Models and Modelling: Science Teachers’ Perceived Practice and Rationales in Lower Secondary School in the Context of a Revised Competence-Oriented Curriculum
Sanne Schnell Nielsen 1 * , Jan Alexis Nielsen 2
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1 University College Copenhagen, DENMARK2 Department of Science Education, University of Copenhagen, DENMARK* Corresponding Author

Abstract

As part of curriculum reforms, models and modelling (MoMo) are playing an increasingly prominent role in science education. Through a questionnaire study, this paper investigates lower secondary school teachers’ (n = 246) perceived practices of, rationales behind, and possibilities for working with MoMo in the context of the revised science curriculum. Our findings suggest that: (1) teachers prioritize the subject-specific knowledge embedded in models over and above the modelling process and meta-knowledge; (2) teachers prioritize engaging students in MoMo activities for descriptive rather than predictive purposes; (3) the process of designing, evaluating and revising models based on students’ own inquiry only plays a minor role in teachers’ practice and; (4) a content-heavy curriculum and multiple-choice exam are counterproductive to teachers’ efforts to implement a more competence-oriented approach to MoMo. Our study also sheds light on, and discusses implications for, how to enhance teachers’ possibilities of teaching for modelling-competence.

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, 2021, Volume 17, Issue 4, Article No: em1954

https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/10790

Publication date: 19 Mar 2021

Article Views: 2402

Article Downloads: 1234

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