1 On behalf of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program, this lesson was prepared by Arizona State University’s Mars Education Program, under contract to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology. These materials may be distributed freely for non-commercial purposes. Copyright 2014; 2012; 2010; 2000. Last edited: April 24, 2014 Marsbound! Mission to the Red Planet

A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas

The purpose of this study was to explore in greater depth what has been called by previous researchers, a deep versus surface approach to learning science. Six Grade 8 students judged as typically using learning approaches ranging from deep to surface were observed and taped during class group laboratory activities in a chemistry unit. They were also interviewed individually before and after instruction about related science concepts. On analysis of the students' discourse and actions during the activities and their interview responses, several differences in learning approaches seemed apparent. These differences fell into five emergent categories: generative thinking, nature of explanations, asking questions, metacognitive activity, and approach to tasks. When students used a deep approach, they ventured their ideas more spontaneously; gave more elaborate explanations which described mechanisms and cause–effect relationships or referred to personal experiences; asked questions which focused on explanations and causes, predictions, or resolving discrepancies in knowledge; and engaged in “on-line theorizing.” Students using a surface approach gave explanations that were reformulations of the questions, a “black box” variety which did not refer to a mechanism, or macroscopic descriptions which referred only to what was visible. Their questions also referred to more basic factual or procedural information. The findings also suggest that to encourage a deep learning approach, teachers could provide prompts and contextualized scaffolding and encourage students to ask questions, predict, and explain during activities. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 37: 109–138, 2000

Learning in Science: A Comparison of Deep and Surface Approaches.

Students' questions play an important role in meaningful learning and scientific inquiry. They are a potential resource for both teaching and learning science. Despite the capacity of students' questions for enhancing learning, much of this potential still remains untapped. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to examine and review the existing research on students' questions and to explore ways of advancing future work into this area. The paper begins by highlighting the importance and role of students' questions from the perspectives of both the learner and the teacher. It then reviews the empirical research on students' questions, with a focus on four areas: (1) the nature and types of these questions; (2) the effects of teaching students questioning skills; (3) the relationship between students' questions and selected variables; and (4) teachers' responses to, and students' perceptions of, students' questions. Following this, some issues and implications of students' questions for classroom instru...

Students' questions: a potential resource for teaching and learning science

(1993). Re-thinking Old Ways: Towards A More Critical Approach To Practical Work In School Science. Studies in Science Education: Vol. 22, No. 1, pp. 85-142.

Re-thinking Old Ways: Towards A More Critical Approach To Practical Work In School Science

Recent research in science education examines learning from four perspectives which we characterize as a concept-learning focus, a developmental focus, a differential focus, and a focus on problem solving. This paper illustrates how these perspectives, considered together offer new insights into the knowledge and reasoning processes of science students and provide a framework for identifying mechanisms governing how individuals change their knowledge and thinking processes. An integrated examination of the four research perspectives strongly suggests that in-depth coverage of several science topics will benefit students far more than fleeting coverage of numerous science topics.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/info/1170256

Learning and Instruction: An Examination of Four Research Perspectives in Science Education

This longitudinal study explored change in teachers' knowledge of subjects they teach from preservice training through 17 years of professional experience. It followed secondary school science teachers in Australia, through sequences of individual interviews in which change in content knowledge (mainly energy-related) was probed primarily via concept profiles—a word-association method. Change was found to be multifaceted, with details of unused content fading from memory, alongside growth that results from improved understanding and reorganization of structure more than from accretion of new material. Across personal and professional life tracks that produce variation between individuals, development is facilitated by “critical mass” of teachers' knowledge and interest in their chosen disciplines of study and certification, whereas deficiencies tend to persist in the other subjects they are asked to teach. The required curriculum is the single most powerful determinant of teacher knowledge, serving as both its organizer and source. Based on the study, a three-phase model of teacher content-knowledge development is proposed, and the discussion highlights the need for career-long support for growth, even in teachers' major subjects where expertise is taken for granted. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed92:221–251, 2008

Change in teachers' knowledge of subject matter: A 17‐year longitudinal study

Aiming to encourage longitudinal studies in science education, we clarify conceptual and methodological aspects of longitudinal research. We use the studies that other articles in this issue describe to illustrate these aspects. The illustrations range from attempts to promote long-term change through experimental teaching to investigations that describe change without intending to affect it. For both experimental and descriptive studies we discuss the validity of conclusions and insights, and how threats to validity may be reduced or eliminated. We highlight implications for teaching and the curriculum, and for the conduct of research. We describe the practicalities of longitudinal research, referring to time, resources, management of data, and attrition of subjects, and end with a summary of reasons why longitudinal studies are valuable.

Longitudinal Studies: Designs, Validity, Practicality, and Value

Forgetting versus savings: The many facets of long‐term retention

A longitudinal research study was designed to investigate effects of mutual interrelations between courses in sequential teaching on long-term retention of learning. This paper mainly relates to the following question: Is the retention of previously learned course material facilitated by new content taught in subsequent courses? Students were followed up for 3 consecutive years from junior to senior high school. Two groups were investigated: Both had studied the same introductory physical science course in grade 7, but only one group continued to study related physical science topics in grade 8. Analysis of longitudinally matched data detected significant proactive and retroactive effects of courses: (a) Prior knowledge acquired in grade 7 facilitated further learning in grade 8; and (b) retention of the grade 7 subject matter over a 2-year interval was higher in the group that had studied physical science continuously during grades 7 and 8. These long-lasting effects are not due to mere rehearsal, since ...

Hanna J. Arzi

Papers

Change in teachers' knowledge of subject matter: A 17‐year longitudinal study

Longitudinal Studies: Designs, Validity, Practicality, and Value

Forgetting versus savings: The many facets of long‐term retention

Proactive and Retroactive Facilitation of Long-Term Retention by Curriculum Continuity

Questions on students' questions