| 1. |
- Rönner, Anna-Clara, 1971-, et al.
(författare)
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Middle school pupils’ understanding of bacteria and virus in the aftermath of Covid-19
- 2023
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Ingår i: Tepe 2023. ; , s. 20-20
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- For the past couple of years, the COVID-19 pandemic had an immense impact on lives of individuals and societies around the world. The main purpose of this study was to delineate Swedish middle school (10-12-year-old) pupils’ understanding of bacteria and virus thereby illustrating the impact of the pandemic at schools and in society. Data were collected by semistructured, individual interviews and by asking participants to draw images of bacteria and virus. Thematic coding and content analysis of children’s annotated drawings were used. The morphology of the microorganisms from the drawings was analyzed by the deductively induced themes shape, surface texture and internal feature. Viruses were frequently considered larger than bacteria, but it was also common to view them being similar in size. Interrelationships between bacteria and viruses were expressed like a hierarchy with a “superior” microorganism, and as bacteria could generate viruses. Pupils drew microorganisms as cell-like and never portrayed them as animals or with anthropomorphic features, as reported in earlier research. Metaphoric aspects of drawings of viruses were summarized as being “bacteriophage-like” or “corona-like”. A virus was considered to induce the more grievous disease. Pupils seldomly tethered a specific virus to a specific infectious disease, and often named both "corona". However, when they did so, virus was tethered to flu and COVID-19 and bacteria to cold and plague. One ostensible suggestion for learning improvement would be to pay more attention to differences between microorganisms and their liaison to specific infectious diseases. This liaison is suggested as an important concept for developing contagion literacy. Furthermore, we recommend pathogenic bacteria and viruses to be explicitly taught in biology education at middle school or earlier in balance with knowledge about essential microorganisms. Finally, we propose the measures above to be integrated into the biology education of teacher´s education.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Rönner, Anna-Clara, 1971-, et al.
(författare)
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“Bacteria are not viruses; viruses are more malicious” - young pupils’ understanding of bacteria and viruses in the aftermath of COVID-19
- 2023
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Ingår i: Journal of Biological Education. - : Taylor & Francis. - 0021-9266 .- 2157-6009.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recently, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted immensely on individuals and societies around the world. This study aimed at delineating Swedish middle school (10?12-year-old) pupils? understanding of bacteria and viruses, thereby illustrating the influence of the pandemic at schools and in society. Data was collected by semi-structured, individual interviews and by asking pupils to draw images. Thematic coding of interview transcripts and content analysis of pupils? annotated drawings were used. The morphology of microorganisms from the drawings was often 'corona-like', with a round shape and with protruding parts. Viruses were commonly considered larger than bacteria, but sometimes also similar in size. Interrelationships between bacteria and viruses were expressed with a superior microorganism. Pupils drew microorganisms as cell-like and never portrayed them as animals or with anthropomorphic features. Viruses were considered to cause a more severe disease than bacteria. Pupils seldomly tethered a specific virus to a specific infectious disease, and often named both (virus and disease) 'corona'. However, when they did make a connection, viruses were considered to cause flu and COVID-19, bacteria to cause cold and plague. In general, these results indicate that viruses received a more pronounced position amongst microorganisms in the minds of pupils in the aftermath of COVID-19.
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| 4. |
- Rönner, Anna-Clara, et al.
(författare)
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Cough, sneeze, pass it on–pupils’ understanding of infectious diseases in the aftermath of COVID-19
- 2023
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Ingår i: Journal of Biological Education. - : Routledge. - 0021-9266 .- 2157-6009.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The COVID-19 pandemic had an immense impact on communities around the world. We know that new epidemic-prone diseases will emerge in the future. Consequently, it is important to investigate what impact the current pandemic had on school children’s understanding of infectious diseases in order to develop biology education based on that novel understanding. The aim of this study was to explore Swedish middle school (10-12-year-old) pupils’ understanding of infectious diseases and their perceived sources of knowledge. Data was collected through individual semi-structured interviews with fifteen pupils and analysed by thematic coding. Results revealed a great impact of the pandemic on the respondents’ conceptions. Firstly, their notion of infectious diseases based on their idea of COVID-19 was elusive because COVID-19 can manifest very differently. Secondly, the need to care about oneself and others was recognized. Thirdly, the importance of vaccines was recognized, but vaccines were given different roles. Finally, their understanding of infection seems to originate from informal domains such as the news and the Internet, rather than from biology education. One proposal for biology teaching could be to introduce scientific concepts earlier, to pay more attention to differences and similarities between infectious diseases, and to cooperate with other school subjects.
