Browsing by Author "Glenda Carter, Committee Member"

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Academic impact of learning styles and other factors in a college botany course
(2004-04-07) Pottmyer, Laura Marie; John Park, Committee Chair; Glenda Carter, Committee Member; C. Gerald Van Dyke, Committee Member
The purpose of this research has been to determine if students with particular learning styles were at an academic advantage over other students in a college botany course. The professor for this course used methodologies within his lectures to reach the needs of all types of learners. The participants were students in the Botany 200 course, an introductory science course taught at North Carolina State University. Each of the 146 participants took the Gregorc Style Delineator at the beginning of the semester to determine their learning style and completed a survey about their views of the class and techniques being used in the class. The student scores on course exams and the associated laboratory course were analyzed with respect to learning style, gender, year in school, academic major, academic college and previous college biology courses. Learning style proved to be a significant predictor of student performance only in terms of the laboratory grades. Academic performance in the lecture part of the course was not impacted by student learning style. The female students did better than the males on three of the six measures of academic performance. Students with greater background in college level biology did better in the course than those with less experience. It appears that, when an instructor makes a conscious effort to use a variety of teaching methodologies to reach different learning preferences, the tendencies for students with particular learning styles to outperform the other students is not evident.
Alternative Concepts Held by Community College Chemistry Students about Physical Properties and Processes: Density, Solubility, and Phase Changes
(2005-04-08) Forbes, Tonya Paige; John C. Park, Committee Chair; Glenda Carter, Committee Member; Maria Oliver-Hoyo, Committee Member
The purpose of this study was to determine what alternative conceptions about density, solubility, and phase changes are held by community college chemistry students and to determine if traditional lab activities aid in promoting conceptual understanding of these three topics. The setting for the study was a large community college in North Carolina. The subjects were 38 students enrolled in a college-level general chemistry course. Students in the study were given a pre-test consisting of 10 multiple-choice questions and 10 definitions they were to provide. They then completed three lab activities, one per week for three weeks, and were post-tested in the sixth week. The post-test was identical to the pre-test except for the order of the questions. The multiple-choice items on the pre- and post-tests were compared using t-tests. Comparisons were done for each item, for each subjects area, and for the test overall. The pre- and post-test definitions provided by the students were compared and analyzed for trends. Finally, based on the responses to the multiple-choice items and the definitions, six students were selected to be interviewed for each subject area. The community college students were found to hold similar alternative conceptions about density, solubility, and phase changes as those cited in literature for high school and college students. Links of alternative conceptions to the particulate nature of matter and use of language were noted. The traditional lab activities did not enhance the students? conceptual understanding of the three subject areas.
Chemistry to Music: Discovering How Music-Based Teaching Affects Academic Achievement and Student Motivation in an 8th Grade Science Class
(2008-08-01) McCammon, William Lodge; Hiller Spires, Committee Member; Candy Beal, Committee Co-Chair; Carol Pope, Committee Co-Chair; Carl Young, Committee Member; Glenda Carter, Committee Member
Cognitive and Developmental Components of Understanding the Nature of Science
(2006-08-06) Dotger, Sharon; David DeMaster, Committee Member; Len Annetta, Committee Member; Glenda Carter, Committee Member; M. Gail Jones, Committee Chair
The purpose of this study is to determine the degree to which years of education, college major, or reflective judgment stage influences individual's understandings of the nature of science. Using a cross-sectional design influenced by the literature describing the development of reflective judgment and nature of science understandings, this study encompasses the viewpoints of 323 individuals from ninth grade through graduate study. This research involves the careful selection of instruments for assessing these two complex constructs, and the processes used to select and rate participants responses is described in detail. Multinomial ordinal regression was used to determine the significance of educational level, major, and reflective judgment on nature of science views. Results indicate that high school students as a whole are least likely to respond appropriately to questions about the nature of science. However, the performance of college students is inconsistent with predictions, college freshmen more often select the desired response than college seniors or graduate students. Additionally, college major has no significant impact on nature of science understandings. Reflective judgment, a term that describes cognitive developmental model of advanced thinking skills, is found to have the most significant correlations with nature of science views. Reflective thinkers are more likely to select the desired nature of science response than quasi-reflective and pre-reflective thinkers for six of the ten questions. Discussion of results is followed by implications for science teaching and learning in K-12 classrooms.
