ABSTRACT We investigated six preservice secondary science teachers’ implementation of reform-base... more ABSTRACT We investigated six preservice secondary science teachers’ implementation of reform-based science, in particular, their teaching of the Next Generation Science Standards’ (NGSS) science and engineering practice of using mathematics and computational thinking. A modified version of the Task Analysis Guide in Science served as our conceptual framework: It assesses both the integration of practices and content (i.e., the kind of thinking required), and the cognitive demand of tasks (i.e., the level of thinking required) in teachers’ lessons. We used this framework to qualitatively analyze our preservice teacher participants’ edTPA (teacher performance assessment) lessons—including their written commentaries, video-recorded lesson excerpts, and student work samples—for their implementation of the NGSS using mathematics and computational thinking practice. We examined (1) the integration of the mathematical content and practices outlined in the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics within the target NGSS practice, and (2) the cognitive demand of the mathematics in relation to science and mathematical practices. We found that four of our six preservice teachers implemented lessons that were integrated and cognitively demanding: These participants used the mathematics to move students’ understanding of the science phenomena forward. However, the other two participants implemented lessons that integrated mathematical content and practices but were low in cognitive demand. We conclude with implications for how teacher education programs can better support preservice teachers’ implementation of lessons that are both integrated and cognitively demanding so as to promote students’ mathematical reasoning and scientific sensemaking.
Research in Practice: Preparing and Retaining K-12 STEM Teachers in High-Need School Districts
We investigated how participating in a STEM teacher recruitment program impacted undergraduate st... more We investigated how participating in a STEM teacher recruitment program impacted undergraduate students’ decisions to pursue teaching and their self-reported preparation for teaching. We collected and analyzed survey and interview data from current and former participants of a University of California system-wide STEM teacher recruitment program called CalTeach. We found a significant relationship between undergraduates’ decision to pursue a career in teaching and the number of undergraduate education courses they completed. We also found that undergraduates who decided to pursue a career in teaching reported various ways that CalTeach influenced their decision. Undergraduates reported that participating in CalTeach reinforced or strengthened their decision to pursue teaching and that the classroom-based field experiences were especially helpful in shaping their decision. Indeed, the field experience component of CalTeach provided participants with opportunities to gain experience w...
ABSTRACT We investigated six preservice secondary science teachers’ implementation of reform-base... more ABSTRACT We investigated six preservice secondary science teachers’ implementation of reform-based science, in particular, their teaching of the Next Generation Science Standards’ (NGSS) science and engineering practice of using mathematics and computational thinking. A modified version of the Task Analysis Guide in Science served as our conceptual framework: It assesses both the integration of practices and content (i.e., the kind of thinking required), and the cognitive demand of tasks (i.e., the level of thinking required) in teachers’ lessons. We used this framework to qualitatively analyze our preservice teacher participants’ edTPA (teacher performance assessment) lessons—including their written commentaries, video-recorded lesson excerpts, and student work samples—for their implementation of the NGSS using mathematics and computational thinking practice. We examined (1) the integration of the mathematical content and practices outlined in the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics within the target NGSS practice, and (2) the cognitive demand of the mathematics in relation to science and mathematical practices. We found that four of our six preservice teachers implemented lessons that were integrated and cognitively demanding: These participants used the mathematics to move students’ understanding of the science phenomena forward. However, the other two participants implemented lessons that integrated mathematical content and practices but were low in cognitive demand. We conclude with implications for how teacher education programs can better support preservice teachers’ implementation of lessons that are both integrated and cognitively demanding so as to promote students’ mathematical reasoning and scientific sensemaking.
This paper investigates the perceptions of scientists and their awareness of issues, goals, and b... more This paper investigates the perceptions of scientists and their awareness of issues, goals, and beliefs related to gender and ethnicity in science and questions the curriculum, classroom management, and teaching strategies of instructors. The study examined 18 science faculty members' perceptions in a professional development seminar series and focused on these issues: (1) perceptions of students; (2) use of inclusive curriculum and instruction; and (3) views of the nature of science. Results indicate that family, cultural, and social expectations have effects on the academic achievement of students at the elementary and secondary education levels. Using scientists' experience-based ideas on equity issues to provide more equitable science education for all is recommended. (Contains 76 references.) (YDS)
The idea that students should investigate practical matters of importance to the local community ... more The idea that students should investigate practical matters of importance to the local community is hardly new. Neither is the belief that disciplines should be linked and taught in an integrated fashion. In the 1930s, science textbooks had titles like Everyday Problems in Science. Students learned about soil erosion and conservation methods; about infectious disease, vaccination, and inoculation. In mathematics, they learned about consumer discounts, compound interest, and balancing checkbooks. More than three decades earlier, John Dewey pioneered an educational philosophy of focusing school work on neighborhood problems and drawing from the many disciplines as students engaged in such activities. He pointed out that real-world problems are not readily confined within disciplinary boundaries, and neither should schooling be so confined.
This chapter provides an overview of a knowledge-in-pieces perspective on learning: the idea that... more This chapter provides an overview of a knowledge-in-pieces perspective on learning: the idea that knowledge consists of small cognitive units rather than large concepts. In the 1990s, diSessa (1993) introduced knowledge-in-pieces as an alternative learning theory to conceptual change and termed these small cognitive elements phenomenological primitives (p-prims). Unlike concepts, p-prims are ideas that are not formally learned; that are neither correct nor incorrect themselves, but can be appropriately or inappropriately applied in a given context; and that are activated in concert with other elements. Over time, other researchers then built on diSessa’s work. For example, Hammer (2004) referred to these small cognitive elements as resources and identified resources both for learning physics and for epistemology. Understanding learning as small cognitive pieces that must work together to make sense of phenomena helps to describe the tenaciousness of alternative conceptions in science. It also resonates with the descriptions of learning and teaching put forth in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Lead States, 2013) used in the United States. As such, after outlining the development of knowledge-in-pieces perspectives on learning, we examine the implications that these have for how instruction is designed.
