Using action research to improve learning and formative assessment to conduct research

The paper reports on how educational research informed and supported both the process of refinement of introductory physics laboratory instruction and student development of scientific abilities. In particular we focus on how the action research approach paradigm combined with instructional approaches such as scaffolding and formative assessment can be used to design the learning environment, investigate student learning, revise curriculum materials, and conduct subsequent assessment. As the result of the above efforts we found improvement in students’ scientific abilities over the course of three years. We suggest that the process used to improve the curriculum under study can be extended to many instructional innovations.National Science Foundatio

‘Question Moments’: A Rolling Programme of Question Opportunities in Classroom Science

This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.This naturalistic study integrates specific 'question moments' into lesson plans to increase pupils' classroom interactions. A range of teaching tools has explored students' ideas through opportunities to ask and write questions. Their oral and written outcomes provide data on individual and group misunderstandings. Changes to the schedule of lessons were introduced to discuss these questions and solve disparities. Flexible lesson planning over fourteen lessons across a four-week period of highschool chemistry accommodated students' contributions and increased student participation, promoted inquiring and individualised teaching, with each teaching strategy feeding forward into the next

Using “Student Technology” in introductory physics: a comparison of three tools to study falling objects

Being able to facilitate effective hands‐on laboratory experiences in introductory physics courses is a challenging task, even when contemporary laboratory facilities, equipment, and new technologies for data collection and analysis are available. At institutions without adequate resources, especially those in developing countries, we have found that the problem of providing effective laboratory experiences is especially daunting for at least two reasons: 1) the lack of equipment and contemporary measuring devices; and 2) even at institutions that have some laboratory equipment, students who have access to cell phones with digital timing and video capabilities or inexpensive digital cameras are bored with trying to use “old‐fashioned” apparatus for measurements.Fil: Saraiva Da Rocha, Fábio. Universidade Federal do Pampa; BrasilFil: Fajardo, Fabio. Universidad Nacional de Colombia; ColombiaFil: Grisolía, Maricarmen. Universidad de Los Andes; VenezuelaFil: Benegas, Julio Ciro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Luis. Instituto de Matemática Aplicada de San Luis "Prof. Ezio Marchi". Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Facultad de Ciencias Físico, Matemáticas y Naturales. Instituto de Matemática Aplicada de San Luis ; ArgentinaFil: Tchitnga, Robert. University of Dschang; CamerúnFil: Laws, Priscilla. Dickinson College; Estados Unido

Bridging Physics and Biology Teaching through Modeling

As the frontiers of biology become increasingly interdisciplinary, the physics education community has engaged in ongoing efforts to make physics classes more relevant to life sciences majors. These efforts are complicated by the many apparent differences between these fields, including the types of systems that each studies, the behavior of those systems, the kinds of measurements that each makes, and the role of mathematics in each field. Nonetheless, physics and biology are both sciences that rely on observations and measurements to construct models of the natural world. In the present theoretical article, we propose that efforts to bridge the teaching of these two disciplines must emphasize shared scientific practices, particularly scientific modeling. We define modeling using language common to both disciplines and highlight how an understanding of the modeling process can help reconcile apparent differences between the teaching of physics and biology. We elaborate how models can be used for explanatory, predictive, and functional purposes and present common models from each discipline demonstrating key modeling principles. By framing interdisciplinary teaching in the context of modeling, we aim to bridge physics and biology teaching and to equip students with modeling competencies applicable across any scientific discipline.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, 3 table

Using conceptual metaphor and functional grammar to explore how language used in physics affects student learning

This paper introduces a theory about the role of language in learning physics. The theory is developed in the context of physics students' and physicists' talking and writing about the subject of quantum mechanics. We found that physicists' language encodes different varieties of analogical models through the use of grammar and conceptual metaphor. We hypothesize that students categorize concepts into ontological categories based on the grammatical structure of physicists' language. We also hypothesize that students over-extend and misapply conceptual metaphors in physicists' speech and writing. Using our theory, we will show how, in some cases, we can explain student difficulties in quantum mechanics as difficulties with language.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. ST:PE

The role of polymorphic variants of arginase genes (<i>ARG1, ARG2</i>) involved in beta-2-agonist metabolism in the development and course of asthma

