Jaume Ametller | Universitat de Girona (original) (raw)

Papers by Jaume Ametller

Research paper thumbnail of Factors Shaping the Uptake of ICT in Science Classrooms. A Study of a Large-Scale Introduction of Interactive Whiteboards and Computers

International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education, Jan 9, 2019

This paper characterizes how science teachers use technology in secondary school lessons, with a ... more This paper characterizes how science teachers use technology in secondary school lessons, with a special focus on Interactive Whiteboards (IWBs), laptops and Digital Textbooks (DTs). This study also analyses how previous professional development or training may influence the way in which teachers use technology in their subsequent practice, as well as some possible relations with their perceptions. A total of 94 teachers from 69 secondary schools in Catalonia (Spain) were surveyed. Responses were collected and analysed combining quantitative and qualitative methods. Participants' answers reveal the predominance of the use of IWBs and teachers' computers, with scarce variety of uses, mostly aimed at supporting teacher-centred practices. Students' participation in the use of these devices was low, calling into question the possible educational changes in science education. Although most teachers' training in the use of technology seems to have caused little impact on their subsequent practices, some less frequent training approaches, such as training based on real examples, seems more effective in terms of changing teachers' utilization of technology. From the perspective of science education, ICT offers a much wider range of benefits for improving teaching and learning: they can easily display abstract scientific ideas through images, graphs, animations, simulations, etc.; represent natural events that occur very fast/slowly or on a very big/small scale; summarise experimental results or ideas to identify patterns or draw conclusions. All these affordances can help students to better express their previous ideas about natural phenomena, to design experiments, establishing connections between scientific concepts or drawing conclusions about certain experimental results, among

Research paper thumbnail of Didáctica de la física y la química

Enseñanza de las ciencias: revista de investigación y experiencias didácticas, 2011

En este volumen se analizan las relaciones entre el conocimiento cientifico, la ciencia escolar y... more En este volumen se analizan las relaciones entre el conocimiento cientifico, la ciencia escolar y la ensenanza de las ciencias; la relacion entre la competencia cientifica y la competencia profesional; los diferentes enfoques para la elaboracion, la experimentacion y la evaluacion de secuencias didacticas; los diferentes significados del termino "modelo" y los diferentes modelos curriculares, modelos de ensenanza y modelos escolares que se utilizan; el concepto de ensenanza dialogica aplicado a la ensenanza de las ciencias; la construccion del conocimiento basada en el uso, la evaluacion y la revision de modelos dentro del aula; los trabajos practicos experimentales, tales como las experiencias y los trabajos de caracter indagativo; los diferentes objetivos de las aplicaciones didacticas basadas en las tecnologias de la informacion y la comunicacion; y la evaluacion entendida como proceso formativo. Temas centrales: Conocimiento cientifico, ciencia escolar y ensenanza de las ciencias en la ESO. Competencia cientifica y competencia profesional en la ensenanza de las ciencias. Las secuencias didacticas en la ensenanza y el aprendizaje de las ciencias: modelos para su diseno y validacion. Las concepciones de modelo de los alumnos, la construccion de modelos y el aprendizaje de las ciencias. La ensenanza dialogica en la construccion del conocimiento fisico y quimico. Argumentacion y uso de pruebas: construccion, evaluacion y comunicacion de explicaciones en Fisica y Quimica. Los trabajos practicos en Fisica y Quimica: interpretar e investigar. Las tecnologias digitales en la ensenanza de la Fisica y de la Quimica. Evaluar para aprender, evaluar para calificar

Research paper thumbnail of Students' difficulties in reading images. Comparing results from four national research groups

International Journal of Science Education, Mar 1, 2002

The four research studies from different European partner countries reported in this Special Issu... more The four research studies from different European partner countries reported in this Special Issue have some common results. They study the difficulties encountered by students when reading images, but each research deals with distinctive kinds of images (see table 1). Over and above this diversity of images, arising from the different interests of the participating teams, the research has much in common.

Research paper thumbnail of Students' reading of innovative images of energy at secondary school level

International Journal of Science Education, Mar 1, 2002

Science textbooks contain a great number and diversity of images that can help students to constr... more Science textbooks contain a great number and diversity of images that can help students to construct concepts and can, consequently, be interesting tools for science teachers. Students may encounter difficulties in understanding images and it is important to analyse how different features of the images affect the comprehension of the message transmitted by the images. This paper focuses on images of energy that may help to construct key concepts. Documents containing images evoking ideas that are seldom visually explained ...

