There were two purposes set out in this study, first to identify the principal associations with educational performance of Scottish students as reported in the 2007 wave of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS2007), and second to evaluate methods of data analysis where sample surveys use plausible value (PV) methodology. Four sets of data were used for the secondary analysis of TIMSS2007, with student's responses to cognitive items and questionnaire data emanating from two stages (G$ and G*) that each addressed two disciplines (mathematics and science). Explanatory models for each stage and discipline were analysed using hierarchical linear modelling techniques to accommodate the cluster sample design of the survey. Guided by existing literature in STEM education the study examined elements of students' learning experiences that fell within a social constructivist theory of learning to ascertain whether the empirical data supported current claims on effective practice. A number of control variables were included in the analyses, some well-established constructs and others derived from background questionnaires. Overall, the results showed that selected background characteristics were consistently related to mathematics and science achievement. The strength of association with home resources, and although girls were generally associated with lower achievement scores, that gender association was strongest in G4 mathematics achievement. The findings suggest there is limited support for current claims in respect of a reform agenda that privileges discussion and collaborative group work. Other policy initiatives on assessment for learning and using technologies in class are not supported in the data, with either no evidence of association or a significant negative effect in the models of mathematics and science achievement. Aspects of practical work and scientific enquiry are positively associated with G4 science achievement, with particular credence given to 'doing' and 'watching' experiments or investigations, buy there is no association with achievement scores at G8 for any of planning, watching or conducting experiments. This latter finding provides empirical evidence of difference across stages on an aspect of practice that is heavily debated. The primary method of analysis utilised a four-level structure, with PV as the unit of analysis. Substantive findings were compared with alternative methods: first making the dependent variable an average of the five PVs; second using one PV as the response variable; and third computing statistics from all five PVs and merging results using Rubin's Rules for combining multilevel method underestimates standard errors in the model in the same way as witnessed for the average of PVs. This leads to the conclusion that the only valid route to analysing imputed data is through Rubin's method of combining results from all five PVs.

<p> There is little written about the use of foundational courses in high school science. This study seeks to identify if a foundational course in high school biology improves student outcomes as measured by Biology I EOC exam proficiency scale scores and student growth. Efforts were made to determine differences in cognitive skill areas and affective/conative skill areas as students progress from the foundational course of Greenhouse Biology (GH Bio) to Biology I. Three years of test score data from over 15,000 student participants are evaluated, as well as extant survey data from biology teachers and district student scheduling personnel. Findings from the study indicate GH Bio does make a difference in academic outcomes in students taking the foundational course before taking the Biology I course, and subsequently, the Biology I EOC exam. Findings also show there are cognitive, affective, and conative differences between the GH Bio students and their non-GH Bio peers while in Biology I. The study also seeks to determine why some students are scheduled for GH Bio and others are not. Findings indicate there are variances as to the reasons and intent for scheduling students into GH Bio. Some students who could benefit from the course are not being scheduled into the course.</p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Rutgers University, 2008. / "Graduate Program in Education." Includes bibliographical references (p. 120-129).

<p> Since WWII, the United States has experienced unprecedented economic growth and global expansion through the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Today, STEM technological innovations permeate many aspects of the social experience, from education to career to home-life, contributing to a pervasive technocratic ideology emphasizing global U.S. economic and political superiority. Many sectors of American society now tout STEM initiatives as a premium for U.S. education, contributing to the neoliberal model of producing effective, efficient, and skilled laborers. But, does STEM necessarily contribute to those social forces that routinely devalue the principles of a liberal, democratic educational ideal?</p><p> In 2014, I investigated new forms of collaboration between the commercial sector and education system in Flagstaff, AZ. The STEM City Center is a non-profit organization that seeks to bridge the gap between community and schools by identifying local assets and sponsoring integrated STEM experiences for students. Using STEM as a conceptual tool to support interdisciplinary approaches to education, participants of this project revealed the core values that motivate social transformation in a town that borders multiple ethnic and cultural realities recognized as under assault by increasingly globalized markets. STEM City's model emphasizes increased critical thinking, collaborative learning, creativity, and effective communication and supports an implicit goal of encouraging a critically engaged, politically aware, and socially conscious society.</p>

Analogies have long been tools of discovery in mathematics and science, and are often used in the classroom as explanatory devices to help students understand difficult science concepts. However, research has shown that for many students, analogies engender misconceptions rather than scientists' science. It is believed that misconceptions arise when students reconstruct their knowledge within the context of their prior conceptions, and that misconceptions arise whenever the student has a different conception of the analog to the teacher or the student applies the analogy beyond its limits.The literature is richly endowed with descriptions of how it is thought that analogies generate meaning and contain a range of suggestions for improving classroom pedagogy when analogies are used. Five teaching models have been identified which claim to improve analogical instruction, and one of these, the teaching-with-analogies (TWA) model (Glynn, 1989) has been modified at the Science and Mathematics Education Centre of Curtin University for use in secondary science classrooms. To date, no empirical studies have been performed to determine the efficacy of this modified TWA model.This study set out to evaluate the modified TWA model in a qualitative interpretive manner by observing teachers, who had been in-serviced about the model, using analogies in their lessons. Data were generated from the verbatim transcripts of each teacher's in-class performance, each teacher's post-lesson interview and interviews with a number of the students who received the analogical instruction. The emergent data were interpreted from a constructivist perspective with attention being given to credibility, dependability and confirmability.The data derived from one teacher teaching four analogies to Year 8 and 10 science students were reported in this thesis. Three of these analogies were taught using ++ / the modified TWA model and these analogies were, light waves are like water waves, conduction of heat in a solid is like the domino effect and the refraction of light as it passes from air into perspex is like a pair of wheels rolling from a smooth surface onto a rough surface. The fourth analogy in which the size of a mole was illustrated using three brief analogies was reported only briefly because the teacher failed to use the modified TWA model during this lesson.The study's findings demonstrated that student understanding of difficult science concepts did appear to be enhanced by the use of the modified TWA model when analogies were included in the lesson. For analogies to be effective, it is believed that two teacher activities are essential: firstly, ensuring that the students understand the analog in the same way as the teacher and secondly, that the unshared attributes of the analogy are highlighted during the lesson. It is also asserted that an exemplary teacher, teaching-in-field, can integrate the modified TWA model into her teaching if she is provided with peer support over at least three to four uses of the model during normal lessons. It appears that maintenance of the TWA model within a teacher's pedagogy requires a supportive colleague to provide critical feedback and encouragement.This study raised some important questions that should be addressed in future research on the use of the modified TWA model. Can the modified TWA model produce conceptual change where alternative student conceptions are firmly entrenched? Can the modified TWA model be incorporated into the pedagogy of most teachers? Is there a more appropriate model for teaching-with-analogies?

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Toronto, 2004. / Adviser: Derek Hodson.

Thesis (EdD)--Montana State University--Bozeman, 2008. / Typescript. Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Jayne Downey. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 129-146).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1996. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 114-131). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1996. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 114-131). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1997. / Appendices in English and Thai. Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 139-145). Also available on the Internet.