Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Investigating Preservice Secondary Teachers’ Understanding And Enactment Of The Standards‑Based Practices During Microteaching, Deepika Menon, Diana S. Chang, Rosetta W. Ngugi

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

Reform efforts in K–12 science education have been gaining pace ever since the introduction of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The new vision calls for reconsidering teacher preparation programs to prepare future teachers who are confident and competent in delivering NGSS-based instruction. This study investigated the development of 27 preservice secondary science and mathematics teachers’ (PSTs’) knowledge and skills as they understand, interpret, and implement the NGSS, particularly science and engineering practices (SEPs), within the context of microteaching during a STEM methods course. Primary data sources include 12 videos of 40-minute-long microteaching lessons, self-reflections, semistructured and focus-group interviews, and …

Multiple Case Study Of Science And Engineering Integration In Secondary School Across Six School Districts, Elizabeth Hasseler, Elizabeth B. Lewis

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

A multiple case study was conducted to investigate six districts’ approaches to integrating science and engineering curricula in their secondary education programs. Data collected included classroom observations, interviews with teachers and administrators, college transcripts, professional development, and curriculum, as well as how, and how district personnel supported, and teachers enacted classroom instruction to align with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Six districts were chosen due to their ranges in their size, urban or rural context, and demographics. There were 25 participants in the study who were either district personnel or secondary teachers. All school districts in the study incorporated …

Ngss-Based Constructivist Pedagogies: One Secondary Education Teacher’S Approach To Developing Student’S Science Identities, Massa Mafi

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

This practitioner action research study explored features of NGSS-based pedagogies to improve secondary education student engagement, critical thinking, and collaborative problem-solving. It examined ways that constructivist pedagogies might encourage students to understand science by putting their skills and knowledge into practice as young engineers. The study involved 51 secondary education students from a large district in the southwest and focused on how NGSS inquiry-based learning can improve scientific understanding and skills within group work, the role that teacher support and modeling can play in learning, and how peer interactions can influence their scientific identities. Qualitative findings from teacher observations, classwork …

Secondary Science Teachers’ Curricular Use Of Ngss Engineering Practices, Elizabeth Hasseler, Amy Tankersley, Ana M. Rivero, Lyrica L. Lucas, Elizabeth B. Lewis

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

We investigated how often teachers integrated engineering into science lessons to address Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) performance expectations using data from a multi-year study of secondary science teachers. Only 7.14% of middle school (MS) lessons contained engineering practices. Engineering was included in lessons for students to apply or support the learning of scientific content.

Presider: Amy Tankersley

Understanding Neglect Of Plant Biology Education In Michigan Middle Schools, Kim Smith

All NMU Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to identify historical trends of neglect in plant biology education, their continuation today in Michigan middle school classrooms, and to uncover reasons for this neglect. A content analysis of state and national science standards and an online survey of Michigan middle school life science teachers were conducted. Findings showed a trend of increasing references in national standards from animals or plants to general organisms, as well as a decrease in the overall number of specific references in the standards. The data also revealed that nearly half of the teachers surveyed spent less than ten …

Self-Efficacy And Stem Career Interest In Black And Latino Middle School Students: A Study On The Next Generation Science Standards, Whitney Mccormick

LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations

With only 11% of the current Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) workforce being Black and Latino men and women, there is a crisis of underrepresented individuals in STEM fields. The construction of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), and the mantra “all standards, all students,” represents an attempt to increase access to science for more students, and increase their self-efficacy about STEM subjects, as low self-efficacy is cited as one of the main causes of disinterest in STEM subjects. This study examined the relationship between students’ self-efficacy in STEM fields and their career interests, specifically in a population of …

Fifth Graders’ Creativity In Inventions With And Without Creative Articulation Instruction, Darcie K. Kress, Audrey C. Rule

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

Industry and authors of 21^st Century Skill Frameworks are calling for student proficiency in creativity, problem-solving, innovation, collaboration, and communication skills. This project involved 13 fifth grade gifted students in inventing products for a specified audience with a set of given materials, time limit, and topic constraints. The complex, challenging project supports Next Generation Science Engineering Process Standard 3-5-ETS1-2 and applies concepts of plant and animal adaptations. The study had a counterbalanced, repeated measures design in which student made an initial invention during the pretest, then participated in two trials with one in the control condition and the other …

Claim, Evidence, And Reasoning: Evaluation Of The Use Of Scientific Inquiry To Support Argumentative Writing In The Middle School Science Classroom, Gabriela Mastro

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

In light of the essential science and engineering practices identified by the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), this study focuses on the specific science and engineering practice, "engage in argument from evidence," and how classroom practices can serve to strengthen this skill (National Research Council, 2012, p. 71). The NGSS focus on inquiry necessitates students’ use of argument, particularly in writing, to communicate their knowledge and scientific findings and to develop an understanding of scientific practice. The purpose of this teacher action research study is to evaluate the influence of inquiry-based argumentative writing exercises, based on the Argument Driven Inquiry …

Teaching Kindergarten Students About The Water Cycle Through Arts And Invention, Latisha L. Smith, Deepanee Samarakoon

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

Research evidence for the benefits of arts integration is mounting. The purpose of this study was to determine if integration of the arts was an effective strategy for teaching the water cycle to kindergarten students. The study included lessons that supported both a science and an engineering standard of the Next Generation Science Standards and national arts standards. The phenomenological study examined the lived experiences of children as they learned and demonstrated understanding through drawings, watercolor paintings, dramatization of a water cycle poem, and the invention and testing of a waterproof boot. Participants were 12 kindergarten students (7 male, 5 …

Three- And Four-Year Olds Learn About Gears Through Arts Incorporation, Dessy Stoycheva, Leann M. Perkins

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

This research paper explores art integration into a science lesson unit that follows the Next Generation Science Standards (K-PS2-1) and focuses on the effects on memory retention of key concepts along with levels of enjoyment. An experiment was conducted with children ages 3 and 4 teaching scientific concepts about gears while incorporating student-made art products. The children were assigned to alternating experimental (art-integrated) or control (no art) conditions during the four stages of the lesson. The results did not show statistically significant differences at the alpha = 0.05 level between conditions in the amount of information retained based on the …

Designing An Earthquake-Proof Art Museum: An Arts-And Engineering-Integrated Science Lesson, Anastasia Carignan, Mahjabeen Hussain

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

In this practical arts-integrated science and engineering lesson, an inquiry-based approach was adopted to teach a class of fourth graders in a Midwest elementary school about the scientific concepts of plate tectonics and earthquakes. Lessons were prepared following the 5 E instructional model. Next Generation Science Standards (4-ESS3-2) and the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards for fourth grade (Visual Arts: Creating 1.14a, Visual Arts: Creating 2.1.4a, and Visual Arts: Creating 3.1.4a) were addressed challenging students to create an earthquake-resistant structure to support a clay sculpture in a model of an art gallery for an earthquake-prone area. First, content knowledge …

Figure - A Model Of Three-Dimensional Science Learning, Ana K. Houseal

Ana K Houseal

The intersection of the Scientific and Engineering Practices (SEPs), Crosscutting Concepts (CCCs), and Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs) creates a space where three-dimensional teaching and learning takes place. Understanding how to identify and implement this type of learning is key to moving forward during this transitional time, between the release of the NGSS and its adoption and implementation in K-12 systems. This explanatory model of the Framework for K-12 Science Education/NGSS demonstrates what each of the dimensions might look like in classrooms, initially in isolation, then as pairs, and finally, combined. Understanding these connections and matching them to current classroom examples …