Research paper thumbnail of La utilización del aula digital en las clases de ciencias de secundaria

Alambique: Didáctica de las ciencias experimentales, 2013

ABSTRACT El artículo examina los recursos digitales que usa el profesorado y describe los patrone... more ABSTRACT El artículo examina los recursos digitales que usa el profesorado y describe los patrones de uso identificados más frecuentemente en la Pizarra Digital Interactiva, los ordenadores tipo Netbook y los libros digitales. Todo ello, a partir del análisis de las respuestas a una encuesta dirigida al profesorado de ciencias de secundaria de los centros que participan den el proyecto EduCAT2.0 (N=154). El análisis de las respuestas del cuestionario revela un nivel bajo en el uso de estas herramientas, las cuales parece que mas bien son usadas para reforzar procedimientos centrados en el docente y la materia.

Research paper thumbnail of Hacia un modelo de conexión entre la teoría y la práctica en el aula para el diseño y la evaluación de la enseñanza de las ciencias

Una de las cuestiones mas debatidas en el campo de la ensenanza de las ciencias es la conexion en... more Una de las cuestiones mas debatidas en el campo de la ensenanza de las ciencias es la conexion entre el conocimiento generado por la investigacion y la mejora de la practica docente el aula. La presente aportacion propone la utilizacion de un modelo para el diseno y la evaluacion de ensenanza de las ciencias que pone enfasis en explicitar que conocimientos se utilizan en el diseno y como se articulan en la toma de decisiones sobre aspectos especificos de la ensenanza de contenidos concretos. El objetivo principal es mejorar la comunicacion de estos aspectos en el seno de la comunidad de investigadores. La aportacion presenta la utilizacion de este modelo en dos tareas complementarias: el diseno de material didactico para clases de ciencias en Inglaterra y la evaluacion del uso de dicho material en el aula.

Research paper thumbnail of Éducation et didactique vol 3- n°2  (Juin 2009)

The relationship of theory and practice in designing, implementing and evaluating teaching sequen... more The relationship of theory and practice in designing, implementing and evaluating teaching sequences: learning from examples that don’t work Avertissement Le contenu de ce site relève de la législation française sur la propriété intellectuelle et est la propriété exclusive de l'éditeur. Les œuvres figurant sur ce site peuvent être consultées et reproduites sur un support papier ou numérique sous réserve qu'elles soient strictement réservées à un usage soit personnel, soit scientifique ou pédagogique excluant toute exploitation commerciale. La reproduction devra obligatoirement mentionner l'éditeur, le nom de la revue, l'auteur et la référence du document. Toute autre reproduction est interdite sauf accord préalable de l'éditeur, en dehors des cas prévus par la législation en vigueur en France. Revues.org est un portail de revues en sciences humaines et sociales développé par le Cléo, Centre pour l'édition électronique ouverte (CNRS, EHESS, UP, UAPV).

Research paper thumbnail of Girona’s Chemical Itinerary: 14 Years and a Pandemic

INTED proceedings, Mar 1, 2022

Research paper thumbnail of Implementing and evaluating teaching interventions: Towards research evidence-based practice?

Improving Subject Teaching, 2006

Research paper thumbnail of Ting and evalua Ting T eaching sequences: l earning from examples that don't work

This paper is about the process of designing and evaluating teaching sequences. It presents a fra... more This paper is about the process of designing and evaluating teaching sequences. It presents a framework to inform the design and evaluation of science teaching (Ametller, Leach and Scott, 2007); the use of the framework is illustrated through discussion of examples. Three short teaching sequences (around 5 hours) are used to exemplify the use of the framework in the design and evaluation of teaching. Each teaching sequence was developed to address conceptual content in the lower secondary school (age 11-13). The sequences addressed Electricity, Plant Nutrition, and Modelling (Physical and Chemical) Change. Each sequence was implemented by at least three teachers. Students' learning was evaluated using diagnostic questions for conceptual understanding, and compared with that of similar students following the school's usual teaching approach. Data about the implementation of the teaching were collected through video recording, and teachers were interviewed before and after imp...

Research paper thumbnail of Pedagogical link-making with digital technology in science classrooms

The Routledge International Handbook of Research on Dialogic Education, 2019

Research paper thumbnail of Una propuesta de diseño, evaluación y rediseño de secuencias de enseñanza-aprendizaje en Física introductoria

Universitas Tarraconensis. Revista de Ciències de l'Educació, 2019

En este artículo presentamos una propuesta de diseño y evaluación de Secuencias de Enseñanza-Apre... more En este artículo presentamos una propuesta de diseño y evaluación de Secuencias de Enseñanza-Aprendizaje (SEA) para secundaria y Universidad. Se tienen en cuenta aportaciones relevantes en el diseño de secuencias de enseñanza fundamentadas en la metodología de Investigación Basada en el Diseño y discutiremos cómo las SEAs, diseñadas según nuestra propuesta, se relacionan con la progresión de los estudiantes en el aprendizaje. Se presenta una metodología iterativa que permite evaluar y rediseñar SEAs. La estrategia de evaluación propuesta se centra en tres aspectos: a) evaluación de las actividades de la SEA; b) evaluación del aprendizaje alcanzado por los estudiantes en relación con los objetivos planteados y c) un documento que permita recopilar las dificultades identificadas al implementar la SEA que sirva de guía para los profesores. La discusión de esta guía con profesores externos proporciona comentarios que sirven para el rediseño de la SEA. El contexto de nuestra implementación y evaluación es un innovador curso de física para estudiantes de primer año de ingeniería en la Universidad del País Vasco (UPV-EHU).

Research paper thumbnail of Evaluating and redesigning teaching learning sequences at the introductory physics level

Physical Review Physics Education Research, 2017

In this paper we put forward a proposal for the design and evaluation of teaching and learning se... more In this paper we put forward a proposal for the design and evaluation of teaching and learning sequences in upper secondary school and university. We will connect our proposal with relevant contributions on the design of teaching sequences, ground it on the design-based research methodology, and discuss how teaching and learning sequences designed according to our proposal relate to learning progressions. An iterative methodology for evaluating and redesigning the teaching and learning sequence (TLS) is presented. The proposed assessment strategy focuses on three aspects: (a) evaluation of the activities of the TLS, (b) evaluation of learning achieved by students in relation to the intended objectives, and (c) a document for gathering the difficulties found when implementing the TLS to serve as a guide to teachers. Discussion of this guide with external teachers provides feedback used for the TLS redesign. The context of our implementation and evaluation is an innovative calculus-based physics course for first-year engineering and science degree students at the University of the Basque Country.

Research paper thumbnail of The Impact of Science Curriculum Content on Students’ Subject Choices in Post-compulsory Schooling

Understanding Student Participation and Choice in Science and Technology Education, 2014

Research paper thumbnail of The relationship of theory and practice in designing, implementing and evaluating teaching sequences: learning from examples that don’t work

Éducation et didactique, 2009

This paper is about the process of designing and evaluating teaching sequences. It presents a fra... more This paper is about the process of designing and evaluating teaching sequences. It presents a framework to inform the design and evaluation of science teaching (Ametller, Leach and Scott, 2007); the use of the framework is illustrated through discussion of examples. Three short teaching sequences (around 5 hours) are used to exemplify the use of the framework in the design and evaluation of teaching. Each teaching sequence was developed to address conceptual content in the lower secondary school (age 11-13). The sequences addressed Electricity, Plant Nutrition, and Modelling (Physical and Chemical) Change. Each sequence was implemented by at least three teachers. Students' learning was evaluated using diagnostic questions for conceptual understanding, and compared with that of similar students following the school' s usual teaching approach. Data about the implementation of the teaching were collected through video recording, and teachers were interviewed before and after implementation. The Modelling Change teaching sequence was the first to be developed. Students' performance, and teachers' reactions to this sequence, fell considerably short of our design intentions. Significant changes to the design approach were therefore made for the Electricity and Plant Nutrition sequences, which were very well received by teachers, and resulted in statistically significant learning gains by students (Leach et al., 2006). The Modelling Change sequence is therefore presented in more detail, to illustrate how the framework can inform judgements about the success or failure of attempts to design science teaching.

