Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Food And Health: Promoting The Importance Of Maintaining A Healthy Diet To Minimize Disease In Individuals At Greatest Risk, Nadjia Edwards

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

Diets high in calories, saturated fats, sodium, and added sugars can lead to adverse health events such as; heart disease, diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, stroke, osteoporosis, and certain cancers. Maintaining a healthy diet can help decrease this potential, but those experiencing food insecurity remain at risk as they may have challenges accessing and affording healthier items. Quality may be sacrificed for quantity leading to the purchasing of food that increases these health risks. Initiatives have been developed to address these obstacles, but aren’t widely utilized. This underuse can be due to a lack of emphasis on the importance of …

The Social Construction Of Life: Critical Thinking About Biology In Society, Peter J. Taylor

Working Papers on Science in a Changing World

This book aims to expand the boundaries of the influences that readers consider when interpreting the practices and products of the life sciences ("biology") and their impact on society. The chapter topics include: Interpreting Ideas of Nature; The structure of origin stories; Multiple layers in influencing an audience: The case of Darwin's On the Origin of Species; Metaphors of coordination and development; What causes a disease?—the consequences of hereditarianism in the case of pellagra; How changeable are IQ test scores?; Social negotiations around genetic screening; Intersecting processes involving genes and environment.

Each chapter consists of 5 parts:

1. Introduce simple …

Assessment Of Impacts Of The Biomedical Careers Program – Just-A-Start Corporation Of Cambridge, Ma, Brandynn Holgate, Françoise Carré, Michael Mccormack, Wendel Mirbel

Center for Social Policy Publications

In 2015, Just-a-Start Corporation (JAS) of Cambridge, MA asked the UMass Boston Center for Social Policy to conduct an assessment of the impacts of the Biomedical Careers Program on the region and state, examining individual impacts for graduates as well as the economic contributions of program graduates to the biomedical industry.

The Biomedical Careers Program (hereafter “BioMed”) is described by JAS as an eight month program designed to enable local residents to complete “a Certificate in Biomedical Sciences to prepare them for entry level jobs at local biotechnology companies, universities, research institutions, clinical laboratories and hospitals. The program includes a …

Analysis Of English Language Learner Performance On The Biology Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System: The Impact Of English Proficiency, First Language Characteristics, And Late-Entry Ell Status, Mary A. Mitchell

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This study analyzed English language learner (ELL) performance on the June 2012 Biology MCAS, namely on item attributes of domain, cognitive skill, and linguistic complexity. It examined the impact of English proficiency, Latinate first language, first language orthography, and late-entry ELL status. The results indicated that English proficiency was a strong predictor of performance and that ELLs at higher levels of English proficiency overwhelmingly passed. The results further indicated that English proficiency introduced a construct-irrelevant variance on the Biology MCAS and raised validity issues for using this assessment at lower levels of English proficiency. This study also found that ELLs …

Cosmic (Center Of Science And Mathematics In Context), Roxane Johnson De Lear

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The Center of Science and Mathematics in Context (COSMIC) is a joint venture of the College of Education and Human Development and the College of Science and Mathematics at UMass Boston. This presentation highlighted their STEM initiatives for English Language Learners (ELLs), engineering learning in urban elementary schools, and professional development for teachers of Advanced Placement courses.

Upward Bound Math-Science At Umass Boston, Upward Bound, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Lawrence High School

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

We seek to increase the number of low-income and first-generation college students majoring in mathematics and the sciences at the undergraduate level. We motivate students to achieve at their highest potential by facilitating exploration and discovery in an active learning environment drawing on values embedded in the complementary philosophies of UMass Boston and the Noble and Greenough School.

Wipro Science Education Fellowship Teacher Leadership Program, Center Of Science And Math In Context, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The WIPRO Science Education Fellowship (SEF) is a 2 year science teacher-leadership program funded by the Wipro Ltd. Wipro committed $5.1million to COSMIC, over seven-years, to train three (3) cohorts of 180 school teachers, fostering leadership and teaching excellence in science education among K-12 teachers from Greater Boston, Northern New Jersey and Greater New York. Through engagement and collaboration with teams of teachers from different districts, teachers reflect on their own practice and that of their peers through the use of video; they identify opportunities for themselves to take a leadership role within the district, in their building or with …

Adopting Evidence-Based Practices In Elementary School Math: The Collaborative For Improvement Of Problem Solving (Cips), Scott Methe, Meghan R. Silva, Kristin Iodice, Carrie Fortunato, Sheila Desai

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Two key activities in building and sustaining a change-based model are (a) enhancing buy-in for the change and (b) evaluating capacity to evaluate the change before, during, and after adoption. Unfortunately, the construct of buy-in is frequently used but poorly defined. Furthermore, adopting precise methods to evaluate implementation of evidence-based practices is challenging for schools. Partnerships with universities have been shown to help schools better understand the complexity of sustained change (Shernoff et al., 2011). This poster discusses methods used by the UMass-Boston and Burlington Public Schools Collaborative for the Improvement of Problem Solving (CIPS) to enhance the use of …

This Is Your Brain On Civically-Engaged Chemistry, Hannah Sevian

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

This Freshman Seminar course for Chemistry majors is designed to introduce students to the college experience as well as to foster an interest in chemistry. The science of learning chemistry is the integrating theme. In Fall 2013, Professor Sevian customized the curriculum by linking her undergraduates with students at the Dever-McCormack School. Undergraduates apply basic chemistry concepts they learn in class to content-focused outreach activities in K-8 science classrooms. This course is part of the Civic Engagement Scholars Initiative (CESI), a three-semester UMass Boston program designed to support faculty with integrating community engagement into undergraduate courses.

