Scientists engage with practices like model development and use, data analysis and interpretation, explanation construction, and argumentation in order to expand the frontiers of science, so it can be inferred that students’ engagement with science practices may help them deepen their own science understanding. As one of three dimensions on which the Next Generation Science Standards is built, science practices are recognized as an important component of science instruction. However, the contexts in which these practices happen are under-researched. Furthermore, research on science practices among students tends to focus on one or two practices in isolation when, in reality, students and scientists tend to engage with multiple overlapping practices. This study focused on identifying and characterizing multiple science practices as eighth and ninth-grade Earth Science students participated in a small group collaborative problem solving activity both with and without the use of a physical model. This study found a range of sophistication in the observed science practices as well as a relationship between the frequency of those practices and the accuracy of the groups’ outcomes. Based on this relationship, groups were assigned to one of three categories. Further analysis revealed that model use varied among the three categories of groups. Comparisons across these three group categories suggest that there may be a bootstrapping relationship between students’ engagement with science practices and the development of their content understanding. This metaphor of bootstrapping is used to represent how students may develop deeper science content understanding through engagement with science practices and concurrently develop greater facility with science practices as they learn science content. Implications are presented for curriculum designers, teachers and teacher educators. These include recommendations for curriculum design that encourage structured opportunities for small group engagement with science practices as well as recommendations for assessment of students’ reasoning while they engage with science practices within small group collaborative contexts.

This study examined how three different pre-reading (or relevance) instructions led to different learning outcomes for middle school students reading science texts on the topic of sweetness. The first was a generic instruction to read for understanding. The second prompted students to form a holistic explanation of the topic of sweetness, and the third instruction prompted students to focus on the core scientific principle of the relationship between structure and function. The latter two were specifically designed to align with science disciplinary goals. A comparison of the three treatments found that the generic instruction and the structure-function instruction led to better learning outcomes, measured by recall, short-answer performance questions, and a traditional multiple-choice/short-answer assessment. A qualitative analysis of the data also revealed some small yet notable differences in the recall pattern of students, such as an increased recall of key ideas for the structure-function instruction. This effect was seen predominantly for higher-skilled readers. The results suggest the possibility that relevance instructions targeting core ideas may help to orient students to the key ideas and explanations in scientific text, especially for higher-skilled readers, and indirectly highlights some of the challenges for students with less reading competencies. Overall, this study provides greater insight into how middle-school students read science texts, the effectiveness of instructor-provided relevance instructions in promoting (higher-level) comprehension of science texts, and implications for teachers on how to use texts in science instruction.

This study integrated elements of culturally relevant pedagogy into a science learning progression framework, with the goal of enhancing teachers’ cultural knowledge and thereby creating better teaching practices in an urban public high school science classroom. The study was conducted using teachers, an administrator, a science coach, and students involved in science courses in public high school. Through a qualitative intrinsic case study, data were collected and analyzed using traditional methods. Data from primary participants (educators) were analyzed through identification of big ideas, open coding, and themes. Through this process, patterns and emergent ideas were reported. Outcomes of this study demonstrated that educators lack knowledge about research-based academic frameworks and multicultural education strategies, but benefit through institutionally-based professional development. Students from diverse cultures responded positively to culturally-based instruction. Their progress was further manifested in better communication and discourse with their teacher and peers, and increased academic outcomes. This study has postulated and provided an exemplar for science teachers to expand and improve multicultural knowledge, ultimately transferring these skills to their pedagogical practice.

Improving outcomes for English language learners (ELLs) in secondary science remains an area of high need. The purpose of this study is to investigate bilingual knowledge organization in secondary science classrooms. This study involved thirty-nine bilingual students in three biology classes at a public high school in The Bronx, New York City. Methods included an in-class survey on language use, a science content and English proficiency exam, and bilingual free- recalls. Fourteen students participated in bilingual free-recalls which involved a semi-structured process of oral recall of information learned in science class. Free-recall was conducted in both English and Spanish and analyzed using flow-map methods. Novel methods were developed to quantify and visualize the elaboration and mobilization of ideas shared across languages. It was found that bilingual narratives displayed similar levels of organizational complexity across languages, though English recalls tended to be longer. English proficiency was correlated with narrative complexity in English. There was a high degree of elaboration on concepts shared across languages. Finally, higher Spanish proficiency correlated well with greater overlapping elaboration across languages. These findings are discussed in light of current cognitive theory before presenting the study’s limitations and future directions of research.

