Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Structural Behavior Of Nbsexte2-X Superconductors Under High Pressure, Vahe Mkrtchyan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Niobium chalcogenide compounds have recently gained a great deal of interest due to the fact that a superconducting phase coexists with the charge density wave state (CDW), as well as their potential for numerous applications. Two superconducting compositions, NbSexTe2-x (x=2, 1.5) were prepared by solid state route using high purity Nb, Se, and Te powders. Powder X-ray diffraction patterns collected at ambient conditions for NbSe2 and NbSe1.5Te0.5 showed a single phase with hexagonal crystal structure, with space group P63mmc. High-pressure X-ray diffraction measurements were performed at the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory to investigate structural stability up to …

College Of Engineering Senior Design Competition Spring 2016, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Fred and Harriet Cox Senior Design Competition Projects

Part of every UNLV engineering student’s academic experience, the senior design project stimulates engineering innovation and entrepreneurship. Each student in their senior year chooses, plans, designs, and prototypes a product in this required element of the curriculum. A capstone to the student’s educational career, the senior design project encourages the student to use everything learned in the engineering program to create a practical, real world solution to an engineering challenge. The senior design competition helps focus the senior students in increasing the quality and potential for commercial application for their design projects. Judges from local industry evaluate the projects on …

The Experience Of Teaching Online Secondary Science, Cynthia Ann Clark

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The experience of teaching online secondary science was investigated through the lens of developmental phenomenography. Recorded phenomenographic interviews were conducted with thirteen secondary science teachers who were teaching online in two countries and four states. After analyzing the transcripts individually and as a whole, seven themes were identified: (1) Virtual Labs and Learning, (2) Student Learning and Factors Involved, (3) Communication and Instruction, (4) Teaching as Collaboration/Social Aspect, (5) Teaching and Learning as Assessment, (6) Curriculum Effects on Teaching and Learning, and (7) Online Structure Effects on Teaching and Learning. The structures of awareness of these seven themes formed the …

A Case Study: Students' Mathematics-Related Beliefs From Integrated Stem Model-Eliciting Activities, Cathrine Maiorca

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This case study examines the mathematics-related beliefs of fourth and fifth grade students who participated in an after-school integrated science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) program where participants completed four Model-Eliciting Activities. The research questions addressed by this study are, What is the nature of the change in mathematics-related beliefs of students who participate in an after-school MEA program? In particular, what is the difference, if any, of the nature of the change in beliefs across varying ability levels? The framework used to describe these beliefs was developed by Kloosterman and includes beliefs about the nature of mathematics and mathematics …

Eight Steps To Weight Loss: Development Of An Evidence-Based Collaborative Provider-Patient Workbook For Overweight Or Obese Adults, Katherine Ann Wagner

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Despite decades of effort on the part of health care providers and policy makers to reduce the prevalence of obesity, the prevalence of obesity in the United States remains high (CDC, 2015). In the adult population ages 20 years of age and older, 35.7% are considered obese. The annual medical costs for people who are obese are $1,429 higher than people of a healthy weight (CDC, 2013). Obesity increases the risk for chronic health conditions such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, coronary heart disease, stroke, asthma, arthritis, and cancer (Hammond & Levine, 2010). Over-weight and obesity are the main …

College Of Engineering Senior Design Competition Fall 2015, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Fred and Harriet Cox Senior Design Competition Projects

Part of every UNLV engineering student’s academic experience, the senior design project stimulates engineering innovation and entrepreneurship. Each student in their senior year chooses, plans, designs, and prototypes a product in this required element of the curriculum. A capstone to the student’s educational career, the senior design project encourages the student to use everything learned in the engineering program to create a practical, real world solution to an engineering challenge. The senior design competition helps focus the senior students in increasing the quality and potential for commercial application for their design projects. Judges from local industry evaluate the projects on …

A Comparison Of Beliefs And Attitudes About Body Image, Eating And Weight Between Incarcerated And Non-~Incarcerated Females, Anne R. Lindsay

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Abstract

Incarceration and substance abuse are two of the largest public health issues in America. While the U.S. makes up only 5% of the world’s population, it accounts for 25% of its prisoners. Incarceration affects more than 2.2 million individuals who will eventually return to their families and communities with ongoing family, social and health issues. Women in prison are a particularly vulnerable and underserved population, generally of low education and socio-economic status and although they account for a small percent of the prison population, many are mothers of young children who are likely to become incarcerated themselves. Substance abuse …

