<!--{{{-->
<link rel='alternate' type='application/rss+xml' title='RSS' href='index.xml' />
<!--}}}-->
Background: #fff
Foreground: #000
PrimaryPale: #8cf
PrimaryLight: #18f
PrimaryMid: #04b
PrimaryDark: #014
SecondaryPale: #ffc
SecondaryLight: #fe8
SecondaryMid: #db4
SecondaryDark: #841
TertiaryPale: #eee
TertiaryLight: #ccc
TertiaryMid: #999
TertiaryDark: #666
Error: #f88
/*{{{*/
body {background:[[ColorPalette::Background]]; color:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]];}

a {color:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryMid]];}
a:hover {background-color:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryMid]]; color:[[ColorPalette::Background]];}
a img {border:0;}

h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 {color:[[ColorPalette::SecondaryDark]]; background:transparent;}
h1 {border-bottom:2px solid [[ColorPalette::TertiaryLight]];}
h2,h3 {border-bottom:1px solid [[ColorPalette::TertiaryLight]];}

.button {color:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryDark]]; border:1px solid [[ColorPalette::Background]];}
.button:hover {color:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryDark]]; background:[[ColorPalette::SecondaryLight]]; border-color:[[ColorPalette::SecondaryMid]];}
.button:active {color:[[ColorPalette::Background]]; background:[[ColorPalette::SecondaryMid]]; border:1px solid [[ColorPalette::SecondaryDark]];}

.header {background:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryMid]];}
.headerShadow {color:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]];}
.headerShadow a {font-weight:normal; color:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]];}
.headerForeground {color:[[ColorPalette::Background]];}
.headerForeground a {font-weight:normal; color:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryPale]];}

.tabSelected{color:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryDark]];
	background:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryPale]];
	border-left:1px solid [[ColorPalette::TertiaryLight]];
	border-top:1px solid [[ColorPalette::TertiaryLight]];
	border-right:1px solid [[ColorPalette::TertiaryLight]];
}
.tabUnselected {color:[[ColorPalette::Background]]; background:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryMid]];}
.tabContents {color:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryDark]]; background:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryPale]]; border:1px solid [[ColorPalette::TertiaryLight]];}
.tabContents .button {border:0;}

#sidebar {}
#sidebarOptions input {border:1px solid [[ColorPalette::PrimaryMid]];}
#sidebarOptions .sliderPanel {background:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryPale]];}
#sidebarOptions .sliderPanel a {border:none;color:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryMid]];}
#sidebarOptions .sliderPanel a:hover {color:[[ColorPalette::Background]]; background:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryMid]];}
#sidebarOptions .sliderPanel a:active {color:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryMid]]; background:[[ColorPalette::Background]];}

.wizard {background:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryPale]]; border:1px solid [[ColorPalette::PrimaryMid]];}
.wizard h1 {color:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryDark]]; border:none;}
.wizard h2 {color:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]]; border:none;}
.wizardStep {background:[[ColorPalette::Background]]; color:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]];
	border:1px solid [[ColorPalette::PrimaryMid]];}
.wizardStep.wizardStepDone {background:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryLight]];}
.wizardFooter {background:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryPale]];}
.wizardFooter .status {background:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryDark]]; color:[[ColorPalette::Background]];}
.wizard .button {color:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]]; background:[[ColorPalette::SecondaryLight]]; border: 1px solid;
	border-color:[[ColorPalette::SecondaryPale]] [[ColorPalette::SecondaryDark]] [[ColorPalette::SecondaryDark]] [[ColorPalette::SecondaryPale]];}
.wizard .button:hover {color:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]]; background:[[ColorPalette::Background]];}
.wizard .button:active {color:[[ColorPalette::Background]]; background:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]]; border: 1px solid;
	border-color:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryDark]] [[ColorPalette::PrimaryPale]] [[ColorPalette::PrimaryPale]] [[ColorPalette::PrimaryDark]];}

.wizard .notChanged {background:transparent;}
.wizard .changedLocally {background:#80ff80;}
.wizard .changedServer {background:#8080ff;}
.wizard .changedBoth {background:#ff8080;}
.wizard .notFound {background:#ffff80;}
.wizard .putToServer {background:#ff80ff;}
.wizard .gotFromServer {background:#80ffff;}

#messageArea {border:1px solid [[ColorPalette::SecondaryMid]]; background:[[ColorPalette::SecondaryLight]]; color:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]];}
#messageArea .button {color:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryMid]]; background:[[ColorPalette::SecondaryPale]]; border:none;}

.popupTiddler {background:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryPale]]; border:2px solid [[ColorPalette::TertiaryMid]];}

.popup {background:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryPale]]; color:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryDark]]; border-left:1px solid [[ColorPalette::TertiaryMid]]; border-top:1px solid [[ColorPalette::TertiaryMid]]; border-right:2px solid [[ColorPalette::TertiaryDark]]; border-bottom:2px solid [[ColorPalette::TertiaryDark]];}
.popup hr {color:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryDark]]; background:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryDark]]; border-bottom:1px;}
.popup li.disabled {color:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryMid]];}
.popup li a, .popup li a:visited {color:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]]; border: none;}
.popup li a:hover {background:[[ColorPalette::SecondaryLight]]; color:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]]; border: none;}
.popup li a:active {background:[[ColorPalette::SecondaryPale]]; color:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]]; border: none;}
.popupHighlight {background:[[ColorPalette::Background]]; color:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]];}
.listBreak div {border-bottom:1px solid [[ColorPalette::TertiaryDark]];}

.tiddler .defaultCommand {font-weight:bold;}

.shadow .title {color:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryDark]];}

.title {color:[[ColorPalette::SecondaryDark]];}
.subtitle {color:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryDark]];}

.toolbar {color:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryMid]];}
.toolbar a {color:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryLight]];}
.selected .toolbar a {color:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryMid]];}
.selected .toolbar a:hover {color:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]];}

.tagging, .tagged {border:1px solid [[ColorPalette::TertiaryPale]]; background-color:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryPale]];}
.selected .tagging, .selected .tagged {background-color:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryLight]]; border:1px solid [[ColorPalette::TertiaryMid]];}
.tagging .listTitle, .tagged .listTitle {color:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryDark]];}
.tagging .button, .tagged .button {border:none;}

.footer {color:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryLight]];}
.selected .footer {color:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryMid]];}

.sparkline {background:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryPale]]; border:0;}
.sparktick {background:[[ColorPalette::PrimaryDark]];}

.error, .errorButton {color:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]]; background:[[ColorPalette::Error]];}
.warning {color:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]]; background:[[ColorPalette::SecondaryPale]];}
.lowlight {background:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryLight]];}

.zoomer {background:none; color:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryMid]]; border:3px solid [[ColorPalette::TertiaryMid]];}

.imageLink, #displayArea .imageLink {background:transparent;}

.annotation {background:[[ColorPalette::SecondaryLight]]; color:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]]; border:2px solid [[ColorPalette::SecondaryMid]];}

.viewer .listTitle {list-style-type:none; margin-left:-2em;}
.viewer .button {border:1px solid [[ColorPalette::SecondaryMid]];}
.viewer blockquote {border-left:3px solid [[ColorPalette::TertiaryDark]];}

.viewer table, table.twtable {border:2px solid [[ColorPalette::TertiaryDark]];}
.viewer th, .viewer thead td, .twtable th, .twtable thead td {background:[[ColorPalette::SecondaryMid]]; border:1px solid [[ColorPalette::TertiaryDark]]; color:[[ColorPalette::Background]];}
.viewer td, .viewer tr, .twtable td, .twtable tr {border:1px solid [[ColorPalette::TertiaryDark]];}

.viewer pre {border:1px solid [[ColorPalette::SecondaryLight]]; background:[[ColorPalette::SecondaryPale]];}
.viewer code {color:[[ColorPalette::SecondaryDark]];}
.viewer hr {border:0; border-top:dashed 1px [[ColorPalette::TertiaryDark]]; color:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryDark]];}

.highlight, .marked {background:[[ColorPalette::SecondaryLight]];}

.editor input {border:1px solid [[ColorPalette::PrimaryMid]];}
.editor textarea {border:1px solid [[ColorPalette::PrimaryMid]]; width:100%;}
.editorFooter {color:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryMid]];}
.readOnly {background:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryPale]];}

#backstageArea {background:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]]; color:[[ColorPalette::TertiaryMid]];}
#backstageArea a {background:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]]; color:[[ColorPalette::Background]]; border:none;}
#backstageArea a:hover {background:[[ColorPalette::SecondaryLight]]; color:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]]; }
#backstageArea a.backstageSelTab {background:[[ColorPalette::Background]]; color:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]];}
#backstageButton a {background:none; color:[[ColorPalette::Background]]; border:none;}
#backstageButton a:hover {background:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]]; color:[[ColorPalette::Background]]; border:none;}
#backstagePanel {background:[[ColorPalette::Background]]; border-color: [[ColorPalette::Background]] [[ColorPalette::TertiaryDark]] [[ColorPalette::TertiaryDark]] [[ColorPalette::TertiaryDark]];}
.backstagePanelFooter .button {border:none; color:[[ColorPalette::Background]];}
.backstagePanelFooter .button:hover {color:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]];}
#backstageCloak {background:[[ColorPalette::Foreground]]; opacity:0.6; filter:'alpha(opacity=60)';}
/*}}}*/
/*{{{*/
* html .tiddler {height:1%;}

body {font-size:.75em; font-family:arial,helvetica; margin:0; padding:0;}

h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 {font-weight:bold; text-decoration:none;}
h1,h2,h3 {padding-bottom:1px; margin-top:1.2em;margin-bottom:0.3em;}
h4,h5,h6 {margin-top:1em;}
h1 {font-size:1.35em;}
h2 {font-size:1.25em;}
h3 {font-size:1.1em;}
h4 {font-size:1em;}
h5 {font-size:.9em;}

hr {height:1px;}

a {text-decoration:none;}

dt {font-weight:bold;}

ol {list-style-type:decimal;}
ol ol {list-style-type:lower-alpha;}
ol ol ol {list-style-type:lower-roman;}
ol ol ol ol {list-style-type:decimal;}
ol ol ol ol ol {list-style-type:lower-alpha;}
ol ol ol ol ol ol {list-style-type:lower-roman;}
ol ol ol ol ol ol ol {list-style-type:decimal;}

.txtOptionInput {width:11em;}

#contentWrapper .chkOptionInput {border:0;}

.externalLink {text-decoration:underline;}

.indent {margin-left:3em;}
.outdent {margin-left:3em; text-indent:-3em;}
code.escaped {white-space:nowrap;}

.tiddlyLinkExisting {font-weight:bold;}
.tiddlyLinkNonExisting {font-style:italic;}

/* the 'a' is required for IE, otherwise it renders the whole tiddler in bold */
a.tiddlyLinkNonExisting.shadow {font-weight:bold;}

#mainMenu .tiddlyLinkExisting,
	#mainMenu .tiddlyLinkNonExisting,
	#sidebarTabs .tiddlyLinkNonExisting {font-weight:normal; font-style:normal;}
#sidebarTabs .tiddlyLinkExisting {font-weight:bold; font-style:normal;}

.header {position:relative;}
.header a:hover {background:transparent;}
.headerShadow {position:relative; padding:4.5em 0 1em 1em; left:-1px; top:-1px;}
.headerForeground {position:absolute; padding:4.5em 0 1em 1em; left:0px; top:0px;}

.siteTitle {font-size:3em;}
.siteSubtitle {font-size:1.2em;}

#mainMenu {position:absolute; left:0; width:10em; text-align:right; line-height:1.6em; padding:1.5em 0.5em 0.5em 0.5em; font-size:1.1em;}

#sidebar {position:absolute; right:3px; width:16em; font-size:.9em;}
#sidebarOptions {padding-top:0.3em;}
#sidebarOptions a {margin:0 0.2em; padding:0.2em 0.3em; display:block;}
#sidebarOptions input {margin:0.4em 0.5em;}
#sidebarOptions .sliderPanel {margin-left:1em; padding:0.5em; font-size:.85em;}
#sidebarOptions .sliderPanel a {font-weight:bold; display:inline; padding:0;}
#sidebarOptions .sliderPanel input {margin:0 0 0.3em 0;}
#sidebarTabs .tabContents {width:15em; overflow:hidden;}

.wizard {padding:0.1em 1em 0 2em;}
.wizard h1 {font-size:2em; font-weight:bold; background:none; padding:0; margin:0.4em 0 0.2em;}
.wizard h2 {font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold; background:none; padding:0; margin:0.4em 0 0.2em;}
.wizardStep {padding:1em 1em 1em 1em;}
.wizard .button {margin:0.5em 0 0; font-size:1.2em;}
.wizardFooter {padding:0.8em 0.4em 0.8em 0;}
.wizardFooter .status {padding:0 0.4em; margin-left:1em;}
.wizard .button {padding:0.1em 0.2em;}

#messageArea {position:fixed; top:2em; right:0; margin:0.5em; padding:0.5em; z-index:2000; _position:absolute;}
.messageToolbar {display:block; text-align:right; padding:0.2em;}
#messageArea a {text-decoration:underline;}

.tiddlerPopupButton {padding:0.2em;}
.popupTiddler {position: absolute; z-index:300; padding:1em; margin:0;}

.popup {position:absolute; z-index:300; font-size:.9em; padding:0; list-style:none; margin:0;}
.popup .popupMessage {padding:0.4em;}
.popup hr {display:block; height:1px; width:auto; padding:0; margin:0.2em 0;}
.popup li.disabled {padding:0.4em;}
.popup li a {display:block; padding:0.4em; font-weight:normal; cursor:pointer;}
.listBreak {font-size:1px; line-height:1px;}
.listBreak div {margin:2px 0;}

.tabset {padding:1em 0 0 0.5em;}
.tab {margin:0 0 0 0.25em; padding:2px;}
.tabContents {padding:0.5em;}
.tabContents ul, .tabContents ol {margin:0; padding:0;}
.txtMainTab .tabContents li {list-style:none;}
.tabContents li.listLink { margin-left:.75em;}

#contentWrapper {display:block;}
#splashScreen {display:none;}

#displayArea {margin:1em 17em 0 14em;}

.toolbar {text-align:right; font-size:.9em;}

.tiddler {padding:1em 1em 0;}

.missing .viewer,.missing .title {font-style:italic;}

.title {font-size:1.6em; font-weight:bold;}

.missing .subtitle {display:none;}
.subtitle {font-size:1.1em;}

.tiddler .button {padding:0.2em 0.4em;}

.tagging {margin:0.5em 0.5em 0.5em 0; float:left; display:none;}
.isTag .tagging {display:block;}
.tagged {margin:0.5em; float:right;}
.tagging, .tagged {font-size:0.9em; padding:0.25em;}
.tagging ul, .tagged ul {list-style:none; margin:0.25em; padding:0;}
.tagClear {clear:both;}

.footer {font-size:.9em;}
.footer li {display:inline;}

.annotation {padding:0.5em; margin:0.5em;}

* html .viewer pre {width:99%; padding:0 0 1em 0;}
.viewer {line-height:1.4em; padding-top:0.5em;}
.viewer .button {margin:0 0.25em; padding:0 0.25em;}
.viewer blockquote {line-height:1.5em; padding-left:0.8em;margin-left:2.5em;}
.viewer ul, .viewer ol {margin-left:0.5em; padding-left:1.5em;}

.viewer table, table.twtable {border-collapse:collapse; margin:0.8em 1.0em;}
.viewer th, .viewer td, .viewer tr,.viewer caption,.twtable th, .twtable td, .twtable tr,.twtable caption {padding:3px;}
table.listView {font-size:0.85em; margin:0.8em 1.0em;}
table.listView th, table.listView td, table.listView tr {padding:0px 3px 0px 3px;}

.viewer pre {padding:0.5em; margin-left:0.5em; font-size:1.2em; line-height:1.4em; overflow:auto;}
.viewer code {font-size:1.2em; line-height:1.4em;}

.editor {font-size:1.1em;}
.editor input, .editor textarea {display:block; width:100%; font:inherit;}
.editorFooter {padding:0.25em 0; font-size:.9em;}
.editorFooter .button {padding-top:0px; padding-bottom:0px;}

.fieldsetFix {border:0; padding:0; margin:1px 0px;}

.sparkline {line-height:1em;}
.sparktick {outline:0;}

.zoomer {font-size:1.1em; position:absolute; overflow:hidden;}
.zoomer div {padding:1em;}

* html #backstage {width:99%;}
* html #backstageArea {width:99%;}
#backstageArea {display:none; position:relative; overflow: hidden; z-index:150; padding:0.3em 0.5em;}
#backstageToolbar {position:relative;}
#backstageArea a {font-weight:bold; margin-left:0.5em; padding:0.3em 0.5em;}
#backstageButton {display:none; position:absolute; z-index:175; top:0; right:0;}
#backstageButton a {padding:0.1em 0.4em; margin:0.1em;}
#backstage {position:relative; width:100%; z-index:50;}
#backstagePanel {display:none; z-index:100; position:absolute; width:90%; margin-left:3em; padding:1em;}
.backstagePanelFooter {padding-top:0.2em; float:right;}
.backstagePanelFooter a {padding:0.2em 0.4em;}
#backstageCloak {display:none; z-index:20; position:absolute; width:100%; height:100px;}

.whenBackstage {display:none;}
.backstageVisible .whenBackstage {display:block;}
/*}}}*/
/***
StyleSheet for use when a translation requires any css style changes.
This StyleSheet can be used directly by languages such as Chinese, Japanese and Korean which need larger font sizes.
***/
/*{{{*/
body {font-size:0.8em;}
#sidebarOptions {font-size:1.05em;}
#sidebarOptions a {font-style:normal;}
#sidebarOptions .sliderPanel {font-size:0.95em;}
.subtitle {font-size:0.8em;}
.viewer table.listView {font-size:0.95em;}
/*}}}*/
/*{{{*/
@media print {
#mainMenu, #sidebar, #messageArea, .toolbar, #backstageButton, #backstageArea {display: none !important;}
#displayArea {margin: 1em 1em 0em;}
noscript {display:none;} /* Fixes a feature in Firefox 1.5.0.2 where print preview displays the noscript content */
}
/*}}}*/
<!--{{{-->
<div class='header' macro='gradient vert [[ColorPalette::PrimaryLight]] [[ColorPalette::PrimaryMid]]'>
<div class='headerShadow'>
<span class='siteTitle' refresh='content' tiddler='SiteTitle'></span>&nbsp;
<span class='siteSubtitle' refresh='content' tiddler='SiteSubtitle'></span>
</div>
<div class='headerForeground'>
<span class='siteTitle' refresh='content' tiddler='SiteTitle'></span>&nbsp;
<span class='siteSubtitle' refresh='content' tiddler='SiteSubtitle'></span>
</div>
</div>
<div id='mainMenu' refresh='content' tiddler='MainMenu'></div>
<div id='sidebar'>
<div id='sidebarOptions' refresh='content' tiddler='SideBarOptions'></div>
<div id='sidebarTabs' refresh='content' force='true' tiddler='SideBarTabs'></div>
</div>
<div id='displayArea'>
<div id='messageArea'></div>
<div id='tiddlerDisplay'></div>
</div>
<!--}}}-->
<!--{{{-->
<div class='toolbar' macro='toolbar [[ToolbarCommands::ViewToolbar]]'></div>
<div class='title' macro='view title'></div>
<div class='subtitle'><span macro='view modifier link'></span>, <span macro='view modified date'></span> (<span macro='message views.wikified.createdPrompt'></span> <span macro='view created date'></span>)</div>
<div class='tagging' macro='tagging'></div>
<div class='tagged' macro='tags'></div>
<div class='viewer' macro='view text wikified'></div>
<div class='tagClear'></div>
<!--}}}-->
<!--{{{-->
<div class='toolbar' macro='toolbar [[ToolbarCommands::EditToolbar]]'></div>
<div class='title' macro='view title'></div>
<div class='editor' macro='edit title'></div>
<div macro='annotations'></div>
<div class='editor' macro='edit text'></div>
<div class='editor' macro='edit tags'></div><div class='editorFooter'><span macro='message views.editor.tagPrompt'></span><span macro='tagChooser excludeLists'></span></div>
<!--}}}-->
To get started with this blank [[TiddlyWiki]], you'll need to modify the following tiddlers:
* [[SiteTitle]] & [[SiteSubtitle]]: The title and subtitle of the site, as shown above (after saving, they will also appear in the browser title bar)
* [[MainMenu]]: The menu (usually on the left)
* [[DefaultTiddlers]]: Contains the names of the tiddlers that you want to appear when the TiddlyWiki is opened
You'll also need to enter your username for signing your edits: <<option txtUserName>>
These [[InterfaceOptions]] for customising [[TiddlyWiki]] are saved in your browser

Your username for signing your edits. Write it as a [[WikiWord]] (eg [[JoeBloggs]])

<<option txtUserName>>
<<option chkSaveBackups>> [[SaveBackups]]
<<option chkAutoSave>> [[AutoSave]]
<<option chkRegExpSearch>> [[RegExpSearch]]
<<option chkCaseSensitiveSearch>> [[CaseSensitiveSearch]]
<<option chkAnimate>> [[EnableAnimations]]

----
Also see [[AdvancedOptions]]
<<importTiddlers>>
Authors: Franz-Josef Scharfenberga; Franz X. Bognera; Siegfried Klautkea

Abstract
Our research objectives focused on monitoring (i) students' activities during experimental teaching phases in an out-of-school gene technology laboratory, and (ii) potential relationships with variables such as work group size and cognitive achievement. Altogether, we videotaped 20 work groups of A-level 12th graders (n = 67) by continuous recording of their laboratory-work phases. Subsequent analysis revealed nine categories characterizing the students' most relevant activities. Intra-observer and inter-observer objectivity as well as reliability scores confirmed the good fit of this categorization. Based on the individual time budgets generated, we extracted four clusters derived from students' prevalent activities. A cross-tabulation of two cluster analysis methods independently used showed a high level of agreement. Clusters were labelled as (i) “all-rounders” (members of which applied similar portions of time to the main activities), (ii) “observers” (members dominating activity focused on in-group observation of the laboratory work), (iii) “high-experimenters” (members predominantly engaged in specific hands-on activities), and (iv) “passive students” (members mainly engaged in activities with no experimental relation). Particularly, we found members of Clusters 1 and 2 in four-person work groups while members of Clusters 3 and 4 were prevalent in three-person groups. During the educational intervention, students of all clusters improved their cognitive achievement on a short-term and a long-term schedule. However, only the “all-rounders” revealed a high level of persistent (long-term) knowledge with no decrease rate at all. We draw conclusions with respect to work group sizes as well as to organizational aspects of experimental lessons.
Author: Vanessa Kinda

Abstract
Teachers' subject matter knowledge (SMK) is one factor contributing to teaching 'successfully', as this provides a basis from which pedagogical content knowledge develops. UK-based trainee science teachers teach all sciences to age 14 and often up to age 16. Trainees have specialist science knowledge in chemistry, physics, or biology from their degrees. Other sciences may not have been studied since school. Thus, trainee science teachers often teach 'outside specialism'. The extent to which teaching within and outside specialism influences successful teaching, ensuring learning objectives are achieved, was investigated. The sources seventy-one trainees use for preparing within and outside specialism science lessons for 11-14-year-olds and 14-16-year-olds and effects on teacher self-confidence of working in these two domains were probed by questionnaire and interview. All trainees responded to open and closed questions, and Likert-scale statements exploring preferences for teaching, self-confidence, handling subject-related questions within and outside specialism, and attitudes towards learning new SMK. A subgroup of 12 trainees participated in individual semi-structured interviews. The results are counter-intuitive: trainees teach more successful lessons outside their specialism, particularly in the early stages. This relates to using a richer range of SMK sources, including, crucially, advice from experienced colleagues. Within specialism, trainees report an inability to select appropriate knowledge and/or strategies and a sense of conflict in teaching inaccurate information. Some 'anxious' trainees rely heavily on extant materials for outside specialism teaching. 'Super-confident' trainees able to teach any science focus on selection of appropriate instructional strategies and realise early on the need to transform SMK.
Author: Julia D. Plummera

Abstract
The US National Science Education Standards and the Benchmarks for Science Literacy recommend that students understand the apparent patterns of motion of the Sun, Moon, and stars by the end of early elementary school, yet no research has specifically examined these concepts from an Earth-based perspective with this age group. This study examines children's understanding of the patterns of apparent celestial motion among first-grade, third-grade, and eighth-grade students, and investigates the extent to which these concepts develop from elementary to middle school in students without targeted instruction. Twenty students at each grade level (total n = 60) were interviewed using a novel interview setting: a small dome representing the sky, which allowed students to demonstrate their ideas. Analysis reveals that elementary and middle school students hold a variety of non-scientific ideas about all aspects of apparent celestial motion. While the eighth-grade students' understanding of the apparent motion of the Sun shows a greater level of accuracy compared with the third-grade students, across the majority of topics of apparent celestial motion, the overall level of accuracy shows little change from third grade to eighth grade. Just as prior research has demonstrated the need for instruction to improve children's understanding of the nature of celestial objects and their actual motions, these results support the need for research on instructional strategies that improve students' understanding of celestial motion as seen from their own perspective.
Authors: Russell Tytlera; Vaughan Prainb 

Abstract
Recent accounts by cognitive scientists of factors affecting cognition imply the need to reconsider current dominant conceptual theories about science learning. These new accounts emphasize the role of context, embodied practices, and narrative-based representation rather than learners' cognitive constructs. In this paper we analyse data from a longitudinal study of primary school children's learning to outline a framework based on these contemporary accounts and to delineate key points of difference from conceptual change perspectives. The findings suggest this framework provides strong theoretical and practical insights into how children learn and the key role of representational negotiation in this learning. We argue that the nature and process of conceptual change can be re-interpreted in terms of the development of students' representational resources.
Keywords: Conceptual change; Language; Learning; Qualitative research; Representations; Science education 
Authors: Lena Loumlfgrena; Gustav Helldeacutena

Abstract
In this paper we present results from a 10-year (1997-2006) longitudinal study in which we, by interviews once or twice every year, followed how students, throughout the compulsory school, developed their understanding of three situations in which transformations of matter occur. We believe that students have to meet scientific ideas early in order to gradually, in social cooperation with classmates, friends, teachers, and other grown-ups, elaborate the meaning of a concept. We followed 23 students all born in 1990. In 1997 we introduced the idea of the particulate nature of matter. We have conducted interviews allowing students to explain the transformation of matter in fading leaves left lying on the ground, burning candles, and a glass of water with a lid on. In the interview at 16 years of age, less than one-fifth of the students use molecular ideas in scientifically acceptable ways. The overall conclusion is that most students do not connect the knowledge they gain in school about the particulate nature of matter to these everyday situations. On the other hand, the students seem capable of using a simple particle model and the model can help them understand the invisible gas state. The question of how to use this capability in order to develop students' scientific ideas is still not solved and more research is argued for.
Authors: Konrad J. Schoumlnbornab; Trevor R. Andersona

Abstract
The aim of this research was to develop a model of factors affecting students' ability to interpret external representations (ERs) in biochemistry. The study was qualitative in design and was guided by the modelling framework of Justi and Gilbert. Application of the process outlined by the framework, and consultation with relevant literature, led to the expression of a Venn model and to the formulation of operational definitions for seven component factors of the model; namely, the conceptual (C), reasoning (R), representation mode (M), reasoning-mode (R-M), reasoning-conceptual (R-C), conceptual-mode (C-M), and conceptual-reasoning-mode (C-R-M) factors. To validate the model, nine students were interviewed using a specially designed three-phase single interview technique to investigate their interpretation of three ERs, representing antibody-antigen interaction. The data were analysed by induction, where response patterns emerged naturally rather than being predisposed. The results verified the validity of the expressed model and its component factors. We suggest that the model has a range of potential applications, including as a tool for framing researchers' thinking about students' difficulties with, and interpretation of, scientific ERs, and for the design of strategies to improve learning with ERs.
Authors: Amy M. Masnicka; S. Stavros Valentia; Brian D. Coxa; Christopher J. Osmanb

Abstract
To encourage students to seek careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields, it is important to gauge students' implicit and explicit attitudes towards scientific professions. We asked high school and college students to rate the similarity of pairs of occupations, and then used multidimensional scaling (MDS) to create a spatial representation of occupational similarity. Other students confirmed the emergent MDS map by rating each of the occupations along several dimensions. We found that participants across age and sex considered scientific professions to be less creative and less people-oriented than other popular career choices. We conclude that students may be led away from STEM careers by common misperceptions that science is a difficult, uncreative, and socially isolating pursuit.
Keywords: Attitudes; Nature of science; Quantitative research; Science education; Secondary school 
Authors: John Lawrence Benczea; Gervase Michael Bowenb

Abstract
Student-directed, open-ended scientific investigations and invention projects may serve to deepen and broaden students' scientific and technological literacy, and, in so doing, enable them to succeed in democracies greatly affected by processes and products of science and technology. Science fairs, events at which student-led projects are evaluated and celebrated, could contribute to such positive personal and social outcomes. Qualitative data drawn from a national science fair over succeeding years indicate (after analyses of largely qualitative data, using constant comparative methods) that, apart from positive outcomes regarding science literacy, there may be some significant issues about the fair that warrant critical review. It is apparent from these studies that there are issues of access, image, and recruitment associated with the fair. Qualification for participation in the fair appears to favour students from advantaged, resource-rich backgrounds. Although these students do benefit in a number of ways from the fair experience, it is apparent that science fairs also greatly benefit sponsors—who can, in a sense, use science fairs for promotional and recruitment purposes. These findings and claims raised, for us, some important questions possibly having implications for science education, and for society more generally.
Keywords: Competition; Commodification; Elitism; Nature of science; Science fairs 
Author: Elise Baldya

Abstract
Today's method of teaching the concept of falling bodies in French physics classes is ineffective, not only because it ignores the physical aspect of the phenomenon by addressing only its mathematical aspect, but also because it does not take into account students' initial conceptions, which are often incompatible with scientific knowledge. The goal of the present study was to assess the effectiveness of a new educational perspective for teaching gravity, based on an analogical presentation of Einstein's theory of the deformation of space-time. The conceptions of French 15-year-old ninth graders and how they evolve are analyzed and compared for two different teaching methods, the new perspective (n = 102) and an approach based on Newton's theory of bodies interacting at a distance. The data obtained are used to describe students' initial conceptions of falling bodies, and confirm the lesser effectiveness of the teaching approach based on Newton's theory. The results provide evidence of two phases of conceptual change: “positive substitution” (when a correct explanatory system replaces an erroneous one) and “generalization” (when the domain of validity of a correct explanatory system is extended). They also show that Einstein's theory can be understood by ninth graders and promotes more conceptual change than a method based on Newton's theory of bodies interacting at a distance. The new perspective appears to help students not only to extend the domain of validity of the correct conception - that bodies fall because they are attracted - but also to change their conception of attraction, now understood as the effect of a property of space rather than a property of bodies.
Author: Huey-Lien Kaoa

Abstract
The purpose of this study was two-fold: one aim was to investigate alternative conceptions of the definition of respiration held by aboriginal and urban junior high students in the Pingtung district, and the other was to determine possible causes for the formation of these alternative conceptions. To achieve this, a two-tier instrument concerning respiration was administered to 316 aboriginal and 399 urban seventh-grade to ninth-grade students who had previously received instruction in respiration. The seventh-grade and eighth-grade students who held alternative conceptions of specific categories were selected for interviews. A total of 70 aboriginal and urban students, respectively, were interviewed for the exploration of the sources of alternative conceptions. Results showed that both the aboriginal and urban students held common alternative conceptions. Especially, students in both groups have difficulty in grasping respiration as a chemical process rather than a physical one involving gases going into or out of organisms. In addition, the sources of students' significant alternative conceptions not only are diverse but may be interrelated. Furthermore, due to different living environments, the sources of these alternative conceptions for the two groups are somewhat different. Aboriginal students tend to learn knowledge in connection with natural phenomena or from their own experiences. However, urban students tend to learn knowledge in connection with common modern equipment and everyday appliances. In addition, the urban students were more impressed by the experiments as well as by advertisements, and were more familiar with social events. Finally, the implication for science teaching is also discussed.
Keywords: Aborigines; Alternative conceptions; Respiration
Authors: Sonya Ellouise Sherroda; Jennifer Wilhelma

Abstract
Research indicates that student understanding is either confirmed or reformed when given opportunities to share what they know. This study was conducted to answer the research question: Will classroom dialogue facilitate students' understanding of lunar concepts related to geometric spatial visualisation? Ninety-two middle school students engaged in classroom discussion about the two-dimensional models of the Sun-Earth-Moon system they created at the end of an inquiry Moon unit. Their responses to selected questions of the Lunar Phases Concept Inventory were also analysed. Findings indicate that classroom discourse provides the optimal setting for students to deeply ponder their long-held misconceptions and reconstruct their understanding regarding the cause of lunar phases.
Authors: Ian Abrahamsa; M. Saglamb

Abstract
Many teachers view practical work as an essential feature of science education. This study examined whether there had been any changes in the relative importance of the aims science teachers assign to the use of practical work, across the full secondary age range (11-18), since the last such national survey undertaken by Kerr 46 years ago. A stratified sample of representative schools was used in which 912 teachers were sent a questionnaire on their views towards the use of practical work in science with a total of 393 responses (42.5%) being received. The coefficient of concordance of the various rankings and their significance were calculated, as too were the z-scores. The findings suggest that whilst there have been substantial changes in teachers' views about the use of practical work at Key Stages 4 and 5 (age 15-18) there have been no substantial changes at Key Stage 3 (age 11-14). Furthermore, the results are remarkably similar across subject specialism, teacher gender, and years of teaching experience although this paper will only focus on subject specialism. It appears that changes to the assessment criteria, notably the introduction of Science Investigation (Sc1) at Key Stage 4, and a growing desire amongst educational policy-makers to improve the image of science, have had an effect on how those in the teaching profession perceive the value and aims of practical work particularly at Key Stages 4 and 5.
Keywords: Laboratory work; Practical work; Secondary school; Teacher beliefs 
Authors: Min-Nan Maynard Wanga; Kun-Chang Wua; Tai-Chu Iris Huanga

Abstract
The purpose of this study is to investigate how factors such as personal traits and school locations influence junior high school students' conceptual learning of biology. The study was carried out island-wide with the whole area divided into 10 districts, from which 4,537 students were selected using stratified random sampling. A questionnaire on biological concepts was used to gather the data, which then were statistically analysed using one-way analysis of variance and a t-test. It was found that junior high school students in urban areas had clearer and better biological concepts than those of students in eastern Taiwan and other distant districts. Students in the ninth grade performed better than those in the eighth grade. No significant difference was observed in terms of gender. Besides, students who had more positive biology self-efficacy, who watched science-oriented television programmes, and who had stronger motivation and more positive attitudes towards biology learning all scored higher for their biological concepts. On the basis of the findings of the study, the authors make several suggestions for improving biology education.
Keywords: Biological concept; Self-efficacy; Motivation; Biology learning 
Authors: Ugo Bessona; Lidia Borghia; Anna De Ambrosisa; Paolo Mascherettia

Abstract
We have developed a teaching-learning sequence (TLS) on friction based on a preliminary study involving three dimensions: an analysis of didactic research on the topic, an overview of usual approaches, and a critical analysis of the subject, considered also in its historical development. We found that mostly the usual presentations do not take into account the complexity of friction as it emerges from scientific research, may reinforce some inaccurate students' conceptions, and favour a limited vision of friction phenomena. The TLS we propose begins by considering a wide range of friction phenomena to favour an initial motivation and a broader view of the topic and then develops a path of interrelated observations, experiments, and theoretical aspects. It proposes the use of structural models, involving visual representations and stimulating intuition, aimed at helping students build mental models of friction mechanisms. To facilitate the reproducibility in school contexts, the sequence is designed as an open source structure, with a core of contents, conceptual correlations and methodological choices, and a cloud of elements that can be re-designed by teachers. The sequence has been tested in teacher education and in upper secondary school, and has shown positive results in overcoming student difficulties and stimulating richer reasoning based on the structural models we suggested. The proposed path has modified the teachers' view of the topic, producing a motivation to change their traditional presentations. The open structure of the sequence has facilitated its implementation by teachers in school in coherence with the rationale of the proposal.
Keywords: Didactical transposition; Friction; Physics education; Structural models; Students' conceptions; Teacher education; Teaching-learning sequences 
Authors: Claire M. A. Hawortha; Philip Daleb; Robert Plomina

Abstract
We investigated for the first time the genetic and environmental aetiology behind scientific achievement in primary school children, with a special focus on possible aetiological differences for boys and girls. For a representative community sample of 2,602 twin pairs assessed at age nine years, scientific achievement in school was rated by teachers based on National Curriculum criteria in three domains: Scientific Enquiry, Life Processes, and Physical Processes. Results indicate that genetic influences account for over 60% of the variance in scientific achievement, with environmental influences accounting for the remaining variance. Environmental influences were mainly of the non-shared variety, suggesting that children from the same family experience school environments differently. An analysis of sex differences considering differences in means, variances, and aetiology of individual differences found only differences in variance between the sexes, with boys showing greater variance in performance than girls.
Authors: Ivete Teresinha Graebnera; Elizabeth Maria Talaacute de Souzaa; Carlos Hiroo Saitoa

Abstract
This study deals with the development of a graphic representation tool as a way to support educational planning in an elementary school in the rural area of Brasilia (Brazil's capital), aiming at the implementation of an integrated action-research project focusing on hunger and nutrition. The graphic tool made it possible to promote dialogical-reflexive interactions among school teachers as to the identification of competencies and skills in elementary education curriculum and generating apprenticeship themes, scientific concepts, and educational activities. It also constitutes a useful tool for the teaching staff to realize the interdependences among the many school subjects, and to understand their practices, thus leading to self-evaluation with greater awareness for potential for transformation.
Author: Victor R. Leea

Abstract
Visual representations are ubiquitous in modern-day science textbooks and have in recent years become an object of criticism and scrutiny. This article examines the extent to which changes in representations in textbooks published in the USA over the past six decades have invited those critiques. Drawing from a correlational analysis of a corpus of 34 US middle school physical science textbooks, continuities are established with respect to the purposes that most textbook images serve and the numbers of schematic representations that are used. Changes are observed in the overall total number of representations in textbooks and in the proportion of representations that are photographic. Interpretive cases of individual representations over time are presented to further illustrate the continuities and changes that have taken place. Specifically, high-fidelity images, such as photographs, are shown permeating or replacing schematic and explanatory images in the interest of promoting familiarization to students. This shifting emphasis toward familiarization is discussed as a specific cause for concern about quality and utility of representations in modern-day US science textbooks.
Keywords: Curriculum; History of science; K-12; Middle school; USA; Visualization 
Author: Haim Eshacha

Abstract
The aim of the current research is to characterize the conceptual flow processes occurring in whole-class dialogic discussions with a high level of interanimation; in the present case, of a high-school class learning about image creation on plane mirrors. Using detailed chains of interaction and conceptual flow discourse maps—both developed for the purpose of this research—the classroom discourse, audio-taped and transcribed verbatim, was analyzed and three discussion structures were revealed: accumulation around budding foci concepts, zigzag between foci concepts, and concept tower. These structures as well as two additional factors, suggest the Two-Space Model of the whole class discussion proposed in the present article. The two additional factors are: (1) the teacher intervention; and (2) the conceptual barriers observed among the students, namely, materialistic thinking, and the tendency to attribute “unique characteristics” to optical devices. This model might help teachers to prepare and conduct efficient whole-class discussions which accord with the social constructivist perspective of learning.
Keywords: Conceptual change; Classroom; High school; Physics education; Conceptual flow patterns; Optical images 
Author: Chris John Henry Kinga

Abstract
Surveys of the earth science content of all secondary (high school) science textbooks and related publications used in England and Wales have revealed high levels of error/misconception. The 29 science textbooks or textbook series surveyed (51 texts in all) showed poor coverage of National Curriculum earth science and contained a mean level of one earth science error/misconception per page. Science syllabuses and examinations surveyed also showed errors/misconceptions. More than 500 instances of misconception were identified through the surveys. These were analysed for frequency, indicating that those areas of the earth science curriculum most prone to misconception are sedimentary processes/rocks, earthquakes/Earth's structure, and plate tectonics. For the 15 most frequent misconceptions, examples of quotes from the textbooks are given, together with the scientific consensus view, a discussion, and an example of a misconception of similar significance in another area of science. The misconceptions identified in the surveys are compared with those described in the literature. This indicates that the misconceptions found in college students and pre-service/practising science teachers are often also found in published materials, and therefore are likely to reinforce the misconceptions in teachers and their students. The analysis may also reflect the prevalence earth science misconceptions in the UK secondary (high school) science-teaching population. The analysis and discussion provide the opportunity for writers of secondary science materials to improve their work on earth science and to provide a platform for improved teaching and learning of earth science in the future.
Keywords: Earth science education; High school; Misconception; Secondary school; Textbooks 
Authors: Ilker Kalendera; Giray Berberoglua

Abstract
In this study, a hypothesised model with latent variables such as socio-economic status, students' perception of success and interest in different subject matter areas, out-of-school activities, and classroom teaching learning activities in relation to science achievement of the students was tested via linear structural modelling. The data come from the Student Assessment Program—2002 conducted by the Ministry of National Education in Turkey. The results obtained in a sample of 29,911 students indicated that there were positive relationships between the socio-economic status of the students and teacher-centred activities in the classroom with science achievement. On the other hand, student-centred activities did not contribute to explain achievement measures positively. There is a need to scrutinise the quality of student-centred activities in Turkey.
Authors: Julie Cattlea; Dorothy Howiea

Abstract
This study explored the effects of a cognitive intervention programme, Cognitive Acceleration in Science at Key Stage 1 (CASE@KS1), on both the thinking skills and motivation of a rural population in the United Kingdom. It used a quasi-experimental design and measures of both near and far transfer in order to replicate the evaluation of this programme by Adey and colleagues with an urban population. In general, support was found for the positive findings of Adey and colleagues, with some significant findings on a near-transfer task but more inconclusive findings on a far-transfer task. The motivational measure used in this study identified some issues of interest, including gender difference in response, suggesting the value of motivational assessment in evaluation of the CASE@KS1 intervention programme.
Authors: Bat-Sheva Eylona; Hana Bergera; Esther Bagnoa

Abstract
We describe an evidence-based continuing professional development programme on knowledge integration (KI) for high-school physics teachers. Sixteen teachers participated in the year-long programme (about 40 face-to-face lessons and in-between computerised interactions). The teachers experienced the KI activities as learners and then engaged in an 'evidence-based' approach, i.e. implemented the activities in their classes, collected data about teaching and learning, analysed the data, and discussed the evidence collaboratively. The study investigated teachers' learning throughout the programme as reflected in the collective discourse held during the meetings by examining the ideas that were raised and how they were influenced by the evidence-based approach. The discourse reflects progress in teachers' tendencies and abilities to continuously find out about individual students' learning, and to adopt 'learner-centred' views. These views of teaching and learning related to the importance and legitimacy of students' learning from peers, the need to listen carefully to students' ideas and reflections, and the need to use a variety of methods for investigating students' learning in order to plan teaching. Importantly, teachers realised the need for the KI activities and their advantages. They were more willing to adapt them with required customisations. The evidence-based approach triggered two central reasoning patterns influencing teachers' learning: contrasting expectations with facts and making generalisations. Towards the end of the programme, the teachers realised the general importance of the evidence-based approach, beyond its support of the particular domain of KI, and they concluded that examination of their practice is a powerful tool for enhancing their teaching as well as their students' learning.
Author: Susan A. Yoona

Abstract
Educational efforts to incorporate ethical decision-making in science classrooms about current science and technology issues have met with great challenges. Some research suggests that the inherent complexity in both the subject matter content and the structure and dynamics of classrooms contribute to this challenge. This study seeks to investigate the viability of an educational heuristic based on a complex s ystems evolutionary approach to both harness complexity inherent in the learning system of the classroom and to improve student knowledge of a complex scientific issue. The evolutionary mechanisms of variation, interaction, and selection were used to construct a 10-day curriculum and instruction unit on the topic of genetic engineering. Eleven Grade 9 students participated in the study. The data analysis was completed using three data sources: daily database discussions and ratings and rationales provided over four time-points, probing student opinions and understanding of genetic engineering research. A repeated-measures analysis of variance conducted on 43 student rationales indicated a continuing trend of increasing understanding of complex systems concepts over time. There is also evidence to show that students as a whole group operated as a complex system in their patterns of decision-making. A number of themes identified in student database discussions reveal processes students themselves believed influenced change at the social and conceptual level, including the evolutionary mechanisms upon which the program was designed.
Authors: Katherine Slomana; Richard Thompsona

Abstract
Undergraduate students pursuing a three-year marine biology degree programme (n = 86) experienced a large-group drama aimed at allowing them to explore how scientific research is funded and the associated links between science and society. In the drama, Year 1 students played the “general public” who decided which environmental research areas should be prioritised for funding, Year 2 students were the “scientists” who had to prepare research proposals which they hoped to get funded, and Year 3 students were the “research panel” who decided which proposals to fund with input from the priorities set by the “general public”. The drama, therefore, included an element of cross-year peer assessment where Year 3 students evaluated the research proposals prepared by the Year 2 students. Questionnaires were distributed at the end of the activity to gather: (1) student perceptions on the cross-year nature of the exercise, (2) the use of peer assessment, and (3) their overall views on the drama. The students valued the opportunity to interact with their peers from other years of the degree programme and most were comfortable with the use of cross-year peer assessment. The majority of students felt that they had increased their knowledge of how research proposals are funded and the perceived benefits of the large-group drama included increased critical thinking ability, confidence in presenting work to others, and enhanced communication skills. Only one student did not strongly advocate the use of this large-group drama in subsequent years.
Keywords: Assessment; Drama; Environmental education; Learning environment; Peer assessment; Science education; University 
Authors: Tanja Klopa; Sabine Severiensa

Abstract
Modern biotechnology will have a large impact on society and requires informed decision-making and critical attitudes toward biotechnology among the public. This study aims to explore these attitudes in secondary education. For this purpose, a questionnaire was constructed according to the general tripartite theory of attitudes. A total of 574 Dutch secondary school students completed the questionnaire. Based on principal component analyses, several distinct and independent cognitive, affective, and behavioural factors were found, demonstrating that attitudes towards biotechnology are a multi-component concept. In a cluster analysis on these factors, we found four interpretable clusters representing different groups of students. The four groups are labelled “confident supporter” (22%), “not sure” (42%), “concerned sceptic” (18%), and “not for me” (17%). These results indicate that there is a diverse appraisal of modern biotechnology among secondary school students. Suggestions for educational interventions are made.
Keywords: Quantitative research; Secondary school; Survey; Science education 
Authors: Ayo Harriet Akatugbaa; John Wallacea

Abstract
This study examines students' use of proportional reasoning in high school physics problem-solving in a West African school setting. An in-depth, constructivist, and interpretive case study was carried out with six physics students from a co-educational senior secondary school in Nigeria over a period of five months. The study aimed to elicit students' meanings, claims, concerns, constructions, and interpretations of their difficulty with proportional reasoning as they worked on a series of 18 high school physics tasks. Multiple qualitative research techniques were employed to generate, analyse, and interpret data. Results indicated that several socio-cultural, psychosocial, cognitive, and mathematical issues were associated with students' use of proportional reasoning in physics. Students' capacity to reason proportionally was not only linked to their difficulty with the concept, structure, and strategies of proportional reasoning as a learning and problem-solving skill, but was also embedded in the social, cultural, cognitive, and contextual elements involved in the learning of physics. The study concludes with a discussion of the implications for teaching high school physics.
Authors: Jazilah Othmana; David F. Treagustb; A. L. Chandrasegaranb

Abstract
A thorough understanding of chemical bonding requires familiarity with the particulate nature of matter. In this study, a two-tier multiple-choice diagnostic instrument consisting of ten items (five items involving each of the two concepts) was developed to assess students' understanding of the particulate nature of matter and chemical bonding so as to identify possible associations between students' understandings of the two concepts. The instrument was administered to 260 Grades 9 and 10 students (15-16 years old) from a secondary school in Singapore. Analysis of students' responses revealed several alternative conceptions about the two concepts. In addition, analysis of six pairs of items suggested that students' limited understanding of the particulate nature of matter influenced their understanding of chemical bonding. The findings provide useful information for challenging students' alternative conceptions about the particulate nature of matter during classroom instruction in order to enable them to achieve better understanding of chemical bonding.
Authors: Eileen R. C. Parsonsa; Lynn Uyen Trana; Crystall Travis Gomilliona

Abstract
Achievement disparities among racial groups attest to the elusiveness of the 'science for all' goal, an emphasis of reform efforts in the USA. One popular approach to making science accessible to all is group work. The study investigated roles attained by five African American and six European-American eighth graders working in small, racially mixed groups. What roles did the African-American and European-American students attain in the small, racially mixed science groups? Did race-associated patterns of role attainment exist? If so, what was the nature of the patterns? Roles were derived and patterns examined via the qualitative and quantitative analyses of videotaped group interactions. The findings indicated that European-Americans attained roles more frequently than their African-American counterparts of comparable abilities and whiteness operated in the small groups. The findings imply racial inequities in group work and the need for teachers to consider race when employing it.
Authors: Maria Evagoroua; Kostas Korfiatisb; Christiana Nicolaoub; Costas Constantinoub

Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a simulation-based learning environment on elementary school students' (11-12 years old) development of system thinking skills. The learning environment included interactive simulations using the Stagecast Creator software to simulate the ecosystem of a marsh. Simulations are an important tool in any effort to develop system thinking, because they have the potential to highlight the dynamic nature of systems. Before the implementation of the learning environment (over a period of five 90-min lessons) two written tests were administered to the students, investigating the development of seven aspects of system thinking. The same tests were administered after the implementation. Specifically, four of the tasks included in each test were associated with skills concerning the structure and the elements of a system and three were associated with the processes and interactions taking place within a system. The findings indicated that elementary school students have the potential to develop system thinking skills. The proposed learning environment provoked considerable improvements in some system thinking skills during a relatively brief learning process. However, the learning environment was not successful in promoting feedback thinking. We interpret these results in view of the difficulties encountered by the students. We also discuss the implications of our findings for the design of learning environments.
Author: Scedilebnem Kandil Idotngeccedila

