ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Surveying the Landscape of Professional Development Research: Suggestions for New Perspectives in Design and Research
Author: Manduca, Cathryn A.
Date: 2017-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Faculty Development,STEM Education,Research Design,Research Needs,Higher Education,Teaching Methods,Instructional Innovation,Instructional Improvement,Research Methodology,Cognitive Mapping,Context Effect,Learner Controlled Instruction,Systems Approach,Program Design

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) higher education is in need of improved teaching methods to increase learning for all students. Faculty professional development programs are a widespread strategy for fostering this improvement. Studies of faculty development programs have focused on program design and the impact of surrounding context, including both social supports for learning and institutional context. I reviewed these approaches, as well as work that focused on the faculty experience, and suggest that a larger perspective that encompasses learning over time and the interactions between disciplinary and institutional learning opportunities is important. This leads to both new design considerations and new research questions that focus on increasing faculty skill in learning about teaching and applying the results, as well as improving the impact of professional development beyond the immediate participants.
Developing Student Interest: An Overview of the Research and Implications for Geoscience Education Research and Teaching Practice
Author: van der Hoeven Kraft, Katrien J.
Date: 2017-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Earth Science,Science Instruction,Science Interests,Teaching Methods,Motivation,Models,Literature Reviews

Interest is a complex interplay between affective and cognitive components that drive motivation. Over decades of work in the educational psychology community, a theoretical framework has emerged that explains this complex interplay. Interest is initially externally triggered (triggered situational interest), which, through support, can become maintained situational interest, ultimately leading to individual interest progressing from emerging to well-developed. Student interest tends to be triggered from an external agent (e.g., an engaging instructor or experience), but will not develop into a more sustained, individual interest unless it is repeated, engaging, and intellectually stimulating. This literature review provides an overview into how interest has emerged as a motivational theory and provides examples as to how it has been applied (or misapplied) in the science education and geoscience education literature. The geoscience education research (GER) community has tended to couch interest as a global phenomenon rather than as a part of a progression; as such, there are not many examples of the appropriate application of interest in the GER literature. If we apply the framework presented in this literature review to the themes identified by the larger Discipline-Based Educational Research community for future research, including our ability to best determine student content comprehension and approaches to problem-solving, the most effective instructional strategies, along with emerging categories of research such as metacognition, self-regulation, and other affective components; interest may be an important lens for considering what and how we teach, as well as how we choose to measure student experiences in the geosciences.
Racial and Economic Diversity in U.S. Public Montessori Schools
Author: Debs, Mira C.
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Montessori Schools,Student Diversity,Public Schools,Racial Composition,Socioeconomic Status,Montessori Method,School Choice,Student Records,Magnet Schools,Charter Schools

As public Montessori schools rapidly expand through the United States, the question then arises: What population of students do the schools serve? This study presents a new empirical data set examining the racial and economic diversity of 300 whole-school, public Montessori programs open in 2012-2013, where the entire school uses the Montessori Method. While school-choice scholars are concerned that choice programs like Montessori lead to greater student segregation by race and social class, this study finds a variety of outcomes for public Montessori. Public Montessori as a sector has strengths in student racial and socioeconomic diversity, but it also has diversity challenges, particularly among Montessori charters. The study concludes with recommended strategies for public Montessori schools to enroll a racially and economically diverse student body.
Identifying Curriculum Design Patterns as a Strategy for Focusing Geoscience Education Research: A Proof of Concept Based on Teaching and Learning with Geoscience Data
Author: Kastens, Kim
Date: 2017-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Earth Science,Educational Research,Science Education,Curriculum Design,Units of Study,Identification,College Science,Science Instruction,Research Methodology,Data,Introductory Courses

The geoscience education research (GER) enterprise faces a challenge in moving instructional resources and ideas from the well-populated domain of &quot;practitioners' wisdom&quot; into the research-tested domains of St. John and McNeal's pyramid of evidence (this volume). We suggest that the process could be accelerated by seeking out clusters of instructional materials that share a common design pattern and then researching the affordances, pitfalls, and mechanism for the cluster. As a proof of concept, we sought design patterns that would support the learning goal that students be able to use authentic geoscience data to make inferences about Earth processes and decisions about Earth-human interactions. Analyzing intro-level modules from the InTeGrate project revealed six such patterns, each of which was used in at least three modules. For each pattern, we describe the instructional sequence, provide an illustrative example, describe the variability observed within the pattern, hypothesize mechanisms by which the instructional sequence might lead to improved learning, and pose potential research questions. In order from most to least abundant, the observed design patterns are &quot;Data Puzzles,&quot; &quot;Pooling Data to See the Big Picture,&quot; &quot;Make a Decision or Recommendation,&quot; &quot;Predict-Observe-Explain,&quot; &quot;Nested Data Sets,&quot; and &quot;Deriving a New Data Type.&quot; We conclude that a research program based on design patterns for teaching and learning with authentic geoscience data is viable, and we offer recommendations for moving forward.
Homework Policy and Student Choice: Findings from a Montessori Charter School
Author: Scott, Catherine M.
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Montessori Schools,Homework,School Policy,Charter Schools,Interviews,Focus Groups,Student Attitudes,Parent Surveys,Parent Attitudes,Parent Child Relationship,Worksheets,Rote Learning,School Administration,Teacher Attitudes,Observation,Elementary School Students,Elementary School Teachers

The use of homework has been a controversial topic in education for many years: what types of homework to give, how much, and how often. In previous years, Ocean Montessori School (a pseudonym), the site of this study, offered homework like that of traditional public schools, such as worksheets and rote skill practice. Feeling conflicted about the misalignment between traditional homework and Montessori practices, the school administration changed the homework policy for the 2016-2017 academic year. The new policy encouraged students to choose what they wanted to do each night for homework. This study examines the views and practices of the teachers, students, and parents involved in the new homework policy. Data were collected from parent surveys, teacher focus groups, student interviews, observations, and student work samples. The findings indicate that, although students enjoyed the proposed homework change, it lacked sufficient structure for parents, and students needed support from teachers and parents to engage in meaningful homework tasks.
Student Learning of Complex Earth Systems: Conceptual Frameworks of Earth Systems and Instructional Design
Author: Scherer, Hannah H.
Date: 2017-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Earth Science,Instructional Design,Systems Approach,Environmental Education,Science Process Skills,Problem Solving,Geology,Educational Research,Content Analysis,Grounded Theory,Thinking Skills,Cognitive Science,Secondary School Science,Ecology,College Science,Literature Reviews

Engaging students in authentic problem solving concerning environmental issues in near-surface complex Earth systems involves both developing student conceptualization of Earth as a system and applying that scientific knowledge using techniques that model those used by professionals. In this first paper of a two-part series, we review the state of the geoscience education research field related to systems thinking in the context of Earth systems. The purpose of this study is to build on previous syntheses by conducting a configurative literature review that addresses the following research questions: (1) What are the characteristics of studies that address systems thinking in the context of Earth systems? (2) What conceptual frameworks for systems are present in the geoscience education research literature on systems thinking in the context of Earth systems? (3) How are these conceptual frameworks operationalized in research and educational interventions aimed at understanding and supporting systems thinking in the context of Earth systems? Twenty-seven papers met inclusion and exclusion criteria. Content analysis was conducted on each of these papers, and systems ideas were analyzed using the constant comparative method. Four conceptual frameworks were identified: Earth systems perspective, Earth systems thinking skills, complexity sciences, and authentic complex Earth and environmental systems. This study is, to our knowledge, the first systematic review in this area and allows a more consistent comparison of new findings with previous work. It also facilitates strengthening connections with cognitive science and education research literature related to systems thinking and complex systems.
The Effects of Choice on Reading Engagement and Comprehension for Second- and Third-Grade Students: An Action Research Report
Author: Fraumeni-McBride, Julie P.
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Reading Comprehension,Grade 2,Grade 3,Elementary School Students,Low Income,Literacy,Advantaged,Reading Material Selection,Oral Reading,Sustained Silent Reading,Institutional Characteristics,Statistical Analysis,Action Research,Observation

Poor literacy rates contribute to low school performance for children across America. In particular, low-income schools continue to struggle with declining literacy rates. Issues with literacy are often attributed to lack of reading comprehension. This study tested the effects of choice on reading comprehension in second- and third-grade students at a high-income school and a low-income school. Students were observed while reading silently and aloud to see if either method affected reading comprehension. Data were collected from 32 students before, during, and after reading to determine whether students' comprehension levels were higher when given opportunities to choose their own books or when they read assigned books. Trials were performed while students read silently and then aloud. Results indicated that students had higher comprehension levels both when they could choose their own books and when they read silently.
Development and Validation of an Assessment Instrument for Course Experience in a General Education Integrated Science Course
Author: Liu, Juhong Christie
Date: 2017-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Student Experience,Measures (Individuals),General Education,Test Construction,Test Validity,Earth Science,College Science,Electronic Learning,Online Surveys,Student Surveys,Statistical Analysis,Factor Analysis,Test Reliability,Nonmajors,STEM Education,Undergraduate Students,Questionnaires

