Conceptualizations of nature: An interpretive study of 16 ninth graders' everyday thinking

The research reported in this article sought to provide a broader understanding of high school science students as persons by describing the personal thoughts, or everyday thinking, about a question relevant to science: What is Nature? The purpose was to gain an understanding of students' fundamental beliefs about the world on the basis that developing scientific literacy can be successful only to the extent that science finds a niche in the cognitive and cultural milieu of students. The theoretical background for this research came from cultural anthropology and the methodology was interpretive, involving student interviews. The assertions of the study in summary form were: (a) The ninth‐grade students in the study tended to discuss Nature using several different perspectives (e.g., religious, aesthetic, scientific, conservationist). A rich breadth of perspectives typically characterized any one student's discussion of Nature. (b) After 9 years of schooling, however, the level of science integration within everyday thinking remained low for many of these ninth graders. In their discussions of Nature, most volunteered little school knowledge of science. They were aware of school science topics such as the ozone layer, rain forests, and the Big Bang theory. Such topics were voluntarily mentioned but usually without elaboration even when asked. (c) Science grade success was not correlated with the concepts these ninth graders typically chose to use in a discussion about the natural world. The students with the most grade success in science had not necessarily grasped fundamental concepts about Nature and science. (d) Regardless of school grade success, including school science grade success, most of the ninth graders attached considerable importance to personal experiences with Nature. Their environmental inclinations were strong. The article ends with a discussion of the implications. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 36: 541–564, 1999     

Right from the Start: Critical Classroom Practices for Building Teacher–Student Trust in the First 10 Weeks of Ninth Grade

Teacher–student trust is associated with the social and emotional development of students, their school connectedness and engagement, and their academic achievement. However, few studies have examined how trust develops between teachers and students in ninth grade, a critical year in high school for students to start off on-track. Even less research has examined how teacher–student trust develops from the perspective of students to help identify specific teacher classroom practices that are effective at doing so, particularly at the start of the school year when students’ relationships and connections to high school are just beginning to take shape. Drawing on data from a longitudinal, qualitative study of ninth-grade teacher–student relationships in one neighborhood public high school in Chicago, this study highlights three critical classroom practices that appear particularly effective for helping to build trusting teacher–student relationships during the first 10 weeks of high school. Highlighting the perspectives and insights of ninth grade students, this analysis finds that (1) the priority that teachers place on specific classroom practices, and (2) the timing of when these practices are used by teachers, are both critical in establishing teacher–student trust—an essential ingredient in helping ninth grade students gain important social and school connections during their transition to high school. By highlighting the voices of ninth grade youth, this study provides valuable insights for educators aiming to use specific classroom-based practices that are essential for helping ninth grade students make valuable school connections and get on-track right from the start of the year.

     

The Self-Survey in the Elementary School an Experiment in Cooperation

Abstract

This study examined secondary students’ knowledge of eight types of letter-sound correspondences. Equal numbers of high, average, and low ability readers in grades seven, nine, and eleven were administered a forty- eight-item multiple-choice test that required them to identify the letter-sound correspondences in synthetic words. Results indicated that, in general, secondary students have mastered letter-sound correspondences. However, results further revealed that in the seventh and ninth grade low ability readers have not fully mastered certain correspondence types, while in the eleventh grade low ability readers’ knowledge of letter-sound correspondences is similar to good readers for all but one correspondence type.     

The Validity of Teacher Ratings of Adolescents' Social Skills

The validity of teacher ratings of adolescents' social skills was examined in a follow-up study of a cohort sample of 395 students from seventh to ninth grade. The internal consistency of the teacher ratings on Social Skills Rating System (SSRS) was examined at two points in time, and the multidimensionality of the SSRS was confirmed through factor analyses. The findings indicated multi-informant consistency in ratings: teacher ratings consistently covaried with teacher ratings of problem behaviour in the classroom and academic competence, sociometric nominations by peer students, and grade point average in selected school subjects. Teacher ratings also produced construct-relevant group differences, with students referred to psychosocial and educational helping services receiving significantly lower ratings than their nonreferred peers.     

