Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Cumulative Advantage And Student Performance In General Chemistry: An Empirical Study At A Midwest Tier 1 University (2016-2019), Nicole Barvian

Dissertations

General chemistry (GC) plays a crucial role in the academic and career outcomes of students interested in postsecondary science, engineering and medicine. As a whole, chemistry education research literature has reported student attrition rates averaging from 25% to 35% for nearly a century. Student attrition rates can be attributed to a number of factors, including high school preparation (e.g. Tai et al. 2006), opportunity to learn (Carroll, 1989) and accumulated time and practice in a domain (e.g. Ericsson et al. 1993). The factors, in turn, are affected by mechanisms of social stratification, in particular, the social mechanism of cumulative advantage …

More Than Free Textbooks: Labor And Pedagogy In Implementing Open Resources In A Trigonometry Course, Caleb Holloway

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

This paper reports the implementation of open educational resources (OER) in a university trigonometry class, with an emphasis on the pedagogical considerations and academic labor involved. To date these two matters have been underreported in the literature on OER. I provide an account of the work involved both in choosing an open textbook and in creating hundreds of accompanying homework exercises for an online learning platform. I also present the pedagogical lens that informed this implementation, discuss how it informed my adoption of an open textbook, and provide specific examples of how it guided the creation of these exercises. Based …

Synesthesia: 3.1415... Orange.Whiteperiwinklewhiteblue..., Shelly Sheats Harkness, Bethany A. Noblitt, Nicole Giesbers

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

In this paper we address the questions: What is synesthesia? What support(s) can teachers provide for their students who have synesthesia? Nicole, a future mathematics teacher who possesses this synesthesia “superpower”, describes how it impacted her learning. We collected data for this case study through an audio-recorded and transcribed interview, as well as from subsequent email correspondence between the three authors. We asked Nicole three kinds of questions: questions she is frequently asked, questions she would like to be asked, and questions teachers (like Shelly and Beth) might ask. Results indicate that synesthesia may have helped Nicole learn English as …

“I Got You”: Centering Identities And Humanness In Collaborations Between Mathematics Educators And Mathematicians, Anne M. Marshall, Sarah Sword, Mollie Applegate, Steven Greenstein, Terrance Pendleton, Kamuela E. Yong, Michael Young, Jennifer A. Wolfe, Theodore Chao, Pamela E. Harris

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Existing literature widely reports on the value of collaborations between mathematicians and mathematics educators, and also how complex those collaborations can be. In this paper, we report on four collaborations that sought to address what mathematics is and who gets to do it. Drawing on the literature and from the careful and intentional work of the collaborators, we offer a framework to capture the richness of those collaborations – one that acknowledges the importance of acknowledging and welcoming the extensive personal and professional experience of each person involved in the collaboration – and a look at how collaborations built with …

Just Mathematics: Getting Started Teaching Postsecondary Math For Social Justice, Kenan A. Ince

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Following the summer 2020 civil rights movement and increasing attention to the intersections of mathematics with politics and power, many math educators have reported a desire to implement an antiracist pedagogy and to examine the intersections of their subject with issues of equity, inclusion, and social justice. Many resources exist for K-12 math educators interested in incorporating social justice into their curricula, but resources are comparatively scarce for college and university instructors (though this is changing quickly!). We discuss why one may want to teach mathematics for social justice, how to begin to implement issues of social justice into postsecondary …

Impact Of Indicators On Hispanic Student Postsecondary Stem Success, Sandra Durden

Theses & Dissertations

Research Focus. My study seeks to explore the extent that select secondary and postsecondary indicators predict STEM student enrollment and persistence particularly for Hispanic students. Identifying postsecondary STEM success and college readiness indicators with special focus on malleable indicators that can assist educators, administrators, and policymakers in designing and implementing educational interventions targeted at improving representation of Hispanic students that receive postsecondary STEM degrees. Currently there are few studies that use data from nationally representative samples of students to research the relationship between predictiveness of indicators and postsecondary STEM success, in particular, studies that explore which indicators differentially predict postsecondary …

Creators For The Earth: The Academic Library’S Role In Supporting Sustainability Creators And Practitioners Across All Disciplines, Jennifer K. Embree, Neyda V. Gilman

Library Scholarship

The image of a creator often brings to mind individuals that can take an abstract or unique idea and transform it into an impressive, tangible creation. Whether it’s an architect crafting a new building design, an artist painting on canvas, or an interior designer mapping out a new room layout, creators are generally seen as those who can formulate conceptual ideas that are then realized to showcase amazing ingenuity. In the world of higher education, this type of work is often first associated with disciplines like art, design, architecture, and engineering—fields where acts of “making,” “creating,” or “building” are integral …

