Action research has become a widely accepted and popular form of teacher professional development/learning, within the UK and internationally, and forms part of the professional actions of the Scottish Chartered Teacher. Whilst action research may be a valuable form of professional development supported through awardbearing courses (such as the Scottish Chartered Teacher programmes), funded projects or partnerships with university colleagues, it is questionable to what extent this is continued or even valued by teachers beyond the parameters of CPD courses. If Chartered Teachers are to engage meaningfully in action research then it is vital we understand how they perceive the nature and purpose of such activities and explore the opportunities and limitations they may face. This is not just an issue for Chartered Teachers in Scotland but one that may concern any teacher attempting to engage in action research as part of their practice. To explore teachers’ lived experience of engaging in post-award non-funded action research a case-study approach was adopted. The case study comprised six qualified Chartered Teachers with this thesis focusing on the stories from three of the teachers. In-depth loosely structured interviews were held with participants at three intervals over the course of a year to discuss their current and ongoing action research work. In addition visual data was created by participants to explore, share, (re)present and negotiate their understandings of action research. Documentary data was also collected. A broadly inductive approach to the analysis was taken, coding both within and across cases. A thematic narrative analysis of the individuals’ stories was also undertaken because I believe teachers’ individual stories are critically important and was keen not to reduce these to ‘codes’ and ‘categories’. Emerging from the data are three significant themes - the importance of understanding the nature and purpose of action research; the teachers’ evolving identities as Chartered Teachers/action researchers; and the need to develop and promote a Third Space – creating a conceptually different way of being a teacher. The data shows that traditional notions of research are influencing these teachers’ understanding of action research and this limits their action research work. How teachers understand the nature and purpose of action research is deeply interrelated with their identity as a teacher/Chartered Teacher/action researcher. Their identity(ies), I suggest, is/are a site of struggle, contestation and negotiation and Chartered Teachers are, arguably, in an in-between space: they are simultaneously teacher and researcher, yet they are neither one nor the other. It is possible, then, to understand Chartered Teacher as a hybrid identity and I draw upon Third Space theory as a heuristic to understand Chartered Teacher as a distinctly different way of being a teacher. I argue that a more complex view is needed that promotes the dynamic and fluid nature of action research. The insights drawn from this study offer some understandings that may help us to (re)consider and (re)frame the way in which we understand the teacher as researcher.

Education reform in the U.S. promotes the teaching of inquiry in science to help students understand how science is done and to increase constructivist, student centered instruction. This qualitative study investigated changes in teachers' understandings about scientific inquiry and nature of science as well as science teaching as a result of participation in one of three summer science research programs. This study also explored what teachers reported valuing about their experiences as they progressed through the program and returned to their classrooms.Data were collected through open-ended surveys, semi-structured interviews, program observation and artifact analysis before, during, and after the research programs as well as follow-up surveys and semi-structured interviews six to nine months after the research programs had ended. In addition to overall findings, six cases are presented to highlight changes and growth that occurred.Participation in these programs did not always lead to the outcomes intended by facilitators, such as strong changes in teachers' understandings about scientific inquiry and full implementation of research with their students; yet there were significant positiveoutcomes from participants' perspectives.Teachers' understandings of scientific inquiry and nature of science changed in small ways as measured by a modified Views of Scientific Inquiry/Views of Nature of Science Survey; however, participants changed their descriptions of science teaching after the programs. These descriptions included more affective goals for their students, the use of more student centered activities, and the importance of engaging students in research. On their post surveys, participants reported their intentions to implement more classroom inquiry, including science research. In follow-up surveys and interviews teachers reported engaging students in more active roles in their classrooms. In addition,teachers reported valuing a number of other outcomes from their participation in these programs. These included increased knowledge and skills in science, insider information about professional science, increased credibility, professional and personal growth, and improvements in students' knowledge and engagement in science and research. An emergent finding of the study was that participating in these research programs had an influence on some participants' identities related to doing science, being a scientist, and teaching science.

