bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An experimental test of an extended discretion approach for high school biology laboratory investigations
Authors: Leonard William H. , Cavana Gordon R. , Lowery Lawrence F.
Published: October 2006

Discretion‐the exercise of independent judgment‐was observed to be lacking in most commercially available laboratory investigations for high school biology. An Extended Discretion (ED) laboratory approach was developed and tested experimentally against the BSCS Green Version laboratory program, using ten classes of 10th‐grade biology in a suburban California high school. Five teachers were each assigned one experimental and one control group. The primary differences between the two approaches were that the BSCS was more prescriptive and directive than the ED approach and the ED approach increased discretionary demands upon the student over the school year. A treatment verification procedure showed statistically significant differences between the two approaches. The hypothesis under test was that when high school biology students are taught laboratory concepts under comparatively high discretionary demands, they would perform as well as or better than a similar group of students taught with BSCS Green Version investigations. A second hypothesis was that teachers would prefer to use the ED approach over the BSCS approach for their future classes. A t analysis between experimental and control groups for each teacher was employed. There were significant differences in favor of the ED group on laboratory report scores for three teachers and no differences for two teachers. There were significant differences in favor of the ED group on laboratory concepts quiz scores for three teachers, no differences for one teacher, and significant differences in favor of the BSCS group for only one teacher. A t analysis of teacher evaluation of the two approaches showed a significant teacher preference overall for the ED approach. Both experimental hypotheses were accepted. The ED approach was observed to be difficult for students at first, but it was found to be a workable and productive means of teaching laboratory concepts in biology which also required extensive use of individual student discretion.
A descriptive instrument for use in investigating science laboratories
Authors: Abraham Michael R.
Published: October 2006

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a Q‐sort type instrument which is useful for obtaining descriptive information about teaching methods and curriculum materials used in the science laboratory. This instrument, The Laboratory Program Variables Inventory (LPVI), was used in a series of experiments investigating laboratory formats used in college general chemistry courses. Three possible formats were investigated: (1) verification laboratories, (2) guided inquiry laboratories, and (3) open/guided inquiry laboratories. Using several data analysis techniques, LPVI data were used to operationally define the three formats and identify specific criteria for discriminating among them. The use of the Q‐sort, in general, and the LPVI specifically, might fulfill a number of evaluation needs in science education including: (1) developing operational definition of constructs (e.g., “inquiry”), (2) diagnosing problems in curriculum development or implementation, (3) rationalizing differences in treatment groups in educational experiments, and (4) monitoring the effect of teacher education efforts.
Affective predictors of preservice science teaching behavior
Authors: Sunal Dennis W.
Published: October 2006

The study investigated affective changes in elementary preservice teachers during a formative period and related these changes to the development of specific classroom science teaching behaviors. Thirty preservice teachers were randomly selected from a population involved in a field oriented methods course program. Analysis of pre and post affective measures and concurrent measures of perception and performance of teaching behaviors during this formative period found significant developmental relationships. The results suggest the effective use of instruments measuring certain affective changes during a formative period and moderate to strong predictive effects of the development and perception of classroom teaching behaviors. The affective changes which demonstrated relationship with teaching behavior included specific aspects of interests and attitudes toward teaching science and children learning science. No relationship was found with preservice attitudes toward nature.
Analysis of an instructional unit for level of cognitive demand
Authors: Howe Ann C. , Durr Beulah P.
Published: October 2006

A section of the secondary chemistry curriculum was analyzed to determine the level of cognitive demand of the various aspects of the selected topic. Piagetian levels of thinking of 71 pupils were initially assessed by two group tests, a unit on the mole was taught, and guidelines were used to estimate the level of cognitive operations required by each concept and problem type in the unit. Results of a 23‐item test were used to compare the estimated level of cognitive demand of each test item with the Piagetian cognitive level of pupils who were able to answer the item correctly. It was found that pupil cognitive level was positively associated with overall unit test score and with percent success on all test items. Predicted levels of cognitive demand were confirmed for eight items and were within one level for nine additional items.
A causal model of students' achievement in a college physics course
Authors: Champagne Audrey B. , Klopfer Leopold E.
Published: October 2006

