International Journal of Science Education

Ibourk, Amal; Kendrick, Michelle

doi: 10.1080/09500693.2021.1903618pmid: N/A

Although extensive research has shown the important educational value of technology-enhanced online units on students’ science learning, few studies have looked at upper elementary students' knowledge integration in a web-based inquiry science environment (WISE). This case study investigates how upper-elementary students responded to an online prompt, in an embedded assessment tool, to construct a scientific explanation around the variation of traits in their class and how a teacher provided feedback to encourage student discourse. Our findings show that students were able to identify which traits were more common in their class; however, they struggled with making a connection between variation of traits and inheritance of traits when analyzing data from their pie chart. Additionally, we show that an upper-elementary teacher used an embedded assessment tool to scaffold the iterative process of learning and feedback that occurs in an online platform that leverages learning technologies by engaging in high-level discourse moves. We suggest that teachers’ use of embedded assessments in a technology-enhanced environment can encourage student self-reflection and support teachers in making evidence-based instructional decisions as well as provide immediate feedback along the way, which is a key support when students are not participating in traditional face-to-face classroom environments.

Lin, Tzung-Jin

doi: 10.1080/09500693.2021.1904523pmid: N/A

Promoting student engagement in learning activities and tasks has been a pivotal issue and goal of science education. Relevant literature has not yet addressed the underlying associations among students’ self-efficacy and engagement in science learning from a multi-dimensional perspective. Thus, this study aimed to examine the structural relationships between the two constructs through the structural equation modelling technique to differentiate the predictive powers of multi-faceted self-efficacy on various forms of engagement. A total of 478 Taiwanese senior high school students were invited to answer two survey instruments concerning self-efficacy and engagement in science learning, respectively. The main findings indicate that, first, the ‘Science Learning Engagement Instrument’ was proven to be valid and reliable to assess the students’ five distinct forms of engagement, including Cognitive, Behavioral, Emotional, Social, and Agentic engagement. It seems that the students had less agentic engagement experiences compared to the other forms of learning engagement. Moreover, this study further identified the multifaceted effects of self-efficacy on the manifold aspects of learning engagement in the literature. Overall, the path analysis results provide evidence that, in order to deeply engage learners in science learning, promoting their science learning self-efficacy from various aspects is of great importance.

Wei, Bing; Long, Fang

doi: 10.1080/09500693.2021.1905906pmid: N/A

This study took ‘context’ as a focal point in the context-based approach and its investigation was anchored on an analytical framework, which is composed of three dimensions of context: origins, intentions, and occasions. Content analysis was employed as the research methodology with 878 contexts identified from 96 copies of awarded chemistry lesson plans being the analysis targets. The occurrence of context adopted in these chemistry lesson plans was analysed along the three dimensions, each of which comprises three sub-dimensions. For each dimension, content analysis focused on the proportion of three sub-dimensions, different proportions between junior and senior high schools, and the changing trends of the three sub-dimensions during the period from 2001 to 2020. As found in this study, discrepancies existed in the proportions of the sub-dimensions of origins, intentions, and occasions of context that were adopted by chemistry teachers, and some significant differences lay in chemistry teaching between junior and senior high schools. The findings are discussed against the social background in Macao, where this study took place. This study has provided several implications for the research and practice of the context-based approach in chemistry education and beyond.

Kaplan Mintz, Keren; Tal, Tali; Ayalon, Ofira

doi: 10.1080/09500693.2021.1907631pmid: N/A

In this research, we investigate the implementation of a non-mandatory learning-unit on renewable energy in elementary schools in Israel. The research focuses on the effect of teachers’ attitudes toward energy conservation and the efficient use of energy, as well as on the effects of contextual factors on teaching the programme. Mixed methods were used for data collection and analysis. Questionnaires were responded to by 77 teachers, and 13 teachers were interviewed. Attitudes regarding energy consumption are positively associated with teaching the programme, whereas teacher-perceived overload is negatively associated with it. Time devoted to teaching the programme in class was limited due to both the non-mandatory status of the curriculum and to accountability stressors. The findings suggest that while teachers’ attitudes to the environment have some influence on their decision to teach the programme, most of their decisions are related to contextual factors such as work overload, and lack of training, and support. Education plays a significant role in general, as well as regarding energy conservation and renewable energy. The research findings suggest that developing teaching materials is not a sufficient condition for motivating teachers to use them, and that considering contextual factors is essential for a successful implementation.

