Two DPhil studies in Mathematics and Science Education

22nd June 2021 : 15:00 - 16:00

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Assessing ‘how science works’ in the classroom: Insights from a Korean high school

Wonyong Park

DPhil student, University of Oxford, Department of Education

 

The ‘nature of science’, or ideas about what science is and how it works, has been highlighted as a core element of scientific literacy by science education researchers. Although many instruments have been developed to measure pupils’ NOS knowledge for research purposes, minimal attention has been given to how NOS can be assessed by teachers in the classroom. In this qualitative case study, I bring together NOS and classroom assessment theories to investigate how three science teachers engaged in the formative and summative assessment NOS in a Korean high school. Implications for NOS research and teacher education will be discussed.

 

“I would (not) teach proof, because it is (not) relevant to exams” – Changing beliefs about teaching proof

Chun-Yeung (Gabriel) Lee

DPhil student, University of Oxford, Department of Education

 

Experts in mathematics education agree that reasoning and proof are essential and should be made central to learning mathematics. However, some school teachers tend to focus on procedural skills because of different beliefs unfavourable for teaching proof. To address the need to promote beliefs and attitudes that encourage teachers to teach proof, I developed and studied a series of extracurricular workshops, for preservice teachers in Hong Kong. In this presentation, I discuss the findings in relation to (changing) their beliefs about the relevance of proof and exams.