Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Integrating Technology Into Science Field Investigations, Sarah Nuss

VIMS Articles

One of the most valuable results of environmental education is the clear association between understanding of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) concepts after participation in outdoor programs, as outlined in the National Science Foundation’s Environmental Science and Engineering for the 21st Century report (NSF, 2000). One component of STEM is technology. Technology can assist in “problem solving, consensus building, information management, communication, and critical and creative thinking”, the main goals and missions of environmental education as stated by the NSF report. These tools allow students to participate in science as a scientist would. By using appropriate technology, and developing …

Technology-Rich Activities: One Type Does Not Motivate All, Jason A. Chen, Jon R. Star, Chris Dede, M. Shane Tutwiler

School of Education Articles

We report on data collected at three time points during a four-day intervention designed to explore the value added of technology-rich activities within an inquiry mathematics curriculum. Two of the activities were computer-based, whereas the third involved a professionally created movie. Using latent profile analysis we explored (a) the profiles of experiences (indicated by self-reports of immersion, interest, usefulness, and relatedness of the technology activity) that students in Grades 5–8 (n = 7774) reported regarding their participation in one of three different activities; (b) the motivational and achievement outcomes in mathematics that were evident by being a member of one …

Watershed Activity Set, Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve In Virginia

Reports

Grade level: 2-5

Subject Area: Life Science

This lesson plan contains 3 activities which can be used together or separately. The first activity demonstrates the overall concept of a watershed by having students build a simple model, the second connects watersheds with habitats and pollution - asking students to design their own watershed. The third module examines more closely human activities and their impacts on watersheds using an Enviroscape(TM) model.