bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Student task involvement in activity oriented science
Authors: Tobin Kenneth 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThe focus of this investigation was on relationships between teaching behaviors and student engagement in 13 middle school science classes. The results indicated that seven managerial variables and four instructional variables were significantly related to student engagement rates. Also the types of tasks allocated by teachers in science lessons were significantly related to the types of tasks undertaken by students. A canonical correlation analysis indicated significant relationships between three allocated task dimensions and three student engagement dimensions. Although teachers allocated adequate time for students to engage in investigation planning, data collecting, and data processing, the results indicated that overt engagement was prevalent only when data were collected. Attending was the predominant type of student engagement when investigations were planned and data were processed. The percentage of student time on task was approximately 63%. Rates of student off task behavior tended to be consistently high across all types of allocated tasks.
Mendelian genetics: Paradigm, conjecture, or research program
Authors: Oldham V. , Brouwer W. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractKuhn's model of the structure of scientific revolutions, Popper's hypothetic‐deductive model of science, and Lakatos's methodology of competing research programs are applied to a historical episode in biology. Each of these three models offers a different explanatory system for the development, neglect, and eventual acceptance of Mendel's paradigm of inheritance. The authors conclude that both rational and nonrational criteria play an important role during times of crisis in science, when different research programs compete for acceptance. It is suggested that Kuhn's model, emphasizing the nonrational basis of science, and Popper's model, emphasizing the rational basis of science, can be used fruitfully in high school science courses.
Creativity in a cooperative group setting
Authors: Foster Gerald W. , Penick John E. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThis study was to determine whether cooperative small groups would stimulate creativity of fith and sixth grade students more than an individualized learning environment. Student aptitudes for creative and academic work were assessed on the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (Verbal Form A), analysis of student created electrical circuit diagrams, and a batteries and bulbs prediction test. A measure of student perceptions was also used to indicate any changes in attitudes toward the science activity and learning environment. A posttest control group design was used with 11 I fifth and sixth grade students. Half of the population worked by themselves, while the other half (experimental) worked in a student‐structured environment on the same science activity which involved creating as many different types of electrical circuits from a given set of batteries and bulbs as possible. An overall conclusion is that fifth and sixth grade students working within small cooperative groups can be more creative as measured by a figural creativity test with electrical circuits than students working alone. The implication of this study is that small cooperative groups as well as individualized groups should be used in elementary science classes when creativity is one of the instructional objectives.
The effects of classroom climate on college science students: A replication study
Authors: Haukoos Gerry D. , Penick John E. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThis replication studied the effect of two specific classroom climates on learning of science process skills and content achievement in college science classes. Two classroom climates were established and designated as discovery classroom climate (DCC) and nondiscovery classroom climate (NDCC). The term discovery denotes the degree of freedom the teacher established in classroom interactions, both verbal and nonverbal. Verbal interactions were monitored with the Science Laboratory Interaction Categories. These data indicate that students in the two classroom climates achieved equally as well on learning of biological content of the course and on scores in science process skills as measured by the Welch Science Process Inventory. This study indicates students in the less directive discovery climate learned as much content as a more directive comparison class—they lost nothing of what is traditionally sought in a college science class. Differences between the original and the replication study on the Science Process Inventory were noted.
The effects of controversy, concurrence seeking, and individualistic learning on achievement and attitude change
Authors: Johnson Roger , Brooker Charlotte , Stutzman James , Hultman Donald , Johnson David W. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThe effects of cooperative‐controversy, cooperative‐concurrence seeking, and individualistic learning were compared on motivation, achievement, and attitudes toward the science subject being studied. Eighty‐four fifth‐grade students were assigned to conditions on a stratified random basis controlling for sex and reading ability. In all three conditions students studied whether wolves should or should not be a protected species. The results indicate that cooperative‐controversy resulted in the highest achievement, greatest motivation to learn more about wolves, more positive attitudes toward the wolf, and more positive attitudes toward controversy.
