bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An exploration of university physics students’ epistemological mindsets towards the understanding of physics equations
Authors: Domert Daniel , Airey John , Linder Cedric , Kung Rebecca Lippmann
Published: October 2017

Students’ attitudes and beliefs about learning have been shown to affect learning outcomes. This study explores how university physics students think about what it means to understand physics equations. The data comes from semi-structured interviews with students from three Swedish universities. The analysis follows a data-based, inductive approach to characterise students’ descriptions of what it means to understand equations in terms of epistemological mindsets (perceived critical attributes of a learning, application, or problem-solving situation that are grounded in epistemology). The results are given in terms of different components of students’ epistemological mindsets. Relations between individuals and sets of components as well as differences across various stages of students’ academic career are then explored. Pedagogical implications of the findings are discussed and tentative suggestions for university physics teaching are made.
Att börja tala ’biokemiska’ - Betydelsen av metaforer och hjälpord för meningsskapande kring proteiner
Authors: Rundgren Carl-Johan
Published: October 2017

This paper deals with the process of acquiring a subject-speciﬁc language. When confronted with the visual representations and scientiﬁc terms of molecular life science, students try to make meaning using the language they have access to and their prior experience. In this process students use a kind of intermediate language, with frequent use of metaphors. Some metaphors can be traced back to the teaching they have experienced, while some are spontaneous metaphors created by the students. They also make use of words that seemingly have no meaning, here referred to as helpwords. The results from this study indicate that spontaneous metaphors and helpwords are important in learning situations, especially in an abstract discipline such as molecular life science. This paper aims to give a preliminary theoretical description of the phenomenon of helpwords, based on an interview study of 20 students taking natural science courses in their upper secondary school education.
The disappearance of light - explanations given by the primary school pupils
Authors: Silfverberg Harry
Published: October 2017

In the years 2004-2006 the National Centre of Professional Development in Education (Finland) and the Department of Teacher Education at the University of Tampere, Finland carried out together nine in-service courses under the title “Teaching physics and chemistry at grades 5 and 6”. As a home assignment between three contact periods, I asked teachers to collect authentic material on their pupils’ science thinking with the help of some carefully planned inquiry tasks. In the article, I present some examples of the most typical responses which primary school pupils gave to the question: “When the lights are turned off in a room on a dark winter night, the darkness will take over the room in the twinkling of an eye. Where do the rays of light which last left the lamp disappear?”. The explanations were categorised under six metaphors describing the different ways of understanding the disappearance of light.
Lärares mål med laborativt arbete: Utveckla förståelse och intresse
Authors: Högström Per , Ottander Christina , Benckert Sylvia
Published: October 2017

The purpose of this study was to analyse secondary school teachers’ goals for laboratory work. What general goals do teachers have for labwork and what goals appear when teachers describe real labwork used in their own teaching? What goals are expressed in the written laboratory instructions? Eleven science teachers in secondary school participated in individual semi-structured interviews. The teachers’ laboratory instruction sheets were analysed with respect to intended learning outcome. The analysis of teachers’ general goals showed ﬁve themes and that cognitive aspects were the most prominent. Furthermore, when teachers talked about speciﬁc labwork used in their own teaching affective aspects were more important and an additional theme appeared. It was also shown that laboratory instructions supported teachers’ goals to develop students understanding of concepts and phenomena. However, goals concerning to think and reﬂect upon labwork were not supported by the laboratory instructions.
Reading Nature- experienced teachers’ reﬂections on a teaching sequence in ecology: implications for future teacher training
Authors: Magntorn Ola , Helldén Gustav
Published: October 2017

This article explores experienced primary teachers views on teaching for ‘reading nature’. The concept ‘reading nature’ has to do with an ability to recognise organisms and relate them to material cycling and energy ﬂow in the speciﬁc habitat which is to be read. It has to do with the natural world that we face outside and the tools we have are our experiences from previous learning situations both in and out-of-doors. The teachers were asked to comment on the content of a CD-ROM with teaching sequences from a primary class studying a river ecosystem. Perceptions that teachers held were found to be supportive but complex and varied regarding the possibilities and advantages of implementing this type of teaching design in the everyday classroom. The paper ﬁnishes by identifying some implications for teacher training to support ﬁeldwork and ecological literacy in primary schools in the future.
Vurdering av naturfagkompetanse på PC - Norske resultater fra generalprøven i PISA CBAS
Authors: Turmo Are , Lie Svein
Published: October 2017

