Matching Items (67)
Description
This thesis aims to evaluate how in classroom demonstrations compare to regular education techniques, and how student learning styles affect interest in science and engineering as future fields of study. Science education varies between classrooms, but usually is geared towards lecture and preparation for standardized exams without concern for student interest or enjoyment.5 To discover the effectiveness of demonstrations in these concerns, an in classroom demonstration with a water filtration experiment was accompanied by several modules and followed by a short survey. Hypotheses tested included that students would enjoy the demonstration more than a typical class session, and that of these students, those with more visual or tactile learning styles would identify with science or engineering as a possible major in college. The survey results affirmed the first hypothesis, but disproved the second hypothesis; thus illustrating that demonstrations are enjoyable, and beneficial for sparking or maintaining student interest in science across all types of students.
ContributorsPiper, Jessica Marie (Author) / Lind, Mary Laura (Thesis director) / Montoya-Gonzales, Roxanna (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Chemical Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Clean and accessible drinking water is a crucial and limited resource. As the world's population grows and demand increases, water resources will become more limited. This project aims to educate students on water resources, drinking water, and how biomimicry can allow society to improve its water usage. The project consists of a ten day unit plan which addresses several water topics such as: the various uses of water, water distribution, where drinking water comes from, the water treatment process, and more. After establishing background knowledge on water and surrounding issues, the students will be challenged to design a water bottle using biomimicry. Biomimicry is looking at nature to draw and inspire solutions to human problems. This unit has been optimized for use by elementary teachers. The ten day unit consists of a lesson summary, objectives, standards, and recommended activities for each day. Of the ten days, three lesson plans were fully developed using the 5E format. The research supporting this project is compiled in the following report.
ContributorsSalik, Rachael (Co-author) / Burke, Aurora (Co-author) / Walters, Molina (Thesis director) / Larson, Kelli L. (Committee member) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Programs (Contributor) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
Museum evaluation is an important process that aims to study an exhibit's effectiveness in engaging visitors and in teaching concepts. Imperatives and methods to strengthen museum evaluation have been suggested and implemented in the past, but ultimately faced several challenges including the collection of visitor feedback in an efficient, non-intrusive way. The Ask Dr. Discovery project seeks to address the challenge of conducting efficient, affordable, and large-scale science museum evaluation via an interactive app aimed at collecting direct visitor feedback through use of the app and through questionnaires that also collect demographics. This thesis investigates how the demographics of metro Phoenix science museum visitors as a whole compare to the Hispanic/Latino population of visitors, and makes use of visitor feedback from Ask Dr. Discovery to provide useful data for science museum evaluation. An analysis of responses revealed that the majority of the participants in the study (n=785) were White (Non-Hispanic) (65.59%), were 36-45 years old (36.18%) and hold a graduate degree (27.64%). Most Hispanic/Latino participants in the study were 26-35 years old (36.36%) and completed some college (28.67%). Most participants from both participant groups have never visited the museum before (32.99% of all participants; 33.57% of all Hispanics/Latinos). Further analysis suggest that museum visits may be independent of age and visitor group size. Visitor interest in science museum exhibits may be independent of their use of free time science-related activities. Data suggests that there was no real difference in exhibit interest across two different versions of the app ("modes"). Analysis of negative visitor feedback showed different question types, questions asked, and time spent on the app. Data log questions revealed the difference in time spent on the app and complexity of questions asked between adults and children, as well as the location of participants in the museum. There was no major correlation between mode type and number of questions asked, and length of use and number of questions asked.
ContributorsFernandez, Ivan (Author) / Bowman, Judd (Thesis director) / Bowman, Catherine (Committee member) / Nelson, Brian (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
This teacher research study examined the effects of utilizing an intervention of Science Writing Heuristics (SWH) as a tool to increase learning during laboratory activities. Five of my eighth grade general science classes participated in this study. Two classes utilized SWH during their laboratory activities (the treatment group) and three classes performed and wrote up their labs in the more traditional, teacher-directed approach (the control group). The assessment scores of the students in the treatment group were compared to the assessment scores of the students in the control group. The post-assessments were analyzed utilizing a t-test. I was teacher in this study and the teacher of all five classes. Data from 41 students were analyzed in this study. A pre-assessment, six laboratory activities, instruction, and a post-assessment occurred within three weeks. The assessments were generated by myself and I performed a t-test using a two-sample analysis, assuming unequal variances (n=16 for treatment group, n=25 for control group) to compare the post-assessments from each group. Results indicated that there was no significant difference between the post-assessment scores of the treatment group with the post-assessment scores of control group (p=0.25). However, the t-test results revealed that when the pre- and post-assessments were compared, there was a significant difference (p=<0.05 for treatment group, p=<0.05 for control group). Each group showed considerable cognitive improvement between pre-assessment (mean scores: 52%-treatment group and 53%-control group) and the post-assessment (mean scores: 72%-treatment group and 80%-control group). This suggests that the presentation of the curriculum lacked a clear distinction between the treatment group and the control group yet benefited most students. Due to circumstances described in the limitations, further research is warranted.