To explain students' achievement in the mechanics segment of a college physics course, a causal model is proposed whose variables are the three constructs: Newtonian physics, math ability, and science experience. Each variable specifies several variates, whose numerical values were measured and intercorrelations computed. The Factorial Modeling (FaM) procedure is applied to the data to estimate the coefficients of the proposed model's structural equations. The FaM results indicate that the model is plausible and that its first two variables account for approximately 34% of the variance in the criterion variate, students' mechanics achievement. The implications of the findings for physics instruction are discussed.
Persuasive communication: A theoretical model for changing the attitude of preservice elementary teachers toward metric conversion
Authors: Shrigley Robert L.
Published: October 2006

This study was based on Hovland's four‐part statement, “Who says what to whom with what effect,” the rationale for persuasive communication, a theoretical model for modifying attitudes. Part I was a survey of 139 perservice elementary teachers from which were generated the more credible characteristics of metric instructors, a central element in the “who” component of Hovland's model. They were: (1) background in mathematics and science, (2) fluency in metrics, (3) capability of thinking metrically, (4) a record of excellent teaching, (5) previous teaching of metric measurement to children, (6) responsibility for teaching metric content in methods courses and (7) an open enthusiasm for metric conversion. Part II was a survey of 45 mathematics educators where belief statements were synthesized for the “what” component of Hovland's model. It found that math educators support metric measurement because: (1) it is consistent with our monetary system; (2) the conversion of units is easier into metric than English; (3) it is easier to teach and easier to learn than English measurement; there is less need for common fractions; (4) most nations use metric measurement; scientists have used it for decades; (5) American industry has begun to use it; (6) metric measurement will facilitate world trade and communication; and (7) American children will need it as adults; educational agencies are mandating it. With the “who” and “what” of Hovland's four‐part statement defined, educational researchers now have baseline data to use in testing experimentally the effect of persuasive communication on the attitude of preservice teachers toward metrication.
Science content as an important consideration in science education research
Authors: Stewart James , Finley Fred N. , Yarroch William L.
Published: October 2006

Science education researchers have, with few exceptions, not used the conceptual content of science as an important variable in their research. Writings of two groups‐philosophers of science, “are concerned with the influence of the conceptual knowledge shared by an intellectual community on the activities of that community and the psychologists are concerned with the influence of the conceptual knowledge held by an individual on that individual's behavior”, science, are concerned with the influence of the conceptual knowledge shared by an intellectual community on the activities of that community and the psychologists are concerned with the influence of the conceptual knowledge held by an individual on that individual's behavior.

Suggestions are offered as to what kinds of science education research could be done in which the conceptual content of science is important.
Correlates of sex‐related differences in logical reasoning
Authors: Ehindero O. J.
Published: October 2006

The study utilized a post‐test‐only, no‐control experimental design to investigate the influence of sex‐related contextual nature of tasks and perceived difficulty of these tasks on logical reasoning among 70 randomly selected high schools pupils (35 boys and 35 girls) in Nigeria. Three categories of tasks were used‐those whose context were male related, those whose context were female related, and those that were relatively content‐free. Results of the study show that males scored higher than females on male‐related tasks and females scored higher on female‐related tasks. No significant difference, however, was observed on the relatively content‐free tasks. The need to design problems and tasks that are relatively nonsex‐related is discussed.
Effect of science teaching on the young child's concept of piagetian physical causality: Animism and dynamism
Authors: Wolfinger Donna M.
Published: October 2006

The purpose of this research was to determine whether the young child's understanding of physical causality is affected by school science instruction. Sixty‐four subjects, four and one‐half through seven years of age, received 300 min of instruction designed to affect the subject's conception of causality as reflected in animism and dynamism. Instruction took place for 30 min per day on ten successive school days. Pretesting was done to allow a stratified random sample to be based on vocabulary level and developmental stage as well as on age and gender. Post‐testing consisted of testing of developmental level and level within the causal relations of animism and dynamism. Significant differences (1.05 level) were found between the experimental and control groups for animism. Within the experimental group, males differed significantly (1.001 level) from females. The elimination of animism appeared to have occurred. For dynamism, significant differences (0.05 level) were found only between concrete operational subjects in the experimental and control groups, indicating a concrete level of operations was necessary if dynamism was to be affected. However, a review of interview protocols indicated that subjects classified as nonanimistic had learned to apply a definition rather than to think in a nonanimistic manner.
Benefits of naturalistic methods in research in science education
Authors: Smith Mary Lee
Published: October 2006

The author argues that naturalistic (e.g., qualitative, ethnographic) research is appropriate for studying science education. Field methods such as indepth interviewing and observation are used, and the logic of the inquiry is inductive rather than hypothetico‐deductive. The stages of naturalistic research are explained and illustrated with material from the NSF‐sponsored Case Studies in Science Education. Problems in traditional research methods (construct validity, ecological generalization) are presented as justification for inductive models or models based on multiple methods, perspectives, and operations.
Effect of language of instruction on physics achievement
Authors: Ho Kwok K.
Published: October 2006

