scholarly journals Integrating Advocacy and Environmental Education: A Response to Burns & Norris

Paideusis ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-13
Author(s):  
Blair Niblett
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Environmental Education ◽  
Science Classroom ◽  
Social Advocacy ◽  
Environmental Advocacy ◽  
Alternative Reading

This paper responds to David Burns and Stephen Norris whose article, “Open-minded Environmental Education in the Science Classroom”, appeared in Volume 18(1) of Paideusis. Burns and Norris (2009) suggest an incompatibility between environmental advocacy and science education because they feel that environmental advocacy necessarily promotes particular political agendas that are extra-scientific, and that such agendas subvert the development of open-mindedness (Hare, 1979; 2000; 2003). In this paper, I offer an alternative reading of Hare’s concept of open-mindedness that is more accepting of careful and thoughtful integrations of science education and social advocacy. I offer an epistemological justification that suggests that advocacy in education (in science and elsewhere) is not only compatible with the concept of open-mindedness, but may also serve as a vehicle for its flourishing.

scholarly journals Open-minded Environmental Education in the Science Classroom

Paideusis ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-43
Author(s):  
David P. Burns ◽  
Stephen P. Norris
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Environmental Education ◽  
Science Teaching ◽  
Scientific Knowledge ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Science Classroom ◽  
Environmental Concerns ◽  
Environmental Advocacy ◽  
Science Teaching And Learning ◽  
Scientific Facts

In this paper we will discuss the issue of environmental advocacy in science education in light of William Hare’s concept of open-mindedness. Although we shall assume that science teaching and learning must go beyond the scientific facts and theories and deal with the implications of science for society, we shall argue that science education should also demand an open-mindedness about environmental concerns such that all proposals for sustainability and the like are weighed against the alternatives using the best scientific knowledge available. Our approach will be to describe two examples of environmental education that recommend insufficiently open-minded forms of teaching and a third example that avoids this shortcoming yet provides a sound basis in environmental education.

scholarly journals Promoting Societal-Oriented Communication and Decision Making Skills by Learning about Advertising in Science Education

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-49
Author(s):  
Nadja Belova ◽  
Ingo Eilks
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Science Education ◽  
Science Classroom ◽  
Science And Technology ◽  
School Context ◽  
Consumer Learning ◽  
Factual Information ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Everyday Lives

In our everyday lives we are surrounded by advertising in its various forms. Thus in the school context it is not surprising that the issue of advertising is addressed by different subjects, with the main foci being advertising-specific language, images and illustrations, use of stereotypes, strategies of persuasion etc. But advertising also contains factual information, being explicit or implicit, to make a campaign more credible and underline the effectiveness of a certain product. Dealing with the use of factual information in advertising critically is important for the consumer. For many products this information is derived from science and technology. Understanding the science in and behind advertising is necessary to become a critical consumer. Learning about the use of science in advertising also allows promoting societal-oriented communication and decision making skills in the science classroom. Unfortunately, only a few examples on the use of advertising in the science classroom exist. This paper provides a justification for the use of advertising in science education. Examples from the classroom developed in the framework of the PROFILES-project are provided by way of illustration.

Next Generation Science Assessment

2013 ◽  
pp. 247-264
Author(s):  
Edward G. Lyon
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
Scientific Reasoning ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Science Classroom ◽  
National Research Council ◽  
High School Science ◽  
Science Assessment ◽  
Assessment Research

The recent release of science education documents such as A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas (National Research Council, 2012) marks the transition into a new generation of science education. This transition necessitates a close look at how pre-college science teachers will assess a diverse group of students in ways that are consistent with science education reform. In this chapter, the authors identify current research in science assessment and employ assessment coherence, assessment use, and assessment equity as guiding principles to address the challenges of putting science assessment research into classroom practice. To exemplify these challenges, they describe a study where a research instrument designed to measure scientific reasoning skills was translated into a high school science classroom assessment. The goal of this chapter is to stimulate conversation in the science education community (researchers, assessment developers, teacher educators, administrators, and classroom teachers) about how to put science assessment research successfully into practice and to describe what next steps need to be taken, particularly around assessing diverse student populations.

Next Generation Science Assessment

2013 ◽  
pp. 1615-1633
Author(s):  
Edward G. Lyon
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
Scientific Reasoning ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Science Classroom ◽  
National Research Council ◽  
High School Science ◽  
Science Assessment ◽  
Assessment Research

The recent release of science education documents such as A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas (National Research Council, 2012) marks the transition into a new generation of science education. This transition necessitates a close look at how pre-college science teachers will assess a diverse group of students in ways that are consistent with science education reform. In this chapter, the authors identify current research in science assessment and employ assessment coherence, assessment use, and assessment equity as guiding principles to address the challenges of putting science assessment research into classroom practice. To exemplify these challenges, they describe a study where a research instrument designed to measure scientific reasoning skills was translated into a high school science classroom assessment. The goal of this chapter is to stimulate conversation in the science education community (researchers, assessment developers, teacher educators, administrators, and classroom teachers) about how to put science assessment research successfully into practice and to describe what next steps need to be taken, particularly around assessing diverse student populations.

3D Multi-User Virtual Environments in Science Education

2015 ◽  
pp. 302-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yufeng Qian
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Science Curriculum ◽  
Science Classroom ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Instructional Technologies ◽  
Inquiry Based Learning ◽  
Technological Complexity ◽  
Valid Assessment ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
Racial Achievement

The purpose of this chapter is to identify the potential and challenges in science education in the use of 3D MUVE science programs. These programs offer a number of instructional benefits in motivating and engaging students and in improving their science learning and scientific inquiry. 3D MUVE is a promising media in narrowing gender and racial achievement gaps and enabling an authentic and valid assessment of science education. Like all new instructional technologies, however, the wide use and implementation of 3D MUVE technology in mainstream science classroom is still facing a number of challenges, which are mainly related to technological complexity and cost, and design difficulty in incorporating some elements critical to inquiry-based learning into the 3D MUVE environment. To overcome these identified challenges and make optimal use of the opportunities, suggestions for integrating 3D MUVE into science curriculum and classroom are made and discussed, along with future research directions.

3D Multi-User Virtual Environments in Science Education

2015 ◽  
pp. 841-863
Author(s):  
Yufeng Qian
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Science Curriculum ◽  
Science Classroom ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Instructional Technologies ◽  
Inquiry Based Learning ◽  
Technological Complexity ◽  
Valid Assessment ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
Racial Achievement

The purpose of this chapter is to identify the potential and challenges in science education in the use of 3D MUVE science programs. These programs offer a number of instructional benefits in motivating and engaging students and in improving their science learning and scientific inquiry. 3D MUVE is a promising media in narrowing gender and racial achievement gaps and enabling an authentic and valid assessment of science education. Like all new instructional technologies, however, the wide use and implementation of 3D MUVE technology in mainstream science classroom is still facing a number of challenges, which are mainly related to technological complexity and cost, and design difficulty in incorporating some elements critical to inquiry-based learning into the 3D MUVE environment. To overcome these identified challenges and make optimal use of the opportunities, suggestions for integrating 3D MUVE into science curriculum and classroom are made and discussed, along with future research directions.

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