Creativity and innovation in science and technology: Bridging the gap between secondary and tertiary levels of education

Purpose: This paper stems from a study which was conducted as a means to first, find out whether there is a gap between the secondary and tertiary education levels, second identify any existing gap in Science and Technology education, and third, examine the impact of the above upon students’ creativity and innovativeness at university level. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach: As such, a group of teachers and students at both secondary and tertiary levels were selected as the sample of the study. Questionnaires were administered to trained secondary school teachers and to university students. Interviews were also conducted to triangulate data. These enabled an analysis of the current situation in terms of students’ engagement/creativity/innovativeness in Science and Technology at secondary and tertiary levels. Findings: The findings reveal a problematic situation arising with respect to beliefs and what truly prevails in the education sector at secondary and tertiary levels. This study has revealed a number of salient issues related to the gap existing between the secondary and tertiary levels of education in Mauritius, with special bearing on creativity and innovation in Science and Technology. Research limitations/implications: Only three institutions were involved, with a small sample of students, so that the findings cannot be generalised. Moreover, gender is a variable that has not been taken into consideration. Practical implications: The study has proposed a number of recommendations to enable Mauritian students (at secondary and tertiary levels) to develop creativity and hopefully become innovators. This leads us to believe that the recommendations emerging from this study will be beneficial to various stakeholders who wish to understand the gap existing between secondary and tertiary education in Science and Technology education. Originality/value: This study takes a case study approach adopting a mixture of interviews, surveys and observations to understand the research problems with regards to the younger generations need to be equipped with scientific and technological advances in acquiring knowledge, new sets of skills and values. Therefore, this study endeavours to document the perceptions of learners and faculty staff

In-service Physics teachers’ content knowledge: A critical reflection on the case of the Upthrust concept

Physics educators must possess a strong foundation in content knowledge to effectively promote scientific inquiry-based learning in line with the national curriculum goals. However, factual, conceptual, and procedural knowledge gaps can impede meaningful teaching and learning of Physics. This study explores the use of the Predict-Observe-Explain (POE) model to assess in-service Physics educators’ understanding of “Upthrust.” The research involved 23 participants from a professional development programme in Mauritius. Data were collected through task-based worksheets and focus group discussions and validated using Rasch modelling. The findings indicate that while educators are somewhat familiar with Upthrust, their knowledge must be improved for making accurate predictions and providing detailed scientific explanations, particularly when disparities between predicted and observed outcomes occur. Additionally, educators’ reliance on formula-driven methods, influenced by their limited exposure to experimental practices, underscores the need for change. This study underscores the importance of fostering conceptual understanding over memorisation in Physics education. By challenging and broadening the beliefs of prospective Physics educators and promoting inquiry-based teaching, these efforts can significantly enhance Physics education, student engagement, and achievement in secondary schools in Mauritius

Teaching and learning physics using technology: Making a case for the affective domain

Even though its importance is underscored in many research pursuits, attention to the affective domain in learning is often neglected at the expense of the cognitive development of students studying science, in particular physics. In this paper we propose a framework, the pedagogical technological integrated medium (PTIM) founded on the TPACK model, that builds on the existing premises of pedagogy, content and technology to make space for the affective domain where these three premises intersect with each other. We operationalize the PTIM framework through a multi-loop model that explores the affective dimension as an overarching space for interaction among learners, teachers and parents through a series of stages encompassing home tasks, as well as classroom and out-of-school activities. Within the qualitative paradigm, we substantiate from two case studies, an exploratory and an evaluative one in two different schools, that a succinct synchronisation of these various interactive elements promotes knowledge construction springing from the affective domain in terms of motivation, interest and values and also from their inter-relationships

A paradigm shift in the teaching and learning of science using technology in Mauritius: Making a case for incorporating the affective domain.

Through a systematic review of the literature we indicate how the affective domain has been consistently overlooked by current frameworks for integrating technology in the teaching and learning of Science. We argue that presently technology is overwhelmingly employed in education in Mauritius as a source of information rather than a process-based means of knowledge construction which is the premise for conceptual understanding. In this theoretical paper we propose a framework, pedagogical technological integrated medium (PTIM), that builds on the existing premises of pedagogy, content/contextual knowledge and technology to include the affective domain at the common intersection of these three premises. The affective dimension is further explored as a space for interaction between learners, teachers, parents and the social dimension in a series of stages encapsulating, home tasks based on prior knowledge with the lesson delivery at school. We posit that a succinct synchronisation of these various elements would ensure successful implementation of the framework

Three provocations about retention and attrition and their policy implications

One of the recurring debates in relation to languages and cultures education in Australia concerns the issue of retention and attrition. The clarion call seems to have been continuous for the last 30 years or so. I want to offer three provocations around this issue: 1. We think it’s our fault but maybe it isn’t — research shows us that at each point of transition students will choose to change languages, regardless of their experience. A concomitant issue is that at university level some students have already decided how much of a language they are prepared to study (often due to administrative/structural constraints of their degree or for other personal reasons — cf. the phenomenon of the language tourist). 2. The curriculum wars — my recent experience of working with the Australian Curriculum: Languages has highlighted a fundamental philosophical divergence between how curriculum is conceptualized in schools education and at tertiary level. My question is whether this difference (which I will outline) is leading to attrition (or retention). 3. Gender and identity — while languages classes at all levels of schooling are typically dominated by females, and females make up a larger proportion of the language teaching corps in schools, at university level things can be somewhat different. I would suggest that there are some intriguing questions waiting to be teased out in relation to how students identify with staff in terms of gender and identity at tertiary level and whether this has an impact on retention (or attrition). For each of these provocations, I will present some initial research and discussion