scholarly journals The educational emphases of science teachers in US Evangelical Protestant high schools

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-35
Author(s):  
Albert Cheng
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Science Teachers ◽  
Student Outcomes ◽  
Scientific Reasoning ◽  
Ninth Graders ◽  
Real World Applications ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Scientific Reasoning Skills ◽  
Basic Content ◽  
Evangelical Protestant

I examine the levels of educational emphases that science teachers in Evangelical Protestant (EP) schools place on (i) teaching basic content knowledge, (ii) improving scientific reasoning skills, and (iii) presenting real-world applications of science. Using a nationally representative sample of US ninth-graders, I find differences in these educational emphases between science teachers in EP schools and science teachers in secular private, Catholic, and public schools. I also find suggestive evidence that differences in STEM-related student outcomes across school sectors, which have been demonstrated in prior research, are associated with cross-sector differences in the emphases of science teachers.

scholarly journals Choices of pre-service science teachers laboratory environments: Hands-on or hands-off?

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-51
Author(s):  
Hasan Ozgur Kapici ◽  
Hasan Akçay
Keyword(s):  
Science Teachers ◽  
Conceptual Understanding ◽  
Scientific Reasoning ◽  
Service Science ◽  
Attractive Alternative ◽  
Science And Technology Education ◽  
Virtual Lab ◽  
Online Laboratory ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Scientific Reasoning Skills

AbstractLearning in laboratories for students is not only crucial for conceptual understanding, but also contributes to gaining scientific reasoning skills. Following fast developments in technology, online laboratory environments have been improved considerably and nowadays form an attractive alternative for hands-on laboratories. The study was done in order to reveal pre-service science teachers’ preferences for hands-on or online laboratory environments. Participants of the study were 41 pre-service science teachers who were enrolled in a 13-week course on laboratory applications in science education. Findings showed that more than half of the pre-service science teachers would prefer to use hands-on laboratory environments for both conceptual teaching in their classrooms and to develop their students’ science process skills. The reasons behind their choices are discussed.Keywords: Online lab, hands-on lab, virtual lab, science and technology education, pre-service science teachers.* ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE: Hasan Özgur Kapıcı , Yıldız Teknik Ünivesitesi, Istanbul, TurkeyE-mail

scholarly journals The Magnitude, Destinations, and Determinants of Mathematics and Science Teacher Turnover

2012 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 435-464 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard M. Ingersoll ◽  
Henry May
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Science Teacher ◽  
Science Teachers ◽  
Teacher Turnover ◽  
Conventional Wisdom ◽  
High Poverty ◽  
Math Teachers ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
School Differences ◽  
Mathematics And Science

This study examines the magnitude, destinations, and determinants of mathematics and science teacher turnover. The data are from the nationally representative Schools and Staffing Survey and the Teacher Follow-Up Survey. Over the past two decades, rates of mathematics and science teacher turnover have increased but, contrary to conventional wisdom, have not been consistently different than those of other teachers. Also, contrary to conventional wisdom, mathematics and science teachers were also no more likely than other teachers to take noneducation jobs, such as in technological fields or to be working for private business or industry. The data also show there are large school-to-school differences in mathematics and science turnover; high-poverty, high-minority, and urban public schools have among the highest rates. In the case of cross-school migration, the data show there is an annual asymmetric reshuffling of a significant portion of the mathematics and science teaching force from poor to not-poor schools, from high-minority to low-minority schools, and from urban to suburban schools. A number of key organizational characteristics and conditions of schools accounted for these school differences. The strongest factor for mathematics teachers was the degree of individual classroom autonomy held by teachers. Net of other factors such as salaries, schools with less classroom autonomy lose math teachers at a far higher rate than other teachers. In contrast, for science teachers salary was the strongest factor, while classroom autonomy was not strongly related to their turnover.

scholarly journals The Effects of Scientific Reasoning Skills, English Language Proficiency and other Factors on the Acquisition of Chemistry Content Knowledge

KIMIKA ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 28-37
Author(s):  
Manolito, Jr. G. Ybañez ◽  
Charmaine Sagayap ◽  
Vic Marie I. Camacho
Keyword(s):  
Content Knowledge ◽  
Science Teachers ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Scientific Reasoning ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Language Proficiency ◽  
Primary Language ◽  
Significance Level ◽  
Reasoning Skills ◽  
Scientific Reasoning Skills

This paper aims to examine the effects of English Language Proficiency, Scientific Reasoning Skills, and other factors such as primary language at home, subject interests, type of school graduated, family monthly income, and available studying materials on acquisition of Chemistry content knowledge of fifty-four (54) randomly selected pre-service science teachers from a state university. Using One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Pearson r formula, the results of this 2-way interaction showed an F ratio of 1.025 with a significance level of 0.445. This finding is significant as it implies that combined high levels of English language proficiency and reasoning skills enhance students’ abilities to learn science content. In addition, a significant main effect for the variable scientific reasoning skills, an F ratio of 0.550 with a significance level of 0.815 show that English Proficiency does not significantly affect the Chemistry Skills of the Science Students. Science Reasoning Skills is correlated with Chemistry performance. Further, higher scientific reasoning skills are attributed to better Chemistry Skills. Primary language significantly affects language proficiency while subject interest affect the students skills in subject areas.

scholarly journals Effects of Modeling Instruction Professional Development on Biology Teachers’ Scientific Reasoning Skills

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andria Stammen ◽  
Kathy Malone ◽  
Karen Irving
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Science Teachers ◽  
Scientific Reasoning ◽  
Teacher Interviews ◽  
Science Courses ◽  
Modeling Instruction ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Reasoning Skills ◽  
Teachers Training ◽  
Scientific Reasoning Skills

