Master of Education, University of Toledo, 2004, Physical Education

An Abstract of Engaging Cognitive Neurosciences in the Classroom Marie Vasquez-Cropper Submitted as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Education degree in Physical Education The University of Toledo December 2004 Educators' work in a value-laden profession is interwoven into the seams of our society. Parents, pupils, oversight agencies, and peers make up the fabric of daily classroom practices. A global view of our nation's classrooms reveals a noticeable absence in education design and implementation - thoughtful and systematic inclusion of scientific knowledge to guide practice. Sylwester (1995) identified that educators do not have the freedom to wait for results of research to guide their classroom practices. Students who fit societal profiles of highly motivated, having strong family support, and belonging to secure homes fare better in our educational system. Educators face the frustrating reality of their students' widely varying knowledge and support base. A review of where cognitive research has been, how it validates some currently successful educational practices, and where it is heading can stir debate. This review summarizes historical and current forays into cognitive neuroscientific research and pedagogical practices from books, observations, and current professional journals.

Committee: Celia Regimbal (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Sciences

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2008, Educational Studies: Hums, Science, Tech and Voc

This study is premised on the fact that student conceptions of optics appear to be unrelated to student characteristics of gender, age, years since high school graduation, or previous academic experiences. This study investigated the relationships between student characteristics and student performance on image formation test items and the changes in student conceptions of optics after an introductory inquiry-based physics course. Data were collected with the Test of Image Formation with Light-Ray Tracing and the Student Survey from 39-college students participating in an inquiry-based geometrical optics course. Total scale and subscale scores representing the optics instrument content were derived from student pretest and posttest responses. The types of knowledge needed to answer each optics item correctly were categorized as situational, conceptual, procedural, and strategic knowledge and were associated with student correct and incorrect responses to each item to explain the existence and changes in student scientific and naive conceptions. Correlation and stepwise multiple regression analyses showed that (a) student experience with calculus was a significant predictor of student performance on the total scale as well as on the refraction subscale, (b) a combination of student age and previous academic experience with precalculus was a significant predictor of student performance on the pretest pinhole subscale, (c) student characteristic of years since high school graduation was a significant predictor of the gain in student scores on pinhole and plane-mirror items from the pretest to the posttest with those students who were most recent graduates from high school doing better. Multivariate and univariate analyses of variance showed that (a) statistically significant mean gains between total scores as well as between various individual pinhole items and (b) no significant changes for individual plane-mirror items from pretest to posttest. Results revealed that (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Arthur White (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Sciences

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2007, Educational Studies: Hums, Science, Tech and Voc

In recent years there has been a national call for reform in undergraduate science education. The goal of this reform movement in science education is to develop ways to improve undergraduate student learning with an emphasis on developing more effective teaching practices. Introductory science courses at the college level are generally taught using a traditional lecture format. Recent studies have shown incorporating active learning strategies within the traditional lecture classroom has positive effects on student outcomes. This study focuses on incorporating interactive teaching methods into the traditional lecture classroom to enhance student learning for non-science majors enrolled in introductory geology courses at a private university. Students' experience and instructional preferences regarding introductory geology courses were identified from survey data analysis. The information gained from responses to the questionnaire was utilized to develop an interactive lecture introductory geology course for non-science majors. Student outcomes were examined in introductory geology courses based on two teaching methods: interactive lecture and traditional lecture. There were no significant statistical differences between groups based on the students outcomes and teaching methods. Incorporating interactive lecture methods did not statistically improve student outcomes when compared to traditional lecture methods. However, the responses to the survey revealed students have a preference for introductory geology courses taught with lecture and instructor-led discussions and students prefer to work independently or in small groups. The results of this study are useful to individuals who teach introductory geology courses and individuals who teach introductory science courses for non-science majors at the college level.

Committee: David Haury (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Sciences; Geology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2007, Teaching and Learning

