Junior High, Intermediate, Middle School Education and Teaching Commons^™

The Great Water Design Challenge: A Collaboration With Noaa Planet Stewards, Elizabeth Martinez

Publications & Research

Session Goals

• Define design challenge
• Generate ideas for classroom design challenge
• Outline design challenge for your classroom

NOAA Planet Stewards NESTA Article

Beating The Odds: High-Growth Schools Based On The Act Aspire Examinations, Serving Low-Income Communities, Charlene A. Reid, Sarah C. Mckenzie

Arkansas Education Reports

This section highlights high-growth schools across Arkansas based on the ACT Aspire examinations in Math and English Language Arts (ELA) for the 2020-2021 academic year. For these awards, we consider schools where at least 66% of the student body is eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (FRL).

High-poverty schools are ranked by school level (Elementary, Middle, or High) based on Overall Growth (Math and ELA combined), as well as for growth in each content area independently. High-poverty schools are also ranked within each region of the state. Tables include the region in which the school is located, the number of …

High-Growth Middle Schools In Arkansas Based On Performance On The Act Aspire Examinations, Charlene A. Reid, Sarah C. Mckenzie

Arkansas Education Reports

This section highlights middle schools across the state whose students demonstrated high growth on the Arkansas ACT Aspire exams. The ACT Aspire was administered to students in grades 3 through 10 in April 2021 in Math and ELA courses which include English, Writing, and Reading.

Each table in this section presents the Top 20 schools for the noted subject area and school level. In addition, these tables include the region in which the schools are located, the grades served at the school, the weighted achievement score, and the content growth score in that particular subject.

The level of the schools, …

Enhancing Preservice Teachers’ Intention To Integrate Engineering Through A Cross-Disciplinary Model, Francisco Cima, Pilar Pazos, Jennifer Kidd, Kristie Gutierrez, Stacie Ringleb, Orlando Ayala, Krishnanand Kaipa

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

Although elementary educators recognize the importance of integrating engineering in their classrooms, many feel challenged and unprepared to teach engineering content. The absence of effective engineering instruction in teacher preparation programs leaves future educators unprepared for this challenge. Ed+gineering is an NSF-funded cross-disciplinary model between education and engineering aimed at increasing preservice teachers’ preparation, confidence, and intention to integrate engineering into their teaching. Ed+gineering partners education and engineering students in cross-disciplinary teams within the context of their respective university courses. As part of their coursework, the teams plan and deliver culturally responsive engineering lessons to elementary school students under the …

Supporting Students With An Autism Spectrum Disorder In Engineering: K-12 And Beyond, Jennifer L. Kouo, Alexis Hahn, Sarah Morton, Jay Gregorio

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Individuals with disabilities, including individuals with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. With the importance of STEM skills in future employment and other disciplines, effective instructional strategies must be identified to enhance early and sustained access to STEM for students with ASD. However, the literature identifying effective STEM-specific supports and practices for this population of students is sparse and regarding engineering, there are no empirical studies that focus on teaching engineering skills to students with ASD. Therefore, the article aims to provide an overview of the available literature on the perspectives …

Supporting And Retaining Early Career Mathematics Teachers Using An Online Community Of Practice, Paula Jakopovic, Travis Weiland, Maria Campitelli, Lorraine Males, Lisa Amick

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Faculty Publications

This study reports on efforts over several years to design and implement a yearlong intervention intended to support secondary mathematics teachers in their early years of teaching. The intervention is designed to retain early career mathematics teachers in the professions by engaging them in the development of meaningful professional relationships with a school-based mentors, and by creating an online community of practice for support with other professionals. The intervention itself consists of early career teachers and their mentors participating in monthly professional learning activities such as online meetings, videoconferencing panels with experts, and collaborative reading and discussing timely, purposeful, and …

Making Scientific And Technical Materials Pervasively Accessible, Jason J.G. White

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

In this paper, the question is explored of what policies, standards and practices are desirable to ensure that hardware, software and publications in the sciences and associated disciplines are created from the outset to be accessible to people with disabilities. Insight into this question can be obtained by considering the unique accessibility challenges that these materials pose, including complexities of notation, language, and graphical representation.

Having analyzed what sets this problem apart from broader issues of accessibility, the advantages and limitations of current international standards are reviewed, and contemporary developments in standards and policies are considered from a strategic perspective. …

The Perceptions Of Teachers Of Students With Visual Impairments On Students With Visual Impairments And Graphing: How To Teach, Ashley N. Nashleanas Ph.D.

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Many gaps exist in what is known around teaching students with visual impairments (SVI) about how to use graphs (Rosenblum et al., 2018; Rosenblum & Herzberg, 2015; Zebehazy & Wilton, 2014a;2014b;2014c). When teachers first experience a student with a visual impairment, some of the questions that come to mind are: How can I be sure this student understands what I am saying about these graphs I show on the board? Will this student be able to keep up? The study herein, based on findings from Author (2018), serves as a guide for teachers to consider in the case that SVI …

Build Your Own Body Mod: Empowerment Through Prototyping And Design, Anaiss Arreola, Katherine R. Ganim

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

When you don’t have a hand, what could you have instead? This article introduces the impact of inviting youth with disabilities to learn tools and technology to design their own solutions and advocate for their own future. This approach to programming is rooted in a mindset of designing WITH, not FOR. Not only are design outcomes improved when users are incorporated into the process, but this approach has been shown to improve confidence in creating one’s own solutions. These programs include hands-on “design-your-own-body-mod” workshops, as well as a budding inclusive design consultancy led by youth with disabilities. Through this programming, …

