Experienced Science Teachers Research Articles

Developing perceptions about science in preservice early childhood educators

AbstractScience teachers play a vital role in the education of students and their learning outcomes. Beyond academic performance and content knowledge, how one feels about science can influence how they teach and how students learn. It is important for educators, and teacher educators to reflect on their past experiences and decipher what experiences influence their overall perceptions about science. Mixed methods were used to analyze narrative papers from pre‐service teachers which focused on their science education experiences. Papers from one hundred undergraduate early‐childhood pre‐service educators were used to determine factors that influence pre‐service teachers’ overall perceptions about science. Results indicated that negative experiences at all stages of students’ k‐12 education diminished positive perceptions of science; meanwhile, corresponding effects related to positive experience were sourced only from high school. Similarly, negative teacher experiences resulted in diminished positive perceptions of science without corresponding effects of positive teacher experiences. Learning approach and informal learning experiences did not predict positive perceptions of science, but were relevant within the qualitative analysis. Implications are discussed for pre‐service teacher training programs.

A case study of a multidisciplinary approach for facing new challenges for adsorption heat pump applications

In this paper, a new zeolite/silicone foam for AHP applications was evaluated as a case study of a multidisciplinary teaching approach for addressing a science education experience from the pedagogical point of view. The interdisciplinary approach promotes the improvement of scientific knowledge among different materials science disciplines allowing to develop a performing adsorbent foamed HEX. In such a context, a flipped classroom approach was identified as the most suitable method for the students to develop their individual and collaborative improvement of knowledge. Changing the classroom lesson from teaching to students learning can be an effective strategy for stimulating students’ interest and learning. This approach, based on a 5E teaching model, opens up to an active and dynamic discussion phase of problem solving which, although contextualized on a practical experience, can be effectively extended in wider contexts.

Desain kurikulum mikro sustainable development goals di sekolah menengah pertama

The implementation of values of sustainable development is an important requirement to prepare future generations.Seeing these needs, it is necessary to design a micro curriculum on sustainable development values. Researchers analyzed the perceptions of 241 science teachers in West Java about the urgency of SD (Sustainable Development) indicators into content that students must learn. The topic of waste pollution and renewable energy are the chosen materials to be studied. Teacher's perception of the urgency of the material indicators can be said to be homogeneous. After that, the researcher made a content design for implementing this curriculum. Three validators who are experienced science teachers provide a constructive evaluation of the content and learning evaluation components.Learning evaluation is expected to be varied by including non-test components to achieve SD competence which emphasizes psychomotor and affective aspects.This curriculum content design already has goals that are in accordance with the expected sustainable development competencies, but the material content and evaluation components need further development.

Junior High School Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Inquiry-Based Science Teaching: Enabling or Disabling Dispositions?

This study sought to examine whether junior high school teachers’ attitudes are enabling or disabling dispositions toward inquiry-based science teaching. We used concurrent triangulation mixed methods design involving surveys and multiple case studies to collect quantitative and qualitative data. We sampled 308 integrated science teachers and a subsample of 18 teachers from junior high schools in urban and rural areas. Validity and reliability of the questionnaire were satisfactory for research. Credibility and dependability of the semi-structured interview schedule were also sufficient. Findings suggest that most junior high school teachers in the study context hold weak unfavourable attitudes that are disabling dispositions toward inquiry-based science teaching. Findings also suggest that the combination of societal subjective norms, perceived context dependency, and weak unfavourable attitudes of most junior high school teachers adversely influence their intentions and behaviours toward inquiry-based science teaching. Findings further suggest that most teachers in the study context developed weak unfavourable attitudes partly because they never had inquiry-based science teaching and learning experiences when they were students. Again, the teachers developed weak general attitudes toward science teaching partly because most science teaching and learning experiences they had were in specific subjects such as biology, chemistry, and physics instead of general (integrated) science. We recommend frequent attitude-focused inquiry-based science in-service trainings for junior high school teachers. We also recommend reforms in education that engages preservice teachers in attitude-focused inquiry-based science teaching and learning experiences.

