Diocese of Providence Partners with SCS to Integrate STEAM in Catholic Schools

Professional Education Center program will help Catholic school teachers tie arts into instruction on STEM subjects

Scientific reasoning abilities of non-science majors in physics-based courses

We have found that non-STEM majors taking either a conceptual physics or astronomy course at two regional comprehensive institutions score significantly lower pre-instruction on the Lawson's Classroom Test of Scientific Reasoning (LCTSR) in comparison to national average STEM majors. The majority of non-STEM students can be classified as either concrete operational or transitional reasoners in Piaget's theory of cognitive development, whereas in the STEM population formal operational reasoners are far more prevalent. In particular, non-STEM students demonstrate significant difficulty with proportional and hypothetico-deductive reasoning. Pre-scores on the LCTSR are correlated with normalized learning gains on various concept inventories. The correlation is strongest for content that can be categorized as mostly theoretical, meaning a lack of directly observable exemplars, and weakest for content categorized as mostly descriptive, where directly observable exemplars are abundant. Although the implementation of research-verified, interactive engagement pedagogy can lead to gains in content knowledge, significant gains in theoretical content (such as force and energy) are more difficult with non-STEM students. We also observe no significant gains on the LCTSR without explicit instruction in scientific reasoning patterns. These results further demonstrate that differences in student populations are important when comparing normalized gains on concept inventories, and the achievement of significant gains in scientific reasoning requires a re-evaluation of the traditional approach to physics for non-STEM students.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures, 3 table

Beyond the Spoken Word: Examining the Nature of Teacher Gesturing in the Context of an Elementary Engineering Curriculum for English-Learner Students

Our research team performed an exploratory analysis of teacher gesturing via a case study of an elementary teacher. We focused on gesturing, a practice found to support both bilingual English learner students’ linguistic development and mathematics achievement, during the teacher’s engineering and science lessons. The research team systematically analyzed teacher video data using McNeill’s gestural dimensions framework and found variation of gesturing types and rates when comparing engineering and baseline science lessons. Additionally, specific types of teacher-gestures appear to be associated with either behavioral or classroom management practices, procedural instructions, and discussion facilitation. We suggest that teacher-gestures such as these have the potential to facilitate bilingual English learners’ language acquisition, while also developing their STEM literacy in general and engineering capacity in particular. Further exploration of teacher-gestures in elementary engineering curricula could lead to an integrated STEM pedagogy that incorporates gesturing as a fundamental teaching strategy, bridging STEM instruction with linguistically responsive instructional practices.Educatio

An Introduction to the Integrated Community-Engaged Learning and Ethical Reflection Framework (I-CELER)

Cultivating ethical Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics researchers and practitioners requires movement beyond reducing ethical instruction to the rational exploration of moral quandaries via case studies and into the complexity of the ethical issues that students will encounter within their careers. We designed the Integrated Community-Engaged Learning and Ethical Reflection (I-CELER) framework as a means to promote the ethical becoming of future STEM practitioners. This paper provides a synthesis of and rationale for I-CELER for promoting ethical becoming based on scholarly literature from various social science fields, including social anthropology, moral development, and psychology. This paper proceeds in five parts. First, we introduce the state of the art of engineering ethics instruction; argue for the need of a lens that we describe as ethical becoming; and then detail the Specific Aims of the I-CELER approach. Second, we outline the three interrelated components of the project intervention. Third, we detail our convergent mixed methods research design, including its qualitative and quantitative counterparts. Fourth, we provide a brief description of what a course modified to the I-CELER approach might look like. Finally, we close by detailing the potential impact of this study in light of existing ethics education research within STEM

Education innovation through material innovation in primary education : the grow-it-yourself workshop

