Sandra Enger - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Sandra Enger

When students use concept maps to construct and represent their understandings, these concept map... more When students use concept maps to construct and represent their understandings, these concept maps can be analyzed for representation of understanding from both quantitative and qualitative perspectives. In this study, a qualitative approach was utilized to extend the interpretations from the quantitative analysis of students' conceptual understanding represented in their concept maps. A set of 22 seventh-grade maps was examined. Elements qualitatively examined included such components as reorganization in premaps and postmaps, changes in vocabulary usage, the nature of new knowledge representations, and the presence of misperceptions. Statistically significant differences may be noted in pooled preinstruction and postinstruction concept maps, but not in a class set of pre-and postinstruction maps. When a class set is analyzed qualitatively, changes in knowledge representations can be identified. Students were also asked to summarize in a written paragraph the understanding that their maps represented. The qualitative look at the maps can provide data to inform instruction in the content areas. Appendixes contain sample maps with a discussion of student support of maps and a set of student responses about the maps. (Contains 2 tables and 11 references.) (Author/SLD)

School Science and Mathematics, 1997

ED427063 - Exploring Space: An Evaluative Portrait of Alabama Teachers.

Electronic Journal of Science Education, 2003

The link between instruction in middle school science and assessment in ninth grade science in a ... more The link between instruction in middle school science and assessment in ninth grade science in a small rural midwestern school district was investigated. Science students, in middle school grades 6-8 (917) and their 13 science teachers responded to surveys used to characterize science learning opportunities in the middle school classes. Ninth grade students (309) responded to a set of open-ended science questions that were developed from a standardized science test. The survey data provided a contextual framework for interpretation of ninth grade student performance on the open-ended science questions. The open-ended questions included questions for which students were required to graph and interpret data, write conclusions, identify control variables, and judge the validity of information. These open-ended questions were scored by three raters according to a scoring rubric. Middle school students did report having science learning opportunities to practice science as inquiry, and their teachers reported that much of the science inquiry practice was contextual. At least 90% of the ninth graders were from the same school district, but when practice in controlling data and making predictions was reported, student data from the open-ended questions suggested minimal transfer of these skills. The interpretation and use of graphic information and the actual graphing of data were areas that were problematic for ninth graders, as was the ability to provide reasons in support of answers. Recommendations based on this study include using a variety of contextual settings for framing science inquiry practice and more attention on discussing, reading, and writing in the content area. (Contains 8 tables and 12 references.)

The link between instruction in middle school science and assessment in ninth grade science in a ... more The link between instruction in middle school science and assessment in ninth grade science in a small, rural, midwestern school district was investigated. Nine hundred seventeen middle school (grades 6-8) science students and their 13 science teachers responded to surveys used to characterize science learning opportunities in the middle school science classes. Three hundred nine ninth grade students responded to a set of open-ended science questions for which the survey data provided a contextual background for interpretation of ninth grade student performance. Middle school science students did have science learning opportunities to practice science as inquiry, and their science teachers reported that much of the science inquiry practice was contextual. Students reported less frequently discussing, reading, or writing about the work done by scientists and reported seldom using science from the popular press as a source of information in their science classes. Students did have some practice in graphing in certain contexts. At least 90% of the ninth grade science students, who responded to the open-ended science questions, had been middle school students in this same district and would have had similar science experiences to those reported in the surveys. The contextual nature of the practice and less frequent practice in graphing would likely impact student performance on the open-ended science questions which were based on graphic representation. The interpretation and use of graphic information and actual graphing of data were areas that were problematic for students. While practice was reported in controlling variables and making predictions, student data from the open-ended science questions suggest minimal transfer of these skills. Students could write a conclusion for a research scenario but had difficulty in setting out the research question or identifying the control variables for the same scenario. Provision of reasons in support of answers was problematic across the questions, as was judging the validity of evidence and proposing a controlled strategy for testing claims. Major recommendations based on this study include science inquiry practice across a range of contexts and more attention to discussing, reading, and writing in the content area.

