Scientific inquiry in K-12 classrooms tends to be procedural, lacking opportunities for students to gain understanding of how scientific knowledge is constructed through reflection, debate, and argument. Limited opportunity to develop scientific argumentation skills prevents students from practicing the scientific thinking needed to understand the nature of scientific knowledge and the role of scientific inquiry. To solve this problem in science education, recent research has focused on how to support student opportunities to learn scientific argumentation in the context of learning science content. The purpose of this investigation was to examine and analyze one science teacher's understanding of scientific argumentation and his teaching strategies for developing students' argumentation skills in the classroom. This investigation also analyzed student discourse in response to those teaching strategies, to see how students demonstrate improved scientific thinking skills while they developed skills in scientific argumentation. One science teacher, Mr. Field, and his students at the middle school level participated in this study for two months. Three interviews employing semi-structured protocols were used to examine Mr. Field's understanding of scientific argumentation. A structured observational protocol enhanced with field notes and audio tape recordings were employed to investigate Mr. Field's teaching strategies that led students to demonstrate scientific thinking skills. Transcriptions of student discourse and two lab reports were also analyzed for the quality of students' scientific thinking skills. Three different tools for argument analysis, Toulmin, Epistemic Operation, and Reasoning Complexity, were used to examine student argumentation in detail. The teacher, Mr. Field, defined scientific inquiry as the combination of developing procedural skills through hands-on activities and reasoning skills through argumentation. Seven different teaching strategies emerged based on sixty hours of classroom observation. Daily Science and the Claim-Evidence Approach were the two main teaching strategies that gave students opportunities to demonstrate the reasoning skills needed to construct scientific knowledge. However, students developed less extended arguments during Daily Science, whose purpose was to provide them with a chance to practice basic skills, such as differentiating independent variables from dependent. On the other hand, students developed more extended arguments during the Claim-Evidence Approach, where the purpose was to provide students with opportunities to develop claims, to find evidence from experiments to support the claims or refute those of others, and to discuss the limitation of the experiments. The less extended argumentation observed during these activities is described as a linear flow, moving from Mr. Field's question to students' answers to Mr. Field's evaluation at the end. The more extended argumentation can be described as a circular flow, moving from Mr. Field's question, to students' answers, to Mr. Field's evaluation with more prompts or questions, to students' responses as justification, to Mr. Field's general explanation based on students' justification, and finally to the teacher's or students' synthesis or applications. The former argumentation is named Fundamental Argumentation and the latter Exploring Argumentation. Fundamental Argumentation occurred more often than the other during this study. Shifting from Fundamental Argumentation to Exploring Argumentation was observed to depend on the teacher's scaffolding, such as using more extended questions and prompts to further the discussion. In addition, the students' abilities to develop scientific argumentation were related to their scientific knowledge, the teacher's engagement in interacting with students, and the opportunities students had to practice scientific argumentation. Limited scientific knowledge is believed to prevent students from demonstrating reasoning skills. Also, "wait time" that students need to retrieve knowledge, described by Mr. Field, is also believed to be one of the barriers to scientific argumentation in some of Mr. Field's classroom interaction. Further investigation of students' abilities to develop scientific argumentation in different contexts, such as group work and whole class discussion, is recommended with the use of the argument analysis tools employed in this study, in order to better understand the nature of learning and teaching scientific argumentation in the classroom. / Graduation date: 2006

The lack of educational attainment among Latino youth, as evidenced by high school dropout rates, is a growing and costly problem that affects not only Latinos but society as a whole. Using a sample of 139 middle school Latino students, primarily of Mexican descendant, the current study used cluster analysis to identify a typology of students based on their educational aspirations, expectations, and perceived academic competence. Three distinct profiles emerged: a college-bound-congruent group with college aspirations and similar college expectations, and high academic confidence; a college-bound-incongruent group with college aspirations but vocational expectations, and medium academic confidence; and a vocational-bound congruent group with vocational or technical school aspirations and similar expectations, and low academic confidence. Students’ relationship with teachers was a factor that helped differentiate students across the different profiles. Relationships with parents and peers were not. Students’ gender, immigration status, and ethnic identity did not contribute to the differences in profiles. The findings suggest that future educational profiles of middle school Latino students are an important component of a comprehensive “early warning system” that could help identify students who may be at risk of dropping out school.

Background: Children and adolescents are not meeting the dietary guidelines and overweight and obesity related diseases are on the rise among youth in the United States. However, research is inconsistent with regard to the most effective method of educating urban youth. Purpose: To determine the effect of a supplemental nutrition education on the knowledge and behaviors of urban school students. Methods: Six nutrition lessons were provided to students attending the Boys and Girls Club of Metro Atlanta (BGCMA) in Atlanta, GA. A pre- and posttest was administered to assess differences in students’ nutrition knowledge and behaviors. Chi-square analysis compared the number of correct answers for the entire intervention population and after stratification by gender and number of classes missed. The Wilcoxon signed rank test compared the median number of correct answers in pre- vs. posttest responses for all participants and by the number of classes missed. Results: 15 students enrolled in the study. 2 students did not complete the study. A significant but negative change in knowledge was found in 1 of 15 nutrition questions. A significant negative change in the median number of total answers correct on the pre- vs. posttest was also observed (p=0.049). Approximately 60% of the participants reported that they were more likely to make positive, nutrition-related behavior changes after the intervention. Conclusion: We found a negative association between the nutrition education intervention and knowledge gain. This study suggests that nutrition education alone does not have a significant effect on nutrition knowledge of urban youth.

<p> The purpose of this study was to examine the High Tec Middle School teachers' and administrators' knowledge of the service learning model upon which the school's service learning program has been based, their views regarding their role in student character formation through service learning, and the teachers' feelings of ownership regarding the service learning program. </p><p> 1 overarching research question and 3 sub-questions were explored. The overarching question was: How do teachers and administrators at High Tec Middle School experience service learning? 3 sub-questions that aided in answer the overarching research question were: What is the High Tec Middle School teachers' and administrators' knowledge of the service learning model that serves as the foundation for the service learning program that has been implemented school wide? What are the views of the High Tec Middle School teachers and administrators regarding their role in the shaping of students' character through service learning? What, if any, feelings of ownership do the High Tec Middle School teachers and administrators experience regarding the service learning program that has been implemented school wide? </p><p> Data was collected from an online questionnaire and a focus group completed by 12 teachers and administrators who participated in the planning and implementation of the school's service learning program. Findings from the study showed that 4 primary factors influenced teachers' and administrators' feelings of ownership about the service learning project: belief that educating students in character is their responsibility, having a strong sense of caring, having sufficient knowledge of the service learning model, and feeling empowered by the implementing of service learning. </p><p> 2 primary conclusions were derived from the study. First, experiential learning was more important than academic learning in teachers and administrators understanding the service learning model used at the school. Second, the feelings of ownership of the SL program held by the teachers and administrators at the school are derived from (a) belief that educating students in character is their responsibility, (b) having a strong sense of caring, (c) having sufficient knowledge of the service learning model, and (d) feeling empowered by the implementing of service learning.</p>

In this study, problem solving provided deeper meaning and understanding through the implementation of a structured problem solving strategy with the teaching of rational numbers. This action-research study was designed as a quasi-experimental model with a control closely matched to an experimental group using similar demographics and number of economically disadvantaged students. In comparison to the control group, the experimental group received their instruction in rational numbers with the addition of a structured problem solving strategy, and a pre/posttest on problem solving with proportionality between similar geometric figures, converting fractions to percents, proportionality with a given ratio, expression of a ratio, and appropriate application of ratios. The study indicates that a structured problem solving strategy can improve the mathematical accuracy, approach and the explanation of rational numbers that are focused on rates, ratio, proportion, and percents. Results showed a statistically significant difference in the performance of these two groups. Effect sizes and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were reported to support the findings. When examining subgroups, the study showed the structured problem solving stratey not only improved students' ability to understand and use rational numbers but also improved students' problem solving skills and their attitude towards problem solving. The experimental group showed the most improvement in the approach to solving problems with rational numbers indicating deeper understanding of rates, ratios, proportions and percents.

The purpose of this study was to examine four variables that impact African American male students’ perceptions of their transition from elementary school to middle school. This study determined what role social, emotional, physical, and academic variables have in the transition process from elementary school to middle school for African American males. The two guiding questions for this mixed methods study were: 1. What are African American male students’ perceptions of personal development variables on their transition from elementary school to middle school? 2. How do African American male students describe their transitional experience from elementary school to middle school? Participants in this study were 149 African American male students from five middle schools in southeast Texas. Findings of the study were derived from the use of a self-developed 52-item questionnaire (Student Transition Perception Survey) with one free-response question and interviews of ten students (two from each school). The major findings in this study were: 1. Social variable –African American male students felt that schools did not provide a positive school climate, teachers did not treat them with respect, and their parents were supportive of their education. 2. Emotional variable –African American male students felt that schools did not make them feel successful, and they did not feel equal to their peers. 3. Physical variable –African American male students were equally divided in the acceptance of their physical appearance and when they compared themselves to others. 4. Academic variable –African American male students felt that teachers did not give them valuable attention in class. 5. When looking at the trend of student responses among the five schools, African American male students shared similar feelings about the social, emotional, physical, and academic variables. 6. African American male students expressed their feelings about being unsafe, experiencing differentiated teacher treatment, declining grades, and difficulty in their middle school transition.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 219-229). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Jan. 28, 2010). Directed by Constance McKoy; submitted to the School of Music. Includes bibliographical references (p. 91-99).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI Company.

Thesis PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.