Abstract
Concept mapping is a technique that paves the way to represent knowledge schematically. In this research, concept mapping was used as an assessment method on the impulse-momentum topic. The purpose of this study was to determine teacher candidates' knowledge about understanding of the concepts of impulse and momentum by comparing and contrasting two different methods; namely, students' concept maps and an achievement test. The mean of teacher candidates' concept map scores are extremely low when compared with the scores of the achievement test. In addition, it was seen that although a great number of concepts were written down, not many relationships were established between these concepts. There is a weak correlation between the achievement test and the concept map scores since concept maps assess the students' knowledge from a conceptual perspective while the achievement tests measure the level of students' knowledge on the topic and his/her ability to apply this knowledge on different occasions.
Authors: Hannah Seviana; Lisa Gonsalvesa

Abstract
The present article presents a rubric we developed for assessing the quality of scientific explanations by science graduate students. The rubric was developed from a qualitative analysis of science graduate students' abilities to explain their own research to an audience of non-scientists. Our intention is that use of the rubric to characterise explanations of science by scientists, some of whom become professors, would lead to better teaching of science at the university level. This would, in turn, improve retention of qualified and diverse scientists, some of whom may elect to become science teachers. Our rubric is useful as an instrument to help evaluate scientific explanations because it distinguishes between the content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge of scientists, as well as a scientist's ability to integrate the two in the service of a clear and coherent explanation of his or her research. It is also generally useful in evaluating, or self-evaluating, science explanations by science professors and researchers, graduate students preparing to be scientists, science teachers and pre-service teachers, as well as students who are explaining science as part of learning.
Authors: Eugene L. Chiappettaa; David A. Fillmanb

Abstract
Five high school biology textbooks were examined to determine the inclusion of four aspects of the nature of science: (a) science as a body of knowledge, (b) science as a way of investigating, (c) science as a way of thinking, and (d) science and its interactions with technology and society. The textbooks analyzed were BSCS Biology—A Human Approach (Kendall/Hunt), BSCS Biology—An Ecological Approach (Kendall/Hunt), Biology—The Dynamics of Life (Glencoe), Modern Biology (Holt), and Prentice Hall Biology (Prentice Hall). The same six chapters or sections were analyzed in each textbook, which were the methods of science, cells, heredity, DNA, evolution, and ecology. A scoring procedure was used that resulted, for the most part, in good intercoder agreement with Cohen's kappa values ranging from 0.36-1.00. The five recently published biology textbooks in the United States have a better balance of presenting biology with respect to the four themes of science literacy used in this research than those analyzed 15 years ago, especially with regard to devoting more text to engaging students in finding out answers, gathering information, and learning how scientists go about their work. Therefore, these biology textbooks are incorporating national science education reform guides that recommend a more authentic view of the scientific enterprise than similar textbooks used 15 years ago.
Author: Anton Beacuteguina

Abstract
This Article does not have an abstract. 
Authors: Dianne J. Wattersa; James J. Wattersb

Abstract
This study is an investigation of the epistemological beliefs and study habits of students undertaking first-year courses in Biological Chemistry and Biochemistry. In particular, we were interested in the relationship between students' epistemological beliefs about learning and knowledge, approaches to learning, and achievement. The study adopted a mixed-methods approach in which quantitative and qualitative data have provided complementary insights into the beliefs and approaches adopted by these students. Our findings indicate that most students tend to adopt beliefs that knowledge and learning involves the accumulation of information and the capacity to reproduce on demand in examinations. Approaches to learning reflect these beliefs and are dominated by rote learning and preference for assessment by examination. Few students adopt strategies that emphasise the relationship of concepts to those already learnt or to applications relevant to biological science. Implications of this study for reform of university teaching practices as well as secondary practices are discussed.
Keywords: Approaches to Learning; Biological Sciences; Examinations; Learning by Rote 
Authors: Dionne Crossa; Gita Taasoobshirazib; Sean Hendricksc; Daniel T. Hickeya

Abstract
In this paper we explore the relationship between learning gains, measured through pre-assessment and post-assessment, and engagement in scientific argumentation. In order to do so, this paper examines group discourse and individual learning during the implementation of NASA Classroom of the Future's BioBLAST!® (BB) software program in a high school biology classroom. We found that the argumentative structures, the quality of these structures, and the identities that students take on during collaborative group work are critical in influencing student learning and achievement in science. We provide recommendations for instructors implementing argumentation in their science classrooms, and provide suggestions for the development of future research in this area.
Author: Feral Ogan-Bekiroglua

Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine pre-service physics teachers' attitudes towards assessment. It was also aimed to examine the factors affecting their attitudes. Two factors were considered. The first was difficulties that pre-service teachers experienced relating to assessment. The second factor was teachers' self-efficacy regarding their ability to assess. The difficulties were divided into external and internal. Internal difficulties depended on pre-service teachers' assessment skills and their subject matter knowledge, and represented the difficulties that they encountered during preparation and evaluation of assessment methods. External difficulties, on the other hand, depended on the external factors such as school policy and facilities that might affect pre-service teachers' classroom assessment implementation. A parallel mixed-methodology approach was utilized during the data collection and analysis. This paradigm combined both qualitative and quantitative methods to give both breadth and scope to the research. The pre-service physics teachers' general attitude towards assessment was determined as close to constructivist. Knowledge about the subject assessed and university entrance examination were found to be the common factors that affected pre-service teachers' predispositions for action. Conclusions carry implications for science teacher education in Turkey and other countries where educational reforms have been implemented.
Authors: Mei-Hung Chiua; Chorng-Jee Guob; David F. Treagustc

Abstract
In this article, we discuss several aspects of the national project, the National Science Concept Learning Study, designed to assess elementary, middle, and secondary students' conceptual understanding in science. After a short introduction to provide some history of the project, we describe the processes used in the integrative study, the participants in the research, the involvement of about 30 senior researchers and 80 research assistants, and the findings from the national data. Although the results of Taiwanese students' conceptions in science are similar to those of western countries, some aspects of our students' performance are unique to Taiwanese culture and language. This article concludes with some educational implications from the research findings.
Keywords: Conceptual understanding; Assessment; Two-tier test item; Science learning 
Author: Omer Faruk Ozdemira

Abstract
Two independent lines of research—mental simulations and thought experiments—provide strong arguments about the importance of perceptual modalities for the instructional practices in science education. By situating the use of mental simulations in the framework of thought experiments, this study investigated the nature and the role of mental simulations in the context of problem-solving. This study draws on data collected through problem-solving sessions with five physics graduates. Throughout the problem-solving sessions, think-aloud and retrospective questioning were used. Results from this study support some serious concerns put forward by several researchers in the community of science educators about high dependence on descriptive forms of scientific knowledge and exclusion of perceptual modalities from instructional practices. The participants' verbal reports confirmed that they had implicitly or explicitly reached a conclusion that mental simulations were not a legitimate way of reasoning about physics problems, and they consciously avoided the use of mental simulations. This conceptualization seemed to lead participants to compartmentalize mental simulations from formal physics knowledge. Therefore, mental simulations were not refined but kept in a primitive form, which was no more than a retrieval of perceptual representations constructed through observations and experiences of the world. The speculations on the results of the study were based on the interpretations of learning science in terms of the refinement and reorganizations of preinstructional ideas.
Author: Julie A. Lufta

Abstract
While it is generally acknowledged that the first years of teaching are the most difficult, little is known about the development of subject matter specialists during this period. In order to add to the knowledge in this area, the present study explores the first year of 114 secondary science teachers as they participate in one of four different induction programmes. The data collected in this study consist of observations of practice, and of interviews about beliefs, pedagogical content knowledge and experiences throughout the year. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of the data revealed that, as a group, the beginning teachers held teacher-centred practices, beliefs, and pedagogical content knowledge. Analysis by induction programme, however, revealed that teachers who participated in science-specific induction programmes significantly changed their beliefs and used more investigations in their classroom lessons than did their peers in the other induction programmes. Moreover, the physical proximity of colleagues was also important to the well-being of beginning teachers. This study supports the development of science-specific induction programmes, and provides evidence that the composition of the programme and the assigned location of the new teacher are important factors during a teacher's first year.
Authors: Anthony Lelliotta; Marissa Rollnicka

Abstract
This paper reviews astronomy education research carried out among school students, teachers, and museum visitors over a 35-year period from 1974 until 2008. One hundred and three peer-reviewed journal articles were examined, the majority of whose research dealt with conceptions of astronomical phenomena with 40% investigating intervention activities. We used a conceptual framework of “big ideas” in astronomy, five of which accounted for over 80% of the studies: conceptions of the Earth, gravity, the day-night cycle, the seasons, and the Earth-Sun-Moon system. Most of the remaining studies were of stars, the solar system, and the concepts of size and distance. The findings of the review have implications for the future teaching of, and research in, the discipline. Conceptions of the Earth and the day-night cycle are relatively well-understood, especially by older students, while the Moon phases, the seasons, and gravity are concepts that most people find difficult both to understand and explain. Thoroughly planned interventions are likely to be the most effective way of implementing conceptual change, and such studies have been well-researched in the past 15 years. Much of this recent research has worked with constructivist theories resulting in methodological and theoretical insights of value to researchers and practitioners in the field. It is recommended that future research should work across the disciplinary boundaries of astronomy education at school and teacher education levels, and aim to disseminate findings more effectively within the education systems.
Keywords: Astronomy Education Review; Big ideas; Earth; Moon; Seasons; Solar system; Star 
Authors: Leonard Annettaa; Jennifer Mangruma; Shawn Holmesa; Kimberly Collazob; Meng-Tzu Chenga

Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine students' learning of simple machines, a fifth-grade (ages 10-11) forces and motion unit, and student engagement using a teacher-created Multiplayer Educational Gaming Application. This mixed-method study collected pre-test/post-test results to determine student knowledge about simple machines. A survey ascertained the time spent using the computer for general purposes, and the time spent playing computer games as a function of gender. The pre-test and post-test design involved 74 students, 31 males and 43 females, who played the Dr. Friction Multiplayer Educational Gaming Application for several days in the middle of the unit. Results showed the females averaged using the computer more than their male counterparts and males played video games more than females. Analysis of covariance suggested no significant difference between the factor gender (p > .05) but statistically significant differences in gain scores (p = .001). Observations and qualitative focus groups suggested high student engagement and how video game technology can scaffold learning of simple machines.
Authors: Harriet Mutonyia; Wendy Nielsena; Samson Nashona

Abstract
The term scientific literacy is defined differently in different contexts. The term literacy simply refers to the ability for one to read and write, but recent studies in language literacy have extended this definition. New literacy research seeks a redefinition in terms of how skills are used rather than how they are learned. Contemporary perspectives on literacy as a transfer of learned skills into daily life practises capture the understanding of what it means to be scientifically literate. Scientific literacy requires students to be able to use their scientific knowledge independently in the everyday world. Some models for teaching towards scientific literacy have been suggested including inquiry-based learning embedded in constructivist epistemologies. The inquiry-based model is posited to be effective at bringing about in-depth understanding of scientific concepts through engaging students' preconceptions. In order to establish whether directly engaging students' preconceptions can lead to in-depth understanding of the science of HIV/AIDS, a case study was designed to elucidate students' prior knowledge. From questionnaires and classroom observations, Ugandan Grade 11 students' persistent preconceptions were explored in follow-up focus group discussions. The inquiry process was used to engage students with their own perceptions of HIV/AIDS during the focus group discussions. Findings suggest that students need to dialogue with each other as they reflect on their beliefs about HIV/AIDS. Dialogue enabled students to challenge their beliefs while making connections between 'school' and 'home' knowledge.
Authors: Sara L. Sallouma; Saouma BouJaoudeb

Abstract
A concept commonly used by both teachers and students is the term “chemical.” Many students and teachers think of chemicals as artificial, poisonous, and dangerous. The purpose of the study was to investigate science teachers' ideas about “chemicals,” along with their awareness of students' alternative conceptions and teaching practices that attempt to address alternative conceptions. Two main data sources were used: chemical surveys completed by 43 science teachers and interviews with nine chemistry teachers. Both surveys and the interviews were analyzed qualitatively to discern themes in teachers' conceptions of “chemicals” and its teachability. Survey analysis yielded four categories for teachers' conceptions: (a) sound understanding; (b) coherent alternative conception; (c) inconsistent views; or (d) vague ideas. A most prominent finding from interviews was that, except for one teacher, all chemistry teachers either provided a correct definition of the term “chemical” from the beginning or eventually articulated it as the interview progressed, with three teachers changing their statements during the interview. All of the teachers except one were aware that their students have some kind of alternative conceptions. The teachers suggested a few possible sources of students' alterative conceptions, such as lack of relevancy of material in chemistry courses, insufficient expositions to chemistry courses, and faulty usage of the term in everyday language and the media. The teachers' suggestions for addressing alternative students' conceptions were varied. The nature of teachers' conceptions is discussed as dynamic. Implications such as the use of dialog and word reflection for problematic scientific terms by teachers are presented and discussed.
Authors: Suzanne Reevea; Philip Bella

Abstract
The present paper describes a study in which 13 children aged 9-11 years, of diverse ethnic, linguistic, and socio-economic backgrounds, were asked to use a digital camera and small notebook to document the range of things they consider to be healthy and unhealthy. Using open-ended interview questions, the children were then asked to explain each item, including what it was, why they chose it, and why they thought it was either healthy or unhealthy. The range of definitions of 'healthy' and 'unhealthy' invoked by the children was surprisingly broad, encompassing not only illness and proper nutrition, but also environmental health, mental health, cleanliness, and other meanings. Findings across all 13 children are displayed, and a case study of one child serves as a detailed example of the types of meanings children ascribe to the words 'healthy' and 'unhealthy', as well as the kinds of analyses being employed on these data. The theoretical implications of these results for research on children's ideas about health, as well as implications for the design of health interventions, are discussed.
Author: Yong Jae Jounga

Abstract
The purpose of this study is to explore children's typically-perceived-situations (TPS) of 'floating' and 'sinking'. TPS refers to the situation rising spontaneously in an individual's mind when they first think of a phenomenon or concept. Data were collected from 148 Year 5 Korean children. As a result of analysing the data according to three categories—'spatial background', 'main object', and 'position of main object'—the children mainly thought of a river or a sea with a human or a boat on the water surface or half-submerged as a floating situation; and a river or sea with a boat or a human on the bottom or mid-way between the water surface and the bottom as a sinking situation respectively. Considering the whole context of children's TPS, the contexts of 'a boat is on the water surface of the sea or river' and 'a boat is half-submerged in the sea or river' were the most frequent ones, as a floating and as a sinking situation respectively. In addition, it appeared that these children's TPS affect their judgment of floating and sinking, in that they showed stronger tendency to regard the situation where an object is just beneath the water as a floating situation, while the position of a main object in their TPS of a sinking situation was nearer to the bottom of the water. Based on these results, several suggestions for science education are given.
Authors: Yong Jae Joungab; Richard Gunstoneb

Abstract
Typically-Perceived-Situation (TPS) refers to the situation rising spontaneously in an individual's mind when she/he first thinks of a phenomenon or concept. The purpose of this study is to go well beyond the many studies that describe conceptions of force and explore children's TPS of “force is acting on a thing” and “force is not acting on a thing”, and to do this in the differing contexts of Australia and Korea. Data were collected by drawings and written explanations from 145 Grade 6 Australian children and 150 Grade 6 Korean children. These data showed some significant differences between the Australian children's and Korean children's TPSs. For example, considering the whole context of children's TPS, the contexts of “someone pushes or pulls something” and “someone/something is floating in the air or not moving because there is no gravity” were the most frequent ones, as a “force” and as a “no force” situation respectively, in the case of Australian children, while “a sort of energy is provided into someone/something and they can be active/working” and “a sort of energy is not provided into someone/something and they cannot be active/working”, were most frequent in the case of Korean children. These differences are very likely the consequence of different everyday meanings for the word “force” in the two cultures. In addition, it appears that these children's TPS affect their judgement of “force” and “no force”.
Keywords: Primary school; Physics education; Typically-Perceived-Situation (TPS) 
Author: Karin Ehrleacutena

Abstract
Visual representations play an important role in science teaching. The way in which visual representations may help children to acquire scientific concepts is a crucial test in the debate between constructivist and socio-cultural oriented researchers. In this paper, the question is addressed as a problem of how to contextualize conceptions and explanations in cognitive frameworks and visual descriptions in cultural contexts. Eleven children aged 6-8 years were interviewed in the presence of a globe. Those children who expressed views of the Earth that deviated from the culturally accepted view did not show any difficulties in combining these different ideas with the globe model. The way that this is possible is explained using a model of conceptual development as a process of differentiation between contexts and frameworks. The child must differentiate not only between the Earth as an area of flat ground in a common-sense framework and the planet Earth in a theoretical framework, but also between these frameworks and the framework of the representation. It is suggested that a differentiation on a meta-level is needed to distinguish which problems and explanations belong to which cognitive framework. In addition, the children must contextualize the visual description of the Earth in the globe in a cultural context to discern which mode of representation is used.
Authors: Marilyne Stainsa; Vicente Talanquera
Please click here to view an erratum concerning this article


Abstract
We applied a mixed-method research design to investigate the patterns of reasoning used by novice undergraduate chemistry students to classify chemical substances as elements, compounds, or mixtures based on their particulate representations. We were interested in the identification of the representational features that students use to build a classification system, and in the characterization of the thinking processes that they follow to group substances in different classes. Students in our study used structural and chemical composition features to classify chemical substances into elements, compounds, and mixtures. Many of the students' classification errors resulted from strong mental associations between concepts (e.g., atom-element, molecule-compound) or from lack of conceptual differentiation (e.g., compound-mixture). Strong concept associations led novice students to reduce the number of relevant features used to differentiate between substances, while the inability to discriminate between two concepts (conceptual undifferentiation) led them to pay too much attention to irrelevant features during the classification tasks. Comparisons of the responses to classification tasks of students with different levels of expertise in chemistry indicate that some of these naiumlve patterns of reasoning may be strengthened by, rather than weakened by, training in the discipline.
Authors: Kate T. Andersona; Steven J. Zuikera; Gita Taasoobshirazib; Daniel T. Hickeya

Abstract
This study details an innovative approach to coordinating and enhancing multiple levels of assessment and discursive feedback around an existing multi-media curricular environment called Astronomy Village®. As part of a broader design-based research programme, the study analysed small group interactions in feedback activities across two design cycles. The goal of this analysis is to develop an understanding of the ways that a situative approach to assessment and practise supports learning. Findings demonstrate ways that student and teacher engagement in collaborative activities support and constrain meaningful understanding, which we consider in terms of a trajectory of participation in and across conversations and written assessments, as well as individual learning gains on formal classroom examinations and standards-oriented external tests. Analyses of complementary formulations of domain concepts—discourse practises and assessment performance—suggest that participation in social forms of scientific engagement supports both learning and subsequent performance in more formal contexts. We suggest design principles for integrating the formative functions of discursive feedback with the summative functions of traditional assessment, through participation in different forms of science discourse(s).
Authors: Barry J. Frasera; Jane Butler Kahleb

Abstract
Using secondary analysis of a large database from a Statewide Systemic Initiative, we examined the effects of several types of environments on student outcomes. Over 3 years, nearly 7,000 students in 392 classes in 200 different schools responded to a questionnaire that assesses class, home, and peer environments as well as student attitudes. Students also completed an achievement measure that, developed by scientists, teachers, and science educators, was not aligned with any particular curriculum. Students were enrolled in middle-school science and mathematics classes in schools that had participated in the Statewide Systemic Initiative. Rasch analyses allowed us to compare across student cohorts and across schools. Findings confirmed the importance of extending research on classroom learning environments to include the learning environments of the home and the peer group. Although all three environments accounted for statistically significant amounts of unique variance in student attitudes, only the class environment (defined in terms of the frequency of use of standards-based teaching practices) accounted for statistically significant amounts of unique variance in student achievement scores. The findings are supported by other studies of systemic reform in the United States.
Authors: Sabine Gerstnera; Franz X. Bognera

Abstract
Our study monitored the cognitive and motivational effects within different educational instruction schemes: On the one hand, teacher-centred versus hands-on instruction; on the other hand, hands-on instruction with and without a knowledge consolidation phase (concept mapping). All the instructions dealt with the same content. For all participants, the hands-on approach as well as the concept mapping adaptation were totally new. Our hands-on approach followed instruction based on “learning at work stations”. A total of 397 high-achieving fifth graders participated in our study. We used a pre-test, post-test, retention test design both to detect students' short-term learning success and long-term learning success, and to document their decrease rates of newly acquired knowledge. Additionally, we monitored intrinsic motivation. Although the teacher-centred approach provided higher short-term learning success, hands-on instruction resulted in relatively lower decrease rates. However, after six weeks, all students reached similar levels of newly acquired knowledge. Nevertheless, concept mapping as a knowledge consolidation phase positively affected short-term increase in knowledge. Regularly placed in instruction, it might increase long-term retention rates. Scores of interest, perceived competence and perceived choice were very high in all the instructional schemes.
Keywords: Science education; Hands-on; Intrinsic motivation; Concept mapping 
Authors: Jeff Charneya; Cindy E. Hmelo-Silvera; William Sofera; Lenore Neigeborna; Susan Colettaa; Martin Nemeroffa

Abstract
This study investigates how high school students respond to an environment of authentic science inquiry while participating in an intensive summer institute, the Waksman Student Scholars Programme at Rutgers University. We examined how students apprenticed with expert scientists in a study of contemporary questions in molecular genetics. Students engaged in both laboratory practices and seminars as part of their experience in this program. We assessed student learning about conceptual knowledge of molecular genetics as well as their beliefs about the nature of science. Student conceptual knowledge increased and their beliefs about the nature of science changed to a more tentative perspective. We examined student learning qualitatively through their journals, which showed that some students were developing more sophisticated ways of thinking about the issues that were raised in their seminars and laboratory research. These ways included an increased ability to generate hypotheses, consider alternative hypotheses, implement models and logical argumentation in explanations, connect ideas, extend concepts, and ask questions. These results suggest that meaningfully engaging pre-college students in the practice of real science can make a difference in their understanding and beliefs.
Keywords: Authentic Science & Enquiry; Cognitive Apprenticeship; Student Conceptual Knowledge 
Authors: Bruna Irene Grimberga; Brian Handa

Abstract
The purpose of this study was to reconstruct writers' reasoning process as reflected in their written texts. The codes resulting from the text analysis were related to cognitive operations, ranging from simple to more sophisticated ones. The sequence of the cognitive operations as the text unfolded represents the writer's cognitive pathway at the time the text was produced. This type of analysis was used to study the impact that three different types of inquiries had on the reasoning process of low-achieving and high-achieving students when performing their laboratory activity using the Science Writing Heuristic. The researchers found that the reasoning pathways for both low-achieving and high-achieving students were similar for each type of inquiry, characterized as being decision-making, descriptive/speculative, and application. The reasoning pathways for the decision-making and application inquiries appear to be more structured than the pathways for the descriptive/speculative activity. The dependence between students' achievement levels and the type of inquiry in relation to specific use of thinking operations was tested using a chi-square analysis, with the results indicating that the reasoning operations performed by the students are independent of their achievement level and dependent on the inquiry type. Higher-order operations were extensively used in the decision-making inquiry and less used in the application activity. Low-order cognitive operations, such as observations and comparisons, were extensively used in the descriptive/speculative inquiry while being less used in the decision-making inquiry activity.
Authors: Thorsten Bella; Detlef Urhahneb; Sascha Schanzec; Rolf Ploetznerd

Abstract
Collaborative inquiry learning is one of the most challenging and exciting ventures for today's schools. It aims at bringing a new and promising culture of teaching and learning into the classroom where students in groups engage in self-regulated learning activities supported by the teacher. It is expected that this way of learning fosters students' motivation and interest in science, that they learn to perform steps of inquiry similar to scientists and that they gain knowledge on scientific processes. Starting from general pedagogical reflections and science standards, the article reviews some prominent models of inquiry learning. This comparison results in a set of inquiry processes being the basis for cooperation in the scientific network NetCoIL. Inquiry learning is conceived in several ways with emphasis on different processes. For an illustration of the spectrum, some main conceptions of inquiry and their focuses are described. In the next step, the article describes exemplary computer tools and environments from within and outside the NetCoIL network that were designed to support processes of collaborative inquiry learning. These tools are analysed by describing their functionalities as well as effects on student learning known from the literature. The article closes with challenges for further developments elaborated by the NetCoIL network.
Keywords: Inquiry learning; Collaboration; Computer-based learning environments; Science education; Learning environment; Collaborative inquiry learning; Computer assistance 
Authors: Hye-Gyoung Yoona; Mijung Kimb

Abstract
In the goal of science teacher education, the role of reflection to cultivate the teacher as a transformative practitioner has been largely recognised. Reflective thinking is crucial for teachers to be mindfully and knowledgeably situated in teaching and transforming their actions. This study looks into the dilemmas of teaching practical work in elementary science classes and the roles of reflective thinking. Five preservice teachers, one inservice teacher, and one science teacher educator participated in the process of collaborative reflection (reflective writing on dilemma cases, sharing, and discussing) of teaching practical work during the preservice teachers' practicum. All participants wrote and shared two cases of his/her own dilemmas after teaching or observing lessons with science experiments. Preservice teachers also participated in a survey questionnaire and interviews to share their perspectives of practical work and the process of reflection. Looking into their reflection and discussion on the dilemmas of teaching through science practical work, the study attempts to explore how to make collaborative learning opportunities through reflective thinking. The findings of this study showed that the dilemmas of science practical work emerged in various dimensions of teachers' expectation and classroom interactions. Discussions on dilemma cases could facilitate reflecting and learning from different perspectives among participants. Based on these findings, we further discuss the implication of interactive reflection and discussion on dilemmas of practical work to enhance science teaching and develop collaborative communities in science teacher education.
Author: Susan Herberta

Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the nature of students' responses to a cross-cultural science unit entitled “Maintaining health.” The unit was designed to help students to build bridges between their traditional practices and beliefs and western science concepts. This paper reports students' responses to a pre-test and post-test, and their reflections on their learning. The responses were analysed using the collateral learning model. There was evidence of parallel, dependent, and secured collateral learning. The implications for science teaching and for assessing science learning are discussed.
Author: Keith S. Tabera

Abstract
This paper reports evidence that learners commonly develop a notion of chemical stability that, whilst drawing upon ideas taught in the curriculum, is nevertheless inconsistent with basic scientific principles. A series of related small-scale studies show that many college-level students consider a chemical species with an octet structure, or a full outer shell, will necessarily be more stable than a related species without such an electronic configuration. Whilst this finding is in itself consistent with previous research, the present paper shows how students commonly apply this criterion without consideration of chemical context, or other significant factors such as net charge. Species that would seem highly unstable and non-viable from chemical considerations, such as Na7-, C4+ and even Cl11-, are commonly judged as being stable. This research shows that many college-level students are privileging a simple heuristic (species with full outer shells will be stable) when asked about the stability of chemical species at the submicroscopic level, to the exclusion of more pertinent considerations. Some students will even judge an atom in an excited state as more stable than when in the ground state, when an electron is promoted from an inner shell to 'fill' the outer shell. It is suggested that the apparently widespread adoption of a perspective that is so at odds with the science in the curriculum is highly significant for the teaching of chemistry, and indicates the need for more detailed studies of how such thinking develops and can be challenged.
Authors: Recai Akkusa; Murat Gunelb; Brian Handc

Abstract
Many state and federal governments have mandated in such documents as the National Science Education Standards that inquiry strategies should be the focus of the teaching of science within school classrooms. The difficult part for success is changing teacher practices from perceived traditional ways of teaching to more inquiry-based approaches. Arguments are often made about the effectiveness of these traditional strategies. The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of the inquiry-based approach known as the Science Writing Heuristic approach as a treatment to traditional teaching practices on students' post-test scores in relation to students' achievement level and teacher's implementation of the approach. A mixed-method research approach was used to analyze the teacher observational data and students' test results. The major findings of this study are that the quality of the implementation does have an impact on student performance on post-test scores and that high-quality implementation of the Science Writing Heuristic approach has significant advantages in closing the achievement gap within science classrooms.
Author: John Murdocka

Abstract
This study is a secondary analysis of data from the 1995 administration of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). The purpose is to compare the breadth, depth, and recurrence of the typical physics curriculum in the United States with the typical curricula in different countries and to determine whether there are associations between these three curricular constructs and physics achievement. The first data analysis consisted of descriptive statistics (means, standard deviations, and standardized scores) for each of the three curricular variables. This analysis was used to compare the curricular profile in physics of the United States with the profiles of the other countries in the sample. The second data analysis consisted of correlations relating the three curricular variables with achievement. The results show that the U.S. curriculum has low breadth, low depth, and high recurrence. The U.S. curricular profile was also unique when compared with the profiles of the other countries in the sample. The only statistically significant correlation is between achievement and depth. Depth of curriculum is the only curricular variable that is closely related to physics achievement, so the U.S. physics curriculum should add depth. It is also possible that the entire U.S. profile needs to be changed. Further study is needed in this area including more research that is empirical, studies that cover the entire curriculum rather than just single courses or disciplines, and studies comparing curricula within the United States.
Authors: Roland Bergera; Martin Haumlnzeb

Abstract
Twelfth-grade physics classes with 344 students participated in a quasi-experimental study comparing two small-group learning settings. In the jigsaw classroom, in contrast to the cyclical rotation method, teaching expectancy as well as resource interdependence is established. The study is based on the self-determination theory of motivation, which states that the satisfaction of the 'basic needs' for experiencing autonomy, competence, and social relatedness is essential to promote intrinsic motivation. Regarding the experience of competence, a small effect in favour of the jigsaw classroom was found, whereas students in the cyclical rotation setting showed medium-sized benefits in experiencing autonomy. A path analysis revealed that these opposing effects balanced each other; that is, no effect from small-group method to intrinsic motivation was found. In contrary to the motivational variables, achievement effects depended on the underlying study topic: based on scanning electron microscopy, the cyclical rotation setting outperformed jigsaw classroom, whereas an opposed trend is observed with regard to the microwave oven learning unit. The higher interestingness of the latter learning unit was revealed as a weak mediator from study topic to academic achievement.
Authors: Steven C. Kerlina; Scott P. McDonalda; Gregory J. Kellya

Abstract
This study examined the learning opportunities provided to students through the use of complex geological data supporting scientific inquiry. Through analysis of argumentative discourse in a high school Earth science classroom, uses of US Geological Survey (USGS) data were contrasted with uses of geoscience textbook data. To examine these differences, we conducted a review of frameworks for argumentation analysis, and through adaptation to the research foci of this study, developed a new analytic approach. Applying this approach to student classroom discourse revealed the affordances and constraints of both the complex USGS datasets and the filtered textbook data sources. The challenges of teaching with complex data are presented.
Keywords: Argumentation; Discourse; Earth science education; Inquiry-based teaching; Data complexity 
Authors: Eric Blowna; Tom G. K. Brycea

Abstract
The astronomy concepts of 345 young people were studied over a 10-year period using a multi-media, multi-modal methodology in a research design where survey participants were interviewed three times and control subjects were interviewed twice. The purpose of the research was to search for evidence to clarify competing theories on conceptual coherence versus knowledge-in-pieces, distinguishing between coherence as revealed in the representational systems at any particular stage in a young person's development and the changes evident in mental growth thereafter. Thus five research questions concerned with the elements and structure of understanding were investigated: (1) conceptual coherence shown as patterns of high correlation of concept representations between the media used to assess subjects' understanding within a survey, as well as (2) coherence revealed as consistency of representation of those concepts across media and modalities; (3) enhanced conceptual understanding and skill through repeated interviews across (longitudinal) surveys, as young people develop their knowledge; (4) cultural similarity in subjects' representations of basic static concepts (e.g. the shape of the Earth); and (5) improved understanding of basic dynamic concepts (e.g. the motion of the Earth) and complex dynamic concepts (e.g. seasons and eclipses), through “knowledge-skill compounding”. The research findings supported conceptual coherence and rejected the counter argument of knowledge-in-pieces (at an alpha level of .05). Further research is recommended to replicate current research in cultures other than those of China and New Zealand studied here to confirm the view that cognition and knowledge are inherently coherent in young people.
Keywords: Conceptual development; Earth science education; Developmental research; Physics education; Astronomy knowledge; Conceptual coherence; In-depth interviews 
Author: Keith S. Tabera

Abstract
Many studies into learners' ideas in science have reported that aspects of learners' thinking can be represented in terms of entities described in such terms as alternative conceptions or conceptual frameworks, which are considered to describe relatively stable aspects of conceptual knowledge that are represented in the learner's memory and accessed in certain contexts. Other researchers have suggested that learners' ideas elicited in research are often better understood as labile constructions formed in response to probes and generated from more elementary conceptual resources (e.g. phenomenological primitives or 'p-prims'). This 'knowledge-in-pieces perspective' (largely developed from studies of student thinking about physics topics), and the 'alternative conceptions perspective', suggests different pedagogic approaches. The present paper discusses issues raised by this area of work. Firstly, a model of cognition is considered within which the 'knowledge-in-pieces' and 'alternative conceptions' perspectives co-exist. Secondly, this model is explored in terms of whether such a synthesis could offer fruitful insights by considering some candidate p-prims from chemistry education. Finally, areas for developing testable predictions are outlined, to show how such a model can be a 'refutable variant' of a progressive research programme in learning science.
Author: Sherry Hsia

Abstract
This paper illustrates the intensified engagement that youth are having with digital technologies and introduces a framework for examining digital fluency—the competencies, new representational practises, design sensibilities, ownership, and strategic expertise that a learner gains or demonstrates by using digital tools to gather, design, evaluate, critique, synthesize, and develop digital media artefacts, communication messages, or other electronic expressions. A primary goal of this paper is to identify promising perspectives through which learning is conceptualized, and to share the methodological challenges in investigating digital fluency in both individual and collaborative learning activities that take place in complex naturalistic settings and socially constructed online worlds. A review is provided of the current and prospective research methods that researchers use to capture, document, and study the compelling ways in which children and young people are using digital technologies such as Information and Communication Technologies, social networking software, video games, multimedia authoring tools, and mobile phones in everyday life to learn and play. The paper argues for a need to study the authentic, inventive, and emergent uses of digital technologies and interactive learning environments among youth to contribute to advancement of theories of everyday learning and to build a deeper understanding of how learning occurs in out-of-school settings from a practise-oriented perspective rather than a knowledge-centred one. Implications for instructional practise are also discussed in addition to ethical and pragmatic issues that will need to be addressed in the study of digital kids.
Authors: Marietjie Potgietera; Esther Malatjeb; Estelle Gaigherc; Elsie Venterd

Abstract
This study investigated the use of performance-confidence relationships to signal the presence of alternative conceptions and inadequate problem-solving skills in mechanics. A group of 33 students entering physics at a South African university participated in the project. The test instrument consisted of 20 items derived from existing standardised tests from literature, each of which was followed by a self-reported measure of confidence of students in the correctness of their answers. Data collected for this study included students' responses to multiple-choice questions and open-ended explanations for their chosen answers. Fixed response physics and confidence data were logarithmically transformed according to the Rasch model to linear measures of performance and confidence. The free response explanations were carefully analysed for accuracy of conceptual understanding. Comparison of these results with raw score data and transformed measures of performance and confidence allowed a re-evaluation of the model developed by Hasan, Bagayoko, and Kelley in 1999 for the detection of alternative conceptions in mechanics. Application of this model to raw score data leads to inaccurate conclusions. However, application of the Hasan hypothesis to transformed measures of performance and confidence resulted in the accurate identification of items plagued by alternative conceptions. This approach also holds promise for the differentiation between over-confidence due to alternative conceptions or due to inadequate problem-solving skills. It could become a valuable tool for instructional design in mechanics.
Keywords: Confidence; Performance; Mechanics; Alternative conceptions; Rasch model 
Authors: Lana T. Rappoporta; Guy Ashkenazia

Abstract
Chemical phenomena can be described using three representation modes: macro, submicro, and symbolic. The way students use and connect these modes when solving conceptual problems was studied, using a think-aloud interview protocol. The protocol was validated through interviews with six faculty members, and then applied to four graduate and six undergraduate chemistry students. We used a 'levels of complexity' framework to analyse responses: the macro and symbolic modes were considered system-level representations, and the submicro mode a component-level representation. We found that faculty members thought of system-level properties as emerging from mechanistic interactions between particles on the component level—an emergent perspective. In many cases, the students either failed to connect the system and component levels, or thought of system-level properties as guiding the behaviour of particles on the component level—a 'submergent' perspective. Some students used their familiarity with a symbolic equation describing the behaviour of a substance as the starting point of a thought process that leads them to impose mechanistically unwarrantable behaviour upon its particles. We concluded that a submergent perspective inhibits students from confronting their misconceptions regarding particle behaviour, and explains why students are often able to correctly solve algorithmic problems while failing to solve conceptual ones. It is suggested that the directionality of connecting particle behaviour to system-level properties should be emphasized in teaching.
Authors: Jennifer Yeoa; Seng Chee Tana

Abstract
Researchers are skeptical about the role of authoritative sources of information in a constructivist learning environment for fear of usurping students' critical thinking. Taking a social semiotics perspective in this study, authoritative sources are regarded as inscriptions of cultural artifacts, and science learning involves meaning-making of these cultural artifacts. In studying the meaning-making process of a group of students doing problem-based learning (PBL), our findings show that authoritative sources played an important role in deepening and expanding students' scientific knowledge. We also found that constructive use of authoritative sources involves interpretation of meaning in context. This structural coupling of authoritative sources and context for meaningful sense-making has to be taken into consideration in the design of learning environment.
Keywords: Authoritative sources; Meaning-making; Science inquiry learning 
Authors: Isabel Ruiz-Mallena; Laura Barrazab; Barbara Bodenhornc; Maria de la Paz Ceja-Adamed; Victoria Reyes-Garciacuteae

Abstract
Strengthening links between school and community is critical for improving people's participation in environmental issues. However, Mexican education programmes are generally unrelated to rural students' life experience and are planned without considering either teachers' or students' opinions. This article describes the participatory construction of a preparatory school environmental education (EE) programme in Ixtlan de Juarez, a Mexican indigenous community internationally recognised for sustainable forest management. The qualitative research methods used are based on the action research methodology. Results from interviews conducted with the preparatory school's headmaster, the coordinator, and nine teachers provided the needed documentation of the school site for contextualising learning activities. Feedback during focus groups with six students, three teachers, five local communal authorities, and two researchers highlighted that all participants perceived the need for creating an educational programme focused on local forest management. The contents and activities of the programme were designed by the focus group's participants. The programme has been continuously taught by teachers and forest workers since 2005 and was officially integrated with the preparatory school science curriculum in 2006. This participative educational experience has thus transformed the mandatory school curriculum in Ixtlan.
Keywords: Action research; Contextualising as pedagogical technique; Environmental education; Mexico; Participatory methods
View Full Text Article
Download PDF Download PDF (~524 KB)     View Article Online (HTML) View Article Online (HTML)    

Single Article Purchase: US$30.00 - buy now buy now add to cart add to cart [ show other buying options ]

purchase type 	customer type 	online access 	payment method 	price
Single Article Purchase 	Any 	3 days, 1 user, 3 cookies 	credit card 	US$30.00 	buy now buy now add to cart add to cart
Issue Purchase 	Any 	permanent 	credit card 	US$171.91 	buy now buy now add to cart add to cart
Special Rates for NARST and ESERA members

If you would like to pay in any other currency please see the purchasing help pages for more information.

If you are an agent wanting to subscribe on behalf of your customer please contact our subscriptions department on the following email address: subscriptions@tandf.co.uk



view references (31)
Bookmark with:

    * CiteULike
    * Del.icio.us
    * BibSonomy
    * Connotea
    * More bookmarks

    * What are these?


Affiliations:  	a Institut de Ciegravencia i Tecnologia Ambiental, Universitat Autogravenoma de Barcelona, Spain
b Deakin University, Australia
c University of Cambridge, UK
d Universidad Pedagoacutegica Nacional, Mexico
e ICREA and Institut de Ciegravencia i Tecnologia Ambientals, Universitat Autogravenoma de Barcelona, Spain
DOI: 10.1080/09500690903203135
Article Requests: Order Reprints : Request Permissions
Published in: journal International Journal of Science Education, Volume 32, Issue 13 September 2010 , pages 1755 - 1770
Publication Frequency: 18 issues per year
First Published on: 23 September 2009
Previously published as: European Journal of Science Education (0140-5284) until 1987

    * Sign In Sign In
    * Online Sample Online Sample

	
iFirst
Click here for immediate access to the latest key research articles
Education Arena
Education Arena 	Connecting you to global education research.
Expert interviews, free articles, conferences and calls for papers – in one central location.

»
Authors: Adi Ben-Davida; Anat Zohara

Abstract
The aim of the present study is to explore the effects of Meta-strategic Knowledge (MSK) on scientific inquiry learning. MSK is a subcomponent of metacognition defined as general, explicit knowledge about thinking strategies. Following earlier studies that showed considerable effects of explicit instruction of MSK regarding the strategy of variables control, the present study explores whether similar effects are found in two additional scientific thinking strategies: Define Research Questions and Formulate Research Hypotheses. Participants were 119 eighth-grade students from six classes of a heterogeneous school. Equal numbers of low-achieving and high-achieving students were randomly assigned into experimental and control groups. The findings showed dramatic developments in students' performance following instruction. The effect of the treatment was preserved in a delayed transfer test. Our findings show that explicit teaching of MSK had a stronger effect for low-achieving students than for high-achieving students. The implications of the findings for teaching and learning in the context of scientific inquiry are discussed.
Authors: Deborah R. Siegela; Jennifer Esterlyb; Maureen A. Callanana; Ramser Wrighta; Rocio Navarroa

Abstract
Parent-child “everyday” conversations have been suggested as a source of children's early science learning. If such conversations are important, then it would be pertinent to know whether children from different family backgrounds have different experiences talking about science in informal settings. We focus on the relation between parents' schooling and both their explanatory talk in science-related activities and the styles of interaction they use with their children. Families from different schooling backgrounds within one under-represented group in science education—Mexican-descent families—were included in this study. Forty families were observed in two science-related activities. In the sink-or-float task, families were asked to predict which of a variety of objects would sink and which would float, and then to test their predictions in a tub of water. The second activity was an open-ended visit to a local children's museum. Results showed similar patterns in scientific talk on the sink-or-float task across the two groups. However, the interaction style varied with schooling across the two activities; parents with higher schooling were more directive than parents with basic schooling. Interaction style was also found to vary with task structure, with more open-ended tasks affording more collaborative interactions. Such research into parent-child conversations in science-related activities can help begin to guide us in bridging children's learning environments—home, school, and museum—and potentially fostering children's science learning, particularly in those groups under-represented in the sciences.
Authors: Allen Thurstona; Keith J. Toppingb; Andrew Tolmiec; Donald Christied; Eleni Karagiannidoud; Pauline Murrayb

Abstract
This paper reports a two-year longitudinal study of the effects of cooperative learning on science attainment, attitudes towards science, and social connectedness during transition from primary to high school. A previous project on cooperative learning in primary schools observed gains in science understanding and in social aspects of school life. This project followed 204 children involved in the previous project and 440 comparison children who were not as they undertook transition from 24 primary schools to 16 high schools. Cognitive, affective, and social gains observed in the original project survived transition. The implications improving the effectiveness of school transition by using cooperative learning initiatives are explored. Possibilities for future research and the implications for practice and policy are discussed.
Keywords: Cooperative learning; Primary school; Secondary school; Science education 
Authors: Keith S. Tabera; Pat Brichenoa

Abstract
The present paper discusses the conceptual demands of an apparently straightforward task set to secondary-level students—completing chemical word equations with a single omitted term. Chemical equations are of considerable importance in chemistry, and school students are expected to learn to be able to write and interpret them. However, it is recognised that many students find them challenging. The present paper explores students' accounts of their attempts to identify the missing terms, to illuminate why working with chemical word equations is so challenging from the learner's perspective. Three hundred secondary-age students responded to a five-item exercise based on chemicals and types of reactions commonly met at school level. For each item they were asked to identify the missing term in a word equation, and to explain their answers. This provided a database containing more than 1,000 student accounts of their rationales. Analysis of the data led to the identification of seven main classes of strategy used to answer the questions. Most approaches required the coordination of chemical knowledge at several different levels for a successful outcome; and there was much evidence both for correct answers based on flawed chemical thinking, and appropriate chemical thinking being insufficient to lead to the correct answer. It is suggested that the model reported here should be tested by more in-depth methods, but could help chemistry teachers appreciate learners' difficulties and offer them explicit support in selection and application of strategies when working with chemical equations.
Authors: Chin-Chung Tsaia; Pi-Chu Kuob

Abstract
The cram school in Taiwan offers additional after-school instruction to enhance students' academic performance, and it provides a unique educational context to investigate students' perspectives toward learning. The purpose of this study was to explore 45 cram school students' (around 14 years old) conceptions of learning and learning science. The research data were gathered from interviews with each of the students, and the interview responses were further analyzed by a phenomenographic method. It was found that most of these students conceptualized learning or learning science as memorizing school knowledge, preparing for tests, or practicing tutorial problems and processing calculations. This study also revealed that about 76% of the students expressed coherent views between conceptions of learning in general, and those of learning science in particular. Further analyses of student interview responses suggested that the students held a quantitative view of learning (science) and they tended to atomize school knowledge while learning (science). Their motivation for learning was mainly driven by external factors, such as examination scores, and they probably employed a surface approach to learning. Moreover, their conceptions of learning or learning science might imply a dualist epistemology for the nature of knowing and knowledge. This study also showed some evidence that the special educational context of cram schools might guide students develop certain conceptions of learning, thus leading to particular study and motivational approaches.
Author: John K. Gilberta

Abstract
This Article does not have an abstract. 
Authors: Billy McClunea; Ruth Jarmana

Abstract
A recognised aim of science education is to promote critical engagement with science in the media. Evidence would suggest that this is challenging for both teachers and pupils and that science education does not yet adequately prepare young people for this task. Furthermore, in the absence of clear guidance as to what this means and how this may be achieved it is difficult for teachers to develop approaches and resources that address the matter and that systematically promote such critical engagement within their teaching programmes. Twenty-six individuals with recognised expertise or interest in science in the media, drawn from a range of disciplines and areas of practice, constituted a specialist panel in this study. The question this research sought to answer was “what are the elements of knowledge, skill, and attitude which underpin critical reading of science-based news reports?” During in-depth individual interviews the panel were asked to explore what they considered to be essential elements of knowledge, skills, and attitude which people need to enable them to respond critically to news reports with a science component. Analysis of the data revealed 14 fundamental elements which together contribute to an individual's capacity to engage critically with science-based news. These are classified in five categories “knowledge of science”, “knowledge of writing and language”, “knowledge about news, newspapers and journalism”, “skills”, and “attitudes”. Illustrative profiles of each category along with indicators of critical engagement are presented. The implications for curriculum planning and pedagogy are considered.
Keywords: Scientific literacy; Science education; Curriculum; Conceptual development; Teacher; Curriculum planner 
Author: Phillip A. Towndrowa

Abstract
This paper investigates the impact of a current educational policy initiative in Singapore called 'Science Practical Assessment' (SPA). SPA is designed to overcome the limitations of single, high-stakes examinations by placing emphasis on research processes, entrepreneurship and the development of science practical skills. Structurally, SPA repositions teachers as central in the selection of items to teach and assess during the academic years leading up to O-level. However, it is contended that the effectiveness of SPA is rendered problematic without specific attention being paid to teachers' readiness and capacity to understand and implement assessment innovations. In response, the author describes and analyses how he formed a research partnership with a local physics teacher to investigate how SPA could be used as a tool to improve science pedagogy. Results suggest that while the pragmatic considerations of assessment reforms are not sufficient in themselves to bring about policymakers' desired outcomes, ways can be found to help teachers prepare for, bring about and crucially own change by adopting a critically reflective stance on problems and issues that arise when students work on completing laboratory tasks. The methods used in this study also identify some of the factors that impact on teachers' ability to influence positive developments at the department and school levels of an educational system. Overall, the intention is that the teacher development strategies and classroom practices illustrated in the paper will eventually inform a programme of interventionist action in science pedagogy and practical work assessment with applications both in and beyond the immediate study context.
Authors: Chia-Hsing Tsaia; Hsueh-Yu Chena; Ching-Yang Choua; Kuen-Der Lainb

Abstract
The purpose of this study was to report the results of a nationwide survey of Taiwanese high schools students' understandings about electric circuits. The study involved two stratified random samples consisting of 7,145 students in Grades 8 and 9, and 2,857 students in Grade 11, accounting for about 2.3% of the total enrolment in the corresponding grades in Taiwan. Participants' responses to the two-tier diagnostic instrument were analysed to identify the possible alternative conceptions that were held by the students. The extent of these alternative conceptions was compared across grades, types of circuits, and propositional statements. Finally, the results were contrasted with the research literature and some pedagogical implications were provided.
Keywords: Current; Electric circuits; Two-tier diagnostic instrument
View Full Text Article
Download PDF Download PDF (~206 KB)     View Article Online (HTML) View Article Online (HTML)    

Single Article Purchase: US$30.00 - buy now buy now add to cart add to cart [ show other buying options ]

purchase type 	customer type 	online access 	payment method 	price
Single Article Purchase 	Any 	3 days, 1 user, 3 cookies 	credit card 	US$30.00 	buy now buy now add to cart add to cart
Issue Purchase 	Any 	permanent 	credit card 	US$206.29 	buy now buy now add to cart add to cart
Special Rates for NARST and ESERA members

If you would like to pay in any other currency please see the purchasing help pages for more information.

If you are an agent wanting to subscribe on behalf of your customer please contact our subscriptions department on the following email address: subscriptions@tandf.co.uk



view references (29)  |  view citations (3)
Bookmark with:

    * CiteULike
    * Del.icio.us
    * BibSonomy
    * Connotea
    * More bookmarks

    * What are these?


