scholarly journals The power and paradoxes of PISA: Should Inquiry-Based Science Education be sacrificed to climb on the rankings?

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 186-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Svein Sjøberg
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Science Teaching ◽  
Gold Standard ◽  
World Wide ◽  
Nordic Countries ◽  
Educational Quality ◽  
Educational Policies ◽  
Main Instrument ◽  
Science Educators

Since publication of the first PISA results in 2001, the PISA scores have become a kind of global “gold standard” for educational quality. Climbing on the international PISA rankings have become a high priority for national educational policies world-wide, also in the Nordic countries. This article first explores why and how the OECD, with PISA as the main instrument, has emerged as the key defining organization for educational quality and policy. Some of the underlying assumptions, ideologies and values are critiqued. Secondly, the article draws attention to PISA findings that are surprising, unexpected and problematic. The most problematic finding for science education is that PISA-scores correlate negatively with nearly all aspects of inquiry-based science teaching (IBSE), the kind of teaching that is recommended by scientists as well as science educators.

Science and Special Education

1994 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 128-133
Author(s):  
Rodney L. Doran ◽  
J. Richard Sentman
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Science Teaching ◽  
Alternative Assessment ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
School Science ◽  
The Other ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Science Teaching And Learning ◽  
Science Educators

This paper is organized into two major parts: a review of current activities in science education, and a review of the articles within this special issue. Project 2061 (aaas) and the scope, sequence, and coordination project (nsta) are ongoing efforts to develop new approaches for school science programs. Other reports and journals in the science education field are described briefly. “Constructivism” and “alternative assessment” are two of the ideas science educators are currently exploring as ways to improve science teaching and learning. The last section includes brief reviews of each of the other papers in this issue with special focus on the science education dimension. There is much we can learn from each other.

scholarly journals Conceptual Change in Science Teaching and Learning: Introducing the Dynamic Model of Conceptual Change

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louis S. Nadelson ◽  
Benjamin C. Heddy ◽  
Suzanne Jones ◽  
Gita Taasoobshirazi ◽  
Marcus Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Conceptual Change ◽  
Science Teaching ◽  
Dynamic Model ◽  
Change Process ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Personal Epistemology ◽  
Dynamic Interactions ◽  
Science Teaching And Learning ◽  
Science Educators

Conceptual change can be a challenging process, particularly in science education where many of the concepts are complex, controversial, or counter-intuitive.  Yet, conceptual change is fundamental to science learning, which suggests science educators and science education researchers need models to effectively address and investigate conceptual change.  Consideration of the current research and extant models of conceptual change reflect a need for a holistic, comprehensive, and dynamic model of conceptual change.  In response, we developed the Dynamic Model of Conceptual Change (DMCC), which uses multiple lines of research that explore the variables influencing conceptual change and the dynamic interactions that take place during the conceptual change process in science teaching and learning.  Unique to the DMCC is the potential for iterations, regression, enter and exit points at various stages of the conceptual change process, and the influences of message recognition, message engagement and processing, and the nature of the resulting conceptual change.  The DMCC contains elements from extant models along with previously un-emphasized influential conceptual change variables such as culture, society, attitude, practices, and personal epistemology.  We constructed the DMCC to provide science educators and researchers a more holistic framework for exploring conceptual change in science instruction and learning.

scholarly journals Confronting repressive ideologies with critical pedagogy in science classrooms

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wilton Lodge
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Science Education ◽  
Critical Pedagogy ◽  
Science Teaching ◽  
Classroom Discourse ◽  
Science Learning ◽  
Educational Practice ◽  
Political Activity ◽  
Science Classrooms ◽  
Free Process

AbstractThe focus of this response to Arthur Galamba and Brian Matthews’s ‘Science education against the rise of fascist and authoritarian movements: towards the development of a Pedagogy for Democracy’ is to underpin a critical pedagogy that can be used as a counterbalancing force against repressive ideologies within science classrooms. Locating science education within the traditions of critical pedagogy allows us to interrogate some of the historical, theoretical, and practical contradictions that have challenged the field, and to consider science learning as part of a wider struggle for social justice in education. My analysis draws specifically on the intellectual ideas of Paulo Freire, whose work continues to influence issues of theoretical, political, and pedagogical importance. A leading social thinker in educational practice, Freire rejected the dominant hegemonic view that classroom discourse is a neutral and value-free process removed from the juncture of cultural, historical, social, and political contexts. Freire’s ideas offer several themes of relevance to this discussion, including his banking conception of education, dialog and conscientization, and teaching as a political activity. I attempt to show how these themes can be used to advance a more socially critical and democratic approach to science teaching.

