Education Commons^™

The Decline Of Science In The Early Years: A Diagnosis And A Plan Of Action, Jennifer Bentley

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Science instruction in the early years of a student’s education career is essential to a student successfully continuing science in their secondary and postsecondary careers. However, the amount of high-quality science instruction students receive at the elementary level has been steadily declining for two decades, resulting in an inequitable imbalance in those who pursue STEM careers, a lack of critical science literacy in the U.S. populace, and a shortage of qualified employees entering the U.S. economy. Much of the lack of science instruction can be traced to decreased training of teachers to teach science during elementary credentialing programs or the …

A Phenomenological Inquiry Into The Teaching Of Climate Change, Daniel Diego

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the ways in which educators address climate change and the impacts of human activity on the environment in conjunction with the Next Generation Science Standards. This study utilized qualitative methods, a phenomenological methodology informed by Moustakas, and a Systems Theory and Ecojustice Education conceptual framework. The central research questions was: in what ways do educators who are implementing the Next Generation Science Standards address climate change and the impacts of human activity on the environment? The supporting research questions were: in what ways do educators who are implementing the Next Generation Science …

Rural Teachers' Perceptions Of Collaboration And Professional Growth In Mathematics, Katherine M. Burns

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Teachers are a focal point in rural communities, building educational and cultural connections between the families and schools they serve on a daily basis. At the same time, geography and other constraints can impact rural teachers’ access to professional development and other resources. This mixed methods exploratory study focuses on a two-year professional learning program that supported rural teachers’ (n=38) professional growth in mathematics and encouraged the development of a collaborative Community of Practice spanning 14 elementary school sites in four Northern California counties.

Research methods incorporated a secondary data analysis, as well as the collection of new data. Quantitative …

Factors Underlying High School Mathematics Teachers' Perceptions Of Challenging Math Tasks, Mariya Anne Sullivan

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

In this confirmatory factor analysis, factors previously identified to explain the variability in Middle School Mathematics Teachers’ perception of the Common Core State Standards of Mathematics were considered as factors hypothesized to effect high school math teachers’ perceptions of challenging math tasks (CMTs). The factor of student characterization (i.e., disposition, academic preparation, and student behavior) was additionally considered as a factor hypothesized to explain teachers’ perceptions of CMTs, as well as site-based variables (i.e., curriculum, assessment and evaluation, professional development, and collaboration). In addition, teachers’ understanding of the importance of the mathematical practice standards and teacher familiarity with enacting CMTs …

The Development And Construction Of A Resource Unit On Water ; Its Relation To San Joaquin County, Wayne Leroy Bonham

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

What resources are available to teach water problems related to the Stockton Community and how can they be organized into a resource unit which will help teachers toward developing effective teaching units?

A Laboratory-Centered General Chemistry Course For College Freshmen, Alexander Vavoulis

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

In order to give the laboratory-centered course a trial run and to compare it with a lecture-centered course it seemed necessary to the author that both courses should be taught and compared. The latter gave rise to the following hypotheses:

1. Students in a laboratory-centered general chemistry course show more favorable attitudes toward chemistry than do students in a lecture-centered course.
2. Students in a laboratory-centered course show as good a subject-matter mastery as students in a lecture-centered course.

A New Approach To General Chemistry Laboratory In College (With) A Laboratory Manual For General Chemistry, Constantine G. Vlassis

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Statement of the problem. This study was carried out to determine: (1) what advantages a laboratory-centered general chemistry course might have over the conventional laboratory course, and (2) whether improved understanding of laboratory work leads to better learning of chemistry. The four following questions were raised in connection with the study or this problem:

1. What is the need for a laboratory-centered course?
2. What has been done in the past to meet this need?
3. Can students learn chemistry more effectively in a laboratory-centered course as compared to the conventional course?
4. Is a laboratory-centered course to be preferred over the conventional course …

A Statistical Study Of Selected Areas Of Achievement Of The Third, Fifth, And Seventh Grade Pupils Of The Arden Carmichael Elementary School District, Edwin Emil Niessner

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

It is the purpose of this study to investigate the relationship between the reading comprehension and the verbal problem solving in arithmetic in each of the low, average and high ability groups of pupils in grades three, five and seven in the Arden Carmichael Elementary Union School District, and to determine the means and variability of achievement in the reading comprehension and the verbal problem solving in arithmetic.

The Design And Organization Of A Junior College General Chemistry Laboratory, Malcolm Cornelius Holmberg

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Statement of problem. How can a chemistry laboratory in the junior college be designed and organized so that there may be achieved a. maximum of efficiency and minimum of time lost to the student in implementing the scientific method?

A Comparison Of The Engineering Curricula Of The Junior College And The University Lower Division, Harry Louis Fischer

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This study is an attempt to assemble the engineering curricula of all the junior colleges and many of the four year colleges and universities of California, and to determine to what extent the junior college engineering curricula are similar to the lower division curricular of these dour year institutions.

A Study Of The Adequacy Of High School Physics Laboratory Work For General Education, Robert F. Stone

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to determine the adequacy of high school physics laboratory work for general education. The problems involved to achieve this purpose were: the determination of the outcomes of high school physics laboratory work; the determination of the objectives of science instruction in general education; and the evaluation of the outcomes of the first in terms of the second.

An Elementary Science Course Of Study Developed For Use In The Stockton Unified School District, David H. Smith

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Elementary science has made rapid strides in the last four or five years. In our elementary schools we have the laymen and scientists of tomorrow. The masses should have a speaking acquaintance with science and know the value to society through its modern inventions and discoveries. Knowledge of facts discovered by scientists give rise to conceptions that vitalize thinking in many fields and cause the redirection of human activities. Scientific conceptions such as time, space, change, variety, adaptation, and interrelationships have exerted profound influence upon thinking in wide areas of human affairs. These concepts can never be mastered, but they …

A Science Syllabus For The Intermediate School Grades Especially Adapted For Rural Schools In California, Jacob A. Misfeldt

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The development of a well organized functional science program in the elementary grades is an urgent problem for curriculum builders. This is especially true in the upper grades. There has been much commendable work done in grades one to six in curriculum development and in textbook writing. However, the upper grades in the elementary school have not been so fortunate. Here is a vast field waiting for constructional development. It is hoped that this study is a step in the right direction.

Experimental And Observational Geometry, Albert D. Field

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Geometry has the distinction of being one of the oldest subjects given in the high-school.

Its subject-matter was formulated and organized by the Greeks into a fine system of thought before the time of Christ. Since leaving the hands of the Greeks, geometry has received only a few minor changes, and these largely in recent years.

Heretofore, the study of geometry has been made almost entirely dependent upon memory and reasoning. Geometricians have been slow in adopting the laboratory and observational methods.

This thesis has been written to encourage the student in his work of observing geometrical forms, and in …