Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

No Simple Matter: Advice On Leading Students To A Deeper Understanding Of The Three States Of Matter, Sarah Whipple, Patrick Rodenborn

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

The following is an activity that utilizes the learning cycle to actively engage students in constructing a deep understanding of the states of matter. Students initially explore properties of solids, liquids, and gases through concrete experiences with familiar materials. Science jargon is appropriately delayed until after students have accurately interpreted their experiences. During the application phase students employ their knowledge of the states of matter to investigate the characteristics of an unusual substance to try to identify its state of matter. Key nature of science ideas are explicitly addressed throughout the activity. This article promotes National Science Education Standards A, …

Less Is More: Stepping Away From Cookbook Labs And Moving Towards Self-Written Labs To Effectively Portray The Nature Of Science, Ben Herman

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

Incorporating accurate and explicit nature of science (NOS) instruction throughout the school year is important for overcoming long engrained student misconceptions regarding what science is and how it works. This can be challenging when addressing abstract content such as microscopy and cells. I developed an inquiry based lab that accurately portrays aspects of the NOS while also teaching cell microscopy. The teacher's role in encouraging students to reflect on the NOS is also described. This article addresses National Science Education Standards A, C, and G and Iowa Teaching Standards 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

Continuum: Selecting Inquiry-Based Experiences To Promote A Deeper Understanding Of The Nature Of Science, Matthew D. Bannerman

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

Whether explicitly or implicitly, science teachers constantly convey an image of the nature of science (NOS) in their classrooms. The actions of the teacher, how the class is run, and the instructional patterns all convey an image of what authentic science is like. As such, significant attention to inquiry-based instructional practices is required to accurately portray the NOS. However, even teaching through inquiry, while necessary, is insufficient for NOS understanding. This article presents four factors that teachers should consider when teaching the NOS. This article addresses National Science Education Content Standards A and G, and Iowa Teaching Standards 3, 4, …

Nos: Integrating The Nature Of Science Throughout The Entire School Year, Jerrid Kruse

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

Secondary school students possess many significant misconceptions regarding the nature of science (NOS). Accurately portraying the NOS throughout the school year is necessary for promoting desired conceptual change. However, few teachers devote more than an isolated unit to the NOS, and rarely explicitly raise NOS issues while teaching science content during the rest of the year. This practice is problematic considering the implicit inaccurate NOS messages generally present within the science classroom. This paper discusses how to explicitly integrate accurate NOS instruction through the entire school year, and provides examples illustrating how to do so. This article promotes National Science …

Painting An Accurate Picture Of The Nature Of Science, Jesse Wilcox, Elizabeth Potter

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

Understanding the nature of science (NOS) is an essential part of scientific literacy (McComas, 1998; Robinson, 1969; Shamos, 1995; Abd-El-Khalick & Lederman, 2000). When the NOS is taught in context-related inquiry activities and historical examples all school year, students show improvement in NOS understanding (Kruse, 2008; Khishfe & Abd-El-Khalick, 2002) that persists into the next academic year (Clough, 1995). Even so, educators often struggle with how to accurately and explicitly incorporate the NOS in an already packed curriculum. This article presents an activity that explains how science content and the NOS can both be effectively taught at the same time. …

Professional Development: The Need To Assess Yourself, Michael P. Clough

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

Effective science teaching is highly complex and demands sophisticated decision-making. Few administrators are in a position to understand the complexities and nuances of effective science teaching, and rarely are they able to provide the detailed feedback and ongoing support needed to help science teachers meet the vision set forth in science education reform documents. Thus, meaningful improvement in science teaching requires science teachers to accurately and continuously consider their own practice, thoroughly reflect on that practice, and implement strategies to move their practice forward. This article provides approaches useful for monitoring classroom teaching practices, self-assessing those practices, and strategies to …

Are Questions Enough?: An Action Research Investigation To Analyze The Effect Of Questions And Non-Verbal Behaviors On Student Responses With Suggestions For Improving Practice, Ben Herman

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

Action research has been advocated as an effective way to improve teaching practice. I conducted action research to determine the effect of question type and non-verbal behaviors on students' responses. Question type in conjunction with non-verbal behaviors are crucial considerations when motivating quality responses from students in science classrooms. This article addresses National Science Education Standards A and G and Iowa Teaching Standards 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7.

Observations On The Distribution And Status Of Western Sand Darter, Spotted Gar, And Skipjack Herring In Iowa Rivers, Travis E. Neebling, Michael C. Quist

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

This paper describes new records of western sand darter (Ammocrypta clara), spotted gar (Lepisosteus oculatus), and skipjack herring (Alosa chrysochloris) in Iowa's interior rivers. A western sand darter was collected from the Cedar River, Benton County, in 2007. Western sand darters are occasionally collected from the upper Mississippi River (UMR), but have not been sampled in interior rivers since 1958. Two spotted gar were collected from the Des Moines River, Polk and Wapello counties, in 2007. Two spotted gar were sampled from the UMR in 2000, but no spotted gar have been previously recorded from Iowa's interior rivers. A skipjack …

The Effectiveness Of Electronic Whiteboards And Powerpoint Lessons In The Mathematics Classroom, John K. Feldkamp

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

A popular method of teaching in today’s k-12 classroom is standardizing lessons on Microsoft office’s PowerPoint. Another tool which is starting to become more common in classrooms is electronic white boards, which are similar to smart boards. Attempting to discover the most effective way to teach in the math classroom, I investigated these techniques at a local school.

