Effects of Hypermedia-Infused Professional Development on Attitudes Toward Teaching Science

Abstract

Recent calls for improvements in the teaching of science gave rise to the implementation of numerous reform strategies in the elementary classroom. Although, they have not met with success in all content areas, professional development workshops have been shown to be effective in producing changes in teachers, the teaching process, and ultimately student learning. The integration of hypermedia is one method of improving the effectiveness of elementary science professional development workshops. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the integration of hypermedia into professional development opportunities on elementary teachers' attitudes toward science. In this research, integrating hypermedia had a positive influence on elementary teachers' attitudes toward science and was an integral component of increases in their attitudes toward science. The study provides a foundation for future research related to integrating hypermedia into professional development settings.

Primary teachers' attitudes toward science: A new theoretical framework

“…Coulson (1992), Mulholland and Wallace (1996), Palmer (2001Palmer ( , 2004Palmer ( , 2006, Skamp (1991), Yates andGoodrum (1990), andYoung (1998). (Total 9) Appleton (1995), Appleton and Kindt (1999), Bleicher (2007), Bursal and Paznokas (2006), Carleton et al (2008), Coulson (1992) Harlen (1997) Harlen and Holroyd (1997), Hartshorne (2008), Harty et al (1991), Holroyd and Harlen (1996), Jarret (1999), Jarvis and Pell (2004), Koballa (1986), McDevitt et al (1993), Murphy et al (2007), Palmer (2001Palmer ( , 2006, Pederson and McCurdy (1992), Ramey-Gassert et al (1996), Scharmann and Orth Hampton (1995), Schoon and Boone (1998), Skamp (1991), Tosun (2000), Wenner (1993Wenner ( , 1995, Yates and Goodrum (1990), and Yilmaz-Tuzun on the attitudes of preservice teachers (Cobern & Loving, 2002;Coulson, 1992;Koballa, 1986;McDevitt, Heikkinen, Alcorn, Ambrosio, & Gardner, 1993;…”

“…The second cognitive attribute that we derived-perceived difficulty-refers to the beliefs of individuals concerning the general difficulty of science relative to other fields of study. Several studies included items that covered this category, including the following: "Science is too difficult" and "Only smart people can understand science" (Hartshorne, 2008;Harty et al, 1991;Haury, 1989;Koballa, 1986;McDevitt et al, 1993;Mulholland & Wallace, 1996;Pedersen & McCurdy, 1992;Ramey-Gassert et al, 1996).…”

“…We categorized such feelings under the affective component of personal attitude toward science and subdivided this dimension into two categories, as shown in Table 1. The first subcategory contains positive feelings of pleasure and joy related to science in daily life or as part of leisure time (as studied by Hartshorne, 2008;Harty et al, 1991;Haury, 1989;Koballa, 1986;Liang & Gabel, 2005;McDevitt et al, 1993;Mulholland & Wallace, 1996;Palmer, 2001Palmer, , 2004Pedersen & McCurdy, 1992;Ramey-Gassert et al, 1996;Young, 1998). These investigations include items concerning the extent to which respondents enjoy informing themselves about science in their daily lives (e.g., reading a science magazine for fun) or their pleasure in taking part in various science-related activities (e.g., conducting experiments or visiting a science museum).…”

“…Several studies (Atwater et al, 1991;Bursal & Paznokas, 2006;Evans & Durant, 1995;Hartshorne, 2008;Haury, 1989;McDevitt et al, 1993;Palmer, 2004;Young, 1998) investigated respondents' fear of or aversion toward science-related concepts and activities that are not necessarily related to the context of primary school context. For example, several studies measured how nervous or tense people feel when they encounter science-related topics or when they have to discuss science topics with someone.…”

“…Both positive and negative feelings are addressed in the studies we reviewed (see Table 1). As with the construct of personal attitude, these feelings can be categorized as either enjoyment in teaching science (Hartshorne, 2008;Harty et al, 1991;Haury, 1989;Johnston & Ahtee, 2006;Koballa, 1986;Liang & Gabel, 2005;Martin-Dunlop & Fraser, 2007;McDevitt et al, 1993;Pedersen & McCurdy, 1992;Ramey-Gassert et al, 1996) or anxiety about teaching science (Carleton et al, 2008;Hartshorne, 2008;Harty et al, 1991;Haury, 1989;Koballa, 1986;Liang & Gabel, 2005;McDevitt et al, 1993;Palmer, 2001;Pedersen & McCurdy, 1992;Ramey-Gassert et al, 1996).…”