bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Students' conceptions of the second law of thermodynamics—an interpretive study
Authors: Kesidou Sofia , Duit Reinders
Published: October 2006

Thirty‐four clinical interviews were conducted with Grade 10 students (15–16 years old) who had received four years of physics instruction. The interview's focus was to understand students' responses from their point of view and not solely from the physicist's angle. The results of the study confirm and deepen, on the one hand, findings from other studies concerning students' severe difficulties in learning the energy concept, the particle model, and the distinction between heat and temperature. On the other hand, students' qualitative conceptions in a new area—the second law of thermodynamics—are revealed. For instance, in the case of irreversibility (i.e., the idea that all processes take place by themselves only in one direction), most students came to conclusions similar to those of modern physicists. But their explanations of irreversibility are based on significantly different conceptual frameworks. The results of the study suggest that a mere enlargement of the traditional physics curriculum by the addition of ideas of the second law is not sufficient to familiarize students with these ideas. A totally new teaching approach to heat, temperature, and energy is necessary. In this approach, basic qualitative ideas of the second law should be a central and integral part from the beginning of instruction.
The effects of prior knowledge and instruction on understanding image formation
Authors: Galili Igal , Bendall Sharon , Goldberg Fred
Published: October 2006

This paper reports on a study that was designed to investigate the knowledge about image formation exhibited by students following instruction in geometrical optics in an activity‐based college physics course for prospective elementary teachers. Students were interviewed individually, using several tasks involving simple apparatus (plane and curved mirrors, lenses, and prisms). The diagrams drawn by the students and the verbal comments they made provide evidence that their knowledge can be described as an intermediate state, a hybridization of preinstruction knowledge (which is dominated by a holistic conceptualization) and formal physics knowledge. We infer from our data the core concepts and main ideas of the postinstruction students' hybrid knowledge. Finally, by comparing preinstruction and formal physics conceptualizations of image formation we argue that a strong type of knowledge restructuring (in the sense of Carey, S., 1986: American Psychologist, 41, 1123‐1130; Vosianou, S., & Brewer, W.F., 1987: Review of Educational Research, 57, 51‐67) is required for students to acquire the latter.
Promoting skilled problem‐solving behavior among beginning physics students
Authors: Mestre Jose P. , Dufresne Robert J. , Gerace William J. , Hardiman Pamela T. , Touger Jerold S.
Published: October 2006

Beginning physics students were constrained to analyze mechanics problems according to a hierarchical scheme that integrated concepts, principles, and procedures. After five 1‐hour sessions students increased their reliance on the use of principles in categorizing problems according to similarity of solution and in writing qualitative explanations of physical situations. In contrast, no consistent shift toward these expert‐like competencies was observed using control treatments in which subjects spent the same amount of time solving problems using traditional approaches. In addition, when successful at performing the qualitative analyses, novices showed significant improvements in problem‐solving performance in comparison to novices who directed their own problem‐solving activities. The implications of this research are discussed in terms of instructional strategies aimed at promoting a deeper understanding of physics.
A content analysis of the presentation of the mole concept in chemistry textbooks
Authors: Staver John R. , Lumpe Andrew T.
Published: October 2006

The goal of this study was to examine the means used by textbook authors to introduce, define, and explain the mole concept in high school and introductory college chemistry textbooks. The analysis was framed by four questions:

How is the mole defined?

What concepts about the atom are introduced prior to the mole?

Is Avogadro's constant presented as an experimentally determined value?

What is the context for introducing the mole?

Twenty‐nine high school and introductory college level chemistry texts were examined. After independent reading of appropriate sections of each text, discussion of differences, second or third readings of texts, and subsequent discussions, both authors reach 100% agreement concerning the results. Major conclusions were

Two ways of defining the mole dominate the texts. One way defines the mole as Avogadro's number (6.02 × 1023) particles; the other method defines the mole in terms of carbon‐12.

All texts that present a definition in terms of C‐12 introduce and define concepts about the atom prior to introducing the mole.

Most texts at all levels point out that the value 6.02 × 1023 is an experimentally determined quantity.

Nearly all texts discuss the mole in relation to die problem of finding a way to count particles that are too small to be directly weighed. Most texts also use a familiar counting unit, such as the dozen, to introduce the mole by analogy.

Four issues were discussed: (a) the defining attributes of the mole concept itself and the cognitive requirements for comprehending the two most frequently used definitions; (b) the connection between the definition of the mole presented in the text and the concepts about atoms that are introduced before the mole concept is developed; (c) the experimental nature of Avogadro's number; and (d) the context or setting for developing the mole concept.
The inclusion of STS material in the most frequently used secondary science textbooks in the U.S.
Authors: Chiang‐Soong Betty , Yager Robert E.
Published: October 2006

Science‐technology‐society (STS) has been identified by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), the Departments of Education in a variety of states, and a variety of commissions and panels concerned with reform in science education as a new direction and goal for science education. Because most teachers are dependent upon textbooks for determining their curricula and teaching approaches, an investigation of 11 of the most frequently used secondary science textbooks in the U.S. were reviewed to determine the attention given to STS topics. The framework established by the Project Synthesis research team for STS was used to define STS topics. The 11 textbooks were examined in their entirety to determine space devoted to STS. Minimum interrater reliability was established at 0.80; any deviation resulted in further analysis. Comparisons were made of STS coverage by science disciplines and across the 7‐12 grade levels. Results revealed that less than 7% of the narrative space is devoted to STS topics, with a range of 11.5% to 0.5%. Further, the coverage of STS topics decreases as grade level increases. A great discrepancy, therefore, exists between goals for science education (an STS emphasis) to actual coverage in the most frequently used textbooks.
Differences in the problem solving of stronger and weaker novices in physics: Knowledge, strategies, or knowledge structure?
Authors: Zajchowski Richard , Martin Jack
Published: October 2006

This study investigates the extent to which differences in the problem‐solving performance of stronger and weaker novices in physics arise from: (a) differences in amount of domain knowledge, (b) differences in how domain knowledge is organized, and (c) differences in the strategic application of domain knowledge. Ten first‐year university physics students attempted to solve one easy and one difficult problem involving Newton's second law. Clear differences in the protocols of stronger and weaker students for the difficult problem, combined with successful performance by all students on the easy problem, were interpreted as evidence for differences in the organization of relevant knowledge held by more versus less successful first‐year physics students. Some differences in procedural knowledge were also observed, but all students used the working forward strategy that had been presented to them in lectures.
Children's skill in making predictions and their understanding of what predicting means: A developmental study
Authors: McNay Margaret , Melville Kathleen W.
Published: October 2006

The purpose of this study was to describe the development of elementary students' skill in making predictions and of their understanding of what predicting means. The study involved observing and assessing the performance of 167 children on the Physical Manipulation Test (PMT), a test involving the manipulation of science materials and equipment. Children were interviewed about what they understandpredictingto mean, how they use it at school and at home, and why they think it is important. For each of the seven topics tested, even the youngest children were able to offer predictions. Accuracy varied with the topic, increasing between Grades 1 and 4 and leveling off after that. The increase in skill involved children's growing ability to attend to patterns discerned through their own observations. Four levels in the development of predicting skill, as it relates to particular topics, are described. Children's understanding of predicting showed steady improvement through Grade 6. Children's awareness of their use of predicting at school and at home, and their ability to explain the importance of predicting, also increased through Grades 1 to 6, with a spurt at Grade 4. Children understood predicting to be an internal process in which one uses knowledge to anticipate a future event; they regarded predicting as an important way of being intellectually involved with the world.
Exploratory learning with a computer simulation for control theory: Learning processes and instructional support
Authors: Njoo Melanie , De Jong Ton
Published: October 2006

Computer simulations create a context that is well fitted for exploratory or discovery learning. The aim of the present two studies was to gain deeper insight into what constitutes exploratory learning and to assess the effects of a number of instructional support measures. The domain involved was control theory at the university level. In the first study we made an inventory of exploratory learning processes by observing 17 students working with a computer simulation and analyzing students' thinking‐aloud protocols. Subjects received a structured assignment with hints as an instructional support measure. In the second study, 91 students received an open‐ended assignment with instructional support that consisted of an information sheet and a set of fill‐in forms. On both sheets and forms, six cells were presented. A cell was given for each of the following six learning processes: identifying variables and parameters, generating hypotheses, designing an experiment, predicting, interpreting data, and drawing of conclusions. Information sheets were either of a domain specific or of a general nature. The set of fill‐in forms were either free or had the cell HYPOTHESIS already filled in. The statements of the students on the fill‐in forms were analyzed in a stepwise order. Twenty‐two detailed learning processes were identified and classified. Two of the main classes of processes are transformative and regulative. Both studies showed that students were reluctant to apply learning processes that are considered characteristic for exploratory learning. Furthermore, students had problems with the exploratory learning processes, especially with the processes of generating hypotheses, interpreting data, and drawing conclusions. Effects of the instructional support measures were not conclusive. Hints did not result in significant improvements of the study process. Supporting learning processes with information sheets appeared to help students in performing learning processes, but no different effects of domain specific and general information could be found. Students who were provided with hypotheses showed a higher global activity level and higher scores in domain correctness of their learning processes.
The role of hypothetico‐deductive reasoning and physical analogues of molecular interactions in conceptual change
Authors: Lawson Anton E. , Baker William P. , Didonato Lisa , Verdi Michael P. , Johnson Margaret A.
Published: October 2006

