Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

The Battle Against Malaria: A Teachable Moment, Randy K. Schwartz

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Malaria has been humanity’s worst public health problem throughout recorded history. Mathematical methods are needed to understand which factors are relevant to the disease and to develop counter-measures against it. This article and the accompanying exercises provide examples of those methods for use in lower- or upper-level courses dealing with probability, statistics, or population modeling. These can be used to illustrate such concepts as correlation, causation, conditional probability, and independence. The article explains how the apparent link between sickle cell trait and resistance to malaria was first verified in Uganda using the chi-squared probability distribution. It goes on to explain …

Aesthetics In A Mathematics For Liberal Arts Project, Jason Callahan, Carol Gee

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

We present and assess a project and its rubric developed and assigned in Mathematics for Liberal Arts, a general education course for non-science and non-business majors, to incorporate different skills including aesthetic design, written and oral communication, and mathematical analysis to tackle a common optimization problem with an aesthetic slant: construct a beverage can (i.e., right circular cylinder) of a given volume while taking into account the cost of materials (i.e., surface area) and aesthetic qualities (e.g., the golden ratio).

Struggles And Growth In Mathematics Education: Reflections By Three Generations Of Mathematicians On The Creation Of The Computer Game E-Brock Bugs, Laura Broley, Chantal Buteau, Eric Muller

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

In the Fall of 2013 our team of three different generations of mathematicians launched the free, online E-Brock Bugs© mathematics computer game [5] which we developed from an original probabilistic board game, Brock Bugs, and its digital learning object version. We constructed E-Brock Bugs using Devlin’s [9] mathematics computer game design principles for games that prompt players’ development of mathematical thinking. As we created E-Brock Bugs we found it necessary to go through an evolving cyclic process of design, implementation, and analysis. In this paper we reflect upon the main struggles we faced in this process and the …

Metaphors And Mathematical Identity: Math Is Like A Tornado In Kansas, Carmen M. Latterell, Janelle L. Wilson

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Mathematical identity is an individual’s concept of who he or she is mathematically. In this paper, metaphors for mathematics from elementary education majors are compared to metaphors created by secondary mathematics teaching majors. The analysis demonstrates a basic difference in the mathematical identity of the two groups, with the latter group having more holistic conceptions of mathematics than the first group. Elementary education majors describe mathematics as an ongoing struggle in which the mathematics is active, and they are the victims. The secondary teaching mathematics majors describe mathematics as an ongoing struggle in which they are active.

Stem Stories, February 2017, #1, Mir Ashfaquzzaman

STEM Stories

Research Spotlight - MVMS: Magic in Math Classroom

High School Earth And Space Science Should Be Taught By Geoscientists, Elizabeth Lewis

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

A recent survey of U.S. science teachers’ understanding, perspectives and teaching of climate change — an important earth and space science (ESS) standard included in the new Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) — revealed that teachers spend an average of only one to two hours per year teaching students about climate change. The survey study’s authors concluded that “[science] teachers may not be very knowledgeable about a wide range of evidence and how climate models work.” However, the authors did not distinguish between qualified ESS teachers and other teachers, like biology, physics or chemistry teachers who might be charged with …

A Model Of The Use Of Evolutionary Trees (Muet) To Inform K-14 Biology Education, Yi Kong, Ankita Thawani, Trevor R. Anderson, Nancy Pelaez

PIBERG Publications

Evolutionary trees are powerful tools used in modern biological research, and also commonly used in textbooks and classroom instruction. Studies have shown that K-14 students have difficulties interpreting evolutionary trees. To improve student learning about this topic, it is essential to teach them how to understand and use trees like professional biologists. Unfortunately, few currently used teaching frameworks for evolution instruction are designed for this purpose. In this study we developed the Model of the Use of Evolutionary Trees (MUET), a conceptual model that characterizes how evolutionary trees were used by professional biologists as represented in their research publications. The …

Mini-Symposium: Best Practices For Reu Programs And Unl, Mark A. Griep

Discipline-Based Education Research Group Speaker Series

If you want to learn how to run an REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) program (or to make your REU program run more smoothly), then this is your opportunity to ask questions. The presentation will begin with 5-min talks from five REU program coordinators. These coordinators run a wide range of programs and have experience ranging from 1 year to 12 years. They will mention things such as how many applicants their program receives, how they review those files, an outline of the non-research portion of their summer program, and what sorts of outcomes they collect so they can report …

