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Title: COLLEGE SCIENCE TEACHERS' INQUIRY BELIEFS AND PRACTICES IN THE SCIENCE CLASSROOM.
Creator: Bisogno, Janet, Jeanpierre, Bobby, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The purpose of the study was to examine college science professors' beliefs regarding the use of inquiry in the college science classroom, how these beliefs impacted their instructional choices and how these beliefs were enacted in the classroom. Additional questions were how teachers' beliefs vary across institution types (community college, private, four year college, and large research institution), and how beliefs vary across disciplines (life sciences and physical sciences). A case study...
Show moreThe purpose of the study was to examine college science professors' beliefs regarding the use of inquiry in the college science classroom, how these beliefs impacted their instructional choices and how these beliefs were enacted in the classroom. Additional questions were how teachers' beliefs vary across institution types (community college, private, four year college, and large research institution), and how beliefs vary across disciplines (life sciences and physical sciences). A case study design was required for this study due to the complexity of the topic and different data sources needed to answer the fore stated research questions. These data sources included surveys, interviews, classroom and laboratory observations and written records such as laboratory activities and syllabi. Twelve college professors at three different institutions; large research institution, small, private four year college and community college were interviewed. In addition to interviews, classes and labs were observed, a questionnaire on the five essential features of inquiry was given and samples of labs and syllabi were obtained. A laboratory coordinator was also interviewed as she was responsible for the laboratory section for two of the professors at the research institution. All schools were located in the southeast United States. The perception of inquiry by college science professors has been found to be a barrier to the inclusion of inquiry in college classrooms and was supported in the current study. While the professors described constraints to inquiry such as large class size, lack of time, disinterest of students, and lack of equipment, these limitations were due, in part, to the professors' incomplete view of inquiry as what researchers do. This view was most pronounced with the professors at the large, research institution. At the research institution, observations in the classroom mirrored the beliefs of inquiry. Lecture was the primary instruction in the science classroom, and the labs were scripted and shown to be "cookbook" with little or no evidence of inquiry noted in the labs obtained. There was more evidence of inquiry at the private four-year college and community college than at the large research institution; what was observed in the classroom mirrored what the professors believed about inquiry. There was a difference in the beliefs between institutions with the professors at the research institution holding an incomplete view of inquiry while the professors at the private college and community college included many aspects of the inquiry continuum in their view of inquiry. There were no differences noted between disciplines.
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Date Issued: 2011
Identifier: CFE0003607, ucf:48854
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003607

Title: EXPLORING A FIVE FACTOR MENTORING MODEL WITHIN ELEMENTARY SCIENCE.
Creator: Smolik, Joyce, Jeanpierre, Bobby, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The purpose of the study was to explore and describe the perceptions of several elementary science mentors and their mentees within one school district based on a five-factor mentoring model. Utilizing a qualitative methodology in the form of a case study, five mentors and three mentees were interviewed using a structured protocol. From verbatim interview data and field notes, three themes pertaining to the role of the mentor within elementary science emerged as emotional support, technical...
Show moreThe purpose of the study was to explore and describe the perceptions of several elementary science mentors and their mentees within one school district based on a five-factor mentoring model. Utilizing a qualitative methodology in the form of a case study, five mentors and three mentees were interviewed using a structured protocol. From verbatim interview data and field notes, three themes pertaining to the role of the mentor within elementary science emerged as emotional support, technical support, and educative support. Within the five-factor mentoring model, personal attributes suggested notions of support and expert status as critical elements for effective mentoring. The factors of system requirements, pedagogical knowledge, modeling, and feedback were found to be interrelated amongst themselves and with the factor of personal attributes. Effective mentors demonstrated a commitment to the role as well as a flexibility pertaining to role adjustment depending on the context of the mentoring relationship.
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Date Issued: 2010
Identifier: CFE0003438, ucf:48378
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003438