Given the high probability of national and federal research laboratories continuing to sponsor science education partnerships between their staff and classroom science teachers and the dearth of research in this area, this study set out to delineate best practices associated with such partnerships for the purpose of increasing the effectiveness of future partnerships. This investigation critically examined two science education partnerships at selected federal research laboratories over the course of summer workshops and the subsequent academic year. Sources of data included interviews, workshop observations, electronic mail communication, written program evaluations, and casual conversation. A unique feature of this research was the inclusion of all representative groups including program administrators, laboratory scientists, and the participating classroom teachers. By capturing the perspectives of all participant groups, this research was able to present a complete portrayal of science education partnerships at two national research laboratories. The longitudinal nature of this investigation allowed for all components of each program (e.g. planning, organization, implementation, evaluation, and follow-up) to be included in the research. The determination of best practices in science education partnerships provided the framework for this research which clearly showed the underlying importance of the need for all participants to understand the goals and what is expected of them before the program gets underway. To be achievable, individual and programmatic expectations must be in alignment with the overall goals of a program. To be attainable, the goals must be understood by all and provide a framework for the expectations. Without a clear and shared vision of a programs direction, goals and expectations are not likely to be fulfilled. The common thread for each of these components is communication and its importance during all stages of a program cannot be overstated. Additional findings suggest a variety of areas that should be considered important in science education partnerships. Insight into effective classroom transfer, the role of lead teachers, the role of scientists and science content, and program evaluation was developed as a result of this study. / Graduation date: 2002

The purpose of this study was to identify the management demands that may be unique to science classrooms. The sample consisted of three biology teachers and three language arts teachers from two high schools located within the same school district. To establish a basic framework, two quantitative questions were addressed: (1) What is the frequency of contexts utilized in the two content areas and (2) what is the average amount of time spent in each of the contexts based on the content being presented? For each quantitative question, there are 16 null hypotheses that correspond to specific, predefined classroom contexts. In addition to the two quantitative questions, a qualitative research question was addressed: Are there specific management patterns to be emphasized based on the context and subject matter being presented? Data from classroom observations were collected and coded utilizing methods described in previous research studies. The coded data were then statistically analyzed. To address the qualitative research question, a systematic qualitative analysis was conducted across the different contexts. The results show that seatwork, group seatwork, and student presentations occurred with significantly greater (p<.05) frequency in language arts classes. In contrast, hands-on activities, non-academic activity, and dead time occurred more frequently in biology classes. In addition, in language arts classes a significantly longer average time in individual seatwork activites was evident; while in biology classes, a significantly greater average time was spent in lecture, tests, and transitions. Qualitative analysis of the data indicated that within any given classroom context, the classroom management behaviors of the teachers were consistent. In general, subject matter differences are not revealed directly in terms of management within a particular context. More importantly the instructional approaches taken within the two subject matter areas were different. The instructional approach was determined by the goals and objectives of the class and how the teacher viewed the subject matter. The instructional approach, in turn, dictated the types of contexts and each context determined the management demands. / Graduation date: 1996

published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

The “Questioning-Exploration-Experience” (QEE), a teaching and learning method underpinned by constructivist theory, was developed by Cheng and further refined by Cheng and Chan in 2001. This thesis documents and evaluates the effectiveness of five- to six-year-old children’s learning when a teacher used this method to promote children’s understanding of the concept of (air) motion. The evaluation was conducted in a preschool operated by a tertiary institution in Hong Kong, and a teacher who was experienced in using the QEE method and her 14 students participated in the study. They were observed for six days over a period of one month when children were working on a task of making a wind bell. Under the QEE method, the children began the inquiry process by posing questions about constructing the wind bell. They then formulated hypotheses, tested them through exploration, and refined their questions repeatedly. The children reflected on their learning experiences in order to generate new questions. Teacher questioning was also a critical aspect of this process. The children and teacher spent a total of 323 minutes on the task and the sessions were videotaped. There was a total of 2,927 utterances in 863 conversational turns, and these were analyzed to examine the relationship between the levels of teacher questioning and the children’s responses to reflect the levels of children thinking. There were five of these levels identified. The first three are considered to involve lower-order thinking: level 1 ("yes/no"); level 2 ("what"); and level 3 (“elaborate") questions and responses. The next two can be considered as higher-order thinking: level 4 (“logical”) and level 5 ("critical") questions and responses. The results indicated that the teacher dominated the interactions and spoke 43% of the time, while children spoke for the remaining time (57%). Of the 139 minutes during which the teacher talked, she spent 97 minutes (70% of the time) posing 887 questions: level 1 was used the most often accounting for 41% of the interactions, followed by level 5 (17%), level 2 (16%), level 3 (14%), and level 4 (12%). The total time for which the children spoke was 184 minutes with 1653 responses. Children gave level 3 responses (28%) most frequently, followed by levels 2 (27%), 1 (26%), 5 (12%), and 4 (7 %), respectively. The relationship between the teacher’s questions and children’s responses was analyzed. An exact correspondence between the level of teacher thinking and children’s responses occurred 46% of the time (398 turns). Simply put, when the teacher asked a question requiring a “what” response, the child typically gave “what” information. Within the 398 turns, 41% of this direct correspondence occurred at level 1, followed by 20% at level 2, 17% at level 5, 13% at level 3, and 9% at level 4. The greatest number of correspondences occurred with questions that required “yes/no” responses, and the least with “logical” questions. In the QEE inquiry process, the teacher’s questioning had a strong influence on the children’s scientific thinking and played a critical role in promoting children’s knowledge construction. The teacher used questioning to define an area of inquiry, specify a problem to be solved, lead children to test hypotheses, evaluate their results and determine their understanding at various points during the process. Questioning, by both the teacher and the children, was critical in promoting the children’s scientific understanding. The impact of QEE in fostering conceptual change in knowledge construction was traced along three paths. The first path in the questioning defined the central question of inquiry. The second path, exploration, was concerned with identifying the information needed to solve the problem. The third path, experience, involved restructuring the concepts of the central question to apply the new understanding in a new situation. Findings also suggest that children’s knowledge construction is signified by the achievement of four elements: identification of a central question for inquiry, evaluation of the question about learning, provision of ways in which to answer the question, and critical reasoning. / published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Education

