Abstracts All Abstracts Are Listed by First Author

Abstracts All abstracts are listed by first author. Institutions of authors are in the author index. Hasan Abdel-Kareem, Charles Anderson Comparing Palestinian and American Students’ Accounts of Water in Environmental Systems This poster reports on a study comparing American and Palestinian students in terms of their understanding of the water cycle. We were interested in how the reasoning of the two groups is affected by differences in location and culture. We administrated written tests to about 1000 students from both groups in upper elementary, middle, and high school. The test addressed three domains of the water cycle: general water questions such as estimating daily usage and water distribution on Earth, students’ representations of water cycle and ground water, and learners’ abilities in tracing water through human and natural systems. Analyses showed two types of results; within and between groups. Considering all participants as one group, younger children showed naïve conceptualizations of the water cycle. Most upper elementary participants equate water evaporation with disappearance. High school students used more sophisticated representations, yet few were able to draw reasonable diagrams of underground water or to interpret a three-dimensional map. Our work suggests that although many environmental problems are seen as global, learners’ locations and cultures play a significant role in their understanding of such issues. Fouad Abd-El-Khalick, Saouma BouJaoude, Reinders Duit, AndrÈe Tiberghien, Maria Pilar JimÈnez Aleixandre, Justin Dillon An “Ad hoc Committee on the History of Science Education” Sponsored Session: Science Education Research Traditions in Europe: Shedding Light on Didactics Didactics is an established research tradition in science education with a long history in many European countries. This tradition, however, is largely absent from the Anglo-American science education research literature. Kansanen (2002) suggested that the word ìdidacticsî appears only in texts translated from non-English sources and when American educational researchers use the word, they do so with a ìcontemptuous nuanceî (p. 431). This situa- tion may hinder communication across different researchers and research traditions and limit the access of science education researchers to a diversity of research perspectives. Moreover, a history of science education that does not account for such an important research tradition will necessarily be lacking. Consequently, the purpose of this session is to provide NARST members with an opportunity to interact with science educators from several European countries who are working with this research tradition in the hope of broadening the perspectives from within which the teaching and learning of science are viewed. Specifically, the session will focus on addressing the following questions: (1) How is didactics defined in different parts of Europe? (2) What are the advantages of using the didactics lens in science education research? (3) What are the differences between didactics and approaches to research in Anglo- American research traditions? Fouad Abd-El-Khalick Factors Underling Decisions to Pursue Alternative Routes to Secondary Science Certification This study aimed to discern factors that underlie decisions to pursue an alternative route to teacher certification. Participants were two cohorts of students enrolled in an innovative alternative secondary science and mathematics certification program and their matched counterparts enrolled in the more traditional certification program at the same institution. In- depth individual interviews and examination of teaching-related artifacts served as the main sources of data. Analyses revealed little difference between students in the two certification programs with regards to factors that have traditionally been used to assess the potential of prospective secondary teachers. However, participants differed significantly in terms of pre- college informal and formal educational experiences, with the alternative certification students being less satisfied with such experiences. It is argued that what is promising about prospective teachers joining alternative certification programs might not be their advanced degrees and relevant work experiences in science or mathematics, but their being mavericks aiming to change the culture of pre-college science and mathematics teaching and learning. 84 2008 NARST Annual International Conference Eleanor Abrams, Chuing-Fen Yen, Larry Yore, Pauline Chinn, Huei Lee, Erica Blatt, Chorgh-Jee Guo The intersection of the influences of schooling, culture and nature on the motivation of Hawaiian and Taiwanese Indigenous children Modern Indigenous students are described as living between two worlds (Barnhardt, 2005). This population faces unique challenges but also possesses untapped capabilities as they engage in learning within the school environ- ment, especially in the areas of science. This symposium examines socio-cultural influences on the teaching of science as well as how nature influences the motivation of Taiwanese and Hawaiian Indigenous children to learn science. Tensions within the goals of the teachers and the students are examined. Specific examples of cultural bridging are discussed through the use of language, beliefs, values and place. Omer Acar, Anita Roychoudhury, Bruce Patton Undergraduate Students’ Reasoning Skills and Conceptual Development in an Inquiry Class This study describes undergraduate students’ conceptual and reasoning development in an inquiry class. Students’ reasoning and conceptual understanding were assessed by pre and post tests. Students’ reasoning was assessed by the use of argumentation analysis. Two scenarios were developed for assessing the reasoning on sinking & floating, and balancing. Students’ conceptual understanding was assessed by a conceptual test. The results showed that student reasoning scores significantly improved for the reasoning test on sinking and floating but not for balancing. However, students’ normalized gains for reasoning scores on sinking and floating yielded to different outcomes. In addition, the gap between high achievers and low achievers at the pre-test (conceptual test) did not close. The implications for science classrooms are discussed according to the findings. Emine Adadan, Kathy Trundle, Karen Irving Progression in Grade 11 Students’ Conceptions About the Aspects of the Particle Theory The objective of this quasi-experimental study was to examine grade 11 students’ developing conceptions con- cerning some components of the particle theory from the pretest to the posttest. One of the two groups received the Reform-Based Teaching with Multiple Representations (RBTw/MR), whereas the other group engaged in the Reform-Based Teaching (RBT). The data were collected through qualitative research methods, including open- ended questionnaires, interviews and student artifacts. Data analysis showed that before instruction, over 70% of the students in both groups held alternative conceptions about the spacing between the particles of liquids and the motion of particles in solid state. In addition, before instruction, only 10% of the students in both groups indicat- ed an understanding regarding the concept of the existence of the attraction forces that act between the particles, whereas 90% of the students in both groups did not provide any evidence of understanding this particular concept. Following the instruction, the percent of the RBTw/MR students who developed a scientific understanding about the aspects of the particle theory, those of which they had conceptual problems before instruction, highly exceeded the percent of the RBT students. Valarie Akerson, Cary Buzzelli, Lisa Donnelly On the Nature of Teaching Nature of Science: Preservice Early Childhood Teachers’ Instruction in Preschool and Elementary Settings This study explored what hindered or facilitated the teaching of nature of science (NOS) for four preservice early childhood teachers at the preschool and K-3 levels. We investigated whether the preservice teachers’ concerns about teaching NOS and their intellectual levels influenced whether and how they taught NOS. We used vid- eotaped classroom observations to determine the science instructional practices at the preschool and elementary levels, and to track whether and how preservice teachers emphasized NOS. Pre and post internship we used the SOCQ to determine concerns about NOS instruction, and the LCQ to determine intellectual levels. We found that neither concerns about teaching NOS nor intellectual level were related to whether and how the preservice teachers emphasized NOS. The main factors that hindered or facilitated teaching NOS were the influence of the 2008 NARST Annual International Conference 85 cooperating teacher and the use of the science curriculum. The preservice teacher with the cooperating teacher who understood and emphasized NOS herself, and showed her how to modify the curriculum to include NOS, was able to explicitly teach NOS to her students. Those in classrooms whose cooperating teachers did not provide support for NOS instruction were unable to emphasize NOS. Implications for preschool and K-3 teacher prepara- tion are made. Valarie Akerson, Lisa Donnelly Teaching Nature of Science to K-2 Students: What Can They Gain From Instruction and What Influences Changes in Their Views? This study explored the influence of a Saturday Science program that used explicit reflective instruction through

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