An In-Depth Analysis of Personality and Other Participant Characteristics in a Web-Based Course for Science Teachers
(2002-12-02) Boyette, Todd Randall; John Park, Committee Chair; Glenda Carter, Committee Member; David Haase, Committee Member; Jack Wheatley, Committee Member
The purpose of this study was to analyze the role students' personality and other characteristics play in their experience and achievement in a web-based course for teachers. Participants in the study were 17 inservice teachers enrolled in Technology Tools for Science Teachers in the 2002 spring semester. 'Tech Tools' is a web-based class designed to teach teachers how to use various technology such as digital cameras in the science classroom. As part of the class, students are required to attend four face-to-face sessions during the semester. Personality data was generated by the administering of three instruments: The Simmons Personal Survey, The Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF), and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Inventory. Students also completed an entrance survey at the beginning of the course. All e-mails and Instant Messages sent to the instructors and all posts to the class listserv were collected for quantitative and qualitative analysis. Additional data was collected through Instant Message interviews with ten of the students conducted at the end of the course. Results indicated that characteristics such as assertiveness, courage, sociability, self-esteem, rule consciousness, and teaching experience, were strongly correlated with students' final grades. Traits such as anxiety, tension, apprehension and Privateness strongly correlated with students' amount of communication. Qualitative results indicated that students who are open and receptive to new ideas were better able to handle the rigor of the course, while students that enjoy change appreciated the content and format of the course. Self-esteem seems to impact the opinions of students regarding their experience in Tech Tools and Social Boldness seems to impact their opinions about the value of the face-to-face sessions. Other findings included how the amount of teaching experience of the students affected their perceptions of the workload involved in Tech Tools, how the requirements of North Carolina's Lateral Entry program forces students to make decisions about courses that they would not normally make, and how the class listserv was not utilized by students until they had no other alternatives for help.
Pre-Service Science Teachers' Mental Models Regarding Dissolution and Precipitation Reactions.
(2010-12-13) McBroom, Rachel; John Park, Committee Chair; Maria Oliver-Hoyo, Committee Member; Glenda Carter, Committee Member; Shawn Holmes, Committee Member
Racial Identity Development & Perceptions of Scientists of Black College Students in Science and Non-Science Majors
(2008-05-02) Gomillion, Crystall Sharee; Christopher Brown, Committee Member; Glenda Carter, Committee Member; Eileen R. Carlton Parsons, Committee Co-Chair; John C. Park, Committee Co-Chair
The focus of this research was to evaluate if differences exist in the racial identity profiles and perceptions of scientists held by 48 Black college students majoring in science (n = 17) and non-science (n = 31) fields. The study was conducted at a large, pre-dominantly White university located in the south. All participants completed the Cross Racial Identity Scale (CRIS) and Draw-a-Scientist Test (DAST); measures used to assess six subscales of individuals' racial identity development (RID) and 16 stereotypical conceptions of scientists respectively. Fourteen volunteers also completed one-on-one interviews with the researcher to discuss information that would elucidate their responses to survey instruments. Findings from the CRIS revealed that significant differences did not exist in the science majors' and non-science majors' racial identity profiles. Both groups expressed strongest agreement with views reflected in Internalization Multiculturalist Inclusive (IMCI) and Pre-Encounter Miseducation (PM) subscales. Conversely, the science majors and non-science majors exhibited least agreement with attitudes depicted in Immersion — Emersion Anti-White (IEAW) and Pre-Encounter Self-Hatred (PSH) subscales. Results from the DAST demonstrated that both groups illustrated similar perceptions of scientists as observed by an average of four of the 16 stereotypes expressed in their images.