“I am now confident”: academic service-learning as a context for addressing math anxiety in preservice teachers

ABSTRACT

Children’s early numeracy knowledge predicts later academic performance, yet many children do not experience optimal math instruction. This study investigated the impact of academic service-learning (ASL) in an early childhood teacher preparation math course and answered the following research question: Was the ASL experience effective in improving students’ dispositions and self-efficacy for teaching early math? Participants included nine undergraduates in an early childhood teacher preparation course and thirteen 2- to 5-year-old children from ten culturally and linguistically diverse families. Results of this mixed-methods study indicated the university students expressed considerable math anxiety near the beginning of the course, yet they believed in the importance of math and aspired to support children’s math. Students articulated challenges and assumptions related to supporting early math. A key finding was that, across the ASL experience, students experienced a shift away from anxiety and toward self-efficacy for teaching math and a disposition to advocate for early math. Children’s math knowledge was also assessed and was significantly higher post-ASL than pre-ASL. The article concludes with a discussion of the obligation of early childhood teacher preparation programs to address possible math anxiety among preservice teachers and provide experiences that help students build self-efficacy for teaching math.     

Boys’ and girls’ conversational participation across four grade levels in Norwegian classrooms: taking the floor or being given the floor?

The participation of girls and boys in teacher‐led classroom conversations in Norway was examined across four grade levels (first, third, sixth and ninth). Boys participated more across all grade levels. The difference in girls’ and boys’ participation was least in the first grade and greatest in the ninth grade. A greater proportion of the girls’ utterances was initiated by the teacher allocating turns. The boys had more overlapping utterances with the teacher and contributed more comments that were not invited by the teacher. The difference in girls’ and boys’ participation was less in a classroom with a female rather than a male teacher. Boys made many uninvited comments in classrooms with male teachers. The discussion draws attention to relationships between conversation participation and learning, between participation and influence, and between participation and developing skills to take the floor in public.     

Differentiating Characteristics of High School Graduates,Dropouts, and Nongraduates

Abstract

We used the records from students entering two high schools in 1981 to classify students as dropouts, graduates, nongraduates returning for a fifth year, add non-graduates who did not continue. Using data from the students’ permanent records, we found numerous significant differences among these groups, some evident as early as the third grade. Cutoffs were determined on several measures, indicating that dropouts could be differentiated with 66% accuracy in the third grade and with 85% accuracy by the ninth grade. Nongraduates, a group roughly equal in size to the dropouts, could be identified with 77% accuracy by the ninth grade. Various implications for intervention programs are discussed.     

A Study of Supervised and Nonsupervised Programed Instruction in the University Setting

Abstract

Thin study examined the effects of Interaction with “warm” teachers or “friendly” peer leaders on the scholastic achievement and conformance of underachievers. One experimental group of 28 seventh, ninth and tenth grade underachievers was assigned to “warm” teachers for nine months; each member of a second group of 31 underachievers was paired with a friendly peer leader for four months. Following treatment periods, experimental and control groups were compared on achievement and conformance variables. Significant differences were noted In teachers’ grades, tardinesses and severity of disciplinary offenses for the peer leader treatment and In frequency and severity of disciplinary offenses for the “warm” teacher condition.     

Correlates of class attitude toward science

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships of students, teachers, and learning environment variables to science attitude. Data were collected from fourth, seventh, and ninth grade students and their science teachers. Variables found to be consistently related to science attitude of classes at all grade levels were (a) sense of the importance of science, (b) student fatalism, (c) teacher quality, and (d) a host of learning environment variables. Implications for teaching practices and for future research were offered.     

The effects of a structured learning sequence on Children's correlative thinking about biological phenomena

The purpose of this study was to determine if the achievement on correlational thinking tasks could be enhanced by a set of structured training exercises. The exercises were based on Piaget's analysis of the development of correlative thinking in adolescents. The achievement of the ninth grade students was greater than the achievement of the fifth and seventh grade students. However, some of the ninth grade students exhibited difficulty with the equivalence and reciprocal exclusion operations that were necessary for the solution of the correlation tasks. The results of the study suggest that the ninth grade students may be in the transition zone for this particular operation.     

