Teaching Scientific Literacy Through a Science Technology and Society Course: Prospective Elementary Science Teachers' Case (original) (raw)
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Determination of science literacy levels of the classroom teachers (A case of Muğla city in Turkey)
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2009
An information society in 21 st century demands individuals with science and technology literacy and shapes the vision of science teaching. The problem statement of the study is "What are the science literacy scores of the classroom teachers working at the first level of primary schools?" "Science Literacy Test" developed by Bacanak (2002) was used to collect data. The mean score obtained from science and technology literacy test by the teachers is 41. The highest score was obtained by the teachers at the 25-30 age group. The classroom teachers who have got information about science literacy have high scores. When the results concerning whether the participants are following science and technology-related publishing were taken into account, it was found that high majority of them stated that they follow either rarely or partially.
[PDF]Turkish pre-service elementary science teachers' scientific
2013
In order to educate elementary students scientifically literate as expected in the science curricula in many countries around the world, science teachers need to be equipped with the diverse aspects of scientific literacy. This study investigates whether pre-service elementary science teachers at universities in Turkey have a satisfactory level of scientific literacy, and how the level of scientific literacy is affected by different variables, such as attitude toward science, gender, year in university, and education level of parents. The domains of scientific literacy for this study are scientific content knowledge (SCK), nature of science (NOS), and the nature of technology (NOT). The data were collected with the Test of Basic Scientific Literacy (TBSL) and the Scientific Attitude Inventory (SAI-II). The sample consisted of 667 first-year and 405 fourth year pre-service teachers from 10 education faculties in all regional areas in Turkey. The results indicated that pre-service teachers have adequate levels of scientific literacy regardless their gender and year in university. The comparisons illustrated that female students score higher than males, and 4th year students score higher than 1st year students in the TBSL.
Science Education International, 2013
In order to educate elementary students scientifically literate as expected in the science curricula in many countries around the world, science teachers need to be equipped with the diverse aspects of scientific literacy. This study investigates whether pre-service elementary science teachers at universities in Turkey have a satisfactory level of scientific literacy, and how the level of scientific literacy is affected by different variables, such as attitude toward science, gender, year in university, and education level of parents. The domains of scientific literacy for this study are scientific content knowledge (SCK), nature of science (NOS), and the nature of technology (NOT). The data were collected with the Test of Basic Scientific Literacy (TBSL) and the Scientific Attitude Inventory (SAI-II). The sample consisted of 667 first-year and 405 fourth year pre-service teachers from 10 education faculties in all regional areas in Turkey. The results indicated that pre-service teachers have adequate levels of scientific literacy regardless their gender and year in university. The comparisons illustrated that female students score higher than males, and 4th year students score higher than 1st year students in the TBSL.
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2011
The term "scientific literacy" has become a dominant educational slogan and a major goal for science education in many countries over the past two decades. Although a scientifically literate society is an ultimate goal of science education in Turkey, as well as in other countries, there is not much information on scientific literacy levels even for people who deal with science first-hand. Whether people who deal with science, such as scientists and science teachers, have adequate levels of scientific literacy is still open to investigation. This study aimed to examine scientific literacy levels of pre-service science teachers at different grade levels (different class, eg., first year Science Teacher Training Departments' students). One of the aims of this study is investigating effectuality of the education faculties about developing scientific literacy. The study examined whether there is a statistically meaningful difference among science literacy levels of pre-service science teachers at different grade levels. The data obtained from the study contributed to determine at what levels scientific literacy of pre-service teachers were. Furthermore, it provided to be observed how the education in the Faculty of Education had affected scientific literacy levels of pre-service teachers as well. So, it is thought to make contribution to understanding how Education Faculties could perform the mission for which they are responsible in providing these students as teachers of the future with scientific literacy being one of the features a good teacher needs to have.
Exploring Turkish Upper Primary Level Science Textbooks' Coverage of Scientific Literacy Themes
Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 2012
Problem Statement: Since the 1970s, scientific literacy has been a major goal of national educational systems throughout the world, and thus reform movements in science education call for all students to be scientifically literate. Despite some good curricular changes and developments across the globe, much remains to be achieved. Given that textbooks play a critical role in the teaching/learning process at all educational levels, their analysis is crucially important to support the recent science education reforms. Purpose of Study: In this study, the four upper primary level science textbooks were analyzed to determine the inclusion of four themes of scientific literacy: (a) science as a body of knowledge, (b) science as a way of investigating, (c) science as a way of thinking, and (d) the interaction among science, technology, and society (STS). Methods: The method used in this study was content analysis. Textbook analyses were conducted based on the procedures described by Chiapetta, Fillman and Sethna (1991a, revised 2004). The four science textbooks that were selected for content analysis were those approved by the Turkish Ministry of National Education (MEB) to be used in grades 4 and 5 for the 2011-2012 academic year. The content to be analyzed from the textbooks 20 percent of each textbook. Two raters independently coded each unit of kappa values, ranging from 0.61 to 0.79.
