Promoting emotional literacy, equity and interest in science lessons for 11–14 year olds; the ‘Improving Science and Emotional Development’ project

Matthews, Brian

doi:10.1080/0950069032000097406

Cited by 31 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Also, as mentioned above, Section 9.2.4 discusses findings on students' attitudes toward science that appear to indicate greater caution or uncertainty for potential benefits and dangers of the use of science and technology. All of these findings appear to align with literature on scientific literacy that advocates some of the pedagogical approaches used in this inquiry such as promoting relevance (Bell et al, 1995;Holbrook & Rannikmae, 2009;Keller, 1983;Korpan, 2009;Matthews) and engaging students in science (Harty, Kloosterman & Matkin, 1989;Mabie & Baker, 1996;Meichtry, 1992;Roth & Roychoudhury, 1993).…”

Section: Recognizing and Appreciating Ecological Possibilitiessupporting

confidence: 51%

“…Some authors suggest that relevance influences motivation (Keller, 1983;Levitt, 2001), and others equate relevance with student interest (Matthews, 2004;Ramsden, 1998). The combined sum of relevance, interest and motivation may have resulted in the positive attitudes toward learning science through the permaculture approach reported by Natalie and her cohort.…”

Section: How Does a Permaculture Approach To Junior Secondary Sciencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…shown that increased relevance improved student interest in learning science (Matthews, 2004;Ramsden, 1998). While findings of this study indicate this may have been the case for some students, a fuller discussion of student learning takes place in Section 9.2.3, while a discussion of attitudes continues in Section 9.2.4.…”

Section: Promoting Relevancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Aikenhead (1992) argues that contemporary science in intertwined with society, and suggests it is the social context that makes science relevant for most students because it allows them to apply science content to their everyday lives. Some studies have shown that increased relevance improved student interest in learning science (Matthews, 2004;Ramsden, 1998).…”

Section: Scientific Literacymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Making it relevant to the students‖ (Teacher interview, 26/07/10). The literature indicates that relevance is important to both promoting scientific literacy (Bell et al, 1995;Holbrook & Rannikmae, 2009;Keller, 1983;Matthews, 2004) and ecological literacy (Balgopal & Wallace, 2009;Goleman et al, 2012;Orr, 1992). Findings from this study suggest that relevance is an impactful aspect of a permaculture approach to science education, and that relevance can take many forms.…”

Section: Promoting Relevancementioning

confidence: 99%

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Toward Ecological Literacy: A Permaculture Approach to Junior Secondary Science

Lebo¹,

Eames²,

Coll³

et al. 2013

Aust. J. environ. educ.

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Environmental, economic, and social trends suggest the need for more sustainable ways of thinking and patterns of behaviour. Such a shift would require humanity to function at high levels of ecological literacy, which relies on a certain amount of scientific literacy. However, troubling evidence indicates an international pattern of student disengagement with science at the secondary level. Evidence also suggests that it is difficult to integrate environmental or sustainability education at this level, both within New Zealand and elsewhere. This research was aimed at examining the use of a novel approach, using permaculture, in junior secondary science (Years 9 and 10) to enhance students’ ecological and scientific literacy, as well as their attitudes toward studying science in school.Permaculture is an ecological design system based on science and ethics. A permaculture approach to science education involves eco-design thinking, as well as the use of local permaculture properties and practitioners, and the science behind common permaculture practices. The approach is also meant to be relevant and engaging, and to promote systems thinking. This study involved the design and delivery of an intervention based on permaculture principles to one Year 10 science class in New Zealand.Research took the form of a naturalistic, interpretive, mixed methods case study, which included the use of questionnaires, interviews, and observations. Data collection focused on the impacts of a permaculture approach on the teaching and learning of science, on students’ ecological literacy, and on students’ attitudes toward learning science in school. Pre- and post-intervention questionnaires probed students’ opinions on the environment, science, and learning science in school, and tested their sustainable thinking and systems thinking with concept mapping and SOLO Taxonomy exercises. Classroom observations took place over the course of 12 weeks, on average 3 days per week, totalling 31 days. Before and after some classroom visits, I had informal conversations with the teacher, along with three formal interviews before, during and after the intervention. Three focus groups of students were interviewed immediately following the intervention.Findings show that a permaculture approach to junior secondary science can impact positively on students’ understanding of science and sustainability, and may impact on their attitudes toward studying science in school. It also appeared to impact positively on the science teacher'sattitude toward including sustainability in his teaching practice, and on his own sustainability learning. Regarding both students and teachers, a permaculture approach appears to have been effective to cultivate attitudes and trellis learning.The teacher and the students responded favourably to many aspects of the intervention, including the overall focus on the environment, the field trips, and some classroom learning activities. The teacher reported appreciating the way the intervention contextualised science with real world examples. Most students reported appreciating the experiential aspects of the intervention, as well as the relevance that a permaculture approach to science education provided. Findings indicate that advances in ecological and scientific literacy varied among students. Some students appeared to: improve their use of science and sustainability vocabulary; become more aware of select socio-scientific issues; better recognise scientific and ecological limits and possibilities. Some students also showed advances in sustainable thinking and systems thinking. Although many students expressed concern about issues such as pollution, wildlife, and genetic engineering — and prioritised protecting the environment over making money — there appeared to be a disconnect between these feelings and a sense of personal responsibility to act. Most students reported enjoying learning science with a focus on the environment, with one cohort indicating much greater enjoyment of the permaculture approach than their usual level of enjoyment of learning science in school.Trends in environmental degradation, population growth, energy inflation, and economic stagnation — especially pronounced since the beginning of this inquiry in 2008 — indicate that the world of the future will require ecologically literate citizens who can design and create truly sustainable systems for all human endeavors. Cultivating such citizens, and trellising their science and sustainability learning has implications for science education. This thesis identifies an innovative approach for junior secondary science in New Zealand that provides a way towards a more sustainable future.

