| 1. |
- Lönn, Mikael, et al.
(författare)
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Results and Comparison of Different Complementary Assessment Methods of Science Learning Outcome
- 2015
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Ingår i: Conference proceedings. New perspectives in science education, 4<sup>th</sup> ed.. - : Libreriauniversitaria.it. - 9788862926003 ; , s. -5
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- To assess the quality of different aspects of the learning outcomes in relation to knowledge requirements as results of teaching several assessment methods have to be used. For most teachers it is also obvious that students differ in their ability to demonstrate the learning outcome depending on the assessment method used. In order to compare different assessment methods of the learning outcome of pre-school teacher students’ different types of tasks were evaluated and compared in order to identify the potential of each method to give the students fair chances of showing their skills. Thus, assessments based on multiple choice questionnaires of different types, long answer questions, practical laboratory experiments, experiment construction and the students ability to evaluate experiment plans were compared. Having Swedish as mother tongue also was included as an explanatory variable since we suspected that some of the assessment methods in reality rather evaluates the linguistic skills in interpreting texts rather than evaluating the content knowledge of the subject. The results for each student when different methods were used were compared in order to evaluate if some of the methods for assessment gave similar results or if the methods induced differences in the results for the same student. We use ordination techniques to assess and visualize main trends in the data and linear models and classification trees to evaluate specific associations. There is correlation between results from several assessment methods, there are positive correlation between combinations of results from long answers, experiment and experiment construction, meaning students who showed good results with one method did so also with the others - but in some comparisons like long answer questions and multiple choice questions good results were independent of each other. There was a negative effect of having a non-Swedish mother tongue on the results in multiple choice questionnaires, but a positive effect of a non-Swedish mother tongue on the combined scores on experimental construction and experiment. Linear models show that good achievements in experimental construction are explained by high summed scores of Doll´s criteria, the four R’s richness, recursion, relations, and rigor.
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| 2. |
- Mattsson, Jan-Eric, 1949-, et al.
(författare)
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Art studies as tools for understanding observations in science
- 2017
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Ingår i: Conference proceedings New perspectives in science education. - Limena : Libreriauniversitaria.it. - 9788862928472 ; , s. 513-516
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Observations are fundamental in science as they has to include cognitive activities based on the perceived sensations. These activities have to be transformed to written or spoken language. In order to practice and visualize these processes we present a method based on Roland Barthes concepts studium and punctum. About 60 students aiming at becoming primary school teachers (years 4–6) were followed during a period of the first two years of their education. The results on all course examinations during these years (n=17) were compared to the quality of two reflective texts. One from the end of the first year on the impression of art works by David Hockney or Bill Viola, another of experiences from field sites used at the beginning of their studies. They wrote reflections on their experiences including observations and their personal and professional development during their teacher training. The texts where analysed by using the 4 R’s of Doll’s. Results of VARK tests assessing the learning style of the students from the beginning of their education were used. The choice of science courses can be shown to be correlated to different factors depending of the selection of these but there was no general pattern behind the choice of science. Training of observation in different contexts and reflections on these in relation to personal development seem to promote better professional understanding.
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| 3. |
- Mattsson, Jan-Eric, 1949-, et al.
