Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

High Quality, Equity, And Assessment: An Analysis Of Variables Impacting English Learner Standardized Science Test Performance And Implications For Construct Validity, Maria Del Carmen Salazar, Joanna K. Bruno, Melissa P. Schneider

Curriculum and Instruction: Faculty Scholarship

In the United States, assessment is seen as a lever that can facilitate high-quality education. This study on English learners, students whose native language is not English, was based on data from eighth-grade English learners’ performance on science general and content-specific (physical, life, and earth science) standardized exams and an English language proficiency exam. The researchers utilized regression analysis to examine factors (i.e., socioeconomic status, home language, English language proficiency, and receptive and productive elements of language) that are predictive of English learner performance in general and content-specific science standardized assessments to identify implications for construct validity of high-stakes science …

Fifth Graders’ Use Of Gesture And Models When Translanguaging During A Content And Language Integrated Science Class In Hong Kong, Melanie Williams

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Translanguaging in science includes the use of semiotic repertoires complete with non-linguistic modes of meaning (e.g. gesture, tactile) that until recently have gone unnoticed in research into content language integrated learning (CLIL). Currently, there are calls for classroom research in CLIL settings that examines the semiotic processes in the spontaneous translanguaging of emergent bilinguals. In response, this study aims to expand bilingualism research by investigating the ways in which fifth-grade emergent bilinguals’ draw from their semiotic repertoires when translanguaging in content-based science lessons. Multimodal transcriptions made from video recordings of the lessons allow a cross-case analysis of the emergent bilinguals’ …

The Impact Of A K-8 Stem Program On Grades And Student Choice Of Stem And Advanced Mathematics And Science Coursework In High School, Astrid Rodrigues

Dissertations

The demands of today’s workforce call for schools to prepare their students to have problem-solving skills and be critical thinkers and collaborative colleagues. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) learning has been known to cultivate, excite, and promote critical thinking and problem-solving skills in students from an early age.

This study explored the high school course selection of students who had participated in a compulsory Kindergarten to 8^th grade (K-8) STEM program, called Project Lead the Way (PLTW), while in middle school. Specifically, the study compared the number of STEM and advanced mathematics and science courses that students who …

Examining Motivation As A Mechanism For The Effects Of Stereotype Threat On Stem Outcomes: A Longitudinal Mediation Analysis, Delaram A. Totonchi

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Although African-American students start STEM majors with higher levels of interest compared to their racial majority peers, they drop out of these majors at higher rates. One often tested explanation for this racial disparity is stereotype threat–the anxiety related to being judged stereotypically or the fear of confirming such stereotypes. Stereotype threat negatively impacts academic outcomes through a variety of psychological mechanisms including declined motivation. Accordingly, in this study, I examined expectancy-value beliefs as motivational mechanisms for the effects of stereotype threat on STEM outcomes. Participants were 362 African-American students in introductory chemistry and biology courses who completed surveys at …

Interactive Videos As A Vocabulary Pre-Teaching Tool In Middle School Science, Kimberly Severson

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of interactive video instruction to teacher-led direct instruction for pre-teaching science vocabulary to newcomer middle school ELs. The second phase of the experiment utilized interactive videos to pre-teach science vocabulary in a flipped learning environment. This study was influenced by vocabulary experts Beck, McKeown, and Kucan, as well as R. E. Mayer, multimedia learning expert. Data collection included pre-tests and post-tests of expressive and receptive vocabulary knowledge, as well as a student survey to determine ease of use, students’ perceived learning and satisfaction with the type of instruction. Results from …

Vocabulary Acquisition: Implementing Word Walls With Images In Science For Ells, Mary Orr

Master of Education Applied Research Projects

With increased concern about science instruction for ELLs, this quantitative applied research project sought to answer the research question, “Is there a relationship between the vocabulary instructional strategy of a word wall with images (WWwI) and the science vocabulary acquisition for ELLs?” The research design was a pre-test post-test control condition study using a group of ELLs in an ELL classroom for both the control condition and experimental condition. The quantitative data confirmed the results that there is a relationship between the students learning the science vocabulary words with the use of a WWwI since the experimental condition of ELLs …

Meaning Negotiated Through Independently-Written Summaries And Oral Academic Conversations: Enhancing Comprehension Of Science Text By Ninth-Grade, English Learners, Edward C. Burke

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

English Learners experience challenges related to comprehension of science text particularly at the high school level. The language of science differs significantly from that of conversation and expository text. Students benefit from collaborative interpretation of readings. Additionally, there appears to be a need to train adolescents in the oral language skills requisite for academic discourse.