Teacher Led Tier Two Intervention To Increase Student Academic Achievement, Cynthia Shepherd

Education Masters Papers

The purpose of this action research was to determine if the implementation of a tier two teacher led intervention would increase student academic achievement. A small group of ten students in a ninth-grade physical science class participated in the study. Data was collected over a period of three weeks using pre- and post- intervention surveys, an exit slip for self-assessment, researcher observations, comparisons of work completion and grades from previous grading periods, participant performance self-assessment, and a goal setting activity. Results show an inconclusive connection between the tier two teacher led intervention and student academic achievement. This is possibly due …

Overview Of The Proceedings Of The 2020 Inclusion In Science, Learning A New Direction, Conference On Disability (Island), Cary Supalo, Jasodhara Bhattacharya, Daniel Steinberg

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

Elevating The Voices For All Learners Through Shared Stories Of Science Learning, Lauren Madden, Stuart Z. Carroll, Amy K. Schuler

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

This study examines the science learning experiences across the lifespan of two groups of college students: adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities in a post-secondary inclusive program, and adults in a preservice secondary education teacher candidate program. Data, in the form of personal narrative science stories were collected using a paired-interview approach in which students from each group interviewed one another about their science learning across their lifespans, and recorded responses using an online form. Across the stories, several clear themes emerged. Similarities and differences were found across and within the groups and are shared in a narrative format. Trends …

Publishing Successful Practitioner (Teaching Techniques) Manuscripts For The Journal Of Science Education For Students With Disabilities, Jonte C. Taylor

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

The Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities (JSESD)d is the premier journal focusing on the intersections of science education for students with disabilities. JSESD provides valuable content and context for teachers and researchers on what works in advancing science access, practices, and knowledge for all students across settings, grades, ages, and exceptionality. One way in which JSESD supports teachers and researchers is through publication of practitioner manuscripts also referred to as Teaching Techniques. These manuscripts focus on the how-to portion of science education. That is, JSESD practitioner publications give detailed information on how-to provide science instruction or how-to …

Letter From The Co-Editors, Todd Pagano, Sami Kahn

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

Empowering Elementary And Middle Level Science Educators: Keeping Pace With Instructional Trends In Science Education For The 21st Century, Julie E. Vowell, Marianne Phillips

MLET: The Journal of Middle Level Education in Texas

This article emphasizes current pedagogical themes that are important for elementary and middle school science instruction. Discussion topics include the following: (1) Integration (2) Differentiating for Young Learners (3 ) Creating a Balanced Classroom: Person-Centered Instruction (Freiberg, 2002) (4) Inquiry-Based Instruction (5) Maximizing the “Aha” Moment of Learning (6) Cognitive Benefits from Classroom Discourse (7) Including Purposeful Content (8) Integrating Technology (9) Standards-Based Instruction (10) Working Cooperatively in the Science Classroom (11) Authentic Science and (12) Understanding the Methods of Science.

The Great Water Design Challenge: A Noaa Planet Stewards And Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy (Imsa) Collaboration, Elizabeth Martinez

Publications & Research

Through generous NOAA Planet Stewards funding, schools in the Northern Illinois area had the unique opportunity to participate in a one-day design challenge that focused on local and state environmental issues. Student teams, which ranged from fifth grade through high school, engaged in research and design thinking to create innovative responses and solutions to address their selected water challenge. Subject matter experts were available, both virtually and in person, for questions, conversations, and insights as teams worked. Simultaneously team sponsors engaged in their own professional development related to the NOAA Planet Stewards Program. Students showcased their work at the end …

An Examination Of Middle School Students’ Attitudes Toward Science, Michelle L. Schpakow, Jillian L. Wendt, Kelly Paynter

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

For more than 40 years, researchers have been studying the persistent underrepresentation of women in science. Today, the gender gap has narrowed in some, but not all, disciplines of science. To better understand the impetus of this continuing problem, the attitudes of middle school students toward science were examined using a causal-comparative design based on biological sex across four attitude constructs: attitudes toward school science, desire to become a scientist, value of science to society, and perceptions of scientists. A sample of 450 sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade science students located in suburban, central New Jersey responded to Likert-type items on …

Hope In A Time Of Global Unrest: An Ethnographic Study, Sabrina Hanson

Claremont Graduate University School of Education Teacher Education

This paper documents the observations, struggles, and insights of a first year teacher. It is a year-long documentation of the search for hope during a global pandemic that affected the way schools functioned and how students learned. This work is in three distinct sections. The first section is a self-reflection of identity and why this teacher chose teaching as a profession. The second section is focused on two of their students, one who is immunocompromised, and one who has significant learning challenges, and how they navigated the quarantine during the pandemic through their expression of learning. The third section reflects …

Sistematización De Experiencias: Enseñanza De Las Ciencias Exactas En Tiempos De Pandemia, Yuliana Carreño Salazar, Shirley Castañeda Castro, Diana Carolina Numpaque Pineda, Rafael David Tellez Garzon

Maestría en Docencia

A partir de los retos metodológicos que enfrentaron los docentes en el país debido a la pandemia por el Covid -19, cuatro profesores del Colegio Agustiniano Norte plantearon la siguiente sistematización, siendo una investigación cualitativa que permitió ampliar sus conocimientos ya que, desde la reconstrucción de las experiencias de cada uno y del aporte de algunos estudiantes, se logró reconocer las características propias de las prácticas pedagógicas desarrolladas en el campo de la enseñanza de las ciencias exactas en un entorno remoto. Así mismo, se identificó la importancia de los recursos didácticos digitales y de las técnicas didácticas como: el …