Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Iowa Academy Of Science: The New Bulletin, V07n2, Summer 2011, Iowa Academy Of Science

New Bulletin

Inside This Issue:

--Message from the Executive Director

--2011 Friends of Science & Outstanding Service Award Winners

--IAS Corporate Memberships

--2011 Distinguished Science Awards

--IAS—Iowa DNR Pilot Workshop bucks national trends

--Wanted: Saylorville Gift Shop Coordinator

--Announcements, Events & Deadlines

Preparing Algebra Students For Washington State’S End Of Course Exam, Mallory Jane Neher

All Graduate Projects

This project was a response to the changes in the Washington State math assessments for high school students. Algebra was the focus of this curriculum alignment and resources were created to better help Washington State students pass their Algebra End of Course exam. A significant part of the project was the course-pacing guide, standards mapping, and integrated content and language objectives that were written for key lessons that specifically addressed state standards. Lastly, there was a tool designed for students to monitor and track their own progress with the Algebra state standards.

Ua64/2 The Challenge: Magazine Of The Center For Gifted Studies (No. 27, Summer 2011), Center For Gifted Studies, Tracy Inman Editor

Gifted Studies Publications

No abstract provided.

Beyond Jeopardy And Lectures: Using Microsoft Powerpoint As A Game Tool To Teach Science, Jason Paul Siko, Michael K. Barbour, Sacip Toker

Education Faculty Publications

To date, research involving homemade PowerPoint games as an instructional tool has not shown statistically significant gains in student performance. This paper examines the results of a study comparing the performance of students in a high school chemistry course who created homemade PowerPoint games as a test review with the students who used a traditional study guide on two separate unit tests. Students scored significantly higher on one of the two unit tests; however, there was no difference in performance between students who created games multiple times. This was the first time a significant difference has been reported when using …

Use Of Cognitive Artifacts In Chemistry Learning, Ilker Yengin

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Theses and Other Student Research

In everyday life, we interact with cognitive artifacts to receive and/or manipulate information so as to alter our thinking processes. CHEM/TEAC 869Q is a distance course that includes extensive explicit instruction in the use of a cognitive artifact. This study investigates issues related to the design of that online artifact. In order to understand design implications and how cognitive artifacts contribute to students’ thinking and learning, a qualitative research methodology was engaged that utilized think aloud sessions.  Participants’ described constrained and structured cognitive models while using the artifact.  The study also was informed by interviews and researcher's field notes. A …

Focusing A New Lens: Stem Professional Development For Early Education And Care Educators And Programs, Angi Stone-Macdonald, Vicki L. Bartolini, Anne Douglass, Marylu Love

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publication Series

The purpose of this groundbreaking grassroots report is to engage early childhood educators and policy makers in understanding the urgency and importance of early childhood educator professional development in STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). This report focuses on the teaching of children birth to five years old and out of school time students. STEM…Science…Technology…Engineering…Math. These are not curriculum topics that early childhood educators traditionally call to mind when planning activities. However, the evidence supporting the importance and emphasis on STEM education in early childhood is overwhelming. Children are engineers, problem solvers, and collaborators at heart- with boundless potential …

The Effects Of A Remedial Math Intervention On Standardized Test Scores In Georgia Middle Schools, Chastity London Adams

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Schools are looking for interventions to improve academic achievement and increase test scores due to the requirements of No Child Left Behind. One such intervention in middle schools is remedial math. This causal comparative study examined the differences in the standardized test scores for at-risk students who receive remedial math instruction and at-risk students who do not receive this intervention. In addition, this study examined gender differences for the remedial math students. The Georgia Criterion-Referenced Competency Test of 293 at-risk seventh-grade students was used in this study. Using the previous year's standardized math test scores as a control variable, there …

New Approach To Teach Product Design That Breaks The Disciplinary Boundaries, Iem Heng, Andy S. Zhang, Farrukh Zia

Publications and Research

This paper presents an initiative and a strategy to teach product design to students in different engineering technology fields through cross departmental collaboration and cooperation between faculty members in the Mechanical Engineering Technology and the Computer Engineering Technology Departments. The work is funded by the National Science Foundation Advanced Technology Education Division (Award No. DUE-1003712) recently awarded to New York City College of Technology. Traditional approach to teach product design in a college setting was mostly confined by disciplinary boundaries. There were very little or no collaborations among various engineering departments. Advances in computer technology and semiconductor electronics have created …

Connecting Science With Engineering: Using Inquiry And Design In A Teacher Professional Development Course, Louis S. Nadelson, Patricia Pyke, Janet Callahan, Anne Hay, Joshua Pfiester, Mark A. Emmet

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

The engineering design process has evolved over time to be the central and effective framework that engineers use to conduct their work. Logically, K-12 STEM professional development efforts have then attempted to incorporate the design process into their work. There has been little in the STEM literature, though, of the explicit measurement of the growth in design process knowledge. Our study presents findings of significant improvements in knowledge of the design process that resulted over the course of a recent summer STEM institute and professional development program among K-5 teachers.

