Reviewing Science Education in Trinidad and Tobago through the Lens of the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-171
Author(s):  
Joanne Nazir
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Trinidad And Tobago ◽  
Nature Of Science ◽  
Scientific Literacy ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching Science ◽  
Border Crossing ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
Small Island ◽  
Island States

This paper explores how the COVID-19 pandemic can act as a lens for educators and scholars to more clearly define some of the issues hampering effective science education in one Caribbean territory. The pandemic clearly revealed certain phenomena in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) including: the poor state of public scientific literacy; limited public understanding of the nature of science; an antagonistic dynamic with respect to public trust in science; and the lack of comprehensive remote/online pedagogical options for science. These issues have implications for the teaching and learning of science in T&T. In particular, science educators are encouraged to consider: a border crossing approach to teaching science; explicitly teaching the nature of science; adopting a science in context approach to science education; and working on developing digital pedagogies for teaching science that honour inquiry and concrete hands-on experience with phenomena. While the article is primarily about Trinidad and Tobago, it may be relevant to those interested in the development of small island states, including other Caribbean territories.

Exploring Pre-service Science Teachers’ Perspectives on the Nature of Science: A Comparative Study Between China and Canada

2021 ◽  
pp. 209653112096678
Author(s):  
Guihua Zhang ◽  
Yuanrong Li ◽  
George Zhou ◽  
Sonia Wai-Ying Ho
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Science Education ◽  
Science Teacher ◽  
Nature Of Science ◽  
Science Teachers ◽  
Scientific Literacy ◽  
Survey Design ◽  
Science Teacher Education ◽  
Teaching Behaviors ◽  
Preservice Science Teachers

Purpose: The Nature of Science (NOS) is an important component of scientific literacy. Science teachers’ Views of the Nature of Science (VNOS) directly affect their teaching behaviors. Therefore, it is of great significance to explore science teachers’ VNOS and find ways of improvement. This study was designed to comparatively investigate preservice science teachers’ VNOS between China and Canada. Design/Approach/Methods: The study employed a survey design to explore how Chinese and Canadian preservice science teachers understood the seven different aspects of NOS. Findings: Data showed that preservice science teachers in China and Canada both hold a modern view about science education. The level of Chinese and Canadian participants’ understanding of NOS was above the relatively naive level. Chinese teachers had better macro-understanding toward science education but their micro-mastery was insufficient. While the Canadian participants had a better understanding of the NOS than their Chinese counterparts. Originality/Value: Based on the research results and the experience of science education and teacher education in Canada, we suggested that there is a need to reconstruct the preservice science teacher education curriculum in China and promote the transformation in the science teacher educational system.

scholarly journals Teaching traditions in science education in Switzerland, Sweden and France: A comparative analysis of three curricula

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-70
Author(s):  
Laurence Marty ◽  
Patrice Venturini ◽  
Jonas Almqvist
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Scientific Literacy ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Science And Society ◽  
The Core ◽  
Moral Tradition ◽  
Science Curricula ◽  
Expected Outcomes ◽  
Academic Tradition

Classroom actions rely, among other things, on teaching habits and traditions. Previous research has clarified three different teaching traditions in science education: the academic tradition builds on the idea that simply the products and methods of science are worth teaching; the applied tradition focuses on students’ ability to use scientific knowledge and skills in their everyday life; and the moral tradition opens up a relationship between science and society, focusing on students’ decision making concerning socio scientific issues. The aim of this paper is to identify and discuss similarities and differences between the science curricula in Sweden, France and Western Switzerland in terms of teaching traditions. The study considers the following dimensions in the analysis: (1) the goals of science education as presented in the initial recommendations of the curricula; (2) the organization and division of the core contents; and (3) the learning outcomes expected from the students in terms of concepts, skills and/or scientific literacy requirements. Although the three traditions are taken into account within the various initial recommendations, the place they occupy in the content to be taught is different in each case. In the Swedish curriculum, our analyses show that the three traditions are embedded in the initial recommendations and in the expected outcomes. On the other hand, in the Western-Swiss and French curricula, the three traditions are embedded in the initial recommendations but only academic tradition can be found in the expected outcomes. Therefore, the Swedish curriculum seems to be more consistent regarding teaching traditions. This may have some consequences on teaching and learning practices, which will be discussed in the article. Moreover, our analyses enable us to put forward definitions of teaching tradition.

