323 research outputs found
Elementary Preservice Teachers\u27 Conceptions and Ability to Develop and Assess Integrated STEM Lessons
Elementary teacher preparation programs prepare their pre-service teachers (PSTs) to teach STEM. In this study, two teacher educators in the disciplines of science and mathematics utilized a modified âDraw a Science Teacherâ (DASTT-C) framework (Thomas et al., 2001) and the Understanding by Design (UbD) framework (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005) to understand PSTs\u27 conceptions of integrated STEM and how they plan and assess their lessons. This research brief discusses some of the results of 16 PSTsâ pre- and post-DASTT-C results as well as analysis of STEM lesson plans written during their third-year pre-service program
Reimagining an elementary teacher education preparation program: Striving for integrated teaching
Despite elementary teacher education programs preparing preservice teachers in the main content areas of literacy, math, science, and social studies, few elementary school classrooms teach all four content areas on a regular and thorough basis. Therefore, elementary education teacher preparation programs should be redesigned to support an integrated teaching model of all four content areas in order to better prepare preservice teachers (PST) to serve elementary students. The main research question for this study was How does a collaborative and integrated elementary education program impact PSTsâ knowledge and understanding of an integrated K-6 elementary classroom? The sample included 12 preservice education students at a Midwest, private liberal arts university. The study occurred over three semesters in a newly developed integrated elementary education program. Data tools collected included: field experience lesson plans, preservice classroom observations, a survey of experiences, video-recorded lessons, and the edTPA. When looking at the different types of integration, the most common was interdisciplinary teaching where one content area supported the work of another. The lack of integration may be due to limited or no tools available to support preservice teachers to teach in this fashion. To answer the research question, it was found that the PSTs graduated from the preservice program and entered their own classrooms with a vague understanding of integrated teaching. Although our program was integrated in the delivery of content and field experience, the transparency was not revealed to the PSTs during their methods classes and field work
An international collaborative investigation of beginning seventh grade students' understandings of scientific inquiry: Establishing a baseline
Although understandings of scientific inquiry (as opposed to conducting inquiry) are included in science education reform documents around the world, little is known about what students have learned about inquiry during their elementary school years. This is partially due to the lack of any assessment instrument to measure understandings about scientific inquiry. However, a valid and reliable assessment has recently been developed and published, Views About Scientific Inquiry (VASI; Lederman et al. [2014], Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 51, 65â83). The purpose of this large-scale international project was to collect the first baseline data on what beginning middle school students have learned about scientific inquiry during their elementary school years. Eighteen countries/regions spanning six continents including 2,634 students participated in the study. The participating countries/regions were: Australia, Brazil, Chile, Egypt, England, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Mainland China, New Zealand, Nigeria, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Turkey, and the United States. In many countries, science is not formally taught until middle school, which is the rationale for choosing seventh grade students for this investigation. This baseline data will simultaneously provide information on what, if anything, students learn about inquiry in elementary school, as well as their beginning knowledge as they enter secondary school. It is important to note that collecting data from all of the approximately 200 countries globally was not humanly possible, and it was also not possible to collect data from every region of each country. The results overwhelmingly show that students around the world at the beginning of grade seven have very little understandings about scientific inquiry. Some countries do show reasonable understandings in certain aspects but the overall picture of understandings of scientific inquiry is not what is hoped for after completing 6 years of elementary education in any country
Understandings of scientific inquiry: an international collaborative investigation of seventh grade students
Although understandings of scientific inquiry (as opposed to conducting inquiry) is included in science
education reform documents around the world, little is known about what students have learned about inquiry
during their primary school years. This is partially due to the lack of any assessment instrument to measure
understandings about scientific inquiry. However, a valid and reliable assessment has recently been developed
and published, Views About Scientific Inquiry (VASI) (Lederman J. et. al., 2014). The purpose of this large
scale (i.e., 19 countries spanning six continents and including 2,960 students) international project was to get
the first baseline data on what grade students have learned. The participating countries were: Australia,
Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Egypt, England, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, New Zealand, Nigeria, South
Africa, Spain, Sweden, United States, Taiwan, and Turkey. In many countries, science is not formally taught
until middle school, which is the rationale for choosing seventh grade students for this investigation. This
baseline data will simultaneously provide information on what, if anything, students learn about inquiry in
primary school, as well as their beginning knowledge as they enter secondary school
Edge states in a two-dimensional honeycomb lattice of massive magnetic skyrmions
We study the collective dynamics of a two-dimensional honeycomb lattice of
magnetic skyrmions. By performing large-scale micromagnetic simulations, we
find multiple chiral and non-chiral edge modes of skyrmion oscillations in the
lattice. The non-chiral edge states are due to the Tamm-Shockley mechanism,
while the chiral ones are topologically protected against structure defects and
hold different handednesses depending on the mode frequency. To interpret the
emerging multiband nature of the chiral edge states, we generalize the massless
Thiele's equation by including a second-order inertial term of skyrmion mass as
well as a third-order non-Newtonian gyroscopic term, which allows us to model
the band structure of skrymion oscillations. Theoretical results compare well
with numerical simulations. Our findings uncover the importance of high order
effects in strongly coupled skyrmions and are helpful for designing novel
topological devices.Comment: 6 pages,4 figures,accepted by Physical Review B as a Rapid
Communicatio
Accessing the strong interaction between Î baryons and charged kaons with the femtoscopy technique at the LHC
The interaction between Î baryons and kaons/antikaons is a crucial ingredient for the strangeness S=0 and S=-2 sector of the mesonâbaryon interaction at low energies. In particular, the Lambda-Kbar might help in understanding the origin of states such as the Csi(1620), whose nature and properties are still under debate. Experimental data on Lambda-K and Lambda-Kbar systems are scarce, leading to large uncertainties and tension between the available theoretical predictions constrained by such data. In this Letter we present the measurements of ÎâKKâ and ÎâKK+ correlations obtained in the high-multiplicity triggered data sample in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 13 TeV recorded by ALICE at the LHC. The correlation function for both pairs is modeled using the LednickĂœâLyuboshits analytical formula and the corresponding scattering parameters are extracted. The ÎâKK+ correlations show the presence of several structures at relative momenta k* above 200 MeV/c, compatible with the Ω baryon, the , and resonances decaying into ÎâKâ pairs. The low k* region in the ÎâKK+ also exhibits the presence of the state, expected to strongly couple to the measured pair. The presented data allow to access the ÎK+ and ÎKâ strong interaction with an unprecedented precision and deliver the first experimental observation of the decaying into ÎKâ
WHAT DO PRIMARY STUDENTS KNOW ABOUT SCIENCE, SCIENTISTS AND HOW THEY DO THEIR WORK?
