Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Motherhood And Teaching: Radical Care, Ksenija Simic-Muller

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

This essay is a personal reflection on how I leverage my positioning as a caregiver in my roles of a mathematician, teacher, and mother, to advance a vision for a more just and equitable society. I argue that care at home and in the classroom takes similar forms, and can be liberating instead of oppressive.

Revealing Luz: Illuminating Our Identities Through Duoethnography, Carrie Diaz Eaton, Luz Marizza Bailey

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Hispanic Americans make up 15% of the current US workforce, but they only account for 7% of the STEM Education workforce [8]. One effective way to reach this population, particularly Latinas, is by providing stories and ethnographic biographies of successful Latinas they can relate to. It is important to note that Latinas have been earning PhDs in STEM disciplines outside of the US much longer than US-born Latinas have been earning them inside. Thus we offer the story of a mathematics educator, from Peru, Dr. Luz Antonia Mendizábal Gálvez de Rodriguez, a girl who was given a chance to be …

Effects Of Universal Design For Learning Math Menus On Seventh Grade Students, Mona L. Mauro

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to: (a) examine the effectiveness of UDL math menus in increasing the academic engagement of seventh grade students with disabilities, (b) examine the effectiveness of UDL math menus in increasing the academic achievement of seventh grade students with disabilities, and (c) determine if seventh grade students with disabilities are satisfied with the use of UDL math menus. The research was conducted using single-subject design methodology. The study followed an ABAB alternating baseline pattern. Student academic achievement was evaluated through daily assessments, while student engagement was evaluated five times per class, approximately every fifteen minutes …

Yeast: The Gateway To Redefining And Improving Biology Labs, Connor Loomis

Biology Summer Fellows

Building off of collegiate research performed during the summer of 2018, this lesson plan outlines a lab for secondary students using yeast. Yeast is an affordable and convenient organism to introduce to secondary education, and students can learn a lot about biology through it. Essentially, the goal of the lab is for students to explore the effects of certain substances on the growth of yeast. While content is emphasized, this lesson plan also looks to build students’ understanding of science in general as well as proper laboratory skills and technique. In addition, it pushes students in their thinking as they …

Computer-Based Instruction As A Form Of Differentiated Instruction In A Traditional, Teacher-Led, Low-Income, High School Biology Classroom, Cheryl Casey

Dissertations and Theses

In 2015 the U.S. continues to struggle with academic achievement in public schools. Average test scores from 15 year olds taking the Program for International Student Assessment placed the U.S. as 38th out of 71 countries (Drew Devlin, 2017). It is common to discuss elimination of the achievement gap as the single most effective way to improve the U.S.'s mediocre standing among the highest scoring countries in the world in primary and secondary student test scores (McGhee,2004; Flemming 2012). In the broadest sense of the term the "achievement gap" refers to the difference in academic success between different groups of …

They Choose To Attend Academic Summer Camps? A Mixed Methods Study Exploring The Impact Of A Nasa Academic Summer Pre-Engineering Camp On Middle School Students In A Latino Community, Araceli Martinez Ortiz, Laura Rodriguez Amaya, Hiroko Kawaguchi Warshauer, Sara Garcia Torres, Erin Scanlon, Michelle Pruett

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

Early exposure to engineering and mathematics career opportunities has been indicated to influence students’ decisions regarding their academic majors and career goals. This study utilized mixed methods to analyze how changes in middle school students’ affective characteristics might be linked to their future career decision-making, following participation in an integrated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics summer camp. As part of the summer camp, rising sixth- through eighth-grade students attended a weeklong learning experience based on a specific engineering context. Each grade level cohort participated with their same grade peers in a 36-hour, 6-day event focused on sparking their interest in …

A Pre-Service Math Teacher's Analysis Of Practice Through The Lens Of Research, Andre Vaquero, Laura D. Sabella

Journal of Practitioner Research

Understanding the prior knowledge and schema students bring to a lesson is important (Veenman, 1984), and without that crucial understanding, a teacher can create a gap between what students can actually learn and what the teacher is trying to teach (Schraw, 2006). After a pre-service math teacher realized valuable instructional time was wasted when students could not follow his instruction, he undertook this study to examine scaffolding as a problem of practice. In a high school Algebra 1 class, he taught a series of lessons during a unit on rational functions with a focus on understanding student foundational knowledge and …

Engaging In Practitioner Inquiry And Critical Dialogue To Explore Student Engagement In A Fifth-Grade Classroom, Bailey Brown, Steve Haberlin

Journal of Practitioner Research

Classroom management and student engagement remain a top concern among emerging teachers In this article, we, a preservice teacher in her final internship in an undergraduate elementary education program, and a university supervisor, engaged in inquiry and critical dialogue to explore how various instructional strategies impacted student engagement in a fifth-grade classroom. The teacher collected qualitative data through interviews, photographs, surveys and observational notes and searched for thematic patterns within the data. To further challenge her beliefs, assumptions and perspectives as an educator, the teacher and supervisor participated as critical friends by engaging in reflective dialogue about her practice and …

How Does Training From A Stem Elementary Education Program Influence An Elementary Teacher’S Instruction And Experiences?, Courtney G. Mayakis, Jessica R. Robinson, John Williams Iii

Journal of STEM Teacher Education

In the United States, innovation and our economy seem to be lacking in comparison to other countries. Many cite the shortage of individuals interested in STEM careers as part of the problem. The following research article addresses how STEM programs may influence the efficacy and practice of curriculum integration as well as the mathematics and science instruction of teachers in elementary education. Data were collected using interviews and taped instruction from an elementary educator who graduated from a STEM-focused elementary program. This exploratory case study will aid in understanding how preservice programs focusing on STEM-integrated curriculum in elementary education can …

Calculus Of The Impossible: Review Of The Improbability Principle (2014) By David Hand And The Logic Of Miracles (2018) By Lásló Mérő, Samuel L. Tunstall

Numeracy

David J. Hand. 2014. The Improbability Principle: Why Coincidences, Miracles, and Rare Events Happen Every Day (New York, NY: Scientific American/Farrar, Straus and Giroux) 288 pp. ISBN: 978-0374175344.

Lásló Mérő. 2018. The Logic of Miracles: Making Sense of Rare, Really Rare, and Impossibly Rare Events (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press) 288 pp. ISBN: 978-0300224153.

David Hand and Lásló Mérő both grapple with the occurrence of seemingly impossible events in these two popular science books. In this comparative review, I describe the two books, and explain why I prefer Hand's treatment of the impossible.

The Connection Between Financial Literacy And Numeracy: A Case Study From India, J.D. Jayaraman, Saigeetha Jambunathan, Kenneth Counselman

Numeracy

Making financial decisions involves mathematical calculations, both simple and complex. It is a well-documented fact that financial literacy levels among young people all over the world are quite low and that these low levels contribute to various undesirable outcomes with respect to personal financial well-being and the economy as a whole. This study explores the relationship between financial literacy and numeracy by measuring and modeling the relationship between financial literacy and numeracy levels among high school students (N = 586) in India. The results show a strong relationship between numeracy and financial literacy skills. Low numeracy is associated with …

Six Propositions Of A Social Theory Of Numeracy: Interpreting An Influential Theory Of Literacy, Jeffrey Craig, Lynette Guzmán

Numeracy

We share our experiences comprehending social theory as it applies to numeracy scholarship. We build on existing arguments that social theory—explicitly acknowledging the presence and influence of histories, power, and purposes—offers something important to scholars who study and discuss numeracy. In this article, we translate the six propositions of one particular social theory of literacy into propositions about numeracy, then we explore the meaning of each proposition, its connections to existing scholarship, and its implications. This article emerges from two literature reviews: one on social theories (especially their application to and development in literacy) and one on numeracy. We bring …

Quantitative Literacy: Now More Than Ever, Gail O. Mellow

Numeracy

This editorial highlights the eloquent words of Drs. Bernard Madison and Lynn Arthur Steen who, in the inaugural issue of Numeracy, note that quantitative literacy (QL) provides “tools for survival” in a highly competitive world. I discuss how QL is desperately needed at a precarious time for our nation’s democracy and how at LaGuardia Community College, and community colleges across the nation, important and creative work is being undertaken to build students’ math skills. The pivotal role of faculty is discussed and a call is made for colleges to support faculty as they undertake the challenging work of building QL …

Mymathlab Educational Intervention To Enhance Student Performance In Calculus I At Historically Black Colleges And Universities, Sheila Duplechain Derouen

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

According to the Obama Administration, we need a workforce that is going to be STEM ready because this is the only way that the U.S. will be able to compete on a global level with other nations. Louisiana will demand a total of 66,250 STEM jobs by 2018, up from 61,610 in 2008, according to Georgetown University (Carnevale, Smith, & Melton, 2014). By 2020, sixty-five percent of the nation’s jobs will require post-secondary education. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the attrition rate between first- and second-year college students is 24.5% (2017).

The purpose of this study is …

Moving Beyond Alpha: A Primer On Alternative Sources Of Single-Administration Reliability Evidence For Quantitative Chemistry Education Research, Regis Komperda, Thomas C. Pentecost, Jack Barbera

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

This methodological paper examines current conceptions of reliability in chemistry education research (CER) and provides recommendations for moving beyond the current reliance on reporting coefficient alpha (α) as reliability evidence without regard to its appropriateness for the research context. To help foster a better understanding of reliability and the assumptions that underlie reliability coefficients, reliability is first described from a conceptual framework, drawing on examples from measurement in the physical sciences; then classical test theory is used to frame a discussion of how reliability evidence for psychometric measurements is commonly examined in CER, primarily in the form of single-administration reliability …

Changes In Attitudes Revealed Through Students’ Writing About Mathematics, Wes Maciejewski

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

The ways in which a student relates to mathematics is known to affect how they learn and perform in mathematics: anxiety may be compensated with avoidance; enjoyment with engagement. Therefore, there is a need to understand students’ relationships with mathematics and to see how these are affected by mathematics education. This paper presents results from the early stages of a mixed-methods study aimed at assessing changes in students’ attitudes towards mathematics as revealed in their writings about mathematics. In contrast to existing survey instruments on attitudes towards mathematics, the methods and discussion presented here have the potential to inform the …

An Interdisciplinary Approach To Understanding Predator-Prey Relationships In A Changing Ocean: From System Design To Education, Ileana M. Freytes-Ortiz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Climate change is ecologically and socially complex, deemed the most important issue of our generation. Through this dissertation I have approached climate change research through an interdisciplinary perspective, investigating how this phenomenon will affect marine ecological systems, how we can better develop experimental systems to answer ecological questions, and how we can effectively educate about this issue.

In Chapter 2, I provided accessible alternatives for researching the effects of climate change (elevated temperatures and pCO2) on marine ecosystems. I designed, built, and troubleshooted two accurate and inexpensive climate-controlled experimental systems capable of maintaining target conditions: a temperature-controlled system and an …

Nearness Without Distance, Nicholas A. Scoville

Topology

No abstract provided.

Determining The Determinant, Danny Otero

Linear Algebra

No abstract provided.

From Sets To Metric Spaces To Topological Spaces, Nicholas A. Scoville

Topology

No abstract provided.