Compares prior understanding of basic concepts of students enrolled in majors' versus nonmajors' introductory biology courses. Results revealed that nonmajors demonstrated greater improvement in posttest scores than did majors and their attitude toward science were improved, whereas student attitudes in the majors' courses declined in nearly all…

This descriptive study was conducted to (1) measure anxiety levels of geology students (N=49) and earth science students (N=68) about taking these required departmental courses; (2) measure their general anxiety level; and (3) examine factors associated with student anxiety. Results (including those related to sex differences) are reported and…

Concept-map construction was tested as a means of increasing the conceptual learning of first-year, non-major college chemistry students (n=32). No significant differences between the control (essay-writing) and treatment (concept-map-constructing) groups were found on post-lab multiple-choice achievement tests. Interviews with students indicated…

Investigated relationships between visual-spatial abilities and achievement and what influence these abilities have on the high attribution rate characteristic of many introductory college-level science courses. Results, among others, using physics students (N=136) and nonscience majors (N=52), indicate that visual-spatial abilities influence…

Describes a study that examines the extent to which differences exist in the concept maps of advanced college biology majors (n=25) and beginning nonmajors (n=25) in the domain of mammals. Results indicate that the concept maps of biology majors are structurally more complex than those of nonmajors. (ZWH)

Investigated methods science and nonscience majors use to make predictions about five situations involving the conservation of mechanical energy. Two findings, among others, show that subjects did not employ identifiable strategies in over 97 percent of the cases and show differences in the way majors and nonmajors worked the problems given.…

Investigated is the extent to which students' nonscientific beliefs change by comparing before and after instruction as a function of students' reasoning skill. Nonscientific beliefs discussed include special creation, orthogenesis, the soul, nonreductionism, vitalism, teleology, and nonemergentism. (KR)

Quantitative outcomes from the Attitudes toward Science Inventory, as well as interview results, indicate that nonscience college majors have high anxiety levels in combination with low levels of motivation when confronted with science material. Further, these attitudes toward science change with exposure to introductory, science instruction with…

The use of inquiry-based laboratory in college science classes is on the rise. This study investigated how five nonmajor biology students learned from an inquiry-based laboratory experience. Using interpretive data analysis, the five students' conceptual ecologies, learning beliefs, and science epistemologies were explored. Findings indicated that…

Details two studies: (1) Study A describes a close replication of a Bishop and Anderson study (1990) using the same conceptual-change teaching module to teach a unit on evolution to nonmajor biology students; and (2) Study B used high school students, and the instruction was based on the inquiry approach to science. (28 references) (Author)

Discussed are the results of a test administered to nonmajor biology students on the topic of natural selection. The description of student conceptions, effects of instruction, and the effects of a belief in evolution are included. (KR)

This study investigated the relationship between factors believed to contribute to the formation of environmental attitudes by college nonscience majors (n=136) attending an environmental studies course. Factors investigated included environmental attitudes, decision defensibility, and the linkage of affective and cognitive domains. Reports that…

Examined is the predictive value of the cognitive variables of developmental level, mental capacity, cognitive style, short-term storage space, and numerical inductive reasoning for student achievement in college science. Included is a strategy for the development of materials which would allow students to develop problem-solving skills. (KR)