Science Education Community Research Articles

ProMOL: Improved approaches to identification of the function of proteins

The goal of this project is to improve and extend best practices in the algorithmic and biochemical identification of the function of proteins, and to make these resources available to the life science education and research communities. In the earlier phases of this project we developed the ProMOL plugin for PyMOL, a tool used to explore the catalytic site structural homologies between proteins of known function and those for which functions are not yet known, and we have applied it to examine more than 3000 structures in the Protein Data Bank for which functions are not yet known. Although catalytic site structural homology alone is not sufficient to define the function of a protein, it provides one mechanism which, when combined with other structural and sequence motifs, can suggest candidates for experimental verification. In addition, similar, non-catalytic structural motifs can be indicative of non-catalytic functions. The motif library is being extended to include NMR structures, metal ions, and non-catalytic motifs. A database of results has been established. The combination of in-silico characterization and wet-lab characterization has proven to be a suitable task for undergraduate biochemistry students and partnerships to embed this work in undergraduate curricula are being established.

STEM education: A deficit framework for the twenty first century? A sociocultural socioscientific response

The ubiquitous of STEM education initiatives in recent years has created a bandwagon that has moved at nearly light speed. The impulse of the science education community and policy-makers is to grab hold for dear life or be marginalized from sub- sequent discussions about the necessity and consequences of using STEM initiatives to prepare and inform our next generation of citizens. This commentary questions the pru- dence of STEM-related science education goals, as typically represented and discussed in the literature, and likens the current practice to a deficit framework. A sociocultural per- spective framed through socioscientific considerations is offered as an alternative con- ceptualization as well as surplus model to hegemonic STEM practices.

Meeting Undergraduate Life Science Education's Leadership Needs

T understand how to best support academic leaders who are working to improve undergraduate life science education, AIBS conducted a yearlong study, with support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). During the summer of 2013, AIBS interviewed administrators of 16 leadership development programs to learn about their offerings for life science faculty leaders. In the fall, AIBS conducted a followup survey (see doi:10.1525/bio.2013.63.7.5 for results from the initial survey), to which just over 550 individuals responded. Fifty-nine percent of the survey respondents had held leadership positions, and 85 percent had played a lead role in shaping change within their academic department or unit. Through the survey results, we learned in which leadership development programs the respondents had participated and their perceptions of the programs’ impacts, the kinds of large-scale changes taking place at colleges and universities, the challenges and opportunities facing leaders of change, and their interests and needs in developing leadership skills. “Individuals leading change want to learn how to balance their traditional workload while moving significant curricular change forward,” says Muriel Poston, outgoing chair of the AIBS Education Committee and dean of faculty at Pitzer College. The study culminated in a synthesis meeting in March at HHMI, at which AIBS brought together a group of 25 leaders within the life sciences education community with a diverse set of perspectives and expertise in leadership development. The group worked to develop a shared conceptual understanding about leadership development for change and to identify mechanisms or questions that need to be addressed in order to increase leadership capacity. The HHMI investment in this study reflects its concern about the future of science—specifically, the interactions between scientific enterprises and society, explained Cynthia Bauerle, HHMI’s assistant director for undergraduate and graduate science education. At the meeting, she highlighted the growing disparities between those traditionally underrepresented in the sciences and those who have had greater opportunities in terms of college access, undergraduate retention, and academic leadership. “Our undergraduate programs must engage and inspire all students to become part of a future life sciences workforce that is representative of our diverse community and therefore prepared to innovatively address the challenges facing our modern society,” said Bauerle. James P. Collins, professor at Arizona State University, expanded on the challenges facing higher education by describing its state of “hyperchange.” He cited many reasons for this condition, including increases in the percentages of both contingent faculty members and nontraditional students, budgets that are stretched thin while tuition costs rise, and uncertainty among the public about the value of higher education. The fact that biology research no longer operates within distinct borders but, rather, takes place at the intersection of the life, physical, and social sciences and is constantly evolving new research areas only adds to the complexity. He argues in this month’s Viewpoint that to achieve the vision for undergraduate life science education, as it has been described by Bauerle and in multiple national reports, the academic community must place significant value on leadership, across all of higher education. We need to continue recruiting faculty and training students not only for interdisciplinary research and education but also for their leadership qualities, such as adaptability, social intelligence, strategic thinking, and a commitment to continual improvement, said Collins. Teri Balser, professor at the University of Florida and incoming chair of the AIBS Education Committee, engaged the participants in a dialogue about leadership in higher education. If we are to realize the goals that we have for life science education, academia will need to value a new kind of leadership, she stressed. “The culture of higher education is not traditionally one of shared leadership responsibility,” said Balser. We need to consider how to develop organic, adaptive, shared leadership throughout all of higher education, so that every stakeholder, not just those who hold leadership positions, is empowered to own the collective agenda and strategies to improve undergraduate education. Given these challenges, the participants identified gaps and barriers in leadership development and proposed strategies to address key priorities to increase leadership capacity. AIBS is preparing a report on the gathering’s outcomes to share with its more than 140 member scientific organizations, as well as academic institutions and the broader science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education communities. The report will chart a course forward for life science education and guide AIBS in developing its future programs.

