Gifted Education Commons^™

“I’M So Hungry”: Assessing Stem Sensemaking Through Data-Informed Writing, Bailey Nafziger, Alesia Mickle Moldavan, Katie Brkich

Journal of STEM Teacher Education

To engage elementary learners in the complex task of STEM sensemaking, teachers must entice and inspire learners to ask questions, explore, and communicate their findings. This article shares a 5E/3D lesson designed and taught in our elementary science methods courses to model how preservice teachers can integrate literacy and mathematics into a science investigation for STEM sensemaking. We modified a traditional lesson on bird beak adaptations to have a differentiated, interdisciplinary writing component justified by data. We discuss why data-supported literacy is a non-negotiable in science education reforms and how teachers can differentiate tasks to make scientific writing more approachable …

Developing Problem-Solvers: Cultivating A Scientific Way Of Thinking In Early Learners, Sarah Oeltjenbruns, Matthew J. Weyers, Maya Fogarty, Bryan Matera

Essays in Education

Adopting a science mindset in the early education years is critical for supporting critical thinking, curiosity, and systematic inquiry in students, setting a foundation for lifelong learning and problem-solving. This mindset, which values continuous learning and persistence, enables students to approach challenges across disciplines with a scientist’s curiosity. Through approaches like the Socratic method, problem-based learning, and hands-on activities, educators can enhance students' critical thinking and collaborative skills. By creating opportunities for inquiry-based learning, such as entry events, the See Feel Think Wonder protocol, and the Question Formulation Technique, teachers cultivate curiosity and guide students toward self-directed exploration. For example, …

Using Geogebra To Foster Imagination And Creativity To Build Mathematics Confidence In A Stem World, Joseph M. Furner

Transformations

Math teachers can better prepare all student for a STEM world using computer software like GeoGebra to better prepare our youth for such high-tech careers like that of which Einstein was part of while also emphasizing and fostering creativity in the learning of mathematics. It is critical we have young learners who are confident in their ability to do math and be creative. Teachers today need to check dispositions toward mathematics and address math anxiety while building math confidence in their students. In an ever-advancing world of technology, math teachers need to incorporate such emerging technologies like GeoGebra into the …

Insects All Around Us: A Four-Session Bug Club Lesson Plan For Grades 3-5 Covering The Biology And Importance Of Insects In Nebraska, Carolyn Almonte

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Insects are often overlooked in science curricula when talking about conservation due to the surrounding fear and disgust regarding insects. This disgust not only permeates the mindsets of students, but also teachers, which leads to a hesitance to incorporate an insect-based curriculum or club into a lesson. In response to this, I have created a four-session club curriculum that can be used across four two hour long sessions spread out across four weeks. The goals of this club are: to explain the key traits of insects and arthropods, differentiating the two groups; to explain and define the basic stages of …

“Oh, That’S Engineering?”: Complicating Black Women Educators’ Understanding Of Engineering Practices In Urban Elementary Schools, Brittany N. Anderson, Ginaya S. Littlejohn

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)

In most teacher preparation programs, a focus on standards and curricula with STEM concepts, specifically engineering, are largely missing from the teacher licensure requirements. There have been few opportunities for teacher educators to teach, learn, and reflect on the nuanced complexities of STEM, specifically engineering concepts and practices in urban elementary schools. This university-school- community partnership, led by Black women, focused on the early exploration of STEM with high-ability/ gifted Black girls, caregivers, and their Black women educators. In this qualitative study, Black women teachers were able to disrupt assumptions and stereotypes of STEM, particularly in engineering, and identify challenges …

Mathematical Identities And Tracking: An Exploration Of Efficacy In Children And Women, Emma Hagan

Education | Master's Theses

This study seeks to understand the impact of elementary school mathematical identities and mathematics tracking on the identities of women and girls. “Tracking” is an institutionalized education method developed in the 1960s and 1970s in which schools sort their students into smaller class-sized groups based on their observed achievement (Domina et al., 2016). Too often, when students test onto the lower track, they are confronted with a sense of futility and a lack of self-efficacy (Domina, Hanselman, Hwang & McEachin, 2016; Houtte & Stevens, 2015). Further, in STEM disciplines, students who identify as female report lower self-efficacy rates than those …

Steam Interventions With Non-Identified Gifted And Talented Students, Elizabeth Griffin