As more emphasis is placed on integrating STEM into the …

Introduction Of Mechatronic Technology Into Cross-Department Product Design Curricula, Andy S. Zhang, Iem Heng, Sidi Berri, Farrukh Zia

Publications and Research

This paper presents the work that is currently engaged by faculty in the departments of mechanical engineering technology and computer engineering technology to introduce mechatronic technology into product design curricula of both departments. This work is funded by the National Science Foundation (Award No. DUE-1003721) recently awarded to New York City College of Technology. Advances in computer technology and semiconductor electronics have created a new product design field called mechatronics. Mechatronics treats product design as system design that requires the tight integration of mechanical components, electrical/electronic systems, industrial design ideas, computer-control systems, embedded systems, and intelligent software into the product …

Developing A Climate Science Education Professional Development Program, Dan Shepardson

2011 Symposium on Data-Driven Approaches to Droughts

This presentation overviews the process and challenges of developing a climate science professional development program for teachers. Implications to drought education will be explored.

Engaging Students In Stem Fields Via A Hands-On High Altitude Baloon Project, Jennifer Hunt

Honors Capstone Projects and Theses

No abstract provided.

Lesson’S Learned: A Journey In Computational Science, Ryan Botts, Lori Carter

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2011

Inspired by work on building a computational science program and student questions about modeling, we aim to discuss some of our experiences with computational science. We will first clarify what computational science is, why it is a legitimate science, why it is worth our students’ time and what makes it a challenging field. We will also discuss how computer scientists, mathematicians and laboratory scientists each have something different to contribute to the field.

A Bayesian Secondary Analysis In An Asthma Study, Samuel P. Wilcock, Vernon M. Chinchilli, Stephen P. Peters

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2011

A recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine by the Asthma Clinical Research Network (ACRN) compared three different treatments for their effectiveness in treating adults with uncontrolled asthma. This paper will describe the study design and its results, then detail the beginnings of a secondary analysis using Bayesian methods to estimate the parameters of interest. The methods will be explained, and the preliminary estimates given and contextualized. The paper will conclude with a discussion of the next steps and the goals for further analysis of the data in this study.

What We Can Learn From Process Theology: Integrating Faith And Mathematics, Josh Wilkerson

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2011

In the inaugural issue of The Journal of the Association of Christians in the Mathematical Sciences, James Bradley, the founding editor, suggests fourteen areas that need to be addressed by Christian mathematicians who are series about integrating their faith and their work. One of those areas is the topic of this paper. Bradly frames the question: “Some thinkers (perhaps influenced by process theology) have asserted the idea that God’s creation is not a finished work but that he creates new mathematical objects through mathematicians. Is this idea theologically sound? Is it helpful for our understanding of mathematics?” I copy …

Google And The Mathematics Of Web Search, Michael Rempe

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2011

This article examines the algorithms used by Google to rank search engine results, called PageRank.

Calculus Communication Circle, Judith Palagallo

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2011

Calculus Communication Circle is a network for the professional development of Advanced Placement Calculus teachers. In Northeast Ohio the Circle provides a forum where teachers meet to share ideas about mathematics and the teaching of calculus. This article describes the creation of the Circle and the progress it has made over its three year existence.

Using Original Historical Mathematics Texts In The Classroom, Maria Zack

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2011

Incorporating information from the history of mathematics into undergraduate mathematics courses is an effective way to help students make connections between the mathematics they are learning and their general education courses. It also helps students to see mathematics as living subject that has changed over time. One way to introduce historical topics into a variety of classes is through the use of original mathematical texts. This paper describes how non-experts can make use of original texts and provides sources for identifying candidate texts.

The Mathematics Of Cubic Sudoku, Nicholas Zoller

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2011

In the last decade the Sudoku puzzle has fixed itself in America’s puzzle consciousness. Sudoku puzzles share space with crossword puzzles and word finds in newspaper puzzle sections, and several books have been written for the Sudoku playing community. Mathematicians are among the most dedicated Sudoku players. Although some are content with simply solving puzzle after puzzle, others have used tools from combinatorics and algebra to study its important properties.

We investigate a variant of Sudoku called Cubic Sudoku, as well as Cubic Sudoku’s simpler relative, Cubic Shidoku. We successfully count the number of Cubic Shidoku puzzles in two different …

Math History Study Abroad Program: Learning Math History In A Cultural Context, Donna Pierce

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2011

In January 2011 fifteen Whitworth University mathematics students and I, their professor, traveled through Europe to study the history of mathematics. The goal was to gain an understanding of how mathematical ideas have developed over time; how social, cultural and historical factors have influenced the development of mathematics and conversely, how mathematics contributed to society and human culture. Over a course of three weeks we traveled to three countries and over a half dozen cities, viewing the tools, papers and workbooks or these mathematicians, seeing their engineering and artistic creations, and learning from local experts as they guided us through …