A Study Of Elementary Teachers’ Conceptions Of Nature Of Science And Their Beliefs About The Developmental Appropriateness And Importance Of Nature Of Science Throughout A Professional Development Program, Elif Adibelli

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This qualitative study aimed to explore the changes in elementary science teachers’ conceptions of nature of science (NOS) and their beliefs about the developmental appropriateness and importance of NOS after participating in an academic, year-long professional development program (PDP) as well as the factors facilitating these changes. The PDP consisted of two phases. In the first phase, the participants received NOS training designed with an explicit-reflective instructional approach. In the second phase, the participants implemented several NOS training activities in their classrooms. Four elementary science teachers who volunteered and completed all components of the PDP (i.e., the NOS training and …

Educators’ Perspectives Associated With School Garden Programs In Clark County, Nevada: Practices, Resources, Benefits And Barriers., Tomomi Murakami

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

School garden programs have been utilized in the U.S. since their introduction at the end of the 19th century. The use of school gardens and the teaching style implemented in them are dependent on individual schools and teachers. Educators’ attitudes, knowledge, and motivation for a school-based gardening program are crucial to implementing comprehensive school garden programs. To move toward an expansion of garden education, it is necessary to determine the concerns, resources, benefits or barriers that educators identify regarding the utilization of gardens to teach their students. The purpose of this pilot study was to determine principals’ and teachers’ perceived …

Engineering The Path To Higher-Order Thinking In Elementary Education: A Problem-Based Learning Approach For Stem Integration, Abeera P. Rehmat

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

As we progress into the 21^st century, higher-order thinking skills and achievement in science and math are essential to meet the educational requirement of STEM careers. Educators need to think of innovative ways to engage and prepare students for current and future challenges while cultivating an interest among students in STEM disciplines. An instructional pedagogy that can capture students’ attention, support interdisciplinary STEM practices, and foster higher-order thinking skills is problem-based learning. Problem-based learning embedded in the social constructivist view of teaching and learning (Savery & Duffy, 1995) promotes self-regulated learning that is enhanced through exploration, cooperative social activity, …

College Of Engineering Senior Design Competition Spring 2015, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Fred and Harriet Cox Senior Design Competition Projects

Part of every UNLV engineering student’s academic experience, the senior design project stimulates engineering innovation and entrepreneurship. Each student in their senior year chooses, plans, designs, and prototypes a product in this required element of the curriculum. A capstone to the student’s educational career, the senior design project encourages the student to use everything learned in the engineering program to create a practical, real world solution to an engineering challenge. The senior design competition helps focus the senior students in increasing the quality and potential for commercial application for their design projects. Judges from local industry evaluate the projects on …

Reducing Health Disparities Through The 2015 Mcat: A Bold Goal Requiring On-Going Assessment, Aliya G. Feroe, Stephen F. Loebs

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

There is broad consensus that reduction in health care disparities is an important and multi-faceted challenge. One possible approach, among many others, starts with the attraction of women and men to the field of medicine who have a broad based education and who can demonstrate cultural understanding and sensitivity. In this context, the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) has been revised, effective in 2015, to include many additional questions concerning the psychological, social, and behavioral sciences. There are important assumptions fueling the revised Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) and these will need to be tested. These assumptions range from influencing …

College Of Engineering Senior Design Competition Fall 2014, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Fred and Harriet Cox Senior Design Competition Projects

Part of every UNLV engineering student’s academic experience, the senior design project stimulates engineering innovation and entrepreneurship. Each student in their senior year chooses, plans, designs, and prototypes a product in this required element of the curriculum. A capstone to the student’s educational career, the senior design project encourages the student to use everything learned in the engineering program to create a practical, real world solution to an engineering challenge. The senior design competition helps focus the senior students in increasing the quality and potential for commercial application for their design projects. Judges from local industry evaluate the projects on …

The Relationship Between Teaching Approaches And Student Science Achievement For Four Racial Groups In Us Eighth Grade Classes, Su Gao

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Lower science achievement and substantial racial performance gaps persist among students in the US. In the current reform of science teaching, inquiry-based science teaching is assumed effective in improving all student science learning in both scientific content and process and reducing learning gaps across racial groups. Conversely, traditional didactic science teaching is believed to be the most popular and has contributed to lower science achievement and the racial gap. These two assumptions, although central to science teaching reforms, cannot be empirically sustained in the existing literature on science teaching. Framed through the theoretical perspectives of inquiry-based instruction and culturally relevant …

