The Effect of 7E Learning Model on Conceptual Understandings of Prospective Science Teachers on 'de Broglie Matter Waves' Subject

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Meryem Gorecek Baybars

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The object of this study is to determine the conceptual understanding that prospective Science teachers have relating "de Broglie: Matter waves" and to investigate the effect of the instruction performed, on the conceptual understanding. This study was performed at a state university located in the western part of Turkey, with the Faculty of Education-Science Teaching students (2nd year / 48 individual in the academic year of 2010-2011. The study was planned as a single group pretest-posttest design. A two-step question was used in the study, prior to and after the instruction. Lessons were conducted using the 7E learning model in the instruction process. When all these results are evaluated, it can be said that the conceptual understanding of the prospective teachers regarding "de Broglie; matter waves" has been taken place. In general, when all the sections are examined, it has been observed that the prospective teachers have more alternative concepts prior to the instruction and more scientific concepts after the instruction. In this process, besides instruction, the prospective teachers have not taken any place in a different application regarding the basic concepts of quantum physics. Therefore, it has been determined that the 7E learning model used in the research and the activities included in the 7E learning model are effective in conceptual understanding.

The effect of activity-based nanoscience and nanotechnology education on pre-service science teachers' conceptual understanding

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Şenel Zor, Tuba; Aslan, Oktay

2018-03-01

The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of activity-based nanoscience and nanotechnology education (ABNNE) on pre-service science teachers' (PST') conceptual understanding of nanoscience and nanotechnology. Within this context, the study was conducted according to mixed methods research with the use of both quantitative and qualitative methods. The participants were 32 PST who were determined by using criterion sampling that is one of the purposive sampling methods. ABNNE was carried out during 7 weeks as 2 h per week in special issues at physics course. Design and implementation of ABNNE were based on "Big Ideas" which was found in literature and provided guidance for teaching nanoscience and nanotechnology. All activities implemented during ABNNE were selected from literature. "Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Concept Test (NN-CT)" and "Activity-Based Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Education Assessment Form (ABNNE-AF)" were used as data collection tools in research. Findings obtained with data collection tools were discussed with coverage of literature. The findings revealed that PST conceptual understanding developed following ABNNE. Various suggestions for increasing PST conceptual understanding of nanoscience and nanotechnology were presented according to the results of the study.

Tools for Science Inquiry Learning: Tool Affordances, Experimentation Strategies, and Conceptual Understanding

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Bumbacher, Engin; Salehi, Shima; Wieman, Carl; Blikstein, Paulo

2017-12-01

Manipulative environments play a fundamental role in inquiry-based science learning, yet how they impact learning is not fully understood. In a series of two studies, we develop the argument that manipulative environments (MEs) influence the kind of inquiry behaviors students engage in, and that this influence realizes through the affordances of MEs, independent of whether they are physical or virtual. In particular, we examine how MEs shape college students' experimentation strategies and conceptual understanding. In study 1, students engaged in two consecutive inquiry tasks, first on mass and spring systems and then on electric circuits. They either used virtual or physical MEs. We found that the use of experimentation strategies was strongly related to conceptual understanding across tasks, but that students engaged differently in those strategies depending on what ME they used. More students engaged in productive strategies using the virtual ME for electric circuits, and vice versa using the physical ME for mass and spring systems. In study 2, we isolated the affordance of measurement uncertainty by comparing two versions of the same virtual ME for electric circuits—one with and one without noise—and found that the conditions differed in terms of productive experimentation strategies. These findings indicate that measures of inquiry processes may resolve apparent ambiguities and inconsistencies between studies on MEs that are based on learning outcomes alone.

Teaching 5th grade science for aesthetic understanding

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Girod, Mark A.

Many scientists speak with great zeal about the role of aesthetics and beauty in their science and inquiry. Few systematic efforts have been made to teach science in ways that appeal directly to aesthetics and this research is designed to do just that. Drawing from the aesthetic theory of Dewey, I describe an analytic lens called learning for aesthetic understanding that finds power in the degree to which our perceptions of the world are transformed, our interests and enthusiasm piqued, and our actions changed as we seek further experiences in the world. This learning theory is contrasted against two other current and popular theories of science learning, that of learning for conceptual understanding via conceptual change theory and learning for a language-oriented or discourse-based understanding. After a lengthy articulation of the pedagogical strategies used to teach for aesthetic understanding the research is described in which comparisons are drawn between students in two 5th grade classrooms---one taught for the goal of conceptual understanding and the other taught for the goal of aesthetic understanding. Results of this comparison show that more students in the treatment classroom had aesthetic experiences with science ideas and came to an aesthetic understanding when studying weather, erosion, and structure of matter than students in the control group. Also statistically significant effects are shown on measures of interest, affect, and efficacy for students in the treatment class. On measures of conceptual understanding it appears that treatment class students learned more and forgot less over time than control class students. The effect of the treatment does not generally depend on gender, ethnicity, or prior achievement except in students' identity beliefs about themselves as science learners. In this case, a significant interaction for treatment class females on science identity beliefs did occur. A discussion of these results as well as elaboration and

A Study of Novice Science Teachers' Conceptualizations of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy

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Redman, Elizabeth Horst

This qualitative study examined new science teachers' conceptualization of culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP). The study followed six novice science teachers from their preservice teaching placements into their first jobs as instructors of record, observing in their classrooms and interviewing them about their use of CRP. The study sought to understand (1) how the participating teachers conceptualize CRP in science, and (2) what challenges the teachers faced in trying to implement CRP. Findings suggest that the teachers conceptualized CRP in ways that were consistent with Enyedy, Danish and Fields' (2011) interpretations of relevance: relevance of authentic purpose, relevance of content and/or context, and relevance of practices. The teachers, however, translated those interpretations of relevance into their conceptualizations and classroom practice in a variety of ways. While they encountered difficulties in conceptualizing and practicing CRP, they also made productive moves in their practice and evidenced positive elements in their conceptualizations of CRP. In order to address the challenges these teachers faced in implementing CRP, I suggest an approach to teacher preparation in CRP that builds upon the understandings and productive moves the teachers evidenced in this study.

Revealing Conceptual Understanding of International Business

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Ashley, Sue; Schaap, Harmen; de Bruijn, Elly

2017-01-01

This study aims to identify an adequate approach for revealing conceptual understanding in higher professional education. Revealing students' conceptual understanding is an important step towards developing effective curricula, assessment and aligned teaching strategies to enhance conceptual understanding in higher education. Essays and concept…

A conceptual change analysis of nature of science conceptions: The deep roots and entangled vines of a conceptual ecology

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Johnston, Adam Thomas

This research used theories of conceptual change to analyze learners' understandings of the nature of science (NOS). Ideas regarding the NOS have been advocated as vital aspects of science literacy, yet learners at many levels (students and teachers) have difficulty in understanding these aspects in the way that science literacy reforms advocate. Although previous research has shown the inadequacies in learners' NOS understandings and have documented ways by which to improve some of these understandings, little has been done to show how these ideas develop and why learners' preexisting conceptions of NOS are so resistant to conceptual change. The premise of this study, then, was to describe the nature of NOS conceptions and of the conceptual change process itself by deeply analyzing the conceptions of individual learners. Toward this end, 4 individuals enrolled in a physical science course designed for preservice elementary teachers were selected to participate in a qualitative research study. These individuals answered questionnaires, surveys, direct interview questions, and a variety of interview probes (e.g., critical incidents, responses to readings/videos, reflections on coursework, card sorting tasks, etc.) which were administered throughout the duration of a semester. By utilizing these in-depth, qualitative probes, learners' conceptions were not only assessed but also described in great detail, revealing the source of their conceptions as well as identifying many instances in which a learner's directly stated conception was contradictory to that which was reflected by more indirect probes. As a result of this research, implications regarding NOS conceptions and their development have been described. In addition, various descriptions of conceptual change have been further refined and informed. Especially notable, the influence of a learner's conceptual ecology and its extrarational influences on conceptual change have been highlighted. It is argued that

Primary Student-Teachers' Conceptual Understanding of the Greenhouse Effect: A mixed method study

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Ratinen, Ilkka Johannes

2013-04-01

The greenhouse effect is a reasonably complex scientific phenomenon which can be used as a model to examine students' conceptual understanding in science. Primary student-teachers' understanding of global environmental problems, such as climate change and ozone depletion, indicates that they have many misconceptions. The present mixed method study examines Finnish primary student-teachers' understanding of the greenhouse effect based on the results obtained via open-ended and closed-form questionnaires. The open-ended questionnaire considers primary student-teachers' spontaneous ideas about the greenhouse effect depicted by concept maps. The present study also uses statistical analysis to reveal respondents' conceptualization of the greenhouse effect. The concept maps and statistical analysis reveal that the primary student-teachers' factual knowledge and their conceptual understanding of the greenhouse effect are incomplete and even misleading. In the light of the results of the present study, proposals for modifying the instruction of climate change in science, especially in geography, are presented.

Revealing conceptual understanding of international business

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Sue Ashley; Dr. Harmen Schaap; Prof.Dr. Elly de Bruijn

2017-01-01

This study aims to identify an adequate approach for revealing conceptual understanding in higher professional education. Revealing students’ conceptual understanding is an important step towards developing effective curricula, assessment and aligned teaching strategies to enhance conceptual

A Worksheet to Enhance Students’ Conceptual Understanding in Vector Components

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Wutchana, Umporn; Emarat, Narumon

2017-09-01

With and without physical context, we explored 59 undergraduate students’conceptual and procedural understanding of vector components using both open ended problems and multiple choice items designed based on research instruments used in physics education research. The results showed that a number of students produce errors and revealed alternative conceptions especially when asked to draw graphical form of vector components. It indicated that most of them did not develop a strong foundation of understanding in vector components and could not apply those concepts to such problems with physical context. Based on the findings, we designed a worksheet to enhance the students’ conceptual understanding in vector components. The worksheet is composed of three parts which help students to construct their own understanding of definition, graphical form, and magnitude of vector components. To validate the worksheet, focus group discussions of 3 and 10 graduate students (science in-service teachers) had been conducted. The modified worksheet was then distributed to 41 grade 9 students in a science class. The students spent approximately 50 minutes to complete the worksheet. They sketched and measured vectors and its components and compared with the trigonometry ratio to condense the concepts of vector components. After completing the worksheet, their conceptual model had been verified. 83% of them constructed the correct model of vector components.

Promoting Climate Literacy and Conceptual Understanding among In-service Secondary Science Teachers requires an Epistemological Perspective

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Bhattacharya, D.; Forbes, C.; Roehrig, G.; Chandler, M. A.

2017-12-01

Promoting climate literacy among in-service science teachers necessitates an understanding of fundamental concepts about the Earth's climate System (USGCRP, 2009). Very few teachers report having any formal instruction in climate science (Plutzer et al., 2016), therefore, rather simple conceptions of climate systems and their variability exist, which has implications for students' science learning (Francies et al., 1993; Libarkin, 2005; Rebich, 2005). This study uses the inferences from a NASA Innovations in Climate Education (NICE) teacher professional development program (CYCLES) to establish the necessity for developing an epistemological perspective among teachers. In CYCLES, 19 middle and high school (male=8, female=11) teachers were assessed for their understanding of global climate change (GCC). A qualitative analysis of their concept maps and an alignment of their conceptions with the Essential Principles of Climate Literacy (NOAA, 2009) demonstrated that participants emphasized on EPCL 1, 3, 6, 7 focusing on the Earth system, atmospheric, social and ecological impacts of GCC. However, EPCL 4 (variability in climate) and 5 (data-based observations and modeling) were least represented and emphasized upon. Thus, participants' descriptions about global climatic patterns were often factual rather than incorporating causation (why the temperatures are increasing) and/or correlation (describing what other factors might influence global temperatures). Therefore, engaging with epistemic dimensions of climate science to understand the processes, tools, and norms through which climate scientists study the Earth's climate system (Huxter et al., 2013) is critical for developing an in-depth conceptual understanding of climate. CLiMES (Climate Modeling and Epistemology of Science), a NSF initiative proposes to use EzGCM (EzGlobal Climate Model) to engage students and teachers in designing and running simulations, performing data processing activities, and analyzing

The semiosis of students’ conceptual understanding of biochemistry

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Musaeus, Peter; Mathiesen, Søren Læssøe; Dahl, Mads Ronald

2013-01-01

University students learning of scientific concepts can be described as a process of semiosis at three different levels: Ontogenetic, whereby students over time actively acquire signs that represent new meaning to themselves; mesogenetic, whereby a teacher through teaching an dialogue activities...... together with students build conceptual understanding; sociogenetic, whereby the scientific achievements of a science disseminate into the classroom. Semiotic processes have been investigated in educational semiotics (Cunningham, 1992), sociocultural psychology (Valsiner, 2007) and research on math...

The Comparative Effectiveness of Physical, Virtual, and Virtual-Physical Manipulatives on Third-Grade Students' Science Achievement and Conceptual Understanding of Evaporation and Condensation

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Wang, Tzu-Ling; Tseng, Yi-Kuan

2018-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relative effectiveness of experimenting with physical manipulatives alone, virtual manipulatives alone, and virtual preceding physical manipulatives (combination environment) on third-grade students' science achievement and conceptual understanding in the domain of state changes of water, focusing…

How Pre-Service Teachers' Understand and Perform Science Process Skills

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Chabalengula, Vivien Mweene; Mumba, Frackson; Mbewe, Simeon

2012-01-01

This study explored pre-service teachers' conceptual understanding and performance on science process skills. A sample comprised 91 elementary pre-service teachers at a university in the Midwest of the USA. Participants were enrolled in two science education courses; introductory science teaching methods course and advanced science methods course.…

Conceptual Blending Monitoring Students' Use of Metaphorical Concepts to Further the Learning of Science

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Fredriksson, Alexandra; Pelger, Susanne

2018-03-01

The aim of this study is to explore how tertiary science students' use of metaphors in their popular science article writing may influence their understanding of subject matter. For this purpose, six popular articles written by students in physics or geology were analysed by means of a close textual analysis and a metaphor analysis. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted with the students. The articles showed variation regarding the occurrence of active (non-conventional) metaphors, and metaphorical concepts, i.e. metaphors relating to a common theme. In addition, the interviews indicated that students using active metaphors and metaphorical concepts reflected more actively upon their use of metaphors. These students also discussed the possible relationship between subject understanding and creation of metaphors in terms of conceptual blending. The study suggests that students' process of creating metaphorical concepts could be described and visualised through integrated networks of conceptual blending. Altogether, the study argues for using conceptual blending as a tool for monitoring and encouraging the use of adequate metaphorical concepts, thereby facilitating students' opportunities of understanding and influencing the learning of science.

The Role of Computer Modeling in Enhancing Students' Conceptual Understanding of Physics

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F. Ornek

2012-04-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to investigate how the use of the computer simulations program VPython facilitated students’ conceptual understanding of fundamental physical principles and in constructing new knowledge of physics. We focused on students in a calculus-based introductory physics course, based on the Matter and Interactions curriculum of Chabay & Sherwood (2002 at a large state engineering and science university in the USA. A major emphasis of this course was on computer modeling by using VPython to write pro¬grams simulating physical systems. We conducted multiple student interviews, as well as an open-ended exit survey, to find out student views on how creating their own simulations to enhanced-conceptual understanding of physics and in constructing new knowledge of phys¬ics. The results varied in relation to the phases when the interviews were conducted. At the beginning of the course, students viewed the simulation program as a burden. However, dur¬ing the course, students stated that it promoted their knowledge and better conceptual understanding of physical phenomena. We deduce that VPython computer simulations can improve students’ conceptual understanding of fundamental physical concepts and promote construction of new knowledge in physics, once they overcome the initial learning curve associated with the VPython software package.

Understanding the Greenhouse Effect by Embodiment--Analysing and Using Students' and Scientists' Conceptual Resources

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Niebert, Kai; Gropengießer, Harald

2014-01-01

Over the last 20 years, science education studies have reported that there are very different understandings among students of science regarding the key aspects of climate change. We used the cognitive linguistic framework of experientialism to shed new light on this valuable pool of studies to identify the conceptual resources of understanding…

Primary School Teachers' Understanding of Science Process Skills in Relation to Their Teaching Qualifications and Teaching Experience

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Shahali, Edy H. M.; Halim, Lilia; Treagust, David F.; Won, Mihye; Chandrasegaran, A. L.

2017-04-01

This study investigated the understanding of science process skills (SPS) of 329 science teachers from 52 primary schools selected by random sampling. The understanding of SPS was measured in terms of conceptual and operational aspects of SPS using an instrument called the Science Process Skills Questionnaire (SPSQ) with a Cronbach's alpha reliability of 0.88. The findings showed that the teachers' conceptual understanding of SPS was much weaker than their practical application of SPS. The teachers' understanding of SPS differed by their teaching qualifications but not so much by their teaching experience. Emphasis needs to be given to both conceptual and operational understanding of SPS during pre-service and in-service teacher education to enable science teachers to use the skills and implement inquiry-based lessons in schools.

Using Theory of Mind to Promote Conceptual Change in Science

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Kyriakopoulou, Natassa; Vosniadou, Stella

2014-01-01

We argue that learning science requires children to move from perceptually based representations to more abstract conceptual representations and to understand that appearance may sometimes deceive us and that the same phenomenon in the world can have more than one representation when seen from different perspectives. We also argue that the…

An educational ethnography of teacher-developed science curriculum implementation: Enacting conceptual change-based science inquiry with Hispanic students

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Brunsell, Eric Steven

An achievement gap exists between White and Hispanic students in the United States. Research has shown that improving the quality of instruction for minority students is an effective way to narrow this gap. Science education reform movements emphasize that science should be taught using a science inquiry approach. Extensive research in teaching and learning science also shows that a conceptual change model of teaching is effective in helping students learn science. Finally, research into how Hispanic students learn best has provided a number of suggestions for science instruction. The Inquiry for Conceptual Change model merges these three research strands into a comprehensive yet accessible model for instruction. This study investigates two questions. First, what are teachers' perceptions of science inquiry and its implementation in the classroom? Second, how does the use of the Inquiry for Conceptual Change model affect the learning of students in a predominantly Hispanic, urban neighborhood. Five teachers participated in a professional development project where they developed and implemented a science unit based on the Inquiry for Conceptual Change model. Three units were developed and implemented for this study. This is a qualitative study that included data from interviews, participant reflections and journals, student pre- and post-assessments, and researcher observations. This study provides an in-depth description of the role of professional development in helping teachers understand how science inquiry can be used to improve instructional quality for students in a predominantly Hispanic, urban neighborhood. These teachers demonstrated that it is important for professional development to be collaborative and provide opportunities for teachers to enact and reflect on new teaching paradigms. This study also shows promising results for the ability of the Inquiry for Conceptual Change model to improve student learning.

Influence of Nature and History of Science Courses on Value Perceptions of Elementary Science Teacher Candidates in Conceptual Dimension in Turkey

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Aktamis, Hilal; Higde, Emrah

2018-01-01

This study aimed to determine the changes in understanding about the nature of science (NOS) and conceptual values of 28 elementary science teacher candidates who engaged in the instruction of the nature and history of science (NHOS). A values scale was used to determine the values of science teacher candidates in six areas of the conceptual…

Kuhn and conceptual change: on the analogy between conceptual changes in science and children

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Greiffenhagen, Christian; Sherman, Wendy

2008-01-01

This article argues that the analogy between conceptual changes in the history of science and conceptual changes in the development of young children is problematic. We show that the notions of ‘conceptual change’ in Kuhn and Piaget’s projects, the two thinkers whose work is most commonly drawn upon to support this analogy, are not compatible in the sense usually claimed. We contend that Kuhn’s work pertains not so much to the psychology of individual scientists, but to the way philosophers and historians should describe developments in communities of scientists. Furthermore, we argue that the analogy is based on a misunderstanding of the nature of science and the relation between science and common sense. The distinctiveness of the two notions of conceptual change has implications for science education research, since it raises serious questions about the relevance of Kuhn’s remarks for the study of pedagogical issues.

Biofunctional Understanding and Conceptual Control: Searching for Systematic Consensus in Systemic Cohesion.

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Iran-Nejad, Asghar; Bordbar, Fareed

2017-01-01

For first generation scientists after the cognitive revolution, knowers were in active control over all (stages of) information processing. Then, following a decade of transition shaped by intense controversy, embodied cognition emerged and suggested sources of control other than those implied by metaphysical information processing. With a thematic focus on embodiment science and an eye toward systematic consensus in systemic cohesion, the present study explores the roles of biofunctional and conceptual control processes in the wholetheme spiral of biofunctional understanding (see Iran-Nejad and Irannejad, 2017b, Figure 1). According to this spiral, each of the two kinds of understanding has its own unique set of knower control processes. For conceptual understanding (CU), knowers have deliberate attention-allocation control over their first-person "knowthat" and "knowhow" content combined as mutually coherent corequisites. For biofunctional understanding (BU), knowers have attention-allocation control only over their knowthat content but knowhow control content is ordinarily conspicuously absent. To test the hypothesis of differences in the manner of control between CU and BU, participants in two experiments read identical-format statements for internal consistency, as response time was recorded. The results of Experiment 1 supported the hypothesis of differences in the manner of control between the two types of control processes; and Experiment 2 confirmed the results of Experiment 1. These findings are discussed in terms of the predicted differences between BU and CU control processes, their roles in regulating the physically unobservable flow of systemic cohesion in the wholetheme spiral, and a proposal for systematic consensus in systemic cohesion to serve as the second guiding principle in biofunctional embodiment science next to physical science's first guiding principle of systematic observation.

Introduction: From "The Popularization of Science through Film" to "The Public Understanding of Science".

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Vidal, Fernando

2018-03-01

Science in film, and usual equivalents such as science on film or science on screen, refer to the cinematographic representation, staging, and enactment of actors, information, and processes involved in any aspect or dimension of science and its history. Of course, boundaries are blurry, and films shot as research tools or documentation also display science on screen. Nonetheless, they generally count as scientific film, and science in and on film or screen tend to designate productions whose purpose is entertainment and education. Moreover, these two purposes are often combined, and inherently concern empirical, methodological, and conceptual challenges associated with popularization, science communication, and the public understanding of science. It is in these areas that the notion of the deficit model emerged to designate a point of view and a mode of understanding, as well as a set of practical and theoretical problems about the relationship between science and the public.

How Augmented Reality Enables Conceptual Understanding of Challenging Science Content

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Yoon, Susan; Anderson, Emma; Lin, Joyce; Elinich, Karen

2017-01-01

Research on learning about science has revealed that students often hold robust misconceptions about a number of scientific ideas. Digital simulation and dynamic visualization tools have helped to ameliorate these learning challenges by providing scaffolding to understand various aspects of the phenomenon. In this study we hypothesize that…

Defining Conceptual Understanding for Teaching in International Business

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Ashley, Sue; Schaap, Harmen; de Bruijn, Elly

2016-01-01

The aim of this exploratory study is to develop a definition of conceptual understanding for teaching in international business. In international business, professionals face complex problems like what to produce, where to manufacture, which markets to target, and when to expand abroad. A clear definition of conceptual understanding needed to…

Multiple intelligences and alternative teaching strategies: The effects on student academic achievement, conceptual understanding, and attitude

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Baragona, Michelle

The purpose of this study was to investigate the interactions between multiple intelligence strengths and alternative teaching methods on student academic achievement, conceptual understanding and attitudes. The design was a quasi-experimental study, in which students enrolled in Principles of Anatomy and Physiology, a developmental biology course, received lecture only, problem-based learning with lecture, or peer teaching with lecture. These students completed the Multiple Intelligence Inventory to determine their intelligence strengths, the Students' Motivation Toward Science Learning questionnaire to determine student attitudes towards learning in science, multiple choice tests to determine academic achievement, and open-ended questions to determine conceptual understanding. Effects of intelligence types and teaching methods on academic achievement and conceptual understanding were determined statistically by repeated measures ANOVAs. No significance occurred in academic achievement scores due to lab group or due to teaching method used; however, significant interactions between group and teaching method did occur in students with strengths in logical-mathematical, interpersonal, kinesthetic, and intrapersonal intelligences. Post-hoc analysis using Tukey HSD tests revealed students with strengths in logical-mathematical intelligence and enrolled in Group Three scored significantly higher when taught by problem-based learning (PBL) as compared to peer teaching (PT). No significance occurred in conceptual understanding scores due to lab group or due to teaching method used; however, significant interactions between group and teaching method did occur in students with strengths in musical, kinesthetic, intrapersonal, and spatial intelligences. Post-hoc analysis using Tukey HSD tests revealed students with strengths in logical-mathematical intelligence and enrolled in Group Three scored significantly higher when taught by lecture as compared to PBL. Students with

Conceptualising forensic science and forensic reconstruction. Part I: A conceptual model.

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Morgan, R M

2017-11-01

There has been a call for forensic science to actively return to the approach of scientific endeavour. The importance of incorporating an awareness of the requirements of the law in its broadest sense, and embedding research into both practice and policy within forensic science, is arguably critical to achieving such an endeavour. This paper presents a conceptual model (FoRTE) that outlines the holistic nature of trace evidence in the 'endeavour' of forensic reconstruction. This model offers insights into the different components intrinsic to transparent, reproducible and robust reconstructions in forensic science. The importance of situating evidence within the whole forensic science process (from crime scene to court), of developing evidence bases to underpin each stage, of frameworks that offer insights to the interaction of different lines of evidence, and the role of expertise in decision making are presented and their interactions identified. It is argued that such a conceptual model has value in identifying the future steps for harnessing the value of trace evidence in forensic reconstruction. It also highlights that there is a need to develop a nuanced approach to reconstructions that incorporates both empirical evidence bases and expertise. A conceptual understanding has the potential to ensure that the endeavour of forensic reconstruction has its roots in 'problem-solving' science, and can offer transparency and clarity in the conclusions and inferences drawn from trace evidence, thereby enabling the value of trace evidence to be realised in investigations and the courts. Copyright © 2017 The Author. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Towards a Common Understanding of the Health Sciences.

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Stucki, G; Rubinelli, S; Reinhardt, J D; Bickenbach, J E

2016-09-01

The aim of health sciences is to maintain and improve the health of individuals and populations and to limit disability. Health research has expanded astoundingly over the last century and a variety of scientific disciplines rooted in very different scientific and intellectual traditions has contributed to these goals. To allow health scientists to fully contextualize their work and engage in interdisciplinary research, a common understanding of the health sciences is needed. The aim of this paper is to respond to the call of the 1986 Ottawa Charter to improve health care by looking both within and beyond health and health care, and to use the opportunity offered by WHO's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) for a universal operationalization of health, in order to develop a common understanding and conceptualization of the field of health sciences that account for its richness and vitality. A critical analysis of health sciences based on WHO's ICF, on WHO's definition of health systems and on the content and methodological approaches promoted by the biological, clinical and socio-humanistic traditions engaged in health research. The field of health sciences is presented according to: 1) a specification of the content of the field in terms of people's health needs and the societal response to them, 2) a meta-level framework to exhaustively represent the range of mutually recognizable scientific disciplines engaged in health research and 3) a heuristic framework for the specification of a set of shared methodological approaches relevant across the range of these disciplines. This conceptualization of health sciences is offered to contextualize the work of health researchers, thereby fostering interdisciplinarity. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Quality Teaching in Science: an Emergent Conceptual Framework

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Jordens, J. Zoe; Zepke, Nick

2017-09-01

Achieving quality in higher education is a complex task involving the interrelationship of many factors. The influence of the teacher is well established and has led to some general principles of good teaching. However, less is known about the extent that specific disciplines influence quality teaching. The purposes of the paper are to investigate how quality teaching is perceived in the sciences and from these perceptions to develop for discussion a framework for teaching practice in the sciences. A New Zealand study explored the views of national teaching excellence award winners in science on quality teaching in undergraduate science. To capture all possible views from this expert panel, a dissensus-recognising Delphi method was used together with sensitising concepts based on complexity and wickedity. The emergent conceptual framework for quality teaching in undergraduate science highlighted areas of consensus and areas where there were a variety of views. About the purposes of science and its knowledge base, there was relative consensus, but there was more variable support for values underpinning science teaching. This highlighted the complex nature of quality teaching in science. The findings suggest that, in addition to general and discipline-specific influences, individual teacher values contribute to an understanding of quality in undergraduate science teaching.

A view of the tip of the iceberg: revisiting conceptual continuities and their implications for science learning

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Brown, Bryan A.; Kloser, Matt

2009-12-01

We respond to Hwang and Kim and Yeo's critiques of the conceptual continuity framework in science education. First, we address the criticism that their analysis fails to recognize the situated perspective of learning by denying the dichotomy of the formal and informal knowledge as a starting point in the learning process. Second, we address the critique that students' descriptions fail to meet the "gold standard" of science education—alignment with an authoritative source and generalizability—by highlighting some student-expert congruence that could serve as the foundation for future learning. Third, we address the critique that a conceptual continuity framework could lead to less rigorous science education goals by arguing that the ultimate goals do not change, but rather that if the pathways that lead to the goals' achievement could recognize existing lexical continuities' science teaching may become more efficient. In sum, we argue that a conceptual continuities framework provides an asset, not deficit lexical perspective from which science teacher educators and science educators can begin to address and build complete science understandings.

Chemistry teachers’ understanding of science process skills in relation of science process skills assessment in chemistry learning

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Hikmah, N.; Yamtinah, S.; Ashadi; Indriyanti, N. Y.

2018-05-01

A Science process skill (SPS) is a fundamental scientific method to achieve good knowledge. SPS can be categorized into two levels: basic and integrated. Learning SPS helps children to grow as individuals who can access knowledge and know how to acquire it. The primary outcomes of the scientific process in learning are the application of scientific processes, scientific reasoning, accurate knowledge, problem-solving, and understanding of the relationship between science, technology, society, and everyday life’s events. Teachers’ understanding of SPS is central to the application of SPS in a learning process. Following this point, this study aims to investigate the high school chemistry teachers’ understanding of SPS pertains to their assessment of SPS in chemistry learning. The understanding of SPS is measured from the conceptual and operational aspects of SPS. This research uses qualitative analysis method, and the sample consists of eight chemistry teachers selected by random sampling. A semi-structured interview procedure is used to collect the data. The result of the analysis shows that teachers’ conceptual and operational understanding of SPS is weak. It affects the accuracy and appropriateness of the teacher’s selection of SPS assessment in chemistry learning.

High school student's motivation to engage in conceptual change-learning in science

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Barlia, Lily

1999-11-01

This study investigated motivational factors that are related to engaging in conceptual change learning. While previous studies have recognized the resistance of students' scientific conception to change, few have investigated the role that non-cognitive factors might play when students are exposed to conceptual change instruction. Three research questions were examined: (a) What instructional strategies did the teacher use to both promote students' learning for conceptual change and increase their motivation in learning science? (b) What are the patterns of students' motivation to engage in conceptual change learning? And (c) what individual profiles can be constructed from the four motivational factors (i.e., goals, values, self-efficacy, and control beliefs) and how are these profiles linked to engagement (i.e., behavioral and cognitive engagement) in conceptual change learning of science? Eleven twelfth grade students (senior students) and the teacher in which conceptual change approach to teaching was used in daily activities were selected. Data collection for this study included student's self-reported responses to the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ), classroom observation of students and the teacher, and structured interviews. Analysis of these data resulted in a motivational factor profile for each student and cross case analysis for entire group. Results from this study indicate that each student has different motivation factors that are mostly influenced individual student to learn science. Among these motivation factors, task value and control beliefs were most important for students. The implication of these findings are that teachers need to encourage students to find learning for conceptual change a valuable task, and that students need to find applications for their new conceptions within their everyday lives. In addition, teachers need to encourage students to develop learning strategies for conceptual understanding

Effect of Collaborative Learning in Interactive Lecture Demonstrations (ILD on Student Conceptual Understanding of Motion Graphs

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Erees Queen B. Macabebe

2017-04-01

Full Text Available To assess effectively the influence of peer discussion in understandingconcepts, and to evaluate if the conceptual understanding through Interactive Lecture Demonstrations (ILD and collaborative learning can be translated to actual situations, ten (10 questions on human and carts in motion were presented to 151 university students comprising mostly of science majors but of different year levels. Individual and group predictions were conducted to assess the students’ pre-conceptual understanding of motion graphs. During the ILD, real-time motion graphs were obtained and analysed after each demonstration and an assessment that integrates the ten situations into two scenarios was given to evaluate the conceptual understanding of the students. Collaborative learning produced a positive effect on the prediction scores of the students and the ILD with real-time measurement allowed the students to validate their prediction. However, when the given situations were incorporated to create a scenario, it posted a challenge to the students. The results of this activity identified the area where additional instruction and emphasis is necessary.

Examining the Conceptual Understandings of Geoscience Concepts of Students with Visual Impairments: Implications of 3-D Printing

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Koehler, Karen E.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the use of 3-D printed models as an instructional tool in a middle school science classroom for students with visual impairments and compare their use to traditional tactile graphics for aiding conceptual understanding of geoscience concepts. Specifically, this study examined if the students' conceptual understanding of plate tectonics was different when 3-D printed objects were used versus traditional tactile graphics and explored the misconceptions held by students with visual impairments related to plate tectonics and associated geoscience concepts. Interview data was collected one week prior to instruction and one week after instruction and throughout the 3-week instructional period and additional ata sources included student journals, other student documents and audio taped instructional sessions. All students in the middle school classroom received instruction on plate tectonics using the same inquiry-based curriculum but during different time periods of the day. One group of students, the 3D group, had access to 3-D printed models illustrating specific geoscience concepts and the group of students, the TG group, had access to tactile graphics illustrating the same geoscience concepts. The videotaped pre and post interviews were transcribed, analyzed and coded for conceptual understanding using constant comparative analysis and to uncover student misconceptions. All student responses to the interview questions were categorized in terms of conceptual understanding. Analysis of student journals and classroom talk served to uncover student mental models and misconceptions about plate tectonics and associated geoscience concepts to measure conceptual understanding. A slight majority of the conceptual understanding before instruction was categorized as no understanding or alternative understanding and after instruction the larger majority of conceptual understanding was categorized as scientific or scientific

An Epistemological Inquiry into Organic Chemistry Education: Exploration of Undergraduate Students' Conceptual Understanding of Functional Groups

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Akkuzu, Nalan; Uyulgan, Melis Arzu

2016-01-01

This study sought to determine the levels of conceptual understanding of undergraduate students regarding organic compounds within different functional groups. A total of 60 students who were enrolled in the Department of Secondary Science and Mathematics Education of a Faculty of Education at a state university in Turkey and who had followed an…

Conceptual Understanding of Multiplicative Properties through Endogenous Digital Game Play

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Denham, Andre

2012-01-01

This study purposed to determine the effect of an endogenously designed instructional game on conceptual understanding of the associative and distributive properties of multiplication. Additional this study sought to investigate if performance on measures of conceptual understanding taken prior to and after game play could serve as predictors of…

Biofunctional Understanding and Conceptual Control: Searching for Systematic Consensus in Systemic Cohesion

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Asghar Iran-Nejad

2017-10-01

Full Text Available For first generation scientists after the cognitive revolution, knowers were in active control over all (stages of information processing. Then, following a decade of transition shaped by intense controversy, embodied cognition emerged and suggested sources of control other than those implied by metaphysical information processing. With a thematic focus on embodiment science and an eye toward systematic consensus in systemic cohesion, the present study explores the roles of biofunctional and conceptual control processes in the wholetheme spiral of biofunctional understanding (see Iran-Nejad and Irannejad, 2017b, Figure 1. According to this spiral, each of the two kinds of understanding has its own unique set of knower control processes. For conceptual understanding (CU, knowers have deliberate attention-allocation control over their first-person “knowthat” and “knowhow” content combined as mutually coherent corequisites. For biofunctional understanding (BU, knowers have attention-allocation control only over their knowthat content but knowhow control content is ordinarily conspicuously absent. To test the hypothesis of differences in the manner of control between CU and BU, participants in two experiments read identical-format statements for internal consistency, as response time was recorded. The results of Experiment 1 supported the hypothesis of differences in the manner of control between the two types of control processes; and Experiment 2 confirmed the results of Experiment 1. These findings are discussed in terms of the predicted differences between BU and CU control processes, their roles in regulating the physically unobservable flow of systemic cohesion in the wholetheme spiral, and a proposal for systematic consensus in systemic cohesion to serve as the second guiding principle in biofunctional embodiment science next to physical science’s first guiding principle of systematic observation.

Biofunctional Understanding and Conceptual Control: Searching for Systematic Consensus in Systemic Cohesion

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Iran-Nejad, Asghar; Bordbar, Fareed

2017-01-01

For first generation scientists after the cognitive revolution, knowers were in active control over all (stages of) information processing. Then, following a decade of transition shaped by intense controversy, embodied cognition emerged and suggested sources of control other than those implied by metaphysical information processing. With a thematic focus on embodiment science and an eye toward systematic consensus in systemic cohesion, the present study explores the roles of biofunctional and conceptual control processes in the wholetheme spiral of biofunctional understanding (see Iran-Nejad and Irannejad, 2017b, Figure 1). According to this spiral, each of the two kinds of understanding has its own unique set of knower control processes. For conceptual understanding (CU), knowers have deliberate attention-allocation control over their first-person “knowthat” and “knowhow” content combined as mutually coherent corequisites. For biofunctional understanding (BU), knowers have attention-allocation control only over their knowthat content but knowhow control content is ordinarily conspicuously absent. To test the hypothesis of differences in the manner of control between CU and BU, participants in two experiments read identical-format statements for internal consistency, as response time was recorded. The results of Experiment 1 supported the hypothesis of differences in the manner of control between the two types of control processes; and Experiment 2 confirmed the results of Experiment 1. These findings are discussed in terms of the predicted differences between BU and CU control processes, their roles in regulating the physically unobservable flow of systemic cohesion in the wholetheme spiral, and a proposal for systematic consensus in systemic cohesion to serve as the second guiding principle in biofunctional embodiment science next to physical science’s first guiding principle of systematic observation. PMID:29114235

TOCUSO: Test of Conceptual Understanding on High School Optics Topics

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Akarsu, Bayram

2012-01-01

Physics educators around the world often need reliable diagnostic materials to measure students' understanding of physics concept in high school. The purpose of this study is to evaluate a new diagnostic tool on High School Optics concept. Test of Conceptual Understanding on High School Optics (TOCUSO) consists of 25 conceptual items that measures…

On Automatic Assessment and Conceptual Understanding

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Rasila, Antti; Malinen, Jarmo; Tiitu, Hannu

2015-01-01

We consider two complementary aspects of mathematical skills, i.e. "procedural fluency" and "conceptual understanding," from a point of view that is related to modern e-learning environments and computer-based assessment. Pedagogical background of teaching mathematics is discussed, and it is proposed that the traditional book…

Promoting students' conceptual understanding using STEM-based e-book

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Komarudin, U.; Rustaman, N. Y.; Hasanah, L.

2017-05-01

This study aims to examine the effect of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) based e-book in promoting students'conceptual understanding on lever system in human body. The E-book used was the e-book published by National Ministry of Science Education. The research was conducted by a quasi experimental with pretest and posttest design. The subjects consist of two classes of 8th grade junior high school in Pangkalpinang, Indonesia, which were devided into experimental group (n=34) and control group (n=32). The students in experimental group was taught by STEM-based e-book, while the control group learned by non STEM-based e-book. The data was collected by an instrument pretest and postest. Pretest and posttest scored, thenanalyzed using descriptive statistics and independent t-test. The result of independent sample t-test shows that no significant differenceson students' pretest score between control and experimental group. However, there were significant differences on students posttest score and N-gain score between control and experimental group with sig = 0.000(pscience.

An integrated conceptual framework for evaluating and improving 'understanding' in informed consent.

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Bossert, Sabine; Strech, Daniel

2017-10-17

The development of understandable informed consent (IC) documents has proven to be one of the most important challenges in research with humans as well as in healthcare settings. Therefore, evaluating and improving understanding has been of increasing interest for empirical research on IC. However, several conceptual and practical challenges for the development of understandable IC documents remain unresolved. In this paper, we will outline and systematize some of these challenges. On the basis of our own experiences in empirical user testing of IC documents as well as the relevant literature on understanding in IC, we propose an integrated conceptual model for the development of understandable IC documents. The proposed conceptual model integrates different methods for the participatory improvement of written information, including IC, as well as quantitative methods for measuring understanding in IC. In most IC processes, understandable written information is an important prerequisite for valid IC. To improve the quality of IC documents, a conceptual model for participatory procedures of testing, revising, and retesting can be applied. However, the model presented in this paper needs further theoretical and empirical elaboration and clarification of several conceptual and practical challenges.

Integrating Felting in Elementary Science Classrooms to Facilitate Understanding of the Polar Auroras

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Brandy Terrill

2017-10-01

Full Text Available The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS emphasize conceptual science instruction that draws on students’ ability to make observations, explain natural phenomena, and examine concept relationships. This paper explores integrating the arts, in the form of felting, in elementary science classrooms as a way for students to model and demonstrate understanding of the complex scientific processes that cause the polar auroras. The steps for creating felting, and using the felting artwork students create for assessing science learning, are described.

Analogy-Integrated e-Learning Module: Facilitating Students' Conceptual Understanding

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Florida, Jennifer

2012-01-01

The study deals with the development of an analogy-integrated e-learning module on Cellular Respiration, which is intended to facilitate conceptual understanding of students with different brain hemisphere dominance and learning styles. The module includes eight analogies originally conceptualized following the specific steps used to prepare…

Does Conceptual Understanding of Limit Partially Lead Students to Misconceptions?

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Mulyono, B.; Hapizah

2017-09-01

This article talks about the result of preliminary research of my dissertation, which will investigate student’s retention of conceptual understanding. In my preliminary research, I surveyed 73 students of mathematics education program by giving some questions to test their retention of conceptual understanding of limits. Based on the results of analyzing of students’ answers I conclude that most of the students have problems with their retention of conceptual understanding and they also have misconception of limits. The first misconception I identified is that students always used the substitution method to determine a limit of a function at a point, but they did not check whether the function is continue or not at the point. It means that they only use the substitution theorem partially, because they do not consider that the substitution theorem \\mathop{{lim}}\\limits\\text{x\\to \\text{c}}f(x)=f(c) works only if f(x) is defined at χ = c. The other misconception identified is that some students always think there must be available of variables χ in a function to determine the limit of the function. I conjecture that conceptual understanding of limit partially leads students to misconceptions.

Science Outside the Lab: Helping Graduate Students in Science and Engineering Understand the Complexities of Science Policy.

