S-TEAM Report: Scientific literacy and teacher professional development

8/8/2019 S-TEAM Report: Scientific literacy and teacher professional development

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S-TEAM

WP 8 Repor

Scientific LiteracyDevelopment

Report

Deliverable 8a

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S-TEAMDeliverable8a:ScientificLiteracyandTeacherProfessionalDevelopment

2

Contact details:

ProjectCoordinator:ProfessorPetervanMarion

[email protected]

Deputycoordinator:ProfessorDorisJorde

[email protected]

ProjectManager:DrPeterGray

[email protected]

ProjectAdministrator:HildeRoysland

[email protected]

S-TEAMwebsite:www.ntnu.no/s-team

Postaladdress:

S-TEAM

ProgramforTeacherEducation

NTNU

DragvollGrdN-7491Trondheim

Norway

PublishedbyNTNU(Norgesteknisk-naturvitenskapeligeuniversitet),Trondheim,Norway

S-TEAM2010

TheSTeamprojecthasreceivedfundingfromtheEuropeanCommunity'sSeventh

FrameworkProgramme[FP7/20072013]undergrantagreementn234870

Publishedunderanopen-accessagreementwiththeEuropeanCommission

Citation:

S-TEAM(Science-TeacherEducationAdvancedMethods)(2010)DevelopingScientificThinkingintheClassroom

throughInquiry,Trondheim,S-TEAM/NTNU,availableat:http://www.ntnu.no/s-team


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Preface

ThisreportisarevisedversionofthepreliminaryreportonscientificliteracysubmittedinM12.

Itdoesnotclaimtoprovideacomprehensivestateoftheartanalysisofscientificliteracy

teachingacrossEurope,whichisbeyondthescopeofthisproject.Itdoes,however,suggest

newandinnovativewaysforwardintheuseofScientificLiteracyasatoolforthedevelopment

ofinquiry-basedteachingmethods,andhasresultedintheScientificThinkingpaper(Smithet

al,2010,appended).ThispaperhasbeeninfluentialwithintheS-TEAMprojectandbeyond.

Theapproachesdescribedinthisdocumentwereusedinasuccessfulpilotworkshopduringthe

S-TEAMmid-projectconferenceinGlasgow(13-16October,2010)andwearenowexploring

waysoftakingthisapproachforwardintheS-TEAMpartnercountries.


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TableofContents

Preface........................................................................................................................3 S-TEAMDeliverable8a:overviewreportonscientificliteracyandTeacherProfessional

Development...............................................................................................................6Introduction.............................................................................................................7

TeacherAwareness ............................................................................................................7PromotionofInquiryBasedScienceTeaching .................................................................10Figure2.DetailfromtheDanishmapofScientificLiteracywiththestudentgoals

associatedwithcarryouthighlightedinblue. ...............................................................10Table1.Aspectsofscientificthinking(scientificinquiry)andwhateachincludesfrom

Smithetal.(2010),basedonFeist,2006. ........................................................................11IncreasedIntrinsicandExtrinsicMotivationfor/withFreshPedagogies .........................19

References................................................................................................................27 SomeThoughtsOntheWP8OverviewReport ...........................................................28

Table1:Aspectsofscientificthinking ..............................................................................32Table2:SummarybasedonWP8scientificliteracyoverviewreport ..............................32Discussion.........................................................................................................................32

Supportforscientificthinkinginschoolscienceinvestigations:ATeachingTool ........37Section1:Introduction..............................................................................................39Section2:Afive-partmodelofinvestigations..........................................................41

Table1:Fundamentalaspectsofscientificthinking ........................................................41Table2:Furtheraspectsofscientificthinking..................................................................43Table3:Fivedimensionsofinvestigationsandsomeassociatedteachingquestions. ....44

Section3:Examplesofanalysisofinvestigations.....................................................47


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Example1:AnalysisofaStandardGradeInvestigation ...........................................48Table4:AnalysisofSGradeInvestigation(Germinationinsmallseeds).......................50

Example2:AnalysisofHigherInvestigation.............................................................51Figure2:Abubblepotometerthatcanbeusedtoinvestigateevaporationofwaterfrom

leaves................................................................................................................................52Table5:AnalysisofHigherInvestigation(Atranspirationinvestigationusingbubble

potometer}.......................................................................................................................53Table5cont'd:AnalysisofHigherInvestigation(Atranspirationinvestigationusing

bubblepotometer)...........................................................................................................54Example3:Analysisofrespirationexperiments.......................................................55

Table6:Analysisofseriesofexperimentsinvestigatingrespiration................................59Example4:Analysisofinvestigationintofactorsaffectingwinddispersalofseeds.

..................................................................................................................................61 Table7:Testingmodelsofseedstoinvestigatefactorslimitingseeddispersalbywind 61Table7cont'd:Testingmodelsofseedstoinvestigatefactorslimitingseeddispersalby

wind..................................................................................................................................63Example5:AnalysisofInvestigationofeffectofcolouroflightonplantgrowth....63

Figure7:TestboardshowingoperationofblueLEDlightingcircuit................................64Figure8Constructionofcomparativeleafcolourchart...................................................64Table8:Analysisofinvestigationofeffectofcolouroflightonplantgrowth.................65

Section4:Discussion ................................................................................................70ContributorstoDeliverable6a ...............................................................................75


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S-TEAMDeliverable8a:overviewreporton

scientificliteracyandTeacherProfessional

Development

TheWP8Team


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Introduction

NationalstatementsofScientificLiteracycanbefoundamongsttheeducationgoalsand

objectivesformostEUcountries.Ingeneraltheirpurposeistogiveguidancetothedirectionof

scienceeducationsothatitisresponsivetotheeducational,socialandculturalneedsofeach

state.However,fromourexperience,alargenumberofteachersineachcountryareeither

unawareoftheexistenceofthesestatementsornaveabouttheircontentsandrelevanceto

theirteaching.WhileworkingintensivelywiththeScientificLiteracystatementsofseven

countriesintheEuropeanarea,wehaveexaminedthepotentialusefulnessofthesestatements

forimprovingscienceeducationthroughTeacherProfessionalDevelopment(TPD)programs

thatusetheminmeaningfulways.

WehavefoundthatadeepworkingknowledgeofScientificLiteracyobjectivesinbotha

teachersowncountryandforotherEUareacountriescanleadtoenhancedopportunitiesfor

scienceteaching,includingtheuseofinquiry.Wesuggestthateachofthefollowingusesof

ScientificLiteracystatementsinTPDhasmeaningfulpotentialtoincreasetheeffectivenessof

scienceteaching.Thatincreasewillinturnincreasethesuccessofstudentsinreachingthe

ScientificLiteracygoals.

TeacherAwareness

ForgoalsofScientificLiteracytohaveanyeffectonteachingandlearning,theymustbeknown,

andtheirpotentialunderstood,bybothpre-andin-servicescienceteachers.Partofthegeneral

lackofcloseunderstandingofnationalScientificLiteracygoalsisduetothefactthatmanyin-

serviceteachersbeganteachingbeforecurrentgoalswereestablished.Fornewteachers,some

currentteachereducationprogramsdolittlemorethanmentionorrefertothegoalsinpassing.

Thelastfewdecadeshaveseenachangeinfocusofscienceeducationfromtrainingfuture

scientiststoprovidingfuturecitizenswithScientificLiteracytools.Teachersdonotalways

possesstheknowledgeandskillsnecessarytoprovidestudentswiththesetools.Furthermore

manyofthenotionsincludedintodaysstatementsofScientificLiteracyincludevaluesthat

comefromthesocialsciences,knowledgeofwhichsomescienceteacherslack.Apedagogical

challengeliesinnotonlyacquaintingteacherswithcurrentgoalsbutalsogivingthemadeeper

understandingoftherelationshipswithinthegoalsandtheirpotentialtoinformtheirteaching.


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Theformatofmostgoalstatements,asabstracttext,makesanyrealunderstandingoftheir

natureandpotentialdifficult.

Consequently,theMindTheGapprojectbeganare-representationofnationalgoalsintheform

ofconceptmapswhichusemathematicalalgorithmstovisuallydisplaytextualgoalswith

circles,arrows,coloursandvaryingwidthsofconnectinglinestomoreaccuratelyrevealthe

emphases,connectionsandbreadthofnationalgoalstatements.Theprojectalsodevelopeda

workshop,whichusestheseconceptmapstoimmerseteachersinreflectionsaboutscientific

literacyasseenfromtheircountrysperspectiveandhowthatunderstandingcanbeusedto

changeclassroomlessons.Figure1showsanexampleofonesuchmapfromDenmark.Inthis

instance,thebluehighlightedtextisreadasAstudentcanputintoperspectiveascientific

subjectscontributionstosocietalandtechnologicaldevelopmentthroughexamples.In

addition,themaprevealsthrougharrowlinksthatotherstatementsinthedocumentalsotarget

societallyrelevantlearning.Thecolourcodingfurtheradstotheclarityofthestatementby

allowingateacherto,forexample,findalloftheactionwordsofthestatementcolouredwith

green.Furthermoretheycanquicklyseethatthelargestgreencircleisforcarryout,sothat

theresultingpracticalworkisclearlyanimportantScientificLiteracygoalforstudents.


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Figure1.ThetextofDanishScientificLiteracyisrepresentedinthisconceptmap.Forclarity,

thepathofeachsentencefromtheoriginaltextishighlightedinbluewhenacursorismoved

overit.

TheincreasedawarenesswhichcomesfromworkingwiththeaccessibilityofmapsofScientific

Literacyisthefirststepindevelopingteachingmethodswhicharebestsuitedtothese

definitionsbutalsointurnaremorelikelytoachievenationalScientificLiteracygoals.

