Forces : teaching ideas with a representational focus

These teaching notes were generated from an Australian Research Council (ARC)
research project titled ‘The Role of Representation in Learning Science’ in which
the topic of Forces was taught to Year 7 students through the adoption of a representation construction approach. A description of several of the activities that were undertaken is given as well as examples of students’ work. Insights into the representation construction apporach that was adopted by the teachers are also provided.

Ideas about matter : teaching ideas with a representational focus

These teaching notes were generated from an Australian Research Council (ARC)
research project titled ‘The Role of Representation in Learning Science’ in which
the topic of Ideas about Matter was taught to Year 7 students through the adoption of a representation construction approach. A description of several of the activities that were undertaken is given as well as examples of students’ work. Insights into the representation construction approach that was adopted by the teachers are also provided.

Evaluation of delivery of the switched on secondary science professional learning (SOSSPL) program

The Switched On Secondary Science Professional Learning (SOSSPL) program consisted of three days professional learning. Days 1 and 2 were undertaken consecutively, with Day 3 following a break of several weeks. The break allowed sufficient time for teachers to undertake a small classroom-based project within one of the topics teachers will be teaching at the time. The program was designed to build teacher capacity to improve learning outcomes in secondary science.

Evaluation of delivery of the switched on secondary science professional learning (SOSSPL) program (2011-12)

The Switched On Secondary Science Professional Learning (SOSSPL) program consisted of three days professional learning for Victorian DEECD secondary science teachers. Days 1 and 2 were undertaken consecutively, with Day 3 following a break of several weeks. The break allowed sufficient time for teachers to undertake a small classroom-based project within one of the topics they were teaching at the time. The program was designed to build teacher capacity to improve student learning outcomes in secondary science.

The program supported teachers to plan and implement classroom sequences that focused on student construction and interpretation of different representations of the science concepts and processes that are described by the Victorian Essential Learning Standards (VELS): Science and the Science Continuum P-10. The Deakin University team in collaboration with the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) produced curriculum resources for the program that encapsulated a representational focus to the teaching and learning of science. The program explored and linked to core DEECD resources such as the e5 Instructional Model and the Science Continuum P-10.
The SOSSPL program was delivered in all Victorian DEECD regions in 2010-11 and was evaluated (Hubber et al, 2011). The program was delivered again in all Victorian DEECD regions in 2011-12. The evaluation of the 2011-12 program is reported here with some comparisons made to the findings from the previously delivered program.
This evaluation of the SOSSPL program involved an online survey, daily workshop evaluations, focus group and presentations data of the participating teachers’ classroom-based projects. The aim of the evaluation was to make a judgement about the effectiveness of the SOSSPL program in terms of building teacher capacity to improve student learning outcomes in secondary science.

Facilitating learning by going online : modernising Islamic teaching and learning in Indonesia

This chapter examines the impact of eLearning and Web 2.0 social media in a socially conservative environment in Indonesia that has nevertheless proven surprisingly adroit at change management. Web 2.0 social media has proven enormously popular in Indonesia but traditional Islamic schools (which are known in Java as pesantren but elsewhere in the Muslim world as madrasah) the focus of this study is often unable to access Web 2.0 or the Internet in general. Progressive non-national government organizations (NGOs) seek to remedy this situation by providing satellite broadband links to remote schools and this chapter examines one particular project. Despite the impoverished and conservative nature of their community, the leaders of this school have led their students in a surprisingly enthusiastic reception of eLearning technology, recognizing its great capacity to produce and enhance social networks and provide new opportunities for learning. Particular attention in this case study is given to factors relating to social capital, attitudes, and patterns of behavior in leadership and change management. A case study approach was chosen to enable a richer and more finely-grained analysis of the issues. The case study is based on semi-structured interviews and observations conducted over several years. This research shows that whilst the adoption and uptake of eLearning with emerging technologies is strongly shaped by cultural and social factors, it plays out in very different ways than might first have been expected.

