Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Copyright Information

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

Call For Manuscripts!

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 …

Nsu Ed.S. In Mathematics Education 2018, Nova Southeastern University

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice College Archive

No abstract provided.

Diagnostic Effects Of An Early Mastery Activity In College Algebra And Precalculus, Nathan Wakefield, Joe Champion, Jessalyn Bolkema, Douglas Dailey

Department of Mathematics: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to investigate implementation of an early intervention mastery activity during the first two weeks of college algebra and precalculus courses at a large U.S. public university. Statistical modeling of (N = 935) students’ performance in the courses, including a logistic regression model of pass/fail course achievement with students’ high school rank, ACT Mathematics scores, and performance on the intervention as explanatory variables, suggested significant independent differences in course performance across performance levels on the early mastery activity. An evaluation of diagnostic validity for the model yielded a 19% false negative rate (predicted to …

Pivoting Toward The Future: Fifty Years Of Summer Research Fellowship Success Catalyzes Institutional Change, Patricia Marten Dibartolo, Kathryn M. Aloisio, Margaret Lamb, Minh Ly, Cate Rowen

The Office of Institutional Research

For 50 years, Smith College’s Summer Research Fellowship (SURF) has provided undergraduate women scientists the opportunity for an immersive experience to conduct independent research under the mentorship of science faculty and staff. This article highlights summative assessment data on SURF program outcomes as well as the institutional planning and responses that followed from careful consideration of SURF’s success and challenges. SURF participation was associated with a full range of student benefits, including a higher overall college gradepoint average, greater advanced research participation, and increased likelihood of completing an advanced degree. Evidence of these powerful and lasting student impacts associated with …

Expectations And Experiences In A Modern Physics Laboratory Course, Helen Mae Cothrel

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines students’ expectations for and experiences within a modern physics laboratory course. The course instructor and several students were interviewed using a semi-structured protocol at the beginning (pre) and end (post) of the semester. Interviews were video-recorded, then transcribed to text. This thesis presents the results of three students’ interviews as case studies; their interview transcripts were adapted to a more narrative style for inclusion in this report. An interpretation of each student’s responses from pre- to post-interview is given, followed by conclusions which incorporate all three students’ interviews. Particular attention is paid to students’ ideas about experimenting …

Ecoevo-Maps: An Ecology And Evolution Assessment For Introductory Through Advanced Undergraduates, Mindi M. Summers, Brian A. Couch, Jennifer K. Knight, Sara E. Brownell, Alison J. Crowe, Katharine Semsar, Christian D. Wright, Michelle K. Smith

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

A new assessment tool, Ecology and Evolution–Measuring Achievement and Progression in Science or EcoEvo-MAPS, measures student thinking in ecology and evolution during an undergraduate course of study. EcoEvo-MAPS targets foundational concepts in ecology and evolution and uses a novel approach that asks students to evaluate a series of predictions, conclusions, or interpretations as likely or unlikely to be true given a specific scenario. We collected evidence of validity and reliability for EcoEvo-MAPS through an iterative process of faculty review, student interviews, and analyses of assessment data from more than 3000 students at 34 associate’s-, bachelor’s-, master’s-, and doctoral-granting institutions. The …

What Types Of Instructional Shifts Do Students Experience? Investigating Active Learning In Science, Technology, Engineering, And Math Classes Across Key Transition Points From Middle School To The University Level, Kenneth Akiha, Emilie Brigham, Brain A. Couch, Justin Lewin, Marilyne Stains, Mackenzie R. Stetzer, Erin L. Vinson, Michelle K. Smith

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Despite the need for a strong Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) workforce, there is a high attrition rate for students who intend to complete undergraduate majors in these disciplines. Students who leave STEM degree programs often cite uninspiring instruction in introductory courses, including traditional lecturing, as a reason. While undergraduate courses play a critical role in STEM retention, little is understood about the instructional transitions students encounter upon moving from secondary to post-secondary STEM courses. This study compares classroom observation data collected using the Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM from over 450 middle school, high school, introductory-level university, …

Understanding Why Women Stay: Examining Persistence Factors Of Women Majoring In Science And Technology Programs In Public Ethiopian Universities Using A Mixed Methods Design, Meseret Hailu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Amongst African nations, Ethiopia is a unique case in many respects. The country has the second largest population on the continent, is currently experiencing an economic boom, and is a relatively stable nation in the geopolitically volatile "Horn of Africa" region. In the past two decades, the higher education sector in Ethiopia has experienced rapid growth, as evidenced by an increase in both student enrollment and the number of universities. Amongst the various types of higher education institutions, public universities are especially important because they receive the greatest financial support from the Ministry of Education. Moreover, science and technology programs …