bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Learning difficulties in high school physics: Development of a remedial teaching method and assessment of its impact on achievement
Authors: Idar Joshua , Ganiel Uri 
Published: October 2006

AbstractMany high school students experience serious learning difficulties in physics. This issue was examined and dealt with, within the context of an introductory physics course in Israeli high schools. Following a detailed task analysis, the cognitive entry requirements for this course were identified, and students tested for them. Secondly, specific difficulties students encountered during the study of the course, and prevailing misconceptions held by many of them, were identified. Based on all the above information, a remedial teaching method was developed. It consisted of supplying students with immediate and frequent feedback, to reinforce their understanding, correct misunderstandings, and fill in gaps in necessary background skills, while teachers could continuously monitor the progress of each individual student. The whole process took place within the natural classroom setting, without additional staff or time requirements. The method was implemented in a large number of schools, and its impact was assessed using an experimental versus control analysis of covariance design. Achievements in the experimental group were significantly higher. The statistical analysis used students' background as the covariate. Of the 47% of the variance, which the model accounted for, 24% were explained by the covariate (background), 16% were the effect of the treatment, and both were highly significant. An additional 7% were the teachers' effect (nested within treatments), but this effect did not reach statistical significance.
The use of Lawson's test of formal reasoning in the Israeli science education context
Authors: Hofstein Avi , Mandler Vera 
Published: October 2006

AbstractLawson's test of formal reasoning was used in the Israeli educational context in order to investigate the relationship between students' achievement in science and in mathematics, to compare the performance of boys and girls, and to compare the performance of Israeli and U.S. populations. It was found that, in general, boys outperform girls; there is only a small correlation between achievement in science and math and Lawson test; and that the Israeli population achieved significantly higher than the U.S. population on the Piagetian skills measured by the test: It was concluded that the future use of Lawson's test by the high school teacher is doubtful.
The judgement of observed teaching by preservice science education students
Authors: Psillos Dmitris K. , Preece Peter F. W. , Bligh Donald A. , Valassiadis Odisseas 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThe ability of preservice physics education students to make judgements of observed teaching during two differently structured education courses was investigated. The first part of each course, irrespective of its content, resulted in changes in students' evaluation of teaching, with greater and fairly stable individual differences in judgement emerging. Students' knowledge of pedagogical theory was found to be related both to their judgements of observed teaching and to the quality of their own teaching.
Hierarchial relationships among formal cognitive structures and their relationship to principled moral reasoning
Authors: Zeidler Dana L. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractMeasurements of formal reasoning and principled moral reasoning ability were obtained from a sample of 99 tenth grade students. Specific modes of formal reasoning (proportional reasoning, controlling variables, probabilistic, correlational, and combinatorial reasoning) were first examined. Findings support the notion of hierarchical relationships which exist among those variables. Further results from factor analysis provide evidence that the variables represent specific cognitive structures that are interdependent with each other and precede operations in development. Finally, significant relationships were found to exist between the different modes of formal reasoning and principled moral reasoning. Combinatorial and correlational reasoning were found to significantly account for 22% of the variance in principled moral reasoning. Theoretical and educational implications are discussed.
An experimental study of the effect of the presence or absence of living visual aids in high school biology classrooms upon attitudes toward science and biology achievement
Authors: Saunders Walter L. , Young Gary D. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to determine the effects resulting from the presence or absence of living material in the biology classroom on knowledge of biology and attitudes toward science and sciencing. An experimental design employed random assignment to treatment and control groups. A separate‐sample pretest‐posttest control group design was used with 111 biology students from a medium‐sized suburban high school. The treatment was administered for 16 weeks. The treatment group held class in a room containing live plant and animal displays attractively maintained. The control group students held class in a general purpose classroom containing no living materials. Students in the treatment group performed higher on both dependent measures (knowledge of biology and attitude toward science and sciencing) than those in the control group. The findings are interpreted as suggesting that living displays in the classroom serve to stimulate interest and curiosity which in turn influence attitude and achievement.
Teacher cognitive functioning as a factor in observed variety and level of classroom teaching behavior
Authors: Sunal Dennis W. , Sunal Cynthia 
Published: October 2006

