Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Maker Math: Exploring Mathematics Through Digitally Fabricated Tools With K–12 In-Service Teachers, Jason R. Harron, Yi Jin, Amy F. Hillen, Lindsey Mason, Lauren Siegel

Faculty Open Access Publishing Fund Collection

This paper reports on nine elementary, middle, and high school in-service teachers who participated in a series of workshops aimed at exploring the wonder, joy, and beauty of mathematics through the creation and application of digitally fabricated tools (i.e., laser-cut and 3D printed). Using the Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework to investigate technological, pedagogical, contextual, and content knowledge, researchers applied qualitative methods to uncover the affordances and constraints of teaching and learning math concepts with digitally fabricated tools and examined how the workshops supported broadening participation in mathematics by focusing on the connections between mathematical inquiry, nature, and …

Using Teacher Noticing And Video-Mediated Professional Learning To Develop Preservice Teachers’ Knowledge For Teaching The Derivative, Alfred M. Limbere

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This study investigated how problem-solving videos can be used in video-mediated professional learning to support secondary preservice mathematics teachers (PMTs) in developing teacher knowledge for noticing student thinking in the context of the derivative concept in calculus. A model of the trajectory of PMTs’ noticing was constructed as six PMTs viewed and analyzed videos of students’ problem solving. At the same time, the nature of video-mediated interactions that were found to be productive in supporting this knowledge development was examined. A design experiment was used as the research methodology. Data was collected from video recordings of eight semi-structured teaching episodes …

Ready To Engage? Urban Middle School Teachers’ Responsiveness To Targeted Engagement Interventions On Their Virtual Instructional Practices: An Action Research Study, Svetlana Nikic

Dissertations

Teachers’ effectiveness is associated with their instructional practices and is ultimately linked to students’ learning outcomes. In order to impact teachers’ effectiveness, schools focus substantial effort and resources on professional development led by an assumption that teachers’ classroom practices can be improved through targeted interventions. Even if this premise is correct, little information is available about how much a teacher’s practice may change through interventions, or which aspects of instructional practice are more receptive to improving teacher effectiveness (Garret et al., 2019).

This study took place at an urban middle school and examined teachers’ responsiveness to targeted engagement intervention in …

Fostering Mathematical Creativity Among Middle School Mathematics Teachers, Ceire H. Monahan

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The purpose of this research was to understand in-service teachers’ experiences with and ideas about mathematical creativity after participating in a targeted professional development program. The professional development program encouraged participants to think creatively and foster students’ creativity. In this study I present the results from the main unit of analysis, 12 participants in a professional development program, along with a deep analysis of three exemplar teachers from each of the identified groups, adherence to traditional teaching practices (traditional), appreciation for teaching for creativity (creative but hesitant), and teaching for creativity (creative). The findings of this study highlight the combination …

Transitioning A Mathematics Specialist Preparation Program Into An Interactive Online Program: Insights From The Developer And Candidate Perspectives, Aimee J. Ellington, Allison Yoder

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

This paper will describe how the Virginia Commonwealth University mathematics specialist preparation program transitioned from a face-to-face format to a fully online format. We will describe the technology and instructional methods that are used for course meetings, activities, and assignments. We will describe the development and implementation of a mathematics activity from instructors designing the activity, participants completing the activity, and instructors providing feedback on the activity. One mathematics activity will be shared that demonstrates the process of the program model that includes independent work, small group work, and in-class discussions. We will describe one participant’s experience as she developed …

The Changing Profile Of Ecs Teachers, Steven Mcgee, Lucia Dettori, Ronald I. Greenberg, Andrew M. Rasmussen, Dale F. Reed, Don Yanek

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

This study compares the characteristics and professional development (PD) experiences between teachers who began teaching Exploring Computer Science before and after the enactment of a CS graduation requirement in the Chicago Public Schools. The post-requirement teachers were less likely to have a CS background, but their experience in the ECS PD and their level of confidence at the end of the PD were equivalent to the early adopters.

Using Site Visits To Strengthen Collaboration, Victor Piercey, Rebecca Segal, Afroditi Filippas, Tao Chen, Soloman Kone, Rosalyn Hargraves, Jack Bookman, John Hearn, Debbie Pike, Kathy Williams Phd

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

The SUMMIT-P project is a multi-institutional endeavor to leverage interdisciplinary collaboration in order to improve the teaching of undergraduate mathematics courses in the first two years of college. One goal of this work is to establish collaborative communities among the institutions involved. As part of the project, institutions visit one another on site visits that are structured according to a common protocol. The site visits have been valuable to the project. Participating institutions report the exchange of actionable ideas and feedback; members of the grant leadership team have used the site visits to direct the overall project, and evaluators have …

Mathamigos: A Community Mathematics Initiative, James C. Taylor, Delara Sharma, Shannon Rogers

Journal of Math Circles

We present a broad, and we think novel, community mathematics initiative in its early stages in Santa Fe, New Mexico. At every level, the program embraces community-wide collaboration—from the leadership team, to the elements of the mathematics being implemented (primarily math circles and the Global Math Project’s Exploding Dots), to the funding model. Our MathAmigos program falls within two categories of math circle-related programs: outreach and professional development (PD). In outreach, we work with the Santa Fe Public School district (administration, teachers, students, and parents) and the City of Santa Fe government (our funders via a two-year contract) in …

Standardizing Facilitator Development For Exploring Computer Science Professional Development, Steven Mcgee, John Wachen, Lucia Dettori, Don Yanek, Faythe Brannon, Andrew M. Rasmussen, Dale F. Reed, Ronald I. Greenberg

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

A key strategy for broadening CS participation

in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) has been the enactment

of a high school CS graduation requirement. The Exploring

Computer Science (ECS) curriculum and professional development

(PD) program serve as a core foundation for supporting

enactment of this policy. The CAFE´CS researcher-practitioner

partnership provides support for ECS implementation in CPS.