Title: We can't be the women we were before: Mary Livermore and Chicago women in the American Civil War.
Creator: Engle, Nancy Arlene Driscol, Crepeau, Richard C., Arts and Sciences
Abstract / Description: University of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; This study examines the impact of the American Civil War on Union women by focusing on Mary Ashton Rice Livermore and her associates in wartime aid societies in Chicago, Illinois. It argues that Livermore's postwar lecture career epitomizes the new confidence that many benevolent women possessed after the Civil War. From contemporary newspaper accounts and letters it demonstrates that the conflagration broadened the scope of...
Show moreUniversity of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; This study examines the impact of the American Civil War on Union women by focusing on Mary Ashton Rice Livermore and her associates in wartime aid societies in Chicago, Illinois. It argues that Livermore's postwar lecture career epitomizes the new confidence that many benevolent women possessed after the Civil War. From contemporary newspaper accounts and letters it demonstrates that the conflagration broadened the scope of their activity, allowing many to hone their skills and expand their influence while remaining safely inside society's accepted gender standards. concluding that the war changed moderate white middle-class women's lives, it then illustrates that some modifications proved permanent for many throughout the ensuing decade. This work draws from published sources, including Livermore's autobiography and her account of th war, and manuscript collections containing correspondence, dated between 1850 and 1905, among advocates of women's rights and their acquaintances.
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Date Issued: 1996
Identifier: CFR0010869, ucf:53057
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFR0010869

Title: Prediction of simulator sickness in a virtual environment.
Creator: Kolasinski, Eugenia M., Gilson, Richard D., Arts and Sciences
Abstract / Description: University of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; Sickness induced by Virtual Reality (VR) devices poses a genuine threat to the viability of this new technology and its potential products. If the occurrence or severity of sickness could be successfully predicted based on characteristics of an individual, at-risk users could be identified, properly warned, and, perhaps, trained in some way to reduce their risk. A Personal Computer-based VR system was used to address the...
Show moreUniversity of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; Sickness induced by Virtual Reality (VR) devices poses a genuine threat to the viability of this new technology and its potential products. If the occurrence or severity of sickness could be successfully predicted based on characteristics of an individual, at-risk users could be identified, properly warned, and, perhaps, trained in some way to reduce their risk. A Personal Computer-based VR system was used to address the prediction of simulator sickness. Phase I investigated four characteristics of an individual - age, gender, mental rotation ability, and pre-exposure postural stability - which were hypothesized to be predictive of sickness. Sickness measured as a function of the Total Severity score from the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ) was successfully modeled on these characteristics using linear regression techniques, leading to three major findings. First, sickness - as measured by the SSQ - did, in fact, occur in association with exposure to VR. for 35% of the participants, this sickness involved lingering effects and/or possible delayed after-effects. Second, sickness was successfully modeled on characteristics of the individual. The developed model indicated a complicated relationship between predicted sickness and gender, age, mental rotation ability, and pre-exposure postural stability. Third, based on the model developed, sickness is not predicted to differ for gender directly but, rather, gender interacts with mental rotation ability in its effects on sickness. Phase II investigated the occurrence of ataxic decrements in postural stability. No such decrements were found to be associated with the 20-minute exposure. Thus, ataxic decrements do not appear to be associated with short exposures to low-end VR. This finding, however, may be limited to VR tasks of the type used in this study. Practical implications and areas for future research are discussed.
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Date Issued: 1996
Identifier: CFR0010868, ucf:53058
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFR0010868

