Improving Subject Teaching: Lessons from Research in Science Education

by Millar; Robin

• ISBN13: 9780415362092
• ISBN10: 0415362091
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-10-30
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

In many countries, questions are being raised about the quality and value of educational research, and whether educational practice can ever draw upon research evidence as productively as in fields such as medicine. This book explores the relationship between research and practice in education, using the case of science education as an example. It looks at the extent to which current practice could be said to be informed by knowledge or ideas generated by research - and at the extent to which the use of current practices or the adoption of new ones are, or could be, supported by research evidence - and so be said to be evidence-based. The issues considered are not specific to science, but apply to the teaching and learning of any curriculum subject. The book draws on the findings of four inter-related research studies, carried out by the Evidence-based Practice in Science Education (EPSE) Research Network. It considers: how research might be used to establish greater consensus aboutcurriculum how research can inform the design of assessment tools and teaching interventions teachers' and other science educators' perceptions of the influence of research on their teaching practices and their students' learning the extent to which evidence can show that an educational practice "works." The book is unique in exploring the issues raised by the current debate about educational research within the context of the teaching and learning of a specific curriculum subject. Rather than looking at how research might inform educational practices in the abstract, it looks at how research can lead to improvement in the teaching of specific pieces of knowledge, or specific skills, that we value. The issues it explores are therefore of direct interest and relevance to educational practitioners and policy-makers.

Table of Contents

List of illustrations	vii
List of contributors	ix
Series editor's preface	xi
Preface	xiii
PART I What is the issue?	1	(24)
1 Research and practice in education	3	(22)
ROBIN MILLAR, JOHN LEACH, JONATHAN OSBORNE AND MARY RATCLIFFE
PART II What does the research tell us?	25	(128)
2 Specifying curriculum goals: Less of an art, more of a science?	27	(17)
JONATHAN OSBORNE, MARY RATCLIFFE, SUE COLLINS AND RICK DUSCHL
3 Using research to clarify learning goals and measure outcomes	44	(16)
ROBIN MILLAR AND VICKY HAMES
4 Designing research evidence-informed teaching interventions	60	(19)
PHIL SCOTT, JOHN LEACH, ANDY HIND AND JENNY LEWIS
5 Implementing and evaluating teaching interventions: Towards research evidence-based practice?	79	(21)
JOHN LEACH, PHIL SCOTT, JAUME AMETLLER, ANDY HIND AND JENNY LEWIS
6 Using designed teaching materials to stimulate changes in practice	100	(17)
ROBIN MILLAR AND VICKY HAMES
7 Teaching 'ideas about science': The role of research in improving practice	117	(17)
MARY RATCLIFFE, JONATHAN OSBORNE AND HANNAH BARTHOLOMEW
8 From evidence to impact: Users' perceptions of research and its influence on their practices	134	(19)
MARY RATCLIFFE, HANNAH BARTHOLOMEW, VICKY HAMES, ANDY HIND, JOHN LEACH, ROBIN MILLAR AND JONATHAN OSBORNE
PART III What are the overall implications?	153	(26)
9 Improving practice in subject teaching: The contribution of research	155	(24)
ROBIN MILLAR, JOHN LEACH, JONATHAN OSBORNE AND MARY RATCLIFFE
Appendix	179	(13)
Outline summaries of the four projects undertaken by the Evidence-based Practice in Science Education (EPSE) Research Network
References	192	(12)
Index	204