Education Commons^™

Community College Perspectives On Teacher Preparation In Virginia, D. L. Neely-Fisher

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

The need for future teachers who are well versed in mathematics and science will not be provided by Virginia’s four-year institutions alone. A large portion of those students who complete their K-8 teacher preparation programs at Virginia’s four-year institutions have studied a significant portion, if not all, of their mathematics and science at community colleges. Therefore, if future teachers are to have completed appropriate mathematics and science courses these must be provided by the community colleges. In addition, community colleges can play a critical role in attracting people with a high potential for becoming excellent teachers. Two-year colleges are located …

Preparing Preservice Teachers For The Experimental Design And Data Analysis Sol's, J. E. Wright Jr.

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

Many elementary teachers find teaching the science Standards of Learning (SOL) difficult [1, 2]. Some are even threatened by them. Of particular concern are the SOLs related to experimental design, handling data, and the scientific method. A possible reason for this discomfort is because many of these elementary teachers have had limited-to-no exposure to experimentation. As one of the activities included under a recent National Science Foundation Science Teachers Enhancement Project (STEP) grant awarded to Hampton University in conjunction with Virginia Union University and St. Paul's College, we included a teacher science fair competition. A special workbook/text was developed for …

Journal Of Mathematics And Science: Collaborative Explorations

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

No abstract provided.

Creating The Need To Know, A. L. Buikema Jr.

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

Context-based teaching provides a strategy that gives the responsibility of learning back to the student. This approach is being used at Virginia Tech in a number of settings, including an introductory Biology class with 325 students.

Impact Of A New Introductory Mathematical Modeling Course On Student Confidence In Mathematical Ability And Skills, P. Dean, D. Hydorn, S. Sumner

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

Interdisciplinary mathematics and science courses are increasing in popularity. Faculty teaching these courses are given the opportunity to show how mathematics plays an important role in science and how it can be used to improve our understanding of mathematics and science. This paper discusses a new course in mathematical modeling that focuses on environmental issues. Course content and format are presented, as well as the results of a study on the changes in students’ perceptions of their mathematical abilities as a result of taking this new course.

On The Job Mathematics, G. Rublein

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

What kind of course work is appropriate for a general education mathematics requirement? In most instances, students see a presentation of one or more mathematical topics followed by some applications. Sometimes these applications are characterized as ‘real world’ even though no person would ever be paid to work the problems that students are given. We will describe an approach to this issue that requires students to replicate mathematical work that is done by people who want to keep their jobs. Only a small minority can make money doing mathematics for entertainment. Hence, we omit for this category everyone employed in …

Informal Geometry In The Preparation Of Teachers: A New Mathematics Course At The University Of Virginia, L. D. Pitt

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

Students require a rich variety of hands-on geometric experiences before they progress to more formal traditional geometric instruction. This fact has often been ignored in the mathematics preparation of today’s teachers. At the University of Virginia a new general education geometry course, The Shape of Space, is being developed that focuses on obtaining deep understandings of elementary geometry through physical and visual activities.

A Model For Faculty Collaboration In Preparing Virginia's K-8 Teachers, B. F. Risacher

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

The overall goals of the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) [1] are for students to become good problem solvers and communicators about mathematics, to reason logically and to make connections within mathematics and to other disciplines such as in solving science problems. Unfortunately, the beliefs about teaching of many preservice teachers are not consistent with these goals. Furthermore, the college mathematics courses experienced by preservice teachers are generally in contrast to these goals. This study outlines a collaborative effort of three colleges to encourage faculty to adopt a more student-investigative style of instruction A planning team offered a semester of …

Experimental Design At The Intersection Of Mathematics, Science, And Technology In Grades K-6, R N. Giese, M. M. Mason

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

Interdisciplinary courses, highlighting as they do the area(s) the disciplines have in common, often give the misperception of a single body of knowledge and/or way of knowing. However, discipline based courses often leave the equally mistaken notion that the disciplines have nothing in common. The task of the methods courses described in this paper is to reach an appropriate balance so that our pre-service elementary (K-6) teachers have a realistic perception of the independence and interdependence of mathematics and science. At the College of William and Mary each cohort of pre-service elementary teachers enrolls in mathematics and science methods courses …

Curriculum Restructuring At Lynchburg College: Effects Of Realignment To State-Mandated Competencies And Implications For K-6 Math And Science Teacher Preparation, W. Mckenzie, C. Messerschmidt

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

Because Lynchburg College offers a four-year program to attain teacher licensure, current restructuring efforts have been aimed at targeting the professional studies requirements across a program of courses that are efficiently integrated. Math and science methods courses will be combined into a workshop course. A new general studies program has been approved which requires eight hours of lab sciences and three hours of math. A General Science course has been approved which will be geared towards pre-service teachers. The professional core requires an additional eight hours of lab sciences, totaling 16 hours in science, and six hours of math, geared …

