Refereed JournalsThe underrepresentation of women in engineering is a significant concern. This study applies the social cognitive theory and the social career cognitive theory (SCCT) to investigate gender differences in engineering career choices. We examined reasons given by 19 systems engineers and 330 undergraduate engineering students for choosing engineering and categorizing them according to SCCT themes. We compared the distribution of reasons across themes and categories by career stage and gender. For engineers, the category self-efficacy correlated significantly with challenges and opportunities and current job suitability categories, and women engineers cited challenges mainly with work-life balance and the gender glass ceiling. Undergraduate students cited personal reasons more frequently than environmental ones, with behavioral reasons being the least common. The extended SCCT model includes the categories challenges and opportunities and current job suitability within the behavioral theme, with the latter pertaining specifically to career retention. This research provides insights into gender-dependent engineering career choice and retention by expanding the set of SCCT categories.
Qualified professionals in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and STEM education are in increasingly short supply globally. Role models can help increase women’s representation in STEM, both at entry and senior levels. The study objectives were to identify the characteristics of role models in STEM higher education and careers and to investigate the differences in role model characteristics between career stages and between genders. We used a mixed-methods methodology involving a questionnaire and interviews. The participants, 788 alumni and final-year undergraduate and graduate students from a STEM research university, responded to the questionnaire, and ten leading women in STEM professions were interviewed. The questionnaire results indicated that a higher proportion of women than men reported being influenced by a role model during their studies. Seven key characteristics of role models were identified from the open-ended responses and the interviews: ambitious, charismatic, empathic and encouraging, inspiring, knowledgeable, gifted, and professional. The most frequent characteristics women mentioned were empathic and encouraging. The research findings support and align with the social cognitive career theory (SCCT), demonstrating how role modeling, which is part of the environmental theme, boosts intrinsic motivation—part of the personal theme, for individuals in STEM, especially women. These processes impact women’s determination and professional performance—part of the behavioral theme. Based on our findings, to advance toward a STEM workforce characterized by greater fairness, we recommend designing and deploying structured mentoring programs and forums in STEM departments that can provide young women with more role models for success and thus with more hope for success in these fields.
Contribution: Model-based learning improves systems thinking (ST) based on students’ prior knowledge and gender. Relations were found between textual, visual, and mixed question types and student achievements. Background: ST is essential to judicious decision-making and problem-solving. Undergraduate students can be taught to apply better ST, and analysis of their online systems modeling processes can improve their ST. Research Questions: 1) What is the effect, if any, of online learning on the ST and conceptual modeling skill levels of undergraduate engineering students? 2) What differences are there, if any, between students’ ST, conceptual modeling, and scores in textual, visual, and mixed question types based on their prior knowledge levels? and 3) Are there any gender differences in student performance, and if so, what are they? Methodology: The research participants were 157 undergraduate engineering students who took part in a mandatory second-year course, during which data were collected and analyzed quantitatively. Findings: Students with disparate prior knowledge differed significantly from each other in their overall ST mean score and in the mean scores of the various question types. Gender differences in ST and its relative improvement were also found.
A decline in studying and choosing a career in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) varies by discipline. This change has adversely affected the field of chemistry, leading the chemistry educator’s community to focus on research related to chemistry career choices to overcome the shortage of next generation chemistry researchers and the underrepresentation of women in the ranks of chemistry professors. The retrospective views of chemistry professors about their career paths, choices, and retention are hardly examined empirically. These views may explain young people’s early choices of chemistry-related careers. Using the social cognitive career theory (SCCT), the current study explored chemistry professors’ retrospective views on their career choice and what differences exist among these professors’ views based on their gender and academic stage. Qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with 12 men and 12 women chemistry professors yielded several categories within the personal, environmental, and behavioral SCCT themes that are related to the professors’ career choice. The most mentioned categories in each of the three themes, respectively, were: (a) self-efficacy for scientific/chemistry learning, (b) teachers’ or lecturers’ influence, and (c) overcoming barriers. Gender and career-stage patterns emerged, e.g., women related more than men to the influence of their teachers or lecturers and of their family and friends. Women and junior-intermediate level men discussed overcoming barriers more frequently than senior level men. These retrospective findings facilitate understanding of enablers and impediments of chemistry professors’ career trajectories. Recommendations offered to policymakers aim to promote encouragement of junior-intermediate chemistry professors, especially women, to advance their academic career in chemistry while maintaining work-family balance.
Learners’ independence and self-regulated learning (SRL) may be achieved by online teaching, promoting learners’ 21st century skills. Transitioning into online learning and teaching requires a variety of teachers’ knowledge types and competencies. Mapping these knowledge types with a dedicated tool can help improve teachers’ professional development processes to enhance the SRL of teachers and subsequently students. We aimed at investigating the types of knowledge chemistry teachers expressed in online assignments they had designed, which included guidelines to foster their students’ SRL, and reviewing their reflections upon implementing these assignments. The participants were 20 high school chemistry teachers, who took part in two professional development programs focusing on fostering students’ SRL skills in online assignments, the teachers had designed. Research tools included teachers’ online assignments and teachers’ written reflections. We analyzed the assignments using a special rubric, which consists of three types of teachers’ knowledge: technological pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK), assessment knowledge (AK), and SRL. Findings show that the analysis rubric of online assignments, designed by teachers, enabled identifying various teacher knowledge types and their levels. The use of a validated rubric for mapping and assessing teachers’ knowledge types is a methodical contribution to research on chemistry teachers’ professional development.
Integrating thinking skills into higher education pedagogy requires suitable models, methods, and tools for both instruction and assessment. Some of these tools apply one or more educational technologies. The articles in this special issue focus on higher education with four common themes: online or virtual courses and modules, science and engineering education, active learning methods, and critical thinking. This special issue sheds light on the critical importance of thinking skills development and assessment in higher education and underscores the need for continued research and innovation in the realm of educational technology.
Background
For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) robotics is an international, extra-curricular program that fosters young students’ interpersonal skills and career choices in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). FIRST teams are guided by mentors, about half of whom are also mentees.
