Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Beliefs Of Efficacy And Elementary Teachers’ Computational Skills, Vanessa Hinton, Margaret Flores, Kate Simmons

Georgia Educational Researcher

Early mathematics content that is taught in elementary school lays the foundation for students’ advanced mathematics performance. Thus, researchers show it is important that pre-service elementary teachers build a strong background in numbers and operations, as well as efficacy beliefs in mathematics instruction. This study expands the literature in the investigation of pre-service teachers’ efficacy beliefs and mathematical knowledge by making comparisons of pre-service elementary teachers’ views of efficacy to their overall ability in computation skills. Results show that elementary pre-service teachers who demonstrated lower scores in efficacy beliefs also had significantly lower computation scores. Implications for teacher preparation are …

Geometry: A Medium To Facilitate Geometric Reasoning Among Sixth Grade African-American Males, Olufunke Adefope

Georgia Educational Researcher

In this article, the author describes how a curricular unit that provided opportunities for active engagement and participation was used to support the geometric reasoning of sixth grade African American (AA) male students. The curricular unit was designed to support students’ understanding of quadrilaterals. Data sources (pre- and post-tests, video recordings of classroom episodes, mathematics interviews) were analyzed through quantitative and qualitative methods. Findings showed that students improved in their understanding of quadrilateral classifications. Specifically, students were able to use their knowledge of geometry to evaluate the relationships between pairs of quadrilaterals. However, levels of understanding were varied. Little research …

Alpha, Beta, Launch: A Newbie's Guide To Educational Video Game Development, Colleen Krahulik, Lori Goszczynski

Journal of Interactive Humanities

This paper details the process we went through to develop an educational video game, which includes: research on implementing video games into the classroom, vendor selection, video game design, and curriculum development. Throughout the video game development process, we faced challenges such as budget, time constraint, and varying areas of expertise. This paper serves as a guideline for similar organizations interested in educational video game development.

Play game on desktop or tablet: www.avma.org/videogame

Play within browser: https://www.avma.org/KB/K12/videogame/index.html

Mathematical Telling In The Context Of Teacher Interventions With Collaborative Groups, Brandon Kyle Singleton

Theses and Dissertations

Teacher telling is underrepresented in the mathematics education reform literature and deserves additional scrutiny. This case study examined a skilled teacher's telling practices during a university mathematics content course for pre-service elementary teachers. I identified telling practices through discourse analysis, attending to the presence of mathematics and the contribution of new structure or ideas from the teacher. The teacher utilized seven unique types of mathematical telling while supporting collaborative group work on tasks. The study identified subtle telling, implicit telling, and explicit telling. The results suggest that mathematical telling is an integral part of the teacher's role in inquiry-based instruction …

A Look Inside Mathematics Coaching: Roles, Content, And Dynamics, Rejoice Mudzimiri, Elizabeth A. Burroughs, Jennifer Luebeck, John Sutton, David Yopp

Faculty Publications

Mathematics classroom coaching is used across the United States as a means for improving instruction, with the ultimate goal of improving student learning. The job assignments of coaches can vary widely across schools and districts. Regardless of the various forms that coaching can take, there is the consistent expectation that a coach's day-to-day work will positively influence classroom instruction. The study reported here attempts to gain a more complete picture of the job of an elementary mathematics coach based on the observation of seven coaches in five different districts for a day. We report the variety of ways we observed …

Investigating Children's Intuitive And Analytical Thinking About Path Length As A Developmental Phenomenon, Cheryl Lynn Eames

Theses and Dissertations

Children's conceptions of length measurement has been the focus of research that has built on the work of Piaget and his colleagues to produce developmental accounts for the acquisition of conceptual and procedural knowledge. Prior research focused on children's developing conceptions of length measurement for straight or rectilinear paths; however, little is known about how these conceptions grow beyond the elementary grades. The present study increased the scope of this research beyond elementary grades to include middle and secondary level students, exploring the development of students' intuitive and analytical thinking for determining the length of a curved path across a …

Creating A Stem Identity: Investment With Return, Janet Callahan, Patricia Pyke, Susan Shadle, R. Eric Landrum

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Establishing a strong STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) identity at Boise State University, a metropolitan campus with approximately 3,655 undergraduate STEM students and a total undergraduate enrollment of approximately 19,042 (16,136 FTE) has been an important step toward creating a climate conducive to facilitating fundamental change. Examples of such change include building collaborations among faculty within and across departments, establishing the identity of students as part of a community beyond their chosen major, improving the efficiency and effectiveness of university systems, and perhaps most importantly, developing a framework to think deliberately about ways to effect change. This paper is …

Investigating The Proposed Affordances And Limitations Of The Substance Metaphor For Energy, Lisa Goodhew

Honors Projects

This study explores the instructional advantages and disadvantages of representing energy as a material substance; this is done in the context of a computer simulation that illustrates processes of energy transfer and transformation. These affordances and limitations have been proposed in science education literature as extensions of the substance metaphor itself, but there is little empirical evidence to support them. This study is intended to provide preliminary empirical evidence for these affordances and limitations. We examine data from eight interviews conducted with students from Seattle Pacific University’s introductory physics classes as they used the simulation. We explore the hypotheses that …

Connecting Teaching Practice To Student Efficacy In Undergraduate Mathematics, Sandra Becker

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Academic efficacy plays a critical role in student success in math learning at all levels due to its impact on persistence, motivation, and academic performance. This research aimed to connect student efficacy with key aspects of the instructional environment in six undergraduate math classes. Student surveys indicated significant differences in mean efficacy between classes, as well as significant differences in student perceptions of teacher behavior between the efficacy groups. Findings from observations of the classes revealed that key aspects of the instructional discourse varied by efficacy group. Instructors in higher efficacy classes tended to have more personal connections with students …

Promoting Wellness Through Mindfulness-Based Activities, Malgorzata Powietrzynska

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The central idea of this dissertation is mindfulness framed as a sociocultural, secular, and multidimensional construct involving attention that is purposeful, in the present moment, and non-judgmental. Mindfulness represents a unification of century-old contemplative Eastern traditions (including Buddhism) and the recent developments of modern, Western science. Hence, supported by the emerging scientific evidence, I argue that mindfulness practices have a potential to offer a wide range of benefits related to wellness. In particular, I report on our hermeneutic-phenomenological studies investigating the centrality of emotions in teaching and learning. Our findings confirm that when adopted in education, mindfulness may mediate positive …

The Impact Of School-Level Factors On Minority Students' Performance In Ap Calculus, Phillip Bruce Pearson

Dissertations and Theses

In recent years, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Technology (STEM) talent pool has re-emerged as a national priority. Certain racial and ethnic groups are dramatically underrepresented in STEM careers and STEM educational programs, an especially serious concern given demographic transitions underway in the United States. The College Board's Advanced Placement (AP) Calculus program provides one way in which students can gain exposure to college-level mathematics while still in high school. This study analyzed factors that contribute to the success of minority students in AP Calculus using a large, longitudinal (2007-2012), geographically distributed dataset which included important school-level variables and AP scores …

Being Mathematical Relations: Dynamic Gestures Support Mathematical Reasoning, Caro C. Williams-Pierce

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Scholarship

In mathematics classrooms, body-based actions, including gestures, offer an important way for students to become mathematical ideas as they engage in mathematical practices. In particular, a type of gesture that we call a dynamic depictive gesture allows learners to model and represent fluid transformations of mathematical objects with their bodies. In this paper, we report on two empirical studies – one in which dynamic gestures were observed, and one where these gestures were directed. We conclude that dynamic gestures are a key element in successful justification and proof activities in mathematics.

Hexapod Herald - Vol. 26, No. 3, June 2014

Hexapod Herald and Other Entomology Department Newsletters

Content: Welcome - Congratulations - Faculty News - Grants - Publications - Meet an Off-Campus Student - Student News

The University Of Nebraska State Museum, Robert F. Diffendal Jr.

Robert F. Diffendal, Jr., Publications

I first walked through the doors of Morrill Hall on the main or City Campus of the University of Nebraska on a day late in August of 1962 and thought that I had entered paleontology heaven. Morrill Hall then housed the University of Nebraska State Museum (UNSM). most of the Geology Department, and some other parts of university units. I was a new graduate student hoping to pursue research in invertebrate paleontology in the Department of Geology and was on my way to see the department chairman for the first time. When I entered the building I walked through a …

A Narrative Study Of Novice Elementary Teachers' Perceptions Of Science Instruction, Roberta Harrell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

It is hoped that, once implemented, the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) will engage students more deeply in science learning and build science knowledge sequentially beginning in Kindergarten (NRC, 2013). Early instruction is encouraged but must be delivered by qualified elementary teachers who have both the science content knowledge and the necessary instructional skills to teach science effectively to young children (Ejiwale, 2012, Spencer, Vogel, 2009, Walker, 2011). The purpose of this research study is to gain insight into novice elementary teachers’ perceptions of science instruction.

