Predicting who will major in a science discipline: Expectancy–value theory as part of an ecological model for studying academic communities

Research on factors that shape recruitment and retention in undergraduate science majors currently is highly fragmented and in need of an integrative research framework. Such a framework should incorporate analyses of the various levels of organization that characterize academic communities (i.e., the broad institutional level, the departmental level, and the student level), and should also provide ways to study the interactions occurring within and between these structural levels. We propose that academic communities are analogous to ecosystems, and that the research paradigms of modern community ecology can provide the necessary framework, as well as new and innovative approaches to a very complex area. This article also presents the results of a pilot study that demonstrates the promise of this approach at the student level. We administered a questionnaire based on expectancy-value theory to undergraduates enrolled in introductory biology courses. Itself an integrative approach, expectancy-value theory views achievement-related behavior as a joint function of the person's expectancy of success in the behavior and the subjective value placed on such success. Our results indicated: (a) significant gender differences in the underlying factor structures of expectations and values related to the discipline of biology, (b) expectancy-value factors significantly distinguished biology majors from nonmajors, and (c) expectancy-value factors significantly predicted students' intent to enroll in future biology courses. We explore the expectancy-value framework as an operationally integrative framework in our ecological model for studying academic communities, especially in the context of assessing the underrepresentation of women and minorities in the sciences. Future research directions as well as practical implications are also discussed.     

BUT CAN YOU PROVE IT?

This paper offers some perspectives on quality assurance for those who wish to retain the reflective practitioner approach to professional training. It takes its examples from teacher training, but is equally addressed to those in other professions whose work uses this approach. It contends that the way forward in finding a useful system of quality assurance which is compatible with institutional demands and the intentions of courses based upon the reflective practitioner approach, is to understand the different values that lie beneath two very different models of professionalism, and to use this understanding to seek rapprochement between them. This paper explores the industrial model of quality assurance, which currently strongly influences higher education. After contextualising the current debate about quality, this paper shows how the industrial view relates to the technical rational model of professionalism. This is contrasted with the professional artistry model of professionalism which lies at the heart of the reflective practitioner approach. Appraisal and reflection are considered and a framework for reflection is offered drawn from on‐going research. This might enable practitioners to capture data which might be used as evidence of quality. The beginnings of reciprocity between the two models are sketched, and a grim warning is issued.     

Navigating the unfamiliar in a quest towards culturally responsive pedagogy in the classroom

This paper examines a New Zealand Pākehā (European) teacher's professional development experience working with Māori (indigenous people of New Zealand), and their protocols and practices. A Māori kaumatua (male leader) experienced in theatre direction, acting, and psychiatric nursing led Māori marginalised youth to disclose their personal stories, wrap them in tikanga (customs) and move forward to create theatre from their experiences. This paper discusses a participant observer process of living on a marae (Māori congregational place), working with Māori, experiencing Māori protocols and practices on a daily basis, and the recommendations for teachers dealing with cultural difference in the classroom.     

College Students’ Conceptions of Stem Cells, Stem Cell Research, and Cloning

In this study, we examined 96 undergraduate non-science majors’ conceptions of stem cells, stem cell research, and cloning. This study was performed at a large, Midwest, research extensive university. Participants in the study were asked to answer 23 questions relating to stem cells, stem cell research, and cloning in an on-line assessment before and after instruction. Two goals of the instruction were to: (1) help students construct accurate scientific ideas, and (2) enhance their reasoning about socioscientific issues. The course structure included interactive lectures, case discussions, hands-on activities, and independent projects. Overall, students’ understandings of stem cells, stem cell research, and cloning increased from pre-test to post-test. For example, on the post-test, students gained knowledge concerning the age of an organism related to the type of stem cell it possesses. However, we found that some incorrect ideas that were evident on the pre-test persisted after instruction. For example, before and after instruction several students maintained the idea that stem cells can currently be used to produce organs.     

