Journal of Baltic Science Education, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2005

Journal of Baltic Science Education, 2005 No.
1 (7)
ISSN 1648–3898
2005 No. 1 (7)
1
Journal of Baltic Science Education, 2005 No. 1 (7)
ISSN 1648–3898
Editorial Board
Editor–in–Chief
Prof., Dr. Vincentas Lamanauskas - Siauliai University /Lithuania/
Deputy Editor–in–Chief
Prof., Dr. Andris Broks - University of Latvia /Latvia/
Deputy Editor–in–Chief
Prof., Dr. habil. Aarne Tõldsepp - Estonian Chemistry Teachers Association /Estonia/
Executive Secretary
Dr. Laima Railienė - Scientific Methodical Center „Scientia Educologica”
/Lithuania/
Editors:
Dr. Hana Čtrnáctová - Charles University /Czechia/
Dr. Jānis Gedrovics - Riga Teacher Training and Educational Management
Academy /Latvia/
Dr. Ryszard M. Janiuk - Maria Curie Sklodowska University /Poland/
Prof., Dr. habil. Vytolis Kučinskas - Klaipėda University /Lithuania/
Dr. Rita Makarskaitė-Petkevičienė - Vilnius Pedagogical University /Lithuania/
Prof., Dr. Aadu Ott - Göteborg University /Sweden/
Dr. Paul Pace - Malta University /Malta/
Prof., Dr. Valfrids Paškevičs - Daugavpils University /Latvia/
Dr. Miia Rannikmäe - Tartu University /Estonia/
Dr. Alona Rauckienė - Klaipėda University /Lithuania/
Dr. Kurt Riquarts - Kiel University /Germany/
Prof., Dr. Heimo Saarikko - Helsinki University /Finland/
Prof., Dr. habil. Juozas Saplinskas - Vilnius University /Lithuania/
Dr. Uladzimir Slabin - Institute of Modern Knowledge /Belarus/
Prof., Dr. Valery P. Solomin - Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia /Russia/
Prof., Dr. Borislav V. Toshev - Sofia University /Bulgaria/
A scientific journal JBSE issued by the SMC Scientia Educologica, Lithuania, emphasizes theoretical,
experimental and methodical studies in the field of science education. JBSE is an international academic journal.
In order to maintain the high standards appropriate to such a journal, all contributions received are submitted for
anonymous review by two experts, additionally to review by the Editor. The decision of the Editor on the acceptance
of articles is final and no correspondence can be entered into on reasons for rejection of a submitted contribution.
Published since 2002

The journal is published twice a year in March and October.
Address: Scientific Methodical Center “Scientia Educologica”

Pagėgių str. 43-1,
LT-78122 Šiauliai, Lithuania
E-mail: gamtamokslinis@one.lt ; vincentas@osf.su.lt
Phone: +370 687 95668
Home page: http://vingis.ktu.lt/~jbse
http://www.webspawner.com/users/19671970/
© Scientific Methodical Center

ISSN 1648–3898
„Scientia Educologica” /Lithuania/,
The associated member of Lithuanian Scientific Society
The articles appearing in this journal are indexed/abstracted in British Education Index and EBSCO.
2
ISSN 1648–3898 CONTENTS
CONTENTS
DEAR READERS AND WRITERS! ....................................................................................................... 4
Articles
PHYSICS LEARNING WITH EXPLORATORY TALKS DURING A MINI-PROJECT –

A CASE STUDY OF FOUR GIRLS WORKING WITH ELECTRIC CIRCUITS
Margareta Enghag, Hans Niedderer ............................................................................................... 5
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ AND TRAINEE SCIENCE TEACHERS’

PERCEPTIONS OF OZONE LAYER DEPLETION
Feyzi Osman Pekel .......................................................................................................................... 12
THE STUDENT VOICE IN SCIENCE EDUCATION: RESEARCH AND ISSUES

Edgar W. Jenkins ............................................................................................................................. 22
EXPERIENCES AND THEIR ROLE IN SCIENCE EDUCATION

Mattias Lundin, Mats Lindahl ........................................................................................................ 31
THE COMPARATIVE STUDY OF PROSPECTIVE

SCIENCE TEACHERS’ SKILLS OF WRITTEN EXPLANATION
Oleg Popov, Sergey Bogdanov ....................................................................................................... 40
STUDYING STUDENTS’ UNDERSTANDING OF THE INTERPLAY

BETWEEN THE MICROSCOPIC AND THE MACROSCOPIC DESCRIPTIONS IN CHEMISTRY
Liliana Mammino, Liberato Cardellini ........................................................................................... 51
FINDING POSSIBILITIES TO IMPROVE SCIENCE EDUCATION

IN HIGH SCHOOL AND GYMNASIUM
Lolita Jonâne ................................................................................................................................... 63
THE OPINIONS OF PHYSICS TEACHERS ON THE NATURE OF THE

CONTENT OF PHYSICS SENIOR SECONDARY SYLLABI AND RESOURCES
Cephas David Yandila, Magdeline Patience Nkumba, Mokaruvapa Kazoozu ............................ 70
Information
INFORMATION FOR CONTRIBUTORS ............................................................................................. 84
AFRICAN JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN MATHEMATICS,

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION .................................................................................... 85
ACTUAL QUESTIONS OF CHEMISTRY EDUCATION ....................................................................... 86
NATURAL SCIENCE EDUCATION – NEW INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL ........................................... 87
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ISSN 1648–3898
Dear Readers and Writers!
The Journal of Baltic Science Education (JBSE) is a relatively new journal in the field of science
education. Nevertheless it has already had a strong position amongst the other journals of that
area. This high quality scholarly journal seems to be a bridge between the Eastern pedagogy and
the Western education. In addition it revives the old educational tradition of the Baltic countries
and Scandinavia. The papers from the other parts of Europe are also welcome.
I am a chemist. Chemistry education is an essential part of the science education. However
the high school Chemistry is in danger now. Even it was supposed that Chemistry would have the
future of Latin and Greek – languages once widely studied in the European high schools. Will the
Chemistry longer generate the excitement that it used to in earlier times – in 19th and in early 20th
centuries? Can you imagine people queuing in the street to hear a public lecture on chemistry
today? It was even in Bulgaria in the 1920’s. Then students and other people entered the lecture
halls to enjoy the talks delivered by Professor Assen Zlatarov from the University of Sofia, well-
known organic and bioorganic chemist. Today it is not the case. Chemistry has become a victim of
its own success. This is not to say it loses its importance; together with its concepts, techniques
and traditions it is being used by emerging areas like material science, environmental studies or
biology.
The principle goal of the Journal of Baltic Science Education is to enhance the quality of
teaching and learning science in all school levels, including the university one, and to raise the
status and image of science education. It is of importance for whole the society and its future
development. As a rule three are the main functions of any scholarly journal: i) to produce,
disseminate and exchange scientific knowledge; ii) to rank research in order to assist the
distribution of research funds; iii) to facilitate the employment and promotion of the people
involved in science. The Editorial Board and the Editor-in-Chief Professor Vincentas Lamanauskas
have the capacity and ambitions to realize such a difficult task.
Once I read that the act of publishing had been referred as a gift exchange within a community
of like-minded people – where the gift, freely given, would generate esteem and professional
advancement. We do hope such gifts will be given to our readers and writers by our journal as
well. So, don’t miss them and be our true friends!
With kind regards!
Professor Borislav V. Toshev,

University of Sofia (Bulgaria),
Member of the Editorial Board of JBSE
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ISSN 1648–3898
PHYSICS LEARNING WITH

EXPLORATORY TALKS
DURING A MINI-PROJECT –
A CASE STUDY OF FOUR
GIRLS WORKING WITH
ELECTRIC CIRCUITS
Margareta Enghag, Hans Niedderer Abstract. During physics instruction

© Margareta Enghag with mini-projects, four upper
© Hans Niedderer secondary school girls decide to plan
how to teach electric circuits to
younger children. Their group
discussions result in a conceptual
Introduction change related to the concepts
resistance and current. Their prior
A mini-project is a task or experimental problem or conception, built on current
inquiry given in order to strengthen the competence in consumption, leads them into
physics. A mini-project can be given in different degrees of conceptual conflicts, and by
freedom, and for different time periods. We used mini- exploratory talks they reach a new
projects that were done during two weeks, and with a list of view based on current as movement
proposed mini-projects to select from. The performance of with different speed. Students’
the mini-projects was on the students’ responsibility and ownership of learning (SOL) is
forms of report and presentation were also decided by the increased by an instructional design
students. All these features represent students’ ownership with mini-projects. This gives students
of learning. This ownership of a mini-project offers an the opportunity to choose a unique
opportunity to students to use prior knowledge in other question, to determine their own
learning environments, and to develop a new type of self- learning process, to increase their
constructed knowledge in broader contexts. motivation and to enhance
development of competence and self-
Objectives for use of mini-projects as instructional design. confidence.
• To give students the possibility to manage their own

learning process.
• To give students freedom to approach a problem at their
own level of ability.
• To give students a chance to accomplish a task without Key words: physics teaching, students’
being compared to others, to solve a unique problem. ownership of learning, motivation,
• To give students the possibility to choose intuitively a conceptual change, electric circuits.
task that offers development of their individual
understanding. Margareta Enghag
• To give the teacher the possibility to introduce a new Mälardalen University, Department of
type of questions or tasks aiming at a more holistic or Mathematics and Physics, Sweden
contextual understanding and more meaningfulness. Swedish National Graduate School of
Science and Technology Education,
Theoretical framework Linköping University, Sweden
Hans Niedderer
Our basic hypothesis is that mini-projects are one way Mälardalen University, Department of
to increase motivation by increasing students’ ownership. Mathematics and Physics, Sweden
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PHYSICS LEARNING WITH EXPLORATORY TALKS DURING A MINI-PROJECT – A ISSN 1648–3898
CASE STUDY OF FOUR GIRLS WORKING WITH ELECTRIC CIRCUITS
(P. 5–11)
Students’ ownership of learning (SOL) is the students’ impact on tasks and learning environment
in such a way that students have a real opportunity to achieve autonomous learning of physics
(Enghag, 2004, p. 7). Examples of SOL are students who develop own questions, own ideas for
doing experiments, own ways of performance and presentation, and similar actions based on
their own experiences. The students’ ownership of learning has impact on their mastery orientation
(Milner-Bolotin, 2001), and is fostered by a problem-based learning environment (Savery, 1996).
It will give students possibilities to realise their own way of learning and to increase student
influence on instruction (Enghag, 2004, p. 39).
In group-discussions, we observe how students use exploratory talks (Barnes 1971; 1973) to
develop their physics competence (Enghag, 2004, p. 41). In one example presented in this paper,
we see even conceptual change (Duit, 1999) happening in exploratory talks without help from
the teacher. We define talks as exploratory talks if students (without the teacher) have a subject
matter focused talk with special features like using language in a more exploratory fashion,
using a far wider range of speech-roles, like questioning, challenging and encouraging. They use
often half sentences, and fill in words into the other persons’ sentences. In exploratory talks, they
have taken control of the learning activity themselves and one student draws in another (Barnes,
1973).
Research methodology
In an explorative study (Enghag, 2004), we have done a qualitative theory generating

abductive study with data from six cases. These cases were chosen from three different contexts,
two classes with mini-projects in science teacher training at university level, two classes with
mini-projects and context-rich problems in upper secondary school. These cases show a large
variation about ownership, motivation and competence. During our working process, nine
variables have emerged as significant. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to
collect data into these variables. In upper secondary school, we recorded five groups with 15
students on videotapes, during the beginning of their second physics course, and at university
five groups too. The video analysis was done with a category-based analysis of videotapes
(Niedderer, et al. 2002) and with transcriptions of selected parts and interpretive analysis
(Niedderer, 2001). As a result, we used examples from these case studies to operationally define
the concepts of ownership, motivation, competence and exploratory talks. We also analysed the
relation between ownership and motivation and competence in special cases. The hypothetical
model from our study is “more ownership results in more motivation results in more competence”
(Enghag, 2004, p. 139).
In this paper we report only one of those six cases, one female group working with the mini-
project “Explain and demonstrate the series and parallel circuits of electric bulbs to a lower
secondary school class.”, number 16 out of a list of 18 suggestions, presented by the teacher
(Enghag, 2004, p. 78 ff). We focus on questions about ownership, motivation, communication
and conceptual change as one way of increasing competence.
Results of the research
Student ownership of learning fostering motivation
The four girls here called Anna, Lena, Kathy and Kristin are 17 years old and enrolled in a
physics course in the natural science program. The four girls develop ownership at the beginning
of their group work by talking about their decision to choose this special mini-project. In the first
dialogue below, they show they have chosen this mini-project: because they want to understand
the basic concepts of electric circuits and explain it to children, thus doing something useful, not
only abstract calculations. Anna shows the highest ownership of this idea from the beginning.
She later on has also the highest motivation:
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ISSN 1648–3898 PHYSICS LEARNING WITH EXPLORATORY TALKS DURING A MINI-PROJECT – A
(P. 5–11)
Anna: Then you can compare to water pipes and how much goes through – how much resistance there is …
Kathy: … yes, resistance and …
Anna: I think it will be fun. You have to think for yourself and than you will understand yourself too.
Kathy: It is a basic thing to do.
Lena: I think so too, but it is difficult to explain...
Anna: But it is still more fun...maybe all the others would like to do it too …
This special mini-project was chosen only by these girls, the other groups have chosen different
tasks. This gives them additional ownership; Anna’s last concern turns into positive feelings. They
continue to talk about the difficulties of this task:
Lena: It could be difficult to explain to them.

Kathy: Does it have to be that easy?
After this talk, they soon agree to do this mini-project as a demonstration and explanation
of series- and parallel electric circuits for lower secondary school students. Their ownership of an
own question (not selected by any other group), ownership of special analogies to be used, the
ownership of developing their own understanding, ownership of their own decisions how to
work and how to present the results, and the important feeling to do something useful give
them a high motivation. We believe that this motivation supplies the crucial energy required to
do a conceptual change seen by Anna and Lena. Kathy was not familiar with “the crocodile
analogy”. This could be a reason to her lower ownership to the question, and lower motivation
during work. The group has achieved their ambition to make the design for a teaching sequence,
to carry out the laboratory work and to connect series and parallel circuits. They spend a lot of
effort in reaching consensus about how to explain current and resistance. Motivation is in this
study operationalised as the straightforward observation of what energy the individual puts in
the work process. This energy can be observed by students’ choices of particular actions, persistence
with these actions and effort expanded on them (Pressick-Kilborn, 2003).We use as indicators for
motivation: the amount of physics talk and the amount of planning talk spent in the small group
work conversation, the persistence of the work with the task, the effort the students showed in
the task seen as special actions and from communication, the existence of exploratory talks. We
see competence development in physics as new insights concerning conceptual and holistic
understanding or practical skills.
Percentage of physics and conceptual talk divided on person shows that Anna (26%) and
Lena (33%) are dominant in physics talk but Kathy (17%) and Kristin (17%) are included in the
discussions about the explanations as well but not that much. In talk about planning Anna (46%)
and Lena (31%) were dominant too and the contribution from Kathy (5%) quite low but Kristin
(18%) was active and showed initiative and creativity. The amount of disturbance in form of
talking with a non-MP content was as low as 16 %, and the energy put in is high.
Conceptual change during exploratory talks
They show examples of exploratory talks when they discuss an analogy about current as
boys and girls and resistance as crocodiles in electric circuits. Exploratory talk is recognised by the
way you find these two signs;
1) supporting questions that keep the talking going;
2) the repeating of the friends last word when you take over the talking and load thinking.
Kristin: But what can I say about series circuits?

Lena: It is the Christmas lights.
Kristin: Yes…if one of them goes out, the rest of them go out too. Like the Christmas tree lights…and here
are the parallel circuits…the current has two paths to chose from…and then it divides itself up and
just as much current goes there as there and then the two lights shine equally bright.
Anna: …equally bright. ..
Kristin: equally bright, instead of two that are dim. (pointing to the series circuit.)
7
(P. 5–11)
Anna: Don’t they shine with different intensities in the series circuit?
Lena: I kind of think they should…
Anna: …the last one should be less bright than the others, but maybe it doesn’t?
Kristin: No, they are equally bright.
The last statement of Anna and the following dialog with “crocodiles” are an excellent
example of a well-known alternative conception of students called “current consumption
(Shipstone, et al. 1988) or “everyday life current” (Niedderer & Goldberg, 1996). So, the students’
learning process starts from this prior conception, here with the special analogy of a resistor as a
crocodile eating some of the girls and boys (positive and negative charges, see figure 1):
Anna: We might need to explain what an electron is too.

Lena: Boys and girls are positive and negative charges that are trying to get to each other.
Lena: The crocodiles like to eat people so every now and then some disappear. That is what the resistance
is, the thing that stops the current.
Here, we can see aspects of exploratory talks: Anna puts a question to the whole group and
Lena gives a tentative answer, which is readily accepted. In the following dialogue, they talk
about how to explain parallel circuits with their analogy:
Kristin: Parallel circuits…

Anna: Is this just for current and resistance?
Kristin: If you have two bridges is it not easier to get across?
Anna: What are the crocodiles again?
Lena: Resistance.
Anna: And small bridges are also resistance?
Lena: Yes, and the people are the current.
Figure 1. Lena’s picture (later in her presentation on the whiteboard)

Again we see an exploratory talk going on: they all together put questions and work on
their answers.
During the following exploratory talk, Lena expresses explicit her problems to understand
why bulbs in a series circuit shine equally bright, so still struggling with a facet of the alternative
conception “current consuption”:
Kristin: The current in this one has two choices (pointing to a parallel circuit with two lights). Unlike this
one (pointing to a series circuit with two lights), which has only one way to go…that is why they are
equally bright (in the parallel circuit). But why do they shine equally bright (in the series circuit)?
Anna: Because the current divides itself equally in half.
Lena: But I think that is so weird. If it is divided there is only half for each one. Then it is divided again
there but still we see that it isn’t that way…
8
(P. 5–11)
Lena has the initiative in telling the others about the analogy with resistance as crocodiles
that consume charges. She teaches the others.
In a later part of their exploratory talks, they come back to the series circuit, and whether
bulbs shine equally there or not:
Anna: Don’t they shine with different intensities in the series circuit?
Lena: I kind of think they should…
Anna: … the last one should be less bright than the others, but maybe it doesn’t?
Kristin: No, they are equally bright.
Lena: That is because there are crocodiles in the way and it is hard for them to get by.
Anna realises that if the charges are consumed, the bulbs will shine differently, and likes to
discuss this. Kristin does not find this necessary to discuss, as she can see for herself that the bulbs
shine equally bright from their own circuits. She looks and believes what she sees. Lena tries to
stick to the crocodile analogy, but also realises the conflict they now have to solve: they shine
equally bright, but they should not; something is missing in their view of resistance. She suddenly
finds a new idea:
Lena: Wait a second…with resistance…they don’t get eaten up; it is because the current goes fast.
Anna: …it slows down…
Lena: …if the current goes fast the lights are bright and if the current is slow the lights are dim…
Anna: It depends on how many electrons go through. The resistance is what causes fewer electrons to go
through the lights.
Lena: … per second, it slows the speed.
Anna: Yes, that’s right, it goes slower, they are not being eaten…
So, Anna and Lena seem quite sure that they have found a better explanation. They now
formulate a conception which is near to Ohm’s law in physics. It means to see the amount of
current being related to the speed of electrons. Their repetitions of this idea shows some stability
and evidence that this view now is their favourite view, and this is the reason why we speak of
“conceptual change” (Niedderer & Goldberg, 1996). This does not mean that the older view has
vanished (Petri & Niedderer, 2003). To the contrary, these students in their final presentation
again use also their prior conception. So this might be another example, which shows parallel
conceptions after a learning process. The interpretation of a conceptual change gets more evidence
from their emotional statements at the end of this dialogue:
Lena: … this is really great…

Lena: … now I actually understand series circuit … it is the first time!!
The girls increased their self-confidence when they gained this new insight into the nature
of resistance by their own talks.
Discussion
This study high-lights the importance of ownership of learning to get motivated enough to
develop students’ physical thinking. The study reports how girls in exploratory talks communicate
in a way that forces two of the girls into a conceptual change of the concept resistance and
current, which they use afterwards parallel to their old view of current consumption. The freedom
given by our instructional design with mini-projects is necessary to give possibilities for students
to communicate in exploratory talk. The mini-projects are used as an activity that are prepared in
a lab session of four hours and reported in class after two weeks. In this instructional setting they
are allowed to choose task themselves, and this ownership to the task gives them the motivation
to develop competence in physics. Their observations of equal brightness of bulbs in series
contradicts their expectation, thus creating an anomaly of understanding. This forces them into
exploratory talks that result in a conceptual change. We want to stress here that the girls themselves
9
(P. 5–11)
ask the question of how to explain current and resistance; this question does not come from the
teacher. Their need to understand comes from their feeling of the anomalies within their old
analogies. In their prior view, speed is not relevant for the amount of current. The girls have to
sort out old analogies they have met and never really understood. To get enough time for the
group discussions, and freedom to focus on their anomalies of understanding, is resulting in
improved physics learning.
Conclusions
Ownership of learning includes factors that connect the students’ learning process to the
students’ learning environment. In this meaning the ownership is an aspect of student influence.
With further cases the conceptual relations between ownership, motivation and learning hopefully
can be further developed and clarified. In this small group work in physics the students have got
possibility for ownership from the instructional design, and two individual have ownership by
their possibility to relate to earlier experiences and anomalies of understanding. Their unique
question gives them high motivation, and help them to enhance and develop their understanding
of the concepts resistance and current by exploratory talks and reflective thinking. They find
their old view of resistance to be misleading, and develop a new view where resistance is connected
to the current speed (as amount of charges passing per second), a view closer to scientific thinking.
References
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Резюме
ИЗУЧЕНИЕ ФИЗИКИ С ИССЛЕДОВАТЕЛЬСКИМИ БЕСЕДАМИ ВО

ВРЕМЯ МИНИ-ПРОЕКТА – ИССЛЕДОВАНИЕ СЛУЧАЯ ЧЕТЫРЁХ
ШКОЛЬНИЦ, РАБОТАВШИХ С ЭЛЕКТРИЧЕСКИМИ ЦЕПЯМИ
Маргарета Енгхаг, Ханс Ниеддерер

Во время изучения физики путём мини-проектов, четыре старшеклассницы средней школы решили спланировать,
как объяснить электрические цепи младшим школьникам. Дискуссии в группе привели к коренным изменениям в
представлениях о сопротивлении и токе. Первоначальные представления старшеклассниц, построенные на потреблении
тока, привели к концептуальным противоречиям. Затем в ходе исследовательских бесед они достигли нового взгляда,
в основе которого было понимание тока как движения с различной скоростью. Использование мини-проектов повышает
усвоение знаний учащимися. Эта форма даёт им возможность выбирать уникальный вопрос, самим определять их
собственный процесс учения, увеличивать мотивацию и усиливать развитие компетентности и доверия к самим себе.
Мы использовали мини-проекты, реализованные на протяжении двух недель, со списком предлагаемых мини-проектов
для выбора. Усвоение мини-проекта даёт учащимся возможность использовать прежние знания в других учебных
средах и для развития нового типа самоконструироемого знания в более широких контекстах.
Ключевые слова: преподавание физики, усвоение знаний учащимися, мотивация, концептуальное изменение,
электрические цепи.
Received 26 November 2004; accepted 10 January 2005.
Margareta Enghag
Ph.D Student, Lecturer, Department of Mathematics
and Physics,
Mälardalen University
P.O.Box 883, SE-721 23 Västerås, Sweden
Phone: + 46 21101508; +46 730 481846
E-mail: margareta.enghag@mdh.se
Hans Niedderer
Professor of Physics Education, Dr.
Department of Mathematics and Physics,
Mälardalen University
P.O.Box 325 SE-63105 Eskilstuna, Sweden
Phone: + 46 16 153683 (work), or + 49 1755685984
(mob.)
E-mail: niedderer@physik.uni-bremen.de
hans.niedderer@mdh.se
11
GEOGRAPHY AND BIOLOGY AND TEACHER EDUCATION IN FINLAND
(P. 5–14) ISSN 1648–3898
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’

AND TRAINEE SCIENCE
TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS
OF OZONE LAYER
DEPLETION
Abstract. The focus of this study was Feyzi Osman Pekel

