Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Is There Water On Mars? A De Bono Skills Mystery For Twice-Exceptional Gifted Students, Christopher Cox, Megan Sova-Tower, Nathan Wear

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

Is there water on Mars? Gifted adult graduate students, some of whom represented the learner exceptionalities of Autism Spectrum Disorder and Slow Information Processing Speed, were asked to explore this mystery by applying Edward de Bono’s CoRT thinking skills of “Aims, Goals, and Objectives,” “Select,” and “Planning” to photographs of Mars landforms. Once they had determined the likelihood that the pictures depicted water on Mars, students were asked to develop three-dimensional models with recycled materials. Analysis of the findings revealed that in utilizing the de Bono CoRT thinking skills, students were able to identify sixteen different categories. Student responses had …

Exploring Animal-Like Images In Nasa Photos Of Mars Using De Bono’S Cort Thinking Skills: Alternatives, Possibilities, And Choices, Compare, And Decisions, Kurt M. J. Devore, Allyson Rafanello, Nicholas Rafanello

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

The use of de Bono’s CoRT Thinking Skills of “Alternatives, Possibilities, and Choices,” “Compare,” and “Decisions” create opportunities for students to critically think about ideas using a new lens of thinking. The lesson was designed to accommodate twice-exceptional students, gifted students with the disabilities of dyslexia and/or dyscalculia, through three of the de Bono’s strategies integrated with activities. Gifted graduate students in this lesson were presented with an opportunity to explore and analyze the animal-like images from Mars using the three CoRT thinking skills. The photographs used in this lesson were provided by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the …

Mars Mysteries: Landform Pictograms, James Zabel, Mathieu Castello, Fiddelis Blessings Makaula

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

Graphic organizers are a way for teachers to accommodate students with disabilities such as poor memory or emotional disorders. This technique allows organization of thoughts and visual representation of relationships between ideas and facts. Indeed, poor memory affects students’ reflection and retention of information while emotional disorders can cause a lack of focus in the classroom. Accommodations for students with these disabilities is important because students with emotional disorders may experience social isolation, which in turn may negatively affect their levels of academic achievement. Twenty high-achieving doctoral students participated in a teaching experience designed to introduce gifted students with learning …

Exploring Mars Glass Tube Anomalies, Kimberly S. Mccoy-Parker, Gary Benda, Stanley Ebede

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

This practical article provides information regarding the use of Edward de Bono CoRT thinking skills to broaden and enhance critical and creative thinking skills in twice exceptional students using the Mars Glass Tube Mystery as a vehicle to explore possibilities and spark creative thinking. The exceptionalities addressed in this lesson plan are gifted learners who have one or more additional exceptionalities of slow processing speed and / or poor fine motor skills. Throughout the lesson, the Mars Mystery photos leveraged both prior knowledge and student curiosity to create an engaging activity for the participants. CoRT thinking skills provided a robust …

How Did Those Get There? Exploring Structures And Pyramids On Mars, Abby Rau, Brooke Becker

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

The makeup of students in our classrooms is becoming more diverse. With this change comes the need for educators to provide accommodations for students and to employ a range of instructional strategies. Arts integration in the content areas is one way to engage students and to encourage individual expression. The purpose of this practical article is to highlight a lesson incorporating the arts and Edward de Bono’s CoRT Thinking Skills to support twice exceptional learners, specifically English Language Learners and students with Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Doctoral students considered the formation of pyramids and structures on Mars using …

Spotlight On Edward De Bono Thinking Skills And Twice-Exceptional Gifted Learners Applied To Mars Mysteries In Nasa Photographs, Ksenia S. Zhbanova, Audrey C. Rule

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

This editorial provides background information concerning the lessons presented in the eight practical articles of this issue. All of these lessons address Mars Mysteries, anomalous features found in NASA photographs of the Martian surface. These unusual and thought-provoking features are explored by using Edward de Bono CoRT thinking skills to broaden perceptions enhancing critical and creative thinking. The lessons are intended to explore possibilities, but not to provide a definite final answer as to what the anomalies represent. These lessons were designed as enrichment lessons for gifted learners and support Renzulli’s Type I general exploratory experiences that expose students to …