scholarly journals Ideas, politics and practices of integrated science teaching in the global Cold War

BJHS Themes ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 167-189
Author(s):  
KRISTIAN H. NIELSEN
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Cold War ◽  
Science Teaching ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
The United States ◽  
Integrated Science ◽  
Interest In Science ◽  
Scientific Disciplines ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Curriculum Reforms

AbstractDuring the Cold War, UNESCO played a major role in promoting science education across the world. UNESCO's Programme in Integrated Science Teaching, launched in 1969, placed science education at the heart of socio-economic development in all nations. The programme planners emphasized the role of science education in the development of human resources necessary to build a modern nation state, seeking to build a scientific and engineering mindset in children. UNESCO's interest in science education drew inspiration from early Cold War curriculum reforms in the United States, where scientists, psychologists and teachers promoted science education as a way to enhance the scientific and technical workforce and to counteract irrational tendencies. While US curriculum reformers were concerned about the quantity and quality of science teaching in secondary school, UNESCO wanted to introduce science as a topic in primary, secondary and vocational schools, promoting integrated science teaching as the best way to do this. From the outset, the term ‘integrated’ meant different things to different people. It not only entailed less focus on scientific disciplines and scientific method strictly defined, but also more on teaching children how to adopt a curious, experimental and engineering approach in life. By the end of the Cold War, UNESCO abandoned the idea of integrated science teaching, but it has a lasting legacy in terms of placing ways of teaching science to children at the heart of modern society.

scholarly journals Brief Training and Intensive Mentoring Guide Postdoctoral Scholars to Student-Centered Instruction

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
R. M. Price ◽  
C. J. Self ◽  
W. C. Young ◽  
E. R. Klein ◽  
S. Al-Noori ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Science Teaching ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Brief Training

The Science Teaching Experience Program-Working in Science Education (STEP-WISE) provides mentorship, practice, and feedback for research postdocs who are learning and applying inclusive, evidence-based pedagogies. The program is successful and sustainable for institutions. Its salient components are outlined here.

Hip-Hop, the “Obama Effect,” and Urban Science Education

2012 ◽  
Vol 114 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Emdin ◽  
Okhee Lee
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
Urban Youth ◽  
Hip Hop ◽  
Science Classrooms ◽  
Urban Science Education ◽  
Hip Hop Culture ◽  
Urban Science ◽  
Science Educators

Background/Context With the ever increasing diversity of schools, and the persistent need to develop teaching strategies for the students who attend today's urban schools, hip-hop culture has been proposed to be a means through which urban youth can find success in school. As a result, studies of the role of hip-hop in urban education have grown in visibility. Research targeted toward understanding the involvement of urban youth in hip-hop and finding ways to connect them to school often rest primarily on the role of rap lyrics and focus exclusively on language arts and social studies classes. Purpose of the Study The purpose of this article is to move beyond the existing research on science education by utilizing an ongoing study to interrogate hip-hop culture, its relation to the “Obama effect,” and the role of hip-hop culture in creating new possibilities for urban youth in science. The discussion of hip-hop in urban schooling is grounded in the concept of social capital to explain what makes hip-hop youth who they are and how this knowledge can become a tool for supporting their academic success. Specifically, the discussion is based on theoretical constructs related to hip-hop in urban settings, including social networks, identity, and realness and emotional energy. Research Design To explore the complexities of hip-hop and the impact of the artifacts it generates on urban science education, we examined qualitative data illustrating the enactment of hip-hopness or a hip-hop identity in urban science classrooms. Specifically, we examined the “Obama effect” and its connection to hip-hop and science education. Findings The findings indicate that when teachers bring hip-hop into their science instruction, certain markers of interest and involvement that were previously absent from science classrooms become visible. Especially, the examples of the Obama effect in urban high school science classrooms in this article illustrate that science educators can strengthen hip-hop youth's connections to school and science by consistently using the science-related decisions President Obama is making as opportunities to teach science. Conclusions By engaging in a concerted focus on hip-hop culture, science educators can connect urban youth to science in ways that generate a genuine recognition of who they are, an appreciation of their motivation for academic success, and an understanding of how to capitalize on hip-hop culture for their identities as science learners. Such efforts can eventually lead urban youth to become “the best and brightest” in the science classroom and pursue careers in science-related fields.

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