Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

The Impact Of A Story-Based Lesson On Student Learning And Attitudes, Janice Marie Fulford

Research and Creative Activities Poster Day

Recent work by Stephen Klassen draws attention to specific structural elements that are thought to give stories their explanatory power in the context of physics. In this poster we report results of a study based on Klassen’s pioneering work but in the context of evolution. A mixed-method research study was conducted over two semesters at a Midwest university to determine if a story developed from the history of research on industrial melanism over the course of a three day lesson would result in improved student understanding of the concept of natural selection.

The study involved a direct comparison of two …

The Scientific Teaching Practices Survey For Undergraduate Stem Courses, Mary F. Durham, Jenny K. Knight, Brian Couch

Discipline-Based Education Research Group Speaker Series

The National Academies Summer Institutes on Undergraduate Education (SI) is a faculty development workshop in which STEM instructors are trained in the Scientific Teaching (ST) pedagogy and encouraged to implement its practices at their home institutions. While participants generally report positive experiences at the SI, it remains unclear how these experiences affect instructors’ teaching practices and associated student outcomes. As part of a larger effort to evaluate the SI, we developed a survey to gauge the frequencies of ST practices that could occur in undergraduate STEM courses. The ST Practices Survey is derived from the observable teaching practices described in …

Using Just-In-Time Teaching In A Flipped Undergraduate Biological Systems Engineering Course, Jeyamkondan Subbiah

Discipline-Based Education Research Group Speaker Series

This study analyzed the role of the evidence-based instructional practice of Just-in-time (JIT) teaching integrated with the flipped classroom in an undergraduate biological systems engineering course. In the present paper we provide a detailed overview of the course design, development, and implementation of JIT in a flipped approach to instruction by communicating the technologies used, pedagogy employed to integrate online and in-class activities, and the collaboration between the instructional design support and instructor. Based on the results, we provide recommendations for engineering faculty that want to explore the flipped approach to teaching, examples for online learning activities and how to …

Using Interactive Engagement Strategies To Enhance Learning In College Science Courses, Bailey Z. Kreager, Leilani Arthurs

Discipline-Based Education Research Group Speaker Series

The number of decreasing science majors in U.S. institutions of higher education is connected to the quality of science instruction (Seymour, 1994; Daempfle, 2003) and resulted in nation-wide efforts to improve the quality of college-level science education (National Committee on Science Education Standards and Assessment et al., 1996; NGSS Lead States, 2013). This talk presents historical trends in the adoption of interactive engagement (IE) strategies in college-level science courses and presents one such IE strategy, lecture tutorials (LTs), in the context of sedimentology and stratigraphy.

To determine historical trends in the adoption of IE strategies, peer-reviewed journal articles accessible via …

The Cantor Set Before Cantor, Nicholas A. Scoville

Topology

A special construction used in both analysis and topology today is known as the Cantor set. Cantor used this set in a paper in the 1880s. Yet it appeared as early as 1875 in a paper by the Irish mathematician Henry John Stephen Smith (1826 - 1883). Smith, who is best known for the Smith normal form of a matrix, was a professor at Oxford who made great contributions in matrix theory and number theory. In this project, we will explore parts of a paper he wrote titled On the Integration of Discontinuous Functions.

Topology From Analysis, Nicholas A. Scoville

Topology

Topology is often described as having no notion of distance, but a notion of nearness. How can such a thing be possible? Isn't this just a distinction without a difference? In this project, we will discover the notion of nearness without distance by studying the work of Georg Cantor and a problem he was investigating involving Fourier series. We will see that it is the relationship of points to each other, and not their distances per se, that is a proper view. We will see the roots of topology organically springing from analysis.

Connecting Connectedness, Nicholas A. Scoville

Topology

No abstract provided.

The Exigency Of The Euclidean Parallel Postulate And The Pythagorean Theorem, Jerry Lodder

Geometry

No abstract provided.