Affiliations:  	a National Kaohsiung Normal University, Taiwan
b Fortune Institute of Technology, Taiwan
DOI: 10.1080/09500690601073327
Article Requests: Order Reprints : Request Permissions
Published in: journal International Journal of Science Education, Volume 29, Issue 4 March 2007 , pages 483 - 496
Publication Frequency: 18 issues per year
Previously published as: European Journal of Science Education (0140-5284) until 1987

    * Sign In Sign In
    * Online Sample Online Sample

	
iFirst
Click here for immediate access to the latest key research articles
Education Arena
Education Arena 	Connecting you to global education research.
Expert interviews, free articles, conferences and calls for papers – in one central location.

[[3215]]
[[GettingStarted]]
Authors: Andree Tiberghiena; Jacques Vincea; Pierre Gaidioza

Abstract
Design-based research, and particularly its theoretical status, is a subject of debate in the science education community. In the first part of this paper, a theoretical framework drawn up to develop design-based research will be presented. This framework is mainly based on epistemological analysis of physics modelling, learning and teaching hypotheses. It includes grand theories, a specific theory that following Cobb, Confrey, diSessa, Lehrer, and Schauble is a “humble theory” in the sense that it does “real work”, and tools for design. In the second part, we will show how this specific theory and its tools led designers to develop teaching resources in the case of a teaching sequence on mechanics (Grade 10). We will explain how the components of the specific theory and tools guide the design at different levels; the conceptual structure of the teaching sequence, the chronology of the activities, the various choices of the type of activity and their wording. This presentation makes the bases of designing teaching resources explicit and therefore allows for scientific debate.
Keywords: Classroom; Curriculum; Design study; Inquiry-based teaching; Science education; Modelling; Theoretical approach; Teaching sequence 
Authors: Per Kinda; Karen Jonesa; Partick Barmbya

Abstract
In this study, we describe the development of measures used to examine pupils' attitudes towards science. In particular, separate measures for attitudes towards the following areas were developed: learning science in school, practical work in science, science outside of school, importance of science, self-concept in science, and future participation in science. In developing these measures, criticisms of previous attitude studies in science education were noted. In particular, care was taken over the definition of each of the attitude constructs, and also ensuring that each of the constructs was unidimensional. Following an initial piloting process, pupils aged 11-14 from five secondary schools throughout England completed questionnaires containing the attitude measures. These questionnaires were completed twice by pupils in these schools, with a gap of four weeks between the first and second measurements. Altogether, 932 pupils completed the first questionnaire and 668 pupils completed the second one. Factor analysis carried out on the resulting data confirmed the unidimensionality of the separate attitude constructs. Also, it was found that three of the constructs—learning science in school, science outside of school, and future participation in science—loaded on one general attitude towards science factor. Further analysis showed that all the measures showed high internal reliability (Cronbach's agr > 0.7). A particular strength of the approach used in this study was that it allowed for attitude measures to be built up step-by-step, therefore allowing for the future consideration of other relevant constructs.
Author: Marcus Gracea

Abstract
The conservation of biodiversity is an important socio-scientific issue that is often regarded as a precondition to sustainable development. The foundation for citizens' understanding of conservation issues can be laid down in formal school education. This research focuses on decision-making discussions about biological conservation issues among 131 15-16-year-old students, to address two main research questions:

   1. Can peer group decision-making discussions, in a normal science lesson setting, help develop students' personal reasoning in relation to conservation issues?
   2. Are there features common to high quality discussions about conservation which might be readily identified by classroom teachers?



Findings indicate the positive value of students taking part in these short decision-making discussions guided by a structured framework and as part of their normal science classroom activities. Students increase their quality of personal reasoning, and modify their solutions to the issues. The study begins to uncover features about students both as individuals and as members of discussion groups, which can be associated with high quality decision-making about conservation issues, and which teachers might realistically identify. The work calls for the need to cultivate these features and to integrate them appropriately with learning about the scientific concepts that underpin the theory and practice of conservation management. Such integration will facilitate the development of teaching strategies for dealing effectively with the complex topic of biological conservation; not just in terms of science content, but also in terms of how students are expected to engage with the issues.
Authors: Grady Venvillea; Jenny Donovana

Abstract
This paper presents a case study of a teaching intervention designed to enrich Year 2 students' theory of biology through the introduction of causal mechanisms of inheritance such as the gene and DNA. The researchers worked collaboratively with the classroom teacher to design the intervention based on the students' prior knowledge of living things and inheritance. Methods used to evaluate the intervention included comprehensive pre-instructional and post-instructional interviews with all students in the class. Classroom observations were constructed as a reflective diary. Findings indicate that meaningful learning occurred as a result of the intervention for many of the students in the class. For these students, networks of knowledge were developed between their understandings of living and non-living things, their understandings of inheritance, and concepts of the gene and DNA.
Author: Derek Cheunga

Abstract
Students' attitudes toward chemistry lessons in school are important dependent variables in curriculum evaluation. Although a variety of instruments have been developed by researchers to evaluate student attitudes, they are plagued with problems such as the lack of theoretical rationale and of empirical evidence to support the construct validity of data. This paper describes a study of students' attitudes toward chemistry lessons in Hong Kong secondary schools. One of the scales in the Test of Science-Related Attitudes developed by Fraser was modified to form an Attitude Toward Chemistry Lessons Scale (ATCLS). The construction of the ATCLS was based on a theoretical model with four dimensions: liking for chemistry theory lessons, liking for chemistry laboratory work, evaluative beliefs about school chemistry, and behavioural tendencies to learn chemistry. The arguments for inclusion of these four dimensions are presented. The final version of ATCLS was administered to 954 students. The results of confirmatory factor analysis indicated that there was a good fit between the hypothesised model and the observed data.
Authors: Apisit Tongchaia; Manjula D. Sharmab; Ian D. Johnstonb; Kwan Arayathanitkulc; Chernchok Soankwanc

Abstract
An understanding of mechanical waves is a pre-requisite for the study of many topics in advanced physics, and indeed in many other disciplines. There have been many research studies in mechanical waves, all of which have revealed that students have trouble with the basic concepts. Therefore, in order for teachers to prepare appropriate instruction for their classes, it is useful to diagnose their students' conceptions—if possible before they enter class. It is for this purpose that many diagnostic instruments have been developed, often in the form of multiple-choice tests. In this study, we have used the open-ended Wave Diagnostic Test to develop a multiple-choice conceptual survey in an evolutionary manner. The two-year development procedure included open-ended surveys and interviews involving 299 Thai students and 88 Australian students. The final version, called the Mechanical Waves Conceptual Survey, has been administered to 632 Australian students from high school to second-year university and 270 Thai high school students. Standard statistical analyses show that the survey is reliable and valid. Further validity checks, including consultation with experts, were also carried out. The survey has four subtopics—propagation, superposition, reflection, and standing waves—and the teachers can choose the subtopics relevant for their students. In this paper we also demonstrate the use of a typical survey question to test students' conceptual understanding and identify common alternative conceptions.
Authors: Imelda Caleona; R. Subramaniama

Abstract
This study focused on the development and application of a three-tier multiple-choice diagnostic test (or three-tier test) on the nature and propagation of waves. A question in a three-tier test comprises the content tier, which measures content knowledge; the reason tier, which measures explanatory knowledge; and the confidence tier, which measures the strength of conceptual understanding of the respondents. This paper presents results based on the responses of 243 Grade 10 students after they were formally instructed on the topic. The vast majority of the respondents showed an inadequate grasp of concepts about waves. Eleven alternative conceptions (ACs), which were expressed with confidence by more than 10% of the students, were identified; four of these ACs were expressed with high confidence.
Keywords: Alternative conceptions; Misconceptions; Physics education; Quantitative research; Three-tier test; Waves 
Authors: Sura Wuttiproma; Manjula Devi Sharmab; Ian D. Johnstonb; Ratchapak Chitareea; Chernchok Soankwana

Abstract
Conceptual surveys have become increasingly popular at many levels to probe various aspects of science education research such as measuring student understanding of basic concepts and assessing the effectiveness of pedagogical material. The aim of this study was to construct a valid and reliable multiple-choice conceptual survey to investigate students' understanding of introductory quantum physics concepts. We examined course syllabi to establish content coverage, consulted with experts to extract fundamental content areas, and trialled open-ended questions to determine how the selected content areas align with students' difficulties. The questions were generated and trialled with different groups of students. Each version of the survey was critiqued by a group of discipline and teaching experts to establish its validity. The survey was administered to 312 students at the University of Sydney. Using the data from this sample, we performed five statistical tests (item difficulty index, item discrimination index, item point biserial coefficient, KR-21 reliability test, and Ferguson's delta) to evaluate the test's reliability and discriminatory power. The result indicates that our survey is a reliable test. This study also provided data from which preliminary findings were drawn on students' understandings of introductory quantum physics concepts. The main point is that questions which require an understanding of the standard interpretations of quantum physics are more challenging for students than those grouped as non-interpretative. The division of conceptual questions into interpretive and non-interpretive needs further exploration.
Authors: Ineke Henzea; Jan H. van Drielb; Nico Verloopb

Abstract
This paper investigates the developing pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of nine experienced science teachers in their first few years of teaching a new science syllabus in the Dutch secondary education system. We aimed to identify the content and structure of the PCK for a specific topic in the new syllabus, 'Models of the Solar System and the Universe', describing the PCK development in terms of relations between four different aspects: knowledge about instructional strategies; knowledge about students' understanding; knowledge about assessment of students; and knowledge about goals and objectives of the topic in the curriculum. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in three subsequent academic years. From the analysis of the data, two qualitatively different types of PCK emerged. Type A can be described as oriented towards model content, while Type B can be typified as oriented towards model content, model production, and thinking about the nature of models. The results also indicate that these two types of PCK developed in qualitatively different ways.
Authors: Gregory Thomasa; David Andersonb; Samson Nashonb

Abstract
The development and evaluation of science students' metacognition, learning processes and self-efficacy are important for improving science education. This paper reports on the development of an empirical self-report instrument for providing a measure of students' metacognition, self-efficacy and constructivist science learning processes. A review of the range of literature related to metacognition, self-regulation and constructivist learning processes resulted in the development of an initial bilingual (English and traditional Chinese) instrument composed of 72 items. This instrument was completed by 465 Hong Kong high school students. The data collected were subjected to exploratory factor analysis and Rasch analysis. The subsequent refinement process resulted in a final version of the Self-Efficacy and Metacognition Learning Inventory—Science (SEMLI-S) consisting of 30 items that can be used for either analysing and focusing on any or all of its dimensions or for assigning scores to individuals that enable comparison between them in relation to their metacognitive science learning orientations.
Authors: Merce Garcia-Milaa; Christopher Andersenb

Abstract
This paper addresses the development in children's and adults' awareness of the benefits of writing through the analysis of change in notetaking while engaged in scientific inquiry over 10 weeks. Participants were given a notebook that they could choose to use. Our results indicate consistent differences between the performance of adults versus children and also across time. First, there were clear differences in the number of participants who chose to take notes. Second, not only did adults write more notes than children, but also the adults' mean number of notes slightly increased over time, whereas children's notes actually decreased in frequency. Third, children and adults differed in the types of notes they took. These results are interpreted in terms of participants' awareness of what needs to be noted in a scientific task and why it needs to be noted, and they suggest implications for educational practice. First, because learners often have inaccurate representations of the task demands and their own future state of knowledge, they do not perceive the utility of notetaking. Second, because of these misperceptions, learners do not refer back to their notes and thereby miss feedback that would spur the refinement of their metacognitive (particularly metastrategic) knowledge and strategy use. Educators need to design opportunities for students to engage in activities that increase metacognitive knowledge of their own cognitive abilities and the demands of the task.
Authors: Shiang-Yao Liua; Chin-Chung Tsaib

Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine whether science and non-science major students have different scientific epistemological views (SEVs). A multidimensional instrument previously developed by the authors was used to assess differences in college students' SEV of various aspects. A total of 220 freshmen (42% science and 58% non-science majors) attending two public universities participated in this investigation. Results indicated that the science majors have less sophisticated beliefs in the theory-laden and cultural-dependent aspects of science than non-science majors. Analysis of variance results further revealed significant differences in SEV dimensions among the three major fields: non-science, pure science, and science education. Science education students gained the lowest scores on the entire scale among the groups. Findings of this study imply that science major (including science education) students might be involved longer in such an epistemic environment that described scientific knowledge as objective and universal. It is also possible that beliefs about certainty and objectivity lead these students to select science as their major field. Implications for future research and science teacher education are discussed.
Authors: Eva Davidssona; Anders Jakobssona

Abstract
Science centres aim to present science in ways that will attract visitors and enhance public interest in, and knowledge of, science. But what images and different aspects of science are visitors confronted with at Nordic science centres? This study aims to explore the different aspects of science that are displayed and the ways in which these aspects constitute different images of science. In this study, staff members who work with the planning and creation of new exhibitions were asked to answer a web-based questionnaire, identifying the extent to which different aspects of science were displayed in their latest exhibition. They were also asked to voice their opinions on what, and to what extent, they would like to display different aspects in future exhibitions. This study shows that exhibitions today, in particular, choose to display the wonders of science, presenting science in a product-oriented and unproblematic way. The study also reveals a great discrepancy between what staff members display at their latest exhibitions and what they want to display in future exhibitions. They express a will to emphasise aspects of science on the basis of a societal and cultural perspective. This means that controversial issues, values in society, non-western science, and scientific processes constitute important components for future exhibitions.
Keywords: Science centre; Informal setting; Exhibition; Nature of science 
Author: Ian Abrahamsa

Abstract
The present paper reports on a study that examined whether practical work can be said to have affective outcomes, and if so in what sense. The term 'affective' is used here to refer to the emotions, or feelings, engendered amongst pupils towards school science in general, or one of the sciences in particular. The study is based on 25 multi-site case studies that employed a condensed fieldwork strategy. Data were collected, using tape-recorded interviews and observational field notes, in a sample of practical lessons undertaken in English comprehensive (non-selective) schools during Key Stages 3 and 4 (ages 11-14 years and 15-16 years, respectively). The findings suggest that whilst practical work generates short-term engagement, it is relatively ineffective in generating motivation to study science post compulsion or longer-term personal interest in the subject, although it is often claimed to do so. This suggests that those involved with science education need to develop a more realistic understanding of the limitations of practical work in the affective domain.
Authors: Ian Abrahamsa; Robin Millarb

Abstract
Many within the science education community and beyond see practical work carried out by students as an essential feature of science education. Questions have, however, been raised by some science educators about its effectiveness as a teaching and learning strategy. This study explored the effectiveness of practical work by analysing a sample of 25 'typical' science lessons involving practical work in English secondary schools. Data took the form of observational field notes and tape-recorded interviews with teachers and students. The analysis used a model of effectiveness based on the work of Millar et al. and Tiberghien. The teachers' focus in these lessons was predominantly on developing students' substantive scientific knowledge, rather than on developing understanding of scientific enquiry procedures. Practical work was generally effective in getting students to do what is intended with physical objects, but much less effective in getting them to use the intended scientific ideas to guide their actions and reflect upon the data they collect. There was little evidence that the cognitive challenge of linking observables to ideas is recognized by those who design practical activities for science lessons. Tasks rarely incorporated explicit strategies to help students to make such links, or were presented in class in ways that reflected the size of the learning demand. The analytical framework used in this study offers a means of assessing the learning demand of practical tasks, and identifying those that require specific support for students' thinking and learning in order to be effective.
Authors: Patrick J. Enderlea; Mike U. Smithb; Sherry Southerlanda

Abstract
The existence, preponderance, and stability of misconceptions related to evolution continue as foci of research in science education. In their 2006 study, Geraedts and Boersma question the existence of stable Lamarckian misconceptions in students, challenging the utility of Conceptual Change theory in addressing any such misconceptions. To support their challenge, they describe the study of a particular pedagogical strategy (which they describe as being influened by dynamic systems theory) and report the results supporting its effectiveness in enhancing students' understanding of evolutionary theory. However, we argue that the description offered by Geraedts and Boersma demonstrates several flaws, both in its theoretical assertions and methodological decisions. In response, we reject the disavowal of Conceptual Change theory argued for by these authors due to several theoretical misinterpretations. As well, we question the validity of the data presented and assertions generated based on the methodologcal limitations of the study design.
Authors: Tami Levy Nahuma; David Ben-Chaima; Ibtesam Azaizaa; Orit Herskovitza; Uri Zollera

Abstract
Today's society is continuously coping with sustainability-related complex issues in the Science-Technology-Environment-Society (STES) interfaces. In those contexts, the need and relevance of the development of students' higher-order cognitive skills (HOCS) such as question-asking, critical-thinking, problem-solving and decision-making capabilities within science teaching have been argued by several science educators for decades. Three main objectives guided this study: (1) to establish “base lines” for HOCS capabilities of 10th grade students (n = 264) in the Israeli educational system; (2) to delineate within this population, two different groups with respect to their decision-making capability, science-oriented (n = 142) and non-science (n = 122) students, Groups A and B, respectively; and (3) to assess the pre-post development/change of students' decision-making capabilities via STES-oriented HOCS-promoting curricular modules entitled Science, Technology and Environment in Modern Society (STEMS). A specially developed and validated decision-making questionnaire was used for obtaining a research-based response to the guiding research questions. Our findings suggest that a long-term persistent application of purposed decision-making, promoting teaching strategies, is needed in order to succeed in affecting, positively, high-school students' decision-making ability. The need for science teachers' involvement in the development of their students' HOCS capabilities is thus apparent.
Keywords: Assessment; Reasoning; Secondary school; Learning; Science education; Decision-making; Higher-order cognitive skills; Science-technology-environment-society interface 
Author: Margaret Brooksa

Abstract
It is in the visualisation of ideas, and the expression or representation of our ideas, that we can bring something more clearly into consciousness. A drawing might be seen as an externalisation of a concept or idea. Drawing has the potential to play a mediating role in the visualisation of ideas and concepts in relation to young children exploring scientific concepts. This paper explores how drawing and visualisation bridges the gap between perception-bound thinking and more abstract, symbolical thinking. It demonstrates how drawing, and the related visualisation that results from drawing, helped children to construct meaning for themselves as well as share their ideas with others and across contexts. A socio-cultural framework is used to examine the dialogic engagement with drawing in relation to young children's exploration of scientific ideas. Drawing and visualisation can assist young children in their shift from everyday, or spontaneous concepts, to more scientific concepts. Drawing also assists young children's interactions and competencies with spatial visualisations, interpretations, orientations and relations. When young children are able to create visual representations of their ideas they are then more able to work at a metacognitive level. When children are encouraged to revisit, revise and dialogue through and with their drawing they are able to represent and explore increasingly complex ideas.
Keywords: Visualisation; Drawing; Elementary education 
Author: Karin Ehrleacutena

Abstract
Drawings are often used to obtain an idea of children's conceptions. Doing so takes for granted an unambiguous relation between conceptions and their representations in drawings. This study was undertaken to gain knowledge of the relation between children's conceptions and their representation of these conceptions in drawings. A theory of contextualization was the basis for finding out how children related their contextualization of conceptions in conceptual frameworks to their contextualization of drawings in pictorial convention. Eighteen children were interviewed in a semi-structured method while they were drawing the Earth. Audio-recorded interviews, drawings, and notes were analysed to find the cognitive and cultural intentions behind the drawings. Also, even children who demonstrated alternative conceptions of the Earth in the interviews still followed cultural conventions in their drawings. Thus, these alternative conceptions could not be deduced from the drawings. The results indicate that children's drawings can be used to grasp children's conceptions only by considering the meaning the children themselves give to their own drawings.
Authors: Marie-Christine P. J. Knippelsab; Sabine E. Severiensa; Tanja Klopa

Abstract
The present study examined the outcomes of a newly designed four-lesson science module on opinion-forming in the context of genomics in upper secondary education. The lesson plan aims to foster 16-year-old students' opinion-forming skills in the context of genomics and to test the effect of the use of fiction in the module. The basic hypothesis tested in this study is whether fiction stimulates students to develop opinions with regard to socio-scientific issues. A quasi-experimental pre-test and post-test design was used, involving two treatment groups and one control group. One of the experimental groups received a science module incorporating movie clips (i.e., the movie group). The other experimental group received the same science module, but only news report clips were used (i.e., the news report group). Prior to and after the module, 266 secondary school students completed a questionnaire to test their opinion-forming skills. The results demonstrate that the science module had a significant positive effect on students' opinion-forming skills and that the movie group improved their skills more compared with the news report group. It may be concluded that the use of fiction—to be more specific, movie clips about genomics extracted from feature films—to introduce a socio-scientific issue in the classroom stimulates students to develop their opinion-forming skills.
Authors: Maree Baddocka; Robert Bucata

Abstract
In an action research study, 66 students from Year 11 in an Australian school were shown the colour of methyl violet indicator in some hydrochloric acid solutions, and then in an acetic acid solution. The intent was to create a cognitive conflict, resolution of which would lead to an understanding of the concept weak acid. Student learning emanating from the demonstration was evaluated by written answers to the following: 'Describe the demonstration', 'What was the aim of the demonstration?', 'Explain the observations', and 'What do you think you have learned?' Some students were also interviewed. Learning outcomes were disappointing, not because of failure to resolve the intended conflict, but because of failure to attend to the key features of the demonstration and failure to realize a conflict. Some interesting cases of unintended, and undesirable, learning occurred. The role of the teacher was a focus of this study, and recommendations to improve the conduct of cognitive conflict demonstrations were implemented in follow-up years, and improved learning outcomes resulted.
Authors: Melonie A. Teicherta; Lydia T. Tienb; Seth Anthonya; Dawn Rickeya

Abstract
In the studies reported here, we investigate the effects of context on students' molecular-level ideas regarding aqueous solutions. During one-on-one interviews, 19 general chemistry students recruited from a two-year community college and a research university in the United States were asked to describe their molecular-level ideas about various aqueous solutions in the contexts of conductivity and boiling-point (BP) elevation. Results indicate that context is important for determining the molecular-level ideas that students express. Specifically, students were significantly more likely to draw pictures of aqueous NaCl as separated ions in the conductivity context compared with the BP elevation context, for which they more often drew “molecular” NaCl. This phenomenon was particularly striking because the students drew molecular-level NaCl(aq) pictures in the BP elevation context just minutes after completing the identical task in the context of conductivity. Additional data from laboratory assignments and course examinations further indicate that, even if students are able to correctly represent the molecular level in some contexts, their knowledge may remain inert in slightly different contexts. The results emphasise the importance of the context dependence of molecular-level ideas and have implications for designing instruction in which students develop robust, coherent understandings that they can apply appropriately in new contexts.
Authors: Pavol Prokopa; Matej Prokopa; Sue D. Tunnicliffeb

Abstract
Looking after pets provides several benefits in terms of children's social interactions, and factual and conceptual knowledge about these animals. In this study we investigated effects of rearing experiences on children's factual knowledge and alternative conceptions about animals. Data obtained from 1,541 children and 7,705 drawings showed very strong bias towards rearing vertebrates and a general ignorance of invertebrates. Experiences with rearing animals significantly contributed to children's knowledge about animal's internal organs. Children who reported keeping two or more animals acquired better scores in our study than children keeping only one or no animals. Moreover, the misclassification of invertebrates was not influenced by children's experiences of keeping animals. Although girls showed better knowledge about the anatomy of animals and actually kept more animals than did boys, they also more frequently misclassified invertebrates by drawing bones inside the bodies of the animals, hence allocating them to the vertebrates. We propose that science activities with animals should be more focused on rearing invertebrates and improving children's attitudes and knowledge about them.
Author: Feral Ogan-Bekiroglua

Abstract
The purpose of this study was twofold. First, it was aimed to identify Turkish pre-service physics teachers' knowledge and understanding of the Moon, Moon phases, and other lunar phenomena. Second, the effects of model-based teaching on pre-service teachers' conceptions were examined. Conceptions were proposed as mental models in this study. Four different questionnaires including 22 generative, explanation, and factual questions were used through the study. The pre-service physics teachers' mental models generated in response to lunar phenomena might be representations of their naiumlve knowledge as a result of their causal observations and experiences with the world, and their misconceptions as a result of inconsistencies between their naiumlve knowledge and scientific knowledge. Therefore, the pre-service teachers' mental models were categorized based on the work by Chi and Roscoe. Some of the pre-service teachers' mental models shifted from flawed or incomplete mental models to correct mental models of the Moon and lunar phenomena with the facilitation of model-based teaching. The conclusions of the study carry implications for curriculum developers and teacher education.
Keywords: Lunar Phenomena; Model-based Teaching; Moon Phases; Pre-service Physics Teachers 
Author: Zuway-R. Honga 

Abstract
This study investigated the effects of a collaborative science intervention on high achieving students' learning anxiety and attitudes toward science. Thirty-seven eighth-grade high achieving students (16 boys and 21 girls) were selected as an experimental group who joined a 20-week collaborative science intervention, which integrated and utilized an innovative teaching strategy. Fifty-eight eighth-grade high achieving students were selected as the comparison group. The Secondary School Student Questionnaire was conducted to measure all participants' learning anxiety and attitudes toward science. In addition, 12 target students from the experimental group (i.e., six active and six passive students) were recruited for weekly classroom observations and follow-up interviews during the intervention. Both quantitative and qualitative findings revealed that experimental group students experienced significant impact as seen through increased attitudes and decreased anxiety of learning science. Implications for practice and research are provided.
Keywords: Anxiety of learning science; Attitude toward science; High achieving student; 
Collaborative science intervention 
Authors: Tanja Klopab; Sabine E. Severiensb; Marie-Christine P. J. Knippelsbc; Marc H. W. van Milc; Geert T. M. Ten Damd

Abstract
This article evaluated the impact of a four-lesson science module on the attitudes of secondary school students. This science module (on cancer and modern biotechnology) utilises several design principles, related to a social constructivist perspective on learning. The expectation was that the module would help students become more articulate in this particular field. In a quasi-experimental design (experimental-, control groups, and pre- and post-tests), secondary school students' attitudes (N = 365) towards modern biotechnology were measured by a questionnaire. Data were analysed using Chi-square tests. Significant differences were obtained between the control and experimental conditions. Results showed that the science module had a significant effect on attitudes, although predominantly towards a more supportive and not towards a more critical stance. It is discussed that offering a science module of this kind can indeed encourage students to become more aware of modern biotechnology, although promoting a more critical attitude towards modern biotechnology should receive more attention.
Keywords: Secondary school; Attitudes; Science education; Scientific literacy; Attitudes towards biotechnology; Quasi-experimental design 
Authors: Maria Adamuti-Trachea; Lesley Andresa

Abstract
In this paper, we examine the nature and extent of participation of Canadian young women and men in science-based academic fields. Informed by Bourdieu's theory of cultural reproduction, we focus on three key stages—senior secondary school, the transition to post-secondary studies, and the post-secondary completion stage—to determine whether and how the interrelationships of gender, cultural capital, course completion in senior secondary school, timing of decisions, and initial participation in post-secondary education lead to the completion of science-related undergraduate degrees. Through correspondence analyses of 10 years of longitudinal data with 1,055 respondents, we extend the findings of cross-sectional studies that examine only one aspect of this longitudinal story by showing how the intersection between organisational structures (institutional and disciplinary) and cultural capital transmitted by the family shapes the opportunity structures of access to scientific fields of study by young women and men.
Authors: Shirley Miedijenskya; Tali Tala

Abstract
The present study of gifted students' views of assessment is aimed at understanding how the employment of Embedded Assessment for Learning (EAfL) framework in science courses for the gifted affects the students' views throughout the learning process. The participants were 86 students in three programmes for the gifted who elected project-based science courses. The data included questionnaires, distributed at the beginning and at the end of the assessment processes in each science course, and in-depth interviews with 12 students, which were analysed according to three main themes: general view of assessment; assessment modes; and relationships between assessment and learning. The students viewed the EAfL framework as an integral part of the learning process, and perceived it as a means of expressing autonomous learning and a range of performances; characteristics that correspond with the students' unique needs. In addition, students addressed cognitive and social processes they had undergone. This implies that assessment which is explicitly designed to promote learning in science courses is a powerful tool for teachers as well as for students, and contributes to meaningful learning.
Authors: Marc S. Schwartza; Philip M. Sadlerb

Abstract
This study characterizes how learning and teaching differs as the responsibility for choosing curriculum goals and the strategies to reach those goals shifts between teacher and the students. Three different pedagogical approaches were used with 125 seventh-grade and eighth-grade students. All three curricula focus on electromagnetism, and were taught by two teachers in different schools over a two-week period. When students had control over the strategies employed to reach goals, their engagement stayed high. All three curricula advanced student understanding to some degree; however, large and significant gains were seen only for the pedagogy in which teachers set the specific learning goals and students had control over how to achieve them. Microdevelopment, a principle by which short-term learning recapitulates the stages seen in long-term developmental growth, is found to be a useful framework for curriculum development and for analyzing changes in student understanding. In general, initial “tinkering” activities are best followed by attempts at representing phenomena, only then to be followed by abstract conceptualization. On balance, we find that students benefit most from freedom to control the procedures that they generate in response to well-structured goals presented by the teacher.
Authors: Sandhya N. Baviskara; R. Todd Hartlea; Tiffany Whitneya

Abstract
Constructivism is an important theory of learning that is used to guide the development of new teaching methods, particularly in science education. However, because it is a theory of learning and not of teaching, constructivism is often either misused or misunderstood. Here we describe the four essential features of constructivism: eliciting prior knowledge, creating cognitive dissonance, application of new knowledge with feedback, and reflection on learning. We then use the criteria we developed to evaluate five representative published articles that claim to describe and test constructivist teaching methods. Of these five articles, we demonstrate that three do not adhere to the constructivist criteria, whereas two provide strong examples of how constructivism can be employed as a teaching method. We suggest that application of the four essential criteria will be a useful tool for all professional educators who plan to implement or evaluate constructivist teaching methods.
Authors: Gail Jonesa; Amy Taylorb; Bethany Broadwella

Abstract
The National Science Education Standards emphasise the use of concepts and skills that cut across the science domains. One of these cross-cutting areas is measurement. Students should know measurement systems, units of measurement, tools and error in measurement as well as the importance of measurement to scientific endeavours. Even though measurement is an essential skill, little is known about how students estimate and use measurement in different contexts. This study examines the impact of teaching students to use their bodies as rough measurement tools (body rulers) on their ability to estimate linear measurements. Nineteen middle school students participated in metric intervention tasks and completed a pre-instruction and a post-instruction Linear Measurement Assessment. Results showed that teaching students to use rough body measures as tools (a body ruler) for estimation had a significant influence on their estimation accuracy. After instruction, students were better able to estimate the sizes of objects, use their body in making estimations of size, and estimate while touching an object or pacing a distance. Furthermore, proportional reasoning was significantly correlated with students' post-instruction scores on the Linear Measurement Assessment.
Authors: Jing-Ru Wanga; Sheau-Wen Lina

Abstract
The purpose of the study was to describe the development and application of an instrument to identify various dimensions of the learning environment, as perceived by elementary and middle school students in Taiwan. The instrument, the New Constructivist Learning Environment Scales, includes four dimensions: attitude concerning instruction, interaction, scientific inquiry, and understanding. Data analysis indicates that the instrument developed in this study has satisfactory validity and reliability measures. Data from the New Constructivist Learning Environment Scales reveal three major findings: compared with the other aspects, scientific inquiry is the least frequent in both the elementary and middle school science classrooms in Taiwan; transitional deterioration regarding the science learning environments was found from elementary to middle schools in two areas—interaction and understanding; and multiple regression indicated that the students' attitudes were associated with the dimensions of understanding and interaction. Qualitative data analysis based on classroom observation and interviews of students and their science teachers confirm and enrich these findings.
Author: Rob Toplisa

Abstract
This research explores how six small groups of 14-year-old to 16-year-old pupils, from three schools, dealt with anomalous results when they evaluated science investigations over a 2-year period. The pupils were observed, interviewed, and their written reports analysed to answer the main questions about their understanding, identification, and actions taken about anomalous results. The findings are explored and discussed in terms of expectations from conceptual knowledge; access to apparatus, time, and assessment constraints in school science; and the cognitive and epistemological frameworks used. Conclusions are that pupils can identify anomalous results from patterns in tables or graph lines of best fit but take little practical action about them as they use everyday or “engineering” frameworks instead of authentic scientific approaches. The implications for management and teaching, for assessment policy, and the curriculum model adopted are suggested, as are the implications for further research and development in teaching investigative science.
Keywords: Anomalous Results; Science Investigtations; Teaching Investigative Science 
Authors: Chi-Yan Tsuia; David Treagusta

Abstract
While genetics has remained as one key topic in school science, it continues to be conceptually and linguistically difficult for students with the concomitant debates as to what should be taught in the age of biotechnology. This article documents the development and implementation of a two-tier multiple-choice instrument for diagnosing grades 10 and 12 students' understanding of genetics in terms of reasoning. The pretest and posttest forms of the diagnostic instrument were used alongside other methods in evaluating students' understanding of genetics in a case-based qualitative study on teaching and learning with multiple representations in three Western Australian secondary schools. Previous studies have shown that a two-tier diagnostic instrument is useful in probing students' understanding or misunderstanding of scientific concepts and ideas. The diagnostic instrument in this study was designed and then progressively refined, improved, and implemented to evaluate student understanding of genetics in three case schools. The final version of the instrument had Cronbach's alpha reliability of 0.75 and 0.64, respectively, for its pretest and the posttest forms when it was administered to a group of grade 12 students (n = 17). This two-tier diagnostic instrument complemented other qualitative data collection methods in this research in generating a more holistic picture of student conceptual learning of genetics in terms of scientific reasoning. Implications of the findings of this study using the diagnostic instrument are discussed.
Keywords: Alternative conception; Biology education; Evaluation; Secondary school; Reasoning; Genetics 
Author: Peter Michael Loxleya

Abstract
The research set out in this paper seeks to develop pedagogical knowledge regarding how persuasive teaching approaches can be developed in primary science classrooms. To achieve this, the paper examines three case studies in which the teachers have been charged to develop and implement teaching strategies designed to persuade their children of the usefulness and validity of target scientific concepts. The analysis probes the teachers' choice of contexts and patterns of discourse using criteria drawn from the socio-cultural literature. Outcomes of the study exemplify how the teachers' choices of learning contexts fail to emphasise the functionality of the target concepts, and as a consequence scant rewards are provided for the children to participate actively in conceptually rich discourse. The final part of the paper explores how the development of what the author calls theme-specific plots could be used to help teachers to stage teaching and learning performances that emphasise the functionality of specific explanatory models.
Authors: Rainer Wackermanna; Georg Trendelab; Hans E. Fischera

Abstract
The background of the study is the theory of basis models of teaching and learning, a comprehensive set of models of learning processes which includes, for example, learning through experience and problem-solving. The combined use of different models of learning processes has not been fully investigated and it is frequently not clear under what circumstances a particular model should be used by teachers. In contrast, the theory under investigation here gives guidelines for choosing a particular model and provides instructional sequences for each model. The aim is to investigate the implementation of the theory applied to physics instruction and to show if possible effects for the students may be attributed to the use of the theory. Therefore, a theory-oriented education programme for 18 physics teachers was developed and implemented in the 2005/06 school year. The main features of the intervention consisted of coaching physics lessons and video analysis according to the theory. The study follows a pre-treatment-post design with non-equivalent control group. Findings of repeated-measures ANOVAs show large effects for teachers' subjective beliefs, large effects for classroom actions, and small to medium effects for student outcomes such as perceived instructional quality and student emotions. The teachers/classes that applied the theory especially well according to video analysis showed the larger effects. The results showed that differentiating between different models of learning processes improves physics instruction. Effects can be followed through to student outcomes. The education programme effect was clearer for classroom actions and students' outcomes than for teachers' beliefs.
Keywords: Physics education; Teacher development; Experimental study; In-service; Learning; Basis models 
Authors: Dorit Taitelbauma; Rachel Mamlok-Naamana; Miriam Carmelia; Avi Hofsteina

Abstract
In this study our goal was to better understand the development of chemistry teachers who are involved in a continuous professional development (CPD) programme, focusing on using the inquiry approach in the chemistry classroom-laboratory, followed by protocols assembled in a portfolio that can be used to demonstrate evidence-based practice in chemistry teaching in the inquiry laboratory. Fourteen experienced chemistry teachers participated in a workshop, coordinated by three CPD providers from the Department of Science Teaching, at the Weizmann Institute of Science. The meetings, lasting about three hours, were conducted once a month. Of the fourteen teachers, some were videotaped while conducting inquiry-type experiments in their classes, and were interviewed immediately afterwards. Based on the findings, we conclude that the CPD programme contributed to the professional development of the teachers. The teachers became more reflective and more aware of their practice. In addition, we observed a change in their pedagogical knowledge and content knowledge regarding the inquiry teaching. Moreover, their anxiety concerning the implementation of the programme was reduced significantly throughout the year.
Authors: Christine Harrisona; Avi Hofsteinb; Bat-Sheva Eylonb; Shirley Simonc

Abstract
The focus of this collaborative research project of King's College London, and the Weizmann Institute, Israel is on investigating the ways in which teachers can demonstrate accomplished teaching in a specific domain of science and on the teacher learning that is generated through continuing professional development (CPD) programmes that lead towards such practice. The interest lies in what processes and inputs are required to help secondary-school science teachers develop expertise in a specific aspect of science teaching. It focuses on the design of the CPD programmes and examines the importance of an evidence-based approach through portfolio-construction in which professional dialogue paves the way for teacher learning. The set of papers highlights the need to set professional challenges while tailoring CPD to teachers' needs to create an environment in which teachers can advance and transform their practice. The cross-culture perspective adds to the richness of the development and enables the researchers to examine which aspects are fundamental to the design by considering similarities and differences between the domains.
Authors: Patrick Barmbya; Per M. Kinda; Karen Jonesa

Abstract
This study, carried out in England, examined the variation of attitudes towards science over the first three years of secondary schooling and with gender. The study in question was part of an evaluation of the “Lab in a Lorry” project, and involved 932 pupils completing a pre-measure questionnaire containing items looking at six separate attitude constructs. From these data, two main patterns emerged; pupils' attitudes towards science declined as they progressed through secondary school, and this decline was more pronounced for female pupils. These conclusions are largely in agreement with previous studies in this field. However, in examining separate attitude constructs, we were also able to identify that the sharpest decline occurred specifically for pupils' attitude towards learning science in school. Furthermore, using linear regression, we identified that, as pupils progress through school, this construct becomes a greater influence on attitudes towards future participation in science. Therefore, we also concluded that learning science in school is a particular area that needs to be concentrated upon, if we are to improve children's attitudes towards science. In the final part of the paper, we drew on interview data obtained from 44 pupils involved in the Lab in a Lorry study. Pupils' comments in these interviews provided further insight into why pupils are “switched off” by school science. We drew out the most prevalent themes that emerged in the interviews, in order to provide further insight into why pupils do not enjoy science in school.
Authors: Ling L. Lianga; Haiquan Yuanb

Abstract
This study reports findings from an analysis of the 2002 Chinese National Physics Curriculum Guidelines and the alignment between the curriculum guidelines and two most recent provincial-level 12th-grade exit examinations in China. Both curriculum guidelines and test content were represented using two-dimensional matrices (i.e., topic by level of cognitive demands) and the Porter's alignment indices were reported. It appeared that the curriculum documents and the standardized examinations mostly emphasized student understanding of fundamental principles and concepts of physics. Moreover, the two examinations consistently over-represented the curriculum at both application and analysis cognitive levels. The study also indicated that neither the organization of the current curriculum guidelines nor the exit assessments encourage creativity, critical thinking, and the development of students' abilities to conduct scientific inquiry. The findings of this study can be used for comparative studies of different countries' science curriculum standards and assessment systems, and can provide insights into the improvement of science education from an international perspective.
Authors: Robin Meisnera; Dirk vom Lehna; Christian Heatha; Alex Burchb; Ben Gammona; Molly Reismana

Abstract
There is a growing commitment within science centres and museums to deploy computer-based exhibits to enhance participation and engage visitors with socio-scientific issues. As yet, however, we have little understanding of the interaction and communication that arises with and around these forms of exhibits, and the extent to which they do indeed facilitate engagement. In this paper, we examine the use of novel computer-based exhibits to explore how people, both alone and with others, interact with and around the installations. The data are drawn from video-based field studies of the conduct and communication of visitors to the Energy Gallery at London's Science Museum. The paper explores how visitors transform their activity with and around computer-based exhibits into performances, and how such performances create shared experiences. It reveals how these performances can attract other people to become an audience to an individual's use of the system and subsequently sustain their engagement with both the performance and the exhibit. The observations and findings of the study are used to reflect upon the extent to which the design of exhibits enables particular forms of co-participation or shared experiences, and to develop design sensitivities that exhibition managers and designers may consider when wishing to engender novel ways of engagement and participation with and around computer-based exhibits.
Authors: Eunmi Leea; Julie A. Luftb

Abstract
Science teacher educators recognise a professional learning continuum for teachers. This has resulted in studies of science teachers at different career stages, with the goal of building an understanding of teacher learning from preparation through practice. While these explorations help build an understanding about teacher learning over time, the work is far from complete. The present study tackles one aspect of teacher knowledge—pedagogical content knowledge (PCK)—from the perspective of the teacher. Specifically, it depicts the PCK of experienced secondary science teachers who are serving as mentors to beginning science teachers. Each teacher ultimately conceptualised PCK as the knowledge for teaching science, and all of the teachers had the following components in their individual models: science, goals, students, curriculum organisation, assessment, teaching, and resources. Each teacher, however, had a personalised representation that directed his or her instructional decisions and actions. While these findings are from a small pool of exceptional teachers, they articulate components that experienced teachers may need to benefit from professional development programmes, along with ways in which these components can interact with practice. A preliminary understanding of the components and their interaction can assist those who plan and implement professional development programmes for science teachers.
Authors: M. Gail Jonesa; Thomas Tretterb; Amy Taylora; Tom Oppewala

Abstract
Scale is one of the thematic threads that runs through nearly all of the sciences and is considered one of the major prevailing ideas of science. This study explored novice and experienced teachers' concepts of spatial scale with a focus on linear sizes from very small (nanoscale) to very large (cosmic scale). Novice teachers included undergraduates in science teacher education and students enrolled in a Masters of Arts in Science Teaching Program. Experienced teachers included students enrolled in a Master of Science Program. Participants' knowledge of conceptual categories of size, scale accuracy, and experiences learning scale were assessed. Results showed both experienced and novice teachers were most accurate in their knowledge of human scale (1 m or body length) and both groups were more accurate with large scale than small scale. Experienced teachers held more accurate concepts of small-scale measurements such as the nanometre than novice teachers. There was evidence that being able to directly experience objects and distances influenced concepts of size and scale. The role of in-school and out-of-school experiences in developing concepts of scale is discussed.
Authors: Shulamit Kapona; Uri Ganiela; Bat Sheva Eylona

Abstract
This paper deals with the features and design of explanations in public physics lectures. It presents the findings from a comparative study of three exemplary public physics lectures, given by practicing physicists who are acknowledged as excellent public lecturers. The study uses three different perspectives: the lecture, the lecturer, and the audience (high school physics teachers and students). It concludes with a grounded theory explanatory framework for public physics lectures. The framework demonstrates that a “Translated Scientific Explanation” (TSE) draws upon four clusters of explanatory categories: analogical approach, story, knowledge organization, and content. The framework suggests how the lecturer fits the content of the presentation to the audience's knowledge throughout the lecture, taking into account the listeners' lack of necessary prior knowledge.
Keywords: Qualitative research; Physics education; Science education; Informal education; Popular science; Public lectures; Contemporary physics 
Author: Vicente Talanquera

Abstract
It has been commonly assumed that teleological explanations are unnecessary and have no place in the physical sciences. However, there are indications that teleology is fairly common in the instructional explanations of teachers and students in chemistry classrooms. In this study we explore the role and nature of teleological explanations and the conditions that seem to warrant their use in chemistry education. We also analyse the learning implications of developing explanations of chemical phenomena within a teleological stance. Our study is based on the qualitative analysis of the instructional explanations presented in traditional chemistry textbooks used in the United States. Our results indicate that teleological explanations are in fact present in these textbooks and help provide an explanatory reason for the occurrence of chemical transformations. Their use is tightly linked to the existence of a rule, principle, or law that governs the behaviour of a chemical system, and that explicitly or implicitly implies the minimisation or maximisation of some intrinsic property. This law or principle tends to provide a sense of preferred direction in the evolution of a transformation. Although teleological explanations seem to have heuristic pedagogical value in chemistry education, they may also lead students to develop alternative conceptions and unwarranted overgeneralisations.
Author: Keith S. Tabera

Abstract
Two reasons are suggested for studying the degree of conceptual integration in student thinking. The linking of new material to existing knowledge is an important aspect of meaningful learning. It is also argued that conceptual coherence is a characteristic of scientific knowledge and a criterion used in evaluating new theories. Appreciating this 'scientific value' should be one objective when students learn about the nature of science. These considerations imply that students should not only learn individual scientific models and principles, but should be taught to see how they are linked together. The present paper describes the use of an interview protocol designed to explore conceptual integration across two college-level subjects (chemistry and physics). The novelty here is that a single interview is used to elicit explanations of a wide range of phenomena. The potential of this approach is demonstrated through an account of one student's scientific thinking, showing both how she applied fundamental ideas widely, and also where conceptual integration was lacking. The value and limitations of using this type of interview as one means for researching conceptual integration in students' thinking are discussed.
Authors: John Loughrana; Pamela Mulhallb; Amanda Berrya

Abstract
While the development of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) is considered to be a goal of teacher education, teaching about the concept itself is an unusual practice. In this case study, we explore the outcomes when a teacher educator explicitly introduces student-teachers to ideas about PCK through the use of a CoRes and PaP-eRs conceptualisation. The case study explores how, through this purposeful use of PCK in a pre-service science teacher programme, student-teachers' thinking about their teaching and about their development as science teachers is shaped.
Authors: Shiang-Yao Liua; Norman G. Ledermanb

Abstract
This study explores the relationship, if any, between an individual's culturally based worldviews and conceptions of nature of science. In addition, the implications of this relationship (or lack of relationship) for science teaching and learning are discussed. Participants were 54 Taiwanese prospective science teachers. Their conceptions of nature of science and their worldviews specific to humans' relationship with the natural world were assessed using two open-ended questionnaires in conjunction with follow-up interviews. Their understandings of nature of science were classified into informed and naiumlve categories based upon contemporary views of these constructs and those stressed in international reform documents. An anthropocentric-naturecentric continuum emerged and is used to explain the participants' views about humans' relationship with Nature. Participants who recognized the limitations of scientific knowledge, and accept the idea that science involves subjective and cultural components, were more likely to emphasize harmony with Nature. In contrast, participants who possessed narrow views about the scientific enterprise and described science as close to technology and as of materialistic benefit tended to provide an anthropocentric perspective regarding the human-Nature relationships. The findings illustrate the interplay between participants' sociocultural beliefs and conceptions of nature of science. Concisely, people with different worldviews may have concurrently different views about nature of science. The study suggests the need for incorporating sociocultural perspectives and nature of science in the science curriculum.
Authors: Chun-Yen Changa; Yueh-Hsia Changa; Fang-Ying Yanga

Abstract
The educational reform movement since the 1990s has led the secondary earth science curriculum in Taiwan into a stage of reshaping. The present study investigated secondary earth science teachers' perceptions on the Goals of Earth Science Education (GESE). The GESE should express the statements of philosophy and purpose toward which educators direct their attention, and provide the visions or broad aims that earth science education is designed to achieve. Based on this rationale, the purpose of this study was to explore teachers' perceptions on the GESE at secondary school level (Grades 7-12) in Taiwan. A national survey of 1,000 earth science teachers was conducted in May 2004, with a response rate of 70.2%. The results revealed that 'Students acquire basic earth science concepts' is the most important GESE both in teachers' preferred goal and their actual teaching practice in the secondary earth science education; that there is a major gap between teachers' preferred and actual GESE in terms of 'Preparing students for the entrance examinations'; and that the differences between teachers' preferred and actual GESE are contingent on the teachers' age, the school size, and the teacher education background of teachers.
Author: Shyan-Jer Leea

Abstract
Literature on science conceptions research and field investigations was used to probe alternative conceptions of primary school pupils. Theoretical studies from the literature have shown that there are many emphases on the physical meaning and the effects drawn by philosophers of science leading to the formation of new paradigms concerning science conceptions research. Our focus on primary school pupils' alternative conceptions pertaining to batteries (ACCB), in six phases, was to (1) analyse the context regarding batteries present in primary school; (2) summarize propositional statements and develop a target concept map on batteries; (3) edit protocols for interviews; (4) collect and analyse pupils' ACCB; (5) use the results from phases (1)-(4) to construct a two-tier diagnostic instrument; and (6) submit our instrument with others to carry out tests in a National Science Concept Learning Study (NSCLS). Interview results from 21 primary school pupils show that the characteristics of their ACCB can be categorized into several conceptual models related to language, learning processes, and public media. From the NSCLS, two-tier test data depict the ACCB of the primary school pupils in Taiwan. Many alternative conceptions are significantly related to language and daily life in Taiwan. ACCB in this research can be categorized as either content free or content specific. Conception models based on content free and content specific are presented according to the properties of the ACCB. Our joint venture on concept formation research has been affected by the four temporal paradigms formed at certain prominent historical landmarks in science conceptions research. Our data also show a degree of general similarity with existing literature on science conceptions research.
Keywords: Alternative conception; Battery; Diagnostic; Science learning
Authors: Min-Hsien Leea; Chun-Yen Changa; Chin-Chung Tsaib

Abstract
Educational researchers have suggested that the tension between the learner-centred and teacher-centred pedagogies represents a real classroom issue that influences teaching and learning. This issue may be particularly significant in East-Asian countries such as Taiwan due to some cultural influences. For example, teacher authority is highly valued in the culture. Accordingly, the present study aims to develop a questionnaire—the Teacher Authority Survey (TAS), with actual and preferred versions—to explore students' perceptions/preferences regarding teacher authority in the earth science course. The relationships among students' perceptions/preferences for teacher authority, learning attitudes, and learning achievements were investigated. Six hundred and seventeen Taiwanese high school students were administered the TAS, the earth science attitudinal questionnaire, and achievement assessment. Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the TAS developed in this study has satisfactory validity and reliability measures. Correlation analysis indicated that the classrooms more oriented to learner-centredness were correlated with more favourable attitudes toward learning. Moreover, three clusters of preferred teacher authority—namely, teacher-centred authority, uncertain authority, and sharing authority—were identified. Students who preferred sharing authority tended to have more favourable learning attitudes, whereas students in the uncertain authority group seemed to have lower earth science attitudes and achievements.
Authors: Jing-Wen Lina; Mei-Hung Chiua

Abstract
This study was part of a 6-year integrated project designed to build a databank of students' science conceptions in Taiwan. The main purpose of this study was to identify the characteristics of students' mental models regarding acids/bases, understand their changes in mental models, and explore sources that might influence students in constructing models. The study involved 38 ninth-grade students, focusing on three high-achieving students as well as three low-achieving students who were interviewed thoroughly. The results show that students mainly adhered to the Phenomenon Model, the Character-Symbol Model, the Inference Model, and the Scientific Model. Also, it is possible to draw a parallel between the characteristics of some models and various models of acidity in the history of science. The results also show differences in mental models and the weights of sources influencing high-achieving and low-achieving students. Evidence for the weight of sources is not consistent with the findings reported in other studies. We also discuss the implications for teaching and curriculum design.
Authors: E. Gaighera; J. M. Roganb; M. W. H. Braunb

Abstract
A study on the effect of a structured problem-solving strategy on problem-solving skills and conceptual understanding of physics was undertaken with 189 students in 16 disadvantaged South African schools. This paper focuses on the development of conceptual understanding. New instruments, namely a solutions map and a conceptual index, are introduced to assess conceptual understanding demonstrated in students' written solutions to examination problems. The process of the development of conceptual understanding is then explored within the framework of Greeno's model of scientific problem-solving and reasoning. It was found that students who had been exposed to the structured problem-solving strategy demonstrated better conceptual understanding of physics and tended to adopt a conceptual approach to problem-solving.
Author: Yeung Chung Leea



Please click here to view an erratum concerning this article.


