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An Investigation Into Instructional Support For Data Analysis In High School Science Inquiry, Anika Rae Baker-Lawrence

Dissertations and Theses

The implementation of scientific inquiry in the high school classroom has proven to be not only relevant and exploratory, but challenging and engaging as well. This style of curriculum design has been recognized as a primary means of achieving the goals and objectives set by the National Resource Council (NRC, 1996). While much research has shown that science inquiry helps students to gain understanding of content knowledge, little research has been conducted to assess gains in higher order thinking skills, specifically those related to data analysis (Anderson, 2002; Germann and Aram, 1996; Hofstein, Navon, Kipnis, and Mamlok-Naaman, 2005; Miner, Levy, …

Negotiating The Inclusion Of Nanoscience Content And Technology In Science Curriculum: An Examination Of Secondary Teachers' Thinking In A Professional Development Project, Jennifer Gayle Wells

Dissertations and Theses

The Next Generation Science Standards represent a significant challenge for K-12 school reform in the United States in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines (NSTA, 2012). One important difference between the National Science Education Standards (NRC, 1996) and the Next Generation Science Standards (Achieve, 2013) is the more extensive inclusion of nanoscale science and technology. Teacher PD is a key vehicle for implementing this STEM education reform effort (NRC, 2012; Smith, 2001).

The context of this dissertation study is Project Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Outreach (NANO), a secondary level professional development program for teachers that provides a summer workshop, …

Thinking Aloud In The Science Classroom: Can A Literacy Strategy Increase Student Learning In Science?, Lindsey Joan Mockel

Dissertations and Theses

This research study investigated the effect of using the think aloud protocol while reading informational text on students' ability to learn from text in a secondary science classroom. The participants in this study were high school students (n=47) in three classes of a mixed-grade Integrated Biology, Chemistry, and Physics course. The study tracked student achievement during a four-week curriculum unit on the theory of evolution and evidence for biological evolution. All students received instruction on using the think aloud protocol, and all students practiced the think aloud protocol when reading short articles related to scientific evidence for evolution. The researcher …

Elementary Teacher Candidates' Images Of Mathematics, Diverse Students, And Teaching: An Exploratory Study With Implications For Culturally Responsive Mathematics Education, Bernd Richard Ferner

Dissertations and Theses

Children from many culturally diverse backgrounds do not achieve in mathematics at the same rates as their counterparts from the dominant White, European-American culture (Gay, 2010). This so-called achievement gap is an artifact of an educational system that continues to fail to provide equal learning opportunities to culturally diverse children (Ladson-Billings, 2006; Nieto & Bode, 2011). Teachers who employ culturally responsive teaching (Gay, 2010) may help to close this opportunity gap and hence, the achievement gap. This study investigated, "How do elementary teacher candidates perceive teaching mathematics in a multicultural environment"; Using a critical constructivism research paradigm, this qualitative instrumental …

Lighting The Fire: How Peer-Mentoring Helps Adult Learners Increase Their Interest In Stem Careers: A Case Study At The Community College Level, Patricia Marie Deturk

Dissertations and Theses

In the U.S., about 7,000 high school students drop out each school day, representing a loss of talent and ability. Concurrently, there are a decreasing number of enrolled students taking science-related courses at the high school and college levels. Adults, who return to obtain their General Educational Development (GED) certification, are an untapped resource that could be steered toward STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) careers. In this case study, 15 GED students were shown a STEM video, and then peer mentored by 8 CLA (Clinical Laboratory Assistant) students, in a student-centered laboratory experience. Individual interviews of the GED students …

An Investigation Into Teacher Support Of Science Explanation In High School Science Inquiry Units, Rebecca Sue Hoffenberg

Dissertations and Theses

The Framework for K-12 Science Education, the foundation for the Next Generation Science Standards, identifies scientific explanation as one of the eight practices "essential for learning science." In order to design professional development to help teachers implement these new standards, we need to assess students' current skill level in explanation construction, characterize current teacher practice surrounding it, and identify best practices for supporting students in explanation construction. This multiple-case study investigated teacher practice in eight high school science inquiry units in the Portland metro area and the scientific explanations the students produced in their work samples.

Teacher Instructional Portfolios (TIPs) …

Group Counseling For Students Transitioning Out Of Postsecondary Education, Joel A. Lane

Counselor Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper proposes a Narrative-based group counseling model for postsecondary students preparing to graduate and transition out of university life. The challenges associated with this transition are both psychological and career-related in nature. The author utilizes multiple transition frameworks to provide a conceptualization of the graduation transition, and offers an overview of narrative therapy, its use in transition counseling, and its use in groupwork. The proposed intervention calls for two facilitators and between six and eight members. An intervention overview is provided that includes recruitment and prescreening instructions as well as content for eight sessions.

Patterns In Nature Forming Patterns In Minds : An Evaluation Of An Introductory Physics Unit, Christopher Ryan Sheaffer

Dissertations and Theses

Educators are increasingly focused on the process over the content. In science especially, teachers want students to understand the nature of science and investigation. The emergence of scientific inquiry and engineering design teaching methods have led to the development of new teaching and evaluation methods that concentrate on steps in a process rather than facts in a topic. Research supports the notion that an explicit focus on the scientific process can lead to student science knowledge gains. In response to new research and standards many teachers have been developing teaching methods that seem to work well in their classrooms, but …

What Work Samples Reveal About Secondary Pre-Service Social Studies Teachers' Use Of Literacy Strategies, Susan J. Lenski, Gayle Y. Thieman

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

The article discusses a study which aims to answer the research questions of whether secondary social studies pre-service teachers incorporate literacy strategies in their work samples during student teaching, and the extent and conditions secondary social studies pre-service teachers use higher levels of literacy strategies in their work samples. The study is framed within 3 areas of research namely activity theory, work sample methodology and disciplinary literacy.

From The Field: How Oregon Social Studies Teachers Are Preparing Students For The 21st Century, Gayle Y. Thieman, Kenneth T. Carano

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

Much of the recent data on the state of social studies teaching has focused on the impact of NCLB on the decline of instructional time. The purpose of this study was to investigate the current status of K-12 social studies curriculum and instructional practice, as reported by classroom teachers. The survey investigated the impact of mandated testing, major goals and concepts, teachers’ instructional strategies, and technology integration. This paper presents findings from Oregon teachers with comparison to data from the 2010-2011 National Study on the State of Social Studies (S₄) and the content and skills advocated by the …

The Value Of Midterm Student Feedback In Cross-Disciplinary Graduate Programs, G.L.A. Harris, Dannelle D. Stevens

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

End-of-course student evaluations are frequently used to evaluate university faculty teaching. However, employing midterm student feedback has been found to be instrumental in informing faculty about instructional quality and improving student learning outcomes. This study examined and compared the effects on classroom instruction of using a midterm student feedback (MSF) survey in the graduate courses of two faculty, an untenured professor in public administration and a full professor in education. The researchers gathered data from 122 students over two years for three courses in 6 classes—4 in public administration, 2 in education. Results indicate that midterm student feedback offered insight …