Social Justice And Writing In A Math Classroom, Jesica Chaya

Honors Senior Capstone Projects

By intertwining new math concepts with important and relevant social issues, teachers can empower students to recognize the applicable nature of math to problems that their generation will be dealing with for years to come. In doing this, they can also change students’ perceptions of what succeeding in a math class looks like and address a rising necessity for writing across the curriculum by connecting these social justice based plans with writing assignments that encourage and reinforce vocabulary and a deep understanding of the material.

Ua64/2 The Challenge: Magazine For The Center For Gifted Studies (No. 39, Spring 2016), Center For Gifted Studies, Tracy Inman Editor

Gifted Studies Publications

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Between Using Study Island Supplemental Math Software And Third, Fourth, And Fifth Grade Students' Mathematics Achievement, Michael Rich

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The ex post facto study investigated the relationship between the use of Study Island supplemental math software and students’ math achievement in a Title I public elementary school in Georgia during the 2011-2012, 2012-2013, and the 2013-2014 school years. Data from the school was collected regarding the use of a supplemental math software program called Study Island during the 2012-2013 and the 2013-2014 school years. Data on students’ math achievement test scores was collected from school level reports for the 2011-2012, 2012-2013, and the 2013-2014 school years. Data was analyzed using a two-tailed t test to investigate the possible relationship …

Developing Early Numeracy And Early Literacy Skills In Preschool Children Through A Shared Parent/Child Book Reading Intervention: A Multiple-Baseline Single Case Design Study, Christina Lauren Lindahl

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined the effectiveness of a shared storybook reading intervention in increasing children’s early numeracy and early literacy skills through a multiple baseline single case design. Four parent-child dyads were included in the study, and children’s early numeracy and early literacy skills were measured using the eNumeracy Early Math Assessments and the Preschool Early Literacy Indicators, respectively. The study also measured mathematical dialogue to determine if an increase in children’s early numeracy skills is due to the intervention and not other confounding variables. Finally, the study measured intervention integrity, and parent ratings of social validity. Results of the …

A Close Look At A Stem-Themed Magnet And Its Experiential Program On The Occupational Identities, Career Maturity, And Access Provided To Low Socioeconomic Minority Students, Urlette Reyes

LMU Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of an experiential program on the occupational identity, access, and career maturity of Black and Latino students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Data shows these students to be underrepresented in STEM fields. Student interest and access are noted in the literature to be amongst the reasons minorities do not pursue a career in STEM related fields. Jobs within the STEM industry pay considerably more than non-STEM related jobs, access to these jobs can help individuals transform their socioeconomic status. Lack of access and exposure to these fields for low socioeconomic minorities …

A Retrospective On Student Learning And Acceptance Of Evolutionary Science, Lawrence C. Scharmann

Discipline-Based Education Research Group Speaker Series

In this presentation, I provide an analysis of my work (1985-present) with non-major biology students and science teacher candidates in developing strategies for teaching and enhancing learning with respect to Evolutionary Science.

Remember Embers: Model-Based Reasoning, Collaborative Teams And Much More!, David Gosselin

Discipline-Based Education Research Group Speaker Series

Studies of interdisciplinary research teams indicate that team members struggle to achieve knowledge integration across disciplines. Knowledge integration across disciplines is at the heart of addressing important research challenges, such as impacts of global change, trade-offs between water, food, and energy production, and the need for sustainable cities. The EMBeRS Project is testing a new model for integrating knowledge across disciplines based on cognitive science theories of model-based reasoning. The project will create educational materials to train students to overcome the barriers to integrating knowledge across disciplines.

