Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Teaching Science To English Only And Limited English Proficient Students In The Elementary Classroom, Darla Kay Cadman Stapel

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Cultural Constructivist Approach To The Teaching Of Evolution, William W. Cobern

Scientific Literacy and Cultural Studies Project

Educators typically think that one teaches evolution to develop students' conceptual understanding of evolution. It is assumed that if students understand evolution they will believe it. From a constructivist perspective it can be argued that understanding and belief, though related, are distinct concepts each of which is a potential goal for instruction. Though there are good reasons why belief should not be an instructional goal, achieving conceptual understanding requires that issues of belief be addressed. The point is that students are not likely to gain much understanding of something that they dismiss outright as unbelievable. What counts as believable for …

Alternative Constructions Of Science And Science Education, William W. Cobern

Scientific Literacy and Cultural Studies Project

I want to begin today with two short personal remarks. My field of research at home is the cultural study of science education. In other words, I am interested in what is commonly called the culture of science and how that becomes interpreted in science education by teacher and curriculum. I am interested in the variation of culture among American students, cultural variations grounded in family and community and brought to the classroom. I am interested in the cultural interactions that are precipitated by the meeting of cultures in the science classroom. In my current work I use worldview concepts …

Worldview Theory And Conceptual Change In Science Education, William W. Cobern

Scientific Literacy and Cultural Studies Project

Once again science education finds itself in the midst of reform. Reform documents are too numerous to mention by name but they all share the same view that Americans know far too little science. Durant (1990) noted that even the well educated often know little science. Of course every reform document by its very nature offers a solution. Many in the science education research community "see conceptual change as the emerging focus of science teaching" (Wandersee, 1993, p. 319) and thus focus their research interests here as well. To borrow warfare metaphors, conceptual change activities are tactical devices used to …

Selective Recovery Of Β-Galactosidase With Charged Fusion Tails Using Ion-Exchange Membranes, Erika A. Thiem, Meng H. Heng

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

We explored the feasibility of attaching charged tails to a target protein, in this case β-galactosidase, for selective recovery. In this process, an ion-exchange membrane was used for selective binding and release of β-galactosidase with the attached purification fusions. Strength of binding and purity of eluate increased with increasing tail length. In addition, activity yield was improved with the implementation of an intermediate partial elution recycle procedure.

Research Papers By 1992 And 1993 Interns In The Program For Women In Science And Engineering At Iowa State University, Mary Ann Evans, Krishna S. Athreya

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

The papers in this volume offer a sampling of the outstanding work of high school and undergraduate interns who participated in the 1992 and 1993 Program for Women in Science and Engineering (PWSE) summer internship programs. From synthesis of materials to developing effective methods of hazardous waste disposal, from nondestructive structural studies at the macroscopic level to microstructural analyses of materials, from testing precision of sensors used as aids in agriculture to isolating effects of specific parameters on plant growth, to name a few, these papers span a wide range of scientific methods and disciplines. They serve as testimony to …

How To Improve Students' Problem Solving Skills: K-4, Chuong Hoang Pham

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Cover - Table Of Contents

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

Front Matter

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

Cover - Table Of Contents

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Competition And Predation On Prothonotary Warblers And House Wrens Nesting In Eastern Iowa, Timothy Brush

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

In a fragmented midwestern floodplain forest, a small Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea) population experienced high competition with House Wrens (Troglodytes aedon) and mammalian nest predation in 1988-89. Despite the provision of 3 types of nest boxes and higher water levels, Prothonotary Warblers did not nest successfully and decreased in the fragmented forest in 1990-91. House Wrens used >90% of the nest boxes in both years. Wren territories doubled within the nestbox area, while remaining constant on an unmanipulated area. In contrast, a larger warbler population had high nesting success during 1990-91 in a relatively unfragmented, wetter forest tract. Such forests, …

