A comparison of student reactions to biology instruction by interactive videodisc or conventional laboratory

Recent work exploring student reactions to the anthropology of development highlights the importance of going beyond simply imparting practical skills, or alternatively delivering content that offers an unrelenting critique (Djohari 2011; Handler 2013). In this paper, I argue that by casting an anthropological eye on the classroom, teachers can provide a learning environment in which students transform into reflective ‘novice’ practitioners equipped for lifelong learning. This involves making explicit the processes of knowledge construction in the classroom, and by extension, the development field. It entails providing the resources through which students can become social beings in the development sector, with attention to expanding the possibilities for the formation of multiple identities.

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Dealing with Student Errors in Whole-Class Discussions of Biology Lessons at German Secondary Schools

International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education ◽

10.1007/s10763-021-10171-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Lena von Kotzebue ◽

Christian Förtsch ◽

Sonja Förtsch ◽

Birgit J. Neuhaus

Keyword(s):

Student Achievement ◽

Secondary Schools ◽

Central Feature ◽

Quality Teachers ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Class Level ◽

Biology Instruction ◽

Student Errors ◽

Cross Sectional Design ◽

Positive Effect

AbstractDealing with student errors is a central feature of instructional quality. Teachers’ reactions to a student’s error and classmates’ errors can be crucial to the success of a lesson. A teacher should respond appropriately in terms of motivational and learning-related issues so that the error can become a learning opportunity for students. Currently, error situations have rarely been directly recorded and explored in empirical zstudies. This gap is the central focus of the current study in which we investigated errors in biology instruction within a cross-sectional design where biology lessons in German secondary schools were videotaped, teachers’ dealings with errors analyzed, and student achievement documented with pretests and posttests. The study found that constructively dealing with student errors had a significant positive effect on student achievement at the class level. Results confirmed the relevance of teachers’ appropriate dealing with student errors on learning in biology instruction.

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