Primary schools in many countries are faced with the challenge to prepare children for participation in our highly technological society. Pressure is put upon schools to show more young people the way towards careers in science and engineering, for the sake of the economy. This is contested by scholars who fear a loss of humanisitic values when STEM-related subject come to dominate the curriculum. This paper argues that the empirical design cycle from engineering is a rich pedagogical framework for the attainment of learning objectives from STEM, the humanities and 21st century skills.@en

Wetenschap en techniek op de basisschool laat je zien hoe je als (aanstaande) leerkracht kinderen kunt helpen zich te oriënteren op zichzelf en de wereld binnen het domein van wetenschap en techniek. Het boek stimuleert je om zelf rijke, geïntegreerde leeromgevingen te ontwerpen. Waarom kiezen voor Wetenschap en techniek op de basisschool? * speciaal geschreven voor (aankomende) leraren; * stimuleert je om zelf rijke, geïntegreerde leeromgevingen te ontwerpen; * handige ondersteunende website met extra materiaal. Wetenschap en techniek op de basisschool gaat in op de volgende vragen: waarom is wetenschap en techniek belangrijk? Wat is de inhoud van het domein wetenschap en techniek? Wat is onderzoekend en ontwerpend leren? Hoe herken en beoordeel je leerresultaten bij kinderen? Hoe kun je zelf onderwijs ontwikkelen over wetenschap en techniek? Hoe kun je leerzame gesprekken met leerlingen voeren? Hoe ga je om met diversiteit? Hoe kun je wetenschap en techniek integreren met andere vakken zoals taal en rekenen? Deze herziene tweede editie sluit aan bij de afspraken gemaakt in het Techniekpact, namelijk dat alle basisscholen vanaf 2020 'goed techniekonderwijs' geven. De didactiek van onderzoekend en ontwerpend leren is verder uitgewerkt en sluit aan bij recente pedagogische en leerpsychologische inzichten over het leren van (jonge) kinderen. Het hoofdstuk over diversiteit is uitgebreid met informatie over hoogbegaafdheid en sluit aan bij de invoering van het Passend Onderwijs. Er is door het hele boek aandacht voor verbinding van wetenschap en techniek met taalontwikkeling, cultuureducatie en de vaardigheden van de 21ste eeuw. Het hoofdstuk over beoordeling is aangevuld met ervaringen uit onderzoek. Wetenschap en techniek op de basisschool sluit aan bij de aanbevelingen van de Adviescommissie Wetenschap & Technologie Primair Onderwijs en de afspraken die zijn gemaakt in het Techniekpact2020 tussen overheden, bedrijfsleven en onderwijssectoren. Daarmee biedt het je een goede voorbereiding op de actuele onderwijspraktijk. Het boek is ook verkrijgbaar als e-book. Online ondersteuning Op de ondersteunende website www.wetenschapen techniek.noordhoff.nl vind je achtergrondinformatie, links naar relevante websites, lessuggesties en verdiepingsstof. @en

Het grootste deel van de masteropleidingen van de Graduate School of Life Sciences in Utrecht bestaat uit 2 onderzoeksstages en een thesis, individuele onderdelen die door verschillende instituten in binnen- en buitenland worden aangeboden en beoordeeld. Door de diversiteit aan beoordelaars is het niet eenvoudig om de uniformiteit en betrouwbaarheid van de beoordeling te garanderen, reden voor een explorerend onderzoek naar eventuele verschillen in beoordeling tussen programma’s, tussen aanbieders en tussen studieonderdelen. In de analyse is gebruik gemaakt van 1339 cijfers verspreid over 11 programma’s in de studiejaren 2010/2011 en 2011/2012. De resultaten legden een opvallend verschil bloot tussen de in Nederland gegeven cijfers en die in het buitenland. In de discussie wordt nader ingegaan op de mogelijke oorzaken van de hogere cijfers die studenten in het buitenland behalen, waaronder het verschil in cijfercultuur.@en

Dit artikel is de uitleiding bij het themanummer van Tijdschrift voor Lerarenopleiders over professionele leergemeenschappen. Het reflecteert op de overeenkomsten en verschillen tussen de PLG's in de praktijkvoorbeelden en het onderzoek van dit nummer. Op basis daarvan wordt de betekenis van PLG's voor de lerarenopleiding nader uitgewerkt. Wat 'is' een PLG? Wat zijn kenmerken van leren in professionele leergemeenschappen? Hoe kunnen PLG's worden ingericht en gefaciliteerd zodat ze de professionele ontwikkeling van deelnemers bevorderen? Wie zijn die deelnemers en wat zijn de mogelijkheden en beperkingen van de verschillende vormen van leergemeenschappen? Wat zijn criteria voor succes in een PLG? Geconcludeerd wordt dat PLG's een veelbelovende vorm van samenwerken zijn tussen lerarenopleiding en scholen, en dat praktijkgericht onderzoek goed ingebed kan worden in deze structuur, maar ook dat doelen en verwachtingen nogal uiteen kunnen lopen en dat het verband tussen inrichting en opbrengsten niet altijd duidelijk is. Er is meer studie nodig om van de casuïstiek zoals beschreven in dit nummer te komen tot een uitgekristalliseerd en gemeenschappelijk kader voor professionele leergemeenschappen.@en

