<p> The purpose of this qualitative, multi-case study is to identify the traits three middle school classroom teachers share, which seemingly enable them to successfully engage their students in performance-based activities and assessments. This study investigates the research behind the use of performance tasks, authentic learning and assessment and connects the data gleaned from observations and interviews with participants and administrators to the literature review. Data analysis and summations connect performance tasks to authentic learning but also identify more subjective traits such as relationship building, riskiness in instructional methodology, and the innate skills of a teacher, which appear to enhance students&rsquo; learning experiences. Students observed in the classrooms are asked not only to <i>know</i> content and cultivate an appropriate skill base, but also asked to <i> use</i> that knowledge and those skills to solve real-world problems. Data from the three participants not only illustrates the findings of other relevant research, but characterizes the types of teachers who inspire students to perform on a more complex level in order to solve complex problems.</p>

The purpose of this study is to understand the professional and structural, political and cultural factors that present challenges to the implementation of assessment reform in science classrooms. An analysis of recent science education literature and national science education reform documents suggests that change in schools is a complex process that does not happen overnight and is subject to the influence of many professional and structural attributes (Berliner, 2006; Brooks, 2005; Cuban, 1990; Duschl, 1990; Gess-Newsome, Southerland, Johnston & Woodbury, 2003; Southerland & Hutner, in press; Tyack & Cuban, 1995). Structural components include school culture; bell schedule, administration policies and mandates, standards, curriculum and accountability measures. Professional components involve teachers' epistemic views of science, their pedagogical conceptions and their conceptions of assessment along with knowledge necessary to translate these conceptions into practice (Barnett & Hodson, 2001; Gess-Newsome & Lederman, 1999; Gess-Newsome et al., 2003; Mortimer & Scott, 2003; Shulman, 1986). Education literature suggests both of these components, professional and structural components, shape how teaching takes place, thus, what students learn in science classrooms (Brickhouse, 2006; Duschl, 1990; Gallagher, 2006; Gess-Newsome & Lederman, 1999; Gess-Newsome et al., 2003; Southerland & Hutner, in press). Assessment plays a significant role in efforts to bring about improvements in the educational system (Brickhouse, 2006; Davis, Genc & Aydeniz, in press; NAS, 2006; NRC, 2001; 2005; Southerland & Hutner, in press). Assessment serves multiple purposes. Assessment can be used to support learning (Abell & Volkmann, 2006; Bell & Cowie, 2001; Black & William, 1998; Brookhart, 2006; Davis et al., in press; Klassen, 2006; Shepard, 2000), to monitor the effectiveness of a particular curriculum (NAS, 2006; NRC, 2005), to evaluate the quality and effectiveness of instruction (Bell & Cowie, 2001; NAS, 2006; NRC, 2001; Shepard, 2000), and to evaluate the efficiency of the school system (Davis et al., in press; Linn, 2000; Popkewitz, 2000). Although assessment can serve multiple purposes, the confusion over learning and achievement as manifested in political initiatives that aim to bring about improvements to the educational system through standardized testing has reduced the role of assessment in educational reform to accountability (Abell & Volkmann, 2006; Brickhouse, 2006; Darling-Hammond, 2003; Davis et al., in press; DeBoer, 2002; Delandshere, 2002; Southerland & Hutner, in press; Stiggins, 2004). Several science educators, who view learning as more than just what is revealed through a single standardized test, find this approach to educational reform problematic (Abell & Volkmann, 2006; Brickhouse, 2006; Davis et al., in press; DeBoer, 2002; Southerland & Hutner, in press). These scholars maintain that the increasing focus on ensuring high test scores has pressured teachers to reduce the role of assessment to the accountability purposes and the content of science teaching to students' acquisition of only the knowledge and skills necessary for passing the test. Although the pressure that the standardized tests generate influences what teachers assess in students' learning and how they go about assessing what they teach (Brickhouse, 2006; Darling-Hammond, 2003; Popham, 2006; Stiggins, 2004), other factors may also influence how teachers come to assess students' learning. For instance, teachers' conceptions of assessment may fail to reinforce the goals of science education reform documents. Furthermore, teachers' epistemic views of science and their pedagogical conceptions may also have an impact on what teachers assess and how they go about assessing students' learning in science. Finally, research indicates that the political and cultural structures have an impact on teachers' conceptions and practices of assessment (Berliner, 2006; Darling-Hammond, 2003; Southerland & Hutner, in press; Stiggins, 2004). It follows that characterizing the challenges of enacting assessment reform in science classroom includes exploring science teachers' professional knowledge base (epistemic views of science, pedagogical conceptions and their conceptions of assessment), and influences of the cultural and political structures. In this study, I focus on characterizing three high school science teachers' conceptions and practices of assessment to develop an in-depth understanding into the problems with the implementation of assessment reform in science classroom. In addition to three teachers' conceptions and practices of assessment I analyzed the major science education reform document such as NSES (NRC, 1996) as well as policy initiatives such as the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). My dissertation reveals that although the political and cultural structures of the school system influence what teachers teach in science classrooms and how they go about assessing students' learning in science, the fundamental challenge to the implementation of assessment reform in science classroom is teachers' naïve pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) base. Furthermore, although my findings suggest a nested relationship between science teachers' epistemic views of science, their pedagogical conceptions and their conceptions of assessment, there is no relationship between science teachers' teachers' epistemic views of science, their pedagogical conceptions, their conceptions of assessment and their assessment practices. This is partly due to the influence of the political and cultural structures of the school system and partly due to teachers' naïve understanding of the nested relationships between various constructs (epistemic beliefs, pedagogical beliefs, assessment beliefs), that make up their conceptual ecology (Southerland, Johnston & Sowell, 2006). In my conclusions I argue that in order for the assessment reform to take place in science classrooms, teacher educators must help pre-service and in-service teachers to develop a sophisticated PCK base. This involves helping teachers to develop sophisticated epistemic views of science, sophisticated pedagogical conceptions, and sophisticated conceptions of assessment. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Middle and Secondary Education in partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2007. / Date of Defense: June 6, 2006. / Assessment Reform, Science Education, Assessment of Learning, Standardized Testing, v / Includes bibliographical references. / Nancy T. Davis, Professor Directing Dissertation; John Dorsey, Outside Committee Member; Sherry Southerland, Committee Member; Penny J. Gilmer, Committee Member.

