Higher Education Commons^™

Spatial Thinking In Astronomy Education Research, Merryn Cole, Cheryl Cohen, Jennifer Wilhelm, Rebecca Lindell

Teaching and Learning Faculty Research

Multiple studies show that spatial thinking skills contribute to students’ performance in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines. The study of astronomy is no different with the understanding of many astronomical phenomena requiring spatial thinking skills. This paper describes traditional and contemporary approaches to characterizing and measuring spatial thinking skills and suggests how they inform research in astronomy education. It summarizes previous literature in astronomy education research and categorizes the research approaches of astronomy education peer-reviewed journal articles and conference proceedings that explicitly consider the role of spatial thinking. Additionally, it recommends directions and curricular approaches for astronomy education research …

How Middle Level Science Teachers Visualize And Translate Motion, Scale, And Geometric Space Of The Earth-Moon-Sun System With Their Students, Jennifer Wilhelm, Merryn Cole, Cheryl Cohen, Rebecca Lindell

Teaching and Learning Faculty Research

We examined teachers’ spatial-scientific reasoning and the alternative conceptions they held regarding Earth-space content. While participating in a professional development (PD) workshop, teachers engaged in an integrated mathematics and science project-based unit designed to foster spatial reasoning and improve lunar-related conceptual understanding. The Purdue Spatial Visualization Test-Rotation (PSVT-Rot) and the Lunar Phases Concept Inventory (LPCI) were used to assess understanding. We found the teachers held similar alternative conceptions as their students. Moreover, we discovered that teachers had limited understanding of the Earth-Moon-Sun scale, motions, and geometric configurations. To determine how teachers’ spatial-scientific confidence and ability translated to their classroom practice, …

A Phenomenological Study Of College Students In Developmental Mathematics Classes Experiences With Mathematics And Computer Anxiety, Dan Murphy

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

No research has been conducted on college students in developmental mathematics classes struggling with both mathematics anxiety and computer anxiety in a qualitative manner. Prior studies have dealt with college students in developmental mathematics classes struggling with mathematics anxiety and college students in developmental mathematics classes struggling with computer anxiety. The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the experiences of students taking developmental mathematics who self-report both mathematics anxiety and computer anxiety. The theory guiding this study was the social cognitive theory by Bandura (1986) as modeling is a key component in the learning of mathematics, especially …

Multiple True–False Questions Reveal The Limits Of The Multiple-Choice Format For Detecting Students With Incomplete Understandings, Brian A. Couch, Joanna K. Hubbard, Chad E. Brassil

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

By having students select one answer among several plausible options, multiple-choice (MC) questions capture a student’s preferred answer but provide little information regarding a student’s thinking on the remaining options. We conducted a crossover design experiment in which similar groups of introductory biology students were assigned verbatim questions in the MC format or multiple true–false (MTF) format, which requires students to separately evaluate each option as either true or false. Our data reveal that nearly half of the students who select the correct MC answer likely hold incorrect understandings of the other options and that the selection rates for individual …

Institutional Barriers To Black And Latino Male Collegians’ Success In Engineering And Related Stem Fields, Leroy Long Iii, Trevion S. Henderson, Michael Steven Williams Dr,

Publications

Diverse people and perspectives are needed to spur innovation and tackle societal problems. A wealth of untapped intellectual and economic potential exists among historically underrepresented racial/ethnic groups – including Blacks and Latinos – who have not had equitable access to engineering and related STEM fields. For Blacks and Latinos who are accepted into engineering and related STEM fields, they face a number of barriers to their success which lead to low retention and graduation rates. In historically male-dominated fields such as engineering and related STEM disciplines, Black and Latino men have remained underrepresented at the student and faculty ranks. To …

Developmental Mathematics: A Quantitative Investigation Of Instructor Classification As Related To Student Success, Brittany A. Fish

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine what type of predictive power exists between an instructor’s employment classification, student gender, student race, and first-generation status on a student’s academic success in developmental mathematics, as measured by final semester grades at a regionally comprehensive state university in Texas between fall 2013 and spring 2017. Data were collected from the institution under study and the sample population included 1932 unique student observations. The data collected in this study were analyzed through a binary logistic regression model to determine whether an instructor’s employment classification, student gender, student race, and first-generation status …

