STUDENT TEACHERS’ PROBLEMS IN TEACHING ‘ELECTROLYSIS’ WITH A KEY DEMONSTRATION

This study is concerned with student teachers’ conceptions about teaching the topic of electrolysis and difficulties they encounter. The aim of the study was also to find out how the student teachers understand the meaning of a key demonstration that would show the main features of the phenomenon. During this study eight chemistry student teachers were invited to write a lesson plan on the topic of electrolysis for lower secondary level, grade 8 pupils (age 14 to 15). The written lesson plans and the semi-structured interviews were collected and analysed by using a set of analytical categories. Only two of the eight student teachers had a clear view that electrolysis is a process where an e…

Opettajan toiminnan yhteys kolmasluokkalaisten onnistumiseen ongelmatehtävän ratkaisemisessa

Tämän artikkelin tavoitteena on tarkastella yhteyttä opettajien (N = 7) toiminnan ja heidän kolmasluokkalaistensa (N = 86) ongelmanratkaisusuoritusten välillä Neliönjako-tehtävässä. Tutkimusaineistona käytettiin oppilaiden ratkaisuja, oppitunneista nauhoitettuja videoita sekä opettajien tuntisuunnitelmia. Opettajien toimintaa analysoitiin ongelmanratkaisutunnin vaiheiden (johdatteluvaihe, tutkimisvaihe ja yhteenvetovaihe) avulla. Oppilaiden ratkaisut luokiteltiin, ja heidän suorituksiaan verrattiin eri luokissa. Tutkimuksen tulosten perusteella oppilaiden oli mahdollista saada ongelmatehtävästä korkeimman tason ratkaisuja matematiikan peruslaskutaidosta riippumatta. Opettajan toiminnalla ol…

Developing a method to determine teachers’ and pupils’ activities during a mathematics lesson

Combining Knowledge of Physics and Chemistry in Teaching: The Behaviour of a Narrow Jet of Water in the Presence of Charged Insulators

In this study the aim was to find out how student teachers applied their knowledge, in physics and chemistry, in an upper secondary science topic. The first stage consisted of an analysis of the upper secondary students’ interpretations of an experiment in which a charged rod is brought near another charged rod and a narrow jet of water. The second stage of the study was based on these results. The main research question was: How do the student teachers apply their knowledge to their explanations? The main finding was that the student teachers’ answers bore a strong resemblance to those of the upper secondary students. The earlier learning situation influenced the student teachers’ interpre…