Education Commons^™

Introduction To The Special Issue On Immunology, Colby Tofel-Grehl, Brooke A. Whitworth

Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare the absence of needed resources for teachers to engage students in learning about infectious disease as both a socioscientific issue and a scientific phenomenon (Kafai et al. 2022). With infectious disease largely absent from the NGSS, teachers had to creatively link lessons that contextualized and examined key aspects of infectious disease education during the COVID-19 pandemic. We saw in real time the impacts of popular news, social media, and public mood on broader socioscientific behaviors such as vaccination, masking, and social distancing. We watched as people’s understanding of the nature of science (Lederman 2013) …

Ancient Antimicrobials - An Inquiry-Based Look At The Social Context Behind Microbes, Akacia Halliday-Isaac, Brooke A. Whitworth

Publications

No abstract provided.

Podcasts In Science Classrooms: Storytelling For All Ears!, Sumeet Kulkarni, Brooke A. Whitworth

Publications

Podcasts offer a unique tool in making science learning informative, engaging, and entertaining. They provide an excellent way to incorporate storytelling in science instruction. Podcasts can be accessed easily and free of cost on any internet-enabled device. Recording podcasts is also easy and inexpensive, making them useful to record lesson summaries and other content for revision. This article outlines different ways of using podcasts in the teaching and learning process. To support informal learning, podcasts typically cover cross-disciplinary issues that are relevant to present times as well as those important to local communities. They also feature interviews with researchers who …

Particulate Matters - Water Filtration And Solar Disinfection, Shelby A. Watson, Brooke A. Whitworth

Publications

Those of us in the United States often take for granted that the water coming out of our faucets will be safe for drinking, cleaning, or brushing our teeth. Despite this, each year nearly half a million people visit emergency rooms because of waterborne diseases, resulting in over 100,000 hospital stays and thousands of deaths (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] 2020). In fact, the CDC estimated that in 2017 people in the United States spent $3.8 billion on emergency room visits for waterborne illnesses.

Teacher Enactment Of The Geospatial Inquiry Cycle In Classrooms Following Scaled Up Professional Learning And Development, Brooke A. Whitworth, Lori Rubino-Hare, Francis Boateng, Anne Hamlin, Nena E. Bloom, Eric Nolan

Publications

The current study examined the effects of a nationally scaled up Professional Learning and Development (PLD) model on teachers’ classroom implementation of the Geospatial Inquiry instructional framework. Geospatial Inquiry is defined as: asking and answering a research question through the analysis and communication of data that is linked to a geographic location on, above, or near Earth. These data are often represented visually via maps and explored with geospatial technologies. It also examined the relationships between Geospatial Inquiry Teacher Workshop (GITW) implementation and teacher implementation of the Geospatial Inquiry Cycle. Situated cognition provided a theoretical framework for the design, development, …

Talking Is Thinking: Supporting Student Sense-Making Through Discourse And Assessment, Whitney Jackson, Lauren A. Simpson, Brooke A. Whitworth

Publications

Learning in the classroom is highly influenced by the experiences a teacher plans for students. Concerned that students were not achieving adequate conceptual knowledge during traditional undergraduate physics courses, the authors used the Making Sense of SCIENCE curriculum to tailor a course for 21 pre-service elementary teachers at the University of Mississippi. The organization of instruction, facilitation practices, discussion opportunities, and assessment of content are all important aspects of the learning process. We found the changes we implemented significantly impacted the learning of students enrolled in this course.

No Bones About Art, Lydia Lytal, Brooke A. Whitworth, Gail Morton

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No abstract provided.

Connected Design Rationale: A Model For Measuring Design Learning Using Epistemic Network Analysis, Golnaz Arastoopour Irgens

Publications

Virtual learning environments have the potential to support students’ development of design skills in engineering education. However, few approaches exist for modeling and measuring design learning as it emerges in authentic practices, which often includes collaboration. This study merges learning sciences research with engineering design education to develop an approach for modeling and measuring design thinking. I propose a connected design rationale model which identifies relationships among design moves and rationale. Results from a qualitative examination of how professional engineers make connections among moves and rationales were used as the foundation to examine students in virtual internships. Using digital collaborative …

Going Viral- Using Technology In The Classroom To Show The Spreading Of Viruses, Laura C. Todd, Brooke A. Whitworth

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No abstract provided.

