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Full-Text Articles in Science and Mathematics Education

Development Of Sense Of Place Through An Urban Citizen Science Program, Cornelia Harris Dec 2021

Development Of Sense Of Place Through An Urban Citizen Science Program, Cornelia Harris

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Citizen science programs are a way for participants to develop a sense of place, which has been theorized to lead to pro-environmental behaviors. In this mixed-methods study, I document how a citizen science program encourages urban youth to connect with their place, and notice how both joy and wonder are developed as they experience a stunning migratory event with a unique organism, the American eel. Students were excited to be in a creek and to ‘discover’ a new creature in a place that they had walked past for years, one that was merely a backdrop to their lives prior to …


Reflective Structuration Of Knowledge Building Practices In Grade 5 Science Classrooms, Dan Tao Jan 2019

Reflective Structuration Of Knowledge Building Practices In Grade 5 Science Classrooms, Dan Tao

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Recent reforms in science education call for efforts to engage students in authentic and sustained science practices. In order to engage students in authentic science practices, students need to enact epistemic agency over the processes of inquiry in line with how knowledge is constructed and practiced in the real world. A critical research challenge is to understand how student agency-driven science practices can be socially organized and pedagogically supported over time without pre-defined tasks and procedures from the teacher in classrooms. Situated in the context of Knowledge Building pedagogy, this dissertation contributes to a reflective structuration approach of science practices …


Language Socialization Of Mainland Chinese Adolescents In U.S. Science Classrooms, Fang Yu Jan 2018

Language Socialization Of Mainland Chinese Adolescents In U.S. Science Classrooms, Fang Yu

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Secondary schools in the United States are enrolling an increasing number of Mainland Chinese students, and this cohort of students is often seen as a “model minority” that can achieve academic success without much if any, extra support. However, many Chinese students encounter difficulties not only in learning English but in learning other content areas raising questions as to what they experience as the affordances and constraints to their learning.


Women's Decision To Major In Stem Fields, Stephanie Conklin Jan 2015

Women's Decision To Major In Stem Fields, Stephanie Conklin

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This paper explores the lived experiences of high school female students who choose to enter into STEM fields, and describes the influencing factors which steered these women towards majors in computer science, engineering and biology. Utilizing phenomenological methodology, this study seeks to understand the essence of women’s decisions to enter into STEM fields and further describe how the decision-making process varies for women in high female enrollment fields, like biology, as compared with low enrollment fields like, computer science and engineering. Using Bloom's 3-Stage Theory, this study analyzes how relationships, experiences and barriers influenced women towards, and possibly away, from …


A Study Of The Emergence Of Student Tacit Knowledge In Response To Environmental Images And Science Instruction, Rory J. Glass Jan 2015

A Study Of The Emergence Of Student Tacit Knowledge In Response To Environmental Images And Science Instruction, Rory J. Glass

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The purpose of this study was to identify the presence of students’ tacit understandings as they apply to environmental science content, and to discover how these understandings emerge and are viewed and interpreted by teachers. Towards that end over ten hours of classroom video was recorded and analyzed, from both large urban and smaller urban classrooms. Additionally, interviews were conducted with 15 students and two teachers to gain insight into their thinking on an array of topics related to the environment and environmental reasoning. It was hypothesized that students’ understandings and teachers’ interpretations of them may be influenced by their …


Instructional Scientific Humor In The Secondary Classroom, Francine Wizner Jan 2014

Instructional Scientific Humor In The Secondary Classroom, Francine Wizner

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This study is an examination of the manner in which educators employ scientific content humor and how that humor is perceived by their students. Content humor is a useful strategy in drawing the attention of students and improving their receptivity toward scientific information. It is also a useful tool in combating the growing distractions of the electronic classroom. Previous studies have found that humor has a positive effect on knowledge, memory, and understanding. However, few studies have been conducted below the undergraduate level and mainly quantitative measures of student recall have been used to measure learning. This study employed multiple …


How The Nature Of Science Is Presented To Elementary Students In Science Read-Alouds, Seema Rivera Jan 2013

How The Nature Of Science Is Presented To Elementary Students In Science Read-Alouds, Seema Rivera

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

HOW THE NATURE OF SCIENCE IS PRESENTED TO ELEMENTARY STUDENTS IN SCIENCE READ-ALOUDS


An Analysis Of Science Content And Representations In Introductory College Physics Textbooks And Multimodal Learning Resources, Suzanne Mary Donnelly Jan 2010

An Analysis Of Science Content And Representations In Introductory College Physics Textbooks And Multimodal Learning Resources, Suzanne Mary Donnelly

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This study features a comparative descriptive analysis of the physics content and representations surrounding the first law of thermodynamics as presented in four widely used introductory college physics textbooks representing each of four physics textbook categories (calculus-based, algebra/trigonometry-based, conceptual, and technical/applied). Introducing and employing a newly developed theoretical framework, multimodal generative learning theory (MGLT), an analysis of the multimodal characteristics of textbook and multimedia representations of physics principles was conducted. The modal affordances of textbook representations were identified, characterized, and compared across the four physics textbook categories in the context of their support of problem-solving.