Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Teaching Strategies For Increasing Computational Fluency In Middle School Students, Alejandra Rios Blakeslee

All Graduate Projects

In light of the new Washington State K-12 Mathematics Learning Standards, it has become a priority to help struggling students close the gap in academic achievement. Therefore, in an effort to remediate the lack of computation and rigor currently being taught in middle school mathematics using an investigational approach curriculum a complimentary curriculum has been evaluated, compiled, and aligned to supplement the curriculum. The purpose of this project is to compile a set of Groundworks mini-lessons, a series of tiered lessons that targets specific mathematical skills, to be used with correlating parts of the CMP2 curriculum with the aim of …

Expanding The Horizons Of Educational Pair Programming: A Methodological Review Of Pair Programming In Computer Science Education Research, Keith B. Rimington

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Educators and researchers continue to explore the benefits, real or imagined, of implementing pair programming as part of the computer science pedagogy. Current reviews of computer science educational research practices do not focus on educational pair programming. This thesis presents a review of the research methods used in recent educational pair programming research. The primary purpose of this review is to inform the ongoing dialogue about and to provide evidence-based recommendations for improving educational pair programming research.

Replicating the design of a previous computer science education methodological review, this study inspected a sample of 108 articles from a population of …

The Effects Of An Inquiry-Based Earth Science Course On The Spatial Thinking Of Pre-Service Elementary Teacher Education Students, Kevin Douglas Weakley

Dissertations

This study examined the effectiveness of two geography courses at improving student spatial thinking skills. Spatial thinking is an important cognitive skill in the sciences and everyday life. A taxonomy of spatial thinking was constructed by Gersmehl (2008) in geography education which included core modes assessed in this study: comparison, region, transition, analogy, pattern, and association. Two additional modes related to space over time, change and movement, were also assessed. The central research question in this study is: What are the effects of a pre-service teacher education earth science content course (Geography 1900) that is conceptually designed and inquirybased on …

Attitudes And Perceptions Of High School Mathematics Teachers Regarding Students' Cognitive-Metacognitive Skills, Peter A. Babich

Ed.D. Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to identify the attitudes and perceptions held by select teachers in a Midwest high school regarding teaching strategies related to students solving mathematics problems from a cognitive-metacognitive approach. The case study utilized a questionnaire regarding instructional practices and teacher beliefs and opinions as well as semi-structured interviews. Teachers commented on definitions and beliefs regarding thinking about thinking, thinking mathematically, and conceptual and procedural understanding. Furthermore, teachers discussed teaching strategies utilized to teach thinking about thinking in mathematics, effects of school-wide metacognitive training efforts, and usage of student reflection activities. The specificity and sophistication of …

Assessing The Impact Of A Computer-Based College Algebra Course, Ningjun Ye

Dissertations

USM piloted the Math Zone in Spring 2007, a computer-based program in teaching MAT 101and MAT 099 in order to improve student performance. This research determined the effect of the re-design of MAT 101 on student achievements in comparison to a traditional approach to the same course. Meanwhile, the study investigated possible effects of the Math Zone program on students’ attitude toward studying mathematics.

This study shows that there was no statistically significant difference on MAT101 final exam scores between the Math Zone students and the Classroom students in Fall 2007, Spring 2008 and Fall 2008. At the same time, …

Cooperative Learning: Attitudes, Perceptions, And Achievement In A Traditional, Online, And Hybrid Instructional Setting, Allison Hardin Duckworth

Dissertations

Cooperative learning has been sufficiently studied to be accepted as an effective method of education. Student reception of cooperative learning, and therefore the degree of its success in a given situation, will depend on the mode of delivery. New technology for delivering courses totally online challenges many aspects of traditional education, and is particularly difficult for cooperative learning that relies heavily on intense face-to-face communication among students. This study was conducted to compare cooperative learning in a traditional setting to that in hybrid and online settings. A model for delivering a cooperative learning experience has been developed utilizing concept maps …

The Natural Provenance: Ecoliteracy In Higher Education In Mississippi, Sarah Elizabeth Wheeless

Dissertations

Researchers have suggested that there is an increasing apathy in the study of natural history both in academic settings and in the scientific community (Schmidly, 2005). Natural history is the cornerstone of ecological literacy. However, most studies of environmental knowledge do not directly address knowledge of local natural history. Instead, they concern knowledge of human environmental issues, environmental concepts, or broad ecological knowledge. Ecoliteracy established the study of natural history as fundamental to environmental knowledge and seeks to determine levels of knowledge of local environments and factors associated with that knowledge (Pilgrim et al., 2007).

