Education Commons^™

Engaging Students With High-Stakes Problems, Deepak Basyal

Mathematics and Statistics

Engaging students in meaningful mathematics problem-solving is the intention of many education stakeholders around the world. Research suggests that the implementation of high-stakes problems in mathematics teaching is one way to strengthen students’ conceptual understanding. Many carefully crafted open-ended problems constitute high-stakes problems, and proper use of such problems in teaching and learning not only encourages learners’ flexible thinking but also helps detect their misconceptions. However, what is less practiced and understood is: how exactly one should aim to implement such problems in a classroom setting. Teaching pre-service middle school teachers for a few years using high-stakes (mostly open-ended problems) …

Steps Before Syntax: Helping Novice Programmers Solve Problems Using The Pcdit Framework, Oka Kurniawan, Cyrille Jegourel, Norman Tiong Seng Lee, Matthieu De Mari, Christopher M. Poskitt

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Novice programmers often struggle with problem solving due to the high cognitive loads they face. Furthermore, many introductory programming courses do not explicitly teach it, assuming that problem solving skills are acquired along the way. In this paper, we present 'PCDIT', a non-linear problem solving framework that provides scaffolding to guide novice programmers through the process of transforming a problem specification into an implemented and tested solution for an imperative programming language. A key distinction of PCDIT is its focus on developing concrete cases for the problem early without actually writing test code: students are instead encouraged to think about …

Physics Inventory Of Quantitative Literacy: A Tool For Assessing Mathematical Reasoning In Introductory Physics, Suzanne W. Brahmia, Alexis Olsho, Trevor I. Smith, Andrew Boudreaux, Philip Eaton, Charlotte Zimmerman

Physics & Astronomy

One desired outcome of introductory physics instruction is that students will develop facility with reasoning quantitatively about physical phenomena. Little research has been done regarding how students develop the algebraic concepts and skills involved in reasoning productively about physics quantities, which is different from either understanding of physics concepts or problem-solving abilities. We introduce the Physics Inventory of Quantitative Literacy (PIQL) as a tool for measuring Quantitative Literacy, a foundation of mathematical reasoning, in the context of introductory physics. We present the development of the PIQL and evidence of its validity for use in calculus-based introductory physics courses. Unlike …

An Exploration Of Manipulatives In Math Education, Jade Monte

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Pre-existing literature has shown that the education system needs to re-evaluate mathematical teaching practices in a manner that can boost students’ confidence in mathematics. Thus, the research is to investigate the use of manipulatives in reducing students’ anxiety by increasing their learning experience and engagement in mathematics. Furthermore, the purpose of this thesis is to explain the interconnectedness of math manipulatives, student engagement, and problem-solving. An in-depth literature review is conducted, which contains definitions, important benefits and methodologies of manipulatives, as well as the teacher’s role regarding these three terms. When manipulatives, student engagement, and problem-solving are in harmony, students …

Scaffolding Problem Solving With Learners’ Own Self Explanations Of Subgoals, Lauren Margulieux, Richard Catrambone

Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Procedural problem solving is an important skill in most technical domains, like programming, but many students reach problem solving impasses and flounder. In most formal learning environments, instructors help students to overcome problem solving impasses by scaffolding initial problem solving. Relying on this type of personalized interaction, however, limits the scale of formal instruction in technical domains, or it limits the efficacy of learning environments without it, like many scalable online learning environments. The present experimental study explored whether learners’ self-explanations of worked examples could be used to provide personalized but non-adaptive scaffolding during initial problem solving to improve later …

Mentoring Prospective Engineering Students Through The After School Program "Girls In Engineering" Focused On Building An Underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle, Vukica M. Jovanović, Deborah Marshall, Jeff Warren Larson Jr., Abdul Rahman Badawi, Neil R. Stclair, Otilia Popescu, Murat Kuzlu, Petros J. Katsioloudis, Linda Vahala, Michael Anthony Crespo

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

A number of studies by engineering education researchers have pointed out that all-female teams, rather than mixed teams, result in better forms of participation and interaction in engineering related after-school programs and clubs. In particular, for after-school programs or clubs that form in response to a STEM competition, all-female teams have better chances of developing. One such competition, which will be discussed in this paper, is a regional Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) competition in which students from Blind_Review High School have been participating for many years.For each year’s competition, an all-female team of students enrolled in the Career and …

Final Report: Iconoclast And London Children's Connection Internships, Veronica Botnick

SASAH 4th Year Capstone and Other Projects: Publications

In my second year of university, I joined an on-campus magazine, Iconoclast, as an assistant director. In my third year, I continued with Iconoclast as a director and started another internship with the London Children's Connection. Both projects have shown the effects of different language choice. With Iconoclast, I learned the importance of taking a less academic writing approach in theme descriptions and editors' letters. A neutral tone reaches a wider audience and ensures that readers from any background gain a full understanding of our theme. At the London Children's Connection, a simple change in choice of words can improve …

Critical Connections Between Numeracy And Mathematics: Supplementary Materials, Dave Tout

Student learning processes

This publication contains three professional development activities targeted at teachers of mathematics. The activities for both groups and individuals focus on the challenge of word problems in maths and connecting maths to the real world. Also included are references, materials and resources related to the issue of the connections between numeracy and mathematics.

Experiencing Active Mathematics Learning: Meeting The Expectations For Teaching And Learning In Mathematics Classrooms, Kristy Litster, Beth L. Macdonald, Jessica F. Shumway

Teacher Education and Leadership Faculty Publications

Active learning mathematics classrooms incorporate meaningful activities that emphasize reasoning, thinking and active interaction with mathematics. Current mathematics standards and curricula recommend that Mathematics Teacher Educators (MTEs) use elements of active learning in their mathematics content courses specifically designed for Prospective Teachers (PTs) as they prepare PTs to learn and teach mathematics. However, it can be very difficult for PTs to shift their pedagogical dispositions towards instruction associated with active learning because they typically have not experienced mathematics taught in this way. This article focuses on two instructional practices for MTEs to use with PTs. First, selecting tasks that promote …

Using Robotics And Engineering Design Inquiries To Optimize Learning For Middle Level Teachers: A Case Study, Iman Chafik Chahine, Norman Robinson Iii, Kimbeni Mansion

Publications & Research

This exploratory case study reports findings on 20 middle-level science and mathematics teachers’ perceptions of the effectiveness of a one-year project in which teachers engaged in using robotics and engineering design inquiries in their classrooms. Principled by Bandura’s Social Learning Theory (SLT) and using mixed methods approaches, the study measured teachers' efficacy through the Mathematics Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (MTEBI) and observation logs before and after the program. The results of this study showed statistically significant differences between PRE MTEBI and POST MTEBI scores. Furthermore, five themes emerged that illuminated potential affordances and constraints that teachers perceive as opportunities and …

Developing The Rapid Assessment Of Problem Solving For Kids (Raps-K), Emily Phillips

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The Rapid Assessment of Problem Solving (RAPS) was created by Dr. Robert Marshall in order to assess an individuals’ problem solving abilities. This assessment is set up like the popular twenty-questions game and is used to assess adults with cognitive impairments. An administrator chooses a picture from a board of thirty-two pictures and the subject must ask yes or no questions in order to guess the target picture in as few questions as possible. Analysis assesses integration planning scores, question asking efficiency scores, and question types to determine a level of problem solving abilities.

Smith and Jones (2018) used the …

An Examination Of The Role Of Spatial Ability In The Process Of Problem Solving In Chemical Engineering, Sheryl Sorby, Gavin Duffy, Norman Loney

Articles

Engineers often communicate with one another through drawings or sketches and understanding technical information through graphical representations is a skill necessary for engineering practice. Well-developed spatial skills are known to be important to understanding technical drawings and are therefore, important to success in engineering. Unfortunately, of all cognitive processes, spatial skills show robust gender differences, favouring males, which could contribute to the underrepresentation of women in engineering. In this research, we administered a test of spatial cognition to students enrolled in a common 3rd year course in chemical engineering . In a second session, students were given a set of …

Empowering Your Staff To Solve Problems: Evidence-Based Training For Strategic Thinking, Rebecca B. French, Jennifer A. Keach

Libraries

Are you teaching procedures or are you teaching problem solving? Discover an approach to help develop your staff’s strategic thinking skills to meet the needs of the 21st-century library workplace. Explore how to apply learning theory and walk away with actionable steps for training independent problem solving.

Learning Practice Guide, Jen Jackson, Kate Noble, Jeanne Marie Iorio, Dan Cloney, Pru Mitchell

Early Childhood Education

The first section of this Learning Practice Guide reminds early childhood professionals of the theory and pedagogy that underpins day-to-day practice, and helps them find ways to recognise children’s confidence and involvement in learning as a key component of their professional practice. The second section describes eight scenarios to prompt professional reflection, and illustrate ways in which early childhood professionals can improve their practice in relation to the VEYLDF Learning and Development Outcome: Children are confident and involved learners.