The impact of physics teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge and motivation on students’ achievement and interest

This paper examines students’ achievement and interest and the extent to which they are predicted by teacher knowledge and motivation. Student achievement and interest are both considered desirable outcomes of school instruction. Teacher pedagogical content knowledge has been identified a major predictor of student achievement in previous research, whereas teacher motivation is considered a decisive factor influencing students’ interest. So far, however, most research either focused on knowledge or motivation (both on the students’ as well as the teachers’ side), rarely investigating them together or examining the instructional mechanisms through which the supposed effects of teacher knowledge and motivation are facilitated. In the present study, N = 77 physics teachers and their classes in Germany and Switzerland are investigated utilizing a multi‐method approach in combining data obtained from test‐instruments (teacher pedagogical content knowledge, student achievement) and questionnaires (teacher motivation, student interest, student perceived enthusiastic teaching) as well as videotaped instruction (cognitive activation rated by observers). Multi‐level structural equation modeling was used to support the assumptions that teacher pedagogical content knowledge positively predicted students’ achievement; the effect was mediated by cognitive activation. Teachers’ motivation predicted students’ interest which was mediated by enthusiastic teaching as perceived by students. Neither did teacher pedagogical content knowledge predict students’ interest, nor teacher motivation students’ achievement. This implies that in order to improve students’ cognitive as well as affective outcomes, both teachers’ knowledge but also their motivation need to be considered. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Research in Science Teaching Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 54:586–614, 2017     

Taiwanese students’ science learning self-efficacy and teacher and student science hardiness: a multilevel model approach

This study aimed to investigate the factors accounting for science learning self-efficacy (the specific beliefs that people have in their ability to complete tasks in science learning) from both the teacher and the student levels. We thus propose a multilevel model to delineate its relationships with teacher and student science hardiness (i.e., the courage that is needed to turn stressful changes from burdens into advantageous growth in science education settings). The current research was conducted through collecting survey responses from both teachers (i.e., using the self-report teacher science hardiness questionnaire) and students (i.e., using the self-report student science hardiness and the self-report science learning self-efficacy questionnaires). A total of 45 Taiwanese science teachers were solicited from junior high schools. Also, we recruited students who were taught by these 45 teachers. In total, 1145 junior high school students whose ages ranged from 12 to 16, with a mean of 13.68 (SD?=?0.90), were invited to take part in the study. Of these students, 268 were in the seventh grade, 430 were in the eighth grade, and 447 were in the ninth grade. The results of hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) confirmed our hypothesis that teacher science hardiness fostered student science hardiness, which in turn contributed to the students’ science learning self-efficacy. The findings revealed that both teacher and student science hardiness play important roles in explaining the structure of science learning self-efficacy. To enhance science learning self-efficacy, educators should develop programs for teachers and students to increase their science hardiness.     

Editorial

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the quality of scientific arguments developed by pre-service physics teachers.

Sample: The participants were 171 pre-service physics teachers recruited from two universities: 86 from University A and 85 from University B.

Design and method: Participants were prompted to develop a written argument to either support or challenge the Turkish government’s decision to invest in nuclear power plants. Data consist of written arguments developed by the participants and information on participants’ knowledge of the topic, their confidence in their knowledge and the source of their knowledge related to the topic. Data were analyzed using the CER framework.

Results: The results show that participants did not perform at the expected level. The majority of students failed to develop strong scientific arguments. While almost all of the participants provided evidence to justify their claims, they failed to effectively coordinate evidence, claim and theory to develop an argument. Students struggled the most in the warrant/reasoning category of the CER framework. We also identified several misconceptions that students held related to nuclear power plants.

Conclusions: In our discussion we problematize college science teaching and advocate integration of instructional strategies such as argumentation that can effectively engage students in construction, evaluation and justification of knowledge.     

The socioemotional adjustment of adolescents with LD in the kibbutz during high school transition periods

This study examined several aspects of the socioemotional experiences (i.e., loneliness, social skills, reciprocal friendship, reciprocal rejection, and social status) of adolescents with and without learning disabilities in an Israeli kibbutz environment during school transition periods. The sample consisted of 106 students with learning disabilities (LD; 74 boys and 32 girls) and 101 students without learning disabilities (NLD; 62 boys and 39 girls) drawn from seventh grade (i.e., early adolescence) and ninth grade (i.e., middle adolescence). The results revealed that seventh- and ninth-grade adolescents with LD received more social peer rejection than did NLD group adolescents, and students with LD were judged by their teachers to exhibit lower social skills and higher behavioral problems than their classmates. No significant group differences were found on loneliness, but an age-related increase in loneliness feelings was noted, which was independent from group membership and gender. Gender differences on self-report, peer ratings, and teachers' ratings on social measures in favor of girls were demonstrated. The discussion focuses on the potential impact of school transitions and of the developmental environment provided in the kibbutz on adolescents' socioemotional functioning and adjustment.     

