IMPRESSE 2006 in Gulpen

Objectives. The organisers aim at:

1. Sharing information on the state of educational affairs in the member countries
2. Preparation of the IMPRESSE meeting at the MNU-congres in 2007 (Berlin)

Venue : The conference is hosted in the Hotel "De Oude Geul" at Oude Rijksweg 20, 6271 AA in Gulpen.

Provisional programme vs 2 (see appendix; pragramme IMPRESSE Gulpen September 29 - 30, 2006)

Brief report
(Frits L Gravenberch, NVON)

This report summarises the presentations of the STA’s represented at the IMPRESSE conference in 2006 in Gulpen in the Netherlands. The full texts as well as the presentations of the keynote speakers are included on this page as appendix as pdf-files”. 

Contributions by the STA-representatives 

Mrs. Silvia Pugliese (see appendix below: Diapositiva 1 and also appendix AIF_Gulpen_29-09-06_ingl.) who represented Associazione per l’Insegnamento della Fisica (AIF, Italy), explained the so called “ISS  Project” on Teaching Experimental Sciences.“ISS” aims primarily at training teachers and includes e.g. action research based project activities, the development of teaching materials, involvement. of so called ‘tutors’.
Major project aims are:
    •Trying out the project hypotheses and models
   •Trying out and validating materials for teachers and pupils
   •Setting up innovative labs, using low-cost materials when possible
   •Promoting the connection of local school networks to wider network environments
   •In connection with INVALSI, producing indications for evaluating non-traditional activities (special labs, out-of-school visits etc)
   •Exchanging and comparing experiences internationally.
The ISS project also involves the involvement of so called “Tutors” who contribute in:
• producing Lab indications, suggesting activities, identifying scientific subfields in view of further curricular developments, establishing cross-subject connections (maths, language…)
• particular kinds of didactics: overcoming difficulties, structurating concepts and learning, constructing concept nets, rethinking teaching from an epistemological point of view
• particular teaching methodologies (starting from experiences, recognising the worthfulness of procedures, discussing with pupils…)
• evaluating outcomes
The project keeps international connections with similar institutions across Europe through the PENCIL Project.

Mrs. Brigitte Leyh Nihant (see appendix below: Secondary school education in French and German speaking parts of Belgium) from  the Association Belge des Professeurs de Physique et de Chimie (ABPPC) indicated that actions of her association are limited;

•   because it depends on voluntary work of the members
•   its mission is not to discuss about the curricula, the pedagogical methods, teacher training
•   the Inspectors take part in the work of the association.
It is envisioned however, to teach competences rather than mere facts. Students should adopt particular scientifically ethical behaviours such as:
• Intellectual integrity
• Good balance between open-mindedness and scepticism
• Curiosity
• Will to work in a team-oriented way.
Students should also become able to
• Understand basic concepts, models or principles
• Conduct a (limited) research project and use models
• Use defined experimental procedures
• Build up a logical argument
• Communicate information, ideas, problems and solutions
• Solve practical applications and analyse the results
• Make use of the adapted mathematical and computer tools
• Establish the link between their scientific background in a given discipline and that of another one (e.g., chemistry and biology)
• Establish the link between science in general and other disciplines (emergence of given scientific concepts in a given society)

Mr. Claus Meyer-Bothling (see appendix below: Recent Developments in Germany) who represented MNU explained that a reform has been initiated in Germany that has changed many aspects of school education current developments as a result of the shock the German educational scene experienced as a result of the “German’ results with the most recent studies Timss and Pisa. In his view, Baden-Württemberg serves as a pioneer in this field.Starting Summer 2004 a new syllabus, the Bildungsstandard in which  the emphasis switched from contents to skills (Kompetenzen), replaces the Bildungsplan from 1994 which listed the topics to be covered in great detail.
Mr. Claus Meyer-Bothling exemplified the new philosophy through the following examples taken from the physics curriculum.
Students themselves should
• plan suitable experiments to find the relation between variables,
• be able to describe the relationship between variables,
• find and use formulae that have not been explained in the lessons. 
At the Geschwister-Scholl-Gymnasium in Stuttgart e.g. teachers have spent quite some time and effort to develop a curriculum for each subject that they deem suitable to teach the skills. The curricula are published on the homepage http://www.geschwister-scholl-gymnasium.de. ( -> Unterricht -> Schulcurriculum) and include all subjects.
Of course one needs contents to teach science, but this is now up to the schools themselves to decide how to prioritise “Content” over  “Skill”.
Moreover, several scientific subjects became introduced throughout the school career of students, i. e.
• Naturphänomene (natural phenomena) in years 5 and 6,
• Naturwissenschaftliches Praktikum (scientific practical) in year 7,
• a new major subject NWT (science and technology) in years 8, 9 and 10.
In conclusion, Mr. Claus Meyer-Bothling  stated that the international studies have been a wakeup call for the German educational scene. The reform has meant a lot of work for all involved and hopefully there will be some reward for it in terms of more interested students and better results. But changes in education need time to take effect so in order to really be able to judge the result we will have to wait for another few years. 
 

