Empirical evidence from the National Education Inspectorate suggested that teachers at the primary school in this study in an island country in the Caribbean have inadequate science content knowledge. Students' average performance on the science Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) has been below 40% for the last 5 years. The purpose of this bounded case study, guided by Shulman's conceptual framework, was to understand teachers' science subject matter knowledge (SMK). The guiding questions focused on teachers' abilities to demonstrate components of Shulman's SMK during science teaching and lesson planning and to gather their views on their abilities to meet the SMK components in grades 4-6. The 9 participants were primary-trained and each had taught science at grades 4-6 for a minimum of 2 years. Data collection consisted of interviews, lesson observations, and lesson plan reviews. Data were analyzed using open coding, axial coding, and themes from Shulman's SMK domains. The participants believed that they lacked proficiency in teaching science at the assigned grade level. They held misconceptions about the topics taught at the Grade 4-6 level and their lesson plans and observation data demonstrated lack of key components of SMK. Findings from this study were used to develop a science professional development project to empower teachers and, in turn, students in science content and processes. It is expected that implementation of the program could improve the science content knowledge of teachers at the primary school in this study. Positive social change might occur as improvement in teachers' science content knowledge might serve to improve students' learning outcomes in science at this and other settings in the island country.

The purpose of this study is to make a comparison of the achievement in reading and arithmetic of seventh and eighth grade pupils in the one, two and three-room schools and in the consolidated schools of Warren County, Kentucky.

This qualitative quasi-experimental study analyzed middle-level students’ understanding of engineering before and after instruction. Students from four teachers were examined. Before and after instruction, all students completed the Draw an Engineer Test (DAET) and the Views of Nature of Engineering (VNOE) survey. Additionally, sixteen students (eight girls and eight boys) from each group (Treatment and Comparison) were interviewed before and after instruction. Findings revealed that after instruction (1) many students viewed engineers as makers/builders/workers (just as they did pre-instruction), however, the percentage of students who listed engineers as inventors, designers, and creators increased; (2) fewer students from both groups noted they had heard about the engineering design process or had considered being; (3) the interviewed Treatment students were more knowledgeable about engineers than were the interviewed Comparison students. This study is important as it is one of the first studies to examine student understanding of engineering after receiving a science-based engineering design unit, and it found the total understanding to require improvement.

One hundred high school Algebra students from a southern California school participated in this study to provide information on students’ ability to relate the definition of function to its representations. The goals of the study were (1) to explore the extent to which students are able to distinguish between representations of functions/non-functions; (2) to compare students’ ability to distinguish between familiar/unfamiliar representations of functions/non-functions; (3) to explore the extent to which students are able to apply the definition of function to verify function representations; and (4) to explore the extent to which students are able to provide an adequate definition of function. Data was collected from written responses on a math survey consisting of items that asked students to decide if given illustrations are representations of functions, to explain how the decision was made, and to supply the domain and range when applicable. The questions included seven types of illustrations: graphs, equations, ordered pairs, tables, statements, arrow diagrams, and arbitrary mappings. Findings indicated that students were more able to correctly identify familiar than unfamiliar function representations. The easiest representation for students to correctly identify was the graph of a linear function and the most difficult was the graph of a piecewise function. A conjecture as to why this occurred is that the formal definition of function is not often emphasized or referenced when function and its representations are introduced so students do not have a deep understanding of how the function definition is related to its representations. The explanation, domain, and range responses were sketchy. A conjecture as to why this occurred is that in general, students have difficulty expressing themselves orally and in writing or perhaps students had not learned about domain and range. A separate question asked students, “What is a function?” To this question, students provided a variety of responses. It is suggested that conducting further studies that include student interviews and participants from multiple teachers, would provide increased understanding of how students learn the definition of function and the extent to which they are able to relate it to its representations.

Project-based learning is a multifaceted approach to teaching in which students explore real-world problems and challenges while working in small collaborative groups. Project-based learning is active and engaging and drives students to obtain a deeper knowledge of the subjects they're studying, and students develop confidence and self-direction as they move through both team-based and independent work. This project endeavored to assess the effect of participation in a project-based learning (PBL) activity of the Wind and Oar Boat School's curriculum on the self-efficacy of at-risk high school students. Twenty students participated in the program for both math and applied arts credits needed to complete their high school graduation requirements. Data were collected using a retrospective pre-then-post survey, participant observations, and semi-structured interviews. To assess student Self-efficacy, the researcher observed six constructs of self-efficacy, those being motivation, problem- solving, resilience, teamwork, confidence, and course skills. The findings were utilized to create student narratives that documented the experiences of the students in the program and provide the student side of the program and the changes that happened because of their participation in the program. Analysis of the retrospective survey confirmed that the students had statistically significant increases in all the constructs of self-efficacy, which was congruent with literature citations, researcher observations, and student interviews.

In this thesis, I share stories of my experiences as a high school science teacher, gymnastics coach, and track and field coach and I explore my discovery of the importance of making connections in my vocation. Written in Scholarly Personal Narrative format, I reflect on my own experiences with high school and college athletics I and discuss the lessons that I learned which I find to be most important to coaches and teachers. This thesis centers around making connections with athletes and students as a coach and educator. I dive into my career and highlight the lessons that I find to be most important for myself and other teaching and coaching professionals. The strongest take-away message that I would like my readers to recognize is that teachers who express genuine interest in students’ lives can help them open up and feel like they belong. In turn, a cooperative, collaborative community can form.

