Graduation Year
2004
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree
Ed.D.
Degree Granting Department
Educational Leadership and Policy Studies
Major Professor
Jan Ignash, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Robert Potter, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Robert Sullins, Ed.D.
Committee Member
William Young, Ed.D.
Keywords
teacher education, active learning, surveys, elementary education, teaching methods
Abstract
This study's purpose was to investigate the differences in the attitudes towards science, belief in science, and the understanding of the nature of science between pre-service elementary education majors who took a two-semester interdisciplinary course called "Science That Matters" (ISC 1004 & ISC 1005) with those pre-service elementary education majors who took two undergraduate science courses other than the two-semester interdisciplinary science course.
The research method employed a 30-item survey (Moore & Foy, 1997) entitled Scientific Attitude Inventory II. The survey's participants were two classes who had taken both semesters of the interdisciplinary course (n = 23) compared with six classes of elementary education majors who had taken two other undergraduate science courses other than the two-semester interdisciplinary course (n = 46).
A two-tailed t-test was used to examine the differences in the means between the two groups as to their attitudes towards science, belief in science and their understanding of the nature of science. The study concluded that among the survey participants, there was no statistical difference as to the three dependent variables (attitudes towards science, belief in science, and the understanding of the nature of science) when testing for the independent variable (participants who had taken the two-semester interdisciplinary course and those who took two different science courses).
The author suggests the results provide evidence that the two-semester interdisciplinary course holds its own when compared to other elective science courses, based on this evaluation of the students' attitudes toward science, belief in science and the understanding of the nature of science. Continuing research concerning this interdisciplinary course is needed to accumulate data which may show an advantage for students who take this course in learning and appreciating science for future elementary education teachers.
Scholar Commons Citation
Brannan, Gary Eugene, "An Interdisciplinary Course for Non-Science Majors: Students' Views on Science Attitudes, Beliefs, and the Nature of Science" (2004). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/966
