Utilising different models of integration to enhance the teaching and learning of second level science and mathematics

Increasing second level students’ uptake and performance in mathematics and science, especially higher level mathematics and the physical sciences, has been identified as national and international priorities. Science and mathematics integration has long been recommended as a way to increase student conceptual understanding of, interest in, and motivation to learn both subjects. Recent interest in STEM education has also lead to calls for increased integration of these areas in order to provide students with the critical tools they need to deal with the multi-faceted and complex problems of sustainability that they will face as citizens. However, attempts to develop a model to integrate just two of the STEM subjects, that is, science and mathematics, have not resulted in a consensus regarding optimal curricular organisation. The integration of mathematics and science teaching and learning facilitates student learning, engagement, motivation, problem-solving, criticality and real-life application. However, the actual implementation of an integrative approach to the teaching and learning of both subjects at a classroom level, with in-service teachers working collaboratively, at second level education, is under-researched due to the complexities of school-based research. In light of this, an evidence-based research project was undertaken at the EPI-STEM National Centre for STEM Education in Ireland, with the aim of investigating the integration of science and mathematics and its impact on teaching and learning in second level education. This paper will report on the design, development and evaluation of three different models of science and mathematics integration that were investigated over a six year period (2009-2015) and will present the key findings that emerged

Making mathematics and science integration happen: key aspects of practice

The integration of mathematics and science teaching and learning facilitates student learning, engagement, motivation, problem-solving, criticality and real-life application. However, the actual implementation of an integrative approach to the teaching and learning of both subjects at classroom level, with in-service teachers working collaboratively, at second-level education, is under-researched due to the complexities of school-based research. This study reports on a year-long case study on the implementation of an integrated unit of learning on distance, speed and time, within three second-level schools in Ireland. This study employed a qualitative approach and examined the key aspects of practice that impact on the integration of mathematics and science teaching and learning. We argue that teacher perspective, teacher knowledge of the ‘other subject’ and of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK), and teacher collaboration and support all impact on the implementation of an integrative approach to mathematics and science education

Supporting Key Aspects of Practice in Making Mathematics Explicit in Science Lessons

STEM integration has often been recommended as a way to support students to develop 21st Century skills needed to function in the complex modern world. In order for students to experience integration, however, their teachers need support in designing, developing and implementing integrated curricular instruction, which is often at odds with a very subject-focused educational system. This paper reports on the second year of a research study conducted with five secondary science and mathematics teachers, concerned with supporting them to teach explicitly the mathematics components within science lessons, mediated via technology. It outlines how the teachers collaborated with the support of science and mathematics education researchers within a community of practice, named a Teaching and Learning Network (TLN). The network was intended to promote and enhance teacher capacity for the interdisciplinary teaching of mathematics in science in the face of various contextual and other obstacles observed in the first year of the study. This study found that the opportunity to work in a Teaching and Learning Network supported the teachers’ ownership of the design of the integrated learning unit, enhanced their content knowledge of the mathematics, their use of the data logging technology and their understanding of an inquiry based pedagogical approach. Participation in the TLN provided teachers with the mechanism to cross the boundaries of the subject disciplines, and thereby promoted change in their attitudes, professional knowledge and to some extent, practice

Student mathematical preparedness for learning science and engineering at university

International audienceThis paper describes a novel study that aims to explore students’ mathematical preparedness for STEM education at tertiary level in the Irish context. The study addresses the issue of student retention in STEM degrees by investigating the perceptions of three stakeholders – teachers, students and lecturers – on the mathematical preparedness of students for studying science and engineering at tertiary level. The study also examines the existence and perception of interdisciplinary STEM education in preparing students for the transition to tertiary level STEM learning. In this paper, we describe the rational and design of this pilot study at an Irish university, including the development of questionnaire instruments for teachers, students and lecturers. Further advancement of the study is also discussed, as well as the intention to design targeted support for first year students of science degrees

Integrating mathematics into science: design, development and evaluation of a curriculum model

Science and mathematics integration has long been recommended as a way to increase student conceptual understanding of, interest in, and motivation to learn both subjects. Recent interest in STEM education has also lead to calls for increased integration of these areas in order to provide students with the critical tools they need to deal with the multi-faceted and complex problems of sustainability that they will face as citizens. However, attempts to develop a model to integrate just two of the STEM subjects, that is, science and mathematics, have not resulted in a consensus regarding optimal curricular organisation. This research therefore has designed and developed a CISA (Critical Integrated Skills and Activities) Model for assisting teachers to integrate mathematics into science. The theoretical premise of the model is that the science curriculum should preserve its disciplinary structures, while acknowledging its interdependencies on the other disciplines, in order to best assist students to adapt and transfer their knowledge for now-unknown future needs. This paper reports on the design and development of exemplary curriculum materials based on an integrated conceptual framework, and their subsequent formative evaluation by subject matter experts and by teachers. The outcome is a set of design principles for the development of integrated mathematics into science materials. However, although the CISA Model offers a practical, systematic and coherent approach to integration of mathematics into science, its adoption may be constrained by attitudinal, contextual and affective factors. This study suggests that curricular models also need to take account of the subject subculture, school structure and teacher subject identity issues that impact on the curricular choices that teachers make

Designing, developing and evaluating integrated STEM activities for junior science

Science and mathematics are closely related in the physical world, yet as school subjects they can be quite separate, even where they share overlapping content. Science and mathematics integration has been recommended as a way to increase student conceptual understanding of, interest in, and motivation to learn both subject (Czerniak 2007). Moreover, STEM education (involving the purposeful integration of science, technology, engineering and mathematics) is receiving increasing emphasis in Ireland and elsewhere (Breiner et al. 2012). In this research the STEM focus has been into the design and development and evaluation of a model that will permit teachers to assist students to transfer their mathematical knowledge and skills into Junior Science. This resulted in a CISA (Critical Integrated Skills and Activities) Model for developing context-appropriate integrated materials. The model consists of a Syllabus Map of the overlapping content on the Junior Cycle science and mathematics curricula, a Teaching and Learning Sequence for overlapping science and mathematics content and skills, a CISA lesson template for developing integrated lessons, and three exemplar CISA lesson packs. The Syllabus Map and Sequence were evaluated in an earlier stage of the research and one outcome was the need to provide flexibility in the Model so that teachers could adapt it to their local situation and to their students’ learning needs. Instead of prescribing the science and mathematics topics that should be integrated, teachers can use the Map, Sequence, lesson template and exemplar lessons to identify critical skills that they may adapt to activities suitable for their science teaching. This paper reports on the design of the CISA exemplar lessons, and of the subsequent evaluation of both the lessons and of the overarching CISA Model, by subject matter experts and by teachers

Integrating mathematics into science: design, development and evaluation of a curriculum model

Science and mathematics integration has long been recommended as a way to increase student conceptual understanding of, interest in, and motivation to learn both subjects. Recent interest in STEM education has also lead to calls for increased integration of these areas in order to provide students with the critical tools they need to deal with the multi-faceted and complex problems of sustainability that they will face as citizens. However, attempts to develop a model to integrate just two of the STEM subjects, that is, science and mathematics, have not resulted in a consensus regarding optimal curricular organisation. This research therefore has designed and developed a CISA (Critical Integrated Skills and Activities) Model for assisting teachers to integrate mathematics into science. The theoretical premise of the model is that the science curriculum should preserve its disciplinary structures, while acknowledging its interdependencies on the other disciplines, in order to best assist students to adapt and transfer their knowledge for now-unknown future needs. This paper reports on the design and development of exemplary curriculum materials based on an integrated conceptual framework, and their subsequent formative evaluation by subject matter experts and by teachers. The outcome is a set of design principles for the development of integrated mathematics into science materials. However, although the CISA Model offers a practical, systematic and coherent approach to integration of mathematics into science, its adoption may be constrained by attitudinal, contextual and affective factors. This study suggests that curricular models also need to take account of the subject subculture, school structure and teacher subject identity issues that impact on the curricular choices that teachers make

PROMOTING 21ST CENTURY SKILLS THROUGH STEM INTEGRATION: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF NATIONAL CURRICULA

A common aim of many national curricula is the development of students’ 21st century skills. This is frequently predicated upon interdisciplinary STEM teaching and learning. This chapter focuses on the Australian, Irish, and Scottish lower secondary school curricula and presents a comparative analysis of curricular documents from the three countries. The broad trend in international curricular policy has been a move away from content-focused specifications towards increased emphasis on the development of students’ competencies. This chapter analyses the ways in which these three national curricula frame the relationship between the development of 21st century skills and the teaching and learning of STEM, with a focus on how the mathematics curriculum interplays with science. While the curricula tend to have similar aims of incorporating 21st century skills through STEM integration, they differ with respect to the extent to which the subject-specific curricula at lower secondary level acknowledge the importance and relevance of the other STEM subjects. The national curriculum frameworks also vary in how they support practitioners to incorporate 21st Century skills development in their teaching; for example, through creating a curricular space for interdisciplinarity. This chapter highlights the implications of curricular policy for the development of students’ 21st century skills in STEM

Integrating mathematics into junior science

Science and mathematics are closely related in the physical world, yet as school subjects they can be quite separate, even where they share overlapping content (McBride and Silverman cited in Czerniak 2007). Science and mathematics integration has been recommended as a way to increase student conceptual understanding of, interest in, and motivation to learn both subjects (Pang and Good 2000). Moreover, STEM education (involving the purposeful integration of science, technology, engineering and mathematics) is receiving increasing emphasis in Ireland and elsewhere (Breiner et al. 2012). This article describes some key aspects that it is useful to be aware of so that meaningful teaching and learning of the important overlaps and interactions between the subjects can occur. The ideas have emerged from our research into the design, development and evaluation of a model for science and mathematics integration in Ireland. The model consists of three elements: a syllabus map of the overlapping content on the Junior Cycle science and mathematics curricula, a Teaching and Learning Sequence for overlapping science and mathematics content and skills, and a series of Critical Integrated Skills Activities (CISA) for science classrooms

Making mathematics and science integration happen: key aspects of practice

The integration of mathematics and science teaching and learning facilitates student learning, engagement, motivation, problem-solving, criticality and real-life application. However, the actual implementation of an integrative approach to the teaching and learning of both subjects at classroom level, with in-service teachers working collaboratively, at second-level education, is under-researched due to the complexities of school-based research. This study reports on a year-long case study on the implementation of an integrated unit of learning on distance, speed and time, within three second-level schools in Ireland. This study employed a qualitative approach and examined the key aspects of practice that impact on the integration of mathematics and science teaching and learning. We argue that teacher perspective, teacher knowledge of the other subject\u27 and of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK), and teacher collaboration and support all impact on the implementation of an integrative approach to mathematics and science education