Sidewalk Math: An Innovative Approach For Engaging All Children In Mathematical Learning, Martha Barry Mckenna, Siobhan Dennis, Maureen Loony, Merideth Ekwall

Lesley University Community of Scholars Day

In kindergarten classrooms in six schools across Massachusetts young children are developing numbersense by walking, hopping, jumping, and skipping through colorful mathematical designs on carpets and sidewalks. The patterns and accompanying counting activities provide teachers with tools to engage young children in learning mathematics through movement and observation activities on colorful floor designs.

Lesley University’s Creativity Commons partnered with 20 kindergarten teachers and their 6 principals to form the Early Childhood Math Collaborative Inquiry Project in Fall 2017 to study the impact of the use of Sidewalk Math carpet patterns on children’s development of numbersense. Teachers from 3 urban schools …

Examining Opportunities For Dialogic Talk In A Kindergarten English Language Development Classroom, Margaret Burns

Lesley University Community of Scholars Day

Purpose and Background

Dialogic talk, in which students are engaged in authentic, extended discourse where meaning is co-constructed and conceptual understanding is incrementally built, is an important aspect of English Language Development instruction (Gersten et al., 2007; Harper & de Jong, 2004; O’Connor & Michaels, 2007; Saunders & Goldenberg, 2010; Snow & Katz, 2010; Gibbons, 2015; Mercer, Dawes, & Staarman, 2009). Supported by Russell and Faculty Development Grants, this study examines how teacher language use in an inquiry-based science unit both facilitated and constrained dialogic talk in a Kindergarten ELD classroom in a Two-Way Dual Language context.

Specifically, I ask: …

An Introduction To Using Geographic Information Systems (Gis) In The Classroom, Lisa K. Millsaps

Interdisciplinary STEM Teaching & Learning Conference (2012-2019) (Archived)

This interactive session will focus on examples of using GIS in multiple K-12 classroom setting, including but not limited to teaching climate change, history, natural hazards, and literature. Geographic information systems, or GIS, is an online mapping tool, used globally in a variety of professions (e.g., emergency management, city planning, engineering, scientific labs) – that is accessible and beneficial to use in the K-12 classroom! GIS helps us visualize, question, analyze, and interpret real data to understand relationships, patterns, and trends. Participants will not only walk through a demonstration of GIS’ use and potential, they will partake in and practice …

Augmented Reality Chemistry: Transforming 2d Molecular Representations Into Interactive 3d Structures, Derek Behmke, David Kerven, Robert Lutz, Julia Paredes, Richard Pennigton, Evelyn Brannock, Michael Deiters, John Rose, Kevin Stevens

Interdisciplinary STEM Teaching & Learning Conference (2012-2019) (Archived)

Spatial reasoning is defined as the ability to generate, retain, and manipulate abstract visual images. In chemistry, spatial reasoning skills are typically taught using 2-D paper-based models, 3-D handheld models, and computerized models. Research has shown that increased spatial reasoning abilities translate directly to improved content knowledge. The recent explosion in the popularity of smartphones and the development of augmented reality apps for them provide, a yet to be explored, way of teaching spatial reasoning skills to chemistry students. Augmented reality apps utilize the camera on a smartphone to turn 2D paper-based molecular models into 3D models the user can …

Visualizing Geometrical Counterexamples Using Digital Tools, Tuyin An, Ha Nguyen

Interdisciplinary STEM Teaching & Learning Conference (2012-2019) (Archived)

In my study about pre-service secondary mathematics teachers’ (PSMTs) understanding about the nature of theorems in geometry, I noticed that it was challenging for the PSMTs to visualize and draw counterexamples to disprove the given mathematical statements. The use of the dragging feature of some digital tools, such as The Geometer’s Sketchpad (GSP), in teaching and learning proof and reasoning has been widely discussed and become an ongoing research trend. In this conference session presentation, I will introduce the background of the use of dragging feature in dynamic geometry environment and present two examples showing how this feature could be …