Promotion of a Renewed Need for New MethodsManynationalmapsofScientificLiteracyrevealclustersofobjectives,whichvirtuallyrequire

teachingthroughinquiry.Forexamples,seemapsatthisURL

(http://www1.ind.ku.dk/mtg/wp3/scientificliteracy/maps).

Suchstrongcallsforinquiryactivityareboundtohaveaneffectonteachersmentalimagesof

theirstudentsabilitiesandneeds,andconsequentlyontheirchoiceofteachingmethodsof


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instruction.Whensuchneedsforinquiry-basedmethodsarecreatedbydeepexposureto

ScientificLiteracy,opportunitiesforhelpingteacherslearntousesuchmethodsareenhanced.

PromotionofInquiryBasedScienceTeaching

Quitedirectly,manynationalScientificLiteracystatementspromoteteachingscienceviainquiry

methodssincesuchprocessstatementsforconductingscienceareoftenincluded.Forexample,

inDenmarksliteracymap,thestatementsconnectedtocarryoutrequireinvestigativeinquiry

inlaboratorytypesettings(seeFigure2).

Figure2.DetailfromtheDanishmapofScientificLiteracywiththestudentgoalsassociatedwithcarryouthighlightedinblue.

Whenteachersareintroducednotonlytothetextoftheseinquiryorientedobjectivesbutalso

tothescientificandpedagogicalmeaningssupportingthem,theyarebetterpreparedtoteach

scienceasitisknowntoscientists.Teachereducation,whichincludestheconceptsbehind

scientificknowledge,suchastheNatureofScience,allowsteacherstobetterunderstandthe

inquirybasednatureofthescientificenterpriseandthentopassthatontostudentsusinginquirybasedmethods.Thereasonthisorientationisoftennecessaryisthatmanyteachers

havehadlimitedexperiencedoingresearchandhencelittleexperiencewithinquiry.Theyoften

haveproceededdirectlyfromtheirfirstacademicdegreeinacontentareatopostgraduate

certificationineducation,withoutmuchexposuretoscientificresearchenvironments.

Furthermore,sincemostoftheiruniversitysciencecoursesweretaughtviatransmissive


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lecturesandconfirmatorylaboratories,theyhavenothadmanymentorsforteachingusing

inquirymethods.

ColinSmith,FearghalKellyandSinclairMackenziehavetransformedalookatthedeeperbasis

ofscientificinquirybyFeist(2006)intoapaper(Smith,C.,Kelly,F.&Mackenzie,S.,2010:

reprintedinthisdocument)addressedtoscienceteachers,whichsummarizesthebasesof

scientificthinkingandtheirimplicationsforlearners.Thissummary,seenbelowinTable1,

clarifiestheeducationalneedsforscientificallyliteratestudents,allofwhichcanbestbe

achievedthroughinquiryteachingmethods.

Table1.Aspectsofscientificthinking(scientificinquiry)andwhateachincludesfromSmithet

al.(2010),basedonFeist,2006.

ScientificThinking (AdaptedfromFeist,2006)

AspectofScientificThinking(AST) Whatitinvolves

1Iobservewithanyorallofmysensesasrequired Fairlyself-explanatoryallsenses(notjustvision)

maybeusedasappropriatetoinputinformation

2IcategorisewhatIobserveasthingsandevents Classifyinginformationfromobservationsinto

meaningfulconceptsorsystemsofconcepts

3Irecognisepatternsinthecategoriesofthings

andevents

Seeingpatternsofrelationshipsbetweendifferent

thingsandeventstheclassifiedinformationabove

refersto(E.g.ThingAisalwaysfoundwithThingB.

EventYalwaysfollowsEventX)

4Iformandtesthypotheses Arisesinitiallyfrompatternrecognition.Beginto

expectworldtobehaveincertainwaysandtest

theseexpectations

5Ithinkaboutcauseandeffect Arisesinitiallyoutofpatternrecognitionand/or

hypothesisverification(e.g.recognitionofpattern

thatYfollowsXorverificationofthisasa

hypothesisleadsonetothinkaboutcauses).

Moresophisticatedwhenonerealisesthatco-

variationisnecessary,butnotsufficient,for

causality.

6Ieffectivelysupporttheorywithevidence Thisincludesavoidingconfirmationbias,not


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ignoringdisconfirmatoryevidenceoutright,

avoidingdistortedinterpretationsofevidencetofit

preconceptionsanddistinguishingexamplesfrom

principles.

7Ivisualise Visualisationinscientificthinkingcantakevarious

formsincludingthoughtexperiments,modelsand

diagrams,graphs,chartsandtables.Thesetables,

forexample,compriseanattemptinvisualising

scientificthinking.

8Iamawareofmythinkingandcontrolit Althoughbeginninginobservations,scientific

thinkingisnotsensoryboundbutcanmakeuseof

abstractconceptsandtheories.Scientificthinking

involvesbeingawareoftheseconceptsand

theoriessothattheycanbechallengedand

modified.Alongwiththisawarenessisalsoan

awarenessofthethoughtprocessesbeingusedand

directingthemtowardsgoalssuchas

understanding.

9Iusemetaphorandanalogy Analogyseeinghowsomething(target)islike

somethingold(source).Metaphoranasif

comparison.ThinkaboutXasifitwasY.Bothof

theseareusedinscientificthinkingintheprocess

ofhypothesisandtheoryformation,thought

experiments,creativityandproblemsolving.In

thinkingaboutexperimentsinonecontext,wealso

mayuseanalogiesbasedonexperimentsfrom

othercontextstodesigntheexperimentsortofix

problemswearehavingwithit.Analogyand

metaphoralsoprovideusefulconstraintsto

solutionstoproblemsbyfocusingstrategies

10Iusetheconfirmearly-disconfirmlateheuristic Inpractice,thismayberarelyusedinschool


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sciencebutisincludedhereforcompleteness.

Apparentlymanysuccessfulscientistswhen

formulatingtheorylookforconfirmingevidence

first(makeitagoer),thentrytofindevidenceand

argumentsagainstit.

11Icollaborateinthinking Animportantpartofscientificthinkingisboth

formalandinformalcollaborationwithothersin

thesharingofreasoningandideas.Forprofessional

scientists,thiscollaborationindiscussingdataand

howtointerpretitisimportantinconceptual

change.Thereseemsnoreasontodoubtthatit

alsoimportantforschoolstudents.

TodiscovertherelevanceofdocumentslikethistounderstandingthegoalsofnationalScientific

Literacyobjectives,itisusefultolookatanumberofsuchstatementstoseehowgivennational

demandscanbebetterunderstoodthroughtheSmithetal.(2010)overview.Situatingspecific

nationalScientificLiteracyobjectivesinsuchalargerframewouldbeusefulinworkingtowards

TeacherProfessionalDevelopmentsincewhenteacherscanseethebiggerpictureoftheir

nationalgoals,theycanbetterfashionlessonstomeetthem.Below,wesuggestexamplesof

connectionsbetweennationalScientificLiteracystatementsandtheframeworksuggestedby

Smith,etal.(2010)whichwouldbeusefulinTeacherProfessionalDevelopment.Themapsare

bestviewedat:

http://www1.ind.ku.dk/mtg/wp3/scientificliteracy/maps .

DenmarksScientificLiteracyConnectionstoScientificandInquiryThinking

TheDanishstatementStudentcanestablishsimplehypothesiscoversFundamentalAspects

ofScienceThinking(FAST)inSmithetal.(2010)andtheaspectIeffectivelysupporttheorywith

evidence(AST6).TheFASTcanberelatedtothisobjectivebecausethestatementcontains

observationandtheestablishmentofahypothesis.Thefactthatthisstatementmakes

hypothesesbasedonempiricalworkmeansthatthisstatementalsocoversAST6.


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TheaspectIamawareofmythinkingandcontrolit(AST8)isrelatedtothefollowing

statements:Studentcanassesssimplehypothesis,Studentrealizesignificanceofknowing

limitationofsciencethinkingandStudentscanseepossibilitiesandlimitationofmodel.The

statementsrelatedtothenodemodelcontaintheaspectIvisualise(AST7)sincemodelisa

partofthisaspect.TheDanishmapalsocoverstheaspectIcollaborateinthinking(AST11)

withthestatementsthathighlightswhenyoumouseoverthenodescommunicateand

participate.

UK/WalessScientificLiteracyConnectionstoScientificThinkingthroughInquiry

TheevidencenodeintheUK/WalesmapcontainsthestatementStudentunderstandshow

creativeinterpretationofdataprovideevidencetotestscientificideasandtodeveloptheory.

Thiscallisonlypartial,sincethestudentsshouldonlyunderstandandnotconductbutitisat

leastareflectiononAST6.TogetherwiththestatementStudentcancollectfirst-handdata

thestudentactivityissecuredandthesetwostatementstogethereffectivelycoverAST6.

ThestatementStudentcanconsiderthevalidityandreliabilityofmethodtocollectdatais

relatedtoAST8becausetheseconsiderationsgiveanawarenessoftheuseofconceptsand

theoriesandanawarenessofhowandwhentochallengeandchangeconceptsandtheories.

Theaspectaboutvisualising(AST7)isveryclearintheUK/Walesmap.ThestatementStudent

canusemodelandtheorytodevelopexplanationofmanyphenomenoncoversapartof

variousformsofvisualising.Alsothesymbolnodeaddstechnical,scientificandmathematical

symbolstoformsofvisualising.

Themapdoesnthaveahypothesisnode,butthestatementStudentcanplantotestscientific

ideaandtoanswerscientificquestionsisverymuchrelatedtotheaspectIformandtest

hypothesis(AST4)andtotheaspectIthinkaboutcauseandeffect(AST5).

