Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

On A Desert Island With Unit Sticks, Continued Fractions And Lagrange, Victor J. Ricchezza, H. L. Vacher

Numeracy

GLY 4866, Computational Geology, provides an opportunity, welcomed by our faculty, to teach quantitative literacy to geology majors at USF. The course continues to evolve although the second author has been teaching it for some 20 years. This paper describes our experiences with a new lab activity that we are developing on the core issue of measurement and units. The activity is inspired by a passage in the 2008 publication of lectures that Joseph Louis Lagrange delivered at the Ecole Normale in 1795. The activity envisions that young scientists are faced with the need to determine the dimensions of a …

Attitudes Toward Statistics Studies Among Students With Learning Disabilities, Orly Lipka, Itay Hess

Numeracy

This study aims to examine the effectiveness of a support course to change attitudes toward statistics studies of post-secondary students who were diagnosed with learning disabilities (LD) and/or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The participants were 22 students in a support course that was provided over a single academic term on a weekly basis. The design of the study was according to 'Pre-Post' comparison. The effects on attitudes toward statistics were examined quantitatively and qualitatively to provide a comprehensive methodology for the research purposes. Results suggest that the weekly support course model that was taught simultaneously to the on-line course …

Quantitative Literacy At Michigan State University, 3: Designing General Education Mathematics Courses, Samuel L. Tunstall, Vincent Melfi, Jeffrey Craig, Richard Edwards, Andrew Krause, Bronlyn Wassink, Victor Piercey

Numeracy

In this paper, we describe the process at Michigan State University whereby we have created two courses, Math 101 and 102, designed to foster numeracy and alleviate mathematics anxiety. The courses--which are not sequential--provide a means of satisfying the University's general education requirement without taking college algebra or calculus, among other options. They are context-driven and broken into modules such as "The World and Its People" and "Health and Risk." They have been highly successful thus far, with students providing positive feedback on their interest in the material and the utility they see of it in their daily lives. We …

Words Matter: Discourse And Numeracy, Samuel L. Tunstall

Numeracy

Here I discuss elements of critical discourse analysis (CDA) and their importance in relation to quantitative literacy (QL). Through an overview of theory, synthesis of research, and examples, I argue that the discursive nature of textbooks has a nontrivial impact on students' mathematical dispositions - an important component of QL. In particular, texts are a means of disseminating the culture of mathematics, one which has a tendency to paint mathematics as esoteric and male-dominated. Such a characterization has profound implications for the numeracy community, one of which is that we cannot assume that changes in curriculum are sufficient for effecting …

Rethinking The Numerate Citizen: Quantitative Literacy And Public Issues, Ander W. Erickson

Numeracy

Does a citizen need to possess quantitative literacy in order to make responsible decisions on behalf of the public good? If so, how much is enough? This paper presents an analysis of the quantitative claims made on behalf of ballot measures in order to better delineate the role of quantitative literacy for the citizen. I argue that this role is surprisingly limited due to the contextualized nature of quantitative claims that are encountered outside of a school setting. Instead, rational dependence, or the reasoned dependence on the knowledge of others, is proposed as an educational goal that can supplement quantitative …

Why Be So Critical? Nineteenth Century Mathematics And The Origins Of Analysis, Janet Heine Barnett

Analysis

No abstract provided.

Henri Lebesgue And The Development Of The Integral Concept, Janet Heine Barnett

Analysis

No abstract provided.

The Failure Of The Euclidean Parallel Postulate And Distance In Hyperbolic Geometry, Jerry Lodder

Geometry

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Response To Intervention In A High School Mathematics Setting, Lauren Dominick

EDL Sixth Year Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the impact of response to intervention (RTI) in a high school mathematics setting. A major concern in the literature related to the fact that majority of RTI research focused on students at the elementary level and in reading. Therefore in this study RTI was implemented in a high school mathematics classroom and the effects were analyzed. This study is focused on a sample of ninth and tenth grade students from two classes and taught by one teacher in the same high school in an action research setting. Quantitative and qualitative methods of …

Is The Flipped Classroom Pedagogy Effective For All Students?, Stephanie Quarato

EDL Sixth Year Theses

In my experience as a mathematics teacher, I have learned that mathematics is a subject that is commonly paired with negative feelings. Many individuals lack confidence in their ability to perform mathematics. As a mathematics teacher, I am always looking for different ways to reach the needs of all of my students. The flipped classroom was one initiative that I implemented into my classroom to understand the benefits of learning in this unique way. In a flipped lesson, the students learn the lesson from a textbook or video as the homework, while the practice is completed in the classroom. The …

Richard Dedekind And The Creation Of An Ideal: Early Developments In Ring Theory, Janet Heine Barnett

Abstract Algebra

No abstract provided.

Hexapod Herald - Vol. 28, No. 3, July 2016

Hexapod Herald and Other Entomology Department Newsletters

Content: Welcome New Faculty - ESA-NCB Award Winners - Student Award Winners - Grants - Congratulations! - Student News - Publications - Travel - Meet Airene Millsap, an Online Student - Beekeeping Workshops

Counting On It : Early Numeracy Development And The Preschool Child, Kate Reid

Student learning processes

Children think mathematically long before they start school. Before children start learning mathematics at school, they show informal understanding of many numeracy concepts. This is informal numeracy knowledge, that is, skills that children develop before starting school that do not depend on written mathematical notation (Purpura & Napoli, 2015). For example, children’s numeracy knowledge is evident in their developing counting skills. It is also evident in their capacity to compare, share, order, estimate and calculate different quantities. Fundamental skills in recognising and responding to numerical cues are apparent in infancy, and, at a very basic level, may be innate. Early …

Instructional Framing And Student Learning Of Community Interactions, Nathaniel Niosco

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Ecology is a broad field of science that encompasses many disciplines with large impacts in our society (AAAS, 2011; NRC, 2009). To understand the complex systems and concepts of this discipline requires a foundation of knowledge that students often gain in the classroom (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000). Helping students develop this foundation of knowledge requires an understanding of how they use surface and deep reasoning skills to understand and learn new material. In addition, using methods to teach students to transfer these skills between multiple contexts is key to expanding their ability to broadly apply knowledge. The purpose of …

The Explorations Program: Benefits Of Single-Session, Research- Focused Classes For Students And Postdoctoral Instructors, Jeremy L. Hsu, Anna M. Wrona, Sarah E. Brownell, Waheeda Khalfan

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

We present an update to Explorations, a program at Stanford University that allows undergraduates in an introductory biology course to explore specialized topics in the biological sciences while providing graduate students and postdoctoral scholars the unique opportunity to develop and teach single-session, research-focused classes. We provide an assessment of eight iterations of the program, using program attendance, student and instructor evaluations, senior exit surveys, course grades, and completion of undergraduate honors theses to assess the impact of our program on students and instructors. Students rated their experiences highly, and most reported that the program had a positive impact on their …

Insight Into Student Conceptions Of Proof, Steven Daniel Lauzon

Theses and Dissertations

The emphasis of undergraduate mathematics content is centered around abstract reasoning and proof, whereas students' pre-college mathematical experiences typically give them limited exposure to these concepts. Not surprisingly, many students struggle to make the transition to undergraduate mathematics in their first course on mathematical proof, known as a bridge course. In the process of this study, eight students of varied backgrounds were interviewed before during and after their bridge course at BYU. By combining the proof scheme frameworks of Harel and Sowder (1998) and Ko and Knuth (2009), I analyzed and categorized students’ initial proof schemes, observed their development throughout …

Project-Based Science Instruction For General-Education Undergraduates And Seventh Graders: Practices, Proficiency, And Pitfalls, Walter S. Borowski, Malcolm P. Frisbie

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

For three semesters we conducted a general-education course designed for both undergraduates and seventh-graders in which students investigated contaminant sources and water quality of a local stream. The middle school students attend a local, county school that draws its students from disadvantaged areas of the town of Richmond, Kentucky. Undergraduates were general-education honors students with little predilection toward science. The instructors guided undergraduates through the project, and our honors students then mentored the middle-schoolers in their scientific endeavors.

Both sets of students serially investigated the chemical and biological properties of a typical upland stream (Tates Creek, Madison County, Kentucky) impacted …

Pythagorean Combinations For Lego Robot Building., Ronald I. Greenberg

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

This paper provides tips for LEGO robot construction involving bracing or gear meshing along a diagonal using standard Botball kits.

Discipline-Based Planetary Education Research And Computational Fluid Dynamics Analysis Of Mars, Filis Coba

Physics Theses & Dissertations

This thesis originates from the testing and implementation of an IRB-approved interactive animation designed to help students understand what causes The Reasons For The Seasons (RFTS) on Earth. Results from the testing indicated a small improvement in student understanding after exposure to the animation. Next, using the 3-D mapping tool Google Earth, students explored seasons and other planetary features on Mercury, Venus, the Moon and Mars through IRB-approved interactive tours which were developed and tested for astronomy education. Results from the tests indicated that there were statistically significant learning gains (p-value < 0.05) after students interacted with the tours compared to those who did not. The development of the tours inspired a geophysics study of the possibility of former plate motion (or plate tectonics) on Mars. A 2-D finite element convection model for the mantle of Mars was designed and solved using COMSOL Multiphysics 5.1, to investigate whether or not thermal gradients in a Mars-sized planet could cause vigorous upper mantle convection, consistent with plate tectonic processes. Results from this project indicated that stable convection could occur in the interior of a Mars-like planet assuming the presence of sufficiently high thermal gradients at about 0.8 times the mantle temperature of Earth. The convective patterns resembled hot upwelling and cool downwelling which may be similar to subduction-like features. Furthermore, increasing the temperature of the hot boundaries resulted in faster, more rigorous convective motions and a hotter average temperature.

Expectancies And Motivations To Attend An Informal Science Lecture Series, Niveen Abighannam, Leeann Kahlor, Anthony Dudo, Ming-Ching Liang, Sonny Rosenthal, Jay L. Banner

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

This study explored the expectancies and motivations that prompt audiences to attend a university science lecture series. The series features talks by science experts from the host campus and around the USA. Each lecture typically attracts between 300 and 600 attendees, including middle and high school student groups, university students, and families and adults from the area. We conducted 47 semi-structured interviews with attendees in order to evaluate their expectancies and motivations. A template analysis of the interviews was grounded in social cognitive and self-determination theories. Results suggest that participants were mostly driven by intrinsic motivations and acquired strong sensory …