Education Commons^™

An Expository Analysis Of Textbook Usage In Classical Settings For High School Biology, Kristen Bissontz

Master of Arts in Classical Studies

AN EXPOSITORY ANALYSIS OF TEXTBOOK USAGE IN CLASSICAL SETTINGS FOR HIGH SCHOOL BIOLOGY

Kristen Bissontz

Southeastern University, Lakeland FL

The classical model of education has reemerged as a viable alternative to the modern education system. Many of the disciplines taught in a classical school, program or home education scenario appear to align with the classical philosophy with the exception of the sciences. This paper serves to uncover if textbooks are the primary source in classical settings, what resources are utilized, and offers suggestions to better align with the classical pedagogy.

A small sample of classical schools and programs in a …

Implementing Minnesota American Indian Tribe State Standard In Suburban Minnesota Ecology Curriculum, Sadie R. Spaeth

Leadership Education Capstones

The purpose of the study was to create curriculum supporting the new Minnesota Native American State Standard 4.2.2.

Beating The Odds: High-Growth Schools Based On The Act Aspire Examinations, Serving Low-Income Communities, Sarah C. Mckenzie

Arkansas Education Reports

This section highlights high-growth schools across Arkansas based on the ACT Aspire examinations in Math and English Language Arts (ELA) for the 2020-2021 academic year. For these awards, we consider schools where at least 66% of the student body is eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (FRL).

High-poverty schools are ranked by school level (Elementary, Middle, or High) based on Overall Growth (Math and ELA combined), as well as for growth in each content area independently. High-poverty schools are also ranked within each region of the state. Tables include the region in which the school is located, the number of …

High-Growth High Schools In Arkansas Based On Performance On The Act Aspire Examination, Sarah C. Mckenzie

Arkansas Education Reports

This section highlights high schools across the state whose students demonstrated high growth on the Arkansas ACT Aspire exams. The ACT Aspire was administered to students in grades 3 through 10 in April 2022 in Math and ELA courses which include English, Writing, and Reading.

Each table in this section presents the Top 20 schools for the noted subject area and school level. In addition, these tables include the region in which the schools are located, the grades served at the school, the weighted achievement score, and the content growth score in that particular subject.

The level of the schools, …

Beating The Odds: High-Growth Schools Based On The Act Aspire Examinations, Serving Low-Income Communities, Charlene A. Reid, Sarah C. Mckenzie

Arkansas Education Reports

This section highlights high-growth schools across Arkansas based on the ACT Aspire examinations in Math and English Language Arts (ELA) for the 2020-2021 academic year. For these awards, we consider schools where at least 66% of the student body is eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (FRL).

High-poverty schools are ranked by school level (Elementary, Middle, or High) based on Overall Growth (Math and ELA combined), as well as for growth in each content area independently. High-poverty schools are also ranked within each region of the state. Tables include the region in which the school is located, the number of …

High-Growth High Schools In Arkansas Based On Performance On The Act Aspire Examinations, Charlene A. Reid, Sarah C. Mckenzie

Arkansas Education Reports

This section highlights high schools across the state whose students demonstrated high growth on the Arkansas ACT Aspire exams. The ACT Aspire was administered to students in grades 3 through 10 in April 2021 in Math and ELA courses which include English, Writing, and Reading.

Each table in this section presents the Top 20 schools for the noted subject area and school level. In addition, these tables include the region in which the schools are located, the grades served at the school, the weighted achievement score, and the content growth score in that particular subject.

The level of the schools, …

Netsci High: Bringing Agency To Diverse Teens Through The Science Of Connected Systems, Stephen M. Uzzo, Catherine B. Cramer, Hiroki Sayama, Russell Faux

Northeast Journal of Complex Systems (NEJCS)

This paper follows NetSci High, a decade-long initiative to inspire teams of teenage researchers to develop, execute and disseminate original research in network science. The project introduced high school students to the computer-based analysis of networks, and instilled in the participants the habits of mind to deepen inquiry in connected systems and statistics, and to sustain interest in continuing to study and pursue careers in fields involving network analysis. Goals of NetSci High ranged from proximal learning outcomes (e.g., increasing high school student competencies in computing and improving student attitudes toward computing) to highly distal (e.g., preparing students for 21st …

