Fostering scientific curiosity through strengthening teachers’ understanding of energy and inquiry
Journal Title: European Journal of Science and Mathematics Education - Year 2018, Vol 0, Issue 0
Abstract
It has been recognized for many years that the topic of energy is an avenue that provides students with engaging opportunities to experience how science is actually done. As a topic, energy cuts across many disciplines and also provides many opportunities to develop a series of practices or skills of how science works. Inquiry is certainly more than hands?on science and is in part a state of mind – that of inquisitiveness. How do we create an educational system that exploits the natural curiosity of children? This paper will discuss the initiation of a three?year, multifaceted project in Qatar that seeks to strengthen teachers’ understandings of energy, foster scientific curiosity, and enhance lab?based and class?based inquiry skills. Of importance to this study is an understanding of students’ and teachers’ views on the Nature of Science (NOS); a survey (VOSTS) of 1100 secondary school students and teachers in Qatar allowed us to look at both weaknesses and strengths. Part of our approach was the creation of an Energy Institute, begun in summer 2013. Opportunities and obstacles will be discussed as well as strategies that seem to have the most impact.
Authors and Affiliations
M. E. Zayed| Department of Mathematics, Statistics and Physics, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar, S. Vokos| Physics Department, Seattle Pacific University, Seattle WA USA, I. Y. Al‐Qaradawi| Department of Mathematics, Statistics and Physics, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar, Z. Said| College of the North Atlantic, Department of Engineering Technology, Doha Qatar, T. Kerr| College of Education, Qatar University, Doha Qatar, R. Hinrichs| Physics Department, SUNY Oswego NY USA, For correspondence: R. Hinrichs: rahinrichs@gmail.com
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP8159
- DOI -
- Views 328
- Downloads 24
Towards deeper comprehension in higher engineering education: rethinking "in theory yes, but not in practice"
In the economic pressure of recent decades, many universities have invested in increasing the number of accessed and graduated students. However, this has led to another problem: there is not enough higher learning in hi...
Using inquiry-based interventions to improve secondary students’ interest in science and technology
Nine secondary school teachers participated in a five day training program where they developed inquiry-based pedagogical interventions for their science classes. Student interest and self-concept in school science and t...
Introducing the anatomy of disciplinary discernment: an example from astronomy
Education is increasingly being framed by a competence mindset; the value of knowledge lies much more in competence performativity and innovation than in simply knowing. Reaching such competency in areas such as astron...
YASS: A system simulator for operating system and computer architecture teaching and learning
A highly interactive, integrated and multi?level simulator has been developed specifically to support both the teachers and the learners of modern computer technologies at undergraduate level. The simulator provides a hi...
Research implications for teaching and learning strategies in undergraduate mathematics
In preparing an address that fits well within the themes of the Frontiers in Mathematics and Science Education Research Conference 2014, I have chosen geometry. Evidently, geometric applications in Calculus, Algebra and...