scholarly journals Life Sciences Teachers’ Views on Teaching Socio-Scientific Issues in Genetics using an Inquiry Approach

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (10) ◽  
pp. 133-153
Author(s):  
Portia Ngwenya ◽  
Lydia Mavuru
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Professional Development ◽  
Mixed Method ◽  
Scientific Inquiry ◽  
Life Sciences ◽  
Mixed Method Research ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Knowledge And Skills ◽  
Inquiry Approach ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
Concrete Materials

The study sought to establish teachers’ views about scientific inquiry in teaching genetics whilst addressing socio-scientific issues (SSIs). The argument was if teachers do not fully understand the holistic nature of scientific inquiry, it prevents them from using SSIs effectively to facilitate learners’ understanding of abstract concepts. The study focused on genetics as a topic with SSIs and with abstract concepts difficult to present in concrete materials. Therefore, the paper aimed to learn about Life Sciences teachers’ view in using scientific inquiry in teaching genetics whilst addressing socio-scientific issues. In an explanatory sequential mixed method research design, two questionnaires were administered to 100 Life Sciences teachers, to seek their views about scientific inquiry and understanding of socio-scientific issues respectively. Interviews were administered only to six teachers whose responses based on the analysis of data from questionnaires, were considered as informed, partially informed and naïve views. Lesson plans for selected teachers were analysed. The findings showed that the teachers were aware and appreciative of the inquiry-based approaches and socio-scientific issues embedded in genetics. The teachers however required extensive knowledge and skills on the procedures of inquiry that have to be employed when addressing socio-scientific in genetics. These findings inform teachers and teacher professional development programmes on the importance of context as the source of socio-scientific issues that tend to impact on learner understanding of concepts in topics such as genetics.

scholarly journals PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS’ CRITICAL REFLECTION ON THE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS LEARNED IN LIFE SCIENCES METHODOLOGY MODULE

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lydia Mavuru ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Content Knowledge ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Critical Reflection ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Life Sciences ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Pedagogical Content ◽  
Knowledge And Skills ◽  
Bachelor Of Education ◽  
Teacher Professional

The complex roles teacher educators and teachers face require their ability to critically reflect on their practices. The question is on whether teachers are trained to make critical reflections of learning experiences for them to be able to critically reflect on their teaching practices. Based on constructivist approach, teacher educators continuously reflect on their practices in order to modify and improve their modules. It is however imperative that pre-service teachers who are the recipients, be given an opportunity to critically reflect on the services they receive and at the same time develop critical reflection skills. By creating reflective teaching and learning environments in the Life Sciences Methodology and Practicum module at the beginning of the academic year, 77 Bachelor of Education students specialising in Life Sciences and in their last year of study at a South African University, were purposefully selected to participate in a qualitative study. The study sought to answer the research questions: 1. What are pre-service teachers’ reflections on the knowledge and skills learned in their last year of study? and 2. What pedagogical and content knowledge aspects can be drawn from pre-service teachers’ critical reflection for the improvement of the module Life Sciences Methodology and Practicum? In collecting data, each pre-service teacher was tasked to compile a critical reflection report which they submitted towards the end of the year, and was analysed through content analysis. The findings showed important knowledge and skills learned which included the contextualization of teaching to ensure learners comprehend abstract concepts such as immunity. Amongst the teaching approaches and strategies covered in the module, argumentation as a social constructivist strategy stood out particularly when teaching controversial topics embedded with socioscientific issues e.g. genetics and evolution. The pre-service teachers indicated that the way practical work was taught, equipped them with knowledge and skills on how inquiry-based approaches can be implemented in the classrooms. Suggestions to improve the module included the provision of pre-service teachers with opportunities to conduct virtual micro lessons in light of COVID-19 pandemic; that the testing of Life Sciences concepts should include the assessment of pre-service teachers’ capabilities to teach the same concepts in the classrooms. The pre-service teachers’ argument is that since they are in their final year, the focus of the module should be on the development and assessment of their pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and TPACK. The findings of the study have implications for teacher professional development.