ContributorsDrobitsky, Tamara (Author) / Luft, Julie (Thesis advisor) / Marsh, Josephine (Committee member) / Baker, Dale (Committee member) / Lyon, Edward (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
Previous studies have shown that adequate content knowledge is a necessary, but not sufficient, requirement for affective teaching. While legislation requests teachers to be "highly qualified" in a subject area, such as physics, many teachers are frequently asked to teach in an area when they are not certified through a teaching license to do so. This study uses mixed methods to examine the knowledge of beginning physics teachers. Through semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and concept maps, the pedagogical content knowledge, subject matter knowledge, and practices of three groups of beginning secondary physics teachers were explored. Data were analyzed qualitatively using cases and quantitatively using descriptive statistics and t-tests, the results of which were combined during the interpretation phase of the research process. The study indicated that, over the first two years of teaching, the in-field group of teachers showed stronger physics content knowledge, a consideration for student difficulties with physics topics, and a positive shift in pedagogical content knowledge impacted by working with students, as compared to the rest of the teachers in the study. This research has implications in the development of secondary physics teachers and in the field of physics education research. Specifically, this research has implications in the physics content support for beginning secondary science teachers, the novice/expert research in physics education research, and the pedagogical preparation of undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty in physics.
ContributorsNeakrase, Jennifer Jean (Author) / Luft, Julie (Thesis advisor) / Semken, Steven (Committee member) / Culbertson, Robert (Committee member) / Green, Samuel (Committee member) / Clark, Douglas (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2010
Description
This dissertation discusses the findings of an ethnographic exploratory study of Turkana nomadic pastoralist children's sociocultural practices of their everyday lifestyles and science curriculum and instruction in Kenyan early childhood curriculum. The study uses the findings from Turkana elders to challenge the dominant society in Kenya that draws from Western education ideology to unfairly criticize Turkana traditional nomadic cultural practices as resistant to modern education. Yet Turkana people have to rely on the cultural knowledge of their environment for survival. In addition, the community lives in abject poverty caused by the harsh desert environment which has contributed to parents' struggle to support their children's education. Cultural knowledge of Turkana people has received support in research demonstrating the role cultural lifestyles such as nomadic pastoralism play as important survival strategy that enable people to adapt to the harsh desert environment to ensure the survival of their livestock critical for their food security. The study documented ways in which the Kenya national education curriculum, reflecting Western assumptions about education, often alienates and marginalises nomadic children, in its failure to capture their cultural Indigenous knowledge epistemologies. The research investigated the relationships between Turkana children's sociocultural practices of pastoralist lifestyles and the national science curriculum taught in local preschools and first grade science classrooms in Kenya and the extent to which Turkana children's everyday life cultural practices inform science instruction in early childhood grades. Multiple ethnographic methods such as participant and naturalistic observation, focus group interviews, analysis of documents, archival materials, and cultural artifacts were used to explore classrooms instruction and Indigenous sociocultural practices of the Turkana nomads. The findings from the elders' narratives indicated that there was a general congruence in thematic content of science between Turkana Indigenous knowledge and the national science curriculum. However, Turkana children traditionally learned independently by observation and hands-on with continuous scaffolding from parents and peers. The study recommends a science curriculum that is compatible with the Indigenous knowledge epistemologies and instructional strategies that are sensitive to the worldview of nomadic children.
ContributorsNg'asike, John Teria (Author) / Swadener, Beth B. (Committee member) / Luft, Julie (Committee member) / Tobin, Joseph (Committee member) / Brayboy, Bryan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2010
Description
Health science students like students in many disciplines exhibit difficulty with transferring content from one course to another. For example, the problem explored in this study occurred when overlapping concepts were presented in introductory biology and chemistry courses, but students could not transfer the concepts to the other disciplinary course. In this mixed method action research study, the author served as facilitator/leader of a group of colleagues tasked with investigating and taking steps to resolve this student learning transfer problem. This study outlines the details of how an interdisciplinary community of practice (CoP) formed between chemistry and biology faculty members at a community college to address the problem and the benefits resulting from the CoP. Quantitative and qualitative data were obtained from transcripts of meetings of the faculty members, notes from other formal and informal meetings, classroom visits, a questionnaire containing Likert and open-ended items and interviews. Transcripts, notes, and interviews were coded to determine common themes. Findings suggested the CoP was an effective means to deal with the matter of student transfer of content across courses. In particular, the CoP agreed to use similar terminology, created materials to be used consistently across the courses, and explored other transfer specific approaches that allowed for transfer of course content. Finally, the benefits of the CoP were due in large part to the collaboration that took place among participants.
