ERIC Number: EJ1246513
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Apr
Pages: 30
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0022-4308
EISSN: N/A
Priming Urban Learners' Attitudes toward the Relevancy of Science: A Mixed-Methods Study Testing the Importance of Context
Boda, Phillip A.; Brown, Bryan
Journal of Research in Science Teaching, v57 n4 p567-596 Apr 2020
The development of three-dimensional learning among all K-12 student demographics remains a prominent goal for the field of science education. However, substantial research in science teacher education for urban populations showcases hurdles to overcome in order to achieve this goal, particularly for elementary teachers. Research shows that urban elementary teachers are often ill-prepared to develop a type of science pedagogy responsive to students' learning needs. The fidelity of such pedagogies that these teachers adhere to when trying to implement such a requested content-relationality between these populations and how their local contexts can be used as sites to learn science in relevant ways are often not fully realized, as well. Given that science achievement gaps exhibit racial disparities starting in primary grades and attitudes toward science have been shown to affect academic achievement and motivation, we argue that one way to ameliorate, in at least an incremental way, this disparity is to design novel learning experiences to prime students to see the relevancy of science in their local contexts before such three-dimensional designed learning is set to occur. In this research, we leveraged the immersive nature of Virtual Reality 360 videos and present a design-based research iteration testing how this novel technologically enhanced learning experience may have influenced close to 400 urban elementary students' attitudes toward science around those attitudes labeled as "behavioral beliefs" by the field. Using a concurrent, convergent mixed-methods design with a two-way multivariate analysis of covariance quantitative data set triangulated with students' qualitative self-reports that were transformed into quantitative preponderances in graphic form, the data support that our design iteration emphasizing the importance of "context" as a design focus can prime students who struggle to see science as relevant to change their attitudes. Implications are discussed around relationality, novel technological affordances, and the use of local contexts as learning resources.
Descriptors: Scientific Attitudes, Elementary School Students, Student Attitudes, Urban Schools, Science Education, Elementary School Science, Science Instruction, Technology Uses in Education, Computer Simulation, Instructional Effectiveness, Attitude Change
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A