scholarly journals CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: TEACHERS' VOICES

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 34
Author(s):  
Suharyadi Suharyadi ◽  
Gunadi Harry Sulistyo ◽  
Sri Rachmajanti
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Teacher Professional Development ◽  
Continuous Professional Development ◽  
English Teacher ◽  
Knowledge And Skills ◽  
Teaching Knowledge ◽  
Professional Development Training ◽  
Teacher Professional

Being professional English teachers requires knowledge and competences that should be continuously nurtured to sustain their expertise, and one of the programs in Indonesia is the so-called Continuous Professional Development as officially declared by the Indonesian government in 2012. Certified teachers generally undergo either short- or long-term training experiences to update their teaching knowledge and skills. However, little empirical evidence has been conducted to examine the sustainability of such training practices on the teachers' professionalism. Henceforth, this study is aimed at investigating how such English teacher professional development training practices have been carried out and what teachers expect from such training. To that end, a survey is conducted involving a number of teachers drawn randomly from different six provinces. i.e. East Java, West Java, Lampung, East Borneo, South Sumatra, and East Papua throughout Indonesia. Descriptive statistical analyses are exerted to analyze the data collected. The findings suggest that a more down-to-earth reflective training as continuous professional development is in compelling need.

scholarly journals Filipino Teacher Professional Development in the New Normal

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 25-43
Author(s):  
Inero Ancho ◽  
◽  
Gilbert Arrieta ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Teacher Professional Development ◽  
Professional Growth ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Action Learning ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
Graduate Studies ◽  
New Normal ◽  
Knowledge And Skills ◽  
Teacher Professional

The Covid-19 pandemic has posed various challenges particularly in the education sector where the ‘new normal’ experience is all about online interaction and distance learning. As the health protocols enforce physical distancing measures, actual and personal interaction and engagements are limited. As teacher professional development (TPD) becomes a melting pot of best practices and strategies that work, teachers receive a perspective that helps them create their own professional vision. The findings of this study revealed that for teachers, TPD is a route to enhance and upgrade their knowledge and skills and professional growth, with teaching as a life-long learning process. Pre- Covid-19 TPD programs included initiatives on content, pedagogy and technology, action learning, graduate studies, leadership and management, and action research. During the pandemic, teachers were exposed to webinars and training on online teaching and learning, technological capacity, and mental health. Regardless of age and years of teaching experience, teachers have a mindset to grow in the profession and be better educators. They want to unlearn the old, and relearn new knowledge and skills because they want their students to learn according to their current needs and what the world needs in the future.

Divine Machines

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin E. H. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Early Modern ◽  
Scientific Inquiry ◽  
Life Sciences ◽  
Theoretical Interest ◽  
Living World ◽  
Mechanical Philosophy ◽  
Organic Life ◽  
The World ◽  
Generation Theory

Though it did not yet exist as a discrete field of scientific inquiry, biology was at the heart of many of the most important debates in seventeenth-century philosophy. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the work of G. W. Leibniz. This book offers the first in-depth examination of Leibniz's deep and complex engagement with the empirical life sciences of his day, in areas as diverse as medicine, physiology, taxonomy, generation theory, and paleontology. The book shows how these wide-ranging pursuits were not only central to Leibniz's philosophical interests, but often provided the insights that led to some of his best-known philosophical doctrines. Presenting the clearest picture yet of the scope of Leibniz's theoretical interest in the life sciences, the book takes seriously the philosopher's own repeated claims that the world must be understood in fundamentally biological terms. Here it reveals a thinker who was immersed in the sciences of life, and looked to the living world for answers to vexing metaphysical problems. The book casts Leibniz's philosophy in an entirely new light, demonstrating how it radically departed from the prevailing models of mechanical philosophy and had an enduring influence on the history and development of the life sciences. Along the way, the book provides a fascinating glimpse into early modern debates about the nature and origins of organic life, and into how philosophers such as Leibniz engaged with the scientific dilemmas of their era.

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