ContributorsSteele, Bronwen (Author) / Buss, Ray (Thesis advisor) / Zambo, Ron (Thesis advisor) / Rivera, Rey (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
This study examines the effect of the translation of traditional scientific vocabulary into plain English, a process referred to as Anglicization, on student learning in the context of introductory microbiology instruction. Data from Anglicized and Classical-vocabulary lab sections were collected. Data included exam scores as well as pre and post-course surveys on reasoning skills, impressions of biology, science and the course, and microbiology knowledge. Students subjected to Anglicized instruction performed significantly better on exams that assessed their abilities to apply and analyze knowledge from the course, and gained similar amounts of knowledge during the course when compared to peers instructed with standard vocabulary. Their performance in upper-level courses was also better than that of their traditionally educated peers. Hypotheses related to the effect are presented and evaluated; implications for instruction are discussed.
ContributorsRichter, Emily (Author) / Lawson, Anton (Thesis advisor) / Stout, Valerie (Committee member) / Haydel, Shelley (Committee member) / Atkinson, Robert (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
The gender gap of women in science is an important and unresolved issue in higher education and occupational opportunities. The present study was motivated by the fact that there are typically fewer females than males advancing in science, and therefore fewer female science instructor role models. This observation inspired the questions: Are female college students influenced in a positive way by female science teaching assistants (TAs), and if so how can their influence be measured? The study tested the hypothesis that female TAs act as role models for female students and thereby encourage interest and increase overall performance. To test this "role model" hypothesis, the reasoning ability and self-efficacy of a sample of 724 introductory college biology students were assessed at the beginning and end of the Spring 2010 semester. Achievement was measured by exams and course work. Performance of four randomly formed groups was compared: 1) female students with female TAs, 2) male students with female TAs, 3) female students with male TAs, and 4) male students with male TAs. Based on the role model hypothesis, female students with female TAs were predicted to perform better than female students with male TAs. However, group comparisons revealed similar performances across all four groups in achievement, reasoning ability and self-efficacy. The slight differences found between the four groups in student exam and coursework scores were not statistically significant. Therefore, the results did not support the role model hypothesis. Given that both lecture professors in the present study were males, and given that professors typically have more teaching experience, finer skills and knowledge of subject matter than do TAs, a future study that includes both female science professors and female TAs, may be more likely to find support for the hypothesis.
ContributorsEbert, Darilyn (Author) / Lawson, Anton (Thesis advisor) / Maienschein, Jane (Committee member) / Mustard, Julie (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2010
Description
Biology textbooks are everybody's business. In accepting the view that texts are created with specific social goals in mind, I examined 127 twentieth-century high school biology textbooks for representations of animal development. Paragraphs and visual representations were coded and placed in one of four scientific literacy categories: descriptive, investigative, nature of science, and human embryos, technology, and society (HETS). I then interpreted how embryos and fetuses have been socially constructed for students. I also examined the use of Haeckel's embryo drawings to support recapitulation and evolutionary theory. Textbooks revealed that publication of Haeckel's drawings was influenced by evolutionists and anti-evolutionists in the 1930s, 1960s, and the 1990s. Haeckel's embryos continue to persist in textbooks because they "safely" illustrate similarities between embryos and are rarely discussed in enough detail to understand comparative embryology's role in the support of evolution. Certain events coincided with changes in how embryos were presented: (a) the growth of the American Medical Association (AMA) and an increase in birth rates (1950s); (b) the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) and public acceptance of birth control methods (1960s); (c) Roe vs. Wade (1973); (d) in vitro fertilization and Lennart Nilsson's photographs (1970s); (e) prenatal technology and fetocentrism (1980s); and (f) genetic engineering and Science-Technology-Society (STS) curriculum (1980s and 1990s). By the end of the twentieth century, changing conceptions, research practices, and technologies all combined to transform the nature of biological development. Human embryos went from a highly descriptive, static, and private object to that of sometimes contentious public figure. I contend that an ignored source for helping move embryos into the public realm is schoolbooks. Throughout the 1900s, authors and publishers accomplished this by placing biology textbook embryos and fetuses in several different contexts--biological, technological, experimental, moral, social, and legal.
ContributorsWellner, Karen L (Author) / Maienschein, Jane (Thesis advisor) / Ellison, Karin D. (Committee member) / Robert, Jason S. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2010