bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The influence of cognitive reasoning level, cognitive restructuring ability, disembedding ability, working memory capacity, and prior knowledge on students' performance on balancing equations by inspection
Authors: Staver John R. , Jacks Tom 
Published: October 2006

AbstractEighty‐three (83) high school chemistry students were administered tests of cognitive reasoning level, cognitive restructuring ability, disembedding ability, working memory capacity, and prior knowledge before a learning segment on balancing chemical equations by inspection. After a four‐day instructional segment utilizing direct teaching methodology, participants were given a posttest on balancing equations. Initial regression analysis indicated that a multicollinearity problem existed. Factor analysis and correlational data indicated that the reasoning, restructuring, and disembedding variables could be collapsed and redefined as a single restructuring variable. A hierarchial regression analysis was then performed, and the following conclusions were derived: (1) when prior knowledge alone is considered, students' understanding of chemical formulas significantly (p < 0.05) influences overall equation balancing performance; (2) when prior knowledge, restructuring, and working memory are considered, only restructuring ability significantly (p < 0.05) influences overall performance; (3) working memory capacity does not significantly (p < 0.05) influence overall performance but does on certain posttest items; (4) prior knowledge and restructuring ability also significantly (p < 0.05) influence performance on certain posttest items. Discussion includes the rationale for identifying the collapsed variable as restructuring and the absence of working memory capacity as a significant influence on overall performance.
Induced in incorrect generalizations leading to misconceptions—an exploratory investigation about the laws of reflection of light
Authors: Mohapatra J. K. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThe phenomena of induced incorrect generalization (IIG) as a generative cause for the formation of a misconception among a group of pupils is identified. In the process of learning the laws of reflection of light the effect of IIG is discussed through an exploratory experiment. Strategies are suggested to eliminate the formation of such IIG in a classroom situation.
Student attitudes toward science and sciencerelated careers: A program designed to promote a stimulating gender‐free learning environment
Authors: Mason Cheryl L. , Kahle Jane Butler 
Published: October 2006

AbstractA project designed to foster the full and fair participation of girls in high‐school science classes addressed obstacles, both perceived and actual, to equal participation. In order to modify existing classroom techniques and environments, a Teacher Intervention Program was designed. By means of a workshop and periodic personal communications, teachers were sensitized to the importance of a stimulating, gender‐free learning environment. In addition, they were presented with a variety of methods and materials which had been shown to encourage girls in science. Twelve teachers, who were selected randomly, taught in diverse communities throughout one Midwestern state. The subjects tested were students in 24 general biology classes taught by the 12 teachers. Although both qualitative and quantitative measures were used during the research, only the quantitative results are discussed in this paper. Using ANOVA's, treatment group by student sex, a comparison of the mean scores was made for all students, as well as for all females and for all males. The results indicated that the experimental group, compared to the control group, had significantly higher mean scores on tests of attitudes toward science, perceptions of science, extracurricular science activities, and interest in a science‐related career.
Interaction between examination type, anxiety state, and academic achievement in college science; an action‐oriented research
Authors: Zoller Uri , Ben‐Chaim David 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThe trait anxiety profile of future science teachers, as well as their preferences concerning types of examinations in science and mathematics, have been surveyed prior to the administration—within the various science courses—of several traditional and nontraditional types of examinations and the assessment of students' state anxieties as well as their respective performance, i.e., their academic achievements. Our major findings are that

Our students prefer by far examinations in which the emphasis is on understanding and analyzing rather than on knowing and “remembering,” that the use of any relevant material during the examinations be permitted, and that the time duration be practically unlimited (e.g., “take‐home”–type examinations).
Students' state anxiety correlates with the type of the examination, with a tendency towards somewhat higher anxiety for females. The preferred types of examinations reduce test anxiety significantly, and result in higher grades accordingly.
The reduction of anxiety and the improvement in achievements as a function of the examination type are far more significant for low achievers compared with medium and high achievers.
Although teachers are aware of the student preferences, they persist in giving their students their own “pet”‐type examinations.
These results are discussed in terms of the implications for upgrading both science education and college student testing and assessment mechanisms.