Issues arise due to the inability of team members to work collaboratively in …

Using Computer Games To Motivate At-Risk Students To Studious Learners, Dawn M. White

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

Motivation is the key factor in the academic success of students. Tapping into students’ interests keeps them engaged in learning. One major interest in all students is computer games. Learn about the numerous and free education games available on the Internet and how to use them to transform at–risk students into studious learners. Target Audience: elementary, middle and high school teachers, school counselors, & parents

Using Ipads And Video-Based Instruction To Teach Algebra To High School Students With Disabilities, Elias Clinton, Tom J. Clees

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

This presentation targets a study in which four high school students with disabilities were taught to solve algebraic equations using iPads and video-based instruction. All students showed immediate increases in accurate responding following the introduction of the video-based intervention. This presentation provides practitioners with a flexible technology-based intervention for students with disabilities in need of grade-level academic instruction. The intervention could be used across a variety of subjects and academic tasks.

There’S A Dragon In My Classroom, Sarah O'Leary-Driscoll

Nature of Science

What makes science, science?

How do we help students make sense of the science they are learning and how it fits in with preconceived notions and misconceptions, social perspectives, and potential controversy?

The Impact Of The Exploring Computer Science Instructional Model In Chicago Public Schools, Lucia Dettori, Ronald I. Greenberg, Steven Mcgee, Dale Reed

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

As part of the Taste of Computing project, the Exploring Computer Science (ECS) instructional model has been expanded to many high schools in the Chicago Public Schools system. We report on initial outcomes showing that students value the ECS course experience, resulting in increased awareness of and interest in the field of computer science. We compare these results by race and gender. The data provide a good basis for exploring the impact of meaningful computer science instruction on students from groups underrepresented in computing; of several hundred students surveyed, nearly half were female, and over half were Hispanic or African-American.

Pre-College Deaf Students’ Understanding Of Fractional Concepts: What We Know And What We Do Not Know, Keith Mousley, Christopher Kurz

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Mathematical knowledge and skills are crucial to success in academics and the workplace. The Common Core State Standards emphasizes fraction teaching and learning in elementary school. This mixed-method study explores fraction concept understanding among 14 deaf and hard of hearing participants between the ages of 8 and 16, as quantitatively measured by their ability to describe the properties of fractional numbers, convert between fractional numbers and their visual representations, and determine the order and equivalence of fractional numbers. Furthermore, the qualitative study was supplemented by interviews with the deaf participants and surveys with their parents and teachers to examine use …

A Case Of High School Earth And Space Science Education In The Great Plains, Elizabeth Lewis, Jia Lu

Discipline-Based Education Research Group Speaker Series

While U.S. high school students’ access to Earth and space science (ESS) varies widely from state to state, nationally ESS content is the most neglected area of science education. States are in the process of formally adopting the Next Generation Science Standards, which have been carefully developed and articulated in conjunction with state educational leaders. However, researchers rarely address the challenge with which states, school districts, and teachers must grapple in order to enact ESS courses and concepts. This case study of one Great Plains state asks the questions: (a) How do school districts provide ESS education at the high …

Cogenerative Dialogue: Developing Biology Learning Accommodations For Students With Disabilities, Edward Lehner

Publications and Research

A prominent challenge, at times under-addressed in the science education literature, is considering what types of learning accommodations science teachers should employ for students with disabilities. Outside of science education, researchers have consistently outlined how Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is one efficient means by which to engage students with disabilities in the curriculum. This paper presents the results of a research study in which teachers employed cogenerative dialogue as a learning space where UDL was used to differentiate and individualize instruction in an inclusive biology class. The data originated from a larger, ongoing, longitudinal ethnography of science learning in …

Knowledge And Tasks Connecting Elementary, Secondary, And Disciplinary Mathematics, Yvonne Lai

Discipline-Based Education Research Group Speaker Series

A well-prepared teacher should be able to help her students see mathematics as ideas that develop over time. Mathematics courses designed specifically for prospective secondary teachers aim for prospective teachers to see and find connections across elementary, secondary, and disciplinary mathematics, and beyond that to be able to use those connections in their future teaching. While there is broad agreement with these aims, there is also little consensus around how to carry them out. Two challenges in meeting these aims are identifying content that lends itself to such connections and designing tasks that can be used to engage with that …

