Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

An Exploration Into How Physical Activity Data-Recording Devices Could Be Used In Computer-Supported Data Investigations, Victor R. Lee, Maneksha Dumont

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

There is a great potential opportunity to use portable physical activity monitoring devices as data collection tools for educational purposes. Using one such device, we designed and implemented a weeklong workshop with high school students to test the utility of such technology. During that intervention, students performed data investigations of physical activity that culminated in the design and implementation of their own studies. In this paper, we explore some of the mathematical thinking that took place through a series of vignettes of a pair of students engaged in analyzing some of their own activity data. A personal connection to the …

A Case Study Of The Mathematical Learning Of Two Teachers Acquiring Mathematical Knowledge For Teaching, David R. Hartman

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study offers an analysis of the learning of practicing teachers as they acquire a deeper knowledge of mathematics. While some professional developers have shifted part of their focus to helping practicing teachers acquire a deeper knowledge of mathematics (e.g., Stein & Silver, 1996), the results from studies often describe what translates from the professional development experience into classroom practice and measureable gains in student achievement (e.g., Desimone et al., 2002). Studies showing improvements in pedagogy and student learning are important. However, studying what teachers are learning and how they learn is important in developing understanding of the content and …

Teachers’ Knowledge About The Nature Of Mathematics: A Survey Of Secondary School Teachers In Karachi, Pakistan, Munira Amirali, Anjum Halai

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

This study presents the findings from a study which explored patterns in teachers’ knowledge about the nature of mathematics. A survey questionnaire was developed and distributed to 200 secondary school mathematics teachers teaching in public and private schools in Karachi, Pakistan. Exploratory factor analysis was performed which showed patterns in teachers’ view about the nature of mathematics. The analysis illustrates that teachers hold contradicting views about the nature of mathematics i.e. mathematics, both as discovered as well as invented body of knowledge. Moreover, teachers irrespective of their professional qualification, considered mathematical knowledge as ‘truth’, where mathematical rules can never be …

Inferring Impulsive-Analytic Disposition From Written Responses, Kien Lim, Miguel Mendoza

Kien H Lim

Impulsive disposition refers to one’s proclivity to spontaneously proceed with an action that comes to mind without checking its relevance. Analytic disposition refers to one’s proclivity to analyze a problem situation and establishes a goal to guide one’s actions. An instrument, called the likelihood-to-act survey, was developed to measure students’ impulsive-analytic disposition. In this study, we sought to test and refine this instrument by analyzing 92 participants’ written responses to open-ended questions that were adapted from items in the likelihood-to-act survey. We found relatively strong correlations between participants’ disposition scores for written responses and those from the likelihood-to-act survey.

Continuing Discussion Of Mathematical Habits Of Mind, Annie Selden, Kien H. Lim

Kien H Lim

The idea of “mathematical habits of mind” has been introduced to emphasize the need to help students think about mathematics “the way mathematicians do.” There seems to be considerable interest among mathematics educators and mathematicians in helping students develop mathematical habits of mind. The objectives of this working group are: (a) to continue the discussion of various views and aspects of mathematical habits of mind begun at PME-NA 31, (b) to explore avenues for research, (c) to encourage research collaborations, and (d) to interest doctoral students in this topic.

Continuing Discussion Of Mathematical Habits Of Mind, Annie Selden, Kien H. Lim

Kien H Lim

The idea of “mathematical habits of mind” has been introduced to emphasize the need to help students think about mathematics “the way mathematicians do.” There seems to be considerable interest among mathematics educators and mathematicians in helping students develop mathematical habits of mind. The objectives of this working group are: (a) to continue the discussion of various views and aspects of mathematical habits of mind begun at PME-NA 31, (b) to explore avenues for research, (c) to encourage research collaborations, and (d) to interest doctoral students in this topic. In the Proceedings of PME-NA 31, we provided an overview of …

The Role Of Prediction In The Teaching And Learning Of Mathematics, Kien Lim, Gabriela Buendía, Ok-Kyeong Kim, Francisco Cordero, Lisa Kasmer

Kien H Lim

The prevalence of prediction in grade-level expectations in mathematics curriculum standards signifies the importance of the role prediction plays in the teaching and learning of mathematics. In this article, we discuss benefits of using prediction in mathematics classrooms: (1) students’ prediction can reveal their conceptions, (2) prediction plays an important role in reasoning and (3) prediction fosters mathematical learning. To support research on prediction in the context of mathematics education, we present three perspectives on prediction: (1) prediction as a mental act highlights the cognitive aspect and the conceptual basis of one’s prediction, (2) prediction as a mathematical activity highlights …

Legitimate Peripheral Participation Of Secondary Educators In Scientific Research Experiences: Implications For Teachers' Understanding Of The Nature Of Science And Classroom Teaching, Matthew Phillip Perkins

Doctoral Dissertations

Both of the national reform efforts (AAAS, 1993; NRC, 1996) encouraged teachers to engage in professional development that included authentic scientific research experiences. The Department of Energy developed a program to match teachers with mentor scientists at national laboratories for three consecutive summers. Teachers produced and presented a poster summarizing their research at the conclusion of each summer.