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Bernstein, Michael J; Reifschneider, Kiera; Bennett, Ira; Wetmore, Jameson M

2017-06-01

Helping scientists and engineers challenge received assumptions about how science, engineering, and society relate is a critical cornerstone for macroethics education. Scientific and engineering research are frequently framed as first steps of a value-free linear model that inexorably leads to societal benefit. Social studies of science and assessments of scientific and engineering research speak to the need for a more critical approach to the noble intentions underlying these assumptions. "Science Outside the Lab" is a program designed to help early-career scientists and engineers understand the complexities of science and engineering policy. Assessment of the program entailed a pre-, post-, and 1 year follow up survey to gauge student perspectives on relationships between science and society, as well as a pre-post concept map exercise to elicit student conceptualizations of science policy. Students leave Science Outside the Lab with greater humility about the role of scientific expertise in science and engineering policy; greater skepticism toward linear notions of scientific advances benefiting society; a deeper, more nuanced understanding of the actors involved in shaping science policy; and a continued appreciation of the contributions of science and engineering to society. The study presents an efficacious program that helps scientists and engineers make inroads into macroethical debates, reframe the ways in which they think about values of science and engineering in society, and more thoughtfully engage with critical mediators of science and society relationships: policy makers and policy processes.

Science Olympiad students' nature of science understandings

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Philpot, Cindy J.

2007-12-01

Recent reform efforts in science education focus on scientific literacy for all citizens. In order to be scientifically literate, an individual must have informed understandings of nature of science (NOS), scientific inquiry, and science content matter. This study specifically focused on Science Olympiad students' understanding of NOS as one piece of scientific literacy. Research consistently shows that science students do not have informed understandings of NOS (Abd-El-Khalick, 2002; Bell, Blair, Crawford, and Lederman, 2002; Kilcrease and Lucy, 2002; Schwartz, Lederman, and Thompson, 2001). However, McGhee-Brown, Martin, Monsaas and Stombler (2003) found that Science Olympiad students had in-depth understandings of science concepts, principles, processes, and techniques. Science Olympiad teams compete nationally and are found in rural, urban, and suburban schools. In an effort to learn from students who are generally considered high achieving students and who enjoy science, as opposed to the typical science student, the purpose of this study was to investigate Science Olympiad students' understandings of NOS and the experiences that formed their understandings. An interpretive, qualitative, case study method was used to address the research questions. The participants were purposefully and conveniently selected from the Science Olympiad team at a suburban high school. Data collection consisted of the Views of Nature of Science -- High School Questionnaire (VNOS-HS) (Schwartz, Lederman, & Thompson, 2001), semi-structured individual interviews, and a focus group. The main findings of this study were similar to much of the previous research in that the participants had informed understandings of the tentative nature of science and the role of inferences in science, but they did not have informed understandings of the role of human imagination and creativity, the empirical nature of science, or theories and laws. High level science classes and participation in

Understanding leadership in the environmental sciences

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Louisa S. Evans

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Leadership is often assumed, intuitively, to be an important driver of sustainable development. To understand how leadership is conceptualized and analyzed in the environmental sciences and to discover what this research says about leadership outcomes, we conducted a review of environmental leadership research over the last 10 years. We found that much of the environmental leadership literature focuses on a few key individuals and desirable leadership competencies. The literature also reports that leadership is one of the most important of a number of factors contributing to effective environmental governance. Only a subset of the literature highlights interacting sources of leadership, disaggregates leadership outcomes, or evaluates leadership processes in detail. We argue that the literature on environmental leadership is highly normative. Leadership is typically depicted as an unequivocal good, and its importance is often asserted rather than tested. We trace how leadership studies in the management sciences are evolving and argue that, taking into account the state of the art in environmental leadership research, more critical approaches to leadership research in environmental science can be developed.

Emphasizing the process of science using demonstrations in conceptual chemistry

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Lutz, Courtney A.

The purpose of this project was to teach students a method for employing the process of science in a conceptual chemistry classroom when observing a demonstration of a discrepant event. Students observed six demonstrations throughout a trimester study of chemistry and responded to each demonstration by asking as many questions as they could think of, choosing one testable question to answer by making as many hypotheses as possible, and choosing one hypothesis to make predictions about observed results of this hypothesis when tested. Students were evaluated on their curiosity, confidence, knowledge of the process of science, and knowledge of the nature of science before and after the six demonstrations. Many students showed improvement in using or mastery of the process of science within the context of conceptual chemistry after six intensive experiences with it. Results of the study also showed students gained confidence in their scientific abilities after completing one trimester of conceptual chemistry. Curiosity and knowledge of the nature of science did not show statistically significant improvement according to the assessment tool. This may have been due to the scope of the demonstration and response activities, which focused on the process of science methodology instead of knowledge of the nature of science or the constraints of the assessment tool.

The Effects of Hands-On Learning Stations on Building American Elementary Teachers' Understanding about Earth and Space Science Concepts

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Bulunuz, Nermin; Jarrett, Olga S.

2010-01-01

Research on conceptual change indicates that not only children, but also teachers have incomplete understanding or misconceptions on science concepts. This mixed methods study was concerned with in-service teachers' understanding of four earth and space science concepts taught in elementary school: reason for seasons, phases of the moon, rock…

Upgrading geometry conceptual understanding and strategic competence through implementing rigorous mathematical thinking (RMT)

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Nugraheni, Z.; Budiyono, B.; Slamet, I.

2018-03-01

To reach higher order thinking skill, needed to be mastered the conceptual understanding and strategic competence as they are two basic parts of high order thinking skill (HOTS). RMT is a unique realization of the cognitive conceptual construction approach based on Feurstein with his theory of Mediated Learning Experience (MLE) and Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory. This was quasi-experimental research which compared the experimental class that was given Rigorous Mathematical Thinking (RMT) as learning method and the control class that was given Direct Learning (DL) as the conventional learning activity. This study examined whether there was different effect of two learning model toward conceptual understanding and strategic competence of Junior High School Students. The data was analyzed by using Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) and obtained a significant difference between experimental and control class when considered jointly on the mathematics conceptual understanding and strategic competence (shown by Wilk’s Λ = 0.84). Further, by independent t-test is known that there was significant difference between two classes both on mathematical conceptual understanding and strategic competence. By this result is known that Rigorous Mathematical Thinking (RMT) had positive impact toward Mathematics conceptual understanding and strategic competence.

Effect of problem type toward students’ conceptual understanding level on heat and temperature

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Ratnasari, D.; Sukarmin; Suparmi, S.

2017-11-01

The aim of this research is to analyze the level of students’ understanding of heat and temperature concept and effect of problem type toward students’ conceptual understanding of heat and temperature. This research is descriptive research with the subjects of the research are 96 students from high, medium, and low categorized school in Surakarta. Data of level of students’ conceptual understanding is from students’ test result using essay instrument (arranged by researcher and arranged by the teacher) and interview. Before being tested in the samples, essay instrument is validated by the experts. Based on the result and the data analysis, students’ conceptual understanding level of 10th grade students on heat and temperature is as follows: (1) Most students have conceptual understanding level at Partial Understanding with a Specific Misconception (PUSM) with percentage 28,85%; (2) Most students are able to solve mathematic problem from teacher, but don’t understand the underlying concept.

Teaching Physics for Conceptual Understanding Exemplified for Einstein's Special Relativity

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Undreiu, Lucian M.

2006-12-01

In most liberal arts colleges the prerequisites for College Physics, Introductory or Calculus based, are strictly related to Mathematics. As a state of fact, the majorities of the students perceive Physics as a conglomerate of mathematical equations, a collection of facts to be memorized and they regard Physics as one of the most difficult subjects. A change of this attitude towards Physics, and Science in general, is intrinsically connected with the promotion of conceptual understanding and stimulation of critical thinking. In such an environment, the educators are facilitators, rather than the source of knowledge. One good way of doing this is to challenge the students to think about what they see around them and to connect physics with the real world. Motivation occurs when students realize that what was learned is interesting and relevant. Visual teaching aids such as educational videos or computer simulations, as well as computer-assisted experiments, can greatly enhance the effectiveness of a science lecture or laboratory. Difficult topics can be discussed through animated analogies. Special Relativity is recognized as a challenging topic and is probably one of the most misunderstood theories of Physics. While understanding Special Relativity requires a detachment from ordinary perception and every day life notions, animated analogies can prove to be very successful in making difficult topics accessible.

Ghanaian Teacher Trainees' Conceptual Understanding of Stoichiometry

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Hanson, Ruby

2016-01-01

Chemical stoichiometry is a conceptual framework that encompasses other concepts such as the mole, writing of chemical equations in word and representative form, balancing of equations and the equilibrium concept. The underlying concepts enable students to understand relationships among entities of matter and required amounts for use when…

Conceptual Demand of Science Curricula: A Study at the Middle School Level

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Calado, Sílvia; Neves, Isabel P.; Morais, Ana M.

2013-01-01

This article addresses the issue of the level of conceptual demand of science curricula by analysing the case of the current Portuguese Natural Sciences curriculum for middle school. Conceptual demand is seen in terms of the complexity of cognitive skills, the complexity of scientific knowledge and the intra-disciplinary relations between distinct…

Gestures and metaphors as indicators of conceptual understanding of sedimentary systems

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Riggs, E. M.; Herrera, J. S.

2012-12-01

Understanding the geometry and evolution of sedimentary systems and sequence stratigraphy is crucial to the development of geoscientists and engineers working in the petroleum industry. There is a wide variety of audiences within industry who require relatively advanced instruction in this area of geoscience, and there is an equally wide array of approaches to teaching this material in the classroom and field. This research was undertaken to develop a clearer picture of how conceptual understanding in this area of sedimentary geology grows as a result of instruction and how instructors can monitor the completeness and accuracy of student thinking and mental models. We sought ways to assess understanding that did not rely on model-specific jargon but rather was based in physical expression of basic processes and attributes of sedimentary systems. Advances in cognitive science and educational research indicate that a significant part of spatial cognition is facilitated by gesture, (e.g. giving directions, describing objects or landscape features). We aligned the analysis of gestures with conceptual metaphor theory to probe the use of mental image-schemas as a source of concept representation for students' learning of sedimentary processes. In order to explore image schemas that lie in student explanations, we focused our analysis on four core ideas about sedimentary systems that involve sea level change and sediment deposition, namely relative sea level, base level, and sea-level fluctuations and resulting basin geometry and sediment deposition changes. The study included 25 students from three U.S. Midwestern universities. Undergraduate and graduate-level participants were enrolled in senior-level undergraduate courses in sedimentology and stratigraphy. We used semi-structured interviews and videotaping for data collection. We coded the data to focus on deictic, iconic, and metaphoric gestures, and coded interview transcripts for linguistic metaphors using the

A cross-cultural, multilevel study of inquiry-based instruction effects on conceptual understanding and motivation in physics

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Negishi, Meiko

Student achievement and motivation to learn physics is highly valued in many industrialized countries including the United States and Japan. Science education curricula in these countries emphasize the importance and encourage classroom teachers to use an inquiry approach. This dissertation investigated high school students' motivational orientations and their understanding of physics concepts in a context of inquiry-based instruction. The goals were to explore the patterns of instructional effects on motivation and learning in each country and to examine cultural differences and similarities. Participants consisted of 108 students (55 females, 53 males) and 9 physics teachers in the United States and 616 students (203 females and 413 males) and 11 physics teachers in Japan. Students were administered (a) Force Concept Inventory measuring physics conceptual understanding and (b) Attitudes about Science Questionnaire measuring student motivational orientations. Teachers were given a survey regarding their use of inquiry teaching practices and background information. Additionally, three teachers in each country were interviewed and observed in their classrooms. For the data analysis, two-level hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) methods were used to examine individual student differences (i.e., learning, motivation, and gender) within each classroom (i.e., inquiry-based teaching, teaching experience, and class size) in the U.S. and Japan, separately. Descriptive statistical analyses were also conducted. The results indicated that there was a cultural similarity in that current teaching practices had minimal influence on conceptual understanding as well as motivation of high school students between the U.S. and Japan. In contrast, cultural differences were observed in classroom structures and instructional approaches. Furthermore, this study revealed gender inequity in Japanese students' conceptual understanding and self-efficacy. Limitations of the study, as well as

Effect of the 5E Model on Prospective Teachers' Conceptual Understanding of Diffusion and Osmosis: A Mixed Method Approach

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Artun, Huseyin; Costu, Bayram

2013-01-01

The aim of this study was to explore a group of prospective primary teachers' conceptual understanding of diffusion and osmosis as they implemented a 5E constructivist model and related materials in a science methods course. Fifty prospective primary teachers' ideas were elicited using a pre- and post-test and delayed post-test survey consisting…

Investigation of the relationship between students' problem solving and conceptual understanding of electricity

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Cobanoglu Aktan, Derya

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between students' qualitative problem solving and conceptual understanding of electricity. For the analysis data were collected from observations of group problem solving, from their homework artifacts, and from semi-structured interviews. The data for six undergraduate students were analyzed by qualitative research methods. The students in the study were found to use tools (such as computer simulations and formulas) differently from one another, and they made different levels of interpretations for the electricity representations. Consequently each student had different problem solving strategies. The students exhibited a wide range of levels of understanding of the electricity concepts. It was found that students' conceptual understandings and their problem solving strategies were closely linked with one another. The students who tended to use multiple tools to make high level interpretations for representations to arrive at a single solution exhibited a higher level of understanding than the students who tended to use tools to make low level interpretations to reach a solution. This study demonstrates a relationship between conceptual understanding and problem solving strategies. Similar to the results of the existing research on students' quantitative problem solving, it was found that students were able to give correct answers to some problems without fully understanding the concepts behind the problem. However, some problems required a conceptual understanding in order for a student to arrive at a correct answer. An implication of this study is that careful selection of qualitative questions is necessary for capturing high levels of conceptual understanding. Additionally, conceptual understanding among some types of problem solvers can be improved by activities or tasks that can help them reflect on their problem solving strategies and the tools they use.

Perspectives on Information Literacy: A Framework for Conceptual Understanding

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Addison, Colleen; Meyers, Eric

2013-01-01

Information literacy, 40 years since the term was coined, remains a conceptually contested aspect of library and information science research. This paper uses a review of the literature related to the concept of information literacy to identify three different perspectives, their historical origins, and connection to library and information…

An analysis of science conceptual knowledge in journals of students with disabilities and normally achieving students

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Grigg, Gail S.

Science education reforms of the last two decades have focused on raising the bar for ALL students which includes students with mild to moderate disabilities. Formative assessment can be used to assess the progress of these students to inquire, understand scientific concepts, reason scientifically, make decisions, and communicate effectively in science. The purpose of this study is to examine the use of science journals as a formative assessment in a guided inquiry unit of study for students with learning disabilities. Two normally achieving students (NA) and five students with learning disabilities (SLD) participated in a study of mammals that utilized journals to record the development of student knowledge through the course of study. Students were interviewed after the lessons were complete using the same prompts required in the journals. Themes were developed from the student writings and their verbal discourse using Grounded Theory. Journals and verbal discourse were rated following the themes of Knowledge Telling (KT) and Knowledge Transformation (KTR). Concept maps were developed for the Pre and Post test lessons (written and verbal discourses) by the raters in an attempt to further explain the knowledge that the students conveyed. The results of this study suggest that SLD are able to demonstrate knowledge about mammals better through verbal discourse than written discourse. While the NA students wrote more and used more technical discourse than did their SLD peers, the conceptual understanding of the topic by the SLD was no less inclusive than their NA peers when accessed verbally. The journals demonstrated limited conceptual growth for the SLD. Further, while lexical density is important to the development of knowledge in science, this study suggests the "conceptual density" may be another important indicator to examine.

Identification of Conceptual Understanding in Biotechnology Learning

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Suryanti, E.; Fitriani, A.; Redjeki, S.; Riandi, R.

2018-04-01

Research on the identification of conceptual understanding in the learning of Biotechnology, especially on the concept of Genetic Engineering has been done. The lesson is carried out by means of discussion and presentation mediated-powerpoint media that contains learning materials with relevant images and videos. This research is a qualitative research with one-shot case study or one-group posttest-only design. Analysis of 44 students' answers show that only 22% of students understand the concept, 18% of students lack understanding of concepts, 57% of students have misconceptions, and 3% of students are error. It can be concluded that most students has misconceptions in learning the concept of Genetic Engineering.

Figures of speech, signs of knowing: Towards a semiotic view of science conceptualization

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Wizinowich, Janice Ingrid

Models for science education, rather than paralleling the process of scientific discovery, have traditionally involved the dissemination of information through texts and controlled lab experiences. These have had limited effect in the development of science concepts. Therefore, the focus of this study was to investigate alternative avenues, such as the use of narrative, for science conceptualization. Despite the potential for narrative as an avenue for science conceptualization, for the most part studies involving literature have not explored this relationship. The purpose of this study was to investigate the process of science conceptualization, with a specific focus on narrative. This was done through a fifth grade classroom based study where learning experiences were created, focused on the concept of interdependence in relationship to water. These experiences included open-ended, hands-on science experiences, literature discussion groups, self-selected research projects and the creation of narrative pieces based on those research projects. Data sources included: (a) audio and videotaped literature discussion group sessions; (b) audio and videotaped study group interviews and curricular sessions; (c) individual interviews; (d) learning log entries and reflections; and (e) student narratives. Data analysis was conducted within a semiotic theoretical framework and involved the process of retroduction. Retroduction entails a kind of spiraling dialectic between theoretical considerations and data incidences, from which are generated possible explanations. These possible explanations or abductions, provide direction for further forays into the data. The process of retroduction lends itself to the creation of data analysis chapters that highlight theoretical issues in relationship to the data or "theoretical memos". Three theoretical memos emerged from this process. Theoretical memo one explores the role of experience in conceptualization; theoretical memo two focuses

Penerapan Model Pembelajaran Conceptual Understanding Procedures (CUPS sebagai Upaya Mengatasi Miskonsepsi Matematis Siswa

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Asri Gita

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Kesalahan dalam memahami konsep menjadi salah satu faktor yang menyebabkan miskonsepsi pada pelajaran matematika. Miskonsepsi pada materi bangun datar disebabkan oleh cara belajar siswa yang hanya menghafalkan bentuk dasar tanpa memahami hubungan antar bangun datar dan sifat-sifatnya. Upaya yang dilakukan dalam mengatasi miskonsepsi tersebut adalah dengan menerapkan pembelajaran konstruktivis. Salah satu model pembelajaran konstruktivis adalah Conceptual Understanding Procedures (CUPs. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui penerapan model pembelajaran Conceptual Understanding Procedures (CUPs sebagai upaya mengatasi miskonsepsi matematis siswa pada materi sifat-sifat bangun datar segiempat. Subjek penelitian adalah 12 orang siswa SMP yang mengalami miskonsepsi pada materi sifat-sifat bangun datar segiempat. Teknik pengumpulan data pada penelitian ini melalui tes, video, observasi, dan wawancara. Validitas dan reliabilitas data melalui credibility, dependability, transferability, dan confirmability. Hasil dari penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa penerapan model pembelajaran Conceptual Understanding Procedures (CUPs yang terdiri dari fase individu, fase kelompok triplet, dan fase interpretasi seluruh kelas dapat mengatasi miskonsepsi siswa pada materi sifat-sifat bangun datar segiempat. Perubahan miskonsepsi siswa juga dapat dilihat dari nilai tes yang mengalami peningkatan nilai berdasarkan nilai tes awal dan tes akhir siswa. Kata Kunci: Conceptual Understanding Procedures (CUPs, miskonsepsi, segiempat.   ABSTRACT Mistakes in understanding the concept became one of the factors that led to misconceptions in mathematics. The misconceptions in plane shapes are caused by the way of learning of students who only memorize the basic form without understanding the relationship between the plane shapes and its properties. Efforts made in overcoming these misconceptions is to apply constructivist learning. One of the constructivist learning

Understanding Early Elementary Children's Conceptual Knowledge of Plant Structure and Function through Drawings

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Anderson, Janice L.; Ellis, Jane P.; Jones, Alan M.

2014-01-01

This study examined children's drawings to explain children's conceptual understanding of plant structure and function. The study explored whether the children's drawings accurately reflect their conceptual understanding about plants in a manner that can be interpreted by others. Drawing, survey, interview, and observational data were collected…

Defining conceptual understanding for teaching in international business

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ashley, S.M.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/345732790; Schaap, H.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/304822914; de Bruijn, E.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/074460919

2016-01-01

The aim of this exploratory study is to develop a definition of conceptual understanding for teaching in international business. In international business, professionals face complex problems like what to produce, where to manufacture, which markets to target, and when to expand abroad. A clear

Defining Conceptual Understanding for Teaching in International Business

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ashley, S.; Schaap, H.; Bruijn, E. de

2016-01-01

The aim of this exploratory study is to develop a definition of conceptual understanding for teaching in international business. In international business, professionals face complex problems like what to produce, where to manufacture, which markets to target, and when to expand abroad. A clear

A conceptual framework to understand academic student volunteerism

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Cunha, Jorge; Mensing, Rainer; Benneworth, Paul Stephen

2018-01-01

This paper develops a conceptual framework to understand the value of an increasing number of university study programmes that send students to the global south by learning through volunteering. We ask the research question what determines the benefit that these activities bring to the host

Student Use of Scaffolding Software: Relationships with Motivation and Conceptual Understanding

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Butler, Kyle A.; Lumpe, Andrew

2008-10-01

This study was designed to theoretically articulate and empirically assess the role of computer scaffolds. In this project, several examples of educational software were developed to scaffold the learning of students performing high level cognitive activities. The software used in this study, Artemis, focused on scaffolding the learning of students as they performed information seeking activities. As 5th grade students traveled through a project-based science unit on photosynthesis, researchers used a pre-post design to test for both student motivation and student conceptual understanding of photosynthesis. To measure both variables, a motivation survey and three methods of concept map analysis were used. The student use of the scaffolding features was determined using a database that tracked students' movement between scaffolding tools. The gain scores of each dependent variable was then correlated to the students' feature use (time and hits) embedded in the Artemis Interface. This provided the researchers with significant relationships between the scaffolding features represented in the software and student motivation and conceptual understanding of photosynthesis. There were a total of three significant correlations in comparing the scaffolding use by hits (clicked on) with the dependent variables and only one significant correlation when comparing the scaffold use in time. The first significant correlation ( r = .499, p students' task value. This correlation supports the assumption that there is a positive relationship between the student use of the saving/viewing features and the students' perception of how interesting, how important, and how useful the task is. The second significant correlation ( r = 0.553, p students' self-efficacy for learning and performance. This correlation supports the assumption that there is a positive relationship between the student use of the searching features and the students' perception of their ability to accomplish a task as

Learning environment, learning styles and conceptual understanding

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Ferrer, Lourdes M.

1990-01-01

In recent years there have been many studies on learners developing conceptions of natural phenomena. However, so far there have been few attempts to investigate how the characteristics of the learners and their environment influence such conceptions. This study began with an attempt to use an instrument developed by McCarthy (1981) to describe learners in Malaysian primary schools. This proved inappropriate as Asian primary classrooms do not provide the same kind of environment as US classrooms. It was decided to develop a learning style checklist to suit the local context and which could be used to describe differences between learners which teachers could appreciate and use. The checklist included four dimensions — perceptual, process, self-confidence and motivation. The validated instrument was used to determine the learning style preferences of primary four pupils in Penang, Malaysia. Later, an analysis was made regarding the influence of learning environment and learning styles on conceptual understanding in the topics of food, respiration and excretion. This study was replicated in the Philippines with the purpose of investigating the relationship between learning styles and achievement in science, where the topics of food, respiration and excretion have been taken up. A number of significant relationships were observed in these two studies.

Science as a general education: Conceptual science should constitute the compulsory core of multi-disciplinary undergraduate degrees.

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Charlton, Bruce G

2006-01-01

It is plausible to assume that in the future science will form the compulsory core element both of school curricula and multi-disciplinary undergraduate degrees. But for this to happen entails a shift in the emphasis and methods of science teaching, away from the traditional concern with educating specialists and professionals. Traditional science teaching was essentially vocational, designed to provide precise and comprehensive scientific knowledge for practical application. By contrast, future science teaching will be a general education, hence primarily conceptual. Its aim should be to provide an education in flexible rationality. Vocational science teaching was focused on a single-discipline undergraduate degree, but a general education in abstract systematic thinking is best inculcated by studying several scientific disciplines. In this sense, 'science' is understood as mathematics and the natural sciences, but also the abstract and systematic aspects of disciplines such as economics, linguistics, music theory, history, sociology, political science and management science. Such a wide variety of science options in a multi-disciplinary degree will increase the possibility of student motivation and aptitude. Specialist vocational science education will progressively be shifted to post-graduate level, in Masters and Doctoral programs. A multi-disciplinary and conceptually-based science core curriculum should provide an appropriate preparation for dealing with the demands of modern societies; their complex and rapidly changing social systems; and the need for individual social and professional mobility. Training in rational conceptual thinking also has potential benefits to human health and happiness, since it allows people to over-ride inappropriate instincts, integrate conflicting desires and pursue long-term goals.

Crafting an International Study of Students' Conceptual Understanding of Astronomy

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Slater, Stephanie; Bretones, P. S.; McKinnon, D.; Schleigh, S.; Slater, T. F.; Astronomy, Center; Education Research, Physics

2013-01-01

Large international investigations into the learning of science, such as the TIMSS and PISA studies, have been enlightening with regard to effective instructional practices. Data from these studies revealed weaknesses and promising practices within nations' educational systems, with evidence to suggest that these studies have led to international reforms in science education. However, these reforms have focused on the general characteristics of teaching and learning across all sciences. While extraordinarily useful, these studies have provided limited insight for any given content domain. To date, there has been no systematic effort to measure individual's conceptual astronomy understanding across the globe. This paper describes our motivations for a coordinated, multinational study of astronomy understanding. First, reformed education is based upon knowing the preexisting knowledge state of our students. The data from this study will be used to assist international astronomy education and public outreach (EPO) professionals in their efforts to improve practices across global settings. Second, while the US astronomy EPO community has a long history of activity, research has established that many practices are ineffective in the face of robust misconceptions (e.g.: seasons). Within an international sample we hope to find subpopulations that do not conform to our existing knowledge of student misconceptions, leading us to cultural or educational practices that hint at alternative, effective means of instruction. Finally, it is our hope that this first venture into large-scale disciplinary collaboration will help us to craft a set of common languages and practices, building capacity and leading toward long-term cooperation across the international EPO community. This project is sponsored and managed by the Center for Astronomy & Physics Education Research (CAPER), in collaboration with members of the International Astronomical Union-Commission 46. We are actively

Understanding the Greenhouse Effect by Embodiment - Analysing and Using Students' and Scientists' Conceptual Resources

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Niebert, Kai; Gropengießer, Harald

2014-01-01

Over the last 20 years, science education studies have reported that there are very different understandings among students of science regarding the key aspects of climate change. We used the cognitive linguistic framework of experientialism to shed new light on this valuable pool of studies to identify the conceptual resources of understanding climate change. In our study, we interviewed 35 secondary school students on their understanding of the greenhouse effect and analysed the conceptions of climate scientists as drawn from textbooks and research reports. We analysed all data by metaphor analysis and qualitative content analysis to gain insight into students' and scientists' resources for understanding. In our analysis, we found that students and scientists refer to the same schemata to understand the greenhouse effect. We categorised their conceptions into three different principles the conceptions are based on: warming by more input, warming by less output, and warming by a new equilibrium. By interrelating students' and scientists' conceptions, we identified the students' learning demand: First, our students were afforded with experiences regarding the interactions of electromagnetic radiation and CO2. Second, our students reflected about the experience-based schemata they use as source domains for metaphorical understanding of the greenhouse effect. By uncovering the-mostly unconscious-deployed schemata, we gave students access to their source domains. We implemented these teaching guidelines in interventions and evaluated them in teaching experiments to develop evidence-based and theory-guided learning activities on the greenhouse effect.

Understanding the Conceptual Development Phase of Applied Theory-Building Research: A Grounded Approach

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Storberg-Walker, Julia

2007-01-01

This article presents a provisional grounded theory of conceptual development for applied theory-building research. The theory described here extends the understanding of the components of conceptual development and provides generalized relations among the components. The conceptual development phase of theory-building research has been widely…

Science + Maths = A Better Understanding of Science!

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Markwick, Andy; Clark, Kris

2016-01-01

Science and mathematics share a common purpose: to explore, understand and explain the pure beauty of our universe and how it works. Using mathematics in science enquiry can enhance children's understanding of science and also provide opportunities for children to apply their mathematical knowledge to "real" contexts. The authors…

The Contribution of Constructivist Instruction Accompanied by Concept Mapping in Enhancing Pre-Service Chemistry Teachers' Conceptual Understanding of Chemistry in the Laboratory Course

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Aydin, Sevgi; Aydemir, Nurdane; Boz, Yezdan; Cetin-Dindar, Ayla; Bektas, Oktay

2009-01-01

The present study aimed to evaluate whether a chemistry laboratory course called "Laboratory Experiments in Science Education" based on constructivist instruction accompanied with concept mapping enhanced pre-service chemistry teachers' conceptual understanding. Data were collected from five pre-service chemistry teachers at a university…

The effects of academic literacy instruction on engagement and conceptual understanding of biology of ninth-grade students

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Larson, Susan C.

Academic language, discourse, vocabulary, motivation, and comprehension of complex texts and concepts are keys to learning subject-area content. The need for a disciplinary literacy approach in high school classrooms accelerates as students become increasing disengaged in school and as content complexity increases. In the present quasi-experimental mixed-method study, a ninth-grade biology unit was designed with an emphasis on promoting academic literacy skills, discourse, meaningful constructivist learning, interest development, and positive learning experiences in order to learn science content. Quantitative and qualitative analyses on a variety of measures completed by 222 students in two high schools revealed that those who received academic literacy instruction in science class performed at significantly higher levels of conceptual understanding of biology content, academic language and vocabulary use, reasoned thought, engagement, and quality of learning experience than control-group students receiving traditionally-organized instruction. Academic literacy was embedded into biology instruction to engage students in meaning-making discourses of science to promote learning. Academic literacy activities were organized according the phases of interest development to trigger and sustain interest and goal-oriented engagement throughout the unit. Specific methods included the Generative Vocabulary Matrix (GVM), scenario-based writing, and involvement in a variety of strategically-placed discourse activities to sustain or "boost" engagement for learning. Traditional instruction for the control group included teacher lecture, whole-group discussion, a conceptual organizer, and textbook reading. Theoretical foundations include flow theory, sociocultural learning theory, and interest theory. Qualitative data were obtained from field notes and participants' journals. Quantitative survey data were collected and analyzed using the Experience Sampling Method (ESM) to

Effectiveness of Conceptual Change Text-oriented Instruction on Students' Understanding of Energy in Chemical Reactions

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Taştan, Özgecan; Yalçınkaya, Eylem; Boz, Yezdan

2008-10-01

The aim of this study is to compare the effectiveness of conceptual change text instruction (CCT) in the context of energy in chemical reactions. The subjects of the study were 60, 10th grade students at a high school, who were in two different classes and taught by the same teacher. One of the classes was randomly selected as the experimental group in which CCT instruction was applied, and the other as the control group in which traditional teaching method was used. The data were obtained through the use of Energy Concept Test (ECT), the Attitude Scale towards Chemistry (ASC) and Science Process Skill Test (SPST). In order to find out the effect of the conceptual change text on students' learning of energy concept, independent sample t-tests, ANCOVA (analysis of covariance) and ANOVA (analysis of variance) were used. Results revealed that there was a statistically significant mean difference between the experimental and control group in terms of students' ECT total mean scores; however, there was no statistically significant difference between the experimental and control group in terms of students' attitude towards chemistry. These findings suggest that conceptual change text instruction enhances the understanding and achievement.

The effects of students' reasoning abilities on conceptual understandings and problem-solving skills in introductory mechanics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ates, S; Cataloglu, E

2007-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine if there are relationships among freshmen/first year students' reasoning abilities, conceptual understandings and problem-solving skills in introductory mechanics. The sample consisted of 165 freshmen science education prospective teachers (female = 86, male = 79; age range 17-21) who were enrolled in an introductory physics course. Data collection was done during the fall semesters in two successive years. At the beginning of each semester, the force concept inventory (FCI) and the classroom test of scientific reasoning (CTSR) were administered to assess students' initial understanding of basic concepts in mechanics and reasoning levels. After completing the course, the FCI and the mechanics baseline test (MBT) were administered. The results indicated that there was a significant difference in problem-solving skill test mean scores, as measured by the MBT, among concrete, formal and postformal reasoners. There were no significant differences in conceptual understanding levels of pre- and post-test mean scores, as measured by FCI, among the groups. The Benferroni post hoc comparison test revealed which set of reasoning levels showed significant difference for the MBT scores. No statistical difference between formal and postformal reasoners' mean scores was observed, while the mean scores between concrete and formal reasoners and concrete and postformal reasoners were statistically significantly different

Conceptual Model of Artifacts for Design Science Research

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bækgaard, Lars

2015-01-01

We present a conceptual model of design science research artifacts. The model views an artifact at three levels. At the artifact level a selected artifact is viewed as a combination of material and immaterial aspects and a set of representations hereof. At the design level the selected artifact...

The Effect of the Conceptual Change Oriented Instruction through Cooperative Learning on 4th Grade Students' Understanding of Earth and Sky Concepts

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Celikten, Oksan; Ipekcioglu, Sevgi; Ertepinar, Hamide; Geban, Omer

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of the conceptual change oriented instruction through cooperative learning (CCICL) and traditional science instruction (TI) on 4th grade students' understanding of earth and sky concepts and their attitudes toward earth and sky concepts. In this study, 56 fourth grade students from the…

Embodied Understanding

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Mark Leonard Johnson

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Western culture has inherited a view of understanding as an intellectual cognitive operation of grasping of concepts and their relations. However, cognitive science research has shown that this received intellectualist conception is substantially out of touch with how humans actually make and experience meaning. The view emerging from the mind sciences recognizes that understanding is profoundly embodied, insofar as our conceptualization and reasoning recruit sensory, motor, and affective patterns and processes to structure our understanding of, and engagement with, our world. A psychologically realistic account of understanding must begin with the patterns of ongoing interaction between an organism and its physical and cultural environments and must include both our emotional responses to changes in our body and environment, and also the actions by which we continuously transform our experience. Consequently, embodied understanding is not merely a conceptual/propositional activity of thought, but rather constitutes our most basic way of being in, and engaging with, our surroundings in a deep visceral manner.

The Conceptualization and Development of the Practical Epistemology in Science Survey (PESS)

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Villanueva, Mary Grace; Hand, Brian; Shelley, Mack; Therrien, William

2017-08-01

Various inquiry approaches have been promoted in science classrooms as a way for students to engage in, and have a deeper understanding of scientific discourse. However, there is a paucity of empirical evidence to suggest how children's actions and engagement in these approaches, or practical epistemologies (Sandoval, Science Education 89(4): 634-656, 2005), may contribute to the development of their personal epistemologies, or their views about the nature of knowledge and knowing and the nature of learning. This paper puts forth the conceptualization and development of the Practical Epistemology in Science Survey (PESS) instrument, a 26-item Likert-scale self-assessment which measures how students view their individual and social participation in the classroom scientific community. Data were collected from 4th-6th-grade students (n = 1019) in the USA and a psychometric evaluation of the reliability, validity, and dimensionality of the instrument was conducted. The Cronbach's alpha value indices for all subsets of items of the PESS suggest a strong reliability of the instrument (α ≥ .80). The development of the PESS may be useful in science education research to (a) detect changes to students' beliefs about knowledge and knowledge development; (b) identify dispositions and beliefs which may or may not be in line with the aims and values of various pedagogical approaches; (c) monitor the process of change, e.g., time it takes for students to change their approaches and beliefs with respect to teacher practice; and, (d) overall, to provide an understanding of how students' formal epistemologies are developed and informed by the affordances in science classrooms.

Impact of Math Snacks Games on Students' Conceptual Understanding

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Winburg, Karin; Chamberlain, Barbara; Valdez, Alfred; Trujillo, Karen; Stanford, Theodore B.

2016-01-01

This "Math Snacks" intervention measured 741 fifth grade students' gains in conceptual understanding of core math concepts after game-based learning activities. Teachers integrated four "Math Snacks" games and related activities into instruction on ratios, coordinate plane, number systems, fractions and decimals. Using a…

The Value of Conceptual Models in Coping with Complexity and Interdisciplinarity in Environmental Sciences Education

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Fortuin, Karen P. J.; van Koppen, C. S. A.; Leemans, Rik

2011-01-01

Conceptual models are useful for facing the challenges of environmental sciences curriculum and course developers and students. These challenges are inherent to the interdisciplinary and problem-oriented character of environmental sciences curricula. In this article, we review the merits of conceptual models in facing these challenges. These…

The Interaction of Procedural Skill, Conceptual Understanding and Working Memory in Early Mathematics Achievement

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Camilla Gilmore

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Large individual differences in children’s mathematics achievement are observed from the start of schooling. Previous research has identified three cognitive skills that are independent predictors of mathematics achievement: procedural skill, conceptual understanding and working memory. However, most studies have only tested independent effects of these factors and failed to consider moderating effects. We explored the procedural skill, conceptual understanding and working memory capacity of 75 children aged 5 to 6 years as well as their overall mathematical achievement. We found that, not only were all three skills independently associated with mathematics achievement, but there was also a significant interaction between them. We found that levels of conceptual understanding and working memory moderated the relationship between procedural skill and mathematics achievement such that there was a greater benefit of good procedural skill when associated with good conceptual understanding and working memory. Cluster analysis also revealed that children with equivalent levels of overall mathematical achievement had differing strengths and weaknesses across these skills. This highlights the importance of considering children’s skill profile, rather than simply their overall achievement.

Munazza's story: Understanding science teaching and conceptions of the nature of science in Pakistan through a life history study

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Halai, Nelofer

In this study I have described and tried to comprehend how a female science teacher understands her practice. Additionally, I have developed some understanding of her understanding of the nature of science. While teaching science, a teacher projects messages about the nature of science that can be captured by observations and interviews. Furthermore, the manner is which a teacher conceptualizes science for teaching, at least in part, depends on personal life experiences. Hence, I have used the life history method to understand Munazza's practice. Munazza is a young female science teacher working in a private, co-educational school for children from middle income families in Karachi, Pakistan. Her stories are central to the study, and I have represented them using a number of narrative devices. I have woven in my own stories too, to illustrate my perspective as a researcher. The data includes 13 life history interviews and many informal conversations with Munazza, observations of science teaching in classes seven and eight, and interviews with other science teachers and administrative staff of the school. Munazza's personal biography and experiences of school and undergraduate courses has influenced the way she teaches. It has also influenced the way she does not teach. She was not inspired by her science teachers, so she has tried not to teach the way she was taught science. Contextual factors, her conception of preparation for teaching as preparation for subject content and the tension that she faces in balancing care and control in her classroom are some factors that influence her teaching. Munazza believes that science is a stable, superior and value-free way of knowing. In trying to understand the natural world, observations come first, which give reliable information about the world leading inductively to a "theory". Hence, she relies a great deal on demonstrations in the class where students "see" for themselves and abstract the scientific concept from the

Graduate Employability: A Conceptual Framework for Understanding Employers' Perceptions

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Cai, Yuzhuo

2013-01-01

This study provides a conceptual framework for understanding what employers think about the value of graduates with similar educational credentials in the workplace (their employability), using insights from the new institutionalism. In this framework, the development of employers' beliefs about graduates' employability is broken into a number of…

Conceptual Metaphor and Embodied Cognition in Science Learning: Introduction to Special Issue

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Amin, Tamer G.; Jeppsson, Fredrik; Haglund, Jesper

2015-01-01

This special issue of "International Journal of Science Education" is based on the theme "Conceptual Metaphor and Embodied Cognition in Science Learning." The idea for this issue grew out of a symposium organized on this topic at the conference of the European Science Education Research Association (ESERA) in September 2013.…

Understanding childbirth practices as an organizational cultural phenomenon: a conceptual framework.

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Behruzi, Roxana; Hatem, Marie; Goulet, Lise; Fraser, William; Misago, Chizuru

2013-11-11

Understanding the main values and beliefs that might promote humanized birth practices in the specialized hospitals requires articulating the theoretical knowledge of the social and cultural characteristics of the childbirth field and the relations between these and the institution. This paper aims to provide a conceptual framework allowing examination of childbirth practices through the lens of an organizational culture theory. A literature review performed to extrapolate the social and cultural factors contribute to birth practices and the factors likely overlap and mutually reinforce one another, instead of complying with the organizational culture of the birth place. The proposed conceptual framework in this paper examined childbirth patterns as an organizational cultural phenomenon in a highly specialized hospital, in Montreal, Canada. Allaire and Firsirotu's organizational culture theory served as a guide in the development of the framework. We discussed the application of our conceptual model in understanding the influences of organizational culture components in the humanization of birth practices in the highly specialized hospitals and explained how these components configure both the birth practice and women's choice in highly specialized hospitals. The proposed framework can be used as a tool for understanding the barriers and facilitating factors encountered birth practices in specialized hospitals.

My Science Is Better than Your Science: Conceptual Change as a Goal in Teaching Science Majors Interested in Teaching Careers about Education

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Utter, Brian C.; Paulson, Scott A.; Almarode, John T.; Daniel, David B.

2018-01-01

We argue, based on a multi-year collaboration to develop a pedagogy course for physics majors by experts in physics, education, and the science of learning, that the process of teaching science majors about education and the science of learning, and evidence-based teaching methods in particular, requires conceptual change analogous to that…

Science Teachers' Understanding and Practice of Inquiry-Based Instruction in Uganda

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Ssempala, Fredrick

High school students in Uganda perform poorly in science subjects despite the Ugandan government's efforts to train science teachers and build modern science laboratories in many public high schools. The poor performance of students in science subjects has been largely blamed on the inability by many science teachers to teach science through Inquiry-Based Instruction (IBI) to motivate the students to learn science. However, there have been no empirical studies done to establish the factors that influence science teachers' understanding and practice of IBI in Uganda. Most of the published research on IBI has been conducted in developed countries, where the prevailing contexts are very different from the contexts in developing countries such as Uganda. Additionally, few studies have explored how professional development (PD) training workshops on inquiry and nature of science (NOS) affect chemistry teachers' understanding and practice of IBI. My purpose in this multi-case exploratory qualitative study was to explore the effect of a PD workshop on inquiry and NOS on chemistry teachers' understanding and practice of IBI in Kampala city public schools in Uganda. I also explored the relationship between chemistry teachers' NOS understanding and the nature of IBI implemented in their classrooms and the internal and external factors that influence teachers' understanding and practice of IBI. I used a purposive sampling procedure to identify two schools of similar standards from which I selected eight willing chemistry teachers (four from each school) to participate in the study. Half of the teachers (those from School A) attended the PD workshop on inquiry and NOS for six days, while the control group (those from School B) did not. I collected qualitative data through semi-structured interviews, classroom observation, and document analysis. I analyzed these data by structural, conceptual and theoretical coding approach. I established that all the participating chemistry

Music-therapy analyzed through conceptual mapping

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Martinez, Rodolfo; de la Fuente, Rebeca

2002-11-01

Conceptual maps have been employed lately as a learning tool, as a modern study technique, and as a new way to understand intelligence, which allows for the development of a strong theoretical reference, in order to prove the research hypothesis. This paper presents a music-therapy analysis based on this tool to produce a conceptual mapping network, which ranges from magic through the rigor of the hard sciences.

