Concept mapping is a metacognitive learning strategy which often improves a learner's ability to construct new knowledge. This action research project was intended to determine the level of effectiveness of concept mapping as a student learning intervention. Students in two high school science classes constructed concept maps before and after instruction during a unit of study about volcanoes. The maps were analyzed for increases in complexity and indications of learning. The concept maps were then compared for differences by groups based on volcano unit test scores. Based on the analysis of the matched pairs of concept maps, those maps which contained a higher amount of prior knowledge of the subject matter were associated with maps which showed greatest amount of increase in knowledge after instruction. These results are supported by the many researchers who contend that the most important factor in learning new information and gaining new knowledge is the amount of prior knowledge a learner brings into the learning situation. The results of this action research project will be applied to the development of future science courses by this researcher.

The goal of environmental education is to increase individuals' ecological knowledge, awareness of associated environmental problems, and motivation to evaluate and implement solutions. This project combined the concepts of environmental education with community service learning to create a new method of curriculum integration: environmental community service learning. The California state standards for environmental education, service learning, language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies were integrated into four thematic units using the teaching methodologies of cooperative learning, authentic assessment, and reflection. The integrated, thematic units of this project could be used by educators in a multi-disciplinary, team teaching scenario on in a single classroom setting as either sequential, thematic units of study or independent activities.

This qualitative multi-site case study examines the experiences of four volunteers serving as educators and their use of science kits in three separate non-formal refugee spaces located in Greece. They received professional development and materials to support their teaching of science. An adapted Teacher-Centered Systematic Reform (TCSR) framework was used to analyze the relationship between personal factors, teacher thinking, practice, and contextual factors. Data sources for this study were pre- and post-activity questionnaires, pre- and post-activity journaling, observations, and structured interviews. Each of the data sources was analyzed to develop an understanding of the volunteer educators’ personal factors, teacher thinking, teacher practice, and contextual factors to identify emerging themes. Emerging themes provided evidence to better interpret the experiences and perceptions of volunteer educators who used science-kits in non-formal refugee educational settings. These themes were then compared between and across each case to find similarities and differences between volunteer educators. This research contributes to both the field of science education and the preparation of volunteers in emergency education to teach science.

This thesis is the result of an examination of the biological and physical science information content included in late nineteenth and early twentieth century elementary school readers and textbooks.

This thesis presents the results of a study conducted to determine if visual aids impacted the general science capabilities of middle school students.

Bibliography: pages 66-73. / Based on the educational theorists Gardner (1977(a)), Ehindero (1980), Mawasha ( 197 6-1984) and Ogunniyi ( 1985) and extending earlier findings by McNaught (1980) in Zimbabwe, my investigation sought to answer the following questions: 1. How do the item facilities of a group of African (Swazi) college science students, on two parallel tests of logical connectives, based on Gardner's work, each consisting of the same 34 logical connectives, but different in presentation format compare? 2. Are there significant correlations between the item facilities obtained by the Swazi first year science students on the tests of logical connectives and their scores obtained in Matriculation English and Biology and college English communication and General science? 3. Is there evidence of learning of logical connectives without direct instructional intervention over a period of six months when exposed to English first language speaking lecturers? 4. In what ways are the works of Gardner and McNaught expanded, confirmed, or enriched by further investigation in a totally different culture? Diagnostic and pre-test - post-test methods were used to gather data on the comprehension of the 34 logical connectives, and on academic achievement scores, of 65 Swazi teachers-in-training in KaNgwane, a subtropical, rural-agricultural region in Southern Africa. The data were collected by means of modified Gap Filling and Sentence Completion items, derived from Gardner's pioneering work, by adapting and refining certain items to be more relevant and meaningful in the local South African context. The data was processed by means of comparing Gardner's form N pupils' item facilities with the Swazi students' item facilities on each logical connective. The differences were analysed by means of Chi square tests, Spearman's Test, McNemars' Test and a correlation matrix. The chief findings -were that Swazi students' item facilities compared favourably with those obtained by Gardner's form N pupils on the 34 logical connectives· overall. The Swazi students found 7 easier than the Australian pupils, 16 equally as difficult and 15 more difficult than the Australian pupils, but this was dependent on the format. The thesis concludes by making recommendations to teachers, textbook writers, publishers and educational authorities on issues in science education with regard to English second language, particularly in terms of teacher training.

Today’s world of work, especially in highly specialized knowledge-based industries such as scientific communications, is increasingly complex. Leaders are challenged to drive growth through innovation. Cross-functional teams are challenged to bring innovative ideas to life. Despite a growing body of literature on team learning, current research does not extend to this highly specialized setting, especially around how innovation is implemented by cross-functional teams. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to discover how one cross-functional innovation team within a scientific communications agency learns, performs, and contributes to team and organizational outcomes, specifically what learning conditions are present and what behaviors are adopted. The research revealed how team members characterized their experience of cross-functional innovation teaming; what the team members perceived to be the optimal organizational and team learning conditions; what kinds of behaviors team members adopted to optimize their learning and performance; and what types of learning outcomes the team achieved. For cross-functional teams implementing innovative projects, conclusions were that: (1) successful implementation is facilitated by the organization’s approach to innovation, specifically their strategy and their support for cross-functional teams; (2) optimal learning conditions for the team are a shared aspirational vision, a climate of psychological safety, and innovation-responsive operating principles; (3) psychological safety and innovation-responsive operating principles facilitate innovation team behaviors of experimenting, crossing boundaries, and collaboration; (4) cross-functional innovation team leadership is emergent and may come from multiple sources based on the expertise of the team members and what leadership functions are most needed when; and (5) team outcomes include implementation of a new product, discovery of new ways of working, and team member satisfaction. Knowing this helps to determine what team learning models and research are most relevant to innovation teams in this practice setting and what additional practices or supports might be helpful to guide these kinds of cross-functional innovation teams and their organizations to greater success.

Traditional views on science education focus solely on content learning in the classroom, however more contemporary perspectives harness science content to help students become active citizens and lifelong learners outside of the classroom (Daher & Saifi, 2018; Vedder-Weiss & Fortus, 2011; Yacoubian, 2018). Project-based science is a reform pedagogy that emphasizes real-world utilization of science to solve problems that are personally relevant to students’ everyday lives (Kanter & Konstantopoulos, 2010). Unfortunately, there is no uniform theory or approach to project-based science. The diversity that exists in the interpretation and implementation of the project-based learning theory and model has resulted in a variety of research and developmental issues across disciplines, often resulting in confusion about what counts as being project-based and what does not (Kokotsaki et al., 2016; McNeill & Krajcik, 2007; Yu et al., 2018). While the goal of project-based science is to positively impact all students’ motivation for and achievement in science learning, there has been little research on its use as an instructional strategy with diverse students in urban schools (Kanter et al., 2001; Krajcik et al., 2006; Panasan & Nuangchalerm, 2010; Scheneider et al., 2002; Shwartz et al., 2008). Even as newer studies are published (Fitzgerald, 2020; Nainggolan et al., 2020; Wang, 2020), the field is stagnant, and research is still needed that looks into the ways in which culture influences the way American secondary students learn science (Brown, 2020). One of the characteristics of project-based science that makes it appealing, is its ability to drawing on the lived experiences of students, but most of the work done to date has not included or reflected the lived experiences of urban students of color. The goal of this mixed methods instrumental case study was to provide a glimpse into what it would look like to use a reconceptualized approach to project-based science that was more inclusive of urban students’ identities and lived experiences, while also being intentional about the nature of science and science epistemology. This involved the creation and use of a project-based science unit that included both implicit and explicit design features of the nature of science and science epistemology, along with pedagogical practices that were aligned with the theoretical underpinnings of project-based science (active learning, sociocultural theory, constructionist theory, constructivist theory, and situated cognition); along with the frameworks of Black feminist thought and reality pedagogy, which have not yet been considered in project-based science settings. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected and analyzed for trends and emergent themes. Quantitative data were collected from a diverse sample of fifty urban 9th grade New York City Living Environment students ranging in age from 13 to 15 years old. Ninety eight percent of participants had ethnic backgrounds other than White. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) repeated measures statistical tests and mixed between-within ANOVA statistical tests were used to examine quantitative data. The findings revealed that 96% of participants developed understandings of the local, state, and national level science standards and learning outcomes, aligned to the unit used in this study; and made significant gains on pre, midterm, and post multiple-choice and free response exams. While both genders made significant improvements, the male participants in this study outperformed the female participants. Qualitative data were collected from a total of 13 students, ranging in age from 13 to 15 years old, who participated in two gender-specific cogenerative dialogues. One hundred percent of cogenerative dialogue participants had ethnic backgrounds other than White. Thick descriptions and analysis were used to make sense of students’ experience with the project-based science unit. All cogenerative dialogue participants seemed to developed understandings of the nature of science and science epistemology. Implications for practice and future research are considered.

This study was used in elementary science at the Rio Linda Union School, Sacramento Country, California as an orientation course in the seventh and eighth grades to transform school science from a mysterious abstraction into an understandable, enjoyable and useful field of knowledge that is indispensable to a child's understanding of his environment. This is of value to the child especially during his out-of-school activities, which is so well brought out by McBee:........the purpose of child study of nature is to put the child into intimate and essential contact with things of his external world, thereby developing a keen and personal interest in natural objects and phenomena of the world about him, broadening his horizons and developing his perceptions.1 These interests and activities of his immediate environment should develop, in time, in furthering science interests, appreciations and knowledges. As stated by McBee: The wider implications of nature study are concerned with opening the mind of pupils by direct observation to a knowledge and love of the common things in environment, with increasing their joy of living.1 Statement of the Problem. The problem of the study was: .The development of a better understanding by the child of his natural environmental resources in the rural elementary schools of Sacramento County. Due to the grouping of the grades seven and eight under one teacher in most of the rural schools,3 the study covered only these two grades. The writer believes, through his experiences with younger students on conducted Saturday hikes, that rural schools of one-teacher size could also follow the general procedure with successful results.1 This study will not present a method of teaching nor a course of study, but will attempt to give a set of guiding procedures, information and findings which the writer hopes will be of some value and inspiration to teachers in developing a better understanding by the child of his natural environmental resource. Importance of the Problem. The writer has sensed the need of a better understanding of their environment by children, through close contacts with them, and realizes that they know very little or see very little of their immediate environment except as they are directed to it.

MEd / Department of Curriculum Studies and Educational Management