Attitudes Toward Inquiry-Based Teaching: Differences Between Preservice and In-service Teachers

This paper describes differences between preservice and in-service middle school science teachers in their attitudes toward the learning and teaching of science through inquiry. Seventy-three preservice and 90 in-service teachers were surveyed. Separate factor analyses indicated that different factor structures were generated by preservice and in-service teachers. In the preservice group, the factors included Nature of Science, Image of Scientists, and Characteristics of Science Teachers. Factors from in-service teachers' responses, on the other hand, included Contemporary View of Science Teaching, Image of Scientists, and Traditional View of Science and Science Teaching. Results of the t-tests indicated that preservice and in-service teachers differed in their responses to 6 (out of 25) items. The pattern of those differences is best described as differences in teacher views about contemporary science and science teaching. In-service teachers held more positive views regarding the process of inquiry and inquiry teaching than did preservice teachers.     

Students' Attitudes Toward Science as Predictors of Gains on Student Content Knowledge: Benefits of an After‐School Program

High‐quality after‐school programs devoted to science have the potential to enhance students' science knowledge and attitudes, which may impact their decisions about pursuing science‐related careers. Because of the unique nature of these informal learning environments, an understanding of the relationships among aspects of students' content knowledge acquisition and attitudes toward science may aid in the development of effective science‐related interventions. We investigated the impact of a semester‐long after‐school intervention utilizing an inquiry‐based infectious diseases curriculum (designed for use after‐school) on 63 urban students' content knowledge and aspects of their attitudes toward science. Content knowledge increased 24.6% from pretest to posttest. Multiple regression analyses indicated suggested that the “self‐directed effort” subscale of the Simpson–Troost Attitude Questionnaire—Revised best predicted increases in students' science content knowledge. The construct “science is fun for me” served as a suppressor effect. These findings suggest that future after‐school programs focusing on aspects of attitudes toward science most closely associated with gains in content knowledge might improve students' enthusiasm and academic preparedness for additional science coursework by improving student attitudes toward their perceptions of their self‐directed effort.     

Turkish Preservice Primary School Teachers' Science Teaching Efficacy Beliefs and Attitudes Toward Science: The Effect of a Primary Teacher Education Program

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a primary teacher education program in improving science teaching efficacy beliefs (personal science teaching efficacy beliefs and outcome expectancy beliefs) of preservice primary school teachers. The study also investigated whether the program has an effect on student teachers' attitudes toward science. Data were collected by administering the “Science Teaching Efficacy Beliefs Instrument” and “Attitudes toward Science Scale” to 282 preservice primary teachers (147 freshmen, 135 seniors). Statistical techniques such as means and t‐test were used to analyze the data. Results of the study showed that the primary teacher education program has a medium positive effect on science teaching efficacy beliefs of the primary preservice teachers (t = 4.791, p = .000) and that there were no gender differences in terms of efficacy beliefs. Results also indicated that preservice primary teachers' attitudes toward science were moderately positive and differ by class level. Fourth‐year preservice teachers' attitudes toward science were found to be significantly more positive than the first years (t = 5.494, p = .000). There were no gender differences in attitudes toward science.     

Student Perceptions of a Summer Ventures in Science and Mathematics Camp Experience

“As the world becomes increasingly technological, the value of (the ideas and skills of its population) will be determined in no small measure by the effectiveness of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in the United States” and “STEM education will determine whether the United States will remain a leader among nations and whether we will be able to solve immense challenges in such areas as energy, health, environmental protection, and national security” (President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, 2010, p. vii). Research on the effectiveness of STEM‐focused school and other learning experiences (e.g., short‐term camps) on student attitudes and performance outcomes is sparse. In this study, we documented the influence of an intensive STEM summer program on high school students’ attitudes toward STEM concepts and interests in STEM careers. Attending the summer program was associated with gains on students’ attitudes toward some aspects of STEM as well as specific career interests. Notably, students reported statistically significant views of important aspects of STEM and their attitudes toward science and mathematics were more positive than their attitudes about engineering and technology.     

Science Attitudes of Selected Middle School Students in China: A Preliminary Investigation of Similarities and Differences as a Function of Gender

Evaluating the attitudes of science students is important for teachers, curriculum developers, and those working with preservice teachers. Although in the United States a great deal of attitudinal research has been conducted with regard to science education, in the People's Republic of China very little work concerning science attitudes has been completed. This study will report on an evaluation of Chinese boys' and girls' attitudes toward selected science topics. Students attended a middle school in the city of Shanghai. Analysis indicated that when the male and female Chinese students differ in their response patterns, females select more intense responses (“strongly agree” as opposed to “agree,”“strongly disagree” as opposed to “disagree”). Furthermore, the surveyed females often selected responses suggesting that they were more interested in the science topics and issues presented in the survey.     

