Conference papers
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Item Compulsory School Curricula of South Africa (RNCS, 2002) and Sweden (Lpo94)(European Educational Research Association (EERA), 2008) Abraham, Getahun YItem Curriculum Reform and Life Orientation Education(Athens Institute for Education and Research, 2008) Abraham, Getahun YItem Phenomenographic perspectives on the learning experience and process in higher education physics(University of Cape Town, 2008) Booth, Shirley; Ingerman, Åke; Booth, S. Lärande Lund, Lund University, Sweden & Department of Education, University of Witswatersrand, South AfricaThe focus of phenomenographic research has been the experience of learning (Marton & Säljö, 1976a; Marton & Säljö, 1976b; Säljö, 1979; Marton et al., 1984/1997; Booth, 1997; Marton & Booth, 1997; Pang, 2003). Drawing on our recent research into the process of learning in higher education physics contexts, we present a discussion of the experience and process of learning, and perspectives from which it can be analysed and understood that emerge from the phenomenographic tradition. First we will relate our empirical work, then elaborate on it as an example of a study of learning. Then we will enter into a reflection on phenomenography as a research approach for the 21st century, in the delimited field of researching learning and teaching practices in higher education, and make an argument that phenomenography has a role to play in the transformative processes demanded by a changing society.Item Using research to activate university teacher training(Universidad Nacional, Facultad de Ingeniería & Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Ingeniería , Ediciones Uniandes, 2008) Christie, Michael; Ingerman, Åke; Berge, Maria; Christie, M. CKK, Chalmers, Gothenburg, Sweden; Berge, M. ITU, Chalmers, Gothenburg, SwedenIn this debate paper the authors report on a project aimed at making selected data from research more quickly available to engineering educators. The educators involved are participants in pedagogical courses that they have undertaken to improve their teaching. During a workshop on group learning the educators, who come from various departments at a technical university in Sweden, are shown videotaped excerpts of a group of physics students solving a mechanics problem concerning force and friction. By using a Socratic approach the faculty members are encouraged to confront issues involved in small group work and discuss ways in which the benefits of group work can be maximised.Item Enhancing formal learning in informal learning settings – Considerations for teachers and guides(Centre for Science and Mathematics Education, University of Southern Denmark, 2008) Pendrill, Ann-Marie; Ingerman, Åke; Pendrill, A-M. Department of Physics, Göteborg University, SwedenAn encounter with a phenomenon in a science center exhibit can provoke many questions and discussions among the visitors. Interaction with a guide can enhance the experience and help the visitors develop a deeper understanding and see more connections to other phenomena. The outcome of the discussions depend on the visitors, but also on the guide's strategy. This paper builds on empirical material in more formal learning situations, but with relevance for interactions e.g. in a science center. We first consider formal learning outcomes based on informal learning experiences in an amusement park. We then consider tutor preparation and tutor choices, with respect to entering in the dialogue, engaging with the students and finally, ending the teaching interaction. We find that an alliance between formal and informal learning situations can be mutually beneficial.Item One year after teaching - How consistent are students in using the scientific theory of biological evolution by natural selection?(University of London, 2008) Wallin, AnitaA teaching-learning sequence about the theory of biological evolution was developed by linking theoretical reflection, instructional design and classroom research in a cyclic process. Altogether 79 students participated in three trials of this sequence. The students aged 17 – 19 had all chosen the science branch of upper secondary school in Sweden. Before teaching started the students were given a pre-test and, one year later, a post-test. Each students’ entire pre- and post-test were categorised into one of four categories. The categories were: consistently scientific; mainly scientific; mainly non-scientific; and consistently non-scientific. In the post-test, 43 % of the students used the scientific theory of evolution consistently throughout the test compared to 6 % in the pre-test. 60 % of the students were categorised as using non-scientific ideas consistently in the pre-test and 5 % in the post-test. 30 students changed their way of reasoning between pre- and post-test in such a profound way that one may speak of conceptual change. The analyses of the students’ performance revealed that students who partly used scientific ideas in the pre-test did not demonstrate a more consistent use of scientific ideas in the post-test than students starting with exclusively non-scientific ideas.Item Teaching and learning about the biological evolution: Conceptual understanding before, during and after teaching.(Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 2001) Wallin, Anita; Hagman, Mats; Olander, ClasThis study is part of a project with the main purpose of developing a teaching-learning sequence that enables the students to construct a scientific model of the biological evolution. Another purpose is to document the students’ conceptual development. Our theoretical background is the model of conceptual change initially proposed by Posner et al (1982). Here we focused on two key concepts in evolution – “variation” and “natural selection”. The development and the long-term retention of these concepts among Swedish students (16 – 19 years old) were studied. The students’ prior knowledge was investigated by a pre-test before teaching. During the teaching period some students were interviewed about these concepts, and small group discussions about the same concepts were videotaped. Approximately a year after teaching the students was given a delayed post-test. The majority of the students abandoned their prior ideas of strive and need, and adopted a more scientific view of these concepts. This was evident both in the interviews and in the post-test. The conceptual development of the interviewed students is discussed in the paper.Item Research-based teaching about biological evolution(Ecole National de Formation Agronomique (ENFA), 2003) Hagman, Mats; Olander, Clas; Wallin, AnitaThis paper reports an attempt to design a teaching-learning sequence in which the students are stimulated to construct a scientific model of evolution, and to use this model in various contexts. Theoretical reflection, instructional design and classroom research have been linked in a cyclic process of development. Basic principles in the sequence were to make the students aware of different ideas about evolution, both scientific and “alternative” ones, to encourage them to reflect on their own thinking, and to use group discussions as a tool for effective learning. A group of 18 students, all at the age of 17, were followed during a 16- hour unit on evolution. The sequence was evaluated both in terms of the students’ learning and in terms of their experience of the teaching. The results from a delayed post-test, about one year after instruction, show that most students had abandoned pre-instructional “alternative” conceptions, in favour for more scientific ones. As judged from logbook entries, a vast majority of the students also appreciated the teaching approach during the unit, and some students spontaneously expressed their satisfaction with being able to use the theory of evolution as a scientific tool.Item Learning biological evolution during assessment – exploring the use of an interactive database-driven internet application.(Patras University Press, 2005) Wallin, Anita; Andersson, BjörnThe overall purpose of our research is to study how students develop understanding of scientific theories, in this study the theory of biological evolution by natural selection. Taking students' preconceptions as the starting point a teaching–learning sequence has been designed, implemented and assessed in a cyclic process. During one trial a group of 18 students (grade 11) was studied using various methods. Just after the theory was introduced, an interactive database-driven Internet problem was used for formative assessment. It deals with the evolution of the length of legs in a population of reindeer and consists of seven parts. The student is at first asked to speculate about the evolution of the length of legs, given a description of its variation. Then more and more information about the actual change in the length of legs and environmental circumstances is presented. The students are offered the possibility of changing their previous answer, as they work through the problem. Already in the opening part of the problem, 16 students answered with scientific evolutionary ideas. Our hypothesis is that if the intraspecific variation is explicitly given, it promotes evolutionary reasoning. The students appreciated the problem, and considered it as an opportunity of learning.