This research suggests that infusion of constructivist teaching in the elementary classroom is beneficial …

Hear What They Say And Watch What They Do: Predicting Valid Mathematical Proofs Using Speech And Gesture, Caro C. Williams-Pierce

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Scholarship

In mathematics, practices of proof are notoriously difficult for learners to adopt. In prior work, we found that when providing verbal justifications, learners’ speech patterns predict whether their justifications are mathematically sound. However, current views on the embodied nature of cognition suggest that actions and speech may co-constitute reasoning processes. The current study investigated whether the gestures learners use while formulating proofs also predict proof validity. 120 undergraduates provided verbal justifications for two mathematical tasks. We analyzed speech patterns in participants’ justifications using text analysis software, and we coded participants’ gestures as dynamic or static. Results showed that dynamic gestures …

Children, Mathematics, And Videotape: Using Multimodal Analysis To Bring Bodies Into Early Childhood Assessment Interviews, Amy Noelle Parks, Mardi Schmeichel

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Despite the increased use of video for data collection, most research using assessment interviews in early childhood education relies solely upon the analysis of linguistic data, ignoring children’s bodies. This trend is particularly troubling in studies of marginalized children because transcripts limited to language can make it difficult to analyze embodied power relations between majority researchers and minority children. This article responds to this problem by outlining a theoretical position on power and bodies, describing multimodal analysis strategies, and using these strategies to analyze the subject positions available during a mathematical assessment interview for three African American preschool child-participants and …

Chemistry Graduate Teaching Assistants: A Comparison Of The Classroom Discourse Within Expository And Problem-Based Learning Laboratories, Kelley M. Current

Masters Theses

Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) commonly function as instructors within undergraduate chemistry laboratories. This study sought to explore and describe GTA classroom discourse within two distinct instructional modes, using discourse analysis as the theoretical framework. Theclassroom discourse within a series of verification style labs was comparedto the classroom discourse produced within a set of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) labs. The results suggest three primary findings: (1) the apparent relationship between the instructional mode and form of GTA classroom discourse, (2) the patterns in classroom discourse observed within a given instructional mode repeat, irrespective of content, and (3) the classroom discourse observed within …

Using Case Method To Explicitly Teach Formative Assessment In Preservice Teacher Science Education, Amy Elizabeth Bentz

Dissertations

The process of formative assessment improves student understanding; however, the topic of formative assessment in preservice education has been severely neglected. Since a major goal of teacher education is to create reflective teaching professionals, preservice teachers should be provided an opportunity to critically reflect on the use of formative assessment in the classroom. Case method is an instructional methodology that allows learners to engage in and reflect on real-world situations. Case based pedagogy can play an important role in enhancing preservice teachers’ ability to reflect on teaching and learning by encouraging alternative ways of thinking about assessment.

Although the literature …

Dynamic Variables Of Science Classroom Discourse In Relation To Teachers’ Instructional Beliefs, Sibel Kaya

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The current study examines if the occurence of dynamic variables namely, authentic questions, uptake, high-level evaluation and student questions in primary science classrooms vary by teachers’ instructional beliefs. Twelve 4^th grade teachers from two different schools volunteered to participate in the study. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and classroom observations. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to determine teachers’ instructional beliefs, classroom practices and dynamic variables of classroom discourse. Results showed that teachers were more teacher-centred in their classroom practices than their instructional beliefs. There were no differences among teachers with different instructional beliefs in …

Designing Playful Games And Applications To Support Science Centers Learning Activities, Michail N. Giannakos, David Jones, Helen Crompton, Nikos Chrisochoides

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

In recent years there has been a renewed interest on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. Following this interest, science centers' staff started providing technology enhanced informal STEM education experiences. The use of well-designed mobile and ubiquitous forms of technology to enrich informal STEM education activities is an essential success factor. The goal of our research is to investigate how technology applications can be better used and developed for taking full advantage of the opportunities and challenges they provide for students learning about STEM concepts. In our approach, we have conducted a series of interviews with experts from science …

A Method For Assessing And Describing The Informal Inferential Reasoning Of Middle School Students, Joshua Michael Goss

Dissertations

Informal Inferential Reasoning (IIR) has emerged in the last decade in the study of statistics education. Developing students’ IIR ability is seen as a way of preparing students for the important topic of Formal Statistical Inference (FSI); however, research is still needed in order to investigate how students transition between informal and formal statistical reasoning. A primary difficulty is that we do not have a way of assessing and describing students’ IIR ability levels. In order to address this, an Assessment of Informal Inferential Reasoning (AIIR) was developed, along with a Structure of Observed Learning Outcomes (SOLO) taxonomy (Biggs & …

Integrating Nanotechnology Into The Undergraduate Chemistry Curriculum: The Impact On Students’ Affective Domain, Jacinta M. Mutambuki

