bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Persuasive communication: A theoretical model for changing the attitude of preservice elementary teachers toward metric conversion
Authors: Shrigley Robert L. 
Published: October 2006

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

AbstractScience education researchers have, with few exceptions, not used the conceptual content of science as an important variable in their research. Writings of two groups‐philosophers of science, “are concerned with the influence of the conceptual knowledge shared by an intellectual community on the activities of that community and the psychologists are concerned with the influence of the conceptual knowledge held by an individual on that individual's behavior”, science, are concerned with the influence of the conceptual knowledge shared by an intellectual community on the activities of that community and the psychologists are concerned with the influence of the conceptual knowledge held by an individual on that individual's behavior.Suggestions are offered as to what kinds of science education research could be done in which the conceptual content of science is important.
Correlates of sex‐related differences in logical reasoning
Authors: Ehindero O. J. 
Published: October 2006

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AbstractThe Test of Energy Concepts and Values (TECV) was developed to assess knowledge about and attitudes towards energy for grades 9–12. The TECV, a modification of the Energy Knowledge and Attitude Test,See: National Assessment of Educational Progress. Energy knowledge and attitudes: a national assessment of energy awareness among young adults. Denver, CO: Education Commission of the States, 1978.
consisted of 35 knowledge and 39 attitude items. The reliability for the attitude and knowledge sections was 0.70 and 0.76, respectively. Factor analysis was done for the attitude and knowledge sections separately. Item comparison showed that TECV students responses were very similar to the young adults response to the National Assessment instrument.
Teaching concepts of energy to nigerian children in the 7–11 year‐old age range
Authors: Urevbu Andrew O. 
Published: October 2006

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

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

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