Arguing to Learn in Science: The Role of Collaborative, Critical Discourse
Author(s): Jonathan Osborne
Source: Science, 2010, 328(5977)
Abstract: Argument and debate are common in science, yet they are virtually absent from science education. Recent research shows, however, that opportunities for students to engage in collaborative discourse and argumentation offer a means of enhancing student conceptual understanding and students’ skills and capabilities with scientific reasoning. As one of the hallmarks of the scientist is critical, rational skepticism, the lack of opportunities to develop the ability to reason and argue scientifically would appear to be a significant weakness in contemporary educational practice. In short, knowing what is wrong matters as much as knowing what is right. This paper presents a summary of the main features of this body of research and discusses its implications for the teaching and learning of science.
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Student and Teacher Perceptions of School Climate: A Multilevel Exploration of Patterns of Discrepancy
Author(s): Mary M. Mitchell PhD, Catherine P. Bradshaw PhD, Med and Philip J. Leaf PhD
Source: Journal of School Health, 2010, 80(6)
Abstract: BACKGROUND: School climate has been linked with improved academic achievement and reduced discipline problems, and thus is often a target of school improvement initiatives. However, few studies have examined the extent to which student and teacher perceptions vary as a function of individual, classroom, and school characteristics, or the level of congruence between teachers' and their students' perceptions of school climate.
METHODS: Using data from 1881 fifth-grade students and their 90 homeroom teachers, we examined parallel models of students' and teachers' perceptions of overall school climate and academic emphasis. Two additional models were fit that assessed the congruence between teacher and student perceptions of school climate and academic emphasis.
RESULTS: Multilevel analyses indicated that classroom-level factors were more closely associated with teachers' perceptions of climate, whereas school-level factors were more closely associated with the students' perceptions. Further analyses indicated an inverse association between student and teacher ratings of academic emphasis, and no association between student and teacher ratings of overall climate.
CONCLUSIONS: Teacher ratings were more sensitive to classroom-level factors, such as poor classroom management and proportion of students with disruptive behaviors, whereas student ratings were more influenced by school-level factors such as student mobility, student-teacher relationship, and principal turnover. The discrepancy in ratings of academic emphasis suggests that while all of the respondents may have shared objectively similar experiences, their perceptions of those experiences varied significantly. These results emphasize the importance of assessing both student and teacher perceptions in future research on school climate.
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Literacy and Science: Each in the Service of the Other
Author(s): P. David Pearson, Elizabeth Moje and Cynthia Greenleaf
Source: Science, 2010, 328(5977)
Abstract: We use conceptual and empirical lenses to examine synergies between inquiry science and literacy teaching and learning of K-12 (kindergarten through high school) curriculum. We address two questions: (i) how can reading and writing be used as tools to support inquiry-based science, and (ii) how do reading and writing benefit when embedded in an inquiry-based science setting? After elaborating the theoretical and empirical support for integrated approaches, we discuss how to support their implementation in today’s complicated curricular landscape.
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Capturing Unique Dimensions of Youth Organized Activity Involvement: Theoretical and Methodological Considerations
Author(s): Amy Bohnert, Jennifer Fredricks and Edin Randall
Source: Review of Educational Research, Published online before print May 24, 2010
Abstract: Despite increased focus on the effects of organized activities on youth development, there is currently no consensus about the best way to assess various dimensions of involvement. This article explores the complexities of assess ing involvement and focuses specifically on the following organized activity dimensions: (a) breadth, (b) intensity, (c) duration/consistency, and (d) engagement. For each dimension, the article examines the theoretical underpinnings for why it is important to measure the dimension, presents measurement issues that have arisen in previous studies, describes how the dimension relates to developmental outcomes, and offers recommendations for assessing it in future use. A conceptual model is presented to describe issues that are important to consider when assessing various dimensions of organized activity involvement in future research.
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An eye tracking comparison of external pointing cues and internal continuous cues in learning with complex animations
Author(s): Jean-Michel Boucheix and Richard K. Lowe
Source:Learning and Instruction, 2010, 20(2)
Abstract: Two experiments used eye tracking to investigate a novel cueing approach for directing learner attention to low salience, high relevance aspects of a complex animation. In the first experiment, comprehension of a piano mechanism animation containing spreading-colour cues was compared with comprehension obtained with arrow cues or no cues. Eye tracking data revealed differences in learner attention patterns between the different experimental conditions. The second experiment used eye tracking with synchronized and non-synchronized cues to investigate the role of dynamic direction of attention in cueing effectiveness. Results of Experiment 1 showed that spreading-colour cues resulted in better targeting of attention to thematically relevant aspects and in higher comprehension scores than arrow cues or no cues. For Experiment 2, superior comprehension after the synchronized version together with eye tracking data indicated that cue effectiveness depended on attention direction being spatially and temporally coordinated with onsets of animation events having high thematic relevance to the learning task. The findings suggest the importance of perceptual cues and bottom-up processing.
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Social effects of collaborative learning in primary schools
Author(s): Andrew Kenneth Tolmie, Keith J. Topping, Donald Christie, Caroline Donaldson, Christine Howe, Emma Jessiman, Kay Livingston and Allen Thurston
Source: Learning and Instruction, 2010, 20(3)
Abstract: There is conflicting evidence on whether collaborative group work leads to improved classroom relations, and if so how. A before and after design was used to measure the impact on work and play relations of a collaborative learning programme involving 575 students 9–12 years old in single- and mixed-age classes across urban and rural schools. Data were also collected on student interactions and teacher ratings of their group-work skills. Analysis of variance revealed significant gains for both types of relation. Multilevel modelling indicated that better work relations were the product of improving group skills, which offset tensions produced by transactive dialogue, and this effect fed through in turn to play relations. Although before intervention rural children were familiar with each other neither this nor age mix affected outcomes. The results suggest the social benefits of collaborative learning are a separate outcome of group work, rather than being either a pre-condition for, or a direct consequence of successful activity, but that initial training in group skills may serve to enhance these benefits.
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Student revision with peer and expert reviewing
Author(s): Kwangsu Cho and Charles MacArthur
Source: Learning and Instruction, 2010, 20(4)
Abstract: In a previous study we found that students receiving feedback from multiple peers improve their writing quality more than students receiving feedback from a single expert. The present study attempted to explain that finding by analyzing the feedback types provided by experts and peers, how that feedback was related to revisions, and how revisions affected quality. Participants were 28 undergraduates who received feedback from a single expert (SE), a single peer (SP), or multiple peers (MP), thus forming three groups, respectively. The MP group received more feedback of all types. Non-directive feedback predicted complex repairs that the MP group made more than both other groups. Complex repairs were associated with improved quality.
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Teachers’ Mathematical Knowledge, Cognitive Activation in the Classroom, and Student Progress
Author(s): Jürgen Baumert, Mareike Kunter, Werner Blum, Martin Brunner, Thamar Voss, Alexander Jordan, Uta Klusmann, Stefan Krauss, Michael Neubrand and Yi-Miau Tsai
Source: American Educational Research Journal, 2010,47(1)
Abstract: In both the United States and Europe, concerns have been raised about whether preservice and in-service training succeeds in equipping teachers with the professional knowledge they need to deliver consistently high-quality instruction. This article investigates the significance of teachers’ content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge for high-quality instruction and student progress in secondary-level mathematics. It reports findings from a 1-year study conducted in Germany with a representative sample of Grade 10 classes and their mathematics teachers. Teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge was theoretically and empirically distinguishable from their content knowledge. Multilevel structural equation models revealed a substantial positive effect of pedagogical content knowledge on students’ learning gains that was mediated by the provision of cognitive activation and individual learning support.
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The Relative Effects and Equity of Inquiry-Based and Commonplace Science Teaching on Students' Knowledge, Reasoning, and Argumentation
Author(s): Wilson, Christopher D.; Taylor, Joseph A.; Kowalski, Susan M.; Carlson, Janet
Source: Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 2010, 47(3)
Abstract: We conducted a laboratory-based randomized control study to examine the effectiveness of inquiry-based instruction. We also disaggregated the data by student demographic variables to examine if inquiry can provide equitable opportunities to learn. Fifty-eight students aged 14-16 years old were randomly assigned to one of two groups. Both groups of students were taught toward the same learning goals by the same teacher, with one group being taught from inquiry-based materials organized around the BSCS 5E Instructional Model, and the other from materials organized around commonplace teaching strategies as defined by national teacher survey data. Students in the inquiry-based group reached significantly higher levels of achievement than students experiencing commonplace instruction. This effect was consistent across a range of learning goals (knowledge, reasoning, and argumentation) and time frames (immediately following the instruction and 4 weeks later). The commonplace science instruction resulted in a detectable achievement gap by race, whereas the inquiry-based materials instruction did not. We discuss the implications of these findings for the body of evidence on the effectiveness of teaching science as inquiry; the role of instructional models and curriculum materials in science teaching; addressing achievement gaps; and the competing demands of reform and accountability. (Contains 9 tables and 7 figures.)
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Learning Teaching in, from, and for Practice: What Do We Mean?
Author(s): Magdalene Lampert
Source: Journal of Teacher Education , 2010, 61(1-2)
Abstract: In talk about teacher preparation and professional development, we often hear the word practice associated with what, how, or when the learning of teaching is supposed to happen. In this article, four different conceptions of practice are investigated, and their implications for how learning teaching might be organized are explored. Rather than a comprehensive review of the literature, what is presented here is a set of ideas that draw on both past and present efforts at reform. The purpose of this essay is to provoke clarification of what we mean when we talk about practice in relation to learning teaching. The author draws on her own research on the work of teaching from the perspective of practice to represent the nature of the work and to speculate from various perspectives on how that work might be learned.
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