This study investigated ecoliteracy in …

Professional Development In College Science Teaching, Aimee Kathryn Thomas

Dissertations

Graduate students earning a doctorate in the sciences historically focus their work on research and not professional development in college science teaching. However, for those who go on to a career in academia, a majority of their time will be dedicated to teaching. During the past few years, graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) have been prepared to teach by attending a daylong workshop that included logistical information, but left pedagogy largely unexplored. Since that time, a seminar has been added to provide an introduction to pedagogical theory and practices and to provide practice teaching in the biological sciences laboratory course. Yet, …

The Effect Of Individual Or Group Guidelines On The Calibration Accuracy Of High School Biology Students, Camilla C. Walck

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

The effect of individual or group guidelines on the calibration accuracy of high school biology students was investigated. The study was conducted with 102 International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program biology students in a public school setting. The study was carried out over three testing occasions. Students worked in group or individual settings with and without calibration guidelines. Four intact classes were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: groups calibrating without guidelines; groups calibrating with guidelines; individuals calibrating without guidelines; individuals calibrating with guidelines. The students participated in the calibration activities one block before they actually took each of the …

Urban Elementary Students' Views Of Environmental Scientists, Environmental Caretakers And Environmentally Responsible Behaviors, Patricia Lynne Horne

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to determine the nature of the relationship between urban elementary fifth graders, environmental workers, and the environment. The study examined 320 urban fifth grade elementary students' drawings of environmental scientists (DAEST) and environmental caretakers (DAECT). Additionally, semi-structured interviews were included to elucidate student illustrations. The study's sample represented one-third of all fifth graders in the mid-Atlantic school district selected for this research. Approximately 5% of participants were chosen for follow-up semi-structured interviews based on their illustrations.

A general conclusion is some of the stereotypes, particularly related to gender, revealed in prior research (Barman, 1999, …

Assessing The Effect Of Simulation Models On Systems Learning In An Introductory Environmental Science Course, Heather J. Skaza

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

While there is plenty of anecdotal evidence within the systems dynamics community supporting the use of systems simulations in the classroom to improve student understanding, there is little published, controlled, experimental research. This paper describes the results of a paired experiment testing the effect of using system dynamics simulations to increase systems understanding in an introductory environmental science course. We believed that the students using the systems simulations would demonstrate a greater systemic understanding of environmental issues than those who did not.

We conducted an experiment during the fall semester of 2009, with 304 students enrolled in four sections of …

Contextualized Motivation Theory (Cmt): Intellectual Passion, Mathematical Need, Social Responsibility, And Personal Agency In Learning Mathematics, Janelle Marie Hart

Theses and Dissertations

Student motivation has long been a concern of mathematics educators. Here, I characterize motivation, defined as an individual's desire to act in particular ways, through analysis of students' extended, collaborative problem solving efforts. Grounded in a longitudinal research project in calculus learning and teaching, Contextualized Motivation Theory (CMT) offers a means for understanding the complexities of student motivations in mathematics learning. Students in this study chose to act upon various intellectual-mathematical motivations and social-personal motivations, existing simultaneously, within a supporting "web" of motivations. Students exhibited intellectual passion in persisting beyond obtaining correct answers to build understandings of mathematical ideas. CMT …

Elementary Electronic Kits & Interactive Web Database, Anne Racquel Bacani

Computer Engineering

The Elementary Electronic Kit and Interactive Web Database (E-Kit) project will focus on bridging the gap between Cal Poly students and local elementary schools to raise interests in engineering. Its main purpose is to expose local elementary school students to basic engineering concepts through simple interactive engineering experiments and lessons. The initial idea and proposal for this project was introduced by John Oliver, senior project advisor, whose main goal is to provide a service that would allow local elementary school teachers to bring in Cal Poly student volunteers to teach basic engineering lessons to their class. Lessons will focus on …

Developing Fourth Graders' Proficiency In Basic Multiplication Facts Through Strategy Instruction, Stacey Braddock