An important part of the sustainability of the ECS PD model in

CPS is the development of local workshop facilitators. Potential

facilitators have generally been selected based on the CAFE´CS

team’s personal familiarity with active ECS teachers. Once

selected, teachers engage in a …

K-2 Mathematicians & Writers: Professional Learning Communities For Developing Conceptual Understanding, Doris Santarone, Angel R. Abney, Sandra M. Webb

Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Georgia Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) has long supported the use of children’s literature, writing, and manipulatives to improve conceptual understanding of mathematics (2000). In a professional learning community for K-2 teachers, professional development was designed and implemented on ways to incorporate literacy and manipulatives into a mathematics lesson. The teachers were charged with collaboratively planning lessons that included multiple components: the standard(s), a mathematics activity, manipulatives, a writing task, and children’s literature. As the data were analyzed, it became apparent that while most of the lessons were well connected, this did not happen for all of the lessons. …

Experiences And Practices Of Environmental Adult Education Participants, Cindy Fitzwilliams-Heck

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Awareness of the sustainability of our natural resources is a continuing concern. Initiatives promoting environmental adult education (EAE) through professional development (PD) workshops ensure educators' have the knowledge and skills to inform their audience about environmental literacy and stewardship. However, these workshops have rarely been monitored. Specifically, it appears no researchers have focused on the reflective experiences of an EAE PD workshop on educator participants at least 5 years after participation. This basic qualitative study used telephone interviews of 8 past participants to explore whether and how they perceive their behavior changing in relation to natural resources conservation years after …

Faculty Perceptions Of Instructional Strategies That Foster Student Engagement In Online Courses, Sharon M. Hope

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Developing online instructional strategies for increasing student engagement and success is significant locally and nationally due to growth in the online field, advances in technology, and the need for colleges to maximize student success. This study stemmed from the desire of administrators at an upstate New York private college to discover additional ways to design and deliver effective online instruction. The purpose of this qualitative instrumental case study was to discover faculty perceptions of and experiences with instructional strategies that they used to foster student engagement in online learning. Kearsley and Shneiderman's engagement theory formed the study's conceptual framework. Ten …

Engaging In Lesson Study At Georgia College, Angel R. Abney, Brandon Samples, Doris Santarone

Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Georgia Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators

A lesson study cycle is a professional development process that integrates research and reflection through collaboration. The cycle allows a group to refine a lesson based on these collaboration efforts such as interaction with students and the post-lesson discussion. Secondary pre-service teachers in a mathematics methods course engaged in a lesson study cycle through collaboration between in-service teachers, Georgia College professors, and students in a local high school classroom. We systematically investigated this process to determine that through preparing, enacting and reflecting on their practice, Pre-service Teachers (PST) developed insight, reasoning, and understanding of the mathematics that they taught.

A Primer For Mathematical Modeling, Marla A. Sole

Publications and Research

With the implementation of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics recommendations and the adoption of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics, modeling has moved to the forefront of K-12 education. Modeling activities not only reinforce purposeful problem-solving skills, they also connect the mathematics students learn in school with the mathematics they will use outside of school. Instructors have found mathematical modeling difficult to teach. To successfully incorporate modeling activities I believe that curricular changes should be accompanied by professional development for curriculum developers, classroom teachers, and higher education professionals. This article serves as an introduction to modeling by …

Enhancing Science Teachers' Understanding Of Ecosystem Interactions With Qualitative Conceptual Models, Marion Dresner, Monica Elser

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

The project described in this article explores how a series of conceptual ecological models can be used to portray the improvement in ecological understanding over the span of a short course. The course involved high school teachers working collaboratively on ecological research projects. Teachers were asked to construct qualitative conceptual models (a diagram of important ecosystem components and the linkages between these components) and write explanatory essays at three points during their research experience. The progression in development of teachers’ models spanned initial intuitive explanation, with misconceptions, to the post-test elaboration of a more complex and accurate understanding of ecological …

Using Student Generated Qualitative Ecological Models, J. Scott Blackwood, Marion Dresner, Hang-Kwang Luh

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this activity, students construct qualitative models of an ecosystem and use the models to gain a better understanding of direct and indirect ecological interactions. Qualitative modeling is described for use in two procedures, each with different educational goals and student backgrounds in mind. Part 1 is designed with the non-major or beginning ecology student in mind, and is intended both to improve student understanding of the ecosystem of interest and to provide a framework for the instructor to assess student learning. Part 2 is designed for more advanced students of ecology and involves the use of modeling software (POWERPLAY) …