Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Teaching Mathematics To All Learners By Tapping Into Indigenous Legends: A Pathway Towards Inclusive Education, Nahid Golafshani

Journal of Global Education and Research

This study explored the use of Indigenous storytelling in the planning and teaching of mathematical content. In collaboration with Indigenous and non-Indigenous educators, a culturally inclusive mathematical lesson was developed, implemented, and reviewed in an elementary school in Northern Ontario. This study used a culturally authentic approach to address the current educational issue of diversity within the Ontario curriculum and education system. The results of this study suggested that utilizing Indigenous storytelling for teaching mathematical curricular expectations could benefit both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. Storytelling can allow students to relate abstract mathematical concepts to their own lived experiences, to be …

Dual-Country Middle School Science Air Quality Curriculum Guide, Cassandra R. Sendra

Honors Capstones

The focus of this unit is to engage and enrich students’ perspectives on the human impact on Earth in different areas of the world. This unit will allow students to interact and learn about students in another country, learn about the air quality similarities and differences and what could affect the results of testing the air quality in two communities in different parts of the world. The goal of this unit is to have the students understand how humans impact the world around them and to compare their community to another community. The students will be accomplishing this goal utilizing …

The Perceived Impact Of Project-Based Learning (Pbl) On Middle School Students’ Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics (Stem) Identity And Engagement, Jonathan Olivera

Theses and Dissertations

Despite multiple calls to action, the United States educational system is not producing enough viable contributors in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). These fields continue to grow, and the STEM workforce continues to expand. However, the pool of citizens prepared to enter these professions is not keeping up with the demand. Part of this issue can be attributed to a diminishing interest in STEM by students, particularly during their identity forming adolescent years. Active learning strategies have proven successful in preventing this decline with project-based learning (PBL) being one of the most successful active learning strategies. …

Science Teachers' Perceptions Of Culturally Responsive Teaching In Majority Native American Schools In Oklahoma, Michelle Childress

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Native American students have consistently scored less than their white peers on high school academic achievement tests, have the lowest high school graduation rates, and have the lowest college enrollment rates. Research has evidenced challenges and struggles Native American children are faced with that negatively effects their success in the classroom. Native American students often encounter a disconnect between their home and school life resulting in difficulties of navigating two opposing worlds. When Native American students are associated with negative stereotype’s indicative of Native American culture as opposed to the dominant culture, this creates a conflict between their cultural identity …

The Secret Life Of Diatoms: An Exploration Of The Fascinating World Of Diatoms Through The Art Of Printmaking, Zofia Danielson

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Diatoms are a type of microscopic primary producer that fall within the group of phytoplankton. They are named for their two halves: two cell walls made of glass (silica). These glass walls have a variety of forms depending upon the species that allow diatoms to adapt to their marine environments. Diatoms also contribute to productive coastal ecosystems, global oxygen production, and nutrient cycles. This project explored the significance of diatoms to marine ecosystems and their beauty in form through relief linocut printmaking in a workshop setting. The final result of this project is a relief printmaking workshop curriculum about diatoms …

Elementary Teachers’ Perspectives Of Direct Instruction With More Rigorous Mathematics Standards, Sharon Denise Taylor

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractMajestic County Schools (pseudonym), a large southeastern school district, has implemented changes in instruction to align with more rigorous state and national mathematics standards. The rigor of the new standards has led to changes in instruction to help students master the standards with evidence from the state-wide standardized test. Although the district has made curricular changes, over one-third of the students in Grades 3-5 at Flint Elementary are not mastering grade-level standards. This basic qualitative study focuses on one elementary school within the district. The purpose was to understand how teachers implement direct instruction (DI) strategies in the classroom to …

The Role Of The Next Generation Science Standards In Teachers' Curricular Choices In The Life Science Classroom, Amy Tankersley

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In 2013 a group of experts used A Framework for K-12 Science Education (NRC, 2012) to draft the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), which aims to increase science literacy through integrating the concepts and practices of science into comprehensive standards for science (NGSS Lead States, 2013). As students learn to explore the content and practices of scientists, ideally, they should increase their ability to think and reason in ways that will benefit their ability to participate in society. Because of the complex nature of systematic education reform, teachers need to put significant time into implementing NGSS to fulfill the goals …

Thinkmed: Providing An Environment For Disadvantaged Students To Explore Stem, Steven Trinh, Lauren Dudley, Peter Chang

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

ThinkMED is a nonprofit initiative offering a four-week curriculum specifically designed to develop critical thinking and encourage evidence-based decision making. Each week’s content material revolves around the use of a ThinkMED Science Kit containing a wet lab experiment designed to supplement the content curriculum. Each experiment is formulated to be inclusive of all California Next Generation Science Standards K through 5. Contained within each week’s ThinkMED Science Kit is a unique QR code that directs the student to an interactive simulation of the experiment created by our team of computer scientists and graphic designers. At the end of each week, …

Insights From Two Decades Of P-12 Engineering Education Research, Cary I. Sneider, Mihir K. Ravel

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)

The 21st century has seen a growing movement in the United States towards the adoption of engineering and technology as a complement to science education. Motivated by this shift, this article offers insights into engineering education for grades P-12, based on a landscape review of 263 empirical research studies spanning the two decades from January 2000 to June 2021. These insights are organized around three core themes: (1) students’ understandings, skills, and attitudes about engineering and technology; (2) effective methods of P-12 engineering education; and (3) benefits of P-12 engineering education. The insights are captured in the form of evidence-based …

The Impact Of Covid-19 On Mathematics Education Curriculum, Kristen Ferguson

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Science In The Elementary Classroom, Melissa Birkey

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The elementary school day is filled with many different aspects of learning. Math and reading have been the emphasis of teaching over the last decade. Science is a part of students learning that needs to find its way into the elementary school day. This literature review compares different curriculum that is used to teach science in the elementary classroom as well as discusses an effective use of time to implement science into the daily schedule. When considering when and how to teach science, some teachers incorporate into other curricular areas as others find its own time during the day. Multiple …

Participation In Open Up Resources By Gender And Family Income Level On Mathematics Achievement Of Grades 7 And 8 Students, Timothy Brister

Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to determine the effects by gender and by family-income level between students using Open Up Resources (OUR) curriculum (a Problem-Based Learning [PBL] curriculum) versus traditional curriculum on mathematics achievement of Grades 7 and 8 students. A stratified random sample of 320 students from four Central and Southeast Arkansas schools (n = 160 for Grades 7 and 8, respectively) was drawn for this study. Data analysis involved the use of 2 x 2 factorial ANOVAs. The key findings of the study were that the mathematics achievement of Grade 8 students using OUR was significantly higher …

A Holistic Mathematics Curriculum Revision: An Adelphi University Case Study, Salvatore J. Petrilli

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Join me as I take you on a journey with the faculty of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at Adelphi University during our two-year re-envisioning and implementation of our mathematics curriculum. From the beginning this involved a data-driven initiative that naturally led to the revisions. Here I describe in detail the process that our department followed. In closing I end with some recommendations for interesting research directions in the field of mathematics education.

Instructional Practices Associated With Science Proficiency Of English Language Learners, Sherly Yadira Soto-Ortiz

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe study addressed the gap in fifth-grade science proficiency between English language learners (ELLs) enrolled in two different science programs in a large school district in the Southeast United States. The Inspire program was implemented in 125 schools, while a combination of Inspire and Promoting Science among English Language Learners (PSELL) developed to facilitate science learning for non-English learners, was implemented in 25 schools. A concurrent mixed-methods case study design was used to examine how instructional practices of each program were (1) aligned with the instructional framework of the Sheltered Instructional Observation Protocol (SIOP), (2) how the two programs supported …

A Comparative Study On Artificial Intelligence Curricula, Li Li

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This research is a comparative analysis of four K-12 AI curricula to recognize and interpret their basic elements and pedagogical approaches. Guided by (socio) constructivist and constructionist theories as the theoretical framework, qualitative document analysis is applied as the research methodology. Schwab’s four commonplaces serve as the initial analytical framework. A (socio) constructivism and constructionism lens is also used to compare the curricula. The major findings are 1. The four curricula are different in their coverage of subject matters with the curriculum from the UK covering the widest and most balanced range of subject matters. 2. The four curricula apply, …

Techniques Adopted In Teaching Students Organic Chemistry Course For Several Years, Wati Sukmawati

Jurnal Inovasi Pendidikan IPA

Organic chemistry is a compulsory course for both science and science education students. Therefore a proper course design is needed to ease the understanding of the concepts considered difficult in terms of learning activities, application of technology, and innovation in the curriculum structure. Various studies have been carried out to solve problems in organic chemistry courses, with the majority focused on concept mastery due to students' difficulty. Furthermore, their thinking skills need to be improved after graduating from the university in accordance with the 21^st century, which is associated with the application of technology and curriculum modification. The results …