Dissertations

High attrition rates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) continue to be documented in the undergraduate education in the United States (U.S.). There is a growing concern that the U.S. will fall short of 3 million graduates by 2018. Furthermore, the literature indicates that about 36% of 4-year college graduates lack adequate critical thinking skills, complex reasoning, and communication skills relevant to the current job market. Reasons for these observations relate to the overemphasis on content knowledge; lack of content relevance; lack of interest in STEM courses; and dominance of expository teaching methods in classrooms. Given its relevance in …

Conceptual Framework Alignment Between Primary Literature And Education In Animal Behaviour, Andrea Marie-Kryger Bierema

Dissertations

In 1963, Tinbergen revolutionized the study of animal behaviour in his paper On aims and methods of ethology (Zeitschrift Tierpsycholgie, 20, 410-433) by revamping the conceptual framework of the discipline. His framework suggests an integration of four questions: causation, ontogeny, survival value, and evolution. The National Research Council Committee (U.S.) on Undergraduate Biology Education to Prepare Research Scientists for the 21^st Century published BIO2010: Transforming Undergraduate Education for Future Research Biologists (Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2003), which suggests alignment between current research and undergraduate education. Unfortunately, alignment has been rarely studied in college biology, especially for fundamental …

High School Students' Perceptions Of Their Internship Experiences And The Related Impact On Career Choices And Changes, Michael Papadimitriou

Online Journal for Workforce Education and Development

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to illuminate STEM students’ perceptions of internship experiences and to examine the impact of these experiences on career and college major choices and retention in the science career pipeline. Background: Many high schools operate internship programs with the purpose of providing authentic work experiences. Through these experiences, students are forced to confront the unrealistic nature of their personal perceptions of practice, and are then exposed to the nuances of practice and authentic skills of practice. Methods: Students were asked to complete an internship questionnaire as part of the senior exit process along …

Comparison Of Piaac And Pisa Frameworks For Numeracy And Mathematical Literacy, Iddo Gal, David Tout

OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)

This paper describes key aspects of the frameworks for the assessment of adult numeracy and mathematical literacy in PIAAC and PISA, which are OECD two flagship programs for international comparative assessment of competencies. The paper examines commonalities and differences in how the constructs of adult numeracy and mathematical literacy were assessed in PIAAC and PISA, and sketches selected challenges associated with interpretation of results from these surveys.

Effects Of Policy And Research On The Structure Of Teacher Education In Tennessee, Ryan Andrew Nivens, Catherine Paolucci

ETSU Faculty Works

Excerpt:Globally, recent discussion has focused on research, policy, and practice in the development and structuring of teacher education programs (OECD, 2005).

The Real-Time Instructor Observing Tool For Future Teachers, Cassandra Paul

Faculty Publications

Current educational research shows that students achieve higher learning gains in science classrooms when interactive techniques are used. As a result, we are seeing more high schools and institutions of higher education adopt interactive courses. Unfortunately, it's difficult for future teachers to envision interactive science courses because their experience as students has been dominated by traditional lecture. New educators need to know what interactive science classrooms look like, so that they can model this experience in their own classrooms. The Real-time Instructor Observing Tool (RIOT), a computer application that allows an observer to quickly categorize classroom interactions, can help with …

Why Do Undergraduate Women Persist As Stem Majors? A Study At Twotechnological Universities, Ronald Brandt

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Women continue to be underrepresented in STEM fields despite significant policy efforts to increase the number of qualified women. Prior research focused on access for women into advanced high school mathematics and science courses. Parity has been achieved in academic prerequisites for STEM studies in higher education, yet the number of women majoring in STEM has remained static. Recent research has focused on the socio-cultural obstacles that women face, including a lower self-confidence in their abilities, bias and gender stereotypes.

A survey was undertaken to examine the self-confidence, opinions and backgrounds of female students persisting as STEM majors at two …

Using Enviromnetal Science Education To Empower Urban Youth To Overcome Environmental Injustices And Become Engaged Eco-Citizens, Jack J. Kearns

Master's Projects and Capstones

Science education, especially the discipline of environmental science, carries the unique opportunity to engage and empower urban youth of diverse backgrounds. Environmental science education helps establish a connection between youth and the natural world and helps youth engage in community-based stewardship activities while fostering ecological citizenry. When educators adopt innovative pedagogical approaches, students are better positioned to participate and develop a sustained interest in science. Field-based education transforms science learning and improves youth’s sense of place, self-confidence, and motivation. National and local case-studies of field-based learning programs demonstrate the powerful and transformative impact of using the Environment as a Integrated …