Eventhoughthemostfundamentalaspectsofsciencethinking(AST1-3)arentrepresented

directlyinthemap,theyareaprerequisiteforsomeoftheotheraspectscoveredinbythemap

(e.g.AST4andAST5).AST9-11arenotrepresentedbyanystatementsornodesintheUK/Wales

mapofScientificLiteracy.


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ScotlandsLiteracyConnectionstoScientificThinkingthroughInquiry

ThestatementStudentscandemonstratehonestyincollectingandpresenting

information/data.andthestatementconsiderationoflimitationsofdata.matcheswell

withAST8.TheformerstatementStudentdemonstratehonestyincollectingandpresenting

information/dataalsocoversAST6andperhapsAST11ifhonestycanbeunderstoodasa

honestybasedonreflectionsonthescientificmethodsusedandnotonlya(nave)attitude.AST

11couldalsoberelatedtothestatementStudentdebatesanddiscussesideas.

TheScottishmapdoesntcoverFundamentalAspectsofScienceThinking(FAST)inSmith,etal.

(2010),however,asmentionedintheanalysisoftheUK/Walesmap,itisdifficulttorealizee.g.

AST6andAST8withoutrealizingFAST.AST7,AST9andAST10arenotrepresentedinthe

Scottishmap.

IsraelsLiteracyConnectionstoScientificThinkingthroughInquiry

TheIsraelimapdoesntexplicitlyincludestatementsornodesaboutempiricalworkwhich

makesitmoredifficulttorelatetotheaspectsofsciencethinking.Itispossibletorecognise

AST3inthestatementcontainingthepatternsnodeaswellasthestatementlogical

argumentcoversAST5.However,thestatementStudentscopewithproblemsincludecould

verywellcontainempiricalworktrainingstudentsinscientificthinkingandcompetencies.Ifso,

atleasttheFASTwouldbecoveredbythemap.ThestatementStudenthasattitudescould

includesomeofthereflectionsrepresentedinAST6andAST8.TheIsraeliliteracystatement

doesntaddressAST7andAST9-11.

HungarysLiteracyConnectionstoScientificThinkingthroughInquiry1

ThestatementStudentscanbuildupsciencerelatedapproachandwayofthinking.isrelevant

inprincipletomostaspectsofscientificthinkingusedininvestigations.Itsarathergeneralgoal,

butotherstatementsinthemaparemorespecific.AST3ispreciselyexpressedinthestatement

StudentscangenerateconceptualschemasandStudentscanformhypothesescoversapart

ofAST4,butnotItesthypotheses.Thisaspectcouldbeeasilybeincludedinthestatement

StudentscanplanobservationsandexperimentsandperhapsalsoStudentscancarryout

1AlthoughHungaryisnotanS-TEAMpartner,thereareconnectionsviaMindtheGap


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experiments.AST6isrepresentedbythestatementStudentscanfindevidencebasedanswers

toquestions.TheHungarianmapdoesntspecificallyaddressAST7-10.

TurkeysLiteracyConnectionstoScientificThinkingthroughInquiry

TheFundamentalAspectsofScienceThinking(FAST)arentrepresenteddirectlyintheTurkish

map.However,thecontentofthefollowingstatementThestudentshouldbeabletodevelop

skillsforconductingexperimentsandevaluatesexperimentaldatatoreachgeneralizations

containsprerequisitesforcentralskillsinFAST.ThisstatementslastpartcanberelatedtoAST6.

ThisaspectisalsosupportedbythestatementexpressingThestudentshouldbeableto

understandthatsciencehasastructurethatisbasedonevidenceanditallowsquestioningand

falsificationandthefocusinthisstatementonquestioningandfalsificationalsoconnectitto

AST8.Thereflectionoveruse,challengeandchangeofscientificconceptsandtheories,whichis

thecoreofAST8isalsorepresentedinthestatementThestudentshouldbeabletoevaluate

theroleofcontinuoustesting,reviewing,andcriticizinginthedevelopmentofscienceand

technology.ThisobjectivealsohaselementsofAST11.Howeverthisaspectismoreclearly

relatedtothestatementThestudentshouldbeabletoexplaintheimportanceofsharing

scientificandtechnologicalresultsthroughappropriatecommunicationcontextsaswellasin

thestatementThestudentshouldbeabletostatetheresultsofobservations,experimentsand

researchorallyandverbally.TheTurkishmapalsofocusesontheformsofvisualisationinThestudentshouldbeabletoexpressexperimentresultswithtablesandgraphics,interpretstables

andgraphics.Asinmostotheranalysedmaps,theTurkishmapdoesnthavenodesor

statementsrepresentingeitherAST9orAST10.

FrancesLiteracyConnectionstoScientificThinkingthroughInquiry

TheoverallimpressionoftheFrenchmapisthatitisverydetailedandthatthearrowbetween

thenodesstudentandknowisverythick.Thenationalstatementalsosupportsthis

impression,withitsfocusonknowingalotofscientificfacts.However,acloserlookatthemaprevealsseveralstatementsthatarerelatedtoaspectsofscientificthinking.ThestatementThe

studentmustbeabletoputinpracticeascientificapproachisverygoodevidenceofthe

existenceoftheseaspectsintheFrenchmap.TheobjectivecoversalmostalltheASTaspects,

butitisnotveryspecific.OtherstatementsfocusmoreoneaspectlikeAST5inThestudent

mustbeabletounderstandthataneffectmighthaveseveralcausesactingsimultaneously,and


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toperceivethattheremightexistunapparentorunknowncausesoracoupleofaspectslike

AST6andFASTinThestudentsmustknowhowtoobserve,tointerrogate,toexpressa

hypothesisandtovalidateit,toargue,toelaborateelementarymodels.AST11islikely

addressedbythefirstpartofthestatementThestudentmustbeabletoexpressandtouse

appropriatelytheresultsofmeasurementsorofanyresearch,whereasthelastpartismore

relatedtoAST6.Aswithothernationalstatements,theFrenchiswithoutanyrepresentationof

AST9andAST10.InadditiontheFrenchstatementofnationalScientificLiteracydoesnot

addressAST7.

OverallviewofNationalLiteracyStatements'RelationshiptoScientificThinkingthrough

Inquiry

Mostofthenationalstatements,asseenthroughtheconceptmaps,emphasisetheimportance

ofstudentactivity,notonlyasapedagogicaltoolbutalsoasanimportantgoaltoachieve

scientificliteracy.Differencesbetweentypicalpracticeandtheinquirypedagogycalledforin

thesescientificliteracystatementsprovideopportunitiesforTeacherProfessionalDevelopment.

Thefollowingaresomeexamplesfrommap-statementsandnationalstatements.

TheDanishmaphasaveryboldarrowfromstudenttocarryoutandalsotouseandthese

verbsareinstatementsthatfocusoninvestigations.Thenationalstatementcontextualizes

thesestatementsbysaying:Thisactivationofstudentsinpracticalworkisacenturyold

cornerstoneofDanishscienceeducationtraditionandhasastrongpresencethroughoutDanish

elementaryandsecondaryschooling.However,thisactivationisoftenverymuchcontrolledby

theteacher.ThefocusonmakingmodelsandestablishingsimplehypothesesintheDanish

scientificliteracygoalsthatcallforopennessofinvestigationsarenotdeeplyrootedinDanish

scienceteachingandhenceareimportantforfurtherTeacherProfessionalDevelopment.

TheverbsintheScottishstatementspresupposestudentactivityinorderforstudentstocarry

outinvestigations,buttheScottishmapdoesntcontainanystatementsornodesthatcanberelatedtothedegreeofopennessinstudentinvestigations.Alsothenationalstatementis

withoutanyconsiderationsaboutthisdimension,againprovidingdemandsforTeacher

ProfessionalDevelopment.


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TheIsraelimapalsocontainsverbsthatpresupposeaconstructiveapproachtoteaching.The

statementaboutstudentsthinkingcriticallyandindependentlyandtheboldarrowstudents

shouldbeabletocopewithproblemsrelatingtostudentworkwithinvestigations.Howeveritis

notclearwhetherthesestatementsshouldbebasedonempiricalworkortextbooks.Neither

doestheInquiryBasedScienceTeachingsectioninthenationalstatementclarifythis.

TheFrenchmaphasamajorfocusonfactsthatthestudentshouldknow.Anotherfocusison

studentdevelopmentofarationalapprehension.Thegoaloftheformerfocuscouldbetaught

withorwithoutstudentactivity(thenationalstatementdoesnotrevealapedagogical

approach).Thelatterfocusleadstostatementscontainingwordssuchasobservationand

criticalsense,observanceandcuriosity,whichindicateaneedforstudentactivityandfor

opennessofinvestigations.ThestatementThestudentshouldcarryouthand-onexperiments

alsopointstowardsstudentactivityandcouldalsoincludeopennessofinvestigations.

TheEnglish/Welshnationalstatementincludesthephraseoffersexamplesforteachersor

teachertrainerstoimplementthenationalcurriculumusinginquiry-basedscienceteaching

methodswhichissupportedbythefactthatthearrowbetweenstudentanduseisthethickest

inthemap(leadingtostatementswithnodesliketools,dataandevidence).Thestatements

suchasStudentcancollectfirsthanddataandStudentcanevaluateincollectingscientific

datapointstowardsahighdegreeofopennessininvestigations.

TheTurkishnationalstatementdescribesthenewcurriculumsobjectiveastoengage

studentsasanactivelearnerwhileconductinginquiriesandpreparethemtobescientific[ally]

literatecitizens.ThisisfollowedbyThenewcurriculumpromotesInquiryBasedScience

Teaching(IBST)andadvocatesaconstructivistapproachtolearningscience.Thisclearlyplaces

theTurkishcurriculumasacurriculumwithfocusonstudentactivityasameansandaimand

withafocusonahighdegreeofopennessininvestigations.However,thenationalstatement

alsoadmitsthatmanyscienceteachersdonotfullyunderstandthenewScienceCurriculum

includingthenatureofIBSTandhowtoputtheseideasintotheirclassroompractice.The

Turkishmaphasstatementsthatfollowuponthisfocuse.g.Studentcanusetheoryandmodel

topredictanddescribephysicalevents.

