Junior High, Intermediate, Middle School Education and Teaching Commons^™

Engaging Students With High-Stakes Problems, Deepak Basyal

Mathematics and Statistics

Engaging students in meaningful mathematics problem-solving is the intention of many education stakeholders around the world. Research suggests that the implementation of high-stakes problems in mathematics teaching is one way to strengthen students’ conceptual understanding. Many carefully crafted open-ended problems constitute high-stakes problems, and proper use of such problems in teaching and learning not only encourages learners’ flexible thinking but also helps detect their misconceptions. However, what is less practiced and understood is: how exactly one should aim to implement such problems in a classroom setting. Teaching pre-service middle school teachers for a few years using high-stakes (mostly open-ended problems) …

Bbt Acoustic Alternative Top Bracing Cadd Data Set-Norev-2022jun28, Bill Hemphill

STEM Guitar Project’s BBT Acoustic Kit

This electronic document file set consists of an overview presentation (PDF-formatted) file and companion video (MP4) and CADD files (DWG & DXF) for laser cutting the ETSU-developed alternate top bracing designs and marking templates for the STEM Guitar Project’s BBT (OM-sized) standard acoustic guitar kit. The three (3) alternative BBT top bracing designs in this release are
(a) a one-piece base for the standard kit's (Martin-style) bracing,
(b) 277 Ladder-style bracing, and
(c) an X-braced fan-style bracing similar to traditional European or so-called 'classical' acoustic guitars.

The CADD data set for each of the three (3) top bracing designs includes …

Impact Of Concept-Based Mathematics Instructional Strategies On Seventh Grade Student Achievement, Katherine Annette Lawley Ellsworth

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

In a nation with declining enrollment in college math courses, it is important to examine how mathematics is being taught in the K-12 education system and to identify best practices. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact concept-based instructional strategies has on middle school student achievement in mathematics when integrated into the traditional mathematics curriculum. Participants included 424 seventh grade students from two middle schools. Students Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) Fall-to-Winter data 2018 prior to implementation was used a covariate and Fall-to-Winter data 2019 data during the implementation of concept-based instructional strategies integrated into the traditional …

Feasibility Of Modifying Existing Chemistry Demonstrations By Using Substitute Materials, Dane Mykel M. Quiambao, Armando M. Guidote Jr, Rhodora F. Nicdao

Chemistry Faculty Publications

This study aimed to reiterate the use of Chemistry demonstrations as effective teaching tools to students while addressing some of its drawbacks, which discourages teachers from doing them such as cost and safety. Four chosen existing Chemistry demonstrations (Blue Bottle Experiment, Copper Sulfate Experiment, Blown Away, Dancing Flames) were modified by using substitute reagents, which are more accessible, relatively safer, and at lower cost. These demonstrations were chosen based on how easily the substitute reagents will be obtained. Afterwards, with the permission of a private junior high school, they were presented to a group of Grade 9 students of their …

Context Is Critical: K-5th Grade Three-Act Math Tasks, Lindsey Herlehy

Publications & Research

Mathematicians view mathematics within interesting and natural contexts. In this session, participants will engage and explore Three-Act Math Tasks; a story-telling pedagogical strategy that elicits student curiosity, collaboration, and questioning while redefining the term “real-world context” and the role that students play in the learning process. Resources will be provided

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 …

How Middle Level Science Teachers Visualize And Translate Motion, Scale, And Geometric Space Of The Earth-Moon-Sun System With Their Students, Jennifer Wilhelm, Merryn Cole, Cheryl Cohen, Rebecca Lindell

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Faculty Publications

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Astronomy Education Research.] We examined teachers’ spatial-scientific reasoning and the alternative conceptions they held regarding Earth-space content. While participating in a professional development (PD) workshop, teachers engaged in an integrated mathematics and science project-based unit designed to foster spatial reasoning and improve lunar-related conceptual understanding. The Purdue Spatial Visualization Test-Rotation (PSVT-Rot) and the Lunar Phases Concept Inventory (LPCI) were used to assess understanding. We found the teachers held similar alternative conceptions as their students. Moreover, we discovered that teachers had limited understanding of the Earth-Moon-Sun scale, motions, and geometric configurations. To …

