1,720,992 research outputs found
Evaluation of professional development strategies for bringing contemporary science into the classroom
No full textMuch has been written about frameworks of continuing professional development focusing principally on improving teachers’ pedagogical skills (e.g. Joyce & Showers, 1988; Loucks-Horsley et al, 1998; Darling-Hammond & Youngs, 2002; Adey, 2004). Such research suggests that targeted professional development should be implemented over a long time scale, include in-class coaching and opportunities for teachers’ reflections on any change in classroom practice that they make. Adey (2004) proposes that there are a number of factors which influence the effectiveness of professional development in its ultimate aim – improvement of student learning. Besides the quality of the professional development programme itself, the nature of the innovation to be made, the support of school senior management and collegiality of the group of teachers engaged in the professional development are all important. In many professional development programmes, the innovation is pre-determined in being focused on particularly teaching programmes. In England, regional Science Learning Centres have been set up with government funding to provide professional development which focuses as much on improving teachers’ knowledge of contemporary science and its implications, as on appropriate pedagogical content knowledge which follows. The Centres are charged with CPD provision across a wide target audience - teachers of science to ages 5 to 19 and technicians - and a wide geographical area. Teachers’ needs are thus diverse and the ‘innovation’ is not necessarily linked to the teaching of a common scheme. This paper describes the methods adopted by the Science Learning Centre South East in considering established principles of effective professional development and evaluates the outcomes from the first groups of teachers undertaking professional development through the Centre. The research considers the question: What are the strengths and weaknesses of the format of professional development in promoting the use of contemporary science in the classroom
Teaching twenty first century science
No full textThis evaluation of a pilot GCSE course designed to enhance scientific literacy focuses on teaching ‘how science works’: how it relates to the ‘science explanations’ component and teachers’ and students’ reactions. A combination of research techniques (including observations, interviews and surveys) was used. The overall response was positive, but the findings suggest the need for more resources to promote inter-student collaboration; greater use of interactive techniques to elicit student contributions; and more explicit teaching of how to interpret texts. Professional development is needed through specific courses (e.g. on small group discussion) and collegial support by developing communities to share practice
Teachers’ experiences of teaching ‘ideas-about-science’ and socio-scientific issues
No full textTeaching of socio-scientific issues encourages a focus on ‘ideas-about-science’ (the processes and practices of science) and consideration of scientific evidence and values. This paper reports an evaluation of teachers’ practice and views as they taught an innovative pilot course (Twenty First Century Science) to pupils in their last two years of compulsory schooling. Using classroom observation, questionnaires and interviews of teachers, the evaluation explored the extent to which teachers were successful in handling ‘ideas-about-science’ and how the two components of the course (‘ideas-about-science’ and science explanations) were interrelated and recognised in the teaching. Teachers saw the course as very interesting but very challenging to teach. Despite declaring some confidence in their understanding of ‘ideas-about-science’, science explanations dominated over ‘ideas-about-science’ in teachers’ perceptions of the focus of the course and in their teaching. There was gradual change in practice to incorporate more discursive pedagogies, suggesting that several cycles through the course are needed for teachers to appreciate its aims fully and support the teaching of socio-scientific issues effectively
‘Darwin-inspired’ science: teachers’ views, approaches and needs
No full textThis article summarises teachers’ views on their knowledge of Darwin and his work, issues they raised regarding with teaching Darwin-related activities, their resource and CPD requirements, and their ideas for promoting Darwin’s anniversary in 2009. They called for the provision of an umbrella website linking useful information, development of cross-curricular programmes, and strengthening relations with other schools. Practical problems were anticipated, such as lack of time and funding, and inadequate school grounds for experiments. CPD was considered necessary to address the lack of knowledge and confidence, but senior managers and advisors must be convinced that such a commitment is justified
Evaluation of professional development: deploying a process-focused model
Full text linkThis evaluation used a change transition model to explore the processes of development of a three-phase professional programme devised by two teams of researchers to support teachers’ expertise in six domains of science teaching. The full programme operated over two years. Interviews with developers at the end of each phase (21 interviews) and with teachers at the end of phases two and three (11 interviews) formed the main data set. The four features of the change transition model—trigger, vision, conversion, maintenance—were used as a framework for analysis of the qualitative data. Four themes emerged as contributing to the success of the process of development of the programme: establishing a shared vision of the goals of the programme and its outcomes; maintaining flexibility in implementing the phases and details of the programme; negotiating common understanding with participants; and ensuring fruitful collaboration in planning and implementation. The demands of attending to all of these features should not be underestimated in any successful developmental process. The evaluation therefore provides evidence for additional guidance in future collaborative professionaldevelopment
What do teachers think about ‘Darwin-inspired’ science?
No full textAs part of the bicentenary of Darwin’s birth in 2009, and the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species, the Wellcome Trust is interested in highlighting for students of all ages the relationship between Darwin’s work and contemporary science. They commissioned the University of Southampton in conjunction with the Institute of Education to conduct research on science teachers’ views and pedagogical approaches to evolution and other ‘Darwin-inspired’ science, and their resource and training requirements in relation to this. The aim of the study will help develop a strategy for assisting teachers in promoting the continued significance of Darwin’s work in contemporary science.Ten focus group meetings of teachers across key stages 1 to 4 and post 16 were held in Southampton and London, and six hundred questionnaires were sent to primary, secondary and post 16 science teachers in Northern Island, Scotland and Wales
Children’s anthropomorphic and anthropocentric ideas about micro-organisms
No full textDifferent views exist about whether anthropomorphic ideas assist or hinder learning in biology. This paper discussesthe anthropomorphic and anthropocentric ideas children have about micro-organisms, and whether they affecttheir understanding. The research was carried out in primary and secondary schools in the South of England andinvolved 414 children aged 7, 11 and 14 years. Three different research techniques were used to elicit their ideas.Anthropomorphic and anthropocentric ideas about micro-organisms are apparent in responses from all age groups.Anthropomorphic ideas seem to help children to explain their understanding of some aspects of micro-organismsbut the imbalance in children’s anthropocentric views of micro-organisms appears to prohibit them consideringother aspects of micro-organisms; for example, the importance of their role in decomposition and cycling of matter,or their beneficial technological applications. The focus on the danger micro-organisms are thought to pose tohuman health creates a hostile view of micro-organisms and this may inhibit future learning
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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