Teaching for Scientific Literacy? An Examination of Instructional Practices in Secondary Schools in Barbados

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• 作者：Ramona E. Archer-Bradshaw
• 关键词：Teacher instructional practices ; Scientific literacy ; Nature of science
• 刊名：Research in Science Education
• 出版年：2017
• 出版时间：February 2017
• 年：2017
• 卷：47
• 期：1
• 页码：67-93
• 全文大小：
• 刊物类别：Humanities, Social Sciences and Law
• 刊物主题：Science Education; Education, general;
• 出版者：Springer Netherlands
• ISSN：1573-1898
• 卷排序：47

文摘

This study examined the extent to which the instructional practices of science teachers in Barbados are congruent with best practices for teaching for scientific literacy. Additionally, through observation of practice, it sought to determine the teachers’ demonstrated role in the classroom, their demonstration of learning through discourse, learning goals and the nature of classroom activities. Five hundred nineteen students from 12 of the 23 secondary schools on the island and 15 teachers across 8 schools participated in the study. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire, an observational schedule and field notes. It was found that while problem-solving and questioning were mainly used in the classroom, the use of experiments was among the least popular teaching strategies. Additionally, results showed that teachers’ display of the knowledge of the characteristics of scientific literacy was unsatisfactory. Generally, the findings indicate a gap between teaching for scientific literacy as expressed in the literature and current instructional practices in secondary science classrooms in Barbados.