Journal of Baltic Science Education

73-86

Authors: Yilmaz Kara, Salih Cepni

This study presents findings collected from an analysis of Turkish Biology Curriculum Guidelines and of their alignment with the curricular outcomes and the Student Selection Examination (SSE) for higher education. The analysis was performed in multiple dimensions: content areas, learning outcomes in terms of scientific research and process skills (SRPS), science-technology-society-environment (STSE), communication competencies, attitudes and values (CCAV) and cognitive objectives. Webb’s (2007) alignment criteria were used to investigate the relationship between curriculum standards and assessment frameworks. In this process, the biology questions asked in the 2010 SSE were examined in detail by 10 biology teachers who have been teaching biology courses at secondary schools. Although alignment consistency was high according to the depth-of-knowledge (DOK) consistency and categorical concurrence criteria, the SSE questions and curriculum outcomes were not fully aligned considering the low consistency of range of knowledge and balance of representation criteria.

98-113

Authors: Andrej Šorgo, Slavko Kocijančič

Among Slovenian upper secondary school science teachers a study was conducted about the implementation of laboratory work in Science teaching. One of the specific goals was to acquire preliminary data about the status of laboratory exercises in teaching Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Answers were received from 64 Biology teachers, 64 Chemistry teachers and 63 Physics teachers (about 40% of Slovene secondary school Science teachers). The differences in attitudes towards and performance of laboratory work among teachers of different Science subjects are small. It can be concluded that teachers of all three subjects have generally positive attitudes towards laboratory work. The differences occur in the way laboratory work is performed. Not so positive are the findings that many of the exercises are presented to the students as demonstrations, and an expository style is preferred. In the future, efforts should be made to transform expository labs into inquiry- and problem-based laboratory work.

127-137

Authors: Anne Laius, Miia Rannikmäe

This study examines the impact on 9th grade students’ change in socio-scientific reasoning and scientific creativity skills as a result of their science teachers’ professional change, as a result of participating in longitudinal in-service courses. Eight chemistry and four biology teachers participated in two consecutive intervention studies, each running for 8 months, both designed to guide teachers on promoting the level of scientific literacy in their students. During the in-service courses, the teachers created teaching materials for 4 integrative teaching modules and taught their students using a designed STL teaching approach. The students’ development was determined in terms of scientific creativity and socio-scientific reasoning skills, as indicators of scientific literacy gains, with an initial pre-test in the fall of the school year and a post-test in the spring after the STL intervention. The results of the study revealed that the degree of teachers’ professional level in promoting problem solving and decision making teaching and its impact on student gains, as well as the number of teachers collaborating together in the teaching within a school, had a significant impact on their students’ improvement in skills associated with socio-scientific reasoning and scientific creativity.