The purpose of this study was to assess whether guided practice is more effective than no guided practice (1) in fifth and sixth grade classrooms, (2) in fifth and sixth grade social studies classrooms and fifth and sixth grade science classrooms, and (3) in science classrooms and social studies classrooms. In this experimental study, all fifth and sixth grade students in a small school district in north Texas were randomly assigned to two experimental groups and two control groups in each grade. Over the course of one month two teachers who had previously been trained in the use of guided practice procedures taught the experimental groups in each grade, using, extensive guided practice. Two other teachers taught the control groups in each grade without the use of guided practice. Students in both groups were administered a pretest before beginning each of two chapters in each textbook, while a posttest was administered after the study of each chapter. The analysis and interpretation of data yielded the conclusions that the use of guided practice in classes can be expected to result in higher student achievement than in classes using little or no guided practice in the following areas: science classes, social studies classes, sixth grade classes in general, fifth grade classes in general, fifth grade science classes, and fifth grade social studies classes. The use of guided practice did not result in significant gains in student achievement in sixth grade science classes and sixth grade social studies classes when compared with classes which used little or no guided practice.

D.Litt. et Phil. (Information Science) / The project involved the design of a multimedia study package for distance teaching in computerised information retrieval. This included external online and CD-ROM informa- tion retrieval, as well as specialized systems such as in-house databases, videotex, teletext and Internet. The target group was information specialists. The findings may also apply to other target groups, provided a thorough situation analysis serves as point of departure. The project was initiated by the growing importance of distance education, the constant developments in the online industry and the need for didactically grounded study packages for teaching computerised information retrieval skills. Such packages should focus on technological knowledge and skills on the higher cognitive, affective and psychomotor levels. A literature study was conducted on four subproblems: the nature of distance education; the characteristics of multimedia study packages; the didactical grounding of such packages (including curriculum development, instructional design and media selection); and the state of the art regarding the 'teaching of computerised information retrieval. This led to the conclusion that the theory of distance education should serve as focal point in the design of a multimedia package, while special attention is also given to Keegan's theory which focuses on the reintegration of the teaching and learning acts. Study packages should be the result of instructional design, which is dependent on curriculum development. The latter includes decisions made on the macro and meso levels of the curriculum and the consideration of technological infrastructures available in the wider society. Provision should also be made for the typical characteristics of multimedia packages for distance teaching, including individual study, irregular contact teaching sessions, active student involvement, opportunities for self-evaluation, enriching and remedial learning events, student support and the recognition of the needs of adult learners (andragogical needs), as well as those of young adults. The mastering of higher order skills should be supported by opportunities for active student involvement including self-evaluation of lower order skills. Provision should also be made 1I1 for the practical application of knowledge and skills, as welI as evaluation skills, by fully exploiting the possibilities offered by interactive teaching. Students should, however, attend interactive sessions welI prepared. This could be ensured by making use of prior self- evaluation as well as tutor evaluation of both subject matter and media literacy. A variety of media and teaching methods can be applied in the mediated teaching of computerised information retrieval. Media selection should be based on media character- istics, performance objectives, subject nature and logistical factors. An eclectic model for instructional design is proposed. A concept design for a multimedia package for distance teaching of computerised information retrieval was developed by applying this eclectic model. The concept design was based on the didactical situation at the University of South Africa. Although the design has focused on the ideal situation, where students have access to computers and attend sporadic contact teaching sessions, suggestions are also made for a differentiated package. These suggestions include a basic study package, a learning contract with the student and his employee, and a package with enriched learning experience.

