This study evaluated a new Integrated Science Learning Environment (ISLE) that bridged the gaps between the traditionally separate classroom, field trip, and information technology milieus. The ISLE model involves a multi-faceted design to address the three basic forms of learning: acquisition of knowledge, change in emotions or feelings, and gain in physical or motor actions or performance. A holistic approach to teaching at the university level encompassed a step-wise, cumulative strategy that reinforced all scales of the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (Personal Relevance, Uncertainty of Science, Shared Control, Critical Voice, and Student Negotiation) and minimised the potentially detrimental effects of information overload and non-linear processing. By addressing individuals and recognising limitations, the same conceptual and logistical frameworks were applied to teachers and to students uniformly in the classroom and in the field. This key factor of the ISLE program broadened all participants’ horizons and enabled them to see their role within the ‘big picture’. Thus, the common elements (knowledge) and basic components (understanding) in each realm became evident and the power of transfer for both content and concept was realised. A process approach to information technology provided a logical and meaningful mechanism for continuously scaling the program perspective from the classroom setting to the unique global environment of the World Wide Web. The final product of the ISLE program (virtual field trip) was constructed by linking the elements common to the supporting learning environments (university classroom, field trip, and information technology) at their basic levels: newness, massiveness, and appropriateness. / A combination of qualitative methods and quantitative measures provided insight into the field trip milieu and evaluation of the near- and far-term effects of exposure to constructivist pedagogy answering the general question of whether changing teachers’ learning environments might affect a change in their respective students’ learning environments. Quantitative assessment through learning environment dimensions, attitude scales, and concept map analyses was supported by qualitative data derived from reflective field journals, interviews, and observations to investigate the impact of the emergent model. Data were collected from classroom teachers and their students to assess the impact of the ISLE program in terms of promoting a constructivist classroom learning environment, teachers’ attitudes toward information technology, and teachers’ conceptual development. School teacher and student subgroups were compared in terms of the teachers’ university/field trip program experience and content background. To this end, three new versions of the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES) were shown to be valid and useful in secondary schools and graduate university courses in Texas. Data from 1079 students in 59 classes in north Texas were subjected to principal components factor analysis confirmed the factor structure, internal consistency reliability, discriminant validity, and the ability to distinguish between different classes and groups for the comparative student form (CLES-CS). Descriptive statistics supported the usefulness of the comparative teacher (CLES-CT) and adult (CLES-A) forms. Administration of these versions of the same instrument was used to characterise the learning environment of the ISLE university/field trip program, as well as the public/private school classrooms. / Further analysis and interpretation of these data suggest that the ISLE program was effective in terms of the degree of implementation of constructivist teaching approaches in the teachers’ school classrooms as assessed by teachers’ perceptions of the learning environment of their current classroom environment relative to other classes taught by them previously and students’ perceptions of the learning environment of their classroom environment relative to classes taught by other teachers in their school classrooms. Additional data suggest that the ISLE program was effective in terms of teachers’ perceptions of the university/field trip learning environment; changes in teachers’ attitudes to information technology; and teachers’ conceptual development. When an ANOVA was used to compare students’ perceptions of THIS and OTHER classes, statistically significant differences were found for some CLES scales. In particular, students whose teachers had attended the ISLE program (THIS) perceived higher levels of Personal Relevance and Uncertainty of Science in their classrooms relative to the classrooms of other teachers in the same schools (OTHER). From a practical point of view, this study documents a new model for improving learning and understanding in the field of education, specifically science education. Participation in the ISLE program provided a tangible opportunity for teachers to gain organised knowledge to make practical changes in their school classrooms. From a research point of view, this study makes a unique contribution to the field of learning environments by evaluating a comprehensive professional development program that used information technology to initiate teacher change from the central perspective of the learning environment. / Development and validation of the CLES-CS contributes to a useful range of instruments for a variety of classroom contexts within the burgeoning field of learning environments research. The real world is where theory and practice come together and science becomes relevant, making sense that leads to understanding. The conceptual and logistical frameworks of the ISLE model seamlessly merged theory and practice with science and education through effective applications of information technology to create a rich learning environment. Virtual field trips, based on the ISLE model, can enable the principles of student-centred inquiry and constructivism to be practised for the benefit of all styles and ages of lifelong learners.

This study investigated students' perceptions of the generalist learning environment of the primary school compared to the same students' perceptions of the learning environments of the secondary school, with a particular focus on science learning environments. The role of student sex and school size pathways were investigated as factors Influencing changes in students' learning environment perceptions. The same students' perceptions of the learning environment were collected in the final stages of primary school and again after their initial term in secondary school. Data collected were both qualitative and quantitative in nature, with the quantitative data derived from short forms of the My Class Inventory and the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction. Insights were gained into how students' perceptions of learning environment, including the teachers' interpersonal style, changed during their first exposure to secondary learning environments and teachers, and how these changes in perceptions during transition depended upon school size and student sex. The study found that students' perceptions of the learning environments did change across transition, but that these changes on some scales varied with student sex and school size pathway.

The first purpose of the study described in this thesis was to provide validation information of three questionnaires that were modified and translated into the Thai language, namely, the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI), the Science Laboratory Environment Inventory (SLEI), and the Attitude to Biology Class (ABC). A second purpose was to determine students' perceptions of teacher-student interactions and laboratory learning environments and their attitudes to biology classes in secondary schools in Thailand. A sample of 1,194 students from 37 biology classes in 37 schools completed the three questionnaires. The results of the study showed that most students in secondary schools of Thailand have moderately positive attitudes to their biology class. Students perceived their teachers as having good leadership, being helping/friendly, and understanding, but seldom uncertain, dissatisfied or admonishing. They also perceived that sometimes their teachers were strict, however allowing students responsibility and freedom. In biology laboratories, they perceived the environments as employing good student cohesiveness, less open-endedness and integration of the theory and practical, the rules were not clear and the materials were not good and insufficient. There were differences between students' actual and ideal perceptions of classroom interactions and laboratory learning environments. Students preferred teachers who showed strong leadership, were more helping and understanding, who gave their students more responsibility and freedom, and who were less uncertain, dissatisfied, admonishing and strict. / Also, students preferred a biology laboratory environment with higher levels on the scales of Open-Endedness, Integration, Rule Clarity, and Material Environment but not Student Cohesiveness. Some commonality between the QTI and the SLEI scales was found in their contributions to the variance in student attitudes to biology classes. So now the QTI and the SLEI can be used by biology teachers and other science teachers in secondary schools who wish to improve science teaching and learning in Thailand.

The purpose of this evaluation study was to compare students' perceptions of their science classroom environment when using science kits, textbooks or a combination of science kits, textbooks and teacher-created materials. This year-long study involved using a learning environment questionnaire, namely the My Class Inventory (MCI), interviews and observations to assess which of the three treatments leads to a more positive learning environment. Three questions investigated were whether (1) the learning environment can be reliably and validly assessed among Grade 3-5 students in Texas, (2) instruction using textbooks, science kits, or a combination of textbooks and science kits is more effective in terms of changes in student attitudes and learning environment perceptions, and (3) there are associations between student attitudes toward science classes and the classroom environment? Administrators and teachers in Texas are searching for ways to improve the scores received on standardized tests. For more than 40 years, research has shown that positive classroom environments can lead to improvement in achievement. Therefore 1 chose to investigate the above questions using a learning environments framework. This study was conducted in three urban elementary schools in North Texas. There were a total of 588 students in 28 classrooms with 16 different teachers involved in this research. The schools were similar in demographic features such as ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Analyses of data collected with the My Class Inventory (MCI) supported the instrument's factorial validity, internal consistency reliability, and ability to differentiate between the perceptions of students in different classrooms. / Also, simple correlation and multiple regression analyses indicated reasonably strong and positive associations between each classroom environment scale and the students' satisfaction. The Satisfaction scale was used as an outcome variable, following the lead of Majeed, Fraser and Aldridge (2002). Results h m the MCI, interviews and observations indicated that students preferred a more positive classroom environment in terns of Cohesiveness, Competition, and Friction. Importantly, the group of students using science kits experienced greater pretest-posttest changes in satisfaction and classroom cohesiveness than did either the textbook group of the combination group. This study supports previous research that combined qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection. Qualitative methods suggested that students preferred a more hands-on presentation of science lessons rather than a textbook presentation. This was suggested in interviews with students and teachers and by observations of students in their science classes. This research evaluated three educational methods to determine which instructional method would produce a more positive learning environment and student satisfaction. These results suggest that the utilization of science kits achieves this goal as measured by student satisfaction and cohesiveness.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of using novel demonstrations and hands-on activities on promoting student interest and positive perception of learning environment. Thirty-six 8th graders participated in the experimental group in which they were involved in prediction-observation-explanation of discrepant events or novel hands-on activities for 14 weeks. Their interest of learning science and perception of learning environment were compared with that of a control group, which also consisted of 36 8th graders in the same school. The results of the analysis of covariance revealed that the experimental group outperformed the control group on both instruments documenting students¡¦ level of interest in learning science and their perception of learning environment. The post-treatment interview results further consolidated the quantitative finding of the experimental group students¡¦ significant progress on their emotions of learning science.

The purpose of this paper was to analyse how the ISLE method and the TV-show theMythbusters correspond to one another, to the Swedish upper secondary physics curriculum andPopper’s philosophy about research methods.The study aims to respond to the following research questions: 1. How do the structures of the Mythbusters and ISLE relate to one another? 2. What are the possibilities and potential benefits and drawbacks of implementingISLE with a Mythbusters approach in physics education? 3. To what extent do the Mythbusters and ISLE approaches present natural sciencepractices that are in line with Popper’s view of the nature of science? The paper shows that the structures of the Mythbusters and ISLE approaches to teaching andproblem solving relate via their focus upon scientific methods. Both give, to some degree, thepeople that interact with them confidence and tools to be able to analyse events they observe.The analysis found some isolated parts of correspondence between the Mythbusters andPopper’s view of nature and science. ISLE, however, is pervaded by Popper’s ideas of scientificmethods, where the main assumption is that you cannot prove anything, you may only try tofalsify it and thereby give the hypothesis a higher corroboration.Even though the creator of ISLE motivates the reasoning of choosing the falsification andcorroboration as main ingredients in a way that differs from Popper’s arguments, its essence ofthe concepts is still there.If an instructor were to include the Mythbusters, with for example using myths that the showtreated as an hypothesis, when implementing ISLE in a physics education course, the coursewould correspond quite well will Karl Popper’s idea of falsification and corroboration. It is alsogiven an implication that the students perform better when the TV-show is used as tool to learnabout scientific methods. The inclusion of Mythbusters as a resource for learning can serve as abridge between popular culture, everyday phenomena and school physics, which can potentiallyhave a positive impact on student motivation.

Först ges en beskrivning av undervsiningsfilosofin Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE) och research-based assessment instruments (RBAIerna) CLASS och ECLASS, följt av en översättning till svenska av RBAIerna. En analys skedde sedan av hur svaren till påståendena i RBAIerna (pre- vs post-) förväntas ändras om en ISLE-baserad undervisning ges. I analysen försökte jag koppla påståendena till någon eller några av de sex vetenskapliga förmågorna och deras tillhörande bedömningsmatriser, vilka nu är en integrerad komponent i ISLE filosofin, men som ursprungligen utvecklades av Rutgers Physics and Astronomy Education (PAER) group. Jag använde även litteratur om ISLE och textboken "College Physics: Explore and Apply", vilken används i ISLEbaserade kurser, för att analysera påståendena. Resultatet blev att en majoritet av alla påståenden - 72\% av CLASS- och 77\% av ECLASSpåståendena - bör besvaras mer expertlikt efter en ISLE-baserad undervisning än innan. Ett påstående i CLASS, vilket motsvarar 3\% av påståendena i enkäten bedömdes även besvaras mindre expertlikt och resterande kunde jag inte, utifrån min analysmetod förutsäga om de skulle besvaras mindre, lika eller mer expertlikt. Efter analysen och undersökningar av tidigare studier om studenters prestationer på CLASS- och ECLASSenkäterna, formulerades en förutsägelse att en ISLE-baserad undervisning bör leda till att elever svarar mer expertlikt än om de undervisas traditionellt. En pilotstudie av den svenska översättningen genomfördes sedan på elever inom olika utbildningsnivåer mellan gymnasie- och doktorandnivå. Resultatet analyserades och jämfördes med tidigare forskning i andra länder, även om både skillnader och likheter kunde hittas var det svårt att dra några generella slutsatser på grund av få svarande i min studie. / A description of the teaching philosophy Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE) and the research-based assessment instruments (RBAIs) CLASS and ECLASS are given, followed by a translation of the RBAIs into Swedish. An analysis is then made of how the answers to the RBAIs (pre- vs. post-) are expected to change if students take an ISLE-based physics course. In the analysis, I tried to connect the statements to one or more of the six scientific abilities and their associated rubrics, which are now a component of the ISLE philosophy but are originally developed by the Rutgers Physics and Astronomy Education (PAER) group. I did also use literature about ISLE and the textbook “College Physics: Explore and Apply” which is used in ISLE based courses, to analyze the statements. I found that that the majority of the statements - 72 \% in CLASS and 77 \% in ECLASS – are expected to be answered in a more expert-like way after an ISLE-based course. One statement in CLASS, which corresponds to 3 \% of the statements in the survey, is expected to be answered in a less expert-like way. For the rest of the statements I could not predict, using my method of analysis, if they would be answered less, equally or more expert-like.  After performing the analysis and examining the existing research literature on student performance on CLASS and ECLASS surveys, a prediction that ISLE-based teaching should lead to more expert-like answers than traditional teaching is formulated. Results from a recent empirical study done in the US, published after my analysis was complete, appear to be in agreement with the prediction that follows from my analysis. A pilot study of the Swedish translations of CLASS and ECLASS was also performed on students at different educational levels, ranging from upper secondary to doctoral level. The results were analyzed and compared to previous research in other countries. Although both differences and similarities could be found, it was not possible to draw any general conclusions due to the small number of respondents in my study.

The major purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of a science course for prospective elementary teachers on their perceptions of the learning environment, attitudes towards science, and understandings of the nature of science. The sample consisted of 525 female students enrolled in 27 classes of A Process Approach to Science (SCED 401) at a large urban university in Southern California. Also comparisons were made between SCED 401 and the students' previous laboratory course with regard to the learning environment and attitudes. Perceptions of the learning environment were measured using scales from the Science Laboratory Environment Inventory (Open-Endedness and Material Environment) and the What Is Happening In this Class? (Student Cohesiveness, Instructor Support, Cooperation, Investigation). Attitudes towards science were assessed using the Enjoyment of Science Lessons scale from the Test of Science-Related Attitudes (TOSRA). Students completed the Nature of Scientific Knowledge Survey (NSKS) based on their entire science education experience-not just the one laboratory class which they had taken previously. Comparisons were then made with their understandings after having completed SCED 401. Finally, associations between the learning environment and the student outcomes of attitudes and understandings of the nature of science were explored. This study embraced the current trend in classroom learning environments research of combining quantitative and qualitative methods. Qualitative components included items from the open-ended questionnaire, Views of Nature of Science, interviews with students, and an analysis of concept maps. The qualitative findings expanded and complemented the quantitative results and, in several cases, supported the construct validity of scales assessing the learning environment and attitudes. / Another purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of using real research data for growth rates of four species of Antarctic seabirds (i.e., implementing an 'intervention') in six classes of SCED 401. The objective of the intervention was to increase the authenticity and quality of an experimental design project. In addition, the wildlife biologist who collected the data guided the students during the project. Although the intervention did not lead to an appreciable improvement in students' perceptions of the learning environment, differences between intervention and nonintervention classes were statistically significant for Enjoyment of Science Lessons from the TOSRA and for Creative from the NSKS (effect sues were 2.64 and 2.06 standard deviations, respectively). Results of this study indicated that during a factor analysis, the large majority of learning environment items belonged to their a priori scale (43 out of 46 items had factor loadings above 0.40) A valid instrument for use with prospective elementary teachers was produced by combining relevant scales from the Science . Laboratory Environment Inventory and the What Is Happening In this Class? A weaker factor structure was found for the Nature of Scientific Knowledge Survey. However, by moving close to half of the -faulty' items from the NSKS, the internal consistency reliability of scales improved considerably. This study also found large and statistically significant differences between students' previous laboratory class and SCED 401 for all six leaning environment scales. The largest difference was found for the level of Open-Endedness (effect size was 6.74 standard deviations). / A statistically significant difference also was found for Enjoyment of Science Lessons (effect size was 2.98 standard deviations). Differences were not as dramatic with regard to understandings of the nature of science, although differences for two scales (Creative and Unified) from the NSKS were positive and statistically significant. This study replicated past research by finding statistically significant positive correlations between all six learning environment scales and Enjoyment of Science Lessons. However, by far, Instructor Support had the largest independent association with enjoyment, using both the individual and class mean as the units of analysis. A positive link between a favorable leaning environment and the student outcome of understanding nature of science also was found. This research makes a distinctive contribution to the learning environments field because it is the first study to investigate laboratory classroom environments at the university level with prospective elementary teachers. The study is also the first to build a bridge between the classroom learning environment and the student outcome of understanding the nature of science. The study has implications for undergraduate laboratory course instructors, for science teacher educators who develop and instruct in elementary teacher preparation programs, and for future elementary teachers and the science learning of their future students.

Orientador: Henrique Cesar da Silva / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Geociencias / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-15T06:01:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Pessoa_TerezinhaChagasCarneiro_M.pdf: 2792648 bytes, checksum: 651166e55a3d7727afe7bb5fb14d6236 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 / Resumo: Nesse trabalho busquei compreender como estudantes de um curso de licenciatura em Ciências Biológicas de uma universidade pública produzem sentidos sobre as interações entre ciência, tecnologia, sociedade e ambiente, tendo como uma das condições de produção uma disciplina de Geologia, e, além disso, quais sentidos são produzidos. Para esse estudo me apoiei em abordagens CTSA, e na Análise de Discurso (AD) da linha francesa. O imaginário, que inclusive intitula essa pesquisa, é entendido a partir da AD como aquilo que se crê ser real, crença materializada no e pelo discurso, aquilo com que o sujeito explica o que é o mundo e os papéis nele representados, sendo que isso se dá a partir de construções sociais, históricas, políticas, econômicas e culturais. Uma entrevista semi-estruturada foi elaborada, de tal forma que suas perguntas e imagens remetessem à disciplina e em particular ao trabalho de campo, ao mesmo tempo em que aspectos sobre ciência, tecnologia, sociedade e ambiente eram questionados. Em relação ao referencial CTSA, destaquei temas recorrentes na literatura, como formação para a cidadania, participação, tomada de decisão, e não neutralidade da ciência e dos cientistas, além do tópico "ser pesquisador, ser professor". As análises dos discursos dos estudantes indicam, entre outros aspectos, que eles acreditam que a participação da sociedade e a tomada de decisão em assuntos relacionados à ciência e tecnologia têm como condição necessária o domínio do conhecimento científico hegemônico. Os outros conhecimentos, silenciados pelo sentido de verdade exclusivo da ciência, acabam deixando de existir no imaginário dos que vivenciam a mesma cultura. A disciplina estudada gerou deslocamentos nos sentidos dos estudantes sobre ciência, sociedade e ambiente principalmente quando a questão do trabalho foi apresentada pelo professor como um fator constituinte do ambiente, trazendo assim o sentido do socioambiental, em contraste com a noção de ambiente como algo que se restringe a aspectos da fauna e da flora. Outro aspecto marcante dos discursos foi a constante construção de sentidos sobre ciência, tecnologia, sociedade e ambiente partindo-se de concepções biológicas. / Abstract: This work seeks to understand how Biology licentiate students of a Brazilian public university produced meanings about on the interactions between science, technology, society and the environment in the context of a Geology class, as well as which ideas were developed and in which terms field activities carried out might be considered approximations to a STSE Education approach. The study is based on the concept of a Science, Technology, Society and Environment Education (STSE) and in the French school of Discourse Analysis (DA). The "imaginary", which was included in the title of the study, is understood by DA as that which is believed to be real, a belief that materializes on and by means of a discourse or that with which an individual explains what the world is and how parts are played in it, all of which filtered by social, historical, political and economic constructs. In order for questions to relate to the class and specifically to fieldwork - while still queried about aspects regarding science, technology, society and the environment - students were subjected to a semi-structured interview. As to the STSE background, recurring topics on the theme's literature - such as citizen education, participation, decision-making and the non-neutrality of science and scientists (besides a topic entitled "being a researcher, being a teacher") - were pointed out. Discourse analysis on student speech indicate that they believe that citizen participation and decision-making in science- and technology-related matters are believed to be conditioned on mastering the hegemonic scientific knowledge. Other forms of knowledge are silenced by science's exclusive sense of truth and come to vanish from the imaginaries of those in the same culture. Also noteworthy were the ideas on science, technology, society and the environment based on biology. The geology class brought about changes in the students senses concerning science, society and the environment, especially when the teacher presented an issue for an assignment as a variable within the environment, thus generating a social-environmental perspective - in contrast with the notion of environment as restricted to animals and plants. / Mestrado / Mestre em Ensino e Historia de Ciencias da Terra