Bringing science into the classroom by basing craft on research

In response to Crockett's analysis of the relation of science and the instruction of students with learning disabilities, we discuss reasons why teaching in special education is infrequently affected by science and research, and we propose a model of naturalistic decision making and make recommendations for bridging the gap between research and practice based on that model. By building an extensive experiential base in using effective practices, we propose that teachers can become experts at the craft of applying research-based methods. Bringing science into the classroom by basing craft on research in this way represents one promising alternative for improving outcomes for students with and without learning disabilities.     

Special Education Research Agenda in the United States: Sources of Influence

This short article broadly characterizes the complex forces that shape the special education research agenda in the United States. Special education research is described as a national project involving a loosely linked community of researchers working under the umbrella of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, the national special education mandate. The momentum of normal science, changes in social values, public policy, imports from other disciplines, the power of advocacy groups, and changing methodologies all contribute to the creation of what appears roughly as a research agenda. Special education research, as a mission-directed endeavor, has been effective in generating a new knowledge base but has been less successful in influencing public school personnel to use validated methods. The need to move from instructional research to more systemic analyses also is discussed briefly.     

Moving forward in inclusive education research

This paper aims to address conceptual and methodological challenges of doing research in the field of inclusive education and revisit school effectiveness research literature to inform future research. First, we present the rationale for inclusive education and briefly review the evolution of special needs education. Then, we discuss limitations of current research on inclusive education. Next, we present school- and classroom-level findings of school effectiveness research to highlight how it can influence the inclusive education research agenda. We conclude by presenting future directions for research.     

Multi-level Discourse Analysis in a Physics Teaching Methods Course from the Psychological Perspective of Activity Theory

In this paper, we present and apply a multi-level method for discourse analysis in science classrooms. This method is based on the structure of human activity (activity, actions, and operations) and it was applied to study a pre-service physics teacher methods course. We argue that such an approach, based on a cultural psychological perspective, affords opportunities for analysts to perform a theoretically based detailed analysis of discourse events. Along with the presentation of analysis, we show and discuss how the articulation of different levels offers interpretative criteria for analyzing instructional conversations. We synthesize the results into a model for a teacher's practice and discuss the implications and possibilities of this approach for the field of discourse analysis in science classrooms. Finally, we reflect on how the development of teachers' understanding of their activity structures can contribute to forms of progressive discourse of science education.     

Briging it all back home: some implications of recent science and technology studies for the classroom science teacher

In this paper, we support the validity of drawing from science studies to reshape science education. While true educational reform must involve alternative curricular structures, we stress that we do not propose here either a comprehensive curricular framework or a report on a pilot classroom project, as our research perspective comes from science studies rather than from education. Instead this paper is intended to encourage educators to draw from methodologies used in science studies to further their goals in education research and in classroom teaching. First, we examine theoretical connections and divergences between science studies and theories of education. Secondly, we discuss the benefits of teaching science as a social process and offer some suggestions that can be introduced by classroom teachers into pre-existing science curricula.     

Time for Law: Legal Literacy and Gerontological Education

ABSTRACT

In the past, the law has not been considered as an important part of gerontological science. Historically, different sciences such as medicine, biology, psychology, and sociology have played far more important roles in the creation and crystallization of gerontological knowledge. This state of affairs is reflected in academic education and field research, which ascribes little weight to legal aspects of aging. This article maintains that the time is ripe for gerontological education to recognize the importance of exposing students of gerontology in academic institutions to the study and research of law and ageing. Though this claim could be defended on the simple ground that the law is no different, in principle, from a wide range of other scientific disciplines—each of which makes a particular contribution to gerontology—in this article we shall go one step further. This article attempts to demonstrate special elements which make it particularly important to add the study of legal matters to the curriculum of gerontological education. They are the result of 5 aspects of the encounter between the law and old age: (a) the law as a tool for sociological research; (b) the law as a tool for social change; (c) the law as a tool for planning and undertaking care of the old; (d) the weaknesses of the legal discipline in the field of law and aging; and (e) the potential value of legal education for the practice of gerontology, and collaboration between gerontologists and lawyers.     

