Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Preparing Teachers To Teach Mathematics Within A Humanistic Perspective, Beatriz S. D'Ambrosio

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

No abstract provided.

Estuarine Studies : An Activities Text For Maine Schools, Education Division - Department Of Marine Resources

Maine Collection

Estuarine Studies : An Activities Text for Maine Schools

Fisheries Education Unit #16 - Produced by The Education Division, Department of Marine Resources, State House Station 21, Augusta, Maine 04333-0021.

Revised 1990. Printed Under Appropriation No. 3140.3260.

The Enhancement Of Earth Science Laboratories And Activities Through Inquiry, Discovery And Hands-On Methods, Diane Hinchliff Hesse

All Graduate Projects

The central objective of this project is to enhance the middle school eighthgrade Earth Science curriculum by developing or adapting existing laboratory activities to model hands-on, inquiry, and discovery learning methods. These laboratory activities are designed to encourage independent student-centered learning as opposed to teacher-centered and directed activities.

The project also explored the nature of the science laboratory as it exists in classrooms today and how it can be improved through an understanding of the nature and process of science.

Curriculum Decision Making For National Interest In The Tertiary Sector: An Evaluation Of A Curriculum Project, Stephen Duggan, Lyndall Boyle

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper is concerned with a study of comparative curriculum practice within the tertiary sector. Within Australia, curriculum practice, innovation, planning and evaluation has occurred mainly within the primary and secondary school system. However, since the mid-1980s, educational strategies for national interest have seen the evolution of informed curriculum research and development within the tertiary sector, as universities and colleges endeavour to meet nationally determined educational goals and objectives. This study relates the research process involved when tertiary educators (and researchers) are faced with the task of reconciling local, regional and national objectives. In particular, it considers the dynamics of …

Improving The Scientific Thinking Of Preservice Secondary Science Teachers, Mark Hackling, Patrick Garnett, Frank Dymond

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Previous studies indicate that many preservice science teachers lack facility with those formal reasoning patterns that are critical for learning science. The purpose of this project was to develop, implement and evaluate a curriculum package directed at improving preservice secondary science teachers' scientific thinking. A matched treatment-control, quasi-experimental design revealed significant gains achieved through use of the curriculum materials.

Analise Quantitativa Do Currículo Escolar [Quantitative Analysis Of The School Curriclum], Karl M. Lorenz

Education Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Cooperative Approach To Writing A Curriculum Guide For Mathematics, Sara Nilson Bos

All Graduate Projects

This project involved writing a curriculum guide for grades kindergarten through six in the area of mathematics. This guide was developed using a cooperative approach including small groups of teachers representing several grade levels, as well as, the entire teaching staff. The process of developing the guide was important to this study as was the mathematics guide itself. Teachers were involved in selection of a mathematics curriculum, implementing the curriculum, evaluating and adapting the curriculum after one year of use, and writing the guide to accompany the program.

Pumps, Filters, And Lenses; Humanistic Issues In Calculus Reform, Dan Kalman

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

No abstract provided.

Tapping Creativity And Ingenuity Of Liberal Arts Majors In A Math Course, Helen Christensen

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

No abstract provided.

An Empowering, Participatory Research Model For Humanistic Mathematics Pedagogy, Arthur B. Powell, Dawud A. Jeffries, Aleshia E. Selby

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

No abstract provided.

Mathematics Appreciation: A Humanities Course, Thomas L. Bartlow

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

No abstract provided.

Perfil Quali-Quantitativo Dos Currículos Do Ensino Secundário Brasileiro No Século Xix [A Quali-Quantitative Profile Of The Curricula Of The Brazilian Secondary School Of The Xix Century], Karl M. Lorenz, Ariclê Vechia

Education Faculty Publications

O trabalho caracteriza a organização e os conteúdos dos currículos adotados na escola secundária brasileira de 1838 a 1900, tomando como referência o Colégio Pedro II. O estudo classifica as disciplinas em quatro conjuntos curriculares: Humanidades, Ciências, Matemáticas e Estudos Sociais. Analise, quantitativamente, as disciplinas dos conjuntos curriculares, sua frequência e distribuição nas series, e a carga horaria atribuída elas.

The paper describes the organization and contents of the curricula adopted in the Brazilian secondary school for the years 1838 to 1900, using as its reference the College Pedro II. The study classifies the curricular disciplines in four groups: Humanities, …

A Student Handbook For The Environmental Education / Outdoor School Program In The Middle School, Robert Charles Kenck Jr.

All Graduate Projects

The purpose of this project was to develop a student handbook that can be used from the onset of an environmental study through the inter-active field study. Students will use the handbook as they begin to study environmental education in the classroom. The handbook will continue to be used as each student attends a three day outdoor school to study firsthand their environment through field activities. The handbook will remain the property of the students.

