bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Controversy versus concurrence seeking in multi‐grade and single‐grade learning groups
Authors: Johnson David W. , Johnson Roger , Pierson W. Todd , Lyons Virginia 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThe effects of controversy and concurrence seeking and participation is age‐homogeneous and age‐heterogeneous cooperative learning groups were compared on achievement, achievement motivation, perspective‐taking accuracy, and interpersonal attraction. In addition, the interaction among students within the cooperative learning groups was observed. One‐hundred‐twelve 4th‐, 5th‐, and 6th‐grade students were assigned to conditions on a stratified random basis controlling for age, sex, reading ability, and homerooms. In all conditions, students studied two controversial issues with materials representing both pro and con views. In the controversy condition each small group was divided into two halves representing the pro and con sides. In the concurrence‐seeking condition each small group studied pro and con materials on alternating days and were told to learn the material without arguing or disagreeing with one another. In the multi‐age conditions 4th‐, 5th, and 6th‐graders were placed in the same learning groups, while in the single‐age conditions students were placed in small groups with peers of the same age. The results indicate that controversy promoted higher achievement, greater achievement motivation, and more accurate perspective taking than did concurrence seeking. Multi‐age learning groups had greater achievement motivation than did the single‐age groups.
A comparison of cognitive skills between completes and dropouts in a college physics course
Authors: Hudson H. T. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractSeparate tests of mathematics skills, proportions and translations between words, and mathematical expression given the first week of class were correlated with performance for students who completed a college physics course (completes) and students who dropped the course (drops). None of the measures used discriminated between completes and drops as groups. However, the correlations between score on the test of math skills and on both of the measures involving mathematical reasoning (proportions, and translations) were dramatically different for the two groups. For the completes, these correlations were slightly negative, but not significant. For the drops, the correlation was positive and signficant at the p < 0.01 level. This suggests the possibility that the students who complete the course tend to have independent cognitive skills for the “mechanical” mathematical operations and for questions requiring some degree of reasoning, while, in contrast, the same skills for students at high risk for dropping overlap significantly. The study also found that when students are given the results of mathematics skills tests in a diagnostic mode, with feedback on specific areas of weakness and time to remediate with self study, the correlation between mathematics and physics is lower than previously reported values.
Studies of information processing rates in science learning and related cognitive variables. II: A first approximation to estimating a relationship between science reasoning skills and information acquisition
Authors: Anderson O. Roger , Callaway J. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractPerformance in science reasoning tasks is a significant objective in modem science instruction and increasing emphasis is being placed on the development of higher cognitive processes in science education. An empirical analysis of the relationship between science reasoning skills and the amount of information acquired during science learning as predicted by a neuromathematical model of information processing is presented. As the neuromathematical model includes a variable representing verbal ability, it is to be expected that a direct relationship exists between the amount of knowledge gained as predicted by the model and reasoning ability. The purpose of this research is to derive a formal quantitative statement for the relationship between knowledge acquisition predicted by the neuromathematical equation and scientific reasoning skills. A linear regression equation is obtained relating performance on a science reasoning task to the amount of information acquired as predicted by the neuromathematical model. This research provides a first approximation to providing a theoretical and empirical link between information processing and higher cognitive thought processes in science education.
Two schemes of intellectual development: A comparison of development as defined by william perry and jean piaget
Authors: Perry Bruce , Donovan Michael P. , Kelsey Linda J. , Paterson John , Statkiewicz Walter , Allen Robert D. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThe theories of Jean Piaget and William Perry provide two different theories of intellectual development with several similiarities, but also with critical differences. In this study a comparison was made to determine whether the two theories describe operation of the same mental structures or two fundamentally different aspects of intellectual development. The results, based upon individual interviews of all participants, indicate that the two theories outline different and independent processes for assessing intellectual development.
A comparison of the actual and preferred classroom learning environment in biology and chemistry as perceived by high school students
Authors: Hofstein Avi , Lazarowitz Reuven 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThe actual and preferred students perception of classroom learning environment was measured using a modified Hebrew version of the Learning Environment Inventory (L.E.I.). This version was content validated and analyzed for its reliability. This measure was administered among Chemistry (N = 1080) and Biology (N = 400) students and the perception of the actual and preferred learning environment was compared using multivariate analysis methods (Hotelling T2 and discriminant analysis). On the whole, significant differences were found between the two samples. It is suggested that these differences can be attributed to the different curricula and different instructional methods used in chemistry and in biology classes. It is suggested that the findings obtained in this study could serve both future science teachers and curriculum writers in the development and implementation of learning activities in the context of science curricula.