International assessments have revealed that students in numerous nations lack scientific reasoning skills. Science teachers who support students’ scientific skill development through the use of authentic practices provide students with tools needed for success in future science courses. Teachers training focused on pedagogy that supports student scientific reasoning development is particularly important as some studies have also suggested that pre-service teachers have a tendency to display a lack of scientific reasoning skills. Additionally, few studies exist that assess teachers’ scientific reasoning skills, including the effectiveness of professional development to strengthen teacher scientific reasoning abilities over time. To help fill this gap, this study examines the effects of a Modeling Instruction in a biology workshop on teachers’ scientific reasoning skills. In addition to teacher interviews, focus groups, and writing samples, data from Lawson’s Classroom Test of Scientific Reasoning (LCTSR) were collected from teachers before and after the workshop. The results suggest that the three-week Modeling Instruction in the biology workshop contributed to gains in in-service teachers’ scientific reasoning, and thus provides evidence that the teachers in this study are more prepared to help develop similar skills with their own students as they engage in the Modeling Instruction curriculum.

Scientific Reasoning in Higher Education

2015 ◽  
Vol 223 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Hartmann ◽  
Annette Upmeier zu Belzen ◽  
Dirk Krüger ◽  
Hans Anand Pant
Keyword(s):  
Science Teachers ◽  
Natural Science ◽  
Scientific Reasoning ◽  
Standardized Test ◽  
Multiple Choice ◽  
Natural Sciences ◽  
Preservice Science Teachers ◽  
Reasoning Skills ◽  
Scientific Reasoning Skills ◽  
Better Than

The aim of this study was to develop a standardized test addressed to measure preservice science teachers’ scientific reasoning skills, and to initially evaluate its psychometric properties. We constructed 123 multiple-choice items, using 259 students’ conceptions to generate highly attractive multiple-choice response options. In an item response theory-based validation study (N = 2,247), we applied multiple regression analyses to test hypotheses based on groups with known attributes. As predicted, graduate students performed better than undergraduate students, and students who studied two natural science disciplines performed better than students who studied only one natural science discipline. In contrast to our initial hypothesis, preservice science teachers performed less well than a control group of natural sciences students. Remarkably, an interaction effect of the degree program (bachelor vs. master) and the qualification (natural sciences student vs. preservice teacher) was found, suggesting that preservice science teachers’ learning opportunities to explicitly discuss and reflect on the inquiry process have a positive effect on the development of their scientific reasoning skills. We conclude that the evidence provides support for the criterion-based validity of our interpretation of the test scores as measures of scientific reasoning competencies.

scholarly journals Choices of pre-service science teachers laboratory environments: Hands-on or hands-off?

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 41
Author(s):  
Hasan Ozgur Kapici ◽  
Hakan Akcay
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Science Teachers ◽  
Conceptual Understanding ◽  
Scientific Reasoning ◽  
Service Science ◽  
Attractive Alternative ◽  
Science Process Skills ◽  
Online Laboratory ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Scientific Reasoning Skills

Learning in laboratories for students is not only crucial for conceptual understanding but also contributes to gaining scientific reasoning skills. Following fast developments in technology, online laboratory environments have been improved considerably and nowadays form an attractive alternative for hands-on laboratories. The study was done in order to reveal pre- service science teachers’ preferences for hands-on or online laboratory environments. Participants of the study were 41 pre-service science teachers who were enrolled in a 13 weeks course on Laboratory Applications in Science Education. Findings showed that more than half of pre-service science teachers would like to prefer to use hands-on laboratory environments for both conceptual teaching in their classrooms and to develop their students’ science process skills. The reasons behind their choices are discussed.

scholarly journals Can Pre-Service Biology Teachers’ Professional Knowledge and Diagnostic Activities Be Fostered by Self-Directed Knowledge Acquisition via Texts?

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 244
Author(s):  
Maria Kramer ◽  
Christian Förtsch ◽  
Birgit J. Neuhaus
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Acquisition ◽  
Scientific Reasoning ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Instructional Quality ◽  
Professional Knowledge ◽  
Biology Teachers ◽  
Time Effects ◽  
Effect Of Treatment ◽  
Scientific Reasoning Skills ◽  
Design Paper

In a diagnostic context of reasoning about instructional quality, scientific reasoning skills can be described as diagnostic activities, which require professional knowledge. Different approaches to enhance pre-service teachers’ professional knowledge (PCK, CK, PK), as well as diagnostic activities exist. However, results about their effectiveness are still inconsistent. We systematically investigated the effectiveness of self-directed knowledge acquisition via texts on PCK, CK, PK, and diagnostic activities of 81 pre-service biology teachers following an experimental design. Paper-pencil tests, measuring PCK, CK, and PK, and the video-based assessment tool DiKoBi Assess, measuring diagnostic activities in the context of diagnosing instructional quality, were used pre and post an intervention. Intervention included four treatments on self-directed knowledge acquisition via texts on (1) PCK, (2) CK, (3) PK, (4) combination PCK/CK/PK. Treatment (5) served as control. Mixed ANOVAs showed large time effects for PCK and CK, but no interaction effect concerning knowledge facets between time and treatment for any of the treatments. Time effects might be due to pre-service teachers’ scientific reasoning on biology instruction that activated knowledge. An ANCOVA showed no significant effect of treatment on diagnostic activities either. We conclude that scientific reasoning about instructional quality is more effective for knowledge acquisition than text-work.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document