Reproductive Capacity of Grape Root Borer, Vitacea polistiformis (Harris), and Implications for Pheromone Based Management
(2004-11-11) Pritchard, Patricia Marie; Glenda Carter, Committee Member; Jim Walgenbach, Committee Member; Ron Stinner, Committee Member; John Meyer, Committee Chair
The increasing incidence of insect resistance to insecticides, and proposed governmental restrictions of pesticides on food crops have led many fruit growers to consider the use of synthetic pheromones as a method of managing lepidopteran pests. Synthetic pheromones used in mating disruption disrupt olfactory sexual communications and are believed to result in either delayed or greatly reduced numbers of matings for a proportion of females in the population. In an effort to improve the efficiency of pest management programs utilizing synthetic pheromone for V. polistiformis on grapes, experiments were conducted to examine four components of this insect's biology and behavior that may be influenced as a result of the use of synthetic pheromone. The components studied were the incidence of polygyny, the effect of polygyny and delayed female mating on reproductive capacity, the evaluation of pheromone trap placement on the capture of males in a vineyard, and oviposition behaviors of gravid females in an in-field wind tunnel. Polygyny was observed in V. polistiformis. Males were able to mate at least one time daily for six consecutive days. Male mating history significantly affected the duration of mating. The number of matings per male had a significant effect on female fertility but not on fecundity or reproductive capacity. Virgin female V. polistiformis were mated on day of eclosion or delayed to 3, 5, or 7 days after eclosion. Fecundity, fertility and reproductive capacity of females mated on day of eclosion or 3 days after eclosion were significantly greater than females mated 5 or 7 days after eclosion. Average fertility and reproductive capacity of females mating 7 days after eclosion were significantly lower than all other treatments. Delaying mating by 7 d has the potential to reduce population densities over five generations. Male capture in pheromone traps is known to be influenced by numerous factors. The placement of pheromone traps in vineyards and wind direction were examined to determine their influence on capture frequency. The frequencies of daily per trap capture were compared among traps located in an inner and outer array, and upwind, downwind, and crosswind sectors of the vector-average wind direction in a vineyard. Trap captures were higher with traps located in an inner array compared with the array that was located near the outer edge of the vineyard. Male capture was greater in downwind traps compared with upwind or crosswind traps. Limited information is available on cues that influence the ovipositional behavior of V. polistiformis. Simultaneous choice trials were conducted in a wind tunnel to determine if gravid females discriminate between a grape and non-host plant of similar appearance, and oviposit on grape with greater frequency. Most females oviposited indiscriminately near the release point, or remained motionless. Indiscriminate maternal choice of oviposition sites may be related to the random distribution of wild grape vines, the insect's primary host, in wooded areas. Random oviposition may reduce high larval populations at any single site, and hence the probability of resource depletion and cannibalism.
Teaching Science in Museums
(2004-11-30) Tran, Lynn Uyen; Dave Eggleston, Committee Member; Eileen Parsons, Committee Co-Chair; Glenda Carter, Committee Member; John Penick, Committee Co-Chair
Schools in America have used museums as resources to supplement their curriculum since the 19th century. Field trip research is predominantly from the teachers' and students' perspectives, and draws attention to teachers' and students' contributions prior to, during, and after their field trips. Meanwhile, museum educators' contributions to field trip experiences have been scantily addressed. These educators develop and implement programs intended to help students explore and make sense of their experiences, and despite their limited time with students, studies show they can be memorable. First, field trips are a break in the usual routine, and thus educators leading programs have curiosity and attention attracting power. Second, classroom science teaching literature suggests teachers' teaching knowledge and goals can affect their behaviors, and in turn influence student learning. Third, classroom teachers are novices at planning and implementing field trip planners consequently museum educators can share this responsibility. The follwing research questions guided this participant observation study intended to examine one aspect of the teaching culture in museums, i.e. instruction during one-time science lessons. (1) How do educators teaching one-time lessons in museums adapt their instruction to the students they teach? (2) How do time limitations affect instruction? (3) How does perceived variability in entering student knowledge affect instruction? Data included observations, interviews, and researcher field notes. An inductive analysis model was adopted to analyze the data. Five major findings emerged from this analysis. (1) Repeating lessons develop comfort and insight to compensate one-time nature of lessons. (2) Details within science lessons can vary according to the students. (3) A lifelong learning perspective forms the foundation for educators' choices. (4) Refine teaching to use time efficiently. (5) Educators designate roles to teachers and chaperones to maximize time. These findings had implications for museum educators, classroom teachers, and all those involved in school field trips. Recommendations for action and future research emerging from this study were listed and discussed.