The research in this dissertation aims to investigate the acquisition of students’ science skills in grades 5 and 6 of primary education in the Netherlands. In most primary science classes, science skills are mainly taught by way of conducting investigations. However, prior research indicates that explicit instruction and separate skills training may be more effective. In this dissertation, four studies are discussed. In the first study, an instructional framework was developed based on a categorization of science skills into thinking skills, science-specific skills and metacognitive skills. This instructional framework was used to develop lessons using systematic instruction aimed at the development of these different skills. The second study describes the development and psychometric quality of the measurement instruments in order to examine the acquisition and transfer of science skills. Two paper-and-pencil tests, three performance assessments and two questionnaires were used for this purpose. In a third study, the effects of two experimental conditions were evaluated, following an experimental pretest-posttest design: a condition with explicit instruction and a condition in which all aspects of explicit instruction were absent. Students in both conditions received an 8-week intervention and were compared to students in a baseline condition who followed their regular science curriculum. The fourth study addresses the use of performance assessments as a diagnostic tool for science teachers. In general, the results indicate that the measurement instruments can be used to reliably measure science skills. Findings also show that explicit instruction facilitates acquisition and transfer of science skills.
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Torpedo is a digital learning environment for developing mathematical problem-solving ability through self-study for pre-service teachers in primary teacher education. To achieve this, Torpedo supports and challenges pre-service teachers’ reflection during and after solving non-routine mathematics problems. To investigate the feasibility of the Torpedo approach, 271 pre-service teachers used Torpedo during one month in a pilot study. They used and evaluated Torpedo’s reflective elements differently. The results varied from pre-service teachers who experienced that reflection really contributed to the development of their problem-solving ability, to pre-service teachers who hardly reflected. The last group consisted of those who found the problems too difficult to reflect upon and those who used Torpedo to prepare for the National Mathematics Test and preferred to do so by drill and practice. As a conclusion, the study provides clues for improving Torpedo so that it invites more reflective self-study behaviour. For pre-service teachers who consider reflection valueless, however, self-study in a digital learning environment may be insufficient to change this attitude.
Value-loaded critical thinking refers to a combination of critical thinking, moral value development and reflection. It is important to teach value-loaded critical thinking in secondary education and philosophy seems the pre-eminent subject to do so. This article describes the theoretical foundations of value-loaded critical thinking, its educational objectives, and what is known about effective teaching strategies. Value-loaded critical thinking is best taught in teacher-led philosophical dialogues. Four design principles summarize effective teaching strategies for teaching value-loaded critical thinking in dialogue: teachers should (1) explicitly address moral values in dialogue; (2) apply moral values to engaging or realistic examples; (3) promote critical reasoning about moral values; and (4) provide opportunities for reflection.It is important that secondary school students learn to reason critically about normative issues. Philosophy teachers can contribute to this educational objective by promoting value-loaded critical thinking during philosophical dialogues. Value-loaded critical thinking is critical and reflective reasoning focused on deciding what is the right thing to believe or to do (Frijters et al. 2008). This paper describes the theoretical foundations of value-loaded critical thinking and presents four design principles for promoting value-loaded critical thinking during philosophical dialogues. The four design principles are: teachers should explicitly address moral values in dialogue (1), apply moral values to engaging or realistic examples (2), promote critical reasoning about moral values (3), and provide opportunities for reflection (4). To provide authentic illustrations and practical suggestions for teachers, each design principle includes selected excerpts of classroom dialogues of 10th grade philosophy classes in Dutch.
