EDITORS M. F. TAŞAR & G. ÇAKMAKCI

Transcription

1 CONTEMPORARY SCIENCE EDUCATION RESEARCH: TEACHING A collection of papers presented at ESERA 2009 Conference EDITORS M. F. TAŞAR & G. ÇAKMAKCI

2

3 CONTEMPORARY SCIENCE EDUCATION RESEARCH: TEACHING

4

5 CONTEMPORARY SCIENCE EDUCATION RESEARCH: TEACHING Edited by MEHMET FATİH TAŞAR Gazi Üniversitesi, Ankara, TURKEY Gültekin ÇAKMAKCI Hacettepe Üniversitesi, Ankara, TURKEY

6 ISBN Copyright ESERA, 2010 Referencing articles in this book The appropriate APA style referencing of articles in this book is as follows: Markic, S., & Eilks, I. (2010). A mixed methods approach to characterize the beliefs on science teaching and learning of freshman science student teachers from different science teaching domains. In M.F. Taşar & G. Çakmakcı (Eds.), Contemporary science education research: teaching (pp ). Ankara, Turkey: Pegem Akademi. The copyrights of individual papers remain with the authors. A 3 page synopsis of each paper in this book was reviewed by two referees of an international panel and where appropriate and possible suggestions were made for improvement. Additionally, authors had the opportunity to gather ideas from colleagues during their presentations at the ESERA 2009 Conference before they submitted the full text papers for this collection. Decisions and responsibility for adapting or using partly or in whole any of the methods, ideas, or the like presented in this book solely depends on the readers own judgment. ESERA or the editors do not necessarily endorse or share the ideas and views presented or suggest or imply the use of the methods included in this book. iv

7 TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface Educational Research and Teaching Practices in the Teaching of Chemistry at Secondary Schools in Argentina: a Particular Case of Construction of a Sequence on Dissolutions Héctor Odetti Claudia Falicoff Adriana Ortolani José Manuel Domínguez-Castiñeiras The development of (student) teachers` beliefs about teaching science A multi-paper set Silvija Markic Jan van Driel Curriculum and teaching ideas of pre-service chemistry teachers in a context of educational reform in Brazil Sandra Vaiteka Carmen Fernandez A mixed methods approach to characterize the beliefs on science teaching and learning of freshman science student teachers from different science teaching domains Silvija Markic Ingo Eilks Teachers beliefs about making physics engaging and comprehensible for secondary students in the Netherlands Nelleke A.H. Belo Jan H. van Driel Nico Verloop Do beliefs change? investigating prospective teachers science teaching orientations during an accelerated post-baccalaureate program Patrick Brown Patricia Friedrichsen Sandra Abell xi Beliefs, knowledge and practices of two effective primary science teachers Angela Fitzgerald Mark Hackling Vaille Dawson Different approaches to measure teachers pedagogical content knowledge Ellen Rohaan, Ruurd Taconis, Wim Jochems, Kim Lange, Thilo Kleickmann, Kornelia Moeller, Stephan Schmelzing, Stefanie Wuesten, Angela Sandmann, Josef Riese, Peter Reinhold, Jennifer Olszewski, Knut Neumann, Hans E. Fischer Measuring primary school teachers pedagogical content knowledge in technology education with a multiple choice test Ellen J. Rohaan Ruurd Taconis Wim M.G. Jochems v

8 Measuring primary school teachers pedagogical content knowledge in science education with open-ended and multiple-choice items Kim Lange Thilo Kleickmann Kornelia Moeller Measuring declarative and reflective components of biology teachers pedagogical content knowledge Stephan Schmelzing Stefanie Wuesten Angela Sandmann Birgit Neuhaus Measuring physics student teachers pedagogical content knowledge as an indicator of their professional action competence Josef Riese Peter Reinhold Measuring physics teachers declarative and procedural PCK Jennifer Olszewski Knut Neumann Hans E. Fischer Travel teaches how to see science teaching as a navigation across borders Markus Emden Martina Bruckmann Antti Laherto Marianne Foss Mortensen Designing museum exhibits as border-crossing environments Marianne Foss Mortensen Robert H. Evans Interdisciplinary aspects of nanoscience and nanotechnology for informal education Antti Laherto Students and teachers feedbacks on a Problem-Based Learning (PBL) approach used for integrating health education in a human biology module Franco Pirrami Effecting conceptual change through teaching nanotechnology and perception Martina Bruckmann Elke Sumfleth Supporting teachers to transcend disciplinary borders Markus Emden Elke Sumfleth Computerized use of Thinking Journey (TJ) mode of instruction as a means to overcome students' egocentricity and enhance their conceptual understanding of the day-night cycle Yaron Schur, Haim Pensso Baruch B. Schwarz Meaning making with living animals: how to get from observations to evidence? Konstantin Klingenberg vi