Learning to Teach in Place: Transforming Pre-service Teacher Perceptions of Science Teaching Through Place Pedagogies

Although teaching science outdoors is well established in global circles, its pedagogical value in Australia is less understood. This paper addresses this gap through its investigation of outdoor science teaching in a science method course in a teacher education program at an Australian regional university. As part of their coursework, pre-service teachers designed and delivered science lessons to primary school-aged children in small teaching groups in a wetland setting and wrote reflective essays about the experience. Data collection methods included document analysis of the essays as well as follow-up semi-structured interviews with pre-service teachers. Findings suggest that the outdoor science teaching experience improved pre-service teachers’ general science teaching skills, and significantly contributed to their capacity to teach science outdoors. Considerations regarding how teacher education curriculum and pedagogy can be reconfigured to better equip graduating teachers with the relevant science skills,

The obstacles of the performance of professional learning communities (plc)from the point of view of science teachers in afif.

This study aimed to identify the obstacles of the performance of professional learning communities (PLC)from the point of view of science teachers in Afif Governorate in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. to answer the study questions, the researchers used the descriptive analytical approach, by developing a questionnaire consisting of two main topics: performance obstacles related to the personal aspects of the teacher, and performance obstacles related to school environment. The sample consisted of 95 science teachers in primary, middle and secondary schools. The sample size was 53.98% of the research society. The results indicated a number of performance obstacles from the point of view of science teachers. Among the most important performance obstacles related to the personal aspects of the teacher is the large number of teaching and administrative responsibilities that reduce the opportunities for cooperative work among teachers. Another obstacle in this topic is that less attention in the professional development programs is given to PLC. As for the obstacles related to the school environment, the most important of which is the school’s lack of an educational environment that supports PLC. The intensity of students numbers in the classroom which reduces the chances of the teacher reflection on teaching practices. The results also showed that there are no statistically significant differences credited to the variable of the grade (primary - intermediate - secondary) (α = 0.05).While statistically significant differences occurred related to the number of years of experience, in favor of more experienced science teachers (α=0.05(.

Measuring the long-term effects of informal science education experiences: challenges and potential solutions

Despite the fact that most science learning takes place outside of school, little is known about how engagement in informal science learning (ISL) experiences affects learners’ knowledge, skill development, interest, or identities over long periods of time. Although substantial ISL research has documented short-term outcomes such as the learning that takes place during a science center visit, research suggests that the genuine benefits of informal experiences are long-term transformations in learners as they pursue a “cascade” of experiences subsequent to the initial educational event. However, a number of major methodological challenges have limited longitudinal research projects investigating the long-term effects of ISL experiences. In this paper we identify and address four key issues surrounding the critical but challenging area of how to study and measure the long-term effects or impacts of ISL experiences: attribution, attrition, data collection, and analytic approaches. Our objective is to provide guidance to ISL researchers wishing to engage in long-term investigations of learner outcomes and to begin a dialogue about how best to address the numerous challenges involved in this work.

A Study on Effects of Multimodal Science Text Design on Meaning-Making of Science Content: Science Teachers’ Perspectives

Numerous studies demonstrated that the meaning-making of scientific knowledge is affected by the design of multimodal science texts. Various modes are co-operated together in certain inter-semiotic mechanisms to produce meaning in multimodal texts. Based on this perspective, this research seeks to investigate the effect of mode level in science texts and compositional arrangement on the meaning-making of science concepts and processes. In this context, four science texts with the same content (transformation of energy) at different mode densities and two science texts with the same content (covalent bonding) one of which is arranged in accordance with variation theory of learning are designed. By using the case study method, this research explored six experienced science teachers’ views about the effects of mode level and multimodal text composition on meaning-making. The data were collected with semi-structured interviews. The thematic analysis was employed for data analysis. The findings demonstrated that mode density may affect meaning-making and so learning since different modes have affordance to represent different meaning and meaning relationship types. Besides, multimodal text composition may foreground the critical aspects of content, and help to design a coherent multimodal science text.

The Impact of a Motivation Booster in Blended Learning Experiences in Computer Science Education

The outcomes presented in this paper are associated with the impact of motivational messages sent by a Motivation Booster to the students that participated in blended learning experiences. The aim of the Motivation Booster is to provide personalized and summarized feedback, by means of motivational messages, to the users of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning systems on their completed collaborative learning activities. The developed Motivation Booster was integrated into the Moodle system. Two blended learning experiences were put into practice at the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana Montería (Colombia) over an academic year with students enrolled in the course called “Software Engineering” at the Computer Science Department. A group of students participated in the first blended learning experience, and they used the Moodle system without the Motivation Booster. And another group of students participated in the second blended learning experience, where they used Moodle with the developed Motivation Booster. The experimental results give us evidences that the students felt more motivated to work with the Moodle system when they received motivational messages due to the Motivation Booster. Especially students were stimulated to work in a group manner.

