Ehud Jungwirth

Avoidance of Logical Fallacies: a neglected aspect of science‐education and science‐teacher education

Abstract Modern curricula in the natural sciences stress the importance of the development of intellectual skills in the domain of critical thinking. Since such curricula are laboratory/enquiry orientated, the development of certain thought‐habits should be seen both as a prerequisite and as an outcome of science‐teaching. Teachers’ skills in this respect are usually taken for granted. Recent studies throw some doubts on such assumptions. In the study reported here, pupil‐, student‐ and teacher‐samples in Australia, South Africa and Israel responded to a test involving eight categories of logical fallacies relevant to science‐education. The results showed that the great majority of pupils in upper secondary schools either committed the logical fallacies, or simply ignored the logical structure of the test‐situations. The results obtained by post‐graduate (university) student‐teachers also left much to be desired, with post‐secondary (teachers‐college) student‐teachers in an intermediate position between t...

The Problem of Teleology in Biology as a Problem of Biology-Teacher Education.

The paper sketches the ways ‘the problem of teleology’ appears in pupil-texts, teacher-guides, and college-level texts. Excerpts from the literature in the field of philosophy and history of science are then quoted, which illustrate that ‘the problem of teleology’ cannot be handled dogmatically, as if the issues were indisputable. It is pointed out, that teacher-education does not enable the prospective teacher to analyse the teacher and pupil texts objectively and critically as to their philosophical implications. Suggestions are made which might alter this situation.

A Comparison of the ‘Prompting Effect’ of Out‐of‐School with that of In‐School Contexts on Certain Aspects of Critical Thinking

Summaries English The teaching of science closely linked to everyday situations has been strongly recommended in order to achieve stronger motivation, and, in particular for the less intellectually gifted, easier cognitive development. The development of critical‐thinking habits has long been regarded as a task for which science education is particularly suited. Such habits have been said to possess inherent non‐specific transfer value. This opinion rests on the assumption that the logical structures of contextually different situations are perceived as equivalent by pupils. This contention was queried in this study by means of two tests, which permitted: (1) the diagnosis of pupils’ recognition of logical fallacies in everyday, as compared with that in logically equivalent biological situations; and (2) a comparison of pupils’ ‘disposals of unsound proposals’ who had first encountered such proposals in everyday situations, with pupils’ having encountered them in biological situations. The effect exerted ...

Diagnostic instruments for determining junior high‐school science teachers’ understanding of functional relationships within the ‘living cell’

Two unobtrusive diagnostic game‐like instruments, especially designed to determine junior high school science teachers’ meaningful understanding of functional relationships, between some of the basic concepts related to the abstract notion of the ‘living cell’, are described in this paper. The basic assumption was that teachers, although apparently familiar with each of the relevant concepts separately, do not perceive many of the relationships which confer upon them their ‘meaning’, in an Ausubelian sense. A concept map, specifically adapted to the level expected from junior high‐school teachers, was designed and validated by scientists. While readily playing the ‘games’, individual teachers displayed the type and the relevance of the relationships which they established between concepts, their level of meaningful understanding (area covered on the exemplary concept‐map), and its availability (spontaneity of use). The main outcomes of this study show that quite often, teachers do not spontaneously establ...

Cognitive‐Preference Testing in the Natural Sciences‐‐Some Question‐Marks

Summaries English Cognitive‐preference measurements have in recent years become a major research area, with particular reference to curriculum evaluation work. Several questions concerning the nature of cognitive preferences and their measurement have so far remained unsolved. The author indentifies and discusses some of these in this article.

Active Understanding of the Processes of Science An Evaluation of Certain Aspects of the First Two Years of B.S.C.S. Biology Teaching in Israel

(1969). Active Understanding of the Processes of Science An Evaluation of Certain Aspects of the First Two Years of B.S.C.S. Biology Teaching in Israel. Journal of Biological Education: Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 45-55.

The Intellectual Skill of Suspending Judgement—Do Pupils Possess it?

A logical thinking test containing eight categories of logical fallacies in parallel biological and “life” situations was administered to groups of 16–17 year old secondary school pupils in selective schools in Austria, Israel and the Philippines. Half the test-items contained a logically sound option, the rest requiring a logically reasoned suspension of judgment. It was found that only the top quarters of these groups performed in a close to satisfactory manner when required to choose a logically sound option, but suspension of judgment was uniformly weak to very weak. Comparison groups of student-teachers, although scoring somewhat higher, displayed a similar response-pattern. Reasons for this overall unsatisfactory situation and implication for teacher-education were discussed and recommendations for the improvement of the situation suggested.

Are Cognitive Preferences and their Intercorrelations Biased by the Response Format

English Cognitive Preference (CP) studies in science education have been met with several criticisms. One of these relates to response‐format i.e. the ipsative nature of the scores, another to linguistic factors, in particular the possible causing of preferences for the Q(uestioning)‐mode by matters unrelated to test modes as operationally defined. The present study used a horizontally split‐half method of testing, converting the first half of the 40‐item CP into an all‐Q format, and leaving the other half in its traditional form (recall, principles, questioning and application). Intercorrelations between both parts were thus non‐ipsative. Comparing subjects’ CP‐scores, mode‐intensities and within‐format correlations little or no differences were found. Moreover within and between‐format correlations turned out to be essentially identical. Factor‐ and SSA‐analyses confirmed the identical structures of both formats. It was concluded that ipsativity does not distort CP‐data unduly, neither does the particul...

The ‘back‐to‐square‐one’ phenomenon: teacher‐college students’ and practising teachers’ changes in opinions and reactions

The teacher‐education literature abounds in studies the findings of which show that general attitudes to education and teaching acquired during pre‐service education undergo rapid erosion once graduates become practising teachers. Most are two‐stage studies (before and after graduation) not referring specifically to science education objectives and practices. This study has a three‐stage design based on college entrants, graduating students and in‐service graduates. Respondents’ attitudes to seven aspects of science teaching in the middle school were solicited by means of a 54‐item, Likert‐type questionnaire, and a 23‐item, on‐the‐spot‐decision test requiring respondents’ reactions to hypothetical, but familiar classroom situations. Results of both tests were parallel and clear‐cut, with subjects’ responses concentrated mainly in the definitely positive or definitely negative positions (according to the philosophy of the curriculum). College entrants exhibited an extremely negative (dogmatic, authoritaria...

Teacher‐college students’ opinions in Israel and on the West Bank of ‘what science‐education is supposed to be’

A three‐way comparison of teacher‐college entrants’ and graduating students’ views in Israel (both Jews and Arabs) and their counterparts on the West Bank was undertaken in order to diagnose subjects’ image of science and of science teaching. The questionnaire used permitted the gathering of subjects’ normative views as well as the application of these views in actual classroom science‐lesson planning. It was found that college entrants’ views of the Jewish subjects differed sharply from those of both Arab samples in all areas tested. While there was no difference between Israeli Arabs and their counterparts on the West Bank on matters concerning in‐school and in‐classroom affairs, the Israeli Arab subjects’ views about science and science‐teaching were midway between those of the Jewish subjects and the West Bank subjects. As to the graduating subjects’ normative opinions, no significant difference was found between Jewish and Arab Israeli subjects, with both these samples differing significantly from th...