Current Projects of the Science Education Program

Nancy Davis, Associate Professor

Working with environmental educators to infuse current developments in brain research into strategies used in environmental education curriculum. For example, looking at the relationship between brain wave frequencies and visual imaging in the Project WILD activity "Stormy Weather."
In the final stages of research into elementary school teachers' conceptions of and implementation of inquiry based teaching. She is currently revising 4 case studies of teachers' enactment of inquiry lessons.
Conceptualization of an article that examines and compares the methods used in science education research. The article focuses on placing the varieties of research methods used to develop understanding of teaching and learning of science within a framework of integral
Piloting a newly designed course entitled "Using Statistics in Science Education." This course assists science teachers to use statistics in inquiry based teaching through the appropriate use of graphing programs (Excel), understanding research on science teaching and learning, and understanding statistical concepts related to testing and measurement in science.

George Dawson, Emeritus Professor

The Interactive Media Science Project, which George directs, has just completed two multiyear projects. Burning Issues II is an DVD update of our very popular Burning Issue CD originally released four years ago. Burning Issues was funded by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to educate the public about fire in ecosystems. Covered are topics ranging from building a fire wise house to how wildlife has adapted to fires. Over 60,000 copies of the first edition have been distributed to schools, fire departments and federal agencies. The new edition features larger, sharper images and additional activities. It is at the printer with distribution beginning in the next few weeks.
George's project "Fire In Wildhorse Basin" is web based and was launched this past Thursday. It pushes the limits of interactivity on this inquiry-based site which deals with using fire in wildlife management. It, along with Silent Invaders, a web site George and others completed two years ago, are available at www.fsu.edu/~imsp. Silent Invaders explores the world of invasive species, All of these projects were developed for use with middle school aged children to adults.
George's current work is with the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He is involved in writing test questions on a formative evaluation project for the state of Wyoming. This will assess the state's progress in upgrading the teaching of science. This work follows a project spanning two years writing test questions for the Florida Science Teacher Examination at the University of South Florida.

Sherry Southerland, Associate Professor

Working with students in her Science Education Curriculum course, Sherry is developing materials to help local middle school teachers implement a new middle school science curriculum.
Working with John Settlage with funding by the National Institute of Health, Sherry developed a web-based curriculum targeting nature of science (http://stilt.genetics.utah.edu). The curriculum is used it as a vehicle to better understand the teaching and learning of the nature of science conceptions currently described by many of the national science reforms.
Sherry, Scott Sowell (a past Sci Ed graduate) and Ellen Granger from Arts and Science are developing an instrument to measure teachers' personal state of contentment or discontentment with their science teaching. They're hoping that such a measure will allow us to better understand the readiness for teachers to engage in professional development experiences. They are at the stage where we need data from wide sample of practicing science teachers (elementary, middle and high school) drawn from teachers across the country. The website for the survey can be found at http://mailer.fsu.edu/~ssouther/
Working with Meg Blanchard (from NCState) and Karen Rose (a science education MS student and teacher at Rickards High School) and Barry Golden (a current Science Education graduate student), this project focused on students' learning about the nature of science (NOS). This study highlights the role of prior knowledge in their current science learning.
Dr. Sherry Southerland, Dr. Ellen Granger and Meg Blanchard were awarded the funds through a federal MURMSI grant ($66,281) in August, 2005 to compare student learning through traditional instruction and inquiry instruction. 30 middle school and high school science teachers in three counties (Leon, Wakulla, and Bay) taught a week long unit on forensic science, half of the teachers using traditional teacher-centered instructional patterns, and half of the teachers using inquiry level 2 instruction. Student learning as measured by pre and post assessments was be compared across these two groups. Data analysis is on-going.
Dr. Southerland, working with Ellen Granger and Pat Dixon recently received a 5-year, Teacher Professional Continuum Grant from NSF to study the effects of Research Experiences for Teachers.
In conjunction with Gale Sinatra from the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, she is examining the relation between beliefs and scientific knowledge, and the role of intentionality when learning about biological evolution. Data collected from is used to argue that students' knowledge about evolution, their personal epistemological beliefs about the nature of science (NOS), and their willingness to question ideas (as ascertained through measures of cognitive dispositions) play a unique role in learning about evolution, particularly human evolution. These relationships are used to suggest that conceptual change about biological evolution can brought about through heightening students' awareness of current conceptions of NOS and their own epistemological beliefs.

Dr. Alejandro Gallard, Associate Professor

In conjunction with Sherry Southerland, Dr. Gallard is working to describe the conceptual and affective difficulties in teachers learning to address the needs of traditionally underserved student populations.

Dr. Penny Gilmer, Professor

President of National Association for Research in Science Teaching.
Published one action research study in a book she co-edited with Peter Taylor and Ken Tobin, called Transforming Undergraduate Science Teaching: Social Constructivist Perspectives, published in 2002 by Peter Lang Publishers, Inc. Dr. Gilmer's chapter concerned the action research I did with my Honors General Chemistry students.
She has published three monographs about K-12 teachers conducting action research or scientific research.
Served on a National Research Council committee that issued the book, Educating Teachers of Science, Mathematics, and Technology: New Practices for the New Millennium (2002).