to identify and describe
© Feyzi Osman Pekel
misconceptions held by pre-service
science teachers and high school
students regarding the ozone layer
depletion. The views of the
participants were investigated using a
closed-form questionnaire. The
analysis of the survey data indicates
that many high school students and
pre-service science teachers possess an Introduction
array of erroneous ideas about the
ozone layer damage, its causes and In the last few years, an increasing interest in
consequences. For a better teaching environmental education has run parallel to the growing
of environmental issues, this study degradation of ecosystems and a growth of information about
provides some implications for both environmental affairs. Environmental problems are no longer
teachers and researchers of science unique to one zone of the planet or, for that matter, one
education. particular nation. Thus environmental education is becoming
an integral part of the education of any country’s youth
(Manzanal, et al., 1999). Besides United States and Europe, in
Turkey, the general public has developed an increasing
awareness of world environmental problems, and some of the
most acknowledged concerns are the ozone layer and its
depletion.
Unfortunately, anxiety about global environmental issues,
including ozone layer damage, is not always well informed
(Boyes & Stanisstreet, 1992; 1994; 1997; Boyes et a1., 1993;
1999) and so real understanding and the possibility for action
to reduce the problem are limited.
Formal, school-based environmental education is often
seen as an effective way of informing children, and hence
future generations, of the importance of environmental issues.
Key words: high school students, pre- Unfortunately, the ozone layer is an invisible and effectively
service teachers, misconceptions, abstract problem with many complex concepts associated with
ozone layer. it. Experiential learning and simulations are difficult, so
teaching is normally via secondary sources and more flexible
learning strategies (Boyes et al., 1995).
Feyzi Osman Pekel
Ataturk University, Kazim Karabekir What Do Students Think About the Ozone Layer?
Education Faculty, Department of
Science and Mathematics For science instruction, misconceptions held by both
Education, Turkey teachers and students have been a critical problem (Boyes et
12
ISSN 1648–3898 HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ AND TRAINEE SCIENCE TEACHERS’
(P. 12-21)
al., 1993; Dove, 1996; Groves & Pugh, 1998, 1999 and 2002). Driver et al. (1985) reported students’
misconceptions in different disciplines of science. However, little research has been done so far
as compared to science in order to reveal students’ misconceptions regarding environmental
issues. The researchers found that students of various educational levels hold a variety of
misconceptions about the environmental issues.
Previous studies in different countries have indicated that students’ ideas about global
environmental issues are extremely confused. From the previous studies, data have revealed
that students bear many misconceptions relating to environmental issues and especially ozone
layer depletion. Boyes & Stanisstreet (1992) asked 218 first year undergraduates taking degrees
in a variety of biological subjects to respond to 36 statements about the causes and effects of
global warming. Their research revealed a widespread misconception that ozone depletion
was encouraging global warming. Similar findings were revealed in the study of 861 students
between 11-16 years old, from 10 secondary schools in England (Boyes & Stanisstreet, 1993;
1994). In another study Boyes et al., (1995) investigated undergraduate understanding of the
ozone layer and causes of its depletion. In this study, 435 BA(Ed) degree students were asked to
respond to 36 statements about ozone layer, and they found that a majority of the students
knew that the layer was gaseous and that is naturally occurring. A majority of the students
knew that the ozone layer protected the earth from ultraviolet (UV) radiation and that it was
being depleted by CFCs. On the other hand a range of other environmental pollutants were
also considered to be responsible for the depletion. But a large number of the students were
not aware that volcanic eruptions could cause the depletion of the ozone layer. Most of the
students also thought that ozone layer depletion would exacerbate the greenhouse effect.
How well university students understand both the greenhouse effect and the depletion of the
ozone layer has been studied by Dove (1996). Sixty students specializing in the humanities
were given paper-and-pen tasks to solve. In most cases, it was a matter of agreeing or not with
a series of statements, but some open-ended questions were also included. The study verifies
results obtained earlier. Rye et al., (1997) interviewed students aged 11-13 years. It was shown,
among other things, that half of the students were of the opinion that depletion of the ozone
layer is the main reasons for global warming. Groves & Pugh (1999) asked high school students,
undergraduate elementary education seniors, and graduate students in an advanced elementary
science methods course about the results, causes and ways to alleviate of ozone depletion and
found that high school and college students conflate cause and effect relationships of this
problem with that of other environmental problems, just as they do with the ozone depletion
problem. Meadows and Wiesenmayer (1999) found that students commonly believe that the
ozone “hole” allows more sunlight to penetrate the atmosphere and heat the earth. Groves &
Pugh (1999) noted that some students conflate cause and effect relationships of environmental
in general. As an example, over 30% thought that cleaning up refuse from beaches helps reduce
of global warming, while 20-40% thought that reducing the world’s nuclear weapon stockpile
would also lower the risk of global warming. It was also found that, such misconceptions are
held by elementary teachers as well as elementary, junior high, and high school students. In
another study conducted by Khalid (2003), twenty-seven senior-level secondary science education
majors enrolled in a high school science teaching method course participated. Consisting of 30
statements focused on the causes, effects, and interactions greenhouse effect, ozone depletion
and acid rain. The analysis of the survey data indicates that the many pre-service high school
teachers possess an array of misconceptions about the causes and effects of the greenhouse
effect, ozone depletion and acid rain.
To raise public awareness through the use of teaching materials and teaching techniques,
therefore, we wished to find out what students and pre-service science teachers knew in this
area. This study sets out to determine what ideas the participants have about the ozone layer,
and how these relate to present scientific understanding, what can be done for a better teaching
of these environmental isuues.
13
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ AND TRAINEE SCIENCE TEACHERS’ ISSN 1648–3898
(P. 12-21)
In order to determine the ideas of Turkish high school students and university pre-service
science teachers have about the ozone layer, students from two different high schools and trainee
science teachers from an education faculty were asked to complete a questionnaire. The sample
consists of 178 science students between the ages of 16 and 18 from suburban (n=115) and urban
(n=63) high schools, and 69 final year trainee secondary science (n=35) and biology teachers (n=34)
from an education faculty in Turkey. Questionnaires were conducted over the 2002-2003 academic
year, with a total of 247 participants. The overall sample contained 65% boys and 35% girls. The
survey instrument used for this study was a minor modified version of the one used by Groves and
Pugh, (2002). The questionnaire was consisted of 37 items pertaining to the ozone layer and 2 additional
items regarding demographic information. In order to make the questionnaire more understandable
for participants we changed some of the terms and descriptions. For example, qualitative answer
choices were made clearer such as, for the size of the ozone “holes”, “the size of dish”, “the size of a
football field”, “the size of your city”, “the size of the district of East Anatolian” or “the size of
Europe”.
The first part of the questionnaire is composed of Likert type statements with choices ranging
from “ I am sure this is right”, “I think this is right”, “I don’t know about this”, “I think this is wrong”
to “I am sure this is wrong”. Similar to Groves and Pugh, (2002); our pilot test revealed that many
participants chose the “I think this is correct/incorrect” position, rather than the more affirmative “I
am sure this is correct/incorrect” set of choices, and this resulted almost no significant differences
when only the definite answer choices were used to score the results. However, when the first two
sets of choices (“I am sure” and “I think”) were clumped together, several sets of significant differences
appeared. So, the first 30 statements were statistically analyzed using the clumped answer choices.
The 30 Likert-type statements were arranged in three subsets of 10. The first subset focused on
results of ozone depletion, the second subset dealt with causal relationships, and the third targeted
means to alleviate the problems presented by this problem. The second set of seven questions, which
focused on factual knowledge, was analyzed for correctness, and also to determine the percentage
of students choosing each possible answer. The last question asked participant if they believed the
ozone problem to be a real problem, or if they thought that it was a politically manufactured one.
Research results
ANOVA analysis showed that there was a statistically significant difference between the mean
scores of the four groups of participants (p < .001). Using LSD-ANOVA analysis, it was determined
that there was a statistically significant difference between the mean scores of urban and suburban
high school students (p < .001), and also between the mean scores of the trainee secondary science
teachers and trainee biology teachers (p < .05). Statistical LSD test results also revealed that urban
high school students (M = 2.94) were more successful than the suburban high school students (M =
2.69), and secondary science pre-service teachers (M = 2.86) was more successful than the biology
pre-service teachers (M = 2.74). However, statistically no significant differences were found between
the mean scores of the trainee teachers and high school students.
Demographic Data. Independent T- Test analysis for gender effect revealed that male
participants (Mean = 2.86) scored significantly higher than their female counterparts (Mean = 2.66)
in general (p < .001). Similarly, male trainee teachers and male high school students scored
significantly higher than their female counterparts (Table 1).
For the high school students, the three subscales showed wide variation in overall scores, with
subscale 3 (means to alleviate the problems) having the highest mean, 2.944, while subscale 1
(results of ozone depletion) was lowest, with a mean of 2.626. However, variation in overall scores
of the trainee teachers, with subscale 2 (causes of ozone depletion) having the highest mean,
2.971, while subscale 1 (results of ozone depletion) was lowest, with a mean of 2.461 (Table 2).
14
(P. 12-21)
Table 1. Gender analysis (Independent T- Test) results.

Groups Male (Mean) Female (Mean) Sig. (2-tailed)
All Participants 2.86 2.66 p< .001
High School Students 2.85 2.64 p< .001
Trainee Teachers 2.88 2.69 p< .05
Table 2. Subscale Scores for Items #1-#30.

High School Students Trainee Teachers
Suburban X Urban X Secondary Science X Biology X
Subscale 1 2.610 2.642 2.509 2.413
Subscale 2 2.690 3.079 3.024 2.919
Subscale 3 2.782 3.107 3.049 2.889
Total 8.082 8.828 8.582 8.221
Survey results for the three subscales were quite low, with less than 30% of the pre-service
teachers responding correctly to 13 of the 30 statements. The highest number of the correct
responses, 100% was for #5 and 97% for #10. Also, three statements (#1, 7and 8) received no
correct responses at all (Table 3).
Results for pre-service teachers show that many believe that increases in atmospheric CO2, is
a major factor (#12), along with the idea that too much light is reaching the earth’s surface (#11),
and the related idea that failure of sunlight energy to escape the earth (#19) will lead to further
ozone depletion. These results parallel the problem found by Meadows and Wiesenmayer (1999),
that students tend to lump global warming and ozone depletion together casually. Indeed,
responses to #12 and #27 (ozone depletion can be lessened by producing less carbon dioxide and
methane) indicate that the pre-service teachers confuse global warming with ozone depletion.
The role of CFCs in ozone depletion was also a problem for pre-service teachers (#13 and #24):
only 91% understood that CFCs are a major causal agent, but 88% understood that controlling
the amount of these gases will alleviate the problem. The cause/effect relationship of UV radiation
to ozone depletion was another problematic area (#10 and #14): 97% knew that a result of
ozone depletion is more UV radiation reaching the ground but only 82% believed that ozone
depletion is caused by too much UV radiation reaching the ground. Thus, they believed that UV
radiation is both a cause and effect of ozone depletion. Similarly global warming and ozone
depletion are confused: more than 70% of the pre-service teachers believed that too much sunlight
is a cause of the ozone problem (#11), while 78% believed that the problem is caused by sunlight’s
inability to escape from the earth’s surface (#19).
Another example of difficulty with cause-effect relationships is illustrated by the role of
methyl bromide. Eighty-four percent of the pre-service teachers understood that pesticides such
as methyl bromide are a cause of ozone depletion (#20), whereas only 76% recognized that
reducing the amount of such pesticides can alleviate the problem (#30). Thus there was not
enough carryover between understanding a cause, and how this information can be used to
identify a means of alleviating the problem.
Item-by-item analysis revealed the same general misconceptions and trouble with cause-
effect relationships as was found for the high school students. Performance on 11 items had
higher scores than the pre-service teachers’. But performance for pre-service teachers on 19 items
had higher scores than the high school students’ (see Table 3). The eleven anomalous results are
likely connected. Item #1 matches with #3, #7, #8: all deal with the role of CO2 (global warming);
item #11 matches with #19: both deal with the role of carbon dioxide but for item #11 we can
also say that they confuse cause and effect relationship of ozone depletion; #2 matches with #4:
15
(P. 12-21)
pre-service teacher may be confused with flooding after global warming; item #9, #23 matches
with #26: deal with the environmental pollution, and here we should state that during their
faculty education students take ecology and environmental health lessons that may effect and
force students to think excessive environmentalist and also confused the cause-results effects of
ozone depletion with other environmental problems’. Because when we examined these lesson
books and notes, we find almost nothing about ozone depletion but little about global warming.
Table 3. Percentages of the correct answers of every statementa.
High S. Students Trainee Teachers Groves

No Statements Suburban Urban S.Science Biology & Pugh
If the ozone layer problem becomes worse
1 Our weather will get hotter 9.6 1.6 0 0 2.5
2 Some of our tap water will be unsafe to drink 14.8 15.9 8.6 0 18
3 There will be more flooding 40 28.6 17.1 17.6 44.5
4 There will be more water pollution 12.1 23.8 17.1 8.8 25.5
5 More people will get skin cancer 87.9 95.2 100 100 45
6 There will be more insect pests 26.9 38.1 54.3 17.7 25.5
7 There will be changes in the world’s weather 4.3 3.2 0 0 2.5
8 The world’s ice caps will shrink in size 6.1 4.8 0 0 9.0
9 There will be more air pollution for us to breathe 6.9 14.3 14.3 2.9 15.5
10 More ultraviolet rays will reach the earth’s surface 84.3 93.7 100 94.1 42.5
The ozone layer problem is made worse
11 By too much sunlight reaching the earth’s surface 26.1 54 40 17.7 50.0
12 Because too much CO2 is entering the atmosphere 13.9 36.5 34.3 29.4 47.0
13 By man-made CFC gases entering the atmosphere. 66.1 84.1 94.3 88.3 44.0
14 By too much UV reaching the earth’s surface 10.4 30.1 17.2 20.5 35.5
15 By gases from rotting wastes 4.4 19.0 20.0 17.6 29.0
16 By radioactive waste from nuclear power 3.4 6.4 22.9 8.8 6.5
17 By acid rain 15.7 20.6 48.5 20.7 29.5
18 By gas from artificial fertilizers 53.1 66.7 85.7 67.7 16.5
19 sunlight reflected … cannot escape into space 26.9 46.0 22.8 20.7 42.5
20 By the use of certain pesticides 74.7 84.1 74.3 94.2 37.5
The ozone layer problem can be lessened by
21 Using nuclear instead of coal power stations 31.3 60.3 51.4 55.9 39.5
22 Keeping trash picked up 13.9 28.6 48.5 14.7 38.5
23 Using unleaded gas 8.7 12.7 8.6 2.9 11.5
24 Stopping the use of CFC gases 66.1 79.3 94.3 82.4 47.5
25 Planting more trees 8.7 23.8 22.8 8.8 2.5
26 Recycling household trash 15.6 25.4 20.0 14.7 6.5
27 Producing less carbon dioxide and methane 10.4 14.2 14.3 11.8 46.5
28 Protecting rare plants and animals 32.2 55.5 48.5 55.9 33.0
29 Launching fewer rockets and missiles through it 53.9 60.4 71.4 55.8 56.0
30 Stopping the use of certain pesticides 64.4 81.0 65.7 88.2 46.5
Factual Knowledge Questions.
31 The location of the ozone layer … 32.2 77.8 60.0 67.6 48.5
32 The thickness of the ozone layer … 25.2 49.2 31.4 29.4 32.0
33 The size of the ozone holes … 11.3 14.3 22.9 5.9 21.5
34 The composition of the ozone layer is … 32.2 46.0 57.1 41.2 40.0
35 The number of the ozone holes … 8.7 12.7 14.3 5.9 5.0
36 The ozone layer problem is getting better / worse… 9.6 14.3 14.3 2.9 19.5
37 The ozone layer problem is genuine / politic … 92.2 92.1 100 100 100
a
Groves and Pugh, (2002) data included for comparison.
16
(P. 12-21)
Most of these anomalous are in conformity with Groves and Pugh, (2002) and they state that the
problem of applying a “one size fits all” approach to explaining causal relationships and
connections between these and other environmental issues. These anomalous also support the
arguments in the literature that people tend to cling to simplistic mental models when faced
with complex data.
Overall, the amount of correct responses to the three subscale statements was not good.
Most of the responses reveal considerable misunderstandings. For example, while all of the pre-
service teachers failed to know that global warming is not a result of ozone depletion (#1, #7 and
#8), only 17% knew that the problem is unconnected with flooding. Nearly two-thirds of the pre-
service teachers believed that increase in insect pests is a result of ozone depletion (#6). 69% for
item #12 and 87% # 27 failed to know that the role of CO2 and methane is not a cause or result
of the ozone depletion. About the sunlight reaching the earth’s surface (#11), more than 70%
failed to know that this is a result of ozone depletion but not the cause of ozone depletion;
because sunlight reflected from the earth’s surface cannot escape into space (#19), nearly 80%
confused the causes for the ozone depletion with the results of global warming. About the UV
rays nearly all of the pre-service teachers knew that if the problem becomes worse more UV rays
will reach the earth’s surface (#10); but on the contrary, more than 80% failed to know that too
much UV light reaching the earth’s surface is a result of ozone depletion but not the cause for
ozone depletion (#14). For items #15, #22 and #26 it can be said that students more than two-
thirds of the pre-service teachers confused cautions for environmental pollution with the ozone
depletion. While 84% believed that radioactive waste from nuclear power is an ozone depletion
factor (#16), 47% thought ozone depletion can be lessened by using nuclear instead of coal
power stations (#21) (see Table 3). Further, 45% of the pre-service biology teachers believed that
the problem can be lessened by protecting rare plants and animals (#28), although 52% of the
pre-service secondary science teachers believed this item. These results suggest that the students
conflate cause-effect relationships across a broad range of environmental issues, and not just
global warming and ozone depletion.
A second set of questions dealt with basic factual understanding of the ozone problem.
Question 31 asked where the ozone holes are located, and both sets of students showed differences
in their knowledge of this, while nearly two-third of the pre-service teachers chose the correct
answer, only 48% of the high school students knew correctly. Understanding of the thickness of
the stratospheric layer (#32), nearly 60% of the students and also pre-service teachers chose 10 or
1 mile alternatives. Understanding of the size of the holes (#33), while more than half of the pre-
service teachers thought between football fields and a typical parish or county, most of the high
school students thought between pie plates or table tops and football fields. About the
composition of the ozone layer (#34), while 49% of the pre-service teachers, only 37% of the
high school students knew correctly. And most of the participants thought that there are more
than hundreds or thousands of ozone holes (#35). Even though, about 90% of the all participants
didn’t understand that there are only two holes after hearing from the media or reading from
the books etc. this disparity in response results indicate that the students did not develop a sound
factual understanding of the ozone layer. They did not know how many holes there are, and this
is parallel to their misunderstandings about how large the holes are. When asked about the
composition of the ozone layer, total correct answer was not more than the half of the all
participants. Upon reflection, the authors believe that general description of the atmosphere,
“air”, involved in ozone depletion caused the participants to choose “air” besides the “oxygen
molecules” as the answer. It is obvious that the targeted answer choice is too simplistic; thus the
problem probably lies more with the design of the question, rather than with the students’
knowledge.
The past two questions (#36 and #37) focused on the students’ opinions. 69 and 79% of the
high school and pre-service teachers, respectively, believed that the ozone problem is becoming
worse. The participants were also asked if they believe that this problem is genuine, while 92%
of the high school students, all of the pre-service teachers said yes.
17
(P. 12-21)
Discussion
Compared with previous studies, our findings provide a more comprehensive picture of
student and teacher understanding of ozone layer. From the results of the present study, it appears
that Turkish students and pre-service teachers have a good understanding of the position and
purpose of the ozone layer in terms of protection from harmful ultraviolet rays, but some also
think that it helps keep the world warm or protects it from acid rains. Participants seem aware
that the ozone layer in danger and they believe that many varied forms of pollution are the
cause. It also seems well known that further depletion might cause an increase in skin cancers,
however, participants assumed strong, erroneous, links with the greenhouse effect and other
forms of local pollution, using pesticides and artificial fertilizers.
When compared to the previous literature, results of this study parallel that of other studies
dealing with global climate issues (Boyes et al., 1993; 1995; Dove, 1996; Groves and Pugh, 1999;
Meadows and Wiesenmayer, 1999; Khalid, 2003). In addition, when compared to the results of
Groves & Pugh, (2002) Turkish participants have a higher mean (36.53) than the American
participants (31.43). However there was no statistically significant difference (p>.05)
When Table 3 examined as a whole it has seen that the proportions of the students holding
erroneous ideas (confusing global environmental issues) were similar to those of pre-service
teachers. This situation is in conformity with Boyes et al., (1995) and suggests that misconceptions
persist to the adult population.
After examining the responses given to the survey items; water pollution (#4), air pollution
(#9), acid rain (#17), the effect of missiles (#29), and the factual question of where ozone layer is
located (#31), one may ask: What are the causes under these anomalous? This anomalous support
the arguments in the literature that people tend to cling to simplistic mental models when faced
with complex data. Here, we can also see the problem of applying a “one size fits all” approach
to explaining causal relationships and connections between these and other environmental issues.
Consequently these results are in conformity with the previous studies.
When answers of the statement groups such as 11, 19 or 2, 4 or 1, 3, 7, 8 examined there
can be seen that both high school students and pre-service teachers conflate cause and effect
relationships of this problem with that of other environmental problems, just as they do with the
ozone depletion problem. As it was stated by Groves and Pugh, (1999) and Boyes et al., (1993),
such results for two different environmental issues indicate that such confusion over cause/effect
relationships, and measures needed to alleviate these problems, is widespread. Students have a
general awareness of environmental issues, but they have little specific knowledge of them, and,
as it was stated by Adler, (1992), information gained through print and television media often
simplistic and misleading. Thus, Groves and Pugh, (1998) reports that they mistakenly assume
relationships between the various environmental problems that do not have sufficient exposure
to information to be able to develop sound understandings of such complex issues. Thus the real
problem in this is lack of information, rather than incorrect concepts.
Results of this study also approves a thesis put forwarded by Boyes et al., (1995) that in the
realm of global environmental problems at least, all forms of anthropogenic ‘pollution’ are seen
as exacerbating all environmental problems and, conversely, all ‘environmentally friendly’ actions
are seen as benefiting all aspects of the environment.
Our study also reveals the general lack of knowledge of the pre-service science and biology
teachers besides in addition to the high school students. For this reason, it is possible to say that
if teachers hold incorrect views, then they are more likely to teach their students these
misconceptions, as it was noted by Groves & Pugh (1999).
As it is suggested by Boyes et al., (1995) once trained, teachers may influence the knowledge
and attitudes of students for many years. Therefore, the role of teachers and especially biology
teachers in the high school is of crucial importance.
Turkey is a country that is on the eve of the integration into European Union. Because
human being live on the same world the view-points of Turkish students’ and teachers’ about
18
(P. 12-21)
global environmental issues such as ozone layer depletion can not be unimportant for European
Union and also other countries of the world. This perspective shows the importance of this study.
Some other scientifically new and important points of this study may be:
1. This study is the first and comprehensive study to reveal the perceptions of Turkish high
school students’ and pre-service teachers’ about global environmental issues and especially
the ozone layer depletion.
2. This study contributes to the scientific evidence database of the environmental and science
education through its findings.
3. Findings of this study can be a base and an important data source for teachers, science and
environmental education researchers of the future and studies.
4. This study suggests important implications for a better environmental education and
sustainable life on our unique earth.
Implications for teaching
The presence of misconceptions regarding these environmental issues among the subjects
raises several concerns because these students will be teaching in their classrooms very soon. The
question is whether these pre-service teachers are fully prepared to discuss these abstract concepts
in their classrooms. As these environmental issues are very closely related to science, students’
misconceptions about these issues reveal their lack of a full understanding of these science-related
issues. As it was stated by Khalid, (2003) science educators need to think about the current situation
and how to improve it.
It is clearly important that teachers themselves do not, unwittingly, perpetuate erroneous
ideas and it might be argued that major large-scale environmental issues should be addressed
during the training of teachers. As the literatures have shown, such environmental issues also
provide examples of the potential importance of children’s preconceptions, perhaps constructed
from out-of-school sources, in the learning process. Global environmental problems might provide
a further dimension, namely abstract issues about which information has been received from the
media and other informal sources. Thus, by including this as an element of “children’s learning”,
it should be possible to emphasize the difference in the causes and consequences of different
global problems without a specific addition to curriculum load (Boyes et al., 1995), for example,
a foreign language education class can explore ozone layer depletion and the means to alleviate
this problem on a student’s daily life. From the results of this study, it is obvious that global
environmental problems should be more formally embedded in to the curricula of both trainee
teachers and their students.
Therefore, in order to avoid misconceptions, as it was suggested by Littledyke, (1996) the
science education researchers have recommended that various environmental issues and problems
be discussed in various science classes. In these science classes the instructors should use student-
centered methodologies (such as classroom discussions) rather than teacher-centered
methodologies.
For in-service teachers, workshops and refresher courses should be held for the teachers in
each school district during the school year and during the summer.
As a matter of fact, the knowledge level of teachers should be determined in order for the
presence of misconceptions regarding every contemporary environmental issue to be discovered
if we want to achieve the goal of environmental literacy among our future citizens.
Acknowledgements
I wish to thank all of the participants who completed the questionnaire, our colleagues who
allowed me to conduct the questionnaire in their lectures, Dr. Mustafa Sozbilir for his helpful
comments.
19
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References
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Environmental Studies, 42, 287-300.
Boyes, E., Chuckran, D., and Stanisstreet, M. (1993). How do high school students perceive global climatic
change: What are its manifestations? What are its origins? What corrective action can be taken? Journal of
Science Education and Technology, 2, 541-557.
Boyes E., Stanisstreet M. (1994). The ideas of secondary school children concerning ozone layer damage,
Global Environmental Change, 4(4), 311-324.
Boyes E., Chambers M., Stanisstreet M. (1995). Trainee primary teachers’ ideas about the ozone layer.
Environmental Education Research, 1, 133-145.
Boyes E., Stanisstreet M. (1997). Children’s models of understanding of two major global environmental
issues (Ozone layer and greenhouse effect). Research in Science & Technological Education, 15(1), 19-28.
Boyes E., Stanisstreet M. and Papantoniou V.S. (1999). The Ideas of Greek High School Students about
the “Ozone Layer”. Science Education, 83, 724-737.
Driver, R., Guesne, E. & Tiberghien, A. (1985). Children’s ideas and the learning of science, Children’s
Ideas in Science. Open University Press, PA: Philadelphia.
Dove, J. (1996). Student teacher understanding of the greenhouse effect, ozone layer depletion and
acid rain. Environmental Education Research, 2(1), 89-100.
Groves F., Pugh A. (1998). High school and college student perceptions of the ozone depletion problem.
Mid-South Education Research Association Convention, New Orleans, Louisiana, November 5, 1998.
Groves F., Pugh A. (1999). Elementary pre-service teacher perceptions of the greenhouse effect. Journal
of Science Education and Technology, 8(1), 75-81.
Groves F., Pugh A. (2002). Cognitive illusions as hindrances to learning complex environmental issues.
Journal of Science Education and Technology, 11(4), 381-390.
Khalid T. (2003). Pre-service high school teachers’ perceptions of three environmental phenomena,
Environmental Education Research, 9(1), 35-50.
Littledyke, M. (1996). Science education for environmental awareness in a postmodern world.
Environmental Education Research, 2: 197-214.
Manzanal R.F., Barreiro L.M.R., Jimenez M.C. (1999). Relationship between ecology fieldwork and student
attitudes toward environmental protection. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 36 (4), 431-453.
Meadows, G., and Wiesenmayer, R. (1999). Identifying and addressing students’ alternative conceptions
of the causes of global warming: The need for cognitive conflict. Journal of Science Education and Technology,
8, 235-239.
Potts, S., Stanisstreet, M., and Boyes, E. (1996). Children’s ideas about the ozone layer and opportunities
for physics teaching, School Science Review, 78(283), 57-62.
Rye J., Rubba, R., and Wiesenmayer, R. (1997). An investigation of middle school students’ alternative
conceptions of global warming as formative evaluation of teacher-developed STS units. International Journal
of Science Education, 19(5), 527-551.
Резюме
ПРЕДСТАВЛЕНИЯ УЧАЩИХСЯ СРЕДНИХ ШКОЛ И СТУДЕНТОВ –

БУДУЩИХ УЧИТЕЛЕЙ ЕСТЕСТВЕННЫХ НАУК ОБ ИЗМЕНЕНИЯХ
ОЗОНОВОГО СЛОЯ
Фейзи Осман Пекел
Настоящее исследование посвящено обнаружению и описанию научно неверных представлений студентов –

будущих учителей естественных наук, а также учащихся средних школ в отношении явлений изменения озонового
слоя Земной атмосферы. Взгляды участников были исследованы путём применения вопросника закрытой формы.
Анализ полученных данных указывает, что многие учащиеся и студенты - будущие учителя естественных наук имеют
ряд научно неверных представлений о нарушениях озонового слоя, причинами и последсвтвиями этого явления. В
этом аспекте, связанным с усовершенствованием изучения окружающей нас среды, данное исследование представляет
интерес как для учителей, так и для исследователей естественнонаучного образования.
Представляется ясным, что сами учителя не хотят укоренить научно неверные представления, поэтому требуется
значительное усовершенствование научно-педагогической работы во время подготовки учителей.
Литературные данные показывают, что подобные проблемы встречаются также в учебном процессе детей, когда
необходимо учесть многие научно неверные предубеждения, созданные и создаваемые разными внешкольными
20
(P. 12-21)
источниками информации. Наконец, это касается также трезвого понимания глобальных проблем окружающей нас
среды в целом, когда научно неверная информация поступает от средств массовой информации.
Для решения вышеуказанных проблем во всех региональных центрах образования как в течении учебного года,
так и во время летнего периода для учителей должны проводится творческие семинары, курсы повышения квалификации
и тому подобные мероприятия.
Если мы хотим достичь грамотность в понимании окружающей среды наших будущих граждан, необходимый
уровень знаний учителей должен быть определён с учётом имеющихся ряда научно неверных представлений о явлениях
в окружающей нас среде.
Ключевые слова: озоновый слой, средняя школа, окружающая среда, естественнонаучное образование.
Received 03 May 2004; accepted 05 January 2005.
Feyzi Osman Pekel

Ataturk University, Kazim Karabekir Education Faculty,
Department of Science and Mathematics Education
25240 - Erzurum/TURKEY
Phone: +90 442 2314031; Fax: +90 442 2360955
E-mail: osmanpekel@yahoo.com
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(P. 5–14) ISSN 1648–3898
THE STUDENT VOICE IN

