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Plants encounter several different threats that affect their well-being during the spring. With chemistry, plants may defend themselves from, for example, excess UV-radiation and herbivores. The defense compounds between plant species vary, which makes it possible to utilize chemistry in identifying the plant species. In this laboratory experiment, students extracted the defense compounds from the surface of leaf buds, estimated the total phenolic content of the extract, and determined its antioxidant activity. In addition, the chemical fingerprints of the leaf buds were analyzed by liquid chromatography combined to mass spectrometry to identify the species as white birch, silver birch, or some other tree species. The laboratory experiment was performed with secondary school and university students in one approximately 3 h laboratory session. Pre- and post-tests done by the university students showed that the experiment provided students a basic understanding of how the instruments function and what they are used for. Their mind maps of the chemistry of plants were concentrated on the primary metabolites, but the experiment widened their views of specialized metabolites and their functions in plants, thus encouraging the students to combine chemical and biological information.
Marianna Manninen; Veli-Matti Vesterinen; Anna-Kaisa Vainio; Heidi Korhonen; Maarit Karonen; Juha-Pekka Salminen. Identification of Tree Species by Their Defense Compounds: A Study with Leaf Buds of White and Silver Birches. Journal of Chemical Education 2021, 98, 973 -981.
AMA StyleMarianna Manninen, Veli-Matti Vesterinen, Anna-Kaisa Vainio, Heidi Korhonen, Maarit Karonen, Juha-Pekka Salminen. Identification of Tree Species by Their Defense Compounds: A Study with Leaf Buds of White and Silver Birches. Journal of Chemical Education. 2021; 98 (3):973-981.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMarianna Manninen; Veli-Matti Vesterinen; Anna-Kaisa Vainio; Heidi Korhonen; Maarit Karonen; Juha-Pekka Salminen. 2021. "Identification of Tree Species by Their Defense Compounds: A Study with Leaf Buds of White and Silver Birches." Journal of Chemical Education 98, no. 3: 973-981.
In many studies, the focus has been on students’ written scientific argumentation rather than on their spoken argumentation. The main aim of this study was to relate the quality of spoken argumentation to groups’ learning achievement during a collaborative inquiry task. The data included video recordings of six groups of three upper secondary students performing a collaborative inquiry task in a virtual learning environment. The target groups were selected from a larger sample of 39 groups based on their group outcome: two low, two average, and two high-outcome groups. The analysis focused on argumentation chains during the students’ discussions in the planning, experimentation, and conclusion phases of the inquiry task. The core of the coding scheme was based on Toulmin’s levels of argumentation. The results revealed differences between the different groups of students, with the high-performing groups having more argumentation than the average and low-performing groups. In high-performing groups, the students asked topic-related questions more frequently, which started the argumentative discussion. Meanwhile, there were few questions in the low-performing groups, and most did not lead to discussion. An evaluation scheme for the quality of the arguments was created and the spoken argumentation was analyzed using a computer-based program. The results may be used to benefit subject teacher education and to raise teachers’ awareness of their students’ scientific, topic-related discussions.
Marko Telenius; Eija Yli-Panula; Veli-Matti Vesterinen; Marja Vauras. Argumentation within Upper Secondary School Student Groups during Virtual Science Learning: Quality and Quantity of Spoken Argumentation. Education Sciences 2020, 10, 393 .
AMA StyleMarko Telenius, Eija Yli-Panula, Veli-Matti Vesterinen, Marja Vauras. Argumentation within Upper Secondary School Student Groups during Virtual Science Learning: Quality and Quantity of Spoken Argumentation. Education Sciences. 2020; 10 (12):393.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMarko Telenius; Eija Yli-Panula; Veli-Matti Vesterinen; Marja Vauras. 2020. "Argumentation within Upper Secondary School Student Groups during Virtual Science Learning: Quality and Quantity of Spoken Argumentation." Education Sciences 10, no. 12: 393.
Jaakko Lamminpää; Veli-Matti Vesterinen; Katja Puutio. Draw-A-Science-Comic: exploring children’s conceptions by drawing a comic about science. Research in Science & Technological Education 2020, 1 -22.
