1,720,981 research outputs found
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
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
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
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
Evidence-based practice in science education: the researcher-user interface
No full textOne aim of the EPSE (Evidence-based practice in Science Education) network was to obtain a better understanding of the extent to which practitioners in science education recognise and make use of research findings in the course of their normal practice. The aim was realised through an interview and focus-group study of views of practitioners on the research-practice interface. The sample included primary and secondary science teachers (including a subset with direct experience of research), curriculum policy makers, in-service trainers and authors of science textbooks and teaching materials. Questions explored perceptions of the nature, actual use and potential of research in science education. At a general level, teachers and other practitioners characterised educational research, variously, as: purposeful; carried out in a systematic manner; useful in informing action and large scale. To be viewed as convincing, research evidence had to be seen as transferable, to have resonance with teachers’ experience and beliefs, and to have a rigorous methodology. Widespread use of research evidence in the classroom seems to depend on at least two factors: translation of research findings into tangible and useful outcomes, such as teaching materials resulting from research projects; the presence of a professional culture which encourages both exploration of research and changes to practice. Increasing use of research evidence requires researchers to translate outcomes of research into practical actions and practitioners to be skilled in using evidence systematically in evaluation of their own practice. Networks of researchers and practitioners may further the aims of evidence-based practice
The nature of science education research
No full textReports on a study by the Evidence-based Practice in Science Education (EPSE) Research Network that explores practitioners' views on the nature, use, and potential of science education research. (DDR
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
- …
