摘要:

AbstractEmotional intensity, that readiness of a teacher to respond favorably or unfavorably toward such psychological objects as science or the teaching of science, is the quality that distinguishes the attitude concept from other related psychological concepts. It would seem, then, that valid attitude statements, if they are to reflect the definition of attitude, would evoke emotional intensity, responses in both a favorable and unfavorable direction by a group of teachers on each item on a science attitude scale. Science educators who design or modify science attitude scales should continue using item‐total correlations and other quantitative techniques to test for emotional intensity, but qualitative judgments are necessary, too. In addition, the frequency distribution of data generated by each statement should be examined for skewness and high percentages of neutral responses, both of which can impair the emotional intensity of an ite

ISSN:0022-4308    

DOI:10.1002/tea.3660210203

出版商:Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company    

年代:1984

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractThe hypothesis is advanced that a necessary, though not sufficient, condition for the acquisition of proportional reasoning during adolescence is the prior internalization of key linguistic elements of argumentation, essentially those used in hypothetico‐deductive reasoning. This hypothesized internalization, which does not occur in all individuals, results in some who have acquired the ability to reflect upon the correctness of self‐generated answers in a hypothetico‐deductive manner, and others who have not. As an initial test of the hypothesis, 46 subjects (Ss) (mean age = 21.03 years) were classified into additive, transitional, or proportional reasoning categories based upon responses to a proportions task. Group differences were found in which proportional Ss performed better than transitional Ss who in turn performed better than additive Ss on a number of items testing Ss' abilities to identify, generate, and use the linguistic elements of argumentation. Further it was found that some Ss who were successful on the linguistic items failed the proportions task, but no Ss who were successful on the proportions task failed the linguistic items. This result supports the hypothesis that the internalization of linguistic elements of argumentation is a prerequisite for proportional reasoning and by inference other advanced reasoning schemata as well. Implications for science instruction are

ISSN:0022-4308    

DOI:10.1002/tea.3660210204

出版商:Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company    

年代:1984

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractThis study examined the effects of an instructional procedure designed to teach both field‐dependent and field‐independent sixth graders to control variables and to transfer this ability to novel tasks. Students were randomly assigned to either a treatment group taught with a special instructional procedure adapted from Case or a group where students freely explored science equipment without receiving feedback. Three posttest tasks administered approximately four weeks after the last training session served as retention and transfer measures. Results indicated that students receiving the special instructional treatment correctly tested significantly more variables on the posttest tasks than did students in the other group. Within‐group analyses revealed that the special treatment was effective for field‐dependent as well as field‐independent students, while the other treatment was effective for only field‐independe

ISSN:0022-4308    

DOI:10.1002/tea.3660210205

出版商:Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company    

年代:1984

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractSelective attention models predict that verbatim study questions can divert students from meaningfully encoding attributes of science concepts. The aptitude‐treatment interaction (ATI) hypothesis predicts that such questions can be particularly dysfunctional to low‐ability students. These predictions assume the measurement of true comprehension of concepts as a criterion. Eighth‐grade students (n= 217) were randomly assigned to a text‐only, text‐question or a placebo treatment. The text verbally described five fossil types. The questions consisted of 28 fill‐in‐the‐blank queries about the text. The posttest required students to visually identify and discriminate 40 fossil specimens as to fossil type. Comprehension of the concepts clearly took place‐a fact substantiated by the very low scores obtained by the placebo group. As predicted (p<0.05), low‐verbal students performed better when provided with a text‐only rather than a text‐question treatment. In contrast, high‐verbal students were less effected by the verbatim study questions. Main effects among these groups were also detected. Apparently such questions can overprompt students, resulting in their copying of words from a text to an answer‐blank without semantically encoding (i.e., comp

ISSN:0022-4308    

DOI:10.1002/tea.3660210206

出版商:Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company    

年代:1984

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to collect and analyze data on sexual differences in secondary school students' attitudes towards science. Attitudinal differences were also analyzed for the independent variables of science programs and grade levels. Data were collected from 988 students using a modified version of theFennema‐Sherman Mathematics Attitude Scalesto represent attitudes toward science. Reliabilities of the modified science subscales were all high (>0.83). Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to analyze the data for the main and interaction effects of the independent variables of sex (male, female), grade level (10th, 11th, 12th), and science program (advanced placement, academic, general, terminal). Significant differences (p<0.05) were indicated for all main effects (sex, grade, science program). Interaction effects were not found. Mean separations for the various levels of sex, grade, and science program were performed for all attitudinal subscales. Females evidenced a significantly more positive attitude (p⩽ 0.01) than males on three subscales:Attitude Toward Success in Science Scale, Science as a Male Domain Scale, andTeacher Scale.Although not significant, males evidenced more positive attitudes on all the remaining five subscales. Eleventh graders evidenced significantly more positive attitudes than tenth graders on all but theEffectance Motivation Scale.Students in 11th grade had more positive attitudes than 12th‐grade students on all scales butScience as a Male Domain Scale; however, these differences were not significant. Tenth graders differed significantly from 12th graders on three subscales;Science Usefulness Scale, Confidence in Learning Science Scale, andTeacher Scale.Positive attitudes decreased from advanced placement to terminal programs. Academic students did not differ significantly from general students except on theFather Scale; however, they were significantly different (more positive) from the terminal students for all subscales. General students were also significantly different from terminal students except on the three subscales ofAttitudes Toward Success in Science, Science as a Male Domain, andEffectance Motiv

ISSN:0022-4308    

DOI:10.1002/tea.3660210207

出版商:Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company    

年代:1984

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractThis article explores the decisions that science teachers make when they plan for instruction. It is a case study analysis of five teachers in a high school and probes into the personal reasons, beliefs, and dilemmas underlying their decisions. These decisions, while serving many purposes, had a common structure which involved tradeoffs and compromises. The decision represented the end result of the conflict between a cluster of teacher intentions and a melange of ideas about student characteristics. Teachers appeared to make decisions within a framework that holistically integrated science content and practical classroom knowledge‐a knowledge system that includes the basic beliefs of a teacher and the socialization of students. By understanding how and why teachers tend to make their decisions, one gains practical insights into the act of teaching science. These insights are of particular interest to science curriculum specialists who wish to understand how teachers use science curriculum materials for the purpose of socializing student

ISSN:0022-4308    

DOI:10.1002/tea.3660210208

出版商:Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company    

年代:1984

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractTheTest of Energy Concepts and Values (TECV)was developed to assess knowledge about and attitudes towards energy for grades 9–12. TheTECV, a modification of theEnergy Knowledge and Attitude Test,See: National Assessment of Educational Progress.Energy knowledge and attitudes: a national assessment of energy awareness among young adults.Denver, CO: Education Commission of the States, 1978.consisted of 35 knowledge and 39 attitude items. The reliability for the attitude and knowledge sections was 0.70 and 0.76, respectively. Factor analysis was done for the attitude and knowledge sections separately. Item comparison showed thatTECVstudents responses were very similar to the young adults response to the National Assessment instrumen

ISSN:0022-4308    

DOI:10.1002/tea.3660210209

出版商:Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company    

年代:1984

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractGrade 10 high school students' understanding of the mechanisms of inheritance was explored following a course of instruction. A partially standardized interview procedure was developed based on inheritance concepts and propositions which were considered necessary for an understanding of inheritance. Concepts and propositions that were understood, not understood, or misunderstood were identified. Analysis of interviews from 48 students revealed several important implications for science curriculum writers and science teachers of grade 10 genetics topics.

ISSN:0022-4308    

DOI:10.1002/tea.3660210210

出版商:Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company    

年代:1984

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractConcern with the problem of science curriculum implementation has been highlighted by surveys which have shown that the impact of the major NSF sponsored curriculum projects has not been as pervasive as might be expected. Although there has been some recent research and theory development on the problem of implementation, little work has been done on the determinants of implementation, especially in science. This article describes a replicated study of factors influencing implementation of a hypothetical elementary science curriculum. The instrument used allowed teachers to respond to a particular implementation scenario devised by combining a number of statements about properties of an innovation with school and teacher reactions to the innovation. Responses were given as estimates of the probability of implementation under the conditions described in the scenario. Results showed that the staff attitude factor was by far the most salient influence on implementation. An inservice factor which was highly significant in one of the applications of the instrument failed to replicate. This suggested the possibility that context differences between the two samples may have been important for this factor. The findings are interpreted in relation to Fullan'sSee: Fullan, M.The meaning of educational change.Toronto: OISE Press, 1982.model of implementation and to other research which highlights the importance of individual interpretation of the properties of an innovation.

ISSN:0022-4308    

DOI:10.1002/tea.3660210211

出版商:Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company    

年代:1984

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractWhat strategies do high school students use when solving chemistry problems? The purpose for conducting this study was to determine the general problem‐solving skills that students use in solving problems involving moles, stoichiometry, the gas laws, and molarity. The strategies were examined for success in problem solving for 266 students of varying proportional reasoning ability, using interviews incorporating the think‐aloud technique. Data were coded using a scheme based on Polya's heuristics. Results indicated that successful students and those with high proportional reasoning ability tended to use algorithmic reasoning strategies more frequently than nonsuccessful and low proportional reasoning students. However, the majority of all students solved the chemistry problems using only algorithmic methods, and did not understand the chemical concepts on which the problems were ba

ISSN:0022-4308    

DOI:10.1002/tea.3660210212

出版商:Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company    

年代:1984

数据来源: WILEY