M.Ed. / Computer Studies as a school subject consists of a theory and a practical component. The practical component refers to programming. In programming the student has to design a algorithm. Problems can be solved with step by step approaches which lead to the final instruction that will solve the problem. This sequence of instructions that lead to problem solving is called an algorithm. There is more than one algorithm that will solve the same problem. There is no fixed recipe but only guidelines that assist the student to design an algorithm. During the designing of an algorithm the student gets the opportunity to be creative. The practical component of computer studies provides the ideal situation in which the student can solve a problem in his own way. Because of the nature of computer studies which is problem solving the opportunity arises where one can expose his creative talent. The situation unfortunately today exists where some teachers lack experience and training. To determine whether a specific algorithm solves a problem the inexperienced teacher should use a computer. Teachers that prefer to mark algorithms with a memorandum hamper the creativity of students. Although most teachers do have the necessary academic background they were not properly trained in the subject didactics of computer studies.

A research report in part fulfilment of the requirements of an MSc in Science Education at the University of the Witwatersrand / This study reports the findings of a research project in a DET (Department of Education and Training)* school in Mamelodi, South Africa, in 1995. An investigrtion was carried out to ascertain whether students benefit from having access to science definitions in their vernacular, and to determine their preference in terms of the medium of instruction in the science classroom. A Science Concept Guide, written at RADMASTE** Centre, was used as the main component of the intervention in a pretest - post-test study. This was followed by student questionnaires and interviews. The Concept Guide consisted of definitions and explanations of Physics and Chemistry concepts arranged according to themes. These explanations were translated into North Sotho. Two groups of Std 10 students participated in the evaluation of the Concept Guide. One group used an English version of the Concept Guide and the other an English and North Sotho version. The differences between the pre-test and post-test scores of each group were compared. The results indicated that a significant improvement in scores had occurred in the English and North Sotho Group. Interview results showed that a number of students were in favour of having learning material of this sort available in their vernacular and claimed that they had found it helpful. In general, both groups expressed favourable comments about the Guide. Opinions about medium of instruction varied. Overall, findings indicate that further efforts in the development of vernacular material for the learning of science would prove beneficial. Although the area of policy decision is outside the scope of this study, it hopes to contribute in some way to the knowledge about the preferred medium of learning in South Africa. / Andrew Chakane 2018

The past two decades of research on how students develop their science understandings as they make sense of phenomena that occur in the natural world has culminated in a movement to redefine science educational standards. The so-called Next Generation Science Standards (or NGSS) codify this new definition into a set of distinct performance expectations, which outline how students might reveal to what extent they have sufficient understanding of disciplinary core ideas (DCIs), science practices (SEPs), and crosscutting concepts (CCCs). The latter of these three dimensions is unique both in being the most recent to the field and in being the least supported by prior science education research. More crucially, as a policy document, the NGSS alone does not provide the supports teachers need to bring reforms to their classrooms, particularly not summative assessments. This dissertation addresses both of these gaps using a combination of quantitative and qualitative techniques. First, I analyze differential categorization of problems that require respondents to engage with their CCC understandings via confirmatory factor analysis inference. Second, I use a set of Rasch models to measure preliminary learning progressions for CCCs evident in student activity within a computer-assisted assessment experience. Third, I analyze student artifacts, think-aloud interviews, and post-task reflective interviews via activity theory to adapt the progression into a task model in which students explain and predict aspects of Earth systems. The culmination of these three endeavors not only sets forth a methodology for researching CCCs in a way that is more integrative to the other dimensions of the NGSS, but also provides a framework for developing assessments that are aligned to the goals of these new standards.

