ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Science Specialists or Classroom Teachers: Who Should Teach Elementary Science?
Author: Levy, Abigail Jurist
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Science Instruction,Science Teachers,Elementary School Science,Urban Schools,Specialists,Science Tests,Standardized Tests,Learner Engagement,Educational Resources,School Culture,Costs,Role,Grade 4,Grade 5,Statistical Analysis,Interviews,Surveys,Observation,Program Effectiveness

This study examined science programs, instruction, and student outcomes at 30 elementary schools in a large, urban district in the northeast United States in an effort to understand whether there were meaningful differences in the quality, quantity and cost of science education when provided by a science specialist or a classroom teacher. Student performance on the state's mandated science achievement test and student engagement in science lessons were used as student outcome measures. A conceptual framework of the elementary science experience guided the study, and data were collected on all components of schools' science instruction and science programs, including their costs, through interviews, observations, surveys, and school and district records. The data suggest that there is no single answer to the question. While poorly resourced school science programs produced poor student outcomes, not all well-resourced programs produced positive student outcomes. Students in schools where there was a high school-wide value placed on science--in both science specialist and classroom teacher models--achieved the best student outcomes. Those most effective science specialist schools had significantly lower per classroom costs than the most effective schools where classroom teachers taught science; and they also had the greatest commitment to science.
Weight, Mass, and Gravity: Threshold Concepts in Learning Science
Author: Bar, Varda
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Scientific Concepts,Physics,Concept Formation,Science Instruction,Interviews,Surveys,Children,Adolescents,Adults,Elementary School Students,Secondary School Students,Teaching Methods,Prior Learning,Foreign Countries,Preadolescents,Grade 5,Grade 6,Grade 7,Grade 9,Grade 8,Questionnaires

Threshold concepts are essential ideas about the natural world that present either a barrier or a gateway to a deep understanding of science. Weight, mass, and gravity are threshold concepts that underpin students' abilities to understand important ideas in all fields of science, embodied in the performance expectations in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). This study begins with a review of research on students' difficulties in understanding these concepts individually and in relation to each other, based on individual interviews and surveys of several hundred children that illustrate how students' understanding of weight, mass, and gravity develops over the lifespan, from age five through adult. New data from an additional 451 subjects in the critical age range of 10 to 14 years old support and extend the prior findings. The purpose of the current study is to provide teachers and curriculum developers with actionable and up-to-date information that educators can use to help children at the upper elementary, middle, and high school levels achieve Next Generation Science Standards.
Good Instructional Leadership: Principals' Actions to Increase Composite ACT School Scores
Author: Xu, Bo
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Instructional Leadership,Principals,High Schools,College Readiness,College Entrance Examinations,Scores,Standardized Tests,Questionnaires,Stakeholders,Improvement,Test Preparation,Academic Achievement,Staff Development

Due to increased college admission requirements and a 20-year flat-lined trend in ACT scores, it is imperative for education leaders across the nation to implement effective strategies to increase ACT composite scores. High school principals, as instructional leaders and decision makers, are the major stakeholders who are vested in the outcomes of the study. Findings based upon questionnaires can provide a description of the actions that principals report taking to increase composite ACT school scores.
An Empirical Study Investigating Interdisciplinary Teaching of Biology and Physical Education
Author: Spintzyk, Katharina
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Interdisciplinary Approach,Science Instruction,Physical Education,Biology,Secondary School Students,Instructional Effectiveness,Pretests Posttests,Comparative Analysis,Experimental Groups,Control Groups,Student Educational Objectives,Learning Processes,Academic Achievement,Quasiexperimental Design,Hypothesis Testing,Achievement Gains,Transfer of Training,Knowledge Level

This paper deals with an empirical study examining the effectiveness of interdisciplinary teaching in biology and physical education (PE) regarding the students' growth in knowledge. The study was conducted with 141 German sixth form students. In groups, they were taught three hours a week for a period of six weeks. In order to compare the effectiveness of regular lessons with the project, the study uses a test and control group design. This means a test group takes part in interdisciplinary teaching (IdT) lessons while a control group of peers receives subject-related lessons. After being exposed to the different kinds of lessons for a certain time, we then compared the effects on the students' skills in a pre-/post-test. The IdT lessons are designed to complement each other so that the biology lesson supplies explanations for processes occurring in PE, whereas the PE lesson provides a visualisation of the theoretical biology content. In this paper, first the current German curricula requirements as they relate to interdisciplinary teaching will be outlined. After this, the state of research concerning interdisciplinary teaching, methodical-didactic expectations and learning targets will be provided. Following on from this, the data investigated in the course of the study will be presented, such as the study design and measuring instruments. The results of the pre-/post-test will be described and then discussed in the conclusion. They indicate a significant growth in knowledge with the test group (IdT) when compared with the control group (F(1, 113.24) = 126, p&lt;0.01, n[superscript 2][subscript p] =0.43).
Addressing the Call to Increase High School Students&apos; STEM Awareness through a Collaborative Event Hosted by Science and Education Faculty: A How-to Approach
Author: Angle, Julie M.
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: STEM Education,Career Development,Career Awareness,High School Students,College Faculty,Secondary School Teachers,Committees,Planning,Science Laboratories,Student Recruitment,Outreach Programs,Researchers,Volunteers,College Students,Program Evaluation,Program Effectiveness

