Brian Hand

Examining the Literacy Component of Science Literacy: 25 Years of Language Arts and Science Research.

This review, written to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the International Journal of Science Education, revealed a period of changes in the theoretical views of the language arts, the perceived roles of language in science education, and the research approaches used to investigate oral and written language in science, science teaching, and learning. The early years were dominated by behavioralist and logico-mathematical interpretations of human learning and by reductionist research approaches, while the later years reflected an applied cognitive science and constructivist interpretations of learning and a wider array of research approaches that recognizes the holistic nature of teaching and learning. The early years focus on coding oral language into categories reflecting source of speech, functional purpose, level of question and response, reading research focused on the readability of textbooks using formulae and the readers decoding skills, and writing research was not well documented since the advocates for writing in service of learning were grass roots practitioners and many science teachers were using writing as an evaluation technique. The advent of applied cognitive science and the constructivist perspectives ushered in interactive-constructive models of discourse, reading and writing that more clearly revealed the role of language in science and in science teaching and learning. A review of recent research revealed that the quantity and quality of oral interactions were low and unfocused in science classrooms; reading has expanded to consider comprehension strategies, metacognition, sources other than textbooks, and the design of inquiry environments for classrooms; and writing-to-learn science has focused on sequential writing tasks requiring transformation of ideas to enhance science learning. Several promising trends and future research directions flow from the synthesis of this 25-year period of examining the literacy component of science literacy - among them are critical listening and reading of various sources, multi-media presentations and representations, effective debate and argument, quality explanation and the role of information and communication technologies/environments.

Using a Science Writing Heuristic to enhance learning outcomes from laboratory activities in seventh-grade science: quantitative and qualitative aspects

Science laboratory activities within secondary science have traditionally followed prescriptive outlines both in the structure and reporting of the activity. Building on current understandings of writing to learn science strategies, a Science Writing Heuristic has been developed that encourages students to examine laboratory activities much more carefully in terms of having to justify their research questions, claims and evidence. This study reports on the implementation of the heuristic within a Year 7 biology classroom. A mixed‐method approach was used to determine whether student performance on conceptual questions improved when using the heuristic and if using a more non‐traditional write‐up of laboratory activities was beneficial for students in terms of learning. Results indicate that students who used the Science Writing Heuristic performed better as a group than students who did not, and that students who completed a textbook explanation as a write‐up performed better as a group than those who completed a more traditional write‐up format. Student interview responses indicate a development of understanding of science inquiry and an awareness of cognitive and metacognitive processes needed to complete the activities.

Sequential Writing Tasks’ Influence on Science Learning

Recent enlarged accounts of science literacy emphasize that student learning should move beyond a narrow focus on technical knowledge to an understanding of the nature, rationale and procedures of science as well as a commitment and capacity to communicate scientific understandings to diverse readerships. This chapter explores the implications of this redefined view of science literacy for effective task design in writing for learning in science. We report on two case studies that sought to identify the effects on student learning of science and science literacy when they engaged with different single and sequential writing tasks. The results of the study indicated that students who wrote to explain their ideas performed better on subsequent tests than students who undertook only the usual writing tasks. Students who undertook a sequence of two connected writing tasks also performed better on higher order questions than students who did not undertake such tasks.

STUDENT PERCEPTIONS OF THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVIST CLASSROOM

BRIAN HANDSchool of Education, La Trobe University, Bendigo 3550, Victoria, AustraliaDAVID F. TREAGUSTScience and Mathematics Education Centre, Curtin University, GPO Box U 1987, Perth 6001,Western Australia, AustraliaKEITH VANCEFlora Hill Secondary College, Curtin Street, Bendigo 3550, Victoria, AustraliaReceived 24 May 1995; revised 19 November 1996; accepted 5 March 1997ABSTRACT: Much of the research on constructivist teaching/learning approaches withinscience classrooms has focused on the roles of the teachers. Issues related to curriculum im-plementation, pedagogical skills, and the processes of social construction of knowledge havebeen addressed within this research. This article examines students’ perceptions of the chang-ing nature of the classroom as a consequence of the implementation of constructivist ap-proaches. The study was conducted over a 4-year period involving classroom observation ofstudents, interviews, and questionnaires. The classes chosen for observation were taught byteachers who had previously undertaken an intensive in-service program aimed at introducingconstructivist approaches into secondary science classrooms. The results of the study indicatedthat students are not only appreciative of the opportunity to use their own ideas and knowledgebut are also aware of the changing roles and responsibilities required of them within the class-room. Although they were willing and confident in becoming involved in the learning processthey were more aware of the role of the teacher within the classroom. The results of the studyindicate that a clearer understanding of group interactions needs to be developed in terms ofdeveloping social construction of knowledge as a more powerful learning approach.