과학적 소양의 정의 분류의 특성 및 경향

본 연구는 1960년대 이후 과학적 소양을 정의하고 분류를 시도했던 연구자들의 분류 결과를 3가지 분류 기준에 의하여 재분류하고, 과학적 소양의 정의 분류의 경향을 파악하는데 목적이 있다. 과학적 소양이 과학교육의 주요 목표를 대변하는 개념이므로 그 정의에 따른 분류는 과학교육의 목적에 대한 동향을 검토할 수 있는 주요자료가 될 수 있다. 분류 기준은 1) "literate"의 의미로서 '학습됨', '능력 있음', '사회에서 최소 기능을 할 수 있음', 2) 과학적 소양을 표현하는 방식으로서 용어와 서술, 3) 과학적 소양의 내부 구조로서 '단일 구조', '직렬식 위계구조', '병렬식 수평구조'이다. 분류 결과와 해석은 다음과 같다. 첫째, 과학적 소양의 구조로서 위계 구조는 90년대 후반부터 표현방식으로서 용어를 사용하는 정의와 함께 나타나고 있으며, 학습과 능력사이에서만 위계를 인정하고 사회적 기능으로서의 과학적 소양의 의미는 수용하지 않고 있다. 수평구조는 과학적 소양의 하위 요소 간의 위계 구조를 보이지 않는 대신 사회적 기능으로서 과학적 소양의 의미를 전반적으로 수용하고 있다. 또, 단일 구조는 대부분 과학적 소양을 새로운 시각에서 제안하는 연구에서 나타나고 있으며, 소양의 의미도 최근으로 오면서 학습에서 능력을 거쳐 사회적 기능을 강조하는 특성이 있다. 둘째, 근래로 오면서 과학적 소양을 용어 형식으로 정의하려는 연구가 증가하고, 이들 사이에도 위계를 설정하는 분류가 주도하고 있다. 또한 소양의 세 가지 의미인 학습, 능력, 사회적 기능을 전반적으로 수용하는 분류가 빈번해졌으나, 이들 간에는 위계 구조보다는 오히려 수평 구조를 설정하는 경향이 있다. 위와 같은 분석 결과를 토대로 살펴 볼 때, 과학 교육의 목표로서 과학적 소양의 의미는 학습이나 과제 해결 능력뿐만 아니라, 근래에는 사회적 맥락에서 어떤 역할을 하는 개인을 육성하려는 목표로서 인정되고 있다는 점이다. 또한 주목할 것은 과학적 소양의 이러한 사회적 기능 측면은 위계적이 아닌 독립적인 목표로서의 특성을 견지하고 있다는 점이다. 이러한 변화에 능동적으로 대처하기 위해서는 과학교육이 교과 내 개념학습에서 벗어나 다양한 맥락에서의 적용과 사회적 역할을 중시하는 목표로 전환할 준비를 해야 할 것으로 보인다. This study is to reclassify the classifications or definitions of scientific literacy in scientific literacy researches since 1960s and grasp the classification trends of scientific literacy definitions. Sixteen articles have been selected among the articles that have been introduced in the two articles. Classification criteria are as follows: 1) "be learned," "competence," or "be able to function in society" as meanings of "literate," 2) "terms" or "description" as the ways of representing scientific literacy, 3) "singular structure," "hierarchical structure," or "parallel structure" as the inner structure of scientific literacy definitions. The results of this study are as follows: First, hierarchical structures in scientific literacy have almost always accompanied "terms" representing scientific literacy and also accepted the hierarchy between "be learned" and "competence," but not the definition of scientific literacy as functioning in society. All parallel structures in scientific literacy have accompanied the definition as functioning in society. And singular structure almost always appears in researches based on the views of scientific literacy in relatively recent times. Second, researches who have used "terms" as ways of representing scientific literacy have increased. Based on the results in this study, the meanings of scientific literacy have been emphasized in view of the ability of playing a role in a social context as well as learning and competence these days. To meet this movement in scientific literacy actively, science education community should get out of traditional teaching and learning scientific concepts and give emphasis on application in various context and social role of science learners.