	STE Home Science Education Home -Faculty -Recent Titles -Current Projects Program -Undergraduate Programs -Graduate Programs -On-Line Master's Degree Program (for practicing teachers) -Get on our mailing list! -National Science Teachers Association -Graduate Students -Middle School Science Support Site			Current Projects of the Science Education Program Nancy Davis, Associate Professor Working with environmental educators to infuse current developments in brain research into strategies used in environmental education curriculum. For example, looking at the relationship between brain wave frequencies and visual imaging in the Project WILD activity "Stormy Weather." In the final stages of research into elementary school teachers' conceptions of and implementation of inquiry based teaching. She is currently revising 4 case studies of teachers' enactment of inquiry lessons. Conceptualization of an article that examines and compares the methods used in science education research. The article focuses on placing the varieties of research methods used to develop understanding of teaching and learning of science within a framework of integral . Piloting a newly designed course entitled "Using Statistics in Science Education." This course assists science teachers to use statistics in inquiry based teaching through the appropriate use of graphing programs (Excel), understanding research on science teaching and learning, and understanding statistical concepts related to testing and measurement in science. George Dawson, Emeritus Professor The Interactive Media Science Project, which George directs, has just completed two multiyear projects. Burning Issues II is an DVD update of our very popular Burning Issue CD originally released four years ago. Burning Issues was funded by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to educate the public about fire in ecosystems. Covered are topics ranging from building a fire wise house to how wildlife has adapted to fires. Over 60,000 copies of the first edition have been distributed to schools, fire departments and federal agencies. The new edition features larger, sharper images and additional activities. It is at the printer with distribution beginning in the next few weeks. George's project "Fire In Wildhorse Basin" is web based and was launched this past Thursday. It pushes the limits of interactivity on this inquiry-based site which deals with using fire in wildlife management. It, along with Silent Invaders, a web site George and others completed two years ago, are available at www.fsu.edu/~imsp. Silent Invaders explores the world of invasive species, All of these projects were developed for use with middle school aged children to adults. George's current work is with the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He is involved in writing test questions on a formative evaluation project for the state of Wyoming. This will assess the state's progress in upgrading the teaching of science. This work follows a project spanning two years writing test questions for the Florida Science Teacher Examination at the University of South Florida. Sherry Southerland, Associate Professor Working with students in her Science Education Curriculum course, Sherry is developing materials to help local middle school teachers implement a new middle school science curriculum. Working with John Settlage with funding by the National Institute of Health, Sherry developed a web-based curriculum targeting nature of science (http://stilt.genetics.utah.edu). The curriculum is used it as a vehicle to better understand the teaching and learning of the nature of science conceptions currently described by many of the national science reforms. Sherry, Scott Sowell (a past Sci Ed graduate) and Ellen Granger from Arts and Science are developing an instrument to measure teachers' personal state of contentment or discontentment with their science teaching. They're hoping that such a measure will allow us to better understand the readiness for teachers to engage in professional development experiences. They are at the stage where we need data from wide sample of practicing science teachers (elementary, middle and high school) drawn from teachers across the country. The website for the survey can be found at http://mailer.fsu.edu/~ssouther/ Working with Meg Blanchard (from NCState) and Karen Rose (a science education MS student and teacher at Rickards High School) and Barry Golden (a current Science Education graduate student), this project focused on students' learning about the nature of science (NOS). This study highlights the role of prior knowledge in their current science learning. Dr. Sherry Southerland, Dr. Ellen Granger and Meg Blanchard were awarded the funds through a federal MURMSI grant ($66,281) in August, 2005 to compare student learning through traditional instruction and inquiry instruction. 30 middle school and high school science teachers in three counties (Leon, Wakulla, and Bay) taught a week long unit on forensic science, half of the teachers using traditional teacher-centered instructional patterns, and half of the teachers using inquiry level 2 instruction. Student learning as measured by pre and post assessments was be compared across these two groups. Data analysis is on-going. Dr. Southerland, working with Ellen Granger and Pat Dixon recently received a 5-year, Teacher Professional Continuum Grant from NSF to study the effects of Research Experiences for Teachers. In conjunction with Gale Sinatra from the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, she is examining the relation between beliefs and scientific knowledge, and the role of intentionality when learning about biological evolution. Data collected from is used to argue that students' knowledge about evolution, their personal epistemological beliefs about the nature of science (NOS), and their willingness to question ideas (as ascertained through measures of cognitive dispositions) play a unique role in learning about evolution, particularly human evolution. These relationships are used to suggest that conceptual change about biological evolution can brought about through heightening students' awareness of current conceptions of NOS and their own epistemological beliefs. Dr. Alejandro Gallard, Associate Professor In conjunction with Sherry Southerland, Dr. Gallard is working to describe the conceptual and affective difficulties in teachers learning to address the needs of traditionally underserved student populations. Dr. Penny Gilmer, Professor President of National Association for Research in Science Teaching. Published one action research study in a book she co-edited with Peter Taylor and Ken Tobin, called Transforming Undergraduate Science Teaching: Social Constructivist Perspectives, published in 2002 by Peter Lang Publishers, Inc. Dr. Gilmer's chapter concerned the action research I did with my Honors General Chemistry students. She has published three monographs about K-12 teachers conducting action research or scientific research. Served on a National Research Council committee that issued the book, Educating Teachers of Science, Mathematics, and Technology: New Practices for the New Millennium (2002).