A Conceptual Culture Model for Design Science Research

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Thomas Richter

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The aim of design science research (DSR in information systems is the user-centred creation of IT-artifacts with regard to specific social environments. For culture research in the field, which is necessary for a proper localization of IT-artifacts, models and research approaches from social sciences usually are adopted. Descriptive dimension-based culture models most commonly are applied for this purpose, which assume culture being a national phenomenon and tend to reduce it to basic values. Such models are useful for investigations in behavioural culture research because it aims to isolate, describe and explain culture-specific attitudes and characteristics within a selected society. In contrast, with the necessity to deduce concrete decisions for artifact-design, research results from DSR need to go beyond this aim. As hypothesis, this contribution generally questions the applicability of such generic culture dimensions’ models for DSR and focuses on their theoretical foundation, which goes back to Hofstede’s conceptual Onion Model of Culture. The herein applied literature-based analysis confirms the hypothesis. Consequently, an alternative conceptual culture model is being introduced and discussed as theoretical foundation for culture research in DSR.

Scholarly and Public Views: Understanding Narratives around Nanotechnology

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Teggatz, Jennifer L.

2012-01-01

How people come to conceptualize and understand science topics has implications for how they learn, communicate about, and relate to science. This dissertation conceptualizes and examines "cultural narratives" as cognitive tools used by individuals and shared through culture. Using nanotechnology as a case study I argue that people may…

Heterogeneous performances of conceptual dis/continuity: a dialectic reading of Brown and Kloser's article

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Hwang, Sungwon; Kim, Mijung

2009-12-01

We review Brown and Kloser's article, "Conceptual continuity and the science of baseball: using informal science literacy to promote students science learning" from a Vygotskian cultural-historical and dialectic perspective. Brown and Kloser interpret interview data with student baseball players and claim that students' conceptual understanding articulated in vernacular genres involves continuities (similarities) with the canonical scientific explanations. In this commentary, we suggest that the authors' approach presupposes the dichotomy of the formal and the informal, which brings the authors' attention to continuity into the separation of cognition from language. We propose a Vygotskian approach that points out the problem of theorizing cognition (conceptual understanding) by depending on specific forms of representation (e.g., scientific terms). As alternative, we envision a Vygotskian cultural-historical approach to language, which considers different, irreducible modes of communication as an integrated whole and therefore allows theorizing cognition without dichotomizing it from the concrete ways by which human being communicates. We provide an exemplary analysis of a lecture talk in a university physics classroom and exemplify dialectic theories that explain the development of conceptual understanding. We discuss that this Vygotskian dialectic approach shows that people communicate scientific concepts through hybridization, which does not reproduce a genre self-identically; the continuity of conceptual understanding involves dis/continuity.

Subject- and Experience-Bound Differences in Teachers' Conceptual Understanding of Sustainable Development

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Borg, C.; Gericke, N.; Höglund, H.-O.; Bergman, E.

2014-01-01

This article describes the results of a nationwide questionnaire study of 3229 Swedish upper secondary school teachers' conceptual understanding of sustainable development in relation to their subject discipline and teaching experience. Previous research has shown that teachers have difficulties understanding the complex concept of sustainable…

Impact of Learning Model Based on Cognitive Conflict toward Student’s Conceptual Understanding

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Mufit, F.; Festiyed, F.; Fauzan, A.; Lufri, L.

2018-04-01

The problems that often occur in the learning of physics is a matter of misconception and low understanding of the concept. Misconceptions do not only happen to students, but also happen to college students and teachers. The existing learning model has not had much impact on improving conceptual understanding and remedial efforts of student misconception. This study aims to see the impact of cognitive-based learning model in improving conceptual understanding and remediating student misconceptions. The research method used is Design / Develop Research. The product developed is a cognitive conflict-based learning model along with its components. This article reports on product design results, validity tests, and practicality test. The study resulted in the design of cognitive conflict-based learning model with 4 learning syntaxes, namely (1) preconception activation, (2) presentation of cognitive conflict, (3) discovery of concepts & equations, (4) Reflection. The results of validity tests by some experts on aspects of content, didactic, appearance or language, indicate very valid criteria. Product trial results also show a very practical product to use. Based on pretest and posttest results, cognitive conflict-based learning models have a good impact on improving conceptual understanding and remediating misconceptions, especially in high-ability students.

Understanding understanding in secondary school science: An interpretive study

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O'Neill, Maureen Gail

This study investigated the teaching of secondary school science with an emphasis on promoting student understanding. In particular, I focused on two research questions: What are the possible meanings of teaching for understanding? And, how might one teach secondary school science for understanding? After semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 secondary school science teachers, grounded theory methodology was used to interpret the data. As a result of the selective coding process, I was able to identify 14 connected components of teaching for understanding (TfU). The process of TfU involves: puzzle-solving, a specific pedagogy and a conscious decision. The teacher must be a reflective practitioner who has some knowledge of the facets of understanding. The teacher comes to a critical incident or crisis in his or her pedagogy and adopts a mindset which highlights TfU as a personal problematic. Teachers operate with student-centred rather than teacher-centred metaphors. TfU requires a firm belief in and passion for the process, a positive attitude and excellent pedagogical content knowledge. It hinges on a performance view of understanding and demands risk-taking in the science classroom. Abstracting these ideas to a theory led me to the notion of Purposive Teaching . In their purposive-driven role as pedagogues, these teachers have placed TfU at the core of their daily practice. Constraints and challenges facing TfU as well as implications of the findings are discussed. Keywords. science teaching, teaching for understanding, purposive teaching, constructivism, understanding, pedagogy, pedagogical content knowledge, memorization, meaningful learning, reflective practice.

Epistemic Beliefs and Conceptual Understanding in Biotechnology: A Case Study

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Rebello, Carina M.; Siegel, Marcelle A.; Witzig, Stephen B.; Freyermuth, Sharyn K.; McClure, Bruce A.

2012-01-01

The purpose of this investigation was to explore students' epistemic beliefs and conceptual understanding of biotechnology. Epistemic beliefs can influence reasoning, how individuals evaluate information, and informed decision making abilities. These skills are important for an informed citizenry that will participate in debates regarding areas in…

Promoting Conceptual Change in First Year Students' Understanding of Evaporation

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Costu, Bayram; Ayas, Alipasa; Niaz, Mansoor

2010-01-01

We constructed the PDEODE (Predict-Discuss-Explain-Observe-Discuss-Explain) teaching strategy, a variant of the classical POE (Predict-Observe-Explain) activity, to promote conceptual change, and investigated its effectiveness on student understanding of the evaporation concept. The sample consisted of 52 first year students in a primary science…

Development of two tier test to assess conceptual understanding in heat and temperature

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Winarti; Cari; Suparmi; Sunarno, Widha; Istiyono, Edi

2017-01-01

Heat and temperature is a concept that has been learnt from primary school to undergraduate levels. One problem about heat and temperature is that they are presented abstractly, theoretical concept. A student conceptual frameworks develop from their daily experiences. The purpose of this research was to develop a two-tier test of heat and temperature concept and measure conceptual understanding of heat and temperature of the student. This study consist of two method is qualitative and quantitative method. The two-tier test was developed using procedures defined by Borg and Gall. The two-tier test consisted of 20 question and was tested for 137 students for collecting data. The result of the study showed that the two-tier test was effective in determining the students’ conceptual understanding and also it might be used as an alternative for assessment and evaluation of students’ achievement

It's not rocket science : developing pupils’ science talent in out-of-school science education for primary schools

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Geveke, Carla

2017-01-01

Out-of-school science educational activities, such as school visits to a science center, aim at stimulating pupils’ science talent. Science talent is a developmental potential that takes the form of talented behaviors such as curiosity and conceptual understanding. This dissertation investigates

It's not rocket science : Developing pupils’ science talent in out-of-school science education for Primary Schools

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Geveke, Catherina

2017-01-01

Out-of-school science educational activities, such as school visits to a science center, aim at stimulating pupils’ science talent. Science talent is a developmental potential that takes the form of talented behaviors such as curiosity and conceptual understanding. This dissertation investigates

Using Two-Tier Test to Identify Primary Students' Conceptual Understanding and Alternative Conceptions in Acid Base

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Bayrak, Beyza Karadeniz

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to identify primary students' conceptual understanding and alternative conceptions in acid-base. For this reason, a 15 items two-tier multiple choice test administered 56 eighth grade students in spring semester 2009-2010. Data for this study were collected using a conceptual understanding scale prepared to include…

On the conceptual foundations of psychological measurement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maul, Andrew; Wilson, Mark; Irribarra, David Torres

2013-01-01

Measurement has long been an important element of epistemology in the physical sciences and natural philosophy. More recently, the psychological sciences have developed a variety of techniques that purport to be instances of measurement as well. However, it is not clear how the understanding of measurement invoked in psychological science applications accords with the understanding of measurement found in other scientific disciplines. A sharper focus on conceptual clarity and coherence across the psychological and physical sciences has the potential to add a great deal to efforts to improve such practices. In this paper, we argue that it is possible to formulate a philosophically coherent account of how measurement works in both the physical and the human sciences

On the conceptual foundations of psychological measurement

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Maul, Andrew; Wilson, Mark; Torres Irribarra, David

2013-09-01

Measurement has long been an important element of epistemology in the physical sciences and natural philosophy. More recently, the psychological sciences have developed a variety of techniques that purport to be instances of measurement as well. However, it is not clear how the understanding of measurement invoked in psychological science applications accords with the understanding of measurement found in other scientific disciplines. A sharper focus on conceptual clarity and coherence across the psychological and physical sciences has the potential to add a great deal to efforts to improve such practices. In this paper, we argue that it is possible to formulate a philosophically coherent account of how measurement works in both the physical and the human sciences.

A New Conceptual Model for Understanding International Students' College Needs

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Alfattal, Eyad

2016-01-01

This study concerns the theory and practice of international marketing in higher education with the purpose of exploring a conceptual model for understanding international students' needs in the context of a four-year college in the United States. A transcendental phenomenological design was employed to investigate the essence of international…

Middle school teachers' familiarity with, interest in, performance on, and conceptual and pedagogical knowledge of light

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Mbewe, Simeon

The purpose of this study was threefold: Examine middle school teachers' familiarity with, interest in, conceptual knowledge of and performance on light; Examine their ability to identify misconceptions on light and their suggested pedagogical ideas to address the identified misconceptions; and Establish the relationship between the middle school teachers' interest, familiarity, conceptual understanding, performance, misconception identification, and pedagogical ideas for light. Sixty six (66) middle school science teachers enrolled in three math and science teacher professional development projects at Southern Illinois University Carbondale participated in this study. This study used mixed-methods approach to collect and analyze data. The participants responded in writing to four different instruments: Familiarity and Interest Questionnaire, Conceptual Knowledge Test, Two-tier Performance Test, and Misconceptions Identification Questionnaire. Data was analyzed quantitatively by conducting non-parametric (Wilcoxon, Mann-Whitney U, and Kruskal-Wallis) and parametric (paired samples, independent samples, and One-Way ANOVA) tests. Qualitative data was analyzed using thematic analysis and open coding to identify emerging themes and categories. The results showed that the teachers reported high levels of familiarity with and interest in learning more about light concepts. However, they had low conceptual knowledge and performance on light concepts. As such, middle school teachers' perceived knowledge of light concepts was not consistent with their actual knowledge of light. To some extent, the teachers identified students' misconceptions expressed in some scenarios on light and also suggested pedagogical ideas for addressing such misconceptions in middle school science classrooms. However, most teachers did not provide details on their pedagogical ideas for light. Correlations among the four constructs (familiarity, interest, conceptual understanding, and performance

From Human Activity to Conceptual Understanding of the Chain Rule

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Jojo, Zingiswa Mybert Monica; Maharaj, Aneshkumar; Brijlall, Deonarain

2013-01-01

This article reports on a study which investigated first year university engineering students' construction of the definition of the concept of the chain rule in differential calculus at a University of Technology in South Africa. An APOS (Action-Process-Objects-Schema) approach was used to explore conceptual understanding displayed by students in…

A Conceptual Framework for Understanding Unintended Prolonged Opioid Use.

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Hooten, W Michael; Brummett, Chad M; Sullivan, Mark D; Goesling, Jenna; Tilburt, Jon C; Merlin, Jessica S; St Sauver, Jennifer L; Wasan, Ajay D; Clauw, Daniel J; Warner, David O

2017-12-01

An urgent need exists to better understand the transition from short-term opioid use to unintended prolonged opioid use (UPOU). The purpose of this work is to propose a conceptual framework for understanding UPOU that posits the influence of 3 principal domains that include the characteristics of (1) individual patients, (2) the practice environment, and (3) opioid prescribers. Although no standardized method exists for developing a conceptual framework, the process often involves identifying corroborative evidence, leveraging expert opinion to identify factors for inclusion in the framework, and developing a graphic depiction of the relationships between the various factors and the clinical problem of interest. Key patient characteristics potentially associated with UPOU include (1) medical and mental health conditions; (2) pain etiology; (3) individual affective, behavioral, and neurophysiologic reactions to pain and opioids; and (4) sociodemographic factors. Also, UPOU could be influenced by structural and health care policy factors: (1) the practice environment, including the roles of prescribing clinicians, adoption of relevant practice guidelines, and clinician incentives or disincentives, and (2) the regulatory environment. Finally, characteristics inherent to clinicians that could influence prescribing practices include (1) training in pain management and opioid use; (2) personal attitudes, knowledge, and beliefs regarding the risks and benefits of opioids; and (3) professionalism. As the gatekeeper to opioid access, the behavior of prescribing clinicians directly mediates UPOU, with the 3 domains interacting to determine this behavior. This proposed conceptual framework could guide future research on the topic and allow plausible hypothesis-based interventions to reduce UPOU. Copyright © 2017 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Improving Students' Conceptual Understanding of the Greenhouse Effect Using Theory-Based Learning Materials that Promote Deep Learning

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Reinfried, Sibylle; Aeschbacher, Urs; Rottermann, Benno

2012-01-01

Students' everyday ideas of the greenhouse effect are difficult to change. Environmental education faces the challenge of developing instructional settings that foster students' conceptual understanding concept of the greenhouse effect in order to understand global warming. To facilitate students' conceptual development with regard to the…

State strategies of governance in biomedical innovation: aligning conceptual approaches for understanding 'Rising Powers' in the global context

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Faulkner Alex

2011-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background 'Innovation' has become a policy focus in its own right in many states as they compete to position themselves in the emerging knowledge economies. Innovation in biomedicine is a global enterprise in which 'Rising Power' states figure prominently, and which undoubtedly will re-shape health systems and health economies globally. Scientific and technological innovation processes and policies raise difficult issues in the domains of science/technology, civil society, and the economic and healthcare marketplace. The production of knowledge in these fields is complex, uncertain, inter-disciplinary and inter-institutional, and subject to a continuing political struggle for advantage. As part of this struggle, a wide variety of issues - regulation, intellectual property, ethics, scientific boundaries, healthcare market formation - are raised and policy agendas negotiated. Methods A range of social science disciplines and approaches have conceptualised such innovation processes. Against a background of concepts such as the competition state and the developmental state, and national innovation systems, we give an overview of a range of approaches that have potential for advancing understanding of governance of global life science and biomedical innovation, with special reference to the 'Rising Powers', in order to examine convergences and divergences between them. Conceptual approaches that we focus on include those drawn from political science/political economy, sociology of technology; Innovation Studies and Science & Technology Studies. The paper is part of a project supported by the UK ESRC's Rising Powers programme. Results We show convergences and complementarities between the approaches discussed, and argue that the role of the national state itself has become relatively neglected in much of the relevant theorising. Conclusions We conclude that an approach is required that enables innovation and governance to be seen as 'co

State strategies of governance in biomedical innovation: aligning conceptual approaches for understanding 'Rising Powers' in the global context

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

Background 'Innovation' has become a policy focus in its own right in many states as they compete to position themselves in the emerging knowledge economies. Innovation in biomedicine is a global enterprise in which 'Rising Power' states figure prominently, and which undoubtedly will re-shape health systems and health economies globally. Scientific and technological innovation processes and policies raise difficult issues in the domains of science/technology, civil society, and the economic and healthcare marketplace. The production of knowledge in these fields is complex, uncertain, inter-disciplinary and inter-institutional, and subject to a continuing political struggle for advantage. As part of this struggle, a wide variety of issues - regulation, intellectual property, ethics, scientific boundaries, healthcare market formation - are raised and policy agendas negotiated. Methods A range of social science disciplines and approaches have conceptualised such innovation processes. Against a background of concepts such as the competition state and the developmental state, and national innovation systems, we give an overview of a range of approaches that have potential for advancing understanding of governance of global life science and biomedical innovation, with special reference to the 'Rising Powers', in order to examine convergences and divergences between them. Conceptual approaches that we focus on include those drawn from political science/political economy, sociology of technology; Innovation Studies and Science & Technology Studies. The paper is part of a project supported by the UK ESRC's Rising Powers programme. Results We show convergences and complementarities between the approaches discussed, and argue that the role of the national state itself has become relatively neglected in much of the relevant theorising. Conclusions We conclude that an approach is required that enables innovation and governance to be seen as 'co-producing' each other in a multi

Towards Building Science Teachers’ Understandings of Contemporary Science Practices

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Greg Lancaster

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Faculties of Education and Science at Monash University have designed a Masters unit to assist pre-service and in-service science teachers in exploring the practices of contemporary science and examine how varied understandings can influence science communication. Teachers are encouraged to explore their current understandings of the Nature of Science (NoS and to contrast their views with those known to be widely held by society (Cobern & Loving, 1998. Teachers are challenged to provide insights into their thinking relating to the NoS. In order to build understandings of contemporary science practice each teacher shadows a research scientist and engages them in conversations intended to explore the scientists’ views of NoS and practice. Findings suggest that teachers were initially uncomfortable with the challenge to express ideas relating to their NoS and were also surprised how diverse the views of NoS can be among teachers, scientists and their peers, and that these views can directly impact ways of communicating contemporary science practice.

Verbal understanding: Integrating the conceptual analyses of Skinner, Ryle, and Wittgenstein.

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Schoneberger, T

1991-01-01

Gilbert Ryle's (1949) and Ludwig Wittgenstein's (1953; 1958; 1974/78) conceptual analyses of verbal understanding are presented. For Ryle, the term understanding signifies simultaneously an acquired disposition and a behavioral episode. For Wittgenstein, it signifies simultaneously a skill and a criterial behavior. Both argued that episodes of understanding comprise heterogenious classes of behaviors, and that each member of such a class is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition of understanding. Next, an approach integrating the analyses of Ryle and Wittgenstein with that of Skinner is presented. Lastly, it is argued that this integrated analysis adequately counters Parrott's (1984) argument that understanding, for Skinner, is potential behavior and not an event.

Implementation of Scientific Community Laboratories and Their Effect on Student Conceptual Learning, Attitudes, and Understanding of Uncertainty

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Lark, Adam

Scientific Community Laboratories, developed by The University of Maryland, have shown initial promise as laboratories meant to emulate the practice of doing physics. These laboratories have been re-created by incorporating their design elements with the University of Toledo course structure and resources. The laboratories have been titled the Scientific Learning Community (SLC) Laboratories. A comparative study between these SLC laboratories and the University of Toledo physics department's traditional laboratories was executed during the fall 2012 semester on first semester calculus-based physics students. Three tests were executed as pre-test and post-tests to capture the change in students' concept knowledge, attitudes, and understanding of uncertainty. The Force Concept Inventory (FCI) was used to evaluate students' conceptual changes through the semester and average normalized gains were compared between both traditional and SLC laboratories. The Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey for Experimental Physics (E-CLASS) was conducted to elucidate students' change in attitudes through the course of each laboratory. Finally, interviews regarding data analysis and uncertainty were transcribed and coded to track changes in the way students understand uncertainty and data analysis in experimental physics after their participation in both laboratory type. Students in the SLC laboratories showed a notable an increase conceptual knowledge and attitudes when compared to traditional laboratories. SLC students' understanding of uncertainty showed most improvement, diverging completely from students in the traditional laboratories, who declined throughout the semester.

Understanding Global Change (UGC) as a Unifying Conceptual Framework for Teaching Ecology: Using UGC in a High School Biology Program to Integrate Earth Science and Biology, and to Demonstrate the Value of Modeling Global Systems in Promoting Conceptual Learning

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Levine, J.; Bean, J. R.

2017-12-01

Global change science is ideal for NGSS-informed teaching, but presents a serious challenge to K-12 educators because it is complex and interdisciplinary- combining earth science, biology, chemistry, and physics. Global systems are themselves complex. Adding anthropogenic influences on those systems creates a formidable list of topics - greenhouse effect, climate change, nitrogen enrichment, introduced species, land-use change among them - which are often presented as a disconnected "laundry list" of "facts." This complexity, combined with public and mass-media scientific illiteracy, leaves global change science vulnerable to misrepresentation and politicization, creating additional challenges to teachers in public schools. Ample stand-alone, one-off, online resources, many of them excellent, are (to date) underutilized by teachers in the high school science course taken by most students: biology. The Understanding Global Change project (UGC) from the UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology has created a conceptual framework that organizes, connects, and explains global systems, human and non-human drivers of change in those systems, and measurable changes in those systems. This organization and framework employ core ideas, crosscutting concepts, structure/function relationships, and system models in a unique format that facilitates authentic understanding, rather than memorization. This system serves as an organizing framework for the entire ecology unit of a forthcoming mainstream high school biology program. The UGC system model is introduced up front with its core informational graphic. The model is elaborated, step by step, by adding concepts and processes as they are introduced and explained in each chapter. The informational graphic is thus used in several ways: to organize material as it is presented, to summarize topics in each chapter and put them in perspective, and for review and critical thinking exercises that supplement the usual end-of-chapter lists of

The Effect of a Conceptual Change Approach on Understanding of Students' Chemical Equilibrium Concepts

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Atasoy, Basri; Akkus, Huseyin; Kadayifci, Hakki

2009-01-01

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of a conceptual change approach over traditional instruction on tenth-grade students' conceptual achievement in understanding chemical equilibrium. The study was conducted in two classes of the same teacher with participation of a total of 44 tenth-grade students. In this study, a…

Can an egg-dropping race enhance students' conceptual understanding of air resistance?

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Lee, Yeung Chung; Kwok, Ping Wai

2009-03-01

Children are familiar with situations in which air resistance plays an important role, such as parachuting. However, it is not known whether they have any understanding about the concept of air resistance, how air resistance affects falling objects, and the differential effect it has on different objects. The literature reveals that there are misconceptions even among undergraduate physics students about how air resistance is affected by the mass and size of falling objects. A study was carried out in Hong Kong to explore Grade 6 students' (aged 11-12) conceptions of air resistance with respect to falling objects of different size and mass, and whether the subjects showed any change in their conceptual understanding after participating in an egg-dropping race. The findings show that students had a wide range of conceptions, which could be characterized into different levels. Their conceptions seem rather robust, and more structured interventions are required to bring about changes in students' conceptual understanding of air resistance.

The Taskforce on Conceptual Foundations of Earth System Governance: Sustainability Science

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Barry Ness

2017-02-01

Full Text Available We are pleased to introduce the second special issue from Challenges in Sustainability, this time as a part of the Taskforce on Conceptual Foundations of Earth System Governance, an initiative by the Earth System Governance Project (ESG (http://www.earthsystemgovernance.net/conceptual-foundations/. The ESG Project is a global research alliance. It is the largest social science research network in the field of governance and global environmental change. ESG is primarily a scientific effort but is also designed to assist policy responses to pressing problems of earth system transformation.

Building a Science Software Institute: Synthesizing the Lessons Learned from the ISEES and WSSI Software Institute Conceptualization Efforts

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Idaszak, R.; Lenhardt, W. C.; Jones, M. B.; Ahalt, S.; Schildhauer, M.; Hampton, S. E.

2014-12-01

The NSF, in an effort to support the creation of sustainable science software, funded 16 science software institute conceptualization efforts. The goal of these conceptualization efforts is to explore approaches to creating the institutional, sociological, and physical infrastructures to support sustainable science software. This paper will present the lessons learned from two of these conceptualization efforts, the Institute for Sustainable Earth and Environmental Software (ISEES - http://isees.nceas.ucsb.edu) and the Water Science Software Institute (WSSI - http://waters2i2.org). ISEES is a multi-partner effort led by National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS). WSSI, also a multi-partner effort, is led by the Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI). The two conceptualization efforts have been collaborating due to the complementarity of their approaches and given the potential synergies of their science focus. ISEES and WSSI have engaged in a number of activities to address the challenges of science software such as workshops, hackathons, and coding efforts. More recently, the two institutes have also collaborated on joint activities including training, proposals, and papers. In addition to presenting lessons learned, this paper will synthesize across the two efforts to project a unified vision for a science software institute.

Understanding integrated care: a comprehensive conceptual framework based on the integrative functions of primary care.

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Valentijn, P.P.; Schepman, S.M.; Opheij, W.; Bruijnzeels, M.A.

2013-01-01

Introduction: Primary care has a central role in integrating care within a health system. However, conceptual ambiguity regarding integrated care hampers a systematic understanding. This paper proposes a conceptual framework that combines the concepts of primary care and integrated care, in order to

An integrated science plan for the Lake Tahoe basin: conceptual framework and research strategies

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Zachary P. Hymanson; Michael W. Collopy

2010-01-01

An integrated science plan was developed to identify and refine contemporary science information needs for the Lake Tahoe basin ecosystem. The main objectives were to describe a conceptual framework for an integrated science program, and to develop research strategies addressing key uncertainties and information gaps that challenge government agencies in the theme...

Understanding integrated care: a comprehensive conceptual framework based on the integrative functions of primary care.

Science.gov (United States)

Valentijn, Pim P; Schepman, Sanneke M; Opheij, Wilfrid; Bruijnzeels, Marc A

2013-01-01

Primary care has a central role in integrating care within a health system. However, conceptual ambiguity regarding integrated care hampers a systematic understanding. This paper proposes a conceptual framework that combines the concepts of primary care and integrated care, in order to understand the complexity of integrated care. The search method involved a combination of electronic database searches, hand searches of reference lists (snowball method) and contacting researchers in the field. The process of synthesizing the literature was iterative, to relate the concepts of primary care and integrated care. First, we identified the general principles of primary care and integrated care. Second, we connected the dimensions of integrated care and the principles of primary care. Finally, to improve content validity we held several meetings with researchers in the field to develop and refine our conceptual framework. The conceptual framework combines the functions of primary care with the dimensions of integrated care. Person-focused and population-based care serve as guiding principles for achieving integration across the care continuum. Integration plays complementary roles on the micro (clinical integration), meso (professional and organisational integration) and macro (system integration) level. Functional and normative integration ensure connectivity between the levels. The presented conceptual framework is a first step to achieve a better understanding of the inter-relationships among the dimensions of integrated care from a primary care perspective.

A Conceptual Understanding of Organizational Identity in the Social Media Environment

OpenAIRE

Jimmy Young

2013-01-01

Nonprofit organizations have increasingly adopted the use of social media over the last several years. This presents a myriad of challenges and opportunities in regards to organizational identity. This paper provides a conceptual understanding of identity as an entry point for nonprofit organizations to deliberate their own use of social media and the relative impact on organizational identity. A theoretical understanding of the formation of social identity situates the development of organiz...

Development and Use of a Conceptual Survey in Introductory Quantum Physics

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Wuttiprom, Sura; Sharma, Manjula Devi; Johnston, Ian D.; Chitaree, Ratchapak; Soankwan, Chernchok

2009-01-01

Conceptual surveys have become increasingly popular at many levels to probe various aspects of science education research such as measuring student understanding of basic concepts and assessing the effectiveness of pedagogical material. The aim of this study was to construct a valid and reliable multiple-choice conceptual survey to investigate…

Understanding Notional Machines through Traditional Teaching with Conceptual Contraposition and Program Memory Tracing

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Jeisson Hidalgo-Céspedes

2016-08-01

Full Text Available A correct understanding about how computers run code is mandatory in order to effectively learn to program. Lectures have historically been used in programming courses to teach how computers execute code, and students are assessed through traditional evaluation methods, such as exams. Constructivism learning theory objects to students’ passiveness during lessons, and traditional quantitative methods for evaluating a complex cognitive process such as understanding. Constructivism proposes complimentary techniques, such as conceptual contraposition and colloquies. We enriched lectures of a “Programming II” (CS2 course combining conceptual contraposition with program memory tracing, then we evaluated students’ understanding of programming concepts through colloquies. Results revealed that these techniques applied to the lecture are insufficient to help students develop satisfactory mental models of the C++ notional machine, and colloquies behaved as the most comprehensive traditional evaluations conducted in the course.

Conceptual framework for behavioral and social science in HIV vaccine clinical research.

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Lau, Chuen-Yen; Swann, Edith M; Singh, Sagri; Kafaar, Zuhayr; Meissner, Helen I; Stansbury, James P

2011-10-13

HIV vaccine clinical research occurs within a context where biomedical science and social issues are interlinked. Previous HIV vaccine research has considered behavioral and social issues, but often treated them as independent of clinical research processes. Systematic attention to the intersection of behavioral and social issues within a defined clinical research framework is needed to address gaps, such as those related to participation in trials, completion of trials, and the overall research experience. Rigorous attention to these issues at project inception can inform trial design and conduct by matching research approaches to the context in which trials are to be conducted. Conducting behavioral and social sciences research concurrent with vaccine clinical research is important because it can help identify potential barriers to trial implementation, as well as ultimate acceptance and dissemination of trial results. We therefore propose a conceptual framework for behavioral and social science in HIV vaccine clinical research and use examples from the behavioral and social science literature to demonstrate how the model can facilitate identification of significant areas meriting additional exploration. Standardized use of the conceptual framework could improve HIV vaccine clinical research efficiency and relevance. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Probability as a conceptual hurdle to understanding one-dimensional quantum scattering and tunnelling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Domert, Daniel; Linder, Cedric; Ingerman, Ake

2005-01-01

This paper draws on part of a larger project looking at university students' learning difficulties associated with quantum mechanics. Here an unexpected and interesting aspect was brought to the fore while students were discussing a computer simulation of one-dimensional quantum scattering and tunnelling. In these explanations the most dominant conceptual hurdle that emerged in the students' explanations was centred around the notion of probability. To explore this further, categories of description of the variation in the understanding of probability were constituted. The analysis reported is done in terms of the various facets of probability encountered in the simulation and characterizes dynamics of this conceptual hurdle to appropriate understanding of the scattering and tunnelling process. Pedagogical implications are discussed

EVALUATION OF CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKS IN ASTRONOMY

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David Pundak

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Even though astronomy is the oldest science, it is still an open question how to evaluate students’ understanding in astronomy. In spite of the fact that some methods and evaluation tools have been developed for that purpose, the sources of students' difficulties in astronomy are still unclear. This paper presents an investigation of the changes in conceptual frameworks in astronomy among 50 engineering students as a result of learning a general course in astronomy. A special tool called Conceptual Frameworks in Astronomy (CFA, which was initially used in 1989, was adopted to gather data for the present research. In its new version, the tool includes 23 questions and five to six optional answers to each question. Each of the answers characterizes one of the four conceptual frameworks: pre-scientific, geocentric, heliocentric and sidereal. These four conceptual frameworks act as a taxonomical system that enables us to evaluate astronomical understanding. The paper describes the background of the CFA, its development, and discusses its validity and reliability. Using the CFA we were able to: (1 identify the students’ conceptual frameworks at the beginning of the course and at its end, (2 to evaluate the students’ paradigmatic change following the course. It was found that the measure of the students’ improvement (gain index was g = 0.37. Approximately 45% of the students in the course improved their conceptual frameworks in astronomy and 26% deepened their understanding of the heliocentric or sidereal conceptual frameworks. The CFA can also be applied as an evaluation tool in all schools and institutions that teach astronomy.

Conceptual aspects of multidisciplinarity and interdisciplinarity and research in information science

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Lucinéia Maria Bicalho

2011-10-01

Full Text Available This article presents the conceptual evolution of the terms of multidisciplinarity and interdisciplinarity, as well as basic ideas that identify the transdisciplinary approach, from broad theoretical framework. The text is part of PhD research whose main objective was to analyze the scientific research being done in the context of information science which involved the participation of more than one discipline. For this, the concepts presented here were used. So contemporary authors from different fields were studied to compose the conceptual framework in which the analysis was based. The survey results allowed us to draw a complete profile of research in the area regarding the use of the mentioned approaches, concluding that different forms and levels of interactions are found in research in information science and multidisciplinarity is the most common. It concluded also, in relation to aspects presented here, that the concepts have changed and that brought about significant changes in their meanings. These changes lead to the necessity of doing a review and update, within the science of information on the implications of being an interdisciplinary area, according to the meaning acquired by the term nowadays.

Towards a Novel Conceptual Framework for Understanding Mergers in Higher Education

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Cai, Yuzhuo; Pinheiro, Rómulo; Geschwind, Lars; Aarrevaara, Timo

2016-01-01

This paper tries to develop a conceptual framework for a comprehensive understanding of the merger process, which is regarded as a matter of institutionalization of organizational innovation. In the framework, a number of factors affecting merger process or institutionalization of merger are identified, such as those related to environmental…

Scaffolding software: How does it influence student conceptual understanding and motivation?

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Butler, Kyle A.

The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of scaffolding software on student conceptual understanding and motivation. This study also provides insight on how students use the scaffolding features found in Artemis and the extent to which features show a relationship to student conceptual understanding and motivation. A Randomized Solomon Four Group Design was used in this study. As students worked through a project based unit over photosynthesis, the students performed information seeking activities that were based on their own inquiry. For this purpose, the students in the experimental group used an example of scaffolding software called Artemis, while the students in the control group used a search engine of their choice. To measure conceptual understanding, the researcher analyzed student generated concept maps on photosynthesis using three different methods (quantitative, qualitative, hierarchical). To measure motivation, the researcher used a survey that measured motivation on five different indicators: intrinsic goal orientation, extrinsic goal orientation, task value, control of learning beliefs, self-efficacy for learning and performance. Finally, the researcher looked at the relationship and influence of the scaffolding features on two student performance scores at the end of the unit. This created a total of ten dependent variables in relationship to the treatment. Overall, the students used the collaborative features 25% of the time, the maintenance features 0.84% of the time, the organizational features 16% of the time, the saving/viewing features 7% of the time and the searching features 51% of the time. There were significant correlations between the saving/viewing features hits and the students' task value (r = .499, p motivation.

Business Model Innovation: An Integrative Conceptual Framework

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Bernd Wirtz

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose: The point of departure of this exploratory study is the gap between the increasing importance of business model innovation (BMI in science and management and the limited conceptual assistance available. Therefore, the study identi es and explores scattered BMI insights and deduces them into an integrative framework to enhance our understanding about this phenomenon and to present a helpful guidance for researchers and practitioners. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study identi es BMI insights through a literature-based investigation and consolidates them into an integrative BMI framework that presents the key elements and dimensions of BMI as well as their presumed relationships. Findings: The study enhances our understanding about the key elements and dimensions of BMI, presents further conceptual insights into the BMI phenomenon, supplies implications for science and management, and may serve as a helpful guidance for future research. Practical Implications: The presented framework provides managers with a tool to identify critical BMI issues and can serve as a conceptual BMI guideline. Research limitations: Given the vast amount of academic journals, it is unlikely that every applicable scienti c publication is included in the analysis. The illustrative examples are descriptive in nature, and thus do not provide empirical validity. Several implications for future research are provided. Originality/Value: The study’s main contribution lies in the unifying approach of the dispersed BMI knowledge. Since our understanding of BMI is still limited, this study should provide the necessary insights and conceptual assistance to further develop the concept and guide its practical application.

Developing Conceptual Understanding of Fractions with Year Five and Six Students

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Mills, Judith

2016-01-01

This paper presents findings from classroom observations of one teacher (Beth). It focusses on the development of conceptual understanding of fractions with her students, articulated in Kieren's sub-constructs (Kieren, 1980,1988), and Hansen's progressions (Hansen, 2005). The study covers three lessons within a six week unit. Findings from this…

Assessing the Conceptual Understanding about Heat and Thermodynamics at Undergraduate Level

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Kulkarni, Vasudeo Digambar; Tambade, Popat Savaleram

2013-01-01

In this study, a Thermodynamic Concept Test (TCT) was designed to assess student's conceptual understanding heat and thermodynamics at undergraduate level. The different statistical tests such as item difficulty index, item discrimination index, point biserial coefficient were used for assessing TCT. For each item of the test these indices were…

Investigating and Promoting Trainee Science Teachers' Conceptual Change of the Nature of Science with Digital Dialogue Games `InterLoc'

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Mansour, Nasser; Wegerif, Rupert; Skinner, Nigel; Postlethwaite, Keith; Hetherington, Lindsay

2016-10-01

The purpose of this study is to explore how an online-structured dialogue environment supported (OSDE) collaborative learning about the nature of science among a group of trainee science teachers in the UK. The software used (InterLoc) is a linear text-based tool, designed to support structured argumentation with openers and `dialogue moves'. A design-based research approach was used to investigate multiple sessions using InterLoc with 65 trainee science teachers. Five participants who showed differential conceptual change in terms of their Nature of Science (NOS) views were purposively selected and closely followed throughout the study by using key event recall interviews. Initially, the majority of participants held naïve views of NOS. Substantial and favourable changes in these views were evident as a result of the OSDE. An examination of the development of the five participants' NOS views indicated that the effectiveness of the InterLoc discussions was mediated by cultural, cognitive, and experiential factors. The findings suggest that InterLoc can be effective in promoting reflection and conceptual change.

Understanding Science: Frameworks for using stories to facilitate systems thinking

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ElShafie, S. J.; Bean, J. R.

2017-12-01

Studies indicate that using a narrative structure for teaching and learning helps audiences to process and recall new information. Stories also help audiences retain specific information, such as character names or plot points, in the context of a broader narrative. Stories can therefore facilitate high-context systems learning in addition to low-context declarative learning. Here we incorporate a framework for science storytelling, which we use in communication workshops, with the Understanding Science framework developed by the UC Museum of Paleontology (UCMP) to explore the application of storytelling to systems thinking. We translate portions of the Understanding Science flowchart into narrative terms. Placed side by side, the two charts illustrate the parallels between the scientific process and the story development process. They offer a roadmap for developing stories about scientific studies and concepts. We also created a series of worksheets for use with the flowcharts. These new tools can generate stories from any perspective, including a scientist conducting a study; a character that plays a role in a larger system (e.g., foraminifera or a carbon atom); an entire system that interacts with other systems (e.g., the carbon cycle). We will discuss exemplar stories about climate change from each of these perspectives, which we are developing for workshops using content and storyboard models from the new UCMP website Understanding Global Change. This conceptual framework and toolkit will help instructors to develop stories about scientific concepts for use in a classroom setting. It will also help students to analyze stories presented in class, and to create their own stories about new concepts. This approach facilitates student metacognition of the learning process, and can also be used as a form of evaluation. We are testing this flowchart and its use in systems teaching with focus groups, in preparation for use in teacher professional development workshops.

The Impact of Peer Instruction on College Students' Beliefs about Physics and Conceptual Understanding of Electricity and Magnetism

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Gok, Tolga

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study is to assess students' conceptual learning of electricity and magnetism and examine how these conceptions, beliefs about physics, and quantitative problem-solving skills would change after peer instruction (PI). The Conceptual Survey of Electricity and Magnetism (CSEM), Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey…

Longitudinal study of student conceptual understanding in electricity and magnetism

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S. J. Pollock

2009-12-01

Full Text Available We have investigated the long-term effect of student-centered instruction at the freshman level on juniors’ performance on a conceptual survey of Electricity and Magnetism (E&M. We measured student performance on a research-based conceptual instrument—the Brief Electricity & Magnetism Assessment (BEMA–over a period of 8 semesters (2004–2007. Concurrently, we introduced the University of Washington's Tutorials in Introductory Physics as part of our standard freshman curriculum. Freshmen took the BEMA before and after this Tutorial-based introductory course, and juniors took it after completion of their traditional junior-level E&M I and E&M II courses. We find that, on average, individual BEMA scores do not change significantly after completion of the introductory course—neither from the freshman to the junior year, nor from upper-division E&M I to E&M II. However, we find that juniors who had completed a non-Tutorial freshman course scored significantly lower on the (post-upper-division BEMA than those who had completed the reformed freshman course—indicating a long-term positive impact of freshman Tutorials on conceptual understanding.

Writing-to-learn in undergraduate science education: a community-based, conceptually driven approach.

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Reynolds, Julie A; Thaiss, Christopher; Katkin, Wendy; Thompson, Robert J

2012-01-01

Despite substantial evidence that writing can be an effective tool to promote student learning and engagement, writing-to-learn (WTL) practices are still not widely implemented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, particularly at research universities. Two major deterrents to progress are the lack of a community of science faculty committed to undertaking and applying the necessary pedagogical research, and the absence of a conceptual framework to systematically guide study designs and integrate findings. To address these issues, we undertook an initiative, supported by the National Science Foundation and sponsored by the Reinvention Center, to build a community of WTL/STEM educators who would undertake a heuristic review of the literature and formulate a conceptual framework. In addition to generating a searchable database of empirically validated and promising WTL practices, our work lays the foundation for multi-university empirical studies of the effectiveness of WTL practices in advancing student learning and engagement.