The “Magic” Of Density - A Unique Take On The 5e Lesson, Jacquelyn J. Mosely, Brooke A. Whitworth

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No abstract provided.

Science Portfolios Embedding The Nature Of Science, Lauren Simpson, Brooke A. Whitworth

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No abstract provided.

Airbags As Real-Life Applications For Science, Carly A. Rock, Brooke A. Whitworth

Publications

At the core of an effective model-based inquiry (MBI) unit is a scientifically rich, complex phenomenon that serves as the reason for engagement and drives student sensemaking and investigations throughout the unit. Engaging in iterative attempts to explain phenomena over the course of an MBI unit allows the opportunity for students to construct evidence-based explanations that are refined over time with various science practices. We provide an example of using MBI as an instructional model to facilitate students’ conceptual understanding of chemical reactions.

Scaling Professional Development: Integrity Of Implementation As A Measurement Approach, Brooke A. Whitworth, Lori Rubino-Hare, Nena E. Bloom

Publications

Professional learning about an innovative teaching method is a demonstrated way to improve teacher practices, and ultimately impact student learning. One way to scale up professional learning is a facilitator development model, in which professional learning and development (PLD) designers prepare facilitators to understand the innovation and they in turn, teach teachers. To understand the effectiveness of this model, identifying how facilitators implement the model with teachers is critical. As such, the Power of Data (POD) team scaled-up effective PLD by providing Facilitation Academies to teach others to facilitate POD Teacher Workshops (TWs). The expectation was that changes based on …

Examining Teacher Leadership As A Model For Improvement In Science Education, Brooke A. Whitworth, Shunderla Wilson, Shelby Watson

Publications

The current mixed method study examined a Teacher Leadership Program (TLP) to determine to what extent participating teachers had changes in content knowledge (CK), practices, leadership skills, and leadership knowledge. The purpose was to determine if this program could be utilized to suggest a sustainable model for improving science education by utilizing teacher leaders to influence changes in their classrooms and at the school level. Participants included 65 K-8 participating teachers and 70 K-8 comparison teachers. Surveys, CK assessments, lessons, observations, and artifacts were analyzed using a-priori coding and descriptive statistics. Participating teachers had statistically significant gains over comparison groups …

Do Not Disturb The Flow!, Shunderla Wilson, Brooke A. Whitworth

Publications

Every 40 seconds, someone in the United States has a heart attack (Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics 2017). Students may experience or be affected by several incidences of heart attacks throughout their life. As such, students should be aware of the risk factors and learn the underlying reasons for a heart attack.

Most students believe they are too young for a heart attack and think symptoms will appear gradually (Roth and Gotter 2018). Heart disease in younger individuals is appearing more frequently due to obesity, tobacco and alcohol usage, stress, and race (Napoli 2019). In this …

Do Not Disturb The Flow! Smoking And The Cardiovascular System, Shunderla Wilson, Brooke A. Whitworth

Publications

Every 40 seconds, someone in the United States has a heart attack (Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics 2017). Students may experience or be affected by several incidences of heart attacks throughout their life. As such, students should be aware of the risk factors and learn the underlying reasons for a heart attack.

