Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

A Model For Cross-Institutional Collaboration: Addressing Diminishing Resources In Academia, Claudia Kolakowski

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

A Review Of The Biomathematics Program At Illinois State University: Benefits Of Pursuing A Graduate Degree At An Iba Institution, Alison Sifuentes, Aleksandra Majewski

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Multidisciplinary Education And Research In Biomathematics For Solving Global Challenges, Padmanabhan Seshaiyer

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Exploring Student Experiences In Science & Math To Address Underrepresentation In Stem, Brittany Davis, Hira Ahmad, Berenice Contreras, Krista Kaleel, Sydney Majka

Annual Student Research Poster Session

According to a 2018 publication by Higher Education Today, millions of dollars have been invested in recent years to promote diversity in science. Yet still, domestic students of color and first generation students are persisting in STEM at a lower rate than that of their similarly interested white or non-first-generation counterparts (Witham, Malcom-Piqueux, Dowd, & Bensimon, 2015). This state of underrepresentation is mirrored at our own university. To learn more about students’ experiences, we conducted a survey to gather insight on the experiences of first generation students, international students, and domestic students of color in science and math classes at …

Grading For Growth: Using Sliding Scale Rubrics To Motivate Struggling Learners, Dina Mahmood, Hugo Jacobo

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

In an effort to adopt more equitable and humanizing grading practices, this teacher inquiry explores how educators attempted to improve students’ views of learning and assessments by utilizing rubrics on a sliding scale. Using the sliding scale rubric approach to grading provided an opportunity for students and educators to rethink how learning is evaluated. The authors found that the logistics of using sliding scale rubrics as a grading tool does need to be refined and further evaluated; however, the belief that a student can receive a grade based on her or his individual starting point did have some positive implications …

Argand's Development Of The Complex Plane, Nicholas A. Scoville, Diana White

Complex Variables

No abstract provided.

Completing The Square: From The Roots Of Algebra, Danny Otero

Pre-calculus and Trigonometry

No abstract provided.

Gaining Access To The Language Of Science: A Research Partnership For Disciplined, Discursive Ways To Select And Assess Vocabulary Knowledge, H. Emily Hayden, Anupma Singh, Michelle Eades Baird

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

To equalize access to science learning across genders and demographic groups, access to the disciplinary language of science is one place to start. The language of science is highly challenging and specialized, and difficulties acquiring this language contribute to disparities in science achievement across diverse student groups. This study used a pre-post design to analyze effectiveness of a brief classroom science vocabulary assessment designed to assess receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge across multiple sections of one 7^th grade science teacher’s class. Vocabulary was selected and analysis conducted by an interdisciplinary research partnership including the science teacher, a literacy specialist, …

Stem Stories, October 2019, #1, Brooke Wiese

STEM Stories

Undergraduate Research - Mary Sutton

Teaching Wind Energy To Engineering And Education Undergraduates Through Community Engagement, Maija A. Benitz, Li-Ling Yang

Engineering, Computing & Construction Management Faculty Publications

Rhode Island's adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards in 2013 [1] established a pressing need to provide elementary schools with support for integrating engineering in our local district's classrooms. Wind energy was identified as an appropriate instructional topic, both for its relevance to Rhode Island [2], and for its strength as a tool for studying the engineering design process. Education and engineering undergraduates collaborated to educate local fourth graders about engineering design and wind energy. While supporting the need for engineering education in the community, this project also deepened learning for both education and engineering students at Roger Williams …

Ua64/2 The Challenge: Magazine For The Center For Gifted Studies (No. 47, Fall 2019), Center For Gifted Studies, Tracy Inman Editor

Gifted Studies Publications

No abstract provided.

Geo-Baloo: Teaching Geometry Through Physical Activities, Mi Sun Park, Young Rae Kim, Eunhye Kwon

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publications (Archived)

No abstract provided.