Research paper thumbnail of Teacher training materials favouring the take-up of innovations

Research paper thumbnail of Designing and Evaluating Short Science Teaching Sequences: Improving Student Learning

Research and the Quality of Science Education, 2005

This paper reports a study designed to provide evidence about the feasibility of designing short ... more This paper reports a study designed to provide evidence about the feasibility of designing short teaching sequences, based on insights from research and scholarship on teaching and learning science, which are measurably better at promoting conceptual understanding amongst students than the teaching approaches usually used by their schools. The research team worked in collaboration with a group of 9 teachers (3 biology, 3 chemistry, 3 physics) to design, implement, and evaluate 3 teaching sequences for use with students aged 11–15. ...

Research paper thumbnail of Pedagogical link‐making: a fundamental aspect of teaching and learning scientific conceptual knowledge

Studies in Science Education, 2011

This paper provides an introduction to the concept of pedagogical link‐making in the context of t... more This paper provides an introduction to the concept of pedagogical link‐making in the context of teaching and learning scientific conceptual knowledge. Pedagogical link‐making is concerned with the ways in which teachers and students make connections between ideas in the ongoing meaning‐making interactions of classroom teaching and learning. First of all we draw upon socio‐cultural perspectives to outline why we think that 'link‐making'is fundamental to science learning and consequently to science teaching and then we ...

Research paper thumbnail of The Generalizability of Students’ Interests in Biology Across Gender, Country and Religion

Research in Science Education, 2012

In order to bridge the existing gap between biology curricula and students' interests in biology,... more In order to bridge the existing gap between biology curricula and students' interests in biology, a strategy for identifying students' interest based on their questions and integrating them into the curriculum was developed. To characterize the level of generalizability of students' science interests over 600 high school students from Portugal, Turkey, England and Israel, who chose biology as an advanced subject, their interest level was ranked in 36 questions that were originally raised by Israeli students. Results indicate that students from four different countries show interest in similar science questions. The most intriguing questions were the ones that dealt with human health and new developments in reproduction and genetics. Religious affiliation had the strongest effect on students' interest level, followed by national affiliation and gender. The findings suggest that students' interest in one context is relevant to the development of interest-based learning materials in a different context. However, despite these similarities, cultural and sociological differences need to be taken into account.

Research paper thumbnail of Students' difficulties in reading images. Comparing results from four national research groups

International Journal of Science Education, 2002

The four research studies from different European partner countries reported in this Special Issu... more The four research studies from different European partner countries reported in this Special Issue have some common results. They study the difficulties encountered by students when reading images, but each research deals with distinctive kinds of images (see table 1). Over and above this diversity of images, arising from the different interests of the participating teams, the research has much in common.

Research paper thumbnail of Factors Shaping the Uptake of ICT in Science Classrooms. A Study of a Large-Scale Introduction of Interactive Whiteboards and Computers

International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education, Jan 9, 2019

This paper characterizes how science teachers use technology in secondary school lessons, with a ... more This paper characterizes how science teachers use technology in secondary school lessons, with a special focus on Interactive Whiteboards (IWBs), laptops and Digital Textbooks (DTs). This study also analyses how previous professional development or training may influence the way in which teachers use technology in their subsequent practice, as well as some possible relations with their perceptions. A total of 94 teachers from 69 secondary schools in Catalonia (Spain) were surveyed. Responses were collected and analysed combining quantitative and qualitative methods. Participants' answers reveal the predominance of the use of IWBs and teachers' computers, with scarce variety of uses, mostly aimed at supporting teacher-centred practices. Students' participation in the use of these devices was low, calling into question the possible educational changes in science education. Although most teachers' training in the use of technology seems to have caused little impact on their subsequent practices, some less frequent training approaches, such as training based on real examples, seems more effective in terms of changing teachers' utilization of technology. From the perspective of science education, ICT offers a much wider range of benefits for improving teaching and learning: they can easily display abstract scientific ideas through images, graphs, animations, simulations, etc.; represent natural events that occur very fast/slowly or on a very big/small scale; summarise experimental results or ideas to identify patterns or draw conclusions. All these affordances can help students to better express their previous ideas about natural phenomena, to design experiments, establishing connections between scientific concepts or drawing conclusions about certain experimental results, among

Research paper thumbnail of Didáctica de la física y la química

Enseñanza de las ciencias: revista de investigación y experiencias didácticas, 2011

