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published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

Wong Wing Shuen Sibyl. / Thesis submitted in: November 2004. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 238-252). / Chapter Chapter One --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Identification of problems --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Purpose of the study --- p.10 / Chapter 1.3 --- Significance and contribution of the study --- p.11 / Chapter 1.4 --- Research questions --- p.13 / Chapter Chapter Two --- Review of the literature --- p.15 / Chapter 2.1 --- The Hong Kong chemistry curriculum for secondary schools --- p.16 / Chapter 2.2 --- Students' understanding of chemical knowledge --- p.20 / Chapter 2.3 --- Chemistry students' problem solving skills --- p.29 / Chapter 2.4 --- Factors affecting students' understanding of chemistry knowledge and their problem solving skills --- p.34 / Chapter 2.5 --- Nature of Problem Based Learning --- p.40 / Chapter 2.6 --- Differences between Problem Based Learning and other teaching method --- p.42 / Chapter 2.7 --- Development of Problem Based Learning units --- p.48 / Chapter 2.8 --- Implementation of Problem Based Learning in classroom --- p.54 / Chapter 2.9 --- Effects of Problem Based Learning on students' learning --- p.60 / Chapter 2.9.1 --- Understanding of subject matter knowledge --- p.61 / Chapter 2.9.2 --- Students' problem solving skills --- p.63 / Chapter 2.9.3 --- Students' attitudes towards Problem Based Learning --- p.66 / Chapter 2.10 --- Limitations of the past PBL studies --- p.68 / Chapter Chapter Three --- Research methodology --- p.69 / Chapter 3.1 --- Research design --- p.69 / Chapter 3.1.1 --- Sample --- p.69 / Chapter 3.1.2 --- Development of Problem Based Learning units --- p.71 / Chapter 3.1.3 --- Implementation of Problem Based Learning units --- p.75 / Chapter 3.2 --- Development of instruments --- p.78 / Chapter 3.3 --- Data collection --- p.81 / Chapter 3.4 --- Data analysis --- p.85 / Chapter 3.4.1 --- Researcher's reflective journal --- p.85 / Chapter 3.4.2 --- Implementation video data --- p.85 / Chapter 3.4.3 --- Chemistry teacher's interview data --- p.86 / Chapter 3.4.4 --- Students' performance in the pre-test --- p.86 / Chapter 3.4.5 --- Understanding of chemistry knowledge (Post-test) --- p.87 / Chapter 3.4.6 --- Problem solving skills (Post-test) --- p.88 / Chapter 3.4.7 --- Students' attitudes towards Problem Based Learning --- p.88 / Chapter Chapter Four --- Results and Discussion --- p.90 / Chapter 4.1 --- The characteristics of an effective Problem Based Learning unit in secondary school chemistry --- p.90 / Chapter 4.1.1 --- Results from the review of literature --- p.91 / Chapter 4.1.1.1 --- The first PBL unit ´ؤ Spectacle Frame --- p.95 / Chapter 4.1.1.2 --- The second PBL unit - Wool damage --- p.98 / Chapter 4.1.1.3 --- The third PBL unit - Hydrogen Fuel --- p.101 / Chapter 4.1.2 --- Results from the researcher's reflective journal --- p.104 / Chapter 4.1.3 --- Summary of the characteristics of an effective Problem Based Learning unit in secondary school chemistry --- p.107 / Chapter 4.2 --- Factors facilitating and hindering the implementation of the Problem Based Learning units by a chemistry teacher --- p.110 / Chapter 4.2.1 --- Factors identified from the researcher's reflective journal --- p.111 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- Factors identified from the video data --- p.123 / Chapter 4.2.3 --- Factors identified from the chemistry teacher's Interview --- p.125 / Chapter 4.2.4 --- Summary of the factors facilitating and hindering the implementation of PBL in secondary school --- p.129 / Chapter 4.3 --- Differences in students' understanding of content knowledge and problem solving skills between the Problem Based Learning and didactic instruction groups --- p.135 / Chapter 4.3.1 --- Chemistry knowledge gained by PBL and didactic instruction students --- p.135 / Chapter 4.3.2 --- Problem solving skills gained by PBL and didactic instruction students --- p.140 / Chapter 4.4 --- Chemistry students' attitudes towards Problem Based Learning --- p.143 / Chapter 4.4.1 --- Reliability of the questionnaire data --- p.143 / Chapter 4.4.2 --- Students' attitudes towards PBL after the second PBL unit was implemented --- p.144 / Chapter 4.4.3 --- Students' attitudes towards PBL after the third PBL unit was implemented --- p.146 / Chapter Chapter Five --- Conclusions / Chapter 5.1 --- Summary of the study --- p.153 / Chapter 5.2 --- Implications for teaching and learning of chemistry in secondary schools --- p.155 / Chapter 5.3 --- Limitations and recommendations for future research --- p.158 / Appendix 1 Evaluation Report of the 1st PBL Pilot Study --- p.160 / Appendix 2 PBL experts' comments on 'Wool damage' and 'Hydrogen fuel' --- p.170 / Appendix 3 Evaluation Report of the 2nd PBL Pilot Study --- p.171 / Appendix 4 Student's PBL package ´ؤ 'Spectacle frame' --- p.176 / Appendix 5 Facilitator's PBL package - 'Spectacle frame' --- p.182 / Appendix 6 Student's PBL package - 'Wool damage' --- p.189 / Appendix 7 Facilitator's PBL package - 'Wool damage' --- p.196 / Appendix 8 Student's PBL package - 'Hydrogen fuel' --- p.207 / Appendix 9 Facilitator's PBL package - 'Hydrogen fuel' --- p.214 / Appendix 10 Multiple Choice Questions --- p.225 / Appendix 11 Questionnaire --- p.233 / Appendix 12 PBL package evaluation form --- p.235 / Appendix 13 Presentation rubric --- p.237 / Bibliography --- p.238