Organic Chemistry Ii Lab Manual, Caitlyn Bailey

Senior Honors Theses

This project aims to supply a full lab manual and grading key for Organic Chemistry II, a class often taken by sophomores in Liberty University’s science degree programs. Properly applied laboratory experiments create a beneficial learning environment for science students by using hands-on procedures to transform intangible lecture concepts into concrete demonstrations. Lab work also fosters the development of problem-solving and critical-thinking skills that students need in research and the workplace. Thus, having a comprehensive lab manual is critical to students’ success and understanding in this upper-level class. This project adds to the experiments of Organic Chemistry II lab through …

The Role Of Introductory Geoscience Courses In Preparing Teachers—And All Students—For The Future: Are We Making The Grade?, Anne E. Egger

Geological Sciences Faculty Scholarship

Introductory geoscience courses enroll hundreds of thousands of students a year, most of whom do not major in the geosciences. For many, including future K–12 teachers, an introductory course is the only place they will encounter Earth science at the college level. New standards for K–12 science education have profound implications for teacher preparation, particularly in Earth science. The new standards call for taking a systems approach, highlighting how humans interact with Earth, making use of science and engineering practices, and engaging students in discourse. Analysis of responses to the National Geoscience Faculty Survey (n = 813 in 2004; …

An Examination Of Oral Argumentation Using Socioscientific Issues Among Secondary Students With Disabilities, Mindy A. Gumpert

Communication Disorders & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

The recent science education reforms mandate that all students must receive adequate opportunities to access the science curriculum in order to gain a better understanding of how science and the world works (National Research Council, 2012). According to these reforms, engagement in argumentation is one science practice essential to today’s K-12 science education (Sampson & Clark, 2011). Engagement in argumentation promotes critical thinking, problem solving and communication skills, and has the potential to promote growth of cognitive and metacognitive reasoning (Venville & Dawson, 2010). Additionally, engagement in argumentation using socioscientific issues provides students with authentic links to contemporary real-world social …

Using Video Clips To Identify And Promote Children's Rights As Mathematics Learners, Crystal Kalinec-Craig

Colorado Mathematics Teacher

The Rights of the Learner state that children have four rights they can exercise in the classroom: 1) the right to be confused; 2) the right to claim a mistake; 3) the right to speak, listen, and be heard; and 4) the right to write, do and represent what makes sense to you. In this paper, the author discusses how she uses a video clip of Gretchen solving a multi-digit subtraction problem as a way of helping elementary teacher candidates learn how to attend to children’s mathematical thinking and moments when they exercise their rights as learners. Implications for equity …

The Effect Of Teacher Professional Development On Implementing Engineering In Elementary Schools, Teresa Porter, Meg E. West, Rachel L. Kajfez, Kathy L. Malone, Karen E. Irving

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

Increased attention on the implementation of engineering education into elementary school classrooms aims to start preparing students early for potential engineering careers. In order to efficiently and effectively add engineering concepts to the curriculum, appropriate development and facilitation of engineering design challenges are required. Therefore, professional development programs are necessary to educate teachers about engineering and how to adequately teach it. This paper explores the effects of an engineering professional development program for practicing teachers. The program included training elementary teachers about how to implement units from Engineering is Elementary (EiE) by the Science Museum of Boston into their classes. …

Let’S Talk: An Examination Of Parental Involvement As A Predictor Of Stem Achievement In Math For High School Girls, Nicol R. Howard, Keith E. Howard, Randy T. Busse, Christine Hunt

Education Faculty Articles and Research

This research was conducted to examine the influence of parental involvement, in the form of parent conversations, on mathematics achievement for high school girls. Data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09) public-use file provided a sample of 13,694 students, including 6,592 girls for our analyses. A scale for measuring parent conversations was developed and regression analyses were conducted to examine whether this scale variable predicted mathematics achievement. Results indicated that conversational parental involvement was a significant predictor of mathematics achievement for Black and White girls, but not Hispanic and Asian. Implications for research and policy initiatives are …

Fourth To Sixth Grade Teachers’ Invented Real World Problems And Pictorial Representations For Fraction Division, Travis Olson, Micah Stohlmann, Yichen Yang, Xing Huang