Abstract
The roles of science in society and the nature of science are the focus of many science curricula. Current views about these two aspects of science have largely been informed by the history of scientific development. This article uses the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome—a recent health scare—as a case study to explore the roles of science and their relationship with the nature of science and societal factors. The review provides deeper insight into the difficulties that are encountered in fulfilling these roles, particularly those that relate to the nature of science. This review has implications for both school and public science education.
Authors: Chia-Ching Lina; Chin-Chung Tsaia

Abstract
The main purpose of this study was to examine the structural relationships between scientific epistemological views (SEVs) and information commitments (ICs) of high school students in Taiwan. Data were collected from 486 Taiwanese high school students via two self-reporting instruments: one was the SEV questionnaire, including five scales for representing students' views toward scientific knowledge; and the other was the ICs survey, involving six scales for exploring their evaluative standards and searching strategies of online science information. Structural equation modelling analysis was used to examine the relationships between the aspects of SEVs and ICs. The results of the measurement model confirmed that both the SEVs and ICs instruments had highly satisfactory validity and reliability. The structural equation modelling analysis further indicated that students' SEVs guided their evaluative standards and searching strategy when dealing with Web-based science information. For example, students who viewed scientific knowledge as more changeable and tentative significantly tended to adopt a more sophisticated evaluative standard, such as carefully inspecting the content of web sites for judging the usefulness. The findings in general suggested that students with more constructivist-oriented SEVs might develop more advanced standards and searching strategy toward online scientific information to derive great benefit from Web-based environments. Consequently, the role of SEVs should be highlighted as increasingly metacognitive engagement with online science information.
Authors: Adam V. Maltesea; Robert H. Taib

Abstract
This paper examines the experiences reported by scientists and graduate students regarding the experiences that first engaged them in science. The interviews analysed for this paper come from Project Crossover, a mixed-methods study of the transition from graduate student to PhD scientist in the fields of chemistry and physics. This analysis involved review of 116 interviews collected from graduate students and scientists and focused on the timing, source, and nature of their earliest interest in science. The majority (65%) of participants reported that their interest in science began before middle school. Females were more likely to report that their interest was sparked by school-related activities, while most males recounted self-initiated activities. Our findings indicate that current policy efforts (which focus on high school science reform) to increase the numbers of students studying in the science fields, may be misguided.
Keywords: Attitudes; Career interest; Gender-related; Qualitative research; Science education 
Authors: Vicente Talanquera; Ingrid Novodvorskya; Debra Tomaneka

Abstract
The present study was designed to identify and characterize the major factors that influence entering science teacher candidates' preferences for different types of instructional activities, and to analyze what these factors suggest about teacher candidates' orientations towards science teaching. The study involved prospective teachers enrolled in the introductory science teaching course in an undergraduate science teacher preparation program. Our analysis was based on data collected using a teaching and learning beliefs questionnaire, together with structured interviews. Our results indicate that entering science teacher candidates have strong preferences for a few activity types. The most influential factors driving entering science teacher candidates' selections were the potential of the instructional activities to motivate students, be relevant to students' personal lives, result in transfer of skills to non-science situations, actively involve students in goal-directed learning, and implement curriculum that represents what students need to know. This set of influencing factors suggests that entering science teacher candidates' orientations towards teaching are likely driven by one or more of these three central teaching goals: (1) motivating students, (2) developing science process skills, and (3) engaging students in structured science activities. These goals, and the associated beliefs about students, teaching, and learning, can be expected to favor the development or enactment of three major orientations towards teaching in this population of future science teachers: “motivating students,” “process,” and “activity-driven.”
Keywords: Pedagogical content knowledge; Pre-service; Teacher beliefs; Orientations towards teaching; Teacher thinking 
Authors: Rod Watsona; Alex Manninga

Abstract
A programme of professional development was designed consisting of 20 hours of workshops plus in-school activities. The implementation of new pedagogy was supported by teachers bringing examples of their work in the classroom to the workshops for discussion and reflection. The purpose of this study is to explore factors that influenced what teachers took from the professional development programme and how they used it in their own classrooms. It focuses on how the teachers' perceived needs were affected by the programme and how the implementation of new pedagogy was affected the level of in-school support. Data were collected to evaluate the expertise of the teachers early in the programme, their learning through the programme and factors that affected their learning. These data included tape-recordings of selected discussions during workshops, field notes of the workshops, classroom evidence collected by the teachers and portfolios constructed from it, and interviews with teachers after the programme had finished. The results indicate that success in learning from the programme was affected by two key factors: how teachers' perceptions of their needs interacted with the learning opportunities offered by the programme and how the level of in-school support affected the introduction of new pedagogy in the classroom. Unless both factors were positive learning from the professional development programme was variable.
Authors: Yvonne G. Muldera; Ard W. Lazondera; Ton de Jonga

Abstract
Inquiry learning environments increasingly incorporate modelling facilities for students to articulate their research hypotheses and (acquired) domain knowledge. This study compared performance success and scientific reasoning of university students with high prior knowledge (n = 11), students from senior high-school (n = 10), and junior high-school (n = 10) with intermediate and low prior knowledge, respectively, in order to reveal domain novices' need for support in such environments. Results indicated that the scientific reasoning of both groups of high-school students was comparable to that of the experts. As high-school students achieved significantly lower performance success scores, their expert-like behaviour was rather ineffective; qualitative analyses substantiated this conclusion. Based on these findings, implications for supporting domain novices in inquiry learning environments are advanced.
Keywords: Inquiry learning; Model-based learning; Prior knowledge; Scientific reasoning 
Authors: Frances Quinna; John Pegga; Debra Panizzona

Abstract
Meiosis is a biological concept that is both complex and important for students to learn. This study aims to explore first-year biology students' explanations of the process of meiosis, using an explicit theoretical framework provided by the Structure of the Observed Learning Outcome (SOLO) model. The research was based on responses of 334 first-year biology students to practical and examination questions about meiosis, together with student interviews. Students' written responses were coded, which resulted in a hierarchy of qualitatively different categories consistent with recent developments in the SOLO model. Most responses described a number of the less abstract elements of meiosis, but not in a coherent, relational manner, and interviews elucidated several areas of confusion about meiosis and its subordinate concepts. These findings are consistent with much previous research, and provide insights into both the use of the SOLO model as a research tool and students' understandings of meiosis. In conjunction with previous research, the results of this study raise questions beyond its local context about the match between students' apparent understandings and university expectations. The implications of the study relate to the use of terminology, the treatment of meiosis in textbooks, and some specific issues of pedagogy.
Authors: Kathy Cabe Trundlea; Ronald K. Atwoodb; John E. Christopherb

Abstract
Fourth-grade students' knowledge of observable moon phases and patterns of change, as well as conceptual understanding of the cause of moon phases, was investigated before and after special instruction. Pretest and post-test data for 48 students were used to address the research question related to observable moon phases and patterns of change. Interviews were conducted with 10 students on a post-only basis to provide data on understanding the cause of moon phases. The researchers used the constant comparative method to analyse data. Pretest results indicate these students had not met the expectations expressed in the U.S. Science Education Standards for lunar concepts. Post-test results reveal a very positive performance on observable moon phases and patterns of change, as well as the cause of moon phases. Interpretation and implications of these findings are provided.
Keywords: Fourth-grade Students; Lunar Concepts; Moon phases 
Author: Elisabeth E. Schusslera

Abstract
Children's trade books about science may be playing an increasing role in science instruction; however, the potential effects on student learning are unknown. To investigate whether a subset of books would be appropriate for classroom instruction about a specific science topic (plant reproduction), a selection of children's books about plants was analysed to identify how plant reproduction was portrayed and whether the book could generate misconceptions about the topic. Three types of data were collected from 69 children's books: growth progression of the plant, textual passages describing reproduction, and descriptions of illustrations related to reproduction. These data were then sorted twice: once to identify coding categories for how plant reproduction was shown in the books, and a second time to identify potential misconceptions in the books. Most of the books showed plants progressing through a lifecycle that generated a fruit or seed. However, there were three categories of explanations for this process: no mechanism, implicit mechanism, and explicit mechanism. The analysis also identified five inaccuracies in the books that could support misconceptions about plant reproduction. Overall, students could learn from these books that plants make flowers that generate fruits or seeds, and that pollination or bees support this process. However, the gaps in the explanations of plant reproduction would require the teacher to supplement, or in some cases correct, the text. It is recommended that content experts analyse children's books in their area of specialty and provide teachers with recommendations about the use of the books in classrooms.
Author: Jennifer Wilhelma

Abstract
This paper reports an examination on gender differences in lunar phases understanding of 123 students (70 females and 53 males). Middle-level students interacted with the Moon through observations, sketching, journalling, two-dimensional and three-dimensional modelling, and classroom discussions. These lunar lessons were adapted from the Realistic Explorations in Astronomical Learning (REAL) curriculum. Students' conceptual understandings were measured through analysis of pre-test and post-test results on a Lunar Phases Concept Inventory (LPCI) and a Geometric Spatial Assessment (GSA). The LPCI was used to assess conceptual learning of eight science and four mathematics domains. The GSA was used to assess learning of the same four mathematical domains; however, the GSA test items were not posed within a lunar context. Results showed both male and female groups to make significant gains in understanding on the overall LPCI test scores as well as significant gains on five of the eight science domains and on three of the four mathematics domains. The males scored significantly higher than the females on the science domain, phase—Sun/Earth/Moon positions, and on the mathematics domain geometric spatial visualisation. GSA results found both male and female groups achieving a significant increase in their test scores on the overall GSA. Females made significant gains on the GSA mathematics domains, periodic patterns and cardinal directions, while males made significant gains on only the periodic patterns domain. Findings suggest that both scientific and mathematical understandings can be significantly improved for both sexes through the use of spatially focused, inquiry-oriented curriculum such as REAL.
Authors: T. G. K. Brycea; E. J. Blowna

Abstract
This paper attempts to clarify several lines of research on gender in development and education, inter-relating findings from studies on intuitive/informal knowledge with those from research on achievements and attitudes in science. It acknowledges the declining proportions of male teachers world-wide and examination successes which indicate a reversal of educational disadvantage from female to male; as well as the recent evidence on the effects of the gender of teachers upon student success. An empirical contribution to the literature is offered, drawing from the gender-related findings from research on children's cosmologies in China and New Zealand with 346 boys and 340 girls (of whom 119 boys and 121 girls participated in the current study). The investigation focused on children's concepts of the motion and shape of the Earth through observational astronomy and gave children opportunities to express their ideas in several modalities. The in-depth interviews allowed children to share their meanings with gender differences becoming apparent (e.g. girls' superior ability to visually represent their cosmologies and boys' greater awareness of gravity). However, these differences were not universal across genders or cultures and marked similarities were apparent both in the content of children's responses and in their reasoning processes. By comparing boy/girl cosmological concept categories and by tracking their developmental trends by age, statistical evidence revealed the extent of the similarities within and across these diverse cultures. The findings reinforce those from the authors' knowledge restructuring and cultural mediation studies and provide support for the view that boys and girls have similar, holistic-rather-than-fragmented, cosmologies which have features in common across cultures and ethnic groups.
Author: Andrew Cousinsa

Abstract
This paper gives a nuanced analysis of participation rates in secondary chemistry by developing the “story” behind national trends and subject selection patterns within an independent school located in a large Australian city. It supplements the documented quantitative data by presenting a case-study where 30 Year 12 chemistry students were interviewed about what motivated them to enrol in secondary chemistry. The students' comments indicate that, despite the quantitative transformations that demonstrate increasing female success over the past few decades, chemistry is not totally gender inclusive. Secondary chemistry has not yet reached total gender inclusion due to the common gender differences that still occur in the students' motivation to select chemistry and the influence that gender stereotypes still have on students' subject selection.
Keywords: Australia; Gender Inclusivity; Secondary School Chemistry 
Authors: Mingxin Liuab; Weiping Huc; Shi Jiannonga; Philip Adeyd

Abstract
This study explores explicit and implicit gender-science stereotypes and affective attitudes towards science in a sample of Chinese secondary school students. The results showed that (1) gender-science stereotyping was more and more apparent as the specialization of science subjects progresses through secondary school, becoming stronger from the 10th grade; girls were more inclined to stereotype than boys while this gender difference decreased with increasing grade; (2) girls tend to have an implicit science-unpleasant/humanities-pleasant association from the 8th grade, while boys showed a negative implicit attitude towards science up to the 11th grade. In self-report, girls preferred humanities to science, while boys preferred science to humanities; (3) implicit affective attitude was closely related to implicit stereotype. In particular, implicit affective attitude has a stronger predictive power on stereotype than the other way around, the result of which may have more significance for girls.
Keywords: Gender stereotype; Attitude towards science; Secondary school student; Attitudes 
Author: Laurence Maurinesa

Abstract
This particular study is part of a research programme on the difficulties encountered by students when learning about wave phenomena in a three-dimensional medium in the absence or presence of obstacles. It focuses on how students reason in situations in which wave optics need to be used: diffraction of light by an aperture, imaging in the presence of diffraction, and coherent illumination imaging. Paper and pencil questionnaires were designed and two hundred French students (aged 19-23) were questioned after lessons on wave optics. Tendencies towards geometrical reasoning are shown to recur. Students reason at a macroscopic level, following the rays of the incident light, instead of reasoning at an elementary waves level in using the phase concept and the Huygens-Fresnel principle. Consequently, for them, the image of a point source located at infinity is behind the image focus plane of the lens when diffraction has to be considered. Moreover, it is not possible to have the image of the source and of an illuminated diaphragm behind one lens: these images cannot exist simultaneously or are merged. Some remarks are made on the way waves are taught in France and some pedagogical implications are discussed.
Keywords: Student; University; Reasoning; Qualitative research; Physics education; Wave optics; Diffraction; Coherent images 
Author: Minna Salminen-Karlssona

Abstract
This article describes the Swedish initiative of municipal technology centres from a gender point of view. These centres provide after-school technology education for children aged 6-16. By means of an ethnographic study, the effects of the use of single-sex groups in increasing the interest of girls and boys in technical activities have been studied at one of the centres. The importance of the gender of the teacher relative to the gender of the pupils is also considered. The results show that single-sex groups meant different things to boys and girls, and that the teachers' way of “doing” femininity and masculinity, respectively, in the different groups was of some importance. The results indicate that single-sex groups alone do not break down gender barriers. However, there are lessons to be learnt from a leisure-time activity that provides a different setting from that of single-sex science education in ordinary schooling
Authors: Pavol Prokopa; Andrea Tolaroviccaronovaacuteb; Anne M. Camerikc; Viera Peterkovaacuteb

Abstract
Spiders are traditionally considered to be among the least popular of animals. Current evidence suggests that a negative attitude towards spiders could be influenced by both cultural and evolutionary pressures. Some researchers suggest that science education activities could positively influence students' perceptions of spiders. Their evidence is, however, ambivalent. Using a five-point score Likert-type questionnaire in which the items were developed in a similar way to four of Kellert's categories of attitude (scientistic, negativistic, naturalistic, and ecologistic) towards invertebrates, we compared the level of knowledge of and attitudes towards spiders of high school students from two countries, Slovakia (n = 354) and South Africa (n = 382). The students represented different cultures and followed dissimilar science education curricula. Only among the Slovakian students there was a statistically significant but low correlation between knowledge and attitude (r = 0.30). The South African students scored higher in the categories of scientistic, naturalistic, and ecologistic attitudes. Comparison of attitude towards spiders of indigenous Africans from coeducational Catholic schools revealed that South African students have greater fear of spiders than Slovakian students, supporting the biological preparedness hypothesis. This hypothesis predicts a greater fear of spiders in South Africa than in Europe since several South African spiders possess venoms that are dangerous to humans. The results of this study are discussed from science education, cultural, and evolutionary perspectives.
Keywords: Attitudes; Biological preparedness; Cross-cultural comparison; Ecology education; Spiders; Student; Fear 
Authors: Ying-Tien Wua; Chin-Chung Tsaib

Abstract
Recently, the significance of learners' informal reasoning on socio-scientific issues has received increasing attention among science educators. To gain deeper insights into this important issue, an integrated analytic framework was developed in this study. With this framework, 71 Grade 10 students' informal reasoning about nuclear energy usage was explored qualitatively and quantitatively. It was found that the students in this study tended to process reasoning from multiple perspectives, and most of them were prone to make evidence-based decisions. However, less than 40% of the participants were able to construct rebuttals against counter-arguments. It was also revealed that students' abundant usage of supportive arguments did not guarantee for their counter-argument construction as well as rebuttal construction, but their usage of counter-arguments might act as precursors to their construction of rebuttals. In addition, learners' usage of multiple reasoning modes might help them propose more arguments and, in particular, generate more counter-arguments, which may act as precursors to their rebuttal construction. This study also showed evidence that students' scientific knowledge that might be mainly acquired from school science instruction could be viewed as important foundation for better informal reasoning and decision-making on socio-scientific issues.
Authors: Georgios Tsaparlisa; Georgios Papaphotisa

Abstract
This study tested for deep understanding and critical thinking about basic quantum chemical concepts taught at 12th grade (age 17-18). Our aim was to achieve conceptual change in students. A quantitative study was conducted first (n = 125), and following this 23 selected students took part in semi-structured interviews either individually or in small groups that were allowed to interact under the coordination of the investigators. The planetary Bohr model was strongly favoured, while the probabilistic nature of the orbital concept was absent from many students' minds. Other students held a hybrid model. In some cases, students did not accept that the electron cloud provides a picture of the atom. Many students had not understood the fundamental nature of the uncertainty principle. Finally, the mathematical description of the formation of molecular orbitals caused problems in the case of destructive (antibonding) overlap of atomic orbitals. Our approach to conceptual change employed active and cooperative forms of learning, which are consistent with social-cultural constructivism and with Vygotsky's zone of proximal development. It proved effective in a number of cases, and ineffective in others. The variation in students' approaches was explained on the basis of Ausubel's theory about meaningful and rote learning and of the ability to employ higher-order cognitive skills. Nevertheless, the methodology used can be useful for all students, irrespective of their behaviour in traditional written examinations.
Authors: Oscar E. Tamayo Alzatea; Neus Sanmartiacute Puigb

Abstract
We address the question “how does conceptual change take place in the science classroom?” from the perspective of Giere's cognitive science model. The research work involved a group of 21 students from the first year of the Spanish “Bachillerato” or upper secondary school (17 year olds) in a public high school in Barcelona. Once the students' mental representations about respiration were known, the study of their evolution started. Academic performance of students was chosen as the criterion to select the subjects: one with high academic performance, two with medium academic performance, and one with low academic performance. The analysis refers to two of the cases that were analyzed in depth: one with high academic performance and the other with low academic performance. The aim of selecting only these two cases was to achieve a better contrast among them. We found that, in some subjects, there was co-existence of various stable and useful explicative models, with reference to different situations. Other students used undifferentiated sets of ideas instead of explicative models; they are students who show little critical and abstractive capacity. In our study, those students who used models drew more coherent and cohesive explanations, and those models were used more specifically according to the various contexts. We observed a gradual process of conceptual evolution, in which, differentiation among the models that constitute the model family, as well as internal enrichment of each of those specific models took place at the same time. From this perspective, conceptual evolution is not reached by the juxtaposition of ideas belonging to different explicative models, but by the identification of similarities and differences among the different models that attempt to explain a given reality.
Keywords: Academic Performance; Barcelona; Cognitive Science Model; Conceptual Change
Authors: Vaille Dawsona; Grady Jane Venvilleb

Abstract
The aim of this research was to explore Australian high-school students' argumentation and informal reasoning about biotechnology. Data were obtained from semi-structured interviews with 10 Year-8 students (12-13 years old), 14 Year-10 students (14-15 years old) and 6 Year-12 students (16-17 years old) from six metropolitan high schools in Perth, Western Australia. The transcripts were analysed using both Toulmin's argumentation pattern and informal reasoning patterns (rational, emotive, and intuitive) as frameworks. The notion of scientific literacy was used as the basis of the theoretical framework to examine the data. Most students used no data or only simple data to justify their claims. Students of all year groups used intuitive and emotive informal reasoning more frequently than rational. Rational informal reasoning was associated with more sophisticated arguments.
Authors: Graccedila S. Carvalhoa; Rui Silvaa; Pierre Cleacutementb

Abstract
Our previous studies have shown that Portuguese primary school pupils and teachers have three main difficulties in the representation of the digestion process: the sequence of the digestive tract, blood absorption, and the relationship of the digestive function with other human functions. In this study we analysed the topic of digestion in 63 Portuguese textbooks (1920-2005). In general, the textual explanation of the digestive process (including reference to blood absorption) is clear, but “confusion” in images is persistent throughout the period studied. To demonstrate the influence of the period of the Portuguese dictatorship (1926-1974), a brief comparison with French textbooks (which developed during the same period with the aim of presenting clearer representations of the digestive tract) was carried out. Results suggest that inadequate images in textbooks may be the main didactic obstacle to accurate learning of the digestive function.
Keywords: Digestion; Historical Analysis; Portuguese Primary School; Textbooks 
Authors: Ceacutecile de Hossona; Wanda Kaminskia

Abstract
This paper describes the development, use, and analysis, of an educational tool inspired by the history of the optical mechanism of vision. We investigated 12-year-old students' reasoning about vision. Most of them explain it as the result of something coming either from the object or from the eye. Moreover, some of them think that light penetrates the eye only when they are dazzled. Such ideas can be found in the ancient and medieval history of science. In particular, the Ancients disagreed about the direction of vision until Alhazen opened the way to a consensus, arguing in the 11th century that light could be a stimulus for the eye. Our tool, a short drama entitled “Dialogue on the Ways that Vision Operates”, refers to those historical elements, especially to the controversy over the direction of vision and Alhazen's ideas about light. This text was integrated in a teaching-learning sequence and experimented with six pairs of students aged 12-13. The analysis of this teaching-learning sequence shows that the learning process can take advantage of the opportunity offered to the students to identify themselves with the scientists portrayed in the drama.
Keywords: Historical Controversy; Optics; Vision 
Authors: Ruurd Taconisa; Ursula Kesselsb

Abstract
In this paper we propose that the unpopularity of science in many industrialised countries is largely due to the gap between the subculture of science, on the one hand, and students' self-image, on the other. We conducted a study based on the self-to-prototype matching theory, testing whether the perceived mismatch between the typical representative of the science culture (the science prototype) and students' self-image is linked to not choosing science as a major. Fifty-four Dutch ninth-grade students currently choosing their subject majors (so-called profiles) completed a Dutch version of a questionnaire previously designed by Hannover and Kessels, which measures students' perceptions of typical peers favouring different school subjects (prototypes for physics, biology, economics, languages) and students' self-image. Students chose a profile to the extent that they conceived of themselves as similar to the typical peer who likes the key subject of that profile. Fifty per cent of variance was explained when using an aggregated science versus humanities distance score and predicting whether a student had chosen a science-related or a humanities-related profile. A comparison of Dutch students' description of the physics prototype with the German data from Hannover and Kessels revealed similar prototypes in both countries. The traits ascribed to the physics prototype were in line with science-related values and the culture of science as described by Merton and Traweek, for example. The relevance of the perceived fit of the culture of science to students' selves for academic choices is discussed.
Authors: Kim A. Kastensab; Shruti Agrawala; Lynn S. Libenc

Abstract
Geologists and undergraduate students observed eight artificial “rock outcrops” in a realistically scaled field area, and then tried to envision a geological structure that might plausibly be formed by the layered rocks in the set of outcrops. Students were videotaped as they selected which of fourteen 3-D models they thought best represented the geological structure and then explained their choice. The focus of this paper is on how students reasoned from observations to inferences. Students used observations of outcrops' location, steepness (dip), orientation (strike), stratigraphy, and placement relative to topography to infer whether the structure was convex or concave, deep or shallow, symmetrical or asymmetrical, open or closed, and elongate or circular. On average, science majors produced more than twice as many evidence-supported claims than did non-science majors. Science majors produced more valid lines of reasoning than did non-science majors, and students who selected a correct model produced more valid lines of reasoning than students who selected an erroneous model. Apparent challenges included identifying appropriate observational evidence, combining multiple lines of reasoning, and understanding the scale relationship between candidate models and the full-scale structure.
Keywords: Argumentation; Earth science education; Geology; Spatial learning; Visual evidence 
Author: Esme Bridget Glauerta

Abstract
This paper reports findings from a study of young children's views about electric circuits. Twenty-eight children aged 5 and 6 years were interviewed. They were shown examples of circuits and asked to predict whether they would work and explain why. They were then invited to try out some of the circuit examples or make circuits of their own choosing. Children expressed a variety of views about the connections needed in a circuit, offered different kinds of explanation and showed differing levels of competence in circuit making. The range of responses showed similarities to those of older students found in previous research. The relationship between practical competence, prediction, and explanation was not straightforward. For example, children with similar levels of practical competence made different predictions or offered different kinds of explanation. Analysis of the circuits children chose to construct suggested influences of existing competence and knowledge. In particular, some children tested out circuit examples about which they had been unsure during the interview, while others explored circuit connections more generally. Findings underline the importance of drawing on a variety of evidence in assessing young children's understandings of electric circuits. They indicate that young children may offer views about electric circuits not unlike those of older children and adults with similar experience. Finally, there was some suggestion that the interview procedure may have acted as an instructive stimulus in helping children to become more conscious of their own views and reflect on their thinking in the light of further evidence.
Author: Phil Seok Oha

Abstract
The purpose of this study was to find how the teacher could help students formulate scientific hypotheses. Data came from two microteaching episodes in which two groups of pre-service secondary science teachers taught high school students as they were engaged in abductive inquiry activities of earth science. Multiple data sources including video recordings of the microteaching, the pre-service teachers' oral and written reports, student worksheets, and instructional materials were examined. The analysis identified four categories of teaching strategies which could be used by science teachers to help students in hypothesis-generating inquiry. These included: (1) expanding and activating students' background knowledge, (2) providing analogies, (3) questioning, and (4) encouraging students to use alternative forms of representation. Implications for science education as well as for further research are suggested.
Keywords: Earth science education; Inquiry-based teaching; Science education; Hypothesis; Abduction; Abductive inquiry 
Authors: Telle Katriina Hailikaria; Anne Nevgia 

Abstract
This study explores the relationship between different types of prior knowledge and student achievement in an introductory chemistry course. Student achievement was regarded as the pace of completing the course as well as the final grade. A model of prior knowledge is proposed; this distinguishes between different types of prior knowledge and suggests how different types of prior knowledge should be assessed. The participants were 193 chemistry students from the University of Helsinki. Their prior knowledge was assessed with a questionnaire based on the prior knowledge model. The results indicate that the quality of prior knowledge is clearly reflected in the pace of completing the course and in the tendency to drop out of the course. Students who had deeper-level prior knowledge were more likely to complete the course in the pre-scheduled time and to get higher final grades, whereas students who performed lower in the prior knowledge test were more likely to either drop out or did not complete the course in pre-scheduled time. The study implies that making a distinction between different types of prior knowledge is a potential way to identify students who are in need of more support.
Keywords: Assessment; Chemistry education; Prior knowledge; Student achievement 
Authors: HyeRan Parka; Samia Khanb; Stephen Petrinab
Please click here to view an erratum relating to this article


Abstract
The Seventh School Curriculum Reform in Korea was introduced in 2000 to prepare school-aged Koreans for an information and knowledge-based society. The reform effort emphasises information and communication technology (ICT) in the K-12 curriculum and a learner-centred pedagogy. This study examines the contributions of ICT, specifically, computer-assisted instruction (CAI), in Korean science classrooms. A sample of 234 Korean middle school students was categorised into five achievement groups. Data were collected from pre- and post-achievement test scores and pre- and post-questionnaires for attitudes toward science, future courses, and career aspirations in science. Findings include: (1) the lowest achievement group showed the most significant improvement after CAI (p=.000); (2) an improvement in student achievement in science significantly influenced students' attitudes toward science (p=.019), future course selections, and career aspirations related to science (p=.000); and (3) boys tended to perform better with CAI than girls. This research provides evidence that CAI has the potential to help lower achieving students in Korean science classes and may encourage enrolment in science.
Authors: Eun Jung Parka; Gregory Lighta

Abstract
Atomic theory or the nature of matter is a principal concept in science and science education. This has, however, been complicated by the difficulty students have in learning the concept and the subsequent construction of many alternative models. To understand better the conceptual barriers to learning atomic structure, this study explores the troublesome nature of this fundamental scientific concept. In order to illustrate the distinction of student understanding by threshold barriers, this study chose three particularly high-achieving students from an original interview sample of 20 students who were selected from an introductory college chemistry course. The pre-course and post-course interview responses were examined and compared in detail. This study considers the concepts of 'probability' and 'energy quantization' to both describe the structure of the threshold of understanding students' need to negotiate in their construction of the target model of atomic structure. In this respect, this study suggests atomic structure as a possible threshold concept for further study in science. Identifying the nature and structure of the threshold of understanding confronting students, and analyzing the troublesomeness of atomic structure, provides valuable information for understanding student learning difficulties, and insight into how they may be addressed.
Author: Manabu Sumidaa 

Abstract
Children with mild developmental disorders sometimes show giftedness. In this study, an original checklist was developed to identify gifted characteristics specific to science learning among twice-exceptional primary school children in Japan. The checklist consisted of 60 items on Attitudes, Thinking, Skills, and Knowledge/Understanding. A total of 86 children from eight primary schools in an urban area in Japan, 50% of whom had Learning Disabilities (LD), Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and/or High-functioning Autism (HA), were observed using the checklist. Factor analysis revealed three factors. A cluster analysis with the subscale points of each factor identified three “gifted styles” in science. These were: (1) Spontaneous Style; (2) Expert Style; and (3) Solid Style. LD/ADHD/HA children characteristically displayed a Spontaneous Style while the non- LD/ADHD/HA children were characterized by the Solid Style. In both subject groups, the number of Expert Style children was the lowest with no significant difference in their numbers. Based on the results of this research, this paper discusses the implications of the findings for teaching science to twice-exceptional children and argues the benefits of inclusive science education for children with and without mild developmental disorders.
Keywords: Gifted education; Learning styles; Primary school; Science education 
Author: Deborah Chetcutia

Abstract
Teachers bring with them into the science classrooms their own gendered identitities and their views and perceptions about how boys and girls learn and achieve in science. This paper tries to explore the way in which 14 Maltese science teachers use their own 'personal practical knowledge' to identify their views about gender and science and to create their own individual gender-inclusive pedagogy. The study suggests that the science teachers focus more on the individuality of students and on the social and cultural background of the students in their classrooms rather than on gender. The teachers try to develop pedagogies and assessment practices that take into consideration the personal constructs of individual learners. The ideas for such a gender-inclusive pedagogy emerge from their common-sense experience in the classroom and their training as teachers, and are closely interrelated to current ideas of social constructivism.
Authors: Emine Adadana; Karen E. Irvingb; Kathy C. Trundleb

Abstract
This quasi-experimental study examined 42 high school introductory chemistry students' conceptual understandings of the particulate nature of matter (PNM) before and immediately after instruction. Two groups of students, who were taught by the same teacher, received one of two possible instructional interventions: Reform-Based Teaching (RBT) or Reform-Based Teaching with Multiple Representations (RBTw/MR). The RBTw/MR instruction differed from the RBT instruction in terms of the frequency of using multiple representations (visual, textual, oral) in relationship to the macroscopic phenomenon and the likely actions occurring at the submicroscopic level. Qualitative research methods, including open-ended questionnaires and interviews, were used to investigate and describe participants' conceptual understandings of the PNM over time. The findings indicated that before instruction all participants held a range of alternative conceptions about the aspects of the PNM. Post-instruction findings indicate that the RBTw/MR instruction was more efficacious in promoting a scientific understanding of the PNM than was the instruction without multiple representations.
Authors: Luciana Danussoa; Italo Testab; Matilde Vicentinia

Abstract
Evidence of the role of models in the teaching/learning process in science education is well documented in literature. A crucial role in this process is played by teachers. It is therefore important to design teacher education intervention focused on models and modelling. Although recognized as important by many authors, few attempts have been carried out and with a limited success. This paper reports of a three-year-long study whose aims can be summarized as follows: to investigate the knowledge of scientific models and modelling of physics, mathematics, and engineering prospective teachers; to explore the effectiveness of a research-based teacher education intervention aimed at improving knowledge about scientific models and modelling; to inspect the effects of a refinement process of the intervention based on a design-trial-redesign cycle. About 400 prospective teachers from two Italian universities were involved in the study. The results show that the knowledge about models and modelling of prospective teachers after the four- or five-year degree diploma is still rather poor and confused. On the other hand, the implementation results support the effectiveness of the designed intervention and of the refinement process. Implications which may give a contribution to more general research problems related to models and modelling in science education are also discussed.
Keywords: Physics education; Pre-service teacher knowledge; Qualitative research; Models; Prospective teachers' education; Teachers' views 
Authors: Christian Ostermeiera; Manfred Prenzela; Reinders Duita

Abstract
This article presents an example of teacher professional development based on a perspective of situated learning and implemented on a large scale. We consider teacher professional development from three perspectives. First, teacher professional development is a key factor in improving classroom instruction. Second, teacher professional development is a vehicle for conveying knowledge from research into classrooms. Third, teacher professional development is an object of research itself. A German project to improve science and mathematics teaching (SINUS)—comprising 180 schools in a pilot-phase and more than 1,700 schools in a second phase of scaling-up—serves as an example of this framework for teacher professional development. Using these three views we describe the foundations of the programme and provide a brief account of the programme's background and its conception. We show how the central elements of the programme (11 modules) are based on an in-depth analysis of science and mathematics education, as well as how those modules structure the professional development of the teachers. Finally, we provide an overview of the evaluation of the programme. A large-scale comparison between SINUS schools and a representative sample of German schools tested in PISA 2003 showed positive effects of the programme with regard to students' interest and motivation as well as competencies in science and mathematics. In the light of these findings, we argue that teachers' learning related to daily pedagogical challenges in the classroom should be central to professional development initiatives.
Authors: Cheryl L. Blalocka; Michael J. Lichtensteina; Steven Owena; Linda Pruskia; Carolyn Marshalla; MaryAnne Toepperweina

Abstract
The purpose of this review is to present a comprehensive evaluation of science attitude instruments based on published psychometric evidence. A multitude of instruments have been used through the years and some have been linked to career choice and school performance. Substantiating such associations is of paramount importance if researchers wish to influence educational policy. However, associations are reduced, or hard to discover, if instruments have weak psychometric properties. Several databases were searched for peer-reviewed articles that discussed the development and use of science attitude instruments. Instruments were grouped into the following categories: attitudes toward science, scientific attitudes, nature of science, scientific career interests, and other. A data abstraction and scoring rubric was used to summarize and evaluate 150 published articles that spanned 66 instruments. Most instruments had single study usage and showed an absence of psychometric evidence. This review demonstrated that there are few instruments available with the necessary psychometric data to merit recommendation. The review quantifies the current state of the research regarding the measurement of science attitude in students; the results should elicit further discussion and encourage more rigorous analyses of instruments. The findings may assist other researchers to select an instrument and alert them to its strengths and weaknesses. This review points the way forward for research in this field. Instruments already in existence should be used in repeat studies, and reliability and validity evidence should be collected and shared.
Author: Bing Weia

Abstract
This paper is about the process of developing integrated science curricula at junior secondary schools in the Peoples' Republic of China in the past 20 years. The history has witnessed two stages of developing integrated science curricula during this period in China: one was at the provincial level in the 1980s/1990s, while the other was at the national level in the new millennium. Using the concept of curriculum emphases, this paper purported to investigate the advocated forms of integration and the reasons and causes behind them in integrated science curriculum during the period under study. Data were collected from two sources: curriculum documents related to the integrated science curricula, and interviews with key informants who were involved in designing the official documents of this kind of science curriculum. Two models of integration have been identified from the two stages respectively: one is 'integration within science subjects', while the other 'integration beyond science subjects'. The social-political roots of the two models of integration have been traced. To meet the goal of scientific literacy, it is suggested in the final part of this paper that the model of 'integration within science subjects' should be abandoned while the model of 'integration beyond science subjects' should be advocated in the process of developing integrated science curriculum.
Authors: Markku Kaumlpylaumla; Jussi-Pekka Heikkinenb; Tuula Asuntaa

Abstract
The aim of the research was to investigate the effect of the amount and quality of content knowledge on pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). The biological content photosynthesis and plant growth was used as an example. The research sample consisted of 10 primary and 10 secondary (biology) teacher students. Questionnaires, lesson preparation task and an interview were used to collect data. Primary student-teachers' were not aware of students' conceptual difficulties and had problems in choosing the most important content. Neither of the groups had knowledge on suitable experiments and demonstrations, which indicates that PCK should be explicitly taught. The usefulness of PCK and some related constructs in initial teacher training is discussed.
Authors: Franz-Josef Scharfenberga; Franz X. Bognera

Abstract
Our research objective focused on monitoring students' mental effort and cognitive achievement to unveil potential effects of an instructional change in an out-of-school laboratory offering gene technology modules. Altogether, 231 students (12th graders) attended our day-long hands-on module. Within a quasi-experimental design, a treatment group followed the newly developed two-step approach derived from cognitive load theory while a control group applied experimentation in a conventional one-step mode. The difference consisted of additional focused discussions combined with noting students' ideas (Step 1) prior to starting any experimental procedure (Step 2). We monitored mental effort (nine times during the teaching unit) and cognitive achievement (in a pre-post-design with follow-up test). The treatment demonstrated a change in instructional efficiency (by combining mental effort and cognitive achievement data), especially for intrinsically high-loaded students. Conclusions for optimizing individual cognitive load in science teaching were drawn.
Keywords: Science education; Cognitive load theory; Out-reach learning; Hands-on experiments 
Author: Dennis William Smithenrya

Abstract
The case study presented in this paper examines the work of one high school chemistry teacher who has integrated guided inquiry into a yearlong, traditional curricular framework in ways that take into account the constraints and realities of her classroom. The study's findings suggest (1) the extent and frequency to which teachers can realistically integrate guided inquiry into existing science curricula, (2) the manner in which teachers can make effective transitions into and out of a guided inquiry, and (3) the way in which teachers can set an overarching goal to bring a driving purpose to all of the guided inquiries that the students experience. Based on the insights gained from the current case study, an argument is made that researchers should examine the practice of other teachers (especially in the common subjects of biology, chemistry, and physics) who have integrated guided inquiry into the fabric of their curricula. By doing so, a library of case studies can be built that will provide science teachers with new ideas on how inquiry can be holistically and productively integrated into yearlong traditional curricular frameworks.
Keywords: Chemistry education; Curriculum; Inquiry-based teaching; Classroom; Teacher actions 
Authors: Zhihui Fanga; Linda Lammea; Rose Pringlea; Jennifer Patricka; Jennifer Sandersb; Courtney Zmachc; Sara Charbonnetd; Melissa Henkeld

Abstract
Recent calls for border crossing between reading and science have heightened the need to support science teachers in integrating reading into science and to verify the robustness of this approach in the context of inquiry-based science. In this paper, we share what we did, found, and learned in a collaborative project in which a team of university-based reading educators and school-based science teachers worked together to infuse reading strategy instruction and quality science trade books into inquiry-based sixth-grade science classrooms. We suggest that infusing reading into middle school science enhances science teaching and learning, but is a complex, multifaceted undertaking.
Authors: Valeacuterie Muniera; Helene Merlea

Abstract
The present study takes an interdisciplinary mathematics-physics approach to the acquisition of the concept of angle by children in Grades 3-5. This paper first presents the theoretical framework we developed, then we analyse the concept of angle and the difficulties pupils have with it. Finally, we report three experimental physics-based teaching sequences tested in three classrooms. We showed that at the end of each teaching sequence the pupils had a good grasp of the concept of angle, they had truly appropriated the physics knowledge at play, and many pupils are enable to successfully grasp new physics situations in which the angle plays a highly meaningful role. Using a physics framework to introduce angles in problem situations is then pertinent: by interrelating different spaces, pupils were able to acquire skills in the domains of mathematics, physics, and modelling. In conclusion, we discuss the respective merits of each problem situation proposed.
Authors: Mojca Juriscaroneviccaron; Sascarona A. Glazcaronar; Cveta Razdevscaronek Puccaronko; Iztok Devetak

Abstract
Our experience suggests that pre-service primary school teachers have problems with learning science, especially chemistry, and that this negative attitude towards science influences their future teaching. On that premise, the purpose of the study was to determine the level of the pre-service primary school teachers' intrinsic motivation for learning science in relation to some other subjects. The focus of the research was on the intrinsic motivation for learning chemistry and its correlation to students' academic achievements in chemistry. The study included 140 first-year pre-service primary school teachers who completed the questionnaire about their intrinsic motivation and a knowledge test about general chemistry concepts. Their results show that students are more or less equally motivated for chemistry as for any other subject, but that the intrinsic motivation plummets as the level of abstraction in individual subjects, such as chemistry and mathematics, increases. It has been similarly established that of the three levels of chemistry learning—namely, macroscopic, submicroscopic, and symbolic—students were the least motivated to study concepts at the symbolic level. The correlation between the level of motivation and the knowledge test results is not strong; nevertheless, it is statistically significant, while the correlation between motivation and the mark achieved in chemistry is statistically not significant. The research results will assist us in our future search for more effective approaches to motivating students to study science. They can also be of assistance in encouraging students to devise educational strategies that will help them motivate their own students for science learning.
Authors: Antonio Garciacutea-Carmonaa; Ana Maria Criadob

Abstract
The present article presents a didactic proposal oriented to teaching notions of semiconductor physics in secondary education. The methods and the results of a pilot study designed to analyse the effectiveness of a teaching sequence on the topic are also described. The subjects were 60 students, aged 14-15 years, of a secondary school in Seville, Spain. The levels of knowledge acquired by the students were evaluated by means of a test and personal interviews, which we also used to detect the most frequent obstacles they encountered against learning. Also, we employed personal interviews and analysis of the students' notebooks to evaluate their attitudes towards semiconductor physics and its learning, and to evaluate the degree to which the teaching sequence fosters cooperative learning and the self-regulation of learning. The results indicated that the students in general acquired ideas and reasoning in the appropriate line, although with some mistakes or inaccuracies with respect to scientific conceptions, and acquired positive attitudes towards the learning of semiconductor physics, with a high degree of motivation during the teaching-learning process. The conclusion is that it is possible to initiate teaching the basic notions of semiconductor physics in secondary education, although it is necessary to continue going deeper into the topic with new research. As a proposal for improvement in future actions, we formulate new objectives oriented at overcoming the students' commonest obstacles against learning with respect to the topic.
Authors: Huey-Por Changa; Jun-Yi Chenb; Chorng-Jee Guoc; Chung-Chih Chend; Ching-Yi Change; Shean-Huei Linf; Wei-Jou Suf; Kuen-Der Laing; Shun-Yi Hsua; Jang-Long Lina; Chin-Chang Chena; Yi-Ting Chenga; Loung-Shyi Wangf; Yaw-Teng Tsengf

Abstract
The purpose of this 4-year research study was to develop paper-and-pencil tests that could be administered to a wide range of students in order to establish a database about students' physics conceptions from elementary school to high school levels in Taiwan. The students' misconceptions of mechanics, electricity and magnetism, heat, sound and wave, and optics were diagnosed. In the beginning of this study, we extensively reviewed the research literature on related conceptions. With the use of concept maps and related propositional statements, we also interviewed some students to find out their conceptual understanding of the selected key concepts. These data provided sufficient information about students' thoughts of several concepts. Through a process of developing two-tier test items, nine versions of physics questionnaires were obtained. More than 13,000 students were randomly sampled in a national survey. After data analysis, the results indicated that students' misconceptions in physics such as the image formed by lenses and mirrors and the torque and rotational motion were consistent with their ages. However, in some cases, such as the current in an electric circuit, students' understandings of concepts did not improve with age.
Keywords: Misconception; Physics conception
Authors: Chung-Hsien Tsenga; Hsiao-Lin Tuana; Chi-Chin Chinb

Abstract
This study examines the relationship between the learning motivation and conceptual change of 127 eighth graders, after they have learned the acid, base, and salt concept in a digital learning context, designed according to the dual-situated learning model (DSLM). Two instruments—the students' motivation towards science learning (SMTSL) questionnaire and the acid-base-salt concept diagnostic test (CDT)—were used in the study. The questionnaire and the test were given to students in pre-test, post-test, and delayed post-test. Based on their motivation questionnaire scores, 18 students were selected from various scoring ranges for semi-structural interviews. Results showed that, after experiencing DSLM digital learning, students' post-CDT and delay-CDT scores were significantly higher than pre-CDT scores (p < 0.001, p < 0.01). Furthermore, Pearson correlation analysis indicated that students' conceptual change (ΔCDT) was significantly correlated with motivational factors such as self-efficacy (SE), active learning strategy (ALS), science learning value (SLV), achievement goal (AG), and learning environment stimulation (LES) (p < 0.05). Interviews also supported students' motivational correlation to ΔCDT, particularly for SE, ALS, and AG.
Keywords: Chemistry education; Conceptual change; Digital instruction; Learning motivation 
Authors: Ann Childsa; Jane McNicholla

Abstract
A previous study highlighted the perception among secondary science teachers that they faced considerable challenges to their pedagogical practice when teaching unfamiliar areas of the curriculum; for example, when teaching out of subject specialism. One of the major challenges cited by the teachers was being able to give appropriate and effective science teaching explanations in the classroom. Since talking in order to explain science is at the centre of what science teachers do, this concern is a significant one for teacher educators. This article considers some of the methodological issues about how to investigate the relationship between teachers' subject content knowledge and their pedagogical practice. The research outlined focuses on a single science teacher's practice in giving science teaching explanations when teaching in and out of subject specialism. Although the findings from a single case are of limited value in terms of generalisability, this study adds to the discussion about future research into the relationship between teachers' professional knowledge bases and their pedagogical practices.
Authors: Carolyn Yvonne Haslama; Richard Joseph Hamiltona

Abstract
This study investigated the effects of integrated illustrations on understanding instructions for practical work in science. Ninety-six secondary school students who were unfamiliar with the target content knowledge and practical equipment took part. The students were divided into two conditions: (1) modified instructions containing integrated text and illustrations, and (2) conventional instructions containing text only. Modified instructions produced significantly higher levels of performance on task, lower time to completion and perceived cognitive load and task difficulty, higher relative efficiency score, and higher post-test scores than the conventional instructions. When learners are inexperienced and the information is complex, the results suggest that physically integrating mutually referring sources of information reduces cognitive load, and therefore makes practical work instructions easier to understand.
Keywords: Learning; Practical work; Secondary school; Cognitive Load Theory 
Author: Richard Bearea

Abstract
The Faulkes Telescope Project and its educational aims are briefly summarised. Research to evaluate its impact in inspiring excitement and interest among students is described. The Faulkes Telescope in Hawaii was used to provide images for assessed coursework based on two of the Faulkes “education/research” projects on galaxies. Students' attitudes to various aspects of using the telescope and to the two galaxy projects were obtained using a questionnaire and free-response comments. The students were found to be enthusiastic about all aspects of the telescope and the idea of carrying out serious science investigations based on the images that they had obtained.
Keywords: Faulkes Telescope Project; Interest in Science; Investigative Projects 
Author: Colleen Thelma Downsa

Abstract
A life sciences undergraduate apprenticeship initiative was run during the vacations at a South African university. In particular, the initiative aimed to increase the number of students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Annually 12-18 undergraduate biology students were apprenticed to various institutions during the January and July vacations from 2005 to 2007. This was to develop their skills and interests in the biological sciences, particularly in biocontrol and entomology. Results suggest that this “grassroots” approach increased the number of Black and female students in the life sciences. In particular, it developed their knowledge of the discipline of science and of how it progresses. For most students it enthused and motivated them in the pursuit of their studies and in considering postgraduate research. Students benefited socially from the interactions with researchers and staff, and learnt the protocols of research institutions. Economically most students benefited as they had financial loans for their studies, and the additional monies assisted them in meeting some of the payments. It is proposed that this undergraduate apprenticeship be used as a model for human capacity development at an undergraduate level that can be adopted in the other sciences and universities. This provides an alternative to the current South African National Research Foundation model, a top-down approach, that is aimed at recruiting Black and female students at the postgraduate level.
Keywords: Biology education; Learning environment; Practical work; University; Vocational education 
Authors: Dennis Kubaskoa; M. Gail Jonesb; Thomas Tretterc; Thomas Andred