This study investigated the relationship between physics achievement and language of instruction in a situation where instruction was in the second language of both students and teachers. One hundred and seventy‐six grade ten physics students (first language was Chinese) were selected from four classes of two secondary schools in Hong Kong. For three months (with four lessons per week), two classes of students learned the content material (light and sound) in Chinese and two classes learned the material in English. Group differences were controlled by using individual aptitude scores as covariates in the analysis. There were no differences in achievement, students' motivation, and effort spent in physics in that controlled teaching period. This was probably because the Anglo‐Chinese group was sufficiently proficient in English so they did not encounter additional difficulty in learning physics when compared with the Chinese group.
The acquisition of formal operational schemata during adolescence: The role of the biconditional
Authors: Lawson Anton E.
Published: October 2006

To test the hypothesis that the basic “logic” utilized by individuals in scientific hypothesis testing is the biconditional (if and only if), and that the biconditional is a precondition for the development of formal operations, a sample of 387 students in grades eight, ten, twelve, and college were administered eight reasoning items. Five of the items involved the formal operational schemata of probability, proportions and correlations. Two of the items involved propositions and correlations. Two of the items involved propositional logic. One item involved the biconditional. Percentages of correct responses on most of the items increased with age. A principal‐component analysis revealed three factors, two of which were identified as involving operational thought, one of which involved propositional logic. As predicted, the biconditional reasoning item loaded on one of the operational thought factors. A Guttman scale analysis of the items failed to reveal a unidimensional scale, yet the biconditional reasoning item ordered first supporting the hypothesis that it is a precondition for formal operational reasoning. Implications for teaching science students how to test hypotheses are discussed.
Science education: A meta‐analysis of major questions
Authors: Anderson Ronald D. , Kahl Stuart R. , Glass Gene V , Smith Mary Lee
Published: October 2006

A multi‐institutional endeavor was initiated to integrate the findings of extant research studies directed toward the major science education research questions. The research questions were selected by a largely empirical process of identifiying the most frequently researched questions in the literature. These questions were assigned to various researchers who developed coding sheets and procedures with many features in common. This article describes the overall operation of the project, the research questions identified, and some rudiments of meta‐analysis. The results of the several meta‐analysis are reported in the other articles of this issue of the Journal. The final article in this issue deals with research topics for which data are drawn from one or more of the separate meta‐analyses.
A consolidation and appraisal of science meta‐analyses
Authors: Anderson Ronald D.
Published: October 2006

This article is directed to consolidating information on selected matters reported in two or more of the separate meta‐analysis reported in this issue of the Journal and examining the relationship between the results of these meta‐analyses and other work of this nature reported in other places. A high degree of consistency was found among the results of these various meta‐analyses.
A study of the perceptual orientation of community college students and their attitudes toward science as they relate to science achievement
Authors: Crow Linda W. , Piper Martha K.
Published: October 2006

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptual orientation and attitudes toward science of freshman community college students and the relationship of these characteristics toward science achievement. It was found that perceptual orientation (field independence‐dependence) was related to attitudes toward science. In addition, it was found that students who were field independent and possessed a positive attitude toward science scored significantly higher on the science achievement test than students who were field dependent and possessed a negative attitude toward science.
An analysis of research studies in which “homemade” achievement instruments were utilized
Authors: Hastings Jean , Stewart James
Published: October 2006

This article will have as its focus a problem described by Anderson, namely, the quality of the construction and reporting of research that contains “homemade” achievement tests. The current status of homemade achievement tests was examined in this study. Research reports in two science education journals were analyzed, using Anderson's eight categories of information that a high quality research report should include. The journals examined were Journal of Research in Science Teaching and Science Education from January 1975 to January 1980. The findings indicate that reliability estimates and the procedures for selecting test items were mentioned more frequently in the science education journals than in Anderson's study. However, there was little or no improvement in describing the relation of test items to instruction. These findings should be of interest both to researchers who are utilizing “homemade” achievement tests in their studies and to journal panels who are reviewing studies for publication.
An experimental study of a BSCS‐style laboratory approach for university general biology
Authors: Leonard William H.
Published: October 2006

A Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) inquiry approach for university general biology laboratory was tested experimentally against a well‐established commercial program which was judged to be highly directive. The experimental approach made systematic use of science processes, development of concepts via questioning, and of requirements on the student to exercise discretion. Experimental group students scored similarly to comparison group students on a pretest of biological concepts, but scored significantly higher (p < 0.005) when the same test was given at the end of the semester.
Teachers' self report as an alternative strategy for the study of classroom transactions
Authors: Tamir Pinchas
Published: October 2006

The Self Lesson Report Form (SLRF) was designed as an alternative either to direct classroom observation or to commonly used questionnaires in which students and/or teachers report on general practices used in their classes. In the SLRF teachers report what happened in their last lesson. Certain items are structured while others are open. A special procedure was developed for the analysis of the open answers. A high level of reliability was obtained by comparing results of teachers' and observers' reports on the same lesson. Two hundred and fifty SLRF's were analyzed and the results are reported to illustrate the kind of information which can be obtained with this instrument. It was found that, on the average, junior high science classes in Israel are inquiry oriented, have abundance of discussions and hands‐on laboratory activities which are closely supervised by the teachers.
Saudi arabian students' chemistry achievement and science attitudes stemming from lecture‐demonstration and small group teaching methods
Authors: Harty Harold , Al‐Faleh Nasser
Published: October 2006

The study was designed to determine differences between two chemistry teaching methods on students' chemistry achievement and attitudes toward science. The two methods were the large lecture‐demonstration and small‐group laboratory approaches to teaching chemistry. The subjects were 74 eleventh‐grade Saudi Arabian students randomly assigned to the two treatment groups. The findings revealed that the small‐group laboratory students exhibited significantly greater chemistry achievement than students in the lecture‐demonstration group on both immediate and delayed posttests. The results also indicated that students taught by the lab approach possessed more desirable attitudes toward science.
The effectiveness of laboratory photomicrography for studying microbiology in Nigerian secondary schools
Authors: Ali Anthony
Published: October 2006

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effects of using laboratory photomicrography as a motivational technique in the teaching‐learning processes involved in the study of microbiology in Nigerian secondary schools. This was done by comparing the posttest scores and the questionnaire responses made by three equal groups of randomly sampled and assigned students taught the same microbiology content material by lectures and photomicrography used as an adjunct to the laboratory, lectures, and laboratory activities and lectures alone. Each group was taught by a different microbiology teacher. The results of this study, as shown in Tables I through V permitted the conclusion that students taught microbiology by lectures with photomicrography activities achieved the highest posttest mean score and expressed the opinion that they were highly motivated by this teaching method. Students taught microbiology by lectures with laboratory activities achieved lower mean posttest score and expressed the opinion that they were only fairly motivated by this teaching approach. Students taught microbiology by lectures alone achieved the lowest mean posttest score and expressed the opinion that they were least motivated by this teaching approach.
Attitude measurement: Judging the emotional intensity of likert‐type science attitude statements
Authors: Shrigley Robert L. , Koballa Thomas R.
Published: October 2006

Emotional intensity, that readiness of a teacher to respond favorably or unfavorably toward such psychological objects as science or the teaching of science, is the quality that distinguishes the attitude concept from other related psychological concepts. It would seem, then, that valid attitude statements, if they are to reflect the definition of attitude, would evoke emotional intensity, responses in both a favorable and unfavorable direction by a group of teachers on each item on a science attitude scale. Science educators who design or modify science attitude scales should continue using item‐total correlations and other quantitative techniques to test for emotional intensity, but qualitative judgments are necessary, too. In addition, the frequency distribution of data generated by each statement should be examined for skewness and high percentages of neutral responses, both of which can impair the emotional intensity of an item.
Differential effects of verbal aptitude and study questions on comprehension of science concepts
Authors: Holliday William G. , Whittaker Harold G. , Loose Kenneth D.
Published: October 2006

Selective attention models predict that verbatim study questions can divert students from meaningfully encoding attributes of science concepts. The aptitude‐treatment interaction (ATI) hypothesis predicts that such questions can be particularly dysfunctional to low‐ability students. These predictions assume the measurement of true comprehension of concepts as a criterion. Eighth‐grade students (n = 217) were randomly assigned to a text‐only, text‐question or a placebo treatment. The text verbally described five fossil types. The questions consisted of 28 fill‐in‐the‐blank queries about the text. The posttest required students to visually identify and discriminate 40 fossil specimens as to fossil type. Comprehension of the concepts clearly took place‐a fact substantiated by the very low scores obtained by the placebo group. As predicted (p < 0.05), low‐verbal students performed better when provided with a text‐only rather than a text‐question treatment. In contrast, high‐verbal students were less effected by the verbatim study questions. Main effects among these groups were also detected. Apparently such questions can overprompt students, resulting in their copying of words from a text to an answer‐blank without semantically encoding (i.e., comprehending) the copied words.
Validation of the Test of energy concepts and values for high school
Authors: Holden Constance C. , Barrow Lloyd H.
Published: October 2006

