Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Integrating The Arts And Sciences In The Museum Setting, Emily Clare Riggins

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The division between the arts and sciences appears to be deepening in America. As political leaders emphasize STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education in schools, arts education is diminished to make room for STEM courses. Concerned about this phenomenon, many art educators are working to integrate the arts into STEM education through a variety of arts integration efforts. Arts integration not only helps to preserve a place for the arts in the curriculum, it also has been shown to enhance STEM learning.

Arts integration is of special interest to art museum educators who feel that they can provide resources …

Using Worked-Out Examples Of Written Explanation For Writing-To-Learn In Evolutionary Biology, Amy M. Yu

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Content learning can be enhanced through writing-to-learn. Research into cognitive load theory suggests that the use of backwards faded, worked-out examples increases schema acquisition and concept transfer. However, these effects have not yet been demonstrated for writing-to-learn, particularly for the conceptual understanding of evolution. The effects of two writing conditions were investigated in a pre-test post-test quasi-experimental design. Groups in two conditions wrote explanations of evolution using six Darwinian principles: students in the completion condition completed backwards faded, worked-out examples of explanations; students in the problem solving condition wrote full explanations, thought to require means-end problem solving. The dependent variables …

Analysis Of Students’ Misconceptions And Error Patterns In Mathematics: The Case Of Fractions, Zoe A. Morales

South Florida Education Research Conference

This study analyzed three fifth grade students’ misconceptions and error patterns when working with equivalence, addition and subtraction of fractions. The findings revealed that students used both conceptual and procedural knowledge to solve the problems. They used pictures, gave examples, and made connections to other mathematical concepts and to daily life topics. Error patterns found include using addition and subtraction of numerators and denominators, and finding the greatest common factor.

Math, Class, And Katrina Aftermath: The Impact Of Experiences Teaching Mathematics To Low-Income Middle School Students On Middle-Income Teachers’ Pedagogical Strategies, Susan J. Ikenberry

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Despite a century of educational reforms, no matter how achievement is measured, learning and opportunity gaps can still be predicted by race and socioeconomic status. Teachers and schools are blamed for functioning to reproduce social inequality. This study investigated teacher agency and transformative potentials. It considered how teachers modified their pedagogical practices when teaching low-income and high-poverty students. In order to capture teacher beliefs and logic, a qualitative approach was used involving in-depth interviews of a small number of participants.

The research used the context of the dislocation of students from high-poverty Orleans Parish schools in the year following Hurricane …

Finding Success In Elementary Science Across Socioeconomic Boundaries, Jill K. Hettinger

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Elementary science education provides a platform for intellectual development, building a foundation of scientific literacy and a first entry point into interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. A significant body of research on elementary science education clearly defines what high-quality science education should look like at the elementary level. However, there is little understood about how to implement high-quality science instruction effectively within a school system. Prior research indicates that this problem is further compounded in low socioeconomic elementary schools by a lack of resources, time, and high teacher mobility. I used descriptive research to identify the …

Demographics, Persistence, And Academic Performance: A Logistic Regression Analysis Of Who Chooses To Enter The Mathematics And Science Teaching Pipeline, Esther Joseph

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As of 1999, high school teachers without majors in their subject areas number 37% of biology teachers, 59% of physical science teachers, and 60% of mathematics teachers. These discouraging statistics grow more extreme in middle schools and high poverty public high schools, especially regarding mathematics and physical sciences instruction. The statistics are especially worrisome given the strong correlation between thorough teacher subject matter preparation and higher student performance. Unfortunately, the literature is limited in terms of a direct comparison between mathematics and science majors and individuals who become mathematics and science teachers. This study was undertaken to add to the …

A Novel Approach To Using Personal Response Systems And Diagrams To Foster Student Engagement In Large Lecture: Case Study Of Instruction For Model-Based Reasoning In Biology, Johanna M. Fitzgerald

