Catherine Milne

Philosophically Correct Science Stories? Examining the Implications of Heroic Science Stories for School Science

Some people think that science is a set of facts that can be presented in plain and unadorned language. This fosters a belief that science has few stories. Actually, stories are very important in school science. In an examination of science textbooks, I have identified four different types of science stories which I call (a) heroic, (b) discovery, (c) declarative, and (d) politically correct. Each of these types of story promotes a particular set of philosophical assumptions about science. These assumptions are pre- sented implicitly within the framework of the story as truths of science. This article specifically examines the philosophical assumptions that underpin heroic science stories and the implications of these stories in the discursive practices of the school science classroom. As teachers, we need to be critically aware of these assumptions, since they may be at odds with our beliefs about knowledge and our preferred teach- ing practices.

design Factors for Effective science simulations: representation of Information

We propose that the effectiveness of simulations for science education depends on design features such as the type of representation chosen to depict key concepts. We hypothesize that the addition of iconic representations to simulations can help novice learners interpret the visual simulation interface and improve cognitive learning outcomes as well as learners’ self-efficacy. This hypothesis was tested in two experiments with high school chemistry students. The studies examined the effects of representation type (symbolic versus iconic), prior knowledge, and spatial ability on comprehension, transfer, and self-efficacy under low cognitive load (Study 1, N=80) and high cognitive load conditions (Study 2, N=91). Results supported our hypotheses that design features such as the addition of iconic representations can help scaffold students’ comprehension of science simulations, and that this effect was strongest for learners with low prior knowledge. Adding icons also improved learners’ general self-efficacy.

Understanding and Explanation

In 2004 I began collaborating on a research project with a developmental psychologist, multimedia design expert and cognitive scientist, and a content expert. Our goal was to explore and evaluate design principles for multimedia simulations in chemistry education; especially ideas associated with kinetic molecular theory and associated concepts of diffusion, Gas Laws, and phase change. As a feature of exploring high school chemistry students’ understanding of the chemistry concepts, which we hoped our simulations assisted them to learn, we developed assessment questions that asked students to apply their learning to a different context, a process often called transfer. An example of one of these questions is presented below.

Understanding Engagement in Science Education: The Psychological and the Social

Traditionally, engagement as a feature of student action has been the purview of psychologists who have sought to identify the individual variables that come together to constitute student engagement. Recognising the complexity of the concept of engagement has led to multidimensional models that include behavioural, emotional and cognitive engagement and the recognition that engagement is open to fashioning and is a resource that builds on itself. Although data for these studies typically are culled from surveys of individual students, such approaches have two limitations: there is no place for examining collective engagement; and the role of classroom interactions for engendering engagement is not sufficiently emphasised. In this chapter, we explore sociological approaches that can offer the possibility for developing a richer understanding of student engagement. We examine new research in which engagement is posited as emerging from collectively generated emotions, which then have implications for both cognition and behaviour.

Using Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development to propose and test an explanatory model for conceptualising coteaching in pre-service science teacher education

Coteaching offers a model for the school-placement element of pre-service science teacher education, based on its demonstrated positive impacts on lessening classroom anxiety, supporting inquiry-based science teaching, improving students’ attitudes, and addressing diversity effectively in science classrooms. Coteaching between pre-service and in-service teachers is used to lessen the gap between theory and practice, to develop reflective practice and to develop pedagogical content knowledge. Explanatory frameworks have been proposed for coteaching, and we suggest that Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development helps to propose a more nuanced developmental and learning explanatory framework which provides pedagogical structures for implementation and highlights the importance of the social environment for learning. In providing structure and tools for effective implementation of coteaching, our model addresses three core elements of coteaching: coplanning, copractice, and coevaluation. The model was piloted in relation to pre-service teachers’ development in reflective practice and reducing the gap between theory and classroom practice.

