Reinders Duit

Research in science education - past, present, and future

Preface. Part 1: Views and Visions of Science Education Research. Science Education Researchers and Research in Transition: Issues and Policies D. Psillos. Research in Science Education in Europe: Retrospect and Prospect E.W. Jenkins. Science Content as Problematic - Issues for Research P.J. Fensham. Science Education Versus Science in the Academy: Questions - Discussion - Perspectives H. Dahncke, et al. Part 2: Scientific Literacy - Conceptions and Assessment. The Assessment of Scientific Literacy in the OECD/PISA Project W. Harlen , et al. Scientific Literacy: From Theory to Practice W. Graber, et al. Making Formative Use of a National Summative Assessment Regime T.J. Russell, L. McGuigan. A Comparison of STS-Teaching and Traditional Physics Lessons - On the Correlation of Physics Knowledge and Taking Action H. Dahncke, et al. Part 3: Students Conceptions. On the Quantum Thinking of Physics Undergraduates G. Ireson. Experiences with a Modern Course in Quantum Physics G. Pospiech. Learning Process Studies in the Field of Fractals M. Komorek, et al. Students Understandings of their Internal Structure as Revealed by Drawings M.J. Reiss, S.D. Tunnicliffe. Personal Context and Continuity of Human Thought Recurrent Themes in a Longitudinal Study of Pupils Understanding of Scientific Phenomena G. Hellden. Entities of the World and Causality in Childrens Thinking V. Spiliotopoulou, P. Alevizos. Using Media Reports of Science Research in Pupils Evaluation of Evidence M. Ratcliffe, P. Fullick. Pupils Perceptions of Science Education at Primary and Secondary School B. Campbell. Part 4: Teachers Conceptions. Teacher Professionalism and Change: Developing aProfessional Self Through Reflective Assessment M. Lang. Formative Assessment Using Concept Cartoons: Initial Teacher Training in the UK B. Keogh, et al. Teaching Chemical Equilibrium in Australian and German Senior High Schools D.F. Treagust, W. Graber. The Ideas of Spanish Primary Teachers about How to Develop an Understanding of Processes in Science and their Support in Textbooks S. Garcia-Barros, et al. Pre-service Elementary Teachers Constructing the Nature and Language of Science J.A. Craven, et al. Combining Knowledge of Physics and Chemistry in Teaching: The Behaviour of a Narrow Jet of Water in the Presence of Charged Insulators L. Kyyronen, M. Ahtee. Intuitive Rules: A Theory and Its Implications to Mathematics and Science Teacher Education P. Tsamir, et al. Part 5: Conceptual Change -- Teaching and Learning Processes. Conceptual Change Research and the Teaching of Science S. Vosniadou. Rhetoric and Science Education I. Martins, et al. Development of Complexity through Dealing with Physical Qualities: One Type of Conceptual Change? S. von Aufschnaiter. On the Micro-Structure of Analogical Reasoning: The Case of Understanding Chaotic Systems J. Wilbers, R. Duit. Role-playing, Conceptual Change, and the Learning Process: A Case Study of 7th Grade Pupils P.-L. Lehtela. Concept Mapping as a Tool for Research in Science Education H. Fischler, et al. The Need for and the Role of Metacognition in Teaching and Learning the Particle Model P. Buck, et al. Evolving Mental Models of Electric Circuits M.S. Steinberg, J.J. Clement. Two Models for a Physical Situation: the Case of Optics. Students Difficulties, Teachers viewpoints and Guidelines for a Didactic Structure P.

Learning the energy concept in school - empirical results from The Philippines and West Germany

Energy education has become an area of major interest for those who are, or feel, responsible for school learning. Teachers, politicians and the public agree that school teaching should equip students with the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to live in a world faced with rising energy demands and shrinking energy resources. They also agree that contributions from many school disciplines are needed for a comprehensive insight into problems of sufficient energy supply. Physics instruction is expected to introduce the physical energy concept and there are several problems connected with this expectation. On the one hand, the fact that the energy concept used in discussions about energy supply is not necessarily the energy concept used in physics is often overlooked. This is why a deliberate analysis is needed to understand which aspects of the physical energy concept really facilitate understanding of the ‘energy problems’ facing society. On the other hand whether these aspects can be grasped by students during physics lessons must also be investigated. Research interests at the Science Education Centre at The University of the Philippines (UP-SEC) and the Institute for Science Education at the University of Kiel (IPN) converged on these problems. An empiricial study using the same questionnaire in Manila nd Kiel was used to (1) Conception of energy. This is an overall aspect. It refers to the philosophical framework underlying the nergy concept. Some common conceptions are: energy is a precondition (or even ability) for doing work or doing auseful job; energy is ‘something’ which is able to bring about changes in the world; energy is a special (very general) kind of fuel. Sometimes energy is seen as a quasi-material ‘something’ (see e.g. Schmid 1982). Such a conception, i.e. thinking of energy in terms of a thing, is not in line with the usual conception of energy in physics (see e.g. Warren 1983). In physics, energy is a very abstract quantity balancing processes in nature and technology. ( 2 ) Energy transfer. The quantity we call energy, as conceptualised in accordance with aspect (l), can be transferred from one system to another (from one place to another). (3) Energy conversion. The quantity we call energy can occur in several forms. Energy can be converted from one form to another. (4) Energy conservation. When energy is transferred from one system to another, or when energy is converted from one form to another, the amount of energy does not change. (5) Energy degradation. When talking about energy one cannot avoid talking about entropy too. A very simple notion of entropy is needed for the purpose of introducing energy to the lower grades (e.g. grades 7-10). When energy is converted during a process the amount of energy is conserved.