The effects of hands‐on and teacher demonstration laboratory methods on science achievement in relation to reasoning ability and prior knowledge
Authors: Glasson George E. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThe present study compared the relative effects of hands‐on and teacher demonstration laboratory methods on declarative knowledge (factual and conceptual) and procedural knowledge (problem‐solving) achievement. Of particular interest were (a) whether these relationships vary as a function of reasoning ability and (b) whether prior knowledge and reasoning ability predict student achievement. Ninth‐grade physical science students were randomly assigned to classes taught by either a hands‐on or a teacher demonstration laboratory method. Students' reasoning ability and prior knowledge of science were assessed prior to the instruction. The two instructional methods resulted in equal declarative knowledge achievement. However, students in the hands‐on laboratory class performed significantly better on the procedural knowledge test than did students in the teacher demonstration class. These results were unrelated to reasoning ability. Prior knowledge significantly predicted performance on the declarative knowledge test. Both reasoning ability and prior knowledge significantly predicted performance on the procedural knowledge test, with reasoning ability being the stronger predictor.
Promoting wildlife education through exhibits
Authors: Adams Clark E. , Thomas John K. , Lin Pei‐Chien , Weiser Brenda 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThis study measured the educational value of exhibitry as a method of transferring wildlife information to high school students. Two schools with similar student body profiles were selected and randomly assigned control and experimental group statuses. Pretests measured students' identification and natural history knowledge of 16 mammals. Eight animals were exhibited as a consequence of having low‐knowledge scores among students. ANOVA comparisons were conducted among three groups: control (N = 203), experimental viewers (N = 172), and experimental nonviewers (N = 96) of the exhibit. Test results indicated that the passive exhibitry technique produced significant increases in the wildlife knowledge of students who viewed the exhibit. However, no significant change was detected in the test scores of the control group and those experimental students who did not view the exhibit. Several recommendations are provided on classroom teacher opportunities to promote wildlife education through in‐school exhibits developed in cooperation with wildlife‐related agencies.
The effectiveness of a computer‐assisted instruction package in high school chemistry
Authors: Wainwright Camille L. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThe attributes of a commercial microcomputer software package were evaluated as a supplement to traditional instruction in general chemistry classes in a suburban public high school. During a unit of study of writing and naming formulas and balancing chemical equations, the experimental group received reinforcement via microcomputer while the control group used parallel worksheet exercises over a period of three weeks for concept reinforcement. Analysis of achievement scores indicated significantly higher scores among the students in the control group. In order to ascertain any possible differential effects favoring either method for students at varying cognitive development levels, the study investigated the relationship between treatment (CAI versus worksheet) and development stage; no significant interactions were discovered.
Interest in biology. Part I: A multidimensional construct
Authors: Gardner Paul L. , Tamir Pinchas 
Published: October 2006

AbstractInterest in a school subject (e.g., biology) is conceptualized in terms of three components: topics, activities, and motives, each of which has several dimensions. In this study, seven instruments were developed and administered to grade‐10 biology students in Israel. Factor analysis provided support for the conceptualization which underlies the development of the instruments. Topic dimensions included biochemical processes, nonhuman organisms, human biology, personal hygiene, and practical applications; the activity dimensions were experiential learning, reception learning, writing/summarizing and group discussion; motives included environmental issues, moral issues, examination success, personal independence, problem solving, and four career dimensions (research, high‐status professions, lower‐status careers, “woodsy‐birdsy” careers). In an analysis described in Part II of this paper, the students were classified into four groups on the basis of their grade‐11 subject enrollment intentions: H (high‐level biology), L (low‐level biology), P (physical science), and N (no science). Zero‐order and multiple correlations were found between interest and other variables and membership/nonmembership of the four groups. Students in Group H were characterized by higher achievement in year‐10 biology, higher levels of enjoyment of biology, career orientations towards research or high‐status biology‐based professions, greater interest in various biology topics, especially reproduction/cell division/genetics, and a greater tendency to regard the Bagrut (grade‐12) examination as interesting. Students in Group N displayed lower levels of interest in various topics (especially the microscope, plants, and reproduction), were less motivated to solve problems, had poorer grades in biology (and chemistry), were less likely to perceive biology as useful, were less likely to regard the Bagrut examination as fair, and were less likely to be interested in social modes of learning. There were few associations between interest variables and membership in Groups L or P.
Social critique or social control: Some problems for evaluation in environmental education
Authors: Robottom Ian 
Published: October 2006

AbstractEnvironmental education is often thought of as the branch of science education whose field of inquiry encompasses those necessarily value‐laden issues of human intervention in the natural world. While this perception would be contested by those who see the origins of environmental education lying in the sociopolitical arena of community concerns about exploitation of the environment, it is true to say that environmental education and science education are commonly associated in ways that other disciplines are not, and thus it is perhaps to be expected that the dominant paradigm of evaluation in environmental education should be applied science in character. This article raises the issue of the appropriateness of applied science approaches to evaluation in environmental education. The article begins with a critique of applied science approaches to evaluation, drawing arguments from the broader field of educational evaluation. The relationship between characteristics of applied science approaches to evaluation on the one hand and the special characteristics of environmental education on the other is then explored, and the article concludes with an argument for a deliberative choice of research paradigm in environmental education.
An analysis of global problem issues in sixth‐and seventh‐grade textbooks
Authors: Hamm Mary , Adams Dennis 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThe study examines the extent to which the global issues of population growth, world hunger, air quality and atmosphere, and water resources were treated in sixth‐ and seventh‐grade science textbooks. Ten textbooks were examined by five raters to determine the amount of content presented by different textbooks on global issues, the number of pages of content devoted to each issue, and the degree of depth in which issues were treated. Differences between grade levels were also explored. Of the 4,393 pages of content analyzed, less than 2 percent was devoted to these issues identified as the most serious human problems. No significant differences were found between textbook series. Significant differences were found in the number of pages of content presented on each issue. Most of the content fell into the categories of water resources, population growth, air quality, and atmosphere. The issue of war technology had the least amount of content. Distribution of content did not vary by grade level. Both levels addressed the issues of population growth, air quality, and water resources with a greater degree of depth than the issue of world hunger or war technology. The study concludes that the most widely used textbooks at the sixth‐ and seventh‐grade levels avoid serious discussion of major global problems. And like the career indecision of a recent Miss America contestant, purchasers don't seem to be able to decide whether they want science textbooks to be “a brain surgeon or a movie actress.” Implications stemming from this dichotomy and its relationship to future science education curricular are also explored.
Selected factors associated with achievement of biology preparatory students and their follow‐up to higher level biology courses
Authors: Biermann Carol A. , Sarinsky Gary B. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThis study was undertaken to determine whether a biology preparatory course given at an urban community college was helping students to develop the proper skills and background necessary for them to successfully complete follow‐up courses in biology. A group of students who enrolled in a biology preparatory course, and subsequently, a follow‐up anatomy and physiology or general biology course (experimental group) was compared to a group of students who should have registered for the preparatory course, but who enrolled directly into the anatomy and physiology or general biology course (control group). It was shown that there was no significant difference in their anatomy and physiology or general biology grades. Furthermore, only 16% of the initial group of preparatory students enrolled in and passed a follow‐up biology course. Examination of the preparatory group using discriminant analysis ascertained that mathematics score was the principle discriminator between pass/fail groups. A stepwise multiple regression analysis of the variables explaining the preparatory grade showed that mathematics score, reading score, and type of high school degree explained 33% of the variance. Of the students who did pass the preparatory course and enrolled in a follow‐up biology class, their preparatory grade was a good predictor of their achievement (measured by follow‐up course grade), as determined by multiple regression.
Developing and validating science education videodiscs
Authors: Hofmeister Alan M. , Engelmann Siegfried , Carnine Douglas 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThe development of videodiscs for science instruction in public schools requires a recognition of the unique characteristics of the public school environment and a sensitivity to the persistent problems associated with science instruction. This report discusses the conceptualization, development, and formative evaluation of a series of science education videodiscs. The discs were designed to enhance the efforts of teachers working in both individual and group instructional settings. In presenting the content, particular attention was given to the “effective instruction” research literature and more subject‐matter–specific problems such as those associated with the use of terminology and the fragmentation of information. The formative data indicated that videodisc programs can enhance the effectiveness of teachers and substantively impact student achievement and attitudes.