Global concerns about the preparedness of engineering Ph.D. students for professional practice are not new. In the U.S., educational reform has focused on the research experiences of students to foster better preparation. Yet, little is known about which aspects of students’ research experiences are essential to prepare them for practice due to the heterogeneity of the experiences, and what opportunities they have in their research to practice being a professional. The goal of this study was to develop and initially validate an instrument that measures students’ perceptions of their research experiences utilizing an ontological theoretical framework that focuses on what it means to become a professional. This framework simplified the heterogeneity and allowed for the investigation of how the research experiences of engineering Ph.D. students are providing opportunities for students to practice being a professional. Four distinct phases of development were utilized to accumulate validity evidence for the instrument: a development phase that focused on question generation and review: an initial pilot test that centered on an Exploratory Factor Analysis on responses (n = 236) from a large Midwestern University; a second pilot test that centered on a Confirmatory Factor Analysis on responses (n = 215) from multiple universities; and a Group Analysis phase that tested statistical differences between groups. Three key results emanated from this work. First, the accumulated validity evidence justifies the intended use of the instrument as a research and program evaluation survey to assess engineering Ph.D. students’ research experiences for opportunities to practice being a professional. Second, the results suggest that, on average, students had fewer opportunities to work with professionals (i.e., take on others’ forms of practice) in their research experiences than other types of opportunities. Third, the results suggest that research experiences can be categorized into those that provide significantly more and significantly fewer opportunities for students to practice being a professional. Higher education tends to focus on the epistemological aspects of professional practice preparation, but utilizing an ontological approach can identify gaps in preparation. Implications of the opportunities identified in this study are discussed for faculty, students, other researchers, instrument users, engineering administrators, and national program administrators, with a focus on providing more opportunities to students to practice being a professional. The utilization of an ontological approach for engineering Ph.D. students’ research experiences, including tangible examples and a call for a new vision for U.S. engineering Ph.D. research experiences, are discussed.

This qualitative study examined how university students learn to engage in the practices of scientific inquiry via research apprenticeships and how such experiences prepare them to be STEM literate. Surveys and interviews addressed two primary research questions: 1. What is the nature of interaction between student participant and faculty mentor? Subsidiary question: What is the role of technology in the mentoring relationship? 2. How do students and faculty describe the development of STEM literacies in the undergraduate research experience? Subsidiary question: How does the mentoring process contribute to the development of STEM literacies? Results demonstrated the importance of learning by engaging in authentic activity under the guidance of mentor experts, the undergraduate research experience helps enable acquisition of STEM literacies but mere participation in research experiences does not always lead to high quality learning, mentoring relationships are not all the same, and the use of technology in undergraduate research experiences varies. Overall the study concludes that students find undergraduate research experiences beneficial as compared to other experiences. Research afforded them the opportunity to understand how research can be applied and gain knowledge that they would not have gained in the classroom.

Both of the national reform efforts (AAAS, 1993; NRC, 1996) encouraged teachers to engage in professional development that included authentic scientific research experiences. The Department of Energy developed a program to match teachers with mentor scientists at national laboratories for three consecutive summers. Teachers produced and presented a poster summarizing their research at the conclusion of each summer. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to better understand how scientific research experiences impacted teachers. Six dimensions were examined: trajectory of participation, content knowledge development, mentor relationships, beliefs about the nature of science, teacher confidence, and classroom practice. These six dimensions were integrated into three research questions which guided the research: the teachers’ ability to increase their level of participation from the first to the last summer of research, the teachers’ changes in their understanding of the nature of science (NOS), and any changes in the teachers’ classroom teaching because of their involvement in the program. In-depth interviews were triangulated with teachers’ posters to provide insights into teachers’ legitimate peripheral participation in the research laboratory. The VNOS-C (Lederman et al., 2002) was administered pre/post to the teachers. Evidence of more informed, developing, and more naive understandings of each of the tenets of NOS was collected and compared to identify changes in teachers’ beliefs. Interviews and follow-up correspondence informed the study of changes in classroom teaching. The teachers became very familiar with their mentors’ research, increased their subject content knowledge, and contributed to their mentor’s work. Mentors utilized teachers’ expertise as communicators when presenting research and hosting other student groups. The teachers’ understanding of the NOS did not change as a result of their immersion in the culture of the laboratory. The lens through which the teachers viewed science influenced how they perceived and interpreted their research experiences. Teachers who held positivist views reinforced them, while the lone teacher who held post-positivist views reinforced their positions. The teachers developed confidence in their ability to facilitate classroom inquiry, increased the number of inquiry-based in their curriculum, introduced advanced placement and scientific research courses, and rejuvenated their enthusiasm for teaching.

