Table 2 Overview of categories and codes with definitions
Category | Code | Definition |
|---|---|---|
TEACHING ACTIVITIES | Commission as a purpose for learning science content in the classroom | Expressed relationship between the commission and the related classroom activities aiming to support students to accomplish the commission |
Engagement for classroom activities | The students’ interests, feelings or perceptions of the classroom activities | |
Teacher support during classroom activities | Descriptions of type and/or amount of support provided by the teacher during the classroom activities, including formative assessment | |
Summative assessment | Descriptions of the assessment at the end of the curriculum unit | |
Contribution to society or a client outside school | Expressed experience of a “higher purpose” of doing schoolwork, that the work is relevant to situations outside school, that the work is important and contributes to society and/or the STEM professionals’ work | |
Connections between field trip experiences and the commission | Expressed connections between field trip experiences and a better understanding of science content relevant for solving the commission or expressed perceptions of not seeing how the field trip experiences are connected to the commission and related science content | |
COMPARISON WITH USUAL TEACHING | Context-based curriculum as a different approach | Reflections on how the curriculum unit differed from their usual classroom teaching and/or prior experiences or expectations of science teaching or learning |
Student outcomes from the curriculum unit | Reflections on the students’ cognitive and affective outcomes from the curriculum unit compared to prior experiences or usual classroom teaching |