Curriculum and Instruction Commons^™

Educators' Perceptions Regarding Common Core State Standards And Professional Development, Christine Hipsher

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the impact of the implementation of the Common Core State Standards in Georgia K-12 on the professional development needs of educators. Across the United States the enactment of a Common Core State Standards went into effect. The primary goal of the Common Core State Standards movement was to clarify standards. Accordingly, this study reviewed Social Learning Theory and Constructivism. The research questions in this study examined the types of support educators requested. The research conducted in this multiple case study analyzed teachers' perceptions about the implementation of the CCSS and …

Teaching Tip: The Flipped Classroom, Heng Ngee Mok

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The flipped classroom has been gaining popularity in recent years. In theory, flipping the classroom appears sound: passive learning activities such as unidirectional lectures are pushed to outside class hours in the form of videos, and precious class time is spent on active learning activities. Yet the courses for information systems (IS) undergraduates at the university that the author is teaching at are still conducted in the traditional lecture-in-class, homework-after-class style. In order to increase students’ engagement with the course content and to improve their experience with the course, the author implemented a trial of the flipped classroom model for …

Business Psychology: Building An Interdisciplinary Bridge From The Ground Up, Raymond L. Forbes, Brenda Jones, Kristan Jones

All Faculty and Staff Scholarship

This paper describes the building of an innovative multi-disciplinary, outcomes-based, master’s degree program that integrates the fields of Business and Psychology. Historically, Business and Psychology have ranked among the top five majors chosen by undergraduate students. The program is theory-to-practice oriented and teaches the traditional disciplines of business including: economics, finance, marketing, human resources, strategy, and management from a human perspective. The Business Psychology program primarily emphasizes qualitative versus quantitative-oriented teaching methods. Students of the program analyze individual, group, and organizational level business issues through the application of both traditional and new brain-based tools. Individual and professional developments are also …

Two Bit Circus, Elise Lemle

The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal

Two Bit Circus collaborated with the Girl Scouts of the Greater Los Angeles Area to explore the exciting world of wearable electronics. Over the course of the program, the students explored concepts of introductory electronics while designing and creating their own illuminated fashion piece. The program was held in Montrose, CA in Fall 2013. The students were approximately 10 girls ages seven to 14. The program was held over seven sessions with each session lasting 80 minutes.

Full Steam Ahead: Creativity In Excellent Stem Teaching Practices, Danah Henriksen

The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal

This article emphasizes the value of creativity and arts-based learning in the sciences (STEAM education), using one example from a recent research study of creative and effective classroom teachers. The future of innovative thinking in STEM disciplines relies on breaking down the distinction between disciplines traditionally seen as “creative” like the arts or music, and STEM disciplines traditionally seen as more rigid or logical-mathematical (Catterall, 2002). The most exceptional thinkers in fields like science or math are also highly creative individuals who are deeply influenced by an interest in, and knowledge of, music, the arts and similar areas (Caper, 1996; …

The Efficacy Of Mathematics Education, Eric Geimer

The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal

Evidence supports the notion that mathematics education in the United States is inadequate. There is also evidence that mathematics education deficiencies extend internationally. The worldwide mathematics education deficit appears large enough that improving student performance in this educational problem area could yield great economic benefit. To improve the efficacy of mathematics education, education’s root problems must first be understood. Often supposed educational root problems are considered and contrasted against potential deficiencies of mathematics methodologies and curricula that are based on mainstream educational philosophies. The educational philosophies utilized to form early-grade mathematics methodologies and related curricula are judged to be the …

Session E-5: Scrumptious Science, Nicole Ross, Renee Anderson

Professional Learning Day

Have fun learning ways to explore science concepts through the use of food. Quick, easy "kitchen science" experiments will be utilized to highlight chemistry and biology concepts in school curricula. A focus on inquiry techniques, the active use of the scientific method, and experimental design will also be included.

Session E-4: Teach Students Robotics!, Pat Patankar

Professional Learning Day

In this session, we will discuss how to introduce your students to Robotics. We will talk about the programing environment, the hardware that is required, and the resources you'll need to get your program up and running. We will discuss how to acquire them. A number of them are free - and others can be obtained by the students themselves (in fact they may already have what they'll need!).

Session D-2: Reconstructing The West, Jean Kadel

Professional Learning Day

Why is the West left out of the Reconsruction unit? There are good reasons to include it. During the Civil War, the West was organized for statehood. The "Indian Question" became the "Indian Problem." Beginning with the First Ft. Laramie Treaty of 1851 and accelerating after Red Cloud's War in 1868, the "unceded" area of the northern plains previously set aside for traditional tribal life was replaced by new policies of well-meaning but forcible capitulation and assimilation. To facilitate the process, the West was organized into military districts or "departments". Although the US Army did not govern these directly, it …

Session D-1: Teaching The Indigenous Populations: Prejudice, Stereotyping And Popular Culture, Phyllis M. Henry

Professional Learning Day

This session is a nuts and bolts overview on how Native-Americans are portrayed in Hollywood, advertising and mascots on sports teams. Resources packets with primary sources and reading selections will be provided to all attendees as well as strategies to address the issues of cultural contributions, ethics, stereotypes and prejudice. Handouts will also include tribes indigenous to Illinois and how to incorporate into the Common Core Standards. There will be a free raffle of Native-American resource materials for teachers for their classroom use.

