ILAC-Science Education Blog

Dissertation Defense

2011-03-09T19:35:00.000-08:00

I successfully defended my dissertation on Monday February 28, 2011. I want to express my appreciation to my committee members, family and friends.

Holmes Scholars Summer Institute

2009-08-23T08:45:00.000-07:00

Participated in another rewarding 4 days in Las Vegas. Thanks to everyone involved.

AACTE Day on the Hill

2009-06-25T07:55:00.000-07:00

I was fortunate enough to be included in this trip to Washington DC. I was able to see the education process from the top down and meet with various congressional staffers. I also met Jim Inhofe and Ron Paul.

http://www.aacte.org/index.php?/component/option,com_events/Itemid,28/agid,21/day,17/month,06/task,view_detail/year,2009/

Holmes Scholars, Gadugi, and Communities of Practice

2009-05-23T13:24:00.000-07:00

Charles Helm-University of Minnesota
Tanetha Grosland-University of Minnesota
Geary Crofford-University of Oklahoma

Abstract
The Holmas Scholar Program, through its institutes, conferences,and other activities, supports the development of new scholars of color in education. Specifically, the Summer Institutes promote “Communities of Practice” among these individuals, not unlike the Cherokee concept of gadugi, in which members of a group work together to achieve a common goal, not just for the individuals’ benefit but also for the group, and society as a whole.

Introduction
My name is Geary Don Crofford. I am a Holmes Scholar and graduate student and assistant at the University of Oklahoma in the Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education. I am seeking a doctoral degree in Instructional Leadership and Academic Curriculum in Science Education. I taught 3-12th grade science and mathematics for almost 20 years and earned a master’s degree in biology before undertaking PhD work at the age of 41. My research interests include professional development for inquiry-based science instruction, National Board Certification, and American Indian education. I am a citizen of the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma. The director of the education department of a large American Indian tribe in a midwestern state recently related to me an informal and unpublished study carried out by a former superintendent of a school within the tribal boundaries. The school is small, rural, and comprised of pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade levels, and is a dependent district with a student population that is almost 100% American Indian. Over several years, the superintendent surveyed fourth-graders with regard to what they wanted to be when they grew up. Their answers ranged across the spectrum of vocations, from teachers and professional athletes to firefighters and cowboys. When the students were asked the same question four years later as eighth-graders, their responses were mostly limited to one of two; chicken pullers at the nearby food processing facility or line workers at the pie and cake factory in the same town.
This revelation was startling and disconcerting to me, especially coupled with the fact that American Indian student college attendance rates are low and drop-out rates are high, especially in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors (Demmert, 2001). The discovery propelled an investigation of the role of science education in addressing American Indian student college attendance and retention. In fact, American Indian students are the least represented group in STEM majors and careers, both in sheer numbers as well as proportionally (Demmert, 2001).
Adequate science education, including development of critical thinking skills, for students before entering higher education is a crucial foundation of America’s technological and intellectual strength, which arises from its talented workforce trained in STEM majors (Babco, 2003). A possible approach for addressing the documented educational deficit among American Indian students is exemplified by the Native Science Connections Research Project (NSCRP) at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. The NSCRP project attempts to integrate relevant cultural knowledge and language into an inquiry-based science curriculum, and has demonstrated some initial success (Gilbert, 2008).
My personal experience after attending a summer science institute at the state’s flagship institution was that my students (mostly American Indian) responded well to inquiry-based science instruction in the form of learning cycles. Inquiry-based science instruction refers to science instruction that is focused on critical thinking and problem solving while emphasizing the need to evaluate teacher strategies to ensure that they align with the learning styles of particular students (Tomlinson, 2004). Greater student enthusiasm for science occurred in my third through eighth-grade classes, along with increased student comprehension, especially during the concept development and expansion/application phases of the learning cycles. This was particularly true when relating a concept to something from the students’ real-world environment and interests, while emphasizing the organization of the concept amongst their prior knowledge and applying it in a different context. This led, in part, to the school adopting the Carolina Biological Company’s Science and Technology for Children (STC) program. Science instruction-and specifically more inquiry-based science instruction-began to occur at the school. The faculty was encouraged to modify and adapt the STC curriculum program kits to reflect more of a true learning cycle teaching approach. In addition, this school has received national awards and recognition, in particular for the superintendent’s “psychomotor”, activity-based teaching and learning approach for its American Indian students (Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, 1995). It was this anecdotal success and progress in my own school and classroom that prompted me to apply to the doctoral program in science education at the university offering a program of study based on inquiry, and specifically learning cycle, science education. My desire to learn more and play a role in helping Cherokees and others progress through their schooling also eventually led to my participation in the Holmes Program.
Traditional Cherokee culture and society has developed and lived by some fascinating and seemingly prescient concepts over the centuries. For instance, although all Cherokees had equal rights, their society leaned toward being matriarchal. Women had extraordinary influence in politics and family life (Perdue, 1998). In fact, a Cherokee woman could divorce her husband by simply placing his clothes and other personal effects outside the front door. Cherokee society was matrilineal, with a child’s clan affiliation being determined by the maternal lineage, not the paternal. A child’s maternal uncles and aunts were expected to play a large role in his or her upbringing, education, and training. The Cherokee also did not recognize the concept of private property. Land, livestock, and other property effectively belonged to everyone in a Cherokee communal group. Another traditional Cherokee concept, for which there is no equivalent single word in the English language, is gadugi. Gadugi is a term which refers to individuals working together to benefit everyone in a community (Hall, 1991). Historically, the word meant working together towards a common goal which would benefit all of the Cherokee. This included working together to build a community council house or working together to bring in the harvest of corn and other crops. It also meant being sure that everyone was clothed, fed, and sheltered. In modern times, this word means community service for which an individual did not expect payment or services in return. The word gadugi was derived from the Cherokee word for bread, which is gadu. Gadugi means "putting together the bread" as was done when corn flour, wild onions, and beans were mixed to make traditional bean bread for community feasts, meetings, and other social events. Today, the emphasis on gadugi by the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma has been renewed and emphasized. The nation has encouraged gadugi in the communities and as a political platform ideal to encourage greater community awareness, reciprocity, and assistance among the Cherokee people. This was done to encourage the Cherokee people to develop and sustain the goal of self reliance and independent sovereignty (Cherokee.org, 2009).
I was reminded of gadugi when I participated in the Holmes Scholar Summer Institute in Las Vegas last summer. A group of us decided to present on “Communities of Practice” (CoP) at the Holmes Program Conference in Jacksonville, Florida in February. Our intention was to demonstrate the effectiveness of the Holmes Program in bringing togther like-minded individuals in a supportive and and productive environment to benefit us all. The concept of CoP refers to the process of social learning that occurs and shared sociocultural practices that emerge and evolve when people who have common goals interact as they strive toward those goals. The idea is attributed to modern cognitive anthropologists, including Rogoff (1988) and Lave and Wenger (1999). However, it seems to me the Cherokee had effectively captured the essence of CoP as gadugi centuries ago.
What can we gain by participating in a CoP? Problem solving, developing new capabilities, delineating and standardizing best practices, enhancing efficiency, and increasing talent and avoiding mistakes are all general potential benefits of this paradigm. How did we as new and developing scholars of color establish a CoP or gadugi in the Holmes Summer Institute? First and foremost, we had strong and caring mentors and facilitators. We experienced interaction and support from peers with similar goals, problems, and issues. This communication continued after the Institute, both electronically and in person. These face to face interactions could be at meetings and conferences, or even on our own home or nearby campuses with other Holmes Scholars, Alumni, and board members. We gained new perspectives and ideas for our personal research and teaching by learning about the other Scholars’ activities and responsibilities. Most importantly, in my opinion, we developed self-confidence and efficacy in a supportive environment to help us understand and carry out our roles as teachers, students, and researchers. Being a Holmes Scholar helped me find a “Community of Practice” or gadugi that will only serve to benefit me, my peers, and society in general.

References
Babco, E. L. (2003). Trends in African American and Native American participation in STEM higher education. Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology. Retrieved November 10, 2008, from http://www.cpst.org/STEM.pdf

Cherokee Nation website

Demmert, W. G. (2001). Improving Academic Performance among Native American Students: A Review of the Research Literature. Charleston, WV: ERIC Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools.

Gilbert, W. S. (2008). Native Science Connections Research Project. Partnerships for Indian
Education Conference, Rapid City, SD.

Hall, M. C. (1991). Gadugi: A Model of Service-Learning for Native American Communities. Phi Delta Kappan. eric.ed.gov

Lave, J. and Wenger, E. (1999) Learning and pedagogy in communities of practice,
in J. Leach and B. Moon (eds) Learners and Pedagogy. London: Paul Chapman/
The Open University.

Perdue, Theda 1998: Cherokee Women: Gender and Culture Change, 1700–1835 (Lincoln:
University of Nebraska Press).

Roggof, B., Matusov, E., & White, C. (1988). Models of teaching and learning: Participation
in a community of learners. In The Handbook of Education and Human Development,
D. R. Olson and N. Torrance, Eds. Blackwell Publishers, Inc., Cambridge, MA, 388–414.

Southwest Educational Development Laboratory. (1995). Maryetta School: the center of a rural community and a case study of leadership and school improvement. Issues about Change, 5(1), 5-27.

Tomlinson, C. A. (2004). Sharing responsibility for differentiating instruction. Roeper Review, 26(4), 188-189.

PIAGET’S INTELLIGENCE MODEL

2009-05-23T13:21:00.001-07:00

Science should be taught as an inquiry-driven process, not as a static collection of facts to be memorized. It is also important to organize the concepts and terms that are learned in a way that reduces the world around the student to a logical system. The central purpose of American education is, or should be, helping the student develop the ability to think critically; that is, for the general populace to be able to gather and evaluate data, formulate an explanation and/or viewpoint and use appropriate terminology, and extend and apply it to their lives and prior learning. This correlates to Piaget’s Mental Functioning Model, which in turn is a component of his Theory of Intelligence, along with his Stages or Levels Model. This paper is a description and explanation of the graphic I have prepared to illustrate the overall Model of Intelligence as put forward by Piaget.

The attached graphic is intended to show the components and their relationships in Piaget’s model of intelligence. Mental functioning, content, and structures are represented as a flow chart or concept map, from top to bottom. Disequilibrium, as one of the four factors that drive development through the cognitive stages of development, is at the bottom, with the other three related factors. The four cognitive stages of development are shown progressing from right to left, with each stage encompassing the one(s) preceding it.

This leads to Piaget's model of mental functioning, or how we learn, and cultural differences notwithstanding, it applies to all humans. First is Piaget’s concept of assimilation as new information in the form of data and observations is acquired from the environment. Disequilibrium occurs as the new data is temporarily in conflict with one’s current mental structures. This conflict is reconciled as accommodation, or an understanding of the new mental function, occurs. Adaptation refers to the development of new mental structures, or schemes, as assimilation and accommodation take place. The organization of the new concept occurs as it is “filed” in our mental filing cabinet as one extends and applies it through various means and examines the new concept in different contexts. I must emphasize that research indicates this model accurately describes how we all think in all situations, cultural and societal influences notwithstanding.

Human intelligence is a concept that can be difficult to define, or defined in various ways. For our purposes the intelligence of an individual can be defined and graphically represented as consisting of four components:

• Quality of Thought (Stages) Model
• Mental Functioning
• Mental Structures
• Mental Content

The four stages of cognition or quality of thought are in order, sensorimotor, which is from birth to approximately 2.5 years old and is characterized by no object permanence, reflexive physical actions, no concept of space, time, self, or cause/effect, and no language development. This is followed by the preoperational stage from approximately 2 to 7 years of age in which children imitate, play, and talk but are also characterized by egocentrism and irreversibility. Also in this stage children recognize the permanence of objects, begin to conserve quantity, and conceptualize time, space, self, and cause/effect. Next is the concrete operational stage from 6 or 7 years of age to between 15 and 20 in which the child begins to use the mental operations of seriation, classification, correspondence, reversal, decentering, and inductive and deductive reasoning. Therefore, children in this stage can by the end of the stage conserve quantity, understand elementary geometry, and conduct practical play, imitation, and language. The final stage is called formal operational and in it hypothetico-deductive and abstract thought/language is finally realized. This stage is also characterized by combinatorial/propositional logic, understanding of relative space and time, reflective capacity, and recognition of the ideal self. Therefore, in this stage people can view the world from a perspective other than their own, formulate abstractions, and employ advanced logic. It is important to note that we do not move into one stage and leave the previous ones behind. Instead, elements of previous stages provide the underpinnings of subsequent stages, as represented in the attached diagram. The four factors associated with cognitive development, or movement through the stages, are:

• Maturation
• Physical and Logical-Mathematical Experiences
• Social Interaction and Transmission
• Disequilibrium

Maturation is the natural physiological process of growth and development that takes place as our bodies and in particular our nervous systems, advance and change throughout our lives. Physical and logical-mathematical experiences refer to the encounters we have with stimuli in our internal and external environments during our lifespan. Social interactions and transmissions are the shaping we undergo as we interact with other humans. Especially important here are the interactions with our families as children and our early schooling, as well as the culture(s) we are part of. Disequilibrium is discussed below.

It is changes in the mental structures and mental content that result from mental functioning as described by Piaget, as well as movement through the cognitive stages of development. In other words, mental structures are processes in the brain used to deal with incoming data, and differences in their nature and complexity distinguish one intellectual stage from another. Schemes are the basic unit of mental structures, and as new data is incorporated into existing structures assimilation occurs. Disequilibrium, or the mismatch between pre-existing mental structures and what has occurred, causes new schemes to develop, which is also known as accommodation. These new schemes or structures need to be properly aligned and placed among previous ones, and this is essentially organization. Mental content is how a child believes he or she sees the world, or how the child believes the world works. Put another way, mental content is how a person believes the world looks, and is a variant that cannot be separated from the structure and function components. In order to change content, the entire structure/function system must be turned back on and disequilibrium reestablished. It is important to recognize Piaget’s model of intelligence as a guiding descriptor for how we all respond and change mentally and physically throughout our lives, in all situations and at all ages.

In my experience, and in the literature, Piaget’s model of intelligence and its application in terms of learning cycles in the classroom hold up well. After teaching 3-12th grade science for 17 years, I realize many of my lessons were constructivist in nature, without me necessarily being cognizant of the terminology or original theories. Not having been grounded in a definite theory base as a science educator, I did however employ much exposition, particularly in my advanced high school classes. I essentially utilized what I refer to as a “shotgun” or “scattergun” approach to my teaching, believing that if I exposed the students to a concept in as many different ways as possible, the majority would, through some combination of teaching approaches and their own efforts, learn what they were supposed to. After my exposure to learning cycles in a summer workshop a few years ago, I was immediately a strong supporter and advocate of this teaching approach grounded in Piagetian theories, especially for younger students such as I was teaching at the time.

Despite this, I do occasionally have questions or concerns about constructivism, Piaget’s model, and learning cycles. For instance, initially it appeared to me that learning cycles simply reverse the “I” and the “V” in the traditional Inform, Verify, and Practice (IVP) teaching approach. This was hard for me to accept initially, and is still one of the most common complaints and/or criticisms I hear from students and other teachers, especially those that have yet to develop a comprehensive understanding of the theory base that supports the use of learning cycles in the classroom. Another point, as I described in my article summaries for this course, is that practitioners and researchers must be aware of cultural and social influences and factors concerning Piaget’s ideas and their applications. It can be problematic to try to assess the thinking process through language, for instance. Also, different cultures place varying values on different traits or characteristics in an individual. The population and sample sizes employed by Piaget might have been too small for universal applicability of his perceived results. For instance, many of his observations were based on his own children, presenting the problem of a very small n. In my opinion, Piaget seems to be guilty of sometimes just describing what was going as he observed, and often left it to others to try to explain and/or duplicate his results. Matthews (1997) stated that the reproducibility of Piaget’s work had more to do with the methods he employed than the actual cognitive stage of his subjects. I also believe that the stages of development are often presented as being sharply delineated, when in reality we are often in an overlapping or blended configuration as we develop, grow, mature, and experience the world. Modern neurobiological studies (Anderson, 2006) are supporting Piaget’s conclusions, which I find interesting. It would be interesting if Piaget had done more research on individuals beyond their teen years. Also, I have always been intrigued by the idea of a “super-formal” or “post-formal” stage, possibly exemplified by people like Einstein whose apparent mentally processes far exceed the majority of the population.

Bibliographic Note:

Rodger Bybee and Robert Sund, Piaget for Educators, (Prospect Heights, IL, Waveland Press, 1990).

Edmund Marek and Ann Cavallo, The Learning Cycle: Elementary School Science and Beyond, (Portsmouth NH, Heinemann, 1997).

National Science Education Standards from the National Academy of Sciences, 1995.

EDSC 5523 Class notes

Anderson, O. R. (1992). Some interrelationships between constructivist models of learning and current neurobiological theory, with implications for science education. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 19(10), 1037-1058.

Matthews, P.S.C. 1997. Problems with Piagetian Constructivism. Science &
Education. 6, 105-119.

Article Summaries for EDSC 5523

2009-03-04T16:13:00.000-08:00

Geary Don Crofford- University of Oklahoma
Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education- ILAC/Science Education
EDSC 5523 The Science of Learning Theories-Dr. Ed Marek
Journal Article Summary&Critique-Spring 2009

Cohen, L.M. (1994). Meeting the needs of gifted and talented minority language students.
Teaching Exceptional Children. 27, 70-79.

It is possible that minority students, particularly those that speak a language other than English at home, may be unfairly omitted from gifted and talented (G &T) programs. The author of this article specifically addresses the definition of giftedness, the assessment of gifted students, and the development and implementation of gifted programs. I know from personal experience this is true for Cherokees from more “traditional” families. In this article Cohen discusses why this is so, and what may be done about it. Piaget is specifically referenced by the author in the following passage, “an alternative to using English language standardized tests is the assessment of LEP students in their native language. These tests measure a variety of skills: creative thinking skills such as fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration; intellectual development based on Piaget's theory of development (Piaget, 1954; Piaget & Inhelder, 1973); language proficiency; and nonverbal perceptual skills of cognitive development.” The author does not focus on any one particular minority group, and I was pleasantly surprised to find several references to American Indian education, including statements such as, “different learning styles may also contribute to the underrepresentation of gifted and talented minority language students. Native Americans are often caught between the schools' value of independence and the home and community value of interdependence. In school, students generally sit in rows and face the teacher, whereas in Native American culture, everyone would be seated in a circle and decisions would be made collectively.” There is tremendous pressure on American Indian young people to stay close to home and family, even at the expense of foregoing higher education. Cohen discusses reasons minority students are underrepresented in G & T programs, and proceeds to discuss several techniques for the identification and inclusion of students from these groups. The author then gives several examples of programs that are available and could be adapted for these students, including resource rooms, cultural enrichment programs, acceleration or honors programs, and mentoring. Cohen proposes broadening the concept of giftedness, expanding research on giftedness and minority language students, exploring various program models, increasing staff awareness, and implementation of new programs. I included this article because it not only fit the parameters of the assignment but it also enhanced my knowledge of issues relating to some of the areas I am interested in for my own research. I felt it was a well-structured and comprehensive overview of the issue, and included Piagetian theory in the idea that we all think and develop mentally in a similar manner, notwithstanding cultural differences. As educators we need to have a broader and far-reaching definition of what constitutes giftedness and be able to challenge all of our students appropriately to help them reach their potential. This is particularly true for those of us in science education given the lack of American Indian students in particular, and minority students in general, in science, technology, mathematics, medicine, and engineering majors and careers. There are many facets of the growing issues associated with multiculturalism that we as science educators must recognize and address, as this and the other articles I selected for this assignment do. This article was clear, concise, and supported with many and appropriate references.

Ensign, J., Hargrave, E. V., & Lasso, R. (Eds.). (2008). Indigenous Knowledge in the Modern
Science Curriculum Using a Critical Pedagogy of Place Approach. Conference Proceedings, Masters in Teaching Program 2006-2008: Teaching the Child in Front of You in a Changing World. Olympia, WA: The Evergreen State College.

To accomplish this assignment I sought to acquire a variety of papers from differing sources, including research articles, book chapters, and this entry from the proceedings of a conference. I attempted to find sources that not only explored the connections between Piagetian theories and multiculturalism, but that also expanded my awareness and understanding of issues relevant to my own research interests, and in particular my dissertation. This presentation on global sustainability and Indigenous Knowledge (IK) versus Western Modern Science (WMS) in science curricula was especially enlightening, especially in terms of critical pedagogy and place-based education, two topics I was somewhat deficient in. According to the author, critical pedagogy provides the methods and goals necessary for students to recognize institutional and ideological oppression and to act against them for social justice. Place-based education is connected to a series of other educational approaches, including outdoor education, experiential learning, environmental education, bioregional education, environment-integrating concept (EIC), service learning, issue based learning, constructivism, community-oriented learning, and even multicultural education. The constructivist aspect of place-based education means that exposition is de-emphasized and students are encouraged to interact with their environment and develop and organize the appropriate concepts, as in Piagetian theory. The author argues that utilization of these approaches necessitates recognition of the potential conflict for American Indian students between Western Modern Science (WMS) and Indigenous Knowledge (IK) or Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). The notion of employing an approach that incorporates the Piagetian model of mental functioning supports the idea that learning cycles may be particularly effective for educating American Indian students. However, the author’s thesis is that science and ecological sustainability cannot be taught effectively without recognizing and incorporating all worldviews, and subjecting American Indian and other students to only WMS is tantamount to a continuation of repression of Native peoples and colonialism. Environmental sustainability and cultural oppression must be addressed collectively, for everyone’s benefit. I found it interesting how this presentation referenced many other sources and articles from this assignment as well as my prospectus, and Aikenhead’s concept of border crossings in science instruction were especially emphasized. Politically, this may be the most potentially controversial of all the references I utilized in this assignment. I felt it was an ambitious, far-reaching and thoughtful article, and it prompted much deeper consideration on my part of the inter-connectedness of the topics of multiculturalism, science education, and environmental issues. These are the kinds of issues that we as science educators must consider as we struggle with sustainability of the earth and changes in our student populations. Also emphasized in the presentation was the idea of community, as exemplified by indigenous peoples. I feel this links with the idea of social constructivism, as well as the concept of “community of practice” I am presenting on at the upcoming Holmes Scholars Conference in Florida. Holistic instruction as represented in IK, incorporation of multiple world views, and environmental education should be integral components of science education as we progress through the 21st century and our earth becomes smaller and smaller. Hargrave provided one of the rare and special articles that ties together seemingly disparate elements into a crucial juncture that truly informs, inspires, and forces one to think.

Aikenhead, G.S., & Jegede, O.J. (1999). Cross-cultural science education: A cognitive
explanation of a cultural phenomenon. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 36, 269-
287.

In this article, Aikenhead and Jegede are concerned with how all students, but in particular First Nations (American Indians in Canada) move between the culture of their everyday lives and the “foreign” culture of their science instruction in school. Aikenhead has coined the phrase cultural border crossings to describe these junctures. Jegede then describes and explains the cognitive conflicts that result from these transitions in terms of what he calls collateral learning. The authors proceed to link the two ideas expressed above, and then call for a new discussion of how results from science education studies done in a multicultural context should be re-evaluated. Studies such as this are particularly important in light of the idea of teaching science for all students in the most effective and culturally sensitive approaches possible. Like the other writings I have chosen to summarize and critique, this is an article that satisfies the requirements of this assignment and at the same time further enriches my perspectives concerning my own research interests. I am interested in how American Indian students perceive science and scientists, and what conflicts arise from the indigenous contexts from which they, and especially those from the more “traditional” families and clans, view science education. American Indians are grievously underrepresented in science, technology, medical, mathematics, and engineering majors and careers. The article addresses three types of collateral learning; parallel, dependent, and secured. Parallel collateral learning is typified by two or more schema that do not conflict with each other. Dependent collateral learning results in a well-mixed amalgam of differing schema, and is similar to the Piagetian accommodation-assimilation model of information processing. According to the authors, “Dependent collateral learning occurs when a student’s preconception or indigenous belief is (a) contrasted with a different conception encountered in the science classroom, (b) given a tentative status, and then either (c) altered by reconstructing the original schema under the influence of the newly encountered schema, or (d) rejected and replaced by a newly constructed schema. In other words, students modify or reject their original schema because it makes sense to do so.” The article also refers to the process as acculturation. It should be noted that acculturation and cognitive assimilation are not the same, but both should be considered when education has a multicultural basis. Secured collateral learning is at the opposite end of the cognitive spectrum, when students hold on to two apparently conflicting schema, because enough reason is found to retain both. Interestingly, the article also discusses “Fatima’s Rules” which were described as ways students have found to pass their science courses without truly understanding the concepts being covered, such as memorizing the headings and vocabulary terms in their texts. I find this interesting because it supports the idea that learning cycles grounded in Piagetian theories, social constructivism, and meaningful learning may be particularly effective for American Indian students because they avoid rote learning through exposition and bring about true assimilation and organization of new schema. In my opinion Aikenhead and Jegede go a long way in this article in addressing the ideas of concept development and teaching science effectively to all students. This is an important paper with far-reaching implications for science education in general, and cross-cultural science education in particular. Like my other choices for this assignment, it effectively and clearly expresses its ideas and has numerous and appropriate references. Dr. Aikenhead and his work have been crucial to the progress of my own research, including his development of the non-culturally biased Views on Science and Technology Instrument (VOSTS) which has been employed in numerous science education studies. I also felt I should include at least one article from the prominent Journal of Research in Science Teaching, and this choice of article was relevant on several levels.

Ogbu, J. (1988). Cultural diversity and human development. In D. Slaughter (Ed.),
New directions in child development: Vol 42. Black children and poverty: A developmental perspective (pp. 11–28). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

I chose a book chapter on cultural diversity and human development that in part attempts to make a distinction between psychobiological or maturational outcomes of development that apply to all people and the cultural variations that may impact the expression of that development. The author states that while all humans may be physically capable of formal operational thinking, some cultures value it more than others. This distinction between psychobiological outcomes and cultural outcomes also extends to language, motivational, and social-emotional development, according to the author. This book chapter therefore provides another perspective on Piaget’s stages of development and mental functioning model and their relationship to multiculturalism. This reading stresses that the cognitive capabilities of an individual must be viewed through the prism of the culture of which they are part of. For instance, middle-class white Americans value upward mobility in terms of the individual and independence, whereas some lowland tribes in the Philippines only value the well-being of the group and interdependence, not unlike the Cherokee community-driven concept of gadugi. Some African groups such as the Kanuri, on the other hand, view success or “getting ahead” solely in terms of paired mentors and aspirants. These three societal and cultural variations by definition constitute unique outcomes, and all three cultural paradigms require a different set of skills and social interactions in different environments for what is perceived as “success” to be achieved. It is critical for any researcher attempting to determine the cognitive development of an individual to have a clear understanding of the cultural forces and mores that helped to shape and drive the person in question to their current state. These differences flow over into all aspects of life, including family, work, and schooling. An educational researcher must start from a thorough knowledge of the minority culture in order to ascertain what type of cultural diversity is involved; primary or secondary, availability and use of technology, languages, and so on. In human development studies, cultural outcomes need to be distinguished from psychobiological or maturational outcomes. Non-white minorities cannot be held to the same standards that white middle-class students are, but the situation is more complex than that. The author states “a further complication arises from a comparative analysis of the school adjustment and academic performance of minority groups whose cultural backgrounds are different from those of the White middle class. This analysis shows that the differences found are not due to mere differences in culture or in outcomes of development. The relationship between culture, development, and school performance seems to be more complex in that it involves historical, structural, and psychological or expressive factors not ordinarily considered by students of human development. Yet probing and understanding this complex relationship will lead to better interpretation of research findings, which, in turn, can form the basis for a better social policy.” This book chapter is important for me, as it reinforces the idea that it is essential to understand the population of students one is dealing with in science education research, if one’s results are to be meaningful, viable and applicable. This chapter was comprehensively referenced, thorough, and particularly appropriate for me in terms of my research and status as a Holmes Scholar. The main goal of the Holmes Program is to promote diversity in education, in particular at the level of students of color seeking doctoral degrees. I do not feel it is impossible for a non-Cherokee, for instance, to conduct research concerning a population of Cherokee students, but as Ogbu states, it requires much extra effort for the non-indigenous researcher to be able to attain results that take cultural diversity into consideration. Programs such as the Holmes Scholarships help to alleviate the lack of minority scholars and address the problem Ogbu illuminates here

Solano-Flores, G., & Nelson-Barber, S. (2001). On the cultural validity of science assessments.
Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 38(5), 553–573.

This article was pertinent and timely for several reasons to me. Cultural validity of science assessments is an issue that directly relates to and is an important consideration in my own research. Also, the article has an interesting reference to the Piagetian conservation tasks that we have used in this course, and help provide the underpinnings of the theory base in our department. Specifically, it discusses how the tests of quantity conservation were administered to Wolof children in Senegal. When the children were asked “Why do you think the water was equal, or more or less?” during testing of the concrete operations stage, the children were silent. Responses were only elicited when the question was rephrased as “Why is the water equal, or more or less?” because to the children, the idea of explaining a statement was meaningless. Only the external event itself could be meaningfully explained. The point being that if cultural differences were not taken into account the children would have been perceived as being unable to explain the reasoning behind their quantitative judgments. This article addresses how culture and society shape the ways in which individuals construct knowledge and create meaning and what this means for science assessment. It proposes the concept of cultural validity as a form of validity that should be incorporated into assessment practices. The authors define cultural validity as the effectiveness with which science assessment addresses the sociocultural influences that shape student thinking and the ways in which students make sense of science items and respond to them. I have mixed feelings about implementing this concept in science education studies. I believe it is important to consider students’ cultural origins when it is relevant to the question being considered, or when it is impossible to obtain meaningful results without modification of the process, as in the example above. Some studies may require this consideration while others may not. Also, it is possible to evaluate student responses both in terms of their own culture as well as from a more general perspective. For instance, in my prospectus and proposed study I am interested in American Indian students’ attitudes, perceptions, and misconceptions of science and scientists amongst themselves both now and in future. It also allows me to compare their responses to other groups that have been tested using the same instruments. Cultural validity becomes a more relevant concern for my study in the context of the results, not as much in the modification of existing instruments, because I am ultimately interested in why so few American Indians undertake and complete schooling in science and math programs as they are currently structured. The authors present a strong case in this article for researchers assuming responsibility for utilizing instruments that reflect cultural validity. The importance of recognizing and addressing this issue increases everyday as our society’s minority and migrant populations continue to increase, reflecting the diversity teachers face in their classrooms on a daily basis. The authors argue for more in-depth and comprehensive consideration of cultural diversity from a science education perspective, and not simply translation, providing assessment accommodations, or estimating cultural bias when conducting research. As some of my other articles discuss, the importance of how sociocultural factors influence how we construct knowledge and obtain meaning should never be underestimated or ignored. This was a lengthy and well-written article with extensive references. It has prompted me to reconsider some aspects of my own research and reevaluate the perspective from which I will view the results I obtain.

Holmes Conference

2009-03-03T13:09:00.000-08:00

http://conferences.dce.ufl.edu/holmes/

I had a great time in Jacksonville, learned a lot, and also presented.

Middle Earth Child Development Center

2009-02-15T11:16:00.000-08:00

http://middleearthok.org/

Please look over their website and pay particular attention to their mission statement and the "support our future" link. Thanks to Elizabeth and everyone else for their help this semester.

AACTE Conference

2009-02-09T15:25:00.000-08:00

On February 5-9 I was able to attend and present research at the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education annual conference in Chicago. I was able to hear and interact with distinguished researchers such as Lind Darling-Hammond and Norman Lederman.

ASTE Conference

2009-01-29T15:43:00.000-08:00

On January 7-10 I attended the ASTE conference in Hartford CT. I presented research on the relationship between National Board certification and student achievement, and also participated in an interactive paper session on making the transition to being a science education researcher and instructor.

Inquiry Science Kits

2009-01-05T11:09:00.001-08:00

Here are links for some of the better and more commonly used commercial science programs.

http://www.fossweb.com/

http://www.carolina.com/category/k-8+curriculum+programs.do

http://www.delta-education.com/

Prospectus

2008-11-26T09:04:00.000-08:00

EXPLORING AMERICAN INDIAN STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES, PERCEPTIONS, AND MISCONCEPTIONS OF SCIENTISTS AND THE NATURE OF SCIENCE

ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study is to describe and analyze the attitudes, perceptions, and misconceptions that middle and high school American Indian students possess with regard to scientists and the nature of science. American Indians are the least represented group in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) majors and careers, both proportionally and in total numbers. The results of this study may be used as a baseline or “snap shot” to gauge the effectiveness of the current and future variety of initiatives addressing the under-representation of American Indians and other minorities in science, mathematics, engineering, and health care. VOSTS, VNOS, and DAST-C instruments will be used to characterize the attitudes and perceptions of approximately 100 students in one or more tribal schools in Oklahoma. Data is to be gathered in winter and spring 2009, with analysis to follow.

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
The director of the education department of a large American Indian tribe in northeastern Oklahoma recently related an informal and unpublished study carried out by a former superintendent of Bell School in Adair County in Oklahoma. The school is small, rural, comprises prekindergarten through eighth-grade levels, and is a dependent district with a student population that is almost 100% American Indian. Over several years the superintendent surveyed fourth graders as to what they wanted to be when they grew up. Their answers ranged across the spectrum of vocations, from teachers and professional athletes to firefighters and cowboys. When the students were asked the same question 4 years later as eighth-graders, their responses were mostly limited to one of two; chicken pullers at the nearby Tyson Foods facility or line workers at the Mrs. Smith’s pie and cake factory in Stilwell.
This revelation was startling and disconcerting, and coupled with the fact that American Indian student drop-out rates and tendencies to not attend or complete college (especially in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics [STEM] majors) are high (Demmert, 2001), propelled this investigation of the role of science education in addressing this dilemma. In fact, American Indian students are the least represented group in STEM majors and careers, both in sheer numbers as well as proportionally (Demmert).
Strong science education for students before entering higher education is a critical foundation of America’s technological and intellectual strength, which arises from its talented workforce trained in STEM majors (Babco, 2003). According to Babco, for Science and Engineering (S&E) degrees in the year 2000, only 2,782 (0.7% of S&E degrees) of American Indians earned S&E bachelor’s degrees, 340 (0.4%) earned S&E master’s degrees, and 88 (0.3%) earned doctoral degrees. Moreover, most of these majors are concentrated in the social sciences and psychology, as opposed to the hard sciences encompassed under the STEM umbrella. In addition, Babco noted that American Indian STEM degree attainment has not kept pace with the growth of the American Indian population in the past 30 years.
My personal experience after attending the Summer Science Institute at Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History at the University of Oklahoma in Norman 2 years ago was that my students (mostly American Indian) responded very well to inquiry-based science instruction in the form of learning cycles. Inquiry-based science instruction refers to science instruction that is focused on critical thinking and problem solving while emphasizing the need to evaluate teacher strategies to ensure that they align with the particular learning styles of particular students (Tomlinson, 2004). I witnessed greater student enthusiasm and achievement in science in my third through eighth grade classes, and many more moments of student comprehension, especially during the concept development and expansion/application phases of the learning cycle. This was especially true when we could relate a concept to something from the students’ real-world environment and interests, including sports, cars, or music, and organize the concept amongst their prior knowledge. This partially led to the school adopting the Carolina Biological Company’s Science and Technology for Children (STC) program, which I helped to implement as the school’s unofficial science coordinator. More science instruction, and specifically more inquiry-based science instruction followed, and the faculty had a degree of latitude to modify the kits to more of a true learning cycle teaching approach.
In fact, it was this anecdotal success and progress in my own classroom that prompted me to apply to the PhD program at the University of Oklahoma in Instructional Leadership and Academic Curriculum (ILAC) with an emphasis in Science Education. I wanted to learn more about this teaching approach, help communicate this information, develop programs, and train other teachers. Although existing research indicates that all students tend to learn better with an inquiry-based approach to science education (Lee, Greene, Odom, Schechter, & Slatta, 2004; Marzano, 2003), this study was prompted at least partially by the question of whether American Indian students are somehow uniquely suited for this teaching approach. This study takes into account many sources of research concerning science education, indigenous or Native science educational perspectives, perceptions and misconceptions of science and scientists, socioeconomic status, opportunities for informal learning, and cross-cultural evaluation instruments.
Several years ago, the Cherokee Nation (CN) government recognized the deficit in CN students undertaking STEM majors and careers, and took steps in initiating programs to address the problem (Lemont, 2001). Among these are the CN science fair, STEM camps, robotics workshops, scholarships, and an emphasis on science and mathematics in schools with large American Indian populations. There is growing emphasis nationwide on similar programs. Examples include the SOARS Program at the National Center for Atmospheric Research and the South Dakota Space Grant Consortium. Professional organizations such as the National Indian Education Association (NIEA) and the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) are currently initiating several STEM programs as well. Quantitative studies such as this one that attempt to describe how American Indian students feel about science, science instruction, and scientists are important components in addressing these deficits. The research will take place at Sequoyah Schools. According to the Cherokee Nation official web site, it is an Indian boarding school, and originated in 1871 when the Cherokee National Council passed an act setting up an orphan asylum to take care of the many orphans of the Civil War. In 1914 the Cherokee National Council authorized Chief Rogers to sell and convey the property of the Cherokee Orphan Training School, including 40 acres of land and all the buildings, to the United States Department of Interior for $5,000. In 1925 the name of the institution was changed to Sequoyah Orphan Training School in honor of Sequoyah, a Cherokee who developed the Cherokee syllabary. After being known as Sequoyah Vocational School for a time, it was renamed Sequoyah School. From a school with one building and 40 acres of land, it has grown into a modern institution covering more than 90 acres and a dozen major buildings situated on a beautiful campus five miles southwest of Tahlequah, Oklahoma. In November 1985 the Cherokee Nation resumed the operation of Sequoyah School from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. It is now operated through a grant and is regionally and state accredited for grades 7-12.

Problem Statement
The problem motivating this study is that American Indian attainment of STEM degrees in higher education is not keeping pace with the growth of the American Indian population (Babco, 2003). In addition, this problem is compounded by a lack of research on the perceptions, attitudes, and misconceptions of American Indian middle and high school students. Without understanding how American Indian middle and high schools students feel about science and science education, teachers cannot instruct these students to their optimal ability. Because America relies on a strong and highly educated technical workforce, the attainment of STEM degrees within the American Indian population is ultimately important to the progress of the American economy in general and American Indians in particular.

Research Question
My experiences in the field and a recognition of the problem of low rates of American Indian attainment of STEM degrees in higher education led to the development of the following central research question: What attitudes, perceptions, and misconceptions do American Indian middle and high school students possess with regard to scientists and the nature of science? Similar studies have been performed previously with other ethnic nationalities (Dogan & Abd-El-Khalick, 2008; Ebenezer & Zoller, 1993, Seiler, 2001); however, to the author’s knowledge no research has ever been done specifically on American Indian students’ perceptions of scientists and the nature of science. This research question will guide the study’s exploration of American Indian students’ perceptions of science, and with the aid of statistical analysis of student responses to selected components of three chosen survey instruments, will measure a wide range of the students’ beliefs, knowledge, and perceptions of science, scientists, and science education.
Research Approach
This study will attempt to answer the central research question using a quantitative comparative approach. Three survey instruments have been chosen for this study to measure American Indian students’ perceptions, attitudes, and misconceptions of scientists and the nature of science. The three survey instruments are (a) the Views on Science-Technology-Society (VOSTS) (Aikenhead & Ryan, 1992), (b) the Draw-A-Scientist Test (DAST-C) (Chambers, 1983), and (c) the Views of Nature of Science Questionnaire (VNOS) (Lederman, Abd-El-Khalick, Bell, & Schwartz, 2002). All three survey instruments have undergone extensive testing and have been deemed to be both valid and reliable research instruments for measuring student perceptions of science.
An anticipated group of approximately 100 American Indian middle and high school students will complete the surveys. The results of the seventh grade surveys will be compared with those of the twelfth grade surveys (as will all the grades/ages involved), and statistical analyses will be employed to determine if any significant patterns emerge between the datasets. An attempt at an overall characterization of the data will be made, and the results may be broken down by gender and other factors. The results will also be analyzed overall within the context of the existing research on inquiry-based education and the education and achievement levels of American Indian students to determine whether and in what meaningful ways student perceptions, attitudes, and misconceptions of science education might exist and compare to other populations. Ultimately this data may serve as a baseline for comparison as more STEM and inquiry-based science initiatives are implemented throughout Oklahoma and the rest of the country. The results may also yield clues as to help guide and define such programs in order to heighten their effectiveness concerning American Indian students in particular. It also may lead to more qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-method studies involving informal learning, knowledge of science content, and other related areas in science education for American Indian students.
Importance of the Study
This study is important to further research on the educational trends of American Indian students. There is a large gap in the literature with regard to this subject, particularly concerning the science education of American Indian students and its connections to achievement in higher education and STEM majors. The results of this study will be important to middle and high school educators, leaders of institutions of higher education, governmental policy makers, and leaders of the American Indian community because they will provide a foundation for tailoring science education to American Indian students. Further, such a foundation may provide the basis for improved science education for American Indian students, and, in turn, greater achievement levels in higher education, particularly in STEM majors. All resulting data and analysis will be shared with the Cherokee Nation through the Education Department and Sequoyah Schools.

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
The former superintendent at my previous school in northeast Oklahoma believed for years that American Indian students tended to be active, right-brained learners who responded well to learning through tactile, kinesthetic, auditory, and visual experiences. He developed a “psychomotor” approach to learning for younger students that coupled activity with concepts, such as counting in both English and Cherokee while jumping rope. Partially because of this, his school was designated by the U. S. Department of Education as a National School of Excellence, and also received the James Madison Elementary School Award for Outstanding Curriculum in 1988 (Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, 1995).
I attempted to connect my own classroom experiences with other observations from the literature to link Native culture and learning styles to the utilization of learning cycles in the classroom, as in the “border crossings” of the literature (Aikenhead & Jegede, 1999). For instance, traditional American Indian viewpoints of the world and environment are mutualistic and holistic, emphasizing the interconnectedness of the universe and all its living and non-living components (Cajete, 1999). Furthermore, Cajete noted, “Presenting educational material from a holistic perspective is an essential and natural strategy for teaching Indian people” (p. 142).
This literature review provides a summation of existing research that is relevant to the topics of this study. Inquiry-based education and its utility in science education are discussed, followed by an overview of American Indian learning trends and styles. Next, there is an investigation of American Indians in higher education, as well as an exploration of American Indian trends in STEM education and degree attainment. The literature review concludes with a summary.
Inquiry-Based Education
There are a variety of viewpoints concerning what constitutes inquiry-based education. Lee et al. (2001) defined inquiry-based education as “learning in terms of the four student commitments-critical thinking, independent inquiry, responsibility for one’s own learning, and intellectual growth and maturity” (p. 63). Marzano (2003) believed that science education for middle and high school students is better when using inquiry-based techniques. The National Science Education Standards (NRC, NSES p. 23) defines and recommends scientific inquiry as "the diverse ways in which scientists study the natural world and propose explanations based on the evidence derived from their work. Scientific inquiry also refers to the activities through which students develop knowledge and understanding of scientific ideas, as well as an understanding of how scientists study the natural world." The Oklahoma Priority Academic Student Skills (PASS) are process-oriented and inquiry-based standards which provide the foundation for all elementary and secondary instruction in the state. Inquiry requires critical thinking skills and problem solving, and may contribute to the implementation of a program of instruction that ensures that “what a student learns, how he/she learns it, and how the student demonstrates what he/she has learned is a match for that student’s readiness level, interests, and preferred mode of learning” (Tomlinson, 2004, p. 188). The central purpose of American education, as stated in 1961 by the Educational Policies Commission (EPC), is for students to be able to think critically and utilize the rational powers. Furthermore, from their website, The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) recommends that “all K–16 teachers embrace scientific inquiry and NSTA is committed to helping educators make it the centerpiece of the science classroom. The use of scientific inquiry will help ensure that students develop a deep understanding of science and scientific inquiry”.
Existing research indicates a growing belief in the superiority of inquiry-based techniques over more traditional, memorization-based learning. Steinberg (2007) stated,
Too much of today’s science education focuses on making students memorize bits of information that will be outdated within a few years. There is too little emphasis on how to think like a scientist. And there is no substitute for hands-on (inquiry) research experience. (p. 13)
Marzano (2003) agreed that teachers need to “provide students with tasks and activities that are inherently engaging” (p. 149). Inquiry-based education targets the specific learning styles of students to provide engaging and educational activities that integrate with students’ unique educational perspectives.
Educators should be aware of the fact that students have different backgrounds and life circumstances, and that these differences can be profound from the circumstances of mainstream students with regard to minorities, such as American Indians. Differentiation is an important concept in inquiry-based pedagogy, and refers to the tailoring of teaching techniques to the educational needs of students. A program of differentiation is a systematic way of meeting the needs of all students (Tomlinson, 2004). The learning community is not only concerned with meeting needs of learners at different levels but also different learning styles. Willis and Mann (2000) stated differentiated instruction is intended “to deliver instruction in ways that meet the needs of auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learners. And they, (teachers), are trying to tap into students’ personal interests. In short, these teachers are differentiating instruction” (pp. 1-2).
Through the use of programs of differentiated instruction and inquiry-based instructional approaches, teachers can be better prepared to meet the needs of the learners in a diverse learning community. “Educators commonly see one of their major roles as helping students to acquire broader and deeper understandings of the physical and social world around them” (Kuhn, 2005), which describes inquiry instruction. Kuhn also stated that, “Becoming educated, then, means achieving the skills and values that confer an unlimited capacity and inclination to learn and to know” (p. 109), giving strength to the effectiveness and purpose of inquiry instruction and learning. In fact, subject areas other than science may be more effectively taught through inquiry. O’Brien (2006) stated,
Inquiry is given even more credibility by supporting the standards and being part of those published by The National Center for History in the Schools. The standards were published in 1994 and revised in 1996. The first five standards, deal with historical thinking and required students to develop inquiry skills such as the ability to engage in chronological thinking, to interpret primary source material, to pose historical questions within the appropriated context, and to construct historical narrative-all hallmarks of inquiry learning. (pp. 11-12)
Research by the above mentioned authors has confirmed that inquiry-based education is an effective mode of teaching science, particular to groups of students with learning techniques and perspectives of science that may differ from those of the mainstream, which are typically forwarded in science education in the United States though the Western modern tradition.
American Indian Learning
Although students tend to learn better using an inquiry-based teaching approach, it is important for research to determine if American Indian students are particularly suited for socially based, constructivist/transactional teaching and learning (Lee, 2004; Marzano, 2003). Traditionally, American Indian children learned about the world around them by actively exploring it on their own, as well as through the passing down of knowledge by oral story-telling and hands-on instruction (Cajete, 1999). Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) has been recognized as a sub-culture within the larger culture of science itself, and its intersection with classic Western science can be used to promote American Indian learning instead of hindering it (Snively & Corsiglia, 2000). The Cherokee Nation’s Long Man Project is an example of Western modern science being taught concurrently with traditional Native science to enhance students’ interest and understanding.
Snively and Corsiglia (2000) forwarded a notion of indigenous science, which refers to “both the science knowledge of long-resident, usually oral culture peoples, as well as the science knowledge of all peoples who as participants in culture are affected by the worldview and relativist interests of their home communities” (p. 6). The term “Native science” is more of an American term, while “indigenous science” is its global and mostly synonymous counterpart. This concept is useful when thinking about American Indian learning. Although there is a growing body of literature surrounding TEK, a review of the research by Snively and Corsiglia suggested that Western modern science has been taught at the expense of indigenous science. The researchers also observed that the “universalist gatekeeper” of Western modern science “can be seen as increasingly problematic and even counter productive” (p. 6). Therefore, teaching of American Indian students that does not acknowledge their particular learning styles, culture, and language may be a detriment to their science education. Cajete (2000) defines Native science in a way that is reasonable to most American Indians, "Native science is a metaphor for a wide range of tribal processes of perceiving, thinking, acting, and 'coming to know' that have evolved through human experience with the natural world. Native science is born of a lived and storied participation with the natural landscape. To gain a sense of Native science one must participate with the natural world. To understand the foundations of Native science one must become open to the roles of sensation, perception, imagination, emotion, symbols, and spirit as well as that of concept, logic, and rational empiricism."
A complement to this point of view is that indigenous science knowledge, instead of being consumed by the standard account of Western modern science, is better off as a different kind of knowledge that can be valued for its own merits and can play a vital role in the science education of American Indian students (Cobern & Loving, 2001). One possible goal would be to work towards instituting and developing inquiry-based instructional programs, especially in science, in the educational departments of schools within American Indian tribal boundaries. Research has shown that inquiry-based professional development may enhance teachers’ understanding of Piagetian models of intelligence and increase their use of appropriate constructivist approaches in the classroom (Marek, Cowan, & Cavallo, 1994; Marek, Eubanks, & Gallaher, 1990).
Gerber, Marek, and Cavallo (2001) believed that encouraging more informal learning opportunities, including visits to museums and other field trips, chess, speech, and science fairs, is important for all students’ achievement. Likewise, emphasizing American Indian culture and language both at home and in school should be priorities for the teacher of such children (Matthew & Smith, 1994). Students need to actively construct their own knowledge with the teacher’s guidance, engage in varied activities both in and out of school, and maintain their Native identity (Gilliland, 1995). That is, they need to realize that they can “be Cherokee,” for instance, and yet also be successful in school and professionally in the larger world outside their usually rural home environments (Nelson-Barber & Estrin, 1995). Establishing an idea of how American Indian students currently feel about STEM classes and professions could be beneficial in knowing how to most effectively teach and encourage participation and success in these areas. There is a small but growing body of literature that supports the notion that incorporating and maintaining Native culture and language greatly enhances students’ overall academic performance and likelihood to seek and complete post-secondary work (Cajete, 2000; Deloria, Jr., 2000; & Gilliland, 1995).
American Indians and Higher Education
According to the National Center for Education Statistics (2002), there is a significant gap in the academic achievement levels of American Indian students. As of 1997, American Indian attrition rates in institutions of higher education range between 75% and 93% (Brown and Kurpius, 1997). According to Larimore and McClellan (2005), in secondary education, 40% of American Indian students drop out before attaining their high school diploma. Minorities overall suffer from lower rates of academic achievement than Caucasians, and American Indians have particularly high rates of student attrition.
Larimore and McClellan (2005) suggested using multiple theoretical lenses or perspectives in evaluating American Indian students and their learning experiences in order to enhance a small, but growing body of knowledge about effective teaching strategies for American Indians. Issues of financial means to higher education also present barriers to American Indian students, who are often at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder (Brown & Kurpius, 1997). Research has suggested that increases in the availability and accessibility of higher education opportunities for American Indians is critical for improving American Indian academic achievement and retention rates.
Pavel (1992) identified American Indians as among the groups least likely to enroll in a public 4-year institution, and the least likely to graduate from those institutions. In addition, Larimore and McClellan noted that the post-secondary retention rate may be as low as 15%. These researchers highlighted the need for research to focus on pre-higher education levels of American Indian academic achievement. It was found that levels of academic achievement were typically lower for American Indian students than their peers, and researchers have postulated that conflicts in learning and teaching styles may be partly responsible for this disparity of academic achievement (Brown & Kurpius, 1997). Clearly, these studies suggest a significant problem of American Indian education that needs to be addressed immediately.
American Indians and STEM Education
Babco (2003) stated that American Indian students must have a strong science education before entering higher education, as STEM knowledge is a pillar of America’s intellectual and economic dominance. As stated before, American Indians are earning degrees in Science and Engineering (S&E) at startling low rates; for the year 2000, only 2,782 (0.7% of S&E degrees) of American Indians earned S&E bachelor’s degrees, 340 (0.4%) earned S&E master’s degrees, and 88 (0.3%) earned doctoral degrees. In addition, the American Indians that are attaining degrees in S&E majors tend to graduate in the social sciences and psychology, as opposed to the hard sciences encompassed under the STEM umbrella. In addition, Babco noted that American Indian STEM degree attainment has not kept pace with the growth of the American Indian population in the past 30 years.
In a qualitative study of American Indian college student perceptions of higher education, Hoover and Jacobs (1992) observed that American Indian students reported on the significance of counseling and guidance in the high school in order to prepare them for the transition to higher education. On the other hand, students noted that academic resources and instruction was adequate in college (Hoover & Jacobs). This suggests that problems of low rates of attainment of STEM degrees by American Indian students may have more to do with preparation before entering college that with the resources available to American Indian students once they are enrolled in college.
However, Wright (1990) suggested that guidance and counseling for American Indian students in college is just as important as it is for American Indian students in high school. Wright reported that American Indian students desired counseling in college to help them develop their confidence and steer them into specializations and career fields. Last, May and Chubin noted that in America, the job sectors that are growing fastest are based in science, engineering, and technology, and in order for American Indian students to keep pace in the economy, they will need to attain more STEM degrees. May and Chubin highlighted the need for financial assistance, academic intervention programs, and pre-college preparation to increase undergraduate STEM education among American Indians. Researchers in the field of STEM education who have addressed an American Indian population have routinely found that additional strategies are necessary to improve STEM education both in high school and in college.
Summary
A review of the literature has suggested that American Indian students are suffering from low levels of academic achievement and graduation from high school and institutions of higher education. Furthermore, it was noted that within American Indian education, STEM majors are disproportionately low as compared to other minorities and Caucasians. Inquiry-based education has been forwarded as a theoretical perspective that seeks to align the teaching styles of instructors with the learning styles of students.
In particular, it was suggested that inquiry-based science education may serve American Indian students better than science education based exclusively in a Western modern perspective. Because American Indians often come from life circumstances that are significantly different from those of most students in mainstream education, particular interventions, such as inquiry-based activities, may be required to ensure that American Indian students are learning science education at a rate that is comparable to their peers.

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODS
The purpose of this study is to describe and analyze the attitudes, perceptions, and misconceptions that middle and high school American Indian students possess with regard to scientists and the nature of science. In order to gauge the effectiveness of any type of STEM initiative over time, one would need a baseline of data that would indicate where students in the affected schools stood prior to implementation of more inquiry and informal learning. To measure the attitudes, perceptions, and misconceptions of middle and high school American Indian students components of three survey instruments will be used (a) the Views on Science-Technology-Society (VOSTS), (b) the Draw-A-Scientist Test (DAST-C), and (c) the Views of Nature of Science Questionnaire (VNOS). An anticipated group of approximately 100 American Indian middle and high school students will complete the surveys. It is expected that more of the older students will have experienced some of the STEM initiatives currently underway, and data will be compared by grade or age of students. To compare the attitudes, perceptions, and misconceptions of the students Pearson’s correlation analysis and an independent samples t-test will be used. There will also be an attempt to characterize overall the students’ attitudes about science and scientists, and compare responses by gender. The remainder of this chapter presents the research design that will be used, the population, sampling plan, sample size, instrumentation, data collection and then finally the methods of data analysis.
Research Design
This study will attempt to answer the central research question using a quantitative comparative approach. The research design will be a quantitative comparative design because it will provide the researcher with the ability to compare a group of participants with one another in order to determine if there will be difference in their responses on the VOSTS, VNOS, and DAST-C instruments (Cozby, 2001). The comparison that will be made in this study will be between the seventh grade survey results through the twelfth grade survey results to see if any significant patterns emerge between the datasets. There also is an attempt at characterizing as a whole the American Indian students’ attitudes toward science and scientists, and examining gender responses as well.
The students will be given selected components of each of the three instruments to complete. Hopefully in the future, after the implementation of more STEM and inquiry-based science programs, a similar group of students will be given each of the three instruments again and statistical analyses will be employed to determine if any significant patterns emerge between the datasets. Currently, to compare the middle school and high school scores with one another and males with females, an independent samples t-test will be used. This is because the purpose of the independent samples t-test is to determine whether there is a significant difference in measurements taken from two or more independent groups of students (Moore & McCabe, 2006). The results of all three instruments will also be analyzed and discussed in this study to attempt to gain some context of the current attitudes, misconceptions, and perceptions of American Indian students toward scientists and the nature of science.
Population
The target population for this study will be middle and high school American Indian students. More precisely, the target population will be American Indian students who are enrolled in science courses in the participating middle and high schools. Overall, it is expected that a sample of 100 students will complete the surveys. A non-probability sampling plan will be used for this study. This will be based on a purposeful sampling plan (Urdan, 2005). This is because the purpose of this study will be to sample only American Indian students, such that their attitudes, perceptions, and misconceptions can be measured.
For studies a power analysis and sample size estimator is conducted in order to make sure that the sample size that is collected for the study is able to make valid inferences towards the target population. Therefore, based on this information there are three items that contribute to calculating the required sample size for the study.
1. The first item that is important is the power of the study. The power refers to the probability of correctly rejecting a false null hypothesis (Keuhl, 2000).
2. The second item that is used to calculate the sample size of the study is the desired effect size the researcher is looking to obtain. The effect size is defined as being the strength of the relationship between the predictor and outcome variables (Cohen, 1988).
3. The third and final item is the level of significance. This is used to determine the level at which the null hypothesis is to be rejected. The level of significance is defined by alpha (α) and is usually set equal to 5%.
Assuming that an effect size of d = .60 will be used with a level of significance of 5%, and a power of 80% the minimum sample size that would be required for this study would be equal to 90. This calculation is also based on using an independent sample t-test. The sample size and power calculation for this study was produced in G*Power.
Instrumentation
For this proposed study there will possibly be three instruments used to collect data. These include: (a) the Views on Science-Technology-Society (VOSTS) (Aikenhead & Ryan, 1992), (b) the Draw-A-Scientist Test (DAST-C) (Chambers, 1983), and (c) the Views of Nature of Science Questionnaire (VNOS) (Lederman et al., 2002) in a quantitative paradigm. By assigning numerical or categorical values to the responses provided on the VOSTS, VNOS, and DAST-C instruments, it will be possible to assess the relationships and differences using quantitative methods (i.e., by comparing the different numerical responses with one another using several statistical techniques). The validity and reliability of these instruments have been established in the cited literature. Correlation and comparison among the selected instruments should facilitate the accuracy of conclusions drawn from them. The DAST-C (Appendix A) is easy to administer and will include a brief written response; it also may correlate to the other measures used. The DAST-C will be carried out in two parts. In the first stage each student will be given a piece of paper with the following instructions: “Draw a picture of a scientist at work”. Below the space for drawing, students will be asked to explain what the scientist is doing. They will also be asked how, when, and where they learn science. The VOSTS survey (Appendix B) is a tool that can help describe how students view the social nature of science and how science is conducted. For purposes of this study, the same fourteen items were chosen as by Dogan and Abd-El-Khalik in their 2008 study. The NOS aspects targeted by these 14 items include: the theory-driven nature of scientific observations; tentative nature of scientific knowledge; relationship between scientific constructs (models and classification schemes) and reality; the epistemological status of different types of scientific knowledge (hypotheses, theories, and laws) and their coherence across various scientific disciplines; nature of, and relationship between, scientific theories and laws; myth of a universal and/or stepwise ‘‘Scientific Method’’; the nonlinearity of scientific investigations; and the role of probabilistic reasoning in the development of scientific knowledge. These aspects of NOS, it should be noted, have been emphasized in national science education reform documents and are considered accessible by pre-college students according to Dogan and Abd-El-Khalik. Each VOSTS response was categorized as representing a ‘‘naive’’ position (N), an ‘‘informed’’ position (I), or a position that ‘‘has merit’’ (M). Overall, as per the National Institute for Science Education (n.d.), the more than one hundred questions on the original VOSTS instrument asks students about:
1. What science and technology are.
2. How society influences science and technology.
3. How science and technology influences society.
4. How science as taught in school influences society.
5. What characterizes scientists.
6. How scientific knowledge comes about.
7. The nature of scientific knowledge
The VNOS (Appendix C) is a conceptual diagnostic test and has three versions, all of which are open-ended. The most frequently used versions are the VNOS–B (7 items) and the VNOS–C (10 items). VNOS-B was chosen for this study, and the results are to be coded and quantified. Each instrument aims to elucidate students' views about several aspects of "nature of science" (NOS). These NOS aspects, according to the National Institute for Science Education (n.d.), include the:
1. Empirical NOS: Science is based, at least partially, on observations of the natural world.
2. Tentative NOS: Scientific knowledge is subject to change and never absolute or certain.
3. Inferential NOS: The crucial distinction between scientific claims (e.g., inferences) and evidence on which such claims are based (e.g., observations).
4. Creative NOS: The generation of scientific knowledge involves human imagination and creativity.
5. Theory-laden NOS: Scientific knowledge and investigation are influenced by scientists’ theoretical and disciplinary commitments, beliefs, prior knowledge, training, experiences, and expectations.
6. Social and cultural NOS: Science as a human enterprise is practiced within, affects, and is affected by, a lager social and cultural milieu.
7. Myth of the “Scientific Method”: The lack of a universal step-wise method that guarantees the generation of valid knowledge.
8. Nature of, and distinction between scientific theories and laws (e.g., lack of a hierarchical relationship between theories and laws).
The development and/or utilization of one or more instruments that consider cultural factors in these types of evaluations, as well as knowledge of scientific content, was also considered. Another possibility was working in conjunction with the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History’s education department and staging interventions in the after-school programs of selected districts involving informal learning opportunities. These interventions may consist of commercial curricula and could be evaluated with a pre- and post-test methodology in order to gauge their effectiveness in terms of student interest in science, scientific reasoning ability, and misconceptions and/or perceptions of science and scientists. This method may be particularly effective if actual scientists are participants and mentors in the programs.
Data Collection
Data will be collected in less than a week during winter and spring 2009, with analysis to follow. Once the study period is complete, the raw data from the three instruments will be imported into a computer spreadsheet for future analyses. Each participant in the study will receive a unique identification number. This identification number will be used to identify which responses correspond to the participants in the study, while maintaining confidentiality. The data will be saved on a separate flash drive and stored in a locked filing cabinet. Similarly, hard copies will also be locked in the filing cabinet. By doing this the confidentiality of each participant will be maintained so that no personal information will be accessible. The data is then kept on file for a period of 3 years where it will then be destroyed and deleted from the hard drive. There are absolutely no risks, discomfort, or inconvenience of any type for the study’s participants, and benefits include helping to understand and improve science education for American Indian students.
Data Analysis
Assessing the desired criteria would involve a population of approximately 100 middle and high school American Indian students drawn from throughout the country and centered at Sequoyah Schools in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. This sample size is based on the potential use of an independent samples t-test to analyze the grade/age and gender comparisons and to adequately characterize the students’ attitudes toward science. Sequoyah Middle and High Schools are near Tahlequah, Oklahoma, administered by the Cherokee Nation, and have agreed to participate and provide students for this study. The main goal is to attempt a characterization of a sample of American Indian students’ attitudes towards science and scientists. This may form a background and framework against which further and longer-term qualitative and quantitative studies may be carried out.
The independent samples t-test is used to determine whether there is a statistically significant difference between the two independent groups with respect to an average value for some dependent variable. By using the independent samples t-test the researcher will be able to determine whether students of different ages/grade levels and genders scored significantly higher than other students with respect to the average value of the VOSTS, DAST-C and the VNOS. If there is a significant positive test statistic then this would indicate that one group of students scored significantly higher than the other group of students, while if there was a significant negative statistic then this would indicate that one group of students scored significantly lower than the other group of students. This will be done for all three instruments, so that the researcher will be able to characterize the tested populations and determine whether the implementation of the inquiry-based programs and STEM initiatives resulted in a change in the American Indian students’ attitudes, perceptions, and misconceptions towards science and science education. Pearson’s correlation will allow the identification of any relationships between variables as well.
Summary
Chapter 3 discussed the research methods that will be employed in the proposed study, which was that of a comparative research design. Also included in Chapter 3 was information on the data collection process as well as proposed statistical analyses, which include an independent samples t-test. Also presented in this chapter were the research design, and the population and sample size. The following chapter then presents the results for this study.

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Appendix A
DAST-C
Number________________Grade/Age_______________Gender___________________
Draw a scientist at work in the space below.

Explain what the scientist is doing.

List examples of where, when, and how you learn science.
Appendix B
Selected VOSTS Items
Number________________Grade/Age_______________Gender___________________

Please circle one choice per question.

90111—Scientific observations made by competent scientists will usually be different if the
scientists believe different theories.

Your position, basically:
(M) A. Yes, because scientists will experiment in different ways and will notice different things.
(I) B. Yes, because scientists will think differently and this will alter their observations.
(N) C. Scientific observations will not differ very much even though scientists believe different
theories. If the scientists are indeed competent their observations will be similar.
(N) D. No, because observations are as exact as possible. This is how science has been able to
advance.
(N) E. No, observations are exactly what we see and nothing more; they are the facts.

90211—Many scientific models used in research laboratories (such as the model of heat, the
neuron, DNA, or the atom) are copies of reality.

Your position, basically:
Scientific models ARE copies of reality:
(N) A. because scientists say they are true, so they must be true.
(N) B. because much scientific evidence has proven them true.
(N) C. because they are true to life. Their purpose is to show us reality or teach us something about it.
(N) D. Scientific models come close to being copies of reality, because they are based on scientific observations and research.

Scientific models are NOT copies of reality:
(I) E. because they are simply helpful for learning and explaining, within their limitations.
(I) F. because they change with time and with the state of our knowledge, like theories do.
(N) G. because these models must be ideas or educated guesses, since you can’t actually see the real thing.

90311—When scientists classify something (e.g., a plant according to its species, an element
according to the periodic table, energy according to its source, or a star according to its size), scientists are classifying nature according to the way nature really is; any other way would simply be wrong.

Your position, basically:
(N) A. Classifications match the way nature really is, because scientists have proven them over many years of work.
(N) B. Classifications match the way nature really is, because scientists use observable
characteristics when they classify.
(I) C. Scientists classify nature in the most simple and logical way, but their way is not necessarily the only way.
(I) D. There are many ways to classify nature, but agreeing on one universal system allows scientists
to avoid confusion in their work.
(I) E. There could be other correct ways to classify nature, because science is liable to change and new discoveries may lead to different classifications.
(I) F. Nobody knows the way nature really is. Scientists classify nature according to their perceptions or theories. Science is never exact, and nature is so diverse. Thus, scientists could correctly use more than one classification scheme.

90411—Even when scientific investigations are done correctly, the knowledge that scientists
discover from those investigations may change in the future.

Your position, basically:
Scientific knowledge changes:
(I) A. because new scientists disprove the theories or discoveries of old scientists. Scientists do this by using new techniques or improved instruments, by finding new factors overlooked before, or by detecting errors in the original ‘‘correct’’ investigation.
(I) B. because the old knowledge is reinterpreted in light of new discoveries. Scientific facts can
change.
(N) C. Scientific knowledge APPEARS to change because the interpretation or the application of
the old facts can change. Correctly done experiments yield unchangeable facts.
(N) D. Scientific knowledge APPEARS to change because new knowledge is added on to old
knowledge; the old knowledge doesn’t change.

90511—Scientific ideas develop from hypotheses to theories, and finally, if they are good enough, to being scientific laws.

Your position, basically:
Hypotheses can lead to theories, which can lead to laws:
(N) A. because a hypothesis is tested by experiments, if it proves correct, it becomes a theory. After a theory has been proven true many times by different people and has been around for a long time, it becomes a law.
(N) B. because a hypothesis is tested by experiments, if there is supporting evidence, it’s a theory. After a theory has been tested many times and seems to be essentially correct, it’s good enough to become a law.
(N) C. because it is a logical way for scientific ideas to develop.
(N) D. Theories cannot become laws because they both are different types of ideas. Theories are
based on scientific ideas, which are less than 100% certain, and so theories cannot be proven true. Laws, however, are based on facts only and are 100% sure.
(I) E. Theories cannot become laws because they both are different types of ideas. Laws describe
things in general. Theories explain these laws. However, with supporting evidence, hypotheses may become theories (explanations) or laws (descriptions).

90521—When developing new theories or laws, scientists need to make certain assumptions about nature (e.g., matter is made up of atoms). These assumptions must be true in order for science to progress properly.

Your position, basically:
Assumptions MUST be true in order for science to progress:
(N) A. because correct assumptions are needed for correct theories and laws. Otherwise, scientists would waste a lot of time and effort using wrong theories and laws.
(N) B. otherwise society would have serious problems, such as inadequate technology and
dangerous chemicals.
(N) C. because scientists do research to prove their assumptions true before going on with their
work.
(N) D. It depends. Sometimes science needs true assumptions in order to progress. But sometimes history has shown that great discoveries have been made by disproving a theory and learning from its false assumptions.
(I) E. It doesn’t matter. Scientists have to make assumptions, true or not, to get started on a project. History has shown that great discoveries have been made by disproving a theory and learning from its false assumptions.
(N) F. Scientists do not make assumptions. They research an idea to find out if the idea is true. They do not assume it is true.

90541—Good scientific theories explain observations well. But good theories are also simple
rather than complex.

Your position, basically:
(N) A. Good theories are simple. The best language to use in science is simple, short, direct
language.
(N) B. It depends on how deeply you want to get into the explanation. A good theory can explain
something either in a simple way or in a complex way.
(I) C. It depends on the theory. Some good theories are simple, some are complex.
(N) D. Good theories can be complex, but they must be able to be translated into simple language if they are going to be used.
(M) E. Theories are usually complex. Some things cannot be simplified if a lot of details are
involved.
(M) F. Most good theories are complex. If the world was simpler, theories could be simpler.

90621—The best scientists are those who follow the steps of the scientific method.

Your position, basically:
(N) A. The scientific method ensures valid, clear, logical, and accurate results. Thus, most scientists will follow the steps of the scientific method.
(N) B. The scientific method should work well for most scientists; based on what we learned in
school.
(M) C. The scientific method is useful in many instances, but it does not ensure results. Thus, the
best scientists will also use originality and creativity.
(I) D. The best scientists are those who use any method that might get favorable results (including
the method of imagination and creativity).
(M) E. Many scientific discoveries were made by accident, and not by sticking to the scientific
method.

90651—Scientists should NOT make errors in their work because these errors slow the advance of science.

Your position basically:
(N) A. Errors slow the advance of science. Misleading information can lead to false conclusions. If scientists do not immediately correct the errors in their results, then science is not advancing.
(M) B. Errors slow the advance of science. New technology and equipment reduce errors by
improving accuracy and so science will advance faster.

Errors CANNOT be avoided:
(I) C. so scientists reduce errors by checking each others’ results until agreement is reached.
(M) D. some errors can slow the advance of science, but other errors can lead to a new discovery or breakthrough. If scientists learn from their errors and correct them, science will advance.
(N) E. Errors most often help the advance of science. Science advances by detecting and correcting the errors of the past.

90711—Even when making predictions based on accurate knowledge, scientists and engineers can tell us only what probably might happen. They cannot tell what will happen for certain.

Your position basically:
Predictions are NEVER certain:
(I) A. because there is always room for error and unforeseen events that will affect a result. No one can predict the future for certain.
(I) B. because accurate knowledge changes as new discoveries are made, and therefore predictions will always change.
(N) C. because a prediction is not a statement of fact. It is an educated guess.
(M) D. because scientists never have all the facts. Some data are always missing.
(N) E. It depends. Predictions are certain, only as long as there is accurate knowledge and enough information.

91011—For this statement, assume that a gold miner ‘‘discovers’’ gold while an artist ‘‘invents’’ a sculpture. Some people think that scientists discover scientific LAWS. Others think that scientists invent them. What do you think?

Your position, basically:
Scientists discover scientific laws:
(N) A. because the laws are out there in nature and scientists just have to find them.
(N) B. because laws are based on experimental facts.
(N) C. but scientists invent the methods to find those laws.
(N) D. Some scientists may stumble onto a law by chance, thus discovering it. But other scientists may invent the law from facts they already know.
(I) E. Scientists invent laws, because scientists interpret the experimental facts that they discover.
Scientists do not invent what nature does, but they do invent the laws that describe what nature does.

91012—For this statement, assume that a gold miner ‘‘discovers gold’’ while an artist ‘‘invents’’ a sculpture. Some people think that scientists discover scientific HYPOTHESES. Others think that scientists invent them. What do you think?

Your position, basically:
Scientists discover a hypothesis:
(N) A. because the idea was there all the time to be uncovered.
(N) B. because it is based on experimental facts.
(N) C. but scientists invent the methods to find the hypothesis.
(N) D. Some scientists may stumble onto a hypothesis by chance, thus discovering it. But other
scientists may invent the hypothesis from facts they already know.

Scientists invent a hypothesis:
(I) F. because a hypothesis is an interpretation of experimental facts that scientists have discovered.
(M) F. because inventions (hypotheses) come from the mind—we create them.

91013—For this statement, assume that a gold miner ‘‘discovers’’ gold while an artist ‘‘invents’’ a sculpture. Some people think that scientists discover scientific THEORIES. Others think that scientists invent them. What do you think?

Your position, basically:
Scientists discover a theory:
(N) A. because the idea was there all the time to be uncovered.
(N) B. because it is based on experimental facts.
(N) C. but scientists invent the methods to find the theories.
(N) D. Some scientists may stumble onto a theory by chance, thus discovering it. But other scientists may invent the theory from facts they already know.

Scientists invent a theory:
(I) E. because a theory is an interpretation of experimental facts that scientists have discovered.
(M) F. because inventions (theories) come from the mind—we create them.

91111—Scientists in different fields look at the same thing from very different points of view (e.g.,Hþ causes chemists to think of acidity and physicists to think of protons). This makes it difficult for scientists in different fields to understand each others’ work.

Your position, basically:
It is difficult for scientists in different fields to understand each other:
(M) A. because scientific ideas depend on the scientist’s viewpoint or on what the scientist is used to.
(I) B. because scientists must make an effort to understand the language of other fields that overlap with their own field.
It is fairly easy for scientists in different fields to understand each other:
(N) C. because scientists are intelligent and so they can find ways to learn the different languages
and points of view of another field.
(N) D. because they have likely studied the various fields at one time.
(N) E. because scientific ideas overlap from field to field. Facts are facts no matter what the scientific field is.

Appendix C

Number________________Grade/Age_______________Gender___________________

Please write your responses in the space below.

VNOS - Form B
1. After scientists have developed a theory (e.g. atomic theory), does the theory ever change? If you believe that theories do change, explain why we bother to teach scientific theories. Defend your answer with examples.
2. What does an atom look like? How certain are scientists about the nature of the atom? What specific evidence do you think scientists use to determine what an atom looks like?
3. Is there a difference between a scientific theory and a scientific law? Give an example to illustrate your answer.
4. How are science and art similar? How are they different?
5. Scientists perform experiments/investigations when trying to solve problems. Other than the planning and design of these experiments/investigations, do scientists use their creativity and imagination during and after data collection? Please explain you answer and provide examples if appropriate.
6. Is there a difference between scientific knowledge and opinion? Give an example to illustrate your answer.
7. Some astronomers believe that the universe is expanding while others believe that it is shrinking; still others believe that the universe is in a static state without any expansion or shrinkage. How are these different conclusions possible if all of these scientists are looking at the same experiments and data?

Grindstone Journal

2008-11-14T12:12:00.000-08:00

This is an interesting Oklahoma-based blog.

http://www.grindstonejournal.com

Minorities in Science and Science Education

2008-11-14T12:07:00.000-08:00

Here are links to some web sites concerned with underrepresented groups in STEM majors and careers.

http://www.ncourages.org

http://coe.asu.edu/cie

http://vcc.asu.edu/stem.shtml

http://www.aises.org

http://www.niea.org

http://www.opcaises.org/Portals/22/2007_CNA_AISES_Status.pdf

http://www.sacnas.org/

http://www.dlisr.org/nativescience/processes.html

Science Education Professional Organizations

2008-11-14T12:01:00.000-08:00

Here are links to some of the professional organizations to which I belong. I am attending and presenting research at the spring conferences of each of them as well.

http://www.nsta.org

http://www.aera.net

http://www.narst.org

http://theaste.org

http://www.aacte.org

http://www.oascd.org/

NCATE

2008-11-14T11:55:00.000-08:00

In addition to my teaching and student teacher supervision responsibilities this semester, I have also been working on my dissertation and helping with the College of Education's preparation for a visit from the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education in 2011. Here is the NCATE web site.

http://www.ncate.org

APA Formatting and Style Guide

2008-10-12T10:18:00.001-07:00

This is the format we use in science education most often, and this is the best online reference I have found.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

University of Oklahoma College of Education Collings Hall Renovation

2008-10-09T18:13:00.000-07:00

Funds are being raised to renovate Collings Hall, including a new Science Education Center dedicated to Dr. Jack Renner. Please click below to see how to donate. Thanks!

https://www.oufoundation.org/onlinegiving/makegiftgen.aspx?club=0032608_Educ_Collings&fund=0032608_Educ_Collings

This is taken from the Oklahoma Science Teachers Association (OSTA) web site:

John W. “Jack” Renner Science Education Center

Issac Newton is credited with saying “If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.” Time has passed and many current science teachers in Oklahoma are not of sufficient age to remember, but we have had a giant in our profession who’s influence is still felt in how quality science education is understood. Dr. John W. “Jack” Renner taught science education at OU from 1962-1988, and his students continue to make phenomenal impacts on science education in Oklahoma, throughout the country, and around the world. His work on the Learning Cycle in the 1970’s was a part of the development of the Science Curriculum Improvement Study (SCIS) program supported by the National Science Foundation. The success of the learning cycle lead to it’s use as the origin and foundation for the Biological Science Curriculum Study (BSCS) and the Full Option Science System (FOSS). The Learning Cycle approach and it’s underlying teaching philosophy of constructivism shows itself today in the inquiry approach defined by the National Science Education Standards (NSES) and the process skill development required by our own Priority Academic Student Skills (PASS). Jack was recognized for his contributions by NSTA with the Robert H. Carleton Award which annually recognizes one individual who has made outstanding contributions to, and provided leadership in, science education at the national level and to NSTA in particular. It is NSTA’s highest honor. In like manner, the Jack Renner Award is OSTA’s highest honor given each year to a person who has made a significant contribution to science education in Oklahoma.
Friends and colleagues are working on a special campaign to raise $50,000 that will allow for the dedication of a laboratory as a memorial to Jack in the new wing of the University of Oklahoma College of Education that will house a state-of-the-art facility for science education. This new science education laboratory will be named the John W. “Jack” Renner Science Education Center and will symbolize to future science educators his tradition of academic excellence, love of science and the learning cycle.
This is your invitation to contribute to this campaign. Please take time to pledge a contribution. The OU College of Education will keep you apprised of the status of this important effort. If you have questions about the campaign or wish to make or pledge a contribution, contact John Cougher, Director of Development for the College of Education (jcougher@ou.edu or 405.325.1266). John can explain the specifics of the larger capital campaign or details of this particular endeavor. Questions about the campaign may also be directed to Dr. Ed Marek, Presidential Professor, Director of the Science Education Center at OU, eamarek@ou.edu.

Field Tested Learning Assessment Guide

2008-10-09T10:16:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to a helpful web page with many valuable research tools.

http://www.flaguide.org/index.php

Science Education Journals

2008-10-09T10:14:00.001-07:00

Here is a link to a web site listing most of the relevant science education journals.

http://homepages.wmich.edu/~rudged/journals.html

Puebla Blog Link

2008-10-09T10:11:00.001-07:00

The link to our Mexico blog has been removed from the OU College of Education web site, but here is the link for those still wishing to view it.

http://education.ou.edu/puebla_blog

Rasmussen College Criminal Justice Web Site Review

2008-09-13T10:03:00.000-07:00

http://www.rasmussen.edu/default.asp

http://www.rasmussen.edu/criminal-justice/default.asp

http://www.rasmussen.edu/criminal-justice/gallery/default.asp

Rasmussen College has an excellent web site overall, and specifically for its Criminal Justice programs. It is well-formatted, offers ease of use, pictorials, and plenty of information. Anyone interested in pursuing their education in these or related fields is advised to check it out. Visually, the site is interesting, and it is extremely easy to navigate and find the information you are seeking. Rasmussen College offers a wide range of programs, including within their Criminal Justice department. I was impressed with the layout as well as the content, and how efficiently all aspects of an education at Rasmussen is explained. In fact, a wide range of levels and types of programs are offered, including:

Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice
Client Services / Corrections
Criminal Offenders
Homeland Security
Investigation / Law Enforcement
Associate's Degree in Criminal Justice
Corrections
Crime Scene Evidence
Homeland Security
Law Enforcement
Associate's degree in Paralegal
Paralegal Certificate
Professional Peace Officer Education Certificate

Again, this is truly a well-organized and useful web site, easy to navigate and replete with visuals.

VerveEarth

2008-09-13T09:58:00.000-07:00

I found an interesting site that references blogs by geography and thought I would share it with the readers of this blog. The idea of charting blogs by location is unique and potentially very useful. Check it out!

http://www.verveearth.com/

Human Relations Paper-Mexico

2008-08-17T11:47:00.000-07:00

Migrant Situation from a cross country view in Puebla, Mexico
Mary Crofford
University of Oklahoma

Abstract

This paper is an overview of my stay in Puebla, Mexico for five weeks this summer. The research topics are based on encounters from the people and experiences there. The focus is on migrant populations. The migrant families, their earnings as well as the situations they find themselves in away from home and the family they left in Mexico.

Paper:

The American Identity crisis as the right has often put it, leaves us with a sour taste of cultural integration in our mouth and mind. At the heart of the debate is migration primarily from our southern neighbor. Mexico has long since been at odds for various reasons. However, as they put it, “the border crossed us,” 150 years ago during the Mexican-American war. (Levine, 2007) With sentiments that compare the alienation of Mexico to the Berlin wall. (Pedersen, 2007) These dueling sociological groups have several contrasting factors while the border is loosened up buy travel, trade and mere location, regulations and rules are tightening for the movement of people.

The identity crisis that is at stake some would believe is America, as Patrick Buchanan said during his 1992 campaign, “there is war going on, it is a cultural war and critical to the nation that we will one day be”. He refers to this sentiment as a takeover or invasion by the third world. (Pedersen, 2007) Just as this movement is vying for a call of American/Western ideals another is in place based on integration and inclusiveness.

Mexican migrants come to America risking their lives to claim a better lot here, 575,000 a year since 2000. (Hendrix, 2007) The American anthem is sung in Spanish at protests against public policies that limit aid and make border crossing inhumanly dangerous. We now see ads in Spanish and more attention to diversifying the labor market.

However there rests one central idea for both groups that is to curb the movement of people. Mexico wishes to keep its young people there to grow the economy, while America wishes to limit the number of immigrants for job and capital.

My husband and I will be spending five weeks in the fourth largest city in Mexico, known as Puebla. Our main intent is to find out how to better serve the migrant population of students currently in the United States public school system. Another is to look at the panorama of the migrant situation.

We are coordinating our visit in conjunction with the OU College of Education immersion program. They send a group to Universidad Popular Autonoma del Estado de Puebla, (UPAEP) to immerse them in language and culture and look at the schools. We will be doing some activities (weekend trip; meetings) and working with the same office that coordinates the visits, however our research will be taking us out more to look at on the workings of individual schools and focusing on systems. We have scheduled visits to secondary and elementary schools as well as meetings with scholars and other authorities on migrants and educational systems for the first three weeks. However, for the last two weeks we will be visiting with locals, sightseeing, and delving into rural communities to look through a Human Relations lens. We will also be attending a conference on culture and systems of Mexico and Mexican people and taking Spanish classes.

I am here specifically to gather statistics as well as find out about the issues of migration from this perspective. To examine Human Relations issues that I see, and begin to understand them, I as find myself a part of them. To focus on those issues from a cultural understanding lens while inside Mexico. Families who have moved north to work or those who are planning on moving north to work will help to see what they have left behind. What are the driving forces and the situational problems? Within that aspect will be the effects on the children and family. This will be examined through an eyeball account of schools, both rural and urban as well talking to people we encounter.

Besides the basic learning process of cultural norms and language barriers while here, daily accounts and interactions with people in Puebla make-up the basic framework of this paper, and the research arose out questions from those encounters. Therefore several statistics on various topics are included.

Ciudad Puebla
As we arrive in Mexico City the streets are loud and highly over crowded. The cars are backed up like nothing I have ever seen, because I have never been out of America. Beggars fill the streets with wash buckets for car windows; Chiclets, candy or juice are for sell. The streets are marked clearly with lines but no one seems to care, they make four lanes out of two, or three where there should be one. Puebla sits about three hours south of Mexico City, and we are headed there and for UPAEP. We settle in our first night in our apartment it is little but very comfortable.

Puebla is located about eighty miles south of Mexico City and is in Puebla valley (see insert figure 1). The capital city of the state of Puebla, Mexico it sits 7,091 feet above sea level. Founded in 1851, it is one of the oldest cities in Mexico with a population of roughly 1.3 million in 2000. The climate ranges from 40 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit year round with heavy rains in the summer months; it is ideal for growing fruit and flowers (Mulhare,1998).
Figure 1

Dr Alfredo Toxqui Middle School
Today is our first full day in Puebla and as we arrive at the Alfred Toxqui Middle school we are greeted several teachers and administration.

The school is fully concrete in the middle of a bustling neighborhood, there is no playground there is only concrete. We are told by one of the administrators that we may go into the main office, the door closes and I notice that we are not in an office with the head director but we are in a small front room surrounded by what feel like the entire faculty of six or seven maestros (teachers) that do not any speak any English at all, and we don’t speak Spanish I notice this and can’t help but think that if it were in America we would not doubt be behind a closed door with one solitary person that was heading up the whole school. Here we all listen to each other they all spoke and everyone sat around.
As we enter our first class of fourth graders I see a room of about twenty kids they are in uniform and very quiet as we walk in, they stand. We are introduced to the class and proceed to the back. I see that the weather is so perfect the low breeze with smell of city provides for the thermostat, they leave the windows and doors open all time you can hear the loud noises of the street over all the voice of the teacher yet none of the children are raising their voices nor do they ask for something to be repeated they don’t need too, they are totally attentive.

As we enter the next classroom I notice that the first graders here have virtually no teaching tools there are no books in shelves and there are not cabinets filled with the regular stuff that I see in American schools there is only a concrete floor and old wooden mini picnic looking tables that are used as the desks. They are worn.

The next day we return to Toxqui to observe. The second grade classroom that we are visiting is gracious as always, they are working with numbers and boxes. Something that struck yesterday has stayed with us. A boy in one of the classrooms hits another, throws a hard punch right to his cheek, while we were waiting for the teacher to return. We were stunned. My husband and I started talking to each other about how we would not have put up with that, and in an American classroom someone would have said something they would have hit back or at the very least been angry. No one said anything when the teacher returned it was like it did not happen. None of the kids were angry and no one told on him. So I wondered if this was a regular occurrence of hitting. If they punch and do not get in trouble, or if it seen as young boys just playing? But I also had to add our thoughts into the equation of America being a supposed culture of violence. Maybe it is in Mexico that the exception is a hitter. Could our classrooms just have an abundance of children that hit because of our culture?

The director of Toxqui is Manuel Hernandez, an attorney and kind man who invited us to his home like family. He told us as we walked in to that his home was our home, and welcomed us warmly. One thing we were surprised to see was that he took us in to his son’s bedroom and opened up the closet to show his clothes, he then stated, “I work very hard to provide everything that my children need.” We had spent very little time with this man but it was important to him for us to see how he lived.

As we visited Dr. Toxqui Elementary School again as usual were greeted warmly and made to feel at home. We watched the students practice their dances for a festival, carry out presentations on geometry topics, and play related games. One of the teachers expressed her frustrations with the students’ economic situations and how it impacts their schooling and ambitions. She said almost all the children are from single parent families and struggle to get by. The older siblings are often impaired educationally because they must care for the younger siblings while their mother works. She stated that much of the money the state and federal Mexican governments claim to provide the schools never actually makes it to them. In fact, she said they are lucky if each teacher receives 60 pesos per month for 30 students or more. Please note, this is supposed to pay for food as well as school supplies. She also suggested bringing teachers like her to the US would be an effective approach for improving migrant education in the US.

Dr. Ricardo Flores Magon General Secondary School
The following day we travel to a remote school that sits out side of the city by thirty minutes or so, the reality of what an economically contrasting country Mexico is hits us: we are only thirty minutes outside a major metropolitan area and we begin to see burros hauling wood and oxen pulling plows.

The rural school makes us feel very welcome. They have a social worker and we set up times for me to meet with her. She says there are several issues that she has to deal with, some are typical and others such as separation of family because one parent has to another country to work.

The next day is our first classroom visit to the secondary school, Ricardo Flores Magon. It is outside of Puebla near a small town called Chalchinuapan. As we arrive at the school the students are all walking in a huge entourage from the nearby village. They start out their day and week with a flag assembly in which all students participate, at 7:30 in the morning. All the students wear uniforms and stand respectfully, sometimes saluting, throughout the entire ceremony. The assembly was rigid, all the students moved in sync and they saluted and waved their hands in the air as they marched, it looked very European they practice this from a very young age. After the presentation of the Mexican flag, the students sing the Mexican national anthem, and then sing one for the state of Puebla, as well as a song specific for secondary schools. The school’s director or professor introduced us as representatives of the University of Oklahoma.

The setting of this school is rural and there are fields of prickly pear, corn, and other crops around, being plowed by burros. Some houses are large and Spanish style, they are structurally very beautiful but here a large with running water and clean facilities means one thing: that the father or son has gone to American for work. Figure 2 shows remittance flow in 2006.

Total Remittances………23053.8 USD
Money Orders………5.9%
Personal Checks………0.0%
Electronic Transfers………92.6%
Cash and In Kind………1.5%
Figure 2

Other houses do not have a roof. In fact, many homes have rebar sticking from the top, as families hope to add additional levels as they can afford it in the future. There are also large black plastic containers on the roofs, into which water is pumped, which then flows into the house when needed due to gravity. There is a huge contrast in the houses that you see in this rural area; as you look out you can see very beautiful countryside, almost European-like, while huge churches over look everything.

The school day gets underway with a short first hour due to the weekly assembly. There are various areas of curriculum being taught; Natural Science, Math, Spanish, English, State History/Geography, Art, Technology/Computers, and Music/PE. We are told that the school year breaks down into two semesters like their American counterparts, a semester of August to December and the second of January through June.

The classes have a smart board and computer as well regular boards, and the class size averages around thirty. Magon School has a complete and modern computer lab. Today we visited science and math seventh grade classes.

We returned to Magon Secondary School early this cold, cloudy, and rainy morning. Fog and clouds obscure the mountains and volcanoes. The director was not here to greet us but we soon settled into a third year mathematics class for a geometry lesson and practice problems. After touring the campus some more and visiting with the staff we sat in on a third year science class. The maestra lectured on electromagnetism, and the students took notes and read aloud. After that class we sat down for an interview with the social worker and learned several interesting things. She starts her day at 8 am and ends at 3 pm, and she does not go year round, instead she goes the length of the school’s year. She serves as a counselor and nurse as well. One of her more difficult jobs is dealing with the parents. Very few parents are vested in their children’s education, many of them want their children working or they are very preoccupied with trying to get from one day to the next. Many of the parents work as cleaning help or they make sponges, clotheslines, and so on to sell on the street. She estimated three parents out of the school of 200 students she knew of had steady jobs at the local Volkswagen factory.

The United States federally mandated minimum wage of $5.15 an hour is approximately ten times greater than that of the Mexican minimum wage which is 47.05 pesos in 2006, around 4.20 a day. (Levine, 2007) The figure shows the breakdown of job configuration, conversely we will see it becomes very hard to discern what constitutes “employed”.

Mexico Occupational Structure 2006
Total Employed 41,909
Agricultural Activities…14.5%
Goods Production…16.6
Construction…8.2
Total Services…54.4
Figure 3

Students here generally have one of three options upon leaving Magon assuming they complete high school; they may marry, go to the US and work, or make crafts and trinkets to sell. Financially, it is very difficult for them to go to university.

The Mexican working population breaks down as 22 percent earn the minimum wage or less, two-thirds only earn three times that, combing to make a total of that 83% earn only up to five times the minimum wage (Levine, 2007). The unemployment numbers often register as very skewed due to lax definition of “employed population,” …all persons of working age (fourteen plus) during the reference week participated in economic activities for monetary wage, nonmonetary wage, or no payment, and those who would be starting a job within the space of a month (Levine, 2007). The effort here was to cover the sporadic and unofficial economy employees which count for roughly half (Levine, 2007). The workers have little to no benefits. Forty eight percent of wage earners have no contract, while 20 percent work less than 35 hours a week and 27 percent work a reported 48+ hours weekly. The Mexican social security system will provide health care, however only 32 percent are covered (Levine, 2007).

The social worker talked about medical care for the students and the Mexican system. For example, if a student gets injured at school they are able to go to the clinic in town and the social worker will take them. They have cases where a traditional family will not go to the doctor because they believe that a medicine man will heal them better and faster than modern medicine. Another instance was a girl came to school with a severe cut on her arm; it had happened over the weekend but the parents did not take her for medical care because they could not afford the visit. In Mexico, for example, total expenditure on health care is only 5.6% of the gross national product—compared with about 15% in the USA (Ruelas, 2002).

One thousand public hospitals have 75% of the beds; 90% of the 3000 private hospitals have ≤20 beds, often as few as ≤5 beds. In fact, some “private hospitals” can hardly be considered hospitals at all, since they have no laboratories, radiography equipment, or even nurses (Ruelas, 2002).

Many of the children in this area live below the poverty line so health care is limited and they pay a heavy price. If one child is born in the Native Indian part of the state of Chihuahua and another is born the same day in Monterey, those children immediately face inequities: the child born in Monterey has a 17-year longer life expectancy. While yearly around 3 million people in Mexico face catastrophic expenses due to major illnesses or injuries (Ruelas, 2002).

As the social worker she estimates that 70-80% of her parents are migrants, which means that many of them were being raised by single mothers who cannot find work. And when they do, it means they will be left to care for their siblings this was not specific to rural populations, as it is the same in urban areas. The social worker said that the migrants in the US are telling people at home not to come to America, but many people are determined to get there. Another obstacle the children face is not knowing their family, some children have never met their fathers and on occasion their mothers either; they are being raised by their grandparents, because they moved to America to work as well. This is distressing to me, because my observations so far have revealed basically good schools with motivated and knowledgeable teachers who truly care about their pupils.
The students themselves are bright, respectful, and hard working.
Although a new trend is happening as children can be left without both parents, in that women are no longer the companion migratory rather they are crossing the border and finding employment for themselves. Figure 4 shows trend of migrant women.
1995 2005 Total Percentage Total Percentage
Citizenship Status 3,089,367 100.0 4,914,161 100.0
American Citizen 482,83 15.6 1,105,348 22.5
Non-American Citizen 2,606,484 84.4 3,808,813 77.5
Arrival in the US 3,089,367 100.00 4,914,161 100.0
Before 1986 1,834,340 59.4 1,418,406 28.9
1986-1994 1,225,027 40.6 1,167,668 23.8
1995-2000 -- -- 2,328,087 47.4
Figure 4

This shows only the female demographics. Mexican’s constitute the largest sector of the foreign born population living in the US (Perez et all, 2007); with around 11 million in 2005 immigrants here. within these population figures the number of house hold headed by Mexicans total 4,070,910. This labor market integration is a collection of push/ pull factors involving economic reorganization and innovation, which has left Mexico with a large population of surplus labor. Therefore they better their by chance by coming to America. There are however, socioeconomic constraints awaiting their arrival in the US as well. The Latino labor force holds a median income of 651 USD weekly. This show approximately 18 million Latino workers not just Mexican migrants. With the largest percent holding janitorial or cook positions (Levine, 2007).

Today we visited a Magon English class. They were in seventh grade and they were learning basic English vocabulary. After the English lesson we gathered four children for an interview to go over what their daily life is like.

As we sat down with two boys and girls ages 13-15 in eighth and ninth grades, we began to discuss their favorite school subjects. All the students said they liked the science classes the best because they found it more interesting and there was more to do.

All of the children walk from the town to school and it is about a 10-minute walk. Their school day is from 7:30 in the morning until 1:15. We asked why is it that when we pull into the school all the kids are walking in almost one huge group, why is that? How does that happen? He said all just start waling and just see each other. If you can imagine this tiny community, to see a hoard of 200 some children walking to school every morning, no one has a car and they are so close in proximity, they all end up walking together and this represents a sense of reliance within the community. American communities are much bigger, but to get a group of that size together takes organization and planning.

We began to talk about what they do after the school day is done. One of the boys said that he goes to work. He told us that his family has a store. And that he goes to the store after school, to sell the candy, pop and other odds and ends. The other boy said the he must go home and help his mother look after his other siblings due to the fact that his father is in America working. The Migrant center in Puebla sets up phone conversations with television-like screens where toddlers often see there fathers for the first time. Three of the other children live with their parents while he lives only with his mother. While girls must go home and help also some of them make stuff to sell.

They have several of the interests as their American counterparts, sports and reading but there is little in the way of extracurricular activities. They read and watch TV and go for walks in the town.

All of the students said that they want to keep studying after high school; they wanted to be accountants, or work in technology. We had several more question as we began to wrap up, I wanted to dig further about the boy whose father worked in New Jersey, but in a situation like this it becomes hard to assess what is it appropriate to ask and not.

Cuetzalan, Mexico
As the weekend got underway we joined other exchange students, teachers, social workers, and nurses on a trip to the city of Cuetzalan in the mountainous part of the state of Puebla. We departed early and enjoyed a comfortable four-hour bus ride through winding and hilly terrain. Upon arrival we checked in and immediately hiked to and explored a local cave. We saw wild coffee, banana, and papaya plants growing amongst the lush vegetation and cultivated fields of maize and other crops. Birds, butterflies, and other animals were numerous. We could choose between shopping in the picturesque town, rappelling and swimming in a waterfall, or horseback riding. The local cuisine was exotic and sumptuous, and at night the UPAEP and hotel staff held a cook out for us. We were also able to explore the Mayan ruins near the village of Yohualichan.

We were explained to on the bus by the UPAEP official that the region around Cuetzalan is famous for growing coffee. It began to resonate with us that we were at the heart of a globalization process that some believe degrades the worker and others that it allows more power to buyer and seller. These are the farmers who work the coffee fields, and grew, picked, and sold the coffee. This aspect of research was very important in order fully understand these very real and complex Human Relations issues. I bought some coffee from a girl selling it on sidewalk to try, and it was delicious.
The daily cup I now sip on is not what I expected to have one the most profound influence on my trip, but it did. This intricate market we now participate in, has us drinking from a global trading system. According to PBS Frontline World News (2003) a coffee bean can change hands up to 150 times before reaching you. In Mexico 90 percent of coffee farms are 12.5 acres or less. The majority of them are owned by indigenous people. We traveled to these beautiful areas past the naturally growing plants. The profit is not equally distributed cross the board. These indigenous workers who grow the plant, which takes coffee plant around three years for a plant to produce around 2000 cherries which is only a pound of coffee. They then must hand pick at just the right time to guarantee the quality. They receive 10 to 12 cents on the dollar. I was looking at their homes and some live on dirt floors and they peddle juice or crafts they have made for a few pesos. One big issue is that production exceeds the use. The average cup goes from growers to traders that often have the only link to the outside knowledge of market worth, to shippers, roasters, and then retailers. Seeing this first hand had a profound impact on my sense of global community and corporate responsibility (Rubin, 2003).
We left with a realistic account and deeper understanding of a major Human Relations concern.

Teacher Interview and the SEP
The week got underway with a visit to Magon science class, where the children were presenting on Natural Phenomena. They presented reports on meteorology and astronomy as well health benefits of science, and they were prepping for a botany exercise that will improve the grounds of the school.

We had a chance to sit down with the teacher and ask a few questions, and we found out much information. She had been teaching for three years. In order to complete a teacher certification it takes six years, she was in her third year leaving three to go. One of the most interesting answers we found was given to us when we asked, “What do you need from the government to better serve your students”? She replied that it would be very good to have a breakfast provided for the students. They often come to class tired form watching their siblings all night, or working long hours, and there is not enough food. Parental involvement was needed as well, because so many of the parents have gone to work in America and that becomes an issue for the government because of a lack of jobs that pay well.

We also later found out that the average starting teacher pay in Mexico is 6,000 pesos a month, which is roughly 600 USD. Education in Mexico is regulated by the Secretariat of Public Education ( Secretaría de Educación Pública) or the SEP. In Mexican schools, students must master specific skills before being promoted to the next. Uniforms are traditionally worn by all students in elementary and middle schools for the purpose of lowering clothing costs, minimizing social class differences, instilling discipline and creating a school environment where all students have a sense of belonging (Roybal, 2004).
Educational standards are set by this Ministry at all levels except in autonomous universities chartered by the government. Basic Education comprises preschool, primary school, and lower secondary school. Preschool covers children aged three through five and is generally provided in three grades; Secondary Education, and Upper-Secondary Education is separate from Basic Education. This stage is non-compulsory and has three pathways: General upper-secondary, Technical professional education, and Technological upper-secondary. Until 1992, education was compulsory only through the end of primaria, or sixth grade. Many families still consider education important only through the primaria years, and there is significant attrition after sixth grade in urban as well as rural schools. (Stein, 2004)

For our dinner that we grabbed tacos from a taco stand and the young man cooking the food asked us if we were from Estados Unidos, when we replied yes he informed us that he was going to Chicago to work. Our Spanish improves so much through these conversations, as well gathering information about the people of Puebla. So many of the people that we address speak to us about leaving, that is what they want to do, all they want to do, and their main goal.

Additional Visits

The next week encompassed writing and reading and joining OU and UPAEP students and staff for short two hour visits to Manuel Acuna Primary School and Miguel Hidalgo Elementary School in Puebla. The focus was on special education in Mexico. We learned that Mexican special needs students are mainstreamed into the public schools, numbering anywhere from three to twenty per school. Special Education teachers and other personnel rotate through the schools 2-3 times per week. We observed pre-school and elementary students reading, dancing, singing, and in physical education. The second school that we visited did not have any electricity, as the bill had not been paid.

My husband and I attended our Spanish class later in the day, and bought bus tickets for our weekend trip to Veracruz, the largest port in Mexico.

The Immersion classes graduated today, and we attended. We enjoyed a huge ceremony, with wonderful traditional Mexican food, and entertainment by a Mariachi band. In Puebla they have a dish called Mole Poblano; it is made of several ingredients including chocolate and various chiles. The origin of Mole Poblano, this thick, rich, chocolate-tinged sauce made so famous in the colonial mountain city of Puebla (Nemerovsky). I know now that the word, “poblano” means the “Puebla people” like Oklahoman or Mexican, so anything with that word has origins of Puebla.

We also had Spanish class with our wonderful instructor, Rosario Robles. Our Spanish is improving significantly; some things are made so much harder due to the simple fact that we can neither speak nor understand the language very well. Afterward we boarded a bus for Veracruz, arriving late and checking in at the hotel near the beach. Joining us was Sherry Cox, OU Spanish instructor.

Veracruz, Mexico

We spent the weekend in the port city of Vera Cruz. Veracruz is Mexico's largest and most important port, and serves today all of Mexico's central and southern states with the extensive rail and road networks directly connected to the port. The port serves with its direct access to the Atlantic Basin all the eastern coast of North America, Central and South America, Europe and Africa (Wallengren, 2006). From 1994 to 1998, the cargo handled at the Port has increased from 8,000,000 to 13,000,000 tons (Sorensen, 1998).
This brings the issue of international trade to the table. Seeing as how I was once again witness to a global dynamic, so I thought I should further my knowledge.
One subject that was to curb migration as well as stimulate the trade between America and Mexico was the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). President Salinas of Mexico in the early 1990’s boasted that NAFTA would help Mexico to, “export goods and not people.” This came with a promise of modernizing the Mexican economy, higher wages and more jobs. México has figured in the past decade one of the top three trading partners, for both imports and exports, of the US (Levine, 2007). After NAFTA the foreign trade rose to over 50 percent which left Mexico’s economy vulnerable to our fluctuations. (Levine, 2007)
Let us take Tontaca for example, an area in the state of Veracruz where maiz or corn production is not just a crop but a way of life, and with a large Indigenous population they believe gods created humans from a mixture of blood and maiz dough. Maiz is a staple food and consumed on a daily basis in the form of tortillas. After NAFTA, Mexican markets opened to a flood of U.S. exports. From 1994 to 1996, maiz grain prices dropped by as much as 48 percent (King, 2005). Familiarizing these issues is important to understanding the places visited.
Early Saturday we ventured to the Malecon, or board walk, Mercado, and the famous “Grand Café de la Parroquia” for lecheros, which are espresso coffee and steamed milk. We took a boat across the harbor to the fortress of San Juan de Ulna, which for centuries has served as not only a fortress, but also a prison and government building. It was ironic how we pride ourselves on so many advancements in facilities and structures. This fort kept its prisoners there by filling the escape waters with sharks. However inhumane, they stated that no one had ever escaped in the time that it was a holding for criminals. After visiting the beaches near our hotel, we had a traditional Veracruz dinner and called it a day. On Sunday, before leaving for the bus station, we had time to rent another boat and visit Isla Sacrifios, in the Veracruz harbor. We observed fish, sea stars, sea urchins, coral, and other marine life. A brief visit to the world-renowned Veracruz Aquarium was unfortunately cut short due to our travel schedule. We return to Puebla with a few days to go.

After wrapping up and preparing ourselves to disengage from our apartment we had grown to call home and people that had helped get our bearings we were preparing to say good buy. What we have chosen to take with us varies from person to person.

Identity, through this lens, takes on a new meaning; it can call to question one’s stance on public policy of your own country. As you begin to understand the human relationships develop between two countries, your part and place and how you choose to nurture that connection becomes a reality. One group believes that they are at the mercy and dictation of a larger more powerful group with the only option to assimilate, where do we find ourselves in the equation?

Socioeconomic factors, disparities, and problems that separate families and divide countries cannot be solved by individuals alone but by mass movement, like migrations. I learned the issues cannot be tagged or labeled as one, but rather become a conglomerate force. Movement into America comes with a hefty price tag that many do not see, like a three year old boy who sees and hears his father for the first time over a TV screen and/or a phone call from America. Or the alienation that a foreigner feels thousands of miles away from home and family in a place where he or she cannot understand the language and is are not accepted, as public policy proves.
Bibliography
1.Hendricks, T. (2007, March12). On the Border. The San Francisco Chronicle, pp. A-1. Retrieved July 12, 2008, from http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-in/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/03/12/MNGEUOJLNF1.DTL&type=printablebut

2.Mulhare, E.M. (1998-2006). Visitors Online guide to Puebla Mexico. Retrieved July 7, 2008, from http://www.ixeh.net/travel/puebla/puebla.html

3.Ashbee,E., & Clausen, H.B., & Pedersen, C. (Eds.). (2007). Politics, Economics and Culture of Mexican-US migration. New York: Palgrave-McMillan.

4.Levine, E. From Precarious, Low-Paying jobs in Mexico to Precarious Low Paying jobs in the United States. In Ashbee,E., & Clausen, H.B., & Pedersen, C. (Eds.), Politics, Economics and Culture of Mexican-US migration. (pp 63-90).New York: Palgrave-McMillan.

5.Ruelas, E. MD. (2002). Health care quality improvement in Mexico: challenges, opportunities, and progress. Proceedings,15. Retrieved June 26, 2008 from http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1276627

6.Saucedo, S.E. & Perez, M.A. & Olvera, S.G. The Other Side of the Migration Story: Mexican Women in the United States. . In Ashbee,E., & Clausen, H.B., & Pedersen, C. (Eds.), Politics, Economics and Culture of Mexican-US migration. (pp 39-61).New York: Palgrave-Mcmillan.

7.Rubin, Joe. (Producer). (2003) PBS Frontline World News [Web Broadcast]. Public Broadcasting Service. Retrieved July 19, 2007 from http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/guatemala.mexico/coffee1.html

8.Colorado Statewide Parent Coalition. (2004, February). Engaging Mexican Parents in their children Education. Westminster, Colorado: Roybal, P. & Garcia, D. Retrieved July 12, 2008 from http://www.coloradotrust.org/repository/publications/pdfs/CSPC%20Teachers.pdf

9.Stein, R. (2004) Mexico and US Schools: a World Apart. The Term Paper,3. Retrieved july8, 2008 from http://www.piton.org/content/Documents/term6.pdf

10. Nemerovsky, B. The Mole Page. Retrieved June 8,, 2008. From http://www.ramekins.com/mole/recipesmole.html

11.Wallengren, M. (2006). Successful Expansion. Retrieved July18, 2008 from http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/travel/bzm/bzmveracruzharbor.html.

12. Force Technology. (1998). Port of Veracruz Mexico. Denmark: Sorensen, Peter. Retrieved from http://www.forcetechnology.com/NR/rdonlyres/153A774D-1779-4338-A0E9-47B3A75DABF1/893/19353en.pdf

13.Bread for the World Institute. (2005). Trade and Totomoxtle: Coping with NAFTA in the Totanacan region of Veracruz (Annual Report 2005). Washington DC: King, Amanda. Retrieved July 18, 2008 from http://www.bread.org/BFW-Institute/trade-sidebars/trade-and-totomoxtle.html

Figure 1
Puebla. (n.d.) In Wikipedia online. Retrieved July 29, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puebla,_Puebla

Figure 2
Viallrreal, M. & Davy, M. Sending Money Home the Dynamics of Mexico-US Remittances. In Ashbee, E., & Clausen, H.B., & Pedersen, C. (Eds.), Politics, Economics and Culture of Mexican-US migration. (pp 91-106).New York: Palgrave-McMillan.

Figure 3
Levine, E. From Precarious, Low-Paying jobs in Mexico to Precarious Low Paying jobs in the United States. In Ashbee,E., & Clausen, H.B., & Pedersen, C. (Eds.), Politics, Economics and Culture of Mexican-US migration. (pp 63-90).New York: Palgrave-McMillan.

Figure 4
Saucedo, S.E. & Perez, M.A. & Olvera, S.G. The Other Side of the Migration Story: Mexican Women in the United States. . In Ashbee, E., & Clausen, H.B., & Pedersen, C. (Eds.), Politics, Economics and Culture of Mexican-US migration. (pp 39-61).New York: Palgrave-McMillan

American Museum of Natural History

2008-08-08T11:15:00.000-07:00

http://www.amnh.org/

http://www.nmai.si.edu/

I fulfilled a lifetime ambition this summer and visited the Natural History Museum in New York, as well as the National Museum of the American Indian. I have provided links for them and I recommend them both.

Holmes Scholarship

2008-07-10T08:06:00.000-07:00

I was fortunate to be recently named a Holmes Scholar at the University of Oklahoma. Below is a link describing the program.

http://www.holmes-scholars.org/

Puebla, Mexico

2008-06-01T08:33:00.000-07:00

Mary and I are the guests of UPAEP in Puebla for five weeks this summer. We are developing our Spanish language skills, and generally being immersed in Mexican culture while studying educational issues pertaining to science and indigenous and migrant populations. Below is a link to the blog we are keeping.

http://education.ou.edu/puebla_blog

How Effective is National Board Certification for Secondary Teachers?

2008-06-01T08:27:00.000-07:00

TITLE:
Relationship of Percentage of National Board Certified Teachers with Student Achievement as Measured by End-Of-Instruction Exams at the Secondary Level in Oklahoma
ABSTRACT:
The percentage of National Board Certified teachers (NBCTs) in Oklahoma high schools is positively and significantly correlated to student achievement as measured by performance on state End-Of-Instruction exams (EOIs), including Biology I, Reading, and Math. This effect is independent of other factors concerning the schools’ student populations, locales, sizes, and Title I status.
INTRODUCTION:
Every week the news media is full of stories describing concerns about America’s competitiveness in a global economy. A recent report states that the fastest growing occupations are dependent upon a knowledge base in science and mathematics (National Science Board, 2006). This same report points to the lack of student proficiency on national and international tests of mathematics and science and the decline of students pursuing science and engineering degrees from universities nationwide as a cause for economic apprehension. Basic areas such as reading and writing are essential to success in these areas as well as for their own sake. Solutions to these problems include training teachers at the highest levels, including National Board Certification, and providing incentives for teachers to do so. Data indicate that differences between effective and non-effective teachers have a tremendous impact on student achievement, and NBCTs are statistically and significantly more effective teachers. Teacher quality and lack of preparation in subject area are inextricably linked, and this research is of interest to teachers, administrators, and school boards because we are hoping to improve science education, and education in general, by demonstrating that high-quality and effective teaching can be brought about at least partially by encouraging teachers to engage in professional development up to and including National Board Certification.

PROBLEM STATEMENT:

The objective of the research project is to determine if the percentage of National Board Certified teachers (NBCTs) in a high school faculty is correlated with an increase in student performance as measured by state End-Of-Instruction exams (EOIs).

LITERATURE REVIEW:
Research is consistently positive about the impact of National Board Certification in enhancing teacher practice, professional development and areas of school improvement that are critical to raising student achievement. Many studies throughout various states have examined National Board Certification and the vast majority found NBCTs make a significantly measurable impact on teacher performance and student learning, engagement and achievement. Vandevoort, Beardsley, and Berliner (2004) found that student achievement was higher in the classrooms of NBCTs in three quarters of their comparisons with students in non-NBCT classrooms. Goldhaber and Anthony (2004) found that NBPTS is successfully identifying the more effective teachers among applicants, and that NBPTS-certified teachers, prior to becoming certified, were more effective than their non-certified counterparts at increasing student achievement, especially among minority students. The statistical significance and magnitude of the “NBPTS effect,” however, differs significantly by grade level and student type. Smith, et al., (2005) demonstrated overall findings from their study indicating that the relationship between student learning outcomes and teacher certification status was highly statistically significant on six of the seven student outcomes measured, with the results in favor of NBCTs. Clotfelter, Ladd, and Vigdon (2007) analyzed several aspects of teacher certification and found links to student achievement. Bundy (2006) found that when student demographic variables are controlled, schools with a larger proportion of NBCTs demonstrate moderately higher test scores. Additionally, a larger proportion of NBCTs coincides with a small increase in teacher empowerment, but these gains are unrelated to the improvement in student test scores. We believe that having more NBCTs on a campus produce across the board increases in student achievement, regardless of other factors such as student population diversity, locales, and size of schools.
METHODOLOGY:

Data sets of EOIs in Biology, Math, and Reading were obtained from the Oklahoma State Department of Education, including EOI results for all high schools in the state, as well as faculty numbers that yielded percentage of NBCTs per campus. The numbers for a large sample of Oklahoma high schools were submitted to a Pearson’s correlation test using SPSS, and the results were analyzed. Approximately thirty schools from each of the six size classifications were included in the sample, for a total of 175 schools. Results were also broken down by urban, suburban, town and rural high school settings and geographically and socioeconomically covered the entire state of Oklahoma.

RESULTS:

Our results suggest that the percentage of NBCTs on a high school campus correlates positively and significantly with student achievement as measured by EOIs, including Biology I. We observed this effect in the high schools sampled in the state of Oklahoma, and no significant difference on the basis of urban, suburban, rural, town, and rural settings, school size, or geographic location.

CONCLUSION:

More effort and incentive toward encouraging elementary and secondary teachers to become National Board Certified needs to be put forth by states, school boards, and administrators. The positive impact of having more NBCTs in a faculty have been documented in various states and in a variety of ways, and now we have demonstrated a similar effect in Oklahoma high schools. The process of National Board certification is an expensive, demanding, and time consuming process for the teachers who undertake it. The beneficial results in our school systems, and for our students and communities, have been demonstrated over and over again. Teachers should be encouraged, assisted, and rewarded for attempting to become National Board Certified. Our results suggest that the percentage of NBCTs has a campus-wide effect on student achievement, and this effect should be investigated further. Future studies may analyze campus and department leadership roles of NBCTs, or consider the number of NBCTs students are exposed to at the elementary and middle level. While we looked at NBCTs in general on each campus, a more specific study could break down the analysis in terms of specific subjects taught by NBCTs. Qualitative case studies may also be carried out that determine how National Board Certification has impacted individual teachers’ teaching philosophies and practices.

REFERENCES

Bundy, J. (2006). The Effect of National Board Certified Teachers on Average Student Achievement in North Carolina schools. Master’s Thesis, University of North Carolina.

Clotfelter, Charles T., Ladd, Helen F. and Vigdor, Jacob L., "How and Why Do Teacher Credentials Matter for Student Achievement?" (January 2007). NBER Working Paper No. W12828 Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=956867

Goldhaber, D., Anthony, E. (2004). Can Teacher Quality Be Effectively Assessed? Urban Institute Website
Kielborn, T., Gilmer, P., & Southeastern Regional Vision for Education (SERVE), T. (1999). Meaningful Science: Teachers Doing Inquiry + Teaching Science. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED434008) Retrieved June 13, 2007, from ERIC database.

Kimble, L. L., Yager, R. E., & Yager, S. O. (2006). Success of a Professional-Development Model in Assisting Teachers to Change Their Teaching to Match the More Emphasis Conditions Urged in the National Science Education Standards. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 17, 1007-1021.

Rhoton, J., Bowers, P., & National Science Teachers Association, A. (2001). Professional Development Planning and Design. Issues in Science Education. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED449040) Retrieved June 13, 2007, from ERIC database.

Smith, T. W., Gordon, B., Colby, S. A., & Wang, J. W. (2005). An Examination of the Relationship between Depth of Student Learning and National Board Certification Status. Office for Research on Teaching, Appalachian State University.

Vandevoort, L. G., Amrein-Beardsley, A. & Berliner, D. C. (2004). National Board Certified Teachers and Their Students’ Achievement. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 12, 1-46.

Science Education Issues Concerning Native American Students

2008-04-19T05:58:00.000-07:00

Introduction

The director of the education department of a large American Indian tribe in northeastern Oklahoma related to me recently an informal and unpublished study carried out by a former superintendent of Bell School in Adair County in Oklahoma. The school is a small, rural, PK-8, and dependent district with a student population that is almost 100% Native American. A few years ago the superintendent surveyed fourth graders as to what they wanted to be when they grew up. Their answers ranged from teachers to professional athletes to firemen and cowboys. When these students were asked the same question four years later as eighth graders, their responses were mostly limited to one of two; chicken pullers at the nearby Tyson Foods facility or line workers at the Mrs. Smith’s pie and cake factory in Stilwell. This startled and concerned me, and coupled with Native American student drop-out rates and tendencies to not attend or complete college (especially in STEM majors), set me to investigating the role of science education in addressing this dilemma. In fact, Native American students are the least represented group in STEM majors and careers, both in sheer numbers as well as proportionally (Demmert, 2001).
My personal experience after attending the summer workshop at Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History at the University of Oklahoma two years ago was that my students (mostly Native American) responded very well to inquiry-based science instruction in the form of learning cycles. I witnessed greater student enthusiasm for and achievement in science in my 3-8th grade classes, and many more “light bulb” or “Ah-Ha!” moments during the Concept Development and Expansion/Application phases. This was especially true when we could relate a concept to something from the students’ real-world environment and interests, including sports, cars, etc. In fact, it was this success in my classroom that prompted me to apply to the PhD program at OU in ILAC-Science Education, so I could help ”spread the word” and develop programs and train other teachers. Of course, the research indicates ALL students tend to learn better with this teaching approach, so I am faced with the question of whether Native students are somehow uniquely suited for this teaching approach, or vice-versa. My thoughts at this point are admittedly scattered, so I am aggressively pursuing all avenues of information concerning science education, indigenous science and educational perspectives, perceptions and misconceptions of science and scientists, socioeconomic status, opportunities for informal learning, cross-cultural evaluation instruments, and so on. I am perusing the literature, consulting with others in the field, and generally trying to become as informed as possible about Native American culture, education, and science and any possible relationship with inquiry-based science instruction, as well as science education in general.

Potential research questions include:

Can inquiry-based science instruction combined with informal learning opportunities and greater emphasis on Native culture and language enhance students’ scientific reasoning ability and likelihood to enter STEM related majors and careers?

Will intervention in the form of after-school, inquiry-based science activities with traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and scientist mentoring positively affect students’ knowledge of science content, and their perceptions and misconceptions of science and scientists?

What is the nature of middle school students’ scientific reasoning ability, knowledge of science content, and perceptions and misconceptions of science and scientists in northeast Oklahoma rural, town, suburban, and urban schools?

Literature Review

The former superintendent at my previous school in NE Oklahoma believed for years that Native students tended to be active, right-brained learners who responded well to learning through tactile, kinesthetic, auditory, and visual experiences. He developed a “psychomotor” approach to learning for younger students that coupled activity with concepts, such as counting in both English and Cherokee while jumping rope. Partially because of this, his school was designated by the U. S. Department of Education as a National School of Excellence, and also received the James Madison Elementary School Award for Outstanding Curriculum in 1988 (Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, 1995). I attempted to connect my own classroom experiences with these and other observations from my experience and the literature to link Native culture and learning styles to the utilization of learning cycles in the classroom (Aikenhead & Jegede, 1999). For instance, traditional American Indian viewpoints of the world and environment are holistic, emphasizing the interconnectedness of everything, living and non-living. This may align with the idea of organization within the Application/Expansion phase of a learning cycle, as the active learning tendencies of Native students may correlate to the Exploration and Concept Development phases. I realize again that all students tend to learn better using this teaching approach, but it would be interesting if for cultural or other reasons Native American students were particularly suited for socially-based constructivist teaching and learning, or even transactional philosophies. For instance, traditionally Native children learned about the world around them by actively exploring it on their on, as well as through the passing down of knowledge by oral story-telling and hands-on instruction (Cajete, 1999). Traditional Ecological Knowledge or TEK has been recognized as a “sub-culture” within the larger culture of science itself and its intersection with classic Western science can be used to promote Native learning instead of hindering it (Snively & Corsiglia, 2000). Another point of view is that indigenous science knowledge, instead of being “swallowed up” by the Standard Account, is better off as a different kind of knowledge that can be valued for its own merits and play a vital role in the science education of Native American students (Cobern & Loving, 2001).

Research Methods

One of my professional goals is to possibly work in the education department of an American Indian tribe, and help to institute and develop inquiry-based instructional programs, especially in science, in the schools within their tribal boundaries. Research has shown that inquiry-based professional development may enhance teachers’ understanding of Piagetian models of intelligence and increase their use of appropriate constructivist approaches in the classroom (Marek, et al., 1990 & 1994). I also believe that encouraging more informal learning opportunities both at home and in school should be a priority, including museums and other field trips, chess, speech, and science fairs (Gerber, et al., 2001), as well as emphasizing Native culture and language. Students need to actively construct their own knowledge with the teacher’s guidance, engage in varied activities both in and out of school, and maintain their Native identity (Gilliland, 1995). That is, they need to realize that they can “be Cherokee”, for instance, and yet also be successful in school and professionally in the larger world outside their usually rural home environments (Nelson-Barber & Estrin, 1995). In order to gauge the effectiveness of this initiative over time I would need a baseline of data, that is, an idea of where students in the affected schools stood prior to implementation of more inquiry and informal learning. I am considering a wide array of instruments, including course grades, drop-out rates, end of instruction exams and other state and national standardized tests, the Draw-A-Scientist Test (Chambers, 1983), the Informal Learning Assay (Gerber, et al, 2001), and tests of scientific reasoning ability and content. I am also considering the development of one or more instruments that consider cultural factors in these types of evaluations. I also have an excellent opportunity to get another perspective on science education and other issues for indigenous (and migrant) populations when I visit UPAEP in Puebla, Mexico for five weeks this summer. Another possibility is working in conjunction with the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History’s education department and staging interventions in the after-school programs of selected districts involving informal learning opportunities. These may consist of commercial curricula and could be evaluated with a pre- and post-test methodology in order to gauge their effectiveness in terms of student interest in science, scientific reasoning ability, and misconceptions and/or perceptions of science and scientists. This may be particularly effective if actual scientists are participants and mentors in the programs.

References:

Aikenhead, G. S., & Jegede, O. J. (1999). Cross-cultural science education: a cognitive explanation of a cultural phenomenon. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 36(3), 269-287.
This article explains cognitive conflicts arising from cultural differences as collateral learning and demonstrates the efficacy of reanalyzing interpretive data published in other articles. It attempts to provide new intellectual tools for teaching "science for all".

Cajete, G. A. (1999). Igniting the sparkle: an indigenous science education model (1 Ed.). Asheville NC: Kivaki Press Inc.
This book describes a model of science education specifically tailored to the needs of Native American students that draws on traditional methods of learning and knowing.

Chambers, D. W. (1983). Stereotypic images of the scientist: the draw-a-scientist test
Science Education, 67(2), 255-265.
The stereotypic image of the scientist appears in grade school and advances as students age. DAST is easy to administer and does require a verbal response; it also may correlate to other measures.

Cobern, W. J., & Loving, C. C. (2001). Defining "science" in a multicultural world: implications for science education. Science Education, 85(1), 50-67.
This paper argues that indigenous knowledge, instead of being swallowed up by the "Standard Account", is better off as a different kind of knowledge that can be valued for its own merits and play a vital role in science education, particularly for Native American students.

Demmert, W. G. (2001). Improving Academic Performance among Native American Students: A Review of the Research Literature. Charleston, WV: ERIC Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools.
This is a review of the literature spanning several decades concerned with issues of Native American education. It includes several subject areas and emphasizes the need to maintain indigenous culture and language in the classroom.

Gerber, B. L., Cavallo, A. M. L., & Marek, E. A. (2001). Relationships among informal learning environments, teaching procedures and scientific reasoning ability. International Journal of Science Education, 23(5), 535-549.
This study showed a separate positive relationship between informal learning experiences and scientific reasoning ability in children and inquiry-based instruction and scientific reasoning ability with no interaction effects.

Gerber, B. L., Marek, E. A., & Cavallo, A. M. L. (2001). Development of an informal learning opportunities assay. International Journal of Science Education, 23(6), 569-583.
This paper documents the development and verification of the Informal Learning Opportunities Assay (ILOA) to measure learning outside the formal classroom environment.

Gilliland, H. (1995). Teaching the Native American. Third Edition. (3 Ed.). Dubuque IA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co.
This book describes teaching approaches effective for indigenous students, including incorporation of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK).

Marek, E. A., Cowan, C. C., & Cavallo, A. M. L. (1994). Students' misconceptions about diffusion: how can they be eliminated? The American Biology Teacher, 56(2), 74-77.
This study showed that students taught through inquiry displayed fewer misconceptions of science ideas than those taught in an expository manner.

Marek, E. A., Eubanks, C., & Gallaher, T. H. (1990). Teachers' understanding and the use of the learning cycle. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 27(9), 821-834.
This study showed that teachers with a sound understanding of the Piagetian model of intelligence were more likely to effectively implement learning cycle curricula than those that did not.

Marek, E. A., Haack, C., & McWhirter, L. (1994). Long-term use of learning cycles following in-service institutes. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 5(2), 48-55.
The study reported here examined the long-term implementation of learning cycle curricula introduced in National Science Foundation (NSF) sponsored institutes delivered in the 1980s.

Marek, E. A., & Laubach, T. (2007). Bridging the gap between theory and practice: A success story from science education. In M. Gordon & T. V. O'Brien (Eds.), Bridging Theory and Practice in Teacher Education. Netherlands: Sense Publishers.
This book chapter describes an example of a successful partnership between a Midwestern university and a nearby school district in terms of developing and implementing an inquiry-based science instruction program over several years.

Nelson-Barber, S., & Estrin, E. T. (1995). Bringing Native American perspectives to mathematics and science teaching. Theory into Practice, 34(3), 174-184.
This is a discussion and comparison of traditional Native American views of science and mathematics and how they may be incorporated into the modern classroom.

Snively, G., & Corsiglia, J. (2000). Discovering indigenous science: implications for science education. Science Education, 85(1), 6-34.
This paper describes how traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) can be integrated into the modern classroom as one of several scientific viewpoints and can help alleviate misunderstandings of students at the "border crossing" of TEK and classic Western science.

Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (1995). Maryetta School: the center of a rural community and a case study of leadership and school improvement. Issues about Change, 5(1), 5-27.
This is a description of Maryetta School; a small, rural, pk-8, dependent NE Oklahoma school district with a low socioeconomic and mostly Native American population. It includes a discussion of the development and purpose of the school's psychomotor program.

Summer Science Inquiry

2008-03-08T13:25:00.000-08:00

Linking Inquiry and Classroom Practice
Summer Science Institutes: Inquiry-Based Professional Development with Authentic Research Experiences

In 2001, after 13 years of teaching mostly Advanced Placement science classes at the secondary level in the US Southwest, I transferred to a small, rural PK-8 school in a Midwestern state. The student population was relatively low socioeconomically and 86% American Indian. I realized that many of the expository teaching methods I had employed previously with older, higher-level thinking students were simply not effective for my new students. I began to seek alternative teaching approaches to the Inform, Verify, and Practice (IVP) modality I had been subjected to as a student, and had in turn utilized as a primary form of instruction as a teacher. In 2005 my administrators passed to me a notice concerning a summer science institute coming up at a state university. I applied and was accepted for the next summer. The program was a collaboration between the school’s education college and natural history museum, and covered one week of the summer, in a residential format. I was intrigued by the institute’s paradigm of inquiry-based professional development coupled with authentic research experiences mentored by practicing scientists, and the utilization of appropriate technologies. The program’s stated goals were to increase the scientific literacy and efficacy of the state’s elementary and middle school teachers through actual research experiences and an approach to science teaching that translated these experiences into classroom practice. The program’s theoretical base was grounded in the nature of science and inquiry, state and national science education standards, the nature of the learner, and the promotion of critical thinking skills. The workshop was conceived in response to a lack of interest and proficiency among the state’s students in science and math at the time, especially at the elementary and middle school levels. Special emphasis was placed on teachers of “transescents” or middle year students, who are at a critical developmental junction in terms of how they see themselves regarding science and mathematics, as well as college majors and careers in these areas. The data and experience suggested traditional expository text book teaching with cook book labs was not adequate, and many students were not being exposed to the true investigative nature of science, nor were they developing the critical thinking skills which are the stated central purpose of American education. The education department of the university’s natural history museum has a variety of programs that encourage science learning, both formally and informally, for teachers and students, as well as the general public. There is strong history of collaboration and cooperation between the museum and other departments within the university, and especially the college of education.

Upon arrival at the campus the 25 teacher participants were provided excellent on-campus accommodations, with most meals provided, and a stipend was arranged as well. Mornings were occupied working in groups of 3-4 teachers on an authentic research project mentored by practicing scientists from the museum, university, and other local agencies. Projects ranged from investigations of food webs in nearby aquatic habitats to fish reproductive habits to an analysis of insect populations, and the institute culminated with creation of poster and slide shows, and presentations of the projects in a symposium format. We utilized field sites, laboratories, and museum collections and engaged in all aspects of investigations from developing testable hypotheses to collecting and analyzing data to interpreting and communicating results. Afternoons were overseen by university science education professors and devoted to development of the theoretical base and building a link between research experiences and application to science teaching and curriculum development. These modalities were accomplished by creating and utilizing new curricula and carrying out pre-existing ones, along with discussion and the incorporation of applicable technologies. The idea emerged that constructivist learning cycle approaches to teaching science were most effective and supported by all aspects of the relevant theory base, and teachers needed to be comfortable with this and in turn apply it in their classrooms.

I returned to my classroom the next semester, excited and motivated to begin using what I had learned that summer. I saw encouraging results right away, as my students were allowed to gather solid data themselves, I helped them construct concepts from their data, and especially when they expanded and applied their new knowledge through any number of related activities that helped make connections to their environment and interests, including sports, health, cars, food, and so on. Student attitudes toward science improved, achievement increased, and they looked forward to what we were doing in class. As a veteran teacher I recognized right away my students were experiencing more “light bulb” moments as previously difficult concepts became clear to them. My tactile and kinesthetic students were self-motivated to actively gather data and science became fun and understandable to them. I began to spread the word among my colleagues and administrators, and we as a school adopted a curriculum more suited to this teaching approach. As I mentioned, the student population was mostly Native American, and as a citizen of the Cherokee nation myself I began to consider the larger implications of what I was experiencing. Half of Native American students fail to graduate high school, and few go on to university. Even fewer enter into mathematics and science related majors and careers. It seemed through this teaching approach that science and math could be part of the impetus to educational and career success for these and other students, and not part of the barriers. I developed a mind set that I could compound the effectiveness of this teaching approach by returning to school and seeking a PhD in science education to train other teachers, so I began the process of entering the university that sponsored the summer science institute I had attended.

In the summer of 2007 I was able to return to the summer science institute as a graduate student and assistant facilitator, and also to help with research that would attempt to gauge the effectiveness of the workshops. I chose three existing quantitative instruments that would evaluate the participants’ science teaching efficacy, and understanding of the nature of science and of the learning cycle approach to teaching. I developed two more instruments to consider the teachers’ comprehension of the investigative process of science and their approach to lesson development and implementation. These instruments were all administered in a pre- and post-workshop manner, and seemed to suggest gains in all areas, with the exception of science teaching self-efficacy. This may be due to the teachers realizing there is much more to effective science teaching than they had imagined, prior to their participation in the workshop. I am also conducting a follow-up qualitative examination through the use of surveys. Participating teachers are reporting results similar to what I had experienced at my school, as reflected in these comments:
“I learned how to properly engage students using inquiry learning. I was able to get some good ideas and work with other teachers…”
“I am now asking more leading questions instead of giving straight answers…”
“The students discover the answer to the inquiry they are doing…”
“My students this year are noticeably more adept at measuring for accuracy and utilizing metric units after inquiry-based instruction…”
“The students are DOING instead of listening and watching, and have an improvement of attitudes…”

However, It is not enough to provide teachers with research experiences. The goal is make the pedagogical connection in the classroom between the investigative process of science and its application in lesson development and implementation. The learning cycle approach seems to provide the linkage that translates inquiry into actual learning, and the critical thinking skills that will serve all students in all areas. These summer science institutes permit teachers to better understand the nature of science and inquiry-based teaching approaches, as well as the relationship between them. Teachers become more comfortable with the scientific method and inquiry, and teachers are more willing to engage students in data collecting activities. In turn, facilitation of concept development and introduction of appropriate terminology, and expansion and application of these concepts, resolve the "disconnect" between teachers’ understanding of inquiry and its actual application in the classroom.