AMA StyleJaakko Lamminpää, Veli-Matti Vesterinen, Katja Puutio. Draw-A-Science-Comic: exploring children’s conceptions by drawing a comic about science. Research in Science & Technological Education. 2020; ():1-22.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJaakko Lamminpää; Veli-Matti Vesterinen; Katja Puutio. 2020. "Draw-A-Science-Comic: exploring children’s conceptions by drawing a comic about science." Research in Science & Technological Education , no. : 1-22.
The early years of primary school are important in shaping how children see scientists and science, but researching younger children is known to be difficult. The Draw-A-Scientist Test (DAST), in which students are asked to draw a scientist, has been one of the most popular ways to chart children’s conceptions of scientists and science. However, DAST tends to focus mainly on children’s conceptions about the appearance of scientists. To focus more on children’s conceptions of scientific activities as well as the emotions and attitudes associated with science, the Draw-A-Science-Comic test (DASC) was recently introduced. This study compares three alternative DASC prompts for two age groups of respondents (8- to 10-year-olds and 10- to 13-year-olds). The prompts asking students to draw a comic or a set of pictures produced significantly more sequential storytelling and depictions of science related emotions and attitudes than the prompt asking students to depict a story. The depictions of elements of danger, such as accidents and hazards in the laboratory, were also frequent in drawings with sequential storytelling. A more detailed analysis of the depictions showed that the frequency of elements of danger was closely associated with depictions of activity especially in the field of chemistry. For example, several comics included failed chemical experiments leading to explosions. Although depictions of danger are sometimes interpreted as a negative conception, in the children’s drawings the explosions and overflowing flasks were often seen also as a source of excitement and joy. Based on the result of this study, the use of DASC seems a suitable way for charting children’s conceptions of scientific activities as well as the emotions and attitudes associated with science from the early years of primary education until the beginning of secondary education.
Jaakko Lamminpää; Veli-Matti Vesterinen. Draw-A-Science-Comic: Alternative prompts and the presence of danger. LUMAT: International Journal on Math, Science and Technology Education 2020, 8, 319–339 -319–339.
AMA StyleJaakko Lamminpää, Veli-Matti Vesterinen. Draw-A-Science-Comic: Alternative prompts and the presence of danger. LUMAT: International Journal on Math, Science and Technology Education. 2020; 8 (1):319–339-319–339.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJaakko Lamminpää; Veli-Matti Vesterinen. 2020. "Draw-A-Science-Comic: Alternative prompts and the presence of danger." LUMAT: International Journal on Math, Science and Technology Education 8, no. 1: 319–339-319–339.
The autumnal leaf color change is a familiar phenomenon to most students living in temperate climate zones. The extraction and analysis of the pigments of the autumn leaves provide an engaging way to study the phenomenon utilizing both simple as well as more sophisticated analytical methods. In this laboratory experiment, students extract the red and yellow pigments, that is, anthocyanins and carotenoids from leaves and separate them from each other by liquid–liquid extractions. From the separated phases, anthocyanin and carotenoid concentrations can be evaluated visually or spectrophotometrically. The anthocyanins are analyzed by a rapid and simple ultra-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method to discover which of the six most common groups of anthocyanins are present in the sample. The simplicity of the experiment setup allows it to be used as an introduction to mass spectrometry since the results can be easily interpreted without complicated data processing. The experiment provides opportunities for learning outside the classroom, as the samples can be collected from the nearby parks or forests and analyzed using more sophisticated methods on a student visit to a university or other research institution. The sample preparation followed by the visual analyses of the phases is however simple enough to be performed in a regular school laboratory.
Marianna Manninen; Veli-Matti Vesterinen; Juha-Pekka Salminen. Chemistry of Autumn Colors: Quantitative Spectrophotometric Analysis of Anthocyanins and Carotenoids and Qualitative Analysis of Anthocyanins by Ultra-performance Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry. Journal of Chemical Education 2020, 97, 772 -777.
AMA StyleMarianna Manninen, Veli-Matti Vesterinen, Juha-Pekka Salminen. Chemistry of Autumn Colors: Quantitative Spectrophotometric Analysis of Anthocyanins and Carotenoids and Qualitative Analysis of Anthocyanins by Ultra-performance Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry. Journal of Chemical Education. 2020; 97 (3):772-777.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMarianna Manninen; Veli-Matti Vesterinen; Juha-Pekka Salminen. 2020. "Chemistry of Autumn Colors: Quantitative Spectrophotometric Analysis of Anthocyanins and Carotenoids and Qualitative Analysis of Anthocyanins by Ultra-performance Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry." Journal of Chemical Education 97, no. 3: 772-777.
During the past few decades, several interconnected research traditions have paid more and more attention to the process of educational design. Educational design research and other design-oriented methods seek solutions for complex educational problems through systematic, iterative, and continuing process of design, development, and evaluation of educational practices. This special issue presents six articles including research on educational design research methodology as well as research utilizing educational design research methods.
Johannes Pernaa; Veli-Matti Vesterinen. Editorial. LUMAT: International Journal on Math, Science and Technology Education 2019, 7, 3–5 -3–5.
AMA StyleJohannes Pernaa, Veli-Matti Vesterinen. Editorial. LUMAT: International Journal on Math, Science and Technology Education. 2019; 7 (3):3–5-3–5.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJohannes Pernaa; Veli-Matti Vesterinen. 2019. "Editorial." LUMAT: International Journal on Math, Science and Technology Education 7, no. 3: 3–5-3–5.
Jaakko Lamminpää; Veli-Matti Vesterinen. The use of humour during a collaborative inquiry. International Journal of Science Education 2018, 40, 1718 -1735.
AMA StyleJaakko Lamminpää, Veli-Matti Vesterinen. The use of humour during a collaborative inquiry. International Journal of Science Education. 2018; 40 (14):1718-1735.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJaakko Lamminpää; Veli-Matti Vesterinen. 2018. "The use of humour during a collaborative inquiry." International Journal of Science Education 40, no. 14: 1718-1735.
Learner-centered sustainability education has been advocated to be used in higher education, but the pedagogy is blurry. In the discussions, also an idea of a learner-driven approach has been promoted. The aim of this study is to study how these pedagogies have been described and suggested to be used by a group of higher education students responsible for planning a teacher education course on sustainability education. This case study uses grounded theory to analyze the higher education students’ beliefs about learner-centered and learner-driven sustainability education. The data was obtained from audio-recordings of the planning process and two semi-structured interviews of five students acting as course designers. The course designers showed to have beliefs about the nature of learner-centered/learner-driven pedagogy, freedom, meaningfulness, acting and making an influence in the learning environment, the nature and ownership of sustainable development knowledge, the diversity of the learners, and pedagogical support. The results indicate that the learner-centered and learner-driven approach are fundamentally different in terms of all of the categories. In conclusion, it is suggested that the terminology concerning learner-centered and learner-driven approaches should be more precise, and sustainability education should be developed towards a more transformative, learner-driven education.
Jaana Herranen; Veli-Matti Vesterinen; Maija Aksela. From Learner-Centered to Learner-Driven Sustainability Education. Sustainability 2018, 10, 2190 .
AMA StyleJaana Herranen, Veli-Matti Vesterinen, Maija Aksela. From Learner-Centered to Learner-Driven Sustainability Education. Sustainability. 2018; 10 (7):2190.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJaana Herranen; Veli-Matti Vesterinen; Maija Aksela. 2018. "From Learner-Centered to Learner-Driven Sustainability Education." Sustainability 10, no. 7: 2190.
With increased focus on sustainability and socioscientific issues, dealing with issues related to citizenship is now seen as an important element of science education. However, in order to make the world a better place, mere understanding about socioscientific issues is not enough. Action must also be taken. In this study, 35 international gifted students—potential scientists—aged 15–19 were interviewed to investigate what they were doing to make the world a better place. The interviews were analyzed using qualitative content analysis with focus on students’ actions toward a better world, their rationalizations for such actions, and the role of science in the rationalizations. The analysis shows that students consciously take a wide range of actions, and that they see citizenship as a process of constant self-development. The three categories created to highlight the variation in the ways students take action were personally responsible actions, participatory actions, and preparing for future. Although many students saw that science and scientists play a big role in solving especially the environmental problems, most of them also discussed the structural causes for problems, as well as the interplay of social, economic, and political forces. The results indicate that citizenship science education should take the variety of students’ actions into consideration, give students the possibility to take individual and participatory action, as well as give students opportunities to get to know and discuss the ways a career in science or engineering can contribute to saving the world.
