Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Camden City Environmental Center Site Based Curriculum And Teacher Activity Guide, Wanda D. Little

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this curriculum and teacher activity guide is to provide Camden City School District's Environmental Center Program with a curriculum for kindergarten through fourth grade students. The curriculum provides students with site-based lessons and activities that are aligned and correlated with New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards for Science, and the Excellence in Environmental Education Guidelines For Learning (K - 12). The Site-Based Curriculum and Teacher Activity Guide, upon approval by the Camden City School District Board of Education, will provide students with guided discovery experiences that introduce new ideas, dispel misconceptions and reinforce previous learning.

The scope …

A Solution To Einstein’S Field Equations For A Tachyonic Gas: Possible Astrophysical Applications, Kris H. Green, W. John Cocke

Mathematical and Computing Sciences Faculty/Staff Publications

In this paper we show that a change in the signs of some of the metric components of the solution of the field equations for the classical cosmic string results in a solution which we interpret as a time-dependent wall composed of tachyons. We show that the walls have the property of focusing the paths of particles which pass through them. As an illustration of this focusing, we demonstrate the results of a simple simulation of the interaction between one such tachyon wall and a rotating disk of point masses. This interaction leads to the temporary formation of spiral structures. …

Physics First, Marcelo Alonso

Aerospace, Physics, and Space Science Faculty Publications

It is true that now most biology courses begin with the DNA molecule, and many chemistry courses introduce the notion of electronic orbitals in atoms and molecules, topics for which students are not well prepared, since most of them have not taken physics courses. Physics courses in turn relegate to the end some discussion of the structure of matter and electromagnetic interaction, or do not discuss that at all. Thus, students miss the overall picture.

How Secondary School Mathematics Teachers Construct An Understanding Of "Appropriate Use" Of Graphing Calculators In The Context Of Collegial Inquiry, Marcia L. Weller Weinhold

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of A Rural High School Education And Other Factors On Science Grades, Standardized Science Scores, And Choosing A College Science Major, Heather S. Kindell

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the Caudill College of Humanities at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts by Heather S. Kindell on November 20, 2003.

Hexapod Herald - Vol. 15, No. 5, October 2003

Hexapod Herald and Other Entomology Department Newsletters

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Nebraska Earth Systems Education Network – Fall 2003

Nebraska Earth Systems Education Network

Content:

College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources Open House by Rosalee Swartz

What’s New at Morrill Hall? by Kathy French

Four Upcoming Geography Events by Charles Gildersleeve

Sand Hills Discovery Experience

Citizen team searches for heritage trees as “living witnesses” by Christine Meyer

New School of Natural Resources Offers Many Careers and Benefits

Toy Models For The Falling Chimney, Gabriele U. Varieschi, Kaoru Kamiya

Physics Faculty Works

In this paper we review the theory of the ‘‘falling chimney,’’ which deals with the breaking in mid-air of tall structures when they fall to the ground. We show that these ruptures can be caused by either shear forces typically developing near the base, or by the bending of the structure which is caused primarily by the internal bending moment. In the latter case the breaking is more likely to occur between one-third and one-half of the height of the chimney. Small scale toy models are used to reproduce the dynamics of the falling chimney. By examining photos taken during …

The Urban/Suburban Wildlife Survey Volunteer Project, Larissa L. Smith

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined attitudes of volunteers in the Urban/Suburban Volunteer Project. Volunteers for this project surveyed for bird species for the New Jersey Endangered and Nongame Species Program in Urban New Jersey areas. This project was considered unsuccessful by the Endangered and Nongame Species staff. By analyzing a volunteer project that was not as successful as hoped, volunteer managers can learn from this and apply the findings to their own projects. The purpose of this study was to find out what volunteers thought of the Urban/Suburban Volunteer Project.

