Veronica McCauley

Testing the test: Item response curves and test quality

We present a simple technique for evaluating multiple-choice questions and their answers beyond the usual measures of difficulty and the effectiveness of distractors. The technique involves the construction and qualitative consideration of item response curves and is based on item response theory from the field of education measurement. To demonstrate the technique, we apply item response curve analysis to three questions from the Force Concept Inventory. Item response curve analysis allows us to characterize qualitatively whether these questions are efficient, where efficient is defined in terms of the construction, performance, and discrimination of a question and its answer choices. This technique can be used to develop future multiple-choice examination questions and a better understanding of results from existing diagnostic instruments.

Dialectical dividends: fostering hybridity of new pedagogical practices and partnerships in science education and outreach

ABSTRACT Science literacy has become socially and economically very important. European countries stress that science graduates are fundamental for economic growth. Nevertheless, there is a declining student participation in science. In response, there has been a call to change the way science is taught in schools, which focuses on inquiry methods rooted in constructivism. Universities and other organisations have responded by developing outreach programmes to improve student engagement in science. Given this context, there is a necessity for research to ascertain if this new relationship between outreach and education is worthwhile. This study examines and compares primary teachers and outreach practitioners understanding and perceptions of constructivist science pedagogy, in an effort to understand the potential of a teacher-outreach partnership. For this, qualitative and quantitative methods were employed, taking a dialectic pragmatic stance. Contradicting the recurrent view, teachers and outreach providers revealed favourable views in relation to constructivism, despite recognising barriers to its implementation. These results support a partnership between teachers and outreach practitioners and the realisation of the hybrid role of each participant. The results also reveal an important dynamic in outreach access to schools. Specifically, the outreach connected teachers acted as gatekeepers by negotiating access into their colleagues classrooms.

Constructivism in the Third Space: Challenging Pedagogical Perceptions of Science Outreach and Science Education.

ABSTRACT Informal opportunities for young people to engage with science have increased in response to declining uptake in science and a shortage of science graduates. This paper is set in the context of the recent introduction of science at primary level in Ireland and the existence of a great number of science outreach programmes, in particular from universities to support this sector. The recent movement to change science pedagogy in schools towards a focus on inquiry and constructivist methods commands discussion around pedagogical practice in both spaces (education and outreach). Building on the authors’ research which embraced a qualitative approach to ascertain participant perception of constructivism and understanding of conceptual and pedagogical dilemmas within science education, this paper reports a singularly quantitative insight, carried out in parallel, to facilitate a more formal and standardised comparison within and between populations and to allow generalisation to the larger population. A Constructivist Learning Environment (CLES) survey of both primary teachers (N = 148) and science outreach practitioners (N = 81) in Ireland was conducted, eliciting multiple dimension perceptions, in terms of pedagogical choice and comparative differentiators regarding sex, school size, outreach frequency in the classroom, role of outreach practitioner within their institution, outreach experience of the outreach practitioner. Results challenge beliefs presented in the literature about a deficit of science pedagogy amongst primary level teachers and therefore questions the role of science outreach in this relationship. This study provokes the necessity for a discussion of the third space, arising from the juxtaposition between science outreach and education.

Getting Hooked on Physics

A number of papers in this journal have dealt with the idea of using hooks in physics instruction. A hook, as the name suggests, engages students in learning by triggering their attention and interest. Hooks can be any type of pedagogical approach—a question, a demonstration, a puzzle or video. They are generally short and center on the most interesting aspects of a topic. Here we focus on using Conceptual Change (CC) teacher-led demonstrations as the pedagogical hook approach. Conceptual Change is an instructional method mentioned by a number of authors to stimulate interest among learners. This is where an educator presents an issue or topic that has associated misconceptions. As the teacher explains the truth behind the concept, cognitive conflict occurs and the students’ initial perceptions are challenged and ideas start to change. However, the instruction used in association with the demonstrations must provide intelligible, plausible, relevant explanations so that students are convinced by the new ideas. The gap between prior knowledge and new knowledge has the potential to provide a strong stimulus for augmenting interest, engagement, and attention among students. Thus, CC can act as a hook in itself.

Designing physics video hooks for science students

This paper offers an insight into the design structure of physics video hooks that were developed by the Science Education Resource design team in the school of education (SOE) in National University of Ireland, Galway (NUI Galway). A hook, is an instructional technique used to stimulate student attention (Hunter 1994, Lemov 2010), interest (Jewett 2013) and engagement (McCrory 2011, Riendeau 2013). The physics video hooks followed a design framework that is illustrated below by breaking down the centre of gravity (COG) hook. Various design principles and elements embedded within the COG hook are presented with examples and the time they occur within the video. The intention of this article is that the design can be replicated and modified to aid teachers and designers in the development of a multitude of classroom based multimedia resources.

Collaborative Lesson Hook Design in Science Teacher Education: Advancing Professional Practice.

This article documents the process of collaboratively developing lesson hook e-resources for science teachers to establish a community of inquiry and to strengthen the pedagogy of science teaching. The authors aim to illustrate how the development and application of strategic hooks can bridge situational interest and personal interest so that lessons may become more meaningful and enduring. Qualitative data from both teacher educators and pre-service teachers involved in the design process, participant research journals, and data from six focus group sessions, illustrate the systematic reflection involved in producing effective and transformative hooks to support teachers and promote deeper student engagement and learning. Key findings reveal a pedagogical model of hook design, the complex elemental make-up of a science hook, the value that this teaching tool adds to the science classroom, and finally, the beneficial outcomes of collaborative resource design between student and staff in pre-service teacher education programmes. These hook resources aim to move beyond simply capturing student attention towards voluntary self-engagement, and have significant potential to serve as a pedagogical tool for teacher educators, as well as pre-service, newly qualified, in service, out-of-field, and experienced science teachers, to increase student academic performance, third-level science enrolments, and science careers.