<p>Teachers&rsquo; attention and responsiveness to the substance of students&rsquo; disciplinary thinking is critical for promoting students&rsquo; disciplinary engagement and learning, yet such attention is rare and fleeting in American classrooms. In this dissertation, I aim to learn more from teachers who do attend and respond to students&rsquo; scientific ideas while teaching. I explore the classroom practices of three focal teachers in a professional development program who consistently place students&rsquo; ideas at the core of their instruction with an eye toward the following research question: What might stabilize teachers&rsquo; attention and responsiveness to the substance of students&rsquo; scientific thinking during sustained classroom episodes? Examining three episodes from each teacher, I identify aspects within these episodes that are salient to the teachers and plausibly interrelated with their attention and responsiveness to student thinking. </p><p> My primary data chapters include analyses of specific pairs of episodes that speak to my broader research question as well as other relevant topics in the literature on attending and responding to student thinking. The first data chapter makes the case that professional development efforts aimed at supporting responsiveness to student thinking primarily help teachers within planned discussions or progressions, but struggle to help teachers adapt their ongoing instruction in response to unexpected directions from students. I examine two episodes in which the discussions that emerged were not preplanned but rather emergent from students&rsquo; contributions, with an eye toward what initiated and sustained teachers&rsquo; responsiveness. The second data chapter contributes to discussions on what constitutes favorable change in attending and responding to the substance of student thinking, emphasizing the importance of disciplinary-specific considerations. Finally, I draw on the entire data set in noting specific commonalities within and across teachers, suggesting two complementary professional development approaches: 1) remaining open to and aware of what hooks and sustains individual teachers and their classroom practice, and 2) emphasizing aspects that cut across teachers, which might serve as meaningful foci for professional development efforts aimed at promoting an instructional focus on students&rsquo; ideas. </p>

Biological evolution is unlike other topics in science. For many students, it is emotionally-charged and conceptually difficult, and yet it is vital to making sense of biology. Considerable research has addressed the unique challenges of teaching evolution, but it has left many questions unanswered. In this thesis, I will provide an overview of the literature on strategies for teaching evolution with an emphasis on those for which there is empirical support. Conclusions that may be drawn from this literature and limitations of the studies will be discussed. Based on the findings, I will argue that the best approach to evolution education is one that combines diverse strategies, focuses on essentials, and begins early, with regular reinforcement of key concepts throughout the K-12 curriculum. Suggestions for implementing such an approach are also discussed. / L'évolution biologique est différent des autres sujets de sciences. Pour de nombreux étudiants, il est émotionnellement chargé et conceptuellement difficile, et pourtant il est essentiel pour comprendre la biologie. Beaucoup de recherches ont abordé les défis uniques de l'enseignement d'évolution, mais il a laissé de nombreuses questions sans réponse. Dans cette thèse, je vais donner un aperçu de la littérature sur les stratégies d'enseignement de l'évolution en mettant l'accent sur ceux pour lesquels il y a de soutien empirique. Conclusions qui peuvent être tirées de cette littérature et les limites de ces études seront discutés. Sur la base des résultats, je ferai valoir que la meilleure approche à l'enseignement d'évolution est une synthèse de diverses stratégies qui se concentre sur l'essentiel et commence tôt dans la curriculum de K-12, avec renforcement régulier des concepts clés. Suggestions pour la mise en œuvre d'une telle approche sont également discutés.

<p> The importance of student motivation and its connection to other learning variables (i.e., attitudes, knowledge, persistence, attendance) is well established. Collaborative work at the undergraduate level has been recognized as a valuable tool in large courses. However, motivation and collaborative group work have rarely been combined. This project utilized student motivation to learn biology to place non-major biology undergraduates in collaborative learning groups at East Carolina University, a mid-sized southeastern American university, to determine the effects of this construct on student learning. A pre-test measuring motivation to learn biology, attitudes toward biology, perceptions of biology and biologists, views of science, and content knowledge was administered. A similar post-test followed as part of the final exam. Two sections of the same introductory biology course (n = 312) were used and students were divided into homogeneous and heterogeneous groups (based on their motivation score). The heterogeneous groups (n = 32) consisted of a mixture of different motivation levels, while the homogeneous groups (n = 32) were organized into teams with similar motivation scores using tiers of high-, middle-, and low-level participants. Data analysis determined mixed perceptions of biology and biologists. These include the perceptions biology was less intriguing, less relevant, less practical, less ethical, and less understandable. Biologists were perceived as being neat and slightly intelligent, but not very altruistic, humane, ethical, logical, honest, or moral. Content knowledge scores more than doubled from pre- to post-test. Half of the items measuring views of science were not statistically significantly different from pre- to post-test. Many of the factors for attitudes toward biology became more agreeable from pre- to post-test. Correlations between motivation scores, participation levels, attendance rates, and final course grades were examined at both the individual and group level. Motivation had low correlations with the other variables. Changes in group membership (i.e., attrition) were evaluated at the group level and showed the highest rates with the heterogeneous groups and the lowest with the homogeneous middle groups. Group gender ratios were examined, but showed no correlation with final course grade. Linear regression was utilized to identify any variables that might be useful in predicting the final course grade of each student. Only participation, attendance, and final exam grade were predictive, but as they were components of the final course grade, they were not useful for the model. Differences between the groups were also examined to determine if the group type was predictive of final course grade, but no significant difference was found. Results of the study are discussed in the context of the literature on student motivation to learn science. Implications of the study are discussed through the lens of the Millennial generation's perspectives on teaching and learning. Millennials often consider an education to be a commodity and may expect results with less effort. Millennials may be expressing a pseudo-intrinsic motivation in order to impress peers and instructors, while they may actually be more extrinsically motivated to succeed</p>

Self-efficacy and attainment value are two important motivational constructs that have a powerful effect on students' learning. According to expectancy-value theory, beliefs about the self's abilities predict the subjective task value, which in turn directly predicts achievement-related choices and performance. The purpose of the current study was to examine the relation between students' self-efficacy and attainment value in the context of enacting inquiry for university undergraduate students. The current study validated two new measures: the McGill Self-Efficacy in Enacting Inquiry Questionnaire (MSEEIQ), and the McGill Attainment Value for Enacting Inquiry Questionnaire (MAVEIQ). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to analyze the structure of the MSEEIQ and MAVEIQ instruments, and led to generating seven and five factors, respectively. Inquiry tasks underlying the factors in both instruments represented a configuration of inquiry tasks that is consistent with the conceptualization of inquiry in the literature. The results showed that the students were more confident in enacting inquiry tasks that are more procedural than conceptual, and gave these tasks a higher importance. Latent path regression analysis was conducted using 585 students, to examine the hypothesized relation between self-efficacy factors and attainment value factors for enacting inquiry, and showed a positive and significant relation. Implications for inquiry and motivational theories and instructional practice are discussed. A proposal for a Students' Model for Inquiry Learning Enactment (SMILE) is presented. / L'auto-efficacité et la valeur de réalisation sont deux constructions importantes de motivation qui ont un effet puissant sur l'apprentissage des élèves. Selon la théorie de l'espérance et valeur, les croyances envers les capacités de soi prédisent la valeur subjective de la tâche, qui à son tour prédit directement les choix liés à la réalisation et la performance. Le but de cette étude était d'examiner la relation entre l'auto-efficacité et la valeur de réalisation dans le cadre de l'apprentissage par la démarche de l'investigation chez les étudiants de premier cycle universitaire. L'étude actuelle a validé deux nouvelles mesures: l'auto-efficacité et la valeur atteinte pour l'apprentissage par la démarche de l'investigation de McGill: MSEEIQ, MAVEIQ, respectivement. L'analyse exploratoire de facteurs a été utilisée pour analyser la structure de MSEEIQ et MAVEIQ, et a conduit à générer sept et cinq facteurs, respectivement. Les tâches de l'apprentissage par la démarche de l'investigation qui existent dans les facteurs dans les deux instruments représentent une configuration qui est en accord avec la littérature. Les résultats ont montré que les étudiants étaient plus confiants dans les tâches de l'apprentissage par la démarche de l'investigation qui sont intellectuellement moins sophistiqués, et par conséquent ont donné à ces tâches une plus grande importance. Une analyse de régression de chemin latente a été effectuée en utilisant 585 étudiants, afin d'examiner le rapport supposé entre les facteurs de MSEEIQ et MAVEIQ. Cette analyse a montré un rapport significatif positif. L'implication de ces resultats pour les théorie de l'apprentissage par la démarche de l'investigation, et de la motivation et les pratiques pédagogiques sont discutées. Une proposition pour un modèle de l'apprentissage par la démarche de l'investigation a été présentée.

