Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Use Of The Multiplication Chart In Solving Problems With Fractions, Adan Espinosa

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study is to analyze whether or not using the Multiplication Table when teaching fractions will improve student's problem-solving skills with accuracy. The major goal of this project is to explore whether students will become more effective mathematical problem solvers with fractions if they use the multiplication table method or box method. The participants in this study are 93 students in a public high school in a large urban area of the southeast area of California. This study was conducted at Bear High School during the 2007-2008 school year because of the high number of students taking …

A Proposal For A Common Minimal Topic Set In Introductory Biology Courses For Majors, Eileen Gregory, Jane P. Ellis, Amanda N. Orenstein

Faculty Publications

A common complaint among instructors of introductory biology courses is the course covers too much material. Without a national consensus specifying which topics are essential, instructors are leery of excluding material. A survey was administered to Two-Year College and Four-Year College and University section members of the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) to identify the topics and skills college and university biology instructors believe students completing introductory biology should know and comprehend. Analysis identified a strong consensus for twenty topics and seven skills that should be included in all year-long introductory college biology course sequences for majors.

Connecting Mathematics Students To Philosophy And Faith, Nathan Moyer

ACMS Journal 2010-2011

This paper describes an upper-division class project that helps students wrestle with the deep philosophical questions of mathematics in a relevant way. Through article readings and group discussions, various historical views of mathematical philosophy are examined and critiqued. An emphasis is placed upon students making meaningful connections between their own views of mathematics and their personal Christian faith or worldview.

Five Key Ingredients For Improving Student Motivation, Caro C. Williams-Pierce

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Scholarship

Motivation is probably the most important factor that educators can target in order to improve learning. Numerous cross-disciplinary theories have been postulated to explain motivation. While each of these theories has some truth, no single theory seems to adequately explain all human motivation. The fact is that human beings in general and students in particular are complex creatures with complex needs and desires. With regard to students, very little if any learning can occur unless students are motivated on a consistent basis. The five key ingredients impacting student motivation are: student, teacher, content, method/process, and environment. The focus of this …

"American Examples For German Universities: Admitting Women Before World War I", Charles E. Mcclelland

History Faculty Publications

Women were not allowed to enroll a regular students in Prussian universities until 1909, although most other German states had already changed this policy. This chapter analyzes the terms of controversy swirling around the issue, and how American university policies ultimately helped bring about the change.

Test 1999: John Deere 8335rt, Nebraska Tractor Test Lab

Nebraska Tractor Tests

ABOUT THE TEST REPORT AND USE OF THE DATA The test data contained in this report are a tabulation of the results of a series of tests. Due to the restricted format of these pages, only a limited amount of data and not all of the tractor specifications are included. The full OECD report contains usually about 30 pages of data and specifications. The test data were obtained for each tractor under similar conditions and therefore, provide a means of comparison of performance based on a limited set of reported data. EXPLANATION OF THE TEST PROCEDURES Purpose The purpose of …

Discovering And Developing Diverse Stem Talent: Enabling Academically Talented Urban Youth To Flourish, Stephanie Pace Marshall, Glenn W. "Max" Mcgee, Eric Mclaren, Catherine C. Veal

Publications & Research

The Growing Excellence Gap in K-12 Education, Plucker, Burroughs, and Song (2010) provided compelling evidence that "the presence of an excellence gap is demonstrated on both national and state assessments of student performance," with "economically disadvantaged, English Language Learners, and historically underprivileged minorities representing a smaller proportion of students scoring at the highest levels of achievement" (p. 28). Three "case stories" of students from IMSA illuminate some of the (a) challenges and opportunities inherent in igniting STEM talent in urban youth and ensuring their success; (b) principles for designing and creating learning experiences and environments that ignite and nurture the …

Proceedings Of The 123rd Annual Meeting Of The Iowa Academy Of Science [Program, 2011], Iowa Academy Of Science

Iowa Academy of Science Documents

Contents:

Program Summary --- 2-3
Acknowledgements --- 4
Contents --- 5
Welcome --- 5
Iowa Junior Academy of Science Competition --- 6
Geology Special Event Using Geographic Information Systems in Iowa's K-16 Classrooms --- 7
General Session I-Roaming Mars, a Personal Perspective --- 8
Iowa Junior Academy of Science Award Luncheon --- 9
Iowa Academy of Science Business Meeting --- 9
Iowa Academy of Science Volunteers for 2010-2011 --- 10
Symposium A-Unintended Health & Environmental Consequences of Confinement Agriculture --- 11
Symposium B-Investigating Forensic Science --- 12
Symposium C-150th Anniversary-Science and the Civil War --- 13
Symposia Speakers --- 14-15 …

The Complexity Of Reform Efforts In Science Curriculum And Instruction: A Case Study Of The Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy Chemistry Teacher, Tang Wee Teo

IMSA History

This study explores how teacher-initiated site-based reform in a specialized STEM school is conceptualized and enacted, how and why curriculum reform ideas change in the process of enactment, what qualities of teacher agency are entailed, how these qualities are acquired, interplayed, become generative, and/or are influenced to effect different curriculum reform outcomes, and how different conditions support and further teacher agency to make a more defensible curriculum.

In a critical case study of a highly experienced and qualified science teacher, I follow a teacher who initiated efforts to reform the advanced chemistry curriculum. This teacher wanted to make the curriculum …

The Birds Of Chichaqua Bottoms Greenbelt (Polk County, Iowa): Patterns Of Habitat Use And Implications For Management, Keith Summerville, Joel Boyles, Loren Lown

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Despite the fact that many birds are believed to be declining as a result of habitat loss and elimination of historic disturbance regimes, few studies have explored how restoration and management of mixed grassland and woodland systems influence bird communities. In this study, we tested whether habitat size, habitat type, and use of prescribed fire as a management tool affected the species richness and composition of bird communities sampled from 22 restored grassland and woodland sites within Chichaqua Bottoms Greenbelt (Polk County, Iowa). In 2004-5 bird communities were sampled by walking transects within each site and recording the presence and …

The Impact Of Test Format Familiarity On Reducing Test Anxiety, William P. Aamodt

Theses and Graduate Projects

High school students have a variety of concerns when it comes to school; one manifestation of these concerns is test anxiety. Test anxiety in the science classroom is of special concern due to the perceived difficulty of specific topics and the class as a whole, as well as the importance of passing the course. I looked at reducing test anxiety and improving test scores by reviewing chemistry concepts in the same format as the test questions. The results indicate that the increase in test anxiety, immediately before a test, are minimized and test scores are increased when the review questions …

Five Strategies To Support All Teachers: Suggestions To Get Off The Slippery Slope Of "Cookbook" Science Teaching, Paula A. Magee, Ryan Flessner

Scholarship and Professional Work – Education

Many teachers shudder at the thought of implementing an inquiry curriculum. Perhaps they envision a rowdy classroom with little learning. Maybe they wonder, "How will this connect to all the standards?" Fortunately, these legitimate concerns can be addressed, and all students can engage in thoughtfully constructed inquiry science experiences. In this article, we outline five strategies that we have used with elementary school teachers as they moved from a "cookbook" approach in science to an approach that is inquiry-based. Having presented these five strategies in a linear format, we know that on the surface this may seem close to the …

Have A Kids Inquiry Conference: Putting A Twist On The Typical Science Fair, Paula A. Magee, Ryan Flessner

Scholarship and Professional Work – Education

In school, the traditional format for the formal sharing of science experiences has been the science fair. Although the format of science fairs may vary, the usual components consist of a step-by-step experimental process that students follow as they test different variables, construct a hypothesis, and collect data to support or disprove their hypothesis. Usually the science fair is conducted as a competitive event at which prizes are awarded for the "best" examples. Unfortunately, this type of science event has little connection to the real sharing that scientists do regularly.

