Richard Gunstone

In January 1975, Gunstone published an article about the role of teachers in curriculum decisions. He discusses the science curriculum decisions in schools in Victoria and the effects of school curriculum autonomy present at that time in Victoria in Grades 7 to 10. His research explores the extent and the type of the curriculum decision making the teachers do in schools that have no eternally prescribed courses. Evidence of weak decision making was recorded however, the teachers were found to be more involved in the decision making.[6]

In 2007, Gunstone authored an article titled Science Curriculum in the Market Liberal Society of the Twenty-first Century: 'Re-visioning' the Idea of Science for All, and discusses the three international movements in scientific education and their influence on the science curriculum. He researched about the gradual change in the policy responses to the proposition of teaching science to all school students and presented arguments for a 'Science for All' curriculum.[7]

Gunstone's research on Physics education began in the late 1970s. He researched in 1978 about the role of language and discussion in the learning of physics along with the present concerns about the role and comprehension of language in science, and related it to the learning and the concepts of physics in secondary schools. With colleagues he has proposed learning and teaching strategies for the study of physics, including 'Predict-Observe-Explain' that is now widely used in teaching and research.[8] In 1981, in the article about the impact of physics instruction on the cognitive structure and performance, Gunstone used a modified word-association technique and Venn diagrams to show that different teaching approaches resulted in different structures of ideas in memory and performance differences for conceptual problems and applying the learned knowledge to new situations.[9]

In his publication about the perception of students regarding the learning and teaching experience of first year university physics, Gunstone studies the transition in the study of physics from school to university. This research focuses on physics students' perceptions about the content and the teaching methodology of physics in the first year of university.[10]

Teaching methodology and procedures have been a central research area of Gunstone since the late 1980s. In an article in 1999 about effective teaching methods to improve students' understanding of physics, Gunstone explains the method and applications of a technique called Conceptual Understanding Procedure (CUP) for facilitating a student’s comprehension of difficult physics concepts.[11] Gunstone's research about the impact of self-study in teaching and research in 1996 used a longitudinal school based professional development program designed for science teachers to study about the various perspectives about self-study in teaching and research. He discussed self-study as being personal and collaborative as compared to being related with teaching and research.[12] Research about the views of physics teachers regarding learning and various approaches to teaching physics was conducted in 2012 by Gunstone to address the decline of student interest about physics and science related subjects. This research adds further to the prior work on classification of teachers based on the traditional and the conceptual change teaching approaches used. The study concluded that that the views of teachers who promoted conceptual change were constructivist while the teachers that supported the traditional, transmission method of teaching were of the absorptionist views.[13] Again working with colleagues he has developed research-based structures for and approaches to the pre-service education and in-service education of science teachers that have had impact in many countries.[14]

Gunstone was awarded the 'Distinguished Contributions to Research' award for his research about science learning and teaching and teacher education.

• Probing Understanding (1992)
• The Content of Science: A Constructivist Approach to Its Teaching and Learning (1994)
• Encyclopedia of Science Education (2015)

• Gunstone, R.F., & White, R.T. (1981). Understanding of gravity-related phenomena. Problem Solving, 2 (12), 4-8.
• Fensham, P.J., Gunstone, R.F. & White, R.T. (Eds). (1994/2013). The content of science: A constructivist approach to its teaching and learning. London: Falmer Press/London: Taylor & Francis. (xii + 278 pp.)
• Gunstone, R.F. (1990). Reconstructing theory from practical experience. In B. Woolnough (Ed.), Practical Science. Milton Keynes: Open University Press, 67-77.
• White, R.T., & Gunstone, R.F. (1989). Metalearning and conceptual change. International Journal of Science Education, 11, 577-586.
• Baird, J.R., Fensham, P.J., Gunstone, R.F., & White, R.T. (1991). The importance of reflection in improving science teaching and learning. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 28, 163-182.
• Gunstone, R.F., & Champagne, A.B. (1990). Promoting conceptual change in the laboratory. In E. HegartyHazel (Ed.), The science curriculum and the student laboratory. London: Croom Helm, 159-182
• Champagne, A.B., Klopfer, L.E., & Gunstone, R.F. (1982). Cognitive research and the design of science instruction. Educational Psychologist, 17, 31-53.
• Gunstone, R.F. & Northfield, J.R. (1994). Metacognition and learning to teach. International Journal of Science Education, 16, 523-537.
• Mulhall, P., McKittrick, B. & Gunstone, R. A perspective on the resolution of confusions in the teaching of electricity. (2001). Research in Science Education, 31, 575-587.
• Thong, W. M. & Gunstone, R. (2008). Some student conceptions of electromagnetic induction. Research in Science Education, 38, 31-44.