Database of Publications

Date: 2014.04.03

Posted by Jana Škreková (Slovakia)

Message: It is for me very interesting and not very typical publication because refers to the possibilities of implementing successful strategies for teaching science related issues via organized visits in science museums.This course was focusing on empowerment of teachers to master museum resources exploration in an effort to close the gap between schools and non-formal institutions. The course consisted of four 4 hour modules under the following headings; Formal and non-formal learning environments, How to organise a school visit, During the school visit and Evaluation of the school visit. The data was collected via 38 surveys, direct observation of tutorial sessions and school visits organised and implemented by 7 out of 38 participating teachers Basically it is about implementation of the successful teaching strategies during a museum visit. The success of this teaching approach is not monitored directly, it is only inferred. The author reflects on the importance of providing students with open-ended tasks for the students in order to encourage reflection, observation and discussion. The publication is useful in highlighting the advantages of a teacher taking a more active role before and during a science trip.
This approach is very interesting and a big inspriration for me as chemical teachers to use this in my teaching praxis.

Date: 2014.04.02

Posted by Claire Mc Donnell (Ireland)

Message: This paper presents an interesting and useful study on the implementation and evaluation of a professional development course for in-service primary school teachers in Portugal. This novel course dealt with exploiting the learning opportunities in Science Centres and museums and professional credits were associated with it. It was developed in 2007 and implemented in 2008 in a Science centre. Classes were run face to face with 9 to 10 participants and involved 4 x 4 hour themed workshop sessions as well as a requirement for 10 hours of independent learning. The course is described in detail (the 4 sessions deal with Formal and non-formal learning environments; How to organise a school visit; During the school visit; Evaluation of the school visit) and it is noted that it is now being implemented in several science centres across Portugal. However, numbers of centres or participants are not provided.
The evaluation of the course took place in one Science Centre near Lisbon. 38 teachers were asked to complete a survey. Observations of the course (2 classes) and of 7 school visits to the centre that the teachers organised were also performed. The survey responses were all positive and a resulting confidence and willingness to organise school visits was apparent. The only additional comments were that some of the strategies were not relevant for younger children (under 7) and that 7 of the participants would have liked a longer course duration. The observations of the visits revealed some issues however (an overdependence on worksheets requiring surface knowledge, more in-depth pre and post work needed, lack of free exploration time, allocation of time for interpreting and discussing results from experiments during the visit needed). Solutions have been proposed by changing the course so that more effective learning is facilitated during visits but it has not been indicated if and when they will be implemented. The paper is useful because of the detail provided on this novel teacher training course and the comprehensive literature review provided on learning science in informal environments such as science centres and museums.

Date: 2014.04.01

Posted by Maria Nikolova (Bulgaria)

Message: The publication describes the portal for science and mathematics materials, presented in the Portuguese language, that can be used by teachers and students. The benefit of creating such a portal for scientific knowledge in the field of science is, that it can be used freely and irrespectively of the native language by teachers in the classroom, and the students in the preparation of lessons and additional assignments and projects. This is a useful practice which repeatedly increases the effectiveness of teaching science because the teacher has a place where you can share your own materials, use materials from other colleagues, and receive links to free sites with verified information that may be used in the preparation of their own teaching materials.
The portal helps teachers to keep up with new methods of teaching (eg constructivist approach using ICT, etc.) As the exchange of materials between teachers across the country aims to ensure that all training is at a good, advanced level. The portal has a section for a review of recent developments in science, where the teachers have to see them, and tell their pupils. This enables the use of scientific knowledge in school education in chemistry. The use of ICT in the learning process in this case is indirect - through the portal, where multimedia presentations, photos and materials needed for teaching using ICT can be found. I wish in we had such a portal in Bulgaria too.

Date: 2014.04.01

Posted by Milena Kirova (Bulgaria)

Message: This paper presents an interesting practice for training of science teachers. It investigates the impact of specially designed course for teachers aimed at using research centers and museums to improve student learning in an informal context. Scientific literacy and its development at school age can be achieved in both formal and informal contexts. In relation to this a training course for teachers and opportunities for targeted implementation of science education in specialized research centers have an additional opportunity to increase students\' interest in chemistry. Relying on the training course descriptions chemistry teachers can carry out more effective visits to informal learning centers. This is an approach that does not involve the direct use of ICT, but this approach implies learning activities outside school, which would increase students\' interest and connecting studied scientific knowledge to practice - by visiting scientific centers and exhibitions with specific goals and activities students can more easily grasp the relationship between scientific and technological practice and school science and chemical education.
Online surveys are used in this study - this practice is suitable for a survey of students especially in terms of their views, opinions, self-assessment of their work in chemistry etc. Through online surveys students feel more independent in their responses and thus the reliability of the survey increases.
This post is very useful for me as a teacher of pre-service chemistry teachers - I can use the approaches described in the work with chemistry teachers and directing them to informal teaching activities as a means of increasing motivation and interest in chemical science.

Date: 2014.03.27

Posted by Kalachanis Vasileios (Greece)

Message: To start with, this publication is interesting because it deals with elementary school teachers and students and it is less often that one finds research done in relation with this educational level.
The publication refers to the possibilities of implementing successful strategies for teaching science related issues via organized visits in science museums. The publication does not refer to chemistry teaching per se, but to science in general.
The Introduction and Discussion parts of the publication are very well written and provide a concise and very useful overview of the field of non-formal education and its large potential in empowering science education and science learning and at the same time teaching young students to work collaboratively, to learn via experience and to engage in a lifelong learning process.
The main core of the publication aims at evaluating a teacher training course for rendering elementary school teachers capable of implementing successful teaching strategies during a museum visit. From this point of view, the success of the teaching approach (ie of the visit to a museum center) is not monitored directly, it is only inferred. Actually, the short description of an actual visit to a science center provides an example of a rather not so successful teaching experience.
However, it is important that the authors take these data into account in order to make very useful suggestions on how the teacher training course should be improved in order to “produce” teachers who are able to successfully use the unique learning environment of a science museum in order to increase students’ motivation to learn chemistry (and science in general).

Date: 2014.03.26

Posted by Mairead Glynn (Ireland)

Message: This publication details a study of the impacts of a science teacher course designed and implemented in a non-formal learning environment e.g. a science museum. The aim of the course designed was to empower teachers to master museum resources exploration in an effort to close the gap between schools and non-formal institutions. The course consisted of four 4 hour modules under the following headings; Formal and non-formal learning environments, How to organise a school visit, During the school visit and Evaluation of the school visit.
The data was collected via 38 surveys, direct observation of tutorial sessions and school visits organised and implemented by 7 out of 38 participating teachers.
The main aim of the course was achieved as the teachers reported feeling more capable and more willing to organise school visits to a science centre. However the study did highlight some weaknesses of the course. The design of the questionnaire developed by the teachers during the course was the main weakness of the experience. The questionnaires required lower cognitive answers form the students, an information finding exercise. It was reported that the pupils did not understand the purpose of the worksheet and the experience of failure in not understanding the purpose of the worksheet demotivated the students.
The author reflects on the importance of providing students with open-ended tasks for the students in order to encourage reflection, observation and discussion.
The publication is useful in highlighting the advantages of a teacher taking a more active role before and during a science trip. However one of the main reasons given by science teachers for undertaking such a course, that was the object of this study, was that it provided professional credits. These credits were described as important for a teacher’s professional progression in Lisbon. The same incentive would not apply in Ireland and therefore a high take up in such a course may prove more difficult in Ireland.