TheoverallpictureoftheHungarianmapandnationalstatementisthatstudentsshouldlearn

specificsciencecontent,almostneglectingafocusonstudentcompetencies.Howeversmall


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partsofthemappointtoastudentactivityfocuswithstatementslikeStudentswillinglyengage

intellectualinquiry,Studentsreflectcritically,Studentsbecomecreativeandactive

citizens,Studentsgeneratesconceptualschemes,StudentsformhypothesesandStudents

planandcarryoutexperiments.Thesestatementscentreonstudentactivityandonahigh

degreeofopennessininvestigationswhichisalsoemphasisedinthenationalstatement:

since1989,processesofsciencewhichrequirethinkingaswellasknowing,havebeenaddedto

theHungarianstatements.

IncreasedIntrinsicandExtrinsicMotivationfor/withFreshPedagogies

WefoundintheMindTheGapworkshoptrialsthatonceteachersimmersedthemselvesinthe

demandsoftheirScientificLiteracystatements,theirintrinsicmotivationtoadopt(inthecaseof

noviceteachers)oradapt(forexperiencedteachers)methodsconsistentwiththemulti-

dimensionalnatureoftheobjectives,increased.Sotheywere,forexample,curiousabout

inquiryteachingmethods,whichwouldhelpthemrealizescienceprocessobjectives,andhence

readilyexperimentedwith,andtriedoutsuchstrategies.Forsome,therewasalsoincreased

extrinsicmotivationthatcamewiththerealizationthattheyhadaprofessionalobligationfrom

theireducationalleaderstosuccessfullymeettheobjectivesoftheScientificLiteracy

statements.

Concomitantly,bothintrinsicandextrinsicmotivationmayincreaseamongstudentstaughtwith

avarietyofmethods,includinginquiry,designedtomeetthevariousdemandsofScientific

Literacy.Inmanycountries,scienceasitisnormallytaughtisnotmotivatingforthestudents.

TeachingforScientificLiteracy,byusinginvestigationsofproblemsrelatedtostudentsinterests

andclosetocurrentworldevents,canincreasepositivestudentattitudesandthereforetheir

engagementwithlearning.Forexample,inFigure2,aDanishScientificLiteracyobjective

beginningwithusecallsforstudentstobeabletousemodelstoqualitativelyand

quantitativelydescriberelationshipsinnature.Tomeetthisgoal,teacherscouldbemotivated

todesignanapplicationofmodellingtoreal-worldsituations,wherestudentsthemselvescreate

simplemodelsusingcomputersoftwaredesignedforshowingrelationships.ThefactthattheSL

statementcallsforstudentactionthroughuseandarelationshiptotheworldthroughnatural

relationshipshasthepotentialtoincreasestudentmotivationtoworkandlearn.


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Whenstudentsaremotivated,engagedandlearnefficientlythefeelingsofself-efficacyamong

theirteachersisincreased.Teacherswhoseteachingeffortsarerewardedwithsuccessnaturally

feelmoreconfidentabouttheirabilitytoteacheffectively.Higherteacherself-efficacyis

associatedwithmoreinnovativeandstudentcentredteaching,includinginquiryteaching

(Czerniak,1990).Throughmulti-modalinquirybasedscienceteaching,motivatedbydemandsof

ScientificLiteracyobjectives,ourgoalistogiveteacherstheoreticalandpracticaltoolsto

providetheirpupilswithavarietyofactivitiescomprisinganembodimentofknowledgebutalso

autonomoustaskswheretheycandeveloptheirexpressiveandmetacognitiveskills,including

theircontrolofscientificthinking.

BroadeningofScienceTeachingtoIncludeCitizenshipGoals

ScientificLiteracystatementsaretheproductsofculturalsystemsandconsequentlyinfluenced

bypoliticalissues.ThisculturaloriginandperspectiveisausefultoolinTeacherProfessional

Developmentsinceitcanmotivateteacherstoincludeperspectivesontheinterdependenceof

scienceandcultureintotheirteaching.Manynationalliteracystatementsincludeapplications

ofsciencetosocietyincludingcontributionstocitizenship.ForexampleinFigure3fromthe

Scottishnationalstatement,itisclearthattheobjectivethatsaysAscientificallyliterateperson

developsself-awarenessandreflection[aboutsciencethatis]appliedtosocietyoffersteachers

theopportunitytoextendsciencebeyondtheaccumulationofvocabularyandformulae.Thefactthatinquiry-basedteachingmethodsprovideanidealpedagogicalplatformfromwhichto

createproblem-basedapplicationsofsciencetothecommunityfurthersthepotentialimpactof

ScientificLiteracystatementsonteacherdevelopment.

Furthermore,inclusionofcitizenshipinthescienceclassroomcaneasilyleadtocross-

disciplinarylessonsasadvocatedbyvariousnations.Forexample,inDenmark,thereisextensive

projectorientedwork,whichisalwayscross-disciplinary,commonlyincludingasciencetopic

withthoseofotherdisciplines.Approximatelytenpercentofuppersecondarytimeisspenton

suchcross-disciplinaryworkthroughwhichscienceliteracyissupportedthroughitsrelevanceto

othercontentareas.Forexample,linkstosciencecanbefoundinDanishliteraturestudiesin

whichstudentessayscanbeassignedtoscientificissuesandthenreadbylanguageandscience

teachers,furtherpromotingscientificliteracy.Eachuppersecondaryschoolactuallyhas

streamsorinter-disciplinarytopics,whichincludethreesubjectareas.Everystudent


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contributestoprojectsrelatedtothesestreamsandsincethestreamsoftenincludeascience

course,thereisconsiderableopportunitytoachieveScientificLiteracygoalsthrough

cooperationwithotherdisciplines.

Figure3.DetailfromtheScottishnationalstatementofScientificLiteracy.

StimulationthroughInternationalScienceIssues

IntheevolutionofourMindTheGapTeacherProfessionalDevelopmentworkshops,wefound

thathavingteachersconsiderthecontentsofothernationalstatementsofScientificLiteracyin

additiontotheirownwasausefulprecursortoactivatinginquiry-basedteaching.Nationalcalls

forscienceteachingforcitizenshipareonlyenhancedwhenconsideredfromvariousnational

platformssincetheculturallyrelativisticnatureofapplicationstolocalcitizenshipleadtomore

realisticEU-wideconsiderations.Scientificissueswhenaddressedfromaninternational

perspectiveleadtogreatermeta-reflectionsinceeachculturehasdifferentperspectivesthat

arebestaddressedthroughinquirymethodswherestudentsapplyorganizedmethodsto


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investigateandrecognizepatternsintheirobservationsofcross-culturalissues.Forexample,

cloninganimalsforfoodiscurrentlybannedinDenmarkbutallowedinmostotherEUcountries.

Suchanissuehasanethicalbasisinthecontextandcultureofeachnation,someofwhichis

revealedinnationalscientificliteracystatements.

Teacherunderstandingofotherculturesscientificliteracyemphasescanleadtomorevarietyof

inquiryteachingsinceinspirationsfromotherperspectivescanaddbothtoteachers'content

knowledgeandtheirprocessofsciencerepertoires.Awiderawarenessofscientificliteracy

demandscanservetoinsurethatteachersdonotmissopportunitiesforinquirybecausetheir

ownculturallensdoesnothappentoincludethem.

Multi-modalLiteracyLeadstoGreateruseofInquiry

Scientificliteracyinvolvesseeingscienceindifferentlightsandfromdifferentviewpoints.Our

individualdeliverablessuggestdifferentwaysofviewingandengaginginscience,suchas

throughdrama,mediacoverage,objectsanddance.Multi-modalliteracy(MML),embracesnot

onlyverballanguagebutalsotheseothersemiotictools,whichcanbecombinedinclustersto

intensifylearning(Kress,2003,Kress&vanLeeuwen,1996).MoststatementsofScientific

LiteracyvirtuallyrequireMMLapproachestoteachingsincethevarietyofskillsand

competenciesdemandedarenoteasilymetwithonlyverballanguage.Inturn,MMLpromotes

scientificliteracyinthatthenatureofscienceismorefullyexperiencedandunderstoodfrom

thediverseperspectivesofMML.ThelikelihoodofMMLleadingtoinquiryisgreaterthanwith

justverballanguagecommunication(Kress,2003)becausethesemioticmediationthroughsigns

indifferentmodes,oftensimultaneouslyusedinclusters,addstothecognitiveloadofScientific

Literacyconceptsandtherebyprovidesvaluabletoolsforinquirybasedteaching.Dance,theatre

andhands-on,alladdtothecognitiveloadandhencemoreconstructivismisneededfor

learning,witharesultingenrichedcognitiveoutput.

StudentCentredTeaching

OneofthemostevidentaspectsofnationalstatementsofScientificLiteracyisthefocuson

students.Aglanceateachofthestatementsmappedat

[http://www1.ind.ku.dk/mtg/wp3/scientificliteracy/maps/4 ]


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showseitherstudents,thebuddingresearcherorscientificallyliteratepersonsattheir

centres.Thesestatementsandtheresultingmapsclearlyindicatethecentralityofstudent

centredlearningineverycountry.Connectedtotheselearnersareactionwordsrequiring

pupilstotakeanactiveroleinacquiringliteracy.Withtheseverbalandvisualemphases,

teacherswhohavebeentaughttoscaffoldlessonsconsistentwithatleastonestatementof

ScientificLiteracy,naturallycentrethestudentinthoseplans.Notinconsequentially,literacy

mapscontributetoperceptionsofthecentralityofactingstudentsinscienceclassrooms.The

chancesofengaginglessonsresultingfromthisviewarelikelytobeincreasedoverthecontent

centredcurricularstatementsoftenencounteredinMinistryofEducationcurriculumobjectives.


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TeachingConsciouslyforIndigenousGroupSustainability

Byspecifyingscienceliteracygoalswhichincludeacontextforteachingaboutindigenous

populations,ScientificLiteracystatementscanaddanimportantsocietalperspectivetolearning

goals.Forexample,intheNorwegianstatementsofScientificLiteracythereisademandfor

teachingthatconsidersthesustainabilityofindigenouspeoplefromascientificperspective.The

heightenedawarenessfromthesestatements,bothforNorwegianteachersandforthoseof

othernationswithoutsuchexplicitstatements,canleadtolessonplansthataddresstheneeds

ofthisgroupandothers.Thegoalsprovideanothercross-disciplinaryplatformforscience

educationandchancetomeetcitizenshipgoals.

(http://www1.ind.ku.dk/mtg/wp3/scientificliteracy/maps )

Inquiryteachingisalikelychoiceformeetingsuchobjectivessinceitallowsforthe

constructivistconsiderationofcomplicatedsocialandscientificfactorswhichaffect

sustainability.Suchliteracygoalsarenotgenuinelymetwithfactualtransmissiveteachingsince

theyarenotaboutsetanswerstoproblems,butratherabouttheacquisitionofthoughtful

approachesbasedinsciencebutappliedtotheworld.Aconcomitantoutcomeoflearningabout

sustainabilityconstructivelyisforstudentstotake-ontheperspectiveofindigenouspeople.

EnhancedLife-longLearningfromTeaching

EUlegislationincludesagroupofKeycompetencesforlifelonglearning.2Amongstthemare:

Basiccompetencesinscienceandtechnology.Basiccompetencesinscienceandtechnology

refertothemastery,useandapplicationofknowledgeandmethodologieswhichexplainthe

naturalworld.Theseinvolveanunderstandingofthechangescausedbyhumanactivityandthe

responsibilityofeachindividualasacitizen.

Socialandciviccompetences.Socialcompetencereferstopersonal,interpersonaland

interculturalcompetenceandallformsofbehaviourthatequipsindividualstoparticipateinan

effectiveandconstructivewayinsocialandworkinglife.Itislinkedtopersonalandsocialwell-

being.

2http://ec.europa.eu/education/lifelong-learning-policy/doc28_en.htm


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MostEUstatementsofScientificLiteracyincludesomeobjectivesdirectlytargetedateachof

thesecompetences.Seeexamplesat:

[http://www1.ind.ku.dk/mtg/wp3/scientificliteracy/maps/4 ].

Consequently,forthescienceteacherwhomayormaynotfeelconnectedtotheenhancement

oflife-longlearning,ScientificLiteracystatementsprovideausefulguidetohowtodothat.Life-

longlearningasdescribedbythesecompetencesisonlypartiallybasedontheacquisitionof

sciencecontentknowledge.Rather,thehighlightedwordsabovecallfortheactiveuseof

sciencethroughoutlife.Suchactiveuseofscienceismosteffectivelytaughtandmodelled

throughinquirylearningwherestudents,usuallyinsmallgroups,findsolutionstoproblems

usingscience.

EUPerceptionofScientificLiteracy

Whenteachers,andthroughthemtheirstudents,encountertheScientificLiteracystatements

oftheirowncultureandthoseofothernations,anunderstandingofhowvaryingcultural

contextscontributetoscientificliteracyactuallyenhancesliteracywithineachcountry.Scientific

Literacymapsprovideaneasy(semi-abstract)waytoexplorealternativeliteracystatementsfor

bothsharedandnewideas.ThisbroaderEUperceptionofwhatliteracymeansiseasilyincluded

ininquiryactivitiesthatengagestudentsascitizensandinthemanyissuessuchasthe

environment,nutritionandenergy,whichspantheEU.

ThePISAassessmentsareonearenawheretheEUalreadysharesacommonScientificLiteracy

statement(seeFigure5.)Understandingthesecommonstatements,particularlywhen

comparedtonationalstatementsisusefulforteachersinterestedinmeetingPISAliteracy

objectivesinadditiontothoseoftheirnation.Suchanunderstandingcanalsobeusefulin

determiningwherevaryingemphasesbetweenPISAandnationalstatementsmayresultin

studentdifficultieswithcertainPISAquestions.Anoverallunderstandingofthedifferentwaysin

whichscientificliteracyisviewedindifferentcountriesandwithindifferentcultures,canhelp

movetheEUtowardsaunifiedunderstandingofscientificliteracywithinitscultureandmove

towardsanewconceptofscienceeducationinEurope.Thisdoesnotmeanthatnational

statementswillbesupersededbyEUorPISAstatements,butratherthatareasofsharedgoals

willbeknownanduniqueculturalemphaseswillbeunderstoodandusedtogeneratefresh


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perspectives.InbothcasessuchawiderEUunderstandingcanhelpscaffoldandtargetTeacher

ProfessionalDevelopmentthroughouttheEU.

Figure5.PISA2006statementsofScientificLiteracy.


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References

Czerniak,C.M.(1990).Astudyofself-efficacy,anxiety,andscienceknowledgeinpre-serviceelementaryteachers.A

paperpresentedattheannualmeetingoftheNationalAssociationofResearchinScienceTeaching,Atlanta,GA.

EU(2010).Keycompetencesforlifelonglearning(Retrievedat http://ec.europa.eu/education/lifelong-learning-

policy/doc28_en.htmApril2010)

Feist,G.J.(2006).ThePsychologyofScienceandtheOriginsoftheScientificMind.NewHaven:YaleUniversityPress.

Kress,G.R.(2003).Literacyinthenewmediaage.London:RoutledgeFalmer

Kress,G.andVanLeeuwen,T.(1996)ReadingImages:TheGrammarofVisualDesign.London:Routledge.

Smith,C.,Kelly,F.&Mackenzie,S.(2010).Ateachingtoolforsupportingscientificthinkingthroughinvestigationsand

otherteachingmethods.WrittenforS-TeamWorkpackage5.UniversityofStrathclydeEducation.


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SomeThoughtsOntheWP8OverviewReport

ColinSmith,UniversityofStrathclyde

Note:thissectionisacommentaryontheScientificLiteracypaper(above)andispartofa

continuingdialoguewithintheprojectabouthowScientificLiteracycanbedeployedinTeacher

ProfessionalDevelopmentandtheclassroom,inordertopromotetheS-TEAMobjectivesof


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enhancedengagementwithscienceandimprovedrecruitmenttosciencecareers.


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1Iobservewithanyorallofmysensesasrequired Fairlyself-explanatoryallsenses(notjustvision)


2IcategorisewhatIobserveasthingsandevents Classifyinginformationfromobservationsinto


3Irecognisepatternsinthecategoriesofthings

andevents





4Iformandtesthypotheses Arisesinitiallyfrompatternrecognition.Beginto


theseexpectations

5Ithinkaboutcauseandeffect Arisesinitiallyoutofpatternrecognitionand/or

hypothesisverification(e.g.recognitionofpattern





causality.

6Ieffectivelysupporttheorywithevidence Thisincludesavoidingconfirmationbias,not




principles.

7Ivisualise Visualisationinscientificthinkingcantakevarious





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scientificthinking.

8Iamawareofmythinkingandcontrolit Althoughbeginninginobservations,scientific






awarenessofthethoughtprocessesbeingusedand

directingthemtowardsgoalssuchas

understanding.

9Iusemetaphorandanalogy Analogyseeinghowsomething(target)islike












10Iusetheconfirmearly-disconfirmlateheuristic Inpractice,thismayberarelyusedinschool




first(makeitagoer),thenlookforevidenceand

argumentsagainstit.

11Icollaborateinthinking Animportantpartofscientificthinkingisboth


thesharingofreasoningandideas.Forprofessional


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scientists,thiscollaborationindiscussingdataand




Table1:Aspectsofscientificthinking3

SummarybasedonWP8scientificliteracyoverviewreport

Denmark France Hungary Israel Scotland Turkey

UK

(Eng/Wal)

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 11

(1) (2)

(3) 4 5

6

(1) (2) 3

(4) (5) 6

(1) (2) 3

(4) 5 (6)

(8)

(1) (2) (3)

(4) (5) 6 8

11

(1) (2) (3)

(4) (5) 6 8

11

(1) (2) (3) 4

5 6 7 8

Table2:SummarybasedonWP8scientificliteracyoverviewreport

Notes: The numbers refer to the aspects of scientific thinking (AST1 to AST11). Numbers in

bracketsrefertothosethatseemtobeimpliedbythenationalscientificliteracystatements,

ratherthanexplicitlymentioned.

Discussion

Weshouldrememberthatpossibly,asisthecaseforScotland,eachnationalstatementon

scientificliteracyisonlypartofthedocumentationthatoutlinestherationaleandexperiences

andoutcomesthatthesciencecurriculumaimstoprovide.Consideringnationaldifferences

aboutthesciencecurriculumonlyonthebasisofthesestatementscarriessomerisk.

Thatsaid,whatisinterestingisthewaythatdifferentcountriesconceiveofscientificliteracy

itself,ifweanalysetheirstatementsbyusingtheaspectsofscientificthinking.

NocountriesmentionexplicitlyorimplicitlyAST9and10.

