Science and Values in Undergraduate Education

AbstractWhile a conception of science as value free has been dominant since Max Weber defended it in the nineteenth century, recent years have witnessed an emerging consensus that science is not – and cannot be – completely free of values. Which values may legitimately influence science, and in which ways, is currently a topic of heated debate in philosophy of science. These discussions have immediate relevance for science teaching: if the value-free ideal of science is misguided, science students should abandon it too and learn to reflect on the relation between science and values – only then can they become responsible academics and citizens. Since science students will plausibly become scientists, scientific practitioners, or academic professionals, and their values will influence their future professional activities, it is essential that they are aware of these values and are able to critically reflect upon their role. In this paper, we investigate ways in which reflection on science and values can be incorporated in undergraduate science education. In particular, we discuss how recent philosophical insights about science and values can be used in courses for students in the life sciences, and we present a specific learning model – the so-called the Dilemma-Oriented Learning Model (DOLM) – that allows students to articulate their own values and to reflect upon them.

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PENINGKATAN HASIL BELAJAR IPA SISWA MELALUI MODEL PEMBELAJARAN CTL (CONTEXTUAL THEACING AND LEARNING) DI KELAS V A SDN 021 TANJUNG PALAS

Primary: Jurnal Pendidikan Guru Sekolah Dasar ◽

10.33578/jpfkip.v5i3.3911 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 5 (3) ◽

pp. 240

Author(s):

Jenny '

Keyword(s):

Action Research ◽

Learning Outcomes ◽

Mastery Learning ◽

Learning Model ◽

Fifth Grade ◽

Science Students ◽

Class V ◽

Oral Test ◽

Classroom Action Research ◽

Written Test

The background of this study is the low result belaja fifth grade science students at SDN 021Tanjung Palas, out of 25 students only 8 students (32.00%), rendahnnya learning outcomes iscaused by: (a) students lack enthusiasm in learning; (b) students are not able to answerquestions that are of reason; (c) teachers do not involve students actively in learning; (d) lessthan the maximum in using props; and (e) the level of students' understanding of the subjectmatter IPA is still low. This research is a classroom action research (PTK), this study aims todescribe the results of learning through the use of learning model CTL. The subjects werestudents of class V A 021 SDN Tanjung Palas. This study was conducted by two cycles.Improved learning outcomes in terms of four categories, namely absorption, the effectivenessof learning, mastery learning completeness students both individual and classicalcompleteness and thoroughness of learning outcomes. The instrument used for data collectionis an oral test and a written test in the form of worksheets that do after the learning process.The results showed that the learning outcomes of science students has increased at eachcycle, as shown by the acquisition of mastery learning students, the first cycle the number ofstudents who pass are 15 students or 60% and the second cycle the number of students whopass are 22 students or 88% , It can be concluded that through CTL learning model canimprove learning outcomes a fifth grade science students at SDN 021 Tanjung Palas.

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Penerapan Model Pembelajaran Grup Investigation (GI) Berbantuan Vidio Pembelajaran Untuk Meningkatkan Hasil Belajar IPA

Cetta: Jurnal Ilmu Pendidikan ◽

10.37329/cetta.v3i1.406 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

Author(s):

I Ketut Hariawan

Keyword(s):

Action Research ◽

Learning Outcomes ◽

Natural Science ◽

Science Learning ◽

Descriptive Analysis ◽

Learning Model ◽

Science Students ◽

Multiple Choice Tests ◽

Choice Tests ◽

Academic Year

This action research aims: (1) to improve the science learning outcomes of VIIA class students in the even semester of SMP Negeri 1 Manggis in the academic year 2017/2018 by applying the learning investigation (GI) learning model assisted by learning videos. This type of research is classroom action research. The subjects of this study were 30 students in class VIIA, and the object of this study was the science learning outcomes. This action research is planned to be carried out in two cycles. Learning outcomes data were collected using multiple choice tests. Data were analyzed by descriptive analysis. The results showed that: (1) The natural science learning outcomes of the VIIA class in the second semester increased in the first cycle by an average of 70, 70% absorption, with a 50% grade completeness, and an average cycle II of 77, 77 absorption %, with 86.6% class completeness. With the achievement of an average of 77 Natural Science learning outcomes, it means that it is above the established success level of 70, so that the action is considered successful. Thus it can be said that the application of the learning investigation (GI) group learning model assisted by learning videos can improve the learning outcomes of natural science students in class VIIA an even number at SMPN 1 Manggis in the academic year 2017/2018.