Promoting Aesthetic Experiences in Science Lessons: A Proposal for Instruction

Science education motivates students to be problem solvers who utilize scientific knowledge for the social problems that they encounter in their lives. However, for better solutions for the problem, just knowledge of scientific concepts would not be enough because students need to approach problems aesthetically also. Understanding social, cultural, and sociological bases of the problem and the values of people who own the problem should be considered in the solution. Therefore, that brings the need for aesthetic experiences in science education as well as cognitive experiences. From the Deweyan approach, an experience is an experience when it is supported by human values. The main characteristics of aesthetic experiences are that they transform abstract concepts into living ideas because the process makes people make sense of the parts, link to the whole, and perceive the world from different perspectives. Because they are not an absolute must, artworks are essential elements for the aesthetic experiences. With the use of artworks in instruction, students can have aesthetic experiences by transforming abstract concepts into living ideas and solve social problems more effectively. The study aims to connect the cognitive and aesthetic aspects of science and promote aesthetic experiences by using an artwork. A framework based on Deweyan aesthetic was used for pedagogical suggestions. With the use of the framework both cognitive and aesthetic perspectives were emphasized for social problems, and the concept of electrostatics and the interaction between science and society is underlined for the instruction.

Time to Teach: Instructional Time and Science Teachers’ Use of Inquiry-Oriented Instructional Practices

Background There have been repeated calls for more widespread use of inquiry-oriented science instruction in K–12 education. At the same time, questions have been raised regarding whether the amount of time in school schedules for science instruction is sufficient to support inquiry-based teaching. This study investigates the relationship between the time available for science instruction and the extent to which eighth-grade science teachers used inquiry-oriented instructional practices in their teaching. Research Questions We consider two research questions: (1) To what extent is teachers’ use of inquiry-oriented instructional practices related to the time available for science instruction during the school week? (2) To what extent do differences in teachers’ professional training to teach science impact the relationship between instructional time and science teachers’ use of inquiry-based instructional practices? Research Design We use data from the 2011 NAEP Grade Eight Science Assessment and multilevel linear modeling to analyze the relationship between instructional time and science teacher practices. Our analyses include approximately 11,520 eighth-grade teachers in 6,850 public schools. Findings The extent to which science teachers used inquiry-oriented instructional practices in their teaching was related to the amount of time available for science instruction. Teachers with 5 or more hours per week were more likely to use inquiry-oriented instructional practices, and the extent to which teachers engaged in reform-oriented science instruction increased with more time for instruction. The relationship between instructional time and teacher practice was largely independent of teacher qualifications, suggesting that instructional time impacts teacher instructional practice regardless of teachers’ educational background, training, or science teaching experience. Conclusions Identifying optimal allocations of instructional time is a relevant consideration in efforts to promote the types of reform-oriented science teaching called for by the National Research Council's Framework for K–12 Science Education, the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), and other national and state science assessments. Although investments in teacher training and professional development are also necessary and important investments, with insufficient time, even the most qualified or best trained science teachers may struggle to use inquiry-based instructional approaches.

Testing a methodology for the development of socioscientific issues to enhance middle school students’ argumentation and reasoning

ABSTRACT Background An overarching goal of school science education is to prepare young people for a rapidly changing and complex world. Middle school science students need more than a basic understanding of science concepts in preparation for further study. Rather, they need the skills to question and evaluate evidence and make decisions about complex scientific issues that impact themselves, society and the environment. Purpose The purpose of this study was to test a three-phase methodology for developing socioscientific issues that can be used in the classroom to engage middle school students, support their decision-making skills, enable them to construct an argument and use rational reasoning patterns. Sample The context of this research was four Australian Year 7 (12 years old) classrooms where students were studying the topic of water use. Design and Methods This exploratory study tested a three-phase methodology that included: (1) development of the socioscientific issues in consultation with experienced science teachers; (2) trialling with 68 Year 7 students in three diverse schools with teacher support and writing frames; and, (3) testing with 52 different Year 7 students from two schools to measure argument quality. Results The findings showed that all students, including those with low literacy levels, were able to engage with the socioscientific issues. The majority of students also were able to construct an argument that could be assessed for argument quality based on structure, type of reasoning and types of categories. Factors that facilitated engagement with the issues were personal relevance, collaborative whole-class discussion, scaffolding, and explicit literacy support. Conclusion The conclusion was that the three-phase methodology for developing socioscientific issues was effective in the contexts in this study. The findings also supported further testing of the methodology in other contexts.

