Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Imsa© Fusion: Preparing Students For Future Scientific Expertise, Michelle Kolar, Dora Phillips, Elizabeth Martinez, Laurie S. Sutherland

Publications & Research

Illinois adopted the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) on February 19, 2014 with implementation scheduled to begin in the 2016-17 school year. This article explores (1) the national and statewide need for STEM college and career readiness based on current data; (2) the research on best practices in STEM teaching and learning; and (3) the work of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA) to create IMSA Fusion, a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) educational program that is aligned with NGSS and utilizes research-based best practices to serve Illinois educators and students.

The introduction of the Next Generation Science …

Exit Tickets' Effect On Engagement And Concept Attainment In High School Science, Amy Mastromonaco

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Many high school students struggle to stay engaged in their science class. As a result, student learning often suffers. The purpose of this study was to implement one additional strategy (Exit Tickets) to the teacher’s pedagogy in order to help better engage students and promote student learning. The teacher then evaluated the efficacy of the strategy by: comparing both participant behavioral engagement and assessment results prior to and during/after the implementation of the Exit Tickets. The data was disaggregated to compare students who were typically behaviorally disengaged to those who were consistently behaviorally engaged so as to better determine the …

Lessons Learned From Lesson Study: Focusing On Differentiation For Ells And Students With Special Needs, Anne Marie Marshall, Khalilah Arrington

Publications and Research

This poster will present an overview of the lesson study process within the MATH-UP program. The poster will summarize the components of lesson study and highlight candidate learning from the process. Specifically, the lesson study selected will demonstrate evidence of candidate learning about emergent bilinguals.

Experts As Teachers: Can We Abate The Disconnect Between Expert And Student?, Bailey Mallon

Senior Honors Projects

Studies have found that experts often fail as good teachers, mainly because there is a lack of communication within their specific area (Feldon, 2007). Experts may routinely underestimate how difficult a task can be for a newcomer (Hinds, 1999) and even when attempting to make a task easier, they omit information a novice would find valuable (Hinds, Patterson, & Pfeffer, 2001) because they unintentionally assume that non-experts are aware of and possess knowledge that only those already familiar in the field might have, and would thus know what they are talking about. Furthermore, there are factors controllable by the professor, …

The Learning Landscape: An Assessment Of State Science Standards And Application In A Uri Outreach Center Youth Education Program, Sarah A. Robinson

Senior Honors Projects

Rhode Island state education standards provide educators with curriculum guidance and achievement goals for each grade level. In this case study, I examined the RI state standards and expectations for science education. I undertook this investigation in support of the URI Outreach Center and their elementary education program, Learning Landscape Field Trips. Learning Landscape provides Rhode Island teachers with an opportunity to meet state science standards through the medium of hands-on environmental education programs. Through my investigation, I became fluent in the Learning Landscape curriculum, teaching in more than 20 two-hour sessions. As well, I became familiar with the current …

Common Core Math And Critical Reasoning, Lorna M. Hayman

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

This teacher research action study compared the performance of students in mathematical critical reasoning for selected strands of math under the new Common Core Math Standards with their performance under the old California State Standards. Student scores from in-class tests and quizzes were comparatively analyzed over the duration of a year in one sixth grade classroom in Northern California. Findings from this study indicated a minimal increase in the critical reasoning skills of the students under the Common Core Standards when compared to the California State Standards. The results of the study imply that there is a need for longitudinal …

Novelty Or Knowledge? A Study Of Using A Student Response System In Non-Major Biology Courses At A Community College, Tasha Herrington Thames

Dissertations

The advancement in technology integration is laying the groundwork of a paradigm shift in the higher education system (Noonoo, 2011). The National Dropout Prevention Center (n.d.) [JS1] claims that technology offers some of the best opportunities for presenting instruction to engage students in meaningful education, addressing multiple intelligences, and adjusting to students’ various learning styles. The purpose of this study was to investigate if implementing clicker technology would have a statistically significant difference on student retention and student achievement, while controlling for learning styles, for students in non-major biology courses who were and were not subjected to the technology. This …

