The utilization of interactive technologies will affect learning in science classrooms of the future. And although these technologies have improved in form and function, their effective employment in university science classrooms has lagged behind the rapid development of new constructivist pedagogies and means of instruction. This dissertation examines the enlistment of instructional technologies, in particular tablet PCs and DyKnow Interactive Software, in a technologically enhanced, university-level, introductory physics course. Results of this qualitative case study of three university students indicate that (1) the use of interactive technology positively affects both student learning within force and motion and self-reported beliefs about physics, (2) ad hoc use of instructional technologies may not sufficient for effective learning in introductory physics, (3) student learners dictate the leveraging of technology in any classroom, and (4) that purposeful teacher structuring of classroom activities with technologies are essential for student construction of knowledge. This includes designing activities to elicit attention and make knowledge visible for low-level content, while augmenting student interactions and modelling procedural steps for higher-level content.

This study was designed to examine the impact of embedding multiple modes of representing science information on student conceptual understanding in science. Multiple representations refer to utilizing charts, graphs, diagrams, and other types of representations to communicate scientific information. This study investigated the impact of encouraging students to embed or integrate the multiple modes with text in end of unit writing-to-learn activities. A quasi-experimental design in which four separate sites consisting of intact chemistry classes taught by a separate teacher at each site was utilized. At each site, approximately half of the classes were designated treatment classes and students in these classes participated in activities designed to encourage strategies to embed multiple modes with text in student writing. The control classes did not participate in these activities. All classes participated in identical end of unit writing tasks in which they were required to use at least one mode other than text, followed by identical end of unit assessments. This progression was then repeated for a second consecutive unit of study. Analysis of quantitative data indicated that in several cases, treatment classes significantly outperformed control classes both on measures of embeddedness in writing and on end of unit assessment measures. In addition, analysis at the level of individual students indicated significant positive correlations in many cases between measures of student embeddedness in writing and student performance on end of unit assessments. Three factors emerged as critical in increasing the chances for benefit for students from these types of activities. First, teacher the level of implementation and emphasis on the embeddedness lessons was linked to the possibility of conceptual benefit. Secondly, students participating in two consecutive lessons appeared to receive greater benefit, inferring a cumulative benefit. Finally, differential impact of the degree of embeddedness on student performance was noted based on student's level of science ability prior to the initiation of study procedures.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the shift of Thai teachers' views of learning and their pedagogical practices from the traditional approach to be more centered on an argument-based inquiry approach (ABI) in Thai classrooms, where teachers and learners have long been familiar with the lecture-based tradition. Other than examining the changes, the study further explored the relationship throughout the ABI implementation phase with a specific focus on driving questions, problem solving and reasoning, and establishing a supportive learning environment. The study was conducted in Thailand with five physics teachers. Data collection involved classroom observations and teacher interviews. The constant comparative method was employed throughout the data analysis process. The research questions that guided this study were: (1) What changes occurred in teachers' pedagogical practices and views of learning throughout the implementation phase of the argument-based inquiry approach? (2) If change did occur, what was the relationship of the change among the observed criteria (questioning, problem solving, and the establishing of a supportive learning environment)? The results revealed that after fourteen weeks, the three teachers who expressed a positive attitude toward the ABI approach and expressed their willingness to practice started to shift their practices and views of learning toward a student-centered model. Although each teacher exhibited a different starting point within the three observed criteria, they all began to shift their practices first, before reflecting on their beliefs. In contrast to these teachers, the other two teachers were impeded by several barriers and therefore failed to implement the approach. These positive attitude, willingness, and shift of practice appear to be connected and necessary for change. The study highlights that in order to support the implementation of the ABI approach, especially in a large class size cultural setting, opportunities for teachers to be challenged in both classroom and cognitive spaces, where they are immersed in authentic practices and be able to reflect on their own actions as well as their existing beliefs, are crucial. However, to advance the dimensions of this issue, long-term professional development and a longitudinal study observing a large class size cultural settings are suggested.