Despite increasing efforts to find ways to provide opportunities for all students to access and succeed in science, one group continues to be overlooked by researchers: students who enter through alternative routes rather than directly from high school, or latecomers to science. Latecomers are less likely to persist in postsecondary science. Accordingly, the overarching objective of this dissertation is to gain a better understanding of latecomers' persistence. This dissertation includes three interrelated manuscripts, which together represent an 18 month embedded case study of 25 latecomers' identification with science at Island College, a Québec Collège d'Enseignement Général et Professionnel (CEGEP). Throughout the dissertation, which is rooted in theories of social practice, identification is theorized as akin to motion. Dominant forces, in the form of cultural models, exerted by the figured world of the science program create patterns of acceleration towards or away from science, thus supporting or hindering latecomers' persistence as their science identity trajectories gain or lose momentum. This theoretical framework and way of representing identification over time offers new perspectives on persistence in science. This dissertation begins by examining the persistence of 18 latecomers in the Island College science program. Only eight of the 18 persisted through their first year. To gain insight into challenges to their persistence, a new conception of identity trajectories formed through participation in figured worlds is used. This facilitates an exploration of how nine latecomers' self-authorings in relation to science were constrained by or improvised with the resources available in the figured world of the science program. Findings show that latecomers' identification with science, and thus persistence, was greatly constrained by two cultural models: good science students follow a paradigmatic sequence of courses and earn good grades. Next, to investigate how more resources can be made available, latecomers' identity work in their courses and its contribution to their identity trajectories are examined. Following two persisting latecomers (from the initial 18) as they participated in their second and third semesters of science, it is shown that, although they found ways to engage in successful identity work, the prevalence of teacher-centred and sink-or-swim cultural models of learning limited their ability to identify with science. It is argued that active learning and social constructivist practices would offer more resources for successful identity work, affording latecomers' persistence. Lastly, this dissertation explores the possibility of liberation from some of the constraints of the figured world of the science program through latecomers' co-construction of new resources in an online forum in which 25 latecomers participated, including the initial 18 latecomers. Conducting a critical discourse analysis of one thread, it is shown how four latecomers co-constructed an alternative cultural model and formed solidarity. Using this model in conjunction with their solidarity, the latecomers successfully positioned themselves in the elite figured world of science despite histories of disidentification. They also reified the result in a form that could potentially support future identification with science. Aspects of the online forum that supported this co-production are explored. Overall findings suggest that latecomers' persistence would be better supported by making available a wider array of resources for identifying with science. Such resources include those which actively encourage latecomers to (a) gain interest in science, (b) ask questions in and out of class, (c) interact with each other in science-related contexts and discuss their past and present struggles in science, and (d) draw on the resources they bring with them from participation in other figured worlds. Implications for practice are discussed. / En dépit des efforts pour trouver des méthodes permettant d'offrir à tous les étudiants l'opportunité d'accéder à la science et de s'y épanouir, un groupe continue d'être ignoré par les chercheurs : les étudiants qui arrivent par des chemins alternatifs à l'université aussi appelés Retardataires de la science. Ces retardataires ont moins de chances de poursuivre en sciences dans le supérieur. L'objectif principal de cette dissertation est d'avoir une meilleure compréhension du processus qui leur permet de poursuivre. Cette dissertation comprend trois manuscrits corrélés, qui couvrent ensemble une étude de cas de 18 mois portant sur l'identification de 25 retardataires en science à l'Island College, au Collège d'Enseignement Général et Professionnel (CEGEP) de Québec. Tout au long de cette dissertation, qui prend ses racines dans les théories de la pratique sociale, l'identification se théorise comme le mouvement. Les forces dominantes, sous la forme des modèles culturels, exercées par les modèles de création des programmes scientifiques, rapprochent ou éloignent de la science et ainsi