Education Commons^™

Full Issue

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

No abstract provided.

Reconciling Calculus Students’ Understanding Of Average Across Multiple Contexts, Franklin Yu

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

The idea of average is utilized in a variety of scenarios, yet the literature has indicated that students have multiple disconnected understandings for the concept of average. In this study, I provide an account of two students who reconciled their meanings for average by considering an average as a replacement with a constant value. This report discusses an intervention that teachers can leverage to help their students make their meanings for average coherent and conceptually based.

Seven Properties Of Highly Effective Problems, Thomas Ales, Kevin Peterson, Constantine Roussos

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

In an effort to provide more critical thinking opportunities in their courses, instructors are embracing the power of problem- and project-based learning (PBL). In this paper we address the importance of problem quality when utilizing PBL. We list seven important properties that a high-quality problem should have. We conclude with an example of a problem that possesses all seven properties.

Introducing Flexible Assessment Into A Computer Networks Course: A Case Study, Joe Meehean

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

With overall positive results and limited drawbacks, I have adapted modern pedagogical techniques to address a common difficulty encountered when teaching a computer networks course. Due to the tiered nature of the skills taught in the course, students often fail unnecessarily. Using mastery learning, competency-based education, and specifications grading as a foundation, I have developed a course that allows students with varied skills and abilities to pass. The heart of this approach is the flexible assessment of programming assignments which eliminates due dates and allows students to have their work graded and regraded without penalty. Flexible assessment also defines an …

Collaborative Leadership For Research Investigating Stem Teacher Preparation Across Many Institutions, Dana P. Franz, Keith Hubbard, Devon Brenner

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

This paper describes the creation of a collaborative research team investigating the impacts of education preparation on the recruitment and retention of science and mathematics teacher candidates in rural settings. Our collaborative research includes a core leadership team across 3 institutions and with collaboration across 14 total universities. We discuss the process from the inception through year two of this program, including the structure of leadership, communication techniques with the large group, and efforts to translate this research into scalable action. Using a framework for transdisciplinary research (Hall et al., 2012), we describe the processes and challenges that we encountered …

Creating Commons: Photovoice Philosophy In A Third Space, Jason M. Cox, Lynne Hamer

Journal of Social Theory in Art Education

Teach Toledo is a program that the authors co-coordinate using community assets to create a third space to confront systemic racism’s impact on teacher education programs and facilitate hybridity (Bhaba, 1994). Diverse student cohort members use their lived experience as the base for their individual and shared urban educational philosophies, coordinated in a first-year horizontally and vertically integrated curriculum including written compositions and a PhotoVoice project. “Creating commons” refers not only to provision of a third space as a common space where private experiences can be combined to create a hybrid, new understanding, but also to the creative act of …

Relational Ecologies: Artistic Engagement And Mentorship Of Adults In Community Spaces, Rebecca Bourgault

International Journal of Lifelong Learning in Art Education

In this article, I share insights from research and experience working as a teaching artist and mentor inside and outside traditional institutions. I investigate how relational and contemplative pedagogies promote and sustain authentic relationships of reciprocity. Narrating recent experiments with mentoring practices that emerged from the cultural landscapes of adults engaged in arts learning, the paper highlights new connections discovered through a research model borrowed from intuitive inquiry. Findings are presented as reflective stories, journal entries, or field notes gathered while mentoring graduate art education students and participating in a community of practice in the visual arts. The article demonstrates …

Just In Time Mathematics Review For Accounting Students, Anneke Bart, Michael May S.J., Debbie Pike

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

This paper describes the Just-in-Time Review developed for an undergraduate accounting course. The review materials cover five topics in algebra. Students take an online assessment, and online materials are made available to help students catch up in those areas where some review is recommended. This paper is a case study of the development and implementation of the Just-in-Time Review for an accounting course at Saint Louis University.

