Paper number: 10208
Inquiry-based teaching approach: from the emphasizing science content toward emphasizing the students’ ideas and dialogue
Principal Author: Mohammad A.Basir, The University of Iowa, Mohammad-ahmadibasir@uiowa.edu
Abstract:
Inquiry-based learning and teaching have been in the center of research study in science education. How students engage and learn science in inquiry-based environment and how teacher can enhance their learning is the general question of this study. In this study, we have analyzed the transformation of a teacher who has collaborated with our PD program for five years and became an exemplar teacher among 40 teachers in the PD program. We tried to describe the changes in her teaching approach and how those changes positively influence students’ evolution of science language in classroom. The analysis suggests three main phases for Mary’s teaching approach: first phase in which she expected students to follow her plan to do the inquiry and did not let students to develop their own ideas, cookbook lab activities. Second phase in which she expected students to follow her plan, but she limitedly let students to develop their own ideas. In this phase she was vacillating between her traditional teaching approach, emphasizing on science content, and her new approach for letting students do inquiry with more degree of freedom. In third phase, she let students to design their own inquiry plan, and develop their own claim and evidence. In this phase she asks students to develop their own ideas and critique other students’ ideas based on the claim and evidence that they developed. She is positioning herself as facilitator. Following describing transformation of Mary’ teaching approach, we show how this transformation affected students learning science inquiry. It is shown that in her recent class, students language in the classroom is considerably bear more resemblance to science language than in her former classes.
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Paper number: 10041
Learning to Teach Nature of Science in a Third Grade Classroom: Can I Do It?
Principal Author: Valarie L Akerson, Indiana University, vakerson@indiana.edu
Abstract:
There are many recommendations for teaching nature of science (NOS) to students of all grade levels (AAAS, 1993; NRC 1996). Studies have shown that teachers can learn to teach NOS as part of a community of practice but to different degrees (Akerson, Cullen, & Hanson, in press), and young children can learn NOS given appropriate instruction (Akerson & Donnelly, 2009). However, teachers have many competing subject matters within their classrooms, and may not be in the position to teach NOS in the way we hope they will. I spent part of my sabbatical teaching third grade as a full time classroom teacher, teaching all subjects, and this paper will explore my strategies for teaching NOS, what I believed the children learned, struggles I had with integrating NOS, and reflections on the life of a teacher who wants to teach NOS. Within this session I will share videos of instruction and copies of student work to illustrate learning.
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Paper number: 10174
Covering the content? How undergraduate instructors make decisions as they integrate inquiry into their curricula

Principal Author: Iris Alkaher, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, irisal@vt.edu
Co-Authors: Erin Dolan, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Abstract:
Calls for reform in undergraduate science education emphasize the need to engage students in meaningful inquiry to increase their understanding of the practice of science. Many college instructors opt not to teach by inquiry because of the numerous barriers to doing so. We explored the attitudes, challenges, and decision-making reported by three undergraduate biology instructors who implemented inquiry, in order to better understand the ways college instructors handle challenges of integrating inquiry into their courses. Interview data were collected from two introductory instructors and one upper-level instructor before and after they engaged students in inquiry. Instructors indicated that they chose to teach by inquiry to improve their own teaching and learning and improve students’ learning. Prior to the inquiry, instructors expressed concerns about: variations in students’ prior experience with inquiry, prior knowledge, academic abilities, attitudes toward science, motivation, maturity, and willingness to put forth effort; their own inexperience with inquiry teaching; and the need to cover course content. The challenges instructors reported after engaging students in inquiry included students’ struggle with managing the inquiry, variations in students’ motivation, logistical problems with the inquiry itself, and their own struggle to balance covering content versus allowing time for lab-work. The introductory course instructors also expressed concern about students’ partial understanding of scientific concepts and their own struggle with guiding the students versus allowing them independence. Instructors made the following decisions to better fit inquiry into their courses: organizing other course content to relate directly to the lab-work and the “real world,” adding more practice tasks and team-work connected to the inquiry, and embedding more assessments and opportunities for feedback. These findings illustrate the ways that instructors manage the challenges of teaching by inquiry and have implications for professional development that prepares college instructors to incorporate inquiry into their curricula.

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Paper number: 10186
High School Students’ Argumentation Pattern on the topic of Perceived Socioscientific Issues
Principal Author: Leila Amiri, University of South Florida, lamiri@mail.usf.edu
Co-Authors: Dean W Pinzino, University of South Florida
Abstract:
Argumentation is now accepted as an effective instructional approach and goal for modern science education (Sadler & Zeidler, 2009,Bell, 2004; Duschl et al., 2007; Osborne et al., 2004). Beyond the educational benefits of learning argumentation, it has been suggested that due to the cultural significance of science, it is important to expose students to the nature of the arguments that exist at the core of it (Osborne, Erduran, & Simon, 2004). Based on this perspective, students should be empowered to handle science-based issues that shape our world today and in the future by understanding how science deals with controversial issues and learning how to make informed decisions in the context of real-life science related ethical dilemmas.

The socioscientific issues (SSI) movement in science education has provided science educators with a student relevant context in which we are able to investigate student argumentation regarding issues that have no apparent answer. The ethical dilemmas challenge students to evaluate data and make decisions that rely on moral issues and not the facts they typically see in their science courses.

The majority of the published work on the subject of argumentation and SSI havepre-selected the SSI topicfor the students. In this descriptive stud,y students were asked to identify an SSI and provide a supported position regarding the topic. We provided the students with the opportunity to select a topic to determine their understanding of an SSI. While the topics selected were mostly controversial not all could be considered SSI proper( as is common is the science education literature). Interestingly, student sources of data and justification of their positions varied according to the selected topics. Genres of topics and the respective differences in the argument structure and strength will be discussed. Implications for incorporating and selecting SSI topics into the curriculum will be explored.
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Paper number: 10062
Impact of an STS-Oriented Methods Course on Prospective Teachers’ Views of STS Issues and Instruction
Principal Author: Aidin Amirshokoohi, Fairfield University, aamirshokoohi@fairfield.edu
Abstract:
The Science, Technology, and Society (STS) effort is one of the reform movements strongly identified with meeting the challenge of preparing a scientifically literate public (Bybee, 1993), but the STS effort has not been as widely accepted. Many teachers are not adequately trained to address STS issues, and for many, the STS curriculum challenges the traditional approach to science teaching.

Before an STS curriculum can be put into practice, teachers’ beliefs must be compatible with the goals of the STS curriculum. Hardly any research has been performed concerning pre-service elementary teachers’ views of STS. This study focuses on the impact of an STS-oriented elementary science methods course on participants’ attitudes and views toward STS issues and the teaching of such issues to their students. The sample consisted of 96 participants from four sections of the course, two of which had an STS focus and two that did not. A triangulation mixed method design (Creswell, 2003) was utilized and data are presented in a comparative case study comparing the outcomes of the two groups.

There was a significant difference between the two groups and pre and post data for the treatment participants (TP) in all instrument categories. The interview data indicated that TP attributed greater importance to STS issues and indicated greater interest in such issues than other Pre-service teachers (PSTs). More importantly, they believed that they possessed a higher level of skill to teach STS issue investigation, evaluation, and resolution than their counterparts. Hopefully such changes in their beliefs and attitudes can translate into positive action within their classrooms. This study would also be valuable to the science educators who bear the responsibility of influencing PST’s views and attitude toward STS issues and preparing them in the implementation of an STS oriented instruction.

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Paper number: 13009
Testing Usability of a Serious Educational Physics Game
Principal Author: Leonard A Annetta, North Carolina State University, len_annetta@ncsu.edu
Co-Authors: Shawn Y Holmes, North Carolina State University; Meng-Tzu Cheng, North Carolina State University; Elizabeth Folta, North Carolina State University; Wai Ki Cheng, North Carolina State University
Abstract:
During the summer of 2009, 96 high school students participated as beta testers for the Aten, Inc. developed 4H Fast track game. These students completed a Serious Game Scoring rubric, which scored the quality of the game on 15 criteria. This was accomplished to be certain the characteristics of engagement learning, and attitudes were consistent with the quality of the game intervention. User feedback was collected on seven elements of the game using Likert scale questions. The results show that there was no statistically significant differences (n=94, t=0.144, p=0.886) between the pre- and post-scores in answering the five physics questions. In addition, the students did not give high rating of 4H Fast track. Using engagement theory, an observation protocol was developed as part of a National Science Foundation project. The protocol is stratified into the four components of engagement theory: Affective, Academic, Behavioral, and Cognitive. The one-hour sessions were video recorded, observed and scored by three raters. Inter-rater reliability suggested high engagement by the participants. Finally, this study revealed several significant findings: 64.86% of the students stated control issue, 21.62% regarded sensory stimuli feature, 6.76% addressed the feature of fantasy, 5.41% focused on rules/goals feature, and 1.35% emphasized challenge characteristic. Students expressed that they prefer hands-on activities more than lectures in terms of science and math classes. Although games are generally interesting and attractive, for students they still cannot totally replace the traditional labs and activities. Students stated that they didn’t learn about any science or math through this racing game. Games per se cannot ensure students’ learning, the content and design is the key component; and 6) The racing game actually is not a successful educational game, it needs lot improvements.

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Paper number: 13007
The outcomes of large-scale professional development in science education: Pacific CRYSTAL.
Principal Author: Robert Anthony, University of Victoria, ranthony@uvic.ca
Co-Authors: Eileen van der Fleur-Keller, University of Victoria; Ulrike Stegge, University of Victoria
Abstract:
The actual value of professional development for science teachers in terms of consequences for their instructional practice has been difficult to identify and the impact on student learning even more elusive even though teachers tend to see professional development as personally beneficial. Our papers explore the value of professional development through a comparison of case studies that examine patterns of professional learning and implementation from professional development within the Pacific CRYSTAL Project. Each describes different ways in which impact may be demonstrated. We argue that this has implications for teacher education at all levels of professional learning.

1. Developing Explicit Literacy Instruction Embedded in Middle School Science reports on a community-based professional development initiative includes the collaborative development, field-testing, and dissemination of authentic activities that enhance literacy in the context of science instruction. The original intent was for the input to be collaboratively developed, but participating teachers gradually shifted this responsibility to the collaborating university personnel. Several examples of uptake, adaptation and implementation will be included.

2. Students’ Computer Science Concepts in an After school Program for Elementary and Middle School Students reports on an unusual approach to professional development that encourages classroom instruction of Computer Science by engaging their students in hands-on activities. After involving the groups of students, the developed activities were distributed through the students to their teachers. In this case the input was determined without the participation of collaborating teachers and uptake was largely seen from the expanded participation of students.

3. Enriching Pre-Sevice Teachers Engagement with Science Through an ‘Education Lab’ Connected to a First Year University Science Course documents an approach intended to motivate prospective science teachers. The impact of this approach is examined using pre and post surveys and student reflections. Longer term uptake is assessed through a longitudinal study.

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Paper number: 10071
Teacher Transformation to Promote Issues-based Instruction and Curriculum
Principal Author: Scott M Applebaum, University of South Florida, applebaum@msn.com
Co-Authors: Dana L Zeidler, University of South Florida; Kristy Loman Chiodo, University of South Florida
Abstract:
The customary process of acquiring scientific knowledge should include practices of discovery and learning, where students actively explore socioscientific issues. While this pedagogy requires students to become actively engaged in socially shared activities that “unearth” personal connections and relationships to contentious scientific topics, it is imperative that teachers possess the characteristic leadership and teaching skills requisite to guide students in their exploration and understanding of science. An aim of SSI curriculum has been to transform both teachers’ and students’ epistemological beliefs about the process of learning science; specifically, by engaging students in a social microcosm where ethical negotiations of “real-world” problems and the use of scientific knowledge in their decision-making is not a rare occurrence. Using issues-based curriculum, teachers are compelled to provide activities which demonstrate that scientific knowledge is not absolute, but forms as a result of social knowledge construction from argumentation and discourse. These new goals require teachers to transform their pedagogical orientation from being purveyors of scientific knowledge to moderators and mediators of a classroom culture that mirrors society in which students are challenged to make informed scientific decisions and exercise moral reasoning. Teacher transformation is evident when students are directed to discover the personal relevance of science through problem-solving experiences; in particular, the extraction of content knowledge from an academic investigation of context. The success of using SSI-based curriculum is contingent upon redefining the role of the teacher and the responsibilities of the students. Teachers who include socioscientific issue inquiry in their lesson plans will discover their role is transformed from lecturer to mediator and moderator; their focus will be to assist students develop skills in areas of argumentation and evidence evaluation. As part of the transformation process, teachers will become competent in areas of critical thinking, argument quality assessment and discussing moral dilemmas.
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Paper number: 12022
Scientific Inquiry with Real Time Data: Teachers’ Perceptions
Principal Author: Anjana G Arora, Professional Development Provider, IL, aroraa@stockton.edu
Abstract:
The purpose of this session is to share teachers’ perceptions of using archived and real-time data to foster scientific inquiry in K-12 classrooms accompanied by actual examples of how these teachers used this data and the process of how they learned to accomplish this in their classroom. This is an interactive session where participants will learn how to access archived and/or real-time data related to various science concepts, organize the data for qualitative and/or quantitative data analysis and teach their students to do the same. The participants will write an outline of how they might use this strategy with their students and make list of possible promoters and inhibitors of implementing this process. CD with weblinks to archived and real-time data sites; instructions for accessing, downloading and organizing the data; and analysis techniques appropriate for K-12 students with pre-designed data-sheets will be provided. Also, teachers’ Work-Samples will be provided as evidence of K-12 student learning accompanied by teachers’ reflective analysis of the impact of using real-time data collection and analysis to learn science.
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Paper number: 12002
Forum: Seniors as Resources for Science Education
Principal Author: Bill Bill Baird, retired (Emeritus) from Auburn University, bairdwe@mindspring.com
Co-Authors: George Davis, ; Cathy Yeotis,
Abstract:
This forum is an annual part of our conference, and offers an opportunity for retired members and those who have been around for a long time to discuss ways to apply this talent pool as we look toward the future and remember the past. We have been charged by the ASTE Board with

• Mentoring ASTE members as they consider retiring from formal work

• Providing access to resources/expertise of senior members

• Fund raising for ASTE

* Writing a history of science teacher education for possible publication through ASTE

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Paper number: 12016
Using inflatable portable dome technology to provide pre-service K-6 teachers a chance to design, implement and assess student learning.
Principal Author: Kate A Baird, IUPUC, Kabaird@iupuc.edu
Co-Authors: Debbie Winikates, IUPUC; Aija Pocock, IUPUC; Chris Walcott, IUPUC
Abstract:
Our presentation provides attendees a glimpse into one strategy used to provide K-6 teacher candidates an opportunity to design, implement and asses student learning for a grade-specific, standards-based thematic unit of instruction based on a 20-30 minute 360 degree digital video experiences.

In 2007 and 2008 faculty teaching elementary content methods courses began collaborating. In designing the assessment and the Teacher Candidate learning experience, faculty envisioned that Teacher Candidates would create integrated experiences for a classroom of learners across an academic year focused on increasing K-6 learner understandings. However, the data revealed that too many Teacher Candidates were gathering and/or creating themed collections of discrete activities that fell far short of “teaching for understanding” (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005, p. 227). Three years of work focused on “teaching for understanding” have prompted discussion, inquiry and change in the areas of Teacher Candidate reflection, use of technology as teaching and learning tools, and connecting what Teacher Candidates are reading and discussing in class to experiences with K-6 learners. Although the program includes 60 hours of field experience per semester for the first 3 semesters, Teacher Candidates cannot be assured of a classroom placement that consistently provides clear opportunities for making connections between coursework and classroom practice. In 2008 faculty discussion focused on the pros and cons of a shared pedagogical vocabulary, a common lesson plan format, strengthening instruction through use of technology, and unified adoption of a backward planning model (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005). In 2009 faculty discussion focused on changes to the structure of the program field experiences which has lead to the use of the portable dome as the touchstone for the field experiences. Teacher candidates partnered with teachers in two schools to create a thematic unit based on the video assigned to that grade level.

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Paper number: 10014
Finding a faculty position in bad economic times
Principal Author: Lloyd H. Barrow, University of Missouri, barrowl@missouri.edu
Abstract:
This session is intended to assist graduate students in securing their first faculty appointment . During the winter 2009 semester there was a significant decrease in number of positions announced. Previous research has shown that a plan is needed. Each stage of employment search requires a thought-out approach. Applicants usually are most stress by deciding what institution would be best for them, telephone interviews, and related aspects of an offer. Resources and strategies will be shared in helping to prepare for a job search.
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Paper number: 10055
Issues in Local Curriculum Design for a Science Program for an Aboriginal Internet-based High School
Principal Author: Anthony W Bartley, Lakehead University, abartley@lakeheadu.ca
Co-Authors: Eli Pivnick, Keewaytinook Internet High School ; John Friesen, Lakehead University; Marc Higgins, Lakehead University
Abstract:
What kind of science curriculum best serves 9th and 10th grade aboriginal students in an internet-based high school in Northern Canada? This is the big question guiding our work in this project. A team of science education researchers and science teachers has been working together to develop a technologically rich, culturally sensitive approach to teaching and learning science. We have been using an approach influenced by work upon resiliency where “protective factors” are identified and enhanced, while “risk factors” are detected and hopefully reduced. Strategies implemented focus upon active learning through enhancing technology and situating the science program to be responsive to aboriginal culture and local environment. Students have been able to use probeware to collect and analyze their own data in a range of activities focusing upon their own communities. Embedded assessments have been designed and included to complement this approach to teaching and learning.
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Paper number: 10140
Working Around the Scientific Method: Promoting Conceptual Change in Pre-service Science Teacher Education
Principal Author: Anthony W Bartley, Lakehead University, abartley@lakeheadu.ca
Co-Authors: Wayne Melville, Lakehead University; Xavier Fazio, Brock University
Abstract:
Embedded within the discussions around the roles of preservice teachers learning about the Nature of Science is the recognition that how teachers perceive “the scientific method” has a significant influence upon how they teach science. Set in the context of a one-year post-baccalaureate program in a Canadian university, this paper sets out four years of data showing the development of preservice teachers’ views and experiences of “the scientific method” and its connection to the production of scientific knowledge. We have made extensive use of Windschitl’s (2004) models of “the scientific method” in refining the questionnaire to allow us to clarify pre-service teachers’ progression in their personal models of “the scientific method”. In our most recent cohort, over 95% of preservice teachers claimed familiarity with the classical model of “the scientific method” at the beginning of their program, while only 26% recognized the iterative features set out in Windschitl’s “model based” representation. However, a greater percentage (83%) believed that the “model based” representation was a better depiction of the generation of science knowledge than the classical model (56%). Re-administration of the questionnaire near the end of the program saw significant changes in perceptions of the classical model, with recognition of its simplicity (23%) and inaccuracy in representing science knowledge production (87%). The “model based” representation saw both greater levels of awareness (96%) and appreciation (96%), with several participants reflecting upon their own changes: it was also perceived by 92% as providing an accurate representation of science knowledge generation. We interpret our data as showing that it is possible to change preservice teachers’ perceptions of “the scientific method” and discuss both our pedagogy and our revised survey methods in the paper.
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Paper number: 10110
Exploring Graduate Assistants’ Experiences with Explicit and Reflective Approach to Teaching Nature of Science in College Biology Laboratories
Principal Author: Nazan U Bautista, Miami University, uludagn@muohio.edu
Co-Authors: Elisabeth E Schussler, Miami University
Abstract:
Scientific literacy has always been the goal of science courses at colleges and universities. It is generally thought of as having three components: scientific content knowledge, process skills (collecting and interpreting data), and the nature of science. Studies have shown that most college level science courses are focused on science content knowledge and process skills, and lack instruction on nature of science. This means that students learn the scientific concepts and technical skills necessary to do science, but not the underlying principles of how scientific knowledge develops. The assumption has been that doing science in laboratory courses or via independent research implicitly develops NOS, however, several studies have suggested that these practices do not necessarily result in an informed NOS understanding. Research indicates that an explicit and reflective teaching approach is needed for students to properly understand NOS. This approach has been successfully integrated in pre-baccalaureate education, in college as part of science methods courses for pre-service teachers, and in a college physics course for preservice science education majors. Typically, these studies were in small classes where the teacher who implemented this approach had an informed understanding of NOS. There have been no reports of how this instructional approach could be implemented in large mixed-major college science courses with labs taught by graduate students. In this study, we explore nine graduate teaching assistants’ experiences with and the implementation of the ER pedagogy in college introductory biology laboratories. In so doing, our aim is to identify possible factors that affect the implementation of this approach in college science laboratories.

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Paper number: 11032
Collecting data in the field: Attitudes of preservice elementary science teachers after a fieldtrip experience
Principal Author: Meredith L Beilfuss, Butler University, mbeilfus@butler.edu
Co-Authors: Jennifer Latimer, Indiana State University; Li-Ling Yang, Roger Williams University
Abstract:
Connecting science and society issues can serve as springboards to teaching preservice teachers about science through fieldtrips/fieldwork experiences. This poster presentation explores how a group of preservice science teachers were engaged in examining environmental concerns, specifically the presence of heavy metals and water quality, in their own community. As part of an elementary science methods course, 19 preservice teachers, were divided into several groups and participated in fieldwork within a local park. They were able to identify environmental problems associated with heavy metals both within local river sediments and in park soils. The preservice elementary teachers joined in efforts to carry out investigations with an undergraduate geochemistry class, by observing the procedures for collecting soil and river sediment samples in the field, collecting data onsite, and analyzing river water samples using RiverWatch curriculum materials in the classroom. The goals of the project were to introduce all students to field and laboratory methods, local environmental issues and the value of working with community partners. Results of a fieldtrip attitude survey indicate the experience helped the preservice teachers recognize that science doesn’t happen in just a laboratory environment and realize the potential for using local community issues for science instruction within their future classrooms. The data from this study illustrates the need for science methods courses to provide opportunities for preservice teachers to have positive experiences in outdoor settings conducting inquiry activities. These types of experiences provide preservice teachers with positive models for connecting community issues and effective teaching strategies to local environmental concerns.
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Paper number: 13011
Supporting pre- and inservice teacher inquiry into how people learn science using research consensus reports from the National Research Council
Principal Author: Philip Bell, University of Washington, Learning Sciences, pbell@u.washington.edu
Co-Authors: Leah Bricker, Loyola University Chicago; Carrie T Tzou, University of Washington Bothell
Abstract:
Science teachers need a working understanding of research findings about how students learn science in and out of school. They need to understand developmental characteristics of science learning associated with the grade levels they teach as well as the cultural practices of the communities they serve. Additionally, they need to develop a detailed knowledge of associated instructional strategies and curricular issues.

We will leverage two sets of NRC volumes that detail how, why, and where people learn science. Summarizing the research that details how students can learn science in formal instructional settings, we will draw upon the recent research consensus study Taking Science to School: Learning and Teaching Science in Grades K-8 (NRC, 2007) and an accompanying guide for practitioners titled Ready, Set, Science: Putting Research to Work in K-8 Science Classrooms (NRC, 2008). Summarizing the research that details how people learn science across a broad variety of informal environments (e.g., family activities, science center visits, afterschool programming), we will draw upon the recent research consensus study Learning Science in Informal Environments: People, Places & Pursuits (NRC, 2009) and an accompanying guide for practitioners titled Surrounded by Science (NRC, 2008).

Through a series of talks and interactive discussions, we propose to provide an overview of these volumes about how students learn science in and out of school and describe how those volumes can provide a rich platform for preservice methods instruction in science. We will ground these ideas in detailed cases of student learning and research on how preservice teachers orient to these perspectives. We will engage the audience in a structured discussion of the possibilities for broader of the NRC volumes in preservice science education and what supports might help orient broader cohorts of new teachers to the insights about teaching and learning of science described in those texts.

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Paper number: 11022
SeaSeekers: Connecting Students with Scientists; Connecting Rivers with the Ocean.
Principal Author: EV Bell, South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium/COSEE SE, elizabeth.vernon@scseagrant.org
Co-Authors: mutindi m. kiluva-ndunda, College of Charleston
Abstract:
The South Carolina State University-NSF Geosciences Opportunities for Enhancing Diversity in the Geosciences (OEDG) grant project was designed to expose middle school students to careers in geosciences. This project had both short term and long term goals. The short term goal was to engage minority middle school students at an important juncture in their education, to provide them with hands-on experiences in ocean sciences and the scientific method of inquiry, and mentoring by undergraduate minority students who will serve as role models and guides. The long term goal of this project was to create an awareness of geosciences careers to minorities and increase diversity in the geosciences workforce. Partners in the project included scientists/researchers and science educators from Center for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence – SouthEast (COSEE SE), Hollings Marine Laboratory (HML), SC Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) Marine Research Resources Institute (MRRI) and the Orangeburg National Fish Hatchery (ONFH). The scientists/researchers and marine educators provided learning opportunities for the middle school students, their teacher and the undergraduate students. The scientist/researchers provided access to geosciences facilities and mentorship to undergraduate students and the middle school students.
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Paper number: 10026
The College Moon Project: Making the Moon Real for

College Students Through Educational Technology

Principal Author: Caroline Beller, Oklahoma State University, caroline.beller@okstate.edu
Co-Authors: Kate Baird, IUPUC (Indiana University/ Purdue University/Columbus; Jean Dockers, Oklahoma State University
Abstract:
This four year study identifying student misconceptions about Earth/Moon relationships as well as limitations in content knowledge and depth of understanding on the interaction of the Earth/Moon relationship within the solar system is addressed as well as pedagogical recommendations for improving student understanding in these areas. The college students have lacked the opportunity to engage in long-term Moon inquiries while in K-16 learning situations which have enabled them to hold on to these misconceptions.

In this project the students are asked to make individual observations of the Moon for three weeks. For the next five weeks during class, the students are given about fifteen minutes to discuss their individual observations within small local groups. From these small group discussions, individual students have the opportunity to identify missing, incorrect, or partial data. Next the students begin internet-based small group discussions via email that enable them to confront the phases of the Moon and naïve misconceptions regarding Earth/Moon relationships. During the internet-based discussions, students compare observation data, look for patterns, and establish explanations for observations.

The findings from this study are based on pre and post data that have been collected over the four years of this project. Explanations drawn from writing prompts and student reflections have been used to enrich our understanding of the results.

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Paper number: 11053
Evidence on the nature of pre-service elementary teacher’s thinking as they learn to analyze videocases for science teaching.
Principal Author: Matthew J Benus, The University of Iowa, matthew-benus@uiowa.edu
Co-Authors: Kathy L Schuh, The University of Iowa
Abstract:
Students from an elementary science methods class at a university located in the Midwestern region of the United States took part in the study. These participants, as part of their course requirements, analyzed face-to-face and online-based videocases for science teaching. In this particular module, pre-service teachers watched and read about how two elementary classrooms learn about how plants live and grow. The research data consists primarily of electronically submitted work from a series of task assignments that required these pre-service teachers to analyze science classroom videos, lesson plans, and elementary student work samples. Preliminary analysis discusses the nature of pre-service elementary teacher’s thinking about teaching and learning as they analyze videocases for science teaching.
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Paper number: 10107
Inconsistency, Distrust, and Good Intentions: A White Neophyte Teacher in the Urban Science Classroom
Principal Author: Alissa Berg, Teachers College, Columbia University, abb2142@columbia.edu
Co-Authors: Christopher Emdin, Teachers College, Columbia University
Abstract:
This paper describes a yearlong study of a white second-year teacher’s attempts to connect with her culturally diverse students in the hopes of improving her teaching practice and the learning experiences of her students. In order for the science classroom to be a productive learning environment for urban youth, social capital- inherent in teacher-student relations and networks, must be collectively developed. We argue that developing these networks requires an accumulation of social capital, which in turn requires the cultivation of trusting relations between all parties involved. Many white teachers tend to struggle to connect with the minoritized students they teach. In this study, cogenerative dialogues, the most prevalent mechanism for engaging in conversations surrounding science (Tobin, 2006), were employed as a tool for building up social capital within the science classroom. These small group discussions are aimed at providing students with voice so that, together with their teacher, they collectively generate ideas and negotiate changes to be implemented in their classroom. Although a handful of students developed deeper, more trusting relationships with their teacher, the overall classroom environment did not improve to the extent that had been anticipated. The findings illuminate key requirements for ensuring cogenerative dialogues are effective, such as carving out ample time for in-depth discussions, requiring that the teacher is a participant at each meeting, and building up a core group of students who are on board with the initiative. Results also suggest that in addition to trust, other factors, for example clearly articulated expectations and consistency, are crucial in fostering a productive learning environment.

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Paper number: 10033
Synergistic Teaching of Science to English Language Learners: Comparative Analysis of the STANDARDS
Principal Author: Daniel J Bergman, Wichita State University, daniel.bergman@wichita.edu
Abstract:
This session features a content analysis (Esterberg, 2002) of salient standards publications in English Language Learning (ELL) and science instruction. It evaluates the English Language Proficiency (ELP) Standards of the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment Consortium (WIDA) and Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL). These standards are then compared with the National Science Education Standards, NSES (NRC, 1996), and the official position statements of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). In particular, the analysis highlights the high level of alignment between both disciplines. Tables and figures provide visual summaries comparing these two fields, including indication of strengths and weaknesses found in both. Discussion will conclude with how science teacher educators can help science teachers use both documents to inform and support their instructional decisions for reaching and teaching English Learners. Specific strategies teachers can use in this setting will be addressed in a SECOND session that will share results from a content analysis of pedagogical documents from the fields of ELL and science education.

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Paper number: 10061
Synergistic Teaching of Science to English Language Learners: Comparative Analysis of the STRATEGIES
Principal Author: Daniel J Bergman, Wichita State University, daniel.bergman@wichita.edu
Abstract:
This session features a content analysis (Esterberg, 2002) of salient pedagogy publications in English Language Learning (ELL) and science instruction. It evaluates the eight “Model Components” of the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol, or SIOP (Echevarria, Vogt, & Short, 2008), one of the leading curriculum and instruction guides for instructing English Learners (EL). The eight SIOP components are compared with strategic elements of inquiry-based science instruction, as described in seminal NSTA articles on inquiry as well as the National Science Education Standards, NSES (NRC, 1996), and the official position statements of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). In particular, the analysis highlights the alignment between both disciplines, including similar lesson strategies and teaching methods. Tables and figures provide visual summaries comparing these two fields. Potential divergences among these models of instruction will be discussed, along with how science teacher educators can help science teachers apply their understanding of effective science instruction to successfully teach English Learners.
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Paper number: 11049
A Bridge between Conceptual Change Models and Elementary Science Teaching to Improve Teachers’ Actions in Class
Principal Author: Marie-Noël Bêty, Université du Québec à Montréal, bety.marie-noel@courrier.uqam.ca
Co-Authors: Patrice Potvin, Université du Québec à Montréal
Abstract:
Learning science is somewhat difficult for students, particularly when it questions their conceptions. To this end, a variety of researches is realized in the research field of conceptual change. Many of these researches focus particularly on the explanation of conceptual change, developing conceptual change models. But, “it appears to be also necessary to make these theories more simple and describe conceptual change strategies in such way that they may become part of teachers’ normal routines” (Duit & Treagust, 2003, p. 684), especially for elementary school teachers.

We propose to establish a bridge between the practice of science education in elementary schools and prolific research on conceptual change from a selection of conceptual change models: Posner, Strike, Hewson and Gertzog (1982), Vosniadou (1994), diSessa (1993) and Giordan (1996) models.

This theoretical research used methods as content analysis and synthesis of units collected towards a representative sample of texts to describe each conceptual change model and to highlight their teaching indications.

Since conceptual change belongs to the constructivism paradigm, some suggestions for teaching converge even if in theory, the models differ. Indeed, according to the four models, students are required to build their knowledge and interact with their environment, teacher and peers. Some others significant suggestions promising for science education are highlighted from some models despite their theoretical differences:

-conceptual change takes time, a small selection of science concepts should be taught;

-conceptual change is facilitated when the concepts of a conceptual area are addressed one after the other and when a concept is discussed several times in different situations;

-problem resolution and knowledge integration are activities to be favoured.

The results of the analysis of these models are a contribution to make teaching of science relevant to elementary school teachers by making these available to them.
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Paper number: 10087
Representation of Scientific Methodology in Secondary Science Textbooks
Principal Author: Ian C Binns, Louisiana State University, ianbinns@lsu.edu
Co-Authors: Randy L Bell, University of Virginia
Abstract:
The purpose of this investigation was to assess the representation of scientific methodology in secondary science textbooks. More specifically, this study looked at how textbooks introduced scientific methodology and to what degree the examples from the rest of the textbook, the investigations, and the images were consistent with the text’s description of scientific methodology, if at all.

The sample included eight secondary science textbooks from two publishers, McGraw-Hill/Glencoe and Harcourt/Holt, Rinehart & Winston. Data consisted of all student text and teacher text that referred to scientific methodology. Second, all investigations in the textbooks were analyzed. Finally, any images that depicted scientists working were also collected and analyzed.

The text and activity analyses used the ethnographic content analysis approach developed by Altheide (1996). The author-developed rubrics used for the text analysis and activity analysis were initially guided by the Benchmarks (AAAS, 1993), the NSES (NRC, 1996), and the nature of science literature. Face and content validity were provided by a panel of experts followed by preliminary analyses of sample text, which served to refine each of the rubrics and ground them in the data. Image analysis used stereotypes identified in the DAST literature.

Findings indicated that all eight textbooks presented mixed views of scientific methodology in their initial descriptions. Five textbooks placed more emphasis on the traditional view and three placed more emphasis on the broad view. Results also revealed that the initial descriptions, examples, investigations, and images all emphasized the broad view for Glencoe Biology and the traditional view for Chemistry: Matter and Change. The initial descriptions, examples, investigations, and images in the other six textbooks were not consistent. Overall, the textbook with the most appropriate depiction of scientific methodology was Glencoe Biology and the textbook with the least appropriate depiction of scientific methodology was Physics: Principles and Problems.

These findings suggest that compared to earlier investigations, textbooks have begun to improve in how they represent scientific methodology. However, there is still much room for improvement. Future research needs to consider how textbooks impact teachers’ and students’ understandings of scientific methodology.

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Paper number: 10028
Social Interactions in an Outdoor Aquatic Biology Course
Principal Author: Lisa S Bircher, Kent State University, lbircher@kent.edu
Abstract:
This presentation is the result of observations that were made at a summer residential one-week aquatic biology class. Several factors seem to be of interest when analyzing the students’ experiences in this setting, including gender and social interactions in nature with same-sex peers in previous outdoor experience and the social climate of the group in the educational setting. Taken together, these factors translate into comfort or discomfort in the outdoor learning environment. The data generated from the study include researcher observations and journaling, a photographic journal and structured exit interviews with selected participants. The data were analyzed using Strauss and Corbin’s grounded theory approach (1990). Narratives of the experiences of six selected participants are highlighted in this presentation with discussion on possible interpretations of these experiences.
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Paper number: 11008
Part-time Education Doctoral Student Socialization
Principal Author: Lisa S Bircher, Kent State University, lbircher@kent.edu
Abstract:
Doctoral student socialization can be one of the most important aspects of student development that will affect future success. This interview study with part-time education doctoral students is the result of a mini-study in which I engaged as a pilot for my dissertation. It consisted of qualitative interviewing and transcript analysis. The transcripts were coded and reviewed to find themes which include logistical issues, advisement concerns and the investment that these doctoral students have in their educational careers. Narratives of the experiences of the five participants will be included as well as implications for appropriate support for these types of students.
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Paper number: 10044
Preservice Teacher Self-Efficacy and Science Interest
Principal Author: Robert E Bleicher, CSU Channel Islands, bob.bleicher@csuci.edu
Abstract:
This study (N = 148 preservice teachers) examines relationships between science interest (measured by an interest survey) and science teaching self-efficacy (measured by the STEBI-B). The information collected on the interest survey instrument was designed to provide a measure of how much personal science interest a preservice teacher may bring to a science methods course. The presumption is that the more interest a preservice teacher has in science, the more confident they might be in teaching it. At the very least, the findings from this study support the claim that there is a relationship between science interest and science teaching self-efficacy. Findings indicate that both school and home science experience variables can predict a preservice teacher’s PSTE. The findings of this present study would suggest that a more refined analysis of STEBI-B scores is recommended when these are used in educational research studies that aim at examining self-efficacy in a general population of preservice teachers. Many science educators gather data on the first day of a course about the science content knowledge that students have and their self-efficacy. The findings of this study imply that it might be useful to also collect pre information on the science interest that students bring with them as well.
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Paper number: 10234
Battling Ecophobia: Instilling Activism in Non-Science Majors when Teaching Environmental Issues
Principal Author: Mark A Bloom, Texas Christian University, M.Bloom@tcu.edu
Co-Authors: Molly Holden, Texas Christian University
Abstract:
Non-science majors often learn just enough about environmental problems to become overwhelmed with their enormity. Sobel (1996, 2007) describes this phenomenon as ecophobia. Once ecophobia sets in, students feel that the problems are too large to hope for any solution and leave with a sense of helplessness and fear. In order to help students avoid developing ecophobia when learning about environmental issues, a student-driven, solution-finding, activity was incorporated into a non-science majors biology class. Students were challenged to identify five, simple, changes they could incorporate into their daily lives that could have a positive impact on the environment.

132 students participated in the voluntary activity and discovered over 90 distinct eco-friendly actions that they could take to reduce their environmental footprints. Through this activity, students developed a more acute awareness of environmental problems as well as a sense of agency to help face them.

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Paper number: 10003
Hybrid Approach to Integrating Web-based Activities and Field Experiences to Investigate Environmental Issues
Principal Author: Alec M Bodzin, Lehigh University, amb4@lehigh.edu
Abstract:
This paper describes how the Environmental Education (EE) course at Lehigh University uses a hybrid approach of instruction using Web-based activities and face-to-face site-based experiences to primarily focus on the study of environmental issues in the Lehigh River watershed. Course activities are discussed to illustrate how technology can be used effectively to support EE and science teaching and learning with prospective and current science teachers. Site visits to areas of environmental concern support and extend the environmental education concepts and skills that are initially developed with Web-based materials. Course activities provide teachers with an in-depth content understanding of local environmental issues as well as opportunities to explore pedagogical strategies to promote issues-based approaches to learning. Course materials also take advantage of easily available geospatial information technologies to foster spatial literacy in the curriculum and support learners with the ability to make use of data visualizations for analysis and interpretation when examining environmental issues such as sprawl and land use decision-making. Advantages to using Web-enhanced learning environments for science teacher education are discussed.
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Paper number: 11038
Contexts for constructivist science curricula: Mediating different expectations and supporting different students
Principal Author: Emily J Borda, Western Washington University, bordae@wwu.edu
Co-Authors: Boudreaux J Borda, Western Washington University; Mathew Lockett, Western Washington University; Siri Wuotila, Western Washington University
Abstract:
Research has shown that science curricula based on constructivist principles can be very effective at helping students learn science, but only if the appropriate classroom culture is developed. We will describe the results of implementing the same constructivist chemistry curriculum with the same instructor in three different courses with very different structures and enrollment: 1) a large lab/ “lecture” chemistry course; 2) a small science education course with a high percentage of preservice teachers who are experienced in constructivist learning, and 3) a small science education course with a low percentage of preservice teachers and an even lower percentage of students experienced with constructivist curricula. Our data suggest students in smaller classes with higher percentages of preservice teachers experienced in constructivist learning were more successful in learning the chemistry content of the course and were more satisfied with the constructivist curriculum, but did not necessarily come to more sophisticated beliefs about the nature of science (NOS) compared to students in the larger, lower-preservice teacher enrollment courses. The instructor also found it more difficult to create “buy-in” from students in the large Chem. 101 course, as well as those in the Sced courses who were not preservice teachers and/or did not have experience learning in a constructivist environment. In this presentation we will use our data to illustrate the varying challenges of the three different courses. We will outline the special challenges in creating a constructivist culture in each context and will suggest factors that seemed most important in creating such a culture with different types of students.
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Paper number: 10105
From the Science Curriculum to the Science Fair: Student Enacted Reality Pedagogy

Principal Author: Sheila I Borges, Teachers College, Columbia University, sib2110@columbia.edu
Co-Authors: Christopher Emdin, Teachers College, Columbia University
Abstract:
Many reform movements in science education promote science inquiry, hands-on lessons and scientific literacy. However, without building a community of learners in the urban classroom, teachers cannot get through the curriculum. In this year-long research study, a Biology teacher tried to enhance science teaching and learning but encountered numerous setbacks. Initially, the teacher was not able to get through the curriculum, students grades were low, their actions towards each other and the teacher were disruptive, their knowledge on technology was limited and they demonstrated low interest in science. Through the enactment of Reality Pedagogy these issues were addressed. This presentation will feature video of: (a) the initial issues of classroom management, (b) how they were addressed by identifying negative consequences of social capital, and (c) how the induction of Reality Pedagogy improved science teaching and learning by connecting students to the classroom based on their lifeworld experiences.
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Paper number: 11029
Key components of recruiting highly qualified STEM teachers
Principal Author: Anica G Bowe, University of Minnesota, bowe0152@umn.edu
Co-Authors: Christina C Madsen, University of Minnesota; Frances Lawrenz, University of Minnesota
Abstract:
There is a lack of high quality teachers to staff the increasing numbers of high need schools (Ingersoll, 2001, 2002); this makes the issue of recruiting high quality science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers important to the arena of K-12 education. In order to meet the requirements of high need schools, the STEM workforce must not only be high quality but also diverse demographically. Supplying highly qualified STEM teachers is the responsibility of both traditional and alternative teacher preparation programs; these different types of programs attract different populations of future teachers which addresses the need for diversity. Two important elements of recruitment are effective advertising and effective screening. According to Keyzer et al. (2005), certain forms advertising are more culturally appropriate and should be tailored towards the target population. Screening criteria can examine the educational background, personal beliefs towards teaching, level of personal commitment and ultimately retention of the candidates. This presentation provides information on effective recruitment strategies and comparisons of demographics of people recruited to alternative and traditional teacher preparation/certification programs highlighting the strategies and screening criteria that were employed. Select data from a comprehensive evaluation of the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program is used to provide an example of these strategies and comparisons. The data comes from 66 surveys completed by Noyce Program PIs, 507 surveys completed by Noyce scholars, and 39 interviews of Noyce scholars. These findings show how personal and external characteristics influence the effectiveness of specific methods for recruiting teachers for high need settings. Overall, attendees of the presentation will be informed of potential key elements to include in future recruitment plans that would possibly make them more effective for recruiting the most qualified and committed teachers.
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Paper number: 10075
Reconnecting Children to the Natural World through use of an After-School “Nature Club”
Principal Author: Ryan Brock, University of Nevada, Reno, rbrock@unr.edu
Co-Authors: David T Crowther, University of Nevada, Reno
Abstract:
“Title” is a study which analyzes the components of an after school “Nature Club”, which has components of a formal and nonformal educational setting, to determine which methods best help to create or strengthen an environmental identity and build connections with nature. Environmental Identity and Connectedness to Nature were pre/post assessed using likert scales, the Environmental Identity Scale (Clayton, 2003) and the Connectedness to Nature-Kids Version (Frantz, 2008). The Nature Club met once a week for nine weeks in a classroom at the school where students were introduced to hands on investigations and learning about nature and then were offered three “Saturday Excursions” to meet the teacher in natural settings to experience the local environment hands on. Besides hands on experiences both in the formal setting and the nonformal settings, students also kept “Nature Notebooks” for observations and reflections and had the chance to share digital nature photos with the rest of the club members, which they took outside the club meetings. This data was analyzed through qualitative means.

Although qualitative differences were noted, results from the quantitative pre/post assessment indicate there is no difference between the pre and post assessment. The mixed results from this pilot study provide a rationale for developing or simplifying the existing scales to use with students at the fourth grade level, in addition to collecting extensive data at the qualitative level to determine if such a “Nature Club” decreases nature deficit disorder.