Cover - Table Of Contents

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

Pre-Settlement Vegetation At Casey's Paha State Preserve, Iowa, Reid J. Leichty, Steven H. Emerman, Lyndon R. Hawkins, Michael J. Tiano

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Paha are loess-capped ridges standing 10-30 m above the surrounding plain of the Iowan Surface. Although Iowa was almost entirely covered with prairie and wetlands just prior to Euro-American settlement, the paha are believed to have been forested based on soil types and on early vegetation maps. The objective of this study was to find evidence that paha were forested by measuring the δ13C value of humin, the fraction of soil organic matter that is insoluble in acid and base. Previous work has shown that humin retains the δ13C signature of vegetation on a 1000-year time scale, as opposed to …

Assessment Of Smallmouth Bass Populations In Iowa Interior Rivers, Andrew C. Jansen, Michael C. Quist, Jeff Kopaska

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu are a popular sport fish throughout North America and occupy an important ecological role as top predators in aquatic systems. Despite the importance of smallmouth bass, knowledge of their population structure and dynamics in Iowa interior rivers is limited. The objective of this study was to describe population dynamics (e.g., relative abundance, size and age structure, growth, mortality) of smallmouth bass in six Iowa rivers. Smallmouth bass were sampled from the Upper Iowa, Maquoketa, and Wapsipinicon rivers in northeast Iowa and the Des Moines, Iowa, and South Skunk rivers in central Iowa using electrofishing during the …

Eyes On Your Classroom: Collaborating With Others To Improve Your Practice, Jesse Wilcox

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

How do you know if you are an effective teacher? Many teachers consider their effectiveness only in terms of student feelings toward the teacher and course, or how their students perform. While students' performance and perceptions are important factors to consider, students typically lack the expertise to provide accurate feedback about teaching and learning. What students enjoy and what is best for them are not necessarily one in the same. Furthermore, students' performance is related to, but not solely determined by, what teachers do. High student performance may occur in spite of poor teaching practices, and students may do poorly …

Iowa Academy Of Science: The New Bulletin, V04n4, Winter 2008, Iowa Academy Of Science

New Bulletin

Inside This Issue:

--Message from the Executive Director

--IAS NWR Website

--Science: Our Past and Future

--Iowa Academy of Science Fellows

--IAS Board Retreat

--Announcements, Events & Deadlines

--Spotlight on Des Moines University

--Iowa Academy of Science Membership Overview

--ISTJ—Practical Science Education Applications from Iowans to the World

Ant Diversity In Two Southern Minnesota Tallgrass Prairie Restoration Sites, Pamela M. Kittelson, Monica Paulson Priebe, Phillip J. Graeve

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

There is little basic information about ant species richness and abundance in tall grass prairie restorations despite the importance of ants to plant community structure and function. We compared ant abundance and richness, vascular plant cover and richness, and soil compaction at two southern Minnesota grassland restoration sites, a prairie reconstruction and a prairie remnant undergoing rehabilitation. We collected a total of 3,523 ants from 12 different species. Plant species richness ranged from 45 in the prairie reconstruction to 95 in the remnant prairie. We found five more species of ants and significantly higher mean ant species richness per plot …

Editorial Board & Iowa Academy Of Science Officers And Directors

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

Iowa Academy Of Science 120th Annual Meeting [2008]: Advance Program, Iowa Academy Of Science

Iowa Academy of Science Documents

Contains information about the schedule and presentations for the 2008 annual meeting of the Iowa Academy of Science.

Exploring The Use Of Mathematics Manipulative Materials: Is It What We Think It Is?, Linda Marshall, Paul Swan

EDU-COM International Conference

The use of mathematics manipulative materials such as counters and Base Ten Blocks is common in many Australian classrooms. Seemingly there is an unchallenged assumption that the use of manipulative materials in the teaching of mathematics is a key to learning about mathematics concepts, and this is supported by the mathematics manipulatives industry. Teachers who are time poor and under pressure are either looking for a miracle manipulative to solve all their problems with teaching a particular topic such as fractions, or have abandoned the use of manipulatives in favour of textbooks. This paper reports on a survey and follow-up …

Maths Attainment Through Curriculum Based Multimedia In A Vle, Brenda Walsh

Theses

The growth of virtual learning environments (VLE) and learning management systems (LMS) in the European and British educational sector is a trend that is continuing to grow. There are indications that education in Ireland will follow a similar trend. This study investigated whether a curriculum aligned multimedia application in a MOODLE VLE encouraged students to improve their scores in the standardized tests, in particular the primary school SIGMA-T test. Participants’ attitude and self-efficacy in relation to maths were also included in the study.