A Tale Of Four Departments: Interdisciplinary Faculty Learning Communities Informing Mathematics Education, Bryan D. Poole, Caroline Maher-Boulis, John Hearn, Jason Robinson, Patricia Mcclung, Amanda Jones

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

As a result of the Curriculum Foundations Project and the SUMMIT-P consortium, faculty from four different departments at Lee University created a Faculty Learning Community (FLC) with the goal of improving students’ attitudes toward undergraduate mathematics courses, including students’ perception of the utility of mathematics in their lives and the feelings of anxiety that they experience in these courses. The interdisciplinary collaborations resulted in introducing novel activities and manipulatives in various mathematics courses (Introduction to Statistics, Concepts of Mathematics I and II, and Algebra for Calculus). This paper first describes the efforts of creating the inter-departmental FLC. Second, it discusses …

Leveraging Interdisciplinary Expertise In Developing An Alternative Mathematics Pathway, Beverly Wood, Debra T. Bourdeau

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

How many instructors does it take for amazing course design? Or perhaps we should begin with “A mathematician, humanist, communication expert and statistician walk into a bar.” This unlikely team has co-developed a pair of courses, Learning to Reason I: Art and Quotient and Learning to Reason II: Commerce and Flux, that deeply investigate quantitative reasoning from multiple perspectives. Blending elements of rhetoric, logic, and history with mathematical computation, representation, and application breaks through the perceived barriers between the unyielding, obstinate world of mathematics and the ambiguous, equivocal world of the humanities. Developing the courses as an interdisciplinary team of …

An Examination Of Factors That Support Sustainable Cultural And Curricular Change In Stem Teaching And Learning, Erica Slate Young, Peaches Hash, Sarah Schott, Jack Bookman

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

Using a mixed-methods design, this body of work from the SUMMIT-P consortium explores possible effective conditions for the sustainable reform of STEM teaching and learning at the collegiate level. A model of catalysts for successful and sustainable change is proposed, based on five years of data collection and observations. These catalysts include institutional support, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation of faculty involved, measures of student success, institution size, prior faculty experience, faculty buy-in, and institutional culture. The discussion ends with a delve into the potential broader impacts of this work. For example, this model may help institutions better understand how to …

Using An Interdisciplinary Case Study To Incorporate Quantitative Reasoning In Social Work, Nursing, And Mathematics, Elizabeth Post, Mischelle Stone, Lauren Cavner Williams, Mary Beaudry

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

Through the national consortium, SUMMIT-P, Ferris State University faculty collaborated to develop and scaffold mathematics and quantitative reasoning across disciplines to reduce math anxiety. Participants in this collaborative group included faculty from social work, nursing, and mathematics who developed a case study on a Hurricane Katrina scenario that necessitated calculating the need for emergency shelter, water, food, and medicine, and as a response to the potential for a Malaria outbreak. This particular case study allowed faculty to use the lens of social justice to teach mathematical concepts and provided an avenue for nursing and social work students to engage in …

Improving Student Knowledge Transfer Between Mathematics And Engineering Courses Through Structured Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration: A Summit-P Initiative, Laura Ellwein Fix, Afroditi Filippas, Maila Brucal-Hallare, Rebecca Segal

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

Student learning across STEM disciplines has been shown to increase with greater integration of applications in mathematics courses. One challenge of this effort is that identical constructs are often presented differently in the partner disciplines than in the mathematics courses. This leads to student confusion and an inability to transfer critical knowledge in their disciplinary courses, even for students who have mastered the mathematical paradigms. An interdisciplinary team at VCU consisting of mathematics and engineering faculty has worked to improve the knowledge transfer required for the integration of applications in the Differential Equations curriculum. This work is part of the …

Interdisciplinary Collaboration To Develop Meaningful Mathematical Experiences, Susan Ganter, Bill Haver

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

This issue of the Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations (JMSCE) is the second special volume highlighting the impact of the consortium for Synergistic Undergraduate Mathematics via Multi-institutional Interdisciplinary Teaching Partnerships (SUMMIT-P). The development and goals of SUMMIT-P were outlined in the preface of the first special issue of JMSCE devoted to this project (Ganter & Haver, 2020). Full participation from partner discipline faculty is key to the success of redeveloping introductory mathematics courses in a way that incorporates the contextual needs of the other disciplines. As such, SUMMIT-P’s first task was to find ways to best engage colleagues …

Statistics For Nursing And Allied Health At Saint Louis University In The Spirit Of Summit-P, Kimberly S. Druschel, Mike May, Elizabeth Gockel Blessing

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

This paper describes the renewal of a consumer-based elementary statistics course to benefit students in the nursing and allied health disciplines. While the goal of the course transformation was initially to update the pedagogy of the course and ensure students are able to make connections between the course material and their majors, that goal expanded to include the needs and objectives of the client disciplines. This expanded goal was accomplished by incorporating insights gained from a SUMMIT-P business school collaboration and was based on the Curriculum Foundations project recommendations. The paper addresses course projects, instructor development, faculty roles, and interactions …

Full Issue

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

No abstract provided.

Trust, Power, And Transformation In The Prison Classroom, Fran Fairbairn

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023)

This article does three things. First, it asks a new question about transformative education, namely ‘what is the role of power and trust in the decision of whether to transform one’s meaning scheme in the face of new information or whether to simply reject the new information?’ Secondly, it develops a five-stage model which elaborates on the role of this decision in transformative learning.[1] Finally, it uses grounded-theory and the five-stage model to argue that power and trust play an important role in facilitating transformative learning.

[1] This account should be thought of as complementary to (not exclusionary of) Mezirow’s …

The Open University And Prison Education In The Uk – The First 50 Years, Rod Earle, James Mehigan, Anne Pike, Dan Weinbren

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023)

In 2019, The Open University (henceforth, The OU), based in Milton Keynes in the UK, celebrated its 50th anniversary. Since 1971 it has pioneered the delivery of Higher Education in prisons and other secure settings. Some 50 years on, in 2021 there is much to celebrate and still more to learn. In this article we briefly review the establishment of the OU in 1969 and explore how it has maintained access to higher education in the prison system. It draws from a collection of essays and reflections on prison learning experiences developed by OU academics and former and continuing OU …

Understanding Aspiration And Education Towards Desistance From Offending: The Role Of Higher Education In Wales, Mark Jones, Debbie Jones

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023)

There has been a growing recognition of the value of education in facilitating desistance from offending. Yet, despite a determined push to “widen access” universities continue to be an unwelcoming place for those with a criminal record. To better understand the role of higher education in raising aspiration towards desistance, this paper draws on findings from a study in Swansea, Wales. Adopting a Pictorial Narrative approach the findings suggest that, whilst the participants identified potential benefits of attaining a higher education, those aspirations were outweighed by a distrust of the “institution” and a fear that the stigmatisation experienced through the …

Full Issue

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

No abstract provided.

Connected At A Distance: Experiences And Efforts Within A Synchronous, Online Mathematics Specialist Program, Laura E. Bitto, Pamela E. Johnson, Beth Terry

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

Online learning offers flexibility and convenience to students regardless of their proximity to a traditional campus. However, online programs can also feel isolating. Beth, a mathematics specialist candidate, completed a graduate program while living 7000 miles and seven time zones away from her instructor and peers. Through intentional planning by instructors, Beth found community by making personal connections, celebrating life experiences, and sharing a passion for mathematics education with her peers. Furthermore, Beth felt empowered to take academic risks and expose professional vulnerabilities in the learning community. The instructors within the program valued learning as a social construct and therefore …

Instructor Perspectives: Transitioning From Face-To-Face To An Online Or Hybrid Graduate Level Mathematics Education Course, Heather Nunnally, Toni P. Sorrell, Kristina C. Anthony

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

In this paper, the authors reflect on their transitions from teaching a face-to-face mathematics education course for teachers to teaching using an online or hybrid model. As three veteran educators at two different universities, we share lessons learned in constructing and implementing an online or hybrid learning environment. For us, learning to be flexible in how students completed assignments was important. Although we faced many challenges, we looked at the experience through a novice learner’s lens, and recognized that each of us grew from teaching these classes. We found that the instructors’ experiences in working with mathematics specialist candidates in …

Mathematical Representations In A Synchronous Online Mathematics Specialist Preparation Program, Theresa Wills, Deborah Crawford, Kate Roscioli, Shruti Sanghavi

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

Universities are implementing more online courses (Yamagata-Lynch, 2014). However, instructors may feel a sense of trepidation in transitioning a mathematics class to a synchronous online platform because they do not want to compromise quality pedagogy (Herrington et al., 2001) for the convenience of an online environment (Wills, 2021). Some courses have successfully transitioned to a synchronous online environment while maintaining rich discussion and student collaboration (Baker & Hjalmarson, 2019); however, mathematics content courses include the additional challenge of incorporating problem solving with multiple representations. This paper focuses on how mathematical representations emerge in a synchronous online course for mathematics specialists.