Final Paper-History of Modern Science

2007-12-10T20:24:00.000-08:00

Final Paper
How Popular Culture Impacts Transescents’ Perception and Understanding of Science
Geary Don Crofford[1]
Thursday December 13, 2007
HSCI 5533 History of Modern Science
Dr. Katherine Pandora[2]

Introduction

Ask American elementary and secondary school students to draw a scientist and most will provide a rendering of a stereotypical Hollywood version of a “mad scientist”. Their representation is usually male, with unkempt hair, glasses or goggles, a lab coat, positioned in a laboratory, and often performing some type of dangerous or radical experiment. A 1983 study[3] of 4807 students reported these results, and this and other studies also indicated the popular media may have a great degree of influence on youngsters’ perceptions of science and the scientific community and how they relate to them personally. Why is this so, and what implications does it have for the public’s understanding of science and scientists, and the general population’s scientific literacy? Where did these stereotypes originate, and how can a science educator combat these perceptions, or conversely, employ them in their instructional strategies?
A more recent study[4] found that Hollywood movies of the 20th century often present and reinforce many, if not all, of the traits of the “mad scientist”. 82% of the scientists portrayed in the films covered in this study were male, and most were white and American, as well. The majority of scientists were portrayed as studying the life sciences, as somewhat socially inept, and many times performing their work secreted away in a remote location, often to the detriment of society in some way. This study was a quantitative analysis of 222 films of all genres, covering eight decades of moviemaking. Another study[5] specifically looked at the images of scientists as represented in six Hollywood comedy films from 1961 to 1965. This study found scientists depicted as either objects of mockery or fear, with far more intellect than practical intelligence. The recognition and esteem of the scientists in these movies was mitigated by either buffoonish behavior or the threat his (all scientists portrayed were male) research presented to humanity.
The literature indicates popular culture has a profound impact on our perception of science, and the National Science Foundation has publicly expressed concern about the distortion and dilution of the public’s knowledge of science by the fictional media. Conversely, television programs such as The Magic School Bus are applauded for exposing children to meaningful scientific concepts that are effectively and accurately presented. What implications does this have for the science educator, positive or negative, and how should a teacher strive to take advantage of beneficial popular culture, or defeat the Hollywood stereotypes?
Students in the middle years of their education, meaning sixth through ninth grade, are also referred to as transescents. This name refers not just to their schooling, but also their physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development. They are literally “in-between” childhood and adulthood, and the science teachers at these grade levels can have a particularly profound effect on their students’ understanding of science, and help develop and reinforce a positive attitude toward science. These middle years are especially crucial because just as the students are spending less time with their families, they are also exposed to many significant external influences, including their peers and all types of popular culture. Immersing these students in the proper combinations and amounts of accurate and beneficial media sources, both in and outside the classroom, may be one potential answer to address this dilemma, along with exposure to working scientists who may serve as positive role models, as well as the utilization of appropriate technology.

The Importance of a Scientifically Literate Society

As our society becomes more technologically oriented it becomes increasingly important to develop and maintain a scientifically literate population that is comfortable with most aspects of science and technology, as well as individuals that are skilled in specific areas of science and mathematics to provide a talent pool to help the United States keep its competitive edge in this domain. Voters need to be able to make informed decisions about candidates and their positions on science and technology related issues. Citizens also need to have at least a basic understanding of the health, environmental, and medical issues they may face throughout their lives. Inquiry-based, constructivist, and process-oriented science presented by positive role models, the development of critical thinking skills coupled with a solid base in science knowledge, and adherence to both process and content science education standards such as the National Science Education Standards (NSES) and in Oklahoma, the Priority Academic Student Skills (PASS) may all help ensure the quality of science and mathematics education for all students, and especially transescents.
The “deficit model” attempts to explain the gap between scientists and the general public in terms of the lack of scientific knowledge on the part of the public. This model holds that scientists attempt in vain to pass down their knowledge to a public that is either apathetic, cannot comprehend the knowledge, or both. Whether or not this true, education holds the key to narrow this deficit, or prevent one from developing in the future. I feel part of the issue is simple human nature to ridicule or reject that which we do not understand. Not everyone can be a molecular biologist or nuclear engineer, but the public, beginning with transescence or even before, can be made both knowledgeable and comfortable enough with science to avoid rejecting it out of hand. Facilitating acceptance of and even enthusiasm for science is one of the science educator’s prime objectives, in my opinion. The mass media is going to continue to become a bigger part of all of our lives, and educators need to accept this and find ways to use it to their advantage, as well as overcome the negative aspects of popular culture as it relates to science and science education.

Minorities and Women and the Sciences

There also looms the dilemma of the underrepresentation of women and minorities in the sciences, what if any role the popular media play in this, and how science teachers may address this deficiency. A recent study[6] demonstrated from a review of over 60 feature films that the portrayal of women scientists can be grouped into six categories, none of which promoted a realistic or desirable role model for impressionable transescent females. These categories were described as ranging from the “old maid” to the “loner”. Despite this, The New York Times reported recently that for the first time, the top two winners of the prestigious Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology were female students, and also for the first time there were more female than male finalists. The erroneous idea that women are not as capable as men in math and science was even espoused by a former president of Harvard, demonstrating just how deeply ingrained this notion is in our culture.
The idea of “social precognition” holds that the media mirror our perceptions of ourselves, including our role in and understanding of science. Is it possible that Hollywood is actually discouraging women and minorities from engaging in science careers? As a member of the Cherokee Nation, and having taught in both a rural NE Oklahoma school in which the population was 86% indigenous and a US-Mexico border school that was 75% Hispanic, I have a personal stake and experience in addressing and helping to remediate this underrepresentation of minorities. In fact, immigration of Spanish-speaking minorities, and how they will be served by our educational system will be one of the most significant issues facing our country this century. I know from my own experience that many students do not receive their first significant science instruction until their middle years. Many of these students do not even finish high school, let alone pursue higher education, and especially not in math or science. Multi-media and technology more specifically geared to assist these students may help address this unfortunate cycle of lack of education and poverty in many segments of our society. Exposure to appealing, qualified female and minority scientists in real-world research settings may also be a factor in overcoming these students’ apathy or even antagonism toward science.

Can Television Be Used to Promote a Positive Image of Science?

Television viewing has a tremendous impact on children’s ideas and knowledge of the world, including science. From Beakman’s World to Mr. Wizard to Bill Nye: the Science Guy to Steve Irwin: Crocodile Hunter, television has specifically taken aim at addressing science concepts and issues, with mixed results. Some shows are accurate and engaging in their portrayal of science, while others lean more toward the dramatic, distorted perspective, apparently for sheer entertainment value. In biology, evolution is always a pre-eminent topic, and one study has looked specifically at television wildlife programming’s attempts to explain evolution.[7] This study found that “blue-chip” programming with higher production values often was less effective than “presenter-led” programming of lesser production values in properly addressing issues such as creationism, evolution, and global warming. Much of my own early exposure to science, outside of my personal reading for pleasure, was watching Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom as a child, and I partially attribute my own personal interest in biology and wildlife to this series.
Music and sound is another facet of programming that may be useful, and was used to great effect in the television series Bill Nye: The Science Guy. I personally have used episodes of this series with tremendous results, particularly as reviews, expansions, or applications of a concept taught previously. The students always seemed to have a better understanding of a science topic after viewing episodes of this show, and the production and entertainment value combined seamlessly to hold their attention. The correct science programming, employed in the proper context within an inquiry-based educational process that incorporates the nature of science, can be an effective tool for the teacher.

Can Movies Enhance Students’ Perception and Understanding of Science?

Using any category of popular media to teach science is controversial, potentially ineffective, and even damaging. However, if utilized properly, educators can effectively take advantage of the entertainment value of Hollywood films to spark both interest in and understanding of science, according to a paper by Christopher Rose.[8] This scientist has actually developed a course he calls “Biology in the Movies” which incorporates biology-based films including GATTACA, The Boys from Brazil, and The Fly. He successfully uses the movies as starting points to pique the students’ interest in culturally pertinent topics such as cloning and transgenic manipulations. It is also interesting to analyze how biology has been portrayed in Hollywood movies over the decades of the 20th century, and how those portrayals have reflected advances in the discipline itself, particularly in the case of the three celluloid versions of The Island of Dr. Moreau.[9] One may easily trace advances in biology through these movies, ranging from 1933 to 1996, in the form of how the films’ “manimals” are created. The progression is from vivisection and blood transfusions to hormonal manipulations to direct genetic modification through recombinant DNA technology, as well as microchip implantation. Scientists may also facilitate the plausibility and purposeful portrayal of science in film and television by acting as consultants directly on the sets during production, even though according to one study this does not necessarily mean that corresponding scientific “accuracy” promotes the public’s understanding of science.[10] It also seems that the more fiction one is exposed to, the lower their regard for science in general. The impact of visual images on everyone, but youngsters in particular, cannot be overestimated.[11]Fictional Hollywood films are the most common venue through which the public is exposed to images of science, and their importance cannot be understated.

Is the Internet the Key to Promoting Science Literacy Now and in the Future?

Despite movies’ historical importance as a common venue for exposure to science concepts and practitioners, the Internet is rapidly becoming the most pervasive electronic medium for addressing students’ misconceptions, lack of interest in, and general attitudes toward science, according to two recent studies.[12] These reports analyzed the content of state-of-the-art science Web sites and popular non-science teen Web sites, and then used this information along with insights from teen focus groups to ascertain how best to construct science Web sites to attract teens. The results indicated that transescents seek entertainment, and not education, from the Web, and that teachers are the critical gatekeepers for educational Internet use. The study concluded that science Web sites can be fun and still teach science effectively, and that partnerships between schools and entities such as NASA could play an important role in developing the Web as an educational tool.
At the University of Oklahoma, the K-20 Center is currently involved in developing video games as a form of “informal learning” in science. There are numerous video games on the market now that incorporate aspects of science ranging from molecular biology to physics, and the potential of this avenue of learning is virtually limitless. Museums, planetariums, exhibits, television programming, and film may all play a role in addressing scientific illiteracy and malaise, both independently and in joint ventures, including Internet sites and gaming. Of all of these intersections of the public and science, the Internet may be the one that ultimately has the greatest impact, both in and out of the classroom. The Internet, for instance, allows teachers and students to engage directly in authentic research being carried out by practicing scientists, as in the case of “Pintail Partners”.[13]The Sam Noble Museum Oklahoma Museum of Natural History at the University of Oklahoma is at the forefront of giving science teachers the opportunity to learn to use and incorporate technology into their instruction through professional development activities it develops and sponsors. The museum’s education department also emphasizes giving teachers and students opportunities to engage in authentic research experiences with practicing scientists. My own participation in this type of professional development directly led to my pursuit of a terminal degree in Instructional Leadership and Academic Curriculum with an emphasis in Science Education here at the University of Oklahoma, and to engage in research that seeks to demonstrate a link between science teacher self-efficacy, student achievement, and these types of professional development and student programs.
My personal teaching philosophies were profoundly changed by the summer program I participated in two years ago, and I feel I can compound that impact by training teachers of science who may then pass what they have learned on to their students, and to their colleagues. Interacting with actual scientists, both in person and through the Web, often negates the negative stereotypes children have of scientists, and they come away possibly wishing to emulate the role models they met and learned from. In fact, I feel strongly that such programs are possibly the single most effective way to defeat the cartoonish or off-putting images of science and scientists that children may have been inculcated with by film, television, and other aspects of popular culture. Practicing scientists have a responsibility to work with science educators to help facilitate these positive interactions with students, for the benefit of science as a discipline and society in general.

Using the History of Science to Defeat Science Stereotypes

How may the history, sociology, and philosophy of science be utilized in this endeavor? Doing away with “cook book” science, and reducing lecturing and use of the text books may in and of itself make science more interesting to the transescent. Incorporating more history, philosophy, and sociology of science and developing and implementing more cross-curricular lessons with other subjects including mathematics, language, and social studies may also help students understand how science plays a role in almost all aspects of their lives. The difficulty often lies within the science instruction itself, as science teachers are often guilty of perpetuating their own stereotypes of science.[14] Despite this, others have argued that history of science has no place in the classroom. [15] It has also been stated that misrepresenting the history of science can be as damaging as not representing it at all.[16] Humanizing science may have benefits for the students as well.[17] These ideas specifically address the Hollywood stereotype of the scientist as a social misfit locked away in a remote laboratory carrying out arcane and unauthorized experiments that may jeopardize mankind’s future. The positive and varied aspects of science, and science (or science and mathematics education) as a career, could be emphasized to the transescent student and change how they see their “hypothetical future selves”. The adventurous nature of scientists such as Jane Goodall or Alfred Russel Wallace could be emphasized, as could the “hidden” heroes such as Rosalind Franklin, and great ethnic scientists such as George Washington Carver.
Another consideration is our country’s rapidly increasing Hispanic population and the absence of much scholarship concerning the history of science in Central and South America. Francisco Hernandez produced a crucial natural history of the New World that was originally published in the Aztec language. Some prominent Mexican scientists include Carlos Frenk in cosmology, Nobel Prize winner Mario Molina, the discoverer of vanadium Andres Manuel Del Rio, and the inventor of the first oral contraceptive, Luis Miramontes. Interestingly, given the nature of this paper, it was Guillermo Gonzalez Camerena, a Mexican, who devised the mechanism behind the first color television. There are historically more than enough great Latin scientists and mathematicians to present to Hispanic students as role models to emulate.

Athletics, Television, and Science: A Combination with Educational Potential?

The National Football League’s annual Super Bowl is traditionally one of television’s top attractions, and not just in the United States but throughout the world. The “March Madness” of the NCAA basketball tournament captivates our nation’s attention for several weeks every spring. We are all familiar with the University of Oklahoma football team and its significance in our local culture. Is it possible to capitalize on the popularity of these activities and appropriate them to the educational domain to demonstrate to students the inherent nature of science in this, and virtually all aspects of our lives? The intersections and “mixed border zones” between science and sports range from the physics and mathematics of moving people or objects to the training, physiological, and medical aspects of the athletes’ bodies. Many young people participate in competitive athletic events; enjoy watching televised sports, or both. The cultural and sociological aspects of this “ritualized warfare” are deeply ingrained in all of us, and if a science teacher can effectively link science to this natural competitive drive wonders might be achieved in terms of making science and mathematics relevant and interesting to transescents.
I have used sport and athletic concepts effectively in my own science and mathematics lesson plans over the years, including teaching positive and negative numbers in relation to the yard markers on a football field. I have also taught successful sport-related lessons on batting averages, winning percentages, velocity, force, and momentum, among other topics. I have seen many students of all ages complete excellent, even award winning, science fair and symposium research projects rooted in some aspect of athletic competition, as these topics seemed to motivate them when others could or would not. There are even examples of sport and science productively combining on television, including Sport Science, which is a popular show currently airing on the Fox networks, which incorporates scientific explanations and analysis of sporting phenomena with great effect. Connecting science concepts to prior knowledge and innate topics of interest for the students makes their perception of the subject more positive, and deepens their understanding.

Conclusion

I recently read an interview with Al Gore in Rolling Stone magazine, and I could not help but be struck by how some of his points concerning the environment, and our politics and society in general, paralleled and illuminated some of the themes of my paper. Mr. Gore referenced Thomas Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, and another, earlier book by Joseph Schumpeter. The books’ commonality was the idea of a “change in consciousness”, or “paradigm shift” in their respective realms of science and business. Mr. Gore believes these recognitions of new patterns to explain things that seem mysterious to an “old” way of thinking are necessary to address some of the problems our country is currently facing, and will face in the future. I believe science educators need to help bring about this type of fundamental change in the viewpoints of our students, possibly by incorporating some of the strategies I have explained here. Mr. Gore went on to express his belief in the importance of the Internet as a type of “free and universal library” that can serve many beneficial purposes, including those mentioned in this paper. He explains how the age of print lasted 500 years, and gave way to television for the last 60, and yet the Internet is poised to override that medium and be everything it is now, and more. As an aside, I do not believe Al Gore invented the Internet, and he did not make that claim in this particular article!
The issue of the image of science and the scientific community, and in particular its perception by middle year students and their desire to enter science-based careers, or at least be scientifically literate, is a complex and challenging one. Funding for technology to address the issues raised in this paper is available through a wide variety of granting entities. I advocate giving teachers the grant-writing skills and freedom of opportunities to pursue their own classroom funds through these avenues, and develop and apply their own personal initiatives, and incorporate effective professional development programs they have been exposed to. Pre-service teachers in university-level teacher preparation programs need to be guided in utilizing popular culture, technology, and interaction with real scientists and mathematicians in the most effective manner possible in their future classrooms. Partnerships with entities such as NASA that have a vested interest in a scientifically literate population are potentially fruitful venues to achieve the goal of making science interesting and exciting and dispose of negative stereotypes. Inclusion of admirable scientific role models, meaningful history of science, accurate and relevant mass media presentations, and proper utilization of newer technologies such as the Internet and video games may all contribute to effecting a positive change in transescent students’ attitudes toward science and the scientific community. Classroom teachers are at the forefront of instituting these changes and bear great responsibility in the process, along with working scientists, parents, administrators, school boards, and university teacher-preparation programs.
[1] College of Education, University of Oklahoma, Norman OK 73072, USA.
[2] Department of the History of Science, University of Oklahoma, Norman OK 73072, USA.
[3] D. W. Chambers (1983). Stereotypic images of the scientist: the draw-a-scientist test. Science Education, 67, 255-65.
[4] Weingart, P., Muhl, C., & Pansegrau, P. (2003). Of power maniacs and unethical geniuses: science and scientists in fiction film. Public Understanding of Science, 12, 279-287.
[5] Terzian, S. G., & Grunzke, A. L. (2007). Scrambled eggheads: ambivalent representations of scientists in six Hollywood film comedies from 1961 to 1965. Public Understanding of Science, 16, 407-419.
[6] Flicker, E. (2003). Between brains and breasts-women scientists in fiction film: on the marginalization and sexualization of scientific competence. Public Understanding of Science, 12, 307-318.
[7] Dingwall, R., & Aldridge, M. (2006). Television wildlife programming as a source of popular scientific information: a case study of evolution. Public Understanding of Science, 15, 131-152.
[8] Rose, C. (2003). How to teach biology using the movie science of cloning people, resurrecting the dead, and combining flies and humans. Public Understanding of Science, 12, 289-296.
[9] Jorg, D. (2003). The good, the bad, and the ugly: Dr. Moreau goes to Hollywood. Public Understanding of Science, 12, 297-305.
[10]Kirby, D. A. (2003). Scientists on the set: science consultants and the communication of science in visual fiction. Public Understanding of Science, 12, 261-278.
[11] Figuring It Out: Science, Gender, and Visual Culture. Ed. Ann B. Shteir and Bernard Lightman. (Hanover and London, Dartmouth College Press, 2006).

[12] Weingold, M. F., & Treise, D. (2004). Attracting teen surfers to science web sites. Public Understanding of Science, 13, 229-248.
[13] Thomas J. (2007). Ducks and STEM education for elementary classroom teachers: case study research leading to a new professional development model. Draft not yet published; contact Julie Thomas, Oklahoma State University, College of Education, Stillwater OK 74078.
[14] Henry H. Bauer, Scientific Literacy and the Myth of the Scientific Method, (Urbana and Chicago, University of Illinois Press, 1994).
[15] Douglas Allchin, "Why Respect for History-and Historical Error-Matters.", Science & Education 15 (2006): 91-111
[16] Anton Lawson, "What Does Galileo's Discovery of Jupiter's Moons Tell Us About the Process of Scientific Discovery?" Science & Education 11 (2002): 1-24.
[17] Hsingchi A. Wang and David D. Marsh, "Science Instruction with a Humanistic Twist: Teacher's Perception and Practice in Using the History of Science in Their Classrooms", Science & Education, 2002, 11:169-189.

Book Review

2007-11-16T07:22:00.000-08:00

Golan, Tal. (2004). Laws of Men and Laws of Nature: The History of Scientific Expert Testimony in England and America. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. Pp. 325. ISBN-10 0-674-02580-6 (pbk.). $22.95

Abstract:
Tal Golan’s book Laws of Men and Laws of Nature: The History of Scientific Expert Testimony in England and America is a relatively brief and thoroughly engaging treatment of an important yet mostly neglected topic, and should be of interest to students, teachers, and practitioners of both science and law.

Book Review:
In light of the public’s recent interest in the intersections of science and the law, as well as the incorporation of forensics into many science classes, Tal Golan’s Laws of Men and Laws of Nature: The History of Scientific Expert Testimony in England and America (2004, Harvard University Press) is a fascinating, well-written, and thoroughly researched perspective on this neglected topic, covering the last few centuries. Comprised (disappointingly) of only six chapters, it is a relatively brief, yet engrossing and clever history that leaves the reader wanting more, particularly from this author, who has an engaging but scholarly writing style. Chronological and yet contextual in style, the first chapter of the book deals with the earliest appearances of science in matters of law in Europe, while chapters two and three address legal and scientific issues in Victorian England and later across the Atlantic in America, as the industrial revolution brings about a deluge of litigation. The remaining chapters are concerned with, in order, the development, utilization, and acceptance into the courts of microscopic blood analysis techniques, x-ray images, and polygraph technology.
According to Golan, recurrent themes that seemed to resonate vividly concerning scientific expert testimony in American and English courts of law, both in the Victorian and modern eras, were the conundrum of conflicting scientific opinions, as well as the financial issue of whether scientists should be paid for their testimony or not. In addition, the ability of jurors, judges, and lawyers to understand and effectively utilize scientific concepts in courts of law to achieve fair and accurate legal outcomes was an essential issue. For science educators, this book should reinforce that a general public that is equipped with a fair degree of scientific literacy, coupled with critical thinking skills, is a highly desired and valuable product. This principle is the same over the centuries and across the oceans, regardless of whether a case involves heating whale oil, patent litigation over a chemical process, medical malpractice, advances in microscopy, x-ray technology, DNA, or polygraph tests.
The “professionalization” of science was a hastened tremendously in Victorian times. Meetings, journals, societies, correspondences between scientists, and industrialization of scientific developments all contributed to this, but surprisingly the paid testimony of scientists in court cases seemed to also be one of the most prominent factors. Up to this point in time, the practice of science was mostly limited to landed gentlemen and aristocracy who took up science as a way to spend their otherwise idle time, since they did not have to work for a living, and this group seemed particularly critical of what they perceived as the “prostitution” of science in the courtroom. This divide, particularly in England, between the wealthy gentlemen who indulged their spare time as scientists and those who actually made their living from testifying, collecting, writing, and experimenting, continued to grow. In America, on the other hand, the use of science to make a living or even achieve great wealth was not seen as being a danger to the “purity” of science and its quest for knowledge and understanding of the natural world.
Another major theme of this book is the visual nature of much of the scientific evidence and testimony in a legal setting, and the potential for variability, or even unscrupulousness, in its interpretation. The author discusses how photographs, microscopic evidence, and x-ray exposures could be interpreted from both a subjective and objective view point. Is such evidence to be taken at face value for what it represents, or should the human element of the production and interpretation of this type of evidence be given precedence? Who is qualified to obtain such evidence, and further, to interpret and explain it? Golan’s answer is that some types of visual evidence, such as surveillance camera footage, can stand alone and essentially speak for it self, while other types, such as x-ray images, require a trained and trusted specialist to produce the image and clarify its meaning. Golan discusses in an enlightening manner how new technologies such as lie-detectors were gradually accepted by the courts and society in general, and how scientific court room testimony sometimes contributed to the creation of entirely new disciplines and specializations in science and medicine, with new knowledge often originating when experiments were recreated for the benefit of the courts.

Was it the adversarial nature of the courts, or the moral and ethical degradation of the scientists involved that created the greatest problems for expert scientific testimony over the centuries? The apparent conflict between the procedures of law and methods of science seem to Golan to be the root cause, especially that lawyers, judges, and jurors who lacked scientific backgrounds and knowledge were being asked to decide cases on their scientific merit. The author goes further, expounding that scientists were not entirely at fault, when they appeared to be at odds on the witness stand. The vagaries of science, from differing methods and interpretations, are part of what make it a unique enterprise. One never “closes the books” on any scientific topic, believing that we know everything there is to know about it. The reproducibility and nature of continuous questioning in science served to instigate many of the apparent conflicts with the absolute nature of law and the legal system. This is not to say that there were not some devious charlatans or even legitimate, well-meaning scientists who in effect did indeed sell their testimony to the highest bidder at times.
One of the few reservations about this book was the absence of any in-depth treatment on DNA technology and its role in the modern courtroom. It is also possible the author did the reader a disservice by not presenting and discussing at least some of the major cases in which the “mad doctors” of insanity trials played a role. Golan unfortunately glosses over these potentially significant episodes by stating they are covered sufficiently elsewhere, and it would have been enlightening to see how the “soft sciences” played out in court, especially in relation to how the “hard sciences” were involved, both in the Victorian and modern ages. Of course, Golan devotes an entire chapter to the development and early use of lie-detectors or polygraph machines, which again seems incongruous to me, in terms of discussing one aspect of psychology and the law and not the other. Nevertheless, chapters five and six, on the use of x-ray images and polygraph results in court, illuminate the greatest difference in the early and later chapters. As the twentieth century dawned, new technologies like these created a demand for specialists to administer, supervise, and explain the results in court and likewise for the courts to accept them as the valid procedures and evidence they were. This continues even today with new medical imaging, DNA, and other forensic technologies.
Overall Laws of Men and Laws of Nature is a fascinating and informative read on a mostly neglected yet important topic, and it will definitely enhance anyone’s knowledge of the history of expert scientific testimony in courts of law. For science educators, this reading also reinforces that teachers have the responsibility of being sure their students understand that science is an inquiry-based and dynamic process, and not just a static collection of facts. Just as there is historically no one definitive “scientific method”, students must be aware that science is open-ended, accomplished through a variety of techniques, its results are subject to interpretation, and its theories are subject to change as new data become available. Scientists, science teachers and students, and productive and responsible citizens in general should all be open-minded and receptive of new thoughts and points of view on any given topic. At the same time, the population should also be scientifically literate and prepared to think critically and be skeptics if necessary. Golan’s book brings to mind the long-running advertisements that suggest that “four of five dentists recommend product X”. Students need to be aware that these dentists and their opinions, like many of the scientific expert witnesses and their testimony in this book, should be subject to scrutiny and must be considered in the context in which they and their opinions are presented. This includes the dynamic nature of science, possible financial entanglements, and the social and legal climate of the time and place in question. This book is heartily recommended for science educators, students, attorneys and anyone interested in forensics, law, or science.

Summer Science Institutes Literature Review

2007-11-16T07:20:00.001-08:00

Introduction
The Need for More Effective Science Teaching
Every week the news media is full of stories describing concerns about America’s competitiveness in a global economy and decline in our standing as a world leader in science and technology. Entities ranging from the president to the National Science Board to local school boards and even individual teachers have pointed to the lack of student proficiency on national and international tests of mathematics and science and the decline of students pursuing science and engineering degrees from universities nationwide as a cause for economic and societal apprehension and concern. It is also evident that some of the most critical and fastest growing occupations are dependent upon a knowledge base in science and mathematics. Solutions to these concerns include starting students as early as possible in inquiry-based science programs taught by proficient and knowledgeable teachers comfortable with the use of technology and the nature of science and inquiry. This can partially be brought about by effective constructivist, inquiry-based professional development workshops and institutes and with mentorship by practicing scientists particularly in the summer months and in association with institutions such as natural history museums, school districts, and universities.

Science teacher self-efficacy, science literacy, and understanding of the nature of science all seem to be strongly linked to an understanding of the nature of inquiry (Akerson and Hanuscin, 2006). Professional development workshops and institutes with an emphasis on research activities and constructivist, inquiry-based science likewise seem to be the most effective and practical ways to bring this about (Radford, 1998). Both pre-service and in-service teachers seem to benefit from these types of activities, particularly in the summer and in association with institutions such as museums and universities, as do their schools and their individual students (Melber and Cox-Peterson, 2005). Loucks-Horsley and Matsumoto (1999) have emphasized the link between effective professional development and its impact on student achievement. It is imperative to undertake more studies of this type to reinforce and support this viewpoint, and then to design and implement workshops of this nature and encourage as much active participation by our nation’s science teachers as possible (Johnson, 2007).

Discussion
Science Professional Development Models

Low science teacher self-efficacy, failure to employ learning cycles in lesson development, technology deficits, and a lack of understanding of the nature of inquiry in scientific disciplines may contribute to lowered student achievement. Relevant components of competent science teaching may be increased through effective professional development workshops and summer science institutes. Methods of remediation in summer science workshops may include participation in generating and carrying out learning cycles, authentic scientific research projects with an expert mentor, utilization of appropriate technologies, and presentations on the effectiveness and types of learning cycles. It may also be possible to follow up in subsequent months and years with the targeted teachers, schools, and even monitor specified corresponding levels of student achievement. General models of science professional development used previously include curriculum development, mentoring, lesson study, teacher-directed study groups, action-research programs, and immersion experiences (Loucks-Horsley, et al, 2003).

This model proposes to incorporate elements of immersion, technology, curriculum generation and development, and mentoring of research projects by practicing scientists to create and implement a truly effective professional development model for K-12 science educators. Howe and Stubbs (1996) developed a useful and promising constructivist/sociocultural model for the professional development of science teachers. The central vehicle of their model is a series of institutes where teachers first listen to scientists present recent research findings and then write classroom activities using and adapting the information and ideas presented. Their results indicate that many of these teachers have now become empowered to assume responsibility for their own professional development, and even assume positions of leadership in their schools, districts, and state organizations. In another study (Westerlund, et al, 2002) clearly indicated that a professional development model of prolonged engagement in research activity mentored by practicing scientists can be successful at promoting teacher change towards more inquiry teaching, enhance their knowledge of science content, and increase their enthusiasm for teaching science. Morrison and Estes (2007) stated that using scientists and real-world scenarios in professional development for middle school science teachers was an effective strategy for encouraging them to teach science as a process and help them strengthen their science content understanding. A study from Australia found that a professional development model mentoring of elementary school teachers by university science professors has positive short-term implications for implementing constructivist science teaching strategies and facilitating the understanding of science content by the teachers (Koch and Appleton, 2007).

Problems with Traditional Science Teaching Methods and Professional Development Activities

The literature suggests that students need to “learn more than can be absorbed from simply reading about science-they need to do science, becoming critical thinkers and evaluators of what they observe and learn” to compete in today’s rapidly changing world (Rhoton and Bowers, 2001, p. 13). The state of Oklahoma’s Priority Academic Student Skills (PASS) and the National Science Education Standards (NSES) recommend an inquiry approach to science teaching. Unfortunately many new and even experienced teachers feel ill-equipped to meet this challenge. Many K-12 school teachers have never been involved in a science inquiry investigation (Kielborn & Gilmer, 1999). Teachers use textbooks or cookbook type laboratories to teach science to their students. Textbook readings, note-taking, and cookbook lab activities give students the impression that science is scripted and that every experiment provides the correct answer. These types of activities do not accurately reflect the investigative and historically varied nature of scientific inquiry and do not require students to develop the critical thinking skills needed to compete in our changing world.

Evidence of Effectiveness of Inquiry-Based Science Professional Development

There is much in the scientific educational research literature to support the idea that inquiry-based science instruction can be extremely effective. Chun and Oliver (2000) found significant gains in science teacher self-efficacy during a two-year study involving participation in inquiry-based professional development workshops. In 2004, Jarvis and Pell demonstrated similar increases in science teachers’ attitudes and cognition and corresponding student achievement gains during and after professional development activities. Likewise, a seven-year study in Iowa found tremendous gains in student achievement when science teachers designated as team leaders undertook ongoing training in constructivist teaching strategies advocated by the National Science Education Standards (Kimble, Yager, and Yager, 2006). Raudenbush, Rowan, and Cheong (1992) found that the level of teacher preparation was a strong predictor of self-efficacy in the science classroom, and engaging in highly collaborative environments such as professional development workshops and institutes helped to facilitate this. Luft (2001) noted that an inquiry-based professional development program positively impacted both the beliefs and practices of secondary science teachers. Supovitz and Turner (2000) indicated a strong link between the quantity of professional development in which teachers participate and the level of inquiry-based teaching practice and investigative classroom culture. Another study found that professional development linking theory and practice through curriculum decision making had a profound influence on decisions concerning classroom environments, especially when the teachers were engaged and mentored by university scientists and science educators, and informed by theoretical perspectives of science teaching (Parke and Coble, 1998).

Summary/Conclusion

This review of the literature supports a professional development model that expects to 1) increase the scientific literacy and efficacy of K-12 school teachers by providing authentic scientific inquiry experiences with technology that promote an understanding of the nature of inquiry in scientific disciplines and 2) present teachers with an approach to science teaching that translates this genuine inquiry experience into classroom practice. Clearly, the evidence provided by prior research suggests that such a model should be effective in achieving these goals. The author’s own personal experience also suggests that this type of professional development, with an emphasis on authentic, mentored research and generation of inquiry-based curricula, can have a profound impact on both a personal, as well as a school or district-wide basis. This involves shifting from a traditional didactic and textbook-driven science curriculum to a more inquiry-based, constructivist one and professional development institutes and workshops are the most practical and appropriate means to achieve these goals.

References

Akerson, V. L., & Hanuscin, D. L. (2007). Teaching nature of science through inquiry: results of a 3-year professional development program. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 44, 653-680.

Chun, S., & Oliver, J. (2000). A quantitative examination of teacher self-efficacy and knowledge of the nature of science. 2000 Annual Meeting of the Association for the Education of Teachers in Science.

Howe, A. C., & Stubbs, H. S. (1996). Empowering science teachers: a model for professional development. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 8, 167-182.

Jarvis, T., & Pell, A. (2004). Primary teachers’ changing attitudes and cognition during a two-year in-service programme and their effect on pupils. International Journal of Science Education, 26, 1787-1811.

Johnson, C. C. (2007). Effective science teaching, professional development and No Child Left Behind: barriers, dilemmas, and reality. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 18, 133-136.

Johnson, C. C., Kahle, J. B., & Fargo J. D. (2006). A study of the effect of sustained, whole –school professional development on student achievement in science. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 10, 1-12.

Kielborn, T., Gilmer, P., & Southeastern Regional Vision for Education (SERVE), T. (1999). Meaningful science: teachers doing inquiry + teaching science. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED434008) Retrieved June 13, 2007, from ERIC database.

Kimble, L. L., Yager, R. E., & Yager, S. O. (2006). Success of a professional-development model in assisting teachers to change their teaching to match the more emphasis conditions urged in the National Science Education Standards. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 17, 1007-1021.

Koch, J. & Appleton, K. (2007). The effect of a mentoring model for elementary science professional development. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 18, 209-231.

Loucks-Horsley, S., Love, N., Stiles, S. E., Mundry, S., & Hewson, P. W. (2003). Designing professional development for teachers of science and mathematics: second edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Loucks-Horsley, S. & Matsumoto, C. (1999). Research on professional development for teachers of mathematics and science: the state of the scene. School Science and Mathematics, 99, 213-233.

Luft, J. A. (2001). Changing inquiry practices and beliefs: the impact of an inquiry-based professional development programme on beginning and experienced secondary science teachers. International Journal of Science Education, 23, 517-534.

Melber, L. M., & Cox-Peterson, A. M., (2005). Teacher professional development and informal learning environments: investigating partnerships and possibilities. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 16, 103-120.

Morrison, J. A., & Estes, J. C. (2007). Using scientists and real-world scenarios in professional development for middle school science teachers. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 18, 165-184.

Parke, H. M. & Coble, C. R. (1998). Teachers designing curriculum as professional development: a model for transformational science teaching. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 34, 773-789.

Radford, D. L. (1998). Transferring theory into practice: a model for professional development for science education reform. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 35, 73-88.

Raudenbush, S. W., Rowan, B., & Cheong, Y. F., (1992). Contextual effects on the self-perceived efficacy of high school teachers. Sociology of Education, 65, 150-167.

Rhoton, J., Bowers, P., & National Science Teachers Association, A. (2001). Professional development planning and design. Issues in science education. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED449040) Retrieved June 13, 2007, from ERIC database.

Supovitz, J. A. & Turner, H. M. (2000). The effects of professional development on science teaching practices and classroom culture. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 37, 963-980.

Westerlund, J. F., Garcia, D. M., Koke, J. R., Taylor, T. A., & Mason, D. S. (2002). Summer scientific research for teachers: the experience and its effect. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 13, 63-83.

Summer Science Professional Development Workshops and Science Teacher Self-Efficacy and Knowledge of the Nature of Inquiry

2007-08-10T08:54:00.000-07:00

Every week the news media is full of stories describing concerns about America’s competitiveness in a global economy and decline in our standing as a world leader in science and technology. Entities ranging from the president to the National Science Board to local school boards and even individual teachers have pointed to the lack of student proficiency on national and international tests of mathematics and science and the decline of students pursuing science and engineering degrees from universities nationwide as a cause for economic and societal apprehension and concern. It is also evident that some of the most critical and fastest growing occupations are dependent upon a knowledge base in science and mathematics. Solutions to these concerns include starting students as early as possible in inquiry-based science programs taught by proficient and knowledgeable teachers comfortable with the nature of science and inquiry, and this can partially be brought about by effective inquiry-based professional development workshops and institutes, particularly in the summer months.

Possible Methods of Remediation

Low science teacher self-efficacy and lack of understanding of the nature of inquiry in scientific disciplines may contribute to lowered student achievement because of less effective teaching. Relevant components of competent science teaching may be increased through effective professional development workshops and summer science institutes. Methods of remediation in summer science workshops may include participation in generating and carrying out Learning Cycles, authentic scientific research projects with an expert mentor, and presentations on the effectiveness and types of Learning Cycles. A Learning Cycle is a teaching philosophy in which the students gather data, the teacher helps them develop the concept of interest, and then together they expand and apply the concept. Instruments to be administered to judge the effectiveness of a workshop may include a Demographic Information Survey, the Science Teacher Efficacy Belief Instrument (STEBI-B Pre/Post), a qualitative Nature of Inquiry Pre/Post component, and a Summative Post-workshop Survey. It may also be possible to follow up in subsequent months and years with the targeted teachers, schools, and even specific, corresponding levels of student achievement.

Problems with Traditional Science Teaching Methods

The literature suggests that students need to “learn more than can be absorbed from simply reading about science-they need to do science, becoming critical thinkers and evaluators of what they observe and learn” to compete in today’s rapidly changing world (Rhoton and Bowers, 2001, p. 13). The state of Oklahoma’s Priority Academic Student Skills (PASS) and the National Science Education Standards (NSES) recommend an inquiry approach to science teaching. Unfortunately many new and even experienced teachers feel ill-equipped to meet this challenge. Most K-12 school teachers have never been involved in a science inquiry investigation (Kielborn & Gilmer, 1999). Teachers use textbooks or cookbook type laboratories to teach science to their students. Textbook readings, note-taking, and cookbook lab activities give students the impression that science is scripted and that every experiment provides the correct answer. These types of activities do not accurately reflect the investigative and historically varied nature of scientific inquiry and do not require students to develop the critical thinking skills needed to compete in our changing world. This study expects to 1) increase the scientific literacy and efficacy of K-12 school teachers by providing authentic scientific inquiry experiences that promote an understanding of the nature of inquiry in scientific disciplines and 2) present teachers with an approach to science teaching that translates this genuine inquiry experience into classroom practice.

Evidence of Effectiveness of Inquiry-Based Science Professional Development Workshops

There is much in the scientific educational research literature to support positive answers to the questions posed above. A reliable measure of science teacher self-efficacy is necessary to evaluate the pre- and post-effects of workshops and other training methods, and the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (STEBI-B) has been used by many of the studies cited here, as well as in others (Enochs and Riggs, 1990). Chun and Oliver (2000) found significant gains in science teacher self-efficacy during a two-year study involving participation in inquiry-based professional development workshops. In 2004, Jarvis and Pell demonstrated similar increases in science teachers’ attitudes and cognition and corresponding student achievement gains during and after professional development activities. Likewise, a seven-year study in Iowa found tremendous gains in student achievement when science teachers designated as team leaders undertook ongoing training in constructivist teaching strategies advocated by the National Science Education Standards (Kimble, Yager, and Yager, 2006). Raudenbush, Rowan, and Cheong (1992) found that the level of teacher preparation was a strong predictor of self-efficacy in the science classroom, and engaging in highly collaborative environments such as professional development workshops and institutes helped to facilitate this.

Discussion

Science teacher self-efficacy seems to be strongly linked to an understanding of the nature of inquiry, and by extension so does greater student achievement in science. Professional development workshops and institutes with an emphasis on research activities and inquiry-based science likewise seem to be one of the most effective and practical ways to bring this about. Both preservice and inservice teachers seem to benefit from these types of activities, as do their schools and their individual students. It is imperative to undertake more studies of this type to reinforce and support this viewpoint, and then to design and implement workshops of this nature and encourage as much active participation by our nation’s science teachers as possible.

Purpose of Research

The objective of this research project is to evaluate the effectiveness of a summer science professional development workshop in increasing the scientific literacy and efficacy of participating K-12 school teachers, and increase the use of inquiry-based curricula in K-12 classrooms. The research questions to be posed are: 1) Does participation in a professional development experience with authentic scientific research and inquiry-based teaching components increase science teaching efficacy among K-12 teachers? 2) Does participation in a professional development experience with authentic scientific research and inquiry-based teaching components increase use of inquiry-based approaches in classroom instruction among K-12 teachers? 3) Does participation in a professional development experience with authentic scientific research and inquiry-based teaching components change attitudes of K-12 teachers towards teaching science and the nature of inquiry?
References

Akerson, V. L., & Hanuscin, D. L. (2007). Teaching Nature of Science through Inquiry: Results of a 3-Year Professional Development Program. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 44, 653-680.

Chun, S., & Oliver, J. (2000). A Quantitative Examination of Teacher Self-Efficacy and Knowledge of the Nature of Science. 2000 Annual Meeting of the Association for the Education of Teachers in Science.

Enochs, L., & Riggs, I. (1990). Further Development of an Elementary Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument: A Preservice Elementary Scale. School Science and Mathematics, 90, 694-706.

Jarvis, T., & Pell, A. (2004). Primary teachers’ changing attitudes and cognition during a two-year in-service programme and their effect on pupils. International Journal of Science Education, 26, 1787-1811.

Johnson, C. C., Kahle, J. B., & Fargo J. D. (2006). A Study of the Effect of Sustained, Whole –School Professional Development on Student Achievement in Science. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 10, 1-12.

Kielborn, T., Gilmer, P., & Southeastern Regional Vision for Education (SERVE), T. (1999). Meaningful Science: Teachers Doing Inquiry + Teaching Science. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED434008) Retrieved June 13, 2007, from ERIC database.

Kimble, L. L., Yager, R. E., & Yager, S. O. (2006). Success of a Professional-Development Model in Assisting Teachers to Change Their Teaching to Match the More Emphasis Conditions Urged in the National Science Education Standards. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 17, 1007-1021.

Raudenbush, S. W., Rowan, B., & Cheong, Y. F., (1992). Contextual Effects on the Self-perceived Efficacy of High School Teachers. Sociology of Education, 65, 150-167.

Rhoton, J., Bowers, P., & National Science Teachers Association, A. (2001). Professional Development Planning and Design. Issues in Science Education. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED449040) Retrieved June 13, 2007, from ERIC database.

Literature Review Outline and Reference List

2007-06-11T10:10:00.000-07:00

Summer Science Professional Development Workshops and Science Teacher Self-Efficacy

I. Low science teacher self-efficacy and lack of understanding of inquiry, the nature of science, and concept development in lesson design may contribute to lowered student achievement and less effective teaching

II. Relevant components of effective science teaching that may be increased through effective professional development workshops
a. High science teacher self-efficacy
b. Understanding of the nature of science
c. Understanding of the nature of inquiry
d. Effective concept development through proper lesson design
e. More use of inquiry-based components in the classroom

III. Methods of remediation in summer science workshops
a. Participation in generating and carrying out Learning Cycles
b. Authentic scientific research projects with an expert mentor
c. Presentations on effectiveness and types of Learning Cycles

IV. Instruments to be administered to evaluate effectiveness of workshops
a. Demographic Information Survey
b. Qualitative Inquiry Component
c. Qualitative Lesson Design and Concept Development
d. Nature of Science Scale (NOSS)
e. Science Teacher Efficacy Belief Instrument (STEBI-B)
f. Understanding the Learning Cycle (ULC)
g. Summative Participant Survey (SPS)

V. Discussion

Annotated Reference List:

Chun, S., & Oliver, J. (2000). A Quantitative Examination of Teacher Self-Efficacy and Knowledge of the Nature of Science. 2000 Annual Meeting of the Association for the Education of Teachers in Science. This study indicated that teacher self-efficacy and beliefs about the nature of science are not easily changed, but increases in both were shown over the course of this three year study.

Enochs, L., & Riggs, I. (1990). Further Development of an Elementary Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument: A Preservice Elementary Scale. School Science and Mathematics, 90, 694-706. This paper showed the STEBI-B to be a valid and reliable instrument for determining science teachers’ self-efficacy, and compared the self-efficacy level of scientists, science teachers, and philosophers.

Jarvis, T., & Pell, A. (2004). Primary teachers’ changing attitudes and cognition during a two-year in-service programme and their effect on pupils. International Journal of Science Education, 26, 1787-1811. This two year study demonstrated increases in the science teachers’ confidence, self-efficacy, attitudes to managing science in the classroom and understanding of science when participating in the workshops.

Kimble, L. L., Yager, R. E., & Yager, S. O. (2006). Success of a Professional-Development Model in Assisting Teachers to Change Their Teaching to Match the More Emphasis Conditions Urged in the National Science Education Standards. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 17, 1007-1021. This paper showed how science teachers’ use of constructivist strategies increased in the classroom after in-service training, and a corresponding rise in student achievement.

Raudenbush, S. W., Rowan, B., & Cheong, Y. F., (1992). Contextual Effects on the Self-perceived Efficacy of High School Teachers. Sociology of Education, 65, 150-167. This study showed how self-efficacy can vary from teacher to teacher, and how it can be related to the level of students being taught, amount of control over key working conditions, and working in highly collaborative environments.

A Learning Cycle: Forces

2007-03-29T08:16:00.000-07:00

Forces: A Learning Cycle

Science Concept: A force is a push or a pull. Unbalanced forces cause motion, balanced forces do not.

Age/Grade of Students: 6-8th graders, mostly
10 to 14 years old.

TEACHER’S GUIDE

Forces: A Learning Cycle

Concept:

A force is a push or a pull. Unbalanced forces cause motion, balanced forces do not.

Materials:

Open area with 5-10 m diameter circle, rope, block of wood with hooks in opposite ends, two spring scales, gloves, helmets, paper, and pencil

Safety:

A soft or grassy surface is preferred, and helmets and gloves are recommended for both the “reverse sumo” and tug of war.

Procedures:

See Teacher’s and Student’s Guides

Assessment:

-Completion and class discussion of questions on student’s guide.
-Appropriate practice problems.
-Quiz or test.
-Completion of Expansion(s) with discussion and observation to facilitate and confirm student understanding.

TEACHER’S GUIDE

“A TUG OF WAR”

EXPLORATION PART A:

TEACHER NOTE: Explain each setup and have students make predictions before each game.
On the first setup evenly split the class into two separate teams.
On the second setup move 5 players from the red team and put them on the blue team to create a team with a larger number. (Numbers may vary depending on class size.)
On the third setup pick students who are the strongest and put them on the team with the lowest number of players. (Keep the ration the same as in the second setup.) For each setup, play 3 games and have students record their information between each trial.

Prediction 1:

Who do you think will win the most of three games? RED BLUE (circle one)

Why? Answers will vary. Students may say something about strength or size

because the numbers are the same.

Prediction 2:

Who do you think will win the most of three games? RED BLUE (circle one)

Why? Students will probably say the blue team will win because they have more

people.

Prediction 3:

Who do you think will win the most of three games? RED BLUE (circle one)

Why? Students will either predict the team with the strongest members OR the

team with the most members. Either will be accepted.

TEACHER’S GUIDE

Number on each team
Game 1
Game 2
Game 3
Team with most wins
Red _____
Blue_____

Red _____
Blue_____

Red _____
Blue_____

You may want to make a copy of the table for the overhead or put the table on the board.

When the teams were even who won the most games? Why? Answers will vary,

Explanation may be because a student is stronger or bigger.

When the teams were uneven who won the most games? Why? Students may

say the team that had the most people.

When the teams were divided by size, who won the most games? Why? Students

may say the team with the most members or the team with the stronger players.

Were your predictions correct or incorrect? Explain. Answers will vary.

TEACHER’S GUIDE

PUSHING EACH OTHERS “BUTT”ONS

EXPLORATION PART B:

TEACHER NOTE: The gym was suggested because it already has circles on the floor. You may also want to tape down a 2m X 2m square to use if you want more than one group to go at a time. Teacher will line up 2 students back-to-back at the center line. When the teacher blows the whistle the students will attempt to push each other out of bounds. The students may not use their hands to accomplish this and must stay back-to-back. If they fall or become disconnected they reconnect and begin again. The game ends when one student is pushed out of the circle or square. Have students record the winner in their table.

1. Who won the most games in your group? Explain why this happened.

Answers will vary depending on results.

2. Did the size of the person determine who won? Why or why not?

Answers will vary depending on results.

TEACHER’S GUIDE

IDEA

Go over the answers to the IDEA page.
Students may not come up with the idea that a force is a push or pull. Teacher may have to invent the term force. It needs to be stated that the change in motion that is experienced in these activities indicates that a force is present. For example, when the rope is not in motion and is stopped, a force is applied. Teacher should also express to students that even if the object is not moving a force may still be applied.

1. During the tug of war game, was the rope in motion before the rope was

touched? The rope was not in motion before it was touched.

2. How do you know if the rope was or was not in motion? We know the rope

was not in motion because the bandana was not moving toward or away from

the reference point.

3. What observations about the rope did you make when the game of tug of war

began? What caused this to happen? Answers may include the rope is

moving or starts moving. Students may say this is caused because they are

pulling on it. Some students may also bring the term force out at this time.

4. At any point in the game was the rope not in motion? If so, when and why?

The rope was not in motion when both teams were pulling with the same

strength on both ends.

5. In exploration A, what action was taking place? pulling

6. In exploration B, what action was taking place? pushing

7. Do the actions in the explorations have the ability to cause an object to move?

Yes, both pulling and pushing can cause an object to move or change

direction.

TEACHER’S GUIDE

IDEA CONT.,

8. Are the actions described above, considered to be forces? Explain. At this

point, hopefully students can say yes because pushing or pulling is applying

a force.

9. What idea do you have about forces? Students should say that a force is a

push or pull and can cause a change in motion.

10. Do forces always cause the object to move? Explain. Forces do not cause

objects to move. For example, in the tug of war game when the equal force is

being applied to both sides of the rope.

11. Give your definition of what a force is. Answers will vary but students should

state that a force is a push or a pull. Unbalanced forces cause motion,

balanced forces do not.

TEACHER’S GUIDE

“A BALANCING ACT”

EXPANSION
Teacher may want to make an overhead or put on the board the tables so that the results may be discussed as a group. Teacher also needs to explain the proper use of a spring scale.

Procedure:
1. Using the tape the teacher provides, tape a center line on the desk.
2. Place the object evenly on the center line.
3. Attach a spring scale to each side of the object.
4. Each person pulls with a force of 1 Newton.
5. Determine whether or not the object is in motion using the tape line as a reference point.
Student #1 Force

Student #2 Force
Did the object move?
Were forces equal?
Are the forces working in the same or opposite direction?
1N

1 N

Repeat activity with one student pulling with a force of 1 Newton while the other
Student does not apply a force.

Student #1 Force
Student #2 Force
Did the object move?
Were the forces equal?
Are the forces working in the same or opposite direction?
1N

0 N

Repeat activity with both students pulling with a force of 1 Newton on the same
side of the object.

Student #1 Force
Student #2 Force
Did the object move?
Were the forces equal?
Are the forces working in the same or opposite direction?

TEACHER’S GUIDE

Balance forces are when the forces are equal or unequal.

Balance forces cause motion or do not cause motion.

Unbalanced forces are when the forces are equal or unequal.

Unbalanced forces cause motion or do not cause motion.

Give a definition of balanced forces based on your information or observation.

Balanced forces are when equal forces are applied in opposite directions.

Give a definition of unbalanced forces based on your information or observation.

Unbalanced forces are unequal forces applied in opposite directions. Students

may also say when 2 forces applied in the same direction.

Give an example of a real life situation in which there are unbalanced forces.

Students may say kicking a soccer ball, closing a door, opening a drawer. Other

possible answers will be accepted.

Give an example of a real life situation in which there are balanced forces.

Answers may include leaning against a wall, telephone lines being held up or

other possible answers.

When the forces were applied in the same direction was it a balanced or

unbalanced force on the object? Explain. When forces are applied in the same

direction it will be an unbalanced force because there is nothing to prevent the

start of motion.

STUDENT’S GUIDE

“A TUG OF WAR”

EXPLORATION PART A:

Materials:
Tug of war rope
Gym or large area
Bandana

Procedure:
1. The rope is positioned so that the bandana is placed on the half court line.
2. Your teacher will divide the class into 2 EVEN teams.
3. Your teacher will assign your team a color and a specific end of the rope.
4. Your teacher will tell you when to start pulling.
5. When half of the team passes the center court line, the game is over and the teacher will instruct you to drop the rope.
6. Make a prediction before the game begins.

Prediction 1:
Who do you think will win the most of three games? RED BLUE (circle one)

Why? ____________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

Now the teacher will divide the class into 2 different teams.

Prediction 2:
Who do you think will win the most of three games? RED BLUE (circle one)

Why? ____________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Now the teacher will divide the class into different teams again.

Prediction 3:
Who do you think will win the most of three games? RED BLUE (circle one)

Why? ____________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

STUDENT’S GUIDE

TUG OF WAR CONT.,

Complete the data table with the results of each game by filling in the team that won.

Number on each team
Game 1
Game 2
Game 3
Team with most wins
Red _____
Blue _____

Red _____
Blue _____

Red _____
Blue _____

1. When the teams were even who won the most games? Why? ___________________

_______________________________________________________________________

2. When the teams were uneven who won the most games? Why? _________________

________________________________________________________________________

3. When the teams were divided by size, who won the most games? Why? __________

________________________________________________________________________

4. Were your predictions correct or incorrect? Explain. __________________________

________________________________________________________________________

STUDENT’S GUIDE

PUSHING EACH OTHERS “BUTT”ONS

EXPLORATION PART B:

Procedure:
1. Find a partner (only 2 per group).
2. Your teacher will instruct you where to line up back to back.
3. When the teacher blows the whistle, begin pushing your partner. You must stay back to back and you may NOT use your hands.
4. Repeat the procedure 2 more times.
5. Record the name of the winner in the table below.

Student #1 __________________________ Student #2 ___________________________

Trial 1
Trial 2
Trial 3
Most Wins

Find 2 other groups and record their information below.

Student 1__________________ vs. Student 2 __________________ Winner __________

Student 1__________________ vs. Student 2 __________________ Winner __________

Who won the most games in your group? Explain why this happened.

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Did the size of the person determine who won? Why or why not?

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

STUDENT’S GUIDE

IDEA

During the tug of war game, was the rope in motion before the rope was touched?

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

How do you know if the rope was or was not in motion? ____________________

__________________________________________________________________

What observations about the rope did you make when the game of tug of war

began? What caused this to happen? ___________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

At any point in the game was the rope not in motion? If so, when and why?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

In the exploration A, what action was taking place? ________________________

__________________________________________________________________

In the exploration B, what action was taking place? ________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Do the actions in the explorations have the ability to cause an object to move?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Are the actions described above, considered to be forces? Explain. ___________

__________________________________________________________________

STUDENT’S GUIDE

IDEA CONT.,

What idea do you have about forces? ___________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

Do forces always cause the object to move? Explain. ______________________

__________________________________________________________________

Give you definition of what a force is. __________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

STUDENT’S GUIDE

EXPANSION

Procedure:
1. Using the tape the teacher provides, tape a center line on the desk.
2. Place the object evenly on the center line.
3. Attach a spring scale to each side of the object.
4. Each person pulls with a force of 1 Newton.
5. Determine whether or not the object is in motion using the tape line as a reference point.
Student #1 Force

Student #2 Force
Did the object move?
Were forces equal?
Are the forces working in the same or opposite direction?
1N

1 N

Repeat activity with one student pulling with a force of 1 Newton while the other
Student does not apply a force.

Student #1 Force
Student #2 Force
Did the object move?
Were the forces equal?
Are the forces working in the same or opposite direction?
1N

0 N

Repeat activity with both students pulling with a force of 1 Newton on the same
side of the object.

Student #1 Force
Student #2 Force
Did the object move?
Were the forces equal?
Are the forces working in the same or opposite direction?

STUDENT’S GUIDE

Underline the bold word that completes the sentence correctly.

Balance forces are when the forces are equal or unequal.

Balance forces cause motion or do not cause motion.

Unbalanced forces are when the forces are equal or unequal.

Unbalanced forces cause motion or do not cause motion.

Give a definition of balanced forces based on your information or observation.

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Give a definition of unbalanced forces based on your information or observation.

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Give an example of a real life situation in which there are unbalanced forces.

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Give an example of a real life situation in which there are balanced forces.

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

When the forces were applied in the same direction was it a balanced or

unbalanced force on the object? Explain. _______________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Bibliographic Note:

Edmund Marek and Timothy Laubach, "Bridging the Gap between Theory and Practice: A Success Story from Science Education", (M. Gordon, T. O'Brien (eds.), Bridging Theory and Practice in Teacher Education, 47-59. copyright 2007 Sense Publishers.

Edmund Marek and Ann Cavallo, The Learning Cycle: Elementary School Science and Beyond, (Portsmouth NH, Heinemann, 1997).

PASS Objectives, Oklahoma State Board of Education, 2002.

National Science Education Standards from the National Academy of Sciences, 1995.

“Interrogations”on Scientific American Articles

2007-03-28T09:20:00.000-07:00

Abstract

Group oral quizzes based on notes students have taken from Scientific American articles are an effective means of developing, expanding, and applying science concepts.

Interrogations!!!

Don’t let the term “interrogations” scare you away from the idea of using relatively advanced science magazine and even journal articles to facilitate concept development and expansion in your learning cycles. This teaching method has been given this somewhat intimidating name at least somewhat affectionately by the students subjected to them, and many former students have reported back that as far as college preparation in high school was concerned, nothing helped them more than our friendly “interrogations”, regardless of their major.

I began my teaching career in 1988 in El Paso, Texas at Coronado High School, considered at the time the top academic high school in that area. After “paying my dues” for all of two years teaching mostly remedial math and science while “floating” from one classroom to another each period, I was fortunate enough to be able to move into teaching the Honors Biology I and II courses due to the retirement of Mr. Rayburn Ray. Mr. Ray was an educational icon at Coronado and around El Paso county, having taught there for 35 years. He and his courses were renowned for their rigor, his test scores were always among the best in the county and district, and a large number of his students went on to be successful in research, education, and medicine, often citing Mr. Ray as a prime influence and motivator who helped spark and drive their success. Although the El Paso school district provided specific and detailed curriculum guides keyed to state TAAS (Texas Assessment of Academic Skills) and national objectives for each course, there was still some latitude for the individual teachers to use specific teaching techniques and methods of their own preference. Mr. Ray left behind all of his teaching materials upon his retirement, taking only his coffee mug and a few other personal effects, and the only thing he insisted I do as he did was to maintain and continue to include what he and the students referred to as “interrogations”. He even went so far as to have me visit his classroom several times during my conference period the year before he left, so that I could observe the mechanics and protocol of the interrogations myself, so after he left I could do them correctly in my own classroom.

Scientific American articles have several advantages and positive features that make them useful in this format, particularly for advanced high school students with a solid background in basic science. This includes the progression in how they are written, from general to specific, and often including a relevant and fascinating historical context as well. The articles are a good bridge to introducing students to actual scientific papers from journals, because they are written by the actual researchers and deal with topics of advanced and current research, but as more of a science magazine they are less “science-centric” in that they are more easily understandable. The articles also often include outstanding graphics, tables, and charts that elucidate critical concepts from the article and the research it sprang from. Another plus concerning Scientific American is the occasional special issue, concerned only with articles pertaining to a specific topic such as AIDS or immunology, and featuring articles by several of the world’s experts in the particular topic. I have experimented with using lower-level articles from science sources such as National Geographic Reader, Owl, Muse, and Discovery for Kids for younger and/or less advanced students, with mixed but encouraging results, and I feel this is something that could be tested and developed further.

The basic mechanics and procedure of the interrogations are as follows. Upon completion of a unit in Honors Biology II (later AP and/or IB Biology), students are assigned one or more articles concerned with that topic. They are given from one day to up to week depending on the number of articles and their degree of difficulty and complexity to take notes on the article(s). On the day of the interrogation the students are divided randomly into groups ranging from two to no more than five or six. The classroom’s furniture is arranged into a horseshoe configuration with the teacher at the open end, and students are dispersed by groups, with their notes. The teacher must have prepared a series of questions and answers from the day’s article, progressing from easier and more general to more difficult and specific as the articles themselves are written. The teacher asks the first group a question, and the students may discuss among themselves who is going to answer, but not the actual answer to the question. Once a student is designated to answer, they may refer to their notes, but are encouraged to not read verbatim from them, but instead formulate an answer in their own words based on their notes. A grade is assigned subjectively by the teacher, and the students at the end receive a cumulative group grade. Questioning continues to the next group, and the same question may be repeated until it is answered to the teacher’s satisfaction. Because the students never know who is going to be in their group and they receive a group grade, there is a sense of cohesiveness and not wanting to let their classmates down that fuels the dissection, note taking, and understanding of the article. Questions and answers (whether right or wrong!) often serve as a springboard for further in-depth discussion of a topic as well. One 45-55 minute class period is usually required for a single interrogation, although more than one article may be served if they are shorter in length or content. Students are even encouraged to communicate with the article’s author(s), and this has even led to students undertaking summer internships with one of the researchers!

I believe this activity helps students to learn to think, which should be the goal of all educational processes, and most importantly think critically, employing several of the rational powers. It helps toward meeting the National Science Education Standards’ vision of a scientifically literate populace, specifically the K-12 Unifying Concepts and Processes Standards that “provide students with productive and insightful ways of thinking about and integrating a range of basic ideas that explain the natural and designed world”. In Oklahoma the PASS (Priority Academic Student Skills) for secondary science are met by this method because virtually any of the content standards may be addressed, as well as the literacy benchmarks and even some of the “Science Process and Inquiry” standards. This classroom technique is also ideally suited as an Expansion activity in a Learning Cycle, and could even be used to facilitate Concept Development. From Piaget’s point of view then, the organization of mental structures is facilitated by the use of articles in this way.

In conclusion these oral quizzes and discussions are in my opinion one of the most effective and enjoyable ways to teach, develop, and organize science concepts I have come across, and I hope you will give it, or your own variation of it, a try in your classroom soon.

Bibliographic Note:

Scientific American

Edmund Marek and Ann Cavallo, The Learning Cycle: Elementary School Science and Beyond, (Portsmouth NH, Heinemann, 1997).

PASS Objectives, Oklahoma State Board of Education, 2002.

National Science Education Standards from the National Academy of Sciences, 1995.

The Nature of the Learner and the Learning Cycle

2007-03-07T06:03:00.000-08:00

The Learning Cycle allows science to be taught as a process, not as a static collection of facts to be memorized. It also organizes the concepts and terms that are learned in a way that reduces the world around a student to a logical system. The central purpose of American education is, or should be, teaching the ability to think. That is, for the general populace to be able to follow step-wise instructions and evaluate data (Exploration), formulate an explanation and/or viewpoint and use appropriate terminology (Concept Development), and extend and apply it to their lives (Expansion). This correlates to the steps of the Learning Cycle, which are in parentheses above. As the student initially collects data the rational powers of comparing, inferring, and recalling are used. This data must be organized, classified, recalled, and analyzed, all of which are likewise rational powers. In the second phase of the Learning Cycle the student must interpret and draw generalizations from the data in order to develop the new concept, and calls upon the rational powers of inferring, comparing, recalling, and synthesizing. In the third phase of the Learning Cycle the student must expand the concept by explaining, predicting, and applying the generalizations, patterns, and models developed previously. This requires the rational powers of imagining, evaluating, and deducing as well as the others.

This teaching approach also correlates to Piaget's model of mental functioning, or how we learn, and there is neurobiological research that further supports the notion that this is how our brains operate as well. The first phase of the Learning Cycle lends to Piaget’s concept of Assimilation as new information (good data) is acquired from the environment. Disequilibrium occurs as the new data is temporarily in conflict with the student's current viewpoint. In Concept Development this conflict is reconciled as Accommodation, or an understanding of the new mental function, occurs. In Expansion the Organization of the new concept is locked in as the student practices and applies it through various means.

Human intelligence is a concept that can be difficult to define, or defined in various ways. For our purposes the intelligence of an individual can be defined as consisting of four components:
· Quality of Thought (Stages) Model
· Mental Functioning
· Mental Structures
· Mental Content
The four stages of cognition or quality of thought are in order, sensorimotor, which is from birth to roughly 2.5 years old and is characterized by object permanence and language development. This is followed by the preoperational stage from approximately 2 to 7 years of age in which children imitate, play, and talk but are also characterized by egocentrism and irreversibility. Next is the concrete operational stage from 6 or 7 years of age to between 15 and 20 in which the child begins to use the mental operations of seriation, classification, correspondence, reversal, decentering, and inductive and deductive reasoning. The final stage is called formal operational and in it hypothetico-deductive and abstract thought is finally realized. The four factors associated with cognitive development, or movement through the stages, are:
· Maturation
· Physical and Logical-Mathematical Experiences
· Social Interaction and Transmission
· Disequilibrium
It is changes in the mental structures and mental content that drive mental functioning in association with the Learning Cycle, as well as movement through the cognitive stages of development. In other words, mental structures are processes in the brain used to deal with incoming data, and differences in their nature and complexity distinguish one intellectual stage from another. Schemes are the basic unit of mental structures, and as new data is incorporated into existing structures assimilation occurs, as in the Exploration of a Learning Cycle. Disequilibrium, or the mismatch between pre-existing mental structures and what has occurred, causes new schemes to develop (also known as accommodation, associated with Concept Development of a Learning Cycle). These new schemes or structured need to be properly aligned and placed among previous ones, and this is essentially organization, and can be brought about in the Expansion phase of a Learning Cycle. Mental content is how a child believes he or she sees the world.

I feel strongly that the Learning Cycle allows the teacher to teach science as the process it is, and incorporates the rational powers as well as Piaget's model of mental functioning and knowledge of the cognitive stages of development and how one moves through them to give the student the best chance to truly develop the ability to think, which should be the purpose all education.

