ERIC Number: EJ1037097
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014-Aug
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1059-0145
EISSN: N/A
The Effectiveness of the Geospatial Curriculum Approach on Urban Middle-Level Students' Climate Change Understandings
Bodzin, Alec M.; Fu, Qiong
Journal of Science Education and Technology, v23 n4 p575-590 Aug 2014
Climate change science is a challenging topic for student learning. This quantitative study examined the effectiveness of a geospatial curriculum approach to promote climate change science understandings in an urban school district with eighth-grade students and investigated whether teacher- and student-level factors accounted for students' climate change knowledge achievement. The participants included 12 science teachers and 956 eighth-grade students. Data included a pre- and posttest climate change assessment measures for both teachers and students and a teacher measure of Geospatial Science-Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge. Paired-sample t tests revealed statistically significant gains from pretest to posttest on their climate change knowledge (p < 0.001; effect sizes being large on multiple-choice items and medium on the open-ended response assessment). Both ordinary least squares (OLS) multiple regression and 2-level hierarchical linear modeling found that students' initial climate change knowledge and gender were significant predictors for students' posttest scores, p < 0.05. Students' pretest scores were the strongest significant predictor of the posttest scores, p < 0.001. Neither the teachers' climate change knowledge nor their Geospatial Science-Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge had significant association with the students' posttest scores. Teaching years was a significant predictor for students' posttest scores in OLS regression (p < 0.001). The findings provide support that a geospatial curriculum approach is an effective science curriculum approach for learners in urban middle-level education.
Descriptors: Middle School Students, Secondary School Science, Science Teachers, Grade 8, Pretests Posttests, Climate, Scientific Concepts, Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Statistical Analysis, Science Curriculum, Effect Size, Multiple Choice Tests, Least Squares Statistics, Hierarchical Linear Modeling, Knowledge Level, Gender Differences, Predictor Variables, Scores, Educational Technology, Geographic Information Systems, Instructional Effectiveness
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Middle Schools; Secondary Education; Junior High Schools; Grade 8; Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A