Digital Commons Network^™

Conflict Of Allegiance: Professional Development Challenges In Transforming Science Teachers' Identities And Practices, Elizabeth B. Lewis

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Case studies of two biology teachers, Cathy and David, from the same minority-majority, urban U.S. high school, provide insights into their instructional practices while they engaged in long-term professional development (PD). Findings suggest why science teachers engaged with PD may, or may not, adopt more adaptive pedagogical approaches in the service of reform-based teaching. Gee’s institution- and affinity-identity constructs were used as analytic lenses regarding teachers’ perceptions of teaching, learning, and agency in the dual contexts of their school’s institutional environment and PD community. Over time, Cathy adopted more inquiry-based instructional practices she learned through PD seminars in building a …

The Luge & Linear Algebra, Kelly Remijan

Teacher Resources

No abstract provided.

Alabama Unmanned Systems Operations Mastery For Educators (Ausome), Casey Calamaio

Summer Community of Scholars (RCEU and HCR) Project Proposals

No abstract provided.

Covid-19 In Sub-Saharan Africa: Monitoring Impacts On Learning Outcomes: Burundi Report, Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer), Unesco Institute For Statistics

Monitoring Learning

Six African countries participated in the COVID-19: Monitoring Impacts on Learning Outcomes (MILO) project in 2021 – Burundi, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Senegal and Zambia. This report presents the key findings from the MILO project for Burundi. The MILO study was designed to provide information on the impact of the pandemic on learning outcomes. As countries work towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4.1.1b, it is essential that progress towards this goal continues to be monitored. The MILO project was implemented to provide a way for countries to measure learning progress against Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4.1.1b prior to, …

Environmental Studies Curriculum, Chloe Mccloskey

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This 3rd grade curriculum aims to serve two main purposes: empowering students with knowledge to alleviate some of their climate change anxiety and to prevent them from developing harmful, hard to break habits, like ubiquitous plastic consumption/ overconsumption in general, by giving them the tools to do better. There is an emphasis on reactivating solutions we already have but stopped employing, to shift focus from reinventing the wheel towards reinventing the way the driver sees the wheel and remembering the processes/habits of mind that enabled the wheel to once function without fueling our destruction. To begin, lessons focus on understanding …

Covid-19 In Sub-Saharan Africa: Monitoring Impacts On Learning Outcomes: Zambia Report, Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer), Unesco Institute For Statistics

Monitoring Learning

Six African countries participated in the COVID-19: Monitoring Impacts on Learning Outcomes (MILO) project in 2021 – Burundi, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Senegal and Zambia. This report presents the key findings from the MILO project for Zambia. The MILO study was designed to provide information on the impact of the pandemic on learning outcomes. As countries work towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4.1.1b, it is essential that progress towards this goal continues to be monitored. The MILO project was implemented to provide a way for countries to measure learning progress against Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4.1.1b prior to, …

Network Science: Fish Supply, Worlds Of Connections Sepa

Worlds of Connections Resources

Objective The student will understand how being a part of a network (e.g. different roles) influences an individual’s decision-making in addition to understanding positions of power within a fish supply network. The student will be able to identify fish transfer (and money) in a fish supply chain network while seeing how each participant’s goals compete with one another and are balanced by the network. The student will engage with NGSS Crosscutting Concept 4. Systems/System Models.

The Fishing Industry has been around for a very long time. Many jobs are tied to the industry, including people who actually catch the fish, …

Network Science: Ecology, Worlds Of Connections Sepa

Worlds of Connections Resources

Building a network using wooden blocks demonstrates that some pieces in a network are more important than others. Removing pieces of a network will change the structure, but removing the pieces that are most connected or more foundational to the network will have more significant impacts on the network. In an ecosystem network, the more connected the network, the more robust it is. Think about ecosystems and food webs as networks with varying degrees of robustness depending upon how many connections and kinds of connections they contain (e.g. if there are “hubs” or “key links” in the chain). In an …

Network Science: Play Dough Liaisons, Worlds Of Connections Sepa

Worlds of Connections Resources

Brokers play an important role in the access of information and transactions. What makes a person a broker is the fact that the parties the broker is connected to have no way of communicating with each other without the broker. This gives a broker power in what they choose to do with the information they have received. For more information, see the brokerage role sheet (Handout 2). According to the brokerage role sheet, there are five different types of brokers. The brokerage roles can all be depicted as having directed or undirected lines, except for the gatekeeper and the representative. …