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Paper number: 10009
Impact of Environmental Education Summer Science Institute on Teacher-Leader’s Content Knowledge and Pedagogy
Principal Author: Sherri L Brown, University of Louisville, s.brown@louisville.edu
Abstract:
This study summarizes the impact of an environmental education (EE) summer science institute on teachers’ content knowledge and pedagogy. A summer environmental science institute, which was part of a graduate course, provided K-12 teachers experiences designed to increase urban, low-SES middle school students’ engagement in learning environmental science concepts. Teachers participated as leaders in organizing teaching and learning experiences for urban youth that primarily focused on site visits to community-based venues. These site visits (e.g., water treatment facility, sewage treatment facility, power plant, forest and arboretum, cave system, and zoo) showcased environmental science issues addressed on a daily basis. From analysis of interview, lesson plan and pedagogical content reflection data sources, the K-12 teachers gained an enduring awareness of the impact that they can have on the environment. Teachers used their newly acquired knowledge in discussing some of the concepts from these community sites in their classrooms with their students. Teachers also implemented activities (e.g., karst model, food web model) from the institute to underscore their current classroom curriculum. The data supported that the teachers moved along the environmental education continuum (United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization/United Nations Environment Program, 1978), from “awareness and sensitivity to the total environment” to “knowledge gained via experiences” (i.e. supporting learning of institute participants before and after through community tours).
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Paper number: 10015
Outcomes of Two Science Environmental Science Institutes on Urban Middle School Students
Principal Author: Sherri L Brown, University of Louisville, s.brown@louisville.edu
Abstract:
This study provides an overview of a summer science institute which offers rising 7th grade urban, low-SES middle school students a substantial amount of direct experiences with applications of science in their everyday lives as well as a deeper exploration of the relevant underlying environmental science principles and concepts. Students participate in learning experiences from on-site visits to community-based venues, which include a water treatment facility, a sewage treatment facility, a power plant, a forest and arboretum, a cave system, and zoo. From analysis of the pre-post content assessment, students show significant gains in content knowledge [t(df=30) = 0.00, p<.001]. From analysis of the pre-post environmental science attitudinal survey, students show significant [t(df=29)=0.00, p<0.001] positive change for items measuring beliefs such as “making a difference in improving our environment” and “willingness to work to protect the environment.” Based upon open-coding techniques supported by qualitative analysis (Strauss & Corbin, 1998), students’ questionnaire responses, letters to self, and notebook entries revealed three initial emergent themes: (a) expanded experience with science, (b) factual content knowledge, and (c) societal level impacts of conservation. The initial qualitative analysis, results indicate that students make substantial gains in understanding the importance of environmental science issues and move along the environmental education continuum from “awareness and sensitivity to the total environment” to “knowledge gained via experiences”. If data continue to show the institute as effective in enhancing the students’ environmental science content knowledge and attitudes, then reporting details of the institute’s implementation would be useful for anyone wanting to conduct similar experiences for achieving or underachieving youth. This study directly addressed the need for community-based organization (i.e., summer institute) research, which was reported “clearly lacking” by an Informal Science Education Ad Hoc Committee (Dierking et al., 2003, p. 109).
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Paper number: 12024
The good, the bad and the ugly: Surviving NSTA/NCATE SPA process
Principal Author: Erica M Brownstein, Capital University, ebrownst@capital.edu
Co-Authors: Linda Kleeman, Harris-Stowe State University; Beverly Wilkins, Harris-Stowe State University; John MacDougal, Harris-Stowe State University; Karen Harrington, University of Akron; Nidaa Makki, University of Akron; Scott Robinson, University of Hawaii at Manoa; Jon Yoshioka, University of Hawaii at Manoa
Abstract:
Accreditation is the means that institutions meet standards of quality as determined by the accrediting body. In 2003 in the US, the National Science Teacher’s Association (NSTA) revised the Standards for science Teacher Preparation (NSTA-SSTP). Programs submit assessments for review and, if sufficient demonstration of meeting the standards is clear, NSTA recognizes those programs. Since the fall of 2005, there have been 363 submissions for NSTA recognition. The pass rate in the fall of 2005 was 28% and in the spring of 2009 has risen to 82%.While the pass rate has increased dramatically, it is clear that more work needs to be done. Enabling institutions that are successful to share their stories is a way to contribute to the science education community.

It is a possible goal that science education can lead the way in meeting the established standards for all science teacher preparation programs. If in sharing stories, institutions show the benefits and drawbacks of NSTA recognition, other science educators can decide if they wish to become part of ensuring that all newly prepared science teachers have a level of competence.

Each institution represented is Nationally Recognized by NSTA. However, the paths that they followed were different and the circumstances at each institution are unique. One institution passed on the first submission, another had two, and a third submitted three before being fully recognized.

Each institution will discuss:

- Briefly describe the institution (who, what, where, how big IHE, types of programs offered)

- What have you learned through the program report writing process?

- What are some of the limitations you encountered?

- How have you used data to improve the program?

- How might you use the recognition process as scholarship for the profession?

- What they expect in the future.

Questions from the audience are welcome.
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Paper number: 11018
Sustainability: A Look at one NSF GK-12
Principal Author: Andrea C. Burrows, University of Cincinnati, andrea.burrows@uc.edu
Abstract:
The Science and Technology Enhancement Program (STEP) at the University of Cincinnati (UC) links university faculty, graduate students, secondary teachers, and secondary students in an effort to enhance student competence and promote awareness in STEM disciplines. Graduate-student Fellows gain valuable experience assisting and teaching in urban high schools. This NSF-funded project has generated hundreds of STEM lessons suitable for use by secondary school teachers. The sustainability of the program is the focus of this poster as viewed through the lessons, students, teachers, website, and the STEP Fellows. Over the past eight years, Project STEP has interacted with all of these groups to create and implement a successful community partnership. Conclusions are presented and concerns addressed. Project STEP students, teachers, and Fellows demonstrate increased awareness of the requirements and challenges of effective STEM education.
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Paper number: 10016
Exploring Ethical Decision Making of Beginning Science Teachers through Citizen Science Methods
Principal Author: Aris Reynold V Cajigal, University of Georgia, aris_rv_cajigal@yahoo.com
Co-Authors: Deborah J Tippins, University of Georgia; Michael P Mueller, University of Georgia
Abstract:
This interpretive study explored how beginning secondary science teachers make ethical decisions in the context of a science teaching methods course that integrates citizen science. Our study utilized popular culture movies that depict ethical decisions in science to help us examine the participants’ ethical decision making. The study involved beginning science teachers enrolled in a teaching methods course at a university in Southeastern United States during the Spring 2009 semester. First, students watched the popular culture movie, Eight Below (2006), a story of a scientist who travels to the Antarctic in search of a meteorite. After watching the movie students discussed the ethical decisions in the movie in small groups. The students also participated in a chemistry laboratory activity related to the movie. Second, student groups developed their own popular culture videocase around a movie of their choice. Four groups of students worked on different movies for their projects: Ice Age 2 (2006), Wall-E (2008), Twister (1996), and Gattaca (1997). Each group watched the movie and used the context of the movie to develop hands-on science activities and ethical decision simulations.

Beginning science teachers viewed ethical decisions as involving morals, clear distinction between right and wrong and embodied ethics where thought and action are inseparable. Ethical dilemmas stimulated the beginning teachers’ anthropocentric and biocentric thinking that was mediated by a utilitarian rationale. The beginning teachers demonstrated a relativist perspective in dealing with ethical dilemmas; tended to suggest actions that benefit others to redeem themselves from mistakes in ethical decisions they previously made; employed a crisis approach in developing their ethical decision simulations; and believed that citizen science should be fostered in schools through the formation of ethical communities.

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Paper number: 10006
Reform efforts in science education: Comparisons between Korean and U.S. classrooms
Principal Author: Todd Todd Campbell, Utah State University, todd.campbell@usu.edu
Co-Authors: Phil Seok Oh, Gyeongin National University of Education, South Korea; Myeong-Kyeong Shin, Gyeongin National University of Education, South Korea; Danhui Zhang, Beijing Normal University, China
Abstract:
This research presentation describes a comparison of Korean and U.S. student experiences in science classrooms. A sample of 26 Korean and 40 U.S. science teachers were observed using the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP). Quantitative methods were employed to describe the experiences of students from each country and whether statistically different experiences were found when comparing these groups. Results indicated that student experiences in Korea and the U.S. were generally speaking, very similar. Student/Teacher Relationships was identified as one difference. This signified that U.S. teachers 1) emphasized the generation of conjectures or alternative solutions strategies, 2) acted as resources to support and enhance student investigation, and 3) listened to students more in their science instruction compared to Korean teachers. While both groups were found focused on science content, the Korean teachers were described as better prepared to support student learning with respect to content understanding. Finally, lesson design and communication found in classrooms from both countries were identified as elements worthy of continual improvement. These findings will be described in greater detail during this presentation.
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Paper number: 10054
Great Basin Science for Great Basin Teachers: An Iterative Process
Principal Author: Pamela Cantrell, Brigham Young University, pamela_cantrell@byu.edu
Co-Authors: Leigh K. Smith, Brigham Young University
Abstract:
Two cohorts of science teachers in grades 4-12 participated in a professional development program designed to increase their content knowledge relative to the Great Basin and to facilitate the learning and transfer of science inquiry pedagogy to their classrooms. The program consisted of three developmental phases across nine months that introduced participants to content and pedagogy in preparation for the field excursion, immersed them in deep science content and inquiry activities in the Great Basin desert, and prepared them to transfer this new knowledge to their classrooms. After the first teacher cohort completed the program, changes were made to methods and instructional materials in hopes of improving the effectiveness of teacher learning and understanding of deep content and science inquiry pedagogy. Both cohorts were assessed using several measures and results were compared between cohorts to determine if the changes resulted in measureable differences in the second cohort.
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Paper number: 13001
New Pathways in STEM teacher education: Examining the role of engineering in science teacher education
Principal Author: Brenda M. Capobianco, Purdue University, bcapo@purdue.edu
Co-Authors: Allan Feldman, University of South Florida; Kelly Pirog, University of Massachusetts Amherst; Shane Brown, Washington State University; Larry Flick, Oregon State University
Abstract:
Integrating engineering ideas, principles, and practices in/with science education provides a glimpse of the virtually unexplored potential for engineering education in science curriculum, teaching, and learning. This presentation will provide a platform for STEM teacher educators to merge central ideas and intellectual resources and create a unified, innovative approach to high quality STEM education. The research papers examine the significant role engineering and the engineering design process may play in how elementary school teachers teach science through design; how elementary school students learn science through design; and how educators (i.e. engineering educators) use best practices (peer tutoring) as a vehicle to enhance science students’ transition from the high school to college classroom. By re-positioning the instruction and curriculum often implemented in our science teacher education programs to the ideas, skills, and behaviors practiced by scientists and engineers (and visa versa), science teacher educators can improve the learning, preparation, and professionalization of our teachers as well as the accessibility of science for all students.
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Paper number: 10068
Students’ Understanding of Dual-Meaning Vocabulary Words in the College Chemistry Classroom
Principal Author: Shannon L Carheden, University of Northern Colorado, shannon.carheden@gmail.com
Co-Authors: Youngjin Song, University of Northern Colorado
Abstract:
This study looks at a variety of dual-meaning vocabulary (DMV) or in the college chemistry classroom to see whether students are able to reconstruct their everyday meanings into scientific ones. Whether or not students were able to retain and apply the scientific definitions and the techniques students used to learn new vocabulary was also investigated. In order to investigate these questions, 13 students were interviewed about their definitions of 11DMV. Each student was interviewed about each word prior to its introduction in lecture and after introduction. Based on the transcription and data analysis 6 themes were identified: 1) Students originally defined the DMV with its everyday meaning; 2) Students learned the everyday definitions in at an early age and in an everyday context; 3) After learning the scientific definition, most students still thought of the everyday definition first; 4) Students identified a number of reasons for their lack of scientific definition retention; 5) Three factors helped students to retain the definition of DMV; and 6) Students used rote memorization techniques in order to learn new scientific vocabulary. The implications are that science teachers must be aware that students continue to rely on everyday meanings of DMV even after classroom instruction and students need explicit training in successful vocabulary and concept learning techniques.
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Paper number: 12021
Addressing Inattentive Behavior Through Whole Brain Teaching
Principal Author: Nathan Carnes, University of South Carolina, ncarnes@mailbox.sc.edu
Abstract:
As some scholars indicate teacher candidates who now populate our classrooms are different than those that we taught several years ago. An increasing number of students seem disengaged, passive, and bored with learning experiences and content that we provide. My experience is that more preservice teachers engage in off-task behaviors that included sending text messages, discussion of social events, failing to take notes during micro- lectures, and engaging in private discussions during instruction and small group engagements. Occasionally, an intern will fall asleep. So, it has become more of a challenge to keep teacher candidates engaged and to think critically about the science education that they receive.

My search for a solution led me to Power Teaching, more recently renamed Whole Brain Teaching (Biffle, 2009). It is a grassroots education reform movement that started in 1999 with the assistance of two elementary school teachers and stands on the premise that all teachers, from kindergarten to college, are faced with students who lack self-discipline, prerequisite knowledge, and fundamental problem solving skills. However, they respond to challenges, enjoy well-designed learning games, and can make, in the proper setting, astonishing educational progress. During that first class session of one of my science methods courses, I taught and implemented the basic structure of Whole Brain Teaching. By the end of the semester, I received enthusiastic responses from the MAT interns and a decrease in undesirable behaviors. A few interns tried various aspects of the “system” with students at their internship site and reported much success. My presentation will provide a brief overview of the system’s components and a personal account of how the approach impacted elementary teacher candidates.
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Paper number: 11016
Science talk: Science discourse as formative assessment in an afterschool science program with preservice teachers
Principal Author: Tina J Cartwright, Marshall University, tina.cartwright@marshall.edu
Abstract:
A pilot study was conducted to assess the impacts of preservice teacher involvement in community-based service learning (CBSL) on their subsequent science instruction. Designed to promote science inquiry, practicing hands-on/minds-on methods, preservice teachers learn how to offer students more opportunities to develop their own ways of thinking. Three preservice teachers were followed into their student teaching experiences to examine and evaluate their approach to a real classroom. Investigation methods included field observations and semi-structured, individual interviews of preservice teachers and mentor teachers. Preliminary findings indicate that preservice teachers’ ideas of student discourse are transformed while in the afterschool setting and are applied during their student teaching experiences, to include multiple modes of formative assessment. Elementary preservice teachers also reveal that changes in their attitude and efficacy regarding science teaching occurred. One central theme, “science talk” or thinking it through together, was identified from the research data. These formative assessments encourage and expose student thinking in a safe learning environment.

For this qualitative study, ten participants – four current preservice afterschool teachers; four former afterschool preservice teachers, who are now student teaching; and two mentor inservice teachers were purposely sampled. The impact on these participating preservice teachers might be argued to be significant in unique ways. Lisa’s story is one that may be considered typical for elementary preservice teachers who are apprehensive about teaching science. While Anita is confident in her science subject matter, the central role of students and their ideas has transformed her classroom to truly foster science inquiry in the middle-school science classroom. While these students’ and teachers’ experiences are few in number, the potential of this approach to preservice teacher preparation is significant. CBSL teaching opportunities for both elementary and middle-school preservice teachers can support their growing ideas of science inquiry instruction.
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Paper number: 10173
Science Classroom Safety: A Comparison of the Perspectives of Pre-service and In-service Teachers
Principal Author: Jeffrey S Carver, West Virginia University, jeffrey.carver@mail.wvu.edu
Co-Authors: Michelle Richards-Babb, West Virginia University; Jennifer Robertson-Honecker,
Abstract:
In a state-wide survey conducted in West Virginia it has been documented that West Virginia in-service teachers consider the safety preparation of pre-service teachers to be inadequate, particularly regarding chemical storage, chemical safety, and chemical disposal. However, pre-service students are expressing concerns over too strong of a focus on safety instruction at the expense of science content and pedagogical content knowledge in a curriculum that is already very full. In addition, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as well as the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and the National Science Teachers’ Association (NSTA) have all expressed concerns over science safety instruction for pre-service science teachers. This paper will focus on the comparison and contrast of the survey results of in-service teachers’ perceptions of pre-service teacher preparation in science safety with pre-service teachers’ perceptions of their own science safety preparation. Novice conceptions regarding science classroom safety held by pre-service science teachers will be discussed and suggestions for integrating science classroom safety instruction into the science methods curriclum as well as the science content curriculum will be offered.
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Paper number: 12017
Safety in the Science Classroom: It’s Not an Accident
Principal Author: Jeffrey S Carver, West Virginia University, jeffrey.carver@mail.wvu.edu
Co-Authors: William J.F. Hunter, Illinois State University
Abstract:
Veteran teachers view the safety training of new teachers to be inadequate. Yet pre-service teachers tend to view safety as an unnecessary afterthought to their lesson planning. Issues related to an already full curriculum have presented a situation where safety training is lacking in many pre-service teachers as they enter the profession. This session will address these concerns through experiential activities related to implementing science classroom safety instruction into science content courses or science methods courses without significantly increasing the course content. A brief sharing of current practices in science safety instruction in science content and methods classes will open the session. However, the focus will be on short activities that can become part of the already existing curriculum such as utilizing an MSDS as part of an inquiry lesson on density; practicing waste minimization and appropriate chemical storage and labeling through a hands-on (or simulated) storeroom clean up activity; and implementing classroom safety checklists into clinical experiences associated with methods classes. This session will serve as an introduction to a science classroom safety curriculum being developed for graduate assistants, pre-service teachers, k-12 teachers, and college faculty.
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Paper number: 10195
Virtual Reality Learning Environment for Drug Use Education
Principal Author: Meng-Tzu Cheng, North Carolina State University, mengtzu@gmail.com
Co-Authors: Leonard Annetta, North Carolina State University; Shawn Holmes, North Carolina State University; Elizabeth Folta, North Carolina State University; Rebecca Cheng, North Carolina State University
Abstract:
Since illicit drug use burgeoned its way into the youth population in the mid 1960’s, it has remained a major public health problem in America. Drug use results in severely negative consequences and subsequently leads to motor and cognition impairments, yet people generally lack the knowledge about the impact of illicit or licit drugs on the brain. This study used a virtual reality learning environment combined with a video game as a teaching and learning tool, aiming at improving the neuroscience literacy of the general public, conveying knowledge about the impacts of methamphetamine abuse on the brain to the population, and establishing a stronger concept of drug use prevention among children.

A mixed-method design including pre/post/delayed-post test instruments and interviews was conducted for 98 middle school students ranging from sixth to eighth grades. The results indicate that: 1) students’ understanding of the impact of methamphetamine abuse on the brain was significantly improved after exposure to the virtual reality learning environment regardless of grade or gender; 2) students still demonstrated a better understanding in delayed posttests compared to pretests. In particular, regarding the knowledge of the physical and functional impairments associated with taking methamphetamines, student performance on delayed posttests were as good as posttests, meaning they retained understanding even a month after the treatment; 3) in order to describe the situation that occurred in the video game, students generated several alternative explanations instead of using the content embedded in the exhibit; and 4) the findings of students’ pre-existing knowledge and their understanding after the treatment indicated a tendency of progression.

Overall, these findings imply that the use of a virtual reality learning environment combined with a video game have a positive influence on students’ learning, especially for learning the impact of methamphetamine abuse on the brain from a neuroscience perspective.

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Paper number: 11042
Stimulating Students¡¯ Negotiation about Inquiry Investigation in Online Environment
Principal Author: Aeran Choi, Kent State University, achoi1@kent.edu
Co-Authors: Brian Hand, University of Iowa; Lori Norton-Meier, Iowa State University
Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to investigate the online dialogic argumentation produced by 5th grade students as a way of expanding an in-class inquiry-based scientific investigation. The two 5th grade teachers initiated the online dialogue about the Plant Investigation using the Moodle system. Each of forty-six groups of students from five classes of the two teachers post their group question, claim, and evidence; negotiated the meaning of their inquiry-based Plant Investigation with other participant students in a written form. Seven-hundred thirty-nine notes were produced by one-hundred seven students in the online discussion about the ¡®Plant Investigation.¡¯ Most students post more than two notes of the Plant Investigation online discussion; were involved in the online discussion about more than two groups¡¯ investigations. Students who post their group question/claim/evidence actively responded to other participant students¡¯ challenge and query as they justify, clarify, and provide more information on their claims and evidence. Forty-six percentages of comments by other participant students focused on challenging, providing, requesting, and supporting evidence in terms of sufficiency, reliability, validity, and accuracy to negotiate the meaning out of their inquiry-based investigation. In addition, thirty-eight percentages of comments by students focused on challenging and querying about test procedure in terms of test design, used materials, amount of materials, and experimental condition. Critical aspects of pedagogy of how to stimulate students to negotiate meaning out of their own inquiry-based laboratory investigations will be discussed in the poster presentation.
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Paper number: 10123
Science Curriculum Development in Online Environments: A SCALE to Enhance Teachers’ Science Learning
Principal Author: Renee M Clary, Mississippi State University, rclary@geosci.msstate.edu
Co-Authors: James H Wandersee, Louisiana State University
Abstract:
A science curriculum should emphasize the nature of science, and foster the development of scientific habits of mind within students. This is particularly important within science content courses designed for practicing teachers, who will teach the subject matter as well as model scientific methods within their own classrooms. Previous science educational research revealed that inquiry-based and active-learning strategies in traditional classrooms can result in meaningful student learning, but the translation of these methods in online environments is far less researched. Therefore, we focused on science curriculum development in the online environment by which science content, the nature of science, and scientific habits of mind can be conveyed to practicing teachers.

Through numerous semesters (N = 10) and a variety of online science courses (N = 6), our research demonstrated that online science curriculum development proceeds successfully through incorporation of SCALE. The online science curriculum should focus upon Self-directed autonomous activities, Community-based learning, both within an online environment and within the teachers’ local areas, Active-learning strategies that move practicing teachers beyond the confines of the computer environment, and Local Environment incorporation for easy access and relevance to individual online learners. The SCALE method allows for interdisciplinary and integrated science curriculum in a variety of online science environments. The resultant content is consistent with the theory of human constructivism, which stresses that “less is more,” and it emphasizes meaning over memorization, quality over quantity, and understanding over awareness.

SCALE can be accomplished through autonomous informal activities utilizing teachers’ local field sites, history of science investigations, online community discussions, and interdisciplinary topic portals for self-directed research and classroom implementation. Our mixed methodology research investigations indicate that more successful learning occurs within an online science SCALE curriculum. SCALE may also result in more positive teacher attitudes toward online science courses.

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Paper number: 11060
Making Explicit the Teacher’s Role in Inquiry Teaching: A Professional Development Resource for Inservice and Preservice Teachers
Principal Author: Michael P. Clough, Iowa State University, mclough@iastate.edu
Co-Authors: Jerrid W. Kruse, Iowa State University
Abstract:
Learning for understanding and teaching that promotes such understanding are both complicated acts. Effectively teaching science through inquiry is particularly complex because through that approach students’ misconceptions and thinking spill out into the classroom. During science inquiry experiences, the teacher’s role in student learning is far more critical, for without-well reasoned teacher intervention, students will become frustrated as they alone will rarely create meaning similar to that of the scientific community (Southerland et al., 2005). This, in part, may explain the all too common practices of lecturing, textbook assignments, worksheets, and cookbook activities in science teaching.

Too often science teaching resources and journals give the mistaken impression that good activities alone are sufficient for effective teaching and learning. But even the best activities do not by themselves effectively teach students to reach the important goals we have for science education. Teachers exert the greatest influence in the classroom through the way in which they engage students in the curriculum. However, the overwhelming layered complexities of learning and teaching often cloud the value of important findings regarding the teacher’s role in creating powerful learning experiences for children. Clough et al. (In press) provide a detailed account of the teacher’s role and other decisions that make up the layered complexities of teaching.

In this session, a freely available on-line professional development resource will be presented that, in the context of classroom inquiry activities, addresses these layered complexities and explicitly illuminates the teachers’ crucial role in teaching science through inquiry. Teacher educators will find this resource useful in working with both preservice and inservice teachers.

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Paper number: 13019
Seamlessly Teaching Science Content and the Nature of Science
Principal Author: Michael P. Clough, Iowa State University, mclough@iastate.edu
Co-Authors: Jerrid W. Kruse, Iowa State University; Benjamin C. Herman, Iowa State University; Jennifer A.R. Smith, Iowa State University; Jesse W. Wilcox, Iowa State University
Abstract:
Understanding the NOS is key to science literacy (AAAS, 1989; Matthews, 1994; McComas & Olson, 1998; NRC, 1996) and to enticing students to further their science education. The centrality of the NOS for science literacy is illustrated in the way it impacts students’ attitudes toward science and science classes, and their understanding of science content. Past attempts at accurately portraying the NOS in science textbooks, or developing primary source materials that concentrate on the history and nature of science have been problematic because they have emphasized the history of science to such an extent that most science teachers perceived the science content as secondary. A key solution to this tension is the development of materials that teach both science content and the NOS, and teachers can infuse when and where they deem suitable.

With National Science Foundation Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement (CCLI) funding, we have created thirty historical science stories (six each for astronomy, biology, chemistry, geology and physics) that teach both science content and the NOS, and that science teachers can infuse when and where they deem suitable. In this session, we present (1) the project rationale and intended audience, (2) the project web site “The Story Behind the Science” (http://www.storybehindthescience.org) and freely available stories and supporting materials, (3) how the project materials can be used in science teacher education, (4) instructors’ and students’ attitudes toward the stories, and (5) the efficacy of the stories for improving post-secondary students’ NOS understanding.

Those who teach the NOS to preservice and inservice teachers, NOS researchers, NOS curriculum developers, and post-secondary introductory science instructors will find this presentation particularly interesting.

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Paper number: 10045
Parochial and Public School Students Views on Evolution and Religion: a comparison study
Principal Author: Alan Colburn, California State Univ. Long Beach, acolburn@csulb.edu
Co-Authors: Ralph Varela, Corona del Mar High School
Abstract:
The teaching of biological evolution has been controversial for over eight decades. The controversy often stems from people who believe evolution represents a threat to Christianity. Meanwhile, the Roman Catholic Church is the largest religious denomination in the United States. Despite the lengthy history of controversy surrounding teaching evolution and the sheer size of the Roman Catholic Church—and the school system it supports—little research exists involving both subjects.

This presentation will discuss a study comparing biological evolution misconceptions amongst students in Roman Catholic high schools and peers in public high schools. The study also examined Catholic school students’ views regarding their own religious beliefs. The topics will be of interest to ASTE members interested in evolution misconceptions, the nature of science, and issues surrounding teaching biological evolution in secondary schools.

155 students at public and parochial schools completed a questionnaire asking them how strongly they agreed or disagreed with twenty statements about biological evolution. Students attending Roman Catholic schools were also presented with additional items regarding their thoughts about various religious ideas.

Students’ ideas about biological evolution represented a mixture of apparent misconceptions and scientifically accepted views. Public school students performed “better” than parochial school counterparts, though neither group produced stellar results. Results further indicated the vast majority of students believed it was OK to learn about biological evolution, even if they didn’t believe it to be true. Students attending parochial schools tended to have religious views similar to those of the Roman Catholic Church, except for misunderstanding the Church’s views on evolution.

The presentation and accompanying paper will lay out highlights from the many ways the questionnaire data were analyzed statistically, our interpretations of the data—including explanations for a couple apparent inconsistencies—and end by considering some of the work’s implications for those interested in the teaching of biological evolution.

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Paper number: 12018
All Mixed Up!: An Interactive Lab-Based Scenario Exploring Team-based Research
Principal Author: Ana M Corbacho , University of California, Davis, ana.corbacho@cbst.ucdavis.edu
Co-Authors: Jodie A Galosy, University of California, Davis; Michelle McCombs, University of California, Davis
Abstract:
The "Mixed Up" activity presents an authentic and contextualized scientific problem that challenges and motivates students to recover protein from contaminated or mystery samples. The solution to the problem requires the development of skills in basic wet lab techniques, simple protocol design, data analysis, and graphic/written/oral communication. Students work in diverse teams (3-4 students per group) organized by considering multiple factors (i.e. different learning styles, science majors, lab skills level, leadership skills, ethnicity/gender). The students research and determine the methods needed to solve the problem within the limits of available resources. The instructor serves as a facilitator and refrains from providing answers unless absolutely necessary.

The design of the activity scenario creates a situation where the contribution of every team member is valued and necessary. Proficiency in any particular discipline is not enough to find the solution to the complex problem; students have to pool knowledge and skills from different fields, and think outside the box in resourceful ways.

Analysis of data collected through a portfolio of evaluation instruments (survey questionnaires, free-writes, and personal statements) show significant gains in confidence and laboratory skills, independent of the level at the beginning of the program. Moreover, participants reported an increase in their likelihood to consider research science as a future career. In summary, participation in a problem-based research activity with a design that deliberately emphasizes diverse, interdisciplinary interactions has great promise as a successful strategy for raising confidence and stimulating further pursuit of a career in STEM fields.

During the session participants will be placed in interdisciplinary teams and simulate the scenario. We will build on participants’ scientific expertise to propose solutions to the scenario and explore the dynamics of interdisciplinary teams. Evaluation tools also will be shared. The scenario is adaptable to grades 7-16 science and teacher professional development courses/programs.

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Paper number: 11036
Constructivist Approaches to an Integrated Mathematics/Science Methods Course
Principal Author: Peter C Cormas, Providence College, pcormas@providence.edu
Abstract:
Many elementary teacher education programs have an integrated mathematics/science methods course which is to prepare preservice teachers for the teaching of mathematics and science. Although the disciplines of mathematics and science are philosophically similar (Lakatos, 1970; Popper, 1995) and the teaching of both are recommended to be based on constructivist based philosophies (Cobb, 1990), the reform movement contends that science is to be taught with the inquiry-based approach (NRC, 1996) and mathematics with the problem-solving approach (Carpenter, et al., 1996). These approaches differ in many ways and it is not understood how methods instructors are to best construct an integrated course which aids preservice teachers in reform-based teaching. This study uses two well known approach-influenced variations in one integrated course: CGI, based on the problem-solving approach, paired with the 5E model, a non inquiry-based instructional sequence. The study was conducted at a small northeastern college with undergraduate preservice teachers (n=32) who enrolled in the course. Preservice teachers were asked to complete an anonymous 16 question Likert-scaled pretest on the first day of classes. CGI was centered on four weekly child interviews at a local elementary school. The second half of the course, teachers taught four 5E lesson plans using the constructivistic ideas learned from the CGI interviews, and taught the lessons to children. On the last week of the course, teachers were asked to complete an identical 16 question Likert-scaled post-test. A final analysis yielded similar mathematics and science belief gains in the course, despite the use of the non inquiry-based 5E model. The use of CGI may have helped preservice teachers understand constructivist principles which were transferred to the use of the 5E model, raising science belief scores.
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Paper number: 10085
Preservice teachers and scientific modeling: Synthesizing results of a multi-year, multi-site project
Principal Author: Elizabeth A Davis, University of Michigan, betsyd@umich.edu
Co-Authors: Michele Nelson, University of Michigan; Barbara Hug, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Lisa Kenyon, Wright State University; Michelle Cotterman, Wright State University; Tang Wee Teo, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Abstract:
Scientific modeling is an authentic scientific practice that can be used to enhance elementary and middle school science teaching. Scientific modeling can help students learn science content as well as authentic inquiry skills. Yet preservice elementary and middle school teachers may struggle with incorporating modeling into their instruction, due to limited metamodeling knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge for scientific modeling. We have explored preservice teachers’ understandings related to scientific modeling and its use in K-8 classrooms in a multi-site research project over three years. Our results suggest that preservice teachers may initially recognize that models can be used to represent ideas and even to help one understand or explain a phenomenon. They may not, however, initially recognize how models can be used to make predictions or revise ideas. With instruction, preservice teachers can develop the beginnings of PCK for scientific modeling as well as developing improved understandings of models and modeling. Our results suggest, for example, some important shifts in how they consider the inclusion of a range of modeling practices and explicit treatment of modeling, particularly when they are reacting to alternative versions of lessons (as opposed to designing their own lessons). In addition, some preservice teachers may come to recognize the value of including scientific modeling in elementary or middle school classrooms as a way to help students understand scientific modeling. Others, however, continue to hold a more limited view of the value of scientific modeling--as a way to help children learn scientific content. Based on our iterative design process, we have developed a set of emergent design principles for incorporating models and modeling into preservice elementary and middle school teacher education courses. We conclude with a discussion of these and, more broadly, implications for science teacher education.
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Paper number: 13013
Towards the Development of an International Science Teacher Education Course: Some Strategies, Issues, and Experiences
Principal Author: Tippins Deborah, University of Georgia, dtippins@uga.edu
Co-Authors: Norman Thomson, University of Georgia; Stacey Britton, University of Georgia; Aris Cajigal, University of Georgia; Gerri Cole, ; Donna Governor, University of Georgia
Abstract:
In recent years, discussions of science teacher education aims, policy and practice worldwide have become prevalent in the science education discourse. Responding to the fast pace of globalization and processes spurred by the Internet, universities are encouraging the development of courses and experiences which identify and infuse international content and perspectives. Keeping in mind the importance of fostering positive attributes and values about other cultures, we design a course entitled "International Science Teacher Education" to initiate cross-cultural dialogues, about pressing issues in science teacher education and explore conceptual linkages between internationalizing and science education curricula. The development of every curriculum begins with certain convictions about the world, even thought they may be tacit or unconscious. In this session we first provide an overview of the philosophical commitments and goals of the course, and examine some of the issues at the heart of internationalizing science teacher education curricula. We consider the broader challenge of designing an "International Science Teacher Education" course which enriches the overall quality of our research, teaching and service and broadens its impact. The interactive nature of this session will provide participants an opportunity to actively engage in several activities at the heart of this course. Following the brief introduction of course goals and discussion of some of the challenges of internationalizing science teach education curricula, participants will participate in sample activities central to the course.
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Paper number: 11002
Biotechnology and Inquiry-Based Learning: A Course Designed for Middle Grades and Secondary Science Teachers
Principal Author: Warren J DiBiase, UNC Charlotte, wjdibias@uncc.edu
Co-Authors: Todd R Steck, UNC Charlotte
Abstract:
Biotechnology is a content area for the middle grades and secondary science curriculum in most states. Middle grades and secondary science teachers however, do not always have a requisite background in biotechnology. As a result, these science teachers tend to use traditional instruction when and if content in biotechnology is covered. The purpose of this project was to develop and implement a graduate level biotechnology course designed for middle grades and secondary science teachers. The course employed the use of open-ended inquiry through problem-based learning (PBL) as the instructional strategy. As such, the teachers enrolled in the course learned biotechnology concepts through inquiry, which will not only increase their conceptual understanding but will provide them with an instructional strategy that they can in turn implement into their respective classrooms.
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Paper number: 10057
IAn initial Exploration of an Instructional Cycle Based on the Knowledge Creation Metaphor with Preservice Elementary Teachers
Principal Author: Glenn R Dolphin, Syracuse University, grdolphi@syr.edu
Abstract:
This paper is the result of an initial exploration of the efficacy of a new instructional model knowledge creation. The instructional model blends aspects from typically separate schools of thought, including model based learning, writing to learn and drawing to learn, and features of the nature of science. Science notebooks play a central role in documenting students’ creation of knowledge and evolution of understanding. Instructors implemented this new instructional approach in an introductory physical science course to teach the particulate nature of matter to undergraduate preservice elementary teachers. The instructional model prompts students to elicit their prior knowledge, through writing and diagramming, write testable questions, develop predictions and procedures for inquiries, and conduct experiments. They collect and analyze their own data and fashion claims based on gathered evidence. Through reflective activities, small group and whole class discussions, students relate their claims back to their original mental model to check for congruency, and describe how their original model was either supported or refuted by their new information. Summative assessment data based on open-ended exam questions and an essay assignment provide some evidence of student metacognitive processing and conceptual content change. Many students recognized that their initial mental model of matter was very general and did not incorporate descriptions of particles. Some students even recognized that the very act of writing the essay helped them to deepen their understanding and build their mental model. The paper outlines this integrated instructional model, describes some of the evidence supporting the claim of deepening understanding, discusses some implications for teaching the nature of science, and proposes areas of future possible research.
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Paper number: 10082
Portraits of First Year Teacher Resilience in High School Science
Principal Author: Patricia Doney, University of Georgia, patdoney@uga.edu
Co-Authors: Thomas Koballa, University of Georgia
Abstract:
We employed an interpretative case study approach (Merriam, 1991) to investigate how four selected high school science teachers, perceived to be resilient to the demands of a complex schooling environment, were influenced in their responses to the stresses associated with first year teaching. Our research question was: What enables some teachers, when exposed to the same stresses that cause other teachers to be ineffective and leave their science teaching positions, to remain and thrive? We focused our study on the teacher participants’ school and classroom context, their perceptions of the stresses associated with first year science teaching, and their perceptions of how their schools and their lives, both professional and personal, influence their responses to the stresses of first year science teaching.

Our findings revealed that the four teachers, in their unique teaching contexts, do things that “enable them to maintain competent functioning in the face of life stressors” (Kaplin, Turner, Norman, and Stilson, 1996, p. 158). In these teachers, we identified evidence of strategies described by Pearlin and Schooler (1982) that people use to cope with and overcome adverse life circumstances. Most often unable to change the classroom and school situations from which the stressful experiences arise, these teachers respond to stressful situations in two general ways. First, they control the meaning of a potentially stressful experience before it consumes them. They do this by selectively ignoring aspects of the situation and focus on more favorable aspects, and by reducing the significance of the stressful situation in light of the totality of their lives. Second, they manage the stress that emerges from a stressful situation by “converting the endurance of unavoidable hardship into a moral virtue” (Pearlin & Schooler, 1982, p. 117) and by seeking social support from fellow teachers and family members.

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Paper number: 10069
Student Teachers’ Approaches to Teaching Biological Evolution

Principal Author: Lisa A Donnelly, Kent State University, ldonnell@kent.edu
Abstract:
Evolution teaching can be very daunting as teachers face student and community opposition to their instruction. The difficulties associated with evolution instruction may be further compounded for student teachers who are already undergoing the socialization process of becoming a teacher and all of the associated concerns. The purpose of this study is to investigate how student teachers who have been assigned the task of teaching about biological evolution approach their evolution instruction. Furthermore, this project endeavors to apply Schubert’s curriculum traditions to preservice secondary science teachers’ evolution instruction. This study employed a multi-case study approach, and pre- and post- instruction interviews, detailed field notes, and classroom documents served as the data. Data analysis employed a grounded theory approach wherein data were open-coded to develop emergent themes. Although both student teachers employed hands-on activities and nature of science instruction, they primarily differed with respect to their attention to the balance of their cognitive versus affective teaching goals. Consistent with a social behaviorist tradition, the first student teacher was primarily concerned with lesson planning, implementation, and assessment. On the other hand, the second student teacher fit more of an experientialist tradition in that he was very concerned about his students as individuals trying to make sense of their private religious perspectives in light of the evolution content he was presenting. Suggestions for embedding evolution instruction within science methods courses are discussed.
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Paper number: 11017
Teachers’ Willingness to Adopt NOS Activities Following a Physical Science Professional Development
Principal Author: Lisa A Donnelly, Kent State University, ldonnell@kent.edu
Abstract:
The major science education reform documents emphasize the need for K-12 students to have a robust understanding of nature of science, and inservice teachers consequently need to develop their NOS teaching repertoires. This study investigated the extent to which science teachers were willing to adopt new strategies and activities for teaching NOS in their classrooms. The participants were 36 elementary, middle, and high school teachers who were completing a year long physical science professional development that included NOS instruction. Data sources consisted of surveys (teachers’ NOS views, teaching practices), collected work, and responses to post-PD follow-up questions. The professional development course was successful in that teachers incorporated many of these strategies and activities into their own practice. This study also endeavored to identify factors that facilitated the adoption of these new approaches to teaching NOS. While personal characteristics such as post NOS understandings, NOS gains, and grade level taught were not related to the number of NOS activities incorporated, teachers from suburban and rural schools were significantly more likely to implement NOS activities.
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Paper number: 10007
DISPOSITIONS SUPPORTING ELEMENTARY INTERNS IN THE TEACHING OF REFORM-BASED SCIENCE MATERIALS
Principal Author: Charles J Eick, Auburn University, eickcha@auburn.edu
Co-Authors: Bethany Stewart, Auburn University
Abstract:
Dispositions supporting the teaching of science as structured inquiry by four elementary candidates are presented. Candidates were studied during student teaching based on their positive attitudes toward teaching science with reform-based materials in their methods course. Personal learning histories informed their attitudes, values, and beliefs about the teaching and learning of science through structured inquiry. Supportive dispositions included curiosity and questioning, investigating first-hand, learning together, and active learning. These dispositions supported early science teaching despite candidates limited science content knowledge, and may contribute to candidates’ further learning of science.
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Paper number: 10013
Whole Organism Animal Dissection: Experiences and Attitudes of Pre-service Biology Teachers in the UK and Canada.
Principal Author: Paul Elliott, School of Education and Professional Learning, Trent University, paulelliott@trentu.ca
Co-Authors: Xavier Fazio, Faculty of Education, Brock University
Abstract:
The use of animal dissection in high school biology teaching has attracted controversy for many years, yet remains normal practice in most of North America. By contrast, in the UK its use has declined. Have these differences in practice affected pre-service biology teachers? This study investigates the high school dissection experiences of pre-service biology teachers in Ontario, Canada and England; their attitudes towards dissection and whether they intend to use it in their own teaching. Parallel questions were asked about computer-based, virtual dissection because this is often promoted as an appropriate alternative to dissection.

The main data collection tool was a semi-structured questionnaire composed mainly of qualitative open-ended questions. Quantitative descriptive data was also collected. The survey was administered between 2007-2009 to pre-service biology teachers studying at two universities in Ontario, Canada and one in England. The results were coded using a constant comparative method to articulate the major themes that emerging from the data.

Analysis of the data showed use of whole animal dissection in Ontario to be the norm, whereas in the UK it is less common and less frequent. However, although only 33% of the English sample experienced dissection at school, over 60% intend to use it in their teaching. The majority of Canadian subjects experienced dissection at high school and intend to use it in their teaching because of perceived cognitive gains. Few subjects had experience of virtual dissection, but most considered it to have potential benefits.

Teacher candidates appear to be influenced in their attitudes to dissection by their own school experiences. When they have not experienced it in their own education they are less likely intend to use it in their teaching. Science teacher educators may wish to take account of pre-service biology teachers’ own experiences when discussing the advantages and disadvantages of dissection.

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Paper number: 10065
Evaluation of Professional Development Materials on Scientific Argumentation in Middle School Science
Principal Author: James D Ellis, University of Kansas, jdellis@ku.edu
Co-Authors: Janis Bulgren, University of Kansas; Kathy Carlsen, University of Kansas
Abstract:
This three-year NSF-funded project, which began on June 1, 2006, responds to the needs of all students to learn to reason scientifically and become scientific literate citizens. The project has developed a set of prototype professional resources for middle-level science teachers to promote the knowledge and abilities of scientific reasoning, specifically scientific argumentation, of their students. The project goals and outcomes are:

1. Design and develop prototype professional resources (the Argumentation and Evaluation Intervention) that will support teachers in teaching scientific argumentation knowledge and abilities to middle-school science students.

2. Investigate the level of implementation of the prototype Argumentation and Evaluation Intervention resources with middle school teachers and students.

3. Investigate the development of scientific argumentation knowledge and abilities of middle school students.

This paper will share the evaluation results from year three of the project. The paper will report data on pre and post-test of student ability to analyze a scientific argument presented in a brief science-related article and will compare results on this assessment between experimental teachers and control group teachers from eight middle/secondary schools (rural, urban, and suburban). The paper also will report on results of student perceptions of the usefulness of the scientific argumentation graphic organizer the project developed. The paper will end with implications for additional research needed in the area of scientific argumentation.