Abstract
This study compared students' investigations with an atomic force microscope and viruses in real-time synchronous and asynchronous learning environments. Student interactions with scientists (live videoconference versus email) were examined to see whether communication patterns were different for the different modes of instruction. Students' knowledge of viruses, microscopy, and nanoscale science was compared for asynchronous (n = 44) and synchronous treatments (n = 41). Eight teams of four students were video-recorded and student discourse was analyzed. Data sources included students' questions, pre-instruction and post-instruction knowledge assessments, and written descriptions of the investigations. Results showed that students in the asynchronous group asked significantly more inquiry and interpretation questions of scientists and fewer questions about the scientists than students in the synchronous group. Both groups showed significant gains in knowledge of virus types and morphology. Students in the asynchronous group made significantly more written notations about what they learned from the investigations than students in the synchronous group.
Authors: Ji Shena; Jere Confreyb

Abstract
Understanding frames of reference is critical in describing planetary motion and learning astronomy. Historically, the geocentric and heliocentric models were defended and advocated against each other. Today, there are still many people who do not understand the relationship between the two models. This topic is not adequately treated in astronomy instruction and is unstudied in science education research. The present small-scale study suggests that many science teachers of K-8 hold alternative conceptions about the models of the solar system. Most of the 14 teachers in the study believed that the geocentric model should not be used in classroom instruction because they thought that it was wrong. It was found that they justified their knowledge claims by following common sense, authority, pragmatism, or relativism. Their long-held beliefs, lack of observational experience, and resistance in switching between two models made it difficult for them to have a deep understanding of the relationship of the two models. Specific teaching strategies addressing these learning difficulties on this topic are proposed.
Author: Barbara O'Byrnea

Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate how multimodal assessment tools enabled Grade 2 students to show knowledge and understanding of wolves. The research design was a case study across three years employing descriptive statistics to portray student knowledge and understanding associated with the use of each tool. The findings indicate that multimodal assessment tools enable second graders to express, refine, and extend thinking and knowledge about wolves. These results illustrate the need to examine the relationship between the properties of assessment tools and younger students' expression of scientific knowledge and understanding.
Author: Paringl J. Kirkeby Hansena

Abstract
The greenhouse effect and the effects of the ozone layer have been in the media and public focus for more than two decades. During the same period, Norwegian compulsory schools have had four national curricula. The two last-mentioned prescribe explicitly the two topics. Media and public discourse might have been sources of information causing informal learning among pupils. The point of departure for this questionnaire-based examination of the development of pupils' knowledge about the greenhouse effect and the effects of the ozone layer from 1989 to 2005 is the changing curricula and formal and informal learning. In 2005 the trends seem to be that more pupils confuse the greenhouse effect with the effects of the ozone layer. At the same time, specific knowledge about the greenhouse effect is improving. This article will discuss some possible causes for these trends, and give some recommendations for teaching the topics in accordance with the last national curriculum implemented in 2006.
Keywords: Curriculum; Environmental education; Misconception; Quantitative research; Science education 
Authors: Hye-Eun Chua; Eun Ah Leeb; Hee Ryung Kob; Dong Hee Shinb; Moon Nam Leeb; Byeong Mee Minb; Kyung Hee Kangb

Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate Korean children's environmental literacy levels and the variables that affect their environmental literacy. An instrument, the Environment Literacy Instrument for Korean Children (ELIKC), was developed that measures four different dimensions (knowledge, attitude, behaviour, and skills) using 69 items and 13 demographic variables. The ELIKC was administered to 969 Year 3 students from large cities, medium-sized cities, and rural areas. The students were given 80 min to answer the questions. Statistical analysis was performed on each of the scales that make up the ELIKC and a multivariate analysis of variance was performed to identify the variables that affect environmental literacy. Results indicate that the correlation between attitude and behaviour is the strongest while that between knowledge and behaviour is the weakest. Also, it was found that gender, parents' school background, and the source from where students obtain environmental information affect all categories of environmental literacy.
Keywords: Environmental Education; Environmental Literacy; Korea 
Authors: Shu-Nu Changa; Mei-Hung Chiub

Abstract
The purpose of this study is to explore how Lakatos' scientific research programmes might serve as a theoretical framework for representing and evaluating informal argumentation about socio-scientific issues. Seventy undergraduate science and non-science majors were asked to make written arguments about four socio-scientific issues. Our analysis showed that the science majors' informal arguments were significantly better than the non-science majors' arguments. In terms of the resources for supporting reasons, we find that personal experience and scientific belief are the two categories that are generated most often in both groups of the participants. Besides, science majors made significantly greater use of analogies, while non-science majors made significantly greater use of authority. In addition, both science majors and non-science majors had a harder time changing their arguments after participating in a group discussion. In the study of argumentation in science, scholars have often used Toulmin's framework of data, warrant, backing, qualifiers, claims, and rebuttal. Our work demonstrates that Lakatos' work is also a viable perspective, especially when warrant and backing are difficult to discern, and when students' arguments are resistant to change. Our use of Lakatos' framework highlights how the 'hard core' of students' arguments about socio-scientific issues does, indeed, seem to be protected by a 'protective belt' and, thus, is difficult to alter. From these insights, we make specific implications for further research and teaching.
Authors: Karina Adboa; Keith S. Taberb

Abstract
The results presented here derive from a longitudinal study of Swedish upper secondary science students' (16-19 years of age) developing understanding of key chemical concepts. The informants were 18 students from two different schools. The aim of the present study was to investigate the mental models of matter at the particulate level that learners develop. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews based around the students' own drawings of the atom, and of solids, liquids, and gases. The interview transcripts were analysed to identify patterns in the data that offer insight into aspects of student understanding. The findings are discussed in the specific curriculum context in Swedish schools. Results indicate that the teaching model of the atom (derived from Bohr's model) commonly presented by teachers and textbook authors in Sweden gives the students an image of a disproportionately large and immobile nucleus, emphasises a planetary model of the atom and gives rise to a chain of logic leading to immobility in the solid state and molecular breakdown during phase transitions. The findings indicate that changes in teaching approaches are required to better support learners in developing mental models that reflect the intended target knowledge.
Author: John K. Gilberta

Abstract
This Article does not have an abstract. 
Authors: Zahava Scherza; Liora Bialera; Bat-Sheva Eylona

Abstract
The study in this paper was carried out in the framework of an evidence-based continuous professional development (CPD) programme in which teachers documented evidence about their practice in a portfolio. The context of the CPD was related to the 'Learning Skills for Science' (LSS) programme, which advocates the incorporation of high-order learning skills and capabilities into science school curricula, in addition to content knowledge. The LSS comprises high-order scientific communication skills such as information retrieval, scientific reading, scientific writing, listening and observing, information representation, and knowledge presentation. The main goal was to study what can be learned from evidence-based portfolios about teachers' LSS practice. More specifically we studied the dimensions and levels of teachers' practice, the profiles of teachers' accomplishment, and their ability to present evidence about their practice. We analysed 12 teachers' portfolios (34 pieces of evidence) using a diagnostic tool that reflected the various dimensions of teachers' accomplishment in LSS practice: P: Perceptions of LSS instruction; M: Model of instruction; T: Using learning materials; A: Assessment; I: Influence in the school system; E: Evidence preparation. For each of these dimensions we identified a hierarchy of levels on a scale of 1-5. The diagnostic tool revealed diverse LSS multidimensional professional profiles which demonstrated strong and weak aspects in teachers' performance. We concluded that evidence-based portfolios about teachers' practice can serve as tools for assessment of teachers' accomplishment (for example, for accreditation purposes) and as an authentic resource for customising professional development programmes to the needs of individual teachers.
Authors: Poliana Flaacutevia Maiaa; Rosaacuteria Justib

Abstract
This paper presents and discusses students' learning process of chemical equilibrium from a modelling-based approach developed from the use of the 'Model of Modelling' diagram. The investigation was conducted in a regular classroom (students 14-15 years old) and aimed at discussing how modelling-based teaching can contribute to students learning about the main qualitative aspects concerning chemical equilibrium. The data (collected from the written material produced by the students and the video-recording of the classes) were organised in case studies for each group of students. The discussion supports the conclusion that elements from the 'Model of Modelling' diagram, as well as methodological aspects related to the teacher's action, influenced the students' learning process.
Authors: Kristy Lynn Halversona; Marcelle A. Siegela; Sharyn K. Freyermutha

Abstract
Decision making is influenced by multiple factors, especially when approaching controversial socio-scientific issues, such as stem cell research. In the present study, we used qualitative data from 132 college student papers in a biotechnology course to investigate how students made decisions about stem cell research issues. Students indicated their opinion about stem cell research topics and argued their stance using evidence they deemed relevant. We used NVivo7 software to develop categories, code student responses, and run queries. We identified a continuum of positions that students took regarding the support or opposition of stem cell research, and we found students used eight different perspectives as lenses to form their decisions: medical application, ethical, rights, economic, religious, personal anecdotes, political, or scientific. The most common perspective was 'medical application'. Most students relied upon multiple perspectives when making their decisions. We found that when students used multiple viewpoints, the perspectives were unequally valued, generally relying more on ethical perspectives. Scientific perspectives were not common. These findings have implications for improving instruction by focusing the curriculum toward integrating scientific perspectives with non-scientific perspectives held.
[[10_3215|3215]]
[[10_3214|3214]]
[[10_3213|3213]]
[[10_3212|3212]]
[[10_3211|3211]]
[[10_3210|3210]]
[[10_3209|3209]]
[[10_3208|3208]]
[[10_3207|3207]]
[[10_3206|3206]]
[[10_3205|3205]]
[[10_3204|3204]]
[[10_3203|3203]]
[[10_3202|3202]]
[[10_3201|3201]]
[[09_3118|3118]]
[[09_3117|3117]]
[[09_3116|3116]]
[[09_3115|3115]]
[[09_3114|3114]]
[[09_3113|3113]]
[[09_3112|3112]]
[[09_3111|3111]]
[[09_3110|3110]]
[[09_3109|3109]]
[[09_3108|3108]]
[[09_3107|3107]]
[[09_3106|3106]]
[[09_3105|3105]]
[[09_3104|3104]]
[[09_3103|3103]]
[[09_3102|3102]]
[[09_3101|3101]]
[[08_3015|3015]]
[[08_3014|3014]]
[[08_3013|3013]]
[[08_3012|3012]]
[[08_3011|3011]]
[[08_3010|3010]]
[[08_3009|3009]]
[[08_3008|3008]]
[[08_3007|3007]]
[[08_3006|3006]]
[[08_3005|3005]]
[[08_3004|3004]]
[[08_3003|3003]]
[[08_3002|3002]]
[[08_3001|3001]]
[[07_2915|2915]]
[[07_2914|2914]]
[[07_2913|2913]]
[[07_2912|2912]]
[[07_2911|2911]]
[[07_2910|2910]]
[[07_2909|2909]]
[[07_2908|2908]]
[[07_2907|2907]]
[[07_2906|2906]]
[[07_2905|2905]]
[[07_2904|2904]]
[[07_2903|2903]]
[[07_2902|2902]]
[[07_2901|2901]]

[[使用說明|GettingStarted]]


版本:<<version>>
Authors: Kenton Machinaa; Anu Gokhalea

Abstract
This study investigated attitude changes of 18-year-old first-year college students at a large state-operated institution in the USA during their initial semester in college. Attitudes of 375 students enrolled in a non-science first-year student seminar during the Fall of 2004 were measured, using a new instrument designed to focus on five attitude constructs especially relevant to female engagement with science and technology (S & T). The authors found that students whose seminar included visits with S & T professionals, plus at least four weeks of context-based S & T content, maintained modestly positive attitudes toward S & T. Students whose seminars included the science content but not the visits from professionals also maintained relatively positive attitudes, except that the females became less accepting of female participation in S & T. Notably, females enrolled in seminars that did not include any of these interventions declined significantly in all five attitudes toward S & T, even though 95% of these students were simultaneously enrolled in required introductory natural science courses. Thus, introducing context-based science content into the curriculum appears to be helpful in maintaining positive attitudes toward S & T in 18-year-old US female college students, while more traditional natural science pedagogy is associated with attitude decline in these students. This result is socially significant because females continue to be under-represented in several S & T fields at the level of first university degree, in many regions of the world.
Keywords: Action research; Attitudes; Context-based; Gender-related; Science education; STS; University 
Author: Dawn L. Sandersa

Abstract
Plants are essential to life on Earth and yet are often deemed invisible by the human populace. Botanic gardens are an under-researched educational context and, as such, have occupied a peripheral arena in biology education discussions. This article seeks to readdress this absence and present the case for a more sustained use of informal learning environments, such as botanic gardens and homes, to make public the private life of plants and their role in sustaining life on Earth. By drawing on empirical data from a doctoral thesis and reviewing relevant research literature, the author argues for a renewed focus on botanical education within science education in both formal and informal contexts.
Authors: F. Bradamantea; L. Viennotb

Abstract
This paper presents an investigation centered on a guided conceptual path concerning magnetic and gravitational fields, proposed for children aged 9-11. The goal is to appreciate to what extent the idea of “mapping” two fields of interaction is accessible and fruitful for children of that age. The conceptual target is to link magnetic and gravitational sources with their respective field lines, and then use this linkage to differentiate between the two kinds of interactions. This study shows that the proposed “mapping” and the differences between the maps are accessible to a large proportion of pupils. By contrast, only a minority can differentiate between the two types of interactions: the idea of mere attraction remains dominant and may screen the idea of orientation. Finally, we discuss to what extent these exploratory results confirm the relevancy of such teaching goals and how they inform the design of research-based teaching sequences concerning this topic.
Keywords: Gravitational Fields; Guided Conceptual Path; Magnetic Fields 
Authors: Mariacutea J. Saacuteeza; Angela Goacutemez Nintildeoa; Antonio Carreteroa

Abstract
The rapid growth of biotechnology knowledge during the past decades has made it necessary to rethink the contents of the school curriculum and has provoked a consideration of the ethical and social issues related to the use of biotechnological applications. With the financial assistance of the European Union, the European Initiative for Biotechnology Education was set up to develop units for use in the member the countries, organize the translations of these between the many languages involved, organize in-service courses for teachers, implement the materials in schools, as well as carrying out related research.

This paper gives some findings of Spanish researchers when identifying and exploring the different cultural contexts in which biotechnology teaching and learning is embedded, being mainly concerned with the emerging attitudes and values of the students regarding such issues. After gathering information through case studies during the implementation phase, a questionnaire was developed in an interactive way by teachers and researchers in various stages, based on what students said.

The results identify four main values: the “principle of the natural”, the “principle of the welfare”, the “principle of the technological solution” and the “principle of the individual decisions”. Their interaction and dichotomy are discussed, as well as the problems teachers face when having to deal with topics beyond those immediately related to science
Authors: James Minoguea; Gail Jonesa

Abstract
The application of Biggs' and Collis' Structure of Observed Learning Outcomes taxonomy in the evaluation of student learning about cell membrane transport via a computer-based learning environment is described in this study. Pre-test-post-test comparisons of student outcome data (n = 80) were made across two groups of randomly assigned students: one that received visual and haptic feedback, and one that relied on visual feedback only as they completed their virtual investigations. The results of the Mann-Whitney U-test indicated that the group mean difference scores were significantly different statistically (p = .043). Practically speaking, this study provides some early evidence suggesting that the haptic augmentation of computer-based science instruction may lead to a deeper level of processing. The strengths and weaknesses of this current diagnostic approach and a novel approach based on a non-verbal model of cognition are discussed in light of their potential contributions to the teaching and learning of science.
Authors: Wayne Melvillea; Anthony Bartleya

Abstract
In this article, we investigate how mentoring relationships founded on inquiry as stance can work to emphasize the conditions that promote the development of teachers of science as inquiry. Drawing on data collected through semi-structured interviews, we have developed two narrative case studies based on the two mentoring relationships that exist between three teachers: Will, Dan, and Cathy. Will entered the teaching profession in 1966, and has acted as a mentor for Dan since he commenced teaching in 1982. Similarly, Dan has mentored Cathy since she commenced teaching in 1999. By following two generations of mentoring relationships, we have gained insights into the potential for inquiry as stance to assist the promotion of the professional development standards of the National Science Education Standards. Our data and analysis clearly point to the need for mentoring relationships to exist within larger inquiry-based communities if they are to produce rapid and sustained changes to teacher practice.
Keywords: Inquiry-based teaching; Mentoring; Professional learning; Teacher knowledge 
Author: Martin Nissa

Abstract
Modelling is a significant aspect of doing physics and it is important how this activity is taught. This paper focuses on the explicit or implicit messages about modelling conveyed to the student in the treatments of phase transitions in statistical mechanics textbooks at beginning graduate level. Five textbooks from the 1930s to the present are analysed with respect to their messages about the following issues: What is a good model? What is the purpose of modelling? What does it mean to understand a natural phenomenon? It is argued that these texts give the student quite different perceptions of these issues and thus what of it means to do physics.
Authors: Brian W. Millera; William F. Brewera

Abstract
Previous empirical studies using multiple-choice procedures have suggested that there are misconceptions about the scale of astronomical distances. The present study provides a quantitative estimate of the nature of this misconception among US university students by asking them, in an open-ended response format, to make estimates of the distances from the Earth to the Moon, to the Sun, to the nearest star, and to the nearest galaxy. The 83 participants were asked to give their estimates on a scale with the Earth the size of a baseball, using a familiar local landmark for its position, and asked to indicate the appropriate location of the other astronomical objects on this scale. These psychological estimates were then compared to the actual physical distances. The data showed that while there is great variation, a general pattern emerged that US undergraduate participants overestimated the distance from the Earth to the Moon, moderately underestimated the distance from the Earth to the Sun, and dramatically underestimated the distances to the nearest star and to the nearest galaxy. The results suggest that these distance misconceptions should receive direct instructional attention in science courses.
Keywords: Astronomy; Earth science education; Large numbers; Misconception; Science education 
Authors: Claudio Fazioa; Ivan Guastellaa; Rosa Maria Sperandeo-Mineoa; Giovanni Tarantinoa

Abstract
The present paper reports the design process and the experimentation of a teaching-learning sequence about the concept of mechanical wave propagation and the role played by media where waves are propagating. The sequence focuses on the central issue of the relationships between observable phenomena, like macroscopic behaviours of waves, and their interpretation and/or explanation in terms of corpuscular characteristics of media. We describe the design process with respect to the general framework of the Educational Reconstruction Model and the pedagogical tools used. Results of a teaching/learning experiment, involving a sample of 75 high school students, are also reported. Data analysis is mainly based on qualitative research methods. The main focus is on students' representations of phenomena and on the cognitive strategies put in action in order to modify or support their descriptive and interpretative mental models. Results are discussed by pointing out the efficacy of strategies focusing on the process of constructing predictive conceptual models and by identifying the concept of 'level of analysis' as different ways to look at the same phenomenon.
Author: Hsin-Kai Wua

Abstract
The purposes of this article are to present the design of a technology-enhanced learning environment (Air Pollution Modeling Environment [APoME]) that was informed by a novice-expert analysis and to discuss high school students' development of modelling practices in the learning environment. APoME was designed to help high school students understand that air quality is the result of complex interactions among air pollutants, topographic effects, and meteorological variables. Using a novice-expert analysis, my research team specified atmospheric scientists' modelling practices as learning objectives, designed a dynamic modelling tool in light of the knowledge bases of scientists and students, provided students with dynamic simulations to help them visualise complex processes, and designed learning activities to encourage model-based reasoning. One teacher and 29 10th-graders participated in an implementation study that examined students' conceptual understandings and modelling practices in APoME. The results show that students' understandings about air quality were significantly improved after they engaged in the APoME activities. Students designed plans with detailed procedures, identified more major variables relevant to air pollutant dispersion, carefully controlled and manipulated variables to test their model, and provided multiple ways for data collection. These findings suggest that APoME is effective in supporting students to demonstrate expert-like modelling practices.
Authors: Samantha R. Fowlera; Dana L. Zeidlera; Troy D. Sadlerb

Abstract
This study is a part of a larger study that examined using socioscientific issues (SSI) as a form of effective science teaching. The purpose was to investigate how teaching a year-long curriculum using SSI affects science learning outcomes. In this report, we examine the effects of a SSI-driven curriculum on the development of students' moral sensitivity. Our results indicate that development of moral sensitivity can be promoted through science learning experiences embedded in SSI. Results also suggest that moral sensitivity is contextually dependent. Implications for teaching are discussed.
Authors: Siu Ling Wonga; Derek Hodsonb

Abstract
This research study sought to identify prominent features of the nature of science (NOS) embedded in authentic scientific inquiry. Fourteen well-established scientists from different parts of the world, working in experimental or theoretical research, in both traditional fields such as astrophysics and rapidly growing research fields such as molecular biology, participated as the informants of the study. The descriptions of their practices revealed eight prominent categories of NOS features. In an earlier paper of ours, we have reported four categories under the two themes: (1) the methods of scientific investigation and (2) the role and status of scientific knowledge. In this paper, we focus on the remaining four categories under the theme: social dimensions of science. Scientists' descriptions of their practices have 'put some flesh on the bones' of the assertion that science is socially and culturally embedded. These descriptions also have considerable potential for development into interesting case studies as teaching resources to enhance and enrich students' understanding of NOS.
Keywords: History of science; Nature of science; Philosophy of science; Science education; Scientific literacy 
Authors: Michelle L. Klostermana; Troy D. Sadlera

Abstract
This study explored the impact of using a socioscientific issue (SSI) based curriculum on developing science content knowledge. Using a multi-level assessment design, student content knowledge gains were measured before and after implementation of a three-week unit on global warming (a prominent SSI) that explored both the relevant science content and the controversy surrounding global warming. Measures of student content knowledge were made using a standards-aligned content knowledge exam (distal assessment) and a curriculum-aligned exam (proximal assessment). Data were collected from 108 students enrolled from two schools. Quantitative analysis of the distal assessment indicated that student post-test scores were statistically significantly different than their pre-test scores (F = 15.31, p<0.001). Qualitative analyses of student responses from the proximal assessment indicated that students, on average, expressed more accurate, more detailed, and more sophisticated understandings of global warming, the greenhouse effect, and the controversy and challenges associated with these issues following the three-week unit. Combined results from the proximal and distal assessments explored in this study offer important evidence in supporting the efficacy of using SSI as contexts for science education. In addition to a discussion of the components of an SSI-based curriculum, this study provides support for the use of SSI as a context for learning science content.
Keywords: Assessment; Chemistry education; Curriculum; Environmental education; Socioscientific issues 
Authors: Sibel Kayaa; Diana C. Ricea

Abstract
This study examined the effects of individual student factors and classroom factors on elementary science achievement within and across five countries. The student-level factors included gender, self-confidence in science and home resources. The classroom-level factors included teacher characteristics, instructional variables and classroom composition. Results for the USA and four other countries, Singapore, Japan, Australia and Scotland, were reported. Multilevel effects were examined through Hierarchical Linear Modelling, using the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study 2003 fourth grade dataset. Overall, the results showed that selected student background characteristics were consistently related to elementary science achievement in countries investigated. At the student level, higher levels of home resources and self-confidence and at the classroom level, higher levels of class mean home resources yielded higher science scores on the TIMSS 2003. In general, teacher and instructional variables were minimally related to science achievement. There was evidence of positive effects of teacher support in the USA and Singapore. The emphasis on science inquiry was positively related to science achievement in Singapore and negatively related in the USA and Australia. Recommendations for practice and policy were discussed.
Keywords: Elementary school; Science education; Quantitative research; Comparative study; Teacher 
Authors: Vaughan Praina; Russell Tytlerb; Suzanne Petersonb

Abstract
There has been extensive research on children's understanding of evaporation, but representational issues entailed in this understanding have not been investigated in depth. This study explored three students' engagement with science concepts relating to evaporation through various representational modes, such as diagrams, verbal accounts, gestures, and captioned drawings. This engagement entailed students (a) clarifying their thinking through exploring representational resources; (b) developing understanding of what these representations signify; and (c) learning how to construct representational aspects of scientific explanation. The study involved a sequence of classroom lessons on evaporation and structured interviews with nine children, and found that a focus on representational challenges provided fresh insights into the conceptual task involved in learning science. The findings suggest that teacher-mediated negotiation of representational issues as students construct different modal accounts can support enriched learning by enabling both (a) richer conceptual understanding by students; and (b) enhanced teacher insights into students' thinking.
Author: Alex H. Johnstonea

Abstract
This Article does not have an abstract. 
Author: Vicente Talanquera

Abstract
Based on the analysis of available research on students' alternative conceptions about the particulate nature of matter, we identified basic implicit assumptions that seem to constrain students' ideas and reasoning on this topic at various learning stages. Although many of these assumptions are interrelated, some of them seem to change or lose/gain strength independently from one another. Overlapping or competing presuppositions about the structure, properties, and dynamics of matter may be able to coexist at any given level, particularly at intermediate stages of expertise. Our results allowed us to suggest common paths in the transition from naiumlve through novice to expert along relevant dimensions related to the structure and properties of chemical substances. The identification of these cognitive constraints provides a useful framework that educators can use to better understand and even predict many of their students' learning difficulties. It can also assist in the design and organisation of learning experiences and assessment tools that recognise and take advantage of the most likely trajectories towards expertise (learning progressions) followed by many students.
Keywords: Alternative conception; Assessment; Chemistry education; Conceptual development; Cognitive constraints; Learning progressions; Learning 
Authors: Tanja Riemeiera; Harald Gropengieszligera

Abstract
Empirical investigations on students' conceptions of cell biology indicate major misunderstandings of scientific concepts even after thorough teaching. Therefore, the main aim of our research project was to investigate students' difficulties in learning this topic and to study the impact of learning activities on students' conceptions. Using the Model of Educational Reconstruction, a four-phase design was carried out. Firstly, there was the clarification of science subject matter. Secondly, students' conceptions were investigated, and finally, the learning activities were designed. An evaluation of these learning activities was carried out using five teaching experiments, each with three 9th grade students (15-16 years, Grammar school). Interpretation of students' “pathways of thinking” and their conceptual change during instruction was framed theoretically by experiential realism. Theoretical framework, methods and outcomes of the study may contribute to a deeper understanding of students' ways of thinking in the field of cell biology and reveal the process of conceptual development by using well planned learning activities.
Authors: Bryan A. Browna; Kihyun Ryooa; Jamie Rodrigueza

Abstract
This study examines the impact of Disaggregate Instruction on students' science learning. Disaggregate Instruction is the idea that science teaching and learning can be separated into conceptual and discursive components. Using randomly assigned experimental and control groups, 49 fifth-grade students received web-based science lessons on photosynthesis using our experimental approach. We supplemented quantitative statistical comparisons of students' performance on pre- and post-test questions (multiple choice and short answer) with a qualitative analysis of students' post-test interviews. The results revealed that students in the experimental group outscored their control group counterparts across all measures. In addition, students taught using the experimental method demonstrated an improved ability to write using scientific language as well as an improved ability to provide oral explanations using scientific language. This study has important implications for how science educators can prepare teachers to teach diverse student populations.
Keywords: Discourse; Language; Scientific literacy 
Authors: Eunsun Haa; Jinwoong Songa

Abstract
The purpose of this study is to investigate patterns of linguistic communication in learning and teaching science and to find out how the formation of each pattern was related with the classroom, particularly in Korean middle school context. For this, we observed science classes in three middle schools in Seoul and collected data during lessons through audiotape and videotape recording. From the analysis of the data in three cases, nine patterns of spoken or written communication in learning and teaching science were found, and the features of each pattern and the context were discussed in detail. These results provided us with rich information of linguistic communication dealing with scientific topics appearing in Korean school science classes. We argue that those patterns appear to implicitly reflect the unique contexts of science classes in Korea. 'The optimization in teacher behaviour', which refers to the conceptualization of teachers' efforts to take advantage of the given classroom context, is suggested as one of the main causes that made each pattern occur.
Authors: Bruce G. Waldripa; Joe T. Timothyb; Wilson Wilikaic

Abstract
This paper draws on the personal experiences of three researchers: an “outsider” (or western-oriented) science teacher, a science teacher educator who has lived in Melanesian countries for almost a decade, and a national researcher who was born and educated in Melanesia. During a recent interpretative research study of the problematic relationship between the traditional world-views of Melanesian villagers and the official school science views of young Melanesian people, Bruce became increasingly aware of the importance of conducting culture-sensitive interpretative research. Bruce and Joe describe three people with different experiences and approaches to education. Mindful of the important role of the outside teacher researchers in providing essential information for the local contextualisation of school science curricula, we propose a number of culture-sensitive practices when working in Melanesian cross-cultural contexts.



    Karsoon: I like Melanesian ways. I wanted to learn Western ways and so when mission came, I went to school [so that I could] learn their ways. I thought I would learn new ways. I use school ways no more.

    Karsoon: The white man didn't want us to learn about his ways but only about his religion. (Waldrip & Taylor, 1999a, p. 297)

    I've studied overseas where I came across Papua New Guineans suffering from the “dry coconut syndrome”—brown on the outside, but white on the inside. These are the people who suddenly forget their own ways because they are living in another country. (Pamba, 1999, p. 17) 

Keywords: Approaches to education; Culture-sensitive research; Melanesia
Authors: Douglas B. Clarka; Victor D. Sampsona

Abstract
Research shows that scientific knowledge develops through a process of decision-making as well as discovery, and that argumentation is a genre of discourse crucial to the practice of science. Students should therefore be supported in understanding the scientific practices of dialectical and rhetorical argumentation as part of learning about scientific inquiry. This study focuses on supporting scientific argumentation in the classroom through a customized online discourse system. “Personally-seeded discussions” support learning and collaboration through an activity structure that elicits, shares, and contrasts students' own ideas to engage them in the discourse of science argumentation and inquiry. Students use an online interface to build principles to describe data they have collected. These principles become the seed comments for the online discussions. The software sorts students into discussion groups with students who have built different principles so that each discussion group can consider and critique multiple perspectives. This study explores the efficacy of this personally-seeded approach based on a coding scheme developed by Erduran, Osborne, and Simon that analyzes argument structure from a Toulmin perspective. As part of this exploration, the study outlines a method for parsing personally-seeded discussions into oppositional episodes for analysis, and discusses future directions for supporting argumentation in asynchronous online discussions.
Keywords: Dialectical Argumentation; Rhetorical Argumentation; Scientific Inquiry 
Authors: Jeff Dodicka; Aliza Dayanb; Nir Orionb

Abstract
This research examines the problems that religious Jewish science teachers in Israeli high schools have in coping with science subjects (such as geological time) which conflict with their religious beliefs. We do this by characterizing the philosophical approaches within Judaism that such teachers have adopted for dealing with such controversy. Thus, we surveyed 56 religious teachers using a Likert-type questionnaire developed for this research, as well as interviewed 11 teachers to more deeply probe their approaches. In addition, we surveyed 15 religious scientists, so that we could both contrast their views with our teacher samples as well as to better understand their coping strategies when confronted by scientific topics that challenge their beliefs. Results indicated that no single philosophical approach earned overwhelming support from the teachers or scientists. Instead, most of the subjects relate separately to each source of possible conflict in accordance with the philosophical approach that appears to be the most fruitful for resolving such conflicts. Moreover, both the scientists and the teachers felt less conflicted toward the specific subject of geological time, in comparison to issues connected to creation of the earth and (especially) evolution. The teachers did differ from the scientists in their preference toward philosophical approaches which help them better integrate the domains of science and religion. Based on our findings, we are able to suggest a set of strategies to help teachers overcome their difficulties in teaching 'controversial' science topics to a religiously oriented student population.
Keywords: Attitudes; Religion; Teacher beliefs; Science education; Philosophy of science; Science education and religion; Religious teachers; Philosophical orientation 
Author: John Kennya

Abstract
This paper reports on the effectiveness of a professional partnership approach to preparing pre-service primary teachers to teach science. The study involved final year BEd pre-service primary teachers at the University of Tasmania, each working in the class of a volunteer colleague teacher. The programme provided an authentic science teaching experience in which pre-service teachers were supported to plan and teach a sequence of work in a chosen science topic and reflect upon the experience. Many reported an initial lack of confidence in science and no experience with teaching it during their normal practice teaching. During 2007 and 2008, teachers from 17 schools in Northern Tasmania volunteered to work with the pre-service teachers in their classrooms for one lesson a week over a six-week period. The findings indicated that this approach was an effective way to build the confidence of pre-service teachers and may also have benefits for practising teachers.
Keywords: Primary school; School/university; Science education; Teacher development; Reflective practice 
Authors: George Papageorgioua; Dimitrios Stamovlasisa; Phil Michael Johnsonb

Abstract
This paper presents a study concerning Greek primary school teachers' (n = 162) ideas about the particulate nature of matter and their explanations of physical phenomena. The study took place during an in-service training course where the effectiveness of a specially designed intervention was tested. A key feature was an approach based on the concept of a substance and its states rather than “solids, liquids, and gases”. Pre-intervention, the teachers held misconceptions similar to those of pupils. Also, there seemed to be some relationship between the teachers' particle model ideas and their explanations of phenomena. Post-intervention, the teachers' descriptions and explanations were found to be significantly improved, with almost zero correlation between pre- and post-intervention scores. Implications for science education are discussed.
Keywords: Primary teachers; Particle ideas; Physical phenomena; In-service training; Science education; Primary school; Misconception 
Authors: Shirley Simona; Susan Johnsona

Abstract
This paper reports on the use of portfolios in a continuing professional development programme to advance teachers' skills in their pedagogy of argumentation. The programme adopted a cyclical process of expert input-teacher practice-sharing practice, in order for professional learning to include reflective analysis of growing accomplishment. Accomplishment was initially defined according to previous research and development on the teaching of argumentation, but was redefined during the programme as teachers shared practice and discussed their achievements. Portfolios were used to help teachers apply their learning, collate evidence of their accomplishment and share reflective analysis of practice with other colleagues on the programme. The paper includes extracts of two teachers' portfolios: these provide evidence of each teacher's developing accomplishment in the teaching of argumentation. Portfolios are idiosyncratic and are constructed according to an individual teacher's motivations, interpretations and situations. Teachers need structure and guidance in creating purposeful portfolios that enhance reflective practice.
Authors: Kimberly A. Walkera; Dana L. Zeidlera

Abstract
This case study investigated the implementation of an inquiry-based curricular unit that was designed to promote student discourse and debate on aspects related to the nature of science, using a socioscientific issue of genetically modified foods. Two high school science classrooms participated in the study that took place over seven consecutive 1.5-h period blocks. The researchers utilized qualitative procedures to analyze students' views on the nature of science as expressed through their answers to online and interview questions, and to examine features of argumentation and discourse in the final classroom debate. The students' answers to questions related to the nature of science reflected conceptions of the tentative, creative, subjective, and social aspects of science. Yet aspects of the nature of science did not enter into the debate discussions. Instead students utilized more factual-based content of the evidence that ultimately led into numerous instances of fallacious reasoning and personal attacks. These findings suggest that perhaps a socioscientific issues approach to exploring aspects of the nature of science should be designed so that students are moved beyond developing their nature of science conceptions to applying those conceptions within a decision-making context.
Authors: Heinz Nebera; Michael Antona

Abstract
In high-school chemistry the pre-experimental phase of inquiry cycles often remains neglected. According to a procedural model, which is described in the text, this phase begins with an observation that stimulates students' prior factual knowledge, the formulation of a research question for further elaboration (epistemic questions), the anticipation of a hypothetical answer, and the planning of experimental steps for deciding on the hypothetical answer. These activities were explicitly prescribed in an experimental group of 28 10th-graders. Raising the quality of students' epistemic research questions by providing structured help was a special focus of the intervention. Hypothesised motivational and cognitive effects were measured and compared with a group of 25 students (control group) who engaged in non-structured pre-experimental activities. The intervention provided to the experimental group resulted in stronger preferences for a more open and non-recipe type of experimentation, in more intense cognitive activities (thoughts), and, most importantly, in increased skills for formulating causal epistemic questions. Supporting such procedural skills in classrooms may contribute to transforming labwork into intentional activities and students into active learners by helping them focus on further elaborating their knowledge.
Authors: Zuway-R Honga; Huann-shyang Linb; Frances Lawrenzc

Abstract
This study investigated the efficacy of extracurricular science intervention in promoting students' science learning performance and attitudes toward science. The Junior High School Student Questionnaire (JSSQ) was used to measure attitudes toward science, sexist attitudes and perceptions of the classroom learning environment. Twenty-eight eighth graders from single parent families were participants in the one group pre-test post-test study. It was found that they made significant progress on most of the measurements. Additional qualitative results of interview and observation were used for triangulation and consideration of findings. The initial findings from the approach of multi-methods reveal a positive impact on the students' learning of science.
Authors: Werner Riessa; Christoph Mischoa

Abstract
This study's goal was to analyze various teaching approaches within the context of natural science lessons, especially in biology. The main focus of the paper lies on the effectiveness of different teaching methods in promoting systems thinking in the field of Education for Sustainable Development. The following methods were incorporated into the study: special lessons designed to promote systems thinking, a computer-simulated scenario on the topic “ecosystem forest,” and a combination of both special lessons and the computer simulation. These groups were then compared to a control group. A questionnaire was used to assess systems thinking skills of 424 sixth-grade students of secondary schools in Germany. The assessment differentiated between a conceptual understanding (measured as achievement score) and a reflexive justification (measured as justification score) of systems thinking. The following control variables were used: logical thinking, grades in school, memory span, and motivational goal orientation. Based on the pretest-posttest control group design, only those students who received both special instruction and worked with the computer simulation showed a significant increase in their achievement scores. The justification score increased in the computer simulation condition as well as in the combination of computer simulation and lesson condition. The possibilities and limits of promoting various forms of systems thinking by using realistic computer simulations are discussed.
Keywords: Teaching methods; Problem solving; Systems theory; Evaluation; Science education 
Authors: Amy Taylora; Gail Jonesb

Abstract
The National Science Education Standards emphasise teaching unifying concepts and processes such as basic functions of living organisms, the living environment, and scale. Scale influences science processes and phenomena across the domains. One of the big ideas of scale is that of surface area to volume. This study explored whether or not there is a correlation between proportional reasoning ability and a student's ability to understand surface area to volume relationships. Students' knowledge of surface area to volume relationships was assessed pre and post to a one-week instructional intervention involving investigations about surface area to volume as a limiting factor in biological and physical systems. Results showed that proportional reasoning scores of middle school students were correlated to pre-test and post-test assessment scores, and a paired-sample t-test found significant differences from pre-test to post-test for the surface area to volume assessment. Relationships between proportional reasoning, visualisation abilities and success in solving surface to volume problems are discussed. The implications of the results of this study for learning concepts such as magnitudes of things, limits to size, and properties of systems that change depending on volume and surface are explored.
Authors: Ana Mariacutea Criadoa; Antonio Garciacutea-Carmonaa

Abstract
Student teachers were tested before and after a teaching unit on electrostatic interactions in an attempt to consider their intuitive ideas and concept development. A study was made of students' explanations of basic interactions: those between two charged bodies, and those between a charged body and a neutral body. Two indicators of the cognitive status of the explanations were investigated: “context dependence” and “certainty or confidence index”. This allowed cognitive comparisons to be established between the explanations of different electrostatic interactions, and between the degrees of difficulty they represent for satisfactory conceptual evolution. The greatest difficulties were found with explanations of the phenomena of electrostatic induction. The sample consisted of 52 students in primary school teacher education who participated in a teaching unit designed to overcome these obstacles.
Keywords: Teaching and learning electrostatics; Status indices; Students' conceptions; Obstacles to learning 
Authors: Hanna B. Westbroeka; Kees Klaassena; Astrid Bultea; Albert Pilota

Abstract
This article reports on a design study aimed at achieving that students experience their learning as meaningful. Two conditions for meaningful activities were identified: (1) students should be motivated to attain a certain goal and (2) they should have rudimentary conceptual and procedural knowledge of how to attain that goal. Together, these were expected to serve as an advance organizer for functional activities. In a professional practice, professionals know more or less how the activities they perform are going to contribute to the objective they want to achieve. We expected that this structure of means-end relationships could be adapted to yield advance organizers for educational use. This idea emerged from two previous research cycles. To explore the idea we chose to design and evaluate an instructional version of the practice of monitoring water quality for 14- to 15-year-old students doing pre-university education. The evaluation results show that we succeeded in designing a proof of principle. This is only a first step in exploring the idea of designing instructional versions of professional practices. We conclude with a discussion on more theoretical implications of this idea.
Keywords: Design study; Science education; Developmental research; Secondary school; Meaningful; Advance organizer; Professional practice 
Authors: Ana Sofia Afonsoa; John K. Gilbertb

Abstract
Although an understanding of nature of science is a core element in scientific literacy, there is considerable evidence that school and university students hold naiumlve conceptions about it. It is argued that, whilst the failure to learn about nature of science arises from its neglect in formal science education, a major reason is the adherence to the precepts of pseudo-science, a set of beliefs that have wide cultural currency in the general population. University science and non-science students were interviewed about their beliefs in and explanations for “water dowsing”, a pseudo-scientific approach to finding groundwater. The demarcation criteria between science and pseudo-science and students' research designs into “water dowsing” were also enquired into. The results show that many students believed in the working efficacy of water dowsing and stated pseudo-scientific explanations for it. Furthermore, they were unaware of the demarcation criteria between science and pseudo-science, and designed naiumlve research studies to enquire into “water dowsing”.
Keywords: Nature of science; Scientific literacy; University; Pseudo-science 
Authors: Pazit Korena; Varda Bara

Abstract
The image of 'the scientist' and its effect on the willingness to be a scientist and to follow a career in science were investigated in two different cultural populations of elementary and junior high school pupils in Israel: Hebrew-speaking (secular) pupils (N = 390) and Arabic-speaking Bedouin pupils (N = 185). Five different tools were employed in our investigation (naming scientists, pictorial representation of the scientist ('Draw-a-Scientist-Test'), statements regarding the characteristics of the scientist, reasons for wanting/not wanting or being able/being unable to be scientists, and sources of knowledge regarding the scientist's image). The image held by Hebrew pupils was similar to those held by western pupils found in previous research, but some details were more elaborate (due to the fact that many different tools were employed here). However, the image held by the Arabic pupils differed from that found in previous research. This image had a strong ethnical trend, with Golden Age Muslim scientists' names dominating name lists, and drawings of traditional Muslim figures. Another image found in their drawings was of a scientist admired as a teacher, emphasising the Bedouin school's formal culture. The theory of modernity will be a useful analytical tool to judge the results of the investigation, whether the population is supposed to be (or is close to) a modern population and whether it does not, definitely, fall under this definition (see Methods and Discussion).
Authors: Shirley Simona; Stuart Naylorb; Brenda Keoghb; Jane Maloneya; Brigid Downinga

Abstract
Research into classroom interactions has shown that talk that promotes reasoning can help children in their learning of science. Such talk can only be generated when teachers are willing to take a dialogic approach that is stimulating and provides opportunities for children to articulate their ideas. This research set out to determine whether the use of large puppets would help teachers to change the nature of their whole class discourse to enhance children's talk and engagement in science. The study was carried out with sixteen teachers of children aged 7-11 years in schools in London and Manchester, UK. Through adopting a mixture of research methods, including classroom observation and teacher and child interviews, the research provides evidence that the use of puppets significantly increases the amount of teacher discourse oriented towards reasoning and argument, and decreases the amount of talk that focuses on recall. Through the puppets, teachers also use more narrative to set the science in stimulating contexts, and encourage children in their contributions to whole class discussion. Interview data also show the positive effects of puppets on children's motivation and engagement in science. The findings have led to further major funding for professional development in the use of puppets in the UK, and research into the reasons why the use of puppets is so effective.
Author: Ajda Kahvecia

Abstract
In this study, multiple thematically based and quantitative analysis procedures were utilized to explore the effectiveness of Turkish chemistry and science textbooks in terms of their reflection of reform. The themes gender equity, questioning level, science vocabulary load, and readability level provided the conceptual framework for the analyses. An unobtrusive research method, content analysis, was used by coding the manifest content and counting the frequency of words, photographs, drawings, and questions by cognitive level. The context was an undergraduate chemistry teacher preparation program at a large public university in a metropolitan area in northwestern Turkey. Forty preservice chemistry teachers were guided to analyze 10 middle school science and 10 high school chemistry textbooks. Overall, the textbooks included unfair gender representations, a considerably higher number of input and processing than output level questions, and high load of science terminology. The textbooks failed to provide sufficient empirical evidence to be considered as gender equitable and inquiry-based. The quantitative approach employed for evaluation contrasts with a more interpretive approach, and has the potential in depicting textbook profiles in a more reliable way, complementing the commonly employed qualitative procedures. Implications suggest that further work in this line is needed on calibrating the analysis procedures with science textbooks used in different international settings. The procedures could be modified and improved to meet specific evaluation needs. In the Turkish context, next step research may concern the analysis of science textbooks being rewritten for the reform-based curricula to make cross-comparisons and evaluate a possible progression.
Keywords: Textbook evaluation; Educational reform; Curriculum reform; Inquiry-based teaching; Teacher education; Gender equity; Questioning level; Science vocabulary 
Authors: Bev Francea; Jacquie L. Bayb

Abstract
It was proposed that an analysis of the questions students anticipate asking, and ask, could provide information about an enculturation encounter between Year 13 biology students and scientists working in a biomedical-clinical research unit. As part of a day-long intervention at this research institute, small groups of students (10-15) met with scientists (two) for a 15-minute discussion period. Pre- and post-questionnaires from 398 students provided data on intended, and judged best questions that were categorised and analysed into five categories: nature of science, science information, citizen decisions, personal, and no response/other. Chi Square analysis showed that students' areas of interest shifted to a personal perspective as a result of the intervention. Twenty students were interviewed who provided explanations for their questions. Analysis of their responses showed students were: developing an understanding of scientific practice as a journey, making identity links, using the personal as a knowledge bridge, acknowledging a commonality of values, and demonstrating that such an enculturation can be a transformative experience. These students engaged with a community of scientists at a physical, cognitive, and personal level. Physically they engaged with the practice of science in the laboratory, cognitively they were able to develop an understanding about how science knowledge was developed, and personally they were able to identify with science and scientists. The shift in students' questions showed that the intervention influenced their views on science and scientists to a broader understanding of scientific literacy.
Keywords: School/university; Biotechnology education; Discourse; Qualitative research; Questioning; Enculturation; Biotechnology; Scientist-student interaction 
Authors: M. Lunna; A. Nobleb

Abstract
The often portrayed media image of the scientist is a rather strange one, grim-looking scientists, usually male, poised beside incomprehensible instruments. It is little wonder that we encounter the stereotype of the bespectacled scientist; thick black rims, coke bottle lenses, roman sandals, dressed in lab coats, trousers up to their necks. A qualitative study designed to produce a series of visual and oral narratives based on the everyday lived realities of “the contemporary scientist” was undertaken. The study was a participative project in which a research team, including the project leaders Anne Noble and Michelle Lunn, together with research assistants and documentary photography students, worked alongside scientists to produce contemporary and deliberately challenging stories of “the scientist”1. In this paper, the most pervasive theme to emerge from the research, the link between art and science, is discussed.
Authors: Ola Magntorna; Gustav Helldeacutena

Abstract
This paper is based on a study of how students' read nature in different ecosystems. Its focus is on ecology and the context is outdoors. This literacy has to do with an ability to recognise organisms and relate them to material cycling and energy flow in the specific habitat that is to be read. A teaching sequence was designed in order to develop a class of secondary students' ability to read nature in a forest ecosystem. After instruction they were taken to another ecosystem, a pond where they were asked to read the new environment. The main goal was to follow to what extent they can transfer their understanding from one ecosystem to another. The study is based on recorded interviews, field work, and classroom activities, and it shows the importance of learning general patterns in nature and relating them to functional groups of organisms in an ecosystem.
Keywords: Ecology; Reading nature; Secondary students 
Authors: Jennifer DeWitta; Jonathan Osborneb

Abstract
One issue of interest to practitioners and researchers in science centres concerns what meanings visitors are making from their interactions with exhibits and how they make sense of these experiences. The research reported in this study is an exploratory attempt, therefore, to investigate this process by using video clips and still photographs of schoolchildren's interactions with science centre exhibits. These stimuli were used to facilitate reflection about those interactions in follow-up interviews. The data for this study were 63 small group interviews with UK primary school children (129 students, ages 9-11). Interviews were transcribed and then analysed for common themes. The analysis presented here explores how students explain or interpret particular exhibits and the extent to which they were cognitively engaged by the process of observing their interactions with exhibits. The findings show that digital media enable students to re-visit their experience and engage them with the content underlying science centre exhibits. There was, however, little difference between the patterns of response stimulated by video as opposed to photographs. It seems that such “re-visitations” of exhibit interactions could serve as a valuable means of developing further students' scientific concepts and exploiting the value for learning from the experience afforded by informal contexts.
Keywords: Informal education; Science education; Science centre; School trips; Stimulated recall 
Authors: Pedro Reisa; Ceciacutelia Galvatildeoa

Abstract
In this article the authors resort to a qualitative analysis of the plot of science fiction stories about a group of scientists, written by two 11th-grade Earth and Life Science students (aged 17), and to semi-structured interviews, with the double purpose of diagnosing their conceptions of the nature of science (namely, as regards scientists' activity), and discussing the potentialities of this methodology in terms of research and education in science. The adopted methodology proved particularly effective in diagnosing the students' conceptions of scientists' characteristics, scientific activity, and science-technology-society interactions. The limited content of certain conceptions and a certain lack of knowledge on the part of the students concerning the processes and the epistemology of science highlight the need to pay explicit attention in science classes to the nature of scientific activity. Some of the ideas brought up by the students clearly show the influence of stereotypes and catastrophic scenarios depicted in films, television programs, and books, revealing media's limitations when divulging scientific and technological themes to the general public and stressing the need for the school to promote a critical debate about science and technology images conveyed by the media.
Authors: Rola Khishfea; Norman Ledermana