Exploring Transfer Students’ Perceptions Of Their Transition Experience In Calculus 2 At A Research Intensive Institution: A Schlossberg’S And Tinto’S Theory Approach, Steven Edalgo

All Dissertations

This study explored the lived experiences of eleven transfer students as they described their experiences in Calculus 2 at very high research land grant institutions (R1). This qualitative investigation focused on the psychological phenomenon of transition as the transfer students perceived, reflected, made sense, and understood their transition experience. Furthermore, this study explored transfer students’ understanding of how they perceive the attributes of their success or lack of success in Calculus 2.

Employing the use of Schlossberg’s Transition Framework along with Tinto’s Persistence/Departure Framework, the perceptions of the transition experience was analyzed through the lens of this conceptual framework. The …

Analyzing The Influence Of Mathematics Intervention Teacher Actions On Students' Mathematics Identities: An Examination Of Bipoc Student Perceptions And Past Learning Experiences., Sydni P. Morris

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines mathematics education's past and present state in the United States, emphasizing mathematics intervention instruction. This dissertation includes a complex and critical analysis of intervention practices and historical and structural inequities based on race present in these interventions and mathematics education. In combination, it examines the construct of mathematics identities, their role in student success with mathematics, and trends surrounding mathematics education and its impact on populations of students of color. Using Critical Race Theory as an underlying framework and Critical Counter-Narrative as a methodology, it argues a need for marginalized student voices to be present in the …

Prairie Protector: Student Development Of Systems Thinking Habits In The Context Of Agroecosystems, Erin Ingram, Jennifer Keshwani

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Introduction: The Great Plains ecosystem offers an opportunity for young people to gain knowledge about intricate systems through practical learning. The spread of woody plants into grasslands, known as the “Green Glacier,” poses a risk to biodiversity and animal production. Although effective management strategies exist, some land managers are reluctant to use them. It is critical to cultivate a scientifically literate population that can think systematically and make informed decisions based on STEM principles to address such complex agroecosystem problems.

Methods: In this study, semi-structured focus group discussions with high school students were analyzed to determine whether Prairie …

Strategies To Increase Engagement In K-12 Stem Programs Among Bipoc Students Grades 3rd – 8th, Denisha C. Griffey

Dissertations

The WIRE Youth Development Programs, housed within the Lewis Walker Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnic Relations at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI foster two enrichment programs geared towards strengthening the gap in academic knowledge through STEM/STEAM activities. Since its inception, WIRE has impacted over 1,000 youth grades 3-8 among the BIPOC population through its programs, most notably the WIRE Math and Science Summer Camp and Saturday Academy. In 2020, during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, many K-12 education school systems switched to remote learning. As a result of this transition, there was a decrease in access …

Exploring Undergraduate Research Experiences And Perceptions Of Responsible And Ethical Conduct Of Research (Recr) Education In The Biological Sciences And (Bio)Chemistry Disciplines, Bernice Justina Caad

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Increasing calls to reform undergraduate (UG) education within science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines have emphasized the importance of early exposure to responsible and ethical conduct of research (RECR) education. Historically, RECR has primarily been presented at the post-baccalaureate level, leaving many students without a foundational understanding of what responsible research ethics entails during the course of their undergraduate experience. Over the last decade, course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) have emerged as a promising platform to establish expectations of responsible and ethical conduct through greater accessibility and inclusivity, starting at the freshman level. Interestingly, few studies have examined how …

Exploring Culturally Responsive Equitable Problem-Solving Pedagogy: Theorizing, Developing & Teaching, Tisha Newton Jones

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

Achievement gaps in mathematics between middle and high school Black students when compared to their white peers exist in part because of access, but also because Black learners’ brilliance is not recognized. Finding ways to help students, especially Black students, become successful mathematical problem solvers was a driving force behind this research. The purpose of this research is to explore ideas of how to improve Black students' opportunities to engage in effective mathematical problem solving to improve their mathematics understanding and achievement. This study introduces the Culturally Responsive Equitable Problem Solving (CREPS) pedagogy situated at the intersections of a conceptual …

Instructional Practices That Foster Argumentative Discourse In Secondary Science Classrooms, Alicia N. Herrera

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

To remain competitive in an innovative world, American classrooms are promoting careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) by utilizing the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Students are engaged in inquiry by applying scientific practices like argumentation. However, science teachers are finding it difficult to respond to, as well as deepen students’ argumentative conversations. Therefore, research must uncover what instructional practices (or combinations) are used to overcome classroom obstacles, along with fostering students’ discourse and sensemaking. A teacher research approach was taken to investigate how the researcher, a secondary science teacher herself, effectively combines three under-researched instructional practices for …