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Establishing a baseline of science communication skills in an undergraduate environmental science course

International Journal of STEM Education ◽

10.1186/s40594-021-00304-0 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Rashmi Shivni ◽

Christina Cline ◽

Morgan Newport ◽

Shupei Yuan ◽

Heather E. Bergan-Roller

Keyword(s):

Best Practices ◽

Science Communication ◽

Environmental Science ◽

Essential Elements ◽

Science Students ◽

Early Step ◽

Effective Science ◽

Media Types ◽

Undergraduate Science ◽

The Right

Abstract Background Seminal reports, based on recommendations by educators, scientists, and in collaboration with students, have called for undergraduate curricula to engage students in some of the same practices as scientists—one of which is communicating science with a general, non-scientific audience (SciComm). Unfortunately, very little research has focused on helping students develop these skills. An important early step in creating effective and efficient curricula is understanding what baseline skills students have prior to instruction. Here, we used the Essential Elements for Effective Science Communication (EEES) framework to survey the SciComm skills of students in an environmental science course in which they had little SciComm training. Results Our analyses revealed that, despite not being given the framework, students included several of the 13 elements, especially those which were explicitly asked for in the assignment instructions. Students commonly targeted broad audiences composed of interested adults, aimed to increase the knowledge and awareness of their audience, and planned and executed remote projects using print on social media. Additionally, students demonstrated flexibility in their skills by slightly differing their choices depending on the context of the assignment, such as creating more engaging content than they had planned for. Conclusions The students exhibited several key baseline skills, even though they had minimal training on the best practices of SciComm; however, more support is required to help students become better communicators, and more work in different contexts may be beneficial to acquire additional perspectives on SciComm skills among a variety of science students. The few elements that were not well highlighted in the students’ projects may not have been as intuitive to novice communicators. Thus, we provide recommendations for how educators can help their undergraduate science students develop valuable, prescribed SciComm skills. Some of these recommendations include helping students determine the right audience for their communication project, providing opportunities for students to try multiple media types, determining the type of language that is appropriate for the audience, and encouraging students to aim for a mix of communication objectives. With this guidance, educators can better prepare their students to become a more open and communicative generation of scientists and citizens.

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Crossing Boundaries: Steps Toward Measuring Undergraduates’ Interdisciplinary Science Understanding

CBE—Life Sciences Education ◽

10.1187/cbe.19-09-0168 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 19 (1) ◽

pp. ar8 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Brie Tripp ◽

Sophia A. Voronoff ◽

Erin E. Shortlidge

Keyword(s):

Education Reform ◽

Undergraduate Students ◽

Science Students ◽

Interdisciplinary Science ◽

Writing Assignments ◽

Assessment Development ◽

New Instrument ◽

Science Understanding ◽

Interdisciplinary Framework ◽

Undergraduate Science

A desired outcome of education reform efforts is for undergraduates to effectively integrate knowledge across disciplines in order to evaluate and address real-world issues. Yet there are few assessments designed to measure if and how students think interdisciplinarily. Here, a sample of science faculty were surveyed to understand how they currently assess students’ interdisciplinary science understanding. Results indicate that individual writing-intensive activities are the most frequently used assessment type (69%). To understand how writing assignments can accurately assess students’ ability to think interdisciplinarily, we used a preexisting rubric, designed to measure social science students’ interdisciplinary understanding, to assess writing assignments from 71 undergraduate science students. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 25 of those students to explore similarities and differences between assignment scores and verbal understanding of interdisciplinary science. Results suggest that certain constructs of the instrument did not fully capture this competency for our population, but instead, an interdisciplinary framework may be a better model to guide assessment development of interdisciplinary science. These data suggest that a new instrument designed through the lens of this model could more accurately characterize interdisciplinary science understanding for undergraduate students.

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Surely You Must Be Joking, Mr. Twain!: Reengaging Science Students through Visual Aesthetics

Leonardo ◽

10.1162/leon_a_01604 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 53 (3) ◽

pp. 311-315

Author(s):

Katherine Goodman ◽

Jean Hertzberg ◽

Noah Finkelstein

Keyword(s):

Student Perception ◽

Higher Learning ◽

Personal Meaning ◽

Science Students ◽

Science And Engineering ◽

Content Mastery ◽

Visual Aesthetics ◽

Institutions Of Higher Learning ◽

Undergraduate Science ◽

Improved Methods

Researchers have established improved methods for undergraduate science and engineering education, yet these efforts often overlook the personal meaning students find in their work. Institutions of higher learning should support the creation of personal meaning along with content mastery, aspects that are both included in arts education. The authors argue that STEM educators must work to overcome student perception that content mastery and personal meaning sit at odds. The authors provide an example of a technical course that achieves these goals as well as evidence that it is possible to foster connection while developing content mastery.

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The dilemma of English as a medium of instruction policy in science college programs

Studies in English Language and Education ◽

10.24815/siele.v8i3.21218 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (3) ◽

pp. 1045-1060

Author(s):

Munassir Alhamami ◽

Abdullah Almelhi

Keyword(s):

Native Language ◽

Medium Of Instruction ◽

Science Students ◽

Intensive English Program ◽

Language Of Instruction ◽

Grade Point ◽

College Programs ◽

Current Program ◽

And Mathematics ◽

Undergraduate Science

Achieving science undergraduate programs learning outcomes relies on the students’ proficiency in the language of instruction, a challenge that many policymakers ignore. This study is to understand the influence of English as a medium of instruction (EMI) policy in four undergraduate science programs, namely, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Mathematics, in Saudi Arabia. The data were collected from the following groups of participants: 1461 science alumni records, 769 current undergraduate science students’ surveys, and 111 science university instructors’ surveys. The results of alumni records indicated that grades of the intensive English program in the first year predict the alumni cumulative grade point average (GPA) once they finish their four-year program. The results demonstrated that the higher is the alumni’s English proficiency, the better is their cumulative GPA. The results of the current science students’ questionnaire showed their preferred language of instruction could be predicted by their attitudes and society’s attitudes. Most of these students preferred to learn sciences in their native language (Arabic), which contradicted the policy of the current program. The instructors’ questionnaire results showed that instructors held divergent perspectives on the usage of EMI and students’ native language in the undergraduate science programs. To conclude, educationists and programs policymakers need to locate more attention and interventions toward the language of instruction. It is also recommended that universities provide science students with more English courses. Science students should also have English for science purposes courses to familiarize them with the science terms and prepare them to read science materials.

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Modeling individual variation in visual search with reinforcement learning

10.31234/osf.io/suj28 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Ben Lonnqvist ◽

Micha Elsner ◽

Amelia R. Hunt ◽

Alasdair D F Clarke

Keyword(s):

Visual Acuity ◽

Reinforcement Learning ◽

Visual Search ◽

Individual Variation ◽

Learning Model ◽

Participant Preferences ◽

Search Experiment ◽

Reinforcement Learning Model ◽

Specific Learning

Experiments on the efficiency of human search sometimes reveal large differences between individual participants. We argue that reward-driven task-specific learning may account for some of this variation. In a computational reinforcement learning model of this process, a wide variety of strategies emerge, despite all simulated participants having the same visual acuity. We conduct a visual search experiment, and replicate previous findings that participant preferences about where to search are highly varied, with a distribution comparable to the simulated results. Thus, task-specific learning is an under-explored mechanism by which large inter-participant differences can arise.

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Meningkatkan Kemampuan Berfikir Tingkat Tinggi (HOTS) Siswa Kelas XI IPA SMA Negeri 2 Bagan Sinembah T.P 2020/2021 Dengan Penerapan Model Siklus Belajar 5E Melalui Materi Sistem Ekskresi Dalam Proses Pembelajaran Daring

Journal of Natural Sciences ◽

10.34007/jonas.v2i2.98 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 44-52

Author(s):

Salsa Dila Hakim Rangkuti ◽

Armadani Armadani ◽

Egithania Br Ketaren ◽

Linawati Siregar ◽

Rena Novita

Keyword(s):

Higher Order Thinking ◽

Thinking Skills ◽

Learning Model ◽

Excretory System ◽

Science Students ◽

Higher Order Thinking Skills ◽

Analysis Techniques ◽

Thinking Ability ◽

High Level ◽

Removal System

This study aims to improve the thinking skills of high-level students through the use of the 5E cycle learning model in class XI IPA students of SMA Negeri 2 Bagan Sinembah TP Riau 2020/2021 (PT) using the Kemmis and Mc.Taggart method to improve. The subjects of this study were 36 students of class XI IPA-1. This classroom action research was carried out in 2 cycles, with each cycle consisting of 1 session. Cycle I discusses the human excretory system, and Cycle II discusses disorders of the human excretory system. The data collection techniques used were tests of higher order thinking skills and teacher activity observation sheets in the application of the 5E cycle learning model and data analysis techniques with individual and classical percentage analysis. The results showed that the use of the 5E cycle learning model was able to improve high thinking skills (HOTS) of class XI science students at SMA Negeri Bagan Sinembah TP 2020/2021 Riau with a material removal system and increasing teacher activity in the learning process. The percentage of thinking ability (HOTS) from 50% in the first cycle increased to 67% in the second cycle in the good category, in the 85% cycle it increased to 92%, the percentage in the very good category was accepted.

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