Integrated curricula seem promising for the increase of attention on science and technology in primary education. A clear picture of the advantages and disadvantages of integration efforts could help curriculum innovation. This review has focused on integrated curricula in primary education from 1994 to 2011. The integrated curricula were categorised according to a taxonomy of integration types synthesised from the literature. The characteristics that we deemed important were related to learning outcomes and success/fail factors. A focus group was formed to facilitate the process of analysis and to test tentative conclusions. We concluded that the levels in our taxonomy were linked to (a) student knowledge and skills, the enthusiasm generated among students and teachers, and the teacher commitment that was generated; and (b) the teacher commitment needed, the duration of the innovation effort, the volume and comprehensiveness of required teacher professional development, the necessary teacher support and the effort needed to overcome tensions with standard curricula. Almost all projects were effective in increasing the time spent on science at school. Our model resolves Czerniac’s definition problem of integrating curricula in a productive manner, and it forms a practical basis for decision-making by making clear what is needed and what output can be expected when plans are being formulated to implement integrated education.@en

Technology is more present than ever. Young people are interested in tech- nological products, but their opinions on education and careers in technology are not particularly positive (Johansson in Mathematics, science & technology education report. European Round Table of Industrials, Brussel, 2009). If we want to stimulate students’ attitudes towards technology we need to have a better understanding of the factors which determine attitudes. Different studies (e.g. Volk and Yip in Int J Technol Des Educ 9:57–71, 1999; Jones et al. in Sci Educ 84(2):180–192, 2000; George in Int J Sci Educ 28(6):571–589, 2006; Salminen-Karlsson in Int J Sci Educ 29(8):1019–1033, 2007) have proven that students’ characteristics correlate with their attitudes towards technology. As these studies often focus on effects on a specific aspect of attitude; the total effect cannot be interpreted correctly because attitude is a multi-dimensional concept (Osborne et al. in Int J Sci Educ 23(5):441–467, 2003). This study focuses upon six aspects of attitude namely: interest, career aspirations, boredom, consequences, difficulty and gender issues. Therefore a multivariate model has been set up. This allows us to answer the main research question: What is the predictive power of students’ characteristics with regard to aspects of their attitudes towards technology? The revalidated version of the Pupils Attitude Towards Technology instrument (Ardies et al. in Des Technol Educ 18(1):8–19, 2013) was used in a large (n = 2,973) scale investigation of 12–14 year old students (Grade 1 and Grade 2 of secondary education). Given the multilevel nature of the data and that students are allo- cated to specific teachers, we analysed the data with a multivariate multilevel approach. The results of the study show a decline in interest in technology from the first to the second grade of secondary education. This finding appears to be stronger for girls. Interest in technology is significantly positively related to the amount of time that technology istaught for, as well as to the teacher. Parents have a positive influence on several aspects of attitude to technology when mothers and/or fathers have a profession related to technology. Equally, the presence of technological toys at home is a significantly positive character- istic. As the results confirmed previous, fragmented studies in related disciplines like science education, this study contributes to the wider body of knowledge concerning students’ attitudes towards technology and how this can be investigated.@en

The process of opportunity identification is under-emphasized in higher education; and there is a need for validated educational strategies to foster this competence in science students. In a previous study, three strategies were elaborated and evaluated in the classroom: stimulating the use of idea generation techniques, stimulating the conceptualization and evaluation of business opportunities, and promoting the transfer of knowledge and skills in opportunity identification. The focus of this validation study is on whether expert teachers use these strategies in teaching, which sub-strategies they use and whether they use additional strategies with the same objective. It was found that expert teachers frequently applied the previously reported strategies feasibly and effectively and reported various sub-strategies. Moreover, they described three additional strategies: selecting students for an elective by assessing their business idea, providing time for incubation of the business opportunity and challenging students to abandon routine problem-solving patterns.@en

This study investigates what pupils aged 10–12 can learn from working with robots, assuming that understanding robotics is a sign of technological literacy. We con- ducted cognitive and conceptual analysis to develop a frame of reference for determining pupils’ understanding of robotics. Four perspectives were distinguished with increasing sophistication; ‘‘psychological’’, ‘‘technological’’, ‘‘function’’, and ‘‘controlled system’’. Using LegoÒ MindstormsÒ NXT robots, as an example of a Direct Manipulation Envi- ronment, we developed and conducted a lesson plan to investigate pupils’ reasoning pat- terns. There is ample evidence that pupils have little difficulty in understanding that robots are man-made technological and functional artifacts. Pupils’ understanding of the controlled system concept, more specifically the complex sense-reason-act loop that is characteristic of robotics, can be fostered by means of problem solving tasks. The results are discussed with respect to pupils’ developing technological literacy and the possibilities for teaching and learning in primary education.@en

The impact of instructional development in higher education: effects on teachers and students, by Ann Stes, Antwerp: University of Antwerp, 2008, 215 pp., ISBN 978-90-382-1320-0 (doctoral dissertation) Book review editor’s note: This is a rather unusual book review in a number of respects. By including a review of a doctoral dissertation the intention is to support and illustrate the contribution of emerging scholars (often, like Ann Stes, practitioners at the same time) in the field. Stes’ work addresses questions that have occupied developers, institu- tional leadership and funding bodies for some time, and Van Keulen’s review presents a provocative stance and focuses more than most on empirical findings and the research challenges that face the academic development community. Nick Hopwood @en

Veel problemen uit de dagelijkse praktijk vergen beslissingen terwijl de beschikbare informatie onvolledig of onduidelijk is. De inbedding van deze onzekerheden in toetsen staat op gespannen voet met psychometrische kwaliteitseisen. Uitgaande van het Script Concordance Test (SCT)-format werd hiervoor een test ontwikkeld in de diergeneeskunde. Deze test is bij 148 studenten tweemaal afgenomen, aan het begin en eind van een studie-onderdeel dat is gericht op het leren oplossen van klinische problemen. Hun oordelen en beslissingen in realistische praktijksituaties werden afgezet tegen die van een groep van 28 ervaren practici. Studentscores tonen bij de hertest een significante toename van gemiddeld 4,59 punt. Individueel correleren sco- res positief (r = 0,65, p < 0,001) en is het effect groot (d = 0,89). Uit de analyses van casus en resultaten wordt geconcludeerd dat de SCT een bruikbaar instrument vormt voor toetsing van het probleemoplossen in onzekerheid, dat bij grote groepen studenten kan worden gebruikt, zonder een onaanvaardbare overbelasting van patiënten. Real-life professional problems may require ma- king decisions, although the available information is limited or ambiguous. Incorporating such au- thentic uncertainties into an assessment, how- ever, poses problems in analysing results and establishing its psychometric qualities. Based on the Script Concordance Test format, we develo- ped a test on clinical decision making in veterina- ry medicine, incorporating realistic uncertainties. This test was administered twice to 148 students, near the beginning and the end of a course in cli- nical reasoning. Their answers were compared to the judgements and decisions of 28 experienced practitioners. Student scores on the pre- and post-test show a mean improvement of 4.59 points. Individual scores correlate positively (r = 0.65) and the effect size is large (d = 0.89). From the analysis and substantive appraisal of the cases and items, it is concluded that this SCT can be used for large student groups to assess comp- etence in clinical decision making, without creat- ing a burden on patients.@en

This article discusses an alternative approach to lecturing: the interactive lecture. In the literature, interactive teaching is forwarded as a means to increase the effectivenessoflectures.Membersoflecturingstaffstillseem,however,reluctant toincorporateinteractive teachingintheirclasses,asinteractionreducesthe time they can devote to explaining subject matter. Lecturers often voice the concern that they will not get enough material across in interactive lectures and that this consequently will negatively affect student learning. In order to establish whether or not the concerns of lecturers could be empirically veri® ed, an experimental study was conducted. This study examined the effects of interactive teaching in lectures, using an interactive voting system and peer instruction, on: the attain- ment of learning objectives; student motivation; and student perception of the instruction offered. From the results a complex picture emerges. Results suggest that students may learn as much in interactive lectures compared with traditional lectures, but a traditional lecture may also result in active student involvement. The study indicated that interactive teaching will not automatically result in students who are more activated, and provided additional insight into conditions for successful interactive teaching. Finally, interactive teaching was shown to in ̄ uence positively student motivation.@en

This study investigates the problems chemistry majors have with learning distillation in traditional chemistry laboratory courses. Using an interpretive cyclic research design, we collected and interpreted data, mainly in the form of observation notes and transcriptions of the discourse that takes place during laboratory courses. It was found that students experience numerous problems; these are described and interpreted. We summarize students' problems in four categories: (a) students use an independent component conception; (b) they have insufficient understanding of the properties of vapor; (c) they regard distillation from a physical point of view; and (d) they do not have a practical understanding of thermodynamics. The main origin of these problems was found to lie with the traditional curriculum structure. Lecture courses and textbooks treat distillation in a generalized and decontextualized way, whereas decisions in actual distillations are always based on contextual features. It was found that textbooks and teachers often do not discriminate carefully and explicitly among five different contexts for distillation: organic synthesis, chemical analysis, analytical chemistry, physical chemistry, and preparation of products. Students take the generalized concepts at face value and apply them to all distillations regardless of context. They cannot interpret their observations or make reasoned decisions based on the theoretical framework of a specific context.@en