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Full-Text Articles in Education

South Mississippi Public Elementary School Teachers' Implementation Of And Attitudes Toward Inquiry-Based Science, Thomas Franklin Sumrall Dec 2008

South Mississippi Public Elementary School Teachers' Implementation Of And Attitudes Toward Inquiry-Based Science, Thomas Franklin Sumrall

Dissertations

The present study was designed to examine the relationship between the dependent variables of K-5 elementary teachers' attitudes toward inquiry-based science, implementation of National Science Education Standards concerning inquiry-based science, and the number of inquiry-based lessons taught with the predictor variables of gender, school district teaching, ethnic group, educational level, experience, grade level teaching, and number of science courses taken. Four hundred thirty teachers of grades K through 5 from seven school districts in south Mississippi were surveyed using the Revised Science Attitude Scale (Bitner, 1994), Inquiry Beliefs and Practices survey (Jeanpierre, 2006), and a demographic questionnaire. A total of …


Engaging Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge: Adopting A Nine-Step Problem-Based Learning Model, Karen C. Goodnough, Woei Hung Oct 2008

Engaging Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge: Adopting A Nine-Step Problem-Based Learning Model, Karen C. Goodnough, Woei Hung

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

Engaging primary and elementary students in meaningful, relevant science learning is challenging. PBL is an instructional approach that provides a means to foster meaningful science learning while enhancing teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). This paper reports on the experiences of a teacher inquiry group consisting of five teachers (K-5) and a university researcher as they adopted a nine-step problem design model to develop PBL experiences. The objectives of the study were to examine how various facets of teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge are engaged as they design PBL modules; describe how teachers engage with a nine-step problem design model; and document …


Blessed Unrest: The Power Of Unreasonable People To Change The World, Stephanie Pace Marshall Apr 2008

Blessed Unrest: The Power Of Unreasonable People To Change The World, Stephanie Pace Marshall

Publications & Research

In her keynote address at the 2008 NCSSSMST Professional Conference, Dr. Stephanie Pace Marshall addresses what work can be done with the collective resources of its Consortium members which beg to be shared and connected--and also explores what the source of "...our Blessed Unrest that will give us the courage to become unreasonable advocates for our children and for STEM transformation?"


Standards-Based Assessment System In A Christian Middle School Science Classroom, David J. Mulder Mar 2008

Standards-Based Assessment System In A Christian Middle School Science Classroom, David J. Mulder

Master of Education Program Theses

Teachers in all sorts of educational settings have a common difficulty: accurately reporting what their students know, understand, and are able to do. Reporting the measurement of these assessments has traditionally been done through the assignment of letter grades. There is a fairly comprehensive and growing body of literature indicating the weakness of traditional letter grades for authentically assessing student understanding. This study examines an alternative to traditional grading practices. After reviewing relevant literature, I designed a standards-based assessment and evaluation system and put it into place in my 8th grade science classroom at a mid-sized Christian school in northwestern …


Conceptual Change In Pre-Service Science Teachers' Views On Nature Of Science When Learning A Unit On The Physics Of Waves, Ehsan Habib Kattoula Feb 2008

Conceptual Change In Pre-Service Science Teachers' Views On Nature Of Science When Learning A Unit On The Physics Of Waves, Ehsan Habib Kattoula

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Dissertations

Recent reform efforts in science education have culminated in National Science Education Standards (NSES), which include the nature of science and science inquiry themes across all grade levels. Consideration must be given to pre-service science teachers’ nature of science conceptions and their perceived roles in implementing the nature of science in the science classroom. This qualitative study investigates how pre-service science teachers’ views about the nature of science develop and change when learning a college physics unit on waves in an urban university. The study uses case study methodology with four pre-service science teachers as individual units of analysis. Data …


Executive Summary, Morton Sternheim, Joseph B. Berger, Yijie Zhao Jan 2008

Executive Summary, Morton Sternheim, Joseph B. Berger, Yijie Zhao

STEM ACT Conference

A National Science Foundation funded conference entitled, “Science, Technology, Engineering and Math – Alternative Certification for Teachers” (STEM-ACT) was held in May, 2006 in Arlington, VA. The conference was designed to facilitate a significant exchange of information, which was then synthesized to produce white papers on the three threads of the conference, i.e., policy, practice, and research. This summary presents the highlights of the three white papers.


An Exploration Of How Pre-Service Early Childhood Teachers Use Educative Curriculum Materials To Support Their Science Teaching, Deirdre Englehart Jan 2008

An Exploration Of How Pre-Service Early Childhood Teachers Use Educative Curriculum Materials To Support Their Science Teaching, Deirdre Englehart

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research indicates that a proportion of elementary teachers are not comfortable teaching science to young children. These teachers are unaware of the best methods of approaching science and don't have the science background knowledge to support teaching through inquiry methods. This case study explores the role educative curriculum materials play in supporting pre-service early childhood education teachers' knowledge with science content and teaching practices. Specifically, I examine how educative materials impact pre-service teacher's content knowledge in science and their pedagogical content knowledge related to inquiry methods. Three pre-service early childhood teachers participated in this research. The teachers were initially interviewed …


Levels Of Line Graph Question Interpretation With Intermediate Elementary Students Of Varying Scientific And Mathematical Knowle, Stacy Keller Jan 2008

Levels Of Line Graph Question Interpretation With Intermediate Elementary Students Of Varying Scientific And Mathematical Knowle, Stacy Keller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined how intermediate elementary students' mathematics and science background knowledge affected their interpretation of line graphs and how their interpretations were affected by graph question levels. A purposive sample of 14 6th-grade students engaged in think aloud interviews (Ericsson & Simon, 1993) while completing an excerpted Test of Graphing in Science (TOGS) (McKenzie & Padilla, 1986). Hand gestures were video recorded. Student performance on the TOGS was assessed using an assessment rubric created from previously cited factors affecting students' graphing ability. Factors were categorized using Bertin's (1983) three graph question levels. The assessment rubric was validated by Padilla …


Fostering Preservice Teacher Identity In Science Through A Student-Selected Project, D.J. Wink, J. Ellefson, M. Nishimura, D. Perry, S. Wenzel, Jeong Hwang Choe Jan 2008

Fostering Preservice Teacher Identity In Science Through A Student-Selected Project, D.J. Wink, J. Ellefson, M. Nishimura, D. Perry, S. Wenzel, Jeong Hwang Choe

Faculty Publications & Research

This article addresses the problem of authentic student engagement in the science classroom by incorporating a semester long research and writing assignment that enables students to investigate scientific topics related to strong personal, career, or health interests.


A Phenomenological Study Of The Perceptions And Experiences Of Seven Urban Middle School Science Teachers Related To Retention, Lu Dunn Jan 2008

A Phenomenological Study Of The Perceptions And Experiences Of Seven Urban Middle School Science Teachers Related To Retention, Lu Dunn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: Job satisfaction is essential to retain teachers in classrooms. Increased challenges in today s classrooms discourage many teachers from reaching veteran status. Teachers with a perception that they are making a difference appear to have more resilience in the difficult times in their classrooms. Purpose: To investigate the experiences of middle school science teachers. This study explored the influence of perceptions, beliefs, and experiences on job attrition and teacher satisfaction; and helps explain the cumulative effects that contributed to teachers' dissatisfaction. This study analyzed the intensification of the teaching profession and the increased emotional stress this causes for teachers. …


A Revolutionary Model To Improve Science Education, Teachers, And Scientists, Susan H. Brawley, Judith Pusey, Barbara J.W. Cole, Lauree E. Gott, Stephen A. Norton Jan 2008

A Revolutionary Model To Improve Science Education, Teachers, And Scientists, Susan H. Brawley, Judith Pusey, Barbara J.W. Cole, Lauree E. Gott, Stephen A. Norton

Maine Policy Review

To meet many modern global challenges, we need to promote scientific and technical literacy. The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) supports a “revolutionary” program to connect science education at all levels, from elementary through graduate school. The authors demonstrate how Maine has benefited from this program. They describe the University of Maine’s NSF-funded “GK-12 STEM” program, which placed graduate and advanced undergraduate science and technology students in elementary, middle, and high school classrooms; provided equipment for the schools; and offered training and professional development for the partner teachers. The authors urge the state, universities, and school districts to continue to …


Nsf Gk-12 Stem: A Fellow’S Perspective/A Partner Teacher’S Perspective, Peter F. Smith, Lauree E. Gott Jan 2008

Nsf Gk-12 Stem: A Fellow’S Perspective/A Partner Teacher’S Perspective, Peter F. Smith, Lauree E. Gott

Maine Policy Review

In these commentaries, a partner teacher and a fellow discuss their participation in an NSF-funded program (GK-12 STEM) at the University of Maine that connects science education at all levels, from elementary school through graduate school.


Curriculum Reform In Science Education In Pakistan, Nelofer Halai Jan 2008

Curriculum Reform In Science Education In Pakistan, Nelofer Halai

Book Chapters / Conference Papers

No abstract provided.