Collaborative science activities and the social construction of understanding of physical science concepts by pre-service teachears in Fiji

Title
Collaborative science activities and the social construction of understanding of physical science concepts by pre-service teachears in Fiji
Publication Date
1999
Author(s)
Taylor, Neil
( author )
OrcID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8438-319X
Email: ntaylor6@une.edu.au
UNE Id une-id:ntaylor6
Lucas, Keith B
Watters, James J
Type of document
Journal Article
Language
en
Entity Type
Publication
Publisher
Springer Netherlands
Place of publication
Netherlands
DOI
10.1007/bf02461591
UNE publication id
une:22772
Abstract
The research reported was part of a larger study that was founded on the belief that the introduction of a teaching style informed by a constructivist view of teaching and learning and utilising collaborative group work would improve the understanding of science concepts held by pre-service primary teacher education studients in Fuji. It sought to test this belief, and to explore whether such an approach would be effective for students from different ethnic groups. Two intact classes in a teachers' college studied a physical science unit, one class being involved in extensive collaborative group activities and the other, the comparison group, being taught in the usual transmissive fashion. An interpretive methodology was adopted, involving a range of data sources and analytical techniques. Data presented here support the claim that the collaborative group work stimulated increased levels of discussion and fostered deeper conceptual understanding. There were, however, some unexpected learning outcomes for some students. Implications for science education in Fiji and similar locations are discussed.
Link
Citation
Research in Science Education, 29(4), p. 479-500
ISSN
1573-1898
0157-244X
Start page
479
End page
500

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