The Role of Technology in Interdisciplinary Language Teaching

2021 ◽  
pp. 197-218
Author(s):  
Azlin Zaiti Zainal
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Scientific Literacy ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Science Literacy ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Interdisciplinary Learning ◽  
Interdisciplinary Teaching ◽  
Use Of Technology

In discourses of 21st century learning, there is an increasing emphasis on interdisciplinary learning. In this chapter, the author first looks at previous research on interdisciplinary teaching and learning. Next, the concept of scientific literacy and how this is related to language will be discussed. The intersections between the teaching of science literacy and language teaching and learning will also be explored. This is followed by research on the use of technology in science education and how technology can enhance science literacy.

scholarly journals Primary Student Teachers’ Understanding of Basic Ideas of Nature of Science: Laws, Theories and Models

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Constantina Stefanidou ◽  
Constantine Skordoulis
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
Nature Of Science ◽  
Scientific Literacy ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
International Policy ◽  
Primary Student ◽  
Basic Ideas

Nature of Science is an integral part of scientific literacy which researchers and international policy-making institutions highlight as the purpose of science education. The notions of scientific law, theories and models are crucial for understanding the Nature of Science. These notions are better grasped in the historical context of Nature of Science.  For this purpose, appropriate instructional sequences, based on semi-structured interviews, were designed and implemented to investigate whether and how the student teachers of Primary Education can perceive these concepts. The study revealed that after particular difficulties were confronted, student teachers were able to grasp firmly the notions of scientific law, theories, models and the relationships among them.

scholarly journals Importance of Teachers’ Beliefs in Development of Scientific Literacy

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 77-87
Author(s):  
Katarína Kotuľáková
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Nature Of Science ◽  
Science Teachers ◽  
Scientific Literacy ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Q Methodology ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
Science Process Skills ◽  
Teachers Beliefs ◽  
Teaching Situations

Abstract Science teachers communicate curricula goals to their students, prepare teaching situations and lead their students through them in order to learn science. The purpose of this study was to identify the beliefs of teachers about teaching and learning, specifically, what the teachers focus on, how they comprehend knowledge and their role in the process of learning since they can promote or hold back development of scientific literacy. Q methodology was used to investigate the beliefs of 65 science teachers by having them rank and sort a series of 51 statements. Factor analysis was used to identify identical patterns. The analysis showed that the teachers held four types of dominant beliefs about the effectiveness of science instruction and some common feature which have potential to influence educational process. Teachers concentrate on covering the content even if they declare the importance of personal construction, feel responsible for students’ learning and its outcomes. Despite stressing the activity of the students, the teachers did not emphasize particular science process skills and scaffolding process. The findings of the study suggest that systematic trainings focused on the nature of science and the scaffolding process would be beneficial for teachers in all identified factors.

scholarly journals Reformed Teaching and Learning in Science Education: A Comparative Study of Turkish and US Teachers

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Burhan Ozfidan ◽  
Baki Cavlazoglu ◽  
Lynn Burlbaw ◽  
Hasan Aydin
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Science Teaching ◽  
Science Teachers ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching Science ◽  
Science Teaching And Learning ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
American Science ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Teachers Beliefs

Achievements of educational reform advantage constructivist understandings of teaching and learning, and therefore highlight a shift in beliefs of teachers and apply these perceptions to the real world. Science teachers’ beliefs have been crucial in understanding and reforming science education as beliefs of teachers regarding learning and teaching science impact their practice. The purpose of this study was to compare US and Turkish science teachers’ beliefs about reformed learning and teaching science. As an instrument, we used Beliefs about Reformed Science Teaching and Learning (BARSTL) to collect and measure the teachers’ beliefs regarding teaching and learning science education. We used an independent-sample t-test to analyze Turkish and American science teachers’ beliefs about reformed learning and teaching science. In total, 38 science teachers from the US and 27 science teachers from Turkey participated in this study. Results showed that US science teachers’ beliefs about reformed learning and teaching science are statistically higher than Turkish science teachers. The results of this study also indicated that although American and Turkish science education aim similar constructivist views on learning and teaching science, American science teachers hold more reformed beliefs in science teaching and learning than their Turkish colleagues.

A Prospective Cognition Analysis of Scientific Thinking and the Implications for Teaching and Learning Science

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corinne Zimmerman ◽  
Steve Croker
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Nature Of Science ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Science Learning ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Scientific Thinking ◽  
Cultural Activity ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Practice Of Science

With increased focus on the importance of teaching and learning in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines, both educational researchers and cognitive psychologists have been tackling the issues of how best to teach science concepts and scientific thinking skills. As a cultural activity, the practice of science by professional scientists is inherently prospective. Recent calls to make science education more “authentic” necessitate an analysis of the prospective, cumulative, and collaborative nature of science learning and science teaching. We analyze scientific thinking through the lens of prospective cognition by focusing on the anticipatory, social, situated, and multiscale aspects of engaging in science. We then address some of the implications for science education that result from our analysis.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document