Shoshana Keiny

Educational model for environmental‐cognition development

Environmental education (EE) is an holistic educational approach the main goal of which is to develop the students’ environmental cognition, as compared to the disciplinary approach which develops a compartmentalized cognition. Environmental cognition is defined as a reciprocal relationship, comprising knowledge, understanding, sensitivity, perceptiveness and imagination with regard to the environment as well as responsibility and motivation to make environmental decisions. A conceptual model was constructed for this purpose comprising three stages: sensing the environment and generating questions; analysing and then synthesizing a system presentation of the environment, thereby focusing upon the inter‐relatedness and interdependence of environmental components; and environmental problem‐solving. The model was implemented for training EE teachers and for EE curriculum development. Both of which may enhance the inclusion of EE within the formal educational system.

Curriculum Development in Science, Technology and Society (STS) as a Means of Teachers' Conceptual Change

ABSTRACT The approach to science education known as Science, Technology and Society (STS) has recently been widely adopted. An STS school‐based project, initiated by a pilot group of teachers and two science‐educational researchers, served as a case study for this paper. This collaborative group was responsible for the planning and implementation of an inservice course for science and technology teachers, that aimed to develop an STS rationale. Teachers conceptual change, the process of constructing their STS content and pedagogical knowledge, is explored in terms of our model of conceptual change. Finally, we suggest that STS should be viewed as a learning orientation rather than as a specific content or subject matter.

‘Conceptual change’ as both revolutionary and evolutionary process

Our argument concerning the debate around the process of ‘conceptual change’ is that it is both an evolutionary learning process and a revolutionary paradigm change. To gain a deeper understanding of the process, the article focuses on the discourse of educational facilitators participating in a community of learners. Applying the methodology of ‘Semiotic Evolution,’ the micro‐process of learning within the group was traced. Analysis of the interaction between individual learning and group learning within the discourse enabled us to postulate a hypothetical three‐stage model of the process. The model indicates that conceptual change is an experiential change rather than a cognitive one, an intentional change of identity, a change of the persons relationship with the world.

Contextual Pedagogy: Teachers' journey beyond interdisciplinarity

The paper describes a collaborative reflective inquiry of teachers and researchers that was aimed at bridging the gap between the school-internal and school external cultures. It suggests that the inquiry into current social problems has the potential to bridge between the social-political zeitgeist and the schools, through the exposure of possible different conceptions of knowledge and different approaches to the nature of learning. The paper addresses some milestones along this process that led to the development of a formal model of contextual pedagogy. This pedagogy claims that content, didactics and world views, are all molded into the learning situation and concurrently emerge from it. The unique nature of this pedagogy is described by the different understanding of concepts that are associated with the process of learning and knowledge construction such as: initiation (locus of control), orientation of the process, sources of legitimate knowledge, scope and boundaries of the inquiry issues, responsibility as well as ambiguity and uncertainty, as intrinsic to the process and the nature of the emerging knowledge.

Conceptual change and environmental cognition

Environmental cognition is defined in terms of conceptual development regarding the dimensions of complexity, dynamism, interaction and involvement in conjunction with socio‐environmental problems. The development of environmental cognition, as a result of a university course in environmental education (EE) with an emphasis on system analysis, was followed through reflection on the above‐mentioned dimensions in definitions provided by the students of ten major concepts in EE. It was found that the dimensions of complexity, dynamism and interaction developed significantly as a result of the course. It is felt that concept analysis is a useful method for formative evaluation, by providing information as to the direction of change in environmental cognition.

Teachers’ Self‐reflection as a Prerequisite to their Professional Development

Abstract This paper considers the critical position of teachers in school improvement projects whose success depends on their ability and willingness to innovate. The paper describes a supportive framework for innovating teachers based on interactive collaboration between researchers and teachers in a mixed ability teaching project in an Israeli comprehensive school. Within this framework the teachers’ ability to reflect in action was enhanced. Implications of the project are considered.

Participative Learning and Conceptual Change

Conceptual Change is a research tradition that relates to the learning of scientific concepts and theories that are anchored in the conception of learning as the acquisition of knowledge. This chapter attempts to illuminate another side of learning that of learning as a participatory process. The latter adheres to the learning process of a team of learners and illuminates the interactions that shape and drive the evolving dialogue and the process of knowledge construction. A conceptual framework for analysis of the process is offered. It is based on the analysis provided by Meyer and Woodruff (1997) that suggest three mechanisms involved in the process of consensus building; Mutual knowledge; Convergence; and Coherency, and on that suggested by Park (1999) that is using the concepts of representational, relational and reflective knowledge. On the basis of these a process related vocabulary is suggested, i.e. Interpretive learning, Relational learning, and Reflective learning.

Conceptions, Practice and Change

Abstract This article proposes a model of teachers’ conceptual change that is based on the interrelationship between conception and practice, and uses reflective processes. The model is based on a school project that aimed to change teachers’ conceptions regarding their role in the learning processes of their students. The project involved reflective learning groups that dealt with dialectical analysis of alternative preconceptions. A specific example of how science and math head teachers developed a ‘new’ concept of assessment is provided.