Scientific knowledge is constructed and communicated through a range of forms in addition to verbal language. Maps, graphs, charts, diagrams, formulae, models, and drawings are just some of the ways in which science concepts can be represented. Representational competence—an aspect of visual literacy that focuses on the ability to interpret, transform, and produce visual representations—is a key component of science literacy and an essential part of science reading and writing. To date, however, most research has examined learning from representations rather than learning with representations. This dissertation consisted of three distinct projects that were related by a common focus on learning from visual representations as an important aspect of scientific literacy. The first project was the development of an exploratory framework that is proposed for use in investigations of students constructing and interpreting multimedia texts. The exploratory framework, which integrates cognition, metacognition, semiotics, and systemic functional linguistics, could eventually result in a model that might be used to guide classroom practice, leading to improved visual literacy, better comprehension of science concepts, and enhanced science literacy because it emphasizes distinct aspects of learning with representations that can be addressed though explicit instruction. The second project was a metasynthesis of the research that was previously conducted as part of the Explicit Literacy Instruction Embedded in Middle School Science project (Pacific CRYSTAL, http://www.educ.uvic.ca/pacificcrystal). Five overarching themes emerged from this case-to-case synthesis: the engaging and effective nature of multimedia genres, opportunities for differentiated instruction using multimodal strategies, opportunities for assessment, an emphasis on visual representations, and the robustness of some multimodal literacy strategies across content areas. The third project was a mixed-methods verification study that was conducted to refine and validate the theoretical framework. This study examined middle school students’ representational competence and focused on students’ creation of visual representations such as labelled diagrams, a form of representation commonly found in science information texts and textbooks. An analysis of the 31 Grade 6 participants’ representations and semistructured interviews revealed five themes, each of which supports one or more dimensions of the exploratory framework: participants’ use of color, participants’ choice of representation (form and function), participants’ method of planning for representing, participants’ knowledge of conventions, and participants’ selection of information to represent. Together, the results of these three projects highlight the need for further research on learning with rather than learning from representations. / Graduate

This study is an investigation into the science literacy of college genetics students who were given a modified curriculum to address specific teaching and learning problems from a previous class. This study arose out of an interest by the professor and researcher to determine how well students in the class Human Genetics in the 21st Century responded to a reorganized curriculum to address misconceptions that were prevalent after direct instruction in the previous year's class. One of the components to the revised curriculum was the addition of a multimodal representation requirement as part of their normal writing assignments. How well students performed in these writing assignments and the relationship they had to student learning the rest of the class formed the principle research interest of this study. Improving science literacy has been a consistent goal of science educators and policy makers for over 50 years (DeBoer, 2000). This study uses the conceptualization of Norris and Phillips (2003) in which science literacy can be organized into both the fundamental sense (reading and writing) and the derived sense (experience and knowledge) of science literacy. The fundamental sense of science literacy was investigated in the students' ability to understand and use multimodal representations as part of their homework writing assignments. The derived sense of science literacy was investigated in how well students were able to apply their previous learning to class assessments found in quizzes and exams. This study uses a mixed-methods correlational design to investigate the relationship that existed between students' writing assignment experiences connected to multimodal representations and their academic performance in classroom assessments. Multimodal representations are pervasive in science literature and communication. These are the figures, diagrams, tables, pictures, mathematical equations, and any other form of content in which scientists and science educators are communicating ideas and concepts to their audience with more than simple text. A focused holistic rubric was designed in this study to score how well students in this class were able to incorporate aspects of multimodality into their writing assignments. Using these scores and factors within the rubric (ex. Number of original modes created) they were correlated with classroom performance scores to determine the strength and direction of the relationship. Classroom observations of lectures and discussion sections along with personal interviews with students and teaching assistants aided the interpretation of the results. The results from the study were surprisingly complex to interpret given the background of literature which suggested a strong relationship between multimodal representations and science learning (Lemke, 2000). There were significant positive correlations between student multimodal representations and quiz scores but not exam scores. This study was also confounded by significant differences between sections at the beginning of the study which may have led to learning effects later. The dissimilarity between the tasks of writing during their homework and working on exams may be the reason for no significant correlations with exams. The power to interpret these results was limited by the number of the participants, the number of modal experiences by the students, and the operationalization of multimodal knowledge through the holistic rubric. These results do show that a relationship does exist between the similar tasks within science writing and quizzes. Students may also gain derived science literacy benefits from modal experiences on distal tasks in exams as well. This study shows that there is still much more research to be known about the interconnectedness of multimodal representational knowledge and use to the development of science literacy.

Thesis (M.S.)--Rutgers University, 2007. / "Graduate Program in Oceanography." Includes bibliographical references (p. 36-41).

This professional development project seeks to enable elementary teachers to reach for excellence in elementary school science through Inquiry-, Standards-, Problem- and Technology-based (ISPT-based) learning environments. The project provided a total of 102 hours of ISPT-based PD by sponsoring five Saturday workshops, one summer institute and three school visits. It intended to build up two instructional infrastructures under the ETSU Northeast TN Innovation STEM Hub: (1) A Bank of Human Resource: creating a cadre of skillful science lead teachers; (2) A Virtual Instructional Network: building up a web-based instructional resource network. Various summative and formative assessment instruments were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the project, including: Teachers’ Content/Pedagogy Surveys, Classroom Observations, Content Assessments, Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS) Reports and Students’ TCAP Achievement Tests. Overall, this program demonstrated statistically significant growth in all measured areas, including teacher quality, teacher opinions, preparedness, content knowledge as well as teachers’ TVASS reports and students’ TCAP results.

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Thesis advisor: Deoksoon Kim / Most science education reform efforts are designed to promote science literacy for all students. In order for students to effectively apply abstract science concepts and knowledge to their lives, they must develop strong science literacy skills. Yet culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students, whose language and cultural backgrounds are different from mainstream American culture, often lack full access to all the educational avenues that would help them fully develop science literacy. Consequently, this dissertation explored and documented the ways educators have investigated and modified multiple aspects of science-based teaching and learning in order to benefit CLD students. This three-paper dissertation investigates three pedagogical approaches for supporting CLD students’ science literacy: culturally relevant pedagogy, translanguaging, and writing-to-learn. Research on these three pedagogical approaches is crucial for examining factors that affect CLD students in developing science literacy and providing recommendations on how to support them. To investigate CLD students’ experiences in-depth, this dissertation used a multiple-case study design to conduct analyses within each case as well as across all cases. The first paper investigated how middle school CLD students applied their family and cultural knowledge to learning science content in school. This study addressed the development of students’ science literacy by examining CLD students’ engagement with “HomeFun,” a set of culturally relevant activities. The second paper explored CLD students’ science literacy development in a translanguaging science classroom. By inquiring into participant students’ experiences with translanguaging and perceptions of its use, this study uncovered tensions between how translanguaging can facilitate students’ comprehension of science content while underscoring students’ desire to use English to improve their English language skills. The third paper examined how writing-to-learn can shape CLD students’ science literacy development. In a case study of six CLD students’ experiences with writing and content analysis of their compositions, this study revealed how writing helped students develop their thinking, effectively facilitating knowledge transfer from school-based contexts to real-world ones. Together, these studies demonstrate the usefulness of culturally relevant pedagogy, translanguaging, and writing-to-learn for fostering CLD students’ science literacy. Furthermore, each study offers insight into influences on CLD students’ ability to develop science literacy, such as the importance of family engagement or the pervasive nature of school-based monoglossic language ideologies. The three pedagogical approaches effectively support students socially, culturally, and academically, to make meaningful connections between science concepts and the world around them. In exploring the application points of culture, language, and literacy within science-based learning, this research offers science educators new insights and educational practices in support of CLD students. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2022. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

The purpose of this study was to examine and describe fundamental literacy messages found within three major science reform documents: Science for all Americans: Project 2061 (AAAS, 1990), Benchmarks for Science Literacy (AAAS, 1993), and the National Science Education Standards (NRC, 1996). A qualitative content analysis was performed in an effort to reveal any messages or statements supporting fundamental science literacy. Results from this study indicate that key science reform documents do in fact contain multiple messages supporting the fundamental sense of science literacy, however, the nature of these messages, the quantity, placement and presence of negative literacy statements may impact the way teachers view or support fundamental literacy skills within the classroom. Implications concerning the role of science educators and science teacher educators are also discussed.

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This study was designed to examine the impact of embedding multiple modes of representing science information on student conceptual understanding in science. Multiple representations refer to utilizing charts, graphs, diagrams, and other types of representations to communicate scientific information. This study investigated the impact of encouraging students to embed or integrate the multiple modes with text in end of unit writing-to-learn activities. A quasi-experimental design in which four separate sites consisting of intact chemistry classes taught by a separate teacher at each site was utilized. At each site, approximately half of the classes were designated treatment classes and students in these classes participated in activities designed to encourage strategies to embed multiple modes with text in student writing. The control classes did not participate in these activities. All classes participated in identical end of unit writing tasks in which they were required to use at least one mode other than text, followed by identical end of unit assessments. This progression was then repeated for a second consecutive unit of study. Analysis of quantitative data indicated that in several cases, treatment classes significantly outperformed control classes both on measures of embeddedness in writing and on end of unit assessment measures. In addition, analysis at the level of individual students indicated significant positive correlations in many cases between measures of student embeddedness in writing and student performance on end of unit assessments. Three factors emerged as critical in increasing the chances for benefit for students from these types of activities. First, teacher the level of implementation and emphasis on the embeddedness lessons was linked to the possibility of conceptual benefit. Secondly, students participating in two consecutive lessons appeared to receive greater benefit, inferring a cumulative benefit. Finally, differential impact of the degree of embeddedness on student performance was noted based on student's level of science ability prior to the initiation of study procedures.