Strategies have been put into place to affect improvement in science achievement, including the use of Interactive Whiteboards (IWBs) in science instruction. IWBs enable rich resources, appropriate pacing, and multimodal presentation of content deemed as best practices. Professional development experiences, use of resources, instructional practices, and changes in professional behavior in science teachers were recorded. Also recorded were differences in the engagement and motivation of students in IWB classrooms versus IWB-free classrooms and observed differences in students' problem solving, critical thinking, and collaboration. Using a mixed-method research design quantitative data were collected to identify achievement levels of the target population on the assumption that all students, regardless of ability, will achieve greater mastery of science content in IWB classrooms. Qualitative data were collected through observations, interviews, videotapes, and a survey to identify how IWBs lead to increased achievement in third grade classrooms and to develop a record of teachers' professional practices, and students' measures of engagement and motivation. Comparative techniques determined whether science instruction is more effective in IWB classroom than in IWB-free classrooms. The qualitative findings concluded that, compared to science teachers who work in IWB-free settings, elementary science teachers who used IWBs incorporated more resources to accommodate learning objectives and the varied abilities and learning styles of their students. They assessed student understanding more frequently and perceived their classrooms as more collaborative and interactive. Furthermore, they displayed willingness to pursue professional development and employed different engagement strategies. Finally, teachers who used IWBs supported more instances of critical thinking and problem-solving. Quantitative findings concluded that students of all ability levels were more motivated and engaged in IWB classes. Best practices distilled included combining IWBs with handheld peripherals to maximize assessment; the determination that formal professional development is more effective than peer coaching; that effectively managing an IWB classroom is as vital as learning how to use board itself; and that IWB teachers should be able to modify resources to tailor them for the circumstances of their classroom.

Bandura (1986) posited that self-efficacy beliefs help determine what individuals do with the knowledge and skills they have and are critical determinants of how well skill and knowledge are acquired. Research has correlated self-efficacy beliefs with academic success and subject interest (Pajares, Britner, & Valiante, 2000). Similar studies report a decreasing interest by students in school science beginning in middle school claiming that they don’t enjoy science because the classes are boring and irrelevant to their lives (Basu & Barton, 2007). The hypothesis put forth by researchers is that students need to observe models of how science is done, the nature of science (NOS), so that they connect with the human enterprise of science and thereby raise their self-efficacy (Britner, 2008). This study examined NOS understandings and science self-efficacy of students enrolled in a sixth grade earth science class taught with explicit NOS instruction. The research questions that guided this study were (a) how do students’ self-efficacy beliefs change as compared with changes in their nature of science understandings?; and (b) how do changes in students’ science self-efficacy beliefs vary with gender and ethnicity segregation? A mixed method design was employed following an embedded experimental model (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2007). As the treatment, five NOS aspects were first taught by the teachers using nonintegrated activities followed by integrated instructional approach (Khishfe, 2008). Students’ views of NOS using the Views on Nature of Science (VNOS) (Lederman, Abd-El-Khalick, & Schwartz, 2002) along with their self-efficacy beliefs using three Likert-type science self-efficacy scales (Britner, 2002) were gathered. Changes in NOS understandings were determined by categorizing student responses and then comparing pre- and post-instructional understandings. To determine changes in participants’ self-efficacy beliefs as measured by the three subscales, a multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was conducted. Findings indicated that explicit NOS instruction was effective for all students except minority (Black, Hispanic, Asian, or multiracial) male students in improving NOS understandings. Furthermore, all students that received NOS instruction demonstrated decreased anxiety towards science. Future research should focus on long-term investigations of changes in anxiety and value of research constructs with regards to NOS instruction.

Although scholars have long advocated the use of informational texts in the primary grades, gaps and inconsistencies in research have produced conflicting reports on how teachers used these texts in the primary curriculum, and how primary students dealt with them during instruction and on their own (e.g., Saul & Dieckman, 2005). Thus, to add to research on informational texts in the primary grades, the purpose of this study was to examine: (a) a first-grade teacher's use of science informational trade books (SITBs) in her classroom, (b) the ways students responded to her instruction, and (c) how students interacted with these texts. My study was guided by a sociocultural perspective (e.g., Bakhtin, 1981; Vygotsky, 1978), providing me a lens to examine participants during naturally occurring social practices in the classroom, mediated by language and other symbolic tools. Data were collected by means of 28 observations, 6 semi-structured interviews, 21 unstructured interviews, and 26 documents over the course of 10 weeks. Three themes generated from the data to provide insight into the teacher's and students' practices and interactions with SITBs. First, the first-grade teacher used SITBs as teaching tools during guided conversations around the text to scaffold students' understanding of specialized vocabulary, science concepts, and text features. Her instruction with SITBs included shared reading lessons, interactive read-alouds and learning activities during two literacy/science units. However, there was limited use of SITBs during the rest of her reading program, in which she demonstrated a preference for narrative. Second, students responded to instruction by participating in guided conversations around the text, in which they used prior knowledge, shared ideas, and visual representations (e.g., illustrations, diagrams, labels, and captions) to actively make meaning of the text. Third, students interacted with SITBs on their own to make sense of science, in which they demonstrated their interest in reading the texts, formed connections to science, used reading strategies, and adjusted to the text type and variations of text complexity. The findings indicate the teacher's practices with SITBs were supportive of literacy and science learning for students at various levels of reading development. However, her inexperience with informational books and her preference for narrative demonstrates a need for training to assist her in providing guided and individualized reading instruction with SITBs, as well as provide students with full access to these texts in the classroom. Further, the teacher's overgeneralizations for science during instruction with SITBs indicates the need for training to strengthen her knowledge of science that would better prepare her to convey information and critically read information presented in these texts. Finally, the students' engagement with SITBs and their use of strategies to make sense of these texts on their own, indicates the first graders were motivated and capable readers of informational books.

This study was an effort to construct and validate an instructional design framework for media content selection that incorporates re-purposing popular media to enhance mathematics and science instruction. The study resulted in the development and validation of a framework that was applicable with novice and expert instructional designers to be used as a stand - alone model or as a supplement to widely-used instructional design models. The framework was developed based on the literature review of four constructs: instructional design models, re-purposing popular media, learning theories and the new generation learners' characteristics, and multidisciplinary or integrated approaches to instruction. The findings of the literature review were used as the theoretical foundation for the construction of the framework for media content selection. During the final step of the study's Phase One, the researcher used the first iteration of the framework to develop a short instructional module that incorporated the re-purposing of popular media. This instruction focused on early mathematics (K-2) and the re-purposing of full-feature children animated films. The goal of this step was the development of documentation to record the process for media content selection that was later used to modify and revise the framework. As the next step, the framework was validated by subject matter experts in the field of instructional design. The framework was then further revised and modified. The findings of this study have implications on the areas that pertain to (a) instructional design models, (b) media selection, (c) media content selection, and (d) curriculum integration. Based on the findings of this study, recommendations to practitioners choosing to use the framework for media content selection were suggested and suggestions for future research were provided. / Ph. D.

This action research study was conducted with 7th grade life science students at a public middle school in central Florida. The author used Reciprocal Teaching (RT) as described by Annemarie Palincsar and Anne Brown (1984) to examine changes in student comprehension when reading their life science textbook and changes in how the students used the predicting, questioning, and summarizing strategies. The RT strategies ask students to employ 4 strategies: predict what they will read, generate questions about what was read, clarify any ideas that were not understood in the reading, and summarize the main idea of the reading. Students were given a pre and post reading comprehension test, they completed reading response worksheets to record their predictions, questions, clarifications, and summaries. Students were explicitly taught the 4 strategies prior to using them and the strategies were reinforced through teacher modeling (using think aloud teaching to show students how to use the strategies) and expert scaffolding (giving students the support needed while using the strategies). The teacher-researcher also examined if the students showed change in their level of proficiency when using the strategies after they had been taught them. Analysis of data revealed that student comprehension did increase after being taught the four reading strategies. Data also showed that students became increasingly more proficient when using the strategies as the study progressed. Data analysis also uncovered the unexpected pattern of increased student participation during whole-class and reading group discussions. Further research is needed to examine the effects of teaching highly proficient students specific reading strategies and to see how the explicit instruction of reading strategies affects student participation and achievement during inquiry-based laboratory investigations.

Advances in computer technology have made it possible for educators to develop their own multimedia instructional materials using visuals such as animation. Despite the increased use of animation in the multimedia instructional materials, there is still relatively little research regarding the way in which students benefit from the attributes of computer animation. As a result, additional studies on the instructional attributes of animation are required to confirm the animation effect in the learning process. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of animation in the enhancement of the problem-solving and retention of scientific concepts in computer based modules across learners possessing different cognitive styles. In this study, 121 undergraduate and graduate students were classified as field-independent, field-neutral, or field-dependent as a result of their performance on the Group Embedded Figures Test. Participants were randomly assigned to either animation and narration treatment group (N=61) or static visual and narration treatment group (N=60). Problem-solving and recall tests were conducted immediately after the completion of each treatment. Participants receiving an animation treatment performed significantly better than those receiving a static visual treatment on problem-solving but not on recall. Field-dependent students in the animation group generated approximately 40% more correct solutions to the problem-solving test than those in the static visual group. The results of this study indicate that animation may be an effective tool in promoting problemsolving of scientific concepts, especially for field-dependent learners who have difficulty acquiring and processing visual information. / Ph. D.

The primary goal of this study was to acquire an understanding of those practices that encourage the sustained use of simulations in support of inquiry-based science instruction. With the rapid distribution of Internet-related technologies in the field of education, it is most important to undertand the function of these innovations. Technology, specifically the implementation of simulations to support inquiry-based instruction, provides new educational strategies for science teachers. Technology also influences the field of education by repeatedly making some teachers' best practices obsolete. The qualitative research design was selected to explore the nature of science leaders' and teachers’ consideration or lack of consideration to incorporate simulations into their inquiry-based instruction. The method for collecting the data for this study included in-depth, semi-structured interviews. The analysis of this interview data was conducted in two phases. Phase I focused on the consensus views of the participants regarding the implementation of simulations. In order to gain a more in-depth understanding of the interview data, Phase II focused on the subtle differences among the participants regarding their execution of this instructional tool. The overall conclusion of this study was that the use of simulations requires a multi-faceted approach to ensure sustainability. As noted, science leaders must continue to encourage the high, medium and low users of simulations to implement the ongoing use of these instructional tools. Also, science teachers must do their part to ensure the success of these programs. By addressing the primary and secondary research questions, five major conclusions were reached. These conclusions include (a) the use of web-based simulations can have a positive influence on inquiry-based science instruction, (b) technology challenges have influenced the teachers’ use of simulations, (c) time influences the use of simulations, (d) ongoing professional development strategies support the sustained use of simulations, and (e) student engagement in inquiry-based science instruction is positively influenced by the use of simulations. This study concludes with suggestions for educational leaders and teachers along with further considerations for future research.

The purpose of the research was to investigate the effectiveness of using multimedia as a means of teaching physical science to learners. The underlying theoretical assumption was that a multimedia presentation would help to reduce the cognitive load experienced by learners when they learn physical science content, compared to a traditional mode of presentation, and that this reduction may have a positive effect on the ease with which they master the content. Physical science learners in Grade 11 viewed a presentation consisting of multimedia screens and screens depicting the learning content in a traditional layout – in order to compare the level of knowledge gained as well as the cognitive load experienced for the multimedia and traditional instructions. Pre- and post-test questionnaires were used to determine the knowledge gained, while cognitive load was measured using a dual-task methodology. A multivariate analysis of variance was used to analyse the data. The results did not reveal a statistically significant increase in knowledge gained via the multimedia approach when compared to the traditional mode of instruction, but when focussing the analysis on learners with a lower-knowledge base in physical science though, statistically significant results were found. However, no significant results were found to support the hypothesis that multimedia would help to reduce learners’ cognitive load. It was concluded that the multimedia design principles are more effective in increasing knowledge for physical science learners of low-knowledge than traditional instructional designs. / Psychology / M.Sc. (Psychology)

The purpose of the study is to investigate the relative effect of problem-based learning (PBL) and traditionally designed science instruction (TDSI) on students&rsquo / academic achievement and performance skills in the unit of genetics after controlling for students&rsquo / prior knowledge, prior performance skills, reasoning ability, and learning approach. The sample consisted of 192 eight grade students from a public elementary school in Ankara. Four classes instructed by two science teachers were randomly assigned as experimental and control groups. The experimental group students were taught the subject through PBL, while the control group students received the TDSI. Students in experimental group dealt with ill-structured problems based on real-life working in small groups and individually. On the other hand, students in control group received an instruction based on teacher explanations and textbooks. Genetics Achievement Test, Test of Logical Thinking, and Learning Approach Questionnaire were administered as pre-tests to students in both groups to determine their prior knowledge and prior performance skills, reasoning ability, and learning approach, respectively. After the treatment, Genetics Achievement Test was administered again as a post-test to compare the effectiveness of PBL and TDSI on students&rsquo / achievement and performance skills in Genetics. Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) was used to investigate the effect of problem based learning and traditionally designed science instruction on students&rsquo / academic achievement and performance skills in Genetics when students&rsquo / prior knowledge, prior performance skills, logical thinking abilities and learning approaches are controlled. Results of the study revealed that students in PBL classes had higher mean scores on Genetics Achievement Test developed to measure academic achievement and performance skills in the unit of genetics. Therefore, the PBL students appeared to be better compared to the TDSI students in terms of genetics understanding and at using relevant information in addressing the problem, articulating uncertainties, organizing concepts, and interpreting information.

The main purpose of the study was to compare the effectiveness of multiple intelligences theory based instruction (MITBI) and traditional science instruction (TSI) on 9th grade students&amp / #8217 / understanding of chemical bonding concept and attitudes toward chemistry. In the study, 50 ninth grade students from two classes of Gen&ccedil / Osman high school in Ankara were used. 25 of the students were assigned as experimental group and the other 25 as control group. They were instructed by the same teacher. The study was conducted during May of 2005. The groups were selected from eight 9th grade classes of Gen&ccedil / Osman High School randomly. The students are at the ages between 14 and 16. The group which was assigned as experimental group was instructed by multiple intelligences theory based instruction (MITBI) whereas the other group was traditionally instructed. This experimental study took a period of three weeks. To determine the effectives of multiple intelligences based instruction over traditional science instruction, an achievement test about chemical bonding concept which consisted of 25 items were administered and an attitude scale toward chemistry developed by Geban et al., was applied. Science Process Skill Test was administered to investigate the relationship between the students&amp / #8217 / science process skills and their achievement. For the statistical analysis, t-test, and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) were used. The results showed that students who were instructed by multiple intelligences theory based instruction were achieved higher than the ones which were instructed by the traditional science instruction about chemical bonding concept. There was also a significant difference between the students instructed with Multiple Intelligences Theory Based Instruction (MITBI) and the students instructed with traditional science instruction (TSI) with respect to the attitudes of students toward chemistry. There was no significant difference between the attitudes and achievement of female students and that of male students. Students&amp / #8217 / science process skills had no greater contribution to their success.