This is a conference symposium accepted for ECER (European Conference on Educational Research) 2009 in Vienna, 28-30 September.
Chair for this symposium:
Pernilla Nilsson
Pernilla.Nilsson@hh.se
University of Halmstad, Sweden
Discussant
Professor Tina Seidel
Tina.Seidel@uni-jena.de
Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, Germany
Authors/contributors Michel Grangeat, Geir Karlsen, Allan Blake, Jim McNally and Peter Gray
The following text is the submitted abstract:
Title: Mirror, Signal, Manouevre: Developing Indicators and Instruments to Enhance European Science Teacher Education.
This symposium discusses theory and evidence in relation to a large FP7 project (S-TEAM) whose purpose is to disseminate inquiry-based science teaching methods on a wide scale throughout Europe. An innovative feature of S-TEAM is that it combines science education research with teacher education research in order to open up the pedagogy of science education to a wider range of influences. The symposium includes contributions from France, Norway, Scotland and a pan-European context. Its research question is:
"What kind of indicators might influence the future development of science teacher education?"
In order to demonstrate its effectiveness, S-TEAM will develop a set of indicators which relate to its central themes: inquiry-based science teaching, teachers' repertoires of action, scientific literacy and lifelong engagement with science. Development of these indicators involves more than selecting existing instruments. To radically change the pedagogical field in which science teaching takes place, indicators must function as mirrors, promoting reflection on existing practices. The first contribution links this to metacognition, a concept which makes frequent reappearances in educational reseach.
Secondly, indicators signal to politicians that certain things are happening. The indicators from PISA send strong signals to politicians about their science education systems, but they are not in themselves useful as diagnostic tools. The second contribution discusses the moral purposes of education in relation to educational outcomes. The formative use of indicators connects them with double loop learning, where learners begin to influence the structure of the system as a whole.
Thirdly, indicators should be related to manouevres, i.e.. practices. Asking pupils or teachers about experiences of science education is an underrated way of improving practice, as the paper suggests. This paper draws on research into pupil voice including a large empirical study of Scottish pupils across topic areas.
The fourth and final final contribution looks at the potential of S-TEAM for generating new theory and evidence in European science education. S-TEAM is a support action rather than a research project, but as one of the largest collaborative projects yet funded in this area, S-TEAM has potential access to nearly half a million science teachers across 16 countries. It should therefore be capable of providing high quality data and further possibilities for research. As the previous contributions suggest, however, a radical approach to the development of indicators might change the nature of science teacher education research, and even perhaps science education itself.
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources Used
The proposed symposium discusses the development of indicators and will mention an number of examples from research with teacher commitment (France) and pupil opinion (Scotland) as well as theoretical issues from recent pedagogical controversies in Norway
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or Findings
The symposium will conclude that the development of indicators is a political and ethical process as well as being part of a scientific inquiry.
Chair
Pernilla Nilsson
Pernilla.Nilsson@hh.se
University of Halmstad, Sweden
Discussant
Professor Tina Seidel
Tina.Seidel@uni-jena.de
Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, Germany
Information on all Symposium Papers
Michel Grangeat1, Geir Karlsen2, Allan Blake3, Jim McNally3 and Peter Gray4
1; 2; 3; 4S-TEAM Project (Europe), Norwegian University of Science & Technology
Effects of teaching approaches on learning outcomes: the role of metacognition in developing indicators
...