Veli-Matti Vesterinen; Sakari Tolppanen; Maija Aksela. Toward citizenship science education: what students do to make the world a better place? International Journal of Science Education 2016, 38, 30 -50.
AMA StyleVeli-Matti Vesterinen, Sakari Tolppanen, Maija Aksela. Toward citizenship science education: what students do to make the world a better place? International Journal of Science Education. 2016; 38 (1):30-50.
Chicago/Turabian StyleVeli-Matti Vesterinen; Sakari Tolppanen; Maija Aksela. 2016. "Toward citizenship science education: what students do to make the world a better place?" International Journal of Science Education 38, no. 1: 30-50.
Kalle Juuti; Veli-Matti Vesterinen. Editorial. Nordic Studies in Science Education 2015, 11, 137 -138.
AMA StyleKalle Juuti, Veli-Matti Vesterinen. Editorial. Nordic Studies in Science Education. 2015; 11 (2):137-138.
Chicago/Turabian StyleKalle Juuti; Veli-Matti Vesterinen. 2015. "Editorial." Nordic Studies in Science Education 11, no. 2: 137-138.
Correction for ‘How to measure elementary teachers' interest in teaching chemistry?’ by Jaana Kristiina Herranen et al., Chem. Educ. Res. Pract. , 2015, DOI: 10.1039/c4rp00246f.
Jaana Kristiina Herranen; Veli-Matti Vesterinen; Maija Katariina Aksela. Correction: How to measure elementary teachers' interest in teaching chemistry? Chemistry Education Research and Practice 2015, 16, 704 -704.
AMA StyleJaana Kristiina Herranen, Veli-Matti Vesterinen, Maija Katariina Aksela. Correction: How to measure elementary teachers' interest in teaching chemistry? Chemistry Education Research and Practice. 2015; 16 (3):704-704.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJaana Kristiina Herranen; Veli-Matti Vesterinen; Maija Katariina Aksela. 2015. "Correction: How to measure elementary teachers' interest in teaching chemistry?" Chemistry Education Research and Practice 16, no. 3: 704-704.
The aim of this study was to create an instrument to measure elementary teachers' interest in teaching chemistry. The interest in chemistry teaching instrument (ICTI) was created to measure both the affective and cognitive components of interest. After establishing the face and content validity of the instrument, the internal consistency of the instrument was verified by calculating Cronbach's alpha for the items. This was done using questionnaire data collected from 149 Finnish elementary teachers teaching chemistry in integrated chemistry and physics lessons. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to identify the underlying dimensions of interest. Based on the results of the factor analysis, elementary teachers' interest in chemistry teaching had two components: personal and value-related. The usefulness of the ICTI instrument was tested by conducting a correlation analysis of the measured level of interest and the reported use of teaching methods. As expected, the results indicated a positive correlation between the elementary teachers' interest measured with ICTI and the use of for example inquiry-related methods: creative problem solving and laboratory work. The ICTI may be used, for example, to evaluate and develop in-service and pre-service teacher training.
Jaana Kristiina Herranen; Veli-Matti Vesterinen; Maija Katariina Aksela. How to measure elementary teachers' interest in teaching chemistry? Chemistry Education Research and Practice 2015, 16, 408 -416.
AMA StyleJaana Kristiina Herranen, Veli-Matti Vesterinen, Maija Katariina Aksela. How to measure elementary teachers' interest in teaching chemistry? Chemistry Education Research and Practice. 2015; 16 (2):408-416.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJaana Kristiina Herranen; Veli-Matti Vesterinen; Maija Katariina Aksela. 2015. "How to measure elementary teachers' interest in teaching chemistry?" Chemistry Education Research and Practice 16, no. 2: 408-416.
Understanding nature of science (NOS) is widely considered an important educational objective and views of NOS are closely linked to science teaching and learning. Thus there is a lively discussion about what understanding NOS means and how it is reached. As a result of analyses in educational, philosophical, sociological and historical research, a worldwide consensus about the content of NOS teaching is said to be reached. This consensus content is listed as a general statement of science, which students are supposed to understand during their education. Unfortunately, decades of research has demonstrated that teachers and students alike do not possess an appropriate understanding of NOS, at least as far as it is defined at the general level. One reason for such failure might be that formal statements about the NOS and scientific knowledge can really be understood after having been contextualized in the actual cases. Typically NOS is studied as contextualized in the reconstructed historical case stories. When the objective is to educate scientifically and technologically literate citizens, as well as scientists of the near future, studying NOS in the contexts of contemporary science is encouraged. Such contextualizations call for revision of the characterization of NOS and the goals of teaching about NOS. As a consequence, this article gives two examples for studying NOS in the contexts of scientific practices with practicing scientists: an interview study with nanomodellers considering NOS in the context of their actual practices and a course on nature of scientific modelling for science teachers employing the same interview method as a studying method. Such scrutinization opens rarely discussed areas and viewpoints to NOS as well as aspects that practising scientists consider as important.
Suvi Tala; Veli-Matti Vesterinen. Nature of Science Contextualized: Studying Nature of Science with Scientists. Science & Education 2015, 24, 435 -457.
AMA StyleSuvi Tala, Veli-Matti Vesterinen. Nature of Science Contextualized: Studying Nature of Science with Scientists. Science & Education. 2015; 24 (4):435-457.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSuvi Tala; Veli-Matti Vesterinen. 2015. "Nature of Science Contextualized: Studying Nature of Science with Scientists." Science & Education 24, no. 4: 435-457.
Welcome to the final issue of the first volume of LUMAT. With two regular issues, three special issues, eleven research articles, two perspective articles and thirty general articles published, the first volume of LUMAT has been a success. With three special issues and two regular issues lined up for the second volume, we hope to continue publishing quality articles on research and practice in math, science and technology education. The purpose of the journal is to share good practices, and present especially Finnish but also international know-how in the field of math, science and technology education. With this purpose in mind, it has been a pleasure to publish several manuscripts from our colleagues around the globe. Also this final issue of the first volume includes articles from Finnish as well as international educational researchers. The first article, by Jeronen, Karjalainen, Kuoppala, Sääskilahti and Tirri discusses the new student admission process of subject teacher education. Their topic is especially interesting, as the coming years are about to bring changes to student admission processes of Finnish universities. The second article is a product of an international collaboration with Finnish and North American researchers. The study by Tolppanen, Rantaniitty, McDermott, Aksela and Hand investigates how Finnish comprehensive school students received a multimodal writing lesson. They conclude that general writing skills benefit students in production of multimodal writing during science lessons. The last study published in this issue discusses the use of classroom response systems (also known as clickers) in physics teacher education. According to the results of the North American researchers Milner-Bolotin, Fisher and MacDonald clicker-enhanced pedagogy is a promising vehicle for developing pedagogical content knowledge of science teachers. The results of this study are interesting also from a Finnish perspective, as also Finnish teacher educators are searching new ways to implement use of modern educational technology to science and mathematics teacher education.
Maija Aksela; Veli- Matti Vesterinen. From the Editors. LUMAT: International Journal on Math, Science and Technology Education 2013, 1, 477 -477.
AMA StyleMaija Aksela, Veli- Matti Vesterinen. From the Editors. LUMAT: International Journal on Math, Science and Technology Education. 2013; 1 (5):477-477.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMaija Aksela; Veli- Matti Vesterinen. 2013. "From the Editors." LUMAT: International Journal on Math, Science and Technology Education 1, no. 5: 477-477.
