The purpose of this study was to analyze the biology content, instructional strategies, and assessment methods of 100 biological science websites that were appropriate for Grade 12 educational purposes. For the analysis of each website, an instrument, developed from the National Science Education Standards (NSES) for Grade 12 Life Science coupled with criteria derived from the Web-based Inquiry (WBI) for Learning Science instrument (Bodzin, 2005) and other pertinent published educational literature, was utilized. The analysis focused on elucidating the appropriateness of the biology content, instructional strategies, and assessment tools of selected websites for facilitating the biological science education of Grade 12 students. Frequencies of agreement and disagreement of the content of each selected website with criteria included in the data collection instrument were used for alignment determination of the content of each website with the NSES. Chi-square tests were performed by Microsoft Excel to determine the statistical significance of differences of actual and expected 85% frequencies of alignment of the analyzed website parameters with indicators of alignment to NSES. Chi-square tests indicated that at a 0.05 level of significance there was an overall difference between the actual and expected 85% frequencies of alignment of biology content, instructional strategies and assessment methods with website indicators of alignment with the NSES (p < 0.05). Chi-square tests also indicated that there was a significant difference between the actual and expected frequencies of alignment of analyzed categories (biology content, instructional strategies, and assessment methods) of the sampled websites with website indicators of alignment with the NSES (p < 0.05). / Major findings of this study indicated that 3 out of 4 of the analyzed content attributes, 12 out of 13 of the instructional strategies, and all the assessment methods of the researched biological science websites were less than 85% aligned with the NSES. Only 11 out of 80 (13.75%) of the analyzed websites had collective biology content, instructional strategies, and assessment methods attributes that were 85% or more aligned with the NSES. Appropriately sequenced content that fostered acquisition of fundamental biology knowledge was the only content attribute with significantly more than 85% alignment with the NSES. Provision of illustrative examples to enhance understanding of facts and/or ideas in the context of a conceptual framework was the only instructional strategies attribute that was significantly more than 85% aligned with the NSES. Alignment of website attributes with the NSES has the potential to enhance the educational value of science websites. It is hoped that the findings of this study will motivate science website designers to comply with the NSES. Hope also exists that educators will be motivated to engage in standards-based reform measures for promoting scientific literacy among students. / by Joy E. Stewart. / Vita. / Thesis (Ed.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2010. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2010. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether statistically significant differences existed between high school Honors Physics websites and those of Advanced Placement (AP) Physics in terms of web-design, National Science Education Standards (NSES) Physics content, and NSES Science Process standards. The procedure began with the selection of 152 sites comprising two groups with equal sample sizes of 76 for Honors Physics and for Advanced Placement Physics. The websites used in the study were accumulated using the Google[TM] search engine. To find Honors Physics websites, the search words "honors physics high school" were entered as the query into the search engine. To find sites for Advanced Placement Physics, the query, "advanced placement physics high school," was entered into the search engine. The evaluation of each website was performed using an instrument developed by the researcher based on three attributes: Web-design, NSES Physics content, and NSES Science Process standards. A "1" was scored if the website was found to have each attribute, otherwise a "0" was given. This process continued until all 76 websites were evaluated for each of the two types of physics websites, Honors and Advanced Placement. Subsequently the data were processed using Excel functions and the SPSS statistical software program. The mean and standard deviation were computed individually for the three attributes under consideration. Three, 2-tailed, independent samples t tests were performed to compare the two groups of physics websites separately on the basis of Web Design, Physics Content, and Science Process. The results of the study indicated that there was only one statistically significant difference between high school Honors Physics websites and those of AP Physics. / The only difference detected was in terms of National Science Education Standards Physics content. It was found that Advanced Placement Physics websites contained more NSES physics content than Honors Physics websites. There was no significant difference found between the two types of high school physics websites in regards to web-design, and NSES science process standards. It is hoped that the results of this study may serve as a guide for researchers to explore the role of Web-Assisted Instruction (WAI) as an enhancement to traditional instruction in physics. With the first generation to grow up in the digital age now in high school, WAI may prove to be useful as method to improve critical thinking skills and provide opportunities for inquiry beyond the classroom. / by Ronald C. Persin. / Vita. / Thesis (Ed.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2009. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2009. Mode of access: World Wide Web.