UpDate - Vol. 13, No. 32, Page 6
May 19, 1994
Science classroom interaction focus of research

     Zoubeida R. Dagher, assistant professor of educational development,
has received a National Academy of Education Spencer Postdoctoral
Fellowship. Supported by the Spencer Foundation, the competitive fellowship
encourages outstanding researchers at the postdoctoral level to pursue
educational research projects.
     With a bachelor's degree from Beirut University College, a master's
degree from the American College of Beirut and a Ph.D. from the University
of Iowa, Dagher's field of specialization is science education.
     Dagher's research interest has been in the interaction between
teachers and students in the science classroom during the junior high
years. She is interested in the many diverse ways teachers teach
science-how they explain science and scientific concepts and how students
perceive or reconstruct the material taught to them.
     In the past, Dagher has focused on traditional teacher-centered
classrooms where science is taught by the teacher with little input from
students.
     During her research year, Dagher said she plans to focus on a more
student-centered classroom, where students and teachers develop knowledge
and scientific explanations together. Through video and audiotapes and
field notes, Dagher will carry out an in-depth study and look for patterns
that emerge in classroom dynamics. Later in the academic year, she plans to
take an interactive role in the classroom herself with the teacher and
students.
     Her goal is to contribute to the knowledge-base of science teaching
and learning-by examining how some students are silenced and others
empowered in subtle ways in the science classroom. She also will examine
the role of gender and culture in shaping the learning process.
                                                  -Sue Swyers Moncure