Move, Interact, And Connect Personally Barter Theatre’S Project Real Gets Implicit In Order To Learn, Megan E. Atkinson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Body movement, hands-on activity, embodiment, social interaction, emotions, and self-reflection allow teaching artists of Barter’s Theatre’s Project REAL to conduct a lesson with an implicit learning experience as the focus. Barter Theatre’s Project REAL exists as a theatre for education program that collaborates with regular classroom teachers on delivering the curriculum through specific theatre exercises in order to connect the material personally to the students’ lives. Theatre tools provide a human experience that enhances learning for the student by use of kinesthetic movement, social learning, emotions and interpersonal skills. To understand the effects of Barter Theatre’s Project REAL, the director …

Diffusion Of A Math Intervention Program Within A Secondary Setting: A Mixed Methods Study, Stuart Lenz

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

The purpose of this convergent mixed methods study was to understand the stages of concern and levels of use for teachers as they integrate a new math intervention program. Teachers within three high schools in a large Mid-western school district all implemented the program at the same time, and were used as the sample during the three-year study. The study searched to discover (a) what or who influences the teachers in their use of the program, (b) how the teachers change in their levels of use and stages of concern, and (c) if the success of the program changes as …

Mathematics For What? High School Students Reflect On Mathematics As A Tool For Social Inquiry, Anastasia Brelias

Democracy & Education

This study examines high school students’ views of mathematics as a tool for social inquiry in light of their classroom experiences using mathematics to explore social issues. A critical theoretical perspective on mathematics literacy is used to ascertain the ways in which their views challenge or affirm the dominant image of mathematics in society. The study concludes that mathematics applications addressing social justice issues are promising vehicles for developing students’ appreciation of mathematics as a social problem-solving tool, an awareness of its limitations, and a healthy skepticism toward its uses.

Math, Science, And Engineering Integration In A High School Engineering Course: A Qualitative Study, Clara G. Valtorta, Leema K. Berland

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

Engineering in K-12 classrooms has been receiving expanding emphasis in the United States. The integration of science, mathematics, and engineering is a benefit and goal of K-12 engineering; however, current empirical research on the efficacy of K-12 science, mathematics, and engineering integration is limited. This study adds to this growing field, using discourse analysis techniques to examine whether and why students integrate math and science concepts into their engineering design work. The study focuses on student work during a unit from a high school engineering course. Video data were collected during the unit and were used to identify episodes of …

Relationships Between The Algebraic Performance Of Students In Subject-Specific And Integrated Course Pathways, Derrick Saddler

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare the algebraic performance gains of high school students who enroll in an integrated mathematics course pathway (i.e., Integrated Mathematics I-II-III) to the algebraic performance gains of high school students who enroll in a subject-specific course pathway (i.e., Algebra I-Geometry-Algebra II). Several studies have been performed in which researchers examined relationships between mathematics outcomes and the course-taking patterns of high school students enrolled in subject-specific course pathways. However, there is little extant research in which researchers have investigated effects of content organization on students' learning and achievement. Therefore, this study addresses calls for …

“Analyze, Acquire, Apply, And Write” As A New Learning Model In Science, Jeong Choe

Faculty Publications & Research

I have developed a new teaching and learning model called AAAW, which stand for Analyze, Acquire, Apply and Write. This model grows from action research and unique experience in teaching a biochemistry course to high school students who are talented in math and science. In this model, students first "Analyze" lab data to generate questions that lead them to "Acquire" background knowledge. Students then go back to the data and "Apply" their new knowledge to better understand the data. Finally, students "Write" about the connections they make from their reading, data analysis, and application of the data. The rationale behind …

Ua64/2 The Challenge: Magazine For The Center For Gifted Studies (No. 36, Spring 2015), Center For Gifted Studies, Tracy Inman Editor

