Definición operacional de las variables en estudio

This chapter presented two studies that explored the assessment of scientific literacy in summative, written assessments. Overall the studies showed that scientific literacy can be assessed using summative, written assessments. Additionally, the first study showed that if students are given the opportunity to explain their reasoning then it is also possible to determine the level scientific literacy demonstrated. This study also provided validity to PISA’s framework and assessment. The assessment item did assess what PISA purported it to assess. However, the first study was based on a single assessment item and this assessment item assessed students’ ability to identify evidence in text (3C) and analyse and interpret this evidence or data to draw conclusions (3B), using content knowledge. This didn’t provide any evidence of assessment of a wider range of sub-competencies or knowledge types, particularly those associated with scientific inquiry.

The second study explored the assessment of scientific literacy in the “new” curricula of Scotland and Ireland. These curricula aim to assess scientific literacy and so the assessment items were analysed for evidence of this. In this study there was evidence of assessment of a range of sub- competencies and knowledge types of PISA. There was also evidence of increased assessment of scientific literacy in the “new” curricula of both countries. However, some sub-competencies and knowledge types were assessed frequently while others were assessed infrequently or absent altogether. The skills assessed in the summative, written assessment items in this study tended to focus on recall and application of scientific knowledge and interpretation of data, using scientific content knowledge. There was little evidence of the assessment of inquiry skills such as proposing investigatable questions and ways of exploring a scientific question, or skills associated with secondary research including critical evaluation of evidence.

The curricular assessment of Scotland and Ireland includes other forms of assessment that may assess a different range of skills and knowledge from the assessments explored in this chapter. For example. the Scottish National 5 Assignment and the Irish Junior Cycle Science in Society Investigation aim to assess skills and knowledge of inquiry in the context of SSI. The rest of this thesis is focussed on assessment of scientific literacy through inquiry in the context of SSI and how the skills and knowledge of scientific literacy can be developed and assessed using this approach. Chapter 4 will present two studies exploring the development and assessment of scientific literacy through inquiry in the context of SSI in the Scottish and Irish curricula.

The studies presented in Chapter 3 used the PISA sub-competencies and knowledge types as a convenient description of scientific literacy. The studies presented in later chapters continue to use the PISA description (Table 1-1 and Table 1-2) but do not limit themselves to this definition. Scientific literacy is considered to be the range of skills and knowledge that an individual has

developed that allow them to participate in and receive enrichment from society (Figure 1-2). The studies described in Chapters 4 and 5 contribute towards a greater understanding of the skills and knowledge that contribute to scientific literacy.

4 Teacher and student experience of

inquiry in the context of SSI in the

Scottish and Irish curricula

This chapter explores the development and assessment of scientific literacy in secondary schools with a focus on approaches that use inquiry in the context of SSI. In Scotland and Ireland, the secondary school curricula include assessments of inquiry in the context of SSI. This chapter presents three case studies that explore the teacher and student experience of carrying out inquiry in the context of SSI. Holistically, the chapter explores how teachers interpret curriculum documentation (that aims to develop and assess scientific literacy) and use it to shape their classroom practice with secondary school students.

Section 4.1 presents a case study of inquiry in the context of SSI in the Scottish CfE. Since 2014, the Scottish CfE National 5 science courses have assessed the skills and knowledge of inquiry in the context of SSI through the National 5 Assignment. The case study presented in this section follows a science department in one Scottish school, named Thistle Wood School, as they carry out the National 5 Assignment with biology, chemistry and physics classes. Students carried out an experimental and secondary research inquiry into a range of topics including: uses of enzymes (biology); alcohols as fuels (chemistry); spacecrafts, seat belts and X-rays (physics).

Section 4.2 presents the curricular landscape within which the case studies are set. The secondary school science curricula of Scotland and Ireland both mandate assessment of inquiry in the context of SSI and this is the thread that ties the case studies of this chapter together. While the Scottish case study followed teachers in their third year of implementation of the National 5 Assignment, at the time of writing this thesis the Irish assessment had not yet taken place. Therefore, this section presents the Scottish journey from a curriculum policy point of view, comparing this to practice in Thistle Wood School, and highlights potential lessons for Irish curriculum policy makers.

Section 4.3 presents two case studies set in the Irish curricular context: Clover Field School case study and Daisy Park School case study. In Ireland the curricular mandated assessment of inquiry in the context of SSI, the Irish Junior Cycle Science in Society Investigation, will be implemented in winter of 2018. At the time of this case study, teachers in Ireland were focussed on the development of skills and knowledge of students in years one and two of secondary school, to prepare them for the assessment in their third year. Clover Field School and Daisy Park School

case studies explore the teachers’ and students’ experience of inquiry in the context of SSI in preparation for the Irish Junior Cycle Science in Society Investigation. The case studies follow two individual teachers, in two separate schools, and their classes. In Clover Field School, the students carried out an experimental inquiry into the preferences of woodlice, followed by a discussion around the ethics of use of animals in science and animal rights. In Daisy Park School, the students carried out a discussion and secondary research inquiry into two topics related to local traffic congestion and pollution and global climate change.

While Chapter 3 limited the definition of scientific literacy to PISA’s description i.e. the three competencies and 15 sub-competencies, and three knowledge types (Table 1-1 and 1-2). Chapter 4 uses both the PISA description of scientific literacy but also aims to contribute towards a broader description of scientific literacy. This broader description states that scientific literacy encompasses a range of skills and knowledge of science, and these lead to benefits to the individual in terms of their interaction with society and benefits to society. This broader description of scientific literacy is revisited in Chapter 6.