En este volumen se analizan las relaciones entre el conocimiento cientifico, la ciencia escolar y... more En este volumen se analizan las relaciones entre el conocimiento cientifico, la ciencia escolar y la ensenanza de las ciencias; la relacion entre la competencia cientifica y la competencia profesional; los diferentes enfoques para la elaboracion, la experimentacion y la evaluacion de secuencias didacticas; los diferentes significados del termino "modelo" y los diferentes modelos curriculares, modelos de ensenanza y modelos escolares que se utilizan; el concepto de ensenanza dialogica aplicado a la ensenanza de las ciencias; la construccion del conocimiento basada en el uso, la evaluacion y la revision de modelos dentro del aula; los trabajos practicos experimentales, tales como las experiencias y los trabajos de caracter indagativo; los diferentes objetivos de las aplicaciones didacticas basadas en las tecnologias de la informacion y la comunicacion; y la evaluacion entendida como proceso formativo. Temas centrales: Conocimiento cientifico, ciencia escolar y ensenanza de las ciencias en la ESO. Competencia cientifica y competencia profesional en la ensenanza de las ciencias. Las secuencias didacticas en la ensenanza y el aprendizaje de las ciencias: modelos para su diseno y validacion. Las concepciones de modelo de los alumnos, la construccion de modelos y el aprendizaje de las ciencias. La ensenanza dialogica en la construccion del conocimiento fisico y quimico. Argumentacion y uso de pruebas: construccion, evaluacion y comunicacion de explicaciones en Fisica y Quimica. Los trabajos practicos en Fisica y Quimica: interpretar e investigar. Las tecnologias digitales en la ensenanza de la Fisica y de la Quimica. Evaluar para aprender, evaluar para calificar

Research paper thumbnail of Students' difficulties in reading images. Comparing results from four national research groups

International Journal of Science Education, Mar 1, 2002

The four research studies from different European partner countries reported in this Special Issu... more The four research studies from different European partner countries reported in this Special Issue have some common results. They study the difficulties encountered by students when reading images, but each research deals with distinctive kinds of images (see table 1). Over and above this diversity of images, arising from the different interests of the participating teams, the research has much in common.

Research paper thumbnail of Students' reading of innovative images of energy at secondary school level

International Journal of Science Education, Mar 1, 2002

Science textbooks contain a great number and diversity of images that can help students to constr... more Science textbooks contain a great number and diversity of images that can help students to construct concepts and can, consequently, be interesting tools for science teachers. Students may encounter difficulties in understanding images and it is important to analyse how different features of the images affect the comprehension of the message transmitted by the images. This paper focuses on images of energy that may help to construct key concepts. Documents containing images evoking ideas that are seldom visually explained ...

Research paper thumbnail of La utilización del aula digital en las clases de ciencias de secundaria

Alambique: Didáctica de las ciencias experimentales, 2013

ABSTRACT El artículo examina los recursos digitales que usa el profesorado y describe los patrone... more ABSTRACT El artículo examina los recursos digitales que usa el profesorado y describe los patrones de uso identificados más frecuentemente en la Pizarra Digital Interactiva, los ordenadores tipo Netbook y los libros digitales. Todo ello, a partir del análisis de las respuestas a una encuesta dirigida al profesorado de ciencias de secundaria de los centros que participan den el proyecto EduCAT2.0 (N=154). El análisis de las respuestas del cuestionario revela un nivel bajo en el uso de estas herramientas, las cuales parece que mas bien son usadas para reforzar procedimientos centrados en el docente y la materia.

Research paper thumbnail of Hacia un modelo de conexión entre la teoría y la práctica en el aula para el diseño y la evaluación de la enseñanza de las ciencias

Una de las cuestiones mas debatidas en el campo de la ensenanza de las ciencias es la conexion en... more Una de las cuestiones mas debatidas en el campo de la ensenanza de las ciencias es la conexion entre el conocimiento generado por la investigacion y la mejora de la practica docente el aula. La presente aportacion propone la utilizacion de un modelo para el diseno y la evaluacion de ensenanza de las ciencias que pone enfasis en explicitar que conocimientos se utilizan en el diseno y como se articulan en la toma de decisiones sobre aspectos especificos de la ensenanza de contenidos concretos. El objetivo principal es mejorar la comunicacion de estos aspectos en el seno de la comunidad de investigadores. La aportacion presenta la utilizacion de este modelo en dos tareas complementarias: el diseno de material didactico para clases de ciencias en Inglaterra y la evaluacion del uso de dicho material en el aula.