Using Active Learning Strategies In Calculus To Improve Student Learning And Influence Mathematics Department Cultural Change, Melissa A. Dagley, Xin Li, Brian Moore, Erin Saitta, Jacquelyn Chini, Michele Gill

Interdisciplinary STEM Teaching & Learning Conference (2012-2019) (Archived)

An interdisciplinary team of Physics, Education, Math and Chemistry faculty developed MATH-GAINS (Growing as Adaptive INstructors) creating an ecosystem where Mathematics faculty persistently and sustainably apply active learning strategies in their teaching of Calculus courses. As a result of implementation, MATH-GAI NS proposed to positively affect the wide-spread adaptation of active learning strategies by department faculty as well as student learning, retention and graduation of over 900 students annually. The objective of the session is to provide attendees details on: how the project was conceived and implemented, instruments, research methodologies and active learning strategies used, examples …

Integrating Lego Robotics Into A 5th Grade Cross Curricular Unit To Promote The Development Of Narrative Writing Skills, Shelli L. Casler-Failing, Mete Akcaoglu, Valerie Woodrum, Valerie Morris, Jay Mcneely

Interdisciplinary STEM Teaching & Learning Conference (2012-2019) (Archived)

This unit was designed to promote the development of narrative writing skills among 5^th grade students through the use of LEGO robotics. The students learned how to construct and program robots, write and present a proposal to complete a mission, and connected the learning to their personal experiences with Hurricane Irma. After learning the basics of building and programming robots, they were presented with a scenario similar to the impact of the bomb drop in Hiroshima – a city in ruins with survivors in need of supplies. Students took the role of engineers to work in pairs to create …

Content And Instructional Practice: A Msp Project, Donna Mullenax, Janel Smith Dr.

Interdisciplinary STEM Teaching & Learning Conference (2012-2019) (Archived)

Since October 2016, Armstrong Faculty have been working with SCCPSS teachers through an MSP-funded project. The CIP project focuses on math and science in 5th, 6th, and 8th grades. Design and implementation of the project will be discussed. Mid-project results will be presented, along with plans for Year 2.

Using Creative Writing To Facilitate Science Learning, Alma D. Stevenson, Ph.D, Lacey D. Huffling, Ph.D

Interdisciplinary STEM Teaching & Learning Conference (2012-2019) (Archived)

This session will be led by a literacy educator and a science educator, who worked collaboratively to create, implement, and refine science lessons during a week-long summer program for middle grade (6^th – 8^th) migrant students. The presenters created culturally responsive NGSS lessons that were infused with multiple literacy strategies culminating in a creative writing, where students incorporated the vocabulary and concepts learned, using storyboarding and Google Slides.

Participants will engage in the mini-lesson and have a brief discussion on the components of the lessons based on NGSS, culturally responsive teaching, and literacy integration. Examples of student …

Selecting, Sequencing, And Connecting: Using Technology To Support Area Measurement Through Tasks, Strategies, And Discussion, Eryn M. Stehr, Ha Nguyen, Jia He

Interdisciplinary STEM Teaching & Learning Conference (2012-2019) (Archived)

This session supports grades 3-5 mathematics teachers and coaches in considering how technology in the classroom can be used to support "low threshold, high ceiling" tasks and productive discussion. In this session, participants will interact with and share resulting strategies from an online task designed to: be open to multiple levels of strategies, reveal misconceptions, and support students in developing more sophisticated conceptual understandings of area measurement. We will present a sampling of strategies created by teachers (who were pretending to be elementary students) in past activities. Participants will select and sequence these strategies to align with chosen learning outcomes. …

Strategies For Improving Stem Education; Pathways To Institutional Transformation, Myles Boylan

Interdisciplinary STEM Teaching & Learning Conference (2012-2019) (Archived)

