Reform And Innovation Of Science And Education

This book investigates the interrelationship between educational reforms and pedagogical and technological innovations, as well as the implications of this relationship for the quality of human capital. By analyzing recent educational reforms in Russia and the US, the authors shed new light on how these reforms may help or hinder innovations, such as the introduction of computer technologies into classrooms, new methods of teacher evaluation, constructivist teaching methods, and governance in public schools. Taking labor economics as a useful lens for conceptualizing the diffusion of innovation, in the first part of the book the authors analyze book how certain power arrangements can block educational innovations in schools. In the second part they examine recent educational reforms in the US and Russia. The final part presents a vision of the next generation of educational reforms, which may enable innovation diffusion, rather than hamper it.

Science/Technology/Society (S/T/S) is a reform effort to broaden science as a discipline in schools and colleges; to relate science to other facets of the curriculum; and to relate science specifically to technology and to the society that supports and produces new conceptualizations of both. S/T/S is also defined as the teaching and learning of science/technology in the context of human experience. It focuses on a method of teaching that recognizes the importance that experience in the real world has on the learning process. And it recognizes that real learning can occur only when the learner is engaged and able to construct her or his own meaning. Science/Technology/Society as Reform in Science Education, is rich with examples of such teaching and learning. It includes impressive research evidence that illustrates that progress has been made and goals have been met. For teachers and administrators alike, this book provides and validates new visions for science education.

Teaching Science for Understanding

Change in education is too often a process which enthusiasts, ranging from top policy makers to groups of teachers, plan and drive forward, but in which they all find unexpected pitfalls. Every innovation depends on the commitment of schools and teachers to make it work. But often that commitment is lacking, or is less than total, or it turns to fustration as events develop. This book is based on a set of stories from teachers and education professionals in thirteen OECD countries. Twenty-three case studies of educational innovation in science, mathematics and technology have involved school teachers, inspectors, academics (both subject specialists and educational researchers), policy makers and advisors. The case studies come from Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland and the USA. Drawing on this rich variety of material the authors concentrate on the origins and purposes of innovation within and across the science, mathematics and technology curricula. They consider the conceptions of the three subjects, along with issues of teaching, learning and assessment, and explore the involvement of both teachers and students. They reflect on the various strategies adopted to cope with or bring about change, and offer valuable insights to advisors, developers, policy makers and practitioners, both in schools and outside. The writing team includes Paul Black, King's College London; Mike Atkin, Stanford University; Raymond Duval, University of Lille; Edwyn James, Consultant, OECD; John Olson, Queen's University of Kingston, Ontario; Dieter Pevsner, Consultant, London; Senta Raizen, National Centre for Improving Science Education, Washington; Maria Saez, University of Valladolid, Spain; and Helen Simons, Southampton University. Published in association with the OECD

Two international leaders offer important insights into the ways in which the discipline of science education has developed and how school curriculum has been shaped by both scientific discovery and social change. J Myron Atkin (U.S.) and Paul Black (U.K.) share their vast and varied experiences in this historical account that chronicles the many developments in the field from the end of World War II to the present. The chapters in this volume cover: the aims and politics of science education, curriculum development, subject matter boundaries, pedagogy and learning, assessment and evaluation, educational research and practice, and the teaching profession. Each theme is introduced in its historical and philosophical context, with current issues emphasized. The authors then analyze these themes by drawing on relevant episodes from their transatlantic careers. These episodes act as a springboard for developing insights into each theme, including comparisons between educational practices in the United States and the United Kingdom. Featuring compelling examples and a cohesive presentation, this groundbreaking volume is essential reading for anyone making decisions about the future of science education.

This study examines the history of "innovation" as a lever for urban public school reform in Philadelphia and the ways this layered discourse inflects the practice and instruction of literacy in a new, non-selective high school organized on principals of "making" and "design thinking." Drawing on sociocultural theories of literacy and science and technology studies, the project traces the changing meanings of "innovation"--from its rise in Cold War technoscientific R&D initiatives to its present associations with STEM and entrepreneurship--and follows them as they are integrated into the day-to-day dynamics of classrooms. To do so, it grounds this history in the Philadelphia context, from the 1967 founding of the district Office of Innovative Programs to the present-day proliferation of schools in the city's Innovation Network. The study interrogates (1) how the discourse of "innovation" circulates in and across these spaces, (2) from what lineages these configurations of "innovation" emerge, and (3) how teachers and students work to reconcile these notions of "innovation" with their own purposes for literacy teaching and learning. Drawing on archival research related to the design and construction of University City High School--the district's first new construction "innovation" school--and nine-months of ethnographic data collection in the asynchronous, technology-driven humanities classroom of a present-day Innovation School, the project considers how resonances from past waves of "innovative" reform persist over time, as well as how certain frictions and modes of resistance are rendered unavailable as the discourse of "innovation" takes on new meanings. In particular, the study elucidates a vibrant history of protest in the 1960s as parents, teachers, students, community organizations, business leaders, and district officials battled over competing uses of "innovative" reform--some stressing interventions that provided resources for children and augmented instruction (innovation-for-education) and some emphasizing the value of education reform for enacting urban renewal programs to solidify Philadelphia's place as a hub of "innovation" (education-for-innovation). Importantly, the study illuminates how, in its contemporary formation, these contested meanings still exist, but are often conflated in the anodyne practices of "making," "design," "autonomous learning," and "social entrepreneurship." The project elucidates how these contradictions exert competing pressures on students and teachers, and uses interviews, artifacts, field notes, and classroom audio recordings to examine the ways they take up, resist, or rework, and adapt to these pressures, with varying degrees of success. The study's overarching findings point to ways "innovative" reforms often draw on and reconfigure old practices for new purposes, sometimes to contradictory ends. Further, it suggests that the discourse of "innovation" might better serve its purpose if reoriented toward maintenance--the on-the-ground infrastructures that are necessary to support those who are made vulnerable by "innovative" programs, and to sustain public education to better support the goal of equitable student flourishing for all. To do so, the project suggests, there is need to wrest "innovation" from the scale of scientists, policymakers, and technology entrepreneurs, and to relocated in the lived dynamics of classrooms--a reorientation with implications for research, policy, and practice.

This book provides key contributions by leading international researchers and scholars on a range of perspectives related to improving learning outcomes for students across educational settings from the primary years, through to university and beyond. It will be of interest to school administrators, teachers, researchers and policy makers who are interested in finding new and innovative ways to meet the needs of learners in the globalised world of the 21st century in culturally competent and meaningful ways. Throughout the chapters, a common theme of innovation, reform and overcoming barriers to learning are highlighted and the reader will gain a considerable knowledge of strategies and techniques to improve learner engagement and outcomes in meaningful and effective ways. In addition, this book will be of interest to university professors who wish to find a comprehensive reader for teacher preparation courses that provide international perspectives of academics from around the world, including the UK, USA, Australia, Norway, Kazakhstan and Korea. This broad and international perspective also provides a starting point for discussing culture and the role it plays in educational and life outcomes and how educators can become culturally competent in designing, delivering and facilitating learning experiences across sectors and around the globe.

UNESCO pub. Monograph on present trends in the educational development of science education, with particular reference to the needs of developing countries - examines past experience, possible strategies and promising innovations, and covers secondary education activities, educational technology, teaching methods, the role of the teacher, etc. Annotated bibliography pp. 237 to 249.

Decade of Reform: Science and technology policy in China