Argumentation is being seen as increasingly important in science lessons to develop students’ argumentation skills, reinforce their learning of science, and develop scientific literacy (Driver, Newton & Osborne, 2000). This study aims to investigate whether, and to what extent, students are able to use argumentation effectively in science class and what relation there is between argumentation and interest and achievement in science and epistemic beliefs. An intervention was carried out on 45 students in their first year of secondary school in an international school in Hong Kong. Students in the intervention class (n=22) were taught using an argumentation-based learning strategy; they were compared to a control class (n=23) who were taught using a standard textbook higher-order-thinking learning strategy. Three quantitative measures were used to compare cross group difference after a two-month intervention period. Results indicated that the training group did not show any significant change in their scores of the Epistemic Belief Inventory (EBI) or science term grades. However, they showed significant gains (p<.05) in their enjoyment of and confidence in science learning as measured by the Science Questionnaire (SQ). Two qualitative measures, namely one-to-one interview and online forum discussions were also used to gain understanding of students’ use of argumentation. Results of the current study suggest that these students were not able to use or trained to use argumentation in science to achieve significant improvement in science scores. However, the teaching of an argumentation-based strategy may at least improve their enjoyment and confidence towards science learning, which may in turn lead to long-term improved learning. Limitations of the current study will be discussed and further research will be suggested. / published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

Scientific literacy has been recognized internationally for its importance as a goal of science education. Lying at the core of scientific literacy is understandings of nature of science (NOS). A desired outcome from a scientifically literate populace is – critical evaluation of reports and discussions about science in the media. It is generally assumed that an informed conception of NOS will lead to this desired outcome of scientific literacy. Yet this assumption remains untested. The purpose of this research study was to examine the relationship, if any, between NOS understandings and the quality of evaluating science in the media. Sixty-four non-science majors from a local community college participated in the study. Participants were asked to evaluate on three health-related news articles reporting scientific claims by completing the Health News Evaluation Questionnaire. Their NOS understandings were assessed by the Views about Science Questionnaire. Participants were invited for a follow-up interview to further probe their NOS conceptions and quality of evaluating science news articles. The quality of evaluation, and the application and prioritization of criteria by each participant were analyzed. These were compared with the level of NOS understandings. Reasons for applying or not applying and for prioritizing or not prioritizing the NOS-related criteria were also examined in the follow-up interview. No correlation was identified between the non-science majors’ understanding on the targeted aspects of NOS and their frequency of application of these concepts in evaluating the science news except the followings where significant correlations, though weak, were identified. These include understanding of the peer view process and its frequency of application in evaluating (i) Article 2 on the effect of calorie on body weight and memory (r=0.325, p<0.05), (ii) Article 3 on cell phone controversies (r=0.326, p<0.05) and (iii) all the 3 news articles as a whole (r=0.381, p<0.05). Correlations are also identified between understanding of the peer review process and the level of sophistication with its application in the evaluation of Article 2 (r=0.345, p<0.05) and all the three articles as a whole (r=0.39, p<0.05). Another intriguing finding was that understanding of the tentative NOS was found to be correlated with the stance adopted in the evaluation of Article 3 (r=0.434, p<0.05). The poor performance of the participants in evaluating science in the media was attributed to the lack of awareness for the important role of NOS understandings, unfamiliarity with the application of NOS understandings, and compartmentalization among various NOS aspects. These were possible culprits for successful transformation of NOS understandings to critical evaluation of science in the media. Based on the findings, it is argued that NOS understandings are a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for critical evaluation of science in the media. Three additional conditions are suggested: (1) awareness towards the importance and the need in making reference to NOS understandings, (2) ability to apply NOS understandings, and (3) understanding the interconnectedness among various NOS aspects would aid successful transformation of NOS understandings to critical evaluation of science in the media. / published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy