A study investigated peer collaboration among high school students when solving qualitative physics problems. Participants were 18 students in a year 12 physics class in a Hong Kong school, who worked both individually and in groups to solve physics problems. Findings revealed the positive impact of engaging students in peer collaboration to solve physics problems. Peer collaboration enhanced participants' understanding and problem-solving skills, encouraged them to reflect on the objects of learning and their approach to learning physics, and provided them with a new perspective on problem solving. Other findings of the study are discussed, and recommendations for future research are provided.
[Copyright of International Journal of Science Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09500690110038602]

According to the aims of the current junior science curriculum for Hong Kong, students are expected to master inquiry skills for problem?solving, understand the nature of scientific knowledge, and appreciate the limitations of science. These aims are, however, difficult to achieve because available science textbooks focus mainly on the transmission of scientific facts and concepts and most science teachers do not have a good understanding of the nature of science. In order to improve this situation, the Integrated Science course of the Postgraduate Diploma in Education Program of the Faculty of Education, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, has in recent years incorporated a unit that aims at facilitating teachers to construct understanding of the nature of science. This article reports a small-scale study of the effect of this unit on a group of in?service science teachers. The unit consists of a number of historical vignettes that illustrate the process of development of scientific ideas, through which teachers were guided to construct the key steps of the scientific methods and appreciate the nature of scientific knowledge. A pre-test was administered to the subjects to identify their alternative conceptions on the nature of science. Comparison of the scores of the pre?test and post?test indicates that the subjects were found to demonstrate substantial improvement in their understanding of the nature of science after intervention, but some alternative conceptions were still persistent in most subjects. Implications were made for ways to integrate the historical approach into science teaching in schools.
[Copyright of Teaching Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10476210600680382]

This interpretive study of the implementation of a school-based assessment scheme of biology practical work in Hong Kong examines three teachers' struggles with the issue of fairness in relation to their classroom actions. Though the teachers' discourses were dominated by, and their classroom actions were pre-eminently influenced by, the notion of fairness, they did so in three qualitatively different ways: (1) fair in the sense of assessing students on a fair basis; (2) fair in the sense of not jeopardizing students' chances to learn the subject matter while they are being assessed; and (3) fair in the sense of not depriving students' of opportunities of receiving all-round education. The implication is that assessment innovation is a necessary, but not a sufficient, mechanism for changes within our educational system. The role of the teacher is challenged by the new assessment scheme—the co-existence of assessment and learning requires a significant change in the teacher's pedagogy. For teachers to implement the new programme their existing understanding and beliefs concerning assessment must be challenged and opportunities provided for them to come to terms with the philosophy of the new assessment scheme. Most importantly, the teachers themselves must undertake such a learning process.
[Copyright of International Journal of Science Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09500690010017129]

Interviews with key scientists involved in research on severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), together with analysis of media reports and documentaries produced during and after the SARS epidemic, revealed many interesting aspects of nature of science (NOS) and authentic scientific inquiry. This novel insight into practice in the rapidly growing field of molecular biology was used in the development of instructional materials for use in the pre-service and in-service teacher education programme at The University of Hong Kong. The elements of NOS and scientific inquiry identified in the scientific research on SARS were explicitly emphasized in our instructional materials. The contemporary real-life context of SARS was found to be effective in promoting student-teachers' understanding of NOS and scientific inquiry, particularly in terms of: the realization of inseparable links between science and the social, cultural, and political environment; deeper understanding of how science and technology impact on each other; and a richer appreciation of the processes of authentic scientific inquiry and the humanistic character of scientists. The effectiveness is attributed to immediacy, relevance, and familiarity, making the abstract tangible, personal experience of science history, and the powerful affective impact of the interviews with scientists.
[Copyright of International Journal of Science Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09500690701528808]

The paper reports a study for determining a suitable process for converting traditional surface science courses into case-based learning ones in two universities in Hong Kong. In this preparative study, a set of baseline data was collected on the current level of students' conceptual understanding and also students' perceptions about the traditional courses. The student data (from 38 students) came from examination results, the Study Process Questionnaire, a course-end survey and a focus group meeting; teachers also kept reflective journals. This set of baseline data revealed factors that both support and inhibit case-based learning. On the one hand, students demonstrate a motivation to be able to solve practical problems in this field; on the other hand, they show an unwillingness to take up a personal responsibility for learning. This finding strengthens our resolve to take into account students' expectations and beliefs in the implementation of case-based teaching and learning.
[Copyright of International Journal of Science Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09500690500068618]