The purpose of this research is to identify the problems that teachers have experienced during the implementation of the science curriculum and their suggestions for solution to these problems. In the research, survey model has been used among the descriptive research methods in which quantitative and qualitative data have been used together. The sample of the research consists of science teachers (n=208) and classroom teachers who deliver science courses (n=104) in Manisa province. A questionnaire form and a semi-structured interview form developed by the researchers have been used as data collection tools. For quantitative data, percentage and frequency values have been analysed and for qualitative data, content analysis have been performed. As a result of the analyses the problems encountered in the implementation of the curriculum have been examined in three different categories namely; teacher-related problems, curriculum-related problems and other problems. According to the results of the questionnaire, most of the teachers think that they confront with problems because they do not see themselves sufficient in terms of designing/evaluating a project, designing an experiment and creating an activity. In terms of the program, the majority of teachers think that they encounter with problems as there is not enough information about the implementation of the inquiry-based learning approach and not enough examples and explanations for the learning outcomes. In addition, nearly half of the teachers’ state that they have problems with the use of alternative assessment tools and techniques in the program. Regarding other problems; the insufficient content of the course book, lack of materials, lack of adequate support from parents, and technological inadequacies are among the problems most of the teachers have experienced. Similarly, when the results of interviews have been examined; materials, laboratories, and the inadequacy of the course book are among the most frequently mentioned problems. When the survey results of teachers' suggestions for solution have been examined; putting more emphasis on teachers’ views in the process of curriculum development, revision of curricula of education faculties oriented to the changes in curriculum, preparation of flexible curricula according to students’ needs, improvement of technological infrastructure of schools and classes, preparation of guidebooks for teachers, raising the knowledge levels of parents about the instruction program, providing an in-service training for designing experiments/projects are among the most frequently selected recommendations from teachers. When the interview results have been examined, it has been seen that most of the suggestions are about increasing the number and quality of in-service trainings and increasing the quality of laboratory and material facilities and textbooks. Since the newly announced science curriculum will be gradually implemented as of 2017-2018 academic year, it is expected that the results of the study will contribute to the field in terms of the problems and solution suggestions for the current curriculum, the program development and update studies, the contents of in-service trainings and comparison of the curricula.
Journal of Turkish Science Education/2014, 11(1),3-23
2018
The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) approach to scientific literacy and social skills of students. The research is a quasiexperiment design of pretest and posttest control group. The research population were all students at 11 th grade of natural science classes consisting the 1, 2, 3 and 4 classes in SMAN 2 Banguntapan and the total were 118 students. The used samples were 1 and 2 classes and had 62 students in total. The sampling technique is cluster random sampling with the 1 class of 11 grades of natural science as the control group and the 2 class of 11 grade of natural science as the experimental group. The treatment given to the experimental group was the learning the rate of reaction by using the TPACK approach with discovery learning models, while that of the control group was learning rate of reaction by using teachercenter approach with direct instructional model. The data collection tolls were ...
Kastamonu Eğitim Dergisi
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate how variables gender, seniority, age and graduated department affect the science literacy levels of primary school teachers. Design/Methodology/Approach: In the study, the survey method used. The study group of the study consists of 506 primary school teachers, 337 females, and 169 male teachers, working in primary schools in Bursa province and its districts during the 2020-2021 academic year. "Science for All Americans" publication, which was prepared by Laugksch and Spargo in 1996 and translated into Turkish by Duruk in (2012), “Basic Science Literacy Test”, which all validity and reliability tests were carried out,was used to obtain research data. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, Mann Whitney U and Kruskal Wallis techniques. Findings: As a result of examining the research data; no significant difference was observed between the variables of gender, seniority, graduated department and the science literac...
Identify Scientific Literacy from the Science Teachers’ Perspective
Jurnal Pendidikan IPA Indonesia, 2016
Scientific literacy is considered as a benchmark of high and low quality of science education in a country. This study aims to identify the scientific literacy of teachers and learning science relation to the issues from the perspective of a science teacher. This descriptive study involved 25 science teachers who are members of MGMP IPA in Bogor. The instrument used in this study consisted of scientific literacy tests and interviews. The results showed that 20% of teachers have scientific literacy ability in the low category, 65% in the moderate category and 15% in the high category. The problems of teaching science based on teacher perspective are 1. having difficulty to teach Integrated Science; 2. having limited knowledge related to learning models of Integrated Science; 3. lack of motivation in teaching integrated science consistently. The results of these studies form the basis that the professional trainings for junior high science teacher need to be conducted in a sustainable...
Scientific Literacy: A Proposal for Science Teacher Education
Literacy Information and Computer Education Journal, 2018
Scientific Literacy (SL) is a term used in many countries to define the purpose of science education. Based on previous research with undergraduate science students [1], academic discipline in a teacher education program was developed in order to promote prospective teachers' understanding of Scientific Literacy. The academic discipline content consisted of three approaches: Science-Technology-Society (STS), Inquiry, and History and Philosophy of Science (HPS). The research objective was investigated on how undergraduate science students (future teachers) understand and reflect on the scientific literacy concept. This proposal was applied in a Brazilian Federal University located in the metropolitan area of São Paulo. Twelve students attended seventeen classes. They studied three different methodological approaches: Science, Technology, and Society (STS), History and Philosophy of Science (HPS), and Inquiry. Some aspects of Nature of Science were also discussed. The researcher, a Ph.D. student, elaborated levels of comprehension for each approach in order to analyze the results. The primary results so far indicated that some students were able to establish relationships among these approaches and their comprehension of each approach was dependent on the emphasis of the teacher educator.