The effect of simulation games and worksheets on learning of varying ability groups in a high school biology classroom
Authors: Spraggins Charles C. , Rowsey Robert E. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractHigh school biology students who were taught by the simulation game method had comparable achievement gains to the students who were taught using worksheets. The three simulation games used in this study were able to teach factual information as well as the worksheet activities. This effect was constant across ability and sex. There were no significant differences in the retention scores of high ability students utilizing gaming. Also, there was no significant difference in the scores of low ability students utilizing worksheets and low ability students using games. Students' sex was significantly related with retention in the three‐way interaction of treatment by ability by sex. Low ability females using simulation games scored higher on retention than low ability females utilizing worksheets. Low ability males utilizing worksheets scored higher on retention than low ability males using simulation games.
Analyzing hierarchical relationships among modes of cognitive reasoning and integrated science process skills
Authors: Yeany Russell H. , Yap Kueh Chin , Padilla Michael J. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThe purpose of this research was to search for a learning hierarchy among skills comprising formal operations and the integrated science processes. Ordering theoretic and probabilistic latent structure methods were used to analyze data on five process skills and six logical thinking skills collected from 700 science students. Both linear and branching hierarchical relationships were identified within and across the two sets of skills. Most of them fit the logical hierarchies which have guided curriculum development and classroom practices in the past. But a few run counter to our present logic and understanding of these skills.
The effects of teachers' wait‐time and knowledge comprehension questioning on science achievement
Authors: Riley Joseph P. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThe purpose of this experimental study was to investigate the effects of varied teacher wait‐time durations and cognitive questioning levels on student achievement. Thirty preservice teachers taught a science lesson in which the length of wait‐time and percentage of high and low cognitive questions were prescribed. The lessions were audio‐taped to insure fidelity to the scripted lessons. At the end of the lesson a criterion referenced test was administered. The results of this test were used as the dependent variable. Analysis of achievement results indicated significant differences attributable to teacher wait‐time and cognitive questioning level.
The role of physical content in piagetian spatial tasks: Sex differences in spatial knowledge?
Authors: Golbeck Susan L. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractSex‐related differences on Piagetian horizontality (water level) and verticality (plumb line) tasks were examined in 64 college students. It was hypothesized that females' difficulties on these Euclidean spatial problems are due not to differences in underlying spatial competence, but rather to differences in knowledge of task specific information about the physical properties of water levels and plumb lines. This was tested by presenting subjects with the standard water level and plumb line problems and also modified problems not requiring knowledge of physical principles (i.e., drawing “straight up and down” or “straight across” lines inside tipped rectangles). While males were expected to outperform females on the standard tasks, no sex differences were expected on the modified tasks. Results of an ANOVA on scores for horizontality and verticality each showed main effects for sex and task version but failed to reveal the hypothesized interaction. However, performance on the Euclidean spatial tasks was also considered in terms of overall success versus failure. While males were more successful than females in the standard format, males and females were equally successful in the modified, nonphysical, format. Hence, college aged males and females generally do not differ in spatial competence although they may be differentially influenced by task content. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for theory and practice. It is emphasized that science educators must be especially aware of such task influences for females so that performance deficits are not mistaken for competence deficits.
Some effects of the iscs program: A meta analysis
Authors: Atash M. Nadir , Dawson George O. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractMany studies have been conducted to assess the effects of the ISCS program on student performance. On the basis of the conflicting findings, the task of arriving at a general conclusion about the effects of ISCS has been difficult indeed. This study was designed to integrate quantitatively the collective research dealing with the effects of ISCS on student performance and attitude. The weighted mean effect size was found to be 0.09, indicating that the performance of the ISCS students was 0.09 standard deviations above the performance of students in traditional science courses. The design of the study accounted for a significant proportion of variation in the effect size, whereas the type of instrumentation and reliability of the instrument did not.