With the economic competitiveness of the United States dependent on an adequate supply of high-quality workers in the STEM fields, President Obama outlined a broad agenda to reinvigorate our country's interest in STEM. Responding to this call, organizations such as the National Lab Network and the STEM Education Coalition began efforts to raise public awareness to inspire K-12 students to pursue STEM careers. Answering the call to action, faculty from a Land-Grant institution developed their own version of National Lab Day (NLD), which extended beyond traditional college and departmental boundaries. This article describes a model used to create a greater awareness of STEM careers among attendees, recruit high school students into STEM fields, and provide STEM researchers with opportunities to disseminate their research to the general populace. It further describes the responsibilities of the NLD planning committee, which consisted of research and education faculty from each of the participating colleges across our university; the layout of the program; and the recruitment of STEM researchers, volunteers, and high school teachers and students. Data from NLD participants provides evidence of the success and impact of this five-year program. In addition, the possible implications of these efforts on research institutions are addressed.
Biology Teachers&apos; Professional Development Needs for Teaching Evolution
Author: Friedrichsen, Patricia J.
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Biology,Science Teachers,Faculty Development,Science Instruction,Evolution,Secondary School Science,Teacher Surveys,Educational Resources,Teaching Methods,Barriers,Knowledge Base for Teaching,Teacher Attitudes,Familiarity,Online Surveys

The social controversy surrounding the teaching of evolution puts pressure on secondary biology teachers to deemphasize or omit evolution from their curriculum. In this growing pressure, professional development can offer support to biology teachers. In this study, we surveyed secondary biology teachers in Missouri and report the data from teachers who are teaching evolution (N = 276). Teachers were asked to self-report their content understanding of evolution topics, the nature of their evolution teaching practice, their level of familiarity with available evolution education resources, obstacles they perceived as barriers to their evolution instruction, and their self-reported professional development (PD) needs related to evolution education. Seventy-five percent of teachers reported having an adequate understanding of all the listed evolution topics. Sixty percent of teachers reported teaching evolution as a unifying theme as well as including a unit devoted to evolution. Natural selection and nature of science were the most commonly taught topics. Teachers identified the lack of good labs and supplemental materials as their two biggest obstacles to teaching evolution. Teachers were not familiar with available evolution education resources. Teachers expressed interest in many aspects of professional development with over 75% of teachers reporting that they wanted &quot;some emphasis&quot; or &quot;great emphasis&quot; placed on every topic listed. In particular, teachers reported they wanted PD that placed a great emphasis on current research in evolution, labs/investigations using real data and/or live organisms, evolution simulations, contemporary evolution examples, and misconceptions. Implications for professional development are given.
The Post-Disaster Survival Scenario as Context for Science Education
Author: Murray, Christopher A.
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Science Education,Natural Disasters,Teaching Methods,Emergency Programs,Inquiry,Course Descriptions,Elementary Secondary Education,Higher Education,Vignettes,Popular Culture

The theme of survival in a post-apocalyptic or post-disaster scenario as context for science education is explored in this article. Though this theme is prevalent in a wide variety of popular media, only a small number of educators and researchers report having explored it as a means of engaging students, and there is almost no description of its use in teaching science in the pertinent literature. We demonstrate, by illustrating commonalities between this approach and other successful methods, and through the results of classroom evaluations we have obtained, that there is good reason to suggest this theme would succeed as a tool for teaching science at elementary, secondary and post-secondary levels.
Mathematics Teachers and ICT: Factors Affecting Pre-Service Use in School Placements
Author: Bozkurt, Gulay
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Information Technology,Mathematics Teachers,Student Placement,Student Teachers,Technology Uses in Education,Mathematics Instruction,Mathematics Education,Teaching Methods,Semi Structured Interviews,Foreign Countries,Surveys,Teacher Attitudes,Questionnaires,Computer Uses in Education,Technology Integration,Mixed Methods Research,Preservice Teachers

