Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

The Relationship Of Mymathlab To The Achievement Of Mathematics I Students At Marion Technical College, Teressa Plummer

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Iowa Academy Of Science: The New Bulletin, V04n3, Autumn 2008, Iowa Academy Of Science

New Bulletin

Inside This Issue:

--Message from the Executive Director

--A Message from your President

--Comments from the IAS Leadership

--2008-2009 IAS Section Chairs

--One Donation To Help Two Great Causes

--Iowa Junior Academy of Science Celebrating 75 Years of Service

--You are invited to Wiki with IJAS

--Dr. Jay Labov to Speak at IAS Annual Meeting

--Recognizing Great Science

--2008 Iowa Academy of Science Speakers Series Visitor Center, Saylorville Reservoir

--Recognizing Great Science Teaching

Rethinking Mathematics Assessment: Some Reflections On Solution Dynamics As A Way To Enhance Quality Indicators, Elliott Ostler, Neal Grandgenett, Carol Mitchell

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

This paper is intended to offer some reflections on the difficulties associated with the appropriate use of rubric assessment in mathematics at the secondary level, and to provide an overview of an assessment technique, hereafter referred to as solution dynamics, as a way to enhance popular rubric assessment techniques. Two primary aspects of solution dynamics are presented in this manuscript. The first aspect considers how the tasks assigned in mathematics classrooms might be better organized and developed to demonstrate an evolving student understanding of the subject. The second aspect illustrates how revised scoring parameters reduce the potential for scoring inconsistencies …

Using Spreadsheets To Discover Meaning For Parameters In Nonlinear Models, Kris H. Green

Mathematical and Computing Sciences Faculty/Staff Publications

Using spreadsheets one can develop an exploratory environment where mathematics students can develop their own understanding of the relationship between the parameters of commonly encountered families of functions (linear, logarithmic, exponential and power) and a natural interpretation of “rate of change” for those functions. The key to this understanding involves expanding the concept of rate of change to include percent changes. Through the use of the spreadsheet model, students can explore and easily determine which type of change is most natural for a given family of functions. This, in turn, provides a mechanism for interpreting the parameters of the function …

Turkish Pre-Service Mathematics Teachers’ Beliefs About Mathematics Teaching., Nihat Boz

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the beliefs of mathematics teacher trainees about their chosen profession before they began their service. Specific topics included instructional approaches, the role of the teacher, interaction among students, and interaction between teacher and students during class. Data were collected by use of an open-ended questionnaire administered to 46 pre-service mathematics teachers. Most of the participants in the study held non-traditional beliefs about mathematics teaching. This finding has several implications for teacher education.

Math In The Middle Newsletter October 2008

Math in the Middle Program Materials

NEBRASKA MATH by Jim Lewis

Host a NU-Teach Course at your ESU!

Omaha Public Schools to Partner with Math in the Middle

Community-Based Inquiry Improves Critical Thinking In General Education Biology, Ian J. Quitadamo, Celia L. Faiola, James E. Johnson, Martha J. Kurtz

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

National stakeholders are becoming increasingly concerned about the inability of college graduates to think critically. Research shows that, while both faculty and students deem critical thinking essential, only a small fraction of graduates can demonstrate the thinking skills necessary for academic and professional success. Many faculty are considering nontraditional teaching methods that incorporate undergraduate research because they more closely align with the process of doing investigative science. This study compared a research-focused teaching method called community-based inquiry (CBI) with traditional lecture/laboratory in general education biology to discover which method would elicit greater gains in critical thinking. Results showed significant critical-thinking …

An Exploratory Overview Of Teaching Computer Game Development, Mario Guimaraes, Meg C. Murray

Faculty Articles

The computer game industry has exploded reaching sales of several billion dollars a year and, consequently, a majority of college students are familiar with the gaming environment. In fact, videogame development has been cited as one way to motivate students to explore the world of Computer Science. However, most videogames are extremely complex computer programs created by a team of developers including programmers and graphic artists and represent thousands of hours of work. Fortunately there are software tools available that provide a way for simple computer games to be created fairly easily using a building block approach. This paper discusses …