The Value of Fidelity of Implementation Criteria to Evaluate School-Based Science Curriculum Innovations

School-based curriculum innovations, including those in science education, are usually not adequately evaluated, if at all. Furthermore, current procedures and instruments for programme evaluations are often unable to support evidence-based decision-making. We suggest that adopting fidelity of implementation (FOI) criteria from healthcare research can both characterize and narrow the separation between programme intent and actual implementation, which is a mandatory stage of evaluation before determining overall programme value. We demonstrate how such a process could be applied by science educators using data from a secondary school in Singapore that had devised a new curriculum to promote interest, investigative processes, and knowledge in science. Results showed that there were ambivalent student responses to this programme, while there were high levels of science process skill instruction and close alignment with the intended lesson design. The implementation of this programme appeared to have a satisfactory overall level of FOI, but we also detected tensions between programme intent and everyday classroom teaching. If we want to advance science education, then our argument is that applying FOI criteria is necessary when evaluating all curricular innovations, not just those that originate from schools.     

Examining Student Engagement with Science Through a Bourdieusian Notion of Field

Student engagement with science is a long-standing, central interest within science education research. In this article, we examine student engagement with science using a Bourdiusian lens, placing a particular emphasis on the notion of field. Over the course of one academic year, we collected data in an inner London secondary science classroom through lesson observations, interviews and discussion groups with students, and interviews with the teacher. We argue that applying Bourdieusian theory can help better understand differential patterns of student engagement by directing attention to the alignment between students’ habitus and capital, and the field. Student behaviours that did not meet the requirements of the wider field were not recognised and valued as constituting engagement. Even when the ‘rules of the game’ of the science classroom were understood by the students, the tensions they experienced within the field made engaging with science impossible and undesirable. We discuss how a greater focus on the field can be useful for planning future interventions aimed at making science education more equitable.     

Rethinking diversity in learning science: The logic of everyday sense‐making

There are many ways to understand the gap in science learning and achievement separating low‐income, ethnic minority and linguistic minority children from more economically privileged students. In this article we offer our perspective. First, we discuss in broad strokes how the relationship between everyday and scientific knowledge and ways of knowing has been conceptualized in the field of science education research. We consider two dominant perspectives on this question, one which views the relationship as fundamentally discontinuous and the other which views it as fundamentally continuous. We locate our own work within the latter tradition and propose a framework for understanding the everyday sense‐making practices of students from diverse communities as an intellectual resource in science learning and teaching. Two case studies follow in which we elaborate this point of view through analysis of Haitian American and Latino students' talk and activity as they work to understand metamorphosis and experimentation, respectively. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of this new conceptualization for research on science learning and teaching. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 38: 529–552, 2001     

Editorial: Special Issue (SI): International Conference on Science Education (ICSE)

In the context of science education globalization, the International Conference on Science Education was held in Nanjing, China, in October 2012. The purpose of this conference was to provide a forum for science education researchers from China and from the rest of the world to exchange research ideas and best practices in science education. A call for papers for a special issue of the Journal of Science Education and Technology was made to all conference participants, and a set of six articles was resulted from a standard peer review process. This set of six articles provides a snapshot of research in China and in some other countries, and represents a dialogue between Chinese science education researchers and science education researchers from other countries. We call for more exchange and collaboration in science education between China and the rest of the world.     

The Development of Science Education Research in Brazil and Contributions from the History and Philosophy of Science

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.     