SCIENCE EDUCATION:
RESEARCH AND ISSUES
Abstract. The article reviews a range Edgar W. Jenkins

of national and international studies
© Edgar W. Jenkins
concerned with students’ views about
science and their school science
education. It suggests that such views
have gained some prominence in Science is in the curriculum because it is relevant and, it
recent years and comments why this is should always be added, relevant to people. Relevance
so. It examines the implications of is the very reason for its existence, and it should be the
some of the research findings for very backbone of science teaching. (Newton 1988, p.7)
policy makers, curriculum developers
and science teachers. It concludes One of the noteworthy features of recent research in
that, while the outcomes of specific science education is the increased attention given to what
research studies are always might be called the ‘student voice’. Such research seeks to
interesting, such outcomes may prove identify and articulate what students think about the form,
to be of most use in helping to content and purpose of their school science education, their
develop more general strategies for attitudes towards a variety of science-related issues and
increasing student motivation, whether or not they wish to pursue a career in science or
commitment and attainment. technology. This paper explores why research of this kind has
gained some prominence in recent years, reviews some of the
relevant studies and explores the significance of the findings
for policy makers, curriculum developers and teachers.
Why now?
Although research into the student voice in school science

education has featured more prominently in the literature in
recent years, attention to student opinion is by no means new.
Anyone teaching science in a school will have encountered
students who ask such questions as ‘Why do we have learn this?’
and ‘What is the point of doing this experiment?’ Responses to
classroom questions of this kind, however, are essentially local
and personal. In contrast, there is a long-established literature
concerned with students’ views about science and scientists, e.g.
Mead and Métraux 1962; Chambers 1983. The work of
Key words: science education, student Chambers, based on a ‘Draw-a-Scientist-Test’, has proved to be
motivation. of seminal importance since the test was subsequently revised
and deployed by several other researchers (e.g. Mason, Kahle
Edgar W. Jenkins and Gardner, 1991; Symington and Spurling, 1990) and more
Centre for Studies in Science and recent studies have been able to show some shifts in students’
Mathematics Education, University of images of scientists over time, not least towards a greater degree
Leeds, United Kingdom of gender equity (Matthews, 1996). Data generated by studies
of this kind inevitably present problems of interpretation (e.g.,
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(P. 22-30)
Symington and Spurling, 1990) and few of the findings seem to have been turned to significant
pedagogical advantage (e.g., Barman, 1996). There is also a literature concerned with students’
interests in science (e.g., Tamir and Gardner, 1989) and attitudes (e.g., Schibeci, 1984; Simpson et
al., 1994) and there has long been recognition that attitudes and interest have a bearing on the
teaching and learning of science as well as being important among the outcomes of science
education. Research of this kind has likewise had little general impact on pedagogy or science
curriculum reform, not least because the implications of students’ attitudes towards, interests in, or
images of science for the science curriculum and for the way in which science is taught are by no
means straightforward. It is perhaps significant that the word student does not even appear in the
index of the two volume International Handbook of Science Education, published in 1998 (Fraser
and Tobin, 1998).
The present level of interest in the student voice in science education almost certainly owes
much to the unpopularity of the physical sciences as subjects of advanced study in most industrialised
countries and the associated enduring gender differentials. Politicians, as well as educational
researchers, want to know why these issues arise and want to do something about them. The
(untested) assumption is that the more that is known about students’ interests, enthusiasms, dislikes,
beliefs and attitudes, the more feasible it will be to develop school science curricula that will engage
their attention. However, other factors are also in play, especially in those education systems that
have espoused a market philosophy. Such a philosophy characterises a science curriculum as
something to be ‘delivered’ and places students and their parents in the position of customers.
Customers have rights and one way of exercising those rights is to express views about what should
be taught in school science courses. The underlying issue here is where science curriculum expertise
should lie. To give students a voice in establishing the content of a science curriculum can be seen
as challenging traditional sources of curriculum authority as well as a manifestation of wider social
changes that are captured by such terms as post-modernism and constructivism.
At a more formal level, there is the European Convention on Human Rights and the UN
Convention on Children’s Rights, Article 12 of which asserts a child’s right to express an opinion and
have that opinion taken into account in any matter or procedure affecting that child. Beyond this,
many teachers would acknowledge that advantages may stem from giving students a sense of
‘ownership’ of what they are required to learn and that students’ experience of school science may
be very different from that perceived or assumed by those who teach them. It is hardly surprising if,
as disaffection with the physical sciences continues to grow in many industrialised countries, the
need to understand why this is so becomes increasingly urgent, although it needs to be recognised
that such disaffection varies greatly among, and within, different cultures.
Some Studies and Findings
The research that has been undertaken to establish what students think about their school
science education is methodologically diverse, relates to different age groups and embraces both
national and international studies.
A Student Review of the Science Curriculum was undertaken in England at the end of 2001
and the beginning of 2002 (Planet Science et al., 2003). The Review was based on data collected
via a web-based questionnaire involving 55 questions. These questions were derived from a range
of issues that concerned young people as expressed at a series of regional meetings. These meetings
varied in size from under a dozen to over 130, with an average of around 30 students. A selection
of these students made up a national group that was given responsibility for the final design of
the questionnaire and for helping to analyse and report the findings. The on-line survey lasted
six weeks and generated 1,493 responses. 73% of the respondents were between 16 and 19 years
of age and a further 22% were 14 to 16 years old. Given what is sometimes said about girls and
computers, it is interesting that there were many more girls (66%) than boys (34%) among the
respondents. Some care is needed, however, in reading the results of the survey, since almost two
thirds (64%) of the respondents were from independent, i.e. fee-paying, schools. If the sample
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(P. 22-30)
were representative, this figure would be about 7% for 11-16 year olds and 20% for 16-18 year
olds. The much higher percentage of independent school respondents probably reflects the higher
level of computing resources available in some of these schools and the fact that some of the
respondents were boarders at their schools. In this connection it is noteworthy that 53% of the
respondents were at co-educational schools, 41% at girls’ schools and only 6% at boys’ schools. It
should also be noted that about half (52%) of the 14-16 year olds in the sample were not expecting
to go on to study science beyond 16, with the remaining 48% expecting to continue with their
science studies. A somewhat disappointing 42% of the respondents indicated that their science
lessons had not made them curious about the world and interested in finding out more. About
69% of the students agreed that controversial issues should be included in their school science
courses Asked what they found boring in school science, topics drawn from physics were mentioned
most often, followed by chemistry and then biology.
Physics. I have never, nor will I ever, either see the point or understand physics. It always seemed
pointless spending hours of experimental time proving what was already proven, or that black
wasn’t a colour, or whatever. (ibid., 17)
At some risk of oversimplifying the outcomes of this study, the broad messages seem clear.
Many pupils want more discussion in their science lessons, they want school physics and chemistry
to be more relevant to everyday life, especially the girls, and they want to engage with ethical
and controversial issues in science.
Some of the above findings of this study resonate with the outcomes of a focus-group based
survey that sought the views of parents as well of students, together with teachers’ responses to
the views expressed (Osborne and Collins, 2000; 2001). The focus groups were conducted with
the aid of a series of questions prompted by reference to the value of school science, the application
of science to everyday life, visions of school science in the future, and the appeal of science in
everyday life. In general, students thought science was important but valued their school science
education for career aspirations rather than as a subject of intrinsic interest. Chemistry, especially,
was seen as ‘abstruse and irrelevant’.
It doesn’t mean anything to me. I’m never going to use that that. It’s never going to come into
anything, it’s just boring (ibid., 21)
Yeah, bonding, you’re never going to think ‘How do I bond’? (ibid., 22)
Students found practical work in the laboratory ‘interesting’ and indicated that they would
like to learn about their bodies in biology, the solar system and the universe in physics and ‘mixing
chemicals’ in chemistry. Among the parents, women valued science when it gave them an insight
into the causes and prevention of illness, the maintenance of good health, an understanding of
diet, nutrition and exercise, and the dangers of smoking. Men, in contrast, tended to say that
they used science ‘unconsciously’ by which they meant that they had used science-based
technologies such as cars and computers into which school science had given them little insight.
Teachers, perhaps unsurprisingly, saw any improvement in school education as strongly related
to class size, curriculum overload/time and examination reform.
Student’s interests in science also feature in a wide-ranging study undertaken in the UK in
2004 as part of the Nestlé Social Research programme (Haste 2004). The sampling procedure and
methodology of this study are more complex than most surveys of student opinion and the age
range of the students involved (11-21) is also much wider. Some 33% of the sample of 1,958
young people expressed an interest ‘in varying degrees’ in a job relating to science, 21% agreed
to some extent with the statement that ‘science is largely irrelevant’ to their everyday lives, with
a further 31% expressing no opinion. As with other studies, the Nestlé study revealed marked
gender differences, although these changed somewhat with age, and the overall conclusion is
that
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(P. 22-30)
Girls are not so much less interested in science than boys; almost exactly the same proportion of
girls as boys – about a third – would be interested in jobs relating to science. But girls focus on
different things (ibid., 3)
A very different study of some relevance to what students want to learn at school comes
from research into the use made of newspapers in secondary schools in Northern Ireland.
Data were drawn from 35 non-selective and 15 selective schools (20% of the total) by means
of semi-structured interviews with heads of departments in schools or their nominees. Students
responded positively to the use of newspapers to discuss issues relating to contemporary
science whereas science teachers used such resources only on an occasional basis (Jarman and
McClune, 2000; 2003). The findings of this study need to be set alongside research that suggests
that most people get their information about science from newspapers and from television,
although in the case of teenagers, school science remains a particularly important source of
scientific knowledge (Gunter et al., 1998; see also Lock, 1996).
Students’ views about school science in England are also evident in the outcomes of a
study into the future of schooling (Burke and Grosvenor 2003). Invited to describe the school
that they would like, students from over 1,500 schools responded with essays, photographs,
pictures, stories, plays, plans, poems and film. Although the consequent data archive has not
been systematically trawled for students’ views on science, some examples are available.
The notion of writing prize-winning essays on tropical rainforests without taking some action
would be seen as strange (boy, aged 17)
I think our school should look at plants and wildlife and nature (girl, primary school)
Note should also be taken of a major research project in the UK, entitled “Consulting
Pupils about Teaching and Learning”. The project supports a number of more specific studies,
one of which is concerned with ‘Ways of consulting pupils about teaching and learning’.
Science does not figure prominently in the overall programme, although there are occasional
glimpses, and full details are available on the project web site (http://
www.consultingpupils.co.uk).
One of the prominent features of research and policy in science education in the past
decade or so has been the emergence of large-scale international comparisons of the outcomes
of school science teaching and learning. The best known examples are the Third International
Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the OECD Programme for International Student
Assessment (PISA). The results of these international comparisons have been widely used by
policy makers, despite the methodological and other difficulties associated with international
comparative research and the criticism to which such work is vulnerable (Shorrocks-Taylor
and Jenkins, 2000. The focus of these two studies is different. TIMSS has focused attention on
the curriculum as a broad explanatory factor underlying student achievement (Martin and
Mullis, 2000) whereas the emphasis in PISA is on the extent to which education systems in the
participating countries prepare students to become life long learners and to play constructive
roles as citizens in society (Schleicher, 2000). The volume of data generated by these projects
is immense but each presents interesting questions about students’ views of school science.
In the case of TIMSS, for example, students’ generally very positive views about their school
science education were not reflected in the level of their performance in the TIMSS tests
(Schmidt et al., 1999).
The international Science and Scientists (SAS) project, based in Norway, published its
results in May 2000 (Sjøberg, 2000). The project investigated the ‘interests, experiences and
perceptions of children in many countries that might be of relevance for the learning of
science’ (ibid, p. 4). Some 30 researchers from 21 countries and over 9,000 children aged 13
were involved in the questionnaire study constructed around seven broad themes: The scientist
as person, Out of school experiences, Things to learn about, Importance for a future job,
Science in action, Scientists at work and ‘Me as a scientist’. Some elements of the questionnaire
25
(P. 22-30)
drew upon and developed earlier work, e.g., the ‘Draw-A-Scientist’ test (Chambers, 1983;
Matthews, 1996) and an inventory of Out of School Experiences (Lie and Sjøberg, 1984: Whyte,
1986). The Project was an important precursor to the Relevance of Science Education (ROSE)
study currently underway. Details of this latter project, including the questionnaire, a review
of methodological issues and information about the countries involved, are available on the
project web-site (http://www.ils.uio.no/forskning/rose). Unlike TIMSS and PISA, the ROSE study
is not a test of learning outcomes. Preliminary results reveal a number of significant differences
in the patterns of responses from the 15-year-old students, e.g., between boys and girls,
between students in developed and developing countries, and in attitudes towards a number
of environmental issues. At the country level of analysis, policy makers are likely to be
particularly interested in students’ opinions about their school science education. Among the
developed countries, science is generally regarded as important and useful, school science as
moderately interesting but not much liked relative to other school subjects, and few students
would like to become scientists. Here, as with other findings from the ROSE study, gender
differences are significant. Such differences are particularly marked when students indicate
what they would most wish to learn by using a four point Likert scale to respond to a list of
108 statements. For girls, the priorities lie with topics related to the self and, more particularly,
to health, mind and well-being. In contrast, the boys’ responses prioritise strong interests in
destructive technologies and events.
One of the components of the ROSE questionnaire invites students to respond to a set of
18 statements about environmental issues such as air and water pollution, the overuse of
resources and global climate change. Work of this kind complements a substantial volume of
methodologically diverse literature concerned specifically with environmental education (see
Hart and Nolan, 1999 for a review). The research that relates to student thinking about the
environment covers attitudes, beliefs, values and perceptions and much of this work is
quantitative and strongly positivist in nature. Researchers working within this tradition have
typically focused their attention on students’ answers to questions about the environment or
students’ environmental behaviour. More recent work has been more exploratory and less
normative in nature, probing students’ ideas, values and beliefs about a range of
environmental issues. The research has shown that students can hold simultaneously multiple
structures of belief about global environmental issues and that their understanding of, and
attitudes towards, environmental problems are influenced by several agencies and factors.
These include the mass media, cultural norms, gender, parental views and the length of formal
education. A subset of the environmental education literature relates to children’s
understanding of environmentally important concepts such as ‘nature’, the ozone layer, radon
and endangered species. The evidence from studies of this kind suggests that childhood
experience is important in determining life-long attitudes, values and patterns of behaviour
towards the environment. Attitudes towards environmental issues are also reported in a variety
of surveys such as the Science and Engineering Indicators in the USA (National Science Board,
2004) and the twice-yearly Eurobarometer reports based on face to face interviews with
approximately 1,000 people in each of the Member States of the European Union (e.g., EU,
2001) For the social construction of an environmental problem, see Burgess, 2004.
Some issues
As noted above, the literature reporting students’ views and experience of their school
science education draws upon a variety of research techniques. The methods used for data
collection range from on-line and paper questionnaires and focus groups to diaries, personal
logs and various types of interviews and free response techniques. Each of these approaches
to data collection presents problems of interpretation, reliability validity and credibility. Since
these issues are well rehearsed in the literature (e.g., Shadish et al., 2002; Oppenheim, 1992;
Cohen et al., 2000), they are not repeated here but their importance should not be
26
(P. 22-30)
underestimated.
Two issues, however deserves some comment in the present context. First, in a
questionnaire-based study such as ROSE, what weight is it appropriate to attach to students’
views about, for example, what they want to learn in their school science courses? It can be
argued that the students are not in a position to make an informed choice. Their experience
of science is very partial and few are likely to possess the wider perspective that would allow
individual scientific concepts to be linked together to form a more coherent and informative
whole. It is also sometimes the case that questionnaires ask students for their views about
science rather than physics, chemistry or biology. As Osborne and Collins (2000) have shown,
there are significant differences in students’ interest in, and attitudes towards, the different
scientific disciplines. Secondly, it is important to acknowledge that an indication by a student
that he or she wishes to learn about a given scientific topic cannot be equated with a
willingness to make the intellectual and other commitment necessary to achieve the required
level of understanding.
Given the methodological diversity among the various studies of student opinion about
their school science education, it is perhaps somewhat surprising that many of the findings
are consistent across a number of different education systems and cultures. For example,
physics seems an unpopular subject with girls in most countries and a number of other gender
differences in students’ responses are prevalent. It is also the case that many students would
like to see more attention given in their school science education to contemporary and
controversial issues in science that relate to their everyday experiences. ‘Many’ however, is
not all and most surveys reveal a significant but important minority of students who either
have no strong opinion upon, or take a contrary view about, a number of issues such as the
alleged difficulty of school science or the inclusion of socio-scientific issues within the school
science curriculum. For example, in the Student Review of the Science Curriculum in England,
referred to above, 29 per cent of the students (n = 1,471) “didn’t mind” whether or not
controversial issues were included in school science and 55 per cent said that their experience
of primary schools had had no effect on their attitudes towards science (Planet Science et al.,
2003).
The major differences in student responses, however, are between the industrialised
and the developing world, especially in their attitudes towards aspects of science and
technology (Sjøberg et al., 2004). Why this should be so requires investigation, although any
explanation is likely to be both complex and subtle. In the case of the ROSE questionnaire,
Schreiner and Sjøberg (2004) have suggested that it may be fruitful to account for the
differences in responses between the developed and developing worlds in sociological terms,
drawing upon such notions associated with post-modernism and youth culture. They are,
however, careful to emphasise that no one set of theories is likely to be able explain the
results presented by the ROSE survey (Schreiner and Sjøberg, 2004).
If students’ interest in science depend upon the science, upon gender and upon broader
cultural factors, what should be the response of policy makers, curriculum developers and
others with a professional interest in school science education? Is it, for example, possible to
construct a science curriculum derived from students’ expressed interests and thereby build a
community of learners from which scientific ideas emerge for discussion and learning? The
answer would seem to be a highly qualified yes (Gallas, 1995), although it seems unlikely that
such an approach could form the basis for constructing a reasonably broad curriculum that
could serve as a basis for ‘science for all’. In addition, any attempt to construct a school
science curriculum differentiated by student interest would be in tension with a commitment
to gender equity and the provision of a broad and balanced science education for all. Given
the widespread failure of existing courses to attract larger numbers of students to study
science, especially physical science, beyond compulsory schooling, it may be time to re-examine
how best to provide school science courses that best meet the needs of both boys and girls. It
may also be appropriate to explore the use of different pedagogical strategies when teaching
27
(P. 22-30)
boys and girls.

Some of the outcomes traditionally associated with school science education should perhaps
also be revisited. For example, many students in the ROSE survey in England did not judge that
their school science education had made them more critical and sceptical or opened their eyes
to new and exciting jobs, especially in the case of girls. If the students’ opinions can be taken as
reliable, valid and credible, there is clearly a task here not just for science teachers and the
science profession more generally but also for those with specific responsibility for offering
students career advice.
Studies like the ROSE project also strongly suggest that the aims and content of school
science courses is developing countries should be significantly different from those found in
schools in the industrialised world. Many of the former face long-standing problems associated
with nutrition, sanitation, health care, disease, housing, employment and population growth
and the daunting realities of life in many parts of the developing world demand a science
education that can help alleviate the most basic of needs. However, developing local science
curricula and encouraging global curriculum diversity is not without its problems (Knamiller,
1984). It may be regarded, not least by parents and students in the developing countries
themselves, as undermining what might be called the universalism of science, together with its
associated high status. It also presents a challenge, namely how to provide a science education
that is relevant to the needs of students in ways that do not trap them in a milieu from which
ideally science education should help them escape. While this challenge may be especially acute
in the developing world, it is not without parallel in the developed world and it is by no means
a new problem (Layton, 1973). In addition, abandoning the historical association of science
with the Enlightenment goals of secularism and democracy in favour of so-called ‘indigenous
science’ presents real dangers, not least to science itself. It opens the door to various forms of
nationalism and fascism disguised as ‘reactionary modernism’ (Nanda, 2003) and to highly
politicised forms of science education (Barton and Osborne, 2001).
It will be clear from the preceding paragraphs that responding to students’ expressed
opinions about science and their school science education is by no means a straightforward
task. The specific outcomes of individual research surveys of student opinion are always
interesting and sometimes suggest a direction for curriculum or pedagogical reform. In the
longer term, however, such outcomes may be of most use in encouraging research into the
development of more general strategies to increase student motivation, commitment and
attainment.
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Резюме
МНЕНИЕ УЧАЩИХСЯ О ЕСТЕСТВЕННОНАУЧНОМ

ОБРАЗОВАНИИ: ИССЛЕДОВАНИЕ И ПРОБЛЕМЫ
Едгар Дженкинс
Статья рассматривает диапазон национальных и международных исследований, в которых анализируется взгляды

учащихся о науке в целом и о естествознании в их школьном образовании. Общая тенденция очевидная – интерес к
естествознанию падает. Вопрос - почему это - так. Результаты этих исследований важны для политиков образования,
для всех, кто занимается разработкой образоватедьных программ и содержания образования и, конечно, для учителей
естественнонаучных дисциплин.
В заключении можно сказать, что результаты определенных исследований всегда интересны, такие результаты
имеют большой спектр применения, например, в помощи развить более общие стратегии для того, чтобы увеличить
мотивацию учащихся, обязательство и достижение в сфере естествознания.
Ключевые слова: естественнонаучное образование, мотивация учащихся.
Received 21 October 2004; accepted 18 January 2005.
Edgar W.Jenkins
Emeritus Research Professor, Centre for Studies in
Science and Mathematics Education, University of
Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, United Kingdom.
E-mail: e.w.jenkins@education.leeds.ac.uk
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ISSN 1648–3898
EXPERIENCES AND THEIR

ROLE IN SCIENCE
EDUCATION
Mattias Lundin, Mats Lindahl Abstract. This study focuses what role
© Mattias Lundin re-actualized experiences may have in
© Mats Lindahl a school science setting. Observations
were done in two Swedish schools
with emphasis on teacher centred
lessons. Data consist of field notes,
recordings and documents. Two major
themes of the results can be
highlighted. First, the teachers’ and
Introduction pupils’ mutual interest in pupils’ re-
actualized experiences. Second, the
The research interest in this text deals with how we talk limited elaboration of those. These
and act in school science. The features of school science that issues are discussed due to teachers’
we aim at do not only include certain tasks and habits but work with different purposes. We call
also a particular language and special tools as well as that teachers’ orchestration of
documents, pictures and symbols used for certain purposes. multiple agendas in science
Wenger (1998) uses the phrase “community of practice”, education. Re-actualized experiences
implying a framework in which for example certain issues are appear to become means for
tacit while others are expressed. What makes the science motivating pupils in their work with
classroom a community of practice is the ongoing activity to different tasks in order to make them
reach shared goals. The particular language of school science cope.
is here seen as a part of the school science language game,
which constitutes our frame for analysis. A meaning of a word
is, according to Wittgenstein (1969/1992), one of its
applications, which is framed by the language game. In
different language games, different meanings of a word
might be construed. A word that is used inappropriately falls
outside the scope of the language game and the statement
might seem meaningless. However, language games change
and so do their concepts and meanings.
Science education might stand out as a very special
language game when introducing pupils to science. For
example Delamont, Beynon and Atkinson (1988) report on
students’ first encounter with laboratory science in secondary Key words: experience, learning
school. They show how school science can be introduced to science, science education.
students and how it can be represented. In their study, school
science was pointed out as an “esoteric domain of experience
Mattias Lundin, Mats Lindahl
which dealt with dangerous objects and substances“ (p. 325).
University of Kalmar, Department of
Their example can be said to show some features of a science
Biology and Environmental Science,
classroom and the introduction of science in secondary school.
Sweden.
The features they bring about as well as those we intend to
bring about are not to be seen as valid for every science
classroom, yet they can describe school science to some extent.
These issues that Delamont et al address, imply an ambiguity
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EXPERIENCES AND THEIR ROLE IN SCIENCE EDUCATION ISSN 1648–3898
(P. 31–39)
of school science. That ambiguity is based on school science as esoteric (dangerous and different)
and at the same time referring to the mundane (based on anyone’s everyday experience). Bergqvist
(1990) describes how students are asked to pose questions in order to answer them on their own.
The purpose of that task was that the students would understand a phenomenon when having
found the answers with the help of laboratory equipment. Bergqvist questions the usefulness of
such inductive learning and points out that students have difficulties posing relevant questions
when not being familiar with the context. Schoultz (2000) discusses the use of so-called “everyday
questions” for testing scientific knowledge. The pupils in his study had difficulties in using scientific
knowledge to answer the questions, because it is not obvious that pupils apprehend the science
content in an everyday question, he claims. In that case, as well as Bergqvist’s example, the problem
can be seen as a difficulty in knowing the proper context of the question. Schoultz argues that a
question in an everyday context naturally gets an everyday answer. According to Szybek (2002),
that would be signs of the everyday stage of events, in contrast to the science stage of events.
Bergqvist (1990) gives another example when she shows how a teacher compared a scientific
phenomenon with another phenomenon with similar features from children’s everyday context.
She shows how difficult it was for the pupils to grasp meaning of the comparison. Making such a
comparison could be one way of changing stages. Szybek (2002) talks about making translations
between the everyday stage and the science stage of events. But a translation of for example an
everyday difficulty into a scientific problem implies a second translation, according to Szybek.
The second translation serves as a re-translation of the solution, making it a remedy of the original
everyday difficulty, he continues. The two translations are features of the school science stage of
events. The need for dealing with the everyday difficulty in a scientific way becomes apparent if
the solution shows to be a relevant remedy of the original difficulty, that is, the advantage of the
science stage of events becomes clear.
Pupils are expected to participate in the language game despite difficulties of for example
different stages of events. In a community of practice, such as the one studied here, the participants
form a heterogeneous group whose community is co-constructed by different ways to participate.
The most obvious ways to participate can, in this case, be seen if looking at the teachers’ expert
way of participating and the pupils’ apprentice way of participating. The teacher plays a crucial
role in the reconstruction of the community. Mercer (1995) mentions that one of the teacher’s
intensions can be to guide the learning activity. There are certain techniques for such guidance.
Teachers might for example “elicit relevant knowledge from students” (p. 25) or give students
feedback in order to generalize meanings. He also emphasizes teachers’ descriptions of classroom
experiences to create a joint experience of educationally important features of the activity.
Our point of departure is that differences of meaning making between school science and
pupils’ lives in general terms can involve difficulties (Bergqvist, 1990; Schoultz, 2000; Szybek,
2002) for pupils. The issue we intend to study is how pupils’ previous experiences, originating for
example in everyday contexts, might come to function and have meaning in a science classroom,
despite of difficulties. We regard previous experiences as something we cannot observe or study
directly. Rorty (1991) considers habits and actions for coping with reality and calls that an anti-
representationalist account. That is, experiences can be considered in our habits and actions. We
interpret actions for coping with reality in a broad sense, also including utterances (According to
Wittgenstein 1953/1992, p. 169). Our concern is consequently to study accounts of experiences,
that is, the way of talking about previous experiences. However, accounts of experiences appear
in situations when new experiences are made and therefore we find it appropriate to talk about
re-actualized experiences (Östman, 2003). Thus, a re-actualized experience is situated but brings
about continuity with the past at the same time. The concept of re-actualized experiences includes
different previous experiences, despite their origin.
In focus for this study are the re-actualized experiences and the tensions that might occur
between for example the personal experience and the shared activity. The role that the specific
re-actualized experience gets is due to the language game as well as our habits connected to
that situation. In some situations, different ways of acting or even different habits may be
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(P. 31–39)
incompatible. Multiple purposes of the activity might explain some tensions between different
ways to act. We will refer to such different conceivable courses of actions as to different agendas.
The research interest is summed up in the following research questions.
• What role may re-actualized experiences have in a school science setting?

• What is the impact of different agendas on re-actualized experiences?
To learn about the role of pupils’ re-actualized experiences, observations were done in four
classes in two Swedish schools. In one school (school A), the pupils were 11 – 12 years old (school
year 5-6) and in the other (school B) they were 13 years old (school year 7). The classes at each
school were studied with their teachers. The classes were chosen because of their interest in
participating in the study. The two classes of school A each had one class teacher in most subjects
but now forming a number of mixed small groups. The pupils of school B were divided into two
groups taught by two different teachers. In both cases the theme of lessons dealt with physics.
Data collections were made similarly at the schools, nevertheless data is complementary to
some extent. The data from school A consists of field notes and documents (teachers’ planning,
pupils’ documentation & students’ textbooks) and less audio recordings (no video), whereas data
from school B consists of video recordings (10 hours) to a greater extent. The teachers occasionally
commented the presence of the video camera in the first lessons but not the pupils. All recordings
concerned teacher centred lessons. Recordings were transcribed and the excerpts are our
translations from Swedish to English. The transcriptions were studied several times until the
relevant parts where re-actualized experiences are prominent were found. Next, the selected
parts were analyzed as samples of a language game (Wittgenstein, 1953/1992). In some cases we
also have made use of Wickman’s and Östman’s (2002) operationalization of language games as
it provides means for an in detail analysis of the language game. Utterances can be immediately
intelligible, or put in other words, directly meaningful to the participants in the conversation,
they claim. Such utterances stand fast. Relations can be made between meanings that are standing
fast in two different ways, implying a difference or a resemblance. Until a relation is established,
it is possible to talk about a gap. A gap that is not filled with a relation lingers. As a language
game goes on, an increasing number of relations is established. The change in talk and action
can be regarded as learning.
Research results
We will here present the role of re-actualized experiences in two science classrooms. We will
also show how re-actualized experiences are acted upon due to different agendas. The results
are attributed to different sections that should not be seen as exclusive categories but instead as
a way of highlighting features of the findings. The results of the two research questions are
presented integrated and continuously.
Re-actualized experiences as a foundation
Call for experiences are prominent in science textbooks. The idea seems to be to found-in
pupils’ experiences into the topic. The following example comes from the textbook of school A.
“Have you had to step into a car that has been too long in the sun a summer day? In that case you
know, that it is even warmer inside the car than outside.” (Rydstedt, 1990, p. 48) The example
seems to be designed to call for pupils’ experiences of hot cars. An agenda of considering pupils’
experiences and interests can explain the approach of the textbook. One reason for founding-in
experiences into the topic might be to facilitate the following discussion on the subject matter.
When the teachers (school A) planned the lessons, pupils’ previous experiences were
33
(P. 31–39)
emphasized, for example, they claimed, “It comes natural for them (the pupils) to deal with
thoughts & ideas that they have in their surroundings.” In the teachers’ assignments to pupils’ it
is also possible to see that experiences indeed were included. The pupils were given an assignment
to discuss a number of questions and in co-operation make a mind-map. The pupils used neither
textbooks nor other media to answer the questions, according to the teachers’ instructions.
Consequently, we regard such assignments as ways of re-actualizing experiences and make an
inventory that forms a common foundation for the following lesson.
Re-actualization of experiences made to a school task
In school A there were also other occasions when questions were dealt with. In those occasions
the questions seemed to be used as an individual introductory task. When the pupils had
formulated questions, they were asked to write what they believed were the answers. The pupils
sometimes referred to the task as writing hypotheses to the already made questions, sometimes
they talked about expressing their belief about the answer to a question. However, the task of
writing one’s belief can be described as a way of re-actualizing experiences due to the question.
One question was: “Why can’t we see at night”. The belief was expressed: “It is too dark”. As a
third step, the pupils were supposed to answer the questions by means of various information
sources (Internet, textbooks or with help from the teacher) and at that point the inductive feature
of the task becomes clear. To the above question the pupil’s final answer was: “Human eyes are
not made for night”. We regard the task a way to promote the re-actualization of experiences.
Writing ‘what you believe’ about an issue sometimes appeared to be a very difficult task. We
could see that at times when pupils expressed that they perceived a lack of relevant experiences.
Under such circumstances it can be hard to grasp meaning of a task. There appeared to be a
tension between the task and pupils’ perceived lack of relevant experiences. Below is an example
of what one group of pupils expressed as a hypothesis (as a statement of what they believed was
the answer to their own question). The “hypothesis” dealt with the visibility of different kinds of
light. “We believe that you can see laser and X-rays but not infra- or UV-light” (school A). The
pupils’ statement could only be based on previous experiences and was never explored with any
equipment. Looking from a teacher’s perspective, the task of re-actualizing experiences completed
the questions to be more than a task to find answers. That is, writing ‘what you believe’ implies
guessing, trying to remember – activities that can be seen as a task to establish relations between
a previous experience and issues at stake in the questions. The agenda of promoting pupils’
awareness of experiences, that is, re-actualizing experiences appears in connection to the task of
writing so called hypotheses.
Experiences as means for making pupils participate
Teachers might pursue the dialogue; try to make students participate in a new topic, which
is the case in the following conversation.
Teacher: when do you use electricity?

