Measuring Changes in Interest in Science and Technology at the College Level in Response to Two Instructional Interventions

Autor/inn/en	Romine, William L.; Sadler, Troy D.
Titel	Measuring Changes in Interest in Science and Technology at the College Level in Response to Two Instructional Interventions
Quelle	In: Research in Science Education, 46 (2016) 3, S.309-327 (19 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0157-244X
DOI	10.1007/s11165-014-9452-8
Schlagwörter	STEM Education; Student Interests; Test Construction; Nonmajors; College Students; Student Characteristics; Attitude Change; Teaching Methods; Conventional Instruction; Science Instruction; Science Tests; Technology Uses in Education; College Science; Intervention + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? STEM; Studieninteresse; Testaufbau; Collegestudent; Attitudinal change; Einstellungsänderung; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Teaching of science; Science education; Natural sciences Lessons; Naturwissenschaftlicher Unterricht; Technology enhanced learning; Technology aided learning; Technologieunterstütztes Lernen
Abstract	Improving interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is crucial to widening participation and success in STEM studies at the college level. To understand how classroom and extracurricular interventions affect interest, it is necessary to have appropriate measurement tools. We describe the adaptation and revalidation of a previously existing multidimensional instrument to the end of measuring interest in environmental science and technology in college nonscience majors. We demonstrate the revised instrument's ability to detect change in this group over an 8-week time period. While collection of demographic information was not part of the study design, participating students were similar in that they hailed from three environmental science nonmajor classes sharing a common syllabus and instructional delivery method. Change in interest was measured in response to two types of scientific literature-based learning approaches: a scientific practice approach and a traditional, quiz-driven approach. We found that both approaches led to moderate gains in interest in learning environmental science and careers in environmental science across an 8-week time period. Interest in using technology for learning increased among students using the scientific practice approach; in contrast, the same measure decreased among students using the reading/quiz approach. This result invites the possibility that interest in using technology as a learning tool may relate to technological literacy, which must be taught explicitly in the context of authentic inquiry experiences. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01