128 research outputs found
Contexts for questioning: Two zones of teaching and learning in undergraduate science
This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below. Copyright @ Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012.Higher education institutions are currently undertaking a challenging process in moving from teacher-orientated to student-focused approaches. Studentsâ ability to asking questions is fundamental to developing critical reasoning, and to the process of scientific enquiry itself. Our premise is that questioning competences should become a central focus of current reforms in higher education. This study, part of a broader naturalistic research project, aims at developing a theoretical framework for conceptualizing different contexts for questioning, illustrating the application of the proposed framework (contextual questioning zones) and reflecting about some of the dimensions of teaching and learning, for overcoming some of the challenges that higher education institutions are facing presently. The discussion of two âoppositeâ contexts of enquiry is based on qualitative data, gathered through close collaboration with four teachers of undergraduate biology at a Portuguese university. These teachers were observed during their âdaily activityâ during an academic year. Data was also gathered by interviewing these teachers and 8 selected students, at the end of the year, and used to sustain the argumentation. The paper concludes with some reflections and suggestions to promote authentic enquiry-based learning experiences.Portuguese FundaçaÌo para a CiĂȘncia e a Tecnologi
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Promoting academic development through situated critical reflection
Many changes in higher education derived from Europe-wide initiatives such as the Bologna process have given increasing attention to student-centred teaching approaches, allied to growth in teachersâ academic development (Clarke & Reid, 2013; HE Academy, 2011). Our study is one component of a long-standing project focused on ways to promote academic development in the context of higher education. Work since 2001 has provided a strong understanding of the dynamics of student-generated questioning, inquiry-based learning and academic practices (Pedrosa de Jesus, Lopes, Moreira & Watts, 2012)
Managing affect in learners' questions in undergraduate science
This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below. Copyright @ 2012 Society for Research into Higher Education.This article aims to position students' classroom questioning within the literature surrounding affect and its impact on learning. The article consists of two main sections. First, the act of questioning is discussed in order to highlight how affect shapes the process of questioning, and a four-part genesis to question-asking that we call CARE is described: the construction, asking, reception and evaluation of a learner's question. This work is contextualised through studies in science education and through our work with university students in undergraduate chemistry, although conducted in the firm belief that it has more general application. The second section focuses on teaching strategies to encourage and manage learners' questions, based here upon the conviction that university students in this case learn through questioning, and that an inquiry-based environment promotes better learning than a simple âtransmissionâ setting. Seven teaching strategies developed from the authors' work are described, where university teachers âscaffoldâ learning through supporting learners' questions, and working with these to structure and organise the content and the shape of their teaching. The article concludes with a summary of the main issues, highlighting the impact of the affective dimension of learning through questioning, and a discussion of the implications for future research
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A study of academic development in universities through innovative approaches in teaching, assessment and feedback
The research-funded project we describe here has been conducted over the extensive period 2001â15. The research problem relates to the institutional and professional changes required to promote and encourage greater teacher and student engagement in learning across undergraduate studies. The emphasis in this paper is upon impact. Research can be seen as systematic inquiry for the creation and development of knowledge, and the process of measuring and describing the impact of academic research is becoming increasingly important in Europe and around the world. To measure impact requires some measure of both the generation of knowledge and the value of the knowledge generated. Knowledge itself is immeasurable, at best it is observed through expressions of knowledge such as publications, papers, patents, and studentsâ and, in this case, teachersâ perceptions.This research was financed by European Founds âFEDER atravĂ©s do Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade â COMPETEâ and by National Founds through âFCT â Fundação para a CiĂȘncia e a Tecnologiaâ project «PTDC/CPE-CED/117516/2010
âQuestion Momentsâ: 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
University teachersâ self-reflection on their academic growth
This study followed the academic growth of four university teachers, over a two-year period, with the intention of enhancing inquiry-based learning in practice. Data were generated within the natural settings of classrooms, laboratories and lecture halls, through the analysis of teaching materials, low-participation observation, informal discussions and semi-formal interviews. The research approach was based on a critical social paradigm, assuming principles of action-research methodology privileging a transitional âinstructional coaching approachâ. Outcomes show a marked interest in the design and development of innovative approaches to teaching, learning, feedback and assessment. They demonstrated strong collaborative practices, insightful reflections on their teaching activities, and willingness to share evaluations both within and without of university contexts and successfully contributing thoughts and ideas to a wider audience.This research was financed by European Founds âFEDER atravĂ©s do Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade â COMPETEâ and by National Funds through âFCT â Fundação para a CiĂȘncia e a Tecnologiaâ project PTDC/CPE-CED/117516/2010