Preparation for Practice: Elementary Preservice Teachers Learning and Using Scientific Classroom Discourse Community Instructional Strategies

Despite historical national efforts to improve elementary science education, science instruction continues to be marginalized, varying by state. This study was designed to address the ongoing challenge of educating elementary preservice teachers (PSTs) to teach science. Elementary PSTs are one of the science education community's major links to schools and science education reform. However, they often lack a strong background in science, knowledge of effective science teaching strategies, and consequently have low confidence and self‐efficacy. This investigation explored the initial learning of elementary PSTs using an interdisciplinary model of a scientific classroom discourse community during a science methods course. Findings post‐methods course suggested that the PSTs gained confidence in how to teach inquiry‐based elementary science and recognized inquiry‐based science as an effective means for engaging student learning. Additionally, PSTs embraced the interdisciplinary model as one that benefits students' learning and effectively uses limited time in a school day.

Tribute to Christine Chin

It has been more than 3 years since Christine left us. She has left a lasting legacy of her academic brilliance among the science education community. This paper pays tribute to Christine’s fine research work that has shaped and continues to shape science education research in the field of questioning and argumentation.

The 2014 SIGCSE computer science education awards

Every year SIGCSE recognizes two individuals for outstanding contributions to computer science education. The SIGCSE Award for Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education honors an individual or group in recognition of a significant contribution to computer science education. The SIGCSE Award for Lifetime Service to the Computer Science Education Community honors an individual who has a long history of volunteer service to the computer science education community. For interviews with this year's award winners, see the Member Spotlight column on the next page.

Teaching and Learning Science Through Song: Exploring the experiences of students and teachers

This qualitative, multi-case study explored the use of science-content music for teaching and learning in six middle school science classrooms. The researcher sought to understand how teachers made use of content-rich songs for teaching science, how they impacted student engagement and learning, and what the experiences of these teachers and students suggested about using songs for middle school classroom science instruction. Data gathered included three teacher interviews, one classroom observation and a student focus-group discussion from each of six cases. The data from each unit of analysis were examined independently and then synthesized in a multi-case analysis, resulting in a number of merged findings, or assertions, about the experience. The results of this study indicated that teachers used content-rich music to enhance student understanding of concepts in science by developing content-based vocabulary, providing students with alternative examples and explanations of concepts, and as a sense-making experience to help build conceptual understanding. The use of science-content songs engaged students by providing both situational and personal interest, and provided a mnemonic device for remembering key concepts in science. The use of songs has relevance from a constructivist approach as they were used to help students build meaning; from a socio-cultural perspective in terms of student engagement; and from a cognitive viewpoint in that in these cases they helped students make connections in learning. The results of this research have implications for science teachers and the science education community in developing new instructional strategies for the middle school science classroom.