Persuading teachers to reexamine the innovative elementary science programs of yesterday: The effect of anecdotal versus data‐summary communications
Authors: Koballa Thomas R. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractTwo anecdotal and two data‐summary communications were prepared to test the effect of the communications on preservice teachers' attitudes toward supplementing traditional, textbook‐based science programs with either SAPA or SCIS. The results of the investigation in which the communications were used indicate that communications of an anecdotal nature were more effective than data‐summary communications in changing the attitudes of preservice elementary teachers. Also, attitudes changed by anecdotal communications were found to be less susceptible to dissipation than those changed by data‐summary communications.
A neurological model of sensory‐motor problem solving with possible implications for higher‐order cognition and instruction
Authors: Lawson Anton E. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractGrossberg's neural modeling principles of learning, perception, cognition, and motor control are presented as the basis for construction of a neurological model of sensory‐motor problem solving. The pattern of problem solving is assumed to be universal, thus is sought in the higher‐order shift from the child's use of an additive strategy to the adolescent's use of a proportions strategy to solve the Pouring Water Task (Suarez and Rhonheimer, 1974). Possible neurological principles involved in this shift and in the process of psychological equilibration are discussed as are possible educational implications.
A factor analytic study of secondary science teacher competencies within which growth is perceived as important by science teachers, supervisors, and teacher educators
Authors: Tulloch Bruce R. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to elucidate the repertoires of competencies within which a novice's growth was perceived as important to effective science teaching. To obtain perceptual response data, the Science Teacher Competency Sorting Instrument was developed, pilot‐tested, and administered to random national subsamples of science teachers, supervisors, and teacher educators. Data obtained was tabulated and subjected to common factor analysis. Eleven factors were extracted, rotated, and given designations which described the nature of the interrelationships existing among their subsumed variables. The establishment of contrast vectors provided a means to investigate the degrees of consensus and disagreement existing among the subsamples concerning their attributions of importance to growth in the derived factors. The repertoires established were found to generally reflect the categories specified a priori in previous studies while being more descriptive and precise. While growth in most factors was viewed with equal importance, science teachers and teacher educators differed in the emphasis given to two factors pertaining to instruction. Teachers stressed growth in class‐centered presentational skills to a greater extent than their colleagues in higher education who emphasized growth in skills promoting scientific literacy. The paper concludes by discussing some implications of the findings for secondary science teacher education.
Science and technology related global problems: An international survey of science educators
Authors: Bybee Rodger W. , Mau Teri 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThis survey evaluated one aspect of the Science‐Technology‐Society theme, namely, the teaching of global problems related to science and technology. The survey was conducted during spring 1984. Two hundred sixty‐two science educators representing 41 countries completed the survey. Response was 80%. Findings included a ranking of twelve global problems (the top six were: World Hunger and Food Resources, Population Growth, Air Quality and Atmosphere, Water Resources, War Technology, and Human Health and Disease). Science educators generally indicated the following: the science and technology related global problems would be worse by the year 2000; they were slightly or moderately knowledgeable about the problems; print, audio‐visual media, and personal experiences were their primary sources of information; it is important to study global problems in schools; emphasis on global problems should increase with age/grade level; an integrated approach should be used to teach about global problems; courses including global problems should be required of all students; most countries are in the early stages of developing programs including global problems; there is a clear trend toward S‐T‐S; there is public support for including global problems; and, the most significant limitations to implementation of the S‐T‐S theme (in order of significance) are political, personnel, social, psychological, economic, pedagogical, and physical. Implications for research and development in science education are discussed.
The occurrence of assimilation and accommodation in learning high school physics
Authors: Renner John W. , Abraham Michael R. , Birnie Howard H. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThe Piagetian model of intelligence consists of the elements of content, mental structures and mental functioning. While the first two elements are said to be variants, the third element is described as invariant. Mental functioning begins with a process called assimilation which promotes disequilibrium and, in reestablishing equilibrium, the learner accommodates to what was assimilated. The assimilation‐disequilibrium‐accommodation process has been labeled adaptation which Piaget described as the accord of thought with things. The newly‐acquired ideas (or concepts) are next organized with other knowledge; Piaget described that organization process as the accord of thought with thought.While the Piagetian mental functioning model has been available for some time, empirical evidence that the model actually did or did not function was not found. Teaching and curriculum development procedures were extracted from the mental functioning model and a twelfth‐grade physics course was so organized and taught. Naturalistic data collected from individual student interviews and in‐class discussions were used to evaluate the hypothesis that mental functioning and the factors which compose it are integral parts of the learning process.