The Role Of Sequence In The Experience Of Mathematical Beauty, Leslie Dietiker

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

In this article, I analyze the aesthetic dimensions of a sequence of mathematical events found in an unusual first grade lesson in order to demonstrate how sequencing may affect an individual’s experience of mathematical beauty. By approaching aesthetic as a sense or felt quality of an experience in context (Sinclair, 2001, 2011), this analysis explains how sequence can affect the way mathematical objects or actions are experienced by an individual. Thus, rather than questioning whether or in what ways a set of mathematical objects are beautiful or not, this paper addresses under what conditions is the mathematics in play beautiful. …

Journal Rankings And Representation In Mathematics Education, Samuel Otten, Ryan Andrew Nivens

ETSU Faculty Works

Excerpt: Publish or perish has long been the mantra academics live by. For decades, this referred to a list of publications on a researcher’s Curriculum Vitae.

Fostering An Inclusive Stem Workforce, Cary A. Supalo Dr.

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

The following keynote address was delivered by Dr. Cary A. Supalo at the 2015 Training Workforce and Development and diversity conference which is one of the divisions that is part of NIH’s general medical sciences. This conference was attended by over 500 program directors from all of the T32 sponsored projects in 2015. This presentation discussed the importance of a full inclusive STEM workforce that includes persons with disabilities

Parts Of The Whole: Teaching Quantitative Reasoning In The Predator-Prey Model, Dorothy Wallace

Numeracy

The classical predator-prey equations are in nearly every differential equations text and mathematical biology text. Usually they are presented fait accompli, leaving the student to analyze them or play with a computer program. Here we show that the process of fully understanding where these equations come from and how they are derived provides numerous opportunities to teach or reinforce quantitative reasoning skills necessary to future scientists. This example is used to invoke logic, systems thinking, causal reasoning, understanding functions of one or more variables, quantities versus rates of change, proportional reasoning, unit analysis, and comparison to data.

Integration Of Place-Based Education Into Science Classes From Prekindergarten Through Grade 5, Terri A. Wade-Lyles

The Richard W. Riley College of Education and Leadership Publications

Abstract In a large urban district in Ohio, 29.2% of Grade 5, 28.7% of Grade 8, and 45.7% of Grade 10 students passed the state test in science. School district administrators formed a community partnership with local science institutions in order to provide students with hands-on place-based learning experiences intended to improve science academic achievement in PK-Grade 5. The purpose of this qualitative program evaluation was to determine the level of implementation of that place-based program by examining the efficacy of the teachers’ embedded professional development and their experiences with the training components. Bruner’s theory of cognitive development was used …

Export To Arduino: A Tool To Teach Processor Design On Real Hardware, Michael Black

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Many computer organization courses teach digital design and processor architecture without a hardware lab or physical equipment. This paper introduces a module to allow students to export digital designs as C programs that run on an inexpensive Arduino Uno, thereby allowing students to test and observe their designs in actual hardware with minimal setup time and equipment. The module runs within Emumaker86, an open-source digital design tool previously developed by the author for teaching microprocessor architecture, and can handle designs ranging from simple combinational circuits to a complete processor. Students were given this module in an undergraduate "Systems Computing" course, …

Integration Of Place-Based Education Into Science Classes From Prekindergarten Through Grade 5, Terri A. Wade-Lyles

Walden Faculty and Staff Publications

Abstract In a large urban district in Ohio, 29.2% of Grade 5, 28.7% of Grade 8, and 45.7% of Grade 10 students passed the state test in science. School district administrators formed a community partnership with local science institutions in order to provide students with hands-on place-based learning experiences intended to improve science academic achievement in PK-Grade 5. The purpose of this qualitative program evaluation was to determine the level of implementation of that place-based program by examining the efficacy of the teachers’ embedded professional development and their experiences with the training components. Bruner’s theory of cognitive development was used …