Conceptual demand of science curricula NARST2012

CONCEPTUAL DEMAND OF

SCIENCE CURRICULA

STUDYING PRACTICAL WORK IN HIGH SCHOOL

BIOLOGY AND GEOLOGY

Sílvia Ferreira

Ana M. Morais

Institute of Education, University of Lisbon

Ferreira & Morais, 2012

Practical work in Biology

and Geology teaching

Type of practical workScientific knowledge

Cognitive skills

THE WHAT

Intra-disciplinary relationsDiscursive rules

Hierarchical rules

THE HOW

OPD

Official Documents

Teachers’ Practices

Teachers’ Conceptions

CONCEPTUAL DEMAND

General diagram of the study


Motivations

• Practical work in science education is central to the

development of scientific literacy.

(e.g. Hofstein & Naaman, 2007; Lunetta et al., 2007)

• MES directions indicate (2007) that formal moments of

assessment of practical work should take place, having a

weight of 30% in the overall students evaluation of the Biology

and Geology discipline.


Problem

What is the message transmitted by the official pedagogic

discourse (OPD) of the Biology and Geology curriculum

with regard to dimensions related to what is taught and

how is taught in the case of conceptual demand of practical

work, and what is the extent to which that message may

condition students scientific learning?


Model of analysis

Bernstein´s

Model of

Pedagogic

Discourse

<http://essa.ie.ul.pt/>

adapted from Bernstein, 1990

International Field

FIELD OFSTATE

PROD

UCTI

ON

OF

P D

Le

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l I

Ge

ne

ratio

n

Le

ve

lII

Re

co

nte

xtu

aliz

atio

n

Field of

Economy

Field of

Symbolic

Control

Official Recontextualizing

Field

Pedagogic Recontextualizing

Field

OFFICIAL PEDAGOGIC DISCOURSE

(OPD)

PEDAGOGIC DISCOURSE OF REPRODUCTION

DOMINANTPRINCIPLES

(GRD)


Practical work in science education

All teaching and learning activities in the sciences in which the

student is actively involved and that allow the mobilization of

science processes skills and scientific knowledge and that may

be put into practice through paper and pencil activities or

observing and/or manipulating materials.

� Lab activity

� Simulation

� Field trip

� Bibliographical research

� Guided discussion activity

� Application of knowledge


Metodology

Evaluation

criteria

OPD

Curricular

documents

THE WHAT of

teaching

THE HOW of

teaching

CO

NC

EP

TU

AL

DE

MA

ND

MES-teacher

relation

Intra-disciplinary

relations

Practical workScientific

knowledge

Types of practical

work

Cognitive skills

Relation between

theory and

practice

Relation between

practical

activities


Metodology

(Marzano & Kendall, 2007, 2008)

Cognitive skills

Section Degree 1 Degree 2 Degree 3 Degree 4

Knowledge

Aims

Methodological

guidelines

Evaluation

Degree of complexity

based on the taxonomy

created by Marzano and

Kendall


Metodology

(Marzano & Kendall, 2007, 2008)

Cognitive skills


Metodology

Degree 1 Degree 2 Degree 3 Degree 4

Cognitive skills of

low level of

complexity, involving

cognitive processes

of retrieval.

Cognitive skills of

level of complexity

higher than degree

1, involving cognitive

processes of

comprehension.

Cognitive skills of

level of complexity

higher than degree

2, involving cognitive

processes of

analysis.

Cognitive skills of

very high level of

complexity, involving

cognitive processes

of knowledge

utilization.

Section: Aims

Cognitive skills


Metodology

Observing cells at the optical microscope.

(Biology 10th, p.78)

Problematizing and formulating hypotheses.

(Geology 11th, p.18)

Degree 2

Degree

4

Comparing and evaluating explicatory models of the emergence of

unicellular eukaryotes.


Degree

3

Cognitive skills


Metodology

(Bernstein, 1990, 2000)

Relation between theory and practice

Section C++ C+ C- C- -

Knowledge

Aims

Methodological

guidelines

Evaluation

Bernstein’s concept of

classification


Metodology

C++ C+ C- C- -

The suggested strategy/ methodology is focused on declarative scientific knowledge only.orThe suggested strategy/ methodology is focused on procedural scientific knowledge only.

The suggested

strategy/

methodology is

focused on

declarative scientific

knowledge and on

procedural scientific

knowledge, but do

not make the

relation between

them.

The suggested

strategy/

methodology is

focused on the

relation between

declarative and


knowledge, being

given higher status

to declarative

scientific knowledge

in the relation.

The suggested

strategy/

methodology is

focused on the

relation between

declarative and


knowledge, being

given equal status to

these two types of

knowledge in the

relation.

Section: Methodological guidelines



Metodology


Application of stratigraphic principles to paper and pencil problem

solving on relative dating.

(Geology 11th, p.30)

C++

In order to solve the problem “What happens to the dynamics of an

ecosystem when that ecosystem is subjected to change?”, a field trip

in articulation with classroom/ laboratory activities, to be made before

and after the field trip, is suggested. As object(s) of study, real

environments are suggested, located, as far as possible, near to the

school […].


C- -


Results

References to practical work

30 2720

38

1929

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

General

Biology

Biology

10th

Biology

11th

General

Geology

Geology

10th

Geology

11th

without PW

with PW


Results

Types of practical work

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

General

Biology

Biology

10th

Biology

11th

General

Geology

Geology

10th

Geology

11th

FT

GD

BR

AK

S

LA


Results

THE WHAT of practical work teaching

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Bg B10 B11 Gg G10 G11 Bg B10 B11 Gg G10 G11

4

3

2

1

Complexity of

scientific knowledge

Complexity of

cognitive skills


Results

THE HOW of practical work teaching

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Bg B10 B11 Gg G10 G11 Bg B10 B11 Gg G10 G11 Bg B10 B11 Gg G10 G11

C- -/ F- -

C-/ F-

C+/ F+

C++/F++

Relation between

theory and practice

Relation between

practical activities

Explicitness of

practical work


Conclusions

The curricular documents give low emphasis to practical

work, namely to laboratorial activities with an investigative

character, in Biology and Geology education for high

school.

The curriculum has a low level of conceptual demand with

respect to the transmission context of practical work.


Conclusions

Scientific knowledge

Desirable situation: Unifying themes are acquired by

understanding complex and simple knowledge within a balanced

degree of complexity of scientific knowledge (the approximate

case of Biology).

Cognitive skills

Desirable situation: A balance between complex and simple

cognitive skills, where the latter necessarily include memorization

(the approximate case of Geology).


Desirable situation: Predominance of relations between theory

and practice, with more status being given to theory in the relation

(the approximate case of Biology).


Conclusions

The instruments constructed and the methodology followed

may be used in further studies, after the necessary

adaptations to the respective contexts.

The evaluation context of practical work is largely ignored

in all parts of the curriculum.

Although the MES seems to value practical work in science

high school at the level of the curriculum general

guidelines, this official agency does not make such

intentions explicit at the level of Biology and Geology

specific guidelines.

CONCEPTUAL DEMAND OF

SCIENCE CURRICULA

STUDYING PRACTICAL WORK IN HIGH SCHOOL

BIOLOGY AND GEOLOGY

Sílvia Ferreira

Ana M. Morais

Institute of Education, University of Lisbon

http://essa.ie.ul.pt