Medication related errors are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. In Brazil, most errors are related to prescribing, preparing, and administering medications. One way to deal with this barrier to safe care is through assessment and education of medication calculation dosage skills. Considering the Brazilian reality, this dissertation is a context and language adaptation of an evidence-based intervention called safeMedicate, a program that reinforces learning synthesis in crucial elements of medication dosage problem solving and provides the foundation for development in remaining levels of the hierarchy of learning. A guideline for medication calculation skills development or improvement based on the seven research-based principles for smart teaching was developed. Teaching approaches are beneficial for multiple methods of learning by addressing cognitive, motivational, and developmental goals. Web-based software would be a strong ally on adopting those approaches by complementing the class practice and providing opportunities for practice learning. The two-phases of adaptation and preliminary evaluation of safeMedicate for use in Brazil were guided by the Participatory and Iterative Process Framework for Language Adaptation (PIPFLA) cross-cultural equivalence model. A triangulation method of face validity survey, journaling, and multiple focus groups was used. The focus groups were (1) language adaptation team, (2) panel of experts, and (3) student panel. In order to analyze focus group data, a systematic coding procedure was performed through an iterative process, solving any differences between coders in order to guarantee internal consistency. The main themes were language, visual, content, programing, and data while discussing necessary adaptations of safeMedicate for use in Brazil.

Collection of data through survey-type measurements and analysis contributes rich, meaningful information to the chemical education research enterprise. This dissertation reports two strands of research that each contribute a “snapshot” of the state of chemical education on two different levels. The first uses survey research methods, collecting data from faculty members to learn about postsecondary chemistry education across the United States. The second uses survey instruments of student achievement emotions within the organic chemistry classroom, collecting longitudinal data to learn about the relationships of emotions with achievement over time. Both areas are of interest because chemical education research produces evidence-based instructional practices as well as survey instruments of student characteristics, many of which are ready to be used in classroom, yet there is a recognized disconnect between development of these products and enacted practices. The research in this dissertation improves upon previous methodology in both strands of research included while reporting data with implications for instructional, research, and policy matters. A national survey of postsecondary chemistry faculty uses a stratified sampling procedure to gather information about the state of education in chemistry classrooms. The use of the teacher-centered systemic reform model of educational change enables us to use the data collected in the survey to gather empirical support of the relationship between faculty members’ beliefs about how students learn chemistry more effectively, faculty members’ self-efficacy for instruction and chemistry content, and the instructional practices that they utilize in the course for which they felt they had the most influence. This information is paramount for the developers of evidence-based instructional practices as well as parties interested in determining the methods best suited to the dissemination of these tools. Professional development activities designed to inspire the use of evidence-based instructional tools or techniques must acknowledge the belief systems of faculty members and the need for change in these beliefs prior to the incorporation of new methods. These results present a call for reform efforts on fostering change from its core, i.e., the beliefs of those who ultimately adopt evidence-based instructional practices. Dissemination and design should incorporate training and materials that highlight the process by which faculty members interpret reformed practices within their belief system, and explore belief change in the complex context of education reform. Another example of the use of national survey data is the determination of the niche distribution of classroom response systems, also known as clickers. It is determined in this study that clickers are used more often in large courses taught at the lower level across the United States. This niche is deemed a more suitable situation for the use of clickers than others. This information is important for researchers developing tools intended for use within the classroom. Despite the possibility for use in all contexts, the national population of faculty members will adopt tools in the contexts which are deemed most suitable; the niche markets of educational tools can provide insight in to best development practices also well as direction for the optimization of the experience for the most frequent users of these tools. The other set of studies in this dissertation utilize the control-value theory of achievement emotions in the postsecondary organic chemistry context to explore nuanced relationships of affect with achievement. These studies utilize a longitudinal panel data collection mechanism, enhancing our ability to understand relationships. The control-value theory posits that there are a set of nine achievement emotions, dictated by control and value, which influence achievement. Two of these achievement emotions, anxiety and enjoyment, are determined in one study to fluctuate over the semester of organic chemistry and significantly influence achievement as measured by examination scores. These are supported by their theoretical interpretation as activating emotions, and when experienced, inspire students to take measures that ultimately either increase or reduce their success. A deactivating emotion, boredom, is measured in another study and found to also hold a reciprocal relationship with achievement when measured over time. In both studies, results show that the reciprocal causation model with an exam snowballing effect best fits data among the alternative models. There is a small and significant negative relationship between anxiety and performance contrasted with a positive relationship between enjoyment and performance throughout the semester. Negative relationships were observed between boredom and examination performance across the term. In addition, relationships were observed to be stronger at the beginning of the course term. Future research should consider achievement emotions in light of educational reforms to ensure that innovative curricula or pedagogies are functioning in the classroom as intended.