Developing Creativity And Imagination Skills, Amy Lightfoot

Teacher India

Cultivating creativity among students is widely acknowledged as an essential prerequisite for 21st century success. In this article, the author discusses how teachers can help foster creativity in the classroom.

Developing Numeracy And Problem-Solving Skills By Overcoming Learning Bottlenecks, Anita Lee-Post

Marketing & Supply Chain Faculty Publications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present an educational approach to elevating problem-solving and numeracy competencies of business undergraduates to meet workplace demand. The approach is grounded in the theory of constraints following the Decoding the Discipline model. The authors investigated a cognitive bottleneck involving problem modeling and an affective bottleneck concerning low self-efficacy of numeracy and designed specific interventions to address both bottlenecks simultaneously. The authors implemented the proposed approach in an introductory level analytics course in business operations.

Design/methodology/approachThe authors use an empirical study to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed approach in addressing deficiency in …

Assessment Of Children As Confident And Involved Learners In Early Childhood Education And Care: Literature Review, Dan Cloney, Jen Jackson, Pru Mitchell

Early Childhood Education

This literature review is one of a series of reviews to support Victorian early childhood professionals to assess children’s learning and development in relation to the five Learning and Development Outcomes in the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework (VEYLDF). This literature review documents the research that underpins and defines learning for children from birth to eight years, and outlines children’s trajectory as confident and involved learners. The resource aims to equip early childhood professionals with the knowledge to identify and assess children’s progress towards the VEYLDF Outcome: 'Children are confident and involved learners'.

Towards The Identification And Assessment Of Transversal Skills, Deirdre Goggin, Irene Sheridan, Fjóla Lárusdóttir, Gigja Guðmundsdóttir

Conference Papers

Much has been written in recent decades about transversal skills. The term is often used interchangeably with ‘soft skills’ and ‘transferable skills’. One can also refer to ‘key skills’ and ‘core skills’. The Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) assesses the proficiency of adults specifically three areas: literacy, numeracy and problem solving in technology-rich environments. “These three are considered to be “key information-processing skills” in that they are:
• necessary for fully integrating and participating in the labour market, education and training, and social and civic life;
• highly transferable, in that they are relevant to many social contexts and work …

Exploring The Neural Mechanisms Of Physics Learning, Jessica E. Bartley

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents a series of neuroimaging investigations and achievements that strive to deepen and broaden our understanding of human problem solving and physics learning. Neuroscience conceives of dynamic relationships between behavior, experience, and brain structure and function, but how neural changes enable human learning across classroom instruction remains an open question. At the same time, physics is a challenging area of study in which introductory students regularly struggle to achieve success across university instruction. Research and initiatives in neuroeducation promise a new understanding into the interactions between biology and education, including the neural mechanisms of learning and development. These …

Developing Computational Thinking With Educational Technologies For Young Learners, Yu-Hui Ching, Yu-Chang Hsu, Sally Baldwin

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article aims to provide an overview of the opportunities for developing computational thinking in young learners. It includes a review of empirical studies on the educational technologies used to develop computational thinking in young learners, and analyses and descriptions of a selection of commercially available technologies for developing computational thinking in young learners. The challenges and implications of using these technologies are also discussed.

Adolescents’ Perceptions Of “Cheating” In Gaming And Educational Settings, Brandon Nease, Michelle Samura

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Background. Given the widespread popularity of video gameplay among adolescents, it is important to understand the relationship between video gameplay and adolescent behaviors in various contexts.

Aim. This exploratory study aimed to explore adolescent gamers use of player guides and cheat codes during video gameplay in order to understand how they reason about the relationship between cheating in video games and cheating in academic settings.

Method. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with adolescents in order to gain in-depth insight into participants’ perspectives on video gameplay and their perceptions of cheating in video games and academic settings. Interview data was coded and …

Effective Teaching For Place Value Understanding: A Case Study Of A Literacy-Integrated Math Curriculum Module, Young Rae Kim, Mi Sun Park

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publications

A lesson sequence for place value was developed as an early intervention for kindergarteners. The sequence begins with a children’s picture book involving language familiar to children and continues with hands-on activities for children to make connections between and within multiple representations of place value. Through engaging in the literacy-integrated math curriculum module, kindergartners deepened their understanding of place value and the base-ten number system, as they were consistently engaged in problem solving and mathematical discourse triggered by their own mathematical thinking, as well as purposeful questions prompted by the teacher.