Most students believe they are too young for a heart attack and think symptoms will appear gradually (Roth and Gotter 2018). Heart disease in younger individuals is appearing more frequently due to obesity, tobacco and alcohol us-age, stress, and race (Napoli 2019). In this article, we describe how …

Finding Community And Overcoming Barriers: Experiences Of Queer And Transgender Postsecondary Students In Mathematics And Other Stem Fields, Elizabeth Kersey, Matthew Voigt

Publications

Although there is little research on the experiences of queer and/or transgender postsecondary students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, we can infer from current literature that these subjects may be less welcoming than the humanities and social sciences. We conducted two studies to investigate this possibility: (1) a narrative inquiry study with postsecondary transgender students and (2) a grounded theory narrative study with undergraduate queer students. Transgender students who had transitioned indicated that they were subjected to lower expectations when presenting as female, but transgender women experienced this change as positive, since their treatment by others was …

Comics In The Classroom - What's At The Center Of The Solar System?, Amee Jeanette Hennig, Allison Huff Macpherson, Brooke A. Whitworth

Publications

Teaching in today’s classroom looks vastly different from 20 years ago. Today, many teachers have access to projectors, computers, smartboards, laptops and tablets, and have vast amounts of information and programs available at the click of a button. However, having access to all of these resources is not always beneficial, especially if we are not equipped to incorporate it into instruction. The 2015 Project Tomorrow Survey findings showed a number of aspects that support technology use in the classroom. Highlights of this data, related to the Center for Integrated Access Network’s (CIAN) digital comic book, include the following results ( …

Teamwork Makes The Dream Work: Using Team-Based Learning In The Science Classroom, Virginia J. Moore, Elizabeth Mitchell Prewitt, Amber Jean Carpenter-Mccullough, Brooke A. Whitworth

Publications

With an overwhelming amount of research and a demand for collaborative learning in the classroom, teachers are tackling challenges at all educational levels that often accompany the social aspects of group work. Team-Based Learning (TBL) is an instructional sequence that shifts instruction from teacher lecture to small-group learning. Through the use of teams and social learning, students are actively engaged and learning through critical-thinking tasks. College students can take responsibility both for their own learning and for each other as learners and fellow human beings. TBL allows the instructors to design opportunities for students to demonstrate what they know and …

The Effect Of Professional Development On Elementary Science Teachers’ Understanding, Confidence, And Classroom Implementation Of Reform‐Based Science Instruction, Jennifer L. Maeng, Brooke A. Whitworth, Randy L. Bell, Donna R. Sterling

Publications

Through a randomized controlled trial, this mixed‐methods study evaluated changes in elementary science teachers’ understandings, confidence, and classroom implementation of problem‐based learning (PBL), inquiry, and nature of science (NOS) instruction following participation in a professional development (PD) as well as the components of the PD that teachers perceived facilitated these changes. Results indicated that following the PD, treatment teacher (n = 139) understandings of and confidence for teaching inquiry, NOS, and PBL were significantly greater than control teachers (n = 98) after controlling for preunderstandings and confidence. The effect sizes were large. Treatment teachers also incorporated significantly more …

A Lesson In Geospatial Inquiry, Eric Nolan, Brooke A. Whitworth, Lori Rubino-Hare

Publications

No abstract provided.

The Science Project Portfolio, Joan Hedman, Brooke A. Whitworth

Publications

The phrase science fair project likely conjures up images of students working independently on smoldering model volcanoes, catapults, and Rube Goldberg contraptions. To create their projects, students and teachers blindly follow a set of seemingly incomprehensible steps, assembling various pieces. This process continues until the due date arrives, when all the pieces are packaged up for the science fair. Teachers are then expected to assess all the projects in a timely manner while somehow continuing to deliver their curriculum. Eventually, the student receives feedback and, often, a semester-making grade. By that time, everyone is exhausted and relieved it’s over.

Fraught With Friction, Brittany Westman, Brooke A. Whitworth

Publications

In this activity, a question is posed to second-grade students and they are asked to make predictions to answer it: “How will different surfaces affect the distance a toy vehicle travels?” Students observe how different surfaces affect the distance traveled by a toy car and are able to amend their predictions. They are then asked to think of reasons why the vehicle was affected the way it was. During this stage of the lesson, students are led to contemplate their understandings of science concepts, and teachers are able to assess changes in student understanding as a result of discussions and …

(Mis)Alignments In Mentorship: Exploring Challenges To Preservice Science Teacher Preparation, Mandy Biggers, Alison Riley Miller, Laura Zangori, Brooke A. Whitworth

