Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Consensus Building By Committed Agents, William W. Hackborn, Tetiana Reznychenko, Yihang Zhang

CODEE Journal

One of the most striking features of our time is the polarization, nationally and globally, in politics and religion. How can a society achieve anything, let alone justice, when there are fundamental disagreements about what problems a society needs to address, about priorities among those problems, and no consensus on what constitutes justice itself? This paper explores a model for building social consensus in an ideologically divided community. Our model has three states: two of these represent ideological extremes while the third state designates a moderate position that blends aspects of the two extremes. Each individual in the community is …

Modeling The Spread And Prevention Of Malaria In Central America, Michael Huber

CODEE Journal

In 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that there were 216 million cases of Malaria reported in 91 countries around the world. The Central American country of Honduras has a high risk of malaria exposure, especially to United States soldiers deployed in the region. This article will discuss various aspects of the disease, its spread and its treatment and the development of models of some of these aspects with differential equations. Exercises are developed which involve, respectively, exponential growth, logistics growth, systems of first-order equations and Laplace transforms. Notes for instructors are included.

Sir Models: Differential Equations That Support The Common Good, Lorelei Koss

CODEE Journal

This article surveys how SIR models have been extended beyond investigations of biologically infectious diseases to other topics that contribute to social inequality and environmental concerns. We present models that have been used to study sustainable agriculture, drug and alcohol use, the spread of violent ideologies on the internet, criminal activity, and health issues such as bulimia and obesity.

The Mathematics Of Gossip, Jessica Deters, Izabel P. Aguiar, Jacquie Feuerborn

CODEE Journal

How does a lie spread through a community? The purpose of this paper is two-fold: to provide an educational tool for teaching Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs) and sensitivity analysis through a culturally relevant topic (fake news), and to examine the social justice implications of misinformation. Under the assumption that people are susceptible to, can be infected with, and recover from a lie, we model the spread of false information with the classic Susceptible-Infected-Recovered (SIR) model. We develop a system of ODEs with lie-dependent parameter values to examine the pervasiveness of a lie through a community.

The model presents the opportunity …

Metrics And Methods Used To Compare Student Performance Data In Chemistry Education Research Articles, Michael R. Mack, Cory Hensen, Jack Barbera

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Quasi-experiments are common in studies that estimate the effect of instructional interventions on student performance outcomes. In this type of research, the nature of the experimental design, the choice in assessment, the selection of comparison groups, and the statistical methods used to analyze the comparison data dictate the validity of causal inferences. Therefore, gathering and reporting validity evidence in causal studies is of utmost importance, especially when conclusions have real policy implications for students and faculty, among other stakeholders. This review examines 24 articles that reported quantitative investigations of the effect of instructional interventions on performance-based outcomes conducted within undergraduate …

Stem Stories, February 2019, #2, Brooke Wiese

STEM Stories

Featured Event - UNIGO Video Competition

Active Learning And Transparency In Teaching Gateway Mathematics Courses, Viktoria Savatorova

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

The need: we concentrate our attention on the gateway courses (for example, PreCalculus ) which have had traditionally low passing scores and retention. Objectives: in our teaching practice we aim to be consistent assuring: Active participation in the class work based on understanding the concepts and ability to implement them; Clear understanding of the requirements and the grading system (what should be done, when it needs to be done, and how to do that?)

Fostering Student Engagement: Four Strategies, Erica Marti, Ryan Sherman, Haroon Stephen

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

In response to studies demonstrating that poor teaching was the cause of many students leaving math, science, and engineering programs, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) developed the ExCEEd(Excellence in Civil Engineering Education) Teaching Workshop. Several faculty from the UNLV Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering and Construction have attended the highly intensive five-day workshop. To evaluate the impact on student engagement, four basic instructional strategies from the ExCEEdworkshop, applicable to all fields, were tested and assessed during the Fall 2018 semester: Questioning techniques, physical models, instructor involvement, and group work.

A Strategy To Increase Formative Assessment And Student Engagement During Labs, Jennifer C. Utz, Angela Hammond

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

In a 200-level biology laboratory course, we developed learning objectives (LO) for each lab. We also developed practice activities that directly corresponded to each LO. Students earned participation credit through completing the practice activities. As students progressed through their lab work and felt ready, they would request that the lab instructor come check their progress towards mastering a particular LO. If students were successful with the practice, the instructor would mark completion for that LO on the students’ lab handout. If students were not successful, the instructor would provide feedback and recommend additional learning approaches. Since the purpose of the …

Dynamic Lightboard Videos, Kristina Schmid, Peter Mccandless, Eddie Gomez

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

STEM content in online courses can be difficult to convey. Instructional videos are often limited to voiced-over, handwritten examples which can limit the quality of dynamic presentation. The need is for a technological medium that facilitates a personal connection. The Office of Online Education’s new lightboard technology enhances video presentation. This solution supports online learning and student engagement to promote student success.

Pre-Tests Improve Students’ Critical Thinking, Alison Sloat

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

First-year students’ critical thinking and analysis in science is rudimentary in SCI 101, the College of Sciences First Year Seminar. I tested whether the use of Pretests (Figures 1 and 2) can improve students’ inquiry, critical thinking, and analysis skills.

The Social Construction Of Life: Critical Thinking About Biology In Society, Peter J. Taylor

Working Papers on Science in a Changing World

This book aims to expand the boundaries of the influences that readers consider when interpreting the practices and products of the life sciences ("biology") and their impact on society. The chapter topics include: Interpreting Ideas of Nature; The structure of origin stories; Multiple layers in influencing an audience: The case of Darwin's On the Origin of Species; Metaphors of coordination and development; What causes a disease?—the consequences of hereditarianism in the case of pellagra; How changeable are IQ test scores?; Social negotiations around genetic screening; Intersecting processes involving genes and environment.

Each chapter consists of 5 parts:

1. Introduce simple …

Stem Stories, February 2019, #1, Brooke Wiese

STEM Stories

Student Profile - Allison Williams

(Mis)Alignments In Mentorship: Exploring Challenges To Preservice Science Teacher Preparation, Mandy Biggers, Alison Riley Miller, Laura Zangori, Brooke A. Whitworth

Publications

The mentoring relationships between preservice teachers and their cooperating teachers have been established as critical to the retention or attrition of novice teachers (Clarke, Triggs, & Nielsen, 2014), yet little research has been conducted to examine what factors around mentor teacher selection and support are most salient to creating strong mentoring structures. In this study, we investigated how four U.S. states (one in the Southwest, one in the Northeast, one in the Midwest, and one in the South) recruit mentor teachers for secondary science preservice teachers, what requirements the mentor teachers must possess, how mentor teachers are incentivized to serve …

Hexapod Herald - Vol. 31, No. 1, February 2019

Hexapod Herald and Other Entomology Department Newsletters

Welcome -- Congratulations -- Note from John Ruberson -- Grants -- Faculty News -- Student News -- Publications -- Blast from the Past -- Brewer Appreciation Reception -- Intro Beekeeping Class-Year 1 -- Condolences -- Retirement Reception for Kalisch and Roselle

Fostering Computational Thinking In Technology And Engineering Education: An Unplugged Hands-On Engineering Design Approach, Euisuk Sung

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Academia Will Not Save You: Stories Of Being Continually “Underrepresented”, Lynette Deaun Guzmán

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

My entire life I have had to navigate educational structures labeled (by other people) as “underrepresented” in my fields—mathematics and mathematics education. As many people who are similarly labeled in this way know, this meant I had to navigate oppressive structures that positioned me as lesser (e.g., white supremacy, patriarchy). Making sense of these repeated interactions, I wrote my dissertation as a series of three articles, each prefaced with an essay that situated a broader social, cultural, and political context and also connected to my lived experiences navigating academia. These essays were some of my most personal academic writing, and …

Symmetry And Measuring: Ways To Teach The Foundations Of Mathematics Inspired By Yupiaq Elders, Jerry Lipka, Barbara Adams, Monica Wong, David Koester, Karen Francois

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Evident in human prehistory and across immense cultural variation in human activities, symmetry has been perceived and utilized as an integrative and guiding principle. In our long-term collaborative work with Indigenous Knowledge holders, particularly Yupiaq Eskimos of Alaska and Carolinian Islanders in Micronesia, we were struck by the centrality of symmetry and measuring as a comparison-of-quantities, and the practical and conceptual role of qukaq [center] and ayagneq [a place to begin]. They applied fundamental mathematical principles associated with symmetry and measuring in their everyday activities and in making artifacts. Inspired by their example, this paper explores the question: Could symmetry …

The Mathematics Orientation Seminar: A Tool For Diversity And Retention In The First Year Of College, Salvatore J. Petrilli

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

In this article I describe Adelphi University's Mathematics Orientation Seminar, a new course that was introduced into the mathematics major to help students find their passion in mathematics and to strengthen the educational community within our department. I discuss quantitative and qualitative results of surveys among students in the Mathematics Orientation Seminar in Fall 2016 and Fall 2017, which suggest that this might be a useful course for other institutions to utilize within any major. Finally, I explore faculty perspectives and describe what I believe to be the final version of this course.

Counting And Basic Numerical Skills, Emily Slusser

Faculty Publications

The following chapter outlines a typical developmental trajectory of children’s early number knowledge and counting skills. Using a series of anecdotal demonstrations of a young child’s emergent knowledge as a guide, the chapter first outlines the conceptual and procedural building blocks for counting and basic numerical skills (Section 4.1 and 4.2), proceeds to an extended discussion of major conceptual achievements in counting (Section 4.3), and concludes with a review of our emerging understanding on how to best support and facilitate the development of these skills (Section 4.4). Throughout each of these sections, seminal studies are discussed to more clearly demonstrate …

Astronomy For Educators, Daniel E. Barth

Open Educational Resources

Astronomy for Educators provides new and accomplished K-12 instructors with concepts and projects for low-cost, high-impact STEM classroom instruction that is built around the National Academies National Research Council's K-12 Framework for Science Education.

Back To Basics: Mathematical Play, Lindsey Herlehy

Publications & Research

Our youngest students are curious and creative with the skills and practices needed to be successful mathematicians. Engaging in play, students naturally take risks and pursue their own questions. Research shows this practice is beneficial for all students, regardless of grade level. So, let’s play!

No Bones About It: How Digital Fabrication Changes Student Perceptions Of Their Role In The Classroom, Alexandria K. Hansen, Jasmine K. Mcbeath, Danielle B. Harlow

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

This study used cultural historical activity theory to make meaning of a digital fabrication project situated in the complexity of a classroom. Using an ethnographic perspective, we observed 14 students (aged 13–14) in a middle school’s creative design and engineering class inspired by the Maker Movement. Working with the classroom teacher, a professional stuntman tasked students with fabricating a prosthetic bone for use as a movie prop using their understanding of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Teacher interviews and student focus groups revealed differences in perceptions between their science class and engineering class. Additionally, affordances and constraints of the 3D …

Disciplinary Learning From An Authentic Engineering Context, Catherine Langman, Judith Zawojewski, Patricia Mcnicholas, Ali Cinar, Eric Brey, Mustafa Bilgic, Hamidreza Mehdizadeh

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

This small-scale design study describes disciplinary learning in mathematical modeling and science from an authentic engineeringthemed module. Current research in tissue engineering served as source material for the module, including science content for readings and a mathematical modeling activity in which students work in small teams to design a model in response to a problem from a client. The design of the module was guided by well-established principles of model-eliciting activities (a special class of problem-solving activities deeply studied in mathematics education) and recently published implementation design principles, which emphasize the portability of model-eliciting activities to many classroom settings.

Two …

An Exploratory Study Of Osmo Tangram And Tangram Manipulative In An Elementary Mathematics Classroom, Stephenie Schroth, Hengtao Tang, Alison Carr-Chellman, Mona Alqahtani

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

This exploratory study considered the literature on the history of manipulatives, with attention to tangrams, and examined the use of manipulatives in the elementary classroom through the Osmo Tangram. Specifically, manipulatives can be utilized in assisting elementary students to develop mathematical ability and achievement, with an emphasis on spatial sense. This paper describes design features of first generation virtual manipulatives, the amalgam of real and virtual manipulatives (e.g. Osmo Tangram), and results of an exploratory observational study of Osmo Tangram at the elementary level. Findings are discussed tailored to the future design and implementation of integrating tangram into mathematics instruction.

Concept Inventories As A Resource For Teaching Evolution, Robert E. Furrow, Jeremy L. Hsu

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Understanding evolution is critical to learning biology, but few college instructors take advantage of the body of peer-reviewed literature that can inform evolution teaching and assessment. Here we summarize the peer-reviewed papers on tools to assess student learning of evolutionary concepts. These published concept inventories provide a resource for instructors to design courses, gauge student preparation, identify key misconceptions in their student population, and measure the impact of a lesson, course, or broader curriculum on student learning. Because these inventories vary in their format, target audience, and degree of validation, we outline and explain these features. In addition to summarizing …

Examining Science Learning And Attitude By At-Risk Students After They Used A Multimedia-Enriched Problem-Based Learning Environment, Min Liu, Sa Liu, Zilong Pan, Wenting Zou, Chenglu Li

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

Most of the previous problem-based learning (PBL) studies have been conducted with gifted or regular education students and have shown successes. However, little research on PBL exists for disadvantaged middle school students, especially students who are considered to be at risk of failing academically. In this study, we examined the use of a multimedia-enriched PBL science environment by at-risk middle school students. The results, using a mixed-methods design, showed that these students significantly improved their science knowledge and attitude toward science after they engaged in PBL learning. While there were no differences in the scores between the genders, the gain …

Promise Programs: Providing Opportunities For Mathematics And Science Enrichment, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

Promise Programs

IMSA is committed to excellence and equity including active recruitment of students from all areas of Illinois. IMSA’s PROMISE programs address the challenges of culturally, linguistically and economically diverse students through year-round academic enrichment programming at low or no cost.

We Would If We Could: Examining Culturally Responsive Teaching Self-Efficacy In A Middle School Mathematics Methods Course, Jamaal R. Young, Jemimah L. Young, Brandon L. Fox, Earl R. Levingston Jr., Alana Tholen

Faculty Publications

Despite mounting evidence of the pedagogical importance of culturally responsive teaching, many teachers do not implement culturally responsive practices in their classrooms. The purpose of this study was to investigate pre-service mathematics teachers’ culturally responsive teaching and outcome expectancy in order to inform teacher preparation in mathematics methods courses. Participants completed the Culturally Responsive Teaching Self-efficacy Scale (CRTSE) and the Culturally Response Teaching Outcome Expectancy (CRTOE) Scale. Results suggest that middle school mathematics teachers were only moderately efficacious in their ability to implement culturally responsive teaching practices, despite strong beliefs in the instructional utility of culturally responsive teaching practices.

Teacher Learning And Continuous Professional Development., Fiona Faulkner, John Kenny, Coral Campbell, Cosette Crisan

Books/Book Chapters

This chapter discusses teacher learning and professional development of out-of-field teachers from the point of view of the literature. It examines what makes this kind of learning and development effective and explores the ideas surrounding the varying rationale for the introduction of such teacher learning and professional development opportunities. Classical approaches to professional development are discussed in addition to several emerging international models of professional development that are currently being employed in the Republic of Ireland, England and Australia for in-service out-of-field teachers of mathematics predominantly but also a range of other subject disciplines (in the case of South Korea). …