The Science of Learning and Development

The Science of Learning and Development
Author: Pamela Cantor
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 245
Release: 2021-06-21
Genre: Education
ISBN: 100039977X

This essential text unpacks major transformations in the study of learning and human development and provides evidence for how science can inform innovation in the design of settings, policies, practice, and research to enhance the life path, opportunity and prosperity of every child. The ideas presented provide researchers and educators with a rationale for focusing on the specific pathways and developmental patterns that may lead a specific child, with a specific family, school, and community, to prosper in school and in life. Expanding key published articles and expert commentary, the book explores a profound evolution in thinking that integrates findings from psychology with biology through sociology, education, law, and history with an emphasis on institutionalized inequities and disparate outcomes and how to address them. It points toward possible solutions through an understanding of and addressing the dynamic relations between a child and the contexts within which he or she lives, offering all researchers of human development and education a new way to understand and promote healthy development and learning for diverse, specific youth regardless of race, socioeconomic status, or history of adversity, challenge, or trauma. The book brings together scholars and practitioners from the biological/medical sciences, the social and behavioral sciences, educational science, and fields of law and social and educational policy. It provides an invaluable and unique resource for understanding the bases and status of the new science, and presents a roadmap for progress that will frame progress for at least the next decade and perhaps beyond.

The Role of Public Policy in K-12 Science Education

The Role of Public Policy in K-12 Science Education
Author: George E. DeBoer
Publisher: IAP
Total Pages: 452
Release: 2011-01-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1617352268

The goal of this volume of Research in Science Education is to examine the relationship between science education policy and practice and the special role that science education researchers play in influencing policy. It has been suggested that the science education research community is isolated from the political process, pays little attention to policy matters, and has little influence on policy. But to influence policy, it is important to understand how policy is made and how it is implemented. This volume sheds light on the intersection between policy and practice through both theoretical discussions and practical examples. This book was written primarily about science education policy development in the context of the highly decentralized educational system of the United States. But, because policy development is fundamentally a social activity involving knowledge, values, and personal and community interests, there are similarities in how education policy gets enacted and implemented around the world. This volume is meant to be useful to science education researchers and to practitioners such as teachers and administrators because it provides information about which aspects of the science education enterprise are affected by state, local, and national policies. It also provides helpful information for researchers and practitioners who wonder how they might influence policy. In particular, it points out how the values of people who are affected by policy initiatives are critical to the implementation of those policies.

Professional Development for Inquiry-Based Science Teaching and Learning

Professional Development for Inquiry-Based Science Teaching and Learning
Author: Olia E. Tsivitanidou
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 277
Release: 2018-09-03
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3319914065

​This book examines the implementation of inquiry-based approaches in science teaching and learning. It explores the ways that those approaches could be promoted across various contexts in Europe through initial teacher preparation, induction programmes and professional development activities. It illustrates connections between scientific knowledge deriving from the science education research community, teaching practices deriving from the science teachers’ community, and educational innovation. Inquiry-Based Science Teaching and Learning (IBST/L) has been promoted as a policy response to pressing educational challenges, including disengagement from science learning and the need for citizens to be in a position to evaluate evidence on pressing socio-scientific issues. Effective IBST/L requires well-prepared and skilful teachers, who can act as facilitators of student learning and who are able to adapt inquiry-based activity sequences to their everyday teaching practice. Teachers also need to engage creatively with the process of nurturing student abilities and to acquire new assessment competences. The task of preparing teachers for IBST/L is a challenging one. This book is a resource for the implementation of inquiry-oriented approaches in science education and illustrates ways of promoting IBST/L through initial teacher preparation, induction and professional development programmes.

