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Volume 88, Number 3

cover

Volume 88, Number 3

cover

Volume 88, Number 3

cover

Volume 58, Number 3

cover

Volume 58, Number 3

cover

Volume 58, Number 3

 

Freebies for Science Teachers, January 5, 2021

By Debra Shapiro

Freebies for Science Teachers, January 5, 2021

 

Reflections About Teaching Science Remotely

By Jim McDonald

Posted on 2020-12-22

Reflections About Teaching Science Remotely

Transforming Science Learning: Theory to Practice: Practical Guidance for Engaging MLs in 3D Science, February 24, 2021

Join us on Wednesday, February 24, 2021, from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM ET for another edition of the Transforming Science Learning series.

NSTA and the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) have joined forces in a new program, Making Science Multilingual (MSM), to support the equitable inclusion of multilingual learners in three-dimensional science. The program co-leaders will share how the MSM Design Principles translate to specific equity-focused action in your classrooms.

Join us on Wednesday, February 24, 2021, from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM ET for another edition of the Transforming Science Learning series.

NSTA and the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) have joined forces in a new program, Making Science Multilingual (MSM), to support the equitable inclusion of multilingual learners in three-dimensional science. The program co-leaders will share how the MSM Design Principles translate to specific equity-focused action in your classrooms.

Join us on Wednesday, February 24, 2021, from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM ET for another edition of the Transforming Science Learning series.

NSTA and the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) have joined forces in a new program, Making Science Multilingual (MSM), to support the equitable inclusion of multilingual learners in three-dimensional science. The program co-leaders will share how the MSM Design Principles translate to specific equity-focused action in your classrooms.

Join us on Wednesday, February 24, 2021, from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM ET for another edition of the Transforming Science Learning series.

NSTA and the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) have joined forces in a new program, Making Science Multilingual (MSM), to support the equitable inclusion of multilingual learners in three-dimensional science. The program co-leaders will share how the MSM Design Principles translate to specific equity-focused action in your classrooms.

Join us on Wednesday, February 24, 2021, from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM ET for another edition of the Transforming Science Learning series.

NSTA and the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) have joined forces in a new program, Making Science Multilingual (MSM), to support the equitable inclusion of multilingual learners in three-dimensional science. The program co-leaders will share how the MSM Design Principles translate to specific equity-focused action in your classrooms.

 

research & teaching

Improving Preservice Elementary Teachers’ Engineering Teaching Efficacy Beliefs With 3D Design and Printing

Journal of College Science Teaching—May/June 2019 (Volume 48, Issue 5)

By Erdogan Kaya, Anna Newley, Ezgi Yesilyurt and Hasan Deniz

The Framework for K–12 Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) under-score the importance of including engineering design process (EDP) within the science curriculum. The Framework and the NGSS raised engineering design to the level of scientific inquiry in an attempt to prepare a STEM-literate workforce for the 21st century. Science teachers and elementary teachers do not have the required pedagogical content knowledge and self-efficacy to integrate engineering design in their own teaching. We believe that preservice elementary teachers should be taught how to integrate the EDP into their teaching and think that introducing 3D printing into preservice elementary science teaching methods courses can be an effective method for integrating engineering into elementary science teaching. In this study, our purpose is twofold: (a) provide a detailed explanation of how 3D printing is integrated into the EDP within the context of an elementary science teaching methods course and (b) investigate the changes in preservice elementary teachers’ engineering teaching efficacy beliefs as a result of their participation in an engineering design challenge that requires 3D printing. Our results revealed an increase in PST engineering teaching efficacy beliefs.

 

The Framework for K–12 Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) under-score the importance of including engineering design process (EDP) within the science curriculum. The Framework and the NGSS raised engineering design to the level of scientific inquiry in an attempt to prepare a STEM-literate workforce for the 21st century. Science teachers and elementary teachers do not have the required pedagogical content knowledge and self-efficacy to integrate engineering design in their own teaching.
The Framework for K–12 Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) under-score the importance of including engineering design process (EDP) within the science curriculum. The Framework and the NGSS raised engineering design to the level of scientific inquiry in an attempt to prepare a STEM-literate workforce for the 21st century. Science teachers and elementary teachers do not have the required pedagogical content knowledge and self-efficacy to integrate engineering design in their own teaching.
 

research & teaching

Exploring Student Perception Toward Online Homework and Comparison With Paper Homework in an Introductory Probability Course

Journal of College Science Teaching—May/June 2019 (Volume 48, Issue 5)

By Philip Matchett Wood and Vijesh Bhute

Online software systems are extensively used to give students practice on course content, especially in mathematics and physics courses. They offer instant feedback, and several of these systems are open source or very economical compared with hiring graders for traditional paper-and-pencil–based homework (PPH). In this article, the authors evaluate WeBWorK (WW), an online software tool, in an introductory course on probability over two semesters. WW is compared with PPH by measuring student perception, average time spent on a problem, collaborative work outside of classroom, resilience, self-efficacy, and exam performance. The authors find that except for working in groups on homework, students perform similarly on all the aforementioned aspects in both PPH and WW. The authors also suggest potential strategies to improve student understanding and learning while using WW and recommend the use of WW in mathematics-oriented courses. 

