Education Commons^™

Implementing Minnesota American Indian Tribe State Standard In Suburban Minnesota Ecology Curriculum, Sadie R. Spaeth

Leadership Education Capstones

The purpose of the study was to create curriculum supporting the new Minnesota Native American State Standard 4.2.2.

A Holistic Approach To Culturally Relevant Education In Biology To Examine Student Engagement, Robyn Brooke Biery

Theses and Dissertations

Recognizing that many students were disengaged in my grade-level biology class, this study sought to improve student engagement as a result of the implementation of CRE-enriched instruction and to describe themes associated with CRE and engagement. This qualitative action research study used a survey, exit tickets, and observations to discover emergent themes as a result of implementing CRE-enriched lessons. This action research study used member checking and disconfirming evidence to increase rigor and transferability. The results were that the use of CRE-enriched lessons increased the engagement of grade-level students in biology, and that engagement requires a two-pronged approach – cultural …

The Impact Of Using An Online Learning Management System On Student Biology Achievement In A Hispanic Rural High School, Brent J. Burkott

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose for this study was to determine the effect of using online Learning Management Systems with a Blended Learning pedagogy on state assessment achievement of high school biology students with interactions analyzed based on teaching method (Face-to-Face/Blended Learning), course type (Honors/Regular) biological sex (Male/Female), risk factor (At-Risk/Not At-Risk), and socioeconomic status (High/Low). The research questions were: (1) What is the difference in achievement scores between students taught in a Blended Learning environment with a Learning Management System verses a traditional Face-to-Face learning environment, and (2) What differences in achievement exist on the Texas assessment based on teaching method, course …

Cultivating A Stem Investigation: Reading And Task Expectations For Introductory Biology Courses, Tina M. Ballard

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

College completion is an important discussion in today’s world with only about 30% of community college students completing their degrees within three years of starting their programs. Especially in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields, students are changing their majors or not completing their degrees for a variety of reasons. Previous research has established that there are high attrition and failure rates for introductory biology courses which may be causing some students to change their majors or not complete their degrees. This multicase study investigated the reading and task demands for introductory biology courses designed for STEM majors …

An Investigation Of The Impacts Of Traditional, Virtual, And Hybrid Biological Laboratories On College Students’ Achievement And Motivation To Learn Biology, Shavonda Jackson

Dissertations

Virtual courses function in a different manner than traditional courses, therefore they require teaching methods and assessment techniques geared specifically to maximize this learning experience. Internet-based learning and distance-education are no longer new concepts in the science field. Because of this, many collegiate biology programs have created courses that can be taken virtual or hybrid. A number of experimental studies have had great influence in terms of the effects and impacts of educational technology in relation to virtual laboratories.

However, not many studies emphasize the impact of hybrid laboratories on student achievement or assess students’ motivation to learn in a …

Teachers Support For English Language Learners To Build Inquiry Skills In Online Biology Simulations, Hermione Joseph-Orelus

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The population of English language learners (ELLs) is on the rise in the United States, but they are lagging behind English speaking students in several subject areas--including biology. Scholarly literature lacks information on how biology teachers use scaffolding strategies to support ELL students with inquiry skills during online simulations. The purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore how biology teachers support ELLs in learning biology, using biology simulations to promote inquiry learning. The conceptual framework for this study included the constructivist perspective regarding the zone of proximal development, Electronic Quality of Inquiry Protocol, and technology use in science …

Thinking Beyond The Fried Egg Model: How Accurately Do Students Perceive Cells In A Living Context?, Milissa Knox

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This exploratory study investigated three aspects of introductory undergraduate biology students’ understanding about cells. The study, which took place at the University of Maine with voluntary students in Basic Biology (“BIO100”) in the summer and fall of 2009, examined (1) students’ pre-course perceptions of cells as they exist in a living context and (2) gains in students’ perception and knowledge about cells after completing the one-semester course (BIO100). Results are based on lecture exam scores, pre-post surveys developed as a part of this thesis, and interviews with two groups of biology students. A total of 498 students participated in the …

Novelty Or Knowledge? A Study Of Using A Student Response System In Non-Major Biology Courses At A Community College, Tasha Herrington Thames

Dissertations

The advancement in technology integration is laying the groundwork of a paradigm shift in the higher education system (Noonoo, 2011). The National Dropout Prevention Center (n.d.) [JS1] claims that technology offers some of the best opportunities for presenting instruction to engage students in meaningful education, addressing multiple intelligences, and adjusting to students’ various learning styles. The purpose of this study was to investigate if implementing clicker technology would have a statistically significant difference on student retention and student achievement, while controlling for learning styles, for students in non-major biology courses who were and were not subjected to the technology. This …

