First Advisor

Michael Flower

Date of Publication

1-1-2011

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Teaching (M.S.T.) in General Science

Department

Science Teaching

Language

English

Subjects

Alternative assessment, Concept maps, Preservice teachers, Concept mapping -- Study and teaching (Secondary), Student teachers -- Training of, Action research in education -- Case studies, Educational tests and measurements -- Research

DOI

10.15760/etd.603

Physical Description

1 online resource (v, 115 p.)

Abstract

This action research study investigated the feasibility of a novice teacher using concept maps as assessments in secondary science classes. The subjects in this study were the researcher, a novice pre-service science teacher, and students (n=35) in two classes of mixed-grade Foundations in Physics and Chemistry. This study tracked student and teacher experiences over an instructional unit in astronomy. All students received a 50-minute lesson on concept mapping, one class received three additional concept mapping lessons during the unit, then all students took a unit test with a paired short answer and concept map question. Student surveys were conducted to gather student feedback, and teacher reflective journaling was used to track teacher data. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results indicated that the extra concept mapping lessons did not result in higher scores on the concept maps or the paired short answer responses. The teacher journaling revealed that using concept mapping as an assessment tool was possible for a novice teacher. Advantages and barriers were identified.

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).

Comments

Portland State University. Center for Science Education

Persistent Identifier

http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/7228

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