Search

In the context of the emphasis on inquiry teaching in science education, this study looks into how pre-service elementary teachers understand and practice science inquiry teaching during field experience. By examining inquiry lesson preparation, practice, and reflections of pre-service elementary teachers, we attempt to understand the difficulties they encounter and what could result from those difficulties in their practice. A total of 16 seniors (fourth-year students) in an elementary teacher education program participated in this study. In our findings, we highlight three difficulties "on the lesson" that are related to teaching practices that were missing in the classrooms: (1) developing children's own ideas and curiosity, (2) guiding children in designing valid experiments for their hypotheses, (3) scaffolding children's data interpretation and discussion and another three difficulties "under the lesson" that are related to problems with the pre-service teachers' conceptualization of the task: (4) tension between guided and open inquiry, (5) incomplete understanding of hypothesis, and (6) lack of confidence in science content knowledge. Based on these findings, we discuss how these difficulties are complexly related in the pre-service teachers' understandings and action. Several suggestions for science teacher education for inquiry teaching, especially hypothesis-based inquiry teaching, are then explored.

Although the use of portfolios to assess student performance in K-12 science classrooms and to monitor the training of preservice science teachers is increasingly common, their implementation in undergraduate science courses is still limited. The work presented here represents one in-depth example of the integration of portfolio assessment into the standard assessment practices of a general education course for nonscience majors. The subject matter of the course was astrobiology, but the approach would work equally well for other science disciplines. The portfolio assignments were characterized by intensive writing, iteration on written assignments, engaging with popular and semitechnical articles on the subject matter, and expressing scientific principles involved in other contexts. The work described here will be of interest to other science instructors curious about ways in which to design portfolio assessments for use with nonscience majors to support general education requirements. (Contains 2 figures.)

This article examines issues related to the reading and teaching of faction literature in school. Faction is defined not only as a literary genre but also as a form of reading applied to the reader. The article discusses young people's encounters with novels "based on a true story" as well as the challenges this means for literature instruction. We also analyse the relationship between teachers' approach to faction literature in the classroom and syllabus formulations regarding appreciative forms of reading. The empirical material mainly consists of instances of teaching in the subject of Swedish from three upper secondary school classrooms. Our analysis suggests three areas in which the students' reading of faction becomes complicated in the way that the text's factual accuracy is often taken for granted. To meet these challenges a reflective literature instruction is required. We also demonstrate that the idea of literature mainly as a source of knowledge of life is strongly advocated in the syllabus. (Contains 2 notes.)

In this paper, I offer a framework for exploring the academic and disciplinary identities young African American children construct in urban science classrooms. Using interviews, fieldnotes, and videotapes of classroom lessons, I juxtapose the ways in which two children tell about their experiences in school and science with their performances of self in the midst of complex, spontaneous classroom engagements with their peers and teacher. I found that the children's performances of self in the classroom were consistent with the ways they spoke about themselves in the interviews. I also found that the academic identities they constructed were different from their disciplinary identities, and these differing identities were consistent across analytic contexts. Moreover, the identities the children constructed in the interviews nuanced my understandings of what I observed in the classroom in significant ways. I argue that juxtaposing narrated and performed analytical contexts offers affordances for understanding academic and disciplinary identities constructions in school and science. Moreover, it is important both to listen to children's stories about their experiences in addition to observing their ways of being in the classroom to fully understand their experiences of school and science. (Contains 2 tables, 1 footnote and 1 figure.)

This study investigates the efficacy of an integrated science and literacy approach at the upper-elementary level. Teachers in 94 fourth grade classrooms in one Southern state participated. Half of the teachers taught the treatment unit, an integrated science-literacy unit on light and energy designed using a curriculum model that engages students in reading text, writing notes and reports, conducting firsthand investigations, and frequent discussion of key concepts and processes to acquire inquiry skills and knowledge about science concepts, while the other half of the teachers taught a content-comparable science-only unit on light and energy (using materials provided by their districts) and provided their regular literacy instruction. Students in the treatment group made significantly greater gains on measures of science understanding, science vocabulary, and science writing. Students in both groups made comparable gains in science reading comprehension. (Contains 10 tables and 9 notes.)

This article synthesizes 15 years of research in middle school classrooms that have started to integrate new literacies into their daily teaching and learning. Trends of the data suggest there are certain salient characteristics of middle school teachers and students in these grade levels that make such innovations more successful with them than with other grade levels. The author suggests that the organizational plan of many middle schools may be one of the keys to allowing the integration of new literacies. A workshop template is offered that would allow innovation to continue even as most schools transition to the new Common Core English Language Arts standards. This template includes time for conducting mini-lessons; responding to teacher-selected texts and student-selected texts (both page-based and screen-based texts); writing and creating teacher-directed texts and student-directed texts (both page-based and screen-based texts); and time for exhibiting and archiving student work. (Contains 1 figure.)

Attempts to increase motivation in reluctant readers have been the focus of many local, state and federal reading research initiatives. Only recently have researchers and educators come to understand that many of these same issues also face teachers of gifted and talented learners. Frequently, students who are bright and talented but do not perform to their academic ability are categorized as being underachievers or unmotivated. In this article, the authors explore some reasons why gifted students struggle with reading and why they, like those in regular classrooms, are reluctant to read and write. This study uses a computerized version of the Matching Familiar Figures Test as an identifier and predictor of student performance. An instructional intervention (UB the Director Model) is also utilized to determine if these instructional practices help to overcome these students' reluctance and lack of motivation. (Contains 1 figure and 5 tables.)

