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Secondary chemistry teachers are often concerned with and focused on specific content they need to cover to prepare students for college-level chemistry courses. Contrarily, postsecondary teachers,...

Despite the promotion of data-driven or data-informed instructional practices in teacher education and professional development, past research indicates that teachers use a limited number of sources for student data to make short-term adjustments to their teaching in order to address deficiencies in student learning. Science teachers, with a more robust background in data collection and analysis as well as expectations to teach data practices to students, conceivably, might be more comfortable in implementing data-driven instructional practices. This mixed-methods study explores firstly, how secondary science teachers in the USA define “data-driven instruction” and secondly, how they report using student data in their instructional practice. Responses from a nationally disseminated mixed-methods questionnaire (N = 451) were analyzed. Overall, secondary science teachers limit their definition of data to student assessments and use that information to inform their daily instructional practice rather than improve their teaching overall. Consistent with previous findings, this study’s findings also provide evidence for hope of improvement in teachers’ data practice. In addition, there was a small, but noticeable, group of secondary science teachers who appeared to be jaded with or to misunderstand the effective teaching skill conveyed by the term data-driven instruction. Implications for teacher education and professional development are discussed.

Recent adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) across the United States has prompted teacher educators to reexamine effective strategies to improve science teaching practic...

This paper outlines the connection between qualitative research methods in education and teacher reflective practices as they relate to Valli’s (Reflective teacher education: cases and critiques. State University of New York Press, Albany, 1992; Peabody J Educ 72(1): 67–88, 1997) model of reflection. Using the authors’ own experiences in performing and guiding educational research, and existing research in the field of teacher education pertaining to reflective practitioners, explicit connections are made between the two paradigms. These connections illustrate the importance of integrating authentic research experiences into the teacher education curriculum outside the context of methods courses, much like models established in the sciences.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects many adults and is particularly impairing for emerging adults enrolled in college. Research has shown substantial academic impairment for these individuals. However, research on ADHD impairment has largely been quantitative and focused on children. Therefore, the current study employed Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to explore the lived experience of college students with ADHD with the following two research questions: (1) What is it like to be a college student with ADHD? and (2) What resources are utilized by college students with ADHD? Thirty-six college students with ADHD were interviewed in focus group settings. Our participants reported a complex and mixed experience living with ADHD in college and varied use of treatments and other accommodations. Specifically, three Constructs emerged in the current study: Consequences of Diagnosis, Impairment, and Treatment Management. Implications for professionals working with these students and future directions for researchers are discussed.

Although reports of academic cheating are abundant, there are relatively few papers in the literature that focus on cheating in the context of science courses and even fewer that address dishonest practices, such as “cooking” or fudging data, within the classroom laboratory. This paper briefly reviews the existing literature on academic dishonesty and explores two theories that can be used to explain why cheating occurs: (1) classroom goal structure and (2) attitudes of neutralization. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of these theories within the context of a biochemistry and molecular biology teaching laboratory.

Many courses have been proposed in an effort to train future scientists to be ethical practitioners, yet little has been done to examine the ethical beliefs and practices that already exist in the laboratory classroom. This current research involves high school students in various types of chemistry classes, from general chemistry to honors level. Data from students responses to a partially open-ended survey were collected and analyzed, providing insight into students' perceptions of their laboratory classroom and subsequent feelings toward the copying of lab work. Results indicate that most students believe obtaining the "right answer" is the most important goal in a lab exercise. In fact, the data reveal that while the majority of students surveyed redo experiments when they go awry, nearly 15% of those surveyed said that they "copy another's data" to earn credit for the lab. This research also suggests that students' perceptions of group work and written lab work influence their decisions of whether to...