First Advisor

Corina E. Brown

First Committee Member

Richard M. Hyslop

Second Committee Member

Robert J. Reinsvold

Degree Name

Master of Science

Document Type

Thesis

Date Created

5-2018

Department

College of Natural and Health Sciences, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Chemistry and Biochemistry Student Work

Abstract

The high demand for a scientifically literate society and workforce led to the creation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and their release in April 2013. NGSS are based on a call to improve science education at the primary and secondary levels and emphasize the importance of a more conceptual and hands-on approach to science. The purpose of this mixed methods research study was to examine, through the use of Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior, the factors involved in teachers’ intentions to implement the NGSS in high school science courses. Semi-structured interviews were performed with nine teachers and experts in the field who were asked for their opinions regarding the implementation and changes they have made in their lessons and pedagogy in order to accommodate NGSS. From this, salient beliefs were identified and used to develop a survey using the theory of planned behavior. Factors influencing high school science teachers’ (N=238) intentions to implement NGSS were identified through backward elimination multiple regression and independent samples t-tests. From the results, suggestions were provided on how to improve the adoption of NGSS and the effectiveness of professional development. Keywords: Next Generation Science Standards, NGSS, implementation, science standards, high school, science teacher, theory of planned behavior

Abstract Format

html

Extent

135 pages

Local Identifiers

Pierce_unco_0161N_10647

Rights Statement

Copyright is held by the author.

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