The purpose of this study was to examine fifth,
seventh, and tenth graders' attitudes toward school and
classroom science by means of questionnaires and
interviews. In particular, the study hoped to determine
(a) if a relationship existed between these two attitudes,
(b) what relationship, if any, grade level, gender,
ethnicity,...
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the levels of group cooperation on students' achievement during a series of physical science laboratory activities. Six intact seventh grade physical science classes taught by two teachers, with each teacher instructing three classes, were selected from two middle schools....
The purpose of this study was to identify the management demands that may
be unique to science classrooms. The sample consisted of three biology teachers and
three language arts teachers from two high schools located within the same school
district. To establish a basic framework, two quantitative questions were addressed:...
The purpose of this study was to examine whether teaching materials designed
around fourth graders' preconceptions effectively produced conceptual change about
light propagation. Four Taiwanese fourth-grade intact classes (194 subjects), taught by
two teachers, participated in this study. The experimental group was exposed to the
conceptual change materials (CCM), and...
Authentic assessment of visitor learning in museum settings is a challenging
endeavor. Evaluation literature includes very few studies that link adult visitors' behavior
to their learning. Multiple data collection methods in a naturalistic environment hold
great promise for increasing understanding of informal public education.
In 1997, Oregon State University's Hatfield...
A large amount of research has been conducted that establishes that students
of all ages hold conceptions about a variety of science topics that are not in line
with accepted scientific beliefs. These preconceptions have been identified in a
variety of ways in research situations; this study focused on how...
Previous research has shown a gap between chemistry students' conceptual
and computational understandings of chemistry topics such as gas laws,
equilibrium, and reactions. This qualitative study examined the conceptual and
computational understandings of stoichiometry of college students enrolled in a
large lecture Introductory Chemistry course. Factors that might influence students'...
The purpose of this study was to analyze the individual reasoning of
24 adults as they made decisions for two communities regarding municipal
wastewater treatment. The two western Oregon communities were both
responding to notices from governmental agencies of higher environmental
standards for the purification of wastewater before it could...
This exploratory investigation aimed to identify preservice science teachers' conceptions of the nature of science (NOS), and worldviews that represent their culturally dependent beliefs about the world, in the context of Taiwan. The interrelationships between the responses elicited from both the assessments of NOS understandings and worldviews were examined. Participants...
A teacher may say, "I have twenty years of experience,"
but just what does it mean? This study suggests explanations
for the meaning of "Experience," not by looking at the number
of years in a classroom, but at what teachers did in those
years that could make the teaching experience...