This study aimed to explore high school biology teachers' epistemological criteria and their attention to reasoning and argumentation within their instructional practices. This study investigated: (1).what epistemological criteria do high school biology teachers use when justifying the validity of conclusions, (2) what is the frequency of the explicit use of reasoning and argumentation, if any, in high school biology teachers' instructional practices, and to what extend are reasoning and argumentation skills reflected, if at all, in high school biology teachers' modes of assessment. Three different data collection methods were employed in this study; face-to-face interviews, classroom observations, and document collections. This investigation was made by having teachers provide an argument about the validity of hypothetical conclusions drawn by the students based on two different scenarios related to evolution. Toulmin's Argument Pattern used to create rubric to analyze high school biology teachers' levels of reasoning through argumentation. Results of the data analysis suggested following findings. First, high school biology teachers participated in this study presented variety of epistemological criteria which were presented as high, moderate and low levels of reasoning through the argumentations. Second, elements of Toulmin's Argument Pattern were visible in the participants teaching practices, however students were not explicitly introduced to a well structured argument in those classrooms. Third, Interview Protocols designed for this study were found useful to identify the epistemological criteria and level of reasoning through argumentation. Results of this study suggest the following implications for improving science education. Toulmin's Argument Model should be introduced to teachers through teacher education or professional development programs to increase the use of reasoning and argumentation in instructional practices. The results suggest that use of (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: David Haury (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Sciences

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2007, Teaching and Learning

This study explored the effect of history of genetics in teaching genetics and learning the nature of science (NOS). A quasi-experimental control group research design with pretests, posttests, and delayed posttests was used, combining qualitative data and quantitative data. Two classes which consisted of tenth grade biology students participated in this study. The present study involved two instructional interventions, Best Practice Instruction with History of Genetics (BPIw/HG) and Best Practice Instruction (BPI). The experimental group received the BPIw/HG utilizing various historical materials from the history of genetics, while the control group was not introduced to historical materials. Scientific Attitude Inventory II, Genetics Terms' Definitions with Concept Mapping (GTDCM), NOS Terms' Definitions with Concept Mapping (NTDCM), and View of Nature of Science (VNOS-C) were used to investigate students' scientific attitude inventory, and their understanding of genetics as well as the NOS. The results showed that students' scientific attitude inventory, and their understanding of genetics and the NOS were not statistically significantly different in the pretest (p>.05). After the intervention, the experimental group of students who received BPIw/HG demonstrated better understanding of the NOS. NTDCM results showed that the experimental group was better in defining the NOS terms and constructing a concept map (p<.01). In addition, the experimental group retained their understanding of the NOS two-months after the completion of the intervention, showing no statistically significant difference between the posttest and the delayed posttest of NTDCM (p>.05). Further, VNOS-C data indicated that a greater percentage of the experimental group than the control group improved their understanding of the NOS. However, the two groups' understanding of genetics concepts did not show any statistically significant difference in the pretest, the posttest, and the delayed posttes (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Karen Irving (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Sciences

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2006, Teaching and Learning

This study attempted to further understanding of factors affecting the teacher efficacy beliefs of secondary science preservice teachers, and to develop a model relating teacher efficacy to beliefs about teaching and students. A mixed quantitative and qualitative methodology was utilized in order to track participants' beliefs both broadly and in depth throughout a one-year teacher preparation program. Results from this analysis revealed that preservice teachers at the end of the program had significantly higher personal science teaching efficacy beliefs than at the beginning of the program. No significant difference in science teaching outcome expectancy beliefs was found, although individual preservice teachers did develop alternate beliefs. Teacher efficacy beliefs were directly affected by three of Bandura's four sources of self-efficacy beliefs—Mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, and verbal persuasion—with the influence of each source of self-efficacy information appearing to change during the course of the teacher preparation program. No evidence was found that affective states by themselves had resulted in belief changes, although many of the other experiences were more powerful because they were accompanied by an emotional incident. Connections between teacher efficacy beliefs, beliefs about students, and beliefs about teaching were uncovered, as was the importance of content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge on a teacher's sense of efficacy.

Committee: Anita Roychoudhury (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Sciences

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2006, Teaching and Learning

Molecular biology is increasingly emphasized in the science curriculum along with applications of the latest developments within our daily lives, such as medicine or legal matters. Limited content knowledge among teachers due to the changing nature of scientific knowledge, and the rapid discoveries in technology are known to be a part of the problem, especially for teachers who have been in the workforce for many years. A major aim of professional development is to help teachers cope with the advances in scientific knowledge and provide paths for teachers to continually improve their knowledge and skills. The expectation is that increased knowledge and skills among teachers will be reflected in student achievement. One of the issues appears to be the gap between the incidence of teachers' attendance at professional development programs and the incidence of implementation in participants' classrooms. This study focuses on this issue by exploring the relationship between teachers' professional development attendance and their implementation behavior. The goal is to understand what factors affect teachers' decision making to implement the new knowledge and skills in their classrooms. For this purpose, the study focuses on the effects of a DNA fingerprinting workshop, which is regularly offered by a large Midwestern university in the United States for secondary science teachers and their students. The workshop focuses on the biotechnology applications of genetics—specifically, use of DNA fingerprinting technology in different areas of social life—while forensic science is emphasized. Results indicate that the teachers' motivation to attend the DNA Fingerprinting professional development workshop was mainly influenced by two variables: The need to improve content knowledge and skills, and requirements associated with current educational policies. Level of content knowledge was also found to be a factor contributing to teachers' motivation to implement the workshop. Conce (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: David Haury (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Sciences

