Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

The Early College Research Tradition And The People Who Made It: A History Of Interventions That Shaped The Field, Russ Olwell

Early College Folio

Early college as an educational reform has had a unique trajectory over the past two decades. School reform in the United States (with a few exceptions) has been a top-down movement, and the majority of attention has centered on grades three through eight, the grade levels the No Child Left Behind Act focused on. Early college, by contrast, has been a grassroots movement in many areas and has focused on high school students and their aspirations for college. This article describes the story of early college through the lens of individuals whose research helped to reorient the field and broaden …

The House Of Seminar Needs Overhaul: The General Education Seminar In Theory And Practice, Matthew J. Park

Early College Folio

Matthew Park's intellectual and institutional history of the General Education Seminars at Bard College at Simon’s Rock. This historical analysis, which the author revolves around a discussion of the genealogy and philosophy of Seminar more broadly, serves as a multidisciplinary lens through which teachers and students of Seminar across the Bard Early Colleges may center current and future discussions of the course(s).

One-Week Inquiry About Gravity Force With A Student Who Is Blind, Mustafa Şahin Bülbül Dr.

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

This study was conducted with a student who is visually impaired and questioned the force of gravity. The different stages encountered in the process were specified as steps in the study and it was shared what kind of inquiry form was needed at each step. There are different activities such as waiting for a week and thought experiment in the inquiry activity. The basis of the activity is that three balls of different mass left on a sponge leave different traces on the sponge.

Pakistan’S First-Ever Participation In An International Large-Scale Assessment (Timss): Critique And Implications, Sohail Ahmad, Sherwin Rodrigues, Sadia Muzaffar Bhutta

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

The International Large-Scale Assessment (ILSA) is a rapidly growing field in education which has gained considerable attention of stakeholders across the globe. Historically, ILSA emerged from the developed context which has drifted to the developing contexts in a short span of time due to globalisation. Pakistan has participated in ILSA (i.e., TIMSS) for the first time in the 2019 cycle. In light of the global critique on ILSA, this paper presents a critical analysis on Pakistan’s participation in TIMSS by raising questions embedded in contextual realities. The discussion adds to the understanding of ILSA in terms of historical developments, theoretical …

Beating The Odds: High-Growth Schools Based On The Act Aspire Examinations, Serving Low-Income Communities, Sarah C. Mckenzie

Arkansas Education Reports

This section highlights high-growth schools across Arkansas based on the ACT Aspire examinations in Math and English Language Arts (ELA) for the 2020-2021 academic year. For these awards, we consider schools where at least 66% of the student body is eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (FRL).

High-poverty schools are ranked by school level (Elementary, Middle, or High) based on Overall Growth (Math and ELA combined), as well as for growth in each content area independently. High-poverty schools are also ranked within each region of the state. Tables include the region in which the school is located, the number of …

The Perceived Impact Of Project-Based Learning (Pbl) On Middle School Students’ Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics (Stem) Identity And Engagement, Jonathan Olivera

Theses and Dissertations

Despite multiple calls to action, the United States educational system is not producing enough viable contributors in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). These fields continue to grow, and the STEM workforce continues to expand. However, the pool of citizens prepared to enter these professions is not keeping up with the demand. Part of this issue can be attributed to a diminishing interest in STEM by students, particularly during their identity forming adolescent years. Active learning strategies have proven successful in preventing this decline with project-based learning (PBL) being one of the most successful active learning strategies. …

High-Growth Elementary Schools In Arkansas Based On Performance On The Act Aspire Examinations, Sarah C. Mckenzie

Arkansas Education Reports

This section highlights elementary schools across the state whose students demonstrated high growth on the Arkansas ACT Aspire exams. The ACT Aspire was administered to students in grades 3 through 10 in April 2022 in Math and ELA courses which include English, Writing, and Reading.

Each table in this section presents the Top 20 schools for the noted subject area and school level. In addition, these tables include the region in which the schools are located, the grades served at the school, the weighted achievement score, and the content growth score in that particular subject.