Front Matter

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

Use Of Ion Exchange Membranes For Selective Recovery Of Aspergillus Awamori Glucoamylase And Phage T4 Lysozyme, Deborah K. Stafslein, Jeff M. Hunter, Craig E. Forney

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Our research examined whether enhanced separation and purification of mutant enzymes could be obtained on ion-exchange membranes. Solutions of three mutants of Aspergillus awamori glucoamylase were passed through an anionic exchange membrane, as well as one mutant of T4 lysozyme through a cationic exchange membrane. The mutant enzymes were modified by adding "charged fusions'', polypeptides of either aspartic acid residues to increase the overall negative charge of the enzyme or arginine residues to increase the overall positive charge. The effect of the mutations on the purification of glucoamylase from a "modified" fermentation broth were examined at two different elution pHs, …

Age And Developmental History Of Iowa Fens, C. A. Thompson, E. A. Bettis Iii

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Iowa fens are small, mineorotrophic peatlands maintained by shallow groundwater. Eighteen fen sites located across northern Iowa were mapped and radiocarbon dated to assess the timing of initial peat accumulation. The radiocarbon ages span the Holocene, ranging from 1,240 to 10,900 B.P.; however most fens postdate 5,000 yr B.P. The dominance of late-Holocene ages suggests that Holocene climatic change may have strongly influenced the record of peat accumulation. During the mid-Holocene Iowa was warmer and drier than at present, and peat was degraded or accumulated slowly in fens. The range of ages also implies that the commencement and subsequent rate …

Nomenclatural Changes For Some Diatoms Found In Iowa, David B. Czarnecki

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Nomenclatural revisions for four diatom taxa found in Iowa, two of which are presently maintained in the Loras College Freshwater Diatom Culture Collection (FDCC), are necessary because of systematic interpretations of the Division Bacillariophyta. Achnanthidium hauckianum (Grun.) Czarnecki comb. nov. was originally assigned to the genus Achnanthes Bory. Three taxa were previously assigned to the morphologically diverse genus Navicula Bory. These are Cavinula weinzierlii (Schimanski) Czarnecki comb. nov., Craticula cuspidata var. major [(Meist.) Czarnecki comb. nov. and] Craticula halophila var. subcapitata (0str.) Czarnecki comb. nov.

Science Notes - Nabt Announces

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

The National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) is seeking nominations for five secondary school biology teaching awards. Recipients will be recognized at the NABT National Convention in St. Louis, MO, November 16-19, 1994.

Science Notes - Aviation/Aerospace Teacher Institute

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

Teachers are invited to participate in the Science Center of Iowa's Aviation/ Aerospace Teacher Institute which will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., July 11-15, 1994. Teachers will receive classroom materials and training in a number of space-related activities. Activities will include simulating an aerospace flight and the design of the first Martian city.

Astronomy Bulletin - The Night Sky: July 5, 1994 To September 24, 1994, Patrick Steven Leiker

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

No abstract provided.

Science Notes - Ice Cream: An Edible Experiment In Thermodynamics

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

Ice keeps things cold because it absorbs energy from its surroundings, melting as it does so. The temperature at which a solid melts, called its melting point, is the same temperature at which the liquid form freezes. For pure water, this is 0° or 32° F. However, if some other substance, such as salt, is added to the water or ice, the freezing/melting point temperature is lowered. Thus, you can use salted ice to freeze liquid water.

Science Notes - Papers Solicited For Biology Curriculum Workshop

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

A workshop focusing on "Integrating Biology Across the Curriculum" will be held September 23-24, 1994. Educators are invited to submit abstracts describing exemplary integration strategies and information about successful and unsuccessful programs.

Editor's Corner - Editorial Privileges, Carl W. Bollwinkel

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

The editorship of the Iowa Science Teachers Journal has brought many privileges to this editor. Perhaps the greatest of these is the responsibility of determining what is most helpful for Journal readers and authors-those who establish the standards of science education in Iowa. This has not been an easy task and has often led to disagreement. This disagreement has been the basis of professional growth for writers, readers and editors-especially this editor. It is truly a privilege to maintain standards of quality.

