Like scholarly journals, scholarly books contain authoritative information. This includes comprehensive accounts of research or scholarship, historical data, overviews, and experts' views on themes or topics.
Democratic Science Teaching
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Democratic science pedagogy has the potential to shape learning outcomes and science engagement by taking on directly issues of pedagogy, learning, and social justice. In this text we provide a framework for democratic science teaching in order to interrogate the purposes and goals of science education in classrooms globally, as well as to call attention to ways of being in the classroom that position teachers and students as important and powerful participants in their own learning and as change-agents of a larger global society. We develop three core conceptual tools for democratic science teaching, that together frame ways of thinking and being in classrooms that work towards a more just world: Voice, Authority, and Critical Science Literacy. Each conceptual tool is developed in the introductory chapters then taken up in different pedagogical and analytic ways in the chapters that span the text. The chapters present researcher, teacher, and student centered lenses for investigating democratic science education and reflect elementary through high school education, both in school and out of school, in the US and globally.
History, Philosophy and Science Teaching
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This anthology opens new perspectives in the domain of history, philosophy, and science teaching research. Its four sections are: first, science, culture and education; second, the teaching and learning of science; third, curriculum development and justification; and fourth, indoctrination. The first group of essays deal with the neglected topic of science education and the Enlightenment tradition. These essays show that many core commitments of modern science education have their roots in this tradition, and consequently all can benefit from a more informed awareness of its strengths and weaknesses. Other essays address research on leaning and teaching from the perspectives of social epistemology and educational psychology. Included here is the first ever English translation of Ernst Mach's most influential 1890 paper on 'The Psychological and Logical Moment in Natural Science Teaching'. This paper launched the influential Machian tradition in education. Other essays address concrete cases of the utilisation of history and philosophy in the development and justification of school science curricula. These are instances of the supportive relation of HPS&ST research to curriculum theorising. Finally, two essays address the topic of Indoctrination in science education; a subject long-discussed in philosophy of education, but inadequately in science education. This book is a timely reminder of why history and philosophy of science are urgently needed to support understanding of science. From major traditions such as the Enlightenment to the tensions around cultural studies of science, the book provides a comprehensive context for the scientific endeavour, drawing on curriculum and instructional examples. Sibel Erduran, University of Oxford, UK The scholarship that each of the authors in this volume offers deepens our understanding of what we teach in science and why that understanding matters. This is an important book exploring a wide set of issues and should be read by anyone with an interest in science or science education. Jonathan Osborne, Stanford University, USA This volume presents new and updated perspectives in the field, such as the Enlightenment Tradition, Cultural Studies, Indoctrination in Science Education, and Nature of Science. Highly recommended. Mansoor Niaz, Universidad de Oriente, Venezuela This volume provides an extremely valuable set of insights into educational issues related to the history and philosophy of science. Michael J Reiss, University College London, UK
Insights from Research in Science Teaching and Learning
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This book includes studies that represent the state of the art in science education research and convey a sense of the variation in educational traditions around the world. The papers are organized into six main sections: science teaching processes, conceptual understanding, reasoning strategies, early years science education, and affective and social aspects of science teaching and learning. The volume features 18 papers, selected from the most outstanding papers presented during the 10th European Science Education Research Association (ESERA) Conference, held in Nicosia, Cyprus, in September 2013. The theme of the conference was "Science Education Research for Evidence-based Teaching and Coherence in Learning". The studies presented underline aspects of great relevance in contemporary science education: the need to reflect on different approaches to enhance our knowledge of learning processes and the role of context, designed or circumstantial, formal or non-formal, in learning and instruction. These studies are innovative in the issues they explore, the methods they use, or the ways in which emergent knowledge in the field is represented. The book is of interest to science educators and science education researchers with a commitment to evidence informed teaching and learning.
Mathematics, Education, and Other Endangered Species
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This book examines the critical roles and effects of mathematics education. The exposition draws from the author's forty-year mathematics career, integrating his research in the psychology of mathematical thinking into an overview of the true definition of math. The intention for the reader is to undergo a "corrective" experience, obtaining a clear message on how mathematical thinking tools can help all people cope with everyday life. For those who have struggled with math in the past, the book also aims to clarify that math learning difficulties are likely a result of improper pedagogy as opposed to any lack of intelligence on the part of the student. This personal treatise will be of interest to a variety of readers, from mathematics teachers and those who train them to those with an interest in education but who may lack a solid math background.
Professional Development for Inquiry-Based Science Teaching and Learning
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​This book examines the implementation of inquiry-based approaches in science teaching and learning. It explores the ways that those approaches could be promoted across various contexts in Europe through initial teacher preparation, induction programmes and professional development activities. It illustrates connections between scientific knowledge deriving from the science education research community, teaching practices deriving from the science teachers' community, and educational innovation. Inquiry-Based Science Teaching and Learning (IBST/L) has been promoted as a policy response to pressing educational challenges, including disengagement from science learning and the need for citizens to be in a position to evaluate evidence on pressing socio-scientific issues. Effective IBST/L requires well-prepared and skilful teachers, who can act as facilitators of student learning and who are able to adapt inquiry-based activity sequences to their everyday teaching practice. Teachers also need to engage creatively with the process of nurturing student abilities and to acquire new assessment competences. The task of preparing teachers for IBST/L is a challenging one. This book is a resource for the implementation of inquiry-oriented approaches in science education and illustrates ways of promoting IBST/L through initial teacher preparation, induction and professional development programmes.
The Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instruments (Stebi a and B)
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The purpose of this Springer Brief is to provide a comprehensive review of both the STEBI methods and findings through the use of a clearly defined analytic framework. A systematic review of literature yielded 107 STEBI-A research items and 140 STEBI-B research items. The STEBI instruments have been used in a wide range of qualitative, cross sectional, longitudinal and experimental designs. Analysis of the findings of the papers reveals that in-service and pre-service programs that use innovative practices such as cooperative learning, inquiry based investigation and nature of science instruction can produce positive growth in participants' science teaching efficacy beliefs. The personal science teaching efficacy beliefs of pre-service and in-service teachers showed greater mean scores and higher growth than their outcome expectancies. Implications are discussed.