social, cultural, and political environment; deeper understanding of how science and technology impact on each other; and a richer appreciation of the processes of authentic scientific inquiry and the humanistic character of scientists. The effectiveness is attributed to immediacy, relevance, and familiarity, making the abstract tangible, personal experience of science history, and the powerful affective impact of the interviews with scientists.     

Three views of fairness in a school-based assessment scheme of practical work in biology

This interpretive study of the implementation of a school-based assessment scheme of biology practical work in Hong Kong examines three teachers' struggles with the issue of fairness in relation to their classroom actions. Though the teachers' discourses were dominated by, and their classroom actions were pre-eminently influenced by, the notion of fairness, they did so in three qualitatively different ways: (1) fair in the sense of assessing students on a fair basis; (2) fair in the sense of not jeopardizing students' chances to learn the subject matter while they are being assessed; and (3) fair in the sense of not depriving students' of opportunities of receiving all-round education. The implication is that assessment innovation is a necessary, but not a sufficient, mechanism for changes within our educational system. The role of the teacher is challenged by the new assessment scheme?the co-existence of assessment and learning requires a significant change in the teacher's pedagogy. For teachers to implement the new programme their existing understanding and beliefs concerning assessment must be challenged and opportunities provided for them to come to terms with the philosophy of the new assessment scheme. Most importantly, the teachers themselves must undertake such a learning process.     

Religious engagement and attitudes to the role of religion in society: their effect on civic and social values in an Asian context

This paper explored the impact of religious engagement (religious background, religious service attendance and religious activities participation) on adolescents’ civic and social values. Attitudes towards the influence of religion on society were investigated as a possible mediator/moderator of religious engagement. A model based on Western literature was tested using a sample of over 2000 Hong Kong students. Secondary data were drawn from the International Civics and Citizenship Education Study 2009. Multi-level modelling was used to assess individual and school level effects on civic and social values. Results indicated that religious engagement exerted varied effects. Religious background showed small and negative effects on students’ civic and social values. Participation in religious services indicated a small, positive and significant effect on social but not on civic values. Participation in religious activities showed no significant effect on either social or civic values. These variables exerted a small moderating effect on social and civic values through attitudes to the influence of religion on society. The latter exerted a positive and significant effect on civic values and a negative effect on social values. These results suggested that Western models depicting the positive relationship between religious engagement and citizenship values may not hold for Asian societies.     

Turning Crisis into Opportunity: Nature of Science and Scientific Inquiry as Illustrated in the Scientific Research on Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome

Interviews with key scientists who had conducted research on Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), together with analysis of media reports, documentaries and other literature published during and after the SARS epidemic, revealed many interesting aspects of the nature of science (NOS) and scientific inquiry in contemporary scientific research in the rapidly growing field of molecular biology. The story of SARS illustrates vividly some NOS features advocated in the school science curriculum, including the tentative nature of scientific knowledge, theory-laden observation and interpretation, multiplicity of approaches adopted in scientific inquiry, the inter-relationship between science and technology, and the nexus of science, politics, social and cultural practices. The story also provided some insights into a number of NOS features less emphasised in the school curriculum—for example, the need to combine and coordinate expertise in a number of scientific fields, the intense competition between research groups (suspended during the SARS crisis), the significance of affective issues relating to intellectual honesty and the courage to challenge authority, the pressure of funding issues on the conduct of research and the ‘peace of mind’ of researchers, These less emphasised elements provided empirical evidence that NOS knowledge, like scientific knowledge itself, changes over time. They reflected the need for teachers and curriculum planners to revisit and reconsider whether the features of NOS currently included in the school science curriculum are fully reflective of the practice of science in the 21st century. In this paper, we also report on how we made use of extracts from the news reports and documentaries on SARS, together with episodes from the scientists’ interviews, to develop a multimedia instructional package for explicitly teaching the prominent features of NOS and scientific inquiry identified in the SARS research.