The case--study approach has been gaining popularity in the sciences in recent years, but is stil... more The case--study approach has been gaining popularity in the sciences in recent years, but is still not in wide use in the physical sciences, such as physics and astronomy. We propose to create an entire course ---at the introductory undergraduate level--- on astrobiology, the study of formation, proliferation and evolution of life in the universe. We will teach an entire course at the University of Alabama in Huntsville using an array of cases spanning many types of cases, and after formative and summative feedback revise the cases, and repeat. The end product of this effort will be a collection of cases, available to the wide community of instructors free of charge, to be used in their own courses. )

There is a growing awareness to the need for moving away from lecture--mode approaches in undergr... more There is a growing awareness to the need for moving away from lecture--mode approaches in undergraduate STEM education and to the importance of increasing innovation and diversity in STEM education programs. We adopt the case--studies approach, and have taught an introductory course on astrobiology ---the science of life in the universe--- at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. We have created teaching materials using different types of cases, and have conducted an evaluation study. We intend to refine our teaching materials based on the evaluation study, and repeat the course next year. Following this study the teaching materials will be made available free of charge to any instructor, and the approach will be applied to other disciplines, including large enrollment classes.

Case studies is a well known and widely used method in law schools, medical schools, and business... more Case studies is a well known and widely used method in law schools, medical schools, and business schools, but relatively little used in physics or astronomy courses. We developed an astrobiology course based strongly on the case studies approach, and after teaching it first at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, we have adapted it and are now teaching it at Alabama A&M University, a HBCU. The case studies approach uses several well tested and successful teaching methods - including group work, peer instruction, current interest topics, just-in-time teaching, &c. We have found that certain styles of cases are more popular among students than other styles, and will revise our cases to reflect such student preferences. We chose astrobiology -- an inherently multidisciplinary field -- because of the popularity of the subject matter, its frequent appearance in the popular media (news stories about searches for life in the universe, the discovery of Earth-like exoplanets, etc, in ad...

School Science and Mathematics, 1997

The Iowa Assessment Project was funded by the National Science Foundation to explore the feasibil... more The Iowa Assessment Project was funded by the National Science Foundation to explore the feasibility of combining the expertise of science teachers, science educators, and test developers to build innovative performance assessments that complement traditional, norm-referenced, multiple-choice science tests.

School Science and Mathematics, 1997

ED427063 - Exploring Space: An Evaluative Portrait of Alabama Teachers.

Electronic Journal of Science Education, 2003

The link between instruction in middle school science and assessment in ninth grade science in a ... more The link between instruction in middle school science and assessment in ninth grade science in a small, rural, midwestern school district was investigated. Nine hundred seventeen middle school (grades 6-8) science students and their 13 science teachers responded to surveys used to characterize science learning opportunities in the middle school science classes. Three hundred nine ninth grade students responded to a set of open-ended science questions for which the survey data provided a contextual background for interpretation of ninth grade student performance. Middle school science students did have science learning opportunities to practice science as inquiry, and their science teachers reported that much of the science inquiry practice was contextual. Students reported less frequently discussing, reading, or writing about the work done by scientists and reported seldom using science from the popular press as a source of information in their science classes. Students did have some practice in graphing in certain contexts. At least 90% of the ninth grade science students, who responded to the open-ended science questions, had been middle school students in this same district and would have had similar science experiences to those reported in the surveys. The contextual nature of the practice and less frequent practice in graphing would likely impact student performance on the open-ended science questions which were based on graphic representation. The interpretation and use of graphic information and actual graphing of data were areas that were problematic for students. While practice was reported in controlling variables and making predictions, student data from the open-ended science questions suggest minimal transfer of these skills. Students could write a conclusion for a research scenario but had difficulty in setting out the research question or identifying the control variables for the same scenario. Provision of reasons in support of answers was problematic across the questions, as was judging the validity of evidence and proposing a controlled strategy for testing claims. Major recommendations based on this study include science inquiry practice across a range of contexts and more attention to discussing, reading, and writing in the content area.

School Science and Mathematics, 1997