The pressure to have students perform well on standardized tests can serve as a stressor to some teachers in their efforts to autonomously teach their students, particularly those of low socioeconomic status (SES). However, the relationship between teachers' sense of autonomy, teachers' attitudes and behaviors, SES, and student's academic success…

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) released proposed Science and Technology/Engineering standards in 2013 outlining the concepts that should be taught at each grade level. Previously, standards were in grade spans and each district determined the method of implementation. There are two different methods used…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to explore and describe the relationship between middle-level science curriculum structure and student science literacy. Although national and state science curriculum standards are based on an integrated model, there is little quantitative data supporting integration. This study explored the use of…

Using a mixed methodology approach, this study examined the impact of the implementation of the science PSSA on the curriculum and instructional practice of eighth-grade teachers. It was hypothesized that despite the specter of PSSA influence on the academic climate, teachers are not necessarily influenced to change instructional practices, even…

Throughout this country the student population is becoming increasingly diverse, yet the teacher population does not reflect this diversity. This lack of diversity in the teacher population deprives students of color from having role models of the same race/ethnicity who look like them and who might have experiences which are similar to theirs…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate whether or not informational writing in the science curriculum would impact fifth grade students' science achievement and conceptual understanding. The population of this study came from a metropolitan school district in the state of Georgia for school year 2012-2013. The quantitative data…

This dissertation presents my explorations in both molecular biology and science education research. In study one, we determined the "ADIPOQ" and "ADIPORI" genotypes of 364 White and 148 Black BrCa patients and used dominant model univariate logistic regression analyses to determine individual SNP and haplotype associations…

Students in the United States are avoiding taking the higher level science courses in secondary and postsecondary academic institutions (Ball, 2000; Braund & Reiss, 2006; Lee & Frank, 1990). There are many careers that do not require students to take those higher level science courses; therefore, students avoid registering for those classes…

In this quasi-experimental study, the researcher investigated the effectiveness of three tactual strategies and one non-tactual strategy of content specific vocabulary acquisition. Flash cards, task cards, and learning wheels served as the tactual strategies, and vocabulary review sheets served as a non-tactual strategy. The sample (n = 85)…

The purpose of this study was to determine relationships between New Jersey biology teachers' personal characteristics and religious backgrounds and the time spent and approach to teaching evolution. The research instrument chosen was a cross-sectional survey. Survey questions were presented in various forms: fill in, single response, Likert…

The purpose of this study was to obtain Science faculty concerns and professional development needs to adopt blended learning in their teaching at Taibah University. To answer these two research questions the survey instrument was designed to collect quantitative and qualitative data from close-ended and open-ended questions. The participants'…

The lack of resolution in the on-going animal dissection debate inspired this mixed methods study to identify Connecticut secondary biology teachers' dissection practices and the influences that lead to their adoption. Qualitative findings indicate past experiences, managing objections to dissection, school culture, goals of biology teaching and…

The problem addressed in this study was that little was known about the impact on student academic achievement, when grouped by learning style, in a multiple intelligence based science curriculum. The larger problem was that many students were frequently unengaged and, consequently, low achieving in their science courses. This quantitative study…