9 Learning in the laboratory: an interactional, factual and conceptual experience Muriel Ney Clément Maisch Patricia Marzin Teaching and learning deterministic chaos: an empirical study on pre-service teachers Dimitrios Stavrou Assimopoulos Stefanos Skordoulis Constantinos The use of blogs in discussions on conceptual knowledge Liv Byrkjeflot Dag Atle Lysne Margaret Lloyd Learning science effectively in laboratory: constraints and issues Che Nidzam Che Ahmad Lilia Halim T. Subahan Mohd Meerah Kamisah Osman Arbaat Hassan Promoting high quality in undergraduate university science teaching Jan H. van Driel Sandra K. Abell Learning to teach science as inquiry in higher education: a course in innovative teaching Barbara A. Crawford Preparing future science faculty: experiences in a methods course for college teaching Reneé S. Schwartz Relationships between cognitive and emotional aspects of university science teaching Kira Padilla Martinez Jan H. van Driel Congruence between university science teachers intentions, approaches, and teaching behaviors Roeland M. van der Rijst Nico Verloop Jan H. van Driel Jan W. Kijne Toward integrated ICT classroom for effectives teaching and learning science: issues and constrains from Malaysian schools context Md Yusoff Daud Lilia Halim Mohd Fauzi Mohd Zain Norazah Mohd Noordin Nor Aisah Buang Mohd Amin Embi vii

10 Socio-scientific collaborative inquiry in astrobiology the design and implementation of a digital learning environment Andreas Redfors Lena Hansson Maria Rosberg Challenging chemistry teacher s beliefs: the impact of an intervention study Katrin Vaino Jack Holbrook A framework for examining video evidence of teachers content-based classroom interaction Alicia C. Alonzo Ying-Chih Chen Tina Seidel Analogies as didactic resources to introduce a STS approach in physics teaching Fernanda Cátia Bozelli Roberto Nardi The challenges of using ICT to cross boundaries in the teaching of chemical equilibrium Portuguese participation in crossnet project João Paiva Susana Fonseca Electrical field lines in the meaning making a multimodal study about the action in the classroom. Naykiavick Rangel Marina Castells Inquiry science instruction or direct? experiment-based answers as to what practices best promote conceptual development of significant science content William W. Cobern David Schuster Betty Adams Brandy Skjold Brooks Applegate Adriana Undreiu Cathleen C. Loving Janice D. Gobert Impact of the groups ability composition on academic performance in cooperative learning Roland Berger Martin Hänze A didactic proposal for the visual teaching of the theory of relativity in high school first course Xabier Prado Orbán José Manuel Domínguez Castiñeiras Phenomenological teaching within standard teacher education Florian Theilmann Astronomy education in science education Hilal Aktamış Gül Ünal Çoban viii

11 Edutainment software used computer assisted learning in cell division topic Yilmaz KARA Teacher pedagogical content knowledge and student understanding in Respiration Rosnidar Mansor Lilia Halim Kamisah Osman Our experience in training medical students in pathological physiology Emilya Raykova Lateva-Gueorgieva Emilya Petkova Tsankova-Kostadinova Genoveva Antonova Zlateva Lubomir Dimitrov Spassov Thought experiments: a tool for teaching physics theories in secondary education The case of Heisenberg s microscope Athanasios Velentzas Krystallia Halkia Constantine Skordoulis Chemistry-specific characteristics of quality Alexandra Schulz Maik Walpuski Elke Sumfleth Approaching problem solving steps with regard to task analysis Sema Çıldır Nazan Sezen Tendencies and contributions of science textbooks research Paulo Sérgio Garcia Nelio Bizzo Smart use of computers and technology as a means to introduce innovative educational ideas to science classrooms Yaron Schur, Raimund Girwidz, Ornit Spektor-Levy, Ayelet Weizman Animated illustrations - finding critical factors for an effective information processing Raimund Girwidz Michael Lippstreu Science classes with 1:1 laptops and virtual learning campus as a routine: diverse methods of instruction and development of scientific and information literacy among students Ornit Spektor-Levy Keren Menashe Mina Gazit Dafna Raviv Promoting dialogic discussions with a technology-based pedagogy Ayelet Weizman Computerized use of Thinking Journey (TJ) mode of instruction as a means to overcome students' egocentricity and enhance their conceptual understanding of the day-night cycle Yaron Schur ix