Title: Shape reconstruction from shading using linear approximation.
Creator: Tsai, Ping Sing, Shah, Mubarak, Arts and Sciences
Abstract / Description: University of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; Shape from shading (SFS) deals with the recovery of 3D shape from a single monocular image. This problem was formally introduced by Horn in the early 1970s. Since then it has received considerable attention, and several efforts have been made to improve the shape recovery. In this thesis, we present a fast SFS algorithm, which is a purely local method and is highly parallelizable. In our approach, we first use the discrete...
Show moreUniversity of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; Shape from shading (SFS) deals with the recovery of 3D shape from a single monocular image. This problem was formally introduced by Horn in the early 1970s. Since then it has received considerable attention, and several efforts have been made to improve the shape recovery. In this thesis, we present a fast SFS algorithm, which is a purely local method and is highly parallelizable. In our approach, we first use the discrete approximations for surface gradients, p and q, using finite differences, then linearize the reflectance function in depth, Z ( x , y), instead of p and q. This method is simple and efficient, and yields better results for images with central illumination or low-angle illumination. Furthermore, our method is more general, and can be applied to either Lambertian surfaces or specular surfaces. The algorithm has been tested on several synthetic and real images of both Lambertian and specular surfaces, and good results have been obtained. However, our method assumes that the input image contains only single object with uniform albedo values, which is commonly assumed in most SFS methods. Our algorithm performs poorly on images with nonuniform albedo values and produces incorrect shape for images containing objects with scale ambiguity, because those images violate the basic assumptions made by our SFS method. Therefore, we extended our method for images with nonuniform albedo values. We first estimate the albedo values for each pixel, and segment the scene into regions with uniform albedo values. Then we adjust the intensity value for each pixel by dividing the corresponding albedo value before applying our linear shape from shading method. This way our modified method is able to deal with nonuniform albedo values. When multiple objects differing only in scale are present in a scene, there may be points with the same surface orientation but different depth values. No existing SFS methods can solve this kind of ambiguity directly. We also present a new approach to deal with images containing multiple objects with scale ambiguity. A depth estimate is derived from patches using a minimum downhill approach and re-aligned based on the background information to get the correct depth map. Experimental results are presented for several synthetic and real images. Finally, this thesis also investigates the problem of the discrete approximation under perspective projection. The straightforward finite difference approximation for surface gradients used under orthographic projection is no longer applicable here. because the image position components are in fact functions of the depth. In this thesis, we provide a direct solution for the discrete approximation under perspective projection. The surface gradient is derived mathematically by relating the depth value of the surface point with the depth value of the corresponding image point. We also demonstrate how we can apply the new discrete approximation to a more complicated and realistic reflectance model for SFS problem.
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Date Issued: 1995
Identifier: CFR0000191, ucf:53139
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFR0000191

Title: Effects of avian breeding colonies on a man-made freshwater marsh in East Central Florida.
Creator: Burney, James L., Stout, I.J., Arts and Sciences
Abstract / Description: University of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; The effects of nutrient loading from avian breeding colonies into aquatic/marine ecosystems have been well documented. Documented influences include increased productivity of aquatic/marine macrophytes, elevated sediment nutrient concentrations, and increased densities of zooplankton and planktivorus fishes. The primary pathway of nutrient export from the rookery is through excreta from adult birds and their offspring. This...
Show moreUniversity of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; The effects of nutrient loading from avian breeding colonies into aquatic/marine ecosystems have been well documented. Documented influences include increased productivity of aquatic/marine macrophytes, elevated sediment nutrient concentrations, and increased densities of zooplankton and planktivorus fishes. The primary pathway of nutrient export from the rookery is through excreta from adult birds and their offspring. This study examined the influences of a 400-nesting pair rookery of cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis) in 1990 and a 75-nesting pair rookery of cattle egret in 1991 on a man-made freshwater treatment marsh in east central Florida. Because the fundamental intent of the created marsh (study site) was the removal of nutrients, primarily nitrogen and phosphorus, from advanced treated wastewater prior to discharge into public surface waters, the main objective of this study was to document the effects of the avian breeding colonies on water quality within the system. Secondary objectives of the study were to document influences on phytoplankton density and aquatic faunal community structure, as well as to estimate spatial and temporal limits of rookery influences. The results indicated significant water quality differences between rookery and reference sites during 1990 and 1991. The results also indicated significant differences between phytoplankton productivity and aquatic macroinvertebrate community structure between rookery and reference sites during 1990 and 1991. The effects of nutrient loading from the rookeries were confined to within 150 m and background water quality conditions were regained within one month of rookery abandonment. In effect, the 1990 and 1991 rookery sites were characterized as limited, transient "islands" of increased eutrophication within the marsh.
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Date Issued: 1995
Identifier: CFR0011941, ucf:53110
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFR0011941

Title: Analysis of the operation and plasma dynamics of extreme-ultraviolet and soft x-ray lasers.
Creator: Bender, Howard A., Silfvast, William T., Arts and Sciences
Abstract / Description: University of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; Extending lasing action into the extreme ultraviolet and soft x-ray regions of the electromagnetic spectrum has been a natural progression in the continuing development of short wavelength radiation sources. However fundamental difficulties with the media used to produce short wavelength lasers has in general hindered the widespread development and use of such lasers in applications. Up to now all EUV and soft x-ray lasers...
Show moreUniversity of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; Extending lasing action into the extreme ultraviolet and soft x-ray regions of the electromagnetic spectrum has been a natural progression in the continuing development of short wavelength radiation sources. However fundamental difficulties with the media used to produce short wavelength lasers has in general hindered the widespread development and use of such lasers in applications. Up to now all EUV and soft x-ray lasers have operated with plasmas as the gain medium to support lasing. This is a general requirement imposed by 1) the characteristics of short wavelength radiation as it originates from highly energetic atomic transitions and 2) the fundamental aspects of lasing at these wavelengths. Thus the plasma environment has been the defining characteristic in achieving lasing in the EUV and soft x-ray spectral regions. This thesis presents investigations into two types of EUV/Soft x-ray lasers that describe the operation and associated plasma dynamics of these devices. The first is a numerical investigation into a recombination pumped x-ray laser at 13.5 nm operating in a Li plasma. Using a collisional-radiative model of the atomic system, simulations were performed to determine the plasma conditions necessary to produce gain that were observed in reported experiments. The second investigation is the experimental development and operation of a capillary discharge driven laser operating at 46.9 nm in Ar. This device is a new generation of EUV/Soft X-ray laser based on a small scale driver system. The first interferometric probing experiments of this device will be discussed and related to the plasma dynamics of the capillary discharge.
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Date Issued: 1998
Identifier: CFR0011593, ucf:53045
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFR0011593

Title: Experimenting with the finite element method in the calculation of radiosity form factors.
Creator: Chesteen, Donna Marie, Guha, Ratan, Arts and Sciences
Abstract / Description: University of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; Radiosity has been used to create some of the most photorealistic computer-generated images to date. The problem, however, is that radiosity algorithms are so computationally and memory expensive that few applications can employ them successfully. Form factor calculation is the most costly part of the process. This report describes an algorithm for using the finite element method to reduce the amount of time that is used in...
Show moreUniversity of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; Radiosity has been used to create some of the most photorealistic computer-generated images to date. The problem, however, is that radiosity algorithms are so computationally and memory expensive that few applications can employ them successfully. Form factor calculation is the most costly part of the process. This report describes an algorithm for using the finite element method to reduce the amount of time that is used in the form factor calculation portion of the radiosity algorithm. This technique for form factor calculation significantly reduces the number of projections done at each iteration by using shape functions to determine the distribution of a form factor across the surface of a patch and thus greatly reduces total run time.
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Date Issued: 1995
Identifier: CFR0011926, ucf:53043
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFR0011926

Title: Re-examining subfamily classifications for the alu family of repeated dna sequences.
Creator: York, William A., Sweet, Haven C., Arts and Sciences
Abstract / Description: University of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; The primate Alu family of repetitive elements has been widely characterized. This ubiquitous class of retroposons has been found to occupy some 5% of the human genome. This hetergenous group of Short Interspersed Nucleic acid Elements (SINEs) has been theorized to possess an identifiable subfamily structure between and within various taxonomic levels in primates. It has been postulated that humans possess up to 6 Alu sequences...
Show moreUniversity of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; The primate Alu family of repetitive elements has been widely characterized. This ubiquitous class of retroposons has been found to occupy some 5% of the human genome. This hetergenous group of Short Interspersed Nucleic acid Elements (SINEs) has been theorized to possess an identifiable subfamily structure between and within various taxonomic levels in primates. It has been postulated that humans possess up to 6 Alu sequences and found evidence supporting the amplification/fixation theory in 5 subfamilies. The research presented in this thesis posits that Quentin's method of alignment used in the correspondence analysis is questionable. A reexamination using an alternative, perhaps more tenable, alignment of the Alu sequences may allow for a more lucid and accurate identification of Alu subfamily structure in the human genome.
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Date Issued: 1994
Identifier: CFR0011936, ucf:53117
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFR0011936

