Transforming the Pedagogy of STEM Subjects

本研究旨在调查低收入发展中国家埃塞俄比亚的STEM学科教学方法如何从使用单向授课和封闭式教师问题转变为对话式话语和论证，以及这在改善学生学习和态度方面产生的影响。对说教式教学的过度依赖适用于任何国家或学校的学科，但在STEM学科中尤其占主导地位，因为这些学科通常教给学生“给定”的“事实”。它限制了学生的学习，并对义务教育以外的STEM科目的学生招募和保留产生了负面影响。在依赖STEM作为经济成功手段的发展中国家，将教学法转变为一种积极的方法可能会对提高教育质量产生重大影响。理论上的理由是，参与社会话语，规范和论点都是明确的，有助于学生适应新的想法，并将其内化到心理层面的推理中。在STEM教育研究中，一个重点是使用对话话语来探索学生持有的预先和错误观念，并使他们能够用新的、科学正确的观念来取代这些观念。另一个重点是发展科学论证，学生在学科和日常话语中使用科学规范和推理策略。收集关于使用对话教学的经验证据的干预研究显示了显著的收益，但大多数研究都是小规模的干预，研究人员与志愿教师密切合作。拟议的研究将在大规模的现实干预中测试三种改变教学法的策略：i)向教师教育学院（CTEs）的讲师引入培训计划，通过初始教师教育（ITE）改变教学法；ii)在持续专业发展（CPD）中，为学校的教师团体提供相同的课程；iii)结合资讯科技及持续专业进修课程。30小时的培训计划将教师引入科学教学中的对话教学和论证教学，并提出了逐步改变教学的脚手架任务。本研究将为课堂实践的效果提供证据；论学生的学习；以及任何影响结果的社会、政治、经济和文化因素。一个重要的目标是建立网络，让埃塞俄比亚的教育工作者参与进来，分析和改进STEM教学。这项研究是由亚的斯亚贝巴大学和杜伦大学的研究人员以及五个cte的讲师进行的。MoE也是一个合作伙伴。本研究分为两个阶段。首先，在2015-16学年，培训五家cte的讲师，并让他们在150名职前物理教师的物理课程中实施对话教学。同样数量的cte和教师候选人将作为对照组。第二，在2016-17年度，跟踪教师候选人到小学任职，为20所学校的约100名物理教师提供持续专业进修。有些是没有参与第一阶段的教师。教学对象是7年级和8年级的学生。专业进修中心的讲师将与研究人员一起提供持续专业进修课程，并担任研究助理，收集资料。该设计将允许三种策略中的每一种（使用ITE、CPD或两者兼而有之）在10所学校400名学生的班级中进行测试。对照组的学校和学生数量相同（总共40所学校和1600名学生）。所有班级的两节课将录像调查干预对教学的影响。对职前教师和学生学习的影响将通过前后测试、讨论任务的录像和访谈来衡量。学校领导将接受面试。将在一系列研究会议、国家会议以及报告和研究论文中进行传播。

This study intends to investigate how pedagogy for STEM subjects in a low income, developing nation, Ethiopia, can be transformed from using one-way lecturing and closed teacher questions to dialogical discourse and argumentation, and the effects this generates in improved student learning and attitudes. Over-reliance on didactic teaching apply to any nation or school subject, but is particularly dominant in STEM subjects as these typically teach "facts" "given" to students. It restricts students' learning and impact negatively on student recruitment to and retention in STEM subjects beyond compulsory schooling. In developing nations, which rely on STEM as means to build economic success, changing pedagogy to an active approach may impact significantly on enhancing the quality of education. The theoretical rational is that participation in social discourse, where norms and arguments are made explicit, helps students appropriate new ideas and internalise them to reasoning on a psychological plane. In STEM education research one focus is on using dialogical discourse to explore pre- and misconceptions students hold and enabling them to replace these with new, scientifically correct ideas. Another focus has been developing scientific argumentation, where students use scientific norms and reasoning strategies in disciplinary and everyday discourse.Intervention studies gathering empirical evidence about using dialogical teaching demonstrate significant gains, but most studies are small-scale interventions where researchers work closely with volunteer teachers. The proposed study will test three strategies for changing the pedagogy in a large-scale, realistic intervention: i) introducing a training programme to lecturers at Colleges of Teacher Education (CTEs) to change pedagogy through Initial Teacher Education (ITE); ii) using the same programme in continuous professional development (CPD) to groups of teachers in schools; iii) combining the ITE and CPD programmes. The 30h training programme introduces teachers to dialogical teaching and argumentation in science teaching, and presents scaffolding tasks to change the teaching gradually. The study will provide evidence for effects on classroom practice; on students' learning; and any social, political, economic and cultural factors moderating outcomes. An important objective is building networks and involving educators in Ethiopia to analyse and improve STEM teaching. The study is carried out by researchers from Addis Ababa University and Durham University and lecturers from five CTEs. MoE is also a partner.The study is organised in two phases. First, training lecturers from five CTEs and have these implement dialogical teaching in physics course for 150 pre-service physics teachers over the 2015-16 academic year. A similar number of CTEs and teacher candidates will be in a control group. Second, follow the teacher candidates into posts in primary schools and deliver CPD to about 100 physics teachers in 20 schools in 2016-17. Some are teachers not involved in phase 1. Teaching will be for Year 7 and 8 pupils. Lecturers from the CTEs will deliver the CPD together with the researchers and work as research assistants to gather data. The design will allow each of the three strategies (using ITE, CPD or both) to be tested in 10 schools classes with 400 pupils. A control group will have the same number of schools and students (Totally 40 schools and 1600 pupils).Effects of the intervention on teaching will be investigated with video-recordings from two lessons in all classes. Effects on pre-service teachers' and school pupils' learning will be measured with pre- and post tests, video-recordings of discussion tasks and interviews. School leaders will be interviewed.Dissemination will happen in a series of research meeting, a national conference and in reports and research papers.