摘要:

AbstractThe purpose of this investigation was to qualitatively investigate the effects of a microteaching course on preservice science teachers' perceptions of teaching, instructional decisions, and changes in beliefs which occur throughout the course. A total of 17 preservice teachers constituted the sample for this investigation. In addition to viewing and self‐critiquing the videotapes of their lessons, students received both oral and written feedback from peers and instructors. Subjects were also required to complete a reaction questionnaire concerning their beliefs/perceptions prior to the first presentation as well as following each of the four required presentations. Systematic comparisons among students' self‐critiques and reaction questionnaires yielded a total of 12 categories of concerns/beliefs about teaching. These categories pertained to either “Concerns for Self” or “Concerns for Students.” Although the subjects appeared to proceed through a developmental process beginning with concerns for self and moving toward concerns for students, analyses of subjects' comments about students revealed that such remarks were actually egocentric. Additionally, the data indicated that preservice teachers view planning as a complex, two‐component process (i.e., the physical act of writing a plan and the subsequent mental rehearsal o

ISSN:0022-4308    

DOI:10.1002/tea.3660270802

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

年代:1990

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractIn this study, a multiple‐choice test entitled theScience Process Assessmentwas developed to measure the science process skills of students in grade four. Based on theRecommended Science Competency Continuum for Grades K to 6 for Pennsylvania Schools, this instrument measured the skills of (1) observing, (2) classifying, (3) inferring, (4) predicting, (5) measuring, (6) communicating, (7) using space/time relations, (8) defining operationally, (9) formulating hypotheses, (10) experimenting, (11) recognizing variables, (12) interpreting data, and (13) formulating models. To prepare the instrument, classroom teachers and science educators were invited to participate in two science education workshops designed to develop an item bank of test questions applicable to measuring process skill learning. Participants formed “writing teams” and generated 65 test items representing the 13 process skills. After a comprehensive group critique of each item, 61 items were identified for inclusion into theScience Process Assessmentitem bank. To establish content validity, the item bank was submitted to a select panel of science educators for the purpose of judging item acceptability. This analysis yielded 55 acceptable test items and produced theScience Process Assessment, Pilot 1. Pilot 1 was administered to 184 fourth‐grade students. Students were given a copy of the test booklet; teachers read each test aloud to the students. Upon completion of this first administration, data from the item analysis yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.73. Subsequently, 40 test items were identified for theScience Process Assessment, Pilot 2. Using the test‐retest method, theScience Process Assessment, Pilot 2 (Test 1 and Test 2) was administered to 113 fourth‐grade students. Reliability coefficients of 0.80 and 0.82, respectively, were ascertained. The correlation between Test 1 and Test 2 was 0.77. The results of this study indicate that (1) theScience Process Assessment, Pilot 2, is a valid and reliable instrument applicable to measuring the science process skills of students in grade four, (2) using educational workshops as a means of developing item banks of test questions is viable and productive in the test development process, and (3) involving classroom teachers and science educators in the test development process is educationally efficient an

ISSN:0022-4308    

DOI:10.1002/tea.3660270803

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

年代:1990

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to assess the effect of two channels of communication on attitude change in preservice elementary teachers toward the teaching of science. A science attitude scale was administered as a pretest, posttest, and retention test to 66 preservice elementary school teachers. One analysis of variance for repeated measures was conducted. It was found that videotape and written channels of communication were equally effective in science attitude change.

ISSN:0022-4308    

DOI:10.1002/tea.3660270804

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

年代:1990

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractWhat are the effects of group size (individuals, pairs, and quads of students), gender, and ability grouping of 245 seventh‐ and eighth‐grade students on achievement within an environment that uses microcomputers as tools in learning science process skills? A split‐plot, multivariate factorial design was used to analyze the above factors and interactions among the factors. Analyses indicated that the only statistically significant result was a main effect on ability for the two response variables measured in the study. Major conclusions included: (1) teams of two and four members working together solved problems as effectively as individuals, (2) the lessons and procedures implemented in the manner described generated a gender‐neutral achievement outcome in science, and (3) microcomputer, using a file‐management program and structured activities, can be used as a tool to promote student learning of science proce

