Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Improving Fluid Management Of Extreme Premature Infants By Providing A Restrictive Fluid Management Algorithm In The Nicu, Jacob S. Ward, Dena Hubbard, Nicholas Clark

Research Days

Problem Statement/Question: At our institution we found wide variability in and a lack of an evidence-based standard for fluid management in premature infants.

Background/Project Intent (Aim Statement): Excessive fluid intake in premature infants during the first week of life increases the risk of adverse events and overall mortality. Fluid restriction is recommended to help decrease morbidity and mortality in this patient population. We aimed to improve the fluid management of premature infants born < 29 weeks gestation admitted to our intensive care nursery (ICN) by implementing a fluid restriction protocol with the goal of >70% compliance over a 16-month period.

Methods (include PDSA cycles): Institution of daily weights started at beginning of baseline period. In April of 2021, we implemented a …

Hypereosinophilia With An Anterior Mediastinal Mass, Sonya Parashar, Aarti Pandya

Research Days

Background: Hypereosinophilia is defined as 1500 eosinophils/mL or above with evidence of end-organ damage due to the eosinophils at least 4 weeks apart.

Objectives/Goal: We describe a case of steroid resistant hypereosinophilia.

Methods/Design: A 3-year-old male was admitted for newly found anterior mediastinal mass and left pleural effusion. About 6 weeks prior to admission, he was seen in his primary care office for difficulty breathing. Despite the appropriate treatment for his symptoms, the patient continued to have significant respiratory symptoms and a chest x-ray showed a large left pleural effusion. He was immediately transferred to a tertiary care center and …

Go With The Flow: Indigenous Science In The Language Classroom, Stephany Runninghawk Johnson, Sequoia L. Dance

Occasional Paper Series

In 2017 a team from the College of Education at Washington State University received a grant from the National Science Foundation to work on a project called Culturally Responsive Indigenous Science (CRIS). In this essay we explore a small piece of the CRIS project with our Coeur d’Alene partners and the lessons we learned from it. These lessons include building and using a culturally responsive lesson plan template and the challenges associated with doing so, learning together and teaching each other how science belongs within a language classroom, and examining beautiful examples of an Indigenous teacher using traditional educational methods …

Adverse Childhood Experiences, Resilience, And Student Engagement In A University Statistics Course, Adam Heck

Faculty Works

Engagement is a fundamental aspect of the learning process. Exploring the role of outside factors on student engagement offers potential for eduators to tailor their pedagogies to meet the need of students who have experienced trauma. Researchers over the past couple of decades have begun exploring the role of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on a whole host of different fields (health, education, etc.). This study examines the potential role that ACES and resilience may play in a student’s engagement levels within a university statistics course. Participants were college students from a university in the southeastern United States. Two survesy, an …

Learning To Teach Prospective Elementary Teachers: A Narrative Inquiry Of A Newer Mathematics Content Instructor, Kelsey Quaisley

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

Learning to teach mathematics content courses designed for prospective elementary teachers (PTs) is challenging. Mathematics content instructors must be prepared to not only teach mathematics content, but engage PTs in understanding children’s mathematical thinking strategies, learning trajectories, and misconceptions (Carpenter et al., 1996; Carpenter & Moser, 1982; I et al., 2020). When considering how instructors might best be prepared and supported, however, one must recognize that there is significant variation in the backgrounds and expertise of mathematics content instructors (Masingila et al., 2012; Yow et al., 2016) and little is known about the preparation, knowledge, and experiences of mathematics content …

The Condensed Stem Survey As A Tool For Extension Educators, Jafeth E. Sanchez

Journal of Extension

One Extension Specialist implemented a STEM pilot robotics program across three middle school settings. A program evaluation to provide guidance and recommendations for future development, implementation, and continued evaluation was conducted as part of a larger study. This process led to the development of a condensed STEM survey that can be used by Extension professionals on STEM dispositions among middle school youth.

