There is no abstract available for this thesis.

There is no abstract available for this dissertation.

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No description available.

Teaching programs are being built throughout the world to make learning easier and more effective. Many of these programs are assumed to produce a change in behavior of the students in the direction of stated objectives of the programs. A satisfactory performance by the students on tests which are written for the programs is usually assumed to be a reflection of the effectiveness of the programs without considering the influence of knowledge which the studentsbring into the programs. The pre-instructional knowledge of students should be separated from their post-instructional knowledge when assessments of the effects of instruction are conducted.In order to establish a framework for examining the effects of specific instructional tasks at the demonstration stations for the biology program for non-biology majors at Ball State University, a cyclic model for evaluating and instructing students was designed. The present study involved only the evaluating phase of the model. Four multiple-choice test items were written for each of 97 demonstration stations. A total of 388 multiple-choice test items constituted the measurement instrument for the study.A minimum of 50 students were tested before and after instructions at each of the 97 stations. Students arrived at the demonstration stations with varying degrees of related knowledge. Although significant knowledge gains occurred at each of the 97 demonstration stations, students acquired substantially larger amounts of knowledge at some stations than at others. The knowledge gains (which reflect the interaction-product of individuals' natural capabilities and the effects of instruction) were ranked for the nine units into which the program was sub-divided. This ranking reflects knowledge gains on a relative scale. Students' pre-instructional knowledge of some units was low with the result that when pre-instructional scores were subtracted from post-instructional scores the knowledge gains were high with correspondingly high ranking in knowledge gains. This does not necessarily mean that the total knowledge of the student is high for such units.When the mean post-test scores for each unit were ranked, an estimate of the relative total amount of knowledge of the students after they interacted with the instructional materials was obtained. These rankings are considered valid only to the extent that the measurement instrument measured the constructs it purports to measure.Students' knowledge gains were substantial enough to encourage continual use of the demonstration stations. However, data indicate that demonstration stations should be examined and that revision should be initiated which could enhance the learning experiences provided for students.

The goal of the present research study was to develop, test, and evaluate a unit of study covering the topic of structure and function of living things with special emphasis on the human body. The unit of study was designed for slow learners at the secondary school level. A teacher's guide integrated with student materials was also developed. Relevancy and appropriateness of subject matter and teaching approaches for slow learners were considered in the development of the unit of study. A group-paced teacher-directed approach was selected as the basic method of instruction. The effectiveness of the unit of study was measured, by determining the significance of difference between pretest and posttest scores of the students involved in the testing program. The effectiveness of the unit of study was also assessed by means of student and teacher responses on an evaluation instrument.

The objective of this research was to contrast the effects of programmed vs. conventional instruction on the test and discussion performances of beginning college biology students. The study was intended to help instructors evaluate the possible benefits of including programmed textbook units within otherwise "typical" courses.

