Assessing Science Understanding

Assessing Science Understanding

Author: Joel J. Mintzes

Publisher: Academic Press

Published: 2005-08-22

Total Pages: 411

ISBN-13: 0080575331

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Recent government publications like "Benchmarks for Scientific Literacy" and "Science for all Americans" have given teachers a mandate for improving science education in America. What we know about how learners construct meaning--particularly in the natural sciences--has undergone a virtual revolution in the past 25 years. Teachers, as well as researchers, are now grappling with how to better teach science, as well as how to assess whether students are learning. Assessing Science Understanding is a companion volume to Teaching Science for Understanding, and explores how to assess whether learning has taken place. The book discusses a range of promising new and practical tools for assessment including concept maps, vee diagrams, clinical interviews, problem sets, performance-based assessments, computer-based methods, visual and observational testing, portfolios, explanatory models, and national examinations.


The Future of the Teaching and Learning of Algebra

The Future of the Teaching and Learning of Algebra

Author: Kaye Stacey

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2004-08-19

Total Pages: 382

ISBN-13: 1402081308

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This book presents a wide-ranging, international perspective on the state of the field of algebra from invited participants to the 12th ICMI Study Conference held in Melbourne, Australia in 2001. The authors are renowned academics from all around the world who have written individual chapters associated with the teaching and learning of algebra that relate to their particular areas of research and teaching expertise. The book includes information about different approaches to the teaching and learning of algebra - from early algebra to tertiary algebra, the impact of tools and technology (including Computer Algebra Systems), the role of symbols and language, teachers of algebra, and the history of algebra. The Future of the Teaching and Learning of Algebra: the 12th ICMI Study is of interest to researchers, curriculum developers, educational policy makers, teachers of mathematics, and trainee mathematics teachers.


Handbook of Academic Learning

Handbook of Academic Learning

Author: Gary D. Phye

Publisher: Elsevier

Published: 1997-01-08

Total Pages: 633

ISBN-13: 0080532934

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The Handbook of Academic Learning provides a comprehensive resource for educational and cognitive psychologists, as well as educators themselves, on the mechanisms and processes of academic learning. Beginning with general themes that cross subject and age level, the book discusses what motivates students to learn and how knowledge can be made personal for better learning and remembering. Individual chapters identify proven effective teaching methods for the specific domains of math, reading, writing, science, and critical problem solving, how students learn within those domains, and how learning can be accurately assessed for given domains and age levels. The Handbook takes a constructivist perspective to academic learning, emphasizing the construction of personal knowledge of an academic nature. Constructivism within the context of learning theory is viewed as involving an active learner that constructs an academic knowledge base through the development of cognitive strategies and metacognition. The book discusses the development of basic literacy skills that provide the foundation for higher order thinking and problem solving. Constructivism recognizes the social dimension of classroom learning and emphasizes the motivational elements of self-regulation and volition as essential learner characteristics. Written by authors who have first-hand experience with both theory development and the development of authentic classroom instructional techniques, the Handbook empowers educators to develop, implement, and field-test authentic instructional practices at their school site. The book provides a review of the literature, theory, research, and skill techniques for effective teaching and learning. - Identifies effective teaching with specific techniques - Covers elementary school through high school - Discusses teaching methods for all main subject areas: reading, writing, math, science, and critical thinking - Identifies how students learn to learn - Reviews theory, research, techniques, and assessment - Contains field tested examples for the educational professional at the school site - Provides a resource for staff development


Learning Science in the Schools

Learning Science in the Schools

Author: Shawn M. Glynn

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2012-10-12

Total Pages: 394

ISBN-13: 1136487786

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Science -- and the technology derived from it -- is having a dramatic impact on the quality of our personal lives and the environment around us. Science will have an even greater impact on the lives of our students. The lives of scientifically literate students will be enriched by their understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment of the natural world. To prosper in the near future, all students must become scientifically literate and embrace the notion of life-long learning in science. Without scientific literacy, it will become impossible for students to make informed decisions about the interrelated educational, scientific, and social issues that will confront them in the future. Intended for science teachers, teacher educators, researchers, and administrators, this volume is concerned with the innovative research that is reforming how science is learned in schools. The chapters provide overviews of current research and illustrate how the findings of this research are being applied in schools. This research-based knowledge is essential for effective science instruction. The contributors are leading authorities in science education and their chapters draw clear connections among research, theory, and classroom practice. They provide excellent examples from science classes in which their research has reformed practice. This book will help educators develop the scientific literacy of students. It bridges the gap between cutting-edge research and classroom practice to provide educators with the knowledge they need to foster students' scientific literacy.


Mapping Biology Knowledge

Mapping Biology Knowledge

Author: K. Fisher

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2006-04-11

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13: 0306472252

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Mapping Biology Knowledge addresses two key topics in the context of biology, promoting meaningful learning and knowledge mapping as a strategy for achieving this goal. Meaning-making and meaning-building are examined from multiple perspectives throughout the book. In many biology courses, students become so mired in detail that they fail to grasp the big picture. Various strategies are proposed for helping instructors focus on the big picture, using the `need to know' principle to decide the level of detail students must have in a given situation. The metacognitive tools described here serve as support systems for the mind, creating an arena in which learners can operate on ideas. They include concept maps, cluster maps, webs, semantic networks, and conceptual graphs. These tools, compared and contrasted in this book, are also useful for building and assessing students' content and cognitive skills. The expanding role of computers in mapping biology knowledge is also explored.


Philosophy of Science, Cognitive Psychology, and Educational Theory and Practice

Philosophy of Science, Cognitive Psychology, and Educational Theory and Practice

Author: Richard Alan Duschl

Publisher: SUNY Press

Published: 1992-01-01

Total Pages: 306

ISBN-13: 9780791410530

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This edited volume extends existing discussions among philosophers of science, cognitive psychologists, and educational researchers on the the restructuring of scientific knowledge and the domain of science education. This exchange of ideas across disciplinary fields raises fundamental issues and provides frameworks that help to focus educational research programs, curriculum development efforts, and teacher training programs.


Learning, Design, and Technology

Learning, Design, and Technology

Author: J. Michael Spector

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2023-11-15

Total Pages: 4144

ISBN-13: 3319174614

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The multiple, related fields encompassed by this Major Reference Work represent a convergence of issues and topics germane to the rapidly changing segments of knowledge and practice in educational communications and technology at all levels and around the globe. There is no other comparable work that is designed not only to gather vital, current, and evolving information and understandings in these knowledge segments but also to be updated on a continuing basis in order to keep pace with the rapid changes taking place in the relevant fields. The Handbook is composed of substantive (5,000 to 15,000 words), peer-reviewed entries that examine and explicate seminal facets of learning theory, research, and practice. It provides a broad range of relevant topics, including significant developments as well as innovative uses of technology that promote learning, performance, and instruction. This work is aimed at researchers, designers, developers, instructors, and other professional practitioners.