The laboratory in science education: the state of the art

Abstract: For more than a century, laboratory experiences have been purported to promote central science education goals including the enhancement of students' understanding of concepts in science and its applications; scientific practical skills and problem solving abilities; scientific 'habits of mind'; understanding of how science and scientists work; interest and motivation. Now at the beginning of the 21 st century it looks as if the issue regarding learning in and from the science laboratory and the laboratory in the context of teaching and learning chemistry is still relevant regarding research issues as well as developmental and implementation issues. This special CERP issue is an attempt to provide up-to-date reports from several countries around the world. [Chem. Educ. Res. Pract., 2007, 8 (2), 105-107

Evidence-based professional development of science teachers in two countries

The focus of this collaborative research project of King’s College London, and the Weizmann Institute, Israel. project is on investigating the ways in which teachers can demonstrate accomplished teaching in a specific domain of science and on the teacher learning that is generated through continuing professional development programs (CPD) that lead towards such practice. The interest lies in what processes and inputs are required to help secondary school science teachers develop expertise in a specific aspect of science teaching. It focuses on the design of the CPD programmes and examines the importance of an evidence-based approach through portfolio-construction in which professional dialogue pathes the way for teacher learning. The set of papers highlight the need to set professional challenge while tailoring CPD to teachers' needs to create the environment in which teachers can advance and transform their practice. The cross-culture perspective added to the richness of the development and enabled the researchers to examine which aspects were fundamental to the design by considering similarities and differences between the domains

The Characteristics of Open-Ended Inquiry-Type Chemistry Experiments that Enable Argumentative Discourse

One of the key goals of science education is to provide students with the ability to construct arguments -  reasoning and thinking critically in a scientific context. Over the years, many studies have been conducted on constructing arguments in science teaching, but only a few of them have dealt with studying argumentation in the science laboratory in general and in the chemistry laboratory in particular. Our research focuses on the process in which students construct arguments in the chemistry laboratory while conducting different types of inquiry experiments. The experiments that were assessed for their argumentation level differed in their level of complexity. It was found that the more complex experiments served as a better platform for developing arguments as well as regarding their relative numbers. Moreover, we identified a number of characteristics during the discourse that serve as a catalyst for raising arguments: asking questions and unexpected results obtained in the experiments

Evidence-Based Professional Development of Science Teachers in Two Countries

The focus of this collaborative research project of King?s College London, and the Weizmann Institute, Israel. project is on investigating the ways in which teachers can demonstrate accomplished teaching in a specific domain of science and on the teacher learning that is generated through continuing professional development programs (CPD) that lead towards such practice. The interest lies in what processes and inputs are required to help secondary school science teachers develop expertise in a specific aspect of science teaching. `It focuses on the design of the CPD programmes and examines the importance of an evidence-based approach through portfolioconstruction in which professional dialogue pathes the way for teacher learning. The set of papers highlight the need to set professional challenge while tailoring CPD to teachers? needs to create the environment in which teachers can advance and transform their practice. The cross-culture perspective added to the richness of the development and enabled the researchers to examine which aspects were fundamental to the design by considering similarities and differences between the domains

Bridging the Gap Between Formal and Informal Science Learning

In the teaching of school science, curriculum material and instructional strategies ideally should be tailored to the abilities and aptitudes of different types of learners. The overall objective should be to create learning environments which allow students to interact physically and intellectually with instructional materials through 'hands-on' experimentation and 'minds-on' reflection. Effort should be made to provide materials and instruction that give reality and concreteness to scientific concepts. Ideally, teachers should use a variety of instructional strategies and learning materials with the aim of increasing the impact and the effectiveness of their teaching (Tobin, Carie & Bettencourt 1988; Hofstein & Walberg 1994 ). The importance of varying instructional techniques has been investigated recently (Hofstein & Kempa 1985; Kempa & Diaz 1990a, 19906). It is suggested that a strong relationship exists between a student's motivational characteristics and his or her preference for particular modes of instruction. This finding is important and should be taken into consideration in the design and implementation of instructional techniques and content. In practice, it is difficult to respond appropriately to students' motivational characteristics and preferred modes of instruction. Informal science learning environments ( e.g., science museums, zoos and outdoor settings; science youth programs; science media) could be utilized to maximize this end. Therefore, it would be useful if science educators would consciously utilize ( 1) a wide repertoire of instructional strategies in their work with learners in schools, as well as (2) a wide range of outofschool environments which foster science learning

Teaching chemistry - a studybook : a practical guide and textbook for student teachers, teacher trainees and teachers

Comprend des références bibliographiques et un index.This book focuses on developing and updating prospective and practicing chemistry teachers' pedagogical content knowledge. The 11 chapters of the book discuss the most essential theories from general and science education, and in the second part of each of the chapters apply the theory to examples from the chemistry classroom. Key sentences, tasks for self-assessment, and suggestions for further reading are also included. The book is focused on many different issues a teacher of chemistry is concerned with.How to allocate the chemistry curriculum between science and society / How to outline objectives for chemistry education and how to assess them / How to motivate students and raise their interest in chemistry education / How to balance chemistry education between observing phenomena and thinking in models / How to deal with linguistic issues in chemistry classes / How to learn in and from the chemistry laboratory / How to organize the chemistry classroom in a student-active mode / How to promote chemistry learning through the use of Ict / How to benefit from the informal and interdisciplinary dimension of chemistry in teaching / How to keep myself being a professional chemistry teacher / How to teach science in emerging and developing environments

Relevant chemistry education for sustainability

This chapter elaborates on three commonly suggested concepts used in the rhetoric for educational reform in science education. One suggestion is to raise the relevance of science education. Up until now, the word 'relevance' in the science education literature has often been used with high degrees of uncertainty and ambiguity. Thus as the first concept, this paper presents a model for a comprehensive understanding of the meaning and dimensions of relevance in science education. Secondly, we will revisit the concept of the two visions of scientific literacy and suggest that there is a further, third vision needed for relevant chemistry education. A third input is the adoption of the philosophy of Education for Sustainable Development into science education. Some very recent ideas will also be presented for this area. The chapter elaborates on the connections of the three concepts when it comes to providing guidance for chemistry curriculum reform. Two illustrative cases from Germany and Israel will show how chemistry teaching can come up with the elaborated stages of all the three concepts to make chemistry learning relevant education for sustainability