Education Commons^™

Teacher-Class, Teacher-Group And Student Interactions : Opportunities For Learning In Primary Science Classrooms, Christine A. Coulstock

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Many studies have investigated learning in science classes, examining various influences on the understandings that students develop. The purpose of this study was to investigate the interactions that took place in upper primary science lessons, and the teacher and student behaviours affected these interactions and the opportunities for learning. The three classes that were selected for the study were similar and the teachers were all experienced primary teachers. The teachers were supplied with a set of science lessons on the topic of electric circuits. The resources included background information for the teachers and suggested activities, demonstrations, analogies and focus questions …

Secondary Students' Skills Of Measuring Liquid Volume And Understanding Of Uncertainty Of Data, Wayne M. Keady

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This research is a detailed study of students' skills of measuring liquid volume, the decisions they make when planning to collect data and whilst collecting data, and the extent to which they understand the uncertainty associated with the data they collected. These skills and understandings are at the heart of scientific literacy (Duggan & Gall, 1996a). The introduction of the Working Scientifically strand in the Australian national curriculum framework and profile of learning outcome statements for science (Australian Education Council, 1994) illustrates the increased emphasis placed in curriculum documents on investigation skills and scientific literacy. The profile of outcome statements …

From Bulbs To Flowers, Elizabeth Vazquez

Graduate Student Independent Studies

In this thesis, I first developed the notion of a bulb as a means of introducing science to young children (ages five to eight).

First, bulb experiments were implemented. After a literature search, it was discovered that few books introduce scientific concepts with a storyline for young children. Therefore, I developed such a book in the process of writing the thesis. Lesson plans on bulbs for teachers were also developed and can be used in conjunction with the book or independently.

What Do Primary Students Know About Light?: An Investigation Into Misconceptions Held By Year 7 Students In Western Australia, Christine Ann Coulstock

Theses : Honours

This research examines misconceptions about light held by Year 7 primary school students. The subjects (n = 37) were selected from six schools in the northeastern area of Perth, Western Australia. An Interview About Instances approach was used in this research using instance cards specifically designed for this study. Misconceptions were ascertained and those held by 25% or more of the students were considered significant. Misconceptions were found in the understanding of the physical and the physiological process of sight, the relationship of light to colour, night vision in animals and the distance light travels under different circumstances. The misconceptions …

Characteristics That Determine The Holding Power Of Computer-Based Exhibits At Scitech Discovery Centre, Victoria Dodds

Theses : Honours

Scitech Discovery Centre is a hands-on science and technology centre located in the city West Complex, West Perth. The centre contains over 160 interactive exhibits including a number of computer-based exhibits that cover topics not easily incorporated in standard interactive exhibits. The problem considered in this study was the observed low percentage of visitors completing the programmes at seven of these computer-based exhibits. The author used unobtrusive observation and survey methods of data collection, for 245 visitors, on sundays over a three month period. The study was to determine two things, firstly the holding power of the exhibits, and secondly, …

The Effect Of A Vee-Mapping Strategy On Students' Perceptions Of Laboratory Activities, Sonia J. Hueppauff

Theses : Honours

Practical work is considered important for learning science, by teachers and science educators. This acceptance though, has been reported as based on intuition rather than evidence (Atkinson & White, 1961). A significant proportion of class time is occupied with doing practical work. It is evident that in a majority of situations, students commence laboratory activities unsure of their aim, the procedure they are going to carry out, or that experimentation is a way of forming knowledge (Moreira, I 960; Novak & Gowin, I 964). Vee-maps (Novak & Gowin, 1 964) are one way of making laboratory work more meaningful. That …

Secondary Students' Difficulties With Designing A Controlled Experiment, Bradley E. Watson

Theses : Honours

This research investigation was conducted to identify the difficulties encountered by secondary science students in the design of a controlled experiment. These difficulties were illuminated by studying the combination of knowledge, skills and strategies employed by experts. Three categories of individuals were used in the study, Year 10 science students, Year 12 science students and science lecturers who had completed doctoral studies in their fields. There were six subjects interviewed in each category. Each of the subjects were given a task which involved thinking aloud while planning a controlled experiment. When the subjects had completed the task, they were asked …

Evidence From Science And Tradition Supporting A Two-Model (Evolution/Creation) Approach To Teaching The Origin Of Life, Robert P. Gardner

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This study gathered material presenting flood traditions in agreement with data concerning models of origins, selected material for supplementing classroom mate­rials, and determined public opinion as how the subject of origins should be taught in public schools. Surveys recommend a two-model (evolution/creation) approach be taught within scientific limitations in public schools. Materials are available to promote this approach legally, fairly, and scientifically. Because of the evolu­tion model's inadequacies, a reinterpretation of equivalent data allowing for catastrophic universal flood concepts is needed. Part of this reinterpretation may be supplied by the canopy model, as well as the many worldwide flood traditions. …

A Survey Of Aerospace Education In Grades Nine Through Twelve In The State Of Washington, Judith Ann Isaac

All Master's Theses

The purposes of this study were: (1) to survey the incidence of aerospace education in grades nine through twelve of Washington State schools, (2) to discover what courses and units include such education in the curriculum, (3) to determine who the teachers are, and the nature of their preparation, (4) to gain a description of what kind of education is attempted under this heading, and (5) to discover what the opportunities are for expanded aerospace education within the schools surveyed.

Cauchy Extensions Of Integrals, Donald Wayne Carlton

All Master's Theses

This paper presents some ideas on a different approach to the teaching of integral calculus. The method presented here, though simple in nature, requires little alteration when new topics such as probability and series are developed.

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 …