Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

How Teacher Questions Affect The Development Of A Potential Hybrid Space In A Classroom With Latina/O Students, Casandra Helen Job

Theses and Dissertations

Questions have been shown to aid in student understanding of mathematics, particularly "novel" questions (Mesa, Celis, & Lande, 2013) that do not have a predetermined answer. However, students do not always understand what is intended by questions posed by teachers, particularly those students who come from different cultural and lingual backgrounds than those dominant in the classroom discourse. This project investigated the relationship between how a mathematics teacher acknowledged students funds of knowledge in her questions and how Latina/o students responded. It shows some research based questioning techniques that allow Latina/o students greater opportunity to participate in the mathematical problem-solving …

Implementing Ngss Engineering Disciplinary Core Ideas In Middle School Science Classrooms: Results From The Field, Jessica Gale, Jayma Koval, Mike Ryan, Marion Usselman, Stefanie Wind

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

With the inclusion of engineering disciplinary core ideas (DCIs), the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) position engineering as a new priority in K–12 science classrooms. This paper reports findings from the implementation of SLIDER, a problem-based learning 8th grade physical science curriculum that integrates engineering and physical science core ideas. As a culminating engineering design challenge, the SLIDER curriculum asks students to apply their understanding of energy, motion, and forces to design an automatic braking system for a robotic truck. The paper describes the curriculum and synthesizes findings from an array of data sources including student design interviews, written design …

Teaching The Common Core State Standards (Ccss) Using Interdisciplinary Units: A Qualitative Case Study Of How Secondary Core Curriculum Teachers Implement The Ccss Using Interdisciplinary Units (Ius), Ella Jones Burch

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how teachers understood and practiced using IUs to teach the core disciplines of the CCSS. The strategy of inquiry was a single case study in an urban high school where teachers of English, science, social studies, and math courses discussed IUs, and some teachers were observed using IUs. Data from public documents, teacher and student participant interviews, teacher classroom observations, a teacher survey, and field notes were analyzed and produced themes around the implementation of IUs.

The findings of this study indicate that teachers perceive how to conceptualize an IU, …

Arts-Inclusive Education In Nursing Schools, Michelle Murtaugh

Grace Peterson Nursing Research Colloquium

Arts-Inclusive Education in Nursing Schools: An Integrative Literature Review

Michelle Murtaugh, DePaul University

Category: Research Abstract

Background: Nursing educators have long recognized and championed the value of art within a professional nursing science curriculum, yet many nursing programs exclude the study of the arts. Research suggests that an arts-inclusive nursing curriculum not only enhances student learning, communication, self-efficacy, and clinical confidence, but also positively impacts patient outcomes. To address this gap between what is needed and what is currently offered, some schools are collaborating with art museums to offer arts-based courses in nursing sciences, designed to enhance students’ competency and …

Bringing Joy To Uninspired Teachers Of Math, Hal Melnick

All Faculty and Staff Papers and Presentations

This publication explores how to inspire teachers to find the joy in math so they can help their students do the same. Through a variety of tools, techniques, and helpful hints, the resource illustrates what high quality math instruction looks like and how teachers can reframe their own thinking about math to create deeper learning opportunities for their students.

Exploring Authenticity Through An Engineering-Based Context In A Project-Based Learning Mathematics Activity, Bradley Bowen, Bryanne Peterson

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

As education works to reconnect student learning to something more than standardized testing, project-based learning (PBL) has become a popular way to increase student engagement while providing more authentic applications of student knowledge. While research regarding PBL is bountiful, little has been done to connect this body of research with student perceptions regarding its classroom application, especially concerning authenticity and student engagement. This research focuses on the topic of ‘‘task authenticity’’ as a means to improve student outcomes. Two groups of seventh-grade students were presented the concept of slope and y-intercept in the context of engineering-based activities. The research …

Observing Change In Students’ Attitudes Towards Mathematics: Contrasting Quantitative And Qualitative Approaches, Wes Maciejewski