The Impact Of Mentoring On Life Science Undergraduate Mentors, Kari Nelson

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Theses and Other Student Research

Universities are increasingly encouraging their undergraduates to become mentors to others, yet relatively little research has been done to empirically understand the impact of this work on the mentors themselves. Therefore, the overall goals of this work were: (1) To evaluate the types of studies that have been conducted on the impacts of serving as an undergraduate mentor; (2) To examine the methodological rigor of recent studies and make recommendations for improvement; and (3) To asses if serving as an undergraduate mentor impacted the critical thinking of the mentors, using a valid and reliable instrument, the California Critical Thinking Skills …

High Cognitive Demand Examples In Precalculus: Examining The Work And Knowledge Entailed In Enactment, Erica R. Miller

Department of Mathematics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Historically, pass rates in undergraduate precalculus courses have been dismally low and the teaching practices and knowledge of university instructors have been understudied. To help improve teaching effectiveness and student outcomes in undergraduate precalculus courses, I have studied the cognitive demand of enacted examples. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the pedagogical work and mathematical knowledge entailed in the enactment of high cognitive demand examples in a three-part study. To answer my research questions, I conducted classroom observations as well as pre- and post-observation interviews with seven graduate student instructors at a large public R1 university in the …

Redshirt In Engineering: A Model For Improving Equity And Inclusion, Donna C. Llewellyn, Ann Delaney, Janet Callahan

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The NSF-funded Redshirt in Engineering Consortium was formed in 2016 with the goal of enhancing the ability of academically talented but underprepared students coming from low-income backgrounds to successfully graduate with engineering degrees. The Consortium takes its name from the practice of redshirting in college athletics, with the idea of providing an extra year and support to help promising engineering students complete a bachelor’s degree. The Consortium builds on the success of three existing “academic redshirt” programs and expands the model to three new schools. The Existing Redshirt Institutions (ERIs) help mentor and train the new Student Success Partners (SSP), …

Teaching The Next Generation Of Researchers: An Inquiry Into Aviation Research Education, David C. Ison

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

Research in aviation fields has become increasingly important to institutions and their faculties. Expectations to conduct such research have escalated, with tenure and employment decisions often hanging on evidence of research skill and advanced educational attainment. Considering the importance of research to aviation higher education, this study investigated how research skills are conveyed to undergraduate and graduate aviation students. Further, the subjects and methods of instruction were evaluated. This inquiry was guided by content analysis. To bolster the findings of this study, a series of interviews with program directors and faculty teaching research courses were conducted to explore faculty perceptions …

Peer-Led Team Learning Bridges The Learning Gap In A First-Year Engineering Technology Course, Chen Xu, Ohbong Kwon, Juanita C. But, Benito Mendoza, Janet Liou-Mark, Robert Ostrom

Publications and Research

Electrical Circuits (EMT 1150) is a first-year engineering gateway course for Electromechanical Engineering Technology (EMT) associate degree students. It is a five-credit course with a combined lecture and laboratory components. Topics in the lecture portion introduces the physical basis and mathematical models of electrical components and circuits. The laboratory sessions of the course are performed on a breadboard using the digital multi-meter, oscilloscope, and function generator. In the past ten consecutive semesters, the average enrollment for EMT1150 was approximately 144 students per semester with an average of 73% passing with a D or better and 64% passing with a C …

The Effects Of Peer-Led Workshops In A Statics Course, Melanie L. Villatoro, Karla Karolin Peña, Janet Liou-Mark

Publications and Research

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an 8% increase in employment for civil engineers is expected in the next decade.1 To assist in attracting more undergraduates to pursue a degree in Civil Engineering Technology, New York City College of Technology has implemented an instructional strategy in one of the main gatekeeper courses. Statics has been identified as a course where undergraduates either decide to retain in their Civil Engineering Technology major or transfer out to another one. To provide more support for undergraduates taking this course, the Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) strategy was adopted. This study compared the final …

News From The Graduate School - Educational Mathematics, Otterbein Office Of Graduate Programs

Graduate School

Newsletter that provides updates from the Graduate School and the Educational Mathematics Graduate Program.

