Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Experiential Programs: Best Practice: Effective Programs Are Experiential, Allison Brody

Education about the Environment

“Teaching by pouring in” refers to a medieval belief that we could teach people by drilling holes in the human head and, with a funnel, pour information into the brain. We laugh at this idea, yet we still see educators and interpreters use passive instruction to “fill up” the brains of their audiences.

Think back on how you learned to ride a bicycle. You took an action, saw the consequences of that action, and chose either to continue or to take a new and different action. What allowed you to master the new skill of riding a bicycle was your …

Field-Based Science Education With A Community Service Learning Focus, William Robertson

Departmental Papers (TE)

Field-based program of studies for future teachers provides opportunities for powerful learning through a dialectical union of reflection and action. Methods courses in academic disciplines are linked with seminars and coursework on community partnerships, critical pedagogy and culturally responsive education. This article illustrates the processes of planning, implementation and evaluation of this approach, highlighting the impacts of community service learning on parents, families, students, and schools with a focus on validating native language literacy, increasing parental involvement and providing conceptually correct science education. The project indicates that two-way dual language programs with a strong parent engagement component can help improve …

El Uso De Preguntas Y Descubrimiento En El Contexto De Química, William Robertson

Departmental Papers (TE)

This article, written in Spanish, describes the impacts of an effort to increase the teaching abilities of a group of Chemistry Peer Leaders working with undergraduates in fundamental Chemistry classes. The provided abstracts, in Spanish and English, describe the overall approach and the results obtained from the study done in the fall of 2005. A partnership between the College of Education and the College of Science at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) which was developed in order to strengthen the pedagogical methods within the context of chemistry content for student Peer Leaders. The goal was to enhance …

America's Lost Landscape: The Tallgrass Prairie Activity Guide, University Of Northern Iowa. Tallgrass Prairie Center.

K-12 Curriculum Supplements

This book is a K-12 curriculum supplement developed by the Tallgrass Prairie Center at the University of Northern Iowa to accompany the film, America's Lost Landscape. The activity guide was used in the educators' workshop held at the University of of Northern Iowa in fall 2007.

Reinventing A Level 7 Programme In Electrical Engineering And Greatly Improving On Student Retention, Eugene Coyle, Mike Murphy, Frank Costello, Leslie Shoemaker

Books/Book chapters

Following the successful implementation over a number of decades of a three-year Diploma in Electrical and Control Engineering at Technological University Dublin, the programme entered a period of extreme difficulty and uncertainty in the late nineteen ninetees and early years of the new millennium. As with many such engineering programmes, student numbers seeking to enter began to diminish. Furthermore, engagement and retention of students who had enrolled on the programme became evermore challenging, necessitating some radical moves in the formation and operation of the programme and in putting additional student support mechanisms in place. The situation hit rock bottom between …

Dna: Modeling Structure And Function, Jennifer A. R. Smith, Cynthia J. Martin

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

This article presents a developmentally appropriate approach to introduce high school biology students to the structure of DNA and illustrate how its structure and function are related. We address the importance of beginning instruction with a concrete representation of DNA, and using it to scaffold to several important biological concepts. We also make clear the teacher's crucial role in this scaffolding process. This article promotes National Science Education Content Standards C and G, and Iowa Teaching Standards 1, 2, 3, 4, and 7.

Title Page - Table Of Contents

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

No abstract provided.

When Molecular Worlds Collide: Developing The Conceptual Groundwork Needed To Understand Molecular Motion, Scott M. Moore Jr., Kara Victorsen

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

The activity described in this article introduces students to the concept of molecular motion and how it is affected by temperature using two simple ingredients: water and food coloring. In the hands of a highly effective science teacher, this activity will promote student inquiry, creative and critical thinking, effective communication, and cooperative learning. This activity is appropriate for use in both physical science and chemistry. The activity described here promotes National Science Education Content Standards A, B, and G, and Iowa Teaching Standards 1, 2, 3, and 5.

Title Page - Table Of Contents

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

No abstract provided.

Synergistic Relationships: Why Effective Teaching Is Complex, Michael P. Clough

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

The crucial role of teachers in creating powerful learning environments has been a consistent feature of editorials and articles appearing in ISTJ under my editorship. Research makes clear that what teachers do significantly impacts their students' achievement, interest in a field of study, and attitude toward schooling in general. The cognitive and affective climate of classrooms is influenced by the learning and behavioral expectations set by teachers, the activities and instructional strategies they choose, the behaviors they exhibit when interacting with students, and many other important teacher decisions.

On Cloud 9: Helping Students Relate The Concept Of Differential Heating To Changes In Weather, Elizabeth White, Morgan Pett

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

Understanding the basic features that drive the weather is important for understanding weather forecasting. In this activity students investigate differential heating and then connect that understanding to weather. Students are required to design a procedure, collect data, and make sense of that data. These investigative skills require students to be mentally engaged, and better model what scientists do while highlighting the inquisitive nature of science. This activity promotes National Science Education Standards A, B, D, and G and Iowa Teaching Standards 1, 2, 3, and 6.

How Are We Stacking Up?: Current Reforms In Science Education Twelve Years After Publication Of The National Science Education Standards, Robert E. Yager

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

In education Science-Technology-Society (STS) is commonly viewed as another add-on to a course or the curriculum. This view portrays STS as being plagued with the same problems as traditional teaching of science and technology; information is transmitted to students by lecture, verification laboratories, or textbooks and other written materials. This article presents the case that STS instruction, when effectively implemented, captures more broadly key aspects of both science and technology, and does not succumb to the common problems of traditional instruction. Essential characteristics of effective science teaching are presented.

Iowa Academy Of Science: The New Bulletin, V03n1, Winter 2007, Iowa Academy Of Science

New Bulletin

Inside This Issue:

--Message from the Executive Director

--New IAS Membership Brochure

--Evolution and Intelligent Design Conference

--REAP-CEP Program Funds Project WET

--National Outstanding New Biology Teacher

--119th Annual Meeting

--Financial Statements 2007

--Expedition Iowa

--A Message from Our President

--IAS Section Update

--Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science Update

--Outstanding Earth Science Teacher Award

Cover - Table Of Contents

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

Weather Factors Influencing Winter Roosts Of American Crows In Central Iowa, Joshua D. Obrecht, Stephen J. Dinsmore

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

We investigated the effects of season and weather on the winter roosting behavior of American Crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos) in central Iowa from January through March 2006. The peak number of birds recorded at a roost in Ames, Story County was 9,000+ in early February, and the number of individuals entering the roost decreased through February and March. Crows tended to enter the roost later in the day as winter neared completion. High wind speed and low light intensity caused individual to enter the roost earlier in the day. Temperature did not affect arrival time of crows. Wind speed, light intensity, …

Editorial Board & Iowa Academy Of Science Officers And Directors

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

Back Cover

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

Iowa Academy Of Science 119th Annual Meeting [2007]: Advance Program, Iowa Academy Of Science

Iowa Academy of Science Documents

Contains information about the schedule and presentations for the 2007 annual meeting of the Iowa Academy of Science.

Ua64/2 The Challenge: Magazine Of The Center For Gifted Studies (No. 18, Winter 2007), Center For Gifted Studies, Tracy Inman Editor

Gifted Studies Publications

No abstract provided.

Relatório Do Projeto: Os Livros Didáticos De Ciências Para O Ensino Secundário Brasileiro Do Século Xix [Project Report: Science Textbooks In Brazilian Secondary Education During The Nineteenth Century], Karl M. Lorenz

Education Faculty Publications

Este trabalho apresenta os objetivos, metodologia, e resultados sumários de uma pesquisa historiográfica, iniciada em 2002 e recém concluída, que identifica, descreve e contextualiza 32 textos escolares utilizados no Colégio de pero II, por ser este o modelo instituição secundário durante o século. O projeto envolveu a consulta de 13 programas de ensino correspondentes de reformas educacionais da Corte, e a identificação dos textos, as edições possivelmente usados, e seus autores, com base nas informações parciais contidos nos mesmos. O trabalho também descreve a utilização de fontes eletrônicas como Google, Projeto Gallica do BNF, o Worldcat, sistema de documentação da …

Title Page

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

No abstract provided.

Beyond The Textbook: Lessons Learned From Two Years As A Mathematics Specialist, K. Race

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

No abstract provided.

Approaching Mathematics Utopia?, F. Morton

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

No abstract provided.

The Mathematics Specialist: A Personal View, E. Sinclair

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

No abstract provided.

Thinking Outside The Box: An Introspective Look At The Use Of Art In Teaching Geometry, Elizabeth Heskett

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

Geometry is typically thought of as a discipline in mathematics that is taught using formulas and basic shapes, but this idea is only the beginning. Geometry can be combined with art to enhance mathematical lessons for students. Educators must realize that visual representations of different mathematical concepts are a wonderful way to teach children geometry in a meaningful way. The “fundamental notion that integrating the arts into one’s teaching can help facilitate learning in the mathematics classroom, as the arts can recapture the wonder of learning mathematics. The connection between instruction and imagination is bridged and learning becomes play, and …

Making Some Bones About It, Roxanne Greitz Miller, Frank Frisch

Education Faculty Articles and Research

The article discusses the importance of bone tissue to human beings and the ways to help students to understand its functions. The bone tissue forms the human skeleton to produce varied motions such as walking and talking. In addition, it protects the vital organs of a person and contributes the development of blood. The bone is composed of bone matrix, a dense material occupied by calcium and potassium salts. The matrix comprises several cell types including osteoblasts, osteocytes and osteoclasts. According to the author, a continuous influx of new calcium is necessary because of the constant remodeling of bone tissue. …

Elementary Mathematics Specialists – We Need Them Now! Follow Virginia's Lead!, F. Fennell

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

No abstract provided.

The Mathematics Specialist As Visionary Strategist, K. Anderson

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

No abstract provided.

The Mathematics Specialist From A Dual Language Immersion Perspective, M. Aguilar

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

No abstract provided.

What Beliefs And Intended Actions Do Reform-Prepared Mathematics And Science Teachers Convey To The Workplace?, J. R. Mcginnis, G. Marbach-Ad

Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations

No abstract provided.