Mrs Lyn Haynes (see appendix below: England & Wales and Scotland) who represented the ASE (England & Wales and Scotland), that in England and Wales a National Strategy in English, Maths, Science and ICT (Information & Communications Technology) has been completed in KS3 (11- 14 years olds). GCSE is in implementation in Science in KS4 from September 2006 including: 
• major focus on How Science Works
• emphasis on discussion and debate
• requiring the articulation of informed opinions
• changes to assessment (improving practical skills and hopefully reducing coursework plagiarism from the internet)
• examination boards permitted to interpret the reworked National Curriculum criteria.
Special elements in the curriculum content of the special sciences are for:
•Biology:  a) Cells and growth
    b) Energy flow and element cycles
•Chemistry:  a) Structure and bonding
    b) Chemical synthesis
•Physics:  a) Forces and motion
    b) Nuclear changes.
Key Skills here, are:
                    •communication
                    • information and communication technology
                    • application of numbers
                    • improving own learning and performance
                    • working with others
                    • problem solving.
Consequently, the following consequences could be expected:
• A plethora of specifications
• Too much choice?
• Parity across the examination boards?
• Reduced content
• How Science works is underpinned by Work Related Learning (statutory work placement) and Citizenship (statutory GCSE examinable half-course).
For England and Wales the following changes are envisioned for the long term:
       • new curriculum specifications for Post-16 as from 2008. Could this increase the uptake of the sciences at university?
        • Reworking the National Curriculum criteria for KS3. 
Scotland strives for a Curriculum for Excellence to establish clear values, purposes and principles for education from 3 to 18 in Scotland while aiming at:
“Our aspiration is to enable all children to develop their capacities as successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors to society”.  

Josep Corominas  (see appendix below: 1. dia) from Hungary, first described the Hungarian school system quite comprehensively. Currently major changes in the system are in implementation, such as
o students cannot fail any longer at the end of the school year during the first three grades in primary school, besides with the consent of their parents
o all secondary schools can offer a language preparatory year (different from bilingual education)
o changes in regulations concerning school leaving exams
o changes in higher education in the context of the Bologna process, which include the implementation of titles such BA, BSc, MA, MSc, PhD, 
The education system in Hungary currently struggles with problems such as:
 •        economic restrictions causing that:
            o       Schools are constantly in financial trouble
            o       Teachers are underpaid
            o       Facilities are run down
            o       There is lack of necessary equipment
 •        demographic decrease causing:
            o       a decreasing number of school-aged children (20 years ago the number of students was almost twice as high as today)
            o       that a lot of schools have been closed down or integrated into other schools         that there are far more (primary school) teachers than needed.        
This, in its own turn leads to problems such as
o students are not interested in science
o a smaller number of science lessons right after the changing the National Curriculum
o in-school activities and the requirement of school leaving exams are not synchronized (especially in case of History and Biology)

Keynote addresses

In order to inform the delegates on recent developments in the Netherlands a couple of keynote speeches became delivered by Dutch experts. In addition, also Prof. Dean Zollmann (Kansas State University, USA)  (see appendix below: The evolving classroom response system at KSU Classtalk, PRS, PDAs.) informed the audience various ways for using Information Technology in science classes.

Prof Dr Kerst, Th,  Boersma, (see appendix below: The concept - context approach for biology education) from Utrecht University who is also Chair of the National Committee for Renovating the Biology Curriculum in Secondary Education explained the main characteristics of the new proposal which is under development currently. The committee consists of representatives of both Secondary and Higher Education (University and Higher Vocational Education). As with the national curriculum committees for Physics and Chemistry, the biologists seek to develop a proposal to the Ministry for Education, Science and Culture based on the “Context-Concept” didactical approach.

Mr. Dirk J, van der Spoel (see appendix below: Dia 1) from the “ Task Force Pre Vocational Education” explained new developments concerning curriculum renovation in a special section of  Lower Secondary Education, the so called “Pre-vocational Education”.

In all Dutch secondary schools science teachers are supported by specialists in lab work activities, the so called Technical Educational Assistants (TOA). Two TOA’s by the names of Petra Ketelaar and Dafne de Boer (see appendix below: Sciences: working with technicians in Dutch schools)