Thesis--PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis--PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis--PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis--PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--Rowan University, 2004. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references.

<p> As the leading U.S. state currently welcoming all kinds of refugees, Texas has a public school system that offers a formal education to refugee students (Bureau of Population Refugees and Migration, 2015). For many student refugees, formal schooling begins in this system. Thus it is important to understand how Texas public schools support the linguistic and academic development of these diverse learners. In order to fill this research gap, this study examines student refugee school-based literacy interactions in the U.S. public school system and how these practices connect or do not connect with the literacy practices these students experience in informal settings. </p><p> The theoretical perspectives that inform this study are Social Cultural Theory (Vygotsky, 1978), New Literacy Studies (Barton, 2007; Gee, 2008; Heath, 1983; Street, 2005), and Funds of Knowledge (Gonzalez, Moll &amp; Amanti, 2005). The results from this research investigation, which consisted of a cross-case analysis of two student refugees, document four major themes encompassing their literacy experiences. The first theme encompasses the literacy activities that their ELA/ ESL teacher provides for them. The second theme situates the student refugees as language brokers. The third theme revolves around cultural traditions and oral storytelling. Lastly, religion plays an important role for both participants; connections are drawn between familial religious practices and student literacy. The findings of this qualitative cross-case analysis bear implications for current and future teachers, administrators, and community members. The recommendations are: 1) to identify and implement best practices for developing the literacy of student refugees across the school district; 2) to require specialized professional development for teachers of student refugees; and 3) to establish a partnership between school, home, and community. Further research is needed to explore which best practices content-area teachers may or may not be utilizing in the classroom to support the literacy development of student refugees and how these practices are being connected to the students&rsquo; lived experiences in and out of the school setting.</p><p>

The principles underlying this qualitative study were to use technology as a resource to provide new opportunities for students to engage in the process of learning science through inquiry, and to engage in action research on my teaching. The setting was a science club for fourth and fifth graders in a summer school program. As a teacher and mutual stakeholder, I guided my students with my pedagogical content knowledge through interdisciplinary patterns of collaborative inquiry. Set in a socially constructivist environment, this action research became the catalyst for my professional growth and fostered the growth of the learning community. My goals were to engage learners in the construction of their own understanding of science, technology, and the world in which they live. To ensure that students experienced scientific inquiry, conflicting pedagogies between the established school curriculum and my own constructivist methodology prevailed throughout the study. Through socially constructed partnerships, stakeholder club members helped define the process of learning. Product-based simulations and strategies for scaffolding higher-level learning elicited inquiry-oriented and problem-solving skills using the Internet, thereby, enriching the curriculum while teaching students to synthesize information they found on the Internet and make a step towards becoming lifelong learners. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Middle & Secondary Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2005. / March 3, 2005. / Internet, Science Education, Elementary Science Club, Inquiry, Scientific Inquiry, 5 E's Model, Interpretive Research, Quality Criteria, Cultural Historical Activity Theory, Qualitative, Case Studies, Constructivism, Action Research, Technology / Includes bibliographical references. / Penny J. Gilmer, Professor Directing Dissertation; Paul H. Ruscher, Outside Committee Member; Nancy T. Davis, Committee Member; David F. Foulk, Committee Member.

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