Traditionally, a considerable part of teaching and learning algebra has focused on routine practice and the application of rules, procedures, and techniques. Although today's computerized environments may have decreased the need to master algebraic skills, procedural competence is still a central component in any mathematical activity. However, technological tools have shifted the emphasis from performing operations on complex algebraic expressions to understanding their role and meaning. Consequently, learning rules and procedures should be linked to a deeper understanding of their meaning and to a flexible choice of solution methods (Kieran 2004; Star 2007; NCTM 2000). The authors write for mathematics teachers who wish to add a conceptual dimension to the practice of algebraic procedures. Their approach is based on the potential advantages of the traditional approach: Short exercises are readily accessible to students and are easy to implement in regular classrooms, and the focus is on learning one specific skill at a time. The activities they propose here offer opportunities for more effective learning of algebra. They describe an approach in which rules, procedures, algorithms, sense making, meaningful reading, and the creation of algebraic expressions are thoroughly integrated into the learning process. These practice-oriented activities require the adoption of some additional higher-order thinking skills, such as developing alternative solutions, evaluating the effectiveness of approaches, participating in class discussions, and reflecting on learned procedures and solution methods. The goal is to provide teachers with an alternative to the traditional practice sections of a beginning algebra course without changing the basic format of short exercise sets. (Contains 1 table and 9 figures.)

The purpose of this study thus was to empirically investigate the association between teachers' self-reported reflective practices and their use of student response systems. Analysis of responses from 214 teacher participants from the southeastern US to the "Teachers' Technology Use and Belief Survey (TTUBS)" revealed the following findings. First, self-reflection scores and reported SRS use were low yet significantly correlated. Second, an increase in SRS predicts an increase in self-reflection. With regard to the relationship of grade level and level of experience, this study shows SRS use the highest in middle school classrooms and that beginning teachers report using SRS more than experienced teachers. Considerations involving SRS availability, training, and use are discussed relative to the findings. Implications for enhancing professional growth through SRS use and reflective practice also are presented. (Contains 4 tables.)

Is a popular innovation for increasing human capital in the teaching profession--competitive college scholarships for teachers--effective? The authors show that one large and long-standing merit-based scholarship program (a) attracts teacher candidates who have high academic qualifications; (b) yields graduates who teach lower performing students, although not as challenging as the students of other beginning teachers; (c) produces teachers who raise high school and third- through eighth-grade mathematics test scores more than other traditionally prepared teachers do; and (d) produces teachers who stay in public school classrooms for 5 years or more at higher rates than alternative entry or other traditionally prepared teachers. (Contains 5 tables, 1 figure, and 5 notes.)

There are some small urban high schools that have high levels of student engagement in science. However, much of the science education research and student teacher placement in urban areas is done in large, somewhat dysfunctional schools. Those who have created these effective environments for science show that it is only in the "whole school context" in which these effective science classrooms exist and the "matrix" of interactions organized by the teachers "outside" the science classroom that leads to this success. The theory and research behind the success of this "matrix" of interactions that differentiates these effective classrooms from traditional inner city science classrooms is presented. Implications for science teacher educators are also presented.

The purpose of this study was to assess whether understanding relational terminology (i.e., "more, less," and "fewer") mediates the effects of intervention on compare word problems. Second-grade classrooms (N = 31) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: researcher-designed word-problem intervention, researcher-designed calculation intervention, or business-as-usual (teacher-designed) control. Students in word-problem intervention classrooms received instruction on the compare problem type, which included a focus on understanding relational terminology within compare word problems. Analyses, which accounted for variance associated with classroom clustering, indicated that (a) compared with the calculation intervention and business-as-usual conditions, word-problem intervention significantly increased performance on all three subtypes of compare problems and on understanding relational terminology, and (b) the intervention effect was fully mediated by students' understanding of relational terminology for one subtype of compare problems and partially mediated by students' understanding of relational terminology for the other two subtypes. (Contains 1 figure and 6 tables.)

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)--now in development--will be based on "A Framework for K-12 Science Education" released by the National Research Council last summer. The "Framework" identifies seven scientific and engineering practices that should be used in science classrooms. These practices reflect the multiple ways in which scientists explore and understand the world and the multiple ways in which engineers solve problems. These practices include: (1) Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering); (2) Developing and using models; (3) Planning and carrying out investigations; (4) Analyzing and interpreting data; (5) Using mathematics, information and computer technology, and computational thinking; (6) Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering); (7) Engaging in argument from evidence; and (8) Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information. In this article, the authors look in-depth at scientific practice #2--developing, evaluating, and revising scientific models to explain and predict phenomena--and what it means for classroom teaching. (Contains 4 figures.)

In this paper, discourse analytical methods are applied to data from two middle school classrooms, as a teacher, researcher, and students' engage in research based curricula (Martinez, Orellana, Pacheco, & Carbone, 2008; Orellana & Reynolds, 2008) designed to leverage students' language brokering skills and facilitate discussion about languages. Analysis centers on teacher and researcher mediated talk that engages students in exploring their linguistic skills through an examination of voice and register in multiple settings. This paper argues that engaging in talk about how language meets our social needs can provide an authentic and valuable way for teachers and students to recognize what they can do and do bring to the classroom. This type of talk can also help to cultivate students' metalinguistic awareness and promote students' discursive consciousness.

This paper provides practical guidance for researchers who are designing and analyzing studies that randomize schools--which comprise three levels of clustering (students in classrooms in schools)--to measure intervention effects on student academic outcomes when information on the middle level (classrooms) is missing. This situation arises frequently in practice because many available data sets identify the schools that students attend but not the classrooms in which they are taught. Do studies conducted under these circumstances yield results that are substantially different from what they would have been if this information had been available? The paper first considers this problem in the context of planning a school randomized study based on preexisting two-level information about how academic outcomes for students vary across schools and across students within schools (but not across classrooms in schools). The paper next considers this issue in the context of estimating intervention effects from school-randomized studies. Findings are based on empirical analyses of four multisite data sets using academic outcomes for students within classrooms within schools. The results indicate that in almost all situations one will obtain nearly identical results whether or not the classroom or middle level is omitted when designing or analyzing studies. (Contains 9 tables and 4 notes.)

Policy documents in science education suggest that even at the earliest years of formal schooling, students are capable of constructing scientific explanations about focal content. Nonetheless, few research studies provide insights into how to effectively provide scaffolds appropriate for late elementary-age students' fruitful creation of scientific explanations. This article describes two research studies to address the question, what makes explanation construction difficult for elementary students? The studies were conducted in urban fourth, fifth, and sixth grade classrooms where students were learning science through curricular units that contained 8 weeks of scaffold-rich activities focused on explanation construction. The first study focused on the kind and amount of information scaffold-rich assessments provided about young students' abilities to construct explanations under a range of scaffold conditions. Results demonstrated that fifth and sixth grade tests provided strong information about a range of students' abilities to construct explanations under a range of supported conditions. On balance, the fourth grade test did not provide as much information, nor was this test curricular-sensitive. The second study provided information on pre-post test achievement relative to the amount of curricular intervention utilized over the 8-week time period with each cohort. Results demonstrated that when taking the amount of the intervention into account, there were strong learning gains in all three grade-level cohorts. In conjunction with the pre-post study, a type-of-error analysis was conducted to better understand the nature of errors among younger students. This analysis revealed that our youngest students generated the most incomplete responses and struggled in particular ways with generating valid evidence. Conclusions emphasize the synergistic value of research studies on scaffold-rich assessments, curricular scaffolds, and teacher guidance toward a more complete understanding of how to support young students' explanation construction. (Contains 11 figures, 7 tables and 2 notes.)

By the 1970s a fundamental shift had taken place in German science education. This was a shift away from the learning of more-or-less isolated facts and facets in Biology, Chemistry, and Physics towards a restructuring of science teaching along the general principles of the respective science domains. The changes included also the addition of dimensions such as problem-based learning, understanding the basics of the Nature of Science, and engaging students in the methods of science. Since then, practical work has been solidly built into German science syllabi for each one of the separate teaching domains in school science. However, research evidence shows that practical work is still limited in many science classrooms. In many cases, hands-on work is only present as either teacher demonstrations or as cookbook-style recipe experiments for pupils. The shortcomings of such practice have also become evident in the TIMSS and PISA studies conducted since 1997. However, the outcomes published by PISA 2000 also initiated further change in Germany. For the first time ever, national science education standards were introduced for lower secondary science education. In 2004, these standards sharpened the focus of learning more prominently on how to practically carry out science tasks. The resulting reform led to research and development activity in different fields of innovation, among them science education practical work. This paper gives an account of the development of practical science work in German schools and it discusses the most prominent trends in practical science efforts in German secondary science education which have taken place in recent years. (Contains 1 table.)

Children's evaluations of classmates with learning difficulties tend to be less positive than their evaluations of classmates without learning difficulties; but it is not clear if these evaluations are associated with age, group norms, and group identification. These associations were examined within the context of inclusive elementary school classrooms. Participants (N = 192) were asked about their attitudes and their peers' attitudes towards children with or without learning difficulties. They were also asked to evaluate fictional target children who gave biased or unbiased opinions about children with or without learning difficulties. Results showed that group identification was predicted by age and group judgment. Participants with high group identification and judgment scores in favour of children without learning difficulties were inclined to believe other children would be similarly biased. However, most participants preferred the target child who gave unbiased opinions. Theoretical and educational implications are discussed. (Contains 4 tables and 1 note.)

One of the roles of educators is to prepare their students for future success; this means preparing them to be creative thinkers capable of solving problems that do not yet exist. In order to teach children to be more creative, teachers need to be aware of barriers to creativity and minimize these in their classrooms. Some roadblocks to encouraging creativity include excessive use of rewards, highly structured materials and instructions, as well as "correct answer fixation." In order to develop children's creative thinking abilities, teachers need to examine their own attitudes, curriculum, instructional strategies, and the educational environment itself. A child is more likely to try new ideas when he or she is in a safe environment that encourages risk taking. Teachers need to be accepting of children's ideas, no matter how "off the wall" they may be. It is also important for teachers to show genuine excitement and enthusiasm for children's discoveries to reinforce children's exploratory attempts. (Contains 3 resources and 2 online resources.)

A serendipitous moment, a passing conversation, led to this study. A university professor expressed concern that his second-grade son was "bored" with his weekly spelling lists, homework, and tests. A colleague of his, a former elementary teacher with 30 years experience and currently teaching field-based methods courses in this child's school, listened carefully. This colleague had a student teacher in this particular classroom and saw this conversation as an opportunity to initiate changes in the spelling program, as a mutually beneficial effort for the second-grade and university students. Her hope was for her teacher education students to observe and take part in the best possible instructional practices. Further, this partnership could help to engage all the second-grade teachers in professional learning that would satisfy both concerns. This colleague was in an advantageous position to offer limited funding for time and resources as well as university students to do clerical tasks. Thus began a nine-month study of how three teachers designed and implemented new instructional practices, moving from a traditional to a student-centered, differentiated spelling program. This analysis also explored how the learning and the process of improving instructional practice influenced or did not influence the teachers' paradigms of teaching and learning.