Two hypotheses about theoretical concept acquisition, application, and change were tested. College biology students classified as intuitive, transitional, or reflective (hypothetico‐deductive) reasoners were first taught two theoretical concepts (molecular polarity and bonding) to explain the mixing of dye with water, but not with oil, when all three were shaken in a container. The students were then tested in a context in which they misapplied the concepts in an attempt to explain the gradual spread of blue dye in standing water. Next students were taught another theoretical concept (diffusion), with and without the use of physical analogues. They were retested to see which students acquired the concept of diffusion and which students changed from use of the incorrect polarity and bonding concepts (i.e., the misconceptions) to use of the diffusion concept to correctly explain the dye's gradual spread. As predicted, the experimental/analogy group scored significantly higher than the control group on a posttest question that required the definition of diffusion. Also as predicted, hypothetico‐deductive reasoning skill was significantly related to correct application of the diffusion concept and to a change from the misapplication of the polarity and bonding concepts to the correct application of the diffusion concept to explain the gradual spread of the blue dye. Thus, the results support the hypotheses that physical analogues are helpful in theoretical concept acquisition and that hypothetico‐deductive reasoning is needed for successful concept application and change. Educational implications are drawn.
A protocol analysis of the influence of technology on students' actions, verbal commentary, and thought processes during the performance of acid‐base titrations
Authors: Nakhleh Mary B. , Krajcik Joseph S.
Published: October 2006

We investigated students' initial and final understanding of acid‐base concepts and their concurrent thought processes and actions during the process of acid‐base titrations. Here we report students' actions and thought processes while titrating. Different levels of information were presented by three technologies: chemical indicators, pH meters, and microcomputer‐based laboratories. We speculated that the level of information would influence students' actions and thought processes, as expressed in verbal commentary. Data were collected from 14 secondary chemistry students. Each student used one technology to titrate a strong acid, a weak acid, and a polyprotic acid with a strong base. They verbalized their thoughts while titrating. Students then graphed pH versus volume of base and discussed the titration with the investigator. Verbal commentaries were coded and analyzed for patterns in actions and for frequency of statement categories. Drawings were analyzed for shape, scale, and direction; discussions were analyzed for understanding of acid‐base neutralization. We found that the technology's level of information affected the focus of students' observations. The microcomputer group focused primarily on the graph; other groups exhibited multiple foci. We speculate the screen display functions as an auxiliary short‐term memory. The discussion data also reveal that students held three main ideas about how acids and bases behave when mixed. Implications for instruction are discussed.
When analogy is perceived as such
Authors: Stavy Ruth , Tirosh Dina
Published: October 2006

Analogies play a significant role in the development and acquisition of scientific concepts and ideas. A critical question is: What causes people to perceive situations as analogical? In an attempt to refer to this central issue, we chose to examine situations that are not considered analogical from the scientific point of view, but have similar perceptual properties and might thus be perceived as analogical by students. Students in the 7th–12th grades were presented with problems related to (a) successive division of physical and geometrical objects, and (b) comparison problems related to physical and geometrical objects. Our data suggest that salient external features of the problems (e.g., similar structure, similar process, and figural similarity), as well as factors related to the solver (e.g., age and instruction) largely influence students' responses to the problems. The theoretical framework, however, is not the most influential factor in determining students' responses to the problems.
Using bridging analogies and anchoring intuitions to deal with students' preconceptions in physics
Authors: Clement John
Published: October 2006

