In this study, undergraduate student attitudes towards organic chemistry and the influences that shape those attitudes were explored using the Attitudes Towards Organic Chemistry Instrument (ATOC) to collect both qualitative and quantitative data. The findings from the qualitative ATOC items provide evidence that students displayed a wide range of attitudes towards organic chemistry, including positive, negative, neutral, and blended attitudes. Five major influences were shown to have shaped these attitudes including the reputation of the course, students' educators, experiences with organic chemistry, experiences with introductory chemistry, and individual experiences. Students responses longitudinally provide evidence that their influences and attitudes change over time in the course. The findings from the quantitative ATOC items provided evidence that the data generated was valid and reliable, and a relationship was found to exist between what students think and what they had heard about the course. Limitations of this investigation, as well as implications for research and practitioners, are discussed.

This study focused on composition teachers in elementary and secondary schools who researched their own teaching practices. Specifically, it examined political implications of their work within the larger context of the education hierarchy. Central to this examination were teacher-researcher (t-r) perceptions of and interactions with other members of the education hierarchy (i.e. university researchers, other t-rs, and students). Evidence for this study was gleaned from journal articles, descriptive essays, and conference sessions in which composition studies t-rs and their consultants discussed their work. A rhetorical analysis of what t-rs have said and written, along with an examination of the politically charged origins of the t-r movement support the hypothesis of this study: t-rs research (at least in part) for political empowerment. In the process of researching, t-rs alter their traditionally defined relationships with university researchers, other t-rs, and students. Composition studies offers a natural setting (philosophically and practically) for the t-r movement. / Graduation date: 1993

I detta arbete så vill jag studera hur praktisk fysikundervisning och bedömning i några svenska gymnasieskolor överensstämmer med modern forskning om fysikpedagogik. Denna forskning spänner över ett brett spektrum av metoder och teorier, varav jag har fokuserat på om lärarnas undervisning kan beskrivas som -elevaktiv eller inte, -mer eller mindre baserad på bokstudier, -inriktad på konceptuell förståelse eller mer förmågan att räkna specifika uppgifter. Dessa aspekter diskuteras även i relation till de inblandade lärarnas utbildning. För att kunna jämföra de olika klasserna och lärarna har jag använt ett test av konceptuell förståelse (FCI, se sektion 3.2) samt enkäter till lärare och elever. Ur ett tyvärr skevt urval av klasser och lärare framgår att det finns stora skillnader på hur lärarna ser på undervisningen och vilka undervisningsmetoder de använder, samt hur styrt de upplever sitt arbete. Korrelationerna mellan elevernas resultat på FCI och på ordinarie prov på motsvarande mekanik är små, vilket tyder på att reguljära prov mäter konceptuell förståelse i liten utsträckning. Det finns även skillnader i resultaten i form av elevernas konceptuella förståelse mellan skolorna, i linje med tidigare forskningsresultat att nyare metoder faktiskt ger bättre resultat, även om denna preliminära studie inte förmår ge underlag för direkta slutsatser. Resultaten tyder även preliminärt på att manliga elever lyckas få en bättre konceptuell förståelse än kvinnliga elever i skolan.

<p>I detta arbete så vill jag studera hur praktisk fysikundervisning och bedömning i några</p><p>svenska gymnasieskolor överensstämmer med modern forskning om fysikpedagogik.</p><p>Denna forskning spänner över ett brett spektrum av metoder och teorier, varav jag har</p><p>fokuserat på om lärarnas undervisning kan beskrivas som</p><p>-elevaktiv eller inte,</p><p>-mer eller mindre baserad på bokstudier,</p><p>-inriktad på konceptuell förståelse eller mer förmågan att räkna specifika uppgifter.</p><p>Dessa aspekter diskuteras även i relation till de inblandade lärarnas utbildning.</p><p>För att kunna jämföra de olika klasserna och lärarna har jag använt ett test av</p><p>konceptuell förståelse (FCI, se sektion 3.2) samt enkäter till lärare och elever. Ur ett</p><p>tyvärr skevt urval av klasser och lärare framgår att det finns stora skillnader på hur</p><p>lärarna ser på undervisningen och vilka undervisningsmetoder de använder, samt hur</p><p>styrt de upplever sitt arbete. Korrelationerna mellan elevernas resultat på FCI och på</p><p>ordinarie prov på motsvarande mekanik är små, vilket tyder på att reguljära prov</p><p>mäter konceptuell förståelse i liten utsträckning. Det finns även skillnader i resultaten</p><p>i form av elevernas konceptuella förståelse mellan skolorna, i linje med tidigare</p><p>forskningsresultat att nyare metoder faktiskt ger bättre resultat, även om denna</p><p>preliminära studie inte förmår ge underlag för direkta slutsatser. Resultaten tyder även</p><p>preliminärt på att manliga elever lyckas få en bättre konceptuell förståelse än</p><p>kvinnliga elever i skolan.</p>

