Donna F. Berlin

Science Teacher Beliefs and Classroom Practice Related to Constructivism in Different School Settings

Science teacher beliefs and classroom practice related to constructivism and factors that may influence classroom practice were examined in this cross-case study. Data from four science teachers in two schools included interviews, demographic questionnaire, Classroom Learning Environment Survey (preferred/perceived), and classroom observations and documents. Using an inductive analytic approach, results suggested that the teachers embraced constructivism, but classroom observations did not confirm implementation of these beliefs for three of the four teachers. The most preferred constructivist components were personal relevance and student negotiation; the most perceived component was critical voice. Shared control was the least preferred, least perceived, and least observed constructivist component. School type, grade, student behavior/ability, curriculum/standardized testing, and parental involvement may influence classroom practice.

Construction and Validation of an Instrument to Measure Taiwanese Elementary Students’ Attitudes toward Their Science Class

The main purpose of this study is to develop a valid and reliable instrument for measuring the attitudes toward science class of fourth‐ and fifth‐grade students in an Asian school culture. Specifically, the development focused on three science attitude constructs—science enjoyment, science confidence, and importance of science as related to science class experiences. A total of 265 elementary school students in Taiwan responded to the instrument developed. Data analysis indicated that the instrument exhibited satisfactory validity and reliability with the Taiwan population used. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.93 for the entire instrument indicating a satisfactory level of internal consistency. However, both principal component analysis and parallel analysis showed that the three attitude scales were not unique and should be combined and used as a general “attitudes toward science class” scale. The analysis also showed that there were no gender or grade‐level differences in students’ overall attitudes toward science class.

A Study of STS Themes in State Science Curriculum Frameworks in the United States

This paper reports the procedure and results of a study analyzing Science-Technology-Society (STS) themes in state science curriculum frameworks in the United States. The criteria for the analysis consisted of 15 categories of standards derived from the K–12 content standards of the National Science Education Standards. Out of the 25 state science curriculum frameworks analyzed, 88% emphasized the standard Science and technology in society. Three standards (Environmental quality, Science as a human endeavor, and Nature of science and scientific knowledge) were represented in nearly 50% of the state science curriculum frameworks. The remaining 11 content standards were scarcely represented in the state science curriculum frameworks analyzed. The recommendations of this study include an examination of educational policy links to state science frameworks, and case studies of curriculum policy-to-practice transition in STS education.

Using technology in assessing integrated science and mathematics learning

Drawing from current models, research, and science and mathematics education reform documents, this article first defines and/or delimits three broad domains of education: integrated school science and mathematics, assessment, and technology. Based upon this three-tiered discussion, a list of characteristics is then distilled to guide in the development of assessment for integrated school science and mathematics using technology. Two integrated school science and mathematics activities are provided to illustrate the alignment of instruction and assessment and the systematic integration of technology into both.

TACTILE STIMULATION AND INTERHEMISPHERIC COMMUNICATION BY LEARNING DISABLED CHILDREN: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY

33 right-handed, learning disabled children aged 8–10 yr., 11–13 yr., and 14–16 yr. were presented a tactile discrimination task. Pairs of fabrics of different or the same texture were presented to the same hand (uncrossed condition) or alternating hands (crossed condition). Analysis indicated that the total number of crossed errors was significantly greater for the youngest children. There were no significant differences between the groups for the uncrossed condition. These results suggest that younger learning disabled children may experience greater difficulty on a task which required interhemispheric transfer.

Towards a Model for STS Education: Recommendations for Research.

Science-Technology-Society (STS) education has been &dquo;a focus of activity in science education,&dquo;(1) and &dquo;one of the significant curriculum developments in school science&dquo;(2) in the United States. Hurd stated that &dquo;... STS goals for science education are deeply embedded in our culture and have been for the past 200 years.&dquo;(3) However, the implementation of STS education does not appear to be widespread. The term &dquo;implementation&dquo; is used to refer to STS education in the science curricula that has been required, recommended,

Tactile discrimination, response mode, and interhemispheric communication by learning disabled children.

32 right-handed, learning disabled children aged 8–10 yr., 11–13 yr., and 14–16 yr. were presented a tactile discrimination task. Pairs of fabrics of different or the same texture were presented to the same hand (uncrossed condition) or alternating hands (crossed condition). Discrimination errors were compared using a verbal response mode and a nonverbal response mode. Analysis indicated that the number of crossed errors was significantly greater in the verbal response mode than in the nonverbal response mode for only the youngest children. These results suggest selective attention-activation bias and/or hemispheric processing limitations for younger learning disabled children.

VALIDATION OF AN INSTRUMENT TO MEASURE UNDERSTANDING OF PATTERN BY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN

The analysis and validation of an instrument to measure the ability of elementary school children to recognize and extend patterns in different representational forms is presented.