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Theses and Dissertations

Science

Teacher Education and Professional Development

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Full-Text Articles in Education

A Case Study Exploring How The Zero Barriers In Stem Education Professional Development Program Affects Attitudes And Confidence Toward Teaching Stem Content To Students With Disabilities, Alison Dossick Jan 2022

A Case Study Exploring How The Zero Barriers In Stem Education Professional Development Program Affects Attitudes And Confidence Toward Teaching Stem Content To Students With Disabilities, Alison Dossick

Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to assess how the Zero Barriers in STEM Education professional development (PD) course affected teacher attitudes and confidence in teaching science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) content to students with disabilities. A convergent mixed-methods case study analysis was used. The research questions were devised by examining answers on a pre-survey and post-survey. Documentation included a full analysis of two pre- and post-surveys, teacher implementation logs, team action plans, program evaluations, and semi-structured interviews. Barriers included time to plan and implement the outlined strategies and administrative and colleague support. This research uncovered some of the difficulties of …


Identifying Elements Of Voice And Fostering Voice Development In First-Grade Science Writing, Mckenna Lucille Maguet Aug 2018

Identifying Elements Of Voice And Fostering Voice Development In First-Grade Science Writing, Mckenna Lucille Maguet

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this multi case study was to better understand voice in first grade science writing. Voice is the ability for individuals to synchronize specific narrative elements to express themselves with greater confidence and individuality. Three first-grade participants were chosen and their use of voice in science writing was examined across 8 weeks. Specific elements of voice were identified within atypical informational texts for primary grade learners in science. The 7 elements include descriptive words, placement of text and picture, creative punctuation, conversational tone, comparisons, imagery, and repeated text. The 7 voice elements were taught to a class of …


An Analysis Of Support For Elementary Engineering Education Offered In The Science Teacher Journal Science And Children, Tawnicia Meservy Stocking Dec 2016

An Analysis Of Support For Elementary Engineering Education Offered In The Science Teacher Journal Science And Children, Tawnicia Meservy Stocking

Theses and Dissertations

Teachers use professional journals such as Science and Children for ideas to incorporate into their own teaching. As such the purpose of this study was to investigate the support offered for integrating engineering education into science instruction. The research methodology for this was a qualitative content analysis inferring categories based on the information presented. Twenty-three issues of the journal were read, spanning two and a half volume years. The categories that emerged were mentioning, implementing, and integrating. Deeper examples of integration were found to match the mapping and infusion strategies presented by the National Academy of Engineering and National Research …


Science Self-Efficacy And School Transitions: Elementary School To Middle School And Middle School To High School, Brandi Lue Lofgran Jul 2012

Science Self-Efficacy And School Transitions: Elementary School To Middle School And Middle School To High School, Brandi Lue Lofgran

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the science self-efficacy beliefs of students before and after transitions from elementary to middle school and middle school to high school. The purpose was to explore whether those beliefs changed with grade level, gender, and ethnicity. Data were collected through a modified Self-Efficacy Questionnaire for Children (Muris, 2001), which was adapted to focus on science self-efficacy. Multiple ordinary least squares regression was used to analyze the data. All grade levels showed a clear decline in science self-efficacy after sixth grade with females, Hispanic students, and ninth graders showing the greatest decline in science self-efficacy.


Explicitly Teaching Multiple Modes Of Representation In Science Discourse: The Impact On Middle School Science Student Learning, Ryan Nixon Jun 2012

Explicitly Teaching Multiple Modes Of Representation In Science Discourse: The Impact On Middle School Science Student Learning, Ryan Nixon

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of explicitly teaching multiple modes of representation (MMR) on middle school students' understanding of science content and their use of MMR on a science unit test. Participants in this quasi-experimental study were seventh- and eighth-grade students enrolled in science courses taught by three different middle school science teachers. Half of the students received explicit instruction in MMR in addition to their regular science instruction; the other half received only regular science instruction. Ordinary least squares multiple regression analysis was used to determine the relationship between gain scores on unit assessments, …


Deepening Understanding Of Science Content Through Text Structure Instruction, Karen Thomas Jul 2009

Deepening Understanding Of Science Content Through Text Structure Instruction, Karen Thomas

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of an instructional program designed to explicitly teach text structure awareness to fourth grade students to assist in their understanding of science content in a unit of study on weather. The changes that occurred in teacher thinking and practice were also examined throughout the process of developing and implementing the instructional program. A quantitative analysis was performed to reveal any differences in mean posttest scores between a control group and a treatment group. Results indicated that the treatment group students' science content knowledge was increased significantly more than the students …


Enhancing Students' Science Content Knowledge Through Text Structure Awareness, Jamie Lynn Christensen Jul 2008

Enhancing Students' Science Content Knowledge Through Text Structure Awareness, Jamie Lynn Christensen

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of teaching text structure as a tool to assist first grade students' understanding of science content in a unit of study on plants. A quantitative analysis was performed to reveal any difference in mean post-test scores between a control group and a treatment group. Results indicated that the treatment group students' science content knowledge was increased significantly more than students in the control group. Usage of specific text structure keywords did not increase. However, students did use synonyms of keywords. Recommendations for further research are discussed.