There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality.

Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

I and i

National Science Education Standards

On Educational psychology: A cognitive view.

THE NEED FOR QUALITY The first thing that we need to consider, in any organization, is that quality is the most important thing. The quality of your work defines you.  Whoever you are,  Whatever you do,  I can find the same products and services cheaper somewhere else. But your quality is your signature. Developing and delivering high quality products and services means that you are doing things correctly from the beginning. As a consequence, you are reducing the need for additional services, from verification to warranty.

Total quality management.

On behalf of Mr. Koichiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, it is my great pleasure to welcome you all to this international scientific conference. Drylands are often considered fragile ecosystems, yet they have a remarkable resilience to stress. They are home to unique and well-adapted plant and animal species that we need to conserve. Some of the world’s greatest cultures and belief systems have originated in drylands. On the other hand, desertification and land degradation in drylands often result in poverty and cause environmental refugees to abandon their homes. These problems can only be addressed in a holistic manner, based on sound scientific research and findings. Solutions to the problems of dryland degradation need to be communicated as widely as possible through education at all levels. These are many reasons why UNESCO – within its mandate of science, education, culture and communication – took the intiative to organize this conference. And we are glad that so many partners have responded to our call. UNESCO considers this conference as its main contribution to the observance of the International Year of Deserts and Desertification in 2006. We have deliberately chosen the title ‘The Future of Drylands’ as we feel it is time to redefine our priorities for science, education and governance in the drylands based on 50 years of scientific research in arid and semi-arid zones. In fact UNESCO has one of the longest traditions, within the UN system, of addressing dryland problems from an interdisciplinary, scientific point of view. In 1955, the ‘International Arid Land Meetings’ were held in Socorro, New Mexico (USA). They were organized by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), sponsored by UNESCO and supported by the Rockefeller Foundation. One important output of the International Arid Land Meetings was a book entitled The Future of Drylands, edited by Gilbert F. White and published in

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

This paper sets out to provide an overview of scientific literacy specifically related to whether emphasis is placed on the ‘science’ or the ‘literacy’ aspect, accepting that literacy, wherever used, is wider than simply reading and writing. It does this from a general rather than a country perspective. The emphasis in giving meaning to scientific literacy is placed on the literacy component in recognition of the trend towards relating scientific literacy to skills and values appropriate for a responsible citizen. Rejected is a consideration that scientific literacy is related to an emphasis on the acquisition of content and this is especially considered, noting the social bias and cultural embedding of science. The emphasis on enhancing scientific literacy is placed on an appreciation of the nature of science, the development of personal attributes and the acquisition of socioscientific skills and values. Furthermore, in teaching towards this view of scientific literacy, a key component is seen as relevance and a model of relevance for science teaching is put forward based on relevance being seen from two perspectives. Relevance from both perspectives is very much geared to the view that scientific literacy is best taught by seeing science education as ‘education through science’ as opposed to ‘science through education.’

/pdf/the-meaning-of-scientific-literacy-3vptcb5mkq.pdf

The Meaning of Scientific Literacy.

This article explores the meaning of the nature of science education to enhance scientific literacy. It argues that the teaching approach for science education should be regarded as “education through science”, rather than “science through education”. A model of the nature of science education is proposed, having its foundations based on activity theory rather than logical positivism. This encompasses an understanding of the nature of science, with links to achievement of goals in the personal domain, stressing intellectual and communication skill development, as well as the promotion of character and positive attitudes, plus achievement of goals in the social education domain, stressing cooperative learning and socio‐scientific decision‐making. Although the nature of science is seen as an important component of science education, the over‐riding target for science teaching in school, as an aspect of relevant education, is seen as responsible citizenry, based on enhancing scientific and technological lite...

/pdf/the-nature-of-science-education-for-enhancing-scientific-4bcpepvq1j.pdf

The Nature of Science Education for enhancing Scientific Literacy

Europe Needs More Scientists: Report by the High Level Group on Increasing Human Resources for Science and Technology

This paper introduces a research project in which five chemistry teachers, working in cooperation with university researchers, implemented a new teaching approach using context-based modules specially designed to stimulate the intrinsic motivation of students. The intention was to induce change in chemistry teachers' teaching approach from more traditional, extrinsically motivational teaching styles, into student centred approaches stimulating students' intrinsic motivation. Evaluation of the approach was by means of student pre- and post questionnaires, in part adapted from the intrinsic motivation instruments developed by Deci and Ryan based on indicators of autonomy, competence and relatedness, but also encompassing items of interest and value in the eyes of students. The questionnaire was validated after translation for use in the Estonian secondary and high school situation. Based on the questionnaire responses, it was found that students' (N = 416) motivation was significantly higher related to the lessons based on the modules compared to their previous chemistry lessons. While significant differences existed in questionnaire responses between the schools (teachers) before the intervention, there was no significant differences in post-questionnaire results. Implications of this are discussed.

Stimulating students' intrinsic motivation for learning chemistry through the use of context-based learning modules

The goal of this study was to develop an instrument for assessing grade 10 and 11 student’s levels of scientific literacy in the areas of problem solving and decision making. In concentrating on determining the scientific literacy of gymnasium level students, it was taken as a first; previous international studies like PISA have focused on ninth grade students. The study used four interdisciplinary situations in a personal, social and global context, taken from everyday life, and answers were expected at higher levels of scientific thinking. In addition, student’s opinions were sought about their interest related to the kind of instruments used, with the intention of considering their opinions if later modifying the instrument. The sample (N=62) was composed of 10 and 11 grade students in two schools. Results indicated that it is possible to develop an instrument for dividing students’ responses between levels of scientific literacy, although most students responded at the functional level with very few at the multidimensional level and this despite the fact that the questions were developed to assess higher levels of scientific literacy. In the students’ opinion, the more interesting situations were those in a personal and social context. Students justified this by answering that their capability to solve problems and make decisions by utilizing science knowledge and skills was best in such situations. In reality, they still operated at a functional level as indicated by their responses.

/pdf/assessing-student-s-level-of-scientific-literacy-using-4posx4a37s.pdf

Miia Rannikmäe

Papers

The Meaning of Scientific Literacy.

The Nature of Science Education for enhancing Scientific Literacy

Europe Needs More Scientists: Report by the High Level Group on Increasing Human Resources for Science and Technology

Stimulating students' intrinsic motivation for learning chemistry through the use of context-based learning modules

Assessing student's level of scientific literacy using interdisciplinary scenarios