Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Third Graders Explore Sound Concepts Through Online Research Compared To Making Musical Instruments, Kyrie D. Borsay, Page Foss

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

This study is an exploration of several lessons on sound taught to third grade students using one of the Next Generation Science Standards (3-5-ETS1) and arts integration. A counterbalanced, pretest- posttest- distal posttest design experiment was conducted to compare student knowledge and attitudes between the control and experimental conditions. Control activities included learning about either stringed or percussion instruments (whichever not addressed in the experimental condition) through online searches for information and writing a factual paragraph; experimental activities included creating a percussion or stringed instrument using classroom art materials purchased with an imaginary budget. One group experienced the experimental condition …

Shadow Puppet Plays In Elementary Science Methods Class Help Preservice Teachers Learn About Minority Scientists, Phyllis Gray, Audrey C. Rule, Anneliese Gentzsch, Denise Tallakson

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

This practical article describes an arts-integrated project with engineering design and science concepts from the Next Generation Science Standards, art principles from the National Arts Standards, as well as ideas under the theme of “Culture” from the National Council for the Social Studies Standards. Preservice teachers in an undergraduate science methods class researched the background, life, and accomplishments of a minority scientist by reading books and articles about the person. They created a script to present the experiences and contributions of the scientist to other preservice teachers and, eventually, elementary students. Shadow puppets were constructed out of cardboard to portray …

Preschoolers Explore Greenhouses By Visiting A Greenhouse, Making A Model, And Growing Plants, Leann M. Perkins, Dessy Stoycheva

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

This practical lesson on greenhouses implements standards of the Next Generation Science Standards (K-2 ETS I-2; K-LS1-1) and the preschool objectives from the Teaching Strategies GOLD. Teaching Strategies GOLD is an assessment tool available online and in print that can be used with any developmentally appropriate early childhood curriculum. The lesson structure follows the 5E’s Learning Cycle Constructivist Model for teaching and the project-based, hands-on approach to learning. The preschool-aged children went on a field trip to a working greenhouse and then collaborated in groups to produce a three-dimensional model of a greenhouse as arts integration into this science project. …

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 …

Editorial: Welcome To The Journal Of Stem Arts, Crafts, And Constructions, Audrey C. Rule

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

The Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions is a scholarly journal that seeks to engage professionals, including preK-12 teachers, in a conversation about the benefits of arts integration; the ways that the STEM subjects can be integrated with the arts to produce effective teaching (STEAM Education); and how the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), can be effectively implemented with integrated arts, crafts, or constructions. Manuscripts, including guest editorials, are blind peer-reviewed by usually two reviewers and an associate editor or by three reviewers. This editorial explains the Journal’s origin in a faculty professional learning community. The Journal has a …

A Framework For Problem-Based Learning: Teaching Mathematics With A Relational Problem-Based Pedagogy, Carmel Schettino

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

One recommendation for encouraging young women and other underrepresented students in their mathematical studies is to find instructional methods, such as problem-based learning (PBL), that allow them to feel included in the learning process. Using a more relationally centered pedagogy along with more inclusive instructional methods may be a way to foster an interest in studying mathematics in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. However, many mathematics teachers are at a loss in not only how to instruct with PBL methods but also how to create the environment that encourages optimal learning.

The Challenge: Magazine For The Center For Gifted Studies (No. 40, Fall 2016), Center For Gifted Studies, Tracy Inman Editor

Gifted Studies Publications

No abstract provided.

Family-Friendly Science: Increasing Family Engagement In Stem Education, Alison Bixler

Honors Projects

Family engagement is vital to a child’s success in his or her academic career. Current research has focused more specifically on the relationship between parent engagement in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education and a student’s success in his or her STEM education. This paper is a summary of present research pertaining to this topic, as well as a summary of the results of a field-based study the author and faculty mentors completed to learn more about methods for engaging families in STEM education, particularly in the area of science. Present research indicates that a successful method for engaging …

Experiential Learning Opportunities Through Nasa Stem Content Allows Greater Grass Root-Level Understanding Of The Present Day’S Extreme Climate Change Scenario, Nazrul I. Khandaker, Stanley Schleifer, Matthew Khargie