Utilizing the National Research Council's (NRC) Conceptual Framework for the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS): A Self-Study in My Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Classroom

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Corvo, Arthur Francis

Given the reality that active and competitive participation in the 21 st century requires American students to deepen their scientific and mathematical knowledge base, the National Research Council (NRC) proposed a new conceptual framework for K--12 science education. The framework consists of an integration of what the NRC report refers to as the three dimensions: scientific and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas in four disciplinary areas (physical, life and earth/spaces sciences, and engineering/technology). The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS ), which are derived from this new framework, were released in April 2013 and have implications on teacher learning and development in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Given the NGSS's recent introduction, there is little research on how teachers can prepare for its release. To meet this research need, I implemented a self-study aimed at examining my teaching practices and classroom outcomes through the lens of the NRC's conceptual framework and the NGSS. The self-study employed design-based research (DBR) methods to investigate what happened in my secondary classroom when I designed, enacted, and reflected on units of study for my science, engineering, and mathematics classes. I utilized various best practices including Learning for Use (LfU) and Understanding by Design (UbD) models for instructional design, talk moves as a tool for promoting discourse, and modeling instruction for these designed units of study. The DBR strategy was chosen to promote reflective cycles, which are consistent with and in support of the self-study framework. A multiple case, mixed-methods approach was used for data collection and analysis. The findings in the study are reported by study phase in terms of unit planning, unit enactment, and unit reflection. The findings have implications for science teaching, teacher professional development, and teacher education.

Preservice Science Teachers' Beliefs about Astronomy Concepts

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Ozkan, Gulbin; Akcay, Hakan

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate preservice science teachers' conceptual understanding of astronomy concepts. Qualitative research methods were used. The sample consists of 118 preservice science teachers (40 freshmen, 31 sophomores, and 47 juniors). The data were collected with Astronomy Conceptual Questionnaire (ACQ) that includes 13…

The opportunities and challenges of guided inquiry science for students with special needs

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Miller, Marianne

Research in science education has been conducted with various goals for instruction. Four outcomes identified include: immediate and delayed recall, literal comprehension, science skills and processes, and conceptual understanding. The promise of developing important thinking skills exists for all students if science instruction is designed to teach students the products of science and the principled process of inquiry. Guided inquiry science seeks to develop conceptual understanding through the pursuit of meaningful questions using scientific problem solving to conduct investigations that are thoughtfully generated and evaluated. Using a social constructivist perspective, this study examines the learning experiences of four students, identified by their teachers as learning disabled or underachieving. Four case studies are presented of the students' participation in a guided inquiry investigation of the behavior of light. Measures of conceptual understanding included pre- and post-instruction assessments, interviews, journal writing, videotapes, and fieldnotes. All four students demonstrated improved conceptual understanding of light. Five patterns of relationships influenced the development of the students' thinking. First, differences in the culture of the two classrooms altered the learning environment, Second, the nature of teacher interaction with the target students affected conceptual understanding. Third, interactions with peers modified the learning experiences for the identified students. Fourth, the conceptual and procedural complexity of the tasks increased the tendency for the students to lose focus. Finally, the literacy requirements of the work were challenging for these students.

Understanding Global Change: A New Conceptual Framework To Guide Teaching About Planetary Systems And Both The Causes And Effects Of Changes In Those Systems

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Levine, J.; Bean, J. R.

2016-12-01

Goals of the Next Generation Science Standards include understanding climate change and learning about ways to moderate the causes and mitigate the consequences of planetary-scale anthropogenic activities that interact synergistically to affect ecosystems and societies. The sheer number and scale of both causes and effects of global change can be daunting for teachers, and the lack of a clear conceptual framework for presenting this material usually leads educators (and textbooks) to present these phenomenon as a disjointed "laundry list." But an alternative approach is in the works. The Understanding Global Change web resource, currently under development at the UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology, will provide educators with a conceptual framework, graphic models, lessons, and assessment templates for teaching NGSS-aligned, interdisciplinary, global change curricula. The core of this resource is an original informational graphic that presents and relates Earth's global systems, human and non-human factors that produce changes in those systems, and the effects of those changes that scientists can measure.

Why should I care? Engaging students in conceptual understanding using global context to develop social attitudes.

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Forder, S. E.; Welstead, C.; Pritchard, M.

2014-12-01

A glance through the Harvard Business Review reveals many suggestions and research pieces reviewing sales and marketing techniques. Most educators will be familiar with the notion that making accurate first impressions and being responsive, whilst maintaining pace is critical to engaging an audience. There are lessons to be learnt from industry that can significantly impact upon our teaching. Eisenkraft, in his address to the NSTA, proposed four essential questions. This presentation explores one of those questions: 'Why should I care?', and discusses why this question is crucial for engaging students by giving a clear purpose for developing their scientific understanding. Additionally, this presentation explores how The ISF Academy has adapted the NGSS, using the 14 Grand Engineering Challenges and the IB MYP, to provide current, authentic global contexts, in order to give credibility to the concepts, understandings and skills being learnt. The provision of global contexts across units and within lessons supports a platform for students to have the freedom to explore their own sense of social responsibility. The Science Department believes that planning lessons with tasks that elaborate on the student's new conceptualisations, has helped to transfer the student's new understanding into social behavior beyond the classroom. Furthermore, extension tasks have been used to transfer conceptual understanding between different global contexts.

The Impact of Science Fiction Film on Student Understanding of Science

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Barnett, Michael; Wagner, Heather; Gatling, Anne; Anderson, Janice; Houle, Meredith; Kafka, Alan

2006-04-01

Researchers who have investigated the public understanding of science have argued that fictional cinema and television has proven to be particularly effective at blurring the distinction between fact and fiction. The rationale for this study lies in the notion that to teach science effectively, educators need to understand how popular culture influences their students' perception and understanding of science. Using naturalistic research methods in a diverse middle school we found that students who watched a popular science fiction film, The Core, had a number of misunderstandings of earth science concepts when compared to students who did not watch the movie. We found that a single viewing of a science fiction film can negatively impact student ideas regarding scientific phenomena. Specifically, we found that the film leveraged the scientific authority of the main character, coupled with scientifically correct explanations of some basic earth science, to create a series of plausible, albeit unscientific, ideas that made sense to students.

Investigating the impact of visuohaptic simulations for the conceptual understanding of electric field for distributed charges

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Shaikh, Uzma Abdul Sattar

The present study assessed the benefits of a multisensory intervention on the conceptual understanding of electric field for distributed charges in engineering and technology undergraduate students. A novel visuohaptic intervention was proposed, which focused on exploring the forces around the different electric field configurations for distributed charges namely point, infinitely long line and uniformly charged ring. The before and after effects of the visuohaptic intervention are compared, wherein the intervention includes instructional scaffolding. Three single-group studies were conducted to investigate the effect among three different populations: (a) Undergraduate engineering students, (b) Undergraduate technology students and (c) Undergraduate engineering technology students from a different demographic setting. The findings from the three studies suggests that the haptic modality intervention provides beneficial effects by allowing students to improve their conceptual understanding of electric field for distributed charges, although students from groups (b) and (c) showed a statistically significant increase in the conceptual understanding. The findings also indicate a positive learning perception among all the three groups.

The Effect of Conceptual Change Model in the Senior High School Students’ Understanding and Character in Learning Physics

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Santyasa I Wayan

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Learning physics for senior high school (SMA students is often coloured by misconceptions that hinder students in achieving deep understanding. So a relevant learning model is needed. This study aims to examine the effect of conceptual change model (CCM compared with direct instruction model (DIM on the students’ conceptual understanding and character in the subject area of motion and force. This quasi-experimental research using a non-equivalence pre-test post-test control groups design. The population is 20 classes (738 students of grade X consisted of 8 classes (272 students of SMA 1 Amlapura, 8 classes (256 students of SMA 2 Amlapura, and 6 classes (210 students of SMA 1 Manggis in Karangasem regency in Bali. The random assignment technique is used to assign 6 classes (202 students, or 26.5% of the population. In each school there are set 2 classes each as a CCM group and DIM groups. The data of students’ conceptual understanding is collected by tests, while the characters by questionnaires. To analyse the data a one way MANCOVA statistics was used. The result of the analysis showed that there was a significant difference of effect between CCM group and DIM group on the students’ conceptual understanding and character. The effect of the CCM group is higher than the DIM group on the students’ conceptual understanding and character in learning subject area of motion and force.

Cross-Grade Comparison of Students' Conceptual Understanding with Lenses in Geometric Optics

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Tural, G.

2015-01-01

Students commonly find the field of physics difficult. Therefore, they generally have learning problems. One of the subjects with which they have difficulties is optics within a physics discipline. This study aims to determine students' conceptual understanding levels at different education levels relating to lenses in geometric optics. A…

Science and Human Behavior, dualism, and conceptual modification.

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Zuriff, G E

2003-11-01

Skinner's Science and Human Behavior is in part an attempt to solve psychology's problem with mind-body dualism by revising our everyday mentalistic conceptual scheme. In the case of descriptive mentalism (the use of mentalistic terms to describe behavior), Skinner offers behavioral "translations." In contrast, Skinner rejects explanatory mentalism (the use of mental concepts to explain behavior) and suggests how to replace it with a behaviorist explanatory framework. For experiential mentalism, Skinner presents a theory of verbal behavior that integrates the use of mentalistic language in first-person reports of phenomenal experience into a scientific framework.

Geography and environmental science

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Milinčić, Miroljub; Souliotis, Lily; Mihajlović, Ljiljana; Požar, Tea

2014-01-01

Geography is one of the oldest academic disciplines with a strong holistic approach in conceptualizing the interaction between nature and society, i.e. animate and inanimate parts of the environment. Over time, geography has been increasing and improving its conceptual and terminological abilities for studying and understanding complex relationships among environmental systems. For this reason, geography has advanced from a well-known science about nature and society into a relevant science a...

History and Philosophy of Science as a Guide to Understanding Nature of Science

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Mansoor Niaz

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Nature of science (NOS is considered to be a controversial topic by historians, philosophers of science and science educators. It is paradoxical that we all teach science and still have difficulties in understanding what science is and how it develops and progresses. A major obstacle in understanding NOS is that science is primarily ‘unnatural’, that is it cannot be learned by a simple observation of phenomena. In most parts of the world history and philosophy of science are ‘inside’ science content and as such can guide our understanding of NOS. However, some science educators consider the ‘historical turn’ as dated and hence neglect the historical approach and instead emphasize the model based naturalist view of science. The objective of this presentation is to show that the historical approach is very much a part of teaching science and actually complements naturalism. Understanding NOS generally requires two aspects of science: Domain general and domain specific. In the classroom this can be illustrated by discussing the atomic models developed in the early 20th century which constitute the domain specific aspect of NOS. This can then lead to an understanding of the tentative nature of science that is a domain general aspect of NOS. A review of the literature in science education reveals three views (among others of understanding NOS: a Consensus view: It attempts to include only those domain-general NOS aspects that are the least controversial (Lederman, Abd-El-Khalick; b Family resemblance view: Based on the ideas of Wittgenstein, this view promotes science as a cognitive system (Irzik, Nola; c Integrated view: this view postulates that both domain general and domain specific aspects of NOS are not dichotomous but rather need to be integrated and are essential if we want students to understand ‘science in the making’ (Niaz. The following framework helps to facilitate integration: i Elaboration of a theoretical framework

The Effect of Cooperative Learning with DSLM on Conceptual Understanding and Scientific Reasoning among Form Four Physics Students with Different Motivation Levels

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M.S. Hamzah

2010-11-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of Cooperative Learning with a Dual Situated Learning Model (CLDSLM and a Dual Situated Learning Model (DSLM on (a conceptual understanding (CU and (b scientific reasoning (SR among Form Four students. The study further investigated the effect of the CLDSLM and DSLM methods on performance in conceptual understanding and scientific reasoning among students with different motivation levels. A quasi-experimental method with the 3 x 2 Factorial Design was applied in the study. The sample consisted of 240 stu¬dents in six (form four classes selected from three different schools, i.e. two classes from each school, with students randomly selected and assigned to the treatment groups. The results showed that students in the CLDSLM group outperformed their counterparts in the DSLM group—who, in turn, significantly outperformed other students in the traditional instructional method (T group in scientific reasoning and conceptual understanding. Also, high-motivation (HM students in the CLDSLM group significantly outperformed their counterparts in the T groups in conceptual understanding and scientific reasoning. Furthermore, HM students in the CLDSLM group significantly outperformed their counterparts in the DSLM group in scientific reasoning but did not significantly outperform their counterparts on conceptual understanding. Also, the DSLM instructional method has significant positive effects on highly motivated students’ (a conceptual understanding and (b scientific reason¬ing. The results also showed that LM students in the CLDSLM group significantly outperformed their counterparts in the DSLM group and (T method group in scientific reasoning and conceptual understanding. However, the low-motivation students taught via the DSLM instructional method significantly performed higher than the low-motivation students taught via the T method in scientific reasoning. Nevertheless, they did not

Enhancing climate literacy through the use of an interdisciplinary global change framework and conceptual models

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Bean, J. R.; Zoehfeld, K.; Mitchell, K.; Levine, J.; White, L. D.

2016-12-01

Understanding climate change and how to mitigate the causes and consequences of anthropogenic activities are essential components of the Next Generations Science Standards. To comprehend climate change today and why current rates and magnitudes of change are of concern, students must understand the various factors that drive Earth system processes and also how they interrelate. The Understanding Global Change web resource in development from the UC Museum of Paleontology will provide science educators with a conceptual framework, graphical models, lessons, and assessment templates for teaching NGSS aligned, interdisciplinary, climate change curricula. To facilitate students learning about the Earth as a dynamic, interacting system of ongoing processes, the Understanding Global Change site will provide explicit conceptual links for the causes of climate change (e.g., burning of fossil fuels, deforestation), Earth system processes (e.g., Earth's energy budget, water cycle), and the changes scientists measure in the Earth system (e.g., temperature, precipitation). The conceptual links among topics will be presented in a series of storyboards that visually represent relationships and feedbacks among components of the Earth system and will provide teachers with guides for implementing NGSS-aligned climate change instruction that addresses physical science, life sciences, Earth and space science, and engineering performance expectations. These visualization and instructional methods are used by teachers during professional development programs at UC Berkeley and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and are being tested in San Francisco Bay Area classrooms.

The effect of directive tutor guidance on students' conceptual understanding of statistics in problem-based learning.

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Budé, Luc; van de Wiel, Margaretha W J; Imbos, Tjaart; Berger, Martijn P F

2011-06-01

Education is aimed at students reaching conceptual understanding of the subject matter, because this leads to better performance and application of knowledge. Conceptual understanding depends on coherent and error-free knowledge structures. The construction of such knowledge structures can only be accomplished through active learning and when new knowledge can be integrated into prior knowledge. The intervention in this study was directed at both the activation of students as well as the integration of knowledge. Undergraduate university students from an introductory statistics course, in an authentic problem-based learning (PBL) environment, were randomly assigned to conditions and measurement time points. In the PBL tutorial meetings, half of the tutors guided the discussions of the students in a traditional way. The other half guided the discussions more actively by asking directive and activating questions. To gauge conceptual understanding, the students answered open-ended questions asking them to explain and relate important statistical concepts. Results of the quantitative analysis show that providing directive tutor guidance improved understanding. Qualitative data of students' misconceptions seem to support this finding. Long-term retention of the subject matter seemed to be inadequate. ©2010 The British Psychological Society.

Transformation of conceptual basis of political science under cultural and historical context

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O. S. Tokovenko

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The paper is submitted to a scientific discussion the possibility of considering the idea of political science, based on the criteria of intellectual integrity and disciplinary unity. In this context, generally accepted among professionals and political scientists idea that political science as a scientific discipline occurs in the early twentieth century and its conceptual framework is still in a state of development, and a long preceding period should be characterized as a period of political thought is being challenged. The main idea that is being proved is recognition the existence of such scientific discipline as political science requires recognition of the existence of specific inherent ideals of science, cognitive standards, rules, procedures, explanations, etc. They allow political thinkers from the ancient world as well as modern researchers to combine it into a single, unique, different from others in their methodological principles and heuristic potential Science. It is convinced that the existence of intellectual integrity and disciplinary unity in Political Science is possible due to the existence of the ideals of scholarship, which are closely related to the cultural and historical context in which Political Science is being developed. The possibility of applying such disciplinary and integrated approach is considered as an example of the impact that was made by changes of the Great French Revolution and its consequences on transformation of the conceptual framework of Political Science.  It is concluded that the consideration of the peculiarities of political thought development in the social and cultural contexts related to the events of the Great French Revolution and its consequences argues that political science is responsive to changing the social context, makes changes in categorical apparatus, introduces the new field of scientific inquiry, actualized subject field. These actions are due to the specific disciplinary unity

What Is Science? Some Research from Primary Schools

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Crompton, Zoe

2013-01-01

By the end of primary school, we might expect children to be able to give a reasonable description of what science is. In their response to the question "What is science?", Eshach and Fried (2005) distinguish between conceptual and procedural knowledge and understanding. They explain that children's conceptual knowledge is developed…

The Conceptual Complexity of Vocabulary in Elementary-Grades Core Science Program Textbooks

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Fitzgerald, W. Jill; Elmore, Jeff; Kung, Melody; Stenner, A. Jackson

2017-01-01

The researchers explored the conceptual complexity of vocabulary in contemporary elementary-grades core science program textbooks to address two research questions: (1) Can a progression of concepts' complexity level be described across grades? (2) Was there gradual developmental growth of the most complex concepts' networks of associated concepts…

New infrastructures for knowledge production understanding e-science

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Hine, Christine

2006-01-01

New Infrastructures for Knowledge Production: Understanding E-Science offers a distinctive understanding of new infrastructures for knowledge production based in science and technology studies. This field offers a unique potential to assess systematically the prospects for new modes of science enabled by information and communication technologies. The authors use varied methodological approaches, reviewing the origins of initiatives to develop e-science infrastructures, exploring the diversity of the various solutions and the scientific cultures which use them, and assessing the prospects for wholesale change in scientific structures and practices. New Infrastructures for Knowledge Production: Understanding E-Science contains practical advice for the design of appropriate technological solutions, and long range assessments of the prospects for change useful both to policy makers and those implementing institutional infrastructures. Readers interested in understanding contemporary science will gain a rich pict...

Promoting Children's Understanding And Interest In Science Through Informal Science Education

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Bartley, Jessica E.; Mayhew, Laurel M.; Finkelstein, Noah D.

2009-11-01

We present results from the University of Colorado's Partnership for Informal Science Education in the Community (PISEC) in which university participants work in afterschool programs on inquiry-based activities with primary school children from populations typically under represented in science. This university-community partnership is designed to positively impact youth, university students, and the institutions that support them while improving children's attitudes towards and understanding of science. Children worked through circuit activities adapted from the Physics and Everyday Thinking (PET) curriculum and demonstrated increased understanding of content area as well as favorable beliefs about science.

Assessing Conceptual Understanding via Literacy-Infused, Inquiry-Based Science among Middle School English Learners and Economically-Challenged Students

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Rafael Lara-Alecio

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The overarching purpose of our study was to compare performances of treatment and control condition students who completed a literacy-infused, inquiry-based science intervention through sixth grade as measured by a big idea assessment tool which we refer to as the Big Ideas in Science Assessment (BISA. First, we determine the concurrent validity of the BISA; second, we investigate the differences in the post-test of the BISA between treatment and control English Learners (ELs, controlling for their performance in the pre-test; third, we analyze the differences in the post-test of the BISA between treatment and control non-ELs, controlling for their performance in the pre-test; and fourth, we examine the relationship between students’ English language proficiency as measured by standardized assessment, and their performance in the BISA among ELs and non-ELs, respectively. Our findings indicate: (a literacy-infused science lessons with big ideas, implemented through the tested intervention, improved students’ language acquisition and science concept understanding for ELs and economically challenged students (ECs; (b there was a positive relationship between language and content for both ELs and non-ELs, with a similar magnitude, suggesting that students with a higher level of English proficiency score higher in science assessment; and (c the lesson plans prepared were successful for promoting a literacy-infused science curriculum via a 5E Model (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate that includes three to five of the Es used daily. A pedagogical approach for a literacy-infused science model with big ideas is proposed.

Effect of Conceptual Change Approach on Students' Understanding of Reaction Rate Concepts

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Kingir, Sevgi; Geban, Omer

2012-01-01

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of conceptual change text oriented instruction compared to traditional instruction on 10th grade students' understanding of reaction rate concepts. 45 students from two classes of the same teacher in a public high school participated in this study. Students in the experimental group…

The Use of Triadic Dialogue in the Science Classroom: a Teacher Negotiating Conceptual Learning with Teaching to the Test

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Salloum, Sara; BouJaoude, Saouma

2017-08-01

The purpose of this research is to better understand the uses and potential of triadic dialogue (initiation-response-feedback) as a dominant discourse pattern in test-driven environments. We used a Bakhtinian dialogic perspective to analyze interactions among high-stakes tests and triadic dialogue. Specifically, the study investigated (a) the global influence of high-stakes tests on knowledge types and cognitive processes presented and elicited by the science teacher in triadic dialogue and (b) the teacher's meaning making of her discourse patterns. The classroom talk occurred in a classroom where the teacher tried to balance conceptual learning with helping low-income public school students pass the national tests. Videos and transcripts of 20 grade 8 and 9 physical science sessions were analyzed qualitatively. Teacher utterances were categorized in terms of science knowledge types and cognitive processes. Explicitness and directionality of shifts among different knowledge types were analyzed. It was found that shifts between factual/conceptual/procedural-algorithmic and procedural inquiry were mostly dialectical and implicit, and dominated the body of concept development lessons. These shifts called for medium-level cognitive processes. Shifts between the different knowledge types and procedural-testing were more explicit and occurred mostly at the end of lessons. Moreover, the science teacher's focus on success and high expectations, her explicitness in dealing with high-stakes tests, and the relaxed atmosphere she created built a constructive partnership with the students toward a common goal of cracking the test. We discuss findings from a Bakhtinian dialogic perspective and the potential of triadic dialogue for teachers negotiating multiple goals and commitments.

Using computer simulations to facilitate conceptual understanding of electromagnetic induction

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Yu-Fen

This study investigated the use of computer simulations to facilitate conceptual understanding in physics. The use of computer simulations in the present study was grounded in a conceptual framework drawn from findings related to the use of computer simulations in physics education. To achieve the goal of effective utilization of computers for physics education, I first reviewed studies pertaining to computer simulations in physics education categorized by three different learning frameworks and studies comparing the effects of different simulation environments. My intent was to identify the learning context and factors for successful use of computer simulations in past studies and to learn from the studies which did not obtain a significant result. Based on the analysis of reviewed literature, I proposed effective approaches to integrate computer simulations in physics education. These approaches are consistent with well established education principles such as those suggested by How People Learn (Bransford, Brown, Cocking, Donovan, & Pellegrino, 2000). The research based approaches to integrated computer simulations in physics education form a learning framework called Concept Learning with Computer Simulations (CLCS) in the current study. The second component of this study was to examine the CLCS learning framework empirically. The participants were recruited from a public high school in Beijing, China. All participating students were randomly assigned to two groups, the experimental (CLCS) group and the control (TRAD) group. Research based computer simulations developed by the physics education research group at University of Colorado at Boulder were used to tackle common conceptual difficulties in learning electromagnetic induction. While interacting with computer simulations, CLCS students were asked to answer reflective questions designed to stimulate qualitative reasoning and explanation. After receiving model reasoning online, students were asked to submit

The Impact of Science Fiction Film on Student Understanding of Science

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Barnett, Michael; Wagner, Heather; Gatling, Anne; Anderson, Janice; Houle, Meredith; Kafka, Alan

2006-01-01

Researchers who have investigated the public understanding of science have argued that fictional cinema and television has proven to be particularly effective at blurring the distinction between fact and fiction. The rationale for this study lies in the notion that to teach science effectively, educators need to understand how popular culture…

Understanding the Heterogeneous Nature of Science: A Comprehensive Notion of PCK for Scientific Literacy

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Van Dijk, Esther M.

2014-01-01

This paper is concerned with the conceptualization of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for teaching about the nature of science. In contrast to the view that science teachers need to develop a specific "PCK for nature of science," an alternative, more comprehensive notion of PCK for science teaching is suggested. The point of…

Using Conceptual Change Texts with Analogies for Misconceptions in Acids and Bases

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Cetingul, Ipek; Geban, Omer

2011-01-01

This study was conducted to explore the effectiveness of conceptual change oriented instruction over traditional instruction on students' understanding of acids and bases concept. Besides, effects of gender difference and science process skills on students' understanding of acids and bases were also investigated. Analysis of the results showed…

Compartmentalization: a conceptual framework for understanding how trees grow and defend themselves

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Alex L. Shigo

1984-01-01

The purpose of this chapter is to describe a conceptual framework for understanding how trees grow and how they and other perennial plants defend themselves. The concept of compartmentalization has developed over many years, a synthesis of ideas from a number of investigators. It is derived from detailed studies of the gross morphology and cellular anatomy of the wood...

Conceptual Understanding of Acids and Bases Concepts and Motivation to Learn Chemistry

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Cetin-Dindar, Ayla; Geban, Omer

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of 5E learning cycle model oriented instruction (LCMI) on 11th-grade students' conceptual understanding of acids and bases concepts and student motivation to learn chemistry. The study, which lasted for 7 weeks, involved two groups: An experimental group (LCMI) and a control group (the…

Understanding general practice: a conceptual framework developed from case studies in the UK NHS.

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Checkland, Kath

2007-01-01

General practice in the UK is undergoing a period of rapid and profound change. Traditionally, research into the effects of change on general practice has tended to regard GPs as individuals or as members of a professional group. To understand the impact of change, general practices should also be considered as organisations. To use the organisational studies literature to build a conceptual framework of general practice organisations, and to test and develop this empirically using case studies of change in practice. This study used the implementation of National Service Frameworks (NSFs) and the new General Medical Services (GMS) contract as incidents of change. In-depth, qualitative case studies. The design was iterative: each case study was followed by a review of the theoretical ideas. The final conceptual framework was the result of the dynamic interplay between theory and empirical evidence. Five general practices in England, selected using purposeful sampling. Semi-structured interviews with all clinical and managerial personnel in each practice, participant and nonparticipant observation, and examination of documents. A conceptual framework was developed that can be used to understand how and why practices respond to change. This framework enabled understanding of observed reactions to the introduction of NSFs and the new GMS contract. Important factors for generating responses to change included the story that the practice members told about their practice, beliefs about what counted as legitimate work, the role played by the manager, and previous experiences of change. Viewing general practices as small organisations has generated insights into factors that influence responses to change. Change tends to occur from the bottom up and is determined by beliefs about organisational reality. The conceptual framework suggests some questions that can be asked of practices to explain this internal reality.

A conceptual framework for understanding the perspectives on the causes of the science-practice gap in ecology and conservation.

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Bertuol-Garcia, Diana; Morsello, Carla; N El-Hani, Charbel; Pardini, Renata

2018-05-01

Applying scientific knowledge to confront societal challenges is a difficult task, an issue known as the science-practice gap. In Ecology and Conservation, scientific evidence has been seldom used directly to support decision-making, despite calls for an increasing role of ecological science in developing solutions for a sustainable future. To date, multiple causes of the science-practice gap and diverse approaches to link science and practice in Ecology and Conservation have been proposed. To foster a transparent debate and broaden our understanding of the difficulties of using scientific knowledge, we reviewed the perceived causes of the science-practice gap, aiming to: (i) identify the perspectives of ecologists and conservation scientists on this problem, (ii) evaluate the predominance of these perspectives over time and across journals, and (iii) assess them in light of disciplines studying the role of science in decision-making. We based our review on 1563 sentences describing causes of the science-practice gap extracted from 122 articles and on discussions with eight scientists on how to classify these sentences. The resulting process-based framework describes three distinct perspectives on the relevant processes, knowledge and actors in the science-practice interface. The most common perspective assumes only scientific knowledge should support practice, perceiving a one-way knowledge flow from science to practice and recognizing flaws in knowledge generation, communication, and/or use. The second assumes that both scientists and decision-makers should contribute to support practice, perceiving a two-way knowledge flow between science and practice through joint knowledge-production/integration processes, which, for several reasons, are perceived to occur infrequently. The last perspective was very rare, and assumes scientists should put their results into practice, but they rarely do. Some causes (e.g. cultural differences between scientists and decision

Between understanding and appreciation. Current science communication in Denmark

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Kristian Hvidtfelt Nielsen

2005-12-01

Full Text Available In this paper I use the concepts “understanding of science” and “appreciation of science” to analyze selected case studies of current science communication in Denmark. The Danish science communication system has many similarities with science communication in other countries: the increasing political and scientific interest in science communication, the co-existence of many different kinds of science communication, and the multiple uses of the concepts of understanding vs. appreciation of science. I stress the international aspects of science communication, the national politico-scientific context as well as more local contexts as equally important conditions for understanding current Danish science communication.

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF E-LAB TO IMPROVE GENERIC SCIENCE SKILLS AND UNDERSTANDING THE CONCEPT OF PHYSICS

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J. Siswanto

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The aimed of this sudy are: (1 investigate the effectiveness of E-Lab to improve generic science skills and understanding the concepts oh physics; and (2 investigate the effect of generic science skills towards understanding the concept of students after learning by using the E-Lab. The method used in this study is a pre-experimental design with one group pretest-posttest. Subjects were students of Physics Education in University PGRI Semarang with methode random sampling. The results showed that: (1 learning to use E-Lab effective to increase generic science skills of students; and (2 Generic science skills give positive effect on student conceptual understanding on the material of the photoelectric effect, compton effect, and electron diffraction. Tujuan penelitian ini yaitu: (1 menyelidiki efektifitas E-Lab untuk meningkatkan keterampilan generik sains dan pemahaman konsep mahasiswa; dan (2  menyelidiki pengaruh keterampilan generik sains terhadap pemahaman konsep mahasiswa setelah dilakukan pembelajaran dengan menggunakan E-Lab. Metode penelitian yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah pre-experimental dengan desain one group pretest-posttest. Subjek penelitian adalah mahasiswa Program Studi Pendidikan  Fisika  Universitas PGRI Semarang, dengan metode pengambilan sampel penelitian secara random. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa bahwa: (1 pembelajaran menggunakan E-Lab efektif untuk meningkatkan keterampilan generik sains mahasiswa; dan  (2 Keterampilan generik sains berpengaruh positif terhadap pemahaman konsep mahasiswa pada materi efek fotolistrik, efek compton, dan difraksi elektron. 

[Conceptual Development in Cognitive Science. Part II].

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Fierro, Marco

2012-03-01

Cognitive science has become the most influential paradigm on mental health in the late 20(th) and the early 21(st) centuries. In few years, the concepts, problem approaches and solutions proper to this science have significantly changed. Introduction and discussion of the fundamental concepts of cognitive science divided in four stages: Start, Classic Cognitivism, Connectionism, and Embodying / Enacting. The 2(nd) Part of the paper discusses the above mentioned fourth stage and explores the clinical setting, especially in terms of cognitive psychotherapy. The embodying/enacting stage highlights the role of the body including a set of determined evolutionary movements which provide a way of thinking and exploring the world. The performance of cognitive tasks is considered as a process that uses environmental resources that enhances mental skills and deploys them beyond the domestic sphere of the brain. On the other hand, body and mind are embedded in the world, thus giving rise to cognition when interacting, a process known as enacting. There is a close connection between perception and action, hence the interest in real-time interactions with the world rather than abstract reasoning. Regarding clinics, specifically the cognitive therapy, there is little conceptual discussion maybe due to good results from practice that may led us to consider that theoretical foundations are firm and not problem-raising. Copyright © 2012 Asociación Colombiana de Psiquiatría. Publicado por Elsevier España. All rights reserved.

Conceptual Models as Tools for Communication Across Disciplines

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Marieke Heemskerk

2003-12-01

Full Text Available To better understand and manage complex social-ecological systems, social scientists and ecologists must collaborate. However, issues related to language and research approaches can make it hard for researchers in different fields to work together. This paper suggests that researchers can improve interdisciplinary science through the use of conceptual models as a communication tool. The authors share lessons from a workshop in which interdisciplinary teams of young scientists developed conceptual models of social-ecological systems using data sets and metadata from Long-Term Ecological Research sites across the United States. Both the process of model building and the models that were created are discussed. The exercise revealed that the presence of social scientists in a group influenced the place and role of people in the models. This finding suggests that the participation of both ecologists and social scientists in the early stages of project development may produce better questions and more accurate models of interactions between humans and ecosystems. Although the participants agreed that a better understanding of human intentions and behavior would advance ecosystem science, they felt that interdisciplinary research might gain more by training strong disciplinarians than by merging ecology and social sciences into a new field. It is concluded that conceptual models can provide an inspiring point of departure and a guiding principle for interdisciplinary group discussions. Jointly developing a model not only helped the participants to formulate questions, clarify system boundaries, and identify gaps in existing data, but also revealed the thoughts and assumptions of fellow scientists. Although the use of conceptual models will not serve all purposes, the process of model building can help scientists, policy makers, and resource managers discuss applied problems and theory among themselves and with those in other areas.

Representational Classroom Practices that Contribute to Students' Conceptual and Representational Understanding of Chemical Bonding

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Hilton, Annette; Nichols, Kim

2011-11-01

Understanding bonding is fundamental to success in chemistry. A number of alternative conceptions related to chemical bonding have been reported in the literature. Research suggests that many alternative conceptions held by chemistry students result from previous teaching; if teachers are explicit in the use of representations and explain their content-specific forms and functions, this might be avoided. The development of an understanding of and ability to use multiple representations is crucial to students' understanding of chemical bonding. This paper draws on data from a larger study involving two Year 11 chemistry classes (n = 27, n = 22). It explores the contribution of explicit instruction about multiple representations to students' understanding and representation of chemical bonding. The instructional strategies were documented using audio-recordings and the teacher-researcher's reflection journal. Pre-test-post-test comparisons showed an improvement in conceptual understanding and representational competence. Analysis of the students' texts provided further evidence of the students' ability to use multiple representations to explain macroscopic phenomena on the molecular level. The findings suggest that explicit instruction about representational form and function contributes to the enhancement of representational competence and conceptual understanding of bonding in chemistry. However, the scaffolding strategies employed by the teacher play an important role in the learning process. This research has implications for professional development enhancing teachers' approaches to these aspects of instruction around chemical bonding.

The Implementation of Problem-Based Learning to Increase Students’ Conceptual Understanding According to a Christian Perspective

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Hans David Lasut

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In the world of education, it is important that the teacher considers knowledge that students gain in school that can be applied in various situations in a student’s life either during the course of their formal education or when facing real-life problems. The inability to apply knowledge is termed as a lack of conceptual understanding. The researcher hypothesized that Problem Based Learning (PBL will overcome this problem. The aim of this research is to determine whether the implementation of PBL can increase student’s conceptual understanding and to discover effective ways to implement PBL in order to increase the student’s conceptual understanding. This research is Classroom Action Research and is two-cycle research where the researcher used  written tests, questionnaires,  interviews of teachers and students, teacher’s observation forms, and journal reflections as instruments to measure the student’s conceptual understanding and the implementation of PBL based on a Christian perspective. Based on the analysis and discussion, it can be concluded that the implementation of problem-based learning can increase the student’s conceptual understanding according to a Christian perspective. BAHASA INDONESIA ABSTRAK: Dalam dunia pendidikan, sangatlah penting bagi seorang guru untuk memperhatikan bahwa pengetahuan yang sudah siswa pelajari di sekolah dapat diaplikasikan dalam berbagai situasi baik saat siswa di sekolah maupun ketika mereka diperhadapkan dengan masalah dalam kehidupan. Ketidakmampuan siswa untuk mengaplikasikan pengetahuan yang sudah didapatkan dapat disebut sebagai kurangnya penguasaan konsep. Peneliti memutuskan untuk menggunakan Metoda Pembelajaran Berbasis Masalah (MPBM untuk mengatasi masalah ini. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk menemukan apakah penerapan MPBM dapat meningkatkan penguasaan konsep siswa dan langkah-langkah efektif untuk menerapkan MPBM dengan maksud untuk meningkatkan penguasaan konsep siswa

Navigating Tensions Between Conceptual and Metaconceptual Goals in the Use of Models

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Delgado, Cesar

2015-04-01

Science education involves learning about phenomena at three levels: concrete (facts and generalizations), conceptual (concepts and theories), and metaconceptual (epistemology) (Snir et al. in J Sci Educ Technol 2(2):373-388, 1993). Models are key components in science, can help build conceptual understanding, and may also build metaconceptual understanding. Technology can transform teaching and learning by turning models into interactive simulations that learners can investigate. This paper identifies four characteristics of models and simulations that support conceptual learning but misconstrue models and science at a metaconceptual level. Ahistorical models combine the characteristics of several historical models; they conveniently compile ideas but misrepresent the history of science (Gilbert in Int J Sci Math Educ 2(2):115-130, 2004). Teleological models explain behavior in terms of a final cause; they can lead to useful heuristics but imply purpose in processes driven by chance and probability (Talanquer in Int J Sci Educ 29(7):853-870, 2007). Epistemological overreach occurs when models or simulations imply greater certainty and knowledge about phenomena than warranted; conceptualizing nature as being well known (e.g., having a mathematical structure) poses the danger of conflating model and reality or data and theory. Finally, models are inevitably ontologically impoverished. Real-world deviations and many variables are left out of models, as models' role is to simplify. Models and simulations also lose much of the sensory data present in phenomena. Teachers, designers, and professional development designers and facilitators must thus navigate the tension between conceptual and metaconceptual learning when using models and simulations. For each characteristic, examples are provided, along with recommendations for instruction and design. Prompts for explicit reflective activities around models are provided for each characteristic

Understanding cities as social-ecological systems

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Du Plessis, C

2008-09-01

Full Text Available This paper builds on earlier ecological approaches to urban development, as well as more recent thinking in the fields of sustainability science, resilience thinking and complexity theory, to propose a conceptual framework for understanding cities...

Metaconceptually-Enhanced Simulation-Based Inquiry: Effects on Eighth Grade Students' Conceptual Change and Science Epistemic Beliefs

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Huang, Kun; Ge, Xun; Eseryel, Deniz

2017-01-01

This study investigated the effects of metaconceptually-enhanced, simulation-based inquiry learning on eighth grade students' conceptual change in science and their development of science epistemic beliefs. Two experimental groups studied the topics of motion and force using the same computer simulations but with different simulation guides: one…

Understanding The Impact of Formative Assessment Strategies on First Year University Students’ Conceptual Understanding of Chemical Concepts

OpenAIRE

Mehmet Aydeniz; Aybuke Pabuccu

2011-01-01

This study investigated the effects of formative assessment strategies on students’ conceptual understanding in a freshmen college chemistry course in Turkey. Our sample consists of 96 students; 27 males, 69 females. The formative assessment strategies such as reflection on exams, and collective problem solving sessions were used throughout the course. Data were collected through pre and post-test methodology. The findings reveal that the formative assessment strategies used in this study led...

Understandings of Nature of Science and Multiple Perspective Evaluation of Science News by Non-science Majors

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Leung, Jessica Shuk Ching; Wong, Alice Siu Ling; Yung, Benny Hin Wai

2015-10-01

Understandings of nature of science (NOS) are a core component of scientific literacy, and a scientifically literate populace is expected to be able to critically evaluate science in the media. While evidence has remained inconclusive on whether better NOS understandings will lead to critical evaluation of science in the media, this study aimed at examining the correlation therein. Thirty-eight non-science majors, enrolled in a science course for non-specialists held in a local community college, evaluated three health news articles by rating the extent to which they agreed with the reported claims and providing as many justifications as possible. The majority of the participants were able to evaluate and justify their viewpoint from multiple perspectives. Students' evaluation was compared with their NOS conceptions, including the social and cultural embedded NOS, the tentative NOS, the peer review process and the community of practice. Results indicated that participants' understanding of the tentative NOS was significantly correlated with multiple perspective evaluation of science news reports of socioscientific nature (r = 0.434, p media of socioscientific nature. However, the null result for other target NOS aspects in this study suggested a lack of evidence to assume that understanding the social dimensions of science would have significant influence on the evaluation of science in the media. Future research on identifying the reasons for why and why not NOS understandings are applied in the evaluation will move this field forward.

The Effect of Constructivist Learning Using Scientific Approach on Mathematical Power and Conceptual Understanding of Students Grade IV

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Kusmaryono, Imam; Suyitno, Hardi

2016-02-01

This study used a model of Concurrent Embedded with the aim of: (1) determine the difference between the conceptual understanding and mathematical power of students grade fourth who take the constructivist learning using scientific approach and direct learning, (2) determine the interaction between learning approaches and initial competence on the mathematical power and conceptual of understanding, and (3) describe the mathematical power of students grade fourth. This research was conducted in the fourth grade elementary school early 2015. Data initial competence and mathematical power obtained through tests, and analyzed using statistical tests multivariate and univariate. Statistical analysis of the results showed that: (1) There are differences in the concept of understanding and mathematical power among the students who follow the scientifically-based constructivist learning than students who take the Direct Learning in terms of students initial competency (F = 5.550; p = 0.007 problem solving and contributes tremendous increase students' math skills. Researcher suggested that the learning of mathematics in schools using scientifically- based constructivist approach to improve the mathematical power of students and conceptual understanding.

PROFESSIONAL SPECIFICITY OF CONCEPTUAL THINKING

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S. A. Gilmanov

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction. Most studies of psychologists and teachers in the phenomenon of conceptual thinking and ways of its formation are considered to be rather controversial and questionable. However, the research results were limited to the phenomenon of conceptual thinking and are therefore not representative for its implementation during the process of vocational training at the higher school. There is still considerable uncertainty with regard to the approaches to the problem of conceptual thinking in the humanities, including pedagogics and psychology. Furthermore, previous studies have not dealt with the objectives of conceptual thinking formation.The aims of the article are: to justify the use of the term “professional conceptualization of thinking” (PCT in theory and practice; to describe the prospects of the development of PCT in the training process.Methodology and research methods. The methodological base of the research involves the Russian psychological and pedagogical science approaches to the consideration of conceptual thinking as a higher mental function, a systematized and summarized form of cognitive reflection of notions and relations of reality. The experimental work was carried out using the method of observation, interviews, and tests. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of the data was conducted. The process of formation of PCT is described through the theory of stage-by-stage systematic development of mental acts.Results and scientific novelty. The concept “professional conceptualization of thinking” (PCT, a new one for psychological-pedagogical science, is suggested. The PCT levels are identified: ordinary, formal, substantial, system, and holistic. The objectives proposed for the development of the PCT levels in the process of professional education consist in the organization of consecutive transition from conscious mastering of a terminological framework to its use in the performance of educational tasks; from

Effect of Writing-to-Learn Strategy on Undergraduates' Conceptual Understanding of Electrostatics

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Atasoy, Sengül

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of Writing-to-Learn (WTL) strategy on undergraduates' conceptual understanding of electrostatics. The sample of the study was 54 university students registered at elementary school mathematics education department. While the experimental group was asked to conduct WTL activities like explanatory…

Online Discussion as a Mechanism of Conceptual Change among Mathematics and Science Teachers

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Luebeck, Jennifer L.; Bice, Lawrence R.

