Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Impact of a Novel Curriculum on Secondary Biology Teachers’ Dispositions Toward Using Authentic Data and Media in Their Human Impact and Ecology Lessons

  • Published:
Journal of Science Teacher Education

Abstract

This study examines how the implementation of a novel curriculum, that emphasizes the use of published scientific data and media to learn about human impact and ecological function, influenced ninth-grade biology teacher (N-36) dispositions toward using data and media in their ecology and human impact lesson plans. It explores how integration of these elements shaped their lesson plans. Research questions addressed are 1. How do teachers' use of data and media change as a result of implementing this novel curriculum? 2. How do the integration of data and media influence teachers' lesson plans? Findings show that implementation positively affected teachers’ dispositions toward using authentic data and real-world media about scientific research to explain how people impact ecological function. Teachers also demonstrated increased appreciation and capacity for using data and media for learning how humans disrupt ecological function. Importantly, prior to implementation, 42 % of teachers specifically reported not using data when teaching human impact. Additionally, content analysis of teachers' lesson plan reports shows that focusing lesson plans around data and media can support teachers in making human impact lessons more specific and that a data- and media-centered curriculum can assist teachers in moving away from discussions of the generalized effect of people on the environment to specific real-world examples of how humans impact ecological function.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alberts, B. (2009). Redefining science education. Science, 323, 427.

    Google Scholar 

  • Almquist, H., & Blank, L. (2012). Cyber-enabled earth exploration: Development of materials for middle school earth science instruction. NSF Discovery Research K-12 Award # 0918683. Available from: http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward.do?AwardNumber=0918683.

  • Bell, P., Lewenstein, B., Shouse, A. W., & Feder, M. A. (Eds.). (2009). Learning science in informal environments: People, places, and pursuits. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berkowitz, A., Findlay, S., & Strayer, D. (2012). Data explorations in ecology project (DEEP). NSF Discovery Research K-12 Award # 1020186. Available from: http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward.do?AwardNumber=1020186.

  • Bodzin, A., Anastasio, D., & Sahagian, D. (2012). Promoting spatial thinking with web-based geospatial technologies. NSF Discovery Research K-12 Award # 1118677. Available from: http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward.do?AwardNumber=1118677&WT.z_pims_id=500047.

  • Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. (Eds.). (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington DC: National Academy Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, S., & Melear, C. (2007). Preservice teachers’ research experience in scientists’ laboratories. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 18, 573–597.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. (2012). The changing Hudson project unit plans. Available from: http://www.ecostudies.org/chp.html. Accessed 26 January 2012.

  • Cave, M. T., & Clandinin, D. J. (2007). Revisiting the journal club. Medical Teacher, 29, 365–370.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark, R. E. (1983). Reconsidering research on learning from media. Review of Educational Research, 53, 445–459.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark, R. E. (1994). Media will never influence learning. Educational Technology Research and Development, 42(2), 21–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark, I. E., Romero-Calderón, R., Olson, J. M, Jaworski, L., Lopatto, D., & Banerjee, U. (2009). Deconstructing scientific research: A practical and scalable pedagogical tool to provide evidence-based science instruction. PLoS Biology, 7(12). doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1000264.

  • Collopy, R. (2003). Curriculum materials as a professional development tool: How a mathematics textbook affected two teachers’ learning. The Elementary School Journal, 103(3), 227–311.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cook, D., Swan, K., & Vahey, P. (2012). Thinking with data: A cross-curricular approach to data literacy. Available from: http://www.rcet.org/twd/index.html. Accessed 26 January 2012.

  • Davis, K. S., & Falba, C. J. (2002). Integrating technology in elementary preservice teacher education: Orchestrating scientific inquiry in meaningful ways. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 13(4), 303–329.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, E. A., & Krajcik, J. (2005). Designing educative curriculum materials to promote teacher learning. Educational Researcher, 34(3), 3–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dresner, M., & Worley, E. (2006). Teacher research experiences, partnerships with scientists, and teacher networks sustaining factors from professional development. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 17, 1–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duschl, R. A., Schweingruber, H. A., & Shouse, A. W. (2007). Taking science to school: Learning and teaching science in grades K-8. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Epps, C. W., Palsbøll, P. J., Wehausen, J. D., Roderick, G. K., Ramey, R. R., & McCullough, D. R. (2005). Highways block gene flow and cause a rapid decline in genetic diversity of desert bighorn sheep. Ecology Letters, 8, 1029–1038.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Falk, H., Brill, G., & Yarden, A. (2008). Teaching a biotechnology curriculum based on adapted primary literature. International Journal of Science Education, 30(14), 1841–1866.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Falk, H., & Yarden, A. (2009). “Here the scientists explain what I said”. Coordination practices elicited during the enactment of the results and discussion sections of adapted primary literature. Research in Science Education, 39, 349–383.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Griffis, K., Thadani, V., & Wise, J. (2008). Making authentic data accessible: The sensing the environment inquiry module. Journal of Biological Education, 42, 119–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hall, E. R., Esty, E. T., & Fisch, S. M. (1990). Television and children’s problem-solving behavior: A synopsis of an evaluation of the effects of Square One TV. Journal of Mathematical Behavior, 9, 161–174.

    Google Scholar 

  • Horiwtz, P. (2002). Instructivism: Between CAI and microworlds (EU/US Education Meeting in Sintra, Portugal). Available from: http://mac.concord.org/publications/instructivism.pdf. Accessed 26 January 2012.

  • Hoskins, S. G. (2008). Using a paradigm shift to teach neurobiology and the nature of science—a C.R.E.A.T.E.-based approach. The Journal of Undergraduate Neuroscience Education, 6(2), A40–A52.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoskins, S., Lopatto, D., & Stevens, L. M. (2011). The C.R.E.A.T.E. approach to primary literature shifts undergraduates’ self-assessed ability to read and analyze journal articles, attitudes about science, and epistemological beliefs. CBE Life Sciences Education, 10(4), 368–378.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoskins, S., Stevens, L., & Nehm, R. (2007). Selective use of primary literature transforms the classroom into a virtual laboratory. Genetics, 176, 1381–1389.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hug, B., & McNeill, K. L. (2008). First and second hand experiences in science: Does data type influence classroom conversations? International Journal of Science Education, 30(13), 1725–1751.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iyengar, R., Diverse-Pierluissi, M. A., Jenkins, S. A., Chan, A. M., Devi, L. A., Sobie, E. A., et al. (2008). Inquiry learning: Integrating content detail and critical reasoning by peer review. Science, 319(5867), 1189–1190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaushal, S., Groffman, P. M., Likens, G. E., Belt, K. T., Stack, W. P., Kelly, V. R., et al. (2005). Increased salinization of fresh water in the northeastern United States. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 102, 13517–13520.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kerlin, S. C., McDonald, S. P., & Kelly, G. J. (2010). Complexity of secondary scientific data sources and students’ argumentative discourse. International Journal of Science Education, 32(9), 1207–1225.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kohlwes, R. J., Shunk, R. L., Avins, A., Garber, J., Bent, S., & Shlipak, M. G. (2006). The PRIME curriculum: Clinical research training during residency. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 21(5), 506–509.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kolb, D. A. (1976). Learning style inventory: Technical manual. Englewoods Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kozma, R. B. (1994). Will media influence learning? Reframing the debate. Educational Technology Research and Development, 42(2), 7–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krippendorff, K. (2005). Content analysis: An introduction to its methodology. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leu, D. J., Kinzer, C. K., Coiro, J. L., & Cammack, D. W. (2004). Toward a theory of new literacies emerging from the internet and other information and communication technologies. In R. B. Ruddell & N. J. Unrau (Eds.), Theoretical models and processes of reading. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lustick, D. (2009). The failure of inquiry: Preparing science teachers with an authentic investigation. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 20, 583–604.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, R. E. (2008). Applying the science of learning: Evidence- based principles for the design of multimedia instruction. American Psychologist, 63(8), 760–769.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McGinn, M. K., & Roth, W. M. (1999). Preparing students for competent scientific practice: Implications of recent research in science and technology. Educational Researcher, 28(3), 14–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McNeill, K. L., & Krajcik, J. (2007). Middle school students’ use of appropriate and inappropriate evidence in writing scientific explanations. In M. Lovett & P. Shah (Eds.), Thinking with data (pp. 233–265). New York, NY: Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Montgomery, S. (1995). Addressing diverse learning styles through the use of multimedia. In Proceedings, frontiers in education conference (Vol. 1, pp. 3a2.13–3a2.21).

  • Navarro, M. (2012). For many Latinos, racial identity is more culture than color. The New York Times. Available from:http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/14/us/for-many-latinos-race-is-more-culture-than-color.html?pagewanted=all. Accessed 26 January 2012.

  • NRC. (2007). National Research Council. Rising above the gathering storm: Energizing and employing America for a brighter economic future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • NRC. (2010). National Research Council. Rising above the gathering storm, revisited: Rapidly approaching category 5. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • NRC, National Research Council, Committee on Conceptual Framework for the New K-12 Science Education Standards. (2011). A framework for K-12 science education: Practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • NSF Advisory Committee for Environmental Research and Education. (2003). Complex environmental systems: Synthesis for Earth, life, and society in the 21st century, a report summarizing a 10-year outlook in environmental research and education for the National Science Foundation (68 pp). Available from: The National Science Foundation website: http://www.nsf.gov/geo/ere/ereweb/acere_synthesis_rpt.cfm. Accessed December 28, 2008.