Special Issue on History and Philosophy of Mathematics in Mathematics Education

Although Science & Education has published papers specifically concerning mathematics over the years—some quite significant for education—mathematics has never received the spotlight. Indeed, when the journal was established it bore the subtitle, Contributions from History, Philosophy and Sociology of Science and Mathematics, but so few papers on mathematics were received in those years that the word ‘‘mathematics’’ was duly dropped. Yet within the community of science and mathematics educators, there is no lack of interest at least in the contributions of history and philosophy of mathematics to mathematics education, particularly the history of mathematics. Besides publications such as those we have listed at the end of this introduction, one can point to the activities of the International Study Group on the Relations between the History and Pedagogy of Mathematics (HPM) which dates back to 1972, and which almost from the start became an affiliated study group of the International Commission on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI), the largest and oldest international organization for mathematics education. International conferences of HPM have been held in Europe, Canada, Australia, Taiwan, Mexico, and Korea in association with the quadrennial International Congress on Mathematical Education (ICME). The European Summer University on History and Epistemology in Mathematics Education (ESU), now held every 4 years as well, is another regular venue for meetings dealing with history in mathematics education, as is the working group on History in Mathematics Education at the biennial Congress of European

다문화 학생, 학부모, 교사들의 과학 학습에 대한 생각

우리 사회의 소중한 자산이 될 다문화 학생들을 위한 과학 교육적 배려를 제공하기 위한 목적으로 본 연구가 기획되었다. 다문화 학생들이 생각하고 있는 과학 학습을 파악하여 그들의 상황을 이해하고 과학 교육 차원에서 배려하고 지원하는 방향을 고민함으로써 그들을 고려한 과학 교육계의 관심을 불러일으키고자 한다. 이를 위해 다문화 가정 초등 및 중등 학생과 학부모, 그리고 다문화 학생들을 가르치고 있는 초등 교사 및 중등 과학 교사들을 대상으로 집단 면담을 실시했다. 면담을 통해 다문화 학생들의 과학 교육에 있어서 무엇보다도 언어적 지원이 필요하다는 점을 발견했다. 이 밖에도 다문화 학생들을 바라보는 교사와 친구들의 기대치가 낮다는 점도 알았다. 우리 상황에 맞는 다문화 과학 교육의 내용과 방법, 그리고 학교 차원의 제도적 지원을 통해 모든 사람을 위한 과학적 소양을 실천해야 할 것이다. This study was initiated to address multicultural students' science learning, which is expected to be our assets for the next generation. By understanding their ideas of science learning and cultural context, we intend to encourage them and urge our science education communities to be interested in multicultural science education in Korea. We interviewed elementary and secondary school multicultural students, their parents, and teachers who have ever taught them. The interview revealed that they needed language-based support to improve their science learning. It seemed to be a serious problem that teachers' and students' expectancy toward multicultural students were low. We should put into practice scientific literacy for all students through the multicultural science education in our own context with school-based systematic support.

What is ‘Agency’? Perspectives in Science Education Research

The contemporary interest in researching student agency in science education reflects concerns about the relevance of schooling and a shift in science education towards understanding learning in science as a complex social activity. The purpose of this article is to identify problems confronting the science education community in the development of this new research agenda and to argue that there is a need for research in science education that attends to agency as a social practice. Despite increasing interest in student agency in educational research, the term ‘agency’ has lacked explicit operationalisation and, across the varied approaches, such as critical ethnography, ethnographies of communication, discourse analysis and symbolic interactionism, there has been a lack of coherence in its research usage. There has also been argument concerning the validity of the use of the term ‘agency’ in science education research. This article attempts to structure the variety of definitions of ‘student agency’ in science education research, identifies problems in the research related to assigning intentionality to research participants and argues that agency is a kind of discursive practice. The article also draws attention to the need for researchers to be explicit in the assumptions they rely upon in their interpretations of social worlds. Drawing upon the discursive turn in the social sciences, a definition of agency is provided, that accommodates the discursive practices of both individuals and the various functional social groups from whose activities classroom practice is constituted. The article contributes to building a focused research agenda concerned with understanding and promoting student agency in science.