ISSN:0022-4308    

DOI:10.1002/tea.3660270805

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

年代:1990

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractStudents in a college nonscience majors' biology course took tests designed to reveal their conceptions of respiration and photosynthesis before and after course instruction. Even though most students had taken at least a full year of biology, serious misconceptions persisted. Most students gave definitions of respiration, photosynthesis, and food which were markedly different from those generally accepted by biologists. These incorrect definitions were associated with more fundamental misunderstandings about how plants and animals function. Most students could not explain how animal cells use either food or oxygen. They understood plants as vaguely analogous to animals, taking in food through their roots instead of mouths. Previous biology instruction seemed neither to improve student performance on the pretest nor to prepare them to master these conceptions during the course. Course instruction did improve student's understanding, but misconceptions persisted for many students. These results raise fundamental questions about the effectiveness of curriculum and instruction in current high school and college biology courses.

ISSN:0022-4308    

DOI:10.1002/tea.3660270806

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

年代:1990

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractEffects of microcomputer‐based laboratories and level of cognitive development on tenth‐grade biology students' ability to construct and interpret line graphs was investigated. Fortysix students enrolled in general biology classes at a rural high school volunteered to participate in the study. These students were administered instruments to assess level of cognitive development and line‐graphing ability. Ten students that scored between zero and three and ten students that scored between six and ten on the graphing assessment were chosen to participate in the study. The 20 students were then assigned to either experimental or conventional groups to achieve a matched design with relation to gender and line‐graphing ability. Statistical analysis of the data indicated no effect due to instructional method on graph‐interpretation abilities. An instructional effect was demonstrated for graph‐construction tasks (p<0.10) with the conventional group outperforming the microcomputer‐based laboratory group. Effect sizes of −1.01 and 0.48 were found for graph‐construction and ‐interpretation skills, respectively. Effects related to cognitive development were indicated with those students classified as high cognitive development outscoring those classified as low (p<0.10) This was true for both graph‐construction and graph‐interpretation tasks. No two‐wa

ISSN:0022-4308    

DOI:10.1002/tea.3660270807

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

年代:1990

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractThis study described the relationship of 38 variates to achievement in high school biology and chemistry classes. Forty‐four teachers prepared audio tape recordings of discussions throughout a nine‐month period. Equal‐sized groups received treatment consisting of wait time feedback and/or supportive intervention, a form of peer coaching. Other variables were initial measures, which included the variates of class size and previous science grade, pre‐ and posttest scores on student attitudes and perceptions, and prediscourse and discourse analyses, which included the variates of wait times, actions, and response durations. While previous research has shown that wait time feedback and supportive intervention are effective means of changing teacher behavior, the results of the present study revealed that previous student achievement and the attitudes of students accounted for 70% of the variation in the final examination scores (New York State Regents) on the basis of only the first three weeks of data collection on the variables assessed. Generally, little emphasis on higher‐level thinking, wait time, or problem solving was found at the beginning of the school year, and only minimal changes resulted from the application of the treatment variables. Pressures for content coverage and preparation for externally imposed statewide examinations that emphasize memory‐level learning augured against the changes that the independent variables were designed

ISSN:0022-4308    

DOI:10.1002/tea.3660270808

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

年代:1990

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractReal‐time microcomputer‐based Lab (MBL) experiments allow students to “see” and, at least in kinematics exercises, “feel” the connection between a physical event and its graphical representation. In Brasell's (1987) examination of the sonic ranger MBL, a delay of graphing by only 20 seconds diminished the impact of the MBL exercises. This article describes a study where kinesthetic feedback was completely removed by only giving students visual replications of a motion situation. Graph production was synchronized with motion reanimation so that students still saw a moving object and its kinematics graph simultaneously. Results indicate that this technique did not have a substantial educational advantage over traditional instruction. Since Brasell and others have demonstrated the superiority of microcomputer‐based labs, this may indicate that visual juxtaposition is not the relevant variable producing the educational impact of real‐time MBL. Immediate student control of the physical event and its graphical representation might be what makes MBL effective and, in the case of kinematics laboratories, kinesthetic feedback could be the most important component of the MBL learning experience. Further studies are needed in order to cla

ISSN:0022-4308    

DOI:10.1002/tea.3660270809

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

年代:1990

数据来源: WILEY

ISSN:0022-4308    

DOI:10.1002/tea.3660270810

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

年代:1990

数据来源: WILEY

ISSN:0022-4308    

DOI:10.1002/tea.3660270801

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

年代:1990

数据来源: WILEY