Chelsea Achieves In Mathematics: University Of Massachusetts Institute For Community Inclusion, Chelsea Public Schools And Capic Head Start Funded By The Board Of Higher Education Improving Teacher Quality, Institute For Community Inclusion, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Partners: Chelsea Achieves in Mathematics (CAM) is a partnership between the University of Massachusetts Boston (UMB) and Chelsea Public Schools, Early Learning Center (ELC) and Capic Head Start (CHS). CAM will provide 15 hours of professional development on mathematics to early educators for PDP/CEU each year.

Principal Objectives: CAM will increase early educators’ content knowledge in mathematics and application of pedagogy into practice. CAM will integrate the Building Blocks Mathematics (BBM) into the Opening the World of Learning (OWL) Curriculum framework. The merging of two scientifically based research curriculum will improve teachers’ effectiveness and student outcomes in mathematics, language, and …

Cosee Ocean Inquiry Group Report: Opportunities For Creating Lifelong Ocean Science Literacy, Paul Boyle, Vince Breslin, Lisa Craig Brisson, John Fraser, Alan J. Friedman, Katie Gardner, Sarah Schoedinger, Jerry Schubel, Steve Uzzo, Steven Yalowitz

School for the Environment Publications

This Inquiry Group Report for the Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence Ocean Communities in Education And Social Networks (COSEE OCEAN) provides a fresh look at how broader ocean science literacy can be developed, especially through less-recognized channels such as opportunistic learning, the private and “third” sectors, and the enormously varied activities under the heading of informal science education. The 10 authors of this report (see Contributors section) have been working together for two years to find and review a range of issues and resources for current and potential ocean science literacy providers, both professional and volunteer.

Several chapters provide …

The Association Between Elementary Teacher Licensure Test Scores And Student Growth In Mathematics: An Analysis Of Massachusetts Mtel And Mcas Tests, Life Legeros

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This quasi-experimental value-added study provided evidence for the predictive validity of the Massachusetts MTEL General Curriculum Mathematics Subtest by finding an association between the licensure test results of 130 teachers and the growth of their 2640 grade 4 and 5 students. The study took advantage of a natural experiment that arose due to a policy change made by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (MADESE) in response to the initial administration of a new highly rigorous math-specific licensure subtest for elementary and special education teachers in March, 2008. The emergency amendment allowed test takers to conditionally pass the …

Umass Boston Anthropology Outreach, Claire L. Gold

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The program serves as a science enrichment program for the Boston area K-12 public schools where science teachers are provided with fossil casts of early human ancestors and the expertise of UMass Boston faculty. The program helps students further their understanding of biological evolution and the program was free to13 prequalified Boston area schools.

How Do We Know There Is A Population-Environment Problem?, Peter J. Taylor

Working Papers on Science in a Changing World

Five fictional friends of the author have agreed to meet and talk, hoping that he was right when he claimed that discussion crossing the usual boundaries of their fields would enrich their different inquiries and concerns. Ecolo, a natural and human ecologist, breaks the ice. He wants to marshall scientific knowledge to persuade others of the seriousness of the population problem. He is questioned by Philoso, whose philosophical bent leads her to observe the models that people use and to ask how they support the claims they make. In turn, the other three join in: Activo, an activist who is …

Latino Students' Academic Literacy In Science Education: Contextualizing Policies, Raimundo Mora

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article reviews various interpretations of academic literacy that are being applied to science education, their limitations in terms of Latino students, and the case study experiences of three Latino students majoring in science. The author examines the ways in which factors he has identified in his experiences and research as crucial can be integrated to improve academic literacy programs. He recommends to planners of science programs methods to effect advancement in Latinos' academic performance.

"Who Is A Scientist?": Effects Of An Intervention To Change Students' Ideas About Science And Scientists, Lauren A. Foley

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

Advocates for improving science literacy have focused much attention on the negative impressions about science and scientists held by many Americans. The image of scientists as 'nerdy' bespectacled men in laboratories has been related by some researchers to people's lack of interest in pursuing science. This thesis analyzes one component of a program aimed at changing that stereotype. The Science-By-Mail (tm) program at the Museum of Science in Boston was designed to give students a more inclusive image of scientists. Central to the program was the creation of pen-pal relationships between students in grades 4-9 with scientists who did not …

Black Underrepresentation In Science And Technology, Robert C. Johnson

Trotter Review

The United States is experiencing a crisis in the training of scientific and technical personnel. A recent report from the National Science Foundation (NSF) indicates that the number of U.S. citizens earning science and engineering doctorates has decreased nearly 5% since 1980. The National Research Council's study of the adequacy of research support for the mathematical sciences in the United States reveals that not only has the production of Ph.D.s in mathematics declined since 1969-70, but the percentage of U.S. citizens receiving those degrees fell during the last decade from 78% of all mathematics Ph.D.s to only 61% of all …