Spring 2023 Showcase Program, Jamey Burns

Project InTERSECT Materials

The Inquiry Showcase Programs illustrate the areas of inquiry that teachers selected and what the teachers learned about STEM instruction as they studied their STEM practice within their own classrooms.

The Effects Of Lecture Capture Design On Student Performance In An Online, Asynchronous Nonmajors Biology Course, Melissa Ann Gutierrez

Dissertations

Lecture capture technology, the ability to provide multimedia recordings of instructional content, has become an essential technology for online learning. One of the ways online courses have tried to appeal to the digital lifestyle of today’s students is providing different lecture capture styles, such as audio (podcasts), video, or interactive videos, due to the popularity of mobile media players providing anytime and anywhere learning. Although lecture capture technology provides educators with a diverse set of tools on how content is delivered, studies have shown mixed results on the impact of lecture capture styles on learning.

For this study, the main …

Predicting Attrition Among Human Anatomy And Physiology I Students In Community Colleges, Benjimen Sessums

Dissertations

Anatomy and Physiology (A&P) courses are offered at almost every postsecondary educational institution in the United States enrolling over 450,000 students each year across the United States with an overall attrition rate between 30-40%. Approximately 150,000 of these students will not be successful the first time they attempt A&P. This constitutes one of the highest attrition rates of all undergraduate degree courses with this size of yearly enrollment.

A&P courses often serve as gateway course required for the continuation and completion of several biological degree fields. Many health-related professional programs such as nursing, paramedicine, and other allied health vocations require …

Understanding The Relationship Between Organic Chemistry Misconceptions And Students’ Chemistry Self-Efficacy In Higher Education Organic Chemistry Courses, Lauren A. Dudley

Education (PhD) Dissertations

Organic chemistry is accepted as a crucial part of science higher education funneling students into many career opportunities such as pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and medical industries. Students attempting organic chemistry courses in higher education are among a plethora of majors including biology, chemistry, health science, and engineering. However, organic chemistry as a course has stayed fairly stagnant for the past 50 years. Students in this course typically resort to rote-memorization and often regard the course itself as insurmountable. To answer the decreasing retention rates seen across the United States, the research revolving around organic chemistry knowledge and teaching methodologies has increased …

Women In Science At Depauw University, Lauren Nguyen '23

Student Research

Women in Science at DePauw is a research project conducted in Spring 2023 to honor the women in science in the history of DePauw University. This project utilizes resources from the Archives, including the Archives and Special Collections and the Digital Library, to gather information about the lives and accomplishments of female faculty and alumni in science at DePauw. The final product of the project is 8 posters created in Adobe Photoshop, highlighting 10 female figures that studied and/or taught science at DePauw. By recognizing the presence and contributions of these women at DePauw, the project raises public awareness of …

A Mixed Method Approach To Explore Lecturers' Pedagogical And Content Knowledge, Students' Perspectives And Learning Experiences In Mathematics For Social Science Course, Julio Hector Solis

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Research indicates that institutions and teachers' pedagogical and content knowledge are essential to student learning and achievement. Nevertheless, teachers' knowledge and practices have been researched primarily in K-12th grades. Therefore, there is a gap in understanding teaching practices in higher education. Moreover, research has forgotten about exploring math classes for non-STEM majors. With this in mind, this research investigates how students perceive math professors' pedagogical and content knowledge and their effect on students' learning experiences in the context of mathematics for social science classes. To achieve this, this study takes a mixed-methods approach in its use of an observation protocol, …

Program And Proceedings: Nebraska Academy Of Sciences 1880–2023, 143rd Anniversary Year, One Hundred-Thirty-Third Annual Meeting, April 21, 2023

Nebraska Academy of Sciences: Programs and Proceedings

Program

Aeronautics and Space Science

Humans Past and Present

Applied Science and Technology Section

Biology

Biomedical Sciences

Chemistry

Earth Sciences

Environmental Science

Physics

Science Education

2023 Maiben Lecture: Jason Bartz

2023 Friend of Science Award: Ray Ward and Jim Lewis

Curriculum Connectivity In Montclair State University’S Undergraduate Mathematics Program, Ana G. Da Silva Jesus

