Education Commons^™

Improving Students’ Algebraic Thinking: The Case Of Talia, Kien H. Lim

Kien H Lim

This paper presents the case of an 11th grader, Talia, who demonstrated improvement in her algebraic thinking after five one-hour sessions of solving problems involving inequalities and equations. She improved from association-based to coordination-based predictions, from impulsive to analytic anticipations, and from inequality-as-a-signal-for-a-procedure to inequality-as-a-comparison-of-functions conceptions. In the one-on-one teaching intervention, she progressed from the sub-context of manipulating symbols, to working with specific numbers, to reasoning with “general” numbers, and eventually to reasoning with symbols. Three features were identified to account for her improvement: (a) attention to meaning, (b) opportunity to repeat similar reasoning, and (c) opportunity to explore.

The Development Of Undergraduate Distance Education Engineering Programs In North Carolina, Sarah A. Rajala, Tom Miller

Sarah A. Rajala

The College of Engineering at North Carolina State University has a strong track record in providing distance education to the citizens in North Carolina through credit-based courses and degree programs. To provide increased access to engineering education on the undergraduate level and enhance the success of the student transfer population, the College of Engineering developed two new 2+2 engineering programs and a distance education bachelor of science in engineering program. The 2+2 programs are designed to provide students enrolled at institutions without engineering programs the opportunity to take some of the fundamental engineering courses in addition to their general education …

Relatório Do Projeto: Os Livros Didáticos De Ciências Para O Ensino Secundário Brasileiro Do Século Xix [Project Report: Science Textbooks In Brazilian Secondary Education During The Nineteenth Century], Karl M. Lorenz

Karl M Lorenz

Este trabalho apresenta um sumario dos objetivos, metodologia, e resultados preliminares de uma projeto de pesquisa, iniciada em 2002, que identifica, descreve e contextualiza 32 textos escolares de ciência adotados no Colégio de Pedro II, a instituição secundário modelo no Brasil durante o século XIX.
The paper presents a summary of the objectives, methodology and preliminary results of a research project, initiated in 2002, that identifies, describes and contextualizes 32 science textbooks adopted in the College Pedro II, the model secondary institution in Brazil during the XIX century.

Using Dragonflies As Common, Flexible, And Charismatic Subjects For Teaching The Scientific Process, Paul Switzer

Paul V. Switzer

No abstract provided.

Facilitating Identity Formation, Group Membership, And Learning In Science Classrooms: What Can Be Learned From Out Of Field Teaching In An Urban School, Stacy Olitsky

Stacy Olitsky

This paper explores both the obstacles and the possibilities for students developing identities associated with science by engaging in solidarity-building classroom interactions. Data come from ethnographic research conducted in a diverse eighth-grade urban magnet school classroom in which the teacher taught out of field for part of the year. Contrary to expectations, more students participated and reported enjoying science when the teacher was out of field. Analysis of classroom interactions indicated that while in field, the teacher primarily engaged in “front stage” performances that hid her struggles with the material and accentuated students’ views of science as an elite status …

Promoting Student Engagement In Science: Interaction Rituals And The Pursuit Of A Community Of Practice, Stacy Olitsky

Stacy Olitsky

This study explores the relationship between interaction rituals, student engagement with science, and learning environments modeled on communities of practice based on an ethnographic study of an eighth grade urban magnet school classroom. It compares three interactional events in order to examine the classroom conditions and teacher practices that can foster successful interaction rituals (IRs), which are characterized by high levels of emotional energy, feelings of group membership, and sustained interest in the subject. Classroom conditions surrounding the emergence of successful IRs included mutual focus, familiar symbols and activity structures, the permissibility of some side-talk, and opportunities for physical and …

Identity, Interaction Ritual, And Students' Strategic Use Of Science Language, Stacy Olitsky

Stacy Olitsky

An important part of learning science is formulating ideas, debating explanations, and talking about science with others. Yet students may still avoid “talking science” in class even if they are familiar with the content knowledge. Drawing on data from an ethnographic study of an eighth-grade urban science classroom, I argue that students’ expressions of knowledge in science class can be considered a strategic move, or a choice, aimed at supporting identity claims and increasing the likelihood of engaging in successful interaction rituals characterized by entrainment and solidarity. The results of this study suggest that a student’s knowledge of the subject …

A New Abel Inversion By Means Of The Integrals Of An Input Function With Noise, Li Huang

