Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Stem Stories, April 2020, #2, Brooke Wiese

STEM Stories

Faculty Profile - Dr. Brittany Flokstra

Uni Science Education Update Conference, Save The Date Flier, Spring 2025, University Of Northern Iowa. Science Education Program.

Science Education Update Conference Documents

No abstract provided.

Uni Introduction To High School Openscied Workshop [Flier] April 13, 2024, University Of Northern Iowa Science Education Program.

Science Education Update Conference Documents

The flier for the Introduction to High School OpenSciEd Workshop held on April 13, 2024 at the University of Northern Iowa.

Uni Science Education Update Conference [Program] April 12, 2024, University Of Northern Iowa Science Education Program.

Science Education Update Conference Documents

he program for the Science Education Update Conference held on April 12, 2024 at the University of Northern Iowa.

Uni Science Education Update Conference, Save The Date Flier, Spring 2024, University Of Northern Iowa. Science Education Program.

Science Education Update Conference Documents

Announcement for the 2024 Science Education Update Conference.

Standards Based Grading Learning Objective For The Chemistry, Life, The Universe, And Everything General Chemistry Curriculum, Dawn Del Carlo, Laura Strauss

Open Educational Resources

This document details the Learning Objectives (LOs) and accompanying rubrics used in CHEM 1110 and CHEM 1120 at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) and are aligned with the Chemistry, Life, the Universe, and Everything (CLUE) Curriculum (Cooper & Klymkowsky, 2019). These rubrics were first developed and implemented in the Fall 2021, underwent substantial modification and then implemented again in Fall 2022. Minor modifications were made again and this document represents the rubrics to be implemented in the Fall 2023. As with all curriculum, these will also likely undergo minor changes.

Keepers Of The Earth Lessons Overview, Tallgrass Prairie Center, University Of Northern Iowa

Open Educational Resources

Lessons adapted form the book Keepers of the Earth : Native American stories and environmental activities for children by Michael J. Caduto and Joseph Bruchac with different activities for grades Kindergarten through 12th grade.

Bee Busy, Tallgrass Prairie Center, University Of Northern Iowa

Open Educational Resources

Lessons adapted form the book Keepers of the Earth : Native American stories and environmental activities for children by Michael J. Caduto and Joseph Bruchac focusing on pollination and seed formation in plants for grades 2 through 5.

Friend For All Seasons, Tallgrass Prairie Center, University Of Northern Iowa

Open Educational Resources

Lessons adapted form the book Keepers of the Earth : Native American stories and environmental activities for children by Michael J. Caduto and Joseph Bruchac focusing on the seasons and the way plants react to the changes for grades kindergarten through 5.

Helping Species In Need, Tallgrass Prairie Center, University Of Northern Iowa

Open Educational Resources

Lessons adapted form the book Keepers of the Earth : Native American stories and environmental activities for children by Michael J. Caduto and Joseph Bruchac focusing on endangered or threatened species for grades 7 through 12.

Rock To Rock, Tallgrass Prairie Center, University Of Northern Iowa

Open Educational Resources

Lessons adapted form the book Keepers of the Earth : Native American stories and environmental activities for children by Michael J. Caduto and Joseph Bruchac focusing on rocks for grades 4 through 7.

Taking Flight: North By South, Tallgrass Prairie Center, University Of Northern Iowa

Open Educational Resources

Lesson adapted form the book Keepers of the Earth : Native American stories and environmental activities for children by Michael J. Caduto and Joseph Bruchac focusing on the migration of birds and the flyways in North America for grades 6 through 8.

Tree Peeps, Tallgrass Prairie Center, University Of Northern Iowa

Open Educational Resources

Lesson adapted form the book Keepers of the Earth : Native American stories and environmental activities for children by Michael J. Caduto and Joseph Bruchac focusing on conservation and land stewardship for grades 7 through 12.

Wildflower Season, Tallgrass Prairie Center, University Of Northern Iowa

Open Educational Resources

Lesson adapted form the book Keepers of the Earth : Native American stories and environmental activities for children by Michael J. Caduto and Joseph Bruchac focusing on the life cycle of wildflowers for grades Kindergarten through 2.

A Special Place, Tallgrass Prairie Center, University Of Northern Iowa

Open Educational Resources

Lesson adapted form the book Keepers of the Earth : Native American stories and environmental activities for children by Michael J. Caduto and Joseph Bruchac focusing on developing a relationship with the natural environment for grades Kindergarten through 2.

Animal Trackers, Tallgrass Prairie Center, University Of Northern Iowa

Open Educational Resources

Outlines an activity for grades Kindergarten to 8 about the tracks animals make.

Before & After, Tallgrass Prairie Center, University Of Northern Iowa

Open Educational Resources

An outline of an activity for grades Kindergarten through 8 to view changes in nature through time.

Big Wind Blows, Tallgrass Prairie Center, University Of Northern Iowa

Open Educational Resources

An outline of an activity for grades Kindergarten through 8 to encourage thinking about nature and providing physical activity.

Decomp Tag, Tallgrass Prairie Center, University Of Northern Iowa

Open Educational Resources

An outline of an activity for grades 1 through 8 exploring decomposition through a game with physical activity.

Geo-Mapping, Tallgrass Prairie Center, University Of Northern Iowa

Open Educational Resources

An outline of an activity for grades 6 and 7 to map out habitats or ecosystems in an area.