2005-01-01

This study examines the extent to which conceptual change is stimulated and achieved through online discussion in the context of an online graduate course. Transcripts of discussions among 15 graduate students studying assessment issues in mathematics and science education were analyzed using an interaction analysis model developed to assess…

Learning in Earth and Space Science: A Review of Conceptual Change Instructional Approaches

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Mills, Reece; Tomas, Louisa; Lewthwaite, Brian

2016-01-01

In response to calls for research into effective instruction in the Earth and space sciences, and to identify directions for future research, this systematic review of the literature explores research into instructional approaches designed to facilitate conceptual change. In total, 52 studies were identified and analyzed. Analysis focused on the…

How online learning modules can improve the representational fluency and conceptual understanding of university physics students

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Hill, M.; Sharma, M. D.; Johnston, H.

2015-07-01

The use of online learning resources as core components of university science courses is increasing. Learning resources range from summaries, videos, and simulations, to question banks. Our study set out to develop, implement, and evaluate research-based online learning resources in the form of pre-lecture online learning modules (OLMs). The aim of this paper is to share our experiences with those using, or considering implementing, online learning resources. Our first task was to identify student learning issues in physics to base the learning resources on. One issue with substantial research is conceptual understanding, the other with comparatively less research is scientific representations (graphs, words, equations, and diagrams). We developed learning resources on both these issues and measured their impact. We created weekly OLMs which were delivered to first year physics students at The University of Sydney prior to their first lecture of the week. Students were randomly allocated to either a concepts stream or a representations stream of online modules. The programme was first implemented in 2013 to trial module content, gain experience and process logistical matters and repeated in 2014 with approximately 400 students. Two validated surveys, the Force and Motion Concept Evaluation (FMCE) and the Representational Fluency Survey (RFS) were used as pre-tests and post-tests to measure learning gains while surveys and interviews provided further insights. While both streams of OLMs produced similar positive learning gains on the FMCE, the representations-focussed OLMs produced higher gains on the RFS. Conclusions were triangulated with student responses which indicated that they have recognized the benefit of the OLMs for their learning of physics. Our study shows that carefully designed online resources used as pre-instruction can make a difference in students’ conceptual understanding and representational fluency in physics, as well as make them more aware

Can citizen science enhance public understanding of science?

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Bonney, Rick; Phillips, Tina B; Ballard, Heidi L; Enck, Jody W

2016-01-01

Over the past 20 years, thousands of citizen science projects engaging millions of participants in collecting and/or processing data have sprung up around the world. Here we review documented outcomes from four categories of citizen science projects which are defined by the nature of the activities in which their participants engage - Data Collection, Data Processing, Curriculum-based, and Community Science. We find strong evidence that scientific outcomes of citizen science are well documented, particularly for Data Collection and Data Processing projects. We find limited but growing evidence that citizen science projects achieve participant gains in knowledge about science knowledge and process, increase public awareness of the diversity of scientific research, and provide deeper meaning to participants' hobbies. We also find some evidence that citizen science can contribute positively to social well-being by influencing the questions that are being addressed and by giving people a voice in local environmental decision making. While not all citizen science projects are intended to achieve a greater degree of public understanding of science, social change, or improved science -society relationships, those projects that do require effort and resources in four main categories: (1) project design, (2) outcomes measurement, (3) engagement of new audiences, and (4) new directions for research. © The Author(s) 2015.

Evaluating College Students' Conceptual Knowledge of Modern Physics: Test of Understanding on Concepts of Modern Physics (TUCO-MP)

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Akarsu, Bayram

2011-01-01

In present paper, we propose a new diagnostic test to measure students' conceptual knowledge of principles of modern physics topics. Over few decades since born of physics education research (PER), many diagnostic instruments that measure students' conceptual understanding of various topics in physics, the earliest tests developed in PER are Force…

The Effect of Cooperative Learning Approach Based on Conceptual Change Condition on Students' Understanding of Chemical Equilibrium Concepts

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Bilgin, Ibrahim; Geban, Omer

2006-01-01

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of the cooperative learning approach based on conceptual change conditions over traditional instruction on 10th grade students' conceptual understanding and achievement of computational problems related to chemical equilibrium concepts. The subjects of this study consisted of 87 tenth grade…

The Effect of Brain Based Learning on Second Grade Junior Students’ Mathematics Conceptual Understanding on Polyhedron

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I Made Suarsana

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study is to examine the effect of Brain Based Learning on second grade junior high school students’ conceptual understanding on polyhedron. This study was conducted by using post-test only control group quasi-experimental design. The subjects of this study were 148 students that divided into three classes. Two classes were taken as sample by using cluster random sampling technique. One of the classes was randomly selected as an experimental group and the other as control group. There were 48 students in experimental group and 51 students in control group. The data were collected with post-test which contained mathematical conceptual understanding on fractions. The post-test consisted of 8 essay question types.  The normality and variance homogeny test result showed that the scores are normally distributed and have no difference in variance. The data were analyzed by using one tailed t-test with significance level of 5%. The result of data analysis revealed that the value of t-test = 6,7096 greater than t-table = 1,987, therefore; the null hypothesis is rejected. There is positive effect of of Brain Based Learning on second grade junior students’ conceptual understanding in polyhedron.

Investigating the Relationship between Instructors' Use of Active-Learning Strategies and Students' Conceptual Understanding and Affective Changes in Introductory Biology: A Comparison of Two Active-Learning Environments.

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Cleveland, Lacy M; Olimpo, Jeffrey T; DeChenne-Peters, Sue Ellen

2017-01-01

In response to calls for reform in undergraduate biology education, we conducted research examining how varying active-learning strategies impacted students' conceptual understanding, attitudes, and motivation in two sections of a large-lecture introductory cell and molecular biology course. Using a quasi-experimental design, we collected quantitative data to compare participants' conceptual understanding, attitudes, and motivation in the biological sciences across two contexts that employed different active-learning strategies and that were facilitated by unique instructors. Students participated in either graphic organizer/worksheet activities or clicker-based case studies. After controlling for demographic and presemester affective differences, we found that students in both active-learning environments displayed similar and significant learning gains. In terms of attitudinal and motivational data, significant differences were observed for two attitudinal measures. Specifically, those students who had participated in graphic organizer/worksheet activities demonstrated more expert-like attitudes related to their enjoyment of biology and ability to make real-world connections. However, all motivational and most attitudinal data were not significantly different between the students in the two learning environments. These data reinforce the notion that active learning is associated with conceptual change and suggests that more research is needed to examine the differential effects of varying active-learning strategies on students' attitudes and motivation in the domain. © 2017 L. M. Cleveland et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2017 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

Developing and Validating a Science Notebook Rubric for Fifth-Grade Non-Mainstream Students

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Huerta, Margarita; Lara-Alecio, Rafael; Tong, Fuhui; Irby, Beverly J.

2014-07-01

We present the development and validation of a science notebook rubric intended to measure the academic language and conceptual understanding of non-mainstream students, specifically fifth-grade male and female economically disadvantaged Hispanic English language learner (ELL) and African-American or Hispanic native English-speaking students. The science notebook rubric is based on two main constructs: academic language and conceptual understanding. The constructs are grounded in second-language acquisition theory and theories of writing and conceptual understanding. We established content validity and calculated reliability measures using G theory and percent agreement (for comparison) with a sample of approximately 144 unique science notebook entries and 432 data points. Results reveal sufficient reliability estimates, indicating that the instrument is promising for use in future research studies including science notebooks in classrooms with populations of economically disadvantaged Hispanic ELL and African-American or Hispanic native English-speaking students.

Dealing with the Ambiguities of Science Inquiry

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Yuen Sze Michelle; Caleon, Imelda Santos

2016-01-01

The current vision of science education in myriad educational contexts encourages students to learn through the process of science inquiry. Science inquiry has been used to promote conceptual learning and engage learners in an active process of meaning-making and investigation to understand the world around them. The science inquiry process…

General Chemistry Students' Conceptual Understanding and Language Fluency: Acid-Base Neutralization and Conductometry

Science.gov (United States)

Nyachwaya, James M.

2016-01-01

The objective of this study was to examine college general chemistry students' conceptual understanding and language fluency in the context of the topic of acids and bases. 115 students worked in groups of 2-4 to complete an activity on conductometry, where they were given a scenario in which a titration of sodium hydroxide solution and dilute…

Understanding Nursing Home Worker Conceptualizations about Good Care

Science.gov (United States)

Chung, Gawon

2013-01-01

This study explored how direct care workers in nursing homes conceptualize good care and how their conceptualizations are influenced by external factors surrounding their work environment and the relational dynamics between them and residents. Study participants were drawn from a local service employees' union, and in-depth interviews were…

Novices’ Struggles with Conceptual and Theoretical Framing in Writing Dissertations and Papers for Publication

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christine Pearson Casanave

2015-04-01

Full Text Available In this conceptual paper, we address the problem that novice scholars in social sciences sometimes have in constructing conceptual or theoretical frameworks for their dissertations and papers for publication. In the first part of the paper, we discuss why the topic is important in the high pressure environment that novice scholars face, in which finishing a doctoral degree and getting published can make a difference in career success or failure, and explain our understanding of theoretical/conceptual framing, including provisionally defining some key terms. We then elucidate ten problems that novice scholars have with theoretical/conceptual framing, using our own experiences as manuscript reviewers and writers as examples. The paper concludes with ways that novice scholars can address the task of framing their scholarly work conceptually and theoretically, on the understanding that the struggles continue over the lifetime of a scholarly career.

Teachers' Understanding and Operationalisation of `Science Capital'

Science.gov (United States)

King, Heather; Nomikou, Effrosyni; Archer, Louise; Regan, Elaine

2015-12-01

Across the globe, governments, industry and educationalists are in agreement that more needs to be done to increase and broaden participation in post-16 science. Schools, as well as teachers, are seen as key in this effort. Previous research has found that engagement with science, inclination to study science and understanding of the value of science strongly relates to a student's science capital. This paper reports on findings from the pilot year of a one-year professional development (PD) programme designed to work with secondary-school teachers to build students' science capital. The PD programme introduced teachers to the nature and importance of science capital and thereafter supported them to develop ways of implementing science capital-building pedagogy in their practice. The data comprise interviews with the participating teachers (n = 10), observations of classroom practices and analyses of the teachers' accounts of their practice. Our findings suggest that teachers found the concept of science capital to be compelling and to resonate with their own intuitive understandings and experiences. However, the ways in which the concept was operationalised in terms of the implementation of pedagogical practices varied. The difficulties inherent in the operationalisation are examined and recommendations for future work with teachers around the concept of science capital are developed.

Using Memes and Memetic Processes to Explain Social and Conceptual Influences on Student Understanding about Complex Socio-Scientific Issues

Science.gov (United States)

Yoon, Susan

2008-01-01

This study investigated seventh grade learners' decision making about genetic engineering concepts and applications. A social network analyses supported by technology tracked changes in student understanding with a focus on social and conceptual influences. Results indicated that several social and conceptual mechanisms potentially affected how…

Promising Teacher Practices: Students' Views about Their Science Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Moeed, Azra; Easterbrook, Matthew

2016-01-01

Internationally, conceptual and procedural understanding, understanding the Nature of Science, and scientific literacy are considered worthy goals of school science education in modern times. The empirical study presented here reports on promising teacher practices that in the students' views afford learning opportunities and support their science…

Agriculture vs. social sciences: subject classification and sociological conceptualization of rural tourism in Scopus and Web of Science

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marjan HOČEVAR

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Agriculture and consumptive function of countryside (rural areas are connected which should be reflected in scientific research. In order to test relationships, we selected the topic of rural tourism (also agritourism, agrotourism, agricultural tourism considering sociological conceptualization (social sciences, sociology and methodological approaches of information sciences (bibliometrics, scientometrics in describing fields of science or scientific disciplines. We ascertained scatter of information in citation databases (Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar. Functionalities were evaluated, affecting search precision and recall in information retrieval. We mapped documents to Scopus subject areas as well as Web of Science (WOS research areas and subject categories, and related publications (journals. Databases do not differ substantially in mapping this topic. Social sciences (including economics or business occupy by far the most important place. The strongest concentration was found in tourism-related journals (consistent with power laws. Agriculture-related publications are rare, accounting for some 10 % of documents. Interdisciplinarity seems to be weak. Results point to poor inclusion of emerging social topics in agricultural research whereby agriculture may lose out in possible venues of future research.

Codevelopment of conceptual understanding and critical attitude: toward a systemic analysis of the survival blanket

Science.gov (United States)

Viennot, Laurence; Décamp, Nicolas

2016-01-01

One key objective of physics teaching is the promotion of conceptual understanding. Additionally, the critical faculty is universally seen as a central quality to be developed in students. In recent years, however, teaching objectives have placed stronger emphasis on skills than on concepts, and there is a risk that conceptual structuring may be disregarded. The question therefore arises as to whether it is possible for students to develop a critical stance without a conceptual basis, leading in turn to the issue of possible links between the development of conceptual understanding and critical attitude. In an in-depth study to address these questions, the participants were seven prospective physics and chemistry teachers. The methodology included a ‘teaching interview’, designed to observe participants’ responses to limited explanations of a given phenomenon and their ensuing intellectual satisfaction or frustration. The explanatory task related to the physics of how a survival blanket works, requiring a full and appropriate system analysis of the blanket. The analysis identified five recurrent lines of reasoning and linked these to judgments of adequacy of explanation, based on metacognitive/affective (MCA) factors, intellectual (dis)satisfaction and critical stance. Recurrent themes and MCA factors were used to map the intellectual dynamics that emerged during the interview process. Participants’ critical attitude was observed to develop in strong interaction with their comprehension of the topic. The results suggest that most students need to reach a certain level of conceptual mastery before they can begin to question an oversimplified explanation, although one student’s replies show that a different intellectual dynamics is also possible. The paper ends with a discussion of the implications of these findings for future research and for decisions concerning teaching objectives and the design of learning environments.

Investigating Relationships among Pre-Service Science Teachers' Conceptual Knowledge of Electric Current, Motivational Beliefs and Self-Regulation

Science.gov (United States)

Inaltun, Hüseyin; Ates, Salih

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study is to examine relationships among pre-service science teachers' conceptual knowledge of electric current, motivational beliefs, and self-regulation. One hundred and twenty-seven students (female = 107, male = 20) enrolled in the science education program of a public university in Ankara participated the study. A concept…

Scientists' understanding of public communication of science and technology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Kristian Hvidtfelt; Kjaer, Carsten Rahbæk; Dahlgaard, Jørgen

Background Research into the field of science communication has tended to focus on public understanding of science or on the processes of science communication itself, e.g. by looking at science in the media. Few studies have explored how scientists understand science communication. At present...... and technical sciences see science communication. We wanted to map their general interest in using different media of science communication as well as their active participation in current science communication. Moreover, we wanted to find out what they think about future of science communication, and what...... science communication. Results Our respondents indicated interest in doing science communication through media aimed at a broader public. In particular, news media surfaced as the most attractive media of public communication. The respondents preferred to be in charge of science communication themselves...

Conceptualization of an R&D Based Learning-to-Innovate Model for Science Education

Science.gov (United States)

Lai, Oiki Sylvia

2013-01-01

The purpose of this research was to conceptualize an R & D based learning-to-innovate (LTI) model. The problem to be addressed was the lack of a theoretical L TI model, which would inform science pedagogy. The absorptive capacity (ACAP) lens was adopted to untangle the R & D LTI phenomenon into four learning processes: problem-solving via…

Making a Map of Science: General Systems Theory as a Conceptual Framework for Tertiary Science Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Gulyaev, Sergei A.; Stonyer, Heather R.

2002-01-01

Develops an integrated approach based on the use of general systems theory (GST) and the concept of 'mapping' scientific knowledge to provide students with tools for a more holistic understanding of science. Uses GST as the core methodology for understanding science and its complexity. Discusses the role of scientific community in producing…

Preservice Elementary Teachers' Science Self-Efficacy Beliefs and Science Content Knowledge

Science.gov (United States)

Menon, Deepika; Sadler, Troy D.

2016-10-01

Self-efficacy beliefs that relate to teachers' motivation and performance have been an important area of concern for preservice teacher education. Research suggests high-quality science coursework has the potential to shape preservice teachers' science self-efficacy beliefs. However, there are few studies examining the relationship between science self-efficacy beliefs and science content knowledge. The purpose of this mixed methods study is to investigate changes in preservice teachers' science self-efficacy beliefs and science content knowledge and the relationship between the two variables as they co-evolve in a specialized science content course. Results from pre- and post-course administrations of the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument-B (Bleicher, 2004) and a physical science concept test along with semi-structured interviews, classroom observations and artifacts served as data sources for the study. The 18 participants belonged to three groups representing low, medium and high initial levels of self-efficacy beliefs. A repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance design was used to test the significance of differences between the pre- and post-surveys across time. Results indicated statistically significant gains in participants' science self-efficacy beliefs and science conceptual understandings. Additionally, a positive moderate relationship between gains in science conceptual understandings and gains in personal science teaching efficacy beliefs was found. Qualitative analysis of the participants' responses indicated positive shifts in their science teacher self-image and they credited their experiences in the course as sources of new levels of confidence to teach science. The study includes implications for preservice teacher education programs, science teacher education, and research.

Conceptual Demand of Practical Work in Science Curricula. A Methodological Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Ferreira, Sílvia; Morais, Ana M.

2014-02-01

This article addresses the issue of the level of complexity of practical work in science curricula and is focused on the discipline of Biology and Geology at high school. The level of complexity is seen in terms of the emphasis on and types of practical work and, most importantly, in terms of its level of conceptual demand as given by the complexity of scientific knowledge, the degree of inter-relation between knowledges, and the complexity of cognitive skills. The study also analyzes recontextualizing processes that may occur within the official recontextualizing field. The study is psychologically and sociologically grounded, particularly on Bernstein's theory of pedagogic discourse. It uses a mixed methodology. The results show that practical work is poorly represented in the curriculum, particularly in the case of laboratory work. The level of conceptual demand of practical work varies according to the text under analysis, between the two subjects Biology and Geology, and, within each of them, between general and specific guidelines. Aspects studied are not clearly explicated to curriculum receivers (teachers and textbooks authors). The meaning of these findings is discussed in the article. In methodological terms, the study explores assumptions used in the analysis of the level of conceptual demand and presents innovative instruments constructed for developing this analysis.

Epistemological Predictors of Prospective Biology Teachers' Nature of Science Understandings

Science.gov (United States)

Köseoglu, Pinar; Köksal, Mustafa Serdar

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate epistemological predictors of nature of science understandings of 281 prospective biology teachers surveyed using the Epistemological Beliefs Scale Regarding Science and the Nature of Science Scale. The findings on multiple linear regression showed that understandings about definition of science and…

A bridge between conceptual frameworks sciences, society and technology studies

CERN Document Server

2015-01-01

This book analyzes scientific problems within the history of physics, engineering, chemistry, astronomy and medicine, correlated with technological applications in the social context. When and how is tension between disciplines explicitly practised? What is the conceptual bridge between science researches and the organization of technological researches in the development of  industrial applications?  The authors explain various ways in which the sciences allowed advanced modelling on the one hand, and the development of new technological ideas on the other hand. An emphasis on the role played by mechanisms, production methods and instruments bestows a benefit on historical and scientific discourse: theories, institutions, universities, schools for engineers, social implications as well.  Scholars from different traditions discuss the emerging style of thinking in methodology and, in theoretical perspective, aim to gather and re-evaluate the current thinking on this subject. It brings together contribution...

Analysing dutch Science cafés to better understand the science-society relationship

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dijkstra, Anne M.

2017-01-01

Science cafés offer a place for information and discussion for all who are interested in science and its broader implications for society. In this paper, science cafés are explored as a means of informal science dialogue in order to gain more understanding of the science-society relationship.

Implementasi Model Pembelajaran Kooperatif Conceptual Understanding Procedures (Cups) Untuk Meningkatkan Hasil Belajar Siswa

OpenAIRE

Qadariyah, Laylatul; Zainuddin, Zainuddin; Hartini, Sri

2015-01-01

Something cause the low learning result of students is a models and methods less variation .Learning inovatian become interesting can improved the learning result of student conducted research purpose at describes the effectiveness implementation of conceptual understanding procedures (CUPs) cooperative learning in improving student learning result on the subject of light reflection. Specifically this study purposed to describe: (1) enforceability LPA, (2) social skills, (3) learning result, ...

Learner Characteristics and Understanding Nature of Science. Is There an Association?

Science.gov (United States)

Çetinkaya-Aydın, Gamze; Çakıroğlu, Jale

2017-11-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible associations between preservice science teachers' understanding of nature of science and their learner characteristics; understanding of nature of scientific inquiry, science teaching self-efficacy beliefs, metacognitive awareness level, and faith/worldview schemas. The sample of the current study was 60 3rd-year preservice science teachers enrolled in the Nature of Science and History of Science course. Using a descriptive and associational case study design, data were collected by means of different qualitative and quantitative questionnaires. Analysis of the data revealed that preservice science teachers' understanding of nature of science and nature of scientific inquiry were highly associated. Similarly, science teaching self-efficacy beliefs, metacognitive awareness levels, and faith/worldviews of the preservice science teachers were found to be significantly associated with their understanding of nature of science. Thus, it can be concluded that there might be other factors interfering with the learning processes of nature of science.

At-Risk and Bilingual Fifth-Grade Students' On-Task Behavior and Conceptual Understanding in Earth Science-Related Topics during Inquiry-, Technology-, and Game-Based Activities

Science.gov (United States)

McNeal, K.; Vasquez, Y.; Avandano, C.; Moreno, K.; Besinaiz, J.

2007-12-01

The Graduate K-12 (GK12) program has been developed by NSF to support the national effort to advance scientific knowledge through educational partnerships. This paper highlights research conducted during the 2006-2007 school year with the Texas A&M University GK12 project. Two elementary schools with very high numbers of at risk students - those who are poor, speak English as their second language, and have a history of failing state-mandated tests were identified to be the field site for the GK12 project. In these two, high-minority (97% and 40% African American and Hispanic) schools, 80% and 56% of the children have been identified by the state as at risk; 94% and 52% are classified as economically disadvantaged; and 46% and 2% are limited English proficient, respectively. In the past year, 30% and 73% of fifth grade students in these schools passed the science portion of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) test. Data collected during a three- week period where GK12 fellows taught the fifth graders Earth science-related topics is presented. During the implementation, students were engaged in technology-, inquiry-, and game-based activities. Students were divided into low-, medium-, and high-abilities in one school, and regular and bilingual groups in the other. Pre- post open-ended multiple choice tests indicated that all but the low performing students' conceptual understanding (CU) significantly (p significantly improved during the inquiry activity, and the high and bilingual students' CU significantly improved for the game activities. Classroom observation assessments showed that there was a significant (p Significant differences between student groups' CU and on-task behavior indicated that technology-based activities showed greatest differences between the low- ability learners and the other students, whereas, inquiry-based activities tended not to show such extremes. In the case of the bilingual and regular students however, technology

Conceptualizations of clinical leadership: a review of the literature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mianda S

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Solange Mianda, Anna S Voce Department of Public Health Medicine, School of Nursing and Public Health, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa Introduction: Poor patient outcomes in South African maternal health settings have been associated with inadequately performing health care providers and poor clinical leadership at the point of care. While skill deficiencies among health care providers have been largely addressed, the provision of clinical leadership has been neglected. In order to develop and implement initiatives to ensure clinical leadership among frontline health care providers, a need was identified to understand the ways in which clinical leadership is conceptualized in the literature.Design: Using the systematic quantitative literature review, papers published between 2004 and 2016 were obtained from search engines (Google Scholar and EBSCOhost. Electronic databases (CINHAL, PubMed, Medline, Academic Search Complete, Health Source: Consumer, Health Source: Nursing/Academic, ScienceDirect and Ovid® and electronic journals (Contemporary Nurse, Journal of Research in Nursing, Australian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery, International Journal of Clinical Leadership were also searched.Results: Using preselected inclusion criteria, 7256 citations were identified. After screening 230 potentially relevant full-text papers for eligibility, 222 papers were excluded because they explored health care leadership or clinical leadership among health care providers other than frontline health care providers. Eight papers met the inclusion criteria for the review. Most studies were conducted in high-income settings. Conceptualizations of clinical leadership share similarities with the conceptualizations of service leadership but differ in focus, with the intent of improving direct patient care. Clinical leadership can be a shared responsibility, performed by every competent frontline health care provider

Science Communication for the Public Understanding of Nuclear Issues

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cho, Seongkyung [Myungji Univ., Yongin (Korea, Republic of)

2006-04-15

Uncertainty, stigma, risk perception, and value judgment represent characteristics of nuclear issues in the public arena. Nuclear issue, in the public arena, is a kind of risk rather than technology that we are willing to use for good purpose. There are uncertainty, stigma, risk perception, and value judgment as characteristics of nuclear. The notion of the public, here is of active, sensitive, and sensible citizens, with power and influence. The public understands nuclear issues less through direct experience or education than through the filter of mass media. Trust has been a key issue on public understanding of nuclear issues. Trust belongs to human. The public understanding process includes perception, interpretation, and evaluation. Therefore, science communication is needed for public understanding. Unfortunately, science communication is rarely performed well, nowadays, There are three important actors-the public, experts, and media. Effective science communication means finding comprehensible ways of presenting opaque and complex nuclear issues. It makes new and strong demands on experts. In order to meet that requirement, experts should fulfill their duty about developing nuclear technology for good purpose, understand the public before expecting the public to understand nuclear issues, accept the unique culture of the media process, take the responsibility for any consequence which nuclear technologies give rise to, communicate with an access route based on sensibility and rationality, have a flexible angle in the science communication process, get creative leadership for the communication process with deliberation and disagreement, make efficient use of various science technologies for science communication. We should try to proceed with patience, because science communication makes for a more credible society.

Science Communication for the Public Understanding of Nuclear Issues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cho, Seongkyung

2006-01-01

Uncertainty, stigma, risk perception, and value judgment represent characteristics of nuclear issues in the public arena. Nuclear issue, in the public arena, is a kind of risk rather than technology that we are willing to use for good purpose. There are uncertainty, stigma, risk perception, and value judgment as characteristics of nuclear. The notion of the public, here is of active, sensitive, and sensible citizens, with power and influence. The public understands nuclear issues less through direct experience or education than through the filter of mass media. Trust has been a key issue on public understanding of nuclear issues. Trust belongs to human. The public understanding process includes perception, interpretation, and evaluation. Therefore, science communication is needed for public understanding. Unfortunately, science communication is rarely performed well, nowadays, There are three important actors-the public, experts, and media. Effective science communication means finding comprehensible ways of presenting opaque and complex nuclear issues. It makes new and strong demands on experts. In order to meet that requirement, experts should fulfill their duty about developing nuclear technology for good purpose, understand the public before expecting the public to understand nuclear issues, accept the unique culture of the media process, take the responsibility for any consequence which nuclear technologies give rise to, communicate with an access route based on sensibility and rationality, have a flexible angle in the science communication process, get creative leadership for the communication process with deliberation and disagreement, make efficient use of various science technologies for science communication. We should try to proceed with patience, because science communication makes for a more credible society

A Coalition on the Public Understanding of Science

Science.gov (United States)

Allison, L.; Hehn, J.; Kass, J.; O'Grady, R.; Scotchmoor, J.; Stucky, R.

2006-12-01

For many of the problems facing contemporary societies, such as potential impacts of climate change, coastal degradation, reductions of fisheries stocks, volcanic and earthquake hazards in densely populated areas, quality and availability of water, and exploitation of hydrocarbon resources and development of alternative energy sources, formulation of wise public policy depends on evaluation of the state of geoscientific research in the relevant areas. In a democratic society, public discourse about and input to policy decisions on key issues affecting the public welfare requires a public that understands the scientific research process, values the contribution of science to society, and has a working knowledge of what science can and cannot yet say about specific issues. Arguably, that ideal falls short in contemporary American society. Disturbing trends in science education, low public scientific literacy, and increasing alarms about U.S. competitiveness have all been prominent national news topics in recent years. (1) A recent National Science Board report indicated that two-thirds of Americans do not understand what science is, how it is conducted, and what one can expect from it. (2) A recent Gallup poll reports widespread and increasingly prevalent belief in pseudoscience. (3) There is a growing public complacency about and disengagement from science at the very moment when the impact of science on public life is greater than ever. (4) The Business Roundtable of major U.S. companies notes that the scientific and technical building blocks of our economic leadership are eroding at a time when many other nations are gathering strength. In response, a Coalition on the Public Understanding of Science COPUS has been initiated. Essential to COPUS is the premise that public understanding of science and the scientific process and an awareness of the impacts of scientific advancements on our quality of life are necessary to increase student interest in science as a

Conceptual strategies and inter-theory relations: The case of nanoscale cracks

Science.gov (United States)

Bursten, Julia R.

2018-05-01

This paper introduces a new account of inter-theory relations in physics, which I call the conceptual strategies account. Using the example of a multiscale computer simulation model of nanoscale crack propagation in silicon, I illustrate this account and contrast it with existing reductive, emergent, and handshaking approaches. The conceptual strategies account develops the notion that relations among physical theories, and among their models, are constrained but not dictated by limitations from physics, mathematics, and computation, and that conceptual reasoning within those limits is required both to generate and to understand the relations between theories. Conceptual strategies result in a variety of types of relations between theories and models. These relations are themselves epistemic objects, like theories and models, and as such are an under-recognized part of the epistemic landscape of science.

Reflective Learning and Prospective Teachers' Conceptual Understanding, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Mathematical Communication Skills

Science.gov (United States)

Junsay, Merle L.

2016-01-01

This is a quasi-experimental study that explored the effects of reflective learning on prospective teachers' conceptual understanding, critical thinking, problem solving, and mathematical communication skills and the relationship of these variables. It involved 60 prospective teachers from two basic mathematics classes of an institution of higher…

Understanding medical symptoms: a conceptual review and analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Malterud, Kirsti; Guassora, Ann Dorrit; Graungaard, Anette Hauskov; Reventlow, Susanne

2015-12-01

The aim of this article is to present a conceptual review and analysis of symptom understanding. Subjective bodily sensations occur abundantly in the normal population and dialogues about symptoms take place in a broad range of contexts, not only in the doctor's office. Our review of symptom understanding proceeds from an initial subliminal awareness by way of attribution of meaning and subsequent management, with and without professional involvement. We introduce theoretical perspectives from phenomenology, semiotics, social interactionism, and discourse analysis. Drew Leder's phenomenological perspectives deal with how symptom perception occurs when any kind of altered balance brings forward a bodily attention. Corporeality is brought to explicit awareness and perceived as sensations. Jesper Hoffmeyer's biosemiotic perspectives provide access to how signs are interpreted to attribute meaning to the bodily messages. Symptom management is then determined by the meaning of a symptom. Dorte E. Gannik's concept "situational disease" explains how situations can be reviewed not just in terms of their potential to produce signs or symptoms, but also in terms of their capacity to contain symptoms. Disease is a social and relational phenomenon of containment, and regulating the situation where the symptoms originate implies adjusting containment. Discourse analysis, as presented by Jonathan Potter and Margaret Wetherell, provides a tool to notice the subtle ways in which language orders perceptions and how language constructs social interaction. Symptoms are situated in culture and context, and trends in modern everyday life modify symptom understanding continuously. Our analysis suggests that a symptom can only be understood by attention to the social context in which the symptom emerges and the dialogue through which it is negotiated.

Examining Preservice Science Teacher Understanding of Nature of Science: Discriminating Variables on the Aspects of Nature of Science

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, William I.

This study examined the understanding of nature of science among participants in their final year of a 4-year undergraduate teacher education program at a Midwest liberal arts university. The Logic Model Process was used as an integrative framework to focus the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of the data for the purpose of (1) describing participant understanding of NOS and (2) to identify participant characteristics and teacher education program features related to those understandings. The Views of Nature of Science Questionnaire form C (VNOS-C) was used to survey participant understanding of 7 target aspects of Nature of Science (NOS). A rubric was developed from a review of the literature to categorize and score participant understanding of the target aspects of NOS. Participants' high school and college transcripts, planning guides for their respective teacher education program majors, and science content and science teaching methods course syllabi were examined to identify and categorize participant characteristics and teacher education program features. The R software (R Project for Statistical Computing, 2010) was used to conduct an exploratory analysis to determine correlations of the antecedent and transaction predictor variables with participants' scores on the 7 target aspects of NOS. Fourteen participant characteristics and teacher education program features were moderately and significantly ( p Middle Childhood with a science concentration program major or in the Adolescent/Young Adult Science Education program major were more likely to have an informed understanding on each of the 7 target aspects of NOS. Analyses of the planning guides and the course syllabi in each teacher education program major revealed differences between the program majors that may account for the results.

U.S. Geological Survey core science systems strategy: characterizing, synthesizing, and understanding the critical zone through a modular science framework

Science.gov (United States)

Bristol, R. Sky; Euliss, Ned H.; Booth, Nathaniel L.; Burkardt, Nina; Diffendorfer, Jay E.; Gesch, Dean B.; McCallum, Brian E.; Miller, David M.; Morman, Suzette A.; Poore, Barbara S.; Signell, Richard P.; Viger, Roland J.

2013-01-01

Core Science Systems is a new mission of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) that resulted from the 2007 Science Strategy, "Facing Tomorrow's Challenges: U.S. Geological Survey Science in the Decade 2007-2017." This report describes the Core Science Systems vision and outlines a strategy to facilitate integrated characterization and understanding of the complex Earth system. The vision and suggested actions are bold and far-reaching, describing a conceptual model and framework to enhance the ability of the USGS to bring its core strengths to bear on pressing societal problems through data integration and scientific synthesis across the breadth of science. The context of this report is inspired by a direction set forth in the 2007 Science Strategy. Specifically, ecosystem-based approaches provide the underpinnings for essentially all science themes that define the USGS. Every point on Earth falls within a specific ecosystem where data, other information assets, and the expertise of USGS and its many partners can be employed to quantitatively understand how that ecosystem functions and how it responds to natural and anthropogenic disturbances. Every benefit society obtains from the planet-food, water, raw materials to build infrastructure, homes and automobiles, fuel to heat homes and cities, and many others, are derived from or affect ecosystems. The vision for Core Science Systems builds on core strengths of the USGS in characterizing and understanding complex Earth and biological systems through research, modeling, mapping, and the production of high quality data on the Nation's natural resource infrastructure. Together, these research activities provide a foundation for ecosystem-based approaches through geologic mapping, topographic mapping, and biodiversity mapping. The vision describes a framework founded on these core mapping strengths that makes it easier for USGS scientists to discover critical information, share and publish results, and identify potential

Mathematics and science Teachers' Understanding and Practices of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Amy Stambach

It employed qualitative methods of data collection including in-depth interviews and ... Education, Science, Technology, Scientific Research, 2003; Rwanda Education .... Rwandan science teachers were not having common understanding of ...

The Role of Science and Discovery Centres in the Public Understanding of Science

Science.gov (United States)

Short, Daniel B.; Weis, Nicole

2013-01-01

The number of science and discovery centres has grown exponentially over the last two centuries. Science and discovery centres are one of the top five stimuli that influence a career choice in science. Their history, growth, impact and role in the public understanding of science are discussed. (Contains 2 tables, 7 figures, and 21 online…

Middle school students' understanding of the natural history of the Earth and life on Earth as a function of deep time

Science.gov (United States)

Pulling, Azalie Cecile

The purpose of this study was to use deep time, that is geologic time as a mechanism to explore middle school students' understanding of the natural history of the earth and the evolution of life on earth. Geologic time is a logical precursor to middle school students' understanding of biological evolution. This exploratory, mixed model study used qualitative and quantitative methods in each stage of the research to explore sixth grade students, understanding of geologic time, their worldviews (e.g., conceptual ecology), and conceptual change. The study included fifty-nine students in the large group study and four case studies. The primary data collection instrument was the Geologic Timeline Survey. Additional data collection instruments and methods (e.g., concept evaluation statement, journal entries, word associations, interviews, and formal tests) were used to triangulate the study findings. These data were used to create narrative modal profiles of the categories of student thinking that emerged from the large group analysis: Middle School (MS) Scientists (correct science), MS Protoscientists (approaching correct science), MS Prescientists (dinosaur understanding), and MS Pseudoscientists (fundamental religious understanding). Case studies were used to provide a thick description of each category. This study discovered a pattern of student thinking about geologic time that moved along a knowledge continuum from pseudoscience (fundamental creationist understanding) to prescience (everyday-science understanding) to science (correct or approaching correct science). The researcher described the deep-seated misconceptions produced by the prescience thinking level, e.g., dinosaur misconceptions, and cautioned the science education community about using dinosaurs as a glamour-science topic. The most limiting conceptual frameworks found in this study were prescience (a dinosaur focus) and pseudoscience (a fundamental religious focus). An understanding of geologic time

The Subject of Conceptual Mapping: Theological Anthropology across Brain, Body, and World

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Kidd Erin

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Research in conceptual metaphor and conceptual blending-referred to collectively as “conceptual mapping”-identifies human thought as a process of making connections across fields of meaning. Underlying the theory of conceptual mapping is a particular understanding of the mind as embodied. Over the past few decades, researchers in the cognitive sciences have been “putting brain, body, and world back together again.” The result is a picture of the human being as one who develops in transaction with her environment, and whose highest forms of intelligence and meaning-making are rooted in the body’s movement in the world. Conceptual mapping therefore not only gives us insight into how we think, but also into who we are. This calls for a revolution in theological anthropology. Our spirituality must be understood in light of the fact that we are embodied beings, embedded in our environment, whose identities are both material and discursive. Finally, using the example of white supremacy, I show how this revolution in understanding the human person can be useful for ethical reflection, and in thinking about sin and redemption.

Sociology and the public understanding of science: from rationalization to rhetoric.

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Locke, S

2001-03-01

This paper contributes to the reappraisal of sociological theories of modernity inspired by the sociology of scientific knowledge (SSK). As much as these theories rely on received ideas about the nature of science that SSK has called into doubt, so do they rely on ideas about the public understanding of science. Public understanding of science has been assumed to conform to the monolithic logic and perception of science associated with rationalization, leading to an impoverished view of the cognitive outlook of the modern individual. Rationalization has become the basis for the construction of theoretical critique of science divorced from any clear reference to public understanding, with the result that theory has encountered considerable problems in accounting for public scepticism towards science. However, rather than question rationalization, the more typical strategy has been to propose radical changes in the modernization process, such as postmodernism and the risk society. Against this, an alternative view of public understanding is advanced drawn from SSK and rhetorical psychology. The existence of the sociological critique of science, and SSK in particular, suggests that the meaning of science in modernity is not monolithic but multiple, arising out of a central dilemma over the universal form of knowledge-claims and their necessarily particular, human and social grounding. This dilemma plays out not only in intellectual discourses about science, but also in the public's understanding of science. This argument is used to call for further sociological research into public understanding and to encourage sociologists to recognize the central importance of the topic to a proper understanding of modernity.

Identifying students’ mental models of sound propagation: The role of conceptual blending in understanding conceptual change

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Zdeslav Hrepic

2010-09-01

Full Text Available We investigated introductory physics students’ mental models of sound propagation. We used a phenomenographic method to analyze the data in the study. In addition to the scientifically accepted Wave model, students used the “Entity” model to describe the propagation of sound. In this latter model sound is a self-standing entity, different from the medium through which it propagates. All other observed alternative models contain elements of both Entity and Wave models, but at the same time are distinct from each of the constituent models. We called these models “hybrid” or “blend” models. We discuss how students use these models in various contexts before and after instruction and how our findings contribute to the understanding of conceptual change. Implications of our findings for teaching are summarized.

Transmutability, generalised Darwinism and the limits to conceptual integration

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Christopher Brown

2013-01-01

This article explores the limits to conceptual integration between evolutionary biology, cognitive neuroscience and economics. The new learning in the natural sciences supplies material to update and enrich the microfoundations of institutional economics—specifically, the instinct–habit psychology. The framing of social reality with evolutionary concepts is, however, misguided in important respects. Metaphorical modelling is the transfer of concepts developed for the understanding of one doma...

Using a Conceptual-Change Approach to Help Preservice Science Teachers Reorganize Their Knowledge Structures for Constructivist Teaching

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Dhindsa, H. S.; Anderson, O. R.

2004-02-01

This study, based on constructivist learning theory, examined how effectively preservice chemistry teachers (N = 43) can be educated to think flexibly and to reorganize their thinking in a way that may complement diverse ways students approach the subject domain. The teacher's cognitive structure was assessed prior to and after a conceptual change intervention using flow-map narrative analyses. There was a significant change in the organization of the preservice teacher's narrative after the conceptual change intervention, including greater networking of ideas and more thematic development of the content. Hence, a conceptual change approach may be a useful way to educate teachers to be more responsive to student individual differences when planning and delivering science lessons.

Different understanding: science through the eyes of visual thinkers

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Sesko, S.C.; Marchant, M.

1997-09-11

The objective of this emergent study was to follow the cognitive and creative processes demonstrated by five art student participants as they integrated a developing knowledge of big science, as practiced at the Department of Energy`s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, into a personal and idiosyncratic visual, graphical, or multimedia product. The non-scientist participants involved in this process attended design classes sponsored by the Laboratory at the Art Center College of Design in California. The learning experience itself, and how the students arrived at their product, were the focus of the class and the research. The study was emergent in that we found no applicable literature on the use of art to portray a cognitive understanding of science. This lack of literature led us to the foundation literature on creativity and to the corpus of literature on public understanding of science. We believe that this study contributes to the literature on science education, art education, cognitive change, and public understanding of science. 20 refs., 11 figs.

Understanding Conceptualizations of Pregnancy and Planning for Pregnancy Among Adolescent Girls and Young Women in Harare, Zimbabwe.