supportent ou entravent la persistance des retardataires à mesure que leurs trajectoires scientifiques avancent ou reculent. Ce cadre théorique et cette représentation de l'identification dans le temps offrent de nouvelles perspectives sur la persistance en science. Cette dissertation examine d'abord la persistance de 18 retardataires du programme scientifique de l'Island College. Seuls 8 des 18 retardataires ont terminé leur première année. En présentant la construction des trajectoires identitaires formées par leur participation dans ce monde figuré, les défis rencontrés par les retardataires dans la poursuite de leurs études sont étudiés à travers l'exploration des réalisations de neuf retardataires sur leur relation à la science, ils ont été contraints ou ont improvisé avec les ressources disponibles dans le monde figuré du programme scientifique. Nous découvrons que l'identification des retardataires avec la science, et donc leur persistance, est très influencée par deux modèles culturels : les étudiants doués en science suivent une séquence paradigmatique de cours et ont des bonnes notes. Par la suite, pour approfondir notre étude de la mise à disposition de ces ressources, nous examinerons le travail identitaire des retardataires dans leurs cours et comment il participe à leurs trajectoires scientifiques. En suivant deux retardataires persévérants (qui faisaient partie du groupe initial de 18 personnes) au cours de leurs deuxième et troisième trimestres scientifiques, on montre que bien qu'ils aient réalisé un travail identitaire réussi, la prévalence d'un modèle d'apprentissage centré sur l'enseignant et de type « Marche ou Crève » a limité leur progression. Nous soutiendrons que des pratiques pédagogiques et sociales constructivistes actives donnent plus de moyens pour un travail identitaire réussi, aidant à la persistance des retardataires. Pour finir, cette dissertation explore la possibilité de la libération de certaines contraintes de ce monde figuré des programmes scientifiques au travers de la co-construction de nouvelles ressources dans un forum en ligne auquel ont participé 25 retardataires, y compris les 18 retardataires d'origine. En réalisant une analyse critique sur une discussion du forum, on a démontré comment quatre retardataires ont co-construit un modèle culturel alternatif et font preuve de solidarité. En utilisant ce modèle conjointement avec la solidarité, les retardataires ont réussi à se positionner dans l'élite du monde figuré de la science malgré un historique de désidentification. Ils ont aussi reproduit le résultat sous une forme qui peut potentiellement aider à de futures identifications avec la science. Nous explorons ainsi les aspects du forum en ligne qui soutiennent ces coproductions. - ce résumé a été tronqué -

<p> In this dissertation I analyze the process of crafting definitions whose purpose is classification. The context I examine is undergraduate upper-division physical science majors defining and naming sub-categories of a physical phenomenon in the context of a design task over an extended period of time. The goal of the design task is one of classification: help people better identify the phenomenon out in the world. </p><p> I first develop an analytic framework for the process of improving a definition. This framework involves an interplay between four main elements: the current state of the definition, criteria for what makes a good definition, examples, and definitionally unarticulated knowledge (DUK). By DUK, I mean implicit judgments that definers make about categorization that have not been incorporated into the definition, per se. I show how criteria and the practices associated with meeting them guide the refinement work. </p><p> Once participants craft their definition a question emerges: to what extent does it serve them as a tool when they make sense of new examples? I zoom in on moments where new examples are introduced by participants or the facilitator and describe the extent to which students rely on their own crafted definition. The consideration of a new example can sometimes lead to participants naming a new sub-category and I analyze this process as well. </p><p> The detailed empirical analysis is bookended by a set of workshop design principles that made the analysis possible and some educational implications of the work. I lay out a set of design principles for creating activities wherein people engage productively in collaboratively defining. I conclude by exploring the educational implications for college physics teaching as well as more general instances where one is interested in crafting a definition for the purpose of classification.</p>