The level of the schools, …

High-Growth High Schools In Arkansas Based On Performance On The Act Aspire Examination, Sarah C. Mckenzie

Arkansas Education Reports

This section highlights high schools across the state whose students demonstrated high growth on the Arkansas ACT Aspire exams. The ACT Aspire was administered to students in grades 3 through 10 in April 2022 in Math and ELA courses which include English, Writing, and Reading.

Each table in this section presents the Top 20 schools for the noted subject area and school level. In addition, these tables include the region in which the schools are located, the grades served at the school, the weighted achievement score, and the content growth score in that particular subject.

The level of the schools, …

High-Growth Middle Schools In Arkansas Based On Performance On The Act Aspire Examinations, Sarah C. Mckenzie

Arkansas Education Reports

This section highlights middle schools across the state whose students demonstrated high growth on the Arkansas ACT Aspire exams. The ACT Aspire was administered to students in grades 3 through 10 in April 2022 in Math and ELA courses which include English, Writing, and Reading.

Each table in this section presents the Top 20 schools for the noted subject area and school level. In addition, these tables include the region in which the schools are located, the grades served at the school, the weighted achievement score, and the content growth score in that particular subject.

The level of the schools, …

Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics (Stem) Project-Based Learning (Pbl) Education: A New Mexico Case Study For Equity And Inclusion, Kimberly A. Scheerer

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

This research addresses how student participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) project-based learning (PBL) education activities encourages underrepresented minority student achievement in STEM career field trajectories. Seven New Mexico high school counselors and 12 STEM organization personnel were interviewed during this study. Their responses represent the nuanced professional voices where New Mexico public education intersects with STEM student interest and cultural influence.

For students, STEM PBL can foster deep integration across educational disciplines and enhance STEM career trajectory interest and readiness. STEM education converged with PBL methodologies has the ability to leverage community support while broadening student networks. …

Implementing Diversity Training Targeting Faculty Microaggressions And Inclusion: Practical Insights And Initial Findings, Ellen Ernst Kossek, Patrice M. Buzzanell, Brittany J. Wright, Cassondra Batz-Barbarich, Amy C. Moors, Charlene Sullivan, Klod Kokini, Andrew S. Hirsh, Kayla Maxey, Ankita Nikalje

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Despite the importance of faculty diversity training for advancing an inclusive society, little research examines whether participation improves inclusion perceptions and belongingness. Integrating training and diversity education literature concepts, this study examines the effectiveness of training targeting microaggressions in six STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) oriented departments at a research-intensive university. Reactions data collected at the end of face-to-face training suggested that participation generally increased inclusion understanding. Self-assessments on inclusion concepts collected from 45% of participants before and three weeks after training suggest participation increases perceptions of the importance of inclusion, microaggression allyship awareness, inclusive behaviors, and organizational identification. Compared …

A Guided Chatbot Learning Experience In The Science Classroom, Jennifer Davis

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation describes a practitioner’s design-based development of a prototype chatbot to guide students in learning biological concepts of genetic mutations and protein synthesis. This chatbot’s architecture provides learning activities, feedback, and support throughout a series of short, connected lessons. The chatbot is designed to scaffold learners through a predict, observe, explain model of inquiry learning. It utilizes real-world phenomena to lead students through biology core ideas, science and engineering practices, and crosscutting concepts. Results of prototype testing include survey results in support of the proof of concept among both students and teachers, as well as accuracy measurements of chatbot …

Diverse Assessments That Encourage Creativity Among Gifted Students, Sowmya Anjur

Faculty Publications & Research

No abstract provided.

Using Markup Languages For Accessible Scientific, Technical, And Scholarly Document Creation, Jason J.G. White

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

In using software to write a scientific, technical, or other scholarly document, authors have essentially two options. They can either write it in a ‘what you see is what you get’ (WYSIWYG) editor such as a word processor, or write it in a text editor using a markup language such as HTML, LaTeX, Markdown, or AsciiDoc.

This paper gives an overview of the latter approach, focusing on both the non-visual accessibility of the writing process, and that of the documents produced. Currently popular markup languages and established tools associated with them are introduced. Support for mathematical notation is considered. In …

Assessing The Academic Impact Of Two Adaptive Learning Technology Math Programs Using Hattie’S Visible Learning Theory, Charles C. Swan

All Theses And Dissertations

This quantitative study examined the academic impact of two adaptive learning technology math programs (Espark and iXL) alongside the social validity of teachers in a rural western Maine school district who used the program in their classrooms. Using Hattie’s Visible Learning Theory (2008) as the theoretical framework, the study tested two different hypotheses. The first hypothesis stated that both Espark and iXL would have an effect size of .40 or greater when the pre and post tests were compared. The study used the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) assessment for its pre and post assessment because it is a nationally normed …

University Student Perceptions Of Math In Relation To Personality, Upbringing, And Online Learning And The Impact Of Those Perceptions On Career Choices, Elizabeth G. Davison

Selected Honors Theses

Students all over the world are developing negative perceptions of the subject of mathematics and shying away from careers in the field of math as a result. The purpose of this study was to determine how various factors, such as students’ personalities, upbringings, and experiences with online learning, affected their perceptions of math and resulting career choices. A survey asking participants about these factors in relation to their perceptions of math was sent out through email to Southeastern University (SEU) undergraduate students and math professors. The survey received 200 responses with 194 of them being Southeastern University undergraduate students and …

Child Science Identity Interview Guide And Protocol, Heidi Cian, Remy Dou

Department of Teaching and Learning

While many data collection tools exist to elicit how individuals think about prototypical STEM persons (e.g., the Draw-a-Scientist assessment), such tools fail to capture the nuance of how individuals think about STEM and STEM personhood and how those perceptions change according to context and “in real life”. We designed the Child Science Identity Interview Guide and Protocol to learn about how youth see everyday experiences as “STEM” (or a particular subfield) and think of themselves and those in their social orbits as STEM persons.

Implementing Tactile Learning To Aid Students Understanding Of The Bohr Model, Christin B. Monroe, Andrew B. Stein, Cindy Tolman

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

It is essential for introductory level chemistry students to understand atomic models and how atoms interact to form chemical bonds. The tactile model in this article utilizes marbles to represent subatomic particles, a cup to represent the nucleus and wooden rings to simulate the electron orbitals. These inexpensive items can be combined to construct models in which students can build foundational knowledge of atomic structure and how subatomic particles interact. Students were asked to provide feedback comparing the use of this tactile model to atomic computer simulations, videos and their textbook regarding the method they felt was most useful to …

Investigating The Teaching And Assessment Experiences Of Maine Secondary Science Teachers During The Covid-19 Lockdown, Anupam Raj

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In March 2020, an unexpected event changed the educational systems throughout the world. In the United States, the COVID-19 pandemic caused public places to close down, including schools. To continue education, schools in Maine went online. This study describes how Maine secondary science teachers taught and assessed their students while teaching remotely for the first time during the lockdown. It does so by investigating teachers’ perspectives about the impact on their students, how they handled the issue of equity, their new priorities and expectations, their teaching and assessment challenges, and their successful strategies during the initial phase of the lockdown. …

Evaluating The Impact Of Intersecting Research And Outreach Marine Science Programs On Elementary And Undergraduate Students, Randi J. Sims

All Theses

Climate change is one of the most destructive forces our ocean is currently experiencing. Despite this, many students are not taught the basics of climate change science and ocean literacy in public school systems. My work seeks to combat these deficits through educational experiences in marine science for undergraduate and local elementary students through three studies incorporating marine-science based research and outreach. (1) Through undergraduate marine science research and outreach, students enrolled for long durations or with positive mentorship increased their conceptual understanding of marine science concepts, altered their attitudes towards climate change and science, and were more likely to …

Overview Of The Proceedings Of The 2021 Inclusion In Science, Learning A New Direction, Conference On Disability (Island), Cary Supalo, Jasodhara Bhattacharya, Daniel Steinberg

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

Measuring Creativity In The Fermi Problem, A Type Of Mathematical Modeling, Applying Information Theory, Hidemichi Okamoto

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Many methods of measuring creativity have been studied - mainly in psychology. In recent years, there have been attempts to incorporate such creativity into mathematical modelling, a topic handled in mathematics education. Accordingly, some studies have been trying to assess creativity in it. However, there have been no clear criteria or formulas that can be used for any problem, since a rubric has been created for each problem and evaluated individually. In the present study, to measure creativity in the Fermi problem, a type of mathematical modelling, a formula that applies information theory used in information science is proposed and …