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Tinago, Chiwoneso B; Ingram, Lucy Annang; Frongillo, Edward A; Blake, Christine E; Engelsmann, Barbara; Simmons, David

2018-07-01

Zimbabwe has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality, yet little is understood about adolescent girls' and young women's perspectives on pregnancy or planning for pregnancy. The research study took an emic approach to understand and describe how adolescent girls and young women (14-24 years) in Harare, Zimbabwe, conceptualize pregnancy and planning for pregnancy and how these conceptualizations inform pregnancy decisions. Semi-structured, in-depth, qualitative interviews were conducted with adolescent girls and young women ( N = 48) and data were analyzed thematically using NVivo 10. Pregnancy was conceptualized across nine themes: carrying a child and oneself, growing a family, motherhood, the best time for pregnancy, pregnancy decision makers, who is responsible for the pregnancy, pregnancy burden, pregnancy dangers, and increase in social status with pregnancy. Planning for pregnancy was conceptualized during the prepregnancy, pregnancy, and postpregnancy phases. Findings emphasize considering sociocultural views concerning pregnancy and including social networks in maternal health efforts.

Adults' decision-making about the electronic waste issue: The role of the nature of science conceptualizations and moral concerns in socio-scientific decision-making

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Yu, Yuqing

Socio-scientific issues have become increasingly important in Science-Technology-Society (STS) education as a means to make science learning more relevant to students' lives. This study used the e-waste issue as a context to investigate two aspects of socio-scientific decision-making: (1) the relationship between the nature of science (NOS) conceptualizations and decision-making; and (2) moral concerns involved in the process of decision-making. This study contributes to the field of socio-scientific issue research and STS education in the following ways. First, it is the first study that performed meta-analysis to seek the relationship between the NOS understanding and decision-making. This study concludes that valuable NOS conceptualizations that are highly related to the socio-scientific issue under investigation, rather than general NOS understanding, exert statistically significant influences on decision-making. Second, this study empirically examined the Multiple Responses Model (MRM), which enables the transfer of qualitative NOS responses into quantitative data, and hence, inferential statistics. The current study justifies the significance of unidimensionality to the application of the MRM. It addresses the limitations associated with the MRM and provides implications for future use of the MRM in other contexts. Finally, the study explores the role of moral concerns in socio-scientific decision-making. Eight participants engaged in interviews that were designed to elicit their reactions and feelings regarding the issue of exporting e-waste to poor countries. Qualitative analyses demonstrated that moral considerations were significant influences on decision-making. In addition, participants' action responses revealed that they were motivated to take action to help the environment. The study has implications for socio-scientific issue studies in other contexts and for teacher education programs that use socio-scientific issues to advance teachers' reasoning

Grade six students' understanding of the nature of science

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Cochrane, Donald Brian

The goal of scientific literacy requires that students develop an understanding of the nature of science to assist them in the reasoned acquisition of science concepts and in their future role as citizens in a participatory democracy. The purpose of this study was to investigate and describe the range of positions that grade six students hold with respect to the nature of science and to investigate whether gender or prior science education was related to students' views of the nature of science. Two grade six classes participated in this study. One class was from a school involved in a long-term elementary science curriculum project. The science curriculum at this school involved constructivist epistemology and pedagogy and a realist ontology. The curriculum stressed hands-on, open-ended activities and the development of science process skills. Students were frequently involved in creating and testing explanations for physical phenomena. The second class was from a matched school that had a traditional science program. Results of the study indicated that students hold a wider range of views of the nature of science than previously documented. Student positions ranged from having almost no understanding of the nature of science to those expressing positions regarding the nature of science that were more developed than previous studies had documented. Despite the range of views documented, all subjects held realist views of scientific knowledge. Contrary to the literature, some students were able to evaluate a scientific theory in light of empirical evidence that they had generated. Results also indicated that students from the project school displayed more advanced views of the nature of science than their matched peers. However, not all students benefited equally from their experiences. No gender differences were found with respect to students' understanding of the nature of science.

Understanding How Science Works: The Nature of Science as The Foundation for Science Teaching and Learning

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McComas, William F.

2017-01-01

The nature of science (NOS) is a phrase used to represent the rules of the game of science. Arguably, NOS is the most important content issue in science instruction because it helps students understand the way in which knowledge is generated and validated within the scientific enterprise. This article offers a proposal for the elements of NOS that…

A Thai pre-service teacher's understanding of nature of science in biology teaching

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Srisawat, Akkarawat; Aiemsum-ang, Napapan; Yuenyong, Chokchai

2018-01-01

This study was conducted on the effect of understanding and instruction of the nature of science of Ms. Wanida, a pre-service student under science education program in biology, Faculty of Education, Khon Kaen University. Wanida was a teaching practicum student majoring in biology at Khon Kaen University Demonstration School (Modindaeng). She was teaching biology for 38 Grade 10 students. Methodology regarded interpretive paradigm. The study aimed to examine 1) Wanida's understanding of the nature of science, 2) Wanida's instruction of the nature of science, 3 students' understanding of the nature of science from Wanida's instruction, and 4) the effects of Wanida's understanding and instruction of the nature of science on students' understanding of the nature of science from Wanida's instruction. Tools of interpretation included teaching observation, a semi-structured interview, open-ended questionnaire, and an observation record form for the instruction of the nature of science. The data obtained was interpreted, encoded, and classified, using the descriptive statistics. The findings indicated that Wanida held good understanding of the nature of science. She could apply the deficient nature of science approach mostly, followed by the implicit nature of science approach. Unfortunately, she could not show her teaching as explicit nature of science. However, her students' the understanding of the nature of science was good.

Conceptions and Characterization: An Explanation for the Theory-Practice Gap in Conceptual Change Theory. (Sponsored Session Strand 1 Science Learning, Understanding and Conceptual Change)

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Eijck, van M.W.; Czermak, Charlene M.; Duschl, Richard A.; Kyle, William C.; Sondergeld, Toni

2009-01-01

The theory building on conceptual change has led to the paradox that, in order to address teaching-learning processes, research yields an increasingly sophisticated output which alienates the teachers. The aim of this study is to explain the origin of this paradox. Drawing on exemplary data from a

Stepping into Science Fiction: Understanding the Genre

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Barone, Diane; Barone, Rebecca

2014-01-01

This manuscript focuses on fifth graders' understanding of science fiction. It is argued that it is necessary for students to understand both reading strategies and the key elements of a genre for comprehension. Students read "The Giver" within literature circles and conversation and written responses about the book were used for…

Overlooking the Conceptual Framework

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Leshem, Shosh; Trafford, Vernon

2007-01-01

The conceptual framework is alluded to in most serious texts on research, described in some and fully explained in few. However, examiners of doctoral theses devote considerable attention to exploring its function within social science doctoral vivas. A literature survey explores how the conceptual framework is itself conceptualised and explained.…

The Contribution of Conceptual Change Texts Accompanied by Concept Mapping to Eleventh-Grade Students Understanding of Cellular Respiration Concepts

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Al khawaldeh, Salem A.; Al Olaimat, Ali M.

2010-01-01

The present study conducted to investigate the contribution of conceptual change texts, accompanied by concept mapping instruction to eleventh-grade students' understanding of cellular respiration concepts, and their retention of this understanding. Cellular respiration concepts test was developed as a result of examination of related literature…

A Dual Case Study: Students' Perceptions, Self-Efficacy and Understanding of the Nature of Science in Varied Introductory Biology Laboratories

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Quigley, Dena Beth Boans

Since World War II, science education has been at the forefront of curricular reforms. Although the philosophical approach to science education has changed numerous times, the importance of the laboratory has not waned. A laboratory is meant to allow students to encounter scientific concepts in a very real, hands-on way so that they are able to either recreate experiments that have given rise to scientific theories or to use science to understand a new idea. As the interactive portion of science courses, the laboratory should not only reinforce conceptual ideas, but help students to understand the process of science and interest them in learning more about science. However, most laboratories have fallen into a safe pattern having teachers and students follow a scientific recipe, removing the understanding of and interest in science for many participants. In this study, two non-traditional laboratories are evaluated and compared with a traditional laboratory in an effort to measure student satisfaction, self-efficacy, attitudes towards science, and finally their epistemology of the nature of science (NOS). Students in all populations were administered a survey at the beginning and the end of their spring 2016 laboratory, and the survey was a mixture of qualitative questions and quantitative instruments. Overall, students who participated in one of the non-traditional labs rated their satisfaction higher and used affirming supportive statements. They also had significant increases in self-efficacy from pre to post, while the students in the traditional laboratory had a significant decrease. The students in the traditional laboratory had significant changed in attitudes towards science, as did the students in one of the non-traditional laboratories. All students lacked a firm grasp of the tenets of NOS, although one laboratory that includes explicit discussions of NOS saw improvement in at least on tenet. Data for two non-major biology laboratory populations was

Between understanding and appreciation. Current science communication in Denmark (Danish original version

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Kristian Hvidtfelt Nielsen

2005-12-01

Full Text Available In this paper I use the concepts “understanding of science” and “appreciation of science” to analyze selected case studies of current science communication in Denmark. The Danish science communication system has many similarities with science communication in other countries: the increasing political and scientific interest in science communication, the co-existence of many different kinds of science communication, and the multiple uses of the concepts of understanding vs. appreciation of science. I stress the international aspects of science communication, the national politico-scientific context as well as more local contexts as equally important conditions for understanding current Danish science communication.

The effect of problem posing and problem solving with realistic mathematics education approach to the conceptual understanding and adaptive reasoning

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Mahendra, Rengga; Slamet, Isnandar; Budiyono

2017-12-01

One of the difficulties of students in learning mathematics is on the subject of geometry that requires students to understand abstract things. The aim of this research is to determine the effect of learning model Problem Posing and Problem Solving with Realistic Mathematics Education Approach to conceptual understanding and students' adaptive reasoning in learning mathematics. This research uses a kind of quasi experimental research. The population of this research is all seventh grade students of Junior High School 1 Jaten, Indonesia. The sample was taken using stratified cluster random sampling technique. The test of the research hypothesis was analyzed by using t-test. The results of this study indicate that the model of Problem Posing learning with Realistic Mathematics Education Approach can improve students' conceptual understanding significantly in mathematics learning. In addition tu, the results also showed that the model of Problem Solving learning with Realistic Mathematics Education Approach can improve students' adaptive reasoning significantly in learning mathematics. Therefore, the model of Problem Posing and Problem Solving learning with Realistic Mathematics Education Approach is appropriately applied in mathematics learning especially on the subject of geometry so as to improve conceptual understanding and students' adaptive reasoning. Furthermore, the impact can improve student achievement.

Making the invisible visible: Enhancing students' conceptual understanding by introducing representations of abstract objects in a simulation

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Olympiou, G.; Zacharias, Z.; de Jong, Anthonius J.M.

2013-01-01

This study aimed to identify if complementing representations of concrete objects with representations of abstract objects improves students’ conceptual understanding as they use a simulation to experiment in the domain of Light and Color. Moreover, we investigated whether students’ prior knowledge

Learner Characteristics and Understanding Nature of Science: Is There an Association?

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Çetinkaya-Aydin, Gamze; Çakiroglu, Jale

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible associations between preservice science teachers' understanding of nature of science and their learner characteristics; understanding of nature of scientific inquiry, science teaching self-efficacy beliefs, metacognitive awareness level, and faith/worldview schemas. The sample of the…

Secondary School Students' Understanding of Science and Their Socioscientific Reasoning

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Karahan, Engin; Roehrig, Gillian

2017-08-01

Research in socioscientific issue (SSI)-based interventions is relatively new (Sadler in Journal of Research in Science Teaching 41:513-536, 2004; Zeidler et al. in Journal of Research in Science Teaching 46:74-101, 2009), and there is a need for understanding more about the effects of SSI-based learning environments (Sadler in Journal of Research in Science Teaching 41:513-536, 2004). Lee and Witz (International Journal of Science Education 31:931-960, 2009) highlighted the need for detailed case studies that would focus on how students respond to teachers' practices of teaching SSI. This study presents case studies that investigated the development of secondary school students' science understanding and their socioscientific reasoning within SSI-based learning environments. A multiple case study with embedded units of analysis was implemented for this research because of the contextual differences for each case. The findings of the study revealed that students' understanding of science, including scientific method, social and cultural influences on science, and scientific bias, was strongly influenced by their experiences in SSI-based learning environments. Furthermore, multidimensional SSI-based science classes resulted in students having multiple reasoning modes, such as ethical and economic reasoning, compared to data-driven SSI-based science classes. In addition to portraying how participants presented complexity, perspectives, inquiry, and skepticism as aspects of socioscientific reasoning (Sadler et al. in Research in Science Education 37:371-391, 2007), this study proposes the inclusion of three additional aspects for the socioscientific reasoning theoretical construct: (1) identification of social domains affecting the SSI, (2) using cost and benefit analysis for evaluation of claims, and (3) understanding that SSIs and scientific studies around them are context-bound.

Understanding the Influence of Learners' Forethought on Their Use of Science Study Strategies in Postsecondary Science Learning

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Dunn, Karee E.; Lo, Wen-Juo

2015-01-01

Understanding self-regulation in science learning is important for theorists and practitioners alike. However, very little has been done to explore and understand students' self-regulatory processes in postsecondary science courses. In this study, the influence of science efficacy, learning value, and goal orientation on the perceived use of…

Measuring Conceptual Change on Stoichiometry Using Mental Models and IllStructured Problems In a Flipped Classroom Environment

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Norrie E. Gayeta

2017-05-01

Full Text Available This study aimed to measure conceptual change on stoichiometry using mental models and ill-structured problems in flipped classroom environment. This study examined the level of conceptual understanding of students on stoichiometry before and after exposure to flipped and traditional lecture method. It also covered the type of conceptual change, and students’ description in flipped classroom environment. Qualitative and quantitative research methods were used in the study. Respondents were two sections of third year Bachelor of Secondary Education, Biological Science. Frequency, percentage, ranking, mean, standard deviation, Hake factor test, and t-test were the statistical tools applied to answer specific questions. Results showed profound increase towards conceptual change representing a shift from intuitive understanding to correct incomplete understanding level. Thus, change for the better, in theoretical type was determined from pretest to posttest of students exposed to flipped and traditional instruction. Results also indicated that there is no significant difference on students’ conceptual change on stoichiometry exposed to flipped and traditional lecture method. Furthermore, students strongly agreed that flipped classroom instruction helped them develop positive attitude towards chemistry and appropriate for learning college chemistry.

The Collaboration of Cooperative Learning and Conceptual Change: Enhancing the Students' Understanding of Chemical Bonding Concepts

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Eymur, Gülüzar; Geban, Ömer

2017-01-01

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of cooperative learning based on conceptual change approach instruction on ninth-grade students' understanding in chemical bonding concepts compared to traditional instruction. Seventy-two ninth-grade students from two intact chemistry classes taught by the same teacher in a public high…

The global politics of science and technology

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Carpes, Mariana; Knoblich, Ruth

2014-01-01

An increasing number of scholars have begun to see science and technology as relevant issues in International Relations (IR), acknowledging the impact of material elements, technical instruments, and scientific practices on international security, statehood, and global governance. This two-volume collection brings the debate about science and technology to the center of International Relations. It shows how integrating science and technology translates into novel analytical frameworks, conceptual approaches and empirical puzzles, and thereby offers a state-of-the-art review of various methodological and theoretical ways in which sciences and technologies matter for the study of international affairs and world politics. The authors not only offer a set of practical examples of research frameworks for experts and students alike, but also propose a conceptual space for interdisciplinary learning in order to improve our understanding of the global politics of science and technology.

Improving pupils conceptual understanding by an in- and out-of-school science program

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Steenbeek, Henderien; Doornenbal, Jeannette; van Geert, Paul; Geveke, Carla

Research in the field of out-of-school science is gradually increasing. These programs are considered to be important, yet more evidence about the learning effect is needed. This study aims to contribute to that matter by means of microgenetic measurements. We wanted to answer the question: How is

Scientific literacy: Role of natural history studies in constructing understanding of the nature of science

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Lutz, Martha Victoria Rosett

2002-01-01

Scientific literacy is a central goal of science education. One purpose of this investigation was to reevaluate the definition of 'scientific literacy.' Another purpose was to develop and implement new curriculum involving natural history experiments with insects, with the goal of allowing students opportunities to construct an understanding of the nature of science, a crucial aspect of scientific literacy. This investigation was a qualitative case study. Methods of data collection included direct observations, analysis of sketches and written products created by students and class-room teachers, and analysis of audio tapes. Major findings include: (1) Scientific literacy is generally defined by lists of factual information which students are expected to master. When asked to evaluate their knowledge of selected items on a list published in a science education reform curriculum guide, 15 practicing scientists reported lack of familiarity or comprehension with many items, with the exception of items within their areas of specialization. (2) Genuine natural history experiments using insects can be incorporated into the existing school schedule and need not require any increase in the budget for science materials. (3) Students as young as first through third grade can learn the manual techniques and conceptual skills necessary for designing and conducting original natural history experiments, including manipulating the insects, making accurate sketches, developing test able hypotheses, recording data, and drawing conclusions from their data. Students were generally enthusiastic both about working with live insects and also conducting genuine science experiments. (4) Girls appear both positive and engaged with natural history activities and may be more likely than boys to follow through on designing, conducting, and reporting on independent experiments. The results imply that a valid definition of scientific literacy should be based on the ability to acquire scientific

Conceptual Models in Health Informatics Research: A Literature Review and Suggestions for Development.

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Gray, Kathleen; Sockolow, Paulina

2016-02-24

Contributing to health informatics research means using conceptual models that are integrative and explain the research in terms of the two broad domains of health science and information science. However, it can be hard for novice health informatics researchers to find exemplars and guidelines in working with integrative conceptual models. The aim of this paper is to support the use of integrative conceptual models in research on information and communication technologies in the health sector, and to encourage discussion of these conceptual models in scholarly forums. A two-part method was used to summarize and structure ideas about how to work effectively with conceptual models in health informatics research that included (1) a selective review and summary of the literature of conceptual models; and (2) the construction of a step-by-step approach to developing a conceptual model. The seven-step methodology for developing conceptual models in health informatics research explained in this paper involves (1) acknowledging the limitations of health science and information science conceptual models; (2) giving a rationale for one's choice of integrative conceptual model; (3) explicating a conceptual model verbally and graphically; (4) seeking feedback about the conceptual model from stakeholders in both the health science and information science domains; (5) aligning a conceptual model with an appropriate research plan; (6) adapting a conceptual model in response to new knowledge over time; and (7) disseminating conceptual models in scholarly and scientific forums. Making explicit the conceptual model that underpins a health informatics research project can contribute to increasing the number of well-formed and strongly grounded health informatics research projects. This explication has distinct benefits for researchers in training, research teams, and researchers and practitioners in information, health, and other disciplines.

Threshold concepts as barriers to understanding climate science

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Walton, P.

2013-12-01

Whilst the scientific case for current climate change is compelling, the consequences of climate change have largely failed to permeate through to individuals. This lack of public awareness of the science and the potential impacts could be considered a key obstacle to action. The possible reasons for such limited success centre on the issue that climate change is a complex subject, and that a wide ranging academic, political and social research literature on the science and wider implications of climate change has failed to communicate the key issues in an accessible way. These failures to adequately communicate both the science and the social science of climate change at a number of levels results in ';communication gaps' that act as fundamental barriers to both understanding and engagement with the issue. Meyer and Land (2003) suggest that learners can find certain ideas and concepts within a discipline difficult to understand and these act as a barrier to deeper understanding of a subject. To move beyond these threshold concepts, they suggest that the expert needs to support the learner through a range of learning experiences that allows the development of learning strategies particular to the individual. Meyer and Land's research into these threshold concepts has been situated within Economics, but has been suggested to be more widely applicable though there has been no attempt to either define or evaluate threshold concepts to climate change science. By identifying whether common threshold concepts exist specifically in climate science for cohorts of either formal or informal learners, scientists will be better able to support the public in understanding these concepts by changing how the knowledge is communicated to help overcome these barriers to learning. This paper reports on the findings of a study that examined the role of threshold concepts as barriers to understanding climate science in a UK University and considers its implications for wider

First-Year University Science and Engineering Students' Understanding of Plagiarism

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Yeo, Shelley

2007-01-01

This paper is a case study of first-year science and engineering students' understandings of plagiarism. Students were surveyed for their views on scenarios illustrating instances of plagiarism in the context of the academic work and assessment of science and engineering students. The aim was to explore their understandings of plagiarism and their…

Understanding the transformation of climate futures. A conceptual framework illustrated with urban adaptation policy

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Boezeman, D.F.

2016-01-01

Projects in which science-based futures are produced indicating the relevant impacts of climatic changes are proliferating, in tandem with the increasing attention for climate change adaptation. Constructionist science studies have put forward the concept of ‘co-production’ to understand how

The Re-Conceptualization of the Port Supply Chain as a Smart Port Service System: The Case of the Port of Salerno

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Antonio Botti

2017-04-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes a re-conceptualization of the port supply chain as a smart service system, in accordance with the theory of service science. Starting from a short literature review about the port supply chain approach and service science, a new comprehensive framework is provided to better understand seaport dynamics and the creation of competitive port supply chains. The methodology used is the case study approach. The Authors examined the Port of Salerno (Italy and re-conceptualized it as a smart port service system. The originality of the work lies in the application of service science as a lens to re-conceptualize the port supply chain, that allows the implementation of a logistic framework. Both theoretical and practical implications are provided to enrich the literature about port supply chains and to support port operators.

The relationship between nature of science understandings and science self-efficacy beliefs of sixth grade students

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Parker, Elisabeth Allyn

Bandura (1986) posited that self-efficacy beliefs help determine what individuals do with the knowledge and skills they have and are critical determinants of how well skill and knowledge are acquired. Research has correlated self-efficacy beliefs with academic success and subject interest (Pajares, Britner, & Valiante, 2000). Similar studies report a decreasing interest by students in school science beginning in middle school claiming that they don't enjoy science because the classes are boring and irrelevant to their lives (Basu & Barton, 2007). The hypothesis put forth by researchers is that students need to observe models of how science is done, the nature of science (NOS), so that they connect with the human enterprise of science and thereby raise their self-efficacy (Britner, 2008). This study examined NOS understandings and science self-efficacy of students enrolled in a sixth grade earth science class taught with explicit NOS instruction. The research questions that guided this study were (a) how do students' self-efficacy beliefs change as compared with changes in their nature of science understandings?; and (b) how do changes in students' science self-efficacy beliefs vary with gender and ethnicity segregation? A mixed method design was employed following an embedded experimental model (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2007). As the treatment, five NOS aspects were first taught by the teachers using nonintegrated activities followed by integrated instructional approach (Khishfe, 2008). Students' views of NOS using the Views on Nature of Science (VNOS) (Lederman, Abd-El-Khalick, & Schwartz, 2002) along with their self-efficacy beliefs using three Likert-type science self-efficacy scales (Britner, 2002) were gathered. Changes in NOS understandings were determined by categorizing student responses and then comparing pre- and post-instructional understandings. To determine changes in participants' self-efficacy beliefs as measured by the three subscales, a multivariate

Conceptual and procedural knowledge community college students use when solving a complex science problem

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Steen-Eibensteiner, Janice Lee

2006-07-01

A strong science knowledge base and problem solving skills have always been highly valued for employment in the science industry. Skills currently needed for employment include being able to problem solve (Overtoom, 2000). Academia also recognizes the need for effectively teaching students to apply problem solving skills in clinical settings. This thesis investigates how students solve complex science problems in an academic setting in order to inform the development of problem solving skills for the workplace. Students' use of problem solving skills in the form of learned concepts and procedural knowledge was studied as students completed a problem that might come up in real life. Students were taking a community college sophomore biology course, Human Anatomy & Physiology II. The problem topic was negative feedback inhibition of the thyroid and parathyroid glands. The research questions answered were (1) How well do community college students use a complex of conceptual knowledge when solving a complex science problem? (2) What conceptual knowledge are community college students using correctly, incorrectly, or not using when solving a complex science problem? (3) What problem solving procedural knowledge are community college students using successfully, unsuccessfully, or not using when solving a complex science problem? From the whole class the high academic level participants performed at a mean of 72% correct on chapter test questions which was a low average to fair grade of C-. The middle and low academic participants both failed (F) the test questions (37% and 30% respectively); 29% (9/31) of the students show only a fair performance while 71% (22/31) fail. From the subset sample population of 2 students each from the high, middle, and low academic levels selected from the whole class 35% (8/23) of the concepts were used effectively, 22% (5/23) marginally, and 43% (10/23) poorly. Only 1 concept was used incorrectly by 3/6 of the students and identified as

Epistemological Issues Concerning Computer Simulations in Science and Their Implications for Science Education

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Greca, Ileana M.; Seoane, Eugenia; Arriassecq, Irene

2014-01-01

Computers and simulations represent an undeniable aspect of daily scientific life, the use of simulations being comparable to the introduction of the microscope and the telescope, in the development of knowledge. In science education, simulations have been proposed for over three decades as useful tools to improve the conceptual understanding of…

A study of primary school teachers’ conceptual understanding on states of matter and their changes based on their job locations (case study at Ambon island in Moluccas-Indonesia)

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Banawi, A.; Sopandi, W.; Kadarohman, A.; Solehuddin, M.

2018-05-01

The research aims to describe primary school teachers’ conceptual understandings about states of matter and their changes. The method was descriptive which involved 15 primary school teachers from three different school locations. They were from urban school (CS1), sub-urban school (CS2), and rular school (CS3) at Ambon Island on 2016/2017 academic year. The research instrument was a multiple-choice test combined with both essay and confidence level of their answers. The test was used to measure teachers’ understanding levels about states of matter and their changes. They were macroscopic, sub-microscopic and symbolic levels. Teachers’ understanding levels were classified into following categorization, they were understand, partly understand, misconception, and do not understand. The results show that primary school teachers’ conceptual understanding is varied based on their job locations and primary school teachers’ level understanding. Generally, primary school teachers’ conceptual understandings at sub-urban location (CS2) are better than those of both of urban (CS1) and rular locations (CS3). The results suggest that teachers need improvement to make better primary school teachers’ conceptual understanding. It can be on the job training and in service training activities. We also need a further research in order to investigate the program effectiveness.

A conceptual framework for understanding the association between school bullying victimization and substance misuse.

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Hong, Jun Sung; Davis, Jordan P; Sterzing, Paul R; Yoon, Jina; Choi, Shinwoo; Smith, Douglas C

2014-11-01

This article reviews current research findings and presents a conceptual framework for better understanding the relationship between bullying victimization (hereafter referred to as victimization) and substance misuse (hereafter referred to as SM) among adolescents. Although victimization and SM may appear to be separate problems, research suggests an intriguing relationship between the 2. We present a brief, empirical overview of the direct association between victimization and adolescent SM, followed by a proposed conceptual framework that includes co-occurring risk factors for victimization and SM within family, peer, and school and community contexts. Next, we discuss potential mediators linking victimization and SM, such as internalizing problems, traumatic stress, low academic performance, and school truancy and absence. We then identify potential moderating influences of age, gender and sex, social supports, and school connectedness that could amplify or abate the association between victimization and SM. Finally, we discuss practice and policy implications. (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Understanding HIV-related posttraumatic stress disorder in South Africa: a review and conceptual framework.

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Young, Charles

2011-06-01

A number of epidemiological studies have attempted to measure the prevalence of HIV-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in sub-Saharan Africa. A systematic review of the literature identified eight relevant studies that put current estimates of the prevalence of HIV-related PTSD between 4.2% and 40%. Even the lower estimates suggest that PTSD in response to the trauma of being diagnosed and living with HIV is a significant mental health burden. However, a conceptual framework to advance our understanding of the prevalence and phenomenology of HIV-related PTSD is lacking. This article argues that the Ehlers & Clark (2000) cognitive model of PTSD provides a useful conceptual framework for understanding HIV-related PTSD in South Africa. The model emphasises the role of trauma appraisals in the development and maintenance of PTSD, which can also be usefully applied to some of the other psychological disorders associated with HIV infection. The model appears to fit some of the important research findings, and it offers insights into the relationships between HIV-related PTSD and other psychological disorders, HIV stigma, the high prevalence of non-HIV traumatic events, occasional problems with the delivery of antiretroviral drugs in the South African public health service, the unpredictable course of HIV illness, and the quality of HIV testing and counselling. Implications for individual treatment strategies and broader public health interventions are briefly discussed.

Ideals, practices, and future prospects of stakeholder involvement in sustainability science.

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Mielke, Jahel; Vermaßen, Hannah; Ellenbeck, Saskia

2017-12-12

This paper evaluates current stakeholder involvement (SI) practices in science through a web-based survey among scholars and researchers engaged in sustainability or transition research. It substantiates previous conceptual work with evidence from practice by building on four ideal types of SI in science. The results give an interesting overview of the varied landscape of SI in sustainability science, ranging from the kinds of topics scientists work on with stakeholders, over scientific trade-offs that arise in the field, to improvements scientists wish for. Furthermore, the authors describe a discrepancy between scientists' ideals and practices when working with stakeholders. On the conceptual level, the data reflect that the democratic type of SI is the predominant one concerning questions on the understanding of science, the main goal, the stage of involvement in the research process, and the science-policy interface. The fact that respondents expressed agreement to several types shows they are guided by multiple and partly conflicting ideals when working with stakeholders. We thus conclude that more conceptual exchange between practitioners, as well as more qualitative research on the concepts behind practices, is needed to better understand the stakeholder-scientist nexus. Copyright © 2017 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

The case of Carla: Dilemmas of helping all students to understand science

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Kurth, Lori A.; Anderson, Charles W.; Palincsar, Annemarie S.

2002-05-01

This paper tells the story of four sixth-grade students, of mixed race and social class, who worked together in a small group. All four students were intrigued as they experimented with colored solutions of different densities. They all wanted to share ideas about the techniques they had used, the observations they had made, and the patterns they had seen. They all wanted to understand why the colored solutions acted as they did. In spite of these common interests, they often failed to achieve intersubjective communication about the colored solutions or about the process of planning and making a poster to report their findings. We explain these failures using the sociolinguistic concepts of polysemy, privileging, and holding the floor. In particular, Carla (an African American girl) was unable to hold the floor within the group, so her opportunities for science learning were diminished. The four students were not overtly prejudiced in their speech or actions. Yet the expectations they brought with them about how and when people should talk, how work should be done, and what standards of quality they should aspire to led them to reconstruct among themselves some of the most troubling inequities of our society as a whole. This story is about important connections. In particular it is about how the actions of children are connected to the histories of their families, and how the privileging of ideas is connected to that of people, and how the practice of science is connected to that of discrimination. Science education reformers may underestimate the difficulty of separating conceptual conflict about ideas from interpersonal conflict about privilege and status.

An exploration of middle school science teachers' understandings and teaching practice of science as inquiry

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Castle, Margaret Ann

understanding of science increases (Akkus, Gunel & Hand, 2007; Gibson, 2002; Liu, Lee & Linn, 2010). As a result, it is important to explore middle school science teachers' definition of science as inquiry because of its importance in how their understandings are reflected in their practice. Researchers must witness, first- hand, what is taking place in middle school science classrooms with respect to the teaching of scientific inquiry before recommendations for improvements can be made. We must also allow opportunities for middle school science teachers to broach, examine, explore, interpret and report implementation strategies when practicing the elements of scientific inquiry as a science content area. It then stands to reason that more research needs to be done to: (1) assess teachers' knowledge related to reform-based teaching, (2) investigate teachers' views about the goals and purposes of inquiry, and (3) investigate the processes by which teachers carry out SI and motivation for undertaking such a complex and difficult to manage form of instruction. The purpose of this study was to examine middle school science teachers' understandings and skills related to scientific inquiry; how those understandings and skills were translated into classroom practice, and the role the school district played in the development of such understandings and skills.

Integrating the social sciences to understand human-water dynamics

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Carr, G.; Kuil, L., Jr.

2017-12-01

Many interesting and exciting socio-hydrological models have been developed in recent years. Such models often aim to capture the dynamic interplay between people and water for a variety of hydrological settings. As such, peoples' behaviours and decisions are brought into the models as drivers of and/or respondents to the hydrological system. To develop and run such models over a sufficiently long time duration to observe how the water-human system evolves the human component is often simplified according to one or two key behaviours, characteristics or decisions (e.g. a decision to move away from a drought or flood area; a decision to pump groundwater, or a decision to plant a less water demanding crop). To simplify the social component, socio-hydrological modellers often pull knowledge and understanding from existing social science theories. This requires them to negotiate complex territory, where social theories may be underdeveloped, contested, dynamically evolving, or case specific and difficult to generalise or upscale. A key question is therefore, how can this process be supported so that the resulting socio-hydrological models adequately describe the system and lead to meaningful understanding of how and why it behaves as it does? Collaborative interdisciplinary research teams that bring together social and natural scientists are likely to be critical. Joint development of the model framework requires specific attention to clarification to expose all underlying assumptions, constructive discussion and negotiation to reach agreement on the modelled system and its boundaries. Mutual benefits to social scientists can be highlighted, i.e. socio-hydrological work can provide insights for further exploring and testing social theories. Collaborative work will also help ensure underlying social theory is made explicit, and may identify ways to include and compare multiple theories. As socio-hydrology progresses towards supporting policy development, approaches that

Making the Invisible Visible: Enhancing Students' Conceptual Understanding by Introducing Representations of Abstract Objects in a Simulation

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Olympiou, Georgios; Zacharias, Zacharia; deJong, Ton

2013-01-01

This study aimed to identify if complementing representations of concrete objects with representations of abstract objects improves students' conceptual understanding as they use a simulation to experiment in the domain of "Light and Color". Moreover, we investigated whether students' prior knowledge is a factor that must be considered in deciding…

The Effect of Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) on 11th Graders' Conceptual Understanding of Electrochemistry

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Sen, Senol; Yilmaz, Ayhan; Geban, Ömer

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) method compared to traditional teaching method on 11th grade students' conceptual understanding of electrochemistry concepts. Participants were 115 students from a public school in Turkey. Nonequivalent control group design was used. Two…

Multicultural education, pragmatism, and the goals of science teaching

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El-Hani, Charbel Niño; Mortimer, Eduardo Fleury

2007-07-01

In this paper, we offer an intermediate position in the multiculturalism/universalism debate, drawing upon Cobern and Loving's epistemological pluralism, pragmatist philosophies, Southerland's defense of instructional multicultural science education, and the conceptual profile model. An important element in this position is the proposal that understanding is the proper goal of science education. Our commitment to this proposal is explained in terms of a defense of an ethics of coexistence for dealing with cultural differences, according to which social argumentative processes—including those in science education—should be marked by dialogue and confrontation of arguments in the search of possible solutions, and an effort to (co-)live with differences if a negotiated solution is not reached. To understand the discourses at stake is, in our view, a key requirement for the coexistence of arguments and discourses, and the science classroom is the privileged space for promoting an understanding of the scientific discourse in particular. We argue for "inclusion" of students' culturally grounded ideas in science education, but in a sense that avoids curricular multicultural science education, and, thus, any attempt to broaden the definition of "science" so that ideas from other ways of knowing might be simply treated as science contents. Science teachers should always take in due account the diversity of students' worldviews, giving them room in argumentative processes in science classrooms, but should never lose from sight the necessity of stimulating students to understand scientific ideas. This view is grounded on a distinction between the goals of science education and the nature of science instruction, and demands a discussion about how learning is to take place in culturally sensitive science education, and about communicative approaches that might be more productive in science classrooms organized as we propose here. We employ the conceptual profile model to

"What's Positive about Positive Rights?" Students' Everyday Understandings and the Challenges of Teaching Political Science

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Ekström, Linda; Lundholm, Cecilia

2018-01-01

A review of research into teaching and learning in political science education concludes that this literature emphasizes student outcomes and "show and tell" descriptions of pedagogical interventions (Craig 2014). The present study instead aims to open the "black box" of conceptual learning in political science, illustrating…

Effect of a Diagram on Primary Students' Understanding About Electric Circuits

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Preston, Christine Margaret

2017-09-01

This article reports on the effect of using a diagram to develop primary students' conceptual understanding about electric circuits. Diagrammatic representations of electric circuits are used for teaching and assessment despite the absence of research on their pedagogical effectiveness with young learners. Individual interviews were used to closely analyse Years 3 and 5 (8-11-year-old) students' explanations about electric circuits. Data was collected from 20 students in the same school providing pre-, post- and delayed post-test dialogue. Students' thinking about electric circuits and changes in their explanations provide insights into the role of diagrams in understanding science concepts. Findings indicate that diagram interaction positively enhanced understanding, challenged non-scientific views and promoted scientific models of electric circuits. Differences in students' understanding about electric circuits were influenced by prior knowledge, meta-conceptual awareness and diagram conventions including a stylistic feature of the diagram used. A significant finding that students' conceptual models of electric circuits were energy rather than current based has implications for electricity instruction at the primary level.

Science Teaching Efficacy of Preservice Elementary Teachers: Examination of the Multiple Factors Reported as Influential

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Tastan Kirik, Özgecan

2013-01-01

This study explores the science teaching efficacy beliefs of preservice elementary teachers and the relationship between efficacy beliefs and multiple factors such as antecedent factors (participation in extracurricular activities and number of science and science teaching methods courses taken), conceptual understanding, classroom management…

The Effects of Conceptual Understanding Procedures (CUPs) Towards Critical Thinking Skills of Senior High School Students

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Sukaesih, S.; Sutrisno

2017-04-01

The aim of the study was to analyse the effect of the application of Conceptual Understanding Procedures (CUPs) learning to the students’ critical thinking skills in the matter of categorisaed in SMA Negeri 1 Larangan. This study was quasi-experimental design using nonequivalent control group design. The population in this study was entire class X. The samples that were taken by convenience sampling were class X MIA 1 and X MIA 2. Primary data in the study was the student’s critical thinking skills, which was supported by student activity, the level of adherence to the CUPs learning model, student opinion and teacher opinion. N-gain test results showed that the students’ critical thinking skills of experimental class increased by 89.32%, while the control group increased by 57.14%. Activity grade of experimental class with an average value of 72.37 was better than that of the control class with an average of only 22.69 student and teacher opinions to the learning were excellegoodnt. Based on this study concluded that the model of Conceptual Understanding Procedures (CUPs) had an effect on the student’s critical thinking skills in the matter of protest in SMA Negeri 1 Larangan.

Facilitating conceptual change in students’ understanding of concepts related to pressure

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Ozkan, Gulbin; Sezgin Selcuk, Gamze

2016-09-01

The aim of this research was to explore the effects of three different types of methods of learning physics (conceptual change-based, real life context-based and traditional learning) on high school physics students in the 11th grade in terms of conceptual change they achieved in learning about the various topics (pressure exerted by solids, pressure in stagnant liquids and gases, buoyancy, Bernoulli’s principle). In this study, a pre-test/post-test quasi-experimental method with nonequivalent control group, involving a 3 (group) × 2 (time) factorial design was used. Study group 1 were given the conceptual change texts on the mentioned subjects, study group 2 were offered a teaching approach based on real life context-based learning, whereas the control group was taught in the traditional style. Data for the research were collected with the ‘pressure conceptual test’. As a result of research, the number of misconceptions had been reduced or shifted altogether in all three groups. After the instruction, it was seen that none of the students formed new misconceptions. It was found that the most positive change could be seen in the conceptual change text group followed by context-based and lastly traditional. The fact that none of the students formed new misconceptions is important, particularly since research such as the following shows that conceptual change is tenuous and inconsistent, taking time to shift in a sustained manner.

Effectiveness of Science-Technology-Society (STS) Instruction on Student Understanding of the Nature of Science and Attitudes toward Science

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Akcay, Behiye; Akcay, Hakan

2015-01-01

The study reports on an investigation about the impact of science-technology-society (STS) instruction on middle school student understanding of the nature of science (NOS) and attitudes toward science compared to students taught by the same teacher using traditional textbook-oriented instruction. Eight lead teachers used STS instruction an…

Motivational Factors in Career Decisions Made by Chinese Science Museum Educators

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Ji, Jiao; Anderson, David; Wu, Xinchun

2016-01-01

Conceptualized by the self-determination theory, this interpretive study examined 23 museum educators' perspectives from five Chinese science museums to understand their work motivation in relation to their professional practice of working in museums. Research outcomes showed that, Chinese science museum educators' work motivation followed a…

Changing Science Teaching Practice in Early Career Secondary Teaching Graduates

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Bartholomew, Rex; Moeed, Azra; Anderson, Dayle

2011-01-01

Initial teacher education (ITE) is being challenged internationally to prepare teachers with the understandings needed to teach an increasingly diverse student population. Science teachers need to prepare students with both conceptual and procedural understanding. The challenge is to prioritise a balance in ITE courses between theoretical…

Guidance for Science Data Centers through Understanding Metrics

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Moses, J. F.

2006-12-01

NASA has built a multi-year set of transaction and user satisfaction information about the evolving, broad collection of earth science products from a diverse set of users of the Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS). The transaction and satisfaction trends provide corroborative information to support perception and intuition, and can often be the basis for understanding the results of cross-cutting initiatives and for management decisions about future strategies. The information is available through two fundamental complementary methods, product and user transaction data collected regularly from the major science data centers, and user satisfaction information collected through the American Customer Satisfaction Index survey. The combination provides the fundamental data needed to understand utilization trends in the research community. This paper will update trends based on 2006 metrics from the NASA earth science data centers and results from the 2006 EOSDIS ACSI survey. Principle concepts are explored that lead to sound guidance for data center managers and strategists over the next year.

Gestures: A Mode of Conceptualization in Science Gestures: A Mode of Conceptualization in Science

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Givry , Damien; Roth , Wolff-Michael

2003-01-01

International audience; Problem Since the late 1970's there has been a lot of research to identify students' conceptions about physics (e.g., Pfundt & Duit, 1999). Now, more recent studies attempt to identify the factors that support the evolution of students' initial knowledge towards scientific knowledge. Among the studies of conceptual change (Posner, Strike, Hewson & Gertzog, 1982), we belong to small group of researchers that follow learning and change processes in real time, that is, "t...

