The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of explicitly teaching multiple modes of representation (MMR) on middle school students' understanding of science content and their use of MMR on a science unit test. Participants in this quasi-experimental study were seventh- and eighth-grade students enrolled in science courses taught by three different middle school science teachers. Half of the students received explicit instruction in MMR in addition to their regular science instruction; the other half received only regular science instruction. Ordinary least squares multiple regression analysis was used to determine the relationship between gain scores on unit assessments, whether students received explicit MMR instruction, and demographic variables. Additionally, regression analysis was used to examine how receiving explicit instruction in MMR and demographic variables predicted student use of MMR on the final test. These analyses indicated that receiving explicit instruction in MMR did not influence students' gain scores or use of MMR on a final test. However, Latinos and females used MMR more often than Whites and males, respectively, on the final test, even though these two groups of students did not use MMR more often on the first test. This suggests that Latinos and females may be placed at a disadvantage when compared to some of their peers by the bias towards using words that is present in the U.S. school system. This study also highlights challenges in creating instruments that assess student learning in MMR and difficulties in interpreting multimodal responses. Implications for classroom teachers and educational researchers are also discussed.

Som blivande lärare i förskoleklass och årskurs 1–3 med fördjupningsämne naturorientering, teknik och lärande blev ändamålet med denna studie att undersöka lärares didaktiska ställningstaganden genom utomhuspedagogik inom de naturorienterande ämnena. Studien utgår från olika teoretiska perspektiv: Vision I, II och III och den didaktiska triangeln. Dessa teoretiska perspektiv förtydligar vilket naturvetenskapligt innehåll lärare erhåller genom deras didaktiska ställningstaganden inom den naturorienterande undervisningen i utomhuspedagogik. Syftet med arbetet är att undersöka hur det naturvetenskapliga innehållet i koppling till de didaktiska ställningstagandena kan möjliggöra för olika kunskaper inom den naturorienterande undervisningen genom utomhuspedagogik.  Studiens datainsamling utfördes genom kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer med fyra aktiva lärare i lågstadiet på tre olika kommunala skolor och tre aktiva lärare på två olika naturskolor i södra Sverige. Resultatet visade att de intervjuade lärarnas didaktiska ställningstagande medför många möjligheter för elevernas kunskapsintag. Den största möjligheten som den utomhuspedagogiska undervisningen erhöll till elever var att de får lära sig naturorientering för inomvetenskapligt syfte där eleverna ska utveckla kunskaper som kan användas för framtida utbildning. Det framgick även att en del lärare använder sig av naturvetenskapligt innehåll som möjliggör att eleverna kan använda och befästa kunskaper utifrån deras intresse och vardag. Där elever ska få en förståelse över sin roll till den naturorienterande undervisningen.

För att alla elever ska kunna uppnå scientific literacy bör man utgå från barnens erfarenheter där naturorienterade ämnen, NO, knyts till ett sammanhang – en kontext. I kontexten synliggörs naturvetenskapens mänskliga sida, och därmed visa att NO är mer än fakta. Elever behöver lära om naturvetenskapen, vilket kallas nature of science, NOS. Vårt syfte är att ta reda på hur lärare aktualiserar nature of science genom ett Linné-tema. I vår kvalitativa studie har vi intervjuat åtta lärare som undervisar i grundskolans tidigare år om deras tankar kring undervisning om naturvetenskapen. De visar ingen didaktisk medvetenhet om NOS men tillämpar det i stor utsträckning i ett temaarbete kring Linné-året 2007. I en analys (efter Lederman 2004) visar vi att de konkretiserar de mänskliga aspekterna av naturvetenskapen så att eleverna får uppleva hur en forskare arbetar. / Enabling all pupils to acquire scientific literacy it is suggested to start from their experiences, where science content will make sense within the context. In this context it is of importance that the human aspect of Science is shown, making it is possible to show that science isn’t merely facts. Pupils are in need of learning about Science, called nature of science, NOS. Our task is to find out how teachers pursue nature of science in inquiry based education on Carl Linnaeus. In the qualitative study we interviewed eight teachers in early primary school on their thoughts on teaching about Science. They do not show any didactic awareness of NOS though they use it in large extent in working with Linnaeus. In analysis (from Lederman 2004), we can show that teachers engage in the humanistic aspect of science, in which pupils experiences the work of a scientist.

