Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Hare, Dwight

Committee Member

Thompson, Nicole

Committee Member

Walker, Sharon

Committee Member

Alexander, Mary

Committee Member

Pope, Margaret

Other Advisors or Committee Members

Mathews, Jerry

Date of Degree

12-13-2008

Document Type

Dissertation - Open Access

Major

Curriculum and Instruction

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

College

College of Education

Department

Department of Curriculum, Instruction and Special Education

Abstract

The 12 Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence (COSEE) are funded by the National Science Foundation and are designed to promote creative ways of disseminating marine science research and its importance to the public. The focus of this study is the COSEE Central Gulf of Mexico program which encourages active partnerships between research scientists and teachers. In these collaborative partnerships, teachers and scientists work together to create educational products and disseminate best practices in ocean sciences education. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the lesson plans and curricula created through the Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence: Central Gulf of Mexico program (COSEE:CGOM), which are the products of this collaboration, were being used effectively in the classroom. The study addressed issues such as teacher perceptions of collaboration with scientists,effectiveness of COSEE:CGOM curriculum implementation in producing more ocean literate students, and teachers’ varying views concerning how to successfully implement new COSEE:CGOM knowledge and concepts into their classrooms in order to improve student scientific understanding. In addition, the study examined frequency of use of COSEE:CGOM lesson plans and identified predictor variables that can produce a model for understanding factors hindering or enhancing lesson plan use. Further, participant perceptions of using peer-teaching as a method for disseminating COSEE:CGOM information in their districts were addressed.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/19388

Comments

teacher and scientist partnerships||science education||professional development||teacher perceptions

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