Supporting Mathematics Coaches' Learning Of Probability Through Professional Development Tasks, Mary C. Enderson, Melva R. Grant, Yating Liu

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

This study was conducted to propose a framework of professional development tasks (PDTs) that may be used to enhance mathematics coaches’ content knowledge and understanding of student work, as well as to help them conceptualize their role in facilitating a professional learning community in school. In this qualitative design experiment, researchers developed and implemented a set of PDTs to use with elementary and middle school mathematics coaches. The PDTs, with a focus on K-8 probability topics, required coaches to conduct mathematics problem solving, student work analysis, and create a community to reflect individually and collaboratively on such experiences. Qualitative data …

The Utility Of Storytelling Strategies In The Biology Classroom, Elizabeth Csikar, Jill E. Stefaniak

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Conveying scientific information with high intrinsic cognitive load to students is a challenge. Often, students do not have the existing schema to incorporate the information in a comprehensive manner. One method that has shown promise is storytelling. Storytelling has been successfully used to convey public health information to non-experts. Therefore, it was of interest to determine whether storytelling could be used in the classroom to present information with high intrinsic load to students in a meaningful manner. This study used a post-test only quasi-experimental study design to explore the utility of storytelling as an instructional strategy in anatomy and physiology …

Hiding In Plain Sight: Identifying Computational Thinking In The Ontario Elementary School Curriculum, Eden J.V. Hennessey, Julie Mueller, Danielle Beckett, Peter A. Fisher

Education Faculty Publications

Given a growing digital economy with complex problems, demands are being made for education to address computational thinking (CT) – an approach to problem solving that draws on the tenets of computer science. We conducted a comprehensive content analysis of the Ontario elementary school curriculum documents for 44 CT-related terms to examine the extent to which CT may already be considered within the curriculum. The quantitative analysis strategy provided frequencies of terms, and a qualitative analysis provided information about how and where terms were being used. As predicted, results showed that while CT terms appeared mostly in Mathematics, and concepts …

Exploring American Indian Students’ Problem-Solving Propensity In The Context Of Culturally Relevant Stem Topics, Young Rae Kim, Youn-Kyeong Nam

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publications

This study presents an out-of-school problem-solving lesson we designed for American Indian students using a culturally relevant STEM topic. The lesson was titled “Shelter Design for Severe Weather Conditions.” This shelter design lesson was developed based on an engineering design allowing us to integrate STEM topics within a traditional indigenous house-building context. This problem context was used to encourage students to apply their prior knowledge, experience, and community/cultural practice to solve problems. We implemented the lesson at a summer program on an American Indian reservation. Using the lesson, this study explores how American Indian students use cultural knowledge and experience …

Developing Creative Problem Solvers, Eric L. Mann

Faculty Presentations

Mathematics embraces creativity and beauty, attributes that are often hidden when algorithms and computational speed are favored. We’ll explore mathematical creativity and its implications for the teaching and learning of mathematics.

Inquiry-Based Learning: Assessing Students' Science Inquiry Skills, Abha Bhagat

Teacher India

Inquiry-based approaches to teaching yield substantial benefits to students, but assessment of students' science inquiry skills indicate more emphasis is needed on the development of inquiry-based teaching and learning in the classroom.

Conceptualizations Of Students With And Without Disabilities As Mathematical Problem Solvers In Educational Research; A Critical Review, Rachel Lambert, Paulo Tan

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Students with disabilities are often framed as “the problem” and have limited opportunities to engage in standards based mathematics leading to persistent underachievement. In this paper, we investigate a research divide between mathematics educational research for students with and without disabilities, a divide with significant differences in the theoretical orientations and research methodologies used to understand learners. Based on an analysis of 149 mathematics educational research articles published between 2013 and 2015, we found significant differences between articles focused on learners with and without disabilities. For those with disabilities, mathematical problem solving was understood primarily from behavioral and information processing …

Give Me A Formula Not The Concept! Student Preference To Mathematical Problem Solving, Manveer Mann, Mary C. Enderson

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Purpose of Study: The purpose of this study was to assess student preference for procedural (formula-driven) versus conceptual (concept-driven) approaches to solve mathematical problems. Additionally, we evaluated differences in preferences among students who performed above average and those who performed at or below average on simple arithmetic problems.

Methods/Design and Sample: We used a single-factor (Instructional Approach: conceptual vs. procedural) between-subjects experiment. Instructional approach was manipulated using short embedded instructional videos. Students evaluated each approach on a five-point scale.

Results: We found that students (above-average and average/below-average) preferred the procedural approach to the conceptual approach. Interestingly, however, although students preferred …