Date of Graduation
1996
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Type
EdD
College
College of Education and Human Services
Department
Not Listed
Committee Chair
Patricia A. Obenauf
Committee Co-Chair
Perry D. Phillips
Committee Member
John J. Paterson
Committee Member
Boyd D. Holtan
Committee Member
Robert E. Behling
Abstract
Man and the Gulf of Mexico (MGM) was a federally-funded curriculum development project which produced a four-volume set of marine science curriculum materials for use by junior high and secondary school students in Alabama and Mississippi. Individual titles in the series are Marine and Estuarine Ecology, Marine Habitats, Diversity of Marine Animals, and Diversity of Marine Plants. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the implementation of these materials by investigating the possible relationships among MGM-based inservice teacher training, geographic residence of students, marine science knowledge acquisition by students as measured by the "MGM Unit Achievement Tests", student evaluations of the MGM curriculum materials as measured by the "MGM Unit Evaluation Form", and student scores on the marine knowledge, and marine attitudes portions of the "Survey of Oceanic Attitudes and Knowledge" (SOAK). Additionally, the study was designed to document marine-related experiences of student participants as measured by the marine experiences section of the SOAK. A total of 21 biology teachers, nine Alabama residents and 12 Mississippi residents, and their students {dollar}\\rm(n=612){dollar} took part in the study. Participating teachers selected two of the four MGM units to teach to their students with the instructional phase for each unit lasting approximately six weeks. Prior to the instructional phase students completed a battery of pretests including the "MGM Unit Achievement Test" that corresponded to the unit that was to be studied and the SOAK. Following instruction the students were posttested using the "MGM Unit Achievement Test" and the marine attitudes portion of the SOAK. Additionally, students completed the "MGM Unit Evaluation Form" for each MGM unit that they studied. Results of the study indicated that a significant {dollar}\\rm(p
Recommended Citation
McEwen, Malcolm Keith, "A study of the relationships among teacher inservice training, geographic residence, student knowledge acquisition, and student marine experiences in the evaluation of a marine science curriculum." (1996). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 9391.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/9391