Abstract
The study investigated the relationship between instructional context (integrated and non-integrated) that explicitly teaches about nature of science (NOS) and students' view of NOS across different disciplines. Participants were three teachers and their students, which comprised six classes of 89 ninth-graders and 40 10th/11th-graders. Each teacher taught two intact sections of the same grade level within a specific science discipline. The treatment for all groups involved teaching a 5-6 week unit that included the science content and NOS. The two intact groups learned about same content; the only difference was the context of NOS instruction (integrated or non-integrated). An open-ended questionnaire, followed by interviews, was used to assess change in participants' views. Results showed improvement in students' NOS views regardless of whether NOS instruction was embedded within the content. Therefore, it was not possible to make claims about whether one instructional context is more effective than another in general terms.
Authors: Ozgul Yilmaz-Tuzuna; Mustafa Sami Topcub

Abstract
This study discusses preservice elementary science teachers' (PSTs) epistemological beliefs and the relationships among their epistemological beliefs, epistemological world views, and self-efficacy beliefs. Four hundred and twenty-nine PSTs who were enrolled in five large universities completed the Schommer Epistemological Questionnaire (SEQ), the Epistemological World Views Scale, andthe Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument. Factor analysis results revealed four factors for the SEQ. These factors were Innate Ability, Simple Knowledge, Certain Knowledge, and Omniscient authority. Multiple regression analysis suggests that for “Innate Ability” factor scores, three of the predictor variables—self-efficacy, outcome expectancy, and world view—contributed significantly to the model. For “Simple Knowledge,” only one predictor variable—epistemological world view—contributed significantly to the model. For “Certain Knowledge” factor scores, only one predictor variable—outcome expectancy—contributed significantly to the model. None of the predictor variables significantly contributed to the “Omniscient Authority” factor scores. Results revealed that in Turkish culture, PSTs' epistemological beliefs support the multidimensional theory. In addition, while PSTs developed more sophisticated beliefs in some of the SEQ dimensions, they had less sophisticated beliefs in other dimensions. Also PSTs indicated that, when they want to teach science with student-centered methods, they believed that they would be successful only if their students memorize the scientific concepts and facts.
Author: Joy-Telu Hamilton-Ekekea

Abstract
The study was a pre-test treatment post-test control design. Three educational districts from the Niger Delta region of Nigeria were treated as clusters. Twenty boys and 20 girls were randomly selected, making up a total of 40 students, in each of Group A, Group B, and Group C. Students in Group A were taught ecology by taking them to the school farm, pond, and nearby stream, while students in Group B were taught ecology strictly in the classroom. Students in Group C were not taught but have knowledge of ecology. Findings of the study revealed a highest performance of Group A relative to Group B and Group C. Students in Group A (field trip) were thus able to perform highest because of their opportunity of having first-hand experience of organisms in their natural habitat.
Authors: Marina Micaria; Gregory Lighta

Abstract
The phenomenographic 'approach to learning' literature holds that students' approaches to learning can change depending on the learning context. This implies that, by modifying the learning context, teachers can change the way students approach learning, and this can ultimately lead to a change in learning outcomes. The study presented here examines one effort to modify a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning context and the approaches to learning taken by students experiencing this environment. Using a qualitative, phenomenographic approach, we interviewed 45 students in a STEM peer-led workshop programme at a large US research university. Similar to previous approach-to-learning research, the study identified three approaches students took to learning in the peer-led programme, in which they focused on simply making it through the course, engaging more meaningfully with the material, and gaining better control over their own learning.
Author: Eliane Briacutegida Morais Falcatildeoa

Abstract
The assumption that scientific knowledge would bring an end to religious belief has challenged many scholars, particularly since such a belief persists even among those devoted to scientific activities. In this paper the occurrence and nature of religious belief in groups of life scientists working in the UK and Brazil is discussed in the context of their degree of training. Data obtained through one-to-one interviews went beyond mere yes/no answers to questions on belonging to a religion or believing in God. Categories were created to assess how open these scientists were with regard to the possibility of the supernatural. The results suggest that scientific training affected their religious belief and reduced the number of believers. Nevertheless there were scientists in both groups whose beliefs persisted.
Authors: Min-Hsien Leea; Ying-Tien Wub; Chin-Chung Tsaic

Abstract
The present study was a follow-up to Tsai and Wen's (2005) earlier research, in which 802 articles published in the International Journal of Science Education, Science Education, and the Journal of Research in Science Teaching from 1998 to 2002 were analysed in terms of author's nationality, research type, and research topic. In the present study a total of 869 papers published in the three journals from 2003 to 2007 were analysed, and the results were compared with those of Tsai and Wen. Moreover, this study also identified 31 highly-cited papers published during 1998-2002 and 20 highly-cited papers published during 2003-2007. The results showed that authors from countries other than the four major English-speaking countries (i.e., the USA, the UK, Australia, and Canada) published an increasing number of articles in the past decade. During these five years (2003-2007), science educators showed relatively more interest in research topics involving the context of student learning. Besides, science educators have changed some of their research interests during 1998-2007, with a shift in the research topics from student conception learning and conceptual change (1998-2002) to student learning contexts (2003-2007). Moreover, the investigation of highly-cited papers in the past decade revealed that studies on argumentation have gained significant attention among science educators.
Authors: E. Michael Nussbauma; Gale M. Sinatraa; Anne Poliquina

Abstract
We hypothesized that instruction in the criteria of scientific arguments, in combination with constructivist epistemic beliefs, would produce greater learning about physics concepts. The study was a randomized experiment, where college undergraduates (n = 88) discussed, in pairs over the Web, several physics problems related to gravity and air resistance. Prior to their discussions, one-half of the dyads received information on the nature of scientific arguments. All students were classified epistemologically as relativists, multiplists, or evaluativists. We found that students in the treatment group incorporated more scientific criteria into their discussion notes and accordingly developed better arguments on several dimensions. In addition, significantly more participants in the treatment group adopted the correct answer to one of the problems. Outcomes also differed in relation to students' epistemic beliefs. Specifically, multiplists were less critical of inconsistencies and misconceptions, and interacted with their partners less than other belief groups, whereas evaluativists interacted more critically, bringing up different ideas from their partners. Evaluativists also solved one of the physics problems more accurately and tended to demonstrate a reduction in misconceptions. We discuss the results in light of instruction in scientific argumentation, conceptual development and change, and epistemic beliefs.
Authors: Detlef Urhahnea; Sascha Schanzeb; Thorsten Bellc; Amie Mansfieldd; Jeff Holmese

Abstract
The article presents an analysis of practices in teaching with computer-supported collaborative inquiry learning environments. We describe the role of the teacher in computer-supported collaborative inquiry learning by five principles that span the whole instructional process, from the preparation of the lesson up to the assessment of learning achievement. For successful implementation of computer-supported projects, the teacher has to (1) envision the lesson, (2) enable collaboration, (3) encourage students, (4) ensure learning, and (5) evaluate achievement. We analyse classroom scenarios provided by eight teachers or mentors who implemented one of four different approaches developed by multimedia researchers: Web-based Inquiry Science Environment, Modeling Across the Curriculum, Collaborative Laboratories across Europe, or Resources for Collaborative Inquiry Learning. Teachers or mentors responded to a semi-structured questionnaire about their experiences in implementing the inquiry lesson. A comparison of different classroom scenarios according to the mentioned five principles informed our analysis of teacher activities that contribute to the success of student inquiry while using such technology-enhanced approaches. We conclude with a discussion of the often neglected role of the teacher in computer-supported learning.
Authors: Robert H. Taia; Philip M. Sadlerb

Abstract
This US study investigates interactive associations between structure in inquiry-type learning activities and academic attainment in high school science with introductory college science performance as the outcome. Past studies of this type have tended to use smaller samples and shorter-range methods of assessing the influence of interactions. This study used a large-scale nationally representative sampling of science students and investigated the existence of long-range associations between high school and college. Replicated across three different disciplinary data-sets (biology, chemistry, and physics) totaling over 8,000 surveys, the analysis discovered an interaction between structure and attainment associated with differences in long-range student performance. The implications for these findings in terms of theory and practise are discussed in the conclusions.
Authors: Hak Ping Tama; Lung-An Lib

Abstract
The National Science Concept Learning Study represented one of the largest and the most extensive surveys of its kind undertaken in Taiwan in recent years. A total of 36,093 students from the sixth, eighth, ninth, and eleventh grades participated in the main study. This paper provides the background information about the sampling and booklet design behind this project. It also provides detailed information on how the survey was actually administered and how the data quality control process was undertaken. This information can facilitate an overall view of the results based on the data related to the main survey.
Keywords: Complex sampling; Science concept Learning; Data quality control 
Authors: Carlos Reigosaa; Mariacutea-Pilar Jimeacutenez-Aleixandrea

Abstract
This case study examines the performances of 18 10th-grade students (age 15-16 years) in the process of performing problem-solving tasks in the physics and chemistry laboratory. The study focuses on different types of problems arising in the process of transferring responsibility to students in a context of teacher assistance to autonomous problem-solving. The students' conversations were audiotaped and videotaped, and their productions collected. Problems were found in relation to excessive task difficulty, to stereotyped school culture reflecting procedural display rather than genuine problem-solving, and to problems related to within-group interactions and roles. The findings are discussed in reference to the educational goal of students progressively assuming responsibility in their own learning.
Keywords: Chemistry; Physics; Problem-solving Tasks 
Authors: Ton van der Valka; Onno de Jonga

Abstract
The present study deals with a school-based professional development trajectory for secondary science teachers, aiming at scaffolding teachers in open-inquiry teaching for the topic of water quality. Its design was based on the leading principle of 'guiding by scaffolding'. Seven experienced teachers participated in institutional meetings and teaching at school. The research focused on designing scaffolding tools, addressing these tools in the meetings, and implementing them in the classroom. The main research data were obtained from meetings, classroom discussions, and observations. The results indicated that the professional development trajectory has promoted teachers' learning of scaffolding students in open inquiry, especially the ability to know when and how to give students a well-balanced combination of 'structure' for open-inquiry learning and sufficient 'space' for that. The implications for science teacher education are discussed.
Author: Russell Tytlera

Abstract
School Innovation in Science is a major Victorian Government initiative that developed and validated a model whereby schools can improve their science teaching and learning. The initiative was developed and rolled out to more than 400 schools over the period 2000-2004. A research team worked with 200+ primary and secondary schools over three years, supporting them in developing new initiatives in science, and monitoring the impact on school and classroom practice, and student outcomes. The research effort underpinning the development phase included the development and validation of a set of components describing effective teaching, the refinement of a school and teacher change strategy, the development of instruments to monitor teacher classroom practice and a variety of student outcomes, and the development of insights into the change process using questionnaires, observations, and interviews across four years. This paper describes the project and its major outcomes, and raises a number of issues concerning the nature of school and teacher change, pedagogy, school and community, and student learning, and the way these interact. A number of research issues are raised by the size and developmental nature of the project, the range of research methods, and the different audiences served by the research. The issue of sustainability of such system-wide change initiatives is discussed.
Authors: Michelle Phillipsa; Doreen Finkelsteinb; Saundra Wever-Frerichsc

Abstract
Two research studies sponsored by the Centre for Informal Learning and Schools (CILS) investigated the programmes informal science institutions (ISIs) currently provide to support K-12 science education, particularly in the area of teacher professional development (PD). The first study was a large-scale survey with 475 ISIs responding about the programmes they offer schools and teachers beyond one-day field trips. A large majority of ISIs (73%) reported having one or more of these programmes, with more than one-half (59%) providing one or more forms of teacher PD. ISIs also reported a tendency for their programmes to be under-subscribed, and said funding was the biggest barrier to their ability to provide these programmes. A second study focused on ISI-based teacher PD programmes, looking at whom they serve, how they are funded, and their specific programmatic elements. This study also investigated the extent to which ISI-based PD incorporates features shown to produce measurable effects on teachers' instructional practice. Researchers administered an intensive survey to over 310 ISIs with teacher PD offerings to obtain detail regarding the programming. The findings reported here indicate that the particular promise of ISI-based teacher PD is the potential to incorporate features of PD that have been shown by research to produce measurable effects on teachers' practice. The results from these two studies suggest that while some opportunities may be missed to leverage the strengths of the ISIs' learning environment in K-12 science education, ISIs continue to support K-12 science education in the United States in important and varied ways.
Authors: Chun-Yen Changa; Wei-Ying Chengb

Abstract
The interrelationship between senior high school students' science achievement (SA) and their self-confidence and interest in science (SCIS) was explored with a representative sample of approximately 1,044 11th-grade students from 30 classes attending four high schools throughout Taiwan. Statistical analyses indicated that a statistically significant correlation existed between students' SA and their SCIS with a moderate effect size; the correlation is even higher with almost large effect sizes for a subsample of higher-SCIS and lower-SCIS students. Results of t-test analysis also revealed that there were significant mean differences in students' SA and their knowledge (including physics, chemistry, biology, and earth sciences subscales) and reasoning skill subtests scores between higher-SCIS and lower-SCIS students, with generally large effect sizes. Stepwise regression analyses on higher-SCIS and lower-SCIS students also suggested that both students' SCIS subscales significantly explain the variance of their SA, knowledge, and reasoning ability with large effect sizes.
Authors: Hyunju Leea; Klaus G. Witzb

Abstract
The need for the inclusion of socio-scientific issues (SSI) into science curricula has been generally accepted, but relatively few science teachers have incorporated SSI into their courses. Most science teachers feel that their most important task by far is to teach the principles of science, and any substantive pedagogical changes represent a burden. Reformers and researchers often point out science teachers' lukewarm reactions to the reforms as a major barrier for educational changes but pay little attention to teachers' deeper values and inspirations. However, there are some teachers who address SSI out of their own personal initiative. Detailed case studies of four such teachers showed that although the teachers were aware of Science, Technology, Society or other reform efforts, they developed their own thrust and materials for SSI based on their own values, ideals, philosophies and personal concerns. This suggests that the current curriculum reforms (Science, Technology, Society, SSI, and Nature of Science) tend to suggest theoretical ideals, but do not effectively connect with teachers' deeper values and ideals.
Authors: April L. Luehmanna; Dina Markowitza

Abstract
Science enrichment programmes housed outside traditional school settings offer unique opportunities to access and use authentic scientific tools and practices, especially for urban students whose school science experiences often lack resources. Yet opportunities to access these tools and practices are realized only when science teachers value them sufficiently to take advantage of them. This study examines how eight urban secondary science teachers evaluated a specific out-of-school science enrichment programme—a one-year partnership with a local university science outreach centre, which culminated in a half-day laboratory experience for their students. Teachers' perceptions were captured through interviews and surveys. Findings indicate that these teachers came to identify and value many of the potential benefits for out-of-school enrichment programmes reported in the literature as well as some additional ones. The teachers' also showed a shift over time with respect to their perceptions of the value of the out-of-school experience, moving from an initial focus on increasing test scores toward a greater appreciation for its impact on students' motivation and identity development. The study offers insight into secondary science students' and teachers' identity needs, and what universities can offer to address them.
Author: Kirk Robert Doriona

Abstract
Over 20 years of research into the use of cross-curricular drama in secondary science has indicated that this medium enables learning of affective, cognitive and procedural knowledge. To date, academic research has tended to frame successful drama pedagogy as resulting from a Drama-in-Education approach, incorporating extended role plays and simulations of social events. By contrast, research has rarely focused on the scope and context of drama which is devised and used by real people in real situations. Indications from non-academic literature and informal education practice suggest that there is a gap in our knowledge between research and classroom practice. This study focused on teachers' own drama activities in five science lessons taught across schools in Cambridge, Kent, and Hertfordshire. Their classes spanned the ages of 12-16 in the subjects of chemistry, biology, and physics. This study explored the drama forms, teaching objectives, and characteristics by which drama was perceived to enable learning in Science. The findings revealed that drama activities were used to convey a variety of topics that have not yet been recorded in academic literature, and revealed a greater scope for the teaching abstract scientific concepts through mime and role play. These activities were perceived to develop students' visualisation through a range of modalities, which included embodied sensation and anthropomorphic metaphors. Some features reflected the development of thought experiment skills. A pedagogic model was produced based on different levels of interactive talk and multimodal communication.
Keywords: Learning activities; Model-based learning; Science education; Secondary school; Visualisation; Drama; Role play; Physical simulation 
Author: Yeung Chung Leea

Abstract
Current approaches to science-technology-society (STS) education focus primarily on the controversial socio-scientific issues that arise from the application of science in modern technology. This paper argues for an interdisciplinary approach to STS education that embraces science, technology, history, and social and cultural studies. By employing a case study of traditional papermaking technology, it investigates how the interactions between technology and science can be explored in an authentic societal and cultural context across a historical time span. The term technology-society-science (TSS) is used to represent an alternative approach to linking technology, society, and science that aims to redress the imbalance between science and technology, and to resolve the tension between two diverging goals of STS education. The educational implications of this alternative approach to STS education are discussed.
Keywords: Curriculum; Multicultural; Science education; Technology education 
Authors: Roser Pintoa; Samira El Boudamoussia

Abstract
A research study, mainly based on the notion of 'scientific literacy' from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2003 assessment framework, was carried out obtaining data from the administration of an open written questionnaire with items covering three central scientific processes—describing, explaining and predicting scientific phenomena; understanding scientific investigation; and interpreting scientific evidence and conclusions—to 30 experienced in-service secondary school science teachers. The purpose was to analyse their views regarding the competences on the mentioned scientific processes assessed by Science PISA tests: which of the competences assessed were the most frequently identified by teachers, which of the competences they considered presenting difficulties for their students, and, finally, which activities they used in their classes to promote similar competences. Our results indicated that teachers had different perceptions of one or other scientific processes considered relevant for scientific literacy in the PISA framework. Their awareness of the expected students' difficulties did not necessarily match the competences intended to be assessed by either PISA or what they thought to be assessed. Moreover, their views differed depending not only on the type of scientific process but also on the underlying subject. Concern about the students' need of reading fluently with understanding and of paying special attention during the test time was also observed.
Authors: Richard K. Colla; Neil Taylorb; Mark C. Laya

Abstract
The science education literature suggests that the public and students often hold narrow stereotypical views of scientists and science. Here we argue that it is important that students and the public understand the basis on which scientists make scientific claims. The inquiry sought to develop an understanding of the scientific mind, explored through Gauld's (2005) notion of 'habits of mind'. The vehicle used to explore these ideas consisted of an inquiry into how scientists rationalise conflicts between scientific theories and religious beliefs which are not in agreement with consensually-accepted scientific theories. Twenty scientists from different scientific disciplines and levels of seniority were interviewed using as a basis an instrument containing a series of religious-based item statements that a panel of scientific and religious experts considered were in agreement with a variety of religious doctrines yet in disagreement with current scientific thinking, or for which there is at present no supporting evidence from a variety of scientific disciplines. These statements acted as an interview protocol and formed the basis for interactive discourse, which was audio-taped, transcribed verbatim and participant-validated. These data provide a window into scientific thinking as practiced by modern scientists, and helps develop a picture of these scientists' 'habits of mind'. The findings suggest that these scientists, unlike their stereotype, hold idiosyncratic views of what constitutes good scientific evidence and sound, credible testimony.
Authors: Audrey C. Rulea; Samantha Baldwinb; Robert Schella

Abstract
This study examined the use of form and function analogy object boxes to teach second graders (n = 21) animal adaptations. The study used a pretest-posttest design to examine animal adaptation content learned through focused analogy activities as compared with reading and Internet searches for information about adaptations of animals followed by making an informative puppet play. Students participated in six week-long lesson sets, each addressing adaptations of two animals, which alternated between the two conditions. In the analogy condition, students matched cards explaining form and function analogies of animal body parts or homes to analogous manufactured items. They mapped analogies, thought of alternate manufactured items, and created new analogies. Students scored similarly on material to be taught through both conditions on the pretest, but made significantly higher posttest mean scores (76.1% analogy versus 57.2% traditional condition) with large effect size (partial η2 = 0.58) on animal adaptation content learned through the analogy activities. This study shows the usefulness of form and function analogies in teaching product innovations to second-grade students, indicating that early childhood students are able to successfully engage in sophisticated analogy activities. Efficacy of the analogy activities was related to objects that focused attention, motivated, and gave concrete representations of concepts; to cards and graphic organizers for organization, connections, and memory; and to complex thinking activities that challenged students and promoted peer interaction.
Authors: Alejandra Garciacutea Francoa; Keith S. Taberb

Abstract
Particle models of matter are widely recognised as being of fundamental importance in many branches of modern science, and particle ideas are commonly introduced and developed in the secondary school curriculum. However, research undertaken in a range of national contexts has identified significant learning difficulties in this topic, and suggests that notions of particles that match scientific models are generally only attained over periods of some years. The implementation of a National Curriculum in Science in England was followed by increasingly prescriptive guidance to teachers. This culminated in a framework for teaching lower secondary science, which identified 'particles' as one of five key ideas for organising teaching and learning of science to all 11-14-year-olds. In this curriculum context, a basic particle model is introduced at the start of secondary education, and consolidated by being revisited in various contexts over three years. However, National Tests suggest that only a minority of pupils attain levels of understanding matching target knowledge. The present paper reports an interview study that explored how a sample of English secondary students explained phenomena commonly met in school science. It was found that students generally used the notion of particles, although most of their particle-based explanations reflected alternative conceptions that have been reported in previous research. It is concluded that a curriculum strategy of early introduction and regular application during the early secondary years is not of itself sufficient to support the desired progression in thinking with particle models, and more sophisticated research-informed pedagogy is needed.
Authors: Gjalt T. Prinsa; Astrid M. W. Bultea; Jan H. van Drielb; Albert Pilota

Abstract
In science education, students should come to understand the nature and significance of models. In the case of chemistry education it is argued that the present use of models is often not meaningful from the students' perspective. A strategy to overcome this problem is to use an authentic chemical modelling practice as a context for a curriculum unit. The theoretical framework for this strategy is activity theory rooted in socio-cultural theories on learning. An authentic chemical modelling practice is characterized by a set of motives for model development through a well-defined modelling procedure using only relevant issue knowledge. The aim of this study was to explore, analyse, and select authentic chemical modelling practices for use in chemistry education. The suitability of the practices was reviewed by applying a stepwise procedure focused on criteria such as students' interest and ownership, modelling procedure, issue knowledge, and feasibility of the laboratory work in the classroom. It was concluded that modelling drinking-water treatment and human exposure assessment are both suitable to serve as contexts, because both practices exhibit clear motives for model construction and the applied modelling procedures are in line with students' pre-existing procedural modelling knowledge. The issue knowledge involved is consistent with present Dutch science curriculum, and it is possible to carry out experimental work in the classroom for model calibration and validation. The method described here to select and evaluate practices for use as contexts in chemistry education can also be used in other science domains.
Author: Miriam Reinera

Abstract
Bodily manipulations, such as juggling, suggest a well-synchronized physical interaction as if the person were a physics expert. The juggler uses “knowledge” that is rooted in bodily experience, to interact with the environment. Such enacted bodily knowledge is powerful, efficient, predictive, and relates to sensory perception of the dynamics of objects. This paper describes results of an empirical study in physics learning, aimed at exploring links between sensory input, visual representations, and corresponding conceptual learning in physics. The central finding is that through sensory interaction (e.g., touch, vision) with a physical system in the physics laboratory, learners spontaneously generate a novel reference-system of pictorial representations, typical to the situation explored. Results show that in collaborative hands-on problem-solving in physics, a pictorial referential communication system is generated. Elements of the pictorial communication system were found to be one of three: photographic, metaphoric, or symbolic. The constituents of the communication system are socially shared, hence valid, are used repeatedly when similar experience happens, therefore consistent. Thus visual-spatial representations of non-explicit knowledge turn into pictorial representations for communication. It is powerful because it allows access and retrieval of tacit knowledge, inaccessible by symbolic interaction.
Keywords: Physics education; Conceptual development; Sensory memories; Sensory interaction; Representation 
Author: Shu-Min Chena

Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine young children's views about shadows. Young children hear references to or are involved in many scientific experiences in their everyday lives, and shadows are a part of children's everyday experiences. Young children may have constructed their knowledge about shadows through their daily experiences. Therefore, a total of 32 children, of which one-half were four years old and one-half were five years old, were individually interviewed twice to elicit their views and understanding of shadows. Data were collected by a mixture of picture-pointing, verbal explanation, and manipulation, and were analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively. We focused on five facets of children's ideas about shadows: ideas about the source of light, shadow orientation, shadow shape, shadow size, and shadow intensity. The five year olds performed significantly better on production of shadows, production of shadow shape, and production of shadow size, and also gave more reasonable explanations for their choices than did the four year olds, showing a better understanding of the concept of shadows. Another significant finding of the study was that young children have a much more sophisticated understanding of shadows than Piaget originally suggested and than their verbal explanations imply.
Authors: George Papageorgioua; Maria Grammaticopouloua; Phil Michael Johnsonb

Abstract
Thirty-six pupils from three sixth-grade classes (ages 11/12, n = 75) in Greece were interviewed pre- and post-intervention in a piece of research on explanations of chemical phenomena. Software concerning chemical phenomena was incorporated in a teaching scheme, where the particle theory was used. After a 13 hour intervention, pupils' explanations were categorized in five discrete categories. Only a few pupils could give satisfactory explanations, involving the integration of particle ideas at the level of atoms. The idea of chemical change seemed to be very difficult for the majority of pupils. Implications for the teaching of chemical phenomena at young ages are discussed.
Keywords: Chemical phenomena; Particle ideas; Pupils' explanations
2007~2010
International Journal of Science Education
Authors: Pavol Prokopa; Andrea Lescaronkovaacuteb; Milan Kubiatkoc; Carla Dirand

Abstract
This study examined university students' knowledge of and attitudes (n = 378) toward biotechnology in Slovakia, a conservative country where the distribution of genetically engineered products are banned by law. We found a significant positive correlation between attitudes and the level of knowledge; however, although students enrolled in biology courses have better knowledge of biotechnology, their attitudes toward genetic engineering were similar than those of students who do not study biology. Females showed poorer knowledge and lower acceptance of genetically engineered products than did males. Overall, Slovakian students have poor knowledge and numerous misunderstandings about what genetic engineering means, which suggests that science curriculum with respect to this topic should be greatly re-evaluated and teaching strategies should be improved accordingly.
Keywords: Biotechnology education; Attitudes; Slovakia; University 
Authors: M. Teresa Ibaacutentildeez-Orcajoa; M. Mercedes Martiacutenez-Aznarb

Abstract
Numerous investigations show that most school science teaching, in Spain and elsewhere, implicitly transmits an inductivist and very stereotyped view of science and conveys an unrealistic image of scientific work. We present some results of an investigation with fourth-level Spanish secondary education students (15 year olds) who were taught genetics through a unit based on an open problem-solving methodology as an investigation. Among the learning objectives were the modification of their view of the nature of science in relation to ideas about: how science is done, what a theory is, what scientists do, and, finally, what the relationship is between Science-Technology-Society. The conceptual change about the nature of science experienced by the students in the experimental group was not observed in the control group, which worked in a traditional manner. Also, these new concepts remained with the students over time without a significant backward shift.
Author: Andrew F. Hecklera

Abstract
We conducted a series of experiments to investigate the extent to which prompting the construction of a force diagram affects student solutions to simple mechanics problems. A total of 891 university introductory physics students were given typical force and motion problems under one of the two conditions: when a force diagram was or was not prompted as part of the solution. Results indicated that students who were prompted to draw the force diagram were less likely to obtain a correct solution than those who were not prompted to solve the problem in any particular way. Analysis of the solution methods revealed that those students prompted to use a diagram tended to use the formally taught problem-solving method, and those students not prompted to draw a force diagram tended to use more intuitive methods. Students who were prompted to draw diagrams were also more likely to depict incorrect forces. These results may be explained by two factors. First, novice students may simply be more effective using intuitive, situational reasoning than using new formal methods. Second, prompting the construction of a force diagram may be misinterpreted by the student as a separate task, unrelated to solving the problem. For instruction, the results of this study imply that ignoring students' prior abilities to solve problems and their necessary developmental stages in learning formal problem-solving techniques may lead to serious mismatches in what is taught and what is intended to be learned.
Keywords: Problem solving; Diagrams; Free-body diagrams; Mechanics 
Authors: Robb Lindgrena; Daniel L. Schwartza

Abstract
Interactive simulations are entering mainstream science education. Their effects on cognition and learning are often framed by the legacy of information processing, which emphasized amodal problem solving and conceptual organization. In contrast, this paper reviews simulations from the vantage of research on perception and spatial learning, because most simulations take a spatial format and the pedagogical intent is to promote learning. Four learning effects help clarify the positive and negative aspects of current simulation designs: picture superiority, noticing, structuring, and tuning.
Keywords: K-12; Spatial learning; Perceptual learning; Computer simulations; Undergraduate 
Authors: Eva Davidssona; Anders Jakobssona

Abstract
This study investigates staff members' ideas and assumptions about visitors' learning at science and technology centres. It also aims to explore in what ways their reasoning intersect with existing theories about learning within the field of science and technology centre research. The results of the study reveal that the staff members allude to learning processes differently by distinguishing organized from non-organized learning, theoretical learning from practical hands-on learning, and serious from non-serious learning. According to most of the staff members, these also conclude with different learning outcomes. Further, a majority of the staff members state that they do not have any scientific knowledge about learning despite the fact that they work with the construction of new exhibitions. When discussing visitors' learning, the staff members instead refer to personal experiences, professional experiences, professional education, and external references. When it comes to how they reason about the natural scientific content, nearly all express that they use references from the natural science community and researchers' knowledge. The article moreover discusses in what ways a socio-cultural approach may be used in order to understand how learning arises when visitors interact with exhibits.
Authors: Omer Acara; Lutfullah Turkmenb; Anita Roychoudhuryc

Abstract
Students' poor argumentation in the context of socio-scientific issues has become a concern in science education. Identified problems associated with student argumentation in socio-scientific issues are misevaluation of evidence, naiumlve nature of science conceptualizations, and inappropriate use of value-based reasoning. In this theoretical paper, the authors propose that incorporation of decision-making research findings to argumentation research may help students overcome these problematic areas. For this aim, decision-making research findings about value-focused decision-making framework and common heuristics have been discussed. Specifically, the authors propose that explicit teaching of argumentation research should provide students a decision-making framework in which students can consider their values about a socio-scientific issue and assess different alternatives as well as incorporate teaching about common heuristics. The authors believe that this incorporation is necessary for a quality student argumentation in socio-scientific issues.
Keywords: Argumentation; Literature review; Nature of science; Socio-scientific argumentation; Decision-making; Heuristics 
Authors: Anne Humea; Richard Colla

Abstract
This paper reports on the reality of classroom-based inquiry learning in science, from the perspectives of high school students and their teachers, under a national curriculum attempting to encourage authentic scientific inquiry (as practiced by scientists). A multiple case study approach was taken, utilising qualitative research methods of unobtrusive observation, semi-structured interviews and document analysis. The findings showed purposeful and focused learning occurring, but students were acquiring a narrow view of scientific inquiry where the thinking was characteristically rote and low-level. The nature of this learning was strongly influenced by curriculum decisions made by classroom teachers and science departments in response to the assessment requirements of a high stakes national qualification. As a consequence of these decisions, students experienced structured teaching programmes in which they were exposed to programme content that limited the range of methods that scientists use to fair testing and to pedagogies that were substantially didactic in nature. In addition, the use of planning templates and exemplar assessment schedules tended to reduce student learning about experimental design to an exercise in “following the rules” as they engaged in closed rather than open investigations. Thus, the resulting student learning was mechanistic and superficial rather than creative and critical, counter to the aims of the national curriculum policy that is intent on promoting students' knowledge and capabilities in authentic scientific inquiry.
Authors: Jana Bouwma-Gearharta; James Stewartb; Keffrelyn Brownc

Abstract
Understanding the particulate nature of matter (PNM) is vital for participating in many areas of science. We assessed 11 students' atomic/molecular-level explanations of real-world phenomena after their participation in a modelling-based PNM unit. All 11 students offered a scientifically acceptable model regarding atomic/molecular behaviour in non-heated solids. Yet, 10 of 11 students expressed the view that, in response to added heat energy, atoms/molecules in a solid increase in movement to a degree beyond what is scientifically accepted. These students attributed a gas-like model of atomic/molecular movement to situations involving a heated solid. Of the students who held two conflicting models of atomic/molecular movement in solids, almost all provided justification for doing so, indicating their holding of the conflicting models was unproblematic. These findings can be interpreted to mean that students may drop constraints of certain scientific representations and apply, assess, or revise models when explaining unfamiliar phenomena. In fact, we believe students may develop conflicting causal models as a result of misperceptions they acquire, in part, during classroom instruction regarding atomic/molecular movement. However, our findings may also be interpreted as an incidence of student model development that may later aid their understanding of a more complex model, one that involves substantial sub-atomic electron movement to account for heat transfer in solids. Whether or not this is the case remains to be seen. Implications for student learning and instruction are discussed.
Keywords: Alternative conception; Model-based learning; Curriculum; Conceptual development; Learning 
Authors: Elizabeth Nagy-Shadmana; Cynthia Desrochersa
There is an erratum related to this article


Abstract
Student Response Technology (SRT) involves the use of hand-held remotes by students during classroom lectures to electronically respond to questions. This study surveyed 350 students enrolled in one of 13 lower-division university science classes taught by five different instructors who used SRT. The survey probed students' perceptions of SRT in terms of enhancing student learning, and investigated which features of SRT students felt had the greatest/least impact on student learning. The majority of students reported that the SRT increased their content understanding, class participation, alertness, and interactions with fellow students, helped with examination preparation, provided important and immediate instructor feedback, and made class more enjoyable. Students in this study scored more positively than peer groups on survey questions related to student engagement in academic and intellectual experiences, suggesting that SRT helps to promote student engagement. Important instructor actions identified during this study that augment the enhancing effects of SRT on student learning, even in large lecture settings, include designing clear, substantive questions, reviewing correct and incorrect answers with students, and making pedagogical adjustments based on class responses.
Authors: Heike Sturma; Franz X. Bognera

Abstract
The study investigated cognitive and motivational effects of two educational interventions, a conventional versus a student-oriented approach. We monitored the impact on the cognitive achievement outcome and the motivation of students. Both approaches dealt with the subject of birds and bird flight; the student-oriented approach consisted of a unit based on workstations, and the conventional one was taught in a more teacher-centred manner. A total of 326 secondary school pupils of the highest stratification level participated in this study. By using a pre-test, post-test and retention-test design, both approaches were evaluated with the same empirical batteries (by applying a cognitive item set and the “Intrinsic Motivation Inventory”). The conventional approach provided higher achievement scores whereas the student-oriented approach showed a higher motivational rating. Comparing the student-oriented approach with and without introduction, the group with introduction attained higher achievement scores. The results are discussed in terms of general expectations about the cognitive outcome in open learning environments and self-determination theory. Educational implications are drawn concerning the implementation of learning at workstations in school curricula.
Authors: Kim Chwee Daniel Tana; Keith S. Taberb; Xiufeng Liuc; Richard K. Colld; Mercedes Lorenzoe; Jia Lif; Ngoh Khang Goha; Lian Sai Chiaa

Abstract
Previous studies have indicated that A-level students in the UK and Singapore have difficulty learning the topic of ionisation energy. A two-tier multiple-choice instrument developed in Singapore in an earlier study, the Ionisation Energy Diagnostic Instrument, was administered to A-level students in the UK, advanced placement high school students in the USA, and first-year university students in China, New Zealand, and Spain to determine whether the students from different countries and educational systems had similar conceptions and difficulties as the students in Singapore with the concepts assessed in the instrument. The results showed that, in general, the students in all six samples had similar alternative conceptions, which were grouped under the categories of octet rule framework, stable fully-filled and half-filled subshell conceptions, and conservation of force thinking. The students also resorted to relation-based thinking when answering items involving the trend of ionisation energies across Period 3. Implications for teaching and further research are discussed.
Authors: Costas Constantinoua; Rodothea Hadjiloucaa; Nicos Papadourisa

Abstract
We have developed an approach for assessing students' understanding about the distinction between science and technology. The assessment approach focuses on a specific aspect of this distinction, namely the different goal pursued by each of the two domains. Based on this approach, we collected data from two sources: two written tests administered to 183 elementary, 132 middle school and 78 elementary education students and follow-up interviews with a sub-sample of the participants. The findings that have emerged from the data analysis indicate that students of all ages commonly fail to distinguish between the goals pursued by science and technology. They also suggest that students possess a vague notion of the two domains in that they tend to draw on a wide variety of criteria to distinguish between them in a non-systematic and inconsistent manner. Our data also suggest that age and education level do not seem to have a significant impact on the validity and systematicity of students' response patterns concerning the distinction between science and technology. The study concludes by reporting the various epistemological difficulties that seem to influence participants' attempts to differentiate and explore the interconnections between the two fields. Our assessment approach can be used in studies or educational interventions that seek to monitor student understandings about science and technology. The findings can be used to inform possible attempts for designing or modifying activity sequences that address this particular aspect of epistemological awareness.
Keywords: Science education; Assessment; Nature of science; Scientific literacy; Technology education; Epistemological understandings; Nature of technology 
Author: Leslie S. Keilera

Abstract
The study explored the origins of students' data handling knowledge and skills employed during secondary Science lessons. Transfer of learning was explored in an authentic school context, describing when transfer does and does not occur, conditions that appear to foster transfer, and impacts of different types of transfer on teaching and learning. The data sets collected through case study methods consisted of 13 units of Science lesson observations and interviews with 60 students and 11 teachers over the course of one academic year. Students' claims of where, when, and how they acquired data handling knowledge and skills were described and analyzed to determine whether transfer occurred or new teaching was required. The findings strongly suggest that transfer does occur among secondary school classrooms, having both positive and negative outcomes for learning and performance. Thus, educators and researchers need to rethink expectations about and implications of this transfer.
Keywords: Secondary Science Lessons; Students' Data Handling; Transfer of Learning 
Authors: Anniken Furberga; Sten Ludvigsena

Abstract
This article reports on a study concerning secondary school students' meaning-making of socio-scientific issues in Information and Communication Technology-mediated settings. Our theoretical argument has as its point of departure the analytical distinction between 'doing science' and 'doing school,' as two different forms of classroom activity. In the study we conducted an analysis of students working with web-based groupware systems concerned with genetics. The analysis identified how the students oriented their accounts of scientific concepts and how they attempted to understand the socio-scientific task in different ways. Their orientations were directed towards finding scientific explanations, towards exploring the ethical and social consequences, and towards 'fact-finding.' The students' different orientations seemed to contribute to an ambivalent tension, which, on the one hand, was productive because it urged them into ongoing discussions and explicit meaning-making. On the other hand, however, the tension elucidated how complex and challenging collaborative learning situations can be. Our findings suggest that in order to obtain a deeper understanding of students' meaning-making of socio-scientific issues in Information and Communication Technology-mediated settings, it is important not only to address how students perform the activity of 'doing science.' It is equally important to be sensitive with respect to how students orient their talk and activity towards more or less explicit values, demands, and expectations embedded in the educational setting. In other words, how students perform the activity of 'doing school.'
Authors: Alessandro Damaacutesio Trani Gomesa; A. Tarciso Borgesa; Rosaacuteria Justia

Abstract
This study investigates the relationship between the students' understanding of the aims of an investigative activity and their performance when conducting it. One hundred and eighty-one year nine students from a public middle school in Brazil took part in the study. Students working in pairs were asked to investigate two problems using a computer-based environment. All their attempts to collect information were recorded in a log file, which registered the history of each duo investigation. After completing each investigation, all the participants were asked to explain in writing what the objective of the task was. Results obtained showed that a proportion of the students had some difficulties recalling the declared aims of the activities. However, those who succeeded in recognising the stated aims of the tasks showed a superior performance in conducting their investigations. This performance was graded according to both the proportion of adequate and consistent tests carried out and the quality of the investigation which was done.
Author: April Lynn Luehmanna

Abstract
Science enrichment programmes housed outside traditional school settings can offer students from traditionally under-resourced schools valuable opportunities to access authentic scientific tools and practices. The present study contributes to our understanding of this potential and how it can best be realised through an analysis of the students' own perspectives on a specific out-of-school programme—a one-year partnership with a university-based science outreach programme, which culminated in a half-day laboratory experience for a total of 292 secondary students (ages 11-18 years). Extensive data were collected on this experience, including detailed field notes and video recordings of the classes' visits to the university as well as the planning meetings with teachers at the beginning and end of the school year, surveys of the participating students, and surveys and interviews of the teachers, and were analysed both qualitatively and quantitatively using a grounded theory approach. Building on the valuable perspectives of the participating students, and comparing them with those of their eight teachers, this study confirms that carefully designed collaborative out-of-school inquiry programmes have the potential to broaden students' (especially those from under-resourced schools) experiences of science as well as bridge them to school science.
Authors: Pei-Ling Hsua; Michiel van Eijckb; Wolff-Michael Rotha

Abstract
Working at scientists' elbows is one suggestion that educators make to improve science education, because such “authentic experiences” provide students with various types of science knowledge. However, there is an ongoing debate in the literature about the assumption that authentic science activities can enhance students' understandings of scientific practice. The purpose of the study is to further address the debate in terms of the ethnographic data collected during an internship programme for high school students right through to their public presentations at the end. Drawing on activity theory to analyse these presentations, we found that students presented scientific practice as accomplished by individual personnel without collaboration in the laboratory. However, our ethnographic data of their internship interaction show that students have had conversations about the complex collaborations within and outside the laboratory. This phenomenon leads us to claim that students experienced authentic science in their internships, but their subsequent representations of authentic science are incomplete. That is, participating in authentic science internships and reporting scientific practice are embedded activities that constitute different goals and conditions rather than unrefracted reflections of one another. The debate on the influence on students' understanding of science practice is not simply related to situating students in authentic science contexts, but also related to students' values and ideology of reporting their understanding of and about science. To help students see these “invisible” moments of science practice is therefore crucial. We make suggestions for how the invisible in and of authentic science may be made visible.
Keywords: Informal education; Nature of science; Qualitative research; Authentic science; Science internship; Activity theory 
Authors: Grant Gardnera; Gail Jonesa; Amy Taylorb; Jennifer Forrestera; Laura Robertsona

Abstract
Scientific literacy as a goal of a science education reform remains an important discourse in the research literature and is a key component of students' understanding and acceptance of emergent technologies like nanotechnology. This manuscript focuses on undergraduate engineering students' perceptions of the risks and benefits posed by nanotechnology as an important component of scientific literacy. Specifically, this study examined the perceived risk of nanotechnology of a group of American students (N = 102) in three material science engineering courses focusing on nanotechnology. Students completed a survey of risk perception and a sub-sample were interviewed (n = 21). It was found that perceptions of risks and benefits of nanotechnology tended to be closely tied to specific groups of applications including common consumer products, health-related products, and advanced technological applications. The intersection of scientific application and perception is discussed in the context of science education curriculum considerations.
Keywords: Scientific literacy; Attitudes; Science education; Nanotechnology 
Authors: Salamah Agunga; Marc S. Schwartza

Abstract
This study examines Indonesian students' understanding of conservation of matter, balancing of equations and stoichiometry. Eight hundred and sixty-seven Grade 12 students from 22 schools across four different cities in two developed provinces in Indonesia participated in the study. Nineteen teachers also participated in order to validate the 25-question survey used with all students. Significant differences in student success in answering specific questions occurred when comparing high-achievement and low-achievement schools. However, in general, student understanding of this fundamental principle in chemistry was low. The study found that the average score for all students on the survey was 41%. The findings suggest that students are most successful in solving problems used by teachers and textbooks that are algorithmic-based (i.e., stoichiometry). As there were no strong positive correlations between student performance on conceptual questions and algorithmic questions, we suggest that further research should focus on teaching practices and curricula that support the development of the students' conceptual understanding.
Authors: Jenaro Guisasolaa; Jordi Solbesb; Joseacute-Ignacio Barraguesa; Maite Morentina; Antonio Morenoc

Abstract
The present paper describes the design of teaching materials that are used as learning tools in school visits to a science museum. An exhibition on 'A century of the Special Theory of Relativity', in the Kutxaespacio Science Museum, in San Sebastian, Spain, was used to design a visit for first-year engineering students at the university and assess the learning that was achieved. The first part of the paper presents the teaching sequence that was designed to build a bridge between formal teaching and the exhibition visit. The second part analyses the potential of the exhibition and the aforementioned teaching sequence to influence the students' knowledge of three aspects of the Special Theory of Relativity. The results obtained show that the design of the visit, with both pre-visit and follow-up activities, was effective as a means of increasing students' understanding and stimulating their ability to argue scientifically.
Author: Marilyn Fleera

Abstract
Little change has been noted over 10 years of research into teacher knowledge and confidence to teach science in the early and primary years of schooling. There is a significant body of research demonstrating that early childhood and primary teachers lack confidence and competence in teaching science. However, much of this research blames the victim, and offers little analysis for the systemic reasons for teachers' confidence and competence in science education other than a lack of science knowledge. This paper reports on a study that examined teacher philosophy and pedagogical practices within the context of an analysis of children's concept formation within playful early childhood settings. Through teacher interviews, video recordings of science play, and photographic documentation of children's science activities in one rural preschool, it was noted that teacher philosophy about how young children learn is a significant contributing factor to learning in science. It is argued that teacher philosophy makes more of a difference to children's scientific learning than does teacher confidence to teach science or knowledge of science. The study also shows that without a mediational scientific framework for using materials in play-based contexts, children will generate their own imaginary, often non-scientific, narratives for making sense of the materials provided.
Authors: Jennifer DeWitta; Jonathan Osbornea

Abstract
Although science centres and museums are important educational resources, school trips to these places are not often conducted in a manner that could maximise learning. In addressing this issue, a Framework for Museum Practice (FMP) is proposed, derived from the perspectives of Cultural Historical Activity Theory, theories of intrinsic motivation, and research into conceptual learning. It is hypothesised that this theoretically derived framework, if implemented by museum educators, can potentially lead to the creation of resources for teachers that would enable them to make better use of the learning opportunities afforded by school trips, and to maximise the impact on pupil learning, including their affective experience. This paper also describes how the framework was used to guide the development of resources to be used in conjunction with a science museum trip. The resources were tested by two primary school teachers and their classes, and the data were analysed for evidence of teacher and student behaviour consistent with the design principles in the FMP. Findings lend some empirical support for the FMP and suggest that it may offer a guide for the development of museum-provided resources, which would have the potential to improve the utilisation by teachers of informal science institutions and, consequently, their impact on pupil learning.
Keywords: Cultural Historical Activity Theory; Framework for Museum Practice; Science-focused School Trips 
Authors: George E. Glassona; Ndalapa Mhangob; Absalom Phiric; Marilyn Laniera

Abstract
In response to global climate change, loss of biodiversity, and the immense human impact on the carrying capacity of the earth systems, attention has been given to sustainable development worldwide. In this paper, we explore the emerging field of sustainability science within the context of the socio-cultural milieu of Malawi, a sub-Saharan African country. Through interviews in vernacular languages and observations in the field, our research explores how traditional agriculture practices of African elders may contribute to the sustainability of the environment and culture in Africa. Findings indicate that traditional farmers and food preservationists choose to practice indigenous ways of living with nature to live sustainably in a globalized economy. Further discussion elucidates how merging worldviews and hybridized knowledge and languages can be leveraged to create a third space for dialogue and curriculum development by connecting indigenous ways of living with Eurocentric science.
Keywords: Environmental education; Sustainability; Indigenous knowledge 
Authors: Roald P. Verhoeffa; Arend Jan Waarloa; Kerst Th. Boersmaa

Abstract
This article reports on educational design research concerning a learning and teaching strategy for cell biology in upper-secondary education introducing systems modelling as a key competence. The strategy consists of four modelling phases in which students subsequently develop models of free-living cells, a general two-dimensional model of cells, a three-dimensional model of plant cells, and finally they are engaged in formal thinking by modelling life phenomena to a hierarchical systems model. The strategy was thought out, elaborated, and tested in classrooms in several research cycles. Throughout the field-tests, research data were collected by means of classroom observations, interviews, audio-taped discussions, completed worksheets, written tests, and questionnaires. Reflection on the research findings eventuated in reshaping and formalizing the learning and teaching strategy, which is presented here. The results show that although acquiring systems thinking competence at the metacognitive level needs more effort, our strategy contributed to improving learning outcomes; that is, acquisition of a coherent conceptual understanding of cell biology and acquisition of initial systems thinking competence, with modelling being the key activity.
Authors: Chiung-Fen Yena; Tsung-Wei Yaob; Joel J. Mintzesc

Abstract
This study explored and documented Taiwanese students' alternative conceptions of animal classification. We examined the understanding of the animal, vertebrate and invertebrate, fish, amphibian, reptile, bird, and mammal concepts among elementary, junior high school and senior high school, and university students in a sample population of close to 2,000 students. Using clinical interviews, sorting tasks, and a two-tiered diagnostic instrument, we documented the frequencies of a wide range of ideas and compared our findings with those of studies in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and the United States. The most important results indicate that for most students, the concept label animal refers to vertebrates, especially to common, well-known mammals and birds; the most common attributes used by students to define animals are movement and viability; many students had difficulty in making the distinction between vertebrates and invertebrates, and between reptiles and amphibians; and students tended to use external morphology, habitat, and movement in distinguishing between common, well-known vertebrates and invertebrates, and certain vertebrate animals pose special conceptual problems for students by virtue of their external morphology and habitat (e.g., the penguin and octopus). We contend that insights gained from this study will provide useful suggestions for Taiwanese science curriculum designers, science teachers, and researchers involved in the new 9-year curriculum reform.
Keywords: Alternative conception; Animal classification; Animal biodiversity; Two-tiered diagnostic instrument 
Authors: Doris Asha; Rhiannon Craina; Carol Brandta; Molly Loomisa; Mele Wheatona; Christine Bennetta

Abstract
The goal of this study is to explore new tools for analyzing scientific sense-making in out-of-school settings. Although such measures are now common in science classroom research, dialogically based methodological approaches are relatively new to informal learning research. Such out-of-classroom settings have more recently become a breeding ground for new design approaches for tracking scientific talk and ideas within complex data-sets. The research reported here seeks to understand the language people do use to make sense of the life sciences over time. Another goal of this study is to track biological themes over time, using a new analytical scheme—the Tool for Observing Biological Talk Over Time. Our analyses are linked to and informed by tensions between particularistic and holistic data collection and analysis, qualitative and quantitative representations, and everyday and formal science discourse. These tensions and our analyses are linked to larger theoretical frameworks and to the recursive interplay between theory and practice.
Authors: Judith Bennetta; Sylvia Hogartha; Fred Lubbena; Bob Campbella; Alison Robinsona

Abstract
This paper reports the findings of two systematic reviews of the use and effects of small group discussions in high school science teaching. Ninety-four studies were included in an overview (systematic map) of work in the area, and 24 studies formed the basis of the in-depth reviews. The reviews indicate that there is considerable diversity in the topics used to promote small group discussions. They also demonstrate that students often struggle to formulate and express coherent arguments, and demonstrate a low level of engagement with tasks. The reviews suggest that groups function more purposefully, and understanding improves most, when specifically constituted such that differing views are represented, when some form of training is provided for students on effective group work, and when help in structuring discussions is provided in the form of “cues”. Single-sex groups function more purposefully than mixed-sex groups, though improvements in understanding are independent of gender composition of groups. Finally, the reviews demonstrate very clearly that, for small group discussions to be effective, teachers and students need to be given explicit teaching in the skills associated with the development of arguments and the characteristics associated with effective group discussions. In addition to the substantive findings, the paper also reports on key features of the methods employed to gather and analyse data. Of particular note are the two contrasting approaches to data analysis, one adopting a grounded theory approach and the other drawing on established methods of discourse analysis.
Keywords: Learning activities; Literature review; Small group discussion 
Authors: Arthur L. Odoma; Elizabeth R. Stoddarda; Steven M. LaNasaa

Abstract
We report on the construction and application on an instrument entitled the “Science Achievement Influences Survey” to assess combined effects of student attitudes about science, peer interaction, and home support, and the frequency of student-centred and teacher-centred instructional practices on student achievement. Controlling for pre-test content knowledge, results indicated that student-centred teaching practices have a positive association with student achievement (p < .01; i.e., group experiments) and a negative association with teacher-centred teaching practices (p < .01; i.e., copying notes). Additionally, student attitudes about science were positively associated with student-centred teaching practices (p < .01) and negatively associated with teacher-centred teaching practices (p < .01). Most significantly, this study documents the predicted gains in science achievement associated with frequency of specific instructional practices used by middle-school science teachers. Especially noteworthy and significant is the finding that near-daily implementation of group experiments and reduction of extensive note-copying during class yield the greatest positive impact on student achievement. Outside of school, peer interaction and home support were not significantly associated (p > .05) with student achievement. The student sample included 611 middle-school science students with a wide range of socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds.
Authors: Ibrahim Erdogana; Todd Campbellb

Abstract
This research investigated the impact of teacher questions, question types, and interaction patterns that coincide with high and low levels of constructivist teaching practices. Through both quantitative and qualitative methods the findings revealed that teachers facilitating classrooms with high levels of constructivist teaching practices (HLCTP) were very active as they asked a significantly greater number of questions compared to teachers facilitating classrooms with low levels of constructivists teaching practices (LLCTP). In addition, teachers facilitating with HLCTP used a significantly greater number of open-ended questions when compared with other types of questions (closed-ended questions and task-oriented questions). Closed-ended questions were found in the HLCTP classrooms as teachers were concerned with focusing students on completing investigations, but open-ended questions were more often found with the aim of promoting student actions attuned to knowledge construction.
Authors: Jakob Gyllenpalma; Per-Olof Wickmana; Sven-Olof Holmgrena

Abstract
With a focus on the use of language related to scientific inquiry, this paper explores how 12 secondary school science teachers describe instances of students' practical work in their science classes. The purpose of the study was to shed light on the culture and traditions of secondary school science teaching related to inquiry as expressed in the use of language. Data consisted of semi-structured interviews about actual inquiry units used by the teachers. These were used to situate the discussion of their teaching in a real context. The theoretical background is socio-cultural and pragmatist views on the role of language in science learning. The analysis focuses on two concepts of scientific inquiry: hypothesis and experiment. It is shown that the teachers tend to use these terms with a pedagogical function thus conflating methods of teaching with methods of inquiry as part of an emphasis on teaching the children the correct explanation. The teachers did not prioritise an understanding of scientific inquiry as a knowledge goal. It discusses how learners' possibilities to learn about the characteristics of scientific inquiry and the nature of science are affected by an unreflective use of everyday discourse.
Keywords: Inquiry-based teaching; Laboratory work; Language; Teacher knowledge; Science education 
Author: M. B. Ogunniyia

Abstract
The new South African curriculum known as Curriculum 2005 (to depict the year of its full implementation) requires that teachers integrate school science with Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS). Curriculum 2005 has generated heated debates at various levels since its inception in 1997. This study focuses on the effectiveness or otherwise of a Practical Argumentation Course (PAC) as an instructional tool for enhancing teachers' understanding of, and ability to implement, a Science-IKS curriculum. Data collected by questionnaires, video-taped and audio-taped interviews, and reflective essays were analysed in terms of a Practical Argumentation Framework developed for the purpose. The findings show that the PAC did enhance the teachers' understanding as well as increase their awareness of the need to implement a Science-IKS curriculum in their classrooms. Also, the PAC seemed to have made the teachers more sceptical of the notion that science is the only way of knowing or interpreting experience, or that IKS were based on superstitious beliefs. All the teachers recommended the need to include the PAC or similar courses in science teacher education programmes.
Author: M. B. Ogunniyia

Abstract
In response to the needs of a newly democratic South Africa, a new education policy required science teachers to integrate Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) with school science: Curriculum 2005 (C2005) was developed. The first phase of that curriculum was implemented in 1997 with the hope that by 2005 it would have been implemented in the entire school system (i.e., R-12 grades). Since then science educators have been making a concerted effort to develop science teacher education programmes compatible with the postulates of the new curriculum policy. As part of that effort, this study used a Practical Argumentation Course to equip a group of science teachers with knowledge and instructional skills needed to implement an integrated Science-IKS curriculum in their classrooms. The findings showed that, as a result of the course, the teachers' understanding of, and awareness about, the Nature of Science and IKS improved considerably. Similarly, the teachers made noticeable perceptual shifts from construing science and IKS as polar opposites to considering the two thought systems as compatible and complementary. The implications of the findings for instructional practices are highlighted in the paper.
Author: Susan Stocklmayera

Abstract
Principles of direct current have long been recognised in the literature as presenting difficulties for learners. Most of these difficulties have been reported in the context of the traditional electron flow model. In this paper, an alternative approach for high school students using a field model is explored. Findings from a range of short pilot trials using this approach are described. These preliminary findings indicate that the field model, as an alternative approach to teaching about direct current, may be more successful than the traditional electron flow model for students in high school.
Keywords: Physics education; Alternative conception; Model-based learning; Electricity; Field theory 
Authors: Joseacute M. Olivaa; P. Azcaacuterateb; A. Navarreteb

Abstract
The present work discusses, firstly, different dimensions that characterize the use of analogies in the classroom. Foremost among these are the pupil's level of activity and the degree of monitoring carried out by the teacher. Secondly, the routines declared by a group of science teachers (n = 73), when they described their classroom activity in using analogies, are analysed. It was found that most of the teachers corresponded to traditional models for the use of analogies, or, in the best of cases, to models based on meaningful learning by transmission/reception of previously elaborated knowledge. Finally, some implications for teaching and teacher education are discussed.
Keywords: Analogies; Professional development; Hypothesis of progression; Teaching models; Teaching profiles 
Authors: Valarie Akersona; Lisa A. Donnellyb

Abstract
This study explored the influence of a Saturday Science program that used explicit reflective instruction through contextualized and decontextualized guided and authentic inquiry on K-2 students' views of nature of science (NOS). The six-week program ran for 2.5 hours weekly and emphasized NOS in a variety of science content areas, culminating in an authentic inquiry designed and carried out by the K-2 students. The Views of Nature of Science Form D was used to interview K-2 students pre- and post-instruction. Copies of student work were retained for content analysis. Videotapes made of each week's science instruction were reviewed to ensure that explicit reflective NOS instruction took place. Explicit NOS teaching strategies included (1) introducing NOS through decontextualized activities, (2) embedding NOS into science content through contextualized activities, (3) using children's literature, (4) debriefings and embedded NOS assessments, and (5) guided and student-designed inquiries. Results indicate that K-2 students improved their NOS views over the course of the program, suggesting that they are developmentally ready for these concepts. Students developed adequate views of the distinction between observation and inference, the creative NOS, the tentative NOS, the empirical NOS, and to a lesser degree, the subjective NOS.
Keywords: Early years; Nature of science; Science education 
Author: Jennifer Millera

Abstract
With the globalisation of education, large numbers of students with interrupted schooling and low English literacy levels represent both a quantitative and qualitative shift in the kinds of students faced by teachers in classrooms. In Australia, after a year in an intensive English language programme, immigrant and refugee students are placed in the mainstream, where they face enormous challenges in content areas such as science. The complexity and specificity of science terminology pose a serious barrier for students. This article reports on a research project to support vocabulary learning in mainstream science for Year 8 refugee students (n = 23) in one high school. Data sources included teacher interviews, student journal writing, and the science text itself. The author demonstrates why science content language is inaccessible to many students through an extensive review of the literature, and then juxtaposes the views of students and teachers with the actual demands of one chapter from the Year 8 Science textbook on states of matter. The final section presents the response of the researchers to help scaffold vocabulary learning for this topic and a trial of the materials. The study highlights the links between conceptual and linguistic understanding. Given that students identified vocabulary as a major barrier to learning, and that the science teacher tended to assume rather than to explain new terminology, the language-focused approach outlined to support vocabulary was seen as one way to address an urgent problem. Implications for professional development and teacher education are also addressed.
Authors: Hedda Falka; Gilat Brilla; Anat Yardena

Abstract
Adapted primary literature (APL) refers to an educational genre specifically designed to enable the use of research articles for learning biology in high school. The present investigation focuses on the paedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of four high-school biology teachers who enacted an APL-based curriculum in biotechnology. Using a constructivist qualitative research approach, we analysed those teachers' aims and beliefs, the instructional strategies they used during the enactment of the curriculum, as well as the outcomes of the enactment as perceived by the teachers and their students, and as reflected in the class observations. Some of the teachers' strategies applied during the enactment, such as the conversational model, were specifically designed for teaching APL-based curricula. We found that the instructional strategies applied for the adapted articles were associated with cognitive and affective engagement, active learning, inquiry thinking, and understanding of the nature of science. Suitable teacher PCK promoted learning by inquiry in addition to learning on inquiry. Students' challenges were mainly linked to the comprehension of complex, multi-stage, biotechnological processes and methods that are abundant throughout the curriculum and required the use of previous knowledge in new contexts. A complex interaction of factors, namely teachers' PCK, the APL genre, and the biotechnology content of the curriculum, shaped the instructional strategies of the new curriculum and the outcomes of its enactment
Authors: Vidar Gynnilda; Anders Holstada; Dag Myrhauga

Abstract
This paper presents a number of case studies in Oceanography, an optional module in the third/fourth year of a Master of Science programme at Norwegian University of Science and Technology. The main objective was to gain more thorough insights into student learning by examining two sets of individual oral examinations. In addition, all students were interviewed about their intentions and behaviours when studying. These interviews, as well as being a useful source of information on learning, turned out to serve as coaching sessions as well. In their interviews, students revealed different learning approaches. The major focus of this study is directed towards the less successful students, who appeared to have problems in focusing on crucial learning issues. The authors suggest a gestalt theoretical model to embody support that might remedy the situation. Its main application has so far been within psychotherapy, but the authors argue that the principles can easily be applied in learning with potentially great benefit.
Keywords: Oceanography; Student Learning; Teaching as Coaching
Author: Pernilla Nilssona

Abstract
This paper explores the development of student-teachers' pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) during pre-service education. Four student-teachers in mathematics and science participated in a project teaching physics to students aged 9-11 years once a week over a 12-month period. One-third of the lessons were videotaped and the student-teachers were later interviewed using the videotape for stimulated recall. Participants reflected on their classroom practice based on their conceptual understanding of physics. This empirical study emphasises the role of teaching experience and reflection in science teacher education as a way of better understanding the complex entities that constitute a knowledge base for teaching. The paper draws attention to the value of student-teachers participating in experiences that might contribute to the development of their PCK and supports a view of PCK development as a process of transformation.
Authors: Ishien Lia; Esther Onagab; Pao-Sheng Shenc; Hua-Huei Chioua

Abstract
Based on data collected from 211 elementary school children in central Taiwan over four years, the role of temperament in science achievement was examined with multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) with repeated measures design. The results revealed that the students' science achievement is stable over time. The task orientation characteristics (i.e., distractibility, hyperactivity, and persistence) identified by previous research as important in mathematics and reading achievement are not consistent with the findings of this study that although the impacts of distractibility and persistence are significant, the simple effect of activity level on science achievement was not significant. However, the interaction effect of activity level and persistence is significant. Further break down analyses conducted to pursuit the interaction effect revealed that: (1) persistence has a consistent significant positive effects on all children over the years, except for the ones with high activity level (the upper 25th percentile); and (2) activity level has significant negative effects on high persistence (the upper 25th percentile) children only, and the interaction effect of activity level increases over time—the older the child the more significant the influence. Also, the tendency of approach/withdraw has significant impact on science achievement The educational implications of the findings include: (1) teachers of high activity students with high persistence may need to consider the match between children's interests and contents of instruction; (2) a good match between children's individual differences in distractibility, persistence, and approach need to be considered in contents, expectations, and interactions of the instruction.
Author: Aik-Ling Tana

Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to identify tensions in teacher-student interaction in a high school biology laboratory. Using micro-analytic analysis of classroom talk, the interaction between the students and a teacher working in the biology laboratory session on Reproduction in Plants is studied. The two tensions highlighted here are tension with textbooks as authority and tension with the teacher as authority. Tension with textbooks as authority originates from an over-reliance on generalizations expressed in textbooks resulting in the inability of learners to appreciate alternatives and exceptions. Tension with the teacher as authority stems from the task design and varying levels of control that a teacher has over the learner and the learning process. The genesis of the two forms of tensions in the laboratory is different and they are tackled differently by the participants to yield different outcomes. While science educators have conducted intensive research over the past two decades on the effects of school science laboratory work on students' learning of science, more can be done in the specific area of teacher-student interaction. This paper offers some insights into the interaction between a teacher and her students in a laboratory as they learn biology. An increased understanding of the impact of the tensions in a science laboratory might help to bring about realization of the true spirit and intent of school science laboratory experiences.
Author: John Kennya

Abstract
This Article does not have an abstract. 
Authors: Ineke Henzea; Jan Van Driela; Nico Verloopa

Abstract
In order to enhance teachers' professional awareness, it is necessary to understand and value their subjective or personal knowledge and beliefs. This study investigated the change of science teachers' personal knowledge about teaching models and modelling in science within the context of educational reform in The Netherlands. The study followed nine experienced science teachers during the first years of the implementation of a new syllabus, which emphasises models and modelling. Data collection consisted of the repeated administration of a Repertory Grid instrument. From the results, three different types of personal knowledge concerning teaching models and modelling in science were identified, each of which showed significant change over time. Type 1 combined modelling as an activity undertaken by students with the learning of specific model content. In Type 2, the learning of model content was combined with critical reflection on the role and nature of models in science. Finally, in Type 3, the learning of model content involved both students' production and revision of models, and a critical examination of the nature of scientific models in general. Implications for the teachers' professional development are discussed.
Authors: Emma Weitkampa; Frank Burneta

Abstract
“The Chemedian and the Crazy Football Match” is a comic strip developed by the authors to bring humour to aspects of the UK primary science curriculum. The comic strip was tested in six English primary school classes (years 3-5; ages 7-10); over 150 children participated in the project, together with six teachers. Children found the comic strip fun to read and engaged with the character. In addition, children were able to provide explanations for the 'science' performed by the Chemedian based on their own experience. However, it was notable that children found it hard to project actions the Chemedian would take in other similar situations that were based on the same scientific premises used in the comic strip. Instead, children seemed to draw on either their own preferences for actions or on actions they expected other more generalised comic characters might undertake. From the teacher assessments of class behaviour, it was clear that the comic strip format had engaged children, particularly boys, in what was essentially a reading and discussion based activity. This approach might open up new avenues for cross curricular links between science and literacy.
Authors: Per Gyberga; Francis Leea

Abstract
This article investigates the mechanisms that govern the processes of inclusion and exclusion of knowledges. It draws on three cases from Swedish classrooms about how energy is created as an area of knowledge. We are interested in how knowledge is made valid and legitimate in a school context, and in defining and finding tools to identify structures that govern potential meanings in a certain situation. To do this we develop a theoretical model that explains the preconditions for meaning. The purpose is to understand why certain knowledges are legitimated in the classroom and to explain how this happens. The analysis is based on participatory observations in classrooms, audio recordings of students engaged in group projects, educational materials, and the students' own work. The apparatuses of the school offer a wide range of possible meanings concerning energy. At the same time there are forces evolved in the school practice that effectively sift out what counts as values from what counts as facts and valid knowledge. These forces create a certain order and certain effects for what counts as truth. The article investigates the nature of the correlations between the different preconditions identified that makes one discourse more likely and “true” than another.
Keywords: Classroom; Learning activities; Science education discourse; Discourse; Facts; Preconditions 
Author: Patrice Venturinia

Abstract
The issue of students' engagement in learning physics has generally been analysed in science education research using attitudes towards science, or motivation to learn science. However, the corresponding studies have their limitations. Therefore, the object of this paper is to present and to analyse an alternative to these theoretical approaches; namely the “relation to knowledge”, which has been used more and more in the past 10 years in French-speaking educational research. The description and discussion of the broad outlines of this theory, of the associated methodology, and of the obtained results regarding the learning of physics will show the significance of this approach and its limits, as well as the perspectives that it opens
Keywords: Learning Physics; Student Engagement; Theory of Relation to Knowledge 
Authors: Alberto Villania; Valeria Silva Diasb; Juarez Melgaco Valadaresa

Abstract
Over the last 50 years a new research area, science education research, has arisen and undergone singular development worldwide. In the specific case of Brazil, research in science education first appeared systematically 40 years ago, as a consequence of an overall renovation in the field of science education. This evolution was also related to the political events taking place in the country. We will use the theoretical work of Rene Kaës on the development of groups and institutions as a basis for our discussion of the most important aspects that have helped the area of science education research develop into an institution and kept it operating as such. The growth of this area of research can be divided into three phases: The first was related to its beginning and early configurations; the second consisted of a process of consolidation of this institution; and the third consists of more recent developments, characterised by a multiplicity of research lines and corresponding challenges to be faced. In particular, we will analyse the special contributions to this study gleaned from the field known as the history and philosophy of science.
Keywords: History and philosophy of science; Institutional development; Kaës' model; Science education research 
Authors: Jenny Manta; Helen Wilsona; David Coatesb

Abstract
This paper reports research into the effect on 11-year-old pupils of introducing more cognitively challenging, practical, and interactive science lessons. Our hypothesis was that such lessons would increase the children's enthusiasm for science and their engagement with the scientific process, thereby improving educational performance. Schools in England are under pressure to raise achievement, as measured by the results of national tests. This has an impact on teaching, where revision of subject knowledge often dominates and can be particularly detrimental to more able pupils. The research was a controlled trial which took place in thirty-two English primary schools as part of a project “Conceptual Challenge in Primary Science”. Teachers from 16 intervention schools participated in continuing professional development (CPD) and developed science lessons that had more practical work, more discussion, more thinking and less (but more focused) writing. The proportion of pupils achieving the highest level (level 5) in the national science tests at age 11 was compared in the matched-school pairs before and after the intervention. Focus group interviews were also held with a group of pupils in each intervention school. There was a 10% (95% Confidence Interval 2-17%) increase in the proportion of children achieving the top score in the intervention schools. The pupils and teachers reported greater engagement and motivation. These findings suggest that moving from rote revision to cognitively challenging, interactive science could help improve science education. They merit replication in other international settings to test their generalisability.
Authors: Mee-Kyeong Leea; Ibrahim Erdoganb

Abstract
The purpose of the study was to examine the effectiveness of Science-Technology-Society approaches on student attitudes toward science and creativity. Seven Korean Physics teachers (two middle school and five high school) who participated in a 4-week intensive summer Iowa Chautauqua Professional Development Program at the University of Iowa and their 591 students in 14-class section were participants in this study. Students who were taught with Science-Technology-Society approaches showed significant improvement in the development not only of more positive attitudes toward science, but also of their creativity skills.
Authors: Georgios Tsitsipisa; Dimitrios Stamovlasisa; George Papageorgioua

Abstract
In this study, students' understanding of the structure of matter and its changes of state such as melting, evaporation, boiling, and condensation was investigated in relation to three cognitive variables: logical thinking (LTh), field dependence/independence, and convergence/divergence dimension. The study took place in Greece with the participation of 329 ninth-grade junior high school pupils (age 14-15). A stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that all of the above-mentioned cognitive variables were statistically significant predictors of the students' achievement. Among the three predictors, LTh was found to be the most dominant. In addition, students' understanding of the structure of matter, along with the cognitive variables, was shown to have an effect on their understanding of the changes of states and on their competence to interpret these physical changes. Path analyses were implemented to depict these effects. Moreover, a theoretical analysis is provided that associates LTh and cognitive styles with the nature of mental tasks involved when learning the material concerning the particulate nature of matter and its changes of state. Implications for science education are also discussed.
Keywords: Particulate structure of matter; Changes of state; Logical thinking; Cognitive styles; Field dependence/independence; Convergent/divergent thinking 
Authors: Minkee Kimab; Jinwoong Songb

Abstract
The literature on students' attitudinal constructs in science education asserts that students hold dichotomous attitudes toward science (AS). For instance, studies from the Relevance of Science Education project reveal that students possess negative attitudes in terms of their favourableness toward school science, preference toward scientific careers, and emotional states toward science (negative intrinsic AS), despite their positive perception that science is important for society (positive extrinsic AS). The issue demands in-depth examination, since not enough science educators have studied the effects of the dichotomous AS on science education. Rather, they have attempted to improve the uncategorised AS for stimulating student achievement in science education. Hence, the aim of this study is to clarify how the dichotomous attitude (intrinsic AS and extrinsic AS) relates to the two educational products in science: interest inventory and conceptual understanding. One hundred and sixteen physics learners in Japan were sampled for fitting the structural equation model in this study. Our final model validated by LISREL suggests that intrinsic AS exclusively stimulate students' interest and conceptual understanding in physics, while extrinsic AS fail to play their expected role. Finally, features of the sampled 10th-graders and their dichotomous AS are further interpreted with the prevalent concept of the hidden curriculum.
Author: Ozgur Taskina

Abstract
The present study explores the environmental attitudes (EA) of senior high school students in Turkey, explains which determinant factors affect these EAs, and concludes with some suggestions for curricular reform. This study includes over nine hundred students from different school types, neighbourhoods, geographical regions, and socioeconomic backgrounds. The researcher used two different questionnaires that were based on postmaterialist values: one based on the New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) and the other developed by the researcher called the General Environmental Attitudes and Perceptions (GAP). The results of ANOVA and t-tests show that EAs of students vary depending on school type, gender, parents' education levels, parents' political views, professions, and household income. Students at public high schools, females, lower middle class students, students with well educated parents in white-collar professions, and students with liberal parents have more pro-environmental attitudes than the others. Students from vocational schools, almost all of which are based on single-sex education, have scored the lowest on both surveys.
Authors: J. Bernardino Lopesa; Nilza Costab

Abstract
Modelling is an inherent process for the construction and use of science concepts that mobilize diverse specific competences. The aims of this work are to put forward a means of evaluating modelling competences that is relevant for physics teaching and science education research and to identify the potentials and constraints in the development of modelling competences. A written test, which embraces a wide range of modelling aspects in mechanics domain, was drawn up and validated, and a theoretically based evaluation methodology was specified. In the validation process, the test was given to 75 subjects distributed across seven levels of physics education. The answers were analysed and later cluster analysis was carried out in order to identify categories of answers among the diverse answers. The results indicate that the test identified and delimitated modelling competences. Some results are in agreement with those obtained through other research into this issue and other results better elucidate certain aspects of modelling. The way in which evaluation methodology can be used in other areas of physics is discussed, such as in research and in teaching. Also discussed is how the constraints and potentials identified in the development of modelling competences can be taken into account in teaching and learning sciences.
Keywords: Learning Sciences; Modelling Competences; Physics Teaching 
Author: Nasser Mansourab

Abstract
This research investigates the role of experience in relation to teachers' beliefs and practices. The study adopted a social-cultural constructivist perspective using an interpretive approach. The research was guided by teachers' interpretations of their experiences related to teaching science through Science-Technology-Society (STS) issues. These interpretations are re-interpreted to find meaningful conceptual categories (grounded in the data) from which to build a model to understand the influence of experiences within socio-Islamic culture on teachers' beliefs and practices. Data was collected from ten teachers using interviews and observations. The findings of this study suggest that it was mainly teachers' personal religious beliefs and experiences that shaped their beliefs and practices. The research also led to a model, constructed on the basis of the data analysis, which suggests an explanation of how teachers' personal religious beliefs and experiences influence their beliefs and practices.
Authors: Gillian Roehriga; Shauna Garrowa

Abstract
Evidence of a gap in student understanding has been well documented in chemistry: the typical student holds an abundance of misconceptions. The current expectation is that educational reform will foster greater student achievement via inquiry teaching within classrooms. Using assessments involving both conceptual and algorithmic knowledge of gas behaviour, gas laws, and phase changes in chemistry, this study aims to determine the relationship between inquiry teaching and student achievement. The topics were tested in the context of a unit from a reform-based curriculum that features inquiry, hands-on activities, and cooperative learning. This curriculum provides step-by-step guidance for each lesson in the teacher materials, in order to promote quality inquiry teaching. Two schools were involved in this study, with two high school chemistry teachers from each school. Each teacher participated in professional development and implemented this curriculum with sufficient training and guidance to develop reform methods. Student achievement was found to positively correlate with the use of inquiry teaching about the assessed concepts, regardless of teacher experience or school context.
Authors: Iztok Devetaka; Sascarona Aleksij Glazcaronara

Abstract
Submicrorepresentations (SMRs) are a powerful tool for identifying misconceptions of chemical concepts and for generating proper mental models of chemical phenomena in students' long-term memory during chemical education. The main purpose of the study was to determine which independent variables (gender, formal reasoning abilities, visualization abilities, and intrinsic motivation for learning chemistry) have the maximum influence on students' reading and drawing SMRs. A total of 386 secondary school students (aged 16.3 years) participated in the study. The instruments used in the study were: test of Chemical Knowledge, Test of Logical Thinking, two tests of visualization abilities Patterns and Rotations, and questionnaire on Intrinsic Motivation for Learning Science. The results show moderate, but statistically significant correlations between students' intrinsic motivation, formal reasoning abilities and chemical knowledge at submicroscopic level based on reading and drawing SMRs. Visualization abilities are not statistically significantly correlated with students' success on items that comprise reading or drawing SMRs. It can be also concluded that there is a statistically significant difference between male and female students in solving problems that include reading or drawing SMRs. Based on these statistical results and content analysis of the sample problems, several educational strategies can be implemented for students to develop adequate mental models of chemical concepts on all three levels of representations.
Keywords: Secondary school students; Submicrorepresentations; Students' mental abilities; Intrinsic motivation; Misconceptions 
Authors: Fouad Abd-El-Khalicka; Valarie Akersonb

Abstract
This study assessed the influence of training in, and use of, metacognitive strategies on the development of prospective elementary teachers' views of nature of science (NOS). Participants were 49 students (92% female) enrolled in two sections of an elementary science methods course. The sections were randomly assigned to an intervention group and a comparison group. Students in both groups were engaged with explicit-reflective NOS instruction, which focused on the empirical, tentative, theory-driven, inferential, and creative NOS. Additionally, students in the intervention group received instruction in, and used, three metacognitive strategies during their engagement with thinking about NOS. The Views of Nature of Science Questionnaire—Form C and the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory were respectively used to assess participants' views of NOS and metacognitive awareness at the beginning and conclusion of the study. Data analyses indicated that significantly more students in the intervention group explicated more informed views of the target aspects of NOS. Moreover, these substantial changes were coupled with significantly increased Metacognitive Awareness Inventory scores for the intervention group participants. The results point to a relationship between improved metacognitive awareness and the development of informed understandings of NOS.
Authors: Huann-shyang Lina; Zuway-R Hongb; Ying-Yao Chengb

Abstract
This quasi-experimental study investigates how the classroom learning environment changed after inquiry-based activities were introduced and student questioning was encouraged. Three science teachers and three classes of fifth graders (n=92) participated in this study. The analysis of covariance reveals that although the experimental group students perceived that their teacher's support was significantly lower than that for the comparison group did (p< 0.05), they were significantly more involved in learning (p< 0.05) than their counterparts. Classroom observations of student questioning and inquiry activities revealed that those students with high quality levels in asking or responding to questions outperformed their counterparts in the inquiry ability of designing experimental procedures.
Authors: Michelle Cooka; Glenda Carterb; Eric N. Wiebeb

Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine how prior knowledge of cellular transport influenced how high school students in the USA viewed and interpreted graphic representations of this topic. The participants were Advanced Placement Biology students (n = 65); each participant had previously taken a biology course in high school. After assessing prior knowledge using the Diffusion and Osmosis Diagnostic Test, two graphical representations of cellular transport processes were selected for analysis. Three different methods of data collection—eye tracking, interviews, and questionnaires—were used to investigate differences in perceived salient features of the graphics, interpretations of the graphics, and processing difficulty experienced while attending to and interpreting the graphics. The results from the eye tracking data, interviews, and instructional representation questionnaires were triangulated and revealed differences in how high and low prior knowledge students attended to and interpreted particle differences, concentration gradient, the role of adenosine triphosphate , endocytosis and exocytosis, and text labels and captions. Without adequate domain knowledge, low prior knowledge students focused on the surface features of the graphics (ex. differences in particle colour) to build an understanding of the concepts represented. On the other hand, with more abundant and better-organised domain knowledge, high prior knowledge students were more likely to attend to the thematically relevant content in the graphics, which enhanced their understanding. The findings of this study offer a more complete understanding of how differentially prepared learners view and interpret graphics and have the potential to inform instructional design.
Authors: Andy Cavagnettoa; Brian M. Handb; Lori Norton-Meierc

Abstract
This case study aimed to determine the nature of student interactions in small groups in an elementary classroom utilizing the Science Writing Heuristic approach. Fifth grade students were audio-recorded over four units of study while working in small groups to generate knowledge claims after conducting student-directed investigations. Analysis consisted of (1) identifying amount of on/off task talk, (2) categorizing on-task talk as generative (talk associated with generating an argument) or representational (talk associated with representing an argument in a final written form), (3) characterizing the generative components of argument, and (4) determining the functions of language used. Results indicate that students were on task 98% of the time. Students engaged in generative talk an average of 25% of the time and representational talk an average of 71% of the time. Students engaged in components of Toulmin's model of argument, but challenging of each other's ideas was not commonplace. Talk was dominated by the informative function (representing one's ideas) of language as it was found 78.3% of the time and to a lesser extent (11.7%) the heuristic function (inquiring through questions). These functions appear to be intimately tied to the task of generating knowledge claims in small groups. The results suggest that both talking and writing are critical to using science discourse as an embedded strategy to learning science. Further, nature and structure of the task are important pedagogical considerations when moving students toward participation in science discourse.
Keywords: Scientific literacy; Nature of science; Elementary school; Discourse argumentation; Science discourse; Argument; Student talk
Author: Osman N. Kayaa

Abstract
The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships among the components of preservice science teachers' (PSTs) pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) involving the topic 'ozone layer depletion'. An open-ended survey was first administered to 216 PSTs in their final year at the Faculty of Education to determine their subject matter knowledge of ozone layer depletion. Then, the PSTs were classified as high-ability, average-ability, and low-ability groups according to their scores on the survey. The interviews were carried out with 25 randomly selected PSTs from each of these ability groups in order to determine their pedagogical knowledge and investigate the inter-relationships and intra-relationships among the components of the PSTs' PCK for teaching the topic 'ozone layer depletion'. The results showed that there was a significant inter-relationship between the subject matter and pedagogical knowledge of the PSTs. There were also significant intra-relationships among the components of the PSTs' pedagogical knowledge, except for the knowledge of assessment. The results of statistical analyses (multivariate analyses of variance) revealed that there was a significant difference in the degree of the PSTs' pedagogical knowledge by the level of PSTs' subject matter knowledge. These significant results were further supported by evidence from qualitative analyses of the interview data. The implications drawn contribute to the improvement of science teacher education.
Authors: Jack Holbrooka; Miia Rannikmaea

Abstract
This article explores the meaning of the nature of science education to enhance scientific literacy. It argues that the teaching approach for science education should be regarded as “education through science”, rather than “science through education”. A model of the nature of science education is proposed, having its foundations based on activity theory rather than logical positivism. This encompasses an understanding of the nature of science, with links to achievement of goals in the personal domain, stressing intellectual and communication skill development, as well as the promotion of character and positive attitudes, plus achievement of goals in the social education domain, stressing cooperative learning and socio-scientific decision-making. Although the nature of science is seen as an important component of science education, the over-riding target for science teaching in school, as an aspect of relevant education, is seen as responsible citizenry, based on enhancing scientific and technological literacy. The meaning of scientific and technological literacy is discussed.
Authors: Marissa Rollnicka; Judith Bennettb; Mariam Rhemtulaa; Nadine Dharseyc; Thandi Ndlovua

Abstract
This paper presents two South African case studies designed to explore the influence of subject matter knowledge on pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). In the first case study on teaching the mole in two township schools, the findings illustrate that the participant teachers favoured procedural approaches at the expense of conceptual understanding. The second case study examines the teaching of chemical equilibrium to students on a bridging programme in a tertiary institution. Through these data the authors present a model to assist in understanding the amalgamation of subject matter knowledge (SMK) with other teacher knowledge domains to produce what we describe as 'manifestations'. The model was useful in interpreting the teachers' practice, especially to highlight the role of SMK, and therefore offers interesting insights into the nature of PCK and its influence on science teaching.
Authors: Chun-Yen Changab; Ting-Kuang Yeha; James P. Barufaldic

Abstract
This study explored the phenomenon of testing effect during science concept assessments, including the mechanism behind it and its impact upon a learner's conceptual understanding. The participants consisted of 208 high school students, in either the 11th or 12th grade. Three types of tests (traditional multiple-choice test, correct concept test, and incorrect concept test) related to the greenhouse effect and global warming were developed to explore the mechanisms underlining the test effect. Interview data analyzed by means of the flow-map method were used to examine the two-week post-test consequences of taking one of these three tests. The results indicated: (1) Traditional tests can affect participants' long-term memory, both positively and negatively; in addition, when students ponder repeatedly and think harder about highly distracting choices during a test, they may gradually develop new conceptions; (2) Students develop more correct conceptions when more true descriptions are provided on the tests; on the other hand, students develop more misconceptions while completing tests in which more false descriptions of choices are provided. Finally, the results of this study revealed a noteworthy phenomenon that tests, if employed appropriately, may be also an effective instrument for assisting students' conceptual understanding.
Keywords: Assessment; Conceptual development; Earth science education; Misconception; Secondary school 
Authors: Tracie M. Addya; Margaret R. Blancharda

Abstract
Reform-minded practices are widely encouraged during pre-service science teacher education in concert with national reform documents. This contrasts to the nature of instruction within university science laboratories in which pre-service teachers enrol, which are largely confirmatory in nature. Undergraduate science laboratories are taught predominantly by graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) with minimal teacher preparation. The purpose of this mixed-methods study is to investigate the instructional practices and teacher beliefs of eight GTAs at a university with very high research activity who completed a reform-minded Teacher Certificate Programme, asking: What are their beliefs about teaching? How are their practices described? Do their beliefs and practices differ from one another? Do their teaching beliefs correspond with their practices? Findings indicate that GTAs held moderately reform-minded “transitional” beliefs of teaching following the programme, yet displayed fairly traditional instruction. Cross-case findings highlight similar patterns across subscales of the RTOP that draw attention to underlying constraints of the laboratory curriculum structure. We suggest that GTA professional development is best undertaken concurrent with laboratory course revision.
Keywords: Laboratory; Teacher practices; Teacher beliefs; Graduate teaching assistants; University certificate programme; Reform-minded pedagogy 
Authors: Patrick H. M. Sinsa; Elwin R. Savelsbergha; Wouter R. van Joolingenb; Bernadette H. A. M. van Hout-Woltersc

Abstract
While many researchers in science education have argued that students' epistemological understanding of models and of modelling processes would influence their cognitive processing on a modelling task, there has been little direct evidence for such an effect. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relation between students' epistemological understanding of models and modelling and their cognitive processing (i.e., deep versus surface processing) on a modelling task. Twenty-six students, working in dyads, were observed while working on a computer-based modelling task in the domain of physics. Students' epistemological understanding was assessed on four dimensions (i.e., nature of models, purposes of models, process of modelling, and evaluation of models). Students' cognitive processes were assessed based on their verbal protocols, using a coding scheme to classify their types of reasoning. The outcomes confirmed the expected positive correlation between students' level of epistemological understanding and their deep processing (r = 0.40, p = .04), and the negative correlation between level of epistemological understanding and surface processing (r = -0.51, p = .008). From these results, we emphasise the necessity of considering epistemological understanding in research as well as in educational practice.
Authors: Andy Bufflera; Fred Lubbenb; Bashirah Ibrahima

Abstract
The present study explores the relationship between students' views of the nature of science (NOS) and their views of the nature of scientific measurement. A questionnaire with two-tier diagnostic multiple-choice items on both the NOS and measurement was administered to 179 first-year physics students with diverse school experiences. Students' views on the NOS were classified into four NOS 'profiles', and views on measurement were classified according to either the point or set paradigms. The findings show that students with a NOS profile dominated by a belief that the laws of nature are to be discovered by scientists are more likely to have a view of the nature of scientific measurement characterised by a belief in 'true' values. On the other hand, students who believe that scientific theories are inventions of scientists, constructed from observations that are then validated through further experimentation, are more likely to have a view of the nature of scientific measurement that is underpinned by the uncertain nature of scientific evidence. The implications for teaching scientific measurement at tertiary level are discussed.
Author: Tonie Stolberga

Abstract
Scientific and religious ways of thinking are central to an individual's cognitive and cultural ways of making sense of the world. This paper explores what foundational concepts pre-service primary teachers are employing when they teach science. The study measured the attitudes to science and religion of 92 pre-service primary teachers. The categories traditionally used to describe the ways individuals' relate science and religion were found to be inadequate when attempting to reflect the attitudes' of the respondents. An alternative, phenonomenologically based diagnostic framework was then proposed, constructed as a two-dimensional scale on which participant's attitude to science/religion was assessed as either “epistemic” or “pragmatic”. Analysis of interviews with a representative sample of eight of the teachers showed that individual religio-scientific frameworks could be linked to distinct differences in approach to the teaching of science. The impact of identifying the religio-scientific framework of pre-service teachers on the design of future educational programmes was then discussed.
Authors: Lucy Avraamidoua; Jonathan Osborneb

Abstract
The present theoretical paper presents a case for the use of narrative (i.e., fictional written text) in science education as a way of making science meaningful, relevant, and accessible to the public. Grounded in literature pointing to the value of narrative in supporting learning and the need to explore new modes of communicating science, this paper explores the potential of narrative in science education. More specifically, in this paper we explore the question: What is narrative and why might it be of value to science education? In answering this question we propose a view of narrative and its necessary components, which permits narrative a role in science education, and is, in fact, the main contribution of this paper. Also, a range of examples of narrative text are offered in the paper to make the case for a representation of fictional narrative in science. In order to address questions connected with the use of narrative in science education, a research agenda based on perspectives of narrative implications for learning is framed.
Authors: David F. Treagusta; A. L. Chandrasegarana

Abstract
Over the past two decades, several two-tier multiple-choice diagnostic tests in science at a variety grade levels have been reported in the extant literature from several countries. This review summarises these studies, provides an overview of the methodology for their construction, presents two examples of typical items, and lists studies published with two-tier tests. The majority of these studies have been conducted with relatively small numbers of students in one school, college, or university, although there are exceptions. What distinguishes the research reported in the articles in this Special Issue is that the Taiwanese two-tiered tests for the National Science Concept Learning Study were designed to identify the scientific conceptions of students from large national samples using random sampling procedures similar to those found in studies such as Trends in Mathematics and Science Studies and Programme for International Student Assessment. The article concludes with implications for the use of two-tier tests for pedagogical practice and research.
Keywords: Diagnostic tests; Alternative conceptions; National assessment 
Authors: Loucas T. Loucaa; Zacharia C. Zachariaa

Abstract
This is an interpretive case study seeking to develop detailed and comparative descriptions of how two groups of fifth-grade students used two different Computer-based Programming Environments (CPEs) (namely Microworlds Logo and Stagecast Creator) during scientific modelling. The primary sources of data that were used in this 4-month study include videotaped students' group work and whole-class discussions, and the instructors' reflective journals. For the data analysis, contextual inquiry was used in conjunction with analysis of student conversation in order to gain better insight into students' activity and conversation patterns while working with CPEs. Findings highlight the differences in the ways that the students used the two CPEs in the context of developing models of natural phenomena with respect to three distinct phases that emerged from data analysis, which include student approaches to (i) planning, (ii) writing and debugging code, and (iii) using code to represent the phenomenon under study. Lastly, findings highlight which aspects of students work during the three phases can be productive for scientific modelling, proposing possible relationships between student work and CPE features.
Authors: Pete Sorensena; John Twidleb; Ann Childsc; Janet Godwind

Abstract
This paper reports on a longitudinal study of developments in use of the Internet by science student-teachers on Post Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) courses in five higher education institution-school partnerships in England. These are 1-year, full-time, teacher training courses for graduate scientists. The aim of the research was to examine changes in attitudes to, and use of, the Internet to support science teaching and the perceived challenges and barriers to practice in schools, against a background of high national expectations reflected in the qualification standards of the teacher education courses. The research has involved nearly 600 student-teachers, representing between 7% and 8% of those training on PGCE science courses in England, and has employed mixed methods, with questionnaires serving as the main basis for analysing trends, and focus groups and case studies used to gain deeper insight to the particular issues identified. The process has been an iterative one, with the outcomes of each year's research being used to inform further research and course developments in the institutions involved. The findings indicate that attitudes and confidence in use of the Internet have improved over the period, with evidence of increased application directly in the classroom. However, in addition to some of the generic technological issues that may hinder developments in the use of Information and Communication Technology in schools, there are continuing concerns relating to limited pedagogical guidance and availability of good role models. The implications of this for developments in science teacher education programmes are discussed.
Authors: Susan Rodriguesa; Russell Tytlerb; Linda Darbyb; Peter Hubberb; David Symingtonb; Jane Edwardsc

Abstract
This paper reports a study of science graduates who are employed in positions outside their discipline specialisation. The research was designed to uncover the reasons for them choosing to study science at university, the competencies they utilise in their work and their lives, and how these relate to their undergraduate education in science. The study is seen as important in that already about one-half of science graduates are in such positions and it is argued that there is a need in scientific and technologically based societies to have a greater representation of such people in decision-making positions in government and industry. The directions for the science degree that can be drawn from the data gathered are congruent with those arising from other relevant studies. That is, attention should be paid to widely used skills, such as communication and problem-solving, and to developing an understanding of science within its social and ethical context. An argument is mounted for considering the way the science degree is presented to potential students and to the general public.
Authors: Jane L. Lehra; Ellen McCallieb; Sarah R. Daviesc; Brandiff R. Carond; Benjamin Gammone; Sally Duensingb

Abstract
In the past five years, informal science institutions (ISIs), science communication, advocacy and citizen action groups, funding organizations, and policy-makers in the UK and the USA have become increasingly involved in efforts to promote increased public engagement with science and technology (PEST). Such engagement is described as taking place within the context of a “new mood for dialogue” between scientific and technical experts and the public. Mechanisms to increase PEST have taken a number of forms. One of the most visible features of this shift towards PEST in ISIs is the organization and staging of adult-focused, face-to-face forums that bring scientific and technical experts, social scientists, and policy-makers into discussion with members of the public about contemporary scientific and socioscientific issues related to the development and application of science and technology. A significant aspect of the literature on efforts to increase PEST has focused on the development of a unifying evaluative framework for determining what counts as success for PEST mechanisms, and how success (or lack thereof) can be empirically measured. In this article, we draw from our experiences as UK-based and US-based “dialogue event” practitioners and researchers/evaluators to suggest that these existing evaluative criteria are insufficient to explore the role and value of ISI-based “dialogue events.” Instead, we suggest that it may be productive to research and evaluate these ISI-based “dialogue events” as sites of learning. Secondly, however, we show through a discussion of our own research frameworks that understanding these “dialogue events” as sites of learning does not intuitively provide a framework for understanding what counts as success for these efforts. Instead, research on the role of “dialogue” within the educational literature—and the connections between “dialogue” and competing understandings of the nature of science and society—offers a multiplicity of approaches to defining the terms and goals of these events. Finally, we identify two broader implications of researching and evaluating these “dialogue events” as sites of learning for ISIs and all efforts to increase PEST.
Authors: Bugrahan Yalvaca; Ceren Tekkayab; Jale Cakiroglub; Elvan Kahyaoglub

Abstract
The international science education community recognises the role of pre-service science teachers' views about the interdependence of Science, Technology, and Society (STS) in achieving scientific literacy for all. To this end, pre-service science teachers' STS views signal the strengths and the weaknesses of science education reform movements. Turkey, a country that follows the international reform movement, aims at improving citizen's understanding of the STS interdependence to enable them to fully participate in an industrialised, democratic society. This study explores the Turkish pre-service science teachers' views (n = 176) on STS issues and discusses the ongoing reform efforts' strengths and weaknesses within the context of the study findings. Data were collected through an adopted “Views on Science-Technology-Society” instrument. Analysis revealed that many participants held realistic views on science, technology, and society interdependence, while their views on technology and the nature of science were differed. Some viewed technology as an application of science, and some viewed science as explanatory and an interpretation of nature. Most agreed that the scientific knowledge is tentative but they did not present a thorough understanding of the differences between hypotheses, laws, and theories.
Keywords: Pre-service Science Teachers; Science-Technology-Society; Scientific Literacy; Turkey 
Authors: Siu Ling Wonga; Derek Hodsona; Jenny Kwana; Benny Hin Wai Yunga

Abstract
Interviews with key scientists involved in research on severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), together with analysis of media reports and documentaries produced during and after the SARS epidemic, revealed many interesting aspects of nature of science (NOS) and authentic scientific inquiry. This novel insight into practice in the rapidly growing field of molecular biology was used in the development of instructional materials for use in the pre-service and in-service teacher education programme at The University of Hong Kong. The elements of NOS and scientific inquiry identified in the scientific research on SARS were explicitly emphasized in our instructional materials. The contemporary real-life context of SARS was found to be effective in promoting student-teachers' understanding of NOS and scientific inquiry, particularly in terms of: the realization of inseparable links between science and the social, cultural, and political environment; deeper understanding of how science and technology impact on each other; and a richer appreciation of the processes of authentic scientific inquiry and the humanistic character of scientists. The effectiveness is attributed to immediacy, relevance, and familiarity, making the abstract tangible, personal experience of science history, and the powerful affective impact of the interviews with scientists.
Author: Sandra K. Abella

Abstract
This paper considers how the notion of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) has developed and changed over the past 20 years. It draws on the preceding papers in this special issue to reflect on the big picture issues and ideas that are important in shaping understandings of PCK and the nature of research on PCK. The paper is structured around four sections. The first section offers analysis of the characteristics of PCK as employed by the researchers in this volume, raising some issues related to the construct. The second section considers the implications for research design that result from these authors' views of PCK. The third section suggests an agenda for future research on science teacher knowledge. The concluding section examines the continuing value of the PCK construct for the science education community.
Authors: Maria Kallerya; Dimitris Psillosa; Vassilis Tselfesb

Abstract
This paper presents an epistemological analysis of typical didactical activities noted in early-years science lessons, which was carried out in an attempt to diagnose the extent to which the teaching practices adopted by early-years educators are successful in supporting young children's understanding in science. The analysis of didactical activities used a framework that allowed us to discover whether they promoted desired connections between theoretical ideas, evidence and the material world. Theoretical ideas, evidence and the material world are entities internal to scientific inquiry and, in educational contexts, connections between them are considered essential in assisting the development of young children's scientific thinking. The results indicated that in the early-years science classroom scientific activity was mainly confined to the representational level. Intervention practices into the material world were limited, and were based on collected evidence. No interventions based on ideas were identified in the science lessons. Missing links between evidence and theory and between ideas and the material world suggest that the didactical activities analysed did not promote scientific understanding.
Authors: Alexandra O. Santaua; Walter Secadab; Jaime Maerten-Riverab; Neporcha Coneb; Okhee Leeb

Abstract
The study examined US elementary teachers' knowledge and practices in four key domains of science instruction with English language learning (ELL) students. The four domains included: (1) teachers' knowledge of science content, (2) teaching practices to promote scientific understanding, (3) teaching practices to promote scientific inquiry, and (4) teaching practices to support English language development during science instruction. The study was part of a larger five-year research and development intervention aimed at promoting science and literacy achievement of ELL students in urban elementary schools. It involved 32 third grade, 21 fourth grade, and 17 fifth grade teachers participating in the first-year implementation of the intervention. Based on teachers' questionnaire responses and classroom observation ratings, results indicated that (1) teachers' knowledge and practices were within the bounds of acceptability but short of reform-oriented practices and (2) grade-level differences existed, especially between Grades 3 and 5.
Keywords: Teachers' knowledge; Inquiry-based teaching; In-service; Elementary school; Science education 
Authors: Kira Padillaa; Ana Mariacutea Ponce-de-Leoacutena; Florencia Mabel Rembadob; Andoni Garritza