Asthma is a common severe disease of the respiratory tract, it leads to a significant impairment in the quality of a patient’s life unless effectively treated. Uncontrolled asthma symptoms are a cause of disease progression and development, they lead to an increase in the patient’s disability. The sensitivity to asthma therapy largely depends on the interaction of genetic and epigenetic factors, which account for about 50–60 % of variability of therapeutic response. Beta-2-agonists are some of the major class of bronchodilators used for asthma management. According to published data, allelic variants of the arginase ARG1 and ARG2 genes are associated with a risk of asthma development, spirometry measures and efficacy of bronchodilator therapy. High arginase activity results in a low level of plasma L-arginine and in a decrease in nitric oxide, and, as a result, in an increase in airway inflammation and remodeling. Arginase genetic polymorphisms (rs2781667 of the ARG1 gene, rs17249437, rs3742879, rs7140310 of the ARG2 gene) were studied in 236 children with asthma and 194 unrelated healthy individuals of Russian, Tatar and Bashkir ethnicity from the Republic of Bashkortostan. Association analysis of the studied polymorphisms with asthma development and course, the sensitivity to therapy in patients was carried out. It was found that the rs2781667*C allele of the ARG1 gene is a marker of an increased risk of asthma in Tatars. In Russians, the association of rs17249437*TT and rs3742879*GG genotypes of the ARG2 gene with a decrease in spirometry measures (FEV1, MEF25) was established. In Russians and Tatars receiving glucocorticoid monotherapy or combination therapy, the association of the rs17249437*T allele and rs17249437*TT genotype of the ARG2 gene with a partially controlled and uncontrolled course of asthma was shown

The relationship between students' views of the nature of science and their views of the nature of scientific measurement

The present study explores the relationship between students’ views on the nature of science (NOS) and their views of the nature of scientific measurement. A questionnaire with two-tier diagnostic multiple choice items on both the NOS and measurement was administered to 179 first year physics students with diverse school experiences. Students’ views on the NOS were classified into four ‘NOS profiles’ and views on measurement were classified according to either the point or set paradigms. The findings show that students with a NOS profile which is dominated by a belief that the laws of nature are to be discovered by scientists, are more likely to have a view of the nature of scientific measurement characterised by a belief in ‘true’ values. On the other hand, students who believe that scientific theories are inventions of scientists, constructed from observations which are then validated through further experimentation, are more likely to have a view of the nature of scientific measurement which is underpinned by the uncertain nature of scientific evidence. The implications for teaching scientific measurement at tertiary level are discussed

Learner-Centered Inquiry in Undergraduate Biology: Positive Relationships with Long-Term Student Achievement

We determined short- and long-term correlates of a revised introductory biology curriculum on understanding of biology as a process of inquiry and learning of content. In the original curriculum students completed two traditional lecture-based introductory courses. In the revised curriculum students completed two new learner-centered, inquiry-based courses. The new courses differed significantly from those of the original curriculum through emphases on critical thinking, collaborative work, and/or inquiry-based activities. Assessments were administered to compare student understanding of the process of biological science and content knowledge in the two curricula. More seniors who completed the revised curriculum had high-level profiles on the Views About Science Survey for Biology compared with seniors who completed the original curriculum. Also as seniors, students who completed the revised curriculum scored higher on the standardized Biology Field Test. Our results showed that an intense inquiry-based learner-centered learning experience early in the biology curriculum was associated with long-term improvements in learning. We propose that students learned to learn science in the new courses which, in turn, influenced their learning in subsequent courses. Studies that determine causal effects of learner-centered inquiry-based approaches, rather than correlative relationships, are needed to test our proposed explanation

El Conocimiento Didáctico del Contenido en ciencias: estado de la cuestión

This paper gives a descriptive overview of the literature related to Pedagogical Content Knowledge - PCK - in the sciences. It is expected that this review can contribute to a better understanding of PCK, pointing out what has been investigated about this concept. Specifically, we analyze: a) how PCK is defined, what are its main features and how it has been appropriated by teachers; b) the relationship between PCK, knowledge of the contents to be taught and students learning; c) how PCK was actually used in teachers' training and teachers' evaluation; and, d) the scientific areas in which PCK has been studied. It concludes that PCK is an essential tool for improving the quality of teacher training