This qualitative study examined the nature of 5th-grade students' oral and written discourse in relation to their conceptual learning during six science inquiry-based lessons. Qualitative data were collected using small group observations, transcriptions of small group discourse, students' science notebooks, and student interviews. These data were used to create an in-depth illustration of 5th-grade students' discourse and the impact of that discourse on their science conceptual learning. Findings indicated students spoke in three main discourse classifications during small group inquiries and two of these discourses were also present in the science notebook entries. Findings further indicated gender did not impact the nature of students' oral or written discourse regarding their conceptual learning. Implications for classroom practice and suggestions for further research in elementary science education are offered. / by Melissa Y. Parks. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2011. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2011. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

The study examined the effects of a technology-enhanced inquiry instructional model on students' understanding of science in Thailand. A mixed quantitative research design was selected for the research design. A pretest-posttest control-group design was implemented for the experimental research. A causal-comparative design using questionnaire and classroom observation was employed for the non-experimental research. Two sixth-grade classrooms at a medium-sized public school in Bangkok, Thailand were randomly selected for the study--one as the control group and the other as the experimental group. The 34 students in the control group only received the inquiry instructional model, while the 35 students in the experimental group received the technology-enhanced inquiry instructional model. Both groups of students had been taught by the same science teacher for 15 weeks (three periods per week). The results and findings from the study seemed to indicate that both the technology-enhanced inquiry instructional model and the inquiry instructional model significantly improve students' understanding of science. However, it might be claimed that students receiving the technology-enhanced inquiry instructional model gain more than students only receiving the inquiry instructional model. In addition, the technology-enhanced inquiry instructional model seemed to support the assessment during the 5E Model's evaluation stage. Most students appeared to have very good attitudes toward using it in the science classroom suggesting that the technology-enhanced inquiry instructional model motivates students to learn science. / text

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

Many theories on the nature of science and the nature of learning have been proposed. In particular, two theoretical orientations have been identified as having a decisive impact on activities in the school science classroom, namely "Inductivism" and "Constructivism". Inductivism views observations as objective, facts as constants and knowledge as being obtained from a fixed external reality. The constructivist view sees all knowledge as "reality" reconstructed in the mind of the learner. Each view predisposes certain orientations towards the science curriculum and within it particularly to assessment. It is postulated that teachers' views on science will influence how they teach and assess it. An "inductivist" teacher is more likely to reward certain approved responses from learners whereas a "constructivist" teacher is more likely to attend to learners' unique observations as evidence of their thinking. In this study a questionnaire was developed in an attempt classify science teachers according to their views on the nature of science and learning, and during this process encourage them to reflect on these views. It is hoped that the instrument could measure any changes in teacher's views as a result of the teachers becoming more reflective practitioners over time. Research indicates that the majority of teachers have a predominantly inductivist view of science. The study confirmed the results of other researchers by showing that a majority of non-tertiary science educators could be classified as being strongly inductivist. However, the overall proportion of these teachers was not as high as expected. Of possible concern was the indication that the strongly constructivist group showed very strong inductivist tendencies when assessing written tests which involved pupils' responses to laboratory observations.

With the publication of the National Curriculum Statement (2002) (NCS) the use and development of science process skills have become a critical part of the teaching and learning of the Natural Sciences in South Africa. This study sought to evaluate the implementation and development of these basic skills by four grade 4-7 educators at classroom level at a primary school in the northern areas of Port Elizabeth. Qualitative data for this evaluation were collected through educator interviews, classroom observation as well as a focus-group interview. Quantitative data were gathered by means of a Science Process Skills Observation Scale and through examining the learners' assessment activities. An Assessment Activity Science Process Skill Rating-Scale was used to evaluate assessment activities. Data generated from this study were carefully analysed and on the basis of their interpretation it was concluded that the implementation and development of science process skills were strongly influenced by the educators' understanding of these basic concepts, the belief held by each educator about their role and how their learners learn, the presence of quality support and effective training programmes as well continuous professional development.

The purpose of this study was to understand one case of undergraduate inquiry-based science instruction through the words and actions of college science faculty. The case details the progression of curriculum development and implementation of Frontiers of Science. The specific aim of this study was to examine how a team of multi-disciplinary college science faculty created an inquiry-based course, centralized around scientific Habits of Mind, for undergraduate non-science majors. The participants for this study included four faculty instructors. I found the instructors’ course goals—(a) teaching students how scientists do science, and (b) using multi-disciplinary content to develop students’ content knowledge of the big ideas in science—were consistent with my field observations and the students’ evaluations of their experience in the course. This study also documents novel Communities of Practice (CoP) within the science faculty and Science Teaching Fellows (STFs). Cognitive Apprenticeship occurred between the faculty to the more novice STFs and helped to increase pedagogical skills as well as refine formal and informal assessments. This study is the one of first to document college science instructors centering their instruction around the scientific Habits of Mind to teach multidisciplinary science content in both large lecture format (500+ students) and smaller seminars (20 students) using inquiry-based activities.

This study analyzed representations of Nature of Science (NOS) and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) in three South Africa Grade 9 Natural Science textbooks. The textbooks were purposefully selected from a possibility of ten textbooks available on the public market and used in science classrooms in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. The aim of the analysis was to determine the extent to which both NOS and IKS were represented and to ascertain whether the representations were: naïve or informed; and implicit or explicit. The content analysis of the textbooks was based on adaptations of analytical frameworks developed by Akerson, Abd-El-Khalick and Lederman (2000) for NOS and Ninnes (2000) for IKS, respectively. For NOS the analysis focused on seven tenets, which are; science is empirical, the difference between observation and inference, functions and relations between theories and laws, the role of creativity and imagination in science, the tentativeness of scientific knowledge, the social and cultural embeddedness of the scientific process, and subjectivity of science. The analysis for IKS representations focused on four pillars of IKS which are; indigenous legends and myths, indigenous technology, indigenous knowledge of the natural world, and indigenous social life. It was found that, for the NOS, in all the three textbooks, only the empirical nature of science and observation and inference are represented to a considerable extent and mainly in a naïve and implicit manner. The other investigated tenets are either minimally represented or not represented at all. Representations of IKS in the three textbooks were also found to be very minimal and mainly naïve and implicit. It is concluded the selected science textbooks do not respond well to the NCS mandate of integrating NOS and IKS into mainstream science education. Recommendations for improving integration of NOS and IKS into the school science curriculum are suggested for textbooks authors, curriculum developers and science educators. Key words nature of science, indigenous knowledge systems, textbooks, natural science, naive, informed, implicit, explicit, positivism, constructivism

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Johannesburg, 2014. / Prior to democracy in South Africa, education was used as a means to achieve segregation, privileging a minority of the population in both economic and worldview domination. With the attainment of democracy in 1994, educational reform was aimed at getting rid of both apartheid content and method. The aims and principles of the new curricula (the Revised National Curriculum Statement Grades R-9, the National Curriculum Statement Grades 10-12, and later on, the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements) were aligned to those of the national constitution, which include the establishment of human rights, inclusivity, environmental and social justice, and valuing of Indigenous knowledge systems. In the science subjects, teaching and learning are expected to acknowledge the existence of different knowledge systems. In the absence of clear guidelines as to which Indigenous knowledge to include and how, the recognition of IKS in science classroom has largely been left to the teachers’ discretion. The purpose of this interpretive research study, carried out in collaboration with a rural community in KwaZulu-Natal Province, was three-fold. The first was to identify the Indigenous knowledge held by the community and the worldview underpinning that knowledge. The second was to find out what knowledge could be integrated with classroom science, and explore ways in which such integration could be done, considering students’ and community worldviews. The third was for the research to contribute to transformation in Indigenous knowledge research by following methods that recognised Indigenous knowledges, practices and languages as valuable. The findings from this study underscore the importance of extending the thinking about IKSscience integration beyond aspects that suit science content, to considering methods of teaching and learning science, as well as considering relevance to community needs.

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Education / D.Ed. (Didactics)