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Science Achievement (science + achievement)
Selected AbstractsEffects of fidelity of implementation on science achievement gains among english language learnersJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 7 2009Okhee Lee Abstract This study examined the effect of fidelity of implementation (FOI) on the science achievement gains of third grade students broadly and students with limited literacy in English specifically. The study was conducted in the context of a professional development intervention with elementary school teachers to promote science achievement of ELL students in urban schools. As the criterion for measuring FOI, we focused on the quality of instructional delivery in teaching science to ELL students. We measured FOI using both teachers' self-reports and classroom observations during the first year of the intervention. Science achievement was measured by a pretest and posttest over the school year. The results indicate that none of the measures of FOI using teachers' self-reports or classroom observations had significant effects on science achievement gains. The results are discussed in terms of issues about conceptualization and measurement of FOI in educational interventions. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 46: 836,859, 2009 [source] Self-concept and science achievement: Investigating a reciprocal relation model across the gender classification in a crosscultural contextJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 6 2008Jianjun Wang Abstract Science achievement and self-concept are articulated in this study to examine a model of reciprocal relationship during a crosscultural transition. Trend data have been gathered to assess changes of the perceived English importance before and after Hong Kong's sovereignty handover from Britain to China. The data analyses were conducted four times across dimensions of gender and timing over which the political transition took place. Besides small gender differences in the statistical results, weak but significant reciprocal relationships have been found between science achievement and self-concept. In line with a policy of switching the medium of instruction from English to Chinese in most secondary schools, interpretation of different path coefficients obliges incorporation of cross-cultural understanding in science education. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 45: 711,725, 2008 [source] Science achievement of english language learners in urban elementary schools: Results of a first-year professional development interventionJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 1 2008Okhee Lee Abstract This study is part of a 5-year professional development intervention aimed at improving science and literacy achievement of English language learners (or ELL students) in urban elementary schools within an environment increasingly driven by high-stakes testing and accountability. Specifically, the study examined science achievement at the end of the first-year implementation of the professional development intervention that consisted of curriculum units and teacher workshops. The study involved 1,134 third-grade students at seven treatment schools and 966 third-grade students at eight comparison schools. The results led to three main findings. First, treatment students displayed a statistically significant increase in science achievement. Second, there was no statistically significant difference in achievement gains between students at English to Speakers of Other Language (ESOL) levels 1 to 4 and students who had exited from ESOL or never been in ESOL. Similarly, there was no significant difference in achievement gains between students who had been retained on the basis of statewide reading test scores and students who had never been retained. Third, treatment students showed a higher score on a statewide mathematics test, particularly on the measurement strand emphasized in the intervention, than comparison students. The results indicate that through our professional development intervention, ELL students and others in the intervention learned to think and reason scientifically while also performing well on high-stakes testing. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 45: 31,52, 2008 [source] Family Policies and Children's School Achievement in Single- Versus Two-Parent FamiliesJOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY, Issue 3 2003Suet-ling Pong We investigate the gap in math and science achievement of third- and fourth-graders who live with a single parent versus those who live with two parents in 11 countries. The United States and New Zealand rank last among the countries we compare in terms of the equality of achievement between children from single-parent families and those from two-parent homes. Following a multilevel analysis, we find single parenthood to be less detrimental when family policies equalize resources between single- and two-parent families. In addition, the single- and two-parent achievement gap is greater in countries where single-parent families are more prevalent. We conclude that national family policies can offset the negative academic outcomes of single parenthood. [source] The effects of Common Knowledge Construction Model sequence of lessons on science achievement and relational conceptual changeJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 1 2010Jazlin Ebenezer Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the Common Knowledge Construction Model (CKCM) lesson sequence, an intervention based both in conceptual change theory and in Phenomenography, a subset of conceptual change theory. A mixed approach was used to investigate whether this model had a significant effect on 7th grade students' science achievement and conceptual change. The Excretion Unit Achievement Test (EUAT) indicated that students (N,=,33) in the experimental group achieved significantly higher scores (p,<,0.001) than students in the control group (N,=,35) taught by traditional teaching methods. Qualitative analysis of students' pre- and post-teaching conceptions of excretion revealed (1) the addition and deletion of ideas from pre- to post-teaching; (2) the change in the number of students within categories of ideas; (3) the replacement of everyday language with scientific labels; and (4) the difference in the complexity of students' responses from pre- to post-teaching. These findings contribute to the literature on teaching that incorporates students' conceptions and conceptual change. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 47: 25,46, 2010 [source] Effects of fidelity of implementation on science achievement gains among english language learnersJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 7 2009Okhee Lee Abstract This study examined the effect of fidelity of implementation (FOI) on the science achievement gains of third grade students broadly and students with limited literacy in English specifically. The study was conducted in the context of a professional development intervention with elementary school teachers to promote science achievement of ELL students in urban schools. As the criterion for measuring FOI, we focused on the quality of instructional delivery in teaching science to ELL students. We measured FOI using both teachers' self-reports and classroom observations during the first year of the intervention. Science achievement was measured by a pretest and posttest over the school year. The results indicate that none of the measures of FOI using teachers' self-reports or classroom observations had significant effects on science achievement gains. The results are discussed in terms of issues about conceptualization and measurement of FOI in educational interventions. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 46: 836,859, 2009 [source] Self-concept and science achievement: Investigating a reciprocal relation model across the gender classification in a crosscultural contextJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 6 2008Jianjun Wang Abstract Science achievement and self-concept are articulated in this study to examine a model of reciprocal relationship during a crosscultural transition. Trend data have been gathered to assess changes of the perceived English importance before and after Hong Kong's sovereignty handover from Britain to China. The data analyses were conducted four times across dimensions of gender and timing over which the political transition took place. Besides small gender differences in the statistical results, weak but significant reciprocal relationships have been found between science achievement and self-concept. In line with a policy of switching the medium of instruction from English to Chinese in most secondary schools, interpretation of different path coefficients obliges incorporation of cross-cultural understanding in science education. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 45: 711,725, 2008 [source] Impact of a multiyear professional development intervention on science achievement of culturally and linguistically diverse elementary studentsJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 6 2008Okhee Lee Abstract This study examined the impact of the 3-year implementation of a professional development intervention on science achievement of culturally and linguistically diverse elementary students. Teachers were provided with instructional units and workshops that were designed to improve teaching practices and foster positive beliefs about science and literacy with diverse student groups. The study involved third, fourth, and fifth grade students at six elementary schools in a large urban school district during the 2001 through 2004 school years. Significance tests of mean scores between pre- and posttests indicated statistically significant increases each year on all measures of science at all three grade levels. Achievement gaps among demographic subgroups sometimes narrowed among fourth grade students and remained consistent among third and fifth grade students. Item-by-item comparisons with NAEP and TIMSS samples indicated overall positive performance by students at the end of each school year. The consistent patterns of positive outcomes indicate the effectiveness of our intervention in producing achievement gains at all three grade levels while also reducing achievement gaps among demographic subgroups at the fourth grade. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 45: 726,747, 2008 [source] Science achievement of english language learners in urban elementary schools: Results of a first-year professional development interventionJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 1 2008Okhee Lee Abstract This study is part of a 5-year professional development intervention aimed at improving science and literacy achievement of English language learners (or ELL students) in urban elementary schools within an environment increasingly driven by high-stakes testing and accountability. Specifically, the study examined science achievement at the end of the first-year implementation of the professional development intervention that consisted of curriculum units and teacher workshops. The study involved 1,134 third-grade students at seven treatment schools and 966 third-grade students at eight comparison schools. The results led to three main findings. First, treatment students displayed a statistically significant increase in science achievement. Second, there was no statistically significant difference in achievement gains between students at English to Speakers of Other Language (ESOL) levels 1 to 4 and students who had exited from ESOL or never been in ESOL. Similarly, there was no significant difference in achievement gains between students who had been retained on the basis of statewide reading test scores and students who had never been retained. Third, treatment students showed a higher score on a statewide mathematics test, particularly on the measurement strand emphasized in the intervention, than comparison students. The results indicate that through our professional development intervention, ELL students and others in the intervention learned to think and reason scientifically while also performing well on high-stakes testing. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 45: 31,52, 2008 [source] Sources of science self-efficacy beliefs of middle school studentsJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 5 2006Shari L. Britner The purpose of this study was to investigate the degree to which A. Bandura's (1997) hypothesized sources of self-efficacy predict the science self-efficacy beliefs of middle school students (N,=,319), to replicate previous findings that science self-efficacy predicts science achievement, and to explore how science self-efficacy and its antecedents differ by gender. Significant correlations were found between mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, social persuasions, physiological arousal, and self-efficacy. Only mastery experiences significantly predicted science self-efficacy. Girls reported stronger science self-efficacy than did boys. Findings support and extend the theoretical tenets of Bandura's social cognitive theory. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 43: 485,499, 2006 [source] Performance of students in project-based science classrooms on a national measure of science achievementJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 5 2002Rebecca M. Schneider Reform efforts in science education emphasize the importance of supporting students' construction of knowledge through inquiry. Project-based science (PBS) is an ambitious approach to science instruction that addresses concerns of reformers. A sample of 142 10th- and 11th-grade students enrolled in a PBS program completed the 12th-grade 1996 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) science test. Compared with subgroups identified by NAEP that most closely matched our student sample, White and middle class, PBS students outscored the national sample on 44% of NAEP test items. This study shows that students participating in a PBS curriculum were prepared for this type of testing. Educators should be encouraged to use inquiry-based approaches such as PBS to implement reform in their schools. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 39: 410,422, 2002 [source] Gender differences in science attitude-achievement relationships over time among white middle-school studentsJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 4 2002Nancy Mattern Four causal models describing the longitudinal relationships between attitudes and achievement have been proposed in the literature. These models feature: (a) cross-effects over time between attitudes and achievement, (b) influence of achievement predominant over time, (c) influence of attitudes predominant over time, or (d) no cross-effects over time between attitudes and achievement. In an examin-ation of the causal relationships over time between attitudes toward science and science achievement for White rural seventh- and eighth-grade students, the cross-effects model was the best fitting model form for students overall. However, when examined by gender, the no cross-effects model exhibited the most accurate fit for White rural middle-school girls, whereas a new model called the no attitudes-path model exhibited the best fit for these boys. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals Inc. J Res Sci Teach 39: 324,340, 2002 [source] Student conscientiousness, self-regulated learning, and science achievement: An explorative field studyPSYCHOLOGY IN THE SCHOOLS, Issue 5 2009Billie Eilam This explorative field study examined the mediating role of self-regulated learning (SRL) in the relationship between the personality trait of conscientiousness, SRL, and science achievement in a sample of junior high school students. Over the course of an entire academic year, data on enacted SRL were collected each week for 52 eighth-grade students in the context of an inquiry-based ecology project. Data were also collected on personality traits, self-reported study strategies, science project achievement, and grade point average. Findings show significant relationships between conscientiousness, SRL, and achievement. As hypothesized, conscientiousness was shown to significantly impact academic achievement in the inquiry-based course, mediated by enacted SRL. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] | ||||||||||