Sponsor
Portland State University. Center for Science Education
First Advisor
William Becker
Date of Publication
Spring 7-18-2013
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Teaching (M.S.T.) in General Science
Department
Science Teaching
Language
English
Subjects
Inquiry-based learning, Science -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Standards -- Oregon, Science -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Oregon -- Evaluation, High school teaching -- Methodology, Science teachers -- Psychology
DOI
10.15760/etd.1103
Physical Description
1 online resource (iv, 114 pages)
Abstract
The Framework for K-12 Science Education, the foundation for the Next Generation Science Standards, identifies scientific explanation as one of the eight practices "essential for learning science." In order to design professional development to help teachers implement these new standards, we need to assess students' current skill level in explanation construction, characterize current teacher practice surrounding it, and identify best practices for supporting students in explanation construction. This multiple-case study investigated teacher practice in eight high school science inquiry units in the Portland metro area and the scientific explanations the students produced in their work samples.
Teacher Instructional Portfolios (TIPs) were analyzed with a TIP rubric based on best practices in teaching science inquiry and a qualitative coding scheme. Written scientific explanations were analyzed with an explanation rubric and qualitative codes. Relationships between instructional practices and explanation quality were examined.
The study found that students struggle to produce high quality explanations. They have the most difficulty including adequate reasoning with science content. Also, teachers need to be familiar with the components of explanation and use a variety of pedagogical techniques to support students' explanation construction. Finally, the topic of the science inquiry activity should be strongly connected to the content in the unit, and students need a firm grasp of the scientific theory or model on which their research questions are based to adequately explain their inquiry results.
Rights
In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
Persistent Identifier
http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/9964
Recommended Citation
Hoffenberg, Rebecca Sue, "An Investigation into Teacher Support of Science Explanation in High School Science Inquiry Units" (2013). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 1103.
https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.1103
Included in
Educational Methods Commons, Science and Mathematics Education Commons, Secondary Education and Teaching Commons