In the last decades, a great amount of research has advocated innovating science education through teaching contents of the history, sociology, and philosophy of science in order for the students to get a reliable image of science, significant and relevant learning experiences, and higher interest and engagement in science. Given the embeddedness of techno-scientific systems in contemporary societies, the science-technology-society (STS) movement suggested the simple initiative of teaching science through making explicit the interrelationships between science, scientists, technology, and society to achieve these aims. Since then, the STS tradition has evolved and produced some conceptual variations. This paper deals with three of these variations that are currently the key areas of school science education research and teaching: “socio-scientific issues,” “scientific literacy for all,” and “nature of science.” As heirs of the STS tradition, these mottos embody, at the same time, a clear continuity with STS origins, and some discontinuities, which arise from the development of their own paradigms, adding original elements to the STS movement.
Veli-Matti Vesterinen; Maria-Antonia Manassero-Mas; Angel Vázquez-Alonso. History, Philosophy, and Sociology of Science and Science-Technology-Society Traditions in Science Education: Continuities and Discontinuities. International Handbook of Research in History, Philosophy and Science Teaching 2013, 1895 -1925.
AMA StyleVeli-Matti Vesterinen, Maria-Antonia Manassero-Mas, Angel Vázquez-Alonso. History, Philosophy, and Sociology of Science and Science-Technology-Society Traditions in Science Education: Continuities and Discontinuities. International Handbook of Research in History, Philosophy and Science Teaching. 2013; ():1895-1925.
Chicago/Turabian StyleVeli-Matti Vesterinen; Maria-Antonia Manassero-Mas; Angel Vázquez-Alonso. 2013. "History, Philosophy, and Sociology of Science and Science-Technology-Society Traditions in Science Education: Continuities and Discontinuities." International Handbook of Research in History, Philosophy and Science Teaching , no. : 1895-1925.
Welcome to the first regular issue of LUMAT: Research and Practice in Math, Science and Technology Education. The journal publishes peer-reviewed research and perspective papers as well as popularized general articles on new and innovative practices of math, science and technology education. The journal is published by Finland’s Science Education Centre LUMA in collaboration with National LUMA Network. The aim of all LUMA activities is to promote learning, studying and teaching of natural sciences, mathematics, computer science and technology. This issue includes three peer-reviewed research articles as well as one perspective article and one general article. We would like to thank all the authors who have submitted their work to this journal, and hope that many others will be inspired to submit by the high quality of articles published in the first regular issue of this new journal. The first article, written by Mononen and Aunio, discusses differences in children’s early mathematical skills. The research done on the formative years of mathematical skills, such as the study presented in this issue, is especially important, as math skills obtained during the critical formative years of kindergarten and elementary school set the ground for the future development of more complex mathematic skills. Based on their results, Mononen and Aunio also offer some sound advice for the development of kindergarten and elementary school math teaching. The article by Uitto, Kärnä and Hakonen discusses contribution of teaching methods and learning environments to students’ performance in biology as well as their attitudes towards biology. Their main results suggest that there is a need to use more experimental work and inquiry-based learning in biology education to improve learning and student attitudes towards biology. To improve biology learning in the coming decades, the group currently devising new biology curriculum for the comprehensive school will hopefully take into account the results of this study. The last research article, written by Tolppanen and Aksela, investigates the opinions of the gifted youth participants of the Millenium Youth Camp, a math, science and technology camp arranged by Finland’s Science Education Centre LUMA and Technology Academy Finland. The study summarizes number of things that organizers of similar non-formal education should take into consideration. One of the main findings is that the participants considered the opportunity to hear and learn about each other and experts, on a personal level, especially important. Since the release of the first Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results in 2002, the reasons for high achievement of Finnish students in reading, mathematics and science has been a hotbed of conversation. The perspective paper by Jari Lavonen contributes to this conversation by presenting some key characteristics of Finnish education policy and its implementation from the point of view of science education. The last article published in this issue is a general paper discussing a novel opening in non-formal learning organized by the Finland’s Science Education Centre LUMA. Vartiainen and Aksela write about Jippo Science Clubs for children from 3 to 6 years of age, based on the inquiry model of learning. And on the final note, we would like to acknowledge one more group of people. Publishing scientific journal such as LUMAT: Research and Practice in Math, Science and Technology Education would not be possible without one particular group of unsung heroes. As peer reviewers work in an anonymous capacity and without remuneration, we would like to offer our sincere gratitude to these people who selflessly give advice to the authors as well as to the editors.