Research paper thumbnail of Éducation et didactique vol 3- n°2  (Juin 2009)

The relationship of theory and practice in designing, implementing and evaluating teaching sequen... more The relationship of theory and practice in designing, implementing and evaluating teaching sequences: learning from examples that don’t work Avertissement Le contenu de ce site relève de la législation française sur la propriété intellectuelle et est la propriété exclusive de l'éditeur. Les œuvres figurant sur ce site peuvent être consultées et reproduites sur un support papier ou numérique sous réserve qu'elles soient strictement réservées à un usage soit personnel, soit scientifique ou pédagogique excluant toute exploitation commerciale. La reproduction devra obligatoirement mentionner l'éditeur, le nom de la revue, l'auteur et la référence du document. Toute autre reproduction est interdite sauf accord préalable de l'éditeur, en dehors des cas prévus par la législation en vigueur en France. Revues.org est un portail de revues en sciences humaines et sociales développé par le Cléo, Centre pour l'édition électronique ouverte (CNRS, EHESS, UP, UAPV).

Research paper thumbnail of Girona’s Chemical Itinerary: 14 Years and a Pandemic

INTED proceedings, Mar 1, 2022

Research paper thumbnail of Implementing and evaluating teaching interventions: Towards research evidence-based practice?

Improving Subject Teaching, 2006

Research paper thumbnail of Ting and evalua Ting T eaching sequences: l earning from examples that don't work

This paper is about the process of designing and evaluating teaching sequences. It presents a fra... more This paper is about the process of designing and evaluating teaching sequences. It presents a framework to inform the design and evaluation of science teaching (Ametller, Leach and Scott, 2007); the use of the framework is illustrated through discussion of examples. Three short teaching sequences (around 5 hours) are used to exemplify the use of the framework in the design and evaluation of teaching. Each teaching sequence was developed to address conceptual content in the lower secondary school (age 11-13). The sequences addressed Electricity, Plant Nutrition, and Modelling (Physical and Chemical) Change. Each sequence was implemented by at least three teachers. Students' learning was evaluated using diagnostic questions for conceptual understanding, and compared with that of similar students following the school's usual teaching approach. Data about the implementation of the teaching were collected through video recording, and teachers were interviewed before and after imp...

Research paper thumbnail of Pedagogical link-making with digital technology in science classrooms

The Routledge International Handbook of Research on Dialogic Education, 2019

Research paper thumbnail of Una propuesta de diseño, evaluación y rediseño de secuencias de enseñanza-aprendizaje en Física introductoria

Universitas Tarraconensis. Revista de Ciències de l'Educació, 2019

En este artículo presentamos una propuesta de diseño y evaluación de Secuencias de Enseñanza-Apre... more En este artículo presentamos una propuesta de diseño y evaluación de Secuencias de Enseñanza-Aprendizaje (SEA) para secundaria y Universidad. Se tienen en cuenta aportaciones relevantes en el diseño de secuencias de enseñanza fundamentadas en la metodología de Investigación Basada en el Diseño y discutiremos cómo las SEAs, diseñadas según nuestra propuesta, se relacionan con la progresión de los estudiantes en el aprendizaje. Se presenta una metodología iterativa que permite evaluar y rediseñar SEAs. La estrategia de evaluación propuesta se centra en tres aspectos: a) evaluación de las actividades de la SEA; b) evaluación del aprendizaje alcanzado por los estudiantes en relación con los objetivos planteados y c) un documento que permita recopilar las dificultades identificadas al implementar la SEA que sirva de guía para los profesores. La discusión de esta guía con profesores externos proporciona comentarios que sirven para el rediseño de la SEA. El contexto de nuestra implementación y evaluación es un innovador curso de física para estudiantes de primer año de ingeniería en la Universidad del País Vasco (UPV-EHU).