Publications

The mentoring relationships between preservice teachers and their cooperating teachers have been established as critical to the retention or attrition of novice teachers (Clarke, Triggs, & Nielsen, 2014), yet little research has been conducted to examine what factors around mentor teacher selection and support are most salient to creating strong mentoring structures. In this study, we investigated how four U.S. states (one in the Southwest, one in the Northeast, one in the Midwest, and one in the South) recruit mentor teachers for secondary science preservice teachers, what requirements the mentor teachers must possess, how mentor teachers are incentivized to serve …

Modeling And Measuring Students' Computational Thinking Practices In Science, Golnaz Arastoopour Irgens, Sugat Dabolkar, Connor Bain, Philip Woods, Kevin Hall, Hillary Swanson, Michael Horn, Uri Wilensky

Publications

In recent decades, computational tools and methods have become pervasive in mathematical and scientific fields (National Research Council, 2010a). Tools such as mathematical and statistical models have expanded the range of phenomena that are explored and have become necessary for analyzing increasingly large data sets across disciplines (National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, & Institute of Medicine, 2007). With these advances, entirely new fields such as computational statistics, neuroinformatics, and chemometrics have emerged. The varied applied uses of computational tools across these fields have shown that future scientists will not only need to know how to program, but …

Reaching For The Future - Building A Professional Trajectory, Julie A. Luft, Brooke A. Whitworth

Publications

Science teachers need to consider how they want to grow professionally. Thinking about one’s future involves identifying the knowledge, practices, and attributes needed in a new role. By using a framework such as the science education trajectory (SET), teachers can more easily consider their professional options and work strategically toward them.

The report on science teacher learning (NASEM 2015) emphasizes that teachers need strategic and coherent learning opportunities. Until there are defined pathways toward different positions, science teachers will need to organize their learning opportunities in such a way that they can learn intentionally and progressively. This is important to …

Modeling For Ecological Engineering, Lauren Simpson, Brooke A. Whitworth

Publications

In this classroom, high-school biology students learned how pine beetle outbreaks in North America have become some of the worst in a decade. To make sense of this phenomenon, students created iterative models with in-depth explanations over the course of the unit. These models were formative in developing students’ conceptual understanding of ecology and applying their knowledge to a real-world context. The models showed students the detrimental effects of the outbreaks and helped them wonder about efforts to manage them and preserve the forests. This allowed the teacher to connect their learning to an ecological engineering task. This task pushed …

Science Education Trajectories: Charting The Course For Teachers, Educators, Researchers, And Policymakers, Julie Luft, Brooke A. Whitworth, Amanda Berry, Shannon Navy, Vanessa Kind

Publications

Science teacher professional development is complex. Phases in a teacher’s career necessitate different professional learning opportunities. Furthermore, knowledge bases, practices, and attributes need to be cultivated during these times. For science teachers, it is not always evident how to link professional learning opportunities progressively toward different outcomes, including being a department head, teacher leader, curriculum developer, or even master teacher. In order to spur a discussion about purposeful teacher learning, we use a theory of transformative learning to examine research pertaining to the professional learning of science teachers. The result is a conceptual framework that suggests that teachers should build …

A Better Way Of Farming, Stephanie Rains, Brooke A. Whitworth

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No abstract provided.

Exploring Practices Of Science Coordinators Participating In Targeted Professional Development, Brooke A. Whitworth, Jennifer L. Maeng, Randy L. Bell

Publications

This study describes how district science coordinators supported teachers and implemented professional development in their districts following participation in the Science Coordinator Academy. This qualitative descriptive case study comprised three district science coordinators from three districts in a mid‐Atlantic state, as well as principals and teachers from those districts. Data sources, including observations, surveys, artifacts, and interviews, were analyzed using the framework method (Gale, Heath, Cameron, Rashid, & Redwood, 2013). District context, science coordinator background, and collaboration were salient factors that influenced coordinator practices and coordinators’ abilities to impact teacher change. We hypothesize that the development of a coaching relationship, …