Prediction of the science inquiry skill of seventeen‐year‐olds: A test of the model of educational productivity
Authors: Rakow Steven J. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThe study was designed to investigate the influence of student characteristics and classroom characteristics on students' inquiry skill. The sample consisted of a national stratified random sample of 1955 17‐year‐olds who were assessed as part of the 1981‐1982 national assessment in science. The dependent variable was a 17‐item measure of students' inquiry skill. The independent variables were selected from the available data using the Model of Educational Productivity as a guide in the selection of the variables. The first purpose of the study was to test the effectiveness of the Model of Educational Productivity for predicting the inquiry skill of 17‐year‐olds. The results of this study indicate that this model was capable of accounting for between 24 and 32% of the variance in inquiry skill for the general population of 17‐year‐olds. More specifically, students' reporting of their general ability alone accounted for between 17 and 22% of the variance. The second question posed by this study asked whether the prediction of inquiry skill differed for males and females. While there was some difference in the contribution of the minor predictors, there was very little difference in the prediction of inquiry skill for males and females using the Model of Education Productivity. The third question posed by this study asked whether the prediction of inquiry skill differed for white and nonwhite students. For nonwhite students, the Model of Educational Productivity accounted for only 18% of the variance in science inquiry skill. Thus, it would appear that there is a great deal that is not known about the factors that contribute to the science inquiry skill of nonwhite students.
The effects of matching instructional strategy with selected student characteristics on ninth grade physical science students' attitudes and achievement
Authors: Trout John S. , Crawley Frank E. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThe study investigated the benefits of a matching model of instruction for students enrolled in ninth grade physical science classes in one high school in a small, urban school district. Based on social learning theory, three independent variables were identified for purposes of matching: need level, cognitive style, and locus of control; attitude and achievement outcomes served as the dependent variables. Results of separate analyses of covariance revealed that attitude toward science in general improved with matching, but achievement, attitude toward physical science, attitude toward instruction, and attitude toward the teacher did not improve. Recommendations for subsequent “matching” experiments are discussed in light of the findings in this investigation.
Elementary science education library resources in graduate and undergraduate teacher education programs of new England
Authors: Barrow Lloyd H. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to compare elementary science education library resources available in graduate and undergraduate teacher education institutions in New England. A 31‐item survey was sent to teacher education institutions certified to prepare elementary teachers. The survey had four components: (1) services (i.e., ERIC, computer search, etc.), (2) journal holdings/science (i.e., Science and Children, Science Education, etc.), and nonscience (i.e., Reading Teacher, Instructor, etc.), (3) resources available (i.e., elementary science textbooks, audio‐visual materials, computer software, etc.), and (4) an open‐ended question about what major resources were needed to help prepare preservice students to teach science. There was a 72% return rate from the 87 institutions. Data were analyzed by the FREQUENCIES and ONEWAY subprograms of SPSSX. Less than 34% of the non‐graduate libraries had ERIC microfiche available, Dissertation Abstracts, and computer search capabilities services. There was significant difference between graduate and nongraduate institutions journal holdings for science education journals and indexes. The surveyed libraries had more elementary science textbooks published prior to 1980 than those published after 1980 and were severely lacking in computer software.
The effects of computer‐assisted instruction and locus of control upon preservice elementary teachers' acquisition of the integrated science process skills
Authors: Wesley Beth Eddinger , Krockover Gerald H. , Devito Alfred 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to determine the effects of computer‐assisted instruction (CAI) versus a text mode of programmed instruction (PI), and the cognitive style of locus of control, on preservice elementary teachers' achievement of the integrated science process skills. Eighty‐one preservice elementary teachers in six sections of a science methods class were classified as internally or externally controlled. The sections were randomly assigned to receive instruction in the integrated science process skills via a microcomputer or printed text. The study used a pretest‐posttest control group design. Before assessing main and interaction effects, analysis of covariance was used to adjust posttest scores using the pretest scores. Statistical analysis revealed that main effects were not significant. Additionally, no interaction effects between treatments and loci of control were demonstrated. The results suggest that printed PI and tutorial CAI are equally effective modes of instruction for teaching internally and externally oriented preservice elementary teachers the integrated science process skills.
The language of science and preferential thinking styles: A comparison between hindi speaking students (in India) and english speaking students (in Tasmania)
Authors: Lynch P. P. , Chipman H. H. , Pachaury A. C. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractA study of science textbooks and students' responses indicates that many key concepts are treated at different levels of meaning. As a consequence of these observations we have attempted to examine what we have termed students' “preferential thinking style.” To do this, the level of meaning that students preferred when thinking about each of 16 key concept definitions associated with the theme, the nature of matter, was measured for each concept. The same concept definitions had already been studied in respect to students' ability to recognize them. Each of the 16 concept terms was formulated at the three levels of meaning defined by us as: membership, partial association, and generalization. The resulting test of preferential thinking style was administered to representative samples of Hindi‐speaking high school students in India (826) and English‐speaking high school students in Tasmania (1635). Some marked changes in the relative development of preferential thinking styles for the two groups were observed which raises questions associated with the importance of this notion as an outcome of science teaching.
The student opinion survey in chemistry: Some cross‐national data
Authors: Schibeci R. A. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThis paper reports data on student attitudes to chemistry obtained with the Student Opinion Survey in Chemistry (SOSC). These data were obtained as part of an evaluation of the Australian Academy of Science's School Chemistry Project, a project to develop chemistry curriculum materials for the last two years of high school in Australia. The results obtained in the present study are compared with those reported by Heikkinen (“A study of factors influencing student attitudes towards the study of high school chemistry,” Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Maryland, 1973). The potential usefulness of using the same instrument in cross‐national studies is discussed.
Training science teachers to utilize better teaching strategies: A research synthesis
Authors: Yeany Russell H. , Padilla Michael J. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThis study is a synthesis of practice and research related to the use of behavior analysis to train science teachers. An idealized model (derived from practice) for training science teachers is presented first. Then research related to the categories of the model is reviewed and synthesized. To do this, all available studies on the topic were classified by the type of treatment used to influence the teaching behaviors. The results were meta‐analyzed. The effectiveness of training procedures fell into the following order, from lowest to highest: (1) study of an analysis system and self analysis; (2) observing models; (3) analyzing models; and, (4) practice and analysis with feedback. Science educators are encouraged to use the procedures outlined in the model to train better teachers. These results support the idealized model.
High school science enrollment of black students
Authors: Goggins Ellen O. , Lindbeck Joy S. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractHow can the high school science enrollment of black students be increased? School and home counseling and classroom procedures could benefit from variables identified as predictors of science enrollment. The problem in this study was to identify a set of variables which characterize science course enrollment by black secondary students. The population consisted of a subsample of 3963 black high school seniors from The High School and Beyond 1980 Base‐Year Survey. Using multiple linear regression, backward regression, and correlation analyses, the US Census regions and grades mostly As and Bs in English were found to be significant predictors of the number of science courses scheduled by black seniors.
The influence of field experiences on stages of concern and attitudes of preservice teachers toward science and science teaching
Authors: Strawitz Barbara M. , Malone Mark R. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThe purpose of the study was to determine whether the field experience component of an undergraduate science methods course influenced teachers' concerns and attitudes toward science and science teaching. Age, grade‐point average, openmindedness, and school assignment were examined as factors which might explain some of the variance in the dependent measures. A one‐group pretest‐posttest design was used. Students were administered the Teacher Concerns Questionnaire, the Science Teaching Attitude Scales, and the Rokeach Dogmatism Scale approximately eight weeks after the pretest. Results indicated that field experiences did not significantly change student concerns about teaching science but significantly improved student attitudes toward science and science teaching. Students differing in age, grade‐point average, and openmindedness did not difer significantly in changes in concerns and changes in attitude toward science and science teaching. Students assigned to different schools differed significantly in changes in attitude toward science.
Meaning from curriculum analysis
Authors: Finegold Menahem , Mackeracher Dorothy 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThis paper reports on the analysis of science curricula carried out across Canada within the framework of the Second International Science Study (SISS). The organization of Canadian education in twelve autonomous educational jurisdictions is briefly described and problems are noted in relation to the analysis of curricula on a national scale. The international design for curriculum analysis is discussed and an alternative design, more suited to the diversity of science education in Canada, is introduced. The analysis of curriculum documents is described and three patterns which emerge from this analysis are identified. These derive from the concepts of commonality, specificity and prescriptiveness. Commonality relates to topics listed in curriculum guideline documents by a number of jurisdictions. Specificity refers to the richness of curriculum documents. Prescriptiveness is a measure of the extent to which jurisdictions do or do not make provision for local options in curriculum design. The Canadian analysis, using the concepts of the common curriculum, specificity and prescriptiveness, is described and research procedures are exemplified. Outcomes of curriculum analysis are presented in graphical form.
Children's strategies for discovering cause‐effect relationships
Authors: Rudnitsky Alan N. , Hunt Charles R. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThis study describes strategies children use to solve a complex problem. The problem asked children to figure out how to control a “vehicle” that they “drove” by pressing particular keys on a computer. The problem can be viewed as scientific in that variables must be identified and hypotheses formulated and tested to discover cause‐effect relationships. Subjects were fifth and sixth graders sampled from public and private schools. The primary purpose of the study was to examine the transition between implicit, immature problem‐solving strategies and explicit, mature theorizing characteristic of scientific problem solving. The study manipulated the problem perspective subjects were given and the number of cause‐effect relationships in the problem. The study's description of children's problem solving highlights “focusing,” problem‐solving behavior that is aimed at forming a mental representation, model, or theory about the problem, as a key link between mature and immature reasoning. Subject's school and school X perspective interaction was found to affect problem‐solving performance.
The effects of problem format, number of independent variables, and their interaction on student performance on a control of variables reasoning problem
Authors: Staver John R. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThis study was designed to investigate the effects of problem format and the number of independent variables in the problem on the responses of students to a control of variables reasoning task. The Bending Rods problem was used. A four times two factorial research design with four levels (2‐, 3‐, 4‐, 5‐variables) of the number of independent variables and two formats (essay and multiple choice) was set up for the investigation. 548 eighth graders in 24 science classes in a suburban public school district northwest of Chicago participated in the study. Students were administered the Bending Rods problem in groups in their science classes. Each classroom was randomly assigned to a cell in the research design. Initial analysis of the data indicated four separate levels (2‐, 3‐, 4‐, 5‐variables) of the independent variable number of independent variables in the problem' were unnecessary. The 2‐ and 3‐variable levels were pooled as were the 4‐ and 5‐variable levels to give two distinct levels of this variable. Analysis of variance indicated that: (1) task format had no effect on subject's scores; but (2) the differences between subjects' mean scores on the 2‐, 3‐variable essay versions and the 4‐, 5‐variable essay versions are significantly greater than the mean scores of corresponding multiple choice versions of the task, which exhibit rather uniform scores; and (3) the 2‐, 3‐variable forms together were significantly less difficult for students than were the 4‐, 5‐variable forms together. Discussion focuses on interpretations that include: (1) task demands on working memory; (2) Pascual‐Leone's M‐energy; and (3) the use of testwiseness strategies in solving essay and multiple choice tasks, respectively. Implications for science teachers are set forth in view of these discussion points and their relevance to test construction and classroom assessment of learning objectives in science.
Twenty questions about student errors
Authors: Fisher Kathleen M. , Lipson Joseph Isaac 
Published: October 2006

AbstractErrors in science learning (errors in expression of organized, purposeful thought within the domain of science) provide a window through which glimpses of mental functioning can be obtained. Errors are valuable and normal occurrences in the process of learning science. A student can use his/her errors to develop a deeper understanding of a concept as long as the error can be recognized and appropriate, informative feedback can be obtained. A safe, non‐threatening, and nonpunitive environment which encourages dialogue helps students to express their conceptions and to risk making errors. Pedagogical methods that systematically address common student errors produce significant gains in student learning. Just as the nature‐nurture interaction is integral to the development of living things, so the individual‐environment interaction is basic to thought processes. At a minimum, four systems interact: (1) the individual problem solver (who has a worldview, relatively stable cognitive characteristics, relatively malleable mental states and conditions, and aims or intentions), (2) task to be performed (including relative importance and nature of the task), (3) knowledge domain in which task is contained, and (4) the environment (including orienting conditions and the social and physical context).Several basic assumptions underlie research on errors and alternative conceptions. Among these are: Knowledge and thought involve active, constructive processes; there are many ways to acquire, organize, store, retrieve, and think about a given concept or event; and understanding is achieved by successive approximations. Application of these ideas will require a fundamental change in how science is taught.