Process drama as a tool for participation in explorations of ‘wicked problems’ in upper secondary chemistry education

This study targets a special form of educational drama called process drama, as a potential means for enabling student engagement with wicked problems. The overarching aim is to explore how process drama may afford student agency in dealing with wicked problems in upper secondary chemistry education. It is a design-based study with two cycles of intervention in two schools. A process drama plan was designed to focus on the wicked problem of plastic pollution. The interventions were video- and audiotaped and thereafter transcribed. The data were analysed using a combination of qualitative content analysis and a sociocultural framework of the two dialectics agency|structure and margin|centre. The analysis resulted in three themes regarding how plastic pollution and plastic use was explored in the process drama. The students participated in a constant flow between margin and centre where different spaces for students’ agency was afforded. In brief, our main finding is that process drama enables students and teachers to participate in a variety of ways in the exploration of wicked problems, and talk about plastic pollution and plastic use, while drawing on knowledge and perspectives of science as well as values and societal and social science perspectives and knowledge

Are you SLiM? Developing an instrument for civic scientific literacy measurement (SLiM) based on media coverage

Abstract The purpose of this study is to develop an instrument to assess civic scientific literacy measurement (SLiM), based on media coverage. A total of 50 multiple-choice items were developed based on the most common scientific terms appearing in media within Taiwan. These questions covered the subjects of biology (45.26%, 22 items), earth science (37.90%, 19 items), physics (11.58%, 6 items) and chemistry (5.26%, 3 items). A total of 1034 students from three distinct groups (7th graders, 10th graders, and undergraduates) were invited to participate in this study. The reliability of this instrument was 0.86 (KR 20). The average difficulty of the SLiM ranged from 0.19 to 0.91, and the discrimination power was 0.1 to 0.59. According to participants' performances on SLiM, it was revealed that 10th graders (Mean = 37.34±0.23) performed better than both undergraduates (Mean = 33.00±0.33) and 7th graders (Mean = 26.73±0.45) with significant differences in their SLiM

Edge states in a two-dimensional honeycomb lattice of massive magnetic skyrmions

We study the collective dynamics of a two-dimensional honeycomb lattice of magnetic skyrmions. By performing large-scale micromagnetic simulations, we find multiple chiral and non-chiral edge modes of skyrmion oscillations in the lattice. The non-chiral edge states are due to the Tamm-Shockley mechanism, while the chiral ones are topologically protected against structure defects and hold different handednesses depending on the mode frequency. To interpret the emerging multiband nature of the chiral edge states, we generalize the massless Thiele's equation by including a second-order inertial term of skyrmion mass as well as a third-order non-Newtonian gyroscopic term, which allows us to model the band structure of skrymion oscillations. Theoretical results compare well with numerical simulations. Our findings uncover the importance of high order effects in strongly coupled skyrmions and are helpful for designing novel topological devices.Comment: 6 pages,4 figures,accepted by Physical Review B as a Rapid Communicatio

Att börja tala ’biokemiska’ - Betydelsen av metaforer och hjälpord för meningsskapande kring proteiner

This paper deals with the process of acquiring a subject-specific language. When confronted with the visual representations and scientific terms of molecular life science, students try to make meaning using the language they have access to and their prior experience. In this process students use a kind of intermediate language, with frequent use of metaphors. Some metaphors can be traced back to the teaching they have experienced, while some are spontaneous metaphors created by the students. They also make use of words that seemingly have no meaning, here referred to as helpwords. The results from this study indicate that spontaneous metaphors and helpwords are important in learning situations, especially in an abstract discipline such as molecular life science. This paper aims to give a preliminary theoretical description of the phenomenon of helpwords, based on an interview study of 20 students taking natural science courses in their upper secondary school education

Implementation of inquiry-based science education in different countries : some reflections

In this forum article, I reflect on issues related to the implementation of inquiry-based science education (IBSE) in different countries. Regarding education within the European Union (EU), the Bologna system has in later years provided extended coordination and comparability at an organizational level. However, the possibility of the EU to influence the member countries regarding the actual teaching and learning in the classrooms is more limited. In later years, several EU-projects focusing on IBSE have been funded in order to make science education in Europe better, and more motivating for students. Highlighting what Heinz and her colleagues call the policy of ‘soft governance’ of the EU regarding how to improve science education in Europe, I discuss the focus on IBSE in the seventh framework projects, and how it is possible to maintain more long-lasting results in schools through well-designed teacher professional development programs. Another aspect highlighted by Heinz and her colleagues is how global pressures on convergence in education interact with educational structures and traditions in the individual countries. The rise of science and science education as a global culture, encompassing contributions from all around the world, is a phenomenon of great potential and value to humankind. However, it is important to bear in mind that if science and science education is going to become a truly global culture, local variation and differences regarding foci and applications of science in different cultures must be acknowledged

Enhancing science teachers’ professional knowledge on inquiry-based science teaching.<em> </em>

Inquiry-based science education (IBSE) has been addressed in science education internationally during the past decades, and the new Swedish curriculum from 2011 also emphasize the need to develop students’ inquiry skills. However, to what extent school teachers in Sweden have developed their professional knowledge on IBSE has only been focused in a small number of studies in Sweden and it was found that in-service teachers were not well-informed about the ideas of IBSE (Lunde, Rundgren, &amp; Chang Rundgren, 2015). Therefore, in the PROFILES project in Sweden, we could create time and space for in-service teachers to develop and reflect on IBSE. The purpose of this presentation is to share our experiences on the development of PROFILES with in-service science teachers (primary and lower secondary school levels) in Sweden during year 2012 to 2014. A model termed context-inquiry-assessment (CIA) continuously professional development (CPD) is introduced in the presentation together with suggestions on different teacher professional development approaches (e.g. design-based, learning study and action research) (Chang Rundgren, in press) as well as the detailed professional reflection on pedagogical content knowledge (PCK).    References   Lunde, T., Rundgren, C-J, Chang Rundgren, S. N. (2015) När läroplan och tradition möts – hur högstadielärare bemöter yttre förväntningar på undersökande arbete i naturämnesundervisningen. NorDiNa (Nordic Studies in Science Education) 11(1) 88-101.Lunde, T. (2014). När läroplan och tradition möts. Om lärarfortbildning och undersökande aktiviteters syfte inom den laborativa NO-undervisningen i grundskolans senare del. Licentiate Thesis. Karlstad University Studies 2014:42. ISBN 978-91-7063-577-9 </p

Aiming for responsible and competent citizenship through teacher professional development on teaching socioscientific inquiry-based learning (SSIBL)

In order to achieve the goal of scientific literacy for responsible citizenship, the importance of developing students' socioscientific inquiry-based learning (SSIBL) has been recognised by an EU FP7 project, PARRISE, including the essential notions of responsible research and innovation (RRI), and citizenship education (CE). The study aims to investigate pre-service primary science teachers' confidence in and need for further education on teaching SSIBL as well as their reflections -in and -on a three-step model SSIBL activity. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were applied in the study. Quantitative methods were applied to collect data from the 76 participating pre-service primary science teachers in Sweden; participants' confidence and need for SSIBL teaching was investigated via a Likert scale questionnaire. The qualitative descriptive analysis method was used to explore participants' reflection-on-action regarding the three-step SSIBL activity and the SSIBL framework. Thematic analyses were applied to analyse the participants' reflection-in-action concerning the design of the three-step SSIBL activity with three aspects of PCK. The results showed that the pre-service teachers had confidence in SSIBL, but still needed further education on SSIBL teaching. The outcomes of the study suggest that developing teachers' SSIBL teaching competence is important and needed from both of the researchers' points of view and the participating teachers' feedback.PARRIS

Pre-service teachers’ awareness on the teaching strategies involving socioscientific issues, inquiry-based science education to enhance socioscientific inquiry-based learning

Together with Inquiry-Based Science Education (IBSE), teaching and learning about SocioScientifis Issues (SSI) and the related argumentation skill (termed informal ar-gumentation or SSI-argumentation) are emerging and hot research topics in science education internationally during the past decades. Embedding the four important concepts regarding Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI), Citizenship Educa-tion (CE), SSI and IBSE for the education in modern society, the teaching strategy of SocioScientific Inquiry-Based Learning (SSIBL) is generated and recognized by the European Commission to promote in teacher education and apply in school educa-tion. The presentation is based on an EU FP7 project, PARRISE (No. 612438), aiming to develop TPD courses to enhance pre- and in-service teachers’ competence on teaching students’ SSIBL in formal and informal education from primary to upper secondary education levels. The purpose of this presentation is to demonstrate a design of a SSIBL TPD course (with a focus of RRI, SSI, IBSE and CE concepts) for a group of pre-service teachers at primary education level. Further, the pre-service teachers’ awareness on teaching strategies involving SSI, IBSE to enhance SSIBL is investigated with the main research questions including: 1. What are the pre-service teachers’ awareness of SSI and IBSE teaching? 2. What are the re-service teachers’ awareness of SSI, IBSE and SSIBL teaching after the SSIBL TPD course? 3. What are pre-service teachers’ general feedback on the SSIBL TPD course? Through the pre- and post-test with quantitative Likert-Scale questionnaire survey, the results showed that the 26 pre-service teachers’ confidence on SSI, IBSE and SSIBL teaching strategies were increased and need for further education was decre-ased, both with significantly differences (p &lt; 0.05) after the SSIBL TPD course. Also, the general feedback on the SSIBL course was positive as well.</p