We conducted a mixed-methods study of matriculation issues for African-Americans in the STEM pipeline. The project compares the experiences of students currently majoring in science (N?=?304) with the experiences of those who have succeeded in earning science degrees (N?=?307). Participants were surveyed about their pipeline experiences based on…

Special education teachers provide critical science instruction to students. However, little research investigates special education teacher beliefs and practices around science in general or the nature of science and inquiry in particular. This investigation is a cross-case analysis of four elementary special education teachers' initial…

A 3-year study was launched in a Hong Kong secondary school to investigate the effects of the medium of instruction (MOI), specifically English and Chinese, on the learning of certificate-level physics. A total of 199 Secondary Four (S4 or tenth-grade) students, divided into three major ability groups, participated in a teaching intervention…

The literature provides confounding information with regard to questions about whether students in high school can engage in meaningful argumentation about socio-scientific issues and whether this process improves their conceptual understanding of science. The purpose of this research was to explore the impact of classroom-based argumentation on…

This study examines the relationship between biology teachers' evolution teaching practices and their regard and use of Indiana state evolution standards. A survey developed by the authors contained five subscales: use of standards; attitude toward standards; attitude toward evolution standards; evolution teaching practices; and demographic…

Much research has focused on student views about physics concepts, with an emphasis on the identification of alternative conceptions, and how curricula and professional development may ameliorate the situation. However, there has been little work on determining the extent of, and in separating, the student and teacher/classroom level variables…

This study examined the views, and the retention of these views, of 19 preservice elementary teachers as they learned about nature of science (NOS). The preservice teachers participated in a cohort group as they took a science methods course during which they received explicit reflective instruction in nature of science. Through Views of Nature of…

Presented are the results of a survey of elementary school teachers in the state of Illinois. Results are compared to a previous survey conducted 10 years earlier. Discussed are obstacles to science instruction, teacher training, teacher attitudes, student evaluation, and school and community support. (CW)

Concepts, categories, time allotment, and instructional techniques associated with teaching Science/Technology/Society issues were examined for 65 exemplary secondary level science teachers. An analysis of a Science Teaching Issue Opinionnaire and another questionnaire are presented. Thirty-two references are listed. (CW)

This study reports on a survey in Minnesota designed to provide a picture of the instructional styles that are used by seventh- and eighth-grade science teachers (n=139). Although relationships exist, it appears that seventh- and eighth-grade teachers are individualistic and diverse in their reported teaching technique preferences. (PR)

This study explores general-chemistry instructors' awareness of and ability to identify and address common student learning obstacles in chemical equilibrium. Reported instructor strategies directed at remediating student alternate conceptions were investigated and compared with successful, literature-based conceptual change methods. Fifty-two…