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this action research study was to evaluate my own practice of teaching basic multiplication facts to fourth graders. I wanted to see how focusing my instruction on strategies would help my students develop proficiency in basic multiplication facts. I chose this topic because Florida was in the process of shifting to new standards that encourage teaching for deeper meaning. I hoped this research would give my students the opportunity to make sense of multiplication on a deeper level, while giving me insight into how students learn multiplication. Through this study, I learned that students initially find multiplication …

Clean Water In The Classroom : Understanding The Importance Of Water Quality , Emily Curry

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

This study’s objective was to answer three research questions related to students’ knowledge and attitudes about water quality and availability issues. It is important to understand what knowledge students have about environmental problems such as these, because today’s students will become the problem solvers of the future. If environmental problems, such as those related to water quality, are ever going to be solved, students must be environmentally literate.

Several methods of data collection were used. Surveys were given to both Bolivian and Jackson High School students in order to comparison their initial knowledge and attitudes about water quality issues. To …

Teaching And Aligning Upper Level Mathematics Classes To Michigan High School Content Expectations In An Alternative Education Setting : Approaches And Issues, Sarah Van Baale

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

After teaching regular education secondary mathematics for seven years, I accepted a position in an alternative education high school. Over the next four years, the State of Michigan adopted new graduation requirements phasing in a mandate for all students to complete Geometry and Algebra 2 courses. Since many of my students were already struggling in Algebra 1, getting them through Geometry and Algebra 2 seemed like a daunting task. To better instruct my students, I wanted to know how other teachers in similar situations were addressing the new High School Content Expectations (HSCEs) in upper level mathematics. This study examines …

The Implementation Of Interactive Science Notebooks And The Effect It Has On Students Writing, Eva Braxton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not my practice of implementing Interactive Science Notebooks (ISN) impacts 4th grade students writing in science. Through this action research, students' writing was analyzed to determine whether the use of ISN affected students' use of details, support claims and justifications in their written responses. Also through the use of the Interactive Science Notebook, students' use of science vocabulary in their writing was also analyzed. Finally, students' reflective writing practices were examined in order to determine how students understood and explored physical science. A triangulation of data gathered consisted of the …

The Relationship Between Core-Plus Mathematics Project And Student Achievement, Karen Renee Treadway-Harvel

Wayne State University Dissertations

The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) study revealed that test scores from high school students were below average in mathematics and science. Studies show that part of it stem from the traditional methods of teaching rather than the standards-based teaching. According to the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act, students should receive a rigorous and relevant curriculum. The High School Content Expectations (HSCE) is a set of objectives that meet this criteria but the current curriculum still uses traditionally-based curriculum. More than 80% of textbooks located in schools today are traditionally-based. Moreover, teachers who are teaching have been …

The Relationship Between Timed Drill Practice And The Increase Of Automaticity Of Basic Multiplication Facts For Regular Education Sixth Graders, Nelly P. Knowles

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

By the time students transition from elementary to middle school, many do not demonstrate mastery of recalling basic math facts. This 8-week quasi-experimental quantitative study, based in cognitive development and theories of the construction of memory, used a 3-level independent variable experimental design to determine if there was a relationship between teachers' implementation of timed drill practices and the students' level of automaticity with regard to basic multiplication facts in 9 sixth-grade, regular education math classes. The control group received no intervention, the first treatment group received weekly timed drill practice for 3 minutes, and a second treatment group received …

A Comparison Of Student Learning Using Two Teaching Methods: Case Study And Direct Instruction, Laura Elaine Elmer

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of using case studies as an instructional method.

Bebop To Hiphop: Music Creation For Science Content Retention, Christopher Claud Markermorse

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this project is to develop a way of combining Visual and Performing Arts instructional standards and methods, instructional technology, and science instruction to maximize science content retention through song creation.

Can Use Of Technology In A Science Classroom Help Improve Reading Comprehension?, Michael Lawrence Carlin

Theses Digitization Project

This study will show that by using technology to spark an interest in science curriculum and providing subsequent reading material related to that curriculum, educators will notice an improvement in their students' reading comprehension skills. Two classes from a high school in the Phoenix school district of comparable reading comprehension abilities were given two inquiry-based lesson plans to execute.

