Contents
S C H O O L   S C I E N C E   R E V I E W
March 2007 88(324)

5 Editorial
6 Letters
9 Science notes
9 Predator–prey populations – snowshoe hares and lynxes revisited Ian Carter
11 A simple method for investigating respiration in yeast Eric Gilhooley
12 A cost-effective and environmentally friendly method of titration
Mala Das Sharma

15 A model for explaining stationary waves, final visit J. C. E. Potter

18 Using role-play to model a mass spectrometer Emily Perry

19 Obesity and the body mass index John Rousseau

21 Making moment of inertia accessible to students Saouma BouJaoude and
Garine Santourian

25 Helpdesk

27 The SSRWritingWorkshop, 2006

29 Special editorial: Argument, discourse and interactivity

31 Argument and developments in the science curriculum
Linda Baggott la Velle and Sibel Erduran
What is the role of argument in science and the science curriculum? How do the
new How science works specifications relate to argument?

41 Designing a course that promotes debate: the Perspectives
on Science (POS) AS level model
John L. Taylor and Elizabeth Swinbank
The POS course aims to foster a mixture of curiosity, innovative thinking and
open-mindedness

49 Activities for promoting small-group discussion and
argumentation
Shirley Simon and Jane Maloney
Activities in different formats are used to promote autonomous small-group
discussion and argumentation

59 Using online discussion in teaching bioethics: views of
teachers and students
Jocelyn Wishart, Linda Baggott la Velle, David Green and Angela McFarlane
Can online discussion linked to background information on bioethical issues
provide science students with a realistic context where they can practise dialogue
and develop their arguments before having to produce them in an examination?

67 Comparing the effect of scientific and socio-scientific
argumentation tasks: lessons from South Africa
Martin Braund, Fred Lubben, Zena Scholtz, Melanie Sadeck and Merle Hodges
Do argumentation tasks allow students to demonstrate their full abilities? How is
this influenced by teachers’ actions and students’ cultural background?

School Science Review, March 2007, 88(324) 3
Cover: Children try out John Potter’s motorised stationary waves model – see
Science note, page 15.

77 Teaching science in a meaningful way: striking a balance
between ‘opening up’ and ‘closing down’ classroom talk
Phil Scott and Jaume Ametller
As well as providing a first step to supporting meaningful learning, dialogic
engagement is potentially motivating for pupils

85 Talking and thinking in science
Brenda Keogh and Stuart Naylor
An exploration of some of the factors that promote or inhibit pupil talk in
science lessons

93 What is arsenic?
Alastair Monro
Some ideas to help bridge the gap between science in the classroom and
everyday life

97 Teaching the nature of science through practical problem
solving in daily-life contexts
Yeung Chung Lee
Practical problem-solving activities make the learning of nature of science fun
for both students and teachers

107 Citizenship in a Ghanaian school: students’ contributions
to sustainable management of the coastal environment
F. K. E. Nunoo and Stewart M. Evans
Ghanaian school students developed management plans for severely degraded
parts of the coast of Accra, West Africa. Recommendations, together with a
project anthem, poems and pledges, were presented at a Citizens’Day.

115 Encouraging science uptake and critical thinking at 16+
Ken Rotheram
Hard-working students may be dropping science at age 16 because they hear
that getting ‘A’ grades at advanced level is too difficult. Is this because science
neglects to assess critical thinking?

119 An unrealistic image of science
I. Z. Abrahams
The image of science as an exciting practical activity, which many science
teachers try to generate on open days, creates an unrealistic and ultimately
unsustainable image of ‘real’ science

123 Book reviews
138 ICT reviews
142 Science websearch
144 Notes for contributors/SSR special issues list
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