Religiously conservative Americans consistently demonstrate lower scientific literacy than other Americans. Some argue, however, that Americans’ scientific literacy is contingent on subcultural conflict, showing differences in scientific literacy that emerge only on religiously contested scientific claims. Building on these insights, we find that the most salient factor explaining Americans’ divergence on contested (though not on uncontested) scientific claims is not religious commitment or conservatism per se, but an ideology that seeks political—and consequently epistemic—dominance: Christian nationalism. National data show that Christian nationalism is unassociated with Americans’ answers on questions about uncontested scientific knowledge. However, Christian nationalism is the strongest predictor of incorrect answers on questions about religiously contested scientific claims. Contemporary “culture war” debates over science have little to do with outright ignorance of science, nor are they strictly about religiosity or theological conservatism. Rather, disputes over science and religion reflect politically motivated denials of scientific facts that threaten Christian nationalism’s claims to epistemic and cultural authority.

No description available.

Explores the relationship between nontraditional science education practices, structured by campaigns such as Public Understanding of Science (PUS) and Scientific Literacy (SL), and the field of Science and Technology Studies (STS), using ethnographic work with the Choices and Challenges Project at Virginia Tech as a "point of entry" (Smith 1987) for a broader discussion. It points to the difficulty of "doing" theory and practice at the same time. While affirming that there is no easy solution to the hard work of situating local, nontraditional science education practices within a critical theoretical tradition such as STS, this project also provides recommendations for a new framework to conceptualize a more productive interaction between the practice of nontraditional science education and the theory of STS. In a postscript, I conclude by urging all researchers within the field of STS to begin to recognize that maintaining the false split between our academic research, undergraduate teaching, university outreach, and community involvement is a failed project. As STS researchers, I believe it is, in fact, our obligation to our local and global communities to adopt an interventionist strategy and to use our work — without apology — for directly political ends. Challenging the technoscientific-political context in which we live always involves a level of real risk — but it is also our only opportunity to achieve real success. Our participation in this challenge is a responsibility to ourselves and to our communities that we must recognize and accept. This participation should not be shunned, but rather applauded. / Master of Science

Durch die zunehmende Durchführung von Kompetenztestungen haben Dimensionalitäts- und Zusammenhangsanalysen an Wichtigkeit zugenommen. In der vorliegenden Studie wurde Kompetenz in Biologie mit den Dimensionen Konzept- und Prozesswissen einer Dimensionalitätsprüfung unterzogen und mit externen Kriterien in Verbindung gebracht. Die hierfür angewandten Strukturgleichungsmodelle wurden auf der Grundlage von 3 156 Zehntklässlern in Deutschland modelliert. Konkurrierende Modelle zeigten die dimensionale Struktur von Kompetenz in Biologie. Das Modell mit dem besten Modellfit wurde systematisch mit den externen Maßen in Zusammenhang gebracht. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Kompetenz in Biologie aus den zwei hoch miteinander korrelierenden Dimensionen Konzept- und Prozesswissen zusammengesetzt ist. Neben den erwarteten hohen Zusammenhängen mit sprachlichen Kompetenzen und kognitiver Grundfähigkeit, lagen differentielle Effekte nur für Konzeptwissen vor. Dieses hängt höher mit sprachlichen Kompetenzen als mit kognitiver Grundfähigkeit zusammen. Die Zusammenhänge mit den Fachnoten und dem Selbstkonzept sind hingegen inkonsistent. Das vermutete Zusammehangsmuster zeigte sich für die Fachnoten nicht. Das Selbstkonzept in Biologie leistet gleichermaßen einen Erklärungsbeitrag zu den beiden Dimensionen von Kompetenz in Biologie, die Selbstkonzepte in Chemie und Physik nicht. Die Studie zeigt, dass Mehrdimensionalität von Kompetenz in Biologie und andren Disziplinen untersucht werden muss, bevor sie in Testungen, in der Lehrerbildung und in Curricula implementiert wird. / With the growing popularity of competence testing, there is a need for more research on newly developed test instruments. Therefore, I investigated competence in biology for dimensionality with regard to concept and process knowledge and its relations to linguistic competencies, cognitive ability, grades and self-concept in biology, chemistry and physics. The structural equation analyses are based on 3 165 German tenth-graders. First, concurring models reveal the dimensional structure. Second, covariates are applied systematically to the dimensional model with the best fit. The results show that competence in biology consists of two highly correlated dimensions: concept and process knowledge. Besides the high relations with linguistic competencies and general cognitive ability with both biology dimensions, differential effects could be detected for concept knowledge which is stronger associated to linguistic competencies than to general cognitive ability. The relation to the covariates grades and academic self-concept is inconsistent. Concerning grades, none of the expected patterns were found. One’s self-concept in biology helps explain concept and process knowledge in biology whereas self-concept in chemistry and physics does not. This study shows that multidimensionality of competence in biology and other disciplines will need to be tested before implementation in assessment, teacher education and curricula.

