Albert S Byers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Albert S Byers

Science and Children, 2012

Educational Technology Research and Development, 2017

This study explores the diffusion of Web 2.0 technologies among science educators and the ways th... more This study explores the diffusion of Web 2.0 technologies among science educators and the ways that these technologies are used to build teacher professional communities of practice (CoP) in life sciences and physical sciences. We used surveys and web analytics collected over a 21-month period to examine factors that motivate teachers to collaborate in these CoPs and the extent to which collaborative participation contributes to the development of sociotechnical capital and job outcomes, such as instructional practices and self-efficacy for science instruction. Results showed that only the lack of co-located peers at teachers’ schools predicted CoP participation. Participation did not predict job outcomes, but it did predict some aspects of sociotechnical capital, such as a cohesive climate and situated knowledge. In addition, sociotechnical capital was associated with job outcomes, including use of inquiry-based instruction, use of inquiry-based classroom activities and teacher self-efficacy. The lack of effect of most of the antecedent variables in predicting participation and the relatively minor role of participation in contributing to sociotechnical capital and job outcomes may be explained by floor effects on participation due to infrequent and ephemeral engagement of CoP members. Although participation rates were generally low, the positive association of participation with sociotechnical capital as well as generally favorable ratings of sociotechnical constructs suggest that online CoPs may have value for distributed science educators. Future research should address whether persistent participation by individuals is needed to build and sustain sociotechnical capital in online CoPs and to enhance development of participants’ teaching attitudes/practices.

Journal of Science Education and Technology - J SCI EDUC TECHNOL, 2002

Recent changes in science education standards have mandated a prominent place for inquiry learnin... more Recent changes in science education standards have mandated a prominent place for inquiry learning in science curricula. However, change from traditional teaching methods to a more inquiry-centered approach is difficult to enact. While research to date demonstrates a number of successful inquiry implementations, it also reveals a slow rate of change along with possible reasons for difficulty in adopting inquiry instructional methods. Further, inquiry reforms have failed in the past. The Networking for Leadership, Inquiry, and Systemic Thinking (NLIST) initiative, sponsored by the Council of State Science Supervisors and NASA, proposes to facilitate inquiry through systemic reform designed to avoid the mistakes of the past and incorporate new knowledge about teaching and learning. Systemic elements targeted for change include a standard conceptualization of science as inquiry, instructional materials, professional development, administrative support and leadership, facilities, commun...

Journal of Science Education and Technology, 2007

Journal of Science Education and Technology, 1996

Journal of Science Teacher Education, 2011

The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) recently launched a comprehensive electronic pro... more The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) recently launched a comprehensive electronic professional development (e-PD) online portal, the NSTA Learning Center. This support site for educators currently includes over 6,000 e-PD resources and opportunities available on-demand, as well as various tools designed to help educators maximize the effectiveness of using NSTA resources. One tool, the PD Indexer, helps teachers identify their own areas of content strengths and weaknesses by selecting content-specific assessments. Individual NSTA resources are recommended based on assessment outcomes. This paper presents a detailed description of the procedures employed by NSTA to develop valid and reliable PD Indexer content-specific multiple-choice assessment items.

WebNet, 2001

Page 1. Developing Guidelines for Effective On-line Collaboration Sandra C. Hughes1, Leah Wickers... more Page 1. Developing Guidelines for Effective On-line Collaboration Sandra C. Hughes1, Leah Wickersham, Ph.D.2, and Dave Smith3 1Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division and Joint Advanced Distributed Learning ...

Stagnant student achievement in science education in the United States has placed an increased em... more Stagnant student achievement in science education in the United States has placed an increased emphasis on teacher professional development. Since many elementary educators could benefit from improved science content knowledge-and given the challenge of providing this at a level scalable and sustainable through face-to-face delivery alone-this study sought to understand what types of online self-directed content-interaction strategies are of greatest learner satisfaction and provide the highest learning impact for teachers in grades three-six. Employing Anderson's Equivalency of Interaction Theorem, and looking at age, years teaching experience, and learning preferences via Kolb and Kolb's Learning Style Inventory 3.1 (2005), this descriptive study non-randomly sampled 85 educators who passed a series of self-paced interactive web modules to rate their preferences for five different types of content-interactive strategies: (a) simulations, (b) interactive reference, (c) hands-on, (d) personal feedback, and (e) pedagogical implications. Using an online survey and a pre-and postassessment instrument it was found that (a) as age and years teaching experience increase, teachers' preferences for personal feedback, interactive reference, and simulations increased, (b) teachers' content knowledge increased significantly after completing the web modules, (c) teachers' learning style moderately aligned with their preferences for content-interaction strategies, and (d) teachers least preferred the pedagogical implications component. Instructional designers and education administrators selecting professional development for teachers may find this informative. Data from this research support Anderson's theory that if the content interaction is rich, human interaction may be provided in diminished capacities iii Dedication I would like to first and foremost dedicate this effort to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He provides comfort, peace, and strength in this turbulent world, and everlasting hope and salvation in the next one. Second, I dedicate this to my father, Pete Byers, and my mother, Carole Byers. Both were outstanding individuals and exemplary parents who gave of their love and support, encouraging me to strive for a life of high moral character, integrity, and one with a spiritual compass to keep it centered. They both knew of this endeavor, which spanned a decade, but passed from this world before it was completed. I know they are looking down from Heaven with a warm smile. This knowledge provides a sense of gratification that is hard to express. I love my parents immensely. Next, I want to dedicate this work to my wife, Julie. She gave selflessly of her time and energy in this endeavor. She maintained a strong sense of family through the many weeks, months, and years when I was not at home working on this effort. She earned this degree right by my side and from afar. I am truly fortunate to have a woman of her character and beauty in my life. I could not have hoped for a better wife and mother. Julie, let's take a trip together you and I. It's time to celebrate! In closing this dedication, I want to acknowledge my two girls, Natalie and Samantha. These two girls provide a sense of joy for life that energizes me daily. They embody a purity of heart and take pleasure in the simple things. I am truly blessed. Natalie is 12 years old and Samantha is 5 at the time this journey is coming to a close. There is much life yet to live on this Earth, and I look forward to sharing it with them. I hope to be as good a parent to them as my mother and father were to me. Chapter 1: Introduction and Need for the Study Strengthening elementary and middle school teacher science content knowledge and science teaching abilities is a national imperative in the United States. Strategic policies outlined within the America Competes Act (2007) as well as findings and recommendations from the U.S. Department of Education's National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for the 21st Century speak directly to the need for improving science content and science pedagogy among elementary and middle school teachers in America ("America Competes Act ", 2007;

The scientific complexities of global climate change, with wide-ranging economic and social signi... more The scientific complexities of global climate change, with wide-ranging economic and social significance, create an intellectual challenge that mandates greater public understanding of climate change research and the concurrent ability to make informed decisions. The critical need for an engaged, science literate public has been repeatedly emphasized by multi-disciplinary entities like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the National Academies (Rising Above the Gathering Storm report), and the interagency group responsible for the recently updated Climate Literacy: The Essential Principles of Climate Science. There is a clear need for an American public that is climate literate and for K-12 teachers confident in teaching relevant science content. A key goal in the creation of a climate literate society is to enhance teachers' knowledge of global climate change through a national, scalable, and sustainable professional development system, using compelling climat...

Article provides brief literature review of teachers' perceptions to using the Internet in th... more Article provides brief literature review of teachers' perceptions to using the Internet in their classroom and recommends implementing a interview tool to discern local teacher perception that are the largest barriers to use. Sample questions and a portion of the Interview guide are provided.

NASA and NSTA teaching resources can accentuate your Earth and space science lessons. Reach for t... more NASA and NSTA teaching resources can accentuate your Earth and space science lessons. Reach for the Stars! F ew things excite science educators more than NASA and NSTA. Teachers recognize these two entities for their expertise in Earth and space science and science education, respec-tively. We jumped at the opportunity when these two superpowers asked us to develop online short courses for science teachers that combined their resources! Through the NASA IDEA (Integrating NASA Digi-tal Educational Assets) project, we developed a series of short courses that combined the NSTA Learning Center resources with NASA's educational websites. Teachers can access the NSTA online short courses through the NSTA Learning Center's learning re-sources and opportunities section (see Internet Re-sources). These short courses cover a variety of science content areas and teachers can elect to receive graduate credit through Oklahoma State University. We devel-oped one of these short courses aro...

Two of the nation’s top providers of teacher professional development, NSTA and NASA, are offerin... more Two of the nation’s top providers of teacher professional development, NSTA and NASA, are offering both science content and process skills. So when they asked us to participate in the development of four live, online short courses for teachers, our immediate answer was yes! This began our adventure with the NASA IDEA (Integrating NASA Digital Educational Assets) project. The goal of the project was to develop a series of short courses that would bridge the NSTA Learning Center resources with NASA’s educational websites. Each of the four courses met for 90 minutes once a week for five consecutive weeks in a virtual, interactive online classroom enabled by Elluminate software. Although the four live, online courses have ended, they, and many of the products used in the courses, are still available. Teachers can access the NSTA online short courses through the NSTA Learning Center’s learning resources and opportunities section (see Resources). Some schools may accept completion of the ...

Learning Disability Practice, 2012

2013 46th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 2013

ABSTRACT Prior research has demonstrated that the quality of moderation and management in online ... more ABSTRACT Prior research has demonstrated that the quality of moderation and management in online communities of practice is key to their successful support of learning. However, as communities grow in size and complexity, it becomes increasingly difficult for unaided experts to fully understand and take action in response to the activity of participants within them. Learning analytics has the potential to provide the support that community of practice leaders need to improve their performance. The National Science Teachers Association and U.S. Department of Education's Connected Educators project are exploring three approaches for managing forums to make them accessible and to synthesize the knowledge they generate: archiving, summarizing, and reorganizing. This paper describes manual heuristics for the first two of these, as well as the use of social network analysis to help develop algorithms to automate the third, community forum reorganization.