Hands-On With Ne Stem 4u: For Budding Stemers In Grades 4-8, Ne Stem 4u Program

Worlds of Connections Resources

Character Biographies 5

Chemistry: The Crystal Tree 10

Biology: Fruitful DNA 15 • Honey Purity Test 22 • Human DNA Extraction 26 • Model Cell 32 • Stethoscopes and Heart Rate 36

Engineering: Build a Catapult 41 • Building Bridges 47

Physics: Battling Balloons 51 • Balloon Popping 57 • Divin' Challenge 60 • Life Jackets and Buoyancy 65 • Simple Circuits 69 • Newton's Tower 75

Geology: Aquifers and Artesian Wells 80 • The Center of the Earth 84 • Mapping and Location Intelligence 88 • Seismology and Earthquakes 92 • Volcanoes 98

Mathematics: Hexaflexagons 102 • Stick Puzzle …

Network Science: Genealogy, Worlds Of Connections Sepa

Worlds of Connections Resources

Remember that family trees are a type of network. The network we create helps us understand which traits were passed down and who they came from. While humans can inherit traits like hair color and eye shape, sometimes they can inherit genetic diseases or be more likely to develop health issues because of their genetics. In most cases, inherited traits are based on probability, so tracing family networks can tell us how likely people are to have these types of diseases. When tracing the genealogical flow of relatedness from one generation to the next one or two generations, it is …

Expanding Graduate Education And Career Placement Through Cer, Julia Mcquillan, Patricia Wonch Hill, Meghan Leadabrand

Worlds of Connections Resources

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) is an R1 (doctoral granting and high research activity) institution with decades of experience with community-engaged research (CER). The UNL Sociology Department has long emphasized research methods, particularly survey methodology and social network analyses, in academic and practice settings. The department offers many opportunities to conduct CER, as well as general applied sociology, and encourages faculty to publish with students out of those opportunities. In part through insights gained through ASA efforts (e.g., leadership development about careers in practice settings), and in part learning from graduate students who perceived discouragement from considering jobs in applied …

Building A Community Of Practice: A Case Study Of Introductory College Chemistry Students, Jonathan L. Hall, Katherine R. Whitaker, Samantha R. Seals, Pamela P. Benz

Teacher Education and Technology Faculty Publications

Engagement in active learning and learning communities is important for persistence of STEM students early in their academic programs. Colleges and universities have an ongoing call to facilitate active learning techniques, yet large group, lecture-based instruction is still the prominent method of instruction. This qualitative case study examines interviews and classroom observations of undergraduate chemistry students enrolled at a primarily undergraduate institution. Critical educational elements were identified for chemistry students participating in a redesigned, introductory course which included a collaborative peer-lead learning experience. The participants engaged in required, weekly sessions structured around community building and active learning. The data were …

A Study Of Underrepresented Minorities In An Informal Stem Experience, Rachel Rogers

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

According to labor market data, there is core cognitive knowledge, skills, and abilities associated with STEM education that are in demand in not just STEM fields, but all areas of the workforce (Carnevale, Smith, & Melton, 2011; Rothwell, 2013). During the period from 2005 until 2015, STEM professions grew by 24.4% (Noonan, 2017). During this time, populations such as minorities continued to show a gap in their representation in STEM (Noonan, 2017). To effectively examine how to increase the rate of URM student success in STEM, more research is needed on the factors that might contribute to minority STEM interest, …

Co-Teaching In High School, Ashley Evans

Student Research Poster Presentations 2022

Students with and without disabilities are entitled to a free and appropriate public education. All students should be given the best education no matter the circumstances that may be present. Implementing the co-teaching model and framework into high school general education classrooms can benefit all students. Where there are benefits with teaching models, there are also drawbacks that can cause the implementation of the model not to be implemented as created. Difference causes can cause this that school districts may or may not be able to control. The lack of professional development, certifications of the educators, and defining the roles …

Gender Differences In High School Students’ Perceptions Of Math And Science Identity, Self-Efficacy, And Utility, Lauren Mauel

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative dissertation examined the differences between young men and women’s perceptions of mathematics and science identity, self-efficacy, and utility. There are gender norms and stereotypes that impact identity, self-efficacy, and perceived utility of mathematics and science. The secondary data analyzed were drawn from the follow-up High School Longitudinal Survey (HSLS:09). The survey was administered to 20,594 11th-grade students enrolled at 904 eligible public, charter, and private schools from all states and the District of Columbia. The study investigated whether there are gender-based statistically significant (p < 0.05) differences in 11th grade students’ perceptions of mathematics and science identity, mathematics and science self-efficacy, and mathematics and science utility. The results of the study suggest that there are statistically significant differences between the genders in mathematics identity, science identity, mathematics self-efficacy, and science self-efficacy, but not statistically significant differences in mathematics utility and science utility. Continued research could prove useful to continue analyzing the gender gaps present.