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Paper number: 10025
Investigating the Sources of Images Students Hold About Scientists Through Application of Rasch Analysis
Principal Author: Donna Farland-Smith, The Ohio State University, farland-smith.1@osu.edu
Co-Authors: Kevin D. Finson, Bradley University; William J. Boone, Miami University; Melissa S. Yale, Purdue University
Abstract:
The focus of this presentation is to provide thoughtful application of Rasch analytical techniques to a set of modified Draw-A-Scientist Test (mDAST) student data. The data set was compiled from information gleaned through a branched interview process utilized with 4th and 5th grade students residing near a Midwestern university. The interview protocol was specifically structured in an attempt to elicit answers that would help researchers more clearly understand and, perhaps more clearly establish, specific influences that impact students in their development of their perceptions of scientists. School influences have consistently persisted in research literature as having significant effects on student perceptions and learning. A few past research studies have made passing inference regarding the influence of parents and media on students’ perceptions. More recently, some researchers have postulated some influence may be derived from specific book media. The study reported here made a more detailed examination of whether or not these influences might have overt roles in perception development and expression, and if so, how significant those influences may be in comparison to one another. Exploring such factors using psychometric and parametric techniques may help science educators more appropriately design and target instruction that will guide students in learning about the nature of science and the scientific enterprise.
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Paper number: 10072
The Use of the Deformational Sandboxes as a Model to Teach Inquiry in Schools for the Deaf
Principal Author: Allan Feldman, University of South Florida, allanfeldman@coedu.usf.edu
Co-Authors: Michele L Cooke, University of Massachusetts; Sara L Schupack, University of Massachusetts
Abstract:
In this study we look at how the introduction of a new piece of science apparatus, the sandbox, affects the teaching of geosciences in schools for the Deaf. We ask, 1) How do the teachers use the sandbox as a model of geologic processes? 2) How does its use affect the teaching of science through inquiry and the teaching of science as inquiry? and 3) How do teachers of Deaf students in schools that use American Sign Language as the primary communication mode use the sandbox to teach science? We looked at science teachers and their students in five schools for the Deaf in the US. Our data includes class observations, student and teacher interviews, student notebooks, and focus groups. Analysis was done by coding data using grounded theory, and through the use of preconceived categories. We found that the teachers used the sandbox as three different types of physical model: 1) as a representation of different types of geologic processes; 2) as a tool that can be manipulated to model the action of geologic process; and 3) to test hypotheses based on theoretical understandings of the phenomena. We also found that the teachers used the sandbox as the first two types of models to teach science through inquiry, while the third type of model was associated with the teaching of science as inquiry. In our paper we present a framework of how physical models can be used in classroom inquiry; 2) examples of the ways in which teachers use physical models for inquiry; and 3) our first steps in understanding the role that visual and kinetic representations play in the science education of Deaf students. We also will provide information about the construction of the sandbox and how it can contribute to inquiry activities for Deaf and hearing students.
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Paper number: 10236
Exploring elementary education majors’ conception of the Nature of Science (NOS) via the Personal Digital Assistant (PDA).
Principal Author: Robert L. Ferguson, Cleveland State University, r.l.ferguson1@csuohio.edu
Co-Authors: Scott Sowell, Cleveland State University
Abstract:
Using the convenience of Personal Digital Assistants (PDA’s), this research seeks to explore elementary pre-service teachers’ conception of the nature of science (NOS). We, also, describe the unique features of a PDA, which make it a novel tool for qualitative research. While this paper is still in-progress, we have found that pre-service teachers express multiple and somewhat contradictory ideas about the nature of science, such as science depends on location, science is a process and science is a product. Additionally a majority of pre-service teachers believe the PDA’s are a worthwhile tool for the classroom, and under the right conditions, PDA are viable tools for research.
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Paper number: 11043
An Exploration of Beginning Pre-student Teachers’ Beliefs about Teaching and Learning
Principal Author: Maria M Ferreira, Wayne State University, m.ferreira@wayne.edu
Abstract:
Research indicates that teacher beliefs about teaching and learning play an important role in teacher practice. These beliefs are developed through exposure to formal and informal educational practices as well as views and theories that closely match one’s own value system. As a result, beliefs about teaching and learning are difficulty to change because they are often connected to one’s larger beliefs and values systems. This study used qualitative and quantitative measures to explore beginning student teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning. Results support previous research in that most student teacher responses appear to be related to their belief in constructivist (student centered practices). However, more research is needed to determine the extent to which such beliefs will be later reflected in their practice, given the role that other variables such as environment play in one’s actions.
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Paper number: 10154
Do Students Understand Sophisticated Learning Environments Generated by Research-Based Instruction?
Principal Author: Lawrence B. Flick, OREGON STATE UNIV, flickl@science.oregonstate.edu
Co-Authors: Rebekah L. Elliott, Oregon State University; Sue Ellen DeChenne, Oregon State University
Abstract:
This paper uses a continuing NSF project to reflect on the use of contextualized problems designed to engage students or the public in experiencing and learning science. Researchers and teachers in science and mathematics education invest considerable effort in devising contexts to enhance learning. These efforts take various forms such as problem-based learning, inquiry-oriented instruction, and discourse-rich problem solving. Likewise, designers of free-choice learning environments create settings to attract visitors, generate high interest, maximize enjoyment, and promote learning. In each case, there is a intention to enhance learning of specific information and concepts in context. Theories of situated cognition argue that the context is an integral part of what is learned. However, if students do not recognize the opportunities made available by a specifically designed environment, then that environment will not function as intended for those students. Recent evidence highlights how people are often “oblivious to situations that invite thinking” (Perkins, 2003). This research suggests that failure to learn may be a result of not recognizing the opportunities rather than lack of learning skills. This gives credence to the teacher’s lament that the student is “lazy” or that they need to “try harder.” However, the problem goes far deeper than that. The student may fail to understand the fundamental nature of what the learning environment is intended to do. If there was an attempt to communicate the nature of the context, it may not have been communicated in understandable terms and the student’s attempt to interpret what is going on, goes awry. This raises a question that goes to the heart of our concerns, how can we effectively communicate the nature of a learning environment?
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Paper number: 12019
Using Culturally Sensitive Science Pedagogy: What Science Teachers Need To Know Before They Can Begin Teaching Science Effectively
Principal Author: Pamela Fraser-Abder, New York University, pa1@nyu.edu
Abstract:
The increasing number of students from diverse cultures entering U.S. schools, combined with the national goal of scientific literacy for all students creates a major dilemma for teachers who belong to cultures that are very different from the immigrant cultures. This hands-on reflective session will include strategies developed over twenty years with K-12 teachers on implementing culturally sensitive science curricula. This workshop will examine diversity in classrooms and determine how to foster an effective learning science classroom community while being sensitive to the needs of all members of the class. Participants will experience strategies for use with elementary and secondary science teachers.
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Paper number: 10040
Support of marginalized students in science: An examination of successful lesbian individuals in science career paths
Principal Author: Judith C French, The Ohio State University, french.541@osu.edu
Co-Authors: Karen Irving, The Ohio State University; Mollie Blackburn, The Ohio State University
Abstract:
The initiative to increase highly qualified college STEM graduates coupled with the phrase “science for all” pushed by standards-based reform has opened an avenue for science education research. How can we increase students’ interests in science careers? Specifically, do marginalized groups require differing approaches to increase science interests? By closely examining individuals from marginalized groups that have been successful in following a science career path, we may understand how to further help these groups and increase the number of individuals entering science careers. Gloria Ladson-Billings’ work on Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (CRP) was utilized as a guide to help understand responses about science experiences in the classroom. This study specifically examined six lesbian individuals’ experiences with science while in high school and college. The information was collected via semi-structured, open-ended interviews and was analyzed for reoccurring themes. Parents, teachers/professors, personal traits, high school extra-curricular activities, financial gain, and mentors were all mentioned by participants as being key factors to either obtain initial interest in science or maintain an interest in science. None of the participants experienced CRP while enrolled in high school science courses. Most of the participants did not have access to lesbian science mentors/role models even though prior research has shown the importance of mentors to students. The participants also recommended identifying mentors/role models in order to assist potential future lesbians interested in science.
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Paper number: 10108
Learning to Implement Science Notebooks: A Comparison of Different Professional Development Models
Principal Author: Lori A Fulton, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, lfulton3@cox.net
Co-Authors: David Crowther, University of Nevada, Reno
Abstract:
In examining the TIMSS 2007 data, one can see that the U.S. still lags behind other countries in terms of student achievement in the area of science. Many of the top performing countries, provide collaborative support for teachers as they enter the field; in comparison, many U.S. teachers enter into an isolated classroom. This proposal raises the issue that it may be time to look at the way in which U.S. teachers acquire the practices and beliefs necessary for teaching reform-based science. Many U.S. studies focused on reform-based professional development in the area of science examine the impact of workshops or summer institutes. In contrast, studies from other countries focus on the role that mentoring or small groups play in impacting beliefs and practices. This pilot study examines three teachers involved in these different forms of professional development as it relates to one aspect of reform-based science instruction, the use of science notebooks. An analysis of the literature is provided to build a case for this study. A theoretical framework as well as a research context is established. The research methodology, data collection, and analysis used to study this issue will be outlined. Preliminary findings from the three teachers will be shared. Finally, implications for further study and the teacher education field are shared.
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Paper number: 10168
A Science Teacher’s Assessment Beliefs and Practices: Exploring the Relationship through the Assessment Triangle Model
Principal Author: EDWARD R GEANEY, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA CRUZ, EGEANEY@UCSC.EDU
Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between the assessment beliefs and practices of a high school science teacher. I drew on the assessment triangle model (Pellegrino, Chudowsky, & Glaser, 2001) to capture the following three elements of assessment practices: how students learn (cognition), what evidence a student must show in order to demonstrate learning (observation), and teacher reasoning from the students’ evidence (interpretation). I also drew on teacher beliefs literature and a sociocultural view of assessment to suggest the relationship between the teacher participant’s assessment beliefs and practices. Using the assessment triangle model, I coded multiple qualitative data sources—classroom observations, artifacts, a teacher questionnaire, teacher interviews, and a teacher reflective journal—centering around two assessment events: a Chemistry lab report and an AP Chemistry multiple-choice and free response unit exam. The findings indicate various strengths of alignment among the cognition, observation, and interpretation vertices; for instance, the teacher’s assessments beliefs were generally stronger aligned than her assessment practices, and the strength of assessment practice alignment varied with class and the particular learning practice. I suggest that the enactment of the teacher’s assessment beliefs was mediated by the classroom context, including her overarching class goals, classroom constraints, and student experiences.
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Paper number: 10172
Assessing Scientific Reasoning in a High School Classroom: The Translation of a Research Instrument into an Instructional Tool
Principal Author: EDWARD R GEANEY, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA CRUZ, EGEANEY@UCSC.EDU
Co-Authors: JEROME M SHAW, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA CRUZ
Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to translate a research instrument designed to measure scientific reasoning into an instructional tool. The lead author implemented the research instrument, entitled the “Malaria Epidemic Simulation,” (MES), along with various activities, during a weeklong unit in a high school Advanced Placement (AP) Biology class, which he was teaching at the time of the study. Through a mixed-method methodology, consisting of field notes, the scored simulation, student work, and questionnaires, we explore the decisions made while implementing instruments such as the MES in high school settings, describe student patterns of performance on the simulation, and describe student patterns of attitudes toward the simulation and related tasks. While reporting the results, the lead author positions himself as both a researcher understanding the translation process and a teacher interpreting the data to inform classroom instruction. The findings indicate various levels of teacher “decisions” when implementing such instruments. Furthermore, students demonstrated the assessed dimensions of scientific reasoning with varying proficiencies and reported that they learned about the specific elements of scientific reasoning. Finally, students reported having a positive experience with the simulation and related tasks. Some of the translation constraints and student attitudes provide insight into future modifications.
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Paper number: 12007
Looking for PCK in All the Wrong Places?
Principal Author: Julie Gess-Newsome, Northern Arizona University, julie.gess-newsome@NAU.EDU
Co-Authors: Janet Carlson, BSCS; April L Gardner, BSCS
Abstract:
In this interactive session, we will look at three sources of data designed to capture changes in teacher’s PCK in biology over time. We have written reflections, classroom video footage, and interviews that reveal an individual’s changes (or lack there of) in content, contextual, and pedagogical knowledge in five conceptual areas of biology (evolution, cell transport, genetics, ecology, matter, energy & organization). We will focus on one of the five areas and use a PCK rubric to examine multiple sources of data for selected individuals along a continuum of growth. As part of the interactions in the session we will discuss whether certain data sources seem more relevant and/or appropriate to measuring the components of PCK as well as the strengths and weakness of the rubric. While data analysis is still in progress, preliminary results indicate a relationship between student achievement and teacher’s content knowledge. Other aspects of PCK do not show clear relationships at this time, yet teacher self-reports about their teaching contradicts this finding.
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Paper number: 10204
Using Vertical Teaming with K-12 Teachers While Engaged in Scientific Research in Rural Settings
Principal Author: Penny J. Gilmer, Florida State University, gilmer@chem.fsu.edu
Abstract:
Generally, teacher professional development involves teachers all at the same level. Instead, we teamed teachers in vertical teams, generally with one each elementary, middle, and high school teacher. In total, we had 30 teams, with 89 teachers. The task for the teachers was to engage collaboratively with each other and with at least one participating scientist at rural research sites doing scientific research in state parks, estuarine or wildlife reserves, and some laboratories. Qualitative data include pre- and post- responses to Views on the Nature of Science questionnaire, reflections during the program, but also an anonymous on-line survey administered one academic year after the conclusion of the scientific research. One focus of the survey questions was on learning from the vertical teaming, with 47% of the teachers responding. Also the author visited half of the teams in the field during the summer and saw some of the teachers in their classrooms during the academic year following the research experience. Each teacher brought to the research experience different strengths and weaknesses, and the teachers taught each other, with the help of the scientist, an understanding of the science content and processes of science as the teachers engaged in their scientific research. While the teachers were collecting the scientific data, they would realize the curriculum that each taught at the various levels of K-12. The teachers also learned of resources available within their district and from the scientists, to enhance the learning environment in their classrooms. Many of the teachers have collaborated in their rural districts as they learned of each other through vertical teaming. Even collaboration among teachers across districts occurred with elementary teachers who brought year long, environmental research into their classrooms.
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Paper number: 10070
Learning Physics in the Real World
Principal Author: Aimee L Govett, East Tennessee State University, govett@etsu.edu
Co-Authors: Mary C. Myron, East Tennessee State University - University School
Abstract:
One of the main reasons that we invested time and energy in this project is because physics is difficult for most students. It is widely recognized that the educational background of many elementary teachers is insufficient in math and the “harder sciences”. Much of the vision is presented in terms of changes: change from an emphasis on the rote memorization of facts and procedures to an emphasis on hands-on-minds-on science; from teachers as dispensers of information to teachers as facilitators of student learning; and from dependence on paper-and-pencil tests to the incorporation of alternative assessment methods. We recognize that much of the responsibility for implementing change falls on the shoulders of teachers as key figures in changing the way in which science is taught and learned in schools. This project actively engaged pre-service teachers in learning physics content. They used various strategies for delivering this curriculum to Kindergarten and fifth grade students with the instructors facilitating experiences. This presentation will focus on teachers learning physics content, as outlined in the National Science Education Standards (NSES), and demonstrate various strategies for delivering the elementary school science curriculum to Kindergarten through fifth grade students.
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Paper number: 10088
The Development of Preservice Secondary Science Teachers’ Conceptions of Nature of Science after the First Year of Teaching: A Follow-Up Study
Principal Author: Ron Gray, Oregon State University, ron.gray@science.oregonstate.edu
Co-Authors: Nam-Hwa Kang, Oregon State University
Abstract:
This study examines the long-term development of pre-service secondary science teachers’ conceptions of the nature of science (NOS) after completion of a teacher preparation program and a year of full-time teaching. Fourteen pre-service teachers participated in the study. A previous study examined the development of the participants’ conceptions of NOS before and throughout a teacher preparation program in science education. The pre-service teachers enrolled in a NOS course at the beginning of the program. They responded to an open-ended written assessment designed to examine conceptions of NOS before and after the course as well as at two points later in the program allowing for an examination of the development of their conceptions over time. The previous study revealed three patterns of learning amongst the participants. During the current study, a representative group of the initial participants have been asked to respond to the questionnaire after a year of full-time teaching. The results will reveal patterns in the development of their conceptions of NOS after a year of teaching and provide evidence for the mitigating factors for that possible development.
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Paper number: 10024
Non-STEM Career Changers as Biology Teachers: Developing a STEM Teacher Identity
Principal Author: Jeanne M Grier, California State University Channel Islands, jeanne.grier@csuci.edu
Co-Authors: Carol C Johnston, Mount Saint Mary’s College, Los Angeles, CA
Abstract:
Attracting teachers into mathematics and science teaching at the secondary level has been a growing challenge nationwide. Career changers from STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields have recently become a group that is heavily recruited into the teaching profession. While many career changers seeking preliminary certification have baccalaureate degrees in the disciplines in which they are taking competency exams, we have noticed a growing number of prospective teachers entering our credential programs who are coming into teaching from non-STEM careers. With the declining national and state economies, more people are investigating making a career change into teaching—and into math and science teaching because of the advertised shortages.

This qualitative study examines the development of STEM teacher identities of two non-STEM career changers who are seeking to become credentialed biology teachers. Fran has a BA in Film Studies, has worked in the mortgage industry for seven years, and is teaching full time as a biology teacher while completing her credential program. Winnie was a retail manager for over 20 years and recently went back to college to complete her BA in biology just prior to entering the credential program. Both Fran and Winnie have the beginnings of a STEM identity although each to a different extent. Both individuals were more comfortable being called a “teacher” rather than a “science teacher.” Previous studies about STEM career changers identified the ability of these teachers to be able to make “real world connections” to the content for their students because of their content preparation. However, Fran and Winnie relied heavily on the professional skills they developed in their previous careers as being essential to them in the classroom. The findings of this study have implications for the preparation of career changers as science teachers in both traditional and alternative teacher education programs.

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Paper number: 10231
Invested in Place: Are Science Interests a Matter of Upbringing?
Principal Author: Lisa A Gross, Appalachian State University, grossla@appstate.edu
Co-Authors: Eric D Frauman, Appalachian State University; Joy James, Appalachian State University
Abstract:
Research in environmental socialization (ES) and significant life experiences suggest that childhood play in natural environments shapes later adult interest in interacting in such places. Few studies have investigated how teacher’s childhood experiences and locale have influenced curricular choices and interests in teaching science related topics. This study investigated how ES factors impacted preservice and inservice teachers’ expressed interests in science related topics, field-based experiences, and professional development in environmental education, . Results suggest that teachers growing up in rural areas were slightly less interested than suburban/urban teachers in field-based learning and expressed less experience with environmental education. Teachers with more ES experiences (e.g., played in the woods) expressed greater interest in science related topics than those with fewer experiences. Rural teachers tended to have more ES experiences than suburban/urban teachers. The discussion explores place identity and its significance in understanding how childhood experiences shape future professional choices of teacher educators.
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Paper number: 10170
Teaching Core Concepts to Promote Lunar Phases Understanding among Elementary Students
Principal Author: Mark D Guy, University of North Dakota, mark.guy@und.edu
Co-Authors: Timothy Young, University of North Dakota; Clark Hauger, University of North Dakota
Abstract:
We present results of a pilot project investigating the impact of innovative instruction on fifth grade students’ conceptual understanding in astronomy. The instruction focused on specific core concepts identified in earlier work as critical components that can promote conceptual understanding of lunar phases. The core concepts of 1) light and shadow, 2) scale of time, size and distance, and 3) multiple perspectives were targeted throughout the instructional activities which spanned several months of an academic year. Student understandings of lunar phases were assessed through surveys prior to instruction and midway through instruction. Students were also interviewed two months after instruction. Results indicated that 20 out of 24 individual student explanations advanced to greater levels of expression and communication of core concepts associated with a scientific understanding of lunar phases. However, seven of these students communicated subtle misunderstandings associated with light, multiple perspectives, and scale. The remaining students maintained alternative conceptions or held “dual theories” in their explanations that were inconsistent with one another. Instructional implications for addressing these findings are offered. Given the overall advanced communication of the students’ understandings, the core concept instructional approach appears to hold promise in supporting and analyzing students’ conceptual learning of lunar concepts over time.
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Paper number: 10131
Inquiring into Pre-service Teachers’ Understanding of Inquiry
Principal Author: S. Selcen Guzey, University of Minnesota, kendi003@umn.edu
Co-Authors: Barbara Billington, University of Minnesota; Gillian Roehrig, University of Minnesota
Abstract:
The current science education reforms ask teachers to implement inquiry in their teaching. Teachers’ level and type of inquiry-based practices are closely connected to their understanding of inquiry. Thus, teachers in their pre-service teacher education programs should explore their conceptions and understanding of inquiry. This study examined the change and development in nineteen pre-service teachers’ understanding of inquiry over the 16-week long graduate level secondary science methods course at a public university in the midwest U.S. In the methods course, teachers participated in several inquiry projects, read articles about inquiry, and learned how to turn cookbook labs into inquiry. They reflected on their learning and inquiry practices on their blogs on the Moodle course site. Each teacher wrote 13 reflections. Teachers co-constructed their knowledge about and understanding of inquiry through writing on the classroom blog. The classroom blog was managed by the instructor.

The preliminary data analysis of the teachers’ blog entries showed that teachers had a vague understanding of inquiry when they enrolled the course. At the beginning of the course, most teachers stated that they would like to implement open-ended (full) inquiries in their classrooms. However, their conceptions changed over the course; they started to consider structured or guided inquiry as equally effective as open-ended inquiry. Interestingly, very few teachers in their reflections wrote about the importance of argumentation or need for opening up a class discussion at the end of an inquiry activity. This study advocates that reflection should be a part of pre-service teacher education and more guidance should be provided for pre-service teachers in facilitating effective and structured discussions at the end of their inquiry lessons.

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Paper number: 10144
Harvesting the Wind in the Reservation: A Curriculum Implementation
Principal Author: S. Selcen Guzey, University of Minnesota, kendi003@umn.edu
Co-Authors: James Nyachwaya, University of Minnesota; Gillian Roehrig, University of Minnesota; Tamara Moore, University of Minnesota; Sarah Plumb, University of Minnesota; Paul Imbertson, University of Minnesota
Abstract:
The “Reach for the Sky” Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) program was designed to bring culturally relevant STEM content to Anishinabe youth in White Earth Reservation in Minnesota. In the 2009 summer program of the Reach for the Sky, a wind energy focused curriculum for grades 4-8 was implemented to promote the understanding of wind energy concepts with American Indian students. 57 students received the curriculum. The two week long curriculum allowed students to engage in various engineering, science, mathematics and technology activities. Students completed design challenges such as building and testing table-top wind turbines and anemometers. A pre- and post-test was designed to measure the change in students’ learning of the curriculum concepts. Students’ journals were also analyzed to assess their learning. In this presentation we will share the curricular activities and the research data. The challenges that we faced during the curriculum implementation will also be discussed.
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Paper number: 10180
Creativity and the Value of Questioning in STS Classrooms
Principal Author: Esme Hacieminoglu, Selcuk University , ehacieminoglu@gmail.com
Co-Authors: Robert YAGER, The University of Iowa; Mohamed Moustafa Ali, The University of Iowa; Ilke Caliskan, The University of Iowa
Abstract:
Creativity is one of the “enabling domains” for illustrating Science-Technology-Society teaching. The other “enabling domain” is attitude, i.e., encouraging more positive attitudes regarding school science and illustrating how they actually assist with better and more useful learning of science. The two Enabling Domains are of utmost importance for applying the information and skills as well as the responsive actions taken and uses outside of schools. Such application of basic ideas and skills may provide the greatest evidence that real learning has occurred. Therefore the purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of the STS environment on middle school students’ creativity in terms of diff. cause & effects, questions objects and events in nature, student ideas actions taken, student ideas proposed assessment, thinking and complex explanations, situations offered by other students, app. science concepts explanations, and skills, use of more student questions, curiosity about observations undertaken, questions related to current happenings. Data was collected during Chautauqua program. The videotapes were all reviewed in terms of the features of STS, use of constructivist teaching practices, and experience with action research projects. A five point interview was also used a s a pre and post indicator of student views of creativity and its roll in science classrooms. Mann-Whitney U Test was conducted to evaluate the differences between STS group and Non STS group in terms of creativity aspects. Results showed that there is statistically significant difference between students creativity in STS group and those of Non-STS group with a significant level of p=.00 all of the aspects of creativity which was examined. It is apparent that the STS Teacher Leaders from the Iowa Chautauqua Series were able to develop all ten of the creativity features. There were dramatic differences between the percentage of change obtained between the STS and Non-STS Sections.

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Paper number: 10182
Ossabaw Island: The importance of environmental education courses in preservice teacher education
Principal Author: Rita A Hagevik, The University of Tennessee, rhagevik@utk.edu
Co-Authors: Patricia Stinger-Barnes, The University of Tennessee
Abstract:
Environmental education and the role of nature study and place-based learning have largely been neglected in the United States in national reform documents. The role of nature study needs to be expanded in both science instruction and science teacher preparation courses. We propose that a curriculum grounded in nature study and ideally contextualized in the local environment may be an effective means by which to address a number of current reform movements in science education. Twenty-one elementary and secondary science preservice teachers enrolled in a course called Science in the Natural Environment in the summer of 2009. The majority of the course was conducted on the remote island of Ossabaw, off the coast of Georgia. On site there was no electricity available. The preservice teachers conducted experiments, made collections for their classrooms, used nature journals, wrote a nature autobiography, and created nature teaching improvement plans for their classrooms. Using qualitative research methods, the course was evaluated for its effectiveness to enhance environmental attitudes, to promote a sense of environmental stewardship, to foster responsible environmental behaviors on the part of the participants, and to evaluate the intentions of the participants to use nature study in their future teaching. It was found that the course was effective at promoting environmental attitudes and that the island experience enhanced environmental stewardship. The preservice teachers provided many examples including unit and lesson plans on how they would use nature study and the environment in their teaching. Through observation, experimentation, and guided instruction and discussions the preservice teachers were able to understand the importance of environmental stewardship and ways they could teach this to others.
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Paper number: 10191
Using Action Research to Strengthen Middle and Secondary Science Interns’ Reflective Practitioners’ Skills
Principal Author: Rita A Hagevik, The University of Tennessee, rhagevik@utk.edu
Co-Authors: Mehmet Aydeniz, The University of Tennessee
Abstract:
Action research is increasingly seen as beneficial to school improvement. Therefore, prospective teachers should not only have instruction in conducting action research but be engaged in action research projects. At the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, all teacher education majors have two courses and during a yearlong internship conduct an action research project. In the fall semester, the students learn in an introductory course the value of action research and how to do action research in a school setting. They identify their topic, select the subject(s) with whom they will work, research the literature on the problem identified with emphasis on the cause of the problem and how to correct it, and develop a timeline on how and when the project will be carried out. During the spring semester, students carry out their project and write their action research papers. A culminating experience is the presentation of their findings to their peers (and sometimes to the teachers where they are interning).

The twenty-two students involved in this action research experience formed two separate cohorts (over a two-year period) in the Middle Grades and Secondary Science Program at the University. How these interns viewed their total experiences, as reported in a follow-up survey at the end of the year, revealed the unique benefits the interns received in the total action research experience. Students reported values in “…planning an intervention and monitoring it myself while teaching,” “…researching journal articles to plan an intervention…”, “…helping individualize instruction and working one-on-one with a student…”, and “…knowing that you can research a topic and track progress of students in the classroom…”, among others. Requiring action research in the University of Tennessee’s yearlong internship program has indeed resulted in helping interns become more reflective practitioners (Survey of Interns, 2007, Value of Action Research, University of Tennessee).

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Paper number: 10222
A Confucian framework for categorizing preservice teachers’ expectations of their science and mathematics methods courses.
Principal Author: Richard P Hechter, University of Manitoba, hechter@cc.umanitoba.ca
Abstract:
Teacher educators strive to improve their science and mathematics methods courses through modification of existing content, activities, or teaching techniques. But what do the enrolled preservice teachers expect to learn from these courses and how do they expect to learn it? This study qualitatively examines preservice elementary teachers’ expectations of: science and mathematics methods courses, the activities of and withing the courses, the instructors, and of themselves. Upon entry to the methods courses in the current and past academic year, at four Midwestern colleges, preservice teachers (n=114) were asked to articulate what they expected to learn and how they expected to learn it. Their written responses were coded and categorized into one of three areas: imitation, reflection, and experience. These three categories, as a philosophical theoretical framework, stem from Confucius who suggested that the aforementioned methods were the keys to gaining wisdom. It is important, that as science and mathematics teacher educators, we understand how our students expect to gain wisdom about their profession from our course. It is our contention that preservice teachers’ expectations of their science and mathematics methods courses prior to the commencement of the course have far reaching effects into the context in which they engage within the course. The responses and subsequent analysis provide insight into a plausible connection between their expectations of the course and their teaching self-efficacy and personal epistemology.
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Paper number: 10098
Teaching skepticism and scientific habits of mind to inservice elementary teachers
Principal Author: Deb Hemler, Fairmont State University, dhemler@fairmontstate.edu
Abstract:
Science for All Americans (1989) mentions not only the importance of content, scientific processes, inquiry, and the nature of science but also scientific habits of mind. Since the coining of this phrase little research has been conducted or instruction provided to teach, foster, or impart this to science students.

An activity developed for a preservice elementary science class involving the FOX video “Did We Go to the Moon? A conspiracy theory” to teach skepticism and scientific habits of mind was included in a week long NASA Lunar Toolkit workshop. What started out to be a simple overview of the activity quickly turned into complete implementation of the lesson as initial responses from teachers were noted. At the beginning of the workshop all 15 participants answered that we had been to the moon on a pretest. Initially it was thought since the workshop was conducted by NASA and the teachers were NASA education advocates, the activity would not change their views about the authenticity of the lunar missions. Not only were inservice elementary teachers found to have many misconceptions about the Moon and incapable of providing reasonable explanations for the video conjectures, three of fourteen inexperienced participants (one had already experienced the activity as an undergraduate) had doubts that man had visited the Moon. Following a discussion and intervention activities, teachers were able to counter all of the arguments posed by the video and all teachers were convinced that the moon landing was not a hoax. As a result of the activity elementary teachers recognized the need to have an in-depth understanding of content, had experience using general content knowledge to evaluate assertions, increased their understanding of some basic scientific principles, and discovered the value of skepticism and scientific habits of mind when reviewing public media.

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Paper number: 11011
Building productive partnerships between 2- & 4-Year Institutions
Principal Author: Laura Henriques, California State University, Long Beach, lhenriqu@csulb.edu
Co-Authors: Jeff Bradbury, Cerritos College; Sue Parsons, Cerritos College
Abstract:
We will be sharing a case study of a successful partnership between our two campuses, a 2-year community college and a 4-year comprehensive university. This sort of partnership is critical as more two year campuses get involved in teacher education. Not only does it help provide programmatic and philosophical alignment, it is of great benefit to the students who transfer between campuses. A common goal of increasing the secondary math and science teacher pipeline brought together faculty and support staff from both campuses to develop, mentor and nurture students as they explore teaching, transfer to the 4-year campus and move towards becoming a professional STEM teacher. Over the course of this effort a permanent collaboration was born. Unlike other partnerships attempted on both campuses, this one is real. Sustained beyond the life of program funding, features of the program are alive and well. Many program elements can be replicated without cost (or truly minimal costs) on your campuses. Building strong partnerships is important for recruitment and retention, for supporting student success and aiding with transfer anxiety. This session will provide insight from our experiences together in addition to providing lessons learned from other, less thriving, collaboration efforts.
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Paper number: 10181
Preventing a Negative Inheritance: Accurately Conveying to Pre-Service Teachers Methodological Pluralism and an Accurate Understanding of the Nature of Science Through Secondary Science Activities
Principal Author: Benjamin C Herman, Iowa State University, bcherman123@hotmail.com
Co-Authors: Michael P Clough, Iowa State University
Abstract:
Incorporating accurate and explicit nature of science instruction throughout the school year is important for overcoming long engrained student misconceptions regarding what science is and how it works. One common misconception is the view that experiments are the sole route to trustworthy scientific knowledge. This and other nature of science misconceptions may interfere in the learning of science content. For instance, Rudolph and Stewart (1998) and Rudolph (2007) explain how misunderstandings regarding how science research is done partly accounts for the widespread doubt regarding scientific ideas such as biological evolution, global warming and age of the Earth. Unfortunately, because of their own science experiences, many pre-service teachers hold as many of these misconceptions as their future students do. This results in pre-service teachers passing down these misconceptions to their students when they go into practice. This presentation will first address how science education curriculum materials and instructional practices promote nature of science misconceptions such as that all valid science research must proceed via controlled experiments. A classroom tested approach to teaching the nature of science and methodological pluralism to pre-service teachers through activities that were originally implemented in secondary science classrooms will then be presented (Herman, 2008). Lastly, this approach will be compared to more common science instruction to explicitly convey how it more accurately reflects the nature of science, methodological pluralism, and how science research methods are intricately tied to context.
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Paper number: 10235
Environmental Service Learning: The Relationship between Participation in the Skunk River Navy and Students’ Learning, Environmental Attitudes, and Policy Views about Iowa Waterways
Principal Author: Benjamin C. Herman, Iowa State University, bcherman123@hotmail.com
Co-Authors: Joanne K. Olson, Iowa State University; James T. Colbert, Iowa State University; Jim D. Holtz, Iowa State University
Abstract:
Environmental service learning is a potentially powerful education strategy that can increase pro-active social and civic outcomes in students while facilitating the understanding, skills, awareness, and motivation to fix problems in the environment (Tblisi Intergovernmental Conference on Environmental Education, 1978; Covitt 2002). Typically, this type of learning consists of community based service linked to academic goals and content with some sort of post-hoc reflective component. The Skunk River Navy (SRN) is a service learning opportunity that is made available to incoming university biology majors, public volunteers, and secondary science teacher education students. It is also provided as a service learning option for biology freshmen enrolled in the “Biological Education Success Teams” learning community. The goals of the SRN include removing trash from the Skunk River and its tributaries, monitoring local water quality, reducing bank erosion, and increasing awareness and knowledge of local waterways for participants. Since 1998, the SRN has removed over 46 tons of trash and impacted hundreds of participants. However, the nature of the impact on participants has been largely anecdotal. This study used mixed methods to determine how SRN participation impacts content understanding and attitudes toward local waterways and water policy. Analysis of a questionnaire given to participants and non-participants indicates that those who participated in the SRN had higher understanding of biological concepts related to waterways. In addition, students who participated also had higher personal environmental ethics scores indicating their personal attitudes in relation to local waterways were more environmentally friendly.
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Paper number: 10032
The Development of Student Views on Evolution.
Principal Author: Ronald S Hermann, Towson University, rhermann@towson.edu
Abstract:
Evolution education in the United States is a contentious issue as evidenced by the low number of Americans who accept evolution. In recent years it has become exceedingly clear that students maintain a dismal understanding of evolution. The purpose of the present paper is to suggest that the experiences children have prior to high school biology are equally, if not more, important experiences for developing an understanding of evolution. From a pragmatic stance, there are two approaches science educators can take to break the cycle of continued evolution controversy. The first approach is to develop effective strategies for teaching evolution in a manner that does not alienate all students. This approach is mainly limited to the high school biology classroom. The second approach is to provide a comprehensive pathway that provides a framework for understanding evolution prior to high school biology. Here, I show the challenges to the first approach and evidence suggesting it is beneficial to invest time and energy in the latter approach.

Acceptance of evolution, understanding of evolution and/or rejection of intelligent design are determined prior to high school biology for many students. There is promising evidence that early evolution instruction, along with NOS instruction, can compensate for the anti-evolution testimony children hear from parents, clergy, media, etc. To compensate for the anti-evolution exposure children receive prior to high school, a comprehensive pathway to understanding evolution and the nature of science is needed within the pre-high school (K-9) curriculum. To date there is a lack of science education research exploring the development of students’ understanding of evolution. The present paper serves as a call to action for a focused pre-high school evolution education curriculum and research agenda.
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Paper number: 10215
“Revisioning” Science Teacher Education at Historically Black Colleges and Universities: A Case Study
Principal Author: S. Maxwell Hines, Winston Salem State University, HinesSM@wssu.edu
Co-Authors: Sandra W Ingram, Winston Salem State University
Abstract:
The historically Black university where this study was conducted is charged with producing 21st century science teachers (Darling-Hammond, 2006; Gay & Howard, 2000; Hurd, P. D., 2000) within a fiscally austere environment. One of the authors served on the committee that redesigned the state K-12 science learning standards in 2008 and was further charged with “revisioning” the elementary science teacher education curriculum. The other author was charged with reviving and revamping the secondary science teacher education program. The authors began a cross-departmental and interdisciplinary collaboration designed to rethink how science teacher candidates are prepared for 21st century classrooms. This document chronicles how research-based theories and practices were used to develop a model for educating teacher candidates who attend an HBCU. Special attention was paid to the unique characteristics of teachers of color as well as the unique characteristics of the students they will teach; overwhelmingly students of color.
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Paper number: 10190
Exploring the Professional Growth Continuum – A Methodological Approach

Principal Author: Mary E Hobbs, University of Texas , maryhobbs@mail.utexas.edu
Co-Authors: Julie Thomas, Oklahoma State University
Abstract:
Much of the recent education research has focused on necessary mentoring of new teachers and explorations of the reasons large numbers of teachers are leaving the profession. Few studies have focused on experienced teachers in an attempt to identify factors that may have contributed to their retention.

This research employs a novel research protocol to review teachers’ longevity rationale to identify the career stages and professional development experiences teachers have found most empowering during those stages. Data collection was accomplished though the use of one-on-one interviews (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000) in conjunction with the Systems Dynamics (Anderson & Johnson, 1997) technique of utilizing Behavior Over Time (BOT) graphing. Sixty five teachers, most with a minimum of twelve years of teaching experience, were selected for the study.

Each teacher interviewed constructed a total of seven BOT graphs, the first depicting his/her overall sense of empowerment with subsequent graphs illustrating his/her experiences related to the six dimensions of empowerment as defined by Short.

Participants’ verbal descriptions of the events that caused their highs and lows were recorded, and were later transcribed and coded.

A model emerged that conceptualized the teachers’ experiences and shows empowerment as a developmental process with three phases of empowerment. Implications for use of the data include the identification and implementation of effective professional development models and experiences that enhance science teachers’ retention and effectiveness at the appropriate career intervals.

The purpose of this research is to identify those pivotal experiences of career science teachers that have promoted their advancement along the teacher professional continuum. This ongoing research is currently funded by the National Science Foundation and is addressing the NSF Teacher Professional Continuum program goals of encouraging research on effective professional development models and on advancing the knowledge base on enhancement and retention of STEM teachers.

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Paper number: 10100
Fostering science inquiry to promote conceptual change with young children

Principal Author: Sally M. Hobson, The Ohio State University, sallyhobson@aol.com or hobson.11@osu.edu
Co-Authors: Kathy C. Trundle, The Ohio State University; Mesut Sackes, The Ohio State University
Abstract:
This study examined young children’s practices of using scientific inquiry skills during an Earth and Space unit in a collaborative primary science classroom. Specifically, the paper reports how children used the process skills that emerged naturally during the unit. The present study was situated in a larger instructional intervention investigation aimed at promoting young children’s knowledge and skills related to targeted lunar concepts outlined in the National Science Education Standards (1996). Twenty-one children (ages seven to nine years) from a multi-aged, self-contained classroom participated in the study. Data were collected using student drawings, card sorting, lunar calendars, written responses, participant observer field notes, and videotaped class sessions. Data were analyzed using categories for types of inquiry. Findings reflected young children’s ability to apply and develop process skills naturally in a collaborative learning community. Children were able to pose productive questions, formulate purposeful and testable predictions and problem solve management and content related issues over time.
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Paper number: 10079
School and Community Tensions related to the Retention of Secondary Science Teachers in Rural School Districts of Middle Georgia
Principal Author: Georgia W. Hodges, University of Georgia , georgia.hodges@gmail.com
Co-Authors: Steve Oliver, University of Georgia; Deborah Tippins, University of Georgia
Abstract:
Multiple researchers (Borman & Dowling; Ingersoll, 2006) have studied the phenomenon of teacher retention and attrition from multiple perspectives. Similarly, multiple reports, including the Glenn Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for the 21st century, reports from the National Research Council and the National Academy of Sciences illuminate the shortages specifically in mathematics and science education. In rural areas, these issues are often magnified, as seen in Middle Georgia. Although some areas in Georgia prosper educationally and economically, researchers explain that the “new south,” popularized by the media does not exist in most rural areas. The “new south” encompasses prosperous urban areas, such as Atlanta, Dallas and Houston, while the rural areas lag behind socially, politically, economically and educationally. Educationally, the Black Belt, a rural area characterized by a high African American population, remains an understudied, often ignored area, in spite of a drastically high drop out rate and an exceptionally high rate of teacher attrition. Jerome Morris contends that the majority of researchers understand African American schooling in the South in an historical manner, focusing on enslavement and the subsequent disenfranchisement of African American people, ignoring the importance of studying African American schooling now in the South (Morris, 2009). Within the Black Belt, researchers are studying teacher retention and attrition in four contiguous counties.Using qualitative methodologies, including life story interviews, participant observation and focus groups, science teachers and stake holders have generated conversations focusing on the day to day tensions of teaching science in a rural setting characterized by high poverty rates and a population characterized by between 60% an 99% African American. Using narrative analysis and grounded theory analysis, researchers have identified three emerging tensions facing educating and teaching in the rural south: structural inequalities, an illusion of desegregation and the power of one.

