Eila Jeronen
Juha Jeronen
Hanna Raustia
Published: Jan. 10, 2009
The article aims to introduce Environmental Education (EE) in Finland and to discuss how it has been taken into account in Finnish nature schools. Firstly, we present EE models used in Finland. Thereafter we describe a qualitative case study on EE in nature schools (NS). The aim of the study was to get information for the development of EE. The research questions were: Who are the visitors to NSs? What are the educational aims in NSs? What kind of educational methods and approaches do NS teachers use? The resultant data for the questions from 1 to 3 is based on …
Meshach B. Ogunniyi
Published: Oct. 7, 2008
With the increased global awareness of the negative impact of scientific, technological and industrial activities on the environment and copious examples of sustainable practices existing in many an indigenous community, the new South African science curriculum statement has called on science teachers to integrate school science with the Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS). In response to this call, this study used an Argumentation-Based course (A-B course) to enhance teachers’ understanding of the Nature of Science (NOS) and IKS and their ability to integrate science and IKS in their classrooms. Nine teachers participated in the course over a six-month period. Using questionnaires …
Laura Barraza
Ian Robottom
Published: Oct. 6, 2008
In this decade of Education for Sustainable Development, it is timely to consider the methodological issues associated with researching this topic not only with adults but also with the young children who, as members of the next generation, will experience the success or otherwise of current environmental sustainability efforts. We argue that it is important when making methodological choices to recognize that both the sustainability issues themselves and the way individuals learn about these issues, are socially and culturally constructed. In this article we are interested in ways of gaining representations of individuals’ mental constructions of environmental sustainability issues. We …
Mustafa Çakır
Published: Oct. 9, 2008
This paper draws attention to the literature in the areas of learning, specifically, constructivism, conceptual change and cognitive development. It emphasizes the contribution of such research to our understanding of the learning process. This literature provides guidelines for teachers, at all levels, in their attempt to have their students achieve learning with understanding. Research about the constructive nature of students’ learning processes, about students’ mental models, and students’ misconceptions have important implications for teachers who wish to model scientific reasoning in an effective fashion for their students. This paper aims to communicate this research to teachers, textbook authors, and college …
Ahmet Kılınç
Martin Stanisstreet
Edward Boyes
Published: April 10, 2008
A questionnaire was used to explore the prevalence of ideas about global warming in Year 10 (age 15-16 years) school students in Turkey. The frequencies of individual scientific ideas and misconceptions about the causes, consequences and ‘cures’ of global warming were identified. In addition, several general findings emerged from this study. Firstly, many students believed that radioactivity is causally linked to global warming; they believed that radioactive leakage from nuclear power stations exacerbates global warming, and that reducing the global nuclear arsenal could reduce it. Secondly, students appeared to confuse the causes and consequences of global warming with those of …
Paul J. Bischoff
Devin Castendyk
Hugh Gallagher
John Schaumloffel
Sunil Labroo
Published: June 10, 2008
Now in its fifth year, PR2EPS is a National Science Foundation funded initiative designed to recruit high school students to attend college majoring in the physical sciences, including engineering and secondary science education, and to help ensure their retention within these programs until graduation. A central feature of the recruitment effort is a free, one-week residential summer science camp for high school students. This report describes the rationale for using a camp as a recruitment tool as well as the camp structure. Two focus questions are addressed: 1) How successful is the camp at providing a learning environment where participants …
Josiah O. Ajiboye
Nthalivi Silo
Published: June 10, 2008
An intervention study was set up through the School Civic Clubs to improve Botswana Children’s environmental knowledge, attitudes and practices. The underlying assumption in using this informal approach was based on the premise that the school time table is already overcrowded and that the infusion approach currently adopted in the country has not produced the desired results. Hence, the Civic Clubs were introduced into ten Primary schools in Botswana. Using this informal approach, the children were given requisite training in civic and environmental issues, and they engaged in various activities for a period of six weeks. Data was collected before …
Mustafa Dogru
Published: Jan. 10, 2008
Helping student to improve the problems solving skills is the primary target of the science teacher trainees. In modern science, for training the students, methods should be used for improving their thinking skills, make connections with events and concepts and scientific operations skills rather than information and definition giving. One of these methods are problem solving.With this study, it is shown that problem solving is not just solving a movement problem like in the physics as it is understood by most of the science teachers but it can be used also in social problems like environmental problems. Further more, scientific …
Mahsa Kazempour
Published: Jan. 10, 2014
The case study reported in this paper is part of a larger multiple cross case analysis focusing on pre-service teachers with various initial confidence and attitudes toward science and science teaching. In this paper, the focus will be on one elementary teacher candidate, Lisa, who began the science methods course with a negative attitude and low self-efficacy. An in-depth description of her beliefs, attitude, and self-efficacy, before and after the course, the impact of her prior science experience and the science methods course on shaping these domains, and the possible interrelationship between the three variables are discussed. The findings revealed …
Erdal Tatar
Münir Oktay
Published: June 10, 2007
This paper serves to review previously reported studies on students’ misunderstandings about the energy conservation principle (the first law of thermodynamics). Generally, studies in literature highlighted student’ misunderstandings about the energy conservation principle stem from preliminaries about energy concept in daily life. Since prior knowledge of students’ misunderstandings of scientific content knowledge is the first step in preventing these misunderstandings, it is considered that such a study will provide an important source for studies which aims to reduce or eliminate misunderstandings on the energy conservation principle.