Exploring The Complex Relationship Between Engineering Students Math Experiences And Identity Formation, Jill Davishahl, Joseph Brobst, Elizabeth Litzler, Andrew Klein, Sura Alqudah

Division of Research and Economic Development Faculty & Staff Publications

This paper shares the experiences of a group of S-STEM scholarship students as they progressed through their first year of undergraduate mathematics education including a math placement exam, a math focused bridge program, and calculus course(s). In addition, connections between student experiences and their math identity development were investigated with the goal of better understanding math identity formation. The authors used a mixed-methods approach to explore the math-related experiences of 12 students over the first year of participation in an NSF-funded S-STEM program. Data includes answers to select survey questions and transcripts of student focus groups. First, each student case …

An Exploration Of The Use Of Science Specialists And Elementary Students’ Science Achievement, Wesley Roach, Jillian L. Wendt

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

The purpose of this causal-comparative study was to examine the effect of using science specialists in elementary schools on science achievement scores. The sample population consisted of 282 fifth grade students enrolled in Georgia public schools. The data for this study was collected from four public elementary schools’ end-of-year state assessments and analyzed as archival data. An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to determine if there was a difference between science achievement scores in elementary schools that use science specialists compared to those that do not. Results indicate that no statistically significant difference exists between the science achievement scores …

High School Students’ Nature Of Science Understandings And Scientific Argumentation Skills In The Context Of Socioscientific Issues, John Michael Williams

Dissertations and Theses

Today’s high school graduates are required to digest and interpret massive amounts of information related to science. National standards documents in science education promote the development of skills to effectively evaluate the credibility of scientific information, with the goal of producing citizens capable of making scientifically informed decisions after graduation. These skills include the ability to make reasoned arguments based on evidence (Scientific Argumentation [SA]) and an understanding of how scientific knowledge is generated, validated, and communicated (Nature of Science [NOS]). While the importance of these skills is not in dispute, the few studies that have examined the connection between …

Science Methods For Elementary Teachers, Ron Browne, David Kimori

Science Methods for Elementary Teachers

Complete Digitized Text of Science Methods for Elementary Teachers by Ron Browne and David Kimori, Minnesota State University, Mankato, 2022.

Integrating Tropical Research Into Biology Education Is Urgently Needed, Ann E. Russell, T. Mitchell Aide, Elizabeth Braker, Carissa N. Ganong, Rebecca D. Hardin, Karen D. Holl, Sara C. Hotchkiss, Jeffrey A. Klemens, Erin K. Kuprewicz, Deedra Mcclearn, George Middendorf, Rebecca Ostertag, Jennifer S. Powers, Sabrina E. Russo, Jennifer L. Stynoski, Ursula Valdez, Charles G. Willis

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Understanding tropical biology is important for solving complex problems such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and zoonotic pandemics, but biology curricula view research mostly via a temperatezone lens. Integrating tropical research into biology education is urgently needed to tackle these issues.

The tropics are engines of Earth systems that regulate global cycles of carbon and water, and are thus critical for management of greenhouse gases. Compared with higher-latitude areas, tropical regions contain a greater diversity of biomes, organisms, and complexity of biological interactions. The tropics house the majority of the world’s human population and provide important global commodities from species …

The Pandemic Dilemma: A Mixed-Methods Study Of Student-Centered Science Education In The Covid-19 Pandemic, Jennifer Slavick

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

The purpose of this explanatory sequential mixed-methods study was to determine how student-centered instruction shifted and what dilemmas teachers experienced in enacting science instruction as they worked through the COVID-19 pandemic. A modified Draw-A-Science-Teacher-Test was used to examine teachers’ perceived instruction during the Fall of 2019, Fall of 2020, and Fall of 2021. Scores on this modified checklist were compared to determine differences in instruction year-to-year, across grade-bands, and to find trends in instruction concerning student demographics. Interviews were conducted with a subset of teachers in the study to learn more about the dilemmas they faced as their attempted science …

Equity Through Growth Mindset, Raven Robinson-Wilson

STEM Integration

This activity occurred during a live, class session that included a focus on equity by addressing, “What qualities and mindsets can we foster in STEM students?” First, we reviewed Growth Mindset Theory, but re-imaged with an explicit focus on equity, with connections to STEM. Then, the teachers were presented with several growth mindset scenarios. The teachers worked in groups by reading the scenarios, elaborated on the context where they might encounter the situation, then improvised how they might respond. They wrote out plans for what they would do.

