Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Exploring The Relationship Between Orpda And Teachers' Conceptual Understanding Of Place Value, Jamie Howard Price

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this case study was to understand whether or not the use of an invented number system, called Orpda, helped teachers develop a deeper understanding of place value in hopes that this will translate into their own teaching of place value concepts. Thirteen teachers enrolled in a graduate mathematics education course served as the participants for this study. Data were collected from teachers’ reflections on various activities related to Orpda, pre- and post-Orpda concept maps teachers created, online discussions between the teachers, teacher demographic sheets, and an interview with the instructor of the course.

Analysis of the teachers' …

Elementary And Secondary Science Teachers Negotiation Of Controversial Science Content: The Relationships Among Prior Conception Appropriation, Thinking Disposition, And Learning About Geologic Time, James Harold Roberson

Doctoral Dissertations

A major component of the values people place on science and their attitude toward it is their openness to new ideas or overall open-mindedness. An individual’s values and attitudes become integrally connected to their prior knowledge and conceptions regarding science and science content. Sometimes the nature of a natural phenomenon and the scientific explanation for the phenomenon is controversial. A controversial scientific concept is one that evokes emotion and forces individuals to assess the values associated with this content and make assessments of their attitudes toward it. This is especially true during learning. The purpose of this study was to …