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

A student’s attitude towards mathematics affects how they learn and perform in mathematics. What exactly is meant by attitude and how this interacts with mathematics education is a current debate in the mathematics education research community. Regardless, practitioners often acknowledge a consideration of improving students’ attitudes towards mathematics in their course design. This creates an impetus to study attitudes towards mathematics in a way that lends itself to observing changes over a course in mathematics. The current study draws on two approaches to observing and measuring attitudes towards mathematics in an effort to contrast disparate approaches and deepen an investigation …

House Resolution No. 1247, Linda Chapa La Via

Documents

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Leon Max Lederman, who passed away on October 3, 2018; and

Students’ Opportunity To Learn Surface Area And Volume In Middle Grades Mathematics Textbooks, Sofia Hatziminadakis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

I conducted a content analysis to examine the treatment of the surface area and volume concepts within four published middle-grades mathematics textbook series. In particular, I examined the treatment of the surface area and volume concepts in terms of the location of surface area and volume lessons in the textbook and the number of pages and lessons devoted to these concepts. I also investigated the sequence of the instructional blocks of surface area and volume lessons. In addition, I evaluated the tasks included in these lessons in regards to the performance expectations of students, the types of visual representations of …

Experiences Using Inquiry-Oriented Instruction In Differential Equations, Keith Nabb

CODEE Journal

Student-centered instruction can be a challenging endeavor for teachers and students. This article reports on the use of the Inquiry-Oriented Differential Equations (IO-DE) curriculum (Rasmussen, 2002) in an undergraduate differential equations course. Examples of student work are shared with specific reference to research in mathematics education.

Teaching Differential Equations Without Computer Graphics Solutions Is A Crime, Beverly H. West

CODEE Journal

In the early 1980s computer graphics revolutionized the teaching of ordinary differential equations (ODEs). Yet the movement to teach and learn the qualitative methods that interactive graphics affords seems to have lost momentum. There still exist college courses, even at big universities, being taught without the immense power that computer graphics has brought to differential equations. The vast majority of ODEs that arise in mathematical models are nonlinear, and linearization only approximates solutions sufficiently near an equilibrium. Introductory courses need to include nonlinear DEs. Graphs of phase plane trajectories and time series solutions allow one to see and analyze the …

Systems Thinking In A Second Grade Curriculum: Students Engaged To Address A Statewide Drought, Margaret Sauceda Curwen, Amy Ardell, Laurie Macgillivray, Rachel Lambert

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Faced with issues, such as drought and climate change, educators around the world acknowledge the need for developing students’ ability to solve problems within and across contexts. A systems thinking pedagogy, which recognizes interdependence and interconnected relationships among concrete elements and abstract concepts (Meadows, 2008; Senge et al., 2012), has potential to transform the classroom into a space of observing, theorizing, discovering, and analyzing, thus linking academic learning to the real world. In a qualitative case study in one school located in a major metropolitan area in California, USA teachers and their 7- and 8-year-old students used systems thinking in …

Stem Roles: How Students’ Ontological Perspectives Facilitate Stem Identities, Dina Verdín, Allison Godwin, Monique Ross

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

Educational researchers have explored the importance of performance, recognition, and interest in establishing and maintaining a STEM identity. Research has also demonstrated that the ways students describe themselves and how they participate in STEM communities can provide insight into their role identity salience; however, there has been little work to explore the ontological beliefs of students about STEM people and how this influences their ability to see themselves as possessing a STEM identity. This research explores the ontological beliefs of high school students, with specific attention to the ways in which they describe what constitutes a math person, science person, …

Book Review: Towards Inclusion Of All Learners Through Science Teacher Education, Greg Stefanich

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

It is a pleasure to receive an invitation to submit a review for the book titled Towards Inclusion of All Learners through Science Teacher Education. The contributors include four wellknown leaders in inclusive science education complemented by a spectrum of authors American and international, in pre-service and graduate science education, pre-service and graduate special education, science research, special education practitioners, classroom teachers, graduate students, and students through case studies and interviews.

The book presents an excellent overview of current practices in schools, descriptions of individual and team efforts to improve practice, and emerging innovations such as the application of Universal …

Stem Stories, November 2018, #2, Brooke Wiese

STEM Stories

Faculty Profile - Tim Kidd

Imsa Allies Program: The Power Of Near-Peer Teaching, Gwen Seeley-Joosse, Megan Scherer

Publications & Research

IMSA ALLIES is a STEM leadership development program that trains high school students as teachers and group leaders to deliver inquiry based hands on science, technology, engineering and mathematics activities (STEM) in the community. In this session you will learn about the benefits of this type of program and how to implement one at your school.

An Analysis Of The Pregnancy And Childbirth Experiences Through Cultural And Mathematical Lenses, Maria T. Lopez-Flores

Shared Knowledge Conference

Being pregnant and giving birth is one of the most personal experiences. Nobody else but the pregnant woman can feel what she is feeling. However, her experiences during this process are highly influenced by her sociocultural context. In this, as in many other human activities, mathematics is present with or without realizing it. According to Frankenstein (1997), “mathematics occurs in contexts, integrated with other knowledge of the world” (p. 13). This project explores the mathematical and cultural practices that are embedded in the process of pregnancy and childbirth within two different sociocultural contexts: traditional Mexican partería (midwifery) and western medicine, …

Nasa Maa (Murep Aerospace Academy) Stem Project At York College: Ensuring Future Stem Pipeline, Nazrul I. Khandaker, Shuayb Siddique, Matthew Khargie, Brandon Dhanraj, Zachary A. Sanichar, Mildred M. Selby, Chabenauth Ramnauth, Theresa Deepan, Yougeeta Singh, Krishna Mahabir, Sashi Singh, Omadevi Singh

Publications and Research

Our ongoing K1-12 NASA-supported STEM activities has served over 5000 children since 2015, largely from groups that are undeserved and underrepresented in the sciences. These STEM activities have been successfully delivered for several years and include earth science, meteorite geology, rocketry, aerodynamics, star gazing, EV3 Mindstorm robotics, basic coding exercises, wind tunnel, 3D-printing, etc., conducted largely through our present MAA (MUREP Aerospace Academy) Project. Corporate funding from the Con Edison and National Grid ensures additional STEM dissemination to the students during the summer operation. Significant positive component of the MAA program is the availability and willingness of the former student …

Recruiting And Retaining K9–16 Students Through Field- And Laboratory - Based Geoscience Experiences, Nazrul I. Khandaker, Stanley Schleifer, Arif M. Sikder, Krishna Mahabir, Ality Aghedo, Charren Cabaroy, Mildred M. Selby, Gugu Ginindza, Leonardo Sanchez

Publications and Research

Since 2004, we have been directly involved with the GSA to provide access and opportunities for K9-16 students, particularly those interested in the broader aspects of geoscience-related topics, to present their field-and- laboratory based research outcomes at professional conferences and to learn from each other. So far, well-over 400 students from the U. S. and abroad have taken advantage of this opportunity and participated our topical sessions. It is quite gratifying to report that many of these students, as a result of their attendance at the GSA conference, felt a continuing need for exposure to high-level professional venues with effective …

Departmental Action Teams: A Five-Year Update On A Model For Sustainable Change, Daniel Reinholz, Mary Pilgrim, Karen Falkenberg, Courtney Ngai, Gina Quan, Sarah Wise, Chris Geanious, Joel Corbo, Noah Finkelstein

Faculty Publications

Fostering sustainable improvements in undergraduate education remains a formidable challenge. To address this challenge, our team has developed the Departmental Action Team (DAT) model. DATs are small working groups of faculty, students, and staff, that work collaboratively to envision, plan, develop, and build sustainable structures in their department. To support the uptake of such structures, DATs collect and analyze data to reflect on the root causes of an issue, which they use to shift beliefs, values, and practices within their context. This paper provides a five-year status report on the DAT project. We describe the history of the model, its …

Stem Stories, November 2018, #1, Brooke Wiese

STEM Stories

Student Profile - Nina Jocic

Hexapod Herald - Vol. 30, No. 4, November 2018

Hexapod Herald and Other Entomology Department Newsletters

Abstract: Welcome -- Faculty and Post-Doc News -- Student News -- University of Nebraska Service Awards -- Publications -- Blast from the Past -- Save the Dates -- Busy as a Bee -- Grants -- Meet an Online Student -- Bugfest

Between Paralysis And Empowerment: Action In Mathematics For Social Justice Work, Lidia Gonzalez

Publications and Research

In this article, I focus on my experiences teaching a seminar in critical pedagogy and the math for social justice (MfSJ) work that grew from of my students’ reflections as to how they might promote change towards justice. The course was designed to acquaint students with the research literature in critical pedagogy as we explored the social, political, cultural, and economic realities around our system of public education. Yet there came a point where students questioned the value of such exploration as they genuinely considered what to do next. I, too, struggled both to support the students I was working …

Science Education Trajectories: Charting The Course For Teachers, Educators, Researchers, And Policymakers, Julie Luft, Brooke A. Whitworth, Amanda Berry, Shannon Navy, Vanessa Kind

Publications

Science teacher professional development is complex. Phases in a teacher’s career necessitate different professional learning opportunities. Furthermore, knowledge bases, practices, and attributes need to be cultivated during these times. For science teachers, it is not always evident how to link professional learning opportunities progressively toward different outcomes, including being a department head, teacher leader, curriculum developer, or even master teacher. In order to spur a discussion about purposeful teacher learning, we use a theory of transformative learning to examine research pertaining to the professional learning of science teachers. The result is a conceptual framework that suggests that teachers should build …

Understanding Stem Identity Construction: An Ethnography Of An All-Girls Stem Club, Pasiewicz Marie Loyola

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative ethnography follows 11 high-school girls through their experiences in an all-girls after-school STEM club in a privileged school setting. This study uses Gee’s concept of identity and a feminist poststrutural framework to understand their experiences and how they use the club to re/construct their gendered STEM identities. Through interviews, focus groups, observations, and document analysis, this study found that the after-school club offers girls a space to not only learn about STEM, but also provides a space for girls to understand the gendered nature of their interactions with peers and adults in STEM classrooms. Data shows that girls …

Reading Robot Light-Up Bookmarks, Professional Field Services

Hands-on STEM Activities

Materials: Robot Bookmark Template, LED light, 3V Lithium Battery, 3 strips of copper tape (approx. 3 in. or 8 cm.)

Developing Serious Games In Engineering Education: Innovation At The Nexus Of Food, Energy, And Water Systems, Nathan Rice

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

At a time when food, energy, and water (FEW) are of the utmost concern to the security and health of the world, an initiative has begun to understand the interactions between these systems. The goal of Innovation at the Nexus of Food, Energy, and Water Systems (INFEWS) is to bring together research fields that typically work in their own silos to solve complex problems increasing the resiliency and sustainability of the FEW system. Stemming from this initiative was a project to produce an educational immersive simulation game to teach youth about how their food is produced, systems thinking, and sustainable …

Christian High School Science Teachers' Perspective Transformation: The Journey From Evolution To Creation, Paul Leslie Thorpe

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this hermeneutical phenomenology study was to explore and describe the perspective transformations of 11 science instructors teaching at Christian high schools. These science teachers previously believed the evolutionary paradigm of origins. However, they have all experienced a transformation and now hold a young-earth creation perspective and believe the literal six-day creation event in the book of Genesis is accurate and true. Transformation of perspective regarding origins is defined as a phenomenon of transformative faith accompanied by assimilation and accommodation of new knowledge as seen through the lens of Jack Mezirow’s (1991) transformative adult learning theory, and James …

Solutions For Fermi Questions, November 2018: Question 1: Kale; Question 2: Hurricane Angular Momentum, Larry Weinstein

Physics Faculty Publications

The article presents questions and answers related to physics estimations including the amount of kale needed to provide the right amount of calories in a year, and the angular momentum of Hurricane Florence.

Question 1: Kale; Question 2: Hurricane Angular Momentum, Larry Weinstein

Physics Faculty Publications

A quiz concerning the amount of kale needed to provide calories for a person in a year and the angular momentum of Hurricane Florence when it made landfall.