Análisis de tareas

2:15pm – 3:45pm, Room 106

Presider: Eva Erdosne Toth, West Virginia University

In-service Teachers' Attitudes and Beliefs about Climate Change Shiyu Liu, University of Minnesota, [email protected] Jeremy Wang, University of Minnesota

Keisha Varma, University of Minnesota Gillian Roehrig, University of Minnesota

ABSTRACT: In this research, we examined in-service teachers’ beliefs about climate change and how that related to their content knowledge and intended classroom practices. Teachers were recruited to participate in a climate change education professional development program, which aimed to provide support to enhance understanding and teaching of climate change among Native American populations. Measures such as surveys, concept maps, and journal reflections were used to assess the nature of teachers’ attitudes and beliefs about climate change and how those were related to their classroom implementation. We found that the majority of participating teachers’ beliefs in climate change would classify them as concerned. Teachers considered it critical that students are aware that climate change is happening and that they have a good understanding of its causes and effects. However, cultural considerations and limitations in curriculum standards are barriers that have prevented some teachers from implementing curricula on this topic in their classrooms. The lack of sufficient recent information as well as pedagogical content knowledge may have also influenced their confidence in teaching this topic, but increased awareness and concern for climate change issues during the program may help them better integrate relevant knowledge for future classroom teaching.

The Effect of Curriculum-based Professional Development on Science Instruction: Findings from a Randomized Control Trial

Joesph Taylor, BSCS, [email protected] Stephen R. Getty, BSCS

Susan M. Kowalski, BSCS Christopher Wilson, BSCS Janet Carlson, BSCS

ABSTRACT: The research described in this paper is part of a larger, IES-funded study that seeks to use a cluster- randomized trial design, with schools as the unit of assignment, to make causal inferences about the effect of treatment on both students and teachers. This paper reports on the portion of the study that focuses on treatment effects on teacher practice. The treatment is defined as participation in a seven-day professional development (PD) program that is directly focused on use of research-based instructional materials. The comparison group continues to receive extant professional development (i.e., business-as-usual). The RTOP was used as a comparative metric of classroom instruction across treatment groups. Researchers found both a statistically and practically significant effect of the professional development intervention. Findings are attributed to the PD program’s focus on introducing teachers to the physical and philosophical components of the instructional materials as well as strengthening their content background and use of key instructional strategies essential to effective, high-fidelity use of the materials.

A Model for Teacher Learning in the Context of a Curriculum Renewal Fer Coenders, University of Twente, [email protected] Cees Terlouw, Saxion Universities of Applied Sciences

ABSTRACT: Teachers play a crucial role in curriculum changes, as they are the ones to implement the new curriculum in class. Therefore, teachers need to bring their knowledge and beliefs (pedagogical content knowledge) in line with the new curricular demands. The reason for the study is the introduction of a context- based chemistry high school curriculum in the Netherlands, and the question was how to best prepare teachers for such a new curriculum. Teacher learning for two groups of teachers form the bases for this model. One group developed and subsequently class enacted student learning material for this new curriculum, and the other group only class enacted this learning material. The combination of developing student learning material and class enactment proves instrumental for teacher learning. In the model, based on the Interconnected Model of Teacher Professional Growth, teacher learning during the development phase and the class enactment phase becomes visible. The consequence of this model is that for teacher learning in the context of a curriculum renewal to take place, both a (re)development phase as a class enactment phase are essential. Especially the design of the External Domain facilitates initial teacher learning.

Content vs. Process within Systemic Reform: The Narrative Construction of a Science Teaching Identity Richard H. Kozoll, DePaul University, [email protected]

ABSTRACT: Currently an urban public school district is enacting a systemic reform initiative dedicated to science education intended to improve the quality of its teaching. This includes a scope and sequence designating science topics taught in grades K – 8 which address state learning standards. Moreover, given the subject matter chosen the district office selected commercially produced, research-based curriculum for voluntary adoption by area schools that is also intended to facilitate alignment to standards surrounding the teaching of science as inquiry. Despite one area school securing this curriculum its fifth grade teacher has at times favored the use of her own science curriculum over that which is assigned to her grade level. The purpose of this study is to understand what perceptions of this curriculum emerge as relevant to this teacher’s use of it, or lack thereof, in her classroom. Moreover, I want to appreciate how these perceptions reflect a broader science pedagogy relative to her

experiences with science. Finally, I discuss how these perceptions formulate the construction of a science teaching identity that not only informs her curricular decisions. I argue it offers expanded considerations for how we think about professional development within the context of district driven science education reform.