AbstractA review of the literature suggests a relationship between life‐long development of formal reasoning schema and performance in professional education careers. The study investigated implications of cognitive development of preservice teachers as it relates to their classroom teaching performance. Ninety‐one seniors involved in a field‐oriented teacher education program were given classroom responsibilities which included teaching a science unit. Formal thinking abilities were assessed using two types of developmental level tasks, performance on traditional type Piagetian tasks and recognition of formal thought approaches in solving educational tasks. Professional behaviors were assessed using observational ratings of classroom instructional and planning activities. Subjects assessed as formal operational, 30% of sample, using Piagetian performance tasks, had significantly higher facility in performing model classroom teaching behaviors than transitional or concrete subjects. Higher recognition ability of formal thought approaches to teaching was not related to facility in performing classroom teaching when compared to performance on Piagetian tasks. The relationship held up in seven of eight broad teaching behavior categories observed in classroom instruction. The results supported a general portrait of teaching behavior specifically related to teachers of differing cognitive functional levels. Implications for professional training programs are discussed.
The language of science and the high school student: The recognition of concept definitions: A comparison between hindi speaking students in India and english speaking students in Australia
Authors: Lynch P. P. , Chipman H. H. , Pachaury A. C. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractSixteen concept words (mass, length, area, volume, solid, liquid, gas, element, compound, mixture, electron, proton, neutron, atom, molecule, and ion) associated with the theme, the nature of matter were described as simple text book definitions after examination of classroom notes and school texts of the last three decades. Sixteen multiple‐choice items all of the same form were constructed for each of the concept definitions. The English version of the sixteen item test was given to 1635 high school students in Tasmania (where the language of instruction and the home language is English) and the Hindi version of the test was given to 826 students from the Bhopal/Barwani region of India where the medium of instruction is Hindi. The English and Hindi speaking data are compared from the point of view of development, performance for individual items, and overall performance at grade 10. A number of linguistic hypotheses are examined and reported upon. Although the overall score at grade 10 was identical (10.8/16) for both groups there are differences in development overall and for individual items which are of interest. Overall, the science specificity of the Hindi words does not appear to confer any clearly defined advantage or disadvantage though again there are some interesting individual anomolies.
The effects of kinetic structure and micrograph content on achievement in reading micrographs by college biology students
Authors: Johnson Virginia Abbott , Lockard J. David 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThe effects of kinetic structure and micrograph content on student achievement of reading micrograph skills were examined. The purpose of the study was to determine which form of kinetic structure, high or low, and/or micrograph content, unified or varied, was most effective and if there were any interactive effects. Randomly assigned to four treatment groups, 100 introductory college biology students attended three audiovisual presentations and practice sessions on reading light, transmission electron, and scanning electron micrographs. The micrograph skills test, administered at two points in time, assessed knowledge acquisition and retention. The test measured general concept skills and actual reading micrograph skills separately. All significant tests were considered with an α = 0.05. High kinetic structure was found to be more effective than low kinetic structure in developing general concepts about micrographs. This finding supports Anderson's kinetic theory research. High kinetic structure instruction does not affect actual reading micrograph skills, but micrograph content does. Unified micrograph content practice sessions were more effective than varied micrograph content practice sessions. More attention should be given to the visual components of perceptual learning tasks.
Generalizability of diagnostic‐prescriptive teaching strategies across student locus of control and multiple instructional units
Authors: Benson Jean S. , Yeany Russell H. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThe influence of locus of control and diagnostic testing with prescribed remediation on immediate and retained science achievement was the focus of the study. To test the generalizability of the results across instructional units and to check on the existence of a treatment warm‐up period, the experiment was conducted across three biology units. The results supported the existence of the warm‐up period with no significant effects of diagnosis and remediation during the first unit. On later units and on the retention measure, the experimental subjects achieved significantly more than the control. No locus of control X treatment interactions were found; although, in one unit, the internal locus of control subjects achieved significantly higher than externals.
Performance of students in grades six, nine, and twelve on five logical, spatial and formal tasks
Authors: Wavering Michael J. , Perry Bruce , Kelsey Linda J. , Birdd Donald 
Published: October 2006

