Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Thinking Aloud In The Science Classroom: Can A Literacy Strategy Increase Student Learning In Science?, Lindsey Joan Mockel

Dissertations and Theses

This research study investigated the effect of using the think aloud protocol while reading informational text on students' ability to learn from text in a secondary science classroom. The participants in this study were high school students (n=47) in three classes of a mixed-grade Integrated Biology, Chemistry, and Physics course. The study tracked student achievement during a four-week curriculum unit on the theory of evolution and evidence for biological evolution. All students received instruction on using the think aloud protocol, and all students practiced the think aloud protocol when reading short articles related to scientific evidence for evolution. The researcher …

Jellyfish Identification And Quantification In The San Francisco Estuary, Amalia Borson, Lindsay L. Sullivan, Wim Kimmerer

STAR Program Research Presentations

As potential predators and competitors of plankton-eating fish, jellyfish have the potential to negatively impact fish populations. Jellyfish were collected weekly with plankton tows from the RombergTiburonCenterpier in Tiburon, CA. Since some jellyfish were too small to identify, one tow was collected and preserved to record abundances, and a second tow was collected to rear jellyfish until distinguishing characteristics were visible enough for identification. Jellyfish in the preserved tows were then identified, measured, and counted, and their abundance (number m^-3) was calculated. Jellyfish from the second tows were reared in plastic buckets that were lightly bubbled using aquarium …

Bios 112l: Introduction To Zoology Lab, Fall 2013, University Of Nebraska-Lincoln, Scott Lyell Gardner, S. Elizabeth Rácz, Altangerel Tsogtsaikhan Dursahinhan

College of Arts and Science: Syllabi for Courses

Syllabus for BIOS 112L Introduction to Zoology Lab, Fall 2013, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Lab Instructor, S. (Sarah) Elizabeth Rácz. Teaching Assistants, Altangerel (Auggie) Tsogtsaikhan and Rachel Valenziano.

Goals

1. Give you hands on experience with some of the diverse animal taxa of the planet.

2. Gain a working knowledge of taxonomy, anatomy, and biological vocabulary.

3. Students should gain an understanding of how animals compare and contrast, and how they are adapted to their particular way of life.

4. Get you to think about the natural world.

Material needed for lab

Notebook - Bound, hardback, and unlined pages for sketches …

Science Fair: Is It Worth The Work? A Qualitative Study On Deaf Students' Perceptions And Experiences Regarding Science Fair In Primary And Secondary School, Vivian Lee Smith

Dissertations

Science fairs have a long history in American education. They play an important role for establishing inquiry-based experiences in a science classroom. Students may be more motivated to learn science content when they are allowed to choose their own science fair topics. The purpose of this study was to examine Deaf college students’ perceptions and experiences regarding science fair participation during primary and/or secondary school and determine the influence of science fair involvement on the development of language skills, writing skills, and higher order thinking skills as well as its impact on choice of a STEM major.

This study examined …

Juxtaposing Nasa’S Aeronet Aod With Carb Pm Data Over The San Joaquin Valley To Facilitate Multi-Angle Imaging Spectroradiometer (Misr) Pm Pollution Research, John Kanemoto

STAR Program Research Presentations

Airborne particulate matter (PM) has been shown to increase the risk for asthma, chronic bronchitis, cardiopulmonary complications, and respiratory cell membrane damage/infection/leakage. PM levels are currently analyzed from two perspectives: stationary land-based monitoring (LBM) sites and total Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) atmospheric column measurements. Both perspectives often leave miles of space between measuring locations and will have a continually increasing cost from introducing/maintaining sites. The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) satellite team hopes to begin investigating/archiving PM levels comprehensively via inputting MISR AOD measurements into a function/model which predicts the amount of ground level PM.

In the future, multivariable spatial correlations …

Purification And Characterization Of Enzymes From Yeast: An Extended Undergraduate Laboratory Sequence For Large Classes, Kelly E. Johanson, Terry J. Watt, Neil R. Mcintyre, Marleesa Thompson

Faculty and Staff Publications

Providing a project-based experience in an undergraduate biochemistry laboratory class can be complex with large class sizes and limited resources. We have designed a 6-week curriculum during which students purify and characterize the enzymes invertase and phosphatase from bakers yeast. Purification is performed in two stages via ethanol precipitation and anion exchange chromatography, and students perform both direct and coupled enzyme assays. By completion of the experimental series, students are able to identify which enzymes they have purified and have obtained kinetic parameters for one. This experimental series requires minimal instructor preparation time, is cost effective, and works with multiple …

Hexapod Herald - Vol. 25, No. 3, June 2013

Hexapod Herald and Other Entomology Department Newsletters

Contents: Welcome - Grants - North Central Branch News - Publications - Congratulations - Student News - Meeting an Off-Campus Student - This 'n That - Workshop News - Calendar of Events

A Hands-On Activity To Introduce The Effects Of Transmission By An Invasive Species, Barbara May

Biology Faculty Publications

This activity engages students to better understand the impact of transmission by invasive species. Using dice, poker chips, and paper plates, an entire class mimics the spread of an invasive species within a geographic region. The activity can be modified and conducted at the K-16 levels.

Engaging Students In A Bioinformatics Activity To Introduce Gene Structure And Function, Barbara J. May

Biology Faculty Publications

Bioinformatics spans many fields of biological research and plays a vital role in mining and analyzing data. Therefore, there is an ever-increasing need for students to understand not only what can be learned from this data, but also how to use basic bioinformatics tools. This activity is designed to provide secondary and undergraduate biology students to a hands-on activity meant to explore and understand gene structure with the use of basic bioinformatic tools. Students are provided an “unknown” sequence from which they are asked to use a free online gene finder program to identify the gene. Students then predict the …

Parentage Analysis And Conservation Genetics Educational Material For The Eastern Hellbender Salamander, Cryptobranchus Alleganiensis Alleganiensis, Sarah A. Chudyk

Master's Projects

Populations of the Eastern hellbender salamander, Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis, are declining, making this a species of special concern in New York State and under consideration for Federal Endangered Species listing. As a result of this decline, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Buffalo Zoo initiated a headstarting program with an egg mass found in the Allegheny River drainage. The juveniles being raised by the Zoo will be released back into the watershed and so understanding the genetic diversity and parentage of these hellbenders will inform the reintroduction efforts. Furthermore, in order to determine how to …

Using Rnai In C. Elegans To Demonstrate Gene Knockdown Phenotypes In The Undergraduate Biology Lab Setting, Nicole M. Roy

Biology Faculty Publications

RNA interference (RNAi) is a powerful technology used to knock down genes in basic research and medicine. In 2006 RNAi technology using Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) was awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine and thus students graduating in the biological sciences should have experience with this technology. However, students struggle conceptually with the molecular biology behind the RNAi technology and find the technology difficult to grasp. To this end, we have provided a simple, streamlined and inexpensive RNAi procedure using C. elegans that can be adopted in upper level biology classes. By using an unknown RNAi-producing bacteria, students perform novel …

What Can Biochemistry Students Learn About Protein Translation? Using Variation Theory To Explore The Space Of Learning Created By Some Common External Representations, Thomas J. Bussey

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Biochemistry education relies heavily on students' ability to visualize abstract cellular and molecular processes, mechanisms, and components. As such, biochemistry educators often turn to external representations to provide tangible, working models from which students' internal representations (mental models) can be constructed, evaluated, and revised. However, prior research has shown that, while potentially beneficial, external representations can also lead to alternative student conceptions.

Considering the breadth of biochemical phenomena, protein translation has been identified as an essential biochemical process and can subsequently be considered a fundamental concept for biochemistry students to learn. External representations of translation range from static diagrams to …

Hexapod Herald - Vol. 25, No. 2, April 2013

Hexapod Herald and Other Entomology Department Newsletters

Contents: Welcome - Congratulations - Grants - Meet an Off Campus Student - Meeting/Workshop News - Publications - Faculty News - Travel - Blasts from the Past - Calendar of Events

Iowa Academy Of Science: The New Bulletin, V09n1, Spring 2013, Iowa Academy Of Science

New Bulletin

Inside This Issue:

--Message from the Executive Director

--Seeking Project WET Facilitators

--125th Annual Meeting of the Iowa Academy of Science

--Candidates for IAS President –Elect

--Iowa Academy of Science 2013 Ballot

--Announcements, Events & Deadlines

--2012 Member Donations to the Academy

--Ag Energy Webinars

School Gardens: Reconnecting Children With Nature And Food, Alyssa M. Boyle

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis discusses the importance of school gardens. First, two current environmental and societal problems are highlighted: the industrialized food system and what Richard Louv has termed, "Nature Deficit Disorder," in children. School gardens are then presented as an effective tool that can address and remedy such issues. Lastly, a how-to manual for implementing such projects in schools is provided as well as a few sample lesson plans to be used in conjunction with the garden in each subject across the curriculum.

Keeping Abreast With Liberal Arts And Science Through Steam, Tanya Rivas, Gregory Knotts

The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal

The integrated unit on breast cancer described here includes biological science and visual art standards and was targeted at high school juniors and seniors. The goal was to make a potentially controversial and taboo subject relatable through an art-science approach

Under Graduate Curriculum Integration: Bringing Students Together Through Research, Clay Runck, James Russell, Allison D’Costa

Interdisciplinary STEM Teaching & Learning Conference (2012-2019) (Archived)

At Georgia Gwinnett College we are integrating the undergraduate educational experience for our Bachelor of Science students in the Biology discipline. We are using the opportunities presented by the genetic information revolution to combine biology courses in a longitudinal and integrative research project aimed at cataloguing biological diversity over space and time on the developing Georgia Gwinnett College campus.

Hexapod Herald - Vol. 25, No. 1, February 2013

Hexapod Herald and Other Entomology Department Newsletters

Content: Welcome - Congratulations - Faculty News - Grants - Publications - Meeting an Off-Campus Student - Student News - Travel - This 'n that - Lawrence Bruner Entomology Club - Blasts from the past - Calendar of Events

Iowa Academy Of Science: The New Bulletin, V10n1, Winter 2013, Iowa Academy Of Science

New Bulletin

Inside This Issue:

--Message from the Executive Director

--Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science

--2013 ICTM-ISTS Fall Conference Photo Album

--New Facilitators Dive into Project WET

--Attention Teachers: New Environmental Education Opportunities

--Experiencing REAP

--Students as Part of School Leadership for Promoting Reforms in Science

--Starr Student Research Grants

Journey To The End Of The Earth: Analyzing The Outcomes Of A Field-Based Research Program In Antarctica, William Robertson, Claudia Garcia

Selected Works Temporary Series

With the need to increase minority representation in science, specifically in polar science research, the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) developed an innovative field research experience entitled the International Polar Year- Research and Educational Opportunities in Antarctica for Minorities (IPY-ROAM). Supported by a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, twenty-eight participants including undergraduate students, graduate students, teachers and university faculty completed a semester long online course and performed field research in Antarctica within the areas of aquatic ecology, terrestrial biology, physical science, ecotourism and education. The purpose of this article is to determine possible outcomes that individuals experienced through …

Degradation Of Algal Palynomorphs On 34-Yr-Old Microscope Slides, Lynn A. Brant

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Reexamination of 34-yr-old microscope slides of palynological preparations reveals the loss and degradation of algal palynomorphs, in particular the green alga Pediastrum and the desmid Pleurotaenium. Results from this study suggest that great caution should be used when referring co archived palynological slides.

Proceedings Of The 125th Annual Meeting Of The Iowa Academy Of Science [Program, 2013], Iowa Academy Of Science

Iowa Academy of Science Documents

Contents:

Program Summary --- 2-3
Acknowledgements --- 4
Contents --- 5
Iowa Junior Academy of Science Competition --- 6
General Session I --- 7
Iowa Junior Academy of Science Award Luncheon --- 8
Iowa Academy of Science Business Meeting --- 8
Necrology --- 8
Friday Special Events (EPIC-AIMS Reception & Science at Simpson) --- 9
Iowa Academy of Science 2012-2013 Volunteers --- 10-11
Symposium A --- 12
Symposium B --- 13-14
Symposium C --- 14-15
Senior Poster Session Program --- 16-19
Social Hour --- 20
President's Banquet --- 20
General Session II --- 21
General Session III --- 22
Excellence …

A New Plant Record For Iowa: Lactuca Hirsuta (Asteraceae), Thomas L. Eddy

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

A new record of a native vascular plant, Lactuca hirsuta Muhlenberg ex Nuttall var. sanguinea (Bigelow) Fernald, is reported for Iowa. A specimen was collected in 1983 by the author during a study of the Swaledale railroad prairie in Cerro Gordo County, north central Iowa (Eddy 1988). The plant was inexplicably excluded in the species catalogue when a Swaledale railroad flora was published in 1988; thus, this “new” Iowa record in 2013 was collected 30 years prior. The voucher specimen was “re-discovered” by Dr. Neil A. Harriman at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh (OSH), and its identification verified.

Smaf: A Soil Health Assessment Tool, D. L. Karlen, C. D. Nance, D. L. Dinnes, D. W. Meek

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

The Soil Management Assessment Framework (SMAF) was developed to help quantify soil quality/health effects of tillage, crop rotation, and other soil management practices. Our objective was to determine if the SMAF could detect soil health differences after growing a single winter triticale (X Triticosecale Wittmack) crop. Soil samples were collected from 0 to 7.5- and 7.5 to 15- cm depth increments during the 2003 – 2004 and 2004 – 2005 growing seasons near Ames and Lewis, IA, and analyzed for several potential soil quality indicators. The SMAF analysis showed higher soil quality ratings for surface than subsurface samples. It also …

Cover

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

The Vascular Flora Of Clay Prairie State Preserve (Butler County, Iowa): Recommendations To The Iowa State Preserve System, Edwin L. Freese, William R. Norris

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Clay Prairie State Preserve (1.2 ha) is an upland prairie located in Butler County, IA, and represents one of the last remnants of black-soil tallgrass prairie in northeast Iowa. An annotated checklist of the vascular flora of Clay Prairie is presented here, based on a previously published flora of the preserve and recent field work conducted by the authors between 1997 to 2001, and 2008 to 2011. The preserve contains a diverse vascular flora representing 50 families, 145 genera and 214 taxa (174 native to Iowa). In comparison with 26 larger prairies (4 to 121 ha) protected in the Iowa …

Proceedings Of The Nebraska Academy Of Sciences: Aeronautics And Space Science

Nebraska Academy of Sciences: Programs and Proceedings

Variability on AGN Absorption Lines Based on Hubble Space Telescope/COS Data

BALQSO Kinetic Luminosity Determination with C III* Measurements

Brewster Angle Microscopy and Characterizations of Langmuir Films

Sorting Light’s Total Angular Momentum for Communication Systems

The Phosphorylation Pattern of RPA2, in Response to Double-strand Breaks, Differs Depending on the Location in the Cell and the Phase of the Cell Cycle

The Diophantine Equation Ax⁴ + By⁴ = Cz⁴ in Quadratic Fields

The SBML Standard to Share Computational Models of Biological Systems

High Speed Electro-discharge Drilling and Wire Electrode-discharge Machining of Titanium Alloys for Aerospace Applications

Routing over …

Proceedings Of The Nebraska Academy Of Sciences: Anthropology

Nebraska Academy of Sciences: Programs and Proceedings

Presentations

A Marxist Approach to US Historical Archaeology: A Review and Summary of the History and Application of Marxism on the Field of Historical Archaeology in the US

John Collier, Anthropology, and the Indian New Deal

Colonoware and Culture: The Changing Interpretation of 17th Century Ceramic Traditions in the South Eastern United States

Creole Cottages and Garden Estates: Space and Purpose in Early New Orleans

Quality Control for In-field Photography: Digital Curationa and Non-collections of Artifacts

Assesing Lithics through Color Metrics

Refitting of Stone Artifacts Using Colorimetric Analysis

The Restroer of the Republic: An Analysis of Augustus’s Social, Moral, and …

Program And Proceedings: Nebraska Academy Of Sciences 1880–2013, 133rd Anniversary Year, One Hundred-Twenty-Third Annual Meeting

Nebraska Academy of Sciences: Programs and Proceedings

Aeronautics and Space Science

Collegiate Academy: Biology

Biological and Medical Sciences

Nebraska Chapter, National Council for Geographic Education

Chemistry and Physics

Collegiate Academy: Chemistry and Physics

Junior Academy, Senior High Competition

Aeronautics and Space Science, Poster Session

Anthropology

Nebraska Wesleyan University Health and Sciences Graduate School Fair

Aeronautics and Space Science, Poster Session

Maiben Memorial Lecture: Making People Smarter Using "Habits of Mind," Bob Feurer, North Bend High School

Collegiate Academy: Biology

Teaching of Science and Math

Applied Science and Technology

Junior Academy, Junior High Competition

Integrating Movement And Science To Promote Physical Activity And Academic Performance In Middle School Children, Kevin E. Finn, Kyle Mcinnis

Health Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: Recommendations from leading U.S. health agencies concerned with reducing childhood obesity call for increased physical activity during school and afterschool environments. Methods: We developed the Active Science curriculum, which is a variety of activity-based lessons (e.g., nature hike, dance class, walk at local park, treadmill at local YMCA) and incorporated them into traditional science classes and after school programs for middle school children in a low-income, ethnically diverse community. Following the activity experiments, students and teachers uploaded data from devices to an interactive website that provided inquiry-based exploratory learning of science content. Results: Physical activity results showed that the …