Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

12-2002

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Education

Major Professor

Dr. Claudia T. Melear

Committee Members

Dr. Mary Jane Connelly, Dr. Leslie G. Hickok, Dr. Kristen T. Rearden

Abstract

This case study documented the pedagogical and philosophical change experiences of a senior research scientist-professor at a large Research I University as he implemented an open inquiry immersion course with secondary science teacher candidates. The 4-semester hour graduate-level credit course (Botany 531) is titled “Knowing and Teaching Science: Just Do-It!” The students were 5th-year education students who possessed an undergraduate degree in the biological sciences. The premise for the course is that to teach science effectively, one must be able to DO science. Students were provided with extensive opportunities to design and carry out experiments and communicate the results both orally and in a written format. The focus of this dissertation was on changes in the pedagogical philosophy and practice of the scientist professor as he taught this course over a 4-year period, 1997-2000. The data used in this study include the scientist-professor’s reflective journals (1997-2000), the students’ journals (1997-2000), and interviews with the scientistprofessor (2001-2002). HyperRESEARCH 2.03 software was used to code and analyze the reflective journals and transcribed interviews. Data were reviewed and then placed into original codes. The codes were then grouped into themes for analysis. Identified themes included (1) Reflective Practice, (2) Social Construction of Knowledge, (3) Legitimate Peripheral Participation, and (4) the Zone of Proximal Development.

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