Ists E-Newsletter, September 15, 2008, Iowa Academy Of Science

ISTS Newsletter

In this issue:

--Message from the ISTS Chair, Morgan Masters

--Message from the Fall Conference Chair, Traci Maxted

--Message from the Vice Chair, De Anna Tibben

--Announcements

--Opportunities

--News

--Your ISTS Leadership Team

Gsi: Geo Scene Investigation! On-Site Programming (Grade 7), Discover Mojave: Forever Earth

Curriculum materials (FE)

GSI: Geo Scene Investigation! introduces students to the differences between observations and interpretations and to some of the fundamental principles of geology. Students identify specific geologic processes and landforms in the landscape surrounding them at Lake Mead National Recreation Area (NRA) by solving mysteries with a set of geology-related clues.

Comparing Science Instruction Methods In The High School Classroom Setting: A Case Study In Inquiry-Based Methods., Sarah Sawyers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The science education system currently in place in the United States does not adequately prepare students to compete well with international students. The development of new teaching methods is essential to ensure improvement of the system and provide its students with better scholastic achievements and employment opportunities. Various methods have been studied, with one implemented in a high school classroom to compare the results of the new method with the traditional method of instruction. Rather than the traditional lecture-based approach, Honors Chemistry students learned the theory of the gas laws using inquiry-based methods and hands-on activities. The students were then …

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, University Of Nevada Las Vegas

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

No abstract provided.

Participation In Science, Mathematics And Technology In Australian Education, John Ainley, Julie Kos, Marina Nicholas

ACER Research Monographs

This report was commissioned to update and extend the Background Data and Analysis component of the report, Australia’s Teachers: Australia’s Future – Advancing Innovation, Science, Technology and Mathematics (Committee for the Review of Teaching and Teacher Education, 2003a) that informed the Main Report (Committee for the Review of Teaching and Teacher Education, 2003b). In the five years since the 2003 review, there have been developments in science, technology and mathematics education that have been impacted on by initiatives in policy and practice as well by changes in the context. So that changes in science, technology and mathematics education can be …

Supply, Demand And Approaches To Employment By People With Postgraduate Research Qualifications In Science And Mathematics: Literature Review And Data Analysis, Daniel Edwards, T Fred Smith

Higher education research

This report is the first in a project that investigates the demand for and supply of people with science and mathematics postgraduate qualifications in Australia. This report is divided into two main parts: a literature review and a data analysis. The report uses numerous national data sets to present a picture of the supply, demand and employment dynamics of postgraduates in the natural and physical sciences in Australia. The figures indicate an increasing number of postgraduates are completing studies in these fields. However, compared with other fields of education, supply in the natural and physical sciences is increasing at a …

Science And Mathematics Alliance For Recruiting And Retaining Teachers (Smarrt): Addressing The Teacher Shortage In At-Risk Schools, Denise Staudt, Michael Risku, Elda Martinez

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The Science and Mathematics Alliance for Recruiting and Retaining Teachers (SMARRT) is a collaborative partnership pursuing aggressive strategies to recruit high quality minority teachers to teach in high-need schools in urban school districts. This partnership is dedicated to recruiting, preparing, and retaining high quality teachers with strong academic content knowledge in science and/or mathematics and a wide repertoire of research-based teaching practices including ESL strategies. The SMARRT project is designed to allow urban school districts experiencing severe shortages in mathematics, science and ESL teachers to create a pipeline of highly qualified teachers by partnering with the university to recruit, prepare, …

Standardization Of Scientific Terminology And The Teaching Of The Natural Sciences In Nineteenth-Century Brazil: The Contribution Of Benjamin Ramiz Galvão, Karl M. Lorenz

Education Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Theory Of Non-Noetherian Gorenstein Rings, Livia M. Miller

Department of Mathematics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In Noetherian rings there is a hierarchy among regular, Gorenstein and Cohen-Macaulay rings. Regular non-Noetherian rings were originally defined by Bertin in 1971. In 2007, Hamilton and Marley used Cech cohomology to introduce a theory of Cohen-Macaulay for non-Noetherian rings, answering a question posed by Glaz. This dissertation provides a theory of non-Noetherian Gorenstein rings agreeing with the Noetherian definition, and for which regular rings are Gorenstein, and coherent Gorenstein rings are Cohen-Macaulay. The relationship between Gorenstein rings and FP-injective dimension as defined by Stenstrom is also explored. Finally, an additional characterization of Gorenstein rings involving homological dimensions is examined …

Student Teacher Knowledge And Its Impact On Task Design, Tenille Cannon

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated how student teachers used their mathematical knowledge for teaching and pedagogical knowledge to design and modify mathematical tasks. It also examined the relationship between teacher knowledge and the cognitive demands of a task. The study relied heavily on the framework in Hill, Ball, and Shilling (2008), which describes the different domains of knowledge in mathematical knowledge for teaching, and the framework on the cognitive demands of mathematical tasks in Stein, Smith, Henningsen, and Silver (2000). Results of the study indicated that the student teachers used their common content knowledge when they lacked sufficient knowledge in other domains, …

Choose Your Words: Refining What Counts As Mathematical Discourse In Students' Negotiation Of Meaning For Rate Of Change Of Volume, Christine Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to describe how university honors calculus students negotiate meaning and language for conceptually important ideas through mathematical discourse. Mathematical discourse has been recognized as an important topic by mathematics education researchers of various theoretical perspectives. This study is written from a perspective that merges symbolic interactionism (Blumer, 1969) with personal agency (Walter & Gerson, 2007) to assert that human choice reflects, but is not determined by, meanings that are primarily developed through social interaction. The process of negotiation of meaning is identified, described, and analyzed in the discourse of four students and their professor …

Parts Of The Whole: Teachers And The Work They Do, Dorothy Wallace

Numeracy

This introductory column argues the need to study our system of education with the same care we would give any complex system, pointing out some ways in which the educational system functions differently from other managed systems, and concluding that a careful study of the forces shaping education will lead to insight into what makes educational change successful.

Review Of Quantitative Reasoning: Tools For Today's Informed Citizen By A. Sevilla And K. Somers, Aaron G. Montgomery

Numeracy

Alicia Sevilla and Kay Somers, Quantitative Reasoning: Tools for Today’s Informed Citizen. (Emeryville CA: Key College Publishing, 2007). 626 pp. Softcover with Student CD. $79.95 (USA) ISBN 1-931914-90-1. http://www.keycollege.com/catalog/titles/quantitative_reasoning.html

From charts and graphs (Topic 1) to decision making (Topic 21), Quantitative Reasoning offers a good selection of topics that students in a general education mathematics course and other individuals in our society should understand. Organizing the 21 chapters (topics) under the headings of numerical reasoning, logical reasoning, and statistical reasoning, Sevilla and Somers focus their chapters on examples and devote the last 224 pages to 21 Excel activities. Parallel graphic-calculator …

Word Problems: Reflections On Embedding Quantitative Literacy In A Calculus Course, Gizem Karaali

Numeracy

Even though Quantitative Literacy (QL) programs are currently being developed and implemented in several colleges and universities, most schools still depend on traditional mathematics courses to reach their quantitative literacy goals. This note is a case study of how a traditional mathematics course sequence intended for students majoring in social and life sciences may be modified and adapted to at least partially fulfill the need in the absence of a stand-alone QL program. In particular, we focus on a freshman-level mathematics course sequence that serves various client departments. This sequence covers the traditional content of a first-year calculus sequence along …

False Positives And Referral Bias: Content For A Quantitative Literacy Course, Stuart Boersma, Teri Willard

Numeracy

An extended study of accuracy in medical screening is presented as a useful application to increase students’ quantitative reasoning skills. Two detailed examples are presented. The first explores the frequency of obtaining false positive results from a medical screening tool while the second examines the issue of referral bias and its effect on the apparent sensitivity and specificity of the screening tool. Results from student assessments indicate that the activity increases one’s ability to define terms such as “false positive” and “false negative” and increases one’s ability to read and compute with information obtained from a two-way table. Teacher assessment …

Using Local Data To Advance Quantitative Literacy, Stephen Sweet, Susanne Morgan, Danette Ifert Johnson

Numeracy

In this article we consider the application of local data as a means of advancing quantitative literacy. We illustrate the use of three different sources of local data: institutional data, Census data, and the National College Health Assessment survey. Our learning modules are applied in courses in sociology and communication, but the strategy of using local data can be integrated beyond these disciplinary boundaries. We demonstrate how these data can be used to stimulate student interests in class discussion, advance analytic skills, as well as develop capacities in written and verbal communication. We conclude by considering concerns that may influence …

Quantitative Literacy Across The Curriculum: A Case Study, Benjamin Steele, Semra Kiliç-Bahi

Numeracy

We describe a quantitative literacy (QL) program at Colby-Sawyer College, a small, residential, liberal arts college in New Hampshire. This program has grown rapidly from a traditional math curriculum to a college-wide understanding of quantitative literacy and voluntary participation by many faculty members in all departments. More than 80% of the faculty agreed that it would be useful for students to be able to use quantitative skills in their courses, but only 24 % thought students were capable of doing very well in mathematics. Twenty-three faculty members attended a summer workshop, funded by NSF, DUE # 0633133, in which they …

Quantitative Literacy On The Web Of Science, 1: The Bibliography And Its Role In The History Of This Journal, H L. Vacher, Todd Chavez

Numeracy

Prior to deciding to propose in 2006 that the National Numeracy Network (NNN) publish a new journal for quantitative literacy with their support, the University of South Florida Libraries investigated the publication environment of the field on the Web of Science®. Reproducing part of that study in this paper, we present findings from topic searches (March 2008) for “numeracy,” “quantitative literacy,” and “statistical literacy.” These updated results include a combined bibliography of 338 peer-reviewed articles amongst 210 different journals, by 748 authors from 321 institutions in 25 countries, in a total of 87 subjects (34% of the subject classes in …

Abstracts For Numeracy, H L. Vacher

Numeracy

No abstract provided.

Iowa Academy Of Science: The New Bulletin, V04n2, Summer 2008, Iowa Academy Of Science

New Bulletin

Inside This Issue:

--Message from the Executive Director

--REAP-CEP Funds Iowa Project WET

--Invitation to the 2008 Iowa Science Teachers’ Section Fall Conference

--Kaitlynn Hood Awarded ESTA for Elementary Science Education

--Scrapbook 2007-2008

Wythoff’S Game, Kimberly Hirschfeld-Cotton

Department of Mathematics: Master of Arts in Teaching, Exam Expository Papers

Wythoff’s Game, named after Willem Abraham Wythoff, is a well known game amongst number theorists. Dr. Wythoff, who received a Ph. D. in mathematics from the University of Amsterdam in 1898, described this game in these words: “The game is played by two persons. Two piles of counters are placed on a table, the number of each pile being arbitrary. The players play alternately and either take from one of the piles an arbitrary number of counters or from both piles an equal number. The player who takes up the last counter or counters, wins.” This game was previously known …

De Bruijn Cycles, Val Adams

Department of Mathematics: Master of Arts in Teaching, Exam Expository Papers

Problem 1. A robot is moving on a cyclic track. The track is marked at evenly spaced intervals with 0s and 1s, with a total of 8 marks. The robot can see the 3 marks closest to him. How should the 0s and 1s be put on the track so that the robot knows where on the track he is by just looking at the 3 closest marks?

Problem 2. The city of Konigsberg, Prussia is set on the Pregel River and includes two large islands, which are connected to each other and the mainland by seven bridges. Is it …