The purpose of this proposed research study was to identify actual teaching practices/instructional strategies for online science courses. The identification of these teaching practices/instructional strategies could be used to compile a set of teaching practices/instructional strategies for virtual high school and online academy science instructors. This study could assist online science instructors by determining which teaching practices/instructional strategies were preferred for the online teaching environment. The literature reviewed the role of online and face-to-face instructional strategies, then discussed and elaborated on the science instructional strategies used by teachers, specifically at the secondary level. The current literature did not reflect an integration of these areas of study. Therefore, the connectedness of these two types of instructional strategies and the creation of a set of preferred instructional practices for online science instruction was deemed necessary. For the purpose of this study, the researcher designed a survey for face-to-face and online teachers to identify preferred teaching practices, instructional strategies, and types of technology used when teaching high school science students. The survey also requested demographic data information from the faculty members, including years of experience, subject(s) taught, and whether the teacher taught in a traditional classroom or online, to determine if any of those elements affect differences in faculty perceptions with regard to the questions under investigation. The findings from the current study added to the literature by demonstrating the differences and the similarities that exist between online and face-to-face instruction. Both forms of instruction tend to rely on student-centered approaches to teaching. / There were many skills that were similar in that both types of instructors tend to focus on implementing the scientific method. The primary difference is the use of technology tools that were used by online instructors. Online instructors tend to rely on more technological tools such as virtual labs. A list of preferred instructional practices was generated from the qualitative responses to the open-ended questions. Research concerned with this line of inquiry should continue in order to enhance both theory and practice in regard to online instruction. / by Tammy J. Gillette. / Thesis (Ed.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2009. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2009. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Orientador: Jair Lopes Junior / Banca: Kester Carrara / Banca: Sérgio Dias Cirino / Resumo: O modelo de mudança conceitual,de reconhecida difusão na área do Ensino de Ciências,foi alvo de diversas críticas e revisões ao longo dos mais de vinte anos desde sua proposição inicial. oder-se-ia afirmar,no entanto,que tanto os proponentes do modelo quanto seus críticos apresentam um enfoque restritivo no tratamento das medidas comportamentais correspondentes à ocorrência ou não de mudança conceitual. Admite-se,como hipótese deste trabalho,que o Behaviorismo Radical propicia ferramentas capazes de uma avaliação da pertinência das críticas dirigidas ao modelo e da própria proposta de avaliação dos resultados obtidos através de sua utilização,tal como apresentada por seus proponentes . Para tanto, o presente trabalho concentrou ênfase na tentativa de,considerando estudos que ilustram a difusão posterior do modelo em trabalhos empíricos,descrever as medidas comportamentais que parecem fundamentar inferências sobre a ocorrência ou não da mudança conceitual,analisando se e como o tratamento de tais medidas foi considerado em alguns dos artigos que expressam uma revisão crítica do modelo Argumenta-se que tais artigos falham em descrever semelhanças e diferenças dos instrumentos e das interações que definem a obtenção das medidas comportamentais de conhecimentos prévios e posteriores à intervenção,bem como as intervenções intencionalmente planejadas e as condições de avaliação que sucedem a tais intervenções. / Abstract: The conceptual change model, well-known spread in Science Teaching, has been reviewed and criticized, since its initial proposal, for over twenty years. It could be argued, however, that either authors or critics present a restrictive view concerning the behavioral measures related to the absence or occurrence of conceptual change. The hypothesis within this paper is that Radical Behaviorism provides tools that can assess the pertinence of criticisms toward the model as well as the result evaluation proposal obtained from their application, as referred to by their proponents. Thus, the emphasis of this paper, taking into account studies that illustrate the posterior spreading of the model in empirical applications, is the attempt to describe the behavioral measures that seem to support inferences about the occurrence or absence of conceptual change, analyzing whereas and how the treatment of such measures were considered in some articles expressing a critical revision of the model. We understand that such articles have failed to describe similarities and differences concerning the instruments and interactions that define the achievement of behavioral measures from the knowledge (and not about responses) before and after the intervention, as well as intentionally planned interventions and the assessment conditions subsequent to the interventions. / Mestre