This article reports from a computer-based assessment of scientiﬁc literacy. The study was implemented in Norway in the period from March to June 2005 by the use of 6 carry-in laptops. In total, 315 15-year old students participated. All students did a one hour paper-based test and a one-hour computerbased test. In addition to the cognitive response data, also behavioural data were recorded from the computer-based test. The results show no statistically signiﬁcant gender difference for the paper-based test, while a substantial gender difference in favour of boys is established for the computer-based test. The PC test seems to favour boys because of the lower reading load. Boys also express higher motivation and larger preference for doing the test on PC compared to on paper. The behavioural data show that boys make more active use of the multimedia elements in the PC test than the girls do.
University students’ ideas about data processing and data comparison in a physics laboratory course
Authors: Kung Rebecca Lippmann , Linder Cedric
Published: October 2017

This study investigates undergraduate students’ ability to use the ideas of measurement and uncertainty to process and compare experimental data. These ideas include not only knowing what it means to use an instrument to take a measurement, but also being able to apply that knowledge, including the ideas that make up uncertainty analysis, to every aspect of an experiment. A physics laboratory course for the Energy Systems Engineering programme at Uppsala University has been designed to focus on teaching students the ideas of measurement and the associated laboratory skills. In the reported study, we use an open-ended survey to investigate students’ ideas about data processing and data comparison before and after this laboratory course. The results show that several students, even after the course, are still unable to appropriately use the ideas of uncertainty. This suggests that these ideas must be continuously revisited and explored as a fundamental part of all undergraduate laboratory experiences.
PISA+: A research project to pursue problematic PISA ﬁndings in the Norwegian context
Authors: Ødegaard Marianne
Published: October 2017

PISA + is a research project on learning and teaching strategies in schools. (+: Prosjekt om Lærings- og Undervisnings-Strategier i Skolen). Both mathematics and reading are included in addition to science. It is a qualitative, in-depth study, which tries to scrutinize and understand the results from the past PISA studies (Programme for International Student Assessment) (Kjaernsli, Lie, Olsen, Roe & Turmo 2004; Lie, Kjarnsli, Roe & Turmo 2001) and evaluation studies of Norwegian schools (Klette, 2003; Schmidt et al. 1996). It is based on sociocultural principles from theorists such as Vygotsky (1934) and Bakhtin (1981).  The methodology is inﬂ uenced by the Norwegian evaluation study of Reform 97 (Klette, 2003), and the international project The Learner’s Perspective Study (Clarke, 2002). PISA+ is partly associated with LPS. Hopefully our results may offer some knowledge valuable for improving learning in schools.
Rollespill og Teaching Thinking som redskaper for aktiv læring i naturfag – erfaringer fra allmennlærerutdanninga
Authors: Henriksen Espen O.
Published: October 2017

Teaching Thinking (teaching strategies developed by Thinking Skills Research Group, University ofNewcastle) and role-play were used in a science course at a teacher’s college and evaluated by the students.The experiences are discussed with reference to democratic participation as the most importantaim for compulsory science education. It is argued that role-play and Teaching Thinking-strategiesgive students and pupils in science classes motivation and opportunities to communicate on scienceissues at their own skill level. This kind of communication has several merits: i) It reveals some of thestudents’ alternative conceptions; ii) it enforces content learning; and iii) it supports the developmentof skills needed for democratic participation.
Young Norwegian students’ preferences for learning activities and the influence of these activities on the students’ attitudes to and performance in science
Authors: Klepaker Tom , Almendingen Siv Flæsen , Tveita Johannes
Published: October 2017

This study focuses on the use and effects of “Student-active teaching practice” in science in Norwegian schools. In a quantitative study we have collected data on teaching activities, student attitudes and student performance in science. We see that the students clearly prefer teaching activities in which they can take part actively. Separating the classes in four groups according to teaching practice, we find that different practice has significant influence on the students’ attitude to science and to their science teacher. The student’s performance in science does not relate in the same way to teaching practice.
Naturfag til nytte og glede! Naturvitenskapelig allmenndannelse ved dramatiske virkemidler
Authors: Ødegaard Marianne
Published: October 2017

Artikkelen er tidligere trykket som kapittel i boka Naturfagdidaktikk – perspektiver, forskning, utvikling (Red: D. Jorde & B. Bungum, ISBN: 82-05-31477-2), utgitt på Gyldendal Akademisk i 2003. Kapitlet gjengis i NorDiNa etter avtale med forlaget og forfatteren.
Naturfagenes didaktikk: refleksjoner ved et jubileum. "Science education as an academic discipline in the Nordic countries: reflections at an anniversary"
Authors: Sjøberg Svein
Published: October 2017

