Alternative assessment of high school laboratory skills

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate instruments that will assess the laboratory skills of students completing high school science courses. In each of the science areas (biology, chemistry, and physics), tests were developed around six laboratory tasks. Each test used a two-part format with a total time of 80 minutes. Students had to plan an investigation, collect and organize appropriate data, and formulate conclusions based on calculations and graphs. A different test was developed for 12th-grade students not enrolled in a science course. This test consisted of a series of stations where students conducted a short activity that was presented to them. Over 1000 students from 32 Ohio schools formed the sample for this study. Data are presented by skill and by task. In addition, analysis for gender and school effects is included.     

Aversively motivated changes in meal patterns of rats in a closed economy: The effects of shock density

Rats lived continuously in an operant chamber in which they were able to press a bar to obtain food on a chained FR50:CRF schedule that allowed them control of both the size and frequency of individual meals. Independent groups of animals were scheduled to receive 12, 24, 48, or 96 electric shocks per day, which were given randomly in time and independent of the subjects’ behavior. Rats could avoid shock by remaining in a safe area of the chamber, but they were always at risk while barpressing. The introduction of shock resulted in a number of changes in feeding patterns. In rats exposed to a possible 12 shocks/day, meal size increased whereas meal frequency changed very little. At 24 shocks/day, meal frequency decreased whereas meal size increased such that net intake remained stable relative to a preshock baseline period. As shock density was increased to 48 or 96 shocks/day, total intake was suppressed. At 96 shocks/day, both meal frequency and meal size decreased dramatically. Shock-related changes were also observed in rates of operant responding and in the amount of time the animals engaged in feeding-related behavior. All of the animals were able to achieve a greater than 50% reduction in the total number of shocks received relative to equivalent random samples of their position in the apparatus taken during baseline. These results support the position that the nature of defensive changes in feeding behavior that are seen when an aversive stimulus is introduced: into a simulated foraging situation varies as a function of risk.     

Foundational issues in evolution education

There is a great need for effective evolution education. This paper reviews some of the evidence that demonstrates that need and analyzes some of the foundational semantic, epistemological, and philosophical issues involved. This analysis is used to provide a functional understanding of the distinction between science and non-science. Special emphasis is placed the scientific meaning of the terms theory, hypothesis, fact, proof, evidence, and truth, focusing on the difference between religious belief and acceptance of a scientific theory. Science is viewed as theologically neutral and as not mutually exclusive from religion. Finally, a number of practical recommendations to the classroom biology teacher are presented.     

Exploring Effectiveness of Classroom Assessments for Students’ Learning in High School Chemistry

Research in Science Education - New notions of science teaching and learning provide challenges for designing and using classroom assessment. Existing assessments are not effective in assessing and...     

Kinds of Keys of student ratings of faculty teaching effectiveness

Three substudies of effects of different formats on student ratings of faculty teaching effectiveness were conducted. One substudy, Kinds of Keys, investigated three main kinds of keys: Agreement, Evaluation, and Needs Improvement. The second, NO TUP, investigated numbers of positive rating categories. The third, Item Wording Direction, investigated the same items worded positively, negatively, and neutrally, respectively. Practically important differences in level of ratings obtained in Kinds of Keys and practically and statistically significant differences obtained in NO TUP and Item Wording Direction. It was concluded that additional research is necessary to determine if apparent differences in teaching effectiveness are actually differences in teaching effectiveness or differences due to the methods of measurement.     

Striving for equitable classroom assessments for linguistic minorities: Strategies for and effects of revising life science items

Striving for equitable assessments that can contribute to classroom learning for linguistic minorities is a goal of increasing importance as the national population of English language learners continues to rise. This study investigated classroom assessments for English learners in middle school life science courses in two California schools. A framework for equitable classroom assessments, “McCes—Sounds like Success,” was used to refine and evaluate assessments in the study. Ways to improve two written assessments for advanced English learners were developed through teacher research and tested with a pretest/posttest design. Eleven changes to the items were developed, such as adding visual supports and dividing prompts into smaller units. Regression analyses of raw and Rasch modeled data from the pretest/posttest showed that both English only students and advanced English learners scored significantly better on the modified classroom assessments. A new perspective on validating equitable classroom assessments as opposed to standardized assessments for English learners is discussed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 864–881, 2007