The areas of learning and in particular e-leaming in the context of a VLE were researched. As …

Ua64/2 The Challenge: Magazine Of The Center For Gifted Studies (No. 22, Winter 2008), Center For Gifted Studies, Tracy Inman Editor

Gifted Studies Publications

No abstract provided.

Idéias Educacionais Transnacionais E O Ensino Secundário Brasileiro: O Imperial Collégio De Pedro Ii Como Uma Versão Do Ensino Secundário Frances [Transnational Education Ideas And Brazilian Secondary Education: The Imperial College Pedro Ii As A Version Of The French Lycée], Karl M. Lorenz, Ariclê Vechia

Education Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Title Page

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

No abstract provided.

Oceanography Professional Development In Virginia Via Collaboration, Field Integration, And Inquiry, K. St. John

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

Seventy-nine in-service teachers completed one of six sections of a grant-funded, graduate-level, summer course entitled, Oceanography, that was offered at four different locations in Virginia between 2005 and 2007. The majority of the teachers enrolled with the objective of obtaining their add-on earth science endorsement through the Virginia Earth Science Collaborative (VESC). Oceanography was designed to integrate the following: 1) the ocean science disciplines of geology, chemistry, physics, and biology; 2) inquiry-based learning strategies, quantitative activities, and technology; and, 3) Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) field experience with classroom experiences. These design themes were informed by ocean science content …

Virginia Earth Science Collaborative Astronomy Course For Teachers, E. M. Murphy, H. Geller, M. Bentley

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

We describe the development and implementation of a professional development course for teachers of grades 4-12 designed to increase their content knowledge in astronomy, space science, and the nature of science using interactive presentations, and hands-on and inquiry-based lessons. The course, Space Science for Teachers, encompasses the astronomy and nature of science components of the Virginia Standards of Learning for grades 4-12 [1]. In addition to increasing their content knowledge, teachers gain experience using innovative teaching technologies, such as an inflatable planetarium, planetarium computer software, and computer controlled telescopes. The courses included evening laboratory sessions where teachers learned the constellations, …

Maximizing The Impact Of Professional Development For Earth Science Teachers, W. M. Frazier, D. R. Sterling

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

This study examines the extent to which follow-up sessions can provide support for earth science teachers as they apply what they learn from professional development coursework during the academic year with their own students. Data include direct observation of follow-up sessions of courses for teachers; interviews with course co-instructors and teacher participants; and, document analysis of teacher products with a focus on the lesson plans, laboratory/activity sheets for students, and virtual field trips that teacher participants submitted and shared during follow-up sessions. Strategies are recommended to assist earth science content faculty in increasing the impact of their work with teachers …

"Spotlight On Earth Science" Symposium: An Overview, E. Pyle

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

On September 18-19, 2006, James Madison University (JMU) hosted a one and half day symposium entitled, “Spotlight on Earth Science,” highlighting current resources and technology available for earth science teachers, and invited teachers to share effective practices learned in their program coursework through the two Mathematics and Science Partnerships (MSP) funded by the Virginia Department of Education. The symposium supported a pooling of expertise among participants to initiate the definition and resolution of the persistent issues in earth science education in Virginia. A total of ninety-six teachers, university faculty, curriculum supervisors, policymakers, and business/government/industrial representatives participated. Three themes were addressed: …

The Kaprekar Routine And Other Digit Games For Undergraduate Exploration, K. Peterson, H. Pulapaka

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

The Kaprekar Routine is a famous mathematical procedure involving the digits of a positive integer. This paper offers natural generalizations of the routine, states and proves related results, and presents many open problems that are suitable for mathematical research at the undergraduate level. In the process, we shed light on some interesting facts about digit games.

The Relationship Between Rural Middle School Student Mathematics Achievement And Classroom Sense Of Community, John E. Donlan

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

This study addressed the need for more information about academic growth and achievement in mathematics, and how it relates to sense of community in middle school settings. This was accomplished by applying the Classroom and School Community Inventory (CSCI) construct (Rovai, Wighting, & Lucking, 2004) to all three middle schools in one rural county. The CSCI was utilized to measure sense of community in mathematics classes to determine if differences existed between grades six, seven, and eight, including gender subgroups, among the three middle schools in the same rural county. This study examined academic growth in the subject of mathematics …

Curriculum Reform In Science Education In Pakistan, Nelofer Halai

Book Chapters / Conference Papers

No abstract provided.

An Appraisal Of The Criticisms Of Educational Research In Recent Years, Sherwin Rodrigues

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

According to Hodkinson (2001) educational research in the UK has been passing through "a crisis of confidence" in the last decade as a result of several attacks upon its quality. The scope of this paper is to briefly highlight these „attacks‟ on educational research and then focus on one of its primary criticisms for an in-depth analysis. I mainly draw upon the work of Hargreaves (1996), Hammersley (1997) and Hillage, Pearson, Anderson and Tamkin (1998) but allude to other sources as well.