Teacher Classroom Practices

DRAFT

Name:

 

School:

 

Date:

The purpose of this survey is to find out about current science research practices in your classroom Please answer the questions in terms of your current practices.

1 Do you currently teach an ecology research unit?

____ yes (if yes go to question 2) ____ no (if no, go to question 3)

2. Briefly describe the ecology research unit:

a. Was it optional or mandatory? ____ yes ____no

b. Grade level(s) in the course ____________c. Number of students in course ___________

d. Title of Unit:______________________________________________________________

e. Brief description of content (learning goals, instructional methods, etc.)

d. Check which best describes this unit:

_____distinct, stand alone unit

______integrated through out term

______other, please explain

3. Circle the number that best describes the frequency when you taught each element during your ecology or biological study unit.

never

sometimes

Every day

Field ecology concepts

1

2

3

4

5

Field-based data collection

1

2

3

4

5

Mapping using GIS-GPS

1

2

3

4

5

Methodologies and protocols

1

2

3

4

5

Formulating scientific questions

1

2

3

4

5

Designing scientific investigations

1

2

3

4

5

Data Analysis

1

2

3

4

5

Data interpretation, and reporting

1

2

3

4

5

Share results w/ colleagues

1

2

3

4

5

Use of modeling

1

2

3

4

5

4. Student Activities—Check the column that best describes how frequently your students engaged in the following activities during the ecology research unit.

Daily

Every other day

frequently

Once

Never

1. Working in teams to conduct field research

2. used more than one science protocol

3. entered their data into spreadsheets

4. Designing investigations

5. Used GIS to map a field site

6. Discussed aspects of research in class

7. formed their own research question

8. used a research question provided by the teacher

9. used the internet to conduct searches for their research project

10. Analyzed their own data

11. analyzed data sets provided by the teacher

12. Assessing their own work using the scoring rubrics

13. Listened to lectures about ecology content

14. Interacted with scientists

15. Reads ecology texts

16. uses project website

17. gave presentations about their study to an outside agency

18. Prepared posters about their research results

19. Using the computer to search for information

20. Listening to lectures to learn content

21. Discussed the significance of their findings in class

22. logically ordered their information into written work

23. Demonstrated their understanding about the relationship between evidence and conclusions.

24. worked with conceptual models

25. Read ecology journal articles

Comments about other aspects of your use of field ecology in your classroom not covered by the above questions

Additional Resources: