Changing practice by changing practice: Toward more authentic science and science curriculum development

Abstract

Recent policy documents from the Ontario Ministry of Education called for teachers to present a more authentic view of the nature of scientific practice at all levels of education. Sadly, this call for substantial curriculum change coincided with severe cuts in the education budget. The authors describe how two teachers collaborated with a university-based researcher/teacher educator to design and implement more authentic science in a Grade 7 classroom. The ways in which the teachers changed their views about science and science teaching, the anxieties they experienced, and the institutional constraints that impacted on their practice are discussed, and some more general features of the action research experience are described.

Teachers’ Perceived Requirements for Collaborating with the Surrounding World

“…Bencze & Hodson, 1999;Braund & Reiss, 2006;CERI, 1993;Hsu & Roth, 2008;Lombardi, 2007;Rahm, Miller, Hartley & Moore, 2003;Rule, 2006) and 'entrepreneurial learning' (Leffler 2006, Otterborg 2011. These approaches have evolved, partly as a response to students' declining interest in school science and technology in the developed world (Aikenhead, 2004;EU, 2004;Gilbert, 2006;Osborne, Simon & Collins, 2003;Schreiner, 2006).…”

“…This is in coherence with previous studies (Aikenhead, 2004;Bencze & Hodson, 1999). Different areas of concern, for which the school management holds or is perceived to hold responsibility, are addressed within this main category.…”

“…This support is required on different levels. The practical support involves transportation to and from activities outside of the school building, thus confirming previous studies (Bencze & Hodson, 1999). The other level of parent support required concerns pedagogical aspects; the respondents are aware that the parents' attitude towards and perception of education and teaching, based on their own school experiences, could be a barrier on the basis of CSS being a "new" way of teaching.…”

An Analysis of Teacher Discourse that Introduces Real Science Activities to High School Students

“…Because teachers are the frontline personnel in the educational system, what they say constitutes the resources for students to form first impressions and images of science. Over the past decades, researchers have become more interested in making authentic science accessible to students (Bencze and Hodson 1999;Cunningham and Helms 1998). Some research investigates how teachers use problem-based learning (PBL) activities in the classroom (Uyeda et al 2002); other research creates software and resources for teachers and students to engage in more authentic science activities (Lee and Songer 2003).…”

Evaluation to Improve a High School Summer Science Outreach Program

“…4B ). While the response rate was low for this survey and the differences did not reach statistical significance ( F ( 4 , 12 ) = 0.241, p = 0.91), Scholars who did respond consistently regarded the SCC as having improved their critical reading and evaluation skills. Thus, restructuring the peer review module resulted in Scholars who became more comfortable with the process and realized that they directly benefited from gaining proficiency in peer review.…”