Esta investigação caracteriza-se por ser estudo qualitativo que buscou compreender quais as características e as evidências da alfabetização científica presentes na ação educativa O Museu Vai à Praia, iniciativa desenvolvida pelo Museu de Astronomia e Ciências Afins (MAST) que leva atividades do museu para a praia durante o verão. Os dados deste estudo foram coletados durante o mês de março de 2013, no Rio de Janeiro e em três praias diferentes da cidade de Niterói, contemplando, além de entrevistas com os conceptores da ação educativa e com o público espontâneo, a observação da ação e a análise documental do projeto. A revisão da literatura referente à alfabetização científica e à educação em museus possibilitou o desenvolvimento de uma ferramenta de análise composta de dimensões e seus respectivos indicadores, usados para análise de dois importantes aspectos do O Museu Vai à Praia: as intenções do programa nos anos 1980 e em 2013 e a experiência do púbico na sua quinta edição. Os resultados revelam que, apesar de o projeto não ter sido elaborado na perspectiva da Alfabetização Científica (AC), ela contempla todas as dimensões propostas: Científica, Interface Ciência e Sociedade, Institucional e Afetiva, além da maioria dos indicadores de cada uma das dimensões. Mesmo nem todos os indicadores estando explicitados, consideramos que a presença reiterada de todas as dimensões denota que, desde sua origem, os objetivos da ação O Museu Vai à Praia dialogam com as finalidades da alfabetização científica. A ausência de alguns dos indicadores foi problematizada, assim como foram discutidas as mudanças nas ênfases de algumas dimensões ocorridas entre os anos 1980 e 2013, com a finalidade de promover uma análise crítica e uma reflexão sobre o papel da ação O Museu Vai à Praia na perspectiva da AC. Ao se defender que a AC é um processo que ocorre ao longo da vida, avaliamos que as ações educativas desenvolvidas pelos museus de ciências possuem grande potencial para sua promoção e que tais ações, se planejadas com base nas dimensões e nos indicadores propostos, podem se mostrar como um recurso fundamental para a maior compreensão da ciência e de sua relação com a sociedade. / This investigation is a qualitative study that aims to understand the evidences and characteristics of scientific literacy present in the project \"The Museum goes to the Beach\", an initiative developed by MAST (Museum of Astronomy and Science), which takes museum activities to the beach during summer.Data was collected in March 2013 in Rio de Janeiro and in three different beaches of Niteroi. Besides interviews with the creators of the project and the spontaneous public, we conducted a documental analysis and an observation of activities. The literature review on scientific literacy and education in museums allowed the development of an analytical tool regarding dimensions and indicators of \"the musem goes to the beach\" that focus on two specific aspects: the intention of the project in the 1980s and in 2013 and the experience with the participants in its fifth edition.Results indicate that even though the project was not built under the perspective of scientific literacy, it involves all the proposed dimensions: scientific, science and society interface, institutional and affective, besides the majority of indicators in each of the dimensions.Even though not all indicators are explicit, we believe that the consistent presence of all the dimensions reinforce that, since its origin, the objectives of \"the museum goes to the beach\" dialogue with the goals of scientific literacy.The absence of some indicators was analyzed, such as the change in emphasis in some dimensions between the 1980s and 2013 was discussed, in the attempt to foster a critical analysis and reflection over the role of the activity \"the museum goes to the beach\", under the perspective of scientific literacy.Stating that scientific education is a process ongoing throughout life, it is evaluated that educational activities developed by science museums have great potential to its promotion. This kind of activities, if based on the proposed dimensions and indicators, can be a fundamental resource to a deeper understanding of science and its relation with society.

