This review takes a critical position with regards to Treagust and Duit’s article, Conceptual Change: A discussion of theoretical methodological and practical challenges for science education. It is proposed that conceptual change research in science education might benefit from borrowing concepts currently being developed in the sociology of emotions. It is further suggested that the study of social interaction within evolving emotional cultures is the most promising avenue for developing and extending theories about conceptual change.
Conceptual change views of teaching and learning processes in science, and also in various other content domains, have played a significant role in research on teaching and learning as well as in instructional design since the late 1970s. An important issue is whether conceptual change can provide a powerful framework for improving instructional practice in such a way that students’ levels of scientific literacy are significantly increased. In this article, the first section provides an overview on the development of conceptual change perspectives. In sections two to six, we examine the
The X-Tech program will bring together the Exploratorium and staff at five Beacon Centers to create an innovative technology program using STEM and IT activities previously tested at the Exploratorium. At each X-Tech Club, two Beacon Center staff and two Exploratorium Youth Facilitators will work with 20 middle school students each year for a total of 300 participants. Youth Facilitators are alumni of the Exploratorium's successful Explainer program and will receive 120 hours of training in preparation for peer mentoring. Each site will use the X-Tech hands-on curriculum that will focus on small technological devices to explore natural phenomenon, in addition to digital imaging, visual perception and the physiology of eyes. Parental involvement will be fostered through opportunities to participate in lectures, field trips and open houses, while staff at Beacon Centers will participate in 20 hours of professional development each year.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Vivian AltmannDarlene LibreroVirginia WittMichael Funk
resourceresearchProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
A slide presentation for a talk given at the 2008 meeting of the Informal Science Education Association (ISEA) (Texas) annual conference that explores the following questions: Is ISEA about informal science education? Or about getting better at informal science education? Or about getting better at getting better at science education?Inverness Research Associates has served as the external evaluator to NISE, TexNET, COMPASS and other networks in both the formal and informal field.
The University of Minnesota and the University of Florida are collaborating on the creation of a Master Naturalist Program for adults that will serve as a model for nationnwide dissemination. This program, which builds on the existing Florida Master Naturalist Program, will provide intensive 40-hour training sessions in ecology, natural/cultural history and the environment for volunteers in Minnesota. Participants will then complete 40 hours of supervised volunteer service at local natural history centers while volunteers in both Florida and Minnesota will have the option of participating in advanced training workshops. Staff members at informal science education institutions and natural history centers take part in train-the-trainer workshops to assist with dissemination. Deliverables include three training modules (Big Woods, Big Rivers; Prairies and Potholes; North Woods, Great Lakes), advanced training workshops, local Master Naturalist Chapters, annual conferences, training materials and workshops for Master Naturalist Instructors, and a project website. It is anticipated that this project will result in the implementation of 64 Master Naturalist workshops, directly reaching 1,280 volunteers, while 750 participants are anticipated for advanced training workshops. It is estimated that 130 staff will participate as Master Naturalist Instructors. Indirect impacts will be realized as volunteers contribute more than 51,000 hours in service to nature centers and informal science institutions interacting with public audiences while conducting natural history activities. Strategic impact will be realized in the outcomes of the comprehensive evaluation plan that will assess immediate and longitudinal impacts on public and professional audiences.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Robert BlairMartin MainAmy RagerKaren Oberhauser
Independent Production Fund is producing a three-part public television series focusing on the latest research in the science of music. The programs will explore how cutting-edge science is revealing new connections between music and the human mind and body, the natural world and the cosmos. The series will follow researchers from a variety of fields including physiology, neuroscience, psychology, biology, physics and education, as they use groundbreaking techniques and technologies to unravel age-old mysteries about music\'s persistence, universality and emotional power. It will show how these researchers are shedding valuable new light on the way brains work. The impact of the programs will be extended through a content-rich companion web site and innovative formal and informal educational-outreach materials to both middle and high school age students, as well as a complementary radio component. Mannes Productions will produce the series; Goodman Research Group will conduct formative evaluation and Rockman et al will conduct summative evaluation.
Ironbound Films, Inc. is producing a one-hour PBS television documentary, with ancillary Web site, curriculum and program guides about the causes of language loss, how it affects science and how scientists are responding. Vanishing Voices takes viewers from Native Siberia to Native America, from ancient texts to cutting-edge technology, to demonstrate how scientists record -- even help revive -- the world's tongues. Vanishing Voices is the first film about language loss that addresses the issue as important to science. The ancillary program guide will be designed for use by Native Americans who are interested in studying or reviving their languages. A formative evaluation of the program and a summative evaluation of the program and outreach materials will be conducted by RMC Research Corporation. INTELLECTUAL MERIT: This program is supported in conjunction with the NSF/NEH Interagency Partnership to Document Endangered Languages. The topic is timely and compelling. The production team is well qualified, and they have sought out the support and involvement of the linguistic community and Native Americans involved in reviving their languages. BROADER IMPACT: The project has the potential to educate the public about the crisis of language loss, the scientific and cultural value of linguistic diversity, and the ways in which that diversity can be maintained. With the program's use in classrooms and the program guides targeted to Native Americans, the project has the potential to inspire young linguistic students to get involved in field work and to encourage Native American communities to work with scientists in preserving their dying languages. The teachers guide will imbue science material into the social science curriculum.
Universal BEATS developed by The Music Research Institute at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, North Carolina State University's Department of Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education, and NCSU's Kenan Institute for Engineering, Technology, and Science improved elementary education by developing instructional resources for 2nd-5th grade students that infuse cutting-edge content from the emerging field of biomusic into standards-based elementary science and music curricula. The approach used the musical sounds of nature to help students learn concepts in biology, physical science, and anthropology.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
patricia grayEric WiebeDavid TeachoutSarah Carrier