Education Commons^™

Teaching Mathematics With Poetry: Some Activities, Alexis E. Langellier

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

During the summer of 2021, I experimented with a new way of getting children excited about mathematics: math poetry. Math can be a trigger word for some children and many adults. I wanted to find a way to make learning math fun—without the students knowing they’re doing math. In this paper I describe some activities I used with students ranging from grades K-12 to the college level and share several poem examples, from students in grades two to eight.

Challenge-Based Learning & Steam Curriculum, Diana Lockwood

The STEAM Journal

STEAM education is being integrated into elementary schools as a way to engage more students in creativity, hands-on learning, and problem-based learning also referred to as Challenge-Based-Learning (CBL). This article focuses on elementary educators’ curriculum design for STEAM and presenting students with open-ended questions phrased as a challenge as a way to raise student interest and achievement (DeJarnette, 2018; Hunter-Doniger, 2018). When students received challenges to solve, they felt more open to sharing their ideas since there was more than one potential right answer (DeJarnette, 2018; Drake, 2012). When implementing CBL, teachers act as facilitators using a constructivist approach as …

Creative Learning With Music And Mathematics: Reflections On Interdisciplinary Collaborations, Graham Johnson, Alesia M. Moldavan

The STEAM Journal

Culturally responsive content, accessible and inclusive tools, and meaningful interdisciplinary tasks can aid in developing equitable and creative learning environments. Music and mathematics are ideal disciplines for interdisciplinary creative learning. In this article, we reflect on our experiences engaging in interdisciplinary music and mathematics tasks with preservice teachers. In particular, we highlight specific efforts taken to design and implement a creative music and mathematics workshop for use in a mathematics methods course. Guided by these experiences, we offer examples of tools and practices that have helped preservice teachers collaborate, engage in inquiry, improvise, develop empathy, and take intellectual and social …

Happiness In Mathematics Education: The Experiences Of Preservice Elementary Teachers, Jeffrey Pair, Kent Dinh

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

In this paper, we discuss preservice elementary teachers (PSTs) self-report of their happiness or unhappiness. Several times throughout a mathematics content capstone course, PSTs responded to prompts in which they described times from their past schooling experiences or during the course in which they experienced happiness or unhappiness in learning mathematics. Through thematic analysis, we examined their common experiences related to happiness and their mathematics learning. We found that PSTs’ happiness is related to expectations of themselves, their teachers, their peers, and mathematics itself. The study illuminates PST beliefs about mathematics teaching, collaborative group work, and the nature of mathematical …

Supporting Mathematic Achievement For Students With Learning Disabilities Through Enhanced Anchored Instruction, Wendie Lappin Castillo

The STEAM Journal

Difficulties in mathematical learning are common and significant.The struggle has increased exponentially with the Common Core State Standards in effect. Students with or without learning or mathematical disabilities may respond to continued failure by withdrawing their effort, carrying low self-esteem, and/or displaying avoidance behaviors. Enhanced anchored instruction is designed to provide students the opportunity to construct knowledge and design solutions to problems collaboratively. The approach of enhanced anchored instruction attempts to guide students to become more active in learning through the use of technology. Enhanced anchored instruction provides students the opportunity to work through problems attached to a visual anchor. …

Perfecting The Craft Of Teaching, Stephanie Nunez

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This ethnographic narrative follows my journey as a fifth grade teacher in the greater Los Angeles area. The purpose of this ethnography is to follow the development of my journey as a first-year teacher. In this ethnography, I explore my positionality and the levels of community, school, and classroom as ways to inform and improve my teaching practices as a social-justice educator. I begin this four part narrative by discussing my positionality and how it relates to my desires of becoming a teacher. Through this narrative, I was then able to conduct three case studies of students with different identities …

Case Studies On The Transfer Of Knowledge Within The Interdisciplinary Steam Curricula Construct, Laura Rachel Fattal

The STEAM Journal

Sharing anecdotal case study research documents the vibrancy of personal communication to reveal both spontaneous reactions and profound thinking on the transfer of knowledge in the interdisciplinary STEAM curricula construct. With the growing research and attention to arts-integration and STEAM curricula development, a critical assignment in a graduate course in Arts-integration: Interactive Strategies for (STEAM) teaching and learning required the in-service teachers, who were the students in the course, to be teacher/researchers. In a two-to-three page case study, the students documented evidence of one or two K-12 students’ transfer of knowledge between two or more disciplines – science, technology, engineering, …

