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Descriptors:
College Students; Scientific Concepts; Visual Aids; Evolution; Thinking Skills; Inferences; Pattern Recognition; Relationship; Genetics; Classification; Prior Learning; Sciences; Textbooks; Scientific Literacy

Abstract:
Tree thinking involves using cladograms, hierarchical diagrams depicting the evolutionary history of a set of taxa, to reason about evolutionary relationships and support inferences. Tree thinking is indispensable in modern science. College students' tree-thinking skills were investigated using tree (much more common in professional biology) and ladder (somewhat more common in textbooks) cladogram formats. Students' responses to questions assessing five tree-thinking skills provided evidence for several perceptual and conceptual factors that impact reasoning (e.g., the Gestalt principles of good continuation and spatial proximity, prior knowledge). Instructional implications of the results include using the tree format for initial instruction and clarifying that most recent common ancestry determines evolutionary relatedness. Broader implications for designing scientific diagrams and promoting diagrammatic literacy are considered. (Contains 7 figures, 4 tables, and 6 notes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Sciences; Museums; Foreign Countries; Science Instruction; Toys; Science Education; Science Curriculum; Hands on Science; Buddhism; Scientific and Technical Information

Abstract:
This article focuses on some of the intersections of two worldviews: Western modern science and a Buddhism-based way of life in Thailand. It enters the debate on the place and practice of Indigenous forms of knowledge and the clashes with formal science education curricula. Our goal is "balanced bi-gnosis": the possession of, and proficiency in, two distinct knowledge systems, rejecting syncretic forms or integration of these knowledge systems. The examples discussed are drawn from Thailand's National Science Museum and, in particular, from the museum's work in the traditional Thai technology gallery using visitors' hands-on activities with toys. (Contains 8 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Learning Motivation; Intervention; Secondary School Students; Learning Strategies; Creativity; Creativity Tests; Thinking Skills; Program Implementation; Sciences; Academic Achievement; Teaching Methods; Pretests Posttests; Program Effectiveness; Control Groups; Experimental Groups; Foreign Countries; Science Activities; Science Instruction

Abstract:
The "Learn to Think" (LTT) Intervention Program was developed for raising thinking abilities of primary and secondary school students. It has been implemented in more than 300 schools, and more than 200,000 students took part in the experiment over a 10"year span. Several longitudinal intervention studies showed that LTT could promote the development of students' thinking ability, learning motivation, and learning strategy as well as raise academic performance in primary schools. This article describes a study of the influence and the delayed effects of LTT on the scientific creativity of secondary school students. One hundred and seven students were selected from a secondary school, 54 of them participated in the LTT every 2 weeks and the rest had not. The intervention lasted 2 years, and the delayed effect was explored half a year after terminating the intervention. The Scientific Creativity Test for Secondary School Students was used four times from pre-test to delayed post-test. The results indicated that the LTT did promote the development of scientific creativity of secondary school students, and the effects on the scientific creativity were not necessarily immediate, but tended to be long-lasting. (Contains 7 tables and 7 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Elementary School Teachers; Middle School Teachers; Mathematics; Sciences; Teacher Characteristics; Teacher Attitudes; Learning; Change; Differences; Faculty Development; Learning Experience

Abstract:
This paper examines upper elementary and middle school teachers' learning of mathematics and science content, how their perceptions of their disciplines and learning of that discipline developed through content-rich learning experiences, and the differences and commonalities of the teachers' learning experiences relative to content domain. This work was situated within a larger professional development (PD) program that had multiple, long-term components. Participants' growth occurred in 4 primary areas: knowledge of content, perceptions of the discipline, perceptions about the learning of the discipline, and perceptions regarding how students learn content. Findings suggest that when embedded within an effective professional development context, content can be a critical vehicle through which change can be made in teachers' understandings and perceptions of mathematics and science. When participants in our study were able to move beyond their internal conflicts and misunderstandings, they could expand their knowledge and perceptions of content and finally bridge to re-conceptualize how to teach that content. These findings further indicate that although teachers involved in both mathematics and science can benefit from similar overall PD structures, there are some unique challenges that need to be addressed for each particular discipline group. This study contributes to what we understand about teacher learning and change, as well as commonalities and differences between teachers' learning of mathematics and science. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Sciences; Religion; Conflict; Philosophy; Intellectual Disciplines; Conflict Resolution; Biological Sciences; Evolution; Scientists; Research; Learning Processes

Abstract:
It is an unfortunate fact of academic life that there is a sharp divide between science and philosophy, with scientists often being openly dismissive of philosophy, and philosophers being equally contemptuous of the naivete of scientists when it comes to the philosophical underpinnings of their own discipline. In this paper I explore the possibility of reducing the distance between the two sides by introducing science students to some interesting philosophical aspects of research in evolutionary biology, using biological theories of the origin of religion as an example. I show that philosophy is both a discipline in its own right as well as one that has interesting implications for the understanding and practice of science. While the goal is certainly not to turn science students into philosophers, the idea is that both disciplines cannot but benefit from a mutual dialogue that starts as soon as possible, in the classroom. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Science Education; Scientific Research; Educational Theories; Foreign Countries; Natural Sciences; Public Education; Scientists; Sciences; Higher Education; Science Curriculum