Purpose
To describe and characterize FIRST mentors and their perceptions of their own interpersonal skills and STEM career choice and identify differences by mentor types and gender.
Method
The study participants included 261 FIRST mentors. A convergent mixed-methods approach was used. Data was collected quantitatively via questionnaires and qualitatively via interviews. The analysis was guided by the social cognitive career theory (SCCT).
Results
Fourteen categories were identified to describe and characterize the FIRST mentors. Nine were based on SCCT and five were new: influence of friends, interpersonal skill, personal contribution, challenges, and mentor-as-educator. Differences were found between three types of FIRST mentors: non-FIRST mentors, graduate mentors, and mentee mentors. The correlations between factors and categories indicated that the mentors’ perceptions were consistent with those of the mentees. The FIRST program impacted the STEM career choice of men more than women, and external motivation influenced women more than men.
Conclusions
The FIRST program contributes to developing its graduates’ interpersonal skills and affects their STEM career choice. The study provides insights into mentors’ influence on mentees’ career choices, from which both genders benefit. Making FIRST available in schools as a widespread enrichment program is expected to foster students’ STEM career choices, thereby contributing to the human resource reservoir of the high-tech industry workforce.
This study investigated the impact of a secondary school science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) research apprenticeship program (STEM-RAP) as part of active learning pedagogy on students’ performance. We examined students’ (a) scientific dispositions—self-efficacy, intrinsic goal orientation, and sense of control over learning, (b) STEM career choice, and (c) mentor-student interaction. Research tools included open- and closed-ended questionnaires, as well as interviews with a sample of students and mentors. The questionnaire was administered to 319 11th and 12th grade students majoring in science and technology in Israeli high schools. Of these, 262 participated in STEM-RAP and 57 took part only in studying a high-school STEM subject as a major. The results show highly positive scientific dispositions. A significant difference was found in intrinsic goal orientation in favor of the STEM-RAP students, who also had different contextual images of their mentors as ‘research partners’. The mentor interviews revealed several interaction themes, including content, procedural, and epistemic knowledge development, partnership, and emotional support. The findings emphasize the importance of research activities as part of active learning pedagogy for developing students’ motivation to study science.
We investigated the competence of in- and pre-service chemistry teachers and teacher mentors in designing sustainability- and systems-oriented online tasks for their students. Using a dedicated rubric, we evaluated their assessment knowledge (AK) as reflected in the tasks they had developed. The rubric is based on four attributes: integration of sustainability and chemistry, diversity of thinking skills, the variety of system aspects, and diversity of visual representations. Implementing a qualitative case study approach, we tracked the professional development of three purposefully sampled teachers in addition to using the rubric to score their tasks. Combining the rubric scorings and the qualitative investigation via feedback questionnaire revealed new insights. Besides the teachers’ content and pedagogical knowledge, the case studies’ context and relevance to the teachers were found central to their ability to assess learning. This research contributes to the theoretical understanding of AK of teachers with different backgrounds and professional experiences. The methodological contribution stems from the analysis of self-developed tasks based on a designated rubric, which should be further validated.
As science and technology create an ecosystem that is becoming increasingly more knowledge-intensive, complex, and interconnected, the next generation science standards include systems thinking and systems modeling among 21st skills that should be fostered. We examined the effect of an online cross-disciplinary learning process on the development of systems thinking and modeling skills among engineering students and engineering and science teachers. The study, which used quantitative and qualitative tools, included 55 participants who performed four food-related learning assignments and created conceptual models in Object-Process Methodology. Their responses to online assignments were analyzed along with their perceptions, captured via a reflection questionnaire. The online learning process in this study effectively enhanced systems thinking and modeling skills of all learners, including those with no relevant background. One main conclusion that extends beyond the online learning was that imparting the basics of systems thinking and conceptual modeling skills can be achieved even within a short period of time—less than one semester. The contribution of the study is the formation of theoretical and practical frameworks for the integration of an cross-disciplinary model-based systems engineering online assignments into engineering and science curricula.
Alternative certification programs (ACPs) differ from traditional teacher certification programs in their target populations, duration, tools they employ, their pedagogy, and subject matter curricula. Given the acute shortage of excellent teachers, especially in STEM, significant efforts and resources are invested in ACPs so they prepare highly qualified teachers. Yet, novice teachers face difficulties during their initial integration into the school system. To better understand the state of affairs, we investigated and compared the integration into the school system of graduates of five major Israeli ACPs that are tailored for diverse student-teacher target audiences. The study goals were to (1) investigate and compare the integration of graduates of the five ACPs into the teaching profession with respect to five teacher-related aspects: (a) self-efficacy, (b) commitment to the teaching profession, (c) challenges encountered, (d) leadership roles, and (e) teamwork; (2) identify ACP characteristics that support the graduates’ integration into the teaching profession. The teacher-classroom-community model we propose, holistically connects three aspects: affective – the teacher, the teaching profession – the classroom, and peer interaction and leadership – the school community. The model provides a common language for comparing how the different ACPs prepared their graduates toward the teaching profession. The model is instrumental for identifying ACP characteristics that support graduates’ integration into teaching and facilitating ACP evaluation by connecting several aspects of teachers’ professional lives. The study employed a mixed-methodology in which 506 graduates responded to a closed- and open-ended questionnaire and 71 interviews were conducted with graduates (novice teachers), ACP directors, school principals and mentor teachers. The findings depict a complex picture that reflects the different ACPs’ characteristics targeted at diverse audiences. For example, graduates of STEM-oriented programs perceive the different kinds of knowledge, including content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and pedagogical content knowledge, as most important to their roles in schools. They undertake fewer roles, and the ones they do assume are discipline-related. Graduates of the more social-leadership-oriented programs identify developing leadership skills as most beneficial and they undertake more leadership-related roles. The research highlights key aspects that teacher education leaders should consider and use for self-evaluation of their ACPs. The strength of this study stems from proposing and applying the teacher-classroom-community model for evaluating teacher certification programs in several contexts and for diverse groups along with their integration into schools.
Our study investigates the effect of hybrid courses and reading scientific articles on scientific literacy of biomedical engineering students. Participants included about 100 undergraduate and graduate students who participated in one or two hybrid courses. Our research goal was to study the effect of reading scientific articles and participating in online forum discourses on students’ scientific literacy by investigating the students’ question posing skill. Research tools included pre- and post-questionnaires, analysis of students’ questions posted on the forum discourse, and research questions raised by the students on their scientific posters. The research findings indicated that students’ participation in the hybrid courses and online discussions improved their scientific literacy skills. This improvement is reflected in the complexity level of the questions posted on the forum discourse after reading scientific articles, as well as in the research questions they wrote in their scientific posters, increased as the course progressed. The outcomes of this study underscore the potential of the hybrid course format that combines face-to-face sessions with online discussions of scientific articles for biomedical engineering students. The paper’s theoretical contribution is that forum discussions may foster science and engineering students’ question posing skill, leading to improved comprehension of scientific articles they read.
This paper presents a study that examines the effect of a graduate course titled “Selected topics in interpersonal communication skills” on the students’ interpersonal communication skills as part of their 21st century skills. Subject to the COVID-19 constraints, the course was taught online in the winter semester of 2021 to 46 students, who practiced in four groups. The students, who were studying at the Technion a science and technology research university for a research-oriented graduate degree in a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) subject, attended synchronous bi-weekly 1-h lectures and 1-h practice sessions. The two research questions were as follows: (1) Did the interpersonal communication skills of the participants change following their participation in the course, and if so, how? (2) What was the effect of online learning on the students’ interpersonal communication skills of (a) written and oral communication, (b) peer evaluation and feedback, and (c) self-reflection? Research tools included students’ self-presentations, questionnaires, peer assessments, and reflections during the course. Analyzing the data quantitatively and qualitatively, we found that the graduate students improved their interpersonal communication skills and benefited from exposure to a variety of knowledge and research fields, contributing to a sense of pride in their university affiliation. The students suggested adding a practical component on providing constructive feedback and rendering the course mandatory to all the graduate students in the university. The contribution of this research is the creation and favorable assessment of an online course that develops interpersonal communication skills among graduate students from a variety of STEM faculties.
The first years of teaching are crucial for novice teachers’ integration into and retainment in the education system. The support they receive from experienced teachers impacts their professional development. Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers require specialized support from domain-specific mentors. In this study, we examined how a three-level mentoring support system contributes to STEM novice teachers’ professional growth (PG) and to their mentors. The support system levels are individual mentoring, group mentoring, and mentoring networks. Based on the framework of teachers’ professional development, there are three PG dimensions: personal, professional, and social. Our research goal was to analyze teachers’ professional growth by the various mentoring level and dimension combinations. The study, conducted using a mixed methods approach, included 123 novice and 78 experienced STEM teachers. We examined the novice teachers’ perceptions of their teaching efficacy, the mentoring factors, correlations between the professional growth dimensions, and the contribution of each support level to the growth dimensions. We found that experienced teachers perceive novice teachers’ efficacy as lower than that perceived by the novice teachers. We identified gaps between the mentoring factors described by novice and experienced teachers and a strong correlation between the growth dimensions. All three mentoring support levels facilitate substantive personal, professional, and social growth. Individual mentoring contributes the most to all three growth dimensions, followed by mentoring networks. The contribution of this research is its elucidation of the intertwined support levels, which provide scaffolds for the novice teachers and facilitate the growth of the experienced teachers.
The study contributes to the social cognitive career theory (SCCT) by explaining high-school students’ career choices and finding possible relations between self-efficacy, interpersonal skills, what inspires them to choose a career, and their actual choices. The practical contribution of this research lies in understanding the impact of the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) program on its participants and graduates.
Background: The FIRST program incorporates project-based learning that fosters the design and production of innovative robotics by teams of students who compete annually.
Research Questions:
1) Do the FIRST program activities increase STEM exposure and encourage STEM career choices, and if so, how?
2) What are the factors that affect these choices? Are there correlations between those factors? If so, what are they?
3) Is the effect of the FIRST program on FIRST high- school students’ exposure and career choices different from that effect on FIRST graduates? If so, what are the differences and does gender play a role in these differences?
Methodology: The research participants included 119 FIRST high-school students and 297 FIRST graduates. The research applied a convergent parallel mixed-methods approach, with data collected both qualitatively via interviews and quantitatively via questionnaires.
Findings: Analysis of the data showed that the FIRST pro- gram increased participants’ STEM exposure and career choice in STEM domains. A significant, positive, strong correlation was found between interpersonal skills, STEM exposure, career choice, family and school support, and external motivation.
Content knowledge (CK), pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and, assessment knowledge (AK) are fundamental types of teachers’ knowledge. Second-career, pre-service chemistry teachers leave the industry and return to the Technion to study in the Views program to obtain a high school teaching certificate. Their background can potentially contribute to higher quality of science teaching and learning in general and of chemistry teaching in particular. We investigated how pre-service chemistry teachers’ knowledge develops as they are exposed to chemistry context-based learning, and what differences are there between pre- and in-service teachers’ knowledge types and their self-efficacy. The participants were 25 second-career pre-service teachers and 29 in-service chemistry teachers who served as a comparison group. The teachers’ professional growth was examined by assessing their CK, PCK, AK, and self-efficacy by using three questionnaires that included adapted scientific articles on energy, acid-base, and oxidation-reduction in the context of sustainability. Five expert chemistry teachers validated the questionnaires. We found that all three knowledge types of the pre-service teachers improved during the course and they became more aware of sustainable chemistry issues than the in-service teachers. The study contributes to chemistry education by narrowing the gap that exists in the literature between chemistry teachers’ PCK and AK on the one hand and self-efficacy on the other hand. We offer an assessment tool for identifying and quantifying teachers’ knowledge. We offer recommendations for science educators about the needs, strengths, and weaknesses of pre- and in-service teachers related to teaching sustainable chemistry.
The authors present a methodology for assessing both novelty and systems thinking, as expressed in the same conceptual models constructed by graduate engineering students.
Background: Companies worldwide seek employees with creativity and systems thinking, since solving design problems requires both skills. Novelty and usefulness are the most commonly accepted components of creativity, while systems thinking is the holistic understanding of systems.
Research Question: How can novelty and systems thinking be assessed based on conceptual models (of technological systems) constructed by graduate engineering students?
Methodology: Six student teams of two to four members each (N = 21) constructed solution models based on Object-Process Methodology, a formal methodology and language for model- based systems engineering. The authors assessed these models for novelty and for systems thinking using two existing rubrics based on the construction of system aspects—function, structure, and behavior.
Findings: The authors provide indications that both novelty and systems thinking can be assessed based on conceptual models of technological systems.
Index Terms—Assessment tools, creativity, graduate education, model-based system design, novelty, object-process methodology, student assessment, systems thinking, teams.
21st century skills are essential for career readiness. We investigated the development of students’ 21st century skills at a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) research university: Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. We designed a self-reporting questionnaire covering 14 skills and deployed it to approximately 1500 students and alumni. Respondents were asked to rate each skill based on the degree to which it was developed during their studies. Domain-general skills scored higher than STEM-specific skills or soft (interpersonal) skills, whereas STEM-specific skills scored higher than soft skills. Content analysis revealed nine methods of teaching and learning through which skills developed. The four active methods had a small effect on domain-general skills, while the five passive methods had a medium-to-large effect on these skills. Active methods had a medium-size effect on both STEM-specific and soft skills, whereas passive methods had no effect on either group. Our contribution lies in identifying and matching methods to skills.
This study explores Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) teachers’ perceptions of teaching and assessment methods. We investigated 125 STEM subject coordinators and teachers using interviews and questionnaires. We examined the most commonly implemented teaching and assessment methods, and the reasons teachers chose them. Then, we compared teachers from different school levels, subjects, teaching experience and cultural backgrounds. The teaching methods implemented the most were lectures and presentations, followed by class discussions and collaborative classwork. The most implemented assessment method was tests with open- and closed-ended questions, followed by project portfolios and experiment reports. Subject coordinators preferred methods that integrate formative assessment more than teachers. The study contributes to a better understanding of the teaching and assessment methods implemented in schools and the gap between recommendations and actual implementation. Conducted prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, this research sets a baseline for similar future post-COVID research.
In response to the realization that qualified applicants’ choice of a career in chemistry is declining, we investigated the factors involved in chemistry and chemical education career choice. Building on the social cognitive theory (SCT) and the social cognitive career theory (SCCT), this research examines the personal, environmental, and behavioral factors influencing the chemistry-related profession choice of 55 chemists, 18 chemical engineers, and 72 chemistry teachers. Research participants also suggest ways to encourage students to major in chemistry during high school and pursue a chemistry-related career. Results showed that high school serves as a significant turning point of future career choices. Self-efficacy in the task-oriented and chemistry learning aspects are the driving forces of choosing a chemistry career. We also shed light on the importance of enhancing students’ choice in chemistry-related career via quality educational programs. The study contribution lies in examining all three aspects of career choice in the SCCT. We have applied this framework specifically in chemistry, but the identified factors can be applied to other STEM domains. Practically, we provide recommendations for different stakeholders on how to overcome the shortage of skilled chemistry professionals.
Modeling and systems thinking skills, as well as scientific understanding, are necessary for comprehending complex, food-related processes. The aim of this research was to evaluate the effect of food-related learning units on graduate students’ systems thinking and modeling skills, as well as on their understanding of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) issues. In this research, six STEM experts constructed a conceptual model of the codfish tracking process using Object-Process Methodology. Next, 15 STEM graduate students, who are prospective teachers, participated in a graduate course, which includes four online units on food production processes based on their respective models. Research tools included an expert focus group, student assignments, and questionnaires. Modeling and scientific understanding rubrics were adapted and validated for analysis of the assignments. We found a significant difference in the scores of systems thinking and modeling skills between students with modeling background and those without. Based of students’ feedback along the course, learning in context of food and sustainability also contributed to developing these skills. The contribution is the combination of food production and conceptual models for developing STEM teachers’ systems thinking and modeling skills, and their scientific understanding of food processes and sustainability issues.
The program For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) for young students incorporates project-based learning (PBL) with designing and building wireless-controlled robots. The students are guided by experts, mostly engineers. The FIRST organization determines the theme of the robot annual competition. The goal of this research is to characterize and evaluate the effect of the FIRST program on graduates’ self-efficacy, interpersonal skills, and career choices in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The research participants included 297 FIRST graduates, mostly high schoolers, who responded to questionnaires, and five of them were interviewed. Analysis of the data showed that the FIRST program improved graduates’ interpersonal skills such as time management, teamwork skills, and self-efficacy, as well as had an impact on the graduates’ STEM career choices. The main factors impacting the graduates’ career choice was their exposure to robotics and to experts from the industry. The theoretical contribution is to the social cognitive theory (SCT) in the context of the FIRST program. Our study explains students’ career choice through correlations among students’ aspirations for choosing a career, their self-efficacy, their interpersonal skills, and their actual choice. The practical contribution lies in better understanding the robotic PBL program and expanding the STEM work force.
The Mathematics for Computer Science mandatory course was conducted in a flipped classroom (FC) setting with an optional, voluntary, project-based learning (PBL) component. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of studying in an FC setting, with and without PBL, on students’ problem-solving performance, conceptual understanding, and affective perceptions. Participants were 374 undergraduate freshmen and sophomores, of whom 20% elected to participate in an optional probability PBL. The most significant finding was the reinforcement of collaboration, as reflected by teamwork on problem solving during the FC class time. The PBL students demonstrated an advantage in their performance over their peers in probability–the topic they explored, and in their positive responses regarding studying in the FC setting, with an emphasis on the collaborative learning component. The research demonstrates the importance of active engagement in a technology-based environment in which STEM undergraduate students solve problems and implement projects.
Using the identity lens as a theoretical framework, we studied 42 novice second career chemistry teachers, who had previously worked as chemists and participated in an alternative certification program (ACP) at a science and engineering research university. Our goal was to understand the transition process of these teachers into the teaching profession as they shape their identity and navigate through the contexts of the preparation program and the school system.
Results showed that the career changers attributed their identity development to a variety of program identity resources, which shape one’s identity: coursework, field experiences, and social contexts. We saw that the transition to the teaching profession was mainly due to their desire to contribute to society.
Investigating three case studies, we learned that through the active participation, one’s vision of the particular kind of teacher one aspires to be has developed within the unique learning environment created in the program.
In many countries, the choice of a STEM career, especially in chemistry, is decreasing. A shortage of appropriately skilled workers can become a threat to any country’s future achievements. Our research strives to understand behavioral trends and career choice factors related to personal and environmental themes. Building on the foundations of the Social Cognitive Career Theory, the research sheds light on prospective trends and retrospective perceptions of chemistry-related professionals in choosing chemistry in high school, as a career, and as a STEM occupation. To analyze the prospective trends in choosing chemistry, we used data curated by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics on 545778 high school graduates. For the retrospective perceptions of choosing a chemistry career, we investigated three research groups (N = 190): chemists and chemical engineers, chemistry teachers, and third year undergraduate chemistry students. We found that choosing chemistry as a major and profession decreases from high school to higher education. Women tend to choose chemistry more than men at high school and university levels, and minorities tend to choose it more in high school but less in higher education compared to non-minorities. Task-oriented self-efficacy was the factor which contributed the most to chemistry career choice in all three research groups. The theoretical contribution is the unique SCCT application through the integration of both the prospective views on the behavioral theme and the retrospective views on the personal and environmental themes. Furthermore, we present new chemistry- related factors within the personal theme of this theoretical framework that can extend the SCCT framework.
Facilitating students’ chemical literacy is a focal point of current science education. This study examines views of chemists and chemistry teachers on chemical literacy and, more broadly, on scientific literacy of four kinds of stakeholders: scientists, teachers, STEM students, and the educated public. We explored the views of 347 participants, representing the four stakeholder groups with diversified scientific literacy, and an Ask-a-Scientist public website as a communication channel for facilitating chemical literacy through posing questions. Research tools included interviews, open-ended questionnaires, and questions retrieved from the website. We found that the questions posed on the website expressed a range of levels of chemical literacy that the students had constructed. The stakeholder groups expressed diverse perspectives of their experiences using various types of communication channels, arguing for the need to encourage students to pose questions and receive scientists’ responses. Our study is placed in the larger context of scientific literacy and communication channels, as it takes the example of chemical literacy, with a focus on communications among scientists and chemistry teachers in the context of an Ask-a-Scientist website. It has established a link between responses of various stakeholders and the literature definitions regarding scientific literacy with focus on chemical literacy. From a practical viewpoint, the study presents a productive communication channel for posing questions in the context of chemistry and other sciences. Methodologically, this study includes the design of tools for analyzing both the views of different stakeholders and for evaluating the complexity level of chemistry questions, which might serve chemistry educators.
One challenge associated with introducing systems thinking in chemistry classrooms is the increase in content complexity that students face when they engage in this type of approach. Placing core chemical ideas within larger systems has promise, as long as students are not overwhelmed by the added complexity. Although there are many potential strategies for dealing with complexity, one common tool is to employ visual or graphical tools to help conceptualize the problem or system at hand. In part because systems thinking touches on many potential levels of implementation, there are different visual tools that are helpful in conceptualizing different aspects. Some tools, such as systemsoriented concept map extension (SOCME) diagrams and systemigrams, use methodologies often associated with concept mapping but add features that enhance their applicability in systems thinking. Object−Process Methodology (OPM), which has seen fairly wide use in systems engineering contexts, uses formally defined components and links between them to help conceptualize systems and problems. Many systems of interest are dynamic in nature so tools such as behavior over time graphs (BOTG) are helpful in calibrating the temporal aspects of systems. Such dynamics are also captured via causal loop diagrams and stock and flow diagrams. Here, we introduce and describe the affordances of multiple types of graphical tools that can be used to support systems thinking approaches in chemistry education. Knowing the uses and advantages of these different tools will allow instructors to make informed choices about the tools that will best meet a particular educational goal when using systems thinking approaches in the classroom.
Contribution: A rubric for assessing the systems thinking expressed in conceptual models of technological systems has been constructed and assessed using a formal methodology. The rubric, a synthesis of prior findings in science and engineering education, forms a framework for improving communication between science and engineering educators. Background: Systems thinking is an important skill in engineering, but to date no rubric for assessing this skill based on a formal methodology has been published with reliability and validity measures. Research Questions: (a) What attributes should a rubric for assessing the systems thinking of engineering students comprise? (b) To what extent can such a rubric serve in assessing the systems thinking level of engineering students, as expressed in their conceptual system models? Methodology: Based on a literature review of systems thinking assessment in science and engineering education, the authors classified the systems thinking attributes they had identified into system function, structure, and behavior. Scoring instructions were developed for conceptual system models based on Object-Process Methodology ISO 19450, a formal methodology and language for model-based systems engineering. A total of 142 undergraduate engineering students in 32 teams modeled Web-based systems using the methodology. Each team submitted two models of the same system, at the middle and end of semester. Models were scored using the rubric, and its reliability and validity were evaluated. Findings: Indications of interrater reliability, internal consistency, and construct validity were acceptable, excluding the system function aspect, implying the rubric may be used reliably for its intended purpose.
Science communication and science education aim to expose citizens to scientific knowledge, which is increasingly becoming a prerequisite for effective participation in modern society. We aim to present a review of science communication and science education literature, for highlighting the need for and importance of narrowing the gap between the two communities. Our objective was to find what themes, if any, are common to the two disciplines, based on keyword searches of the literature, that represent overlap constructs between the two communities. We searched for academic articles published from 2000 to 2017 in three science communication journals and three science education journals, which contained the keywords science communication, science engagement and science understanding. A three-stage literature review yielded 70 papers that provided the basis for common theme identification: (i) attitudes towards the importance of science communication, (ii) communication channel types and (iii) scientific knowledge construction. Findings reveal similarities and disparities between the two communities and the stakeholders they investigated. Both communities agree on the meaning of process and product science communication constructs. Yet, while the science education community mainly relates to the product construct, the science communication community mainly relays to the communication construct. We then discuss the value of fostering dialogue between the two communities. Our research contributes to raising the awareness of the value of maintaining ongoing dialogue between science communication and science education communities, accounting for the three common themes we have identified, implying that a common language is emerging, and the variety of stakeholders involved.
Systems thinking is a holistic approach for examining complex problems and systems that focuses on the interactions among system components and the patterns that emerge from those interactions. Systems thinking can help students develop higher-order thinking skills in order to understand and address complex, interdisciplinary, real-world problems. Because of these potential benefits, there have been recent efforts to support the implementation of systems thinking approaches in chemistry education, including the development of the IUPAC Systems Thinking in Chemistry Education (STICE) Project and this Special Issue of the Journal of Chemical Education: “Reimagining Chemistry Education: Systems Thinking, and Green and Sustainable Chemistry”. As part of these efforts, our purposes in this paper are to describe some of the potential benefits associated with systems thinking approaches, to identify the STEM education fields that have employed systems thinking approaches, to summarize some of the major findings about the applications of systems thinking in STEM education, and to present methods that have been used to assess systems thinking skills in STEM education. We found that, in general, systems thinking approaches have been applied in life sciences, earth sciences, and engineering but not in the physical or mathematical sciences. We also found that the primary emphasis of peer-reviewed publications was on the development of students’, rather than teachers’, systems thinking abilities. Existing tools for the assessment of systems thinking in STEM education can be divided into (a) assessment rubrics, (b) closed-ended tools, and (c) coding schemes, with each type of assessment tool having its own unique advantages and disadvantages. We highlight one particular case in which researchers applied an interdisciplinary framework for comprehensive assessment of systems thinking. Although systems thinking has not been widely researched or applied in chemistry education, many of the conceptual frameworks applied to systems thinking in other STEM education disciplines could potentially be applied in chemistry education. We argue that the benefits observed when applying systems thinking approaches in other STEM education disciplines could facilitate similar results for chemistry education. Finally, we provide considerations for future research and applications of systems thinking in chemistry education.
Metacognition, or ′thinking about thinking′, can improve scientific literacy and practices. It involves knowledge of cognition, i. e., being cognisant of one‘s knowledge, and regulation of cognition, i. e., consciously controlling the process of knowledge acquisition. A self-regulated learner can assimilate new knowledge, conduct inquiry, solve problems and plan ahead his or her learning. While studies have been conducted on metacognition in chemistry education, none have included detailed assignments covering a range of metacognitive strategies. Our review of studies on metacognition in chemistry secondary and higher education also includes also several exemplary assignments on the energy topic for facilitating and assessing metacognition in high school classrooms. We use metacognitive prompts and the construct of chemistry understanding levels, macroscopic, microscopic, symbol, and process, as an approach for metacognitive intervention. Finally, we provide recommendations for educators and a rubric for researchers.
Systems thinking is an important skill in science and engineering education. Our study objectives were (1) to create the basis for a systems thinking language common to both science education and engineering education, and (2) to apply this language to assess science and engineering teachers’ systems thinking. We administered two assignments to teacher teams: first, modelling the same adapted scientific text, and second, modelling a synthesis of peer-reviewed articles in science and engineering education, with teams selecting a topic from a list and summarising them. We assessed those models using a rubric for systems thinking we had developed based on our literature review of this topic. We found high interrater reliability and validated the rubric’s theoretical construct for the system aspects of function, structure and behaviour. We found differences in scores between the assignments in favour of the second assignment, for two attributes of systems thinking: ‘expected outcome/intended purpose’ and ‘main object and its sub-objects’. We explain the first attribute difference as stemming from the modellers’ domain expertise as science or engineering teachers, rather than as scientists or engineers, and the second attribute difference – from the larger amount of information available for modelling the articles synthesis assignment. The theoretical contribution of this study lies in the definition of the systems thinking construct as a first step in establishing a common language for the science education and engineering education communities. The study’s methodological contribution lies in the rubric we developed and validated, which can be used for assessing the systems thinking of teachers and potentially also of undergraduate students.
Context-based learning (CBL) has influenced teaching and learning science in many countries over the past decades. Twelve years ago, a special issue on CBL was published in this Journal, focusing on CBL curriculum development. Seven papers in this current special issue on CBL now address the question of how a context influences the learning process. The papers focus on the stimulation of learning STEM subjects within contexts, how the learning process occurs and is enhanced, and the application of contexts in different settings. The approaches, results, and implications of the papers are located in a larger view that considers the question of what must be the case if a student not only engages in the tasks of learning but also succeeds at them. Concerning willingness and effort by learners, the papers draw conclusions about which STEM-related interests of students endure and are ephemeral across a decade, design criteria for maximising students’ situational interest, and students’ engagement with content and context simultaneously. Focusing on the opportunity to teach and learn, the papers reveal how a professional development approach functions to support STEM teachers to develop CBL materials, and how specific scaffolding acts in teaching bring students to more complex reasoning. Regarding good teaching, insights are offered on how metacognitive prompts improve teaching. Centring on the social surround that supports teaching and learning, a comparison of two contexts for teaching the same content reveals which aspects of the contexts move student learning forward. From this mapping, paths toward future research are projected.
Case-based learning is an interactive group learning approach that embodies the principles of Socratic inquiry. It is a common pedagogy used in many disciplines including business, law, and health. With online learning being the fastest growing segment of higher education, case-based learning is also finding its way into online courses. This research was conducted on a population of 698 students enrolled in online case-based courses. The use of Structural Equation Modelling provided an understanding of the factors that influence student satisfaction. Through Logistics Regression, the extent to which these factors do influence satisfaction was determined. The findings indicate that the greatest predictors of student satisfaction were the interaction and understanding between the students and the instructor. Furthermore, a student’s pre-existing attitude toward interactive group learning is also a significant factor in predicting student satisfaction. The conclusions point to a lack of understanding by students on how to engage in effective interactive online group learning. The recommendation is that training in online collaborative skills be considered as a front-end to any online case-based course.
Context-based learning (CBL), promoting students’ scientific text comprehension, and fostering metacognitive skills, plays an important role in science education. Our study involves CBL through comprehension and analysis of adapted scientific articles. We developed a module which integrates metacognitive prompts for guiding students to monitor their understanding and improve their scientific text comprehension. We investigated the effect of these metacognitive prompts on scientific text comprehension as part of CBL in chemistry. About 670 high school chemistry students were randomly divided into three groups exposed to high- and low-intensity CBL. One of the high-intensity groups was also exposed to metacognitive prompts. Research tools included pre- and post-questionnaires aimed at measuring students’ conceptual chemistry understanding and metacognitive knowledge in the context of reading strategies, before and after exposure to the CBL. Chemistry understanding was reflected by students’ ability to identify the main subject of the adapted article and by explaining concepts both textually and visually. We found that high-intensity CBL combined with metacognitive prompts improved students’ chemistry understanding of the adapted scientific articles and the ability to regulate their learning. Our study establishes that reading context-based adapted scientific articles advances students’ conceptual chemistry understanding. These gains are strongly amplified by domain-specific metacognitive prompts.
This paper describes an Israeli national-level research examining the extent to which admissions of elementary school students to the gifted programmes based on standardised tests are gender-fair. In the research, the gifted students consisted of 275 boys, 128 girls, and additional 80 girls who were admitted to the gifted programme through affirmative action (AA).
To assess these young students’ scientific thinking skills, also referred to as science practices, open-ended questions of case-based questionnaires were developed. The investigated scientific thinking skills were question posing, explanation, graphing, inquiry, and metacognition. Analysis of the students’ responses revealed that gifted girls who entered the programmes through AA performed at the same level as the other gifted students. We found significant differences between the three research groups in question posing and graphing skills.
We suggest increasing gender-fairness by revising the standard national testing system to include case-based narratives followed by open-ended questions that assess gifted students’ scientific thinking skills. This may diminish the gender inequity expressed by the different number of girls and boys accepted to the gifted programmes. We show that open-ended tools for analysing students’ scientific thinking might better serve both research and practice by identifying gifted girls and boys equally well.
ICT belongs to modern life and is playing a growing role in education. For effective implementation of ICT in the classroom, teachers need to develop both positive attitudes and self-efficacy towards using these tools in educational settings. However, information measuring how positive such attitudes towards and how developed teachers’ self-efficacy on the use of ICT in education are remains scarce. This study examines the development of prospective chemistry teachers’ ICT-related attitudes and their corresponding self-efficacy.
It focuses on secondary level chemistry pre-service teachers’ attitudes and self-efficacy concerning the use of ICT in education in general, and in chemistry teaching in particular.
Data was collected from pre-service teachers (n = 239) at different stages of their teacher education programs. The study describes the progression of domain-specific self-efficacy. It also investigates gender differences and highlights the influence of seminars on the use of ICT in science education.
Aim/Purpose:
These days educators are expected to integrate technological tools into classes. Although they acquire relevant skills, they are often reluctant to use these tools.
Background:
We incorporated online forums for generating a Community of Inquiry (CoI) in a faculty development program. Extending the Technology, Pedagogy, and Content Knowledge (TPACK) model with Assessment Knowledge and content analysis of forum discourse and reflection after each CoI, we offer the Diagnostic Tool for Learning, Assessment, and Research (DTLAR).
Methodology:
This study spanned over two cycles of a development program for medical faculty.
Contribution:
This study demonstrates how the DTLAR supports in-depth examination of the benefits and challenges of using CoIs for learning and teaching.
Findings:
Before the program, participants had little experience with, and were reluctant to use, CoIs in classes. At the program completion, many were willing to adopt CoIs and appreciated this method’s contribution. Both CoIs discourse and reflections included positive attitudes regarding cognitive and teacher awareness categories. However, negative attitudes regarding affective aspects and time- consuming aspects of CoIs were exposed. Participants who experienced facilitating a CoI gained additional insights into its usefulness.
Recommendations for Practitioners:
The DTLAR allows analyzing adaption of online forums for learning and teaching.
Recommendation for Researchers:
The DTLAR allows analyzing factors that affect the acceptance of online forums for learning and teaching.
An ongoing process of reforming chemical education in middle and high schools in our country introduced the technology-enhanced learning environment (TELE) to chemistry classes. Teachers are encouraged to integrate technology into pedagogical practices in meaningful ways to promote 21st century skills; however, this effort is often hindered by teacher concerns and resistance to change. We applied the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) to examine whether and how it could be used to identify chemistry teachers’ concerns, and to characterize the process of change they experience when integrating TELE. An analysis of two kinds of participants, one of high school chemistry teachers and the other of middle school chemistry teachers, helped us to obtain an in-depth understanding of the way these teachers adopted the innovation. Results revealed that after ten years of implementation, the concerns of high school teachers remained multi-focal, and the impact and personal concerns increased and were predominant. Examining three case studies of middle school teachers showed that one teacher remained in the early stages of concerns during one year of implementation, while the other two exhibited a process of change, moving forward to advances stages of concerns. Our study can shed light on how CBAM might serve as a diagnostic tool for differentiating between teachers with different qualifications, experiences, and concerns in diverse teaching situations in middle school and high school. Such diagnosis can help stakeholders in the education system to develop specific interventions and activities for different groups of teachers based on specific concerns while implementing TELE.
Project-based learning (PBL) facilitates significant learning, but it poses a major assessment challenge for assessing individual content knowledge. We developed and implemented an assessment approach and tool for a mandatory undergraduate systems engineering PBL-based course. We call this type of assessment student-oriented meta-assessment. Research participants included 131 undergraduate engineering students who carried out team projects requiring conceptual modelling of complex systems. Next, individual students assessed their peer team projects. Finally, the course staff assessed students individually, based on the content knowledge that was reflected in students’ comments to their peers, by using the new meta-assessment tool. The research findings validated the meta-assessment tool which can serve for assessing various PBL courses. Our contribution is twofold: a new approach for assessing project-based undergraduate engineering courses, and classification of meta-assessment methods into three types, where a student-oriented meta-assessment as one of the three meta-assessment methods is our newly introduced and validated method.
This study was set to identify self-regulation skills required for online learning and to characterize cognitive transfer of on-campus and online students. The study included two groups of undergraduate students who studied the same course, but in different settings: online and on-campus. Data collected via an online survey and semi-structured interviews indicated that cognitive strategies and regulation of cognition are significant for successful online learning. Findings also indicated that the online students were more aware of mastery learning and information processing strategies than the on-campus peers. The online students specified the importance of planning, controlling, and evaluation skills for meaningful learning; whereas the on-campus students asserted lack of self-discipline and limited communication skills as barriers for distance learning. Near- and far-transfer components were identified, showing a significant positive correlation with self-regulation skills for both groups of learners.
In an era in which information is rapidly growing and changing, it is very important to teach with the goal of students’ engagement in life-long learning in mind. This can partially be achieved by developing transferable thinking skills. In our previous paper – Part I (Dori & Sasson, 2013), we conducted a review of the transfer literature and suggested a three-attribute transfer skills framework presented graphically as a cube (See Figure 1). The goals of this paper – Part II are (a) to investigate the application of the three-attribute transfer skills framework by conducting two studies; and (b) to demonstrate the value of the framework as a tool for design of assignments and assessment of students’ transfer skills. In this paper, we have applied the three-attribute transfer skills framework to design assignments and to assess middle and high school students. In order to achieve the first goal we conducted two studies: 1. Investigating high school chemistry students in a computerized laboratory setting, and 2. Exploring middle school students who were exposed to science enrichment program. Study 1 took a case-based chemistry approach and included assessment of transfer skills among high school honor chemistry students. In Study 2, we evaluated the transfer skills of ninth grade students who had participated in a science enrichment academic program with emphasis on physics and we compared boys to girls. Findings of Study 1 indicated an increase in students’ far transfer skill as expressed by the progress students made in transferring knowledge from chemistry to other science domains and by using more chemistry understanding levels in their responses. In Study 2, we found that the near transfer skill of middle school boys was significantly higher than the same skill among girls who participated in the same enrichment program. Both parts, the review and the three-attribute transfer skills framework (previous paper – Part I) and the research (this paper – Part II), contribute to narrowing the gap between the theory of transfer, empirical research, and the practice of transfer in science classrooms.
Chemistry students in Israel have two options for studying chemistry: basic or honors (advanced placement). For instruction in high school honors chemistry courses, we developed a module focusing on abstract topics in quantum mechanics: Chemistry—From the Nanoscale to Microelectronics. The module adopts a visual–conceptual approach, which replaces mathematical derivations and includes interdisciplinary, real-life applications. The module has also been used as enrichment material for an undergraduate mathematically oriented quantum chemistry course. We assessed the comprehension of quantum mechanical concepts and the thinking skills of high school honors students and undergraduate chemistry students who studied this module. These skills included visual and textual chemical understanding, graphing, and far transfer of learning. Participants included over 100 high school honors students in high and intermediate levels, and over 60 undergraduate students, with students separated into groups of those exposed to the module and those who received mathematics enrichment instead. The questionnaires revealed that both high school honors students and undergraduate students improved their scores. High-level academic students outperformed their undergraduate peers, and undergraduate students who had been exposed to the module outperformed undergraduates who had studied the topic with mathematical enrichment. The research contributes to the field of teaching quantum mechanics and thinking skills, suggesting that high school honors students and undergraduate students could benefit from studying quantum mechanics using a visual–conceptual approach along with real-life applications. This contribution is part of a special issue on teaching introductory chemistry in the context of the advanced placement (AP) chemistry course redesign.
Assessing the level and quality of collaboration between students working in project teams is a complex task. The main goal of our study was to develop and validate an online questionnaire for assessing the quality of distance teamwork collaboration in a project-based systems modeling course. The research goals included assessing the transactional distance (TD) perceptions among peer students who had collaborated in jointly constructing conceptual system models of projects carried out by distant researchers and the TD between the students on one hand and the distant researchers on the other hand. The research questions were aimed at validating the TD questionnaire as a tool for assessing TD. The research population included undergraduate students who participated and collaborated via a visualization-based environment as part of the EU VISIONAIR infrastructure project. The students interacted both among themselves and with remote researchers across Europe. Reliability and inter-correlation tests have indicated internal structure validity and reliability of the TD questionnaire. Correlation with other student outcomes indicated content validity by criterion. Experiencing visualization-based environments was a key factor in student satisfaction. Based on our findings and the collaboration literature, TD may serve as an alternative assessment tool for evaluating the quality of collaboration among peer students and researchers.
Most undergraduate chemistry courses and a few high school honors courses, which focus on physical chemistry and quantum mechanics, are highly mathematically-oriented. At the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, we developed a new module for high school students, titled Chemistry – From “the Hole” to “the Whole”: From the Nanoscale to Microelectronics. The module is based on a qualitative approach to teaching quantum chemistry, emphasizing interdisciplinary real-life applications and integration of visualization. While aimed at honors high school chemistry students, the module was also partially implemented and assessed in an undergraduate chemistry course. The research objective was to investigate the effect of the module on the visual and textual understanding of quantum mechanical concepts among 122 honors and 65 volunteer undergraduate chemistry students. The research tools included students’ pre- and post-questionnaires. High school honors and undergraduate students, who were exposed to the module, significantly improved their textual and visual understanding of quantum mechanical concepts and their ability to move across illustrations and explanations. Honors and undergraduate students minimized the gap that had existed between them in terms of integrating micro and quantum levels into their post-questionnaire answers. Our findings augment the current set of the four chemistry understanding levels – macro, micro, symbol and process – by adding the quantum mechanical level as a fifth level of chemistry understanding. The study contributes to teaching physical chemistry by providing a tool for learning, assessment, and research of chemistry understanding via both visual and textual modes.
