National Science Education Standards

The goal of this study is to map the current state of research in the field of metacognition in science education, to identify key trends, and to discern areas and questions for future research. We conducted a systematic analysis of 178 studies published in peer-reviewed journals in the years 2000–2012 and indexed in the ERIC database. The findings from this analysis indicate that the field of metacognition in science education is in a state of growth and expansion, and that metacognition is increasingly integrated into research addressing the core objectives of science education. In contrast to the findings of previous reviews, conceptual understanding of science was found to be one of the central aims of current metacognition research. The studies employ a wide range of instructional practices for fostering learners’ metacognition. The most prominent practice is the use of metacognitive cues and prompts in the course of instruction. Several research gaps are identified: first, the development of learner...

A review of research on metacognition in science education: current and future directions

Active learning has gained growing political, instructional, and research interest. However, the definitions of active learning are wide. The learning outcomes related to it have been mostly positive but the measurement methods are not without problems. This review provides an overview of active learning, especially in the context of engineering higher education, by answering two research questions: (1) How is the concept of active learning defined and justified in engineering higher education research? (2) What are the learning outcomes connected to active learning and how is learning measured in engineering higher education research? Sixty-six empirical articles were analyzed inductively with qualitative content analysis. The analysis showed that active learning was defined in various ways, and in some articles, it was not defined at all. In addition, justification (theoretical or empirical) for the use of active learning was seldomly reported. Finally, the indicators used to measure the impact of active learning on students’ learning outcomes were mostly based on students’ self-report data and focused on course specific development in subject-related knowledge. More thorough descriptions and theoretical justifications, as well as the consideration of learning outcomes with appropriate research methods, could reinforce the transparency of empirical interventions and the application of active learning.

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The concept of active learning and the measurement of learning outcomes: A review of research in engineering higher education

Technology is ubiquitous in the modern world; to harness its educational potential in the quest to introduce environments that are flexible and differentiate for individual student learning needs, the strategic use of the complex array of tools is required. Engagement with this challenge has the potential to lead to the provision of interfaces that allow students to access these resources and become independent learners. It is therefore important to identify and evaluate the features of such interfaces to calibrate and respond to individual student needs. In this context, the quality of differentiated support for learning, referred to as scaffolding, is established as paramount to the design and structure of online environments. In this study, the instructional design referred to as predict, observe, explain and evaluate (POEE), informed by constructivist theories of learning, to implement multiple scaffolding strategies is described. The POEE scaffolding strategy was applied in the creation of two inquiry learning modules. Student engagement with these inquiry modules in a self-directed online environment was explored to identify critical elements of the scaffolding. The findings of this study, based on students' interactions and engagement with the learning modules, enabled the conceptualisation of a multimodal scaffolding strategy for self-directed inquiry. We propose that the recommendations from the implementation of these scaffolded learning modules can represent exemplars illustrative of an enriched instructional design paradigm to support students’ independent study in blended environments.

Instructional design of scaffolded online learning modules for self-directed and inquiry-based learning environments

The environmental agenda is gaining momentum as an international policy issue. This is reflected in an increase in environmental education research focussing on children’s awareness and attitudes toward the environment. In this study, we focused on this issue from a school effectiveness perspective and evaluated (a) which student characteristics predict environmental attitudes and awareness, (b) whether schools make a difference in their students’ environmental attitudes and awareness and (c) if school effects are different for students with varying levels of science ability. The cross-sectional Flemish data of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Programme for International Student Assessment 2006 (4,999 students in 156 schools) were re-analysed using a multivariate multilevel model to address these issues. Results show that gender, immigrant status, socioeconomic status and educational track are important in explaining students’ environmental attitudes and awareness. Furthermore, the results show that schools do matter; schools in which science is taught in a more hands-on manner are associated with higher student environmental awareness whilst environmental learning activities are associated with more pro-environmental attitudes amongst students. After controlling for student characteristics, these school effects do not differ between more science-literate children and their less or average science-literate peers.

Do schools make a difference in their students’ environmental attitudes and awareness? evidence from pisa 2006

Constructivism is an important theory of learning that is used to guide the development of new teaching methods, particularly in science education. However, because it is a theory of learning and not of teaching, constructivism is often either misused or misunderstood. Here we describe the four essential features of constructivism: eliciting prior knowledge, creating cognitive dissonance, application of new knowledge with feedback, and reflection on learning. We then use the criteria we developed to evaluate five representative published articles that claim to describe and test constructivist teaching methods. Of these five articles, we demonstrate that three do not adhere to the constructivist criteria, whereas two provide strong examples of how constructivism can be employed as a teaching method. We suggest that application of the four essential criteria will be a useful tool for all professional educators who plan to implement or evaluate constructivist teaching methods.

Essential Criteria to Characterize Constructivist Teaching: Derived from a Review of the Literature and Applied to Five Constructivist-Teaching Method Articles.

This field guide provides four essential criteria for constructivism as well as a guide for using these criteria to identify and assess the level of constructivism being used in an educational experience. The criteria include: 1) prior knowledge, 2) cognitive dissonance, 3) application with feedback, and 4) metacognition. This guide provides timely, valuable information and “best practices” for science educators, especially faculty in higher

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R. Todd Hartle

Papers

Essential Criteria to Characterize Constructivist Teaching: Derived from a Review of the Literature and Applied to Five Constructivist-Teaching Method Articles.

A Field Guide to Constructivism in the College Science Classroom: Four Essential Criteria and a Guide to Their Usage.