Essa dissertação apresenta a discussão sobre a contribuição de um material instrucional como mediador na construção do conhecimento em aulas de química. Inicialmente estabelecemos um quadro referencial sobre argumentação e aprendizagem, escrita, gêneros do discurso escolar-científico e formato prescrito desses gêneros. Discutimos a concepção e o projeto do material instrucional baseado nas propriedades do enunciado de acordo com o círculo de Bakhtin. Organizamos um conjunto de atividades de laboratório e estabelecemos os processos instrumentais pelos quais se realizam as atividades experimentais, bem como propomos critérios para avaliação em sala de aula dos gêneros do discurso produzidos pelos estudantes. Construímos as categorias de análise e organizamos o material produzido pelos estudantes em nosso modelo de avaliação. Submetemos o material organizado às categorias de análise e observamos o processo evolutivo dos estudantes na produção dos gêneros do discurso, assim como no argumento construído antes e após a utilização de nosso material instrucional. Concluímos que os estudantes demonstram um processo evolutivo positivo em todos os aspectos analisados após a utilização de nosso material instrucional, o que nos indica a viabilidade de seu uso em sala de aula de química. / This dissertation presents a discussion on the contribution of an instructional material as a mediator in the construction of knowledge in chemistry class. Initially established a frame of reference about reasoning and learning, writing, discourse genre-school science and prescribed format of these genres. We discuss the conception and the design of instructional material based on the properties of the utterance in accordance with the Bakhtin circle. We define a set of laboratory activities and establish the procedures by which instruments they carry out the experiments, and propose criteria for evaluation of classroom discourse genre produced by students. We construct categories of analysis and organize the material produced by students in our evaluation model. We subject the material organized in categories of analysis and observe the evolutionary process of the students in the production of discourse genre, and the argument built before and after the use of our instructional materials. We conclude that the students showed a positive evolutionary process in all aspects analyzed after the use of our instructional material, which indicates the feasibility of its use in the classroom chemistry.

The purpose of this descriptive quantitative and basic qualitative study was to examine fifth and eighth grade science teachers' responses, perceptions of the role of technology in the classroom, and how they felt that computer applications, tools, and the Internet influence student understanding. The purposeful sample included survey and interview responses from fifth grade and eighth grade general and physical science teachers. Even though they may not be generalizable to other teachers or classrooms due to a low response rate, findings from this study indicated teachers with fewer years of teaching science had a higher level of computer use but less computer access, especially for students, in the classroom. Furthermore, teachers' choice of professional development moderated the relationship between the level of school performance and teachers' knowledge/skills, with the most positive relationship being with workshops that occurred outside of the school. Eighteen interviews revealed that teachers perceived the role of technology in classroom instruction mainly as teacher-centered and supplemental, rather than student-centered activities. / by Rebecca Kerr. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

Almost twenty-one percent of the United States population spoke a language other than English in 2011. Furthermore, there has been a dramatic increase in the enrollment of students of Hispanic and other ethnic backgrounds in U.S. post-secondary institutions between 1976 and 2013 (from 4% to 16%) (National Center for Education Statistics NCES, 2016). Until now, no systematic research has focused on the differential effects of selfefficacy on academic achievement in monolingual and bilingual undergraduate college students. The present study aimed to investigate this relationship, as well as contribute additional insight on whether the academic self-efficacy of monolingual and bilingual undergraduate college students plays a role in their academic success specifically in science and math courses. Additionally, the findings of this research study were expected to provide data to inform the development of educational programs that might specifically target monolinguals or bilinguals in enhancing students’ self-efficacy. Seven instructors of foundational undergraduate science courses and math courses at a southeastern university agreed to contribute to the study by asking their students for their voluntary participation in the data collection. A total of 361 students participated in the study. Overall, 256 (70.9%) participants reported being monolingual and 105 (29.1%) reported being bilingual; 335 (92.8%) students were enrolled in science courses and 26 (7.2%) were registered in math courses; 237 (65.7%) were female students and 124 (34.3%) were male. Demographics, self-efficacy, and sociolinguistic data were collected using the Self-Efficacy Research Study Online Questionnaire. Final science and math grades were also collected from the instructors at the end of the semester for all students who volunteered to participate in the study. The findings of this research study revealed that the self-efficacy levels of undergraduate college students in science and math predict their academic achievement in these subjects. They also showed that the self-efficacy levels of bilingual participants are higher than those of their monolingual counterparts. Findings also indicated that when the relationship between final grade and self-efficacy was examined separately in each linguistic group the correlation was significant and positive for monolinguals. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection