Effective Science Learning Research Articles

Using Facets of Effective Science Learning Environments to Examine Preservice Elementary Teachers` Observations of Their Clinical Experiences in Korea and the U.S.

This study examined the science learning environments experienced by Korean and U.S. preservice elementary science teachers during their 3-week clinical experience. Observational experiences of 97 Korean and 112 U.S preservice teachers were surveyed with an instrument that we developed for the study. Follow-up interviews provided a clearer picture of what preservice teachers observed and experienced in science classrooms during their clinical experiences. Korean preservice teachers experienced a variety of science teaching environments, whereas the U.S. preservice teachers reported limited opportunities to observe science teaching and learning in terms of 6 identified facets that we posed. Along with our interpretation of the contrast in findings, some of the challenges are discussed in providing preservice teachers with opportunities to observe, experience, and teach in effective science learning environments during the clinical experience.

Exploring middle school students' conceptions of the relationship between genetic inheritance and cell division

AbstractThis study examines students' understanding of the normative connections between key concepts of cell division, including both mitosis and meiosis, and underlying biological principles that are critical for an in‐depth understanding of genetic inheritance. Using a structural equation modeling method, we examine middle school students' understanding of these relationships. A total of 209 seventh‐grade students participated in this study and completed a technology‐enhanced unit on genetics. Content‐based assessments were administered to all students. Findings from a confirmatory factor analysis supplemented with an analysis of students' responses revealed a strong relationship between the concepts of genetic inheritance and cell division and provided evidence of the nature of the difficulties that students have when trying to understand these concepts. Specifically, students were challenged to demonstrate an integrated understanding of the differences between mitosis and meiosis processes. Also some students struggled to explain the importance of these processes as they relate to passage of genetic information. This study offers the science education field further insight into younger students' learning about genetic inheritance and informs the design of effective science learning materials at the middle school level. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed 96:78–103, 2012

Looking at gender disparity in science and mathematics from other angles: Are there differences in logical reasoning and linguistic abilities?

This study was carried out to further search for the true position of boys and girls in terms of participation and performance in science in classroom settings that are different from the conventional or traditional arrangement. The paper examined the differences in the logical reasoning, linguistic, reading as well as word-problem solving abilities of male and female science students which are considered important to effective learning of science. Forty science students consisting of 20 each of male and female groups were involved in the study. Each group was taught by four science teachers of the same sex for a period of six weeks. The teachers had uniform qualifications. In addition to the subject matter taught processes of science were emphasized throughout the lessons. The study showed that girls have higher achievement scores than boys in logical reasoning, linguistic, reading and word-problem solving abilities. The differences in the scores were also found to be significant at 0.05 confidence level. It was therefore concluded that the issue of gender influence on students‘ performance in science is not straight jacketed. Boys perform better than girls only in conventional classroom arrangements and in the overall science tasks but not in some tasks that are also very crucial to the learning of science. Keywords: gender differences in science achievement, logical reasoning, linguistic ability, reading ability word-problem solving ability

Effective learning in science: The use of personal response systems with a wide range of audiences

This paper describes the flexibility of Personal Response Systems (PRSs), (also known as ‘clickers’ or electronic voting systems (EVS)), as part of strategies to support students’ learning in science. Whilst variants of this technology began to appear 12 years ago, there is now a steadily increasing adoption of these systems within higher education, including science programmes, and this use has grown significantly in the last six years. They have previously been shown to offer a measurable learning benefit. Typically, someone at an institution buys these systems for learning support and they never make it out of their cases. Far less work has been done with these systems at school level. In this practitioner based paper, the broad range of practical uses for these systems is described in a variety of formal and informal learning situations – from testing the understanding of science concepts (from primary aged school children up to physics undergraduates), to undertaking evaluation of events as well as public participation in data collection for research on attitudes to careers. In addition, the data collected on such handsets can be mapped to demographic factors such as gender and age yielding further layers of analysis. Overall this is a highly flexible and transferable approach to the use of interactive technology for engaging learners of all ages as well as carrying out research.

Pacific CRYSTAL Project: Explicit Literacy Instruction Embedded in Middle School Science Classrooms

Science literacy leading to fuller and informed participation in the public debate about science, technology, society, and environmental (STSE) issues that produce justified decisions and sustainable actions is the shared and central goal of the Pacific CRYSTAL Project. There is broad agreement by science education researchers that learners need to be able to construct and interpret specific scientific discourses and texts to be literate in science. We view these capabilities as components in the fundamental sense of science literacy and as interactive and synergetic to the derived sense of science literacy, which refers to having general knowledge about concepts, principles, and methods of science. This article reports on preliminary findings from Years 1, 2, and 3 of the 5-year Pacific CRYSTAL project that aims to identify, develop, and embed explicit literacy instruction in science programs to achieve both senses of science literacy. A community-based, opportunistic, engineering research and development approach has been utilized to identify problems and concerns and to design instructional solutions for teaching middle school (Grades 6, 7, and 8) science. Initial data indicate (a) opportunities in programs for embedding literacy instruction and tasks; (b) difficulties generalist teachers have with new science curricula; (c) difficulties specialist science teachers have with literacy activities, strategies, genre, and writing-to-learn science tasks; and (d) potential literacy activities (vocabulary, reading comprehension, visual literacy, genre, and writing tasks) for middle school science. Preinstruction student assessments indicate a range of challenges in achieving effective learning in science and the need for extensive teacher support to achieve the project’s goals. Postinstructional assessments indicate positive changes in students’ ability to perform target reading and writing tasks. Qualitative data indicate teachers’ desire for external direction and the need for researchers to expand the literacy framework to include oral discourse. A case study of teachers’ use of a specific literacy task and its influence on students revealed indications of robustness and effectiveness. Experiences revealed procedural difficulties and insights regarding community-based research and development approaches.

Designing Effective Spaces, Tasks and Metrics for Communication in Second Life Within the Context of Programming LEGO NXT Mindstorms™ Robots

Science education is concerned with the meaningful pursuit of comprehension, knowledge and understanding of scientific concepts and processes. In Vygotskian social constructivist learning, personal interpretation, decision-making and community cooperation fosters long-term understanding and transference of learned concepts. The construction of knowledge requires learners to be actively involved in the process of learning. For effective science learning to take place an instructor’s pedagogical approach must be anchored in meaningful contexts so that students have actual opportunities to experience science. This paper presents the early stages of a research project that attempts to assess and define effective measurements for evaluating strategies for communicating science by using LEGO robots and Mindstorms™ RCX controllers that are collaboratively constructed and programmed by students using virtual technologies while physically situated in different locations.

A Relevant Physics Curriculum: Tapping Indigenous African Knowledge Systems

Within a constructivist approach to learning physics, prior knowledge had been found to underpin learning in a significant way – either as a hindering or helping factor. One key issue that accounts for effective learning of science in Africa has been the controversial status of prior knowledge that learners bring into the classroom. This article aims to continue the discussion along these lines but with the express objective to illustrate how physics teachers/lectures can draw on indigenous African knowledge as they teach concepts and introduce terminology and nomenclature in the physics curriculum. Keywords: Constructive approach, relevant, physics curriculum, indigenous African knowledge systems, terminology and nomenclatureIndilinga Vol. 7 (2) 2008: pp. 223-236

Social barriers to meaningful engagement in biology field trip group work

AbstractThis paper reports on a study that employed metacognition and social cognition theoretical frameworks to explore and interpret students' views of their cognitive roles and the nature of the mechanisms that they considered influenced and mediated their learning within small group contexts. An instrumental interpretive case study methodology was used to capture students' descriptive accounts of their Year 11 Biology learning experiences, as conveyed through their recollections and reflections concerning their interactions and roles, perceptions of the learning task, and their learning strategies that they considered to be manifest during a field trip visit to a nature center. We conclude that, even among apparently highly collegial student groups, deemed by their teacher to be effective learning groups, and constituted in ways consistent with the literature on effective collaborative group work, there existed metasocial metacognitive factors that influenced and shaped cognition in ways counterproductive to the effective learning of science. This study reveals the existence of metacognitive knowledge and processes, common among students and related to their views of what is appropriate thinking and behavior within small groups, which inform collective and individual task actions. We contend that students are highly aware of their social status within groups and of their individual group's social conditions and that this awareness affects cognition and behavior. Moreover, they monitor these conditions and employ strategies that simultaneously service both the task and social relationships and their learning processes to varying extents depending on individual and group factors. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed 93: 511–534, 2009

From Instruction to Construction: A Pedagogy for Effective Learning of Science

Imagine three professionals namely, a computer engineer, c lab technician and a college teacher have been recoded to icin duty 20 years Offer they had quit their jobs. You would agree with me that the first two - the engineer and the technician, would reluctant to accept invitation citing the tremendous changes in their respective fields. Their professions would have progressed significantly, instruments would all be sophisticated and new; and many Of the procedures now in practice would be unfamiliar to the incumbents. I am equally sure that the poor teacher alone would not hesitate to accept the invi*otion. She be almost Sure to find the same classroom, nearly the same curriculum. the' same texts aræ the sa me methodology! Even if there were marginal changes they would offer her little problem

Learning spaces, tasks and metrics for effective communication in Second Life within the context of programming LEGO NXT Mindstorms™ robots: towards a framework for design and implementation.

Science education is concerned with the meaningful pursuit of comprehension, knowledge and understanding of scientific concepts and processes. In Vygotskian social‐constructivist learning, personal interpretation, decision-making and community cooperation fosters long‐term understanding and transference of learned concepts. In short, the construction of knowledge requires learners to be actively involved in the process of learning. For effective science learning, an instructor’s pedagogical approach must be anchored in meaningful contexts so that students experience science. This paper presents a discussion of the method that has been applied to assessing and defining effective measurements for evaluating strategies for communicating science using LEGO robots and a Mindstorms™ RCX controller collaboratively constructed and programmed by students using a virtual technology (Second Life) whilst physically situated in different locations.