A study of earth system science in the community (earthcomm) in terms of its congruency with the visions in the national science education standards and its effectiveness in improving student learning

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study was conducted to investigate the Earth System Science in the Community (EarthComm) curriculum in terms of its congruency with the National Science Education Standards (NSES) and its effectiveness in improving student learning. Thirty-one high schools across the nation were participated in the study during the 1999 - 2000 academic year. Three textbooks (EarthComm and the most used in the US and Korea) were compared in terms of questioning type and level of laboratory activities. Data gathered from field-testing EarthComm Modules I and II were analyzed to find any significant changes between pre- and post- tests. The major findings are:
1. EarthComm includes the most pages and laboratory activities while organized with the least number of chapters and concepts among the three textbooks.
2. EarthComm includes the most questions which are classified as experiential. Non-experiential questions included in EarthComm tend to be 'open-ended.'
3. Higher-order thinking questions are featured in EarthComm; these include inferring and applying questions.
4. Most laboratory activities found in EarthComm are level 1 in which problems and methods/procedures are given with only answers left open.
5. Student learning was enhanced by EarthComm when taught by teachers whose philosophy agreed with the NSES. Conversely, student scores were not significantly increased in classrooms of teachers whose philosophy was not in agreement with the NSES visions.
6. EarthComm does not significantly impact student achievement in terms of school size and the type of community (urban and rural) in which the school is located.
7. Student achievement scores are significantly lower in EarthComm classes with high rates of minority (non-white) students.
8. The differences in student achievement scores between the highly experienced teachers and new teachers is not statistically significant for Module I test while significant for Module II.
9. Student higher-order thinking skills are significantly improved in EarthComm classes.
These findings indicate that EarthComm provides a needed program in earth science to meet the visions of the NSES.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• TABLE OF CONTENTS = 7
• LIST OF TABLES = 10
• LIST OF FIGURES = 13
• CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION = 1
• U.S. Science Curriculum Reform = 1
• EarthComm and National Science Education Standards = 3
• Research Questions = 5
• Significance of the Study = 7
• Definition of Key Terms = 8
• CHAPTER II REVIEW OF LITERATURE = 10
• Introduction = 10
• Historical Perspectives of Reform in Earth Science: ESCP and TSM = 11
• COM Curricula in Science Education = 17
• Earth System Science in the Community (EarthComm) = 19
• Description of EarthComm = 20
• EarthComm Curriculum Goals = 20
• EarthComm's Four Key Concepts = 21
• EarthComm Curriculum Content and Structure = 23
• EarthComm Teacher Enhancement Program = 27
• EarthComm Curriculum Field Test = 28
• Research on Science Textbook Analyses = 29
• Research on Questioning Style = 31
• Research on Level of Laboratory Activities = 33
• National Science Education Standards = 38
• Research Design and Methodologies = 42
• CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY = 43
• Introduction = 43
• Sample Selection = 44
• Field-Testing Teachers = 45
• Students = 46
• Instrumentation = 46
• Comparison Form of Three Textbooks = 46
• Questioning Style = 47
• Level of Laboratory Activities = 47
• Student Achievement Test = 48
• Ebel's Relevance Guide = 48
• Data Collection = 48
• General Features of Textbooks = 48
• Questioning Style = 49
• Level of Laboratory Activities = 50
• Teacher Philosophy = 50
• EarthComm and Higher-Order Thinking Skills = 52
• Method of Data Analysis = 53
• CHAPTER IV RESULTS OF THE STUDY = 56
• Introduction = 56
• General Features of Three Textbooks = 57
• Questioning Type = 60
• Frequency of Questions = 60
• Frequency of Experiential and Non-Experiential Questions = 61
• Level of Laboratory Activities = 65
• Teacher Philosophy and Student Achievement = 66
• Description of Module I and Module II Tests = 67
• Teacher Philosophy = 69
• Module I = 70
• Module II = 73
• Effectiveness of EarthComm Related to Various Demographic Variables = 76
• Large vs. Small Schools = 79
• Urban vs. Rural Communities = 81
• Minority vs. Majority Students = 83
• Highly Experienced Teachers with Over 20 Years of Experience vs. Teachers with Fewer Than 5 years of Teaching Experience = 85
• Higher-Order Thinking Skills = 88
• CHAPTER V INTERPRETATION AND DISCUSSION OF RESULTS = 91
• Introduction = 91
• General Features of Three Textbooks = 91
• Questioning Type = 92
• Level of Laboratory Activities = 96
• Teacher Philosophy and Student Achievement = 98
• Effectiveness of EarthComm Related to Demographic Variables = 100
• Large Schools vs. Small Schools = 101
• Urban vs. Rural Communities = 101
• Minority vs. Majority Students = 102
• Highly Experienced Teachers with Over 20 Years of Experience vs. Teachers with Fewer Than 5 Years of Teaching Experience = 103
• Higher-Order Thinking Skills = 104
• CHAPTER VI SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS = 105
• Introduction = 105
• Purpose of the Study = 105
• Procedures Used for the Study = 106
• Major Findings of the Study = 107
• Limitations of The Study = 110
• Recommendations for Further Study = 111
• APPENDIX A GENERAL FEATURES FOR EACH OF THREE TEXTBOOKS = 113
• APPENDIX B TEXTBOOK QUESTIONING STYLE ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENT (TQSAI) = 114
• APPENDIX C LEVEL OF LABORATORY ACTIVITIES = 117
• APPENDIX D MODULE I TEST QUESTIONS = 119
• APPENDIX E MODULE II TEST QUESTIONS = 129
• APPENDIX F EARTHCOMM FIELD TESTING INSTRUMENTS = 137
• APPENDIX G GUIDE TO RELEVANCE CATEGORIES = 141
• REFERENCES = 143