Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Grades 3-5 Snack Box: 3.27.20, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy, Center For Teaching And Learning

IMSA STEM Snack Boxes

No abstract provided.

Developing Outreach Events That Impact Underrepresented Students: Are We Doing It Right?, Andrew J. Gall, Peter J. Vollbrecht, Tristan Tobias

Faculty Publications

Many outreach programs share the common goals of serving underrepresented groups in STEM and improving public attitudes toward science. To meet these goals, scientists must find ways to both reach the appropriate audience and communicate the importance of science in meaningful and accessible ways. This requires careful consideration of the outreach method being used. Two common outreach methods include in‐school visits (scientist in the classroom) and science fairs or open houses. Here, we compare the effectiveness of these two outreach methods in meeting the goals of reaching underrepresented students and/or students with less initial interest in science. We have found …

Examining Integration And Sense Of Belonging Among Undergraduate Students Participating In Stem Support Programs, Mackenzie J. Gray

University Honors Theses

National calls have been made to strengthen our nation’s Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) workforce by improving student preparation and increasing retention rates. A sense of belonging in STEM fields is thought to be key for persistence in STEM, but many students face academic, social, and financial barriers that can impede this sense of belonging. These barriers can be more pronounced for students underrepresented in STEM. In response, many federal and non-governmental agencies have invested in the future STEM workforce by funding STEM support programs. Such programs aim to support student persistence by providing academic, social, and financial resources …

Teaching Cybersecurity To Students With Visual Impairments And Blindness, Jesse R. Hairston, Tania Williams, Derrick W. Smith Ed.D., Coms, William T. Sabados Ph.D., Steven Forney

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

This work showcases specific adaptations used to make cybersecurity accessible to high school students with visual impairments and blindness (VIB). The rapidly growing field of cybersecurity demands a diverse workforce; however, barriers exist which can deter students with disabilities from studying cybersecurity, let alone pursuing a career in the field. To help overcome this challenge, we launched the first GenCyber camp specifically developed and instructed for high school students with VIB in summer 2019. We created a unique learning environment by combining interactive instructional aids, accessible development environments, and innovative instructional strategies. With intent to show cybersecurity as a viable …

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 …

Evidence And Rationale For Expanding The Views Of Nature Of Science Questionnaire, Ryan Summers, Fouad Abd-El-Khalick, Jeanne Brunner

Teaching, Leadership & Professional Practice Faculty Publications

In an attempt to understand nature of science (NOS) conceptions held by learners in greater detail, researchers have steadily become more reliant on open-ended measures. The Views of Science Questionnaire (VNOS) is the most frequently used open-ended instrument. Conceptually grounded in many of the same aspects emphasized in the Next Generation Science Standards, the VNOS-C is appropriate for capturing the views of secondary school students and adults along 10 dimensions related to NOS. However, it has been observed that the 10-item VNOS-C seems to have difficulty uncovering some particular NOS aspects, or rather respondents may need additional prompting. Two new …

Assessing Education Needs Of Graduate Students For Data Management, Judith E. Pasek

Transforming Libraries for Graduate Students

Uncertainty remains as to areas of greatest need for instruction in research data management, and whether perceived needs differ between disciplinary faculty and graduate students. Data sharing requirements of research funders have provided the impetus in recent years for librarians to provide data management services. Instructional approaches ranging from workshops to credit courses are being developed, often without the benefit of first conducting a needs assessment.

A study of education needs in research data management was conducted jointly at the University of Northern Colorado and the University of Wyoming. Graduate students in science-based programs with research thesis or dissertation requirements …

The Role Of Resilience In The Stem Identities Of Post-Secondary Students: A Qualitative Metasynthesis, Karen Benn Marshall, Sylvia M. James

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this qualitative metasynthesis is to explore the relationship between science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) identity and resilience in racially and ethnically diverse post-secondary students. This study identifies experiences that impact STEM identity development in diverse undergraduate and graduate students. The results of a constant targeted comparison (an analytical technique not often used in educational studies) between STEM identity and student resilience suggests that STEM identity contributes to resilience in diverse students. Findings suggest that common adverse experiences that may impact racially and ethnically diverse students can be overcome in the presence of a well-developed STEM identity. …

The Analytics Managers Ultimate Guide For Working With Universities, Robert J. Mcgrath

Faculty Publications

The challenges organizations are having related to finding (and retaining) deep analytical talent did not materialize out of thin air…or overnight. Analytics and Data science – and the role of the analytics professional – has evolved over the last several decades and has been fueled by our ability to capture and process increasingly larger and more complex variations of data and our desire to gain increasingly granular insights to fuel innovation and creativity. While many organizations recognize that a partnership with a university can be a resource to many of these challenges, the best way to start a conversation with …

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 …

Developing And Facilitating Socioscientific Issues Based Science Lessons: Elementary Preservice Teachers’ Experiences, Melanie Kinskey

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Instruction focused around socioscientific issues (SSI) has been found to improve skills for scientific literacy among K – 12 students. Unfortunately, teachers and preservice teachers are reluctant to implement SSI during science instruction due to a lack of self-efficacy or fear of the nature of controversial issues. In response to this obstacle, many researchers have begun work with helping preservice teachers become prepared to facilitate SSI. While there are findings from existing research that contribute to the overall state of preparing preservice teachers to facilitate SSI, perhaps the most influential is the assertion that preservice teachers need formal SSI training …

Infusing Literacy And Math Into A Socio-Culturally Responsive Summer Science Camp, Alma D. Stevenson, Shelli L. Casler-Failing

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

This presentation will describe a Summer Literacy in Science Camp conducted with students in intermediate and middle level at our local Boys and Girls Club. The students participated in reading and writing activities incorporating culturally relevant books, research, journal writing, innovative presentations, and daily science labs focused on the investigation of the surface and tap water in our community.

Arguing About Science: Empowering Students And Developing Issue-Based Pedagogies Through Debate, Cynthia Deaton, Jacquelynn A. Malloy

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

This presentation will guide 4th-12th grade educators to engage students in using content area knowledge to solve real-world problems. Using an adaptation of policy debate, learners use facts and evidence gathered through their participation in Science and Engineering Practices to create resolutions to place-based issues that are occurring in their own communities.

Stem Stories, March 2020, #2, Brooke Wiese

STEM Stories

Undergraduate Research - Andrew Rust

Development And Assessment Of A Continuing Education Unit In Quantitative Literacy For High School Stem Teachers, Craig P. Mcclure

Numeracy

Influencing the teaching of quantitative literacy at all levels of education can be difficult due to the many demands placed on educators. In a continuing education course, public high school science teachers participated in a pilot study of a program on quantitative literacy, involving defining quantitative literacy, how it is beneficial to students, examples of quantitative literacy education, and how it may be supported in the science classroom. Surveys administered before and after the unit indicate an improvement in the teachers’ understanding of quantitative literacy, and a follow-up survey indicates that the unit impacted classroom practice. Results support the conclusion …

Preliminary Results Of A Study Investigating Aviation Students' Intentions To Use Virtual Reality For Flight Training, Stephanie G. Fussell

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Educators have incorporated technology into flight training for decades. These devices have increased in complexity since the Link trainers of the early 20^th century, resulting in aviation training devices, full flight simulators and other technologies currently used in flight training programs. Acceptance has also increased since developers shifted the design of video games to incorporate educational aspects as is demonstrated by the popularity of computer based training. Recently, educators have developed more immersive simulation technologies for training purposes such as virtual, augmented, and mixed reality (VR, AR, MR). Leveraging these technologies can positively impact learner motivation and skill acquisition …

Critical Factors For Effective And Equitable Ngss Science Teaching Practices, Elizabeth B. Lewis, Lyrica L. Lucas, Amy Tankersley, Elizabeth Hasseler, Brandon Helding

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Presentations

With the widespread adoption and adaption of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and its implicit focus on inquiry-based instruction, reformed science teaching practices are critically important to meeting the U.S. vision of scientific literacy for all students. Thus, the role of teacher learning through both teacher preparation and professional development must be well understood and informed through empirical findings. Accordingly, the theme of this NARST conference paper set is to identify effective science teaching practices using the lens of the NGSS science and engineering practices (SEPs), science subject matter knowledge, and equitable teaching practices. We found that inquiry-based instruction …

Stem Stories, March 2020, #1, Brooke Wiese

STEM Stories

Undergraduate Student Research - Pratik Poudel

Developing An Understanding Procedures Observation Rubric For Mathematics Intervention Teachers, Angela R. Crawford, Evelyn S. Johnson, Yuzhu Z. Zheng, Laura A. Moylan

Early and Special Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study describes the initial psychometric evaluation of an Understanding Procedures observation rubric. The instrument is intended to provide feedback to teachers working in mathematics intervention settings. The rubric translates the research base from mathematics education and special education into practice in the form of specific items and descriptors of performance levels. A sample of 16 intervention teachers across three states provided three videos each of their instruction of students in mathematics intervention classes. Ten external raters evaluated the videos. We analyze the ratings using many-facet Rasch measurement. Analyses of the teacher, item, rater, and lesson facets show good psychometric …

Data (Mis) Visualization And Its Impact On Academic Advancement And Public Understanding, Nicole R. Webber, Margarita Shawcross, Dale Edwards, Rob Reinsvold, Jingying Crystal Zhen

Society for the Academic Study of Social Imagery

In this panel, representatives from UNC address questions regarding the implications that various forms of data and information visualization have on the pedagogy, research, culture, and public face of their respective academic fields.

Chair: Nicole Webber, Assistant Professor of University Libraries and Business & Communication Liaison Librarian

Panelists:

Dale Edwards, Program Coordinator and Professor of Journalism & Media Studies

Rob Reinsvold, Professor of Biological Sciences and Coordinator of Secondary Ed. Program

Maggie Shawcross, Assistant Professor of University Libraries and Health Sciences Liaison Librarian

Crystal Jingyning Zhen, Graduate Student, Digital Media (UNC) and Computer Graphics (Shandong Normal University)