Alison Jodie Sammel

Finding the Crack in Everything: Exploring the Causal Promise in Science Education

The author argues that there is a causal promise in pedagogic assumptions about the teaching and learning of science. That is, if teacher educators convince pre-service teachers a concept is important, they will use it. As a result of a study of five beginning teachers, the author came to question this promise, through a critical ideological frame. In this study, the beginning teachers, who were taught critical science education as pre-service students, claimed that they embraced this approach in their own teaching practices. However, on investigation, it was found that the teachers were not doing critical science education, as presented in their pre-service course. This presented a paradox: What does it mean when the dualism of either taking up a theory or resisting it is shattered? Using a feminist post-structuralist analysis to explore this paradox, the author critiques modernist notions of self, language, and desire to offer another way of making sense of what these teachers discussed. Upon reflection, the author outlines how feminist post-structuralism has influenced her own practice teaching critical science education.RésuméL’auteur soutient qu’il existe une promesse implicite de type causal dans les hypothèses pédagogiques sur l’enseignement et l’apprentissage des sciences. Autrement dit, si les didacticiens réussissent à persuader les futurs enseignants qu’un concept est important, ces derniers se serviront de ce concept. Au terme d’une étude portant sur cinq enseignants débutants, l’auteur remet en question cette promesse en didactique des sciences par le biais d’un cadre idéologique critique. Dans cette étude, les enseignants débutants, qui avaient étudié l’enseignement critique des sciences au cours de leur formation, affirmaient qu’ils appliquaient les principes de cette approche dans leur pratique de l’enseignement. Cependant, une analyse de leur enseignement révèle qu’ils ne pratiquent pas l’enseignement critique des sciences tel que présenté pendant leur formation. Il y a donc là un paradoxe: que se passe-t-il lorsque le dualisme qui consiste à souscrire ou à résister à une théorie vole en éclats? Grâce à une analyse féministe post-structurale permettant d’explorer ce paradoxe, l’auteure critique les notions modernistes de soi, de langage et de désir, et présente une autre façon d’interpréter le contenu des discussions de ces enseignants. Après réflexion, l’auteure souligne l’influence du poststructuralisme féministe sur sa propre pratique de l’enseignement critique des sciences.

Community Response and Engagement During Extreme Water Events in Saskatchewan, Canada and Queensland, Australia

Technology alone cannot address the challenges of how societies, communities, and individuals understand water accessibility, water management, and water consumption, particularly under extreme conditions like floods and droughts. At the community level, people are increasingly aware challenges related to responses to and impacts of extreme water events. This research begins with an assessment of social and political capacities of communities in two Commonwealth jurisdictions, Queensland, Australia and Saskatchewan, Canada, in response to major flooding events. The research further reviews how such capacities impact community engagement to address and mitigate risks associated with extreme water events and provides evidence of key gaps in skills, understanding, and agency for addressing impacts at the community level. Secondary data were collected using template analysis to elucidate challenges associated with education (formal and informal), social and political capacity, community ability to respond appropriately, and formal government responses to extreme water events in these two jurisdictions. The results indicate that enhanced community engagement alongside elements of an empowerment model can provide avenues for identifying and addressing community vulnerability to negative impacts of flood and drought.

Hidden Expectations behind the Promise of the Flipped Classroom.

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to evaluate the student experience of pre-service teachers in a compulsory primary science education course that adopted a flipped classroom approach. Participants (n = 79) were surveyed at the conclusion of the course exploring their perceptions of engagement, enjoyment, and degree of learning as a result of participating in this course. At the end of this course, the majority of participants indicated they were happy with learning outcomes and enjoyed some aspect of the online videos; however, they also indicated they did not watch all of the eight mandatory weekly videos. In fact, the majority only watched about four out of the eight videos. This paper explores why students were reluctant to engage with the online videos and asks if there is an underlying aspect to flipped classrooms that disengages students.