Identifying instruments and surveys to address geoscience education research (GER) questions is among the high-ranked needs in a 2016 survey of the GER community (St. John et al., 2016). The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a student-centered assessment instrument to measure course experience in a general education integrated science course. A one-shot case study of pre-experimental design (Creswell, 2009, 2014) was used to understand student experiences in a large-enrollment course with digital content integration, including out-of-class video, online presentations, and warm-up questions, as well as in-class video paired with discussion and small group activities. In two sections taught by the same geoscientist, 209 students accessed course content in an online learning management system prior to classroom instruction. We adapted the 36-item Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ; Wilson et al., 1997) to a Web-based survey. We conducted statistical analysis on the CEQ responses, including item factor analysis, examination of communalities and measures of association, confirmatory factor analysis, and reliability and stability testing through bootstrap resampling. The statistical analyses indicate that the results in this study are comparable to those from other cultural contexts and subject areas. Given the moderate fit of the model and reasonably stable results, we propose that the core indicators of the CEQ constructs, including Appropriate Workload, Clear Goals and Standards, Generic Skills, Good Teaching, and Emphasis on Independence are sufficient to assess students' course experiences in general education science settings. These results provided moderately to strongly valid information that can help instructors in designing their technology-integrated classes, although further study with a larger sample population would be beneficial. From this study we conclude that students' perceptions of their course experiences are closely related to their development of problem-solving and analytical skills, clear course expectations to direct their own study plans, their preference for a motivating instructor, the opportunity to have a variety of learning choices, and their workload. We propose the use of a 25-item version of the CEQ that is appropriate for formative assessment in discipline-specific STEM introductory classes, including geoscience classes.
Use of Children&apos;s Popular Culture in Literacy Curricula: An Analysis of the Papers by Parry (2002) and Dickie and Shuker (2014) through the Lenses of &quot;No Research Can Be Value-Laden
Author: Altintug, Fatma Aslanturk
Date: 2018-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Popular Culture,Children,Literacy Education,Experience,Creativity,Critical Thinking,Experimenter Characteristics,Values,Educational Researchers,Critical Literacy,Research Methodology,Journal Articles,Preschool Curriculum,Focus Groups

This paper focuses on the importance of children's out-of-school experiences as their popular culture and discusses how such experiences contribute to their creativity and critical thinking. In addition to this, the paper also discusses the critical role of researchers' values in terms of how values affect the design and process of research. From this standpoint, it analyses two research articles, namely as: &quot;Popular culture, participation and progression in the literacy classroom&quot;, by Parry (2014), and &quot;Ben 10, superheroes and princesses: primary teachers' views of popular culture and school literacy&quot;, by Dickie and Shuker (2014). Throughout the analysis, the paper discusses how the values of the authors' of these papers affected their selection of the research topics, as well as the process of research, by bringing out the importance of critical literacy in pre-school curricula.
Economics of Quality Education and Paths Leading into and out of Quality Education: Evidence from Debre Markos University, Ethiopia
Author: Molla, Tsegaye
Date: 2017-11-23
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Economic Development,Factor Analysis,Path Analysis,Student Surveys,Educational Quality,Quality Assurance,Questionnaires,Undergraduate Students,Labor Market,Regression (Statistics),Educational Opportunities,Human Capital,Statistical Analysis,Least Squares Statistics

The difference in economic development among nations entirely emanates from difference in human capital development as it is the priority pathway out of poverty, diverse socio-economic and environmental crises. Although, huge investment in human capital development has long been made, mere investment will never lead to quality labor force unless paths for quality education are well substantiated. This study identifies viable paths to quality education using cross-sectional survey design by making data acquisition from 150 students selected using multistage sampling. Factor analysis and path analysis were employed to identify principal components explaining most of the variation in academic performance and to identify statistically significant paths leading into and out of quality education, respectively. Accordingly, labor market demand (unemployment), student's learning-attitude, communication skill, curriculum teaching method and learning facility are statistically significant factors, together explaining 74% of the variation in academic performance of students. Path analysis result indicated that the availability of learning facilities and macroeconomic situations (perceived unemployment and perceived employment-by-chance) is statistically significant. Thus, paradigm shifts in both internal (students and institutions) and external forces are needed. Specifically, ensuring cumulative grade point average (CGPA)-based employment as compared to chance-based employment followed by fulfillment of learning facilities will equip students for better academic results. Besides, the interaction of curriculum revision and learning facilities, and assisting students from lowincome family are necessary policy synergy interventions to realize the quest of &quot;quality education-quality labor force for economic development&quot; if implemented with greater inter-sector integration from micro to macro levels.
Examining the Behavior and Thinking Levels of Secondary School Students (6th-8th Grades) towards the Environment According to Gender
Author: Durkan, Nazmi
Date: 2017-11-23
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Grade 6,Grade 7,Grade 8,Environmental Education,Student Attitudes,Thinking Skills,Knowledge Level,Gender Differences,Cohort Analysis,Statistical Significance,Attitude Measures,Foreign Countries,Statistical Analysis

