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The purpose of this study was to ascertain the Agricultural Literacy level of seventh and eighth grade science teachers in Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado. Respondents were tested in the eleven areas encompassing the definition of agricultural literacy as reported by Frick, Kahler and Miller study in the Agricultural Education Journal, Summer 1991. Findings of the study included: (1) science teacher in middle and junior high schools are not agriculturally literate according to the information gained from questions in the eleven concept areas proposed by Frick, Kahler, and Miller (1991); (2) There is no difference in the agricultural literacy level of science teachers in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah; (3) Gender does not affect the agricultural literacy level of science teachers; (4) Education in Agriculture does not affect the agricultural literacy level of science teachers; (5) There is no difference in agricultural literacy level of rural and urban science teachers; (6) Agricultural literacy is not changed in teachers who have lived on a farm or ranch after their eighth birthday.

This work identified some of the interpretations students make about their experiences in a college-level chemistry course for non-science majors. By understanding such interpretations, chemical educators might be better able to work with students to construct a more effective curriculum for non-science majors to learn chemistry. / In order to understand students' interpretations, several sources of data were collected or crafted including: interviews with students (and the instructor), classroom observations, documents from the class, student essays, and surveys. The data were analyzed and presented using qualitative, quantitative, and narrative techniques. / Two mechanisms were used to understand interpretations students made of the classroom. First, categorization schemes the students used were studied with the goal of understanding how they categorize their experiences about knowledge, teaching and learning in the classroom. The second mechanism focused on the metaphoric and mythic constructions students made of the class. Following these mechanisms, a student conception of curriculum was juxtaposed with chemists' and curriculum theorists conceptions to identity issues to consider for curricular reform. The interpretations students make about the learning environment was the final focus of this work. / The primary findings of this work are two-fold, and have implications for learning, teaching and research. First, students conceptualize knowledge, teaching and learning in a variety of ways. These different conceptualizations have consequences for the manner in which students assess teaching effectiveness. Second, some students prefer a learning environment where they have a greater equality of voice with the instructor about how the class is conceived and maintained. In order to achieve such an emancipatory curriculum, the participants (students and instructor) need to negotiate an agreed-upon curricular reality, even if it requires challenging institutional or professional norms. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-02, Section: A, page: 0474. / Major Professor: Kenneth Tobin. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the effects of various presentations of objectives on learning a set of four acid-base chemistry lessons presented on a microcomputer interactive videodisc (MCIV) system. Focusing on the possibilities of how objectives could be presented to the learner, this researcher analyzed and compared the achievement of 132 high school chemistry students receiving MCIV instruction, randomly assigned into three groups: (1) those presented with lesson objectives, identified as objectives, through text; (2) those presented with objectives through text and visualization, or (3) those who heard only the goals, stated on audio track, but no objectives. Several weeks before the study began, a pretest was administered by the chemistry teachers. Students were scheduled to work individually with the system for six class periods. The three treatments were contained on separate lesson diskettes. Students in the two groups with objectives were first shown a screen which briefly explained what objectives were. Those in the "text only" condition were shown the objectives for a lesson, one at a time, by computer text. Those in the "text plus visualization" group were also shown each objective, but were then shown a visualization of it, such as a still frame, a graph, a formula, or a video sequence. Those in the "goals only" group heard only a general statement of the goals of the lesson. After completing the lessons, the students' learning of verbal information and intellectual skills was assessed by an objectives-referenced posttest. An analysis of covariance, with the pretest as the covariate, revealed no significant differences among the groups. / Time data were collected and analyzed; again, there were no significant differences among treatment groups in the amount of time spent on the instructional materials, nor was there a correlation between time and posttest score. Furthermore, chi square analyses indicated no significant differences among treatment groups on their responses to attitudinal items in the questionnaire. However, the majority of students were very positive about their experiences with the MCIV lessons. Lack of significant results might have been because of the effects of such an instructional novelty, or because of the structured materials being used. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 48-02, Section: A, page: 0370. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1987.

This interpretive case study was designed to describe the classroom goals and roles of two high school students enrolled in a physics course. The interpretation also consisted of the participating students' views of their teacher's classroom roles. Goals and roles were examined in light of the participating students' perceived and preferred classroom learning environments. / Qualitative data were constructed from 95 hours of classroom observations and 18 hours of audio recorded interviews with the two participating students. The interviews focused on classroom goals and roles, the teacher's role in the classroom, and other salient issues which emerged in the physics classroom. / Student stories were constructed from the interview and observation data. Data were organized with the aid of a qualitative computer software program. Emerging thematic patterns were woven into storylines focusing on: (1) understanding mechanics, (2) ethics, and (3) gender. These three themes were interpreted in the context of the participating students' perceived and preferred physics classroom learning environments. / It was problematic for one of the participating students, named Sally (a pseudonym), to understand the mechanics associated with the assigned textbook word problems. Sally was a novice physics learner who did not make the connection between the mathematical solutions to the word problems and mechanics. However, Sally excelled in the mousetrap car and egg drop container physics projects. The other participating student, named Frank (a pseudonym), wanted the teacher to illustrate how to solve the word problems and lecture over the mechanics. / At the beginning of the trimester, Sally's classroom goals were to learn physics and earn a good grade. Learning physics became a secondary goal for Sally as the term progressed. Frank's primary goal was to learn physics. His secondary classroom goals were to earn a good grade and be entertained. / Ethical issues which emerged in this study centered upon Sally's honesty and Frank's courage in the classroom. A significant gender issue was that Sally sought a caring relationship with the male teacher to facilitate her understanding of mechanics. Frank considered caring relationships less important to facilitate his learning. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-11, Section: A, page: 4339. / Major Professor: Kenneth G. Tobin. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1995.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 35-02, Section: B, page: 0935. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1974.