Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Placing Value On Environmental Literacy: A Case Study Of Biology Faculty Experiences, Ilene Sigrid Eberly

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this case study was to explore how contingent biology instructors place value on environmental literacy in their instruction and the instructional strategies used to foster their student's environmental literacy. This study also investigated the contextual experiences of contingent instructors influencing the value they place on environmental literacy. Participants included 11 faculty teaching introductory biology courses from two public universities in the Northeast. Our analysis focused on triangulation of participants semi-structured interviews, instructor-generated artifacts, and field notes from classroom observations, interviews, and artifacts. Findings revealed contingent biology instructors understand the importance of placing value on environmental literacy in …

On The Socialization Of Transfer Physics Majors Enrolled Within Upper-Division Physics Courses At Transfer Receiving Institutions: Qualitative Research, Patrick Lee Chestnut

Theses and Dissertations

A host of individual and institutional sociocultural factors mediate transfer physics students' socialization experiences at 4-year transfer receiving institutions. The purpose of this study is to understand how sociocultural factors mediate transfer physics students' socialization while participating in upper-division physics coursework at a 4-year public transfer-receiving university. This study, rooted in sociocultural constructivism, aimed to shape discussion of seven transfer physics students, six regular admit physics students, and a physics course instructor's experiences connected to physics studies that emerged from qualitative data. These data included student and faculty surveys, interviews, and classroom observations. Several key findings emerged. First, a multitude …

Framework For The Natures Of Negativity In Introductory Physics, Suzanne White Brahmia, Alexis Olsho, Trevor Smith, Andrew Boudreaux

Faculty Scholarship for the College of Science & Mathematics

Mathematical reasoning skills are a desired outcome of many introductory physics courses, particularly calculus-based physics courses. Novices can struggle to understand the many roles signed numbers play in physics contexts, and recent evidence shows that unresolved struggle can carry over to subsequent physics courses. Positive and negative quantities are ubiquitous in physics, and the sign carries important and varied meanings. The mathematics education research literature documents the cognitive challenge of conceptualizing negative numbers as mathematical objects—both for experts, historically, and for novices as they learn. We contribute to the small but growing body of research in physics contexts that examines …

First-Year Students: Investigating The Impact Of Participating In A Mathematics Learning Community, Lindsay Barrie

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate how participating in a mathematics learning community can impact a first-year students’ experience in college. The total population in the Math Learning Community (MLC) was 40, 36 of these members participated in a survey and five volunteered to participate in an interview. The survey collected demographic information and responses to statements regarding the students’ transition to college, their connectedness to Rowan, their peer interaction, faculty interaction, and their overall satisfaction at Rowan. The interview questions asked about their most and least satisfying aspects of participating in the MLC and what recommendations they …

Strategies For Teaching Developmental Mathematics Students At The College Level, Natalie Lynn Kautz

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this investigation was to identify strategies used by effective instructors of developmental mathematics, and to discover the perceptions developmental mathematics students have about these strategies. While there are research projects focusing solely on developmental mathematics achievement, this study fills a need by incorporating views of teaching effectiveness from multiple viewpoints.

In this research project, college-level instructors of developmental mathematics students were recorded on video before, during, and after the teaching of an algebraic concept. Students were given a pre-lesson survey and post-lesson survey to see if there were gains in their learning. Students completed a survey about …

Occasional Papers: On Teaching The Sciences, Janice Rowan Poley

Hollybush Series

Volume 2 of The Hollybush Series contains six essays by Glassboro State College faculty on teaching mathematics, computer science, and physics.

The editor is Janice Rowan Poley and the authors of the six essays are Janet Caldwell, Seth Bergmann, Ronald Czochor, A. Michael Berman, Karen Magee-Sauer, and Gary Itzkowitz.