(författare)
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Students´ Different Strategies in their Development of Knowledge, Understanding, and Skills in Science Education
- 2015
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Ingår i: Conference proceedings. New perspectives in science education, 4<sup>th</sup> ed.. - : Libreriauniversitaria.it. - 9788862926003 ; , s. -4
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Students differ in their ways of accomplishing varied forms of knowledge, develop personal understanding and improve their skills. Likewise, teachers differ in their way of teaching depending on earlier experiences and training, thus, for teachers it is important understand the different strategies of the students and their own pedagogic profile in order to design learning situations advantageous for all students. In this study we try to describe the development and the persistence of the learning outcome of five pre-service primary school teacher students and their teachers during one semester of science and technology teaching. The assessment of the students’ fulfilment of the knowledge requirements was made during and shortly after the course, all of them passed. The focus here is to analyse the students and teachers different routes to achieve professional skills and was made eight months after the finished course. The students and the teachers met and discussed their experiences of their development during the course. The discussions in the whole group and in smaller subgroups were recorded and analysed. One area of interest was to describe the personal and professional development during that semester and how this was regarded retrospectively. This may be regarded as an assessment of the pedagogic activities and their relevance for the different students.Another important objective was to describe the conceptual development of both the students and their teachers and to investigate if there were differences in their development. The development of the conceptual profiles of each person was constructed out of the discussions analysed to reveal developmental changes. The conceptual profiles were regarded to contain three basic zones, externalism, internalism and relational.A third objective was to investigate the quality of the development out of the criteria of Doll, the four R’s richness, recursion, relations, and rigor and to what extent these criteria were visible in the conceptual development?On the professional and personal level all participants recognized a development, for the students supported by experiences during practical training at schools. The result also show that type of conceptual development varied between participants but large similarities in the degree of conceptual development of different concepts in one person. Finally, many of the generative phases of conceptual development were correlated to Doll’s criteria of quality in teaching and learning.
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| 4. |
- Mattsson, Jan-Eric, 1949-, et al.
(författare)
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To communicate the theory of evolution to all from babies to adults
- 2017
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Ingår i: Conexão Ciencia. - : Formiga/MG, open access. - 1980-7058. ; 12:2, s. 408-415
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Teaching evolution is a tricky business. Less teaching seems to give better understanding of the theory. Evolutionary processes are dialectic relations between many actors, individuals, groups, abiotic and biotic factors etc., different from mechanistic descriptions of relations between singular objects in other scientific theories. This difference, in combination with religious beliefs confuses efforts to get understanding and acceptance of the theory of evolution. With the new curriculum for Swedish compulsory school, science education has to be linked to students’ own experiences in order to promote critical thinking and skills useable in daily life. Further, biology in science teaching during the first school years is focused on general observations and fundamental concepts, not on scientific methods and evolutionary processes. Thus, students often experience biology as a subject filled with facts about simple relations and teleological explanations, making the theory of evolution superfluous. The objectives here were to design teaching in evolutionary theory adapted to the professional needs of students and to assess the learning outcome. Three different courses in evolutionary theory were included. Two pre-service teacher training programs, for nursery school and for year 4–6 in the compulsory school, and one for students in environmental studies were included. Assessments of learning outcome were made by analyses of texts written by the students. The quality of the science knowledge content and the personal and professional development were assessed by using the 4 R’s of Doll. Associations between concepts and understanding were evaluated using clustering and ordination statistical techniques. The learning outcome was good showing visible progressions in the understanding. Thus, it is important to assess the understanding of concepts rather than estimating their frequency in students texts.
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| 5. |
- Mutvei, Ann, 1958-, et al.
(författare)
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Development of observation skills in science education for enhanced understanding
- 2018
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Ingår i: Electronic Proceedings of the ESERA 2017 Conference. - Dublin, Ireland : Dublin City University. - 9781873769843 ; , s. 2086-2094
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Observation is a skill necessary for the development of knowledge in science and is used,e.g., in studies to notice patterns and connections between abiotic and biotic factors, or inlaboratory experiments where detailed observations are necessary to achieve understanding.Observation does not only include viewing details but also hearing, smelling and tasting toget all available information from the senses. How students perceive the information dependson their previous personal experiences. It is therefore essential for students to practice theability to observe and to understand the contextual importance for learning. Here we presenta study where 55 pre-service preschool teacher students attended a science course for 10weeks with a variety of exercises. Late in the course they visited a Natural History Museum, agreenhouse with plants adapted to Mediterranean climate conditions and an art museum.Evaluation of written reflections after the visits were done by using the quality marker 4R’sof Doll’s (Relations, Recursion, Richness and Rigor) for the Natural History Museum and thegreenhouse and Roland Barthes concepts studium and punctum for the art museum. Ourresults showed that the students described their experiences from the visits in a personal waywith high quality. The variation of activities was important for the students’ ability to observeand to understand how to design pedagogic activities for children in preschool.
