Performance and levels of contextualization in a selection of OECD countries in PISA 2006

Abstract

Correct responses to the unitized items of PISA 2006 rely to differing extents on the contextual stimulus supplied. This difference is referred to in this study as the degree of contextualization. A selection of science items from PISA 2006 has been assigned to two categories, not by competencies as in the framework for the PISA survey, but by the degree to which the item requires the ability to extract and apply information from the contextual stimulus provided. The article explores how students in Germany and in other selected OECD countries perform in solving these two types of items. The results show that German students' performance is satisfactory when solving items which require knowledge to be recalled and applied but that they are also quite capable of extracting and using information from the item stimuli. Somewhat different distributions are observed in other selected OECD countries. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 46: 897–908, 2009

The acquisition of problem solving competence: evidence from 41 countries that math and science education matters

“…In addition, various types of knowledge such as 'knowledge about the nature of science' are considered as factors influencing students' achievements in this domain (Kind 2013). We conclude that the concept of scientific literacy encompasses domain-general problem-solving processes, elements of scientific inquiry (Abd-El-Khalick et al 2004;Nentwig et al 2009), and domain-specific knowledge.…”

“…The results of multilevel regression analyses supported this interpretation by showing that math competence was a stronger predictor of problem solving competence. On the one hand, this finding could be due to the design of the PISA tests (Adams 2005), since math and problem solving items are designed in such a way that modelling real-life problems is required, whereas science items are mostly domain-specific and linked to science knowledge (Nentwig et al 2009;OECD 2004). Moreover, one may argue that math and problem solving items allow students to employ different solution strategies, whereas science items offer fewer degrees of freedom for test takers (Nentwig et al 2009).…”

Improving Students' PISA Scientific Competencies Through Online Argumentation

“…Bybee (2008) stated that a student who is more developed in terms of such literacy will demonstrate the ability to create or use conceptual models to make predictions or give explanations, to analyze scientific investigations, to relate data as evidence, to evaluate alternative explanations of the same phenomena, and to communicate explanations with precision. Enhancement of these abilities corresponds with a rationale in which scientific literacy is viewed as the central purpose of science education (Bybee, 2008;Lin, Hong, & Huang, 2012;Nentwig et al, 2009). Researchers need to provide more experimental data in terms of PISA scientific competencies in order to contribute to educational policies.…”

“…Nowadays, whether or not public debates about governmental policies on socio-scientific issues lead to informed decisions depends largely on the scientific literacy of citizens (Lin, Hong, & Huang, 2012). With that in mind, not only does the PISA measure the students' understanding of school curricula, it also measures the important knowledge and abilities required in modern society for their future (Bybee, 2008;Bybee & McCrae, 2011;Lin, Hong, & Huang, 2012;Nentwig, Roennebeck, Schoeps, Rumann, & Carstensen, 2009;Yeh & She, 2010).…”

Developing a computer-based assessment of complex problem solving in Chemistry

“…The interpretation of system outputs and information represented by tables, texts, and diagrams allow students to understand complex tasks. Furthermore, the ability to extract and apply information is regarded as one of the key components within the PISA framework of scientific literacy (Nentwig et al 2009) and is an integral part of science education (Jones 2009). Kind (2013) stressed the importance of these competences as components of scientific reasoning.…”