A Framework for K-12 Science Education

A Framework for K-12 Science Education
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 400
Release: 2012-02-28
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0309214459

Science, engineering, and technology permeate nearly every facet of modern life and hold the key to solving many of humanity's most pressing current and future challenges. The United States' position in the global economy is declining, in part because U.S. workers lack fundamental knowledge in these fields. To address the critical issues of U.S. competitiveness and to better prepare the workforce, A Framework for K-12 Science Education proposes a new approach to K-12 science education that will capture students' interest and provide them with the necessary foundational knowledge in the field. A Framework for K-12 Science Education outlines a broad set of expectations for students in science and engineering in grades K-12. These expectations will inform the development of new standards for K-12 science education and, subsequently, revisions to curriculum, instruction, assessment, and professional development for educators. This book identifies three dimensions that convey the core ideas and practices around which science and engineering education in these grades should be built. These three dimensions are: crosscutting concepts that unify the study of science through their common application across science and engineering; scientific and engineering practices; and disciplinary core ideas in the physical sciences, life sciences, and earth and space sciences and for engineering, technology, and the applications of science. The overarching goal is for all high school graduates to have sufficient knowledge of science and engineering to engage in public discussions on science-related issues, be careful consumers of scientific and technical information, and enter the careers of their choice. A Framework for K-12 Science Education is the first step in a process that can inform state-level decisions and achieve a research-grounded basis for improving science instruction and learning across the country. The book will guide standards developers, teachers, curriculum designers, assessment developers, state and district science administrators, and educators who teach science in informal environments.

Whole-Child Development, Learning, and Thriving

Whole-Child Development, Learning, and Thriving
Author: Pamela Cantor
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 167
Release: 2021-05-20
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1108960170

We discuss whole-child development, learning, and thriving through a dynamic systems theory lens that focuses on the United States and includes an analysis of historical challenges in the American public education system, including inequitable resources, opportunities, and outcomes. To transform US education systems, developmental and learning scientists, educators, policymakers, parents, and communities must apply the knowledge they have today to 1. challenge the assumptions and goals that drove the design of the current US education system, 2. articulate a revised, comprehensive definition of whole-child development, learning, and thriving that accepts rather than simplifies how human beings develop, 3. create a profound paradigm shift in how the purpose of education is described in the context of social, cultural, and political forces, including the impacts of race, privilege, and bias and 4. describe a new dynamic 'language' for measurement of both the academic competencies and the full set of 21st century skills.

Science Education for Everyday Life

Science Education for Everyday Life
Author: Glen S. Aikenhead
Publisher: Teachers College Press
Total Pages: 194
Release: 2006
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9780807746349

This book provides a comprehensive overview of humanistic approaches to science. Approaches that connect students to broader human concerns in their everyday life and culture. Glen Aikenhead, an expert in the field of culturally sensitive science education, summarizes major worldwide historical findings; focuses on present thinking; and offers evidence in support of classroom practice. This highly accessible text covers curriculum policy, teaching materials, teacher orientations, teacher education, student learning, culture studies, and future research.

Science Education

Science Education
Author: Shamin Padalkar
Publisher: Routledge Chapman & Hall
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2022-06-30
Genre:
ISBN: 9780367485924

The book presents key perspectives on teaching and learning of science in India. It offers adaptive expertise to teachers and educators through a pedagogic content knowledge (PCK) approach. Using cases and episodes from Indian science classrooms to contextualize ideas and practices, the volume discusses the nature of science, and aspects of assessments and evaluations for both process skills and conceptual understanding of the subject. It examines the significance of science education at school level and focuses on meaningful learning and development of scientific and technological aptitude. The chapters deal with topics from physics, chemistry and biology, at the middle- and secondary-school levels, and are designed to equip student-teachers with theoretical and practical knowledge abilities about science, science learning, and teaching. The book draws extensively from research on science education and teacher education, and shifts away from knowledge transmission to the active process of constructivist teaching-learning practices. The authors use illustrative examples to highlight flexible planning for inclusive classrooms. Based on studies on cognitive and developmental psychology, pedagogical content knowledge of science, socio-cultural approaches to learning science, and the history and philosophy of science, the book promotes an understanding of science characterized by empirical criteria, logical arguments and sceptical reviews. With its accessible style, examples, exercises and additional references, it will be useful for students and teachers of science, science educators, B.Ed. and M.Ed. programmes for education, secondary and higher secondary school teachers, curriculum designers and developers of science. It will interest research institutes, non-governmental organizations, professionals, and public and private sector bodies involved in science outreach, science education, and teaching and learning practices.

Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards

Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 223
Release: 2000-05-03
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0309064767

Humans, especially children, are naturally curious. Yet, people often balk at the thought of learning scienceâ€"the "eyes glazed over" syndrome. Teachers may find teaching science a major challenge in an era when science ranges from the hardly imaginable quark to the distant, blazing quasar. Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards is the book that educators have been waiting forâ€"a practical guide to teaching inquiry and teaching through inquiry, as recommended by the National Science Education Standards. This will be an important resource for educators who must help school boards, parents, and teachers understand "why we can't teach the way we used to." "Inquiry" refers to the diverse ways in which scientists study the natural world and in which students grasp science knowledge and the methods by which that knowledge is produced. This book explains and illustrates how inquiry helps students learn science content, master how to do science, and understand the nature of science. This book explores the dimensions of teaching and learning science as inquiry for K-12 students across a range of science topics. Detailed examples help clarify when teachers should use the inquiry-based approach and how much structure, guidance, and coaching they should provide. The book dispels myths that may have discouraged educators from the inquiry-based approach and illuminates the subtle interplay between concepts, processes, and science as it is experienced in the classroom. Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards shows how to bring the standards to life, with features such as classroom vignettes exploring different kinds of inquiries for elementary, middle, and high school and Frequently Asked Questions for teachers, responding to common concerns such as obtaining teaching supplies. Turning to assessment, the committee discusses why assessment is important, looks at existing schemes and formats, and addresses how to involve students in assessing their own learning achievements. In addition, this book discusses administrative assistance, communication with parents, appropriate teacher evaluation, and other avenues to promoting and supporting this new teaching paradigm.

Science Education

Science Education
Author: Keith Taber
Publisher: Brill
Total Pages: 616
Release: 2017
Genre: Constructivism (Education)
ISBN: 9789463007481

This book comprises a wide range of scholarly essays introducing readers to key topics and issues in science education. Science education has become a well established field in its own right, with a vast literature, and many active areas of scholarship. Science Education: An International Course Companion offers an entry point for students seeking a sound but introductory understanding of the key perspectives and areas of thinking in science education. Each account is self-contained and offers a scholarly and research-informed introduction to a particular topic, theme, or perspective, with both citations to key literature and recommendations for more advanced reading. Science Education: An International Course Companion allows readers (such as those preparing for school science teaching, or seeking more advanced specialist qualifications) to obtain a broad familiarity with key issues across the field as well as guiding wider reading about particular topics of interest. The book therefore acts as a reader to support learning across courses in science education internationally. The broad coverage of topics is such that that the book will support students following a diverse range of courses and qualifications. The comprehensive nature of the book will allow course leaders and departments to nominate the book as the key reader to support students - their core 'course companion' in science education.

Modelling Learners and Learning in Science Education

Modelling Learners and Learning in Science Education
Author: Keith S. Taber
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 371
Release: 2013-12-11
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9400776489

This book sets out the necessary processes and challenges involved in modeling student thinking, understanding and learning. The chapters look at the centrality of models for knowledge claims in science education and explore the modeling of mental processes, knowledge, cognitive development and conceptual learning. The conclusion outlines significant implications for science teachers and those researching in this field. This highly useful work provides models of scientific thinking from different field and analyses the processes by which we can arrive at claims about the minds of others. The author highlights the logical impossibility of ever knowing for sure what someone else knows, understands or thinks, and makes the case that researchers in science education need to be much more explicit about the extent to which research onto learners’ ideas in science is necessarily a process of developing models. Through this book we learn that research reports should acknowledge the role of modeling and avoid making claims that are much less tentative than is justified as this can lead to misleading and sometimes contrary findings in the literature. In everyday life we commonly take it for granted that finding out what another knows or thinks is a relatively trivial or straightforward process. We come to take the ‘mental register’ (the way we talk about the ‘contents’ of minds) for granted and so teachers and researchers may readily underestimate the challenges involved in their work.