Critical Thinking In Curriculum: Designing An Instrument To Measure Identified Features, Claire Gershon

Honors Theses

Critical thinking is an increasingly important skill in our society and should be cultivated through education. Therefore, the curricula used in our schools should support students in developing critical thinking skills. This study aims to understand what aspects of curricula promote critical thinking, how to measure it, and whether or not current curricula meet these standards. After reviewing the literature, elements of curricula were identified as beneficial in promoting critical thinking. In teacher curricula materials, these are educative features such as identifying misconceptions, explanations of how to use formative assessment, and explanations of pedagogy. In student curricula materials, these educative …

Seventh-Grade Students' Use Of Heat Transfer Conceptions During An Engineering Design-Based Stem Integration Curriculum, Emilie A. Siverling, Tamara J. Moore

Integrated Engineering Department Publications

As the integration of STEM becomes increasingly important in pre-college education, it is important to study models of STEM integration. One model, engineering design-based STEM integration, has shown promising results in terms of student science content learning. This study’s purpose was to explore one student team’s use of heat transfer conceptions as they participated in an engineering design-based STEM integration curriculum. A case study research design, along with procedures from qualitative content analysis, were used to identify scientific and alternative conceptions that the seventh-grade students communicated during the unit. The main result is that the students spoke and wrote about …

Reconsidering Undergraduate Anatomy And Physiology Curriculum, Eric Michael Walsh

Theses and Dissertations

In the past 50 years several convergent factors have spurred unprecedented change in anatomy and physiology (A&P) instruction. An explosion of biomedical knowledge, an increased demand for students well-versed in A&P, and decreased resources for the course has provoked a vast array of research. However, most studies employ one of three strategies to enact change: testing the effectiveness of new pedagogies, exploring the utility of new technologies, or documenting learning in new contexts. By comparison, a much smaller body of research focuses on changing the A&P curriculum to improve student learning. To address this gap, the musculoskeletal curriculum for an …

Middle School Science Teachers’ Experience With The Change To Inquiry-Based By Instruction, Patricia Adams-Gouthro

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Middle school science teachers in a Northeastern urban school district incorporated an inquiry-based curriculum (IBC) using the full option science system (FOSS) to improve instruction; however, the teachers struggled to change their teaching practices. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore teachers’ experiences with and their changes in instructional practices using the FOSS curriculum. The concerns-based adoption model was the framework that guided this study. The research questions focused on identifying the levels of use, stages of concern, and experiences and needs teachers had using the FOSS curriculum. A purposeful sample of 14 middle school science teachers, …

The Van Hiele Analysis Of Curricular Materials: A Comparative Study, Vinay Kumar Kalyankar

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this study is to investigate K-8 geometry curriculum standards and textbooks for their effectiveness in preparing students for high school geometry. The basis for the study is van Hiele theory pioneered by the Dutch educators and researchers of geometric understanding in adolescents, Dina van Hiele Geldof and Pierre van Hiele. Another driving force for this dissertation is research into mathematics textbooks and curriculum standards of school mathematics as seen in CCSSM and state specific standards documents, both of which influence the mathematics students have the opportunity to learn.

The K-8 geometry curriculum standards and textbook instructional segments …

Alignment Between Learning Objectives And Assessments In A Quantitative Literacy Course, Younggon Bae, Samuel L. Tunstall, Kathryn S. Knowles, Rebecca L. Matz

Numeracy

In this analysis, we examine how course assessment items were aligned with learning objectives in a quantitative literacy course at Michigan State University. The alignment analysis consisted of mapping assessment items to a list of operationalized learning objectives from the course. Our analysis shows how often the learning objectives are represented in assessment items, how often they are paired with other learning objectives, and how influential they are in contributing to a student’s course grade. In addition, through comparisons across four assessment types (e.g., exams and homework), we show how each learning objective was assessed differently within each assessment type. …

Explicitly Teaching Scientific Argumentation: Using Action Research To Study High School Science Readiness And Detracking, Ami Lefevre

Dissertations

Access to advanced-level science courses can be difficult for those students who start in a tracked system. Tracking is an educational practice where students are assigned to different classes based on ability level. African American and Hispanic students are most at risk since most minority students are found in the lower level track (Burris, 2014; Mehan, 2015; Oakes, 2005). This investigation used an action research approach to determine how explicitly taught elements of scientific argumentation would impact student mastery of argument skills and influence instructional practices by a professional learning community. A mixed method study was used to collect qualitative …

Adapting Practices Of Science Journalism To Foster Science Literacy, Joseph L. Polman, Alan Newman, E. Wendy Saul, Cathy Farrar

