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Science and Mathematics Education Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Science and Mathematics Education

Applying Cluster Analysis To Student Responses From Energy Surveys For Identification Of Commonalities In Their Understanding, Arianna Giguere May 2020

Applying Cluster Analysis To Student Responses From Energy Surveys For Identification Of Commonalities In Their Understanding, Arianna Giguere

Honors College

Energy is a complicated model that has been developed to describe matter to matter interactions. Since energy can be challenging to define, there are inconsistencies among even teachers and physicists in how they define the concept. It is no wonder that students themselves carry misconceptions and confusions. While it may be difficult to teach, an understanding of energy from a young age is essential for the future of technology, climate change, and scientific discoveries. Middle school students in Maine are required to learn about energy transformation, conservation, and forms, and from 2011-2018, researchers at the University of Maine administered multiple …


Florida Science: The Science That Makes Florida Different, Terence W. Cavanaugh Jan 2019

Florida Science: The Science That Makes Florida Different, Terence W. Cavanaugh

Secondary Level Resources

This book was created to assist students with their understanding of how science occurs in Florida. When teaching science or any subject it’s important to remember to begin with the concrete and then move to the abstract. I have found that it has helped my students when I begin by teaching science concepts in a concrete manner and expand from there. For example, when I taught about topographic maps, the students were much more successful in their learning when I started with local topographic maps that included the school and the surrounding area than with places that had mountains or …


Students Talk About Energy In Project- Based Inquiry Science, Benedikt W. Harrer, Virginia J. Flood, Michael C. Wittmann Jan 2013

Students Talk About Energy In Project- Based Inquiry Science, Benedikt W. Harrer, Virginia J. Flood, Michael C. Wittmann

Faculty Publications

We examine the types of emergent language eighth grade students in rural Maine middle schools use when they discuss energy in their first experiences with Project-Based Inquiry Science: Energy, a research-based curriculum that uses a specific language for talking about energy. By comparative analysis of the language used by the curriculum materials to students’ language, we find that students’ talk is at times more aligned with a Stores and Transfer model of energy than the Forms model supported by the curriculum.


Students Talk About Energy In Project- Based Inquiry Science, Benedikt W. Harrer, Virginia J. Flood, Michael C. Wittmann Jan 2013

Students Talk About Energy In Project- Based Inquiry Science, Benedikt W. Harrer, Virginia J. Flood, Michael C. Wittmann

Benedikt W. Harrer

We examine the types of emergent language eighth grade students in rural Maine middle schools use when they discuss energy in their first experiences with Project-Based Inquiry Science: Energy, a research-based curriculum that uses a specific language for talking about energy. By comparative analysis of the language used by the curriculum materials to students’ language, we find that students’ talk is at times more aligned with a Stores and Transfer model of energy than the Forms model supported by the curriculum.


Confirmation And Investigation Of Higher Science Curiosity In Juarez Middle School Students Compared To Their Peers In El Paso, Texas, Karla Carmona Miranda Jan 2012

Confirmation And Investigation Of Higher Science Curiosity In Juarez Middle School Students Compared To Their Peers In El Paso, Texas, Karla Carmona Miranda

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In the last 20 years attitudes towards science and science classes in K-12 education have been an important topic of investigation due to the decreasing number of students choosing Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) related careers, and the increasing need for STEM prepared workers to cover the job demands of the future. The purpose of this study is to confirm a previously measured difference in scientific curiosity between middle school students in El Paso and in Ciudad Juarez, and to collect additional data that might tell us what the possible factors or reasons for this difference are. Our sample …