AbstractPerformance on five logical, spatial and formal tasks was used to make inferences about the reasoning structures of the subjects. The tasks used were: seriation matrix, tilt of a cone, location of a point in two and three dimensions, flexible rods and projection of shadows. Three research questions were asked: first, what is the general level of performance; second, are there grade level differences; and third, are there gender differences in task performance. The subjects were 101 middle and high school students chosen at random from the school population. Each task was given in an individual interview. Findings include grade level differences in performance and gender differences in performance on one of the tasks. Implications for classroom teachers were proposed.
Using short forms of classroom climate instruments to assess and improve classroom psychosocial environment
Authors: Fraser Barry J. , Fisher Darrell L. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractDespite international interest in research in the area of classroom environment, very little attention has been given to exploring how science teachers might apply ideas from the field of classroom environment in guiding practical improvements in science classrooms. In order to facilitate science teachers' use of classroom climate assessments, we developed economical short forms of the Classroom Environment Scale (CES), Individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire (ICEQ), and My Class Inventory (MCI) which contain only approximately 25 items each and which are amenable to easy hand scoring. When each instrument was administered to a large sample of science classes, results supported each scale's internal consistency reliability, discriminant validity, and ability to differentiate between the perceptions of students in different classrooms. The methods for improving classrooms are illustrated by reporting some case studies of change attempts. For example, when the CES was used in an attempt to improve the environment of a ninth grade science class, the steps followed were, first, assessment of actual and preferred classroom environment in order to identify discrepancies between actual and preferred environment and, second, introducing interventions aimed at reducing these discrepancies. The interesting finding was that significant improvements occurred for the two dimensions on which change had been attempted.
Is the disappointment in the implementation of a new science curricula justified?: A study quantifying descriptive data
Authors: Sabar Naama 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThis study investigated the reasons behind the lack of enthusiasm among teachers in implementing a new biology curriculum in Israel. Classroom observations of 42 junior high school teachers in 28 schools revealed that the curriculum developers succeeded in transmitting most of their curriculum objectives. The data indicated three possible reasons, however, for teachers' disappointment: (a) The high expectations set at the ideal level regarding the inquiry approach; (b) The greater role given to verbalization in a biology curriculum, and (c) Dull implementation (routine and nonenthusiastic), which occurs when teachers are too faithful to the teaching text. Four variables—objectives, materials, strategy, and activities—were chosen in order to analyze the learning materials. The variables, and their sub‐variables, were scored in terms of the ideal, formal, and operational levels of the curriculum. To score the qualitative implementation data, two new instruments were developed. The first, an analytical instrument, analyzed instructional materials in terms of the frequency and intensity of their use. The second instrument, an observational one, was used to estimate classroom implementation fidelity.
A study of the latent effects of family learning courses in science
Authors: Gennaro Eugene D. , Hereid Nancy , Ostlund Karen 
Published: October 2006

AbstractIt is well documented that students' exposure to science in the middle school is critical for their later selection of science courses, yet instruction time and course offerings in science during the middle school years are often limited. Out‐of‐School Science Experiences with funds from the National Science Foundation (DISE No. 07872) produced five short science courses intended for children in middle school grades (6, 7, and 8) and their parents that supplement normal science instruction based on topics that are integral to traditional science teaching. The courses were offered through Community Education programs and through informal science learning centers (e.g., zoos, museums, and planetariums). An added strength of the program is that it employs the family as a motivator and reinforcer in a cooperative learning venture. The study reported here is an attempt to determine participant reaction two to three years after having taken the courses, to the course experience, the influence that the courses had on subsequent learning behavior, and the relationship between parents and children.
A study of field independent biased mental ability tests in community college science classes
Authors: Crow Linda W. , Piper Martha Kime 
Published: October 2006

AbstractMany schools use mental ability test scores as a basis for grouping students and planning their educational needs. The widespread use of these test scores throughout public and private schools demands that test items be unbiased. One way in which tests could be biased, that has not been thoroughly investigated, is the inadvertent use of analytical skill items favoring one perceptual orientation over another. This study investigated analytical skill items on the Otis‐Lennon Mental Ability Test for field independent bias. Using as analysis of variance and discriminant analysis, the results indicated that the Otis‐Lennon Mental Ability Test was biased in favor of individuals with a field of independent perceptual orientation.
Comparative investigation of the psychometric properties of three tests of logical thinking
Authors: Ahlawat Kapur S. , Billeh Victor Y. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractUsing a sample of 908 eleventh grade science stream male and female students from similar socioeconomic area schools, variance based psychometric properties of three paper‐and‐pencil tests of logical thinking (Longeot test, Lawson's test TOFR, and Tobin and Capie's test TOLT) are investigated. A sub‐sample of 212 students took the three tests in randomly allocated different sequential orders of presentation, while 696 students took only two tests. Alfa coefficients for each test separately and for the three tests combined together, concurrent validity coefficients, measures of item difficulty, item discrimination, item‐criterion correlation, and 30‐day stability coefficients are calculated. Considering the relative homogeneity of the sample, the reliability coefficients of the tests are judged satisfactory, but concurrent validity coefficients are quite low which implies incongruency in decisions made on the basis of the three tests. Need for estimating various psychometric parameters of alternative tests of logical thinking over different grade populations is emphasized.
Conceptions of traditional cosmological ideas among literate and nonliterate Nigerians
Authors: Ogunniyi M. B. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThis paper examines the nature of selected traditional cosmological concepts among literate and nonliterate Nigerians. An analysis of the data reveals that the subjects, irrespective of their level of education, class, sex, age, religion, tribe, or locality, hold in varying degrees certain traditional as well as scientific concepts about the natural phenomena. An exposure of some of the subjects to an history/philosophy of science course appears to enhance their preference for a scientific worldview vis a vis a traditional point‐of‐view. The implications of these findings for traditional societies deserve a closer consideration.
Students' performance in practical chemistry: A study of some related factors
Authors: Okebukola Peter Akinsola 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThis study examined the influence of selected factors on students' performance in practical chemistry. Twelve factors were extracted by principal component analysis. These factors accounted for 64% of the variance of the scores in practical chemistry when stepwise multiple regression analysis was applied on the data. Students' participation in laboratory activities made the greatest independent contribution to the variance in performance (0.16), followed by students' attitude to chemistry as a subject (0.11), teachers attitude to chemistry laboratory work (0.10), and availability of chemistry laboratory materials (0.08). School location, sex of the student, and students' fear of explosion and of damaging expensive equipment made nonsignificant contributions. The implications of the findings of the study for instruction in chemistry are discussed.
The acquisition of notions of qualitative speed: The importance of spatial and temporal alignment
Authors: Perry Bruce , Obenauf Patricia 
Published: October 2006

AbstractAn understanding of kinematics is predicated upon the ability to understand preliminary notions of movement and speed. This study investigated the order of acquisition of intuitive notions of qualitative speed. The results indicated that an array of prerequisite, equivalent, and independent relationships existed among the tasks administered. The levels of difficulty implied within the hierarchy formed confirmed the evolution of reasoning for notions of qualitative speed found by Piaget. The findings also indicated that the concepts investigated were interrelated and separable into distinct categories based upon spatial and temporal aspects of the motion. The alignment or nonalignment of objects, either spatially or temporally, provide an indication of the difficulty of the task presented and explain the order of acquisition of notions of qualitative speed.
Teachers' conceptions of the contemporary goals of science education
Authors: McIntosh William J. , Zeidler Dana L. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThis study was initiated to examine what middle and high school science teachers believe should be the goals of science education for the remainder of the 1980s. Participants were given a questionnaire that had at one extreme statements reflecting 1960s goals, and at the other extreme statements corresponding to modern science education goals. Additional information such as year of degree, grade level taught, and attendance at workshops was compiled. The results of this survey indicated a lack of commitment to modern goals from the majority of respondents. However, when only those responses indicating a preferred goals orientation were considered, teachers expressed predilection towards 1980s goals. Furthermore, those teachers who favor 1980s goals felt stronger in their conviction than teachers expressing a 1960s goals preference. A discriminant analysis was employed to study whether or not differences in definitive 1960s or 1980s views were associated with one or more items on the personal data questionnaire. It was found that a combination of teaching middle school grades (6–8) and attending more in‐service workshops is moderately associated with an 80s orientation to the goals of science education. The results of the study lead the authors to recommend that a concerted effort be made by professional organizations to convey the importance of contemporary goals to teachers at the high school level. Additionally, an effort should be made to disseminate these goals through local seminars and workshops.