Esta investigação caracteriza-se por ser estudo qualitativo que buscou compreender quais as características e as evidências da alfabetização científica presentes na ação educativa O Museu Vai à Praia, iniciativa desenvolvida pelo Museu de Astronomia e Ciências Afins (MAST) que leva atividades do museu para a praia durante o verão. Os dados deste estudo foram coletados durante o mês de março de 2013, no Rio de Janeiro e em três praias diferentes da cidade de Niterói, contemplando, além de entrevistas com os conceptores da ação educativa e com o público espontâneo, a observação da ação e a análise documental do projeto. A revisão da literatura referente à alfabetização científica e à educação em museus possibilitou o desenvolvimento de uma ferramenta de análise composta de dimensões e seus respectivos indicadores, usados para análise de dois importantes aspectos do O Museu Vai à Praia: as intenções do programa nos anos 1980 e em 2013 e a experiência do púbico na sua quinta edição. Os resultados revelam que, apesar de o projeto não ter sido elaborado na perspectiva da Alfabetização Científica (AC), ela contempla todas as dimensões propostas: Científica, Interface Ciência e Sociedade, Institucional e Afetiva, além da maioria dos indicadores de cada uma das dimensões. Mesmo nem todos os indicadores estando explicitados, consideramos que a presença reiterada de todas as dimensões denota que, desde sua origem, os objetivos da ação O Museu Vai à Praia dialogam com as finalidades da alfabetização científica. A ausência de alguns dos indicadores foi problematizada, assim como foram discutidas as mudanças nas ênfases de algumas dimensões ocorridas entre os anos 1980 e 2013, com a finalidade de promover uma análise crítica e uma reflexão sobre o papel da ação O Museu Vai à Praia na perspectiva da AC. Ao se defender que a AC é um processo que ocorre ao longo da vida, avaliamos que as ações educativas desenvolvidas pelos museus de ciências possuem grande potencial para sua promoção e que tais ações, se planejadas com base nas dimensões e nos indicadores propostos, podem se mostrar como um recurso fundamental para a maior compreensão da ciência e de sua relação com a sociedade. / This investigation is a qualitative study that aims to understand the evidences and characteristics of scientific literacy present in the project \"The Museum goes to the Beach\", an initiative developed by MAST (Museum of Astronomy and Science), which takes museum activities to the beach during summer.Data was collected in March 2013 in Rio de Janeiro and in three different beaches of Niteroi. Besides interviews with the creators of the project and the spontaneous public, we conducted a documental analysis and an observation of activities. The literature review on scientific literacy and education in museums allowed the development of an analytical tool regarding dimensions and indicators of \"the musem goes to the beach\" that focus on two specific aspects: the intention of the project in the 1980s and in 2013 and the experience with the participants in its fifth edition.Results indicate that even though the project was not built under the perspective of scientific literacy, it involves all the proposed dimensions: scientific, science and society interface, institutional and affective, besides the majority of indicators in each of the dimensions.Even though not all indicators are explicit, we believe that the consistent presence of all the dimensions reinforce that, since its origin, the objectives of \"the museum goes to the beach\" dialogue with the goals of scientific literacy.The absence of some indicators was analyzed, such as the change in emphasis in some dimensions between the 1980s and 2013 was discussed, in the attempt to foster a critical analysis and reflection over the role of the activity \"the museum goes to the beach\", under the perspective of scientific literacy.Stating that scientific education is a process ongoing throughout life, it is evaluated that educational activities developed by science museums have great potential to its promotion. This kind of activities, if based on the proposed dimensions and indicators, can be a fundamental resource to a deeper understanding of science and its relation with society.