Parent Involvement In Contested Times: A Brief Analysis Of The Effects Of Anti-Immigrant Policies On Latinx Immigrant Parent Involvement, Maria Isabel Morales

CGU Theses & Dissertations

How do perceived community and school cultural values affect Latinx immigrant parents’ decisions to engage with their children’s schools? What lessons might their experiences have for our understanding of parent involvement beyond the parameters of traditional models of parent involvement? Engaging parents as advocates for school success in the home is particularly important for English Language Learners (ELs). Tapping into the experiences of EL parents is a resource educators can use to increase parental involvement and, consequently, student academic achievement.

This qualitative case study grounded in Critical Inquiry and Cultural Historic Activity Theory examined the perceptions and experiences of 5 …

Veteran K-6 Public School Teachers: Remaining Committed And Staying Engaged In Their Careers, Leslie Young

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This phenomenological qualitative study involved 15 veteran K-6 public school teachers – each having taught a minimum of 24 years - from several districts in Southern California. It identified and examined what factors influenced the ongoing commitment and engagement of these teachers over the course of their careers. Factors mirrored the study’s theoretical framework and included: 1) the teacher’s challenges, 2) the teacher’s personal characteristics or attributes, and 3) the teacher’s professional life phases.

A majority of the teachers interviewed spoke to the escalation of the environmental challenges they confronted while on the job, such as, student behavior, administrative and …

Putting Educational Reform Into Practice: The Impact Of The No Child Left Behind Act On Students, Teachers, And Schools, Timothy Song

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis seeks to investigate the effects of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) on U.S. student achievement and teacher effectiveness. By combining the results from various data sources, I am able to indicate the levels of student preparedness, school spending, and specific classroom practices. After an analysis of my results, I suggest that NCLB has found moderate success in increasing the level of math preparedness for younger students from historically disadvantaged backgrounds. On the other hand, the data also suggests that there have been no statistically significant gains in reading achievement after the implementation of NCLB. Additionally, spending …

The Role Of Quality Education In The Economic Development Of Mexico, Betzayra Perez

CMC Senior Theses

Mexico’s education system ranks among the lowest in terms of quality and achievement levels. Given the importance of education for a country’s economic development, it is crucial to understand how improvements in Mexico’s education quality can result in economic growth for the country. This thesis aims to create awareness about how the quality of learning rather than total schooling can result in improving Mexico’s economic development. First, a general literature review provides significant findings of the quality of education, the difference between learning and schooling, and educational equity, and its effects on economic development. Moreover, a detailed overview of the …

Science Theater As Steam: A Case Study Of "Save It Now", Christopher D. Davidson, Willard Simms

The STEAM Journal

What are the markers of a successful STEAM program? How and when can educators be reasonably sure that an interdisciplinary unit or project, rich in both the sciences and the arts, has delivered on its implicit promise – by adding value to a student’s education in ways that are beyond the scope of traditional discipline-specific learning? I attempt to address this question with a case study of Theatre of Will’s “Save It Now,” a pilot program for 4^th, 5^th and 6^th graders at eight Los Angeles public schools that integrates theater arts, music and the STEM …

A Brief History Of Stem And Steam From An Inadvertent Insider, Lisa G. Catterall

The STEAM Journal

This article traces a history of STEM and STEAM from the perspective of someone involved in arts integration research for the last 35 years, and proposes a vision for the next steps. It also provides an assessment of the risks inherent in current trends of STEAM roll-out in schools, from the lack of resources for professional development to the burgeoning market in STEAM kits and activity books that do not lead to the original learning goals of STEAM.

Developing Confidence In Steam: Exploring The Challenges That Novice Elementary Teachers Face, Aaron S. Zimmerman

The STEAM Journal

This essay explores the challenges that novice elementary teachers may face as they attempt to enact the practices of STEAM education. Specifically, I will explore research that suggests that novice elementary teachers lack confidence in their ability to lead lessons rooted in either scientific inquiry or arts-integration. This has, I argue, clear implications for the development of STEAM education. Advocates of STEAM education must ensure that novice elementary teachers are provided with the necessary scaffolds and supports that will empower them to engage in authentic and ambitious STEAM practices.