This journal, NorDiNa, has its roots in a series of Nordic Conferences on science education, commencing in 1984, and this issue of the journal contains a selection of articles from the 10th in this series. I was one of those who initiated this tradition, and I use this article to reflect on some aspects of the development. Our field has in rather short time developed from a stumbling start in the mid 1970’s to become an institutionalized and professionalized academic field. The article provides a somewhat personal account of some trends in the early development of our field of research and development, and it raises some questions about our identity and challenges.
Elevuniversitet om energi og klima – et samarbejde i netværk: Nye perspektiver for naturfagsinteressen? "Generating science interest through network and collaboration between primary schools and university on climate and energy"
Authors: Grunwald Annette
Published: October 2017

This paper address the need for developing out-reach activities in a way that can increase primary school pupils interest in science. Building on the hypotheses that the inclusion of more and different actors in developing these outreach activities can strengthen them, this paper presents an initial study investigating the development of a network of actors organizing out-of-school science teaching. This initial study is part of a 3 years action research project, where the network approach has been used to continually design and further development of a pupils’ university on the subject energy and climate for 5 and 6 grade pupils in primary schools within Northern Jutland, Denmark. The methodological framework is routed in action research, and the data collection includes participant observations, cite visits, informal interviews, questionnaires and document analysis. This paper thereby exemplifies and discuss how a cooperation network to support out-of school teaching can be established, developed and brought into action through ongoing learning processes among university, primary school and other institutions. Considering the specific case, the out-reach activities developed by this network approach have shown to be effective in raising awareness and engagement in the pupils university. On that base, it is concluded that the actor-approach holds considerable potentials for developing out-of-school activities; which however calls for further research.
Vad ska elever lära sig angående naturvetenskaplig verksamhet? - En analys av svenska läroplaner för grundskolan under 50 år. "What should students learn about scientific inquiry? A comparative study of 50 years of the Swedish national curricula."
Authors: Johansson Annie-Maj , Wickman Per-Olof
Published: October 2017

The purpose of this study is to contribute to an understanding of which changes related to scientific inquiry have been made historically in curriculum documents. A comparative analysis is made of five Swedish national curricula– Lgr 62, Lgr 69, Lgr 80, Lpo 94 and Lgr 11 – during the last 50 years regarding what compulsory school students (school years 1–9) should learn about scientific inquiry. It focuses 1) what students should learn about carrying out scientific inquiries, and 2) what students should learn about the nature of science. All of the curricula examined have aims concerning scientific inquiry. The results show that during the period there have been many shifts in emphasis and changes of aims, for example from learning an inductive method to a more deductive one, and from an emphasis on carrying out investigations to an emphasis on more conceptual understanding of scientific investigations. Because teaching traditions tend to conserve aspects of earlier curricula, it is discussed how the results can help teachers, teacher students and curriculum developers to better see the consequences of the changes for teaching and learning.
”Ingen kan bygge romferge alene” - Læreres utbytte av faglig etterutdanning innen romteknologi. "“You can’t build the space shuttle all alone!” - How teachers benefit from partici pating in an in-service course in space technology"
Authors: Mehli Hanne , Bungum Berit
Published: October 2017

This article reports a case study of how science teachers benefit from participation in an in-service course on space technology at Andøya Rocket Range in Northern Norway. The course deviates from current policy for teachers’ professional development by being short-term, targeting individual teachers and by having a somewhat narrow subject focus. In this course, teachers work closely with space scientists and engineers, forming a community of practice in highly technological settings. The transfer of this experience to classroom teaching is clearly challenging. By means of in-depth interviews, we have investigated teachers’ outcome from the course and how they see it benefiting their teaching. Results indicate three main categories of outcome: Affective outcome; content knowledge and practical skills; and technological process knowledge. This outcome is found to have an indirect, yet important, influence on the teaching of science that should be taken into account in policy for science teachers’ professional development.
Artkunskap och intresse för arter hos blivande lärare för grundskolan. "Student teachers’ knowledge of and interest in species"
Authors: Palmberg Irmeli
Published: October 2017

According to recent research, the knowledge of species, interest in nature, and nature experiences arethe factors that best promote interest in and understanding of environmental issues and sustainable life style. However, during the past 20 years the knowledge of species has decreased alarmingly among pupils, but also among their teachers. The aim of this study is to make a survey of student teachers’ level of knowledge of species and of factors that have influenced their interest in and capacity for identifying species. Totally 335 student teachers were tested through a species identification test, a questionnaire, and completing interviews. Pupils in grades 7 and 9 and adults were used as reference groups. Student teachers had very varying levels of knowledge of species. Most of them, however, considered it useful to know the most common species of plants and animals in their local environment. The student teachers who had nature-related hobbies as well as practical nature studies in their education, had a considerably better level of knowledge than the others. More than 25 % of the student teachers, however, had a lower level of knowledge (of species) than the average pupils ingrades 7 and 9.
Undergraduate students’ challenges with computational modelling in physics
Authors: Sørby Simen A. , Angell Carl
Published: October 2017

