Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Why We Teach Mathematics To Every Student: Determining Impact Of Mathematics On Problem Solving And Logical Reasoning Skills, Megan Marie Harris

Honors Research Projects

The purpose of this paper is to dissect why it is important to teach mathematics to every student, even if the student does not plan on pursuing mathematics in his or her career. This paper will describe and test various reasons why mathematics is taught to every student but it will focus on math as a way to help develop and improve problem-solving and logical reasoning skills. An experiment was conducted on a random sample of fourteen University of Akron students who were measured on their problem-solving abilities and critical thinking through playing two games. These students were then compared ...

From Sets To Metric Spaces To Topological Spaces, Nicholas A. Scoville

Topology

No abstract provided.

Quantitative Biology Education - Resources To Change Your Students From Math-Anxious To Math-Curious, Jeremy Wojdak

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Interventions To Develop A Growth Mindset In A Remedial Math Classroom, Michael D. Seminelli

Mathematica Militaris

College students in remedial mathematics programs not only struggle with fundamental concepts but tend to have a low mental outlook about their ability to succeed in a math class. Educators can implement interventions to promote a growth mindset with students, changing their attitude to one that recognizes hard work leads to mastery of any skill or concept. The students develop the confidence and desire to succeed in mastering the course material in their math classes as well as other academic subjects.

“Indefensible, Illogical, And Unsupported”; Countering Deficit Mythologies About The Potential Of Students With Learning Disabilities In Mathematics, Rachel Lambert

Education Faculty Articles and Research

This paper describes two myths that circulate widely about the potential of students with Learning Disabilities to learn mathematics: (1) that students with Learning Disabilities cannot benefit from inquiry-based instruction in mathematics, and only from explicit instruction; and (2) that students with Learning Disabilities cannot construct their own mathematical strategies and do not benefit from engaging with multiple strategies. In this paper, I will describe how these myths have developed, and identify research that counters these myths. I argue that these myths are the unintended consequences of deficit constructions of students with Learning Disabilities in educational research. Using neurodiversity to ...

Concept Maps And Feedback In Statistics Learning: Exploring The Effect Of Expert Map Feedback And Peer Feedback On Concept Map Structure, Theresa A. Hickey

Education Dissertations

This mixed methods exploratory study examined the effects of two types of feedback – Peer and Expert Map – on Concept Maps used as learning tools in a statistics classroom. Of interest were possible effects of feedback on Concept Map structure (determined by structural scores), on structural classification (Discrete, Integrated), and on student choice of starting concept (General, Specific). Student perceptions of feedback and the role of mapping in statistics learning were elicited using a 12-item questionnaire. Two open-ended responses were coded by themes. All data were assessed separately, then merged to enrich findings.

Results from a mixed repeated measures ANOVA of ...

Developmental Mathematics: A Quantitative Investigation Of Instructor Classification As Related To Student Success, Brittany A. Fish

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine what type of predictive power exists between an instructor’s employment classification, student gender, student race, and first-generation status on a student’s academic success in developmental mathematics, as measured by final semester grades at a regionally comprehensive state university in Texas between fall 2013 and spring 2017. Data were collected from the institution under study and the sample population included 1932 unique student observations. The data collected in this study were analyzed through a binary logistic regression model to determine whether an instructor’s employment classification, student gender, student race ...

Teaching Place-Based Science In Kindergarten, Lucy Atkins

Capstone Research Projects

This action research explores how kindergarten students learn about forces and motion through inquiry-based, place-based methods. The learning took place as part of an existing day spent learning outdoors, known as Forest Monday, that includes extended time for free play. The three sub-questions addressed 1) science content learning, 2) science practice application, and 3) the incorporation of science content and practices into free play time outdoors. It was a mixed-methods study, with science assessment data supporting observations and interviews. The participants were 12 kindergarten students in a rural elementary school. All students were assessed and interviewed but observations were focused ...

