General Papers

General
Postscript
Portable Document Format

Here you will find some general papers on science education.

Roberts and Brown 2001

Roberts, A. and Brown, L. M., Evaluation of Physics Examining 1940-2000 at Cambridge. European Journal of Physics, 22(4), 413-420, 2001.

For those interested in the maintenance of university standards the study presented in this paper maybe of interest.

McDermott and Redish 1999

McDermott, L. C. and Redish, E. F., Resource Letter: PER-1: Physics Education Research. American Journal of Physics, 67(9), 755-767, 1999.

This resource letter provides an overview of research into the learning and teaching of physics. There are some 224 references, almost half of which are related to conceptual understanding.

Ward and Bodner 1993

Ward, R. J. and Bodner, G. M., How Lecture Can Undermine The Motivation of Our Students. Journal of Chemistry Education, 70(3), 198-199, 1993.

In this paper the authors summarise four theories of motivation: Drive, Field, Achievement and attribution. The authors advocate a shifting of students learning motivation from ego-orientated (only interested in how their performance compares with others) to task-orientated (interested in learning a subject for the sake of it). To achieve this:

1. grade on an absolute scale rather than normative.
2. stress participation, self-improvement.
3. instruction and testing should go beyond rote memorisation.

Flexible Learning Approach to Physics (FLAP)

FLAP, funded by the four UK Higher Education Funding Councils, is a supported self-study resource covering first year and foundation year physics and its associated mathematics. More information can be found at the official FLAP Web Site.

Tinker et. al.

Tinker, M. H., Lambourne, R. J. A. and Windsor, S. A., The Flexible Learning Approach to Physics (FLAP): A Review After The First Two Years. International Journal of Science Education, 21(2), 213-230, 1999.

In this article Flap resources are detailed and a report of its implementation and evaluation, at the University of Reading, is presented.

Putting It All Together

Ramster 2001

Ramster, R. D., A Hybrid Approach to Active Learning. Physics Education, 36(2), 124-128, 2001.

Describes the design of a calculus based introductory physics course which incorporates cooperative and peer-based methods. Initial experiences and lessons learnt are detailed.[Group]

Gabel 1999

Gabel, D., Improving Teaching and Learning Through Chemistry Education Research: A Look to the Future. Journal of Chemistry Education, 76(4), 548-553, 1999.

This paper provides a general overview of chemistry education. The complexity of chemistry concepts and the identification of instructional barriers, in terms of current learning theories, are discussed. In addition, teaching recommendations, so as to improve students' conceptual understanding, are presented. Gabel also discusses future chemistry education research.

Group Work

Note that group/collaborative work has been utilised in many areas of science education. Entries in the bibliography which relate to this pedagogy have been included within individual topics and are identified by a [Group] sign in the margin. The following paper contains 112 references relating to small-group learning.

Springer et. al.

Springer, L., Stanne, M. E. and Donovan, S. S., Effects of Small-Group Learning on Undergraduates in Science, Mathematics, Engineering. and Technology: A Meta-Analysis. Review of Educational Research, 69(1), 21-51, 1999.

In this meta-analysis the authors conclude that there is evidence that ``various forms of small-group learning are effective in promoting greater academic achievement and a more favourable attitudes toward learning''.[Group]


Also, the follow resource, ``Small Group Instruction: An Annotated Bibliography of Science, Mathematics, engineering and Technology Resources in Higher Education, 1997'', is available online and can be found here [Group]