The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of some of the changes such as student centered learning (i.e. inquiry science instruction), outfitting classrooms with latest technology and computers that the reform movement has brought about on students' TIMSS 2007 science achievements. Two-staged stratified sampling was used in the selection…

Strengthening our science education in the United States is essential to the future success of our country in the global marketplace. Immersing our elementary students with research-based quality science instruction is a critical component to build a strong foundation and motivate our students to become interested in science. The research for this…

The purpose of this researcher was to examine the effects of compatibility between the learning style preferences and instructional strategies which include learning with tactual or interactive whiteboard materials created either by the teacher or the student on students' science achievement gains. A counterbalanced-research design was…

This qualitative study centered on science instruction and learning that occurred in a Title I elementary school in a suburban district in southeast Texas. Twelve teachers were interviewed in order to understand their perceptions of their classroom practices in terms of science instruction and learning for English Language Learners (ELL). This…

Despite the theorized centrality of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for teaching, we have little evidence of the relationship between PCK and students' learning and know relatively little about how to help teachers to develop PCK. This study is a preliminary attempt to address these gaps in our knowledge of PCK through exploration of two…

The purpose of this study was to explore (a) the individual belief profiles that naturally arise among middle and high school science students (n = 1225); (b) the relationships between these profiles to science achievement and other prominent motivation variables; and (c) the demographic and developmental differences among the belief profiles.…

This study utilized data from the 2006 Programme for International Student Assessment Hong Kong sample to investigate the factors that impact the science achievement of 15-year-old students. A multilevel model was used to examine the factors from both student and school perspectives. At the student level, the results indicated that male students,…

Career and Technical Education programs include over 9.2 of the nation's 14.9 million secondary students. Although STEM and health CTE programs are thought to contribute to students' achievement in science, previous studies also suggest that agricultural and natural resources programs can aid students in making connections between agricultural…

This research inquires into the effectiveness of the two predominant forms of questions--multiple-choice questions and short-answer questions--used in the State University Entrance Examination for Chemistry including the relationship between performance and gender. It examines not only the style of question but also the content type examined…

Improving student achievement in math and science has become a priority in the United States. As instructional leaders, principals can influence instruction in these vital subjects by working with classroom teachers to improve their instruction. Surprisingly, the research about the principal's role in supporting instruction in these subjects is…

The goal of this study was to determine if laptop use in lecture negatively impacts learning outcomes of surrounding students taking notes on paper. Two sections of a large introductory biology course (greater than 400 students/section) were zoned into a laptop-permitted and a laptop-free area. Two sections in which laptop users could sit anywhere…

Using national teacher salary data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and student achievement data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), this study compared secondary school teacher salary in 30 countries and examined the relationship between average teacher salary and national…

Typically, mathematics and science are seen as linked together, where both subjects involve numbers, critical thinking, and problem solving. Our study aims to develop a better understanding of the connections between student's achievement scores in mathematics and science, student gender, and self-efficacy. We used the Trends in International…

The internal/external frame of reference (I/E) model and dimensional comparison theory posit paradoxical relations between achievement (ACH) and self-concept (SC) in mathematics (M) and verbal (V) domains; ACH in each domain positively affects SC in the matching domain (e.g., MACH to MSC) but negatively in the nonmatching domain (e.g., MACH to…

Even though school administrators and their leadership practices are rarely explored within science education research, our recent efforts to understand organizational influences on achievement disparities induced an elevated regard for elementary school principals. In this paper, we report on policy buffering by principals at schools whose…