United States and China: common issues in science education

1. United States and China:common issues in science education Creating student scientists, not just science students. Steven B. Case Ph.D. Center for Science Education University of Kansas

2. United States and China: seeking common environmental research strategies International Research and Education: Planning Visits and Workshops (Program Solicitation NSF 04-035) from the Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Science, Office of International Science and Engineering.

3. United States and China: seeking common environmental research strategies • Two Goals; • Establish a collaborative research network between three universities in China: Tianjin University, Zhengzhou University and Sichuan University, and the University of Kansas. • 2) Establish a DHN among the universities and local schools that will extend the research and education outreach to form a collaborative research community.

4. United States and China: seeking common environmental research strategies Where did we go? Tianjin China Tianjin University Nankai University University High School Zhengzhou, China Zhengzhou University Kaifeng, China Three High Schools Chengdu, China Sichuan University Sichuan Student Technology Association Shi Shi Middle and High School

5. United States National Science Education Standards • Developed in 1996, there are seven national standards that describe what students should know, understand, and be able to do in the natural sciences. These standards are clustered for grade levels K-2, 3-4, 5-8, and 9-12. • 1. Science as Inquiry • Physical Science • Life Science • 4. Earth and Space Science • 5. Science and Technology • 6. Science in Personal and Environmental Perspectives • 7. History and Nature of Science

6. Scientific Research = Scientific Inquiry 1) Inquiry Instruction • 5 - E Model for Instruction • Engage, Explore, Explain, Extend, Evaluate • Learning Cycles • Exploration, Concept Invention and Application • Discrepant Events • Playful Discovery 2) Scientific Inquiry

7. The Standards and Scientific Inquiry Students at all grade levels and in every domain of science should have the opportunity to use scientific inquiry and develop the ability to think and act in way associated with inquiry, including asking question, planning and conducting investigations, using appropriate tools and techniques to gather data, thinking critically and logically about relationships between evidence and explanations, constructing and analyzing alternative explanations, and communicating scientific arguments. (NSES, 1996)

8. Science Education: Process or Content The new vision includes the "processes of science" and requires that students combine processes and scientific knowledge as they use scientific reasoning and critical thinking to develop their understanding of science.

9. Contextualized Knowledge • To enhance student learning, these investigations will provide fertile ground where their students can transfer their learning to multiple contexts. Learning that only occurs in a single context will become inert except within that context. • To enhance student learning, problem-centered learning allows many experiences and prior knowledge to come into play as students develop new constructs. • For Teachers, the development of a problem-centered approach to learning allows teachers to operate as a mediator, guide, provocateur, friend and co-learner with their students.

10. Technology in the NCSE The Central characteristic between science and technology is a difference in goal: The goal of science is to understand the natural world and the goal of technology is to make modifications in the world to meet human needs.

11. Pattern seeking

12. Global Warming Research Stomatal densities as bioindicators of atmospheric carbon dioxide

13. Pattern seeking in data

14. Student Research based on Global Warming Creating the Context • What is the normal variation in the Stomatal Index found on a species? • How much does the Stomatal Index vary between species? • Is the age of the tree related to the number of stomata found on the leaf? • Does the cardinal direction the leaf comes from on the tree influence the Stomatal Index? (In North America, the south side of a tree will receive more light and be exposed to more wind.) • Does the direction the terrain slopes (where the tree is) make a difference tree on the number of stomata found on the leaves? • Is there a difference in stomatal index on leaves grown in a carbon dioxide enriched environment to those grown under normal atmospheric conditions? • Is there a variation in the stomatal index along a rainfall gradient? • What is the variation in numbers of stomata that occur between plants growing in similar habitats but using different photosynthetic pathways, C3, C4, and CAM?

15. Chinese science education

16. Contact Information Steven B. Case Ph.D. stcase@ku.edu Center for Science Education http://www.kuscied.org Center for Research on Learning 1122 West Campus Road #702A University of Kansas Lawrence, Kansas 66045-3101 http://home.everestkc.net/scase001