Teaching and Learning Faculty Research

Teaching fraction operations for conceptual understanding is a challenging task. For the topic of fraction division especially, teachers need support because teachers find this difficult to teach and elementary and middle school students struggle to learn this concept. Well-structured professional development can assist teachers in exploring their own understanding as well as how to incorporate multiple representations in their instruction. This naturalistic inquiry study investigated fourth to sixth grade teachers’ invented real-world problems and pictorial representations for fraction division. The teachers completed a written assessment focused on conceptual understanding of fraction operations through multiple representations at the beginning and conclusion …

Using Flipped Classrooms To Teach Mathematics To Elementary Students In Saudi Arabia, Fawaz Alrouqi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

During the years 2003, 2007, 2011, and 2015, Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) revealed that students in Saudi Arabia had a below-average mathematics performance among 4th and 8th-grade students. The modern and innovative techniques and strategies of teaching, such as the flipped classroom method, should replace traditional teaching methods to improve the performance and growth of students. This qualitative multiple case study explores a deeper understanding of the perspectives and the experiences of three elementary mathematics teachers when using a flipped classroom model in Saudi Arabia. This case study shows a promise of using the flipped classroom …

Documenting Undocumented Motives Influencing The Career Choice Of The First-Year Science And Math Student Teachers In Indonesia, Amirul Mukminin, Masbirorotni Masbirorotni, Lenny Marzulina, Dian Erlina, Akhmad Habibi, Fridiyanto Fridiyanto, Mia Aina, Nunung Fajaryani, Nurulanningsih Nurulanningsih

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The aim of this study was to investigate the motives that were instrumental in driving the first-year science and math student teachers to be a teacher at one public university in Sumatra, Indonesia. A questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were used to collect the data. 378 participants completed questionnaires consisting of 318 females and 60 males while the interview data were collected from voluntary participants. The data of the fulfilled questionnaires were calculated as percentage of their whole results while the data of the interviews were carefully analysed by looking at the responses from all interviewees. Our results indicated that there …

The Impact Of In-Class Worksheets On Student Learning, Daniela Hernandez

STEM Instructional Graduate Teaching Assistant Posters

Student engagement and knowledge retention are common challenges in college classes, especially in STEM fields. To improve these items, I strive to use active learning techniques to

• encourage students to succeed and help them reach their full potential by engaging them with the material presented.
• increase student’s interest in the subject matter
• create an interactive classroom environment with a sense of community where the students participate in activities that require them to think about and comment on the material presented.
• facilitate independent, critical and creative thinking
• increase student success rates

The purpose of this project is to determine whether the …

Cooperating Teachers' Perceived Preparedness To Support Science Teacher Candidates For Culturally Sustaining Science Teaching, Keelan Purcell Lofaro

Dissertations and Theses

In the United States, many communities face challenges that require science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) solutions. Those communities most affected by these challenges often lack opportunities in school to use their funds of knowledge as they develop STEM literacies that would equip them to address these challenges. With new national science standards and increasingly diverse student demographics in classrooms across the United States, teacher educators must utilize strategies that prepare science teacher candidates, who are predominantly White, with pedagogies that can support diverse learners in expanding their STEM literacies from their funds of knowledge. The problem of practice guiding …

Elementary Teachers’ Positive And Practical Risk-Taking When Teaching Science Through Engineering Design, Jeffrey Radloff, Brenda Capobianco, Annie Dooley

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

This study examines the perspectives of three generations of elementary teachers learning to teach science using engineering design and the risks associated with implementing this innovative type of reform-based science instruction. Data were gathered using semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and teacher reflections. Data analysis entailed open coding and document analysis. The findings indicated that there were four types of perceived risks: practical, pedagogical, conceptual, and personal. First-generation teachers exhibited conceptual risk-taking behavior, while second- and third-generation teachers reported practical, pedagogical, and personal risks. Benefits of risk-taking included increased student engagement in science, improved self-confidence in teaching science, and greater teacher …

