Cultural Studies of Science Education - This forum paper offers alternative insights into Pei-Ling Hsu’s “It’s a magic circle”! Using cogenerative dialogues to create a safe... 相似文献
This paper considers the circumstances under which science teachers can respond positively and productively to educational
policy reforms in the area of science practical assessment. To understand what might be involved in linking science teachers’
assessment capacities and their professional development, we present illustrative data from recent research studies conducted
in Singapore and Hong Kong showing contrasting approaches taken in the implementation of reforms in science practical assessment.
In Singapore, teachers worked together to select, discuss, clarify and refine their practices as they made decisions about
what to teach and assess. In Hong Kong, teachers took a critical stance towards the new policy and learnt from their own experiences
in order to build their confidence. With the same policy initiative, one group of teachers focused more on the technicalities
of complying with requirements imposed on them while in the other group had their professional consciousness of what they
thought was best for their students provoked so that their practices would be transformed. In an attempt to draw lessons for
other contexts in supporting the implementation of assessment policy reforms through professional development work, we identify
and discuss a range of factors in science teachers’ professional development that arise once in situ professional development work has started. Overall, our intent in this article is to recast assessment reform as a driver
or pivot in teachers’ professional development and learning. To do this it is necessary, we argue, to afford teachers’ experiences
and the processes involved in learning from them greater emphasis in order to ensure the continuance of innovation in the
assessment of laboratory-based work. 相似文献
Background: Researchers have indicated that assessment practices and methods should support learners’ construction of meaningful understanding of knowledge. Understanding students’ conceptions of assessment will enable us to construct more realistic, valid and fair assessments. Learners’ conceptualization of assessment would be imperative to serve as an essential reference to evaluate their learning progress.
Purpose: This study evaluated and compared the Singaporean and Taiwanese middle school students’ conceptions of science assessment. Within-country gender comparisons were also explored.
Sample: 424 Taiwanese and 333 Singaporean eighth graders were invited for a cross-country comparison.
Design and methods: The participants completed a questionnaire named Conceptions of Science Assessment.
Results: The findings showed that the summative assessment dominates in the Taiwanese classrooms, while formative and summative assessment are usually perceived in Singaporean classrooms. The Singaporean students had a greater tendency than their Taiwanese counterparts to perceive the purpose of assessment as a way of reproducing knowledge, and the formative assessment as improving learning, problem-solving, and critical judgment. No gender differences were found among either the Singaporean or the Taiwanese students.
Conclusions: Educators in both countries should provide learners with more opportunities to experience process-oriented science assessment activities and de-emphasize the usage of examination-oriented practices to achieve the sophistication of conceptions. 相似文献
This study delves into the different roles that elementary science teachers play in the classroom to orchestrate science learning opportunities for students. Examining the classroom practices of three elementary science teachers in Singapore, we found that teachers shuttle between four key roles in enabling student learning in science. Teachers can play the role of (1) dispenser of knowledge (giver), (2) mentor of learning (advisor), (3) monitor of students’ activities (police), and (4) partner in inquiry (colearner). These roles are dynamic, and while teachers show a preference for one of the four roles, factors such as the nature of the task, the types of students, as well as the availability of time and resources affect the role that teachers adopt. The roles that teachers play in the classroom have implications for the practice of science as inquiry in the classroom as well as the identities that teachers and students form in the science learning process. 相似文献
AbstractThis study examines the verbal interactions among a group of pre-service teachers as they engaged in scientific discussions in a medicinal chemistry course. These discussions were part of the course that encompassed an explicit instruction of scientific argumentation structures as well as an applied component, whereby the pre-service teachers learned the content of medicinal chemistry through cases developed using the strategy of competing theories. By adopting a case study approach using sociocultural framework of learning, we examined the interactions between the pre-service teachers using video data. We describe 12 possible forms of interactions during discussions – (1) seeking clarification, (2) figuring out loud, (3) sharing information, (4) agreement, (5) asking questions, (6) providing explanations, (7) raising strategic and procedural issues, (8) stating claims, (9) disagreement, (10) sharing perspectives, (11) offering alternatives, and (12) persuasion. The pre-service teachers engaged in figuring out aloud and seeking clarifications frequently, and used persuasion least in their discussions. To clarify their ideas and thoughts, pre-service teachers commonly rebut their counterparts and used warrants to support their own assertions. A similar pattern was also observed when figuring their thoughts out loud. Our findings suggest that pre-service teachers were able to carry out rebuttals in the argumentation process. However, the quality and function of their rebuttals can be improved by deepening their understanding of the subject matter knowledge and the science argumentation structure. Implications are discussed. 相似文献
In response to Meyer and Crawford’s article on how nature of science and authentic science inquiry strategies can be used
to support the learning of science for underrepresented students, I explore the possibly of reconciliation between the cultures
of school, science, school science as well as home. Such reconciliation is only possible when science teachers are cognizant
of the factors affecting the cultural values and belief systems of underrepresented students. Using my experience as an Asian
learner of WMS, I suggest that open and honest dialogues in science classrooms will allow for greater clarity of the ideals
that WMS profess and cultural beliefs of underrepresented students. This in-depth understanding will eliminate guesswork and
unrealistic expectations and in the process promote tolerance and acceptance of diversity in ways of knowing. 相似文献
In this paper, we characterize the inquiry practices of four elementary school teachers by means of a pedagogical framework.
Our study revealed core components of inquiry found in theoretically-driven models as well as practices that were regarded
as integral to the success of day-to-day science teaching in Singapore. This approach towards describing actual science inquiry
practices—a surprisingly neglected area—uncovered nuances in teacher instructions that can impact inquiry-based lessons as
well as contribute to a practice-oriented perspective of science teaching. In particular, we found that these teachers attached
importance to (a) preparing students for investigations, both cognitively and procedurally; (b) iterating pedagogical components
where helping students understand and construct concepts did not follow a planned linear path but involved continuous monitoring
of learning; and (c) synthesizing concepts in a consolidation phase. Our findings underscore the dialectical relationship
between practice-oriented knowledge and theoretical conceptions of teaching/learning thereby helping educators better appreciate
how teachers adapt inquiry science for different contexts. 相似文献
Specialized science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) schools create niche areas in an attempt to attract the best students, establish the school status, and justify their privilege to valuable resources. One Singapore STEM school does this in applied science learning to differentiate its curriculum from the national prescribed curriculum. Reflecting on the issues of curriculum innovation from the perspective of a teacher and head of department in this school, the second author discusses the constraints in curriculum innovation in a specialized school context embedded within a larger system of the national curriculum. We reflect on her experiences in designing, planning, writing, and implementing applied science courses and the challenges in having to simultaneously address the standardized assessment guidelines. 相似文献