Gifted Studies Publications

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of An Early Intervention Mastery Activity In The Mathematics Department, Nathan Wakefield, Joe Champion, Doug Dailey, Jessalyn Bolkema

Discipline-Based Education Research Group Speaker Series

At the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, nearly 1000 students sign up for one of College Algebra, or College Algebra and Trigonometry every fall. Of these students, more than 75% are first time freshman. Finding ways to motivate and encourage these students together with early identification strategy for struggling students is critical to success not just in the math course, but also in a student’s university career. This presentation will discuss the design and outcomes an early intervention mastery activity with the broad goals of helping students recall previously learned mathematics, and identifying students who are at risk for failure, all within …

The Molecular Biology Capstone Assessment: A Concept Assessment For Upper-Division Molecular Biology Students, Brian A. Couch, William B. Wood, Jennifer K. Knight

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Measuring students’ conceptual understandings has become increasingly important to biology faculty members involved in evaluating and improving departmental programs. We developed the Molecular Biology Capstone Assessment (MBCA) to gauge comprehension of fundamental concepts in molecular and cell biology and the ability to apply these concepts in novel scenarios. Targeted at graduating students, the MBCA consists of 18 multiple-true/false (T/F) questions. Each question consists of a narrative stem followed by four T/F statements, which allows a more detailed assessment of student understanding than the traditional multiple-choice format. Questions were iteratively developed with extensive faculty and student feedback, including validation through faculty …

The Effect Of Video Interviews With Stem Professionals On Stem-Subject Attitude And Stem-Career Interest Of Middle School Students In Conservative Protestant Christian Schools, Philip Alsup

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Inspiring learners toward career options available in STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) is important not only for economic development but also for maintaining creative thinking and innovation. Limited amounts of research in STEM education have focused on the population of students enrolled in religious and parochial schools, and given the historic conflict between religion and science, this sector of American education is worthy of examination. The purpose of this quantitative study is to extend Gottfredson's (1981) Theory of Circumscription and Compromise as it relates to occupational aspirations. Bem's (1981) Gender Schema Theory is examined as it relates to …

A Conceptual Analysis Of Perspective Taking In Support Of Socioscientific Reasoning, Sami Kahn

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Scientific literacy is concerned with the informed citizens' ability to negotiate scientifically-related societal issues. The suite of skills necessary to negotiate these complex issues is referred to as Socioscientific Reasoning (SSR). SSR requires, among other things, perspective-taking abilities in order to consider the multi-faceted nature of these open-ended, debatable socioscientific issues (SSI). Developing interventions and instruments to foster and measure perspective taking in support of SSR is therefore critical to the promotion of functional scientific literacy through both research and practice. Although widely studied in many disciplines, perspective taking is a particularly tangled construct that has been used to describe …

Utilizing University – Community Partnerships To Promote Academic Success In The Mathematics, Jill M. Drake, Laura H. Smith

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

The presentation will share how one university developed an innovative tutoring program that allows university teacher candidates to earn course credit while providing low or no cost tutoring to children who are at-risk and underachieving in mathematics. Program templates and recommendations for replicating will be shared. Any professional engaged in partnerships that support children who underachieve in mathematics should attend.

Modifying Science Texts To Accommodate The Needs Of Struggling Readers And English Language Learners, Regina Suriel, Crystal Randolph

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

Students with learning differences, including English language learners, experience difficulties with reading classroom textbooks. This presentation, intended for educators and parents, will discuss and provide practice in the identification of readability levels of science texts discuss the importance of integration of visual stimuli in science texts, and explain culturally-relevant approaches to science curricula.

