Teaching/learning styles, performance, and students' teaching evaluation in S/T/E/S‐focused science teacher education: A quasiquantitative probe of a case study

Abstract

In response to the new needs for S/T/E/S‐literate science teachers, an S/T/E/S‐oriented ISMMC‐IEE combination model of instruction was implemented in two specially designed undergraduate courses and one graduate course within college science teacher training programs. These three courses served as case studies for class‐based, quasiquantitative pilot investigation aimed at gaining a deeper insight into some of the issues involved in the implementation in college of nontraditional, open‐ended, problem‐solving‐oriented teaching strategies which are in dissonance with the cognitive or affective styles and functional paradigms of most students. This probe into the dissonance issue revealed that prospective teachers are capable of handling the new instructional model and do gain in their higher‐level cognitive learning. However, undergraduates perceive these courses to be either difficult or not in accord with their needs, and their appreciation of the instructional techniques and style employed is different from that of graduate students accordingly. The current study suggests that although the ISMMC‐IEE model is useful in S/T/E/S‐oriented courses in science teacher training programs, special attention to the implementation stage is required to close the gap between students' and S/T/E/S educators' functional paradigms.

Scaling-up of higher-order cognitive skills-oriented college chemistry teaching: An action-oriented research

“…In small classes, students' active participation and class discussions are self-evident and their effectiveness has been demonstrated by research (Gooding et al, 1990;Sternberg, 1987;Zoller, 1991). In large lecture sections, however, as teachers strive to cover the material (the teacher-proof model of teaching), students are conditioned to the student-proof lecture/objective test format through which-in the students' words-"what is important for the final exam" is spelled out.…”

“…Similarly, the dominance of the cover material and recite for (LOCS-type) tests syndromes in contemporary chemistry teaching constitutes an almost insurmountable barrier to the implementation of HOCS-promoting teaching strategies. This refers even to those means which were demonstrated by research to contribute to the development of students' HOCS, particularly HOCS-type exams and their use for the assessment of students' performance (Zoller, 1991(Zoller, , 1993(Zoller, , 1995(Zoller, , 1997.…”

“…Therefore, teaching, examinations, and assessment strategies should be in consonance with this purpose (Assessment Subject Group, 1995;Kulm, 1990;Zoller, 1991Zoller, , 1993Zoller & Ben-Chaim, 1997). The compliance of the above with the current reality of "mass-teaching" in heavily populated chemistry courses (Collins, 1990;Minter & Reinecke, 1985) certainly constitutes a problem as far as the scalingup of several HOCS teaching strategies is concerned.…”

“…Such practices when students are exposed to relevant real-world problem-solving/decision-making situations which require the application of their value judgement and critical thinking skills (Elder & Paul, 1994;Facione, Facione, & Giancarlo, 1997;Lehman, 1993;Zoller, 1990Zoller, , 1991; or students are provided with opportunities to develop their question-asking capability (Zoller, 1987); and provisions are made for students to teach themselves critical thinking" (Paul, 1992;Sternberg, 1987), require-among others-inquiry-oriented class discussions (Swift et al, 1989) and open-ended HOCS-type examinations (Lehman, 1993;Kulm, 1990;Quellmalz, 1985;Zoller, 1991Zoller, , 1993Zoller, , 1997 rather than the traditional multiple choice objective tests (Aubrecht, 1991;Nakhle, 1993). This means more time to be allocated for process-oriented teaching, which emphasizes the development and improvement of students' HOCS, mainly through their self-learning and active participation in the instruction-learning process.…”

“…It is being translated into a practical activity concerned with evaluative thinking and making decisions which require-within the chemistry teaching context-a synthesis between general strategic knowledge and specialized chemistry knowledge. The development of students' HOCS capacity in chemistry therefore requires the use of appropriate teaching strategies such as inquiry-oriented class discussions (Gooding, Swift, Schell, Swift, & McGroskery, 1990;Sternberg, 1987;Zoller, 1991), cooperative learning, and active participation of students in the learning and assessment processes (Zoller, 1993(Zoller, , 1997Zoller & Ben-Chaim, 1997).…”