Conceptual understanding of climate change with a globally resolved energy balance model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dommenget, Dietmar [Monash University, School of Mathematical Sciences, Melbourne, VIC (Australia); Floeter, Janine [Leibniz Institute for Marine Sciences, Kiel (Germany)

2011-12-15

The future climate change projections are essentially based on coupled general circulation model (CGCM) simulations, which give a distinct global warming pattern with arctic winter amplification, an equilibrium land-sea warming contrast and an inter-hemispheric warming gradient. While these simulations are the most important tool of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predictions, the conceptual understanding of these predicted structures of climate change and the causes of their uncertainties is very difficult to reach if only based on these highly complex CGCM simulations. In the study presented here we will introduce a very simple, globally resolved energy balance (GREB) model, which is capable of simulating the main characteristics of global warming. The model shall give a bridge between the strongly simplified energy balance models and the fully coupled 4-dimensional complex CGCMs. It provides a fast tool for the conceptual understanding and development of hypotheses for climate change studies, which shall build a basis or starting point for more detailed studies of observations and CGCM simulations. It is based on the surface energy balance by very simple representations of solar and thermal radiation, the atmospheric hydrological cycle, sensible turbulent heat flux, transport by the mean atmospheric circulation and heat exchange with the deeper ocean. Despite some limitations in the representations of the basic processes, the models climate sensitivity and the spatial structure of the warming pattern are within the uncertainties of the IPCC models simulations. It is capable of simulating aspects of the arctic winter amplification, the equilibrium land-sea warming contrast and the inter-hemispheric warming gradient with good agreement to the IPCC models in amplitude and structure. The results give some insight into the understanding of the land-sea contrast and the polar amplification. The GREB model suggests that the regional inhomogeneous

Teaching secondary science constructing meaning and developing understanding

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Ross, Keith; McKechnie, Janet

2010-01-01

Now fully updated in its third edition Teaching Secondary Science is a comprehensive guide to all aspects of science teaching, providing a wealth of information and ideas about different approaches. With guidance on how children understand scientific ideas and the implications this has on teaching, teachers are encouraged to construct their own meanings and become reflective in their practice. Relating science to government agendas, such as the National Strategies, Assessment for Learning and Every Child Matters, this new edition reflects and maps to changes in national standards. Ke

Students' beliefs, attitudes, and conceptual change in a traditional and a constructivistic high school physics classroom

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Adams, April Dean

In this study, the relationships between student beliefs about the nature of science, student attitudes, and conceptual change about the nature of forces were investigated within a traditional and within a constructivistic high school physics classroom. Students in both classrooms were honors students taking a first year high school physics course and were primarily white and middle to upper SES. Students in the traditional classroom were all high ability juniors, and physics instruction was integrated with pre-calculus. Students in the constructivistic classroom were a mixture of juniors and seniors. Due to the interrelated nature of these factors and the complexity of their interactions, a naturalistic inquiry design was chosen. The data sources included videotape of 7-9 weeks of instruction; analysis of the videotapes using the Secondary Teacher Analysis Matrix (Gallagher & Parker, 1995); field notes; pretest/posttest assessment with the Force Concept Inventory (Hestenes, Wells, & Swackhammer, 1992); student responses from the Views on Science-Technology-Society questionnaire (Aikenhead & Ryan, 1992), the Questionnaire for the Assessment of a Science Course (Chiappetta, 1995), and the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (Taylor, Fraser, & White, 1994); student interviews; and teacher interviews. In the traditional classroom, (a) students did not think that physics was relevant to everyday experiences; (b) high conceptual change students were more likely to have an angular world view (Cobern, 1993) and have views more similar to the teacher's about the nature of science; and (c) high conceptual change students were able to develop an internally consistent understanding of the content; however, that content appeared to be isolated knowledge in some students. In the constructivistic classroom, (a) students saw physics as relevant and useful; (b) there was no difference in world view or agreement with the teacher's views on the nature of science between high

Approaching a Conceptual Understanding of Enzyme Kinetics and Inhibition: Development of an Active Learning Inquiry Activity for Prehealth and Nonscience Majors

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House, Chloe; Meades, Glen; Linenberger, Kimberly J.

2016-01-01

Presented is a guided inquiry activity designed to be conducted with prenursing students using an analogous system to help develop a conceptual understanding of factors impacting enzyme kinetics and the various types of enzyme inhibition. Pre- and postconceptual understanding evaluations and effectiveness of implementation surveys were given to…

How Surgeons Conceptualize Talent: A Qualitative Study Using Sport Science as a Lens.

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Jensen, Rune Dall; Christensen, Mette Krogh; LaDonna, Kori A; Seyer-Hansen, Mikkel; Cristancho, Sayra

Debates prevail regarding the definition of surgical talent, and how individuals with the potential to become talented surgeons can be identified and developed. However, over the past 30 years, talent has been studied extensively in other domains. The objectives of this study is to explore notions of talent in surgery and sport in order to investigate if the field of surgical education can benefit from expanding its view on talented performances. Therefore, this study aims to use the sport literature as a lens when exploring how surgeons conceptualize and define talent. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample of 11 consultant surgeons from multiple specialties. We used constructivist grounded theory principles to explore talent in surgery. Ongoing data analysis refined the theoretical framework and iteratively informed data collection. Themes were identified iteratively using constant comparison. The setting included 8 separate hospitals across Canada and Denmark. A total of 11 consultant surgeons from 6 different surgical subspecialties (urology, orthopedic surgery, colorectal surgery, general surgery, vascular surgery, head & neck surgery) were included. We identified three key elements for conceptualizing surgical talent: (1) Individual skills makes the surgical prospect "good", (2) a mixture of skills gives the surgical prospect the potential to become talented, and (3) becoming talented may rely on the fit between person and environment. We embarked on a study aimed at understanding talent in surgery. Talent is a difficult construct to agree on. Whether in medicine or sports, debates about talent will continue to persist, as we all perceive talent differently. While we heard different opinions, three key ideas summarize our participants' discussions regarding surgical talent. These findings resonate with the holistic ecological approach from sport science and hence highlight the limits of a reductionist approach while favoring the individual

The Problem of Understanding of Nature in Exact Science

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Leo Näpinen

2014-10-01

Full Text Available In this short inquiry I would like to defend the statement that exact science deals with the explanation of models, but not with the understanding (comprehending of nature. By the word ‘nature’ I mean nature as physis (as a self-moving and self-developing living organism to which humans also belong, not nature as natura naturata (as a nonevolving creature created by someone or something. The Estonian philosopher of science Rein Vihalemm (2008 has shown with his conception of phi-science (φ-science that exact science is itself an idealized model or theoretical object derived from Galilean mathematical physics.

The Effect of Brain Based Learning on Second Grade Junior Students' Mathematics Conceptual Understanding on Polyhedron

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Suarsana, I. Made; Widiasih, Ni Putu Santhi; Suparta, I. Nengah

2018-01-01

The aim of this study is to examine the effect of Brain Based Learning on second grade junior high school students? conceptual understanding on polyhedron. This study was conducted by using post-test only control group quasi-experimental design. The subjects of this study were 148 students that divided into three classes. Two classes were taken as…

How Contextualized Learning Settings Enhance Meaningful Nature of Science Understanding

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Bilican, K.; Cakiroglu, J.; Oztekin, C.

2015-01-01

Exploring different contexts to facilitate in-depth nature of science (NOS) views were seen as critical for better professional development of pre-service science teachers, which ultimately would assure better students' NOS understanding and achieve an ultimate goal of current science education reforms. This study aimed to reduce the lack of…

CONCEPTUAL CHALLENGES IN UNDERSTANDING INNOVATIVE EDUCATION IN ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

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Mikhail Klarin

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The paper suggests shifts in educational thinking about adult and continuing education practices including: goal setting, nature of the learner, character of education, and its elements including the sources in the educational process, evaluation of its outcomes, and social (micro-social role of education. The author explores innovative vs. conventional adult learning, and introduces several new approaches to adult education. Several conceptual challenges (paradoxes are considered that do not fit the traditional educationalist’s thinking. The conceptual shifts are explored as cognitive gaps, leading to insights about the nature of adult education, and pragmatic changes in shaping education to transform individual and collective experience.

Understanding Science Teaching Effectiveness: Examining How Science-Specific and Generic Instructional Practices Relate to Student Achievement in Secondary Science Classrooms

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Mikeska, Jamie N.; Shattuck, Tamara; Holtzman, Steven; McCaffrey, Daniel F.; Duchesneau, Nancy; Qi, Yi; Stickler, Leslie

2017-01-01

In order to create conditions for students' meaningful and rigorous intellectual engagement in science classrooms, it is critically important to help science teachers learn which strategies and approaches can be used best to develop students' scientific literacy. Better understanding how science teachers' instructional practices relate to student…

Science Learning Cycle Method to Enhance the Conceptual Understanding and the Learning Independence on Physics Learning

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Sulisworo, Dwi; Sutadi, Novitasari

2017-01-01

There have been many studies related to the implementation of cooperative learning. However, there are still many problems in school related to the learning outcomes on science lesson, especially in physics. The aim of this study is to observe the application of science learning cycle (SLC) model on improving scientific literacy for secondary…

[Empowerment in prevention and health promotion--a critical conceptual evaluation of basic understanding, dimensions and assessment problems].

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Kliche, T; Kröger, G

2008-12-01

Empowerment is an important concept in health care, but despite its prevalence it seems to be more of a buzz word. Thus, a conceptual review on empowerment in prevention and health promotion was carried out. 62 German and international theoretical contributions, reviews and studies were incorporated, covering the fields of prevention, care and therapy, rehabilitation, health-care research, nursing and work-related stress. The analysis revealed eight main dimensions of empowerment: (1) shared decision-making, (2) self-efficacy, (3) social support and social capital, (4) skills and competences, (5) health care utilisation, (6) goal setting and attainment, (7) reflexive thought and (8) innovation. Their empirical assessment can be carried out on a micro-, meso-, or macro-level. Three distinct basic conceptual notions emerged from the analysis, each applying its own specific research questions and measurement instruments: clinical, organizational-professional and political understanding of "empowerment". Therefore, these three specific conceptual notions should each be developed and tested separately, in particular in reviews, and empirical studies should embrace all eight subdimensions.

Appropriating religion: understanding religion as an object of science

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Donald Wiebe

1999-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, the author focuses on the study of religion as a scientific project, for it is the scientific interest in religion which has constituted the grounds for admitting the study of religion into the curriculum of the modern Western university. Despite that academic legitimation, however, the study of religion in the setting of the modern research university is not held in high esteem relative to the other sciences. It if the scientific study of religion is to be legitimately ensconced in the modern research university, the notion of religion will have to be wholly appropriated by science; only then will we be able to establish a conceptual foundation from which to make valid knowledge claims about religion on a level commensurate with the pronouncements of the natural and social sciences. Indeed, to go one step further, given the hold on the concept of religion by those committed to the humanistic study of religion, we might need to talk here not of the appropriation but of expropriation of religion by science—that is, of wresting ownership of the concept from the humanists by using it solely as a taxonomic device to differentiate and explain a peculiar range of human behaviour demonstrated in religious practices.

Toward a manifesto for the 'public understanding of big data'.

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Michael, Mike; Lupton, Deborah

2016-01-01

In this article, we sketch a 'manifesto' for the 'public understanding of big data'. On the one hand, this entails such public understanding of science and public engagement with science and technology-tinged questions as follows: How, when and where are people exposed to, or do they engage with, big data? Who are regarded as big data's trustworthy sources, or credible commentators and critics? What are the mechanisms by which big data systems are opened to public scrutiny? On the other hand, big data generate many challenges for public understanding of science and public engagement with science and technology: How do we address publics that are simultaneously the informant, the informed and the information of big data? What counts as understanding of, or engagement with, big data, when big data themselves are multiplying, fluid and recursive? As part of our manifesto, we propose a range of empirical, conceptual and methodological exhortations. We also provide Appendix 1 that outlines three novel methods for addressing some of the issues raised in the article. © The Author(s) 2015.

Pedagogical Relationship in Secondary Social Science Classrooms

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Girard, Brian James

2010-01-01

This study investigates two high school social science classrooms in order to better understand the pedagogical relationships among teachers, students, and disciplinary content, and how teachers can influence students' opportunities to learn disciplinary literacy. Drawing on conceptual resources from sociocultural theories of learning and…

Information-seeking strategies and science content understandings of sixth-grade students using on-line learning environments

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Hoffman, Joseph Loris

1999-11-01

This study examined the information-seeking strategies and science content understandings learners developed as a result of using on-line resources in the University of Michigan Digital Library and on the World Wide Web. Eight pairs of sixth grade students from two teachers' classrooms were observed during inquiries for astronomy, ecology, geology, and weather, and a final transfer task assessed learners' capabilities at the end of the school year. Data included video recordings of students' screen activity and conversations, journals and completed activity sheets, final artifacts, and semi-structured interviews. Learners' information-seeking strategies included activities related to asking, planning, tool usage, searching, assessing, synthesizing, writing, and creating. Analysis of data found a majority of learners posed meaningful, openended questions, used technological tools appropriately, developed pertinent search topics, were thoughtful in queries to the digital library, browsed sites purposefully to locate information, and constructed artifacts with novel formats. Students faced challenges when planning activities, assessing resources, and synthesizing information. Possible explanations were posed linking pedagogical practices with learners' growth and use of inquiry strategies. Data from classroom-lab video and teacher interviews showed varying degrees of student scaffolding: development and critique of initial questions, utilization of search tools, use of journals for reflection on activities, and requirements for final artifacts. Science content understandings included recalling information, offering explanations, articulating relationships, and extending explanations. A majority of learners constructed partial understandings limited to information recall and simple explanations, and these occasionally contained inaccurate conceptualizations. Web site design features had some influence on the construction of learners' content understandings. Analysis of

Changes in Pre-service Science Teachers' Understandings After Being Involved in Explicit Nature of Science and Socioscientific Argumentation Processes

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Kutluca, A. Y.; Aydın, A.

2017-08-01

The study explored the changes in pre-service science teachers' understanding of the nature of science and their opinions about the nature of science, science teaching and argumentation after their participation in explicit nature of science (NOS) and socioscientific argumentation processes. The participants were 56 third-grade pre-service science teachers studying in a state university in Turkey. The treatment group comprised 27 participants, and there were 29 participants in the comparison group. The comparison group participants were involved in a student-centred science-teaching process, and the participants of the treatment group were involved in explicit NOS and socioscientific argumentation processes. In the study, which lasted a total of 11 weeks, a NOS-as-argumentation questionnaire was administered to all the participants to determine their understanding of NOS at the beginning and end of the data collection process, and six random participants of the treatment group participated in semi-structured interview questions in order to further understand their views regarding NOS, science teaching and argumentation. Qualitative and quantitative data analysis revealed that the explicit NOS and socioscientific argumentation processes had a significant effect on pre-service science teachers' NOS understandings. Furthermore, NOS, argumentation and science teaching views of the participants in the treatment group showed a positive change. The results of this study are discussed in light of the related literature, and suggestions are made within the context of contribution to science-teaching literature, improvement of education quality and education of pre-service teachers.

Developing Conceptual Understanding and Procedural Skill in Mathematics: An Iterative Process.

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Rittle-Johnson, Bethany; Siegler, Robert S.; Alibali, Martha Wagner

2001-01-01

Proposes that conceptual and procedural knowledge develop in an iterative fashion and improved problem representation is one mechanism underlying the relations between them. Two experiments were conducted with 5th and 6th grade students learning about decimal fractions. Results indicate conceptual and procedural knowledge do develop, iteratively,…

Teachers and Science Curriculum Materials: Where We Are and Where We Need to Go

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Davis, Elizabeth A.; Janssen, Fred J. J. M.; Van Driel, Jan H.

2016-01-01

Curriculum materials serve as a key conceptual tool for science teachers, and better understanding how science teachers use these tools could help to improve both curriculum design and theory related to teacher learning and decision-making. The authors review the literature on teachers and science curriculum materials. The review is organised…

The (non)making/becoming of inquiry practicing science teachers

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Sharma, Ajay; Muzaffar, Irfan

2012-03-01

Teacher education programs have adopted preparing science teachers that teach science through inquiry as an important pedagogic agenda. However, their efforts have not met with much success. While traditional explanations for this failure focus largely on preservice science teachers' knowledge, beliefs and conceptions regarding science and science teaching, this conceptual paper seeks to direct attention toward discursive practices surrounding inquiry science teaching in teacher education programs for understanding why most science teachers do not teach science through inquiry. The paper offers a theoretical framework centered on critical notions of subjection and performativity as a much needed perspective on making/becoming of science teachers through participation in discursive practices of science teacher education programs. It argues that research based on such perspectives have much potential to offer a deeper understanding of the difficult challenges teacher education programs face in preparing inquiry practicing science teachers.

Development of the Exam of GeoloGy Standards, EGGS, to Measure Students' Conceptual Understanding of Geology Concepts

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Guffey, S. K.; Slater, T. F.; Slater, S. J.

2017-12-01

Discipline-based geoscience education researchers have considerable need for criterion-referenced, easy-to-administer and easy-to-score, conceptual diagnostic surveys for undergraduates taking introductory science survey courses in order for faculty to better be able to monitor the learning impacts of various interactive teaching approaches. To support ongoing discipline-based science education research to improve teaching and learning across the geosciences, this study establishes the reliability and validity of a 28-item, multiple-choice, pre- and post- Exam of GeoloGy Standards, hereafter simply called EGGS. The content knowledge EGGS addresses is based on 11 consensus concepts derived from a systematic, thematic analysis of the overlapping ideas presented in national science education reform documents including the Next Generation Science Standards, the AAAS Benchmarks for Science Literacy, the Earth Science Literacy Principles, and the NRC National Science Education Standards. Using community agreed upon best-practices for creating, field-testing, and iteratively revising modern multiple-choice test items using classical item analysis techniques, EGGS emphasizes natural student language over technical scientific vocabulary, leverages illustrations over students' reading ability, specifically targets students' misconceptions identified in the scholarly literature, and covers the range of topics most geology educators expect general education students to know at the end of their formal science learning experiences. The current version of EGGS is judged to be valid and reliable with college-level, introductory science survey students based on both standard quantitative and qualitative measures, including extensive clinical interviews with targeted students and systematic expert review.

Understanding science teaching effectiveness: examining how science-specific and generic instructional practices relate to student achievement in secondary science classrooms

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Mikeska, Jamie N.; Shattuck, Tamara; Holtzman, Steven; McCaffrey, Daniel F.; Duchesneau, Nancy; Qi, Yi; Stickler, Leslie

2017-12-01

In order to create conditions for students' meaningful and rigorous intellectual engagement in science classrooms, it is critically important to help science teachers learn which strategies and approaches can be used best to develop students' scientific literacy. Better understanding how science teachers' instructional practices relate to student achievement can provide teachers with beneficial information about how to best engage their students in meaningful science learning. To address this need, this study examined the instructional practices that 99 secondary biology teachers used in their classrooms and employed regression to determine which instructional practices are predictive of students' science achievement. Results revealed that the secondary science teachers who had well-managed classroom environments and who provided opportunities for their students to engage in student-directed investigation-related experiences were more likely to have increased student outcomes, as determined by teachers' value-added measures. These findings suggest that attending to both generic and subject-specific aspects of science teachers' instructional practice is important for understanding the underlying mechanisms that result in more effective science instruction in secondary classrooms. Implications about the use of these observational measures within teacher evaluation systems are discussed.

Conceptualizations of clinical leadership: a review of the literature

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Mianda, Solange; Voce, Anna S

2017-01-01

Introduction Poor patient outcomes in South African maternal health settings have been associated with inadequately performing health care providers and poor clinical leadership at the point of care. While skill deficiencies among health care providers have been largely addressed, the provision of clinical leadership has been neglected. In order to develop and implement initiatives to ensure clinical leadership among frontline health care providers, a need was identified to understand the ways in which clinical leadership is conceptualized in the literature. Design Using the systematic quantitative literature review, papers published between 2004 and 2016 were obtained from search engines (Google Scholar and EBSCOhost). Electronic databases (CINHAL, PubMed, Medline, Academic Search Complete, Health Source: Consumer, Health Source: Nursing/Academic, ScienceDirect and Ovid®) and electronic journals (Contemporary Nurse, Journal of Research in Nursing, Australian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery, International Journal of Clinical Leadership) were also searched. Results Using preselected inclusion criteria, 7256 citations were identified. After screening 230 potentially relevant full-text papers for eligibility, 222 papers were excluded because they explored health care leadership or clinical leadership among health care providers other than frontline health care providers. Eight papers met the inclusion criteria for the review. Most studies were conducted in high-income settings. Conceptualizations of clinical leadership share similarities with the conceptualizations of service leadership but differ in focus, with the intent of improving direct patient care. Clinical leadership can be a shared responsibility, performed by every competent frontline health care provider, regardless of the position in the health care system. Conclusion Conceptualizations of clinical leadership among frontline health care providers arise mainly from high-income settings. Understanding the

Conceptualizations of clinical leadership: a review of the literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Mianda, Solange; Voce, Anna S

2017-01-01

Poor patient outcomes in South African maternal health settings have been associated with inadequately performing health care providers and poor clinical leadership at the point of care. While skill deficiencies among health care providers have been largely addressed, the provision of clinical leadership has been neglected. In order to develop and implement initiatives to ensure clinical leadership among frontline health care providers, a need was identified to understand the ways in which clinical leadership is conceptualized in the literature. Using the systematic quantitative literature review, papers published between 2004 and 2016 were obtained from search engines (Google Scholar and EBSCOhost). Electronic databases (CINHAL, PubMed, Medline, Academic Search Complete, Health Source: Consumer, Health Source: Nursing/Academic, ScienceDirect and Ovid ® ) and electronic journals ( Contemporary Nurse , Journal of Research in Nursing , Australian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery , International Journal of Clinical Leadership ) were also searched. Using preselected inclusion criteria, 7256 citations were identified. After screening 230 potentially relevant full-text papers for eligibility, 222 papers were excluded because they explored health care leadership or clinical leadership among health care providers other than frontline health care providers. Eight papers met the inclusion criteria for the review. Most studies were conducted in high-income settings. Conceptualizations of clinical leadership share similarities with the conceptualizations of service leadership but differ in focus, with the intent of improving direct patient care. Clinical leadership can be a shared responsibility, performed by every competent frontline health care provider, regardless of the position in the health care system. Conceptualizations of clinical leadership among frontline health care providers arise mainly from high-income settings. Understanding the influence of context on

Learners' strategies for reconstructing cognitive frameworks and navigating conceptual change from prior conception to consensual genetics knowledge

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Parrott, Annette M.

Problem. Science teachers are charged with preparing students to become scientifically literate individuals. Teachers are given curriculum that specifies the knowledge that students should come away with; however, they are not necessarily aware of the knowledge with which the student arrives or how best to help them navigate between the two knowledge states. Educators must be aware, not only of where their students are conceptually, but how their students move from their prior knowledge and naive theories, to scientifically acceptable theories. The understanding of how students navigate this course has the potential to revolutionize educational practices. Methods. This study explored how five 9th grade biology students reconstructed their cognitive frameworks and navigated conceptual change from prior conception to consensual genetics knowledge. The research questions investigated were: (1) how do students in the process of changing their naive science theories to accepted science theories describe their journey from prior knowledge to current conception, and (2) what are the methods that students utilize to bridge the gap between alternate and consensual science conceptions to effect conceptual change. Qualitative and quantitative methods were employed to gather and analyze the data. In depth, semi-structured interviews formed the primary data for probing the context and details of students' conceptual change experience. Primary interview data was coded by thematic analysis. Results and discussion. This study revealed information about students' perceived roles in learning, the role of articulation in the conceptual change process, and ways in which a community of learners aids conceptual change. It was ascertained that students see their role in learning primarily as repeating information until they could add that information to their knowledge. Students are more likely to consider challenges to their conceptual frameworks and be more motivated to become active

Effects of Computer-Assisted Instruction with Conceptual Change Texts on Removing the Misconceptions of Radioactivity

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Ahmet YUMUŞAK

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Training young scientists, enabling conceptual understanding in science education is quite important. Misconception is one of the important indications for whether the concepts are understood or not. The most important educational tools to remove misconceptions are conceptual change texts. In addition, one of the important methods to remove misconceptions is computer-assisted instruction. The goal of this study is to research the effects of the use of computer-assisted instruction (CAI, conceptual change texts (CCT, computer-assisted instruction with conceptual change texts (CAI+CCT, and use of traditional teaching method (TTM on removing the misconceptions of science teacher candidates on the subject of radioactivity. Research sample was made of totally 92 students studying at four different groups of senior students in Celal Bayar University, Faculty of Education, Department of Science Education in 2011-2012 academic year. A different teaching method was used in each group. Experimental groups were randomly determined; in the first experimental group, computer-assisted instruction was used (23 students; in the second experimental group, conceptual change texts were used (23 students; in the third experimental group, computer-assisted instruction with conceptual change texts were used (23 students; and the fourth group, on which traditional education method was used, was called control group (23 students. Two-tier misconception diagnostic instrument, which was developed by the researcher, was used as data collection tool of the research. “Nonequivalent Control Groups Experimental Design” was used in this research in order to determine the efficiency of different teaching methods. Obtained data were analyzed by using SPSS 21.0. As a result of the research, it was determined that methods used on experimental groups were more successful than traditional teaching method practiced on control group in terms of removing misconceptions on

The Effects on Students' Conceptual Understanding of Electric Circuits of Introducing Virtual Manipulatives within a Physical Manipulatives-Oriented Curriculum

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Zacharia, Zacharias C.; de Jong, Ton

2014-01-01

This study investigates whether Virtual Manipulatives (VM) within a Physical Manipulatives (PM)-oriented curriculum affect conceptual understanding of electric circuits and related experimentation processes. A pre-post comparison study randomly assigned 194 undergraduates in an introductory physics course to one of five conditions: three…

Fundamental Computer Science Conceptual Understandings for High School Students Using Original Computer Game Design

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Ernst, Jeremy V.; Clark, Aaron C.

2012-01-01

In 2009, the North Carolina Virtual Public Schools worked with researchers at the William and Ida Friday Institute to produce and evaluate the use of game creation by secondary students as a means for learning content related to career awareness in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines, with particular emphasis in…

Learning the 'grammar of science': The influence of a physical science content course on teachers' understanding of the nature of science

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Hanuscin, Deborah L.

This research examined the development of practicing K--8 teachers' views of the nature of science (NOS) within a physical science content course. Reforms in science education have called for the teaching of science as inquiry. In order to achieve the vision of the reforms, teachers must understand science, both a body of knowledge and as a process, but also the very nature of science itself-or the values and assumptions inherent in the construction of scientific knowledge. NOS has been deemed a critical component of scientific literacy, with implications for making informed decisions about scientific claims. Research has indicated that despite the emphasis of reforms, teachers generally do not possess accurate views of NOS. Recent work in science education has led to the recommendation that efforts undertaken within teacher education programs to improve teachers' understanding of NOS can be enhanced through relevant coursework in other academic areas, including the sciences. The purpose of this dissertation was to provide an empirical basis for this recommendation, by examining the development of teachers' views of NOS within a physical science content course. To this end, the researcher employed qualitative methodology including participant observation, interview, document analysis, and questionnaire to assess teacher participants' views of the nature of science and the impact of their experience in the content course on these views. As a result of this research, implications for both the course design and science teacher education have been described. In addition, various aspects of the community of practice that characterizes the classroom that inhibit the development of understandings about the nature of science are identified. It is argued that instruction in NOS should be approached from the perspective that builds bridges between the communities of practice of learners and of scientists.

A conceptual framework to understand teachers’ Professional Dispositions and Orientation towards tablet technology in secondary schools

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Suzanne Sackstein

2017-10-01

Full Text Available While recent technological innovations have resulted in calls to incorporate tablets into the classroom, schools have been criticised for not taking advantage of what the technology has to offer. Past research has shown that teachers do not automatically choose to adopt technology in the classroom. A number of concerns exist in relation to the research being conducted within this area. Firstly, the majority of research studies have not been based on sound conceptual frameworks. Secondly, for the most part, these research studies have tended to focus on the technology itself rather than the resulting changes in teaching and learning. Finally, much of the literature is premised on constructivist pedagogic practices which offer promissories of radical pedagogic change. An understanding of technology teachers’ orientations to the new technology, coupled with an understanding of the reasons behind teachers’ choices to adopt or not adopt technology has not yet been fully explored. From a review of the literature in relation to teachers’ Professional Dispositions, derived from the work of Bernstein on the pedagogic discourse, alongside Hooper and Rieber’s model on educational technology adoption a conceptual framework has been developed to will shed light on secondary school teachers’ differential adoption of tablet technology.

Planning for Reform-Based Science: Case Studies of Two Urban Elementary Teachers

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Mangiante, Elaine Silva

2018-01-01

The intent of national efforts to frame science education standards is to promote students' development of scientific practices and conceptual understanding for their future role as scientifically literate citizens (NRC 2012). A guiding principle of science education reform is that all students receive equitable opportunities to engage in rigorous…

A conceptual connectivity framework for understanding geomorphic change in human-impacted fluvial systems

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Pöppl, Ronald; Keesstra, Saskia; Maroulis, Jerry

2017-04-01

Human-induced landscape change is difficult to predict due to the complexity inherent in both geomorphic and social systems as well as due to emerging coupling relationships between them. To better understand system complexity and system response to change, connectivity has become an important research paradigm within various disciplines including geomorphology, hydrology and ecology. With the proposed conceptual connectivity framework on geomorphic change in human-impacted fluvial systems a cautionary note is flagged regarding the need (i) to include and to systematically conceptualise the role of different types of human agency in altering connectivity relationships in geomorphic systems and (ii) to integrate notions of human-environment interactions to connectivity concepts in geomorphology to better explain causes and trajectories of landscape change. Underpinned by case study examples, the presented conceptual framework is able to explain how geomorphic response of fluvial systems to human disturbance is determined by system-specific boundary conditions (incl. system history, related legacy effects and lag times), vegetation dynamics and human-induced functional relationships (i.e. feedback mechanisms) between the different spatial dimensions of connectivity. It is further demonstrated how changes in social systems can trigger a process-response feedback loop between social and geomorphic systems that further governs the trajectory of landscape change in coupled human-geomorphic systems.

The utility of resilience as a conceptual framework for understanding and measuring LGBTQ health.

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Colpitts, Emily; Gahagan, Jacqueline

2016-04-06

Historically, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) health research has focused heavily on the risks for poor health outcomes, obscuring the ways in which LGBTQ populations maintain and improve their health across the life course. In this paper we argue that informing culturally competent health policy and systems requires shifting the LGBTQ health research evidence base away from deficit-focused approaches toward strengths-based approaches to understanding and measuring LGBTQ health. We recently conducted a scoping review with the aim of exploring strengths-based approaches to LGBTQ health research. Our team found that the concept of resilience emerged as a key conceptual framework. This paper discusses a subset of our scoping review findings on the utility of resilience as a conceptual framework in understanding and measuring LGBTQ health. The findings of our scoping review suggest that the ways in which resilience is defined and measured in relation to LGBTQ populations remains contested. Given that LGBTQ populations have unique lived experiences of adversity and discrimination, and may also have unique factors that contribute to their resilience, the utility of heteronormative and cis-normative models of resilience is questionable. Our findings suggest that there is a need to consider further exploration and development of LGBTQ-specific models and measures of resilience that take into account structural, social, and individual determinants of health and incorporate an intersectional lens. While we fully acknowledge that the resilience of LGBTQ populations is central to advancing LGBTQ health, there remains much work to be done before the concept of resilience can be truly useful in measuring LGBTQ health.

The effects of a professional development geoscience education institute upon secondary school science teachers in Puerto Rico

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Llerandi Roman, Pablo Antonio

The geographic and geologic settings of Puerto Rico served as the context to develop a mixed methods investigation on: (1) the effects of a five-day long constructivist and field-based earth science education professional development institute upon 26 secondary school science teachers' earth science conceptual knowledge, perceptions of fieldwork, and beliefs about teaching earth science; and (2) the implementation of participants' newly acquired knowledge and experience in their science lessons at school. Qualitative data included questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, reflective journals, pre-post concept maps, and pre-post lesson plans. The Geoscience Concept Inventory and the Science Outdoor Learning Environment Inventory were translated into Spanish and culturally validated to collect quantitative data. Data was analyzed through a constructivist grounded theory methodology, descriptive statistics, and non-parametric methods. Participants came to the institute with serious deficiencies in earth science conceptual understanding, negative earth science teaching perspectives, and inadequate earth science teaching methodologies. The institute helped participants to improve their understanding of earth science concepts, content, and processes mostly related to the study of rocks, the Earth's structure, plate tectonics, maps, and the geology of Puerto Rico. Participants also improved their earth science teaching beliefs, perceptions on field-based education, and reflected on their environmental awareness and social responsibility. Participants greatly benefited from the field-based learning environment, inquiry-based teaching approaches modeled, the attention given to their affective domain, and reflections on their teaching practice as part of the institute's activities. The constructivist learning environment and the institute's contextualized and meaningful learning conceptual model were effective in generating interest and confidence in earth science teaching

Winch, Wittgenstein and the Idea of a Critical Social Science

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hermansen, Jens Christian

such phenomena. In the light of new uses ofWittgenstein within social theory and recent philosophical research on Wittgenstein (that challenge the orthodoxWinchian reception of Wittgenstein), the paper discusses the prospects of a critical social science after Wittgenstein.......In "The Idea of a Social Science" and in the article "Understanding a Primitive Society" Peter Winch develops what he believes to be the implications ofWittgenstein's late philosophy for the social sciences. Inspired byWittgenstein,Winch argues for a linguistic turn. Winch's basic ontological claim...... is that social life is conceptually organised: it is organised by the ways in which language is used by members of social life. This claim has methodological implications: the social sciences are, according to Winch, conceptual studies, that is, they are studies of the concepts possessed by members of social...

From monocausality to systems thinking: a complementary and alternative conceptual approach for better understanding the development and prevention of sports injury.

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Hulme, Adam; Finch, Caroline F

The science of sports injury control, including both its cause and prevention, has largely been informed by a biomedical and mechanistic model of health. Traditional scientific practice in sports injury research has routinely involved collapsing the broader socioecological landscape down in order to analyse individual-level determinants of injury - whether biomechanical and/or behavioural. This approach has made key gains for sports injury prevention research and should be further encouraged and allowed to evolve naturally. However, the public health, Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics, and injury epidemiological literature more broadly, has accepted the value of a socioecological paradigm for better understanding disease and injury processes, and sports injury research will fall further behind unless it does the same. A complementary and alternative conceptual approach towards injury control known as systems thinking that builds on socioecological science, both methodologically and analytically, is readily available and fast developing in other research areas. This review outlines the historical progression of causal concepts in the field of epidemiology over the course of the modern scientific era. From here, causal concepts in injury epidemiology, and models of aetiology as found in the context of sports injury research are presented. The paper finishes by proposing a new research agenda that considers the potential for a systems thinking approach to further enhance sports injury aetiological understanding. A complementary systems paradigm, however, will require that sports injury epidemiologists bring their knowledge and skillsets forwards in an attempt to use, adapt, and even refine existing systems-based approaches. Alongside the natural development of conventional scientific methodologies and analyses in sports injury research, progressing forwards to a systems paradigm is now required.

Teaching for clinical reasoning - helping students make the conceptual links.

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McMillan, Wendy Jayne

2010-01-01

Dental educators complain that students struggle to apply what they have learnt theoretically in the clinical context. This paper is premised on the assumption that there is a relationship between conceptual thinking and clinical reasoning. The paper provides a theoretical framework for understanding the relationship between conceptual learning and clinical reasoning. A review of current literature is used to explain the way in which conceptual understanding influences clinical reasoning and the transfer of theoretical understandings to the clinical context. The paper argues that the connections made between concepts are what is significant about conceptual understanding. From this point of departure the paper describes teaching strategies that facilitate the kinds of learning opportunities that students need in order to develop conceptual understanding and to be able to transfer knowledge from theoretical to clinical contexts. Along with a variety of teaching strategies, the value of concept maps is discussed. The paper provides a framework for understanding the difficulties that students have in developing conceptual networks appropriate for later clinical reasoning. In explaining how students learn for clinical application, the paper provides a theoretical framework that can inform how dental educators facilitate the conceptual learning, and later clinical reasoning, of their students.

Thinking about television science: How students understand the nature of science from different program genres

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Dhingra, Koshi

2003-02-01

Student views on the nature of science are shaped by a variety of out-of-school forces and television-mediated science is a significant force. To attempt to achieve a science for all, we need to recognize and understand the diverse messages about science that students access and think about on a regular basis. In this work I examine how high school students think about science that is mediated by four different program genres on television: documentary, magazine-format programming, network news, and dramatic or fictional programming. The following categories of findings are discussed: the ethics and validity of science, final form science, science as portrayed by its practitioners, and school science and television science. Student perceptions of the nature of science depicted on the program sample used in this study ranged from seeing science as comprising tentative knowledge claims to seeing science as a fixed body of facts.

The Effectiveness of Brain-Based Teaching Approach in Dealing with the Problems of Students' Conceptual Understanding and Learning Motivation towards Physics

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Saleh, Salmiza

2012-01-01

Teachers of science-based education in Malaysian secondary schools, especially those in the field of physics, often find their students facing huge difficulties in dealing with conceptual ideas in physics, resulting thus in a lack of interest towards the subject. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the Brain-Based Teaching…

Mind maps and network analysis to evaluate conceptualization of complex issues: A case example evaluating systems science workshops for childhood obesity prevention.

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Frerichs, Leah; Young, Tiffany L; Dave, Gaurav; Stith, Doris; Corbie-Smith, Giselle; Hassmiller Lich, Kristen

2018-06-01

Across disciplines, it is common practice to bring together groups to solve complex problems. Facilitators are often asked to help groups organize information about and better understand the problem in order to develop and prioritize solutions. However, despite existence of several methods to elicit and characterize how individuals and groups think about and conceptualize an issue, many are difficult to implement in practice-based settings where resources such as technology and participant time are limited and research questions shift over time. This paper describes an easy-to-implement diagramming technique for eliciting conceptualization and a flexible network analysis method for characterizing changes in both individual and group conceptualization. We use a case example to illustrate how we used the methods to evaluate African American adolescent's conceptual understanding of obesity before and after participating in a series of four systems thinking workshops. The methods produced results that were sensitive to changes in conceptualization that were likely driven by the specific activities employed during the workshop sessions. The methods appear strong for capturing salient levels of conceptualization at both individual and collective levels. The paper concludes with a critical examination of strengths and weaknesses of the methods and implications for future practice and research. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Teachers' Beliefs about the Role of Interaction in Teaching Newtonian Mechanics and Its Influence on Students' Conceptual Understanding of Newton's Third Law

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Jauhiainen, Johanna; Koponen, Ismo T.; Lavonen, Jari

2006-01-01

Students' conceptual understanding of Newton's third law has been the subject of numerous studies. These studies have often pointed out the importance of addressing the concept of interaction in teaching Newtonian mechanics. In this study, teachers were interviewed in order to examine how they understand interaction and use it in their…

The InVEST Volcanic Concept Survey: Exploring Student Understanding about Volcanoes

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Parham, Thomas L., Jr.; Cervato, Cinzia; Gallus, William A., Jr.; Larsen, Michael; Hobbs, Jon; Stelling, Pete; Greenbowe, Thomas; Gupta, Tanya; Knox, John A.; Gill, Thomas E.

2010-01-01

Results from the Volcanic Concept Survey (VCS) indicated that many undergraduates do not fully understand volcanic systems and plate tectonics. During the 2006 academic year, a ten-item conceptual survey was distributed to undergraduate students enrolled in Earth science courses at five U.S. colleges and universities. A trained team of graders…

Uncertainty in biodiversity science, policy and management: a conceptual overview

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Yrjö Haila

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The protection of biodiversity is a complex societal, political and ultimately practical imperative of current global society. The imperative builds upon scientific knowledge on human dependence on the life-support systems of the Earth. This paper aims at introducing main types of uncertainty inherent in biodiversity science, policy and management, as an introduction to a companion paper summarizing practical experiences of scientists and scholars (Haila et al. 2014. Uncertainty is a cluster concept: the actual nature of uncertainty is inherently context-bound. We use semantic space as a conceptual device to identify key dimensions of uncertainty in the context of biodiversity protection; these relate to [i] data; [ii] proxies; [iii] concepts; [iv] policy and management; and [v] normative goals. Semantic space offers an analytic perspective for drawing critical distinctions between types of uncertainty, identifying fruitful resonances that help to cope with the uncertainties, and building up collaboration between different specialists to support mutual social learning.

The Effect of Using Virtual Laboratory on Grade 10 Students' Conceptual Understanding and Their Attitudes towards Physics

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Faour, Malak Abou; Ayoubi, Zalpha

2018-01-01

This study investigated the effect of using (VL) on grade 10 students' conceptual understanding of the direct current electric circuit and their attitudes towards physics. The research used a quantitative experimental approach. The sample of the study was formed of 50 students of the tenth grade, aged 14 to 16 years old, of an official secondary…

The Effect of Recycling Education on High School Students' Conceptual Understanding about Ecology: A Study on Matter Cycle

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Ugulu, Ilker; Yorek, Nurettin; Baslar, Suleyman

2015-01-01

The objective of this study is to analyze and determine whether a developed recycling education program would lead to a positive change in the conceptual understanding of ecological concepts associated with matter cycles by high school students. The research was conducted on 68 high school 10th grade students (47 female and 21 male students). The…

Supporting Instruction By Defining Conceptual Relevance Of Materials: Alignment Of Resources To An Earth Systems Framework

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Menicucci, A. J.; Bean, J. R.

2017-12-01

Environmental, geological, and climatological sciences are important facets of physical science education. However, it is often difficult for educators to acquire the necessary resources to facilitate content explanations, and demonstration of the conceptual links between individual lessons. The Understanding Global Change (UGC) Project at the University of California Museum of Paleontology (UCMP) at UC Berkeley is aligning new and existing Earth systems educational resources that are high-quality, interactive and inquiry based. Learning resources are organized by the UGC framework topics (Causes of Change, How the Earth System Works, and Measurable Changes), and focus on exploring topic relationships. Resources are currently aligned with both the UGC framework and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), facilitating broad utility among K-16 educators. The overarching goal of the UGC Project is to provide the necessary resources that guide the construction of coherent, interdisciplinary instructional units. These units can be reinforced through system models, providing visual learning scaffolds for assessments of student content knowledge. Utilizing the central framework of UGC alleviates the long-standing problem of creating coherent instructional units from multiple learning resources, each organized and categorized independently across multiple platforms that may not provide explicit connections among Earth science subjects UGC topic cross listing of learning modules establishes conceptual links. Each resource is linked across several Earth system components, facilitating exploration of relationships and feedbacks between processes. Cross listed topics are therefore useful for development of broad picture learning goals via targeted instructional units. We also anticipate cultivating summaries of the explicit conceptual links explored in each resource from both current teachers and content specialists. Insructional units currated and aligned under the UGC

Bioengineering a conceptual approach

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Pavlovic, Mirjana

2015-01-01

This book explores critical principles and new concepts in bioengineering, integrating the biological, physical and chemical laws and principles that provide a foundation for the field. Both biological and engineering perspectives are included, with key topics such as the physical-chemical properties of cells, tissues and organs; principles of molecules; composition and interplay in physiological scenarios; and the complex physiological functions of heart, neuronal cells, muscle cells and tissues. Chapters evaluate the emerging fields of nanotechnology, drug delivery concepts, biomaterials, and regenerative therapy. The leading individuals and events are introduced along with their critical research. Bioengineering: A Conceptual Approach is a valuable resource for professionals or researchers interested in understanding the central elements of bioengineering. Advanced-level students in biomedical engineering and computer science will also find this book valuable as a secondary textbook or reference.