Research paper thumbnail of Evaluating and redesigning teaching learning sequences at the introductory physics level

Physical Review Physics Education Research, 2017

In this paper we put forward a proposal for the design and evaluation of teaching and learning se... more In this paper we put forward a proposal for the design and evaluation of teaching and learning sequences in upper secondary school and university. We will connect our proposal with relevant contributions on the design of teaching sequences, ground it on the design-based research methodology, and discuss how teaching and learning sequences designed according to our proposal relate to learning progressions. An iterative methodology for evaluating and redesigning the teaching and learning sequence (TLS) is presented. The proposed assessment strategy focuses on three aspects: (a) evaluation of the activities of the TLS, (b) evaluation of learning achieved by students in relation to the intended objectives, and (c) a document for gathering the difficulties found when implementing the TLS to serve as a guide to teachers. Discussion of this guide with external teachers provides feedback used for the TLS redesign. The context of our implementation and evaluation is an innovative calculus-based physics course for first-year engineering and science degree students at the University of the Basque Country.

Research paper thumbnail of The Impact of Science Curriculum Content on Students’ Subject Choices in Post-compulsory Schooling

Understanding Student Participation and Choice in Science and Technology Education, 2014

Research paper thumbnail of The relationship of theory and practice in designing, implementing and evaluating teaching sequences: learning from examples that don’t work

Éducation et didactique, 2009

This paper is about the process of designing and evaluating teaching sequences. It presents a fra... more This paper is about the process of designing and evaluating teaching sequences. It presents a framework to inform the design and evaluation of science teaching (Ametller, Leach and Scott, 2007); the use of the framework is illustrated through discussion of examples. Three short teaching sequences (around 5 hours) are used to exemplify the use of the framework in the design and evaluation of teaching. Each teaching sequence was developed to address conceptual content in the lower secondary school (age 11-13). The sequences addressed Electricity, Plant Nutrition, and Modelling (Physical and Chemical) Change. Each sequence was implemented by at least three teachers. Students' learning was evaluated using diagnostic questions for conceptual understanding, and compared with that of similar students following the school' s usual teaching approach. Data about the implementation of the teaching were collected through video recording, and teachers were interviewed before and after implementation. The Modelling Change teaching sequence was the first to be developed. Students' performance, and teachers' reactions to this sequence, fell considerably short of our design intentions. Significant changes to the design approach were therefore made for the Electricity and Plant Nutrition sequences, which were very well received by teachers, and resulted in statistically significant learning gains by students (Leach et al., 2006). The Modelling Change sequence is therefore presented in more detail, to illustrate how the framework can inform judgements about the success or failure of attempts to design science teaching.

Research paper thumbnail of Teacher training materials favouring the take-up of innovations

Research paper thumbnail of Designing and Evaluating Short Science Teaching Sequences: Improving Student Learning

Research and the Quality of Science Education, 2005

This paper reports a study designed to provide evidence about the feasibility of designing short ... more This paper reports a study designed to provide evidence about the feasibility of designing short teaching sequences, based on insights from research and scholarship on teaching and learning science, which are measurably better at promoting conceptual understanding amongst students than the teaching approaches usually used by their schools. The research team worked in collaboration with a group of 9 teachers (3 biology, 3 chemistry, 3 physics) to design, implement, and evaluate 3 teaching sequences for use with students aged 11–15. ...

Research paper thumbnail of Pedagogical link‐making: a fundamental aspect of teaching and learning scientific conceptual knowledge

Studies in Science Education, 2011

This paper provides an introduction to the concept of pedagogical link‐making in the context of t... more This paper provides an introduction to the concept of pedagogical link‐making in the context of teaching and learning scientific conceptual knowledge. Pedagogical link‐making is concerned with the ways in which teachers and students make connections between ideas in the ongoing meaning‐making interactions of classroom teaching and learning. First of all we draw upon socio‐cultural perspectives to outline why we think that 'link‐making'is fundamental to science learning and consequently to science teaching and then we ...

Research paper thumbnail of The Generalizability of Students’ Interests in Biology Across Gender, Country and Religion

Research in Science Education, 2012

In order to bridge the existing gap between biology curricula and students' interests in biology,... more In order to bridge the existing gap between biology curricula and students' interests in biology, a strategy for identifying students' interest based on their questions and integrating them into the curriculum was developed. To characterize the level of generalizability of students' science interests over 600 high school students from Portugal, Turkey, England and Israel, who chose biology as an advanced subject, their interest level was ranked in 36 questions that were originally raised by Israeli students. Results indicate that students from four different countries show interest in similar science questions. The most intriguing questions were the ones that dealt with human health and new developments in reproduction and genetics. Religious affiliation had the strongest effect on students' interest level, followed by national affiliation and gender. The findings suggest that students' interest in one context is relevant to the development of interest-based learning materials in a different context. However, despite these similarities, cultural and sociological differences need to be taken into account.