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

by Fung Chi Lun. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 100-106). / Acknowledgements --- p.i / Abstract --- p.ii / List of Tables --- p.iv / List of Figures --- p.vi / Chapter Chapter One: --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Background of the Study --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Purpose of the Study --- p.3 / Chapter 1.3 --- Significance of the Study --- p.4 / Chapter 1.4 --- Definition of Terms --- p.6 / Chapter Chapter Two: --- Review of Related Literature --- p.9 / Chapter 2.1 --- Curriculum Development of Chemical Education --- p.9 / Chapter 2.1.1 --- Trend of the Curriculum Development of Chemical Education in Foreign Countries --- p.9 / Chapter 2.1.2 --- Situation of Chemical Education in Hong Kong --- p.13 / Chapter 2.2 --- The Nature of Science-Technology-Society (STS) --- p.14 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- Emergence of STS --- p.14 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- The Characteristics of STS --- p.15 / Chapter 2.2.3 --- Importance of STS --- p.17 / Chapter 2.2.4 --- Comparison between Traditional courses and STS courses --- p.18 / Chapter 2.2.5 --- Introduction of STS courses in Foreign Countries --- p.19 / Chapter 2.2.6 --- Classification of STS Topics --- p.21 / Chapter 2.3 --- Relevant Researches of Curriculum Materials --- p.22 / Chapter 2.3.1 --- Researches of Syllabuses --- p.22 / Chapter 2.3.2 --- Researches of Science Textbooks --- p.24 / Chapter 2.4 --- Content Analysis --- p.29 / Chapter Chapter Three: --- The Nature of the New S4-5 Chemistry Syllabus --- p.32 / Chapter 3.1 --- Background of the Development of the New S4-5 Chemistry Syllabus --- p.32 / Chapter 3.2 --- Teachers' Comments to the New S4-5 Chemistry Syllabus --- p.32 / Chapter 3.3 --- Characteristics of the New S4-5 Chemistry Syllabus --- p.33 / Chapter Chapter Four: --- Research Design --- p.39 / Chapter 4.1 --- Research Questions --- p.39 / Chapter 4.2 --- Hypotheses --- p.40 / Chapter 4.3 --- Analytical Framework of The Study --- p.42 / Chapter 4.4 --- Methodology --- p.44 / Chapter 4.5 --- Curriculum Materials analyzed in the Study --- p.48 / Chapter 4.6 --- Procedures of Data Collection --- p.51 / Chapter 4.7 --- Procedures of Data Analysis --- p.52 / Chapter 4.8 --- Statistical Methods --- p.56 / Chapter 4.9 --- Methodological Issues --- p.57 / Chapter 4.9.1 --- Validity --- p.57 / Chapter 4.9.2 --- Reliability --- p.58 / Chapter Chapter Five: --- Results and Discussion --- p.61 / Chapter 5.1 --- Reliability of Rating --- p.61 / Chapter 5.2 --- Interpretation of Results --- p.63 / Comparison of the New and the Old S4-5 Chemistry Syllabuses by Overall Inclusion of all STS Topics and Non-STS Content --- p.63 / Comparison of the New and the Old S4-5 Chemistry Syllabuses by Inclusion of Each STS Topic --- p.65 / Comparison of Textbooks for the New S4-5 Chemistry Syllabus by Overall Inclusion of all STS Topics and Non-STS Content --- p.67 / Comparison of Textbooks for the Old S4-5 Chemistry Syllabus by Overall Inclusion of all STS Topics and Non-STS Content --- p.69 / Comparison of Textbooks for the New S4-5 Chemistry Syllabus and Textbooks for the Old Chemistry Syllabus by Mean Overall Inclusion of all STS Topics and Non-STS Content --- p.70 / Comparison of Textbooks for the New S4-5 Chemistry Syllabus by Inclusion of Each STS Topic --- p.72 / Comparison of Textbooks for the Old S4-5 Chemistry Syllabus by Inclusion of Each STS Topic --- p.75 / Comparison of Textbooks for the New S4-5 Chemistry Syllabus and Textbooks for the Old S4-5 Chemistry Syllabus by Inclusion of Each STS Topic --- p.77 / Comparison of the S4-5 Chemistry Syllabuses and Textbooks by Overall Inclusion of all STS Topics and Non-STS Content --- p.81 / Comparison of the S4-5 Chemistry Syllabuses and Textbooks by Inclusion of Each STS Topic --- p.82 / Chapter 5.3 --- Discussion --- p.82 / Chapter 5.4 --- Limitations --- p.90 / Chapter Chapter Six: --- Summary and Recommendations --- p.92 / Chapter 6.1 --- Summary --- p.92 / Chapter 6.2 --- Recommendations for Adoption of the STS Approach --- p.94 / Chapter 6.3 --- Recommendations for Improvement of Chemistry Syllabuses --- p.95 / Chapter 6.4 --- Recommendations for Improvement of Chemistry Textbooks --- p.98 / Chapter 6.5 --- Recommendations for Further Study --- p.98 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.100 / APPENDICES --- p.107 / Appendix A: Comparison between Traditional and STS courses --- p.107 / Appendix B: Detailed Descriptions and Representative Tasks of the STS Topics developed by the Project Synthesis --- p.109 / "Appendix C: Scientific methods and problem solving skills, and Decision making skills in the new S4-5 Chemistry Syllabus" --- p.115 / Appendix D: Questionnaire of S4-5 Chemistry Textbooks used by Schools --- p.116