This research study was conducted to examine student perceptions about learning anatomy and to explore how these perceptions shape the learning experience. This study utilized a mixed-methods design in order to better understand how students approach learning anatomy. Two sets of data were collected at two time periods; one at the beginning and one at the end of the academic semester. Data consisted of results from a survey instrument that contained open-ended questions and a questionnaire and individual student interviews. The questionnaire scored students on a surface approach to learning (relying on rote memorization and knowing factual information) scale and a deep approach to learning (understanding concepts and deeper meaning behind the material) scale. Students were asked to volunteer from four different anatomy classes; two entry-level undergraduate courses from two different departments, an upper-level undergraduate course, and a graduate level course. Results indicate that students perceive that they will learn anatomy through memorization regardless of the level of class being taken. This is generally supported by the learning environment and thus students leave the classroom believing that anatomy is about memorizing structures and remembering anatomical terminology. When comparing this class experience to other academic classes, many students believed that anatomy was more reliant on memorization techniques for learning although many indicated that memorization is their primary learning method for most courses. Results from the questionnaire indicate that most students had decreases in both their deep approach and surface approach scores with the exception of students that had no previous anatomy experience. These students had an average increase in surface approach and so relied more on memorization and repetition for learning. The implication of these results is that the learning environment may actually amplify students' perceptions of the anatomy course at all levels and experiences of enrolled students. Instructors wanting to foster deeper approaches to learning may need to apply instructional techniques that both support deeper approaches to learning and strive to change students' perceptions away from believing that anatomy is strictly memorization and thus utilizing surface approaches to learning.

The purpose of this study was to determine how perceived gender roles developed throughout childhood and early adulthood impacted the career decisions of women in science-related career fields. An additional purpose was to determine if my experiences as I analyzed the data and the propositions discovered in the study would become a transformative agent for me. A multicase framework was utilized so that within and between case analyses could be achieved. Four women who showed early promise in science were chosen as the case study participants. The relationship of gender roles to the career decisions made by the four cases were arbitrated through three areas: (a) supports, which came from parents, immediate family members, spouses, teachers, mentors, and collaborators; (b) opportunities, which were separated into family experiences and opportunities, school and community opportunities, and postsecondary/current opportunities; and (c) postmodern feminism, which was the lens that grounded this study and fit well with the lives of the cases. As seen through a postmodern feminist lens, the cases’ social class, their lived experiences tied to their opportunities and supports, and the culture of growing up in a small rural community helped them develop personas for the professions they chose even where those professions did not necessarily follow from the early promise shown for a sciencerelated career. In addition, as related to my transformation as a male researcher, being a male conducting research in a realm most often shared by women, I was able to gain greater empathy and understanding of what it takes for women to be successful in a career and at the same time maintain a fruitful family life.

The Comprehensive Framework for Teacher Knowledge provides a model that describes an approach to the secondary mathematics methods course, as described by Robert Ronau and P. Mark Taylor. The model includes the orientation of preservice teachers toward mathematics and the teaching of mathematics, which includes the beliefs of the preservice teachers. The first questions deal with identifying the methods used in the methods course to address beliefs. The second set of questions deal with the effects of the methods course on the beliefs that preservice teachers hold on the learning and teaching of mathematics. The study included 16 different universities in the United States. The students completed the Mathematics Beliefs Inventory (MBI) before and after the course. The data used for analyses included the MBI, course syllabi and interviews with instructors and course textbooks. Qualitative analysis was conducted on the syllabi and interviews to assist in creating a rubric to score the syllabi, interviews and textbooks. Correlation and linear regression analysis was used along with the Wilcoxon signed-ranks test for the statistical analysis. A significant positive relationship was found between the number of methods used in the methods course to challenge student beliefs and the improvement between pre and post tests. Preservice teachers’ beliefs about the learning and teaching of mathematics were found to become more reform-oriented during the course of the methods course.

Representations of mathematical ideas serve as a foundation for understanding mathematical concepts. Using and translating among a variety of representations promotes deep conceptual understanding and connections between mathematics topics, in addition to providing contexts for more advanced mathematics concepts. The importance placed on mathematical representations led to an examination of sixth grade middle school mathematics textbooks’ representation of fraction concepts. The chapters included in this thesis represent a portion of the work completed during the examination and an example of how representations of fractions can impact topics in secondary mathematics.

Comparing the mathematics performance of American students to their counterparts in other countries has been a common theme in recent literature, with conclusions generally finding that American students are falling far behind. One response to this problem may involve research which has shown a modest positive correlation between student interest and achievement in math (Koller, Baumert, & Schnabel, 2001; Schiefele, Krapp, & Winteler, 1992). Being able to identify students with high levels of interest in math may allow educators to provide advanced instruction to such students. Current measures of student interest in mathematics are lacking in that they often are not based on any one theory, they do not cover all characteristics of individual interest, and are based on a self-report format. Therefore, the goal of this thesis was to develop a teacher identification form of student interest in mathematics to add to the literature a psychometrically sound measure of student interest in math which is assessed by classroom teachers instead of the students themselves. The teacher identification form was developed based on the characteristics of individual interest as defined by Hidi and Renninger’s (2006) Four-Phase Model of Interest Development. To determine reliability and validity of the form, second through sixth grade math teachers in six elementary schools in Warren County, KY completed the form both in a pilot study and also later as part of an identification process for students to receive advanced math instruction. For the purposes of data analysis, results were separated by grade. Reliability estimates for the form, as indicated by Cronbach’s alpha, were found to be .934 for third grade, .925 for fourth grade, and .901 for fifth grade. The overall Cronbach’s alpha for grades two through five was .926. These high reliability coefficients indicate high consistency among the items. Validity of the identification form was established by correlating results with the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) math section, a standardized assessment taken by all students in the six schools. Correlations between teacher identification rating composites and ITBS math scores were as follows: .379 for third grade, .417 for fourth grade, and .460 for fifth grade. The sixth grade data set was incomplete, and thus that correlation for was .300. Each individual item on the identification form and the grade composite scores all correlated with ITBS math scores significantly at the .01 level, indicating sufficient validity of the form. An important observation about the results is that the highest validity coefficients as well as the narrowest range of correlations were found for fifth grade data. The next highest correlations were found for fourth grade, and the lowest correlations and widest range of correlations were found for third grade data. The possibility that this pattern of results may be due to better developed individual interests of older students or that students’ individual interests are more easily identified by their teachers in higher grades is discussed.

Representations of mathematical ideas serve as a foundation for understanding mathematical concepts. Using and translating among a variety of representations promotes deep conceptual understanding and connections between mathematics topics, in addition to providing contexts for more advanced mathematics concepts. The importance placed on mathematical representations led to an examination of sixth grade middle school mathematics textbooks’ representation of fraction concepts. The chapters included in this thesis represent a portion of the work completed during the examination and an example of how representations of fractions can impact topics in secondary mathematics.

ABSTRACT Providing equitable learning opportunities for all students has been a persistent issue for some time. This is evident by the science achievement gap that still exists between male and female students as well as between White and many non-White student populations (NCES, 2007, 2009, 2009b) and an underrepresentation of female, African-American, Hispanic, and Native Americans in many science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) related careers (NCES, 2009b). In addition to gender and ethnicity, socioeconomic status and linguistic differences are also factors that can marginalize students in the science classroom. One factor attributed to the achievement gap and low participation in STEM career is equitable access to resources including textbooks, laboratory equipment, qualified science teachers, and type of instruction. Extensive literature supports authentic science as one way of improving science learning. However, the majority of students do not have access to this type of resource. Additionally, extensive literature posits that culturally relevant pedagogy is one way of improving education. This study examines students' participation in an authentic science experience and argues that this is one way of providing culturally relevant pedagogy in science classrooms. The purpose of this study was to better understand how marginalized students were affected by their participation in an authentic science experience, within the context of an algae biofuel project. Accordingly, an interpretivist approach was taken. Data were collected from pre/post surveys and tests, semi-structured interviews, student journals, and classroom observations. Data analysis used a mixed methods approach. The data from this study were analyzed to better understand whether students perceived the experience to be one of authentic science, as well as how students science identities, perceptions about who can do science, attitudes toward science, and learning of science practices were affected by participation in an authentic science experience. Findings indicated that participation in an authentic science experience has a positive effect on science identities, scientist perceptions, science attitudes, and learning of science and is one approach to mitigating the effects of marginalization in the science classroom. Additional findings indicated that a relationship between the authenticity of the experience and the outcomes (science identity, perceptions about who can do science, science attitudes, and learning of science). This study provides empirical evidence to support authentic science learning as a means of improving students' learning, attitudes, and identities with respect to science. This study endorses authentic science experiences for all students, marginalized included. This has implications for how we prepare future and support current science teachers. In addition, this study shows how this model can be used to effectively implement science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education.