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Science and Mathematics Education Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Science and Mathematics Education

Curriculum Decision Making For National Interest In The Tertiary Sector: An Evaluation Of A Curriculum Project, Stephen Duggan, Lyndall Boyle Jan 1990

Curriculum Decision Making For National Interest In The Tertiary Sector: An Evaluation Of A Curriculum Project, Stephen Duggan, Lyndall Boyle

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper is concerned with a study of comparative curriculum practice within the tertiary sector. Within Australia, curriculum practice, innovation, planning and evaluation has occurred mainly within the primary and secondary school system. However, since the mid-1980s, educational strategies for national interest have seen the evolution of informed curriculum research and development within the tertiary sector, as universities and colleges endeavour to meet nationally determined educational goals and objectives. This study relates the research process involved when tertiary educators (and researchers) are faced with the task of reconciling local, regional and national objectives. In particular, it considers the dynamics of …


Improving The Scientific Thinking Of Preservice Secondary Science Teachers, Mark Hackling, Patrick Garnett, Frank Dymond Jan 1990

Improving The Scientific Thinking Of Preservice Secondary Science Teachers, Mark Hackling, Patrick Garnett, Frank Dymond

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Previous studies indicate that many preservice science teachers lack facility with those formal reasoning patterns that are critical for learning science. The purpose of this project was to develop, implement and evaluate a curriculum package directed at improving preservice secondary science teachers' scientific thinking. A matched treatment-control, quasi-experimental design revealed significant gains achieved through use of the curriculum materials.


The Relationship Between Cooperative Small Group Composition And The Learning Of A Mathematical Concept In The Primary School Years: A Pilot Study, Susan Eaton Jan 1990

The Relationship Between Cooperative Small Group Composition And The Learning Of A Mathematical Concept In The Primary School Years: A Pilot Study, Susan Eaton

Theses : Honours

In recent years small group cooperative learning has been given increasing attention by researchers. This interest has been a result of n growing awareness of the benefits that small group cooperative learning can bring to the learning process. These benefits include gains in areas of academic achievement, self-confidence as a learner, cross-cultural/cross-racial relationships, social acceptance of mainstreamed students, and improved attitudes towards school and learning. A particular focus of North American researchers has been small group cooperative learning in mathematics. Little work had been done in this area in Western Australian schools and with the changed emphasis in the Western …


The Effect Of A Vee-Mapping Strategy On Students' Perceptions Of Laboratory Activities, Sonia J. Hueppauff Jan 1990

The Effect Of A Vee-Mapping Strategy On Students' Perceptions Of Laboratory Activities, Sonia J. Hueppauff

Theses : Honours

Practical work is considered important for learning science, by teachers and science educators. This acceptance though, has been reported as based on intuition rather than evidence (Atkinson & White, 1961). A significant proportion of class time is occupied with doing practical work. It is evident that in a majority of situations, students commence laboratory activities unsure of their aim, the procedure they are going to carry out, or that experimentation is a way of forming knowledge (Moreira, I 960; Novak & Gowin, I 964). Vee-maps (Novak & Gowin, 1 964) are one way of making laboratory work more meaningful. That …


Secondary Students' Difficulties With Designing A Controlled Experiment, Bradley E. Watson Jan 1990

Secondary Students' Difficulties With Designing A Controlled Experiment, Bradley E. Watson

Theses : Honours

This research investigation was conducted to identify the difficulties encountered by secondary science students in the design of a controlled experiment. These difficulties were illuminated by studying the combination of knowledge, skills and strategies employed by experts. Three categories of individuals were used in the study, Year 10 science students, Year 12 science students and science lecturers who had completed doctoral studies in their fields. There were six subjects interviewed in each category. Each of the subjects were given a task which involved thinking aloud while planning a controlled experiment. When the subjects had completed the task, they were asked …


The Development And Evaluation Of A Computer-Assisted Strategy Designed To Change Student Misconceptions About Chemical Equilibrium, Hassan Hameed Jan 1990

The Development And Evaluation Of A Computer-Assisted Strategy Designed To Change Student Misconceptions About Chemical Equilibrium, Hassan Hameed

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The main aims of this thesis are twofold. First, to identify and describe misconceptions about chemical equilibrium held by Year-12 chemistry students in the Maldives. Second, to investigate the effects of using a computer-assisted instructional strategy in changing those misconceptions. A misconception idenfication test and an interview schedule developed by Garnett & Hackling (1984) were used to diagnose student misconceptions about chemical equilibrium. The remediation aspect of the study used a computer-assisted instruction (CAI) package. The package was designed in accordance with a model of conceptual change proposed by Posner, Strike, Hewson & Gertzog (1982). The CAI package consists of …