Background/Context: This article addresses which school-level factors contribute to school quality. Previous research has focused on assessing the effects of school-level variables on student-level quality (e.g., achievement). However, the field has been limited in not evaluating the effects of school-level factors directly on measured school-level quality. This present study takes this next step. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of the Study: The purpose of this study is to determine which school-level factors across three categories--schoolwide programs, school-level personnel, and institutional environment--are significant predictors of school quality. Population/Participants/Subjects: Two data sets from the School District of Philadelphia are employed. The first data set is longitudinal and comprises elementary school student data linked to teachers, classrooms, and neighborhoods. The second data set, linked to the first by way of school and year data, is longitudinal and comprises school-level variables for all elementary schools within the district over 3 years. Research Design: This investigation first derives four quantifiable measures of school quality based on the student- and classroom-level data set. These measures are based on student reading achievement scores, math achievement scores, yearly attendance, and behavior grades. In the main analyses, this study separately tests each measure of quality in an empirical model that relates school-level inputs to school-level outputs. Each model does so while holding constant student, teacher, classroom, and neighborhood covariates as well as principal and school budget data. Findings: Looking across all four measures of school quality, the study finds school quality to be higher in schools with music and language programs, more disciplinary resources per student with a behavior problem and more special education resources per special education student, having a school nurse, being a smaller sized campus, and being K-5 (versus K-8). Although there is some consistency in the predictors of school quality, this research also indicates that differentiating between all four measures of quality is critical: School-level factors provide distinct outcomes depending on the measure of school quality itself. Conclusions: By identifying those school-level factors that directly relate school quality to its programs, personnel, and environment, this study has differentiated between the particular institutional resources of urban elementary schools that can potentially influence schooling experiences, above and beyond student or classroom factors. As such, this study can be used to more effectively identify those significant institutional challenges faced by urban schools, how these challenges are actualized, and, moreover, the types and levels of resources necessary to enhance school quality.

Research Findings: The aim of the present study was to examine classroom quality profiles of kindergarten classrooms using a person-centered approach and to analyze these patterns in regard to teacher and classroom characteristics. Observations of the domains of Emotional Support, Classroom Organization, and Instructional Support were conducted in 49 Finnish kindergarten classrooms utilizing the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (R. C. Pianta, K. M. LaParo, & B. K. Hamre, 2008). In addition, questionnaire data on classroom and teacher characteristics, as well as Early Childhood Classroom Observation Measure (D. Stipek & P. Byler, 2004) observational ratings, were used in the analyses. Latent profiling analysis was utilized to identify different profiles of classroom quality. Four latent profiles of classroom quality were identified that differed from one another most clearly in the domain of Emotional Support. Profile 1 represented a generally high level and Profile 4 a generally low level of classroom quality compared to the other profiles, whereas the medium-quality Profiles 2 and 3 showed varying levels of support in the assessed dimensions of quality. Only a few differences emerged among the profiles in classroom and teacher characteristics: The teachers in Profile 4 provided the least literacy instruction and had the least amount of work experience of all of the teachers. The findings using the Early Childhood Classroom Observation Measure indicated that child-centered practices were predominant among the profiles of higher classroom quality. Practice or Policy: The results of this study can be used to recognize kindergarten teachers' professional strengths and weaknesses and to support teachers' professional development with the aid of pedagogical interventions. (Contains 4 tables.)

Research Findings: The purpose of the present study is to examine the degree to which assistant and lead teachers work together in Head Start classrooms in 3 domains: emotional support, classroom organization, and instructional support. Pairs of lead and assistant teachers from 14 Head Start classrooms were simultaneously observed for 1 morning to examine the quality of teachers' interactions with students in these 3 domains. First we examined the mean levels of the 3 domains and how they differed among teachers. Overall, results indicated moderate levels of emotional support and classroom organization and low levels of instructional support. In comparing lead and assistant teachers, we found that lead teachers offered significantly higher levels of instructional support than assistant teachers. Next we examined how the quality of lead and assistant teachers' interactions were related over time. Concurrent correlations were nonsignificant. Lagged correlations suggested that lead and assistant teachers' interactions with students were related over time. Practice or Policy: Assistant teachers offered comparable levels of emotional support and classroom organization but did not offer the same levels of instructional support. This suggests that assistant teachers are able to help provide a nurturing environment and help with structuring activities despite having lower entry-level qualification requirements. This study supports the notion that assistant teachers as well as lead teachers should be included in quality improvement efforts. (Contains 4 tables.)

Using the National Research Council's inquiry continuum framework, we use a multiple-case study research design to investigate the teacher- and student-directedness of elementary preservice teachers' planned and enacted science lessons and their pedagogical reasoning about science instruction during a semester-long science methods course. Our specific research questions were (1) What ideas do elementary preservice teachers bring to a science teaching methods course about the inquiry continuum? and (2) How do their ideas about the inquiry continuum change over the course of the semester through engaging in planning, enactment, and reflection upon science instruction? Participants' course artifacts (journals, reflective teaching assignments, and lesson plan rationales), interviews, and field observations of their enacted science lessons served as data for this study. Findings show that although the preservice teachers began the semester defining inquiry as highly student-directed, their ideas and definitions broadened over the course of the semester to include and embrace more teacher-directed forms of inquiry. Their early science lessons were more student-directed but, as they encountered challenges engaging in inquiry-based instruction and increasingly emphasized students' learning needs, they began to plan and enact lessons that were more teacher-directed. Teacher education programs need to explicitly emphasize these variations of inquiry as a core component of supporting preservice teachers' learning to teach science as inquiry. (Contains 4 tables and 1 note.)

Background/Context: With the ever increasing diversity of schools, and the persistent need to develop teaching strategies for the students who attend today's urban schools, hip-hop culture has been proposed to be a means through which urban youth can find success in school. As a result, studies of the role of hip-hop in urban education have grown in visibility. Research targeted toward understanding the involvement of urban youth in hip-hop and finding ways to connect them to school often rest primarily on the role of rap lyrics and focus exclusively on language arts and social studies classes. Purpose of the Study: The purpose of this article is to move beyond the existing research to science education by utilizing an ongoing study to interrogate hip-hop culture, its relation to the "Obama effect," and the role of hip-hop culture in creating new possibilities for urban youth in science. The discussion of hip-hop in urban schooling is grounded in the concept of social capital to explain what makes hip-hop youth who they are and how this knowledge can become a tool for supporting their academic success. Specifically, the discussion is based on theoretical constructs related to hip-hop in urban settings, including social networks, identity, and realness and emotional energy. Research Design: To explore the complexities of hip-hop and the impact of the artifacts it generates on urban science education, we examined qualitative data illustrating the enactment of hip-hopness or a hip-hop identity in urban science classrooms. Specifically, we examined the "Obama effect" and its connection to hip-hop and science education. Findings: The findings indicate that when teachers bring hip-hop into their science instruction, certain markers of interest and involvement that were previously absent from science classrooms become visible. Especially, the examples of the Obama effect in urban high school science classrooms in this article illustrate that science educators can strengthen hip-hop youth's connections to school and science by consistently using the science-related decisions President Obama is making as opportunities to teach science. Conclusions: By engaging in a concerted focus on hip-hop culture, science educators can connect urban youth to science in ways that generate a genuine recognition of who they are, an appreciation of their motivation for academic success, and an understanding of how to capitalize on hip-hop culture for their identities as science learners. Such efforts can eventually lead urban youth to become "the best and brightest" in the science classroom and pursue careers in science-related fields.

In response to the needs for understanding teaching practices and approaches with a technology tool in actual elementary classrooms, this paper examines the perspectives of American elementary teachers who use classroom wikis. Specially, it examines three main ideas: (a) teaching approaches and strategies across subject areas in the primary and upper grades, (b) teaching and learning benefits with a wiki, and (c) lessons from the teachers who used wikis. By emphasizing their experience, strategies, and reflections associated with using a wiki, this paper provides their points of view about the wikis, in addition to presenting valuable practical approaches from them that many other teachers and teacher candidates can learn from. It explores the perspectives of using wikis by beginning with the discussions of the concepts of child-centeredness and its relationship with technology--in particular, the wiki.

This position paper provides a theory-based explanation informed by philosophy of technology (PoT) of the recurrent documented patterns often associated with attempts to enact technology-supported, inquiry-based approaches in precollege science classrooms. Understandings derived from the history of technological development in other domains (e.g. medicine, transportation, and warfare) reveal numerous parallels that help to explain these recurrent patterns. Historical analyses of major technologies reveal a conglomerate of factors that interact to produce benefits, as well as intended and unintended consequences. On a macro-scale, PoT facilitates understandings of how technologies interact and are impacted by individuals, society, institutions, economy, politics, and culture. At the micro-level, and most relevant to science education, PoT engages the inherent nature of technology along a number of key dimensions: role of culture and values, notions of technological progression, technology as part of systems, technological diffusion, technology as a fix, and the notions of expertise. Overall, the present analysis has implications for the design, development, implementation, and adoption of technological tools for use in precollege science education, and highlights the role of technology as both "artifact" and "process". (Contains 1 table, 6 figures, and 2 notes.)

This study investigated the effectiveness of the Assessment and LEarning in Knowledge Spaces (ALEKS) system as a method of strategic intervention in after-school settings to improve the mathematical skills of struggling 6th grade students. Students were randomly assigned to after-school classrooms in which they either worked with ALEKS to improve their math skills or to classrooms where instruction was provided by certified teachers. Students' performance on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP), administered annually to all Tennessee students, indicated that students assigned to the ALEKS condition performed at the same level as those taught by expert teachers (d = 0.09). Also, students participating in our after-school program outperformed non-participating students. (Contains 4 tables and 1 figure.)

A survey of the literature on evolution instruction provides evidence that teachers' personal views and understandings can shape instructional approaches and content delivered in science classrooms regardless of established science standards. This study is the first to quantify evolutionary worldviews of in-service teachers in the Caribbean, specifically in Belize, an English-speaking nation with a high school system guided by a regional biology syllabus and strict standardized tests. Using the Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (MATE) instrument and knowledge test, we investigated (1) the current level of acceptance and understanding of evolution as given by 97% of high school biology teachers in Belize; (2) the factors associated with acceptance and understanding of evolutionary theory. With an average MATE score of 64.4 and a mean knowledge score of 47.9%, Belizean teachers were classified as having both "Low Acceptance" and "Low Understanding" of evolutionary theory. A positive correlation was found between teacher acceptance and understanding of evolution. A review of the Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate biology syllabus suggests that evolution plays a minimal role in the high school biology classroom. We believe that Belize presents a unique opening for future training on evolution instruction since 57% of the biology teachers self-proclaim to be unprepared to teach evolution. The results of this study have implications for policy, practice and research with teachers' acceptance, understanding and confidence in teaching evolution serving as important predictors for instructional approaches used in the biology classroom. (Contains 4 tables and 5 figures.)