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Paper number: 10035
Hazelton High at REST: A simulation unmasking ethical behavior in science educators
Principal Author: Shawn Y Holmes, North Carolina State University, surloc@gmail.com
Co-Authors: Leonard A Annetta, North Carolina State University; Meng-Tzu Cheng, North Carolina State University
Abstract:
A virtual environment, Hazelton High at REST, was created by the author and is where two video scenarios from the Racial Ethical Sensitivity Test (REST) unfold. The REST is comprised of five videos which if used individually or in combination is a valid measure of an educator’s ethical sensitivity to racial and gender intolerant behaviors in school settings (Brabeck et al., 2000). This was a comparison study between the Hazelton High simulation and the video REST assessment. The goal of creating the simulation was to determine if a computer simulated environment can affect preservice and inservice science teacher ethical sensitivity to instances of racial and gender intolerance when compared to the video assessment? The purpose of this study was to effect science educator ability to recognize instances of racial and gender intolerant behaviors by levering immersive qualities of simulations. Participant responses during the stimulation were categorized according to the REST interview protocol to determine recognition of intolerant behaviors. Qualitative analyses of responses reveal likely ethical behaviors of the preservice and inservice science educators. Post-simulation prompts were analyzed for emergent themes concerning effect of the simulation on responses.
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Paper number: 11054
Prospective Science Teacher’s Perspectives on Inquiry in the Context of Engaging in Summer Research Internships
Principal Author: Larry Horvath, San Francisco State University, lhorvath@sfsu.edu
Abstract:
Through participation in the Science Teacher as Researchers (STAR) Program, eight prospective science teachers were able to engage in summer research internships at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Romberg Tiburon Research Center. Using case methodology protocols, the prospective science teacher’s perspectives on inquiry were identified and analyzed focusing on the potential effect of an in depth research experience on future practice.
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Paper number: 10012
The Effects of an All-Girls’ Science Camp on Middle School Girls’ Perceptions of Science and the Nature of Science
Principal Author: Roxanne M Hughes, Florida State University, rmh05e@fsu.edu
Co-Authors: Kristen J Molyneaux, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Pat Dixon, National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
Abstract:
The focus of this paper is to determine how teachers and scientists can affect young women’s interest and perceptions of science, science careers, and scientists. The participants and teachers responded to pre and post open ended surveys and participated in semi-structured interviews. Participating scientists were also given pre surveys and participated in a follow up semi-structured interview. The authors acted as participant observers as teachers throughout the camp. At the time of this proposal, the camp has not begun but the participants’ applications reveal that most of the students’ perceptions of science and scientists are not based on exposure to actual scientists but rather television and classroom descriptions. Therefore, the exposure to real scientists should provide information that may affect the participants’ views. This information may help teachers by demonstrating what interactions and science activities positively affected the young women’s conception of science.
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Paper number: 10042
The Impact of Scientist Mentors on Teachers Participating in Research Experiences for Teachers
Principal Author: Roxanne Hughes, Florida State University/Graduate Student, rmh05e@fsu.edu
Co-Authors: Patrick Enderle, Florida State University; Pat Dixon, National High Magnetic Field Laboratory; Jose Sanchez, National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
Abstract:
This study focuses on the mentor relationship between science teachers and their scientist mentor in a Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) program at a national laboratory facility. Using qualitative methods, the authors surveyed the eleven participating teachers before and after the program with open-ended questionnaires. The authors also observed the teachers with their mentors weekly. The teachers participated in semi structured interview before and after the program. Although the program is still occurring, and the post data has not been collected, the pre data indicates that few of the teachers have ever worked with a scientist before. As a result, very few of the teachers could articulate their expectations for their relationship with their scientist because they were not sure how scientists worked. The observations so far have shown that there are a variety of mentoring relationships, ranging from little to no interaction with one’s scientist to daily meetings. All of the teachers have indicated that they felt overwhelmed after their first meeting with their scientist, however, those who met with their scientist daily indicated that they already felt more confident in their abilities. This study will provide data regarding the role of the scientist mentoring relationship on science teachers’ understanding/perceptions of science and the nature of science.
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Paper number: 12030
MERLOT Noyce Scholars: How to Develop, Implement, and Sustain a Quality Digital Community
Principal Author: Ron P. Hughes, CSU, Bakersfield, rhughes@csub.edu
Co-Authors: Gerry Hanley, CSU Office of the Chancellor; David Andrews, CSU, Fresno; Jamie Arvizu, CSU, Fresno
Abstract:
Workshop Focus: Noyce Workshop participants will learn about the California State University’s (CSU) implementation of the Noyce Scholars Program: A prestigious national forgivable loan incentive program that provides scholarships to highly qualified mathematics and science majors or credential students, in return for an agreement that they will teach in high needs schools. Addressing the problem of connecting large numbers of teachers across a large geographic area, this session will demonstrate how CSU has created and supported the Noyce Scholars Teaching Commons (NSTC). NSTC is a network of pilot micro-communities of Noyce Scholars that are connected to the broader support services for science and math teachers in California and Noyce Scholars across the MERLOT consortium. Strategies for using Webinars and MERLOT Voices will be demonstrated and discussed. Noyce Scholar Leaders will be present to share their experiences and MERLOT products.
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Paper number: 10184
Science, Society, and the Teaching Community: An Approach to Improving and Expanding the Scientific Literacy of Pre-service Science Teachers
Principal Author: Vanessa Hunt, Central Washington University, huntv@cwu.edu
Co-Authors: Martha Kurtz, Central Washington University
Abstract:
An innovative course was developed with the intent of improving the scientific literacy of our middle school science teacher candidates, while addressing state competencies in nature of science and the social context of science. Two course sections offered at different campuses held online discussions of student-chosen current science topics and participated in formal debates of science issues via interactive television. In addition, the two classes explored local issues in science, cataloged community resources for science teachers, planned and implemented field trips on which one class hosted another, and participated in meaningful science-focused civic engagement. Student progress and the success of the course in meeting stated objectives was assessed on an ongoing basis by written assignments and a series of critical reflections.The debating exercises demonstrably improved student NOS understanding, while the discussions gave students considerable insight into the social and cultural context of science. At the conclusion of the course, students perceived themselves to be better integrated into both the wider and more local scientific communities, and were able to produce detailed plans to integrate community issues and resources into their future classrooms.
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Paper number: 11050
Mediating Factors in Pre-service Teachers’ Inquiry Experiences: A Narrative
Principal Author: Tobias E.L. Irish, Oregon State University, irisht@onid.orst.edu
Abstract:
Science Education documents call for reforms in science teaching that include the use of scientific inquiry as the central strategy for teaching science. Yet, despite this emphasis on the use of inquiry, research has shown that many teachers have a difficult time creating classroom environments that are inquiry based. The purpose of this study is to gain some insight into this problem by investigating the kinds of factors that mediate the inquiry experiences of pre-service teachers and to better understand the effect these factors have had on their experiences. The fact that so many teachers come into the profession unable to implement inquiry effectively suggests that something about their own previous experiences with inquiry is contributing to the problem. By studying the situations in which pre-teachers learn abut inquiry I hope to better understand some of the factors that contribute to their eventual difficulties implementing these strategies in the classroom. This study is on-going, and at this point only one pre-service teacher has been involved. This individual was interviewed extensively about an inquiry experience that she felt was influential for her and a narrative of her experience was created. In keeping with narrative research methodology, the participant was involved extensively in the creation of the narrative. Aside from the formal interviews, the participant also participated in the data analysis by providing insights and clarifying essential points. The initial data revealed that some of the factors that affect people’s inquiry experiences include their personal identity, the influence of working within a group, and how the task is designed. These factors influence an individual’s experience in a number of constraining ways including causing feelings of reserve, anxiety, fear of embarrassment, and frustration. They can also have more positive affordances like challenging the individuals involved.
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Paper number: 12004
Analogous Interrelationships and Role Playing:

Engaging the Previously Disengaged in Science

Principal Author: Paul C Jablon, Lesley University, pjablon@lesley.edu
Abstract:

Science, Technology and Society based-science classes appeal to the innate desires of young people “to make a difference” in their world through the attention paid to social conscience issues and the students ability to consequently act upon their. However, many times when teachers introduce societal issues such as solid waste management, genetic engineering, and such, they are surprised to find that many students are not motivated by them.

Yet there are some programs utilizing societal issues that have the ability to sustain a deep student interest and in urban areas, students who previously stopped attending science classes not only attended regularly, but also succeeded in completing the class (Jablon and Born, 1988). Many students are not finding any of their more emotional needs being addressed in their academic classes, seek them in their anti-school, negative peer groups (Pulkkinen, 1982; Orfield, 2004; Maslow 1968).

Underlying these STS societal issues are psychological and sociological relationships which are universal. Some examples of these big ideas that help students make sense of the world and empower them as individuals are, “the right of the individual versus the rights of society”, or “power over versus power with”.

They are the same as the relationships these students are having with their peers and their parents, the two primary areas of concern to adolescents. If we allow students to role play selected real life situations between these individuals or groups that are analogous to interrelationships in STS situations, then students not only "experience" this larger, complex relationship we wish them to understand, but simultaneously meet these emotional needs. The personalization of the subject matter by having students investigate these analogous interrelationships between their own personal interrelationships and those that exist at a societal level is a central element of the most successful of these programs (Jablon, 1989).

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Paper number: 10206
The influence of NCATE on one middle childhood science methods course
Principal Author: Debbie K Jackson, Cleveland State University, d.jackson1@csuohio.edu
Abstract:
NCATE NSTA standards are influencing science methods courses in a new way. This research tells the story of one middle childhood methods professor and the journey to align the middle childhood science program to the NSTA standards. Details are discussed regarding the middle childhood science methods course as it was the one most influenced by the alignment. The study includes a discussion of how the alignment influenced the planning of the course, the topics included, and the topics excluded. Self study results show that topics of importance were left out of the course after it was aligned with the NSTA standards including multicultural science, assessment, and science resources.
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Paper number: 11027
The effect of a cooperative mentoring program on beginning science teachers’ reflective practice
Principal Author: Nam Jeonghee , Pusan National University, jhnam@pusan.ac.kr
Co-Authors: Moonsook Ko, Pusan National University; Eulsun Seung, Indiana State University
Abstract:
In this study, we provided beginning teachers a cooperative mentoring program that emphasizes reflection through interactions with mentors. Through the reflective mentoring program, we explored how beginning teachers reflected on their teaching practices and how the experience of reflection influenced reform-based changes in their teaching practices. The participants in this study were three beginning science teachers and three mentors. The cooperative mentoring program consisted of two one-on-one mentoring meetings, weekly science education seminars, two mentoring group discussions, and self-evaluation activities. Two class sessions taught by each beginning teacher (i.e. pre-mentoring class and post-mentoring class) were analyzed with the RTOP (The Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol). Compared to the pre-mentoring class sessions, the RTOP scores of the beginning teacher’s post-mentoring class sessions improved. This result implies that through the mentoring process, the beginning teachers seemed to develop a constructivist view of science teaching and learning by which they connected student-centred inquiry activities in their classes. We analyzed the three beginning teachers’ reflection while they were participating in the cooperative mentoring program. The main components of beginning teachers’ reflection were: 1) the type of instruction, 2) instructional strategies and attitude, 3) classroom culture, 4) science content knowledge, and 5) knowledge of assessment. Encouraging reflection through mentoring caused changes in the beginning teachers’ teaching practices in various ways: emphasizing a student-centered classroom, changes in interactions, changes in teacher language, and developing various instructional strategies.

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Paper number: 10021
Elementary Science Teachers’ Value and Implementation of Formative Assessment Strategies
Principal Author: Pamela M. Jett, University of Louisville, pmjett01@louisville.edu
Co-Authors: Sherri L. Brown, University of Louisville; Thomas R. Tretter, University of Louisville
Abstract:
Formative assessment is frequently used by educators, but when asked to define, responses tend to vary widely. In essence, formative assessment is when teachers and students engage in instructional conversations discussing content information and gathering data about present levels of understanding. This feedback exchanged between teachers and students about knowledge gained is a critical element that provides structure and support to move student learning forward. For teachers who effectively use formative assessment strategies, it is the responsive element of adjusting lesson plans, instruction and assessments to give students multiple avenues to develop deeper understanding and to address student learning needs.

In this study elementary teachers (n=270) completed a survey to ascertain their perspectives on value and implementation of formative assessment. Four teachers were selected for intensive observations of science lessons utilizing what each perceived to be formative assessment strategies. This study used a mixed methods approach to analyze data from three sources: a questionnaire, classroom observations and teacher interviews. Factor analysis and confirmatory structural equation modeling were used to determine the validity of the questionnaire about teachers’ beliefs and use of formative assessment strategies; SEM also provided underlying structural relationships of formative assessment strategies. Teachers’ value of formative assessment strategies strongly correlated with their reported use of same strategies. Regression analysis determined no significant correlation between years of experience and use of formative assessment.

Interview analysis indicated that teachers who had a more student-focused approach to science teaching were more likely to use a wider variety of formative assessment strategies effectively in their instruction; conversely, teacher-focused instructors used fewer formative assessment strategies. A Teacher Profile has been developed which categorizes teaching behaviors more consistent with those who embody the knowledge, beliefs and dispositions about effective formative assessment. It has anticipated uses for teacher educators, administrators, and professional development trainers.

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Paper number: 10134
Sustainable Science Teacher Professional Development in Urban Middle Schools
Principal Author: Jann Joseph, Grand Valley State University, josephj@gvsu.edu
Co-Authors: Ellen Schiller, Grand Valley State University
Abstract:
In response to the need for middle school science teachers’ deeper science content knowledge and greater support for inquiry-based science in urban schools, we developed the SCI-CARE project (A Sustainable Collaboration to Improve Content, Assessment, Reflection and Efficacy of Science Teachers). During this two-year professional development grant, we partnered with middle school teachers from 3 urban school districts. The participants included an equal mix of science teachers and special education teachers with little science background knowledge, all of whom were assigned to teach science.

Our intervention was based on the principle that professional development programs must provide interactive learning environments where teachers deepen their understanding of science content and pedagogy and sharpen their leadership skills. Only then could we expect them to develop and implement unique plans for reform that suit the climate of their schools. Most teachers, even when they gain deeper content knowledge through professional development, do not apply this knowledge in the classroom (Roth, McGinn & Bowen, 1998). Several authors, including Handelsman, et al., 2004) suggest that to integrate new content knowledge, teacher professional development should include field work, close guidance, and access to the professional developers. Science teacher professional development should also provide the resources and classroom follow-up to assist in the implementation of new content and skills (Fraser-Abder 2002).

The SCI-CARE grant is the fifth professional development grant we have collaborated on. During the course of the project, participants attended inquiry-based science content workshops, the regional NSTA conference and state affiliate conference, partnered with science faculty to develop unit plans, and welcomed faculty into their classrooms for support and observation of their teaching. We will share the effects on teacher practice and self-efficacy, as well as the challenges we continue to experience while engaging in professional development in urban settings.

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Paper number: 10200
Assessing Student Learning: Preservice Teachers’ Initial Understanding
Principal Author: Nam-Hwa Kang, Oregon State University, kangn@science.oregonstate.edu
Abstract:
This study explored preservice teachers’ initial competence in classroom assessment in terms of designing assessment and analyzing and utilizing assessment results to inform instructional plans. Guiding research questions focused on the nature of assessment tasks designed by preservice teachers and their underlying beliefs that mediated the design of assessments, analysis of assessments, and implications for instruction. Assessment design and analysis of 13 preservice teachers were examined. The findings indicated that preservice teachers needed support both explicit discussion of reform perspectives and direct assistance in assessment development and analysis practices. The area of this support included aligning assessment formats with target contents and broadening the notion of diagnostic assessment from assessing students’ formal knowledge to assessing both informal and formal knowledge.
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Paper number: 10059
Transitioning to Inquiry-based Teaching: Exploring Teachers’ Experiences in Overcoming Learning Bottlenecks
Principal Author: Mahsa Kazempour, Fairfield University, mkazempour@fairfield.edu
Co-Authors: Aidin Amirshokoohi, Fairfield University
Abstract:
Inquiry-based planning and instruction can be quite a daunting task and many teachers struggle to make the shift to this type of instruction. One approach suggested for assisting teachers in initiating the transition to inquiry-based teaching follows the paradigm initially described by Middendorf and Pace (2002) as a professional development (PD) approach for college faculty. This approach calls for participants to identify a learning bottleneck, a student-learning problem that interferes with knowledge acquisition, and work collaboratively with others to remedy the bottleneck through a seven-step plan. This approach has been adopted in a two-week inquiry-based summer PD workshops for high school teachers in a Midwestern state which will be the focus of this study.

Previous studies describe the benefits of using the seven-step plan and the influence of PD on participants’ core conceptions as well as the types of lessons some teachers developed. However, these studies did not focus on the process teachers went through in developing their plans and their thoughts throughout the process. It is important to understand the stages teachers go through in overcoming their student learning bottlenecks and explore factors that they attribute to their ability to do so. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to further explore the process of overcoming bottlenecks by examining the initial stage of this process, points of transition in 24 participating high school science teachers’ thinking and analysis of their bottlenecks, and the final products. Participants’ daily assignments and reflections as well as the final seven-step plans were analyzed through the content analysis approach. Factors attributed to their understanding of inquiry-based teaching and overcoming their bottlenecks as well as teacher profiles demonstrating representative cases and the changes they went through during the process of identifying, analyzing, and developing a plan to overcome their bottlenecks will be shared.

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Paper number: 10060
Authentic Science Inquiry Experience: Examining Professional Development Participants’ Experiences and Reflections
Principal Author: Mahsa Kazempour, Fairfield University, mkazempour@fairfield.edu
Abstract:
Prior studies indicate that the choices teachers make in their classrooms as to the type and amount of inquiry instruction are directly influenced by their beliefs which have been shown to improve through effective professional development (PD) programs that are teacher directed and based on long-term reflections of teaching practices. Furthermore, experiencing scientific inquiry through authentic research has been shown to improve teachers’ science content knowledge and use of inquiry-based teaching techniques.

However, previous studies do not elaborate on the teachers’ experiences in the laboratories and their reflections on their experiences. Even though the effects of inquiry-based PD have mainly been positive, the possibilities exist that such experiences lead to teacher practices that are inconsistent with the goals of the PD and science education reforms. Hence, it is imperative that teachers’ experiences and their thoughts and reflections about such experiences are explored further. This study focuses on 14 high school science teachers who participated in a two-week summer workshop where they spent each afternoon with science faculty in their research labs or the field.

The qualitative case study explores teachers’ accounts of their experiences and reflections about these experiences through analysis of their daily reflections. The constant comparative method was utilized to develop and identify recurring themes in teachers’ reflections of their experiences. Finally, a cross case analysis was conducted to examine similarities and differences and make certain assertions regarding different cases’ experiences and views.

The ongoing analysis of data indicates that teachers were concerned with three main items in their reflections: 1) their views of science and scientific inquiry, 2) their views of themselves, and 3) the correlation between their experiences and their classroom learning environment and instruction. This study indicates several key points that should be of interest to science education researchers, PD facilitators, and science educators.

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Paper number: 10238
TURKISH PRESERVICE SCIENCE TEACHERS’ CONCEPTIONS OF NATURE OF SCIENCE
Principal Author: Sevgi Kingir, Selcuk University, kingirsevgi@gmail.com
Co-Authors: Omer Geban, Middle East Technical University
Abstract:
This study investigated Turkish pre-service science teachers’ views about the nature of science (NOS). The participants included 370 pre-service science teachers (72% female and 28% male). The pre-service science teachers were at the departments of physics (16%), chemistry (44%), biology (27%) and elementary science education (12%) at three different public universities in the capital city of Turkey. Data were collected by applying Turkish version of Views on Science-Technology-Society (VOSTS) questionnaire. The modified Turkish version of VOSTS included items regarding science and technology, influence of society on science/technology, influence of science/technology on society, influence of school science on society, characteristics of scientists, social construction of scientific knowledge, social construction of technology, and nature of scientific knowledge. Data were analyzed by using frequency distribution of each item. Each statement in a VOSTS item was categorized into one of the three categories: realistic, has-merit and naive. Results of this study indicated that Turkish pre-service science teachers’ views of NOS were neither clearly contemporary nor clearly traditional. They held contemporary views about public influence on science and technology, influence of science and technology on society (contribution to social decisions, and resolution of social and practical problems), social construction of scientific knowledge, nature of observations, nature of classification scheme, tentativeness of scientific knowledge, and precision and uncertainty in scientific knowledge. On the other hand, they held traditional views about the nature of scientific models. These results support earlier findings by other researchers, e.g. Haidar (1999) found that Emirates pre-service and in-service teachers held both traditional and constructivist views of NOS. Moreover, this study elicited pre-service science teachers’ misconceptions about the relationship between hypothesis, theory and law. Most of them believed that hypotheses become theories, and theories become laws.
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Paper number: 10036
Supporting elementary science beyond the credential: Helping new teachers to think about community resources
Principal Author: James F Kisiel, California State University, Long Beach, jkisiel@csulb.edu
Abstract:
Informal science institutions (ISIs) such as museums, aquariums, and nature centers, offer more to teachers than just field trip destinations—they have the potential to provide ideas for pedagogy, as well as support deeper development of teachers’ science knowledge. Few studies have looked at how to create and maintain stronger connections between teachers and ISIs, and even fewer have examined how incorporating such ideas of connections of community resources into pre-service teacher education might improve teacher perceptions and awareness.

Pre-service elementary teachers (191) enrolled in a science methods class were required to attend their choice of events (workshops, fieldtrips, family day activities) held at local informal sites (e.g. museums, aquariums, etc.) over the course of the semester. Students generally saw this required component of the class as beneficial and comparison of pre-/post-class responses suggested that teachers shifted their perceptions of ISIs as field trip destinations and hands-on experiences, to places that can help teachers with classroom science instruction. Although basic awareness of the existence of such opportunities was frequently cited, teachers also recognized these sites as places that could enhance their teaching, either by providing materials/resources for the classroom, or helping them learn (content and pedagogy) as teachers. Such changes, not surprisingly, became less evidence when program alumni currently working as teachers (and graduates for 2-4 years), were asked to provide their perspectives.
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Paper number: 10229
Supporting good science teaching: Laying the groundwork for university and informal science institution collaborations
Principal Author: James Kisiel, California State University, Long Beach, jkisiel@csulb.edu
Co-Authors: Donna Ross, San Diego State University; Maria Grant, California State University, Fullerton
Abstract:
According the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), California students (in 4th and 8th grades) are below national norms for academic achievement in science (NCES, 2006.) Such data is particularly alarming when considering the impact that waning science knowledge and declining science literacy might have on a population that is responsible for making informed decisions regarding the environment and societal issues like global warming and drought. Ongoing training opportunities, especially for elementary teachers, can potentially help teachers become more confident and effective in their instruction. Many informal science institutions (ISIs), while serving the traditional role as field trip destination, also provide PD opportunities ranging from monthly workshops to extended week-long institutes. In an effort to support professional development opportunities for science teachers, a collaborative team of informal science institution educators and California State University (CSU) teacher preparation educators assembled for dialogue and resultant action over a two-year period. The evolution of this project, from formal discussions to specific plans of action, included focus group conversations, survey data collection, and related data analysis, Efforts have centered on PD as it relates to content delivery, ISI concerns about teacher interest in PD opportunities, concerns regarding the lack of resources at ISI facilities (including staff and funding resources), and ways to foster ISI/CSU collaborations. Specific plans of action are currently being established by several ISI/CSU partners.
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Paper number: 11052
Infusing Sustainability Education into Science Methods Instruction
Principal Author: Beth S Klein, SUNY Cortland, beth.klein@cortland.edu
Co-Authors: Starlin D. Weaver, Salisbury University
Abstract:
Sustainability education is becoming more important as the general public becomes more aware of issues such as climate change, food production, and energy challenges. As such, elementary and secondary teachers need to be prepared to educate their students on these topics in an informed manner. In working with preservice teachers the co-presenters noticed that although many schools were implementing school gardening and other sustainability education activities, their preservice teachers had little knowledge of and experiences with these topics. This session shared experiences by the co-presenters working with inservice and preservice teachers on these issues in their science methods courses. 


The co-presenters had experiences as classroom teachers implementing sustainability topics into their science classes at the elementary and secondary level. These experiences include implementing a school garden that was used with teaching high school biology classes. Both presenters currently work with inservice and preservice teachers on sustainability education projects. Samples of these include: working with middle school science teachers to build windmills to power their industrial arts program, providing carbon footprint reduction workshops for K-12 teachers, working with teachers to develop and implement sustainability projects with their K-12 students, and providing preservice teachers with instruction and experiences with growing gardens-in-a-box and learning about renewable energy topics.

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Paper number: 10020
The Impact of Ethnicity and Disability on Below Poverty Students’ Science Performance
Principal Author: Kay A Kohlhaas, University of Houston - Victoria, kohlhaask@uhv.edu
Co-Authors: Hsin-Hui Lin, University of Houston - Victoria; Kwang-lee Chu, Pearson Education
Abstract:
This nationwide study examined the relationships between ethnicity and disability with below poverty fifth graders’ (n = 1,945) science performance. Extant fifth grade data files (2003-2004) from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K) (Tourangeau, et al., 2006) were utilized. Below poverty white students reported significantly higher disability rates (37%) than other ethnicity groups, while the Asian students had the lowest disability rate (<10%). The ethnic rankings of science performance from the highest to the lowest were White, Asian, Hispanic, and African American.

When the variables of ethnicity and disability were disaggregated, there were compounding effects on most science scores. Most ethnicities without disabilities performed better than those with disabilities, with the exception of Asian students where no significant difference was found. ANOVA test revealed that below poverty White students had the highest science scores in both subgroups, with and without disabilities, while African American students had the lowest science scores in both subgroups. White without disability had the highest mean Science IRT Scale Score, while African American with disability had the lowest mean score.

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Paper number: 10179
Changing Middle School Science Teachers’ Instructional Practice through an Asynchronous Temperature and Heat Course
Principal Author: Rebecca M Krall, University of Kentucky, rebecca.krall@coe.uky.edu
Co-Authors: Amber M Sullivan, University of Kentucky; Ashlie M Beals, University of Kentucky; Joseph P Straley, University of Kentucky; Sally A Shafer, University of Kentucky; Jeffrey L Osborn, University of Kentucky
Abstract:
Findings from a case study of two middle school teachers participating in a distance learning course on temperature and heat are reported in this presentation. The study occurred across two years in which teachers served as part of a control group in Year 1 and a treatment group in Year 2. Structured classroom observations, pre and post observation conference notes, end of year interviews (in 2009), and pre and post survey responses were used to explore changes in teachers’ instructional practice across the two years, and gains they perceived from completing the temperature and heat course. Teachers demonstrated dramatic changes in their use of student investigations to teach temperature and heat concepts. Teachers were observed placing particular emphasis on essential questions to guide student investigations, facilitating student interpretation of data and formulation of explanations, and making connections to real world applications. Additional evidence is provided to illustrate how the temperature and heat course affected teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge for teaching temperature and heat. Implications for professional development programs also are discussed.
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Paper number: 10219
Learning Dispositions: Explicit instruction concerning the nature of learning and assessing students’ views on learning
Principal Author: Jerrid W Kruse, Iowa State University, jerridkruse@gmail.com
Co-Authors: Jesse L Wilcox, Iowa State University
Abstract:
As with all conceptions, students’ views on learning are shaped both implicitly and explicitly from their past experiences including classroom instruction. Unfortunately, in today’s school climate, students are repeatedly sent the message that learning equates to rote memorization. Because of this shallow understanding of learning, students resist attempts by teachers to focus instruction toward deep understanding of content based in contructivist learning theory. This research first sought to develop strategies that may be used to explicitly instruct students on learning in a developmentally appropriate way. Secondly, a quantitative instrument based on previous literature was developed to assess students’ views on learning and monitor changes in views.

This study is probably best described as action research because complete randomization was not possible. Control and treatment groups of 8th grade students were each given pre and posttests. Pretests were given near the beginning of the school year, posttests near the end of the school year. During the school year, the treatment group received reform-based instruction and explicit instruction on learning and the nature of learning from a constructivist learning theory standpoint including both social and developmental learning theories. The control group received traditional instruction of the same content and did not receive explicit instruction on learning. Results demonstrate statistically significant differences between pre and posttests of the treatment group as well as significant differences between the treatment and control groups. Importantly, the control group did not show an improvement of their views on learning from pre to post test. Additionally, qualitative data was collected from the treatment group such as journal entries, taped discussions and homework assignments to better understand the treatment. These artifacts are discussed to provide insight on how students’ views on learning changed over time and what struggles they encountered for modifying their learning views.

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Paper number: 10221
Investigating the influence of a reflective summer research experience on teachers’ understanding of nature of science concepts and nature of science instructional strategies.
Principal Author: Jerrid W Kruse, Iowa State University, jerridkruse@gmail.com
Co-Authors: Jesse L Wilcox, Iowa State University
Abstract:
Research experiences for teachers provide opportunities for educators to experience the laboratory. As a teacher researcher, one can participate in the process of real science, instead of just reading about science or conducting contrived inquiry projects. While being a research scientist does not guarantee understanding nature of science (NOS) concepts, the research experience could provide contextualized experiences on which those learning NOS can reflect and apply to classroom instruction.

However, McComas (1993) notes that research experiences of secondary students did not result in significant improvement of NOS understanding. Furthermore, Kruse and Wilcox (2009) note that teachers involved in research experiences and have had a course in the NOS had difficulties transferring their knowledge into classroom practice. The lack of improvement is not surprising considering Abd-El-Khalick & Lederman’s (2000a) call for explicit and reflective NOS instruction.

This case study investigates the effect of a summer research experience on teachers’ understanding of and notions regarding the teaching of NOS. Nineteen teachers with various classroom and research experiences participated in a research experience for teachers program. These teachers were involved in not only laboratory research, but were asked to read practitioner articles and reflect extensively about the NOS. The teachers also submitted modified lesson plans and participated in weekly discussions regarding the NOS. Even though teachers had many accurate notions of the nature of science, preliminary analyze of the data indicates teachers are unable to articulate how to transfer this conceptual knowledge into classroom practice.

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Paper number: 10142
A Model for Service Learning in Environmental Education
Principal Author: Jeremy P Lake, Earth Force, jlake@earthforce.org
Co-Authors: Barbara S Spector, University of South Florida
Abstract:
An unintended consequence of the No Child Left Behind Act has been a reduction in the amount of environmental education programs available to students (North American Association for Environmental Education, 2009) . Thus there is a need for science teacher educators to introduce mechanisms enabling their students to infuse environmental education in the multitude of K-12 science courses taught across the U. S. Further, the common phenomena of “nature- deficit disorder”* (Louv, 2005) and “ecophobia” (Sobel, 1996) are rarely discussed when addressing the nature of middle and high school learners. To mitigate this situation, science teacher educators can teach the Earth Force Environmental Service Learning Model, which has been used successfully with classroom teachers for 15 years. Earth Force, a community based organization, provides science teacher educators with professional development, field trip opportunities, human expertise, material resources, funding opportunities, and a fertile field for research through partnerships with K-12 and higher education institutions. This research based model engenders sound cognitive principles and is consistent with National Science Education Standards (National Research Council, 1996). Research to date indicates this model leads to learner ownership, higher retention of learning, and ability to apply skills in other settings.

The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act (The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, H.R. 1388, 2009 and No Child Left Inside initiatives (North American Association for Environmental Education, 2009), create a favorable political environment with high value placed on community based organizations, environmental education, and community service. These, combined with support available to higher education from the Earth Force, make the time right to combine environmental education and service learning in science teacher education.

*Today’s children have minimal exposure to, and involvement in, natural settings which is resulting in detrimental impacts to their development.

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Paper number: 10207
Librarians and Science Teacher Educators: Strategies for Effective Collaboration
Principal Author: Donna E LaLonde, Washburn University, zzlalo@gmail.com
Co-Authors: Heather Smith-Collins, Washburn University
Abstract:
The paper will present a case study describing a collaboration between a Curriculum Resource Center librarian and a science teacher educator. The presenters will describe their ongoing collaboration to design and implement an inquiry-based elementary science methods class. The paper will also describe the implementation of the strategies in a sixth grade science class. The presenters believe their collaboration can be a model for designing and implementing a dynamic methods experience that also augments the information literacy of the preservice teachers.
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Paper number: 10091
Reforming Undergraduate STEM Courses for Preservice K-6 Teachers: How Much Does Funding Matter?
Principal Author: Corinne H Lardy, San Diego State University, corinne_lardy@yahoo.com
Co-Authors: Cheryl L Mason, San Diego State University
Abstract:
A great deal of time and resources are invested in professional development programs, such as the NOVA (NASA Opportunities for Visionary Academics) program, designed to improve undergraduate STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) courses directed towards preservice teachers. However, little if any follow-up normally occurs concerning the sustainability of reform following professional development, especially for those who are not fully supported. The goal of this study was to examine the long-term success of undergraduate STEM faculty in instituting and sustaining reforms in their courses following participation in the NOVA program, although NOVA did not fund these instituted reform efforts. Data were collected through an online survey designed by the authors and guided by prior research of others, to assess subjects’ perceived success in instituting and sustaining their proposed reforms, as well as the factors that may have influenced that success. Ultimately, 31 faculty members representing 26 of the 65 non-funded universities who participated in the NOVA program responded to the survey. Frequencies of multiple-choice responses were assessed, and common themes in open-ended responses were coded and recorded by prevalence for each individual subject and/or university. Results support a complex combination of factors affecting the ability to institute and sustain STEM course reform, including those related to social and practical aspects, as well as motivation. Lack of NOVA funding did not result in a complete abandonment of reform efforts for a majority of subjects, especially when other sources of funding and/or a supportive social university network were available. Results indicate that lack of initial funding cannot be taken for granted as a factor hindering undergraduate STEM reform. However, in order for STEM course reform to be successful, faculty members need strong motivation as well as social and practical support from colleagues, including those from teacher education, and administration.
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Paper number: 10037
An evaluation of an elementary science methods class with respect to teachers’ pedagogical development
Principal Author: Carole K Lee, University of Arkansas, cklee@uark.edu
Abstract:
The science methods class is offered to senior students at a large state university. During spring semester 2009, the instructor decided to evaluate the outcomes of the science methods class. The research questions were (1) What preservice teachers learn after completing the science methods class? (2) What areas of science methods class need to be improved? The questionnaire used in this study was adapted from the instrument of Hudson and Ginns (2007) in examining the course outcomes and measuring preservice teachers’ perceptions of their development towards becoming elementary science teachers. Items on the questionnaire of Hudson and Ginns (2007) represent four course outcomes or constructs - theory, children’s development, planning and implementation. The Cronbach’s alpha that measures internal reliability of the instrument is high (>.85). However, the adapted questionnaire in this study did not measure children’s development. The instructor decided not to particularly emphasize children’s development due to the limited time available. Moreover, preservice teachers commencing the science methods class had completed related courses of child development. Thus the adapted questionnaire only measured three constructs ¡V theory, planning and implementation. Descriptive statistics (SPSS version 15) of each construct such as mean scores (M), standard deviations (SD), percentages of preservice teachers who either ’agree’ or ’strongly agree’, p values (2-tailed) of paired samples t-test were computed. Results showed that ’theoretical base of science curriculum development’ and ’scope and sequence for teaching elementary science’ were poorly understood. Areas such as ’classroom management,’ ’learning environment’ and ’positive attitudes’ were statistically insignificant. However, it is interesting to find that even though preservice teachers do not have great confidence in the science knowledge they possessed, they have positive attitudes towards teaching elementary science.

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Paper number: 11019
Modeling in Qualitative Data Analysis for Student Focus Groups in Connected Classrooms
Principal Author: Soon Chun Lee, The Ohio State University, lee.3552@osu.edu
Co-Authors: Karen E Irving, The Ohio State University; Stephen J Pape, University of Florida; Douglas T Owens, The Ohio State University
Abstract:
Science teachers and educators strive to create classroom activities that address both learning and enjoyment with strong theoretical instructional methods like formative assessment and active engagement. Most teachers in today’s schools find it extremely challenging to apply these methods effectively for most students most of the time. However, connected classroom technology, a networked system to facilitate communication between a teacher and students, offers an opportunity for teachers to increase student-engagement as well as to increase the quality and quantity of feedback in science classrooms. In the Connected Classroom in Mathematics and Science research project (CCMS), the impact on achievement and students’ dispositions toward mathematics and science have been examined. With data analysis of students focus group’ (SFG) transcripts using NVivo software, this study shows evidence that the connected classrooms provide benefits for students most of the time. From the data analysis, one finding is that students’ engagements and understanding depend on students’ perceptions. That is, the expectations could be fulfilled according to how the students think or feel about science learning. A model building method of qualitative data analysis provides crucial clues to identify relationships between perceptions and to develop hierarchical and linked models to better understand student perceptions of instruction in connected classrooms. These findings explore possibilities of CCT in science classrooms and qualitative data analysis with NVivo. The results provide teachers information about how students view the connected classroom, and how teachers can better appreciate the possibilities of the technology for the science classroom. Also, students’ views are important to guide further development of CCT because they provide insights and suggestions for new generation design and development.
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Paper number: 10216
Analyzing secondary students' abilities of "doing" scientific inquiry and teachers' roles of scaffolding
Principal Author: Ki-Young Lee, Kangwon National University, leeky@kangwon.ac.kr
Co-Authors: Young-Shin Park, Chosun University; Jong Hee Kim, Chonnam National University
Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to explore and analyze students’ abilities of “doing” scientific inquiry and teachers’ role of scaffolding in the context of “open” inquiry activities. To explore students’ abilities of “dong” scientific inquiry, it is necessary for them to carry out inquiry investigation in open context, which means that students themselves need to frame questions, making hypotheses, carrying out investigation, collecting and analyzing data, and making conclusion. For this purpose, we designed one “open” inquiry question (develop wind power plant in Korea). Gifted students from 5th to 7th grade participated in this study. In data collection, first, two different tests (framing questions and designing the investigation) were collected from 240 students. Second, data were collected from artifacts, 26 teachers’ reflection journals and their students’ journals and students’ inquiry reports after carrying out the investigation “wind power plan.” Third, 6 teachers and their students were selected for semi-structured interviews. In data analysis, first, to measure 240 students’ abilities of framing questions, the researchers developed the scoring guide with criteria and constructed the internal validity and reliability of data analysis through cross-checking. Second, to measure 240 students’ abilities of designing investigation, nine different criteria were developed with the 4 scales (0-3). Third, to measure students’ abilities of carrying out the investigation, students’ inquiry reports were analyzed with the criteria developed by the researchers. The results included; (1) students displayed understandings about scientific inquiry, envisioned in Standards (2000), (2) however, students showed lack of abilities of “doing” scientific inquiry, (3) appropriate teachers’ roles of scaffolding were critical for successful students’ “doing” scientific inquiry. It is suggested to provide teachers with clinical teacher professional development program where teachers themselves learn how to teach students for their “doing” scientific inquiry by reflecting on their understandings and practices of scientific inquiry.
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Paper number: 10097
Leveraging Grant-Funded Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Undergraduate Programs to Optimize Student Success
Principal Author: Nina A Leonhardt, Suffolk County Community College, leonhan@sunysuffolk.edu
Co-Authors: Arlene T Jackson, Suffolk County Community College
Abstract:
With RFPs being issued to support STEM undergraduates, it is now possible to leverage these resources so that students are fully funded; have access to support services such as participation in a community of STEM scholars and individualized tutoring sessions; and can experience STEM research through paid internships. In addition, the ability of applicants to demonstrate the leveraging of resources is now an important criterion for those making funding decisions. Learn how one community college is leveraging local, state, NSF and business and industry resources to deliver full-service STEM education
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Paper number: 11045
Collaborative discussions around the substance of students’ ideas and reasoning in records of classroom practice can provide a productive context for pre-service teachers to learn science.
Principal Author: Daniel M Levin, American University, levin@american.edu
Co-Authors: Jennifer Richards, University of Maryland, College Park
Abstract:
A growing body of literature argues that an important role of teacher education and professional development lies in drawing teachers’ attention to the substance of students’ thinking in records of classroom practice (classroom video or samples of student work). It is generally assumed that learning to notice students’ ideas when exploring records of practice enhances their ability to be able to do so in situ. Research has shown that such professional development efforts, designed to help teachers get into the habit of attending to the substance of student thinking and developing their abilities to hear and interpret students’ ideas, has helped many teachers become more sophisticated in attending to student thinking. In this presentation, we demonstrate how discussing cases of students’ classroom learning can also provide a context for productive discussions about science. Drawing from eleven discussions among a cohort of secondary science teachers who were watching classroom video or analyzing student work as part of preservice science pedagogy courses, we provide examples to demonstrate how attending to the substance of student thinking can lead to productive collaborative conversations about science content and about the nature of science. These findings are particularly important in light of ongoing calls for improvements in science teachers’ understandings of science content and the nature of science. We discuss implications of these findings for research and practice in science teacher education.
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Paper number: 10223
In Professional Development: Elementary Teachers’ Conceptions of Flooding through Dual Lenses of Conceptual Change and Self-Regulated Learning
Principal Author: Elizabeth B Lewis, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, elizabeth.b.lewis@asu.edu
Co-Authors: Katrien J. Kraft, Mesa Community College, Mesa, AZ; Nievita B Watts, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ; Dale R Baker, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ; Meredith J Wilson, Scottsdale Community College, Scottsdale, AZ
Abstract:
This study focuses on elementary teachers’ conceptions of flooding before and after inquiry-based professional development to determine if teachers’ understanding of flooding was enhanced by participation in Earth science activities and reflective prompts. There was a significant increase (n = 17, mean gain = 4.3 (SD = 3.27, t (17) = 5.69, p < .05) using a two-tier pre- to post-test. The most frequent misconceptions from pre- to post-test were difficulty reading a map image and hydrograph interpretation. The highest frequency of hybrid conceptions occurred as participants attempted to add new academic language (e.g., storm surge and discharge). Greater conceptual change was seen with teachers who had higher prior knowledge of the topic and those who were able to reflect upon their own learning.
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Paper number: 11033
Where are We Now - in Theory and in Practice: The Use and Evaluation of Concept Maps
Principal Author: Mary Lightbody, The Ohio State University Newark, Lightbody.1@osu.edu
Abstract:
Concept maps were used to measure change in the pre-service teachers thinking over the course of a Curriculum Topic Study (CTS) (Keeley, 2005) conducted with a group of fifty (50) pre-service teacher candidates for primary positions.

There were two research questions:

1. Does the CTS increase the pre-service teachers’ content knowledge and understanding of what students should know and be able to do?

2. Does the CTS change how pre-service teachers conceptualize the content of lessons they write or change what they plan to teach as reflected in a concept map of the topic?

To conduct this research, decisions on how to frame the assignment and how the concept maps would be evaluated had to be made. A process to analyze the maps was developed, with reference to the work of Hay (2007), Novak (1990, 1998, 2002), Ruiz-Primo, Schultz, Li & Shavelson (2001), Ruiz-Primo & Shavelson (1996), and Kinchin & Hay (2000). The strictly numerical process developed by Novak and Gowin (1984) did not seem appropriate for two reasons. First, a change in a concept map that reflected a refinement and more concise and less cluttered approach (common among those with weaker content knowledge) to the content would be penalized in a process of numerical counting of concepts, links, and cross-links, in comparison to a cluttered and overly complex initial map. Second, science content among teachers in the primary grades is often weak, and the replacement of an invalid proposition or link (Kinchin & Hay, 2000) that appeared on the first map might not be recorded and credited as significant. Another challenge was that there were so many different topics, that comparing a student map to an expert map was not feasible. A hybrid process was developed, and the results of this analysis and the process itself will be shared.

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Paper number: 10023
Undergraduate students' attitudes toward biodiversity: A comparison study
Principal Author: Yu-Teh K Lin, National Taiwan University, huang5824@yahoo.com
Co-Authors: Hui-Ju Huang, California State University Sacramento
Abstract:
Biodiversity is an important issue with broad ramifications for the quality of human life. The current study investigated U.S. and Taiwan undergraduate students' attitudes toward biodiversity.

A survey questionnaire was distributed to a group of undergraduate students in Taiwan (126 collected) and U.S. (110 collected). The questionnaire consisted of statements prompted by the following question "To what extent do you agree with the following statements about problems with the biodiversity issues. Students then indicated strongly disagree, disagree, agree, strongly agree, or no opinion. The questionnaire mainly inquired students" awareness of biodiversity and the impact of human activity on biodiversity. The overall attitudes and difference were analyzed (i.e. resident country, gender, with or without experiences of conservation activities, local and international issues).

Comparing to Taiwan students, U.S. students held stronger opinions by selecting "strongly disagree" or "strongly agree" on seven statements. There was a statistic difference between U.S male and female students' attitude on four statements. Taiwan male and females showed difference on one statement. Students with and without experiences of conservation activities showed different from each other on one statement. The results also showed that there was no difference among U.S. students when responding to local and international issues. Similarly, there was no difference among Taiwan students. However, there was a difference between U.S. and Taiwan students responding to the international issue as Taiwan students cared more about the international issue by identifying higher value in the rating scale.

Based on the results, we developed three main perspectives of biodiversity curriculum: "the ecological literacy", "the social aspect of biodiversity issues", and "the nature and self." The curriculum aims to prepare students for actively taking action on protecting biodiversity by examining political, economic and other aspects to the issue.