“Science Is Not My Thing”: Exploring Deaf Non-Science Majors’ Science Identities, Cara L. Gormally, Amber Marchut

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Students who are deaf and hard-of-hearing are underrepresented in science majors, yet we know little about why. Students from other underrepresented groups in science—women and people of color—tend to highly value altruistic or communal career goals, while perceiving science as uncommunal. Research suggests that holding stereotypical conceptions about scientists and perceptions of science as uncommunal may strongly hinder recruitment into science majors. This study sought to explore the science identities of students who are deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing signers. The study focused on non-science majors in bilingual (American Sign Language and written English) biology laboratory courses. This study is the …

Providing Annotated Examples Increases Science Learning, Elana A. Paladino

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

Students consistently score low in the areas of application of scientific results, critical analysis of results, proper citation usage, and poster design

The Healthy Flea Market, Robin L. Cooper, Kimberly J. Zeidler-Watters, Diane Johnson, Jennifer Wilson

Biology Faculty Publications

Learn how rural students in Kentucky shared their classroom knowledge by presenting on health topics and new technologies at flea markets, swap meets, and specialty events such as car shows.

The Physics Of Skateboarding: Making Science Relevant, Engaging And Motivational, William Robertson

Selected Works Temporary Series

For me, skateboarding became the vehicle that lead to my success in education. In fact, the skills I learned in skateboarding, such as practice, creativity, discipline, persistence and setting goals, later made me successful in school. For young people, by knowing the terms, they can in effect learn more, when they can see practical applications in their own lives. My inspiration for choosing skateboarding to teach physics came from my work with middle school students who were not interested in the topics of science class until I showed how much of physics, such as forces and motion, were found in …

The Physics Of Skateboarding: Making Science Relevant, Engaging And Motivational, William Robertson

Departmental Papers (TE)

For me, skateboarding became the vehicle that lead to my success in education.  In fact, the skills I learned in skateboarding, such as practice, creativity, discipline, persistence and setting goals, later made me successful in school. For young people, by knowing the terms, they can in effect learn more, when they can see practical applications in their own lives. My inspiration for choosing skateboarding to teach physics came from my work with middle school students who were not interested in the topics of science class until I showed how much of physics, such as forces and motion, were found in …

Disciplinary Differences In Out-Of-School High School Science Experiences And Influence On Students’ Engineering Choices, Allison Godwin, Gerhard Sonnert, Philip M. Sadler

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)

Participation from a variety of students is important to the long-term growth of the engineering field. Much of the research on engineering recruitment or career choice has focused on engineering as a whole, even though engineering disciplines are varied in student participation and focus. This work examines how students’ out-of-school interests and experiences in high school predict the likelihood of choosing a career in a particular engineering discipline. Out-of-school experiences offer more unstructured ways for students to meaningfully engage with science and engineering outside of the confines of the classroom. These experiences offer opportunities to spark particular science interests not …

Self-Regulated Learning In Engineering Labs, Presentacion Rivera

Discipline-Based Education Research Group Speaker Series

Students’ task interpretation is a critical first step in the process of self-regulated learning and a key determinant in students setting their learning goals and selecting strategies to approach assigned work. Laboratory activities improve students’ conceptual understanding because of the cognitive demand when students integrate laboratory activities and theory. The purpose of this study is to investigate how students’ interpretation of the task assigned during laboratory work may change during the task process, and how it is related to their conceptual understanding. One-hundred and forty-three students enrolled in the course of Electronics participated in this study. Instruments used to measure …

Mathematics For Human Flourishing, Francis Su

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

Why does the practice of mathematics often fall short of our ideals and hopes? How can the deeply human themes that drive us to do mathematics be channeled to build a more beautiful and just world in which all can truly flourish?

