M.Ed. (Curriculum Studies) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Secondary school students are being inadequately prepared for an active understanding of genetic diseases. There is good evidence that students are being graduated out of high school, without even a basic knowledge of the more than two thousand genetic diseases. This work presents this evidence, as well as highlights some of the difficulties and challenges found in the teaching of genetics. This project is aimed at ascertaining how much secondary school level, life science and biology teachers know about genetic diseases. Also, by concentrating on four specific genetic diseases (Cystic Fibrosis; Tay-Sachs Disease; Sickle Cell Anemia; Thalassemia) that are representative of the racial and ethnic distribution in United States secondary schools, this study determines how much and to what degree, teachers are teaching about the subject. Twenty-six life science and biology teachers from the Greater Boston Area, were randomly chosen from the junior and senior high school science teachers that volunteered to participate. All responses from the interview which contained twenty-six questions, were recorded and scored as to accuracy. A Reliability Test was conducted using the process of "test and retest", to determine the test's coefficient of stability. Data was analyzed by a VAX/VMS using the STATA statistical analysis program. This research investigated four questions: (1) Are biology and life science secondary school teachers teaching the basic principles of genetic diseases? (2) Do biology and life science secondary school teachers know the basic principles of genetic diseases? (3) Are biology and life science secondary school teachers teaching the characteristics and mechanisms of the four specific genetic diseases--Cystic Fibrosis; Tay-Sachs Disease; Sickle Cell Anemia; Thalassemia? (4) Do biology and life science secondary school teachers, know and understand the characteristics and mechanisms of the four specific genetic diseases? Using the results of this study, a Genetic Disease Curriculum Strategy Format was developed. The purpose of this teaching manual is: (1) to increase the level of science teachers' knowledge and understanding of genetic diseases; (2) to enhance science teachers' instructional ability; (3) to supplement existing biology and life science curriculum; (4) to assist educators in writing new genetic diseases curriculum.

Despite evidence that an understanding of the individual's interpretive framework is an important factor in understanding effective teaching, there is little research in higher education which addresses this variable. The purpose of the study was to facilitate an understanding of the personal context within which the behaviors and strategies of effective teachers exist. Designed as a case study of the University of Massachusetts Amherst Distinguished Teaching Award winners from 1962 to 1995 (N = 47, 69% of total population, representing all of the Schools/Colleges within the University), it employed a written survey to gain data about faculty backgrounds and adoption of teaching attitudes and activities which the literature has identified as characteristic of effective teachers, followed by in-depth interviews (N = 14) to explore the participants' personal constructions of the process of teaching. The major findings include: all participants' definitions of teaching reflected a constructivist orientation to the process; a consistency in participants' definitions of the major goals and processes of teaching, and motivations and rewards for teaching across age, discipline, and sex; close attention to their own and their students' experiences is the primary source of learning about and motivation for teaching; the goal of relating to students is to facilitate learning, thus participants define an appropriate faculty-student distance in their relationships with students; teaching is considered an activity with intellectual value; evidence of individual shifts in the construction of their goals for teaching and of their relationships with students, their content and the context that parallel established schema for epistemological and intellectual development, indicating the possibility of a psychological developmental aspect to the development of effective teachers. Some implications for further research include the need for efforts to clarify possible epistemological developmental aspects to the development of faculty as teachers, to research the connections between developmental stage and teaching effectiveness and conceptualization of efforts to improve teaching as incorporating more than attention to methods.

This exploratory study proposes to help new bilingual classroom teachers and administrators of new teachers to overcome problems related to discipline in the bilingual classroom. In this study, the respondents are experienced elementary teachers with two or more years in the targeted district's schools. The researcher was unable to locate any studies dealing directly with bilingual classrooms and student discipline. The literature review looks at the related issues of dropouts, absenteeism, rules, beyond rules, teacher burnout, parent involvement, the role of the administrator, the role of culture, cultural differences, bicognition, and teaching practices. All of the above mentioned are germane to the issue of student discipline, directly or indirectly, in American schools in urban settings. A 28-item bilingual (English/Spanish) questionnaire was responded to by 48 of 50 experienced bilingual elementary teachers solicited in this urban school district in Western Massachusetts. Each year, this district experiences a bilingual elementary teacher turnover of about 20% to 25%. The experienced bilingual elementary teachers in this study reflected on their first two years of teaching and described their attitudes and positive strategies for success. Their responses emerged to the researcher as a framework to develop a college course on creating a positive classroom ambience and/or teacher training workshops on classroom discipline and/or training, for the more effective involvement of school administrators. Chapter II should be given to teachers (bilingual or non-bilingual) as a handbook for guidance.

