Browsing by Author "Glenda Carter, Committee Co-Chair"

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African American Perspectives: A Qualitative Study of an Informal Science Enrichment Program
(2007-08-12) Simpson, Jamila Rashida; Eileen Parsons, Committee Chair; Allen Riordan, Committee Member; Len Annetta, Committee Member; Glenda Carter, Committee Co-Chair
Designing and Testing Modules on Non-Formal Education for Teacher Education Candidates: A Brazilian Experience
(2004-11-09) Gioppo, Christiane; John E. Penick, Committee Chair; Lundie Spence, Committee Member; Peter Hessling, Committee Member; Glenda Carter, Committee Co-Chair
Two modules for preparing educators to use non-formal and Informal education opportunities were developed and tested at the Federal University of Paraná, Brazil. The first module prepared teacher candidates to create and teach lessons that use informal environments such as beaches and natural areas, while the second module focused on preparing museum interns to design and teach with activities prepared specifically for non-formal settings. The research was carried out in three steps. The first sought the perceptions of three groups of professionals about the use of non-formal/ informal settings by school groups and their teachers, and asked for suggestions on designing educational modules. In the second step, the conception and development of the modules was enlightened by interview responses, research literature, and Biology Education program constraints. The third step tested both modules by having Biology Education majors, develop and pilot activities for middle and high school students, with the results observed the research as post at. The results of testing Module I indicated that teacher candidates need a strong support system to become effective teachers. Data also showed that they needed additional instruction on preparing integrated inquiry lessons and how to use the module as a regular and permanent addition to the curriculum. Thus, the first module was redesigned but not further tested. Module II results indicated that museum personnel and administration became interested in designing more interactive activities and the school students who participated in the activities enjoyed being at the museum. Module II data also indicated need for revision and more study, especially regarding the use of inquiry, the implementation strategy for traditional museums, and the development of activities that are feasible for large group of museum visitors. This study indicated that such modules are valuable and could lead to change in informal and non-formal instruction. But, the teacher candidates who design the activities need considerably more instruction on innovative teaching practices, lesson design, and the expected goals and roles of such activities.
Power and Status with Small Groups: An Analysis of Students' Verbal and Nonverbal Behavior and Responses to One Another
(2007-12-07) Morris, Lynnae Carol; William Grant, Committee Member; Gail Jones, Committee Member; John Park, Committee Member; Eric Wiebe, Committee Co-Chair; Glenda Carter, Committee Co-Chair
The purpose of this research has been to determine the influence of verbal and nonverbal behavior on power and status within small groups. The interactions which took place within five small groups of students in a middle school spatial reasoning elective were analyzed. Verbal responses to requests for help were analyzed using sequential analysis software. Results indicated that the identity of the child asking a question or requesting help in some form or another is a better predictor of whether he⁄she will receive help than the type of questions he⁄she asks. Nonverbal behavior was analyzed for social gestures, body language, and shifts in possession of tools. Each nonverbal act was coded as either "positive" (encouraging participation) or "negative" (discouraging participation); and, the researchers found that in groups in which there was unequal participation and less "help" provided among peers (according to the verbal analysis results) there tended to be more "negative" nonverbal behavior demonstrated than in groups in which "shared talk time" and "helping behavior" were common characteristics of the norm. The combined results from the analyses of the verbal and nonverbal behavior of students within small groups were then reviewed through the conflict, power, status perspective of small group interactions in order to determine some common characteristics of high functioning (collaborative) and low functioning (non-collaborative) groups. Some common characteristics of the higher functioning groups include: few instances of conflict, shared "talk time" and decision making, inclusive leadership, frequent use of encouraging social gestures and body language, and more sharing of tools than seizing; while, some shared traits among the lower functioning groups include: frequent occurrences of interpersonal conflict, a focus on process (rather than content), persuasive or alienating leadership, unequal participation and power, frequent use of discouraging social gestures and body language, and more seizing of tools than sharing. While "functionality" was easily defined, labeling groups according to this characteristic proved to be a more difficult task. Although there was clearly a "highest functioning" and a "lowest functioning" group among the five, the other three groups fell somewhere in between these two, along a continuum (dependent upon the day).
Surface and Semantic Processing of Cellular Transport Representations by High School Students with Low and High Prior Knowledge
(2007-05-08) Cook, Michelle Patrick; Eric N. Wiebe, Committee Co-Chair; Glenda Carter, Committee Co-Chair
The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of prior knowledge of cell transport processes on how students viewed and interpreted visual representations related to that topic. The participants were high school students (n=65) enrolled in Advanced Placement biology. Prior knowledge was assessed using a modified version of the Diffusion and Osmosis Diagnostic Test (Odom & Barrow, 1995). Eye movements were measured to reveal how students distribute their visual attention as they perceive and interpret graphics; in addition, interviews and questionnaires were employed to provide more interpretive data sources. The first manuscript of the study investigates the relationship between prior knowledge and students' ability to perceive salient features and interpret graphic representations of cellular transport. The results from eye tracking data, interviews, and questionnaire responses were triangulated and revealed differences in how high and low prior knowledge students attended to and interpreted various features of the graphic representations. Without adequate domain knowledge, low prior knowledge students focused on surface features of the graphics to build an understanding of the concepts represented. High prior knowledge students, with more abundant and better organized domain knowledge, were more likely to attend to thematically relevant content in the graphics and construct deeper understandings. The second manuscript of the study examines the influence of prior knowledge on how students transitioned among the macroscopic and molecular representations of selected graphics. Eye tracking and sequential analysis results indicated that high prior knowledge students transitioned more frequently between the molecular representations, where as low prior knowledge students transitioned more frequently between the macroscopic representations. In addition, low prior knowledge students transitioned more frequently between macroscopic and molecular representations, suggesting that these students were experiencing more difficulty as they were coordinating the representations. These findings suggest that students with high prior knowledge distributed their visual attention on conceptually relevant features, while low prior knowledge students focused on surface features.