Collaboration among higher education professors who are responsible for the education of preservice teachers is one potential solution to the problem of poor teacher preparation. Specifically, collaboration among mathematics educators and mathematicians can enhance preservice teacher preparation because it provides opportunities for preservice teachers to develop pedagogical content knowledge. However, collaborative efforts are challenging, and collaborators often face obstacles and tensions arise among the collaborative group members. Learning about ways the collaborators approach their collaborative efforts, the issues and tensions that arise, the hindering and supporting factors that affect the collaboration, and the potential outcomes of collaborative efforts provides information beneficial to higher education instructors looking to collaborate in teacher education programs. An exploratory descriptive case study was employed to answer the following research questions: 1. What approaches do a team comprised of a mathematics educator and two mathematicians use to facilitate their collaborative co-planning efforts as they prepare for and teach concurrent mathematics methods and mathematics courses for preservice middle grades mathematics teachers? 2. What factors support or hinder the collaboration? 3. In what ways does the collaboration affect the mathematics educator’s and mathematicians’ course planning and teaching? A mathematics educator and two mathematicians co-planned, and concurrently taught, courses for preservice middle grades mathematics teachers enrolled in a middle school mathematics teacher education program. Data collected from observations of planning meetings, observations of classes taught by the participants, and from interviews were analyzed through thematic analysis. At the onset of the collaboration, the collaborators assumed roles that initiated the collaboration, with the mathematics educator emerging as the leader and setting the schedule and meeting agendas. However, the hierarchical roles they established ultimately led to a power imbalance, the major hindering factor of the collaboration. Other hindering factors include administrative business, lack of authority, and undefined goals. The instructors in the collaborative group formed relationships and bonded over similar challenges with the preservice teachers. The connections among the collaborators facilitated the collaboration. As a result of the collaboration, each of the instructors made planning and teaching changes in their courses. The mathematicians employed instructional strategies consistent with best practices in education, such as group work, which they had not utilized in other courses. The mathematics educator made direct connections with content the preservice teachers in her course were learning in their mathematics courses taught by her collaborators.

I conducted a content analysis to examine the treatment of the surface area and volume concepts within four published middle-grades mathematics textbook series. In particular, I examined the treatment of the surface area and volume concepts in terms of the location of surface area and volume lessons in the textbook and the number of pages and lessons devoted to these concepts. I also investigated the sequence of the instructional blocks of surface area and volume lessons. In addition, I evaluated the tasks included in these lessons in regards to the performance expectations of students, the types of visual representations of 3D objects, and the level of mathematical complexity. At last, I examined the extent to which the content of surface area and volume lessons address the Common Core Content Standards (CCCS) for 6-8 geometry that are aligned with these topics. I used content analysis to analyze relevant content in a total of twelve middle-grades student edition mathematics textbooks from two popular textbook series, Go Math!(GM) and Glencoe Math (GMC); and two alternative textbook series, Connected Mathematics 3 (CM) and University of Chicago School Project (UCSMP). First, I used Flanders’ (1994) counting method to examine the physical characteristics of textbooks, such as the location of the surface area and volume lessons in the textbook, the number of pages and lessons devoted to these concepts. Second, I analyzed the sequence of the instructional blocks of surface area and volume lessons by using content analysis. Third, I adapted the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study [TIMSS] (2002) Performance Expectations for Mathematics Framework to examine the performance expectations of students within tasks. Fourth, I developed and used the Visual Representations of 3D Objects Framework to examine the types of visual representations of 3D objects included in the tasks. Fifth, I employed the Mathematics Framework for the 2007 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) to examine the level of mathematical complexity of tasks. Finally, I created the CCCS for 6-8 Geometry Components guideline to examine to what extend the surface area and volume lessons address the geometry content standards. Results indicated that the majority of textbooks place the concepts of surface area and volume towards the end of the textbook. Small percentages of instructional pages and lessons are devoted to these concepts in all textbooks. Findings also revealed great similarities among the instructional blocks of lessons within three textbook series (GM, GMC, and UCSMP). The majority of tasks within all textbook series contain miniscule amounts of important performance expectations such as justifying and proving and visual representations of 3D objects such as nets and pictures. A significant amount of tasks are of moderate complexity across all textbook series. Analysis also showed that the CM textbook series offers the greatest opportunity for students to generate visual representations of 3D objects and contains the largest amount of high complexity tasks. At last, nearly all lessons address the appropriate geometry content standard among all textbook series. Limitations of the study, implications for mathematics education, as well as recommendations for future research are also presented.

