Abstracts - Earli

Values, Beliefs, Norms And the Disposition to Protect Biodiversity - A Quantitative Survey WithYoung People in Chile and GermanySusanne Menzel, Göttingen University, GermanySusanne Boegeholz, Göttingen University, GermanyWhich psychological factors are relevant to explain students’ disposition to protect biodiversity?Do students in Chile and Germany differ in their disposition to protect biodiversity? Results of aquantitative questionnaire study related to these questions will be presented. The study wasconducted with German (n=216) and Chilean (n=217) students aged 16 to 18. The underlyingVBN (Value-Belief-Norm) Theory (e.g. Stern 2000) proved to be a powerful framework to explaindispositions to protect biodiversity on a local and a global scale. However, very differentpredictors prove to be relevant for Chilean and German students: While for Chilean students localphenomena and somehow egoistic constructs prove to be positive predictors, variables of a moreuniversalistic and global nature show to be relevant for German students. Consequences foreducational policies will be outlined and discussed.Teaching across the subject boundaries of science and mathematics: The role of aestheticunderstandingLinda Darby, Deakin University, AustraliaScience and mathematics are often closely associated during discussions about teaching andlearning. This research explores the influence of subject culture as teachers negotiate boundariesbetween school mathematics and science. Such negotiation requires that a teacher understand thelanguage, epistemology and traditions of the subject, and how these things govern what isappropriate for teaching and learning. Teachers are, in a sense, inducted into the culture of thesubjects by way of their own experiences of doing, using, learning and teaching mathematics andscience. Consequently, descriptions of a teacher’s practice are enhanced by drawing on his or herexperiences, ideas, beliefs and values about the subject areas within which they operate. In thispresentation, the case for using aesthetic understanding as a construct to provide insight into theplace of subject culture in teaching is developed from classroom observation, videoing andinterviews with six secondary mathematics and/or science teachers. The presentation outlines thedegree to which, and in what manner, the teachers have an aesthetic response as part of theirpersonal response to the subject cultures by exploring three elements of aesthetic understanding:the compelling and dramatic nature of understanding (teachers’ motivations and passions);understanding that brings unification or coherence (relationships between disciplinarycommitments and knowing how to teach); and perceived transformation of the person (teacheridentity and positioning). Implications for supporting teachers in negotiating subject boundariessuccessfully are discussed.Some aspects of students’ ideas of waterDal Burckin, Istanbul Technical University, TurkeyThe goal of this study is to investigate high school students’ ideas of the water cycle. A total of120 high school students, of mixed ability and gender from 4 inner city schools in France wereinvolved in the study. A qualitative and quantitative methodology was used for this investigation.Results indicate that students understand hydrological concepts but most of them lack the cyclicand dynamic ideas of the system. They possessed many preconceptions and misconceptions aboutthe water cycle. Most of the students were aware of the atmospheric part of the water cycle, butignored its groundwater part. Implications of these results emphasize that making local– 321 –