The Test of Energy Concepts and Values (TECV) was developed to assess knowledge about and attitudes towards energy for grades 9–12. The TECV, a modification of the Energy Knowledge and Attitude Test,

See: National Assessment of Educational Progress. Energy knowledge and attitudes: a national assessment of energy awareness among young adults. Denver, CO: Education Commission of the States, 1978.

consisted of 35 knowledge and 39 attitude items. The reliability for the attitude and knowledge sections was 0.70 and 0.76, respectively. Factor analysis was done for the attitude and knowledge sections separately. Item comparison showed that TECV students responses were very similar to the young adults response to the National Assessment instrument.
Teaching concepts of energy to nigerian children in the 7–11 year‐old age range
Authors: Urevbu Andrew O.
Published: October 2006

This study investigated the level of concept attainment of selected energy concepts for possible inclusion in the Nigerian (Bendel State) Primary Science Project (BPSP). Using an experimental design suggested by Solomon (1949), subjects were taught energy concepts at three levels—descriptive, comparative and quantitative. Results showed that levels of concept comprehension were hierarchical with a signficant decrease in achievement from descriptive to comparative and quantitative concepts. The results of this study suggest the need to describe levels of concept for particular grades in the elementary school curriculum and to match curriculum with thinking strategies of children.
The effects of question types in textual reading upon retention of biology concepts
Authors: Leonard William H. , Lowery Lawrence F.
Published: October 2006

Do instructional questions to students enhance learning? If so, do certain types of questions cause greater learning outcomes than others? The area of instructional questions and questioning strategies has generated much research over the past two decades. A number of studies have found instructional questions to account for a large fraction of teaching time (Bellack et al., 1963; Schreiber, 1967; Moyer, 1967). Teacher use of oral questions in instruction, especially higher level cognitive questions, has consistently shown positive effects on student achievement (Redfield & Rousseau, 1981). Questions asked after oral prose presentations in psychology have been found to enhance recall of factual information (Sefkow & Meyers, 1980). Some large teacher training programs have specific instruction in questioning strategies (Lanier & Davis, 1972; Lowery, 1974). Questioning in textual reading has also been investigated, especially in the social sciences and languages, with respect to both the presence of questions in a text and the position and type of such questions. Although there are conflicting results, in general, questions placed within text materials have appeared to cause significantly higher performance than reading the materials without questions (Rothkopf & Bisbicos, 1967; Rothkopf & Bloom, 1970; Watts & Anderson, 1971; Quellmalz, 1972; Reynolds, Standiford, & Anderson, 1979; Corrozi, 1971). Questions placed after the reading have been found to be significantly more productive than prequestions, or questions placed immediately before the reading passages (Rothkopf & Bisbicos, 1967; Frase, Patrick, & Schumer, 1970; Watts & Anderson, 1971). In one study, placing questions before the associated information reduced paragraph reading time from the time required when questions followed the information passage (Morasky & Wilcox, 1970). Finally, higher level cognitive post‐ and prequestions (comprehensive and application) have consistently produced more learning than recall and factual questions (Watts & Anderson, 1971; Falker, 1974; Rickards, 1974, 1976). The effect of placing questions directly within textual narrative has been much less researched than the issue of placing questions before or after the reading passage. The effect of this interspersed questioning strategy as part of science textbooks is apparently unresearched to date. The purpose of the research reported here was to determine the relative effects of certain question types when these questions were interspersed throughout the reading passage in textual materials for students in university introductory biology. It was hypothesized for experimental purposes that students reading a passage in biology concepts with specific types of interspersed questions would comprehend and retain no more of that passge than students reading the same passage without interspersed questions.
Validation of the attitude toward women in science scale for early adolescents
Authors: Erb Thomas Owen , Smith Walter S.
Published: October 2006

