Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

An Examination Of Positive Impacts On Students' Math Success, Lauren E. Bisher

Masters Projects

In today’s classrooms, some students struggle to achieve at high levels in math. Yet, recent research describing the neuroplasticity of the brain means that, with a mathematical mindset, all students can achieve in math at the highest levels in school. Unfortunately, some capable students disengage from the subject due to a fixed mindset or holding beliefs in math myths, such as only some people are born with a math brain or math is about speed. Achievement in math can open more opportunities in a student’s future. Entrance into college and various careers that require mathematical skills become possible when students …

Identifying Student Profiles In A Digital Mental Rotation Task: Insights From The 2017 Naep Math Assessment, Xin Wei, Susu Zhang, Jihong Zhang

Counseling, Leadership, and Research Methods Faculty Publications and Presentations

Mental rotation (MR), a key aspect of spatial reasoning, is highly predictive of success in STEM fields. This study analyzed strategies employed by 27,600 eighth-grade students during a digital MR task from the 2017 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in mathematics. Utilizing K-means cluster analysis to categorize behavioral and performance patterns, we identified four distinct profiles: Cognitive Offloaders (15% of the sample), Internal Visualizers (55%), External Visualizers (5%), and Non-Triers (25%). Cognitive Offloaders, skilled at minimizing cognitive load by eliminating incorrect options, demonstrated the highest MR accuracy rates at 45%. Internal Visualizers, relying less on digital tools and more …

The Perspective Of An Alumnus, Rifah Tasnim

Early College Folio

No abstract provided.

Editor’S Note, Amanda Landi

Early College Folio

No abstract provided.

Contributors

Early College Folio

Contributors, Early College Folio, Volume 3, Issue 1 (2024).

Increasing The Level Of English Language Learners Mathematical Word Problem Skills Using Language Interventions, Hannah M. Frederick

Masters Projects

This project highlights the possible solutions to the ever-increasing achievement gap between English Language Learners and native-English speaking students in United States’ schools. Standardized assessments are composed of mathematical word problems so instead of students being tested on their math abilities, they are also being tested on their reading comprehension. This adds an additional difficulty for English Language Learners who are in the process of learning English. This project outlines a plan to increase ELLs word problem skills through the explicit teaching of vocabulary and reading comprehension. These interventions will allow ELLs to improve their English abilities in a mathematical …

Skyscrapers, Liza Bondurant

CoE Publications

No abstract provided.

Embodied Explorations Of Slope, Rebecca Hudson, Payeton Stevens-Balducci, Liza Bondurant, Lee Dean, Catherine Putnam

CoE Publications

Promote student engagement and deep thinking about the meaning of slope.

Breaking Boundaries: A Qualitative Exploration Of Scientific Motivation And Persistance From The Perspectives Of Arab Women Undergradute Students In Stem In The Us, Fadwa Hamad

Dissertations

There is a lack of information regarding the motivational experiences of Arab women undergraduate students in STEM fields in the US and the factors that contribute to their engagement and persistence in this field. This is because of their categorization as white on census documents, which renders them invisible. Research has shown that motivational beliefs are effective predictors of students' persistence especially for women from minority groups. Thus, it is important to understand the motivational experiences of Arab women students as part of the minority women in STEM in the US. Using an intersectionality framework, and a multi-component motivational model, …

Teaching To The Heart: A Grounded Theory Exploration Of Elementary Educators’ Journey Toward Teaching Mathematics For Social Justice, Breána Victoria-Delgado

Education (PhD) Dissertations

The current sociopolitical context of the United States has created a divide among the nation which has transpired into Kindergarten-12th grade public school settings. Throughout the United States school boards of education have banned books and Critical Race Theory while attacking social justice teaching pedagogies. Presently, there is growing empirical research on teaching mathematics for social justice in public elementary schools. This study explored the ways in which public elementary educators experience teaching mathematics for social justice in their classrooms across Southern California. Through qualitative research, this study utilized constructivist grounded theory methodology and methods to gain insight of the …

A Scoping Review On The Experiences Of Queer And Trans Students In Stem, Elliot P. Tingey

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Efforts to increase diversity in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) are ongoing, but within these efforts queer and trans individuals are often left out. While initial data does suggest that queer and trans individuals are significantly absent from the STEM workforce, research into the causes of such underrepresentation is scattered. Given the importance of educational experiences in the pursuit of a STEM career, it is likely that these early experiences may play a role. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the current research on the experiences of queer and trans students in STEM educational spaces, what …

Pre-Service Teachers’ Noticing Of Students’ Mathematical Thinking When Planning, Teaching, And Reflecting On Lessons, Matthew Flores

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

A central aspect of reform-minded mathematical teaching is training and developing teachers' ability to notice vital aspects in the classroom and more specifically, students’ mathematical thinking. As there is an abundance of evidence and research that support the benefits for teachers to elicit and use students’ ideas and thinking during instruction, there are just as many challenges associated with developing and mastering this skill. Specially, teachers must learn to attend to important details of students’ thinking, interpret the meaning and understanding of students’ thinking, and finally, teachers must decide how to purposefully respond to the student in a manner that …

