Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Methodology And/Or Technology: Making Difference In Improving Students' Problem Solving Skills, Zdeslav Hrepic, Katherine Lodder, Kimberly Shaw

Interdisciplinary STEM Teaching & Learning Conference (2012-2019)

Wirelessly networked, in-class computing opens a wide array of possibilities for active instructional methodologies (Hrepic, Rebello, & Zollman, 2009). Earlier studies showed a substantial potential that the pen input computers combined with interactive software like DyKnow (www.dyknow.com) may have in facilitating students’ problem solving ability. The session has two goals. The first one is to demonstrate the instructor-student classroom interaction dynamics enabled or facilitated by DyKnow software and pen-input computers. The second one is to present selected research findings associated with student learning while using this technology. The most recent of our studies was to isolate the effect of the …

A Medley Of Successful Active-Learning Methods, Sarah Formica

Interdisciplinary STEM Teaching & Learning Conference (2012-2019)

This workshop will present a medley of active-learning methods that have been implemented successfully in physics courses. The participants will engage in methods that include Just-in-Time Teaching, clicker questions, whiteboard activities, and virtual experiments. The workshop goal is to show how these active-learning methods can be applied in a STEM classroom to increase students’ conceptual understanding and problem solving skills.

Building Transformative Leaders In Stem Education, Julia Metzker, Karynne Kleine, Laurie Huffman

Interdisciplinary STEM Teaching & Learning Conference (2012-2019)

Representatives from Georgia College will use their experiences as members of the Innovative Course-building Group, a structured collaboration across departments and disciplines, to stimulate a discussion with attendees about building strong faculty leaders capable of making the important structural changes needed to address curriculum issues in the STEM fields. Our goal is that you will leave this roundtable with an action plan for engaging STEM faculty at your institution.

Undergraduate Students' Self-Reported Use Of Mathematics Textbooks, Aaron Weinberg, Emilie Wiesner, Bret Benesh, Timothy Boester

Mathematics Faculty Publications

Textbooks play an important role in undergraduate mathematics courses and have the potential to impact student learning. However, there have been few studies that describe students' textbook use in detail. In this study, 1156 undergraduate students in introductory mathematics classes were surveyed, and asked to describe how they used their textbook. The results indicate that students tend to use examples, instead of the expository text, to build their mathematical understanding, which instructors may view as problematic. This way of using the textbook may be the result of the textbook structure itself, as well as students' beliefs about reading and the …

Beginning Chemistry Teachers: A Longitudinal Study Of The Triplet Relationship, Krista Adams

DBER Speaker Series

No abstract provided.

Tackling Teaching: Understanding Commonalities Among Chemistry, Mathematics, And Physics Classroom Practices., Samuel Pazicni, Karen A. Marrongelle, Warren Christensen

Chemistry

Abstract:

Education research in chemistry, mathematics, and physics tends to focus on issues inherent to the discipline, most notably content. At this time, little literature evidence exists that documents fruitful collaborations between education specialists across the STEM disciplines. This work seeks to unite the disciplines by investigating a common task: teaching. This study explores how discipline-specific practices influence the common act of reformed teaching pedagogy with a focus on the use of inquiry. We seek to identify commonalities among classroom teaching practices in these disciplines and contribute to the development of analytical tools to study STEM teaching.

Concept Inventory Design For Determining Students’ Conceptual Understanding Of Oceanography, Leilani Arthurs

DBER Speaker Series

Concept inventories are relatively new types of diagnostic instruments intended to measure student learning. Concept inventories exist for astronomy, biology, chemistry, engineering, fluid mechanics, geology, and physics. None is yet available for oceanography, and development of the Introductory Oceanography Concept Inventory Survey (IO‐CIS) serves to fill this gap. A context‐driven development strategy was designed to create this instrument. Qualitative methods utilizing grounded theory and classical test theory were used to construct it. Quantitative methods, including statistical methods associated with classical test theory and item response theory, were used to evaluate and further refine the IO‐CIS. The instrument is valid and …

Student Usage Patterns And Perceptions For Differentiated Lab Exercises In An Undergraduate Programming Course, Heng Ngee Mok

Heng Ngee MOK

Differentiated instruction in the form of tiered take-home lab exercises was implemented for students of an undergraduate-level programming course. This paper attempts to uncover the perceptions and usage patterns of students toward these new lab exercises using a comprehensive survey. Findings reveal that these tiered exercises are generally very well received and preferred over their traditional "one size fits all" counter-parts. Although the study does not show that tiered exercises have improved proÞciency or scores, it does seem to indicate higher student engagement and motivation levels. Based on the survey results, a list of recommendations is put forth for the …

"Our Research Was Centered On Whether Or Not The Following Changes Made To The Pre-Calculus Algebra Class Positively Affected Student Performance…", Andrea Winchester

Summer Community of Scholars Posters (RCEU and HCR Combined Programs)

No abstract provided.

Attracting Black Male Students To Research Careers In Education: A Report From The Grad Prep Academy Project, Shaun R. Harper, Ph.D., Andrew C. Porter, Ph.D.

Shaun R. Harper, Ph.D.

This report is about the University of Pennsylvania’s Grad Prep Academy, a project that prepares Black undergraduate men for graduate study and research-related careers in the field of education. The project is also a longitudinal research study that enables us to analyze Black men’s trajectories from undergraduate study through graduate degree programs and eventually into their careers. Eighteen students participated in our first two cohorts of Academy Scholars. The project described in this report, as well as the recommendations we offer, can be instructive for other schools of education and a range of stakeholders who are concerned about the diversity …

Does Participation In The Smith Summer Research Fellows (Surf) Program Increase Your Odds Of Attaining An Advanced Degree?, Tanya Hakim, Nicholas J. Horton, Cate Rowen, Minh Ly

The Office of Institutional Research

No abstract provided.

Using Web-Based Key Character And Classification Instruction For Teaching Undergraduate Students Insect Identification, Douglas A. Golick, Tiffany M. Heng-Moss, Allen L. Steckelberg, David W. Brooks, Leon G. Higley, David Fowler

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

The purpose of the study was to determine whether undergraduate students receiving web-based instruction based on traditional, key character, or classification instruction differed in their performance of insect identification tasks. All groups showed a significant improvement in insect identifications on pre- and post-two-dimensional picture specimen quizzes. The study also determined student performance on insect identification tasks was not as good as for family-level identification as compared to broader insect orders and arthropod classification identification tasks. Finally, students erred significantly more by misidentification than misspelling specimen names on prepared specimen quizzes. Results of this study support that short web-based insect identification …

Learning Interdisciplinary Pedagogies, Alison J. Friedow, Erin E. Blankenship, Jennifer L. Green, Walter Stroup

Department of Statistics: Faculty Publications

Advocates of interdisciplinary teaching and learning in higher education suggest that interdisciplinary courses “promise a wide range of desirable educational outcomes for students” (Newell 1994: 35). These outcomes include enhanced affective and cognitive abilities, increased understanding of multiple perspectives, greater appreciation for ambiguity, and superior capacities for creative thinking, among others (35). Despite claims about the possibilities interdisciplinary learning offers, we have few examples of how faculty from different disciplines work together to create interdisciplinary classroom environments where such outcomes can occur. In short, more examples of how faculty from different disciplines actually develop, engage, and revise interdisciplinary pedagogies with …

Lib 3010 Spring 2012: Students Choose An Image To Represent Patent Searching, Jan Comfort

Jan Comfort