An initial examination of Singaporean seventh and eighth graders’ views of nature of science

Background and purpose Research in nature of science (NOS) among Asia-Pacific countries such as Singapore is arguably scarce. This study aimed to survey Singaporean secondary school students’ views of NOS with a newly developed instrument named Students’ Views of Nature of Science (SVNOS), which included various key aspects of NOS that are generally agreed upon by the science education community. Moreover, the relations between some demographic factors, including gender and grade, and students’ views of NOS were explored. Sample, design and method In total, 359 Singaporean seventh and eighth graders were invited to participate in this survey. The reliability, validity and structure of the SVNOS instrument were ensured by confirmatory factor analysis. A two-way multivariate analysis of variance was then conducted to determine the interaction effects between the gender variable and the grade-level variable. Results and conclusion The results indicated that the SVNOS instrument is reliable and valid to assess students’ views of NOS regarding seven distinct NOS dimensions. The male students were more prone to have constructivist-oriented views of NOS in the most of the SVNOS dimensions, while the female students conveyed more non-objective views of NOS. In addition, the eighth graders revealed more empiricist-oriented views of NOS than the seventh graders in several SVNOS dimensions. This result seems to contradict the results of previous studies that students’ views of NOS may reflect a developmental trend with their increasing educational experiences.

Experiências emocionais de estudantes de graduação como motivação para se tornarem professores de Física

Recently, in the Science Education community, it has been a growing collective concern about the influence of affective aspects on the intellectual activity of individuals, particularly, in learning and making decision. In this study, we investigate the influence of the affective dimension in the decision to pursue the Physics teacher carrier by undergraduates of Santa Catarina State University and São Paulo University. The research was guided by the following questions: (1) What influence the affective dimension has in the decision to pursue a career as Physics teacher? (2) What are the key emotional experiences that motivate the choice of career as Physics teacher? (3) What events drive these emotional experiences? Those issues were investigated through a questionnaire applied to 68 undergraduates in Physics. Our results showed that positive emotional experiences and the interest of undergraduates formed an important part of their motivations to become physics teachers. We use Silvia’s model attribution-expectative to explain how such momentary experiences contributed to develop a lasting interest on the subjects studied.

FOREWORD: FRAMING TECHNOLOGY THROUGH THE LENS OF HISTORY

Z6 No.1 FOREWORD: FRAMING TECHNOLOGY THROUGH THE LENS OF HISTORY By Alicia L. Moore and La Vonne I. Neal While watching television, we saw a commercial for a university whose tagline is "technology changes everything." Throughout this commercial, elementary school students were holding smartphones and tablets. One student said, "If you have this (pointing to a tablet), you do not need this (pointing to a school building)," and another student stated, "The world's your classroom." As educators, we interpreted the students' words as a call for innovation, and that led us to think about how they will transition from consumers of technology to creators of technology. Specifically, we posited the role of teachers to inspire innovation. Authors in this special issue share the experiences of African Americans who were inspired and became harbingers in librarianship, early consumers and creators of technology, or contemporary leaders of technology. Moreover, the authors use oral narratives to interpret human experiences to preserve and transmit the history of technology. An early technology leader, Dr. George Washington Carver, once said, "This old notion of swallowing down other peoples' ideas and problems just as they have worked them out without putting your brain and (originality) into it and making them applicable to our specific needs must go, and the sooner we let them go the sooner we will be free and independent people."1 Over a century later, ideas of problem solving supported by Carver and others can be seen in the field of computer science and beyond. This is sometimes referred to as computational thinking. The phrase "computational thinking" is not new; Seymour Papert is credited with first introducing the phrase in 1996.2 Since then, it has been applied beyond the computer science world, and can best be described as a construct by Carnegie Mellon's Center for Computational Thinking: Computational thinking is a way of solving problems, designing systems, and understanding human behavior that draws on concepts fundamental to computer science . . . [computational thinking means creating and making use of different levels of abstraction, to understand and solve problems more effectively. Computational thinking means thinking algorithmically and with the ability to apply mathematical concepts such as induction to develop more efficient, fair, and secure solutions.3 In essence, computational thinking is a way of thinking that is process-driven: a computational thinker develops a set system, based on the tenets of computer science and engineering, for howto approach a problem. Computational thinking has several characteristics4, and the goal of the computational thinking movement is to ensure that everyone begins to think like a computer scientist.5 Imagine a new commercial with students saying, "We can design anything!" Notes 1 .George Washington Carver, George Washington Carver: In His Own Words, ed. Gary Kremer (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1991), 84, http://books.aooale.com/books7id=JcncXGNSJQQC. 1. Seymour Papert, "An Exploration in the Space of Mathematics Educations," International Journal of Computers for Mathematical Learning 1, no. 1 (1996): 95-123. 2. Carnegie Mellon Center for Computational Thinking, "What Is Computational Thinking?" http://www.cs.cmu. edu/~CompThink/. 4 | BLACK HISTORY BULLETIN Vol. 76, No. 1 3. Jeanette M. Wing, "Computational Thinking," Communications of the ACM 49, no. 3 (2006): 33-35, http://www. cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/usr/wing/www/publications/Wing06.pdf. 4. Jeanette M. Wing, "Research Notebook: Computational Thinking—What and Why?" http://link.cs.cmu.edu/article. php?a=600. Teacher Resources • Carnegie Mellon's Center for Computational Thinking: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~CompThink/resources/index.html • Jeannette M. Wing, "Computational Thinking": http://www.cs.cmu.edu/ourcs/presentations/ct.pdf See also http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~wing/publications/Wing06.pdf • Google: Exploring Computational Thinking: http://www.oooole.com/edu/computational-thinking/ (There is also a link to a lesson and examples unde in K-12 Curriculum" section) • Barr and Stephenson, "Bringing Computational Thinking to K-12: What is Involved and What is the Role Computer Science Education Community?" http://csta.acm.org/Curriculum/sub/CurrFiles/BarrStephensonlnroadsArticle.pdf Alicia L. Moore, PhD, holds the Cargill Endowed Professorship in Education at Southwestern University, Georgetown, Texas. Email: moorea@southwestern.edu La Vonne I. Neal, PhD, is dean of the College...

