In an effort to maintain the global competitiveness of the United States, ensuring a strong Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) workforce is essential. The purpose of this study was to identify high school courses that serve as predictors of success in college level gatekeeper courses, which in turn led to the successful completion of STEM degrees. Using a purposive sample of 893 students who had declared a STEM major between the fall of 2006 and the spring of 2008, data were collected on students' high school grades, college grades, national test scores, grade point average, gender, and ethnicity. Using analysis of variance, correlations, multiple discriminant function analysis, and multiple regression models we found that high school calculus, physics, and chemistry (respectively) were predictors of success in STEM gatekeeper college courses. Then using those courses, we constructed a predictive model of STEM degree completion. The implications of this study highlight and reinforce the importance of providing rigorous mathematics and science courses at the high school level, as well as provide some evidence of a potential mediated model of the relationship between high school performance, college performance, and graduating with a STEM degree.
The purpose of this study was to compare teacher efficacy beliefs of secondary Biology I teachers whose students' mean scores on the statewide End‐of‐Instruction (EOI) Biology I test met or exceeded the state academic proficiency level (Proficient Group) to teacher efficacy beliefs of secondary Biology I teachers whose students' mean scores on the EOI Biology I test fell below the state academic proficiency level (Non‐proficient Group). The mean difference on the Personal Science Teaching Efficacy (PSTE) subscale scores between the two groups was not statistically significant. This indicates that personal science teaching efficacy was not statistically related to how a teacher s students scored on the EOI Biology I test. The mean difference on the Science Teaching Outcome Expectancy (STOE) subscale scores demonstrated a statistically significant difference between the science teaching outcome expectancy of the Non‐proficient Group and Proficient Group teachers. Proficient Group teachers had significantly higher STOE scores than teachers Non‐proficient Group teachers. This finding suggests that End‐of‐Instruction Biology I test scores were related to the expectations that a teacher held for his/her students to learn biology regardless of student home environment, availability of classroom materials, or student motivation.
The increasing popularity of including environmental topics and issues in school curricula has created a need for effective environmental education teachers. One way to evaluate teacher effectiveness is through teacher efficacy, a belief measure that evaluates a teacher's perception that he/she can teach effectively. Research suggests that teachers’ instructional decisions are influenced by their beliefs, which are framed by their personal experiences. Because teacher efficacy is content specific, the purpose of this study was to develop a survey, the Environmental Education Teacher Efficacy Belief Instrument (EETEBI), to measure the teacher efficacy beliefs of preservice teachers as they relate to environmental education teaching strategies and outcomes.
TERMS (Transitioning Engineering Research to Middle Schools) is a Research Experience for Teachers (RET)project that targets the middle school teachers who teach the students most at risk for losing interest in science, engineering, and mathematics. As most students advance through middle school science classes, their attitudes toward science and math become more negative. The middle grades are a critical period for students, representing the period most beneficial to provide engaging academic opportunities. The TERMS project strived to develop curriculum and experiences for the middle grades by placing the teachers into a community of practice. The research component of the project was enhanced over three years; the teachers wrote research papers, developed research boards for science fairs, and gave research presentations. The program has improved teacher perceptions towards engineering research and teaching. This is evidenced by a survey that was adapted from one available to the RET network. The survey looks at the satisfaction with the RET experience, the extent that the faculty mentor met RET expectations, the success of the RET experience, the impact of the RET program on the RET personally, level of engagement, and learning experiences. Research results are provided from additional surveys that examine teacher perceptions towards research and science and mathematics teaching through the context of engineering.
Creating scientifically literate students is a common goal among educational stakeholders. An understanding of nature of science is an important component of scientific literacy in K‐12 science education. Q methodology was used to investigate the opinions of preservice and in‐service teachers on how they intend to teach or currently teach science. Q methodology is a measurement tool designed to capture personal beliefs. Participants included 40 preservice and in‐service elementary and secondary science teachers who sorted 40 self‐referential statements regarding science instruction. The results identified three epistemologies toward teaching science: A Changing World, My Beliefs, and Tried and True. Participants with the A Changing World epistemology believe evidence is reliable, scientific knowledge is generated in multiple ways, and science changes in light of new evidence. The My Beliefs epistemology reflects that scientific knowledge is subject to change due to embedded bias, science is affected by culture and religion, and evolution should not be taught in the classroom. The Tried and True epistemology views a scientific method as an exact method to prove science, believes experiments are crucial for scientific discoveries, absolute truth exists in scientific knowledge, and society and cultural factors can be eliminated from investigations. Implications for preservice teacher education programs and in‐service teacher professional development are addressed.
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