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Descriptors:
Science Education; Mathematics Skills; Science Instruction; Science Teachers; Mathematical Concepts; Mathematics Teachers; Integrated Curriculum; Interdisciplinary Approach; Cognitive Processes; Scientific Concepts

Abstract:
Science teachers know that the mathematics concepts taught in the Common Core are critical for students' understanding of science. But what can a teacher do when his/her students lack the necessary mathematics skills to master science content? There may be other reasons besides students not paying attention in their math courses. Maybe the required math has been taught once and then forgotten. Maybe it is brand new, so students are not ready to apply it yet. Or maybe the necessary mathematical concepts have not been taught at all. When teaching one's subject area is dependent, at least in part, on student understanding of concepts taught in other classes, it becomes even more important to identify and bridge gaps in understanding as they arise. This provides a key opportunity for collaboration across content areas. Math teachers can be called in to explain to the science teacher where the gaps in student knowledge are likely to be--not only in general, but for specific students, based on their performance in class and standardized test scores. This article discusses what teachers need to do when their students lack the necessary math skills to master science content. (Contains 1 figure.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Artificial Intelligence; Computer Simulation; Computer Mediated Communication; Intelligent Tutoring Systems; Pretests Posttests; Instructional Effectiveness; Learning Processes; Feedback (Response); Metacognition; Science Education; Scientific Concepts; Concept Mapping; Middle School Students; Scaffolding (Teaching Technique); Grade 8; Computer Assisted Instruction; Instructional Design; Comparative Analysis

Abstract:
Betty's Brain is an open-ended learning environment in which students learn about science topics by teaching a virtual agent named Betty through the construction of a visual causal map that represents the relevant science phenomena. The task is complex, and success requires the use of metacognitive strategies that support knowledge acquisition, causal map construction, and progress monitoring. Previous research has established that middle school students struggle at such tasks without proper scaffolding and feedback. In Betty's Brain, this feedback is provided by Betty and Mr. Davis, another virtual agent designed to provide guidance and suggestions as students work. This paper discusses our implementation of contextualized conversational (CC) feedback, and then presents the results of an experimental study exploring the effects of this feedback in two 8th-grade science classrooms. The results illustrate some advantages of the CC feedback in comparison with a baseline dialogue mechanism that presents similar strategies in a non-conversational, non-contextualized form. While both groups showed significant pre-to-post test learning gains, the difference in learning gains between the groups was not statistically significant. However, students who received CC feedback more often performed actions in accordance with the advised strategies, and they created higher quality causal maps. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Foreign Countries; Science Education; Science Instruction; Genetics; Biology; Classification; Textbooks; Philosophy; Models; Secondary School Students; Comparative Analysis; Questionnaires; Content Area Reading; Reading Assignments; Secondary School Science; Scientific Concepts; Science History; Semi Structured Interviews

Abstract:
In this study we investigate students' ability to discern conceptual variation and the use of multiple models in genetics when reading content-specific excerpts from biology textbooks. Using the history and philosophy of science as our reference, we were able to develop a research instrument allowing students themselves to investigate the occurrence of multiple models and conceptual variation in Swedish upper secondary textbooks. Two excerpts using different models of gene function were selected from authentic textbooks. Students were given the same questionnaire-instrument after reading the two texts, and the results were compared. In this way the students themselves made a classification of the texts which could then be compared with the researchers' classification of the texts. Forty-one upper secondary students aged 18-19 participated in the study. Nine of the students also participated in semi-structured interviews. Students recognized the existence of multiple models in a general way, but had difficulty discerning the different models and the conceptual variation that occurs between them in the texts. Further they did not recognize the occurrence of incommensurability between multiple models. Students had difficulty in transforming their general knowledge of multiple models into an understanding of content specific models of gene function in the textbooks. These findings may have implications for students' understanding of conceptual knowledge because research has established textbooks as one of the most influential aspects in the planning and execution of biology lessons, and teachers commonly assign reading passages to their students without further explanation. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Physics; Competition; Scientific Concepts; Hands on Science; Metacognition; Design; College Students; College Instruction; Teaching Methods; Instructional Effectiveness; Technology Education; Engineering Education; Science Education; Student Projects; Active Learning; Problem Solving; Interviews