Understanding leadership in the environmental sciences

OpenAIRE

Evans, L.; Hicks, C.; Cohen, P.; Case, P.; Prideaux, M.; Mills, D.

2015-01-01

Leadership is often assumed, intuitively, to be an important driver of sustainable development. To understand how leadership is conceptualised and analysed in the environmental sciences and to discover what this research says about leadership outcomes, we conducted a review of environmental leadership research over the last ten years. We find that much of the environmental leadership literature we reviewed focuses on a few key individuals and desirable leadership competencies. It also reports...

Coming to grips with autism: Parents engaging with science

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Feinstein, Noah Robert

When and how does science matter to people in their everyday lives? In this dissertation, I explore the importance of science to parents of young children recently diagnosed with autism. I examine the questions parents ask and the resources they use as they attempt to understand and advocate for their children, and use this data to develop a new conceptual model of engagement with science: the intrapersonal and interpersonal process through which people connect science with their lived experience. I recruited a socio-economically diverse sample of ten parents, each with at least one young child (18 months--7 years) who had been diagnosed with autism 6--24 months prior to recruitment. Each parent completed a series of 8--12 semi-structured interviews over a period of approximately six months. These interviews were analyzed using both grounded theory and conceptually driven coding strategies. Two findings stand out. First, only a small fraction of parents' questions (15%) and resources (11%) were directly related to science. A much larger fraction (41% and 42%) fell into the broader categories of near-science questions and resources. Second, half of the parents demonstrated an iterative pattern of activity that I referred to as progressive engagement with science. In each case, a science or near-science question led the parent to a science or near-science resource, which transformed the question. The new question led to different science or near-science resources, which led to new questions and so forth. Parents who did not undertake progressive engagement with science were also less interested in autism as an organizing construct for understanding their children. Drawing on the work of Peter Galison, I propose that the idea of autism helps create a "trading zone" between the distinct social systems of family life and medical science. Parents who ask near-science questions must find near-science resources to help them direct their questions appropriately. They must

A study of understanding: Alchemy, abstraction, and circulating reference in tertiary science education

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Merritt, Brett W.

Understanding is widely touted to be of paramount importance for education. This is especially true in science education research and development where understanding is heralded as one of the cornerstones of reform. Teachers are expected to teach for understanding and students are expected to learn with understanding. This dissertation is an empirical study of the concept of understanding. After analyzing various constructions of understanding in current U.S. education literature, I suggest that understanding is defined by five distinct features---they are knowledge (or knowledge base), coherence, transfer, extrapolation, and cognition--- and that these features are heavily informed and shaped by the psychological sciences. This relationship is neither good nor bad, I argue, but it means that teaching for and learning with understanding are not heavily informed and shaped by, for example, the natural sciences. Drawing from historical, philosophical, and anthropological perspectives of science, but especially from the work of Bruno Latour, I enact a radical revision(ing) of psychological notions such as "abstraction" and "transfer." The two main purposes of this re-visioning are (1) to draw critical attention to particular characteristics of a cognitive learning theory that emphasizes abstract concepts, and (2) to align many of the principles and tools used in science education more closely with those used in empirical scientific research. Finally, by bringing some examples of teaching and learning from an undergraduate biology classroom into conversation with both psychological and empirical practices and perspectives, I suggest that problematizing the current construction of understanding creates much needed room in mainstream science education for more empirical forms of learning and styles of teaching. A shift to such forms and styles, I conclude, should prove to be more inclusive and less constraining for both students and teachers.

Understanding structural conservation through materials science:

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Fuster-López, Laura; Krarup Andersen, Cecil

2014-01-01

with tools to avoid future problems, it should be present in all conservation-restoration training programs to help promote students’ understanding of the degradation mechanisms in cultural materials (and their correlation with chemical and biological degradation) as well as the implications behind......Mechanical properties and the structure of materials are key elements in understanding how structural interventions in conservation treatments affect cultural heritage objects. In this context, engineering mechanics can help determine the strength and stability found in art objects as it can...... provide both explanation and prediction of failure in materials. It has therefore shown to be an effective method for developing useful solutions to conservation problems. Since materials science and mechanics can help conservators predict the long term consequences of their treatments and provide them...

Developing Preservice Teachers' Self-Efficacy through Field-Based Science Teaching Practice with Elementary Students

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Flores, Ingrid M.

2015-01-01

Thirty preservice teachers enrolled in a field-based science methods course were placed at a public elementary school for coursework and for teaching practice with elementary students. Candidates focused on building conceptual understanding of science content and pedagogical methods through innovative curriculum development and other course…

A Cross-Age Study of Student Understanding of the Concept of Homeostasis.

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Westbrook, Susan L.; Marek, Edmund A.

1992-01-01

The conceptual views of homeostasis held by students (n=300) in seventh grade life science, tenth grade biology, and college zoology were examined. A biographical questionnaire, the results from two Piagetian-like developmental tasks, and a concept evaluation statement of homeostasis were collected from each student. Understanding of the concept…

Comparison of Two Different Techniques of Cooperative Learning Approach: Undergraduates' Conceptual Understanding in the Context of Hormone Biochemistry

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Mutlu, Ayfer

2018-01-01

The purpose of the research was to compare the effects of two different techniques of the cooperative learning approach, namely Team-Game Tournament and Jigsaw, on undergraduates' conceptual understanding in a Hormone Biochemistry course. Undergraduates were randomly assigned to Group 1 (N = 23) and Group 2 (N = 29). Instructions were accomplished…

The Impact of Problem-Based Learning on Engineering Students' Beliefs about Physics and Conceptual Understanding of Energy and Momentum

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Sahin, Mehmet

2010-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of problem-based learning (PBL) on freshmen engineering students' beliefs about physics and physics learning (referred to as epistemological beliefs) and conceptual understanding of physics. The multiple-choice test of energy and momentum concepts and the Colorado learning attitudes about…

Relationships among Prior Conceptual Knowledge, Metacognitive Awareness, Metacognitive Self-Management, Cognitive Style, Perception-Judgment Style, Attitude toward School Science, Self-Regulation, and Science Achievement in Grades 6-7 Students.

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Holden, Trudy G.; Yore, Larry D.

This study explores the learner dimension in learning biological science topics in five elementary school classrooms instructed by different teachers using a common course of study and outcome measures. Specifically, the study addressed the associations among conceptual, metacognitive, cognitive, stylistic, and affective characteristics and…

Empirical Philosophy of Science

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Mansnerus, Erika; Wagenknecht, Susann

2015-01-01

knowledge takes place through the integration of the empirical or historical research into the philosophical studies, as Chang, Nersessian, Thagard and Schickore argue in their work. Building upon their contributions we will develop a blueprint for an Empirical Philosophy of Science that draws upon...... qualitative methods from the social sciences in order to advance our philosophical understanding of science in practice. We will regard the relationship between philosophical conceptualization and empirical data as an iterative dialogue between theory and data, which is guided by a particular ‘feeling with......Empirical insights are proven fruitful for the advancement of Philosophy of Science, but the integration of philosophical concepts and empirical data poses considerable methodological challenges. Debates in Integrated History and Philosophy of Science suggest that the advancement of philosophical...

Understanding the Influence of Learners' Forethought on Their Use of Science Study Strategies in Postsecondary Science Learning

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Dunn, Karee E.; Lo, Wen-Juo

2015-11-01

Understanding self-regulation in science learning is important for theorists and practitioners alike. However, very little has been done to explore and understand students' self-regulatory processes in postsecondary science courses. In this study, the influence of science efficacy, learning value, and goal orientation on the perceived use of science study strategies was explored using structural equation modeling. In addition, the study served to validate the first two stages of Zimmerman's cyclical model of self-regulation and to address the common methodological weakness in self-regulation research in which data are all collected at one point after the learning cycle is complete. Thus, data were collected across the learning cycle rather than asking students to reflect upon each construct after the learning cycle was complete. The findings supported the hypothesized model in which it was predicted that self-efficacy would significantly and positively influence students' perceived science strategy use, and the influence of students' valuation of science learning on science study strategies would be mediated by their learning goal orientation. The findings of the study are discussed and implications for undergraduate science instructors are proposed.

Toward conceptualizations in nursing: harbingers from the sciences and humanities.

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Aamodt, A M

1992-01-01

Conceptualizations of care and caring generated from ethnographic study of Tohono O'odham children, Norwegian-Americans, elderly clients in nursing clinics, preschoolers, children with cancer, and gender differences is outlined. Where research questions came from during life experiences of the author, a journey of nursing scholarship viewed from concepts of context development, transformation and care, and "Where do we go from here?" serve as the outline for a discussion of the generation of conceptualizations. A question for nursing research is proposed: What characteristics of care promote human responses for quality human experience? Suggestions for nursing research in the future emphasize the potential of human responses, variations in conceptualizations of care during the life cycles of human beings living in diverse cultural contexts, and changes in conceptualizations of care over time.

Exploring Effects of High School Students' Mathematical Processing Skills and Conceptual Understanding of Chemical Concepts on Algorithmic Problem Solving

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Gultepe, Nejla; Yalcin Celik, Ayse; Kilic, Ziya

2013-01-01

The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of students' conceptual understanding of chemical concepts and mathematical processing skills on algorithmic problem-solving skills. The sample (N = 554) included grades 9, 10, and 11 students in Turkey. Data were collected using the instrument "MPC Test" and with interviews. The MPC…

Changing our minds: a commentary on `Conceptual change: a discussion of theoretical, methodological and practical challenges for science education'

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Mercer, Neil

2008-07-01

This paper begins with a consideration of some important themes dealt with in the paper by Treagust and Duit. These include the relationship between research on conceptual change and educational practice, the significance of emotion and identity in the process of conceptual change, and role of cognitive conflict in motivating change. I then argue that the authors implicitly assert the importance of spoken dialogue as a motor for conceptual change, but do not give it the proper, explicit recognition that it deserves. I first use their own data of transcribed talk to make this point, and then go on to elaborate my case by drawing on other research. Talk amongst students and teacher-student talk are both considered. My conclusion is that while more empirical research is needed to understand how dialogue is involved in conceptual change, available evidence shows very clearly that the role of talk and social interaction is so significant that it cannot be ignored. It is therefore necessary for theoretical accounts to deal with both social (i.e. communicative) and cognitive aspects of conceptual change.

Drawing and Writing in Digital Science Notebooks: Sources of Formative Assessment Data

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Shelton, Angi; Smith, Andrew; Wiebe, Eric; Behrle, Courtney; Sirkin, Ruth; Lester, James

2016-01-01

Formative assessment strategies are used to direct instruction by establishing where learners' understanding is, how it is developing, informing teachers and students alike as to how they might get to their next set of goals of conceptual understanding. For the science classroom, one rich source of formative assessment data about scientific…

Evaluating role of interactive visualization tool in improving students' conceptual understanding of chemical equilibrium

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Sampath Kumar, Bharath

The purpose of this study is to examine the role of partnering visualization tool such as simulation towards development of student's concrete conceptual understanding of chemical equilibrium. Students find chemistry concepts abstract, especially at the microscopic level. Chemical equilibrium is one such topic. While research studies have explored effectiveness of low tech instructional strategies such as analogies, jigsaw, cooperative learning, and using modeling blocks, fewer studies have explored the use of visualization tool such as simulations in the context of dynamic chemical equilibrium. Research studies have identified key reasons behind misconceptions such as lack of systematic understanding of foundational chemistry concepts, failure to recognize the system is dynamic, solving numerical problems on chemical equilibrium in an algorithmic fashion, erroneous application Le Chatelier's principle (LCP) etc. Kress et al. (2001) suggested that external representation in the form of visualization is more than a tool for learning, because it enables learners to make meanings or express their ideas which cannot be readily done so through a verbal representation alone. Mixed method study design was used towards data collection. The qualitative portion of the study is aimed towards understanding the change in student's mental model before and after the intervention. A quantitative instrument was developed based on common areas of misconceptions identified by research studies. A pilot study was conducted prior to the actual study to obtain feedback from students on the quantitative instrument and the simulation. Participants for the pilot study were sampled from a single general chemistry class. Following the pilot study, the research study was conducted with a total of 27 students (N=15 in experimental group and N=12 in control group). Prior to participating in the study, students have completed their midterm test on the topic of chemical equilibrium. Qualitative

Conceptualizing the Science-Practice Interface: Lessons from a Collaborative Network on the Front-Line of Climate Change

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nathan P. Kettle

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The gap between science and practice is widely recognized as a major concern in the production and application of decision-relevant science. This research analyzed the roles and network connections of scientists, service providers, and decision makers engaged in climate science and adaptation practice in Alaska, where rapid climate change is already apparent. Our findings identify key actors as well as significant differences in the level of bonding ties between network members who perceive similarity in their social identities, bridging ties between network members across different social groups, and control of information across roles—all of which inform recommendations for adaptive capacity and the co-production of usable knowledge. We also find that some individuals engage in multiple roles in the network suggesting that conceptualizing science policy interactions with the traditional categories of science producers and consumers oversimplifies how experts engage with climate science, services, and decision making. Our research reinforces the notion that the development and application of knowledge is a networked phenomenon and highlights the importance of centralized individuals capable of playing multiple roles in their networks for effective translation of knowledge into action.

Psychology, education and history: the paths offered by social studies of science to analyze the mobilization of conceptual and practice devices

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Joan Sebastian Soto Triana

2015-07-01

Full Text Available This paper provides a reflection about the way in which the analysis of the history of psychology in Colombia has been constituted. It contributes a conceptual development to the classical tradition of viewing history as a reference to moments and “heroic” characters, neglecting analytical possibilities around various narratives that enable a broad understanding of the movements of psychology as a space for social appropriation of knowledge, sociotechnical network building and practices of translation of interests. Through a brief exposition of the case of psychology and education at the Gimnasio Moderno School of Bogota in the early twentieth century, the way in which Social Studies of Science provide important tools in terms of their epistemology and methodology for monitoring concepts, practices, adaptations and staging of European developmental psychology in an educational institution where childhood is a “mandatory step” in narratives about modernization is presented.

The Place of Practical Wisdom in Science Education: What Can Be Learned from Aristotelian Ethics and a Virtue-Based Theory of Knowledge

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Salloum, Sara

2017-01-01

This conceptual paper aims to characterize science teachers' practical knowledge utilizing a virtue-based theory of knowledge and the Aristotelian notion of phronesis/practical wisdom. The article argues that a greater understanding of the concept of phronesis and its relevance to science education would enrich our understandings of teacher…

A shared-world conceptual model for integrating space station life sciences telescience operations

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Johnson, Vicki; Bosley, John

1988-01-01

Mental models of the Space Station and its ancillary facilities will be employed by users of the Space Station as they draw upon past experiences, perform tasks, and collectively plan for future activities. The operational environment of the Space Station will incorporate telescience, a new set of operational modes. To investigate properties of the operational environment, distributed users, and the mental models they employ to manipulate resources while conducting telescience, an integrating shared-world conceptual model of Space Station telescience is proposed. The model comprises distributed users and resources (active elements); agents who mediate interactions among these elements on the basis of intelligent processing of shared information; and telescience protocols which structure the interactions of agents as they engage in cooperative, responsive interactions on behalf of users and resources distributed in space and time. Examples from the life sciences are used to instantiate and refine the model's principles. Implications for transaction management and autonomy are discussed. Experiments employing the model are described which the authors intend to conduct using the Space Station Life Sciences Telescience Testbed currently under development at Ames Research Center.

Secondary School Students' Understanding of Science and Their Socioscientific Reasoning

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Karahan, Engin; Roehrig, Gillian

2017-01-01

Research in socioscientific issue (SSI)-based interventions is relatively new (Sadler in "Journal of Research in Science Teaching" 41:513-536, 2004; Zeidler et al. in "Journal of Research in Science Teaching" 46:74-101, 2009), and there is a need for understanding more about the effects of SSI-based learning environments…

High school students presenting science: An interactional sociolinguistic analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Bleicher, Robert

Presenting science is an authentic activity of practicing scientists. Thus, effective communication of science is an important skill to nurture in high school students who are learning science. This study examines strategies employed by high school students as they make science presentations; it assesses students' conceptual understandings of particular science topics through their presentations and investigates gender differences. Data are derived from science presentation given by eight high school students, three females and five males who attended a summer science program. Data sources included videotaped presentations, ethnographic fieldnotes, interviews with presenters and members of the audience, and presenter notes and overheads. Presentations were transcribed and submitted to discourse analysis from an interactional sociolinguistic perspective. This article focuses on the methodology employed and how it helps inform the above research questions. The author argues that use of this methodology leads to findings that inform important social-communicative issues in the learning of science. Practical advice for teaching students to present science, implications for use of presentations to assess conceptual learning, and indications of some possible gender differences are discussed.Received: 14 April 1993; Revised: 15 February 1994;

Research and Teaching: Factors Related to College Students' Understanding of the Nature of Science--Comparison of Science Majors and Nonscience Majors

Science.gov (United States)

Partin, Matthew L.; Underwood, Eileen M.; Worch, Eric A.

2013-01-01

To develop a more scientifically literate society, students need to understand the nature of science, which may be affected by controversial topics such as evolution. There are conflicting views among researchers concerning the relationships between understanding evolution, acceptance of evolution, and understanding of the nature of science. Four…

Supporting Staff to Develop a Shared Understanding of Science Assessment

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Sampey, Carol

2018-01-01

Assessment is not something that stands alone and teachers need support to develop their understanding of both assessment practices and the subject being assessed. Teachers at Shaw Primary School were fortunate to take part in the Teacher Assessment in Primary Science (TAPS) project and, in this article, the outlines how science and assessment can…

Understanding ’Price’ and the Environment: Exploring Upper Secondary Students’ Conceptual Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Caroline Ignell

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Purpose: To explore changes in upper secondary students´ conceptions of environmental issues in how prices are determined and how they should be determined. Design: The study uses an ’alternative frameworks’ conceptual change approach to examine change in the conceptions of fifteen business and economic students. Students were asked about the prices of familiar products and asked to explain prices for eco-friendly and eco-unfriendly products. A first interview was conducted in the second year of education and the second interview a year later when students were 18 years old and in the final year of schooling. Interviews were carried out out by a researcher independent from the schools and carried out in schools. Findings: Identifies the fragmentary nature of students´ every-day thinking in relation to productivity, consumer preference and negative externalities. Results show characteristics of partial conceptions, which are considered as students´ conceptions in a process of change towards a more scientific understanding of relationships between price and environmental impacts. Practical implications: The study clarifies conceptions, which students bring to the classroom and the directions that development in understanding may take. The study should help teachers to design effective strategies to support students’ learning.

Providing Context for Complexity: Using Infographics and Conceptual Models to Teach Global Change Processes

Science.gov (United States)

Bean, J. R.; White, L. D.

2015-12-01

Understanding modern and historical global changes requires interdisciplinary knowledge of the physical and life sciences. The Understanding Global Change website from the UC Museum of Paleontology will use a focal infographic that unifies diverse content often taught in separate K-12 science units. This visualization tool provides scientists with a structure for presenting research within the broad context of global change, and supports educators with a framework for teaching and assessing student understanding of complex global change processes. This new approach to teaching the science of global change is currently being piloted and refined based on feedback from educators and scientists in anticipation of a 2016 website launch. Global change concepts are categorized within the infographic as causes of global change (e.g., burning of fossil fuels, volcanism), ongoing Earth system processes (e.g., ocean circulation, the greenhouse effect), and the changes scientists measure in Earth's physical and biological systems (e.g., temperature, extinctions/radiations). The infographic will appear on all website content pages and provides a template for the creation of flowcharts, which are conceptual models that allow teachers and students to visualize the interdependencies and feedbacks among processes in the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and geosphere. The development of this resource is timely given that the newly adopted Next Generation Science Standards emphasize cross-cutting concepts, including model building, and Earth system science. Flowchart activities will be available on the website to scaffold inquiry-based lessons, determine student preconceptions, and assess student content knowledge. The infographic has already served as a learning and evaluation tool during professional development workshops at UC Berkeley, Stanford University, and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. At these workshops, scientists and educators used the infographic

The role of models/and analogies in science education: implications from research

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Coll, Richard K.; France, Bev; Taylor, Ian

2005-02-01

Models and modelling are key tools for scientists, science teachers and science learners. In this paper we argue that classroom-based research evidence demonstrates that the use of models and analogies within the pedagogy of science education may provide a route for students to gain some understanding of the nature of science. A common theme to emerge from the literature reviewed here is that in order to successfully develop conceptual understandings in science, learners need to be able to reflect on and discuss their understandings of scientific concepts as they are developing them. Pedagogies that involve various types of modelling are most effective when students are able to construct and critique their own and scientists' models. Research also suggests that group work and peer discussion are important ways of enhancing students' cognitive and metacognitive thinking skills. Further we argue that an understanding of science models and the modelling process enables students to develop a metacognitive awareness of knowledge development within the science community, as well as providing the tools to reflect on their own scientific understanding.

Citizen Science, Crowdsourcing and Big Data: A Scientific and Social Framework for Natural Resources and Environments

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Glynn, P. D.; Jones, J. W.; Liu, S. B.; Shapiro, C. D.; Jenter, H. L.; Hogan, D. M.; Govoni, D. L.; Poore, B. S.

2014-12-01

We describe a conceptual framework for Citizen Science that can be applied to improve the understanding and management of natural resources and environments. For us, Citizen Science represents an engagement from members of the public, usually volunteers, in collaboration with paid professionals and technical experts to observe and understand natural resources and environments for the benefit of science and society. Our conceptual framework for Citizen Science includes crowdsourcing of observations (or sampling). It considers a wide range of activities, including volunteer and professional monitoring (e.g. weather and climate variables, water availability and quality, phenology, biota, image capture and remote sensing), as well as joint fact finding and analyses, and participatory mapping and modeling. Spatial distribution and temporal dynamics of the biophysical processes that control natural resources and environments are taken into account within this conceptual framework, as are the availability, scaling and diversity of tools and efforts that are needed to properly describe these biophysical processes. Opportunities are sought within the framework to properly describe, QA/QC, archive, and make readily accessible, the large amounts of information and traceable knowledge required to better understand and manage natural resources and environments. The framework also considers human motivational needs, primarily through a modern version of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. We examine several USGS-based Citizen Science efforts within the context of our framework, including the project called "iCoast - Did the Coast Change?", to understand the utility of the framework, its costs and benefits, and to offer concrete examples of how to expand and sustain specific projects. We make some recommendations that could aid its implementation on a national or larger scale. For example, implementation might be facilitated (1) through greater engagement of paid professionals, and (2

A sensemaking perspective on retailer buying behaviour: Towards a new conceptual framework

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Esbjerg, Lars

2000-01-01

This paper examines the shortcomings of the existing literature on retailer buying behaviour and discusses the potential contribution of studying retailer buying behaviour from a sensemaking perspective. A new conceptual framework for understanding retailer buying behaviour is outlined....... It is argued that sensemaking related to retailer buying behaviour can be analysed at several, inter-related levels of analysis. The framework developed draws on discussions of sensemaking within strategic management and organisation science and discusses how concepts such as organisational identity, image...

A Lakatosian Conceptual Change Teaching Strategy Based on Student Ability to Build Models with Varying Degrees of Conceptual Understanding of Chemical Equilibrium

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Niaz, M.

The main objective of this study is to construct a Lakatosian teaching strategy that can facilitate conceptual change in students'' understanding of chemical equilibrium. The strategy is based on the premise that cognitive conflicts must have been engendered by the students themselves in trying to cope with different problem solving strategies. Results obtained (based on Venezuelan freshman students) show that the performance of the experimental group of students was generally better (especially on the immediate post tests) than that of the control group. It is concluded that a conceptual change teaching strategy must take into consideration the following aspects: a) core beliefs of the students in the topic (cf. ''hard core'', Lakatos 1970); b) exploration of the relationship between core beliefs and student alternative conceptions (misconceptions); c) cognitive complexity of the core belief can be broken down into a series of related and probing questions; d) students resist changes in their core beliefs by postulating ''auxiliary hypotheses'' in order to resolve their contradictions; e) students'' responses based on their alternative conceptions must be considered not as wrong, but rather as models, perhaps in the same sense as used by scientists to break the complexity of a problem; and f) students'' misconceptions be considered as alternative conceptions (theories) that compete with the present scientific theories and at times recapitulate theories scientists held in the past.

Models of science dynamics encounters between complexity theory and information sciences

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Börner, Katy; Besselaar, Peter

2012-01-01

Models of science dynamics aim to capture the structure and evolution of science. They are developed in an emerging research area in which scholars, scientific institutions and scientific communications become themselves basic objects of research. In order to understand phenomena as diverse as the structure of evolving co-authorship networks or citation diffusion patterns, different models have been developed. They include conceptual models based on historical and ethnographic observations, mathematical descriptions of measurable phenomena, and computational algorithms. Despite its evident importance, the mathematical modeling of science still lacks a unifying framework and a comprehensive research agenda. This book aims to fill this gap, reviewing and describing major threads in the mathematical modeling of science dynamics for a wider academic and professional audience. The model classes presented here cover stochastic and statistical models, game-theoretic approaches, agent-based simulations, population-dy...

The unified model of vegetarian identity: A conceptual framework for understanding plant-based food choices.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenfeld, Daniel L; Burrow, Anthony L

2017-05-01

By departing from social norms regarding food behaviors, vegetarians acquire membership in a distinct social group and can develop a salient vegetarian identity. However, vegetarian identities are diverse, multidimensional, and unique to each individual. Much research has identified fundamental psychological aspects of vegetarianism, and an identity framework that unifies these findings into common constructs and conceptually defines variables is needed. Integrating psychological theories of identity with research on food choices and vegetarianism, this paper proposes a conceptual model for studying vegetarianism: The Unified Model of Vegetarian Identity (UMVI). The UMVI encompasses ten dimensions-organized into three levels (contextual, internalized, and externalized)-that capture the role of vegetarianism in an individual's self-concept. Contextual dimensions situate vegetarianism within contexts; internalized dimensions outline self-evaluations; and externalized dimensions describe enactments of identity through behavior. Together, these dimensions form a coherent vegetarian identity, characterizing one's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors regarding being vegetarian. By unifying dimensions that capture psychological constructs universally, the UMVI can prevent discrepancies in operationalization, capture the inherent diversity of vegetarian identities, and enable future research to generate greater insight into how people understand themselves and their food choices. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Popularization of science and scientific journalism: possibilities of scientific literacy

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Alessandro Augusto Barros Façanha

2017-07-01

Full Text Available This study evidences the intersection between science education and communication in the perspective of the popularization of sciences based on the evidence produced in a specific column of a large circulation newspaper of the city of Teresina / PI. The discussions were based on the analysis of content carried out in the context of science classes in a school of basic education with elementary students, where journalistic texts were used with diverse themes that involved science and daily life in order to understand the interpretation of texts And the relationship with the context of scientific dissemination and citizenship. The analysis of the content was used and the answers were stratified into categories of conceptual nature and application of the themes. The analyses show that the texts of scientific dissemination have a contribution in relation to the popularization of Sciences, fomentation to the debate in the classroom, didactic increment in the classes of sciences, in spite of their insertion still incipient in the context of science education. However, the results of the research denote the difficulty faced by the students in understanding the text of dissemination in their conceptual comprehension and resolution of daily problems, as well as the distance between the context of the sciences in their theoretical scope and their presentation in everyday situations, Despite this, the texts of divulgation corroborated as an important way of real insertion in the process of scientific literacy and promotion of citizenship.

A cross-cultural comparison of high school students' responses to a science centre show on the physics of sound in South Africa.

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Fish, Derek; Allie, Saalih; Pelaez, Nancy; Anderson, Trevor

2017-10-01

We report on the attitudes and ideas developed by students from three distinct school groups to a science show about sound. We addressed two research questions: (1) How do the students compare with respect to their (a) attitudes to the sound show and to science in general and (b) changes in conceptual understanding as a result of the show and (2) what changes could be made to the show, and to science shows in general, that would be sensitive to the cultural and language differences of the groups? These were addressed by multiple-choice, pre- and post-tests comprising both attitudinal and conceptual questions. Our results pointed to a common enjoyment of the show but a different understanding of concepts and consequent learning, which suggest that science shows (and science teaching) need to be adjusted to accommodate different cultural groups for maximum impact.

Tips and Tools for Teaching Planetary Science

Science.gov (United States)

Schneider, N. M.

2011-10-01

The poster will describe handson exercises with demonstrations, clicker questions and discussion to demonstrate how to help students understand planets on a deeper conceptual level. We'll also discuss ways to take the latest discoveries beyond "wow" and turn them into teachable moments. The goal is to give modern strategies for teaching planetary science, emphasizing physical concepts and comparative principles. All will be given digital copies of video clips, demonstration descriptions, clicker questions, web links and powerpoint slidesets on recent planetary science discoveries.

A social ecological conceptual framework for understanding adolescent health literacy in the health education classroom.

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Wharf Higgins, Joan; Begoray, Deborah; MacDonald, Marjorie

2009-12-01

With the rising concern over chronic health conditions and their prevention and management, health literacy is emerging as an important public health issue. As with the development of other forms of literacy, the ability for students to be able to access, understand, evaluate and communicate health information is a skill best developed during their years of public schooling. Health education curricula offer one approach to develop health literacy, yet little is known about its influence on neither students nor their experiences within an educational context. In this article, we describe our experience applying a social ecological model to investigating the implementation of a health education curriculum in four high schools in British Columbia, Canada. We used the model to guide a conceptual understanding of health literacy, develop research questions, select data collection strategies, and interpret the findings. Reflections and recommendations for using the model are offered.

The Cultural Argument for Understanding Nature of Science. A Chance to Reflect on Similarities and Differences Between Science and Humanities

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Reiners, Christiane S.; Bliersbach, Markus; Marniok, Karl

2017-07-01

Understanding Nature of Science (NOS) is a central component of scientific literacy, which is agreed upon internationally, and consequently has been a major educational goal for many years all over the globe. In order to justify the promotion of an adequate understanding of NOS, educators have developed several arguments, among them the cultural argument. But what is behind this argument? In order to answer this question, C. P. Snow's vision of two cultures was used as a starting point. In his famous Rede Lecture from 1959, he complained about a wide gap between the arts and humanities on the one hand and sciences on the other hand. While the representatives of the humanities refer to themselves as real intellectuals, the scientists felt rather ignored as a culture, despite the fact that their achievements had been so important for Western society. Thus, Snow argued that as these intellectual cultures were completely different from each other, a mutual understanding was impossible. The first European Regional IHPST Conference took up the cultural view on science again. Thus, the topic of the conference "Science as Culture in the European Context" encouraged us to look at the two cultures and to figure out possibilities to bridge the gap between them in chemistry teacher education. For this reason, we put together three studies—one theoretical and two independent research projects (one dealing with creativity in science, the other with scientific laws and theories) which contribute to our main research field (promoting an understanding of NOS)—in order to address the cultural argument for understanding science from an educational point of view. Among the consented tenets of what understanding NOS implies in an educational context, there are aspects which are associated mainly with the humanities, like the tentativeness of knowledge, creativity, and social tradition, whereas others seem to have a domain-specific meaning, like empirical evidence, theories and laws

Effect of Inquiry-Based Computer Simulation Modeling on Pre-Service Teachers' Understanding of Homeostasis and Their Perceptions of Design Features

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Chabalengula, Vivien; Fateen, Rasheta; Mumba, Frackson; Ochs, Laura Kathryn

2016-01-01

This study investigated the effect of an inquiry-based computer simulation modeling (ICoSM) instructional approach on pre-service science teachers' understanding of homeostasis and its related concepts, and their perceived design features of the ICoSM and simulation that enhanced their conceptual understanding of these concepts. Fifty pre-service…

Understanding the development of international environmental agreements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stærdahl, Jens

There are many different theoretical schools concerned with how international regimes develop, and each supplies its own interpretation focusing on one or a few aspects of the process. Such ‘one shot’ explanations may be fruitful for scientific debate, but less useful as conceptual frameworks...... for practitioners and planners manoeuvring in a complex world. On the basis of a review of selected theories of international and environmental regulation, this article initiates the development of a conceptual framework for understanding the development of internationalenvironmental agreements. The point...... of departure for developing the model is the actor-structure debate within social science and theory of international relations. Based on critical realism, a framework is developed specifying the relation between collective action problem situations and negotiation situations. It is argued that the main...

Comparison of Pre-Service Physics Teachers' Conceptual Understanding of Dynamics in Model-Based Scientific Inquiry and Scientific Inquiry Environments

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Arslan Buyruk, Arzu; Ogan Bekiroglu, Feral

2018-01-01

The focus of this study was to evaluate the impact of model-based inquiry on pre-service physics teachers' conceptual understanding of dynamics. Theoretical framework of this research was based on models-of-data theory. True-experimental design using quantitative and qualitative research methods was carried out for this research. Participants of…

Changes in Pre-Service Science Teachers' Understandings After Being Involved in Explicit Nature of Science and Socioscientific Argumentation Processes

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Kutluca, A. Y.; Aydin, A.

2017-01-01

The study explored the changes in pre-service science teachers' understanding of the nature of science and their opinions about the nature of science, science teaching and argumentation after their participation in explicit nature of science (NOS) and socioscientific argumentation processes. The participants were 56 third-grade pre-service science…

The role of conceptual knowledge in understanding synaesthesia: Evaluating contemporary findings from a ‘hub-and-spoke’ perspective

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Rocco eChiou

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Synaesthesia is a phenomenon in which stimulation in one sensory modality triggers involuntary experiences typically not associated with that stimulation. Inducing stimuli (inducers and synaesthetic experiences (concurrents may occur within the same modality (e.g., seeing colours while reading achromatic text or span across different modalities (e.g., tasting flavours while listening to music. Although there has been considerable progress over the last decade in understanding the cognitive and neural mechanisms of synaesthesia, the focus of current neurocognitive models of synaesthesia does not encompass many crucial psychophysical characteristics documented in behavioural research. Prominent theories of the neurophysiological basis of synaesthesia construe it as a perceptual phenomenon and hence focus primarily on the modality-specific brain regions for perception. Many behavioural studies, however, suggest an essential role for conceptual-level information in synaesthesia. For example, there is evidence that synaesthetic experience arises subsequent to identification of an inducing stimulus, differs substantially from real perceptual events, can be akin to perceptual memory, and is susceptible to lexical/semantic contexts. These data suggest that neural mechanisms lying beyond the realm of the perceptual cortex (especially the visual system, such as regions subserving conceptual knowledge, may play pivotal roles in the neural architecture of synaesthesia. Here we discuss the significance of non-perceptual mechanisms that call for a re-evaluation of the emphasis on synaesthesia as a perceptual phenomenon. We also review recent studies which hint that some aspects of synaesthesia resemble our general conceptual knowledge for object attributes, at both psychophysical and neural level. We then present a conceptual-mediation model of synaesthesia in which the inducer and concurrent are linked within a conceptual-level representation. This �

Improving pupils’ conceptual understanding by a connected in-school and out-of-school science program: a multiple case study

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Geveke, Carla; Steenbeek, Henderien; Doornenbal, Jeannette; van Geert, Paul

2016-01-01

The number of out-of-school science programs, which refers to science education at outside school environments, is gradually increasing. Although out-of-school programs are generally considered to be important for the development of pupils’ science knowledge and skills, more evidence concerning the

Developing an Understanding of Higher Education Science and Engineering Learning Communities

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Coll, Richard K.; Eames, Chris

2008-01-01

This article sets the scene for this special issue of "Research in Science & Technological Education", dedicated to understanding higher education science and engineering learning communities. We examine what the literature has to say about the nature of, and factors influencing, higher education learning communities. A discussion of…

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the Department of Veterans Affairs: a conceptual model for understanding the evacuation of nursing homes.

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Dobalian, Aram; Claver, Maria; Fickel, Jacqueline J

2010-01-01

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita exposed significant flaws in US preparedness for catastrophic events and the nation's capacity to respond to them. These flaws were especially evident in the affected disaster areas' nursing homes, which house a particularly vulnerable population of frail older adults. Although evacuation of a healthcare facility is a key preparedness activity, there is limited research on factors that lead to effective evacuation. Our review of the literature on evacuation is focused on developing a conceptual framework to study future evacuations rather than as a comprehensive assessment of prior work. This paper summarizes what is known thus far about disaster response activities of nursing homes following natural and human-caused disasters, describes a conceptual model to guide future inquiry regarding this topic, and suggests future areas of research to further understand the decision-making process of nursing home facilitators regarding evacuating nursing home residents. To demonstrate the utility of the conceptual model and to provide guidance about effective practices and procedures, this paper focuses on the responses of Veterans Health Administration (VHA) nursing homes to the 2 hurricanes. Quarantelli's conceptual framework, as modified by Perry and Mushkatel, is useful in guiding the development of central hypotheses related to the decision-making that occurred in VA nursing homes and other healthcare facilities following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. However, we define evacuation somewhat differently to account for the fact that evacuation may, in some instances, be permanent. Thus, we propose modifying this framework to improve its applicability beyond preventive evacuation. We need to better understand how disaster plans can be adapted to meet the needs of frail elders and other residents in nursing homes. Moreover, we must address identified gaps in the scientific literature with respect to health outcomes by tracking outcomes over time

Understanding statistical concepts using S-PLUS

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Schumacker, Randall E

2001-01-01

Written as a supplemental text for an introductory or intermediate statistics course, this book is organized along the lines of many popular statistics texts. The chapters provide a good conceptual understanding of basic statistics and include exercises that use S-PLUS simulation programs. Each chapter lists a set of objectives and a summary.The book offers a rich insight into how probability has shaped statistical procedures in the behavioral sciences, as well as a brief history behind the creation of various statistics. Computational skills are kept to a minimum by including S-PLUS programs

Du changement conceptuel a la complexification conceptuelle dans l'apprentissage des sciences

Science.gov (United States)

Belanger, Michel

Science learning has often been thought as a replacement process; learners' spontaneous ideas must be replaced by scientific ones. Many learning models in science education were formulated in this way (at least implicitly). But theses spontaneous ideas proved to be more resistant than initially thought. Several researchers concluded that students often possess an odd combination of intuitive and scientific ideas. Generally, the phenomenon of "multiple conceptions" refers to students having a repertoire of different conceptions, each associated with a context of relevance. A number of researchers in science education constructed models of this phenomenon, but none included a systematic treatment of what we consider one of its most important aspects: the fact that these multiple conceptions are not isolated within the cognitive structure, but integrated into a whole in many ways. This whole constitute a complex of conceptions, whence our utilisation of the expression "conceptual complexification" to designate this form of learning. Using ideas in the conceptual change literature and in philosophy of science, we propose five kinds of cognitive structures that could play an intermediary role between alternative conceptions, allowing the management of their multiplicity: descriptive, evaluative, explicative, transformative, and decisional. In the empirical section of the research, we explore specifically decisional structures, which are responsible for the selection of one conception of the repertoire. In order to do so, we submitted two series of tasks to eight collegial and undergraduate students in two situations. In the first tasks, subjects are asked to explain three phenomena (one biological and two physical) to fictive audiences of various ages (6 to 15 years old). In the second tasks, students' understanding of the quantum version of the Young's interference experiment is probed in order study their understanding of the demarcation between quantum and classical

Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Social Innovation: A Conceptual Understanding

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Jali Muhamad Nizam

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In decades, various organizations worldwide engaged with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR in order to show their corporate commitments and responsibilities towards societies at large. These commitments and responsibilities are coming from monetary and non-monetary resources for example cash, equipment’s and human resources whom are used for social purposes and activities that leads to a betterment of society and also to improved organization reputation. However, in today’s knowledge and innovation led economy, organizations can no longer affords to get involve in charity and community services merely to fulfil social return without having any sort of economic payoffs. This situation warrants organizations moving beyond CSR to Corporate Social Innovation. This paper explores conceptual understanding between CSR and Corporate Social Innovation. CSR is a traditional philanthropy and old paradigm which is somewhat no longer sufficient in coping with current economic situation. Hence, this paper provides an insight and suggests that corporate social innovation as an emergence new paradigm that perhaps could provide a comprehensive representation in the era of knowledge and innovation led economy that will leads to real change in improving the well-being of people’s life, enhance economic and technological growth. Furthermore, this paper also highlighted knowledge resource is the most significant resource of Corporate Social Innovation.

Conceptualizing Astronomical Distances for Urban Populations

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Popinchalk, Mark; Olson, Kristen; Ingber, Jenny; O'Brien, Mariel

2017-01-01

Students living in urban environments may have a washed-out night sky, but their enthusiasm for astronomy can still shine bright. As an educator, it can sometimes be a challenge to see the opportunities afforded by city living to the teaching of astronomy; however, several benefits can be identified. For example, the intrinsic understanding children have of the distances and scales involved in their everyday life is enhanced when they live in a regimented urban structure. This existing understanding of scale is critical to building a foundation for later conceptualizing of the universe.Leveraging the assets of New York City and the resources found in the American Museum of Natural History, The Science and Nature Program offers students (PreK through 8th grade) robust science learning experiences. To address concepts important for studying astronomy, we present a novel twist on the classic lesson “Earth as a Peppercorn,” by scaling the solar system to the size of New York City. Using local landmarks and their distance in relation to the Museum to represent the planets, students can use their prior knowledge of their surroundings to appreciate the impressive scale of our neighborhood in space in the context of their own neighborhoods. We correlate the activity with NGSS standards, present preliminary feedback on it’s success, and discuss the opportunities to apply a similar model lesson to other astronomical systems.

Using a Design Science Perspective to Understand a Complex Design-Based Research Process

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bækgaard, Lars

2012-01-01

The purpose of the paper is to demonstrate how a design science perspective can be used to describe and understand a set of related design-based research processes. We describe and analyze a case study in a manner that is inspired by design science. The case study involves the design of modeling......-based research processes. And we argue that a design science perspective may be useful for both researchers and practitioners....... tools and the redesign of an information service in a library. We use a set of guidelines from a design science perspective to organize the description and analysis of the case study. By doing this we demonstrate the usefulness of design science as an analytical tool for understanding related design...

Discovery stories in the science classroom