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| 6. |
- Mutvei, Ann, 1958-, et al.
(författare)
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Digestion as an example of integrated teaching of chemistry and biology
- 2017
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Ingår i: Conexão Ciencia. - : Formiga/MG, open access. - 1980-7058. ; 12:2, s. 89-95
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Most people are uncertain about how nutrients enter and are distributed in the body. They may be capable of naming the different parts of the digestive system on a torso but have vague ideas of the relation between these organs and the chemical processes they govern. Reasons for this are poor understanding of gas exchange, the role of the circulatory system, and that most processes are intracellular. In order to create a more holistic view of the biology and chemistry of digestion these subjects may be taught simultaneously and integrated. Here practical exercises and lectures about digestion and nutrients for pre-service primary school teachers are presented. The practical work included food preparation in order to investigate the change of the properties of the macromolecules of nutrients. A simple drawing of a body was used in order to visualize the routes of nutrients and the role of gas exchange in digestion. An evolutionary perspective on digestion was used in order to explain the ancient origin of most chemical processes in the digestive system and in the whole body. The material produced by the students at their final examinations was used for assessing their use and understanding of concepts, the quality based on Doll’s 4R’s and the degree of holistic understanding of the digestive system. The findings show that the pedagogic design used gives a general picture of digestion and energy transfer usable for teaching in primary school.
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| 7. |
- Mutvei, Ann, 1958-, et al.
(författare)
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Observation not only perception but also cognition
- 2016
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Ingår i: Conference proceedings. - Padova : Libreria Universitaria. - 9788862927055 ; , s. 365-369
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- According to the Swedish curriculum for primary school it is important in science subjects to develop skills to observe, to describe the observations and to put them into a theoretical framework already starting year 1–3.Thus, it may be important for the teacher not only to be accustomed to the methods of observing but also to be an expert on using these observations in order to design teaching situations where these skills may be developed.Here we present a study where 25 pre-service primary school teacher students at the beginning of a 20 weeks course established a relation to a study site focused on ecological questions. The task during the first week of that course was to observe and describe two habitats in the field and suggest what abiotic and biotic factors that had shaped the variation focussing at competition as an important ecological factor. In order to connect those ecological aspects with evolutionary aspects, specimen of the common species in the two habitats were collected and brought to the lab where the students constructed phenetic trees based on morphology but also on ecologically relevant properties like roots/no roots, expecting the set-up to awake evolutionary reflection. A main goal with this week was to give the students tools to investigate nature – to observe and describe patterns and to explain them by observing abiotic and biotic variation and evolutionary features and limitations.Later during the course we created other, often not obviously similar, situations where the students had the opportunity to use the experiences of this first training week. We used open questions for reflections and examinations in order to get written material to assess the development of the skills.We found notable personal development in most students and a greater awareness about the importance of personal cognitive activities in order to create better understanding and ability to use achieved knowledge in different situations.
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| 8. |
- Mutvei, Ann, 1958-, et al.
(författare)
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Technology in preschool: from idea to product
- 2017
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Ingår i: Conference proceedings New perspectives in science education. - Limena : Libreriauniversitaria.it. - 9788862928472 ; , s. 604-609
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Teaching pre-service preschool teachers in technology is a challenge. Technology is a fairly new subject in school, students lack experiences and are not aware of the aim of the subject. In addition technology also include the consequences of technological choices for individuals, society and environment. The curriculum for pre-school in Sweden emphasize development of children´s knowledge in science, technology and their ability to identify technology in everyday life. The education of pre-service teachers involves visualization of their own tacit knowledge and experiences to be used in the teaching of technology. Here a course during a three weeks period with 55 pre-service teacher students is presented. They worked in groups with construction exercises, museum visit and outdoor technology walk. The students wrote summaries of the processes together with critical reflections. The written exams on the identification of technology in everyday life were analysed by using the quality markers 4R’s of Doll’s and compared with marks on their examination tasks. Our results show that many students could describe the processes of construction with high quality showing several perspectives of understanding, e.g., the advantage of group activity, their own development of understanding and how to teach children in preschool.
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