In later years, computational perspectives have become essential parts in several of the University of Oslo’s natural science studies. In this paper we discuss some main findings from a qualitative study of the computational perspectives’ impact on the students’ work with their first course in physics– mechanics – and their learning and meaning making of its contents. Discussions of the students’ learning of physics are based on sociocultural theory, which originates in Vygotsky and Bakhtin, and subsequent physics education research. Results imply that the greatest challenge for students when working with computational assignments is to combine knowledge from previously known, but separate contexts. Integrating knowledge of informatics, numerical and analytical mathematics and conceptual understanding of physics appears as a clear challenge for the students. We also observe alack of awareness concerning the limitations of physical modelling. The students need help with identifying the appropriate knowledge system or “tool set”, for the different tasks at hand; they need helpto create a plan for their modelling and to become aware of its limits. In light of this, we propose thatan instructive and dialogic text as basis for the exercises, in which the emphasis is on specification, clarification and elaboration, would be of potential great aid for students who are new to computational modelling.
Authentic and entrepreneurial teaching practice in science and technology – variation and diversity in outcomes from professional development courses for teachers
Authors: Sagar Helena , Mehli Hanne
Published: October 2017

This qualitative study describes the variation and diversity in science and technology teachers’ self-expressed outcomes from two CPD courses with the same major aim, however with different designs and foci. The aim was to increase teachers’ knowledge of authentic and entrepreneurial learning environments in school science and technology. The CPD evaluation model presented by Harland and Kinder (1997 was used for analysis). Both courses resulted in outcomes in all eight typologies as well as in impact on practice. The teachers’ expressed experiences reflect the different foci; general reflections on changes in teaching strategies for a more authentic and entrepreneurial learning environment from one course to concrete examples of subject specific activities from the other course. This suggests that a CPD course, including teaching strategies with the content knowledge as a point of departure, thus providing concrete examples of subject related changes in teaching practice, might provide a more effective CPD.
Platsens betydelse för lärande och undervisning – ett utomhuspedagogiskt perspektiv
Authors: Szczepanski Anders
Published: October 2017

The study describes how 19 teachers linked to preschool and comprehensive school experience the importance of place for learning and teaching in an outdoor educational context. The methodological approach is phenomenographic. The semi-structured interviews are based on pictorial material intended to illustrate different physical learning environments. Nine categories and four place-related perspectives can be distinguished. The result shows that there is sometimes a didactic uncertainty around places for teaching and learning outside the classroom walls. The availability of different places in the outdoors, a woodland environment and natural materials is seen as meaningful complements in teaching. Town settings, parks and industrial landscapes are to a lesser degree perceived as learning environments. The study shows the experience of teachers using other contexts for learning and teaching than the classroom. Outdoor education is experienced as a place-related toolkit with opportunities to integrate different subjects and anchor teaching in the real world.
Students (ages 6, 10, and 15 years) in six countries knowledge of animals
Authors: Patrick Patricia , Byrne Jenny , Tunnicliffe Sue Dale , Asunta Tuula , Carvalho Graça S. , Havu-Nuutinen Sari , Sigurjónsdóttir Hrefna , Óskarsdóttir Gunnhildur , Tracana Rosa Branca
Published: October 2017

This article considers the knowledge students (ages 6, 10, and 15 years) have of animals from a cross-cultural perspective. Students from six countries (Brazil, England, Finland, Iceland, Portugal, and the United States of America) were asked to free-list as many animals as possible and state where they had seen or learned about the animals. The results were analyzed and they indicate that 1) Students are aware of animals. 2) Students are more aware of mammals as examples of animals. 3) There is a globally shared folk biological knowledge of animals. 4) Students learn about animals during sociocultural interactions. The educational implications are discussed.
Sammenhengen mellom naturvitenskapelig produkt og prosess - En studie av dialoger fra utforskende arbeid i naturfag relatert til stoffer og stoffers endringer
Authors: Øyehaug Anne Bergliot , Holt Anne
Published: October 2017