The Relationship Between Project-Based Learning And Rigor In Stem-Focused High Schools, Julie Edmunds, Nina Arshavsky, Elizabeth Glennie, Karen Charles, Olivia Rice

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

Project-based learning (PjBL) is an approach often favored in STEM classrooms, yet some studies have shown that teachers struggle to implement it with academic rigor. This paper explores the relationship between PjBL and rigor in the classrooms of ten STEM-oriented high schools. Utilizing three different data sources reflecting three different perceptions—student surveys, teacher logs, and classroom observations—the study examines the extent to which PjBL and rigor co-occur. Across all three measures, the results show that use of PjBL is associated with higher levels of rigor. However, the study also shows that academic rigor can be present in the absence of …

Real Data Is Messy... And Manageable, Beverly Wood, Carl Clark

Publications

Using real data in an introductory statistics course is a delicate balance between reality and manageability. The internet is awash with data that is useful for students to answer questions of interest to them but it is not always formatted as neatly as textbook data. The ASA's recently endorsed GAISE College Report 2016 points to the plausibility of considering multivariable thinking even if only at a rudimentary level. With both messy and multivariable data in mind, we present some activities/projects and sources for data to give introductory students the opportunity to engage with real data.

Parts Of The Whole: Error Estimation For Science Students, Dorothy Wallace

Numeracy

It is important for science students to understand not only how to estimate error sizes in measurement data, but also to see how these errors contribute to errors in conclusions they may make about the data. Relatively small errors in measurement, errors in assumptions, and roundoff errors in computation may result in large error bounds on computed quantities of interest. In this column, we look closely at a standard method for measuring the volume of cancer tumor xenografts to see how small errors in each of these three factors may contribute to relatively large observed errors in recorded tumor volumes.

Connecting Numbers With Emotion: Review Of Numbers And Nerves: Information, Emotion, And Meaning In A World Of Data By Scott Slovic And Paul Slovic (2015), Samuel L. Tunstall

Numeracy

Scott Slovic and Paul Slovic (Eds.). Numbers and Nerves: Information, Emotion, and Meaning in a World of Data (Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University Press, 2015). 272 pp. ISBN 978-0-87071-776-5.

It is common to view quantitative literacy as reasoning with respect to numbers. In Numbers and Nerves, the contributors to the volume make clear that we should attend not only to how students consciously reason with numbers, but also how our innate biases influence our actions when faced with numbers. Beginning with the concepts of psychic numbing, and then psuedoinefficacy, the contributors to the volume examine how our behaviors when …

Review Of Qmasc: A Handbook For Directors Of Quantitative And Mathematics Support Centers Edited By Grace Coulombe, Mary B. O’Neill, And Michael Schuckers (2016), Vera Frith

Numeracy

Grace Coulombe, Mary B. O’Neill, and Michael Schuckers (Eds). QMaSC: A Handbook for Directors of Quantitative and Mathematics Support Centers. (Tampa FL: USF Libraries – Tampa Library, 2016). http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/qmasc_handbook/

The over thirty different authors of this handbook, all of whom are experienced in supporting learning in mathematics and quantitative disciplines, provide a useful perspective on the practical issues that affect the running of a learning support centre, as well as the problems of working within a complex institution of higher education. The handbook contains information on leadership and management, how to maintain community interactions, managing staffing (including hiring and …

Quantitative Literacy For The Future Flourishing Of Our Students: A Guiding Aim For Mathematics Education, Samuel L. Tunstall

Numeracy

In this essay, I examine the extent to which mathematics education and education for quantitative literacy support students’ present and future flourishing, a concept that entails realizing objective goods in a life lived from the inside. This perspective requires disentangling philosophical assumptions about the aims of mathematics education, which—in the context of flourishing—I take to be a hybrid of those that have informed curricular discussions over the past two centuries. In the process, I problematize ("make strange") many of the common reasons given for students learning mathematics, including: learning it for one’s career, for one’s logical reasoning skills, or …

A Twenty-Year Look At “Computational Geology,” An Evolving, In-Discipline Course In Quantitative Literacy At The University Of South Florida, Victor J. Ricchezza, H. L. Vacher

Numeracy

Since 1996, the Geology (GLY) program at the USF has offered “Computational Geology” as part of its commitment to prepare undergraduate majors for the quantitative aspects of their field. The course focuses on geological-mathematical problem solving. Over its twenty years, the course has evolved from a GATC (geometry-algebra-trigonometry-calculus) in-discipline capstone to a quantitative literacy (QL) course taught within a natural science major. With the formation of the new School of Geosciences in 2013, the merging departments re-examined their various curricular programs. An online survey of the Geology Alumni Society found that “express quantitative evidence in support of an argument” was …

The Quantitative Reasoning For College Science (Quarcs) Assessment 2: Demographic, Academic And Attitudinal Variables As Predictors Of Quantitative Ability, Katherine Follette, Sanlyn Buxner, Erin Dokter, Donald Mccarthy, Beau Vezino, Laci Brock, Edward Prather

Numeracy

In this article, we explore the ability of demographic and attitudinal variables to predict student scores on the Quantitative Reasoning for College Science (QuaRCS) Assessment. Variables measured by the assessment include: students' academic choices and plans, attitudes and perceptions regarding mathematics, self-reported effort level, and basic demographics such as age, race/ethnicity, gender and disability status. As in previously published numeracy studies, we find significant score deviations according to gender, race/ethnicity, and disability status; however, the effect size of these correlations pale in comparison to the effect size of affective/attitudinal variables on QuaRCS score. A large number of variables with …

Providing Open-Access Know How For Directors Of Quantitative And Mathematics Support Centers, Michael Schuckers, Mary B. O'Neill, Grace Coulombe

Numeracy

The purpose of this editorial is to introduce the quantitative literacy community to the newly published A Handbook for Directors of Quantitative and Mathematics Centers. QMaSCs (pronounced “Q-masks”) can be broadly defined as centers that have supporting students in quantitative fields of study as part of their mission. Some focus only on calculus or mathematics; others concentrate on numeracy or quantitative literacy, and some do all of that. A QMaSC may be embedded in a mathematics department, or part of a learning commons, or a stand-alone center. There are hundreds of these centers in the U.S. The new handbook, …

The Mean Value Theorem, Dave Ruch

Analysis

No abstract provided.

Math Is More Than Numbers: Beginning Bilingual Teachers’ Mathematics Teaching Practices And Their Opportunities To Learn, Cathery Yeh

Education Faculty Articles and Research

In this article, the author provides results from a 3-year, longitudinal study that examined two novice bilingual teachers’ mathematics teaching practices and their professional opportunities to learn to teach. Primary data sources included videotaped mathematics lessons, teacher interviews, and field notes of their teacher preparation methods courses. Findings revealed that the teachers were oriented toward differing views of learning that shaped how they organized students’ learning of language and mathematics during classroom instruction. While both teachers used similar teaching strategies to support students’ development of mathematics specific literacies, there were variances in how the learners were positioned within the classroom …

Effectiveness Of Essentials For College Math As A High School Transitional Course, Jennifer S. Riggleman

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Statistics on the number of students who leave high school underprepared for postsecondary education, and have to take remedial coursework upon entrance to college vary, but, unfortunately, for at least the last 10 years, these statistics have remained high. This study examined the effectiveness of one transitional high school math curriculum called Essentials for College Math and its impact on 887 students in the state of North Carolina for the 2014-2015 academic year. The results of the study showed that there was a statistically significant improvement seen in pre- and post-test scores of students that completed the course. There was …

A Comparative Study Of Two Graduation Pathways: Traditional Vs. Stem At A Southeastern High School, Chemisi Asha Kogo-Masila

Education Dissertations and Projects

This mixed-methods study approach investigated the impact of standardized tests on student achievement from the STEM program and the traditional program in a suburban high school. Qualitative data were collected from interviews, focus groups, and questionnaires to get perceptual data from teachers. Quantitative data were collected from different demographic information and the standardized tests American College Testing (ACT) and end-of-course examination (EOC). An independent sample t test, the Chi-Square Test of Independence and Pearson R Correlation of association test were used to analyze the data collected. Documents with the graduation rates for the participants were reviewed, and both programs had …

Introduction To The Special Issue On Teaching Inquiry (Part I): Illuminating Inquiry, Brian P. Katz, Elizabeth Thoren

Mathematics: Faculty Scholarship & Creative Works

We provide an introduction to the special issue on Teaching Inquiry, through its motivation and themes. We focus here on Part I: Illuminating Inquiry.