<p> This research project examined the effects of a training program that focused on helping youth volunteers create a learner-centered interaction at an Aquarium. This study explored whether this learner centered training resulted in an increased ability to identify learner-centered engagement as well as reported changes in practice. </p><p> Most research on training programs and professional development, that introduces learner-centered strategies examines adult teachers working in formal environments. This study examined youth volunteer staff in an informal science institution that participated in a weekly one-hour training for four weeks during their eight week long summer volunteer program. </p><p> The data showed that some of topics introduced in the learner centered training, such as the importance of visitors' prior knowledge and the use of objects, were identified more often as good practice after the training. In addition, participants seemed to hold on to some of their original perceptions of good practices, such as providing positive reinforcement and modifying their physical posture to make the visitors feel comfortable. The investigation also revealed that conversation patterns changed in some participants' practice as a result of the training.</p>

In Canada today, a gender disparity persists in the enrolment and persistence of doctoral students in physics. Scholarship on this disparity has, in the past, focused on issues of equity and difference in order to find ways to recruit and retain more women in physics. This approach offered a limited perspective on gender and relied on essentialist notions of being a man, woman or physicist. This study highlights the importance of a focus on gender as an aspect of identity construction, thus opening up possibilities for exploring how doctoral students navigate ideologies of gender at the same time that they learn how to become physicists. Doctoral physics students have stories about what kinds of actions, behaviours and ways of doing physics allow individuals to be recognized as physicists. Viewing a physics department as a case study, and individual participants as embedded cases, this study uses a sociocultural approach to examine the ways doctoral students construct these stories about becoming physicists. Through observations, photo-elicitation, and life history interviews, eleven men and women shared stories about their experiences with physics, and the contexts that have enabled or constrained their trajectories into doctoral physics. The results of this study revealed the salience of recognition in the constitution of physicist identities: individuals who saw themselves, or were seen by others, as physicists were more likely to pursue trajectories into academic physics. Further, various interchangeable forms of competence emerged as assets that can be used to achieve recognition in this physics community: technical, analytical, and academic competence were identified by participants as characteristics necessary to achieve recognition as a physicist. Additionally, achieving recognition as a competent physicist often involved a complex negotiation of gender roles and the practice of physics. The results demonstrated that a persistent tension exists betwe / Au Canada, aujourd'hui, une disparité entre les sexes persiste concernant les inscriptions et la rétention des étudiants qui poursuivent leurs études doctorales en physique. Dans le passé, les recherches sur cette disparité ont portées sur les questions d'égalité et de la différence afin de trouver des moyens pour recruter et garder davantage de femmes en physique. Cette approche a offert une perspective limitée sur les sexes et s'est appuyé sur les notions d'essentialiste d'être un homme, une femme ou un physicien. Cette étude souligne l'importance de l'égalité des sexes comme un aspect de la construction de l'identité, ouvrant ainsi des possibilités pour explorer comment les étudiants doctorales naviguent les idéologies des sexes en même temps qu'ils apprennent à devenir physiciens. Les étudiants poursuivant des études doctorales en physique ont des histoires des types d'actions, des comportements et des méthodes de la physique permettent aux individus d'être reconnus comme physiciens. En présentant un département de physique comme une étude de cas et des participants individuels comme des cas intégrés, cette étude utilise une approche socioculturelle pour examiner les manières que les étudiants poursuivant un doctorat construisent des histoires qui racontent comment ils deviennent physiciens. Grâce à des observations, extractions avec photos et entrevues d'histoire de la vie, onze hommes et femmes ont partagés des histoires au sujet de leurs expériences avec la physique et les contextes qui ont favorisé ou ont contraints leurs trajectoires menant au doctorat de physique. Les résultats de cette étude ont révélés la reconnaissance saillante dans la constitution des identités des physiciens : des individus qui se sont vus ou qui ont été vus par d'autres comme physiciens étaient plus susceptibles de poursuivre leurs trajectoires menant au doctorat en physique. De plus, diverses formes interchangeables de$

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Southern California, 2005. / (UnM)AAI3196769. Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 66-11, Section: A, page: 3971. Adviser: William F. McComas.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University OF MICHIGAN.