Faculty of Education - Research Publications
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ItemAnalyzing Cognitive Demands of a Scientific Reasoning Test Using the Linear Logistic Test Model (LLTM)(MDPI, 2021-09)The development and evaluation of valid assessments of scientific reasoning are an integral part of research in science education. In the present study, we used the linear logistic test model (LLTM) to analyze how item features related to text complexity and the presence of visual representations influence the overall item difficulty of an established, multiple-choice, scientific reasoning competencies assessment instrument. This study used data from n = 243 pre-service science teachers from Australia, Canada, and the UK. The findings revealed that text complexity and the presence of visual representations increased item difficulty and, in total, contributed to 32% of the variance in item difficulty. These findings suggest that the multiple-choice items contain the following cognitive demands: encoding, processing, and combining of textually presented information from different parts of the items and encoding, processing, and combining information that is presented in both the text and images. The present study adds to our knowledge of which cognitive demands are imposed upon by multiple-choice assessment instruments and whether these demands are relevant for the construct under investigation—in this case, scientific reasoning competencies. The findings are discussed and related to the relevant science education literature.
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ItemScrum methodology in context-based secondary chemistry classes: effects on students' achievement and on students' perceptions of affective and metacognitive dimensions of their learning(SPRINGER, 2021-10)Abstract Teaching with Scrum methodology includes ceremonies, roles and artefacts supporting students in planning, monitoring and directing their learning process. It scaffolds students’ learning in complex and sometimes overwhelming context-based learning environments. Effects of the implementation on both students’ learning outcomes and self-reported perceptions of six affective and metacognitive outcomes were investigated. Six teachers implemented Scrum methodology in a context-based secondary chemistry module on Green Chemistry. Their classes formed the experimental group. Based on how students experienced the quality of the implementation, teachers of the experimental group were subdivided into top-teachers and growth-teachers. Consequently, their students formed two sub-experimental groups. The comparison group, which did not use Scrum methodology, consisted of students taught by four teachers. A pre-test post-test control group design was used to study its effect on students’ achievements and self-reported affective and metacognitive outcomes. Students of both experimental groups outperformed students of the comparison group with a large effect-size (top-teachers); and medium effect-size (growth-teachers) on learning outcomes. Findings on students’ perceptions of affective and metacognitive outcomes revealed medium and small effects of Scrum methodology. Despite the fact that the implementation is challenging for teachers, it appears that Scrum methodology has positive effects on students’ achievement and on students’ perceptions of affective and metacognitive dimensions of their learning.
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ItemMaking sense of student data in teacher professional development(ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2020-03-14)
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ItemTeachers' Interactive Cognitions of Differentiated Instruction: An Exploration in Regular and Talent Development Lessons(SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC, 2021-06)Differentiated instruction (DI) is an effective instructional strategy to maximize individual students’ abilities; in practice, however, its implementation appears to be problematic. To better understand teachers’ perspectives on DI and the effect different teaching contexts can have, we explored teachers’ interactive cognitions of DI in their regular lessons and in “talent lessons.” Four stimulated recall interviews were conducted with a sample of secondary school teachers ( n = 4) in the Netherlands. We found that teachers’ interactive cognitions varied depending on the context. More specifically, it appeared that in the “talent lessons,” teachers focused more on small groups or on individual students than they did in the regular lessons. Also, regardless of context, teachers often take student characteristics into account, but how they do this varies among teachers. This study provides a valuable starting point for professional development trajectories and aimed to develop teachers’ implementation of DI while taking individual differences among teachers into account.
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ItemFeeling Good and Functioning Well in Mathematics Education: Exploring Students’ Conceptions of Mathematical Well-Being and Values(SAGE Publications, 2020)Purpose: The high incidence of mathematics anxiety and disengagement in mathematics points to poor student well-being in many mathematics classrooms. Poor well-being may arise in part from poor alignment between student values and classroom experiences. Yet, what student well-being is and how to support it within specific subjects is poorly understood, and intersection between students’ values and well-being in mathematics education is unclear. This article proposes a seven-dimensional framework of student well-being in mathematics education and examines alignment between well-being and values. Design/Approach/Methods: One hundred nineteen eighth-grade Australian students responded to three open-ended questions investigating their conceptions of mathematical well-being (MWB) and what they valued most when learning or doing mathematics. Responses were analyzed using a combined deductive/inductive thematic analysis. Findings: Findings supported the MWB framework and confirmed an alignment between students’ values and well-being in mathematics education. Originality/Value: Our study provides a framework for conceptualizing student well-being in mathematics education, points to areas to target to improve student well-being, and highlights congruences and discordances between well-being and values.