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2006, Educational Studies: Hums, Science, Tech and Voc

The nature of matter based upon atomic theory is a principal concept in science; hence, how to teach and how to learn about atoms is an important subject for science education. To this end, this study explored student perceptions of atomic structure and how students learn about this concept by analyzing student mental models of atomic structure. Changes in student mental models serve as a valuable resource for comprehending student conceptual development. Data was collected from students who were taking the introductory chemistry course. Responses to course examinations, pre- and post-questionnaires, and pre- and post-interviews were used to analyze student mental models of atomic structure. First, this study reveals that conceptual development can be achieved, either by elevating mental models toward higher levels of understanding or by developing a single mental model. This study reinforces the importance of higher-order thinking skills to enable students to relate concepts in order to construct a target model of atomic structure. Second, Bohr's orbital structure seems to have had a strong influence on student perceptions of atomic structure. With regard to this finding, this study suggests that it is instructionally important to teach the concept of “orbitals” related to “quantum theory.” Third, there were relatively few students who had developed understanding at the level of the target model, which required student understanding of the basic ideas of quantum theory. This study suggests that the understanding of atomic structure based on the idea of quantum theory is both important and difficult. Fourth, this study included different student assessments comprised of course examinations, questionnaires, and interviews. Each assessment can be used to gather information to map out student mental models. Fifth, in the comparison of the pre- and post-interview responses, this study showed that high achieving students moved toward more improved models or to advanced l (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Arthur White (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Sciences

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2006, Teaching and Learning

Graphs have a broad use in science classrooms, especially in physics. In physics, kinematics is probably the topic for which graphs are most widely used. The participants in this study were from two different grade-12 physics classrooms, advanced placement and calculus-based physics. The main purpose of this study was to search for the relationships between student spatial ability, logical thinking, mathematical achievement, and kinematics graphs interpretation skills. The Purdue Spatial Visualization Test, the Middle Grades Integrated Process Skills Test (MIPT), and the Test of Understanding Graphs in Kinematics (TUG-K) were used for quantitative data collection. Classroom observations were made to acquire ideas about classroom environment and instructional techniques. Factor analysis, simple linear correlation, multiple linear regression, and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the quantitative data. Each instrument has two principal components. The selection and calculation of the slope and of the area were the two principal components of TUG-K. MIPT was composed of a component based upon processing text and a second component based upon processing symbolic information. The Purdue Spatial Visualization Test was composed of a component based upon one-step processing and a second component based upon two-step processing of information. Student ability to determine the slope in a kinematics graph was significantly correlated with spatial ability, logical thinking, and mathematics aptitude and achievement. However, student ability to determine the area in a kinematics graph was only significantly correlated with student pre-calculus semester 2 grades. Male students performed significantly better than female students on the slope items of TUG-K. Also, male students performed significantly better than female students on the PSAT mathematics assessment and spatial ability. This study found that students have different levels of spatial ability, logical thinking, (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Arthur White (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Sciences

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2006, Teaching and Learning

From an anthropologist's (Maddock, 1981) point of view, “science and science education are cultural enterprises which form a part of the wider cultural matrix of society and educational considerations concerning science must be made in the light of this wider perspective”(p.10). In addition, Spindler (1987) states that teaching science is considered cultural transmission while, Wolcott (1991) focuses on learning science as culture acquisition. In these statements, culture is defined as “an ordered system of meaning and symbols, in terms of which social interaction takes place” (Geertz, 1973). Thus, learning and culture are a partnership.The purpose of this study is to identify the relationship between students' learning styles and their culture. Does culture limit or expand the learning of individuals? For this study Turkish students who pursue undergraduate or graduate education in the United States were identified and compared to American college students through learning styles data and anxiety levels as cultural markers. To identify individuals' learning styles we used the Building Excellence (BE) instrument (Dunn & Rundle, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000). BE assesses twenty four elements covering each person's perceptual, psychological, environmental, physiological, emotional, and sociological processing preferences and analyzes the learning conditions for students' individual preferences in these six areas. A two-sample t test and regression analysis were used to identify the differences between Turkish and American students by means of their learning style preferences and social anxiety levels. The sample consisted of 67 % males and 33 % female. The age of the subjects was relatively young as we expected; 51 % of them 25 years old and under and 46 % of them were between the ages of 26 and 35. In terms of academic major areas 38 % of the students were from the basic science areas and the second most prevalent major category was engineering with 35 % of the s (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: BARBARA THOMSON (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Sciences