3FromSmithetal,2010,thisdocument,pp.118-149


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ThisisnotsurprisingforAST10.Therearelikelytobefewcasesinschoolsciencewhenthe

opportunitytoformulategenuinelynewtheorywilloccur.However,itisnotimpossibleto

imaginethatsuchoccasionscouldoccur,ifonlyrarelyandinoccasionalveryopen

investigations.Thismightbesomethingthatteachersandcurriculumdevelopersmightwantto

consider.

TheabsenceofAST9seemsmoreserious.Forexample,iftheuseofanalogybyscientiststo

drawconnectionsbetweenpastsuccessfulexperimentsandthosethattheyarecurrently

planningisimportanttothem(Dunbar&Blanchette,2001),itisalsoimportanttoouryoung

peoplewhenweaskthemtodesigntheirownexperimentstotesthypothesesorideas.The

absenceofthisinscientificliteracystatements,ifrepeatedintherestofthenational

documentation,suggeststhatanalogyofthistype,andothers,isbeingoverlookedan

oversightlikelytoalsorunintoclassroompractice.Thisis,perhaps,somethingthatweshould

focusmorespecificallyuponinthisproject,andwhichweshouldactivelyencourage

practitionersandteacherstoconsider.ItmightbeanimportantstrandforITE,also.Howdowe

structureteachingtofocusontheanalogiesthatweuseandtohelpouryoungpeopleform

theirown?

Similarly,withregardtometaphor,Lakoff&Johnson(1980;seealso1999)wereinstrumentalin

bringingtowidespreadattentionthewayinwhichmetaphorpermeatesallourthinking(seealsoGibbsJr,1994),andscienceisnoexception(Cameron,2002;Sutton,1992).Suttonmakes

twopointsaboutmetaphorthatseemimportanthere.

Firstly,tochooseanalternativemetaphorcanbeakintochoosinganalternativetheory.Ifso,

whenaskingouryoungpeopletoexploretheories(theirownandestablishedones),weshould

findwaystogetthemtofocusonthemetaphorsthattheyareusingandwhytheyareuseful.

Similarly,weshouldrememberanotherofSuttonspoints,whichisthatmetaphorsbecome

dormant.Forexample,cellwasoriginallyusedtodescribewhatearlymicroscopistssawasan

arrayofcompartments(likemonkscellsorthepartsofahoneycomb)butsubsequently

becamealiteralnameforabiologicalunit.Suttonsuggeststhatteachingshouldinvolve

activatingthesedormantmetaphors.

Camerondiscussesthedifferencebetweenmetaphorsusedtoexplainconceptsinteachingand

thosethatarepartofthetheory,orhavebeenusedinbuildingit.Sheisconcernedwiththe


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former,butrecognisestheimportanceofthelatter.However,someoftheproblemswith

metaphorthatshediscusses(forexample,misinterpretation,perhapsduetopriorknowledge)

seemequallypertinentfortheorybuildingmetaphors.Again,andgivenitsseemingly

undevelopedconceptualisationinourcurricula,perhapsweshouldfocusmoreuponmetaphor

asacontributiontothedevelopmentofscienceeducationpolicy,practice,TPDandITE.

Itisinterestingthatonlyonenationalstatementonscientificliteracyseemstospecifically

mentionallofthemorefundamentalaspects(AST1-AST5referredtoasFASTinWP82010),

althoughtheycanbearguedtobeexplicitintheothers.However,itisherethatonehastobe

careful.TheScottishdocumentation,forexample,explicitlycontainstheseaspectsofscientific

thinkinginits"ExperiencesandOutcomes"document.Somestatementsseemmorecontent

focussed(e.g.France)intheirviewofscientificliteracyandothers(Denmark/Scotland)more

focussedonitsroleintheprocessofbeingacitizeninasocialdemocracy.Evenso,thereare

differencestobeunderstood,suchastheabove-mentionedfactthatFASTisdirectlyinvolvedin

scientificliteracyintheDenmarkstatementbutonlyimplicitlyintheScottishone,withitbeing

moreprominentelsewhere.Istherepotentiallyamoregeneralconceptionofscientificliteracy

thatwecanshare,whichincorporatesalltheaspectsofscientificthinkingandthatcanthenbe

developedtofitdifferentnationalcontextsandaims?

ItisalsointerestingthatAST6seemsexplicitinallbutIsrael,whereitisalsoimplicit.Thisaspectwouldseemtoinvolveaprettyhighorsophisticatedlevelofthinking.Iamnotsurethat

assessmentpracticesusedinScotlandorelsewherewouldcaptureit.

Infact,manyoftheaspectsseemdifficulttocaptureinassessments.Whatotherevidencedo

wehavethattheyarebeingsupportedandachieved?

Inaddition,wehavetorememberthattheaspectsarejustthat,aspects.Theyarenot,strictly

speaking,isolatable.Take,forexample,anapparentlysimpleaspectlikeAST1observation.As

stated,itlooksquitesimplebutsensesmayneedsupplementinginsciencewithinstruments.Useoftheseinstrumentspresupposeshavingconcepts.Arulerpresupposesconceptssuchas

heightandlength.Someoftheconceptsaremoreabstractanddependupontheory.AGeiger

counterpresupposesaconceptofaformofradiation(alpha)thatwecannotseeandwhich

derivesfromatomictheory.Inreality,therearecomplex,interactiveoriterativerelationships

betweentheaspects.Thismaybepartlywhatmakesthemdifficulttocaptureinassessments.It


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certainlyrequiresustothinkthroughinmoredetailtherelationshipsbetweentheaspectsof

scientificthinkingandthesignificanceoftheseforpractice. Finally,howmuchattentionshould

wepaytophrasesinthescientificliteracystatementsthathavenotappearedinouranalysisas

relatingtoscientificthinking?Thereisplentytothinkabout!


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References

Cameron,L.(2002)MetaphorsintheLearningofScience;adiscoursefocus.BritishEducationalResearchJournal,

28(5),673-688

Dunbar,K.andBlanchette,I.(2001)Theinvivo/invitroapproachtocognition:Thecaseofanalogy.Trendsin

CognitiveScience,5(8),334-339

Gibbs,Jr.,R.W.ThePoeticsofMind:Figurativethough,languageandunderstanding.Cambridge:Cambridge

UniversityPress.

Lakoff,George&Johnson,Mark(1999)PhilosophyintheFlesh:TheembodiedmindanditschallengetoWestern

Philosophy,NewYork,BasicBooks.

Lakoff,GeorgeandJohnsonM(1980)MetaphorsWeLiveBy.Chicago:UniversityofChicagoPress.

Smith,C.,Kelly,F.&Mackenzie,S.(2010).Ateachingtoolforsupportingscientificthinkingthroughinvestigationsand

otherteachingmethods.WrittenforS-TeamWorkpackage5.UniversityofStrathclydeEducation(inthis

document,pp.

Sutton,C.(1992)Words,ScienceandLearning.Buckingham:OpenUniversityPress.

WP8(2010)WP8OverviewOnTheUseofScientificLiteracyinTeacherProfessionalDevelopment.WrittenforS-

TEAMWorkpackage8,UniversityofCopenhagen(inthisdocument,pp.

.


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Supportforscientificthinkinginschoolscience

investigations:ATeachingTool

ColinSmith

FearghalKelly

SinclairMackenzie


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Figure1:Scientificthinkingtoolinvisualform

I observewith anyor all of

mysenses asrequired

I thinkabout

cause andeffect

Ieffectively

supporttheorywith

evidence

I usemetaphors

andanalogies

I use theconfirmearly -

disconfirmlate rule


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Section1:Introduction

Asteachers,onethingwewanttodoistohelpourpupilstothinkscientifically.Tobesuccessful

learnersinscienceandtousethislearningconfidently,responsiblyandeffectivelyascitizens

andcontributorstosociety,ouryoungpeopleneedtodevelopandcontrolthementalactivities

thatmakeupscientificthinking.Wehavedevelopedamodelofscientificthinkingtohelpusall

tothinkaboutthisquestionwhataspectsofscientificthinkingaresupportedbythedifferent

sortsofteachingactivitiesthatweuseinourclassrooms?

Themodelofscientificthinking(Figure1,above,showsitinvisualform)isbasedaroundthe

mentalactivitiesthatpsychologysuggestscombine(notnecessarilyallatthesametime)to

constitutescientificthinking.Wecallthesementalactivities aspectsofscientificthinking. Thisis

becausetheyinteractwitheachother.Forexample,aswedevelopscientifictheories,wecome

toobserveandcategorisetheworldindifferentways.Justthinkofthechangeofperspectives

youaretryingtoencourageyourpupilstotakeinmanytopicsimportanceofplants,lawsof

motion,molecularnatureofmatter,forexample.We,therefore,thinkthereisadangerin

treatingtheseaspectsofscientificthinkingasskillsthatwecanpracticeindividuallyandoutof

thecontextofdoingmeaningfulscience.However,itispossibletousethemtoauditour

practiceforthedegreestowhichtheyaresupported.Thenwecanusethisinformationtomap

outwaysofimprovingonthis.Thisinvolvesplacingscientificthinkingintoabroadermodelof

schoolscienceinvestigationsthatenablesustothinkabouttheteachingdecisionsweneedto

maketosupportthisaim.Themodelisoutlinedinthenextsection.

Wehavetriedusingthiswidermodelasatoolforanalysingvariousclassroomactivities,

includingformalinvestigations(StandardGradeandHigher),commoncourseworkexperiments

andmoreopeninvestigationsconductedbyourpupils(seethesectionscontainingexamples

later).Inallofthese,wehavebeenencouragedtofindthattheactivitiesarepotentially

supportiveofscientificthinking.However,wealsofindthatforourpupilstobeabletousethis

support,weneedtofindwaystohelpthemtorecognisetheconnectionbetweentheactivities

theyarecarryingoutandscientificthinking.Wecannot,evenifwewantedto,specifysolutions


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tothisproblemsothatwetellteacherswhattodo.Itissomethingthatwebelieveteachersare

bestplacedtosolveand,wherenecessary,resolvewithdifferentclassesanddifferentactivities.