Title: Path to chaos : excess, absence and anarchy in Tennyson's Idylls of the King.
Creator: Howerton, Peggie A., Adicks, Richard R., Arts and Sciences
Abstract / Description: University of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis
Date Issued: 1993
Identifier: CFR0011933, ucf:53118
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFR0011933

Title: The effect of a pet's presence upon anxiety during a simulated clinical interview.
Creator: Weigand, Kenneth G., Blau, Burt, Arts and Sciences
Abstract / Description: University of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; Recognizing the importance of evolutionary parallels between humans and other animals, researchers make use of animals to better the understanding of people in various fields of study, such as history, ecology, medicine, psychology, and sociology (Levinson, 1978). Boris Levinson (1962) was an early advocate for the inclusion of pets in psychotherapeutic intervention. His theories have been frequently cited in research that has...
Show moreUniversity of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; Recognizing the importance of evolutionary parallels between humans and other animals, researchers make use of animals to better the understanding of people in various fields of study, such as history, ecology, medicine, psychology, and sociology (Levinson, 1978). Boris Levinson (1962) was an early advocate for the inclusion of pets in psychotherapeutic intervention. His theories have been frequently cited in research that has attempted to define the possible benefits associated with utilizing pets as an adjunct in the treatment of disturbed populations. The results of studies with varied populations indicate that a pet's presences can lower a person's anxiety level, positively increase self-concept, stimulate social interaction, provide a source of non-threatening acceptance, improve the prognosis for cardiac patients, and encourage goal-oriented behavior. However, few empirical studies have been conducted to explain the mechanisms responsible for the healthy benefits that have been associated with pet facilitated therapy. The goal of this study was to further identify the variables present in person-pet interactions that are desirable in therapeutic precesses. Thirty undergraduate students were recruited to participate in a 30 minutes simulated clinical interview. It was hypothesized that the 15 subjects in the dog-present experimental group would show significantly lower situational anxiety compared to the 15 subjects experiencing a dog-absent interview. It was also hypothesized that there would be temporal decreases in anxiety for the experimental group, and a greater degree of favorableness felt towards pets. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Spielberger, et al. 1983), The Pet Attitude Scale (Templer, 1981) and behavioral measures were used to test the hypotheses. Results indicated that the dog's presence had no significant effect upon anxiety, and there were no significant changes in pet attitude. Both groups showed a consistent and significant decrease between pre- and post-interview scores measuring State and Trait Anxiety. the results of this study suggest that pet facilitated therapy has limited applicability with a college population that is typically well adjusted and high functioning. It was suggested that the subjects recruited for this study may not have had a need to utilize the dog's presence for anxiety reduction as might a clinical population.
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Date Issued: 1999
Identifier: CFR0011928, ucf:53119
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFR0011928

Title: College students' perceptions of parental sexuality.
Creator: Janisz, Nancy L., Houston, Sandra, Arts and Sciences
Abstract / Description: University of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; Pocs and Godow (1977) published research results indicating that college students experienced difficulty in considering their parents as sexual beings. The results of the present study were based on responses of 330 college students to a questionnaire authored by the examiner. Results were compared to Pocs and Godow's results, and research data from Kinsey (1948, 1953) and Hunt (1972), which presented the reported frequencies...
Show moreUniversity of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis; Pocs and Godow (1977) published research results indicating that college students experienced difficulty in considering their parents as sexual beings. The results of the present study were based on responses of 330 college students to a questionnaire authored by the examiner. Results were compared to Pocs and Godow's results, and research data from Kinsey (1948, 1953) and Hunt (1972), which presented the reported frequencies of sexual activities of the parent-aged population. The comparisons suggest that although estimates of the subjects in the current study were higher in all areas than in the Pocs and Godow data, today's college students still underestimate their parents' sexual activity as compared to Kinsey and Hunt, with few exceptions. Results found significant correlations of estimations with marital status of parents, amount of and comfort with parent-child sexual discussion, subjects' religious attendance and importance, and negative emotions when considering their parents as sexual beings. Suggestions were made to conduct a future replication this research, and for parents to increase open discussion of sexual issues, to inform their children that sexuality if not just for the young.
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Date Issued: 1991
Identifier: CFR0011929, ucf:53120
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFR0011929