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| 5. |
- Solvang, Lorena, 1971-
(författare)
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Educational technology for visualisation in upper secondary physics education : The case of GeoGebra
- 2021
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In order to contribute to our understanding of how technologies can be used to visualise physical phenomena in order to support teaching and learning of the phenomena at hand, this licentiate thesis explores the ways in which visual representations created with GeoGebra can be used in upper-secondary physics education. In addition, this thesis provides a new model that can be used to characterise students’ representational competence.This thesis is a compilation of two journal articles. The first article is a systematic review of the current literature on how GeoGebra can be used to support physics education in upper-secondary schools. The second article explores students’ use and interpretation of a provided representation, a GeoGebra simulation of friction, and generation of their own representations. The systematic literature review identifies three major ways in which teachers and researchers report using GeoGebra in physics education—namely, (1) to design custom-made computer simulations, (2) to augment real experiments with virtual objects, and (3) to engage students in constructing GeoGebra simulations. The second study shows how students used improvised representations, in the form of gestures, enactments, and drawings, in their interpretation of links between microscopic aspects of friction and the provided GeoGebra simulation. The study also reveals how, during engagement with provided representations, students spontaneously move across modalities, shifting between provided and self-constructed representations, between physical and digital representations, and between modes of communication (including gestures, spoken language, and enactment). In addition, a reanalysis of selected examples of data shows that GeoGebra can facilitate transformations of mathematical representations, supporting the structural role and technical role of mathematics, whereby students are enabled to focus on the physical phenomena at hand and the parameters that influence it.
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| 6. |
- Thyberg, Annika, et al.
(författare)
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Investigating students’ meaning-making of multiple visual representations of epigenetics at different levels of biological organization
- 2024
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Ingår i: International Journal of Science Education. - : Taylor & Francis. - 0950-0693 .- 1464-5289.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of this study is to investigate students’ meaning–making of multiple visual representations of epigenetics at different levels of biological organisation, and to discern what visual aspects of the multiple visual representations might influence students’ reasoning. Adopting an exploratory approach, we analysed how students made meaning of visually communicated epigenetics phenomena while pointing at and reasoning about the multiple visual representations as part of semi-structured focus groups. We investigated students’ meaning-making of the multiple visual representations by analysing their indications through physical pointing and accompanying verbal utterances. The analysis revealed meaning-making and the nature of linking between levels of organisation in four distinct patterns, namely intra horizontal linking, inter horizontal linking, one level vertical linking and two level vertical linking. In addition, five different visual characteristics of the multiple visual representations emerged as influencing students’ reasoning while linking between different organisation levels: multiple visual representations, salient visual features, analogous visual features, familiar visual elements, and textual adjuncts. The study shows that multiple visual representations at different levels of organisation can support students’ meaning-making of epigenetics, indicating that this way of communicating can be transferable to other biological domains. Potential implications for future research and teaching practice are provided.
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| 7. |
- Gericke, Niklas, 1970-, et al.
(författare)
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Defining epigenetic literacy : How to integrate epigenetics into the biology curriculum
- 2023
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Ingår i: Journal of Research in Science Teaching. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0022-4308 .- 1098-2736. ; 60:10, s. 2216-2254
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of this study is to define epigenetic literacy and describe how it can be included in school biology. Epigenetics is a new field of research in biology with abundant societal consequences and conceptual implications on how genetics is understood. Epigenetics explains how genes are regulated, thereby clarifying cell differentiation, and providing an understanding of how the environment interacts with genes. Students are bound to encounter epigenetic knowledge and applications related to issues such as health, food, and exercise in the media and their everyday lives. Consequently, there is a need to develop epigenetic literacy. Nevertheless, epigenetics is missing in biology curricula and is almost unknown among teachers and students. Research on epigenetics in science education is scarce, and we do not know what and how to teach. Therefore, we conducted a policy Delphi study with a panel of experts to define an epigenetic literacy framework for teaching in secondary education in relation to Robert's Vision I and Vision II perspectives on epigenetic literacy. Participants were 41 recognized international experts representing 11 countries and five areas of expertise. The experts suggested that epigenetics should be introduced in the lower secondary genetics course (students aged 13-15 years), but also addressed in other relevant areas of biology. The study generated six content themes: epigenetics as a metaphor; epigenetics connecting nature with nurture; epigenetics as a dynamic process; epigenetic mechanisms; epigenetics and inheritance; and epigenetics and nature of science, and five sociocultural themes for contextualization: epigenetics and lifestyle; epigenetics and diseases; epigenetics and ethics; epigenetics and policies; and epigenetics and forensics. Taken together, these themes constitute the epigenetic literacy framework. Further, we uncover divergent meanings in the expert panel & mdash;as is typical of policy Delphi studies & mdash;and connect the framework to genetic literacy and learning progressions in genetics education.
