Modifying Science Activities and Materials to Enhance Instruction for Students with Learning and Behavioral Problems

Most science educators report a willingness to teach students with learning and behavioral differences; however, they often also indicate having limited information about how to make the science classroom more accessible. One avenue of support is the modification of science instructional materials in order to reduce barriers that may exist as a result of poor reading, organization, or work-completion skills. Some suggestions for instruction modifications are provided in this article. Also included is a sample science activity that was redesigned to support students with learning and behavioral concerns.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Science-Technology-Society (STS): a new paradigm in Science Education

publication-status: Publishedtypes: ArticleChanges in the past two decades of goals for science education in schools have induced new orientations in science education worldwide. One of the emerging complementary approaches was the science-technology-society (STS) movement. STS has been called the current megatrend in science education. Others have called it a paradigm shift for the field of science education. The success of science education reform depends on teachers' ability to integrate the philosophy and practices of current programs of science education reform with their existing philosophy. Thus, when considering the STS approach to science education, teacher beliefs about STS implementation require attention. Without this attention, negative beliefs concerning STS implementation and inquiry learning could defeat the reform movements emphasizing STS. This article argues the role of STS in science education and the importance of considering science teachers' beliefs about STS in implementing significant reforms in science education

1, 2, 3, 4: Infusing Quantitative Literacy into Introductory Biology

Biology of the twenty-first century is an increasingly quantitative science. Undergraduate biology education therefore needs to provide opportunities for students to develop fluency in the tools and language of quantitative disciplines. Quantitative literacy (QL) is important for future scientists as well as for citizens, who need to interpret numeric information and data-based claims regarding nearly every aspect of daily life. To address the need for QL in biology education, we incorporated quantitative concepts throughout a semester-long introductory biology course at a large research university. Early in the course, we assessed the quantitative skills that students bring to the introductory biology classroom and found that students had difficulties in performing simple calculations, representing data graphically, and articulating data-driven arguments. In response to students' learning needs, we infused the course with quantitative concepts aligned with the existing course content and learning objectives. The effectiveness of this approach is demonstrated by significant improvement in the quality of students' graphical representations of biological data. Infusing QL in introductory biology presents challenges. Our study, however, supports the conclusion that it is feasible in the context of an existing course, consistent with the goals of college biology education, and promotes students' development of important quantitative skills

‘ … and now it’s over to you’: recognising and supporting the role of careers leaders in schools in England

There is a long history of teachers and schools being involved in the delivery of career education and guidance. As the breadth of career education and guidance activity in English schools grew throughout the twentieth century it became increasingly necessary to have an individual within the school responsible for leading and managing this activity (the careers leader). The transfer of responsibility for career guidance from local authorities to schools following the Education Act 2011 has intensified the need for this role. There have been various attempts to conceptualise and professionalise the role of careers leader and to develop appropriate training and support. This article defines the role and the rationale for the role, sets out its history and makes recommendations for the future professionalisation of the role. It is argued that this will include recognition of the role by policy, professionalisation and the development of a career structure and the development of appropriate training and CPD.N/

Standards for Science Teacher Preparation

Any project intending to write education standards for national dissemination and implementation is immediately confronted with the fact that education is a state function, and that the fifty states, plus Puerto Rico, each have their own ideas about what should be taught to their children. Education, unlike many professions, is a highly political act: parents and guardians are concerned about what their children are taught; and various stakeholders have their own ideas about what constitutes a good education. Whether or not they are directly engaged in setting standards, they want to know why a particular set of standards has been selected by those entrusted with their children. Similarly, regulatory agencies and educational institutions must understand why a particular set of standards has been chosen by the science education community to underlie the preparation of science teachers

Science look at itself

122 tr. ; 22 c