October 2014

Philosophical Perspectives

Scottsdale, AZ: Information Age Publishing, 2014.

This book presents a “philosophy of science education” as a research field as well as its value for curriculum, instruction and teacher pedagogy.

It seeks to re-think science education as an educational endeavour by examining why past reform efforts have been only partially successful, including why the fundamental goal of achieving scientific literacy after several “reform waves” has proven to be so elusive. The identity of such a philosophy is first defined in relation to the fields of philosophy, philosophy of science, and philosophy of education. It argues that educational theory can support teacher’s pedagogical content knowledge and that history, philosophy and sociology of science should inform and influence pedagogy. Some case studies are provided which examine the nature of science and the nature of language to illustrate why and how a philosophy of science education contributes to science education reform. It seeks to contribute in general to the improvement of curriculum design and science teacher education. The perspective to be taken on board is that to teach science is to have a philosophical frame of mind—about the subject, about education, about one’s personal teacher identity.

CONTENTS

Abstract. Preface. Acknowledgments. Introduction: Philosophical Perspectives on Science Education. Chapter 1: Defining the Identity of the Philosophy of Science Education: Surveying the Terrain. Chapter 2: Science Education Reform and the Need for Philosophy of Science: Education and Educational Theory. Chapter 3: Philosophy of Science Education and Kieran Egan’s Educational Metatheory. Chapter 4: Philosophy of Science Education, Epistemology, and Nature of Science (NoS). Chapter 5: Philosophy of Science Education and Nature of Language. Chapter 6: Conclusion. References. About the Author.

See our new book: Wonder-Full Education: The Centrality of Wonder in Teaching and Learning Across the Curriculum Hardcover Edited by Annabella I. Cant, & Gillian Judson. Just published by Routledge.

William E. Doll, Jr. Louisiana State University, welcomed the book by writing (on the cover) “On the cutting edge of books adopting an international perspective . . . Th multicultural perspective is valuable for curriculum scholars and teaches the world over. This book is revolutionary in the best sense of that word.”

Paul Ernest, University of Exeter, UK, wrote: “A novel, timely, and worthwhile book—full of wonder in itself. It is a manifesto for bringing awe and wonder back to education—and illuminating the poetic and inspirational in all subjects. A valuable and original addition to the literature, it will appeal to both beginning teachers and experienced researchers.”

On Amazon, Robert Bishop, on September 25, 2014, wrote:

“This book does not present a program or a new curriculum but proposes a wonderful paradigm transformation.This is one of the most scholarly books on this topic you can buy. It will change your thinking and may start a revolution in our educational system. This book does not present a program or a new curriculum but proposes a wonderful paradigm transformation.”

The publisher’s description of the book:

“For many children much of the time their experience in classrooms can be rather dull, and yet the world the school is supposed to initiate children into is full of wonder. This book offers a rich understanding of the nature and roles of wonder in general and provides multiple suggestions for to how to revive wonder in adults (teachers and curriculum makers) and how to keep it alive in children. Its aim is to show that adequate education needs to take seriously the task of evoking wonder about the content of the curriculum and to show how this can routinely be done in everyday classrooms. The authors do not wax flowery; they present strong arguments based on either research or precisely described experience, and demonstrate how this argument can be seen to work itself out in daily practice. The emphasis is not on ways of evoking wonder that might require virtuoso teaching, but rather on how wonder can be evoked about the everyday features of the math or science or social studies curriculum in regular classrooms.”

CONTENTS

Preface

The nature of wonder and its educational uses

Our Hearts Leap Up: Awakening Wonder within the Classroom. Laura Piersol

Wow! What if? So what? Education and the imagination of wonder: Fascination, possibilities and opportunities missed. Dave Trotman

Reclaiming the Value of Wonder in Science Education. Yannis Hadzigeorgiou

Wondering about wonder in mathematics. Dov Zazkis and Rina Zazkis

Engaging wonder in everyday classrooms

Opportunity to teach: The joy of teaching what you know deeply, find fascinating, and want to share. David C. Berliner

Renewing the sense of wonder in the minds of high school and college students. Keiichi Takaya

From “unknown questions” begins a wonderful education: Kyozai-Kaishaku and the dialogic classroom. Kiyotaka Miyazaki

The talking table: sharing wonder in early childhood education. Fleur Griffiths

The Upside Down Picnic Table: The Wonder of Learning through Improvisational Play. Lynn Fels

III. Dimensions of educational wonder

Wonder, awe and teaching techniques. Kieran Egan

Wonder for Sale. Annabella Cant

An Educational Leadership Perspective: managing and revealing the DNA of wonder in teaching and learning. Di Fleming

The keys to wonder-rich Science Learning. Lynne Bianchi

Creative Imagination in Play- Worlds: Wonder-Full Early Childhood Education in Finland and the United States. Pentti Hakkarainen & Beth Ferholt

Wonder as a gateway experience. Thomas W Nielsen & Bronwen Haralambous

About the Authors

On Amazon, Robert Bishop, on September 25, 2014, wrote:

This book does not present a program or a new curriculum but proposes a wonderful paradigm transformation

September 25, 2014

This is one of the most scholarly books on this topic you can buy. It will change your thinking and may start a revolution in our educational system. This book does not present a program or a new curriculum but proposes a wonderful paradigm transformation.

BOOK REVIEW

Review by Damien Morgan
Our Lady of the Southern Cross College
Australia