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Paper number: 10189
Teacher Profiles: How can we help move all teachers to reform-based inquiry practice through professional development?
Principal Author: Christine R Lotter, University of South Carolina, lotter@mailbox.sc.edu
Co-Authors: Greg Rushton, Kennesaw State University
Abstract:
In this project, we analyzed the teaching beliefs and practices of 37 teachers who participated in a year-long PD experience. The goal of the data analysis was to try to capture the most important factors that correlate with the teachers’ ability to enact the reforms in their classroom. The PD consisted of four main segments over a two-week period: whole group inquiry instruction through hands-on activities and discussion, small group content instruction, practice teaching with high school students, and whole and small group reflection sessions. The teachers were interviewed before and after the summer workshop and again at the end of the academic year using three semi-structured interview protocols. Based on the analysis of the teachers’ interviews and classroom enactments, the teachers were placed into three categories: high, middle and low enactment. Classroom practice was analyzed using the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (Sawada et al., 2002). Eleven teachers were placed into the high enactment category based on their interview responses. After the professional development, all of these teachers stated that they could teach science content through the use of inquiry practices. The perceived ability to teach the content through inquiry was one difference seen between the teacher groups. Fourteen of the teachers were placed into the middle enactment category based on their interview responses. Middle enactment teachers described their change as a “work in progress” or made changes to only one segment of their instruction (e.g., including more questioning, use of select lessons learned during the summer, or select strategies). Nine of the teachers described enacting little inquiry beyond the one or two lessons that were asked of them during their participation in the program. The influence of external constraints was magnified in this group of teachers. Implications for improving inquiry professional development will be discussed.
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Paper number: 10050
The first three years: The beliefs, knowledge and practices of beginning science teachers
Principal Author: Julie A Luft, Arizona State University - Tempe, julie.luft@asu.edu
Co-Authors: Krista Adams, Arizona State University - Tempe; Derek Fay, Arizona State University - Tempe; Jonah Firestone, Arizona State University - Tempe; Ira Ortega, Arizona State University - Tempe; Sissy Wong-Kavas, Arizona State University - Tempe
Abstract:
While it is generally acknowledged that induction programs are important, little is known about the development of content specialists in these programs. In order to add to the knowledge in this area, this study follows 101 secondary science teachers as they participate in one of four different induction programs. The data collected consisted of observations of practice, and interviews about beliefs and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). The analysis of the data revealed that as a group the beginning teachers held teacher-centered practices, beliefs and PCK. Analysis by induction program, however, revealed that teachers who participated in science-specific induction programs sustained their beliefs and PCK, and used more investigations in their classroom lessons than did their peers in the other induction programs. From this study, we suggest that induction is an important time in the career of a science teacher and that science teacher educators in higher education need to collaborate with school district staff to support new science teachers.
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Paper number: 10001
A Case Study of Three Elementary Science Teachers’ Use of Science Notebooks After Professional Development
Principal Author: Lauren Madden, North Carolina State University, LOMadden@gmail.com
Co-Authors: Eric N Wiebe, North Carolina State University; John C Bedward, North Carolina State University; Michael Carter, North Carolina State University
Abstract:
Professional development is often regarded as an effective method for increasing inquiry-based science teaching strategies, but not all teachers who partake in professional development efforts implement the suggested innovations. This study examines three elementary teachers who adopted the use of an interactive science notebook model introduced through professional development. The model included a mechanism for capturing student work at three phases of the inquiry cycle: pre-, during-, and post-investigation. The science teaching and characteristics of these teachers were studied through classroom observations and semi-structured face-to-face interviews. Analysis of student science notebook entries also took place, comparing notebook entries created in lessons taught by the teachers who attended the professional development (treatment), with those from lessons of teachers who did not (non-treatment). Observational data revealed that the treatment teachers used science notebooks as a tool in conjunction with other inquiry-based instructional practices, and interview data showed that the teachers all reported high levels of personal science content knowledge, and confidence in using the notebook model. Additionally, results from two-sample z-tests show that the science notebook entries that students produced from lessons taught by the treatment teachers contain significantly more pre- and post- investigation entries than were produced by the same students from science lessons taught by the non-treatment teachers. These findings support the efficacy of the professional development around the science notebook model, and the enhanced understanding of the teachers’ characteristics can inform the structure and content of future professional development efforts.
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Paper number: 10051
Is One Computer Enough? Pre-Service Teachers’ use of Technology to Support Whole-Class Inquiry

Principal Author: Jennifer L Maeng, University of Virginia, jlc7d@virginia.edu
Co-Authors: Randy L Bell, University of Virginia; Bridget Mulvey, University of Virginia
Abstract:
In this investigation, detailed descriptions of participants’ use of technology-enhanced whole-class inquiry instruction were examined with the ultimate goal of developing instructional models that can be used to inform other science teacher preparation programs.

Fifteen participants enrolled in a two-year Master of Teaching program were purposively selected from previous investigations based on their use of projected computer resources to implement whole-class inquiry instruction. One goal of the two-year program is to prepare preservice teachers to integrate inquiry instruction in their teaching practice using readily available technologies including digital images, video, simulations, and animations.

A variety of data sources were used to characterize the participants’ instructional practices with technology including classroom observations, lesson plans, interviews, and written reflections. Data analysis followed an analytic induction process and sought to characterize and profile how participants used various technologies to support whole-class inquiry instruction.

Results indicate that participants used technology to teach skills to support inquiry instruction and for a variety of whole-class inquiry lessons. Participants’ addressed the inquiry skills of observing, inferring, predicting, classifying, and generating research questions in their lessons. Whole-class inquiry lessons ranged from simple analysis of digital images through observation and inference, to using videos, simulations, and animations to facilitate more complex inquiry experiences. These more complex inquiry experiences included testing hypotheses and conducting experiments. In the final paper, these profiles of use will be developed into formal models of instruction that have potential to inform how science educators support preservice teachers’ use of technology for whole-class inquiry instruction.

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Paper number: 10104
Models of Preservice Elementary Teachers’ Thinking About the Particle Nature of Matter
Principal Author: Paula A Magee, Indiana University - Indianapolis, pamagee@iupui.edu
Co-Authors: Natalie S Barman, Indiana University - Indianapolis
Abstract:
This proposal describes different models of preservice elementary teachers (PET) thinking about the particle nature of matter. The PETs took a semester long scientific inquiry class that used an inquiry-based pedagogical approach. During the class a collection of writings completed by the PETs were analyzed to better understand how the PETs were thinking about the particle nature of matter. Using a theoretical framework grounded in seeing the science in the PETs thinking this research describes several different ways that the PETs are using the ideas of the particle nature of matter. Results indicate that most PETs struggle to use a particle based theory to describe phenomena observed in the class.
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Paper number: 10197
Engaging teachers in professional development around STEM career education
Principal Author: Nidaa Makki, The University of Akron, nmakki@uakron.edu
Co-Authors: Jane Beese, The University of Akron; Carin Helfer, The University of Akron; Katharine Owens, The University of Akron
Abstract:
Interest in mathematics and science as topics of study and as gateways to possible careers in these disciplines wanes when students experience poor science and mathematics teaching in elementary school and as students enter middle school. Teachers remain a key factor in student interest in purusing science, therefore, assisting pre-service and in-service teachers with information about Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) careers and how to incorporate it into their science teaching requires enhancing teachers’ knowledge and adjusting the curriculum. This presentation describes a professional development program that provides a model of curriculum and instruction for middle school teachers, pre-service teachers, and students that addresses the need for STEM career awareness embedded in standards-based STEM education. Middle school teachers and pre-service teachers participated in professional development sessions that modeled polymer science and engineering activities using a learning cycle approach to instruction. Subsequently, pre-service teachers were placed in these science teachers classrooms and implemented the lessons they learned. Lessons learned from this project will inform members of the science education community interested in interventions to increase the pool of potential scientists and engineers from the middle school population to enter the higher education pipeline and the professional science community.
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Paper number: 10212
As the world turns: Preservice teachers’ alternative conceptions about Earth and space science
Principal Author: Katherine A Mangione Leslie, University of Central Missouri , leslie@ucmo.edu
Co-Authors: Sarah D Zellers, University of Central Missouri; Michael J Wavering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Abstract:
Alternative conceptions are not innate; they are learned. Many alternative conceptions arise from a person’s experiences. Teachers, like many of the children they will encounter, hold alternative conceptions in various areas of sciences. Earth science is required to be taught at all levels (K-4, 4-8, 7-12) according to the National Science Education Standards. Knowing that our students, and future teachers, would be responsible for guiding students’ learning in Earth science, we chose to investigate their understandings of our students regarding four broad topics in Earth science: the solar system/objects in the sky/changes in earth and sky, earth’s history/structure and surface of earth, earth systems/rock cycle/water cycle, and climate/weather/atmosphere. Extensive interviews were conducted during the course of developing two different instruments to identify alternative conceptions in Earth Science. Interviewees included 14 graduate and undergraduate preservice teachers and two universities. Data were open coded for salient themes and patterns. Data from these interviews have given researchers a more profound look at what preservice teachers are thinking in with regards to various topics of Earth and space science.
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Paper number: 10187
A Missing Structure in Promoting Reform Science Teaching: The Role of Administrators in Science Education
Principal Author: Sonya N. Martin, Drexel University, Sonya.Martin@Drexel.Edu
Co-Authors: Rachel M Ruggirello, Penn Science Teacher Institute
Abstract:
Reform in science education advocates for standards-based teaching, especially including the use of inquiry and experimentation to improve student understanding of and achievement in science (National Research Council, 1996). Studies suggest that poor administrative support is related to attrition of new teachers working in math and science disciplines (Kahle, Meece, & Scantlebury, 2000; Darling-Hammond, 1997; Ingersoll, 1999; 2000; 2003). These findings suggest that research on the role of school administration in supporting science education is a keystone to both the issues of implementing reform science teaching and retaining highly qualified science teachers. Situated within a Math-Science Partnership (MSP) masters program funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), this research examines the efficacy of a year-long professional development program designed to improve administrative support of reform science teaching measures in grades 5-12 classrooms.

The Administrator’s Science Education Academy (ASEA), now in its fifth year, was designed to better educate the administrators of the teacher participants in order to improve the support they give to their teachers. During the ASEA, administrator participants study science education research, experience research-based science lessons, and interact with other administrators on leadership issues associated with improving school science education. This effort is designed to foster administrators’ understanding of the research basis that underlies reform and the changes necessary to bring about reform in science and mathematics education.

This presentation describes the creation and implementation of the ASEA, including an analysis of the administrator-participants, the impact of the ASEA on school reform, and the challenges of implementing the ASEA. Findings from this study offer implications about the role of administrators in supporting science education reform and raise new questions for future research focused on exploring how administrators learn to engage in reform with and provide support for retention of science teachers in their schools.

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Paper number: 10237
Factors affecting Teacher Beliefs Research and the Consistency/Incosistency Argument
Principal Author: Anita M Martin, University of Illinois, abmartin@illinois.edu
Abstract:
Factors that affect the consistency or inconsistency of beliefs and practice include the researcher’s theoretical framework. Using Thagaard’s coherence theory of justification (2000) and Leatham’s Sensible System Framework (2006), research can move forward by attempting to determine which belief is taking precedent during teaching. If researchers can determine that there are certain beliefs that teachers, in general, hold that are consistent with their teaching of science, and that override other beliefs during instruction, teacher beliefs research could inform professional development initiatives and pre-service teacher education programs. Secondly, there are methodological issues that muddy the waters of teacher beliefs research. These issues include: clearly defining terms used by the teacher and the researcher throughout the study; improved data collection methods since attempting to know another person’s beliefs is difficult; and researcher bias in studies on teacher beliefs. This study shows that teacher’s beliefs differ from the researchers and illuminates changes in word definitions during implementation of the Science Writing Heuristic Approach(SWH) (Hand, B., Norton-Meier, L., Gunel, M., & Akkus, R. (2005), a reform based approach supporting inquiry initiatives by the National Science Education Standards (NRC,1996). Data collection methods that enhance the researcher’s ability to come to know the teacher’s beliefs includes: video clip analysis and the think aloud protocol. This paper describes how these methods assisted the researcher in ascertaining the beliefs of the teacher. Researcher bias can be found when researchers see beliefs as inconsistent while the teacher does not see them so. Green (1971) states that people can hold seemingly contradictory beliefs about a particular instructional practice, however, it may well be a belief that appears to be inconsistent from the researcher’s perspective, not the teacher’s perspective, contributing to researcher bias without awareness by the researcher. This study used multiple types of triangulation minimizing methodological issues and researcher bias.
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Paper number: 10010
Reformed Undergraduate Science Courses: A Nationwide Research Project Investigating the Impact on pK-6 Teachers
Principal Author: Cheryl L Mason, San Diego State University, cmason@mail.sdsu.edu
Co-Authors: Dennis W Sunal, University of Alabama; Cynthia S Sunal, University of Alabama; Dean Zollman, Kansas State University; Corinne Lardy, San Diego State University
Abstract:
The NSF-supported, multiyear National Study of Education in Undergraduate Science (NSEUS) project focuses on critical characteristics and variations in teaching science to undergraduates with diverse majors. The goal of the on-going national study is to investigate the impact of these variations on learning outcomes for all majors while focusing specifically on the long-term outcomes of preservice pK-6 teachers of science. On-site case studies were completed using 18 courses at 11 institutions with 19 additional sites being targeted. The sample was selected by random stratification based on institutional type from a national population of 103 diverse institutions. The data collection protocol involved observations, interviews, artifacts, and surveys using multiple instruments and sources. Criteria for success of the NSEUS project are determined by conclusions drawn from the research questions that include: evidence and effects of short-term impacts on all undergraduate students and long-term effects on matriculated inservice teachers in their teaching of science; identification of characteristics of reform courses that produce significant impact; and identification of characteristics of effective faculty. Results are reported from a (1) review and synthesis of the research literature, (2) national survey of 103 instructors of reformed undergraduate science courses involved in the original NASA/NOVA Project, and (3) on-site case studies, along with on-line surveys of students and teachers involved in the case studies. It is heartening to see from the national survey that the majority of institutions have continued to offer reformed science courses even after 10-12 years following the initial intervention. Also, data from the recently conducted case studies indicate that there is significant difference in the way that science is being taught at the undergraduate level between the reformed and non-reformed courses. Faculty, teachers and students described how these courses and related experiences affected their teaching and learning of science in a very positive manner.
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Paper number: 10176
Teacher Education Implications Derived from a Study of NOS Aspects ýContained within Current U.S. State Science Content Standards
Principal Author: William F McComas, University of Arkansas, mccomas@uark.edu
Co-Authors: Carole K Lee, University of Arkansas; Sophia Sweeney, University of Arkansas
Abstract:
Using a master list of Key Aspects of the Nature of Science (KA-NOS) derived from a ýliterature review, all of the U.S. states (and Washington, DC) science content standards were ýreviewed. 3200 instances of NOS appearing in these documents were categorized in terms of ýhow frequently they appear in any one state (called completeness) and how frequently and ýwhere they appear in each state document (called comprehensiveness). A metric was applied ýtaking into account both parameters resulting in a ranking of the states for their specific NOS ýinclusion. Participants will receive the entire state-by-state list with ranking. NOS elements ýsuch as the empirical requirement in science, cooperation, distinction between observation and ýinference, and the distinction between science and technology are likely to be introduced across ýK-12, while other NOS elements such as creativity and the distinction between theory and law ýare introduced only at the higher grade levels and only infrequently even there. ý

Sixteen states rated highly in terms of completeness having 11 or in the case of four states ýý(Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Ohio) having all 12 NOS elements in their ýscience content standards. Comprehensiveness is defined as the spread of a specific NOS ýelement across grade levels in support of a spiral curriculum. Comparing the completeness ýý(number of NOS elements) and the comprehensiveness (distribution of NOS elements across ýgrade levels) we determined a ranking of the state standards documents that might best be ýcalled a quality rating. The top ten (with ties) states in terms of NOS quality in descending ýorder were OH, FL, NH, OR, MO, NC, KY, NJ, NE, MI, NY, MA, MN and LA. The ýpresentation will conclude with specific recommendations for science teacher education related ýto these findings.ý

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Paper number: 10111
The Impact of Embedding Multiple Modes of Representation on Student Construction of Chemistry Knowledge
Principal Author: Mark A McDermott, Wartburg College, mark.mcdermott@wartburg.edu
Co-Authors: Brian Hand, University of Iowa
Abstract:
One emerging area of research in the writing-to-learn in science movement is the use of multi-modal writing tasks. In these tasks, students are asked to create products that utilize modes such as graphs, diagrams, or mathematical expressions along with text. In this study, students at four separate sites participated in two consecutive cycles of creating a multi-modal writing task and completing an end of unit assessment. Treatment classes participated in a lesson specifically designed to encourage the use of strategies to embed or integrate the alternative modes of representation in text. Control classes did not receive this instruction. Data analysis attempted to find differences in degree of embeddedness in writing tasks and performance on end of unit tests between the treatment and control conditions, as well as correlations between individual student degree of embeddedness and overall test performance. Results from this study indicate that when teachers implement effective embeddedness encouraging lessons, not only do students produce multi-modal writing products with a greater degree of embeddedness, they also perform better on end of unit tests. Successive opportunities to create multi-modal tasks appears to be more beneficial than just one attempt. Finally, the impact that embeddedness has on student construction of knowledge may be partially determined by student level of science aptitude. Implications of this research for teachers and science teacher educators will be discussed.
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Paper number: 11059
Seeing Science Everywhere: Using Aspects of the Arts in High Poverty Rural Appalachian Science Classrooms
Principal Author: Angela A McKeen, Fairmont State University, Angela.McKeen@fairmontstate.edu
Abstract:
This qualitative case study examined the perceptions of middle school science teachers using aspects of the arts to complement their hands-on science teaching. Three fifth grade science teachers from schools serving high poverty student populations in Central Appalachia were studied using scheduled and unscheduled classroom observations, semistructured, in-depth interview techniques, teacher journals, and archival data collected from the classrooms for one academic semester. The findings suggest that teachers perceived role of the arts in the science classroom as time consuming, yet worth the extra time it took to prepare and grade science in such a way. Findings suggest that using the arts to complement hands-on science teaching is perceived in three distinct ways - the novice user perceived the approach as a challenge to her belief in the ways she taught prior to the research semester, the partial mastery user perceived the approach as both advantageous yet time constraints perceived by the teacher prevented the approach from being used more in the science classroom, and the distinguished user of the approach taught and assessed students regularly using aspects of the arts to complement her hands-on, inquiry science teaching. All cases suggested the arts provided an avenue for builidng relationships with students, with other teachers, and with themselves. Finally, the findings suggested that using the arts in science teaching within the context of high poverty areas of rural Appalachia may be important because of the isolation that exists for this marginalized student population not only geographically, but culturally as well.
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Paper number: 10022
Encouraging uncertainty in the ‘scientific method’: Promoting understanding in the processes of science with pre-service teachers.
Principal Author: Wayne Melville, Lakehead University, wmelvill@lakeheadu.ca
Co-Authors: Anthony Bartley, Lakehead University; Xavier Fazio, Brock University
Abstract:
In this presentation, we report on an ongoing study into our secondary school science methods courses. One of the overarching aims of the courses is to encourage conceptual change through the promotion of uncertainty towards a universal scientific method and the provision of experiences that allow pre-service teachers to develop an understanding of a more authentic view of science. This understanding, we believe, enhances their capacity for the teaching of science as inquiry as they begin their prospective teaching careers.

Our interpretation of the data provides some interesting insights into our students’ changing views. For a slight majority, providing experiences in inquiry appears to have permitted them to move beyond the universal scientific method towards a more complete understanding of the methods of science. In this group, we can speculate that the uncertainty promoted by the course has positively affected their conceptualisations. Such a shift appears to be correlated to a belief that the course helped to prepare them for teaching in an inquiry oriented classroom. Among a sizeable minority, there appears be maintenance of more certainty as to the accuracy of the universal model. The maintenance of certainty can be challenging, as Floden and Clark (1989, p. 9) highlight: ‘A teacher in quest of certainty will be drawn toward factual content that can be taught by rote memorization and tested by requests for recall.’ For a small minrority of students, we are confronted by an interesting puzzle: while comfortable working with the a model-based representation of the scientific method, their self-efficacy as teachers of inquiry decreased. One possible explanation of this is that these individuals are uncertain as to how their knowledge of the processes of science can be integrated into their classrooms: the more they understand about science, the less confident they feel that they can teach.
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Paper number: 10203
“MAKING PROGRESS AND FIGURING THINGS OUT”: ENGAGING ELEMENTARY PRESERVICE TEACHERS IN INQUIRY LEARNING
Principal Author: Felicia Moore Mensah, Teachers College, Columbia University, moorefe@tc.columbia.edu
Abstract:
Using the definition of inquiry as posed in the National Science Education Standards (National Research Council, 1996), the laboratory activities in an elementary science methods course focused on both the process of science as inquiry and content learning of science for elementary teachers and students in urban classrooms. This study took place at a large, urban university in the northeastern United States. Twenty-three preservice elementary teachers were enrolled in a five-week summer session that met twice per week for three and half hours. Among the various assignments and experiences offered during the summer, the preservice teachers engaged in four laboratory activities and kept an electronic reflective journal. The purpose of these assignments was to engage in hands-on, minds-on science activities for teaching elementary learners and to reflect on their learning. The reflective journals served as the primary data source for analysis. The findings revealed that the preservice teachers’ engagement in inquiry promoted excitement in science and decreased their fear of science; increased their confidence to think and change their ideas in science; and engaged them in learning inquiry skills as well as increased their content knowledge and understanding in science. They also learned that science inquiry can be taught with limited resources. Implications are discussed in terms of promoting activities for elementary preservice teachers that are simple yet engaging, and that will allow them to learn and experience in inquiry-based ways. These activities allowed them to re-think and re-engage in science as learners while thinking about their future students.
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Paper number: 10205
Teacher perceptions of professional development: Designing a problem based learning module with a student and business partner representative
Principal Author: Rhea L Miles, East Carolina Unversity, milesr@ecu.edu
Co-Authors: Patricia J Slagter van Tryon, East Carolina University
Abstract:
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 2006-2016 employment projections, the fastest growing occupations are in the fields of computer technology, health, and engineering. Further, opportunities for employment in these fields far extend U.S. boarders. In order to compete in this fast growing global economy, schools are increasingly being called upon to provide quality learning experiences that prepare students for the 21st century world of work. Subsequently, there is a surge in the need for quality teacher professional development (PD) to scaffold teachers’ instruction in promoting these fields as well. Ultimately, quality PD must ensure teachers are prepared to design learning experiences that guide students into future careers in our changing global economy. An economy that will no doubt continue to evolve and rely on K-12 schools to well prepare students for the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics referred to as “STEM” focused careers. Though a wide range of instructional approaches should be considered in designing PD programs, the Problem Based Learning (PBL) model has the potential to immerse teachers in the practice of engaging students in real time science, technological, and mathematically related investigations which are relevant, motivating and meaningful to them. The TechMath Program detailed in this presentation represents one such PBL endeavor. Based on the findings, the TechMath program provided insight into support strategies for creating STEM learning environments with a teacher, student, and business partner. The TechMath Program is a three year professional development program funded by National Science Foundation. This program entailed forming a partnership with businesses, colleges, universities and school systems in rural northeastern North Carolina. The products of the partnerships were instructional modules which incorporated and modeled solutions to local, real-world business problems. This project is particularly valuable to curriculum developers, principals and educational researchers.
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Paper number: 10093
The Disturbances of Learning to Teach Science: How Coteaching Helps
Principal Author: Catherine E Milne, NYU, cem4@nyu.edu
Co-Authors: Kathryn Scantlebury, University of Delaware; Jason Blonstein, NYU; Susan Gleason, University of Delaware
Abstract:
Science education research has examined the benefits of coteaching for learning to teach in elementary and secondary school contexts where coteachers bring variable levels of experience to the work of coteaching. Coteaching as a pedagogical strategy is being implemented at the university level but with limited research. Drawing from the field of activity theory and our emic experience as coteachers, we examine the enactment of coteaching in university science education courses. One of the tools central to our study was the analysis of disturbances in the work and object of preparing science teachers. This analysis highlighted the role, during discursive interactions, of problem posing and problem solving through narrative for addressing observed disturbances. The presence of an extra instructor provided increased opportunities in the system for recognizing and valuing disturbances as indicators of underlying contradictions or tensions in elements of the activity system of the learning and teaching of science teachers. Our analysis suggests that coteaching offers expanded opportunities for the evolution of the activity system of preparing science teachers.
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Paper number: 11015
Concrete Experiences and Abstract Thought: The Importance of Student-Generated Graphics
Principal Author: James Minogue, North Carolina State University, james_minogue@ncsu.edu
Co-Authors: John Bedward, North Carolina State University; Eric Wiebe, North Carolina State University; Lauren Madden, North Carolina State University; Mike Carter, North Carolina State University
Abstract:
Recent reform documents underscore the critical need to develop “science proficiency” in students starting at the elementary level. This exploratory work addresses this challenge head-on and chronicles efforts underway to systematically provide 4th and 5th grade students “conceptual encounters” with the invisible phenomena that often explain "what is happening" during their concrete science experiences. A focus of this work is a scaffolded instructional approach that helps students think scientifically using their own graphics.

Adopting the SOLO taxonomy for the analyses of student work, results suggest that even with brief exposure to carefully orchestrated and scaffolded experiences upper elementary students can reason abstractly about complex science content using both text and graphics, often becoming better able to integrate the salient aspect of experienced phenomena as they progressed through our scenarios. The results of this exploratory research fail to support the assumption that elementary school children cannot grasp abstract ideas. Moreover, we suspect that the relegation of abstract ideas and the consideration of the invisible to later grades may be leading to the impoverishment of elementary students’ scientific knowledge and inquiry and reasoning-thin K-5 science curricula.

In this work we unpack the complex interactions among elementary level students’ concrete experiences with and abstract reasonings about complex (but fundamental) science phenomena. In the end we offer specific recommendations intended to help elementary science teachers become more accustomed to leveraging graphics in a thoughtful and systematic way, allowing their students to gain access to important knowledge of the "invisible".

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Paper number: 10052
Urban Middle School Teachers’ Beliefs about Science Learner Characteristics: Implications for Astronomy Curriculum
Principal Author: Rommel J Miranda, Towson University, Rmiranda@towson.edu
Abstract:
This qualitative study addresses the link between urban middle school teachers’ beliefs about their students’ preparedness to achieve success in science, particularly in astronomy, and the teachers’ reported curricular responses to those beliefs. Eighteen middle school science teachers from schools representing a range of achievement levels were interviewed using semi-structured, in-depth interview techniques. Constant comparative analysis was used to analyze the interview transcripts. The findings suggest that the characteristics urban middle school science teachers believed students need to possess to be successful in science, and astronomy in particular, centered on two themes: (1) necessary attitudes, and (2) prior experiences. Urban middle school science teachers also saw their own students as largely lacking in those qualities needed for success in science, and astronomy in particular, and reported such modifications to the curriculum as eliminating the more complex astronomy concepts, deemphasizing some astronomy topics, deemphasizing reading and mathematics skills in astronomy lessons, and reducing the depth of astronomy coverage. The implications of these findings are that urban middle school students might in fact be experiencing a curriculum that is not culturally relevant, is alienating, and does not promote their engagement with the subject.
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Paper number: 13016
Biophotonics: Bringing light and science to life
Principal Author: Marco Molinaro, University of California, Davis, mmolinaro@ucdavis.edu
Co-Authors: Frank Chuang, University of California, Davis; Jodie A Galosy, University of California, Davis; Michelle McCombs, University of California, Davis
Abstract:
Cutting edge science can enliven science courses and engage students with science and science careers. However, it is not always easy for science educators to keep current with scientific discoveries or figure out how to integrate these advancements into their courses for students or teachers.

Biophotonics is an emerging interdisciplinary area of scientific research that holds exciting possibilities for education as well as science. Biophotonics uses light and other forms of radiant energy to understand the inner workings of cells and tissues in living organisms. The approach allows researchers to see, measure, analyze and manipulate living tissues in ways that have not been possible before.

The Center for Biophotonics Science and Technology (CBST) at University of California, Davis is the only National Science Foundation funded center focused on biophotonics. The center brings together researchers including physical scientists, life scientists, physicians and engineers from UC Davis as well as partner institutions, including several minority-serving colleges and universities. Applications of biophotonics range from using light to selectively treat tumors, to sequencing DNA, biochemical studies and identifying single biomolecules within cells.

In partnership with CBST scientists, the CBST Education Team offers programs and develops curriculum materials and other resources to support teaching and learning science through biophotonics. The team brings CBST cutting-edge science to students and teachers at all levels of education and encourages broader participation in the sciences by groups underrepresented in science research careers.

In this interactive presentation, participants will learn from CBST scienntists and educators about recent advancements in light-based non-invasive medical diagnostics, biomedical imaging, and molecular/cellular dynamics and try hands-on activities investigating the light matter interactions underlying biophotonics. The activities and other educational resources to be shared during the presentation are appropriate for inclusion in middle/secondary/undergraduate science classrooms and preservice/inservice courses for teachers. This session is guaranteed to enlighten!

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Paper number: 10220
A Community Driven Professional Development Model for Elementary Science Teachers in an American Indian School
Principal Author: Rebecca M Monhardt, Loras College, rebecca.monhardt@usu.edu
Co-Authors: Kurt Becker, Utah State University; Jim Barta, Utah State University
Abstract:
This paper describes a three year NSF supported project whose goal was to investigate ways to involve the local community in improving science instruction at an American Indian school. A Community Advisory Panel (CAP) was established whose role was to guide teacher professional development aimed at developing strategies for the delivery of student-centered, culturally responsive science instruction, reflecting a balance between students’ home and school cultures. The study took place in the extended school community of Mexican Hat Elementary which serves Navajo students in the San Juan School District in extreme southern Utah. The K-6 school is in a remote rural area and has approximately 200 students. Class sizes are small and the teacher/student ratio is 1:12. The community has a high poverty rate, with 95% of the students eligible for free or reduced lunch. The school has traditionally been a low-performing school.The CAP that was established at the school consisted of the elementary school principal (Anglo male), a USU professor in elementary science education (Anglo female), a parent (Navajo female), the school staff developer (Navajo female), the curriculum director for the district (Anglo male), the district bilingual director and Navajo Language expert (Navajo male), and the director of the district media center and a Navajo cultural expert (Navajo male). Project outcomes include a science lesson plan template grounded in Navajo culture and a professional development model for teachers in grades 4-6 which uses the Reformed Teaching Observation Model (RTOP) to measure teacher change.
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Paper number: 11026
A professional empowerment investigation of mid-career science teachers
Principal Author: Amy L Moreland, The University of Texas at Austin, amy_moreland@mail.utexas.edu
Abstract:
Although there has been ample research providing guidance about what makes teacher professional development effective, a sense of how professional development addresses teachers’ needs and increases their sense of professional empowerment is not as fully understood (Hobbs, 2004). Specifically, this study targets the needs of one group of professional science educators: mid-career (4-8 years teaching experience) teachers. Because professional development plays such an important role in rapidly increasing mid-career teachers’ sense of empowerment, this current study targets these science teachers who are in the Growth of Empowerment Phase (years 4-8) of their career. These middle years reflect periods of growth as supported by professional development opportunities. The purpose of this ongoing study is to closely examine the needs of mid-career science teachers and how they can be supported, retained over time, and professionally empowered. Questions to be addressed include: What are the professional empowerment qualities of mid-career science teachers? What do these mid-career science teachers need to be professionally supported in their vocation? To investigate these research questions, this ongoing study uses a mixed-methods design analyzing one in-depth case study of a seventh year middle school science teacher, and survey analysis of at least 100 mid-career science teachers. The qualitative component uses similar data-gathering techniques as Hobbs’ 2004 work (narrative inquiry in combination with behavior over time graphing), and the quantitative element, the online empowerment survey, was created and supported by the NSF-funded Project Instrument Development: Exploring the Professional Growth Continuum (Barufaldi & Hobbs, 2005).
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Paper number: 10233
An MSP Partnership Model: Successes and Obstacles
Principal Author: Patricia D Morrell, University of Portland/ SOE, morrell@up.edu
Co-Authors: Amy Sutton, Portland Public Schools; Heather Vinal, Portland Public Schools
Abstract:
Both the US Dept. of Education and the National Science Foundation promote Mathematics-Science Partnerships as effective vehicles for supporting science teachers in their development. Fostering a productive partnership between university science faculty, school districts, and classroom science teachers takes more than good intentions, however. Learn how the Portland Science Partnership, a relationship between Portland Public Schools and the University of Portland, has drawn on the strengths of each partner in a collaborative fashion to ensure that grades 6-8 science teachers learn science content and pedagogy they can use. We will share (a) the design of the professional development model, including choosing topics for the monthly workshops, the incorporation of on-line components, the summer institute, and the training and use of teacher leaders to provide mentorship particularly in formative assessment, (b) perceptions of the model from the viewpoints of the district, workshop presenters, and classroom teachers, (c) findings of the external evaluator on impact of the PD on classroom instruction. We will provide concrete suggestions of ways to provide professional development, potential obstacles, and identification of contextual items that seem to make a difference to the teachers (e.g., having the professional development delivered in college laboratory settings; homework assignments that link the content with classroom experience; feeling treated as a professional; and simple things like providing coffee). Our findings will be of value to those providing professional development to science teachers as well as those teaching science content courses for teachers.
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Paper number: 13002
Preparing Teachers to Teach Environmental and Sustainability Education in their K-12 Classrooms
Principal Author: Judith Morrison, Washington State University Tri-Cities, jmorriso@tricity.wsu.edu
Co-Authors: Deb Donovan, Western Washington University; Jose Rios, University of Washington, Tacoma; Fletcher Brown, University of Montana
Abstract:
As a focus on the environment and sustainable living takes hold across the country, science educators are faced with the challenge of preparing teachers to incorporate environmental and sustainability education into classroom teaching. Many elementary teachers struggle with simply mastering the basic science concepts and have little time or experience to spend teaching the larger ideas of sustainability education. The secondary science teacher is often burdened with a huge amount of science content to cover and little time or knowledge of how to incorporate environmental and sustainability education into their science courses. In a variety of science teacher preparation courses and programs, both elementary and secondary, we explore the successes and barriers involved when preparing teachers to incorporate a focus on environmental and sustainability education in their classrooms. What are the experiences that preservice teachers need to have outside and in the classroom to develop their abilities to teach students to value the environment and pursue a sustainable future? In this Themed Paper Set, three papers will be presented. The first paper covers the use of environmental education teaching strategies and lessons in an elementary science methods course compared and contrasted to a secondary methods course, the views preservice teachers held regarding the activities and strategies, and their planned use of the strategies in future classrooms. The second paper in this set will focus on a specific course in environmental education for preservice teachers. An outline and justification of the course will be provided: how did preservice teachers learn about strategies to help children develop basic science skills while teaching essential science content? The third paper will address the scope and sequences of an Environmental Education preservice teacher program designed to provide graduate students with the content and experiences to meet the guidelines developed by NAAEE for preservice education.
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Paper number: 10078
Developing Mentor Teachers to Support Science Inquiry Implementation
Principal Author: Judith Morrison, Washington State University Tri-Cities, jmorriso@tricity.wsu.edu
Abstract:
In a two year MSP project, six mentor teachers were involved in first the development of their own understanding of science inquiry and the implementation of inquiry in the classroom and then in supporting a group of their peers as they implemented inquiry science. We developed a collaborative of science educators, scientists, and teachers focused on the improvement of inquiry science teaching in grades 4-8. During the first summer, the teachers were immersed in learning about science inquiry and implementing inquiry science teaching. These teachers were supported in their classrooms during the following school year as they implemented inquiry science teaching. Six of the teachers were selected as mentors for the second year of the project; these teachers attended the summer class and supported their peers in the process of both learning about and science inquiry and learning how to implement inquiry. Data were collected on the mentors’ understanding of science inquiry through a pre and post VOSI, interviews and surveys. The mentor teachers were seen to improve in their views of scientific inquiry after the first summer course but did not reach a solid understanding of implementing inquiry until they had participated in the second summer’s course and been involved in mentoring their peers. The benefits of being a mentor and having a mentor in the process of attempting the implementation of inquiry science will be discussed as well as the model used to recruit, train, and utilize the mentor teachers.
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Paper number: 10067
Using the "Theater of the Oppressed" as a tool for self-reflection in science methods classes: Lessons learned
Principal Author: Hedy Moscovici, California State University- Dominguez Hills, hmoscovici@csudh.edu
Abstract:
This study looks at providing alternative ways for credential candidates enrolled in secondary science methods courses to express their views on the instructor’s ability to facilitate science and science pedagogy teaching and learning using theatre. Critical pedagogy, dynamic nature of power relationships, and Boal’s "Theatre of the Oppressed" (TO) served as theoretical referents. Critical pedagogy and power relationships were addressed via Giroux’ concept of transformative intellectual and Yukl’s categories of power sources: position, personal, and political. In "Forum Theatre" (part of TO), Boal suggested a scripted part touching on an oppressive situation performed by selected group followed by another part where the audience became spect-actors who decided on the possible solutions to the skit, or even questioned and proposed alternatives to its beginning. The distinction between actors and audience was erased. Actors and spect-actors got involved in discussions regarding the alternative perspectives on the issue and proposed solutions. This way, all the participants had their voices heard and positions understood.

32 science credential candidates (CCs) enrolled in three sections of methods courses participated in this study. The analyses used CCs’ written reflections to assignments, in-class practice exercises and presentations using the Yukl’s framework on power relationships, and the theatre performance where groups of CCs prepared and enacted a short play imitating my teaching in the science methods courses. Findings showed that CCs used theatre as a humorous way to express positive (e.g., relating class discussions to research in the area of science education), and negative (e.g., not finishing class on time) class-related issues that did not come out in open conversations.

There is a lot we can learn from our students, and Boal’s (1992) "Theatre of the Oppressed" (or more specifically, "Forum Theatre") offers a humorous and effective lens for self-reflection and improvement as a science educator.

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Paper number: 10053
How does a teacher professional development program utilizing an integrated science curriculum impact student content knowledge?
Principal Author: Miriam Munck, Eastern Oregon University, mmunck@eou.edu
Co-Authors: Donna Rainboth, Eastern Oregon University
Abstract:
Teacher professional development programs were largely focused on pedagogy and teaching philosophy, rather than the recommended content knowledge. No Child Left Behind Act’s Highly Qualified Teacher provision sought to address teacher content knowledge, focusing on teacher inputs rather than student learning outcomes, and while most teachers have meet the requirements of Highly Qualified there is little evidence to conclude that teachers’ content knowledge has improved and that their teaching has become more effective.Improvement of science instruction and student learning has long been an American education goal (NRC, 1983; U.S. Dept of Education, 2008), however, few studies measure student learning.

This study utilizes a quasi-experimental methodology to investigate the effect of a teacher professional development program on improving student content understanding in health, biology and physical science.
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Paper number: 10217
Online Science Blogs: Exploring the potential to improve content and pedagogical knowledge of elementary pre-service science teachers.
Principal Author: Ratna Narayan, Texas Tech University, ratna.narayan@ttu.edu
Co-Authors: Lori Petty, Texas Tech University; Deniz Peker, Virginia Tech; Whitney Kuntz, Texas Tech University
Abstract:
Blogs are “personal journals made up of chronological entries, not unlike a paper diary” (Huffaker, 2005). The purpose of the study was to explore the potential online blogs offer for pre-service teachers in developing new content knowledge and pedagogy related to teaching of science. 18 elementary pre-service teachers enrolled in a science methods course were required to maintain a personal online blog throughout the semester.

At the beginning of the semester an Online Blog Pre-Survey and a Blogging Survey was administered to the participants. The latter was a 32-question Likert-Scale instrument administered twice during the semester with which students rated their knowledge about blogs in general and the science blogs specific to the assignment. At the end of the semester, researchers conducted face-to-face interviews with the participants. Quantitative and qualitative data was compared and analyzed for a relationship between the blogs maintained and a change in science content and pedagogical knowledge of each participant.

Though several participants indicated a dislike for online courses and using technology, participants unanimously expressed they used a computer for email and for entertainment purposes at least once daily. In initial interviews, several participants (84%) averred that they were “not likely” to be successful in science. However, through the blog and the course of the semester all students interviewed showed a general increase awareness that science is all around us. Participants opined blogs were used to share information, communicate with others, and to “get your ideas out there”, however some expressed the blog was “busy work”, and did not apply to the elementary science context. More gains in participant science content knowledge were seen than in pedagogical science content knowledge. Technology is viewed as a powerful medium for curricular restructuring and offers educators innovative ways to further student learning.
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Paper number: 10043
Preservice elementary teachers’ evaluations of elementary student-generated scientific models: An aspect of pedagogical content knowledge for scientific modeling
Principal Author: Michele M Nelson, University of Michigan School of Education, mishmash@umich.edu
Co-Authors: Elizabeth A. Davis, University of Michigan School of Education
Abstract:
Part of the work of teaching elementary science involves evaluating elementary students’ work. Depending on the nature of the student work, this task can often be very straightforward. However, evaluating elementary students’ representations of their science learning in the form of scientific models can pose significant challenges for elementary teachers. To address some of these challenges, we incorporated a modeling-based elementary science unit in our elementary science teaching methods course to support preservice teachers in gaining knowledge about and experience in evaluating scientific models. In this study, we investigate the approaches and criteria preservice elementary teachers use to evaluate elementary student-generated scientific models. Our findings suggest that with instruction, preservice elementary teachers adopt criterion-based approaches to evaluating students’ scientific models. Additionally, preservice teachers make gains in their self-efficacy for evaluating elementary students’ scientific models. Taken together, these findings indicate that preservice teachers can begin to develop aspects of pedagogical content knowledge for scientific modeling.
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Paper number: 10077
Evolving attitudes: can a science methods course change preservice elementary teachers’ views on evolution?
Principal Author: Bryan H Nichols, University of South Florida, bjnicho2@mail.usf.edu
Abstract:
This study examines quantitative and qualitative data from an anonymous survey instrument designed to provoke affective reactions about Teaching Evolution in Public Elementary Schools (TEPES). The TEPES survey is easy to give and take; when used as a pretest in a science course it can be a helpful tool to provide insights into student attitudes and inform pedagogy and curriculum. This study used the TEPES as a pre (n=343) and posttest (n=301) in an elementary science methods course (12 sections over six semesters). Although some attitudes are notoriously difficult to change, the quantitative results indicated significant, desirable change on all five statements, which is encouraging for an important and potentially fractious issue like teaching evolution, particularly at the southern edge of the Bible Belt. Analysis of the qualitative data, which was often thoughtful and passionate, linked an understanding of why evolution should be taught to a greater understanding of the nature of science (NOS). The desirable change in attitudes may be a result of both a brief, explicit module on teaching evolution delivered midway through the course, and the overall course tone, which emphasizes the value of science to students and society as well as the importance of NOS. Though evolution is seldom emphasized at the elementary level, a surprising number of students indicated it was one of the most important things they learned in the course. However, despite the significant positive results, there remains a need to change the effect size and reach more students, particularly on the matter of balancing evolution with creationism.
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Paper number: 12010
Girls in Science: A Framework for Action
Principal Author: Katherine M Nielsen, UC San Francisco , katherine.nielsen@ucsf.edu
Co-Authors: Kimberly D Tanner, San Francisco State University
Abstract:
This experiential session will model and provide resources for engaging teachers or others in discussions of equity in science education. Its focus is promoting gender equity and, moreover, equity on a larger scale within science education. The session will share a Gender Equitable Science Teaching Framework developed as part of a nine-year effort partnering teachers with scientists to promote gender equity in science classrooms. The Gender Equitable Science Teaching Framework consists of Student, Teaching, and Science Goals. As an example, the Student Goals are Confidence to Explore, Familiarity with Tools, Persistence through Confusion, Resilience to Failure, and Defending a Position with Evidence. This Framework is detailed in a book, "Girls in Science: A Framework for Action." In the book, the Framework is supported by an essay, teaching strategies, and brief vignettes. The vignettes, written by teachers and scientists involved in the project, illustrate strategies and challenges affiliated with the goals. They illuminate problems and provoke the reader to find remedies through the use of reflection questions.

In this session, participants will reflect on and discuss vignettes and practical equitable teaching strategies. Vignette discussions provide the opportunity for participants to articulate their beliefs and actions, gain insight from other perspectives, learn from others, and share and receive feedback. They also provide opportunities to bridge theory and research with actual practice and enable participants to create and develop their own philosophies of practice while considering the philosophies of others. This session will introduce attendees to a resource for promoting equitable teaching and model its use, ultimately helping to make science learning accessible to all students.