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This work presents two research efforts, one involving planetary science education research and a second involving the surface composition of Mars. In the former, student beliefs and reasoning difficulties associated with the greenhouse effect were elicited through student interviews and written survey responses from &gt;900 US undergraduate non-science majors. This guided the development of the Greenhouse Effect Concept Inventory (GECI), an educational research tool designed to assess pre- and post-instruction conceptual understanding of the greenhouse effect. Three versions of this multiple-choice instrument were administered to &gt;2,500 undergraduates as part of the development and validation process. In contrast to previous research efforts regarding causes, consequences, and solutions to the enhanced greenhouse effect, the GECI focuses primarily on the physics of energy flow through Earth's atmosphere. The GECI is offered to the science education community as a research tool for assessing instructional strategies on this topic.It was confirmed that the study population subscribes to several previously identified beliefs. These include correct understandings that carbon dioxide is an important greenhouse gas and the greenhouse effect increases planetary surface temperatures. Students also commonly associate the greenhouse effect with increased penetration of sunlight into and trapping of solar energy in the atmosphere. Students intermix concepts associated with the greenhouse effect, global warming, and ozone depletion. Reinforcing the latter concept, a majority believe that the Sun radiates most of its energy as ultraviolet light. Students also describe inaccurate and incomplete trapping models, which include permanent trapping, trapping through reflection, and trapping of gases and pollution. Another reasoning difficulty involves the idea that Earth's surface radiates energy primarily during the nighttime.The second research effort describes the distribution of chlorine on Mars measured by the Mars Odyssey Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS). The distribution of chlorine is heterogeneous across the surface, with a concentration of high chlorine centered over the Medusa Fossae Formation. The distribution of chlorine correlates positively with hydrogen and negatively with silicon and thermal inertia. Four mechanisms (aeolian, volcanic, aqueous, and hydrothermal) are discussed as possible factors influencing the distribution of chlorine measured within the upper few tens of centimeters of the surface.

No description available.

This thesis provides two interwoven sets of detailed descriptions with narrative lines. The first relates to five case studies involving secondary school teachers in schools in and around Durban during 1993 and 1994. This account focuses on the relationships between the teachers' thinking about knowledge and learning and their classroom practice. The second account describes the processes and difficulties involved in qualitative research incorporating case study and participant observation methodologies - from gaining access to schools and developing a task to access teachers' thinking about knowledge to acquiring skills for observation, writing lesson descriptions, conducting interviews and completing different levels of analysis. In essence, this account traces the development of the researcher during the course of this project and also highlights both the strengths and the weaknesses of qualitative research as a mode of social inquiry. Analysis of theory/practice relationships in each of these descriptions is centred around issues of power and identity, the data collected during the course of the fieldwork being used to develop grounded theory. The work of George H. Mead, Michel Foucault and Thomas Popkewitz provide the basis for the concept of power identity. The relational and shifting nature of power and its role in identity and theory/practice relationships - both in the work of the five teachers work and in qualitative research - is explored. In the former, seven interrelated components of power are identified and the ways in which these strengthen and limit teachers' power identities are described. In the latter, the connections between epistemology and research methodology and the similarities between qualitative research and local criticism are highlighted together with the critical roles played by contradiction, language and reflexivity. Finally, the insights gained about theory/practice relationships and power identity are extended to provide possibilities for conceptualising rationality and teacher education. The thesis is structured so as to capture both the contradictory elements and the shifts and developments that occurred during the study - those in the work of the participating teachers during the period of collaboration and those related to my personal epistemology and my practice as a qualitative researcher. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, 1997.