Session F-3: Using Problem-Based Learning To Integrate Instruction In The Common Core In Math, Science, And Ela, Kathy Schmidt

Professional Learning Day

Problem-based learning (PBL) engages students in deep understanding through relevant, authentic problems. As students progress through the PBL process, they develop 21st Century knowledge, skills and dispositions in self-directed learning, critical thinking, problem-solving, innovative thinking, and collaboration while also meeting the 8 Mathematical Practices and 7 ELA College and Career Readiness descriptions from the Common Core Standards and the 8 Science and Engineering Practices from the NRC Framework for K-12 Science Education. In this presentation, we will introduce participants to PBL and discuss how the PBL process integrates Common Core Standards and the Science and Engineering Practices in classroom instruction.

Session D-1: Speed!, Elizabeth Martinez

Professional Learning Day

Varrrrooooooommmmmm!! This hour long session will be over before you know it as we explore the concept of average speed to investigate the use of inquiry to engage student interest and involve them in scientific practices. Attendees participate in an activity that offers a glimpse into the award-winning IMSA FUSION program, and develop ideas to apply the strategies in their own classrooms. Valid driver’s license required. (Just kidding!)

Session D-4: Teaching Quantum Mechanics, Peter Dong

Professional Learning Day

Quantum mechanics is a part of modern life, playing a major role in chemistry, computing, nanotechnology, cryptography, and even biology. Many students are fascinated by the principles of quantum mechanics - and wave-particle duality is now in the Next Generation Science Standards. This course will present a basic introduction to quantum mechanics, accessible to middle or high school students, that will give students a taste of how strange and wonderful the universe really is (while also meeting the new standard). Teachers will be given slides and materials so they can teach the lesson themselves.

Session F-2: Statistics And Probability For Middle-School Math Teachers: Addressing The Common Core, Karen Togliatti

Professional Learning Day

This presentation will focus on the Statistics and Probability Domain of the Common Core Mathematics Content Standards for grades 6 – 8. Discussion of the language of the standards and how this language translates into learning activities for students will be explored. Session participants will be coached on three inquiry-based lessons utilizing interdisciplinary topics for data collection. Additional take-home lessons will be provided as well at each grade level. Connections to the Math Practice Standards, ELA Standards for Science and Technical Subjects, and Next Generation Science Practice Standards will also be investigated.

Session F-4: Modeling An Earthquake In Your Classroom, Brian Grublesky

Professional Learning Day

Teachers will model earthquakes using both technology and hands-on inquiry activities. Teachers will have a chance to engineer an “earthquake proof” building and use the engineering process to test and redesign their buildings before being tested on a shake table. We will also discuss how these activities connect not only to the Next Generation Science Standards, but the Common Core State Standards as well.

Keynote Address: New Frontiers In History Education, Ann Durkin

Professional Learning Day

Dr. Keating will bring Chicago history to life as she discusses her latest book “Rising up from Indian Country: The Battle of Fort Dearborn and the Birth of Chicago,” which was released last August to coincide with the bicentennial of the Battle of Fort Dearborn. She recounts the Battle of Fort Dearborn while situating it within the context of several wider histories that span the decades between the 1795 Treaty of Greenville, in which Native Americans gave up a square mile at the mouth of the Chicago River, and the 1833 Treaty of Chicago.

Session C-2: The Middle East In Transition: Questions For U.S. Policy, Steven Buenning

Professional Learning Day

Students explore alternatives for U.S. policy in the region through a newly-revised teaching unit (August 2013) developed by the Choices Program at Brown University. Students acquire knowledge and skills while engaging in a role-play involving four policy options.

Session C-3: From Ink Well To Digital: Innovative Technology In The Classroom, Eugene Tesdahl

Professional Learning Day

What do the National Archives of Canada, the Library of Congress, and the Illinois Council on History Education have in common? That’s right. They all offer rich primary documents just an I-pad tap away. Locating on-line primary documents is only the beginning. In “From ink Well to Digital,” Dr. Tesdahl will not only show attendees where to find useful digital resources online but will offer participants innovative activities to get their students using them.

Session B-3: So What More Is There For My Talented Stem Students?, Britta Mckenna

Professional Learning Day

Take a tour through IMSA STEM offerings for your talented students. Learn about the IMSA Kids Institute school year FunShops and summer camps, IMSA FUSION after-school program (grades 4-8), IMSA online offerings and new RISE course, Mentor Matching Engine, CoolHub STEM collaboration platform, and IMSA TALENT STEM entrepreneurship program for middle and high school students.