Effects Of New Science Textbooks On Selected Sixth And Eighth Grade Students At Crestwood Elementary School, Paris, Illinois, David R. Pruim

Masters Theses

This paper describes the results of a six-month field study to determine the effects of a newly adopted and implemented junior-high level science textbook series on student achievement. This study took place in the sixth, seventh, and eighth grade science classrooms of Crestwood Elementary School, Paris, Illinois, from December 1988, until May of 1989. This study compared the science achievement of two groups of students in both their sixth and eighth grade years. The Normal Curve Equivalents or NCE's and letter grades as given by the junior-high level science teachers at Crestwood, were analyzed using non-independent t tests. Descriptive data …

A Demographic Evaluation Of The Certification Qualifications Of Secondary Science Teachers With Implications For School Administrators, Joan S. Bowen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This population study of the certification qualifications of the secondary science teachers of the Upper East Tennessee region in 1984-85 was conducted to determine if there was a qualification shortage in any science-teaching area at the beginning of the Comprehensive Education Reform Act (CERA). Data were obtained from the Tennessee State Department of Education Preliminary Report Forms for Staff. Subject certification data and 1984-85 teaching assignment were analyzed to find percentages of infield, out-of-field teaching and the size of the internal pool of active certificated science teachers who were not teaching. Results of these analyses were presented for each system …

The Basis For The Success Of The Potsdam Program, Rick Luttmann

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

No abstract provided.

Energy In Perspective Laboratory #11: Radiation, Robert G. Fuller

ADAPT Lessons: Physics

EXPERIMENTS
A) 1st Expt. Distance
1) Plot corrected counts/minute vs corrected distance.
2) Find the mathematical relationship from the graph.
3) Does doubling the distance cut the count rate in half? Check this mathematically.
4) Give a physical explanation of your results.
B) 2nd Expt. Shielding
1) Comment on the absorption of the various objects used in part A. Include count rates.
2) Plot corrected counts/minute vs shielding thickness for paper, aluminum, and lead. Make 1 graph with 3 plots.
3) Find mathematical relationships for each plot and label it clearly.
4) Which material shields the best? Why do you …

Energy In Perspective Laboratory #9: A Variety Of Physical Systems, Or Determining Relationships For Four (Yes, 4) Experiments, Robert G. Fuller

ADAPT Lessons: Physics

Your task will be to collect data from a variety of physical systems and find the relationships between the manipulated (independent) and responding (dependent) variables using a graphical method. You now know two different ways of analyzing data using two different graphs, either Cartesian or log-log. It will be up to you to decide which to use. Remember: contrastive features, range of variation, and distribution in larger contexts are all necessary to be able to understand something. In physics language that means explore as wide a range of the manipulated variables as seems reasonable. In fact, every physical system is …

A Semester Of Physics Laboratories By A Variety Of Physicists, Robert G. Fuller

ADAPT Lessons: Physics

The ADAPT Program for college freshmen was offered at the University of Nebraska Lincoln from 1975 to 1997. The program always included two semesters of three credit hours of physics. The fall semester of laboratories is given in this pdf file. The physics topics were arranged to develop more and more advanced reasoning and data analysis skills, from linear functions to power law functions to exponential functions. These analysis skills required the students to master Cartesian graphs, log-log graphs and semi-log graphs. All of these laboratories were organized according to the Robert Karplus learning cycle. Near the end of the …

Energy In Perspective Laboratory #4: Finding Relationships, Robert G. Fuller

ADAPT Lessons: Physics

A group of ADAPT students took the Starship Enterprise to the planet Kunzonia. When they arrived, they felt funny. Their heads seemed light and their feet seemed heavy. To try to understand the force of gravity on this planet, they made a simple swinging device fashioned from equipment on the starship. It was a flat bar with a pivot at the top and three equally-spaced holes along its length. The students used masses of 200 g, 400 g, and 600 g (which could be attached in the holes), a meter stick, and a timer, and let the bar swing to …

Energy In Perspective Laboratory #6: Induction: Guessing A General Relationship From Specific Numerical Data, Robert G. Fuller

ADAPT Lessons: Physics

Exploration Activity
An ADAPT student used a mechanical device to lift some heavy load. She recorded the following results:
Effort She Exerted Load She Lifted
10 lb. 410 lb.
22 lb. 520 lb.
33 lb. 620 lb.
45 lb. 730 lb.
60 lb. 860 lb.
77 lb. 1000 lb.
97 lb. 1200 lb.

1) Describe a method by which the student could determine the GENERAL relationship between the load she lifted and the effort she exerted. Is there more than one way that she could do it?
2) Decide on a method for your group. Use it to determine the …

Energy In Perspective Laboratory #10: Investigations In Optics, Robert G. Fuller

ADAPT Lessons: Physics

1. In an old-fashion film-developing device, it is common to use an aperture to control the exposure area of a film. The following diagram is a simplified version. There is a point light source on the left side of the diagram. We place an opaque plate with a 1 cm-square hole in its center and 10 cm away from the light source. Then we place a screen 20 cm away from the light source. The plate and the screen are facing the light source and all these objects are arranged in a straight line.