Beyond Argument in Science: Science Education as Connected and Separate Knowing

Over the past 15 years, the discourse of argument has been presented as fundamental to knowing science, with claims being made for its potential to support dialogue and advance scientific literacy. However, even for scientific knowledge, which is typically presented through arguments in which embedded empirical evidence supports specific models and theories, we have a cognitive bias towards linear narrative in the construction of knowledge. In usability trials for the Molecules and Minds study, we found that students constructed their own narrative (story) with plausible cause and effect to rationalise and contextualise what they were observing in simulations. Narratives provide conceptual links between students’ experiential everyday knowledge and paradigmatic structural knowledge, in the form of scientific argument that is often found in science textbooks. Whilst not denying the importance of argument to understanding science, I take a feminist stance and propose that argumentation, as the discourse of separate knowing, exists in a dialectical relationship with connected knowing and that both are critical for learning science. Using narrative, connected knowing seeks first to understand, an essential attribute for learning science, and provides insight into the nature of discovery in science. Separate knowing, which objectifies the known, provides insight into the relationship between evidence and claims.

School Science Stories and a Strategy of Action for Cultural Transformation

This methodology is underpinned by the notion of culture as a weave of practice and symbol systems in which users of culture share a semiotic field. You might assume that a shared understanding of symbol systems would result in a thickly coherent culture. Although actors understand the symbol systems that help constitute a culture, they do not use these systems in the same way and what emerges is thin cultural coherence and contested boundaries (Sewell, 1999). ‘What are taken as the certainties or truths of texts or discourse are in fact disputable and unstable’, (Sewell, 1999, p. 50). Inconsistencies and contradictions must be a factor within the culture when interaction between symbol systems and practices is not causal. Therefore within cultures such as science and school science, different texts can be represented. These texts can serve to constitute resources. Resources frame cultural structures upon which practices are enacted and which enact practices.

An Interactive Robotic Fish Exhibit for Designed Settings in Informal Science Learning

Informal science learning aims to improve public understanding of STEM. Free-choice learners can be engaged in a wide range of experiences, ranging from watching entertaining educational videos to actively participating in hands-on projects. Efforts in informal science learning are often gauged by their ability to elicit interaction, to foster learning, and to influence perceptions of STEM fields. This paper presents the installation of a biomimetic robotic fish controlled by an iDevice application at an informal science learning exhibit. Visitors to the exhibit are offered a unique experience that spans engineering and science, in which they can steer the robotic fish, choosing from three modes of control. Visitor engagement is examined through the lens of the Selinda model of visitor learning, while their behavior is examined using an adapted model of Borun’s framework for behaviors indicative of learning. The evaluation of the efficacy of the exhibit is assessed through a post-experience survey questionnaire, an analysis of the application usage, and a behavior coding study. Data collected on visitor interactions with the exhibit indicate that free-choice learners value the importance of engineering research, and prefer interactive modes. Further, behavior coding results support the ability of the robotic fish platform to capture the visitors’ attention. Findings offer compelling evidence that the exhibit is both highly engaging to visitors and a suitable format for science inquiry.

Beyond the actual: Exploring constructs of reality, knowledge and culture in virtual environments

In this essay I address two issues that emerged during use of the virtual world, Second Life ® , as a tool for interaction for meeting participants that were not able to attend the actual site of a research meeting: the nature of reality in the virtual and the actual and the role of culture. I find notion of ontological-epistemological engines (Ihde D, Bodies in technology. Electronic mediations, vol 5. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 2002) offers a way of thinking about how humans engage with technology and technology engages back in ways that enrich our appreciation and understanding of the world in which we live. I also explore the cultural nature of human stance on embodiment as possibly irrational or as indicative of our cultural relationship with technology.

Deployment of a Robotic Fish Platform in Informal Science Learning

Interactive robotics-based exhibits for informal science learning are becoming increasingly popular, as they offer the novelty of a robot to visitors and they allow them to reflect on their actions through instant feedback from remote control elements. This study explores the deployment of one such platform featuring a robotic fish at informal science learning events and venues. We examine the usage of three control modes, varying in their degree of interactivity, implemented through an iDevice application for maneuvering a robotic fish. Specifically, we evaluate the time spent by visitors on three control modes of the platform at informal science learning event and venues, and the distribution of the demographics of the users. This preliminary study is conducted to assess the user interest among the control modes.Copyright