van Vorst, Helena; Aydogmus, Hatice

doi: 10.1080/09500693.2021.1908640pmid: N/A

Context-based learning has become increasingly influential in science education over the last 40 years. However, it is still unclear which types of contexts foster students’ interests and learning achievements and are appropriate for science classes. While contexts are usually selected by teachers or curriculum developers, this study focusses on the students’ perspective. The central aim of this research project is to analyse which context students choose for their science learning and why they choose a specific context. Therefore, a questionnaire study has been conducted in German grammar schools. The data analysis illustrates that students choose significantly different contexts depending on their individual variables like gender or individual interest in the subject. Additionally, it is possible to identify different reasons for selecting a specific context in chemistry. When comparing students’ individual variables, significant relations between students’ individual interest as well as their last grades in chemistry and their motives for choosing a context can be found. A cluster analysis has produced three clusters for describing students’ explanation patterns for selecting a context. Overall, the results of this study allow first conclusions about the question which types of contexts ought to be implemented in science classes for specific groups of students.

Sengul, Ozden; Enderle, Patrick James; Schwartz, Renee S.

doi: 10.1080/09500693.2021.1908641pmid: N/A

This paper examines three in-service science teachers’ use of argument-driven inquiry (ADI) instructional model in an urban school district. We explore the basis for teachers’ adaptation of the ADI model. The data were collected through teacher interviews and classroom observations from three science teachers. Data analysis indicated that three teachers utilised the ADI model in different ways; their implementation is aligned with the intentions of the ADI model or science teachers adapted or omitted the phases of the ADI. The teachers’ practices were influenced by their personal beliefs including beliefs about teaching and learning science and students’ ability and contextual factors such as district and standards, curriculum, and testing. The study provides suggestions about science teacher education and the development of new curriculum materials.

Thomas Jha, Rhiannon L.; Price, Sara; Nygren, Minna O.; Glauert, Esme

doi: 10.1080/09500693.2021.1909771pmid: 34413576

Research has demonstrated that gesture produced during conversation can provide insights into scientific thinking and can aid scientific communication in adults and school-aged children. However, to date, there has been a limited exploration into the role of gesture in supporting young children’s science communication, and how this is underpinned and shaped by their sensorimotor experiences. This study examines, identifies and conceptualises ways in which children spontaneously used gesture during their interaction-orientated discourse and how this mapped to their action experiences at a water table. Findings show how gestural communication in children under 5 years of age can convey different levels of complexity related to science thinking.

Lee, Tammy D.; Glass, Bonnie

doi: 10.1080/09500693.2021.1909772pmid: N/A

Effective classroom discourse is a critical yet complex component to learning science [Achieve. (2013). Next generation science standards: For states, by states. The National Academies Press]. This study focuses on the abilities of Elementary pre-service teachers (EPSTs) to lead effective science discourse as they plan, implement, and evaluate their own science talks to a small group of peers. We collected and analysed sixty-three transcribed talks from a physical science course taught to elementary education students. A codebook for analysing talk moves used in science discourse was developed and used to analyse 4287 talk moves. Frequency of moves and patterns in their use were noted. Most frequently used moves made by EPSTs demonstrate their reliance on providing information and asking literal (recall) questions; whereas they used significantly fewer moves that promoted deeper engagement with content (Uptake, Push-back and Connections). Implications on teacher preparation programmes are explored, in particular how this approximation of practice could be implemented to improve discourse skills in pre-service teachers of elementary science.

Wilson, Rachel E.; Bradbury, Leslie U.

doi: 10.1080/09500693.2021.1909774pmid: N/A

In order to investigate the impact of science drawing instruction in a first-grade unit on carnivorous plants (CPs), we analysed student-produced drawings after explicit instruction in drawing scientifically (n=38), as well as compared their drawings with students in a previous implementation (year 1) who did not experience explicit drawing instruction (n=31). The year 2 students experienced a science unit using multiple modes of representation (MMR) that began with a class session focused on the scientific purposes of observational drawings, including the use of labels as a science convention of communication in visual representations. Students who participated in the unit with explicit drawing instruction increased the number of structures and labels that they included when comparing their pre- and post-unit drawings, and included a statistically significant higher number of elements and labels than their year 1 peers. The results indicate that the explicit drawing instruction served as a semiotic tool for students as they constructed meaning about the structure and function of CPs, as well as supported early primary students in engaging in the epistemic practice of drawing for science communication. Implications of the study include the importance of incorporating explicit drawing instruction into science units involving student-generated drawing.