In recent years more STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) topics have been incorporated in mainstream public education. Although the benefits of STEM instruction are broadly recognised in secondary school curricula, STEM topics in primary education are rather limited, leaving a gap in manipulative skills building and in preparation processes for the next school level. This paper reflects on the outcomes of a design workshop attended by 12 primary school students (9 to 12 years old) in Belgium. Mycelium, a fungi-based natural material now used in innovative sustainable applications, served as a means to introduce early learners engineering basics through self-made learning tools. Students grew their own 3-D structures to build a 'Grow-It-Yourself biodegradable playground using mycelium as a primary source. The paper stems from an in-progress research that investigates the opportunities of how mycelium as a material innovation can be used as a medium to create innovation in primary education through a learning-by-design approach. Reflections on the workshop's instructional guidelines are included along with an extension of the call for support for primary school teachers delivering STEM topics in their classes

From Gatekeeping to Engagement: A Multicontextual, Mixed Method Study of Student Academic Engagement in Introductory STEM Courses.

The lack of academic engagement in introductory science courses is considered by some to be a primary reason why students switch out of science majors. This study employed a sequential, explanatory mixed methods approach to provide a richer understanding of the relationship between student engagement and introductory science instruction. Quantitative survey data were drawn from 2,873 students within 73 introductory science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses across 15 colleges and universities, and qualitative data were collected from 41 student focus groups at eight of these institutions. The findings indicate that students tended to be more engaged in courses where the instructor consistently signaled an openness to student questions and recognizes her/his role in helping students succeed. Likewise, students who reported feeling comfortable asking questions in class, seeking out tutoring, attending supplemental instruction sessions, and collaborating with other students in the course were also more likely to be engaged. Instructional implications for improving students' levels of academic engagement are discussed

Expanding Earth Science in STEM: A Model

Despite the national call for STEM preparation, there is still a need to foster student interest in STEM at an early age. Although stakeholders have begun to develop STEM curricula at the elementary level, many of these focus on single disciplinary content and often have an emphasis on physical science. Efforts must be made to develop STEM curriculum that is truly integrated and adequately represents NGSS grade-level learning. This may require the use of interdisciplinary teams to improve integrated STEM programs. Projects like the covered wagon mini greenhouse can be used to strengthen student interest in STEM and encourage students to understand and practice the design process while engaging in earth science instruction

Measuring Instruction in Higher Education: Summary of a Convening

What will it take to improve the quality of instruction in higher education? An important first step is the ability to measure quality. A variety of measurement systems exist, but how informative are they, and how can we bring greater coherence to instructional measurement in higher education?On November 17 -- 18, 2014, the William T. Grant Foundation, the Spencer Foundation, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation sponsored a convening of experts on education and the learning sciences to address these questions and to guide possible future initiatives by the foundations.The report examines incentive structures in colleges and universities, looks at the goals toward which instructional measurement can be directed, describes past and current research on instructional measurement, and summarizes potential future initiatives

The Effect of Student Learning Styles on the Learning Gains Achieved When Interactive Simulations Are Coupled with Real-Time Formative Assessment via Pen-Enabled Mobile Technology

This paper describes results from a project in an undergraduate engineering physics course that coupled classroom use of interactive computer simulations with the collection of real-time formative assessment using pen-enabled mobile technology. Interactive simulations (free or textbook-based) are widely used across the undergraduate science and engineering curriculia to help actively engaged students increase their understanding of abstract concepts or phenomena which are not directly or easily observable. However, there are indications in the literature that we do not yet know the pedagogical best practices associated with their use to maximize learning. This project couples student use of interactive simulations with the gathering of real-time formative assessment via pen-enabled mobile technology (in this case, Tablet PCs). The research question addressed in this paper is: are learning gains achieved with this coupled model greater for certain types of learners in undergraduate STEM classrooms? To answer this, we correlate learning gains with various learning styles, as identified using the Index of Learning Styles (ILS) developed by Felder and Soloman. These insights will be useful for others who use interactive computer simulations in their instruction and other adopters of this pedagogical model; the insights may have broader implications about modification of instruction to address various learning styles.Comment: 6 pages 2 tables and 1 figur