This microgenetic study examined social influences on children's development of analogical reasoning during peer-led small-group discussions of stories about controversial issues. A total of 277 analogies were identified among 7,215 child turns for speaking during 54 discussions from 18 discussion groups in 6 fourth-grade classrooms (N = 120; age M = 10.0, SD = 0.6). Use of analogy was found to spread among the children in discussion groups and occur at an accelerating rate, primarily because of the increasing use of novel analogies. Relational analogies with shared surface features triggered purely relational analogies during the next 2 speaking turns, showing a trend of relational shift. These results provide distinctive new evidence for the importance of social interaction in an aspect of cognitive development. (Contains 5 tables and 2 figures.)

The positioning and movement of the teacher in the classroom are fundamental to the pedagogical process. Specific spaces in the classroom take on certain meanings because of the nature of pedagogic discourse that occurs on the site and the positioning and distance of the site relative to the students and the teaching resources. Spatial pedagogy is realised through the patterns of positioning and the directionality of movement, as well as the intersemiotic correspondences in the use of space with other semiotic resources (e.g. language, gesture and teaching materials). This paper investigates the different types of space in the classroom and their associated meanings. It also discusses an approach for annotating the teacher's use of space, and the usefulness of visualising this annotation through digital graphical methods. The notion of "structured informality" in the classroom is proposed through data analysis of two teachers conducting similar lessons, but with apparently different pedagogical styles. (Contains 9 figures.)

Background and purpose: The purpose of this study was to record and measure the level of involvement and appreciation that prospective teachers in art and science education programmes demonstrated during a four-session integrated activity. Art and science education prospective teachers from a Rocky Mountain region university in the US worked in partnership to produce a science-related art piece using a silk batik painting technique. This project incorporated the use of two hands-on activities (a sampler and a final piece). In addition, pre- and post-activity surveys helped researchers investigate whether an integrated activity led to changes in attitudes towards collaborative instruction among students from art and science education. A practical implication of these results could guide students' teaching assignments and professional careers. Sample: This project involved the participation of 34 prospective teachers enrolled in secondary art and science education pedagogical content courses at a public university in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States. Design and method: Prospective teachers in art and science education programmes worked together in a four-session integrated activity for three consecutive years. Participants were tasked with the design of art pieces addressing a core concept from the secondary school science curriculum using the batik painting technique. This project included two hands-on activities (a sampler and a final piece). In addition, they responded to pre- and post-activity surveys. Results: Overall, the data show significant variation at pre- and post-survey, indicating that students had more knowledge after the study than before regarding the integration of art and science in the secondary school curriculum. The mean of interdisciplinary teaching ratings increased on all four target survey items according to the 10-point rating scale. Based on the results, the integrated art and science instructional approach significantly influenced prospective teachers' attitudes about collaborative practices. Conclusion: In general, students' responses on survey items addressing content skills and previous experience of art or geological/biological images in the classroom were affected by their major area. Our experience suggests that an integrated learning experience is an effective way to improve prospective teachers' self-ratings of knowledge and ability to develop and engage students from secondary school classrooms with interdisciplinary connections. (Contains 5 tables and 3 figures.)

Collaborative Reasoning (CR) is a peer-led, small group discussion approach that aims to promote intellectual and personal engagement in elementary school classrooms. In CR, students read a text that raises an unresolved issue with multiple and competing points of view. Students are expected to take positions on a big question, support the positions with reasons and evidence, carefully listen, evaluate, and respond to one another's arguments, and challenge one another when they disagree. Multiple studies provide evidence that CR positively impacts thinking, the level of talk and the quality of written essays by participants. This article summarizes the body of CR research and presents the results of a study of CR with English Language Learners (ELLs). Finally, implications and practical suggestions for applying CR with ELLs are provided.

A teacher's role was dramatically changed from that of an educator to that of a facilitator with the adoption of semi-scripted curriculums. This case study explores teachers' perception and implementation of a state's English Language Arts curriculum in first-grade classrooms. Four first-grade teachers from a large urban school district were observed during the 90-minute literacy instruction block for four weeks each using Spradley's Developmental Research Sequence. In addition, data were collected from multiple teacher interviews. Qualitative analyses yielded the following themes: (a) teachers were minimally supported in professional development for using the curriculum; (b) they often ventured beyond the scope of the curriculum in resource usage; and (c) their planning was eased with the adoption of a semi-scripted curriculum. Furthermore, this sampling of first-grade teachers implemented English Language Arts curriculum through integrating both phonics and reading instruction. Findings are relevant to classroom teachers, curriculum coaches and administrators alike. (Contains 2 figures and 1 note.)

