Effects Of Context Oriented Learning On Student Interest And Achievement In Chemistry Education

Der Chemieunterricht sieht sich nicht erst seit PISA mit dem Anspruch konfrontiert, einerseits die Lernenden von der Relevanz des Faches zu uberzeugen und andererseits zu gewahrleisten, dass sie genug vernetztes Konzeptwissen erwerben, um eine naturwissenschaftliche Berufslaufbahn wahlen zu konnen. An diesem Spannungsfeld setzt die vorgestellte Studie an: anhand eines experimentellen Designs wird der Erwerb von Wissen in lebensweltlichen im Gegensatz zu fachlichen Kontexten evaluiert. Funf Experimentierphasen dienen als Grundlage, um die Effizienz der jeweiligen Kontexte in Verbindung mit wiederholenden Vernetzungsmassnahmen zu untersuchen. Die gewahlten Messinstrumente ermoglichen hierbei eine detaillierte Beschreibung der Effekte der Interventionsmassnahmen beim kooperativen Arbeiten im Chemieunterricht. Especially since the weak results of German students in large-scale assessments like PISA, chemistry education has been challenged: It is supposed to bridge the gap between making it relevant to the learner and ensuring that learners acquire enough content knowledge to cope with university demands. The presented study emanates from this ambiguity by evaluating the acquisition of content knowledge in different contexts. By means of an experimental design, student learning gains in tasks with a real life problem situation are compared to a laboratory setting. A one-week intervention serves as a basis to assess the effects of such contexts in a collaborative and inquiry-based learning environment. The selected test instruments offer the possibility to shed light on differentiated effects of contexts with relation to learner prerequisites.

"Context-based science education has led to the transformation of science education in countries all over the world, with changes also visible in learning environments and how these are being shaped. These changes involve authentic problems on research and design, new types of interactions within communities of practice, new content areas and also new challenges for teachers in teaching, motivating, scaffolding and assessing their students, among other things.This book focuses on context-based science education and its resulting changes in the perspective of research on learning environments. It also focuses on the implications for the teachers and the professional development of their competencies and beliefs.The book consists of eleven chapters by experts in various themes surrounding learning environments research and science education, preceded by and concluded with a chapter with reflections on context-based learning environments in science by the editors of this book. The conclusion they draw is that professional development of science teachers may be the most important and the most difficult part of the process of teachers creating context-based learning environments in science, as is the focus in the title of this book."

This is a unique resource for those wishing to address the affective domain as they research and solve problems in chemistry education. Contributions by world-leading experts cover both fundamental considerations and practical case studies. This work fills a gap in the literature of chemistry education, which so far has focussed mainly on the cognitive domain. The affective domain refers to feelings-based constructs such as attitudes, values, beliefs, opinions, emotions, interests, motivation, and a degree of acceptance or rejection. It can affect students’ interest in science topics and their motivation to persevere in learning science concepts.

Many projects in recent years have applied context-based learning and engagement tools to the fostering of long-term student engagement with chemistry. While empirical evidence shows the positive effects of context-based learning approaches on students’ interest, the long-term effects on student engagement have not been sufficiently highlighted up to now. Edited by respected chemistry education researchers, and with contributions from practitioners across the world, Engaging Learners with Chemistry sets out the approaches that have been successfully tested and implemented according to different criteria, including informative, interactive, and participatory engagement, while also considering citizenship and career perspectives. Bringing together the latest research in one volume, this book will be useful for chemistry teachers, researchers in chemistry education and professionals in the chemical industry seeking to attract students to careers in the chemical sector.

Although various arguments for integrated learning of mathematics and science exist, empirical evidence that integrated learning is as beneficial as anticipated is limited. Therefore this quasi-experimental study investigates the effect of integrated learning of mathematics and science on eight student variables by comparing it to a control group. Results show that integrated learning is no miracle cure but has positive and negative effects on specific student outcomes. Whereas integrated learning effects students' view of the relation between mathematics and science positively, it effects students' scientific self-concept negatively. Thus, integrated learning should not substitute but rather complement disciplinary learning. Obwohl zahlreiche Argumente für das integrierte Lernen von Mathematik und Naturwissenschaften existieren, ist die vorteilhafte Wirkung integrierten Lernens begrenzt empirisch belegt. Im Rahmen dieser quasi-experimentellen Studie wird der Effekt integrierten Lernens auf acht Schülervariablen durch Vergleiche mit einer Kontrollgruppe untersucht. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass integriertes Lernen kein Allheilmittel ist sondern positive und negative Effekte auf bestimmte Schülervariablen hat. Während integriertes Lernen die Sicht der Schülerinnen und Schüler auf die Beziehung zwischen Mathematik und Naturwissenschaften positiv beeinflusst, hat es einen negativen Effekt auf das naturwissenschaftliche Selbstkonzept. Daher sollte integriertes Lernen nicht stellvertretend sondern ergänzend zu disziplinärem Lernen implementiert werden.

This book is aimed at chemistry teachers, teacher educators, chemistry education researchers, and all those who are interested in increasing the relevance of chemistry teaching and learning as well as students' perception of it. The book consists of 20 chapters. Each chapter focuses on a certain issue related to the relevance of chemistry education. These chapters are based on a recently suggested model of the relevance of science education, encompassing individual, societal, and vocational relevance, its present and future implications, as well as its intrinsic and extrinsic aspects. “Two highly distinguished chemical educators, Ingo Eilks and AviHofstein, have brought together 40 internationally renowned colleagues from 16 countries to offer an authoritative view of chemistry teaching today. Between them, the authors, in 20 chapters, give an exceptional description of the current state of chemical education and signpost the future in both research and in the classroom. There is special emphasis on the many attempts to enthuse students with an understanding of the central science, chemistry, which will be helped by having an appreciation of the role of the science in today’s world. Themes which transcend all education such as collaborative work, communication skills, attitudes, inquiry learning and teaching, and problem solving are covered in detail and used in the context of teaching modern chemistry. The book is divided into four parts which describe the individual, the societal, the vocational and economic, and the non-formal dimensions and the editors bring all the disparate leads into a coherent narrative, that will be highly satisfying to experienced and new researchers and to teachers with the daunting task of teaching such an intellectually demanding subject. Just a brief glance at the index and the references will convince anyone interested in chemical education that this book is well worth studying; it is scholarly and readable and has tackled the most important issues in chemical education today and in the foreseeable future.” – Professor David Waddington, Emeritus Professor in Chemistry Education, University of York, United Kingdom

Design Research in Education is a practical guide containing all the information required to begin a design research project. Providing an accessible background to the methodological approaches used in design research as well as addressing all the potential issues that early career researchers will encounter, the book uniquely helps the early career researcher to gain a full overview of design research and the practical skills needed to get their project off the ground. Based on extensive experience, the book also contains multiple examples of design research from both undergraduate and postgraduate students, to demonstrate possible projects to the reader. With easy to follow chapters and accessible question and response sections, Design Research in Education contains practical advice on a wide range of topics related to design research projects including: The theory of design research, what it entails, and when it is suitable The formulation of research questions How to structure a research project The quality of research and the methodological issues of validity and reliability How to write up your research The supervision of design research. Through its theoretical grounding and practical advice, Design Research in Education is the ideal introduction into the field of design based research and is essential reading for bachelor's, master's and PhD students new to the field, as well as to supervisors overseeing projects that use design research.

Winner of the CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title 2017 Award This comprehensive collection of top-level contributions provides a thorough review of the vibrant field of chemistry education. Highly-experienced chemistry professors and education experts cover the latest developments in chemistry learning and teaching, as well as the pivotal role of chemistry for shaping a more sustainable future. Adopting a practice-oriented approach, the current challenges and opportunities posed by chemistry education are critically discussed, highlighting the pitfalls that can occur in teaching chemistry and how to circumvent them. The main topics discussed include best practices, project-based education, blended learning and the role of technology, including e-learning, and science visualization. Hands-on recommendations on how to optimally implement innovative strategies of teaching chemistry at university and high-school levels make this book an essential resource for anybody interested in either teaching or learning chemistry more effectively, from experience chemistry professors to secondary school teachers, from educators with no formal training in didactics to frustrated chemistry students.