Science education in a secular age

A college science education instructor tells his students he rejects evolution. What should we think? The scene unfolds in one of the largest urban centers in the world. If we are surprised, why? Expanding on Federica Raia’s (2012) first-hand experience with this scenario, I broaden her discussion by considering the complexity of science education in a secular age. Enjoining Raia within the framework of Charles Taylor’s A Secular Age, I task the science education community to consider the broad strokes of science, religious faith, and the complexity of modernity in its evolving, hybridized forms. Building upon anthropological approaches to science education research, I articulate a framework to more fully account for who, globally, is a Creationist, and what this means for our views of ethically responsive science education.

Teaching With and About Nature of Science, and Science Teacher Knowledge Domains

The ubiquitous goals of helping precollege students develop informed conceptions of nature of science (NOS) and experience inquiry learning environments that progressively approximate authentic scientific practice have been long-standing and central aims of science education reforms around the globe. However, the realization of these goals continues to elude the science education community partly because of a persistent, albeit not empirically supported, coupling of the two goals in the form of ‘teaching about NOS with inquiry’. In this context, the present paper aims, first, to introduce the notions of, and articulate the distinction between, teaching with and about NOS, which will allow for the meaningful coupling of the two desired goals. Second, the paper aims to explicate science teachers’ knowledge domains requisite for effective teaching with and about NOS. The paper argues that research and development efforts dedicated to helping science teachers develop deep, robust, and integrated NOS understandings would have the dual benefits of not only enabling teachers to convey to students images of science and scientific practice that are commensurate with historical, philosophical, sociological, and psychological scholarship (teaching about NOS), but also to structure robust inquiry learning environments that approximate authentic scientific practice, and implement effective pedagogical approaches that share a lot of the characteristics of best science teaching practices (teaching with NOS).