This paper reports from a study where a teacher and researchers collaborated on designing science teaching promoting scientific inquiry (processes of science) and science content (product of science) for a group of students (age 11 – 13). A wide range of data from students’ performance in combining science product and processes were collected during a two year period. Results indicate that students combined product (matter and change of matter) and processes of science (making hypotheses, suggesting research design and evaluating evidence) and that these aspects support each other in science learning. The ability of linking product and process differed among students and varied from one scientific method to the other. To succeed in linking science content and processes of science it is important to scaffold student understanding, like providing templates and asking rich and relevant questions.
Investigation of Peer Discussions on Genetic Concepts
Authors: Westman Anna-Karin
Published: October 2017

This study is an investigation on how students express their understanding of genetic concepts and their relations during peer discussions. Participants in this study were non-major students from a Swedish upper secondary school. Special attention was paid to how the groups treated the domain- specific vocabulary, how they expressed their understanding of reduction division and how they connected concepts from different biological organization levels. These subject areas have been reported as difficult for students in earlier studies. The results show discussions concerning the three subject areas and in the discussions the students help each other to make the meaning of the genetic concepts clear. The analysis is based on socio-cultural perspectives with focus on how the participants treated the genetic content from the previously presented subject areas in their discussions.
Perceived learning experiences regarding Education for sustainable development – within Swedish outdoor education traditions
Authors: Manni Annika , Ottander Christina , Sporre Karin , Parchmann Ilka
Published: October 2017

This article presents results from a Swedish exploratory study investigating perceptions of the learning experiences related to education for sustainable development (ESD) by students 10-12 years old. A comprehensive questionnaire with both open and closed questions asking for the students’ cognitive, emotional, practical, social, and situated learning experiences was developed. The empirical material consists of the responses from 209 students from six schools. The schools were selected to get a variety of both school programs regarding ESD and outdoor education activities. The results reported here reveal relationships between areas of students’ learning experiences, mainly between the cognitive, emotional, and social areas. Comparisons between the schools illustrate different approaches to teaching as well as the students’ diverse perceptions of these practices. The questionnaire developed for the project proved to be a valid instrument for researching the relationships and complexities in ESD learning, thus demonstrating its potential for use in future studies.
Enhancing measurement in science education research through Rasch analysis: Rationale and properties
Authors: Sjaastad Jørgen
Published: October 2017

This article presents the basic rationale of Rasch theory and seven core properties of Rasch modeling; analyses of test targeting, person separation, person fit, item fit, differential item functioning, functioning of response categories and tests of unidimensionality. Illustrative examples are provided consecutively, drawing on Rasch analysis of data from a survey where students in the 9th grade responded to questions regarding their mathematics competence. The relationship between Rasch theory and classical test theory is commented on. Rasch theory provides science and mathematics education researchers with valuable tools to evaluate the psychometric quality of tests and questionnaires and support the development of these.
How the Project “Kolumbus-Youth” Nurtures the Interest of Scientifically Talented Students
Authors: Wegner Claas , Grügelsiepe Sven , Ohlberger Stephanie
Published: October 2017

The project “Kolumbus-Youth“ was founded in 2009 by the Department for Didactics of Biology at Bielefeld University as the older equivalent for the formerly introduced project “Kolumbus-Kids”, which is an enrichment programme for students aged 8-12. “Kolumbus-Youth” aims at promoting students of year ten in the area of natural sciences. Students from regional schools are invited to participate in this project, where they have the chance to carry out research in their special field of interest and convert it into a research project with professional help and equipment. The students work together in small groups and are constantly accompanied by a group instructor, who is a student at Bielefeld University and is planning to become a future teacher for natural science. Consequently, the project is beneficial for both the participating students and the university students, who plan and accompany the sessions.
Multimodal evaluering af deltagerstyret problem- og undersøgelsesbaseret aktiviteter i børnehave og indskoling
Multimodal assessment of inquiry based science education in kindergarten and primary school
Authors: Østergaard Lars Domino
Published: October 2017

A multimodal assessment method is designed on the basis on Science Performance Assessment with three central representations in focus of assessment: Written, oral and practical representations. The multimodal assessment method is tried out in both kindergarten and in primary school, which have worked with inquiry based science education (IBSE) related to the subject “Wind & Weather”. The study is situated in a sociocultural context and the data are analyzed according to Engeströms activity theory. The results clearly indicated that the method is suitable for assessment of IBSE activities. It gives the evaluator opportunities to test students’ knowledge, skills and competencies related to science as well as students’ social and personal competencies. Hence, the evaluator in a better way can guide the students in the right direction on their learning journey.
Revidert læreplan i naturfag – Økt fokus på grunnleggende ferdigheter og forskerspiren
Revised Norwegian science curriculum – Increased focus on literacy and inquiry skills
Authors: Mork Sonja M.
Published: October 2017

