Abstracts - Earli

esponse tasks was developed and administered to a sample of 13- (N=3464) and 17-year-olds(N=2426). Conforming to earlier findings, most students in the present study could not apply whatthey had learnt in science classes when faced with a problem environment dissimilar to what theyknew from school (means: 13-year-olds: 26 %p, 17-year-olds: 39 %p). Performances aredistributed along an asymmetric curve skewed to the left, with higher success on items withcontents bound to everyday personal experiences or phenomena present in the media. 2006achievements were lower in both age groups. Difficulty indices calculated using the partial creditmodel (ConQuest) show that different tasks proved difficult at the two assessment points.Differences in task difficulty varied between 0.01 and 2.05 logits. It seems that curricular changesdid not produce an overall effect, but they did facilitate learning in the case of a few concepts. Aregression analysis revealed that complex problem solving, inductive reasoning and readingliteracy contribute to explaining the variance of the applicability of science knowledge (13-yearolds:24.7%; 17-year-olds: 30,6%). It seems that the knowledge tapped by the instrumentoriginates from learning outside the school and draws mostly on a growing body of experiencesand on the development of abilities, a finding worth considering for a more effective scienceeducation.The “Excellent Teacher” perception by pre-service teachers and parentsSari Bar-On, Levinsky college of education, IsraelEtti Bachar, Levinsky college of education, IsraelItzhak Gilat, Levinsky college of education, IsraelThe present study focused on comparing the perceptions of parents and pre-service teachers withregard to the profile of the "excellent teacher". Data were collected from 61 pre-service teachersand 51 parents who filled a questionnaire developed for the study. Items were based on analysis of"good teaching events" that were collected in a pilot study. Respondents were also asked todescribe the good teacher by metaphors. The results show that both groups view the emotionalinterpersonal aspect as more important than the instrumental aspect in the personality of theteacher. In addition, facilitating learning abilities were viewed as the most important skills ofteachers. The most characteristic category of metaphors to describe the god teacher was taken fromthe field of therapy.H530 August 2007 11:00 - 12:20Room: PP5Poster SessionPoster sessionChair:Frank Achtenhagen, University of Gottingen, GermanyAn autoethnographic action research study on the professional development journey of apracticing teacher: a case study school in Hong KongEva, Suk Ying Chan, The University of Hong Kong, Hong KongWith the publication of Educational Reform Consultation document in 2000, teachers in HongKong are required to engage in various kinds of professional programs to upgrade theirprofessional knowledge and develop identity in the teaching profession to meet the challenges.– 449 –