Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Facilitating Changes In College Teaching Practices: Instructional Reform, Identity Conflict And Professional Community In A K-20 Partnership, Stacy Olitsky

Stacy Olitsky

In this paper, I explain variation in the adoption of student-centred teaching practices among college faculty members in a program designed to promote K-20 instructional reform. I analyze data from a qualitative study of a Math and Science Partnership in order to understand why some faculty members had undergone extensive changes to their practices whereas others had not, even though both groups had demonstrated changes in their beliefs. Findings show that when collective identities focused on reform become more salient than the role identities associated with their teaching positions, faculty members are able to persist through the loss of self-efficacy …

Suburban Leaders Who Have Made A Difference: Jose Torres, José M. Torres

José M. Torres

This week we are featuring Dr. Jose Torres, the president of Aurora-based Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy. Torres was superintendent of Elgin Area School District U-46 from 2008 to 2014 and has served in various leadership roles, including regional superintendent/area instruction officer in Chicago Public Schools, and as the only superintendent on the Federal Equity and Excellence Commission of the United States Department of Education. Torres was one of three educators nationwide to receive the 2014 Dr. Effie H. Jones Humanitarian Award from the AASA, the school superintendents association.

Cartooning In Algebra And Calculus, Lauren Jeneva Moseley Ph.D.

Lauren Jeneva Moseley

This article discusses how teachers can create cartoons for undergraduate math classes, such as college algebra and basic calculus. The practice of cartooning for teaching can be helpful for communication with students and for students’ conceptual understanding.

Engaging Youth In Lifelong Outdoor Adventure Activities Through A Nontraditional Public School Physical Education Program, Keri Schwab, Daniel L. Dustin

Keri Schwab

Engaging Youth in Lifelong Outdoor Adventure Activities through a Nontraditional Public School Physical Education Program

Who Is Participating In Geoscience Teacher Education Workshops, Why Are They Doing It, And What Are They Learning?, Scott A. Nowicki

Scott A Nowicki

Presented here are evaluation results from the geoscience teacher education workshop: Invigorating High School and Middle School Earth Science Through Inquiry and Student Research (2010) and Climate Change Science: Content and Inquiry Methods for Secondary Teachers (2011). This program was conducted by PI Dr. Larry Rudd at Nevada State College and Co-I Dr. Steve Rowland at UNLV under the state-funded Nevada Collaborative Teacher Improvement Program (NeCoTIP). During five years of summer workshops (2007-2011) over 70 middle and high-school in-service teachers in the Clark County School System participated in a combination classroom and field-based professional development program focused on local geologic …

The Impact Of Analyzing Correct Versus Incorrect Student Work Samples On Students’ Mathematical Proficiency, Lauren Jeneva Moseley

Lauren Jeneva Moseley

The purpose of this study is to determine if any gains in mathematical understanding differ if calculus learners analyze correct or incorrect student work samples and to investigate students’ perceptions of the effect of analyzing student work samples on their understanding of mathematical concepts. Calculus students will be assigned to two groups: one group analyzing correct student work samples and one group analyzing incorrect student work samples. What difference, if any, exists between groups in determining correct solutions to problems similar to the work samples analyzed? What difference, if any, exists between groups in whether they replicate errors similar to …

Logo Programming (Part 1) - A Creative And Fun Way To Learn Mathematics And Problem-Solving, Abhay B. Joshi, Sandesh R. Gaikwad

Abhay B Joshi

Programming means tapping into the computerʹs immense power by talking with it directly. Through programming, children use the computerʹs terrific power to draw graphics, design animation, solve mathematical or word puzzles, and even build robots. This idea was first proposed in the famous book ʺMindstormsʺ by Seymour Papert and has subsequently been appreciated and praised by educators and parents all over the world.

Through programming, students discover that the computer is a powerful and flexible tool. Using interesting ideas embedded in programming environments, students solve problems in their favorite subjects, and also develop interest in ʺdifficultʺ subjects like Math and …

Logo Programming (Part 2) - A Creative And Fun Way To Learn Mathematics And Problem-Solving, Abhay B. Joshi, Sandesh R. Gaikwad

Abhay B Joshi

Programming means tapping into the computerʹs immense power by talking with it directly. Through programming, children use the computerʹs terrific power to draw graphics, design animation, solve mathematical or word puzzles, and even build robots. This idea was first proposed in the famous book ʺMindstormsʺ by Seymour Papert and has subsequently been appreciated and praised by educators and parents all over the world.

Through programming, students discover that the computer is a powerful and flexible tool. Using interesting ideas embedded in programming environments, students solve problems in their favorite subjects, and also develop interest in ʺdifficultʺ subjects like Math and …

The Effect Of Timing Of Teaching Relevant Mathematics, Prof Franca Offiah, Naomi Naomi Samuel

Prof Franca Offiah

This study is on the influence of a prior knowledge of mathematics principles on achievement in chemistry. The researcher investigated whether or not students’ achievement in chemistry could be improved by teaching them selected mathematical principles before teaching chemistry or teaching them selected mathematical principles simultaneously with chemistry. The study was carried out in Anambra State Nigeria. The design is quasi-experimental involving 300 secondary 2 students from six secondary schools distributed into three groups. Group one was taught mathematics before chemistry, group two, was taught mathematics simultaneously with chemistry, while group three received no special mathematics lesson. The groups were …

Approximate Solution Of Fractional Integro-Differential Equations By Taylor Expansion Method, Li Huang

Li Huang

In this paper, Taylor expansion approach is presented for solving (approximately) a class of inear fractional integro-differential equations including those of Fredholm and of Volterra types. By means of themth-order Taylor expansion of the unknown function at an arbitrary point, the linear fractional integro-differential equation can be converted approximately to a system of equations for the unknown function itself and its m derivatives under initial conditions. This method gives a simple and closed form solution for a linear fractional integro-differential equation. In addition, illustrative examples are presented to demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed method.

Approximate Solution Of Abel Integral Equation, Li Huang

Li Huang

This paper presents a new, stable, approximate inversion of Abel integral equation. By using the Taylor expansion of the unknown function, Abel equation is approximately transformed to a system of linear equations for the unknown function together with its derivatives. A desired solution can be determined by solving the resulting system according to Cramer’s rule. This method gives a simple and closed form of approximate Abel inversion, which can be performed by symbolic computation. The nth-order approximation is exact for a polynomial of degree up to n. Abel integral equation is approximately expressed in terms of integrals of input data; …

A New Abel Inversion By Means Of The Integrals Of An Input Function With Noise, Li Huang

Li Huang

Abel’s integral equations arise inmany areas of natural science and engineering, particularly in plasma diagnostics. This paper proposes a new and effective approximation of the inversion of Abel transform. This algorithm can be simply implemented by symbolic computation, and moreover an nth-order approximation reduces to the exact solution when it is a polynomial in r2 of degree less than or equal to n. Approximate Abel inversion is expressed in terms of integrals of input measurement data; so the suggested approach is stable for experimental data with random noise. An error analysis of the approximation of Abel inversion is given. Finally, …

Corpus Data And The Teaching And Learning Of Science In English In Malaysian Primary And Secondary Schools, Arshad Abd Samad

Arshad Abd Samad

The post independence Malaysian school system has gone through several curricular revisions not only in terms of content and subject matter but also in the medium of instruction used. In 1980, the national language, Malay, was adopted as the medium of instruction in schools in place of the English language. After more than twenty years of instruction in the national language, the medium of instruction for Science based subjects at the first year of primary and secondary schools in Malaysia has recently reverted to the English language. This has largely been due to increasing concern over perceived falling standards of …