Should energy be illustrated as something quasi‐material?

In a number of new approaches to the teaching and learning of energy in schools, the idea that energy is ‘quasi‐material’ plays an important role. Should energy be illustrated in this way? Is Warren (1982, 1983) right in rejecting this idea because it is not in accordance with the abstract physical energy concept? Advantages and disadvantages of a concrete substance‐like notion of energy are discussed. One of the results is that such a notion is ‐ at least to a certain extent‐compatible with the abstract physical notion.

Understanding Energy as a Conserved Quantity‐‐Remarks on the Article by R. U. Sexl

Summaries English A series of learning difficulties hamper the understanding of energy as a conserved quantity. For example, the aspect of conservation is not covered by the everyday use of the word ‘energy’, and the idea of energy conservation is formed very late in the course of childrens development. Empirical investigations about learning the energy concept indicate clearly that learning the conservation aspect of energy causes the students greater difficulties than learning the conversion aspect. Taking the remarks of R. U. Sexl on the didactics of the energy concept (see the preceding article) into consideration, it is discussed how students‐‐as early as the 5th to 10th grades‐‐can be guided to comprehending energy as a conserved quantity.

Do boys and girls understand physics differently

Boys and girls differ significantly in physics instruction: boys achieve higher grades in tests and are more interested in learning physics than girls [1, 2]. With regard to social and linguistic behaviour, we claim that boys and girls hold different notions of what it means to understand physics. Briefly, girls seem to think that they understand a concept only if they can put it into a broader world view. Boys appear to view physics as valuable in itself and are pleased if there is internal coherence within the physics concepts learned.

Studies on educational reconstruction of chaos theory

The studies presented here comprise a project on the educational significance of chaos theory. Or to put it in a nutshell, we attempt to analyse critically whether the core ideas of chaos theory (as, for instance, limited predictability of chaotic systems despite deterministic laws governing them) are worth teaching and learning and furthermore we follow up the question of accessibility of these ideas for students. Subject matter structure clarification (i.e., construction of the mentioned key ideas) analyses of educational significance on the basis of widely accepted aims of teaching science, empirical studies on students learning processes, and finally, development and evaluation of pilot instructional modules are closely interrelated. To put it into our terminology, the studies are embedded in a Model of Educational Reconstruction which may be seen as an approach to curriculum development that, on the one hand, takes into account the major insights provided by the constructivist view of the past two decades resting, on the other hand, on the tradition of German pedagogical theories on framing educational issues.

Quality Development Projects in Science Education

This paper discusses four system wide development projects, on three continents, which have arisen as a response to increasing international concern about the quality of school science. The paper describes the characteristics of these projects concerning the context, the underlying principles, the implementation strategy, and the research and evaluative features that accompany them. A number of interesting convergences and divergences are uncovered in this comparison, and issues worthy of ongoing discussion identified.

GLOBALIZATION AND SCIENCE EDUCATION

Processes of globalization have played a major role in economic and cultural change worldwide. More recently, there is a growing literature on rethinking science education research and development from the perspective of globalization. This paper provides a critical overview of the state and future development of science education research from the perspective of globalization. Two facets are given major attention. First, the further development of science education as an international research domain is critically analyzed. It seems that there is a predominance of researchers stemming from countries in which English is the native language or at least a major working language. Second, the significance of rethinking the currently dominant variants of science instruction from the perspectives of economic and cultural globalization is given major attention. On the one hand, it is argued that processes concerning globalization of science education as a research domain need to take into account the richness of the different cultures of science education around the world. At the same time, it is essential to develop ways of science instruction that make students aware of the various advantages, challenges and problems of international economic and cultural globalization.

Alltagsvorstellungen und Physik lernen

Wenn Schulerinnen und Schuler in den Sachunterricht oder in den Physikunterricht hinein kommen, so haben sie in der Regel bereits in vielfaltigen Alltagserfahrungen tief verankerte Vorstellungen zu Begriffen, Phanomenen und Prinzipien entwickelt, um die es im Unterricht gehen soll. Die meisten dieser Vorstellungen stimmen mit den zu lernenden wissenschaftlichen Vorstellungen nicht uberein. Hier liegt eine Ursache vieler Lernschwierigkeiten. Die Schuler verstehen haufig gar nicht, was sie im Unterricht horen oder sehen und was sie im Lehrbuch lesen. Lernen bedeutet, Wissen auf der Basis der vorhandenen Vorstellungen aktiv aufzubauen. Der Unterricht muss also an den Vorstellungen der Schulerinnen und Schuler anknupfen und ihre Eigenaktivitaten fordern und fordern. Er muss daruber hinaus fur die wissenschaftliche Sicht werben, d. h. die Schuler davon uberzeugen, dass diese Sicht fruchtbare neue und interessante Einsichten bietet.

Physics in Context – A program for Improving Physics Instruction in Germany

The theoretical framework and preliminary results of various evaluation measures of a German program to improve the quality of physics instruction are presented. The major emphasis of the program is to develop teachers’ thinking about good instruction as an indispensable prerequisite for improved teaching behaviour. It turns out that students’ development of affective variables (such as their self-assessed competence) appears to be more pleasing for the “Physics in Context” group than for the control group. Instruction within the program seems to include a significantly higher amount of inquiry activities than for the control group. The teachers rate their participation in the project rather positively