Tinkering With Logo In An Elementary Mathematics Methods Course, Keri Duncan Valentine

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

With an increased push to integrate coding and computational literacy in K–12 learning environments, teacher educators will need to consider ways they might support preservice teachers (PSTs). This paper details a tinkering approach used to engage PSTs in thinking computationally as they worked with geometric concepts they will be expected to teach in K–5. Experiences programming in Logo to construct authentic artifacts in the form of two-dimensional geometric graphics not only supported PSTs’ understanding of core geometric and spatial concepts, but also helped them to make connections between mathematics and computational literacy. Artifacts and discourse are discussed as ...

Augmented Reality Technology Used To Enhance Informal Science Learning, Erin Reidy

Education and Human Development Master's Theses

With science advancements ever-changing and an increased use of multimedia to display information to the public, science literacy and critical thinking skills are important for the public to keep up to date. Students will need to know how to interpret science information they are faced with throughout their lives to make decisions and critique scientific arguments (Squire & Mingfong, 2007). Science education reform is becoming more focused on incorporating science practices with the use of tools and processes to enhance learning. An authentic learning experience can be described as experiencing real problems and consequences in context (Rosenbaum et al., 2007). Augmented ...

Experiential Learning In The Middle School Living Environment Classroom, Andrea G. Heinlein

Education and Human Development Master's Theses

Experiential learning teaches students through concrete experiences, often occurring outdoors or outside of the classroom. (Scogin, Kruger, Jekkals, & Steinfeldt, 2017). Outdoor experiential learning provides higher level thinking opportunities as well as opportunities to build a range of non-cognitive skills such as cooperation, collaboration, independence and responsibility. Additionally, experiential learning is a key tool for creating interest in science and in connecting science contexts from the classroom to real world applications that students can experience firsthand (James & Williams, 2016). This project begins with a comprehensive literature review discussing different forms of experiential learning and benefits of this form of instruction as ...

The Influence Of Visuospatial Intervention On Mathematical Ability, Tiffany Bui, Matthew Eclevia, Cody Shishido, Jessica Walker

Student Research Day Abstracts and Posters

The research proposal of this study intends to identify whether visuospatial interventions improve mathematical ability in college students. Visuospatial skills are important for identifying the distance between two objects, memory of images, and visualizing objects by mentally rotating them. The two important concepts relating to visuospatial ability are spatial relations and spatial visualizations. These are the abilities to mentally rotate two dimensional and three dimensional objects. Prior research has shown that visuospatial interventions are an effective tool for the improvement mathematical performance. This study is designed to see whether mathematical aptitude improves from pre-test to post-test after participation in visuospatial ...

Stem Integration: Making Connections In Mathematics And Science By Teaching Logarithms Conceptually, Andrew Smith

Doctor of Education in Secondary Education Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to examine both qualitatively and quantitatively the difference in conceptual understanding of logarithms of students participating in a traditional classroom setting in which a correspondence approach (Confrey & Smith, 1995) was used and students participating in an integrated STEM unit of logarithms and pH in which a covariational approach (Ferrari-Escolá, Martínez-Sierra, & Méndez-Guevara, 2016) was used. In addition, the researcher investigated how students make connections among different representations of logarithms and transferring knowledge between mathematics and science.

A quasi-experimental design was used in which qualitative data were collected using an Observation Protocol and quantitative data were collected using the Logarithms and pH Assessment (LPA). The qualitative data showed that students in the treatment group were thinking of logarithms in a mathematics and science context at a deeper level of conceptual understanding according to Weber’s (2002) levels of understanding exponential and logarithmic functions and Park and Choi’s (2012) levels of understanding pH. In addition, the qualitative data showed that students in the integrated STEM classroom were better able to transfer their knowledge of logarithms to pH and make deeper connections among different representations of logarithms (numerical, algebraic, and graphical). However, the quantitative data from the LPA, which defines conceptual understanding as the ability to represent concept in multiple forms: written, numerical, algebraic, and graphical (Panasuk, 2010; Rittle-Johnson, Siegler, & Alibali, 2001), indicated that the traditional classroom developed students’ conceptual understanding more than the integrated STEM classroom.