High Quality, Equity, And Assessment: An Analysis Of Variables Impacting English Learner Standardized Science Test Performance And Implications For Construct Validity, Maria Del Carmen Salazar, Joanna K. Bruno, Melissa P. Schneider

Curriculum and Instruction: Faculty Scholarship

In the United States, assessment is seen as a lever that can facilitate high-quality education. This study on English learners, students whose native language is not English, was based on data from eighth-grade English learners’ performance on science general and content-specific (physical, life, and earth science) standardized exams and an English language proficiency exam. The researchers utilized regression analysis to examine factors (i.e., socioeconomic status, home language, English language proficiency, and receptive and productive elements of language) that are predictive of English learner performance in general and content-specific science standardized assessments to identify implications for construct validity of high-stakes science …

Discourse In Inquiry Science Classrooms, Diisc, Version 2.0 (User’S Manual For An Observation Research Instrument), Elizabeth B. Lewis, Dale R. Baker, Lyrica L. Lucas, Amy Tankersley, Elizabeth Hasseler, Ana Rivero, Brandon Helding

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

This is a user's manual for the externally validated Version 2.0 of the Discourse in Science Inquiry Classrooms (DiISC) instrument. The instrument is best suited for use in conducting research in secondary (grades 6-12) science classrooms that focuses on teachers' instructional practices, but can also be used as a professional development tool for teacher self-reflection and identifying goals for instructional change. The DiISC Version 2.0 is aligned with a model of a scientific classroom discourse community and articulated characteristics of social constructivist lessons in the categories of inquiry, oral and written discourse, and academic language development and essential learning principles.

Contributors

Early College Folio

Contributors, Early College Folio, Volume 1, Issue 2 (May 2022)

Table Of Contents

Early College Folio

Table of Contents, Early College Folio, Volume 1, Issue 2 (May 2022).

Review: Last Call On Decatur Street By Iris Martin Cohen, Nemesio Gil

Early College Folio

Book Review: Iris Martin Cohen’s Last Call on Decatur Street (Park Row, 2020), a novel set in pre-Katrina New Orleans. Cohen, who grew up in the French Quarter, is a Simon’s Rock alumna.

“Digital By Necessity”: An Interview With Dr. Jane Wanninger, Julia Carey Arendell, Jane Wanninger

Early College Folio

In the summer of 2020, Dr. Jane Wanninger participated in a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Summer Institute hosted by Agnes Scott College to learn about implementing digital storytelling in the classroom, which ironically, had to be completed digitally due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Her experience was the inspiration for this issue of Early College Folio as she pitched her ideas using the phrase “digital by necessity.” Issue Editor Julia Carey Arendell interviewed Jane, captured here, on all that she learned to think more deeply about using the virtual tool of digital storytelling as a teacher, a student, and …

On Your Marks, Handset, Go: An Illustrative Case Study Of A Professional Development Initiative About Mobile Learning, Nichole A. Scarlett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Technology is shaping our personal and professional lives every day, yet many educators struggle with its implementation and therefore are not using it to the fullest potential. The purpose of this single-case study was to analyze how a teacher’s participation in a Professional Development (PD) initiative influenced the implementation of mobile technology in teaching and learning mathematics. Using the Teaching for Robust Understanding (TRU) framework (Schoenfeld et al., 2016a) and the Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, Redefinition (SAMR) model (Puentedura, 2006) in this qualitative research, I employed a case study approach to understand the challenges faced by a teacher and ways of …

Increasing Active Learning And Achievement In A Large Lecture Calculus Class Through A Flipped Classroom Model, Kimberly King

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

University Calculus I courses serve as a means of access into high demand STEM fields and large lecture style passive calculus courses can be difficult for students. A mixed methods research design was used to compare a flipped instructional approach to a traditional lecture approach in large section Calculus I courses. The flipped lecture model required students to view videos of calculus instruction that included embedded quiz questions to allow for problem solving explorations during face-to-face class time. The traditional format included content from the video and limited time for additional problem solving. A professor with prior experience teaching Calculus …