Team Teaching For Discourse: Perspectives Of Instructors And A Student In An Online Probability And Statistics Course For Preparing Mathematics Specialists, V. Rani Satyam, Kristina C. Anthony, Madhumita Basu, Monica Swoyer

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

Team teaching is a form of collaborative work where teachers plan lessons and/or teach together. We discuss the strengths of discourse in the planning stage for an intensive, team-taught, three-week probability and statistics course for mathematics specialists as a way to create and sustain a sense of community and show multiple perspectives in an online course. We delve into two cases of lessons––one about stem-and-leaf plots and another on averages––to describe the interactions of and reflections from three online instructors and a preparing mathematics specialist across the phases of planning, enactment, and the resulting student learning. The conversations about our …

Equity And Access: Empowering Change Agents, Kateri Thunder, Nely Ara-Is, Ashley Carter, Francisca Fowler, April Hawkins, Holly Tate

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

All learners must have access and opportunity to engage meaningfully in the highest levels of mathematics. Mathematics specialists are uniquely situated to contribute to the creation of access and equity for all learners by addressing three target areas with their mathematics teachers and administrators. In order to catalyze change, mathematics specialists need to be prepared to target three obstacles to access and equity: beliefs and expectations, curriculum and instruction, and intervention. This preparation can take place through leadership courses intentionally created to explore the role of change agent and provide practice in negotiating the role.

The Role Of A Mathematics Content-Focused Coaching Project In Preparing Mathematics Specialist Candidates To Coach, Toni P. Sorrell, Jamey Lovin

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

The purpose of this paper is to reflect upon the mathematics content-focused coaching (MCFC) process from the perspective of coaches in their work with teachers, specifically, the effective strategies and techniques used by the mathematics coaches as they work with teachers and focus on mathematics and student learning. We discuss the MCFC project, assigned in many mathematics specialist preparation program leadership classes, in detail. Then we discuss the reflection the participants submitted in a course in which this project was assigned at two different universities and the ways in which these submissions can be used as a reflective activity and …

Online Education: Transferring Personal Experiences To Professional Development, Tracy J. Proffitt, Erica R. Miller, Elicia M. Fleshman

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

In this paper, we discuss how one candidate’s experience as she participated an online mathematics specialist program bolstered her confidence and ability to provide online professional development for her teachers. We include personal accounts by the mathematics specialist program instructors, the mathematics specialist candidate, and an elementary school teacher to illustrate how the experience of completing online graduate courses led to the candidate providing online learning opportunities for teachers. In particular, we highlight the importance of building relationships and using high-quality mathematical tasks in both the online preparation program and the online professional development. This case study provides evidence that …

Virtual Mentorship Of Teacher Leaders: The Ripple Effect, Joan Kernan, Joy Denoon, Eric Roberts, Tammy Sanford

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

Abstract

In this paper, the authors reflect on the first completely online mathematics specialist preparation and mentoring program. Candidates across Virginia successfully completed this program and are now serving as teacher leaders, interventionists, department leaders, instructional coaches, mentors, and program specialists. They are impacting mathematics instruction across the state at all levels. As two mathematics specialists serving as mentors and two candidates, we share our thoughts and ideas as we continue to learn from our mentorship process. The goal is to provide continuous professional development as candidates share problems, successes, research, and best practices to improve mathematics teaching and learning. …

Providing Job Embedded Professional Learning For Mathematics Specialists, Ian T. Shenk, Vickie L. Inge, Candace J. Standley, Allison C. Depiro

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

We know that if professional learning opportunities are to be meaningful and create long-lasting and systemic change, they must be ongoing and job-embedded. One of the most beneficial aspects of having mathematics specialists in schools is that they can provide job-embedded professional learning directly to teachers. Perhaps due to the strong impact mathematics specialists have on teaching and learning, we may overlook the need to provide professional learning to support the growth of mathematics specialists themselves. Just as we provide coaching to teachers to affect their professional growth, we must identify similar opportunities to affect the growth of mathematics specialists. …

A Relationship Built To Impact Instruction: Developing And Sustaining Productive Partnerships Between Mathematics Specialists And Principals, Nathan D. Potter, Hannah Adera Rooney, Melody Locher, Debra Kinsey

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

How does the mathematics specialist provide a profound and lasting impact on instruction? We believe that a productive partnership between the principal and specialist, which we will call the principal-specialist relationship, is at the crux of the matter. When the principal-specialist relationship is built upon a foundation of a shared vision, clear roles, communication, and trust, both the teachers and students in the school benefit. We will explore the impact of the principal-specialist relationship on teacher success during the era of distance learning as necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to explore how these ideas come alive in the …