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| 8. |
- Sund, Per, et al.
(författare)
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Teaching contributions from secondary school subject areas to education for sustainable development : a comparative study of science, social science and language teachers
- 2020
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Ingår i: Environmental Education Research. - : Taylor & Francis. - 1350-4622 .- 1469-5871. ; 26:6, s. 772-794
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In many countries' policy documents and curricula, teachers in the subject areas of science, social science and language are encouraged to collaborate on cross-curricular issues such as sustainable development (SD). This study is conducted in secondary schools (compulsory years 7-9) in Sweden and investigates the similarities and differences in the responses of ten teacher groups (forty-three teachers in total) to questions about their teaching contributions in their own subject areas to education for sustainable development (ESD). The overall aim is to understand how teachers of these three subject areas can contribute to cross-curricular teaching in teacher teams in the context of ESD. This is done by analysing the group responses from data collected in group discussions concerning the teaching dimensions what (content), how (methods) and why (purposes) in relation to ESD. We first analyse the teacher group responses and arguments regarding their contribution to ESD teaching from each subject area separately. Thereafter, we comparatively analyse how the different subject areas' contributions overlap or complement each other in a potential collaborative ESD teaching. The results show that teachers from different subject areas stress different yet complimentary dimensions of teaching and perspectives of ESD. The implications for cross-curricular teaching in ESD are also discussed.
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| 9. |
- Staberg, Ragnhild L., et al.
(författare)
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Biology and science teachers view on critical thinking in sustainability education : The need for a multidisciplinary approach for action competence
- 2022
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Critical thinking (CT) has been proposed to be a basic competence in sustainability education to develop students into action competent individuals in complex environmental issues. In sustainability education an interdisciplinary approach is suggested to deal with these complex problems, but in research it is discussed whether CT skills are domain-specific or can be generalized across different school subjects. Therefore, it is of importance to investigate how primary biology and science teachers understand CT in relation to teachers of other subjects. In this study we investigate how Norwegian biology and science teachers in primary schoolunderstand CT. The study design is of a mixed method approach including a teacherquestionnaire from schools all over Norway, and focus group interviews with a sample of teachers. In total, 921 Norwegian primary school teachers answered the questionnaire, of which 135 were science teachers. Of those who completed the survey, teachers from three different schools teaching 5th to 7th grade (N=34), were selected to take part in focus group semi-structured interviews. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis was conducted. The main findings from the study indicate that the primary biology and science teachers, when compared to other teachers (social science and mother tongue teachers predominantly) view CT as an approach were the teachers should be objective, ignoring values and emotions. The focus of CT among biology and science teachers is on nature of science rather than argumentation, shift in perspectives and source criticism. They focus on the importance to teach about evidence based knowledge with the ability to make predictions, and the difference between science and other belief systems. To conclude, primary biology and science teachers will find it difficult to enact CT within sustainability education themselves if all aspects of CT is to be addressed. These preliminary finding call for a multidisciplinary approach in which biology and science teachers ought to collaborate with teachers in other school subjects when teachingCT in sustainability education with the aim to develop students action competence for sustainability.
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| 10. |
- Christenson, Nina, 1975-, et al.
(författare)
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Science and Language Teachers’ Assessment of Upper Secondary Students’ Socio-scientific Argumentation
- 2017
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Ingår i: International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1571-0068 .- 1573-1774. ; 15:8, s. 1403-1422
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Researchers and policy-makers have recognized the importance of including and promoting socioscientific argumentation in science education worldwide. The Swedish curriculum focuses more than ever on socioscientific issues (SSI) as well. However, teaching socioscientific argumentation is not an easy task for science teachers and one of the more distinguished difficulties is the assessment of students’ performance. In this study, we investigate and compare how science and Swedish language teachers, participating in an SSI-driven project, assessed students’ written argumentation about global warming. Swedish language teachers have a long history of teaching and assessing argumentation and therefore it was of interest to identify possible gaps between the two groups of teachers’ assessment practices. The results showed that the science teachers focused on students’ content knowledge within their subjects, whereas the Swedish language teachers included students’ abilities to select and use content knowledge from reliable reference resources, the structure of the argumentation and the form of language used. Since the Swedish language teachers’ assessment correlated more with previous research about quality in socioscientific argumentation, we suggest that a closer co-operation between the two groups could be beneficial in terms of enhancing the quality of assessment. Moreover, SSI teaching and learning as well as assessment of socioscientific argumentation ought to be included in teacher training programs for both pre- and in-service science teachers.
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