Importance of Biology in Environmental Education

One of the aims in the Singapore Green Plan is to maintain a more proactive and environmentally conscious population. This can be met through the education of the people. The Plan recognises that one of the most important target groups is the student population. For this to be achieved, a case can be made for the teaching of biology as a core subject in both the primary and secondary schools. According to the Biological Science Inquiry Model, a teaching model designed for instructing and nurturing the learning process of students, a good foundation in biology will enable students to be more open minded, more inquiring into related issues and apply biological principles to rationalise such issues. A good grounding in biology will therefore help students to have a better understanding of environmental issues as these issues are extensively related to biological principles. This can be illustrated by the ten issues concerning the global environment highlighted at the United Nations Conference on the Environment in June 1992. Through a systematic discussion of each of these issues, this paper illustrates the importance of biological knowledge in understanding the problems, implications and consequences of these issues.     

Teachers’ and Students’ Conceptions of Good Science Teaching

Capitalizing on the comments made by teachers on videos of exemplary science teaching, a video-based survey instrument on the topic of ‘Density’ was developed and used to investigate the conceptions of good science teaching held by 110 teachers and 4,024 year 7 students in Hong Kong. Six dimensions of good science teaching are identified from the 55-item questionnaire, namely, ‘focussing on science learning’, ‘facilitating students’ understanding’, ‘encouraging students’ involvement’, ‘creating conducive environment’, ‘encouraging active experimentation’ and ‘preparing students for exam (PSE)’. Significant gaps between teachers’ and students’ conceptions on certain dimensions have been revealed. The inconsistency on the dimension ‘PSE’ is particularly evident and possible reasons for the phenomenon are suggested. This study raises the important questions of how the gap can be addressed, and who is to change in order to close the gaps. Answers to these questions have huge implications for teacher education and teacher professional development.     

Impacts of Library Space on Learning Satisfaction – An Empirical Study of University Library Design in Guangzhou,China

The current generation of millennial university students is more accustomed to searching reference information online than visiting the physical library facility, compared to the previous generations of students. Studies have shown that the role of the physical library facilities as a mere collection point of reading and reference materials is being threatened by the availability of free and high-speed online search engines. University libraries have always been an integral part in higher education learning activities, and they are not exempted from this threat. Based on a structural equation modelling framework, we analysed empirically the importance of different library design features that help enhance students' learning satisfaction, and found that lighting environment, acoustic environment as well as location of the library building were the main determinants impacting on the use of the university library by students in a major university in China. We conclude the paper with our suggestions in modifying library design to accommodate students' learning needs, and more importantly in recon?uring the spatial and functional role of university libraries in this age of digital information from a mere provider of reference materials to a physical space of learning commons on campus.     

Developing Pedagogical Content Knowledge for Teaching a New Topic: More Than Teaching Experience and Subject Matter Knowledge

Teaching experience has been identified as an important factor in pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) development. However, little is known about how experienced teachers may draw on their previous experience to facilitate their PCK development. This study examined how two experienced high school biology teachers approached the teaching of a newly introduced topic in the curriculum, polymerase chain reaction and their PCK development from the pre-lesson planning phase through the interactive phase to the post-lesson reflection phase. Multiple data sources included classroom observations, field notes, semi-structured interviews and classroom artefacts. It was found that the teachers’ previous experience informed their planning for teaching the new topic, but in qualitatively different ways. This, in turn, had a bearing on their new PCK development. Subject matter knowledge (SMK) can not only facilitate but may also hinder this development. Our findings identify two types of experienced teachers: those who can capitalise on their previous teaching experiences and SMK to develop new PCK and those who do not. The critical difference is whether in the lesson planning stage, the teacher shows the disposition to draw on a generalised mental framework that enables the teacher to capitalise on his existing SMK to develop new PCK. Helping teachers to acquire this disposition should be a focus for teacher training in light of continuous curriculum changes.