Maija Aksela; Veli- Matti Vesterinen. From the Editors. LUMAT: International Journal on Math, Science and Technology Education 2013, 1, 243 -244.
AMA StyleMaija Aksela, Veli- Matti Vesterinen. From the Editors. LUMAT: International Journal on Math, Science and Technology Education. 2013; 1 (3):243-244.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMaija Aksela; Veli- Matti Vesterinen. 2013. "From the Editors." LUMAT: International Journal on Math, Science and Technology Education 1, no. 3: 243-244.
Successful implementation of historical approach to teach nature of science (NOS) requires suitable curriculum material. Several research and development projects have produced lesson plans for science teachers. 25 lesson plans from four different projects involved in creating curriculum material utilizing historical approach in chemistry education were analyzed to describe NOS content included as well as the historical experiments and narratives used. Based on the results of descriptive content analysis of existing curriculum materials, several suggestions on the successful design of lesson plans utilizing historical approach are made. To increase the coherence and clarity of learning objectives and instruction, each lesson plan should focus on the limited amount of specific NOS issues instead of several overtly general NOS aspects. To support explicit classroom discussion on the selected NOS issues, historical narratives used in the lesson plans should illustrate these issues. The lesson plans should also include instructions on how to facilitate classroom discussion, such as questions for students to discuss and reflect. Recommendations are also made concerning the appropriate use of historical experiments and narrative elements such as viewpoint characters and conflicts.
Simo Tolvanen; Jan Jansson; Veli-Matti Vesterinen; Maija Katariina Aksela. How to Use Historical Approach to Teach Nature of Science in Chemistry Education? Science & Education 2013, 23, 1605 -1636.
AMA StyleSimo Tolvanen, Jan Jansson, Veli-Matti Vesterinen, Maija Katariina Aksela. How to Use Historical Approach to Teach Nature of Science in Chemistry Education? Science & Education. 2013; 23 (8):1605-1636.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSimo Tolvanen; Jan Jansson; Veli-Matti Vesterinen; Maija Katariina Aksela. 2013. "How to Use Historical Approach to Teach Nature of Science in Chemistry Education?" Science & Education 23, no. 8: 1605-1636.
The aim of this study was to discover how current chemistry syllabi in the frame curricula for upper secondary education in three Nordic countries (Finland, Norway, and Sweden) take into account topics related to the nature of chemistry. By qualitative content analysis, the statements related to the nature of chemistry were divided into categories. Conclusions and implications for improving the frame curricula under study were made by comparing results with research into the nature of science. Chemistry syllabi from the Nordic frame curricula analyzed take into account the aims related to the nature of chemistry in a very similar manner. The ideas that should be made more explicit in all of the analyzed curricula are: i) the limits of the chemical models and theories, ii) the relationship between chemistry and other natural sciences, iii) the importance of creativity in chemical research, iv) the concepts of evidence in science texts, v) the social nature of chemical research, and vi) chemistry as a technological practice.
Veli-Matti Vesterinen; Maija Aksela; Markku R. Sundberg. Nature of Chemistry in the National Frame Curricula for Upper Secondary Education in Finland, Norway and Sweden. Nordic Studies in Science Education 2012, 5, 200 -212.
AMA StyleVeli-Matti Vesterinen, Maija Aksela, Markku R. Sundberg. Nature of Chemistry in the National Frame Curricula for Upper Secondary Education in Finland, Norway and Sweden. Nordic Studies in Science Education. 2012; 5 (2):200-212.
Chicago/Turabian StyleVeli-Matti Vesterinen; Maija Aksela; Markku R. Sundberg. 2012. "Nature of Chemistry in the National Frame Curricula for Upper Secondary Education in Finland, Norway and Sweden." Nordic Studies in Science Education 5, no. 2: 200-212.