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Paper number: 12003
Online Instruction in Science: Conducting Authentic Hands-on Inquiry Investigations
Principal Author: Kathy I. Norman, California State University, San Marcos, knorman@csusm.edu
Co-Authors: Linda Scott, California State University, San Marcos; Penny Perkins-Johnston, California State University, San Marcos
Abstract:
Teaching online requires a different pedagogy than face-to-face instruction (Xu & Morris, 2007; Graham, Cagiltay, Craner, Lim & Duffy, 2001), and interactivity is very different in the online environment (Borthwick, Cassity & Zilla, 2002). This session will present a model for faculty professional development in online teaching and learning, along with effective instructional strategies and investigations specific to online science education. ASTE attendees will participate in a hands-on science lab activity, video record it and post it for online viewing. This activity mimics what students do in a fully online science course that includes hands-on laboratory activities. Attendees will be able to choose from 5 different lab activities, based on their areas of interest. Activities will be from human anatomy and physiology, life science, earth science, and physical science. This process can be applied to any fully online science course. ASTE attendees will experience the process through the eyes and hands of a student. The steps will also be applicable to how an instructor would disseminate instructions to the students for online laboratory exercises. At the conclusion of the session, participants will receive guidelines for assessing student lab work in an online science course. Participants should bring flash drives to save their work.
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Paper number: 10224
Is “Professional Teacher” an Oxymoron for the Facebook Generation? A Longitudinal Study of Facebook Use by Preservice Teachers into the Induction Years

Principal Author: Joanne K Olson, Iowa State University, jkolson@iastate.edu
Abstract:
Preparing professional teachers to be strong role models and teachers of character to children is becoming increasingly difficult in the internet age. Behaviors once done in private are now being photographed and uploaded to sites such as Facebook, where they can remain for years and be quickly accessed by children, parents, administrators, and the public. A previous study found an alarming number of preservice elementary teachers using Facebook to display inappropriate and sometimes illegal behavior. This study analyzed those same students’ profiles two years later and found that the number of students/alumni without information on Facebook rose by 19% to 41% overall. The number of students/alumni restricting access to their information rose from 44% to 46%. However, 60 students/alumni still have a fully accessible Facebook profile, and 44 of those profiles contained marginal (n=10) or inappropriate material (n=34). Particularly disturbing are those profiles that depict inappropriate photographs and vulgar descriptions of parties next to descriptions of their teaching contexts or references to their students. Our institution is seeing a sharp increase in preservice teachers being removed from placements for dispositions issues. While attempts are being made to teach students appropriate behavior and the consequences of displaying such behavior on the internet, the message has not been taken seriously by at least 44 of the 471 students in the study. Is a 9% “failure rate” of a teacher education program’s graduates acceptable with regard to online behavior?
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Paper number: 11055
Identifying Students’ Competencies for Learning Mathematics and Science: A Reflective Analysis of Classroom Practices in Urban Settings
Principal Author: Irene U Osisioma, California State University, Dominguez Hills, iosisioma@csudh.edu
Co-Authors: mutindi m kiluva-ndunda, Teacher Education Department Unit, College of Charleston; Meta Van Sickle, Teacher Education Department Unit, College of Charleston
Abstract:

Abstract

Three mathematics and science educators reexamine and reflect on their teaching within the context of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences (AAAS) call to make science education accessible to all. The paper highlights the importance of using, recognizing, and validating our students’ ways of knowing by searching and identifying their hidden/concealed abilities in order to provide them with successful learning opportunities in the math and science classroom. To make students’ abilities visible, means seeing competencies in students who might otherwise have been labeled incompetent. Perceiving and understanding these competencies create options/spaces/possibilities within which teaching and learning can take place. We emphasize the importance of cultural responsive teaching as an important factor in creating these possibilities.
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Paper number: 10214
Transforming Teacher’s Unconscious Verbal and Non-verbal Actions through Small-Group Collective and Collaborative Dialogues in the Urban Science Classroom
Principal Author: Femi Otulaja, City University of New York - Graduate Center, fso2000@nyu.edu
Co-Authors: Michelle Thornton, The School District of Philadelphia
Abstract:
Unconscious actions of teachers tremendously impact students –teacher interactions, creating of productive learning environments and teacher and students’ successes in the urban science classroom. The study is part of a larger study in which an urban science teacher consciously engaged her students in small-group meeting in an effort to solicit their cooperation and active participations in their own learning of biology. This study enabled the science teacher to look inwards at their own practices and to recognize that what she was say in the classroom may not march her inner feelings which are revealed in the outward display of her emotions, which students see and interpret. By engaging students to participate with her in meetings to evaluate her classroom interactions with them she began to value their assessment of her practices which though she was unconscious of were vivid to her students and affecting their interactions and classroom outcomes being generated. By dialoguing with her students, teacher and students collectively agreed on plans of action that were collectively enacted to engender their individual and collective successes. The result was improved attendance and higher scores on state benchmarks on the part of students and transformed practices not just of the teacher but her students as they end up building a community of learners the was like a "small family" as one of the students participants puts it.
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Paper number: 10122
Turning local knowledge into legitimized knowledge: Metanarratives as a progressive tool for the environmental educator’s integration of cultural experiences into community water education
Principal Author: Tina W Pagan, University of Georgia , tpagan@uga.edu
Co-Authors: Deborah J Tippins, University of Georgia
Abstract:
One of the current cultural science education movements suggest the importance of positioning citizens as producers of legitimate science knowledge; it presumes local knowledge is advantageous for enlarging the community’s insight of a complex issue. In the case of environmental educators, they confront the challenge of balancing the human needs of a resource such as water, and all its uses, while preserving ecosystem health. Since the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s surface water standards and guidelines for sound science define whether a stream segment is ‘clean’, environmental educators must attend to water quality monitoring and data collection that exists as the privileged way of knowing a water resource. Informed by a study that documents the local water knowledge in a transitioning Georgia community the presentation speaks to the question--If EPA’s water quality standards are the predominant criteria for determining the biological and physical condition of a river, how does an environmental educator proceed in legitimizing the local, non-token water resource knowledge when assisting a community with a water issue?

The study suggests that Putnam County’s environmental educator draws on local knowledge reconstructed in metanarratives to create equal footing with authoritative, expert science. Founded on the belief that humans organize the events of their lives into stories and constantly reinterpret the episodes through storytelling, the study’s collected narratives reveal tensions, or productive moments of change in the community members’ lives; experiences clarifying the relationship between individual sociocultural perspectives and actions. Using narratives co-gathered by community members, the researcher recognizes the water resource knowledge legitimized by the citizens and how they situate their knowledge amidst concerns of Lake Oconee’s water levels, water withdrawals, and lake access. The presenter will describe how metanarratives, as highly developed, meaningful knowledge, promote an environmental educator’s reflection about the purpose and future direction of community water education.

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Paper number: 10081
Analyzing scientific argumentation from teacher-student interaction

With epistemological and psychological perspectives
Principal Author: Young-Shin Park, Chosun University, parkys@chosun.ac.kr
Co-Authors: Ki-Young Lee, Kangwon National University
Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to explore the quality of students¡¯ argumentation in perspectives of epistemology and psychology, which can overcome the limitation of using the Toulmin¡¯s approach (Toulmin, 1958). Mr. Physics and his students of 7th grade participated in this study. Data were collected through classroom observations of 23 lessons. The scientific argumentation was analyzed using three different approaches: 6 arguments in Toulmin¡¯s approach as a logical analysis, 8 operations in Epistemic Operation as an epistemological analysis, and 6 thinking skills in Reasoning Complexity as a psychological analysis. The last two approaches in this study, Epistemic Operation and Reasoning Complexity, were employed to understand the process of arguments, rather than the specific content and validity of an argument as determined using Toulmin¡¯s approach. There was connection among the most frequently used component in each approach, Data, Appeal to, and Elaboration. Mr. Physics initialized the discussion by asking about certain issues or by stating scientific principles, which promoted students to express their own ideas from either their prior experience or knowledge as one-word answers. Students were encouraged to use their own evidence or data to support teacher¡¯s claims or questions as Warrant, Causality, and Justification. When Mr. Physics added more knowledge to help students remind of the content, his arguments worked more as Qualifier, Consistency with other knowledge or experience, and Explanation. Furthermore, there were more developed relationship among Claim, Induction, and Generativity, among Rebuttal, Plausibility, and Synthesis, and among Backing, Deduction, and Logical Coherence. The Classifying and Definition of Epistemic Operation take place too little in this study to be compared to the other components of the other two analyzing approaches. The quality of students¡¯ argumentation was enhanced by teachers¡¯ active involvement in the various contexts, where students were facilitated to extend their content and thinking skills.
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Paper number: 10178
Is teaching science the same everywhere? The story of one preservice teacher’s internship experience with teaching science in the U.S. and Ireland
Principal Author: Meredith A Park Rogers, Indiana University - Bloomington, mparkrog@indiana.edu
Co-Authors: Katie D Hannon, Rosa Parks-Edison Elementary School
Abstract:
This study is a telling case of the kinds of conflicts beginning elementary teachers may face when trying to implement inquiry-based science for the first time and within the constraints of someone else’s classroom norms. The context of the participant’s student internship afforded us the unique opportunity to compare her teaching experiences in two countries - the U.S. and Ireland. This not only allowed us to explore differences in science teaching in other countries but to also reflect on the effectiveness of our own methods course in preparing her to teach science outside of the U.S. Three questions guided our research: 1) What were Katie’s perceptions about teaching science prior to her student internship? 2) How did Katie’s science teaching experiences at both schools compare with her perceptions about teaching science? 3) What does Katie take away from these two experiences that will influence her future teaching of science? Data was collected through reflective journaling, video-taping of Katie’s teaching, online synchronous discussions, in-person interviews, and the collection of various teaching artifacts. The findings are organized around each of the three research questions with broad conclusions including, a) there are no differences in how science is portrayed in elementary classrooms in the U.S. and Ireland, b) Katie’s perceptions of how science should be taught met several obstacles during both students teaching placements, c) cooperating teachers in both places provided Katie with little to no feedback on how to improve her science teaching, and d) Katie feels her teaching internship did not teach her how to teach science, rather it helped her to realize how not to teach it. Implications for a more global and supportive approach to student teacher preparation in elementary science are discussed.
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Paper number: 13014
Professional Development Centered in Model-Based Inquiry: Innovations, Challenges, and Results
Principal Author: Passmore M Passmore, University of California, Davis, cpassmore@ucdavis.edu
Co-Authors: Connie Hvidsten, University of California, Davis; LIn Xiang, University of California, Davis; Patrick Dowd, University of California, Davis; Arthur Beauchamp, University of California, Davis; Rich Hedman, California State University Sacramento; Wendell Potter, University of California, Davis
Abstract:
The research literature demonstrates that taking a modeling approach to science instruction may be a fruitful way to engage students in constructing deep understandings of both the content and process of science. However, the type of pedagogy implied by this perspective is in sharp contrast to the norms that exist in most classrooms. Therefore, sustained professional development must be undertaken in order to bring science teaching practice into line with current thinking about the nature of science and learning

This themed paper set explores the context and research findings from our project. The proposed set includes three papers: In paper one we provide the theoretical grounding of the model-based inquiry approach and how the central premises of this approach have been realized in our professional development program.

In paper two we ask what are the challenges teachers face when trying to implement model-based inquiry? We have developed a sustained professional development sequence and along the way we have collected systematic data about the challenges our teachers face when trying to change their practice. Our findings point to issues around identity and agency and the perceived role of standards and testing regimes. Understanding something about the difficulties our teachers have faced will allow us and others to craft professional development experiences that go further to confront and support teachers enactment of new practices.

In paper three we investigate the impacts of our professional development program on teachers’ perceptions and understanding of model-based inquiry and effective science pedagogy. The primary data used were exemplary lessons and commentary on them provided by teachers before the start of the program and as part of their final wrap-up experience. As we see the ways in which teachers have adopted the ideas put forth in our setting we explore implications for the design of professional development.

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Paper number: 10063
THE CHALLENGE OF PREPARING PRESERVICE ELEMENTARY SCIENCE TEACHERS IN THE USE OF PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT WITHIN THE METHODS COURSE

Principal Author: Patricia C Paulson, Bethel University, patricia-paulson@bethel.edu
Abstract:
Science educators have supported the use of authentic, performance-based assessments as a means to delve into the actual work of scientists, and as a means of determining students’ abilities to “do” science, as compared to only memorize facts and content knowledge. The National Science Education Standards strongly advocate the use of scientific inquiry and the use of more authentic assessments. Such assessments address the application of knowledge in a real-world context, demonstrating deeper levels of understanding, as well as a range of competencies, more effectively than traditional tests. Despite the support for the use of performance assessments, preservice elementary science teachers in this study have continued to struggle with their use. Qualitative data was collected from 300 student journal entries over a five-year period within an elementary science methods course. Results have remained consistent, even with course modifications. Four major themes continue to emerge concerning the use of such forms of assessment: a) lack of previous experiences with performance assessment; b) difficulty in constructing quality checklists and rubrics; c) the amount of time required to use this form of assessment; and d) feelings of adequacy/ inadequacy in assessing student work appropriately. This presentation will describe some of the challenges involved in developing performance assessment competencies with preservice teachers and how they appear to mirror the practices in actual elementary school practicum placements, making progress more difficult.
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Paper number: 10048
NU-Teach: Partnering to Enrich Science Teacher Education
Principal Author: Jon E Pedersen, University of Nebraska, jep@unl.edu
Co-Authors: Tiffany Heng-Moss, University of Nebraska; Ron J Bonnstetter, University of Nebraska
Abstract:
NU-Teach, combines a mixture of temporary and permanent resources, an interdisciplinary emphasis, and a synergistic relationship among three colleges focusing on strengthening PCK of future secondary science teachers. The NU-Teach directly supports two overarching priorities of the University – undergraduate education and research.

NU-Teach addresses three key issues:

• The need to optimize advising and recruiting overlap between the secondary education major in College of Education and Human Sciences (CEHS) and science majors in either College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) or College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (CASNR).

• The need to look closely at curricular and administrative barriers to increasing the number of secondary science teachers. At present, students wanting to pursue a career of secondary teaching in the sciences would not reasonably be able to complete a dual degree with secondary teaching in a four-year period.

• The need to maximize the opportunities for synergistic course offerings between secondary education and the sciences, including the creation of new offerings or new approaches to existing offerings.

At the core of the NU-Teach is the recognition that responsibility for teacher education is the responsibility of all three colleges. Faculty and administrators in CEHS, CAS, and CASNR are building on existing strengths and collaborations among the three colleges to accomplish five goals:

1. Attract high quality students to pursue UNL degrees in science and education,

2. Increase the potential number of science teachers at UNL,

3. Create more effective ways to educate future science teachers in science content.

4. Create more effective ways to retain science teachers in the field and in the state, and;

5. Create and sustain a cluster of interdisciplinary faculty members who will have a high probability for impact in terms of scholarly activities related to recruitment, education, assessment, and training of science teachers.

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Paper number: 11037
The Environmental Literacy and Inquiry (ELI) Professional Development Model: Enhancing the Teaching and Learning of Energy with Technology-integrated Professional Development
Principal Author: Tamara E Peffer, Lehigh Univeristy, tep205@lehigh.edu
Co-Authors: Alec M Bodzin, Lehigh University
Abstract:
This session presents the design, development, and initial implementation of the professional development model for the Environmental Literacy and Inquiry (ELI) Energy curriculum. The Energy curriculum includes Web-based inquiry activities with Google Earth, spatial energy investigations that use My World GIS, laboratory investigations, and other technology-integrated learning activities. The ELI PD model blends the interdisciplinary pedagogical approaches of environmental education (EE) with technology integration to enhance the pedagogical content knowledge of inservice science teachers and provide them the requisite skills needed to effectively teach complex environmental issues such as energy use. ELI’s professional development (PD) experiences includes a 3-day, 12-hour summer PD session, ongoing classroom support during the academic school year, Web-based PD, and teacher support materials. ELI’s PD includes educative curricular materials designed to increase comfort with teaching about energy with geospatial learning tools, incorporating EE methodologies into instruction, and promoting technological pedagogical content knowledge. Implementation findings of our first Summer PD session and ongoing classroom support effort efforts are discussed.
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Paper number: 12005
Title: Change Has Come – Now YOU Can Teach Lab-Based Science Fully Online
Principal Author: Penny S. Perkins-Johnston, California State University, San Marcos, pperkins@csusm.edu
Co-Authors: Ron Krempasky, Hands-On Labs, Inc.
Abstract:
The wait is over. Obstacles have been overcome. Teaching science courses, including a “hands-on” laboratory component, fully online is a reality and the results are impressive. Dr. Penny Perkins-Johnston from California State University at San Marcos presents perspectives, best practices, communication methods, student interaction and feedback, as well as learning results based on a model developed from teaching Human Anatomy and Physiology online with a “wet lab” from Hands-On Labs - LabPaqs. Ron Krempasky, VP of Academic Relations for LabPaqs reviews trends in online science teaching methods and results from a recent survey of students taking their science courses online. Perkins-Johnston reviews how she overcame the obstacles of launching her courses. She will present current innovative and engaging methodologies, interactive multimedia formats, Web2.0 tools and LabPaq experiences that have blurred the lines between their face-to-face and online delivery methods. You will have the opportunity to perform a science exercise from a LabPaq to gain a better understanding of how these “wet labs” are performed by students outside the campus lab.
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Paper number: 10002
Conveyance of the Scientific Enterprise to the Classroom: Instructional Design by Scientists as Pre-Service Teachers
Principal Author: Erin E. Peters, George Mason University, epeters1@gmu.edu
Co-Authors: Stephen Burton, Grand Valley State University
Abstract:
Pre-service teachers who were once scientists may be well-equipped to teach students how science is conducted as a discipline. The following questions were developed to drive this study:

RQ1: How do former scientists, now studying to become teachers (referred to as career switchers), view the role of knowledge about the scientific enterprise in the learning of science?

RQ2: What approach do career switchers take in planning explicit experiences to build knowledge about the scientific enterprise into their lessons after taking an introductory methods course infused with nature of science knowledge activities?

The 11 participants in the study have between 5 and 25 years of experience as scientists, with an average of 15.8 years of experience. This multiple-case study design used written assignments, videotapes of sample teaching and interviews as data sources. Two major types of instructional designers, schema-centered teachers and activity-centered teachers, emerged from the data.

The schema-centered teachers believed teaching to be a process of developing ideas and approached lesson planning initially from a general perspective and worked to a more specific orientation. They also spoke about how they would iteratively embed the social, creative, historical, tentative, technological, and creative aspects of the nature of science into their lesson plans across a year.

The activity-centered teachers expressed the need to show students how to think about science rather than allowing students to construct their own conception, and viewed teaching knowledge about the scientific enterprise as an activity to be undertaken only at the beginning of the year. They planned on using a single aspect of nature of science knowledge, historical, because they felt the human interest stories would get students involved in the topic and approached lesson planning from a specific orientation moving to a general orientation.

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Paper number: 10095
How Do Middle School Science Textbooks Present the Nature of Science?
Principal Author: Marianne C. Phillips, Texas A&M University-San Antonio, mphillips_tamuk@yahoo.com
Abstract:
Science for All Americans (AAAS, 1990) and the National Science Education Standards (NRC, 1996) call for teaching students about the nature of science. Teaching the nature of science supports successful learning of science content (Driver and others, 1996), and bridges the gap between practicing scientists and school science (Sorsby, 2000). Many science teachers regularly use their textbooks to teach science (Radcliffe, 2004; Weiss, 1993).Therefore, it is important that these curriculum materials convey an accurate conception of what is science. The textbook industry is a multi-billion dollar enterprise with states such as Texas exerting a major influence on the science textbooks adopted throughout the United States. Given Texas’s influence, it is important that nature of science content be included in its textbooks. Hence, the purpose of this study was to analyze 12 middle school science textbooks with regard to the four aspects of the nature of science: (a) science as a body of knowledge, (b) science as a way of investigating, (c) science as a way of thinking, and (d) the interaction of science, technology, and society (Chiappetta, Fillman, & Sethna, 2004). The majority of text analyzed continues to provide a narrow view of scientific methods and the interaction of science with technology and society.
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Paper number: 10064
A Case Study of Urban Student and Teacher Experiences Surrounding an Outdoor Environmental Science Field Trip
Principal Author: Peggy L Preusch, University of Maryland, ppreusch@umd.edu
Abstract:
Field trips provide opportunities for students to experience many different contexts beyond the classroom, and are a popular choice of K-12 teachers in the US. Recent interest in learning that occurs at informal science education centers such as museums, zoos and aquariums has stimulated studies of the relationship between learning in and outside of schools. Field trip settings vary widely creating the possibility of new and different life experiences for students. Although many studies focus on the teachers, the contexts, and/or the students during the field trip, only a few look at the entire process of learning by including the classroom setting before and after the field trip.

This study was designed to address the student process of learning during an environmental science field trip to an outdoor setting. John Dewey’s extensive writings on the relationship between experience and learning informed the analysis, creating a focus on active and passive elements of the experience, continuity within and across contexts, the interactive nature of the experience and the importance of subject matter. The students’ active engagement with each other and the environment during the field trip supported meaningful remembrances of the field trip experiences one week after the field trip. Their accurate and detailed descriptions of plants and animals provided evidence of their meaning-making process and their new found skill of making observations about the environment. They made connections with their home life and prior experiences as they discussed the field trip and drew pictures that represented their experiences.

One implication of this study is that outdoor natural environments, although novel to students from urban environments, can provide a meaningful context for hands-on science explorations. Building long term relationships between schools and informal setting will support both student and teacher learning about the environment.

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Paper number: 10209
Beyond the school grades: Voices of Rising 5th Grade African American Schoolgirls as Science Learners
Principal Author: Rose M. Pringle, University of Florida, rpringle@coe.ufl.edu
Co-Authors: Katie Milton, University of Florida; Diane Archer-Banks, University of Florida; Cirecie West-Olatunji, University of Florida; Thomasenia Adams, University of Florida
Abstract:
While female participation in academic science and engineer has increased, there is still a notable educational achievement gap among low-income African American females when compared to their white counterparts (AAUW, 2008). Research suggests that the African American female students’ classroom experiences are impacted by a variety of factors, including self-perceptions (Acker, 1993; Packard & Nguyen, 2003) and parent involvement (Taylor, Hinton & Wilson, 1995). Concomitantly, teacher expectations (Murray & Jackson, 1999; Siddle-Walker, 1992) also shape the academic experience. A major challenge for African American students still remains the ethnocentric monoculturalism in many schooling environment (Nieto, 2000), and the pervasive marginalization resulting from low-end tracking, low teacher expectations and increase in punitive actions (Haycock, 2001). Through the lens of positionality, we sought to explore the positionality of African-American girls as science learners.

Positionality describes an individual’s self-perceived social location within their networks of relationships. We contend that the girls’ positioning as science learners is not socially neutral but the interactions among factors such as the actions of adult stakeholders, societal perceptions and expectations all sharing in the powerful systems that index claims to the relationships in classrooms (Holland, Lachicotte, Skinner, & Cain, 1998). Hence at this juncture in our nationally funded, longitudinal study, we answer the following question:

1. How do low-income African-American schoolgirls position themselves as science learners in relation to their gender, class, and ethnic identities?

The girls demonstrated an awareness of their social positioning as science learners. However, their positionality was constrained by occurrences and nature of classroom instructions and their beliefs about characteristics of “good” student. Also, parents’ and educators’ expectations and involvements were not always congruent and may further impact the girls’ positioning as learners. With an understanding of students’ positionality as science learners, teachers can enact appropriate curricular and pedagogical strategies to better support learning.

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Paper number: 12020
The California Science Project Teacher Retention Initiative: Scientists and Teachers Together
Principal Author: Julia Rankin Morandi, The science Collaborative,Inc./California Science Project, juliarankin@verizon.net
Co-Authors: Sue Teele , University of California Riverside
Abstract:
The California Science Project Teacher Retention Initiative (CSP TRI) is a program that addresses the shortage of science teachers as a crisis of retention. Nine universities and colleges that are part of the California Science Project, a professional development network of 18 universities and colleges, are key participants in this program. The scientists at each site work closely with secondary level teachers to improve teacher retention through a variety of approaches.

This project is funded through a master grant of the California Post Secondary Commission. The CSP-TRI awarded grants of $100,000 a year for four years. The grant enables them to leverage current science teacher development efforts to galvanize available resources, align programs, and transform the way science teachers are inducted, developed, and supported. These efforts are expected to contribute to the development of professional learning communities that will lower secondary science teacher attrition rates, which in some high schools are as high as 50 percent a year.

Program elements include such things as: content institutes, mentoring, professional development focused on academic literacy and English learners, Lesson Study-type focus or study groups. These elements are designed to work synergistically and adaptively within local schools environments and aim to facilitate and support professional learning communities (PLCs) that provide for enriched working conditions that are critical factors in teachers’ decisions to stay at a school.

In the second year of the program, the nine sites worked collaboratively to develop common definitions and terms to facilitate communication and improve progress across all programs. This workshop will look at the progress each site has made towards achieving the goals, examine the struggles they experienced to develop school based learning communities and provide concrete suggestions and strategies from lessons learned to improve teacher retention. This is the third year of the program.

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Paper number: 11013
Exploring the relationship between preservice teachers' views of students and their practices of attending to the substance of student thinking
Principal Author: Jennifer Richards, University of Maryland, College Park, jrich@umd.edu
Co-Authors: Daniel M Levin, American University
Abstract:
In this presentation, we report on a case study of one preservice science teacher, Maria, who recently completed a one-year masters certification program. There is mounting evidence that preservice teachers can attend to the substance of student thinking early in their careers (Crespo, 2000; Levin et al., 2009; Levin & Richards, 2009; Morris, 2006; Nicol, 1999; Rosaen, Lundeberg, Cooper, Fritzen, & Terpstra, 2008); however, the question remains as to how and when preservice teachers attend to student thinking in the classroom.

Through classroom observations and subsequent interviews, we identified instances in which Maria attended to student thinking and noticed that her practices of attending to student thinking seemed to vary with her views of individual students. This finding alone is not surprising, as a number of studies have linked teachers' expectations with their teaching practices and their students' performances (Auwarter & Aruguete, 2008; Bol & Berry, 2005; Rubie-Davies, Hattie, & Hamilton, 2006; Rosenthal & Jacobson, 2003; Seidel, 2006). However, Maria tended to do the opposite of what the literature on teachers' expectations predicted "she showed little evidence of attending to students' ideas when she had a high opinion of the student."

We believe that this kind of detailed analysis illuminates some of the contextual variation in practices of attending to the substance of student thinking and how these practices may differ substantially depending on teachers' relationships with particular students. More research is certainly needed to elucidate the relationship between preservice teachers' views of students and their practices of attending to the substance of student thinking, and conversations are also needed in the field of teacher education about how to help preservice teachers remain true to all students' ideas in the classroom.
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Paper number: 10049
Differentiating Science Instruction in an Inclusive setting
Principal Author: rita C Richardson, University of St. Thomas, rcoombsrichardson@yahoo.com
Abstract:
Challenges and Issues: Including students with learning disabilities in science education presents numerous challenges. Parents may be concerned that their children will not be accepted by other students that their children will not receive individualized instruction, students may project a learned helplessness attitude, teachers may feel overwhelmed and may not have been prepared to teach students with special needs, and administrators may not agree to inclusion arrangements but feel obligated to follow regulations.

Personality Type /Learning Style: Differentiated Instruction is a theory based on the premise that instructional approaches should vary and be adapted to various individuals. The intent of differentiating instruction is to maximize students’ growth and success by accommodating to individual needs, and assisting in the learning process. No two students are alike, they learn at different paces and in different ways. Three elements of the curriculum that can be differentiated are, Content, Process and product. A fourth element is the student’s preferred mode for learning. The teacher can differentiate by manipulating the environment and accommodating to the students’ learning styles. Personality types generally impact learning style. Teachers may be more willing to make adjustments in their instruction when they are aware of their own, and the type of others. In this presentation I will introduce a personality instrument, the Richardson Inventory of Personality Type (RIPT) I developed to expand on an assessment model which could be used to approximate type preferences. The RIPT like the Myers Briggs Type Inventory (MBTI) is based on Jungian concepts of personality. Participants will be encouraged to complete the short instrument and supply questions comment on the presented information.

The focus of this proposed presentation will address differentiating instruction for students in inclusive classrooms. Participants will become aware of the need to adjust their teaching styles to their students’ learning styles.

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Paper number: 10198
Using VITAL to foster pre-service science teacher reflection and identity development: Nicole’s story
Principal Author: Maria S Rivera Maulucci, Barnard College, mriveram@barnard.edu
Abstract:
One of the central challenges in science teacher education involves fostering the types of reflection that support development of pre-service teachers’ science teacher identities, particularly for those pre-service teachers who aspire to teach for social justice. This study explores the value added by a web-based learning environment, VITAL (Video Interactions for Teaching and Learning), as a tool for promoting teacher reflection. Through an in-depth case study of one preservice teacher’s reflections on a video of her mini-lesson, I propose that VITAL fosters specific, evaluative, and evidence-based reflections regarding Nicole’s pedagogical methods, connections she was making to the methods seminar, and her future goals for becoming a teacher. This study adds to the research base on the use of video in science teacher education by describing the form and content of the pedagogical assignment, the nature, scope, and focus of the types of reflections the assignment affords, and new approaches to coding preservice teachers’ video reflections.
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Paper number: 11047
Teaching Science in the City: Bridging formal and informal science learning contexts with preservice and inservice teachers
Principal Author: Maria S Rivera Maulucci, Barnard College, mriveram@barnard.edu
Co-Authors: Jennie S. Brotman, Barnard College
Abstract:
The purpose of this paper is to describe an innovative approach to inservice and preservice science teacher development that bridges formal and informal science learning contexts, the Science in the City seminar. The study focuses on the teachers’ presentations of evidence of student learning from trips they made to the museum. The findings will show linkages between teacher education, teacher practices, and student learning through: a) novel use of the museum as a place to learn science connected to mandated science curricula, and b) clear, reciprocal connections between students’ learning in the museum and in the science classroom. While drawing upon the tenets of design and evaluation research, this study seeks to build a set of theories and practices that may guide the recruitment and retention of science majors into teaching, the preparation of elementary and middle-level teachers in science education, and the design of science professional development experiences for in-service teachers, particularly for urban schools.
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Paper number: 11005
This is not Oprah’s Book Club; It is a Science Book Club for the Methods Classroom
Principal Author: Scott D Robinson, University of Hawaii at Manoa, scottdr@hawaii.edu
Abstract:
The interactive poster session presents a book club in a science teaching methods course. Science book clubs are under represented in the science education literature, and my limited anecdotal evidence is that science book clubs are under utilized in science education courses for prospective teachers. Science book clubs can provide a forum for science teacher candidates to make sense of their educational experiences in the context of their professional lives. These clubs offers prime opportunities for relational learning in the social context of the methods classroom as participants reflect upon their knowledge of teaching and learning in light of the storied lives of others.

My science teaching methods course in Spring 2009 was not a typical pre-service science methods course since the majority of the students were full-time on-the-job training teachers who taught middle and high school science without licensure. All of the students were enrolled in a Master of Education in Teaching program and had previously completed bachelor’s degrees in a fields other than education. With this group of students in mind, I decided to implement a science book club not only to promote rich conversations about effective science instruction but also promote a reflexive inquiry into the students’ own developing identities as beginning science teachers. Since most of the students were full-time science teachers, I assumed that they would have plenty of their own teaching stories to draw from as we identified and discussed relevant pedagogical issues from the book club readings. The interactive poster presentation responds to the following questions: a) What are the curricular, pedagogical, and assessment-related implications of incorporating a book club in a secondary science methods course? b) What are the challenges and benefits of adapting a science book club? and c) How can science book club promote teacher-related identity formation?

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Paper number: 10112
A Neen Dush: A Science and Mathematics Professional Development Program for Head Start Teachers on the White Earth Reservation
Principal Author: Gillian Roehrig, University of Minnesota, roehr013@umn.edu
Co-Authors: Mia Dubosarsky, University of Minnesota; Ann Mogush Mason, University of Minnesota; Barbara Murphy, University of Minnesota; Stephan Carlson, University of Minnesota
Abstract:
A Neen Dush (“why?” in Ojibwe, roughly translated) is a science and mathematics professional development partnership between the White Earth Reservation Head Start program and the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Minnesota. This is a 3-year program, funded by the Department of Health and Human Services. Ah Neen Dush aims to support and mentor teachers as they create engaging Head Start environments that weave discovery-based science and mathematics curricula with Ojibwe philosophy and tradition.

The over-arching goal of A Neen Dush is to enhance White Earth Head Start students’ science and mathematics experiences through improved teaching practices. We view teachers as agents of change who can affect children, their families, and the White Earth community. Ah Neen Dush emphasizes:

1. A long-term commitment to working toward sustainable professional development.

2. Discovery-based science and mathematics curriculum rooted in Ojibwe culture and developed by the teachers with assistance from the program team.

3. Multifaceted learning experiences: teachers play the role of students during modeled lessons, teachers during curriculum development, and presenters during each monthly session.

4. Making connections to families and community members.

5. Mentoring: online mentoring as well as monthly classroom visits.

6. Learning communities: creating teams of teachers who work and learn together .

7. Reflective Journaling.

8. Effective use of technology: enhancing the culture of learning communities and project dissemination via the project’s website.

By specifically addressing the early childhood American Indian population in the form of long-term teacher professional development, the participating Head Start teachers lay the foundation for improved science and mathematics performance at all grade levels on the White Earth reservation.

The paper presents the conceptual framework and components of Ah Neen Dush, and a unit on wild rice developed by the teachers. The paper also discusses different forms of evaluation.
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Paper number: 10141
An Exploratory Study of High School Students’ Recalled Knowledge of Cellular Structure
Principal Author: Elizabeth AE Roland, Morehead State University, e.roland@moreheadstate.edu
Abstract:
High school students’, from grades 9-12, recalled knowledge of plant cell structure was explored using a paper-and-pencil test and a semi-structured interview. Eight intact English classes were used for data collection involving 180 students. One hundred and twenty students completed all necessary paperwork to participate in the paper-and-pencil tests and 16 students (two from each class) participated in interviews. Drawings were categorized into emerging groups of similar characteristics. Individual characteristics were analyzed by grade level and by science courses. Students’ follow-up question to drawings about model limitations was analyzed by emerging reasons. Thirteen model categories were identified with four models representing 60% of the sample. Students currently enrolled in biology generally displayed greater knowledge of plant structure. Seniors, after two physical science classes, had a lower performance in structural details including those that are unique to plant cells. Students most often cited personal lack of recall for model limitations instead of limitations inherent to two-dimensional models. Many students used terminology incorrectly such as labeling chloroplasts chlorophyll and inventing new organelles such as glucose. Results suggest teachers need to assess student prior knowledge to establish what content needs to be addressed for the whole class and what needs to be reviewed for individual students. Teachers need to incorporate review strategies within a year-long biology course to maintain student knowledge. Additionally, the lower knowledge of students one to three years after biology suggests a need to revaluate high school curriculum sequences.
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Paper number: 10202
Socio-cultural border crossing in urban science education: stratification within ethnicity and culture
Principal Author: Purnanand R Roopnarine, Teachers College, Columbia University, blueyroop@yahoo.com
Co-Authors: Dr. Christopher Emdin, Teachers College, Columbia University
Abstract:
The main aim of this proposal is to investigate the relationship between socio-cultural border crossing, the movement from one cultural context to another, and urban students’ achievement in science. The theoretical framework of the study adopts two bases as a root foundation. One is Lugones’ (1987) mechanisms of world traveling: flexibility, playfulness, and being at ease, and the other, social constructivism, a theory of learning that supports the view that learning takes place during social interaction (Vygotsky, 1978). The intended methodology involves sampling urban middle and high school public school students, teach them to border cross using Lugones’ (1987) mechanisms of cultural border crossing, and then instruct them to use these cultural border crossing mechanisms in their own socio-constructivist science activities to influence and negotiate learning science among themselves, that is, inside and outside their cultural group. The students will be taught Lugones’ (1987) border crossing mechanisms using the cosmopolitanism ethos (Emdin, 2009) and the co-teaching and co-generative teaching model (Roth & Tobin, 2005) over the first four weeks of the study and thereafter will be continually reinforced as the study materializes. This study will be conducted over a year and will employ a mixed method design (). The qualitative methodology will be the lead preference in the study and will use a critical ethnographic approach (Carspeckan, 1996) while the quantitative part will adopt a cross-cultural design (Vivjer & Leung, 1997). This research will inform the audience that there is a need to do deep cross-cultural research in urban science education that will help students achieve better in science. The justification for this study is that urban students continue to perform poorly in science compared to their suburban counterparts (NAEP, 2009) and therefore, there is a need to find new ways to help them learn and perform better in science.
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Paper number: 12009
Videocases for Science Teaching Analysis (ViSTA): An experience with online, videocase-based modules used in preservice science methods courses
Principal Author: Kathleen J Roth, BSCS, kroth@bscs.org
Co-Authors: Karen B Givvin, UCLA; Catherine Chen, ; Meike Lemmens, ; Helen Garnier, UCLA
Abstract:
What is effective in helping preservice teachers begin the process of learning to teach science? What and how should they learn about the science content, pedagogical science content knowledge, and the knowledge about student thinking and learning that will enable them to start their teaching careers with both the disposition and the strategies to teach science effectively and to continue to learn as they teach? How can field experiences challenge their thinking and deepen their knowledge?

The Videocases for Science Teaching Analysis (ViSTA) project is addressing those questions by developing and studying the impact of five online, videocase-based modules designed as tools to support teacher education courses. Each module addresses a single content area commonly taught at the K-8 level (i.e., electricity, plants, force and motion, water cycle, and inquiry). Each presents videocases of at least two different inservice teachers, so that preservice teachers have the opportunity to analyze different approaches to teaching the same content. At the heart of the modules is a set of analytical tasks that are embedded in the online software platform. The modules are based on a conceptual framework focusing on student thinking and the science content storyline. In this experiential session, we describe the conceptual framework, and then engage participants in using the videocases as if they were preservice teachers. Finally, we will describe our assessment of the impact of the modules on preservice teachers’ learning.

The ViSTA modules provide an example of how web-based, video technology can be used to increase preservice teacher understanding of science content and student thinking. Our project also serves as an example of how research can be used both to inform the development of teacher learning materials and to test their effectiveness.
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Paper number: 10101
The Influence of Metaconceptual Awareness on the Change and the Durability of Conceptual Understandings
Principal Author: Mesut Sackes, The Ohio State University, msackes@gmail.com
Co-Authors: Kathy Cabe Trundle, The Ohio State University
Abstract:
This longitudinal study examined the role of metaconceptual awareness in the change and the durability of preservice teachers’ conceptual understandings of the cause of lunar phases. Sixteen preservice early childhood teachers who participated in an earlier study were the participants of this follow-up study. Two data gathering techniques were used. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to reveal the participants’ conceptual understanding of lunar phases (pre, post, and delayed-post) and level of metaconceptual awareness (delayed-post only). The Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) was used to assess the participants’ use of metacognitive strategies and to establish convergent validity of the metaconceptual awareness protocol. The constant comparative method of analysis was used to determine the participants’ conceptual understandings and their level of metaconceptual awareness. Participants’ conceptual understandings and their metaconceptual awareness were then scored with a rubric, which was designed for this study. Based on the change and stability in participants’ conceptual understandings from pre to post and from post to delayed-post interviews, participants’ conceptual understandings were assigned into three groups that described the profile of their long-term conceptual understandings: “decay or stability”, “continuous growth”, and “growth and stability”. Results indicated a statistically significant difference in metaconceptual awareness scores of participants in different conceptual profile groups. Participants in “continuous growth” and “growth and stability” groups had higher metaconceptual awareness scores than participants in the “decay or stability” group. The results of the Partial Least Square Path Analysis showed that the direct effects of metaconceptual awareness on conceptual change and the durability of conceptual change were statistically significant. The results provided evidence that metaconceptual awareness plays a significant role in the change and the durability of conceptual understandings.
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Paper number: 10102
The Relationship between Content Knowledge of Earth and Space Science Concepts and Science Teaching Efficacy Beliefs of In-service Elementary and Middle School Teachers
Principal Author: Mesut Sackes, The Ohio State University, msackes@gmail.com
Co-Authors: Margilee P. Hilson, Columbus City Schools; Kathy Cabe Trundle, The Ohio State University; Lawrence A. Krissek, The Ohio State University
Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a short-term instruction on in-service elementary and middle school teachers’ understanding of the earth and space science concepts they are expected to teach and to examine the impact of increased science and pedagogical content knowledge on teachers’ efficacy beliefs for teaching science. Twenty-four in-service elementary and middle school teachers (88% female, 12% male) employed in three central Ohio school districts participated in the study. Data were collected using the Lunar Phases Concept Inventory (LPCI), the Geology Content Knowledge Assessment (GCKA), and the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (STEBI). To determine the effectiveness of the short-term instruction on in-service teachers’ conceptual understandings of the targeted concepts statistical comparisons were made of both teachers’ individual pre-test and post-test scores using paired sample t-test statistics. The relationship between the change in efficacy beliefs scores and the change in content knowledge scores was examined using partial least square path analysis. Results indicated a statistically significant change from pre to post-test in participants’ content knowledge of targeted earth and space science concepts. There was also a significant change in participants’ efficacy beliefs scores from pre to post-test. However, the change in content knowledge was not significantly related to increase in science teaching efficacy beliefs. The current study indicated that a short-term professional development that addressed earth and space science concepts was able to enhance in-service teachers’ understanding of these concepts and their efficacy beliefs for teaching science. However, the present study failed to provide evidence of a relationship between enhanced science content knowledge and enhanced efficacy beliefs for teaching science.
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Paper number: 11066
A First Year Teacher’s Strongly Reformed Beliefs Are Maintained Intact: A Case Study from the NSF-funded IMPPACT Project at Syracuse University, The University of Iowa, and North Carolina State University
Principal Author: Margaret A Sadeghpour-Kramer, University of Iowa, mskandmk@netins.net
Co-Authors: John Dunkhase, University of Iowa; Robert Yager, University of Iowa
Abstract:
This case study within the IMPPACT Project analyzes school culture as it impacts new teachers. One first year teacher has shown strongly developed beliefs concerning the nature of science, and how it should be taught, through the three years of data collection, and has not faltered during his first year of teaching. His data is compared in a constant comparison model with two other new teachers of similar background, belief in inquiry science, and confidence level. All were hired at schools where mentors were graduates of the same preparation program, and where administrators indicated in hiring interviews that they would be allowed to teach as they think best. Questions include: perceptions on openness of schools to inquiry science, its definition, control of curriculum, teaching strategies and assessment, levels and kinds of support for new teachers, and relationships between teachers, administration, parents, and the community, from perspectives of each player. It appears that the environment in which the first years of teaching take place significantly influences teacher beliefs and actions, and their future as science teachers, and other factors may play a part as well.
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Paper number: 10113
Interns Helping Interns: Advice Documents as Meaningful Authentic Assessments
Principal Author: Cody Sandifer, Towson University, csandifer@towson.edu
Abstract:
As part of a "math-science" semester, elementary education majors at Towson University take a science internship (field placement) course in which they teach inquiry-based science weekly to small groups of students in real classrooms. As a means of making the assignments in the internship more meaningful and authentic, a novel assignment was introduced into the course; the assignment, which has now been used for six semesters, involves having each semester’s interns write an end-of-semester document directed at the following semester’s interns that gives advice about the internship’s teaching activities and the course in general. This exploratory qualitative research study investigates two aspects related to these documents: (1) the different types (categories) of advice and encouragement that the elementary science interns provide in these advice documents, and (2) whether the interns give any "bad" advice in these documents, in the sense that the advice is contrary to the goals of the course or the philosophy of inquiry science teaching. The data, which consists of eighty-one advice documents collected from 2005-2008, was analyzed using a constant-comparative, grounded theory method, and the analysis has found that the interns’ advice statements tend to fall into four categories: emotional support and encouragement, teaching tips, expectations and tips related to the course context, and philosophical and motivational advice about professional growth. Only two of the eighty-one advice documents contained what might be construed as "bad" advice. Ultimately, the advice document has been deemed a success, both as an effective context for summative course reflection for the current semester’s interns, and help and support for future interns. Consequently, other institutions are encouraged to introduce such an advice assignment into their own methods or placement courses.
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Paper number: 10011
Exploring the Development of Science Teaching Self-Efficacy and Science Teaching Practices in Elementary Student Teachers via Paired Modification of Lesson Plans
Principal Author: Cheryl R Sangueza, University of Las Vegas, sangueza@unlv.nevada.edu
Abstract:
I originally envisioned the practice of modifying lesson plans with my student teachers as a method of reflection on lesson design, and my goal in implementing the modification of lesson plans was to increase efficacy (Bandura, 1977) to support the development of teacher effectiveness (Gibson & Dembo, 1984). My student teachers were clearly feeling anxious and I was hoping to achieve my goal by having an open and constant communication. However, the practice of modifying lesson plans far exceeded my goals and expectations.