Is This A Plant?, Tallgrass Prairie Center, University Of Northern Iowa

Open Educational Resources

An outline of an activity for grades 1 through 6 about identifying plants.

Uni Science Education Update Conference [Program] March 31, 2023, University Of Northern Iowa Science Education Program

Science Education Update Conference Documents

The program for the Science Education Update Conference held on March 31, 2023 at the University of Northern Iowa.

Development And Implementation Of A Ngss Curriculum Unit For Astronomy In Ninth-Grade Earth And Space Science, Jessica Hughes

Graduate Research Papers

Since the release of the NGSS in 2013, there has been a gap in available curricula that is aligned with the new standards. To fill this gap, I created and implemented a unit of study aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) on the topic of astronomy for a ninth grade earth and space science course. Much of the available curriculum is above the level of ninth grade students. This curriculum approaches the astronomy standards at the level of ninth grade students.

The research questions were “how well does the curriculum prepare students for the disciplinary core ideas (DCIs) …

A Next Generation Science Standards (Ngss) Aligned 3rd Grade Weather Unit, Jennifer Hageman

Graduate Research Papers

This unit is the culmination of work on taking the NGSS for weather and climate and creating an inclusive unit for third grade students. At the time this unit was started, many teachers were taking the NGSS and creating units for the classrooms. This unit integrates math, literacy, and social studies standards to help explore the NGSS for weather and climate.

After completion of this unit it was given to two reviewers in the field of teaching. They read the unit and provided feedback for improvement. After review of the feedback it was noted that adaptations for students need to …

The State Of Safety Training, Facilities, And Resources For Chemistry Teachers: A National Survey, Lydia Richardson, Dawn Del Carlo Ph.D.

Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) Symposium

This study is examining the current state of secondary science teachers' chemical safety training, facilities in the school, and the resources available. A survey is being conducted at the start of August and collection will be concluded at the end of September. Data analysis will begin in October, with four main goals in mind to begin with. Teachers’ variation in training is going to be looked at along with what form of safety training is most common. The timing of training will also be looked at to see how frequently training is occurring. With regard to facilities, reported parts of …

Attitudes Toward The Chemistry Laboratory Learning Environment Using Different Pedagogies And Assessment Protocols, Lydia Richardson, Dawn Del Carlo Ph.D.

Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) Symposium

The Science Writing Heuristic (SWH) and Argument Driven Inquiry (ADI) are evidence-based laboratory approaches that emphasize the process of scientific argumentation (Burke et al., 2006; Rudd et al., 2001; Walker et al., 2011). The University of Northern Iowa utilized the SWH approach for over 10 years until research indicated that the cognitive load associated with the pre-lab, specifically, hindered students’ ability to participate in authentic scientific inquiry for the rest of the laboratory experiment (Bonde & Del Carlo, 2018). In response to this, a hybrid model of instruction integrating elements of both the SWH and ADI laboratory approaches was created …

Why Do Effective Science Teachers Persist?: A Mixed Methods Approach Exploring Post-Induction Effective Science Teachers' Experiences, Molly Ella Ramker, William Raymond Lange, Jesse Wilcox Ph.D., Dori Clausen

Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) Symposium

Secondary science teachers have been leaving the field at an increasing rate in recent years. While much is known about science teacher attrition, less is known about science teacher persistence. The purpose of this study was to identify effective post-induction science teachers and analyze why they persist. This study was conducted using a mixed-methods approach including the Local Systemic Change Classroom Observation Protocol (LSC-COP) to generate a quantitative measure of science teaching effectiveness, along with using a phenomenological approach to investigate the experiences of effective science teachers who have stayed in the field.The median and mode of the LSC-COP capsule …

Uni Science Education Update Conference [Program] April 1, 2022, University Of Northern Iowa Science Education Program.

Science Education Update Conference Documents

The program for the Science Education Update Conference held on April 1, 2022 at the University of Northern Iowa.

Teaching Social Justice Issues Through Mathematics Curriculum, Lydia L. Butters

Research in the Capitol

I taught lessons from the textbook, High School Mathematics Lessons to Explore, Understand and Respond to Social Injustice (Berry et al., 2020) with revisions based on the interests and needs of the students(e.g. food deserts in the Midwest and ACT scores). Three lessons were taught in a statistics course at an urban school in the Midwest, while two other lessons were conducted in a geometry content course for pre-service K-8 teachers at a Midwestern University. Overall, high school students showed growth in their understandings of social justice issues and the uses of mathematics. While college students showed growth in their …

Shifting Preservice Teachers’ Sources Of Mathematics Teaching Efficacy Through Scaffolded Reflection: Fostering Commitment To Reform-Based Mathematics, Brooke Krejci, Elana Joram, Anthony J. Gabriele

Faculty Publications

Efforts to promote reform-based mathematics instruction in schools are pervasive, yet many teachers continue to use more traditional, procedural methods (Paolucci, 2015). In this chapter, the authors suggest that to achieve sustained adoption of reform-based instruction in mathematics, it is essential for professional development programs to draw teachers’ attention to sources of mathematics teaching efficacy afforded by reform-based teaching, such as enhanced student thinking. Educator preparation programs are ideal settings in which to begin this process, and the authors describe how scaffolded reflection activities within a mathematics methods course were used to focus preservice teachers’ attention on sources of mathematics …