Enligt 2011 års läroplan för gymnasieskolan ingår det i fysikämnet att eleverna ska kunna delta i samhällsdebatten och diskutera etiska frågor från ett naturvetenskapligt perspektiv. Hållbar utveckling kan bidra till förståelse för fysikens betydelse i samhället, där energibegreppet, energiresurser och energianvändning för ett hållbart samhälle ingår i kursen Fysik 1. Hur detta manifesteras kan analyseras i termer av scientific literacy, emfaser, SSI/SNI, etc. Studien jämför fyra läroböcker i fysik med en kvantitativ, men tolkande, textanalys baserad på en metod med tolkningsschema som utarbetats av Engström för att undersöka hur hållbara energisystem behandlas i undervisning och läroböcker för Fysik A enligt 1994 års läroplan för de frivilliga skolformerna. En jämförelse görs även mellan läroböcker för Fysik 1 och Naturkunskap 1b avseende energiområdet för att undersöka skillnader i tyngdpunkt mellan olika visioner av scientific literacy för de båda ämnena. Vidare görs en kvalitativ textanalys mellan olika utgåvor av samma läroboksserie om i vad mån olikheterna förklaras av skillnader mellan 2011 och 1994 års läroplaner. Slutligen ingår en kvalitativ textanalys av hur begrepp relaterade till termodynamikens andra huvudsats behandlas i läroböckerna och i vad mån detta överensstämmer med övriga skillnader. Innehållsanalysen indikerar att skillnaden mellan fysikläroböckerna vad gäller visioner av scientific literacy är förhållandevis liten, men större vad gäller inslagen av teknikrelaterat innehåll. Däremot är skillnaden tydlig mellan ämnena, där läroböckerna i fysik kännetecknas av dominans för vision I, där naturvetenskapen i sig och dess metoder dominerar, medan läroböckerna i naturkunskap har ett klart större inslag av vision II, som har större inslag av att sätta naturvetenskaperna i en samhällelig och politisk kontext. Skillnaderna i hur fysikläroböckerna behandlar termodynamikens 2:a huvudsats är i överensstämmelse med den kvantitativa textanalysen. I vad mån debatten om olika visioner för scientific literacy i Sverige hanteras genom att ha parallella ämnen med överlappande innehåll diskuteras. Likaså huruvida det finns en tendens att läroplanens skrivningar konserverar valet av vilka SNI-frågor som tas upp i undervisningen. Detta riskerar i så fall att strida mot principen att dessa skall vara aktuella och av intresse för eleverna. / According to the Swedish curriculum for the senior secondary school from 2011, it is part of the physics subject that students should be able to participate in debates about social issues and to discuss ethical issues from a scientific perspective. Sustainable development can contribute to an understanding of the importance of physics in the society, with the energy concept, energy resources and energy usage for a sustainable society included in the course Physics 1. How this is manifested can be analyzed in terms of scientific literacy, emphases, socio-scientific issues, etc. The study compares four textbooks for Physics 1 using a quantitative, but interpreting, text analysis based on a method and coding scheme developed by Engström for investigating how sustainable energy systems is dealt with in education and textbooks for Physics A according to the Swedish curriculum for the upper secondary school from 1994. A comparison is also made between textbooks for Physics 1 and Science studies 1b concerning the energy area in order to compare differences in emphasis between different visions of scientific literacy for the two subjects. Furthermore a qualitative text analysis is made between different editions of the same textbook series about to what extent the divergence can be explained by the difference in curricula. Finally a qualitative text analysis is included about how concepts related to the second law of thermodynamics is dealt with in the textbooks and to what extent this corresponds with other differences. The content analysis indicates that the difference between the textbooks in physics concerning visions of scientific literacy is comparatively small, but larger when it comes to contents related to technical applications. On the other hand, the difference is obvious between the subjects, with the textbooks in physics being dominated by vision I, which is dominated by science as such and its methods, while the textbooks in science studies have a decidedly larger element of vision II, thus including more attempts to set science in its social and political context. The difference in how the textbooks in Physics describe the second law of thermodynamics is in accordance with the quantitative text analysis. To what extent the debate between different views of scientific literacy in Sweden is handled by having separate subjects with partly overlapping contents is discussed. Likewise whether there is a tendency that the formulation in the curriculum conserves the choice of which socio-scientific issue is brought up in the teaching. This would, however, be in conflict with the principle that these should be current and of interest to the students.