Still waters run deep
Authors: Sabar Naama , Levin Tamar 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThis study aims to compare girls' performance with that of their boy peers, in a special program called a “research class.” Eighteen eleventh‐grade students who excelled in math and science volunteered for a special research class in biology. The program consisted of three supplemental hours of biology per week at school, plus one full day per week at a research institute. At the institute the students were required to conduct individual research projects under the guidance of a scientist as well as the supervision of their biology teacher. The data about the participating students was collected through qualitative methods. Nonparticipant observations were conducted, primarily in the classroom and less frequently at the research institute, over a long period of time. These observations yielded information regarding each gender's quality of work. Following these observations, all of the participating adults and students were interviewed, and questionnaires were completed by the students. The main findings of the study indicated that the boys were significantly more active in classroom discussions than were the girls. This observation was reconfirmed by an analysis of verbal interventions in classroom discussions. However, in both the teacher's evaluation and the students' self‐evaluation of their achievements, the girls' ratings were at least as high as the boys, with an average of 9 on a scale of 10. Moreover, the scientists indicated in their evaluations that the girls exhibited ability, intellectual curiosity, and a sense of responsibility, and were definately as able as were the boys. In other words, the vociferous monopoly of the boys during classroom discussion turns out to be relatively insignificant when examining the more covert qualities of the participating male and female students.
The effect of teachers' language on students' conceptions of the nature of science
Authors: Zeidler Dana L. , Lederman Norman G. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractConveying an adequate conception of the nature of science to students is implicit in the border context of what has come to be known as scientific literacy. However, it has previously been demonstrated that possession of valid conceptions of the nature of science does not necessarily result in the performance of those teaching behaviors that are related to improved student conceptions. The present study examines the possibility that the language teachers use to communicate science content may provide the context (Realist or Instrumentalist orientations) in which students come to formulate a world view of science. Eighteen high school biology teachers and one randomly selected class from each of their sections (n = 409 students) were administered pre‐ and posttests at the beginning and end of the fall term using the Nature of Scientific Knowledge Scale (NSKS). Composite scores of the student changes on the Testable, Developmental, and Creative subscales were used to compare those six classes that exhibited the greatest change with those six classes that had the least change on the NSKS. Intensive qualitative observations of each teacher were also conducted over the fall semester, resulting in complete transcripts of teacher‐student interactions. Qualitative comparisons of classes with respect to six variables related to Realist and Instrumentalist conceptions of the nature of science were conducted. TEACHERS' ordinary language in the presentation of subject matter was found to have significant impact on students' conceptions of the nature of science. These variables represented different contexts (Realist‐Instrumental) teachers used to express themselves, scientific information, and concepts. Determining the extent to which TEACHERS' language has an impact on changes in students' conception of the nature of science has direct bearing on all preservice and inservice science teacher education programs.
Gender‐related differences in reasoning skills and learning interests of junior high school students
Authors: Shemesh Michal 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to investigate gender‐related differences in the relationship between the development of formal reasoning skills and learning interests during the early adolescent stage. For this purpose, 249 students, from seventh to ninth grade, were assessed for their level of mastery of formal reasoning skills by a test based on videotaped simple experiments. Learning interests were assessed by a written response to an open question. Results showed that adolescent boys develop patterns of formal reasoning before their girl classmates. In addition, boys tend to prefer science and technology subjects, while girls tend to prefer language, social studies, and humanities. Analysis of interactions showed that boys' tendency toward science and technology is positively correlated to their age and development of formal reasoning, while girls' tendency to the above subjects is positively related to their development of formal reasoning capacity, but inversely related to their age. Possible explanations to the above‐described findings and suggestions for instructional modes that may increase girls' interest in science and technology are discussed.
Methodological limitations for the use of expert systems techniques in science education research
Authors: Willson Victor L. 
Published: October 2006

AbstractThe use of the expert‐novice technique in science education is examined critically. Four techniques that have been associated with expert‐novice investigations are discussed with respect to their methodological limitations: intact groups comparisons, think‐aloud procedure, retrospective studies, and naturalistic inquiries. All four, it is suggested, have serious limitations in their capability to inform instructional research. It is argued that experimental design is still the most appropriate method of use in assigning cause in instructional research involving novices and change in novices. Another question is raised regarding the appropriate target populations for expert‐novice research, and it is suggested that the concept of competence should be substituted for expertise. Appropriate populations under this construct are students who have moved from novice to competence.