ESERA Summer School 2100, Udine

Secretariat of the ESERA Summer School 2010, CIRD
University of Udine
via delle Scienze 206, 33100 UDINE, Italy
Tel. 0039 0432 558211 Fax 0039 0432 558230
e-mail: esera10@uniud.it

Programme: Workshops

WORKSHOPS

WSA -26-27 July 2010 - 11.00-13.00, 27 July 2010 - 16.30-18.30 Rizzi Scientific Campus Room 2 and Room 4
Using statistical methods and understanding quantitative studies
Robert Evans and Alexander Kauertz, Department of Science Education, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Rational:
Writing a PhD-thesis requires a broad knowledge about different options to answer the research question. Even the formulation or focus of the research question might be influenced by the researcher's possibilities and abilities regarding methods. Statistical methods thereby are not only relevant for quantitative studies but also for qualitative since literature reviews most often include publications about quantitative studies and some kinds of qualitative methods lead to data that can be described by descriptive statistical methods. To assess data quality and the significance of publications for their own work, at least basic knowledge about statistics is required.
Choices:
For Workshop A each Summerschool participant will choose two of four possible one-hour sessions to attend. Choices depend on interest and past experience. Please make your choices before the workshop so that we can use the full time.
These are the four one-hour workshops:
I. Regression analysis (R. Evans)
II. Using SPSS (A. Kauertz)
III. A case study about misuse of basic data (R. Evans)
IV. Analyzing data structure by Principal Components Analysis (A. Kauertz)

Possible Combinations (decide ahead of time which two you would like) Notice that there are four possible combinations of workshops as shown by the four arrows. So, you could start with I and then go to III or IV. Or, you can begin with II and then go to III or IV.

WSB - 26-27 July 2010 - 11.00-13.00 , 27 July 2010 - 16.30-18.30 Rizzi Scientific Campus Room 51
Connecting your research with a theoretical framework: formulating research questions with the potential to make a theoretical contribution
Costas Constantinou, Learning in Science Group Department of Educational Sciences, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus
In this workshop, students are familiarized with procedures for (a) selecting a specific topic of educational research with respect to the teaching and learning of science; (b) identifying and undertaking critical analysis of the available research literature on this topic, and (c) synthesizing a theoretical framework which denotes a theoretical perspective but also describes the established knowledge from prior research and the issues that remain open to future investigation in that chosen topic. Part of this workshop will be devoted to students highlighting their own theoretical assumptions and priorities and part of it will involve the analysis of the research design of published research studies. We will concentrate on empirical studies that are published in one of the established science education research journals. In each analysis, students are expected to identify the relevant variables, the measured variables, the method and means of each measurement, the type of data and the analytical tests/procedures that have been performed as well as the resulting interpretations on relationships. In addition we will examine critically the contribution of pre-selected studies to the study of science learning and teaching and to the methodological tools that are available to the research scientist.

WSC - 26-27 July 2010 - 11.00-13.00 , 27 July 2010 16.30-18.30 Rizzi Scientific Campus Room 52
Strategies for analyzing qualitative data
Vanessa Kind, Durham University, United Kingdom
Presentation
Transcriptions

WSD - 29 July 2010 - 11.00-13.00 and 14.00-16.00 Rizzi Scientific Campus Room 51 Writing and reviewing
Writing and reviewing
Justin Dillon, King's College London, United Kingdom
Mixture of input, tasks and discussions.
Draft of the presentation

WSE - 29 July 2010 - 11.00-13.00 and 14.00-16.00 Rizzi Scientific Campus Room 52
Designing teaching/learning activities for NOS
Peter Dekkers, Universiteit Utrecht, The Netherlands
Worldwide, most of the teaching of science involves transmitting content. That is all right for passing exams. But it is not sufficient for developing in people an appreciation and understanding of the qualities of scientific knowledge and the work of scientists. Children often come to overrate science, in thinking that it provides the single correct answer to every question, as well as to underrate it, in thinking that the questions are mainly pointless and the answers incomprehensible. �Can we develop in kids, better than we have done so far and at a level they can comprehend, an understanding of what science is about, what scientists aspire to, and what the status is of the scientific knowledge they produce? An understanding, in other words, of the nature of science (NOS)?
But how can we teach NOS if even scientists and philosophers find it hard to say what science is, or to agree on what they say about it? How can we teach young children about these controversial issues? In what way could that benefit the overall quality of science education and the interest and motivation of students? And finally, how can we design NOS-oriented educational activities that motivate, activate and have the intended results of learning? Rather than answering these questions with an extensive theoretical background, this workshop intends to provide you with first hand experience as a learner and designer of NOS-oriented activities, to sensitise you to the importance of NOS, and to inspire you to pay attention to NOS in your work.
Procedure
The workshop consists of the following parts:

Setting the stage

By participating as student in a NOS based activity, obtain a sense of what it means to understand NOS, of how that can be learned and what is involved in teaching NOS.

Background: what is NOS and how is it relevant?

In the form of a short lecture I will highlight some of the main views in the literature, as to what understandings of NOS children actually appear to have, what understandings they ought to develop, and why that may be considered to be important.

More examples - design your own
I will briefly introduce examples from a range of concrete activities or phenomena that are in various ways promising for designing a NOS-oriented activity. In teams of 5, you then try and work out (the start of) a design of that kind. This will involve making choices as to:
- the understandings of NOS you would like children to develop from your activity,
- the tasks and questions that you think will allow children to develop those understandings,
- the things you will do to find out whether they did develop those understandings.

Presentation and conclusion

Each group will have 5 min to present their design, to highlight the design criteria they used or strived for, and discuss how they used these. The literature tells us we should, for example, activate children, motivate them, uncover and develop their existing knowledge and skills, stimulate collaboration and discussion, attend to individual differences and stimulate higher order thinking skills.
Some concluding remarks will round off the session.

ESERA Summer School 2010, Udine