Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

The Complexity Of Reform Efforts In Science Curriculum And Instruction: A Case Study Of The Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy Chemistry Teacher, Tang Wee Teo

IMSA History

This study explores how teacher-initiated site-based reform in a specialized STEM school is conceptualized and enacted, how and why curriculum reform ideas change in the process of enactment, what qualities of teacher agency are entailed, how these qualities are acquired, interplayed, become generative, and/or are influenced to effect different curriculum reform outcomes, and how different conditions support and further teacher agency to make a more defensible curriculum.

In a critical case study of a highly experienced and qualified science teacher, I follow a teacher who initiated efforts to reform the advanced chemistry curriculum. This teacher wanted to make the curriculum …

Assessing Differences In Students' Experiences In Traditional Versus Scientific Teaching-Based Biology Course, Sarah O'Leary-Driscoll, Susan C. Styer

Faculty Publications & Research

Introduction:

The Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA), located in Aurora Illinois, is a public, three- year residential high school for students who are academically talented in mathematics and/or science. Students apply in their freshman year and are chosen based on test scores and grades as well as other accomplishments, such as extracurricular projects or performances. About 10-15% of the sophomore class enters IMSA from the eighth grade.

The sophomore program consists of three content- based, one-semester core courses in biology, chemistry, and physics, and one methods-in- science course. Sophomores take two science classes per semester. About 80% of the …

2010 Imsaloquium, Student Investigation Showcase, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

IMSAloquium Event Booklets

"IMSA students engage in investigations in nanotechnology, particle physics, law, neonatal medicine, literature, transplantation biology, water purity, the educational achievement gap, neurobiology and memory, ethics, theatre, discrete mathematics, economics, and more."

Re-Imagining Specialized Stem Academies: Igniting And Nurturing ‘Decidedly Different Minds,’ By Design, Stephanie Pace Marshall

Publications & Research

This article offers a personal vision and conceptual design for reimagining specialized science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) academies designed to nurture decidedly different STEM minds and ignite a new generation of global STEM talent, innovation, and entrepreneurial leadership. This design enables students to engage actively in the authentic work, modes of inquiry, and practices that distinguish four STEM learning cultures, environments, and communities: (a) Inquiry and Research Laboratory and Interdisciplinary Learning Center—develops disciplinary, interdisciplinary, and inquiry-based thinking; (b) Innovation Incubator and Design Studio—ignites innovative and design-based thinking; (c) Global Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship Institute—nurtures change leadership and systems-based thinking; …

Stem Talent: Moving Beyond Traditional Boundaries, Stephanie Pace Marshall

Publications & Research

The future well-being, prosperity and sustainability of our nation, the global community and our planet resides in igniting and nurturing decidedly different STEM minds that can advance both the new STEM frontier and the human future.

Existing Specialty Schools As Leverage For Behavioral Sciences Research On Teaching And Learning In Stem Fields, Christopher G. Kolar, Heather Sondel

Publications & Research

The National Science Foundation has requested comments and proposals that outline challenge questions for the next decade in behavioral sciences research. At the same time, the NSF has joined the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology as well as the National Academy of Sciences in issuing reports first identifying the need for specialized STEM education as a strategic necessity and then proposing the establishment of an additional 1000 specialized STEM schools. A common theme in these reports is that foundational work must be conducted to establish effective organizational and instructional practices for these schools. The authors of this …

How Our Health Depends On Biodiversity, Eric Chivian M.D., Aaron Bernstein M.D., M.P.H.

Ecosystem Disruption & Climate Change

The eminent Harvard biology Professor Edward O.Wilson once said about ants, “We need them to survive, but they don’t need us at all.” The same, in fact, could be said about countless other insects, bacteria, fungi, plankton, plants, and other organisms. This fundamental truth, however, is largely lost to many of us. Rather, we humans often act as if we are totally independent of Nature, as if our driving thousands of other species to extinction and disrupting the life-giving services they provide will have no effect on us whatsoever.

This summary, using concrete examples from our award-winning Oxford University Press …

Assessing High School Gifted Student Progress In Science Through Misconceptions And Mosart, Christopher G. Kolar, Evelyn Ho-Wisniewski

Publications & Research

This paper reports how 188 high school students identified as gifted in science were assessed with the Misconceptions-Oriented Standards-Based Assessment Resource for Teachers (MOSART). Students enrolled in a year-long science-centered curriculum where this instrument appeared to be a means of identifying standards-aligned progress, avoiding ceiling effects and reliance on content mastery. This paper discusses two questions: 1. Is the MOSART a valid measure of conceptual understanding in gifted students? and 2. Can the MOSART be used with this population to measure growth in understanding? We present results from the physics and chemistry tests, and consider results from the earth science …

2009 Imsaloquium, Student Investigation Showcase, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

IMSAloquium Event Booklets

"SIR enables students to pursue solutions to problems that challenge our global community through partnerships with distinguished professionals at colleges and universities, research institutions, businesses, and museums.”

Specialized Science High Schools: Exploring Contributions Of The Model To Adolescent Talent Development Specialized Science, Christopher G. Kolar, Tracy L. Cross, Rena F. Subotnik, Paula Olszewski-Kubilius

Publications & Research

As the field of gifted education shifts much of its focus to domain-specific talent development, specialized science high schools are taking their place on the stage. Back in 1981,Bloom and Sosniak argued persuasively that talent development cannot take place exclusively in schools. They stressed that schools were not prepared to offer the required levels of expert teaching, time, and effort. Yet, specialized science high schools, by design, are staffed with teachers with advanced degrees, offer relatively flexible schedules, interested peers,reasonable access to appropriate technology, and connections with research institutions to provide apprenticeships for the most motivated and interested students.

Igniting And Nurturing The Next Generation Of Stem Talent, Innovation And Leadership, By Design, Stephanie Pace Marshall

Publications & Research

Regrettably, most American students experience STEM learning as an exclusive, individual, theoretical and “formulaic” enterprise. By decoupling STEM education from the human experience, we have distorted the essential nature of the scientific enterprise and advanced instrumentalist and utilitarian rationales for pursuing STEM careers—global economic superiority and technological competition.

Beyond Competition--Innovation For A Sustainable Future, Stephanie Pace Marshall

Publications & Research

Dr. Marshall outlines her belief that the current context and conditions of schooling are far too constrained, prescribed and risk-averse for our children’s imagination, and as a result, actually mitigate against innovative thinking and creative and collaborative problem-solving. Authentic learning is a live encounter. She feels that we cannot mandate, punish or test our children into greatness and provides recommendations for educational transformation--not reform--to design the educational experiences needed by today's children.

Blessed Unrest: The Power Of Unreasonable People To Change The World, Stephanie Pace Marshall

Publications & Research

In her keynote address at the 2008 NCSSSMST Professional Conference, Dr. Stephanie Pace Marshall addresses what work can be done with the collective resources of its Consortium members which beg to be shared and connected--and also explores what the source of "...our Blessed Unrest that will give us the courage to become unreasonable advocates for our children and for STEM transformation?"

2008 Imsaloquium, Student Investigation Showcase, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

IMSAloquium Event Booklets

"Marking its twentieth year, IMSA’s Student Inquiry and Research Program (SIR) is a powerful expression of the Academy’s mission, “to ignite and nurture creative ethical minds that advance the human condition.”

Remarks On Receiving A Portrait From Lisa Greene Gloria And Loaning It To The Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy, Stephanie Pace Marshall

Lectures, Speeches, and Talks

Thank you, Lisa. Thank you, Erin. Thank you, Luis. And thank you, to the Board of Trustees and to Max, for inviting the public presentation of this special gift so that it could have a community context and become another IMSA and Alumni story we can cherish and celebrate.

Fostering Preservice Teacher Identity In Science Through A Student-Selected Project, D.J. Wink, J. Ellefson, M. Nishimura, D. Perry, S. Wenzel, Jeong Hwang Choe

Faculty Publications & Research

This article addresses the problem of authentic student engagement in the science classroom by incorporating a semester long research and writing assignment that enables students to investigate scientific topics related to strong personal, career, or health interests.

2007 Imsaloquium, Student Investigation Showcase, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

IMSAloquium Event Booklets

"In conjunction with IMSA's 20^th Anniversary and to better represent and capture the sophistication and quality of the students' exemplary investigations, IMSAIoquium: Student Investigation Showcase was developed as the new name for what has previously been termed "Presentation Day."

Thailand Ties, Raymond J. Dagenais

Publications & Research

One of the resolutions I witnessed moving forward at the Summer 2006 National Congress on Science Education in Toronto, Canada involved expanding our learning through international collaborations. The Congress encouraged National Science Teacher Association affiliates to make an effort to connect with educators in other countries in order to both learn and share ideas and issues facing the science education community. With the already large numbers of students from other cultures in many school systems in the United States and the increasing quality of students coming out of science programs in other countries, it has become imperative that we better …

2006 Eighteenth Annual Imsa Presentation Day, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

IMSAloquium Event Booklets

"We believe that our goal of creating "decidedly-different learners" is already being met and will make a profound impact on the future of humanity."

Imsa20: Bold Ideas, Two-Decade Report Of The Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy 1986-2006, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

Annual Reports

Twenty years ago, Illinois citizens dared to design a bold future by asking this visionary question. One of the astonishing outcomes of their brave imaginations is the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy...

When Is It Time For Science?, Raymond J. Dagenais

Publications & Research

The title of this article begs the question, "When should we be teaching science to our children?"

Even before birth human beings may recognize natural phenomena such as pressure and temperature differences, and spontaneously react to changes in such things. These are learning experiences. It can be argued that as the brain continues to grow and develop, connections are beginning to be formed and subconscious memories created. Information gathered through the senses may be stored in unarticulated patterns in the brain. Here is the foundation for a scientific understanding of nature.

Biotechnology: A Necessity For Science Literacy., Judith A. Scheppler, Susan Styer, Donald Dosch

Faculty Publications & Research

A hands-on semester-long course in biotechnology for middle school students, high school students, or college students provides a way to learn about new technologies and can be coupled with assignments that provoke their thinking about the ethical and social ramifications of the field’s advances.

Imsa20: Bold Ideas, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

IMSA History

In the mid 1980s, the state of Illinois, recognizing a sharply increased need for highly skilled leaders in mathematics, science and technology, founded the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy®. Twenty years later, the national demand for mathematics, science and technology leaders has never been greater. The National Academies report - Rising Above the Gathering Storm and President Bush's American Competitiveness Initiative - address the growing concern that the United States is losing its competitive advantage as countries abroad invest heavily in the education and training of scientists and engineers. Both initiatives call for increased commitments in scientific research and in …

The Development Of Professional Expertise Through Reflection In The Principalship, Eric Mclaren

Publications & Research

The study of principals as learners is important because the landscape of public education is changing. Schools are becoming more diverse and the demands on schools more varied and complex. The role of the principal is increasingly ambiguous, complex, and varied. Principals must adapt and develop'their professional practice. Effective principals learn from experience to meet the shifting expectations of the role and the needs of the school.

Multiple learning experiences help principals become more proficient in their jobs. Initial certification, induction into the role, continuing professional education, and learning from experiences are means to the development of expertise. This study …

2004-05 Annual Report, Igniting Talent And Leadership For Our State, Nation And World, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

Annual Reports

In the mid 1980s, the state of Illinois, recognizing that the nation was on the verge of unprecedented technological advances and a sharply increased need for highly skilled leaders, founded the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy®. Twenty years later, the national demand for science and technology leaders has never been greater. The National Academies new report - Rising Above the Gathering Storm and the President's American Competitiveness Initiative address the growing concern that the U.S. is losing its competitive advantage as countries abroad invest heavily in the education and training of scientists and engineers. The report and the initiative call …

2005 Seventeenth Annual Imsa Presentation Day, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

IMSAloquium Event Booklets

"The Student Inquiry and Research Program fosters the development of students as highly skilled and integrative problem finders, problem solvers, and apprentice investigators, all skills required to succeed in the global workplace of the 21" Century."

Why Girls Are Being Shortchanged In Stem Studies, Stephanie Pace Marshall

Lectures, Speeches, and Talks

No abstract provided.

2004 Sixteenth Annual Imsa Presentation Day, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

IMSAloquium Event Booklets

"Students who attend the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy do not have to wait until they graduate from college to begin to make significant contributions to science, mathematics, the humanities and the world around them."

2003-04 Annual Report, Growing The Talent Our State And Nation Need, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

Annual Reports

When the Illinois General Assembly founded the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy in 1985, it wisely predicted how science and technology would profoundly shape the state, nation and world's economic and social well-being. Twenty years later, the nation's need to invest in science and technology education is more acute than ever. When releasing the report, Science & Engineering Indicators 2004, National Science Board Chair Warren M. Washington stated, "the United States is in a long-distance race to retain its essential global advantage in science & engineering human resources ...We must develop more fully our native talent."

2002-03 Annual Report, Imsa Works For Illinois, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

Annual Reports

The Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy develops scientific and technical leaders who will improve economic and societal conditions facing Illinois and the world. It is for this reason that IMSA's models of teaching and learning foster the development of Illinois students as bold inquirers, ethical leaders and responsible stewards who must lead in the midst of rapidly changing conditions. So, too, the Academy's leadership was put to the test when the State's sagging economy led to unprecedented FY03 budget cuts and staff reductions. These circumstances prompted the men and women of IMSA to model the traits they strive to instill …