Lessons were designed to deal with students' alternative conceptions in three areas of mechanics: static normal forces, frictional forces, and Newton's third law for moving objects. Instructional techniques such as class discussions of the validity of an analogy between a target problem and an intuitive anchoring example, and forming a structured chain of intermediate bridging analogies were used. There were large differences in pre–posttest gains in favor of the experimental group. In formulating a model of learning processes that can explain these results, it is argued that (a) the lessons have a more complex structure than a simple model of analogy use; (b) rational methods using analogy and other plausible reasoning processes that are neither proof based nor directly empirical can play a very important role in science instruction; (c) much more effort than is usually allocated should be focused on helping students to make sense of an analogy; and (d) researchers and curriculum developers should be focusing at least as much attention on students' useful prior knowledge as they are on students' alternative conceptions.
Refocusing core intuitions: A concretizing role for analogy in conceptual change
Authors: Brown David E.
Published: October 2006

This article outlines a theoretical framework for viewing students' conceptions and the effect of analogies on students' conceptions. There are several points involved in this perspective: (a) Components of students' conceptions can be considered to be at various levels—verbal‐symbolic knowledge, conscious models, implicit models, and core intuitions. (b) Components at the deeper, less articulated levels (especially core intuitions) are particularly entrenched. (c) Conceptual change in cases involving core intuitions can be considered to be the adjustment of attributive clusters for a class of situations. (d) In order to change the attributive cluster for a target situation, the target must be enriched with new concrete entities or features, providing nuclei for the reattribution of agency. (e) Analogies can help with this reattribution or refocusing by helping the student enrich his or her representation of the target situation.
The construction and analogical transfer of symbolic visualizations
Authors: Schwartz Daniel L.
Published: October 2006

Two studies explored whether adolescents can and will construct abstract visualizations to structure complex information. Experiment 1 showed that students can structure novel information with visualizations. Seventh‐, 9th‐, and 10th‐grade students were directed to construct visualizations of complex transmission problems in biology (e.g., epidemiology). Two‐thirds of the resulting visualizations at each grade level captured the structure of the problems. The 9th/10th graders primarily constructed path diagrams (i.e., directed graphs), and the 7th graders constructed more original visualizations. Experiment 2 showed that students will analogically transfer specific visualizations and will transfer the strategy of visualizing. On pre‐ and posttests 7th graders solved transmission problems without cues to visualize. During an intervention, students in two treatments constructed and learned visualizations for three problem types. In the Path treatment, one problem type involved path diagrams. In the No‐Path treatment an alternate problem type was used as a filler visualization task. Overall, 50% more students used visualizations on the posttest compared to the pretest. Students in the Path treatment analogically transferred the path diagram to the posttest, whereas students in the No‐Path treatment spontaneously constructed alternative visualizations. These findings suggest that instruction in visualizing may develop a strategy that students can and will use to understand the structure in complex and novel information.
The ability to understand and use conceptual change pedagogy as a function of prior content learning experience
Authors: Stofflett René T. , Stoddart Trish
Published: October 2006

This research examined the relationship between content instruction and the development of elementary teacher candidates' understanding of conceptual change pedagogy. Undergraduate students (n = 27) enrolled in two sections of a science methods course received content instruction through either traditional or conceptual change methods, followed by instruction about conceptual change pedagogy. Candidates were interviewed pre‐ and postinstruction about their content and pedagogical knowledge and also wrote conceptual change lessons. Twelve of the 27 subjects were videotaped teaching in the field. Results indicate that prior to instruction, most candidates had weak content knowledge and held traditional pedagogical conceptions. After instruction, students in the conceptual change group had significantly larger gains in their content knowledge than those in the traditional group, gave qualitatively stronger pedagogical responses, and used conceptual change strategies more consistently in practice. These results indicate that personal experience of learning science content through conceptual change methods facilitated the development of understanding and use of conceptual change pedagogy in teaching practice. Thus if conceptual change methods are to be incorporated into teacher candidates' repertoire, science content courses that students take prior to teacher education should be taught using conceptual change pedagogy. In addition, courses in science education should use pedagogy more in line with that taught in methods courses.
The concept map as a research and evaluation tool: Further evidence of validity
Authors: Markham Kimberly M. , Mintzes Joel J. , Jones M. Gail
Published: October 2006

