bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
An experimental test of an extended discretion laboratory approach for university general biology
Authors: Leonard William H. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThis was an experiment to test the extended discretion laboratory approach (ED) versus a guided‐inquiry (GI) approach for teaching biology in a university setting. It had previously been found productive in a high‐school setting. The approach provides considerably less specific procedure for the students to follow than did a guided‐inquiry approach and required relatively high independence. Four hundred sixty‐nine students taking university introductory biology were randomly assigned to using either the ED learning approach or one characterized as guided inquiry for one semester. Three measures were taken to verify that instructional treatments followed the two approaches. All indicated qualitative and quantitative differences between ED and GI approaches in the direction predicted by the operational definitions. The criterion variables were (1) student scores on a multiple‐choice laboratory exam, (2) student scores on laboratory reports, and (3) student scores on six laboratory quizzes given during the semester. The only criterion variable which showed significant differences between groups (laboratory‐report scores) also showed significant group‐by‐instructor interaction. The hypothesis of no difference therefore stood unrejected for all criterion variables. Since the ED approach appears to produce equivalent learning gains in understanding of biology laboratory concepts compared to a guided‐inquiry approach, this approach should still be considered for laboratory teaching, because it purports to train for discretionary use of resources during instruction in addition to the conventional development of laboratory concepts.
Gender and science achievement: A reanalysis of studies from two meta‐analyses
Authors: Becker Betsy Jane 
Published: October 2006

AbstractData from 30 studies of the magnitude of gender differences in science achievement previously examined in two separate reviews were synthesized using modern methods for meta‐analysis. Two meta‐analysis methodologies were used: analyses of effect sizes (standardized mean differences) and vote‐counting estimation procedures. Analyses revealed that magnitudes of gender differences in science achievement varied according to the subject matter under study. Males showed significant advantages in studies of biology, general science, and physics, but significant differences were not found for studies of mixed science content, and geology and earth sciences, or in a single study of chemistry. However, in all cases the numbers of effects examining each subject‐matter area were quite small (seven or less). Also, studies which had focused on gender differences evidenced larger gender differences than other studies. Other possible predictors of the magnitudes of gender differences, such as grade level of the subjects and test length, did not account for significant amounts of variation among these study outcomes. Consequently, they also did not provide as strong an explanation of the patterns of gender differences as did subject matter and focus on gender.
Directed‐inquiry approach to learning science process skills: treatment effects and aptitude‐treatment interactions
Authors: Germann Paul J. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThe directed‐inquiry approach to learning science process skills and scientific problem solving [DIAL(SPS)2] was developed to help high‐school students gain the critical thinking skills required to solve problems in the biology lab. This curriculum integrated several learning strategies into a single approach: advance organizers, the learning cycle, concept maps, Vee diagrams, a focusing strategy, and writing. Two general questions were addressed. First, was the DIAL(SPS)2 treatment more effective than a conventional treatment? Second, was there evidence of an aptitude‐treatment interaction? Four high‐school biology classes taught by this investigator were used to test the DIAL(SPS)2 curriculum. Scheduling of students involved ability grouping. To test the curriculum in the most rigorous way, the experimental group consisted of average ability students and the comparison group consisted of above‐average students. Both the groups were pretested in August and posttested in May. In the intervening time, the experimental group received the DIAL(SPS)2 treatment while the comparison group received a more traditional approach. Analysis of covariance revealed that the DIAL(SPS)2 curriculum had no significant effect on the learning of science process skills or on cognitive development. Aptitude‐treatment interaction analyses revealed an interaction of DIAL(SPS)2 treatment and cognitive development.
An evaluation of the use of analogy, simile, and metaphor in science texts
Authors: Gilbert Steven W. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractTeaching materials with extensive analogies, similes, and metaphors were written for two high‐school biology units. Their effect on learning and attitude was assessed by a comparison to students using a literal version of the same text. Little was found to support the contention that the use of these systems increases student achievement, and there was some indication that they may have a negative effect on student attitudes.
The contribution of science locus of control orientation to expressions of attitude toward science teaching
Authors: Haury David L. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractScience locus of control (SciLOC) orientation is examined as a predictor of attitudes toward science teaching among 104 preservice elementary school teachers. SciLOC orientation refers to beliefs people hold regarding their personal efficacy, or ability to influence the outcome of events, in situations where decisions or actions require either the application of scientific knowledge or the use of reasoning skills associated with scientific thinking. A causal model that links such beliefs to attitudes toward science teaching was formulated and tested in this study. Multiple regression analysis demonstrates that 46% of the variance in attitudes toward science teaching expressed by subjects in the sample studied can be explained by SciLOC orientation. Path analysis of the proposed causal model accounts for 57% of the variance in expressed attitudes and 11% of the variance in SciLOC orientation. These results are interpreted as evidence that SciLOC orientation is a major contributor to attitudes expressed toward science teaching among preservice elementary teachers, with the major contributors to SciLOC orientation remaining to be identified. A troublesome relationship between expressed attitudes and academic performance in college science is also noted.
Enlist micros: Training science teachers to use microcomputers
Authors: Baird William E. , Ellis James D. , Kuerbis Paul J. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractA National Science Foundation grant to the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) at The Colorado College supported the design and production of training materials to encourage literacy of science teachers in the use of microcomputers. ENLIST Micros is based on results of a national needs assessment that identified 22 compentencies needed by K–12 science teachers to use microcomputers for instruction. A writing team developed the 16‐hour training program in the summer of 1985, and field‐test coordinators tested it with 18 preservice or in‐service groups during the 1985–86 academic year at 15 sites within the United States. The training materials consist of video programs, interactive computer disks for the Apple II series microcomputer, a training manual for participants, and a guide for the group leader. The experimental materials address major areas of educational computing: awareness, applications, implementation, evaluation, and resources. Each chapter contains activities developed for this program, such as viewing video segments of science teachers who are using computers effectively and running commercial science and training courseware. Role playing and small‐group interaction help the teachers overcome their reluctance to use computers and plan for effective implementation of microcomputers in the school. This study examines the implementation of educational computing among 47 science teachers who completed the ENLIST Micros training at a southern university. We present results of formative evaluation for that site. Results indicate that both elementary and secondary teachers benefit from the training program and demonstrate gains in attitudes toward computer use. Participating teachers said that the program met its stated objectives and helped them obtain needed skills. Only 33 percent of these teachers, however, reported using computers one year after the training. In June 1986, the BSCS initiated a follow up to the ENLIST Micros curriculum to develop, evaluate, and disseminate a complete model of teacher enhancement for educational computing in the sciences. In that project, we use the ENLIST Micros curriculum as the first step in a training process. The project includes seminars that introduce additional skills: It contains provisions for sharing among participants, monitors use of computers in participants' classrooms, provides structured coaching of participants' use of computers in their classrooms, and offers planned observations of peers using computers in their science teaching.
Evaluation of a model science teacher education program
Authors: Krajcik Joseph S. , Penick John E. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThis study assessed the effectiveness of one science teacher education program designed to be a model program. The study provided evidence that preservice science teacher education can have a very positive effect on the development of preservice science teachers into effective practicing teachers. Thirty program graduates completed a pilot version of the 1985 National Survey of Science and Mathematics Education providing information on course objectives, teaching strategies, equipment use, time allocation, and textbook use. The responses of program graduates were compared to the responses of a select national sample of teachers. All teachers in the comparison group were from programs in the Search for Excellence in Science Education, Presidential Award winners, recognized as outstanding state science teachers, employed as department chairs, or actively involved in the development of science curriculum. Analysis of the responses indicated that both program graduates and comparison group teachers had similar course objectives and teaching strategies, used materials and equipment a similar amount of time, and allocated class time in similar ways. In another component of the study, students of 37 program graduates completed a questionnaire that assessed their attitudes toward science teachers, science classes, and the study of science. Analysis of attitudinal data from their 2871 students indicated that students of program graduates generally had positive attitudes. For instance, 89% of the students perceived their science teacher as asking questions and 80% perceived their science teacher as letting them ask questions. In general, the data are in stark contrast to the images obtained from National Assessment efforts.
