Education Commons^™

Experience Of The Neophyte Science Teachers: Through Their Eyes, David Thornton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A variety of lenses were used to examine the world of the novice science teacher. A degree of agency was provided by looking through the eyes of the beginning teacher. Previous studies focused on researcher or program’s orientation, the successes of various educator preparation programs, or were limited in scope to elementary teachers of science. This study was conducted to better understand and appreciate the high school novice science teacher’s view of science, teaching, and teaching science in the today’s contextual setting. Experiences encountered during the initial year of teaching high school science and as perceived by teachers without previous …

How Teachers’ Beliefs About Climate Change Influence Their Instruction, Student Understanding, And Willingness To Take Action., Molly Trendell Nation

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Climate change science is complex and controversial in nature, yet seen by educators and policy makers as an important topic to be taught within secondary science education. This is becoming increasingly evident with the inclusion of climate change into the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) for Earth and Space Sciences as well as Life Science courses (NGSS, 2013). An overwhelming amount of information is available to students; however, it is often misrepresented, politically inflated and falsified, and littered with misconceptions (Dawson & Carson, 2014; Gayford, 2002). It is critical to engage students in discourse that challenges them ethically in order …

Prevalence Of Typical Images In High School Geometry Textbooks, Megan N. Cannon

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Visualization in mathematics can be discussed in many ways; it is a broad term that references physical visualization objects as well as the process in which we picture images and manipulate them in our minds. Research suggests that visualization can be a powerful tool in mathematics for intuitive understanding, providing and/or supporting proof and reasoning, and assisting in comprehension. The literature also reveals some difficulties related to the use of visualization, particularly how illustrations can mislead students if they are not comfortable seeing concepts represented in varied ways. However, despite the extensive research on the benefits and challenges of visualization …

Evaluating A Graduate Professional Development Program For Informal Science Educators, Jeremy Paul Lake

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study is an examination and evaluation of the outcomes of a series of courses that I helped build to create a graduate certificate. Specifically, I wanted to evaluate whether or not the online iteration of the Informal Science Institutions Environmental Education Graduate Certificate Program truly provided the long term professional development needed to enhance the skills of the formal and informal educators participating so that they could contribute meaningfully to the improvement of science literacy in their respective communities.

My role as an internal evaluator provided an extraordinary opportunity to know the intent of the learning opportunities and why …

Science In The Sun: How Science Is Performed As A Spatial Practice, Natalie Kass

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzes how spatial organization impacts science communication at the St. Petersburg Science Festival in Florida. Through map analysis, qualitative interviews, and a close reading of evaluation reports, the author determines that sponsorship, logistics, exhibitor ambience, and map usability and design are the factors most affecting the spatial performance of science. To mitigate their effects, technical communicators can identify these factors and provide the necessary revisions when considering how science is communicated to the public.

Exploring Mathematics Teacher Education Fieldwork Experiences Through Storytelling, Melody Jeane Elrod

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Throughout the history of teacher education, the final fieldwork experience has often been called the single most influential experience in teacher preparation programs (Burns, Jacobs, & Yendol-Hoppey, 2016; Feiman-Nemser & Buchmann, 1986; Parker-Katz & Bay, 2008). Though this experience has been expanded to include fieldwork experiences throughout many teacher education programs (Guyton & McIntyre, 1990), the final fieldwork experience remains the closing activity and the lasting image of teacher preparation (Feiman-Nemser & Buchmann, 1986; Rosaen & Florio-Ruane, 2008). Given its importance, though, researchers know relatively little about it. “The knowledge thus produced is akin to the quantum theory of physics; …