Questionnaires were sent to the known population, a total of 25 questionnaires …

Hexapod Herald - Vol. 15, No. 4, September 2003

Hexapod Herald and Other Entomology Department Newsletters

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Enhancing The Cs Curriculum With With Aspect-Oriented Software Development (Aosd) And Early Experience, Konstantin Läufer, George K. Thiruvathukal, Tzilla Elrad

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Aspect-oriented software development (AOSD) is evolving as an important step beyond existing software development approaches such as object-oriented development. An aspect is a module that captures a crosscutting concern, behavior that cuts across different units of abstraction in a software application; expressed as a module, such behavior can be enabled and disabled transparently and non-invasively, without changing the application code itself. Increasing industry demand for expertise in AOSD gives rise to the pedagogical challenge of covering this methodology and its foundations in the computer science curriculum. We present our curricular initiative to incorporate a novel course in AOSD in the …

Mathematics Association Of Pakistan (Map): A Network For Teachers’ Learning, Sikunder Ali Baber

Book Chapters / Conference Papers

Mathematics Association of Pakistan (MAP) came into being on July 4, 1997, after the conclusion of a course with the Andover Dartmouth Institute of Philips Academy, USA. The participants of the course decided to form a forum that would enable them to take charge of their own professional needs on a sustained and ongoing basis. Since its inception, MAP has initiated several innovative programmes with the aim to create a positive culture of learning of mathematics. Over the period, the qualitative increase in both MAP’s programmatic activities and membership demonstrate that the members value its work and see it as …

Learning To Teach Science Using A New Strategy: A Case Study Of A Primary Science Teacher, Nelofer Halai

Book Chapters / Conference Papers

Constructivism has emerged as the dominant learning model in science educational reform. Despite this, there is a paucity of research studies on instructional strategies that might help the construction of knowledge that is in consonance with the established body of science. The use of activities based on discrepant events in teaching science at the primary level is seen as one way of encouraging this construction. Hence, Science Teachers enrolled in science methods courses / programmes at AKU-IED are exposed to this instructional strategy. The four-member team of science teacher educators, teaching on an eight-week in-service programme, chose to look at …

Ongoing Impact Of The “Advanced Diploma In Education: Mathematics”, Anjum Halai, Munira Amirali, Nadeem Kirmani, Razia Fakir Mohammad

Book Chapters / Conference Papers

The Action Research Project in Mathematics Education was undertaken to study the impact on teaching and learning, of strategies introduced in the Advanced Diploma Programme in Education: Mathematics (2003), offered by AKU-IED. This programme is a one-year field-based programme. The main aim of the programme is to develop exemplary teachers who are reflective practitioners. Teachers from sponsoring schools participate in the programme which is designed such that seminars are held at AKU-IED during summer and winter breaks and on Saturdays, when most schools are off. During term time tutors visit the participants in the school. The purposes of field visits …

Problem-Based Learning In A Fourth Grade Gifted And Honors Mathematics Class, Barbara J. Barr

All Graduate Projects

Problem-based learning was used to deliver math instruction on three different occasions. Thirty-two fourth-grade students were involved in the project. The purpose was to investigate students' attitudes towards word problems and the development of their confidence with problem-solving skills by providing differentiation through Problem-based learning. The results showed that the majority of the students perceived themselves as good problem solvers and that math in school was related to real life.

Ua64/2 The Challenge: The Newsletter Of The Center For Gifted Studies (No. 11, Summer 2003), Center For Gifted Studies, Tracy Inman Editor

Gifted Studies Publications

No abstract provided.

The College Pedro Ii And The Modernization Of The Secondary School Curriculum In Imperial Brazil, Karl M. Lorenz

Education Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Hexapod Herald - Vol. 15, No. 3, June 2003

Hexapod Herald and Other Entomology Department Newsletters

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Science Teacher Education And The Nature Of Science: A Voice From Pakistan, Nelofer Halai

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

The purpose of this paper is to advocate that tenchcrs be encouraged nnd helped to develop an overt and deaf epistemological understanding of the methods and structure of science, i.e., the nature of science (NOS). I have tried to define the concepts that constitute NOS essential for school science. I also want to highlight some of the challenges faced in attempts to introduce NOS in inservice teacher education in Pakistan.

Music, Higher Brain Function And Spatial Temporal Reasoning: Is There Proof Enough?, Michaekl Schmerold

Theses

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between music and spatial-temporal reasoning. Beginning with the background of brain development and spatial reasoning, the study specifically looks at the possible relationship between music and mathematics. Additionally, it examines the effects of listening to music while engaging in mathematical activities.

The study introduces the reader to "S.T.A.R.", Spatial Temporal Animation Reasoning software, which is integrated into the school curriculum of music and technology at the second grade level. The study concludes with a review of the positive impact of music on reasoning abilities.

