1,215 research outputs found
What ‘ideas-about-science’ should be taught in school science? A Delphi study of the expert community.
No full textThe science that is encountered by adults, whether through the media or through work contexts, typically presents questions, decisions and the need for prioritisation. There is general agreement that, in order to respond to the questions, decisions and prioritisation, people need to know something about the functioning of science itself. We term this knowledge ‘ideas-about-science’. However, there is little agreement about the content that might be included in school science curricula to address ‘ideas-about-science’. The study presented in this paper therefore addresses a fundamental question: What ideas-about-science should be taught in school curricula? The question is addressed empirically, by the use of a three stage Delphi study. The sample for the study was a group of leading and acknowledged experts in science education, science, history, philosophy and sociology of science, science teaching, and activities to promote the public understanding of science. Five people were recruited from each of these groups, producing a sample of twenty five ‘experts’. In the first round, participants were asked what they thought students should be taught about the methods of science, the nature of scientific knowledge and the processes and practices of the scientific community. Their open-ended responses to these questions were then analysed and coded reflexively and iteratively to generate a set of 30 themes in the data. For each theme, a summary statement was developed that captured the broad intent of the participant’s responses. These themes, and a selection of relevant anonymised arguments for their incorporation, were then fed back to the participants for comment and rating on a 5 point Likert scale in the second round. This process reduced the themes to a subset of seventeen. For the final round, these were then returned for comment, evaluation and a final rating, together with participants’ arguments for their significance. Whilst some of the themes, and the ideas they represent, are already a feature of existing school science curricula, many others are not. The findings of this research therefore present an authoritative challenge as to whether existing practice in school science represents the views and values of the broad community engaged in science and science education
Evidence-based practice in Science Education (EPSE). Teaching pupils ‘ideas- about-science’: clarifying learning goals and improving pupil performance.
No full textRecent arguments propose that school science should pay more attention to teaching epistemic aspects of science. However, unlike the content of science, little is known about the extent of consensus within the science education community on which ‘ideas-about-science’ are essential elements of the science curriculum. This study sought to answer this issue empirically using a three stage Delphi process using 23 participants drawn from a community of leading and acknowledged experts in science education; science; history, philosophy and sociology of science; science teaching; and public understanding of science. The outcome was a set of 18 highly rated themes about the nature of science, for which 9 had very strong support. Together with extensive comments provided by the participants these data give some measure of the existing consensus in the community engaged in science communication about what should be taught about science. The second phase of the research investigates the extent to which these themes can be explicitly taught
Reviving the past : eighteenth-century evangelical interpretations of church history
No full textThis study addresses eighteenth-century English-speaking evangelicals' understandings of church history, through the lens of published attempts to represent preceding Christian centuries panoramically or comprehensively. Sources entail several short reflections on history emerging in the early years of the transatlantic Revival (1730s-1740s) and subsequent, more substantial efforts by evangelical leaders John Gillies, Jonathan Edwards, John Wesley, Joseph and Isaac Milner, and Thomas Haweis. Little scholarly analysis exists on these sources, aside from the renaissance of interest in recent decades in Edwards. This is surprising, considering the acknowledged prominence of history-writing in the eighteenth century and the influence attributed, then and now, to the works of authors such as Gibbon, Hume, and Robertson. The aim is, first, to elucidate each of the above evangelicals' interpretations of the Christian past, both in overview and according to what they said on a roster of particular historical events, people and movements, and then to consider shared and divergent aspects. These aspects range from points of detail to paradigmatic theological convictions. Secondarily, evangelical church histories are analyzed in relation to earlier Protestant as well as eighteenth-century 'enlightened' historiography, in part through attention to evangelical authors' explicit engagement with these currents. This contextualization assists in determining the unique qualities of evangelical interpretations. Is there, then, evidence of a characteristically 'evangelical' perspective on church history? An examination of this neglected area illumines patterns and particulars of evangelicals' historical thought, and these in turn communicate the self-perceptions and the defining features of evangelicalism itself. Findings support the primary contention that evangelical leaders made use of a dynamic pattern of revival and declension as a means of accounting for the full history of Christianity. Beyond displaying the central place of 'revival' for evangelicals, these church histories demonstrate evangelicalism‘s complex relationship—involving both receptivity and critique—with Protestant and Enlightenment currents of historical inquiry
What 'Ideas-about-science' should be taught in school science? A Delphi study of the expert community