The purpose of this study was to measure attitude of adolescents toward women in science careers. To do so, researchers in the Career Oriented Modules to Explore Topics in Science Project validated a 27‐item instrument, the Women in Science Scale (WiSS). The scale had high reliability whether measured by estimates of internal consistency or test‐retest reliability. The validity was established using the known groups and correlates procedures. The test clearly distinguished between known groups and resulted in the predicted pattern of correlations with measures of other constructs. The WiSS could prove to be a valuable instrument for basic research or curriculum evaluation where adolescent attitude toward women in science careers is a variable of interest.
Models and procedures: Teaching for transfer of pendulum knowledge
Authors: Wollman Warren
Published: October 2006

In an exploratory study, education majors in a physical science course were given a set of tasks analogous to a given, solved prototype‐task to see how transfer items were handled. Some students were given a conceptual model along with the solved prototype. Others were given a general procedure for applying the conceptual model to the transfer items. The procedure helped considerably for the transfer items least like the prototype item. The model alone was also effective for certain items. In the absence of both model and procedure, students' problem solving was usually incoherent or self‐contradictory. Presenting additional solved items helped marginally on an exceptionally novel item. Students' main source of difficulty, given the model and procedure, was that they were distracted by prior, concrete experience and thus failed to follow the procedure. For most students, this difficulty could readily be overcome. A small proportion (10–15%) of students had more profound difficulties.
Effects of method and format on subjects' responses to a control of variables reasoning problem
Authors: Staver John R.
Published: October 2006

Excessive time and training demands have rendered Piaget's clinical method of reasoning assessment impractical for researchers and science teachers who work with large numbers of students. The published literature

See: Lawson, A. E. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 1978, 15(1), 11‐24; Shayer, M., Adey, P., & Wylam, H. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 1981, 18(2), 157‐168; Staver, J. R., & Gabel, D. L. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 1979, 16(6), 534‐544; Tobin, K. G., & Capie, W. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 1981, 41(2), 413‐424.

indicates that reliable, valid alternatives to clinical assessment are feasible. However, the overestimate/underestimate of reasoning for different methods and formats remains unresolved through research. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of various methods and formats on subjects' responses to a Piagetian reasoning problem requiring control of variables. The task chosen for this investigation was the Mealworm problem.

See: Karplus, R., Lawson, A., Wollman, W., Appel, M., Bernoff, R., Howe, A., Rusch, J., & Sullivan, F. Science teaching and the development of reasoning. Berkeley, CA: University of California, 1977.

The task was presented by three methods: (1) individual clinical interview; (2) group presentation of task followed by paper‐and‐pencil problem with illustration; and (3) group administration of paper‐and‐pencil instrument with illustration. Each method included four formats: (1) completion answer with essay justification; (2) completion answer with multiplechoice justification; (3) multiple‐choice answer with essay justification; and (4) multiple‐choice answer with multiple‐choice justification. Two hundred and fifty‐three (253) students who were enrolled in a freshman level biological science class participated in the study. The research design was a 3 × 4 factorial design with method and format of assessment as the main effects. The participants were in 12 randomly selected laboratory or discussion sections, and each section was randomly assigned to a cell in the research design. Regression analysis with the individual as the unit of analysis showed that format but not method of assessment accounted for a significant amount of variance in student performance. The overall interaction was nonsignificant. Regression analysis with sections as the unit of analysis revealed nonsignificant findings for both method and format. The interrater agreement in the scoring of the Mealworm task was 82.1%. The principal conclusion is that format but not method of task administration influenced the performance of subjects, and the influence is similar for various combinations of method and format. Discussion is focused on the relative importance of the nonsignificant and significant findings for using alternative methods of Piagetian assessment. The results are also discussed with respect to earlier work, and suggestions for future research as well as implications for teachers are set forth.
The effects of an environmental studies course on the defensibility of environmental attitudes
Authors: Kinsey Thomas G. , Wheatley Jack H.
Published: October 2006

Two different study sites (University of Maryland at College Park and State University College at Buffalo) were examined to see if the completion of an environmental studies course affected the defensibility of environmental attitudes. The general trend was toward a more defensible attitude (one with more informational supports). These observations support a hypothetical connection between the cognitive and affective domain and suggest that after being exposed to environment content, student attitudes should be examined for stronger attitudinal supports rather than large changes in attitudes.
Cultural diversity and differences in formal reasoning ability
Authors: Lawson Anton E. , Bealer Jonathan M.
Published: October 2006

