Jena 2013 – scientific programme

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DD: Fachverband Didaktik der Physik

DD 4: Lehr- und Lernforschung 1

DD 4.4: Talk

Monday, February 25, 2013, 15:00–15:20, SR 224

The notion of authenticity in the PISA units in physical science: an empirical analysis. — •Laura Weiss and Andreas Müller — IUFE, Université de Genève, 1211 Genève 4, Switzerland

The notion of authentic learning in the sense of a close relationship to real(istic) and genuine contexts and experiences learners are supposed to encounter, ensuring "relevance to students' interests and lives" (OECD, 2007) is essential to PISA's understanding of scientific literacy and its assessment. If there is no doubt about the factual authenticity of PISA items, the assumption that they are relevant to teenagers and perceived by them as authentic is more arguable. Therefore, it seems necessary to inquire about pupils' perception of the authenticity of PISA items.

This contribution reports about a study of this kind on the target age group (Geneva, N = 151). Teachers' perceptions were studied and compared to those of pupils, as differences of these perceptions are important for classroom practice. The survey is based on a well-validated motivation questionnaire (Kuhn, Müller, Vogt, 2011).

Results show that pupils seem less interested in the proposed fields as supposed by PISA, and also less interested than their teachers think they are. Consequences for evaluation and for classroom practice are discussed.