Collaborative science activities and the social construction of understanding of physical science concepts by pre-service teachears in Fiji

Taylor, Timothy; Lucas, Keith B.; Watters, James J.

doi:10.1007/bf02461591

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 17 publications

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“…She suggests that whereas traditional classrooms tend to stress student-adult interactions, extended time commitments, and rote learning, Hawaiian culture puts greater emphasis on peer relationships and interactions, periods of hard work interspersed with periods of leisure, and on-the-job learning by doingpreferably from friends. Taylor (1997), Taylor and Lucas (2001), and Taylor, Lucas, and Watters (1999) have reported that science taught within a constructivist learning environment, involving extensive use of group discussion based around problemsolving activities, significantly improved the performance of Fijian students. This approach not only reduced the performance gap between Fijians and Indians but precluded diminishing the performance of Indian students.…”

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confidence: 99%

Improving Elementary Science Education in a Developing Country: A Case Study from Fiji

Taylor

Maiwaikatakata²,

Biukoto³

et al. 2008

International Journal of Educational Reform

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Improved science education is seen as an important goal for many developing countries. The role of elementary science is of particular importance, given that research has shown a high correlation between economic growth and the time spent on elementary science education. However, the teaching of science in many developing countries is dominated by a highly traditional didactic approach that many researchers believe fails to develop the understanding of scientific concepts in learners. The project discussed in this article formed part of much wider reforms aimed at improving science education in Fiji. We report on efforts to improve teacher education in elementary science in Fiji, using an innovative teaching approach consisting of pedagogy based on a constructivist-informed view of learning. The study indicated that a constructivist-based teaching approach could be effective in supporting science learning and enhancing students' enjoyment of this subject. The findings may have implications for other science-based teacher education projects undertaken in the context of developing countries, especially when considering that this initiative will articulate with changes to the system of assessment in elementary schools. A The value of science education as a development strategy for the economic and technological modernization of developing nations is now widely acknowledged (Brown-Acquaye, 2001). Benavot (1992) has reported that the time spent on primary science correlated positively with economic growth rate for a variety of nations. At the societal level, science education has the potential to improve living conditions through addressing local problems with respect to such basic needs as clean water, sound nutrition, and personal health (Lewin, 1993). Consequently, improved science education has been placed high on the agenda of tasks to be tackled in many developing countries (Kahn, 1990). Such counties have invested heavily in school science education since the 1960s, but by the beginning of the last decade, concerns about instructional quality and student achievement were becoming acute (Lewin, 1993). Gray (1999) argues that the last few decades have seen a steady decline in the quality of science education in most developing countries.

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Section: )mentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving Elementary Science Education in a Developing Country: A Case Study from Fiji

Taylor

Maiwaikatakata²,

Biukoto³

et al. 2008

International Journal of Educational Reform

Self Cite

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Success in everyday physics: The role of personality and academic variables*

Norvilitis

Reid

Norvilitis³

2002

J Res Sci Teach

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Two studies examined students' intuitive physics ability and characteristics associated with physics competence. In Study 1, although many students did well on a physics quiz, more than 25% of students performed below levels predicted by chance. Better performance on the physics quiz was related to physics grades, highest level of math taken, and students' perceived scholastic competence, but was not related to a number of other hypothesized personality variables. Study 2 further explored personality and academic variables and also examined students' awareness of their own physics ability. Results indicate that the personality variables were again unrelated to ability, but narcissism may be related to subjects' estimates of knowledge. Also, academic variables and how important students think it is to understand the physical world are related to both measured and estimated physics proficiency. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 39: 394–409, 2002

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Collaborative science activities and the social construction of understanding of physical science concepts by pre-service teachears in Fiji

Abstract: The research reported was part of a larger study that was founded on the belief

Cited by 2 publications

References 17 publications

Improving Elementary Science Education in a Developing Country: A Case Study from Fiji

Improving Elementary Science Education in a Developing Country: A Case Study from Fiji

Success in everyday physics: The role of personality and academic variables*

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