Despite the demand for a diverse STEM-educated population and workforce, college students have consistently turned away from these disciplines in large numbers, creating a persistent problem that many are trying to address. The aim of the National Science Foundation's Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program is to inspire, attract, and retain STEM majors. Funding supports undergraduate STEM students' engagement in real-world research alongside STEM mentors. As colleges and universities compete for funding for REUs, it is important to understand the mechanisms within summer research programs that resonate most deeply with undergraduate STEM researchers. While many studies reveal strong correlations between research experiences and STEM aspirations, less is known about the mechanisms within REU programs that support these gains. My research used quantitative and qualitative self-reported data from 20 REU students, 18 of whom were underrepresented minorities in STEM. Over two summers, these students, in cohorts of ten, came to the University of Vermont to participate in a team-oriented, 10-week REU: Interdisciplinary Research on Human Impacts in the Lake Champlain Ecosystem. Two mixed-methods studies, guided by the frameworks of the theory of possible selves, theory of self-efficacy for research, and social cognitive career theory, revealed four important program mechanisms that gave rise to gains in research skills, confidence and self-efficacy for research, and STEM career aspirations, particularly for individuals from underrepresented minority groups in STEM. Findings suggest that the program fostered student capacity building within a safe, inclusive, and positive setting where students experienced what it feels like to be an active participant in the world of research. Within this context, critical mechanisms that gave rise to gains in research skills, confidence and self-efficacy for research, and STEM career aspirations included: (1) experiential education through interdisciplinary research experiences, (2) student independence and ownership balanced with expert researcher guidance and support, (3) formal and informal mentoring networks where students were mentored and where they mentored others, and (4) the establishment of an intentional learning community that advanced leadership, research skill building, perseverance, and reflection. Results from this research cannot be generalized beyond the context of the Lake Champlain REU, however, findings are in alignment with the body of literature that highlights the positive effects of REUs on STEM majors' research skills, confidence and self-efficacy for research, and STEM career aspirations. Using mixed methods to identify and understand the within-program mechanisms that support student gains is a valuable new research approach for this field. Recognizing programmatic mechanisms across REU programs can lead to expansion, replication, and application of these models beyond one institution, resulting in more positive gains for more undergraduate STEM researchers.

With increasing numbers of first-generation college students enrolling in colleges and universities across the US, so too is the need to begin preparing such underrepresented students for graduate school and a career in academia. As a phenomenological case study of student transformation, this dissertation examines the experience of nine first-generation college students in the summer research portion of the Ronald E. McNair Achievement Program (McNair) at University of Arizona. The qualitative data collected includes in-depth interviewing, observing the students' in-class presentations on the progress of their summer research, and reviewing the students' written work. Drawing on Adult Transformational Learning Theory (Mezirow, 1991) and Gee's writings on student identity (2000) and Discourse (2005), this study primarily addresses the following questions: 1) How do UA McNair students take on and use the Discourse of research during the 10 week summer program? And 2) as they engage in the Discourse of research (in classes, with mentors, with peers, in written work), what academic identity transformations are observed (in the classroom, in interviews, and in written work)? Narrative inquiry (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000) was utilized to organize and examine the data, and research texts consist of academic biographies written for each student. Findings reveal that student transformation is the noticeable difference in the students' utilization and integration of a language system used to describe their summer research and to define their research interests. Defined as the Discourse of research, this becomes the basis for students enacting the identity of undergraduate researcher. As a cohort of nine McNair Scholars, students share the experience of undergraduate research and engage in conversations which address the insecurities they have as first-generation college students. Through this formation of an affinity group (Gee, 2005) and their utilization of the Discourse of research, students engage in critical reflection, reevaluate their academic identities, and begin preparing themselves for their transition from undergraduate students to first-year doctoral students.