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2004, Teaching and Learning

This dissertation presents a four-month study which investigated the effectiveness of curriculum materials incorporating the history of science on learning science, understanding the nature of science, and students' interest in science. With regards to these objectives, three different class contexts were developed with three main types of historical information. In the first class context, the similarities between students' alternative ideas and scientific concepts from the history of science were considered in developing teaching materials. In the second class context, the teacher developed discussion sessions on the ways scientists produce scientific knowledge. In the third class context, short stories about scientists' personal lives were used without connection to the concepts of science or nature of science. Ninety-four eighth-grade students were randomly assigned to four classes taught by the same science teacher. The concepts in the motion unit and in the force unit were taught. Three of the four classrooms were taught using the contexts provided by the history of science while the fourth class was taught in the same way that the teacher had used in previous years. The effects on student meaningful learning, perceptions of the nature of science, and interest in science were evaluated at the beginning, at the middle, and at the end of the study to compare differences between historical class contexts and the Traditional Class. Results of analysis showed that the changes in meaningful learning scores for the first class context were higher than other classes but the differences between classes were not significant. The history of science affected student perceptions of the process of science and the role of inference in the process of science. Stories from scientists' personal lives consistently stimulated student interest in science, while discussions of scientific methods without these stories decreased student interest. The positive effects of stories relat (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Arthur White (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Sciences

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2004, Educational Studies: Hums, Science, Tech and Voc

The purpose of this study was to inquire about the simultaneous coexistence of alternative and scientific conceptions in the domain of physics. This study was particularly motivated by several arguments put forward in opposition to the Conceptual Change Model. In the simplest form, these arguments state that people construct different domains of knowledge and different modes of perception in different situations. The following research questions were generated to inquire about this argument: (1) Do individuals keep their alternative conceptions after they have acquired scientific conceptions? (2) How are these different conceptions nested in their conceptual structure? (3) What kind of knowledge, skills, and reasoning are necessary to transfer scientific principles instead of alternative ones in the construction of a valid model? Two groups of participants were selected for this inquiry: one with minimal (non-physics group) and the other with high level of domain specific knowledge in physics (physics group). Data collection procedures were based on think-aloud and retrospective questioning. Analysis of the data collected from the non-physics group indicated that the nature of alternative conceptions is framed by two types of reasoning: reasoning by mental simulation and semiformal reasoning. Analysis of the data collected from the physics group revealed that mental images or scenes feeding reasoning by mental simulation had not disappeared after the acquisition of scientific conceptions. It was also evident that alternative principles feeding semiformal reasoning had not necessarily disappeared after the acquisition of scientific conceptions. It was explicitly noticed that although the participants compartmentalized reasoning by mental simulation and scientific (formal) reasoning, semiformal and scientific reasoning were intertwined in a way that the components of semiformal reasoning easily took their place among the components of scientific reasoning. In spite of (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Arthur White (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Sciences

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2003, Teaching and Learning

The purpose of this study is to design and provide initial validation of the Comprehensive Beliefs About Inquiry and Teaching and Learning Experiences Instrument (CBAITLEI) for measuring beliefs and experiences related to teaching and learning science through inquiry approaches. The instrument measures beliefs about the importance of inquiry for teaching and learning science, barriers to using inquiry in science classrooms, student outcomes resulting from use of inquiry approaches, and beliefs about scientific inquiry. Experts in teacher education programs and inquiry assessed content and face validity. Principal Components Analyses of participant responses were used to assess construct validity. A sample of 603 respondents was chosen based upon their varied teaching and learning experiences. One-way ANOVA with post hoc Scheffe Pairwise Comparisons were used to determine sample group differences in their beliefs about inquiry teaching and learning and scientific inquiry and to determine the differences among these groups in their learning and teaching experiences. Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficients were used to detect significant relationships between learning, teaching experience and beliefs about inquiry, and scientific inquiry. Results showed significant relationships between learning and teaching experience. Teaching and learning experiences were also significantly correlated with beliefs about inquiry teaching and learning and scientific inquiry. Canonical correlations were used to determine the ability of the instrument to discriminate between groups characterized by different teaching and learning experiences. Components resulting from applying Principal Components Analyses were considered to be good discriminators for the groups sampled except for the Learning Experience in Regard to Student Role in Inquiry Classrooms component. This is evidence of construct validity of the instrument sections that measure these variables. Based upon face validi (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Arthur White (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Sciences