Metacognition And The Utility Of Pathway Maps In Introductory Chemistry, Kayla Schwartz

Honors Projects

Students historically struggle in introductory chemistry courses. This experiment was designed to test a hypothesized method to increase student success which utilized metacognition, reflection, and the creation of pathway maps. An introductory chemistry course at BGSU was given two sets of pre-assignments, pathway map assignments, and post-assignments which was related to the topics they were learning in class. The pre-assignments and post-assignments were used to determine if there was a change in understanding before and after the pathway map assignment was completed and the pathway map assignment was based on a question that was given in the pre-assignment. The students …

A Model For Propagating Educational Innovations In Higher Stem Education: A Grounded Theory Study Of Successfully Propagated Innovations, Raina Khatri

Dissertations

A critical problem in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education is the slow uptake of innovative teaching strategies and materials. Developments from the STEM education research community can be shown to improve learning and retention outcomes, but the majority of new teaching strategies go unused by instructors. This problem is increasingly acknowledged by funding agencies such as the National Science Foundation, which now calls for “transferability and propagation” to be addressed throughout a project’s lifetime in the request for proposals. However, few publications synthesize what is known about propagating innovations into usable, actionable recommendations for developers in the …

Incivility As A Barrier To Embeddedness Among Engineering Students: Does Gender Matter?, Katelyn R. Reynoldson

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

To meet the current demand for engineers, research has focused on how to attract and retain qualified candidates in the field, especially those that are underrepresented (e.g., women; NSB, 2016). The present study investigates incivility and embeddedness, which have been found to be antecedents of retention in both the workplace (Cortina, Magley, Williams, & Langhout, 2001; Mitchell, Holtom, Lee, Sablynski, & Erez, 2001) and the collegiate setting (Caza & Cortina, 2007; Major et al., 2015). To extend previous research, both constructs were examined simultaneously among undergraduate engineering students. Undergraduate, first-year engineers completed an online survey indicating the extent to which …

Updated Guidelines, Updated Curriculum: The Gaise College Report And Introductory Statistics For The Modern Student, Beverly Wood, Megan Mocko, Michelle Everson, Nicholas J. Horton, Paul Velleman

Publications

Since the 2005 American Statistical Association's (ASA) endorsement of the Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education (GAISE) College Report, changes in the statistics field and statistics education have had a major impact on the teaching and learning of statistics. We now live in a world where "Statistics - the science of learning from data - is the fastest-growing science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) undergraduate degree in the United States," according to the ASA, and where many jobs demand an understanding of how to explore and make sense of data. In light of these new reports and other …

Predicting First-Year Mathematics Success At The Community College: Modifications On High School Grade Point Average And The Impact Of High School Quality, C. Caleb Marsh

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

In recent years, student completion in the first-year college mathematics curriculum has become a significant barrier to student success and retention. Many states, such as North Carolina and Virginia, have been innovative in developing new strategies for placing students into an appropriate mathematics curriculum. A centerpiece of these strategies is to use student performance in high school, as measured by high school grade point average, as a predictor of course success and completion. However, in each system, what is largely absent from their placement models is an attempt to account for the quality of the institution that issued the …

Outcomes Of An Academic Scholarship Program At The City University Of New York – New York City College Of Technology, Sunghoon Jang

Publications and Research

We are on a threshold of a revolution in technology education where human knowledge is increasing at an extremely rapid rate. In the wake of these technological advancements, the required workforce skills and competencies are constantly changing. This combination of human knowledge and technological advancements is placing a demand on educators to prepare students with strong integrated technical skills in their selected educational discipline, as well as professional skills such as critical thinking and problem solving. The purpose of the Academic Scholarship Program at the New York City College of Technology – City University of New York was to develop …

Anatomy Of Stem Teaching In North American Universities, Paul J. Wendel, Kathryn M. Plank, Anna M. Young

Faculty Articles

A large body of evidence demonstrates that strategies that promote student interactions and cognitively engage students with content (1) lead to gains in learning and attitudinal outcomes for students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses (1, 2). Many educational and governmental bodies have called for and supported adoption of these student-centered strategies throughout the undergraduate STEM curriculum. But to the extent that we have pictures of the STEM undergraduate instructional landscape, it has mostly been provided through self-report surveys of faculty members, within a particular STEM discipline [e.g., (3–6)]. …

Proceedings Of The Cuny Research Summit: Creativity In Stem, Malgorzata Marciniak, Bronislaw Czarnocha

Publications and Research

The Research Summit “Creativity is STEM” was organized by the Mathematics Teaching Research Journal (MTRJ) and the CUNY Research Foundation. The event gathered over 70 participants from across CUNY and beyond. We spent time discussing various aspects and approaches to creativity and shared our observations about facilitating creativity in the classroom, during research projects, and in our daily life.

