Date of Award
1-1-2020
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Department
Educational Leadership
First Advisor
Dr. C. Elliott Ostler
Abstract
The topic of graphical literacy is considered to be an important aspect of a student’s science education. Skills related to the construction and interpretation of graphs are well documented in science education literature as well as instructional strategies meant to help develop a student’s graphical literacy in science. Absent in the literature is how science teachers address skills related to graphical literacy with their students. The purpose of this study is to provide some insight into how secondary science teachers devote instruction to address graphical literacy with their students in the context of their classroom. Eight secondary science teachers from two school districts in a Midwestern city completed a pre interview survey and then participated in a semi-structured interview. The quantitative and qualitative instruments used in this study asked participants to respond to survey statements and open-ended interview questions related to their instruction of graphing skills within the context of their classroom. Participants also responded to open-ended questions about how they addressed their students’ deficiencies with graphing and instructional strategies used to address those deficiencies. The results of this study demonstrate that the participants were familiar with specific graphing skills and various instructional strategies to address graphing skills identified in the literature. The results further demonstrate that the secondary science teachers who participated in this study addressed graphical literacy in ways that helped their students learn content, promoted graphical literacy as a life-skill, and allowed students opportunities to make connections between math and science.
Recommended Citation
Marsh, Pete, "An Analysis of Science Teachers’ Perceptions of Graphical Literacy within the Context of the Secondary Science Classroom" (2020). Student Work. 3688.
https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/studentwork/3688
Comments
A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate College at the University of Nebraska in Partial Fulfillment of Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education. Copyright 2020 Pete Marsh.