How The Use Of Subjectivist Instructional Strategies In Teaching Multiple Sections Of An Eighth Grade Algebra Class In Guyana Relates To Algebra Achievement And Attitude Changes Toward Mathematics, Jennifer Hoyte

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In Guyana, South America, the Ministry of Education seeks to provide universal, inclusive education that prepares its citizens to take their productive places in society and to creatively solve complex, real-world problems. However, with frequent national assessments that are used to place students in high school, college or into jobs, teachers resort to using familiar strategies such as lecture, recitation and test drilling. Despite their efforts, over 56% of students are failing the Grade 6 assessments, 43% failing 10th grade Mathematics and over 60% failing college algebra courses. Such performance has been linked to students’ lower academic self-concept and their …

Mathematics Educators And The “Math Wars”: Who Controls The Discourse?, David W. Stinson

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Faculty Publications

In this editorial, the author expresses support of a colleague, Professor Jo Boaler of Stanford University, in her actions of going public with the harassment that she has experienced through professional and personal attacks by James Milgram of Stanford University and Wayne Bishop of California State University, Los Angeles.

Student-Teacher Interactions For Bringing Out Student Ideas About Energy, Benedikt W. Harrer, Michael Wittmann, Rachel Scherr

Faculty Publications

Modern middle school science curricula use group activities to help students express their thinking and enable them to work together like scientists. We are studying rural 8th grade science classrooms using materials on energy. Even after spending several months with the same curriculum on other physics topics, students' engagement in group activities seems to be restricted to creating lists of words that are associated with energy. Though research suggests that children have rich and potentially valuable ideas about energy, our students don't seem to spontaneously use and express their ideas in the classroom. Only within or after certain interactions with …

On The Brilliance Of Black Children: A Response To A Clarion Call, Erika Bullock, Maisie Gholson, Nathan Alexander

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Faculty Publications

In this editorial, three dotoral students in Mathematics Education reflect on their experiences as conference organizers and co-editors of the Proceedings of the 2010 Philadelphia and 2011 Atlanta Bejamin Banneker Associaton Conferences.

Beyond The Numbers: A Benjamin Banneker Association Conference Series, Jacqueline Leonard, Erica R. Davila, David W. Stinson

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Faculty Publications

The authors discuss how the "white male math myth" can be effectively debunked by conferences such as the Benjamin Banneker Association Beyond the Numbers conference series, which focus on urban mathematical education and highlight the achievements of black children.

Critical Pedagogy And Teaching Mathematics For Social Justice, David W. Stinson, Carla R. Bidwell, Ginny C. Powell

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Faculty Publications

In this article, the authors explore critical pedagogy within the context of mathematics classrooms. The exploration demonstrates the evolving pedagogical practices of mathematics teachers when teaching mathematics is explicitly connected to issues of social justice. To frame the exploration, the authors provide brief overviews of the theoretical tenets of critical pedagogy and of teaching mathematics for social justice. Through using narrative and textual data, the authors illustrate how a graduate-level, critical theory and teaching mathematics for social justice course assisted, in part, in providing not only a new language but also a legitimization in teachers becoming critical mathematics pedagogues.

Transitioning Into Contemporary Theory: Critical Postmodern Theory In Mathematics Education Research, David W. Stinson, Erika Bullock

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Faculty Publications

In this theoretical paper, the authors provide an overview of mathematics education as a research domain, identifying and briefly discussing four transitions or historical moments in mathematics education research. Using the Instructional Triangle as a point of reference for the dynamics of mathematics instruction, they illustrate how mathematics education researchers working in different moments explore different questions and use different theoretical perspectives. The authors then provide brief summaries of critical theory and postmodern theory, and suggest critical postmodern theory (CPT) as a hybrid theory that offers new possibilities for conceptualizing and conducting mathematics education research.