The aim of this study is to examine the behavior and thinking levels of secondary school students towards the environment according to grade and gender. Relational screening model was used for the study. The sample includes a total of 958 (512 females and 446 males) secondary school students. Of the participants, 261 (27.2%) are in 6th grade, 461 (48.1%) are in 7th grade, and 236 (24.6%) are in 8th grade. The sample was chosen randomly. As a data collection tool, Environmental Attitude Scale developed by Uzun and Saglam was used. Using ANOVA, the study shows that there is a statistically significant difference between the levels of environmental behavior in terms of grade (F (2-952), p&lt;0.01). In order to determine the source of the difference, post-hoc least significant difference (LSD) test was implemented, and the findings indicated that there is a significant difference between 6th and 7th grades and 6th and 8th grades. There is also a statistically significant difference between the environmental behavior levels of students according to their gender (F (1-952), p&lt;0.01). There is no statistically significant difference according to their gender and grades (F (2-952), p&gt;0.05). However, a significant difference was found between the levels of environmental thinking of secondary school students according to gender (F (1-952), p&lt;0.01). The level of environmental thinking of male students (X=33.94) is higher than that of females (X = 31.39).
Effectiveness of Constructivist Approach on Academic Achievement in Science at Secondary Level
Author: Adak, Samaresh
Date: 2017-11-23
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Academic Achievement,Secondary School Science,Constructivism (Learning),Pretests Posttests,Experimental Groups,Control Groups,Intelligence Tests,Matched Groups,Achievement Tests,Teaching Methods,Physical Sciences,Intermode Differences,Instructional Effectiveness,Foreign Countries,Statistical Analysis,Quasiexperimental Design

The present study investigated the effectiveness of constructivist approach on academic achievement in science at secondary level using pre-test, post-test, experimental and control group design, with 58 samples grouped as experimental group (29) and control group (29) on the basis of matching by intelligence test. The investigators conducted this experiment over three weeks by using both traditional and constructivist 7E-model. The self-developed achievement test covering Class IX Textbook of West Bengal Board of Secondary Education, India was used as tool. The study found that the students exposed to the constructivist 7E-model significantly achieved better than traditional method. In addition, students exposed to the 7E-model performed significantly higher than those exposed to the traditional teaching method in respect of their gained scores at every intelligence levels. The constructivist approach strategy is capable of improving student's mastery of content at the higher order levels of cognition. It is therefore recommended that constructivist 7E-model strategy be used in science teaching for the development of student's higher achievement in science at secondary level.
Emotional Intelligence and Self-Esteem as Predictors of Teacher Self-Efficacy
Author: Sahin, Harun
Date: 2017-11-23
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Self Esteem,Self Efficacy,Emotional Intelligence,Correlation,Multiple Regression Analysis,Self Concept Measures,Foreign Countries,Preservice Teachers,Teacher Education Programs,Measures (Individuals),Well Being,Prediction

Teacher self-efficacy is related to teachers or pre-service teachers feeling competent in their profession. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between the pre-service teachers' self-efficacy perceptions and their emotional intelligence and self-esteem. The study group of the current research comprised a total of 212 pre-service teachers of whom 141 are females (66.5%) and 71 are males (33.5%) and whose ages range from 20 to 35. The study conducted with fourth year's students in Mehmet Akif Ersoy University and from Early Childhood Education, Elementary Teacher Education, Social Studies Teacher Education, and Mathematics Teaching Program. The data of the current study were collected by using Teacher Self-efficacy Belief Scale, The Emotional Intelligence Scale-Short Form and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. In the analysis of the collected data, Pearson Product-moment Correlation Coefficient and multiple linear regression analysis were used. When the research results were examined, it was found that while some sub-dimensions of emotional intelligence (well-being, sociality and self-esteem) positively and significantly predict the pre-service teachers' self efficacy level, some other dimensions (self-control and emotionality) do not significantly predict the self-efficacy level.