Title: Close to home.
Creator: Gagnon, Donald P., Rushin, Pat, Arts and Sciences
Abstract / Description: University of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis
Date Issued: 1994
Identifier: CFR0011938, ucf:53112
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFR0011938

Title: Expression patterns of developmental genes in drosophila melanogaster larval genital discs.
Creator: Freeland, Denise E., Kuhn, David T., Arts and Sciences
Abstract / Description: University of Central Florida College of Arts and Sciences Thesis
Date Issued: 1995
Identifier: CFR0011939, ucf:53113
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFR0011939

Title: The Preservice Elementary Teacher Affect Scale for Science: A Validation Study.
Creator: Wilder, Otis, Gill, Michele, Butler, Malcolm, Allen, Kay, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The current study details the creation of a new scale for measuring preservice teachers' positive affect for science, the Preservice Elementary Teacher Affect Scale for Science (PETAS-S). This new instrument is designed specifically to measure the level of positive affect towards the subject of science in preservice elementary teachers. Confirmatory factor analysis reveals the instrument loads on the single factor, positive affect. Reliability is robust, with Cronbach's alpha of .96. Positive...
Show moreThe current study details the creation of a new scale for measuring preservice teachers' positive affect for science, the Preservice Elementary Teacher Affect Scale for Science (PETAS-S). This new instrument is designed specifically to measure the level of positive affect towards the subject of science in preservice elementary teachers. Confirmatory factor analysis reveals the instrument loads on the single factor, positive affect. Reliability is robust, with Cronbach's alpha of .96. Positive affect has shown to predict future levels of engagement in domain specific academic subjects (Ainley (&) Ainley, 2011) and is expected to aid preservice teachers in understanding the complex relationship between their students' interest and enjoyment of science with their own. This research contributes to the important role of emotion in preservice teachers' attitudes toward the subject of science and how it may affect the way they teach it to their future students.
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Date Issued: 2016
Identifier: CFE0006198, ucf:51104
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006198

Title: THE EFFECT OF INQUIRY-BASED INSTRUCTION ON STUDENTS' PARTICIPATION AND ATTITUDES IN A THIRD GRADE SCIENCE CLASSROOM.
Creator: Arthur, Debbie, Jeanpierre, Bobby, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The National Science Education Standards (1996) support inquiry-based instruction. According to the National Science Education Standards. When children or scientists inquire into the natural world they: ask questions, plan investigations and collect relevant data, and organize and analyze collected data. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of inquiry-based instruction on third-grade students' attitudes and participation in an elementary science classroom. Students were...
Show moreThe National Science Education Standards (1996) support inquiry-based instruction. According to the National Science Education Standards. When children or scientists inquire into the natural world they: ask questions, plan investigations and collect relevant data, and organize and analyze collected data. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of inquiry-based instruction on third-grade students' attitudes and participation in an elementary science classroom. Students were encouraged to ask and answer their own questions. In this study, analysis of data gathered form: pre and post survey, student journals, teacher field notes, and student interviews were triangulated to provide the support for findings reported in this study. Findins showed that inquiry-based science experiences positively affected students' attitudes in science and their participation. In addition, student worked collaboratively, made connections to other experiences, and demonstrated confidence in their ability to ask and answer their own questions through inquiry-based experiences.
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Date Issued: 2005
Identifier: CFE0000530, ucf:46463
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000530