One of the main consequences of the large Norwegian curriculum reform in 2006 is that teachers in all subjects are now responsible for focusing on the basic skills of reading, writing, oral, arithmetic and the use of digital tools. However, research following the implementation of the reform report a gap between curriculum intentions and classroom practice regarding basic skills. Hence the curriculum in science and four other subjects are now revised to clarify basic skills. This article describes some of the background for the revision, the revision process and some main changes in the revised curriculum.
Geografilärares och niondeklassares syn på undervisningen om klimatförändringen
Climate change education: Geography teachers’ and ninth-graders’ views
Authors: Hermans Mikaela
Published: October 2017

It has been increasingly recognised that education plays a key role in addressing human-induced climate change. The ultimate goal of climate change education (CCE) is positive impacts on the climate through both individual and collective actions. The aim of this study is to investigate geography teachers’ and their ninth-graders’ views about CCE. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews with geography teachers (N = 13) and questionnaires for ninth-graders (N = 549) at eleven secondary schools from all parts of Swedish-speaking Finland. The results show that although the students’ attitudes to CCE is positive, it does not supply them with action competence. The geography teachers in this study largely miss the ultimate goal of CCE, pointing at the need for more effort to be made in the process of developing CCE at secondary school.
Recent trends in PhD education in mathematics and science education research: back to university level organization
Authors: Lavonen Jari , Krzywacki Heidi
Published: October 2017

This descriptive article aims to discuss the development of Finnish PhD education in science and mathematics education research over the past 20 years. First, the general aims and structure of PhD education at the national level are introduced. Doctoral studies seek to develop research knowledge and skills as well as the capability to produce novel scientific knowledge. Second, the development of PhD education in the Finnish context of science and mathematics education research is discussed. For the past 20 years, there has been a special focus on improving PhD education through national-level graduate schools and international collaboration. Finally, the recent changes in PhD education, such as the replacement of doctoral programmes at local universities, is discussed through the case of the University of Helsinki.
Teknik i de tidiga skolåren – om vad det innebär att kunna konstruera en länkmekanism
Technical knowing in the early school years – A learning study of the meaning of knowing how to construct a linkage mechanism
Authors: Björkholm Eva
Published: October 2017

This study within primary technology education aims at exploring the capability to construct a specific linkage mechanism. The study reported was integrated in a Learning study, a kind of design experiment inspired by the Japanese Lesson Study, and was carried out in collaboration with two primary school teachers and their two classes, a preschool class and a grade one class. The study reports on the analysis of the video-recorded pre- and post-test. The tests were analysed phenomenographically resulting in four categories describing qualitatively different ways of experiencing the object of learning. The categories were then analysed in terms of critical aspects, describing aspects necessary to discern for this group of students in order to learn how to construct a linkage mechanism. The result indicates the importance of discerning the two joints and their different characteristics in terms of a fixed and a moving joint as well as the placement of the moving joint in relation to the resulting movement.
Syften och tillfälligheter i högstadie- och gymnasielaborationen: En studie om hur elever handlar i relation till aktivitetens mål
Purposes and contingencies in the lower and upper secondary school lab
Authors: Anderhag Per , Thorell Helena Danielsson , Andersson Carina , Holst Andreas , Nordling Johan
Published: October 2017

English title: Purposes and contingencies in the lower and upper secondary school lab: A study of how students act in relation to the goals of the activityStudies have shown that students’ awareness of the goals and purposes of the laboratory activity is important for their possibility to participate in and learn from the activity. While practical activities often have been considered to be a central part of science education, relatively few studies have examined laboratory work in situ. In this paper we addressed these issues by examining (a) what purposes are distinguished when students’ work with a laboratory assignment and (b) how these purposes are made continuous with the teacher’s aim with the assignment. The data was based on classroom observations from two ordinary laboratory settings, one from a chemistry class in lower secondary school and one from a physics class in the natural science programme in upper secondary school. Although both student groups acknowledged their teacher’s intentions with the practical and could act towards the more student centered purposes of the activity, e.g. describe what happens with the copper and measure the speed of a small vessel respectively, there were differences regarding the possibilities the students had to act toward the activity’s final aim. The results showed that these factors can be referred to the amount of purposes introduced by the teacher as well as those that arose because of contingences, and the connection of these purposes to students’ prior experiences.
Scaffolding open inquiry: How a teacher provides students with structure and space
Authors: Bjønness Birgitte , Kolstø Stein Dankert
Published: October 2017