Masters of Education in Teaching and Learning

Some elementary school classrooms are divided by students who are identified as gifted and talented (GT) and students who are not identified as GT, leading to lower self-perceptions of those who are not GT students. The purpose of this study was to implement engaging STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) activities with the non-GT students to see what would happen, specifically looking for changes in self-perceptions and attitudes about school. This study took place in a fourth-grade GT clustered classroom. The researcher administered pre- and post-attitude surveys, interviewed students, and observed the students during the STEAM intervention. The collected …

The Pósa Method: Students' Perceptions Of Hungarian Mathematics Pedagogy, Lauren Seidl

Senior Theses

This study examines the reactions and experiences of students who are educated under the Pósa method, a Hungarian mathematics pedagogy previously employed in mathematics camps designed for gifted students. The focus of this research was to analyze the experiences of students in a Pósa method class in Budapest, Hungary. The holistic approach of gathering historical, qualitative, and analytical data pursued answers to the subsequent three research questions that guided the study: What do the students at Petrik School think about the Pósa method? What do the students in the Pósa method class think about math? What do the students’ and …

Gender Differences In Stem Sense Of Belonging For Academically Advanced Middle School Students, Monica C. Meadows

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated academically advanced middle school students’ sense of belonging as it pertains to the STEM disciplines. The study examined the relationship between STEM sense of belonging, STEM class/peer climate, amount of STEM exposure, and the strength of identification with STEM. A quantitative research design was used to examine factors that influence STEM sense of belonging. The researcher utilized a survey research design with data collection via a web survey. This was accomplished through the use of a descriptive rating, Likert-type sense of belonging survey, modified from the Sense of Belonging to Math Scale (PSOBS) created by Rattan, Good, …

Diversifying The Stem Education To Career Pathway!!!, Adrienne Coleman, Sowmya Anjur

Faculty Publications & Research

Education has always been a privilege. Most of us do not realize this. Opposition to the implementation of diversity and social equity has littered history. Many modern inventions and improvements were conceived under circumstances that included dire poverty and social inequity. The Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy recognizes and acknowledges the historical underrepresentation and marginalization of culturally, linguistically, and economically diverse groups, both universally, and particularly, in STEM education and professions. Thus, this presentation will focus on the development of a plan for advancing equity in STEM education and representation and creating a diverse, inclusive community of global citizens who …

2018 Imsaloquium, Student Investigation Showcase, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

IMSAloquium Event Booklets

"This is IMSA's 31st year of leading in educational innovation and the 30th year of the Student Inquiry and Research Program (SIR)! ... These studies have all happened during the past year in a variety of laboratories, real or virtual, on and off campus. Students were asked to not only learn a great deal about complex topics, but to contribute to them in meaningful ways. The presentations you hear today reflect the various stages of their work on a myriad of projects."

2017 Imsaloquium, Student Investigation Showcase, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

IMSAloquium Event Booklets

"This is IMSA's 30th year of leading in educational innovation and the 29th year of the Student Inquiry and Research Program (SIR)! Welcome to another year of profound investigation and discovery! In these pages, you will find exciting abstracts on a variety of fantastic studies done by IMSA's great minds."

Weartec Students’ Preferences And Perceptions Of Formal Vs. Informal Education, Sarah Houston, Gwen Nugent

UCARE: Research Products

This research investigated students’ preferences and perceptions between in-class instruction and informal instruction through the NSF-funded WearTec study, whose goal was to increase interest in STEM fields within 4^th-6^th graders through the use of wearable technologies, primarily girls. Students who participated in both the formal and informal education programs in the WearTec study were the students who were selected to participate in this research. A mixed method analysis was used with quantitative data from student surveys and qualitative data from student interviews that asked questions related to the student survey responses. Results showed that many of the …

2016 Imsaloquium, Student Investigation Showcase, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

IMSAloquium Event Booklets

"Welcome to the twenty-eighth year of the Student Inquiry and Research Program (SIR)! This is a program that is as old as IMSA. The SIR program represents our unending dedication to enabling our students to learn what it is to be an innovator and to make contributions to what is known on Earth."