The teaching of scientific literacy is the primary goal of elementary science education. Scientific literacy is composed of the overall understanding of what science is and how scientific knowledge is developed. The purpose of this study was to see if elementary studentsâ understandings of science, scientists and how scientists do their work changes from grade one to grade five of elementary school. Furthermore, the study attempts to determine whether there is a difference in scientific literacy between students taught using a textbook curriculum versus a kit-based curriculum. The study draws on a sample of 338 students from 18 different classrooms situated in six different schools in both urban and suburban areas of a large Midwestern city. Studentsâ understandings of science, scientists and how they do their work was measured through a valid and reliable oral protocol entitled Young Childrenâs Views of Science (YCVS) (Lederman, J., Bartels, Lederman, & Ganankkan, 2014). The YCVS assesses studentsâ understandings of the aspects of scientific inquiry (SI) and the nature of science (NOS) that young elementary students are able to understand. These aspects are; science, scientists, multiple methods, observation/inference, begins with a question, empirical, subjectivity, tentativeness and creativity. The YCVS was administered orally for grade one students, and a paper-and-pencil version was given to grades three and five. Twenty percent of the students in grade three and five were interviewed to ensure the proper interpretation of their YCVS responses. Responses to the YCVS were analyzed and students were given a rating of no answer, inadequate, mixed or informed for each aspect assessed on the YCVS. Frequency data was totaled for each grade level of each school. In order to determine if significant gains were made between the grade levels a Fisherâs exact test was run between each grade (one and three, three and five and one and five); significance of < 0.05 was selected. Fisherâs exact test was selected because the data were categorical with low frequencies for some categories. Additionally, a comparison between the kit-based curriculum schools and the textbook-based curriculum schools was made for each of the aspects of NOS and SI assessed in this study. Results indicated that there are very few gains in NOS and SI understandings between grades one and five in the schools included in this study. None of the schools in this study made significant gains for all of the nine aspects measured in this study. Only two schools made significant (p< 0.05) gains in five or more aspects of NOS/SI. The other four schools in this study made gains in fewer than four aspects. Two schools had a significant (p<0.05) decrease in understandings for more than one aspect. Examining curriculumâs affect on NOS and SI understandings, understanding of only one aspect was significantly impacted by curriculum differences. Subjectivity understanding was impacted by kit-based instruction. Overall, studentsâ understandings of science, scientists and how they do their work did not significantly change from grade one to grade five regardless of what type of curriculum they followed. This study shows that studentsâ scientific literacy is not being developed throughout elementary school. Therefore, the teaching of scientific literacy in an explicit and reflective manner should be the focus of preservice elementary school education.Ph.D. in Science Education, December 201
International collaborative follow-up investigation of graduating high school studentsâ understandings of the nature of scientific inquiry::is progress Being made?
Shaping Preservice Teachersâ Understandings of STEM: A Collaborative Math and Science Methods Approach
Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education has become an international focus of science education curricular reforms. However, few Kâ12 teachers have the background to authentically teach STEM in an integrated way. This is especially true of elementary teachers, who are often less confident or prepared to teach STEM disciplines independently. Most methods courses for preservice elementary teachers are taught independently by content area (math, science, language arts, and social studies), and seldom model integrated teaching strategies. Preservice teachers should have opportunities to experience and create developmentally appropriate curricula that integrate STEM disciplines. This study sought to bridge elementary preservice math and science methods courses through the modeling of integrated STEM lessons. The researchers who served as course instructors codesigned a STEM unit and collaborated throughout the semester. After explicit modeling and practice, surveys and lesson plans were used to determine the preservice elementary teachersâ understandings of STEM and their ability to plan integrated STEM lessons. In both the science and mathematics methods courses, the month-long unit on STEM education included explicitly modeled STEM lessons and culminated with preservice teachers planning, teaching, and reflecting on their own integrated lessons. Although misconceptions that a STEM lesson needed to address every discipline remained, the teachersâ ability to recognize and design lessons improved. This study supports the value of collaboratively taught elementary math and science methods courses to provide the experiences teachers will need to deliver STEM instruction in their classrooms
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