Elementary School Student Development Of Stem Attitudes And Perceived Learning In A Stem Integrated Robotics Curriculum, Yu-Hui Ching, Dazhi Yang, Sasha Wang, Youngkyun Baek, Steve Swanson, Bhaskar Chittoori

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Robotics has been advocated as an emerging approach to engaging K-12 students in learning science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This study examined the impacts of a project-based STEM integrated robotics curriculum on elementary school students’ attitudes toward STEM and perceived learning in an afterschool setting. Three elementary school teachers and 18 fourth to sixth graders participated in an eight-week-long program. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analyzed, and showed students’ attitudes toward math improved significantly at the end of the robotics curriculum. Three specific areas of learning were identified, including STEM content learning and connection, engagement and perseverance, …

“What Will I Experience In My College Stem Courses?” An Investigation Of Student Predictions About Instructional Practices In Introductory Courses, Clara L. Meaders, Emma S. Toth, A. K. Lane, J. Kenny Shuman, Brian A. Couch, Marilyne Stains, Mackenzie R. Stetzer, Erin Vinson, Michelle K. Smith

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The instructional practices used in introductory college courses often differ dramatically from those used in high school courses, and dissatisfaction with these practices is cited by students as a prominent reason for leaving science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors. To better characterize the transition to college course work, we investigated the extent to which incoming expectations of course activities differ based on student demographic characteristics, as well as how these expectations align with what students will experience. We surveyed more than 1500 undergraduate students in large introductory STEM courses at three research-intensive institutions during the first week of classes …

Seeing And Understanding Data, Beverly Wood, Charlotte Bolch

Publications

Visual displays of data are commonly used today in media reports online or in print. For example, data visualizations are sometimes used as a marketing tool to convince people to purchase a certain product, or they are displayed in articles or magazines as a way to graphically display data to emphasize a certain point. In general, it is hard to imagine the majority of disciplines in science and mathematics not using data visualizations. However, before standard data visualization techniques were developed (and accepted by the community), mathematicians and scientists very rarely used graphical displays or pictures to represent empirical data.

Multiple Levels Of Metacognition: Circumstances Interfering With Students’ Spontaneous Metacognitive Activities, Young Rae Kim, Tamara J. Moore

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

A theoretical model of metacognition in complex modeling activities has been developed based on existing frameworks, by synthesizing the reconceptualization of metacognition at multiple levels by looking at the three sources that trigger metacognition. Using the theoretical model as a framework, this multiple-case study explores students’ spontaneous metacognitive activities while they collaboratively solve complex mathematical modeling tasks. This study used a series of model-eliciting activities—a type of problem-solving activity in which participants are required to verbalize their thoughts while working within a group—as an authentic method for analyzing verbal metacognitive actions. This study identified the circumstances facilitating or interfering with …

Robotics In Japan: A Program Design For The Experiment In International Living, Allison Barnes

Capstone Collection

“Robotics in Japan” is a science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) based program design for The Experiment in International Living (The Experiment). This design is for a four-week program for high school students. It is grounded in The Experiment’s mission and basic program structure. The purpose of Robotics in Japan is to add a STEM-based program to The Experiment’s portfolio in one of The Experiment’s most popular and marketable countries. In addition, this design adds a computer and technology theme, an area within STEM that has even less representation in The Experiment’s portfolio. In this paper, all necessary aspects to …

The Importance Of Teacher Self-Efficacy In The Implementation Of A Middle And High School Science Writing Initiative, Michelle P. Whitacre

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

This study focuses on the experiences of two science teachers who worked to implement a writing-focused, science literacy project in their classrooms. More specifically, I uncover the ways these teachers’ experiences differed and how these differences influenced their implementation. Findings confirm the importance of content teachers’ sense of self-efficacy as writers and writing teachers. In order to foster writing initiatives at the middle and secondary levels, we must honor and nurture content teachers’ sense of self-efficacy and give them multiple opportunities to develop mastery experiences.