Positioning Undergraduate Learning Assistants In Instruction: A Case Study Of The La Role In Active Learning Mathematics Classrooms At The University Of Nebraska–Lincoln, Rachel Funk

Department of Mathematics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Research suggests learning assistant (LA) programs can be a change lever to support the institutionalization of active learning in postsecondary education. Some research suggests LAs offer unique benefits for STEM courses, independent from other change levers, but more research needs to be done to understand how LAs support active learning classrooms, specifically in mathematics. Research on mathematics instruction and the use of reform resources suggests that the successful implementation of reforms is impacted by perceptions individuals hold about that resource, such as the LA role. Yet, there is little research about the LA role in mathematics, particularly where the instructor …

How Middle School Students Describe And Explain Their Elementary Science Experiences, Tryna Knox

Teaching and Learning Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to elicit students' voices to examine elementary science experiences to better understand foundational learning. The grounding philosophy and framework of phenomenology guided this work as I sought to capture the lived elementary science experiences of students. I administered a handwritten science autobiography to 52 middle school students at a private middle school in a suburban southwestern community. Utilizing a hermeneutic analytic approach, I learned that middle school students describe and explain elementary science experiences in many interesting ways. For example, students shared a preference for participating in hands-on, active, or engaged learning experiences over …

Pengaruh Pembelajaran Dengan Menggunakan Modul Berbantuan Simulasi Terhadap Peningkatan Penguasaan Konsep Mahasiswa Calon Guru Fisika Pada Materi Gelombang Mekanik, Widya Rohmawati, Sutopo Sutopo, Ahmad Taufiq, Zuerdiana Binti Manaf

Jurnal Pendidikan: Teori, Penelitian, dan Pengembangan

This study aims to determine the effectiveness of simulation-assisted teaching materials in increasing conceptual understanding of prospective physics teacher students about mechanical waves. Research method is a one-group pretest-posttest design with subjects consisted of 25 physics education undergraduate students at Universitas Negeri Malang. Research instrument is a conceptual understanding test item of mechanical waves. The results showed that the acquisition of an increase in learning outcomes through the calculation of the normalized average gain is 0.77 was included in the "high" category so that the use of simulation-assisted teaching materials effective in improving students' conceptual understanding. Similar learning can be …

Development Of Bipa Teaching Materials Daily Communication Goals, Nonny Rulisty Putri Sutikno, Imam Suyitno, Roekhan Roekhan

Jurnal Pendidikan: Teori, Penelitian, dan Pengembangan

Teaching materials for daily communication purposes are needed by BIPA students at the beginner level so they can establish social contact and communicate with native speakers. The development model in this study is the 4D development model. Daily communication material focuses on the use of formal and informal language as a tool for verbal communication. Based on the validation test that has been carried out for the total results of BIPA material expert validation of 67.5%. Practitioners 67.1%, and 79.1% graphic experts. Therefore, this teaching material is quite feasible to use.

Describing The Ele Fresh Graduate Students’ Habit Of Listening To English Songs And Listening Self-Efficacy, Firlyano Fadly, Mirjam Anugerahwati

Jurnal Pendidikan: Teori, Penelitian, dan Pengembangan

Listening is one of the essential language skills, but previous research has shown that listening is one of the most difficult language skills to acquire. There are two main factors that can cause problems when learning listening skills, there are external and internal. Self-efficacy is one of the internal factors. On the other hand, English songs are said to be an effective medium for students to learn listening skills. The purpose of this study is to describe the ELE fresh graduate student’s habit of listening to English songs and their listening self-efficacy. The study is using descriptive study, there are …

Suburban Area English Teachers’ Implementation Of Distance Learning: Methods, Challenges, And Perceptions, Brian Asprilla Yusdiansyah, Johannes Ananto Prayogo, Ekaning Dewanti Laksmi

Jurnal Pendidikan: Teori, Penelitian, dan Pengembangan

This study employs a multiple case study method and aims to investigate, discover, and describe the suburban area English teachers teaching methods during the distance learning, challenges which are faced by the teachers, how the teachers solve those challenges, and the teachers’ perceptions towards the implementation of distance learning. The findings revealed that the teachers use direct teaching and more focused on utilizing the technology. Some of those challenges are mainly caused by the students ‘conditions. In order to obtain more genuine and valid results, a future study with better research instruments need to be conducted.