Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Forces And Motion (Ps2): An Integrated K–8 Hands-On Approach Supporting The Ngss And Ccss Ela, Laura Robertson, Lashay Jennings, Huili Hong, Karin Keith, Chih-Che Tai

ETSU Faculty Works

Explore the benefits of merging experiential science and literacy instruction to deepen students’ understanding of force and motion.

Building Bridges: Opportunities Abound For P-20 Collaborations, Jennifer S. Jones, Wesley D. Hickey

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

PK-12 leaders value opportunities to collaborate with outside entities to improve student achievement and career-readiness. With increasing federal and state student-performance expectations for more than 1.4 million students enrolled in Texas public schools, collaborating with a public or private university, a community college, or a technical or health institute can provide important mutual benefits.

The Challenge: Magazine For The Center For Gifted Studies (No. 39, Spring 2016), Center For Gifted Studies, Tracy Inman Editor

Gifted Studies Publications

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Between Using Study Island Supplemental Math Software And Third, Fourth, And Fifth Grade Students' Mathematics Achievement, Michael Rich

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The ex post facto study investigated the relationship between the use of Study Island supplemental math software and students’ math achievement in a Title I public elementary school in Georgia during the 2011-2012, 2012-2013, and the 2013-2014 school years. Data from the school was collected regarding the use of a supplemental math software program called Study Island during the 2012-2013 and the 2013-2014 school years. Data on students’ math achievement test scores was collected from school level reports for the 2011-2012, 2012-2013, and the 2013-2014 school years. Data was analyzed using a two-tailed t test to investigate the possible relationship …

Weartec Students’ Preferences And Perceptions Of Formal Vs. Informal Education, Sarah Houston, Gwen Nugent

UCARE Research Products

This research investigated students’ preferences and perceptions between in-class instruction and informal instruction through the NSF-funded WearTec study, whose goal was to increase interest in STEM fields within 4^th-6^th graders through the use of wearable technologies, primarily girls. Students who participated in both the formal and informal education programs in the WearTec study were the students who were selected to participate in this research. A mixed method analysis was used with quantitative data from student surveys and qualitative data from student interviews that asked questions related to the student survey responses. Results showed that many of the …

Probing Question Order Effect In Chemistry Concept Inventories, Molly Undersander, Travis J. Lund, Laurie S. Langdon, Marilyne Stains

UCARE Research Products

The design of assessment tools is critical to evaluate accurately students’ understanding of chemistry. Although extensive research has been conducted on various aspects of assessment tool design, few studies in chemistry have focused on the impact of the order in which questions are presented to students on the measurement of students’ understanding and students’ performance. This potential impact has been labeled the question order effect in other literature. The set of studies described in this article tested whether question order effects were present within a concept inventory on acid-based chemistry. In particular, we tested whether the order of two conceptually …

Computational Modeling Intervention: Using Dynamical Models To Teach Complex Biological Processes, Audrey J. Crowther, Tomáš Helikar, Nicholas Galt, Joseph Dauer, Heather Berganr, Bryan Kowal

UCARE Research Products

The Unites States, while being one of the richest countries in the world, ranks 17th in science proficiency out of 31 countries. New techniques for teaching are needed if the US wants to keep up with increasing global competition. Often the problem with traditional methods for teaching biological processes is that they present the material as linear or causal, when in fact there is a much wider network at play. For example, cellular respiration is often represented as a linear process that always starts with glucose and always ends with ATP and water. However, there are several entry and exit …

Connecting Connectedness, Nicholas A. Scoville

Topology

No abstract provided.

The Exigency Of The Euclidean Parallel Postulate And The Pythagorean Theorem, Jerry Lodder

Geometry

No abstract provided.

Gender And Sex Differences In Student Participation, Achievement And Engagement In Mathematics, Sarah Buckley

Student learning processes

Research in neuroscience, psychology and education explores gender differences in achievement and learning in many different ways with different implications for educators and policymakers. This paper presents some of the literature from these three research fields. Rather than being an exhaustive review, This paper provides a brief synthesis of relevant issues when considering gender in education. The paper has three main sections. The first section presents data on gender differences in mathematics participation, achievement and engagement in Australia. Note that for the purposes of this paper, the term ‘engagement’ will be used to describe students’ motivated involvement with mathematics, particularly …

Pre-Service Elementary School Teachers’ Perceptions Of Mathematics Education Experiences: A Phenomenological Study, Christine Mcelhaney

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the perceptions about mathematics of pre-service elementary school teachers at a small private university in the Midwestern United States. The theoretical framework used for this research study came from Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory, including the component of teacher efficacy. Because mathematics is a fundamental subject for students to develop skills necessary for various 21st century careers, this qualitative phenomenological study sought to examine how pre-service teachers perceived their ability and confidence to teach mathematics. I limited the choice of participants to elementary pre-service teachers who had not yet completed any mathematics …

