Education Commons^™

The Engineering Design Process As A Model For Stem Curriculum Design, Krystal Sno Corbett

Doctoral Dissertations

Engaging pedagogics have been proven to be effective in the promotion of deep learning for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students. In many cases, academic institutions have shown a desire to improve education by implementing more engaging techniques in the classroom. The research framework established in this dissertation has been governed by the axiom that students should obtain a deep understanding of fundamental topics while being motivated to learn through engaging techniques. This research lays a foundation for future analysis and modeling of the curriculum design process where specific educational research questions can be considered using standard techniques. Further, …

Museum -Based Learning: Informal Learning Settings And Their Role In Student Motivation And Achievement In Science, Julie Ann Holmes

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examined changes in student motivation and achievement in science in relationship with a visit to the IDEA Place Experiment Gallery. The study was based on the pretest-posttest control comparison group design with four treatment groups: control, exhibit, lesson, and exhibit/lesson. The sample was 228 sixth grade students from a public north central Louisiana school who were randomly assigned to one of the four experimental groups. Pretest, posttest, and delayed posttest measures of intrinsic motivation and achievement in science were determined using the Children's Academic Intrinsic Motivation Inventory and an achievement test written to measure areas of science incorporated …

A Study Of Teachers' Perceptions About Staff Development Factors And Their Classroom Implementation Of Reform-Based Science Instruction, Deborah Thompson Silver

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was two-fold: (1) to determine whether or not there were significant differences in implementation levels of reform-based science instructional strategies by teachers who participated in an established staff development program, Project LIFE and those who did not, and (2) to distinguish specific program factors that may have impacted the level of implementation of reform-based instructional classroom practices. The instrument used, the Survey of Reform-Based Science Teaching Strategies (SRBSTS ), was developed by the researcher and had reliability of .912 as measured by Cronbach Alpha.

An independent samples t-test analysis was used to compare the …