To test the hypothesis that cultural diversity contributes to the development of formal reasoning, samples of adolescents from three predominately white middle‐class communities located in areas that varied in the extent to which they offered cultural diversity (i.e., rural, suburan homogeneous, suburban heterogeneous) were administered a test of formal reasoning and a test of analytical intelligence. Results showed significant differences in formal reasoning in favor of the suburban heterogeneous sample on complex reasoning items. The suburban groups showed equal performance (but superior to the rural Ss) on the test of analytical intelligence. On the less complex reasoning items and on one item embedded in a rural farming context, the rural Ss showed relatively better performance. Implications for using science instruction to promote formal reasoning are discussed.
Concerns based adoption model (CBAM): Basis for an elementary science methods course
Authors: Malone Mark R.
Published: October 2006

This study assessed the effectiveness of conducting an elementary science methods course based on the Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM) upon the concerns and attitudes of pre‐service elementary teachers (PSTs). PSTs were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups. The three groups included a traditional science methods course, a course based on the theoretical development of concerns, and a course based on the actual measured concerns about teaching an elementary science methods course. Hypotheses were tested to determine if the traditional or either concerns based science methods course was more effective in improving attitudes or advancing PST concerns about teaching science. Two instruments—; The Stages of Concern Questionnaire and the Science Teacher Attitude Scales—; were used to gather pretest, posttest, and delayed posttest data. Analysis of study results indicated that PST attitude toward science and science teaching improved and concerns about teaching science shifted from lower to higher stages of concern in all three treatment groups as predicted by Concerns Theory. However, none of the methods courses proved superior in affecting concerns or attitudes of pre‐service teachers. The study concludes that either one semester is too short a time to affect the desired shifts in attitudes and concerns, or that the diagnostic instruments currently available to measure concerns and attitudes are not sensitive or specific enough to measure subtle changes of interest in a research study. The author suggests that research instruments be developed specifically for preservice teachers for this purpose.
Aptitude‐treatment interaction research in science education
Authors: Koran Mary Lou , Koran John J.
Published: October 2006

Individual differences among learners constitute an important class of variables for research on instruction. Their study has been of interest because measures of these variables usually predict learning outcome. There is renewed interest in this fact today because aptitudes now often appear to interact with instructional outcomes, relating differently to learning outcomes under different instructional treatments. Practical interest for science educators stems from the possibility that such interactions may be used to adapt science instruction to fit different learners optimally. Aptitude‐treatment interactions (ATI) have been the subject of many studies in recent years and a wide variety of ATI findings are now in hand establishing the existence of ATI as a phenomena. Continuing research in this area will hopefully lead toward improved theory and practice to explain and to use aptitude for science instructional purposes. This article identifies promising areas of ATI research as well as general methodological guidelines for interested science educators.
Using propositions from clinical interviews as variables to compare student knowledge
Authors: Finley Fred N.
Published: October 2006

During the past several years interest in using clinical interviews to assess students conceptual knowledge has increased. However, using clinical interviews when research questions require quantitative comparisons has been difficult. The central difficulty is to construct variables that can be used to quantify and statistically compare the results of interviews while maintaining exactly what student conceptions are associated with each variable. The purpose of this article is to present a technique for constructing variables that overcomes this difficulty. The technique involves the representation of each proposition a student uses in terms of a standard set of underlying predicates, concepts, and relationships among concepts. Each proposition represented in these standard terms can be used as a variable to quantitatively compare the knowledge of students as expressed in clinical interviews.
Social issues in high school biology textbooks: 1963– 1983
Authors: Rosenthal Dorothy B.
Published: October 2006

Twenty‐two high school biology textbooks published between 1963 and 1983 were analyzed for their treatment of social issues. Textbooks were selected from among those used most frequently by teachers and/or having the highest sales. The textbooks were read in random order and the amount of space, to the nearest tenth of a page, devoted to each social issue was expressed as a percentage of total length of text. The results showed that attention to social issues decreased between 1963 and 1983 in the textbooks studied. The implications of these results for biology education in the 1980s are discussed.
The relationship between science process abilities of teachers and science achievement of students: An experimental study
Authors: Aiello‐Nicosia M. L. , Sperandeo‐Mineo R. M. , Valenza M. A.
Published: October 2006

The objective of this experimental study is to investigate the relationships among science teacher characteristics and student outcomes. The selected characteristics of teachers are their understanding of science processes and their ability to control variables, and the outcomes of students are the achievement in science contents and processes. The results support the hypothesized relationships and show that the teacher ability to control variables is a more valuable characteristic than the understanding of science processes for student achievement. Conclusions are drawn about the implications for the education of science teachers.
Comparison of anxiety levels of students in introductory earth science and geology courses
Authors: Westerback Mary E. , Gonzalez Clemencia , Primavera Louis H.
Published: October 2006

