Volume 97 (8), December 1997

Table of Contents

Abstracts

Table of Contents

Abstracts

 
• Changes in High School Teachers' Constructivist Philosophies

Jung-Il Cho, chonnam National University
Robert E. Yager and Do-Yong Park, University of Iowa
Hae-Ae Seo, Korean Education Development Institute


---


        Since the 1980s, over a thousand Korean science teachers and supervisors visited western countries to participate in overseas in-service training programs. This study reports the evaluation of the effect of the University of Iowa's program on the development of teachers' constructivist philosophies by participating teachers. A total of 70 high school teachers who participated during the fall of 1995 and the summer of 1996 were surveyed. The Constructivist Learning Environment Survey qas translated into Korean and administered to the participants three times: at the beginning and the end of the workshops and again three months after. Analysis indicated that the effect of the workshop was significant and that the learning was retained. Ways of encouraging teachers to continue improvement in the use of constructivist practices are discussed in light of the realities of Korean science education.

Go to Table of Contents
 

• The Ups and Downs of Percent (and Some Interesting Connections)

Melanie Parker
Clarion University of Pennsylvania


---


        Percent is a standardized ration comparison that is often used to describe relative amounts of increase and decrease. In this paper, the nonsymmetric relationship between percent of increase and percent of decrease is explored in several ways. Beginning witha simple graphical representation of the relationship, the functional relationship is developed, with relative decrease expressed as a function of relative increase. Once expressed in the form
f(x) =100x/(100 + x), an immediate connection is made to two other topics commonly found within the study of rates-the work problem and the harmonic mean. Finally, successive percents of increase or decrease are shown to be everyday applications of the geometric mean. This deeper look at a common mathematical concept has uncovered rich structural relationships between topics that are often isolated in the curriculum.

Go to Table of Contents
 

• Promoting Equity in Secondary Science and Mathematics Classrooms With Biography Projects

Peggy Daisey
Eastern Michigan University


---


        Teachers have been called upon to give their students the opportunity to consider the perspectives of diverse individuals across the science and mathematics curriculum. This is because inclusion enhances motivation and achievement. Biographies provide context for construction of knowledge, vicarious experiences, positive attitudes toward instruction, and literacy enhancement. The purpose of this paper is to provide a rationale for including biography projects representing diverse contributors to science and mathematics, describe a biography project assignment used in a methods course for secondary teacher preparation, provide preservice teachers' comments about the assignment, and make connections to current research about equitable instruction.

Go to Table of Contents
 

• Evidence of Rote Learning of Science by Spanish University Students

Fermín M^a . González, State University of Navarra


---


        The purpose of this investigation was to test for alternative conceptions of students enrolled in a second course of sciences at the Teacher Training School in Pamplona, Spain, regarding a geological topic (silicates) which had been studied in previous educational levels. The investigation also proposed to test the efficiency of Novak's concept mapping technique as a method of knowing the cognitive structure of the students. Student's concept maps showed the existence of a large number of alternative conceptions and the persistence and tenacity of these misconceptions after a period of instruction on the topic, even in the case of so-called "good" students.

Go to Table of Contents
 

• Implicit Assumptions and Communication in Statistics

Hionel Pereira-Mendoza, Nanyang Technological University
Henry Schulz, Memorial University of New Foundland


---


        Statistics is becoming an increasingly important component of the school curriculum. The subject provides students with opportunities to explore situations that they read about or face in their everyday lives. This article describes a statistics project that focuses on communicating conclusions and on understanding implicit assumptions that may affect conclusions based on the information. The ability to make a table and draw graphs and charts is an important component of statistical education. However, the ability to communicate ideas to others and understand implicit assumptions associated with data are key objectives of educating students for a world that increasingly relies on statistical information as a means of mass communication.

Go to Table of Contents