Across The Great Divide: The Effects Of Technology In Secondary Biology Classrooms, Johnny Howard Worley

Education Dissertations and Projects

This study investigates the relationship between technology use and student achievement in public high school across North Carolina. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a digital divide (differences in technology utilization based on student demographics of race/ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, and municipality) exists among schools and whether those differences relate to student achievement in high school biology classrooms. The study uses North Carolina end-of-course (EOC) data for biology to analyze student demographic data and assessment results from the 2010-2011 school year from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. The data analyses use descriptive and factorial univariate …

Comparing Biology Grades Based On Instructional Delivery And Instructor At A Community College: Face-To-Face Course Versus Online Course., Amanda Rosenzweig

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Through distance learning, the community college system has been able to serve more students by providing educational opportunities to students who would otherwise be unable to attend college. The community college of focus in the study increased its online enrollments and online course offerings due to the growth of overall enrollment. The need and purpose of the study is to address if there is a difference in students’ grades between face-to-face and online biology related courses and if there are differences in grades between face-to-face and online biology courses taught by different instructors and the same instructor. The study also …

Changes In Perceived Self-Efficacy And Attitude Toward Science And Teaching Science In Elementary School, Betsy Ann Sullivan

Dissertations

This study was developed in an effort to ascertain if a proposed biological laboratory curriculum as developed and modeled by the instructor would affect the attitudes and perceived self-efficacy towards science, science teaching and ability to learn science of pre-service elementary teachers. Self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies were incorporated as the variation. Attitudinal topics investigated were the perceived ability to learn science and to teach science.

Students in one biology for non-science majors' biology laboratory class at the University of Southern Mississippi participated in this case study. The group participated in the modified laboratory section which utilized SRL activities, including reflections …

Cooperative Learning: Attitudes, Perceptions, And Achievement In A Traditional, Online, And Hybrid Instructional Setting, Allison Hardin Duckworth

Dissertations

Cooperative learning has been sufficiently studied to be accepted as an effective method of education. Student reception of cooperative learning, and therefore the degree of its success in a given situation, will depend on the mode of delivery. New technology for delivering courses totally online challenges many aspects of traditional education, and is particularly difficult for cooperative learning that relies heavily on intense face-to-face communication among students. This study was conducted to compare cooperative learning in a traditional setting to that in hybrid and online settings. A model for delivering a cooperative learning experience has been developed utilizing concept maps …

A Culturally And Linguistically Responsive Curriculum For Secondary Biology Teachers, Raquel Georgina Martinez

All Graduate Projects

Research was conducted in the following areas, which help support the need for a culturally and linguistically responsive curriculum for secondary biology teachers. The history of both bilingual education and science, the importance of bilingual education, a summarization of selected bilingual and ESL models, bilingual and science curriculum, supported bilingual research, standardized tests, science and ELL students, and in closing secondary bilingual research. Based on the conducted research, the curriculum was developed utilizing the late-exit bilingual model, preview/review, and the incorporation of the student's culture.

Students’ Assessment Of Biology Education At Marshall University, Chris A. Barker

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this thesis research was to evaluate the quality of scientific education offered in the College of Science’s Department of Biology at Marshall University. The objectives of this study were to emphasize the important aspects of higher education assessment, point out that a scientifically literate citizenry is imperative for society to function effectively, and to determine what factors contribute to differences among students with regard to their perception of the quality of scientific education they are receiving at Marshall. A survey questionnaire was administered to students in eleven biological science courses during the Fall semester of 2003 and …

Integrating Selected Principles Of Evolution Into The High School Curriculum, Judy Kareen Lyons

Graduate Student Research Papers

The purposes of this paper will be (1) to present selected biological principles pertaining to evolution, (2) to indicate curricular areas in the high school into which general aspects of evolution might be integrated, and (3) to denote specific phases of biology especially suited for teaching particular principles.

An Overview Of Mechanism And Function Of Respiration In The Human Organism, James Morley Freese

Graduate Student Research Papers

The purpose of this paper was to take a seemingly simple concept of zoology, reveal in some measure its complexity, and show how this concept is often inadequately expressed and taught.

The Importance Of Teaching About Beneficial Insects In Secondary Science Instruction, Larry Ralph Whitney

Graduate Student Research Papers

This paper will attempt to determine the value of placing more emphasis in secondary science instruction on beneficial insects. Is this somewhat neglected area of knowledge important enough to have a significant place in an already full curriculum?

Is There A Way To Teach Terminology In The Biological Science?, Kenneth Eugene Bongers

Graduate Student Research Papers

The present :national emphasis on the teaching of Biological Science in High School has brought about many inquiries relative to teaching terminology in a meaningful way. Every biology teacher is faced with the problem of how to communicate the meaning of terms every biology book assumes the students already know.