Students in geology and earth science courses were not anxious about taking these courses as measured by the State‐Triat Anxiety Inventory. Students in each course were split into two grade groups. It was shown that students whose grades were in the higher group had low anxiety, which continued to be reduced during the course. Students in the lower grade group had high anxiety, which increased during the course. There was no difference between anxiety scores of males and females. In general, students who planned to elect additional courses had lower state anxiety and higher grades than students who did not plan to elect additional courses in geology and earth science.
Meta‐analysis of cognitive preferences and learning
Authors: Tamir Pinchas
Published: October 2006

Most of the articles and dissertations dealing with cognitive preferences which were written since the invention of the construct in the early 1960s have been reviewed. Fifty‐four of them were found suitable for meta‐analysis. The meta‐analysis presents means and standard deviations of reliabilities, correlations, standard scores, and effect sizes. The effects and relationships of cognitive preferences and important school and learning related variables were studied. The results provide base line data for comparative purposes and offer empirical evidence which support the construct validity of cognitive preferences.
Identification and description of the momentum effect in studies of learning: An abstract science concept
Authors: Kwon Jae‐Sool , Mayer Victor J.
Published: October 2006

Several studies of the validity of the intensive time series design have revealed a post‐intervention increase in the level of achievement data. This so called “momentum effect” has not been demonstrated through the application of an appropriate analysis technique. The purpose of this study was to identify and apply a technique that would adequately represent and describe such an effect if indeed it does occur, and to use that technique to study the momentum effect as it is observed in several data sets on the learning of the concept of plate tectonics. Subsequent to trials of several different analyses, a segmented straight line regression analysis was chosen and used on three different data sets. Each set revealed similar patterns of inflection points between lines with similar time intervals between inflections for those data from students with formal cognitive tendencies. These results seem to indicate that this method will indeed be useful in representing and identifying the presence and duration of the momentum effect in time series data on achievement. Since the momentum effect could be described in each of the data sets and since its presence seems a function of similar circumstances, support is given for its presence in the learning of abstract scientific concepts for formal cognitive tendency students. The results indicate that the duration of the momentum effect is related to the level of student understanding tested and the cognitive level of the learners.
The importance of the form of student acquisition of data in physics learning cycles
Authors: Renner John W. , Abraham Michael R. , Birnie Howard H.
Published: October 2006

The learning cycle is a method of teaching–it is also a curriculum organization principle. Although Jean Piaget contributed to its formation (Piaget, 1973), its present structure has to be attributed to Dr. Robert Karplus and the persons who developed the materials of the Science Curriculum Improvement Study. It was through the SCIS activities that many of us learned how to develop curricula and teach with the learning cycle.
The effects of reasoning, use of models, sex type, and their interactions on posttest achievement in chemical bonding after constant instruction
Authors: Staver John R. , Halsted Douglas A.
Published: October 2006

The purpose of the authors in this study was to determine the effects of reasoning, use of models during testing, and sex type on posttest achievement in chemical bonding under controlled instruction. Eighty‐four high school students taking chemistry were randomly assigned within their classes to models and no models groups for the posttest. Reasoning capabilities were assessed by the Piagetian Logical Operations Test (PLOT) (Staver & Gabel, JRST, Vol. 16, No. 6, 1979), prior to instruction. All students then received the same instruction on chemical bonding which included teacher demonstrations of concepts with three‐dimensional molecular models, interspersed teacher questions during the introduction and development of concepts, student manipulation of three‐dimensional molecular models during laboratory experiments, and text reading assignments on concepts prior to their instruction in class. The posttest on molecular geometry and shape contained three sections requiring memory and application (Bloom, Taxonomy of educational objective, handbook I: Cognitive domain. New York: David McKay, 1956). Data were analyzed by regression (Nie et al., Statistical package for the social sciences, 2nd ed. New York: McGraw‐Hill, 1975). Results indicate that reasoning accounted for a significant portion (p < 0.05) of the variance in the total score, memory score, and application score, but not on the synthesis score of the posttest. Use of models and sex type did not account for a significant (p > 0.05) portion of the variance on total scores or any section of posttest. The three‐way interaction of reasoning, model usage, and sex type accounted for a significant portion (p < 0.05) of the variance in total scores, and in the memory and application sections of the posttest. Discussion focused on the results, conclusions, and implications for science teaching.