Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Middle Grade Teachers’ Perceptions Of Their Chemistry Teaching Efficacy: Findings Of A One Year Long Professional Development Program, Issaou Gadp, Geeta Verma, Doris Simonis

Geeta Verma

A professional development (PD) program, Conceptual Chemistry for Middle School Teachers, was designed to facilitate teachers’ learning and teaching of basic chemistry concepts. This study explored (a) whether the PD increased teachers’ self-efficacy and teaching outcome expectancy and (b) how the PD program influenced teachers’ chemistry content knowledge and attitudes toward learning chemistry concepts. Thirty-six teachers (N = 36; 26 women, 10 men) who taught grades 5-9 were selected from a population of science teachers in north eastern Ohio. A mixed method approach was used in the study and qualitative and quantitative data were collected and analyzed simultaneously. The quantitative …

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 …

Using Inquiry-Based Teaching And Kids Inquiry Conferences To Strengthen Elementary Science Instruction And To Encourage More Students To Pursue Science Careers, Paula A. Magee, Ryan Flessner

Ryan Flessner

For the past 20 years, there has been a push to improve the teaching and learning of science in elementary schools. One strong reason for this was the release of the National Science Education Standards (NRC 1996). The Standards articulated not only what K-12 students should know (science content standards), but also how science teachers needed to teach (teaching standards) and be continuously supported (professional development standards). The Standards also considered ways to support inquiry-based and meaningful science learning for K-12 students (program and system standards). According to the NRC, one ot:·the four reasons underpinning all of this is because …

Five Strategies To Support All Teachers: Suggestions To Get Off The Slippery Slope Of "Cookbook" Science Teaching, Paula A. Magee, Ryan Flessner

Ryan Flessner

Many teachers shudder at the thought of implementing an inquiry curriculum. Perhaps they envision a rowdy classroom with little learning. Maybe they wonder, "How will this connect to all the standards?" Fortunately, these legitimate concerns can be addressed, and all students can engage in thoughtfully constructed inquiry science experiences. In this article, we outline five strategies that we have used with elementary school teachers as they moved from a "cookbook" approach in science to an approach that is inquiry-based. Having presented these five strategies in a linear format, we know that on the surface this may seem close to the …

Working Toward A Third Space In The Teaching Of Elementary Mathematics, Ryan Flessner

Ryan Flessner

Building on work in the area of third space theory, this study documents one teacher’s efforts to create third spaces in an elementary mathematics classroom. In an attempt to link the worlds of theory and practice, I examine how the work of other theorists and researchers – inside and outside the field of education – can create new lenses for classroom practitioners. In addition, the article provides evidence that third spaces may be more difficult to realize than others have described. Rather than forcing a third space to emerge, what this study finds more important is creating an environment that …

Collaborating To Improve Inquiry-Based Teaching In Elementary Science And Mathematics Methods Courses, Paula A. Magee, Ryan Flessner

Ryan Flessner

This study examines the effect of promoting inquiry-based teaching (IBT) through collaboration between a science methods course and mathematics methods course in an elementary teacher education program. During the collaboration, preservice elementary teacher (PST) candidates experienced 3 different types of inquiry as a way to foster increased understanding of inquiry based teaching (IBT). The experiences included a PST driven science inquiry and a mathematics inquiry where PSTs were learners and a science inquiry where PSTs were teachers. During and following the semester of the collaboration, data were collected to assess the impact of the inquiry experiences on the PSTs’ understanding …

Integrating Games To Teach A First Programming Course, Soumia Ichoua

Soumia Ichoua

In the past few years, there has been an increased interest in game-based learning as a powerful tool to stimulate students’ interest and promote their engagement in the learning process. In this paper, we discuss our experience in integrating gaming to teach a first programming course. The course is restructured and redesigned to allow teaching the basics of programming through games. Students actively use fundamental programming concepts learned to modify and create two dimension games using C# and XNA with .Net framework. This is an on-going work. Surveys and worksheets are developed to be used in assessing the effectiveness of …

Without The Light Of Evolution: A Case Study Of Resistance And Avoidance In Learning To Teach High School Biology, Douglas B. Larkin, Gail M. Perry-Ryder

Douglas B. Larkin

Examining The Influence Of Internships On Teacher Recruitment, Tim Howard, Deborah Gober, Kimberly Shaw, Cindy Ticknor

thoward@ColumbusState.edu

The Columbus Region Academy of Future Teachers of STEM (CRAFT-STEM) is a Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program awarded by the National Science Foundation to Columbus State University (grant 1136356). The program incorporates summer internships to recruit academically strong students into secondary STEM teaching programs and increase participation by underrepresented groups. We look at results from student surveys and course enrollments to examine the influence of the internship program on decisions about going into teaching.