The Effect Of Interleaved Practice In A High School Chemistry Class, Alex Herrington

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

Determining practices to produce optimal learning outcomes is a foundational objective for educators. Recent publications have identified the importance of practice sequencing structures (blocked vs interleaved) on learning. While this information has significant value for education, few studies have been conducted in authentic educational environments. This action research involved high school chemistry students (n=25) completing a practice assignment covering mole-mass conversions. One group practiced these problems in a blocked organization while the other was interleaved. Immediately following this assignment, students noted their completion time and rated their perceived difficulty. Three days later, students were given an unannounced interleaved assessment of …

Factors Impacting Students’ Perceptions Of Mathematics, Amber Souza

Honors Program Theses and Projects

I want to be able to present math in a positive light to all of my future students, regardless of race, gender, and math background. However, for teachers as a whole to be able to take this important step, they must first develop a deeper understanding of why math is a sore spot for many students.

Is Kinesiology A Bridge To Stem Engagement? Sport Science Labs In High School, Judy A. Schultz, Robert W. Danielson, Robert D. Catena, Christopher P. Connolly, Kasee Hildenbrand

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

Improving STEM education in schools is important to prepare students for the increasing number of STEM related jobs. As a STEM discipline, kinesiology, which includes the study of sport, exercise, movement and well-being, may be an effective link between science concepts and students’ everyday lives and thus may stimulate science engagement. Our university’s kinesiology programs developed a set of sport related kinesiology labs which were presented by faculty and students during one semester in local high school Freshmen and Senior science classes. Survey data included information about STEM engagement, scientific inquiry, and knowledge of kinesiology as a STEM field. Findings …

The Relationship Between The Next Generation Content Area Reading Professional Development Program On The Effectiveness Of Teaching Literacy Strategies In High School Biology Classes, Tia Pridgen Brown

Dissertations

The need for effective content area reading teachers have continued to increase since the introduction of one public school districts’ Content Area Reading Professional Development (CAR-PD) in 2006. In 2011, modifications were made to improve the program, and it became known as the Next Generation Content Area Reading Professional Development (NGCAR-PD). The purpose of this program evaluation is to investigate the relationship between NGCAR-PD certified Biology teachers and their ability to implement reading strategies with science content effectively. The context of this inquiry is a mid-sized public school district that has implemented the program since 2006 at the middle and …

The Effects Of Small-Group Collaboration On Student Attitudes Towards Mathematics, Philip Golden

Undergraduate Theses

Collaborative group work has become a prevalent teaching strategy in high school mathematics classrooms, and for good reason. When implemented effectively, studies show that collaboration improves student learning outcomes. However, there are other factors to consider when deciding on best practices for teaching, one being student attitudes towards the content. In particular student attitudes towards mathematics (which are not generally positive) are important to consider. In this study, students in a high school mathematics classroom took a survey before and after a unit that implemented collaborative strategies. Results of the study indicate that student attitudes towards math improved after working …

Secondary Mathematics Teachers' And Students' Approaches To Engagement And Motivation For Mathematics Learning In The Classroom, Leenah Bouzid

Honors Theses

Engagement and motivation in a mathematics classroom is an issue that educators and researchers continually examine and analyze to understand and develop ways to maintain or increase. The main goal of this thesis research project is to gain insight and understand what engagement and motivation means in a mathematics classroom by examining secondary mathematics teachers and students. The literature from researchers and educators describe components that contribute to engagement and motivation such as mathematical disposition, which is the attitudes and beliefs towards the subject and learning the subject, self-efficacy, which is about the student’s belief in one’s own capabilities, intrinsic …

The Pedagogical Impact Of Secondary Science Teacher Efficacy On Blended Learning Implementation: A Phenomenological Study, Allison Willemin

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

As new pedagogical approaches, such as blended learning, are implemented in classrooms, it is important to properly prepare the teachers to ensure fidelity of implementation. The descriptive phenomenological study examined the influence of secondary science teacher efficacy on overcoming obstacles and sustaining the Blended Learning pedagogical approach at a high school in the southern United States. Using purposeful sampling based on specific criteria nine teachers were selected to participate in the study. Through two interviews and a focus group, the researcher collected data based on the participants’ shared experience of implementing the flipped classroom instructional model. The data was themed …