Group Level Assessment (GLA) as a methodological tool to facilitate science education.

Group Level Assessment (GLA) is a qualitative, participatory research methodology that can be used within science education, specifically to meet the Science and Engineering Practices dimension of the K-12 Next Generation Science Standards. In contrast to traditional qualitative research methods, GLA is a concrete methodological tool intended for large groups. GLA follows a 7-step process in which diverse stakeholders work together to generate, analyze and prioritize ideas that lead to action planning. Emphasizing personal relevance, shared decision making, systematic inquiry, and collaboration in the design and process, GLA is best positioned conceptually and theoretically within community-based participatory research and inquiry-based learning approaches. The purpose of this manuscript is to describe how GLA can be utilized as an innovative methodology to incorporate students' lived experiences in science education. We describe how to conduct GLA and provide a case example of GLA in action conducted as part of a larger science education program with students and teachers in STEM.

Science performance predictors of the first batch of the K-12 curriculum in Valencia District, Negros Oriental, Philippines

The researchers designed and conducted this study using the predictive analytics to determine the different science performance predictors of the first batch of K to 12 curriculum in Valencia District, Valencia, Negros Oriental. The researchers had chosen three kinds of predictors namely; student-related predictors, teacher-related predictors, and school-related predictors. For the student-related predictors, parents’ educational attainment, parents’ occupation, family income, IQ level, learning styles and previous grade level science performance. The teacher-related predictors include teachers’ educational qualifications, length of science teaching experience, relevant science trainings and seminars attended, and exposure to access internet connection. On the other hand, the school-related predictors include the type of school, class size, ratio of science books to number of students and conformity of science laboratory equipment and apparatus to K to 12 standards. The researchers had randomly chosen 311 student-respondents and 8 teacher-respondents coming from four public and two private secondary schools of Valencia District. Questionnaires that were tested on its reliability and validity were used in this study. The collected data were then interpreted and analysed using appropriate statistical tools. Students’ previous science performance, parents’ educational attainment, parents’ occupation, intelligence quotient (IQ), teachers’ educational qualification, number of years in science teaching experience, levels and numbers of seminars and trainings attended and teachers’ internet access significantly predict the level of students’ performance in science; thus, they are considered as predictors. However, learning styles, class size, parents’ occupation, type of school, student-book ratio, and conformity of science equipment and apparatus cannot predict students’ level of performance.

Data Science for Everyone Starts in Kindergarten: Strategies and Initiatives from the American Statistical Association

The American Statistical Association (ASA) is committed to supporting and enhancing statistics and data science education at all levels, from early grades to the PhD. Attitudes about statistics and mathematics form early, so it is critical to ensure that students in the elementary grades have positive and meaningful statistics and data science education experiences. Provided with the appropriate resources and support, elementary educators will be able to create data-rich learning environments and establish the foundation for future success. This is the motivation for the focus on grades K–6 for the current education initiative, which in the United States is kindergarten (age 5) through sixth (age 11 to 12) grade levels. In this article we explore some of the ASA’s achievements and current efforts to inspire future data scientists by expanding elementary education resources.

Nascent Inquiry, Metacognitive, and Self-Regulation Capabilities Among Preschoolers During Scientific Exploration.