Abstract
This paper documents the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of four university professors in General Chemistry for the topic 'amount of substance'; a fundamental quantity of the International System of Units (SI). The research method involved the development of a Content Representation and the application of Mortimer's Conceptual Profile Model to evaluate the way in which participants structured their knowledge of the topic. Five conceptual profile zones were defined: perceptive/intuitive, empiricist, formalist, rationalist, and formal rationalist. These zones were then used as criteria to classify participants' PCK as articulated in the framework of their Content Representations. As a consequence, four different conceptual profile graphs were constructed by plotting the percentage of times that each conceptual profile zone appeared. These conceptual profile graphs revealed the ways in which each professor conceptualised his or her teaching of 'amount of substance'.
Authors: Ajda Kahvecia; Penny J. Gilmerb; Sherry A. Southerlandb

Abstract
The aim of this study is to understand the influences on chemistry professors' use of educational technology. For this, we use activity theory to focus on two university chemistry professors and the broader activity system in which they work. We analyse their beliefs and past experiences related to teaching, learning, and technology as well as other components of the activity system of teaching chemistry with understanding. We employ a qualitative methodology with phenomenological and symbolic interactionist perspectives. Our findings illustrate various contradictions within and between the components of the activity system. Those include the insufficient level of collaboration, reflection, and communication among faculty members, constraints for reform-based chemistry teaching, limitations of large class sizes, and “poor” design of technology-enhanced classrooms. We propose several possible resolutions to transform undergraduate chemistry education, including the effective utilization of technology-enhanced teaching strategies and building a more uniform culture of teaching within science content departments.
Authors: Mansoor Niaza; Ramoacuten Fernaacutendezb

Abstract
Quantum numbers and electron configurations form an important part of the general chemistry curriculum and textbooks. The objectives of this study are: (1) Elaboration of a framework based on the following aspects: (a) Origin of the quantum hypothesis, (b) Alternative interpretations of quantum mechanics, (c) Differentiation between an orbital and electron density, (d) Differentiation and comparison between classical and quantum mechanics, and (e) Introduction of quantum numbers based on electron density; (2) Formulation of five criteria based on the different aspects (a, b, c, d, and e), and (3) Evaluation of 55 freshman college-level general chemistry textbooks. Results obtained show: Criterion 1, none of the textbooks described satisfactorily that Planck's role in the origin of the quantum hypothesis was more at the level of an empirical adjustment, whereas Einstein provided the physical significance of the quantum hypothesis; Criterion 2, few textbooks (two satisfactory and four mentioned) included alternative interpretations of quantum mechanics (e.g., Bohm) and thus ignored that most theories are underdetermined by experimental evidence; Criterion 3, none of the textbooks described satisfactorily that orbitals are mathematical constructs and the shapes of the orbitals (s, p, d, f) are not derived from quantum mechanics but instead from electron density measurements; Criterion 4, although, quantum mechanics approaches classical mechanics as a limiting case, none of the textbooks presented a framework to facilitate transition in student understanding from classical to quantum mechanics (28 textbooks made a simple mention); and Criterion 5, few textbooks (one satisfactory, five mentioned) facilitated the introduction of quantum numbers based on experimental determination of electron density (photoelectron spectrum). It is concluded that the inclusion of these criteria in textbooks can facilitate students' conceptual understanding of quantum numbers and electron configurations.
Authors: Douglas Clarka; Stephen Reynoldsa; Vivian Lemanowskia; Thomas Stilesa; Senay Yasara; Sian Proctorb; Elizabeth Lewisa; Charlotte Stromforsa; James Corkinsa

Abstract
This study investigates the strategies and assumptions that college students entering an introductory physical geology laboratory use to interpret topographic maps, and follows the progress of the students during the laboratory to analyze changes in those strategies and assumptions. To elicit students' strategies and assumptions, we created and refined a topographic visualization test that was administered before and after instruction to 26 students during the first semester of the study and to 92 students during the second semester. To more deeply understand how students think about and conceptualize topographic maps, we focused on eight individual students who were interviewed about their pretest and posttest answers as well as videotaped during three laboratory sessions. We found that even students who claim never to have worked with topographic maps often perform impressively on their pretests by making useful assumptions about symbolic topographic information. Some students, however, begin with less productive assumptions that may be unfamiliar to some instructors (e.g., thinking that the spacing of contour lines indicates elevation instead of slope). Initial success should not be misinterpreted, however, as an integrated understanding of topographic maps. Only in posttest interviews do most students express explanations integrating multiple normative assumptions. In addition to highlighting the strategies and assumptions that college students use to interpret topographic maps, we outline the implications of these findings for the design of learning objectives, curricular activities, and assessments for topographic lessons in introductory college geology courses and the training of future geoscientists.
Authors: Harkirat S. Dhindsaa; Khalid Omarb; Bruce Waldripc

Abstract
The aims of this study were to evaluate reliability and validity of the Students' Perception of Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ), to evaluate students' perception on assessment, and to evaluate gender-based, grade-based, and ethnicity-based differences in students' perceptions. The validity and reliability coefficients revealed that the SPAQ was suitable for assessing students' perceptions on five assessment dimensions. The average scale-item mean values for all the scales were less than 3.0, which indicates a need to address these dimensions of assessment at classroom level. The mean value for Student Consultation scale was 1.96 out of 4, indicating a need for special attention in this area. The perceptions of students grouped on the basis of gender and of grade level groups were comparable, but on the basis of ethnic groups were statistically significantly different. Assuming these differences to be real, does it mean that teaching approaches will need to be addressed? Future research in this area is warranted.
Authors: Aytekin Cokeleza; Alain Dumonb; Keith S. Taberc

Abstract
The purpose of this study is to identify how upper secondary school French students (Grade 10-12) interpret chemical transformation with regards to the changes within molecules and atoms, and in terms of intramolecular and/or intermolecular bond breaking. In order to identify and describe the students' assimilated knowledge, four questions were asked to 930 students using a written questionnaire submitted a long time after the related teaching took place. There is much research into student learning in the concept areas discussed here (atoms and molecules, chemical change, chemical bonding), as reviewed in the paper. The present study presents data from an educational system where limited work has been reported in the international literature. The French system has its own unique curriculum, and is taught in the national language (where much of the existing research has concerned learning in Anglophile systems). The research reported here found that French secondary students experienced many similar difficulties in understanding these key scientific concepts to those that have been reported elsewhere, showing the cross-cultural nature of the key educational issues. For example, many have difficulties in understanding the changes undergone by atoms and molecules in the course of a chemical reaction; many are not able to justify explicitly the breaking of inter-molecular bonds and to interpret the breaking of intramolecular bonds in terms of reorganization of atoms, the target level of understanding in the curriculum from the end of Grade 9. However, it is also suggested that some of the specific characteristics identified here are linked to the ordering and language used in the French curriculum, and such cultural idiosyncrasies may offer useful insights into both problematic and valuable aspects of science pedagogy.
Authors: Barbara Huga; Katherine L. McNeillb

Abstract
In this paper, we examine how students discuss and interpret data and whether these actions vary depending on the type of data they analyse. More specifically, we are interested in whether students perform differently when analysing first-hand data, which they collect themselves, compared with second-hand data provided to them. Our data analysis focused on two classrooms using two different curriculum units, chemistry in Grade 7 and biology in Grade 8, collected during the 2002/03 school year from a Mid-western urban middle school in the USA. We analysed classroom videotape associated with lessons in which students discussed first-hand and second-hand data both in small group settings and full class discussions. We found the two types of data offer different benefits and limitations, suggesting that both types of data are important for students to work with as they develop skills in scientific inquiry practices. We discuss the characteristics of classroom discussions around different data sources as well as implications for the design of curriculum materials, instructional environments, and student learning in science.
Author: Vaille Dawsona

Abstract
Australia wide, all school systems are in the process of providing teachers with computers and there is an expectation that new teachers will possess the expertise to use them in their teaching. In addition to using computers for basic word processing and data manipulation, early-career science teachers need to be able to use a range of Information Communication Technology (ICT)-related resources effectively in the science classroom. The purpose of this research study was to examine the extent to which early-career (less than 3 years of experience) science teachers perceived that their preservice education prepared them to use ICT in their teaching role, to clarify the nature of their ICT use, and to identify factors that enhance or inhibit their use of ICT. Through questionnaire and interview, it was found that the most frequent uses of ICT were word processing, Internet research, email, and PowerPoint while the least frequent uses were palm top computers, web page design, online discussion groups, and virtual excursions. The factors that most enhanced ICT use were access to the Internet and computers, teacher confidence, and skills and workload. The factors that most inhibited ICT use were workload, behaviour management issues, and access to computers and the Internet. The findings of this study will inform preservice science education and professional development workshops.
Authors: Jill Hohensteina; Lynn Uyen Trana

Abstract
Research suggests that conversations at museums contribute to, as well as serve as evidence for, learning. Many museums use labels to provide visitors with information as well as stimulate conversation about exhibit topics. However, most studies on exhibit labels do not centre on conversations. This investigation uses a Vygotskian framework to examine the ways questions in exhibit labels can stimulate conversations in a science museum. We examined the questions and explanations that appeared in conversation occurring under three label conditions (Current Label, Added question “Why is this here?”, and Simplified Text plus Question) at three exhibits in a science museum. Each exhibit (a model of a Victorian workshop, a sectioned 1959 Austin Mini Cooper, and a bowl that survived the atomic bomb in Hiroshima, Japan) was videotaped for approximately 6 hr in each condition. Findings based on 464 conversations at these exhibits indicated that our guiding question affected visitors' conversations; however, adding the question had different effects at different exhibits. For example, at the Mini-Cooper exhibit, people asked more open-ended questions with the question added than in the current label condition. At this exhibit there were also more open-ended questions used in conjunction with explanatory responses when the question was present. In contrast, the guiding question at the Hiroshima bowl exhibit had no effect. These results imply that it is important to consider the nature of the exhibit when designing labels that will optimally facilitate learning conversations.
Authors: Christine China; Lay-Yen Teoub



Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate how concept cartoons, together with other diagnostic and scaffolding tools, could be used in formative assessment, to stimulate talk and argumentation among students in small groups, as part of peer-assessment and self-assessment; and to provide diagnostic feedback about students' misconceptions to the teacher for teaching towards conceptual change. Two classes of Primary 5 and 6 students worked in small groups to discuss the opposing viewpoints posed by the cartoon characters, using scaffolding tools to guide their discussions and to evaluate, challenge, and document each others' ideas. Students also used drawings to depict their ideas. The conversation from one group was audio-taped. These tools provided a record of students' thinking in a form that was accessible to the teacher for monitoring and feedback purposes. Findings showed dialogic talk and interactive argumentation among students where they made their reasoning visible. Students' assertions and questions had formative potential as they encouraged exploratory and reflective discourse by drawing upon each others' ideas. The teacher's discursive practices, as well as her role in designing scaffolding structures for supporting 'assessment conversations' when using concept cartoons and in devising strategies that take into account students' conceptual and epistemic thinking, are emphasised.
Authors: Jenny Byrnea; Marcus Gracea

Abstract
Concept mapping is a technique used to provide a visual representation of an individual's ideas about a concept or set of related concepts. This paper describes a concept mapping tool using a photograph association technique (CoMPAT) that is considered to be a novel way of eliciting children's ideas. What children at 11 years of age know about particular concepts related to microbial activity is presented and discussed in relation to the effectiveness of CoMPAT as a tool to draw out their ideas. It is proposed that this tool could be used to explore ideas about this and other science concepts from children in other age groups, and where language may be a barrier to participation.
Keywords: Biology education; Conceptual development; Learning; Primary school 
Author: Jayashree Ramadasa

Abstract
This paper surveys some major trends from research on visual and spatial thinking coming from cognitive science, developmental psychology, science literacy, and science studies. It explores the role of visualisation in creativity, in building mental models, and in the communication of scientific ideas, in order to place these findings in the context of science education research and practice.
Keywords: Science education; Transformational reasoning; Visual and spatial learning 
Authors: K. Subramaniama; Shamin Padalkara

Abstract
In this study, we examine how subjects set up, transform, and reason with models that they establish on the basis of known facts as they seek to explain a familiar everyday phenomenon—the phases of the moon. An interview schedule was designed to elicit subjects' reasoning, and in the case where explanations were mistaken, to induce a change in explanation. Detailed interviews of eight participants were videotaped and their reasoning analysed to highlight the difficulties encountered, the interaction between physical and geometrical aspects, simplification and idealisation processes, interplay between facts, concepts and visualisation, and the use of external visualisations through gestures and diagrams. We suggest that visualisation is an important process in science learning, and point to the importance of developing among students the ability to work with diagrams.
Keywords: Visualisation; Model-based learning; Astronomy education; Phases of moon 
Author: Kira Padillaa

Abstract
This Article does not have an abstract. 
Authors: Sindhu Mathaia; Jayashree Ramadasa

Abstract
This paper explores the role of diagrams and text in middle school students' understanding and visualisation of human body systems. We develop a common framework based on structure and function to assess students' responses across diagram and verbal modes. Visualisation is defined in terms of understanding transformations on structure and relating these with function. We found in Indian students a high dependence on the verbal mode. Students expressed structure as well as function concepts significantly better through text rather than diagrams. Prior knowledge strongly influenced visualisation (as assessed through transformations) and comprehension of text and diagrams including the ability to move flexibly between text and diagrams. We suggest better use of line drawings for integrating structure and function: practices that should equip the learner to “dual-code” text with diagrams, thereby leading to enhanced understanding and expression.
Keywords: Visualisation; Biology education; Diagrams; Human body systems 
Authors: Daniel P. Shepardsonab; Bryan Weea; Michelle Priddya; Lauren Schellenbergera; Jon Harborc

Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to investigate students' conceptions of the hydrologic cycle and to examine whether these conceptions vary by grade level and community setting. This study was descriptive in nature and reflected a cross-age design involving the collection of qualitative data from 1,298 students from the Midwest, USA. These data were analysed for content in an inductive manner to identify student's conceptions, and statistical analysis was used to determine the significance in the frequency of these student conceptions. Four categories emerged that reflected different degrees of sophistication of students' conceptions of water transformation, movement, and storage. These Midwest students often portrayed the hydrologic cycle in the context of mountain or coastal landscapes that are common in textbooks but that are not representative of the environments where students live and where many of these students might apply their understanding of environmental systems as adults. Based on these findings, we make curricular recommendations that build on the students' conceptions, the hydrologic concept, and the National Research Council science education standards.
Author: Jane Susan Johnstona

Abstract
Fifty-six children, aged between 4 and 11 years, in seven groups, were videoed playing with, being questioned about and sorting a collection of toys in order to identify what skills of observation looked like in young children, how observations influenced other scientific skills and what supported the skill of observation. Children's skills of observation were found to be similar across all ages and included affective, functional, social and exploratory comments, actions, and questions. These initial observations led to the use of other scientific process skills: classification, prediction, hypotheses, along with explanation for younger children and interpretations for older children. There was generally a greater sophistication of observation skills with increasing age of the children. Observations in young children were found to be tactile and developed in two ways: by engaging in more unique close observation and interpreting observation by utilising previous knowledge and experiences. Important factors affecting the development of observational and other scientific skills were found to be the context (activity, environment, resources) and combination of social interactions between individuals, peers, and adults. This combination supported the development of both observational and other scientific skills, although the nature and amount of this interaction appeared individual to different groups of children and could not be predicted.
Keywords: Early years; Observation; Primary school; Process skills 
Authors: Renee Schwartza; Norman Ledermanb

Abstract
The purpose of this study is to examine practicing scientists' views of nature of science (NOS) and explore possible relationships between these views and science context. Science educators emphasize teaching NOS through inquiry-based learning experiences throughout science disciplines. Yet aspects of NOS that are agreed upon as relevant to science education have been described in discipline-independent ways. Given the situated nature of learning, we sought to examine how scientists understand recommended aspects of NOS and whether these views vary depending on the science discipline or investigative context of authentic practice. Participants were 24 scientists, representing four broad science disciplines (chemistry, life science, physics, earth/space science) and a variety of approaches (experimental, descriptive, theoretical). Data included questionnaires and interviews. Through intra-group and cross-group comparisons, we examine associations between NOS views, scientific disciplines, and methods of scientific inquiry. Results indicate NOS views are not necessarily related to science context. There appears to be as much variation within groups as across groups. Differences in views seem to be embedded within individual contexts and experiences rather than broader science disciplines. Results support the applicability of advocated NOS aspects across science contexts, and do not support a need to teach different natures of science in the K-12 science arena. We discuss the implications for NOS pedagogy in a variety of contexts.
Authors: Lynn D. Newtona; Douglas P. Newtona 

Abstract
Teachers are often urged to nurture creativity but their conceptions of creativity in specific school subjects may have limitations which weaken their attempts to do so. Primary school teachers in England were asked to rate lesson activities according to the opportunity they offered children for creative thought in science. The teachers could, overall, distinguish between creative and reproductive activities but, as predicted, there was evidence of narrow conceptions of school science creativity, biased towards fact finding, practical activity, and technological design. Some teachers saw creativity in essentially reproductive activities and in what simply stimulated interest and on-task talk. Some implications and recommendations for teacher training and professional development are discussed.
Keywords: Conceptions; Creativity; Elementary school; Pre-service; Primary school; Science education; Teacher beliefs; Teacher development 
Author: Deborah Anne Fieldsa

Abstract
This study explored American high school students' perceptions of the benefits of a summer astronomy camp, emphasizing a full cycle of the research process and how the organization of the camp contributed to those perceptions. Semi-structured interviews with students and staff were used to elicit the specific benefits that campers perceived from their experiences and examine them in relation to the stated goals and strategies of camp staff. Among the perceived benefits that students described were peer relationships, personal autonomy, positive relationships with staff, and deepened science knowledge. These perceived benefits appear to influence the kinds of identities students constructed for themselves in relation to science. Gee's concept of 'affinity space' is used to consider how features of the camp's design, especially those that promoted student autonomy, contributed to students' positive perceptions, and to draw implications for the design of informal science learning experiences that can link youth with larger communities of scientists.
Authors: Melanie A. Link-Peacutereza; Vanessa H. Dolloa; Kirk M. Webera; Elisabeth E. Schusslera

Abstract
This study investigated plant and animal photographs in elementary science textbooks to discern whether there were disparities in the number of plant and animal photographs or in how those photographs were labelled. We examined the Life Science sections of two nationally syndicated (USA) textbook series. For each text, we identified the photographs with plant and/or animal content and evaluated them for two features: (1) the subject of the photograph, and (2) the specificity of the label (name) provided. We found that photographs with animal subjects were more numerous than those with plant subjects; they also represented a greater diversity of animals and had a higher instance of repetition than did plant photographs. We also found a significant naming disparity: animal photographs were three times more likely to be provided with a specific label (common name) than were plant photographs. Not only were plant photographs less likely to be provided with a specific name for the plant (e.g. orchid or dandelion), but also they were commonly identified only by the name for a plant part (such as flower or leaf) or life-form (e.g. tree or shrub). To address the disparity revealed by this study, and to encourage student interest in and knowledge about plants, we recommend that educators go beyond textbooks to expose students to a diversity of named plants, and present plants as distinct organisms rather than as a collection of parts.
Keywords: Biology education; Elementary school; Botany education; Textbook 
Authors: Judith Bennetta; Sylvia Hogartha

Abstract
The present paper describes a four-year project involving the development of a new instrument, the Attitudes to School Science and Science instrument, and its use to collect baseline attitudinal data from 280 students aged 11, 14, and 16 years. A key feature of the instrument is that it collects both descriptive and explanatory data in a pencil-and-paper format. The data gathered are probed in detail for explanatory insights into features that have emerged from more recent research on attitudes to science, in particular the suggestions that students view science outside school more positively than their experiences in science lessons, and that the early years of secondary education (ages approximately 11-14 years) are the most crucial in shaping attitudes. The study shows that positive attitudes to school science decline significantly between the ages of 11 and 14 years, with little appreciable downward change beyond this and, in some cases, a slight upturn. Female students display less positive attitudes and less clear-cut views on a variety of aspects of science. A sense of science being important in general terms, although not having much appeal for individual students, also emerged clearly from the data. The paper suggests that attitudinal instruments have a role to play in research, but that these need to be complemented by studies of detailed features of schools that may influence attitudes, some of which may not be apparent from data collected from students.
Keywords: Attitudes; Science; Survey; High school students 
Authors: Stephen Ritchiea; Donna Riganob; Ann Duanec

Abstract
Reading and writing stories with science-related themes make it possible for students to develop interest in and capacity for scientific thinking when specialist science and more popular genres converge. Additionally, feminist scholars have called for greater use of creative writing activities in school science to counter students' disengagement in participating in science discourses. However, few studies have been conducted into how students construct meaning as fictional and non-fictional science genres are merged in writing activities. The purpose of this interpretive study was to investigate what happens when a class of fourth-grade children co-creates a publishable eco-mystery—that integrates both fiction and non-fiction—with their teacher. Interpretations are organized around two themes; namely, when genres clash, and scaffolding science learning. The study asserts that the children's engagement and interest in the writing tasks were sustained across genres and that the children demonstrated fluency in their use of canonically accurate knowledge of ecological/biological concepts embedded in the eco-mystery with scaffolding from their teacher. Additional evidence suggests that the children's fluency with scientific registers had more than a short-term effect.
/***
|''Name:''|zh-HantTranslationPlugin|
|''Description:''|Translation of TiddlyWiki into Traditional Chinese|
|''Source:''|http://tiddlywiki-zh.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/|
|''Subversion:''|http://svn.tiddlywiki.org/Trunk/association/locales/core/zh-Hant/locale.zh-Hant.js|
|''Author:''|BramChen (bram.chen (at) gmail (dot) com)|
|''Version:''|2.6|
|''Date:''|Oct 13, 2009|
|''Comments:''|Please make comments at http://groups.google.com/group/TiddlyWiki-zh/|
|''License:''|[[Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License|http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/]]|
|''~CoreVersion:''|2.4.1|
***/

//{{{
// --
// -- Translateable strings
// --

// Strings in "double quotes" should be translated; strings in 'single quotes' should be left alone

config.locale = 'zh-Hant'; // W3C language tag
config.options.txtFileSystemCharSet = 'BIG5';

if (config.options.txtUserName == 'YourName' || !config.options.txtUserName) // do not translate this line, but do translate the next line
	merge(config.options,{txtUserName: "YourName"});

merge(config.tasks,{
	save: {text: "儲存", tooltip: "儲存變更至此 TiddlyWiki", action: saveChanges},
	sync: {text: "同步", tooltip: "將你的資料內容與外部伺服器與檔案同步", content: '<<sync>>'},
	importTask: {text: "導入", tooltip: "自其他檔案或伺服器導入文章或套件", content: '<<importTiddlers>>'},
	tweak: {text: "選項", tooltip: "改變此 TiddlyWiki 的顯示與行為的設定", content: '<<options>>'},
	upgrade: {text: "更新", tooltip: "更新 TiddlyWiki 核心程式", content: '<<upgrade>>'},
	plugins: {text: "套件管理", tooltip: "管理已安裝的套件", content: '<<plugins>>'}
});

merge(config.optionsDesc,{
	txtUserName: "編輯文章所使用之作者署名",
	chkRegExpSearch: "啟用正規式搜尋",
	chkCaseSensitiveSearch: "搜尋時,區分大小寫",
	chkIncrementalSearch: "隨打即找搜尋",
	chkAnimate: "使用動畫顯示",
	chkSaveBackups: "儲存變更前,保留備份檔案",
	chkAutoSave: "自動儲存變更",
	chkGenerateAnRssFeed: "儲存變更時,也儲存 RSS feed",
	chkSaveEmptyTemplate: "儲存變更時,也儲存空白範本",
	chkOpenInNewWindow: "於新視窗開啟連結",
	chkToggleLinks: "點擊已開啟文章連結時,將其關閉",
	chkHttpReadOnly: "非本機瀏覽文件時,隱藏編輯功能",
	chkForceMinorUpdate: "修改文章時,不變更作者名稱與日期時間",
	chkConfirmDelete: "刪除文章前須確認",
	chkInsertTabs: "使用 tab 鍵插入定位字元,而非跳至下一個欄位",
	txtBackupFolder: "存放備份檔案的資料夾",
	txtMaxEditRows: "編輯模式中顯示列數",
	txtTheme: "使用的佈景名稱",
	txtFileSystemCharSet: "指定儲存文件所在之檔案系統之字集 (僅適用於 Firefox/Mozilla only)"});

// Messages
merge(config.messages,{
	customConfigError: "套件載入發生錯誤,詳細請參考 PluginManager",
	pluginError: "發生錯誤: %0",
	pluginDisabled: "未執行,因標籤設為 'systemConfigDisable'",
	pluginForced: "已執行,因標籤設為 'systemConfigForce'",
	pluginVersionError: "未執行,套件需較新版本的 TiddlyWiki",
	nothingSelected: "尚未作任何選擇,至少需選擇一項",
	savedSnapshotError: "此 TiddlyWiki 未正確存檔,詳見 http://www.tiddlywiki.com/#Download",
	subtitleUnknown: "(未知)",
	undefinedTiddlerToolTip: "'%0' 尚無內容",
	shadowedTiddlerToolTip: "'%0' 尚無內容, 但已定義隱藏的預設值",
	tiddlerLinkTooltip: "%0 - %1, %2",
	externalLinkTooltip: "外部連結至 %0",
	noTags: "未設定標籤的文章",
	notFileUrlError: "須先將此 TiddlyWiki 存至檔案,才可儲存變更",
	cantSaveError: "無法儲存變更。可能的原因有:\n- 你的瀏覽器不支援此儲存功能(Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari and Opera 經適當設定後可儲存變更)\n- 也可能是你的 TiddlyWiki 檔名包含不合法的字元所致。\n- 或是 TiddlyWiki 文件被改名或搬移。",
	invalidFileError: " '%0' 非有效之 TiddlyWiki 文件",
	backupSaved: "已儲存備份",
	backupFailed: "無法儲存備份",
	rssSaved: "RSS feed 已儲存",
	rssFailed: "無法儲存 RSS feed ",
	emptySaved: "已儲存範本",
	emptyFailed: "無法儲存範本",
	mainSaved: "主要的TiddlyWiki已儲存",
	mainFailed: "無法儲存主要 TiddlyWiki,所作的改變未儲存",
	macroError: "巨集 <<\%0>> 執行錯誤",
	macroErrorDetails: "執行巨集 <<\%0>> 時,發生錯誤 :\n%1",
	missingMacro: "無此巨集",
	overwriteWarning: "'%0' 已存在,[確定]覆寫之",
	unsavedChangesWarning: "注意! 尚未儲存變更\n\n[確定]存檔,或[取消]放棄存檔?",
	confirmExit: "--------------------------------\n\nTiddlyWiki 以更改內容尚未儲存,繼續的話將遺失這些更動\n\n--------------------------------",
	saveInstructions: "SaveChanges",
	unsupportedTWFormat: "未支援此 TiddlyWiki 格式:'%0'",
	tiddlerSaveError: "儲存文章 '%0' 時,發生錯誤。",
	tiddlerLoadError: "載入文章 '%0' 時,發生錯誤。",
	wrongSaveFormat: "無法使用格式 '%0' 儲存,請使用標准格式存放",
	invalidFieldName: "無效的欄位名稱:%0",
	fieldCannotBeChanged: "無法變更欄位:'%0'",
	loadingMissingTiddler: "正從伺服器 '%1' 的:\n\n工作區 '%3' 中的 '%2' 擷取文章 '%0'",
	upgradeDone: "已更新至 %0 版\n\n點擊 '確定' 重新載入更新後的 TiddlyWiki"});

merge(config.messages.messageClose,{
	text: "關閉",
	tooltip: "關閉此訊息"});

merge(config.messages,{
	backstage: {
		open: {text: "控制台", tooltip: "開啟控制台執行編寫工作"},
		close: {text: "關閉", tooltip: "關閉控制台"},
		prompt: "控制台:",
		decal: {
			edit: {text: "編輯", tooltip: "編輯 '%0'"}
		}}});

merge(config.messages,{
	listView: {
		tiddlerTooltip: "檢視全文",
		previewUnavailable: "(無法預覽)"}});

merge(config.messages,{
	dates: {
	months: ["一月", "二月", "三月", "四月", "五月", "六月", "七月", "八月", "九月", "十月", "十一月", "十二月"],
	days: ["星期日", "星期一","星期二", "星期三", "星期四", "星期五", "星期六"],
	shortMonths: ["一", "二", "三", "四", "五", "六", "七", "八", "九", "十", "十一", "十二"],
	shortDays: ["日", "一","二", "三", "四", "五", "六"],
	daySuffixes: ["st","nd","rd","th","th","th","th","th","th","th",
		"th","th","th","th","th","th","th","th","th","th",
		"st","nd","rd","th","th","th","th","th","th","th",
		"st"],
	am: "上午",
	pm: "下午"}});

merge(config.messages.tiddlerPopup,{ 
	});

merge(config.views.wikified.tag,{
	labelNoTags: "未設標籤",
	labelTags: "標籤: ",
	openTag: "開啟標籤 '%0'",
	tooltip: "顯示標籤為 '%0' 的文章",
	openAllText: "開啟以下所有文章",
	openAllTooltip: "開啟以下所有文章",
	popupNone: "僅此文標籤為 '%0'"});

merge(config.views.wikified,{
	defaultText: "",
	defaultModifier: "(未完成)",
	shadowModifier: "(預設)",
	dateFormat: "YYYY年0MM月0DD日",
	createdPrompt: "建立於"});

merge(config.views.editor,{
	tagPrompt: "設定標籤之間以空白區隔,[[標籤含空白時請使用雙中括弧]],或點選現有之標籤加入",
	defaultText: ""});

merge(config.views.editor.tagChooser,{
	text: "標籤",
	tooltip: "點選現有之標籤加至本文章",
	popupNone: "未設定標籤",
	tagTooltip: "加入標籤 '%0'"});

merge(config.messages,{
	sizeTemplates:
		[
		{unit: 1024*1024*1024, template: "%0\u00a0GB"},
		{unit: 1024*1024, template: "%0\u00a0MB"},
		{unit: 1024, template: "%0\u00a0KB"},
		{unit: 1, template: "%0\u00a0B"}
		]});

merge(config.macros.search,{
	label: " 尋找",
	prompt: "搜尋本 Wiki",
	accessKey: "F",
	successMsg: " %0 篇符合條件: %1",
	failureMsg: " 無符合條件: %0"});

merge(config.macros.tagging,{
	label: "引用標籤:",
	labelNotTag: "無引用標籤",
	tooltip: "列出標籤為 '%0' 的文章"});

merge(config.macros.timeline,{
	dateFormat: "YYYY年0MM月0DD日"});

merge(config.macros.allTags,{
	tooltip: "顯示文章- 標籤為'%0'",
	noTags: "沒有標籤"});

config.macros.list.all.prompt = "依字母排序";
config.macros.list.missing.prompt = "被引用且內容空白的文章";
config.macros.list.orphans.prompt = "未被引用的文章";
config.macros.list.shadowed.prompt = "這些隱藏的文章已預設內容";
config.macros.list.touched.prompt = "自下載或新增後被修改過的文章"; 

merge(config.macros.closeAll,{
	label: "全部關閉",
	prompt: "關閉所有開啟中的 tiddler (編輯中除外)"});

merge(config.macros.permaview,{
	label: "引用連結",
	prompt: "可存取現有開啟之文章的連結位址"});

merge(config.macros.saveChanges,{
	label: "儲存變更",
	prompt: "儲存所有文章,產生新的版本",
	accessKey: "S"});

merge(config.macros.newTiddler,{
	label: "新增文章",
	prompt: "新增 tiddler",
	title: "新增文章",
	accessKey: "N"});

merge(config.macros.newJournal,{
	label: "新增日誌",
	prompt: "新增 jounal",
	accessKey: "J"});

merge(config.macros.options,{
	wizardTitle: "增訂的進階選項",
	step1Title: "增訂的選項儲存於瀏覽器的 cookies",
	step1Html: "<input type='hidden' name='markList'></input><br><input type='checkbox' checked='false' name='chkUnknown'>顯示未知選項</input>",
	unknownDescription: "//(未知)//",
	listViewTemplate: {
		columns: [
			{name: 'Option', field: 'option', title: "選項", type: 'String'},
			{name: 'Description', field: 'description', title: "說明", type: 'WikiText'},
			{name: 'Name', field: 'name', title: "名稱", type: 'String'}
			],
		rowClasses: [
			{className: 'lowlight', field: 'lowlight'}
			]}
	});

merge(config.macros.plugins,{
	wizardTitle: "擴充套件管理",
	step1Title: "- 已載入之套件",
	step1Html: "<input type='hidden' name='markList'></input>", // DO NOT TRANSLATE
	skippedText: "(此套件因剛加入,故尚未執行)",
	noPluginText: "未安裝套件",
	confirmDeleteText: "確認是否刪除所選套件:\n\n%0",
	removeLabel: "移除 systemConfig 標籤",
	removePrompt: "移除 systemConfig 標籤",
	deleteLabel: "刪除",
	deletePrompt: "永遠刪除所選套件",

	listViewTemplate : {
		columns: [
			{name: 'Selected', field: 'Selected', rowName: 'title', type: 'Selector'},
			{name: 'Tiddler', field: 'tiddler', title: "套件", type: 'Tiddler'},
			{name: 'Description', field: 'desc', title: "說明", type: 'String'},
			{name: 'Version', field: 'Version', title: "版本", type: 'String'},
			{name: 'Size', field: 'size', tiddlerLink: 'size', title: "大小", type: 'Size'},
			{name: 'Forced', field: 'forced', title: "強制執行", tag: 'systemConfigForce', type: 'TagCheckbox'},
			{name: 'Disabled', field: 'disabled', title: "停用", tag: 'systemConfigDisable', type: 'TagCheckbox'},
			{name: 'Executed', field: 'executed', title: "已載入", type: "Boolean", trueText: "是", falseText: "否"},
			{name: 'Startup Time', field: 'startupTime', title: "載入時間", type: 'String'},
			{name: 'Error', field: 'error', title: "載入狀態", type: 'Boolean', trueText: "錯誤", falseText: "正常"},
			{name: 'Log', field: 'log', title: "紀錄", type: 'StringList'}
			],
		rowClasses: [
			{className: 'error', field: 'error'},
			{className: 'warning', field: 'warning'}
			]}
	});

merge(config.macros.toolbar,{
	moreLabel: "+",
	morePrompt: "顯示更多工具列命令",
	lessLabel: "-",
	lessPrompt: "隱藏部份工具列命令",
	separator: "|"
	});
	
merge(config.macros.refreshDisplay,{
	label: "刷新",
	prompt: "刷新此 TiddlyWiki 顯示"
	});
	
merge(config.macros.importTiddlers,{
	readOnlyWarning: "TiddlyWiki 於唯讀模式下,不支援導入文章。請由本機(file://)開啟 TiddlyWiki 文件",
	wizardTitle: "自其他檔案或伺服器導入文章",
	step1Title: "步驟一:指定伺服器或來源文件",
	step1Html: "指定伺服器類型:<select name='selTypes'><option value=''>選取...</option></select><br>請輸入網址或路徑:<input type='text' size=50 name='txtPath'><br>...或選擇來源文件:<input type='file' size=50 name='txtBrowse'><br><hr>...或選擇指定的饋入來源:<select name='selFeeds'><option value=''>選取...</option></select>",
	openLabel: "開啟",
	openPrompt: "開啟檔案或",
	openError: "讀取來源文件時發生錯誤",
	statusOpenHost: "正與伺服器建立連線",
	statusGetWorkspaceList: "正在取得可用之文章清單",
	errorGettingTiddlerList: "取得文章清單時發生錯誤,請點選「取消」後重試。",
	step2Title: "步驟二:選擇工作區",
	step2Html: "輸入工作區名稱:<input type='text' size=50 name='txtWorkspace'><br>...或選擇工作區:<select name='selWorkspace'><option value=''>選取...</option></select>",
	cancelLabel: "取消",
	cancelPrompt: "取消本次導入動作",
	statusOpenWorkspace: "正在開啟工作區",
	statusGetTiddlerList: "正在取得可用之文章清單",
	step3Title: "步驟三:選擇欲導入之文章",
	step3Html: "<input type='hidden' name='markList'></input><br><input type='checkbox' checked='true' name='chkSync'>保持這些文章與伺服器的連結,便於同步後續的變更。</input><br><input type='checkbox' name='chkSave'>儲存此伺服器的詳細資訊於標籤為 'systemServer' 的文章名為:</input> <input type='text' size=25 name='txtSaveTiddler'>", 
	importLabel: "導入",
	importPrompt: "導入所選文章",
	confirmOverwriteText: "確定要覆寫這些文章:\n\n%0",
	step4Title: "步驟四:正在導入%0 篇文章",
	step4Html: "<input type='hidden' name='markReport'></input>", // DO NOT TRANSLATE
	doneLabel: "完成",
	donePrompt: "關閉",
	statusDoingImport: "正在導入文章 ...",
	statusDoneImport: "所選文章已導入",
	systemServerNamePattern: "%2 位於 %1",
	systemServerNamePatternNoWorkspace: "%1",
	confirmOverwriteSaveTiddler: "此 tiddler '%0' 已經存在。點擊「確定」以伺服器上料覆寫之,或「取消」不變更後離開",
	serverSaveTemplate: "|''Type:''|%0|\n|''網址:''|%1|\n|''工作區:''|%2|\n\n此文為自動產生紀錄伺服器之相關資訊。",
	serverSaveModifier: "(系統)",

	listViewTemplate: {
		columns: [
			{name: 'Selected', field: 'Selected', rowName: 'title', type: 'Selector'},
			{name: 'Tiddler', field: 'tiddler', title: "文章", type: 'Tiddler'},
			{name: 'Size', field: 'size', tiddlerLink: 'size', title: "大小", type: 'Size'},
			{name: 'Tags', field: 'tags', title: "標籤", type: 'Tags'}
			],
		rowClasses: [
			]}
	});

merge(config.macros.upgrade,{
	wizardTitle: "更新 TiddlyWiki 核心程式",
	step1Title: "更新或修補此 TiddlyWiki 至最新版本",
	step1Html: "您將更新至最新版本的 TiddlyWiki 核心程式 (自 <a href='%0' class='externalLink' target='_blank'>%1</a>)。 在更新過程中,您的資料將被保留。<br><br>請注意:更新核心可能不相容於其他套件。若對更新的檔案有問題,詳見 <a href='http://www.tiddlywiki.org/wiki/CoreUpgrades' class='externalLink' target='_blank'>http://www.tiddlywiki.org/wiki/CoreUpgrades</a>",
	errorCantUpgrade: "j無法更新此 TiddlyWiki. 您只能自本機端的 TiddlyWiki 檔案執行更新程序",
	errorNotSaved: "執行更新之前,請先儲存變更",
	step2Title: "確認更新步驟",
	step2Html_downgrade: "您的 TiddlyWiki 將自 %1 版降級至 %0版。<br><br>不建議降級至較舊的版本。",
	step2Html_restore: "此 TiddlyWiki 核心已是最新版 (%0)。<br><br>您可以繼續更新作業以確認核心程式未曾毀損。",
	step2Html_upgrade: "您的 TiddlyWiki 将自 %1 版更新至 %0 版",
	upgradeLabel: "更新",
	upgradePrompt: "準備更新作業",
	statusPreparingBackup: "準備備份中",
	statusSavingBackup: "備份檔案",
	errorSavingBackup: "備份檔案時發生問題",
	statusLoadingCore: "核心程式載入中",
	errorLoadingCore: "載入核心程式時,發生錯誤",
	errorCoreFormat: "新版核心程式發生錯誤",
	statusSavingCore: "正在儲存新版核心程式",
	statusReloadingCore: "新版核心程式載入中",
	startLabel: "開始",
	startPrompt: "開始更新作業",
	cancelLabel: "取消",
	cancelPrompt: "取消更新作業",
	step3Title: "已取消更新作業",
	step3Html: "您已取消更新作業"
	});

merge(config.macros.sync,{
	listViewTemplate: {
		columns: [
			{name: 'Selected', field: 'selected', rowName: 'title', type: 'Selector'},
			{name: 'Tiddler', field: 'tiddler', title: "文章", type: 'Tiddler'},
			{name: 'Server Type', field: 'serverType', title: "伺服器類型", type: 'String'},
			{name: 'Server Host', field: 'serverHost', title: "伺服器主機", type: 'String'},
			{name: 'Server Workspace', field: 'serverWorkspace', title: "伺服器工作區", type: 'String'},
			{name: 'Status', field: 'status', title: "同步情形", type: 'String'},
			{name: 'Server URL', field: 'serverUrl', title: "伺服器網址", text: "檢視", type: 'Link'}
			],
		rowClasses: [
			],
		buttons: [
			{caption: "同步更新這些文章", name: 'sync'}
			]},
	wizardTitle: "將你的資料內容與外部伺服器與檔案同步",
	step1Title: "選擇欲同步的文章",
	step1Html: '<input type="hidden" name="markList"></input>', // DO NOT TRANSLATE
	syncLabel: "同步",
	syncPrompt: "同步更新這些文章",
	hasChanged: "已更動",
	hasNotChanged: "未更動",
	syncStatusList: {
		none: {text: "...", display:null, className:'notChanged'},
		changedServer: {text: "伺服器資料已更動", display:null, className:'changedServer'},
		changedLocally: {text: "本機資料已更動", display:null, className:'changedLocally'},
		changedBoth: {text: "已同時更新本機與伺服器上的資料", display:null, className:'changedBoth'},
		notFound: {text: "伺服器無此資料", display:null, className:'notFound'},
		putToServer: {text: "已儲存更新資料至伺服器", display:null, className:'putToServer'},
		gotFromServer: {text: "已從伺服器擷取更新資料", display:null, className:'gotFromServer'}
		}
	});

merge(config.macros.annotations,{
	});

merge(config.commands.closeTiddler,{
	text: "關閉",
	tooltip: "關閉本文"});

merge(config.commands.closeOthers,{
	text: "關閉其他",
	tooltip: "關閉其他文章"});

merge(config.commands.editTiddler,{
	text: "編輯",
	tooltip: "編輯本文",
	readOnlyText: "檢視",
	readOnlyTooltip: "檢視本文之原始內容"});

merge(config.commands.saveTiddler,{
	text: "完成",
	tooltip: "確定修改"});

merge(config.commands.cancelTiddler,{
	text: "取消",
	tooltip: "取消修改",
	warning: "確定取消對 '%0' 的修改嗎?",
	readOnlyText: "完成",
	readOnlyTooltip: "返回正常顯示模式"});

merge(config.commands.deleteTiddler,{
	text: "刪除",
	tooltip: "刪除文章",
	warning: "確定刪除 '%0'?"});

merge(config.commands.permalink,{
	text: "引用連結",
	tooltip: "本文引用連結"});

merge(config.commands.references,{
	text: "引用",
	tooltip: "引用本文的文章",
	popupNone: "本文未被引用"});

merge(config.commands.jump,{
	text: "捲頁",
	tooltip: "捲頁至其他已開啟的文章"});

merge(config.commands.syncing,{
	text: "同步",
	tooltip: "本文章與伺服器或其他外部檔案的同步資訊",
	currentlySyncing: "<div>同步類型:<span class='popupHighlight'>'%0'</span></"+"div><div>與伺服器:<span class='popupHighlight'>%1 同步</span></"+"div><div>工作區:<span class='popupHighlight'>%2</span></"+"div>", // Note escaping of closing <div> tag
	notCurrentlySyncing: "無進行中的同步動作",
	captionUnSync: "停止同步此文章",
	chooseServer: "與其他伺服器同步此文章:",
	currServerMarker: "\u25cf ",
	notCurrServerMarker: "  "});

merge(config.commands.fields,{
	text: "欄位",
	tooltip: "顯示此文章的擴充資訊",
	emptyText: "此文章沒有擴充欄位",
	listViewTemplate: {
		columns: [
			{name: 'Field', field: 'field', title: "擴充欄位", type: 'String'},
			{name: 'Value', field: 'value', title: "內容", type: 'String'}
			],
		rowClasses: [
			],
		buttons: [
			]}});

merge(config.shadowTiddlers,{
	DefaultTiddlers: "[[GettingStarted]]",
	GettingStarted: "使用此 TiddlyWiki 的空白範本之前,請先修改以下預設文章:\n* SiteTitle 及 SiteSubtitle:網站的標題和副標題,顯示於頁面上方<br />(在儲存變更後,將顯示於瀏覽器視窗的標題列)。\n* MainMenu:主選單(通常在頁面左側)。\n* DefaultTiddlers:內含一些文章的標題,可於載入TiddlyWiki 後的預設開啟。\n請輸入您的大名,作為所建立/ 編輯的文章署名:<<option txtUserName>>",
	MainMenu: "[[使用說明|GettingStarted]]\n\n\n版本:<<version>>",
	OptionsPanel: "這些設定將暫存於瀏覽器\n請簽名<<option txtUserName>>\n (範例:WikiWord)\n\n <<option chkSaveBackups>> 儲存備份\n <<option chkAutoSave>> 自動儲存\n <<option chkRegExpSearch>> 正規式搜尋\n <<option chkCaseSensitiveSearch>> 區分大小寫搜尋\n <<option chkAnimate>> 使用動畫顯示\n----\n [[進階選項|AdvancedOptions]]",
	SiteTitle: "我的 TiddlyWiki",
	SiteSubtitle: "一個可重複使用的個人網頁式筆記本",
	SiteUrl: '',
	SideBarOptions: '<<search>><<closeAll>><<permaview>><<newTiddler>><<newJournal " YYYY年0MM月0DD日" "日誌">><<saveChanges>><<slider chkSliderOptionsPanel OptionsPanel "偏好設定 \u00bb" "變更 TiddlyWiki 選項">>',
	SideBarTabs: '<<tabs txtMainTab "最近更新" "依更新日期排序" TabTimeline "全部" "所有文章" TabAll "分類" "所有標籤" TabTags "更多" "其他" TabMore>>',
	StyleSheet: '[[StyleSheetLocale]]',
	TabMore: '<<tabs txtMoreTab "未完成" "內容空白的文章" TabMoreMissing "未引用" "未被引用的文章" TabMoreOrphans "預設文章" "已預設內容的隱藏文章" TabMoreShadowed>>'
});

merge(config.annotations,{
	AdvancedOptions: "此預設文章可以存取一些進階選項。",
	ColorPalette: "此預設文章裡的設定值,將決定 ~TiddlyWiki 使用者介面的配色。",
	DefaultTiddlers: "當 ~TiddlyWiki 在瀏覽器中開啟時,此預設文章裡列出的文章,將被自動顯示。",
	EditTemplate: "此預設文章裡的 HTML template 將決定文章進入編輯模式時的顯示版面。",
	GettingStarted: "此預設文章提供基本的使用說明。",
	ImportTiddlers: "此預設文章提供存取導入中的文章。",
	MainMenu: "此預設文章的內容,為於螢幕左側主選單的內容",
	MarkupPreHead: "此文章的內容將加至 TiddlyWiki 文件的 <head> 段落的起始",
	MarkupPostHead: "此文章的內容將加至 TiddlyWiki 文件的 <head> 段落的最後",
	MarkupPreBody: "此文章的內容將加至 TiddlyWiki 文件的 <body> 段落的起始",
	MarkupPostBody: "此文章的內容將加至 TiddlyWiki 文件的 <body> 段落的最後,於 script 區塊之後",
	OptionsPanel: "此預設文章的內容,為於螢幕右側副選單中的選項面板裡的內容",
	PageTemplate: "此預設文章裡的 HTML template 決定的 ~TiddlyWiki 主要的版面配置",
	PluginManager: "此預設文章提供存取套件管理員",
	SideBarOptions: "此預設文章的內容,為於螢幕右側副選單中選項面板裡的內容",
	SideBarTabs: "此預設文章的內容,為於螢幕右側副選單中的頁籤面板裡的內容",
	SiteSubtitle: "此預設文章的內容為頁面的副標題",
	SiteTitle: "此預設文章的內容為頁面的主標題",
	SiteUrl: "此預設文章的內容須設定為文件發佈時的完整網址",
	StyleSheetColors: "此預設文章內含的 CSS 規則,為相關的頁面元素的配色。''勿修改此文'',請於 StyleSheet 中作增修",
	StyleSheet: "此預設文章內容可包含 CSS 規則",
	StyleSheetLayout: "此預設文章內含的 CSS 規則,為相關的頁面元素的版面配置。''勿修改此文'',請於 StyleSheet 中作增修",
	StyleSheetLocale: "此預設文章內含的 CSS 規則,可依翻譯語系做適當調整",
	StyleSheetPrint: "此預設文章內含的 CSS 規則,用於列印時的樣式",
	TabAll: "此預設文章的內容,為於螢幕右側副選單中的「全部」頁籤的內容",
	TabMore: "此預設文章的內容,為於螢幕右側副選單中的「更多」頁籤的內容",
	TabMoreMissing: "此預設文章的內容,為於螢幕右側副選單中的「未完成」頁籤的內容",
	TabMoreOrphans: "此預設文章的內容,為於螢幕右側副選單中的「未引用」頁籤的內容",
	TabMoreShadowed: "此預設文章的內容,為於螢幕右側副選單中的「預設文章」頁籤的內容",
	TabTags: "此預設文章的內容,為於螢幕右側副選單中的「分類」頁籤的內容",
	TabTimeline: "此預設文章的內容,為於螢幕右側副選單中的「最近更新」頁籤的內容",
	ToolbarCommands: "此預設文章的內容,為顯示於文章工具列之命令",
	ViewTemplate: "此預設文章裡的 HTML template 決定文章顯示的樣子"
	});
//}}}
Authors: Pam Hanleya; Felix Maringea; Mary Ratcliffea

Abstract
This evaluation used a change transition model to explore the processes of development of a three-phase professional programme devised by two teams of researchers to support teachers' expertise in six domains of science teaching. The full programme operated over two years. Interviews with developers at the end of each phase (21 interviews) and with teachers at the end of phases two and three (11 interviews) formed the main data set. The four features of the change transition model—trigger, vision, conversion, maintenance—were used as a framework for analysis of the qualitative data. Four themes emerged as contributing to the success of the process of development of the programme: establishing a shared vision of the goals of the programme and its outcomes; maintaining flexibility in implementing the phases and details of the programme; negotiating common understanding with participants; and ensuring fruitful collaboration in planning and implementation. The demands of attending to all of these features should not be underestimated in any successful developmental process. The evaluation therefore provides evidence for additional guidance in future collaborative professional development.