The Promise Of An Energy Tracker Curriculum For Promoting Home-School Connections And Youth Agency In Climate Action, Elizabeth M. Walsh, Derek Jenkins, Eugene Cordero

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Formal classroom learning experiences that support sustainable behaviors outside the classroom necessarily must bridge students’ home and school lives, as knowledge and practice learned in the classroom is implemented outside of school. To this end, we study the impact of the Green Ninja Energy Tracker curriculum, which uses students’ home energy data in the classroom to promote engagement in climate change and conservation behaviors. Data is drawn from class observations, a focus group, and pre- and post- surveys of a pilot implementation of this curriculum in a diverse 12th-grade Earth Science classroom at an alternative school. We investigate what factors …

A Retrospective On Student Learning And Acceptance Of Evolutionary Science, Lawrence C. Scharmann

DBER Speaker Series

In this presentation, I provide an analysis of my work (1985-present) with non-major biology students and science teacher candidates in developing strategies for teaching and enhancing learning with respect to Evolutionary Science.

Remember Embers: Model-Based Reasoning, Collaborative Teams And Much More!, David Gosselin

DBER Speaker Series

Studies of interdisciplinary research teams indicate that team members struggle to achieve knowledge integration across disciplines. Knowledge integration across disciplines is at the heart of addressing important research challenges, such as impacts of global change, trade-offs between water, food, and energy production, and the need for sustainable cities. The EMBeRS Project is testing a new model for integrating knowledge across disciplines based on cognitive science theories of model-based reasoning. The project will create educational materials to train students to overcome the barriers to integrating knowledge across disciplines.

Issues arise due to the inability of team members to work collaboratively in …

There’S A Dragon In My Classroom, Sarah O'Leary-Driscoll

Nature of Science

What makes science, science?

How do we help students make sense of the science they are learning and how it fits in with preconceived notions and misconceptions, social perspectives, and potential controversy?

Guest Editors' Introduction: Research On Equity And Sustained Participation In Engineering, Computing, And Technology, Tiffany Barnes, Jamie Payton, George K. Thiruvathukal, Kristy Elizabeth Boyer, Jeff Forbes

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

The guest editors introduce best papers on broadening participation in computing from the RESPECT'15 conference. The five articles presented here are part one of a two-part series representing research on broadening participation in computing at all levels of education: from K-12 schools through graduate school, with a focus on diversity with regard to gender, race, and ethnicity.

Enriching Student’S Online Homework Experience In Pre-Calculus Courses: Hints And Cognitive Supports, Nathan Wakefield

DBER Speaker Series

As part of reforming our Pre-Calculus courses we realized that reforms to instruction needed to be accompanied by reforms to the homework. Homework is completed online using an open-source homework system. In this study we investigated and implemented a new means of providing our students more support on missed questions. Utilizing a new WebWorK “hints” feature and leveraging our network of experienced high-school teachers we developed leading questions and helps to prompt student thinking over procedures. Preliminary data shows many students are using these hints and the hints are working as intended. In this presentation I will discuss the development …

The Engaged Microbiologist: Bringing The Microbiological Sciences To The K-12 Community, David J. Westenberg

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Exposing K-12 students to cutting edge science that impacts their daily lives can bring classroom lessons to life. Citizen-science projects are an excellent way to bring high-level science to the classroom and help satisfy one of the cornerstone concepts of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), "engaging in practices that scientists and engineers actually use." This can be a daunting task for teachers who may lack the background or resources to integrate these projects into the classroom. This is where scientific societies such as the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) can play a critical role. ASM encourages its members to …

Ne Stem 4u: An Out-Of-School Time Academic Program To Improve Achievement Of Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Youth In Stem Areas, Christine E. Cutucache, Jamie L. Luhr, Kari L. Nelson, Neal Grandgenett, William E. Tapprich

Biology Faculty Publications

Background

The Nebraska Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics 4U (NE STEM 4U) program was initiated at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) in 2013. NE STEM 4U is a student-run, faculty-led program facilitating problem-based learning (PBL) sessions in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) for socioeconomically disadvantaged kindergarten through grade 8 (K-8) students. PBL sessions are provided throughout the academic year in a twice-weekly, after-school, informal education program. The instructional material provided after school builds upon the curricula of the school day. Importantly, this program is a partnership between faculty members and administrators in higher education at UNO with …

Hexapod Herald - Vol. 28, No. 1, March 2016

Hexapod Herald and Other Entomology Department Newsletters

Content: Welcome - Congratulations - Publications - Strategic Pest Control Theme Runs Strong at UPM Conference - Grants - Faculty News - Meet an Off-Campus Student - Travel - Student News - Students Swarm to UNL Entomologist for Class Project - Bruner Club's International Dinner

The Impact Of The Exploring Computer Science Instructional Model In Chicago Public Schools, Lucia Dettori, Ronald I. Greenberg, Steven Mcgee, Dale Reed

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

As part of the Taste of Computing project, the Exploring Computer Science (ECS) instructional model has been expanded to many high schools in the Chicago Public Schools system. We report on initial outcomes showing that students value the ECS course experience, resulting in increased awareness of and interest in the field of computer science. We compare these results by race and gender. The data provide a good basis for exploring the impact of meaningful computer science instruction on students from groups underrepresented in computing; of several hundred students surveyed, nearly half were female, and over half were Hispanic or African-American.