The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to better understand how scientific research experiences impacted teachers. Six dimensions were examined: trajectory of participation, content knowledge development, mentor relationships, beliefs about the nature of science, teacher confidence, and classroom practice. These …

Project Stimmulis: Science Teachers Integrating Mathematical Modeling For Undergraduate Learning And Instruction In Schools, William H. Robertson, David Carrego

William H. Robertson

Computer-based mathematical modeling in Physics is a process of constructing models of concepts and the relationships between them in the scientific characteristics of work. In this manner, computer-based modeling integrates the interactions of natural phenomenon through the use of models, which provide structure for theories and a base for experimentation. Utilizing this method, scientists construct knowledge, and in like manner, students in science construct their understandings in significant ways, addressing their preconceptions and their knowledge of concepts in physics. Project STIMMULIS provides a mathematical modeling context for pre-service mathematics and science teachers’ conceptual and applied understanding of motion. Project STIMMULIS …

Dr. Skateboard’S Action Science: Increasing Science Knowledge And Skills For Middle School Teachers, William H. Robertson

William H. Robertson

Dr. Skateboard’s Action Science maps to the physical science Texas Essential Knowledge & Skills (TEKS) standards that all middle school students need to learn. Dr. Skateboard’s Action Science explores scientific concepts in a curriculum supplement that is designed to address both physical science content and process skills. The video instruction focuses on fundamental concepts found in the areas of motion, forces, Newton’s Laws of Motion, and simple machines. The use of familiar activities, situations and objects, such as skateboarding and bicycle motocross (BMX), around which students can explore and explain scientific concepts can be defined as action science. The main …

Addressing Impulsive Disposition: Using Non-Proportional Problems To Overcome Overgeneralization Of Proportionality, Kien Lim, Osvaldo Morera

Kien H Lim

Impulsive disposition is an undesirable way of thinking where one spontaneously applies the first idea that comes to mind without checking its relevance. In this research, we explore (a) the possibility of helping pre-service teachers improve their disposition, from being impulsive to being analytic, in one semester, and (b) the effect of using non-proportional situations. This study involves two sections of a mathematics course for pre-service teachers for Grades 4-8. The lessons were designed whenever possible to elicit students’ impulsive disposition so that they could become cognizant of it and make conscious attempts to overcome it. Some test items were …

Re-Imagining Specialized Stem Academies: Igniting And Nurturing ‘Decidedly Different Minds,’ By Design, Stephanie Pace Marshall

Publications & Research

This article offers a personal vision and conceptual design for reimagining specialized science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) academies designed to nurture decidedly different STEM minds and ignite a new generation of global STEM talent, innovation, and entrepreneurial leadership. This design enables students to engage actively in the authentic work, modes of inquiry, and practices that distinguish four STEM learning cultures, environments, and communities: (a) Inquiry and Research Laboratory and Interdisciplinary Learning Center—develops disciplinary, interdisciplinary, and inquiry-based thinking; (b) Innovation Incubator and Design Studio—ignites innovative and design-based thinking; (c) Global Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship Institute—nurtures change leadership and systems-based thinking; …

Grades 9-10 Algebra: Graphic Quadratics On The Coordinate Plane, Michelle Darcy

Math

This lesson is part of a total unit of graphing quadratics. Each project is tiered and allows the students to see the many different places in which math is present in the world and outside the math classroom. This is part of the Algebra curriculum. Through this lessons students will be able to graph quadratics.

Grades 9-12 Earth Science, Katie Whittaker

Science

New York state standards emphasizes the importance of connecting past and present events to possible future events. This lesson plan focuses on the geologic past as it is presented in the New York state referenced tables for Earth Science. The lesson plan features a clip from "you tube" as a hook, a RAFT assignment that embraces theories by Bloom and Gardner, a post card activity to test understanding, and a closure activity where students will predict future events based on patterns from the geological past.

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 …

High School Teachers' Perspectives On Effective Approaches For Teaching Biology To Students With Special Needs, Agnieszka Kos

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The demands of national educational reforms require high school biology teachers to provide high quality instruction to students with and without special needs. The reforms, however, do not provide teachers with adequate teaching strategies to meet the needs of all students in the same context. The purpose of this grounded theory study was to understand high school biology teachers' perspectives, practices, and challenges in relation to teaching students with special needs. This approach was used to develop a substantive model for high school biology teachers who are challenged with teaching students with and without special needs. Data were collected via …