Education Commons^™

The Mathematics Of Skateboarding: A Relevant Application Of The 5es Of Constructivism, William H. Robertson

William H. Robertson

The Power To Transform: Leadership That Brings Learning And Schooling To Life, Stephanie Pace Marshall

Stephanie Pace Marshall, Ph.D.

The Power to Transform is a call to re-conceive and re-design schooling. Rather than offer “best practices” or “prescriptive solutions,” it invites leaders of all ages and walks of life to think differently about learning and schooling. It illuminates the “why” and “what” of educational transformation and explores its deepest roots. It offers new language, new design principles, a new framework, and a new map for creating vibrant, imaginative and adaptive learning landscapes that integrate the dynamic properties of living systems with the generative principles of learning. It is from this natural integration that the new story of learning and …

Blessed Unrest: The Power Of Unreasonable People To Change The World, Stephanie Pace Marshall

Stephanie Pace Marshall, Ph.D.

In her keynote address at the 2008 NCSSSMST Professional Conference, Dr. Stephanie Pace Marshall addresses what work can be done with the collective resources of its Consortium members which beg to be shared and connected--and also explores what the source of "...our Blessed Unrest that will give us the courage to become unreasonable advocates for our children and for STEM transformation?"

Re-Imagining Specialized Stem Academies: Igniting And Nurturing ‘Decidedly Different Minds,’ By Design, Stephanie Pace Marshall

Stephanie Pace Marshall, Ph.D.

This article offers a personal vision and conceptual design for reimagining specialized science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) academies designed to nurture decidedly different STEM minds and ignite a new generation of global STEM talent, innovation, and entrepreneurial leadership. This design enables students to engage actively in the authentic work, modes of inquiry, and practices that distinguish four STEM learning cultures, environments, and communities: (a) Inquiry and Research Laboratory and Interdisciplinary Learning Center—develops disciplinary, interdisciplinary, and inquiry-based thinking; (b) Innovation Incubator and Design Studio—ignites innovative and design-based thinking; (c) Global Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship Institute—nurtures change leadership and systems-based thinking; …

Discovering And Developing Diverse Stem Talent: Enabling Academically Talented Urban Youth To Flourish, Stephanie Pace Marshall, Glenn W. "Max" Mcgee, Eric Mclaren, Catherine C. Veal

Stephanie Pace Marshall, Ph.D.

The Growing Excellence Gap in K-12 Education, Plucker, Burroughs, and Song (2010) provided compelling evidence that "the presence of an excellence gap is demonstrated on both national and state assessments of student performance," with "economically disadvantaged, English Language Learners, and historically underprivileged minorities representing a smaller proportion of students scoring at the highest levels of achievement" (p. 28). Three "case stories" of students from IMSA illuminate some of the (a) challenges and opportunities inherent in igniting STEM talent in urban youth and ensuring their success; (b) principles for designing and creating learning experiences and environments that ignite and nurture the …

Assessing Impulsive-Analytic Disposition: The Likelihood-To-Act Survey And Other Instruments, Kien Lim, Amy Wagler

Kien H Lim

The likelihood-to-act (LtA) survey is a 32-item instrument that measures impulsive and analytic dispositions in solving math problems. In this research report, we compare it to other instruments related to the impulsive-analytic construct such as Frederick’s Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT) and the Barratt Impulsive Scale in terms of mean scores, Cronbach alpha values, and correlation values. Both LtA-Impulsive and LtA-Analytic subscales have acceptable reliabilities of 0.79 and 0.83 respectively. The LtA-Analytic and LtA-Difference (analytic-impulsive difference) correlated well with other the Need for Cognition subscale and CRT scores. The correlations involving LtA-Impulsive subscale were unexpected and call for further investigation.

The Hammer-And-Nail Phenomenon In Mathematics Education, Kien Lim

Kien H Lim

"For a person with a hammer, everything looks like a nail" is a proverb that can be used to highlight the phenomenon that students tend to rely on familiar ideas as opposed to taking time to think about and analyse a problem. Presented in this theoretical paper is the usefulness of the hammer-and-nail metaphor, other related theoretical constructs, pedagogical causes of student impulsive behaviours, and pedagogical suggestions for addressing them.

Impulsive-Analytic Disposition In Mathematical Problem Solving: A Survey And A Mathematics Test, Kien H. Lim, Amy Wagler

Kien H Lim

The Likelihood-to-Act (LtA) survey and a mathematics test were used in this study to assess students’ impulsive-analytic disposition in the context of mathematical problem solving. The results obtained from these two instruments were compared to those obtained using two widely-used scales: Need for Cognition (NFC) and Barratt Impulsivity Scale (BIS). The exhibited correlations of the LtA scores with the NFC, BIS, and a math test provide evidence of the criterion validity of the analytic LtA items, and suggests further revision of the impulsive LtA items to improve the overall measurement validity of the LtA scale. Students LtA scores were found …

Emotional/Behavioral Disorders: A Retrospective Examination Of Social Skills, Linguistics, And Student Outcomes, John W. Hill, Kathy L. Coufal

John W. Hill

A language-based social skills instruction intervention used to prepare middle and high school students with emotional/behavioral disorders for return to less restrictive public school placements was evaluated. The daily 50-minute intervention focused on repetitive readings, recitations, and role-playing of skill step procedures until students achieved mastery on each required task in five broad dimensions: peer relations, self-management, academic, compliance, and assertion. The students were divided into three groups according to the length of intervention (under 2 years, 2 to 3 years, and more than 3 years). Dependent t tests were used to test the effects of prolonged intervention on past …

The Green Growth Knowledge Economy: Implications For Technology And Design Teachers, Kurt W. Seemann, Jason Newcombe, Angela F. Turner

Kurt W Seemann

How societies learn, design and develop a green growth focus in knowledge innovations are the keys to sustainable economic and social development. The unique characteristics of knowledge and the dynamics of the knowledge economy mean that, whether we like it or not, a cultural change is required from thinking in terms of production to thinking in terms of innovation. Inevitably, the teaching and learning of green knowledge innovations is a key factor for determining how well societies will sustain a quality life in the emerging resource constraints that populations face. This chapter outlines key ideas underpinning the nature of a …

Discovering And Developing Diverse Stem Talent: Enabling Academically Talented Urban Youth To Flourish, Stephanie Pace Marshall, Glenn W. "Max" Mcgee, Eric Mclaren, Catherine C. Veal

Eric McLaren

The Growing Excellence Gap in K-12 Education, Plucker, Burroughs, and Song (2010) provided compelling evidence that "the presence of an excellence gap is demonstrated on both national and state assessments of student performance," with "economically disadvantaged, English Language Learners, and historically underprivileged minorities representing a smaller proportion of students scoring at the highest levels of achievement" (p. 28). Three "case stories" of students from IMSA illuminate some of the (a) challenges and opportunities inherent in igniting STEM talent in urban youth and ensuring their success; (b) principles for designing and creating learning experiences and environments that ignite and nurture the …

Excellent Adventures In Global Collaboration, Glenn W. "Max" Mcgee, Aracelys Rios

Glenn W. "Max" McGee

No abstract provided.

Discovering And Developing Diverse Stem Talent: Enabling Academically Talented Urban Youth To Flourish, Stephanie Pace Marshall, Glenn W. "Max" Mcgee, Eric Mclaren, Catherine C. Veal

Glenn W. "Max" McGee

The Growing Excellence Gap in K-12 Education, Plucker, Burroughs, and Song (2010) provided compelling evidence that "the presence of an excellence gap is demonstrated on both national and state assessments of student performance," with "economically disadvantaged, English Language Learners, and historically underprivileged minorities representing a smaller proportion of students scoring at the highest levels of achievement" (p. 28). Three "case stories" of students from IMSA illuminate some of the (a) challenges and opportunities inherent in igniting STEM talent in urban youth and ensuring their success; (b) principles for designing and creating learning experiences and environments that ignite and nurture the …

Inferring Impulsive-Analytic Disposition From Students’ Actions In Solving Math Problems, Kien Lim, Miguel Mendoza

Kien H Lim

The research reported in this paper is part of a larger study designed to investigate the validity of the Likelihood-to-Act (LtA) survey—an Likert-scale instrument, currently under development and testing, for assessing students’ impulsive-analytic disposition in mathematics. Transcripts and videos of 15 interviewees’ responses to five problems, adapted from the LtA Survey, were analyzed in terms of (a) solution strategies and (b) impulsive-analytic disposition. Two scores were derived from quantifying the codes that were assigned to the 75 problem-solving episodes. These scores were highly correlated to one another and were correlated to the LtA_Difference (impulsive minus analytic) score, obtained from the …

A Deeper Look At How Teachers Say What They Say: A Quantitative Modality Analysis Of Teacher-To-Teacher Talk., Karl Kosko, Patricio Herbst

Karl W Kosko

Analysis of teacher-to-teacher talk provides researchers with useful information regarding the teaching profession and teachers’ perspectives. This article provides a description of a method, with accompanying example, examining teacher-to-teacher talk by incorporating semantic modality and examining trends of its usage in a quantitative manner. Analysis of the example presented showed a tendency for teachers to use normative and probability modality, signaling a prevalence of assertions concerned with normative ways of teaching. The example analysis provides a replicable framework for other researchers to apply and adapt the analysis method described. Specifications and discussion of this method are provided in detail.

High Schools, Race, And America's Future: What Students Can Teach Us About Morality, Diversity, And Community, Lawrence Blum

Lawrence Blum

In High Schools, Race, and America's Future, Lawrence Blum offers a lively account of a rigorous high school course on race and racism. Set in a racially, ethnically, and economically diverse high school, the book chronicles students engagement with one another, with a rich and challenging academic curriculum, and with questions that relate powerfully to their daily lives.

Blum, an acclaimed moral philosopher whose work focuses on issues of race, reflects with candor, insight, and humor on the challenges and surprises encountered in teaching the unexpected turns in conversation, the refreshing directness of students questions, the aha moments and …

So What Is Really Worth Fighting For In Our Schools: The Role Of The Teacher In Challenging Educational Times?, Patricia Mannix Mcnamara Dr.

Dr. Patricia Mannix McNamara

No abstract provided.

The Green Growth Knowledge Economy: Implications For Technology And Design Teachers, Kurt Seemann, Jason Newcombe, Angela Turner

Dr Angela Turner

How societies learn, design and develop a green growth focus in knowledge innovations are the keys to sustainable economic and social development. The unique characteristics of knowledge and the dynamics of the knowledge economy mean that, whether we like it or not, a cultural change is required from thinking in terms of production to thinking in terms of innovation. Inevitably, the teaching and learning of green knowledge innovations is a key factor for determining how well societies will sustain a quality life in the emerging resource constraints that populations face. This chapter outlines key ideas underpinning the nature of a …