This study sought further evidence of the concurrent validity of concept mapping as a research and evaluation tool in science education. Specifically, the study examined the extent to which differences exist in the concept maps of advanced college biology majors (N = 25) and beginning nonmajors (N = 25) in the domain of mammals. Furthermore, it explored whether these differences are reflected in the way subjects assign class membership as revealed in a card sorting task. The results indicate that concept maps of biology majors are structurally more complex than those of nonmajors and that differences in the structural complexity and organizational patterns depicted in concept maps are reflected in the underlying dimensions used to assign class membership. Together, these findings suggest that the concept map provides a theoretically powerful and psychometrically sound tool for assessing conceptual change in experimental and classroom settings.
The nature and development of preservice science teachers' conceptions of subject matter and pedagogy
Authors: Lederman Norman G. , Gess‐Newsome Julie , Latz Mark S.
Published: October 2006

The purpose of this study was to assess the development and changes in preservice science teachers' subject matter and pedagogy knowledge structures as they proceeded through a professional teacher education program. Twelve secondary preservice science teachers were asked to create representations of their subject matter and pedagogy knowledge structures periodically (four times spanning the entirety of their subject‐specific teacher education program) and participate in a videotaped interview concerning the eight knowledge structure representations immediately following student teaching. Qualitative analyses of knowledge structure representations and transcribed interviews within and between subjects were performed by one of the researchers and “blindly” corroborated by the other two researchers. Initial knowledge structure representations were typically linear and lacked coherence. Both types of knowledge structure representations were highly susceptible to change as a consequence of the act of teaching. Although there was some overlap between subject matter and pedagogy knowledge structures, they were reported to exert separate influences on classroom practice, with the pedagogy knowledge structure having primary influence on instructional decisions. Furthermore, the complexity of one's subject matter structure appeared to be a critical factor in determining whether the structure directly influences classroom practice.
A cross‐age study of the understanding of five chemistry concepts
Authors: Abraham Michael R. , Williamson Vickie M. , Westbrook Susan L.
Published: October 2006

A sample of 100 students from junior high school physical science, high school chemistry, and introductory college chemistry were examined for understanding of five chemistry concepts. The concepts addressed were chemical change, dissolution of a solid in water, conservation of atoms, periodicity, and phase change. The amount of experience with the concepts (grade level) and reasoning ability (developmental level) were examined as possible sources of variation in student understanding. Differences in understanding with respect to grade level were found to be significant for the concepts of chemical change, dissolution of a solid, conservation of atoms, and periodicity. However, few of the students in the college chemistry sample exhibited sound understanding of chemical change, periodicity, or phase change. The use of particulate terms (atoms, ions, molecules) increased across the grade levels. Reasoning ability proved to be a significant factor for student understanding of conservation of atoms and periodicity. An examination of the number and types of misconceptions across the grade levels revealed several interesting patterns and suggested sources for the students' alternative conceptions.
The effect of the biology critical thinking project on the development of critical thinking
Authors: Zohar Anat , Weinberger Yehudith , Tamir Pinchas
Published: October 2006

This article describes the Biology Critical Thinking (BCT) project in which carefully designed activities for developing specific critical thinking skills are incorporated into the biology curriculum. The objectives were to find out whether the BCT project contributes to the development of critical thinking skills in various biological and nonbiological topics and how it affects students' biological knowledge and classroom learning environment. The study consisted of 678 seventh graders who were assigned randomly into two groups that studied the same seventh‐grade biology textbook. Only one group, the experimental, completed the BCT activities. The results indicate that the students in the experimental group improved their critical thinking skills compared to their own initial level and compared to their counterparts in the control group. Improved critical thinking skills were observed in a new biological context and nonbiological everyday topics, suggesting generalization of thinking skills across domains. The experimental students scored significantly higher than the control on a knowledge test, suggesting that “knowledge of facts” as one educational goal and “learning to think” as another, need not conflict, but rather can interact with each other. Finally, the results show that BCT involvement decreased the frequency of teacher‐centered teaching and enhanced student‐centered, more active learning.
Experimenting in a constructivist high school physics laboratory
Authors: Roth Wolff‐Michael
Published: October 2006