The purpose of this work was to create a framework for the design of a hands-on approach to explore environmental issues in Puerto Rico with emphasis on endangered species. The product of the action research is a curriculum for children, ages seven to eleven consisting of fourteen formal lessons and twenty-three informal lessons that focus on ten chosen endangered species of Puerto Rico. The framework created in this study is based on the Environmental Education Goal developed in the Belgrade Workshop that took place in Yugoslavia in 1975. A theoretical framework for the curriculum design was presented as Chapter III of the dissertation. It included a description of the historical background of the island of Puerto Rico. It also presents a general historical review that identified specific moments in the history of education in Puerto Rico and general information about the science curriculum on the Island. The hands-on curriculum in Spanish for Puerto Rican children, ages seven to eleven, was developed as part of the study and was presented as Chapter IV. The chapter addressed environmental issues pertaining to ten specific endangered species from Puerto Rico and included fourteen formal lessons and twenty-three informal. The ten endangered species included in the study are the following:(UNFORMATTED TABLE OR EQUATION FOLLOWS)$$\vbox{\halign{#\hfil&&\quad#\hfil\cr$\underline{\rm Scientific\ Name}$&$\underline{\rm Common\ Name}$\cr\cr Amphiphous:\cr {\it Eleutherodactylus jasperi}& Golden Coqu\'\i\cr\cr Birds:\cr {\it Falco peregrinus tundrius}& Arctic Peregrine Falcon\cr\cr {\it Pelecanus o. occidentalis}& Brown Pelican\cr\cr {\it Charadrius alexandrinus-}\cr {\it tenuirostris} & Piping Plover\cr\cr Plants:\cr {\it Cyathea dryopteroides} (Fern)& Helecho Arb\'oreo del Bosque\cr & Enano\cr\cr {\it Stahlia monosperma} (Tree)& C\'obana Negra\cr\cr {\it Ternstroemia luquillensis} (Tree) & Palo Colorado\cr\cr {\it Cassia mirabilis} (Shrub)& $\surd$\cr\cr Reptiles:\cr {\it Chelonia mydas} & Green Sea Turtle\cr\cr {\it Cyclura stejnegeri} & Mona Ground Iguana\cr}}$$(TABLE/EQUATION ENDS) ftn$\surd$ = Some species do not have common name.

One reason science enrichment programs were created was to address the underrepresentation of women and minorities in science. These programs were designed to increase underrepresented groups' interest in science and science careers. One attempt to increase students' interest in science was the Summer Science Exploration Program (SSEP). The SSEP was a two week, inquiry-based summer science camp offered by Hampshire College for students entering grades seven and eight. Students who participated were from three neighboring school districts in Western Massachusetts. The goal of the program was to stimulate greater interest in science and scientific careers among middle school students, in particular among females and students of color. A review of the literature of inquiry-based science programs revealed that the effect of inquiry-based programs on students' attitudes towards science is typically investigated shortly after the end of the treatment period. The findings from this study contribute to our understanding of the long-term impact of inquiry-based science enrichment programs on students' attitude towards science and their interest in science careers. The data collected consisted of quantitative survey data as well as qualitative data through case studies of selected participants from the sample population. This study was guided by the following questions: (1) What was the nature and extent of the impact of the Summer Science Exploration Program (SSEP) on students' attitudes towards science and interest in science careers, in particular among females and students of color? (2) What factors, if any, other than participation in SSEP impacted students' attitude towards science and interest in scientific careers? (3) In what other ways, if any, did the participants benefit from the program? Conclusions drawn from the data indicate that SSEP helped participants maintain a high level of interest in science. In contrast, students who applied but were not accepted showed a decrease in their attitude towards science and their interest in science careers over time, compared to the participants. The interviews suggested that students enjoyed the inquiry-based approach that was used at camp. In addition, students said they found the hands-on inquiry-based approach used at camp more interesting than traditional methods of instruction (lectures and note taking) used at school. Recommendations for future research are presented.

This study observes and investigates the relationship between a predominantly White institution of higher education and its African-American student population. It explores how Black students conceptualize the uniqueness of their experience at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in terms of the Committee for the Collegiate Education of Black and other Minority Students (CCEBMS) Program. Three different methodologies were utilized to assess the inquiry. Focus groups, individual interviews, and survey-questionnaires were implemented to gain greater insights into the realities of Black juniors and seniors at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. A total of fourteen--nine women and five men--participated in the focus groups and interviews. The focus groups met twice and took place over a two-week period. Six individuals out of the original fourteen volunteered to be interviewed, so as to look closer at the issues previously raised in the focus group sessions. Lastly, survey-questionnaires were generated based upon the information revealed via the focus group and interview sessions. Over two hundred-fifty surveys were disseminated across campus to African-American juniors and seniors in an effort to weigh their responses against the data previously collected. The qualitative and quantitative instrumentation used examined the attitudes of African-American students towards university practices and whether or not the construction of a culturally-specific programming, otherwise known as the Committee for the Collegiate Education of Black and other Minority Students (CCEBMS), helped shape or modify their opinions. The findings of this study revealed that: (1) Black students in social science courses encounter a highly racialized climate, which expects Black students to represent the entire Black collective; (2) Black students, initially, are frustrated by having to negotiate where they belong and how they're supposed to behave in a racially segregated setting in all contexts that relate to campus life; (3) the Committee for the Collegiate Education of Black and other Minority Students (CCEBMS) Program minimally influences or impacts how African-American collegians interpret their experience at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst; and (4) that many Black students believe that their success relies on their ability to effectively balance the duality of their reality, which requires them to be part-student/part-politician.