2011 Benjamin Banneker Association National Science Foundation Conference Program - Beyond The Numbers: The Brilliance Of Black Children In Mathematics, Benjamin Banneker Association

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Both The Journal And Handbook Of Research On Urban Mathematics Teaching And Learning, David W. Stinson

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Faculty Publications

In this editorial, the author explores the prestige that the edited "Handbook" has gained in the social sciences generally and in mathematical education specifically over the past few decades, and explores how this has established new power relationships and scholarly practices within urban mathematical education.

“Race” In Mathematics Education: Are We A Community Of Cowards?, David W. Stinson

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Faculty Publications

In this editorial, the author revisits Attorney General Eric Holder's well-known 2009 statement that, "in things racial we have always been and continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards," examining the ways in which racial "cowardice" continues to impact urban mathematical education.

Voices, Echoes, And Narratives: Multidimensional Experiences Of Three Teachers Immersed In Ethnomathematical Encounters In Morocco, Mekyah Q. Mcqueen, Stanley F. H. Shaheed, Curtis V. Goings, Iman C. Chahine

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

How Is It That One Particular Statement Appeared Rather Than Another?: Opening A Different Space For Different Statements About Urban Mathematics Education, David W. Stinson

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Faculty Publications

In this editorial, the author applies Michel Foucault's concept of "discursive formations" to examine fictions, fantasies, and power relationships in mathematics education research.

The Sixth International Mathematics Education And Society Conference: Finding Freedom In A Mathematics Education Ghetto, David W. Stinson

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Faculty Publications

In this editorial, the author relates his experiences at the Sixth International Mathematics Education and Society Conference, held March 2010 in Berlin, Germany, and explores whether urban mathematics educators can navigate historically marginalized racial, ethnic, religious, cultural, gendered, sexual, intellectual, and other communities to find freedom in a what he sees as a "mathematics education ghetto."

The Nuts And Bolts: A Review Of Culturally Specific Pedagogy In The Mathematics Classroom: Strategies For Teachers And Students, Shonda Lemons-Smith

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Faculty Publications

The author reviews Jacqueline Leonard's Culturally Specific Pedagogy in the Mathematics Classroom: Strategies for Teachers and Students.

Collaborative Evaluative Inquiry: A Model For Improving Mathematics Instruction In Urban Elementary Schools, Iman C. Chahine, Lesa M. Covington Clarkson

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Faculty Publications

In this article, the authors describe the cyclical process of a collaborative evaluative inquiry project and the data collected throughout the project—data that not only informed "next steps" during the project but also show promise in documenting the benefits of such projects. Over a period of 18 months, seven elementary teachers from a K–6 urban elementary school collaborated with university personnel using Parsons’s (2002) Evaluative Inquiry Model, a 5-stage, cyclical model that includes defining, planning, and investigating challenges; collecting, analyzing, and synthesizing data; and communicating findings that transpire through collaborative inquiry. Overall, the project focused on improving the elementary teachers’ …

Mathematics Teacher Educators As Cultural Workers: A Dare To Those Who Dare To Teach (Urban?) Teachers, David W. Stinson

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Faculty Publications

In his editorial, the author challenges urban mathematics educators to institute as the primary goal for the community of mathematics educators the cultural transformation of the discipline of mathematics from the psychologically brutalizing discipline of stratification into the psychologically humanizing discipline of freedom.

Does A Co-Learner Delivery Model In Professional Development Affect Teachers’ Self-Efficacy In Teaching Mathematics, John J. Ribeiro, Denise Demagistris

Teacher Education

A mixed method study is reported examining teacher efficacy regarding professional development in mathematics instruction for two groups of teachers: in building with peers (N=17) and MAT student co-learners in the classroom (N=14). An end-of-course survey, focus group interviews and pre-post data for the Teacher Self Efficacy Scale were used to investigate:1. What is the difference in teachers’ efficacy regarding mathematics instruction based on the professional development delivery system they experienced? 2. What are teachers’ perceptions of their professional development with peers conducted onsite in district compared with professional development with peers and preservice teachers at a university setting? Descriptive …

Teachers Reflecting Differently: Deconstructing The Discursive Teacher/Student Binary, David W. Stinson, Ginny C. Powell

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Faculty Publications

This session explores the ways that practicing teachers came to reflect differently regarding the discursive teacher/student binary during a graduate-level course entitled “Mathematics Education within the Postmodern.” Using Dewey’s concept of reflective thinking, as well as Foucault’s discourse and Derrida’s deconstruction, we show how the course provided new suggestions for the students as they continued their journey of becoming teachers. Through interweaving comments written by the students with concepts borrowed from postmodern philosophers and theorists, we illustrate how the teachers began to understand that teachers and students might indeed be described differently in the postmodern.

The Proliferation Of Theoretical Paradigms Quandary: How One Novice Researcher Used Eclecticism As A Solution, David W. Stinson

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Faculty Publications

When a doctoral student plans to conduct qualitative education research, the aspect of the dissertation that often becomes problematic is determining which theoretical paradigm(s) might frame the study. In this article, the author discusses how he resolved the quandary through eclecticism. The author begins by describing briefly the purpose of his dissertation study, providing a justification for eclecticism in the selection of theories. He follows with a description of the three theories— poststructural theory, critical race theory, and critical theory—that framed his study and discusses briefly the methodology employed. The author concludes with a discussion of likely objections of his …

Becoming Critical Mathematics Pedagogues: A Journey, David W. Stinson, Carla R. Bidwell, Ginny C. Powell, Mary M. Thurman

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Faculty Publications

This session will report the findings of a study that explored the beginning transformations in the pedagogical philosophies and practices of three mathematics teachers (middle, high school, and 2-year college) who completed a graduate-level mathematics education course that focused on critical theory and teaching for social justice, and how these transformations are compatible (or not) with reform mathematics education as suggested by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), and in turn, the new Georgia Performance Standards (GPS). The study employed Freirian participatory research methodology; in fact, the participants were not only coresearchers, but also co-authors of the study. …

Critical Mathematics Pedagogy: Transforming Teachers’ Practices, David W. Stinson, Carla R. Bidwell, Christopher C. Jett, Ginny C. Powell, Mary M. Thurman

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Faculty Publications

This study reports the effects of a graduate-level mathematics education course that focused on critical theory and teaching for social justice on the pedagogical philosophies and practices of three mathematics teachers (middle, high school, and 2-year college). The study employed Freirian participatory research methodology; in fact, the participants were not only co-researchers, but also co-authors of the study. Data collection included reflective essays, journals, and “storytelling”; data analysis was a combination of textual analysis and autoethnography. The findings report that the teachers believed that the course provided not only a new language but also a legitimization to transform their pedagogical …

What Is Mathematics?: Teachers Exploring The Philosophy Of Mathematics, Kimberly White-Fredette, David W. Stinson

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Mathematics As “Gate-Keeper” (?): Three Theoretical Perspectives That Aim Toward Empowering All Children With A Key To The Gate, David W. Stinson

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Faculty Publications

In this article, the author’s intent is to begin a conversation centered on the question: How might mathematics educators ensure that gatekeeping mathematics becomes an inclusive instrument for empowerment rather than an exclusive instrument for stratification? In the first part of the discussion, the author provides a historical perspective of the concept of “gatekeeper” in mathematics education. After substantiating mathematics as a gatekeeper, the author proceeds to provide a definition of empowering mathematics within a Freirian frame, and describes three theoretical perspectives of mathematics education that aim toward empowering all children with a key to the gate: the situated perspective, …