This study examined the relationship between two variable sets: (a) epistemological beliefs (quick learning, simple knowledge, certain knowledge, and innate ability) and learned helplessness and (b) conceptual understanding and application reasoning in conceptual change learning (CCL). Hypothetical dimensions underlying the Epistemological Belief Questionnaire and effects of different kinds of prior knowledge on CCL were explored with 212 students in Grades 9-12 in 13 science classes at a rural public high school in Georgia. Exploratory factor analyses revealed 3 factors underlying epistemological beliefs: Quick Learning, Simple-Certain Knowledge, and Innate Ability. Canonical correlation analyses show that beliefs about Simple-Certain Knowledge contribute the most to CCL, whereas beliefs about Innate Ability contribute the least. Beliefs about Simple-Certain Knowledge and Quick Learning are important factors in CCL.
This study investigates changes in preservice teachers' conceptions about projectile motion brought about by a combination of reading and demonstration and an appeal to usefulness. Participants were either told in advance they were expected to teach a videotaped lesson on projectile motion or that information was withheld. In addition, teachers either participated in a combined demonstration -text or in a text-only group. We randomly assigned 73 preservice teachers with nonscientific conceptions to one of four groups comprised of the two levels of the two conditions (Told/Not Told, Demo -Text/Text only) and documented conceptual change through short-answer, true/false, and application tasks. Additional data were obtained from an interview questionnaire to determine the influence of preservice teachers' attitudes and experiences on conceptual change. Furthermore, the videotapes and transcriptions of 16 videotaped lessons and postlesson, structured interviews were analyzed to provide information about the interaction of variables producing change and to track the changes in thinking that were made. The results indicated the effectiveness of a combined Demo -Text condition on immediate posttests and effectiveness of text in producing long-term change. Descriptive and qualitative analyses indicated an interaction of instructional, motivational, and knowledge factors; provided evidence that conceptual change proceeds in a piecemeal fashion; and documented that restructuring of knowledge may lead to new nonscientific conceptions.
This study explored the challenges facing 1st-year alternatively certified teachers of mathematics and science in urban middle schools. Four teachers, participants in a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded Robert Noyce Scholarship Program, were followed from preservice training through their 1st year of teaching, having taken part in innovative coursework, workshops, and internship training. Through focus groups, interviews, and classroom observations, data were collected to analyze their experiences in economically disadvantaged settings. The researchers explored key aspects of the scholars’ experiences, including their struggles with student performance and motivation, ways in which they developed strategies to strengthen their self-efficacy and resilience, and how novel strategies for assessing learning improved their teaching. By examining their perceptions of classroom situations and cultural contexts, and their emerging coping mechanisms, others can learn about how novice teachers may be better prepared to work in challenging environments, and develop recommendations for enabling teacher-training programs to meet the needs of their students.
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