No full textRecent arguments in science education have proposed that school science should pay more attention to teaching the nature of science and its social practices. However, unlike the content of science, for which there is well-established consensus, there would appear to be much less unanimity within the academic community about which ideas-about-science are essential elements that should be included in the contemporary school science curriculum. Hence, this study sought to determine empirically the extent of any consensus using a three stage Delphi questionnaire with 23 participants drawn from the communities of leading and acknowledged international experts of science educators; scientists; historians, philosophers, and sociologists of science; experts engaged in work to improve the public understanding of science; and expert science teachers. The outcome of the research was a set of nine themes encapsulating key ideas about the nature of science for which there was consensus and which were considered to be an essential component of school science curriculum. Together with extensive comments provided by the participants, these data give some measure of the existing level of agreement in the community engaged in science education and science communication about the salient features of a vulgarized account of the nature of science. Although some of the themes are already a feature of existing school science curricula, many others are not. The findings of this research, therefore, challenge (a) whether the picture of science represented in the school science curriculum is sufficiently comprehensive, and (b) whether there balance in the curriculum between teaching about the content of science and the nature of science is appropriate
Research and practice in science education: a response to Traianou & Hammersley
No full textA reader of Traianou and Hammersley's article (in this issue), which discusses at some length the work we undertook in the Evidence-based Practice in Science Education (EPSE) Research Network, might attribute to us views that are rather different from those which we in fact hold, and which we have sought to present in our own accounts of this work. We highlight several points on which their interpretation of our work and views differs markedly from ours. The aim of the EPSE Network was to explore the practical implications of 'evidence-based practice' in the context of a mainstream curriculum subject such as science, not to advocate any particular interpretation of that term. We would encourage readers interested in the relationship between research and practice in the teaching of specific subjects to base their view of our work, and the perspectives underpinning it, on our own account
Improving subject teaching: lessons from research in science education
No full textIn many countries, questions are being raised about the quality and value of educational research, and whether educational practice can ever draw upon research evidence as productively as in fields such as medicine. This book explores the relationship between research and practice in education, using the case of science education as an example. It looks at the extent to which current practice could be said to be informed by knowledge or ideas generated by research – and at the extent to which the use of current practices, or the adoption of new ones, are, or could be supported by research evidence – and so be said to be evidence-based. The issues considered are not specific to science, but apply to the teaching and learning of any curriculum subject.The book draws on the findings of four inter-related research studies, carried out by the Evidence-based Practice in Science Education (EPSE) Research Network. It considers:
• how research might be used to establish greater consensus about curriculum
• how research can inform the design of assessment tools and teaching interventions
• the impact of new teaching approaches on teachers’ practices and students’ learning
• the extent to which evidence can show that an educational practice ‘works’ The book is unique in exploring the issues raised by the current debate about educational research within the context of the teaching and learning of a specific curriculum subject. Rather than looking at how research might inform educational practices in the abstract, it looks at how research can lead to improvement in the teaching of specific pieces of knowledge, or specific skills, that we value. The issues it explores are therefore of direct interest and relevance to educational practitioners and policy-makers
Author Correction: Identification of a novel cAMP dependent protein kinase A phosphorylation site on the human cardiac calcium channel
No full textThe original version of this Article contained a typographical error in the spelling of the author A. Harvey Millar, which was incorrectly given as Harvey A. Millar. This has now been corrected in the PDF and HTML versions of the Article and in the Supplementary Information
The mentoring cycle
No full textThe aim of this chapter is to explore the mentoring cycle and in particular, the concept of phases within the context of the mentoring relationship. The chapter begins by outlining a number of models that describe how mentoring relationships develop over time, such as Kram (1980, 1983), Missirian (1982), Clutterbuck (1985; 2004), and Westland (2015). The mentee and mentor perspective is explored by understanding the experiences of each, through insight, during various stages of the relationship. Next, the author identifies a number of empirical studies that have ‘tested’ the models to better understand their application to specific contexts (Westland, 2015). The models are compared and contrasted in order to identify the challenges associated with the concept of the mentoring cycle. The author also considers factors that influence the mentoring cycle and the effectiveness of the mentoring relationship. Finally, the author considers the implications of the mentoring cycle from a number of perspectives: mentoring relationships, program design, training for mentees and mentors, and future research agendas for both researchers and practitioners
Jonathan I. Israel: La Ilustración derrotada (1748-1830)
No full textEn su vasto empeño por caracterizar el mundo de las ideas, y en particular todo lo relacionado con la Ilustración, el profesor Jonathan I. Israel despliega de nuevo su vasto (y discutido) conocimiento en el millar de páginas de The Enlightenment that Failed. Ideas, Revolution, and Democratic Defeat, 1748-1830 (OUP). Esto dice el editor: "The Enlightenment that Failed explora la creciente brecha entre las tendencias e iniciativas de la Ilustración que apelaron exclusivamente a las élites y a..
Sustentation
No full textOn the basis of common sensibilities, Wallace presents four Quebec artists whose diverse practices (photography, watercolor, sculpture) are turned towards issues dealing with the sociopolitical purposes of art and their eminently critical role. Text in French with English summary by Millar. Biographical notes on artists and author. 8 bibl. ref
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