This thesis encompasses two research fields in astronomy: astrometry and astronomy education and they are discussed in two parts. These parts represent two sides of a coin; astrometry, which is about constructing 3D representations of the Universe, and AER, where for this thesis, the goal is to investigate university students’ and lecturers’ disciplinary discernment vis-à-vis the structure of the Universe and extrapolating three-dimensionality. Part I presents an investigation of stellar surface structures influence on ultra-high-precision astrometry. The expected effects in different regions of the HR-diagram were quantified. I also investigated the astrometric effect of exoplanets, since astrometric detection will become possible with projects such as Gaia. Stellar surface structures produce small brightness variations, influencing integrated properties such as the total flux, radial velocity and photocenter position. These properties were modelled and statistical relations between the variations of the different properties were derived. From the models it is clear that for most stellar types the astrometric jitter due to stellar surface structures is expected to be of order 10 μAU or greater. This is more than the astrometric displacement typically caused by an Earth-sized exoplanet in the habitable zone, which is about 1–4 μAU, making astrometric detection difficult. Part II presents an investigation of disciplinary discernment at the university level. Astronomy education is a particularly challenging experience for students because discernment of the ‘real’ Universe is problematic, making interpretation of the many disciplinary-specific representations used an important educational issue. The ability to ‘fluently’ discern the disciplinary affordances of these representations becomes crucial for the effective learning of astronomy. To understand the Universe I conclude that specific experiences are called. Simulations could offer these experiences, where parallax motion is a crucial component. In a qualitative study, I have analysed students’ and lecturers’ discernment while watching a simulation video, and found hierarchies that characterize the discernment in terms of three-dimensionality extrapolation and an Anatomy of Disciplinary Discernment. I combined these to define a new construct: Reading the Sky. I conclude that this is a vital competency needed for learning astronomy and suggest strategies for how to implement this in astronomy education.

This thesis encompasses two research fields in astronomy: astrometry and astronomy education and they are discussed in two parts. These parts represent two sides of a coin; astrometry, which is about constructing 3D representations of the Universe, and AER, where for this thesis, the goal is to investigate university students’ and lecturers’ disciplinary discernment vis-à-vis the structure of the Universe and extrapolating three-dimensionality. Part I presents an investigation of stellar surface structures influence on ultra-high-precision astrometry. The expected effects in different regions of the HR-diagram were quantified. I also investigated the astrometric effect of exoplanets, since astrometric detection will become possible with projects such as Gaia. Stellar surface structures produce small brightness variations, influencing integrated properties such as the total flux, radial velocity and photocenter position. These properties were modelled and statistical relations between the variations of the different properties were derived. From the models it is clear that for most stellar types the astrometric jitter due to stellar surface structures is expected to be of order 10 μAU or greater. This is more than the astrometric displacement typically caused by an Earth-sized exoplanet in the habitable zone, which is about 1–4 μAU, making astrometric detection difficult. Part II presents an investigation of disciplinary discernment at the university level. Astronomy education is a particularly challenging experience for students because discernment of the ‘real’ Universe is problematic, making interpretation of the many disciplinary-specific representations used an important educational issue. The ability to ‘fluently’ discern the disciplinary affordances of these representations becomes crucial for the effective learning of astronomy. To understand the Universe I conclude that specific experiences are called. Simulations could offer these experiences, where parallax motion is a crucial component. In a qualitative study, I have analysed students’ and lecturers’ discernment while watching a simulation video, and found hierarchies that characterize the discernment in terms of three-dimensionality extrapolation and an Anatomy of Disciplinary Discernment. I combined these to define a new construct: Reading the Sky. I conclude that this is a vital competency needed for learning astronomy and suggest strategies for how to implement this in astronomy education.