To enhance students’ understanding of nature of science (NOS), teachers need adequate pedagogical content knowledge related to NOS. The educational design research study presented here describes the design and development of a pre-service chemistry teacher education course on NOS instruction. The study documents two iterative cycles of problem analysis, design, implementation, and evaluation. The main aims of the study were (1) to create an in-depth and detailed description of the process used in the development of the course and the design solutions produced, and (2) to evaluate how the design solutions affected participants’ commitment to teach NOS. Based on the problem analysis based on challenges recognized from the previous research, three design solutions were produced: (1) definition of central dimensions of domain-specific NOS for chemistry education, (2) teaching cycle for explicit and structured opportunities for reflection and discussion, and (3) design assignments to translate NOS understanding into classroom practice. The major data-sources used in the evaluation of the design solutions were the four in-depth interviews conducted after the course. Based on the evaluation, the design solutions supported internalizing understanding of NOS and transforming the understanding to instruction. Supporting the implementation of new innovative teaching practices such as NOS instruction in pre-service teacher education is a challenge. However, the success of the participants in implementing NOS instruction demonstrates, that a pre-service teacher education course can be successful in producing early adopters of NOS instruction and thus might be one of the first steps in injecting NOS instruction into the curriculum.
Veli-Matti Vesterinen; Maija Aksela. Design of Chemistry Teacher Education Course on Nature of Science. Science & Education 2012, 22, 2193 -2225.
AMA StyleVeli-Matti Vesterinen, Maija Aksela. Design of Chemistry Teacher Education Course on Nature of Science. Science & Education. 2012; 22 (9):2193-2225.
Chicago/Turabian StyleVeli-Matti Vesterinen; Maija Aksela. 2012. "Design of Chemistry Teacher Education Course on Nature of Science." Science & Education 22, no. 9: 2193-2225.
The aim of this study was to assess how the different aspects of nature of science (NOS) were represented in Finnish and Swedish upper secondary school chemistry textbooks. The dimensions of NOS were analyzed from five popular chemistry textbook series. The study provides a quantitative method for analysis of representations of NOS in chemistry textbooks informed by domain-specific research on the philosophy of chemistry and chemical education. The selection of sections analyzed was based on the four themes of scientific literacy: knowledge of science, investigate nature of science, science as a way of thinking, and interaction of science, technology and society. For the second round of analysis the theme of science as a way of thinking was chosen for a closer inspection. The units of analysis in this theme were analyzed using seven domain specific dimensions of NOS: tentative, empirical, model-based, inferential, technological products, instrumentation, and social and societal dimensions. Based on the inter-rater agreement, the procedure and frameworks of analysis presented in this study was a reliable way of assessing the emphasis given to the domain specific aspects of NOS. All textbooks have little emphasis on the theme science as a way of thinking on a whole. In line with the differences of curricula, Swedish textbooks emphasize the tentative dimension of NOS more than Finnish textbooks. To provide teachers with a sufficiently wide variety of examples to discuss the different dimensions of NOS changes to the national core curricula are needed. Although changing the emphasis of the curricula would be the most obvious way to affect the emphasis of the textbooks, other efforts such as pre- and in-service courses for developing teachers understanding of NOS and pedagogic approaches for NOS instruction to their classroom practice might also be needed.
Veli-Matti Vesterinen; Maija Aksela; Jari Lavonen. Quantitative Analysis of Representations of Nature of Science in Nordic Upper Secondary School Textbooks Using Framework of Analysis Based on Philosophy of Chemistry. Science & Education 2011, 22, 1839 -1855.
AMA StyleVeli-Matti Vesterinen, Maija Aksela, Jari Lavonen. Quantitative Analysis of Representations of Nature of Science in Nordic Upper Secondary School Textbooks Using Framework of Analysis Based on Philosophy of Chemistry. Science & Education. 2011; 22 (7):1839-1855.
Chicago/Turabian StyleVeli-Matti Vesterinen; Maija Aksela; Jari Lavonen. 2011. "Quantitative Analysis of Representations of Nature of Science in Nordic Upper Secondary School Textbooks Using Framework of Analysis Based on Philosophy of Chemistry." Science & Education 22, no. 7: 1839-1855.