Training Master's‐Level Graduate Students to Use Inquiry Instruction to Teach Middle‐Level and High‐School Science Concepts

Through the GK‐12 program of the National Science Foundation, graduate student fellows in a coastal marine and wetland studies program were trained to present targeted science concepts to middle‐ and high‐school classes through their own research‐based lessons. Initially, they were taught to follow the 5‐E learning cycle in lesson plan development, but a streamlined approach targeting the three attributes of science concepts—macroscopic, model, and symbolic—was found to be a better approach, while still incorporating key facets of the 5‐E model. Evaluation of the level of inquiry in the classrooms was determined using an inquiry scale from 0 to 4, differentiated by the relative number of actions that are student‐centered. The graduate fellows consistently delivered lessons at the targeted levels 2 or 3, guided inquiry. In order to assess student learning, the GK‐12 fellows were trained to develop single‐item pre‐ and post‐assessments designed to probe middle‐level and high‐school students' understanding of the macroscopic, model, and symbolic attributes of targeted science concepts. For the lessons based on the research of the fellows, about 80% of the students showed statistically and practically significant learning gains. The GK‐12 fellows positively impact the classroom and are effective science ambassadors.     

Students' Perceptions of Single‐Gender Science and Mathematics Classroom Experiences

While participating in single‐ and mixed‐gender science and mathematics classes, ninth‐grade urban high school students' (n= 118) academic self‐concept, self‐efficacy, and school climate perceptions were examined. Their perceptions were measured quantitatively from the Fennema‐Sherman Mathematics (modified for Science) Attitude and the Patterns of Adaptive Learning scales. Five factors arose from each instrument: confidence/efficacy, utility, instruction, climate, and anxiety/performance avoidance. Comparative factor analysis of the science‐modified Fennema‐Sherman Scale showed similar constructs within the mathematics scale. Our findings are congruent with reports concerning single‐gender classrooms that find few significant differences in students' attitudes toward science and mathematics, or classroom climate, with regard to single‐gender classes. Lastly, our results supported three structural equation models for the hypothesized factors from each instrument.     

Agent‐based computational models and generative social science

This article argues that the agent‐based computational model permits a distinctive approach to social science for which the term “generative” is suitable. In defending this terminology, features distinguishing the approach from both “inductive” and “deductive” science are given. Then, the following specific contributions to social science are discussed: The agent‐based computational model is a new tool for empirical research. It offers a natural environment for the study of connectionist phenomena in social science. Agent‐based modeling provides a powerful way to address certain enduring—and especially interdisciplinary—questions. It allows one to subject certain core theories—such as neoclassical microeconomics—to important types of stress (e.g., the effect of evolving preferences). It permits one to study how rules of individual behavior give rise—or “map up”—to macroscopic regularities and organizations. In turn, one can employ laboratory behavioral research findings to select among competing agent‐based (“bottom up”) models. The agent‐based approach may well have the important effect of decoupling individual rationality from macroscopic equilibrium and of separating decision science from social science more generally. Agent‐based modeling offers powerful new forms of hybrid theoretical‐computational work; these are particularly relevant to the study of non‐equilibrium systems. The agent‐based approach invites the interpretation of society as a distributed computational device, and in turn the interpretation of social dynamics as a type of computation. This interpretation raises important foundational issues in social science—some related to intractability, and some to undecidability proper. Finally, since “emergence” figures prominently in this literature, I take up the connection between agent‐based modeling and classical emergentism, criticizing the latter and arguing that the two are incompatible. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Revisiting the STEBI‐B: Measuring Self‐Efficacy in Preservice Elementary Teachers

The Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument‐Preservice (STEBI‐B) has been used in many studies to measure science teaching self‐efficacy and outcome expectancy in preservice elementary teachers. Since its development in 1990, there have been no studies that have re‐examined its internal validity and reliability. The purpose of this study was to do so. Two hundred ninety preservice elementary teachers participated in this study. The STEBI‐B was administered at the beginning of science methods courses. A factor analysis established that the two subscales, Personal Science Teaching Efficacy Belief (PSTE) and Science Teaching Outcome Expectancy (STOE), on the STEBI‐B were homogeneous, and loadings were comparable to those reported by Enochs and Riggs (1990) . Two items on the STOE were found to exhibit cross‐loading on the factor analysis, as well as low item‐total correlations. These two items were modified and the revised instrument administered to 86 new participants. Both revised items loaded more clearly on the STOE subscale, and item‐total correlations were stronger. Comparison of means analyses showed that gender, number of science courses taken, and school science experiences had significant associations with PSTE. The STEBI‐B continues to be employed in hundreds of studies to measure science teaching self‐efficacy. It is important to continue to monitor its reliability and validity, as well as check on associations with various background variables. The modified STEBI‐B is included in an appendix with this article.     

The Effect of Robotics Competitions on High School Students' Attitudes Toward Science

This study was designed to examine the impact of participating in an after‐school robotics competition on high school students' attitudes toward science. Specifically, this study used the Test of Science‐Related Attitude to measure students' social implications of science, normality of scientists, attitude toward scientific inquiry, adoption of scientific attitudes, enjoyment of science lessons, leisure interest in science, and career interest in science. Results indicated that students who participated in a robotic competition had a more positive attitude toward science and science‐related areas in four of the seven categories examined: social implications of science, normality of scientists, attitude toward scientific inquiry, and adoption of scientific attitudes. Implications of results on students' attitudes are discussed.     

Examining Elementary School Science Achievement Gaps Using an Organizational and Leadership Perspective

There is the tendency to explain away successful urban schools as indicative of the heroic efforts by a tireless individual, effectively blaming schools that underperform for a lack of grit and dedication. This study reports the development of a research instrument (School Science Infrastructure, or SSI) and then applying that tool to an investigation of equitable science performance by elementary schools. Our efforts to develop a science‐specific instrument to explore associations between school‐level variables and equitable science performance are informed by James Coleman's tripartite notion of social capital: the “wealth” of organizations is encompassed within their social norms, informational channels, and reciprocating relationships. Grounded in school effectiveness research and social capital theory, the instrument that we report on here is a valid and reliable tool to support meso‐level investigations of factors contributing to school variations in science achievement.     

Community Partnership Grant Generates Preservice Teacher and Middle School Student Motivation for Authentic Science and Mathematics

Motorola Inc., research climatologists, preservice teachers taking a science requirement, and students in a Title I middle school explored whether a new major urban lake increases local humidity and decreases quality of life in a community dependent on “dry heat” during summers. Analysis of automated climate data reveals that the urban lake is too small to increase humidity, a conclusion roughly consistent with student‐gathered data—keeping in mind the difficulty of students in making reliable scientific measurements. Qualitative survey questions and interviews about the process revealed that elementary education majors learned they could generate excitement for authentic science and mathematics within themselves and within students through research experiences. Furthermore, the interaction introduced low income, minority middle schoolers to the idea that attending college is an option in their future. Thus, synergistic involvement of education majors and children in scientific research to generate excitement in science and mathematics is strongly encouraged.     

Successful Students’ Perceptions of Secondary School Science

The attitudinal perceptions of successful college science students regarding their junior high and high school science experiences were compared with those of successful nonscience students. Particular attention was paid to recollections of teacher personality attributes and instructional methodology. Results indicate that science students were especially motivated by knowledgeable, enthusiastic, communicative, committed, friendly, competent, and creative science teachers, whereas the nonscience group preferred patient, knowledgeable, congenial, friendly, supportive, and enthusiastic instructors. Both groups agreed that, although traditional methods (textbooks, lectures, quizzes/tests) dominated their science experiences, their preferred instructional strategies included more dynamic methods, including laboratory activities, teacher demonstrations, and discussions. Both groups also agreed that high school science courses provided a closer match than did junior high/middle school courses in providing their preferred teacher attributes and instructional methods. Results supported the observation that, even for these academically gifted students, interest in science is relatively depressed during the junior high/middle school years. It was concluded that, although endogenous variables act in concert, the quality of the student-teacher interaction exerts the greatest influence on student attitudes, particularly if those students are not already “science-friendly.” Instructional implications are discussed.     

From the Written to the Enacted Curricula: The Intermediary Role of Middle School Mathematics Teachers in Shaping Students' Opportunity to Learn

In this paper is reported the extent of textbook use by 39 middle school mathematics teachers in six states, 17 utilizing a textbook series developed with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF‐funded) and 22 using textbooks developed by commercial publishers (publisher‐generated). Results indicate that both sets of teachers placed significantly higher emphasis on Number and Operation, often at the expense of other content strands. Location of topics within a textbook represented an oversimplified explanation of what mathematics gets taught or omitted. Most teachers using an NSF‐funded curriculum taught content intended for students in a different (lower) grade, and both sets of teachers supplemented with skill‐building and “practice” worksheets. Implications for documenting teachers' “fidelity of implementation” ( National Research Council, 2004 ) are offered.     

The Impact of a Multiyear Systemic Reform Effort on Rural Elementary School Students' Science Achievement

This paper is a report of the impact of an externally funded, multiyear systemic reform project on students' science achievement on a modified version of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) test in 33 small, rural school districts in two Midwest states. The systemic reform effort utilized a cascading leadership strategy of professional development delivered at summer workshops and through distance technologies and local leadership groups that focused on helping teachers work in communities of practice to adapt science inquiry lessons to teach and reinforce strategies and skills in language arts in the lessons. Science achievement scores of Grade 3 and Grade 6 student cohorts on the two forms of the TIMSS administered at the beginning, middle, and end of the professional development effort revealed a V‐shaped pattern of scores, suggesting that teachers struggled with the newly adapted science inquiries at first but then became more effective in their use. The impact of the adaptation strategy on the students' achievement, questions about the time needed for new instructional strategies to be embraced by teachers, and the wisdom of using “low stakes” achievement tests in studies are discussed.     

Developing Middle School Students' Interests in STEM via Summer Learning Experiences: See Blue STEM Camp

It is a well‐known fact that, in general, many students have a lack of interest and proficiency in mathematics and science. Therefore, it is imperative that we prepare and inspire all students, specifically students of underrepresented populations, to learn science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) content. Now in its fourth year, See Blue STEM Camp was created in order to expose middle‐level students to a variety of STEM fields and STEM professionals through hands‐on project‐based learning experiences in order to increase their interest in STEM. This paper describes the structure and the activities of the camp. In this innovative project, we utilized an embedded mixed methods study design to investigate the extent middle level students' attitudes, perceptions, and interest in and toward STEM fields and careers changed after participating in an informal learning environment of a five‐day day camp held on the campus of a major university in the mid‐south. The results revealed an increase in their motivation and interest in STEM fields; in fact, there was 3% increase from pre to post in interest in STEM careers. The data also revealed that a majority of the participating middle school students found the STEM content sessions “fun” and engaging, specifically citing the hands‐on experiences they received.     

Habits of Mind: Integrating the Social and Personal Characteristics of Doing Science Into the Science Classroom

Scientific habits of mind are an integral part of contemporary definitions of scientific literacy being presented in national reform documents such as Science For All Americans ( American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1989 ) and the National Science Education Standards ( National Research Council, 1996 ). These scientific habits also serve as an important link between scientific inquiry and science education. This article focuses on three habits associated with personal values and attitudes and one habit associated with the social skills of doing science. These four habits of mind balance the objectivist perspective that misrepresents science as a cold and emotionless abstraction ( Pert, 1997 ) by highlighting a subjective view of scientific activity that is often omitted from school science. The four habits of mind are first illustrated through the story of a modern scientific investigation and then described as the basis of a school laboratory science experience. Implications related to the integration of these four habits of mind into science laboratory reform are discussed.     

Investigating High School Students' Science Experiences and Mechanics Understanding

This research study was designed to provide an introductory examination of how high school students' out‐of‐school science experiences, particularly those relevant to the physical sciences, relate to their learning of Newtonian mechanics. A factor analysis of the modified Science Experiences Survey (SES; Mason & Kahle, 1988 ) was performed, leading to three factors: Learning Attributes Related to Science, Physical Science Experiences, Nature Experiences. The students' learning of Newtonian mechanics was measured by their gain score from a pre‐instruction/post‐instruction administration of the Force Concept Inventory (FCI; Hestenes, Wells, & Swackhamer, 1992 ). An analysis of variance showed that females and males in honors physics courses demonstrated similar gain scores, while males in non‐honors courses demonstrated larger gains (p < 0.05) than the females. When the students' total SES and SES factor scores were correlated with their FCI pretest and gain scores, the SES Physical Science Experience score was found to be significantly related to the FCI pretest score (p = 0.01). No other correlations were significant.