Although laboratory activities have long been recognized for their potential to facilitate the learning of science concepts and skills, this potential has yet to be realized. To remediate this problem, researchers have called for constructivist learning environments in which students can pursue open inquiry and frame their own research problems. The present study was designed to describe and understand students' experimenting and problem solving in such an environment. An interpretive research methodology was adopted for the construction of meaning from the data. The data sources included videotapes, their transcripts, student laboratory reports and reflections, interviews with the students, and the teacher's course outline and reflective notes. Forty‐six students from three sections of an introductory physics course taught at a private school for boys participated in the study. This article shows the students' remarkable ability and willingness to generate research questions and to design and develop apparatus for data collection. In their effort to frame research questions, students often used narrative explanations to explore and think about the phenomena to be studied. In some cases, blind alleys, students framed research questions and planned experiments that did not lead to the expected results. We observed a remarkable flexibility to deal with problems that arose during the implementation of their plans in the context of the inquiry. These problems, as well as their solutions and the necessary decision‐making processes, were characterized by their situated nature. Finally, students pursued meaningful learning during the interpretation of data and graphs to arrive at reasonable answers of their research questions. We concluded that students should be provided with problem‐rich learning environments in which they learn to investigate phenomena of their own interest and in which they can develop complex problem‐solving skills.
Relationships between students' meaningful learning orientation and their understanding of genetics topics
Authors: Cavallo Ann M. Liberatore , Schafer Larry E.
Published: October 2006

This study explored factors predicting the extent to which high school students (N = 140) acquired meaningful understanding of the biological topics of meiosis, the Punnett‐square method, and the relationships between these topics. This study (a) examined mental modeling as a technique for measuring students' meaningful understanding of the topics, (b) measured students' predisposed, generalized tendency to learn meaningfully (meaningful learning orientation), (c) determined the extent to which students' meaningful learning orientation predicted meaningful understanding beyond that predicted by aptitude and achievement motivation, (d) experimentally tested two instructional treatments (relationships presented to students, relationships generated by students), (e) explored the relationships of meaningful learning orientation, prior knowledge, instructional treatment, and all interactions of these variables in predicting meaningful understanding. The results of correlations and multiple regressions indicated that meaningful learning orientation contributed to students' attainment of meaningful understanding independent of aptitude and achievement motivation. Meaningful learning orientation and prior knowledge interacted in unique ways for each topic to predict students' attainment of meaningful understanding. Instructional treatment had relatively little relationship to students' acquisition of meaningful understanding, except for learners midrange between meaningful and rote. These findings imply that a meaningful learning approach among students may be important, perhaps as much or more than aptitude and achievement motivation, for their acquisition of interrelated, meaningful understandings of science.
Heat energy and temperature concepts of adolescents, adults, and experts: Implications for curricular improvements
Authors: Lewis Eileen L. , Linn Marcia C.
Published: October 2006

We conducted two studies of beliefs about laboratory and everyday thermal phenomena. The first study identified concepts of heat energy and temperature held by adolescents, adults, and scientists. We found a classic separation of “school” and “everyday” knowledge in each population. We conducted clinical interviews with 37 middle school students, 9 adults, and 8 chemists and physicists to obtain their predictions and explanations of real‐world phenomena. Many students believed that metals “conduct,” “absorb,” “trap,” or “hold” cold better than other materials and that aluminum foil would be better than wool or cotton as a wrapping material to keep cold objects cold. Respondents in each group held many intuitive ideas that were well established. Although scientists made more accurate predictions than students and gave theoretical definitions of terms, they too had difficulty explaining everyday phenomena. The second study investigated the impact of a middle school science curriculum designed to help students understand everyday thermal events. We found marked improvements in posttest scores and clinical interview responses as a result of instruction that built on students' intuitions.
What college chemistry instructors and high school chemistry teachers perceive as important for incoming college students
Authors: Razali Sulaiman N. , Yager Robert E.
Published: October 2006

Professors of college chemistry were asked to rank various examples of traditional chemistry knowledge and skills as to their importance for incoming students to possess. A pilot study revealed that the items—all selected from one edition of the American Chemical Society‐National Science Teachers Association (ACS‐NSTA) Chemistry Achievement Examination—represented attributes viewed as relatively unimportant. The professors then identified 29 personal traits they considered more important for incoming students to possess. Subsequently, these items, knowledge, skill, and personal attributes, were included in a three‐part assessment instrument. The instrument was administered to 69 college chemistry professors selected at random and to 37 high school chemistry teachers. The results reveal that the college professors universally identified student personal attributes as significantly more important for incoming students to possess over specific knowledge and skills included in the ACS‐NSTA Achievement Examination. Chemistry professors do not find items commonly used to assess success in high school chemistry as important attributes for incoming students to possess. Conversely, high school chemistry teachers regard the knowledge and skill items to be more important for college preparation than personal attributes.
Testing a model of science process skills acquisition: An interaction with parents' education, preferred language, gender, science attitude, cognitive development, academic ability, and biology knowledge
Authors: Germann Paul J.
Published: October 2006

