Education Commons^™

Southern Rio Grande Rift Kinematics And Geochronology, Big Bend Fold Geometry, And The Use Of Real Data In Geoscience Education: Contributions To The Understanding Of Big Bend Geology And To Public Geoscientific Literacy, Jessica Kelsch

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Big Bend region of Trans-Pecos Texas preserves a rich record of Rio Grande rifting and Laramide-age contraction that provide intrigue to national and state park visitors and field trips for undergraduate geology students. Despite its well-exposed geologic record, the Big Bend region remains an underutilized natural laboratory for studying these two tectonic events. This dissertation combines structural studies of Rio Grande rift and Laramide structures with public outreach and geoscience education studies focused on the Big Bend region. In Chapter 2, existing extensional-kinematic studies from parts of this region are compiled with new fault kinematic and U-Pb geochronologic data …

Exploring Undergraduate Research Experiences And Perceptions Of Responsible And Ethical Conduct Of Research (Recr) Education In The Biological Sciences And (Bio)Chemistry Disciplines, Bernice Justina Caad

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Increasing calls to reform undergraduate (UG) education within science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines have emphasized the importance of early exposure to responsible and ethical conduct of research (RECR) education. Historically, RECR has primarily been presented at the post-baccalaureate level, leaving many students without a foundational understanding of what responsible research ethics entails during the course of their undergraduate experience. Over the last decade, course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) have emerged as a promising platform to establish expectations of responsible and ethical conduct through greater accessibility and inclusivity, starting at the freshman level. Interestingly, few studies have examined how …

A Mixed Method Approach To Explore Lecturers' Pedagogical And Content Knowledge, Students' Perspectives And Learning Experiences In Mathematics For Social Science Course, Julio Hector Solis

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Research indicates that institutions and teachers' pedagogical and content knowledge are essential to student learning and achievement. Nevertheless, teachers' knowledge and practices have been researched primarily in K-12th grades. Therefore, there is a gap in understanding teaching practices in higher education. Moreover, research has forgotten about exploring math classes for non-STEM majors. With this in mind, this research investigates how students perceive math professors' pedagogical and content knowledge and their effect on students' learning experiences in the context of mathematics for social science classes. To achieve this, this study takes a mixed-methods approach in its use of an observation protocol, …

Forecasting Solar Flares Using Shallow And Deep Learning Rechniques, Sumi Dey

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Solar flares, which are large sudden increases in X-ray flux, can damage satellite infrastructure,hamper power grids, disrupt Global Positioning Systems (GPS), and impair long-distance communication. Thus, the accurate prediction of solar flares has high practical importance and numerous approaches to the problem have been proposed. While these works have shown promising results, they have also highlighted the inherent difficulty of the problem, as solar flares are rare and heterogeneous events and the physical phenomena that give rise to them are still not well-understood. Solar flare prediction is normally posed as a classification problem, where a sequence of measurements is classified …

A Valve Design For A Sofc/Gt Hybrid System Utilizing Smart Materials, Ariztbe Valladolid

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This project includes vast research on the Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Gas Turbine (SOFC/GT) hybrid system. This systemâ??s goal is to create energy and to minimize the pollution by utilizing natural gas and a combination of different components such as a fuel cell, heat exchangers, bypass valves, turbines and combustors working together to create energy. This system was created for it to be used as a base for a future alternative to create clean energy all around the country. The SOFC/GT system consists of the fuel cell being pressurized by the gas turbine. Then the fuel cell exhaust gas in …

3d Printing Of Ceramics And Polymers For Engineering Applications, Jesus Javier Mata

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Additive Manufacturing industry, in the last years [1] has shown a great push with the development and inclusion of new technologies that have enable the engineering world to achieve great advances. As a consequence of this surge of new technology deriving from the basic principle that conforms additive manufacturing, according to the ASTM a total of seven categories have been defined. The inclusion of these new technologies and the ongoing advances in material implementation has provided the industry with a degree of freedom never seen before, leading to the creation of new solutions to existing problems that seemed impossible …

Generating And Sustaining Meaningful Professional Development Opportunities For Graduate Teaching Assistants Facilitating Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences In The Biological Sciences, Amie M. Kern

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Current national efforts to reform postsecondary laboratory education have emphasized the incorporation of authentic research opportunities into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) curricula. Within the last decade, course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) have emerged as a viable mechanism to achieve this goal. Evidence within the biology education literature suggests that student engagement in CUREs has the potential to positively impact their development of scientific inquiry and process skills, content knowledge, and affect in the domain. While the majority of studies have focused on student outcomes, few studies have examined instructor outcomes in CURE learning environments. This is especially true …

Student Attitudes Toward Science: Growth Trajectories And Thematic Analysis Of A Project-Based Internship, Robert Donavin Mccreary

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In order to increase the number of students pursuing science-related careers, science educators and policymakers have advocated for improving student attitudes toward science (SAS) through inquiry-based instruction, such as project-based learning (PBL). While challenges exist in PBL, research suggests cogenerative dialogue (cogen) can ease the transition for students from traditional learning to PBL. In the present study, a secondary analysis was conducted to examine SAS growth trajectories from participants of the Work With A Scientist Program (WWASP) – a student-scientist internship which integrated cogen with PBL. Additionally, a thematic analysis was conducted to explore student attitudes toward cogen. The growth …

Quality Assessment Of Composite Manufacturing Using Automated Visual Inspection System With Sem Images, Md Fashiar Rahman

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The morphology of fibers (e.g., spatial uniformity, orientation, and length) plays a decisive role in determining the material properties or fabrication quality of fiber-reinforced nanocomposites. Hence, determining the morphology becomes a very critical issue in the field of nanocomposite quality control. The conventional way of quality inspection is to take the scanning electron microscopic (SEM) images of the cross-section of composite material and do the visual checking of these SEM images to evaluate the nanofiber alignment and length distribution. But this type of inspection is often subjective, inaccurate and time consuming. Moreover, the extremely small size of nanofibers makes the …

A Phenomenological Case Study Exploring The In-Home Experiences Of African Americans Pursuing Stem Degrees At A Historically Black College, Michael Lewis

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Exploring the In-Home Experiences of African American Students Pursuing STEM Degrees is a Phenomenological Case study that examines the experiences of five African American students at a Historically Black College. This study explores the internal (within oneself) and external (interactions with parents and siblings) attributes of the in-home experiences; Focusing on how the internal and external experiences impacted African American studentsâ?? decisions to pursue STEM degrees. Data was collected over a period of nine months, notes were transcribed, and analyzed for themes. The themes that emerged were (1) Conflict Experienced Early on Improves Character Development. (2) Your Focus Influences Who …

From Mistakes, We Learn: Variations In Teacher Dis/Position Toward Errors In Mathematics Classrooms, Mariana Alvidrez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Mistakes are commonly perceived by students and teachers as an evidence of a lack of knowledge and ability (Brown, & Quinn, 2006). Recently, U.S. and Mexico mathematics education reforms has been calling to promote a positive status of errors in mathematics teaching and learning.

The purpose of this mixed-methods study is to examine secondary mathematics teachers' dis/positions toward mistakes in two contexts: their own mistakes and their students' mistakes. The study employs the frame of teacher dispositional functions (Beyers, 2011) which includes cognitive, affective, and conative characteristics. The frame provides a better understanding of teachers' dis/positions toward errors based on …

Evolving Identity: A Case Study Of Mentor Science Teachers, Melissa N. Ortega

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation is a case study of how mentor science teachers understood and presented their experiences, challenges they faced, and learning of being and becoming a mentor teacher while they participated in a year-long district mentoring program. The purpose of this study is to examine what science teachers learn in their experiences as mentors and the role this learning played on their identities as professional educators. According to Bullough (1997), teacher identity is of vital concern to teacher education as it is the “basis of meaning making and decision making” (p. 21). Existing research on science teacher identity indicate that …

Analyzing School-Wide, Project-Based Learning In A Middle School: From A Cultural Historical Activity Theory Perspective, Laura Venegas

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Recognizing the importance of preparing students for the 21st century along with meeting the accountability measures, educators must continually seek those educational practices that will support both endeavors. Through the literature and during this research, project-based learning has emerged as a promising curriculum tool that answers these objectives. To implement 21st century educational experiences, project-based learning has been attempted in various capacities of specific contents, grade levels and individual teachers; however, there has been limited application of a school-wide practice. While there is potential of project-based learning as a transformative curriculum tool in education, challenges of implementation still exist. Given …

Beyond Teacher Knowledge: Connections Between Content Knowledge, Mindset For Learning, And Teaching In Two-Year College Mathematics Faculty, Lucy Hernandez Michal

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Addressing thousands of students entering unprepared to enroll in college freshman mathematics courses is a challenge two-year college mathematics faculty face every semester. The study addresses this challenge through a mixed methods sequential nested multi-case design to investigate what faculty need, beyond teacher knowledge, to teach mathematics effectively to students. The three-part study measured the mindset learning profile and content knowledge of a sample of mathematics faculty at a two-year college. The quantitative and qualitative data provided references to select four faculty typologies to interview and observe. Interviews reflected faculty perceptions of teaching and learning. Class observations captured images of …

Using Data Mining To Model Student Achievement On The 4th Grade Timss 2015 Mathematics Assessment: A Five Nation Sudy, Annette M. Siemssen

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Data mining has been successfully used by financial and retail companies since the mid-1960's to create predictive models and reveal unexpected relationships. However, it remains underutilized as a tool in educational research. Large-scale standardized assessment programs such as the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) provide vast amounts of data with the potential for providing new insights in education. Five nations, the Republic of Korea, the United States, Germany, Kuwait, and Kazakhstan were selected based on General Response Style theory to represent a spectrum of cultural backgrounds, from acquiescent to midpoint to individualistic (Hastedt, D. & van de …

The Effects Of A Discrete Covariatonal Approach To Functions Through Computer Programming On Students' Understanding Of Rate Of Change, Michael Wayne Strange

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Having a broad understanding of functions is paramount to student success in higher math classes, however most students fail to fully develop this concept during their high school years. While the concept of function is multifaceted and a full understanding requires a broad knowledge base, understanding rate of change can be considered a fundamental component of the concept. Unfortunately, even AP Calculus students have difficulty with rate of change (Teuscher & Reys, 2012). The problem may stem from the approach taken in most curricula that focus on the correspondence view of functions rather than the covariational perspective as advocated by …

High School Students' Views Of Science In A University Science Internship With Cogenerative Dialogues, Gabriel M. Hayes

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this Thesis is to determine how participation in long term university science internships affect nature of science (NOS) conceptual change in high school students. The study was conducted on high school students who volunteered to participate in a seven month university science internship in west Texas. Student views of NOS were measured by pre- and post-internship interviews using five questions about NOS. Internship and no internship student responses were qualitatively analyzed to show change in views of NOS. Findings indicated that participation in long term science internships with cogenerative dialogues improved students conceptualizations of the social dimensions …

Teacher Challenges In Implementing Cognitively Demanding Tasks In The Mathematics And Science Classrooms, Angelica Monarrez Monarrez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This mixed methods study examines secondary school mathematics and science teachersâ?? understanding of cognitive demand and the challenges in implementing tasks at different levels of cognitive demand. The conceptual framework for this study is grounded on the conception of cognitive demand proposed by Stein, Smith, Henningsen, and Silver (2000), which includes the following levels: memorization (level 1), procedures without connections (level 2), procedures with connections (level 3), and doing mathematics and science (level 4). The study attempts to address the following research questions: 1) To what extent are secondary mathematics and science teachers able to recognize, solve and construct tasks …

The Influence Of Multiple Representations On Secondary Students' Understanding Of Trigononetric Functions, Mayra Lizeth Ortiz Galarza

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Trigonometry is a critical subject in mathematics that both high school and undergraduate students need to learn in order to be prepared for advanced mathematics. Despite the importance of trigonometry in the mathematics curriculum, little is known about best practices for teaching trigonometric functions and what difficulties students face when learning the topic. Using a Grounded Theory approach, this Dissertation presents the results of a design study (or teaching experiment) whose purpose was to examine the process by which students constructed the concept of trigonometric functions through multiple representations and how students developed meta-representational competence. The design study involved two …

Towards A Unified Theory Of Engineering Education, Oscar Humberto Salcedo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

STEM education is an interdisciplinary approach to learning where rigorous academic concepts are coupled with real-world lessons and activities as students apply science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in contexts that make connections between school, community, work, and the global enterprise enabling STEM literacy (Tsupros, Kohler and Hallinen, 2009). The purpose of the Dissertation is to develop a unified theory of engineering education based on philosophies of mathematics, science, technology & engineering, and engineering education. Using purposive sampling methods, the Thesis constructs "representative" philosophy statements from the STEM fields based on the criteria of Constructivism, Progressivism, and/or Pragmatism. These statements are …

The Flipped Approach: The Use Of Embedded Questions In Math Videos, Ashley Wilson

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study investigates the use of embedded questions in math videos and their effect on students self-paced learning in a hybrid math course. A treatment group watched math videos with embedded questions and a comparison group watched the same videos but without the embedded questions. The two groups are compared in terms of (a) amount of video watched, (b) quality of written work, (c) performance in assessments, (d) course component scores, and (e) opinions about self-paced learning and the flipped classroom method. The pre-to-posttest improvement for the treatment group was higher than the comparison group. The embedded questions might have …

Secondary Mathematics Teachers' Disposition Toward Challenge And Its Impact On Teaching Practice, Yirah Mariana Valverde

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This two phase, sequential exploratory study focused on mathematics teachers' disposition toward challenge and its impact in their teaching practice and students' performance. This heavily qualitative study employed a mixed methodology to answer the following guiding research question: how do teachersâ?? disposition towards challenge affect teaching practice and what is the nature of that relationship?

During the initial phase (quantitative), two teachers who were enrolled in a graduate mathematics at a University in the southwestern U.S. were selected for the study (N=5). The goal of the class was to increase the participants' mathematical knowledge for teaching. The purposive selection was …

Investigating Math Students' Ability To Conceptualize Fractions As Two Numerals Having A Single Value, William Carroll Fanning

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

It is no secret that math students of all ages have misconceptions about fractions. Multiple studies have shown that math students invariably see fractions as two separate and unrelated numbers, the numerator and the denominator, rather than a single number with specific value. This study is designed to investigate studentsâ?? interpretations of a fraction in terms of having a single value in relation to its two numbers, the numerator and the denominator.

For the purpose of this study, the investigator developed and pilot-tested seven items that have the potential to uncover whether students attend to the value of a fraction …

Analysis Of English Language Learner Student Reasoning About Measures Of Center And Variation: A Triangulation Of Quantitative And Qualitative Data, Lorena Galvan

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The population of Spanish-speaking English Language Learner (ELL) students has been growing rapidly in the past 20 years. It has been estimated that by the year 2018, 1 out of 4 students in grades K-12 will be an ELL. There is a large body of research about assessment of Spanish-speaking ELL students in mathematics; however, there is little that focuses on statistics only. Statistics courses are frequently confused and/or classified under mathematics courses. However, students taking an introductory statistic course are required to know a new set of concepts, words and vocabulary that are not always used in mathematics courses. …

Coming Up With A Good Question Is Not Easy: A Proof, Joe Lorkowski, Luc Longpre, Olga Kosheleva, Salem Benferhat

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

Ability to ask good questions is an important part of learning skills. Coming up with a good question, a question that can really improve one's understanding of the topic, is not easy. In this paper, we prove -- on the example of probabilistic and fuzzy uncertainty -- that the problem of selecting of a good question is indeed hard.

Creative Discussions Or Memorization? Maybe Both? (On The Example Of Teaching Computer Science), Vladik Kreinovich, Olga Kosheleva

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

We all strive to be creative in our teaching, but there is often not enough time to make all the topics creative fun. So sometimes, we teach memorization first, understanding later. We do it, but we often do it without seriously analyzing which topics to "sacrifice" to memorization. In this talk, we use simple mathematical models of learning to come up with relevant recommendations: Namely, all the topics form a dependency graph, and if we do not have enough time to allow students to treat all topics with equal creativity, then the most reasonable topics for memorization first are the …

High School Students' And Scientists' Perceptions Of A Student-Scientist Partnership, Karla Singh

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The idea of getting high school students to work with scientists has become a hot topic. There have been many programs that get students involved with scientists to gain experience. Having students work with scientists allows students to practice authentic science. These programs also aim to get more students interested in science and hopefully inspire these students to go into a science career. Researchers have looked at several aspects during these interactions. These aspects include students' interest, students' ability, students' career choice and students' perceptions of the scientific community. However, few studies are known that include trying to understand students' …

Challenges In Assessing College Students' Conception Of Duality: The Case Of Infinity, Grace Olutayo Babarinsa-Ochiedike

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Interpreting students' views of infinity posits a challenge for researchers due to the dynamic nature of the conception. There is diversity and variation among students' process-object perceptions. The fluctuations between studentsâ?? views however reveal an undeveloped duality conception. This study examined college students' conception of duality in understanding and representing infinity with the intent to design strategies that could guide researchers in categorizing students' views of infinity into different levels.

Data for the study were collected from N=238 college students enrolled in Calculus sequence courses (Pre-Calculus, Calculus I through Calculus III) at one of the southwestern universities in the U.S. …

Borderland Pedagogy Study Of High School Mathematics Teachers' Lesson Plan Development And Implementation Practices, Rocio E. Gallardo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The aim of the study is to examine high school mathematics teachers' lesson plan development and implementation practices used in the border region of Mexico and USA. The study also attempts to determine how a transition from Mexico (Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua) to the U.S. (El Paso, TX) impacts high school mathematics teacher's lesson plan development practices incorporating the Borderland Pedagogy. The Borderland Pedagogy theoretical framework (Cline & Necochea, 2006; Romo & Chavez 2006; Fiume, 2005) was developed to explore educational experiences of teachers situated within border regions. The framework highlights key characteristics of Borderland Pedagogy that influence lesson plan development …

High School Mathematics Teachers' Connective Knowledge Of The Challenges And Possibilities In Implementing The Flipped Learning Model: An Embedded Mixed-Methods Study, Karla Huereca

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The impact of technology advancements in our current society continues to transform the ways in which we interact with each other, and the educational field has not been exempt from this transformation. Integration of technology in schools has influenced educators to seek new ways of teaching that adapt to the needs of students who are impacted by a digital wave. That is the case of a new instructional approach, which is being known as the Flipped Learning Model (FLM). The FLM intends to use pre-recorded video lessons to teach outside the classroom and incorporate homework and problem solving inside the …