This presentation will first address the dialog between my student teachers and I as we modified lesson plans. Each case description address the interaction and impact of modifying lesson plans and are created by a combination of quantitative measures of efficacy, student teacher testimonials, and my evaluation of each lesson plan and lesson plan execution.

The second part of the presentation will present a rationale for using paired modification of lesson plans as a method of shaping teaching, critical thinking, and reflection practices while influencing science teaching self efficacy.

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Paper number: 10092
A Partnership Yields a New Model for Science Teacher Preparation
Principal Author: Laura J Saxman, The Center for Advanced Study in Education at The CUNY Graduate Center, LSaxman@gc.cuny.edu
Co-Authors: Preeti Gupta, The New York Hall of Science
Abstract:
The purpose of this paper is to disseminate findings from a study regarding the development and implementation of an innovative training model for pre-service secondary science teachers. While findings indicate that constructivism is the reigning paradigm in science education in the U.S. today, science teachers appear to have difficulty in the transfer of those approaches to their classrooms with any consistency. Therefore, this paper presents findings from an on-going federally funded study where undergraduate science students take state-mandated education courses at a University and concurrently work as Explainers at an interactive urban science center. Explainers are floor staff that interact with visitors through one-on-one dialogues at the exhibits, through 20-minute science demonstrations and through more structured, in depth programs with students and their teachers. Working as an Explainer allows students to be both in the role of a learner, who guides her own inquiry, works collaboratively and experiences hands-on activities to generate knowledge and cognition, and then also the role of teacher to help others do the same. The purpose of the five-year project is not only to recruit and train fifty highly qualified science teachers that will teach in urban public schools but also to develop and refine a replicable model for science teacher preparation that will serve to enhance the transfer of constructivist and inquiry based teaching skills. The presentation will detail the training model and longitudinal and comparative results regarding the participants.
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Paper number: 10073
Those who can teach: Reflections from GK12 Fellows
Principal Author: Kathryn C Scantlebury, University of Delaware, kscantle@udel.edu
Co-Authors: John Madsen, University of Delaware; George Watson, University of Delaware; Jane Butler Kahle, Miami University, E & A Center
Abstract:
For nearly a decade, NSF has supported STEM graduate to work in K-12 settings. This study used coteaching as the structure to include graduate students, known as Fellows, into science classes in a vocational-technical (vo-tech) school district. Coteaching reduced, and in some circumstances minimized, power differentials between teachers and the Fellows. Coteaching assumes that the students’ learning is the foremost concern of all involved with the class, and when more than one teacher is present, there is a shared responsibility between teachers to achieve those goals. Coteaching provided the structure for Fellows to have in-depth insight, understanding and appreciation for the complexities and nuances of teaching science in a public school through co-responsibility (with the teachers) for students’ learning. Fellows had a 20 hour per week obligation to the project, with time outside of the class spent preparing for school activities and regular meetings with project personnel.

This paper focuses on interview data from 25 Fellows before they began working in the vo-tech district, at the end of their one-year commitment and five Fellows were interviewed one year after they had completed their Fellowship. The project’s external evaluator conducted the interviews using a semi-structure interview protocol and open interviewing techniques. Interviews were transcribed and analysed for themes using a constant comparison method. As coding continued, relationships between codes were noted and themes began to emerge.

Previous research in coteaching has noted that co-respect and co-responsibility are critical, also teachers must share their space and allow others to step up and coteach. As Fellows spent more time in classrooms their respect for teachers’ knowledge, skill and ability to relate science to high school students increased. Unsuccessful coteaching occurred when either teachers or Fellows lost respect for each other, or Fellows failed to assume responsibility for their obligations “in the field”.

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Paper number: 10094
Helping Preservice Teachers Recognize and Develop Reformed Based Teaching Practices
Principal Author: Adele Schepige, Western Oregon University, schepia@wou.edu
Co-Authors: Patricia D Morrell, University of Portland
Abstract:
This study examined the effect of introducing and using a teaching observation protocol, the OTOP, had on preservice teachers’ abilities to examine their own teaching in light of reformed based teaching practices. We chose to use the OTOP because it easily aligns with the topics we cover in our methods class and is shorter and simpler to use than many of the other protocols. As part of their science methods course, elementary and secondary preservice teachers were introduced to the OTOP and discussed the components of the protocol and the scoring. The classes practiced using the protocol to rate a commercially available video-taped science lesson. Discussions about these ratings were followed by scoring another taped lesson and debriefing the scoring. By the end of this second experience, the students indicated they understood and felt comfortable using the OTOP. As a class assignment, students were to take one of their science lessons and critique its delivery in their field class using the OTOP. The students were asked to identify the O-TOP strategies in their lessons and rate them as either a major (rating of 3-4) or a minor component (rating of 1-2) of the lesson or not observed and to support their OTOP ratings. Students submitted their lesson plans, an OTOP rating sheet, and their reflections. In two of the classes, students also submitted videotapes of the lesson. These were used as the data for the study. We found that students felt the OTOP was an easy instrument to use to guide both their planning and reflection. For the most part, students could accurately identify reform based teaching practices in their planning and delivery and where they could/should have incorporated more. They were able to use the OTOP reflections to guide decisions for future lesson planning and/or rewriting of current lessons.
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Paper number: 10099
Assessing the Impact of Science Olympiad Participation on Participant’s Attitudes Toward Learning and Pursuing Science

Principal Author: Ellen L Schiller, Grand Valley State University, schillee@gvsu.edu
Abstract:
By examining and identifying the factors that lead students to participate in rigorous, extracurricular science programs, perhaps we can foster teaching methods and science programs that create greater interest in science for all students. An anonymous, on-line survey was developed to assess middle and high school Science Olympiad participants’ attitudes toward learning science, and any impact Science Olympiad participation may have on their possible choice of a STEM career. The questions consisted of several demographic items (age/grade, number of years participating), items asking students to share their reasons for joining a Science Olympiad team, a set of Likert scale items probing students’ opinions about science learning and Science Olympiad, and several open-ended questions, including: “What do you like best about Science Olympiad?”, “What would you change about Science Olympiad if you could?”, “Finish this sentence with your opinion: "I think more kids would be interested in going into math and science-related careers if...."

306 of the 1,800 participants at the March, 2009 Science Olympiad Region 12 tournament (the largest in the country) completed the survey. Results from the survey indicated an overwhelming sense of satisfaction with Science Olympiad. Many students mentioned that they enjoyed earning medals and that they liked the competition itself. Several key words turned up repeatedly in students’ open-ended responses: “fun,” “challenging,” and “friendship.” It was obvious that many students highly valued collaborating with peers as they learn science. Recommendations made to teachers centered on these themes: students want more inquiry, more collaborative group work with peers, and more hands-on science experiences. Perhaps most importantly, students in this study indicated they are eager to take on challenging material and projects, as long as the right support system is in place to learn and be successful. These findings have implications for the preparation of secondary science teachers.
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Paper number: 10188
Mentor teachers’ developing identity as science teacher educators
Principal Author: Rebecca Schneider, University of Toledo, Rebecca.Schneider@utoledo.edu
Abstract:
For science teachers, learning how to guide novice members of the profession is an opportunity to think about reform- oriented science teaching and science teacher learning. And educative mentoring is a framework that can guide our thinking about how mentors can support novices learning to teach science. Educational mentors use their own practice as a site for learning as they work with novices in co-thinking relationships (Feiman-Nemser, 1998). For most teachers, however, this will require a shift in how they think about themselves as teachers (Rodgers & Scott, 2008). This study investigates science teachers’ developing identity as reform-oriented science teachers and teacher educators as they are supported in learning how to guide a preservice teacher in their classroom. The work of ten science teachers hosting preservice candidates and participating in a set of graduate courses for new mentors was collected. Data were examined for evidence of teachers’ thinking about their roles, competence, and agency as science teachers and science teacher educators, as well as teachers’ views of science, students, and teaching, in order to make inferences about their developing identity. Findings indicate that when teachers focused on what candidates are expected to learn and how to support their efforts, they reconsidered their own teaching and became thoughtful about mentoring. Teachers expanded and refined their ideas about their roles, illustrated developing competence in assessing candidate learning needs, and began to see candidate learning as partly their responsibility. Findings also indicate that multiple reflective experiences with candidates appear to be necessary to develop mentors’ views of themselves as teacher educators. This study illustrates first steps for teachers developing teacher educator identities.
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Paper number: 10005
Engineering Design Activities and Conceptual Change in Middle School Science
Principal Author: Christine G Schnittka, University of Kentucky, christine.schnittka@uky.edu
Co-Authors: Randy L Bell, University of Virginia
Abstract:
The purpose of this research was to investigate the impact of engineering design classroom activities on conceptual change in science. Students were given a rationale for learning science in an active, inquiry-based method, and worked in small, collaborative groups.

One eighth-grade physical science teacher and the students in three of her classes participated in the investigation involving heat transfer and thermal energy. One class served as the control receiving typical instruction. Students in a second class had the same learning objectives, but were taught science through an engineering design curriculum that included demonstrations targeting alternative conceptions. A third class also used the engineering design curriculum, but students were shown typical demonstrations instead of targeted ones.

Data were gathered from teacher and student entrance and exit interviews, audio recordings of student dialog during group work, video recordings and observations of all classes, pre- and posttests on science content, and artifacts and all assignments completed by students. Analysis of the data was carried out in the interpretive framework of analytic induction.

Prior to the interventions, findings indicated that students overwhelmingly possessed alternative conceptions about heat transfer and thermal energy. Pre and posttest data demonstrated that students who used the engineering design curriculum with demonstrations targeting alternative conceptions improved more than students in the other two classes (p = .003).

This study demonstrated that engineering design activities alone do not promote conceptual change to the same degree as they can when they are combined with demonstrations specifically targeting alternative conceptions. The engineering design curriculum without targeted demonstrations was just as effective as typical instruction and significantly less effective than the curriculum with targeted demonstrations.

Results may be of interest to teachers using engineering design activities in science classes, and to science curriculum developers and engineering educators involved in developing engineering outreach curricula.

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Paper number: 13012
Addressing Creationist Students in the Modern Science Classroom
Principal Author: Eugenie C Scott, National Center for Science Education, mead@ncseweb.org
Co-Authors: Louise S Mead, National Center for Science Education; Steven Newton, National Center for Science Education
Abstract:
Creationist students pose a challenge to science educators in a number of disciplines. From biology to the earth sciences to anthropology, creationist students are resistant to the findings of science, misunderstand the nature of science, and increasingly assert their right to espouse creationist alternatives to science, especially under the guise of “intelligent design.” This poses a problem for faculty of teacher education programs, who may have received little training regarding how to handle creationist students.

This themed paper set examines the major aspects involved in this issue, and provides concrete advice for educators seeking to respect the religious views of students, while ensuring that preservice teachers are effectively prepared to be excellent science teachers. Three presenters from the National Center for Science Education, the nation’s leading organization defending the teaching of evolution in public schools, will detail the aspects of this issue. Steven Newton will introduce the topic with a talk titled, “Why Creationism is Still an Issue for the Modern Science Classroom.” Louise Mead will explain how one teacher education program dealt with the presence of creationist students among its teachers in training. Eugenie Scott will talk on the topic of, “How to Prepare Teachers for Dealing with Creationist Students.”

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Paper number: 11030
Evidence Based Reflection Using a Web-Based Video Analysis Tool (VAT) in Elementary Science Teacher Preparation
Principal Author: Eulsun Seung, Indiana State University, eseung@isugw.indstate.edu
Co-Authors: Soonhye Park, Uninversity of Iowa
Abstract:
This study explored preservice elementary teachers’ and their mentors’ use of evidence to reflect on teaching practice in terms of inquiry-based science teaching. Specifically, we explored what evidence preservice teachers select to reflect on their teaching practice and how their evidence selection differs from that of their mentors and science educators. The participants’ perceptions about the experience of evidence-based reflection were also analyzed. The web-based video analysis tool (VAT) system was used to support preservice teachers’ evidence based self reflection and cooperative reflection with their mentors during field experience. Data analysis showed that even though the preservice teachers had an opportunity to discuss the features of inquiry science teaching in the science methods class, not all the features were practiced in their actual teaching. The preservice teachers perceived that their classes were more inquiry-based than their mentors did. In addition, both the preservice teachers and mentors tended to interpret each feature of inquiry science teaching too broadly or to have misunderstood. This study highlights the benefits of evidence-based reflection using VAT. Evidence- based reflection provides preservice teachers a good opportunity for self reflection. By finding evidence that represent each feature of inquiry science teaching, preservice teachers can evaluate whether their lessons are inquiry-based. The evidence-based reflection using VAT also encourages mentors to provide their mentees more context-based advice and comments.
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Paper number: 10027
Incorporating Language Teaching through Science for K-2 Teachers
Principal Author: Therese B Shanahan, UC Irvine Center for Educational Partnerships, tshanaha@uci.edu
Co-Authors: Lauren M Shea, UC Irvine Center for Educational Partnerships
Abstract:
As English language learners continue to be a large percentage of urban schools, teachers need to find ways to make every content lesson a language lesson. The SMILE project’s goals were to increase content and pedagogical knowledge of science, while training teachers to promote student talk in implementation. This paper shows ways in which evaluation of those teachers occurred, the tools created to assess their understanding of language through content instruction, and the results of their learning.

While aiming to enhance, teacher subject matter and pedagogical content knowledge in science, the SMILE program layered language teaching strategies into lessons. At monthly professional development days, lead teachers modeled science lessons with explicit focus on the advantages of academic student talk. Modeled lessons contained multiple opportunities for students to produce science language and each of these was made overt by the leader at the specific time.

To determine the association between the professional development and the teachers’ practice shifts, a random selection of teachers (n=21) received classroom observations with three evaluation tools specifically created by the researchers to holistically evaluate the use of language development through science content.

In a mixed methods approach, case studies with six teachers and aggregate quantitative data from all pre and post observational scores suggest that participants feel more efficacious in their language integration in science, perceive themselves to be stronger science teachers, and tend to increase their strategies to promote student talk in their lessons when participating in more than fifty percent of the professional development. Through the lens of language learning, participant teachers began to internalize the synergy between science and language teaching.

The data, as well as the observational tools, showed to be good indicators to uncover shifts in teacher learning, perception, and practice in relation to language teaching through science.

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Paper number: 11012
Reflections of CSULB Noyce Scholars: Program impact and suggestions for improvement
Principal Author: Melissa Shilling, California State University, Long Beach, melissashilling@msn.com
Co-Authors: Laura Henriques, California State University, Long Beach
Abstract:
The creation of the Robert Noyce Scholarship Program was one of the federal government’s responses to the shortage of qualified math and science teachers. On December 19, 2002, in Public Law 107-368, the 107th Congress authorized the National Science Foundation to establish the Robert Noyce Scholarship Program (NSF, 2009). The Robert Noyce Scholarship Program was apportioned $20,000,000 in federal funds for grants to institutions of higher learning to offer scholarships or stipends to qualified science, technology, engineering, or mathematics undergraduates or professionals in order to facilitate their entry into teaching. California State University, Long Beach had Noyce Scholar funding from 2004-2009 to support 37 Scholars. This study investigated the benefits and areas for improvement of the CSULB Noyce Scholarship Program as reported by the participants. The CSULB Noyce Program offered forgivable loans of $10,000 a year to support qualified math or science teaching credential seekers. In return candidates must teach in high need schools upon completion of their credential (two years for each year of funding). Data sources for this qualitative study included analysis of program documents (scholar applications, NSF annual reports and external evaluator reports), a questionnaire, observations, and interviews. The findings indicate that financial support, the non-financial support, and the community service were important benefits. Suggestions for program improvement included improving the communication between the Noyce Program managers and the school service site, personalization of the seminars, and more explicit efforts to encourage Scholars to attend the Noyce Conferences. Peer support, faculty mentoring, faculty out-of-class contacts, and school site experience were all instrumental in preparing these math and science teachers for the high need school setting. Finding from this study have already impacted recruitment and program structure for CSULB’s Noyce II program.
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Paper number: 12011
Building a Community of Faculty for Teacher Preparation in Earth and Space Science Education
Principal Author: Stephanie S Shipp, Lunar and Planetary Institute, shipp@lpi.usra.edu
Co-Authors: Rick Pomeroy, University of California, Davis; Greg Schultz, University of California, Berkeley, Center for Science Education; Christine Shupla, Lunar and Planetary Institute; Stephanie Slater, University of Wyoming; Tim Slater, University of Wyoming
Abstract:
Surveys and focus groups suggest that science education faculty and other science faculty who help prepare future teachers can benefit from each other through professional development incorporating educationally-researched pedagogical techniques, the latest Earth and space science discoveries, materials, and new activities. A team of scientists and science educators has delivered four such 2-day faculty institutes, through our Faculty Institute for NASA Earth and Space Science Education (FINESSE), including two at ASTE conferences as pre-conference workshops.

One challenge to inquiry is the time spent obtaining true data, and yet the majority of astronomers and planetary scientists are using existing data acquired by robotic missions, telescopes, and orbiters. Faculty have developed a mechanism for working inquiry into a deeper understanding of science by using existing on-line data to develop and research Earth and space science topics, progressing from creating a valid and easily testable question, to simple data analysis, arriving at a conclusion, and finally presenting and supporting that conclusion in the classroom. This framework is the foundation of the FINESSE institutes, which also incorporate discussions on the nature of inquiry, assessment, presentations by Earth and space science researchers, and opportunities for the participants to design implementation plans of their own.

Join members of the FINESSE team to share experiences regarding the institutes. FINESSE team members will describe their findings thus far, and demonstrate some of the interactive pieces of the institute. Experiential participants will be invited to share their own experiences, research, and challenges in teacher preparation. All will be invited to attend future FINESSE institutes.
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Paper number: 10175
A Descriptive Model of Formative Assessment in Secondary Science Classrooms Using an Audience Response System
Principal Author: Melissa L Shirley, University of Louisville, melissa.shirley@louisville.edu
Co-Authors: Karen E Irving, The Ohio State University
Abstract:
Formative assessment (FA) involves the probing of students’ ideas to determine their level of understanding during the instructional sequence. Often conceptualized as a cycle, FA entails the teacher posing an instructional task to students, collecting data about student understanding, and engaging in follow-up strategies such as clarifying student understanding and adjusting instruction to meet learning needs. Despite having been shown to increase student achievement in a variety of classroom settings, FA remains a relatively weak area of teacher practice. Methods that enhance FA strategies may therefore have a positive effect on student achievement.

Audience response systems (ARS) comprise a broad category of technologies that support richer classroom interaction and have the potential to facilitate FA. Results from a large national research study (CCMS) show that students in algebra classrooms where the teacher has implemented a type of audience response system experience significantly higher achievement gains compared to a control group. This suggests a role for ARS in promoting rich formative assessment.

The importance of incorporating FA strategies into regular classroom practice is widely recognized. However, it remains challenging to identify rich formative assessment during particular class sessions. In this paper, teacher interviews and classroom observations are used to develop a fine-grained descriptive model of formative assessment in secondary science classrooms employing an ARS. This model can be used by researchers and practitioners to characterize components of FA practice in classrooms. In particular, the assessment episode is defined to characterize extended cycles of teacher-student interactions. Further, the use of the assessment episode presents a new methodology to describe the use of questioning and subsequent classroom discourse to uncover student learning. Additional components of this descriptive model of FA focus on the recognition of student learning by the teacher and the resultant changes in instructional practice to enhance student understanding.

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Paper number: 11021
Four Perspectives on Science Literacy
Principal Author: Teresa J. Shume, University of North Dakota, teresa.shume@und.edu
Abstract:
Science literacy for all has long been established as a central thrust of science education, but varying ideologies undergird an array of viewpoints about science literacy and justifications for pursuing it. In order to equip science teacher candidates to navigate these ideological terrains, science teacher educators need to continually deepen their own understanding of various orientations to science literacy, as well as corresponding ideological underpinnings. Four orientations to science literacy for all are explored.1) Western science orientations educate the general public to understand key scientific concepts and use scientific habits of mind, in short to become effective consumers of Western science. 2) For humanistic school science movements, such as STS(E) and culture studies in science education, science is not reserved as an enterprise exclusive to the specialized disciplines of modern Western science, but rather is regarded as an everyday human endeavor that fosters personal utilitarian knowledge, and animates self and cultural identities. 3) Related to but not entirely consonant with humanistic perspectives, critical science literacy empowers everyday citizens with the capacity to engage in “citizen science,” becoming activists advocating for a more socially just and environmentally sustainable society. 4) Recognizing that the current state of Earth’s ecosphere is rapidly degenerating towards an imperiled future, the fourth orientation is grounded in profound respect for nature and need for deep change; this nascent orientation draws on the emerging movements of ecojustice and ecopedagogy to seek ecological sustainability and social justice. When introducing science literacy to science teacher candidates, it is tempting to focus on the substantive characteristics of science literacy and proceed with an assumption that there is a self-evident need for science literacy in our society. This paper offers a cogent and succinct snapshot for science teacher educators seeking a glimpse into ideological foundations for various perspectives on science literacy.

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Paper number: 10183
Bridging the gap between preservice teacher education and induction: NSTA student chapters as a transitional support
Principal Author: Aaron J Sickel, University of Missouri, ajsrhc@mail.missouri.edu
Co-Authors: Deborah L Hanuscin, University of Missouri
Abstract:
The current state of science teacher education has been criticized as fractured. Science teachers often experience preservice teacher education, induction, and inservice teaching as separate and distinct phases rather than a seamless continuum of professional development. Especially critical is the movement from preservice teacher education to the first few years of teaching (induction), which requires a multitude of critical transitional supports. This study examined the ways in which a National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) student chapter provided support for preservice science teachers at a large Midwestern university. Participants included 18 active members of the student chapter. All participants completed a survey with 6 open-ended questions and 8 of those respondents participated in a semi-structured interview. Data analysis revealed that participants perceived the chapter to be a source for networking and collaboration with other science educators and also provided many opportunities to gain access to science teaching strategies and lesson materials. Additionally, members who were elementary education majors expressed more anxiety about teaching science and therefore found chapter involvement to be especially beneficial. Implications of how NSTA student chapters can complement preservice science teacher education and provide transitional support into induction are discussed.
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Paper number: 11040
Exploring a model of situated professional development: Impact on classroom practice
Principal Author: Jonathan E Singer, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, jsinger@umbc.edu
Co-Authors: Christine Lotter, University of South Carolina
Abstract:
A hallmark of current science education reform involves teaching through inquiry. Both the National Science Education Standards (NRC, 1996) and the Benchmarks for Science Literacy (AAAS, 1993) have been strong advocates of this position. However even with a decade of additional research supporting the effectiveness of these reform-based practices (Schneider, et al., 2002) their wide spread classroom use has not occurred (Songer, Lee, & Kam, 2002; Roehrig & Luft, 2004; Schneider, Krajcik, & Blumenfeld, 2005). The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a prototypical professional development program on middle school science teachers’ ability to enact pedagogical strategies that align with these science education reform efforts. Data were generated through evaluation of teacher practice using the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP) (Sawada et al., 2002) at three distinct junctures, before, during and after the professional development treatment. Findings demonstrated that RTOP total scores as well as four of the five sub-scales were statistically significant (p <.05) among the three time periods (before, during and after). Changes in RTOP scores illustrated a significant increase in the use of reform-based practices indicating that the teachers were able to successfully transfer the enactment of the reform-based practices into their classrooms.
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Paper number: 10083
Historical Narrative in a High School Biology Classroom
Principal Author: Jennifer A. R. Smith, Iowa State University, jarsmith@iastate.edu
Co-Authors: Michael P. Clough, Iowa State University; Ben C. Herman, Iowa State University
Abstract:
To overcome students’ misconceptions regarding the nature of science, it is essential that teachers utilize instructional activities that accurately and explicitly portray the nature of science within the context of the science content being taught. This study examines the impact of implementing two historical short stories in a high school biology course during units on genetics and biological evolution. The stories describe the lives and work of Mendel and Darwin and how their scientific ideas were developed. Questions embedded in the stories explicitly draw students’ attention to key nature of science concepts. Before and after implementing the stories, students’ views regarding key nature of science concepts are measured through items selected from the VOSE questionnaire. Pre and post nature of science views for the treatment group are compared to the pre and post nature of science views of a control group. In addition, students in the treatment group are surveyed regarding their opinion and attitude towards the short stories, their preference for the stories in comparison to textbook readings, and their interest in pursuing science careers. Our results indicate that students preferred reading the stories as opposed to textbook readings and that the integration of the historical short stories into classroom content units may increase students’ interest in pursuing science careers. The presentation will address the impact of utilizing the historical short stories on students’ perceptions of what science is and how science works.

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Paper number: 11044
Utilizing a Video Case-Based Professional Development Tool to Enact More Classroom Inquiry
Principal Author: Dennis W Smithenry, Elmhurst College, smithenryd@elmhurst.edu
Co-Authors: Jessica M Prouty, Leigh High School
Abstract:
According to the National Science Education Standards (NSES), teachers must design an inquiry-based science program for their students. While the NSES advocate inquiry in the classroom, few resources exist that provide concrete examples of what inquiry really looks like in practice. Without the benefit of such examples that illustrate successful inquiry teaching, science teachers often find it challenging to integrate inquiry-based lessons into their curricula. A recently published video case-based book addresses this gap by allowing the reader to visualize how one expert teacher periodically engages her students in “whole-class inquiry” (WCI) activities with the purpose of creating a classroom community of self-directed learners. The current study examined a fourth-year biology teacher’s attempt to enact the WCI model presented in the video case-based book into her yearlong traditional curricular framework. Specifically, the study explored the extent to which this teacher was successful in enacting the WCI model, the challenges experienced as she enacted the WCI model, and the manner in which she utilized the video cased-based book. The results of the study found that while this new teacher was able to effectively utilize the book to implement the WCI model with a high degree of fidelity, she enacted significantly fewer WCI activities in comparison to the expert teacher presented in the video cases. The main impediment for enacting more WCI activities arose out of the extensive amount of time and effort that the teacher had to expend when designing new curriculum. These results are important because they suggest (a) how new teachers are capable of implementing the complex WCI model, (b) how video case-based professional development books may be useful in enabling teachers to enact more classroom inquiry, and (c) how teachers need access to more pre-designed, off-the-shelf inquiry activities.
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Paper number: 10210
Professional knowledge growth for science teaching through a teacher inquiry project
Principal Author: Youngjin Song , University of Northern Colorado , youngjin.song@unco.edu
Co-Authors: J. Steve Oliver , University of Georgia
Abstract:
The study investigated the way chemistry teachers developed their professional knowledge for teaching science in line with gained understanding of students’ learning when they joined the teacher inquiry project by using Video Analysis Tool (VAT). Three chemistry teachers chose the focus of their classroom inquiry at the beginning of the study. In order to investigate their knowledge growth, a qualitative case study approach was employed. Multiple sources of data from multiple methods of data collection such as videos, classroom observations, in-depth interviews, and documents were used. Data analysis was carried out in two phases. The first phase of the data analysis involved the analysis of video data on VAT, and the second phase data analysis involved the analysis of the interview data and document data. Inductive analysis utilizing grounded theory approach and constant comparative methods was conducted in order to generate themes. The findings suggest that through the teacher inquiry project chemistry teachers (1) expanded teaching repertories for a given concept, (2) created new ways of implementing the lessons, (3) revisited, broadened, and deepened their science content knowledge, and (4) camp with modification of teaching practice. The study suggests considering “the epistemology of practitioner research” ((Zeichner & Noffke, 2001, p. 304).
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Paper number: 10196
A Community Engagement Model for Course and Program Development in Science Education
Principal Author: Barbara S. Spector, University of South Florida, spector@coedu.usf.edu
Co-Authors: Cyndy S Leard, Future Vision Media
Abstract:
We present a participatory model for course and program development in science education that increases enrollment in colleges of education, promotes university community engagement, and supports science education systemic reform. In this model’s unique approach, community members are equal and active partners in all phases from initiating the idea, to needs assessment, conceptualization, development, pilot test, and refinement. The model evolved through iterations developing many different courses for science teacher education over twenty years. Each iteration modified the nature and amount of community participation increasing and diversifying aspects to which the community had input. Today’s illustration includes community input to decision making from idea conception to research on the product (four courses in a graduate certificate program) including, but not limited to, intended learning outcomes, structure, and content. This program’s audience includes formal K-12 science teachers/supervisors, research scientists, and informal science education providers in the community. This development of formal university courses and a program as a vehicle to solve a problem identified by a segment of the community is a unique approach to fulfilling the university’s mission of community engagement and engaged scholarship, a part of the designation as an AAU institution. Educating a variety of community stakeholders in science education supports systemic reform.

The key features of the emergent model are consistent with NSES and supported by current research about inquiry learning in science education (including project and problem based learning), as well as social science research on communities of practice.

Three B’s: Building, Benefits, and Barriers will be shared. Building includes an overview of the model development process. Benefits include rewards perceived by individual collaborators, stakeholder organizations, the community at large, and the university. Barriers include a discussion of stumbling blocks to successful implementation of the model. Adaptation of grant funding will also be noted.

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Paper number: 11039
Changes in High School Chemistry Teacher Beliefs and Practice after a Professional Development Program
Principal Author: Rafe Spraker, South University, rafespraker@gmail.com
Co-Authors: Christine R Lotter, University of South Carolina; Greg Rushton, Kennesaw State University
Abstract:
The National Science Education Standards describe inquiry teaching as engaging learners through scientifically oriented questions by giving priority to evidence so that they may develop, evaluate, communicate, and justify their own explanations (National Research Council (NRC, 1996). Science education literature also promotes teacher instruction using student-directed inquiry into scientific phenomena while allowing time for personal growth in thinking with peers in science investigations (Luft, 2001).

Our study found that professional development and reflection changed six of our nine in-service chemistry teachers’ beliefs and practice in their classroom. In designing our study, our proposition was that a professional development that modeled inquiry, allowed for reflection, and had enactment built-in would produce change in participant’s beliefs and practice. Using multiple case study methodology, we collected in-depth data on participants’ beliefs and practice including participant-observation in their classrooms (Creswell & Miller, 2000). Specifically, we answered the following questions:

1. How does the use of an inquiry approach with in-service chemistry teachers in a professional development result in their re-examining their pedagogical theories?

2. How do the changes in these teachers’ pedagogical theories translate into their classroom practice?

Luft and Roehrig (2007) describe change in beliefs as movement of at least 3 categories from pre to post-interview on the Teacher Belief Instrument. Six of our teacher’s TBI scores showed change in beliefs over the study. They described changing their instructional practice was due to their professional development experience.

The Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP) provided a criterion-referenced instrument to observe change in practice in pre-institute, institute, and post-institute videotapes. Six teachers’ higher scores reflected a greater degree of reform and evidence for translating pedagogical theory into practice. They reported that having an opportunity to practice, enact, and reflect on inquiry during professional development resulted in changing their pedagogical theories and practice.

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Paper number: 10004
Universal Design for Learning Applied to Students with Disabilities
Principal Author: Greg P Stefanich, University of Northern Iowa, stefanich@uni.edu
Abstract:
An approach being advanced in educational circles is the concept of Universal Design for Learning as an instructional design methodology being applied in educational circles. The concept has evolved from Universal Design in architecture, an application to improve access for persons with physical and sensory impairments to allow them independent access to buildings, workplaces, traffic ways and recreation areas. Universal Design has gained general acceptance in the United States with many initiatives rooted in legislation contained in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1989. Universal Design has improved access and opportunity for almost everyone in certain circumstances, from curb cuts for persons pushing baby strollers, to levered door handles that might make a big difference after an accident or injury.

In recent years the concept is being employed in the context of education under the umbrella term of Universal Design in Learning. The fundamental concept is to present instruction in a manner that allows all learners, regardless of disability or sensory impairment, to gain immediate access to the concepts and generalizations shared by the instructor. Furthermore, with multiple formats of delivery each learner can elect to access a delivery system(s) that works best for his/her learning needs. Advances in technology have opened up possibilities that have heretofore never existed. Each advance makes a contribution to improved access, but present risks to students who are outside of the mainstream in cases when the educator is keyed on instruction while ignoring the learning processing taking place within the learner.

Teachers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines, who focus on strategies at the expense of attention to the learner, can present a debilitating experience for students with disabilities. The paper will address principles of Universal Design for Learning and note limitations when applied only in the context of instructional design.

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Paper number: 10018
Support Programs for New Science Teachers Can Increase Student Achievement
Principal Author: Donna R Sterling, George Mason University, dsterlin@gmu.edu
Co-Authors: Wendy M Frazier, George Mason University
Abstract:
Nationally, there is a growing shortage of science teachers (NCMSTTC, 2000; National Research Council, 2007). As a result, many school districts are forced to hire teachers with science degrees but little or no training in education. These ill-prepared, new science teachers face the extra challenge of discovering how to teach on their own. Goals of the New Science Teachers’ Support Network (NSTSN) are to help uncertified science teachers succeed at teaching and to remain in the profession. NSTSN provides an integrated support system for first and second year science teachers in secondary schools and conducts research to determine what makes the most significant difference in teaching. Working with middle and high school science teachers in this six-year study, NSTSN chronicled the experiences of 59 uncertified teachers in 35 schools in three large, urban-suburban school districts and the people supporting them to determine how new teachers’ needs were addressed and consequences of those actions.

Research findings from NSTSN reveal that students enrolled in classes of teachers who received support performed significantly better on Virginia Science Standards of Learning tests than students enrolled in classes of a comparable set of new science teachers who did not receive support (MT = 37.50, SDT = 8.26, MC = 35.80, SDC = 8.53, t(5837) = 7.61, p = .000). Additional data indicate that teachers receiving supports of NSTSN experience significant growth in their instructional skills. Findings from NSTSN also identify a series of challenges teachers face when new to teaching and how to mitigate them. Research identifies the most vital forms of support for new science teachers as supportive working conditions, supportive school culture, in-classroom support, and quality courses in how to teach science. These findings led to a series of policy recommendations for school leaders.

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Paper number: 10058
Research Supporting Assignments That Require Collaboration Among Science Credential Candidates
Principal Author: David R Stronck, California State University, East Bay, david.stronck@csueastbay.edu
Abstract:
The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) explained that countries with higher achievements than those in the United States have more schools where the teachers practice collaboration and cooperation (Martin et al., 1999). American courses in the methods of teaching science can implement some of the findings of the TIMSS by requiring the credential candidates to cooperate in pairs or small groups to complete many of their assignments, e.g., writing lesson plans, power-point presentations, unit plans, tests, etc. The groups should consist of credential candidates who are teaching the same course, e.g., introductory biology, or introductory chemistry, etc.

Japanese teachers cooperate to understand better their students’ thinking in order to provide lessons that better meet their students’ needs and interests. Ideally the credential candidates in each group will be located at the same or similar schools where the students display similar misconceptions, linguistic or mathematical difficulties, etc. The teachers can then reflect together on changing their practices to improve learning in their classrooms. Among the needed reflections is to analyze American curriculum and standards that have been characterized by TIMSS researchers as “a mile wide and an inch deep” (Schmidt, n. d.; Valverde et al., 2002).

Japanese teachers teach “research lessons” that are observed by other teachers. Within methods courses, the credential candidates may demonstrate their lessons. An assignment may be to provide an demonstration using real objects and inquiry questions. Each teacher candidate shows an interesting reaction or physical relationship, and invites others in the class to describe what they observed, to predict what may happen, and to interpret their observations and/or data. Groups of candidates may collaborate in providing longer lessons that include pre-lab, lab, and post-lab discussions. Another assignment is for groups to present information through their use of media, e.g., power-point.

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Paper number: 11006
Investigating Science Learning Within An Alternative Pathway To Secondary Teacher Education
Principal Author: Gomez-Zwiep M Susan, CSU Long Beach, sgomezwp@csulb.edu
Co-Authors: Benken M Babette, CSU Long Beach
Abstract:
The need for high-quality teachers, particularly in high-demand areas as science, has been a major impetus for the emergence and growth of alternative routes to certification. The U.S. Department of Education (2002, 2004) has repeatedly claimed that alternative route programs, as opposed to the traditional routes offered by colleges of education, are an effective means of streamlining the process of certification to move teachers quickly into the classroom.

In California, one certification option at the secondary level (CSET exam) allows individuals to satisfy the subject matter competency portion of their credential preparation via a set of exams, rather than completing a formal science major. Currently, our university and a local county office of education are engaged in a grant-supported program that supports teachers working at non-traditional county sites (e.g., continuation schools and juvenile hall facilities) in garnering the subject matter and teaching knowledge needed to pass these science examinations. Although teachers in this program hold elementary credentials, all are interested in expanding to a secondary credential, as many are teaching classes beyond their expertise. The goal of this program was to provide teachers with an expedited pathway to gain additional certification through a series of four courses (3 content and 1 methods) over a two-year period.

This paper examines the effectiveness of this alternative route to certification through an interpretive case study that includes both qualitative and quantitative methodology. Analysis was two-tiered: individual case studies, and an over-arching study of the entire cohort. The results suggests that the program was successful at improving both teachers’ content knowledge and attitudes about science, as measured by content exams and interviews. However, results also suggest that the program structure had an unanticipated impact on participants’ beliefs, creating inaccurate beliefs about the nature of science.

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Paper number: 10030
What about those left behind?

A template for developing quality science lessons for English language learners

Principal Author: Gomez-Zwiep M Susan, California State University Long Beach, sgomezwp@csulb.edu
Co-Authors: William J Straits, California State University Long Beach
Abstract:
Many schools across the country have chosen to devote increased instructional time to Reading in order to improve student scores on mandated assessments, often at the expense of science instruction. This results in an inequitable situation: those meeting the performance goals have access to science and those testing below this goal receive little to no science, many of whom are English Language Learners. This paper describes one district’s ongoing attempts to fuse English as a Second Language (ESL) and science instruction in an effort to provide science for all. Research has shown that the combination can lead to increased student performance in writing, reading, and science (Lee et al., 2008). Research also suggests that the needs of English Language Learners are better met when English language and content areas are addressed simultaneously (Lee & Luykx, 2005).

While many projects have attempted to make science accessible to English language learners, the project discussed in this paper is unique in the fact that it focuses on the blend of both science and ESL. In other words, helping students better their skills in English with science as the context for that learning. This endeavor holds science equal with ESL. Thus, although one of the goals is improved English skills, the work also focuses on providing inquiry-based science that offers complex content and demands high-level thinking. Through this work, we have developed a modified version of Bybee’s (1997) 5E lesson design that blends elements of both scientific inquiry and ESL into one document that scaffolds language development within a science lesson. In addition to the details of this blended lesson design, we will also discuss the lessons learned during the initial implementation of this work and the subsequent revisions and modifications made to the lesson design as a result of early field-testing.

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Paper number: 11025
Understanding Collaboration: Interactions between Science and Special Education Teachers within the Context of a Professional Development Project
Principal Author: Lauren H Swanson, University of California, Santa Barbara, lhoneycutt@education.ucsb.edu
Co-Authors: Julie A Bianchini, University of California, Santa Barbara
Abstract:
Currently, there is a need to improve how secondary science teachers view and implement curriculum and instruction for students with disabilities. As more students with disabilities are mainstreamed into science classrooms, science teachers need assistance learning to meet the needs of diverse groups of students while ensuring all students develop a deep understanding of science content and processes. One approach is to encourage deeper and stronger collaborations between science teachers and special education teachers. In this study, we examined one two-week summer institute designed to assist high school science and special education teachers in collaborating on science curriculum and instruction. Science and special education teachers came as teams from particular schools within one district; their purpose during the professional development institute was to co-plan inquiry-based science units and lessons for them to implement the following academic year. We focused on two school teams’ – a total of five participating teachers’ – initial ideas about collaboration and how these ideas were made visible during co-planning sessions. We asked: What were teachers’ views on collaboration? How were teachers’ personal views on collaboration made visible during the co-planning process? What were the products of the co-planning sessions and how did these products reflect the strengths and limitations of the collaborative process? Data collection included individual interviews with these five participants as well as filming co-planning sessions. Data analysis was qualitative; we employed discourse analysis to understand teachers’ views and experiences regarding collaboration. Participating teachers were found to hold diverse views regarding collaboration and co-teaching based on prior teaching experiences. These views influenced how the participating teachers positioned themselves with respect to one another during the co-planning sessions and ultimately, the types of science units and lessons generated.
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Paper number: 10103
Toward an Inclusive Urban Science Pedagogy: Considering the African-Immigrant Students’ Experiences in Urban Science Education
Principal Author: Tanzina Taher, Teachers College, Columbia University, tt2137@columbia.edu
Co-Authors: Christopher Emdin, Teachers College, Columbia University
Abstract:
This paper is rooted in a year-long study of an urban science classroom and urban student focused science research group facilitated through the Urban Science Education Center at Teachers College, Columbia University. The study involved the teacher and researchers efforts to consider the diverse backgrounds of urban youth through in-depth dialogues with students about their science experiences in their classrooms. The study focused specifically on one teacher and student and interrogated the nature of their teacher-student relationship. This study revealed that while the teacher expanded his ways of teaching urban youth by engaging in dialogues with his students, he did so without making allowances for the ways of knowing of an African immigrant student who had considerable forms of social capital that varied from that of his peers. Using Reality Pedagogy, our study focused on the science classroom, the teacher’s relationship with the student, and the student’s relationship to science and his peers. This paper provides insight into what the non-traditional urban student brings to the classroom, and what this student requires in order to be taught science effectively.
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Paper number: 11035
A Response to Reform: Teacher Attitudes and Practice of Inquiry-oriented Instruction
Principal Author: Jeffrey D Thomas, Central Connecticut State University, thomasjed@ccsu.edu
Abstract:
A goal in education has been to improve scientific literacy. To meet this challenge, the Connecticut State Department of Education created inquiry-oriented labs for teachers to implement in their classroom. The intent was to influence the way science is taught to improve student achievement. Yet, the lack of widespread and sustainable implementation of reforms, such as implementing inquiry-oriented instruction, is an issue that has evolved out of policy changes similar to the one in Connecticut. A possible explanation for this problem might be traced back to teacher attitudes toward reform. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the attitudes of six high school earth science teachers toward reform in one suburban school district and the impact these attitudes may have had on the implementation of inquiry-oriented instruction. Initially, semi-structured interviews were conducted to assess teacher attitudes toward inquiry-oriented instruction and the way teachers expected they would enact the inquiry-oriented labs with their students. This was followed by classroom observations of each teacher’s implementation of one of the inquiry-oriented labs as to determine whether the labs were carried out as the teachers had intended and as was expected by the State. Finally, semi-structured interviews were conducted to verify whether their attitudes changed over the course of the year. Originally, it was thought that teacher attitudes would impact the way they would carry out the State labs. However, teacher attitudes were only one predictor of the way the inquiry-oriented labs were implemented. Teacher experience and knowledge of inquiry-based pedagogy also were found to be possible influences on how they implemented inquiry-oriented instruction. The results highlight the need for large-scale reforms to consider the multiple factors that influence teachers’ understanding and implementation in order for such reform to be successful.
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Paper number: 12015
“They told me there are no transitional fossils, but look at all of them - the evidence is here …!”
Principal Author: Norman Thomson, University of Georgia, nthomson@uga.edu
Co-Authors: Seri Chapman Beall, University of Georgia; Lara Pacifici, University of Georgia
Abstract:
Over the past five years we have been developing, implementing, evaluating, and revising topic-oriented teaching-learning experiences in a hands-on inquiry-based curriculum unit focused on specifically teaching hominin evolution using life-size replica skulls. Our approach uses content-oriented theory design research in which depth, rather than breadth is emphasized in helping students construct an understanding for the evidence, hypotheses, inferences, and arguments utilized in contemporary paleoanthropology discourse. Utilizing a collection of skulls demonstrating our evolution over the past 6-7 million years, students are able to compare and contrast craniodental characters; both shared and derived, to generate possible hominin phylogenies and compare theirs with current models. Some hominin species occurred within close proximity to one another in the same time period so these skulls can also be examined to interpret selection for localized specific adaptations. For example, the relationship of tooth wear and diet may be used to infer possible habitats or environments for a species. Given that many of the fossil skulls are from Kenya’s Lake Turkana region one may also infer episodes of climate change during the past three million years resulting in extinctions. During the unit it has not been uncommon to hear student statements such as, “they told me there are no transitional fossils, but look at all of them -the evidence is here. Every one of them is a transition!” But what evidence is most useful and how do we determine what models of hominin evolution are reasonable and plausible, and which ones are worthy of serious scientific study? We will share with colleagues a curriculum unit focused on teaching hominin evolution using replica skulls and explain “what has worked, what has not, and address the issue of why?” from both teacher and student perspectives as our colleagues perform some of the same learning experiences.
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Paper number: 10019
Pre-Service Teachers’ Images of Scientists: Do Prior Science Experiences Make a Difference?
Principal Author: Christine D Tippett, University of Victoria, ctippett@uvic.ca
Co-Authors: Todd Milford, University of Victoria
Abstract:
This project examines the relationship between pre-service teachers’ prior science experiences (including high school, university, and informal science experiences) and the images that they generate using the Draw-A-Scientist Test (DAST). As university instructors in science methods, we are interested in how our pre-service students perceive the nature of science and what perceptions of science they might present to their own students. Learning and teaching science has experienced a shift in focus from facts and skills towards how we came to know and develop scientific knowledge and why we believe what we know (Duschl, Shouse & Schweinger, 2007). This idea of how we come to our personal beliefs in scientific knowledge is a focus within our study. The results from the DAST can provide insights into pre-service teachers’ views of scientists; views which are likely to be linked to their views of the nature of science.

Previous research indicates that children’s perceptions of scientists can be altered by interventions such as having female scientists as classroom visitors, using gender-balanced materials, and incorporating hands-on inquiry activities (Finson, 2002). In addition, pre-service teachers’ images of scientists and attitudes toward science can be affected by the way science is taught in their teacher education programs (Finson, 2002). What seems to be missing is an understanding of whether these interventions have any lasting effect and which interventions are the most powerful. Knowing which prior science experiences significantly influence our pre-service teachers’ views of scientists could lead to changes in prerequisites for the education program (i.e., in recommended courses and experiences), as well as to changes in the Kindergarten to Grade 12 science curriculum. In addition, increased understanding of our students’ views of scientists will enable us to more effectively address stereotypical conceptions that might otherwise be carried by our students into their own classrooms.

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Paper number: 10211
Collaborating with others: Structures that afford success in urban science education.
Principal Author: Kenneth G Tobin, The Graduate Center of The City University of New York, ktobin@gc.cuny.edu
Co-Authors: Reynaldo Llena, The Graduate Center of The City University of New York
Abstract:
A four year longitudinal study explores the uses of cogenerative dialogues in producing and sustaining collaborative learning environments that substantially expand the potential to learn science through agency and passivity. Teachers and students collaborated to produce changes in identity and achievment that transcended years of schooling and extended beyond school. The research is a multi-level study that employes ethnography, autobiography, teachers and students as researchers, conversation analysis, and microanalysis of digital video. We also examine the participation and achievement of students in high stakes state level tests of science achievement.

The outcomes of the study have implications for professional development, teacher education and policy. The strong focus on subject matter knowledge is clearly necessary but not sufficient in educating teachers for careers in urban schools. It is imperative that all urban teachers learn about the sociocultural underpinnings to teaching, learning and sustining civil schools in which social justice is a priority.

This research synthesizes a six year study of practitioner oriented research in urban schools in New York City and contains ongoing analyses of roles of teachers and students and those aspects of teaching and learning that define learning environments. These include studying essential alignments in teaching and learning practices, verbal interactions, and aspects of talk that include prosody. The centrality of emotions and emotional valence is emphasized and practical suggestions are offered for science teacher educators so that teachers, students, school leaders and parents can be educated in regards to producing collaborative learning environments that will support science education for the century ahead.
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Paper number: 11041
Teaming and Colloborating within the Vermont Secondary Science Partnership
Principal Author: Regina E. Toolin, University of Vermont, Retoolin@aol.com
Abstract:
The long-term goal of the Vermont Secondary Science Partnership is to create, implement and evaluate a professional development program that addresses the issues of poor science performance by broadening the participation and knowledge of secondary science teachers in STEM education, specifically in chemistry, atmospheric, geospatial, physical, and Earth sciences. The Vermont Secondary Science Partnerhip is designed to invite teachers into the professional development design process and seek their input into program goals and objectives. This interactive poster presentation will highlight the partnerships that exist with two partner school districts involved in the project and describe some of the ways that administrators and teachers were instrumental in the professional development program design.
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Paper number: 11048
GUIDING COLLABORATIVE INQUIRY WITH EXTERNAL REPRESENTATIONS: AN EXAMPLE FROM THE DOMAIN OF BIOTECHNOLOGY.
Principal Author: Eva E. Toth, West Virginia University, etoth6117@gmail.com
Co-Authors: Dana Keener, Duquesne University
Abstract:
Inquiry- learning is very challenging for teachers and it presents a variety of error sources for students. However, teachers can support inquiry by pre-determining the research question, the methods of investigation and data analysis. They can also reduce the cognitive complexity [10, 11] of inquiry by using external representations or by employing collaborative learning groups [2, 25, 13]. The purpose of this presentation is to examine the role of external representations to guide students’ collaborative inquiry. The study employed a 2 (time) x 2 (treatment condition) design in a quasi experimental setting. The treatment took the form of an experimental design table that made the key variables of experimental design during DNA isolation salient and constrained users’ design activities to answer the research questions from tests employing only these variables. The first study illustrated that students who start with a considerable disadvantage in experimental design knowledge can successfully “catch up” with their more knowledgeable peers assisted by a simple representational tool, a design matrix. The second study extended this effort to support students’ data evaluation and reasoning in addition to supporting design activities. The second study also took advantage of collaborative learning and peer-review of experimental designs. While the second study did not indicate any significant difference in students experimental design knowledge, it illustrated considerable differences in students’ data evaluation patterns. These results drew attention to the need to examine the factors of instructional methodology (in this case representational supports and collaborative learning) when determining the characteristics of effective guidance for students’ inquiry learning. ASTE members will benefit by examining these characteristics of inquiry learning for both their future research as well as teaching efforts.
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Paper number: 10089
Developing a hybrid online/on site community of practice to support K-8 teachers’ improvement in inquiry and nature of science conceptions
Principal Author: Jeffery S Townsend, Eastern Kentucky University, scott.townsend@eku.edu
Co-Authors: Valarie L Akerson, Indiana University; Ingrid S Weiland, Indiana University
Abstract:
Despite recommendations to teach nature of science (NOS) and inquiry in grades K-12 (NSTA, 2000), most classrooms emphasize traditional teacher led instruction. Professional development programs that use a community of practice strategy have been found to improve teachers’ views of NOS and inquiry as well as their teaching practice (Akerson, Cullen, & Hanson, in press). However, these communities can be hard to develop for many reasons including time constraints, schedules, work/family commitments, and distances teachers must travel to universities. Developing an online community could help resolve these issues, however, it can be difficult to emphasize important aspects of science education such as NOS or inquiry by online courses because participants cannot physically participate in lessons and interactions.

We created a hybrid onsite/online MA-level course in which we developed a community of learners with K-8 teachers emphasizing the reciprocity of NOS and inquiry. The summer course met for five weeks with a four-hour meeting each Friday. As a result, participants, some from 1-2 hours away, only had to drive to campus five times. The course was supplemented with online professional development (PD) videos, reflection questions, readings, and discussion board prompts.

The purpose of this study was to investigate results of the hybrid course on K-8 teachers’ understanding of NOS and inquiry. We tracked teachers’ NOS and inquiry conceptions using the VNOS-B and the VOSI-E instruments and interviews of all participants, pre and post-instruction. Other data included teacher reflections/responses from professional development videos, discussion board postings, and onsite interactions, among others.

We found teachers not only improved understanding of inquiry, but also improved their understanding of NOS—a topic most participants had never been exposed to before this class. In addition to greater understanding, researchers found the hybrid course model was popular with participants. Presenters will share both course design and research results.

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Paper number: 10090
Using Particle Modeling to Enhance Elementary and Middle Level Teachers’ Understanding of Chemistry and Physical Science Concepts
Principal Author: Jeffery S Townsend, Eastern Kentucky University, scott.townsend@eku.edu
Co-Authors: Austin M Hitt, Coastal Carolina University
Abstract:
This research presentation focuses on the impact of a particle-modeling chemistry course on elementary and middle level teachers’ understanding of chemistry and physical science concepts. The central theme of the course is teaching and learning chemistry concepts by applying the three levels of scientific understanding: macroscopic, modeling, and symbolic. It was implemented and demonstrated by having the teachers observe the target phenomena, create models in order to visualize and explain target phenomena, and finally the teachers apply the scientific symbols, terms, and formulas in to discuss the target phenomena. The efficacy of the course was determined by using a pre and post administration of the Matter Concept Inventory (MCI) and by analyzing the teachers’ journal entries and responses on other class assignments. Rasch analysis of the MCI post-test scores reveals that the teachers improved on several particle-type items. The greatest improvement was noted on items probing the concepts of evaporation, dissolving/concentration, air as matter, density, conservation of matter, and general systems of particle models. The teachers’ improved understanding of these concepts was supported by data collected from teacher-generated particle models, online discussion postings, and journal entries. Differential Item Functioning showed statistically significant improvements in the teachers’ understanding of several items on the Matter Concept Inventory. These results indicate that particle modeling can improve elementary and middle level teachers’ conceptual understanding of chemistry and physical science concepts. As a result, the teachers are more likely to use particle models to help their students understand chemistry and physical science concepts concerning the particulate nature of matter.

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Paper number: 10230
Assessing and Deepening Teachers’ Physics Content and Teaching Knowledge
Principal Author: Tom Tretter, University of Louisville, tom.tretter@louisville.edu
Abstract:
Science teachers’ content knowledge is an important influence on student learning, and many efforts working with teachers typically include enhancement of teacher content knowledge as one critical outcome goal. This paper summarized the structural characteristics built into a widely-used measure of teacher science knowledge (Diagnostic Teacher Assessments in Mathematics and Science - DTAMS) and reported on its efficacy in measuring the content knowledge impact of a semester-long course. The assessment design included subscales across both a breadth and depth dimension, and the subscale-level reporting of results demonstrated their usefulness for a finer grained analysis of impact in addition to overall score. The paper has two foci: one focusing on the profile of scores available from the DTAMS assessment due to the nature of the assessment development process, and the other focusing on how this structure enhanced interpretability of course impact for a sample of 43 teachers. The goal of the focus on the DTAMS score profiles available was to provide insight into the underlying rationale and emphases of these assessments so that those who wish to use these assessments of teacher content knowledge would more easily be able to evaluate the alignment of their activities with the design of the assessments. Results from a pretest and posttest administration of this measure to a sample of 43 teachers show that the course goals of deepening foundational content knowledge was successfully met with a large effect size of partial eta-squared = .627. Results also show that the secondary goal of strengthening physics teaching knowledge was also successfully met with an even larger effect size of partial eta-squared = .814. The subscore analysis, including effect sizes, permitted an analysis that provided evidence beyond whether the course had an impact on teacher knowledge, but also on what aspects of knowledge.
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Paper number: 12006
The NSTA Learning Center – Online Content Building Resources for Teachers of Science
Principal Author: Deborah L Tucker, Science Education Consultant, DeborahLT@aol.com
Abstract:
NSTA’s Learning Center (http://learningcenter.nsta.org) provides teachers with thousands of standards-aligned, content-building learning resources (e.g., SciPacks, Science Objects, SciGuides) and tools available 24/7. Teachers are able to personalize their portfolio, build their own library of resources and lesson plans, share it with colleagues and use it for years to come. Accountability tools assist instructors and project directors to track teacher progress.

SciPacks (on-demand science content instructional modules) are structured in the 5E learning sequence and enhance content learning. SciPacks each address a specific science content area and are composed of web-delivered interactive instructional sub-components called Science Objects. These Science Objects include content in the form of simulations, video, animations, hands-on activities, practice with immediate feedback, and embedded questions. SciGuides consist of approximately 100 web-accessible resources which link to lesson plans, vignettes, samples of student work, and MP3files demonstrating how the URLs can be used in the classroom.

The tools available in the Learning Center for teachers include the PD Planning guide, a portfolio builder, and a library to store their resources including e-book chapters, NSTA journal articles, samples of student work, and archived web seminars.

Accountability tools are available for the instructor or project director. These allow the instructor to track teachers’ progress on various SciPacks, view what kinds of resources are being put in the libraries, and access the number of teachers completing the SciPacks.

This session introduces participants to the various teacher resources and tools, as well as to the accountability/management tools for pre-service educators and project directors, found in the NSTA Learning Center.

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Paper number: 12029
Hands-on Performance Assessment for K-12 Students: The Impetus for Inquiry in our Classrooms
Principal Author: Deborah Tucker, Science Education Consultant, DeborahLT@aol.com
Co-Authors: Grant M Gardner, Assessment Services, Inc.
Abstract:
The impetus for inquiry in our classrooms is hands-on performance assessment. “If the inquiry activities and investigations [in classrooms] are simply interludes between memorizing material from the text and other sources, the motivation to acquire inquiry-based abilities will be limited” (Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards, 150). Do beginning teachers use hands-on assessment tasks to measure inquiry abilities? Are teacher education programs advocating the use of these tasks? Are students encouraged to demonstrate all they know through the current use of conventional assessments? This session explores the use of hands-on performance tasks as assessment tools and enhances the expertise of the beginning teacher educators.

The National Science Education Standards (NSES) speak to teaching and assessing inquiry and provide a rationale for using hands-on performance assessment. NSES Teaching Standard A states, “Teachers of science plan an inquiry-based science program for their students. In doing this, teachers … select teaching and assessment strategies that support the development of student understanding and nurture a community of science learners.” NSES Teaching Standard C states, “Teachers of science engage in ongoing assessment of their teaching and of student learning. In doing this, teachers …. use multiple methods and systematically gather data about student understanding and ability.” Hands-on performance tasks are used as pre-/post-tests, as curriculum embedded investigations, and as part of statewide science assessment programs.

This session addresses several NSES and ASTE standards that support effective inquiry instruction and assessment in classrooms. Hands-on performance tasks can be used in pre-service courses to assist beginning teachers to assess inquiry in their classrooms. This session provides examples and information meant to expand the expertise of beginning teacher educators.

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Paper number: 13010
Using practitioner inquiry to engage pre- and inservice teachers with what it means to design culturally responsive school science experiences for youth
Principal Author: Carrie T Tzou, University of Washington Bothell, tzouct@u.washington.edu
Co-Authors: Leah A Bricker, Loyola University Chicago; Philip Bell, University of Washington; Elizabeth A Davis (Discussant) , University of Michigan
Abstract:
New teachers working in under-resourced urban schools, where opportunity gaps are greatest, face some of the most pressing challenges in learning to teach science. New teachers are disproportionately likely to teach low-income and minority students (Clotfelter et al., 2005). Additionally, there is a 30% turnover rate of teachers each year in schools, but that rate is significantly higher in the “hard to staff” urban schools, where new teachers often leave to pursue more desirable positions in suburban schools (AERA, 2005).

What makes learning to teach challenging in these settings is the disparity between the increasingly White, monocultural, and monolingual teaching force and the multicultural and multilingual backgrounds of youth in public schools (NCES, 2004; Zeichner, 2003). Teachers need to learn how to cross this cultural gap (Ladson Billings, 1999), but often they do not have access to resources and support to help them do so. Teacher candidates often hold a deficit view of urban youth, attributing “failures to learn” to the students or their families rather than to inequities in schooling (McIntyre, 1997). New teachers typically do not see the cultural backgrounds of learners as being relevant to the teaching of science subject matter (Vora, 2007).

In this themed paper set, we explore our efforts to engage pre- and inservice teachers with the philosophies, tools, and practices associated with culturally responsive science teaching. We use the concept of inquiry to bridge the culturally responsive teaching literature (e.g., Gay, 2000; Ladson-Billings, 1995) with literature in science education arguing that school science should be, in part, about guiding student participation in the employment of authentic scientific practices (cf. Duschl, et al, 2007; Michaels, et al, 2008). We ask the question: what tools, pedagogical strategies, and types of collaboration can facilitate preservice and in-service teachers engagement in culturally relevant science teaching?

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Paper number: 12014
Looking at Data in Contexts That Integrate Science and Literacy Learning

Principal Author: Emily H van Zee, Oregon State University, vanzeee@science.oregonstate.edu
Co-Authors: Michele Crowl, Oregon State University; Adam Devitt, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR; Claire Bove, Mills College, Oakland, CA; Shelley Grant, Bancroft Middle School, San Leandro, CA; Elsie Ovrahim, ASA Academy and Community Science Center, Oakland,; Aija Simmons, New Highland Academy, Oakland, CA
Abstract:
This experiential session will address two issues: a) the need for individuals new to educational research to have experiences in which various kinds of data are examined and discussed, particularly for individuals who are new to undertaking research on their own teaching practices and students’ learning and b) the need for our professional community to recognize and act on the importance of integrating science and literacy learning in our courses. The purpose is to provide opportunities for participants to look at data collected by teachers and teacher educators, to discuss why and how these data were collected to inform a question the facilitator had generated, and to consider how these data might be interpreted. The small group facilitators will briefly describe their studies and then share examples of their data for participants to look at and discuss. Four of the seven facilitators participate in a collaborative teacher researcher group that meets regularly at a local college to share their inquiries with one another. Three of the seven facilitators are co-teaching a physics course for prospective elementary and middle school teachers in which modeling the integration of science and literacy learning is an explicit goal. All of the studies involve some aspect of such integration. The studies include Articulating Science Learning through Writers’ Workshop in a 4th Grade Classroom (Fourth Grade Teacher), Drama and Storytelling: Essential Elements of an Afr-centric Pedagogy for Increasing Student Engagement in Science (Seventh Grade Science Teacher), Listening to Students Learning Science (Eighth Grade Science Teacher), Fostering Teacher Scholars in Their Writing about Science Learning (College Facilitator), Teaching Reading Strategies in a Physics Course for Prospective Teachers (Graduate Assistant) ,Writing about Teaching Friends and Family in a Physics Course for Prospective Teachers (Graduate Assistant), Fostering Literacy Learning in a Physics Course for Prospective Teachers (University Faculty Member).
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Paper number: 11062
High School Chemistry students’ scientific epistemologies and perceptions of laboratory inquiry
Principal Author: Elaosi Vhurumuku, University of the Witwatersrand, elaosi.vhurumuku@wits.ac.za
Abstract:
This quantitative study investigated the relationship between High School Chemistry students’ (n =72) scientific epistemologies and their perceptions of the practice of inquiry in Chemistry laboratory work. The participants were seventy two Advanced level (A-level) Chemistry students sampled from twelve schools in three of Zimbabwe’s nine administrative provinces. Students’ scientific epistemologies were elicited through a 31-item Likert-type instrument called Students’ Scientific Epistemologies Questionnaire (SSEQ). Their perceptions of the practice of inquiry were elicited through a 25-item Likert-type questionnaire called Students’ Perceptions of the Nature of Laboratory Inquiry (SPNOLI). Seventy-two percent of the sampled students were found to habour fairly naive beliefs about the nature of science and scientific inquiry. Twenty-eight percent of the sampled students were found to be fairly sophisticated in their beliefs about the nature of scientific knowledge and scientific inquiry. As a group the sampled students were found to perceive the level of inquiry in their A-level Chemistry laboratory work to be low. The twelve schools were reasonably homogeneous with respect to both students’ scientific epistemologies and perceptions of the nature of inquiry. Both students’ scientific epistemologies and their perceptions of the practice of inquiry were found not to be related to gender. A correlational analysis revealed a very weak relationship between students’ scientific epistemologies and perceptions of the nature of inquiry. Implications for both the theory and practice of Chemistry education are raised.
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Paper number: 10046
"An Analysis of Science Instruction in the Fifth Grade Classroom: Investigating Activity-Based Instruction with Student-Generated Discussion"
Principal Author: Dr. Julie E Vowell, University of Houston, julievowell@sbcglobal.net
Abstract:
The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to determine the extent to which debriefing impacted cognitive understanding among students in the fifth-grade science classroom. This study involved two intact, equivalent fifth-grade science classrooms (N = 39) in a one month study of rocks and minerals.

The researcher selected a pretest-posttest control-group design. The pretest assessed the students’ prior knowledge while the posttest measured understanding. A similar posttest was administered two weeks later for retention. A t-test for independent samples examined differences on the pretest between the two groups. Likewise, a t-test compared the mean scores on the first posttest (achievement). A separate t-test was performed on the second posttest (retention) and was followed by a Pearson Product Moment Correlation.

Classroom observations and a teacher interview added depth to the study. Flanders’ Categories for Interaction Analysis was used as a framework for observing social interaction.

The quantitative data suggested science achievement of fifth-grade science students who learned through activity-based instruction with debriefing was statistically significantly higher than students who learned through activity-based instruction without debriefing (p<.01). Also, student retention was statistically significantly higher (p<.01). Additionally, the effect sizes for achievement and retention were large and educationally meaningful.

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Paper number: 10074
Different Vocabulary Instruction Methods in Guided Inquiry Science for English Language Learners

Principal Author: Rebecca J Wallstrum, University of Nevada, Reno, becs714@gmail.com
Co-Authors: David T Crowther, University of Nevada, Reno
Abstract:
There is a great deal of research that has been done in the area of vocabulary instruction as well as in the region of hands-on science being beneficial to English language learners, but there is a lack of research bridging the two areas. Despite the efforts to crack the code and figure out the best vocabulary teaching practices, there still seems to be an absence in the research of vocabulary instruction within content area teaching. There is no research at all connecting tier one, two, and three vocabulary and when to insert the words and definitions into the context of science lessons (Beck, McKeown, and Kucan, 2002). Most vocabulary research has been done in the field of language arts or second language acquisition, which follows the foundational ideas of Vygotsky and tends to leave out both Krashen and Piaget, with whom inquiry science has many of its roots. This study investigates three different methods of teaching tier 3 academic vocabulary within guided inquiry science instruction in order to best benefit English language learners in learning and retaining science terminology

Although this study was a Pilot study for a larger study, the results are both interesting and encouraging. Initially, the data suggests that Frontloading vocabulary instruction is equally as effective as the Balanced (20/80%) approach. However, anecdotal observations of the students while performing the Frontloading strategy of vocabulary instruction resulted in total disinterest. This makes sense with the literature on second language acquisition as several studies in science show the importance of limiting the amount of frontloading to favor a more contextualized learning experience (Amaral et al., 2002 & Carr et al., 2006). This study helps to show that vocabulary instruction within science should be approached differently than other subjects, especially when working with tier 3 vocabulary words.

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Paper number: 10039
Developing a Way to Determine Preservice Teachers’ Abilities to Predict Elementary Students’ Scientific Reasoning.
Principal Author: Ingrid S Weiland, Indiana University, Bloomington, iweiland@indiana.edu
Co-Authors: Meredith A Park Rogers, Indiana University, Bloomington; Valarie L Akerson, Indiana University, Bloomington; Khemmawadee Pongsanon, Indiana University, Bloomington
Abstract:
With increased time in a classroom comes an improved understanding of how students conceptualize science topics (Abell, 2007). However, does interaction with students alone support improvement in understanding student thinking? We argue that explicit and guided reflection about student thinking is necessary for helping teachers to learn how to identify patterns in student reasoning so they can make effective instructional decisions. Our project explores an approach we have developed for preservice field experiences that supports elementary preservice teachers’ knowledge development of student learning. This approach involves an iterative model building process, as well as a pre/post assessment of preservice teachers’ abilities to predict student scientific reasoning. For our presentation we will describe both our model building approach and share the prediction instrument we have developed. It is our intent to not only share what we have developed and learned so far, but to also initiate discussion with the audience on possible improvements for both the model building approach and prediction instrument for our future use.
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Paper number: 10084
Science content knowledge and language acquisition: Replacing, reloading, repositioning and retiring academic words
Principal Author: Molly H Weinburgh, Texas Christian University, m.weinburgh@tcu.edu
Co-Authors: Cecilia Silva, Texas Christian Univesity
Abstract:
This research focused on the acquisition of content knowledge and academic language necessary to engage in scientific Discourse (Gee, 2004) as ELLs engage in inquiry-based instruction. The researchers’ intentions were to test a modified SIOP model that used replacing, reloading, and repositioning language rather that uploading language. The modified model strongly relied on moving the students from guided inquiry lessons having many essential elements determined by the teacher to more open inquiry in which essential elements were determined by the students. Fourth and fifth grade ELL students engaged in activities designed to facilitate scientific ways of using words rather than lifeworld uses of language (Gee, 2004) and to build conceptual knowledge. Data from 3 years of teaching summer school to recent immigrant students informed the conclusions of this study. Data included student journals, audio recordings, student products and researcher notes.
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Paper number: 10147
Teaching in the Cloud: Using Web 2.0 Resources as a Means for Fostering Epistemic Growth in Undergraduate Environmental Science Students
Principal Author: Anita G Welch, North Dakota State University, anita.welch@ndsu.edu
Abstract:
The digital natives who fill the lectures halls of college campuses have grown up using the Web and other forms of digital media, such as social networks, wikis, and podcasts. Today’s college students often state their dissatisfaction with having to “un-plug” to attend traditional “brick and mortar” classes.

This presentation explores how university students respond to and perform in undergraduate environmental science classes, which rely heavily on Web 2.0 resources. It addresses the question of whether technology can serve as a catalyst for reforming post-secondary science education, and more specifically, whether it can help educators address the problem of passive learning among university level science students. Specifically, this presentation examines the use of Web 2.0 resources as a means for fostering epistemic growth in undergraduate environmental science students. The analytic focus will be students’ formation of personal epistemologies based on concepts, theories, and models that arise during investigation of a scientific topic, their generation of justification for conclusions arising from their inquiries, and their reflection on the problem-solving process. Within the construct of personal epistemology, open-mindedness, justification and argumentation skills, and reflective thinking are of particular interest as these epistemological factors are strongly related to students’ creativity in problem solving.

Students applied their scientific knowledge to developing solutions through a series of digitally-delivered case study-based learning modules centering on real-world environmental science problems typical of what students may face after graduation. Evaluation of epistemic growth was carried out by via the analysis of student writings, and responses to Epistemic Beliefs Inventory (EBI).

While epistemology (the nature and justification of human knowledge) has long been of interest to philosophers, and more recently educators, there are few empirical studies focusing on means for fostering epistemological development.

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Paper number: 10193
Cognitive Coaching: A Mentoring Support for Reform-Based Science Instruction
Principal Author: Andrew B West, University of Missouri, abw324@mizzou.edu
Co-Authors: Mark J Volkmann, University of Missouri
Abstract:
Mentoring provides an invaluable support system for novice teachers. The primary goal of traditional mentoring is to offer solutions to problems encountered by the novice. While solutions provide immediate release from impending disaster, they do little to help the novice progress as a problem solver. Cognitive Coaching replaces the traditional, consulting role with a systematic approach that places responsibility on the novice for planning, solving problems and reflecting on practice. As a result, the new teacher develops competence as a planner, a problem solver and one who understands the value of reflecting on practice. This presentation communicates an overview of the CC model and how it can be used to support the growth of preservice and beginning science teachers.
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Paper number: 10167
Developing an international educational research project concerning the study habits of gifted/talented science students in Thailand.
Principal Author: Orvil L. White, State University of New York (SUNY) at Cortland, Cortland NY, orvil.white@cortland.edu
Co-Authors: Sumalee Waiyarod, MAHIDOL WITTAYANUSORN SCHOOL 364 Moo5, Salaya, Putthamonthon District, Nakhon Pathom , Thailand 73170
Abstract:
Thailand¡¦s National Education Act of B.E. (Buddhist Era) 2542 (1999) and the basic education curriculum B.E. 2544 (2001) has called for dramatic changes in economics, politics, society and the reform of Thai education. One of the goals of this educational reform is to enhance and fulfill the needs of Thai citizens enabling them compete with others in the globalization era.

Thailand¡¦s agency tasked with the responsibly to develop the country¡¦s curriculum and foster educational reform is the Institute for the Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology (IPST). In the pursuit of fulfilling these responsibilities IPST has questioned whether educational research in the United States could be generalized to Thai students. If so, can the reforms being carried out in the U. S. be adopted in Thailand? IPST has invited and sponsored the replication of studies conducted in the U. S. to be carried out in all parts of Thailand.

Of special interest to ASTE members are suggestions on how to navigate the regulations and the Institutional Review Board (IRB) review process to establish an international research program. International educational research has been called ¡¥a road less traveled¡¦ due to the complexity of the regulations for the protection of human subjects. The IRB is responsible for ensuring that all investigators comply with a multitude of local, state and federal regulations. When the research is conducted outside of the Unites States and/or if there are co-researchers who are foreign nationals or the host country does not require IRB type measures the procedures become more problematic.

Additionally results from a pilot study of the studying habits of gifted/talented (G/T) students conducted onsite at Mahidol Wittayanusorn Science School; Salaya, Thailand will be shared. The research included the collection of data through the use of questionnaires, teacher/student interviews and observations of the Thai G/T students.

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Paper number: 10008
What am I Doing Here Anyway? Conceptualizing Science Teacher Leadership
Principal Author: Robert C. Willis, University Of Georgia, bwillis1@uga.edu
Abstract:
Teacher leaders serve in many capacities in schools, but current conceptions of teacher leadership are inadequate. York-Barr and Duke (2004) describe this lack of definitional clarity in conceptualizing teacher leadership, and multiple conceptions exist across various levels of administration in a district or even among administrators in a single school. Though efforts continue to adequately conceptualize science teacher leadership, a limitation of much of the current research is the absence of teacher voice, which is easily overshadowed by the perspective of the researcher. As a practicing science teacher and department chair, I am able to overcome this challenge using autoethnography. Duncan (2004) describes the autoethnographic approach as externalizing internal dialogues, in which researchers make their lifeworlds and internal decision-making processes public, and Diamond (1992) argues that personal narrative provides the means for capturing personal meaning.

By revealing current conceptions of science teacher leadership as they exist among teacher leaders in science, school administrators, and district level administration, I present a coherent conception of science teacher leadership in secondary schools. This understanding will do much to alleviate the current ambiguity surrounding science teacher leadership, allowing for more meaningful and productive experiences for science teacher leaders.

This presentation provides an overview of my experiences as a science teacher leader, including the conceptions of science teacher leadership through which I navigate. This includes the conceptions held by teachers, school and district level administration, and others. Additionally, an overview of autoethnographic research, the reasoning behind autoethnography as a research method, and the pitfalls and successes with this approach will be presented. The presentation will also include the usefulness of metaphor as a tool for conceptualizing science teacher leadership and understanding and altering science teacher belief and practice.

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Paper number: 10076
Preservice teachers’ conceptions of fossils and the fossilization process: Implications for teacher ýdevelopment programs
Principal Author: Cathy F Wissehr, University of Arkansas, cwissehr@uark.edu
Abstract:
In this qualitative study, preservice teachers’ (mis)understandings of the process of ýfossilization were uncovered through interviews and the use of the Geoscience Concept ýInventory. Preservice teachers enrolled in early childhood (grades K-3) and elementary (grades ýý1-6) science methods classes at a major Midwestern research university took part in this study. ýParticipants (n=89) completed a demographic questionnaire and the Geoscience Concept ýInventory (GCI), while (n=9) also took part in semi-structured interviews. The version of the ýGeoscience Concept Inventory (GCI) (Libarkin & Anderson, 2005) consisted of 13 questions ýabout fossils and geologic time. Answers to the GSI were analyzed using analysis of variance ýand results will be discussed in the final paper.ý

During the interviews, physical examples of fossils were provided for the participants to ýexamine as they framed their answers. Grounded theory (Strauss & Corbin, 1998) was used to ýanalyze and code for comments. Analysis was inductive in nature and resulted in codes that ýarose from the data that fell into five basic categories: 1) the identification and definition of ýfossils, 2) age of fossils (geologic time), 3) the fossilization process, 4) changes in earth’s features ýover time, and 5) scientists’ use of fossils.ý

Results indicate that preservice teachers hold a variety of misconceptions related to fossils ýand fossilization due primarily to lack of exposure to geoscience courses during their secondary and post-secondary science ecperiences. Findings showed that many ýpreservice teachers had difficulty identifying fossils unless they were encased within a rock ýmatrix. In addition, the participants interviewed had naive ideas and limited understanding ýrelated to the conditions under which fossils formed, how fossilization takes place, what types of ýorganisms could become fossilized, how old fossils are, how long it takes for an organism to ýbecome fossilized, and what uses scientists have for studying fossils. ý

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Paper number: 10239
Yes I Can: The Contributions of Motivation on Course Performance among Biology Non-majors
Principal Author: Eric A Worch, Bowling Green State University, eworch@bgsu.edu
Co-Authors: Matthew L Partin, Bowling Green State University; Jodi J Haney, Bowling Green State University; Eileen Underwood, Bowling Green State University; Julie Numberger-Haag, Michigan State University
Abstract:
Undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory biology course for non-majors during the fall semester of 2007 were administered the Biology Attitude Scale (Russell & Hollander, 1975), a constructed Mathematics Attitude Scale, and a portion of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (Pintrich et al., 1993). Together, the instruments assessed attitudes toward biology and mathematics as well as various motivational constructs including self-efficacy, intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, task difficulty, control of learning beliefs, and test anxiety. Final course grades were also obtained. Multiple regression analysis revealed the significant (p<.05) predictors of course grade (R2 = .362, n = 312) were self-efficacy (B=.484), test-anxiety (B=-.211), and Math Attitudes (B=.094). No other variables contributed to the model. Further multiple regression analysis revealed the best predictors of self-efficacy (R2 = .665, n = 318) were biology attitudes (B=.329), control of learning beliefs (B=.280), test anxiety (B=-.249), intrinsic goal orientation (B=.166), task value (B=.147), and extrinsic goal orientation (B=.119). Implications including strategies to improve course performance through fostering student motivation and building self-efficacy are discussed.
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Paper number: 12001
Using Published Ecology Research to Understand the Nature of Science
Principal Author: Yael M Wyner, City College of New York, City University of New York, ywyner@ccny.cuny.edu
Abstract:
This presentation describes the use of a case study on published scientific research in the field of ecology to illustrate the nature of science. Particular themes addressed through the case study are the evidence-based nature of science, the tentative nature of science, and the role of models in constructing scientific understanding. Teacher candidates investigate food web models of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem before large-scale fishing and today. Comparisons of the food webs are used to rediagnose the problem of dead zones in the Bay. Before this analysis, scientific consensus was that nutrient runoff was the cause of the Bay’s dead zones. After analysis of food webs and of historic and present-day oyster and nutrient pollution levels, scientist consensus was overturned. The new evidence led to a new consensus that the major factor causing the Bay’s dead zones was the overharvesting of oysters from the Bay ecosystem. Candidates use the scientific publication describing this research, food webs and graphs adapted from the publication, and a video of this published research to consider the evidence-based nature of science, the tentative nature of science, and the role of models in constructing scientific understanding.
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Paper number: 10066
Developing meaningful ecology curriculum: The case for pilot testing
Principal Author: Yael M Wyner, City College of New York, City University of New York, ywyner@ccny.cuny.edu
Co-Authors: Janice Koch, Hofstra University; Steve Gano, American Museum of Natural History
Abstract:
In the Spring 2008, the American Museum of Natural History pilot-tested in the environmental science and introductory biology classrooms of nine New York City public high school teachers two Ecology Disrupted case study modules, an NSF (grant # 733269) funded initiative to bring media and published scientific data on environmental issues contextualized in daily life into science classrooms. This presentation reports on the methodology and findings from the testing of these modules. The study offers positive indications that this pilot-testing process with its emphasis on professional development is a useful strategy for refining and improving science curriculum. Simultaneously, the findings show that implementing the curriculum has had positive effects for student science learning and for participating teachers. The participating teachers engaged in authentic professional development through a shared web site, email lists and discussion groups. The students designed culminating projects that reflected and enhanced understanding of the relationship between daily life activities and ecological processes.
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Paper number: 11034
Case Studies of Children’s Prior Knowledge and Understandings of Substances
Principal Author: Li-Ling Yang, Roger Williams University, School of Education , lyang@rwu.edu
Co-Authors: Meredith L Beilfuss, Butler University
Abstract:
The purpose of this case study is to explore elementary students’ prior knowledge and understandings of substances. The study was conducted within the context of the regularly scheduled six week, inquiry-oriented science course, with a group of elementary children at a large Midwestern university. The following questions serve as the basis for this study: 1) What are children’s prior knowledge and understandings of substances? 2) How do children’s prior knowledge and understandings compare and interact with the scientific view? Protocol and elicitation interviews were adopted in this research to gather information that addresses these research questions. Through interpretive analysis of the children’s responses, the researchers found that their prior knowledge/understandings of substances take several non-scientific forms and range from very little preconception of the concept to more complex views of elements and compounds according to states of matter. After a brief introduction to the concept of substance in the interview, it was observed that the children tried to make sense of the scientific view by incorporating this new knowledge into their various prior knowledge. As a result, the concept of substance has multiple meanings for them. An important implication of this research is that it is critical to be aware of children’s prior knowledge and conceptual development regarding this concept at different times along the learning process. We recommend that elementary educators use a variety of strategies to help identify which ideas pupils might feel confused about or struggle with (e.g., one set of properties; melting/freezing/boiling points; differentiation of mixtures and compounds; and “one thing” in terms of composition vs. “one object” in terms of quantity).
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Paper number: 11024
Implementation of the Common Knowledge Construction Model for Teaching and Learning: A Case Study.
Principal Author: Sandra L Yarema, Wayne State University, ar3209@wayne.edu
Abstract:
This case study examined how the Common Knowledge Construction Model (CKCM), a four-phased, reform-based, theoretical model for teaching and learning, was used in a high school, grade-eleven physics classroom for a lesson sequence on forces (Ebenezer & Connor, 1998; Ebenezer & Haggerty, 1999). The study results confirmed that the teacher was able to successfully implement the CKCM, to elicit student conceptions of forces, and evaluate these conceptions relative to accepted, scientifically valid explanations. Several themes that impacted the implementation of the model emerged. These included teacher knowledge, student knowledge and engagement, resources and materials, and time. There was a significant change in student conceptions of forces after experiencing the CKCM-based lesson sequence. These findings substantiate that the CKCM has the potential to promote student practice to propose, revise and build scientific ideas. This suggests that the CKCM may have a powerful impact on teaching practice, student learning and achievement.
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Paper number: 11023
Analysis of Teaching Resources for Implementing an Interdisciplinary Approach in the Elementary Science Classroom
Principal Author: Morgan B Yarker, University of Iowa, morgan-e-brown@uiowa.edu
Co-Authors: Soonhye Park, University of Iowa
Abstract:
Articles from the National Science Teacher Association (NSTA) publication Science & Children were analyzed to investigate the characteristics of resources available for teachers who want to implement interdisciplinary approaches into the science classroom. Articles were coded based on the discipline incorporated as well as the teaching tools provided so teachers can reproduce the lessons in their own classrooms. Of the 554 articles read, 72 (13%) met the interdisciplinary approach criteria. Student t-tests were used to analyze the statistical significance between using multiple disciplines in the science classroom. Results show that reading is the subject most commonly discussed discipline in the articles, followed by writing and art. Surprisingly, math is rarely discussed. As a result of reading being the most commonly integrated discipline, the articles most frequently provided resources, such as books, as teaching tools. The second most common teaching tool provided was lesson plans.
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Paper number: 10109
Pre-Service Elementary Teachers¡¯ Difficulties in Hypothesis-Based Inquiry Teaching
Principal Author: Hye-Gyoung Yoon, Chuncheon National University of Education, yoonhk@cnue.ac.kr
Co-Authors: Yong Jae Joung, Seoul Deayoung Elementary School; Mijung Kim, National Institute of Education, Singapore
Abstract:
This study looked into how pre-service elementary teachers prepared for inquiry lessons and practiced their teaching plan to groups of elementary students (Grade 4, 5 and 6). Through examining their inquiry teaching practice and reflective discussions, this study attempted to understand what could be the difficulties of teaching scientific inquiry, especially hypothesis-based inquiry in elementary science classrooms and the issues which contribute to these difficulties. The participants were 16 fourth-year university students in an elementary teacher education program in Korea. Difficulties found in their teaching practice included lack of developing children¡¯s ideas and curiosity, scaffolding for children¡¯s interpretation and discussion, and guiding children to connect experimental results with their hypothesis verification. Through reflective discussions and written reports, we also found issues that led to the difficulties in teaching. These were (a) students¡¯ learning behaviors, (b) tension between guided and open inquiry, (c) misunderstandings of hypothesis, and (d) lack of science content knowledge. These issues were internally and externally related to the pre-service teachers¡¯ decision making and action in hypothesis-based inquiry teaching.
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Paper number: 13017
Investigating the Meaningfulness of Preservice Programs Across the Continuum of Teaching: The IMPPACT of Teacher Preparation Programs on Science Teacher Beliefs and Practices
Principal Author: Monica J. Young, Syracuse University, moyoung@syr.edu
Co-Authors: John W. Tillotson, Syracuse University; Margaret Sadeghpour-Kramer, The University of Iowa; Robert E. Yager, The University of Iowa; Glenn Dolphin, Syracuse University; Terrence Maher, North Carolina State University; John E. Penick, North Carolina State University
Abstract:
This themed paper set will discuss the general overview of the NSF-funded IMPPACT project, its current theoretical foundations, and the preliminary results of the longitudinal data collected over the course of this three year study. Retention of the four cohorts of teachers, establishing and keeping rigorous experimental procedures, consistent data collection efforts, and uniform data interpretations across quantitative and qualitative data sources were priorities in this project. Results will be presented using data collected from two interviews (Beliefs/Nature of Science and Reflections on Preservice Program Experiences) with in-depth participants, classroom observations of all (~150) participants coded using the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol, and data from two questionnaires, the National Survey of Teacher Education Program Graduates and the Survey of Enacted Curriculum.
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Paper number: 10185
Web-based Pedagogical Assistance for Teachers of Physics
Principal Author: Dean A Zollman, Kansas State University, dzollman@phys.ksu.edu
Co-Authors: Scott M Stevens, Carnegie Mellon University; Michael Christel, Carnegie Mellon University
Abstract:
The Physics Teaching Web Advisory (Pathway) is a research and development effort to demonstrate the ability to address issues of many physics teachers via the Web. Pathway’s “Synthetic Interviews” are a unique way to engage inexperienced teachers in a natural language dialog about effective teaching of physics. These virtual conversations and related video materials are now providing pre-service and out-of-field in-service teachers with much needed professional development, and well-prepared teachers with new perspectives on teaching physics. In addition, system is now coupled to related graphical materials as well as the National Science Education Standards and comPADRE. In effect Pathway is a dynamic digital library and goes beyond creating a collection of teaching and learning materials. It provides continuously improving assistance and expertise for teachers, all of which is related to the results of contemporary physics education research The database is a growing digital library and now contains about 7,000 different recorded answers and over 10,000 question/answer pairs. Additional video material, including films from the old AAPT Film Repository and many interactive videodiscs, provides addition videos for classroom use. Pathway is available at http://www.physicspathway.org.
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