  • NSF Advisory Committee for Environmental Research and Education. (2005). Complex environmental systems: Pathways to the future (16 pp). Available from: The National Science Foundation website: http://www.nsf.gov/geo/ere/ereweb/acere_synthesis_rpt.cfm. Accessed December 28, 2008.

  • Peach, C. (2012). Oceans of data—What is needed to support students’ learning with large scientific databases? NSF Discovery Research K-12 Award # 1019644. Available from: http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward.do?AwardNumber=1019644&WT.z_pims_id=500047. Accessed January 26, 2012.

  • Polhemus, L., Danchak, M., & Swan, K. (2004). Adaptive presentations for learning styles: Reflective online teaching. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association (AERA), San Diego, CA.

  • Remillard, J. T. (2000). Can curriculum materials support teachers’ learning? Two fourth-grade teachers’ use of a new mathematics text. The Elementary School Journal, 100(4), 331–350.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Riding, R., & Rayner, S. (1998). Cognitive styles and learning strategies. London: David Fulton Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rockman et al. (1996). Evaluation of Bill Nye the Science Guy: Television series and outreach. San Francisco: Author. Available from: http://www.rockman.com/projects/124.kcts.billNye/BN96.pdf. Accessed October 7, 2012.

  • Rosenbaum, J. T., Martin, T. M., Farris, K. H., Rosenbaum, R. B., & Neuwelt, E. A. (2007). Can medical schools teach high school students to be scientists? The FASEB Journal, 21(9), 1954–1957.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ross, R., Duggan-Haas, D., & Kissel, R. (2012). Enhanced Earth system teaching through ReaL Earth Inquiry. NSF Discovery Research K-12 Award # 0733303. Available from: http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward.do?AwardNumber=0733303 Accessed January 26, 2012.

  • Sadler, T. D. (2004). Informal reasoning regarding socioscientific issues: A critical review of research. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 41, 513–536.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sadler, T. D., Chambers, F. W., & Zeidler, D. L. (2004). Student conceptualisations of the nature of science in response to a socioscientific issue. International Journal of Science Education, 26, 387–409.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, R., & Krajcik, J. (2002). Supporting science teacher learning: The role of educative curriculum materials. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 13(3), 221–245.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Short, J., & Wilson, S. (2012). Learning science as inquiry with the Urban Advantage: Formal-informal collaborations to increase science literacy and student learning. NSF Discovery Research K-12 Award #0918560. Available from: http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward.do?AwardNumber=0918560. Accessed January 26, 2012.

  • Tytler, R. (2001). Dimensions of evidence, the public understanding of science and science education. International Journal of Science Education, 23, 815–832.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Urban Advantage. (2012). Urban advantage middle school science initiative. Available from: http://www.urbanadvantagenyc.org/home.aspx. Accessed January 26, 2012.

  • Wyner, Y., & DeSalle, R. (2010). Taking the conservation biology perspective to secondary school classrooms. Conservation Biology, 24, 649–654. doi:10.1111/j.1523-1739.2010.01478.

  • Yadav, A., Philips, M. M., Lundeberg, M. A., Koehler, M. J., Clouse, K., & Dirkin, K. H. (2011). If a picture is worth a thousand words is video worth a million? Differences in affective and cognitive processing of video and text cases. Journal of Computing in Higher Education, 23, 15–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zalles, D., Manitakos, J., & Makinster, J. (2012). Studying topography, orographic rainfall, and ecosystems (STORE) with geospatial information technology. NSF Discovery Research K-12 Award # 1019645. Available from: http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward.do?AwardNumber=1019645&WT.z_pims_id=500047. Accessed January 26, 2012.

Download references

Acknowledgments

I thank J. Koch and JSTE’s anonymous reviewers for their sharp insights and feedback on this manuscript and S. Gano, J. Becker, D. Silvernail, B. Torff, R. Thorne, M. Chin, S. Bothra, and A. Bickerstaff for their valuable work on this project. I also thank the New York City public school teachers who used and improved the resources in their classrooms. This work is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF grant #s 733269, 0918629). Any opinions expressed in this manuscript are those of the author and not of the National Science Foundation.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Secondary Education/Biology, City College of New York, 160 Convent Avenue, New York, NY, 10031, USA

    Yael Wyner

Authors
  1. Yael Wyner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yael Wyner.

About this article

Cite this article

Wyner, Y. The Impact of a Novel Curriculum on Secondary Biology Teachers’ Dispositions Toward Using Authentic Data and Media in Their Human Impact and Ecology Lessons. J Sci Teacher Educ 24, 833–857 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10972-013-9335-2

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10972-013-9335-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation