Education Commons^™

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 …

Peer Review In An Undergraduate Biology Curriculum: Effects On Students’ Scientific Reasoning, Writing And Attitudes, Briana Timmerman

Briana Eileen Timmerman

Scientific reasoning and writing skills are ubiquitous processes in science and therefore common goals of science curricula, particularly in higher education. Providing the individualized feedback necessary for the development of these skills is often costly in terms of faculty time, particularly in large science courses common at research universities. Past educational research literature suggests that the use of peer review may accelerate students’ scientific reasoning skills without a concurrent demand on faculty time per student. Peer review contains many elements of effective pedagogy such as peer-peer collaboration, repeated practice at evaluation and critical thinking, formative feedback, multiple contrasting examples, and …

Calculus, Biology And Medicine: A Case Study In Quantitative Literacy For Science Students, Kim Rheinlander, Dorothy Wallace

Numeracy

This paper describes a course designed to enhance the numeracy of biology and pre-medical students. The course introduces students with the background of one semester of calculus to systems of nonlinear ordinary differential equations as they appear in the mathematical biology literature. Evaluation of the course showed increased enjoyment and confidence in doing mathematics, and an increased appreciation of the utility of mathematics to science. Students who complete this course are better able to read the research literature in mathematical biology and carry out research problems of their own.