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Student Attitude Surveys

Instrument 1: MASTEP Survey of Students in Funded Courses (Pre/Post)

Project: Mathematics and Science Teacher Education Program for the San Francisco Bay Area (MASTEP)
San Jose University Foundation

Funding Source: NSF: Collaboratives for Excellence in Teacher Preparation (DUE)

Purpose: To gather attitudinal information about science, math, and teaching before and after course

Administered To: Students in funded science and math courses

Topics Covered:

  • Attitudes & Beliefs (Student): content, education, practical value, profession
  • Comparisons: prior coursework
  • Course Evaluation: activities, assessment, collaboration, endorsement, methods, practical value, technology use
  • Impact on Outcomes: career interests, confidence, student interest, student skills, student understanding
  • Perceptions (Student): peer attitudes
  • Plans & Expectations (Student): career interests
  • Self-Assessment (Student): confidence, engagement, understanding
  • Background Characteristics & Activities (Student): academic focus, academic level, academic performance
  • Demographics (Student): age, ethnicity, gender, primary language spoken

Format/Length: 54 closed-ended questions, plus 14 demographic questions. The survey given at the beginning of the semester includes 16 closed-ended questions using a 5-point scale ("strongly disagree" to "strongly agree") and 12 demographic questions on student background using a checklist format. The survey given at the end of the semester includes 38 closed-ended questions using the same 5-point scale and 2 demographic questions.

Special Features: The post-semester survey includes the same 16 items that are in the pre-semester survey in order to gauge student attitudes toward specific pedagogical areas of interest to the project: inquiry-based learning, problem solving, cooperative group learning, use of new technologies, and performance-based assessment.

MASTEP

 

Survey of Students in Funded Courses
February 1998

Department:      _________________________

Course number:  __________________________

Section number:  __________________________

Instructor:       __________________________

Please provide the last four digits of your Social Security Number:

Course ID:      _________________________

Please identify your campus:   a. CCSF   b. CSM   c. EVC   d. SFSU   e. SJCC   f. SJSU  

Gender:   F   M  

Age:   a. less than 23   b. 23-29   c. 30-49   d. 50 or older  

Current overall college GPA:  a. Below 2.00  b. 2.00-2.49  c. 2.50-2.99  d. 3.00-3.49  e. 3.50 and higher 

Major in college:

a. Arts (Art/Music/Drama)

b. Business/Accounting

c. Communications

d. Computer Science

e. Engineering

f. Foreign Languages

g. Humanities

h. Liberal Studies

i. Mathematics

j. Natural Sciences

k. Social Sciences

l. Other

m. Undecided

Year in college:   a. Freshman   b. Sophomore   c. Junior   d. Senior   e. Grad  

For each statement below, circle the number that best represents your opinion about the statement (1=Strongly disagree, 2=Disagree, 3=Not sure, 4=Agree, 5=Strongly agree).

 
Strongly
Disagree
Disagree
Not
Sure
Agree
Strongly
Agree
  1. Science in its basic form means questioning, explaining, and testing.
1
2
3
4
5
  1. Use of computer-based technologies allows us to manipulate the physical world to solve practical problems.
1
2
3
4
5
  1. I think teaching mathematics or science would be fun.
1
2
3
4
5
  1. Science is basically about working with various objects and materials in classrooms and laboratories.
1
2
3
4
5
  1. Science and mathematics classes require creative thinking.
1
2
3
4
5
  1. Science is broadly viewed as a way of studying the universe and how it works.
1
2
3
4
5
  1. Scientific ways of thinking are applicable in many areas of life.
1
2
3
4
5
  1. A job as a teacher would be boring.
1
2
3
4
5
  1. Mathematics includes questioning and explaining.
1
2
3
4
5
  1. I feel confident about my ability to do well in science classes.
1
2
3
4
5
  1. Conclusions of scientists may change in the future.
1
2
3
4
5
  1. I have often thought about becoming a teacher.
1
2
3
4
5
  1. People need to be able to read and understand scientific articles in newspapers and magazines.
1
2
3
4
5
  1. Mathematics is mostly about performing calculations.
1
2
3
4
5
  1. Being in an exciting class makes me interested in teaching.
1
2
3
4
5
  1. Even when a science class is interesting and the teacher tries to help me, I don't learn very quickly and sometimes get discouraged.
1
2
3
4
5

 

MASTEP: Survey of Students in Funded Courses (end of semester) developed by WestEd for the MASTEP project

Dear Student,

You are currently enrolled in a course that has received funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) through a six-campus project called Mathematics and Science Teacher Education Program (MASTEP). WestEd, one of the ten federally funded regional education laboratories, is responsible to the NSF for evaluating the impact of the funding on selected college-level courses whose professors have undertaken educational innovations.

We are conducting a survey of undergraduate courses funded through MASTEP; the first part of the survey was distributed to you and other students in February. The survey is designed to help faculty and the NSF understand the effects of course innovations on student learning and perhaps to facilitate the improvement of similar courses throughout the country.