This study examines the factors influencing student teachers' use of information and communication technology (ICT) to teach mathematics. Data collection involved questionnaire surveys and individual follow-up semi-structured interviews of student teachers concerning the factors that they felt had hindered or promoted their development in the use of ICT. This study shows that this particular group of student teachers is committed to using ICT in their teaching; they are mostly confident and mostly believe in the value of ICT in mathematics teaching. However, findings indicate that the barriers inhibiting the student teachers' use relate to poor access to facilities, limited encouragement from mentors and the other teachers in mathematics department and irregular use of ICT of existing teachers in teaching, lack of links in the scheme of work, and time constraint.
Middle School Science and Mathematics Teachers' Conceptions of the Nature of Science: A One-Year Study on the Effects of Explicit and Reflective Online Instruction
Author: Wong, Sissy S.
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Science Teachers,Mathematics Teachers,Middle School Students,Scientific Principles,Teacher Attitudes,Online Courses,Electronic Learning,STEM Education,Scientific Literacy,Science Education,Science Instruction,Teaching Methods,Mathematics Instruction,Mathematics Education,Middle School Teachers,Beginning Teachers,Experienced Teachers,Integrated Curriculum,Scientific Methodology,Statistical Analysis,Interviews,Questionnaires

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education has become one of the main priorities in the United States. Science education communities and researchers advocate for integration of STEM disciplines throughout the teaching curriculum. This requires teacher knowledge in STEM disciplines, as well as competence in scientific literacy. Since nature of science (NOS) is a critical component of scientific literacy, this study examined teachers' conceptions NOS over a one-year period. Participants included 21 middle school science and mathematics teachers who integrated science and mathematics in their classrooms. We employed two NOS instruments to collect data on participants' NOS conceptions &quot;before&quot; and &quot;after&quot; a one-year online graduate program. This study examined changes in NOS understanding for the group as a whole, between science and mathematics teachers, and whether beginning and experienced teachers differed in their conceptions of NOS. Findings show that the teachers' conceptions of NOS improved significantly after two semesters of explicit, reflective NOS instruction. There was no significant difference between science and math teachers' conceptions of NOS. The notion that science teachers know just as much about NOS as mathematics teachers indicates that science teachers in the U.S. are just as unfamiliar with the nature of science as mathematics teachers. In addition, years of experience did not play a role in the participants? conceptions of NOS. Examination of teachers' conceptions of NOS will help researchers, teacher educators and teacher professional development providers gain insight on ways to develop STEM teachers' conceptions of NOS.
A Study towards Views of Teacher Candidates about National and Global Environmental Problems
Author: Alagoz, Bulent
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Preservice Teachers,Statistical Analysis,Environmental Education,Comparative Analysis,Correlation,Teacher Attitudes,Questionnaires,Social Sciences,Environmental Influences,Mathematics Instruction,Global Approach

In this research, determination of primary school, social studies and mathematics candidate teachers' awareness and susceptibility levels about environmental problems, solution suggestions about these problems, activities used in environmental education and views about environmental education were targeted. Sample of this research comprised of 449 candidate teachers from Nizip Education Faculty (Gaziantep University) and Education Faculty of Çukurova University. Research carried out in Fall Semester of 2015-2016 Education year. The data collection tool was a questionnaire done by candidate teachers. In the data analysis, number, percentage, average and standard deviation as descriptive statistical methods were used. One way ANOVA test was used in comparison of quantitative continuity data between more than two independent samples. Scheffe test was used as subsidiary post-hoc analysis for determining differences after ANOVA test. Pearson correlation analysis was practiced between continuous variables of research. Analysis results showed that &quot;social susceptibility&quot; and &quot;general susceptibility&quot; level of the participants was high whereas &quot;academic susceptibility&quot; level of the participants was very high. Environmental education, which is the biggest factor in awakening environmental awareness, must be extended to all the masses. One way to make this happen is to put weight on environmental education in the formal education programs.
Pre-School Teachers' Opinions about Professional Development Applications and Teaching Partnership
Author: Guler-Yildiz, Tulin
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Teacher Attitudes,Professional Development,Partnerships in Education,Research Methodology,Qualitative Research,Case Studies,Foreign Countries,Structured Interviews,Teacher Education,Inservice Teacher Education,Preschool Teachers,Preschool Education,Teaching Methods,Positive Attitudes,Negative Attitudes,Teacher Effectiveness,Content Analysis