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

According to Piaget’s cognitive development theory and the constructivism learning theory of education, real learning occurs when students establish long term connections between disciplines by either adapting or redefining previously acquired knowledge. These ideologies have important teaching and learning implications that directly influence curriculum development and the design of a course of study. This thesis explores the interconnectedness of the subjects required for the successful completion of an undergraduate math program at Montclair State University. More specifically, it models students’ unique connections through a learning network and investigates the correlation between the interconnectivity of subjects and students’ overall performance. Results …

Noticing And Focusing On Chemistry Deep Structure In Integrated Stem Design Challenges, Christopher M. Sgro

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Integrating science and engineering has become a focal point for current research in science and STEM educational fields. Infusing engineering design as an application of scientific principles is beneficial, as it demonstrates an authentic, real-world application and allows for not only student engagement and enthusiasm, but also an avenue to learn and transfer science skills and content. In order to effectively transfer scientific principles and skills, students must first notice that science principles can inform the design, and then choose to apply those skills through focusing processes. While there has been previous studies that have investigated transfer as part of …

Development And Initial Validation Of The Mindful Self-Regulated Learning Scale (M-Srls), Sarah Wolff

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Modern mindfulness is a catch-all term. Just exactly what it looks like within the context of education and how it is taught vastly varies. As such, program fidelity and integrity is questioned. Here a definition of mindful self-regulated learning is proposed and the Mindful Self-Regulated Learning Scale (m-SRLS) is developed. This includes item generation and development, systematic testing of item performance, scale dimensionality, convergent and divergent validity, measurement invariance across groups and subgroups, and scale reliability over a series of five pilot studies and five primary studies using independent samples. The resulting m-SRLS is a context specific measurement tool that …

Use Of Vocabulary Strategies To Aid English Language Learners In A General Education Biology Classroom, Virginia Perry

All Dissertations

The demographics of the typical American classroom continue to present as a more diverse student population with the increase of English Language Learners (ELL) entering public schools. General education teachers on a secondary level are challenged with incorporating academic language instruction into content instruction for ELLs. Many of these teachers seek appropriate instructional strategies to teach ELLs academic language skills related to literacy to comprehend the specific content taught at the secondary level. A deeper understanding of language and skill acquisition within a secondary classroom can help guide future efforts in implementing effective literacy strategies to address ELLs’ academic language …

Covid-19 & Mathematics Achievement: A Casual-Comparative Study, Jay M. Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Learning loss due to COVID-19 and the digital divide will have dire consequences for low-income students. This study used the Faucet Theory (Alexander et al., 2001) as a theoretical framework to determine the extent that the COVID-19 learning environment impacted the Southern Public Schools District’s African American, low-income, and high-income high school students’ proficiency level based on the Algebra I section of the 2020-2021 Louisiana Education Assessment Program (LEAP) assessment. The researcher used archival data from the LEAP, a causal-comparative research design, and a one-way ANOVA to test the hypotheses and answer the research question. The results of the one-way …

A Teaching Unit Plan For Introducing Engineering In 1st-2nd Grade Classrooms, Claudia Smith

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The field of engineering, and specifically chemical engineering, is projected to increase significantly over the next 10 years. Engineering programs require students to have a strong foundation of math and science. Students in the United States are often underprepared to enter these programs, and the majority of high school students are not interested in pursuing a career in the STEM field at all. For this project, a unit teaching plan was created to introduce students to the field of engineering, providing a foundation for their upper-level STEM classes, and encouraging them to consider engineering as a career in the future. …

Development Of Secondary Special Education Science Assessments And Curriculum Map, Heather Thompson

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This project explores and develops science curriculum for secondary students with severe special needs. It identifies why science is important for this demographic as well as what students and teachers need to improve science instruction within that setting. The project provides a curriculum map with leveled access to each of the Essential Elements detailed by the state throughout an academic year. It also provides leveled common assessments to us in conjunction with that map in order to facilitate a continued share from success growth mentality.