The present case study examines a teacher’s scaffolding strategies supporting his students during a twelve-week open inquiry project at an upper secondary school. We use interaction analysis to identify how he provides structure and space in the different phases of open inquiry as well as how it constitutes the students’ inquiry process. The study reveals that the teacher scaffolded this open inquiry in two opposing ways; he created space for the students to make their own experiences and ideas, which eventually set up the need for more directed scaffolding to discuss the challenges students experienced, and directing students’ ideas in certain directions in phases with structure. We suggest that the interplay between structure and space creates what can be seen as a driving force providing both exploration and direction for open inquiry. Moreover, we propose that the dual concept of ‘structure and space’ can work as a thinking tool to promote teachers’ competence on how to scaffold more authentic versions of scientific inquiry in schools.
Niondeklassares och geografilärares förståelse av bakgrunden till och följderna av klimatförändringen
Ninth-graders’ and geography teachers’ understandings of the background to and consequences of climate change
Authors: Hermans Mikaela
Published: October 2017

Even though students’ understandings of climate change have been frequently studied, research on students’ views in combination with their teachers’ views is still missing. This study attempts to remedy that by including both ninth-graders and their geography teachers as respondents. The aim is to investigate the respondents’ understandings of the background to climate change and its consequences for biodiversity, human health and own living conditions. The respondents represented eleven secondary schools from all parts of Swedish-speaking Finland. A mixed methods research design was applied, combining data from questionnaires (549 students) and interviews (13 teachers). Similarities and differences between the understandings of the students and their teachers were examined. The results show that the students’ understandings and to some extent the teachers’ understandings differed from the scientific perspective. A common conception in both groups was that climate change does not affect them. Pedagogical implications for the development of climate change education are discussed.
The Benefits of the German Science Project ‘Biology Up Close’
Authors: Wegner Claas , Strehlke Friederike
Published: October 2017

Science and technology have a huge impact on all areas of today’s society. Also, industrialised countries’ economies are highly dependent on scientific progress which in turn makes them rely on trained people. However, recent PISA studies show poor results for German students’ scientific literacy. Due to many pupils’ lack of interest in the field of science and the need for scientific knowledge in today’s society, it is crucial to find ways to motivate pupils to become scientists and increase their interest in this field. In order to achieve this, Claas Wegner initiated the project ‘Biology Up Close’ in 2009. During workshops at university, participating pupils aged between 10 and 18 years have the opportunity to ‘grasp’ scientific phenomena through conducting experiments in a motivating way. This article describes the project and also its beneficial aspects enabling pupils from regional schools to experience biology in a vivid way at university laboratories. The workshops are planned, organized and held by teacher students, which in turn helps them to improve and reflect on their teaching skills. Finally, the article presents how the project promotes the pupils’ interest in science in a conclusion.
Naturkunskapens sexualitets- och relationsundervisning analyserad ur ett heteronormativitetsperspektiv
Authors: Hast Ylwa Li , Danielsson Anna T.
Published: October 2017

Title: Teaching about sexuality and relation within science education analysed from the perspective of heteronormativityIn Sweden, a new subject syllabus for Science Studies (Naturkunskap) in upper secondary school was introduced in 2011. In this syllabus knowledge about norms concerning sexualities and relations was brought to the fore as a core content. The aim of this paper is to explore how norms concerning sexuality guide the teaching, through a case study where three upper secondary school teachers were observed and their teaching was analysed from the perspective of companion meanings. All three observed teachers did teach about homosexuality, bisexuality, and transgender identities, often using genetics or evolution as their explanatory model. The teaching most often assumed that all students in the class were heterosexual, positioning LGBT-people as the Other, and did at no times take power perspectives into account.
Student experience and interest in science: Connections and relations with further education
Authors: Jidesjö Anders , Danielsson Åsa
Published: October 2017

Students’ problems with learning science in school are well documented. Earlier studies report on differences in students’ interest in and attitudes towards science due to gender and age. However, fewer studies have focused on relations with experience and recruitment on a detailed content level. Present paper presents a statistical analysis of student interest in specific content areas and combines this with student experience of science and science-related activities outside school. The result shows that patterns of interest and experience can be identified. These patterns showed differences in gender and also relate to student preferences of upper secondary education. The results are presented on both a detailed content and an experience level. The results are discussed in relation to the purpose of compulsory science education. The study contributes to the discussion about a more relevant science education by presenting concrete content and experience dimensions from a student perspective.
Barns meningsskapande i ett projekt om biologisk mångfald och ekologi
Children’s meaning making in biodiversity and ecology
Authors: Caiman Cecilia , Lundegård Iann
Published: October 2017