High school students' problem‐solving performance on realistic genetics problems
Authors: Slack Susie Johnston , Stewart Jim 
Published: October 2006

AbstractProblem solving is recognized as a valuable educational experience in science. Thus genetics, essentially a problem‐solving science included in almost all high school biology courses, offers a fruitful area for studying student problem‐solving performance. The research reported in this article describes the performance of 30 high school students solving 119 problems generated by the computer program GENETICS CONSTRUCTION KIT (Jungck & Calley, 1985). Solving GCK problems requires students to plan experiments, generate and interpret data, and reason from effects (phenotypic data) to causes (genotypic data). Research data consisted of transcribed audiotapes of students thinking aloud as they solved problems and computer printouts of initial data and sequence of crosses. Transcripts were analyzed for common actions and comments made during the problem‐solving process in terms of initial data redescription and interpretation, hypothesis generation, cross data redescription and interpretation, solution synthesis, and solution confirmation. This study was done in an effort to add to the understanding of student problem‐solving strategies and to develop a model of student performance—a model that when combined with a model of expert performance may serve as a basis for improving genetics instruction.
Supplemental instruction in chemistry
Authors: Lundeberg Mary A. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThis study was designed to measure some effects of supplemental instruction in chemistry. Supplemental instruction is a peer‐led cooperative learning program that encourages students to develop conceptual understanding by articulating both understandings and misconceptions in a think‐aloud fashion. Supplemental instruction was offered three hours weekly outside of class and lab time for students in four classes of General Organic and Biological Chemistry. Over a two‐year period 108 students volunteered to participate in this program; 45 students did not participate. As measured by final grades in chemistry and responses to a questionnaire, supplemental instruction was effective in increasing students' achievement in chemistry. Further research is needed to determine the in‐depth effects of supplemental instruction on students' learning, problem solving, and self‐esteem.
Children's conception of changes in the state of matter: From liquid (or solid) to gas
Authors: Stavy Ruth 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThis research examines children's (ages 9–15) conception of changes in the state of matter from liquid or solid to gas, as well as their understanding of the reversibility of this process. Children were tested for their ability to conserve matter, its identity, and its weight in tasks using evaporation of acetone and sublimation of iodine. It was found that children who recognized weight conservation in one of the tasks did not necessarily recognize the same in the second task. Students believed that gas has no weight, or that gas is lighter than the same material in its liquid or solid state. In addition, students who recognized weight conservation were not always aware of the reversibility of the process. Until the age of 12 specific perceptual input from the task (e.g., color) dramatically influenced students' responses to the conservation of weight task. The relationship between children's intuitive ideas about matter, as observed in this study, and their logical ability to conserve weight, as observed in this study, is discussed.
Three studies of factors affecting the attitudes of blacks and females toward the pursuit of science and science‐related careers
Authors: Hill Oliver W. , Pettus W. Clinton , Hedin Barbara A. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThis study involved the development of an instrument, the Science Career Predictor Scale (SCPS), which assesses seven factors thought to be involved with science career choices: teacher/counselor encouragement, participation in science‐related hobbies and activities, academic self‐image, science‐related career interest, parental encouragement and support, the perceived relevance of mathematics and science, and mathematics and science ability. This instrument was administered to a sample of 522 middle and high school students, and a sample of 185 students from an historically black university, and the effects of such factors as sex, race, personal acquaintance with a scientist, and type of community (rural or urban) on the above‐mentioned variables were ascertained using a multivariate analysis of covariance with age as the covariate. A separate study on a sample of 81 high school students looked at race and gender differences in critical thinking abilities as measured by the Watson‐Glaser Critical Thinking appraisal, and how these abilities correlated with scores on the Science Career Predictor Scale. These studies produced several significant findings. Female subjects did produce significantly lower scores on the career interest factor. Black students actually had significantly higher science‐career preference scores than their white counterparts. However, blacks scored significantly lower on the measure of critical thinking ability. Across both races and both sexes, however, the major factor affecting science‐related career decisions appears to be personal contact with a scientist. The implications of these findings are discussed, along with possible strategies for increasing the participation of these groups in science.
