Science Education and its Development a Retrospective Richard

Science Education and its Development – a Retrospective Richard Kempa

Reflections on Some Aspects of Science Education • Its Start in Curriculum Development • Its Development into an Academic and Research Discipline • Some Problems encountered en route • Directions of Development and Research Work

The Event that is said to have started Modern Science Education - Sputnik Launch on October 4, 1957

Curriculum Development in US • Some Major Projects: Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) Chemical Bond Approach (CBA) Chem Study Physical Sciences Study Committee (PSSC) • Focus on Production of: Textbooks Laboratory Manuals Teaching Resources

Curriculum Development in UK • Major Projects: Nuffield O- and A-Level in Biology, Physics and Chemistry • Focus on Production of: Teachers’ Guides Learning Resources Readers e. g. , Data Books Background

Characteristics of Early Work in Science Education • Curriculum renewal within traditional science framework • Modernisation of content to reflect contemporary science knowledge • Focus on content and processes of science • Impetus and leadership from scientists • Little involvement of educationalists

Development of Academic Programmes • Purposes: Manpower for future curriculum work Development of novel teaching approaches Improvement of assessment techniques • Programme structure (example of UEA): Chemical activities and educational studies 70% boundaries within 30% -

Content Areas Main Study Areas: History of Science Education Curriculum development strategies Design of teaching/learning materials Assessment and evaluation techniques Background Study Areas: Learning theories Questionnaire design Data collection and statistical techniques Research Work

Features of Early Academic Programmes • Located in Science Faculties • Staff had little expertise in educational sciences • In research, preference for “content” (= science) issues • In development of learning resources, acceptance of existing educational frameworks • In educational research, tendency towards quantitative studies on heterogeneous groups

Example of Early Science Education Research Project

Formation of Induced Moment

Two Views of Science Education Research § “Applied” discipline Improvement of content and methods of science teaching in classroom and laboratory § “Pure” discipline Generation of knowledge about the learning and teaching of science

Major Areas of Research and Development Work in SCIENCE Domain • Modernisation of CONTENT of science programmes • Rethinking of science content for different age and ability groups • Individual sciences versus integrated/combined science • Different links between applications and conceptual content

Some Areas of Development Work Curriculum Adaptation e. g. , Use of filmed experiments as an alternative to pupil-based laboratory work Curriculum materials for new/novel science themes e. g. , Geochemistry Interaction of light and matter Physics in medical diagnosis Chemical industry Brain, medicines and drugs and/or new learner groups, e. g. , Different age or ability groups New or alternative teaching approaches e. g. Self-instruction, Computer-based learning WEB-based learning

Areas of Research and Development Work in EDUCATIONAL Domain • Assessment, examining and evaluation procedures • Evaluation of instructional procedures used in science education • Learning behaviour of student groups and subgroups • Identification of problems in science learning

Psychological Positions – Differences between Learners’ Pre-Knowledge as important factor influencing learning (Ausubel) Cognitive Development Levels as key influence Predispositions towards different modes of Information Handling (Piaget) (Cognitive Styles, Motivational Traits, etc. ) (Kagan, Witkin, Messick, et al. )

Pre-Knowledge of Learner • Advocates of position: Novak (US), Driver (UK) and others • Orientation of work: Concept mapping Concept meanings and misconceptions Development of teaching strategies to effect conceptual change • Application: Sound teaching schemes BUT time-consuming – difficult to adopt on wide scale

Popular Areas of Study of Pupils’ Ideas Acids and bases Heat and Particulate nature temperature of matter Heat and energy Brownian motion Mechanics Chemical Electricity equilibrium Light Reaction rates Time Respiratio n Plant growth Evolution Biodiversit

Cognitive Development Levels of Learners • Key workers: Shayer and Adey (UK), ASEP (Lucas) • Orientation of work: Exploration of pupils’ cognitive development and reasoning skills • Major outcomes: Teaching schemes for different levels of cognitive development (CLIS) Teaching programmes for “cognitive acceleration through science” (CASE)

Individual Characteristics of Learners • Some workers in area: Martin-Diaz, Hofstein, Kempa, Lourdusamy, Ward • Areas of investigation: Relationship between science learning and learner characteristics such as: Cognitive (or learning) styles Motivational traits Perception thresholds in observational tasks • Applicability of findings in practice: Only limited; “individualisation

Example of Difference in Perception

Examples of Individual Differences • Information Reception/Perception modes Reflectivity vs. Impulsivity Convergence vs. Divergence Field dependence vs. Field independence • Motivational Traits: Achievement-oriented learners Curiosity-driven learners Conscientious learners Socially motivated learners

Research and Classroom Practice • Science education is not exempt from the general criticism that research has little effect on classroom practice. It is significant that it is researchers, not teachers, who level this charge. Teachers do not reject research; they ignore it. (White, 1998).

Stages in Research Diffusion Process • Practitioner’s awareness of research findings • Practitioner’s initial response to findings • Practitioner's considered response to findings • Actions taken by practitioner in the light of findings

Sources of Teachers’ Professional Knowledge SOURCE RANGE (%) AVERAGE (%) Common sense Personal experience 4 – 24 28 – 81 12 56 Consensus among professionals ‘Imparted’ knowledge Official documents General professional literature Research literature 5 – 16 10 4 – 19 0 – 13 0– 8 11 3 4 0 – 14 6

Findings about Science Teachers’ Pedagogical Knowledge (from Costa et al. ) • Pedagogical knowledge is usually derived from ‘personal experience’ and ‘common sense’ • Knowledge of educational research findings is very limited • The validity of such knowledge is not questioned

Practitioners’ Responses to Research Findings § Practitioners are NOT AWARE of research findings § Practitioners are AWARE of research findings, BUT: ignore them OR find them: impractical difficult to interpret difficult to implement

Reasons for Lack of Interaction between Research and Practice In the choice of research issues: Low priority is given to practicerelatedness In the conduct of research: Too much emphasis is given to generation of research findings Too little emphasis is given to application

Towards a Solution? • Realism is needed in attempts to bridge the gap between research and practice • Previous attempts to communicate “lessons from research” have not proved effective • Application of research findings requires adaptation to practitioners’ circumstances • Genuine partnerships between researchers and practitioners need to be evolved

It remains a struggle for researchers in science education to enter successfully the practitioners’ world … Jenkins (1999)