Bibliographic Note:

Edmund Marek and Timothy Laubach, "Bridging the Gap between Theory and Practice: A Success Story from Science Education", (M. Gordon, T. O'Brien (eds.), Bridging Theory and Practice in Teacher Education, 47-59. copyright 2007 Sense Publishers.

Edmund Marek and Ann Cavallo, The Learning Cycle: Elementary School Science and Beyond, (Portsmouth NH, Heinemann, 1997).

PASS Objectives, Oklahoma State Board of Education, 2002.

National Science Education Standards from the National Academy of Sciences, 1995.

Making Learning A Never-Ending Story

2007-03-01T14:50:00.000-08:00

This article is about "illustrations that instruct".

This article deals with the creation of large murals to teach or reinforce sometimes difficult concepts learned by the students in a science classroom. The author believes that “illustrations that instruct”, as first put forth by Richard Mayer’s reference groundwork in 1993, can use scientific drawings to capture information pictorially and aid student understanding immensely. This technique can be used to help teach or reinforce a single concept in the Concept Development phase of a Learning Cycle, and it can be employed in the Expansion phase of the Learning Cycle to extend a concept or tie several related concepts together in a more general sense. I feel it could even be used in the Exploration phase of the Learning Cycle, as in the habitat drawings of the Learning Cycle I prepared for the Project Wet, Wild, and Learning Tree class we just concluded. I chose this article because I believe based on my own teaching experience that making murals and pictorial representations of science concepts can greatly enhance student understanding, and that article supports my view and also lends itself to use in Learning Cycles. I have in the past had students make murals or large-scale flow charts of topics ranging from the taxonomic diversity of life to the geologic time scale.

More research is cited in the article, such as Edens and Potter (2003) that supports this technique as a viable way for students to learn scientific concepts, and the author himself reports that his ninth grade biology classes produced the highest Biology End-Of-Course (EOC) test scores in the Charlotte-Mecklenberg (North Carolina) schools beginning in 1994. Since then other teachers in the area have adopted his methods with similar results.

The author feels it is important to take a narration or concept and adapt it to visual images, and he refers to this process as diagramming. He lists three rules that must be followed:

The direction and relationships of the components of the concept must be made clear using relevant connectors (arrows with reasons written across them).
Diagrams should dominate.
Explanations must accompany every picture.

Rough drafts are done on connected sheets of 8.5 x 11 inch paper that can be folded accordion-style into students’ notebooks. After several revisions, the final drafts are done on large, scrolling butcher paper. Stencils may be provided and colors are not applied until everything is penciled in first. Students usually present their final projects in class as well.

The author states that diagramming helps toward meeting the National Science Education Standards’ vision of a scientifically literate populace, and he feels strongly that no technique he has used has been as well received or used more successfully in this way. Specifically, the K-12 Unifying Concepts and Processes Standards that “provide students with productive and insightful ways of thinking about and integrating a range of basic ideas that explain the natural and designed world” are well addressed with this activity. It also satisfies four of the five components of National Science Education Content Standard E concerning technological design:

Design a solution or product.
Implement a proposed design.
Evaluate completed technological designs or products.
Communicate the process of technological design.

In conclusion, I agree that diagramming is a valuable tool for the science teacher and student that can enhance the student’s grasp of a science concept. I base this opinion on my own experience, as well as this article and the additional research referenced within it. I also feel that this technique can be useful in developing and expanding a concept, or linking two or more concepts together, from one or more Learning Cycles, thereby making this article relevant to this course.

Bibliographic Note:

Ralph T. Pillsbury, "Making Learning A Never-Ending Story", Science Scope, December 2006, Volume 30, Number 4, pages 22-26.

A Learning Cycle-Project WILD

2007-02-20T06:40:00.000-08:00

“Everybody Needs a Home” - Project Wild

Teacher’s Guide

Grade Level(s): K-4

Subject(s):
Interdisciplinary
Arts/Visual Arts
Science/Animals

Duration: 35 - 40 minutes

Description: Animals need a place in which to find food and water. They also need enough space in which to live and find the food, water and shelter they need. Home is more like a "neighborhood" that has everything in it that is needed for survival. The major purpose of this activity is for students to realize that animals need a home.

Goals: Students will be able to generalize that people and other animals share a basic need to have a home for survival.

Objectives: Students will be able to:
draw a picture of their homes
discuss the differences and similarities between homes
explain why people, animals, and birds need a home

Materials:
drawing paper
crayons
pictures of animals and where they live

Exploration:
1. Ask students to draw a picture of where they live – or to draw a picture of the place where a person they know lives. Ask the students to include pictures in their drawing of the things they need to live where they do; for example, a place to cook and keep food, a place to sleep, and a neighborhood. 2. Once the drawings are finished, have a discussion with students about what they drew. Ask the students to point out the things they need to live that they included in their drawings. 3. Make a “gallery of homes” out of the drawings. Point out to the students that everyone has a home. 4. Ask the students to close their eyes and imagine: a bird's home, an ant's home, a beaver's home, the President's home, their home. 5. Show the students pictures of different places that animals live. 6. Discuss the differences and similarities among the different homes with the students. Talk about the things every animal needs in its home: food, water, shelter and space in which to live, arranged in a way that the animal can survive. 7. Summarize the discussion by emphasizing that although the homes are different, every animal – people, pets, farm animals and wildlife – needs a home. 8. Talk about the idea that a home is actually bigger than a house. In some ways, it is more like a neighborhood. For animals, we can call that neighborhood a “habitat”. People go outside their homes to get food at a store, for example. Birds, ants, beavers and other animals have to go out of their “houses” (places of shelter) to get the things they need to live.

Concept Development:
1. Name three reasons why people need homes and three reasons why animals need homes.
2. Draw a picture of an animal in its habitat and tell how the habitat meets the animal's needs for survival.
Expansion:
1. Pick an animal and research where it lives, then use clay and other materials to build a model and present it to the class
2. Take the students outside and look for animal shelters
3. Draw a picture of a home for an aquatic species

Useful Internet Resources:

Canada's Aquatic Environments http://www.aquatic.uoguelph.ca/
National Wildlife Federation--Backyard Wildlife Habitat http://www.nwf.org/backyardwildlifehabitat/

“Everybody Needs a Home” - Project Wild

Student’s Guide

Materials:
drawing paper
crayons
pictures of animals and where they live

Exploration:
1. Draw a picture of where you live – or draw a picture of the place where a person you know lives. Include pictures in your drawing of the things they need to live where they do; for example, a place to cook and keep food, a place to sleep, and a neighborhood.
2. Once the drawings are finished, have a discussion with the teacher and other students about what they drew. Point out the things they need to live that they included in their drawings.
3. Make a “gallery of homes” out of the drawings, by taping your drawings to the wall.
4. Close your eyes and imagine: a bird's home, an ant's home, a beaver's home, the President's home, their home.
5. Look at pictures of different places that animals live.
6. Discuss the differences and similarities among the different homes with the other students and teacher. Talk about the things every animal needs in its home: food, water, shelter and space in which to live, arranged in a way that the animal can survive.

Concept Development:
1. Name three reasons why people need homes and three reasons why animals need homes. 2. Draw a picture of an animal in its habitat and tell how the habitat meets the animal's needs for survival.

Expansion:
1. Pick an animal and research where it lives, then use clay and other materials to build a model and present it to the class
2. Go outside with your class and look for and try to identify animal shelters
3. Draw a picture of a home for an aquatic species

Philosophical Underpinnings of Lesson

This lesson is a Learning Cycle because the students are given a task, drawing various homes and/or habitats, and then the teacher helps them develop an understanding of why homes are important for virtually all organisms and what factors they should provide for an organism’s survival, as well as the survival of its offspring. Terms such as habitat, resources, environment and so on may even be introduced. The assessment and expansion allow students to further develop and reinforce the concepts. The structure of science is met because the students sequentially apply a process to develop a concept or set of facts and terms and then expand them and even apply them to their own lives.

This lesson meets the central purpose of American education because students are developing the ability to think, and are specifically using the rational powers of comparing, inferring, and recalling in the first phase of drawing. In the second phase of this Learning Cycle the student must interpret and draw generalizations from the data (drawings) in order to develop the new concept of the importance of shelter, and calls upon the rational powers of inferring, comparing, recalling, and synthesizing. In the third phase of this Learning Cycle (the assessment and expansion) the student must expand the concept by explaining, predicting, and applying the generalizations, patterns, and models developed previously by producing and presenting a three-dimensional model. This requires the rational powers of imagining, evaluating, and deducing.

National standards are met because in the National Science Education Standards (NSES) content requirements, “Organisms and Environments” are listed under Level K-4. It also meets the Unifying Concepts and Process Standards of “Evidence, Models, and Explanation”, as well as “Form and Function”. Also, the process of science is clearly shown in this Learning Cycle, and these standards are given as:

· Understanding of scientific concepts.
· An appreciation of "how we know" what we know in science.
· Understanding of the nature of science.
· Skills necessary to become independent inquirers about the natural world.
· The dispositions to use the skills, abilities, and attitudes associated with science

The state of Oklahoma’s Priority Academic Student Skills (PASS) are also satisfied by this lesson as the Process Standards for grades K-4 of Observation, Classifying, Inquiring, Interpreting, and Communicating are all covered. In Grades One and Three, there are Content Standards under Life Science called “Characteristics and Basic Needs of Organisms”, so this unit is also conforming to state standards.

Bibliographic Note:

Project Wild K-12 Curriculum and Activity Guide, Council for Environmental Education, 2004 PASS Objectives, Oklahoma State Board of Education, 2002.http://sde.state.ok.us/home/defaultie.htmlNational Science Education Standards from the National Research Council, 1995.http://books.nap.edu/readingroom/books/nses/Educational Policies Commission. (1961). the central purpose of American education.

The Relationship between the Nature of Science, the Learning Cycle, and the Central Purpose of American Education

2007-02-14T12:59:00.000-08:00

How does the Learning Cycle allow science to be taught as scientists define science and how does the Learning Cycle allow students to achieve the central purpose of American Education?

The Learning Cycle allows science to be taught as the process it actually is and has been historically, not as a static collection of facts to be memorized as it has historically and unfortunately often been taught. It also organizes the concepts and terms that are learned in a way that reduces the world around a student to a logical system, much as a pile of bricks compares to the same bricks organized into a house or other useful structure. The central purpose of American education is, or should be, teaching the students in such a way they can develop the ability to think. That is, for a student/citizen to be able to follow instructions with teacher guidance to collect and evaluate good data (Exploration), formulate an explanation and/or viewpoint and use appropriate terminology (Concept Development), and then extend and apply it to his or her life. (Expansion). This correlates to the steps of the Learning Cycle, which are in parentheses above. The first phase of the inquiry-based Learning Cycle is called Exploration because new information (good data) is acquired. Disequilibrium occurs as the new data is temporarily in conflict with the student's current viewpoint. In Concept Development this conflict is reconciled as an understanding of the new concept occurs and appropriate terminology is put into place. In Expansion the organization of the new concept is locked in and developed further as the student practices, extends, and applies it through various means such as more labs, readings, practice problems, discussions, computer simulations, videos, and so on.

The Central Purpose of American Education was issued as a 21-page pamphlet by the Educational Policies Commission of the National Education Association in 1961. The focus of the report is quoted as "The purpose which runs through and strengthens all other educational purposes—the common thread of education—is the development of the ability to think.” The ability to think draws upon the use of the ten rational powers, which are discussed below. Some other points quoted from the document are:

¶ It is "crucial that the teacher possess a thorough knowledge of the material to be taught," as well as mastery of teaching methods.
¶ "The school must foster not only desire and respect for knowledge but also the inquiring spirit. It must encourage the pupil to ask: 'How do I know?' as well as 'What do I know?' "
¶ Schools should teach "the strategies of inquiry by which man has sought to extend his knowledge and understanding of the world."
¶ the need is for "that kind of education which frees the mind and enables it to contribute to a full and worthy life. To achieve this goal is the high hope of the nation and the central challenge to its schools."

This led to the development of national standards for science education such as the National Science Education Standards (NSES) by the National Research Council and the Benchmarks for Science Literacy by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Standards like these state that “Inquiry is central to science learning. When engaging in inquiry, students describe objects and events, ask questions, construct explanations, test those explanations against current scientific knowledge, and communicate their ideas to others. They identify their assumptions, use critical and logical thinking, and consider alternative explanations. In this way, students actively develop their understanding of science by combining scientific knowledge with reasoning and thinking skills.”

Oklahoma’s Priority Academic Skills (PASS), which draw upon both of the above sets of national standards, also emphasizes inquiry-based instruction that requires the use of the rational powers and therefore helps develop “the skills and knowledge of a scientifically literate citizen”, and most importantly the ability to think. The PASS objectives also “build conceptual bridges between process and scientific knowledge”. It follows that the Learning Cycle teaching approach would be a logical means to accomplish these goals and objectives.

As the student initially collects data the rational powers of comparing, inferring, and recalling are used. This data must be organized, classified, recalled, and analyzed, all of which are likewise rational powers. In the second phase of the Learning Cycle the student must interpret and draw generalizations from the data in order to develop the new concept, and calls upon the rational powers of inferring, comparing, recalling, and synthesizing. In the third phase of the Learning Cycle the student must expand the concept by explaining, predicting, and applying the generalizations, patterns, and models developed previously. This requires the rational powers of imagining, evaluating, and deducing as well as the others. I feel strongly that the Learning Cycle allows the teacher to teach science as the process it is, and incorporates the rational powers as well to give the student the best chance to truly develop the ability to think, which should be the purpose of all education.

Bibliographic Note:

Edmund Marek and Timothy Laubach, "Bridging the Gap between Theory and Practice: A Success Story from Science Education", (M. Gordon, T. O'Brien (eds.), Bridging Theory and Practice in Teacher Education, 47-59. copyright 2007 Sense Publishers.

Marek, Gerber, and Cavallo, Literacy Through the Learning Cycle, http://www.ed.psu.edu/CI/Journals/1998AETS/t3_6_marek.rtfEdmund Marek and Ann Cavallo, The Learning Cycle: Elementary School Science and Beyond, (Portsmouth NH, Heinemann, 1997).

PASS Objectives, Oklahoma State Board of Education, 2002.

http://sde.state.ok.us/home/defaultie.html

National Science Education Standards from the National Research Council, 1995.

http://books.nap.edu/readingroom/books/nses/

Educational Policies Commission. (1961). The central purpose of American education.

Central Purpose of American Education

2007-02-11T10:51:00.000-08:00

This article was published in Time when the EPC first released its goals for American education. I found this to be interesting reading in light of my current assignments.

The Goal: How to Think

Friday, Jun. 09, 1961

Though education is its middle name, the teachers' organization known as the National Education Association has found it hard to define a simple and consistent goal for U.S. schools. In 1918 one famed N.E.A. group prescribed "health, command of fundamental processes, worthy home membership, vocational competence, effective citizenship, worthy use of leisure, and ethical character." In 1938 N.E.A.'s Educational Policies Commission called for "self-realization, human relationship, economic efficiency, and civic responsibility" (broken into 43 sub-goals, such as "efficiency in buying"). In 1951 N.E.A. undertook to provide ten more "values," including the Declaration of Independence's "pursuit of happiness."Last week the Educational Policies Commission issued a 21-page pamphlet, The Central Purpose of American Education, that puts aside vagueness and triviality. Said the 19-member* commission: "The purpose which runs through and strengthens all other educational purposes—the common thread of education—is the development of the ability to think."Having got that obvious but long-obscured target into focus, the pamphlet went on to say that "there is no known upper limit to human ability, and much of what people are capable of doing with their minds is probably unknown today." What is known is that "the rational powers of any person"—including the supposedly dull—"are developed gradually and continuously as and when he uses them successfully." Other points:

¶ It is "crucial that the teacher possess a thorough knowledge of the material to be taught," as well as mastery of teaching methods.

¶ "The school must foster not only desire and respect for knowledge but also the inquiring spirit. It must encourage the pupil to ask: 'How do I know?' as well as 'What do I know?' "

¶ Schools should teach "the strategies of inquiry by which man has sought to extend his knowledge and understanding of the world."

¶ The need is for "that kind of education which frees the mind and enables it to contribute to a full and worthy life. To achieve this goal is the high hope of the nation and the central challenge to its schools."

* Headed by Chicago's Superintendent of Schools Benjamin C. Willis, and including Dean John H. Fischer of Teachers College, Columbia University; Historian-Columnist (New York Post) Max Lerner; President O. Meredith Wilson of the University of Minnesota

Bibliographic Note:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,938127,00.html?promoid=googlep

The Nature of Science, The Learning Cycle, and The Central Purpose of American Education

2007-02-09T11:58:00.000-08:00

How does the Learning Cycle allow science to be taught as scientists define science and how does the Learning Cycle allow students to achieve the central purpose of American Education?

The Learning Cycle allows science to be taught as a process, not as a static collection of facts to be memorized. It also organizes the concepts and terms that are learned in a way that reduces the world around a student to a logical system. The central purpose of American is, or should be, teaching the ability to think. That is, for a student/citizen to be able to follow step-wise instructions and evaluate data (Exploration), formulate an explanation and/or viewpoint and use appropriate terminology (Concept Development), and then extend and apply it to their lives (Expansion). This correlates to the steps of the Learning Cycle, which are in parentheses above. It also correlates to Piaget's model of mental functioning, that is, how we learn, and there is neurobiological research that further supports the notion that this is how our brains operate as well. The first phase of the Learning Cycle lends to Assimilation as new information (good data) is acquired. Disequilibrium occurs as the new data is temporarily in conflict with the student's current viewpoint. In Concept Development this conflict is reconciled as Accomodation, or an understanding of the new mental function, occurs. In Expansion the Organization of the new concept is locked in as the student practices and applies it through various means. as the student initially collects data the rational powers of comparing, inferring, and recalling are used. This data must be organized, classified, recalled, and analyzed, all of which are likewise rational powers. In the second phase of the Learning Cycle the student must interpret and draw generalizations from the data in order to develop the new concept, and calls upon the rational powers of inferring, comparing, recalling, and synthesizing. In the third phase of the Learning Cycle the student must expand the concept by explaining, predicting, and applying the generalizations, patterns, and models developed previously. This requires the rational powers of imagining, evaluating, and deducing as well as the others. I feel strongly that the Learning Cycle allows the teacher to teach science as the process it is, and incorporates the rational powers as well as Piaget's model of mental functioning to give the student the best chance to truly develop the ability to think, which should be the purpose all education.

Bibliographic Note:

Edmund Marek and Timothy Laubach, "Bridging the Gap between Theory and Practice: A Success Story from Science Education", (M. Gordon, T. O'Brien (eds.), Bridging Theory and Practice in Teacher Education, 47-59. copyright 2007 Sense Publishers.

Marek, Gerber, and Cavallo, Literacy Through the Learning Cycle, http://www.ed.psu.edu/CI/Journals/1998AETS/t3_6_marek.rtf

Edmund Marek and Ann Cavallo, The Learning Cycle: Elementary School Science and Beyond, (Portsmouth NH, Heinemann, 1997).

http://sde.state.ok.us/home/defaultie.html (PASS Objectives, Oklahoma State Board of Education, 2002).

http://books.nap.edu/readingroom/books/nses/ (National Science Education Standards from the National Academy of Sciences, 1995).

The Nature of Science and the Learning Cycle

2007-02-03T12:46:00.000-08:00

In the Learning Cycle children engage in explorations of the world around them, and with the teacher's assistance develop ideas and concepts and then apply them to other areas as well as their own everyday lives. The key point here is the experiences (data collection) that the students have are then developed conceptually in the appropriate contexts. The students are learning by doing rather than being placid receptacles of information being fed to them by reading, lectures, notes, etc. The teacher is simply the guide and mentor who facilitates the process. The process of science itself then, is being employed to bring about understanding of the world and how it works. This is because, as several well-known scientists have phrased it with only slight differences in wording, in science we are trying to "coordinate our experiences into a logical system", "extend the range of our experience and reduce it to order", or "science is the quest for knowledge, not the knowledge itself". Regardless of which definition one prefers, the main point is that we cannot teach science without the process, which is the nature of science itself.

Bibliographic Note:

Edmund Marek and Ann Cavallo, The Learning Cycle: Elementary School Science and Beyond, (Portsmouth NH, Heinemann, 1997).

http://sde.state.ok.us/home/defaultie.html (PASS Objectives, Oklahoma State Board of Education, 2002).

http://books.nap.edu/readingroom/books/nses/ (National Science Education Standards from the National Academy of Sciences, 1995).

Keys to Success

2006-12-06T08:44:00.000-08:00

This article deals with identification of methods to help "nonmainstream" pupils make academic gains in all subject areas. The author has worked with students ranging from Native Hawaiians to Zuni and Navajo Indians to Latinos. Researchers from the Center for Research on Education, Diversity, and Excellence at the University of California-Santa Cruz have identified five standards as critical to improving learning for students from diverse ethnic, cultural, linguistic, or economic backgrounds:

Teachers and students "producing" together, whether they are producing knowledge or some tangible product
Developing students' language and literacy competence in all subjects
Connecting school and learning to students' lives, or "contextualizing" knowledge
Teaching complex thinking
Teaching through conversation rather than relying on lectures

I was pleasantly surprised at how well these standards coincided with or incorporated the prinicples of the Learning Cycle, reinforcing the idea that teaching science this way is and can be of great benefit to Native American students.

Bibliographic Note:

Debra Viadero, "Keys to Success", Education Week, 02774232, 4/21/04, Vol. 23, Issue 32

Education and the Law (Final Weekend)

2006-11-17T08:28:00.000-08:00

I have prepared two legal briefs on cases involving student searches, and completed a Resolution, Equity, and Advocacy Project. I have a comprehensive final exam this weekend, as well as a Legal Improvement and Social Justice Project to finish. I simply didn't realize just how little I, and most of my co-workers, know about legal issues that impact us and our profession on an everyday basis. This course has proven to be very enlightening and rewarding.

Education and the Law

2006-11-06T07:33:00.000-08:00

I spent most of this past weekend in class with Dr. Rossow and a cohort of teachers and coaches, most of them seeking administrative degrees. I am writing briefs and other projects, and learned quite a bit of educational law. For instance, there are approximately twelve Constitutional "tests" with which a teacher or administrator can plug in the facts of a given situation at school, and with a great deal of confidence predict the legal outcome, if any. I feel all educators, regardless of experience, need to be more informed about legal issues in their profession. As a science teacher I am particularly interested in liability issues concerning hand-on experiments and other activities which are the foundation of the Learning Cycle. Dr. Rossow is a wonderful teacher, and very knowledgeable, with years of practical experience as a teacher and administrator in grade schools.

Carolina Biological STC and STC/MS Programs

2006-10-26T08:13:00.000-07:00

We are at approximately the midterm point in school, and I feel I have used the STC (Science and Technology for Children) system enough now I can make some informed and relevant comments about it. Some of our students have more experience with it than others, due to class time being used for completion of science fair projects, and the science fair itself. My first point would be that as with any new curriculum or system there is a period of adjustment, both on the part of the teachers as well as the students. I could sense right away it will be so much more effective in subsequent years of use, for two main reasons; familiarity on the part of the teachers, and also because students have used different STC units in previous years. There is an emphasis on evaluation in smaller, but more frequent, increments. It will be interesting to see the overall standardized test scores over a period of five to ten years if the school continues to utilize it. There has been some of the (unfortunately) expected negativity from teachers who are "too busy teaching the three R's", especially in the lower grades. In my opinion it is a lack of motivation, and even a certain degree of squeamishness about working with live specimens, for instance, that this springs from. I am trying to help them get past that. This system is supposed to be based on the Learning Cycle, and in some units this is obvious, and in other units not so much. Overall I feel our students are embracing this method of learning science, and I even have reports of third graders clamoring for more science, and verbalizing how much they look forward to science time now.

Bibliographic Note:

http://www.carolina.com/carolina_curriculum/stc/index.asp

KIPP Schools

2006-10-26T08:08:00.000-07:00

A parent mentioned the KIPP Schools yesterday in the context of a conversation about emphasizing hands-on learning and the Learning Cycle. I was not familiar with them, but I intend to use my blog as a pretext for discovering what they are all about and how it may apply to my research and studies at OU.

Bibliographic Note:

http://www.kipp.org/

Chess and the Learning Cycle

2006-10-22T06:49:00.000-07:00

In continuing my line of thought from the previous post, I would like to explore how or if chess can be used to promote academic performance in general, and in science in particular. I never played until a few times as an undergrad at NSU. When I went to El Paso to teach at the high school level in 1988 I inherited the sponsorship of my new school's chess club by default. I quickly grew to see what appeared to be a strong connection between academic success and playing chess. I have since researched this idea and found a strong body of work suggesting a link between chess and grades, cognition, problem solving ability, self-esteem, and even long-term economic benefits! I will post some of these articles as I progress through my blog. At Maryetta, a K-8 school in rural NE Oklahoma, I approached my administration armed with such studies, and they have supported the introduction of a chess elective, club, and team. A Maryetta K-6 team even finished third in the state the first year they competed at that level. I also intend to try to tie chess tactics, strategy, and problems into the mode of the Learning Cycle, if possible.

Bibliographic Note:

http://www.okschess.org/

http://www.uschess.org/scholastic/

How can we generate enthusiasm and interest in academics, and in particular science?

2006-10-22T06:34:00.000-07:00

Following up on previous posts, I hope to explore ways to create, transfer, and maintain the excitement and interest we have in scholastic sports and parlay that into the same for academics, and in particular science and math. The first step, in my opinion, is to remove competitive athletics from the school day entirely. They should be in the after-school and weekend club format, like they use in Europe, for instance. This allows more actual class time for core subjects and electives. I remember in fifth grade at Cherokee Elementary in Tahlequah, Mr. Gary Kimball heightened our enthusiasm for arithmetic by having competitive "races" involving problem solving on the chalkboard, with prizes going to winners. Of course more emphasis on science fairs and symposia, quiz bowls, academic teams, writing contests, speech and debate and so on could incorporate our competitive nature into learning science and math as well. Another possibility would be what I call "science expositions" wherein students individually or in small groups demonstrate a concept from life or physical science in a booth. Parents, other students, and community members are invited to see and hear the students explain and demonstrate a relevant and interesting scientific topic. This could evolve from Learning Cycle based lessons in that the students would have developed their understanding of said topic through experience. Prizes could be awarded, and other schools could be invited to participate and compete as well. This idea also falls from the old axiom that I found to be true from personal experience, and that is you don't really understand something yourself until you teach it to someone else. I will research and post some related references on these ideas as well.

Why do we emphasize and value athletics over academics?

2006-10-16T08:39:00.000-07:00

This post is in response to Ike's comments concerning the "Fewer Teachers, More Coaches?" post earlier in the blog. I recalled some earlier readings I had done, and I wanted to take the opportunity to look up, cite, and discuss some more recent and hopefully more scholarly articles, essays, and books on the idea that we place so much emphasis on sports as "ritualized warfare" because it is ingrained in us culturally, psychologically, and even genetically.

Bibliographic Note:

Carl Sagan, Billions & Billions, Thoughts on Life and Death and the Brink of the Millennium, (New York, Random House, 1997). The late astronomer Carl Sagan provided readers with insights into the connection between hunting, athletic games and a sensibility of the spiritual world. Others have noted this nexus as well, including psychologist William James. Quoted by Sagan, James noted: “The hunting and the fighting instinct combine in many manifestations... It is just because human bloodthirstiness is such a primitive part of us that is so hard to eradicate, especially where a fight or a hunt is promised as part of the fun.” 1 Sagan presents us with the thesis that modern day competitive sports “are symbolic conflicts, thinly disguised” and may be the contemporary successors to earlier hunting rituals. By ancient standards, even the antics of the WWF (if you believe them to be real, and not scripted) or the most valiantly contested Super Bowl pale when compared to the brutality of ancient games. In Meso America, for instance, the Mayans and the Aztecs often used a “ball game” to resolve political differences with other tribal groups. The stakes were high; the loosing team was often killed or enslaved. Today’s $5 million signing bonuses, while extravagant, represent a degree of human progress. Indeed, a loss on the game field was sometimes considered as significant as a military defeat. Gods were worshipped and appeased so that the hunt, the game, the outcome of battle would all be successful. Our modern teams are not that different in other ways, either, from their earlier counterparts. We have the Chicago Bears and the Detroit Tigers; the !Kung of the Kalahari Desert of Botswana had jackals, wildcats and scorpions as their “totems.” They also had “owners,” which today is reserved only for management, not players, and other names which cities or schools may have trouble rooting for. Sagan lists totems like Lice, Bitter Melons, Penises, Short Feet, Big Talkers (perhaps apropos for a Washington, D.C. franchise?) and Diarrheas. From a historical standpoint, though, the evidence is compelling; our modern day athletic contests are rooted, in part, in ancient rituals and symbols having to do with hunting, the natural world, and the propitiation of supernatural forces. http://www.americanatheist.org/columns/ontar9-8-99.html

Don't Think of an Elephant!

2006-10-16T08:10:00.000-07:00

I ordered this book per Dr. Pedersen's recommendation and have already almost finished reading it. Let me begin by saying that the first presidential election I was able to vote in, I was suckered in by Ronald Reagan. I subsequently realized the error of my ways and registered Libertarian, and wasted votes through the 90s on their candidates. In the new century I have vacillated between Democratic and Independent candidates in most elections. The concept of framing can be very useful as put forth by Lakoff, and the cognitive aspects are illuminating and applicable in education and many other fields. I began to realize as I read through the book that something similar was happening to what happened to me many times this summer while blogging my history of science course. That is, concepts and ideas that I was intuitively aware of, or at least in agreement with, were being given names, placed in context, and "framed" if you will. I realize I have a lot to learn about my profession and life in general (as we all do!) but I am beginning to wonder if this is common among graduate students, and in particular those in a PhD program. Is the emphasis less on learning "new" things, and more on organizing, focusing, and again "framing" a lot of what we already know, and consequently then being able to use and aplly it/them more effectively? I think much of these thoughts are coming about for me because I do have almost twenty years of classroom experience.

Bibliographic Note:

George Lakoff, Don't Think of an Elephant! Know Your Values and Frame the Debate: The Essential Guide for Progressives, (Vermont, Chelsea Green Publishing, 2004). Don't Think of an Elephant! is the definitive handbook for understanding what happened in the 2004 election and communicating effectively about key issues facing America today. Author George Lakoff has become a key advisor to the Democratic party, helping them develop their message and frame the political debate.
In this book Lakoff explains how conservatives think, and how to counter their arguments. He outlines in detail the traditional American values that progressives hold, but are often unable to articulate. Lakoff also breaks down the ways in which conservatives have framed the issues, and provides examples of how progressives can reframe the debate.
Lakoff's years of research and work with environmental and political leaders have been distilled into this essential guide, which shows progressives how to think in terms of values instead of programs, and why people vote their values and identities, often against their best interests.
Don't Think of An Elephant! is the antidote to the last forty years of conservative strategizing and the right wing's stranglehold on political dialogue in the United States.
Read it, take action-and help take America back.

NSTA Reports

2006-10-12T11:22:00.000-07:00

In the interest of reading and discussing a wide variety of sources relating to my areas of interest, I intend to include some interesting and relevant articles from this newspaper. I have been a member of NSTA since 1995. This month there are articles about alternative certification, NCLB, a review of a book called Science for English Language Learners by the NSTA Press, picturing to learn, and a discussion concerning Pluto in the classroom.

Bibliographic Note:

NSTA Reports: Monthly Newsletter of the National Science Teachers Association, October 2006, Volume 18 Number 2

Science For All...

2006-10-02T10:40:00.000-07:00

This article from Educational Researcher focuses on equitable science education for students from non-English-language backgrounds (NELB) but the approaches outlined here can probably be applied to other diverse groups and subject areas. The authors propose the notion of "instructional congruence" as a way of making academic content accessible, meaningful, and relevant for diverse learners.

Bibliographic Note:

Okhee Lee and Sandra Fradd, "Science for All, Including Students From Non-English-Language Backgrounds", Educational Researcher, Vol. 27, No.4, pp12-21.

Fewer Teachers; More Coaches?

2006-09-29T08:31:00.000-07:00

This is an interesting essay I first read in a newspaper op-ed page, and later tracked down online. The author makes some insightful points about the emphasis of athletics in our schools (particularly in rural eastern Oklahoma), sometimes to the detriment of academics. He then discusses the feasibility of incorporating some of the techniques and attitudes of coaches into classroom teaching, including an emphasis on "drilling" and repetition. This of course brings up an interesting potential conflict, in my opinion, with the philosophy of the Learning Cycle.

Bibliographic Note:

Jason R. Edwards, The Center for Vision and Values at Grove City College, "Fewer Teachers; More Coaches", http://gcc.savvior.com/Edwards_Coach.php?view_all=1 , 9/22/05.

Education and the Law

2006-09-28T08:54:00.000-07:00

In November I have a three hour course at OU-Tulsa over two weekends called Education and the Law (EACS 6243) . I have obtained the required text and would like to comment on it periodically as I read ahead in anticipation of the class. I will also look up some more articles and web sites, with an emphasis on Johnson-O'Malley and other aspects of education pertaining to Native Americans. I also feel strongly that all educators should have a stronger grasp of education law, and particularly those in the Instuctional Leadership and Academic Curriculum program.

Bibliographic Note:

Lawrence F. Rossow and Jacqueline Stefkovich, Education Law: Cases and Materials, (Durham, North Carolina, Carolina Academic Press, 2005).

Learning Cycle Web Pages

2006-09-24T10:46:00.000-07:00

In order to further understand the Learning Cycle and take in various perspectives on it I have researched, compiled, and viewed a variety of web sites relating to this topic, some of which I have cited here. The web sites fluctuate greatly in reliability, in my opinion, and many credit no one directly for their content, but I felt as I begin to formulate a plan of attack for my own research I need to be aware of what diversity of viewpoints is available in this area.

Bibliographic Note:

Mark Waters, et al., Modular Trainers' Course, "The Experiential Learning Cycle", http://www.trainer.org.uk/members/theory/process/learning_cycle.htm, no date.

The Maryland Virtual High School of Science and Mathematics, "Learning Cycle Instructional Model", http://mvhs1.mbhs.edu/mvhsproj/learningcycle/lc.html, no date.

No author, "The Kolb Learning Cycle", http://faculty.css.edu/dswenson/web/PAGEMILL/Kolb.htm, no date.

Anthony W. Lorsbach, "The Learning Cycle as a Tool for Planning Science Instruction", http://www.coe.ilstu.edu/scienceed/lorsbach/257lrcy.htm , Illinois State University. I came across this succinct and informative web site while searching for articles, it encapsulates the Learning Cycle quite well, in my opinion.

History, Technology, and Native Populations

2006-09-20T17:21:00.000-07:00

These readings are intended to broaden and deepen my perspective and understanding of Native American cultures and their relationships with European settlers.

Bibliographic Note:

Jared Diamond, Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, (New York, W.W. Norton & Company, 1999). Most of this work deals with non-Europeans, but Diamond's thesis sheds light on why Western civilization became hegemonic: "History followed different courses for different peoples because of differences among peoples' environments, not because of biological differences among peoples themselves." Those who domesticated plants and animals early got a head start on developing writing, government, technology, weapons of war, and immunity to deadly germs. (Library Journal 2/15/97)

Charles C. Mann, 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, (New York, Random House, 2005). The book marshals evidence accumulated over the last several decades about pre-columbian human population and natural environments in the New World and concludes that human populations were much higher, more sophisticated, and more in control of the land than is commonly thought, in line with the earliest reports of Europeans such as Gaspar de Carvajal and Hernando de Soto.
Old World diseases spread through the Americas in great pandemics the century following 1492. Without these diseases, the conquest of the Aztec and Inca empires, as well as subsequent conquests, would have been impossible. Perhaps the most audacious observation in the book is that the Amazon Rainforest has been largely shaped by forgotten agricultural methods, including the creation of terra preta. (Wikipedia, 9/20/06)

Native American Science Education

2006-09-14T08:28:00.000-07:00

In this section I hope to find, read, and discuss some references relating specifically to science education and Native American student populations, as well as closely related topics. I was able to obtain the book Igniting the Sparkle... through InterLibrary Loan and have begun to read it.

The Science & Education article deals with two more unusual and interesting curricula: the Imagining Nature Project at Deakin University in Geelong, Victoria, Australia and the Native Eyes Project at the Institute of American Indian Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Both projects incorporate innovative and unique strategies to teach science to non-science majors of diverse cultural origin.

Bibliographic Note:

Gregory A. Cajete, Igniting the Sparkle: An Indigenous Science Education Model, (North Carolina, Kivaki Press, 1999). This book describes a culturally responsive, wholistic, Native American science curriculum the author has been teaching for 25 years.

David Wade Chambers, "Seeing a World in a Grain of Sand: Science Teaching in a Multicultural Context", Science & Education 8:633-644, 1999.

Reports on Educational Opportunity

2006-09-11T06:10:00.000-07:00

A few months ago I read a newspaper article about the death of Harvard statistician Charles Frederick Mosteller, and found out he had co-authored a book on educational opportunity with Patrick Moynihan in 1972. I have ordered the book and am awaiting its arrival. I felt this and related articles would be a good starting point leading into more specific articles on science instruction for Native Americans and in rural and poorer schools in general. It also gives me a historical perspective on education in the U.S. and some important societal and cultural milestones as well. I have also been reading my NSTA Reports (I am a member) for September 2006, and there some interesting articles on grant writing, No Child Left Behind, and science literacy.

So far I would say the overwhelming point I am taking from these readings is that a student's home, family, and socioeconomic situation may not be the only factors that determine their academic success, they are collectively by far the most important, far outweighing anything that has or can be done at school.

Bibliographic Note:

James S. Coleman et al. "Equality of Educational Opportunity Study (EEOS)" U.S. Office of Education (1966).

Charles Frederick Mosteller and Patrick Moynihan, On Equality of Educational Opportunity, (New York, Random House, 1972).

John F. Kain, "Equality of Educational Opportunity Revisited", New England Economic Review, 1996.

Initial Post of Individual Studies Course.

2006-09-07T08:50:00.000-07:00

I am still reading through this text, and am even in the process of incorporating some of the labs into my 6-8th curriculum. I will report on the results as they become available. In response to Dr. Pedersen's comments, in my previous position at the high school level in Texas we had district curriculum guides that laid out very specifically what, how, and when we were to teach a given topic, within a course. At the small, rural PreK-8 school I am at currently there has never been a prescribed curriculum in any course, including science. We did adopt the Carolina Biological STC/MS program last year, and implemented it this year, and it is grounded in the Learning Cycle philosophy. Obviously we have had previously much latitude in how we taught our courses, as long as our students were well-versed in the essential PASS objectives.

Based on what I knew coming in, as well as the reading I have done so far this semester, I believe the learning cycle to be a model of teaching, but I would like to know Dr. Pedersen's definitions of teaching approaches, models, and methods before I go any further.

The idea of knowledge construction as opposed to just presenting information to students for them to memorize, makes sense to me, but it is also requiring a turnabout from the methods by which I was taught in school for the most part, and even some of the teaching methods I employ myself. My teaching philosophy, in general terms, has evolved over a nearly twenty year career-spanning third grade through AP/IB/Honors high school seniors-to include as many different ways of presenting material to the students as possible. By that I mean in order to accomodate the various learning styles represented by the students in my classes I might give notes, assign readings, perform demonstrations, have student-driven hands-on labs, student oral reports and discussions, and more, all on the same topic. I realize now that I had in fact used Learning cycle methods without having been formally trained or recognizing the techniques as such. Of course this is all relative to teaching at the high school level for the first fifteen years, and I am adjusting to teaching middle and elementary school students with differing levels of cognition and development.

Bibliographic Note:

John Renner and Edmund Marek, The Learning Cycle and Elementary School Science Teaching, (Portsmouth, NH, Heinemann Educational Books, 1988). I borrowed this book from a coworker to investigate the Learning Cycle on my own.

Final Post of History of Science Course

2006-07-26T13:02:00.000-07:00

Although I have not quite finished the course work, and have to schedule one final visit to the Collections, I wanted to begin my final post partially so I could begin to document my general observations as they occur to me, but also because it is not clear when I will return to the Collections. I have visited three times already, and as I progress through my program at OU I hope to continue to make use of the Collections, as well as take at least one general survey course of the history of science during a regular semester. I also wanted to again thank Dr. Magruder and everyone at the Collections and OU libraries who have helped me. I wish to remind any readers of this blog that OU has a world-renowned History of Science Collections of which we should be proud, and to utilize it whenever possible. I cannot relate in words the impression and impact of holding and reading some of the original works at the Collections. I also wish to thank the readers of this blog, particularly those who provided feedback.

One of the main points I learned this summer is to be aware of pseudoscience, pseudohistory, Whiggism, hagiography, rational reconstruction, and "shoe-horning". I feel I am not only more aware of these potential pitfalls, but have learned ways to avoid and defeat them, with an emphasis on the use of original sources whenever possible. I have also been exposed to many new sources and methods of research, which I will continue to utilize. Some of the high points for me were obviously Darwin, Mendel, and Watson and Crick. The Double Helix in particular has immediately become one of my favorite books, in or out of science. The sequence of books and essays dealing with evolution, creationism, and how we as a society are dealing with it has importance then and now, and provided fascinating thought and reading. It was also stimulating and refreshing to learn more about some people and subjects that I knew much less of, such as Aristotle, Galen, Dobzansky, the mechanical philosophists, Harvey, Huxley, and far too many others to list them all. Some topics, such as spontaneous generation, quickly made me realize that there is so much more to learn for everyone, including me. In the same vein, I have a renewed interest in learning more about Newton, Einstein, Galileo and others like them who worked mostly outside the realm of biology, as well as more about the history of physics, chemistry, and geology in general. I think another main point I learned is to be more open-minded about the nature of science itself, that it is a collective process carried out historically in a variety of ways, and is not always cleancut, and by its nature there are a lot of twists and turns and even dead ends.

I should also add that I last attended school when I finished a master's degree in 1994, and the technology and methods of teaching and learning have changed a lot in a relatively short period of time. Courses that are all or partially online, blogging, and greater use of laptops in the classroom have all come to change my perspective this summer on education. and the various ways it can be accomplished. It has also been reinforced for me that one is never too old or accomplished to stop learning, and that getting stale and bogged down is dangerous both personally and professionally. One of my former supervisors advised me that changing jobs, furthering one's education, and other major shifts in one's career should take place fairly frequently, as this helps to cut down on complacency and getting in a rut. This is especially true for teachers, because it is the students that get short-changed when teachers are lackadaisical, bored, or under-prepared.

Week 4 Day 5 Historiography

2006-07-26T13:00:00.000-07:00

My final reading for this course is from Bauer, chapters 4 and 5, respectively titled "Other Fables About Science" and "Imperfections of the Filter". Some of the fables the author discusses include if science is factual, if science knowledge is like a map, if successful prediction necessarily makes a theory correct, if science is truly open-minded, if scientists should publish all their data and give credit to those whose work they build on, if science is self-correcting, and if great scientists can speak for science. Bauer addresses each of these ideas, and provides much evidence and logic as to why they are not always true, and therefore fables, as he calls them. I think again it all goes back to the point that as long as humans do science, human foibles will by defintion be part of the process. I have to reiterate that I don't think this necessarily calls for a total sacking and debunking of the scientific method. At the same time I agree with Bauer on nearly every point, except for ultimately why he is so against the scientific method. I also must restate that the concurrent reading of The Double Helix is extremely enlightening, even if Bauer references one observer who says Watson "has given his more spontaneous acts the color of calculation". Bauer also suggests Watson downplays the amount of intense reading and thinking that he and Crick had to do, although I don't agree with this personally, based on my reading of the book.

In chapter five he continues by discussing the imperfections of the knowledge filter, so he is acknowledging it is not perfect either, because current knowledge may be misleading, scientists cannot be completely objective, and human institutions function imperfectly. Once again Bauer is showing that science is much more of a winding road, filled with pot-holes, than most science textbooks make it out to be. These misconceptions are then perpetuated by students and teachers who rely too heavily on the texts, and not on original and solid secondary sources. It is important for students to see that scientists are human, do not always work the same way, and science is not a straight line process, either in time or content. The idea of scientists using "reality therapy" was new and surprising to me, in how complete objectivity may not be reachable, but consensus is more likely to come about.

As to what from this course makes more sense to me now, I would have to say Bauer's explanation of Kuhn's revolutions has made his concepts more understandable to me. The whole of the Bauer reading will affect me as a science educator in bringing terminology and relative placement to the various ways that science works, so I can more effectively relate these ideas to my students and colleagues, and help in the future if I have the opportunity to train prospective science teachers at the university level.

I was pleased to see a reference to Carl Sagan, who is by far one of my favorite authors, and through his writings one of the best science teachers ever.

Bibliographic Note:

Henry H. Bauer, Scientific Literacy and the Myth of the Scientific Method, (Urbana and Chicago, University of Illinois Press, 1994). Bauer, chemistry professor at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, upends current contentions about science literacy in a small, dense book that could be the nucleus of a restructuring of how science works in our culture, or, in the author's terms, how its reputation works.

Week 4 Day 5 History of Biology Case Study

2006-07-26T12:54:00.000-07:00

I am obviously going to read this entire book, as it is virtually impossible to put down. Today though I am to focus my discussion on responses by Klug (pp. 153-158), Stent (pp.161-175), Lewontin (pp. 185-187), Sinsheimer (pp. 191-194), Merton (pp. 213-218), and Medawar (pp.218-224).

I realized I did not not have the Norton Critical Edition, so I ordered it from Amazon and had it shipped overnight, so I should have it by Friday and be able to finish up my postings. Now having received the book and finished my assigned readings, I am glad I did because it always helps to get a variety of perspectives on an issue. Klug basically defends Franklin, and suggests that she was not far from figuring out the DNA structure herself. I am not so sure about this, but it cannot be denied that her work was instrumental to the collective effort that resulted in the final outcome. Personally, I feel she should have been included in the Nobel award group with Wilkins, Crick, and Watson. Stent covers the other reviews and discussions of The Double Helix and I agreed with him for the most part, in that Lewontin and Sinsheimer were somewhat offbase in their replies, and Merton and Medawar better understood, represented, and explained what was going on in Watson's accounts of the discovery of the double-helix.

Merton and Medawar pretty much describe the book as I saw it, whereas Lewontin and Sinsheimer are needlessly derisive and derogatory toward Watson. I felt Watson came across as somewhat of a conniver, even sly, but in positive way, as he ultimately was the best "puzzle-solver" of the group while Crick was the true intellect and Franklin, Donahue, Wilkins and others provided substantial data, ideas, and support as well. By the way, I intend to read all of the Norton Critical Edition as time permits. Waddington and Chargaff seem to be jealous, to a certain extent. I for one found reading The Double Helix to be one of the most informative, exciting, and eye-opening science related tomes I have ever come across.

I liked that Medawar emphasized the experiments of Griffith and their importance, even if Watson chose not to. I also noticed that a couple of times even these distinguished reviewers fall into the trap that Mendel's work was "rediscovered" in 1900. Another important point was the discussion that practicing scientists seem to take the history of science for granted sometimes, but it is explained that since science is a cumulative process, the practioners are dependent on their history, just maybe not immediately cognizant of it. I am a science teacher, but I have done original research at various times, and I think that colored my view in the past as well, to a certain extent. This summer has definitely helped to change that.

Bibliographic Note:

James D. Watson, The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA-Norton Critical Edition,(W.W. Norton & Company, 1981). "By identifying the structure of DNA, the molecule of life, Francis Crick and James Watson revolutionized biochemistry and won themselves a Nobel Prize. At the time, Watson was only twenty-four, a brilliant young zoologist hungry to make his mark. His uncompromisingly honest account of the heady days of their thrilling sprint against other world-class researchers to solve one of science's greatest unsolved mysteries gives a dazzlingly clear picture of a world of brilliant scientists with great gifts, very human ambitions, and bitter rivalries. With humility unspoiled by false modesty, Watson relates his and Crick's desperate efforts to beat Linus Pauling to the Holy Grail of the life sciences, the identification of the basic building block of life. He is impressed by the achievements of the young man he was, but clear-eyed about his limitations. Never has such a brilliant scientist also been so gifted, and so truthful, in capturing in words the flavor of his work."

Further Reading Note:

I intend to read The Molecular Biology of the Gene, by Watson. I would also like to review works by Franklin, Pauling, Wilkins and other contemporaries, competitors, and workers who Watson and Crick drew from in their own studies.

Week 4 Day 4 Historiography

2006-07-26T12:51:00.000-07:00

Today's reading is chapter 3, continuing from Bauer, on "How Science Really Works". In it he describes the various mechanisms by which science progresses, including what he calls the jigsaw puzzle and the knowledge filter, and compares both against the myth of the scientific method. I am starting to think that Bauer has basically taken one simple yet important idea and stretched it out into several chapters. The point he seems to be stuck on is that science by definition is a human endeavor, and scientists by definition are human and obviously are going to act that way. I feel he is going way overboard in denigrating and deemphasizing the scientific method. I believe it is one of several methods by which science gets done, and probably the most important and common one. Just because not all the great scientists have used it, and just because all the great discoveries have not necessarily come about through it, that doesn't mean it's a myth or a negative thing.

As far as what is new and surprising, the filter and the puzzle concepts are interesting ways of representing how science gets done, but neither is really new or surprising to anyone who teaches or does science. It's just that we may not have consciously called them that or tried to conceptualize the scientific process in those terms. Of course I guess that is also the main idea, in that by naming, pointing out, and describing them the author is forcing me to think about them. In that sense I think this reading is beneficial, and I actually agree for the most part with Bauer. He points out that the objectivity of science is not due to the individuals but the collective body of science policing itself over time. I also agree with him that the history of science must be portrayed accurately, and not molded into a particular set of concrete steps that all scientists have and must follow. This is simply not true, and not should be presented as such.

I think Bauer is also incomplete, from my point of view as a science teacher, because I am at the mercy of the state and federal governments and my school district as to what is considered to be scientific literacy, especially as it relates to the all important standardized testing now so prevalent. I am not sure what to do about that problem, at this point. His graph on page 53 of the increase in the number of science journals is interesting, as is also him bringing up the cold fusion debacle, especially in light of my just having read of no less that Linus Pauling making a fundamental chemical error in a paper. He also cites Kuhn, from one of my earliest readings, and seems to defend his ideas to a certain extent. Of note also is his claim that pseudoscience is such because of the collective nature of science, because anything could be considered scientific if the only standard is whether the scientific method can be applied to it or not.

He closes by attributing the successes of science to the filter and the puzzle, and not to the scientific method. I think as a science educator this reading will help reinforce for me to emphasize the variety of ways science progresses and the collective nature of science. I don't think we can just throw out what is called the scientific method as a basic framework for problem solving in and out of science classes, and especially as long as teachers, students, and schools are held accountable by standardized tests that still treat it as the only way to do science.

Bibliographic Note:

Henry H. Bauer, Scientific Literacy and the Myth of the Scientific Method, (Urbana and Chicago, University of Illinois Press, 1994). Bauer, chemistry professor at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, upends current contentions about science literacy in a small, dense book that could be the nucleus of a restructuring of how science works in our culture, or, in the author's terms, how its reputation works.

Week 4 Day 4 History of Biology Case Study

2006-07-25T11:44:00.000-07:00

Today's discussion focuses on pages 71-133 from The Double Helix. I intended to finish reading the book before I commented on any of it, and fourtunately was able to. In these pages Watson and Crick are facing starts and stops in their drive to elucidate the structure of DNA. Personal infighting, administrative delays, and lack of some of the necessary data among other things are making their task difficult, to say the least, before they finally triumph. The reactions of Bragg, Wilkins, Franklin and others are telling, in my opinion. Watson continues to make things interesting with his humor and writing style, and his descriptions of Crick's behavior in particular are both illuminating and wry. It's also interesting that Linus Pauling published a paper with a fundamental chemical error.

I think there is definitely room for "personal styles" of research in science, and they are glaringly obvious in this book. Franklin seemed to be introverted, dedicated, and somewhat of a "techie" as she kept to herself in the lab, and also held her work closely. Watson's asides about her, including those about her appearance, were intriguing. Crick was the "idea man", the theorotician whose intellect kept him bounding from one problem to another, and was usually in conflict with Bragg. It seems he never stopped talking, and usually his ideas were fruitful ones, at least in the long run. Watson seemed to lurk around, taking ideas and data when and where he could find them, and yet he always seemed to be able to help fit those pieces together. Linus Pauling is one of the most fascinating characters in the book, and I intend to read more about him. He almost seemed to be the larger than life "scientist as showman" with his personality and tremendous intellect. Wilkins, Bragg, and others featured in the book all seem to have their own personal styles of research as well. I am also seeing the point in reading Bauer and Watson simultaneously, as I can relate many points Bauer makes to the real life scientists in The Double Helix. Watson also explains how attitudes and social mores vary from country to country, because the more genteel British wouldn't think of usurping someone else's work, but the crude Americans and wily French have no problems with it, as the goal is to beat everyone else to the punch, by whatever means necessary. It's interesting in this light that Watson is the only American in the group!

I think in the cases of Wilkins and Franklin, their particular research styles ultimately held them back to a certain extent, especially their tendency to withhold ideas and data, and cling to a specific hypothesis or technique. Crick's talkativeness seemed to help him draw ideas from others, and Watson was sort of the ultimate puzzle-solver, who was open-minded and willing and able to cobble together the pieces of data and ideas he glommed from others. "Personal styles"of research show us that there really is no one, tried and true "scientific method" that has always been applied by everyone. The fact that this reading, highlighting some of the greatest minds of the 20th century, exhibits such a diversity of thinking and research styles is about the best evidence possible of this.

As an aside, I remember using Luria broth in the microbiology lab, now I am more familiar with the gentlemann for whom it is named!

Bibliographic Note:

James D. Watson, The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA, (New York, Simon & Schuster, 1968). "By identifying the structure of DNA, the molecule of life, Francis Crick and James Watson revolutionized biochemistry and won themselves a Nobel Prize. At the time, Watson was only twenty-four, a brilliant young zoologist hungry to make his mark. His uncompromisingly honest account of the heady days of their thrilling sprint against other world-class researchers to solve one of science's greatest unsolved mysteries gives a dazzlingly clear picture of a world of brilliant scientists with great gifts, very human ambitions, and bitter rivalries. With humility unspoiled by false modesty, Watson relates his and Crick's desperate efforts to beat Linus Pauling to the Holy Grail of the life sciences, the identification of the basic building block of life. He is impressed by the achievements of the young man he was, but clear-eyed about his limitations. Never has such a brilliant scientist also been so gifted, and so truthful, in capturing in words the flavor of his work."

Further Reading Note:

I intend to read The Molecular Biology of the Gene, by Watson. I would also like to review works by Franklin, Pauling, Wilkins and other contemporaries, competitors, and workers who Watson and Crick drew from in their own studies.

Week 4 Day 3 Historiography

2006-07-25T11:30:00.000-07:00

Today's historiography assignment is chapter 2 in Bauer. Honestly, I just finished reading this chapter, and am at a bit of a loss as to how to begin. It seemed Bauer was throwing out a lot of "common-sense" items that any open-minded, humble, and knowledgeable science educator takes more or less for granted anyway. I think one of his main points is that science by definition is the domain of human beings, with all the positives and negatives that necessarily involves. I guess part of my problem with this chapter, as Dr. Magruder and I discussed in person previously, is that I tend to have a generous and liberal view of the so-called scientific method, and even though I think it is an excellent framework and starting point for science students, I have never labored under the delusion that all science has always been done that way. I recall times my students might question how viewing specimens microscopically and drawing them could be considered an "experiment", or building DNA models from clay or beads. I would explain to them that there are a multitude of ways that "science" gets done, and I don't think it's by chance that I also started reading The Double Helix today!

However, despite what I typed in the first paragraph, the title of the chapter, "The So-Called Scientific Method", pretty much gives the reader the thrust of the text. Bauer mentions Bacon and Popper, and I would like to point out here that I have always discouraged my students from using the words "proven" or "disproven". I believe one should always leave the window cracked ever so slightly in case a point needs to be reevaluated in light of new data. He goes on to distinguish and discuss theoretical and experimental science, and I got a chuckle from the notion that biologists divorce three times more often on the average than chemists, physicists, and geologists. The term "anecdotal evidence" came to mind immediately! It is interesting how Bauer breaks down the scientific communities and subdisciplines and compares and contrasts them, including the relative amount of mathematics required, and whether this bears on how "scientific" an area of study actually is. This is relevant to me, because I try to impart to my students the meaning of qualitative versus quantitative data, and how they can each be important relative to the type of study being done. I think another consideration that Bauer should touch on, as I'm sure he does, is pure versus applied science (technology), and the idea of studying something just to find out about it as opposed to trying to find a solution to a specific problem. It's also important to address that those applications may be good or bad, depending on what they are and the viewpoint of the observer.

Bauer goes on to say that we currently have a much better understanding of the history of science, and this is important because he is emphasizing much of what I learned earlier in this course concerning rated "X" history, Whiggism, pseudoscience, and pseudohistory. He states that we call those that are science literate that because they subscribe to many of those things I just mentioned. He makes another interesting point, and that is that physicists are most often promoted to leadership and administrative positions, and this is problematic for several reasons. I have to agree with him here. He concludes with the notion that the myth of the scientific method actually promotes less than ethical behavior, hubris, and short-cutting.

Bibliographic Note:

Henry H. Bauer, Scientific Literacy and the Myth of the Scientific Method, (Urbana and Chicago, University of Illinois Press, 1994). Bauer, chemistry professor at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, upends current contentions about science literacy in a small, dense book that could be the nucleus of a restructuring of how science works in our culture, or, in the author's terms, how its reputation works.

Week 4 Day 3 History of Biology Case Study

2006-07-25T11:18:00.000-07:00

I am excited about today's case study, specifically pages 1-70 from Watson's well-known book. One of the first things I noticed was Watson's sly sense of humor, this helped to make the selection truly enjoyable to read. I found myself chuckling out loud more than once at some of his comments and maneuverings. It would be interesting to read the perspectives of the other major characters to see how or if they correlate with Watson's recollections of events. The author strikes me as mischievous and almost devious in his administrative and scientific dealings with his colleagues and superiors. He certainly seemed to enjoy socializing, sometimes with alcohol, and apparently had an eye for the ladies as well. Of course this is also keeping in mind his tremendous intellect, even though my judgement so far is that Crick was the superior thinker of the two.

I think scientists at least give lip service to a common "code of conduct", and in fact most scientists adhere to it. As Bauer points out, scientists are human after all, and fraught with the same weaknesses as any other member of society. I think sometimes the pressure to produce papers or make notable breakthroughs is overwhelming, and as Bauer also says sometimes the temptation to cut corners is too strong as well. Additionally, sometimes the interpersonal dynamics in a lab or a department can foster less than ethical behavior. In my opinion the code of conduct is simply that you give credit where credit is due, and if you are going to use someone else's work or ideas be sure you are up front about it and have their blessing or even better their cooperation. I think Bragg's and Watson's characterization of the code of conduct is best illustrated by the incident in chapter eight wherein Crick feels Bragg used one of his ideas in a paper without crediting him and becomes furious, almost to the point of leaving. Bragg eventually acknowledges that they must have had the same idea independently. The problem here is in perspective, because it is Watson relating the story, and neither Crick nor Bragg are able to directly their versions of events. Watson seems to have no problem with the fact that he personally relied heavily on Crick's intuitions and the work of many others like Franklin, Pauling, and Wilkins in developing the idea of the self-replicating double helix of DNA. No doubt Watson helped bring it all together, but his own code of conduct was questionable in other ways, such as his dealings with the fellowship office in Washington.

This book has opened my eyes to some aspects of the development of the model of DNA that I had no knowledge of, and it has reinforced my prior understanding in some areas. For instance, I feel even more strongly now that Rosalind Franklin should have been included as a Nobel prize winner, as all indications are her work was indispensable to Watson and Crick's collaboration. Also, similar to how I felt about Mendel, I see Watson especially, but also the other major characters in the book, in more human terms, and not just as some hagiographic sidebar in one of my texts. Readings such as this are invaluable to me as a science educator in properly relating the progress of science to my students.

Bibliographic Note:

James D. Watson, The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA, (New York, Simon & Schuster, 1968). "By identifying the structure of DNA, the molecule of life, Francis Crick and James Watson revolutionized biochemistry and won themselves a Nobel Prize. At the time, Watson was only twenty-four, a brilliant young zoologist hungry to make his mark. His uncompromisingly honest account of the heady days of their thrilling sprint against other world-class researchers to solve one of science's greatest unsolved mysteries gives a dazzlingly clear picture of a world of brilliant scientists with great gifts, very human ambitions, and bitter rivalries. With humility unspoiled by false modesty, Watson relates his and Crick's desperate efforts to beat Linus Pauling to the Holy Grail of the life sciences, the identification of the basic building block of life. He is impressed by the achievements of the young man he was, but clear-eyed about his limitations. Never has such a brilliant scientist also been so gifted, and so truthful, in capturing in words the flavor of his work."

Further Reading Note:

I intend to read The Molecular Biology of the Gene, by Watson. I would also like to review works by Franklin, Pauling, Wilkins and other contemporaries, competitors, and workers who Watson and Crick drew from in their own studies.

Week 4 Day 2 Historiography

2006-07-24T18:22:00.000-07:00

This assignment concerns the first chapter from Bauer, and I am to compare and contrast his views with traditional textbook presentations of the nature of science. The first point is to define the three components that constitute the definition of what science literacy actually is. One of my early thoughts in reading this selection was that maybe we should start identifying as early as possible and putting on a separate educational track the potential scientists among our students. I then began to realize that Bauer's main point is that all of our knowledge, including science, is theory-based, and subject to change. Science literacy, he says, like all types of literacy, should be ecouraged because it is a good thing, not as a tool to accomplish something else. Bauer envisions "STS", or science, tecnology, and society studies being incorporated to everyone's benefit, from the layperson to scientists and engineers.

The author states that science as it is currently taught, using textbooks, is too dogmatic and leaves out the "fits and starts" that good history of science can convey as part of the total picture. Basically, I think he is saying that students need some basic science facts and some training in scientific process, but the emphasis should be on understanding the role of science in society and technology. This would have surprised me a few weeks ago, but in the context of what I have learned this summer it seems logical. I have always tried to help my students see how their science lessons fit into the bigger picture, or better yet, I try to give them the tools with which they will be able to figure those things out for themselves. I have relied less on textbooks than most teachers I know, partially because of my original mentor teacher, and partially perhaps subconsciously for the reasons Bauer gives. I am finding that some of what I am reading this summer I have sort of unknowingly at least been trying to do throughout my career as an educator, even if I didn't have the terms and a defined concept in my mind.

I believe in giving the students a certain base of information predicated on currently accepted ideas, using the scientific method as a basic framework to support the notion of problem-solving, and then getting them to think about how it all fits into the bigger picture of their lives in modern society. The operative word here is think. The key is helping a person develop the ability to make judgements and formulate informed opinions from the perspective of a broad world-view, complete with historical perspectives. This is similar to Bauer's push for more STS and less science, and I feel he makes a strong case, but of course I've only read the first chapter so far.

One point that I must raise here is that science teachers, and for that matter all teachers today, are under enormous pressure to see to it that students attain a certain level of proficiency on standardized tests. Bauer rips this kind of testing at the beginning of the chapter. School funding is actually tied to this now, and even the school's and teacher's certifications in some cases. I guess that at certain times this summer I've gotten excited and enthused about various components of my studies, and then reality sinks in in terms of practicality and applicability. I think the main impact of this reading on me is to encourage me that I have for the most part done the right thing for most of my career and will continue to do so, with some adjustments here and there. I also think that I will be able to see more clearly the picture that Bauer is painting as I progress through the chapters, and will be able to refer back to this discussion.

Bibliographic Note:

Henry H. Bauer, Scientific Literacy and the Myth of the Scientific Method, (Urbana and Chicago, University of Illinois Press, 1994). Bauer, chemistry professor at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, upends current contentions about science literacy in a small, dense book that could be the nucleus of a restructuring of how science works in our culture, or, in the author's terms, how its reputation works.

Week 4 Day 2 History of Biology Survey

2006-07-24T11:43:00.000-07:00

Today's assignment consisted of reading chapters 6-9 and the epilogue from Farber. I am glad I purchased this book, as I have found Farber to be easy to read, extremely informative, and well organized, and I intended to read the entire volume even if it hadn't been assigned for this course. I did notice that Farber refers to the "rediscovery" of Mendel's work in 1900, I guess he hadn't read Brannigan's chapter that I did! Initially he tackles the separation of physiology or function from natural history and its deviation into its own discipline(s). Bichat's tranfusion experiments on dogs in particular got my attention. His main point here is the transition from traditional natural history collecting, naming, and grouping to more of an emphasis on experimental method, even to the point of trying to reduce biology strictly to the level of physics. It's also interesting that in this day and age of animal rights, some of the early physiology experiments seemed rather gruesome, and yet in light of the times few objected to them. He addresses the use of the word biology as we know it today and the Modern Synthesis, which interestingly helped lead to even more specialization under the umbrella of biology.

One chapter is devoted to private and public zoos, gardens, museums, and collections in what Farber calls the Victorian Golden Age of natural history. The story of Jumbo and P.T. Barnum was enlightening and amusing, even though Jumbo tragically was run over by a train, and his remains were lost in a fire. He also delves into the development of ecology or environmental science, and conservation efforts. He invokes Leopold, Thoreau, and others, but surprisingly and sadly to me he did not mention Edward Abbey, who in my opinion was just as important in this area. I was pleased to see Virchow mentioned regarding cell theory, however. Going back to the Modern Synthesis, Farber's discussion of how natural history, inheritance, and evolution came together was eye-opening for me. Juian Huxley, Dobzhansky, Morgan, and Mayr all played key roles, but of course it was Darwin's evolutionary theory that provided the backbone by "viewing all biological knowledge as the result of a long historical process". I was curious to see if Hardy and Weinberg would be mentioned in relation to the synthesis of biological thought but they were not. I always felt their mathematical treatment of variation in a gene pool was critical to an understanding of the process for my students.

E.O. Wilson's many achievements and contributions are the focus of the final chapter, from ant pheromones to the introduction of the field of sociobiology. I have a renewed appreciation for this man and his life, and am encouraged to read more of his works. Farber encapsulates the chronological perspective and continuing importance of natural history in his epilogue. I feel his book has given me a comprehensive and balanced view of the history of this discipline, and his writing style has helped me better understand some of the other readings of this course, as well as some of my own prior knowledge. I feel better equipped as a teacher to present and discuss these topics with my students and colleagues as well. We also through natural history can take advantage of younger student's innate curiosity about the world around them and help expand and build on that through the rest of their education.

Bibliographic Note:

Paul Lawrence Farber, Finding Order in Nature: The Naturalist Tradition from Linnaeus to E.O. Wilson, (Baltimore and London, The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000).

Further Reading Note:

I would like to view some of the works by Magendie, Hooker, Huxley, Mayr, Virchow, Dobzhansky, and Wilson.