This blog has been created as a forum for examining recent developments in Science education. We are graduate students at the Faculty of Education at the University of Windsor in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Assessment in the Inquiry Classroom

Assessment is defined as the process of evaluating the quality of learning and it is imperative that inquiry give teachers the opportunity to determine what students are learning, recognize when they need help, and identify appropriate next steps to take (Harlen, p. 87).

There are two key forms of assessment: formative assessment (assessment is carried out for the purpose of helping teaching and learning) and summative assessment (assessment is carried out in order to provide a report after a specific time period).
 
Formative Assessment

Inquiry teaching specifically warrants formative assessment as the teacher must understand the skills and knowledge that the students have developed prior to deciding what is required to help the progress of the student. It is a necessity that the teacher consistently gathers data to determine the next learning steps for their students. 

Methods of Gathering Information

There are four primary methods in which teachers gather information from their students:
  1. Observing students engaged in inquiry (e.g., using a mental or written checklist)
  2. Asking questions designed to probe reasons and understanding (e.g., ask open-end or person-centred questions demonstrates whether students understand concepts)
  3. Looking closely at the evidence from class work (e.g., drawings, constructions, or written work illustrate students' thinking and/or understanding of ideas)
  4. Setting special tasks or assignments (e.g., hands-on activities and written assignments increase assessment opportunities)
Students are ultimately responsible for their own learning (Harlen, p.94). However, in an inquiry-based classroom, it is the responsibility of the teacher to maintain open lines of communication with each student. Specifically, teachers assist students in setting learning goals and how they will improve their work. Teacher feedback may either have a positive effect or negative effect. A positive effect occurs when feedback relates to each student's individual progress rather than being compared to others. A negative effect  occurs when emphasis is placed on obtaining a reward or winning a competition to complete assignments. 


All methods of information gathering may be used as evidence for summative purposes. The main difference between formative and summative assessment is how it is used. Formative assessment is used for immediate feedback into teaching and learning, while summative assessment is used to give others information about the students' progress regarding their development (Harlen, p. 96). Although both assessments are significant methods of measuring student achievement, when considerable emphasis is placed upon grades, it can obscure assessment for formative purposes.

Source: Chapter 11: Assessment in the Inquiry Classroom (pp. 87-97) written by Wynne Harlen in Foundations Vol. 2: An Introduction to Inquiry: Thoughts, Views, and Strategies for the K-5 Classroom published by the National Science Foundation (2000).

Thursday, January 27, 2011

What Does Science Mean to You?

In Britain, research shows that boys significantly outperform girls in Science at school.
Earth Science
Black Swallowtail Butterfly

Jeremy Rock: Passionate About Science
"Now that I’ve discovered my love of science, it keeps me up at night. I can’t stop thinking about it. My hope is that by serving my own intellectual curiosity, I am also serving others. Being a scientist is hard. It’s long hours and a lot of sacrifice. It’s an extremely engrossing experience, but when you find a problem that pulls you in, it’s just thrilling.”
 
 DIY Chemistry Set

 A study in 2008 revealed that 14 % of females are interested in a career in Science.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

The Development of the Sciences

According to Glen S. Aikenhead (2005) in his book entitled, "Science Education for Everyday Life," the history of today's Western science curriculum is grounded in the historical processes and cultural conventions that have evolved since the 19th century. 

In ancient science cultures (i.e., Babylonia, Egypt, India, China, Greece, Islam), the term "science" was defined as the systematic knowledge of nature. During the Paleolithic and Neolithic times, indigenous science explained the phenomena of nature. 

Neolithic Cultures

Approximately 10,000 years ago in Asia Minor, the agricultural revolution began and, as a result, two cultures developed - Takers and Leavers - terms coined by Quinn (1992).

1) Takers
  • Cultural stories place humans above nature in hierarchical importance
  • Takers take from nature as the world is a human life-support system designed to sustain human life
  • Communicate their culture-based stories in written tradition
  • e.g., Babylonian, Egyptian, Greek cultures
2) Leavers
  • Cultural stories tend to place humans equal to or below nature in hierarchical importance
  • Leavers leave nature or give back to nature in a way that disturbs nature as little as possible
  • Harmony with nature will sustain human life
  • Communicate their culture-based stories by teaching their youth in oral tradition emphasizing the value of harmony with nature (focusing on survival sense)
  • Influenced 21st-century indigenous sciences and Western science
  • e.g., Native Americans, First Nations of Canada, Indian nations of South America, the Saami of Europe
Asia Minor (aka Anatolia)

Monday, January 24, 2011

The Science-Technology-Society Movement

Educationalists Dewey (1916) and Benjamin (1939) inspired science educators to develop students' capacities to function as responsible, savvy participants in a world increasingly affected by science and technology (Aikenhead, 2005). This current thought originally led to teaching the history and philosophy of science in schools (Fensham, 1992; Matthews, 1994). However, when science educators embraced social responsibility, engendered by environmentalism and by the emergent sociology of science, humanistic science became identified with a movement called, "science-technology-society," STS (Ziman, 1980).

Calvin & Hobbes
Conceptual Framework for STS

A conceptual framework for STS was achieved through the integration of two broad academic fields:
  1. The interactions of science and scientists with social issues and institutions external to the scientific community, and
  2. The social interactions of scientists and their communal, epistemic, and ontological values internal to the scientific community
A humanistic perspective incorporates both of the above fields.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

How Science Changed Our World

BBC 23 December 2010

Professor Robert Winston presents his top ten scientific breakthroughs of the past 50 years. Tracing these momentous and wide-ranging discoveries, he meets a real-life bionic woman, one of the first couples to test the male contraceptive pill, and even some of his early IVF patients. He explores the origins of the universe, probes the inner workings of the human mind and sees the most powerful laser in the world. To finish, Professor Winston reveals the breakthrough he thinks is most significant.

The Top Ten Scientific Breakthroughs of the Past 50 Years:
  1. Stem cell research
  2. Bio-mechanics
  3. The Contraceptive Pill
  4. Decoding the Human Genome
  5. The Internet
  6. In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF)
  7. The laser
  8. The microchip
  9. MRI scanning
  10. Increasing Evidence for the Big Bang

Vote here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/science