12 Scaffolding the students' activity of experimental design with a dedicated software: copex-chimie Cédric d'ham Isabelle Girault Nadine Mandran Learning graphs and learning science with sensors in learning corners in fifth and sixth grade Ed van den Berg Frank Schweickert Gerda Manneveld CAT: The effective use of computer aided teaching and learning materials in science teaching A teacher training course with a European perspective Manuela Welzel-Breuer Helga Stadler Zhelyazka Raykova Roger Erb Jari Lavonen Christian Buty George S. Ioannidis Exploring early childhood teachers attitudes and theories regarding how young children come to know science: sharing findings from a case study Ebru Ersay Çekmecelioğlu Vedat Bayraktar Nilgün Cevher-Kalburan Childhood Science Experiences Related to Science Educators Epistemological Beliefs: Examples from Different Countries Zeha Yakar Ebru Ersay Çekmecelioğlu Enhancing Students Abilities to Design Experiments of Thermal Interactions by Virtual Investigations in a Simulated Laboratory Ioannis Lefkos Dimitris Psillos Evripides Hatzikraniotis Different perspectives on science teaching and learning in the transition from primary to secondary level Alexander Kauertz Thilo Kleickmann Anne Ewerhardy Katharina Fricke Hans E. Fischer Kim Lange Kornelia Möller Annika Ohle Introducing Computational Approaches in Science Education: Modelling During Teachers Training Project in ICT Sarantos Psycharis x

13 Preface This collection of papers includes scholarly works on pre-service and in-service science teacher education. There are 23 papers in part 1 while there are 25 articles in part 2. They resemble a nice blend of studies from Japan, to USA, and many countries in Europe. We are sure that the readers will find them provocative and inspiring for their own works and applications also. By looking at these articles we can find ways of improving practices in teacher education and provide suggestions for our colleagues. Thus, this book is not an end in itself but a means of further debate in the field. We wish to thank all of the contributors in this book for their hard work. M. Fatih Taşar Gazi Üniversitesi, Ankara G. Çakmakcı Hacettepe Üniversitesi, Ankara xi

14

15 Contemporary Science Education EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH AND TEACHING PRACTICES IN THE TEACHING OF CHEMISTRY AT SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN ARGENTINA: A PARTICULAR CASE OF CONSTRUCTION OF A SEQUENCE ON DISSOLUTIONS Héctor Odetti, Claudia Falicoff & Adriana Ortolani Universidad Nacional de Litoral José Manuel Domínguez-Castiñeiras Universidad de Santiago de Compostela Abstract The present communication is intended to set forth a model for the design, planning and development of a teaching sequence on the topic Dissolutions, (Domínguez Castiñeiras, 2000 and Domínguez Castiñeiras et al., 2001a) which consists of five tasks: scientific analysis; teaching analysis; selection, formulation and sequencing of objectives; teaching strategies and activity sequencing; and selection of evaluation strategies. This paper belongs to the area of Chemistry in the PCI-AECI A/019399/08, which sets up a locus of joint intervention of the researchers from the USC (Spain), and the UNL (Argentina) and the teachers at secondary schools from the latter country. The construction of this teaching sequence has first required an explicit description of the epistemological, ethical and political assumptions which underlie the educational practices and the articulation of disciplinary, pedagogical and teaching frameworks, in order to improve the teaching of Chemistry at the secondary schools in Argentina. Similarly, this process of joint construction has made it possible to reflect on the problematic knots which the content at issue presents, the selection of the contents which has to be made according to the teaching level, and the academic and administrative requirements that are essential to be able to carry out this kind of experience. Introduction According to Gardner (2003), it is evident that having all the knowledge we have as regards the different learning and teaching styles and types of intelligences, we cannot insist on the fact that all the students learn in the same way. In the official syllabuses of the secondary schools in Argentina, the study of Dissolutions is included in the context of "Material Systems" and "Mixtures." It is within this framework that the use of the students background knowledge and everyday experiences related to Dissolutions becomes relevant. The students difficulties in this topic could be explained through the notions of continuity and discontinuity of the matter. That is why some authors (Gabel, Samuel, & Hunn, 1987) suggest the use of teaching strategies to describe dissolutions by means of particle diagrams. Others (Sánchez Blanco, de Pro Bueno, & Valcárcel Pérez, 1997), refer to the term dissolution as a material system or as a process. 1