This research focuses on uncovering, from the perspectives of practitioners themselves, the practical knowledge and understanding that shapes three teachers' successful teaching of biology at A level. Adopting a case study approach, it investigates the ways in which these biology teachers characterise their successful teaching of the subject at A level. It also explores the subject matter knowledge and understanding that shapes and accounts for these characterisations without making assumptions about the nature of this knowledge. Data are collected through the non-participant observation of a connected series of the teachers' A level biology lessons as well as informant-style interviewing following the observed lessons. The findings suggest that the main aim of the teachers' successful teaching of biology at A level is to ensure their students achieve examination success. In light of this, their teaching can be characterised in terms of three central features. First, they believe that to achieve this aim their students only need to know the substantive dimension of biological knowledge - they do not consider knowing the syntactic dimension to be a prerequisite to examination success. Second, they believe that their students need to conceptualise this substantive biological knowledge in several patterned ways. Third, they believe that the best way to encourage their students to develop and retain these specific conceptualisations is by adopting carefully controlled and highly structured teacher-centred pedagogical strategies. The teachers' characterisations appear to be shaped and accounted for by specific conceptions of biology which provide an overall structure to substantive biological knowledge - a structure that is determined by various guiding principles. This research provides a first attempt to map out the practical knowledge and understanding that shapes the successful teaching of biology at A level from the perspectives of teachers themselves. The ways in which these teachers characterise their teaching differ significantly from the ways in which such teaching is described in most of the extant literature in science education on teaching and learning. This study suggests that the teachers, far from lacking in knowledge, skills and understanding, are highly skilled practitioners who respond to the local and national contexts in which they work and, taking account of these, shape their subject matter teaching accordingly such that their main aim - student examination success - is achievable. This study highlights the discrepancy between academic writing in science education on practice and practice itself. The thesis ends with a consideration of the implications of the study for the research agenda in science education, the school science curriculum and the curriculum for teacher education in both preparing and supporting the professional development of science teachers.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of problem-based learning (PBL) as an alternative teaching method in biology. Eighty-one, ninth grade biology students worked collaboratively in groups, of 2 or 3, to generate a fictitious patient case, which was then exchanged, for other students to solve. This process was repeated on two occasions. Data from pre/post questionnaires and groups' verbal and written protocols were analyzed. Results showed that certain cognitive processes strengthened over time. Significant improvements were also noted in the quality and content of students' written scenarios and solutions, and in students' interest in working collaboratively. Overall, this study confirms that PBL has numerous benefits and holds great potential as an instructional method in biology.

Teachers’ perceptions are that currently dissemination in schools is ineffective and must change. The tensions that surround the dissemination of the reports are late arrival of Examiners’ reports which clash with preparation of learners for the first term examinations. Furthermore, the time the Examiners’ reports get into teachers’ hands are late and thus result in teachers rushing through it to incorporate the recommendations given in it in the second term or in some instances teachers do not attend to it at all. The number of copies of the Examiners’ reports provided to schools appears to be inadequate. HODs still having to duplicate reports before disseminating them add to their work load and further delay dissemination of the reports to individual subject teachers. Although the teaching and learning approach in Namibian classrooms should be based on LCE, dissemination of the actual physical reports are currently restricted to teachers only with them only verbally communicating feedback given in the reports to their learners. Support in dissemination of Examiners’ reports from peers and superiors in the majority of the schools appear to be lacking. Changes would like to be seen in the timing the Examiners’ reports are available at schools, the number of hard copies provided to schools and exploring and embarking on alternative ways of disseminating the reports. The percentage of utilization of the Examiners’ reports is relatively high, yet still not the optimum. A reasonable number of Namibian learners are disadvantaged and not exposed to a source of information that can make their Biology learning more efficient because some of their teachers are not using Examiners’ reports in their teaching. The main reason for non-utilization of the reports by Biology teachers is a result of inefficient dissemination at individual schools. The argument being that if the reports are not given to the teachers they and especially novice teachers will not know about the existence of this useful teaching and learning resource. Examiners’ reports are an important and systematic impartial source of high quality data on learning in the Namibian education system. Therefore, effective dissemination and utilization of the reports must be advocated and strengthened. DNEA and the Khomas regional office should embark on tapping into available development in information technology by doing research into the possibility of disseminating the Examiners’ reports electronically. A pilot in this regard should be conducted in the Khomas region as a measure to ensure dissemination can become more efficient in the future. To ensure that teachers optimally utilize the Examiners’ reports, they should be provided to schools when the school first term commences. The Khomas regional office should strengthen their involvement in utilization by arranging annual workshops where the content of the reports can be discussed to ensure that the feedback given in the reports can aid in developing and strengthening Biology teachers’ subject content knowledge as well as pedagogical content knowledge. Optimal utilization of Examiners’ reports can enable mediation in learners which can ensure effective learning and mastery of Biology by learners which can ultimately lead to an improvement in pass rate in Biology. Therefore, appropriate support to aid teachers’ professional development can enhance maximum utilization. Furthermore, an area for future research could be to give the Examiners’ reports to learners to determine the impact it has on their learning.