Decision Making and STS Education:
Exploring Scientific Knowledge and Social Responsibility in Schools and
Science Centers Through an Issues-Based Approach
Erminia Pedretti, University of Toronto
In an attempt to bridge
scientific knowledge and social responsibility, an issues-based approach
to learning in science, technology and society (STS) education was
adopted by a classroom teacher in concert with a science center.
This school and nonschool focus on a socioscientific issue (mining) provides
a rich context from which students and teachers can explore the multiple
perspectives and complexities of controversy. In particular, the
case study examines (a) how fifth- and sixth-grade students interpret and
reason through a controversial socioscientific issue (mining in this context),
and (b) how school and nonschool environments can provide a supportive
forum for dialogue and decision making around a contextualized issue. This
research supports the claim that it is important for young children to
develop skills of natural inquiry, critical thinking, and decision making
about science and technology and the links to the world they encounter
at an early age in their education.
Go
to Table of Contents
Student Reactions to Standards-Based
Mathematics Curricula: The Interplay Between Curriculum, Teachers, and
Students
Jennifer M. Bay, John K. Beem, Robert
E. Reys, Ira Papick, David E. Barnes
University of Missouri
As standards-based mathematics
curricula are used to guide learning, it is important to capture not just
data on achievement but data on the way in which students respond to and
interact in a standards-based instructional setting. In this study, sixth
and seventh graders reacted through letters to using one of two standards-based
curriculum projects (Connected Mathematics Project or Six Through Eight
Mathematics). Letters were analyzed by class, by teacher, and by curriculum
project. Findings suggest that across classrooms students were positive
toward applications, hands-on activities, and working collaboratively.
The level of studentsí enthusiasm for the new curricula varied much
from class to class, further documenting the critical role teachers play
in influencing studentsí perceptions of their mathematics learning
experiences. The results illustrate that, while these curricula contain
rich materials and hold much promise, especially in terms of their activities
and applications, their success with students is dependent on the teacher.
Go
to Table of Contents
A Vision Educators Can Put Into Practice:
Portraying the Constructivist Classroom as a Cultural System
Mark Windschitl, University of Washington
Constructivist perspectives
on learning have helped math and science educators better understand how
students make sense of their experiences. Unfortunately, the intuitively
appealing explanations of how learners construct knowledge have not been
translated into a systematic body of pedagogical methods or a coherent
curricular approach. Constructivist teaching is often portrayed in the
literature as an alternative to traditional instructional approaches or
as a toolbox of pedagogical techniques. These incomplete images do little
to help practitioners understand constructivism or how it should be integrated
into the life of the classroom. There may, however, be help for teachers
in conceptualizing constructivism as a foundation for classroom practice.
Recent anthropological investigations of learning have directed attention
to the culture of classroom environments and the characteristic norms,
beliefs, and practices that participants share in their dealings with one
another. This article contends that envisioning the classroom as an articulated
system of beliefs and practices not only serves an explanatory function
for learning theorists but, more importantly, serves as a heuristic for
teachers in conceptualizing constructivism and offers a starting point
for teachers in implementing constructivist practices.
Go
to Table of Contents
The Quantity and Quality of Biology Laboratory
Work in British Columbia High Schools
Peter G. Gardiner, St. Michaels University
School
Pierce Farragher, University of
Victoria
The purpose of this research
was to survey the quantity and quality of laboratory work conducted by
11th- and 12th-grade biology students in British Columbia high schools
to analyze student performance on laboratory-based questions on provincial
examinations, and to examine the curriculum for recommended laboratory
work. A pilot survey was used to produce a valid survey instrument that
identified teachersí use of laboratory activities. Examination and
curriculum data were extracted from Ministry of Education documents. The
frequency of laboratory work was low, with quantitative activities much
less frequent than qualitative. Laboratory exercises were confirmatory
rather than investigative. Critical thinking and hypotheses formulation
were seldom expected of the students. Many teachers reported that they
infrequently or never used laboratory simulations or computer-based data
collection. Although laboratories were equipped adequately, teachers claimed
that the curriculum and provincial examination limited the scope for an
inquiry-based course. Provincial examination results indicated that the
frequency and type of laboratory work had no effect on scores on lab-based
questions. Analysis of the laboratory activities recommended in the
syllabus revealed that fewer laboratory activities were being conducted
than are recommended in the curriculum guide outline. This study indicates
that while the current philosophy of many biology teachers supports an
investigative learning experience, little change in classroom practice
has occurred in British Columbia schools.
Go
to Table of Contents
A Locally Based Science Mentorship
Program For High Achieving Students: Unearthing Issues That Influence Affective
Outcomes
Mark A. Templin, University at Buffalo,
State University of New York
Joseph F. Engemann, Brock University
Rodney L. Doran, University at Buffalo,
State University of New York
Little is known about the
impact of university-situated science mentoring programs on the affect
of high achieving high school students, and few science mentorship programs
have been described. This study describes a university-based summer science
mentorship program designed to offer participants a challenging science
research experience and identifies issues that influence the affective
outcomes for participants. Interview data was collected from eight participants
at the 2nd and 6th weeks of participation. Student responses were summarized
and iteratively searched to identify patterns within the responses for
each interview. It was found that mentors played a crucial role in framing
the participantsí experience and influencing their affect and that
careful selection and timing of research projects was critical to participantsí
attitude of learning and accomplishment. The implications for science mentorship
program developers and for research are discussed.
Go
to Table of Contents
Table
of Contents