16 Contemporary Science Education Research: TEACHING There are numerous alternative conceptions regarding notions such as mixture and dissolution (Caamaño, 2003 and Prieto, Blanco, & González, 2000) or the incorrect use of the concept of concentration (Pozo, Gómez Crespo, Limón, & Sanz, 1991). In this sense, it is advisable to suggest activities which take into account the hierarchy of contents. For instance, to start with the macroscopic properties of known materials, or substances and to look for the explanation in the internal order of the particles (García Barros & García Legaz, 2007). This paper is part of some more extensive research within the project: A shared locus of educational research and teaching practices for the construction of teaching sequences in Experimental Sciences and Mathematics, in which research is carried out into the impact that a certain teaching proposal has on the students learning and its influence on the teachers practices. Rationale It is intended to carry out research into a complex subject matter that nowadays concerns a great part of the community, including the more developed countries. There is on the one hand an excessive quantity of knowledge which competes to be included in formal education, both at secondary schools and at higher education, and that has to be furthermore adjusted into the syllabus categories of separate disciplines, in our particular case, Chemistry. On the other hand, in Argentina, the teachers at non-university level have few opportunities of interacting with the scientific production of knowledge. In many cases, even though texts are accessible, they are of a high level of formalization or sometimes of a level of circulation that do not solve the main problem of transposition; that is to say, of how, what and how much to teach to secondary school students. The proposal has entailed the joint work of teachers and researchers from both educational levels in the selection of the design, planning and development of teaching sequences according to the model put forth (Domínguez Castiñeiras, 2000 and Domínguez Castiñeiras, García Rodeja, De Pro Bueno, & Illobre González, 2001a) which consists of five tasks: determination of the academic content, determination of the learning problem; selection, formulation and sequencing of objectives; teaching strategies and activity sequencing; and selection of evaluation strategies. Methods As regards the methodological orientations, the students progressive psychological maturation was taken into account, which implies the initial treatment of more concrete concepts to be able to deal then with the more abstract ones. Likewise, the construction of analogies, not only as part of the teacher s explanations but also as a student s internal and active process, is a very important resource to improve the understanding of the contents and the development of scientific procedures and attitudes on the part of the students (Oliva, 2004). The first step was the consolidation of a group of teachers from the universities and the secondary schools who made up this shared locus where educational research and teaching practices were interrelated. Next we followed the tasks proposed by Domínguez Castiñeiras, 2000 and Domínguez Castiñeiras et al., 2001a: 1) Determination of the academic content It places special emphasis on the functional knowledge, understood as the ability to transfer to other situations. 2