Back Cover

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

Removal Of Magnetic Impurities From Strontium Copper Oxychloride, Colleen B. Eads, Carol J. Kosmicke, Lance L. Miller

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Analyses of a copper-deficient series of Strontium Copper Oxychloride polycrystalline samples are reported. Magnetic susceptibility, X-ray powder diffraction, and differential thermal analyses show a small Curie-type magnetic signal correlates with =0.6% (excess) copper ions in the nominally stoichiometric material. The analyses also imply that the extra magnetic signal is from an impurity phase, possibly related to Strontium Copper Oxide. The concentration of the impurity phase can be controlled by varying the copper stoichiometry.

Nuclear Waste Into Glass: Viscosities Of Molten Analogs Of Radioactive Waste Disposal Media, Betty Pang, Kenneth E. Windom

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Disposal of high-level radioactive wastes involves vitrification of a mixture of waste products and borosilicate glass frit. Monitoring the composition of the mixture is critical to the control of the vitrification process, bur is difficult because of the high levels or radioactive components in the mixture. Synthetic non-radioactive analogs of the products from nuclear reprocessing have been prepared and their viscosities measured over a wide range of temperature appropriate to those of the vitrification process. Preliminary results indicate that viscosity is a linear function of composition, under isothermal conditions, for a limited compositional range that encompasses the proportions of waste …

Parallel Algorithms For Solving Partial Differential Equations, Stacy Pschenica

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

This paper describes the use of a parallel computer system in applying a finite difference method to solve various types of partial differential equations. A sequential implementation of this method was made parallel by essentially spatially decomposing the problem domain into pieces that could be separately analyzed and assigning each piece to a processor in a large, multi-processor system. Although this approach is attractive in theory, it suffers in practice because of inter-processor interactions. Thus, particular emphasis was placed on developing efficient methods for the sharing of information among the processors.

Initially, a simple two-dimensional board game, life, was implemented …

Editorial Board & Iowa Academy Of Science Officers And Directors

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

Annual Report Of The Iowa Academy Of Science, 1993-94, Paul E. Rider

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Since 1976, annual reports have served as a continuing record of the activities of the Iowa Academy of Science and an archive for its history. These augment the 100 year IAS history written in the centennial year of 1975.

This report covers the period from July 1, 1993 to June 30, 1994. It is based on the official records of the Academy (committee reports, Board minutes, correspondence) as well as the recollections, impressions and thoughts of the author.

Editorial Board & Iowa Academy Of Science Officers And Directors

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

The Iowa Academy Of Science Parish Farm: 1986-1992, David L. Dozark

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

This article focuses on the Iowa Academy of Science Parish Farm and the progress made in the last seven years towards the goals set forth in the Model Farm Concept which was adopted by the Academy in 1970. Highlights of this article are a summary of the income and expenses associated with the farm's highly profitable crop production, the ground-water monitoring project being conducted by the Geological Survey Bureau, the woodlot rejuvenation project, soil and wildlife conservation improvements, and the prairie forbes exhibit area. The farm continues to serve as a primary source of income for the Academy and a …

Analysis Of An Iowa Aridity Index In Relationship To Climate And Crop Yield, Soumare Harouna, R. E. Carlson

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

An aridity index and its components, temperature and precipitation, for the period from 1900 through April 1993 were defined and characterized. This index describes the anomalous behavior of both temperature and precipitation over time. Our intent was to examine climate variability in Iowa. Moving mean and standard deviations over various lengths of time were calculated from three time series. We found that these indices fluctuate considerably from year to year and from month to month. The lowest aridity index values occurred in the recent summer of 1992, and the highest occurred during the very drought-prone 1930s. The 12-month moving mean …