Pupil: E:h if listening to music maybe?
Teacher: ye:
Pupil: watching TV or something?
Teacher: yes (2 s) more occasions?
Pupil: put on the lights so it wont be (dark).
Teacher: okay ye ((The teacher points at the lamps in the ceiling. Another pupil enters
the classroom. The lesson continues in a moment.)) put on the lights (.) yes for
how long have we been able to do that do you think - in our houses?
Pupil: ((inaudible))
Teacher: what?
Pupil: ((inaudible))
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(P. 31–39)
Teacher: a::h no it wasn’t Einstein who invented it (.) it was some other also famous
person - somebody know his name?
Pupil: e (5 s)
Teacher: what was his name? ((The teacher makes a circular movement with his/her fingers
and looks at the pupil.))
Pupil: edison.
Teacher: edison yes (.) from what country did he come?
(School B)
In the previous dialogue the teacher went on asking for more occasions when electricity is
used, until the use of electricity was related to “bulb”. At that point, the teacher turned around
the dialogue and a new row of questions started. The questions went on until the inventor of the
bulb was mentioned. The language game here seems to provide means for the teacher to guide
the topic towards a specific point, the inventor of the bulb. Accordingly the re-actualized
experiences seem to play an important role in the guidance of topic to the point where the
inventor of the bulb was mentioned. Later on, the teacher and the pupils watched a video film
about Edison and his invention. The example can be said to show how teachers can deal with
two agendas at the same time. One of the agendas can be described as a consideration of pupils’
experiences and interests and the other as implementing a historical perspective in science
education. We can see that many things are attempted to be included in this dialogue and all of
those are not directly connected to experiences of electricity. In this last case the re-actualized
experiences are means for reaching a topic that might be important from a teacher’s perspective.
If not accounting the guidance of topic to the specific point, the approach still comprises questions
for experiences. The teacher’s approach to experiences can consequently anyway be regarded as
means to make pupils participate with for example everyday observations.
Re-actualized experiences to show what is relevant in different situations
Re-actualized experiences can be used by the teacher to show what is relevant in the specific
situation. In the previous excerpt only some utterances were fully picked up by the teacher.
Although pupils’ experiences were asked for, they were not elaborated. We can for example see
how a “ye:” makes a brief response to the first proposition in order to give room for other
suggestions concerning when electricity is used, that potentially could be even more relevant.
Another example when the teacher seemed to show what is relevant can be seen in the next
excerpt.
Teacher: where do you usually connect batteries in series (3 s) ((points at a pupil))

Pupil 1: torch
Teacher: torch ((nominates another pupil))
Pupil 2: (walkman)
Teacher: yes (3 s) and other similar appliances, if you have some other =
Pupil 3: =in computers ((inaudible))
Teacher: eh no (.) well e:h you could have ((the teacher continues to discuss power supply
systems for computers))
(School B)
The example shows how the pupil answered the teacher. The teacher though seemed not
fully satisfied with the answer, because he/she turned to another pupil, who gave a similar reply
when saying walkman. At that point the teacher broadened the meaning of the words to include
all similar appliances. By doing such generalization no further similar answers became relevant
in the changed context. We regard this last action as a way to guide the topic in an appropriate
way, turning focus to relevant applications. We would like to point at two agendas in the excerpt,
where the first deals with clarifying the everyday relevance of science and the second deals with
time and the progress of lessons towards other content areas. The already mentioned
generalization could be seen as a tool for such efficiency.
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(P. 31–39)
Pupils’ attempts to fit their experiences into conversation
It seems clear that experiences become relevant and acted upon not only due to teachers’
initiatives alone. Of course the results reported here should not be seen as valid for every pupil.
Indeed, in the observed classes pupils’ own initiatives originated from a minority of pupils. However,
situations where pupils asked for the teacher’s confirmation of the relevance of a previous
experience are prominent. In the next excerpt the class was going to construct a battery. A liquid
was required.
Teacher: Okay (.) e: h this is called a e:h tray (.) it is not very interesting but e:h a small
beaker ((shows a tray)) that you can have a fluid in (.) for example water (.) we
are going to have something else in it (2 s)
Pupil: soap
Teacher: tada (3 s) ((shows a bottle with a fluid in it)) sal-ammoniac ((stressed)) it is called
((opens the bottle slowly))
Pupil: it tastes good. (2 s)
Teacher: it is like this (.) one thing to keep in mind if you get it on your clothes (.) it will
become stains from it and I believe it is not particularly corrosive but try to avoid
getting it on your fingers and and wash your hands after your laboratory work
please ((pours the fluid into the tray))=
Pupil: =is it dangerous?
Teacher: no not dangerous but you should always be careful with these kind of things I
believe.
Pupil: can you drink?
Teacher: no: you shouldn’t do that (.) so ((puts the cork onto the bottle))
(School B)
The phrase “It tastes good” is here seen as a re-actualized experience. The phrase seemed to
stand fast (Wickman & Östman, 2002) in the language game because the teacher went on
explaining how the fluid should be taken care of. A gap can be seen when the pupil asked for
guidance by asking if the fluid is dangerous. The gap appears not to be filled because the teacher
replied that you should be careful with those kind of things and it can hardly taste good at the
same time. The lingering gap is supported by the pupil’s utterance in the last line where the issue
was brought up again. Accordingly, the new question seemed to concern not only the suggested
cautiousness due to the fluid but in connection to its good taste. We see how the teacher describes
the fluid as dangerous with very few words: “not particularly corrosive but try to avoid …” and
“you should always be careful …” The teacher finally replied that you should not drink it. The
gap was still lingering, there was no relation established between “It tastes good” and the
utterance, implying that you should not drink it. We regard the lingering gap an indication of a
dual set of relevant agendas, here referred to as a safety agenda and an agenda of building
classroom talk on pupils’ experiences. In this case the safety agenda seem to be superior. What
also could be pointed at in the excerpt are the consequences of the pupil’s second turn (“it tastes
good”). The latter is seen in the teacher’s following focus on safety. The pupil’s re-actualized
experience can be said to make the safety agenda relevant.
In some cases the re-actualized experience that were attempted to fit into the conversation
concerned the probable consequences of a certain action. The following excerpt refers to a
demonstration of using different materials in a wire that was used as a conductor. The teacher
showed how the electric current passes through a circuit containing a metal wire, a bulb and a
battery. The excerpt begins with a pupil making a comment about what would happen if …
Pupil: what happens then?

Teacher: e:h it ((the wire)) can become so warm that you might get burnt (.) but when we
got such a small battery nothing happens.
Pupil: no, but if we connect a car battery?
Teacher: yes then you could=
(School B)
The phrases “get burnt” and “small battery” seemed to stand fast in the conversation. The
36
(P. 31–39)
re-actualized experience is seen when the pupil proposed connecting a “car battery”. The teacher’s
“Yes” implies that “car battery” also stood fast. The re-actualized experience seems to concern
car batteries as powerful batteries compared to those in the classroom. The pupil’s utterance also
implies a gap between “get burnt” and “car battery”. The gap was filled with a relation when
the teacher confirmed the similarity between the two utterances. In this excerpt, as well as the
previous, it is again possible to talk about a tension between two agendas. Described from a
teacher’s perspective those agendas can be referred to as considering safety on one hand and
attend to pupils’ excitement of risks, on the other.
Discussion and implications
Before summarizing and making comments on the results we will briefly discuss some
methodological issues. When dealing with what is said and done as a research interest, the data
collection could preferably have been concentrated to recordings to greater extent. Since not only
speech-acts are in focus, an emphasis on video recordings would have been appropriate. Maybe
such changes could have brought even further. Our thoughts about developing the methods for a
follow-up also include a focus on one particular school subject field in the data collection. Such
focus implies a uniting framework between different classes that might facilitate a deeper analysis.
The results of this study indicate a difference, compared to what Bergqvist (1990) reports on
students posing questions. Here the immediate concern neither seemed to be inductive learning
nor to find any correct answers, as in Bergqvist’s study. Instead the task including writing questions
and formulation of so called hypotheses promoted the re-actualization of experiences. The task
connects the classroom activity to pupils’ previous experiences. The ways of dealing with re-
actualized experiences seem to have been appropriated in a way that a limited elaboration has
become sufficient. Expressed in other words, we could say that an agenda concerning time and
the progress of lessons towards other content areas, sometimes become crucial. In other cases an
agenda of considering safety becomes crucial. Although time seem to be at stake, it has to be
stressed that re-actualized experiences might become relevant in a not necessarily expected way.
For example, we can say that the teacher’s reply to “it tastes good” could be a consequence of
the pupil’s statement, even though the teacher’s answer does not fill the gap we earlier described.
To some extent, especially if looking at re-actualized experiences in relation to school tasks
involving use of hypotheses, the dealing with re-actualized experiences can be seen as a social
function connected to the accomplishment of lessons rather than material for shared elaboration.
The results are in line with Mercer (1995) who points at the accomplishment rather than providing
the potential material for shared elaboration. The teacher for example broadens the meaning of
pupils’ utterances (see heading 3.4) which correspond to what Mercer describes as students’
getting feedback in order to generalize meanings. Here, again we can refer to an agenda
concerning the progress of lessons. We have also mentioned an agenda of safety in contrast to
an agenda considering pupils’ excitement of risks. Teachers’ orchestrations of agendas seem to
be quite a task. The orchestration can be ambiguous, managing for example tensions between a
historical agenda and the importance of considering pupils’ interests as another agenda. It remains
for further research to see whether it could be worthwhile to make different agendas explicit to
pupils, that is extending the talk about different purposes of science education, for example by
talking about the importance of historical perspectives in science education.
We have earlier referred to issues concerning different ways of relating to the world (Szybek,
2002) and translations between the different stages of events. Looking at the pupils’ attempts
to fit experiences into conversation, it seems that such translations are asked for in science
classroom (see heading 3.5). We regard re-actualized experiences as suitable occasions for such
linking. There might also be a possibility for teachers to take advantage of re-actualized
experiences in an extended way. If school science can be seen as an esoteric domain (see
Delamont et al, 1988), taking advantage of re-actualized experiences in an extended way might
be a way of bridging the esoteric and the mundane.
37
(P. 31–39)
We would like to sum up two major themes that have emerged in this study. First, accounts
of experiences became relevant due to teachers’ as well as pupils’ initiatives. That is, teacher as
well as students both contribute to the construction of their schoolwork. The second theme we
would like to point at concerns the interest in experiences, but in connection to a limited
elaboration. We can see that pupils might benefit from additional ways of dealing with re-
actualized experiences, in addition to those already presented. Re-actualized experiences seem
to become means for the accomplishment of lessons rather than ideas for elaboration. Here we
have described the role of re-actualized experiences as part of a school task, for making a
foundation, used to make pupils participate, to show what is relevant and as an attempt to fit
into conversation. It is only possible to speculate on reasons for the features of the language
game presented here. What we can see is that multiple agendas are orchestrated in some of
the conversations where experiences are re-actualized. The orchestration involves a consideration
of different habits, in connection to the re-actualized experience. The agenda of considering
pupils’ interest is prominent, as well as the agenda of attending pupils’ excitement of for example
risks. However, it also seems that the agendas of safety considerations, efficiency of lessons and
implementing for example a historical perspective to some extent can be competitive when
orchestrated in science education.
Despite ambiguities, we suggest re-actualized experiences could be a source for extending
the ways of talking about science issues. That is, not only to found-in re-actualized experiences
into the language game but to share new ways of talking about them. The instruments and the
outcome of such approaches are issues remaining for further research.
References
Bergqvist, K. (1990). Doing schoolwork. Task premises and joint activity in the comprehensive classroom.
Diss. Linköping University.
Delamont, S. Beynon, J. & Atkinson, P. (1988). In the beginning was the Bunsen: the foundations of
secondary school science. In.: Qualitative studies in education. 1 (4), p. 315-328.
Mercer, N. (1995). The Guided Construction of Knowledge. Talk Amongst Teachers and Learners. Clevedon:
Multilingual Matters.
Östman, L. (2003). Transaktion, sociokulturella praktiker och meningsskapande: ett forskningsprogram.
In.: L. Östman (ed.) Erfarenhet och situation i handling. Pedagogisk forskning 147. Uppsala: Uppsala universitet.
Rorty, R. (1991). Objectivity, relativism, and truth. Philosophical papers. Volume I. Cambridge: U.P.
Rydstedt, B. (ed.) (1990). Land och Liv 3. Stockholm: Natur och Kultur.
Schoultz, J. (2000). Att samtala om/i naturvetenskap. Kommunikation, kontext och artefakt. Diss.
Linköping university.
Szybek, P. (2002). Science Education – An Event Staged on Two Stages Simultaneously. In.: Science &
Education. (11) p. 525 – 525.
Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice. Cambridge: U. P.
Wickman, P. O. & Östman, L. (2002). Learning as Discourse change: A Sociocultural Mechanism. In.: Science
Education. (86) p. 601 - 623
Wittgenstein, L. (1953/1992). Filosofiska undersökningar. Stockholm: Thales.
Wittgenstein, L. (1969/1992). Om visshet. Stockholm: Thales.
Резюме
РОЛЬ АКТУАЛИЗИРУЕМОГО ОПЫТА В ЕСТЕСТВЕННОНАУЧНОМ

ОБРАЗОВАНИИ
Маттиас Лундин, Матс Линдагл
Роль актуализируемого опыта учащихся в условиях школьного естественнонаучного образования можно

охарактеризовать пятью взаимосвязанными чертами: актуализируемый опыт используют для создания основы
дальнейшей работы в классе; актуализируемый опыт связывают со школьной задачей; его рассматривают как средство
38
(P. 31–39)
привлечения учащегося к участию или для демонстрации ему того, что охватывает предмет изучения; обращая
актуализируемый опыт к самому учащемуся, стараются вовлечь его в беседу; иногда актуализация опыта проводится
для того, чтобы вскрыть его возможные последствия или действия. В этой связи можно подчеркнуть полученные
результаты двух видов. Во-первых, учителя и учащиеся обнаруживают взаимный интерес к реактуализируемому опыту.
Во-вторых, тема этого опыта пока ограниченно разработана. Две этих проблемы объясняются тем, что учителя работают
с различными целями (мы называем это учительской оркестровкой множественных повесток дня). Таким образом,
реактуализируемый опыт начинает становиться средством мотивации учащихся в их успеваемости.
Ключевые слова: опыт, изучение естествознания, естественнонаучное образование.
Received 09 September 2004; accepted 02 February 2005.
Mattias Lundin
Doctoral student in science education, member of
Swedish Graduate School in Science and Technology
Education Research
Department of Biology and Environmental Science,
University of Kalmar,
SE-391 82 Kalmar, Sweden
Phone: +46 480 446928
E-mail: mattias.lundin@hik.se
Mats Lindahl
Assistant professor,
Department of Biology and Environmental Science,
University of Kalmar,
SE-391 82 Kalmar, Sweden
39
ISSN 1648–3898
THE COMPARATIVE STUDY

OF PROSPECTIVE SCIENCE
TEACHERS’ SKILLS OF
WRITTEN EXPLANATION
Abstract. A comparative study of Oleg Popov, Sergey Bogdanov

prospective teachers’ pedagogical © Oleg Popov
skills of written communication in © Sergey Bogdanov
science is presented. Russian and
Swedish students were asked to give
detailed explanations of two simple
physical phenomena (how and why
the shadow from a tree appears and Introduction
why the bulb lights in a torch) to a
hypothetical Grade 7 pupil. The During the last three decades research in science
results of the questionnaire revealed education has been dominated by two trends: emphasis on
the evident gap between the direct learning through practical activity (hands-on) and the
students’ knowledge per se and their constructivist approach to learning (personal construction of
abilities to express didactically their knowledge). Teachers were considered to have only an indirect
knowledge in written form and in possibility of influencing learners’ minds through organising
pictures. Undoubtedly this is one of leaning situations. Currently, a new tradition is emerging in
the challenges to teacher educators. the field emphasising the importance of communication in
The study also revealed the science education (Lemke, 1993; Ogborn et al, 1996; Strömdahl,
differences between forms and 2002; Laptev, 2002). We agree with Ogborn et al (1996, p. 141)
qualities of explanations given by that ‘communication is action’ and ‘to teach is to act on other
Russian and Swedish students as the minds, which act in response’.
result of different pedagogical Teachers use in their professional practice a range of
traditions and communication modes of communication, e.g. speech, drawing on the
cultures. blackboard, demonstrations, and gestures. Monk and Dillon
(1995, p. 96) point out that ‘science teachers have a professional
responsibility to monitor their own communication skills and
to improve them consciously and deliberately.’
An important professional skill that prospective science
teachers need to develop during their university studies is how
to explain things to pupils. We assume that most teacher
educators would share our concern about the development
of students’ skills in communicating science, including training
Key words: science teacher education, in the production of text-based resources and written accounts.
comparative study, communication This paper presents a research project that was designed
skills, sociocultural context. to study student teachers’ pedagogical skills in giving written
explanations in science in two different pedagogical cultures:
Swedish and Russian. Background information on some aspects
Oleg Popov
of the corresponding socio-cultural contexts was also collected.
Umeå University, Sweden
A sociocultural perspective on human activities (Säljö,
Sergey Bogdanov
2000, Leach and Scott, 2003) was adopted in order to compare
Karelian State Pedagogical University,
and discuss development of communication skills in science
Russia
teacher education in the two countries.
40
ISSN 1648–3898 THE COMPARATIVE STUDY OF PROSPECTIVE SCIENCE TEACHERS’ SKILLS OF
WRITTEN EXPLANATION
(P. 40–50)
A sociocultural perspective
The main reason for adopting a sociocultural perspective as a theoretical framework of

analysis, was our search for understanding the relationship between communication, learning
and the sociocultural context.
A central assumption of a sociocultural perspective is that mind and culture co-constitute
each other and develop in close interrelationship (Vygotsky, 1987). Accordingly, student teachers’
minds are formed by their education and also within and by a broader sociocultural context.
According to Vygotsky (1987), personal development is conditioned by learning. To learn
and develop means to appropriate and master artefacts within meaningful social activities. The
nature of cultural artefacts and their appropriation is not uniform across cultures and societies.
Sociocultural context influences why, what kind of and how cultural artefacts are developed,
selected and used. Communication tools are probably the most important cultural artefacts that
mediate our perceptions of, and actions in, the world.
In different contexts humans learn in different ways. When studying nature, health, or social
phenomena, people tend to learn through communication rather than discovery. Think only
about looking for answers to such questions as how to cure a sick child, what mushrooms are
eatable, or how to make a good investment in the stock exchange. “Try and error” ways of
answering these questions may not be the best. A better way would be to consult an expert in
the field.
Communication is the teacher’s main pedagogical tool, used for mediating his/her relations
with pupils. Leach and Scott (2003) argue that ‘the ability to guide the classroom discourse as
ideas are explored and explanations are introduced, is central to the science teacher’s skill and is
critical in influencing students’ learning’. During initial teacher education, students need to acquire
basic skills in using a variety of mediation artefacts, such as oral, written and graphical
communication tools. Nowadays, they also need to master different kind of multimedia equipment.
For this study, we chose to examine prospective teachers’ skills in pedagogical communication,
by looking at the mediating instruments of their communication - written texts and drawings
presented to a hypothetical pupil. Following Ogborn et al (1996) we call them ‘explanatory entities’
that are used to transform ‘scientific knowledge’ into ‘school knowledge’ appropriate to the pupil.
Research instrument
The questionnaire focused on the skills of written communication. As a starting point we

used the idea that school culture is based mainly on written language; it is a text-based culture.
According to Säljö (2000), mastery and practice of written forms of communication emerge as
significant activities per se within the school. In the school context, pupils learn to read the world
through and with a text. They acquire new knowledge as it is presented in print. Therefore, we
found it appropriate to explore prospective teachers’ skills of communication by means of paper
and pencil.
The following problem situation was presented to student teachers: a hypothetical Grade 7
pupil was not able attend a school because of illness and the pupil has asked for an explanation
by letter, of two physical phenomena: how and why the shadow from a tree appears (a sketch of
a tree and a street lamp is presented) and why the bulb lights up in a torch (see Appendix).
Students were encouraged to use a variety of ways and communication tools in making the
presentation.
We tried to formulate simple questions that could allow future teachers’ to show their skills
of didactical reasoning and written communication, rather than test their own conceptual
understanding. However, there were so many misconceptions “communicated to a hypothetical
pupil” that we could not avoid including them in our analysis.
41
THE COMPARATIVE STUDY OF PROSPECTIVE SCIENCE TEACHERS’ SKILLS OF ISSN 1648–3898
WRITTEN EXPLANATION
(P. 40–50)
Description of the sample
The questionnaire was completed by students specialising in science in the Faculty of Teacher
Education in Umeå and students from the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics at Karelian State
Pedagogical University. The students were all trained to teach science/physics in Grade 7. About
200 students in Sweden and Russia completed the questionnaire. 185 responses were selected as
valid for analysis: 110 in Russia and 75 in Sweden.
Concerning gender representation, numbers of female and male students in the sample
reflect general gender trends in the corresponding institutions in the two countries. In Russia,
there were 70% female and 30% male students, while in Sweden the corresponding figures were
55% and 45%.
The mean age of Russian students was 19 years and the Swedish, 30 years, i.e. Swedish
students were in average ten years older than Russians. This can be explained by the following: in
Russia, people usually enter to university at age 17, directly after finishing secondary school
(after 10 years and recently 11 years of compulsory schooling), while in Sweden, students finish
gymnasium at age 19 and often work a couple of years before going to university. The Swedish
part of the sample also included 16 distance education students, some of whom were over 40
years old.
Findings and discussions
Written explanations provided by student teachers to a hypothetical Grade 7 pupil reflected,

on the one hand, their own (mis)understandings of the phenomena, and on the other hand
traditions of teaching/learning in the two countries. As Ambrose et al (1999) point out ‘it is often
difficult to distinguish difficulties with concepts from difficulties with representations. The two
are intertwined.’ In the following text, we try to shed light on typical use of representations
(explanatory entities) by student teachers that, we assume reflect their scientific and pedagogical
knowledge. In the analysis, we have divided each response into two parts: picture (symbols and
illustrations) and text (concepts, analogies and suggested experiments and activities). Therefore,
our discussion concentrates on both visual images and written explanations.
Explanations about shadow
Russian students explained shadow construction in a more formalised way, using a geometrical
optics approach. More than half of them (53%) drew light rays only in the direction of the tree
(so called construction rays) and marked shadow as a place on the ground (64%) as it is shown in
Figure 1 below:
Figure 1. Typical rays construction made by the Russian students.
In Sweden, most of the students used a more common sense approach that, in our opinion,
aided their pedagogical method in thinking about age of the target group of pupils. The majority
of them drew rays in all directions from the lamp (57%) (Figure 2). However, they made less
articulated illustrations (drawing) of the shadow: 34% drew the shadow as flat, 24% as volume
and almost 40% did not draw it at all.
42
WRITTEN EXPLANATION
(P. 40–50)
Figure 2. Typical rays construction made by the Swedish students.
Nevertheless, 85% Swedish students presented the description of the shadow in words (as
compared to 75% of Russian students).
We could also distinguish between scientific and everyday understandings of shadow. Those
students who presented a volume/space form of shadow either in a drawing (Figure 3) or in a
text were considered to be students who could communicate scientific understanding of shadow.
This was attributable to 27% of Swedish and 18% of Russian students.
Figure 3. Example of drawing a volume/space form of shadow by a Russian student.
As was mentioned earlier, 64% of Russians and 34% of Swedes drew a flat shadow on the
ground, according to their everyday perception of shadow. There were also several students in
both countries who drew a shadow without indicating light rays. This could be interpreted as an
observable phenomenon at the everyday level of understanding – what we can see. We do not
see light rays, we see just shadows. However, these students did not use the scientific tools of
explanation (light rays model) to explain how shadows that we see, appear.
Many students in both countries revealed having problems in making presentations of
meaning in clear language. As a consequence, their pupils are likely to construct only vague ideas
about the essence of physical phenomenon. For example, 31% Swedes and 43% Russians described
shadow as darkness behind the tree, without pointing out whether this darkness is located on
the ground or in a space where direct lamplight does not reach. Such presentations may lead
pupils to different interpretations of the teacher’s words.
Providing the learner with additional information about the context of the problem can
facilitate understanding, and some students presented the ideas relevant for preventing learners’
misunderstandings. In particular two Swedish student teachers pointed out that it had to be dark
in the street to see a shadow of the tree created by the street lamp. Six Swedish respondents also
explained that shadow does not mean complete darkness but rather less light.
Only 25% of Swedish and 17% of Russian students clearly presented in the text an important
idea that light travels in a straight line.
43
WRITTEN EXPLANATION
(P. 40–50)
Explanations about a flashlight
Russian students explained flashlight functioning also in a more formalized academic way.
For example, 33% of Russians drew a conventional schema of an electric circuit while only 15%
of Swedish students did so. Russian students were also more likely to use schematic presentation
of batteries ( ) and a lamp (⊗) as it is practised in physics classes (Figure 4a below)
a) b)
Figure 4. a) Schematic presentation of an electric circuit and b) flashlight construction with

the electric circuit clearly marked.
Swedish students relied more in their responses on pupils’ everyday experience. About a
quarter drew a picture of flashlight construction with the electric circuit clearly marked (Figure
4b), and 18% drew such a picture but without a marked circuit.
Among Russian students 12 % drew flashlight construction with a circuit and 23% without
a circuit. Students who did not draw a circuit in the pictogram of the torch were likely to be
unaware about pupils’ difficulties with understanding of this concept.
Instead of or in addition to the flashlight construction, 42% of Swedish and 13% of Russian
students drew the bulb and battery forming the circuit (Figure 5 below) and used it as a didactical
tool (explanatory entity) for explaining a circuit.
Figure 5. Separate drawing of the bulb and battery forming the circuit.
Totally, 72% of Swedish students showed the bulb with its inner structure and 12% drew the
bulb without its inner structure. Russian students drew the bulb with an inner structure in 32% of
cases, and in 23%, without inner structure.
How the bulb emits light was explained by 58% of Swedish students as compared with 32%
of the Russians.
Use of analogies and suggestion of activities
An obvious way to facilitate communication of meaning in science is through use of analogies.

Another classical way of giving scientific explanations is using demonstrations and other activities.
Swedish student teachers provided more examples of different analogies and activities in order
to facilitate understanding of the phenomena than did the Russians.
Table 1 below presents the percentage of Swedish and Russian respondents’ suggestions for
illustrating their explanations with analogies and practical activities (pupils’ experiments and
teachers’ demonstrations).
44
WRITTEN EXPLANATION
(P. 40–50)
Table 1. Suggestions of analogies and activities in the students’ texts.
Shadow (%) Flashlight (%)

analogy activity analogy activity
Sweden 24.2 22.4 30.3 7.6

Russia 2.7 5.5 14.5 0
There were mainly two kind of analogies used for the flashlight case:
Analogies related to qualities of human/living beings:
• Active electrons (piga elekroner1 )
• People in a queue rash through an open door into a dance hall,
• Electrons forcing themselves to go through the lamp
Analogies related to different everyday phenomena/objects:
• Sport: ”start (-) and finish (+)”, a running race (löparbana )
• Battery as equivalent to a pump
• Electrons as equivalent to domino pieces (elektroner agerar som brickor i domino när batteri
puttar på de)
Analogies and activities are important meaning-making tools in science education. It was obvious
for us that most of the students are familiar with these tools, but few could use them in responding
to the questionnaire.
Contradictions between different forms of explanations
Students had problems connecting visual images with written explanations. In some cases,
text and illustrations enhanced and confirmed each other; in other cases, students presented
description in the text that did not correspond to their drawing.
A picture is usually easier for children to remember than a text message. Therefore, what is
not reflected in a drawing can be more easily forgotten, or even pass unnoticed within the text.
For example, some Swedish students drew rays only in the direction of the tree but wrote that
the light from a lamp spreads in all directions.
In several cases, the meaning derived from pictures was opposite to the meanings of sentences
and concepts used in the text. For example, the following erroneous text was presented alongside
correct drawings of the shadow:
We can explain the appearance of shadow by the property of light which

bends the objects. Light rays meet the tree, bend round it and then spread in
different directions. (Зная такое свойство света огибать препятствия, можно
объяснить появление тени. Лучи света, доходя до дерева, огибают его,
распространяясь в разные стороны.)
Here we can see a contradiction between the straight propagation of light and its bending!
In our opinion, student teachers need more training in producing and deciphering descriptions
and presentation of images, as it is not an easy task to use visualisation as a mediating tool for
communicating ideas.
Some examples of misconceptions presented in the explanations of students
Below we present some examples of ‘wrong’ physics ideas from the student teachers’
explanations that we organise around specific categories.
• Relativism/egocentrism
1
We provide in brackets in italic examples of original sentences/expressions in Swedish or Russian.
45
WRITTEN EXPLANATION
(P. 40–50)
The shadow is an image of the tree. The form of the shadow depends on the observer’s position. (Skuggan är
bilden av trädet. Beroende på var du står faller skuggan olika.)
• Electrons and current
Electrons move from the battery’s minus pole towards the plus pole. They move against the current and
therefore, the electric tension is built up and this tension warms up metal wire (wolfram) in the bulb so it
lights up. (Elektroner vandrar från batteriets minus till dess plus sida, de går i motsats riktning mot strömmen,
& då bildas en spänning, & spänningen värmer upp metalltråden (wolfram) in glödlampan & den lyser.)
• Current as a wave
The electric current is like a wave of small particles. These particles are charged and it is this charge that makes
the bulb light up. When the bulb receives the charge wave, the bulb also becomes charged and can therefore
emit light. (Ordet elektricitet kan man förstå som “en våg av små partiklar”. Dessa partiklar är laddade och
det är denna speciella laddningen som gör att lampan lyser. När lampan tar emot vågen blir den också laddad
och kan därför lysa.)
• Battery and electric current
Battery contains current (batterier innehåller ström = elektroner som rör sig. Batteri kan alstra elektrisk ström.)
• Ideas about electrons
Electrons are minus charged atoms (elektorner är minus laddade atomer).
Electrons move at such a high speed that they emit light (elektroner rör sig så fort att det blir ljus).
Electrons are small charged “things” that leave their charges in the bulb (elektroner är små laddade “saker”
som “lämnar” av sina laddningar till glödlampan)
• A bulb filament and gas in the bulb
Low resistance in the bulb filament. (motståndet är liten i glödtråden)
Copper wire in the bulb (Koppar tråd i lampan )
Because of the gas, the bulb emits more light (gas i lampan är för att åstadkomma mer glöden – ljus)
Gas lights (Gas ”antänds” )
Light comes from the gas in a bulb (Det blir ljus eftersom det är gas i lampan).
There is a vacuum in the lamp.
• Light interference
Branches of the tree are not transparent for light quanta thus interference takes place. Light decomposes
and, as a result, only a black color of light can go through the branches to form a shadow. (Ветви дерева
становятся препятствием на пути квантов света, в результате происходит интерференция света и свет
разлагается, в результате чего сквозь ветви дерева проходит только чёрный цвет света, он и образует тень)
• Hot charges
Charges get hot and emit heat so the bulb gives off light. (Заряды нагреваюстя, выделяют тепло и лампочка
загорается.)
• Antimatter?
The filament inside the bulb get warmer because incompatible substances meet there. (Нить накаливания
нагревается, так как вспречаются несовместимые вещества.)
• Charge interaction
The bulb receives both positive and negatives charges; because of this it gives off light. (Лампочка получает и
положительные и отрицательные заряды, за счёт них она и горит.)
Common communication problems for Swedish and Russian prospective teachers
The tradition of communicating ideas in pictorial and diagrammatic form is very strong in
physics and has proper rules and conventions. Drawings are not always self-explanatory. ‘One
has to learn to ‘read’, as well as learn how to ‘write’ (make), drawings and graphs’ (Monk and
Dillon, 1995, p. 95). Student teachers in both countries appear unaware of pupils’ difficulties
with simple illustrations and not appear to possess clear knowledge about visualisation
conventions neither do they value them. For example, quite a few students indicated light rays
by wavy lines and not by straight lines with arrows. Some students used lines of dashes for this
purpose. Perhaps we need in science teacher education clearer presentations of idiosyncratic
conventions used in physics concerning, for example, how a light ray should be indicated.
When students drew shadows, many had problems with stereometric/3-dimentional
representation of shadow (how and where shadow is placed, how to draw it).
An important idea in the explanation of how a flashlight works is that the current should
go through the bulb – but this was often (too often) missing. The role of the bulb in students’
drawings (of a circuit) seemed unclear, i.e. how a current goes through the bulb. We suggest
46
WRITTEN EXPLANATION
(P. 40–50)
that this could be also caused by misleading symbolic presentation of the bulb in European
textbooks (indicated by circuit with a cross inside). In our opinion, the American way of
symbolically presenting a bulb in a circuit is more helpful pedagogically than European. In the
American pictogram of a bulb, there is clear indication of a current’s way through the bulb.
European American
Lamp/bulb
Presenting knowledge at the level appropriate for a grade 7 pupil was not an easy task. A
number of students openly admitted that they lacked a vocabulary to express their ideas. (“I
know but cannot express my knowledge”). A few were self-critical and wrote that their
presentation would not be appropriate for grade 7 pupils. They felt a lack of skills in terms of
reworking their knowledge to make it accessible for pupils.
Conclusions
According to Vygotsky (1987), learning is impossible to describe as a general phenomenon

but is a phenomenon in a context, related to what one is expected to learn. Future teachers
have to learn to use different communicative tools for transmitting meaning to their pupils.
Evidence as found in this project shows that many students have problems in expressing
didactically their knowledge in written form and in pictures. To create a simple illustration was
not an easy task for many Swedish and Russian students. Their minds and hands have somehow
forgotten how to draw because this skill has been neglected since childhood. It seems that
teacher educators likewise underestimate the importance of students’ practice in explaining
and communicating knowledge. We suggest that the development of communicative skills
should be a central focus of teacher education. As language grows through function, so do
communication skills in general.
Future teachers during their training need to change their perspective on science and
science education; to shift from the student’s view towards the teacher’s view. In practice, this
means acquiring awareness not only about personal understanding of natural phenomena and
possession of scientific skills, but also about the ability to introduce scientific knowledge and
skills to children. Prospective teachers have to learn the skills of ‘didactical transposition’, i.e.
of transforming ‘scientific knowledge’ to ‘school knowledge’ adapted to teaching at a given
level (Ogborn et al, 1996).
The analysis of the findings from this study shows that the Russian prospective teachers
had more problems with seeing themselves in the role of teacher than did the Swedish students.
Russian participants of the study tended to answer the questions just as if they were students
on a science course. Their explanations tended to be more academic and formalised than is
appropriate for a Grade 7 pupil. In our opinion, this reflects the strict and formal style of
teaching / learning which still dominates in Russian teacher education. For Russian students
and teacher trainers, a correct answer is valued more highly than a good pedagogical form of
presentation. Apparently, the skills of reworking knowledge and communication at the
appropriate for children level are not systematically practiced in Russian teacher education.
In contrast, in Swedish teacher education, students frequently work in small groups, often
practising presentations at the children’s level. They generally feel quite comfortable in acting
out different social roles and responsibilities. This reflects the conviction of Swedish teacher
47
WRITTEN EXPLANATION
(P. 40–50)
educators that learning about science should reflect a participatory and collaborative knowledge
generating process. Thus, science education in Sweden is seen as a participatory activity in which
teachers and learners share responsibility for learning.
The dominant form of communication in teacher education also varies between the two
countries. In Sweden, there is a richer multi-way communication based on group work. This differs
from Russia where the one-way – lecturing form is still dominant. Progressive Russian teacher
educators, however, are working actively to change the situation (Laptev, 2002).
The pedagogical traditions and communication cultures which exist in the corresponding
teacher training institutions are probably the main factors explaining the different forms and
qualities of explanations presented by the prospective science teachers involved in this study.
According to a well-known pedagogical saying “people teach as they were taught”; thus
future teachers build on their own experience, which included good and bad examples of ‘teacher
communication’ in responding to the questionnaire. In that sense, their answers reflect the teaching
culture that students are exposed to. As we can judge by our experience, both institutions involved
in the comparative study are rather typical representatives of Swedish and Russian teacher
education cultures. In that case, the results indicate more or less typical national pedagogical
features.
The science questionnaire used in this project was viewed as a tool for learning about
pedagogical traditions and communication cultures in teacher education in two countries. This
served also as a ‘didactical mirror’ reflecting differences between students’ perspective and
teachers’ perspective on explaining a science topic. Skills of ‘didactical transposition’ were missing
in many students. We hope through this paper to bring this issue to attention of science teacher
educators.
References
Ambrose, et.al (1999). Student Understanding of Light as an Electromagnetic Wave: Relating the formalism
to physical phenomena. American Journal of Physics 67 (10), 891-898.
Laptev, V.V. (2002) ed. Научно-методическое сопровождение образовательных стандартов и образовательных
программ общего образования: Коллективная монография / Под ред. В. В. Лаптева. - СПб.: Изд-во РГПУ им. А. И.
Герцена, 2002.
Leach, J., & Scott, P. (2003). Individual and Sociocultural Views of Learning Science in Science Education.
Science & Education, 12(1), 91-113.
Lemke, J. L. (1993). Talking Science: Language, learning and values. Norwood: Ablex Publishing
Corporation.
Monk, M. & Dillon, J. eds. (1995). Learning to Teach Science: Activities for student teachers and mentors.
The Falmer Press.
Ogborn,J., Kress, G., Martins, I., & McGillicuddy, K. (1996) Explaining Science in the Classroom, Open
University Press, Buckingham.
Strömdahl, Helge, red (2002) Kommunicera naturvetenskap i skolan - några forskningsresultat,
Studentlitteratur, Lund.
Säljö, R. (2000) Lärande i praktiken. Ett sociokulturellt perspektiv. Prisma, Stockholm.
Vygotsky, L.S. (1987) Thinking and speech. NY: Plenum (original work published 1934).
48
WRITTEN EXPLANATION
(P. 40–50)
Appendix
Questionnaire
Sex: F M
Age: ______
1) In grade 7, pupils start to work with light phenomena. A pupil has drawn a sketch of
a tree and a street lamp and asked you to explain how and why the tree’s shadow
appears as it does.
2) Pupils often have difficulty in understanding the physics behind simple technical
things, for example, how a flashlight works. Using words, pictures, models and/or
analogies, explain for a grade 7 pupil, why a bulb lights in a flashlight.
Резюме
НАВЫКИ ПИСЬМЕННЫХ РАЗЪЯСНЕНИЙ У БУДУЩИХ

УЧИТЕЛЕЙ-ЕСТЕСТВЕННИКОВ: СРАВНИТЕЛЬНОЕ
ИССЛЕДОВАНИЕ
Олег Попов, Сергей Богданов
В статье представлены результаты сравнительного исследования коммуникативных навыков будущих учителей

– естественников в Швеции и России. В проекте участвовали около 200 студентов университа Умео (Швеция) и
Карельского государственного педагогического университета (Россия). Предложенный им тест был ориентирован на
выявление их умений в использовании широкого спектра педагогических технологий: от использования письменных
объяснений и графических иллюстраций до применения в учебной практике доступных аналогий и стимулирования
собственной активности учащихся.
У большинства студентов не возникло трудностей с пониманием содержательной части материала теста, однако
значительные проблемы возникли при выполнении основного задания: попытаться объяснить и интерпретировать
этот материал гипотетическому ученику 7 класса. В этой связи как минимум приходится констатировать очевидный
разрыв между знаниями как таковыми и главным профессинальным качеством будущего учителя – умением передавать,
транслировать их в разном контексте.
Сравнительный анализ результатов тестирования выявил существенное влияние педагогических традиций и
культурных особенностей двух стран на характер и структуру ответов студентов. Работа в малых группах, практика
дискуссий по заданной теме, характерные для шведской школы, в ходе тестирования проявились, например, в том, что
в ответах чаще использовались аналогии, примеры из повседневной жизни. Ответы российских студентов были гораздо
49
WRITTEN EXPLANATION
(P. 40–50)
более академичны. Создавалось впечатление, что многие студенты не готовы или не хотят изменять привычный статус
учащегося на учительский.
Подобные тесты могут играть роль «дидактического зеркала», отражающего педагогические навыки студентов
и могут служить хорошим инструментом совершенствования профессионализма будущего учителя..
Ключевые слова: естественнонаучное образование, сравнительные исследования, коммуникативные навыки,
социокультурный контекст.
Received 21 Junel 2004; accepted 20 February 2005.
Oleg Popov
Deputy Head of the Department,
Department of Mathematics, Technology and Science
Education (MaTNv inst.), Faculty of Teacher Education
Umeå University
901 87 Umeå, Sweden
Phone: +46-90-786 6463 (work).
E-mail: oleg.popov@educ.umu.se
Home page: www.educ.umu.se/~popov
Sergey Bogdanov
Dean, Faculty of Physics and Mathematics,
Karelian State Pedagogical University
Pushkinskaya 17, Petrozavodsk
185680 Karelian State Pedagogical University, Russia
Phone: +7 (8142) 765295 (work)
E-mail: sbogdanov@onego.ru
50
ISSN 1648–3898 SCIENCE TEACHING AND THE SCHOOL - WHEN CONCEPTS MEET CONTEXT
(P. 22–33)
STUDYING STUDENTS’
UNDERSTANDING OF THE
INTERPLAY BETWEEN THE
MICROSCOPIC AND THE
MACROSCOPIC
DESCRIPTIONS IN
CHEMISTRY
Liliana Mammino, Liberato Cardellini Abstract. The perception of the

© Liliana Mammino distinction and interplay between
© Liberato Cardellini concepts and models pertaining to
the description of the microscopic
level and those pertaining to the
Introduction description of the macroscopic level is
a key feature largely determining
The entire conceptual framework of chemistry is based conceptual understanding in
on the interplay between the microscopic and the chemistry. Information about the
macroscopic levels of description. Chemistry models are extent and clarity of such perception
rooted in the microscopic world of atoms and molecules and can therefore be valuable for the
concerned with the way in which microscopic behaviours design and optimisation of
and events generate the macroscopic ones. The clarity, with approaches to the presentation of
which concepts and models belonging to the two levels of basic and general chemistry material.
description, and their mutual relationships, are identified The paper presents the outcomes of
and understood is, therefore, a key-feature largely an investigation in this regard,
determining conceptual understanding and learning results performed by subsequently
in chemistry (Lijnse, Licht, Vos & Waarlo 1990). The relevance administering three specifically
of the issue has prompted numerous studies, so that an designed questionnaires to a group of
adequate review would by itself require the size of a review first year students taking a general
article. Alternative perceptions and difficulties are chemistry course. The discussion
highlighted by studies on students’ mental images of considers both the conceptual and the
microscopic particles (Harrison & Treagust, 1996; Maskill, practical relevance of the issue and
Cachapuz & Koulaidis, 1997), of the microscopic features of extends to inferences for classroom
matter (Nussbaum & Novick, 1982; Anderson, 1990; Lee, work and for the general approaches
Eichinger, Anderson, Berkleimer & Blakeslee, 1993) and of to chemistry teaching.
the microscopic-level interpretation of phenomena, like
electric conduction in solids (De Posada, 1997), solubility Key words: microscopic description,
(Ebenezer & Erickson, 1996), heat and temperature macroscopic description, general
(Dominguez, De Pro Bueno & Garcia-Rodeja, 1998). chemistry courses.
Diagnostic studies identify learning difficulties (Mitchell &
Kellington, 1982), insufficient familiarity with the Liliana Mammino
microscopic description (Sawrey, 1990) and the presence of Department of Chemistry, University of
misconceptions concerning it (Ben-Zvi, Eylon & Silberstein, Venda, South Africa
1986; Nakhleh, 1992). The findings have prompted general-
character reflections on some features of the approaches to Liberato Cardellini
chemistry teaching, like the inadequacies of pedagogical Department of Materials and Earth
approaches largely favouring the symbolic level over the Sciences, Polytechnical University of
microscopic and the macroscopic ones (Johnstone, 1993). the Marche, Italy.
51
STUDYING STUDENTS’ UNDERSTANDING OF THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN THE ISSN 1648–3898
MICROSCOPIC AND THE MACROSCOPIC DESCRIPTIONS IN CHEMISTRY
(P. 51–62)
Enhanced comprehension of the molecular level, often favoured by visualisation, proves

important for the general understanding of chemical phenomena and their interpretation,
and for the generation of chemically-sound mental images (Gabel, Samuel & Hunn, 1987; Gabel,
1993; Smith & Metz, 1996; Cardellini, 1996; Selvaratnam, 1998; Mammino, 1998a).
This paper presents the outcomes of a study exploring students’ perceptions and awareness
of the distinction and interplay of the two levels of description, across a considerable portion
of the material commonly constituting the content of a first year general chemistry course.
The study was initially prompted by the outcomes of a systematic analysis of students’
answers in general and physical chemistry courses, complemented by a number of personal
interviews, in two different institutions, the University of Zambia (UNZA) and the National
University of Lesotho (NUL). The analysis had showed that a broad variety of mistakes (e.g. in
problems involving the molecule and the mole concepts) and misconceptions (e.g. students
speaking of the temperature of individual molecules) could be traced to a common root –
inadequate clarity in the identification of what pertains to each of the two levels of description
and of the interplay between the two levels. It was considered that a panoramic overview,
comprising the concepts that appeared more critical, could be functional for the design of
addressing options to be utilised both at lecturing and tutorial levels. A first study to this
purpose was carried out in 1996 at NUL, by means of a questionnaire distributed to the students
taking a second year physical chemistry course. The entries were the same as the ones utilised
in the first questionnaire of the current study and reported in table 1. They comprised a number
of individual terms, selected among those for which incorrect use had been observed more
frequently, and few expressions involving some of those terms, in order to broaden the diagnostic
range. The request for explanations aimed at stimulating reflection on the individual concepts,
thus attempting to ensure that the selection would not be done randomly or superficially. The
outcomes confirmed the presence of inadequacies in the distinction of the two levels of
description and the perception of their interplay (Mammino, 1997).
It was thereafter considered that comparison with a different context could bring
information suitable for broader reflections on some aspects of the approaches to chemistry
teaching – such type of comparison being likely to add new contributions or new perspectives
(Maskill, Cachapuz & Koulaidis, 1997). Moreover, it was considered that the probability of
obtaining both new qualitative information and interesting opportunities for comparative
considerations would be higher if the characteristics of the second context differ widely from
the first one. The second group selected was a group of 20 first-year students registered for an
Electronic Engineering B.Sc. degree at the University of Ancona (Italy). All the students had
taken chemistry courses at secondary school, though at different levels, depending on the type
of secondary school attended. Therefore, prior exposure to the basic concepts could be assumed
as granted, though the background preparation was not completely homogeneous. The present
paper discusses the results of the study with this group.
The complete study with this group involved three questionnaires. The reasons and
approaches for the design of the second and third questionnaires are conveniently illustrated
through a short history of the administration. The first questionnaire (questions in table 1, a
total of 34 entries) was distributed in 1997, when students were halfway of a one-semester
general chemistry course, and was returned by 18 students. Many of these did not express
reasons for several or most of the assignations that they had chosen: in total, 97 explanations
were provided, versus a potential number of 18x34=612. Since such reasons were expected to
supply valuable information about the students’ actual perceptions on the concepts concerned,
it was considered appropriate to explore an alternative way to obtain it.
It was tentatively assumed that the provision of concrete examples might prove easier
than the provision of general or theoretical explanations. A second questionnaire was
52
ISSN 1648–3898 STUDYING STUDENTS’ UNDERSTANDING OF THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN THE
(P. 51–62)
Table 1. Summary of the answers to the first two questionnaires, provided by two groups of
Italian students taking a general chemistry course, in samplings conducted in 1997
and 1998, respectively.
1. What do we mean by “microscopic world”?

2. What do we mean by “macroscopic world”?
3. Consider the terms listed below. For each of them:
i) State whether you would use it:
· only in the description of the microscopic world
· only in the description of the macroscopic world
· in both descriptions
ii) Provide a brief explanation to justify your answer.
examples provided
micro macro both do not only for only for both
know micro macro cases
atom 14-35 1-0 3-1 0-0 12 1 5

electric charge 13-24 0-0 5-12 0-0 3 0 15
compound 0-2 9-10 8-24 1-0 5 4 8
concentration 2-7 4-4 8-21 4-4 3 4 5
element 6-14 6-4 6-18 0-0 2 1 9
energy 4-5 5-3 9-25 0-2 2 4 9
free energy 2-9 4-4 7-13 5-10 1 0 2
enthalpy 4-17 1-5 1-11 12-3 3 0 1
entropy 6-14 1-6 2-12 9-4 2 0 0
force 2-0 4-9 12-26 0-1 0 1 13
electromotive force 3-8 8-10 5-14 2-4 2 4 3
work 1-1 5-8 12-26 0-1 1 5 7
mole 11-17 1-9 6-10 0-0 4 4 2
molecule 13-30 2-2 2-4 1-0 10 0 0
wave 6-7 1-4 8-21 3-4 0 0 7
particle 15-28 0-0 2-6 1-2 6 0 0
electrical potential 6-9 0-5 10-18 2-4 2 1 0
pressure 1-0 9-15 5-19 3-2 1 7 3
boiling point 1-5 10-11 5-15 2-5 1 4 2
system 0-0 4-14 10-16 4-6 1 1 1
substance 1-3 9-12 6-20 2-1 1 0 2
state 0-5 10-16 6-13 2-2 1 0 2
temperature 1-1 7-18 9-14 1-3 1 3 3
volume 2-1 8-16 5-17 3-2 0 4 2
4.Consider the following expressions and proceed as for question 3.
to absorb energy 7-4 3-3 7-26 1-3 0 2 2

to have energy 4-3 2-2 11-28 1-3 1 2 1
to have entropy 4-12 2-4 1-15 11-5 0 0 0
to combine 4-11 2-8 8-16 4-1 4 0 0
to be bonded to... 5-13 2-1 10-17 1-5 1 0 0
to form a bond 7-25 1-2 9-7 1-2 1 1 3
to release energy 5-6 1-5 9-21 3-4 0 0 2
to pass from one state to another 3-11 7-11 6-13 2-1 0 1 2
to react 5-11 3-7 9-15 1-3 0 2 0
to be heated 1-2 5-15 11-15 1-4 0 1 0
The parts in italics constitute the text of the first questionnaire. The first four columns show the numbers of
students who chose the corresponding assignations in the first questionnaire in the 1997 sampling (before
the hyphen) and in the 1998 sampling (after the hyphen). The last three columns show the numbers of students
who provided examples for each category, as requested in the second questionnaire (only for the 1997
sampling).
The entries, as listed here, correspond to the alphabetical order in Italian, such option being meant to prevent
any type of suggestions that might stem from conscious or unconscious association of neighbouring words.
53
(P. 51–62)
distributed, containing the same entries as the first one and asking for examples. The format
chosen was that of a worksheet in which the terms were listed one below the other. Each term
was followed by two empty boxes, the first one for examples pertaining to the description of
the microscopic world, the second one for examples pertaining to the description of the
macroscopic world. It was also suggested that, when a term or expression is not appropriate
for one description, the corresponding box be barred. At the end of the questionnaire, a half-
page empty box was made available for students to express their doubts, difficulties or
comments. 18 students returned the questionnaire. The initial assumption proved basically
correct. The proportion of answers ncreased: 236 examples provided versus a potential number
of 612. There was also a noticeable improvement in relation to some assignations (e.g. only
five students had assigned electric charge to both descriptions in the first questionnaire, while
15 students provided examples for both descriptions in the second questionnaire). However,
the cases in which no examples were provided, even in relation to simple concepts, were still
numerous. It was considered appropriate to explore still another option to try and obtain more
complete and finer information. A perspectively easier third questionnaire, demanding the
discussion of supplied examples, instead of the “creation” of examples by students, was
distributed. It contained only three questions (Table 2), the third one requiring the discussion
of a statement made by one of the students on a previous occasion. Some space for comments
was also provided. 19 students returned it. The second questionnaire was administered one
month after the first one, the third questionnaire about six weeks later, i.e., towards the end of
the course. These intervals were determined by the time taken for the analysis of the answers
to the previous questionnaire and for the design of the next one.
Research results: an overview of the students’ answers
All students answered the two introductory questions of the first questionnaire. Summaries
of the assignations for the various entries are reported in tables 1 and 2 (absence of assignation
was considered equivalent to “I do not know”). The explanations and examples provided by
the students will be presented here rather extensively, because of their significance as sources
of qualitative information. On the basis of their conceptual and mode-of-perception features,
they are grouped into the following three major pre-selected categories (or knowledge-
domains):
• The distinction between the two worlds. It focuses on the criteria explicitly suggested, or
practically assumed, for the distinction between the two levels of description.
• The description of the two worlds. It focuses on the selection of what can be utilised in
either description and, therefore, on the assignations of the individual entries to either
level. Separating this category from the former, besides having an obvious conceptual
significance, is useful for practical purposes. By involving a separate analysis of the
assignations – whose number is much higher than the number of explanations – it
contributes a self-standing information-area.
• Atoms and matter. It focuses on the relationships between the two worlds.
The distinction between the two worlds. The criteria for the distinction are expressed in the
answers to the two introductory questions of the first questionnaire. Only three students relate
the distinction to the consideration of “the atomic and molecular level” for the microscopic
world, while the macroscopic world is “the world around us”, or “the one that we can see”.
Eight students choose the criterion of “not being visible” or “being visible” to the naked eye
and two students relate the distinction to the “reference system” or the “view point”, being
microscopic “those things that have small dimensions with respect to the reference system
from which they are observed”. Other criteria – each proposed by one student – consider
respectively: a) not being or being “directly perceivable” by us; b) the observation range, being
microscopic “those events or elements observable in a narrow or infinitesimally small range”
54
(P. 51–62)
Table 2. Summary of the answers to the third questionnaire, provided by two groups of Italian
students taking a general chemistry course, in samplings conducted in 1997 and
1998.
1. Consider a gas container. The container is at rest. Which of the following quantities/aspects
can be defined for the gas as a whole, and which can be defined for each molecule?
quantity/aspect it has a meaning with reference it has a meaning with reference

to each single gas molecule to the gas as a whole
yes no do not yes no do not

know know
heat 4-14 9-22 6-5 17-37 1-0 1-4

kinetic energy 17-37 1-1 1-3 8-17 7-18 4-6
internal energy 6-22 8-9 5-10 15-17 2-12 2-12
enthalpy 3-18 8-14 8-9 15-24 1-9 3-8
entropy 5-18 7-16 7-7 12-28 2-5 5-8
mass 9-35 5-5 5-1 13-34 2-6 4-1
translational motion 12-20 2-10 5-11 1-7 10-25 8-9
rotational motion 11-23 2-11 6-7 1-7 9-29 9-5
vibrational motion 12-26 2-9 5-6 2-9 7-26 10-6
weight 11-25 4-9 4-2 13-32 2-5 4-4
pressure 6-10 8-26 5-5 16-39 3-1 0-1
linear momentum 15-28 2-4 2-9 6-16 8-17 5-8
temperature 6-14 8-23 5-4 17-38 1-2 1-1
velocity 16-31 3-6 1-4 4-15 10-18 5-8
average velocity 9-20 6-14 4-7 7-19 10-15 2-7
volume 6-12 9-23 4-6 16-37 1-3 2-1
2. Consider an electron in an atom. With reference to it, you may speak of:
yes no do not know
heat 3-7 2-31 14-3

electric charge 1-41 16-0 2-0
enthalpy 2-1 12-31 5-9
entropy 19-4 0-30 0-7
kinetic energy 14-31 3-4 2-6
electrostatic potential energy: attraction 18-34 0-3 1-4
repulsion 14-31 2-7 3-3
mass 19-38 0- 3 0-0
angular momentum 10-21 8-13 1-7
motion 19-38 0-1 0-2
position 15-31 4-6 0-4
linear momentum 11-27 7-8 1-7
temperature 1-4 16-30 2-7
trajectory 16-35 2-5 1-1
velocity 18-39 1-1 0-1
3. Discuss the sentence “Atoms constitute the matter of the microscopic world”. Explain whether
you consider it correct or not and why. (Try to provide a “thought out” answer, taking into
account the meaning of “microscopic world”, “macroscopic world” and “matter”).
The parts in italics constitute the text of the questionnaire. The columns show the number of students choosing
each of the options in the 1997 sampling (before the hyphen) and in the 1998 sampling (after the hyphen).
55
(P. 51–62)
and macroscopic those that can be observed “in a broad range”; c) our description, microscopic
being “seeing a system as an ensemble of parts that cannot be further decomposed” and
macroscopic being “the description of a system as a homogeneous element having a relevant
characteristic that enables a description without resorting to an analysis of sub-components of
the system”; d) the extent to which they can be defined, the microscopic world being “a well
defined world”, while the macroscopic world is “an individual, imprecise world, remaining
vague”; e) our approach, the microscopic world being “the origin of reality”, while “macroscopic
world means analysing an issue from the knowledge of general notions”.
The explanations accompanying the assignation of individual entries to either description
highlight the way in which students interpret what they have stated in the answers to the first
two questions. The explanations are largely consistent with the previous answers. In most cases,
they refer to the size of the object (the atom is “one of the smallest things”, “a small particle”,
“something very small”) or to our possibility of perceiving it (“the atom cannot be seen or
perceived by our senses”). In some cases, the size-criterion becomes misleading, like in an answer
stating that “concentration” applies to both descriptions because “it can be in small or large
amounts”. Some incorrect assignations and explanations result from a consistent application
of the criteria selected initially: e.g., the student choosing the criterion of being “well defined”
for the microscopic world and “imprecise and vague” for the macroscopic one, assigns the
atom to the macroscopic description because “it is, in turn, made up of electrons, protons and
neutrons”, force and work to the macroscopic world for being “generic”, energy to the
macroscopic world because “there are various types of energy”, the e.m.f. to the microscopic
world because “we speak specifically of it”, etc. Aspects encountered in the description of
atoms are frequently assigned to the microscopic world. For instance, 13 students assign electric
charge to the microscopic world because “it is referred to protons and electrons”, “it is part of
the interactions between atoms”, “it is obviously something small”, etc.
The examples provided in the second questionnaire highlight an additional feature, i.e., a
marked tendency to assign chemical aspects to the microscopic world, and to avoid selecting
examples of macroscopic descriptions from the science domain. Under compound, examples
like “water”, “two or more elements bonded together”, “chemical compounds”, are listed in
the micro section, while the macro section contains examples like “a pizza”, “concrete”, “pig
iron”, “wine”, “a steel bar”, “a wall (as composed of bricks)”. Under concentration, examples
like “concentration of a solution”, “salt concentration”, “percent amount of compounds in a
solution” are listed in the micro section, while eight examples of the macro section are of the
type “concentration of people in a country”, “concentration of inhabitants in a zone”,
“concentration of houses”, and only three of them are chemical. Several other concepts and
aspects from chemistry and physics are listed in the micro section: the pressure of a mole of gas
(under pressure), the temperature of a mole of gas (under temperature), electric and magnetic
force (under force), electrical work (under work), etc. When the word pertains also to common
language (like work and force), the macro examples are nearly all from everyday life. Nine
macro examples of work are of the type “manual work”, “the work of a worker”, “physical
activity”, “the work done in one day”, etc. and only three are worded in a physics-like manner
(“the work done to displace a weight”). Under the expression to form a bond, two students
write “to form a chemical bond” in the micro section and “to form a family bond” in the macro
section, and one writes “between molecules” and “between persons” respectively. The tendency
to assign scientific concepts to the microscopic description increases for terms that are far from
common language, like enthalpy and entropy. The examples given under enthalpy (“enthalpy
is the amount of heat exchanged at constant pressure”, “enthalpy is a concept of
thermodynamics”, “enthalpy is a state function”, “enthalpy of reaction”) are all listed as micro
cases.
The description of the two worlds. The main source of information is the assignation of the
individual entries. On matching the assignations with the answers to the first two questions, no
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straightforward relationship can be identified between the provision of the best answers about
the distinction criteria and the number of correct assignations. Of the three students providing
more than 20 correct assignations in the first questionnaire, two had chosen the criterion of not
being or being “visible to the naked eye”, and one had chosen the criterion of “being perceivable”
by us. Of the six students providing 15 to 20 correct assignations, four had chosen the criterion of
being or not being “visible to the naked eye” and two had identified the microscopic world as
the world of atoms and molecules. Incorrect assignations are more frequent in relation to
thermodynamic properties and to the atomic theory. For example, six students consider the
temperature concept applicable to individual gas molecules and 15 students consider the position
concept applicable to an electron, although they were given basic information on the uncertainty
principle at secondary school.
Atoms and matter. Information about the students’ perception is mainly offered by the discussion
of the third question of the third questionnaire. Four students explicitly state that the statement
is not correct or not complete: “matter is fundamentally constituted by atoms; but affirming that
atoms constitute the microscopic world is restrictive, because it does not take into account the
macroscopic world which, in turn, contains the microscopic world”; “If we consider matter as a
sum of atoms and molecules, the sentence is wrong, because one should refer to the macroscopic
world and not to the microscopic one”; “Atoms constitute also the matter of the macroscopic
world; therefore, the sentence is incomplete”; “I do not think that the sentence is totally correct,
since the macroscopic world is built on the basis of the microscopic one”. Two students comment
that “atoms are the smallest part of matter, which, in turn, constitutes the macroscopic world”.
All the other students consider the statement correct. Their reasons vary widely. The following
perceptions are considered the most significant: a) a framework in terms of “macroscopic matter”
and “microscopic matter”, where atoms are “the bricks of macroscopic matter”, and can be
defined as “microscopic matter” because they are in turn made by “protons, neutrons, electrons,
quarks, etc., that are the bricks of microscopic matter”; b) the reference to the “point of view of
the observer”, either because “one has to refer to atoms when studying the microscopic world”,
or because “if we put ourselves in the point of view of the electron, the atom will be part of the
macroscopic world, while if we look at the atom from the point of view of matter, it is part of the
microscopic world”; c) a historical perspective: “the statement is correct, but relative, because in
the micro-world of matter ... there are several types of subatomic particles, continuously coming
into light thanks to technological development”; d) the feeling that it is necessary to justify why
atoms can be considered matter: “Atoms... have their own weight and their own dimensions;
therefore, they can be considered matter”.
The students’ comments. Ten students write comments in the comments-box in the second
questionnaire. The following difficulties are mentioned: a) not knowing the meaning of some of
the words proposed; b) not being able to remember some of the definitions; c) not being able to
provide explanations (“I am not able to give an explanation of some terms, though I know that
I know them and that I have studied them; but I cannot find the words to explain them”; “Though
having in mind examples of the description of the world, it was not easy to find precise words”;
“Difficulties encountered: the way of expressing concepts, even if they are mentally present”); d)
difficulties related to the identification of the domains of the two descriptions, with particular
emphasis on the search for suitable examples from every-day life (“I was not very clear about
what I was asked to do, because everything {or nearly everything} can be related simultaneously
to the two descriptions, since the macroscopic world stems from the microscopic one”; “I
encountered many difficulties at finding suitable examples for expressions that are so far from
our way of speaking. For some words, the example was easy, because I have an example every
day”).
An additional survey
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In June 1998, after the analysis of the answers presented above was completed, a quick
survey was performed with a similar group, i.e., 41 Engineering B.Sc. students at the University of
Ancona, taking the first year chemistry course. Due to some time restrictions, only the first and
the third questionnaires were distributed, in two consecutive days. They were returned by 35 and
41 students respectively. The analysis of their answers confirms the main features identified in
the first survey: the choice of the criteria for the distinction of the two levels (the large majority
choosing being or not being “visible to” or “perceivable by” us, or being “small” or “big”); the
main trends in the selections to the various entries (Tables 1 and 2); the higher rate of uncertainties
in relation to thermodynamic quantities. Only few explanations to the selections were included
(67 in total, most of them consisting of very short sentences – 3-6 words) and they do not contribute
additional qualitative information. The discussions for the third question of the third questionnaire
were, on the average, longer than in the first survey. They also contribute a view that had not
appeared previously, i.e., some students stating that the number of particles constituting a
macroscopic object is infinite.
A comparison with the study at NUL
One of the objectives of the study in the Italian context was that of enabling a comparison
with the outcomes of the study that had been carried out at NUL. The two educational contexts
differ mainly for two aspects: NUL students use a second language as medium of instruction,
while Italian students use their mother tongue, and Italian students can be considered, on the
average, advantaged in terms of background secondary school preparation. A sort of automatic
allowance for the latter factor derives from the fact that a second year group was involved in the
NUL case, while a first year group was involved in the Italian case. The most significant features
highlighted by the comparison can be grouped into the three categories discussed in the following
paragraphs.
The distinction between the two levels of description. The comparison highlights striking
similarities, both for the criteria stated explicitly and for the explanations to the selected
assignations. In the survey at NUL, 18 students out of 20 had chosen “being visible” or “not being
visible” to the naked eye as the criterion to distinguish between the two worlds; many assignations
were made on the basis of this criterion alone (e.g. temperature as pertaining to the microscopic
world because “ït cannot be seen, but it can be measured”); a student appeared to think in terms
of “macroscopic substances” and “microscopic substances” (Mammino, 1997). In both cases, the
fact that the questionnaires had been distributed by the chemistry lecturer did not appear to
influence students towards thinking in terms of molecules while searching for criteria identifying
the microscopic world.
The correctness of the assignations and the understanding of individual concepts. The trends in
the assignations reveal considerable similarities. In particular, the same two areas – thermodynamic
properties and the quantum mechanical description of the atom – are associated with the highest
rates of incorrect assignations. Is is known that students often experience considerable difficulties
in attaining adequate levels of conceptual understanding in these areas (Niaz, 2000; Tsaparlis &
Papaphotis, 2002). Therefore, the higher rate of incorrect assignations for entries pertaining to
these areas can be ascribed to the combination of the specific conceptual inadequacies and the
inadequate familiarity with the distinction of the two levels of description.
The language-related aspects. Though the answers provided by the Italian students are, on the
average, more sophisticated linguistically, some aspects are very similar, including the use of
certain words and the frequent resort to short, syntactically incomplete sentences for the
explanations. In general, NUL students experience both the difficulties related to the use of a
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foreign language as a medium of instruction (Mammino, 1998b) and the difficulties related to
inadequate familiarity with the language of science (i.e. the mode of expression typical of sciences),
while the Italian students experience only the latter. On the other hand, most comments by the
Italian students in the second questionnaire mention the difficulties in finding appropriate ways
of expression. It appears legitimate to infer that inadequate familiarity with the language of
science is a major reason of the difficulties in expressing views and explanations (Lahore, 1993),
and it is common to both contexts.
Discussion and conclusions
The study presented here was diagnostic in character, with specific focus on students’ beliefs
and perceptions about the distinction and interplay of the two levels of description in chemistry.
Since the two levels and their interplay are an integral part of the entire body of chemistry, the
questionnaires utilised covered a considerable proportion of the content of a general chemistry
course. The results enable the inference that the design of the questionnaires was apt for the
objectives of the study. A comparison between the study at NUL and the study in the Italian
context highlights the relevance of the second and third questionnaires for the information to
be more complete and detailed. The quick survey carried out in 1998 highlighted the relevance
of the second questionnaire to complement the information of the first one – the comparison
with the first survey showed that the examples chosen by the students filling the second
questionnaire enabled a deeper insight into their “practical” views and their perceptions not
only of the individual entries, but of the issue as a whole.
The students’ answers highlight insufficient clarity in the perception of the domains of the
two levels of description and of the nature of their interplay. Not only the criteria for the
identification of the domains appear to be hazy, but the very presence of the two levels of
description appears to be largely unfamiliar. A comparison of the answers on the basis of the
type of secondary school attended (scientific, humanistic or technical) does not highlight
remarkable differences. Moreover, the similarities observed in contexts as widely different as the
Italian and the Lesotho ones suggest the presence of similar causes in the two contexts, having a
heavier weight than those pertaining to only one of them. For both contexts, the findings show
that “the declared knowledge possessed by the students on the particulate model has more
limitations than it would be predictable on the basis of official programmes” (Dominguez, De
Pro Bueno & Garcia-Rodeja, 1998), and suggest a frequent passive acceptance and/or memorisation
of the information, often generated by inadequate attention to the role of contents in reasoning
and thought (Duschl, 1995).
The most immediate reflections prompted by the results concern the effectiveness of common
teaching-approaches in conveying a sufficiently clear, detailed, convincing and complete picture
of the two levels of description and their interplay. Two features of the approach appear most
relevant: the extent to which students’ attention is attracted towards these aspects and the level
of rigour of their presentation. The students’ explanations highlight efforts to find plausible
answers in a basically tentative way, what shows that the questionnaires asked them to reflect on
features that are not specifically or extensively highlighted in their common study-material and
that were, therefore, considerably new to them. This suggests the opportunity of attracting
students’ attention on the presence of the two levels, and on their interplay, since their first
approach to chemistry, and of gradually guiding them to a comfortable familiarity with the
molecular level and with the way in which microscopic events generate macroscopic phenomena.
The secondary school textbook needs to play a major role to this purpose, because it constitutes
the first encounter of pupils with chemistry, thus determining conceptions that will often remain
dominant, even after more advanced instruction, with a “commanding authority” (Tsaparlis &
Papaphotis, 2000) that nearly reaches the character of an “imprinting”. The systematisation of
the presentation of the two levels of description and their interplay needs to become an important
feature of the renovation and upgrading of chemistry textbooks (Mammino, 2003).
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The fact that some terms denoting concepts, and expressions denoting properties or events,
may be utilised only within one of the two levels, and others within both levels, is closely related
to the conceptual features of the distinction and interplay between the two levels. Thus, the
accurate selection of the wording of definitions and explanations, so that they are fully consistent
with the physical models, becomes an optimal instrument to highlight such features. This is in
line with the opportunity of enhanced attention to the role of rigour in the presentation of
information and as a pedagogical tool (Mammino, 1998c), up to a critical re-consideration of a
number of traditional statements and habits (Bradley, Brand & Gerrans, 1987). An illustrative
example is offered by a traditional definition of molecule as “the smallest part of a compound
that maintains the properties of that compound” (a definition still widely utilised in a number of
contexts, including some in the Southern African region). Besides the fact that it excludes the
molecules of elements from its domain, the definition contributes to uncertainties in the perception
of the distinction between the two levels of description, by talking of properties being maintained
(Mammino, 2000). When asked to list the properties of a substance, students usually start with
colour, density, melting point, boiling point and other physical properties, none of which is
maintained by the individual molecule. It is therefore important to utilise a different definition,
clearly expressing to the nature of molecules as particles pertaining to the microscopic description.
The fact that several students try to find the macroscopic-case examples only from everyday
life can be associated with the common statement that macroscopic refers to the “world around
us”, such an expression being easily related to what we experience commonly, out of the
investigation scope of science. This suggests the potential relevance of the incorporation of
epistemological aspects into chemistry teaching, to enhance students’ familiarity with the scope
of science as well as with the role of models.
Because the study was aimed at obtaining an overview across the major themes of a general
chemistry course, the findings interface with a number of relevant investigation-themes in chemical
education, from students’ understanding of thermodynamic quantities to their beliefs and
perceptions about the structure of atoms, chemical bonding, the nature of solutions, the
differences between the various phases of matter, etc. Discussing each interface individually would
require much more space than that of a single article. For each theme, the discussion would
unavoidably extend from the detailed consideration of the conceptual features to issues like:
· The extent to which these same conceptual features can be introduced at secondary school
level, without overtasking pupils and without compromising rigour (i.e., by finding a reasonable
balance between the need for simplification and the need to avoid excess simplification or loss of
rigour);
• The best modes of presenting them to students;
• The degree of rigour (or rigour inadequacies) of current textbooks;
• The extent to which chemistry teachers are confident with the distinction and interplay of
the two levels of description.
Some of these issues are the objects of separate on-going studies.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that the study had an immediate “fallout”, since the analysis
of the students’ answers provided a number of suggestions for classroom work, aimed at clarifying
the corresponding concepts. In this way, the administration of the questionnaires was incorporated
into the ongoing teaching activity, with the questionnaires serving as an introduction to
explanations and discussions, by priorly attracting students’ attention on the variety of features
related to the two levels of description. The only limitation of the option is the fact that the
analysis of questionnaires of this type is considerably time-demanding, because they involve both
examples and explanations, what implies the analysis of one or more sentences for each entry.
Thus, they can be considered viable only for small or medium-size groups of students.
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Резюме
ИЗУЧЕНИЕ ПОНИМАНИЯ СТУДЕНТОВ ВЗАИМОДЕЙСТВИЯ

МЕЖДУ МИКРОСКОПИЧЕСКИМ И МАКРОСКОПИЧЕСКИМИ
ОПИСАНИЯМИ ПО ХИМИИ
Лилиана Маммино, Либерато Карделлини
Представления о различие и взаймодействии между понятиями и моделями, принодлежащими к описанию

микроскопического уровня и тем, принодлежащими к описанию макроскопического уровня является ключевым
фактором, широко определяющим концептуальное понимание в химий. Поэтому информация о ширине и ясности
таких представлений могут быть важной для предложения и оптимизаций подходов к преподаваний основной и общей
химий.
В статье представляются результаты исследования по этому вопросу, проведённого с помощью трёх наборов
специально изготовленных вопросов, заданных группе первокурсников, изучающих курс по общей химий. Обсуждение
рассматривает концептуальное и практическое влияние исследуемых представлений и включает предложения для работы
в течение занятий и для общих подходов к преподавании химии.
Ключевые слова: микроскопическое описание, макроскопическое описание, общие курсы химии.
Received 15 October 2004; accepted 28 February 2005.
Liliana Mammino
Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of
Venda
P/bag X5050
Thohoyandou 0950
South Africa
Phone: +27 15 9628147; fax: +27 15 9624749.
E-mail: Liliana@univen.ac.za
Liberato Cardellini
Associate professor, Department of Materials and
Earth Sciences, Polytechnical University of the Marche,
Italy.
Via Brecce Bianche
60131 Ancona – Italy
Phone: + 39 071 2204 400
E-mail: libero@unian.it ; libero@univpm.it
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FINDING POSSIBILITIES TO
IMPROVE SCIENCE
EDUCATION IN HIGH
SCHOOL AND GYMNASIUM
Lolita Jonâne Abstract. Scientific knowledge, skills

© Lolita Jonâne and attitudes are cultural products of
great intellectual power and beauty.
The future of science education and
scientific literacy of youngsters is
determined by the educational policy
of the country, moreover, it also
Introduction
depends on teachers working at
schools and universities. The tasks of
The sphere of natural science development is very wide,
reported research work was to
complicated and diverse, thus it requires a new point for all.
explore approachable literature about
The school must give all citizens the tools to understand the
natural science education in general
world they live in. It is a new concern. In all cases and at all
and to analyse corresponding
levels of schooling, in such a context physics or science
educational problems particularly in
education for all cannot continue to be the simple academic
Latvia.
transfer of contents that we see in many physics classes today.
The science education is one of the most important areas of
general education to form conception of the world, to acquire
practical knowledge, to form definite attitudes and skills, as
well as to rise cultural level, to understand link between
material environment and society and to take notions about
modern technologies. New paradigm of modern education
requires new quality approach and new content of education
to improve scientific literacy and promote better public
understanding of science.
According the educational strategy of Latvia where the
care for intellectual and scientific literacy of society is marked
as one of the main priorities, author indicate two basic
Key words: science, scientific literacy,
directions of research: 1) to analyse and evaluate the
educational process, constructive
educational research done in different countries and to choose
approach, teaching-learning
the most appropriate educational strategies for Latvia; 2) to
strategies.
analyse the nowadays situation in science teaching in schools
of Latvia.
Scientific literacy for all

Lolita Jonâne
About the problem of scientific literacy a variety of
Daugavpils University, Latvia
research works have been done in the world during recent
years. According to American researcher Miller scientific
literacy includes two basic dimensions – a basic vocabulary of
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AND GYMNASIUM
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scientific terms and concepts and an understanding of the process and methods of science for
testing our models of reality (Miller, 1995). Almost every author who has written about scientific
literacy expressed the idea that scientific literacy meant more than memorizing vocabulary. That
allows us to expand the way we think about the terms, it suggest standards of achievement
(Bybee, 1997). According with George DeBoer scientific literacy would be humanistic study in
which students developed a broad understanding of the regularities of the natural world, the
methods that have been used to acquire corresponding knowledge and the ways this knowledge
and these methods have affected all of humanity (Buck, 1997).
There is much evidence that many school students and adults have little understanding of
basic scientific ideas or processes (Millar, 1996). Surveys of science understanding among the
adult population (Durant, Evans, Thomas, 1989) indicate much of the same picture: little
understanding and many potentially serious misunderstandings of basic ideas of science. Adults
know little about scientific theories; they have surprising gaps in their knowledge about the
physical world and, worst of all, they have little idea about how scientists do in their work
(Bryce,1996).
The educologists of Lithuania (Vaitkus, 1996; Motiejuniene, Lekevicius, 1996; Peèiuliauskiene,
Rimeika, 2004) and Latvia (Geske, 2002; Kangro, 2002) claim that basic school learners are not
able to apply practically knowledge of natural science. At the same time 56.9% of Latvian pupils
evaluate their knowledge in natural science as sufficient and only 6.6% as insufficient
(Lamanauskas, Gedrovics, Raipulis, 2004). The evaluation is about knowledge, which acquired in
basic school.
Are science lessons really playing an acceptable role in the education of students today?
Some researchers have argued that the lack of effectiveness of science teaching is a consequence
of the content of the curriculum on offer. During the past century science has changed considerably.
Aikenhead argued that present situation has come out of 19 th century university plus deep
integration with technology, industry, politics, ethics, the military and other social groups in
society. In short, scientific enterprise has become ”socialized”. As well, science itself has evolved
into a multitude of disciplines which are themselves integrated combinations of older disciplines.
Over the past years, however, the high school science curriculum has not changed its allegiance
to the compartmentalized disciplines of pure physics, chemistry, biology, and geology, all
decontextualized from a social milieu (Aikenhead, 1997).
Many students achieve little in science because they simply cannot see the point of it. Each
lesson builds on the last, introducing new ideas. The “big ideas” get lost in the mass of detail
(Millar, 1996). There is a gap between the science taught in school and the science education
needed to function within tomorrow’s society at least for the overwhelming majority of citizens
(Holbrook, 1999). Partly this gap seems to arise from science teachers’ perception of science
education. Many feel it is to provide a basis for further study, rather than to enable a student to
function within society. Of course, many perceive it should be both. But it is worth remembering
that students go to school to be educated. Science education in school is part of modern general
education. And if that education is to guide students to make informed choices, to solve problems
within society, to make moral judgments and to be able to communicate and cooperate with
others, then these must surely be major facets of science education. But science teachers ignore
these in many cases. No wonder students tend to see the science taught in schools as irrelevant
(Holbrook, 1999).
Perspectives of natural science education
The central argument, that all youngsters should became more scientifically capable as part of
their education, can be considered from theoretical perspectives, which have informed the literature
in recent years but are looked at the context of curriculum development, taking methodologies
and assessment (Bryce, 1997). Today, a new view of nature and new paradigm of integrate science
education has emerged from twentieth century discoveries in physics, biology and chemistry in
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dialogue with the arts and humanities.