The Need For Research In Broadening Participation, Tiffany Barnes, George K. Thiruvathukal

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Underrepresentation in computing is a global problem, marked by a disturbing lack of access to computing resources and education among people underrepresented by race, ethnicity, gender, income, disability, and sexual-orientation status. It is urgent that we address this divide between those with and without the knowledge to create computational artifacts or even basic functional literacy. Important alliances for broadening participation (BP) are catalyzing efforts to engage more people in computing, but they are not enough. We need solid research as well.

Student-Teacher Affect In Stem College Course Transformation, Matthew T. Patton, Leilani Arthurs

DBER Speaker Series

Despite federal efforts to support the propagation of active-learning strategies in introductory college science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses, instructor adoption of these strategies lags behind the published research that touts their efficacy for students’ learning. Possible reasons for this lag are varied and, herein, we investigate the potential role that students play in STEM instructors’ decisions on whether and how to adopt active-learning strategies. Our study was conducted at a large public university in the Midwest. Grounded in social cognitive theory, we use a mixed methods approach that combines 34 classroom observations, one-onone interviews with students (n=57) and …

A Case Of High School Earth And Space Science Education In The Great Plains, Elizabeth Lewis, Jia Lu

DBER Speaker Series

While U.S. high school students’ access to Earth and space science (ESS) varies widely from state to state, nationally ESS content is the most neglected area of science education. States are in the process of formally adopting the Next Generation Science Standards, which have been carefully developed and articulated in conjunction with state educational leaders. However, researchers rarely address the challenge with which states, school districts, and teachers must grapple in order to enact ESS courses and concepts. This case study of one Great Plains state asks the questions: (a) How do school districts provide ESS education at the high …

Cogenerative Dialogue: Developing Biology Learning Accommodations For Students With Disabilities, Edward Lehner

Publications and Research

A prominent challenge, at times under-addressed in the science education literature, is considering what types of learning accommodations science teachers should employ for students with disabilities. Outside of science education, researchers have consistently outlined how Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is one efficient means by which to engage students with disabilities in the curriculum. This paper presents the results of a research study in which teachers employed cogenerative dialogue as a learning space where UDL was used to differentiate and individualize instruction in an inclusive biology class. The data originated from a larger, ongoing, longitudinal ethnography of science learning in …

Knowledge And Tasks Connecting Elementary, Secondary, And Disciplinary Mathematics, Yvonne Lai

DBER Speaker Series

A well-prepared teacher should be able to help her students see mathematics as ideas that develop over time. Mathematics courses designed specifically for prospective secondary teachers aim for prospective teachers to see and find connections across elementary, secondary, and disciplinary mathematics, and beyond that to be able to use those connections in their future teaching. While there is broad agreement with these aims, there is also little consensus around how to carry them out. Two challenges in meeting these aims are identifying content that lends itself to such connections and designing tasks that can be used to engage with that …

Science Demonstrations, Steven Smith

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Use demonstrations to engage students and get them thinking about concepts through multiple science areas. Demos and brief discussions until we run out of time.

Journal Rankings And Representation In Mathematics Education, Samuel Otten, Ryan Andrew Nivens

ETSU Faculty Works

Excerpt: Publish or perish has long been the mantra academics live by. For decades, this referred to a list of publications on a researcher’s Curriculum Vitae.

Final Project, Tyler Keller

Service-Learning

Tyler Keller's 2016 paper on his service-learning experiences in the AVID tutoring program .

Multiple Problem-Solving Strategies Provide Insight Into Students’ Understanding Of Open-Ended Linear Programming Problems, Marla A. Sole

Publications and Research

Open-ended questions that can be solved using different strategies help students learn and integrate content, and provide teachers with greater insights into students’ unique capabilities and levels of understanding. This article provides a problem that was modified to allow for multiple approaches. Students tended to employ high-powered, complex, familiar solution strategies rather than simpler, more intuitive strategies, which suggests that students might need more experience working with informal solution methods. During the semester, by incorporating open-ended questions, I gained valuable feedback, was able to better model real-world problems, challenge students with different abilities, and strengthen students’ problem solving skills.