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ERIC Number: EJ1037097
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014-Aug
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1059-0145
EISSN: N/A
The Effectiveness of the Geospatial Curriculum Approach on Urban Middle-Level Students' Climate Change Understandings
Bodzin, Alec M.; Fu, Qiong
Journal of Science Education and Technology, v23 n4 p575-590 Aug 2014
Climate change science is a challenging topic for student learning. This quantitative study examined the effectiveness of a geospatial curriculum approach to promote climate change science understandings in an urban school district with eighth-grade students and investigated whether teacher- and student-level factors accounted for students' climate change knowledge achievement. The participants included 12 science teachers and 956 eighth-grade students. Data included a pre- and posttest climate change assessment measures for both teachers and students and a teacher measure of Geospatial Science-Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge. Paired-sample t tests revealed statistically significant gains from pretest to posttest on their climate change knowledge (p < 0.001; effect sizes being large on multiple-choice items and medium on the open-ended response assessment). Both ordinary least squares (OLS) multiple regression and 2-level hierarchical linear modeling found that students' initial climate change knowledge and gender were significant predictors for students' posttest scores, p < 0.05. Students' pretest scores were the strongest significant predictor of the posttest scores, p < 0.001. Neither the teachers' climate change knowledge nor their Geospatial Science-Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge had significant association with the students' posttest scores. Teaching years was a significant predictor for students' posttest scores in OLS regression (p < 0.001). The findings provide support that a geospatial curriculum approach is an effective science curriculum approach for learners in urban middle-level education.
Springer. 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-348-4505; e-mail: service-ny@springer.com; Web site: http://www.springerlink.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Middle Schools; Secondary Education; Junior High Schools; Grade 8; Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A