This study examined students' perception between short research experiences (SRE) courses and full-semester course research experiences (CRE) using the Persistence in the Sciences (PITS) survey and the interview questionnaire. The study also aimed to correlate the influence of student's demographic as a predictive indicator for Project Ownership Scores (POS) and Quantitative Literacy (QL) score means. The three courses studied at the University of North Texas were Biology for Science Majors Laboratory (BIOL 1760 SRE), Microbiology with Tiny Earth (BIOL 2042 Tiny Earth SRE), and Introductory Biology Research Laboratory I (BIOL 1750 SEA-PHAGES CRE). The mean scores for the PITS categories leaned favorably towards the research component of each laboratory course assessed in this study. The interview questionnaire showed 66% of the students in the SRE courses and 90% of the students in the CRE course preferred the research component of the lab. Paired survey demographic analysis for BIOL 1760 SRE showed significance for the Science Community Values with associate/bachelor's degree. BIOL 1750 SEA-PHAGES CRE showed significance in three of the six categories when comparing means for Project Ownership Emotion, Self-Efficacy, and Science Identity with Gender. Binary logistics was used to build a regression model to predict demographics with approximately 65% to 75% accuracy for each course. When analyzing students' QL score, the demographic category "Ethnicity" showed significance for BIOL 2042 Tiny Earth SRE. Categorizing the correct response into two categories for the QL test scores, the SRE and CRE courses, and analyzing the PITS scores for paired data sets showed that there was significance in the Networking category for the question "I have discussed my research in this course with professors other than my course instructor." The validated PITS, POS, and interview questionnaire could be a tool for use to analyze laboratories at UNT that offer a SRE or CRE component and to understand students' perceptions on the effectiveness of the laboratory.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2004 / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: There are indications that the emergence of global trends in the production and dissemination of knowledge is influencing science policies worldwide, and compelling universities and technikons in South Africa to become more market oriented, competitive and entrepreneurial. Some of these trends include new modes of knowledge production, increased financial and academic accountability and distance education. The changing higher education landscape worldwide has implications for South African tertiary institutions. In addition, one of the objectives of the democratic government that took power in 1994 was to transform higher education. The publication of the White Paper on Education in 1997, the establishment of the Council on Higher Education (CHE) and the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC), and the National Plan for Higher Education in 2001 heralded the beginning of change. Consequently, it became necessary for higher education institutions to deliberate on the future course of their undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and training programmes. In this context, it is important for universities and technikons to understand the needs of their postgraduate students. The overall aim of this study was to identify the perceptions of ex-Technikon Natal (now the Durban Institute of Technology) postgraduate students on their research experiences with regard to supervision, communication, the Technikon generally, availability of resources, finance, time, departments, faculties, research, research methodology, statistics, library and expertise. The particular focus was on postgraduate students registered at the Technikon Natal in 2001, whether or not they had submitted their research proposals. A postal survey was carried out to determine the students' perceptions of their research postgraduate experiences at the then Technikon Natal. The results of the survey indicate that the majority of postgraduate students have a negative perception of the Technikon. Students feel that there are insufficient experienced supervisors available for consultation, leading to unacceptable delays. With regard to communication, students feel that the Technikon does not disseminate enough information on processes and procedures about postgraduate issues. Overall, students in the Health Sciences are more dissatisfied than students in the other faculties. In fact, the postal survey reveals that students in these other faculties are more positive than negative about their postgraduate experiences. However, it is worth pointing out that a large proportion of Science and