College Of Engineering Senior Design Competition Spring 2014, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Fred and Harriet Cox Senior Design Competition Projects

Part of every UNLV engineering student’s academic experience, the senior design project stimulates engineering innovation and entrepreneurship. Each student in their senior year chooses, plans, designs, and prototypes a product in this required element of the curriculum. A capstone to the student’s educational career, the senior design project encourages the student to use everything learned in the engineering program to create a practical, real world solution to an engineering challenge. The senior design competition helps focus the senior students in increasing the quality and potential for commercial application for their design projects. Judges from local industry evaluate the projects on …

Merging Educational Technology Into Routine Care For Patients Living With Fibromyalgia, Toni Sparks

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Fibromyalgia is a complex and challenging disorder of unknown etiology; however the management of patients with fibromyalgia is becoming facilitated more often by Advance Practice Registered Nurses (APRN). Unfortunately, the lack of clarity in diagnosis, variances in practice guidelines, time constraints and the resources required for APRNs to adequately manage fibromyalgia can be extensive. The evidence supporting nonpharmacological strategies is strong; yet implementation of these strategies into routine care has not been sufficient.

Substantial research in the past five years has resulted in new diagnostic criteria intended to simplify the fibromyalgia diagnosis. Moreover, new clinical practice guidelines stress the importance …

Thinking Like A Scientist: A Thematic Analysis Of Students' Experiences At The Sacnas Research Conference, Rosa Perez, Rachael D. Robnett

McNair Poster Presentations

The underrepresentation of minority students in STEM fields is a concern in today’s society. Research suggests that identity plays a major role in students’ ultimate success within these fields. Using identity theory as a theoretical framework, this study explores the ways in which identity affects the academic careers of underrepresented students in STEM. The participants of this study consisted of undergraduates from various colleges and universities around the United States that attended the SACNAS 2010 research conference. Thematic analysis was used to identify four overarching themes from a set of narrative responses collected after the event. The identified themes include …

College Of Engineering Senior Design Competition Fall 2013, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Fred and Harriet Cox Senior Design Competition Projects

Part of every UNLV engineering student’s academic experience, the senior design project stimulates engineering innovation and entrepreneurship. Each student in their senior year chooses, plans, designs, and prototypes a product in this required element of the curriculum. A capstone to the student’s educational career, the senior design project encourages the student to use everything learned in the engineering program to create a practical, real world solution to an engineering challenge. The senior design competition helps focus the senior students in increasing the quality and potential for commercial application for their design projects. Judges from local industry evaluate the projects on …

Kindergarteners' Concept Development In Science And Literacy Learning Through Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction (Cori), Char Adelia Moffit

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The notion that "real work" is somehow different from authentic and engaging discovery is troublesome. (Passman, 2001, p.196)

This qualitative case study examined science concept and literacy learning along with engagement of the students in a Kindergarten class in which science and literacy instruction was integrated through Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction (CORI). CORI is an instructional framework created to increase reading engagement by teaching reading comprehension strategies along with science concepts (Guthrie, et al., 1996). This study explored CORI at the Kindergarten level to examine how this curriculum framework engaged young learners in science concept and literacy learning. The study was …

Estimation Of The Tax Rates Based On Vehicle Miles Traveled Using Stochastic Models, Pratik Verma

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In this thesis, we shall study the alternative revenue collection system which is based on the vehicle miles traveled (VMT). In various studies, it has been found that the existing revenue collection system based on gas/fuel tax is not an appropriate option in the longer run. The main reasons include no effective tax process for vehicles based on alternative fuel vehicle, no effective changes in tax due to economical inflation, and more highway expenditure than generated revenue. Our main objective is to estimate the VMT tax rates that should be charged in order to generate same amount of revenue generated …

The Effect Of Scaffolded Strategies On Content Learning In A Designed Science Cyberlearning Environment, Cynthia Lee Kern