This study employed a sample of high school physical science students (N = 75) whose first language was Spanish and who were currently developing English language proficiency. It used quasi-experimental methodology with treatment and comparison groups, during the normal operations of the public school …

An Examination Of The Relationship Among Iraqi High School Students' Science Achievement And Perceptions Of The Value Of Education, Parent Support, And Peer Support In The United States, Samir F. Al-Mandwee

Wayne State University Dissertations

The objective of this dissertation was to quantitatively study Iraqi students (N=90) who arrived in the U.S.A. in the last 20 years. A non-experimental, descriptive research design was used for this study, which took place in one of three high schools in a large Midwestern suburban school district, during the 2013-2014 academic year. Three factors, including the students' perception of the value of education, the parental support, and the peer support, were examined using the Facilitating Conditions Questionnaire. The three subscales were part of a larger self-administered questionnaire used by McInerney (1997). In addition to the FCQ survey, a student …

The Relationship Between The Use Of Academic Text Talk And The Comprehension Of Scientific Academic Language For Diverse Second Graders, Peggy Lee Mandel

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Changing demographics impact our schools as children come from more linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds. The various social, cultural, and economic backgrounds of the students affect their early language learning experiences which expose them to the academic language needed to succeed in school. Teachers can help students acquire academic language by introducing words that are within their Zone of Proximal Development and increasing exposure to and use of academic language. This study investigated the effects of increasing structured activities for students to orally interact with informational text on their scientific academic language development and comprehension of expository text.

The Academic …

Teacher, Researcher, And Accountability Discourses: Creating Space For Democratic Science Teaching Practices In Middle Schools, Cory A. Buxton, Shakhnoza Kayumova, Martha Allexsaht-Snider

Democracy and Education

This study explores the role of competing discourses that shape current practices in U.S. schools and how professional development efforts can support teachers and researchers in finding ways to reinsert more democratic processes into their collaborative work. We examine the case of one research and professional development project with the goal of supporting middle school science and ESOL teachers in fostering more meaningful science learning for all their students but especially their English language learners. Using Gee’s notion of big-D discourses and Fairclough’s notion of interdiscursivity, we trace how the Discourse of accountability, the Discourse of science teaching, and the …

Strategic Discussions For Nebraska: Opportunities For Nebraska -- Food Scarcity, Mary Garbacz

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Faculty Publications

Strategic Discussions for Nebraska is a program in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources that produces an annual publication called Opportunities for Nebraska, focusing on a different topic each year. The publication is produced in hard copy and also is available online at www.sdn.unl.edu.

The content for each publication is produced by UNL students enrolled in a Magazine Writing course each spring semester, taught by the SDN coordinator. Students conduct interviews with UNL researchers and write stories for inclusion in the publication. The interviews are captured on video and are edited into video montages, …

Integrating Mathematical Modeling For Undergraduate Pre-Service Science Education Learning And Instruction In The Middle School Classroom, William H. Robertson, David Carrejo

William H. Robertson

El Paso is a bicultural, bilingual community with a 76.6% Hispanic population. Combining El Paso’s population with that of its sister city, Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, our community is the largest metropolitan area on any international border in the world. Students at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) are mostly female, and 50% of the total student population is made up of first-generation college students. These demographics are accompanied by low socioeconomic and educational factors: 23.6% of local families live below the poverty level, compared to 12.5% nationally; 32.9% of 25-year-olds have not graduated from high school; 19% of …

Implementing A Sheltered Science Course In An Iowa High School, Erin Holt Johnson

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

English Learners (ELs) entering U.S. schools at the high school level face the enormous challenge of acquiring academic literacy as well as secondary-level content in a relatively short period of time. This difficulty is compounded by the fact that a significant number of the ELs entering at the secondary level are students with limited or interrupted formal educations as a result of family migrations, unequal schooling in their home countries, political unrest or even war. In response to this pressing need to teach language and content simultaneously, many school districts are adopting the sheltered instruction (SI) model. This paper will …

What Factors Contribute To The Success Of African American Women In Science And Mathematics: Do Teaching Techniques Matter, Sheryl Mcglamery

Teacher Education Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

The session content will focus on the author's research about effective teaching techniques that engage and assist African American women (and others) in succeeding in science and mathematics courses. Several case studies will highlight the effective practice focus of this session.

Science In The Secondary Schools Of Tanzania, Oliver P.J. Mhaiki

Master's Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.