2. This Halloween picture was taken …

Energy In Perspective Laboratory #8: Finding More Of Nature's Rules, Or Not Everything In The World Is Described By A Straight Line!, Robert G. Fuller

ADAPT Lessons: Physics

Using x as the independent variable, draw one graph plotting: x vs A, x vs B, and ,i>x vs C. For each plot, connect the corresponding points with a smooth, best fit line or curve. (One graph of a data set by each person in your group is sufficient for now.)

The mental power of a linear relationship is our ability to use it to predict behaviors that we have not measured!

So far we have used Cartesian (named for French mathematician René Descartes) graphs (see lab #3). Most of our labs have consisted of taking data, plotting …

Energy In Perspective Laboratory #7: Predictability, Measurements, And Uncertainties, Robert G. Fuller

ADAPT Lessons: Physics

Not all repeated measurements of the same physical quantity will give the same numerical value. Consider the following case:

Two groups, morning and afternoon, of students went out on campus and made repeated determinations of the height of Hamilton Hall and Mueller Tower (on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus). The six morning teams made a total of 18 different determinations on the height of each structure. The eight afternoon teams obtained 24 values. Shown below:

1. List a variety of ways you can determine a "best" value for each height.
2. Select a method and do it for each height. …

Energy In Perspective Laboratory #5: Working With Triangles, Robert G. Fuller

ADAPT Lessons: Physics

Dear ADAPT Students,
We think that these plane figures can be organized into groups that share common properties. We went to Pythagoras but he died before he could tell us much. His last words were,
"Take measurements and focus on ratios..."
Beside his death bed we found 27 different pieces of cardboard cut into a variety of right triangles of various sizes and shapes. Please put the triangles into different groups that display at least two common characteristics and be prepared to explain to your instructor how you did it. You may wish to make a table of your measurements …

Gresham's Law: Algorithm Drives Out Thought, Sherman K. Stein

Humanistic Mathematics Network Journal

Gresham's law in economics states, "Bad money drives good money out of circulation." An application of this law in mathematical pedagogy states that "Algorithm drives out thought." While universities are ideally places where classes are meant to develop students' independence and critical thinking skills, often mathematics courses reflect this altered version of Gresham's law. This paper demonstrates the ways traditional mathematical pedagogy has held up Gresham's law and presents several suggestions for ways to change this approach to mathematical education to focus more on critical thinking without sacrificing the necessity of algorithm.

Seventh-Grade Student Achievement In Length, Perimeter, Area And Volume, Cathy Pierce

Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to measure seventh-grade achievement in finding length, perimeter, area and volume when four different presentations of the problem were given: standard textbook problems, word problems, students measuring, and problems labeled differently than the standard textbook problems. Each of the 235 subjects took one of four different measurement skills testes developed by the researcher. Results indicate student achievement decreases as the complexity of the attribute increases. Overall, students found standard textbook problems the easiest to solve, followed by word problems, and students measuring, respectively. Problems labeled differently than the standard textbook problem were the most difficult for …

Produção De Materiais Didáticos De Ciências No Brasil, Período 1950 A 1980 [The Development Of Science Education Materials In Brazil From 1950 To 1980], Karl M. Lorenz, Vilma Marcassa Barra

Education Faculty Publications

O trabalho descreve o desenvolvimento de um movimento curricular surgido no Brasil, cujo objetivo era a elaboração de textos e materiais didáticos para o ensino de Ciências nas escolas de 1º e 2º graus. O estudo abrange o período de 1950 a 1980 e refere-se ás atividades desenvolvidos por três organizações: a Fundação Brasileira para o Desenvolvimento do Ensino de Ciências (FUNBEC), o Instituto Brasileiro de Educação, Ciências e Cultura (IBECC), e o Projeto Nacional para a Melhoria de Ensino de Ciências (PREMEN).

This article describes the curricular movement to develop primary and secondary school science texts and materials in …

Linear Measurement: A Prevocational Skills Curriculum Based On The Brigance Inventory Of Essential Skills, Linda Jane Kittle

All Graduate Projects

Student progress toward an educational goal can be enhanced by the use of a curriculum containing both assessment and instruction. This project is such a curriculum based on the linear measurement items of the Brigance Inventory of Essential Skills. The careful sequencing and prevocational nature of this curriculum, along with its record-keeping forms, make it especially useful for special education. It is also available as a data disk for use with Apple microcomputers.

Reading, Understanding, Remembering And Using Information In Written Science Materials., Larry Yore, James Shymansky

Educator Preparation & Leadership Faculty Works

With traditional science textbooks still dominating the market, it is projected that the use of print material and related reading skills will persist as the prime method of science instruction. The need to research reading-science issues exists. This paper attempts to define the task or desired outcomes of research in reading-science dimensions. Areas developed in this paper include: (1) science reading and comprehension; (2) theories of the reading process (illustrated by models); (3) research in science reading (presented by grade level, subject matter, and curricular programs); (4) reading comprehension and science achievement (emphasizing text structure); and (5) research trends and …