Education is a specially organized process, where we get knowledge, develop our skills and
form our attitudes toward our material environment and society. It is not only process of gaining
knowledge. Knowledge and skills form human’s intellect, they are developing in teaching/learning
process. Attitudes and skills - promote developing moral values during upbringing or value education
process. Full scale human’s intelligence today needs integration of intellect and moral (Broks, 2001).
Teacher utilizes different theoretical approaches in his or her teaching process.
Some theories are based on the social-cultural perspective of learning From social-cultural
perspective the relevancy of school science learning can be understood by comparing the ways in
which people learn about the world (Lave, 1988; Saxe, 1990). Learning is a dynamic and recursive
(rather than mechanical) process of constructing meaning (Rogoff & Chavay, 1995; Vygotsky, 1978).
Language and communication are constitutive in the process of learning. Learning is, according to
the socialcultural theory, regarded as appropriation to intellectual and physical tools which are
used to solve problems in everyday life. It is in this context however important that learners in their
communication with their peers not only do discuss scientific concepts in situated scientific context
but that they observe the epistemological and ontological questions which are appropriate to the
subject studied.
Prominent in the literature of science education is the work done on constructivism (Driver
and Oldham, 1985), an approach to learning which takes seriously the view that meaning is
constructed by the learner on the basis of what she/he already knows. Very often learners create
distortions to new ideas or inter-connect different ideas. Thus constructivists dwell upon the activity
necessary by learners and the understanding required by teachers of learners’ construct during
learning. Constructivist learning, therefore, is a very personal endeavor, whereby internalized
concepts, rules and general principles may consequently be applied in practical real-world context.
Trusted old ideas are very hard to shift and research has steadily revealed the wealth of ideas, half-
baked and bizarre though some may be, which require unpacking and modification through enquiry,
investigation and discussion. Solomon (1994) and Osborne (1996) admit to the significant body of
knowledge we now have about the difficulties encountered in learning science, so much of which
is counter-intuitive to pupils (Bryce, 1997).
According to Schulmans (1987) conception, content of learning should be comprehension and
reasoning, reflection and transformation. The selection of content for science education might be
a problematic issue has been discussed by Roberts (1982) and Broks (2004). A constructivist approach
to classroom science supports these reform articulations because students learn science as active
constructors, rather than passive recipients of knowledge. As students negotiate their understandings
in science in collaboration with teachers and peers, critical thinking becomes the dominant mode
of learning over the rote memorization of facts.
Cognitive theorists such as Piaget and Ausubel, and others, were concerned with the changes
in a student’s understanding that result from learning and with the fundamental importance of
the environment. Constructivism itself has many variations, such as Generative Learning, Cognitive
Apprenticeship, Problem-Based Learning, Discovery Learning. Regardless of the variety, constructivism
promotes a student’s free exploration within a given framework.
Equally prominent in science education literature is the debate about practical work and
projects and the role of investigative practical science. It seems accepted now that the use of
investigative practical work, which encourages pupils genuinely to investigate phenomena, is much
more effective rather than practical work which is merely illustrative of concepts or outcomes.
Handled well with effective teacher questioning, pupils’ own ideas can be made the subject-matter
of investigation and their practical skills and scientific methodology improved. An appropriate
stress can be placed upon setting out testable hypotheses, variables, using controls and specific
techniques, sorting out inferences in relation to evidence, recording and reporting techniques, etc.
Useful strategies are ones where activities for pupils require them to use their ideas (as opposed to
filling in worksheets) and, in due course to connect these ideas to scientists’ ideas. Such strategies
resolve the ‘process-product’ and ‘parts-whole’ problems which have featured in the last fifteen or
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so years (Bryce, 1997; Hodson, 1991). The issue remains live in relationship to assessment where the
amount of structure to be imposed on tasks is still contentious. Particularly at formative stages,
structuring is required to ensure that assessment strategies will be valid and reliable. In order to
check for genuine problem-solving ability, however, a degree of openness must apply to the problem
passed and to the questions set for pupils to investigate.
The challenge for curriculum development now is to advance teaching strategy which exemplify
“science-in-the-making”. For curriculum development should recognize the significance of informed
theoretical discussion, infused with evidence from research, among those who lead the way (Bryce,
1997). Great difference is between science curriculum for specialists and scientists and science
curriculum for public use.
Science subjects teaching in Latvia’s schools at upper secondary level of general education
The system of four education programs for Latvia’s upper secondary schools and gymnasiums
was introduced from 1999/2000 school year. They are as follows: 1) general education program, 2)
humanitarian and social education program, 3) natural science and mathematics education program
and 4) professionally oriented education program. Pupils have to choose one of those programs in
the beginning of our so called middle stage of education (10th grade or form up to 12th grade or
form). Pupils who have chosen science and mathematics education program study biology, chemistry,
physics as separate subjects. Pupils study the integrated subject “Science” if they have chosen general
education program or humanitarian and social as well as professionally oriented education program.
The first project about the school subject “Science“ was realized eight years ago. It forces to
assimilate physics in 10th form, chemistry in 11th form and biology in 12 th form. School subject “Science”
for students who have chosen general educational program or humanistic and social education
program, physics, chemistry and biology teachers are involved in teaching this integrated subject.
11 physics, 8 chemistry and 9 biology secondary schools teachers from Daugavpils, Kraslava
and Rezekne participated in the research. Observation of 28 upper secondary science subjects teachers
work during 95 school lessons in overall was realized to determine how their real work correspond
to those new ideas for further development of science education.
The students of Daugavpils University faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics was involved
during their final pedagogical practice period in 2003/ 2004 school year. Students have observed
more than 3 science lessons of each teacher. Observing teachers in action is important not only at
the start of teacher training but also is one of direct research methods. To gain better and more
complete insight in educational process, the author of the article has developed and offered students
a questionnaire. Teachers work observation became a search for corresponding answers to those
questions. The questions were as follows:
1. What was the teacher’s role during the lesson?
2. Did the teacher activate pupil’s previous knowledge during the lesson on the basis of
known knowledge. Will they new knowledge and skills and make conclusions.
3. Did the teacher offer situations to make pupil’s interested in the topic or problem?
4. Did the teacher offer situations for developing pupils power of apprehension and
judgment ability?
5. Did the teacher accent situations in acquired knowledge which are directly connected
with pupil’s living environment.
6. Did the theme of the lesson was integrated with other science subjects or themes ?
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Students evaluated all these aspects of educational process as satisfactory or insufficient or

did not seen at all during the observed lesson.
According to data analysis of the role of teacher during the lesson (question No1) 35% of
respondents considered that main teachers role during the lessons was related to management
of teaching and learning process. Teachers were actively involved in the teaching – learning
process as facilitators of learning, instructors or coaches, mentors. But about 40% respondents
showed that teacher was mainly information deliver during their lessons. The account’s of students
account documents suggest that it is difficult for some teachers to move from the old teaching
methods to a new strategy which require new approach for science teaching for students who
have chosen general educational program or humanistic and social education program. About
25 % respondents concluded that teachers were more information delivers and less managers of
teaching and learning process.
Number of question
Figure 1. Evaluation of teacher’s activities (answers to questions No 2 – 6.)
About 70% teachers satisfactory activate pupil’s previous knowledge and offer situations
for making pupils interested in the topic or problem. Only 62% teachers offered situations for
development pupils’ power of apprehension and judgment ability?
Many teachers don’t accented (8%) or accented insufficient (25%) situations in which acquired
knowledge was directly connected with living environment. About 46% of teachers pay attention
insufficient to nature sciences cross disciplinary aspects and 16% do not pay attention to is
important aspect.
Constructivists’ ideas are neither fully recognized nor utilized at any of the school stages,
and much of secondary science teaching is constrained through perceived lack of time and via
pressures from examinations. Constructive approach is oriented towards pupils’ abilities to apply
and acquire knowledge in practice, to solve problems in living environment. Science teachers
need to recognize that they educate students to be able to develop their skills, attitudes and
awareness as a members of the society through a context of science. It requires special work to
prepare corresponding recommendations for teachers as well as teacher educators.
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Conclusions
The tasks of reported research work was to explore approachable literature about natural
science education in general and to analyse some corresponding educational problems particularly
in Latvia. Particular attention has been paid to the following components of contemporary
educational process: developing student’s thinking skills, they skills to make connections to a
known material and to real life situations.
The author was found out that only 35% of science teachers are paying attention to a
process of organizing study process, about 40% of science teachers become a source of knowledge
to their students.
It was stated that not much attention has been paid to interdisciplinary themes and problems,
not much attention has been paid to designing positive social environment and building student’s
value system.
Science teachers need to recognize that they educate students to be able to develop their
skills, attitudes and awareness as members of the society through a context of science.
References
Aikenhead, G.S.(1997). Integrating the Scientific Disciplines in Science Education. In: H.Behrendt (Eds.),
Vortrage auf der Tagung für Didaktik der Physik/Chemie in Potsdam, (pp.21- 30). Leuchtturm- Verlag.
Broks, A. (2001). Systemology of Education. Pedagogika, 52, pp.68-75.
Broks A. (2003). General Physics for Upper Secondary School. Journal of Baltic Science Education, No
2(4), pp. 28-37.
Bryce, T. (1996). Towards the Achievement of Scientific Capability. Scottish Educational Review, 28 (2),
p. 90-99.
DeBoer, G.E. (2000). Scientific Literacy: Another Look at Its Historical and Contemporary Meanings and
Its Relationship to Science Education Reform. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 37, p.582- 601.
Geidþs, N., Berliners, C. (1999). Pedagoìiskâ psiholoìija. Riga.
Gräber, W., Bolte,C. (1997). Scientific Literacy: An International Symposium. Institut für die Pädagogik
der Naturwissenschaften an der Universität Kiel.
Holbrook, J. (1999). Teaching Science - Time to Rethink our Emphases. MNU 52/3 Ferd. DÜMMLER. Verlag.
Köln, p.131.
Izglîtîbas satura un eksaminâcijas centrs (ISEC) [Center of Education Content and Assessment] http://
www.isec.gov.lv
Jonane, L., Shilters, E. The Historical and Contemporary View to Concept of Physics Education in Latvia.
In.: 10. Bundesweites Kolloquium fur Doktorandinnen und Doktoranden “Didaktik der Chemie und Physik”
26. - 28. Oktober 2001, Koln, p.37 -41.
Lamanauskas, V., Gedrovics, J., Raipulis, J. (2004). Seniour Pupils’ Views and Approach to Natural Science
Education in Lithuania and Latvia. Journal of Baltic Science Education, 1 (5), p.13-23.
Millar, R. (1996). Towards a Science Curriculum for Public Understanding. The School science review:
the journal of the Association for Science Education, 77, p. 7-18.
Miller, J.D. (1983) Scientific Literacy: a Conceptual and Empirical Review. Journal of the American Academy
of Arts and Sciences, Cambridge, 112 (2), p. 29-48.
National Science Education Standarts. http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/nses/6e.html
Learning theory. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning _theory%28 education
Peèiuliauskienë, P., Rimeika, A. Schoolchildren’s Expression of Abilities in the Process of Completing the
Assignments of Physics: a Didactic Aspect. Journal of Baltic Science Education, 1 (5), p.58-67.
Ионане, Л. (2000). Некоторые проблемы преподавания физики. В кн.: Mokslas - Studijos - Mokykla. Vilnius,
p. 34-39.
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Резюме
ПОИСК ВОЗМОЖНОСТЕЙ УЛУЧШЕНИЯ ПРЕПОДАВАНИЯ

ЕСТЕСТВОЗНАНИЯ В СРЕДНЕЙ ШКОЛЕ И ГИМНАЗИИ
Лолита Ионане
Согласно многим исследованиям, в эпохе, когда научные достижения широко применяются в различных сферах
деятельности человека, в обществе наблюдается низкий уровень естественнонаучной грамотности. В статье
рассматривается вопрос о том, как повысить эффективность преподования учебного предмета Естествознание в средней
школе и гимназии для тех учеников, которые не проявляют интерес к точным наукам. Предмет Естествознание в
школах Латвии введен в 1996 году.
По мнению ученых Драйвера, Олдхома, Браиса конструктивный подход является более эффективным для
повышения естественнонаучной грамотности молодежи.
С целью исследования учебного процесса aвтором со студентами – практикантами были посещены и
проанализированы 95 уроков интегрированного предмета Естествознание, изучаемого в средней общеобразовательной
школе в рамках программ, не предусматривающих изучение отдельных предметов естественных наук. В ходе
исследования констатировано, что основное внимание на современную организацию образовательной деятельности
учащихся уделяло только 35% учителей. Учителя в основном (в 40% случаев) выполняли роль “источника знаний”. В
25% случаев учитель больше внимание уделял преподаванию знаний чем на организацию и другой учебной и
воспитательной деятельности учеников. Особо исследованы следующие компоненты образовательной деятельности:
достаточно ли учителям удается заинтересовать учеников; направлена ли работа на развитие мышления; как
осуществляется связь с ранее иученным материалом и конкретными явлениями реальной жизни. Выявлено, что во
время уроков недостаточно проявляется межпредметная связь, минимально раскрывается социальный контекст и
ценностные ориентации изучаемого материала.
Ключевые слова: естественнонаучная грамотность, общее образование, конструктивный подход, учебный и
воспитательный процесс.
Received 30 June 2004; accepted 01 March 2005.
Lolita Jonâne
Lecturer, Master of Physics, working on Doctor thesis.
Daugavpils University, Faculty of Natural Sciences and
Mathematics
Parades St.1, Daugavpils
LV-5401, Latvia
Phone: +371 5422302
E-mail: lolitai@dau.lv
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ISSN 1648–3898
THE OPINIONS OF PHYSICS

TEACHERS ON THE NATURE
OF THE CONTENT OF
PHYSICS SENIOR
SECONDARY SYLLABI AND
RESOURCES
Abstract. The purpose of this study Cephas David Yandila, Magdeline

was to find out the opinions of Patience Nkumba, Mokaruvapa Kazoozu
physics teachers on the nature of © Cephas David Yandila
BGCSE physics syllabi in Single © Magdeline Patience Nkumba
Science, Double Science and Pure © Mokaruvapa Kazoozu
Science in the areas of their: (i)
content (ii) objectives (iii) teaching
methods (iv) differentiation teaching
(v) assessment (vi) teaching
orientation (viii) availability of
computers (ix) student projects (x)
laboratory facilities (xi) duration of
the programme and (xii) laboratory
assistants. A 38-item open-ended
questionnaire was completed by 22
senior secondary school physics
teachers. The results showed the need Introduction
to revise the content, and assessment
practices and those teachers were Science educators and curriculum theorists agree that
trying to promote learner-centered mathematics, science and technology education should be
approach, even though they were such that learners are equipped not only with relevant
faced with problems. knowledge, but with attitudes and skill for a healthy life style,
social-economic survival, self-reliance and self-sustenance. The
challenges lie in the identification and integration of
appropriate content (Mulemwa, 2004). This should be
reflected in relevant curricula and materials for acquiring
basic skills, especially in the areas of skills for life and
knowledge in such areas as gender, health, nutrition, HIV/
AIDS prevention and peace. The school curricula content
should be student-centred, non-discriminatory, standards-
Key words: the content of physics based, contextualized, and relevant and provide life skills
syllabi and resources. (UNICEF, 2000).
Cephas David Yandila,
According to Yandila (1999), this was not the case with
Magdeline Patience Nkumba,
the old Cambridge Overseas School Certificate (COSC) Science
Mokaruvapa Kazoozu
Syllabi that Botswana inherited at the time of obtaining
University of Botswana, Faculty of
independence in 1966. Its major emphasis was to provide
Education, Department of
learners with assumed body of knowledge deemed necessary
Mathematics and Science Education,
for tertiary education and technical fields. Its content was
Botswana
not differentiated to accommodate wide-ability students and
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PHYSICS SENIOR SECONDARY SYLLABI AND RESOURCES
(P. 70-83)
had not been updated in the light of curricular changes in the world. Its teaching method was
teacher-centred, and students were not encouraged to acquire process skills through performing
practical work. Empirical topics were taught by demonstrations followed by class discussions.
This did not provide students with hands-on experience. Its assessment was formative. Only in
exceptional cases did students handle equipments, though they had to take practical
examinations at the end of secondary education. For these reasons, COSC Science Syllabi were
considered irrelevant and needed to be replaced by new ones that would reflect the aspirations
of the people of Botswana and contribute significantly to the country’s human resources
development that could compete positively to the technological world (Pendaeli, et al 1993).
The desire to change COSC syllabi was expressed soon after obtaining independence and
reported in National Commission on Education of 1976, Education for Kagisano of 1977, National
Commission on Education of 1993, Revised National Policy on Education of 1994 and several
official documents. Though the change was delayed in coming, when it took place it was very
comprehensive and included the philosophy, rationale, programme features, programme aims
and objectives, programme content and structure, teaching methods and orientation and
assessment. The change was made in stages, the Pure Science Syllabus (Biology, Chemistry,
Physics) were introduced in 1997 and Single Science and Double Science in 2000. Each of these
three types of syllabi insists on learner-centred teaching approach as stipulated in the Curriculum
Blueprint (1997).
Curricula innovations in Botswana followed the guidelines set up in the National Curriculum
Blueprint (1997). These were consistent with a hybridized curriculum models of Bayona (1995),
Kelly (1989), Miller and Seller (1985), Ogunniyi (1984, 1993), Print (1988), Tyler (1949), and
Wheeler (1967). Commissioned needs assessment studies were carried by out Pendaeli, et al.
(1993). It involved all stakeholders-teachers, students, parents, tertiary institutions and some
potential employers and consultations held with relevant institutions outside the country. The
findings of this study were published as recommendations in the National Commission on
Education (1993), and passed by an act of Parliament as contained in the Second National
Policy on Education (1994). The principles and guidelines for the construction of the new syllabi
were published in Curriculum Blueprint (1997). Thereafter, a 14-man physics task force was
appointed to design the new syllabi. It consisted of four secondary school teachers, four
curriculum development and evaluation officers, two university lecturers, two colleges of
education lecturers, one officer from the Department of Teacher Training and Development,
and one officer from Regional In-service Department. One consultant from IGCSE of UK served
as a resource person. The task force was asked to follow closely the guidelines set out in the
Curriculum Blue print and to consult the Botswana Junior Secondary School, the current COSC
and IGCSE syllabi of UK. The constructed syllabi were sent to schools for the input of physics
teachers (Yandila, 1999).
The final draft of the syllabi was submitted to the Ministry of Education for approval,
which was then sent to schools for implementation. Before they were introduced to schools,
representative teachers from every senior secondary school attended workshops on how to
implement them in schools. After they were implemented, several studies have been carried
out to determine their acceptability among students, parents and teachers. Their results are
expected to form part of the overall evaluation of the new syllabi and guide in their revision.
As a result of syllabi innovations outlined above, Botswana General Certificate of Secondary
Education Syllabi replaced the Cambridge Overseas School Certificate Syllabi in different subjects
in 1998. The new syllabi in physics introduced major changes in (i) content, (ii) objectives, (iii)
assessment, (iv) teaching methods, (v) organization of the syllabus, (vi) teaching orientation
(viii) utilization of laboratory resources, (ix) computer utilization and (x) student project. One
wonders whether physics teachers are satisfied with the syllabi and implementing them as
prescribed. It is necessary to investigate the two matters because a few recent studies have
indicated that physics teachers are dissatisfied with some aspects of the syllabi (Mogapi and
Yandila, 2001; Phethego, 2004; Rummung, 2000; and Yandila, 1999).
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(P. 70-83)
Purpose of the study
The purpose of this study was to seek the opinions of physics teachers about the nature of
BGCSE physics syllabi in Single Science, Double Science and Pure Science in the areas of their: (i)
content (ii) objectives (iii) teaching methods (iv) differentiation teaching (v) assessment (vi) teaching
orientation (viii) availability of computers (ix) student projects (x) laboratory facilities (xi) duration
of the programme and (xii) laboratory assistants.
Population and sample selection
The population of the study consisted of 99 physics teachers in all the 27 government and
government-assisted senior secondary schools in Botswana. It was important that such teachers
constituted the population because they had the experience of teaching both COSC and BGCSE
syllabi and therefore, expected to make informed recommendations on the suitability or otherwise
of the new syllabi for the Botswana context.
Copies of the questionnaires were mailed to heads of science departments in 27 government
and government-assisted senior secondary schools. They were requested to administer the
questionnaires to all physics teachers in their departments and return completed ones to the
researchers within two months of receiving them. After reminding the heads of department
several times by mail and phone calls, 22 duly completed questionnaires were received from
teachers. This represented 22.2% of 99 physics teachers in the schools. They constituted the sample
of the study of which 90% were Batswana and 10% non-Batswana, 60% males and 40% females,
of ages ranging from 35 to over 55 years with majority falling within the 35-41 range, and of
teaching experience of between 10-34 years. They were all graduate teachers who had taught
both COSC and BGCSE physics syllabi and were involved in supervising student teachers on teaching
practice assignment.
The questionnaire
An open-ended type purposeful questionnaire was developed by the investigators. Its

questions were derived from the nature, philosophy and rationale of the syllabi and the Curriculum
Blueprint (1997) and addressed problem areas identified in previous studies of Modise (2001),
Rammung (2000) and Yandila (1999). The draft questionnaire was face-validated by three senior
science educators in the Department of Mathematics and Science Education of the University of
Botswana who were asked to establish whether its items were addressing appropriate areas of
the new biology syllabi and teachers’ concerns established in previous studies. Thereafter, the
questionnaire was revised and reproduced for administration. This method of validation of the
questionnaire for a qualitative study such as this one is consistent with the views of Maxwell
(1992) and Brinberg and McGrath (1985) who assert that: “Validity is not a commodity that can
be purchased with techniques…. Rather validity is like integrity, character and quality, to be
assessed relative to purposes and circumstances” (p. 13). To Maxwell (1992), “validity of an account
should be seen as inherent, not in the procedures used to produce and validate it, but in its
relationship to those things that it is intended to be an account of” (p. 281).
The questionnaire was administered to 8 physics teachers who were not part of the sample
in order to ensure that the respondents would be able to provide appropriate answers to the
questions. Following their input, corrections were made and a final questionnaire produced. It
was a 10-page instrument consisting of Section A made up of eight questions requesting
information about the respondents’ age, gender, qualifications, teaching experience, title held
at school, nationality, teaching subjects and involvement in teaching practice supervision. Section
B was made up of 38 open-ended questions in which respondents were requested to express
72
(P. 70-83)
themselves on each of the 12 items related to the physics syllabi: (i) content (ii) objectives (iii)
teaching methods (iv) differentiation teaching (v) assessment (vi) teaching orientation (viii)
availability of computers (ix) student projects (x) laboratory facilities (xi) duration of the programme
and (xii) laboratory assistants. Respondents were also assured of confidentiality of the information
they would provide.
Results and discussions
The responses to Section A of the questionnaire were counted and percentages computed
on respondents’ age, gender, qualifications, teaching experience, title held at school, nationality,
teaching subjects and involvement in teaching practice supervision. They were used to describe
the characteristics of the sample presented above. The responses to questions 1-38 of Section B
were first read carefully in order to understand each answer then grouped according to their
similarities and dissimilarities in meaning. This method of treating written responses is in conformity
with what research literature recommends (Geertz, 1973; Maxwell, 1992). For example, Geertz,
(1973, p.17) states that “description is the foundation upon which qualitative research is built.”
And Wolcott (1990a) adds that “whatever I engage in fieldwork, I try to record as accurately as
possible and in precisely their words, what I judge to be important of what people do and say”
(p. 128). Statements in each group were then counted, percentages computed and entered in
tables as shown below. These percentages were used for discussing the results.
Content of the syllabi
The topics for physics syllabi include length and time, motion, mass, weight and centre of
mass, density, forces (a) effects on shape and size, (b) effects on motion, (c) turning effects of
forces, scalars and vectors, energy, work and power (a) energy, (b) work, (c) power, pressure,
simple kinetic molecular model of matter, thermal expansion of matter, measurement of
temperature, heat capacity, melting and boiling, transfer of thermal energy, general wave
properties, light, electromagnetic spectrum, sound, magnetism, electricity, practical electric
circuitry, electromagnetic effects, introductory electronics, electronic systems, radioactivity. Table
1 shows the topics that the respondents suggested should be removed and reasons they gave.
Table 1. Topics that teachers to be removed from the syllabi and the reasons given (%).
Syllabus Topics to be removed Percentage Reasons for removal
All Three All topics are necessary 47.6 All the topics are very important and necessary
Pure measurement of length 4.8 They are included in Junior Secondary Integrated Science
Science using metre rule 4.8 They are included in Junior Secondary Integrated Science
measurement of mass 9.5 Too advanced for students & there is little practical work
and density related to it
thermal expansion 9.5 It is above the cognitive of the students & they do not
electronic system interact with any of those things in their everyday life.
Double & Motion 4.8 Objectives not clearly stated

Single Energy 4.8 They are included in Junior Secondary Integrated Science
Sciences thermal physics 4.8 They are included in Junior Secondary Integrated Science
radioactivity 9.5 Too advanced for students & there is little practical work
related to it
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It is our view that removing the suggested topics would reduce the content of the syllabi drastically
and students may not be adequately prepared for physics courses at tertiary level. All the topics that
the respondents suggested to be removed are conceptually important for students to learn. We
wonder what effect their removal would have on the conceptual hierarchy of the topics in each
syllabus.
The reason given for removing the topics of measurement of length using metre rule,
measurement of mass and density, energy, and thermal physics from the syllabi is that they are taught
at junior secondary school level. A closer examination of each of their specific objectives reveals that
they are at more advanced level than those at the junior level. This goes to demonstrate the spiral
nature of the topics and should therefore, not be removed at senior secondary school level.
The reason for suggesting the removal of the topics of electronic system and thermal expansion,
is that they are too advanced for students to learn at senior secondary school level. Perhaps a better
reason might be that students lack pre-requisite knowledge. The solution may lie in the production
of supplementary information for use by physics teachers on each topic so that they know how far to
cover each. Such information could include prerequisite knowledge of what Ausubel (1963) calls Sub-
summers or Advance Organizer. This is important because at the moment, there is no single physics
prescribed book that covers the majority of the topics in the syllabi.
Objectives of the Syllabi
Table 2 shows the percentages of the respondents who would like certain objectives removed
from the syllabi and the reasons they gave. About 68.18% said that all the physics objectives in the
Pure, Double and Single Science syllabi were necessary and should be retained. About 13.63% said
that some of the objectives on energy should be removed, 9.09% said that one objective should be
removed on the topic of motion, 4.5% said that one objective should be removed in the topic of
energy source and another 4.5% said that five objectives should be removed on the topic of sound in
Double Science.
Table 2. Objectives to be removed from the syllabi and reasons given (%).
Responses Percentages Reasons given for removal
None to be removed 68.18 All are necessary and important and should not be removed
Energy
-Sources of energy
-Kinetic theory of matter
-Arrangement of particles in solid, liquid
& gas 13.63 They are adequately treated in Integrated Science
-Brownian motion (diffusion)
Change of state of matter (melting &
boiling)
-Socio-economic impact of each energy 4.5 It is not a physics concept. It is best explained in Geography.
source both locally and globally
Motion
-Using acceleration due to forces of It is not stated in the syllabus that students should be familiar with
gravity in solving problems of motion in the equations of motion but then they are expected to use
9.09 acceleration in solving problems of motion
Single Science
Double Science: Motion Though it is necessary to be accurate but it is not easy to quantify
-Estimate the accuracy of a given instrument and estimate it. One has to have some idea about it, which is not
-Describe factors that influence the quality of easy either. Quality of sound is relevant in advanced studies of
sound waves sound. Although it is an easy concept to understand, it is not useful
-Describe the effect of multiple reflections of 4.5
at this level of education.
sound waves on quality of sound.
-Describe electric field as a region in The concept of electric field is an abstract, which students at this
which… level can avoid.
-State the direction of lines of some and
describe the patterns
74
(P. 70-83)
Duration of the Programme
The school structure in Botswana is made up of 10 years of Basic Education (7 years of

Primary Education and 3 years of Junior Secondary Education) and 2 years of Senior Secondary
Education and this is similar to most Southern African Development Community countries
(Revised Policy on Education, 1994). It is stipulated in BGCSE Syllabus (1997) that the Senior
Secondary School Science is a two-year programme designed for learners who have completed
three-year Junior Secondary education. It is designed to provide learners with scientific
knowledge, skills and attitudes needed for understanding and responsible participation in
society. The results show that 30.8% of the respondents accepted the two-year duration of
the programme, 53.8% did not, arguing that the duration was short for the syllabi to be
covered and 15.4% made no comment. Assuming that the absence of comments was indicative
of the respondents’ acceptance, then it may be concluded that a total of 46.2% accepted the
2-year duration of the syllabi. Those who said that 2-year duration was inadequate made
several suggestions including the following:
• Increase the number of periods per week to 6 for each Pure Sciences, 12 for Double
Science and 6 for Single Science.
• Reduce the number of specific objectives in Triple Science (biology, chemistry, physics)
and Double Science (two-thirds each of biology, chemistry, physics).
• Examinations, Research and Testing Division should consider revising time allocation for
each science syllabus.
• Reduce the physics content by removing the topics that are covered in Integrated Science
of Forms 1-3.
• Increase the duration of senior secondary education to three years so that the BGCSE
science syllabuses are adequately covered.
Experience has shown that of the six school terms allocated for covering the two-year
syllabi, real teaching/learning takes place in about four terms. Students start Form 4 in the
middle of the first term of senior secondary school. The last school term of senior secondary
school is usually used for summarizing the course, preparation of and sitting for final
examinations. As a result, teachers tend to teach the syllabi for examinations rather than for
students’ comprehension.
In order to increase the duration of the programme from presently two to three years
either secondary education should be increased from five to six years or the junior secondary
education should be reduced from presently three to two years. The former would cost the
Ministry of Education a lot of money by keeping thousands of students one extra year in
school and the latter, would put pressure on teachers to cover the current three-year junior
secondary school syllabus in two years. This may encourage rote learning in students. But if
the content of the junior secondary school science syllabus is correspondingly reduced so
that it can be covered in two years, then students who proceed to senior secondary may not
have acquired all prerequisite knowledge and skills for the next level. The second option is
still feasible if the overlap certain topics between junior secondary and senior secondary
school syllabi are eliminated and career guidance is taken seriously at junior secondary school
level. This requires greater consultation between junior and senior secondary curriculum
development Task Forces.
Differentiation Teaching
The new BGCSE syllabi stipulate that students be differentiated into taking Triple Science,
Double Science and Single Science on the basis of their performance at Junior Secondary
Education and that in each subject they be differentiated into taking Core objectives only
and taking additional Extension objectives (Botswana, 1997). This is a common practice in
countries that adopted International General Certificate of Secondary Education syllabi such
75
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as Namibia. The results show that 54.54% of the respondents were in favour of differentiating
students into Pure, Double and Single Science, 36.36% did not attempt the question and
9.09% were not in favour. Reasons given for favouring the status quo included the following:
• It allows students to receive instructions according to their capabilities of acquiring and
using Science skills.
• It is a good teaching orientation because it takes care of differentiated students in a
given class.
• It is likely to help mixed ability students to understand the assigned content.
• Not every student at senior secondary school level will follow a Science or Science-related
career.
• Students are only examined on their ability without unnecessary demands on them.
Reasons given for not favouring the status quo included the following:
• Different schools have different ways of teaching and some students end up sitting for
Junior Certificate examinations before completing the syllabus.
• Some students may not have taken their studies seriously while doing Junior Certificate
and so performed below their capabilities. Most of them take their studies seriously
from Form 4.
• Some students are wrongly placed in subjects and it is difficult to change them later,
because of the groupings of optional subjects, which seems to be rigid.
• Some students may not have done well in Junior Certificate due to factors beyond their
control and may be denied the chance of doing what they are capable of.
About 50% of the respondents agreed with the system of differentiating students into
Pure, Double and Single Science on the basis of their performance in Form 3 final examinations,
27.27% disagreed and 22.73% gave no response. Reasons given for agreeing with the system
included the following:
• There is no other better way of efficiently selecting students even though it might be
imperfect.
• It is fair though later it may be improved upon or supplemented by having students take
admission or aptitude tests.
• The Form 3 final examinations are standardized and have established reliability and
validity and are used to for both certification and progression into senior secondary
school level.
• It is the easiest way out of the problem of differentiating students academically.
Reasons given for disagreeing with the system included the following:
• The Integrated Science taken in Forms 1-3 is very shallow and is not a true reflection of
the students.
• Some students perform badly in Form 3 examinations due to some circumstances beyond
their control such as social problems, not being aware of the advantages of passing
Integrated Science, being immature to make well-informed career choices, panic while
sitting for Form 3 final examinations.
• The students may be misplaced due to teachers’ lack of knowledge on how much
prerequisite knowledge and skills they mastered in Integrated Science.
About 45.5% of the respondents indicated that their students understood the effect of
doing core alone and core plus extended objectives in choosing their science career after
leaving school but 54.5% indicated that their students did not..
Process skills
The new BGCSE syllabus (1997) stipulates that in the course, students should be given
opportunities to perform four process skills of (i) using and organizing techniques, apparatus
and materials, (ii) observing, measuring and recording, (iii) handling experimental observations
and data and (iv) planning investigations. About 70% of the respondents said that it was
76
(P. 70-83)
realistic to expect students to learn the four process skills in two years, 30% said that it was
not realistic. Reasons for saying that it was realistic included the following:
• Students come across the four process skills in everyday life.
• Regardless of the complexity of the experiments, the skills are basic for learning Science
at secondary and tertiary institutions of learning and in Science-related careers.
• Since in Integrated Science students learn the four process skills theoretically, it is very
important that they learn them empirically in BGCSE syllabus.
• The four process skills are important for learner-centered approach to be used fully.
In addition to the four process skills the respondents suggested inclusion of the skill of
presentation, as it would improve the students’ confidence in organizing and time
management skills.
Reasons for saying that it was not realistic to expect students to learn the four process
skills in two years included the following:
• The physics syllabus contained a lot of content to be covered in a limited time.
• Given that students were already having problem in understanding basic concepts, they
would not be able to apply what they did not understand.
• Students were too young to master the four process skills.
• Most students are reluctant to undertake individual work, but always relying on the
teacher.
• The physics laboratory facilities and equipment were either inadequate or disrepair,
shortage of apparatus, chemicals and specimen.
Of those who said it was realistic to expect students to learn the four process skills in two
years, 6.01% said that the four process skills were important for learner-centered approach
to be used fully. About 12.01% each said they were important for students who intended to
follow science-oriented careers, and were important also in life situation.
Teaching Methods
Table 3 shows the percentages of the respondents employing different teaching methods
in class. About 27.27% use general class discussion and about 9% each use group discussion
and class presentation by group representatives, practical work, questioning, and assignment
worksheet for performing experiments, giving students research questions to be investigated,
textbooks to solve problems and performing demonstration in front of the class. The general
class discussion is a method by which every member of the class is given opportunity to
contribute to a discussion on a particular topic. The discussion may be prompted by a problem
raised by either the teacher or students or it may arise from a principle or concept that has
been presented to the class by the teacher. A group discussion and class presentation is a
method by which the class is divided into smaller groups of say, 5-8 students to discuss a
problem, results of an experiment or demonstration and at the end of which one member of
the group presents to the rest of the class. Practical work ranges from individual investigation
to small group investigation by a variety of experimentation. Questioning is a method, which
involves question, and answer raised and responded to by teachers and students. It can be
done in small groups or entire class. Assignment is a method by which the teacher gives out
homework, which students have to complete in and outside the class. After the work has
been marked, the teacher may go over it with the entire class. The worksheet method is one
in which the teacher gives written or oral guidelines to students to carry out an investigation,
at the end of which they present their findings in plenary sessions.
Although the results in this study do not show whether the above-mentioned teaching
methods were used exclusively, the researchers assumed that transcending each one of them
is some form of lecture method that teachers use to communicate the aims and objectives of
the lessons to the class.
77
(P. 70-83)
Table 3. Use of different teaching methods in learner-centred approach (%).
Teaching methods Percentage
General class discussion 27.27

Group discussion and class presentation 9.09
Practical work (individual/group) 9.09
Questioning (question/answer) 9.09
Assignment (class and home work) 9.09
Worksheet-guidelines for performing experiments 9.09
Research questions to be investigated. 9.09
Use of textbooks to solve problems. 9.09
Performing demonstration in front of the class. 9.09
The results on Table 4 show that most of the respondents were experiencing difficulties in
implementing learner-centered teaching approach. They attributed this to different factors. About
36.36% each of the respondents cited inadequate time to cover the syllabus and lack of teaching
materials resources, apparatus, chemical, and laboratories; 18.18% cited lack of confidence in
students, and 9.09% cited teaching large classes. Similar results were reported by Maluke (2001),
Modise (2001) and Yandila et. al (2002, 2003, 2004). The major problem in schools is the conditions
of science laboratories. Yandila et al (2003) found three types of conditions of laboratories: (i)
those that were relatively new and well designed with required equipment and materials for use
by students, (ii) those that were old but well maintained with required equipment and materials
for use by students, and (iii) those that were old, run-down with inadequate required equipment
and materials for use by students. About 70% of the laboratories were in-group three. We hope
that their conditions will soon be improved.
Table 4. Factors hindering learner-centered teaching approach (%).
Problem faced by teachers Percentage
Inadequate time to cover the syllabus 36.36

Lack of resources, apparatus, chemical, laboratories 36.36
Students lacking confidence 18.18
Teaching large classes 9.09
Assessment
About 36.36% of the respondents agreed that it was fair for students doing core alone to
earn a maximum of grade ‘C’ while those doing core plus extended to earn up to a maximum
grade of ‘A’; 54.54% said that it was not fair and 9.09% expressed no opinion on the matter. The
reasons for not supporting the assessment system were that: (i) the grade of ‘C’ was too low for
a student who consistently got 100% in core only and (ii) the grading system disadvantages
students who do core alone. The reasons for supporting the assessment system were that: (i)
there is more work in core plus extended than in core alone, so more work should be rewarded
with more credits, and (ii) the process is fair, if the certificates are to be recognized worldwide.
With respect to Form 5 subject mark that students would earn, 36.36% of the respondents
were comfortable with the ratio of 80% final examination to 20% continuous assessment, 54.54%
were not comfortable and 9.09% made no comments. Those who considered the mode of
assessment of project, practical, tests, assignments and final examination to be fair said that: (i)
examinations are standardized, so that all students are examined at the same level, and (ii) the
life of a student should not dependent upon one paper. Those who considered the assessment to
78
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be unfair said that: (i) in Single Science some questions that feature in the examination are not in
the teaching syllabus and (ii) science teachers can easily ruin the future of the students due to
subjective awarding of continuous assessment grades for work done. But what they overlooked
is that continuous assessment is moderated both internally and externally.
Table 5 shows five suggestions on improving the ratio of continuous assessment to final
examinations. Those who were uncomfortable with the ratio suggested the ratios 50% : 50%,
70% : 30%, 60% : 40%, or 40% : 60%. One respondent suggested that continuous assessment
should be abolished altogether.
Table 5. Suggested ratios of final examination to continuous assessment (%).
Suggestions of ratio of Exams: CA Percentage respondent in support
50% Final Examinations to 50% Continuous Assessment 9.09

Continuous Assessment should be abolished altogether 9.09
About 30.30% of the respondents said that continuous assessment began in Form 4; 3.03%
said in Form 5 and 60.67% gave no response. The high percentage of no response can be attributed
to the fact that course work assessment has not been introduced in all senior secondary schools
in the country. It is still being piloted in only three schools (Phethego, 2004).
About 63.64% of the respondents agreed that the syllabi should clearly indicate when the
continuous assessment should be included in students’ overall performance in Forms 4 or 5; 12.12%
did not agree and 24.24% did not express any opinion. About 27.27% suggested two years and
36.30% suggested one year. The reasons for suggesting that the syllabi should clearly state that
continuous assessment should be taken in one year were that: (i) in first year students would be
settling down in the new school environment and the teacher can use the first year to cover the
basic principles and concepts. The reasons for suggesting two years were that students would be
encouraged to take their science seriously and two years’ work would give a true reflection of
their work.
Availability of Computers
According to the Department of Secondary Education, every senior secondary school has a
computer laboratory where students take computer awareness courses. Each department is
expected to have one or two computers to be used by teachers for word processing, computation
and record keeping of student work. One wonders whether this is the case in every school.
Table 6 shows that 40.90% of the respondents indicated that their physics departments had
functional computers, 36.36% said they did not have and 22.72% gave no response. It also reveals
that 68.73 % of the respondents were able to work on spreadsheets, 22.72% were unable and
9.09% gave no response. The table also shows that 50% of the respondents are able to carry out
simple calculations such as mean, percentage and standard deviation on the computers, 31.81%
were not able to and 18.18% gave no response. Finally, the table shows that 40.90% were
interested to take a special computer course on word processing and computation, 22.72% were
not and 36.36% gave no response. This is one of the most encouraging news that most respondents
had the necessary computer skills to compute the continuous assessment. So it is hoped that at
least the appropriate department in the Ministry of Education or In-service function in the
University of Botswana can be praised for achieving some of the goals they had set for themselves.
79
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Table 6. Availability and use of computers in physics (%).
Questions Percentages Percentages Percentages

Yes No No response
Are you able to work on spreadsheet such as entering 68.18 9.09 22.72
marks on Excel table?
Are you able to carry out simple calculation such as 50.00 31.81 18.18
mean, percentage, and standard deviation on the
computer?
Does Physics have its own functional computers available 40.90 36.36 22.72
to teachers?
Would you be interested in attending a special computer 40.90 22.72 36.36
course designed to equip you with basic computer skills
(word processing and computation)?
With respect to suitable time of taking a special computer course, table 7 shows that 27.27%
of the respondents suggested during school holidays, 13.63% suggested during the weekend,
36.36% suggested in the afternoon, 13.63% suggested organized workshops, and 9.09% suggested
during free school periods.
Table 7. Proposed time for attending computer course (%).
Suggestions Percentage response in support
Afternoon 36.36
School holidays 27.27
Weekend 13.63
Workshop 13.63
Free periods 9.09
Student Projects
In the new Science Syllabi, students are required to carry out supervised projects during
their two-year programme of study (Curriculum Blueprint, 1997). This is because science educators
and teachers have recognized the fact that for science to play the vital role of transforming
Botswana’s economy, science subjects had to be well assimilated by the learners. The National
Commission on Education (1993) recommended that “intensified measures should be taken to
popularize science amongst students and to develop an interest and positive attitude towards
science and technology …through science and mathematics fairs …” (Botswana, 1993:180-181).
Students are required to be assisted by their teachers in identifying a problem to be investigated,
reviewing literature, defining research questions, carrying out the investigation, collecting and
analyzing data and writing the report.
About 30.30% of the respondents said that it was possible for a student to be taught about
project and do it but 36.36% said that it was impossible because projects need more time to be
done. With a congested physics syllabus, it is impossible unless the students were doing physics
only. Finally, 33.33% made no comment.
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Appropriate Laboratory Facilities and Laboratory Assistants
The table 8 shows the responses of teachers on the conditions of the laboratories in their
schools. About 69.2% of the respondents found the laboratories as having a shortage of materials
for all students to use and having no trained laboratory assistants. Only 30.8 % of the respondents
were positive with the conditions of the laboratories and 69.2% were negative. These results are
similar to those reported by Yandila (1999) and Rammung (2000), of poorer conditions of Science
laboratories. The results show that a large percentage of the respondents saw laboratories as
poor places where it is difficult for students to perform practical work due to lack of manpower.
Some of them suggested that there should be in-service training of teachers and some suggested
that Junior Certificate and Cambridge School Leavers should be trained as laboratory assistants
to fill up that gap. Teachers are faced with the problem of shortage of time for preparing for
practical work and hence work during their spare times, such as during the afternoons, after
school, and even at night. This is not commendable. No wonder most Science teachers complain
of being overworked.
Table 8. Responses of teachers on the conditions of Science Laboratories (%)
Percentage of Percentage of Reasons Means of survival Improvement

those who were those who were
positive negative
30.8 69.2 Materials not Planning in advance Provide in-service training
enough
Teachers work during Train Junior Certificate and
Laboratories not spare time, afternoons, Cambridge leavers
ready for use after school, at night
Arrangement of All chemistry teachers

furniture not work together to reduce
good for teacher- the load
student
interactions
Conclusions
The study suggests the reduction of physics topics and objectives in each of the three physics
syllabi. The two-year duration of the programme should be increased to three years to ensure
that the content is covered adequately. The students should be placed into Pure, Double and
Single Science on the basis of their performance in Form 3 examinations. Most physics teachers
considered it realistic to expect students to acquire the four process skills of: (i) using and organizing
techniques, apparatus and materials, (ii) observing, measuring and recording, (iii) handling
experimental observations and data and (iv) planning investigations in two years. The commonly
employed teaching methods included class discussion, group discussion and class presentation,
practical work (individual/group), questioning (question/answer), assignment (class and home
work), and worksheet-guidelines for performing experiments. Some physics teachers favoured
the assessment system in which students’ final course grade is based on the ratio of 20% continuous
assessment to 80% final examinations. Though most physics teachers are computer literate, their
departments are not adequately equipped with functional computers for use in word processing
and record keeping. Most physics teachers were of the opinion that it was possible for students
to do projects in two years. Most physics teachers said that their physics laboratories were
inadequately equipped with facilities to enable students to carry out individual practical work.
They lacked trained technicians to assist teachers in setting up and running practical sessions.
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Recommendations
The study recommends that the Department of Curriculum Development and Evaluation
should take into consideration the findings of this study when revising the BGCSE physics syllabi.
It also recommends that all physics teachers should receive the necessary in-service training in
teaching and assessing of the new BGCSE physics syllabi. Finally, physics laboratories should be
staffed by trained technicians.
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Резюме
МНЕНИЯ УЧИТЕЛЕЙ ФИЗИКИ ОТНОСИТЕЛЬНО СОДЕРЖАНИЯ

ПРОГРАММ И РЕСУРСОВ ФИЗИКИ
Цефас Дейвид Яндила, Магделaйн Патиенс Нкумба, Мокарувапа Казузу
Цель этого исследования было установить мнения учителей физики о разных программах физики в Республике
Ботсвана (Африка). Исследование предлагает сокращение тем физики и целей в каждой из трех программ физики.
Двухлетняя продолжительность программы должна быть увеличена до трех лет, чтобы гарантировать, что содержание
расспределено соответственно.
Большинство преподавателей физики считало реалистическим ожидать, что учащиеся приобретут основные
навыки:
• использовать разные аппараты и материалы;
• проводить наблюдение, измерение и регистрацию данных;
• осуществить обработку экспериментальных наблюдений и данных;
• планировать исследования.
Хотя большинство преподавателей физики – грамотные по использованию компьютера, их отделы не
соответственно снабжены функциональными компьютерами для использования в обработке текстов и проведения
других важных работ. Большинство преподавателей физики имело мнение, что было бы возможно для учащихся сделать
проекты через два года.
Большинство преподавателей физики сказало, что их лаборатории физики были неадекватно снабжены средствами
обслуживания, чтобы позволить учащимся выполнить индивидуальную практическую работу. Они испытывали
недостаток в технике.
Результаты показали потребность пересмотреть содержание, и методы обучения физики. Авторы делаеть вывод,
что лаборатории физики должны быть укомплектованы необходимой техникой. В свою очередь, учителя физики должны
соотвественно повышать свою профессиональную квалификацию.
Received 27 November 2004; accepted 02 March 2005.
Cephas David Yandila

Professor (Ph.D. Science Education), University of
Botswana, Faculty of Education, Department of
Mathematics and Science Education.
Private Bag 0022, Gaborone, Botswana.
E-mail: yandilac@mopipi.ub.bw
Magdeline Patience Nkumba

Final Year Student (B.Ed. Special Education) University
of Botswana, Faculty of Education, Department of
Mathematics and Science Education.
Private Bag 0022, Gaborone, Botswana.
E-mail: Mcdpatnku.@yahoo.co.uk
Mokaruvapa Kazoozu
Science Teacher (B.Ed. Science), Itekeng Secondary
School, Private Bag 16, Ghanzi. Botswana.
E-mail: yandilac@mopipi.ub.bw
83
INFORMATION FOR CONTRIBUTORS ISSN 1648–3898
INFORMATION
FOR CONTRIBUTORS
EDITORIAL POLICY
Journal of Baltic Science Education (JBSE) publishes original scientific research articles in the field of Natural Science
Education and related areas for all educational levels in the Baltic countries. It is possible to publish special (thematic) issues
of JBSE. The papers should be submitted and will be published in English. JBSE will promote to establish contacts between
researchers and practical educators both in the Baltic countries and countries around.
The authors of the manuscripts are responsible for the scientific content and novelty of the research materials. Articles,
published before in other international journals or papers’ collections will not be accepted for publication in JBSE.
As a publication that represents a variety of cross-disciplinary interests, both theoretical and practical, the JBSE invites
manuscripts on a wide range of topics, especially in the following areas:
• Didactics of natural sciences. • Philosophical, political, economical and social aspects
• Theory and practice in natural science teacher education. of natural science education.
• Integrated natural science education. • The supplementary natural science education.
• Natural science and technological literacy. • The standardisation of natural science education etc.
• General and professional natural science education.
MANUSCRIPTS GUIDELINES
The structure of the research paper presented to the Journal of Baltic Science Education should be as follows: abstract
- short report of the investigation; introduction inc. aim and subject of the research; research methodologies and methods;
results of the research incl. discussion; conclusions; list of references; summary - in Russian.
The papers should be submitted in English (summary in Russian). The preliminary text of the article can be sent as a.doc
file in the attachment by e-mail: vincentas@osf.su.lt
The text must be elaborated in Word for Windows, using 12 point Times New Roman letters. An article should not
exceed 7-10 A4 pages, included figures, tables and bibliography. Publishing of longer articles should be negotiated separately.
Texts margins: top and bottom 20mm, left - 25mm, right - 20mm. The title: capital letters, 14pt, bold; space between the title
and the author’s name is one line interval. Author’s name and surname: small letters, 12pt, bold. Under the name, institution:
11 pt, italics; space between the title and the text: 1 line interval. Abstract – about 90-110 words - precedes the text. The text:
12pt Single or Auto spacing, in one column. Key words: no more than five words. The language must be clear and accurate.
The authors have to present the results, propositions and conclusions in a form that can suit scientists from different countries.
Titles of the tables and figures: 11 pt, small letters. Space between figures or tables and the text: 1 line interval.
Introduction, titles of chapters and subchapters: 12pt, bold, small letters. Numbers: Arabic, subchapters numbered by two
figures (1.1, 1.2, etc.). Figures, tables and captions should be inserted within the manuscript at their appropriate locations.
References in the text should be presented in brackets (Knox, 1988; Martin, 1995). If necessary, the page can be indicated:
(Martin, 1995, p.48). The list of references should be presented after the text. The Words List of References: 11pt, bold, small
letters. The references should be listed in full at the end of the paper in the following standard form:
For books: Saxe, G.B. (1991). Cultural and Cognitive Development: Studies in Mathematical Understanding. Hillsdale,
NJ: Erlbaum.
For articles: Bekerian, D.A. (1993). In Search of the Typical Eyewitness. American Psychologist, 48, 574-576.
For chapters within books: Bjork, R.A. (1989). Retrieval Inhibition as an Adaptive Mechanism in Human Memory. In: H.L.
Roediger III & F.I.M. Craik (Eds.), Varieties of Memory & Consciousness (pp. 309-330). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Each article is followed by summary in Russian about half A4 page. The title of summary repeats title of the article:
capital letters, 12pt, bold; the author’s name and surname: small letters, 11pt, bold. The text: small letters, 11pt, space
between the name and text: 1 line interval. The authors, who do not know the Russian language, present summary in the
English language for the translation.
On a separate page, author - related data should be presented in English: name, surname, degree and academic
title, institution, full correspondence address in the clearest and most complete form /ordinary post and e-mail addresses /,
position (to ensure anonymity in the review process).
EDITORIAL AND REVIEW PROCEDURES
Manuscripts will be sent anonymously to reviewers with expertise in the appropriate area. All manuscripts will be
rewieved by two experts before JBSE’s accept them for publication. This process usually takes about two months. The journal
co-editors will make minor editorial changes; major changes will be made by the author(s) prior to publication if necessary.
JBSE’s redaction will sent to author(s) only one correcture which must be sent back within 2 weeks.
Manuscripts submitted to the JBSE cannot be returned to authors. Authors should be sure to keep a copy for themselves.
Manuscripts, editorial correspondence (and other correspondence for subscription and exchange), and any questions
should be sent to editor-in-chief or to regional redactors:
Mailing Addresses
Prof., Dr. Vincentas Lamanauskas, editor-in-chief, Dr. Janis Gedrovics, co-editor, Latvia
Siauliai University Riga Teacher Training and
P.Vishinskio Str. 25; LT-76351 Siauliai, Lithuania Educational Management Academy
E-mail: vincentas@osf.su.lt, gamtamokslinis@one.lt Imantas 7 linija No 1; Riga, LV-1083, Latvia
Phone: + 370 687 95668 E-mail: janis.gedrovics@rpiva.lv
Fax: +370 41 553309 Phone: +371 9162147
Dr. Naglis Ðvickus, co-editor, Lithuania Prof., Dr. habil. Aarne Tõldsepp, co-editor, Estonia
SMC ”Scientia Educologica” Tungla 7,
Kretingos Str. 55-10; LT-5802 Klaipëda, Lithuania Tartu, EE-51006, Estonia
E-mail: snaglis@ktl.mii.lt E-mail: toots@tdl.ee
Phone: +370 687 89985 Phone: + 372 7 422241
84
ISSN 1648–3898
JBSE
African Journal
of Research in Mathematics,
Science and Technology Education
Editor: Prof. Cliff Malcolm
University of KwaZulu Natal, Westville Campus
Private Bag X54001, Durban 4000
SOUTH AFRICA
E-mail: cliffm@pixie.udw.ac.za
Subscribe to the African Journal, become a contributer...
The AJRMSTE is published twice a year (April and October), by the Southern African Association for
Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education (SAARMSTE).
Its editorial policy is:
to disseminate, as widely as possible, high quality research findings and well written articles on
theory and practice in science, mathematics and technology education. Articles that promote
the understanding of curricular policy and diverse socio-cultural issues and those which stimulate
epistemological and methodological debates are welcome. The focus is on the development of
indigenous research capacity in Africa without compromising the requirements of high standards.
The editorial board welcomes articles that will contribute to the overall development of science,
mathematics and technology education in Africa.
The journal is international, and welcomes articles from any country that are likely to contribute to
education in Africa.
The best way to subscribe to the Journal is to become a member of SAARMSTE.
85
ISSN 1648–3898
JBSE
University of Hradec Králové

Pedagogical Faculty - Department of Chemistry
The International Conference of Chemistry Education
ACTUAL QUESTIONS OF CHEMISTRY EDUCATION XV.

arranged by
Department of Chemistry Pedagogical Faculty

University of Hradec Králové
20. - 22. September 2005
The international conference takes place

in honour of 40 years and under patronage of Working Group Teaching of Chemistry at Czech
Chemical Society
Topics of the conference will be discussed in the following sections on relationship to main topic “Chemistry Teachers’
Profile”:
Methodological and Historical Aspects of Chemistry Education (I), Curricular Aspects of Chemistry Teachers’ Training (II);
Information a Communication Technology in Chemistry Education and in Chemistry Teachers’ Training (III); Ecological and
Integration Tendencies in Chemistry Education and in Chemistry (Science) Teachers’ Training (IV); Contents and Forms of
Further Chemistry Teachers’ Education (V).
The conference takes place from 20. 9. to 22. 9. 2005 at department of chemistry of Pedagogical Faculty University of Hradec
Králové - square Svobody 301, Hradec Králové, CZ and street Hradecka 1227, Hradec Králové.
Conference fee is 30 EUR. The fee will be used for the printing of contributions proceedings and will cover other necessary
expenses connected with the seminar organisation. The payment of fee, the accommodation and boarding’s costs will be
specified in the 2nd circular.
Conference languages are Slavish (Czech, Slovak, Polish, Russian) and English (in separate section).
Please send us your completed preliminary application till the end of May 2005 to the address:
Doc. PhDr. Martin Bílek, Ph.D.,
katedra chemie pedagogické fakulty UHK
Rokitanského 62
CZ- 500 03 Hradec Králové,
E-mail: Martin.Bilek@uhk.cz
URL: http://pdf.uhk.cz/kch/seminar.html
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Journal of Baltic Science Education No. 1 (7), 2005
Sudarytojas / Compiled by: Vincentas Lamanauskas

Redaktoriai / Linguistic Editors: Gintaras Vaidogas,
Graþina Lamanauskienë
Dailininkë / Cover design by: Jurgina Jankauskienë
Maketuotojas / Layout design by : Linas Janonis
2005 03 30. 5 leidyb. apsk. I. Reg. Nr. 17-266.

Iðleido K.J.Vasiliausko im., Lyros g. 14-25, LT-78288 Ðiauliai, Lietuva.
Tiraþas 300 egz.
2005 03 30. Order 17-266.

K.J. Vasiliauskas printing-house, Lyros Str. 14-25, LT-78288 Siauliai, Lithuania
Printed in Lithuania. Edition - 300 copies.
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Journal of Baltic Science Education, 2005 No.

Published since 2002

Address: Scientific Methodical Center “Scientia Educologica”

© Scientific Methodical Center

DEAR READERS AND WRITERS! ....................................................................................................... 4

PHYSICS LEARNING WITH EXPLORATORY TALKS DURING A MINI-PROJECT –

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ AND TRAINEE SCIENCE TEACHERS’

THE STUDENT VOICE IN SCIENCE EDUCATION: RESEARCH AND ISSUES

EXPERIENCES AND THEIR ROLE IN SCIENCE EDUCATION

THE COMPARATIVE STUDY OF PROSPECTIVE

STUDYING STUDENTS’ UNDERSTANDING OF THE INTERPLAY

FINDING POSSIBILITIES TO IMPROVE SCIENCE EDUCATION

THE OPINIONS OF PHYSICS TEACHERS ON THE NATURE OF THE

INFORMATION FOR CONTRIBUTORS ............................................................................................. 84

AFRICAN JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN MATHEMATICS,

ACTUAL QUESTIONS OF CHEMISTRY EDUCATION ....................................................................... 86

NATURAL SCIENCE EDUCATION – NEW INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL ........................................... 87

Dear Readers and Writers!

With kind regards!

Professor Borislav V. Toshev,

PHYSICS LEARNING WITH

Margareta Enghag, Hans Niedderer Abstract. During physics instruction

• To give students the possibility to manage their own

In an explorative study (Enghag, 2004), we have done a qualitative theory generating

Results of the research

Student ownership of learning fostering motivation

Lena: It could be difficult to explain to them.

Conceptual change during exploratory talks

Kristin: But what can I say about series circuits?

Anna: We might need to explain what an electron is too.

Kristin: Parallel circuits…

Figure 1. Lena’s picture (later in her presentation on the whiteboard)

Lena: … this is really great…

ИЗУЧЕНИЕ ФИЗИКИ С ИССЛЕДОВАТЕЛЬСКИМИ БЕСЕДАМИ ВО

Маргарета Енгхаг, Ханс Ниеддерер

Received 26 November 2004; accepted 10 January 2005.

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’

Abstract. The focus of this study was Feyzi Osman Pekel

Table 1. Gender analysis (Independent T- Test) results.

Table 2. Subscale Scores for Items #1-#30.

Table 3. Percentages of the correct answers of every statementa.

High S. Students Trainee Teachers Groves

Implications for teaching

Adler, J. (1992). Little Green Lies. Policy Review 6, 18-26.

ПРЕДСТАВЛЕНИЯ УЧАЩИХСЯ СРЕДНИХ ШКОЛ И СТУДЕНТОВ –

Фейзи Осман Пекел

Настоящее исследование посвящено обнаружению и описанию научно неверных представлений студентов –

Received 03 May 2004; accepted 05 January 2005.

Feyzi Osman Pekel

THE STUDENT VOICE IN

Abstract. The article reviews a range Edgar W. Jenkins

Although research into the student voice in school science

Some Studies and Findings

boys and girls.

and Opinion in Britain. Studies in Science Education, 32, 81-112.

МНЕНИЕ УЧАЩИХСЯ О ЕСТЕСТВЕННОНАУЧНОМ

Статья рассматривает диапазон национальных и международных исследований, в которых анализируется взгляды

Received 21 October 2004; accepted 18 January 2005.

EXPERIENCES AND THEIR

• What role may re-actualized experiences have in a school science setting?

Re-actualized experiences as a foundation

Re-actualization of experiences made to a school task

Experiences as means for making pupils participate