To improve students’ scientific literacy and their general perceptions of chemistry, I enacted critical chemistry education (CCE) in two “regular level” chemistry classes with a group of 25 students in a suburban, private high school as part of this study. CCE combined the efforts of critical science educators (Fusco & Calabrese Barton, 2001; Gilbert 2013) with the performance expectations of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) (NGSS Lead States, 2013a) to critically transform the traditional chemistry curriculum at this setting. Essentially, CCE engages students in the critical exploration of socially situated chemistry content knowledge and requires them to demonstrate this knowledge through the practices of science. The purpose of this study was to gauge these students development of chemistry content knowledge, chemistry interest, and critical scientific literacy (CSL) as they engaged in CCE. CSL was a construct developed for this study that necessarily combined the National Research Center’s (2012) definition of scientific literacy with a critical component. As such, CSL entailed demonstrating content knowledge through the practices of science as well as the ability to critically analyze the intersections between science content and socially relevant issues. A mixed methods, critical ethnographic approach framed the collection of data from open-ended questionnaires, focus group interviews, Likert surveys, pre- and post unit tests, and student artifacts. These data revealed three main findings: (1) students began to develop CSL in specific, significant ways working through the activities of CCE, (2) student participants of CCE developed a comparable level of chemistry content understanding to students who participated in a traditional chemistry curriculum, and (3) CCE developed a group of students’ perceptions of interest in chemistry. In addition to being able to teach students discipline specific content knowledge, the implications of this study are that CCE has the ability to affect students’ critical science thinking in positive ways. However, to develop longer lasting, deeper critical insights that students use to participate in science-related issues outside of class, critical science education must be enacted longitudinally and across disciplines. Furthermore, it must be enacted in ways that either prompt or help students to transfer classroom learning outside of the classroom as they engage in critical issues in the classroom.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

The purpose of this study was to extend our current knowledge about what happens in physical science classrooms. The focus was the context of problem tasks. This involved the study of the situations, events and factors that relate to the solving of problem tasks at high school in order to understand their role and nature. e problem tasks that were central to this study were well defined, narrow in focus, and invariably involved the calculation of some quantity through the use of a formula and algebraic manipulation. The main questions that guided the study were as follows: What is happening in physical science classrooms? What is the nature and role of problem solving within this context? What are some of the consequences of organising teaching and learning in this manner? How do external forces influence what happens? The study aimed at describing the activities that the teachers and students were involved in and understanding how they understood their own actions. An interpretive research approach was chosen for this purpose, having as its basis a detailed descriptive foundation using classroom observation. Two high school science classrooms were studied in detail over a period of a year. The data gathered included field notes from over a hundred classroom visits, extensive video and audio records, questionnaires, classroom documents and formal an informal interviews with teachers, students and examiners. Through a process of careful and systematic analysis of the data, six assertions emerged. These assertions are supported by both particular evidence in the form of analytic narrative vignettes, quotes and extracts, and general evidence consisting of frequency data and summary tables. The analysis reveals that problem tasks occupied most of the teaching and learning time, and that the students found this experience of school science boring. Most of the problem tasks were routine in nature and of low conceptual demand. The majority of the students were unable to solve the more difficult tasks encountered in their tests and examinations. In addition, a significant number could not solve the routine problem tasks. This suggests that the predominant instructional strategies were ineffective. It was found that participants had an uncritical belief in the efficacy of teacher explanations and student practice on problem tasks. Further, the participants had different views of the role of problem tasks. A significant finding was that the examination exerted a powerful focusing influence on the classroom environment, the instructional activities and on the problem tasks used . It appeared that the ultimate goal of school physical science was to solve these types of problem task in preparation for the high stakes examination, rather than the learning of science. The study has implications both for practice and for research on the teaching and learning of school physical science. These implications are discussed in terms of instructional strategies aimed at promoting a deeper understanding of physical science. In order to improve practice it is advocated that the role of problem tasks in learning science be made explicit while at the same time new types of instructional task need to be designed to achieve our goals for school science. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1999.