Investigating Instructors' Conceptions Of Evolution Through The Development Of The Classroom Test Of Evolutionary Reasoning, Patricia Eileen Palko

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In order to assess the evolutionary understanding of high school biology teachers, an instrument entitled the Classroom Test of Evolutionary Reasoning (CTER) was developed. Content, response process, relations to another variable (the Conceptual Inventory of Natural Selection, or CINS), and internal structure evidence were compiled. The second version of the CTER was found to have adequate reliability and validity estimates to allow it to continue to be used as a measurement tool for an understanding of evolution. When assessing a sample of teachers (n = 724), the mean score was 6.35 out of a possible 13 points. The sample was …

Use Of Cognitive Constructs In Linear Algebra, Azucena Zamora

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Thesis analyzed the presence of two cognitive entities-- modes of thinking and metonymies and metaphors- in the reasoning of three students enrolled in a first year matrix algebra course at a southwest university via the responses given to a set of eight questions asked during one-on-one interviews. The findings of our analysis shed light on the cognitive constructs that students employ to form their understanding of linear algebra concepts. Furthermore, our findings provide clues about the ways in which students move from one mode of thinking to another in the context of varying levels of exposure to graphical, algebraic, and …

Using Prediction And Classroom Voting Via Clickers To Address Secondary School Students' Overreliance On The Representativeness Heuristic, Tami Kay Dashley

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Students often have misconceptions in their probabilistic reasoning--one such misconception is the overuse of the representativeness heuristic, in which one determines that one event is more likely than another event based on how representative the event is of some aspect of its parent population. A research study was conducted to address high school students' overuse of the representativeness heuristic using three groups: (i) a prediction-and-voting group in which students were taught a lesson on probability with the use of prediction and classroom voting teaching methods, (ii) a prediction-only group where students were taught the lesson using only prediction, and (iii) …

A Case Study On The Integration Of Internet Technology With Mathematics And Science Content For Teachers, Pilar Gonzalez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study analyzed electronic discourse in an online mathematics/science education graduate course. The intention was: a) to identify the teacher's attitudes towards using internet resources, b) to motivate teachers to integrate the use of technology and c) to study how in-service and pre-service teachers find, access, and use technology resources.

The main activities in the class were for teachers to read chapters from textbooks, post personal reflections on the chapter, search and critically assess the companion websites and read classmates' reflections. Teachers also completed Thematic Units consisting of several technology-enhanced mathematical and science integrated lesson plans.

The teachers' success was …

Imaginative Science Education: Exploring The Wonders Of Water, Emily R. Fletcher

Graduate Student Independent Studies

The imagination is central to all learning. This paper provides science educators with a better understanding of imagination's role in learning and how it may be routinely engaged in the education of budding scientists. Both theoretical and practical dimensions are addressed. Part one defines the imagination, provides an overview of Kieran Egan's (1997) theory of lmaginative Education, introduces Egan's framework for developing lessons using Imaginative Education, and provides an argument for imaginative science education. Part two provides an example of science curriculum that shows practical application of lmaginative Education in a museum science camp setting. The curriculum explores the scientific …

Assimilative Domain Proficiency And Performance In Chemistry Coursework, Scott William Byrnes

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The assimilation and synthesis of knowledge is essential for students to be successful in chemistry, yet not all students synthesize knowledge as intended. The study used the Learning Preference Checklist to classify students into one of three learning modalities -- visual, auditory, or kinesthetic (VAK). It also used the Kolb Learning Style Inventory (KLSI), which utilizes four learning domains - Converging, Accommodating, Diverging, and Assimilating - to explain the students' maturation process by showing shift from any domain towards the Assimilating domain. A shift approaching this domain was considered as improvement in the assimilation and synthesis of knowledge. This pre-experimental …

The Effect Of Cooperative Groups On Math Anxiety, Melissa Batton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research indicates that many students have difficulty with mathematics, which can be attributed to many factors including math anxiety. Students who experience math anxiety have poor attitudes towards mathematics and perform below grade level based on class and statewide assessments. The purpose of this quasi-experimental quantitative study was to investigate the effectiveness of cooperative groups on the math anxiety levels of Grade 5 male and female students. The theoretical foundation of the study included Vygotsky's social learning and Piaget's concept of knowledge. Thirty-two students from 2 Grade 5 classrooms were administered the pre and post MASC inventory. A repeated-measure ANOVA …

Student Understanding Of Scale And Structure In Astronomy: What Classroom Strategies Are Effective?, Peter Charles A'Hearn

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this project was to investigate what strategies are used by classroom teachers to teach 8th grade students about scale in astronomy and whether instruction is effective or not.