Biodiversity loss is becoming an increasingly alarming issue that has significance in the discussion about young children’s learning in science. This article, based on a pragmatic perspective, analyses a group of children and teachers when exploring animals in a preschool project concerning biodiversity. It examines the ways in which children create meaning of the content, the order in which the content emerges, and what impact teachers have on how the process develops. Initially, the results reveal that the organisms’ appearances and movements received morphological and physiological explanations. Further, the knowledge was gained profoundly in a manner which has similarities with ecological and evolutionary ways of explaining biological phenomena. The teachers’ utterances were few, but significant, by raising productive questions in close relation to what the children anticipated they embraced a listening approach.
Primary school teachers’ concerns and needs in biology and mathematics teaching
Authors: Kellner Eva , Attorps Iiris
Published: October 2017

The aim of this paper is to provide insights into nine primary school teachers’ concerns and instructional needs in biology and mathematics, grades 1 to 6. By using Content Representation, combined with Learning Study in an action research project, teachers were encouraged to reflect on their conceptions, processes of instructing and pupil learning. From concerns articulated by teachers three instructional needs emerged: (i) to make subject progression, especially in biology, and pupil learning more visible, (ii) to develop mathematics teaching in order to change pupils’ views of the subject, and (iii) to develop teachers’ subject matter knowledge and teaching in an ongoing collaborative process. The paper argues that in order to stimulate teacher professional development it is important to make teacher concerns and thereby needs explicit. They help teachers to identify and reflect on relations between teacher subject matter knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge and pupil learning.
Scientific literacy as social practice: Implications for reading and writing in science classrooms
Authors: Sørvik Gard Ove , Mork Sonja M.
Published: October 2017

This article provides an introduction to what it means to adopt a view of literacy as social practice for science education. This view of literacy builds on the idea that reading and writing are best regarded as situated social practices involving text, not as a set of decontextualised and universally applicable skills. First, we draw on sociocultural perspectives on literacy to show how these perspectives inform our understanding of literacy when the context is science. Second, we use related research literature, mainly concerning the role of text in science education, to present a framework for approaching literacy in science classrooms from a sociocultural perspective. Finally, we discuss how a social view of literacy enables us to consider how literacy occurs in contexts relevant to a transcending science subject for scientific literacy.
Mental Imagery in Translation Processes
Authors: De León Celia Martín
Published: October 2017

The use of mental imagery has been claimed in Translation and Interpreting Studies to help students to understand source texts as well as to avoid interferences. The role played by mental images in translation and interpreting has, however, been scarcely investigated. This study explores the use of mental images by translation students, drawing on embodied approaches to language comprehension – in particular, on the Language and Situated Simulation (LASS) theory. Five translation students translated three texts with different contents (respectively focusing on objects, on spatial relations and on abstract concepts). Four kinds of data were collected: (1) a self-report questionnaire about individual preferences in the use of mental imagery; (2) key-logged translation processes; (3) finished translations, and (4) self-reports about mental imaging during the translation processes. The results suggest that there are individual differences in the use of mental images in translation and that the participants’ individual imaging profiles, as assessed by the self-report Object-Spatial Imagery and Verbal Questionnaire (OSIVQ), may help to explain these differences.
Obstacles to torture rehabilitation at Guantánamo Bay
Authors: Connell James , Pradhan Alka , Lander Margaux
Published: October 2017

This article sets out the legal duty of the United States of America to provide victims of torture and cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment (CIDT) the right to full rehabilitation under international law, including those still detained at the facility at Guantánamo Bay. After an examination of some of the torture methods used on these detainees, while they were in the custody of the CIA and arguably afterwards, it goes on to indicate the current obstacles to rehabilitation, including on-going incarceration, lack of impunity, classification of medical documents and limited access to non-military staff. Limited options for possible psychological assistance towards the right to rehabilitation are considered.
Professor Bent Sørensen
Authors: Marcussen Henrik
Published: October 2017

Bent was a pioneer in the torture rehabilitation movement and his word and actions, through discrete, did so much change – far more than most people could conceive.” Sara Hamze, IRCT, Lebanon (citation from “Words of condolence from the IRCT family
Literature reviews are not all the same
Authors: C de C Williams Amanda
Published: October 2017

I was very interested in the discussion in the Editorial of the first 2017 issue of Torture Journal which referred to two similar literature reviews with opposite conclusions (Weiss et al., 2016; Patel, Williams, & Kellezi, 2016; Patel, Kellezi, & Williams, 2014) and would like to clarify and elaborate some of the differences, which I think are of relevance to the conclusions.