Presenter will provide

Assessment Of Practice-Focused Middle School Science Modules, Sunni H. Newton, Jessica Gale, Meltem Alemdar, Stefanie Wind

Interdisciplinary STEM Teaching & Learning Conference (2012-2019) (Archived)

AMP-IT-UP is an NSF-funded K-12 program intended to promote math, science, and engineering learning through STEM integration-focused curricula. As part of this program, one-week modules were designed to teach specific science practices within the context of the appropriate grade-level content. Nine science modules were created, one focused on each practice (practices are data visualization, experimental design, and data-driven decision making) at grade levels 6, 7, and 8. In this presentation, we will focus on our assessment of the implementation of these modules across four middle schools during the 2016-2017 academic year. We will present our methodology for assessing this complex …

An Exploration Of Climate Change In The K-12 Classroom, Lisa K. Millsaps

Interdisciplinary STEM Teaching & Learning Conference (2012-2019) (Archived)

Have you ever wondered how climate change is being taught and portrayed in the school age classroom? How current science is being translated and used to teach the next generation? This work explores the studies of climate change education occurring in North America. It is seeking to understand the educational methods and content foci being suggested as reliable practices in climate change education through the use of a qualitative analysis of academic literature on teaching climate change. Findings summarize how climate change is being taught, what recommendations are being made, and identifies opportunities for growth, and other possible concerns.

Using Google Forms To Inform Teaching Practices, Ha Nguyen Dr., Heidi Eisenreich Dr., Eryn Stehr Dr.

Interdisciplinary STEM Teaching & Learning Conference (2012-2019) (Archived)

Do you need a quick way to assess your student learning and identify misconceptions? Are you tired of collecting and/or grading papers? Google Forms can help, especially with some newly added features such as checkbox grids, intelligent response validation, and automatic grading. Through interactive activities during this talk, participants will hear about several uses of Google Forms to gather data, engage student learning, and create and score assessments. Additionally, participants will learn how to shorten an URL link with a desired name and generate a QR code for instant access to the link. This session can be beneficial to all …

Fostering Pre-Service Teachers' Understanding Of Basic Arithmetic Principles, Veena Paliwal

Interdisciplinary STEM Teaching & Learning Conference (2012-2019) (Archived)

Arithmetic properties (commutative, associative, distributive, identity, and inverse) provide one of the most critical avenues to higher-level thinking and conceptual understanding. The present study was designed to promote understanding and use of arithmetic properties among sixty-five pre-service teachers enrolled in two Foundations of Numbers and Operations classes. The intervention employed involved using various models to promote conceptual understanding of the arithmetic properties and use them as a problem-solving tool while identifying any possible misconceptions. A pretest-posttest design was employed. The results revealed that the intervention was effective in promoting understanding of the commutative, associative, identity, and inverse properties, and was …

The Effects Of Integrating Lego Robotics Into A Mathematics Curriculum To Promote The Development Of Proportional Reasoning, Shelli L. Casler-Failing

Interdisciplinary STEM Teaching & Learning Conference (2012-2019) (Archived)

This mixed methods, action research case study sought to investigate the effects of incorporating LEGO robotics into a seventh-grade mathematics curriculum focused on the development of proportional reasoning through the lens of Social Constructivist Theory. Quantitative data was collected via a pre- and post-test from the mathematics class of six students. Qualitative data was collected from each of the students as they worked in groups of two to complete purposefully designed investigations and activities, from whole class discussions, and student artifacts. The quantitative analysis showed development of proportional reasoning skills with the greatest increase being from low-performing students. The qualitative …

Putting Lab Into Lecture, Samantha Lee Russell

Interdisciplinary STEM Teaching & Learning Conference (2012-2019) (Archived)

Engineering classes at any level are separated into two separate components, lecture and lab. Often these two classes have little to no direct relationship, being taught by two different instructors with different objectives. Students struggle to see the relationship between the theory from lecture and the applications in lab. To bridge the gap, lab must be brought into the lecture. Students must experience the theory by building, measuring, and exploring the concepts. Instructors can bring these experiences into the classroom by breaking labs up into smaller activities that are closely related to the theory. This is not to say that …

