Professions and careers related to science and mathematics lack representation of minorities. Within these underrepresented minority populations there is no other group more affected than Latina women and girls. Women in general, are still underrepresented in many areas of our society. While women's roles are changing in today's society, most changes encourage the participation of more White/Anglo women in traditionally male roles. Latina women are still more disadvantaged than White women. There is no doubt that education is significant in increasing the participation of minorities in the fields of science and mathematics, especially for minority girls (Oakes, 1990; Rodriguez, 1993). This study explored the interests, life experiences, characteristics and motivations of Latina girls of Puerto Rican origin who are successful in science and mathematics high school courses. The study identifies factors that can influence the interest of Latina girls of Puerto Rican origin in science and mathematics career choices. This research is significant and relevant to educators and policy makers, especially to science and mathematics educators. The research is primarily descriptive and exploratory. It explores the social characteristics of Latina girls and professional women who have been successful in science and mathematics high school courses. The research offers the reader a visit to the participants' homes with descriptions and the opportunity to explore the thoughts and life experiences of Latina girls, their mothers and young Latina professionals of Puerto Rican origin. This research reveals the common characteristics of successful students found in the Latina girls of Puerto Rican origin who where interviewed. Creating a portrait of Latina girls of Puerto Rican origin who are successful in science and mathematics high school courses in one of the school districts of western Massachusetts. The research findings reveal that teacher relationships, family expectations, mother's support, mother - daughter relationship, cultural pride, talent recognition, the girls' perception of teachers and school and the girls strong desire to change their economic situation contribute to their success in school regardless of their low socio-economic backgrounds.

This study explores the career progression and life history of black mathematicians and scientists who teach on university faculties in the United States. It investigates the following questions: Why are there so few black mathematicians and scientists in colleges and universities in the United States? What is the experience of black students who express an interest in science and math? What barriers do black scientists and mathematicians face as they move through school towards their career in higher education? What factors facilitate their success? The current literature shows that there are few women and minorities teaching or working in math and science compared to white men, although reasons for this underrepresentation are still not well understood. I explored this phenomenon by conducting two sets of in-depth interviews with twelve black faculty, six women, six men, from both historically black and predominantly white higher educational institutions in the United States. My interviews were based upon a life history approach that identified the participants' perceptions of the barriers and obstacles, as well as the supports and facilitators encountered in their schooling and career progression. The findings from the study show the importance of a strong family, community, and teacher support for the participants throughout their schooling. Support systems continued to be important in their faculty positions. These support systems include extended family members, teachers, community members, supervisors, and classmates, who serve as role models and mentors. The life study interviews provide striking evidence of the discrimination, isolation, and harassment due to race and gender experienced by black male and female mathematicians and scientists. The racial discrimination and the compounding effect of racism and sexism play out differently for the male and female participants in this study. This study suggests directions for future research on the experiences of young black students who are currently in the math and science educational pipeline. It also offers recommendations for ways in which parents, teachers, administrators, faculty, advisors, and government officials can enhance the educational experiences of black students who express interest and have skills in math and science.

A growing body of evidence suggests that some Science teachers use drama-based strategies in order to promote understanding of abstract scientific concepts. These strategies employ action and imagination to simulate systems and processes that are too fast, too slow, too big, too small, too expensive or too dangerous to observe in the classroom. A small group of quantitative and qualitative studies over the past thirty years has suggested that these physical simulations enable learning in secondary students, by promoting discourse and by conveying concept features through a range of sensations. The field is as yet under-theorised, consisting of single case designs and unreplicated methodologies. This multiple case study focused upon an intervention design based on a pedagogical model developed in my Masters research. This study aimed to explore the characteristics of students' interaction and the nature of their resultant conceptions over four months. Each case focussed upon one of eight Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 classes across a variety of UK schools. In each, a curriculum-based particle theory topic was taught in a double-period lesson. Data included video, participant observations, and interviews with three students from each class collected at pre, post and delayed intervals. Findings suggested that the pedagogy engendered engagement and self-regulation in group model-making tasks, and supported thought experiment-type visualisations of dynamic processes. Conceptual development was found to continue up to four months after the lessons. A model of learning was developed in which social interaction and multimodal discourse promoted the association of conceptual features with affective, visual and embodied images, which supported recall, discussion and further conceptual development in the longer term.

