The purpose of this study was to investigate prospective teachers' conceptions of science instruction prior to the commencement of their early childhood education methods courses. A sample of 100 prospective teachers' drawings and narratives were analyzed using the STLP3 instrument and inductive analysis respectively. Merging findings from the aforementioned analyses resulted in 10 distinct conceptions and these included: (a) science instruction (1) as a demonstration, (2) as engagement, (3) as doing experiments, (4) as inquiry, and (5) as observation all underscored by active learning and social, implementation and cognitive dimensions; (b) science instruction (6) as implementing safety, and (7) as an interaction both underscored by active learning and a social dimension; and (c) science instruction (8) as a demonstration, and (9) as engagement both underscored by passive learning and an affective dimension; and (d) science instruction (10) as enjoyment underscored by social and affective dimensions. These findings reflected the complexity and multidimensionality of the prospective teachers' conceptions of science instruction. Implications include the need for teacher educators to situate their prospective teachers' prior and new knowledge of early childhood science instruction within theoretical frames rather than simply relying on prospective teachers' knowledge of science instruction from K-12 experiences. Implications for future research include the need to study prospective teachers' conceptions prior to and at the end of early childhood methods courses.

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The purpose of this study is to implement an intervention designed to develop background knowledge and investigate its effects on science proficiency for students who are at risk for failure. Pretest scores for 130 students were analyzed to identify students with prior knowledge deficits that may put them at risk for failure. Of the 44 students identified, 26 were matched by pretest scores and randomly assigned to treatment or control conditions. Prior to the start of a Human Body systems unit, students in the experimental condition were explicitly taught the function and location of 15 organs of the human body. I analyzed pre-and posttest scores to determine if the instruction had an impact on student recall. This study was conducted using a pre/post experimental design to investigate the effectiveness of using explicit instruction to pre-expose students to content knowledge to help improve student outcomes. Quantitative data was analyzed to determine if student posttest scores for two measures of science proficiency improved significantly as a result of instruction provided during intervention. Study limitations and future directions for research are discussed.

This qualitative study centered on science instruction and learning that occurred in a Title I elementary school in a suburban district in southeast Texas. Twelve teachers were interviewed in order to understand their perceptions of their classroom practices in terms of science instruction and learning for English Language Learners (ELL). This study also analyzed information gathered from teacher lesson plan and classroom observations. The participants' awareness of the instructional practices necessary for ELL student achievement in science was evident through analysis of interview transcripts. However, after observation of actual classroom instruction, it became apparent that the teaching and learning in most classrooms was not reflective of this awareness. This study proposes that this disconnect may be a result of a lack of quality professional development available to the teachers. The study also outlines and describes the characteristics of quality professional development and its relationship to focused instruction and continuous student improvement.

Thesis advisor: Katherine L. McNeill / Recent K-12 science reforms necessitate a shift in curriculum and instruction to support coherence from the students’ perspective. This coherence emerges when students see their science work as addressing and making progress on their questions and problems. Storyline curricular units afford student coherence, but teachers need support to craft coherent instruction from storyline materials. This three-paper dissertation involved research into one teacher’s storyline design work. The first empirical paper explores how one expert teacher interpreted the storyline materials as he planned for enactment. I used interaction and thematic analysis to identify key sources of tension that the teacher engaged with as he made sense of the storyline materials for epistemic agency. Three key sources of tension were: curricular coherence and student coherence-seeking; equitable participation and incremental building of science ideas; and singular or different forms of epistemic agency in discussions. Over time, the teacher grappled more deeply with these tensions and learned to leverage them to share epistemic agency with students. The second empirical paper documents how the same expert teacher designed instruction during enactment as students’ sensemaking diverged from the storyline plans. I engaged in interaction analysis to identify and describe particular episodes of storyline activity where the teacher shared epistemic agency with students in these divergences. The teacher engaged in principled improvisation related to the students’ interactive role, the science ideas they raised, and the experimental errors they experienced. Each episode involved the teacher’s efforts to work with students' divergences with an eye toward leveraging the storyline designs to share epistemic agency. The third paper, which is conceptual, provides an initial image of the Teacher-Storyline relationship. This relationship involves the teacher’s use of storyline materials to design and enact instruction with the goal to be coherent for students. The relationship concerns the teacher, the storyline materials, the participatory interactions between the two, and the subsequent planned and enacted storyline that is an outgrowth of this relationship. It has implications for ‘opening up’ curricular materials and for designing curriculum-based professional learning. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2021. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

"CellSong" is a computer aided instructional (CAI) science module designed to help students recall information about cellular physiology. The program is designed to teach middle school learners the music mnemonic "Cell's Organelles" (© 1995 Karl Kimmel) in order to facilitate the recall of the targeted biological information. In addition to music, a computer animation is synched to the five minute music file to provide visual reinforcement for the song's lyrics. Two male teachers, from two different rural southern schools (mTeacher and sTeacher) implemented the "CellSong" module in their classes. Students in mTeacher's class consisted of 12 fifth grade biology students. The other group was initially composed of all of sTeacher's sixth grade science classes (n=38). This group was divided into the regular three classes on its second exposure to the program. The students filled out attitude surveys after five exposures to the program. All the sixth grade students took an aided recall tests immediately after the fifth exposure to the program. Thirteen of the sixth graders took the same test (retest) after seven days. Although the test scores were generally low, students who took the retest tended to be able recall the same items that they had recalled the week before. The fifth grade class took one recall test four days after their last exposure to the program and scored higher than the sixth grade from the other school. These students were more favorable in their responses on the attitudinal survey. Students in the fifth grade class (and female students in the sixth grade classes) tended to enjoy the module and music mnemonic strategy. The sixth grade boys reported not enjoying it. / Ph. D.

There were several purposes to this case study using a convergent parallel mixed method design. The first purpose was to explore how one exemplary high school science teacher (EST) and her selected supporting administrator rated the importance of particular elements of science instruction. The second purpose was to describe how an EST explained her practices of fostering success for her students. The third purpose was to identify the administrator’s practices that supported the EST as described by both educator participants. Data for this study were collected through two researcher-developed instruments, interviews, and documents. The EST completed the Questionnaire of Exemplary Science Teachers (QEST), and the administrator completed the Questionnaire for Administrator Perception of Exemplary Science Teachers (QAPEST). The researcher also conducted an interview with each participant and analyzed documents (i.e., lesson plans, students’ course grades, and Biology Subject Area Testing Program results). The EST examined data to provide context to the case study. Results of the study revealed that both the EST and administrator understood and closely agreed on the importance of science and in the methods of planning and teachingscience. Results also indicated that students taught by the EST were successful in a science program. The EST used a combination of specifying objectives, diagnosing and evaluating student learners in science instruction, planning of science instruction, and delivering of science instruction to assist her students in becoming successful. Results also revealed that the EST and the administrator believed that building strong personal relationships with the students motivated students to want to succeed even more for the EST. Finally, results indicated that unwavering, generative administrative support was helpful in supporting the teacher’s exemplary instruction.

This study investigated the participant structure and content of discourse in five high-school science classrooms and their connection to scientifically literate practices for talking, reasoning, and evaluating claims. Through a detailed exploration of the way teachers introduced classes to the topic of evolution, I was able to examine how teachers used language to build a social framework for participation, examined the opportunities and challenges stemming from their various approaches, and explored how the structure and content of classroom talk contributed to framing science. This study used techniques from interactional sociolinguistics and conversational analysis to examine videos of interaction in five secondary biology classrooms on the day teachers introduced their students to lessons focused on the topic of evolution. Implications of this study focus on how teacher's discourse moves could open or close a discussion to student knowledge contributions, and emphasize how open discussions offer both challenges and opportunities to teachers wishing to facilitate scientifically literate discourse practices in their classroom. / text

This study analyzed student test scores to determine if teacher participation in an inquiry-based professional development was able to make a statistically significant difference in student achievement levels. Test scores for objectives that assessed the critical thinking skills and problem-solving strategies modeled in a science inquiry institute were studied. Inquiry-based experiences are the cornerstones for meeting the science standards for scientific literacy. State mandated assessment tests measure the levels of student achievement and are reported as meeting minimum expectations or showing mastery for specific learning objectives. Students test scores from the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills Test (TAAS) for 8th grade science and the Biology End Of Course (EOC) exams were analyzed using ANCOVA, Chi Square, and Logistic Regression, with the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) 7th Grade Science Subtest as covariate. It was hypothesized that the students of Inquiry Institute teachers would have higher scale scores and better rates of mastery on the critical thinking objectives than the students of non-Institute teachers. It was also hypothesized that it would be possible to predict student mastery on the objectives that assessed critical thinking and problem solving based on Institute participation. This quasi-experimental study did not show a statistically significant difference between the two groups. The effects of inquiry-based professional development may not be determined by analyzing the results of the standardized tests currently being used in Texas. Inquiry training may make a difference, but because of factors such as the ceiling effect, insufficient time to implement the program, and test items that are intended to but do not address critical thinking skills, the TAAS and EOC tests may not accurately assess effects of the Inquiry Institute. The results of this study did indicate the best predictor of student mastery for the 8th grade science TAAS and Biology EOC may possibly be prior knowledge acquired in elementary school and as demonstrated on the 7th grade ITBS science subtest.