Curriculum and Social Inquiry Commons^™

Student Retention In Stem: Exploration Of The Gender Gap, Olha Ketsman, Carolina C. Ilie

Discipline-Based Education Research Group Speaker Series

Prior research indicates that there are small numbers of women in STEM areas and in physics in particular; the latter may suggest that women who have potential to contribute to physics choose other careers. This presentation examines the gender gap in STEM with a focus on physics. We discuss a that was survey administered to undergraduate science students at one primarily undergraduate college in the United States, the factors that impacted student decisions in physics, and recommendations to increase student retention.

Ua64/2 The Challenge: Magazine For The Center For Gifted Studies (No. 33, Winter 2014), Center For Gifted Studies, Tracy Inman Editor

Gifted Studies Publications

No abstract provided.

An Engineering Journey: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study Of African-American Engineers' Persistence, Kristy Somerville-Midgette

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This transcendental phenomenological research study examined the perspectives and lived experiences of African-American female engineers related to the factors that led to their persistence to enter, persist through, and remain in the field. The study was guided by four research questions: (a) How do K-12 experiences shape African-American female engineers' decisions to enter the STEM field? (b) What persistence factors motivated African-American female engineers to enter the engineering profession? (c) What are the factors that shape African-American female engineers' persistence to progress through postsecondary engineering programs? (d) How do professional experiences shape African-American female engineers' persistence in the field? Cognitive …

An African-Centered Approach To Land Education, Salvotore Engel-Dimauro, Karanja Keita Carroll

Publications and Research

Approaches to environmental education which are engaging with place and critical pedagogy have not yet broadly engaged with the African world and insights from Africana Studies and Geography. An African-centered approach facilitates people's reconnection to places and ecosystems in ways that do not reduce places to objects of conquest and things to be exploited for profitability and individual gain. Such an approach offers effective critiques of settler coloniser perspectives on the environment and deeper understandings of the relationship between worldview and ecologically sensitised education. Through examples from Africana Studies and Geography, this article provides an introduction to how an African-centered …

Ua64/2 The Challenge: Magazine For The Center For Gifted Studies (No. 32, Fall 2013), Center For Gifted Studies, Tracy Inman Editor

Gifted Studies Publications

No abstract provided.

Ua64/2 The Challenge: Magazine For The Center For Gifted Studies (No. 31, Summer 2013), Center For Gifted Studies, Tracy Inman Editor

Gifted Studies Publications

No abstract provided.

Integrated Stem Model-Eliciting Activities: Developing 21st Century Thinkers, Micah Stohlmann

American Association for the Advancement of Science Pacific Conference

Studies have shown that integrating math and science makes learning more connected and relevant and has a positive impact on student attitudes and interest in school, their motivation to learn, and achievement.

Engineering is becoming more prevalent in K-12 schools and can provide great problem solving opportunities for students to learn about mathematics, science, and technology while working through the engineering design process.

Materials Education And Research In Art And Design: A New Role For Libraries (Survey Stats), Mark Pompelia

Materials Education and Research in Art and Design: A New Role for Libraries

No abstract provided.

Materials Education And Research In Art And Design: A New Role For Libraries (Program Sheet), Mark Pompelia

Materials Education and Research in Art and Design: A New Role for Libraries

No abstract provided.

Materials Education And Research In Art And Design: A New Role For Libraries (Program Booklet), Mark Pompelia

Materials Education and Research in Art and Design: A New Role for Libraries

No abstract provided.

Materials Education And Research In Art And Design: A New Role For Libraries (Website), Mark Pompelia

Materials Education and Research in Art and Design: A New Role for Libraries

No abstract provided.

Materials Collection Creation And Administration: A New Role For Libraries (White Paper), Mark Pompelia

Materials Education and Research in Art and Design: A New Role for Libraries

The Problem/Opportunity: To define, identify, and guide design-based materials collections in academic settings and foster community among those with existing collections and/or those considering creating and supporting one.

Contents and topics:

1. What is a materials collection?
2. Why have a materials collection?
3. Acquisition strategies
4. Organizational approaches
5. Programming possibilities
6. Symposium summary
7. Resources

The Message 2.0: Perceptions Of Success From Members Of The Founding Class Of Mc Squared Stem High School, Jeffrey D. Mcclellan

Dissertations

This dissertation examines the methods of learning from the student’s perspective in order to understand what made the first graduating class of MC Squared successful. The conceptual model of student success composed of non-academic factors of motivation, social connectedness, and self-management was used for the lens from which to understand the six students in depth. Through the research, it was uncovered that diversified learning environments, a mastery based assessment system, and an unwavering acceptance of students within a challenging and supportive environment are essential to the success achieved at MC Squared STEM High School. Lastly, the seminal contribution of this …

Keeping Abreast With Liberal Arts And Science Through Steam, Tanya Rivas, Gregory Knotts

The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal

The integrated unit on breast cancer described here includes biological science and visual art standards and was targeted at high school juniors and seniors. The goal was to make a potentially controversial and taboo subject relatable through an art-science approach

Personal Financial Behavior: The Influence Of Quantitative Literacy And Material Values, Pete Nye, Cinnamon Hillyard

Numeracy

Some consumers finance discretionary spending at extremely high interest rates. Many carry substantial balances on their credit cards at effective annual rates as high as 36 percent, and some pay annual rates on “pay day” loans as high as 400 percent. High interest debt can rapidly cascade into an overwhelming financial burden, threatening the consumer’s credit and long-term financial health.

This survey study investigates how quantitative literacy may promote forward-looking financial decisions, decisions that recognize the long-term consequences of current choices and may favor the future over the present. In addition, we examine the consumer’s confidence in their quantitative skills. …

Theory Guided Professional Development In Early Childhood Science Education, Soo-Young Hong, Julia C. Torquati, Victoria J. Molfese

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

The importance of early and developmentally appropriate science education is increasingly recognized. Consequently, creation of common guidelines and standards in early childhood science education has begun (National Research Council (NRC), 2012), and researchers, practitioners, and policy makers have shown great interest in aligning professional development with the new guidelines and standard. There are some important issues that need to be addressed in order to successfully implement guidelines and make progress toward accomplishing standards. Early childhood teachers have expressed a lack of confidence in teaching science and nature (Torquati, Cutler, Gilkerson, & Sarver, in press) and have limited science and pedagogical …

Ua64/2 The Challenge: Magazine For The Center For Gifted Studies (No. 30, Winter 2013), Center For Gifted Studies, Tracy Inman Editor

Gifted Studies Publications

No abstract provided.

Reimagining The Liberal Arts In An Age Of Technoscientific Progress, Melanie Moore Watson

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The following study will investigate the impact of dismantling liberal arts curriculum during an era of dramatic technoscientific progress. I will explore the development of the posthuman focusing specifically on the areas of virtual reality and biomedicine. As I unravel the implications that virtual reality and biomedicine will have on society in the coming decades, I will describe how a new liberal arts curriculum must be entertained by educators in order to maintain innovation, play, and ethical considerations in posthuman developments. In order for our students to become contributing members of a global community, they must be given the opportunity …

Ua64/2 The Challenge: Magazine For The Center For Gifted Studies (No. 29, Summer 2012), Center For Gifted Studies, Tracy Inman Editor

Gifted Studies Publications

No abstract provided.

The Influence Of An Activity-Based Explicit Approach On The Turkish Prospective Science Teachers’ Conceptions Of The Nature Of Science, Suat Celik, Samih Bayrakceken

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of an activity-based explicit nature of science (NOS) instruction undertaken in the context of a “Science, Technology and Society” course on the prospective science teachers’ (PSTs’) understandings of NOS. In this course, social science based inquiry activities were used to as a context to lead reflection and explicit discussions and project based learning approach (PBL) was used to model an active student centred NOS teaching and learning. Participants were 36 senior PSTs. An adopted form of VNOS questionnaire along with semi-structured interviews was used to assess participants’ conceptions before and …

Climate & Chemistry- An Introductory Course For First Year Students, Catrena Lisse, Chavonda Mills, Julia Metzker

Interdisciplinary STEM Teaching & Learning Conference (2012-2019) (Archived)

Students will be able to:

• explain multiple approaches that respond to problems in chemistry

• implement effective search strategies and evaluate sources of chemical information for relevance and authority.

• explain and analyze scientific evidence.

• form logical conclusions from the chemical information presented.

• understand the chemical properties of atoms, molecules, ions and gases.

• understand the chemical principles of stoichiometry, reactions in solutions, thermochemistry, atomic structure, periodicity and bonding.