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Section: Recognizing and Appreciating Ecological Possibilitiessupporting

confidence: 51%

Section: How Does a Permaculture Approach To Junior Secondary Sciencementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Promoting Relevancementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Scientific Literacymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Promoting Relevancementioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Toward Ecological Literacy: A Permaculture Approach to Junior Secondary Science

Lebo¹,

Eames²,

Coll³

et al. 2013

Aust. J. environ. educ.

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show abstract

Motivation to learn science, emotions in science classes, and engagement towards science studies in Chilean and Spanish compulsory secondary education students

et al. 2023

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Important factors in learning science include motivational variables (relevance of science learning for personal goals, self‐efficacy for learning science, and interest in a scientific career), emotional variables (boredom and enjoyment in science classes), and engagement variables (vigor, dedication, and absorption towards science studies). Data from 3034 Chilean and Spanish compulsory secondary education students was used to study the relationships between these variables, by means of a self‐report questionnaire analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The model, tested for goodness of fit, showed that motivational variables predict emotions in science classes and explained 43% of boredom variance and 67% of enjoyment variance. Motivational and emotional variables explained the 73% variance in engagement toward science studies. Also seen is the essential role played by emotions that mediate between motivational variables in science learning and engagement towards science studies. When promoting engagement towards science studies, these results can be used to increase relevance of science learning to personal goals, self‐efficacy for learning science, and interest in a scientific career, besides reducing boredom, increasing enjoyment in science classes, and enhancing engagement towards science studies.

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Early career science teacher experiences of social bonds and emotion management

Bellocchi

2018

J Res Sci Teach

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High demand for suitably qualified, high-quality science teachers is undermined by elevated teacher burnout/attrition rates within the early years of teaching. Effective emotion management can alleviate feelings of burnout and is also linked theoretically to sustaining positive social bonds. Scant attention has been directed at the importance of emotion management and social bonds in science education research. This study presents a methodology for studying emotion management and social bonds, delivering novel outcomes that elucidate how these two phenomena are interrelated. Video recordings of classroom interactions and reflective accounts in an early-career science teacher's ninth grade class were analyzed through a combination of ethnomethodology and interpretive techniques. Situated actions that constitute emotion management at the classroom level impacted the status of bonds between the teacher and one of his students, ultimately leading to a breakdown in their relationship. Results of the study detail how social actions of numerous students and the teacher led to the co-construction of emotion management and how this impacted social bonds. Theoretical and practical insights about the co-constructed nature of emotion management and social bonds present novel perspectives that can help to avoid pathologizing the actions of individual students and teachers for sustaining positive social bonds. Implications for science teaching and teacher education are offered. Study outcomes extend previous perspectives on emotion management in science

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Promoting emotional literacy, equity and interest in science lessons for 11–14 year olds; the ‘Improving Science and Emotional Development’ project

Cited by 31 publications

References 5 publications

Toward Ecological Literacy: A Permaculture Approach to Junior Secondary Science

Toward Ecological Literacy: A Permaculture Approach to Junior Secondary Science

Motivation to learn science, emotions in science classes, and engagement towards science studies in Chilean and Spanish compulsory secondary education students

Early career science teacher experiences of social bonds and emotion management

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