 

Online software systems are extensively used to give students practice on course content, especially in mathematics and physics courses. They offer instant feedback, and several of these systems are open source or very economical compared with hiring graders for traditional paper-and-pencil–based homework (PPH). In this article, the authors evaluate WeBWorK (WW), an online software tool, in an introductory course on probability over two semesters.
Online software systems are extensively used to give students practice on course content, especially in mathematics and physics courses. They offer instant feedback, and several of these systems are open source or very economical compared with hiring graders for traditional paper-and-pencil–based homework (PPH). In this article, the authors evaluate WeBWorK (WW), an online software tool, in an introductory course on probability over two semesters.
 

research & teaching

Developing a Tiered Mentoring Model for Teaching Assistants Instructing Course-Based Research Experiences

Journal of College Science Teaching—May/June 2019 (Volume 48, Issue 5)

By Magdalene K. Moy, Penny L. Hammrich and Karen Kabnick

As undergraduate institutions rely more heavily on teaching assistants (TAs) they are simultaneously encouraging implementation of course-based research experiences (CBREs). Due to the dynamic nature of CBREs, it is challenging to assign novice TAs to instruct these types of classes. A 10-week CBRE was designed to guide both TAs and their students through a tiered mentored course. The CBRE scaffolded the learning experience for both the TAs and their students for the first 4 weeks with preset labs and then allowed 6 weeks for the TAs to guide their students through asking a scientific research question, designing an experiment, and implementing their research design. This course utilized the researchers as TA instructors, undergraduate students as TAs and research mentors, and high school students as mentees of the undergraduate students. This qualitative study describes the course objectives and design as well as the self-reported science content, teaching, and mentoring gains of the CBRE TAs. These findings support that TAs being trained as research mentors may increase learning gains in both the mentor and mentee populations. 

 

As undergraduate institutions rely more heavily on teaching assistants (TAs) they are simultaneously encouraging implementation of course-based research experiences (CBREs). Due to the dynamic nature of CBREs, it is challenging to assign novice TAs to instruct these types of classes. A 10-week CBRE was designed to guide both TAs and their students through a tiered mentored course.
As undergraduate institutions rely more heavily on teaching assistants (TAs) they are simultaneously encouraging implementation of course-based research experiences (CBREs). Due to the dynamic nature of CBREs, it is challenging to assign novice TAs to instruct these types of classes. A 10-week CBRE was designed to guide both TAs and their students through a tiered mentored course.
 

Research & Teaching

Building Bridges

An Active Learning Lesson in Evolution and Collaboration

Journal of College Science Teaching—May/June 2019 (Volume 48, Issue 5)

By Kelly A. Carscadden, Molly T. McDermott, Sheela P. Turbek, Silas B. Tittes and Andrew P. Martin

We describe a hands-on, collaborative activity designed to illustrate general properties of evolution, provide practice for quantitative skills, promote creativity and collaboration, and enable student self-assessment of learning. During the activity, teams construct bridges using common office supplies. The best-performing bridge becomes the template for a second generation of bridges. After students have tested two generations of bridges, they manipulate, visualize, and analyze their data. Using these analyses, students make evidence-based claims about key evolutionary concepts: adaptation, trade-offs between traits, and complexity. Our study included multiple lab sections (analogous to populations), so students see that evolution can proceed differently across populations. Student responses indicated the activity fostered community and teamwork, helped students understand evolution, and improved their quantitative skills. To assess how well this activity illustrated predictions of evolutionary theory, we analyzed the full dataset across lab sections. This activity incorporates science teaching best practices and could be readily adapted for learning goals beyond evolution. 

 

We describe a hands-on, collaborative activity designed to illustrate general properties of evolution, provide practice for quantitative skills, promote creativity and collaboration, and enable student self-assessment of learning. During the activity, teams construct bridges using common office supplies. The best-performing bridge becomes the template for a second generation of bridges. After students have tested two generations of bridges, they manipulate, visualize, and analyze their data.
We describe a hands-on, collaborative activity designed to illustrate general properties of evolution, provide practice for quantitative skills, promote creativity and collaboration, and enable student self-assessment of learning. During the activity, teams construct bridges using common office supplies. The best-performing bridge becomes the template for a second generation of bridges. After students have tested two generations of bridges, they manipulate, visualize, and analyze their data.
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