Bumble Boosters: Students Doing Real Science, Douglas A. Golick, Diana M. Schlesselman, Marion D. Ellis, David W. Brooks

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Bumble Boosters was a lottery grant funded cooperative project between the University of Nebraska- Lincoln, Department of Entomology, the Lincoln Public Schools, Science Focus Program, and the Lincoln Folsom Children’s Zoo. The primary education goal of the project was to create a community of learners to conduct authentic research on bumble bees in Nebraska. Participants were actively engaged in collecting bumble bees and placing nesting domiciles. Internet technology was employed to facilitate networking between project participants. Systematic evaluation was conducted during and after the project.

Understanding On Concepts Of Force Of Thai Freshmen, Chokchai Usawinchai

Dissertations

The central concept of Newtonian mechanics is force. Without this concept, the students would find the rest of mechanics very difficult to master. Based on this hypothesis, the understandings and misconceptions of Newtonian mechanics were investigated.

Three hundred eighteen Thai freshmen participated in this study. The freshmen were divided into two groups according to their high school locations, Bangkok and other cities of Thailand. The Force Concept Inventory was used to probe the freshmen's understandings and misconceptions. The SPSS and EXCEL programs were used to analyze the data. The translation of the FCI into Thai and its subsequent validation is …

Sos Checks And Career Management, Russell W. Howell

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2003

This paper compares the careers of King Saul and King David in the Bible and how they inform the career management methods of a Christian.

A Christian Appraisal Of Stephan Wolfram's A New Kind Of Science, Gene B. Chase

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2003

Wolfram exposes some ideas about informatics that relate to Christian Scholarship: Does Wolfram's definition of free will permit God to have free will? Will human souls resurrected to a new body–as described by St. Paul and Aquinas–by like software that is moved to new hardware? Jesus' incarnation as in-form-ation in the Aristotelian sense.

Linear Regression As A 1-Variable Optimization Exercise, Ken Constantine

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2003

Derivation of the least squares line for a set of bivariate data entails minimizing a function of two variables, say the line's slope and intercept. Imposing the requirement that the line pass through the mean point for the data reduces this problem to a 1-variable problem easily solved as a single-variable Calculus exercise. The solution to this problem is, in fact, the solution to the more general problem. We illustrate with a dataset involving charitable donations.

Exploiting The Confidence Interval-Hypothesis Test Equivalence In Basic Statistics Classes, Ken Constantine

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2003

An emphasis is offered for the inference portion of an elementary Statistics course: the equivalence between confidence intervals and tests of hypotheses. This equivalence is rarely mentioned in basic texts but seems helpful to students. Student reference sheets which employ this equivalence are available on-line.

Making Connections: Using Analogies To Enrich Understanding Of Mathematical Ideas And Biblical Truths, Ron Benbow

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2003

Recent standards and research, published by mathematics education professional organizations, place a great emphasis on “connections” in all grade levels. Through this emphasis on interrelatedness, students begin to see the subject not as a collection of separate strands, but rather as an integrated field of study. When linkages between diverse domains of knowledge are formed (by comparing, contrasting, analyzing, and applying), we have increased the likelihood that we develop deeper understandings within both domains. This paper explores some specific examples of the use of analogies to connect mathematical and Biblical concepts.

What Is A Random Event? A Project For Finite Math Or Statistics, Jeremy Case

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2003

Randomization is an important idea in Finite Mathematics and Statistics. One main idea in these courses is that events that appear to be performed in a random fashion are often not random. Here we present a simple project involving "randomly" opening the Bible. This activity leads to deeper philosophical questions such as how to study the Bible and whether an event can be considered random if God intervenes.

Creationism - A Viable Philosophy Of Mathematics, Jonathan Zderad

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2003

The purpose of this essay is to try to answer the ontological and epistemological question of mathematics. Specifically, "What, if any, of mathematics exists in the objective sense?" And, "How do we as humans know that our knowledge of mathematics is correct?" These questions will be investigated by looking at the applications or mathematics, the practice of mathematicians, and most telling, the content of mathematics. Mathematics, admittedly, can only go so far in answering its own philosophical questions, even when aided by recent developments in the field of logic. The overwhelming evidence, as will be shown, points toward a theistic, …

A Greater Tantalizer, Andrew Simoson

ACMS Conference Proceedings 2003

The children’s puzzle, sometimes called the Great Tantalizer, consists of four blocks each of whose faces have been colored with four colors; a solution consists in stacking the blocks so that on each stack face, all four colors appear. This article renders the puzzle as six octahedral blocks, each of which is colored with six colors, and describes a scheme to successfully stack all six.