Reconciling The Divide: Common Processes In Science And Arts Education, Lori A. Fulton, Jamie Simpson-Steele

The STEAM Journal

Many see the sciences and arts as two distinct fields – one objective the other subjective; however, we see the two having more in common than different. These commonalities formed the basis for a STEAM framework, which examines the intersections of five processes: noticing, wondering, visualizing, exploring, and communicating. This framed a professional development workshop on STEAM for elementary teachers. Here we define and explore these processes through both science and art perspectives, and share examples of how each of these processes were integrated to support learning. We believe that STEAM provides a well-rounded experience, allowing learners to make connections …

The Common Core: An Enhancement Or Hindrance For The Youth Of America?, Haley L. Alderete, Haley L. Alderete

CMC Senior Theses

Education in America differs from other nations and may benefit from modeling some of these foreign practices. Although there are many improvements that the country could make, curriculum could be one of the sources of inadequacy in the education system and is often what receives the most attention. Therefore, the subsequent sections will explore the United States’ major attempt in improving education through creating consistency through the Common Core curriculum. In all, if the United States seeks to maintain its power in various sectors, it must strengthen its education system to ensure success.

The Sound Of Steam, Rodney Harshbarger, Denise Harshbarger

The STEAM Journal

This field note describes how teachers and students developed an integrated STEAM unit around sound. The project involved dynamic interactions between concepts in math, science, and music.

An Investigation Of Teachers’ Noticing, Cognitive Demand, And Mathematical Knowledge For Teaching: Video Reflections In An Elementary Mathematics Context, Lorelei R. Coddington

CGU Theses & Dissertations

In the past decade, mathematics performance by all students, especially minority students in low socioeconomic schools, has shown limited improvement nationwide (NCES, 2011). Traditionally in the United States, mathematics has consisted of arithmetic and computational fluency; however, mathematics researchers widely believe that this method of instruction does not enhance the development of mathematical reasoning and ignores the research on students’ mathematical development (Blanton & Kaput, 2005; Stigler & Hiebert, 1999). Recommendations by the mathematics community are to broaden and strengthen teacher content knowledge in mathematics and to provide the pedagogical tools needed by teachers to extend their students’ thinking and …

Landscapes To Learnscapes: Exploring Schoolyard-Based Education, Emily I. Palena, Caroline T. Spurgin

Pitzer Senior Theses

This thesis explores schoolyard-based education as a viable and necessary method for rectifying the shortcomings within the American public school system and the Nature-deficit Disorder epidemic. We argue that schoolyard-based education should be fully integrated into the school system, not in the sole form of popularized school gardens, but as a standard teaching method. We show this using extensive research and a case study of three elementary schools in Claremont, California.

A State Level Analysis Of Teach For America's Impact On Student Achievement, Steven Ferguson

CMC Senior Theses

Teach For America (TFA) has seen its profile and list of donors expand tremendously in recent years. Despite its success in attracting support, research on the effectiveness of the program has been inconclusive. This study investigates the impact of TFA on student achievement measured at the state level. Panel data from grades 4 and 8 are analyzed to examine how the presence of TFA corps members in a state impacts student test scores compared to states which have no TFA corps members.

A Sabbatical Experience: Nurturing A Partnership, R. Michael Krach

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

No abstract provided.

Training Elementary Teachers For The New Millennium, Dixie Metheny, David Davison

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Knowing And Teaching Elementary Mathematics By Liping Ma, Roger Howe

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

No abstract provided.

Do The Great While It Is Still Small: Humanistic Teaching In The Elementary School, John Eichinger

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

No abstract provided.

Thinking About The Preparation Of Teachers Of Elementary School Mathematics, Jane Wenstrom, Kathleen Martin, Susan King

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Garbage Pizza, Patchwork Quilts, And Math Magic: Stories About Teachers Who Love To Teach And Children Who Love To Learn, By Susan Ohanian, Alvin White

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

No abstract provided.

A Situational Pedagogy For Elementary Mathematics, Vincent Haag

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

No abstract provided.

Reflections Of Glenmount Reform Effort, Gail Black, Ruth Miller

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

No abstract provided.

Writing Mathematics, E. G. Bernard

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

No abstract provided.

The Teaching Of Arithmetic: The Story Of An Experiment, L. P. Benezet

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

No abstract provided.