Science achievement of english language learners in urban elementary schools: Results of a first‐year professional development intervention

This study is part of a 5‐year professional development intervention aimed at improving science and literacy achievement of English language learners (or ELL students) in urban elementary schools within an environment increasingly driven by high‐stakes testing and accountability. Specifically, the study examined science achievement at the end of the first‐year implementation of the professional development intervention that consisted of curriculum units and teacher workshops. The study involved 1,134 third‐grade students at seven treatment schools and 966 third‐grade students at eight comparison schools. The results led to three main findings. First, treatment students displayed a statistically significant increase in science achievement. Second, there was no statistically significant difference in achievement gains between students at English to Speakers of Other Language (ESOL) levels 1 to 4 and students who had exited from ESOL or never been in ESOL. Similarly, there was no significant difference in achievement gains between students who had been retained on the basis of statewide reading test scores and students who had never been retained. Third, treatment students showed a higher score on a statewide mathematics test, particularly on the measurement strand emphasized in the intervention, than comparison students. The results indicate that through our professional development intervention, ELL students and others in the intervention learned to think and reason scientifically while also performing well on high‐stakes testing. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 45: 31–52, 2008     

PILOT STUDY: SITUATIONAL EVALUATION AND BASE‐LINE TECHNIQUES IN ARTICULATION THERAPY

The problem of this study was to consider how a speech therapist can adequately evaluate the effectiveness of therapy. The unique feature of this pilot study was the use of a pre‐ and post‐test administration at the beginning and end of each therapy session. An error sound of the subject was selected on the basis of maturity and stimulability. Ten correct or incorrect responses to this error sound were tabulated for each session, establishing a base‐line on the initial performance and enabling progress checks. The number of correct responses during each therapy session increased as the number of sessions progressed. Increased efficiency could have been attributed to the effectiveness of previous sessions.     

Toward preparing students for change: A critical discussion of the contribution of the history of physics in physics teaching

In this paper I place physics teaching, and the inclusion of the history of physics into teaching, within a wide context. I start from the conviction that there are considerable changes ahead in the life circumstances of people in western industrial societies. This expectation should influence our aims of education generally, and in particular the aims of physics teaching. The paper does not offer final solutions, but analyses the situation and thereby argues for a change in perspective in physics teaching. The main idea is that physics teaching has to solve the problem of balancing seemingly incompatible needs, for example, conveying a stock of stable, dependable physics knowledge to students, and on the other hand to train them to see their physics knowledge within varying contexts of change. It is argued that the history of physics can be of high value in solving this problem.This article was originally published in: F. Bevilacqua and P.J. Kennedy (eds.): 1983, Proceedings of the Conference on Using History of Physics in Innovatory Physics Education, Pavia University.     

The effects of Florida's university admission policies on black and white entering freshmen, 1975–76

This study examined differential enrollment, survival, progress, and academic success of both black and white first-time-in-college students according to three admission categories (unrestrictive, restrictive, and special) in predominantly white universities in the Florida State University System. Data were extracted from the Board of Regents' student data course files and analyzed. White students were enrolled almost exclusively in the traditional (unrestrictive) category, while black students were almost equally enrolled in all three categories. Although the overall survival rate of white students was higher than that of black students, within each admission category, the survival rate of black students was higher than that of white students.This paper was presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Boston, April 1980.     

Interaction of wait time feedback and questioning instruction on middle school science teaching

Wait time, the duration of teacher pauses after questions, is an important variable in research on science teaching. This project investigated the effects of increasing teacher's wait times on general questioning skills in science teaching. In previous research, the influence of wait time training has been confounded with instruction in general questioning skills, making it difficult to test the hypothesis that increasing the wait time will by itself improve classroom discussions. In this project, these variables were separated through the use of four treatment groups made up of science teachers. One group received instruction in wait time using a newly developed electronic feedback device that monitors the duration of teacher and student pauses; a second group received instruction in general questioning skills; a third group received both types of instruction; a comparison group received no instruction of either type. The tape recordings were coded and analyzed for classroom interaction data. Comparisons were made using discriminant analysis, analyses of variance, and correlational relationships. The wait time feedback devices facilitated the production of wait time means consistently superior to baseline performance, albeit slightly below the 3-second criterion sought. Regardless, the feedback groups did produce a large number of the hypothesized changes. Significant effects were found from a comparison of the discriminant function scores. Effects consistently favored the groups with the feedback devices. The presence of the guides seemed to make little difference. The groups with the devices used greater numbers of high-level questions, especially those of the evaluative level. There were more contributions from students, as measured by length of answers, frequency of volunteered contributions, numbers of relevant student words, and percentages of student talk.     

General system theory: Toward a conceptual framework for science and technology education for all

In this paper we suggest using general system theory (GST) as a unifying theoretical framework for science and technology education for all. Five reasons are articulated: the multidisciplinary nature of systems theory, the ability to engage complexity, the capacity to describe system dynamics and change, the ability to represent the relationship between the micro-level and macro-level of analysis, and the ability to bring together the natural and human worlds. The historical origins of system ideas are described, and the major concepts of system theory are mapped; including the mathematical, technological, and philosophical constructs. The various efforts to implement system thinking in educational contexts are reviewed, and three kinds of learning environments are defined: expert presentation, simulation, and real-world. A broad research agenda for exploring and drawing-out the educational implications of system thinking and learning is outlined. The study of both real-world and simulated learning environments is advocated.