The Conceptualization and Development of the Practical Epistemology in Science Survey (PESS)

Research in Science Education - Various inquiry approaches have been promoted in science classrooms as a way for students to engage in, and have a deeper understanding of scientific discourse....     

Building Better Communities for Children: Community Implementation and Evaluation of the Australian Early Development Index

Since 2004 the Australian Early Development Index (AEDI) has been completed in 54 Australian communities over seven states and territories on more than 30,000 children. A concurrent systematic evaluation of community implementation and use of the AEDI was undertaken that included both a process and impact component. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the evaluation findings between 2004 and 2006. Results have shown there are a number of barriers and facilitators for communities in implementing the AEDI, disseminating results, and planning for community actions. The evaluation findings indicate AEDI implementation helps raise awareness of the importance of early childhood development, assists communities to work more collaboratively and to strategically plan actions to work towards improving outcomes for children.     

Institutional and departmental satisfaction of women faculty

Using the exploratory data analysis method of median polishing, this study examined the institutional and departmental satisfaction of women who relatively recently entered the academic profession. Results indicated that women's satisfaction with both department and institution differed by institutional type (Carnegie classifications) and discipline type (pure versus applied). Women in applied fields in Research II and Doctoral-Granting II institutions were much less satisfied with both their departments and their institutions than would be expected given their institutional and discipline types. Similarly, the institutional satisfaction of those women at Research I institutions and the departmental satisfaction of women in pure fields at Doctoral-Granting I's was lower than would be expected. Higher levels of departmental satisfaction were shown by women in pure fields at Liberal Arts I institutions.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education, St. Louis, November 1988.     

Notes on Classroom Practice and the Ownership and Use of Personal Computers Amongst Egyptian Science and Mathematics Teachers

This paper reports a study of the acquisition and use of personal computers by Egyptian science and mathematics teachers. Self-report data was collected from the same teachers on how they had changed their classroom activities and professional practice since their return to Egypt following a twelve-week in-service course in the United Kingdom. The data from this sample of teachers is compared with that from a second sample, who also attended the same in-service programme, but did not report the purchase of a personal computer. Analysis indicates that the Egyptian teachers with personal computers have tended to concentrate on improving the quality of current practice, through better preparation and student testing, rather than introducing major, paradigmatic, changes to their teaching.     

Counterintuitive effects of online feedback in middle school math: results from a randomized controlled trial in ASSISTments

This study compared the effects of three different feedback formats provided to sixth grade mathematics students within a web-based online learning platform, ASSISTments. A sample of 196 students were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (1) text-based feedback; (2) image-based feedback; and (3) correctness only feedback. Regardless of condition, students solved a set of problems pertaining to the division of fractions by fractions. This mathematics content was representative of challenging sixth grade mathematics Common Core State Standard (6.NS.A.1). Students randomly assigned to receive text-based feedback (Condition A) or image-based feedback (Condition B) outperformed those randomly assigned to the correctness only group (Condition C). However, these differences were not statistically significant (F(2,108) = 1.394, p = .25). Results of this study also demonstrated a completion-bias. Students randomly assigned to Condition B were less likely to complete the problem set than those assigned to Conditions A and C. To conclude, we discuss the counterintuitive findings observed in this study and implications related to developing and implementing feedback in online learning environments for middle school mathematics.     

A study of urban middle school students with high and low attitudes toward science

Scientific literacy is essential to survive in this technological world, but it appears that scientific literacy is not of high priority for many students. This research project was undertaken to gather demographic data, intentions to engage in science, and attitudes of urban, middle school students. Scores on the Simpson-Troost Attitude Instrument were analyzed using the Statistical Analysis System. Results indicate less than 50% of the students come from high-school-graduated parents who work full-time to support the family. Less than 50% of these students indicate any interest to engage in science at the high school level, yet many plan to enter a science-related career. A majority of the students possess an uncertain attitude toward their science teachers and science curricula. However, all possessed high achievement motivations, strong positive attitudes toward their families, and high self-concepts.