Path analysis techniques were used to test a hypothesized structural model of direct and indirect causal effects of student variables on science process skills. The model was tested twice using data collected at the beginning and end of the school year from 67 9th‐ and 10th‐grade biology students who lived in a rural Franco‐American community in New England. Each student variable was found to have significant effects, accounting for approximately 80% of the variance in science process skills achievement. Academic ability, biology knowledge, and language preference had significant direct effects. There were significant mediated effects by cognitive development, parents' education, and attitude toward science in school. The variables of cognitive development and academic ability had the greatest total effects on science process skills. Implications for practitioners and researchers are discussed.
The role of instructional variables in conceptual change in high school physics topics
Authors: Hynd Cynthia R. , McWhorter J. Yevette , Phares Virginia L. , Suttles C. William
Published: October 2006

This study was conducted to determine the effect of three variables on conceptual change in physics. Ninth and 10th‐grade students who, despite instruction, still held nonscientific intuitive ideas about the motion of objects participated in viewing a demonstration, engaged in student‐to‐student discussion, and/or read a refutational text about Newton's laws of motion. Students (N = 310) were randomly assigned within classes to eight groups representing combinations of the three activities and participated in pretesting, instruction, and posttesting. Posttest results revealed that reading the refutational text helped students change their intuitive ideas to scientific ones, while seeing a demonstration affected how students interacted with group and text on some measures. Discussing ideas in a group did not lead to significant learning of scientific notions but, rather, caused students to be less influenced by either the demonstration or the text.
Factors that influence learning during a scientific field trip in a natural environment
Authors: Orion Nir , Hofstein Avi
Published: October 2006

This study deals with the educational effectiveness of field trips. The main purpose was to obtain insight concerning factors that might influence the ability of students to learn during a scientific field trip in a natural environment. The research was conducted in the context of a 1‐day geologic field trip by 296 students in Grades 9 through 11 in high schools in Israel. The study combined qualitative and quantitative research methods. Data were collected from three different sources (student, teacher, and outside observer) in three stages (before, after, and during the field trip). Using observations and questionnaires we investigated: a) the nature of student learning during the field trip, b) student attitudes toward the field trip, and c) changes in student knowledge and attitudes after the field trip. Our findings suggest that the educational effectiveness of a field trip is controlled by two major factors: the field trip quality and the “Novelty space” (or Familiarity Index). The educational quality of a field trip is determined by its structure, learning materials, and teaching method, and the ability to direct learning to a concrete interaction with the environment. The novelty space consists of three prefield variables: cognitive, psychological, and geographic. The learning performance of students whose “Novelty Space” was reduced before the field trip was significantly higher than that of students whose “Novelty Space” had not been so reduced. Thus, the former group gained significantly higher achievement and attitude levels. It is suggested that a field trip should occur early in the concrete part of the curriculum, and should be preceded by a relatively short preparatory unit that focuses on increasing familiarity with the learning setting of the field trip, thereby limiting the “Novelty Space” factors.
What high school biology teachers say about their textbook use: A descriptive study
Authors: Digisi Lori Lyman , Willett John B.
Published: October 2006

This article reports the findings from a study that examined how high school biology teachers describe their instructional use of reading and textbooks. In the study, both quantitative and qualitative data were collected—by self‐report mail questionnaire and personal interview, respectively. Eighty percent of 184 sampled teachers responded to the questionnaire, and, of these, a subsample of 16 teachers—selected to be broadly representative of the questionnaire sample—were interviewed subsequently with their instructional materials present to increase recall. We found that biology teachers modified their use of textbooks according to the academic level of the biology class that they taught. In lower academic level classes, teachers provided students with many reading activities but expected them to learn biology content in class. In higher academic level classes, teachers expected students to learn from both independent reading and classroom instruction. Biology teachers viewed both reading and inquiry activities as important to learning biology, but they appeared unsure of how to incorporate reading comprehension strategies into their science instruction.
The effect of a role model project upon the attitudes of ninth‐grade science students
Authors: Evans Mary Ann , Whigham Myrna , Wang Morgan C.
Published: October 2006

