Amanda Woods-McConney

In science education, and STEM more generally, inquiry based teaching and learning has been a dominant pedagogical approach, particularly in Western countries, for at least half a century (e.g., Furtak, Seidel, Iverson, & Briggs, 2012; Minner, Levy, & Century, 2010). In Europe, inquiry-based teaching has become part of science education orthodoxy, receiving policy support and funding from the EU following the Rocard report (2007) recommendation that “the introduction of inquiry-based approaches in schools ... should be actively promoted” (p. 17). Recently, however, the availability of large-scale, high-quality international assessment data in science and mathematics—like Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)—has allowed scaled-up analysis of associations between various pedagogical approaches, and students’ achievement and engagement in science (e.g., Areepattamannil, 2012; Kang & Keinonen, 2017; McConney, Oliver, Woods-McConney, Schibeci, & Maor, 2014). In this study, we report research that builds on previous investigations of inquiry-based teaching in science that used PISA 2006 (McConney, et al., 2014). Our previous study found that in Australia, Canada and New Zealand, students who reported high levels of inquiry also showed above-average levels of interest in science, but below-average levels of science literacy. We also found the corollary to be true. These findings ran counter to orthodox views about the efficacy of inquiry-based teaching in science. In the current study, using PISA 2015, we extend our analysis of teaching and learning in science to six countries, and ask two research questions: RQ1: To what extent is the variability observed in science literacy (as measured in PISA 2015) associated with the frequencies of three distinct approaches to teaching science, reported by students from their science classrooms? To what extent does this vary by country and/or gender? RQ2: To what extent is the variability in students’ interest in science associated with the frequencies of three distinct approaches to teaching science, as reported by students? To what extent does this vary by country and/or gender? Consistent with the primary analysis of PISA 2015 as well as our previous analysis of PISA 2006, this study shows that the frequency of inquiry-based teaching is negatively associated with students’ science literacy. For students in six countries (Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK and the USA), the more frequently students experienced inquiry-based activities, the weaker their literacy in science, on average. This negative relationship between science literacy and inquiry-based activities was strongest for students in the USA and Canada, but was also evident to varying degrees in all six countries. In contrast, our analysis also revealed a moderately strong positive association between inquiry and students’ interest in science. This was consistent for all six countries. With increasing focus on effective, evidence-informed practice in teacher education, our obligation is to prepare teachers based on the strongest research available regarding the efficacy of various pedagogical approaches in science. At a minimum, the findings reported in this analysis demand examination and discussion of how “inquiry” might be best conceived and applied in helping students to learn and like science.

Despite decades of sustained national focus in several countries (e.g., Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK, and USA) recent trends in students’ course-taking and career choices suggest proportionally fewer students pursuing STEM-related study. Consequently, to address this trend, it is important to better understand factors currently related to students’ engagement, literacy and attainment in STEM subjects and vocations. Our own recent research has examined students’ science literacy and engagement in association with formal (school-based) and informal (outside of school, home-related) factors, using retrospective analysis of Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) data. In this study we purposefully recruited several female students enrolled in late-secondary school Physics. This selection meant that all participants were engaged in school science and likely to be considering post-secondary study in STEM, and possibly STEM-related careers. Our purpose was to hear from this select group of female science students, their stories of influences in the development of their engagement and literacy in science. In particular, we were interested in juxtaposing their stories against the explanatory regression models we had previously developed. In this way, our purpose was to test the nomothetic explanations previously offered using idiographic stories of factors related to the engagement of girls in science.

While extensive research is available on students' help-seeking and teachers' help-giving behaviour in teacher-centred classroom as well as self-directed learning environments, not much is yet known regarding help-seeking in group-learning-situations. Consequently, there is a lack of studies that have systematically investigated teachers' beliefs and behaviour regarding help-seeking in group-learning-situations. This study investigated primary school teachers' self-reports of their help-giving behaviour in small group settings. Specifically, this study examined what help-seeking strategies teachers usually encourage in group-learning-settings, how they respond to specific student requests for help, and their self-described role in a group-learning situation. Survey In a questionnaire with open-ended questions teachers were asked to respond to a hypothetical situation in which a class of 24 students is organized into groups. Three main areas of questions were included with reference to help-giving strategies typically used in group-learning-situations, responses to students help-seeking, and the teacher's role in group-learning-situations. Sample 83 science teachers from 47 primary schools in Western Australia. Results and Discussion Half of the teachers promoted student help-seeking, while the other half preferred their students to stay within their groups to sort out their problems. However, the help-seeking behaviour teachers encourage is not what they retain when students actually ask for help. All teachers, regardless of whether they encouraged or discouraged help-seeking, reported that they helped their students if they actually ask for help. The reasons reported for encouraging or discouraging help-seeking were manifold and ranged from the development of students' self-directedness, collaboration and problem solving skills to issues of classroom management. Interestingly, the reasons for the implementation of one of these two strategies are similar. This similarity of reasons for teachers' decision to encourage or discourage help-seeking might reflect the contradicting message teachers could be getting from the literature or teacher education on why to use and how to implement group work. This may be an explanation for their inconsistent behavior. On the one hand, teachers want to give their students room to develop self-direction. On the other hand, learning processes also rely on teachers who help students when they get stuck. The artistry of effective teaching is met when teachers provide students with an environment in which students know that they may ask the teacher for help but learn to recognize and identify situations when they really need help.

Mobile learning is not pervasive in higher education and yet its potential is enormous. This paper describes a project to instigate mobile learning in a School of Education using a whole-of-school approach to technological literacy and professional learning among academic staff. The project involves supporting every academic in the School to use an iPhone or iPodTouch in their professional lives, and to research their use of the device in pedagogical contexts. The paper describes the planning process together with the professional development initiatives to be implemented and issues associated with the acquisition and use of mobile phones in professional contexts.

In this research we describe and discuss a path analysis of an hypothesized model of environmental behavior. In formulating the model, we used variables that had previously been empirically linked to environmental behavior (e.g., knowledge of issues, attitudes) but also included others that had not been assessed in the context of a model explaining environmental behavior (e.g., gender, ethnic affinity, age). Our findings support hypothesized direct influences on environmental behavior of knowledge and skill in environmental action, the opinions of others, fear of environmental catastrophe, environmental sensitivity, locus of control with regard to environmental problem solving, and environmental attitudes. Further analyses demonstrated the chief influence of knowledge and skill in environmental action, the opinions of others, and fear. We discuss the importance of these findings for building the knowledge base undergirding program and curriculum development efforts in environmental education.