Influences of Writing Tasks on Students' Answers to Recall and Higher-Level Test Questions

This paper reports on two inter-related studies that examined the use of non-traditional writing strategies within secondary school science classrooms. The first study involved Year 10 students who incorporated one letter writing experience into the learning sequence when studying genetics. The second study was with Year 9 students who used both a non-traditional laboratory writing heuristic and letter writing as part of the learning sequence when studying a topic on light. The same teacher was involved in both case studies. A higher-level analogy question was added to the teacher-prepared tests for each study to examine if students who participated in writing-to-learn activities were able to perform significantly better as a group than a group of students who completed traditional teacher directed laboratory activities and note-taking. Results indicate that for the first study there was not a significant difference using t-test analysis, while for the second study involving two writing treatments there was a statistically significant difference using t-test analysis. There was no statistically significant difference in responses between treatment and control groups when answering low level recall questions for either case study. Student interviews indicated awareness by students of the metacognitive value gained by using the non-traditional writing types.

Teachers' Thoughts about Changing to Constructivist Teaching/Learning Approaches within Junior Secondary Science Classrooms

ABSTRACT This paper addresses the change in teachers’ thoughts as they progress through an inservice program. The aim of the inservice program was to encourage teachers to implement and reflect on constructivist approaches to teaching and learning within the junior secondary school area. The program itself was centred on constructivist philosophy, as a means to guide the program and to model constructivist approaches for the teachers. Prior to the inservice program teachers were asked three major focal questions: How do children learn?; What teaching strategies do you use?; and Who controls learning? On completion of the program these questions were again used to examine the participating teachers’ thoughts. Results indicated that there was a distinct change in the way that the teachers viewed the classroom. These changes addressed issues such as the separation of control of learning from management, the valuing of student knowledge and the need to involve students within the learning process.

Using new technologies for learning: a case study of a whole-school approach

Abstract While there is strong advocacy for schools to integrate the use of new technologies across the curriculum, an extensive literature highlights challenges facing schools undertaking such an agenda. This paper reports on the planning, implementation, and evaluation of a whole-school approach to using new technologies for teaching and learning in a senior secondary school in Australia. The paper provides an analysis of crucial factors in the effective use of computers for learning across the curriculum.

Monitoring teachers’ referents for classroom practice using metaphors

In this research, teachers were asked to provide metaphors which they used to describe their teaching practices prior to, upon completion of, and four months after, participating in an extended inservice programme aimed at promoting constructivist teaching/learning approaches. Seven of the eight teachers on the science staff of a junior high school were able to generate metaphors to describe their teaching and six of these teachers put forward metaphors that were indicative of a facilitator role within the classroom. The findings of the research illustrate that metaphors can be a useful means of monitoring change in teaching approaches.

Learning from Writing in Secondary Science: A Case Study of Students’ Composing Strategies

The role of writing in learning secondary science has received increasing research focus over the last decade. This study aimed to identify students’ drafting strategies when they wrote for a readership other than their teacher, as well as their perceptions of the value of this task. The findings indicated that students perceived this writing process and task as valuable for their learning of science concepts and that their drafting approaches were consistent with current conceptualisations of effective strategies to enable writing to promote learning.

Pre-service Elementary Teachers Constructing the Nature and Language of Science

This paper reports on a two-year effort to understand and affect the conceptions of the nature of science held by pre-service elementary teachers. The first year of the study, examined the change in the ways twenty seven students defined and described science, following a series of tasks designed to have them 1) explore explicit and tacit conceptions of science and 2) negotiate a definition for science. Findings from the first year, include notable shifts in complexity and sophistication of the language used to describe science. Data from the second year of the study, suggests a strong influence of conceptual views of science of the pre-service teachers upon the selection of curriculum-related children’s literature. The findings suggest: 1) that the limited language and simplistic structure typically used to describe science may belie a deeper and richer understanding of the subject and 2) opportunities to explicitly construct their conceptions regarding the nature of science positively, influences their selection of children’s literature within science.