This study used eye-movement tracking to investigate how students engage with the learning process of reading science articles with or without hands-on manipulation of a pulley system and their influences on learning outcomes. This experiment used a 2 (reading easy or difficult articles) × 2 (with or without hands-on manipulation) between-subject…

In the past three decades in high-income countries, female students have outperformed male students in most indicators of educational attainment. However, the underrepresentation of girls and women in science courses and careers, especially in physics, computer sciences, and engineering, remains persistent. What is often neglected by the vast…

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) chat (#NGSSchat) is a social media-based professional network used to discuss topics related to the NGSS in the United States. While successful reforms involve and coordinate the work of multiple stakeholders, recent research points out a striking lack of coordination between the individuals working in…

Little is known about how the content of a video case influences what preservice teachers learn about science teaching. This study was designed to determine the impact of two different video cases on preservice elementary teachers' conceptions of multiple aspects of effective science teaching, with one video selected to focus attention on the role…

This project consisted of a meta-analysis of U.S. research published from 1980 to 2004 on the effect of specific science teaching strategies on student achievement. The six phases of the project included study acquisition, study coding, determination of intercoder objectivity, establishing criteria for inclusion of studies, computation of effect…

Mixed methods research conducted across three semesters in introductory college geology classes (n=187, 190, 138) attempted to ascertain whether integrated study of petrified wood could serve as a portal to improved student geobiological understanding of fossilization, geologic time, and evolution. The Petrified Wood Survey[TM] was administered as…

This study exemplifies how faculty members can develop instruments to assess affective responses of students to the specific features of the courses they teach. Means for assessing three types of affective responses are demonstrated: (a) student attitudes towards courses with differing instructional objectives and methodologies, (b) student…

Reports on the results of a study designed to examine what middle and high school science teachers believe should be the goals for science education for the remainder of the 1980s. Respondents compared modern science education goals with those of the 1960s. (TW)

Describes an analysis of test items used to measure the science process skills of 11-year-olds in Great Britain. Concludes that the level of cognitive demand was a reliable predictor of the difficulty of an item. (TW)

To facilitate science teachers' use of classroom climate assessments, economical short forms of the Classroom Environment Scale, Individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire, and My Class Inventory were developed. Each instrument contains only 25 items and is amenable to easy hand scoring. Developmental procedures, reliability, validity, and…

Determined is the logical reasoning necessary to construct line graphs including a straight line with a positive or negative slope and an exponentially increasing curve. The responses of subjects (grades 6-12) were classified into one of nine categories fitting with Piagetian operational structures. (Author/YP)

Discusses instruments for measuring interest in biology: "Interest in Science Topics"; "Learning Mode Preference"; "Interest in Scientific Activities"; "Activities Motives Inventory"; "Interest in Social Aspects of Science"; "Career Orientation Inventory"; and "Attitude toward Biology Study." Concludes that interest in biology may be…

Describes a paper-and-pencil test for high school biology students measuring science process skills, such as developing hypotheses; making predictions; identifying assumptions; analyzing data; and formulating conclusions. Reports some data on reliability and validity of the test. Provides all 35 items of the test. (YP)

Outlines a procedure used to develop a written diagnostic instrument to identify misconceptions and misunderstandings of the chemistry topic. Reports the characteristic data for the instrument, and student understanding of covalent bonding and structure. (Author/YP)

Explores the sources of beliefs about science-technology-society topics and investigates the degree of ambiguity harbored by four different response modes, such as Likert-type, written paragraph, semistructured interview, and empirically developed multiple choice. Finds that mass media have a greater impact than science classes. (Author/YP)