The National Science Education Standards (NSES) call for an approach …

An Examination Of The Impact Of Smart Pen Technology On Mathematics Achievement And Attitudes Of Community College Students, Amy Marie Marolt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to examine the impact of instructional use of smart pen technology on the mathematics achievement and attitudes of community college students enrolled in a College Algebra course. This quasi-experimental, mixed-methods study utilized a nonequivalent control-group design. In this study, two sections of College Algebra were analyzed with one section serving as a treatment group which had access to an online archival of smart pen documents. The other section served as a control group which had access to an online archival of digital documents which did not have smart pen capabilities. The first hypothesis sought to analyze the …

Perspectives On Deepening Teachers’ Mathematics Content Knowledge: The Case Of The Oregon Mathematics Leadership Institute, Libby Knott, Martha Vancleave

Faculty Publications

The Oregon Mathematics Leadership Institute (OMLI) project served 180 Oregon teachers, and 90 administrators, across the K-12 grades from ten partner districts. OMLI offered a residential, three-week summer institute. Over the course of three consecutive summers, teachers were immersed in a total of six mathematics content classes– Algebra, Data & Chance, Discrete Mathematics, Geometry, Measurement & Change, and Number & Operations—along with an annual collegial leadership course. Each content class was designed and taught by a team of expert faculty from universities, community colleges, and K-12 districts. Each team chose a few “big ideas” on which to focus the course. …

Teaching English Language Learners In Mainstream Science Classrooms: Teacher Practice And Educational Opportunity, Carlotta Dorothy Schroeder

Wayne State University Dissertations

Equal educational opportunity for English language learners (ELLs) has been a goal of the public educational system in the United States. Language policy reforms have increasedaccountability in order for schools to improve student achievement and measure the progress of ELLs. The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) requires assessment and accountability. In this study, the number of ELLs has increased significantly at the high school level and school district as a whole.

Along with the changing demographics, the findings reveal a district-wide policy of equalizing educational opportunity through equal treatment. Language policies provide critical decisions about how to measure what …

Reflections On The Tenth Anniversary Of Mathematics And Democracy, Lynn Arthur Steen, Bernard L. Madison

Numeracy

Two independent reflections by early proponents of quantitative literacy connect today's numeracy initiative with its origin in concern about school tests, its impact on students today, and the challenges of democracy. Even as interest in QL grows in many places, evidence of need also grows. Moreover, well-meaning programs with other goals—especially at the K-12 level—often channel education in directions that fail to advance numeracy. Examples show that both students and teachers are enthusiastic when offered QL opportunities, but that individual beliefs and public decisions often belie the goals of QL.

Calculus, Biology And Medicine: A Case Study In Quantitative Literacy For Science Students, Kim Rheinlander, Dorothy Wallace

Numeracy

This paper describes a course designed to enhance the numeracy of biology and pre-medical students. The course introduces students with the background of one semester of calculus to systems of nonlinear ordinary differential equations as they appear in the mathematical biology literature. Evaluation of the course showed increased enjoyment and confidence in doing mathematics, and an increased appreciation of the utility of mathematics to science. Students who complete this course are better able to read the research literature in mathematical biology and carry out research problems of their own.

Spreadsheets Across The Curriculum, 2: Assessing Our Success With Students At Eckerd College, Laura Reiser Wetzel

Numeracy

The Spreadsheets Across the Curriculum (SSAC) library consists of activities to reinforce or teach quantitative literacy or mathematical concepts and skills in context. Each SSAC “module” consists of a PowerPoint presentation with embedded Excel spreadsheets. Each student works through a presentation, thinks about the in-context problem, figures out how to solve it mathematically, and builds spreadsheets to calculate and examine answers.

To assess the effectiveness of SSAC modules, I surveyed Eckerd College undergraduates in two separate studies. Two undergraduate research assistants and I generated pre- and post-tests for 10 SSAC modules. We hired 21 undergraduates who conducted 62 individual module …

Teacher Collaboration: Implications For New Mathematics Teachers, Laura M. Gellert, Lidia Gonzalez

Publications and Research

One increasingly popular way of supporting new teachers is through the use of mentoring. New teachers are often paired with mentors as one of a number of supports meant to aid new teachers as they begin their career. The various types of mentoring range from school based mentors assigned by the school to specialty mentors, such as math coaches. Examples of other types of supports that are thought of as separate from formal mentoring are lesson studies, professional development schools, professional development workshops supported by local universities, teacher networks and sponsored professional development. Given the popularity of policies promoting support …