Understanding Of Science Content Research Articles

Authentic braille literacy development through interdisciplinary instruction and learning

Incorporating braille across disciplines and into authentic settings may increase motivation and acquisition. This paper explores the merging of science content instruction with authentic braille literacy development using drama strategies during a summer camp for elementary students with visual impairments and the co-occurring teacher preparation for authentic braille instruction. This study measured braille proficiency in reading and writing and science content knowledge of student participants before and after the weeklong interdisciplinary summer camp. Pre-service teachers of students with visual impairments (TSVIs) that were co-teaching with in-service TSVIs also completed the braille proficiency measures in reading and writing. The interdisciplinary camp experience and culminating museum event described in the present study provides a potential model for how to design interdisciplinary learning experiences for students with visual impairments to develop braille literacy and science content understanding.

Supporting multilingual learners’ science learning from the multimodal perspective: the case of a VR-Enhanced science unit

Multilingual learners (MLs) often struggle with science conceptual learning partly due to the abstractness of the concepts and the complexity of scientific texts. This study presents a case of a Virtual Reality (VR) enhanced science learning unit to support middle-school students’ science conceptual learning. Using a transformative mixed methods design, this study examines ML’s science learning and participation in VR educational programing from the multimodal perspective. Combining the strengths of quantitative and qualitative data analysis, the results of this study show that engaging in multimodal meaning-making in multiple ways, including the VR game, can enable multilingual learners to gain conceptual understanding of science content equally as well as their English-speaking counterparts. Based on the findings, a framework for multimodal instructional design to support MLs is also discussed. Overall, this study contributes to the growing body of research on the uses of VR-enhanced multimodal learning in K-12 science education, especially for multilingual learners.

Analyzing science teachers’ support of dialogic argumentation using teacher roles of questioning and communicative approaches

The purpose of this study is to investigate how teachers use different types of discourse to support dialogic argumentation. Dialogic argumentation is a collaborative process in which students construct arguments together and examine arguments presented by their peers. Science teachers can use argumentation as a vehicle to help students gain a working understanding of science content and the nature of science and its practices. Whole-class closing discussions from video-recorded lessons are analyzed to study the discourse used to support argumentation by two physics teachers in lower secondary schools. Analysis of discourse includes coding of communicative approach at the episode level and coding of teacher roles of questioning at the level of speaking turns. Student argumentation is also assessed on the basis of dialogicity and complexity of arguments. Findings characterize different ways of orchestrating argumentative discussions. Authoritative episodes were characterized by the presence of the dispenser role, with teachers retaining ownership over ideas and classroom activities to emphasize the correctness of a justification. Dialogic episodes of classroom interaction showed openness to student perspectives, but teachers’ use of questioning roles revealed different ways of orchestrating argumentative discussions. The moderator role granted ownership of ideas to students to either pursue a single student’s argument in more depth or to directly contrast opposing justifications. Less commonly used were the roles of coach and participant, which teachers used to elicit student justifications in more depth or support students in examining the arguments of their peers. Examination of discourse using multiple frameworks revealed differences in teachers’ values and the impact of the use of teacher questioning roles on student contributions to argumentative discussions.

Explicit instruction on procedural and epistemic knowledge – is it happening? A video-based exploration of classroom practice

ABSTRACT Background Inquiry-based instruction is a prominent teaching strategy in science education that is assumed to be an effective means to foster not only students’ understanding of science content but also their procedural and epistemic knowledge concerning inquiry processes. Empirical studies have repeatedly shown that inquiry-related activities should be combined with instruction that explicitly addresses procedural and epistemic knowledge to support students’ learning effectively. Purpose The aim of this study is to explore to what extent explicit instruction on procedural and epistemic knowledge is occurring in inquiry-based biology and chemistry lessons. Sample The sample analysed in this study consist of 16 inquiry-based biology and chemistry lessons recorded in German classrooms. Design and Methods The video recordings of the lessons were analysed in three steps. First, event-based codes were used to identify all phases of a lesson in which students were engaged in an inquiry-related activity (e.g. developing questions, planning investigations). Second, each phase was analysed with respect to features of explicit instruction (e.g. explications of inquiry strategies). Third, event-based codes were used to capture individual features of explicit instruction in a phase. Results In our sample explicit instruction on procedural knowledge occurred rarely and mostly in the form of brief sidenotes rather than as a comprehensive and deliberately planned action. Furthermore, explicit instruction on epistemic knowledge was virtually non-existent. However, we observed that many tasks and questions that are given by the teachers during their lessons have a high potential for making procedural (and epistemic) aspects explicit. Conclusion While this explorative study does not allow for causal explanations for the lack of explicit instruction, its findings provide important insights into classroom practice. Implications for teacher education and future research are discussed.

A longitudinal analysis of developing marine science identity in a place-based, undergraduate research experience

BackgroundStudents from historically excluded groups face many pedagogical, societal, and institutional barriers that lead to disproportionately lower levels of entering and higher levels of attrition from Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) undergraduate programs. Student experiences within a STEM learning environment play a large role in influencing participation and persistence in science, and place-based education (PBE) is one pedagogical approach that aims to increase student engagement with science. By allowing students to engage with scientific concepts through their own knowledge systems, PBE can develop these students’ science identity and nurture a sense of belonging within the science community. This study examined student science identity in participants of a place-based, early-credit, Hawaiʻi undergraduate research experience, the Research Experiences in Marine Science (REMS) Program.ResultsStudent science identity was measured via responses from pre- and post-program Likert-type surveys before and after participation in the REMS program along the dimensions of Performance/Competence, Interest, and Recognition. The science identities of REMS alumni who returned to participate in the program as near-peer mentors and undergraduate researchers were also measured to explore whether repeated exposure to the program experience continued to promote shifts in identity construct metrics. Results indicate that all student groups who participated in REMS, including alumni, gained confidence in their science content understanding and research skills, increased their interest in science as a subject and as a career pathway, and recognized how science affects their communities. New students demonstrated the largest shifts in their science identity metrics, but alumni also indicated further development of their science identities.ConclusionsThe data from this study suggest that the timing of interventions which aim to influence student science identity and persistence in STEM pathways is an important factor when targeting student groups transitioning to undergraduate programs. Future educational efforts to increase the positive development of student science identity should consider the potential benefits of cumulative research experiences to support students through their early careers as undergraduates in STEM.

CUREs

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) are one way instructors can increase engagement and learning of material. One of the goals in the report Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action is to increase active learning activities. By implementing a CURE or CURE-type model, instructors provide students with the opportunity to develop a better understanding of science content, to apply what they have learned, and make an impact in real-world science. Our classes replicated a subset of the work being completed in Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique. We had students complete biodiversity surveys through collection and classification of ant species using field and lab techniques. DNA barcoding analyses are commonly used techniques in biology labs worldwide. Polymerase chain reaction and cycle sequencing will be taught to illustrate how the extracted DNA can be amplified at different markers and used to identify species. We utilized the CURE model to have students complete a biodiversity survey of both a southern intermountain-west and a southeastern state through collection, classification, and genotyping and barcoding of ant species.

Using storytelling to teach a topic in physics

ABSTRACT Storytelling has the potential to successfully convey knowledge, understanding and experiences in an unintimidating and exciting way to experts as well as non-experts in almost all fields. Storytelling’s utility as an information transmission medium makes it an attractive choice for use in classrooms where knowledge sharing, and the construction of understandings are required. The aim in this mixed method case study was to reveal the impact of storytelling, when used as an instructional tool, on students’ learning experience when exposed to a unit of work entitled “Light”. Observational checklists and students’ journal entries were used to: (1) assess students’ levels of participation during classroom learning, and (2) solicit students’ views about the effectiveness of storytelling to facilitate science learning. The findings revealed high levels of student participation and an overall expression of enjoyment of learning among students when science was presented to them using this method. Students indicated that storytelling was effective in facilitating their understanding of science content and suggested that it should be used more often in science classrooms.

Promoting Student Discourse in a Linguistically Diverse Community-of-Learners Classroom

This autoethnographic inquiry explored the effects of a positive classroom culture in a South Los Angeles high school by addressing the questions, “How might efforts to establish a community-of-learners classroom affect frequency of student discourse (both oral and written) and understanding of science content? Furthermore, how might the results of these efforts differ within the Emergent Bilingual and Non-Emergent Bilingual student populations?” The focus group consisted of three biology classes with a mixture of Emergent Bilingual (EB) students and Non-EB students; each class was composed of about 30% EB students whose primary language was most commonly Spanish. A multitude of techniques, such as community circles and consistent group work within heterogeneous EB and Non-EB groups, were utilized to create a community-of-learners in each class. Students participated in an independent weekly survey that examined their frequency of participation and confidence levels regarding oral discourse. Students were also surveyed weekly regarding their preferred method of expressing content knowledge with options encompassing verbal, written, and visual opportunities. Data was collected for this inquiry through the analysis of the student surveys, written observations (field notes) of classroom and group discussions, and a final community circle. The results showed that a positive classroom culture and access to varied opportunities for discourse allowed students of various backgrounds to share their knowledge more readily and consistently.

Exploring Hip-Hop Pedagogy for the Advancement of Girls of Color in Science

Female and male students perform equally well on science standardized tests, yet there are disparities in gender in most science-related fields. There are far fewer women from underrepresented backgrounds represented in science-related fields, as they are less likely to enroll in advanced science courses because of a perceived lack of positive science identity. Using a framework of cultural community capital, this study suggests that girls of color are able to develop a science identity and a deeper understanding of science content as a result of the implementation of a hip-hop pedagogy in an urban science classroom.

Change Is Inevitable

Change Is Inevitable

Investigating the effectiveness of STEAM education on students’ conceptual understanding of force and energy topics

ABSTRACT Background: An acronym for ‘science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics,’ STEAM education is an approach that supports the understanding of science content by understanding the skills stimulated by artistic experience. However, only a limited number of experimental studies have investigated the effects of STEAM education on concept learning. Therefore, this paper examines the need for STEAM education to focus on the cultivation of students’ conceptual understanding of science content. Purpose: This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of STEAM education on fostering 7th-grade (aged 13–14 years) students’ conceptual understanding of the topics of force and energy. Sample: The study sample comprised 74 7th-grade students from two different classes in a Turkish secondary school (study group and control group). Design and Methods: An experimental embedded mixed methods design was used, primarily based on quantitative data, with the qualitative data set embedded within and generally playing a supportive role. A control group was used to determine the role of the STEAM approach in the students’ conceptual understanding. A STEAM approach was administered to the study group, while the control group was taught according to the regular science curriculum. Research data were collected with the Force and Energy Conceptual Test and through semi-structured interviews with ten study group students. Results: The results demonstrate that STEAM education positively affected the students’ conceptual understanding and reduced or shifted the number of misconceptions. Furthermore, the study group’s post-trial conceptual understanding scores were significantly higher than those of the control group. The interviewees indicated that STEAM education’s support for a learner-centered environment fostered the students’ conceptual understandings. Conclusions: STEAM education is useful for understanding concepts. This study contributes to the literature by investigating the effect of STEAM education approaches on students’ conceptual understanding.

Practice what you teach: How experiencing elementary school science teaching practices helps prepare teacher candidates

The development of scientifically literate citizens begins in the elementary school. Yet the research base on the preparation of teachers finds university programs designed to prepare elementary teachers as generalists to be overall inadequate in providing both the content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge necessary to teach science effectively. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine which aspects of the curriculum and instruction teacher candidates (TCs) said helped them in developing their understanding of science content and pedagogies for teaching science in the elementary school. The analysis of TCs' evaluations of the course, curriculum, and instruction found that they learned best when they engaged in the practices they were being taught to use when teaching elementary school science.

Examining Early Elementary Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge for Teaching Scientific Explanations

ABSTRACTYoung children need opportunities to engage in the practice of constructing scientific explanations in order to develop their own understanding of science content. To engage in this scientific practice, teachers need to provide young children with explicit instruction and scaffolding. However, many classroom teachers’ knowledge and beliefs for how to teach science currently do not encompass the scientific practice of constructing explanations. This results in teachers not including this scientific practice within their science curriculum or skipping over it if it is included. As a result, many teachers will need training before they begin to include scientific explanations within their existing science curriculum and practice. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore how 2 early elementary teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for teaching about scientific explanations developed as a result of participating in a professional development program that focused on this core scientific practice. Using a case study design we sought to understand the ways in which the 2 teachers’ PCK for teaching scientific explanations developed across 3 checkpoints: prior to the summer professional development in Year 2, during the 2nd summer program, and during/after teaching a unit on matter that included scientific explanations. Results indicated that certain aspects of both teachers’ PCK for teaching scientific explanations developed but at different points in time throughout the study. Implications for a multiyear professional development design for developing teachers’ PCK for teaching scientific explanations are discussed.

Science education in a bilingual class: problematising a translational practice

In this article we examine how bilingual students construe relations between everyday language and the language of science. Studies concerning bilingual students language use in science class have mainly been conducted in settings where both the teacher and the students speak the same minority language. In this study data was collected in a class consisting of students aged 13–14. All students had Turkish as their minority language, whereas the teacher’s minority language was Bosnian. The class was observed when they were working with acids and bases. In addition, the students were interviewed in groups. They were asked about how they use their languages during science lessons and then asked to describe and explain scientific phenomena and processes that had been a part of the observed lessons. For the analysis, practical epistemology analysis and the theory of translanguaging were used. The results show how the students’ everyday language repertoire may limit their possibilities to make meaning of science. In particular, the teacher’s practice of facilitating and supporting students’ understanding of science content by relating it to concrete examples took another direction since the everyday words he used were not a part of the students’ language repertoire. The study also shows how the students used their minority language as a resource to translate words from Swedish to Turkish in order to proceed with the science activities. However, translating scientific concepts was problematic and led to the students’ descriptions of the concepts not being in line with how they are viewed in science. Finally, the study also demonstrates how monolingual exams may limit bilingual students’ achievements in science. The study contributes by presenting and discussing circumstances that need to be taken into consideration when planning and conducting science lessons in classes where the teacher and the student do not share the same minority language.

An ecological approach to learning with technology: responding to tensions within the “wow-effect” phenomenon in teaching practices

This review explores Anne Kamstrupp’s “The Wow-effect in Science Teacher Education” by examining her theorized “wow-effect” as a teaching enactment that may serve to engage students, but often fails to provide deep understanding of science content. My response extends her perspective of socio-materiality as means to understand the “wow-effect” by suggesting social constructivism provides a more accurate lens to disentangle the phenomenon. I react to her position that tension fields within the phenomenon include the relationship between new and old technologies, boredom and engagement, and active and sedentary learning. In this conversation, I point to a new way of conceptualizing using digital media in the classroom as ecology of learning that may serve to decrease problems associated with the “wow-effect”.

To customize or not to customize? Exploring science teacher customization in an online lesson portal

AbstractNew technologies are increasingly giving science teachers the ability to access and customize science lessons. However, there is substantial debate in the literature about whether and under what conditions teacher customization benefit student learning. In this study, we examined teacher customization of inquiry‐based science lessons from an online lesson portal. We found that students who completed teacher‐customized lessons had greater improvements in science content understanding than students who completed non‐customized lessons. To expand upon this finding, we examined four case studies of teachers who made significant numbers of modifications to lessons: three “high performers” (with increases in student achievement ranging from 64th to 97th percentile) and one “low performer” (7th percentile). We found that high performing teachers modified lessons to include opportunities for students to revisit their predictions, engage in different learning modalities, and make deeper connections between scientific concepts. Changes made by the “low performing” teacher reduced the quality of the lesson, for example, asking students to predict results without sufficient context or information. These findings suggest that teacher customization can improve the quality of inquiry‐based science lessons, but that some teachers may require additional training and support to achieve the benefits of customization. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 53: 349–367, 2016

Deciphering Primary and Popular Literature: An Interactive Approach for Promoting Students' Development of Scientific, Digital, and Information Literacy in Post-Secondary Contexts.

In an era of unprecedented scientific and technological advancement, it is imperative that individuals possess the ability to interpret and make meaning of current scientific phenomena, including those of both national and global importance. Despite this necessity, research suggests that less than 30% of Americans are able to understand the science section of the New York Times or other popular media resources. In this paper, we present an interactive approach utilizing primary and popular literature that is designed to: a) enhance students’ understanding of science content; b) promote students’ ability to make use of evidence to support or reject claims regarding controversial science topics; and c) improve students’ oral and written communication skills. Applications for use in post-secondary classrooms are discussed.

Developing Preservice Teachers’ Knowledge of Science Teaching Through Video Clubs

Though an adequate understanding of content is a natural prerequisite of teaching (Carlsen in Journal of Research in Science Teaching 30:471–481, 1993), teachers also need to be able to interpret content in ways that facilitate student learning. How to best support novice teachers in developing and refining their content knowledge for teaching is a crucial and ongoing question for preservice teacher educators. Recently, video clubs are being explored as potential contexts for teacher learning (Barnhart & van Es in Teaching and Teacher Education 45:83–93, 2015; Sherin & Han in Teaching and Teacher Education 20:163–183, 2004). We hypothesized that pairing video clubs with student teaching experiences would provide a forum for preservice teachers to discuss issues relevant to their professional trajectory through exposure to models of peer teaching and opportunities to reflect on practice. In this study, we explored how secondary science preservice teachers used video club to restructure their overall science knowledge into science knowledge for teaching. Our findings suggest that video clubs allowed preservice teachers to access and leverage student thinking and instructional resources to deepen their understanding of science content and trajectories for science learning.

Teaching scientific literacy in an introductory women’s studies course: a case study in interdisciplinary collaboration

Background and purpose:The purpose of this exploratory case study is to describe how scholars negotiated disciplinary divides to develop and communicate to their students an understanding of the basic features of scientific knowledge. Our goals were to examine boundary crossing in interdisciplinary collaboration and to assess the efficacy of adding science content to an introductory Women’s Studies course.Sample:We studied a collaboration between faculty in Biology and Women’s Studies and evaluated science modules in a Women’s Studies course at a regional four-year university in the Midwestern USA. The study included 186 student participants over three semesters and four faculty from Philosophy, Women’s Studies and Biology.Design and method:Women’s Studies and Biology faculty collaborated to design and implement science content learning modules that included the case of women and science in an introductory Women’s Studies course. Qualitative data collected from faculty participants in the form of peer debrief sessions and narrative reflections were used to examine the process of interdisciplinary collaboration. Students exposed to curriculum changes were administered pre- and post-lesson surveys to evaluate their understanding of issues faced by women in science careers, the nature of science, and interest in science studies. Data from collaborators, student journal reflections, and pre-/post-lesson surveys were considered together in an evaluation of how knowledge of science was understood and taught in a Women’s Studies course over a longitudinal study of three semesters.Results:We found evidence of discipline-based challenges to interdisciplinarity and disciplinary boundary crossing among collaborators. Three themes emerged from our collaboration: challenges posed by disciplinary differences, creation of a space for interdisciplinary work, and evidence of boundary crossing. Student participants exhibited more prior knowledge of Women’s Studies content than nature of science but showed learning in the areas of scientific literacy and the understanding of issues related to women in science careers. Student understanding of science content was enhanced by the participation of a woman scientist in the learning module.Conclusion:This case study illustrates how creating an inclusive space for interdisciplinary collaboration led to successful curriculum transformation and academic boundary crossing by faculty participants. Success is evident in the legacy of interdisciplinarity in the curriculum and learning gains by students. Use of a feminist science studies framework was successful at helping students learn about the influence of values on science and the tentative nature of scientific conclusions. It was less successful in teaching the distinction between science and other ways of knowing and the conception that science is an evidence-based approach to understanding the natural world. This study highlights the importance of interdisciplinary teams of faculty members collaborating to help students learn about science by modeling that there are multiple ways of knowing.

Creating a Science E-book with Fifth Grade Students

This article explains how one teacher used iBooks Author, a free digital textbook creation tool that makes iBooks for iPads, in an upper elementary classroom to improve students’ expository writing skills and understanding of science content. The classroom teacher taught students pre-requisite writing and technology skills for two weeks, and then helped these students design, develop, and publish their own iBook. Students planned and developed content using Thinking Maps, storyboards, Google Docs, iMovie and other technology tools to create their iBook. A comparison of students’ work in the iBook to previous written work revealed an improvement in expository writing in multiple ways: better organization and connection of ideas; increased use of academic vocabulary; and an increased use of clarifying details and analogies. Students also gained a deeper understanding of science concepts as reported through their comments after the project was finished. Students became more proficient users of the technology, and also reported an increased sense of self-efficacy and confidence because they published a book in the iBookstore