Teachers for generations have struggled with the challenge of motivating students to learn in their classes. Literature suggests that a positive way to increase student motivation and academic achievement in science is with the laboratory experience. With the lack of adequate laboratory space in our schools, teachers are having to "make do" in science classes with limited space and budget. A need exists for 9th grade Earth Science laboratory activities that meet county course objectives and yet are simple enough to be used in a classroom setting, thereby eliminating the need for extra expenses for the science department. This project has developed a set of laboratory experiences appropriate for 9th grade Earth Science courses in Duval County.

This study intented to investigate the effects of activities based on role-play on ninth grade students&rsquo / achievement and attitudes at simple electric circuits. In this study, Physics Achievement Test was developed to evaluate students&rsquo / achievement on simple electric circuits and role-play activities about simple electric circuits were prepared. In addition, Physics Attitude Scale was administered to explore students&rsquo / attitude towards physics. The present study was conducted at one of the high schools in Acipayam during 2003-2004 Spring Semester with a total number of 104 (51 female and 53 male) 9th students from four classes of two physics teachers. One class of each physics teacher was assigned as experimental and instructed by role-play activities on the other hand the other classes of each physics teacher was as control group and instructed by traditional method. The teachers were trained for how to implement role-play activities in the class before the study began. Physics Attitude Scale and Physics Achievement Tests were applied twice as a pre-test and after a three-week treatment period as a post-test to both groups to assess and compare the effectiveness of two different types of teaching / role-play versus traditional teaching method. Data were collected utilizing Physics Achievement Test and Physics Attitude Scale. Data of this study were analyzed utilizing descriptive and inferential statistics. The scores of the post-tests were analyzed by statistical techniques of Multivariate Analyses of Covariance (MANCOVA). Experimental group compared to control group tended to favor a significant difference in the achievement. However the statistical analysis failed to show any significant differences between the experimental and control groups&rsquo / attitude towards physics at simple electric circuits.

The main purpose of this study was to develop a three-tier test for assessing ninth-grade students&rsquo / misconceptions about simple electric circuits. The first tier of an item on the test presents an ordinary multiple choice question, the second tier presents a set of reasons for the response given to the first tier, and the third tier questions if examinees are confident for their responses to the first two tiers. The study was carried in Polatli, the biggest outlying district of capital Ankara. In the light of the related literature, interviews were conducted by the researcher so as to collect information about students&rsquo / understanding of simple electric circuits. Thereby, a list of misconceptions was acquired and it was used for developing an open-ended questionnaire. Next, the questionnaire was examined by two physics teachers and an instructor from METU for establishing content validity. The questionnaire was administered to 99 ninth-grade students and their responses were categorized in the purpose of determining the distracters of the three-tier test / the Simple Electric Circuit Diagnostic Test (SECDT). At last, the SECDT was developed and administered to 124 ninth-grade students. The validity of the SECDT was established by means of quantitative methods in addition to the qualitative methods. A positive correlation coefficient was estimated between student scores and confidence levels, that is, successful students on the SECDT were more confident for their responses than unsuccessful students. This result means that the SECDT works properly, for example, students generally understood the items and found their reasoning among the distracters. Also, what items measure was investigated by means of factor analysis, and three reasonable factors were obtained. Furthermore, proportions of false positives and negatives were estimated and found as 17.47 % and 10.82 %, respectively. As well as, Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient of student scores was estimated as 0.69, but the reliability coefficient of student misconception scores was estimated as 0.33. Consequently, the SECDT scores are valid and reliable measure of students&rsquo / qualitative understanding of simple electric circuits / however, misconception scores may not be reliable.

The purpose of this thesis is to develop a comprehensive educational program involving student activities related to the biotope of the garden pond. The theoretical part deals with general issues of inquiry-based education and the utilization of school gardens. The main contribution of the thesis is the creation of a concrete educational program, comprising seven activities which employ the environment of a garden pond. It is designated for biology and geography classes at middle/secondary schools. Each activity portfolio consists of a methodological sheet for teachers and a work sheet for students. Most activities can be carried in the environment of any water tank; some activities can be also done in the school building. The training program was pilot tested with elementary school teachers and subsequently with sixth and seventh grade students. Concurrently, an evaluation of the program's effectiveness was implemented in the form of written tests. The thesis discusses the findings from this evaluation as well as the practical verification of the suggested program that was carried out on teachers and on students.