17 2) Determination of the learning problem Depending on the planning model chosen, there are two components: The ideas of the students before the intervention (constructivist model). The cognitive requirements demanded by the subject content of learning (evolutionary model). 3) Selection, formulation and sequencing of objectives These learning objectives are derived from the integration of scientific analysis and teaching. Its formulation meets certain skills that students are expected to achieve as a result of the learning they do, taking into account that may be developed into one teaching unit. 4) Selection of teaching strategies It is proposed to plan the activities so as to provide opportunities for students to express their ideas. It also gives them the opportunity to differentiate between knowledge and the science proposed by the school, making explicit their findings and develop their own arguments to justify them. Since some of these ideas are resistant to change, we considered that not enough is done to raise the conflict or disagreement, but efforts are needed to introduce new ideas and apply them in different contexts. 5) Selection of evaluation strategies It is desirable that the instruments for analyzing the evolution of learning and teaching strategy consisting of different views or dimensions. Then we built the sequence of instruction. Following the construction of the teaching sequence (independent variable of this investigation), an agreement was formalized between the teachers-researchers from the university and the teachers from the secondary schools to implement it in three schools. Homogeneous groups of students which belong to similar educational contexts have been selected and whose teachers are part of our working group. The sequence was implemented in three groups of Polimodal s second year in Santa Fe city, Argentina. The experience has begun to be evaluated using a qualitative methodology. The data collected are being analyzed making use of emergent categories from the interviews with the teachers, before and after each activity; the students notebooks (thought schemata); class observations and the observation of the dialogue between the people involved in the process. Qualitative perspective was applied to identify, through successive focalizations, the problematic knots that, according to university and secondary school teachers, the students face when trying to understand the disciplinary content. This identification was made to guide the design, implementation, observation and evaluation of the teaching sequence on the topic Dissolutions. Results 1) Determination of the academic content In this first task, the official curriculum considers three types of knowledge: conceptual, procedural and attitudinal: Conceptual: dissolution as a homogeneous mixture; classification and examples; the dissolution process: simple dispersion, solvatation and chemical reaction; concentration of dissolution; dissolutions applications and dilution. Procedural: differentiation between observable facts and explanatory theoretical framework; experimentation and analysis of different situations obtaining a solution; selection, organization, 3

18 Contemporary Science Education Research: TEACHING analysis and interpretation of information; development of critical thinking and discussion of ideas in small groups. Attitudinal: valuation of Natural Science for understanding and transforming the world; respect for evidence; assessment and respect for own and others' productions and sensitivity of the exchange of ideas as a source of knowledge construction. The integration of these contents will offer students a more realistic picture of how science is constructed and its importance for the formation of citizenship. In the curriculum of middle schools of Argentina the topic Dissolutions is addressed in the second year Polimodal within the content "Material Systems" and "mixtures" Therefore, it becomes important not only because it allows recovery of previous knowledge, but also because it reveals students personal expression of everyday experiences. In order to interpret why and how solutions are produced, will be selected theories and models to go beyond the apparent knowledge of the phenomenon. The discontinuous model of matter considers that material systems are composed of interacting particles, moving and gaps exist between them. It will use the molecular-kinetic theory as an interpretative model of different states of aggregation in which dissolutions can exist. Finally, the use of molecular atomic model will affect the failure of the particle model and will be essential to interpret the diversity of matter and the distinction between mixtures and dissolutions. 2) Determination of the learning problem Taking into account the literature, the students difficulties might be explained by the notions of continuity and discontinuity of matter, abundant alternative conceptions about concepts such as mixing and dissolution or the misuse of the concept of concentration. From our teaching experience, we find many difficulties in the alternative ideas of students, such as those described by Pozo and Gómez Crespo, This occurs in relation to the limited use of the particle model of matter in explaining phenomena, assigning properties from outside world to the particles and the perception of static and continuous appearance of matter. When students are asked to represent dissolution by the macro, micro and symbolic levels, sometimes they take a continuum model for the solvent and discontinuous one for the solute. 3) Selection, formulation and sequencing of objectives From integration of the two previous tasks makes the following objectives: To define the concept of dissolution as a homogeneous mixture. To recognize components. To identify the different classifications. To define, monitor and state an argument about the dissolution as a physical-chemical process. To interpret the term concentration. To express concentration in its different forms. To calculate different ways of expressing concentration. To distinguish the concentration of a solution of the mother and daughter. To determine the volume of stock solution needed to prepare dissolution of a dilute concentration. 4) Selection of teaching strategies The teaching sequence of Dissolutions that is proposed here consists of four large sections: Mixtures, Dissolutions, Dissolution Process, Concentration and Dilution. At the same time, each of these sections is made up of the following parts: Initiation, Development and Application- in which forty three (43) activities are grouped (Domínguez Castiñeiras, Odetti, García Barros, Cajaraville Pegito, Falicoff, & Ortolani, 2007). 4