Abstract:
In a contest featuring hands-on projects, college students were required to design a simple crawling worm using planning, self-monitoring and self-evaluation processes to solve contradictive problems. To enhance the efficiency of problem solving, one needs to practice meta-cognition based on an application of related scientific concepts. The objective of this study, then, was to analyze the physics concepts employed by the students as they completed a hands-on project named "Crawling Worm," during which they had to overcome problems encountered by the requirements of their design as well as those brought on by competition. Based on the analysis of the participants' working portfolios and on reviews and interviews by engineering professors, the results of this study show that the crawling worm design competition encouraged the practice of problem solving, and it facilitated the learning of physics concepts such as friction, torque, four bar link, material properties, and so on. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Animals; Classification; Elementary School Teachers; Interviews; Comparative Analysis; Professional Development; Semi Structured Interviews; Zoology; Science Education; Scientific Concepts; Pretests Posttests; Science Instruction; Elementary School Science

Abstract:
Numerous studies have been conducted regarding alternative conceptions about animal diversity and classification, many of which have used a cross-age approach to investigate how students' conceptions change over time. None of these studies, however, have investigated teachers' conceptions of animal classification. This study was intended to augment the findings of past research by exploring the conceptions that elementary teachers possess about animal classification. Using interviews and written items, we documented teachers' conceptions about animal classification and compared them with student conceptions identified in previous research studies. Many of the teachers' conceptions observed in this study were similar to students' conceptions in that they were often too limited or too general compared with scientifically accepted conceptions. Also, the teachers in this study frequently used "non-defining" characteristics, such as locomotion and habitat, to classify animals. As a result, several misclassifications were observed in the teachers' responses to the written items. Notably, the results of our study demonstrate that teachers often have the same alternative conceptions about animal classification as students. We explore some possible explanations for these alternative conceptions and discuss the instructional implications of the findings. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Literacy; Data Analysis; Interdisciplinary Approach; Grade 7; Social Studies; Mathematics Education; Science Education; Language Arts; Course Content; Scientific Concepts; Secondary School Mathematics

Abstract:
The Thinking with Data project (TWD) expands on current notions of data literacy by (1) focusing on proportional reasoning as key to data literacy and (2) leveraging the non-mathematics disciplines to engage students in deep thinking about the context of data and the application of proportionality. A set of four 2-week, sequential modules for cross-disciplinary implementation in seventh-grade classrooms was designed and evaluated. Using a quasi-experimental approach, we found that student data literacy was increased through the focused integration of social studies, mathematics, science, and English language arts. In this article, we describe our theoretical approach to designing and implementing the modules, report on student learning gains in mathematics, and describe teacher reactions to the materials. In sum, our study provides evidence that the TWD approach has the potential to build data literacy while also allowing students to learn core discipline-based content standards. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Teaching Methods; Interdisciplinary Approach; Science Teachers; Elementary Secondary Education; Teacher Associations; Science Process Skills; Mathematics; Science Education; Science Instruction; Scientific Literacy; Scientific Concepts; Mathematics Education; Mathematics Instruction; Science Curriculum; Correlation

Abstract:
Articles from the National Science Teacher Association (NSTA) publications were analyzed to investigate resources available for teachers who want to implement interdisciplinary approaches into the science classroom. All articles in each journal from 2004 through 2008 were read an analyzed; approximately 13% of Science & Children (elementary), 21% of Science Scope (middle), and 17% of The Science Teacher (high school) articles met the interdisciplinary approach criteria. Results show that overall, reading, writing, art, and technology are the subjects most commonly integrated into science. Surprisingly, math is rarely discussed across all school levels. Comparing the articles across different school levels, Science Scope articles have the highest number of integrated articles, whereas The Science Teacher had the fewest number of integrated articles. (Contains 1 table and 5 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Physics; Scientific Concepts; Learning; Mechanics (Physics); Epistemology; Cognitive Processes; Concept Formation; Metacognition; Misconceptions; Recall (Psychology)

Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of epistemic beliefs and knowledge representations in cognitive and metacognitive processing when learning about physics concepts through text. Specifically, we manipulated the representation of physics concepts in texts about Newtonian mechanics and explored how these texts interacted with individuals' epistemic beliefs to facilitate or constrain learning. Results revealed that when individuals' epistemic beliefs were consistent with the knowledge representations in their assigned texts, they performed better on various measures of learning (use of processing strategies, text recall, and changes in misconceptions) than when their epistemic beliefs were inconsistent with the knowledge representations. These results have implications for how researchers conceptualize epistemic beliefs and support contemporary views regarding the context sensitivity of individuals' epistemic beliefs. (Contains 8 figures and 9 tables.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Cognitive Processes; Comparative Analysis; Data Analysis; Models; Scientific Concepts; Physics; Energy; Science Education; Quantum Mechanics; College Science; Higher Education

Abstract:
In this paper it is argued that virtual processes are dispensable fictions. The argument proceeds by a comparison with the phenomenon of quantum tunnelling. Building on an analysis of Levy-Leblond and Balibar, it is argued that, although the phenomenon known as quantum tunnelling certainly occurs and is at the basis of many paradigmatic quantum effects, the implied conceptualization of it as a free particle burrowing through a potential barrier is flawed. An alpha particle, for example, does not exist as a free particle inside a uranium nucleus and then "burrow through" the massive potential barrier of the repulsive Coulomb potential: rather, it can be interpreted as existing in a bound state which gives it a corresponding (absolutely tiny, but) finite probability of appearing on the other side of the barrier. If the part of the state function representing the transmission through the barrier is conceived as representing a particle trajectory, the particle will have imaginary momentum and negative kinetic energy. A similar analysis then applies to virtual processes. For example, if (as in Hawking's conception of black hole radiation) one imagines a pair of particles created at the Schwarzschild radius, one of which drops into the black hole, at its creation that particle will have imaginary momentum and negative kinetic energy; so will the pion that is imagined as mediating the nuclear exchange force on the standard model. In each case, it is argued, the phenomenon can be understood in terms of a finite probability of transmission predicted by quantum theory, without appealing to particle trajectories. The idea that a particle "penetrates" a barrier that it does not have the energy to surmount, or that a pair of particles is "virtually" produced one on either side of the Schwarzschild radius, in defiance of energy conservation, should be discarded as unphysical. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Science Education; Earth Science; Logical Thinking; Grade 9; Thinking Skills; Secondary School Science; Science Process Skills; Motion; Grade 8; Pretests Posttests; Cognitive Processes; Models; Scientific Concepts

Abstract:
In recent years, science education has placed increasing importance on learners' mastery of scientific reasoning. This growing emphasis presents a challenge for both developers and users of assessments. We report on our effort around the conceptualization, development, and testing the validity of an assessment of students' ability to reason around physical dynamic models in Earth Science. Building from the research literature on analogical mapping and informed by the current perspectives on learning progressions, we present a three-tiered construct describing the increasing sophistication of students' analogical reasoning around the correspondences and non-correspondences between models and the Earth System: at the level of entities (Level 1), configurations in space or relative motion of entities (Level 2), and the mechanism or cause for observed phenomena (Level 3). Grounded in a construct-centered design approach, we describe our process for developing assessments in order to examine and validate this construct, including how we selected topics and models, designed items, and developed outcome spaces. We present the specific example of one assessment centered on moon phases, which was administered to 164 8th and 9th grade Earth Science students as a pre/postmeasure. Two hundred ninety-four responses were analyzed using a Rasch modeling approach. Item difficulties and student proficiency scores were calculated and analyzed regarding their relative performance with respect to the three levels of the construct. The analysis results provided initial evidence in support of the construct as conceived, with students displaying a range of analogical reasoning spanning all three construct levels. It also identified problematic items that merit further examination. Overall, the assessment has provided us the opportunity to better describe and frame the cognitive uses of models by students during learning situations in Earth Science. Implications for instruction and future directions for research in this area are discussed. (Contains 11 figures, 1 table, and 1 note.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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