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2003, Teaching and Learning

This study examined the challenges facing a representative Native American School located in Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota. The study also investigated the relationship between school achievement (SAT Science score) and the scores on the Resiliency measure. Past research on Native American education system has been focused on identifying risk factors associated with school failure and school dropout. It is now recognized that certain innate traits in children and certain factors in the environment enable children to cope with the problems in life and succeed. This quality has been designated as Resiliency. The Resilience of the student was measured by using the "Resiliency Instrument" developed and validated by Cynthia Jew. The Resiliency questionnaire comprised of sixty items. The items were placed on a five point scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The items on the questionnaire were grouped into four subscales for analysis, based on their appropriateness to the subscale. The subscales used were: Positive attitude; Independence; Goal; and Empathy. Pearson product-moment r, t-test, Regression, and ANOVA were used to analyze the data. A demographic questionnaire was administered to obtain background information. Seventy eight junior high students participated in this study. A questionnaire was given to teachers in the same school to obtain their perception of the challenges faced by the school (17 teachers participated). The results indicate that the Goal subscale was positively associated with achievement. Resilient individuals have the ability to cope with their problems and focus on the future, and they prepare to attain the skills necessary to accomplish their goal. A relation was also seen for Positive Attitude subscale and achievement. There was a positive correlation between achievement and attendance, and a negative correlation for Incident reports (as a measure of disciplinary action) and achievement. There are a number of factors (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: David Haury (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Sciences

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2003, Educational Theory and Practice

National standards for science teaching stress the use of inquiry teaching methods. One example of inquiry teaching is the I Wonder Project, which has been used in the Madison, WI Metropolitan School District for over ten years. The purpose of the I Wonder Project is to promote scientific discourse among elementary students through the publication of their research in a journal, similar in some ways to the scientific discourse within a community of scientists. This research study utilizes the I Wonder Project method to encourage student communication and self-guided project work. Approximately fifteen students ages 6-12 participated in a six-week self-guided inquiry project called I Wonder. Students worked as a cohort to learn science process skills and to build a scientific community. During this time, each student designed and carried out a self-guided inquiry project and wrote an article about their findings, which was presented on the last day of summer camp. A mixed method approach was used conduct this study. Participants were given a pretest and a posttest to determine the changes in scientific process skills as a result of participation in the project. The students were interviewed to determine their ideas about science and how those ideas changed over the time of participation in summer camp. Also the students were observed by the researchers, as well as audio- and video- taped to capture the verbal conversations and debates that take place as a result of discussion of ideas during the program. Students participated in this study as individuals and group members. Teacher and student interactions were noted to follow three main interaction styles: structured, guided and open-ended. These interactions work much like the inquiry levels described in the literature. Students also interacted with each other in three different ways: independently, dependently, and multifuncting. Some students wished to work alone, while others preferred others to contribute to the (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Christopher Andersen (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Sciences

Master of Education (MEd), Ohio University, 2003, Secondary Education (Education)

The objective of this study was to determine the status of secondary life science teachers in the State of Ohio as it pertains to the theory of evolution. Data were collected through a survey sent to 300 Ohio secondary life science teachers in May, 2003. The primary focus of this study was on determining the acceptance level of these teachers for the theory of evolution. It was found that the majority accept evolutionary theory. Another component of this study focused on teachers' knowledge level of evolutionary theory, and found that teachers have an adequate understanding. Finally, this study looked at some of the possible relationships that exist to a teacher's acceptance evolutionary theory and found a correlation between a teacher's acceptance to his or her knowledge level. A teacher's acceptance and knowledge levels of evolutionary theory are also correlated with the number of years the teacher has taught.

Committee: Colleen Sexton (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Sciences

Masters in Education, Marietta College, 2006, Education

This study examines the relationship between fitness and success in the sport of soccer at the Division III level. A questionnaire was devised to assess the importance of conditioning and what types of aerobic and anaerobic fitness was necessary or a combination of both of these elements incorporated in the program. The questionnaire was broken into two parts and was distributed to soccer teams and their coaches. This sample includes 25 Division III soccer coaches in Ohio and Pennsylvania. The research shows that the conditioning performed during preseason reflects the success of the program. Future studies will be needed to analysis the correlation between conditioning in preseason and the success of a program.

Committee: William Bauer (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Sciences