Edited by Malgorzata Marciniak and Bronislaw Czarnocha, the proceedings contain six presentations by professors of Mathematics, Sciences and Engineering from across CUNY and beyond, and five presentations by students reporting their research conducted in the context of student-faculty research.

Anatomy Of Stem Teaching In North American Universities, Paul J. Wendel, Joan M. Esson, Kathryn M. Plank, Anna M. Young

Education Faculty Scholarship & Creative Works

A large body of evidence demonstrates that strategies that promote student interactions and cognitively engage students with content lead to gains in learning and attitudinal outcomes for students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses. Many educational and governmental bodies have called for and supported adoption of these student centered strategies throughout the undergraduate STEM curriculum.

Using Argument-Based Science Inquiry To Improve Science Achievement For Students With Disabilities In Inclusive Classrooms, Jonte C. Taylor, Ching-Mei Tseng, Angelique Murillo, William Therrien, Brian Hand

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Students with disabilities have long lagged behind their non-disabled peers when it comes to science achievement. The increased emphasis on STEM related careers and the use of science in everyday life makes learning science content and concepts critical for all students especially for those with disabilities. As suggested by the National Resource Council (2012), more emphasis is being placed on being able to critically think about science concepts in and outside of the classroom. Additionally, the Next Generation Science Standards are asking teachers and students to better understand how science is connected to the everyday world through the use of …

From The Co-Editors..., Todd Pagano

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

On The Use Of Semantic-Based Aig To Automatically Generate Programming Exercises, Laura Zavala, Benito Mendoza

Publications and Research

In introductory programming courses, proficiency is typically achieved through substantial practice in the form of relatively small assignments and quizzes. Unfortunately, creating programming assignments and quizzes is both, time-consuming and error-prone. We use Automatic Item Generation (AIG) in order to address the problem of creating numerous programming exercises that can be used for assignments or quizzes in introductory programming courses. AIG is based on the use of test-item templates with embedded variables and formulas which are resolved by a computer program with actual values to generate test-items. Thus, hundreds or even thousands of test-items can be generated with a single …

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Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

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Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

Parts Of The Whole: Hands On Statistics, Dorothy Wallace

Numeracy

In this column we describe a hands-on data collection lab for an introductory statistics course. The exercise elicits issues of normality, sampling, and sample mean comparisons. Based on volcanology models of tephra dispersion, this lab leads students to question the accuracy of some assumptions made in the model, particularly regarding the normality of the dispersal of tephra of identical size in a given atmospheric layer.

Why I Believe People Need Painting By Numbers, Jason Makansi

Numeracy

Jason Makansi.2016. Painting By Numbers: How to Sharpen Your BS Detector and Smoke Out the Experts (Tucson AZ: Layla Dog Press). 196 pp. ISBN 978-0998425900.

This piece briefly introduces my Painting By Numbers, which aims to take the core messages of the QL/QR community from academic and professional circles to the rest of the citizenry. I describe the book in the context of the critical need for the most basic numeracy tools to help consumers of news, information, and analysis—delivered through traditional and contemporary social media outlets—determine where a reported numerical result lies on the scale from utter nonsense …

A How-To Guide On Bringing Undergraduate Research To Community And Technical Colleges, Angelo Kolokithas, Olga Calderón

Publications and Research

Increasing the interest and participation of students in STEM is a priority for colleges, universities, and the nation as a whole. As new generations of students embark in training and in learning novel technologies to deal with the challenges of emerging infectious diseases, crop and food production, and the development of new and better sustainable alternatives in the face of a changing environment on our planet, we must also evolve our approach to teaching and learning. One strategy that may be found helpful as students face the challenges ahead is to instill inquiry and problem-solving skills as part of their …