However,althoughwecannotspecifysolutions,wehopetodevelophintsandpointersthat

teacherscanuse

Thenextsectionpresentsthewholemodelofinvestigationsinwhatwehopeisamore

accessibleandusefulformforteachersthanintheoriginalacademicjustification(Smith,2010).


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Section2:Afive-partmodelofinvestigations.

Asnotedabove,onepartofthiswidermodelofinvestigationsisthemodelofscientificthinking

inFigure1.TheaspectsofthismodelareexplainedinTables1and2.

Table1:Fundamentalaspectsofscientificthinking


Aspect Whatitinvolves

Iobservewithanyorallofmysensesasrequired Fairlyself-explanatoryallsenses(notjustvision)


IcategorisewhatIobserveasthingsandevents Classifyinginformationfromobservationsinto


Irecognisepatternsinthecategoriesofthingsand

events





Iformandtesthypotheses Arisesinitiallyfrompatternrecognition.Beginto


theseexpectations

Ithinkaboutcauseandeffect Arisesinitiallyoutofpatternrecognitionand/or

hypothesisverification.(e.g.recognitionofpattern





causality.

Table1canbethoughtofascontainingthoseaspectsofthinkingthatarefoundinboth

everydayandscientificthinking.Inyoungchildren,andofteneveninadults,theyoccurwithout


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muchawareness.ForscientificthinkingbothlanguageandthoseaspectsinTable2enableusto

becomemoreawareofitandtotakecontrolofitsdirectionmoreeffectively.

Weemphasiseagainthatalthoughtheseaspectsofscientificthinkingmaynotallbeinvolvedin

everyprofessionalscientificactivityandnorshouldweexpectthemallineveryschoolscience

activity.Also,weagainemphasisethattheaspectsinteractwitheachother.Forexample,aswe

developaknowledgeandunderstandingofscientifictheories,thisaffectsthewaythatwe

observeandcategorisethingsandeventsintheworldaroundus.Themodelallowsustothink

aboutthoseaspectsofscientificthinkingthattheactivitiesweuseintheclassroomhelpour

pupilstodevelop.

Wesaidthatthismodelofscientificthinkingisonepartofawidermodelofschool

investigations.Thiswidermodel,alongwithsomepracticalquestionsitraisesforteachers,is

presentedinTable3.Youwillseefromthismodel,however,thatscientificthinkingisakey

componentthatconnectstheotherparts.Theseotherpartsofthemodelaretodowith

featuresoftheinvestigationsthemselves-theirorigin,degreeofteacher/pupilcontroland

certaintyofoutcome(openness).Also,wedonotassumethatthequestionsinthetablearethe

onlyonesthatcouldbeasked.Teachersshouldfeelfreetoaddothersthattheyfeelapplyto

theirownclassrooms.


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Table2:Furtheraspectsofscientificthinking

ScientificThinking/scientificmind (adaptedfromFeist,2006)

Attribute/skill Whatitinvolves

Ieffectivelysupporttheorywithevidence Thisincludesavoidingconfirmationbias,not




principles.

Ivisualise Visualisationinscientificthinkingcantakevarious




scientificthinking.

Iamawareofmythinkingandcontrolit Althoughbeginninginobservations,scientific






awarenessofthethethoughtprocessesbeingused

anddirectingthemtowardsgoalssuchas

understanding.

Iusemetaphorandanalogy Analogyseeinghowsomething(target)islike










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Iusetheconfirmearly-disconfirmlateheuristic Inpractice,thismayberarelyusedinschool




first(makeitagoer),thenseektofindevidence

andargumentsagainstit.

Icollaborateinthinking Animportantpartofscientificthinkingisboth


thesharingofreasoningandideas.Forprofessionalscientists,thiscollaborationindiscussingdataand




Table3:Fivedimensionsofinvestigationsandsomeassociatedteachingquestions.

DimensionofInvestigation SomeTeachingQuestionsThatArise

1)Origininunderstanding.

Thatis,doesthequestionbehindtheinvestigationderive

from pupils thinking inspired by everyday

understandings, or does it derive from pupils thinking

inspired by new scientific understandings they have

developedoraredevelopinginthecoursework?

a)CanIjustifypursuingitwithinthecontent

requirementsofthiscourse?Ifnot,haveIgottimeto

pursueitforotherreasons(e.g.1b,1cand1dor2b,

b)Whataretheconsequences,suchascontinued

misconceptions,ifIleaveit?

c)CanIjustifypursuingitbecauseitislikelytopromote

engagement?

d)Whataspectsofscientificthinking(dimension5)

wouldbesupportedbythisinvestigation?

2)Originingoals.

Thatisdoesthequestionbehindtheinvestigationarise

fromstudentsand/orteachersgoals?

a)DidIinstigatethisinvestigation,ordidthepupils,oris

ittheresultofajointlyfeltinterest?

b)DidIinstigatethisinvestigationasachallengeto


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pupilspre-understandings?

c)Didthepupilsinstigatethisinvestigationoutof

interestandwillitpromoteengagement?

d)Whataspectsofscientificthinking(dimension5)

wouldbesupportedbythisinvestigation?

3)Controloftheinvestigation.

That is,who will direct the activity the students,the

teacherorwillcontrolbesharedinapartnership?

a)Willthepupilsbeabletodeviseunaidedasuitable

investigativestrategy,ordowedeviseittogether,ordoI

suggestthestrategytothem?

b)AmIcontrollingtheinvestigationtoensurecoverage

ofcourseaimsandabilitybythepupilstodealwith

assessmentrequirements?CanIachievethiswithout

exertingthisdegreeofcontrol?

c)(relatedtoaabove)Whataspectsofscientific

thinking(dimension5)dotheyneedtodeviseandcarry

outaninvestigationofthisquestionandwhenandhow

doIputscaffoldinginplacewhentheseaspectsare

absentorneedhelpindeveloping?Aresomeofthem

onlyabletobepractisedwhenpupilshaveacertain

amountofcontrol?

4)Degreeofopennessoftheinvestigation

Thatis,limitedistheinvestigationineitherthesolutions

that the students will come to,and/or inthe scope of

experimental, observational or text-based (including

Internet)researchrequired?

a)Istheinvestigationquestionclosedenoughtobe

answeredquicklyandwithareasonablecertaintythat

thepupilswillcometoscientificallyaccepted

conclusions?

b)Isthequestiontooopentobefittedintothe

constraintsoftimeandcourserequirements?

c)Inopenand,possiblyalso,closedinvestigations,how

willImonitorthedevelopmentofpupilsunderstandings

andchallengeanyinitialand/ordevelopingalternateor

misconceptions?

d)Whataspectsofscientificthinking(dimension5)are

supportedbyclosedandopeninvestigations?Aresome

ofthemparticulartocertaintypesofinvestigations?

5) Aspects of scientific thinking used in the

investigation

a)Whataspectsofscientificthinkingwouldbesupported

bythisinvestigationanddoIneedtodoothertypesof

investigationtoensureallarepractisedeffectively?


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Letusalsoremindyouthatyoucannotexpectthateveryactivity,nomatterhowinvestigative,

willnecessarilysupportpupilsindevelopingalloftheaspectsofscientific

thinkingatthesametime.Somewillbesupportedbymostclassroomexperimentsand

investigations,aslongastheyaresetuptoanswerquestions,ratherthantobedemonstrations

offacts.BythatwemeanthattitlessuchasToshowthat.orTodemonstratethat

shouldbeavoided,nomatterwhoisdoingtheexperiment(teacherorpupils).TitlessuchasTo

findif/what/how/why,andTolookforarealwaysbetterandmorelikelytoleadtoforms

ofactivitiesorinteractionsbetweenteacherandpupilsthatsupportscientificthinkingandallow

thepupilstomaketheconnectionswithit.Otheraspectsofscientificthinkingmayonlyrarely

besupportedinschoolscienceinvestigations,asissuggestedinTable2forusingtheconfirm

early-disconfirmlateheuristic.However,itmaybethatteacherswillbeabletofindwaysto

makesupportofthisandotheraspectsmorecommon.


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Section3:Examplesofanalysisofinvestigations

Thefollowingsubsectionscontainexamplesofourownapplicationofthe modelof

investigationstothinkingaboutsomeofourownteachingandhowsupportiveitis,atleastin

principle,ofourpupilsindevelopingtheirscientificthinking.Torealisethatpotential,aswe

havenotedearlier,theymayneedtobehelpedinseeingtheconnectionbetweenwhattheyare

doingandaspectsofscientificthinking.Usingthemodelraisesawarenessofthis,butdoesnot

indicatehowtosolveit.Thatissomethingforallofustoworkon.

Wearenotattemptingtoshowwonderfulandoriginalpractice:justthatthemodelcanbe

appliedtoarangeofactivities,someofwhichyoumaynotjudgeastrulyscientific

investigationsbutratherasartificialattemptstomimicwhatscientistsdo.However,weare

deliberatelyavoidingthequestionsastowhetheraparticularclassroomactivityistruly

investigative.Weareinterested,firstly,inthedegreetowhichtheactivitiessupportscientific

thinking.Secondly,cantheactivitiesbebetterorganisedbettertosupportscientificthinking?

Thirdly,cantheactivitiesformstepping-stonestosituationsinwhichourpupilscantruly

initiate,planandexecuteinvestigationsindependentlyofourselves?