The purpose of this study was to compare the algebraic performance gains of high school students who enroll in an integrated mathematics course pathway (i.e., Integrated Mathematics I-II-III) to the algebraic performance gains of high school students who enroll in a subject-specific course pathway (i.e., Algebra I-Geometry-Algebra II). Several studies have been performed in which researchers examined relationships between mathematics outcomes and the course-taking patterns of high school students enrolled in subject-specific course pathways. However, there is little extant research in which researchers have investigated effects of content organization on students' learning and achievement. Therefore, this study addresses calls for more studies that examine the high school mathematics performance of students who learn from subject-specific and integrated course pathways. Data from a large scale observational study known as the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 was used to compare relationships between the course pathways and students' performance on an assessment of algebraic skills. A pretest-posttest study design was used to statistically compare gain scores of high school students who learn from subject-specific course pathways to the gain scores of a comparable group of high school students who learn from integrated course pathways. Propensity score matching was used to reduce the threat of selection bias due to nonrandom assignment. The results revealed no statistical differences exist in the algebraic performance gains between high school students who learn mathematics from integrated course pathways and high school students who learn from subject-specific course pathways. Suggestions for future research are discussed.

The concept of function is one of the essential topics in the teaching and learning of secondary mathematics because of the central and unifying role it plays within secondary and college level mathematics. Organizations, such as the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, suggest students should be able to make connections across multiple representations of mathematical functions by the time they complete high school. Despite the prominent role functions play in secondary mathematics curriculum, students continue to struggle with the complex notion of functions and especially have difficulty using the different representations that are inherent to functions (algebraic, graphical and tabular). Technology is often considered an effective tool in raising student achievement, especially in learning functions where the different representations of a graphing calculator are analogous to the different representations of a function. Opportunity to learn is another important consideration when examining achievement and is generally considered one of, if not the most important, factor in student achievement. Opportunity to learn, or the measure of to what extent students have had an opportunity to learn or review a concept, is often measured with self-reports of content coverage. This study examined the relationship between opportunity to learn, students'; use of graphing calculators, and achievement within a curriculum that supports integrated use of technology and focuses on conceptual understanding of mathematical concepts. The research questions focused on what opportunities students had to learn functions from the enacted curriculum, what calculator strategies students used when solving function problems, how both opportunity to learn and calculator strategies influenced student achievement, and what relationships exist between opportunity to learn, use of calculator strategies, and student achievement. This study is an in-depth secondary analysis of a portion of data collected as part of the evaluation study of Precalculus and Discrete Mathematics (Third Edition, Field-Trial Version) developed by the University of Chicago School Mathematics Project. Participants in this study (n = 271) came from six schools, seven teachers, and 14 classes. Instruments in this study include two pretests (one with technology and one without) and three posttests (two with technology and one without) and a calculator usage survey for one posttest. In addition to five student assessments, teachers completed opportunity-to-learn surveys for the posttests and chapter evaluations forms on which they indicated the lessons taught and the homework problems assigned from the textbook. Some students (n = 151) had access to graphing calculators equipped with computer algebra systems (CAS) while others (n = 120) had access to graphing calculators. Students had multiple opportunities to learn functions as measured by lessons taught, homework assigned, and posttest items teachers reported as having taught or reviewed the content necessary for students to correctly answer the items. Overall, students showed a positive increase in achievement between the pretests and posttests. In general, achievement was positively correlated to OTL Lessons, negatively correlated to OTL Homework, and had no correlation to OTL Posttests when controlling for prior knowledge. Results indicate students appear to be, for the most part, making wise choices about when and how to use graphing calculators to solve function items. Students prefer the graphical representation and are rarely using CAS features or tables, even when they are the best choices for solving a problem. Results from hierarchical linear models (HLM) show use of strategies (beta = 0.96), access to CAS (beta = 5.12), and OTL lessons (beta = 0.75) all had significant and positive impacts on student achievement for one of the posttests, when controlling for prior knowledge. Results from path analyses also indicated use of strategies had a direct and positive effect (beta =0 .14) on student achievement but showed access to CAS had a negative indirect effect (beta = -0.64) on student achievement for the same posttest mitigated through OTL Lessons (beta = 0.30). The results of this study have implications for both researchers and mathematics educators who seek to understand ways in which teachers can increase students'; understanding of functions and student achievement. The relationship between the use of technology and student achievement in relation to opportunity to learn is complex, but use of calculator strategies appears to have a positive effect on students' opportunity to learn functions and student achievement when used in a curriculum that focuses on conceptual understanding and integrates technology.