Wendy Saul

In this paper, the authors describe how the practices of expert science journalists enable them to act as "competent outsiders" to science. We assert that selected science journalism practices can be used to design reform-based science instruction; these practices not only foster science literacy that is useful in daily life, but also complement practices of scientists that already have been incorporated into science education. We describe and illustrate science journalism practices for educational activities that can be adapted and used. We argue that such experiences enable students to better use science information for personal decision-making and help them contribute meaningfully …

Secondary Biology Instruction In The General Senior Secondary Schools Of Aceh Province Indonesia: An Analysis Of Teachers’ Opinions And Teaching Practices Related To The Indonesia Biology Curriculum 2013, Wiwit Artika

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

My study was to discover the perceptions of general secondary senior high school biology teachers about the application of curriculum 2013. Their further opinions of biology topics and the instructional practices in the class have supported the findings of this study. In addressing this study, general senior secondary school (GSSS) biology teachers (n=286) from 22 districts in Aceh province randomly participated in my study. Thus, six (n=6) teachers were selected as convenience sampling to have a one-on-one phone interview. The data collected were analyzed descriptively (frequency and percentage) and thematically to answer the research questions.

The documents comparison between the …

Challenges In Stem Learning In Australian Schools: Literature And Policy Review, Michael J. Timms, Kathryn Moyle, Paul R. Weldon, Pru Mitchell

Professor Kathryn Moyle (consultant)

This literature and policy review outlines the complex context related to STEM learning in Australian schools and focuses on student outcomes, the teacher workforce and the curriculum. This paper also sheds light on possible policy directions by examining lessons from other countries. STEM education is a broad enterprise that starts in early childhood education, continues through the years of schooling and extends into tertiary education supported by contributions from extracurricular and enrichment activities, science centres and museums. However, the focus in this document is on primary and secondary schooling. Australian STEM education seems caught in a whirlpool of problems that …

Challenges In Stem Learning In Australian Schools, Michael J. Timms, Kathryn Moyle, Paul R. Weldon, Pru Mitchell

Professor Kathryn Moyle (consultant)

Australian STEM education seems caught in a whirlpool of problems that are contributing to one another. Student engagement and performance in STEM are declining, but we do not have the supply of qualified teachers we need to improve learning. The STEM curriculum is unbalanced and fragmented, leading to less interest among students. It is not possible to break out of the downward cycle from within the current system and it requires policy changes that address the issues raised in this report. This means developing well-considered, systemic and joined-up policies that address the following challenges: Improving student outcomes, building the STEM …

Challenges In Stem Learning In Australian Schools, Michael J. Timms, Kathryn Moyle, Paul R. Weldon, Pru Mitchell

Dr Paul Weldon

Australian STEM education seems caught in a whirlpool of problems that are contributing to one another. Student engagement and performance in STEM are declining, but we do not have the supply of qualified teachers we need to improve learning. The STEM curriculum is unbalanced and fragmented, leading to less interest among students. It is not possible to break out of the downward cycle from within the current system and it requires policy changes that address the issues raised in this report. This means developing well-considered, systemic and joined-up policies that address the following challenges: Improving student outcomes, building the STEM …

Challenges In Stem Learning In Australian Schools: Literature And Policy Review, Michael J. Timms, Kathryn Moyle, Paul R. Weldon, Pru Mitchell

Dr Paul Weldon

This literature and policy review outlines the complex context related to STEM learning in Australian schools and focuses on student outcomes, the teacher workforce and the curriculum. This paper also sheds light on possible policy directions by examining lessons from other countries. STEM education is a broad enterprise that starts in early childhood education, continues through the years of schooling and extends into tertiary education supported by contributions from extracurricular and enrichment activities, science centres and museums. However, the focus in this document is on primary and secondary schooling. Australian STEM education seems caught in a whirlpool of problems that …

Challenges In Stem Learning In Australian Schools, Michael J. Timms, Kathryn Moyle, Paul R. Weldon, Pru Mitchell

Pru Mitchell

Australian STEM education seems caught in a whirlpool of problems that are contributing to one another. Student engagement and performance in STEM are declining, but we do not have the supply of qualified teachers we need to improve learning. The STEM curriculum is unbalanced and fragmented, leading to less interest among students. It is not possible to break out of the downward cycle from within the current system and it requires policy changes that address the issues raised in this report. This means developing well-considered, systemic and joined-up policies that address the following challenges: Improving student outcomes, building the STEM …