This study provides mathematics and science educators with relevant information about incorporating integrated STEM lessons and covariational reasoning to teach logarithms conceptually, to improve a student’s conceptual understanding of logarithms and pH, and their ability to apply mathematical knowledge to settings other than the mathematics classroom.

The Impact Of Mentoring On Life Science Undergraduate Mentors, Kari Nelson

Theses, Student Research, and Creative Activity: Department of Teaching, Learning and Teacher Education

Universities are increasingly encouraging their undergraduates to become mentors to others, yet relatively little research has been done to empirically understand the impact of this work on the mentors themselves. Therefore, the overall goals of this work were: (1) To evaluate the types of studies that have been conducted on the impacts of serving as an undergraduate mentor; (2) To examine the methodological rigor of recent studies and make recommendations for improvement; and (3) To asses if serving as an undergraduate mentor impacted the critical thinking of the mentors, using a valid and reliable instrument, the California Critical Thinking Skills ...

Supporting English Language Learners Inside The Mathematics Classroom: One Teacher’S Unique Perspective Working With Students During Their First Years In America, Amy Marie Fendrick

Research and Evaluation in Literacy and Technology

Reflecting upon my personal experiences teaching mathematics to English Language Learners (ELL) in a public high school in Lincoln, Nebraska, this essay largely focuses on the time I spent as the only Accelerated Math teacher in my school building. From 2012 – 2017, I taught three different subjects at this high school: Advanced Algebra, Algebra, and Accelerated Math. This essay highlights why I chose to become a math and ELL teacher, as well as the challenges, issues, struggles, and successes I experienced during my time teaching. I focus on the challenges I faced teaching students who did not share my native ...

The Long-Term Effects On Conceptual Change And Affect For Preservice Teachers One Year After A Cave Automatic Virtual Environment (Cave) Experience, Margaret Depasquale

SMTC Plan B Papers

The current research evaluated the long-term effects of a cave automatic virtual environment (CAVE) experience on preservice teachers’ conceptual change and affect. To evaluate the lasting effects, four students from a physical science class were interviewed one year following their experience in a CAVE simulation in which they learned about molecular density. For each participant the interview produced a transcript of his/her spoken responses and a drawing that was compared to the drawing s/he had done the year before. The results of the research showed that participants manifested both positive and negative affect in regard to their CAVE ...

Success Rates Of Second Semester Anatomy Students In Online And On-Ground Classes At A Community College In East Tennessee, William Sproat

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Educators expect the number of institutions offering online courses and the number of students enrolling in these courses to increase as many students, particularly nontraditional students, discover the advantages of online content delivery. Online courses require new methods of communication between students and faculty as well as discovering new ways to build relationships, earn student trust, conduct appropriate assessment, and deliver useful course content. Many institutions—public, private, and for-profit—offer a wide variety of online coursework but faculty, employers, and the public have expressed concerns about the quality of online course content. In particular, online delivery of coursework in ...

In-Situ Educational Research From Concept To Classroom Implementation: A Multiple Paper Dissertation, David Mark Weiss

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

An educational researcher sought to collaborate with a classroom instructor to introduce problem-based learning as a new teaching intervention. First, a classroom instructor was approached to consider how a problem-based learning instructional approach might fit with their existing curriculum plan. The researcher and the classroom teacher used a discussion framework to decide together how to best design a professional learning course meant to prepare the teacher to use the new techniques in their classroom. The teacher took the professional learning course and subsequently designed his own problem-based learning course. That course was then delivered to undergraduate students in a college ...

Winter 2018

Transformations

No abstract provided.

Using The Soar Approach To Teach Middle School Students About Math And Science Concepts Found In Engineering, Rachael Wagner

Honors Theses, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

In order to address the lack of knowledge about the engineering profession in middle-level students, the project described in this Honors Thesis was developed. Through the creation of an afterschool program centered on engineering, students were able to apply the math and science concepts covered to design, build, and test a bridge. One particular lesson from this after-school program was highlighted in this thesis, the lesson covering the Pythagorean Theorem, to demonstrate the use of SOAR methodology in the lesson’s development and later use in the classroom. The effectiveness of the Pythagorean Theorem lesson was evaluated positively based on ...