19 Initiation phase is one in which it reveals students personal expression of their everyday knowledge, then there is a diversified development process that leads to the synthesis of the explicit knowledge from school science. Finally there is a desirable Application of knowledge, from science education to new situations. See Table 1. Due to the complexity inherent in the nature of the subject, work was carried out in the three conceptual levels of chemistry (Johnstone, 1982). For this purpose, a series of activities was set up to deal with the macroscopic, microscopic and symbolic levels and, for each one, notes and suggestions for the teachers were written down. The following are interesting examples of the section Dissolution Process: (A 12, Initiation) Playing "at seeing the particles in dissolutions To see the particles in dissolutions, try the following experience: Add a spoonful of glucose, the sugar that can be found in fruit and honey, to a precipitation glass with water. See what happens, describe it and try to explain it in your own words. Afterwards, repeat the experience with table salt. Describe what happens and explain it in detail. Try to represent what you have watched experimentally with little balls or clips of different colors. Then, in a piece of paper, make a sketch to represent it. Activity intention It aims to work with two types of substances that, when dissolved, have different characteristics and where the solute particles are arranged evenly between the water without reacting with each other. Before and after preparing the solution, the substances are the same. When is an ionic substance, the ions that are separate are distributed evenly in the water. For molecular substances such as glucose, is the same molecule that is dispersed in the solvent. Using certain elements in the case of "view" on the macroscopic level what happens at the microscopic level, to make explicit the ideas of microscopic representation model for the various ions in the case of salts and /or molecules in the case of molecular substances. It seeks to facilitate the realization that in the process of forming a solution of the solute particles are intimately mixed with the solvent and it is determined not only by the individual characteristics of the solute and solvent but also by the different interactions between the components of the solution. It promotes recognition of the processes leading to obtaining a solution which can be divided into three groups: simple dispersion (glucose), solvation (table salt) and chemical reaction. See Figure 1, and Figure 2 below. It intends to use the microscopic and symbolic representation. Figure 1. Simple dispersion. (The dotted lines indicate the interaction of water molecules with glucose). 5

20 Contemporary Science Education Research: TEACHING Figure 2. Solvatation. (A 17, Development) Search a large crystallizer in the laboratory, put water up to half and a few drops of phenolphthalein. Now add a small piece of sodium or potassium. Work with great care and use security features. See what happens. Activity intention It is desired that students learn that when we add a small amount of sodium to the water, a violent reaction occurs. It forms hydrogen gas and sodium hydroxide, the heat released in the reaction is sufficient to melt the sodium, which has not yet reacted, in the form of a sphere. The solution containing phenolphthalein turns to pink by the appearance of hydroxyl ions. Metal dissolution occurs but through a chemical reaction. It should be noted that in this type of production process of a solution, you achieve a homogeneous mixture of the initial components but they react with each other (chemical reaction) and gives rise to a new homogeneous mixture whose components are the products of above reaction. It favors the explanation at the microscopic level and the symbolic representation. See figure 3. Figure 3. Chemical reaction. 6

21 (A 18, Application) If now we mix with 100g water 40g of coffee in a bowl and stirred until it dissolves completely, giving a dark solution. Draw: A. Situation to the macroscopic level. B. Make a microscopic level diagram that represents what happens when doing the mix. C. What about coffee? Drew a cross in the correct/ s option/ s: a) It reacts with water to form a new substance that gives flavor to coffee. b) It has become a new substance to pass to a liquid state. c) It maintains its identity but it s dissolved in the liquid. d) It disappears in the water. e) It is present but in smaller amounts. f) It is present but in greater quantity. Justify your answers. Activity intention It aims to work the concepts of conservation of mass to obtain a solution; the total mass of solution equals the sum of the masses of individual components. Students can discuss how to modify the microscopic representation of the solvent and solute when dissolved in one another. It promotes the exchange of ideas as a source of knowledge construction. Table 1. Sections, parts and number of activities of the teaching sequence (Domínguez Castiñeiras et al., 2007). SECTIONS PARTS NUMBER OF ACTIVITIES (A) Initiation 1 Mixtures Dissolutions Dissolution process Concentration Dilution Development 2,3 Application 4,5,6,7 Initiation 8 Development 9,10 Application 11 Initiation 12,13,14 Development 15,16,17 Application 18,19,20,21 Initiation 22,23,24 Development 25,26,27,28,29, 30,31,32,33,34 Application 35 Initiation 36 Development 37,38,39,40,41 Application 42,43 7