Li Huang

Abel’s integral equations arise inmany areas of natural science and engineering, particularly in plasma diagnostics. This paper proposes a new and effective approximation of the inversion of Abel transform. This algorithm can be simply implemented by symbolic computation, and moreover an nth-order approximation reduces to the exact solution when it is a polynomial in r2 of degree less than or equal to n. Approximate Abel inversion is expressed in terms of integrals of input measurement data; so the suggested approach is stable for experimental data with random noise. An error analysis of the approximation of Abel inversion is given. Finally, …

Learning From People, Things, And Signs, Michael H.G. Hoffmann

Michael H.G. Hoffmann

Starting from the observation that small children can count more objects than numbers—a phenomenon that I am calling the “lifeworld dependency of cognition”—and an analysis of finger calculation, the paper shows how learning can be explained as the development of cognitive systems. Parts of those systems are not only an individual's different forms of knowledge and cognitive abilities, but also other people, things, and signs. The paper argues that cognitive systems are first of all semiotic systems since they are dependent on signs and representations as mediators. The two main questions discussed here are how the external world constrains and …

The Complementarity Of A Representational And An Epistemological Function Of Signs In Scientific Activity, Michael H.G. Hoffmann, Wolff-Michael Roth

Michael H.G. Hoffmann

Signs do not only “represent” something for somebody, as Peirce’s definition goes, but also “mediate” relations between us and our world, including ourselves, as has been elaborated by Vygotsky. We call the first the representational function of a sign and the second the epistemological function since in using signs we make distinctions, specify objects and relations, structure our observations, and organize societal and cognitive activity. The goal of this paper is, on the one hand, to develop a model in which both these functions appear as complementary and, on the other, to show that this complementarity is essential for the …

Analyzing The Use Of Teaching Strategies In A Model Based Curriculum: Promoting Expert Reasoning And Imaginary Enhancement In High School Students, John Clement, L. Stephens

John J. Clement

No abstract provided.

Reading Primary Literature : A Practical Guide To Evaluating Research Articles In Biology, Christopher Gillen

Christopher M. Gillen

Developing Mathematical Literacy, Ross Turner, L Steen, H Burkhardt

Ross Turner

The Roles Of Modelling In Learning Mathematics, Malcolm Swann, Ross Turner, Caroline Yoon, E Muller

Ross Turner

Modelling And Applications In Pisa, Ross Turner

Ross Turner

A Classroom Teacher's Reflection On Learning Sustainability, Sandra Wooltorton

Sandra Wooltorton

Field-Based Science Education With A Community Service Learning Focus, William H. Robertson

William H. Robertson

Field-based program of studies for future teachers provides opportunities for powerful learning through a dialectical union of reflection and action. Methods courses in academic disciplines are linked with seminars and coursework on community partnerships, critical pedagogy and culturally responsive education. This article illustrates the processes of planning, implementation and evaluation of this approach, highlighting the impacts of community service learning on parents, families, students, and schools with a focus on validating native language literacy, increasing parental involvement and providing conceptually correct science education. The project indicates that two-way dual language programs with a strong parent engagement component can help improve …

Increasing Pre-Service Teacher Science Test Success With A Tutorial Cd, William H. Robertson, Brian H. Giza, Stephanie S. Kuehne

William H. Robertson

Pre-service teachers often perform poorly on high-stakes state certification exams. Noting that there were a few particular items and concepts that seemed to be the most problematical, the authors developed a n HTML and flash-based tutorial CD that contained supplementary video and reference materials designed to assist the prospective teacher in preparing for the exam. Research subjects were studied for their preparation for self-regulated learning, as well as language environment, content background, and other factors. Data from scores on the teacher certification exam was correlated with CD use and demographics to identify the effectiveness of the CD tool as an …

El Uso De Preguntas Y Descubrimiento En El Contexto De Química, William H. Robertson

William H. Robertson

This article, written in Spanish, describes the impacts of an effort to increase the teaching abilities of a group of Chemistry Peer Leaders working with undergraduates in fundamental Chemistry classes. The provided abstracts, in Spanish and English, describe the overall approach and the results obtained from the study done in the fall of 2005. A partnership between the College of Education and the College of Science at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) which was developed in order to strengthen the pedagogical methods within the context of chemistry content for student Peer Leaders. The goal was to enhance …