Wonders Of Technology-Teaching Physics To Non-Scientists, V. A. Niculescu, P. Martin

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

Wonders of Technology is a conceptual physics course developed for non—science majors. The approach taken here in the introduction of the physical concepts is to depict their role in today’s technology, specifically the technology familiar to the students, and also to emphasize the connection between technology, art, and culture from the historical perspective. Why this approach? The traditional method of teaching physics is perceived by many students as "user-unfriendly" — they think physics is difficult, abstract, and, in fact, of little or no relevance to everyday life. The course Wonders of Technology alleviates this perception by placing the students on …

Edis 788 Mathematics/Science/Education Field Project As A Capstone Experience In Five Year Ba/Mt Teacher Education Program, S. P. Plaskon

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

As a culminating experience, students in the Elementary Education Program Area at the University of Virginia are expected to engage in a field project/thesis experience in the final semester of their program of study. This session will provide an overview of the Field Project/Thesis Experience as it currently exists and will discuss possible variations to encourage more math and science collaborations.

Experiencing Science, An Introduction To "Real" Methods Of Science For The Preservice Teacher, D. L. Neely-Fisher, D. B. Hagan

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

The "scientific method" presented in the middle school classroom introduces the experimental approach of science in a way that may actually bear little resemblance to the processes actually used by working scientists. Teachers equipped with an insight into the motivations, philosophy, tools, and culture of science will better convey an accurate and positive picture of science as a critically important human endeavor. The Experiencing Science course was designed to answer the challenge of giving the pre-service teacher and decision-maker better insight into actual processes used by scientists, in the context of each of the major disciplines.

Innovative Opportunities For Elementary And Middle School Teachers To Maintain Currency In Mathematics And Science: A Community College-School System Partnership, B. Ellis, M. Giacofci, D. Riley, P. Scott

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

Since 1992 the Manassas Campus of Northern Virginia Community College – in response to requests from local school systems – has developed four innovative methods of assisting elementary, secondary and middle school teachers to enhance their content knowledge in science and mathematics, as well as integrate curriculum units for classroom presentation. These methods are based on the assumptions that: - While teachers at this level have fundamental understanding of math and science, if they wish to incorporate new concepts or technologies from these fields, graduate level content courses are generally beyond their background level. - Community College faculty can often …

Teaching Physical Science Through Technology: Middle School Vcu Phy 591, V. A, Niculescu, D. B. Hagan

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

Teaching Physical Science through Technology is a new 3-credit laboratory-and-lecture based course designed to serve as an introduction to the teaching of physical science concepts at the middle school level. Physical science phenomena are presented through investigations of commonly known applications of technology and focus on the Virginia Science Standards of Learning for 6th Grade Science and the Physical Science courses. Topics include matter, gravity, mechanics, heat, optics, electricity and magnetism, and computers as seen in their roles in common devices. The development of the course includes assessment from six semesters, collaboration with other institutions including the Science Museum of …

Using Technology As A Vehicle To Appropriately Integrate Mathematics And Science Instruction For The Middle School, M. M. Mason, R. N. Giese

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

At the College of William and Mary, pre-service middle school science and mathematics teachers enroll in their respective methods courses taught in the same time period. Both instructors emphasize the importance of the content pedagogy unique to their disciplines in their individual courses such as strategies for teaching problem solving, computation, proportional reasoning, algebraic and geometric thinking in mathematics, and strategies for teaching students how to "investigate" or design and conduct experiments in science. However, the two classes come together for sessions in which they examine the relationship of the two disciplines and the proper role of technology, both graphing …

Rapporteur's Report, W. E. Haver

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

The agenda for the Statewide Conference places a number of important challenges for Virginia’s colleges and universities on the table. The new licensure requirements in the areas of mathematics and science for prospective K-8 teachers represent a major, and very much needed, change in current practice. It will be extremely difficult for those of us in the science, mathematics, and education departments to make the necessary changes to respond to this challenge. This report will attempt to measure the magnitude of the changes needed to produce the requisite numbers of adequately prepared teachers, the extent to which individual colleges and …

Data Visualization Tools For Science And Math, B. Kolvoord

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

As the computers available in schools become more powerful, more and more exciting tools are available to science and math students and teachers. Visualization tools, such as image processing, geographic information systems, modeling, and simulation software, are a class of tools with particular promise. These tools are being used in schools across the country to integrate computer use with the curriculum and to bring more hands-on inquiry to the students. A primary goal of using these computer-based tools is to aid students in developing a deeper understanding of the science and math (not the computers) and to help make difficult …

A Field Based Approach To Introductory Geology Instruction, G. R. Woodwell, J. L. Hayob

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

As part of the NSF-funded VCEPT project, geology faculty at Mary Washington College have developed and pilot tested a two-semester sequence of geology courses which are taught in a non-traditional, discovery oriented style. The guiding philosophy of the course development is to ensure that students learn about geological principles through collaborative learning in a variety of field settings that were carefully chosen to provide good examples of a range of geologic processes and environments. The design goals of these courses include improvement in student retention of concepts, increased student interest in earth science, improved critical thinking skills and the promotion …

Aims & Scope

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

No abstract provided.