Title: ROSES ARE RED, VIOLETS ARE BLUEHOW POETRY IN SCIENCE CAN HELP STUDENTS LEARN SOMETHING NEW.
Creator: Casselman, Kimberly, Everett, Robert, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This study was an attempt to examine how poetry integrated with science could assist eighth graders in the memorization of key science vocabulary words. Furthermore, it would investigate if student attitude, interest, and motivation would improve with the use of the poetry. Instruction was adjusted to implement poetry into astronomy lessons. Memorization activities such as poems, chanting, and repetition were used to help students remember the vocabulary and the definitions. Pre/post tests...
Show moreThis study was an attempt to examine how poetry integrated with science could assist eighth graders in the memorization of key science vocabulary words. Furthermore, it would investigate if student attitude, interest, and motivation would improve with the use of the poetry. Instruction was adjusted to implement poetry into astronomy lessons. Memorization activities such as poems, chanting, and repetition were used to help students remember the vocabulary and the definitions. Pre/post tests were used to interpret if the poetry did assist in the memorization of the astronomy vocabulary. Science interest surveys and science attitude surveys were used to interpret if the use of the poetry helped to increase student interests in and attitudes toward science. This study was intended to be a first step toward proving how poetry could benefit students in the areas of memorization, attitude, and interest of science; and if successful, perhaps could be used to assist in other subjects as well.
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Date Issued: 2009
Identifier: CFE0002677, ucf:48203
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002677

Title: Characterizing Exoplanet Atmospheres: From Light-curve Observations to Radiative-Transfer Modeling.
Creator: Cubillos Vallejos, Patricio, Harrington, Joseph, Mucciolo, Eduardo, Campins, Humberto, Fortney, Jonathan, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Multi-wavelength transit and secondary-eclipse light-curve observations are some of the most powerful techniques to probe the thermo-chemical properties of exoplanets. Although the large planet-to-star brightness contrast and few available spectral bands produce data with low signal-to-noise ratios, a Bayesian approach can robustly reveal what constraints we can set, without over-interpreting the data. Here I performed an end-to-end analysis of transiting exoplanet data. I analyzed space...
Show moreMulti-wavelength transit and secondary-eclipse light-curve observations are some of the most powerful techniques to probe the thermo-chemical properties of exoplanets. Although the large planet-to-star brightness contrast and few available spectral bands produce data with low signal-to-noise ratios, a Bayesian approach can robustly reveal what constraints we can set, without over-interpreting the data. Here I performed an end-to-end analysis of transiting exoplanet data. I analyzed space-telescope data for three planets to characterize their atmospheres and refine their orbits, investigated correlated noise estimators, and contributed to the development of the respective data-analysis pipelines. Chapters 2 and 3 describe the Photometry for Orbits, Eclipses and Transits (POET) pipeline to model Spitzer Space Telescope light curves. I analyzed secondary-eclipse observations of the Jupiter-sized planets WASP-8b and TrES-1, determining their day-side thermal emission in the infrared spectrum. The emission data of WASP-8b indicated no thermal inversion, and an anomalously high 3.6 micron brightness. Standard solar-abundance models, with or without a thermal inversion, can fit the thermal emission from TrES-1 well. Chapter 4 describes the most commonly used correlated-noise estimators for exoplanet light-curve modeling, and assesses their applicability and limitations to estimate parameters uncertainties. I show that the residual-permutation method is unsound for estimating parameter uncertainties. The time-averaging and the wavelet-based likelihood methods improve the uncertainty estimations, being within 20 - 50% of the expected value. Chapter 5 describes the open-source Bayesian Atmospheric Radiative Transfer (BART) code to characterize exoplanet atmospheres. BART combines a thermochemical-equilibrium code, a one-dimensional line-by-line radiative-transfer code, and the Multi-core Markov-chain Monte Carlo statistical module to constrains the atmospheric temperature and chemical-abundance profiles of exoplanets. I applied the BART code to the Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescope transit observations of the Neptune-sized planet HAT-P-11b. BART finds an atmosphere enhanced in heavy elements, constraining the water abundance to ~100 times that of the solar abundance.
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Date Issued: 2015
Identifier: CFE0005935, ucf:50838
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005935