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Scientific inscriptions--graphs, diagrams, and data--and argumentation are integral to generating and communicating scientific understanding. Scientific inscriptions and argumentation are also important to learning science. However, previous research has indicated that learners struggle to understand and learn science content represented in inscriptions. Furthermore, when learners engage in argumentation, learning science content becomes secondary to the learning of argumentation skills. This design-based research study is nested within the larger effort to inform the design and development of the 5-Featured Dynamic Inquiry Enterprise design framework (5-DIE) for cyberlearning environments and to advance theory associated with the difficulties learners have with scientific inscriptions and …

Using Online Data Sets To Teach K-12 Students And Teachers About Climate Change, Larry Rudd

American Association for the Advancement of Science Pacific Conference

• Description of project

• Data-based Activities

• Inservice Teacher Use and Feedback

• Preservice Teacher Use and Feedback

• Future Work

• Conclusions

• Discussion

Reaching Nevada's Teachers Through Nsf Epscor Climate Change Science Institutes, Aubrey Mae Bonde, Larry Rudd, Paul Buck, Juan Mcalister

American Association for the Advancement of Science Pacific Conference

Education Component Goals

• Increase the number and quality of STEM educators and STEM professionals in the region and country
• Develop institutional partnerships that support exemplary practices and policies in STEM education
• Implement inquiry activities focusing on facets of climate change science and promote interest in STEM career pathways and higher education

Integrated Stem Model-Eliciting Activities: Developing 21st Century Thinkers, Micah Stohlmann

American Association for the Advancement of Science Pacific Conference

Studies have shown that integrating math and science makes learning more connected and relevant and has a positive impact on student attitudes and interest in school, their motivation to learn, and achievement.

Engineering is becoming more prevalent in K-12 schools and can provide great problem solving opportunities for students to learn about mathematics, science, and technology while working through the engineering design process.

Climate Change Connected Curriculum, Southern Nevada Science Teachers Association

American Association for the Advancement of Science Pacific Conference

Climate change is a complex global issue that spans many disciplines. The curriculum spans several subject areas and cuts across national standards.

Our team will focus on creating lesson plans to cover a span of two weeks; i.e. one unit on Climate Change .

The SAME concepts will be taught in the SAME week to the SAME 9th and 12th grade students; with a focus on those concepts in specific subject areas.

Challenges And Successes In Exposing Community College Students To Field Work And Undergraduate Research In A New Introductory Field Biology Course At The College Of Southern Nevada, Brian C. Wainscott

American Association for the Advancement of Science Pacific Conference

Few of the College of Southern Nevada (CSN) students I interact with consider careers in field biology. When asked why, most report they do not know much about field biology because too few opportunities exist. Knowing this, and the importance of attracting students to STEM careers, I solicited input from potential employers and developed a new course called Introduction to Field Biology (BIOL 211). BIOL 211 was approved by the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) during 2012 and I offered it for the first time during the spring semester of 2013. It is a 4-credit lecture/lab course that meets …

Collaborative K‐12 Outreach: K‐12 Stem And Beyond, Susan Wainscott, Fred Rauber, Xan Goodman, Samantha Godbey

American Association for the Advancement of Science Pacific Conference

Libraries' Rebel STEM Objectives

• Build personal connections with students and teachers
• Galvanize students’ interest in STEM
• Teach information literacy skills

The Importance Of Explicitly Mapping Instructional Analogies In Science Education, Loretta Asay

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Analogies are ubiquitous during instruction in science classrooms, yet research about the effectiveness of using analogies has produced mixed results. An aspect seldom studied is a model of instruction when using analogies. The few existing models for instruction with analogies have not often been examined quantitatively. The Teaching With Analogies (TWA) model (Glynn, 1991) is one of the models frequently cited in the variety of research about analogies. The TWA model outlines steps for instruction, including the step of explicitly mapping the features of the source to the target. An experimental study was conducted to examine the effects of explicitly …

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 …

The Effects Of Climate Science Literacy And Cultural Polarization Around Climate Change Risk Perception, Gabriel R. Young, Helen R. Neill

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

Science communicators have struggled to provide meaningful information about climate change due to the complex nature of the problem and the polarized political and media landscapes, and yet, a well informed public is a crucial element to both public acceptance and policy initiatives aimed at climate change mitigation. Current literature suggests that scientific literacy actually increases cultural polarization around the issue of climate change (Kahan, 2012). This study adds to the literature by testing the hypothesis that climate change risk perception is more heavily tied to climate science literacy than general science literacy when controlling for cultural worldviews. We use …