Science students' perceptions of engaging pedagogy

During their years of schooling, students develop perceptions about learning and teaching, including the ways in which teachers impact on their learning experiences. This paper presents student perceptions of teacher pedagogy as interpreted from a study focusing on students' experience of Year 7 science. A single science class of 11 to 12 year old students and their teacher were monitored for the whole school year, employing participant observation, and interviews with focus groups of students, their teacher and other key members of the school. Analysis focused on how students perceived the role of the teacher's pedagogy in constructing a learning environment that they considered conducive to engagement with science learning. Two areas of the teacher's pedagogy are explored from the student perspective of how these affect their learning: instructional pedagogy and relational pedagogy. Instructional pedagogy captures the way the instructional dialogue developed by the teacher drew the students into the learning process and enabled them to “understand” science. How the teacher developed a relationship with the students is captured as relational pedagogy, where students said that they learned better when teachers were passionate in their approach to teaching, provided a supportive learning environment and made them feel comfortable. The ways in which the findings support the direction for the middle years and science education are considered.

Diabetes education : art, science and evidence

Diabetes education is a process, the key to which is establishing a therapeutic relationship with the individual. The overall goal of diabetes education is to enhance the individual's health capability, including their ability to solve problems and apply the learning to self-care. Thus, diabetes education is an interactive process of teaching and learning where information is co-generated. This innovative new book explores the 'how' of diabetes education, rather than the 'what' and the 'why'. This thought stimulating textbook will helping health care practitioners to teach diabetes effectively from diagnosis and ensure people living with diabetes get the individualised support and information. It will enable practitioners and educators to examine and reflect on their practice when managing the diabetic patient. Bringing together all the thinking and experience on the diabetes journey in one text, this book will be essential reading for all practitioners and students in involved in diabetes care

Material world: learning and teaching chemistry

 In the Australian National Curriculum, the science understanding of overarching ideas of matter and energy covers science topics in the conceptual area of chemistry, such as the properties, forms and uses of different materials, the states of matter (solid, liquid and gas), and energy, such as forces, movement and electricity. This chapter focusses on explaining the abstract science ideas related to matter and energy through the use of appropriate vocabulary, examining ways of organising knowledge and linking scientific models and theories to observations and experiences. The particle model of matter is used to explain common observations, demonstrating the value of scientific inquiry and the role of models and representations in scientific thinking. A directed inquiry teaching approach in which there is a focus on the use of representations is recommended for these abstract topics. Representations are a vital component of communicating the abstract ideas of matter and energy. The use of the pedagogical approach in which students construct and evaluate representations of scientific ideas is used in the negotiation and development of their understandings.

Assessing students’ attitudes toward forensic science: collecting an expert consensus

We report the development of an affective domain instrument for the assessment of undergraduate students’ attitudes toward forensic science. Assessment of attitudes of the respondents is important to understand mediating factors in student motivation and ultimately success in the discipline. The instrument was developed using an iterative process based on responses from an expert panel of Australian forensic science educators to an array of forensic science and teaching related topics, and refined using further feedback from the panel on more specific items. The layout of the instrument, with regard to both the wording and placement of items, was developed with regular test takers (i.e., students) in mind and through the application of basic psychometric principles. The engagement of forensic science colleagues across Australia has resulted in an outcome that could provide a source of credible and relevant evidence of student attitudes toward forensic science.

Representing and learning in science

In this book we argue for an approach to representational work in school science learning and teaching that engages participants, is epistemologically sound, aligns with knowledge-building practices in the discipline, and draws on extensive classroom study. We review in this chapter current research agendas around student representational work in science learning, including the assumptions, rationale and research practices of these agendas. We do this (a) to clarify precisely what we see as the diversity of current mainstream thinking and practices around representational activity, and (b) to articulate what is distinctive about our own contribution, noting the traditions, influences and prior research we draw on. We begin by noting the current dominant role of image generation and analysis in much contemporary science, and its implications for science in schools.