West Virginia Story: Achievement Gains From A Statewide Comprehensive Instructional Technology Program, Dale Mann, Charol Shakeshaft, Jonathan D. Becker, Robert Kottkamp

Educational Leadership Publications

This report describes West Virginia's Basic Skills/Computer Education (BS/CE) program and connects its features to gains in student test scores that are practically and statistically significant. The program consists of three components: (1) software that focuses on the state's basic skills goals in reading, language arts, and mathematics; (2) enough computers in the schools so that all students will be able to have easy and regular access to the basic skills software; and (3) professional development for teachers in the use of the software and the use of computers in general. Data were collected from all fifth graders (n=950) in …

Report On The Implementation Of Alternative High Schools, Nora Alder, Terry Brown

MERC Publications

The Richmond Academy opened in January 1999 to accommodate ninth and tenth graders whose behavior had been problematic in regular school settings. Created with a mission to support these students' academic and social growth, the Richmond Academy's goals include preparing students to successfully return to their home schools and complete high school.

The purpose of this report is to describe the Richmond Academy as it had been implemented in its opening semester and to make recommendations for subsequent semesters. This report beings with a review of the literature that focuses on evaluations of similar alternative settings. Next, a description of …

The Determinants Of Juvenile Justice Policy In France And Germany, Jacqueline A. Meyers

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation assesses the factors that influence the development of juvenile justice policy in France and Germany within the context of systems theory, The project utilizes an open/closed systems framework as a way to conceptualize determinants of juvenile justice policy. France and Germany serve as two single case studies for demonstrating the open and closed dichotomy that characterize system theory with France being characterized as a closed system while Germany is characterized as an open system. This difference is demonstrated through a discussion of historical, cultural, political, social and economic variables, which shape policy development in each of these countries. …

Federal Special Education Law And Discipline Of Students With Disabilities: A Description Of The Factors Influencing Key Actors Involved In The Development Of Sections 612(A)(1)(A) And 615(K) Of The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, Cheryl Corona Magill

Theses and Dissertations

Until the 1997 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), policies regarding discipline of students with disabilities were set primarily by case law. In 1995, the debates over reauthorization of the IDEA focused on proposed provisions designed to describe. at the federal level. the measures and procedures to be used by public school officials when disciplining students with disabilities.

The purpose of this study was to describe and analyze the factors influencing key actors involved in the development of the two sections ofthe I997 IDEA that address discipline of students with disabilities. A review of the literature suggested …

Teachers' Classroom Assessment And Grading Practices: Phase 2, James H. Mcmillan, Daryl Workman

MERC Publications

A significant amount of recent literature has focused on classroom assessment and grading as essential aspects of effective teaching. There is an increased scrutiny of assessment as indicated by the popularity of performance assessment and portfolios, newly established national assessment competencies for teachers (Standards, 1990), and the interplay between learning, motivation, as assessment (Brookhart, 1993, 1994; Tittle, 1994). In Virginia, the Standards of Learning and associated tests highlight the importance of assessment.

Previous research documents that teachers tend to award a "hodgepodge grade of attitude, effort, and achievement" (Brookhart, 1991, p. 36). It is also clear that teachers use a …

Report On The Implementation Of The Richmond Academy, Nora Alder, Terry Brown

MERC Publications

The purpose of this report is to describe the Richmond Academy as it had been implemented in its opening semester and to make recommendations for subsequent semesters. This report begins with a review of the literature that focuses on evaluations of similar alternative settings. Next, a description of the methodology used in this report is outlined. A description of the basic components of the Richmond Academy follows the methodology. Finally, recommendations for the future of the Richmond Academy are made.

Recruiting And Retaining Teachers: A Review Of The Literature, Jill Englebright Fox, Janine Certo

MERC Publications

The National Center for Education Statistics (1998) predicts that by 2008 approximately 2.4 million teachers will be needed in this country, at a rate of over 200,000 per year. Several factors contribute to this prediction. First, due to increased birth rates and immigration (Darling-Hammond, 1999), student enrollment is expected to pass 54 million by that time -- its highest in the history of this country (NCES, 1998). Second, more than 33% of the current teaching force is age 50 or older (Recruiting New Teachers, 1998) and likely to retire within the next decade. Third, recommendations, if not regulations, reducing the …

A Golden Foundation For Building The Future

VCU University History Books

Founded in 1949, the Department of Health Administration at Virginia Commonwealth University has been recognized as one of the first programs of its kind and as one of America’s first distance-learning programs. This book explores how the department evolved with healthcare during its first 50 years and describes the department's growth, including PhD research, the Grant House, and international studies.