This article examines the reading of leveled books and the assessment of students' reading levels in a public school classroom. The purpose of the research study was to examine how these processes of assessment, which often go unnoticed, shaped the ways reading and readers were defined. The research was located in a third grade, public school classroom in a large metropolitan city in the United States. Theoretically grounded in sociocultural perspectives on literacy and poststructural notions of power and positioning, the research methodology involved a series of nested case studies of the classroom as a whole and of one particular reader, whose performances allowed a more nuanced understanding of the dynamics of reading levels and reading leveled books in the particular classroom. Data analysis involved the thematic analysis of reading events with the purpose of identifying the materials, norms, and routines connected to reading leveled books. Attention was paid to processes of naming, to students' efforts to discipline selves and others, and to the meaning of reading as measurable that extended beyond the boundaries of the local classroom and into broader institutional contexts. This allowed tracing and interpreting the productive and regulatory power of leveling. The findings show that reading leveled books and assessing students' levels were integral parts of schooled literacy as performed in the particular classroom. The study offers grounded theoretical hypotheses about the intersection of reading instruction and assessment and calls readers to consider the complexities of reading and reading instruction in elementary classrooms. (Contains 1 note.)

Students with learning disabilities (LDs) often need additional supports and structure in inquiry classrooms. The authors describe three ways teachers can enhance the achievement of these students: (1) focusing on big ideas; (2) using graphic organizers; and (3) providing mnemonic strategies. Struggling students with LD will benefit greatly from graphic organizers and the use of mnemonic devices to learn unfamiliar vocabulary. The identification and exploration of the big ideas in connection with a student's prior knowledge can also help create a strong environment of learning for a diverse population of students. Successfully implementing these strategies into science classrooms will prevent students with LD from becoming spectators in a content area filled with hands-on learning. (Contains 3 figures.)

The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of classroom-based phonological sensitivity intervention (PSI) using a narrative platform for children in first grade who are at risk for a reading disability. Participants consisted of 59 first graders identified as at risk for later reading impairments. At-risk designation was dictated by one or both of the following factors: (a) economically disadvantaged socioeconomic status background and/or (b) speech-language impairment. Using an experimental group design, four first-grade classrooms were randomly assigned to either the experimental group or the control group. The experimental group's performance on the pre- and posttest reading measures was compared to that of the control group. Findings suggest that phonological sensitivity intervention using a narrative platform promoted positive early reading skill outcomes for first-grade participants at risk for reading disabilities. (Contains 2 tables.)

This study describes the development of an instrument to investigate elementary students attitudes toward science. As a result of the instrument development process employed, the finalized instrument consisted of 28-items separated into three dimensions. The instrument was found to exhibit acceptable ranges of internal consistency. Confirmatory Factor Analysis showed three factors that clustered into the three dimensions of attitude identified and concurrent validity was evidenced as correlations were found when comparing attitude measures with the instrument to students' perceptions of their science classrooms. Based on the analyses completed, the instrument appears to be useful for assessing student attitude toward science.

The classroom environment is uppermost in teachers' minds at the start of each school year. Designing an effective classroom environment for learning to read and reading is both an art and a science. Aligning physical space with instructional goals involves the flexible use of space that is adapted to instructional needs. A well-designed classroom environment is the first step in providing a literate environment that fosters reading and writing to learn.

Oral presentations are pedagogically useful when there are many examples or subcategories for the topic at hand. For example, in the author's biology classes, students make presentations on different species of bacteria--highlighting morphology, benefits or detriments, transmissions, niches, and other relevant information. They also present on a genetic disorder, providing information on background, genetic basis, and treatment. When designing these kinds of projects, it's important to consider factors that can help increase quality and engage students. In this article, he provides suggestions and tools to help teachers implement successful oral presentations in their science classrooms. (Contains 3 figures.)

Current initiatives in science education in Korea have emphasized science literacy as the most important purpose of science education; that is, science education needs to focus on helping each student to become a scientifically literate person who is able to make reasoned decisions. In attempting to address this focus concern about science literacy, the researchers of this study attempted to implement the Science Writing Heuristic (SWH) approach and examined both the SWH and the control groups using the modified Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP). Students' performance on a Summary Writing Test (SWT) was also examined. Participant students of this study were eighth grade students in three middle schools located in the second biggest city in Korea. Each of the three teachers from three schools taught both the SWH and the control classes. The results of this study showed significant differences between the SWH and the control groups on the SWT. There was a difference in the total RTOP scores between the SWH and the control groups. Differences among schools imply that higher level of teachers' implementation of the SWH approach would appear to result in better student achievement.

Schools in Washington State had a smattering of computers that were used for instruction and were mostly disconnected from any network when the author joined the state's K-12 public education agency in 1989. It was clear that state educators needed to see beyond the dazzle of slide decks produced by seven-year-olds and reconceptualize the use of educational technology as a dynamic partner for teachers and learners. Today, 99.7% of public school classrooms in Washington State have networked Internet connectivity; the ratio of students to computers with Internet connectivity is four to one; and in 133 of 295 districts, academic standards for educational technology are mandatory. It's been a long haul, helped tremendously by a surfeit of talent and expertise at the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and in the field at the state's Educational Technology Support Centers (ETSCs). This giant leap forward is due in large part to the steady, behind-the-scenes advocacy of the directors of nine regional offices in the ETSC program. The author had the chance to catch up with one of the ETSC directors recently and get his perspectives on technology integration. This article presents an interview with Pete Phillips who oversees the ETSC at North Central Educational Service District. He sits on the executive team for the district, which sets direction and handles day-to-day operations.