Stem Opportunities - High School 2019, Huey-Xian Kelly Wong, Madeleine Rauhauser, Annie Morgan Nelson

Honors Expanded Learning Clubs

This publication details the lesson plan for the “Opportunities in STEM” club for the summer of 2019. This club began out of a desire to educate high school students about the opportunities and careers available in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. Often, students feel that the prospect of entering a STEM field is daunting and out of their grasp. What it means to be a scientist is often unclear, and students never consider opportunities out of the fear of the unknown, particularly when science is associated with complexity and difficulty. This lesson plan integrates experiments with a wealth …

The Potential Of Socio-Biologically Relevant Mobile Applications To Attract Girls To Stem, Vanaja Nethi, Santanu De

FDLA Journal

Stimulating girls’ interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) when they are in school, and sustaining that interest, is critical in motivating girls to choose STEM-related disciplines in higher education and enter STEM careers. Research indicates that girls show an interest in STEM until about 11-12 years of age, but this starts to wane by the time they are 15-16 years. Thus, there is a clear need to focus on sustaining the interest of girls in STEM at middle or high school levels. Research has shown that one of the main drivers that impact girls’ interest in STEM is …

Florida Science: The Science That Makes Florida Different, Terence W. Cavanaugh

Secondary Level Resources

This book was created to assist students with their understanding of how science occurs in Florida. When teaching science or any subject it’s important to remember to begin with the concrete and then move to the abstract. I have found that it has helped my students when I begin by teaching science concepts in a concrete manner and expand from there. For example, when I taught about topographic maps, the students were much more successful in their learning when I started with local topographic maps that included the school and the surrounding area than with places that had mountains or …

High School Engineering Students’ Identities And Interest In Stem, Morgan Lane

Theses and Dissertations--Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education

With a national push toward improving STEM education, it is imperative for researchers to study what makes students want to pursue STEM education and STEM careers. To learn about this in the context of one high school’s engineering program, this study used student interviews to gain insight into how student identities influence their interest and experiences in STEM. Five components of student identities were revealed to be influential on a student’s interest in STEM: (1) an early interest/skill in STEM, (2) familial involvement in STEM, (3) self-motivation, (4) gender, and (5) socioeconomic status.Race/ethnicity, peer influence, and teacher influence did not …

Motivation And Gender Dynamics In High School Science: The Effect Of Gender Composition On Motivation In Small Group Inquiry And Engineering Tasks, Julie Robinson

Doctoral Dissertations

While current research shows that the gender gap in science achievement has disappeared (Miller, Blessing, & Schwartz, 2006), girls continue to show declining levels of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) engagement in school. Literature shows that various societal and educational factors impact girls’ STEM motivation disproportionately to boys (Bennett & Hogarth, 2009; Breakwell & Robertson, 2001; Brotman & Moore, 2008; Campbell & Clewell, 1999; Cokadar & Kulce, 2008; Huebner, 2009; Jovanovic & King, 1998; Lee, 1998; Miller, Blessing, & Schwartz, 2006; Osborne, Simon, & Collins, 2003; Solomon, 1997). The onset of this phenomenon occurs in the middle school years …

Cs As A Graduation Requirement: Catalyst For Systemic Change, Lucia Dettori, Ronald I. Greenberg, Steven Mcgee, Dale Reed, Brenda Wilkerson, Don Yanek

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Since President Obama's announcement of the Computer Science for All Initiative in 2016, there has been a surge in the number of districts that are planning for or newly implementing computer science (CS) offerings at their schools. Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is the first large school district to have adopted Computer Science as a high school graduation requirement, taking this significant step along the path towards systemic change. The foundation was laid eight years ago when an informal alliance was formed between a CPS high school CS teacher, a CPS administrator, and three university computer scientists.

Teaching The Strand Of Ccss Slope Through Metacognition In Middle School, High School, And Advanced Placement Mathematics, Sara Snarr

Sara Snarr

Making Sense Of School Reform: A Case Study Of Mathematics And Science Teachers' Sensemaking With One District's Differentiation And Detracking Initiatives, Katelyn Daplyn Skinner

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this case study was to examine how individual science and mathematics teachers within a particular high school made sense of a district differentiation effort. A focus on teachers' perceptions and interpretations of this effort was targeted through the theoretical framework of sensemaking. Two of the teachers were present for an initial detracking reform effort, which enabled the researcher to examine their sensemaking of both initiatives.