Make Learning Meaningful With Interdisciplinary Lessons, Michele Dodge, Phil Dodge

Interdisciplinary STEM Teaching & Learning Conference (2012-2019) (Archived)

The workshop activities are centered around the Middle Child, grades 4-8. Participants will experience and plan for interdisciplinary lessons. These lessons include Science and Technology along with other disciplines. Examples include but not limited to integration of Literacy and Science, and Social Studies and Science and Technology. Participants will participate as a learner with hands on activities, then will follow up with generating lesson plans of their own. Participants will leave with clear understanding of what it takes to bring an interdisciplinary lesson to the next level, and then implement it in their own classroom in a meaningful way that …

Developing Stragic Competence In The Service Of Inquiry Teaching: Assisting Pre-Service Elementary Teachers To Use Inquiry To Achieve Strategic Competence In Science Learning, Sheryl Mcglamery, Victoria Lentfer

Journal of Curriculum, Teaching, Learning and Leadership in Education

Abstract: This paper describes the efforts of researchers to examine the understandings of pre-service elementary teachers regarding the role and use of inquiry and strategic competence in science teaching and learning. The pre-service elementary teachers were given multiple exposures to inquiry activities, and field teaching opportunities using inquiry with opportunities to pursue strategic competence in experimentation and problem solving. The findings support the use of inquiry labs and shows how field experience is valuable in helping build an understanding of inquiry and strategic competence.

Stem Conference 2018, Institute For Interdisciplinary Stem Education, Georgia Southern University

Interdisciplinary STEM Teaching & Learning Conference (2012-2019) (Archived)

Conference Program

Teaching With Citizen Science: An Exploratory Study Of Teachers' Motivations & Perceptions, Georgia Bracey

Dissertations

With the continued emphasis in the United States on science teaching reform as a way to increase science learning and the scientific literacy of all, the integration of informal science learning activities like citizen science is emerging as a possible way to enhance formal science teaching and learning. There is a limited but growing number of studies indicating that the general public is learning science content and process from participating in citizen science, but research in this area is just beginning and the use of citizen science projects by teachers in formal classroom settings has barely been examined at all. …

Catholic School Teachers' Perceptions Of Factors Related To Low Mathematics Achievement: A Qualitative Case Study, Andrzej Robert Piotrowski

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative case study explored Catholic school teachers' perceptions of factors related to low mathematics achievement in second through fifth grade at three Catholic elementary schools in the Eastern United States. The three schools that participated in this study have varying degrees of ethnic diversity and vary in school enrollment. In 2015, all schools in the archdiocese produced standardized test results well above the national average in reading in second through fifth grades. In the same academic year, the gap between the national average and the district's second through fifth grade mathematics scores was significantly narrower. This study identifies the …

Heat, Energy, And Matter (Ccc5, Ps3): An Integrated Grades 3–12 Hands-On Approach Supporting The Ngss And Ccss Ela, Chih-Che Tai, Gerri St. Clair, Karin J. Keith, Renee Moran, Chih-Che Tai

ETSU Faculty Works

We will offer ideas to build knowledge about using reading and hands-on activities as tools to increase student understanding of heat, energy, and matter.

Examining Steam Implementation Through The Lens Of Organizational Learning, William Louis Grillo

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined STEAM implementation from the qualitative perspective of New Jersey K-12 school leaders and through the quantitative lens of organizational learning. Using a convergent parallel mixed methods design, sixteen school leaders were interviewed regarding their process of implementing the integrated learning framework known as STEAM. Simultaneously, an Organizational Learning Mechanism Questionnaire was distributed to the teaching faculty of participating districts. This study found that current K-12 school leaders were implementing STEAM with top down administrative support, emergent processes, standards focused curricula, and innovative means of marketing their programs. Significant differences were also found between K-8 and high school …