Non-Science Majors’ Critical Evaluation of Websites in a Biotechnology Course

Helping students develop criteria for judgment and apply examination skills is essential for promoting scientific literacy. With the increasing availability of the Internet, it is even more essential that students learn how to evaluate the science they gather from online resources. This is particularly true because publishing information on the web is not restricted to experts, and content quality can vary greatly across websites. The responsibility of evaluating websites falls upon the user. Little research has examined undergraduates’ evaluation of web sites in science classes. The purpose of this study was to investigate on which websites college students selected and how they evaluated the websites used when developing individual positions about stem-cell research. We used a qualitative approach in search of patterns in undergraduates’ website selection and evaluation criteria. We found that students used a variety of web resources from eleven types of websites to complete their independent research report. Students also used eleven evaluation criteria to evaluate these sources, some useful (e.g., credibility) and some not useful (e.g., readability). We found that university students struggled with critically evaluating online resources. Undergraduates need prompts to learn how to critically evaluate the science content provided within websites. This type of scaffold can facilitate useful evaluation and promote critical thinking required for becoming scientifically literate.     

The meaning of team in team identification

A voluminous literature exists on the relationship between team identification and various consumer thoughts, attitudes, and behaviours. However, the psychological meaning of team to consumers remains unknown, as scholars have studied individuals’ identification with a team without empirically investigating its meaning. Following an interpretive mode of inquiry in this study, the authors used interviews and concept mapping to understand the meaning of team among fans of two separate teams. An important discovery is that the meaning of team evolves due to environmental changes and personal experiences. At the same time, the authors determined that the meaning of team in team identification has three broad components: place, past, and present, each of which uniquely contributes to the identity. The authors conclude by discussing the implications of this research on the team identification literature and offering suggestions to practitioners and researchers.     

Learning disabled students' interactions with commercial courseware: A naturalistic study

A naturalistic study investigated the interactions of learning disabled students and their teachers with instructional elements of commercial courseware. During two academic years, 62 students aged 9 to 18 and seven teachers from five subject areas were observed and interviewed with regard to their day-to-day uses of 26 packages. Findings reported here relate to students' interactions with the stimulus, response, and feedback/reinforcement dimensions inherent in those packages. Details of students' problems and strategies with verbal, numeric, graphics, and problem-solving courseware are explored to elucidate the role of courseware design in students' pervasive reading difficulties, overreliance on teacher assistance, introduction of competition to provide motivation, and limited strategies for using courseware independently. Implications are noted for improving course-ware design not only for LD students, but also for others who would profit from more carefully designed packages. The relationship of design to the overarching issues of student independence, motivation, and strategy development for computer-based instruction is discussed. The original research upon which this article is based was supported in part by a Presidential Fellowship awarded by the Graduate School of The Ohio State University. Additional work was supported in part by a grant from the Office of Graduate Studies and Research of The University of Maryland, College Park.     

The Interface of Opinion,Understanding and Evaluation While Learning About a Socioscientific Issue

Scientific literacy is an important goal for science education, especially within controversial socioscientific issues. In this study, we analysed 143 students' research reports about stem cell research (SCR) for how they addressed specific source evaluation criteria provided within the assignment. We investigated students' opinions about SCR, how they used the evaluation criteria to evaluate online sources and whether the evaluation criteria and/or the specific sources influenced their opinion and/or understanding of SCR. We found that most of the students supported some form of SCR and reported that their sources were credible and contained more factual information than opinions. Students critiqued the language of the authors, as well as status in their respective fields, along with the content within each source. Additionally, students reported that their sources influenced their content knowledge, but had little influence regarding their SCR opinions. Through this work, we present a new working model and suggest the need for additional research about the understudied interface of opinion, understanding and evaluation within the context of important socioscientific issues. Students' opinions and content knowledge, located at the model's centre, influence and are influenced by the research topic, the sources used, the evaluation criteria and the evaluation of the sources that students use to provide evidence for claims.