Educational researchers concur that meaningful teacher development is an essential ingredient for educational reform. One professional development model, the Learning Network, provides in-depth, job-embedded mentoring support for teachers by trained teacher leaders. The program developers maintain that teachers who are exposed to a reflective, constructivist learning process centered around literacy will eventually generalize the understandings and practices to other content areas. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine whether the theories and practices of learner-centered teaching in literacy (i.e., the Learning Network) transfer to mathematics during the implementation of a new constructivist math curriculum (Investigations). Two second grade teachers from a suburban school district, one at an early career stage, the other in a late stage, participated in the study. Data were collected from six sources: initial personal data surveys, stimulated recall interviews centered around videotaped mathematics lessons, semi-structured interviews, classroom observations from two different researchers, self-reported classroom practices, and formal classroom documents. Analysis of the data was triangulated across data sources and among an external researcher, the research participants, and this researcher who independently coded the transcribed stimulated recall interviews. The theoretical underpinnings of the Learning Network model (Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development, Brian Cambourne's Conditions of Learning, and the Teaching and Learning Cycle) provided the framework for the study. Results indicated that each teacher had transferred aspects of the Learning Network model into her practices, although the depth of transfer differed. The early career stage teacher referred to the theoretical basis of her actions in vague terms. Much of her self-reported transfer centered around methodology, efficiency, and organizational issues. The veteran teacher expressed specific references to the theoretical basis for most of her actions. Her mathematics practices reflected transfer of most of the Learning Network components. Results of this study suggest that teachers need and desire continued, long-term, individualized support to transfer constructivist theories and practices from one content area to another. The frequency of mentoring support is not as critical as the skillfulness of the mentor. Finally, implementation support meetings need to be regularly scheduled to provide teachers continued development through collegial discussions.

In this qualitative research study, I examined the autobiographies, oral narratives and life stories of twelve African American scholar-activists (including myself) who have used higher education as a vehicle for teaching and learning, as a tool for personal transformation and as an ingredient for social change. The research questions that the study was designed to address were: How have African Americans used scholarship as a means for personal and social transformation? What is the role and responsibility of scholar-activists who choose to root their genius in the academy? What lessons can be learned about how to use higher education for the purposes of transformation? Through a contextual analysis involving the personal lives of selected scholar-activists, I learned about the power that higher education has to shape identity and influence actions. This study also highlights how African American culture and spirit are components of research, teaching and activism; celebrates some of the contributions that African Americans have made to higher education; identifies five dimensions of teaching and transformation; and posits seven ways that higher education can contribute to the process of transformation.

The purpose of this action research study was to investigate pre-service physical education teachers' and their teacher educator's perceptions regarding the implementation of a tactical approach in an 8-week tennis class. Participants were 13 pre-service teachers and the teacher educator, as researcher, in a tennis activity course. Data collection techniques included teacher educator's self-reflective journal, participants' reflections, videotaped class observations, structured interviews, pre- and post knowledge test and a demographic questionnaire. Game play was videotaped for analysis before and after instruction and the Game Performance Assessment Instrument (GPAI) was used to code the data. Reflections and field notes from videotaped class observations, and interviews were analyzed through constant comparison. Demographic questionnaire was analyzed using descriptive statistics while pre- and post knowledge and game performance were analyzed using ANOVAs. Based on results from the questionnaire (years and type of playing experience, self-rating) pre-service teachers were grouped as either inexperienced or experienced. Results from the ANOVA, with the exception of Base Index, yielded a non-significant interaction effect. The inexperienced group's Base Index was significantly higher at post-test (M = 4.32) than at pre-test (M = 1.13), p < .05. Knowledge test results indicated that at the pretest the experienced group scored significantly higher (M = 13.33) than the inexperienced group (M = 10.57), p < .05. Both groups significantly improved from pre to posttest. Teaching using a tactical approach resulted in an increased content knowledge for the teacher educator as well as a shift in overall beliefs about games teaching. For example, learning to use the question/answer (Q&A) segment of lessons occurred in a three-step learning continuum: imitation, rephrase, and dual-directional conversation that shifted the role of teacher from information giver to facilitator. Pre-service teachers indicated that the Q&A segments made them adjust their tactical thinking and as such provided an important source of feedback during game play. Pre-service teachers indicated that learning via a tactical approach was a meaningful experience for the following reasons: (a) the combined learning of tactical and skill execution elements, (b) the skills were immediately applied in game situations, (c) the class was enjoyable (interesting, challenging), and (d) students learned a new assessment instrument.