• construct strategies to solve problems with integrated concepts and evaluate solutions

The Need To Teach Civility In Ece Classrooms, Michael Borders, Donna Borders

Interdisciplinary STEM Teaching & Learning Conference (2012-2019) (Archived)

Methods for the teaching of civility to teacher education candidates—the why, what and how—are premised on the current societal need to emphasize altruistic behaviors. Survey results from 120 teacher candidates and 120 clinical supervisors within an eight- county Georgia area will be exhibited along with research literature reviews, lesson plans, and pre- and post-test data analyses.

Ua64/2 The Challenge: Magazine For The Center For Gifted Studies (No. 28, Winter 2012), Center For Gifted Studies, Tracy Inman Editor

Gifted Studies Publications

No abstract provided.

Introducing Astrophysics And Cosmology As Part Of Multidisciplinary Approaches To Liberal Arts Courses Addressing “The Big Questions” Of Human Experience, Joseph C. Wesney

Physics Faculty Publications

There is an opportunity to bring college students to the exploration of the grandeur and wonder of the universe through the design and crafting of courses for the university and liberal arts curricula that would develop multidisciplinary perspectives within the frames of reference of astrophysics and cosmology. There is broad interest within colleges and universities to provide courses that examine “The Big Questions” of human experience from a variety of perspectives. The study of the history of discoveries and insights that we have gained through the development of astrophysics and cosmology provides course options for students to use to explore …

Ua64/2 The Challenge: Magazine Of The Center For Gifted Studies (No. 27, Summer 2011), Center For Gifted Studies, Tracy Inman Editor

Gifted Studies Publications

No abstract provided.

Loving The World And Our Children Enough--Nurturing Decidedly Different Scientifc Minds, By Design, Stephanie Pace Marshall

Publications & Research

Wise world-shaping and problem-solving requires that we and our children think in decidedly different, integral and wise ways. This transformation requires a fundamental shift in consciousness and the emergence of global minds that can creatively live into a new worldview of an interconnected planet and a sustainable and interdependent human family. "The fullness of our humanity and the sustainability of our planet rest with the nurturing of decidedly different minds."

Applications Of The Theories Of Mikhail Bakhtin In Science Education, Jason Delgatto

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this literature review is to investigate the work of Russian philosopher and literary critic Mikhail Bakhtin (1895 – 1975), and more specifically, how his theories on language in a social context apply to science education.  In response to ongoing concerns regarding declining student achievement in the sciences, this paper follows a growing trend to integrate perspectives from the fields of language, anthropology and sociology, in order to reform science instruction and improve student scientific literacy.  Bakhtin’s major theories around dialogue, and his views on the celebration of carnival, are presented through an analysis of secondary resources that …

Ua64/2 The Challenge: Magazine Of The Center For Gifted Studies (No. 26, Winter 2011), Center For Gifted Studies, Tracy Inman Editor

Gifted Studies Publications

No abstract provided.

A Mixed Methods Study Of How The Transition Process Impacts The Autonomy Of Pre-Service Secondary Mathematics Teachers, Linda Kasal Fusco

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This mixed methods study sought to identify the impact that transition into the practice of teaching had on the autonomy of pre-service secondary teachers of Mathematics.  It was based on the belief that a Mathematics teacher’s autonomy depended on: beliefs about Mathematics and how it was learned, reflections on the teaching practice, and social constraints of a secondary school culture. Data was collected between January 2009 and March 2010.  In Phase I (Quantitative) the participants (N = 30), selected from ten State University of New York teacher preparation colleges and universities, completed five instruments to quantify the three factors of …

Stereotype Threat’S Effect On Women’S Achievement In Chemistry: The Interaction Of Achievement Goal Orientation For Women In Science Majors, Janice M. Conway-Klaassen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

"Stereotype threat is being at risk of confirming, as a self-characteristic, a negative stereotype about one's group" (C. M. Steele & Aronson, 1995, p. 797). A stereotype threat effect then is described as the detrimental impact on a person's performance or achievement measurements when they are placed in a stereotype threat environment.

For women, the negative stereotype that exists in our culture states that women are typically not as capable as men in mathematics or science subjects. This study specifically explored the potential impact of stereotype threat on women who have chosen a science-based college major. They were tested in …