我国特殊教育法律研究综述及立法建议

对我国学术界关于特殊教育法律的研究文献进行梳理,概述了现有特殊教育法律存在的体系不完善、立法滞后、缺乏可操作性等问题,归纳了学者们对制定《特殊教育法》的学术意见和对国外特殊教育法律的研究成果,指出我国目前正在进行的《残疾人教育条例》修订工作及其他立法安排应充分借鉴、吸收国外特殊教育立法的先进理念和经验,明确特殊教育的原则,着力增强法律的实用性和可操作性。     

不同学科视野下的教师待遇研究综述

经济和社会的转型使原有的幼儿教育体系受到冲击,新的体系尚未建立或正处于探索之中,多种问题和矛盾交织。其中,广大农村幼儿园教师的待遇问题日益凸显,并已严重影响到整个农村幼儿教育事业的健康发展。社会学、经济学、管理学和法学等学科都对教师待遇问题给予了特别的关注,在研究的基本框架、内容、方法等各方面积累了十分有益的研究成果,为我们研究农村幼儿园教师待遇问题提供了有益的参考。     

INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES AND GROUP WORK IN THE US INCLUSIVE HIGH SCHOOL CO-TAUGHT SCIENCE CLASS

In the US, there is a significant number of learning-disabled high school students included in regular science classrooms. It has been argued that students with learning disabilities can succeed in science if they receive the kind of instruction they need. To facilitate such instruction, the special education teacher is often incorporated into the class along with the learning disabled students. We observed 53 high school science lessons from ten pairs of science and special-education teachers who were responsible for delivering instruction to groups of students, some of whom were learning-disabled. We analyzed narrative notes collected in these lessons reflecting the kinds of classroom activities, organization of work, and teachers’ roles. In addition, we interviewed the teachers individually to gain a better understanding of these inclusive classes. The underlying question of this research was whether inclusive classes with two teachers delivered the type of science education that is better than solo-teaching in addressing the needs of learning-disabled students. Our evidence indicates that even with a special-education teacher present in the class, learning-disabled students usually did not receive a science education that met their needs. We elaborate on the reasons for this problem and make suggestions for improvement.     

Learning science through talking science in elementary classroom

Elementary students in grade two make sense of science ideas and knowledge through their contextual experiences. Mattis Lundin and Britt Jakobson find in their research that early grade students have sophisticated understandings of human anatomy and physiology. In order to understand what students’ know about human body and various systems, both drawings and spoken responses provide rich evidence of their understanding of the connections between science drawings and verbal explanations. In this forum contribution, we present several theoretical connections between everyday language and science communication and argue that building communication skills in science are essential. We also discuss how young participants should be valued and supported in research. Finally we discuss the need for multimodal research methods when the research participants are young.     

Responsible research and innovation indicators for science education assessment: how to measure the impact?

ABSTRACT

The emerging paradigm of responsible research and innovation (RRI) in the European Commission policy discourse identifies science education as a key agenda for better equipping students with skills and knowledge to tackle complex societal challenges and foster active citizenship in democratic societies. The operationalisation of this broad approach in science education demands, however, the identification of assessment frameworks able to grasp the complexity of RRI process requirements and learning outcomes within science education practice. This article aims to shed light over the application of the RRI approach in science education by proposing a RRI-based analytical framework for science education assessment. We use such framework to review a sample of empirical studies of science education assessments and critically analyse it under the lenses of RRI criteria. As a result, we identify a set of 86 key RRI assessment indicators in science education related to RRI values, transversal competences and experiential and cognitive aspects of learning. We argue that looking at science education through the lenses of RRI can potentially contribute to the integration of metacognitive skills, emotional aspects and procedural dimensions within impact assessments so as to address the complexity of learning.     

Student Learning in Higher Education: Where We Are and Paths Forward

This special issue originated from ongoing discussions on how research in the past decade has or has not informed current theories on student learning in higher education. The contributions to this special issue each present a discussion of conceptual and methodological directions with possible connections or suggested dead ends in the major research traditions of the field. The special issue closes with two commentaries in which senior researchers critically discuss the contribution of the special issue regarding the question of where we might theoretically go in the field of student learning in higher education research.