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the Developmental Mathematics program at the Lehigh county Community College. There was no positive evidence that the existing method of selecting students and/or the material content of the course was affective in achieving its stated objective; that of bringing the skill and ability of weak students needing remedial treatment up to the minimum level required for probable success in first-year college mathematics. The general hypothesis posed was that the students who took the Developmental Mathematics course would perform better in first-year college mathematics than those students whose ACT scores indicated they needed remedial treatment, but who did not take the Developmental Mathematics course. Four null hypotheses were tested to determine how effective the developmental course was in meeting its objective. One was concerned with the gain scores in the pre- and post-Cooperative Mathematics Test, and another with the performance of the students in first-year college mathematics. The results favored the Experimental group in both cases and indicated the MAT-099; Developmental Mathematics course was doing a good job. The findings of the third hypothesis saw little relationship between the ACT and Cooperative Mathematics test scores and success in first-year college mathematics, and the findings of the fourth hypothesis indicated that the content of the Developmental Mathematics course correlated reasonably well with the areas of the students’ mathematical weaknesses, except in several topics such as complex numbers and logarithms. One limitation of the study was the use of intact groups rather than randomly selected samples and the relatively small size of the sample. To compensate for this, the analysis of covariance procedure was used to test the null hypothesis of no difference in performance in freshman mathematics between the experimental and control groups. The findings again favored the experimental group and the null hypothesis was rejected. For testing all hypotheses the alpha value was selected as the .05 level of significance. The pre- and post-Cooperative Mathematics Test scores were analyzed and "t" tests used to determine the significance of the difference. The experimental group performed significantly better than the control group. Multiple correlation techniques were used to examine the relationship between the ACT and Cooperative Mathematics Test scores and success in freshman mathematics; and the test items were analyzed to determine the students' areas of weaknesses. A chi square test was used to analyze the frequency distributions of the final grades made by the experimental and control group students in their first-year college mathematicscourses. They were found to be significant at the .05 level.

The math achievement of students is low in a small rural district in Colorado. The purpose of this study was to explore the efficacy of a summer third through fifth grade math program in improving math scores. Piaget's theory of cognitive development was used as the theoretical foundation for the math instructional resource delivered to the struggling students in the program. A quasi-experimental design was used to address whether the math scores improved for the participating students (n = 145) and whether the participating students experienced a smaller summer loss in academic achievement than the students who did not participate (n = 457). Ex post facto data included pre- and post- math assessments. The math instruction and assessments were administered to third through fifth grade students as part of the school district's academic program during the 2012, 2013, and 2014 summer schools. A dependent samples t test was used to analyze the data to determine if the students' achievement scores improved for those attending summer school. The results did not indicate any significant improvement. An ANOVA was then used to determine if the summer math program decreased summer loss of learning in participating students. Participating students experienced significantly less summer loss than did non-participating students. Therefore, recommendations for the summer math program include more instructional time and moving the program closer to the beginning of the school year to avoid any summer loss. This study will have a positive social impact as it influences decisions made by the school district to improve the summer math program and produce students who are better prepared for postsecondary school options.

A basic knowledge of physics concepts is the gateway to success through high-paying careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Many students show little understanding of concepts following traditional physics instruction. As an alternative to current lecture-based approaches for high school physics instruction, Piaget's theory of cognitive development supports using real scientific experiences to lead learners from concrete to formal understanding of complex concepts. Modeling instruction (MI) is a pedagogy that guides learners through genuine scientific experiences. This project study analyzed the effects of MI on 9th grade physics students' gains on the test measuring mastery of physics concepts, Force Concept Inventory (FCI). A quasi-experimental design was used to compare the FCI scores of a traditional lecture-taught control group to a treatment group taught using MI. A t test t(-.201) = 180.26, p = .841 comparing the groups and an analysis of variance F(2,181) = 5.20 comparing female to male students indicated MI had no significant positive effect on students. A partial eta squared of the effect size showed that 5.4% of the variance in FCI gains was accounted for by gender, favoring female participants for both groups. The significant relationship between content and gender bears further inquiry. A lesson plan guide was designed to help teachers use computer simulation technology within the MI curriculum. The project promotes positive social change by exploring further ways to help adolescents experience success in physics at the beginning of high school, leading to future success in all STEM areas.

Students at an alternative high school located in a northern Midwest state demonstrated low science achievement and high rates of student absenteeism. Students who do not attend school regularly and achieve in science courses are at risk of not graduating from high school, so teachers at the study school implemented a 16-day service-learning project embedded in a Grade 10 environmental science unit. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of 10th-grade students' participation in the service-learning project on student science achievement and attendance. The theoretical framework was Kearsley and Shneiderman's engagement theory. Archival data from school and teacher records were used for this quasi-experimental pretest-posttest control group study. Data from 114 students enrolled in 6 sections of Grade 10 general science classes were retrieved. The Mann-Whitney U test was calculated to determine the difference in science achievement change scores and the difference in number of absent days between students who participated in the service-learning project and students who did not. The findings showed a significant difference for science achievement gain scores (U = 1,982.5, p = .042) but not for days absent (U = 2,048, p = .008). A professional development project was created for high school science teachers focused on implementing service-learning projects, which included suggestions on how to get students excited about attending the service-learning project and school. The findings from this study could be used to guide district decision-making about embedding service-learning projects into science courses to improve student achievement in science, thus, achieving positive social change.