Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Resilience In Early Second Career Stem Teachers Employed In Public Secondary Schools, Donald Selway

Theses and Dissertations

A troubling shortage of K-12 Science, Technology, Engineer and Mathematics (STEM) teachers exists in the United States. One solution to increase STEM teachers involves recruiting STEM professionals to transition from industry to K-12 teaching. Research indicates that fostering resilience is one way to help new STEM teachers’ retention and persistence in the field. This study explored individual and programmatic factors that increase early career and early second career K-12 STEM teachers’ resilience. Moreover, this research examined how strategic initiatives and programs assisted STEM professionals to build resilience as they transitioned into K-12 STEM educators.

This study utilized mixed-methods design to …

First Grade Educators' Perceptions Of Their Confidence To Integrate The West Virginia Mathematical Habits Of Mind Into Classroom Practices, Monica Lynn Dellamea

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Mathematical proficiency during the early years is directly linked to later success in life, both regarding academics and economics. First grade educators must have the knowledge and skills to integrate the West Virginia Mathematical Habits of Mind (WV MHM) into their existing classroom instructional practices to help establish strong foundations for mathematical learning and thinking early on in children’s lives. This study investigated first grade educators’ perceptions of their confidence with integration of the WV MHM into their classroom instructional practices. Barriers to and supports for implementation, as well as educator demographics, were examined to determine any effect they may …

Descriptions Of Differentiated Instruction In Mathematics In A Title 1 School District, Sheril Bulley-Simpson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In an urban Title 1 school district, the average number of Grade 3-5 students who scored proficient or advanced on the state standardized assessment was 37.3% below Grade 3-5 students countywide and 19.4% below Grade 3-5 students statewide. Low mathematics scores may indicate a gap in practice that affects student achievement. The purpose of this descriptive case study was to examine teachers' descriptions of instructional strategies implemented to mediate instruction for students who struggle in mathematics. This study was based on the conceptual framework of Tomlinson's differentiated instruction (DI), a means of accommodating the varied ways that students learn. The …

Family-Friendly Science: Increasing Family Engagement In Stem Education, Alison Bixler

Honors Projects

Family engagement is vital to a child’s success in his or her academic career. Current research has focused more specifically on the relationship between parent engagement in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education and a student’s success in his or her STEM education. This paper is a summary of present research pertaining to this topic, as well as a summary of the results of a field-based study the author and faculty mentors completed to learn more about methods for engaging families in STEM education, particularly in the area of science. Present research indicates that a successful method for engaging …

Eliciting And Characterizing Students’ Mental Models Within The Context Of Engineering Design, Chelsey Ann Dankenbring

Open Access Theses

Recently, science education reform documents have called for the incorporation of engineering principles and practices into the K-12 science standards and curriculum. One way this has been done is through the use of engineering design tasks as a way for students to apply their scientific understandings to real-world problems. However, minimal studies have documented students' conceptions within the context of engineering design. Thus, the first chapter of this thesis outlines the steps taken to develop a draw-and-explain item that elicited students' mental models regarding the cause of the four seasons after finishing an engineering design task. Students' mental models regarding …

Documenting Elementary Teachers' Sustainability Of Instructional Practices: A Mixed Method Case Study, Bridget Cotner

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

School reform programs focus on making educational changes; however, research on interventions past the funded implementation phase to determine what was sustained is rarely done (Beery, Senter, Cheadle, Greenwald, Pearson, et al., 2005). This study adds to the research on sustainability by determining what instructional practices, if any, of the Teaching SMART[reg] professional development program that was implemented from 2005-2008 in elementary schools with teachers in grades third through eighth were continued, discontinued, or adapted five years post-implementation (in 2013). Specifically, this study sought to answer the following questions: What do teachers who participated in Teaching SMART[reg] and district administrators …

Landscapes To Learnscapes: Exploring Schoolyard-Based Education, Emily I. Palena, Caroline T. Spurgin

Pitzer Senior Theses

This thesis explores schoolyard-based education as a viable and necessary method for rectifying the shortcomings within the American public school system and the Nature-deficit Disorder epidemic. We argue that schoolyard-based education should be fully integrated into the school system, not in the sole form of popularized school gardens, but as a standard teaching method. We show this using extensive research and a case study of three elementary schools in Claremont, California.