Scientific Teaching: Defining A Taxonomy Of Observable Practices, Brian A. Couch, Tanya L. Brown, Tyler J. Schelpat, Mark J. Graham, Jennifer K. Knight

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Over the past several decades, numerous reports have been published advocating for changes to undergraduate science education. These national calls inspired the formation of the National Academies Summer Institutes on Undergraduate Education in Biology (SI), a group of regional workshops to help faculty members learn and implement interactive teaching methods. The SI curriculum promotes a pedagogical framework called Scientific Teaching (ST), which aims to bring the vitality of modern research into the classroom by engaging students in the scientific discovery process and using student data to inform the ongoing development of teaching methods. With the spread of ST, the need …

Successful Inquiry Based Activities In High School Physiology, Sowmya Anjur

Faculty Publications & Research

Physiology and Disease students at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy in Aurora employ inquiry driven activities to improve their understanding and articulation of the discipline. Students make heart models and make correlations with heart rate, lung capacity and blood pressure measurements. Students seemed to gain a better understanding of the cardiovascular unit as reflected in their heart unit assessment scores.

Addressing Misconceptions About Evolution, Sarah O'Leary-Driscoll, Don Dosch

Faculty Publications & Research

"Leave with effective ways to identify and address misconceptions about evolution, with a particular focus on supporting explanations with evidence."

Addressing Misconceptions About Evolution, Sarah O'Leary-Driscoll, Don Dosch

Evolution

"Leave with effective ways to identify and address misconceptions about evolution, with a particular focus on supporting explanations with evidence."

Graduate Internship Report - Ann Sobrato High School, Adeline Grace Amador

Agricultural Education: Graduate Internship Reports

This internship report includes validation documents required in meeting the quality criteria for secondary-level programs of instruction in agriculture. The documents are concurrently used for the Agriculture Incentive Grant review process at Ann Sobrato High School conducted by representatives of the California Department of Education. The internship included the restructuring and designing of the curriculum for an Agriculture Leadership class. It also includes development of a set of directions and a scoring rubric for the FFA iRecordbook. Finally, it includes the redevelopment of curriculum for Agriculture Biology and Agriculture Geology classes related to the Next Generation Science Standards. This includes …

Session D-7: Exploration Of Factors That Motivate Students To Engage In Stem, Adrienne Coleman

Professional Learning Day

Join in on the discussion of an exploration into factors that motivate gifted and talented Black and Latino students and programs being created to engage those populations in STEM fields.

Session C-1: Equilibrium, Deb Scarano, Anita White

Professional Learning Day

Find your balance in this hands-on lab session which will allow teachers to try out several simple lab activities that will enable students to better understand equilibrium.

Is It Still Science If You Don’T Call It ‘Science’? Discovery Orientation And Science Identity Among Middle School Youth., Patricia Wonch Hill, Julia Mcquillan

Discipline-Based Education Research Group Speaker Series

To investigate the role of friendships in science identity formation, we are conducting a longitudinal survey of 441 students in an ethnically diverse Title I Middle School. This research-based approach, framed within a sociological conceptual model, will provide depth in our understanding of how to motivate and engage youth from groups underrepresented in biomedical science, and will contribute to the sociological literature on identity formation. Science educators assume most youth have a natural propensity toward science and inquiry, and will engage with science activities and ideas if they are presented in fun and appealing ways. We call this natural propensity …

Engaging Teenagers With Science Through Comics, Judy Diamond

Discipline-Based Education Research Group Speaker Series

Graphic novels or comics are powerful tools to motivate youth to become interested in science. Embedding science concepts into a story with graphics that appeal to teen culture makes abstract content approachable, stimulates youth interest, and promotes learning. This presentation will discuss the goals of the NIH‐funded World of Viruses and Biology of Human comic series and the research results that support using these approaches.

On Mathematics And Culture: Insights From An International School, M. Sencer Corlu, Burcu Alapala

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

We explore the factors that influence the relationship between mathematics and culture in the international school context. First, we share some thoughts about international schools in general and the international mathematics curriculum implemented at the middle grades level at our school in particular. Second, we present some interesting snapshots from our culturally-diverse mathematics classrooms.