The Role of Teacher Training in Cognitive Strategy Instruction to Improve Math Problem Solving

The purpose of this article is to offer teacher training and professional development recommendations in mathematics based on the findings of a federally funded 3‐year intervention study that improved the problem solving of middle school students with a focus on students with learning disabilities. Over the 3‐year project, 29 seventh and eighth grade teachers implemented a problem‐solving intervention based on cognitive strategy instruction. Though the intervention was successful in improving students’ problem‐solving performance, several issues related to teaching effectiveness and teacher training came to light. The article will: (1) describe the intervention and its implementation, (2) present the findings of the study, and (3) discuss the issues of effectiveness and possible solutions via teacher education and professional development.     

The Effects of Team-Based Learning on Social Studies Knowledge Acquisition in High School

Abstract

This randomized control trial examined the efficacy of team-based learning implemented within 11th-grade social studies classes. A randomized blocked design was implemented with 26 classes randomly assigned to treatment or comparison. In the treatment classes teachers implemented team-based learning practices to support students in engaging in dialogue about course content, application of content to solve problems, and use of evidence to support responses. Significant differences in favor of the treatment group on content acquisition were noted (Hedges's g =.19). Examination of differences in response to the treatment indicated groups of students classified with high or moderate pretest scores benefitted from the treatment, whereas a group of students classified with low pretest scores did not benefit from the treatment.     

Students’ educational use of Facebook groups

The aim of the article is to explore educational use of student-managed Facebook groups in upper secondary education (in Denmark). Much research on educational potentials of Facebook has studied groups managed by teachers. However, there is a lack of in-depth research on Facebook groups managed by students and without participation from teachers. As this study shows, students’ use of student-managed groups differs from their use of teacher-managed tools such as learning management systems (LMSs). The article presents an empirical study based partly on a content analysis of 3139 posts and 15,018 replies within five Facebook groups, and partly on a questionnaire answered by 1463 students and 148 teachers. The results of the study show that whereas LMSs were seen by students primarily as institutional systems of the teacher, Facebook groups have an educational potential to be used by students for peer-to-peer learning.     

Reliability and validity of rubrics for assessment through writing

This experimental project investigated the reliability and validity of rubrics in assessment of students’ written responses to a social science “writing prompt”. The participants were asked to grade one of the two samples of writing assuming it was written by a graduate student. In fact both samples were prepared by the authors. The first sample was well written in terms of sentence structure, spelling, grammar, and punctuation; however, the author did not fully answer the question. The second sample fully answered each part of the question, but included multiple errors in structure, spelling, grammar and punctuation. In the first experiment, the first sample was assessed by participants once without a rubric and once with a rubric. In the second experiment, the second sample was assessed by participants once without a rubric and once with a rubric. The results showed that raters were significantly influenced by mechanical characteristics of students’ writing rather than the content even when they used a rubric. Study results also indicated that using rubrics may not improve the reliability or validity of assessment if raters are not well trained on how to design and employ them effectively.     

The Effects of Incorporating Web‐assisted Learning with Team Teaching in Seventh‐grade Science Classes

Due to the implementation of a 9‐year integrated curriculum scheme in Taiwan, research on team teaching and web‐based technology appears to be urgent. The purpose of this study was incorporated web‐assisted learning with team teaching in seventh‐grade science classes. The specific research question concerned student performance and attitudes about the teaching method. Two certified science teachers and four classes of the seventh graders participated in this study. It used a mixed methods design, incorporating both quantitative and qualitative techniques. The main data included students’ scores, questionnaires, teachers’ self‐reflections, and the researcher’s interviews with teachers. The results showed that the average final examination scores of students experiencing the experimental teaching method were higher than that of those receiving traditional teaching. The two teaching methods showed significant difference in respect of students’ achievement. The research had limitations because of students’ abilities of data collection, computer use, and discussion, but more than one‐half of the students preferred the experimental method to traditional teaching. However, team teachers would encounter the problems of technology ability, time constraints, and entrance examination pressure.