Title: The impact of ongoing science professional development on standardized assessments of student achievement.
Creator: Torres, Leah, Murray, Kenneth, Storey, Valerie A., Doherty, Walter, Everett, Robert, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The purpose of this study was to identify how ongoing science professional development impact students' achievement on standardized assessments. The students' end-of-year assessment and State Science Assessment data were collected from a Central Florida school district. The student data were divided into categories based on teachers' participation in on-going professional development opportunities. The teachers were categorized by the number of types of professional development opportunities...
Show moreThe purpose of this study was to identify how ongoing science professional development impact students' achievement on standardized assessments. The students' end-of-year assessment and State Science Assessment data were collected from a Central Florida school district. The student data were divided into categories based on teachers' participation in on-going professional development opportunities. The teachers were categorized by the number of types of professional development opportunities they attended. The mean assessment scores of students whose all teachers did or did not participate were calculated, and t-tests were run to find the significance between the means. There was no significance in the difference between the means student scores of the participants and the non-participants in the science professional development opportunities. Two sub group data, 8th-grade free and reduced lunch students whose teacher attended one professional development, and 7th-grade students who scored a Level 3 on FSA mean scores on the science assessments scores were higher with significance in the 2015-16 school year, and were not higher the on the science assessments with significance in the 2014-15 school year.
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Date Issued: 2017
Identifier: CFE0006810, ucf:51800
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006810

Title: THE IMPLEMENTATION OF INTERACTIVE SCIENCE NOTEBOOKS ANDTHE EFFECT IT HAS ON STUDENTS WRITING.
Creator: Braxton, Eva, Jeanpierre, Bobby, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not my practice of implementing Interactive Science Notebooks (ISN) impacts 4th grade students writing in science. Through this action research, studentsÃƒÂƒÃ‚ÂƒÃƒÂ‚Ã‚ÂƒÃƒÂƒÃ‚Â‚ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â‚ÃƒÂƒÃ‚ÂƒÃƒÂ...
Show moreThe purpose of this study was to determine whether or not my practice of implementing Interactive Science Notebooks (ISN) impacts 4th grade students writing in science. Through this action research, studentsÃƒÂƒÃ‚ÂƒÃƒÂ‚Ã‚ÂƒÃƒÂƒÃ‚Â‚ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â‚ÃƒÂƒÃ‚ÂƒÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â‚ÃƒÂƒÃ‚Â‚ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â' writing was analyzed to determine whether the use of ISN affected studentsÃƒÂƒÃ‚ÂƒÃƒÂ‚Ã‚ÂƒÃƒÂƒÃ‚Â‚ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â‚ÃƒÂƒÃ‚ÂƒÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â‚ÃƒÂƒÃ‚Â‚ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â' use of details, support claims and justifications in their written responses. Also through the use of the Interactive Science Notebook, studentsÃƒÂƒÃ‚ÂƒÃƒÂ‚Ã‚ÂƒÃƒÂƒÃ‚Â‚ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â‚ÃƒÂƒÃ‚ÂƒÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â‚ÃƒÂƒÃ‚Â‚ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â' use of science vocabulary in their writing was also analyzed. Finally, studentsÃƒÂƒÃ‚ÂƒÃƒÂ‚Ã‚ÂƒÃƒÂƒÃ‚Â‚ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â‚ÃƒÂƒÃ‚ÂƒÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â‚ÃƒÂƒÃ‚Â‚ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â' reflective writing practices were examined in order to determine how students understood and explored physical science. A triangulation of data gathered consisted of the use of rubrics, focus groups and one-on-one conferencing. The data collected from this action research implied that the Interactive Science Notebooks did indeed have an impact on studentsÃƒÂƒÃ‚ÂƒÃƒÂ‚Ã‚ÂƒÃƒÂƒÃ‚Â‚ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â‚ÃƒÂƒÃ‚ÂƒÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â‚ÃƒÂƒÃ‚Â‚ÃƒÂ‚Ã‚Â' scientific writing. Students writing reflections demonstrated an increase in the use of claims and evidence, and meaningful questions related to the science topic investigated.
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Date Issued: 2010
Identifier: CFE0003058, ucf:48320
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003058

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