Building an organized knowledge base: Concept mapping and achievement in secondary school physics
Authors: Pankratius William J. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractDirect teaching of problem‐solving methods to high school physics students met with little success. Expert problem solving depended upon an organized knowledge base. Concept mapping was found to be a key to organizing an effective knowledge base. The investigation of the effect of the degree of concept mapping on achievement was the purpose of this study. Six intact high school physics classes, taught by this investigator, took part in the study. Two classes were control groups and received standard instruction. Four classes received six weeks of concept‐mapping instruction prior to the unit under study. Two of these four classes were the low‐level treatment group and were required to submit concept maps at the conclusion of the instruction. The other two classes were the high‐level treatment group and were required to submit concept maps at the beginning and at the conclusion of the unit under study. One class from each treatment group took a pretest prior to instruction. An analysis of the posttest results revealed no pretest sensitization. A one‐way analysis of covariance indicated a significant main effect for the treatment level at the p < 0.05 level. A pair of single‐df comparisons of the adjusted treatment means resulted in significant differences (p < 0.05) between the control group and the average of the treatment means as well as between the two experimental groups. It can be concluded that for this sample (upper‐middle‐class high school physics students) mapping concepts prior to, during, and subsequent to instruction led to greater achievement as measured by posttest scores.
Representational systems used by graduate students while problem solving in organic synthesis
Authors: Bowen Craig W. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractGraduate students taking a course in synthetic organic chemistry were asked to think aloud while solving several synthesis tasks. Analysis of the protocols indicated that subjects used different types of representations while problem solving. Subjects constructed solutions and communicated them through seven systems: Verbal, Pictorial, Methodological, Principles‐Oriented, Literary, Laboratory‐Oriented, and Economic. Beyond the Pictorial and Verbal systems, the most often used system was Methodological in nature—subjects believed the purpose of organic synthesis is to apply rules in a proper order until the task is solved. Subjects considered utilizing other systems of representation if they judged their results to be ambiguous when based on the Methodological system.
Intentions of science teachers to use investigative teaching methods: A test of the theory of planned behavior
Authors: Crawley Frank E. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to explore the utility of the theory of planned behavior for predicting the behavioral intentions of teachers enrolled in the Institute in Physical Science, an EESA, Title II program funded by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. In particular, the study investigated three determinants of teachers' behavioral intentions (BI) set forth in the theory of planned behavior, namely, attitude toward the behavior (AB), subjective norm (SN), and perceived behavioral control (PBC). The behavior of interest in this study was the intention of teachers in grades 5/6 or 9/10 who were enrolled in the Institute to use 50% of the activities and investigations completed in the program with students they would teach during the next school year. Data were collected from 50 elementary and secondary teachers. Simple and hierarchical regression analyses were used to determine the relative contributions of attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control (and their interactions) to the prediction of behavioral intention. Results of this study indicated that attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control made significant contributions to the prediction of behavioral intention. Examination of the data blocked on external variables revealed attitude toward the behavior to be the single most important predictor of behavioral intention. Intent to perform the behavior appears to be totally under the control of most teachers, with little need for social support and with ample resources and sufficient opportunities available to perform the behavior.
The effects of microcomputer‐based laboratory exercises on the acquisition of line graph construction and interpretation skills by high school biology students
Authors: Adams D. Daryl , Shrum John W. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractEffects of microcomputer‐based laboratories and level of cognitive development on tenth‐grade biology students' ability to construct and interpret line graphs was investigated. Fortysix students enrolled in general biology classes at a rural high school volunteered to participate in the study. These students were administered instruments to assess level of cognitive development and line‐graphing ability. Ten students that scored between zero and three and ten students that scored between six and ten on the graphing assessment were chosen to participate in the study. The 20 students were then assigned to either experimental or conventional groups to achieve a matched design with relation to gender and line‐graphing ability. Statistical analysis of the data indicated no effect due to instructional method on graph‐interpretation abilities. An instructional effect was demonstrated for graph‐construction tasks (p < 0.10) with the conventional group outperforming the microcomputer‐based laboratory group. Effect sizes of −1.01 and 0.48 were found for graph‐construction and ‐interpretation skills, respectively. Effects related to cognitive development were indicated with those students classified as high cognitive development outscoring those classified as low (p < 0.10) This was true for both graph‐construction and graph‐interpretation tasks. No two‐way interactions were found.