Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Probing Space: Formative Assessment In A Middle School Inquiry-Based Science Classroom, Clinton W. Anderson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This action research thesis was performed to explore the research questions: How did the use of formative assessment affect student performance data in understanding the concepts of the Sun-Earth-Moon system?, How did the use of learning scales as formative techniques impact student self-assessment of their knowledge of the Sun-Earth-Moon system?, How did the implementation of formative assessment techniques affect student discourse on the topic of the Sun-Earth-Moon system? Formative assessment techniques including "talk-friendly" probes, sticky bars, and agree-disagree statements were used in the classroom to expose gaps in knowledge, to facilitate discourse, and promote self-assessment. A triangulation of data included …

The Separate And Collective Effects Of Personalization, Personification, And Gender On Learning With Multimedia Chemistry Instructional Materials, Shannon James Halkyard

Doctoral Dissertations

Chemistry is a difficult subject to learn and teach for students in general. Additionally, female students are under-represented in chemistry and the physical sciences. Within chemistry, atomic and electronic structure is a key concept and several recommendations in the literature describe how this topic can be taught better.

These recommendations can be employed in multimedia instructional materials designed following principles understood through the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning. Additionally, these materials can expand the known use of principles like personalization (addressing the learner as "you") and test prospective design principles like personification (referring to abstract objects like atoms as "she" …

Integrating Mathematical Modeling For Undergraduate Pre-Service Science Education Learning And Instruction In The Middle School Classroom, William Robertson, David Carrejo

Selected Works Temporary Series

El Paso is a bicultural, bilingual community with a 76.6% Hispanic population. Combining El Paso’s population with that of its sister city, Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, our community is the largest metropolitan area on any international border in the world. Students at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) are mostly female, and 50% of the total student population is made up of first-generation college students. These demographics are accompanied by low socioeconomic and educational factors: 23.6% of local families live below the poverty level, compared to 12.5% nationally; 32.9% of 25-year-olds have not graduated from high school; 19% of …

Integrating Mathematical Modeling For Undergraduate Pre-Service Science Education Learning And Instruction In The Middle School Classroom, William Robertson, David Carrejo

Departmental Papers (TE)

El Paso is a bicultural, bilingual community with a 76.6% Hispanic population. Combining El Paso’s population with that of its sister city, Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, our community is the largest metropolitan area on any international border in the world. Students at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) are mostly female, and 50% of the total student population is made up of first-generation college students. These demographics are accompanied by low socioeconomic and educational factors: 23.6% of local families live below the poverty level, compared to 12.5% nationally; 32.9% of 25-year-olds have not graduated from high school; 19% of …

A Conceptual Framework For Student Understanding Of Logarithms, Heather Rebecca Ambler Williams

Theses and Dissertations

In the past, frameworks for what it means for students to understand elementary mathematical concepts like addition have been well-researched. These frameworks are useful for identifying what students must understand to have a good grasp of the concept. Few such research-based frameworks exist for secondary mathematical topics. The intent of this study was to create such a framework for what it means for students to understand logarithms, a topic that has been under-researched up to this point. Four task-based interviews were conducted with each of four different preservice secondary mathematics teachers in order to test a preliminary framework I had …

Nebraskamath Years 2-3 Report

NebraskaMATH Materials

This Report to Nebraska after Year 3 highlights the progress of the NebraskaMATH grant’s three main initiatives, Primarily Math, Nebraska Algebra and New Teacher Network, as well as the Nebraska Math & Science Summer Institutes (NMSSI), NebraskaNOYCE and the online Nebraska Math & Science Network.

Obituary: Jerry Ronald Choate, 1943-2009, Elmer J. Finck, Hugh H. Genoways, Justin D. Hoffman, Carleton J. Phillips, Robert J. Baker

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Jerry Ronald Choate (1943–2009) had just retired as Director of the Sternberg Museum of Natural History and Professor of Biological Sciences, Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kansas, at the time of his death. Jerry served the American Society of Mammalogists in numerous capacities, including Recording Secretary, First Vice President, and most notably as a member and chair of the Board of Trustees.

The hallmark of Jerry’s life was to turn the ordinary into something magnificent. Whether it was his photography that changed an ordinary landscape into a magnificent masterpiece, or his convincing a reluctant graduate student that they could do …

Enriching Science And Math Through Engineering, Adrienne Redmond, Julie Thomas, Karen High, Margaret Scott, Pat Jordan, Jean Dockers

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

This case study reviewed the collaborative efforts of university engineers, teacher educators, and middle school teachers to advance sixth- and seventh-grade students’ learning through a series of project-based engineering activities. This two-year project enriched regular school curricula by introducing real-world applications of science and mathematics concepts that expanded opportunities for creativity and problem-solving, introduced problem-based learning, and provided after-school programming (for girls only) led by engineering students from the local university. This engineering education initiative showed significant impact on students’ (1) confidence in science and mathematics; (2) effort toward science and mathematics; (3) awareness of engineering; and (4) interest in …

Disenfractioned: How A Blind Spot For Fractions May Be A Hindrance To Democracy, Matthew Salomone

Bridgewater Review

No abstract provided.

Integrating Physical Activity Data Technologies Into Elementary School Classrooms, Victor R. Lee, Jonathan M. Thomas

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

This paper describes an iteration of a design-based research project that involved integrating commercial physical activity data (PAD) sensors, such as heart rate monitors and pedometers, as technologies that could be used in two fifth-grade classrooms. Design-based research involves the development, implementation and study of new learning interventions in real-world contexts with the goal of elaborating principles or guidelines relevant to the design of new technologies and learning experiences. The current project involved the implementation of PAD technology-supported learning activities in two fifth-grade classrooms where students pursued investigations related to the distances that they walk, the relationship between heights and …

Causal Attributions Of Nontraditional Students In A Developmental Mathematics Course At A Two-Year College, Jacob Dasinger

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship existed between exam grades and students' causal attributions of their grades in a developmental mathematics course at a community college. Also investigated were differences in causal attributions of grades between Traditional and Nontraditional students. In addition, among Nontraditional students, differences based on gender were examined. The sample consisted of 331 completed questionnaires from 24 sections at a southern community college in the Spring 2010 semester.

The instrument used was a self-report questionnaire consisting of four parts: (a) demographic data section; (b) seven questions to determine students' classification; (c) short …

Mathematically Gifted Students' Experiences Of Challenge With Cognitively Guided Instruction, Kim Krusen Mccomas

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined to what extent and in what ways mathematically gifted students were challenged in two elementary classrooms taught by exemplary teachers using the principles of Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI). The two case studies included a third grade class and a fourth/fifth split grade class, with five mathematically advanced participants from each grade. A top tier and a second tier of mathematically advanced students were identified, with the top tier of five students identified as mathematically gifted. Classroom observations of CGI math lessons, interviews with students and teachers, and analysis of students' problem-solving strategies were conducted over a five …

Effective Science Teachers’ Professional Development: A Multiple-Case Study Of District-Level Science Supervisors’ Perspectives, Chris J. Schaben

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

At its heart, science teachers’ professional development is about continual growth and improvement (Yager, 2005). Conducting research to understand what constitutes effective professional development is inherently complex (Hewson, 2007). The imperative to link research on professional development to student achievement (Fishman, Marx, Best, & Tal, 2003) increases complexity of research on the topic. These complexities require multiple research approaches and indicate that all stakeholders could provide insights to identify what constitutes effective professional development. District-level science supervisors’ voices are missing from the data on effective science teachers’ professional development and this provides a potential gap in the literature (Banilower, Heck, …

The Relationship Between Attitude And Anxiety Toward Teaching Science In Pre-Service Elementary Teachers And The Use Of Science Olympiad Events, Allison Armstrong Downing

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the anxiety and attitudes of pre-service elementary teachers toward teaching science and the use of Science Olympiad events in an elementary science methods course. The participants were 34 pre-service elementary teachers enrolled in the Winter 2010 and Spring 2011 trimesters in the course Science in the Elementary School at a private university in south Mississippi. Attitude toward teaching science was measured using the Revised Science Attitude Scale. Anxiety was measured using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Form Y). Data collection involved participants taking pretests for attitude and state anxiety on …

Changes In Perceived Self-Efficacy And Attitude Toward Science And Teaching Science In Elementary School, Betsy Ann Sullivan

Dissertations

This study was developed in an effort to ascertain if a proposed biological laboratory curriculum as developed and modeled by the instructor would affect the attitudes and perceived self-efficacy towards science, science teaching and ability to learn science of pre-service elementary teachers. Self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies were incorporated as the variation. Attitudinal topics investigated were the perceived ability to learn science and to teach science.

Students in one biology for non-science majors' biology laboratory class at the University of Southern Mississippi participated in this case study. The group participated in the modified laboratory section which utilized SRL activities, including reflections …

Establishing Construct Validity Of The Biology I Subject Area Testing Program In Mississippi, Christy Michelle Hollis Philippoff

Dissertations

Science education has undergone many revisions since it was permanently embedded in the country's educational curriculum at the end of the 19th century. Some of these revisions occurred as a direct result of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). This legislation placed more accountability on schools than ever before by requiring that all students pass a series of standardized tests (USDE, 2010). High schools in Mississippi require four areas of standardized testing: English II, Algebra I, U.S. History, and Biology I (Wroten, 2008). The focus of this study is the Biology I Subject Area Test.

In an effort to …

The Effects Of Simplified Schema-Based Instruction On Elementary Students' Mathematical Word Problem Solving Performance, Houbin Lewis Fang

Dissertations

This study is an evidence-based mathematical intervention in word problem solving for elementary students. One of the purposes of teaching mathematics is to help students apply mathematics to real life situations. As we know, teaching word problem solving is a very suitable format for this purpose. Schema-based instruction (SBI) is one of the most supported methods for teaching word problem solving. In the current literature, there are four steps in SBI: identifying the problem type, applying corresponding method, determining an operation, and solving the problem. The problem with the current SBI is that there are no agreed-upon definitions for word …

Design Of Hands-On Solar Power Exhibit For Children's Science Museum, Chad A. Stott, Christina Carmen, Jayme Berstell, Danny Nease, Jeremy White

Honors Capstone Projects and Theses

No abstract provided.

Developing Hands-On Physiology Labs For The Department Of Biology At The University Of Kentucky, Ann Cooper

Kaleidoscope

No abstract provided.

Ists, November 2011, Iowa Academy Of Science

ISTS Newsletter

In this issue:

--Notes and News

--Thoughts

--Opportunities