Semi-quantitative Characterization of Secondary Science Teachers’ Use of Three-Dimensional Instruction

This quasi-experimental study evaluated middle- and high-school science teachers’ implementation of three-dimensional (3D) instruction as defined by the Next Generation Science Standards. Teachers participated in a long-term professional development (PD) program designed to increase their use of inquiry-based science instruction. We describe our semi-quantitative adaptation of the Educators Evaluating the Quality of Instructional Products: Science rubric version 2 (SQ-EQuIP) to facilitate the longitudinal evaluation of teacher practices with 3D instruction. SQ-EQuIP evaluations revealed that after two years, 80% of PD teachers implemented lessons where students were explicitly and coherently engaged in 3D learning, compared with 22% of comparison teachers. Further, in several cases lesson materials that should support student engagement in 3D learning were not implemented with fidelity. This discrepancy implies that PD developers must use the EQuIP not only to assess lesson or unit plans as intended by its creators, but to also evaluate the implementation of these materials from students’ perspective. The small sample size restricts claims of significance. However, observed trends between teacher groups indicate long-established best practices designed to increase teacher use of inquiry-based practices may also positively impact teacher use of 3D instructional practices

Tool Trouble: Challenges With Using Self-Report Data to Evaluate Long-Term Chemistry Teacher Professional Development

The purpose of this study was to compare the ability of different instruments, independently developed and traditionally used for measuring science teachers’ beliefs in short-term interventions, to longitudinally measure teachers’ changing beliefs. We compared the ability of three self-report instruments (Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument Form A [STEBI], Teaching of Science as Inquiry instrument [TSI], Inquiry Teaching Beliefs instrument [ITB]) and one observational instrument (Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol [RTOP]) to appropriately measure high school chemistry teachers’ beliefs as they engaged in a two and a half year professional development program. Collectively our findings from these four instruments, across three separate cohort of teachers (N =16), indicated conflicting changes in teacher beliefs. For example, the STEBI indicated teachers’ self-efficacy remained unchanged or increased while the TSI indicated a concurrent decrease in self-efficacy throughout the PD program. Additionally, the ITB seemed to indicate a decrease in teachers’ knowledge of inquiry while their interview data and RTOP scores indicated a concurrent increase in their knowledge of and ability to enact inquiry-based practices. We reconcile these conflicting results and discuss the implications these findings have for validly and reliably measuring science teacher belief changes within longer duration PD

McNair Scholars\u27 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Graduate Experience: A Pilot Study

Nationally, racial and gender disparities persist in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. These disparities are most notable at the doctoral level and are also found in the doctoral outcomes of Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program participants (Scholars) despite opportunities designed to promote their doctoral success. Scholars from three McNair Programs were surveyed. The survey included items related to Scholars’ perceptions of their McNair Program experiences, graduate advisor relationship, and experiences with stereotype threat. Scholars overwhelmingly reported their McNair Program experiences as beneficial to their STEM graduate studies and their graduate research advisors as supportive. However, Black female Scholars also overwhelmingly reported experiences related to stereotype threat. Improvements for survey items and the need for STEM education research to explicitly link educational experiences with institutional oppressions such as racism and sexism are discussed

I Want to be the Inquiry Guy! How Research Experiences for Teachers Change Beliefs, Attitudes, and Values About Teaching Science as Inquiry

This qualitative study examined how and why research experiences for teachers (RETs) influenced middle and high school science teachers’ beliefs, attitudes, and values about teaching science as inquiry. Changes teachers reported after participating in the RET ranged from modifying a few lessons (belief change) to a comprehensive revision of what and how they taught to better reflect inquiry (attitude change). Some teachers who described comprehensively changing their instruction also described implementing actions meant to change science education within their respective schools, not just their own classrooms (value change). We present how and why teachers went about changes in their practices in relation to the researcher-created teacher inquiry beliefs system spectrum (TIBSS). The TIBSS conceptualizes the range of changes observed in participating teachers. We also describe the features of the RET and external factors, such as personal experiences and school contexts, that teachers cited as influential to these changes

SYNTHESIS AND THERMOTROPIC BEHAVIOR OF POLYNORBORNENES WITH LATERALLY ATTACHED 2, 5-BIS [(4\u27- N-ALKYLTHIOBENZOYL) OXY] BENZYL MESOGENS

roduction Supramolecular chemistry investigates entities generated via intermolecular, non-covalent bonding such as hydrogen bonding, electrondonor-acceptor (EDA) interactions and metal ion coordination, which can be used to generate polymolecular assemblies.i In spite of maturity of the field of low molar mass liquid crystals (LMMLCs) and side-chain liquid crystalline polymers (SCLCPs) in electro-optical displays, few concepts have been developed for converting the type of mesophases exhibited by a given chemical structure. The most significant transformation is from nematic to smectic mesophases, and vice versa. Induction of a smectic mesophase in laterally attached SCLCPs (Scheme 1) is particularly challenging since this molecular architecture generally precludes smectic mesomorphism. For example, polynorbornenes with laterally attached 2,5-bis[(4’-nalkoxybenzoyl)oxy]benzyl mesogens exhibit only a nematic mesophase.ii Since there is greater interaction between the mesogens in a smectic vs. nematic alignment, we are attempting to induce smectic layering in poly{5- [[[2’,5’-bis[4”-n-alkoxybenzoyl)oxy]benzyl ]carbonyl]bicylclo[2.2.1]heptene- 2-ene}s2 via EDA interactions by (co)polymerization of an electron-rich thioether norbornene analogue and an electron-poor sulfone norbornene analogue (Scheme 2) by ring-opening metathesis copolymerization. However, we must first understand the effect of changing the ether substituents in the model compounds, monomers and polymers, to both thioether and sulfone functionalities. This paper reports the synthesis and thermotropic behavior of the thioether model compounds and homopolymers