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Theexamplesthatfollowbegin,deliberately,withtheformallyrequiredinvestigationsat

StandardGradeandHigherGradelevels4,thentakewhatmightbeacommonsequenceof

experimentsinbiology,thentoaclosedinvestigationsetbytheteacherbutinwhichthepupils

haveresponsibilityforfindingsolutions,andfinishingwithaninvestigationinwhichpupilshad

themainresponsibilityfordesignandimplementation.Twoofusare,orwere,BiologyTeachers

andsoourexamplesarebiological,orhavebiologicalelementsincorporated.However,even

theexampleprovidedbyPhysicsteacheramongushasastrongbiologicalelementdeliberately

builtin.We,therefore,wouldbehappytoreceiveanalysesofinvestigationsfromteachersofall

sciencesubjects(Physics,Chemistry,moreBiology,andgeneralorIntegratedScience)tobuild

upawiderrangeofexamples.

Example1:AnalysisofaStandardGradeInvestigation

ThisexampleisbasedontheStandardgradeBiologyinvestigation,Whatmightaffectthe

germinationofsmallseeds?".Withtheapparatus(Petridishes,cottonwool,measuring

cylinders,seeds,andsoon)infrontofthem,pupilsgenerallydothisinvestigationquitewell,in

theexperienceofthoseauthorswhoarebiologists.Atleast,theydooncetheyhavehitupona

wayofmeasuringtherateofgermination(generally,countingthenumberofrootsthathave

appearedafteracertaintime)andprovidingtheyhavehadpracticeinusingtheinvestigative

bookletonpreviousoccasions.

Perhapsthetablesuggeststhatthisformofformallyassessedinvestigationismoreusethanwe

mightsuspectandcouldbejustifiedasonetoolinsupportingsomeoftheaspectsofscientific

thinkingmostofTable1andsomeofTable2.Nevertheless,eveninacceptingthis,weshould

alsobeawarethatananalysislikethis,howeverusefulinsomerespects,mighthideissues.For

example,asrecordedinthetable,thebookletcanbesupportiveofmetacognitionrelatedto

howtodirectonesthinkingthroughaninvestigationaimedathypothesistestingthroughwhat

mightbecalledafairtestprocedure,butonlyifthepupilsperceiveitassuch.Iftheyseeitas

nomorethananassessmentbooklettobecompleted,thenthatmetacognitivesupportmaybe

lost.Thereisadutyonus,asteacherstocreateacontext,inwhichthepupilsseethebookletas

4TheselevelsrefertotheScottishexaminationsnormallytakenatages15-16and16-18.


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asupportforscientificthinkingandforthattheyneedsomeawarenessofscientificthinking,

anditsaspects,asgoalsfortheirlearning.Perhaps,asStandardgradefadesout,weshouldnot

beintoomuchofahurrytoforgettheseinvestigativebooklets,butlookatwaysinwhichwe

canusethemtoworktowardstheaimsoftheCurriculumforExcellencethroughtheirrolein

helpingustohelpourpupilstodeepscientificthinking.


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Table4:AnalysisofSGradeInvestigation(Germinationinsmallseeds).

Dimensionof

Investigation

Aspectsofscientific

thinking)

Analysis


Depends,perhaps,onwheninthecourseitis

carriedout.Germinationisinthecourse,so

maybeconstruedasrelatingtotheir

developingbiologicalunderstanding.However,

iftheyhavenotreachedgermination,theystill

generallyhavenoproblemgeneratinglistsof

relevantvariablesfromtheirown

understanding.

2)Originingoals.

Teachersassessmentgoals

3)Controlofthe

investigation.

Teacherthroughassessmentbookletand

allocationofresources

4)Degreeofopennessof

theinvestigation

Relativelyclosedonlyalimitednumberof

independentvariablescanrealisticallybe

manipulatedintheschoollaboratory

Iobservewithanyorall

ofmysensesasrequired

Supported(vision)throughexaminingseeds

forsignsofgermination.

IcategorisewhatI

observeasthingsand

events

Notsupported

Irecognisepatternsin

thecategoriesofthings

andevents

Supportedthroughanalysisofgraphs

Iformandtest

hypotheses

Supportedthroughappropriatepartsofthe

booklet

5)Aspectsofscientific

thinkingusedinthe

investigation.

Ithinkaboutcauseand

effect

Supported,atleastintermsofchoosinghow

tomeasuredependentvariablewhichrequires


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arealisationthatgerminationwillleadtoroots

appearing.

Ieffectivelysupport

theorywithevidence

Possibilityofneedtorevisethinkingsupported

iftheirhypothesesarenotinlinewithresults

actuallyobtained.

Ivisualise Supportedthroughgraphs

Iamawareofmy

thinkingandcontrolit

Supportedthroughbooklet,althoughhasto

realisethatthebookletismodellinghowto

carryoutinvestigationsofafairtesttype.

Iusemetaphorand

analogy

Notsupported

Iusetheconfirmearly-

disconfirmlateheuristic

Notsupported

Icollaborateinthinking Notsupported

Example2:AnalysisofHigherInvestigation

ForthoseofyouwhoarenotBiologists,transpirationistheevaporationofwaterfromthe

leavesofplants.Thiscanbemeasuredusingapieceofapparatuscalledabubblepotometer

(Figure2)inastandardseriesofexperimentsinwhichtemperature,humidityorairmovement

canbevaried.TheseexperimentsformthebasisfortheirHigherBiologyOutcome3assessment.


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Figure2:Abubblepotometerthatcanbeusedtoinvestigateevaporationofwaterfrom

leaves.

Thequestiontheyaresetis,Whatfactorsaffecttherateoftranspirationinplants?Theanalysis

isshowninTable5(overleaf).Again,wecanseethatquitealotofaspectsofscientificthinking

aresupported.Wewillreturntomoregeneralcommentslater.


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Table5:AnalysisofHigherInvestigation(Atranspirationinvestigationusingbubble

potometer}.

DimensionofInvestigation Aspectsofscientificthinking ) Analysis


Questionchosenbyteacher

frombookletofHigher

Biologyinvestigations.

2)Originingoals.

Instigatedbyteacherto

reinforcecontentknowledge

andunderstanding,develop

investigativeskillsandmeet

theassessmentcriteria.

3)Controloftheinvestigation.

Theinvestigationwas

controlledbytheteacher,

throughthepracticalguideto

alargeextent.Pupilsare

encouragedtotakesome

controlinthattheyareasked

tochoosewhichfactorthey

willinvestigateandhowthey

willalterthatfactor.


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Table5cont'd:AnalysisofHigherInvestigation(Atranspirationinvestigationusingbubble

potometer).

Dimensionof

Investigation

Aspectsofscientific

thinking)

Analysis

4)Degreeofopennessof

theinvestigation

Theinvestigationwasveryclosed.The

pupilswerelimitedintheirchoicesand

thescopeoftheinvestigationwassetby

theteacherthroughthepracticalguide.

Iobservewithanyorallofmy

sensesasrequired

Supportedthroughobservationof

variables.

IcategorisewhatIobserveas

thingsandevents

Notsupportedthisinvestigationdoes

notinvolvecategorisationbyitsnature.

Irecognisepatternsinthe

categoriesofthingsandevents

Supportedpupilsareexpectedto

recognisepatternsinthevariables.

Iformandtesthypotheses Supportedpupilsareaskedtopredict

whatimpacttheirvariablewillhavewhen

choosingit.

Ithinkaboutcauseandeffect Supportedpupilsarerequiredtorelate

thechangeintheirvariabletotherateof

transpiration.

Ieffectivelysupporttheorywith

evidence

Supportedoneofthekeypurposesof

theinvestigationistotestthetheory

coveredinthecontent.

Ivisualise Supportedpupilsrepresenttheirresults

graphically.

Iamawareofmythinkingand

controlit

Supportedpupilsareaskedtoconsider

therelationshipbetweentheevidence

fromtheinvestigationandtheprocessof

transpiration.Throughthisprocessthey

developtheirthinking.

5)Aspectsofscientific

thinkingusedinthe

investigation.

Iusemetaphorandanalogy Notsupportedthisinvestigationdoes


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notincorporatethisaspect.

Iusetheconfirmearly-

disconfirmlateheuristic

Notsupportedasoutlinedelsewhere,

thisisnotacommonaspectinschool

science.Inthiscase,noeffortwasmade

toattempttodisconfirmthetheory

underpinningtranspiration.

Icollaborateinthinking Notsupportedalthoughthepupilscarry

outtheinvestigationinsmallgroups,due

tothehighdegreeofcontrolandthelack

ofopennessthisdidnotinvolve

collaborativethinking.

Example3:Analysisofrespirationexperiments

Biologyteacherswillbefamiliarwiththesetofexperiments,orvariationsonthem,shown

inFigures3-6.thatcanbefoundinScottishtextbooks(e.g.Torrance,2001)andbepresentedas

testingthevalidityoftheequationforrespiration.

Figure 3: Oxygen uptake(Torrance,2001,page72)


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Figure 4: Release of Carbon dioxide in respiration(Torrance,2001,page73)

Figure 5: Release of Carbon dioxide by green plants(Torrance,2001,page73)


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Figure 6: Release of heat by respiring animal(Torrance,2001,page74)

Inadditiontopresentinganopportunityforpupilstoengageinpracticalwork, understanding

theseexperimentsalsoconstitutedusefulpreparationforformalexamsinwhichquestionswere

designedaroundtheseorsimilarformsofexperiment.Ingeneral,theseexperimentsuseafair

testprocedurethroughtheuseofcontrols.

Intheschoolinwhichoneofusworked,thedepartmentalapproach,rightlyorwrongly


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Again,thereismoresupportfortheaspectsofscientificthinkingthanwemightassumeatfirst

sight

Documents

S-TEAM Report: Scientific literacy and teacher professional development