Scientific literacy is concerned with the informed citizens' ability to negotiate scientifically-related societal issues. The suite of skills necessary to negotiate these complex issues is referred to as Socioscientific Reasoning (SSR). SSR requires, among other things, perspective-taking abilities in order to consider the multi-faceted nature of these open-ended, debatable socioscientific issues (SSI). Developing interventions and instruments to foster and measure perspective taking in support of SSR is therefore critical to the promotion of functional scientific literacy through both research and practice. Although widely studied in many disciplines, perspective taking is a particularly tangled construct that has been used to describe a range of activities representing different psychological domains and applied interchangeably with related constructs such as role taking, empathy, and theory of mind. This ambiguity makes it difficult to ensure construct validity and prevents science education researchers from honing in on the precise skills they wish to study and promote. To clarify the construct of perspective taking, this study undertook a conceptual analysis to operationalize perspective taking, drawing comparisons and distinctions between it and related constructs. Further, by applying a method known as conception development, perspective taking was positioned in the context of SSR, particularly as it relates to moral development, in order to devise a more precise construct relating perspective taking to SSR called socioscientific perspective taking (SSPT). It is asserted that SSPT requires engagement with others or their circumstances, an etic/emic shift, and a moral context comprised of reflective and reflexive judgment. Finally, in order to identify promising interventions for promoting SSPT in the science classroom, the newly-developed SSPT construct was applied to a series of extensively researched curricular frameworks that promote perspective taking in three non-science disciplines including historical empathy (social studies education), method acting (theater education), and autism intervention (special education). The aim of this theoretical inquiry was to translate successful perspective-taking interventions into SSI contexts, yielding an array of promising approaches for fostering SSPT while assessing the feasibility of each of these fields as potential sources for novel and expansive work in SSI to promote scientific literacy. Implications for science education research and practice are discussed.

Over the past decade, technology has become a prominent feature in our lives. Technology has not only been integrated into our lives, but into the classroom as well. Teachers have been provided with a tremendous amount of technology related tools to educate their students. However, many of these technologically enhanced tools have little to no research supporting their claims to enhance learning. This study focuses on one aspect of technology, the iBook, to complete homework relating to fractions, decimals, and percents in a sixth grade classroom. An iBook is a digital textbook that allows the user to interact with the book through various features. Some of these features include galleries, videos, review quizzes, and links to websites. These interactive features have the potential to enhance comprehension through interactivity and increased motivation. Prior to this study, two pilot iterations were conducted. During each pilot study, students in two sixth grade classrooms used the iBook to supplement learning of fractions, decimals, and percents. A comparison group was not included during either iteration, as the goal was to fine-tune the study prior to implementation. The current study was the third iteration, which included a comparison and treatment group. During this study, three research questions were considered: 1) When learning fractions, decimals, and percents, in what ways, if any, do students achieve differently on a unit test when using an interactive iBook for homework as compared to students who have access to the same homework questions in an online static PDF format? 2) What are students' perceptions of completing homework regarding fractions, decimals, and percents with an interactive iBook compared to students who complete homework in an online static PDF format? 3) In what ways does students' achievement on homework differ when completing homework related to fractions, decimals, and percents from an interactive iBook and a static PDF online assignment? Thirty students from a small charter school in southeast Florida participated in the third iteration of this study. Fifteen students were in the comparison group and fifteen were in the treatment group. Students in both groups received comparable classroom instruction, which was determined through audio recordings and similar lesson plans. Treatment group students were provided with a copy of the iBook for homework. Comparison group students were provided with a set of questions identical to the iBook questions in a static digital PDF format. The comparison group students also had access to the textbook, but not the iBook nor the additional resources available within the iBook. The study took place over three weeks. At the commencement of the study, all students were given a pretest to determine their prior knowledge of fractions, decimals, and percents. Students were also asked to respond to questions regarding typical homework duration, level of difficulty, overall experience, and additional resources used for support. During the study, both classes received comparable instruction, which included mini lessons, manipulative based activities, mini quizzes, and group activities. Nightly homework was assigned to each group. At the conclusion of the study, both groups were given a posttest, which was identical to the pretest. Students were asked identical questions about their homework perceptions as prior to the study, but were asked to respond in regards to the study alone. All participating students completed a questionnaire to describe their perceptions of completing homework regarding fractions, decimals, and percents with an iBook as opposed to static digital PDF homework. Lastly, six students from the comparison group participated in a focus group and six students from the treatment group participated in a separate focus group. Data were collected from the pretest and posttest, pre and post homework responses, collected homework, mini quizzes, audio recordings, teacher journal, questionnaires, and the focus group. No difference in achievement was found between the two groups. However, both groups improved significantly from the pretest to posttest. Based on the questionnaires and focus groups, both groups of students felt they learned fractions, decimals, and percents effectively. However, the questionnaire data showed the treatment group found the iBook more convenient than the comparison group did the textbook. Data from this study provide a baseline for future studies regarding iBooks in middle school mathematics. Although the data show no difference in achievement between the two groups, further studies should be conducted in regards to the iBook. Questionnaire and focus group data suggest, with modifications, students may be more inclined to use the resources within the iBook, which may enhance achievement with fractions, decimals, and percents.

