Development of a pool of scientific literacy test-items based on selected AAAS literacy goals

Abstract

We describe the development of a pool of paper‐and‐pencil test‐items of scientific literacy that are based on selected chapters of the 1989 American Association for the Advancement of Science overview report on literacy goals in science, mathematics, and technology, entitled Science for All Americans. Separate pools of test‐items were developed for each of Miller's “three constitutive dimensions” of scientific literacy. Through carefully structured panel reviews using Fellows of the Royal Society of South Africa and university lecturers, we have developed 472 true—false test‐items with high content and item validity, as well as wide applicability and use, that test 240 key ideas in, and attitudes toward, science. These items cover the earth, physical/chemical, life and health sciences, as well as the nature of science and the impact of science and technology on society. We have taken an essentially complementary approach to Miller's research methodology, and believe that these test‐items represent a refinement of previous attempts to measure the three dimensions of scientific literacy. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

The Development of Authentic Assessments to Investigate Ninth Graders’ Scientific Literacy: In the Case of Scientific Cognition Concerning the Concepts of Chemistry and Physics

“…In addition, the members of our research group all majored in chemistry and physics, so we focused on evaluating the concepts of chemistry and physics in the theme of scientific cognition. Comparing our results with test items developed by other researchers (Aikenhead & Ryan, 1992;Laugksch & Spargo, 1996), we propose that scientific cognition could be investigated via different formats of authentic assessments within a limited timeframe. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to display three different formats of authentic assessments to investigate ninth graders' scientific cognition (Figure 1).…”

“…Thomas & Durant (1987) think scientific literacy could facilitate any individual's life in a science-and technology-dominated society, such as helping to make personal decisions concerning diet, smoking, vaccination, screening programmers or safety in the home and at work. To achieve the goal of scientific literacy, teachers and science educators must concentrate on the design of instruction for student learning or on the evaluation of student performance (Aikenhead & Ryan, 1992;Champagne & Newell, 1992;Jenkins, 1992;Laugksch, 2000;Laugksch & Spargo, 1996).…”

“…Some researchers have developed multiple-choice test items to evaluate 11th and 12th graders' scientific literacy regarding STS (science-technology-society) issues (Aikenhead & Ryan, 1992), and true-false test items for assessing the nature of science, scientific cognition (earth, physical/ chemical, life and health sciences), and the impact of science and technology on society (Laugksch & Spargo, 1996). According to Champagne & Newell (1992), American students perform poorly on these types of conventional assessments; therefore authentic tasks should be developed to bring motivation and skills to students as well as to bridge the gap between elementary and junior high school.…”

Finding Direction When the Ground Is Moving: Science Education Research in South Africa

“…In science education, large-scale studies of achievement included the Third International Mathematics and Science Study, TIMSS (Howie, 1997(Howie, , 1998(Howie, , 2001(Howie, , 2003 and measures of scientific literacy (Laugksch & Spargo, 1996, Ogunniyi, 2003b. They were strongly influenced by overseas projects: Laugksch and Spargo derived their conception of scientific literacy from the AAAS work, Ogunniyi from standard science content (as expressed in South African syllabuses before 1997, and largely incorporated into the new policies); TIMSS was designed by an international committee heavily influenced from USA and Europe.…”

Professional Development of Elementary and Science Teachers in a Summer Science Camp: Changing Nature of Science Conceptions

“…Contemporary science education standards all over the world have recently been emphasizing the importance of supporting students to become scientifically literate individuals (Abd-El-Khalick, Bell, & Lederman, 1998;Hodson, 1998;Khishfe & Lederman, 2006;Laugksch & Spargo, 1996;. Developing an adequate level of understanding of the nature of science (NOS) concepts is one of the prerequisites required for scientific literacy (Abd-El-Khalick, 2005;Afonso & Gilbert, 2010;Allchin, 2014;Herman & Clough, 2014;Hogan, 2000;Lawson, 2010;Kim, Yi, & Cho, 2014;Leung, Wong, & Yung, 2015;McComas, Clough, & Almazroa, 2002;McDonald, 2010;Posnanski, 2010;Schwartz, Lederman, & Crawford, 2004;Van Dijk, 2014;Wong & Hodson, 2008).…”