Understanding needs embodiment: A theory‐guided reanalysis of the role of metaphors and analogies in understanding science

AbstractMany authors stress the importance of basing teaching on students' prior knowledge. To build a bridge between students' everyday knowledge and scientific concepts, the role of metaphors and analogies came into the focus of the science education community during the past two decades. Approaches using metaphor‐based teaching strategies often regard metaphors and analogies as teaching tools that can be adopted by a teacher. On the basis of the theoretical framework of experientialism, we argue that not only teaching but also thinking about and understanding science without metaphors and analogies is not possible. An analysis of studies dealing with metaphors and analogies in science education shows that instructional analogies and metaphors are often not understood as intended or not used by students in their own explanations. By reanalyzing 199 instructional metaphors and analogies on the basis of a metaphor analysis, we show that it takes more than making a connection to everyday life to communicate science fruitfully. We show that good instructional metaphors and analogies need embodied sources. These embodied sources are everyday experiences conceptualized in, for example, schemata such as containers, paths, balances, and up and down. For the analysis, we introduce the concept of conceptual metaphors for analyzing metaphors as well as analogies. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed 96:849–877, 2012

Assessment and science education: Our essential new priority?

Over 10 years ago, a National Research Council committee led by Jim Pellegrino and Robert Glaser generated the fundamental text on educational assessment titled, Knowing What Students Know: The Science and Design of Educational Assessment (NRC, 2001). In this document, the authors emphasize that assessment is a process of reasoning from evidence, ‘‘a process by which educators use students’ responses to specially created or naturally occurring stimuli to draw inferences about the students’ knowledge and skills’’ (National Research Council 2001, p. 20). Knowing What Students Know (NRC, 2001; KWSK) was fundamental to advancing the conversation on assessment in science and other disciplines for several reasons. First, KWSK provided a set of guiding principles for the development and evaluation of educational assessments. The assessment triangle, introduced as an assessment model, was particularly important as it brought recognition to the importance of using cognitive models to drive the design of the assessment and define the empirical evidence needed to support the interpretations derived from observed performance. Second, KWSK called for a ‘‘balanced assessment system’’ of classroom and large-scale assessments that are: comprehensive—using multiple sources of evidence about students’ learning; coherent—a shared learning model coordinating curriculum, instruction, and assessment; and continuous—longitudinal assessment of learning progress over time. This assessment system posed a model to follow in any educational system. Third, KWSK confirmed the idea that assessment should be designed with a specific purpose in mind and cannot serve multiple purposes. Fourth, KWSK emphasized the necessity for assessments to be sensitive to cultural and linguistic difference characteristics of the tested audience. Fifth, KWSK presented new advances in educational measurement, psychometrics, and technology. In all of these ways, KWSK set a high bar for quality assessments. At the

Framing in cognitive clinical interviews about intuitive science knowledge: Dynamic student understandings of the discourse interaction

AbstractResearchers in the science education community make extensive use of cognitive clinical interviews as windows into student knowledge and thinking. Despite our familiarity with the interviews, there has been very limited research addressing the ways that students understand these interactions. In this work, we examine students' behaviors and speech patterns in a set of clinical interviews about chemistry for evidence of their tacit understandings and underlying expectations about the activity in which they are engaged. We draw on the construct offramingfrom anthropology and sociolinguistics and identify clusters of behaviors that indicate that students may alternatively frame the interview asinquiry,anoral examination,or anexpert interview.We present two examples of students shifting between frames during the course of individual interviews. By examining the surrounding interaction, we identify both conceptual and epistemological interviewer cues that facilitate and constrain frame shifts. We discuss the implications of dynamic student framing, that is identifiable in student behaviors and discourse, for researchers who use clinical interviews to map student's intuitive science knowledge. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed96:572–599, 2012

Science in discussions: An analysis of the use of science content in socioscientific discussions

AbstractThis paper presents a normative pragmatics analysis of students' use of science content in eight socioscientific group discussions about human gene therapy. The specific focus of the paper is on the argumentative role that invocations of science had in the dialectics of the discussions. The analysis suggests that science content occasionally played an informative role in attempts to establish the factual background of parts of the deliberations, but that speakers often invoked science content creatively and selectively in argumentative strategies that aligned with an attempt to frame the issue of the discussion in ways that were favorable for the speaker. The paper aims at explaining how strategies that contained invocations of science worked pragmatically in the dialectical context of the discussions. The findings are discussed in relation to previous findings in the science education community as well as to more general questions pertaining to how science fits into socioscientific discussions in which the arguers deliberate about what to do, not just what is true. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed 96:428–456, 2012