An Equity Centered Analysis Of Course Coordination's Effect On Undergraduate Calculus 1 Students' Mathematics Identity, Tyler Sullivan

All Dissertations

For institutions offering multiple sections of Calculus 1, course coordination allows for consistency among the sections through the reduction of variation of material and/or instructional approaches. Studies on course coordination have shown that a coordinated system can bring benefits to instructors and promote equality for students across multi-section course so they can expect the same instructional treatment as their peers. The benefits to students are often left implicit in current research and usually measured through academic success while the benefits to instructors are well documented. Past studies have also stressed the importance of consistency and fairness across sections brought by …

Leveraging International Large-Scale Assessments: Insights From An Item-Writing Professional Development Program For High School Mathematics Teachers, Mark Lester B. Garcia, Catherine P. Vistro-Yu

Mathematics Faculty Publications

The Philippine Department of Education, despite seeing minimal improvements in the country’s score and rankings in the recent cycles of international large-scale assessments (ILSAs) such as TIMSS and PISA, maintained that it shall continue to participate in ILSAs to monitor the progress of educational effectiveness and benchmark with other countries by observing and adopting commendable practices. While legislators and other stakeholders push for increased financial resources in the education sector as part of the country’s preparations for upcoming ILSAs, one crucial aspect that is largely overlooked is teacher training. This paper presents a viable yet contentious way of upskilling teachers …

Elementary Science Teacher Self-Efficacy In The Context Of Ngss-Aligned Curriculum Enactment: An Explanatory Sequential Mixed Methods Study, Wesley P. Sliger

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

A confluence of circumstances in educational policy and teacher preparation have placed a low priority on elementary science teacher preparation. Historically, a lack of elementary science teachers’ subject matter knowledge and pedagogical knowledge has negatively impacted science teaching self-efficacy, which is linked to many teacher and student outcomes. Meanwhile, the past decade has ushered in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and the modern era of reform-based science teaching. The emergence of self-proclaimed NGSS-aligned resources has outpaced academic examination regarding professional development (PD), curriculum implementation, and curriculum enactment. The purpose of this study was to use social cognitive theory to …

7th International Conference On Creative Mathematical Sciences Communication (Cmsc`24), Frances A. Rosamond

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

The 7th International Creative Mathematical Sciences Communication (CMSC) conference is scheduled for October 2024 in Trier, Germany. Initiated in Darwin, Australia in 2013, CMSC aims to explore novel methods of imparting computational thinking to diverse audiences including non-specialists, modern citizens, and children. Participants from around the world and from various and interdisciplinary disciplines such as science, education, dance, drama, and visual arts convene to exchange ideas, present experimental approaches, and collaborate on engaging children in the exploration of ongoing, unresolved research challenges.

The Value Of Adding Nothing: A Call For Reform-Oriented Polynomial Division, Jonathan Clark, Jeneva Clark

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

The call to implement reform practices in schools reflects the historical turn away from the behaviorist theory of learning in education. Yet the praxis of this turn remains a significant challenge, particularly within mathematics classrooms where procedural memorization is emphasized. In this article, we show one means of how to advance our pursuit of meaningful mathematics into polynomial division. Building on the literature for reform-based division methods, an alternative to the long division algorithm will be explored that relies solely on adding zero and fundamental algebraic principles.

Sociomathematical Norms And Automated Proof Checking In Mathematical Education: Reflections And Experiences, Merlin Carl

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

According to a widely held view, mathematical proofs are essentially (indications of) formal derivations, and thus in principle mechanically checkable (this view is defended, for example, by Azzouni [3]). This should in particular hold for the kind of simple proof exercises typically given to students of mathematics learning to write proofs. If that is so, then automated proof checking should be an attractive option for math education at the undergraduate level. An opposing view would be that mathematical proofs are social objects and that what constitutes a mathematical proof can thus not be separated from the social context in which …

Mathematical Anxiety In The Turkish Context: Mathematical Experiences Of High School Students, Vahap Yorgun, Serdal Mert

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Although a handful of studies have investigated the prevalence of math anx- iety among Turkish school children and its relationship with several variables like attitudes toward math, gender, self-efficacy, parental style, there is as of now no study focusing on development psychological interventions to cope with math anxiety. Most of the extant studies use quantitative approaches, but in order to develop intervention programs, researchers need to know how math anxiety develops, what kinds of personal variables or factors take place in this process, and what kind of emotional and cognitive reactions hold by students about math. Thus in our research, …

Teacher Outcomes Of An Intensive Stem-Focused Professional Learning Initiative: An Examination Of Their Beliefs, Practices, And Perceptions, Elizabeth L. Adams, Leanne R. Ketterlin-Geller, Caitlin T. Cox, Karen Pierce

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

The purpose of this paper is to describe teacher outcomes from participating in an intensive science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professional learning (PL) initiative for middle school science teachers in the United States. The initiative included intensive summer coursework and ongoing support (e.g., individual coaching, professional learning communities), and focused on enhancing teachers’ STEM instruction and their pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), with the ultimate goal of improving student outcomes.

In this mixed method study, we examine change across time in teachers’ beliefs, use of STEM instruction, and PCK. In general, we did not observe statistically significant change in teachers’ …