Research paper thumbnail of Students' difficulties in reading images. Comparing results from four national research groups

International Journal of Science Education, 2002

The four research studies from different European partner countries reported in this Special Issu... more The four research studies from different European partner countries reported in this Special Issue have some common results. They study the difficulties encountered by students when reading images, but each research deals with distinctive kinds of images (see table 1). Over and above this diversity of images, arising from the different interests of the participating teams, the research has much in common.

Research paper thumbnail of Pedagogical link-making with digital technology in science classrooms

The Routledge International Handbook of Research on Dialogic Education, 2019

Research paper thumbnail of The impact of science curriculum content on students’ subject choices in post-compulsory schooling

Understanding student participation and choice in science and technology education, 2015

-compulsory W at a point in time. This process is influenced by a range of sociodeveloping sense ... more -compulsory W at a point in time. This process is influenced by a range of sociodeveloping sense of agency and identity. Using a combination of questionnaires and individual narrative interviews we examine how high school students (aged 16-18 years) in two schools in England reflect on the process of their subject choices. A distinctive feature of this study is that in these schools students are following a science course with a strong focus on socio-scientific issues and the nature of science, taught by teachers with a commitment and enthusiasm for such teaching. Consistent with previous studies, these students refer to a broad range of influences including perceptions of potential future careers, and school-related influences such as subject attainment, teacher quality, and enjoyment of the subject. Science curriculum content features as one influence T scientific issues and the nature of science appears to encourage many students to consider pursuing science, but such choices need to align with other factors such as attainment and career aspiration. However, some students are ambivalent about, and in some cases dismissive of, such teaching. A minority of students in our sample talk of an early commitment to a science route through schooling. However, for other students, their reflections on the process of course choice are characterized by ongoing uncertainty and indecision.

Research paper thumbnail of Teaching and learning disciplinary knowledge: Developing the dialogic space for an answer when there isn't even a question

Educational Dialogues: Understanding and promoting productive interaction, 2010

Research paper thumbnail of Establishing and communicating knowledge about teaching and learning scientific content: The role of design briefs

Designing Theory-Based Teaching-Learning Sequences for Science Education, 2009

How can knowledge about the teaching of specific scientific content, at a fine grain size, be est... more How can knowledge about the teaching of specific scientific content, at a fine grain size, be established and communicated? This is perhaps the central theme in Piet Lijnse's work. The focus of this paper is primarily methodological and conceptual. Its central premise is that much remains to be done to establish a reliable and agreed body of knowledge about the teaching of specific scientific content in such a way that students' understanding is maximised. The paper begins by presenting different strands of research on the teaching of specific scientific content in order to promote learners' understanding. Drawing on examples from design-based research and learning sciences research in North America, and European didactics research, we show how claims from such research are normally in terms of features of the learning environments at a large grain size, rather than in terms of features of specific content. The example of design briefs is then presented and exemplified, to illustrate one approach to establishing and communicating knowledge about the teaching of specific scientific content. The paper concludes with a discussion about how research on the design of science teaching can become more cumulative, enabling researchers and designers to draw explicitly upon findings from each other's work.

Research paper thumbnail of Designing and evaluating short science teaching sequences: improving student learning

Research and the quality of science education, 2005

This paper reports a study designed to provide evidence about the feasibility of designing short ... more This paper reports a study designed to provide evidence about the feasibility of designing short teaching sequences, based on insights from research and scholarship on teaching and learning science, which are measurably better at promoting conceptual understanding amongst students than the teaching approaches usually used by their schools. The research team worked in collaboration with a group of 9 teachers (3 biology, 3 chemistry, 3 physics) to design, implement, and evaluate 3 teaching sequences for use with students aged 11-15. The physics and biology teaching sequences were also implemented by other teachers (11 and 5 respectively) not involved in their design. Teachers implemented the physics and biology teaching sequences in ways broadly consistent with the planned approach. In all cases where a valid comparison can be made, students' responses to diagnostic questions requiring the use of conceptual models to construct explanations were significantly better following the designed teaching sequences, than the responses of comparable students following the school's usual teaching approach. The significance of these findings for research in science education, and for policy and practice relating to science teaching, are discussed.