Validation Of The Ambassador Questionnaire For Undergraduate Students Conducting Engineering Outreach, Melissa G. Kuhn, Shanan Chappell Moots, Joanna K. Garner

Center for Educational Partnerships Publications

Although K-12 engineering outreach commonly involves college students, the young professionals who act as ambassadors for their field are less likely to be studied than the students they serve. Yet, outreach activities may offer opportunities for undergraduate students to develop aspects of their professional selves. As there is currently no comprehensive measure that allows researchers, program evaluators, and outreach advisors to examine ambassadors' professional development and growth, this study sought to develop and validate an Ambassador Questionnaire (AQ). The multi-step process included the selection and adaptation of items from extant measures of engineering students' motivation, beliefs, professional skills, and perceptions …

Early Elementary Students' Use Of Shape And Location Schemas When Embedding And Disembedding, Laura Bofferding, Lizhen Chen, Sezai Kocabas, Mahtob Aqazade

Faculty Publications – Mathematics

Elementary students’ early development of embedding and disembedding is complex and paves the way for later STEM learning. The purpose of this study was to clarify the factors that support students’ embedding (i.e., overlapping shapes to form a new shape) and disembedding (i.e., identifying discrete shapes within another shape) through the use of filled shapes as opposed to shape frames. We recruited 26 Grade 1 students (~6–7 years old) and 23 Grade 3 students (~8–9 years old), asked them to work on two layered puzzle designs from the Color Code puzzle game, and interviewed them about their thinking processes. The …

From The Field: Using A Simple Guide To Help Students Write Better Abstracts., Rochelle H. Holm, Anna Karin Roo

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) often write abstracts for research assignments but may not understand the purpose of an abstract. This paper presents the pilot of a simple guide for writing abstracts which gave student support to two undergraduate Malawian ELL students for their undergraduate research assignment. The two students and the instructor found the handout was helpful for the students to develop technical writing skills for the abstracts.

Use Of Technology And Its Impact On Higher Order Thinking In The Science Classroom, Mauree Angelina Haage

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This study focuses on examining the impact of technology on higher order thinking in the science classroom by first examining the impact of a teacher’s knowledge of Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy on the integration of higher order thinking activities and then by examining what levels of higher order thinking exist when technology was utilized. Previous research has found correlations between the levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy exhibited when using technology, particularly probeware, simulations/virtual labs, and special software like LoggerPro. In addition, previous research has shown a trend of teachers inaccurately categorizing their lessons and activities as having a higher order thinking level …

Postsecondary Course-Taking And Academic Performance Of Transitional Math Completers: A Quantitative Study Of Students In Illinois, Gina Caronna

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This quantitative study investigated the academic outcomes of high school students from one community college district in Illinois who took a high school transitional math course designed to give them direct placement into a college-level math course. The goal of successful completion of a transitional math course is to allow students direct placement into college-level math courses. This study provides a correlational analysis of specific academic success metrics between students who took transitional math and those who did not at one Illinois community college. The sample for this study included 100 students who completed a transitional math course and 525 …

Curriculum Development Of Agricultural Educators In South Dakota, Mercedes Lemke

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Curriculum development is an essential component of teaching. Understanding how agriculture education teachers utilize, develop, and adapt content to curriculum can benefit teachers to spend less time on curriculum development. Recognizing the way agriculture education teachers use content in curriculum implementation will allow curriculum developers to create materials that can effectively be used by teachers. This study also looked at the affects of how COVID19 pandemic affected the way teachers locate and develop curriculum. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the way agriculture education instructor’s usage of content for curriculum development, implementation decisions and the affects of the …

Extended Generalized Logistic Distributions Based On Beta Distributions And Their Generalizations, Howard Omukami, Patrick Weke, Joseph Ottieno

Institute for Educational Development, East Africa

We derive the extended generalized logistic type IV distribution using beta 1 and beta 2 distributions along with generalized three parameter and four parameter beta distributions.