There is common agreement that preschool-level science education affects children’s curiosity, their positive approach toward science, and their desire to engage with the subject. Children’s natural curiosity drives them to engage enthusiastically in all forms of exploration. Engaging in scientific exploration necessitates self-regulation capabilities and a wide repertoire of cognitive and metacognitive strategies. The purpose of this study was to examine to what extent preschoolers (aged 5–6 years) implement nascent inquiry skills, metacognitive awareness, and self-regulation capabilities during play-based scientific exploration tasks. An additional purpose was to investigate the relationships between these capabilities, a relationship not yet investigated in the context of play-based, scientific exploration among young children. The study consisted of 215 preschoolers, from 10 preschools. For this study, we developed two scientific exploration tasks – structured and open-ended. Our motivation was to examine whether preschoolers’ capabilities will differ in the context of structured task which is aligned with the view that young children need guidance and explicit instructions compared to the context of open-ended, play-based task–allowing the children to apply and test their intuitive theories and skills. During performance participants were videotaped. Their verbal and non-verbal responses were analyzed by means of a coding scheme. The results of a micro-analysis of about 100 h of video showed that given the opportunity, even without setting explicit goals and instructions, children exhibit inquiry capabilities: they ask questions, plan, hypothesize, use tools, draw conclusions. Asking questions and planning were better manifested during the structured task. Children also manifested higher levels of attention, persistence, and autonomy during the structured task. However, significant higher scores of self-regulation indications were revealed in the context of the open-ended, play-based, exploration task. Moreover, results indicate significant correlations between the five measures of preschoolers’ inquiry capabilities and measures of metacognitive strategic awareness and self-regulation. The results of the present study suggest the importance of combining various learning environments and experiences in early science education that encourage children to engage in structured exploration alongside play-based, open-ended, exploration.

Science for all: The struggle to establish school science in EnglandE.Jenkins, 2019London, UCL Institute of Education Press £24.99 (paperback), 207 pp ISBN 978-1-78277-264-4

Science for all: The struggle to establish school science in EnglandE.Jenkins, 2019London, UCL Institute of Education Press £24.99 (paperback), 207 pp ISBN 978-1-78277-264-4

STEM challenge: two years of community-engaged engineering

PurposeCommunity-engaged partnerships have the ability to combine expertise and resources to enhance the local STEM learning ecosystem, by engaging the actors in communities that can enhance students' experiences in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. Texas Tech University (TTU) and Lubbock Independent School District (LISD) have partnered to coordinate an annual STEM Challenge to encourage STEM learning and interest among local middle grade students. Each summer, teams of (three to four) students from ten LISD middle schools participate in a week-long engineering design challenge, facilitated by TTU undergraduate mentors and their teachers, structured by the Engineering Design Process (EDP).Design/methodology/approachQuantitative (survey) and qualitative (open-ended responses) data from two years of student glider and hovercraft projects offer insight into how 66 students developed STEM knowledge and leveraged 21st-century skills to accomplish a shared aim (design challenge).FindingsFindings suggest growth in students' 21st-century skills, most among underrepresented (racial, ethnic and gender minority) groups. Data from year one (2018) informed year two (2019) in both programming and the research, including enhanced training for mentors and a deeper exploration of students' experiences during each stage of the EDP during the STEM challenge.Originality/valueSignificant and salient findings are discussed along with recommendations for both programmatic and methodological improvements for year three (2020). This study provides insight into how to structure similar community-engaged partnerships in enhancing the community STEM ecosystem through collaborative STEM experiences for diverse, younger learners.

Education for Enhancing the Abilities of Engineers: A Survey Conducted in Japan and Its Analyses

While the study of science subjects at school is essential for the development of science and technology in society, it is a recognized fact that a large number of students show reluctance to study science and mathematics. Thus, it is of great significance to deliberate on ways to increase their interest in science subjects and enhance effectiveness of learning. We conducted a survey of researchers and engineers who exercise their scientific abilities in their work, asking about their experiences in science education and learning from elementary school to university. We then examined the relationship between their learning experiences and their abilities as researchers and engineers, and analysed the factors that would enhance students’ interest in science subjects and motivation to study these subjects. 
 
 The results of our analysis show that “getting interested in science during the early years of elementary school,” “being able to understand the science lessons,” “amazing experience in science class,” “association of science learning with daily life,” “finding the talks in class interesting,” and “approachability to science learning,” have a positive effect on science learning and is crucial to improving professional capacity.

The Influence of Hands-On Experimentation and Inquiry-Based Learning in Elementary Science and Technology (S&T) Education

To investigate how elementary science and technology (S&T) education experiences with hands-on experimentation and inquiry-based learning impact pre-service teachers’ attitudes and confidence to teach S&T, we used a cross-sectional survey. Our participants were twenty-seven pre-service teachers enrolled in an Ontario elementary S&T teacher education methods course. Those who were taught S&T through hands-on experimentation considered themselves more S&T literate and were statistically more confident to read, understand, and critically evaluate common S&T media reports; they were also more confident to teach S&T through hands-on experimentation and inquiry-based learning. In almost all cases, participants valued learning S&T by doing S&T (i.e. actively participating/interacting), which influenced their confidence, interest, and desire to embrace hands-on experimentation as future elementary teachers.