Publications and Research

The NASA MAA (MUREP Aerospace Academy) project at York College has demonstrated a track record of providing experiential learning opportunities (ELO) to its participating students. ELOs associated with MAA are designed to increase learners’ involvement, knowledge, comprehension and application of learning in one or more STEM subjects/disciplines. They involve inquiry-and-activity-based learning approaches designed for the level of the learner to inspire, engage, and educate while progressively challenging each student. ELO activities enable learners to acquire knowledge, understand what they have learned, and apply that knowledge through inquiry-based tasks. Specifically, we are prepared to address the following priority: Encourage, increase, and …

Cultural Competence Of Nurse Practitioners: Providing Care For Gay And Lesbian Clients, Paul S. Smith

Faculty Presentations

This plenary presentation given by Dr. Paul Smith was part of a panel on LGBTQ health in nursing. Smith identifies and explains the relationship between self-reported beliefs and behaviors of nurse practitioners toward gay and lesbian clients and reported nursing education related to cultural competence. He also identifies strategies to incorporate LGBT health into nursing curricula.

An Examination Of How One University Is Preparing Elementary And Middle Level Education Majors For Common Core Mathematics, Michelle Elizabeth Schwartze

Theses and Dissertations

In 2010 the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for mathematics and English Language Arts were introduced into K – 12 classrooms (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2015b). The standards for mathematics focus on having students demonstrate and explain understanding more than the standards have in the past (Burns, 2013). McCallum (2011) divides the eight Standards for Mathematical Practice into four main themes: reasoning and explaining, modeling and using tools, seeing structure and generalizing, and overarching habits of mind of a productive mathematical thinker. These four themes encompass what a mathematics classroom should look like when utilizing the CCSS for mathematics. …

Discussion In Middle And High School Earth Science Classrooms And Its Impact On Students' Abilities To Construct Evidence-Based Arguments In Their Written Work, Rachel Martin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Middle and high school teachers who participate in the Maine Physical Sciences Partnership (MainePSP) noted persistent problems in their classrooms, including low levels of student engagement and gaps in how students use evidence. To address these problems, this study was designed in collaboration with MainePSP teachers in a design-based implementation research process as teachers aimed to better connect classroom discussion and written argumentation. Though scientific writing makes use of argumentation to support ideas, it is often the sharing of ideas that makes an argument stronger.

Two teachers collected data from their seventh and ninth grade Earth Science classrooms at schools …

High-Altitude Ballooning In 3rd Grade, Emily L. Mathews, Brianna Marszalek, Bernhard Beck-Winchatz

2017 Academic High Altitude Conference

In this poster presentation we report on a high altitude balloon project conducted with third-graders from Gower West Elementary School in Willowbrook, IL in spring 2016. In the weeks before the launch students used a vacuum jar to investigate the effects of pressure changes on different objects, substances and sounds in the classroom and conducted pressure, temperature and wind measurements inside and outside of their school using Vernier probeware. To learn how to use the balloon tracking equipment and how to fill a balloon and prepare it for launch, students simulated a flight with a tethered balloon outside of their …

The Stem Teacher Enrichment Academy : Evaluating Teachers’ Approaches To Implementing Stem Education In Secondary School Contexts, Judy Anderson

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Amidst calls for a greater focus on STEM education in schools, attention is inevitably drawn to the quality of teaching and to appropriate means of supporting the teaching workforce so that more young people are engaged and interested in STEM subjects. This presentation describes the development and implementation of a STEM Teacher Enrichment Academy at the University of Sydney, and presents some of the outcomes from teachers’ efforts to implement STEM education across a variety of school systems. The findings draw on survey and interview data from two cohorts of participant teachers and their STEM mentors as they progressed through …

Creating Art Patterns With Math And Code, Boyan Kostadinov

Publications and Research

The goal of this talk is to showcase some visualization projects that we developed for a 3-day Code in R summer program, designed to inspire the creative side of our STEM students by engaging them with computational projects that we developed with the purpose of mixing calculus level math and code to create complex geometric patterns. One of the goals of this program was to attract more minority and female students into applied math and computer science majors.

The projects are designed to be implemented using the high-level, open-source and free computational environment R, a popular software in industry for …

Effects Of Soil Erosion Barriers On Percent Cover And Sediment Size, Michael Perez

STAR Program Research Presentations

Ranching began on Santa Rosa Island in the 1840’s, introducing nonnative megafauna that put selective grazing pressures on endemic species. Dense groves of island oak (Q. tomentella) are aid in sediment deposition and retention. A current restoration effort, involved installing soil erosion barriers, known as wattles, to prevent sediment from being lost upslope and recruit plant growth whose root systems could further stabilize the slope. This experiment was designed to compare percent cover of vegetation growth in areas with and without soil erosion barriers. This was done using the line intercept method (n=42) on three meter transects, measuring …

A Quantitative Analysis Of Whether Elementary Teachers’ Science Kit Usage And Beliefs Can Predict State Science Assessment Scores, Tony E. Rice

Dissertations

The purpose of this survey was to describe and analyze the perceptions of elementary school teachers’ in a Midwestern state concerning their use of a science kit program, including to what extent a school’s state science assessment scores can be predicated from the level of science kit usage.

Prior research indicates that elementary school teachers lack the confidence in teaching science primarily because of their weak undergraduate training in inquiry-based instruction and the lack of a strong science background. Authors such as Dickerson et al. (2006) and Riggs and Enochs (2006) argued that science kits and the materials included in …

Technological Literacy Programs In Elementary School, Natalie Soroka Emery

OTS Master's Level Projects & Papers

Technology and engineering design education is offered as an elective in most secondary school curriculums, however a primary school curriculum is not common. The Standards for Technological Literacy (ITEEA, 2007), which focus on technological literacy and engineering design, are not typically included in primary education.

The objectives of this study are to determine if teachers and administrators think technology and engineering education provide new opportunities for elementary students, how they feel about technology and engineering education, and what obstacles exist for successful implementation. A literature review provided the background on federal, state, and local technology initiatives that exist for Virginia …

A Statistically Significant Determination From Pretest To Posttest In Knowledge Of Electrophoresis Concepts, Parker Megehee Nelson

Dissertations

The statistical significance from pretest to posttest of 109 high students constructing an electrophoresis chamber or not was explored. The students tested were from six intact biology classrooms. Three classes were treatment groups and three were control groups. The three biology teachers each taught a control and treatment group classroom. Except for building the electrophoresis chamber, students in both groups received identical instruction and testing. Pre- and posttest data was examined by means of a content valid test constructed by the researcher and biology teachers. In order to examine the statistical significance from pretest to posttest in knowledge of electrophoresis …

Using Ibl In A History Of Mathematics Course: A Skeptic’S Success, Michael E. Matthews, Angela M. Hodge

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

A college professor, who is highly skeptical of change, but sensing a need for teaching in a more inspiring and engaging way, implements an inquiry-based learning (IBL) approach to teaching the history of mathematics. The first author (Matthews) worked with an experienced IBL colleague mentor (Hodge) on the course. Some student data was collected to document the effects of the class on the students. The approach taken for the course is described in detail including how the students of the course learned about and used IBL in key peer-to-peer teaching about historical mathematics (with a primary focus on the mathemat- …

Attitudes Toward Statistics Studies Among Students With Learning Disabilities, Orly Lipka, Itay Hess

Numeracy

This study aims to examine the effectiveness of a support course to change attitudes toward statistics studies of post-secondary students who were diagnosed with learning disabilities (LD) and/or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The participants were 22 students in a support course that was provided over a single academic term on a weekly basis. The design of the study was according to 'Pre-Post' comparison. The effects on attitudes toward statistics were examined quantitatively and qualitatively to provide a comprehensive methodology for the research purposes. Results suggest that the weekly support course model that was taught simultaneously to the on-line course …

Oil Spills, Dominique Kiki Carey, Corrine Losch, Rebecca Howard, Erica Light, Stephanie Purington

Case Study Lesson Plans for Teachers

While the global market is still highly dependent on oil and fossil fuels, society must be aware of the dangers and repercussions of mishandling of this oil. Oil spills are too often forgotten about after the original media rush, and conversations about cleanup methods are neglected. In this case study, we have students to look into the ramifications of an important oil spill, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. We challenge students to look into possible cleanup solutions for oil spills in order to encourage critical thought around an issue that is common in today’s world.

In this case …

Ocean Acidification, Dominique Kiki Carey, Corrine Losch, Rebecca Howard, Erica Light, Stephanie Purington

Case Study Lesson Plans for Teachers

It is hard to imagine that, as humans, we could significantly change the vast expanses of the open ocean. However, as we release more and more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, it diffuses into the oceans, making them increasingly more acidic. Ocean acidification is often described as the lesser known twin of climate change. A drop in pH could endanger shelled organisms, change fish behavior and have unpredictable consequences on countless other species as well as our own society. Ocean acidification has the potential to cause devastating changes, so it is critical that we all develop more awareness of it. …

Sustainability, Dominique Kiki Carey, Corrine Losch, Rebecca Howard, Erica Light, Stephanie Purington

Case Study Lesson Plans for Teachers

In the face of climate change, overflowing landfills, water shortages, and exploitation of natural resources, it is becoming increasingly important to act in responsible and sustainable ways. Environmental sustainability is the intersection of social, economic and environmental solutions to address issues threatening the world we live in. Too often in our society, sustainability is not prioritized and becomes an afterthought. In this case study, we challenge students to explore ways to make our world more sustainable, bringing these important issues into the consciousness of the next generation.

In this case study, students can choose the topic they wish to study …

Antibiotic Resistance, Dominique Kiki Carey, Corrine Losch, Rebecca Howard, Erica Light, Stephanie Purington

Case Study Lesson Plans for Teachers

Many people think that a world without antibiotics is a thing of the past, but we are on the cusp of becoming a generation without cures to the simplest bacterial infections. The more often we expose bacteria to antibiotics, the higher the chance of resistance to the drug forming. In today’s society, where any health issue is met with a drug and livestock are being pumped full of antibiotics, more infections are growing resistant to the drugs we use to combat them. Students will investigate the current situation, find solutions to the waning effectiveness of antibiotics, and encourage a behavioral …

The Impact Of Response To Intervention In A High School Mathematics Setting, Lauren Dominick

EDL Sixth Year Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the impact of response to intervention (RTI) in a high school mathematics setting. A major concern in the literature related to the fact that majority of RTI research focused on students at the elementary level and in reading. Therefore in this study RTI was implemented in a high school mathematics classroom and the effects were analyzed. This study is focused on a sample of ninth and tenth grade students from two classes and taught by one teacher in the same high school in an action research setting. Quantitative and qualitative methods of …

Is The Flipped Classroom Pedagogy Effective For All Students?, Stephanie Quarato

EDL Sixth Year Theses

In my experience as a mathematics teacher, I have learned that mathematics is a subject that is commonly paired with negative feelings. Many individuals lack confidence in their ability to perform mathematics. As a mathematics teacher, I am always looking for different ways to reach the needs of all of my students. The flipped classroom was one initiative that I implemented into my classroom to understand the benefits of learning in this unique way. In a flipped lesson, the students learn the lesson from a textbook or video as the homework, while the practice is completed in the classroom. The …

The Explorations Program: Benefits Of Single-Session, Research- Focused Classes For Students And Postdoctoral Instructors, Jeremy L. Hsu, Anna M. Wrona, Sarah E. Brownell, Waheeda Khalfan

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

We present an update to Explorations, a program at Stanford University that allows undergraduates in an introductory biology course to explore specialized topics in the biological sciences while providing graduate students and postdoctoral scholars the unique opportunity to develop and teach single-session, research-focused classes. We provide an assessment of eight iterations of the program, using program attendance, student and instructor evaluations, senior exit surveys, course grades, and completion of undergraduate honors theses to assess the impact of our program on students and instructors. Students rated their experiences highly, and most reported that the program had a positive impact on their …

Extending Wid To Train Mechanical Engineering Gtas To Evaluate Student Writing, Nancy Barr

Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics Publications

Beyond first-year composition, the typical undergraduate mechanical engineering curriculum provides few opportunities to develop writing skills without a concerted effort by faculty to incorporate writing into their courses. One underutilized path for BSME students to strengthen those skills is the required sequence of laboratory courses, where students write several lab reports, evaluated by graduate teaching assistants (GTAs), many of whom speak English as a second language. Historically, engineering GTAs have not been trained in evaluating student writing in a way that helps students improve their technical communication skills, a method known as formative assessment. Formative assessment can be a key …

Teaching Science Teachers In An Online Context With A Constructivist Approach, Frederick W. Freking, Jenny D. Ingber

Occasional Paper Series

The authors discuss the development of an online STEM-based teacher education program, providing a template for the inclusion of constructivist practices, such as course activities and student teaching.