Are middle schoolers capable of discussing the war in Iraq in meaningful ways? Can seventh graders develop informed ideas about presidential candidates' positions on health care? Should young adolescents discuss controversial public issues, interpret primary sources, and analyze social problems? Thoughtful social studies educators disagree. While some educators advocate engaging all students in challenging intellectual work, some teachers believe this kind of teaching and learning is not possible or appropriate at the middle school level; they believe such instruction should be reserved until high school. As a result, many students in middle school classrooms experience social studies instruction that emphasizes factual recall and hands-on activities that require only lower order thinking. What explains this mismatch between what is possible and what is often put into practice in middle school social studies classrooms? In this article, the author examines several likely explanations for this disconnect, and then she explores the teaching and learning possibilities for social studies instruction in the middle school years. (Contains 22 notes.)

We focused on young, low-income, African American children in first- to third-grade classrooms where they experienced varied forms of interactive, participatory, and dialogic pedagogy in the context of yearlong, integrated science-literacy instruction. Using conversations that started around children's own science journals, which were an important part of teaching and learning science in their classrooms, we studied 25 children's ideological becoming relative to the practices of science and schooling and the interplay between their selves and others. We found that "doing school" was a dominant narrative intertwined with "doing science." Following behavioral codes and constructing smartness as a large amount of knowledge seemed to be an important part of their school world, antithetical in some ways to the active, inquisitive, questioning, flexible view of science and science learning that their classroom instruction aimed for. Nevertheless, children had also constructed valuable scientific practices and sophisticated conceptions that involved science as capital (social, cultural, or affective) for scientists and/or for themselves as scientists. How children made sense of their experiences in and out of school and interpreted their teacher's and peers' words and actions, and how they saw themselves as competent, were echoed in the varied ideological becoming in their science worlds.

In this intervention study, teachers tried to implement four instructional principles derived from the literature on research-based, explicit reading comprehension instruction in their fifth-grade classrooms. The principles focused on relevant background knowledge, reading comprehension strategies, reading-group organization, and reading motivation. Results indicated that during a five-month intervention period, students in the intervention group increased their strategic competence and comprehension performance relative to controls. However, no effect was found on reading motivation. The overall pattern of results is explained in relation to the implementation quality of the four instructional principles, with implementation data indicating that the principles of reading-group organization and reading motivation were particularly difficult for the teachers to translate into classroom practice.

We studied student seating habits in both a traditional lecture hall with the instructor in the front and in a SCALE-UP (Student-Centered Activities for Large Enrollment Undergraduate Programs) studio-style classroom with the instructor in the middle. Like several previous authors, we find that students with higher course grades tend to sit in the front of a lecture hall and those with lower course grades toward the back. However, no clear pattern of either high or low grades appears in a SCALE-UP classroom. We compare our results with previous studies, both those using assigned seating and those allowing free-seat selection, as we did. Seat selection at the beginning of the semester did not correlate with any demographic or grade factors, but rather students appeared to choose their seats arbitrarily or because of social factors (e.g., near friends). Student seat location remains remarkably consistent throughout the semester, indicating that students form a bond with their initial seat. The observed mixing of A students throughout the room suggests that the SCALE-UP room has effectively eliminated the "front of the room" phenomenon seen in lecture halls. However, the small number of D and F students prohibits determining whether the SCALE-UP room has equally eliminated the "back of the room" phenomenon. (Contains 1 table and 6 figures.)

In developing "Math Pursuits," we designed a learning environment that helps learners connect mathematics to the world around them. The ultimate goal of this research was to design and assess a learning environment that incorporates distributed scaffolding, which enabled both human and technological supports. Pilot testing was conducted over 3 years with three fifth-grade classrooms from two Midwestern schools in urban and suburban environments. Through an iterative research cycle, we identified challenges presented by this goal and made modifications to the original learning environment. Through a qualitative analysis of videotaped classroom sessions, we noted a dramatic change in classroom dynamics, from a very quiet classroom with limited teacher-student interaction to a more interactive classroom where the teacher quickly scanned the room to provide the support needed by the students. Over time, as more technological supports were added to the learning environment, the support shifted from predominantly teacher-based to more computer-based, enabling the teacher to provide targeted, more in-depth support where needed. (Contains 1 note, 5 tables, and 1 figure.)

As education researchers who have studied the feedback patterns of teachers using an argument-based inquiry approach, the authors have found a simple way to do this: Talk less but offer better feedback. In this article, the authors discuss the use of teacher redirects as a way of improving the quality of their feedback so that students can engage in productive student-to-student science discussions. The examples they share are from second-, fourth-, and fifth-grade classrooms, but the idea of using teacher redirects to promote student-to-student discussion is applicable to any classroom setting. (Contains 3 figures.)

As students transition into middle school they must successfully negotiate a new, larger peer context to attain or maintain high social standing. The goal of this study was to examine the extent to which the maintenance, attainment, and loss of a cool status over the course of the sixth grade is associated with student and classroom levels of physical, verbal, and relational aggression. To address this goal, we studied a sample of 1985 (55% girls) ethnically diverse adolescents from 99 sixth grade classrooms in the United States. Attaining a cool status at any point across the school year was associated with stronger aggressive reputations. Additionally, classroom norms for aggressive behavior moderated the association between changes in aggression over the school year and the stability of coolness such that students who maintained their coolness across the school year showed greater increases in their verbally aggressive reputations from fall to spring when they were in classrooms with higher levels of aggression. The findings illustrate the importance of fitting in with social norms for maintaining a high social status among a new set of peers in middle school. (Contains 2 tables.)