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The purpose of this study was to identify selected criteria in teacher effectiveness in the secondary science classrooms to find out how students feel about these criteria as compared with the opinions of science teachers and administrators.The following criteria were selected:1. Teacher's abilities in lecturing2. Abilities in laboratory teaching3. Abilities in leading discussions4. Abilities in maintaining good discipline5. Fairness in dealing with students6. Understanding of student problems7. Use of multi-media presentations.A forty-one item questionnaire based on the above mentioned criteria with two opinion questions was formulated.The population for the study consisted of 32 administrators, 34 secondary science teachers, and 747 secondary science students from 15 high schools of three sizes (small, medium, and large) in Indiana. The questionnaire was administered on-site, and the return rate for each respective group in the sample was 100 percent.One way analysis of variance was used at the .05 significance level statistically to interpret the data.Findings1. There was a significant difference found among the responses of students, teachers, and administrators for lecturing, laboratory teaching, leading discussions, maintaining good discipline, and use of multi-media presentations, but there was no significant difference found for fairness, and understanding of student problems.2. Based upon the sex of the students, there was no significant difference found for laboratory teaching and multi-media presentations, but there was a significant difference found for lecturing, discussions, discipline, fairness, and understanding of student problems.3. Based upon the grade level of students, there was a significant difference found in lecturing and laboratory teaching, but there was no significant difference found for discussions, discipline, fairness, understanding of student problems, and use of media.4. Based upon the years of teaching experience, there was a significant difference found in the opinions of teachers and administrators for lecturing, maintaining good discipline, and multi-media presentations, but no significant difference was found for laboratory, discussions, fairness, and understanding of student problems.5. The years of administrative experience had no significant effect on the opinions of administrators.6. There was no significant difference found among the opinions of administrators, teachers, and students related to the size of schools.

People use metaphors to describe or understand one thing in terms of another. The central idea of this thesis is that metaphors can be used to teach mathematics, particularly abstract topics such as directed numbers. Using directed numbers as a context, this study develops a framework and a coding scheme that can be used as a tool for analysing the use of metaphors in the teaching of mathematics. The part of the theoretical framework of the coding scheme is based on the work of Lakoff and Johnson (1980) and Lakoff and Nunez (2000). In those studies, the authors classify metaphors used for teaching mathematics into one of three categories: ontological, orientational and structural metaphors. By considering the source domain of metaphors, they can be classified into either grounding or linking metaphors. Similarly, the target domain of the metaphors can be categorized by the intended learning outcomes and by the functions of the metaphors. One of the primary contributions of this thesis is the development of a coding scheme that is specifically designed to analyze the use of metaphors in mathematics lessons. The scheme was then used and validated through the analysis of mathematics lessons taught by two teachers with contrasting academic backgrounds and teaching experiences. Three lessons taught by each teacher on the topic of directed numbers at Secondary One level were recorded and analysed. The metaphors used by each teacher were identified, coded and analyzed in order to determine how metaphors can be extended and transformed into other metaphors.. Finally, this thesis compared how the two teachers differed in their use of metaphors, particularly in terms of the selection, sequencing and organization of the metaphors used. This can be indicative the level of conceptual learning that is made available for students in their classes. The research questions: 1. What kinds of metaphors did the teachers use to introduce and explain the concepts and computational processes of directed numbers? 2. What functions did these metaphors serve? 3. What is the developmental path of these metaphors within and across the lessons? 4. What were the differences in the selecting, sequencing, and organization of the metaphor used by the two teachers? Findings This thesis designed and tested an original coding scheme. The findings revealed that the two teachers had used many kinds of metaphors in their lessons. They were used for classifying different kinds of numbers, constructing concepts, and explaining the properties and computational processes of directed numbers. Most of the metaphors found in this study were used to provide a cognitive function that facilitates the introduction of new mathematical concepts and helps the students make sense of the operational processes; only a few metaphors served a memorable function. When comparing the use of metaphors by the two teachers, we can analyze their teaching philosophies. Teacher 1’s use of metaphors demonstrated a linear development path from a simple to a more advance perspective, whereas Teacher 2’s use of metaphors revealed more comprehensive, sophisticated and multi-layered perspective. Significance of the study This study provides insights into the meaning and implication of using metaphors in teaching mathematical concepts. At research level, this study extends the existing work of Lakoff and develops an analytical tool specifically designed to understand the pedagogical values of using metaphors to teach abstract mathematical concepts such as directed numbers. At pedagogical level, the metaphor coding scheme can act as an initial foray into how metaphors can be used in and for teaching. Moreover, the Metaphor-Concept Development Chart developed in this study is a practical tool that can help teachers to analyze and improve their own use metaphors, thereby furthering their professional development and teaching effectivenss. / published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Education

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published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

This study explored language attitudes of high-school-level heritage learners of Spanish. Five varieties of Spanish and English, namely, standard Mexican, non-native and local Southern Arizona Spanish, code-switching, and Chicano-accented English were presented to heritage learners using audio-recorded voice samples. Evaluations were recorded on semantic differential scales designed to reflect two distinct attitude dimensions, solidarity and socio-intellectual status/prestige. In addition to quantifying language attitudes, the study attempted to establish correlations with demographic factors. Demographic surveys and student interviews further yielded information to develop a current description of heritage learners in a formal, classroom setting. Teacher interviews provided insights into program structure and teacher preparation. The ultimate pedagogical goal of this investigation was to define implications for heritage language instruction and for the preparation of teachers for this relatively new, yet growing field. A total of 238 students from programs for Spanish heritage learners in ten schools encompassing four districts, public and private, took part in the study. Structure and practices of heritage programs were found to differ widely, with teachers exercising considerable discretion over curriculum. Students were found to be 90% recently arrived or second-generation students of Mexican, mostly Sonoran, background. Students expressed largely instrumental motivation for their pursuit of Spanish in school and 85% planned to pursue higher education. Results indicate significant differences in students' attitudes between the normative and vernacular language varieties tested. In this academic setting, students' attitudes reflected a distinct preference for more standard varieties. The English test variety was ranked below these and above the vernaculars. Student-participants also showed sensitivity to fine distinctions in register and style. Gender of both speaker and listener were shown to affect language attitudes. Students' habits of language use, in particular the extent of outside reading and radio listening in Spanish, were significantly correlated with more positive language attitudes toward standard varieties. These habits also correlated with higher proficiency levels. These results engendered three salient implications for teaching and teacher preparation: the need to enhance students' outside reading and listening habits, the need to extend students' familiarity with divergent speech styles, the necessary inclusion of sociolinguistic underpinnings in teacher preparation.

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The goal of this research was to investigate the knowledge high school students acquire from science instruction in Zimbabwe, and their ability to reason from and apply their knowledge based on previous learning. Science educators in Zimbabwe are concerned with improving the quality of student's achievement and that students develop a conceptual understanding of basic science rather than a rote memorisation of facts and that students become better prepared to acquire science content on their own. The research reported here utilises the discourse comprehension analysis model and methods developed by Frederiksen (1975, 1986) to investigate students' learning. Based on these methods, it is possible to examine: (a) how students acquire knowledge and understanding, and (b) how they apply what they learn to reason using their conceptual knowledge. / The design of the study involved the use of three texts each of which represented different information types within a science domain, 'gas pressure'. The content of the texts was presented by the same teacher during natural classroom instruction to classes at two levels (higher and lower) of a high school grade. The first text concerned Basic Knowledge (concepts and principles) in the domain, and the second and third texts described Familiar and Unfamiliar experiments respectively within the same science domain. In addition, for both of these experiments, several types of information were presented: Procedures, Observations and Explanations. Students' responses to comprehension questions were subjected to a conceptual (propositional) analysis and coded against an 'expert' model of the content of the texts used by the teacher during instruction to the students. The study focused on identifying the extent to which the students' responses directly matched the 'expert' model or consisted of modifications (inferences) that indicated alternative (true or false) conceptual knowledge frameworks that the students may have possessed. / The major findings of this research were as follows: Students' answers to questions about their knowledge of basic concepts comprised a large number of responses that directly matched (i.e., literally recalled) the information presented by the teacher during instruction and also included a high number of incorrect inferences. Students' comprehension of the Familiar and Unfamiliar experiments was also characterised by a high degree of 'literal learning' as shown in the generally high amounts of recall of propositional information compared to inferences. Students' responses to these questions consisted mostly of Observation information, and least of Explanations. This suggests that they were more likely to recall observed events that they were to interpret. Students' reasoning was generally poor relative to their comprehension of both experiments, and their responses consisted of more recall responses than inferences. In addition, students' reasoning about the Unfamiliar experiment was characterised by a high number negative higher-order inferences. Finally, students in the higher level displayed higher levels of competence than those in the lower level, particularly in their knowledge of Procedures and Observations in contrast to Explanation information, for both experiments.