Doctoral Dissertations

At UMass Amherst a method of personal response system (clickers) use in large lecture biology called Guided Application of Model-based Reasoning (GAMBR) has been designed to give students experiences in reasoning like expert biologists: In large lecture biology many instructors appear to use clickers mainly as a quizzing and attendance tool. Less well documented and examined are uses of clickers to facilitate cognitive engagement in learning scientific models and skills. In GAMBR, clicker questions ask students to apply and perturb biological models; this is designed to engage them in model-based reasoning. In an attempt to understand such a course, an …

A Transcendental Phenomenological Study Of Developmental Math Students' Experiences And Perceptions, Megan Cordes

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Current literature suggests the rise of enrollment among United States (U.S.) postsecondary institutions but the decline in graduation rates. While there is extensive quantitative data examining course redesigns and increasing student achievement in developmental math courses, there is limited research examining students' experiences and perceptions within these courses. The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to examine the experiences and perceptions of developmental math students. This study utilized the theoretical framework of Bandura's (1997) social cognitive theory and Tinto's (2012a) retention theory. Research questions focused on the lived experience of struggling within a developmental math course, past math experiences …

The Mindful Learning Model, David W. Brooks, Guy Trainin, Khalid Sayood

DBER Speaker Series

Earlier we published the Unified Learning Model which speaks to learning based on achieieving the "top slot" in working memory, repetition, and connections. The Mindful Learning Model accounts for more recent understandings of learning, and especially connections to "consciousness." The model has many parts. Inputs to the brain from sensors (eyes, ears) are not so much information about what is perceived but about discrepancies between that perception and one's mental model of the current context. The voices in our heads are after‐the fact reports rather than realtime executives. Working memory is a series of detectable brain events taking place over …

Rich Problem Solving Tasks, Valorie L. Zonnefeld

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

No abstract provided.

Critical Thinking And High-Level Discourse: Teaching, Learning, And Professional Development In A 1:1 Environment, Valorie L. Zonnefeld, Ryan G. Zonnefeld

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

No abstract provided.

A Case Study Of How Ninth Grade Mathematics Students Construct Knowledge During A Productive Failure Model, Amy F. Westbrook Dr.

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explain how ninth grade mathematics students at a rural high school in Georgia constructed knowledge through student talk when problem solving using Kapur’s (2012) productive failure design. An embedded case study design was used to understand how a group of students constructed knowledge through their use of talk, persistence during the task, and use of prior knowledge while working on a productive failure modeled task. Triangulation resulted from the collected data from multiple sources, which included videotaping, interviewing, and analyzing student artifacts. Utilization of the constructivist perspectives of Vygotsky (1934/1962), Piaget (1971), …

The Challenge: Magazine For The Center For Gifted Studies (No. 35, Fall 2014), Center For Gifted Studies, Tracy Inman Editor

Gifted Studies Publications

No abstract provided.

The Flipped Classroom: Its Effect On Student Academic Achievement And Critical Thinking Skills In High School Mathematics, Joranna Saunders

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study examined the effect of the flipped classroom on academic achievement in high school mathematics. The purpose of this study was twofold. The immediate purpose was to determine if there was a statistical difference in student academic achievement in two high school mathematics classrooms once the flipped classroom concept was implemented. This study also examined the effect of the flipped classroom on students' critical thinking skills. This static-group comparison utilized a pretest-posttest non-equivalent control group design and two null hypotheses were tested. The flipped curriculum was not a significant factor in increasing student academic achievement or in increasing student …

Student Experience 14: "So What?", Ana K. Houseal

Ana K Houseal

This activity is designed to encourage students to question their own learning and the implications that learning has to them as well as to the broader community. For example: How will this knowledge, these skills and these concepts influence individual lives and the life of the community? What impact does this have on the environment? The activity also helps teachers to reflect about the relevance of lessons within their own curriculum and appropriateness of their teaching strategies. And it is a way for students to take the concepts and apply them in new ways making them more relevant.

Student Experience 03: Photo Points, Ana K. Houseal

Ana K Houseal

Students learn about using photogrammy (making multiple identical images of a location taken with a camera whose relative position is known to a certain degree of accuracy) to monitor change over time. This set of activities within the following lesson will help students learn about the process of collecting identical images and its importance, and practice collecting images from set locations, first in their own environments and then in the field. With this background, students can participate in photo point data collection during their expedition on Geology Day, and have a better understanding of the importance of this data collection. …

Student Experience 02: Powers Of Ten Background, Ana K. Houseal

Ana K Houseal

Powers of Ten (P10) refers to scale. This scale can be an excellent tool to use when framing observations. In other words, P10 is a way of putting objects being observed into context using size as the focal point. Once students understand the terminology, it can be used to both communicate and focus attention.

Student Experience 11b: Mammoth Hot Springs Microbe Wheel, Ana K. Houseal

Ana K Houseal

Mammoth Hot Springs Microbe Wheels.

Student Experience 12: Using The Ir Thermometer To Develop Answerable Questions, Ana K. Houseal

Ana K Houseal

Students learn about and use IR thermometers in the classroom or some place on the school grounds to develop answerable questions. After developing the questions, they perform brief investigations to answer their questions and share their findings with their classmates.

Student Experience 04: Mammoth Hot Springs Photo Points, Ana K. Houseal

Ana K Houseal

Photos taken over time from set photo points can help to increase understanding of terrace formation and concretely map the movement of microbial communities. Now, and in the future, researchers can use these high quality photos to help answer questions about things such as microbial mat migration, possible shifts in water flow, and formation of terracing through travertine precipitation/deposition. In the meantime, visitors and students will have access to these photos and can compare visible changes themselves.

Background 4: Student Experience Lesson - Systems Study, Ana K. Houseal

Ana K Houseal

This lesson helps students observe, integrate and articulate their knowledge of a familiar earth system by considering how the different parts of the system interact to keep it in balance. Students first explore the word “system” and then apply the concept of systems to a familiar natural environment. Students will create a collage that is a representation of this system through discussion, further inquiry, and investigation.

Student Experience 08: Starrs Temperature Tools, Ana K. Houseal

Ana K Houseal

Students get a chance to use various temperature tools to explore the Celcius temperature scale. They also will explore the differences in the temperature tools and determine and share with the whole group which tools are appropriate for measuring temperature in different situations.

Background 3: Microbiological Communities In Mammoth Hot Springs, Ana K. Houseal

Ana K Houseal

Microbial Communities in Mammoth Hot Springs Background

Student Experience 07: What's In The Bag?, Ana K. Houseal

Ana K Houseal

This is a "black box" activity. Students use their sense of hearing, touch, and smell to figure out what objects are contained in their paper bag.

Background 6: Student Experience Lesson - Facies Modeling Using Video, Ana K. Houseal

Ana K Houseal

Background for Student Experience Lesson: Facies Modeling Using Video

Student Experience 10: Grid Protocols, Ana K. Houseal

Ana K Houseal

Students will use specific protocols and equipment to systematically collect comprehensive data from a single location at a single point in time.

Student Experience 13: Student Driven Research, Ana K. Houseal

Ana K Houseal

In groups of 4-5, students develop answerable quesitons about MHS, and design their investigations and data collection procedures. Next, they carry out their investigations in the field during the expedition, perform simple data analysis, and present their findings and challenges to authentic audiences both at E:Y! and back in their own communities.

Background 1: Mammoth Hot Springs Background, Ana K. Houseal

Ana K Houseal

Mammoth Hot Springs geologic background

Student Experience 06: Prolonged Observations, Ana K. Houseal

Ana K Houseal

Students participate in an exercise conducting a prolonged observation of a known object. Students will compare how their observations change as the observation time passes. This activity meant to teach the importance of careful, sustained observation as a "scientific tool".

Student Experience 09: Social Applications For Power Of Ten (P10), Ana K. Houseal

Ana K Houseal

In this lesson, students are asked to observe and record their observations of an object at a specific distance, either moving away from or toward at specific powers of ten intervals. Discussions of their observations may help students to see how detail changes with perspective, and how different jobs, including science, might require focus on different powers of ten.