Strand 10: Curriculum, Evaluation, and Assessment

Assessment Development and Application in Undergraduate Sciences 2:15pm – 3:45pm, Room 308

Presider: Mandy L. Kirchgessner, Temple University

Fostering the Development of Quantitative Life Skills through Introductory Science: Can it be Done? Katherine B. Follette, University of Arizona, [email protected]

Donald McCarthy, University of Arizona Erin Dokter, University of Arizona

ABSTRACT: We present preliminary results from a student survey designed to test whether the all-important life skill of numeracy/quantitative literacy can be fostered and improved upon in college students through the vehicle of non-major introductory courses in Astronomy. Many instructors of introductory science courses for non-majors would state that a major goal of our classes is to teach our students to distinguish between science and

pseudoscience, truth and fiction, in their everyday lives. It is difficult to believe that such a skill can truly be mastered without a fair amount of mathematical sophistication in the form of arithmetic, statistical and graph reading skills that many American college students unfortunately lack when they enter our classrooms. In teaching what is frequently their “terminal science course in life” can we instill in our students the numerical skills that they need to be savvy consumers, educated citizens and discerning interpreters of the ever-present polls, studies and

surveys in which our society is awash? In what may well be their final opportunity to see applied mathematics in the classroom, can we impress upon them the importance of mathematical sophistication in interpreting the statistics that they are bombarded with by the media? Our study is in its second semester, and is designed to investigate to what extent it is possible to improve important quantitative skills in college students through a single semester introductory science course.

Building New Assessments for the "New Biology": Establishing Content Validity for a Genomics and Bioinformatics Test

Chad Campbell, The Ohio State University, [email protected] Ross H. Nehm, The Ohio State University

Brian Morton, Barnard College, Columbia University

ABSTRACT: Revolutionary changes in the life sciences have been accompanied by hundreds of studies introducing new curricula and laboratory activities about genomics and bioinformatics. One aspect of the New Biology (NRC, 2009) that has not kept pace with scientific innovation is the development of new assessment instruments capable of measuring corresponding knowledge, skills, and performances. Prior to developing items for bioinformatics and genomics assessments, content validity must be established. Content validity evidence is typically established using expert or professional judgments about how relevant the content of a test is relative to a particular domain of interest. Our study reports on the results of a survey research study of expert biologists’ (n = 42) opinions about genomics and bioinformatics content appropriate for an assessment for biology undergraduates. Two major questions were answered: First, how did experts in genomics and bioinformatics conceptualize the distinctions between these two subjects—are they separate and distinct, or overlapping bodies of biological knowledge? Second, within this domain, what subtopics should be included in a knowledge assessment for biology undergraduates? We discuss the findings from the study as well as the implications for item development. Using Machine-Learning Methods to Detect Key Concepts and Misconceptions of Evolution in Students' Written Explanations

Minsu Ha, The Ohio State University, [email protected] Ross H. Nehm, The Ohio State University

ABSTRACT: Multiple-choice assessment formats are only capable of measuring a small subset of important disciplinary competencies. Consequently, science educators require additional assessment tools that can validly measure more advanced skills and performances. Our study explored the use of automated scoring software as a new approach for assessing undergraduate biology students’ ability to construct scientific explanations of

evolutionary change. We used machine-learning methodologies to examine whether computerized scoring models can successfully evaluate students’ written evolutionary explanations (specifically, the presence of scientific concepts and misconceptions, and overall explanatory model type). In order to do so, we used a corpus of

approximately 10,000 human-scored written evolutionary explanations generated in response to a variety of items differing in surface features (e.g., type of plant, animal, etc.). Overall, we found that machine-learning methods were able to evaluate students’ written explanations with a high degree of accuracy. All key concepts were detected at “near perfect” Kappa levels; two of the four misconceptions also met our benchmark; and explanatory model type scoring (scientific, mixed, or naïve) was concordant with human scoring in 86% of cases. Overall, our work demonstrates that machine-learning methods may be used to validly assess written work in biology education.

Guiding Attention on Physics Problems Using Visual Cues Modeled After Experts' Eye Movements Adrian C. Madsen, Kansas State University, [email protected]

Amy Rouinfar, Kansas State University Allison Coy, Kansas State University Adam Larson, Kansas State University Lester C. Loschky, Kansas State University N. Sanjay Rebello, Kansas State University

ABSTRACT: To maximize learning one must ensure most of the learner's cognitive resources are spent on relevant tasks and avoid instructional environments that facilitate focusing on the irrelevant. To help novice learners focus on elements relevant for learning it may be helpful to give them insight into the way experts allocate their visual attention, for example, by using visual cues. To design appropriate cues, we must first understand how experts allocate their visual attention by recording their eye movements. In Study 1, we record eye movements of novices and experts in physics while answering conceptual physics problems containing a diagram to determine

differences in visual attention. We use the experts’ eye movements to design visual cues for use in Study 2. In Study 2, we overlay these dynamic visual cues onto the same physics problems and find evidence of increased conceptual understanding in novices who view the problems overlaid with cues.

Strand 11: Cultural, Social, and Gender Issues

Religion, Evolution, and Indigenous Science: National and International Contexts 2:15pm – 3:45pm, Room 107

Presider: Bhaskar Upadhyay, University of Minnesota

Islam and Evolutionary Science: Secondary Students' Conceptions of Evolution from Five Countries Anila Asghar, McGill University, [email protected]

Joshua Rosenau, National Center for Science Education Jason R. Wiles, Syracuse University

Saouma B. Boujaoude, American University of Beirut Minoo Derayeh, York University

Quinn O., McGill University Brian Alters, Chapman University

ABSTRACT: This study explores how secondary students from five predominantly Muslim societies (Egypt, Lebanon, Indonesia, Pakistan and Turkey) construe evolutionary science in relation to their Islamic beliefs about the origin and evolution of life. Data were collected through an anonymous survey from over 5000 students from public and private schools. Evolution is a part of the required national biology curriculum in all study countries except Lebanon. Data were analyzed using descriptive and advanced statistical techniques (frequencies, correlations, chi-squared tests, factor analyses, logistic regression and multi-level modeling). It appears that although most students are informed, and agree, that evolution is supported by extensive scientific evidence, many believe that it cannot be accurate since it contradicts their religious beliefs. Additionally, substantial numbers of students carried misconceptions regarding the contents and interpretation of evolutionary concepts. Most did not exhibit a comprehensive understanding of evolution and many did not accept it. Moreover, the majority demonstrated significant misconceptions about the nature of science. Interestingly, Muslim female students appeared to be more supportive of evolution than male students on average. This study informs North American science educators about how Muslim students might think about the evolutionary science being taught in relation to their religious beliefs.

Interrelating Attitudes toward Evolution, Climate Change, and Genetic Engineering in Students' Lives David E. Long, Valdosta State University, [email protected]

ABSTRACT: As part of a larger ethnographic study, college student attitudes toward three potentially contentious science topics were collected; evolution, climate change, and genetic engineering. Building upon previously published work on one of these topics (evolution), this paper expands this research dialogue to examine socio- cultural and socio-psychological factors that mediate student understanding of climate change science along with genetic engineering, and how, if at all, attitudes towards these three topics interrelate. Past a body of survey research disconnected by topic, this research interrelates these topics, grounded in the rich context of students' lives.

How Universal is Students' Interest in Biology? Correlation between Interest in Biology, Gender, Culture and Religion

Ayelet Baram-Tsabari, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, [email protected] Galit Hagay, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology

Jaume Ametller, University of Leeds Gultekin Cakmakci, Hacettepe University Betina Lopes, University of Aveiro Aurora Moreira, University of Aveiro

Helena Pedrosa-de-Jesus, University of Aveiro

ABSTRACT: In order to bridge the existing gap between biology curricula and students' interests in biology, a strategy for identifying students' interest based on their questions and integrating them into the curriculum was developed. In order to characterize the level of generalizability of students' science interests over 600 high school students from Portugal, Turkey, England and Israel, who chose biology as an advanced subject, were asked to rank their interest level in 36 questions that were originally raised by high school students. Results indicate that students from four different countries show interest in similar science questions. The most intriguing questions were the ones that dealt with human health and new developments in reproduction and genetics. Religious affiliation had the strongest effect on students' interest level, followed by national affiliation and gender. The findings suggest that students' interest in one context is relevant to the development of interest-based learning materials in a different context. However, despite these similarities, cultural and sociological differences need to be taken into account.

Imaginary Subjects: School Science, Indigenous Students, and Knowledge–Power Relations Eleanor D. Abrams, University of New Hampshire, [email protected]

Joanna Kidman, University of Wellington, New Zealand Hiria McRae, University of Wellington New Zealand

ABSTRACT: The perspectives of indigenous science learners in developed nations offer an important but frequently overlooked dimension to debates about the nature of science, the science curriculum, and calls from educators to make school science more culturally responsive or ‘relevant’ to students from indigenous or minority groups. In this paper the findings of a study conducted with indigenous Maori children between the ages of 10 and 12 years are discussed. The purpose of the study was to examine the ways that indigenous children in an urban school environment in New Zealand position themselves in relation to school science. Drawing on the work of Basil Bernstein, we argue that although the interplay between emergent cultural identity narratives and the formation of ‘science selves’ is not as yet fully understood, it carries the potential to open a rich seam of learning for indigenous children.

Strand 12: Educational Technology

Evaluation and Instrumentation of Technological Endeavors 2:15pm – 3:45pm, Room 101

Presider: Noemi Waight, University at Buffalo

An Animation-based Approach to Clarify the Meanings of Questions in a Technology-enhanced Science Learning Environment Preference Questionnaire

Yu-Ta Chien, National Taiwan Normal University, [email protected] Chun-Yen Chang, National Taiwan Normal University

ABSTRACT: Based on our previous work on investigating students’ preferences towards science learning environments, we found that students encountered great difficulties in understanding the meaning of questions which described how educational technologies would be used in a classroom setting. Therefore, this study used animations as visual aids to assist students in clarifying the meanings of questions in a technology-enhanced science learning environment preference questionnaire. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of

animation-based items on students’ responses and its association with students’ visual images. The results revealed that students’ responses to the Animation-Based Questionnaire (ABQ) were significantly different from their responses to the Text-Based Questionnaire (TBQ). Moreover, we found that the vividness of students’ visual images is a significant predictor in explaining the students’ response changes between ABQ and TBQ (p = .005). It suggests that the clearer the students’ visual images stimulated from the description of a survey question in TBQ, the more likely the students will change their responses more prominently to that question on ABQ. This finding confirms that students interpret a survey question not only based the verbal representations they form from the question descriptions but also visual images. The questionnaire design should more cautiously take this individual difference into account.

Development of a Short Form Measure of Science and Technology Self-Efficacy using Rasch Analysis Richard L. Lamb, George Mason University, [email protected]

David B. Vallett, George Mason University Leonard A. Annetta, George Mason University Rebecca Cheng, George Mason University

ABSTRACT: Student achievement in science and technology within the United States has fallen to near the bottom in international testing results. There is considerable pressure on educators to help remedy this outcome and place students into STEM based career paths. There is some evidence that intrinsic attitudes such as science and technology self-efficacy may affect this outcome. The lack of a short form, diagnostic, screening instrument makes it difficult for educators to develop a full picture of student cognitive factors that relate to science attitudes in the