Growing the STEM Teacher Workforce: A Focus Group Study of the Career Considerations of High-Achieving, Underrepresented, High School Students

The low number of underrepresented minority teachers across all disciplines and all grade levels is a well-documented problem facing the nation. These disparities become even more pronounced when examining the STEM teaching workforce. According to a report produced by Horizon Research, Inc. (Banilower et al., 2013), only 8% of high school science teachers and 8% of high school mathematics teachers characterize themselves as non-white. The purpose of this study was to generate an empirically grounded understanding of three aspects of the career considerations of high-achieving, underrepresented minority students (career interests and barriers, the people and organizations that influence career decisions, and the fit between STEM teaching and students’ life goals). Findings show that while most students are not interested in STEM teaching careers, they did find that their life goals aligned with life goals that could be realized with a teaching career

Educational Technology in Top-Tier Science Education Research: A Literature Review

Access, implementation, and teacher attitudes about technology in the classroom have increased in recent years. While numerous reports (Purcell, Heaps, Buchanan, & Friedrich, 2013; CompTIA, n.d.; Schacter, 1999) cite the impact of technology broadly, there are limited reports dedicated to exploring the impact of technology implementation in science courses. This review examines the technology tools implemented in formal and informal K-12 science settings published in top-tier science journals from 2010 to 2016. Findings include the most commonly studied technology tools in physical science, life science, and earth/space science disciplines, as well as their reported impacts on student achievement, dispositions, and student-teacher interactions. While challenges are evident, technology integration in the teaching and learning of science across disciplines has made many significant positive impacts

A Study on the Influence and Importance of Black Science Teachers

Black teachers have been known to provide positive experiences and outcomes for students, especially Black students. Nevertheless, Black science teachers are marginally represented in public classrooms across the United States, and Black students are marginally under-represented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Black science teachers provide an inherent value to the education of Black children, including their ability to make science meaningful and relevant, contribute to the community where they live and work, and relate to students\u27 experiences more intimately. Further, All levels of education should prioritize Black science teacher recruitment, and educational researchers should provide more evidence of recruiting, teaching, and learning best practices as it relates to teachers of African descent

Online Tools for Active In-Class Learning

According to researchers, Thiele et al. (2014), technology can enhance learning by making the classroom more active and student-centered. In EDU 307 and EDU 419, I have used a variety of online tools to support active student engagement during classroom discussions and activities. During this poster session, I will explain how to integrate tools such as Popplet, Padlet, Plickers and more to engage students in classroom discussions, collaborative work, and assignments. I will also share samples of student work

Environmental Injustice, A City in Crisis: The Use of Informal Science

In April of 2014, the city of Flint, Michigan gained national attention and assistance after the residents noticed physical issues in their water. This unfortunate event led to opportunities to address certain issues in research and provided a window of opportunity to learn. This work will allow us to analyze how individuals use science as a resource for decision making, conscious thinking, and understanding of informal science knowledge

Impact of hybrid FACTS devices on the stability of the Kenyan power system

Flexible alternating current transmission system (FACTS) devices are deployed for improving power system’s stability either singly or as a combination. This research investigates hybrid FACTS devices and studies their impact on voltage, small-signal and transient stability simultaneously under various system disturbances. The simulations were done using five FACTS devices-static var compensator (SVC), static synchronous compensator (STATCOM), static synchronous series compensators (SSSC), thyristor controlled series compensator (TCSC) and unified power flow controller (UPFC) in MATLAB’s power system analysis toolbox (PSAT). These five devices were grouped into ten pairs and tested on Kenya’s transmission network under specific contingencies: the loss of a major generating machine and/or transmission line. The UPFC-STATCOM pair performed the best in all the three aspects under study. The settling times were 3 seconds and 3.05 seconds respectively for voltage and rotor angle improvement on the loss of a major generator at normal operation. The same pair gave settling times of 2.11 seconds and 3.12 seconds for voltage and rotor angle stability improvement respectively on the loss of a major transmission line at 140% system loading. From the study, two novel techniques were developed: A performance-based ranking system and classification for FACTS devices

Aflatoxin control and prevention strategies in maize for Sub-Saharan Africa

Mycotoxins are secondary fungal metabolites that contaminate agricultural commodities and can cause sickness or death in humans and animals. Risk of mycotoxin contamination of food and feed in Africa is increased due to environmental, agronomic and socio-economic factors. Environmental conditions especially high humidity and temperature favour fungal proliferation. Farming practices in Africa sustain fungal and toxin contamination of food and feed. The socio-economic and food security status of the majority of inhabitants of sub-Saharan Africa leaves them little option in choosing good quality products. Several technologies have been tested in Africa to reduce mycotoxin risk. Field management practices that increase yields may also prevent aflatoxin. They include use of resistant varieties, timely planting, fertilizer application, weed control, insect control and avoiding drought and nutritional stress. Other options to control the toxin causing fungi A. flavus contamination in the field are use of atoxigenic fungi to competitively displace toxigenic fungi, and timely harvest. Post-harvest interventions that reduce mycotoxins are rapid and proper drying, sorting, cleaning, drying, smoking, post harvest insect control, and the use of botanicals or synthetic pesticides as storage protectant. Another approach is to reduce the frequent consumption of ‘high risk’ foods (especially maize and groundnut) by consuming a more varied diet, and diversifying into less risky staples like sorghum and millet. Chemo-preventive measures that can reduce mycotoxin effect include daily consumption of chlorophyllin or oltipraz and by incorporating hydrated sodium calcium aluminosilicates into the diet. Detoxification of aflatoxins is often achieved physically (sorting, physical segregation, flotation etc.), chemically (with calcium hydroxide, ammonia) and microbiologically by incorporating probiotics or lactic acid bacteria into the diet. There is need for efficient monitoring and surveillance with costeffective sampling and anlytical methods. Sustaining public education and awareness can help to reduce aflatoxin contamination. Keywords: Aflatoxin, Sub-Saharan Africa, Control measure

Solution of EPD by Fourier Transform Method

We solve the Euler-Poisson-Darboux (EPD) equation using the Fourier transform method. The inverse Fourier transform is found using a convolution with the Heaviside step function in order to obtain the solution. We then extend our results into a generalized hypergeometric form and we also discuss the differentiability of the solution