The success of inquiry-based learning (IBL) in supporting science literacy can be challenged when students encounter obstacles in the absence of proper support. This research is intended to evaluate the effectiveness of an Oregon public school district's regional science fair coaching program in promoting inquiry skills and positive attitudes toward science in participating high school students. The purpose of this study was to better understand students' perception of program support, obstacles or barriers faced by students, and potential benefits of IBL facilitated by the science fair program. Data included responses to informal and semi-structured interviews, an anonymous survey, a Skills assessment of final project displays, and an in-depth case study on three students' experiences. Results suggest that the science fair program can properly engage participants in authentic IBL. However, when assessing the participant's final project displays, I found that previous fair experience did not significantly increase mean scores as identified by the official Oregon Department of Education (ODE) scoring guides. Based on results from the case study, it is suggested that participants' low science self-concept, poor understanding of inquiry skills, and inability to engage in reflective discourse may reduce students' abilities to truly benefit. Recommendations to address this discrepancy include identifying specific needs of students through a pre–fair survey to develop more targeted support, and providing new opportunities to develop skills associated with science-self concept, understanding of inquiry and reflective discourse. In addition, results suggest that students would benefit from more financial support in the form of grants, and more connections with knowledgeable mentors.

This case study investigated the potential of a place-based watershed curriculum, using STEM principles, to increase watershed literacy and knowledge of human impacts on stormwater in the environment. A secondary goal was to examine whether the place-based connection and increased exposure to issues within their local watershed impacted the students' environmental attitudes and sense of place. Over 500 sixth graders participated in this localized curriculum, where they learned the science behind watershed issues on their own school campuses. They focused on ways humans can monitor and mitigate their impacts on stormwater, through engineering investigations. The mixed-method research study investigated the effectiveness of the OLWEDU curriculum, to address these key questions: 1) To what degree did the OLWEDU increase the students' combined watershed literacy? 2) To what extent did the OLWEDU affect their environmental attitudes? 3) How did using a STEM oriented and place-based curriculum make the learning more relevant? In order to provide a solid triangulation of data, this study used a quasi-experimental design format with multiple measures: a) A Pre-Posttest (PPT), was given to all of the students to gather quantitative changes in knowledge of watershed concepts, stormwater issues related to human impacts on the environment, and engineering techniques; b) A constructed-knowledge questionnaire (CKQ) was used with forty four of the participants, to gather additional quantitative data on the students' local watershed knowledge; c) an environmental attitudes survey (EAS) was included in this sub-sample group; d) interviews were conducted with ten of the students to examine their opinions on the STEM aspects of the curriculum in addition to the place-based connections between the unit and their community. The statistically significant results showed increases in overall watershed literacy, knowledge of human impacts on stormwater, engineering principles, and environmental attitudes. These findings will be used to improve the current curriculum, and have broader implications concerning the benefits of using a formalized middle-school 21st century standards-based curriculum to teach watershed literacy and promote pro-environmental attitudes by using a combination of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math in a local, place-based context.

The ability to make and record scientific observations is critical in order for students to engage in successful inquiry, and provides a sturdy foundation for children to develop higher order cognitive processes. Nevertheless, observation is taken for granted in the elementary classroom. This study explores how linking school garden experience with the use of science journals can support this skill. Students participated in a month-long unit in which they practiced their observation skills in the garden and recorded those observations in a science journal. Students' observational skills were assessed using pre- and post-assessments, student journals, and student interviews using three criteria: Accuracy, Detail, and Quantitative Data. Statistically significant improvements were found in the categories of Detail and Quantitative Data. Scores did improve in the category of Accuracy, but it was not found to be a statistically significant improvement.

The purpose of this narrative study is to share a comprehensive and holistic understanding of the teaching philosophies of Black women science teachers. The theoretical lenses of Critical Race Theory and Black Feminist Thought are used to explore historical and contemporary experiences of Black teachers over time, to explain how and why there are so few women in science classrooms today. The pedagogical practices of Black women of the past are explored to reveal what is possible and needed in today’s science classrooms. The qualitative study used open-ended questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and Sista Circles to center the narratives and experiences of the 32 participants, honoring their counter-stories and valuing their experiences. The findings of the dissertation are shared as two manuscripts: the first focuses on how Womanist Pedagogy is exemplified in Black women science classrooms. The second findings chapter focuses on how the participants discuss anti-racist teaching in their science classrooms as described in three frameworks: liberatory pedagogy (hooks, 1994); Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (Ladson-Billings, 1994); and Historically Responsive Literacy (Muhammad, 2000). Historically relevant science pedagogy is a theoretical contribution offered by the author to the science education community to enact anti-racist practices. By highlighting the pedagogical practices of Black women science teachers, this study aims to transform the practices within science teacher education and professional development fields.

Currently, a debate exists between the strengths and weaknesses of direct and inquiry instruction. Inquiry instruction is related to positive effect on learner motivation whereas supporters of direct instruction point to its ability to adequately support learners’ working memories (Hmelo-Silver, Duncan, & Chinn, 2007; Kirschner, Sweller, & Clark, 2006; Kuhn, 2007; Sweller, 1988). This study examined the possibility of combining the best features of both inquiry and direct instruction by sequencing them together. A two-part lesson on electrical circuits was presented in three separate sequences of instruction to middle school students to determine if differences in student motivation and academic achievement emerge depending on whether a guided inquiry lab followed or preceded direct instruction. Results indicated equal levels of perceived competence by students across all instructional sequences and greater interest/enjoyment and perceived autonomy support when the instructional sequence began with a guided inquiry lesson. No significant differences in achievement were reported among the sequences.

The purpose of this research was to explore the coherence and effectiveness of an assessment approach that combined principles of cognitive-based assessment, performance assessment, and the Next Generation Science Standards. By drawing on research on learning progressions and cognition in geoscience to design, implement, and analyze an Earth Science performance assessment at the high school level, I explored the challenges and opportunities inherent in a cognitively-based science performance assessment system. The primary research question for this study was: How do cognitively-based performance assessments promote coherence between students’ understanding, responses, and scoring? Four subquestions allowed me to compare observations of student thinking with written responses and scores across multiple modalities in order to characterize the overall coherence of the assessment system. Using a design study approach, an assessment was developed using a two-phase process. First, a construct map was created that outlined a learning progression for each of four geology subdomains: geologic time & stratigraphy; surface processes; plate tectonics; and geologic maps. Second, the construct map guided the development of interconnected performance assessment tasks intended to elicit and measure student thinking within those geology subdomains. Twenty-two high school students engaged in a think-aloud protocol while completing the performance assessment. Student responses from the performance assessment were scored according to a predetermined scoring procedure that generated scores on individual items as well as holistic scores for each construct. Data from student written responses and think-alouds were quantitatively coded in alignment with the cognitive model for the assessment system. I used these data to examine the correlations between student thinking, written responses, and scores, in both item-by-item and holistic modalities. The strength of these correlations varied by construct, but some overall patterns emerged: (1) The design of this cognitively-based science performance assessment was successful in eliciting thinking about all four levels of each construct, and there were instances where student thinking went beyond the intended bounds of specific items. (2) For comparisons of student thinking to written responses or scores, holistic values captured a similar or better level of correlation than individual items, pointing to the important role of holistic scoring in the interpretation phase of this assessment approach. (3) The performance assessment produced scores for three out of four constructs with statistically significant correlations to student thinking. Together, these results show that fully capturing student thinking remains a formidable challenge for the assessment field, but that cognitively-based science performance assessment tasks have significant potential to reveal the extent and breadth of student thinking beyond traditional assessment approaches. The findings in this study have implications for the ways in which different stakeholders in science education, including classroom teachers, curriculum writers, and education leadership, can harness the power of cognitively-based assessment tools to better measure and support student learning.

Students come to science class with intuitive theories and ideas how the natural world works. These theories may conflict with accepted scientific concepts and can make subsequent learning in science very difficult. Since people differ in cognitive functioning, the nature of the remedial approach to these alternative conceptions is very important. In this study, high-school students used computer simulations or hands-on experimentation as a remedial approach to their alternative conceptions. It explored the effects of the remediation in the context of the learning style of field-dependence-independence. Also, the use of the instrument (the embedded figures test) for defining field-dependence-independence was explored as a diagnostic tool for determining students who possess alternative conceptions. An Analysis of Covariance was used to determine the main effects and interactions between the treatments (mode of remediation) and field-dependence-independence. The results of this study indicated that computer simulations and hands-on experimentation were both effective means for the remediation of the alternative conceptions of force and gravity. Also, the hands-on experimentation was shown to be more effective than the computer simulations. However, the study failed to show any evidence of the differential effects of field-dependence-independence on remediation of the alternative conceptions. There was also no indication of interactions between the independent variables. Although a relationship was shown to exist between the test for alternative conceptions and the instrument for determining field-dependence-independence, due to the low correlation and the expense of administration, the Group Embedded Figures Test was not recommended for the diagnosis of alternative conceptions in high school students. / Ph. D.

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