Influence of a Reflective Explicit Activity‐Based Approach on Elementary Teachers' Conceptions of Nature of Science

This study assessed the influence of a reflective, explicit, activity‐based approach to nature of science (NOS) instruction undertaken in the context of an elementary science methods course on preservice teachers' views of some aspects of NOS. These aspects included the empirical, tentative, subjective (theory‐laden), imaginative and creative, and social and cultural NOS. Two additional aspects were the distinction between observation and inference, and the functions of and relationship between scientific theories and laws. Participants were 25 undergraduate and 25 graduate preservice elementary teachers enrolled in two sections of the investigated course. An open‐ended NOS questionnaire coupled with individual interviews was used to assess participants' NOS views before and at the conclusion of the course. The majority of participants held naive views of the target NOS aspects at the beginning of the study. During the first week of class, participants were engaged in specially designed activities that were coupled with explicit NOS instruction. Throughout the remainder of the course, participants were provided with structured opportunities to reflect on their views of the target NOS aspects. Postinstruction assessments indicated that participants made substantial gains in their views of some of the target NOS aspects. Less substantial gains were evident in the case of the subjective, and social and cultural NOS. The results of the present study support the effectiveness of explicit, reflective NOS instruction. Such instruction, nonetheless, might be rendered more effective when integrated within a conceptual change approach. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 37: 295–317, 2000.     

Marginalized discourses and scientific literacy

The central position of this article is that an important component of scientific literacy is an understanding of the reciprocal impact of science and the general culture on each other. The article focuses on the marginalized discourses that have arisen to oppose the racism, sexism, and classism espoused and advocated by mainstream science since its institutionalization until the first half of the 20th century. The article explores the pedagogical value of studying these oppositional discourses to demonstrate the permeability of the boundaries between science and the general culture. It also discusses how the issues raised by these discourses can be used to enhance the scientific literacy of students. J Res Sci Teach 35: 365–374, 1998.     

Alignment of Mathematics State-Level Standards and Assessments: The Role of Reviewer Agreement

This article examines the role of reviewer agreement in judgments about alignment between tests and standards. We used case data from three state alignment studies to explore how different approaches to incorporating reviewer agreement changes alignment conclusions. The three case studies showed varying degrees of reviewer agreement about correspondences between objectives and test items. Moreover, taking into account reviewer agreement in the analyses sometimes had a marked effect on alignment conclusions. We discuss reasons for differences across case studies and alignment approaches, as well as implications for future alignment efforts.     

Instructional Tools in Educational Measurement and Statistics (ITEMS) for School Personnel: Evaluation of Three Web-Based Training Modules

In the current No Child Left Behind era, K‐12 teachers and principals are expected to have a sophisticated understanding of standardized test results, use them to improve instruction, and communicate them to others. The goal of our project, funded by the National Science Foundation, was to develop and evaluate three Web‐based instructional modules in educational measurement and statistics to help school personnel acquire the “assessment literacy” required for these roles. Our first module, “What's the Score?” was administered in 2005 to 113 educators who also completed an assessment literacy quiz. Viewing the module had a small but statistically significant positive effect on quiz scores. Our second module, “What Test Scores Do and Don't Tell Us,” administered in 2006 to 104 educators, was even more effective, primarily among teacher education students. In evaluating our third module, “What's the Difference?” we were able to recruit only 33 participants. Although those who saw the module before taking the quiz outperformed those who did not, results were not statistically significant. Now that the research phase is complete, all ITEMS instructional materials are freely available on our Website.     

Teachers' perspectives on competency-based testing

The study described in this article was designed to gather information about teachers' perspectives on achievement testing and to describe where the competency-based testing in Continuous Uniform Evaluation Systems (CUES) programs fits into teachers' overall plans for teaching and assessing students.The specific objectives of the research were (1) to develop a taxonomy of techniques that teachers use to assess students, (2) to describe teachers' uses and perceptions of various assessment techniques, and (3) to describe the implementation of various assessment activities in natural classroom settings. The results of the study have implications for the design and implementation of instructional systems in school settings.     

Comments made on the occasion of the dedication of the Samuel Torrey Orton Library college of physicians and surgeons,Columbia University

Annals of Dyslexia -