Third Grade Hands On Science Curriculum, Douglas Ray Cornwell

All Graduate Projects

In 2009, Washington State issued a new set of science standards. These new standards focus on building scientific literacy. With the emphasis now on scientific literacy rather than the traditional emphasis on fact memorization, many teachers must now find new ways to teach their science programs that reinforce understanding in science concepts rather than simple fact recollection. A science program that focuses on the constructivist learning philosophy and that offers students "hands on" activities as well as teacher led demonstrations is offered here to fill the role as an example of one of these new programs.

The Influence Of A Reform-Based Mathematic Program On Third, Fourth, And Fifth Grade Student Achievement, William M. Ward

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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The Relationship Between Third And Fourth Grade Everyday Mathematics Assessments And Performance On The New Jersey Assessment Of Skills And Knowledge In Fourth Grade (Njask/4), Mariann T. Helfant

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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The Impact Of Classroom Organization In Grade 4 On Student Achievement In Science, Edward Duncanson

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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The Level Of Mathematical Understanding Possessed By Prospective Elementary Teachers, William Dean Vodarski

All Master's Theses

It was the purpose of this study to determine the level of mathematical understanding possessed by prospective elementary teachers graduating from Central Washington State College. It was also the purpose to determine if the measured level of mathematical understanding is related to such factors as sex, education classes completed, mathematics classes completed, and grade level of student teaching.

Audio-Visual Aids, Manipulative Materials, And Arithmetic Achievement In Grade Four, Janice Cameron Mccolaugh

All Master's Theses

The central problem of this study was to determine whether children using an above-normal amount of audio-visual aids and manipulative materials would achieve significantly higher in arithmetic.

A Comparative Study Of The Traditional And The Scott, Foresman Approaches To The Teaching Of Addition And Subtraction Of Fractions, Austa L. Daverin

All Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to compare the achievement of a control group of children taught addition and subtraction of fractions in the traditional way with that of an experimental group taught by the Scott, Foresman approach. The factors under consideration were the ability to perform the basic operations required in adding and subtracting fractions, and the retention of ability to perform these skills.

Growth In Geometric Skills Made By Students In Grade Four, Gail Crum

All Master's Theses

For the first time in School District Number Seven, Yakima, Washington, a structured geometry course is included in the fourth grade mathematics program. The purpose of this study was to determine the growth in geometric skills made by the students enrolled in this program. It is a study to help determine which learnings fourth graders grasp, which only a few grasp, and, if there are some, none grasp.

Aerospace Education In The Sixth Grade, Edith Marie Jackson

All Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was twofold: to formulate an aerospace education handbook providing pertinent information and material which may be woven into existing sixth grade courses in the elementary curriculum and to make a careful evaluation of one aerospace program in a sixth grade classroom. The problems were: (1) selection and organization of appropriate information and material for the handbook; (2) determining suggested teaching procedures and activities; and (3) preparation and administration of evaluative instruments for the program.

An Investigation Of The Demonstration Method For Teaching Critical Thinking In Elementary School Science, John Gilbert Eyres

All Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine (1) the effectiveness of the demonstration method, as used in science on the elementary school level, in teaching the critical thinking ability; (2) whether a reliable testing device could be designed to measure critical thinking ability at the elementary school level; and (3) whether there exists a relationship between the mental ability of elementary school children and their ability to do critical thinking.

A Survey Of The Field Of Primary Science, Lora May Aden

All Master's Theses

The purpose of this paper will be to develop the specific objectives of science teaching as it applies to the children of the six to nine age group, commonly known as the primary school.

A Survey Of The Arithmetical Concepts Of Children In The Elementary Grades Pertaining To The Use Of Money, Eyler L. Elliot

All Master's Theses

It was the purpose of this study: (1) to survey the present concepts of money and its use, in a specific elementary grade level, in a cross section of a city that included all socio-economic levels; (2) to determine the extent to which knowledge of economic concepts is related to socio-economic level; and (3) make suggestions as to areas where greater emphasis towards understanding of money concepts should be placed.