Engineering students (38%) are undecided on this matter. It is interesting to note that the open-ended comments section at the end of the questionnaire reveals far more negative perceptions than the closed questions. Students are dissatisfied about the lack of modern computer facilities and available funds. They also feel strongly that it takes too long to get a research proposal approved. The majority feels that a postgraduate information kit would assist greatly. Comments about Research Methodology as a subject are particularly negative with regard to statistics, and the course, which they feel is too general. Students do not seem to have any major difficulties with the library services. The Technikon has to put structures in place to improve these negative perceptions and manage the students' needs. Combined with the impact of the merger of the former Technikon Natal and M.L. Sultan Technikon, the effects of which are not yet fully understood, the new Durban Institute of Technology should give serious consideration to the needs of its postgraduate population, especially in the Faculty of Health. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Globale tendense in die produksie en disseminasie van kennis blyk wereldwyd 'n invloed op wetenskapsbeleid te he en noodsaak universiteite (en ook technikons in Suid-Afrika) om 'n groter markgerigtheid, mededingendheid en ondernemingsgees te openbaar. Hierdie globale tendense behels, onder andere, 'n verskuiwing na nuwe modi van kennisproduksie, sowel as 'n toename in finansiele en akademiese verantwoordbaarheid, en afstandsonderrig. Suid-Afrikaanse tersiere instellings kan hierdie wereldwye veranderinge in die landskap van hoar onderwys moeilik ontsnap. Daarbenewens het die demokratiese regering, wat in 1994 aan bewind gekom het, dit ten doel gestel om hoar onderwys in die land te transformeer. In 1997 het die eerste veranderinge ingetree met die publikasie van die Witskrif op Onderwys, en dit is in 2001 opgevolg met die totstandkoming van die Raad op Hoar Onderwys (CHE), die Hoar Onderwyskwaliteitskomitee (HEQC), en die Nasionale Plan vir Hoar Onderwys. Gevolglik het dit nodig geword dat hoar onderwysinstellings oorleg pleeg rakende die toekomstige verloop van voorgraadse en nagraadse onderrig- en opleidingsprogramme. Binne hierdie konteks is dit nodig vir universiteite en technikons om begrip te he vir die behoeftes van hul nagraadse studente. Die oorhoofse doel van hierdie studie was om die persepsies te identifiseer van nagraadse studente aan die eertydse Technikon Natal (nou deel van die Durban Instituut vir Tegnologie). Die fokus was op studente se navorsingservarings met betrekking tot supervisie, kommunikasie, die technikon in die algemeen, die beskikbaarheid van hulpbronne, finansies, tyd, departemente, fakulteite, navorsingsmetodologie, statistiek, biblioteekfasiliteite en kundigheid. Studente wat in 2001 aan die Technikon Natal geregistreer was, is by die ondersoek betrek, ongeag of die student 'n navorsingsvoorstel ingedien het of nie. 'n Posvraelys-opname is gebruik. Die resultate van die opname toon die meerderheid nagraadse studente het 'n negatiewe persepsie van die Technikon. Die studente voel daar is nie genoeg ervare studieleiers om te raadpleeg nie, en dit lei tot onnodige vertragings. Wat kommunikasie betref, voel die studente dat die Technikon nie genoeg inligting omtrent nagraadse prosesse en prosedures versprei nie. In geheel gesien, het studente in die Gesondheidswetenskappe 'n veel groter ontevredenheid uitgespreek as studente in ander fakulteite. In die ander fakulteite was 'n geringe persentasie studente meer positief as negatief omtrent hul nagraadse ervaring. 'n Redelike persentasie studente in die Natuur- en Ingenieurswetenskappe (38%) was egter besluiteloos in hul opinie. Verder het die oop vrae aan die einde van die vraelys, wat kommentaar versoek, veel meer negatiewe as positiewe persepsies ontlok. Die studente is ontevrede met die gebrek aan moderne rekenaarfasiliteite en beskikbare fondse. Hul voel dat dit te lank neem om 'n navorsingsvoorstel goedgekeur te kry. Die meerderheid is van mening dat 'n nagraadse informasiepakket van groot waarde sou wees. Die kommentaar omtrent Navorsingsmetodologie as 'n vak is besonder negatief, veral wat statistiek bet ref, en hulle voel die kursus is te algemeen. Die studente blyk nie ernstige probleme met biblioteekdienste te he nie. Die technikon moet derhalwe strukture in plek stel ten einde die negatiewe persepsies van die studente aan te spreek en hul behoeftes doeltreffend te bestuur. Tesame met die impak van die samesmelting (waarvan die effek nog nie ten volle begryp word nie), moet die instelling ook ernstige oorweging skenk aan die behoeftes van die nagraadse populasie, veral in die Fakulteit van Gesondheid.