Session B-2: Build Student Engagement, Mental Math, And Reasoning With "Math Talks", Sendhil Revuluri

Professional Learning Day

"Math talks" are quick routines that you can implement in your classroom within days. They can raise engagement, build efficient, accurate, and flexible mental math strategies, and help students construct arguments and critique reasoning. We will engage in math talks, analyzing how they can be enacted in the classroom and designed for specific goals or respond to specific misconceptions. Participants will learn about math talks that support understanding of number, algebra, and other domains.

Session B-1: Geometry In Art & Architecture, Julie Dowling

Professional Learning Day

Math is all around us! Discover how to implement geometry lessons using art and architecture that the students see around them every day.

Session B-5: Planetary Science And The Ngss, Eric Hawker

Professional Learning Day

The goal of this session is to use what we understand about other planets and moons in our Solar System in order to get a better understanding of the Earth.

Session B-1: "The Bloody Massacre" -- Whodunnit?, Spiro Bolos, Anne Twadell

Professional Learning Day

Although this activity/project was conceived (originally) for a Special Education section of US History, it can be adapted to any level of students, including honors. Using materials from a primary source reader, I will present a pair of activities which evaluate both textual and visual literacy by having students interpret a single historical event: the Boston “Massacre”. Students are assigned roles based on eyewitness court testimony from the trial of Captain Thomas Preston. After student oral presentations, the same students contribute to and help create a single shared visual presentation, utilizing quotes from the oral presentation.

Session A-3: Personalized Learning With Ementoring, Carl Heine, Jacki Naughton

Professional Learning Day

Discover effective ways to bring together high school students and mentors for personalized distance learning and research in STEM with teacher supervision. This session explores how schools, higher education and businesses use the Mentor Matching Engine, a free resource developed by IMSA, the Illinois Science and Technology Coalition and Northwestern University. Finding mentors for your students has never been easier.

Session A-2: Cycloids!, Ruth Dover

Professional Learning Day

This session includes a hands-on exploration to see graphs of different types of cycloids. Participants will use trigonometry to create the parametric equations for the graphs. This topic lends itself nicely to projects for pre-calculus students. Software will be shown to help see more examples and patterns.

Session A-4: Project-Based Methods For Teaching Ngss Engineering Standards In Your Physics Or Engineering Course, Mark Carlson, Peter Clancy

Professional Learning Day

The NGSS Engineering standards require that students work in groups to analyze, break-down, and model real-world problems in order to fully understand the challenges that these problems pose. In this session, we present a few ideas for short-term engineering/technology-based problems that can be completed in the classroom within about 2 weeks. The projects are linked to concepts of physics such as forces, momentum and torque.

Session C-2: Getting Students To Ask Their Own Questions, Susan Bisinger

Professional Learning Day

The skill of asking their own questions can lead to greater student engagement and ownership of the learning process. Students formulate questions that will guide them to engage in scientific and mathematical practices as they classify, modify, evaluate, and prioritize what they want to learn. The Question Formulation Technique (QFT) guides you through strategies for incorporating student questioning into your lessons, leading students to think more critically and independently. Participants are encouraged to attend the session with an upcoming project, unit or activity in mind. You'll leave with a plan of action!

Session A-2: Totalitarianism: The Reality Versus The Myth, Lee Eysturlid

Professional Learning Day

This session will give attendees an understanding of the nature of dictatorship and propaganda and how to teach it. Emphasis will be placed on creating immediate ways that this topic can be brought alive to the student and made visually and intellectually clear. PPT materials will make alignment with the CCSS easy.

Keynote Address: It's 10 Am - Do You Know Where Your Students Are?, Sendhil Revuluri

Professional Learning Day

When we attend to our students' learning–not just our teaching–we can become significantly more effective in helping them learn. This is a simple idea but not an easy one, and it may take some work to figure out how to do it. Let's explore some ways to illuminate students' current thinking (accurate or not), promote meaningful student discourse (helping them do more of the work), and collaborate with colleagues (thinking together). Benefit from "lessons learned" and discover some worthwhile resources that can help you make the shift and may even help to manage new standards and upcoming assessments.

Integrating Reading And Writing For Florida's Esol Program, George Douglas Mcarthur

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

This thesis examines an incongruity that exists within Florida's ESOL program. While the curriculum standards direct teachers to "develop and integrate" skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing, student promotions to higher fluency levels are based solely on reading assessments. Listening assessments are also required to "determine instructional needs," but writing assessments are not required and, in most cases, not given. As a result, reading is prioritized, writing is subordinated, the connection between the two skills is broken, and the mutual benefits of integration are lost.

Studies conducted during the last 50 years have consistently shown that the integration …