We need your assistance. We are asking students enrolled in these courses to complete a second brief survey about attitudes toward science and mathematics. Now, at the end of the semester, we have included some questions about the course. When you participate in this evaluation, your identity will always remain confidential. Your ID number will be used only to link the beginning and end of semester surveys and not to identify you as a person. All individual student responses will be held strictly confidential.

Participation is completely voluntary. (Students choosing not to participate may simply return a blank survey.) Refusal to participate will have no effect on your grade. There are no formal benefits or risks associated with participation.

Instructions:

  • Please use a #2 pencil to complete the survey.
  • Write your instructor's name in the space provided [for the course] in which you are currently enrolled.
  • Use the last four digits of your Social Security number as your ID number. Write the last four digits at the top of the First four columns under ID number at the top left corner of the blue and white form. Then fill in the corresponding bubbles. Leave the remaining columns blank.
  • Write the 4 digit MASTEP course ID given to you by your instructor in the FIRST four columns (A-D) of the Special Codes section. Fill in the corresponding bubbles.
  • For each of the 38 statements darken the circle that best represents your opinion about the statement.
  • Your instructor will collect the forms and forward them to us.

We thank you for your cooperation. Your thoughtful responses to the questions in this survey will help faculty in the Bay Area and across the country to improve their science and mathematics courses.

 

Gloria Guth, Ph.D. and Tania Madfes, Ed.D
Senior Researchers, WestEd

 

Instructor:       __________________________

Please identify your campus:   CCSF   CSM   EVC   SFSU   SJCC   SJSU  

GENERAL PURPOSE DATA SHEET II
form no. 70921

For each statement below, circle the number that best represents your opinion about the statement (A=Strongly Disagree, B=Disagree, C=Not Sure, D=Agree, E=Strongly Sgree).

 
Strongly
Disagree
Disagree
Not
Sure
Agree
Strongly
Agree
  1. Science in its basic form means questioning, explaining, and testing.
A
B
C
D
E
  1. Use of computer technologies allows us to manipulate the physical world to solve practical problems.
A
B
C
D
E
  1. I think teaching mathematics or science would be fun.
A
B
C
D
E
  1. Science is basically about working with various objects and materials in classrooms and laboratories.
A
B
C
D
E
  1. Science and mathematics classes require creative thinking.
A
B
C
D
E
  1. Science is broadly viewed as a way of studying the universe and how it works.
A
B
C
D
D
  1. Scientific ways of thinking are applicable in many areas of life.
A
B
C
D
E
  1. Mathematics includes questioning and explaining.
A
B
C
D
E
  1. I feel confident about my ability to do well in science classes.
A
B
C
D
E
  1. Conclusions of scientists may change in the future.
A
B
C
D
E
  1. I have often thought about becoming a teacher.
A
B
C
D
E
  1. People need to be able to read and understand scientific articles in newspapers and magazines.
A
B
C
D
E
  1. Mathematics is mostly about performing calculations.
A
B
C
D
E
  1. Being in an exciting class makes me interested in teaching.
A
B
C
D
E
  1. Even when a science class is interesting and the teacher tries to help me, I don't learn very quickly and sometimes get discouraged.
A
B
C
D
E
  1. Taking this class has made me more interested in pursuing a scientific career.
A
B
C
D
E
  1. In this class, I deepened my understanding of scientific inquiry.
A
B
C
D
E
  1. This class helped me to learn how to think through problems.
A
B
C
D
E
  1. In this class, students tried to make sense of one another's ideas.
A
B
C
D
E
  1. The use of technology in this class has made learning easier.
A
B
C
D
E
  1. In this class, we demonstrated our understanding of the subject matter in a variety of ways.
A
B
C
D
E
  1. Many of the activities in this class were a waste of time.
A
B
C
D
E
  1. In this class, we learned through exploration and discovery.
A
B
C
D
E
  1. This class has given me the confidence to figure out things on my own.
A
B
C
D
E
  1. The small group experiences the instructor created helped me learn the content of this course.
A
B
C
D
E
  1. In this class, too much emphasis was placed on using technology.
A
B
C
D
E
  1. In this class, my learning was assessed only through multiple choice and short answer tests.
A
B
C
D
E
  1. In this class, we answered questions primarily using textbooks and lectures, not investigations.
A
B
C
D
E
  1. This class is the most interesting science class I have ever taken.
A
B
C
D
E
  1. Students in this class shared their problem-solving approaches with each other.
A
B
C
D
E
  1. This class was pretty typical of other science courses I have taken.
A
B
C
D
E
  1. In this class, I learned how technology could be used for teaching.
A
B
C
D
E
  1. This course is useful as a model for people who want to teach.
A
B
C
D
E
  1. In this class, having to work with other students slowed me down.
A
B
C
D
E
  1. I wish my other courses were taught like this one.
A
B
C
D
E
  1. In this class, I was tested on my understanding and not just my memory.
A
B
C
D
E
  1. In this class, I gained exposure to new approaches in the teaching of science.
A
B
C
D
E
  1. This class has increased my interest in becoming a teacher.
A
B
C
D
E