Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Sociocultural Factors That Influence Latinas’ Stem Trajectory, Kristen Hallas, Angela M. Chapman

Critical Proceedings of the STEM ED Conference (2023)

Females and people of color continue to be excluded from the STEM workforce, and those with identities intersecting those factors, like Latinas, experience exclusion at a greater scale. Though Western-focused scholars try to describe the experiences of historically excluded groups, their efforts have not significantly increased the inclusion in certain disciplines, especially for those with intersecting identities. This study explores what motivates Latinas to pursue a STEM degree at a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) and analyzes these experiences with a LatCrit lens.

Reimagining Teaching And Learning In Steam: Cultivating Sustainable Symbiotic Relationships Among Faculty And Students At An Hsi, Karin A. Lewis, Miryam Espinosa-Dulanto, Vejoya Viren, David Martinez-Prieto, Silvia P. Solis

Critical Proceedings of the STEM ED Conference (2023)

No abstract provided.

Steminism: Analyzing Factors That Improve Retention Of Women In Stem, Kira Carter, Jane Kelley, Jason Vasser-Elong, Rc Patterson

Dissertations

Our co-authored research ‘Steminism: Analyzing Factors That Improve Retention for Women as STEM Majors’ analyzed factors that contributed to the retention of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs at Missouri University of Science & Technology (Missouri S&T). Women make up half of the US population, and while careers in (STEM) are an integral part of the US economy, women are underrepresented in these career fields. The purpose of our dissertation is to address the underrepresentation of women in STEM majors. Our methodology included homogeneous sampling to collect qualitative data. More specifically, we consulted with academic advisors and …

Using Trees To See A Forest: Leveraging Machine Learning To Classify Student Thinking, Darryl Chamberlain, Patrick Mcguinness, Emily Faulconer, Beverly Wood

Publications

ChatGPT has caught the world’s attention and has researchers considering the ways artificial intelligence can be integrated into human endeavors (Kasneci et al., 2023). This methodological poster will present a systematic method to apply a particular machine learning classification model, Decision Tree (Song & Lu, 2015), to perform and extend the scale of qualitative analysis in mathematics education research.

Using A Two-Way Engagement Community- And Family-Centered Pedagogy To Prepare Pre-Service Mathematics Teachers In A Hispanic-Serving Institution, Olga Ramirez, Mayra Ortiz Galarza, Luis M. Fernandez

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

Research on effective methods to prepare pre-service teachers (PSTs) in teaching mathematics to K-12 Latin* students has been gaining significant momentum. These efforts have focused, in part, on promoting pedagogical practices that recognize and incorporate the culture and language that K-12 Latin* students and their communities share. As teacher educators, we argue that if we are to further prepare PSTs to serve the needs of such increasingly diversifying K-12 student population, the same pedagogical focus on the learner’s cultural wealth should also be applied to the preparation of PSTs themselves, especially among Latin* PSTs in Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) like …

Building Connections: The Power Of Embedding Literacy And Math Content Into Science And Social Studies Contexts, Rachel Hallett-Njuguna Edd

Constellations: Online STEM Teacher Education Journal

Nationally, the lack of improvement in literacy scores continues to baffle experts. Instructional leaders from math, science, and social studies in one district knew the value of leveraging their subject areas to support literacy achievement in secondary students. Starting with an engaging STEM-related novel, the group of curriculum experts developed meaningful literacy connected tasks for their teacher and teacher leader participants. Working through the activities as their students would, the group found a new appreciation for the importance of leveraging the relevance of science and social studies content and the usefulness of math content when creating literacy lessons. The group’s …

Table Of Contents

Early College Folio

(2023) "Table of Contents," Early College Folio: Vol. 3: Iss. 1, Article 1. Available at: https://digitalcommons.bard.edu/earlycollegefolio/vol3/iss1/1

Place-Based Education: A Pedagogy Of Community

The International Journal of Ecopsychology (IJE)

Every place, no matter how seemingly mundane or described as ‘exotic,’ has a story—a human story involving culture (history, language, migration, etc.); a natural story involving land and water, plants and animals, and other natural phenomena; and a story that combines the two—humans in the natural space and their impact on that space. The degree to which we know the story of a place informs our connection to that place, be it positive, negative, or neutral. The incorporation of these stories—the cultural, historical, and ecological stories of a place—into school curricula is known as place-based education (PBE) and is the …

“It’S Just Lines”: A Qualitative Analysis Of Emergent Structures And Experiences Within Steam Education Initiatives For Secondary-Level Students, John O'Meara

LASER Journal

This qualitative analysis is oriented around the experiences and discourse of high school students participating in LASER (Linking Art and Science through Education and Research), an initiative at Montclair State University in Montclair, NJ that seeks mathematics and physics education reform through an immersive and innovative approach to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) experiences. This work focuses on the concluding task of a one-day workshop wherein students are led on a campus walk to observe the local campus architecture, and then must recreate one of the observed structures within the Desmos graphing utility. Student approaches and narratives reveal …

Broadening Participation Of Teachers In Computing: Examining Postsecondary Educational Experiences And Prospective Educators’ Cs Teaching Interests, Robert Schwarzhaupt, Alexsandra Galanis, Joanna Goode, Kate Blanchard, Jill Bowdon, Joseph P. Wilson

Journal of Computer Science Integration

Teacher shortages in K–12 computer science (CS) education negatively impact students’ access to CS courses, exposure to CS concepts, and interest in CS-related careers. To address CS teacher shortages, this study seeks to understand factors related to expressing a preference to teach CS among prospective teachers. The study team analyzed data from 27,700 prospective teacher applications accepted into the 2016–2020 Teach For America (TFA) corps (cohorts). The TFA corps is an alternative teacher development program that recruits and prepares participants to obtain their teaching certification while they work for at least two years in underserved communities on a temporary teaching …

Cognitive Load Scale In Learning Formal Definition Of Limit: A Rasch Model Approach, Rina Oktaviyanthi, Ria Noviana Agus, Mark Lester B. Garcia, Kornkanok Lertdechapat

Mathematics Faculty Publications

Constructing proofs for the limit using the formal definition induces a high cognitive load. Common assessment tools, like cognitive load scales, lack specificity for the concept of limits. This research aims to validate an instrument tailored to assess cognitive load in students focused on the formal definition of limits, addressing the need for diverse strategies in education. The research employs a quantitative survey design with a Rasch model approach, utilizing a data collection instrument in the form of a questionnaire. Subsequently, the data are analyzed by focusing on three aspects: (1) item fit to the Rasch model, (2) unidimensionality, and …

Polygon Quadrature And Dodecagonal Tessellation With Pattern Blocks, Gunhan Caglayan, Ben Kamau

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

The age-old challenge of polygon quadrature involves converting a polygon into a square of equal area. In this educational resource, we utilize pattern blocks, commonly employed instructional aids in K-12 education across the United States, to visually demonstrate the transformation of different equilateral and regular pattern block polygons into squares. This is achieved through the application of the area conservation principle and geometric congruence/similarity reasoning.

Seating Groups And 'What A Coincidence!': Mathematics In The Making And How It Gets Presented, Peter J. Rowlett

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Mathematics is often presented as a neatly polished finished product, yet its development is messy and often full of mis-steps that could have been avoided with hindsight. An experience with a puzzle illustrates this conflict. The puzzle asks for the probability that a group of four and a group of two are seated adjacently within a hundred seats, and is solved using combinatorics techniques.

Undergraduate Mathematics Students Question And Critique Society Through Mathematical Modeling, Will Tidwell, Amy Bennett

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Mathematics can be used as a tool to question and critique society and, in doing so, give us more information about the world around us and how it operates. This however, is not a common perspective that is conveyed to students during their undergraduate mathematics coursework. This paper contributes to the understanding of how undergraduate mathematics students question and critique society via mathematical modeling tasks. In two courses at two universities, 27 mathematics majors and secondary preservice teachers engaged in the modeling process situated in authentic contexts to learn specific concepts and make mathematical connections across domains and disciplines. Both …

Sharing Four Biscuits Between Three People: An Illustrative Example Of How Mathematics Is Intertwined With Human Values, Lovisa Sumpter, David Sumpter

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Despite convincing arguments by mathematicians, philosophers, sociologists and machine learning practitioners to the contrary, there remains a widespread notion amongst many members of the general public (and some practitioners) that mathematics is neutral, that it is free from human values. One reason why this notion persists is that we lack clear-cut examples that demonstrate how mathematics and values are intertwined. In this paper, we offer one such example. In particular, we show that when sharing four biscuits between three people, several possible mathematical and ethical frameworks can be used. We demonstrate that different solutions—hiding one biscuit, arbitrarily sharing the extra …

Finding Your Mathematical Roots: Inclusion And Identity Development In Mathematics, Linda Mcguire

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

This paper details a semester-long course project that has been successfully adapted for use in mathematics courses ranging from introductory level, general-education classes to advanced courses in the mathematics major. Through creating aspirational mathematical family trees and writing mathematical autobiographies, this assignment is designed to help battle belonging uncertainty, to challenge students to self-situate in relation to the history of mathematical and scientific knowledge, and to make visible a student’s developing identity in mathematics and, more broadly, in STEM.

The construction and scaffolding of the project, assignments, examples of student work, foundational readings, assessment and outcomes, and adaptation strategies for …

Gödel's Theorem In The Continuing Education Of Mathematics Teachers, Ana J. Lemes

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

The notion of dépaysement épistémologique (epistemological disorientation) aims to capture the sense of disorientation when a learner is led to question their prior assumptions and understandings, generating uncertainty in a context in which they thought they had certain knowledge. This article describes an activity used with a group of practicing mathematics teachers in Uruguay that integrates elements of the history of mathematics related to Gödel’s incompleteness theorem, with the aim of provoking in the participants the experience of dépaysement épistémologique. Results show that several of the teachers participating in the activity felt dépaysement épistémologique, and this feeling triggered …

Numeracy Tasks: Inspiring Transfer Between Concrete And Abstract Thinking Spaces, Taras Gula, Miroslav Lovric

Numeracy

In our paper we build a case for conceptualizing numeracy tasks as distinct from mathematical tasks (or at least as a special type of mathematical task), and for abstraction and interpretation as a set of key activities necessary for designating a numeracy task as being high-quality. We start with an attempt to tame the fuzziness of numeracy and its family members (including quantitative reasoning, quantitative literacy, mathematical literacy, and the word problem cousins) by outlining six areas of consensus gleaned from literature. These provide the foundation for a core mandate of numeracy. We then build our case for the distinctness …

The Effectiveness Of An Educational Program In Developing Mathematical Achievement As Well As Developing Productive Struggle Among Students Of Intermediate Stage, Ibrahim A. Khalil Ph.D.

International Journal for Research in Education

This study aimed to identify the effectiveness of an educational program in developing Mathematical Achievement and productive struggle among students of intermediate stage. To fulfil its goals the study used the quasi-experimental approach, based on the design of two equivalent groups. It also used the Teacher's Guide - an activity booklet as study material, in addition to the use of two tools to collect data. One of them is an achievement test that included (three levels of mathematical knowledge related to equation and inequalities) and the other is a productive struggle scale (divided into three axes). The study sample consisted …

Easy, Bright, Fluorescence Demonstration Of Buffer Action, Mariana Dykstra, Yejin Chung, Mark Muyskens

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

We report an attractive update to the demonstration of acid–base buffer action that is appropriate for ease of use and getting attention in the classroom. The twist is based on new fluorophore information and the recent availability of UV flashlights serving as an ideal, portable excitation light source. The pH-dependent fluorescence comes from a choice among three natural sources, namely narra tree wood extract, kidneywood extract, and scopoletin, which is a purchasable coumarin, that all perform equally well. We provide practical details for performing the buffer demonstration at scales of 100 and 1000 mL and give background information for context.

“That Cross-Curricular Business”: The Engineering Design Process In Mathematics And Science Classrooms, Eugenia Vomvoridi-Ivanovic, Tonisha B. Lane, Leia K. Cain, Salam Ahmad, Selene Willis, Jonathan E. Gaines

The Qualitative Report

The engineering design process (EDP) is one tool teachers can use to facilitate STEM integration. As part of a larger three-year longitudinal research project regarding engineering identity development among middle school youth in a summer robotics outreach program, this study aims to understand teachers’ willingness to incorporate engineering design in their classrooms through an exploration of their perceptions of the EDP, its applications to their subject matter and classroom context, methods of enacting the EDP, and perceived challenges to and supports for doing so. We conducted a qualitative case study and drew our results from focus groups and semi-structured interviews …

Special Issue On Public Policy: Front Matter

CODEE Journal

The Front Matter contains the Editor-in-Chief's Foreword, a Dedicatory by Associate Editor Douglas Meade, a Preface by the Special Editors Bev West and Samer Habre, and the Table of Contents.

Full Issue - Engaging The World: Differential Equations Can Influence Public Policies

CODEE Journal

This is the full issue (front matter and all papers) of the Third CODEE Special Issue, with the theme, "Engaging the World: Differential Equations can Influence Public Policies."

Seeing Eye To Eye? Comparing Faculty And Student Perceptions Of Biomolecular Visualization Assessments, Josh T. Beckham, Daniel R. Dries, Bonnie L. Hall, Rarchel M. Mitton-Fry, Shelly Engelman, Charmita Burch, Roderico Acevedo, Pamela S. Mertz, Didem Vardar-Ulu, Swati Agrawal, Kristin M. Fox, Shane Austin, Margaret A. Franzen, Henry V. Jakubowski, Walter R. P. Novak, Rebecca Roberts, Alberto I. Roca, Kristen Procko

Chemistry Faculty Publications

While visual literacy has been identified as a foundational skill in life science education, there are many challenges in teaching and assessing biomolecular visualization skills. Among these are the lack of consensus about what constitutes competence and limited understanding of student and instructor perceptions of visual literacy tasks. In this study, we administered a set of biomolecular visualization assessments, developed as part of the BioMolViz project, to both students and instructors at multiple institutions and compared their perceptions of task difficulty. We then analyzed our findings using a mixed-methods approach. Quantitative analysis was used to answer the following research questions: …

How Mathematicians Characterize And Attempt To Develop Understanding Of Concepts And Definitions In Proof-Based Courses, Rachel Rupnow, Timothy Fukawa-Connelly

Faculty Articles, Papers, and Other Scholarship

Mathematics education research has long focused on students’ conceptual understanding, including highlighting conceptions viewed as problematic and looking for ways to develop more desirable conceptions. Nevertheless, limited research has examined how mathematicians characterize understanding of concepts and definitions or promote activities beneficial for students. Based on interviews with 13 mathematicians, we present thematic characterizations of what it means to understand a concept and definition, highlight activities mathematicians believe assist students’ learning, and examine their reasons for promoting these activities.

Results include mathematically grounded descriptions of what it means to understand a concept but general descriptions of approaching and supporting learning. …

Instructional Decision Making In A Gateway Quantitative Reasoning Course, Deependra Budhathoki, Gregory D. Foley, Stephen Shadik

Numeracy

Many educators and professional organizations recommend Quantitative Reasoning as the best entry-level postsecondary mathematics course for non-STEM majors. However, novice and veteran instructors who have no prior experience in teaching a QR course often express their ignorance of the content to choose for this course, the instruction to offer students, and the assessments to measure student learning. We conducted a case study to investigate the initial implementation of an entry-level university quantitative reasoning course during fall semester, 2018. The participants were the course instructor and students. We examined the instructor’s motives and actions and the students’ responses to the course. …

Differential Equations For A Changing World:How To Engage Students In Learning And Applying Differential Equations, Biyong Luo

CODEE Journal

In this article, I share my decade-long experience teaching an intensive five-week summer Differential Equation course covering complex topics and tips for creating an interactive and supportive learning environment to optimize student engagement. This article provides my detailed approach to planning and teaching an asynchronous course with rigor and flexibility for each student. An interactive teaching approach and variety of learning activities will augment students’ mathematical fluency and appreciation of the importance of differential equations in modeling a wide variety of real-world situations with special attention to ways differential equations can be relevant to creating public policy.

Odes And Mandatory Voting, Christoph Borgers, Natasa Dragovic, Anna Haensch, Arkadz Kirshtein, Lilla Orr

CODEE Journal

This paper presents mathematics relevant to the question whether voting should be mandatory. Assuming a static distribution of voters’ political beliefs, we model how politicians might adjust their positions to raise their share of the vote. Various scenarios can be explored using our app at https: //centrism.streamlit.app/. Abstentions are found to have great impact on the dynamics of candidates, and in particular to introduce the possibility of discontinuous jumps in optimal candidate positions. This is an unusual application of ODEs. We hope that it might help engage some students who may find it harder to connect with the more customary …

Pre-Service Teachers Notice Student Thinking: Then What?, Tara Barnhart, Heather J. Johnson, Miray Tekkumru-Kisa

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Research has demonstrated that pre-service teachers (PSTs) can learn to notice students’ thinking in sophisticated ways by analyzing videos of classroom interactions. What is less clear is how PSTs use what they notice about student thinking to inform how they respond. Secondary math and science PSTs from three teacher preparation programs were invited to analyze a video clip identifying noteworthy moments of student thinking and describing an instructional move they might make and why. A qualitative analysis of their responses indicates that the PSTs overwhelmingly noticed both the substance and the source of students’ ideas. However, the patterns in their …

Blue Whale And Krill Populations Modeling, Li Zhang

CODEE Journal

We present an intriguing topic in an undergraduate mathematical modeling course where predator-prey models are taught to our students. We describe modeling activities and the use of technology that can be implemented in teaching this topic. Through modeling activities, students are expected to use the numerical and graphical methods to observe the qualitative long-term behavior of predator and prey populations. Although there are other choices of predators and prey, we find that using blue whales and krill as predator and prey, respectively, would be most beneficial in strengthening our students' awareness of protecting endangered species and its impact on climate …