Questions in Science textbooks: development and validation of a checklist
QuestĂ”es sĂŁo enunciadas que requerem uma resposta refletida e que desempenham diversas funçÔes educativas, incluindo o despoletar novas aprendizagens. Neste caso, o seu uso enquadra-se na Aprendizagem Baseada na Resolução de Problemas (ABRP, do inglĂȘs, Problem-Based Learning, PBL), que coloca o aluno no centro dos processos de ensino e aprendizagem, atribuindo-lhe um papel ativo na aprendizagem de novo conhecimento. Atendendo Ă influĂȘncia que os manuais exercem nas prĂĄticas de ensino, a questĂŁo que se coloca Ă© a de saber em que medida as questĂ”es incluĂdas nos manuais escolares de CiĂȘncias podem fomentar um ensino orientado para a ABRP. Neste texto, descrever-se-ĂĄ o processo de construção e validação de uma grelha de anĂĄlise de questĂ”es incluĂdas em manuais escolares de CiĂȘncias com essa finalidade, apresentando-se nĂŁo sĂł essa grelha, mas tambĂ©m, a tĂtulo ilustrativo, uma aplicação da mesma a um tĂłpico de CiĂȘncias, 8Âș ano, abordado nas duas disciplinas desta ĂĄrea.Questions require a thoughtful answer and can play diverse educational roles, such as stimulating the learning of new knowledge, as is the case in Problem-Based Learning (PBL) contexts. In this context, the student is placed at the center of the teaching and learning processes and plays an active role in the learning of new knowledge. Bearing in mind the influence that textbooks exert on teaching practices, it is worthwhile questioning to which extent questions included in school science textbooks promote a PBL oriented teaching approach. This paper describes the development and validation of a checklist for analyzing the questions included in science textbooks. After introducing the checklist, an example of its application to a science unit assigned to two junior high school science courses (8th grade) is given, approaching the two disciplines in the area
Effect of Cr(V) on reproductive organ morphology and sperm parameters: An experimental study in mice
BACKGROUND: Cr(V) species are formed during the intracellular reduction of Cr(VI), a ubiquitous environmental pollutant. In this study, the acute toxicity of a physiologically stable Cr(V) compound, [Cr(V)-BT](2- )(BT = bis(hydroxyethyl)aminotris(hydroxymethyl)methane) was investigated in the male reproductive system of sexually mature 60-day-old male ICR-CD1 mice. METHODS: Eight-week-old animals were subcutaneously injected daily with a dose of ca 8 ÎŒmol of Cr/mouse, during 5 days. The control group was injected with 0.5 mL of BT buffer. Testis and epididymis morphology was evaluated using light and transmission electron microscopy. Epididymal sperm counts, motility and acrosome integrity were also assayed using standard methods. RESULTS: Seminiferous epithelium abnormalities were detected in the Cr(V)-BT experimental group, including intraepithelial vacuolation, and remarkable degeneration of Sertoli cells, spermatocytes and spermatids. The premature release of germ cells into the tubular lumen was also evident. Histological evaluation of epididymal compartments revealed apparently normal features. However, the epididymal epithelium presented vacuolation. [Cr(V)-BT](2- )induced a reduction in sperm acrosome integrity. However, sperm motility and density were not significantly affected. CONCLUSION: This in vivo study using a Cr(V) compound, provides evidence for the potential reproductive hazards caused on male reproductive system by species containing chromium in intermediate oxidation states
Public understanding of plant biology: Voices from the bottom of the garden
Many household gardeners accumulate considerable knowledge of plant biology through a range of informal learning sources. This knowledge seldom relates to school biology and is driven by interest, keen motivation and what is termed here âvital relevanceâ. A small opportunity sample of 12 gardeners (6 M, 6 F) is interviewed in terms of their knowledge of plant biology and their motives for learning. They are largely self-educated, their knowledge is quite specific though piecemeal and their motivation has a strong affective dimension
Local hydrological conditions influence tree diversity and composition across the Amazon basin
Tree diversity and composition in Amazonia are known to be strongly determined by the water supplied by precipitation. Nevertheless, within the same climatic regime, water availability is modulated by local topography and soil characteristics (hereafter referred to as local hydrological conditions), varying from saturated and poorly drained to well-drained and potentially dry areas. While these conditions may be expected to influence species distribution, the impacts of local hydrological conditions on tree diversity and composition remain poorly understood at the whole Amazon basin scale. Using a dataset of 443 1-ha non-flooded forest plots distributed across the basin, we investigate how local hydrological conditions influence 1) tree alpha diversity, 2) the community-weighted wood density mean (CWM-wd) â a proxy for hydraulic resistance and 3) tree species composition. We find that the effect of local hydrological conditions on tree diversity depends on climate, being more evident in wetter forests, where diversity increases towards locations with well-drained soils. CWM-wd increased towards better drained soils in Southern and Western Amazonia. Tree species composition changed along local soil hydrological gradients in Central-Eastern, Western and Southern Amazonia, and those changes were correlated with changes in the mean wood density of plots. Our results suggest that local hydrological gradients filter species, influencing the diversity and composition of Amazonian forests. Overall, this study shows that the effect of local hydrological conditions is pervasive, extending over wide Amazonian regions, and reinforces the importance of accounting for local topography and hydrology to better understand the likely response and resilience of forests to increased frequency of extreme climate events and rising temperatures
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