This article will describe an in‐school intervention project that used female role models to change the attitudes of 964 Iowa girls and boys in 57 ninth‐grade science classes toward science, math, and technical curricula and careers. The differences between the students' mean pretest and posttest scores on each of six factors found to be associated with students' attitudes toward science and math and technical careers were analyzed to determine which of five experimental groups responded most positively to the intervention. Higher difference scores indicated that the attitudes of girls and boys who participated in the intervention improved more than the attitudes of girls and boys in the control groups, suggesting that the use of female role models in the science classroom is an effective way to change students' attitudes toward science, math, and related careers.
Affordances of computers in teacher‐student interactions: The case of interactive physics™
Authors: Roth Wolff‐Michael
Published: October 2006

The study reported here is part of a larger project designed to understand student learning during conversations with their teacher over and about a computer‐based Newtonian microworld (Interactive Physics™). At the focus of this report are affordances of the microworld to a teacher who engaged his students in conversations about representations of phenomenal objects and conceptual entities that constitute the microworld. The study shows how the teacher used the context of Interactive Physics™ to identify students' ways of seeing and talking science. He then implemented a series of strategies to make forces “visible” to students. Data are provided to illustrate that students' learning was not local but persistent, so that they used appropriate canonical science talk without teacher support. The conclusion focuses on Interactive Physics™ as a tool that does not embed meaning as such, but takes on meaning as part of the specific (scientific) practices in the context of which it was used.

This view of science as a discourse helps us to see scientific literacy not as the acquisition of specific facts and procedures or even as the refinement of a mental model, but as a socially and culturally produced way to thinking and knowing, with its own ways of talking, reasoning, and acting; its own norms, beliefs, and values; its own institutions; its shared history; and even its shared mythologies (Roseberry, Warren, & Conant, 1992, p. 65).
Gender differences in student attitudes toward science: A meta‐analysis of the literature from 1970 to 1991
Authors: Weinburgh Molly
Published: October 2006

A meta‐analysis covering the literature between 1970 and 1991 was conducted using an approach similar to that suggested by Glass, McGaw, and Smith (1981) and Hedges, Shymansky, and Woodworth (1989). This analysis examined gender differences in student attitudes toward science, and correlations between attitudes toward science and achievement in science. Thirty‐one effect sizes and seven correlations representing the testing of 6,753 subjects were found in 18 studies. The mean of the unweighted effect sizes was .20 (SD = .50) and the mean of the weighted effect size was .16 (SD = .50), indicating that boys have more positive attitudes toward science than girls. The mean correlation between attitude and achievement was .50 for boys and .55 for girls, suggesting that the correlations are comparable. Results of the analysis of gender differences in attitude as a function of science type indicate that boys show a more positive attitude toward science than girls in all types of science. The correlation between attitude and achievement for boys and girls as a function of science type indicates that for biology and physics the correlation is positive for both, but stronger for girls than for boys. Gender differences and correlations between attitude and achievement by gender as a function of publication date show no pattern. The results for the analysis of gender differences as a function of the selectivity of the sample indicate that general level students reflect a greater positive attitude for boys, whereas the high‐performance students indicate a greater positive attitude for girls. The correlation between attitude and achievement as a function of selectivity indicates that in all cases a positive attitude results in higher achievement. This is particularly true for low‐performance girls. The implications of these finding are discussed and further research suggested.
Subject matter knowledge, classroom management, and instructional practices in middle school science classrooms
Authors: Lee Okhee
Published: October 2006

This study examined the interrelationships among three major components of classroom teaching: subject matter content knowledge, classroom management, and instructional practices. The study involved two middle school science classes of different achievement levels taught by the same female teacher. The teacher held an undergraduate degree with a major in social studies and a minor in mathematics and science from an elementary teacher education program. The findings indicated that the teacher's limited knowledge of science content and her strict classroom order resulted in heavy dependence on the textbook and students' individual activities (e.g., seatwork) and avoidance of whole‐class activities (e.g., discussion) similarly in both classes. Implications for educational practices and further research are discussed.
From rhetoric to action: Implementing sts education through action research
Authors: Pedretti Erminia , Hodson Derek
Published: October 2006

This article outlines the arguments for an action research approach to the implementation of STS education, and describes some of the experiences and outcomes of an action research group of six teachers (one elementary, five secondary) based at The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, Toronto. The teachers' initial views, and their changing perceptions throughout the duration of the project (the 1992‐93 academic year), are presented in terms of four categories: the nature of STS education; the development of curriculum materials; personal/professional development; collaborative work. The emergence of an additional complex theme involving reinforcement, extending horizons, and building professional confidence, is considered the most significant outcome of the project.