There were clear differences in the sense that teachers made of the differentiation initiative. Additionally, there were multiple factors that impacted teacher sensemaking; the district initiative was not one of these factors. …

The Impact Of Response To Intervention In A High School Mathematics Setting, Lauren Dominick

EDL Sixth Year Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the impact of response to intervention (RTI) in a high school mathematics setting. A major concern in the literature related to the fact that majority of RTI research focused on students at the elementary level and in reading. Therefore in this study RTI was implemented in a high school mathematics classroom and the effects were analyzed. This study is focused on a sample of ninth and tenth grade students from two classes and taught by one teacher in the same high school in an action research setting. Quantitative and qualitative methods of …

The Power Of X, Darren B. Glass

Math Faculty Publications

In his recent book, The Math Myth: And Other STEM Delusions, political scientist Andrew Hacker argues, among other things, that we should not require high school students to take algebra.

Part of his argument, based on data some have questioned, is that algebra courses are a major contributor to students dropping out of high school. He also argues that algebra is nothing more than an "enigmatic orbit of abstractions" that most people will never use in their jobs. [excerpt]

The Inclusion Of False, Falsified, And Falsifiable Data That Favor An Evolutionary Worldview In The High School Science Curriculum Of Public And Private Schools In The Philippines, Jerry F. Smith

Christian Perspectives in Education

This paper examines a curricular issue in general within public and private high schools in the Philippines. This paper presents six known and documented errant points found in textbooks that promote an evolutionary worldview and are commonly found in local high school biology textbooks. The proposed solutions present several questions designed to facilitate formation of the readers’ own views regarding this phenomenon.

The Effects Of Metacognitive Writing On Student Achievement In Advanced Placement Calculus, Lindsay M. O'Neal

Education Dissertations

Grounded in metacognitive theory (Flavell, 1976) and historical foundations that reach back as far as the writings of Plato (1973), the last few decades have seen an increase in research regarding the impact of metacognitive practice on student learning, often through the use of reflective writing. Studies have focused on a range of aspects, from how to measure metacognition to the effect metacognitive practice has on the academic achievement of students in a variety of subject areas. Specifically with regard to mathematics, researchers have studied the impact of reflective strategies on primary, secondary, and university level students.

The purpose of …

Science Fair Advice: If You Show That You Care About What You’Re Doing, It Will Make A Lasting Impression, Tonya D. Jeffery

Faculty Publications

Invited contribution; Advice for high school students working on science fair projects.

Assessing High School Science Students’ Abilities To Use Cross Cutting Literacy Skills And Scientific Argumentative Writing Skills In A Mid-Western School District, Ellen M. Karel

Masters Theses

This study sought to determine to what extent a centrally focused initiative concentrated on how to teach students to not just write, but how to think, read, and speak about real world problems in a persuasive manner based on multiple sets of data related to science concepts, increased scientific argumentative writing proficiencies among high school students. A secondary area this study attempted to explore was the correlation between the implemented processes in the initiative and high school students’ scientific argumentative writing proficiencies. The study was conducted in a mid-western high school, population 1,088, with a select group of students in …

Exit Tickets' Effect On Engagement And Concept Attainment In High School Science, Amy Mastromonaco

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Many high school students struggle to stay engaged in their science class. As a result, student learning often suffers. The purpose of this study was to implement one additional strategy (Exit Tickets) to the teacher’s pedagogy in order to help better engage students and promote student learning. The teacher then evaluated the efficacy of the strategy by: comparing both participant behavioral engagement and assessment results prior to and during/after the implementation of the Exit Tickets. The data was disaggregated to compare students who were typically behaviorally disengaged to those who were consistently behaviorally engaged so as to better determine the …

Influence Of Robotics On Women In Stem, Nicole Costa

Undergraduate Research

There is an underrepresentation of women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields that influences society’s perception of women’s abilities in math and science. This study researches the implications of robotics on girls’ achievement abilities. Specifically studying the population at the high school of Mount Saint Joseph Academy, it searches for a correlation between members of the Firebirds Robotics Team and higher GPA scores, SAT scores, and percentages of having a major in STEM compared to students not on the team. Data was collected on the control group (non-robotics students) and experimental group (robotics students) using a survey. Analysis …