<p>Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) have been described in a range of educational contexts. Although various learning objectives, termed anticipated learning outcomes (ALOs) in this project, have been proposed, processes for identifying them may not be rigorous or well-documented, which can lead to inappropriate assessment and speculation about what students actually learn from CUREs. Additionally, evaluation of CUREs has primarily relied on student and instructor perception data rather than more reliable measures of learning.This dissertation investigated a novel biochemistry laboratory curriculum for a Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) known as the Biochemistry Authentic Scientific Inquiry Lab (BASIL). Students participating in this CURE use a combination of computational and biochemical wet-lab techniques to elucidate the function of proteins of known structure but unknown function. The goal of the project was to evaluate the efficacy of the BASIL CURE curriculum for developing students’ research abilities across implementations. Towards achieving this goal, we addressed the following four research questions (RQs): <b>RQ1</b>) How can ALOs be rigorously identified for the BASIL CURE; <b>RQ2</b>) How can the identified ALOs be used to develop a matrix that characterizes the BASIL CURE; <b>RQ3</b>) What are students’ perceptions of their knowledge, confidence and competence regarding their abilities to perform the top-rated ALOs for this CURE; <b>RQ4</b>) What are appropriate assessments for student achievement of the identified ALOs and what is the nature of student learning, and related difficulties, developed by students during the BASIL CURE? To address these RQs, this project focused on the development and use of qualitative and quantitative methods guided by constructivism and situated cognition theoretical frameworks. Data was collected using a range of instruments including, content analysis, Qualtrics surveys, open-ended questions and interviews, in order to identify ALOs and to determine student learning for the BASIL CURE. Analysis of the qualitative data was through inductive coding guided by the concept-reasoning-mode (CRM) model and the assessment triangle, while analysis of quantitative data was done by using standard statistical techniques (e.g. conducting a parried t-test and effect size). The results led to the development of a novel method for identifying ALOs, namely a process for identifying course-based undergraduate research abilities (PICURA; RQ1; Irby, Pelaez, & Anderson 2018b). Application of PICURA to the BASIL CURE resulted in the identification and rating by instructors of a wide range of ALOs, termed course-based undergraduate research abilities (CURAs), which were formulated into a matrix (RQs 2; Irby, Pelaez, & Anderson, 2018a,). The matrix was, in turn, used to characterize the BASIL CURE and to inform the design of student assessments aimed at evaluating student development of the identified CURAs (RQs 4; Irby, Pelaez, & Anderson, 2018a). Preliminary findings from implementation of the open-ended assessments in a small case study of students, revealed a range of student competencies for selected top-rated CURAs as well as evidence for student difficulties (RQ4). In this way we were able to confirm that students are developing some of the ALOs as actual learning outcomes which we term VLOs or verified learning outcomes. In addition, a participant perception indicator (PPI) survey was used to gauge students’ perceptions of their gains in knowledge, experience, and confidence during the BASIL CURE and, therefore, to inform which CURAs should be specifically targeted for assessment in specific BASIL implementations (RQ3;). These results indicate that, across implementations of the CURE, students perceived significant gains with large effect sizes in their knowledge, experience, and confidence for items on the PPI survey (RQ3;). In our view, the results of this dissertation will make important contributions to the CURE literature, as well as to the biochemistry education and assessment literature in general. More specifically, it will significantly improve understanding of the nature of student learning from CUREs and how to identify ALOs and design assessments that reveal what students actually learn from such CUREs - an area where there has been a dearth of available knowledge in the past. The outcomes of this dissertation could also help instructors and administrators identify and align assessments with the actual features of a CURE (or courses in general), use the identified CURAs to ensure the material fits departmental or university needs, and evaluate the benefits of students participating in these innovative curricula. Future research will focus on expanding the development and validation of assessments so that practitioners can better evaluate the efficacy of their CUREs for developing the research competencies of their undergraduate students and continue to render improvements to their curricula.</p>