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ItemNo Preview AvailablePromoting insight into algebraic formulas through graphing by hand(ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2021-04-03)
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ItemEmbedding inquiry-based practices in schools: The strategic role of school leaders(WILEY, 2020-06)Abstract The context of this study were research and development projects in Dutch secondary education, particularly funded by government to combine practice‐based research with school development goals for inquiry‐based culture. Aiming at better understanding of the strategic role that school leaders play in embedding inquiry‐based practices in schools, the research question of this study was to explore to what extent and how do school leaders use the opportunity of participating in funded research and development projects for encouraging and integrating inquiry‐based practices in their schools? Differences concerning the integration of inquiry‐based working in the school as professional learning community were examined, distinguishing between school leaders’ strategies of capacity building. Twenty‐eight school leaders of Dutch secondary schools, involved in nineteen projects, were interviewed retrospectively. Analyses showed the majority of the school leaders to be convinced that inquiry‐based working is important for their schools’ development as a professional community. Their strategies for achieving school level project significance differed in school leaders’ successive attention on personal or interpersonal capacity building with regard to inquiry‐based practices. Moreover, while some school leaders were actively involved with capacity building right from the start of the research and development projects projects, almost two‐third of the school leaders developed interest in inquiry‐based practices during the projects and started to enact in the final year of the project. In discussing the results, it is proposed that the interaction of strategy and context needs further study, for instance to inform peer learning among school leaders that are novice and experienced in inquiry‐based practices as a means to develop the school as a professional learning community.
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ItemEffects of Scrum methodology on students' critical scientific literacy: the case of Green Chemistry(ROYAL SOC CHEMISTRY, 2020-07-01)
Secondary science education plays a key role in students’ process to become scientifically literate citizens. However, teaching students to acquire the necessary skills and knowledge to deal with complex societal issues is challenging. This paper reports about a study in which Scrum – a methodology to manage complex projects – was implemented in secondary chemistry classrooms to increase students’ conceptual understanding as well as their critical scientific literacy. A quasi-experimental design was used with 198 Grade 11 students from eight different classes. The experimental condition (99 students, 4 classes, 25 groups with 3 or 4 students, 2 teachers) used Scrum methodology during a context-based course on Green Chemistry. The comparison condition (99 students, 4 classes, 29 groups of 3 or 4 students, 3 teachers) completed the same module about Green Chemistry, without using Scrum methodology. At the end of the course students formulated a written advice on the greenest synthesis of adipic acid. A pre-test on prior knowledge of Green Chemistry principles and a post-test on conceptual understanding of the chemistry concepts involved were administered. In addition, the Standard Observed Learning Outcomes taxonomy (SOLO) was used to analyse the quality of the written advices as a measure for students’ critical scientific literacy. Students from the experimental condition outperformed their peers from the comparison condition in their conceptual understanding. Moreover, the quality of the advices of students from the experimental condition were rated higher than the quality of advices of students in the comparison condition. These findings are discussed and connected to Scrum methodology as teaching approach to scaffold both students’ conceptual understanding and its potential to promote the development of their critical scientific literacy.
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ItemA teacher perspective on Scrum methodology in secondary chemistry education(ROYAL SOC CHEMISTRY, 2020-01-16)Scrum methodology is a novel framework for teaching intended to scaffold students' learning process when they work on complex, real-world tasks. It is originally a project management framework frequently used in business and industry to manage projects. Scrum methodology is increasingly used in educational contexts. Yet, it is also a rather complex framework and more insight in how teachers understand and implement Scrum methodology is needed. Twelve teachers attended a professional development program and simultaneously implemented Scrum methodology in their chemistry lessons. Teachers' didactical expertise and pedagogical expertise appeared to play a key role during the implementation process, whereas teachers' subject matter expertise, and other factors such as teaching context, teaching experience and personal biography seemed to be less important. Didactical and pedagogical expertise enhances teaching with Scrum: it supports the implementation as well as increases its effectiveness, independently of teaching context, experience and personal biography. This would mean Scrum methodology offers possibilities for teachers to enhance and enrich their teaching practice.
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ItemThe relation between graphing formulas by hand and students' symbol sense(SPRINGER, 2020-10)Abstract Students in secondary school often struggle with symbol sense, that is, the general ability to deal with symbols and to recognize the structure of algebraic formulas. Fostering symbol sense is an educational challenge. In graphing formulas by hand, defined as graphing using recognition and reasoning without technology, many aspects of symbol sense come to play. In a previous study, we showed how graphing formulas by hand could be learned. The aim of the study we present here is to explore the relationship between students’ graphing abilities and their symbol sense abilities while solving non-routine algebra tasks. A symbol sense test was administered to a group of 114 grade 12 students. The test consisted of eight graphing tasks and twelve non-routine algebra tasks, which could be solved by graphing and reasoning. Six students were asked to think aloud during the test. The findings show a strong positive correlation between the scores on the graphing tasks and the scores on the algebra tasks and the symbol sense used while solving these tasks. The thinking-aloud protocols suggest that the students who scored high on the graphing tasks used similar aspects of symbol sense in both the graphing and algebra tasks, that is, using combinations of recognizing function families and key features, and qualitative reasoning. As an implication for teaching practice, learning to graph formulas by hand might be an approach to promote students’ symbol sense.