Reversing The Tide In Science, Engineering, Technology And Mathematics (Stem): Academically Gifted African American Students In Historically Black Colleges & Universities, Delores Rice, Fred Bonner, Chance Lewis, Mary Alfred, Felecia M. Nave, Sherri Frizell

Journal of Research Initiatives

What started off as a national concern has escalated to the point of crisis (Bonner, Alfred, Lewis, Nave & Frizell, 2009; Chubin & Malcolm, 2008; Hrabowski, Summers & Hrabowski, 2006). The current state of affairs regarding African American participation in STEM disciplines has become one of the thorniest issues of contemporary focus. This article highlights data collected for a NSF Education Research grant. The focus of this HBCU-UP project was to uncover factors contributing to the success of academically gifted (high-achieving) African American students enrolled in engineering programs at the 12 ABET accredited four-year institutions in the U.S. Specifically, this …

Technology In A Gifted And Talented Math Classroom: How It Impacts Students' Problem Solving And Mathematical Learning, Brandon H. French

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

Technology has advanced greatly over the past few decades and the surge in the industry has impacted the workplace. As a result, K-12 education has worked to integrate 21^st century skills into curriculum. Many times this is through STEM classes. This study examined the impact technology had on gifted and talented students’ achievement and creative construction. During a unit on Transformations, a control group received traditional instruction, while an experimental group received traditional instruction with an added technology component. A pre and posttest were given to both groups to measure student success with the geometry content. Results indicated that …

A Predictive Correlation Study: What Human Capital And Demographic Factors Relate To Credential Completion For Stem Students?, Rick Jenkins

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation examines the educational attainment of college STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) students in Arkansas in an attempt to identify the human capital factors that predict completion of a STEM degree or certificate. Students seeking STEM credentials (having STEM majors) were identified using the state higher education database from the state of Arkansas, including public four-year universities and two-year colleges. STEM students from 32 colleges and universities were included from three cohorts and tracked for six academic years. The criterion variable was STEM credential earned, whether or not the student earned any STEM undergraduate credentials. The predictor human …

Readings On Current Biology: Bibliography, Imsa Biology Team

Nature of Science

No abstract provided.

Science & Spaghetti Monsters: Understanding The Nature Of Scientific Knowledge & Research, Sarah O'Leary-Driscoll

Nature of Science

What is science?

When students are asked to define science, many of them define science as “a body of knowledge gained by performing experiments.”

A more appropriate definition, however, is that “Science is … a process of inquiry aimed at building a testable body of knowledge open to rejection or confirmation” (Shermer, 2005).

There are three important points that this definition makes:

Essential Questions, Imsa Biology Team

Evolution

In order to understand the current state of biological life and how it has changed over time, the following questions must be addressed:

Evidence Of Evolution 1: Structures, Imsa Biology Team

Evolution

In order to investigate linage, evolutionary history, and common ancestry, you need to be familiar with the following structures.

Mechanisms And Speciation 1: The Modern Synthesis, Imsa Biology Team

Evolution

The Modern Synthesis or Synthetic Theory of Evolution is an explanation of evolution that is based on modern genetic principles. According to the Modern Synthesis (a.k.a. Neo-Darwinism):

Evolution Practice 1, Imsa Biology Team

Evolution

Answer the following questions using information from the handouts, and examples from the LAB

Evolution Practice 2, Imsa Biology Team

Evolution

Evolution Problems

Genetic Drift Simulation, Imsa Biology Team

Evolution

Genetic drift can be defined as a random fluctuation in gene frequency. More specifically, it tells us that different alleles may increase or decrease in a population in proportion to one another over time, just by chance, rather than due to any fitness advantage.

Essential Questions, Imsa Biology Team

Nature of Science

Questions that must be addressed in order to understand the current state of biological life and how it has changed over time.

Nature Of Science Pre-Questions, Imsa Biology Team

Nature of Science

No abstract provided.

Course Syllabus: Fall 2015, Imsa Biology Team

Nature of Science

No abstract provided.

Evidence Of Evolution 3: Evolutionary Evidence And Inferences Lab: A Discussion Guide, Imsa Biology Team

Evolution

This lab activity was designed to provide you with opportunities to make inferences and draw conclusions about evolution and the common ancestry of various animals based on their anatomical characteristics and comparative anatomy. You will be given tasks to accomplish or questions to answer at each of 11 stations. In order to do this successfully, you must make careful observations of the specimens on display.

Current Readings In Biology: Guiding Questions, Imsa Biology Team

Nature of Science

No abstract provided.