Abstract:
In this paper, I describe the strong and reciprocal relations between the emergence of the specialized expert in the natural sciences and the establishment of science education, in early Modern Greece. Accordingly, I show how science and public education interacted within the Greek state from its inception in the early 1830, to the first decade of the twentieth century, when the University of Athens established an autonomous Mathematics and Physics School. Several factors are taken into account, such as the negotiations of Western educational theories and practices within a local context, the discourses of the science savants of the University of Athens, the role of the influential Greek pedagogues of the era, the state as an agent which imposed restrictions or facilitated certain developments and finally the intellectual and cultural aspirations of the nation itself. Science education is shown to be of fundamental importance for Greek scientists. The inclusion of science within the school system preceded and promoted the appearance of a scientific community and the institution of science courses was instrumental for the emergence of the first trained Greek scientists. Thus, the conventional narrative that would have science appearing in the classrooms as an aftermath of the emergence of a scientific community is problematized. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Immigrants; Foreign Countries; Industry; Brain Drain; School Business Relationship; Expertise; Racial Differences; Knowledge Economy; Entrepreneurship; Innovation; Engineering; Technology; Sciences; Networks; Socioeconomic Status; Role

Abstract:
University-industry (U-I) linkage is not a new concept. Although there are models for such linkage that have been tested or used, they may remain unsuitable in certain countries and communities. With the unique situation of the Palestinians, the existing models may fall short of meeting the specific needs and targets of establishing such a relationship. This paper aims at building a framework for stronger relationships between Palestinian universities and industries and entrepreneurial network of the Palestinian Diaspora based on a strong supporting platform of Science, Engineering, Technology & Innovation (SET&I). This would in turn strengthen the SET&I platform rendering it an enabled and enabling platform. Several interviews were conducted with people seen as experts and/or representatives in this field. University-industry collaboration, knowledge networks, Diaspora, researchers, investment, spin off, spill over, brain drain, Palestinian skilled immigrants and others are pieces of a puzzle. This puzzle can be put together in many ways. Looking through the eyes of Palestinian Diaspora entrepreneurs, U-I collaborations are a ready platform that could support their mobilization and movement towards challenge and socio-economic satisfaction in Palestine. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Foreign Countries; Secondary School Students; Language; Academic Discourse; Sociology; Science Education; Technology; Sciences; Interviews; Classroom Communication; Culture

Abstract:
In much of science education research, the content of talk tends to be attributed to the persons who produce the sound-words in a speech situation. A radically different, sociological perspective on language-in-use grounded in Marxism derives from the work of L. S. Vygotsky and the members of the circle around M. M. Bakhtin. Accordingly, each word belongs to speaker and recipient "simultaneously." It represents "collective" consciousness and, therefore, shared ideology, which can no longer be attributed to the individual. The purpose of this study is to develop a sociological perspective on language in science education, a perspective in which language continuously changes. I articulate this position in the context of classroom and interview talk with 14-year-old Swiss non-academically streamed lower secondary students about technology and science. In this context, science classrooms and interviews are shown to be microcosms of Swiss (German) culture and society reproduced in and through the situated talk about science and technology. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Foreign Countries; Sciences; Museums; Learning; Mexicans; Family (Sociological Unit); Informal Education; Social Environment; Cultural Context; Social Influences; Cultural Influences; Case Studies

Abstract:
Latin American audiences living in their countries of origin are poorly understood as museum learners due to the scarcity of research in this field. Through a case study approach, I investigate and report on the ways of learning of 20 Mexican family groups. In particular, I examine the influence of the Mexican sociocultural context on the participant family members' learning outcomes from a Mexican science museum. Conducted in Universum Museo de las Ciencias, a science museum located in Mexico City, this research study is based on the premise that understanding the role of the sociocultural elements of learning is essential to understanding the nature of learning in museums. The cognitive and social outcomes of the participants are discussed in the light of the sociocultural elements that define Mexicans as museum learners. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Philosophy; Religion; Sciences; Synthesis; Differences

Abstract:
In modern science, the synthesis of "nature/mind" in observation, experiment, and explanation, especially in physics and biology increasingly reveal a non-linear totality in which subject, object, and situation have become inseparable. This raises the interesting ontological question of the true nature of reality? Western science as seen in its evolution from Socratic Greece has tried to understand the world by objectifying it, resulting in dualistic dilemmas. Indian science, as seen in its evolution from the Vedic times (1500-500 bc) has tried to understand the world by subjectifying our consciousness of reality. Within the Hindu tradition, the "Advaita-Vedanta" school of philosophy offers possibilities for resolving not only the Cartesian dilemma but also a solution to the nature of difference in a non-dualistic totality. We also present the "Advaita-Vedanta" principle of superimposition as a useful approach to modern physical and social science, which have been increasingly forced to reject the absolute reductionism and dualism of classical differences between subject and object. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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