The purpose of the current study is to determine pre-school teachers' opinions about the current applications to promote their professional development and level of readiness to Teaching Partnership system to be constructed through the adaptation of My Teaching Partner-MTP implemented in America to Turkey. My Teaching Partner was planned to promote teachers' professional development and to enhance the quality of their instruction. The study group of the current research employing a qualitative research method is comprised of 8 pre-school teachers working in a city of Central Anatolia. The participants were administered a structured interview form developed by the researchers. The data collected through the interview form aiming to elicit the teachers' opinions about the current applications were organized and interpreted within the themes of teacher education, graduated university and evaluation. The data collected to elicit the participants' opinions about teaching partnership were analyzed on the basis of positive and negative perceptions. It was concluded that the teachers experience many problems during the existing professional development applications and cannot obtain the desired benefits from these applications. Three of the participants were found to be both positively viewing teaching partnership and willing to participate in the construction of such a system.
Alleviating Mathematics Anxiety of Elementary School Students: A Situated Perspective
Author: Sharma, Yogesh
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Elementary School Students,Elementary School Mathematics,Mathematics Anxiety,Grade 7,Teaching Methods,Models,Experimental Groups,Control Groups,Comparative Analysis,Rating Scales,Factor Analysis,Context Effect,Attention Control,Pretests Posttests,Questionnaires

The present study investigates the effects of the situated learning and effortful control on mathematics anxiety of school students. Participants were 99 seventh graders who studied in two schools. Students in one of these were given instruction through the situated learning model, and the students of other school were treated as a control group. Existing instruments, namely, Mathematics Anxiety Scale by Sharma and Sansanwal (2011) and Effortful Control Scale by Lonigan and Phillips (2001) were used to measure mathematics anxiety and effortful control. Data were analyzed by using 2 × 2 factorial design analysis of covariance. Results indicated that after the experiment students who were exposed to the situated learning model had significantly less mathematics anxiety than their counterparts who were in the control group with effect size 0.35. The implications of the study are discussed.
Development of a TPACK Self-Efficacy Scale for Preservice Science Teachers
Author: Kiray, Seyit Ahmet
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Technological Literacy,Pedagogical Content Knowledge,Self Efficacy,Test Construction,Likert Scales,Preservice Teachers,Science Teachers,Foreign Countries,Reliability,Construct Validity,Factor Analysis,Content Validity,Statistical Significance,Models,Discriminant Analysis,College Seniors,Item Analysis

Today, it is of great importance that teachers have pedagogical and technological knowledge in addition to content knowledge. For this reason, the present study aims to develop a TPACK self-efficacy scale for preservice science teachers by following the theoretical framework of technological pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK), as suggested by Koehler and Mishra (2006). The scale consists of seven subscales, which are technology knowledge (TK), pedagogy knowledge (PK), content knowledge (CK), technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK), technological content knowledge (TCK), pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), and technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK) with a total of 55 items. A total of 467 preservice science teachers from four different universities in Turkey participated in the study. The Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient of the scale was calculated as 0.969. Following the modification suggestions, confirmatory factor analyses showed that the model fit the scale adequately. The study found significant differences between the bottom and top groups; this shows the sufficiency of the items' discriminatory powers. As the result of these analyses, it was found out that the scale had the necessary properties required for measuring the TPACK self-efficacy perceptions of preservice science teachers.
Structural Equation Model to Validate: Mathematics-Computer Interaction, Computer Confidence, Mathematics Commitment, Mathematics Motivation and Mathematics Confidence
Author: Garcia-Santillán, Arturo
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Undergraduate Students,Student Attitudes,Educational Attitudes,Information Technology,Computer Attitudes,Mathematics,Learner Engagement,Self Esteem,Learning Motivation,Interaction,Multivariate Analysis,Structural Equation Models,Mathematics Education,Computers,Hypothesis Testing,Evidence,Models,Goodness of Fit,Likert Scales

Most mathematics students show a definite tendency toward an attitudinal deficiency, which can be primarily understood as intolerance to the matter, affecting their scholar performance adversely. In addition, information and communication technologies have been gradually included within the process of teaching mathematics. Such adoption of technology modified the educational process, thus generating a meaningful impact as presented by studies carried out by Galbraith and Haines (2000). They developed a theoretical model aiming to explain this phenomenon from the component elements of attitude toward mathematics and computers: Mathematics engagement, mathematics confidence, mathematics motivation, computer confidence, and student's interaction with mathematics and computer. The purpose of this study was validating that model against experimental data coming from a sample of undergraduates from the fields of administration and economics. The collected data was processed applying multivariate data analysis using structural equation modeling technique. The observed fit indices corroborated that the theoretical model adjusts statistically well to the empirical data, even though the observed variance stayed below the optimal value. The evidence obtained in this study validates the theoretical model while revealing that additional weightings for the indicators should still be explored.