In 2012, National Research Council published a new science education framework that explains the science practices and its importance in understanding the process of knowledge development. The students were expected to engage in all the practices by grade 12. All science teachers need some kind of support to improve their understandings of these science practices (NRC, 2012). An important key component of engaging teachers in scientific investigations is to have the teacher participate in a research laboratory experience (NRC, 1996). Research Experiences for Teachers programs (RET) serve as a promising form of professional development to achieve this goal. These programs allow teachers to experience scientific inquiry. The context of the study was a Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) program supported by National Science Foundation It was located in an United States university Environmental Engineering program. There were five preservice and ten inservice teachers in this research. In addition, there were six professors and eight graduate students who served as mentors. Each teacher worked with a specific professor and graduate student mentor in their research projects that are related to the management of the nitrogen cycle, provision of clean water, or urban infrastructure improvement. Also, four professors from engineering and science programs were interviewed to find out what each science practice means to them. The research design of this study was mixed methods that combined quantitative and qualitative research approaches into a single study. In this study, two teachers were selected for the case study based on their experiences and improvements. The study utilized different data sources such as surveys, interviews, observations, and documents. Each research question was addressed based on the results of overall analysis of all the teachers, as well as the results of each case. To find out whether there was a statistically significant difference between the pre-, mid-, and post teacher surveys, repeated measures ANOVA was used for each item. In addition, for the items that showed a statistical difference a Tukey test was conducted to find -which surveys -were significantly different from each other. Also, partial eta squared effect size was calculated for each item. Professor and graduate students' surveys were analyzed by a repeated measures ANOVA and Tukey tests. All interviews were transcribed by the researcher. The data from the interviews were coded and analyzed using a qualitative analysis software. In order to analyze the data in the observations, coding of the qualitative data procedure was employed. The teachers' poster presentations were evaluated by using the researcher-created rubric that has the criteria for each expected part of the poster presentation. The findings of this research suggest that teachers have naive understandings of science practices before they participate in an RET program because they do not have opportunities to learn what those practices mean. The findings also suggest that the teachers still have naive understandings after they participate in an RET program. This is a very important contribution to the literature, in that it is difficult for the teachers to teach those practices in their classrooms if they do not have complete and appropriate understandings of what those practices actually mean. The findings also indicated that teachers' participation in the RET program helped them to improve their abilities to engage in science practices but they need more experience, knowledge, and abilities to engage in the specific practices where they had least improvements. The analysis also indicated that the teachers who actively engaged in the science practices, had productive discussions with the graduate student mentors and participated the quick lessons they gave, read the literature for their research, used new techniques and methods, and participated in the research group meetings improved more on the abilities of engaging in science practices compared to the teachers who did not have the opportunity to participate in the practices because of the structure of their projects, had low interest, and received most of the information directly from the graduate students.

The purpose of this investigation was to explore how aspects of identity, perceived levels of controversy, and the strength of a student's attachment to their controversial identity relate to conceptual understanding and knowledge acquisition during socioscientific issues (SSI) based instruction in a biology classroom. The knowledge gained from this study will have the capacity to enhance our understanding of the role that attachment to identity plays during SSI negotiation. Additionally, insight was gained into the role played by aspects of identity in conceptual understanding of scientifically controversial topics during SSI based instruction. This study contributed to the existing knowledge base in science education by illuminating processes involved in socioscientific issue navigation among students of differing perceptions of controversy as well as students who held aspects of controversial identity that may or may not interact with the specific issues chosen. Students demonstrated evidence of variations of reasoning, justification, perception of controversy, and aspects of knowledge gain as they negotiated the issues of marijuana safety and fast food legality. Additionally, evidence was provided that showed general knowledge gain throughout the group during socioscientific issues instruction. It has been said that one of the appeals of the SSI instructional model is that is serves not only as a context for the delivery of content, but acts as a catalyst for various forms of epistemological beliefs and research into the development of conceptual and psychological knowledge structures (Zeidler, 2013). This investigation supports the deeper understanding of the contribution of controversy perception to epistemology as well as conceptual and psychological knowledge structures during SSI navigation.