A piagetian analysis of process skill test items
Authors: Adey Philip S. , Harlen Wynne 
Published: October 2006

AbstractTest items used to survey the attainment of science process skills in a representative sample of 11 year olds in Britain were analyzed to determine the level of demand, in Piagetian terms, made by each item. It was found that: the level of cognitive demand was a reliable predictor of the limiting difficulty of an item; that the difference between potential difficulty as measured by supposed demand level and the actual difficulty encountered by subjects was revealing of areas in the curriculum where further effort in teacher education and curriculum development would be profitable; and that there was some evidence for an inherent hierarchy of process skills.
Attainment of skill in using science processes II. Grade and task effects
Authors: Berger Carl F. , Pintrich Paul R. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractTwo studies were used to examine developmental and task effects in estimation problems. Time to solution data were collected on students' performance to describe their efficiency in processing information. Study One demonstrated developmental differences in speed of processing between younger students (first grade) and older students (third and sixth grade), with younger students performing at a slower rate. Study Two demonstrated that the amount of feedback information present influenced speed of processing. Results were discussed in terms of student and task characteristics and the implications of such variables for an information processing model of learning. Implications for science teaching were also discussed in terms of diagnosing learning problems and designing science curriculum.
The performance of college students on piaget‐type tasks dealing with distance, time, and speed
Authors: Poduska Ervin , Phillips Darrell G. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractResearch was done to probe and extend Piaget's theory of the conception of speed. Specifically tested was the hypothesis that there is no hierarchical relationship in performance on the following Piaget‐type tasks: conservation of distance, asymmetric series of speeds, one‐to‐many (circular) speeds, symmetric speeds, time, and proportional reasoning. The research also tested the gender‐related performance on these six tasks. One hundred freshman and sophomore college students were shown demonstrations of equipment individually for each of the six tasks. A set of open‐ended questions based on the demonstrations was administered to each subject in a 45‐minute interview. Subjects were scored as “pass” on a given task if they manipulated objects in certain ways and gave specific types of explanations. A scalogram analysis of the data yielded a z‐score of — 3.7 which indicated that subjects passed the task in a certain sequence. The tasks were found to form a unidimensional scale and to be increasingly difficult in the order listed above. A chi‐square test for two independent samples showed a significant difference (alpha = 0.05) in performance between males and females on all speed tasks. No significant differences in performance between males and females were found for the distance and time tasks.
Comments and criticism comments on “a research methodology for studying how people think”
Authors: Shayer Michael 
Published: October 2006

AbstractLarkin and Rainard's (1984) article was sufficiently interesting not only to have me recommending it to others but also to re‐read it for a third time. Unhappily I then realized that as a biproduct I had been giving my students an entrée into the old fallacy of inverse probability (see R. A. Fisher's, The Design of Experiments, Chapter 1). The fallacy occurs on pages 252 and 253. The authors say:“ ⃛ sample size is rarely important to generalizability. Suppose, for example, 500 or 10 individuals are tested out of a population of 5000. Testing 500 (instead of 10) decreases the standard error of the mean by only a factor of 1.1 [= (1–10/5000)/(1–500/5000)]. Most research does not use large samples to increase generalizability. Instead the function is either to estimate many parameters in a detailed model, or to increase statistical significance, a factor sensitive to sample size.”
A comparison of teacher and principal perception of an outstanding science teacher
Authors: Searles William E. , Kudeki Naile 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to determine the level of agreement or disagreement between principals and teachers when using established criteria to measure the effectiveness of a science teacher. To obtain this information, 28 principals and 81 science teachers were randomly selected to complete an instrument for their perceptions of an outstanding science teacher. The respondents involved in this study were employed in the English‐speaking high schools in the Province of Québec, Canada. The questionaire was constructed from a model based on the theoretical framework of previous research in science education and instructional theories. The data collected from the two populations were tested using the arithmetic mean, Pearson chi‐square and cross tabulation using the Lambda & Gamma tests to determine the strength or form of the association between the two variables (position and perception). Results indicated that the high school principals and science teachers agree on the relative importance for most of the evaluative criteria. From such results it was possible to construct a profile of the attributes of an outstanding science teacher, and also, to make recommendations to school board officials, school principals, science teachers, and researchers in the field of education.