The objective of this research is to explore the perceptions of UCF Upward Bound Program participants using focus groups and pre-posttest surveys in order to assess students' level of understanding of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) related coursework, secondary education preparation in science and mathematics, and their perceptions of barriers to a STEM college education. Also, this study centers on the summer 2010 science and mathematics residential portion of the Upward Bound Program. Program outcomes and effectiveness were evaluated based on the change in student insight of the Upward Bound Program's stake in their secondary education. In addition, pre-posttest measures and interviews allowed a greater understanding of teacher and parent involvement in high school coursework success. Factors that involve self-efficacy, same or other group orientation and perceptions of student college environment were also analyzed. This research facilitated the understanding of first generation, low income and multicultural student's perceptions and what they view as a benefit or a hindrance to entering and successfully completing degrees in post-secondary institutions, specifically in STEM-related disciplines.

In dieser Studie wurde eine auf eigenständiges Schreiben beruhende Lernmethode im Rahmen einer quasiexperimentellen Studie im Themengebiet Akustik im 11. Jahrgang des Gymnasiums eingesetzt. Aus den vorliegenden lernpsychologischen Grundlagen und didaktischen Erkenntnissen wird eine auf selbstständiges Schreiben beruhende Lernmethode und ein Modell für die Textproduktion für den Einsatz im Physikunterricht entwickelt. Die Intervention, die in der sieben Schulstunden umfassenden Lerneinheit durchgeführt wurde, bestand aus einer vorhergehenden kurzen Einführung in das Schreiben von Texten zu physikalischen Fragestellungen und dem anschließenden Einsatz von speziellen Schreibaufgaben, die in dem herkömmlichen Physikunterricht eingebettet wurden. Der Unterricht zur Akustik in der Interventions- und einer Vergleichsgruppe hatte den selben zeitlichen Umfang und war überwiegend identisch, da die gleiche Grobplanung des Unterrichts und die gleichen Lernziele vorlagen. An der Studie nahmen vier Kurse, zwei davon in der Interventionsgruppe und zwei in der Vergleichsgruppe, teil. Insgesamt konnten 47 Schülerinnen und Schüler in der statistischen Auswertung berücksichtigt werden. Unter Verwendung von Vortests, direkten und verzögerten Nachtests, und dem Vergleich der Interventions- mit der Vergleichsgruppe, wurde der Lernerfolg durch das eigenständige Schreiben untersucht. Als Kontrollvariable wurde der vorhandene allgemeine Wortschatz erhoben. Am Ende der Studie wurde außerdem mit Hilfe eines Fragebogens in der Interventionsgruppe die Einstellung zu der Schreib-Lernmethode erhoben. Die Studie zeigt, dass der Einsatz der Schreib-Lernmethode im Physikunterricht auch in einem nur begrenzten Zeitraum nach einer kurzen Einführung (eine Schulstunde) in die Thematik des Erstellens von Texten mit physikalischen Inhalten möglich ist. Die Auswertung zeigt, dass die Schülerinnen und Schüler durch das in den traditionellen Unterricht eingebettete selbstständige Schreiben von Texten zu physikalischen Fragestellungen Faktenwissen und Fähigkeiten zum Auslesen und Interpretieren von Diagrammen ebenso wie bei rein traditionellen Lernmethoden erwerben und festigen. Somit bereichert das selbstständige Produzieren von Physik-Texten die Methodenvielfalt des Physikunterrichts. Zusätzlich zu dem physikalischen Fachwissen lernen die Schülerinnen und Schüler durch die Schreib-Lernmethode physikalische Sachverhalte zu versprachlichen und in Kontexte einzubinden. Der statistisch signifikante Effekt bei dieser Fähigkeit ist im mittleren Bereich. Es zeigt sich eine deutliche Abhängigkeit der Fähigkeit, physikalische Sachverhalte zu versprachlichen, vom vorhandenen physikalischen Fachwissen. Zum allgemeinen Wortschatz besteht ein geringer Zusammenhang. Da kein Zusammenhang zwischen der Fähigkeit, die Fachsprache korrekt zu verwenden und der Fähigkeit zum eigenständigen Versprachlichen von physikalischen Sachverhalten festgestellt werden konnte, scheinen sich diese beiden Arten der Versprachlichung hinsichtlich der involvierten Kompetenzen zu unterscheiden. Das vorgestellte Modell für die Textproduktion wurde insgesamt von den Schülerinnen und Schülern, und besonders von denen mit einer geringen Selbsteinschätzung ihrer Fähigkeiten zum Schreiben von Physik-Texten, als hilfreich eingestuft und kann daher für den Einsatz im Physikunterricht empfohlen werden.