As the demand to challenge and attend to multilingual learners has increased, teachers have not r... more As the demand to challenge and attend to multilingual learners has increased, teachers have not received adequate professional development to combat biases and perceptions implicitly engrained throughout the education system, especially in mathematics classrooms. This study implemented a studio day professional development cycle with inservice teachers who worked with multilingual students in Math 1 classrooms. This study examined teachers’ initial perceptions of multilingual learners and their understanding how to prepare for, challenge, and support multilingual learners. Teachers reported that, while their previous learning experiences around multilingual learners and mathematics were limited, this professional development opportunity allowed them to extend beyond simply attending to vocabulary to consider how to access text in rich ways to engage their students in more meaningful learning.
We investigated 10 secondary science teachers’ facilitation of classroom discussions to examine h... more We investigated 10 secondary science teachers’ facilitation of classroom discussions to examine how they went beyond eliciting student ideas to working with student ideas to support sensemaking. We qualitatively analysed video records of instruction and focussed our analysis on discussions stemming from formative assessments embedded in learning progression-based curricular units. We found that discussions could be placed on a quality continuum from recitation, to emergent, to transitional, to productive based on the degree to which teachers went beyond eliciting student ideas. We also found that discussion quality reflected the type and distribution of discourse moves teachers employed. In the highest quality (or productive) discussions, teachers used a concerted array of discourse moves to elicit, mark, and build on student ideas, including pressing students for reasoning, highlighting similarities and differences among the ideas and reasonings presented, and connecting student id...
Science Teacher Preparation in Content-Based Second Language Acquisition
We developed a capstone science methods course to better support preservice teachers in learning ... more We developed a capstone science methods course to better support preservice teachers in learning how both to teach science in ways attentive to English Language Learners (ELLs) and to develop an adaptive disposition to engage in reflection on their teaching of ELLs. Our course embodies three principles: (1) building from students’ funds of knowledge; (2) implementing cognitively demanding tasks; and (3) providing opportunities for rich language and literacy exposure and practice. Our methods and analysis were guided by three research questions: How did preservice science teacher participants understand the three principles of our capstone course? What successes and struggles did they identify when attempting to use these three principles to inform their classroom practice? What suggestions did they have for ways to improve the course? From our qualitative analysis of interviews with preservice science teachers, we found they were better at describing and identifying language rich opportunities for their students than at identifying ways they used their students’ funds of knowledge to inform their instruction. We also found that they felt they would benefit from knowing how to identify the needs of ELLs and how to better differentiate instruction for students. These findings make clear that we can certainly improve this capstone course. Still, our goal remains to foster the development of an adaptive disposition so that preservice science teachers can effectively work with their unique and diverse group of ELLs, not only as student teachers in a temporary placement but also as beginning teachers in their own science classrooms.
Proceedings of the 7th Annual Conference on Creativity and Fabrication in Education
We describe the benefits of a collaborative and creative mentorsupported engineering program cond... more We describe the benefits of a collaborative and creative mentorsupported engineering program conducted between a group of fifth- and sixth-grade students and engineering undergraduate students. The elementary students and undergraduates collaborated in small teams to design and build robots that would dance together. The program was augmented with mentors from the Society of Women Engineers who helped run weekly after school sessions at the elementary school. This program engaged elementary students in engineering design with a collaborative gender-neutral project. Moreover, this program exposed a group of elementary students with a predominantly masculine perception of engineering to female engineer mentors for the first time. By the end of the program, students developed a more comprehensive understanding of engineering and everyone considered engineering as a possible career.
ABSTRACT We investigated six preservice secondary science teachers’ implementation of reform-base... more ABSTRACT We investigated six preservice secondary science teachers’ implementation of reform-based science, in particular, their teaching of the Next Generation Science Standards’ (NGSS) science and engineering practice of using mathematics and computational thinking. A modified version of the Task Analysis Guide in Science served as our conceptual framework: It assesses both the integration of practices and content (i.e., the kind of thinking required), and the cognitive demand of tasks (i.e., the level of thinking required) in teachers’ lessons. We used this framework to qualitatively analyze our preservice teacher participants’ edTPA (teacher performance assessment) lessons—including their written commentaries, video-recorded lesson excerpts, and student work samples—for their implementation of the NGSS using mathematics and computational thinking practice. We examined (1) the integration of the mathematical content and practices outlined in the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics within the target NGSS practice, and (2) the cognitive demand of the mathematics in relation to science and mathematical practices. We found that four of our six preservice teachers implemented lessons that were integrated and cognitively demanding: These participants used the mathematics to move students’ understanding of the science phenomena forward. However, the other two participants implemented lessons that integrated mathematical content and practices but were low in cognitive demand. We conclude with implications for how teacher education programs can better support preservice teachers’ implementation of lessons that are both integrated and cognitively demanding so as to promote students’ mathematical reasoning and scientific sensemaking.
Research in Practice: Preparing and Retaining K-12 STEM Teachers in High-Need School Districts
We investigated how participating in a STEM teacher recruitment program impacted undergraduate st... more We investigated how participating in a STEM teacher recruitment program impacted undergraduate students’ decisions to pursue teaching and their self-reported preparation for teaching. We collected and analyzed survey and interview data from current and former participants of a University of California system-wide STEM teacher recruitment program called CalTeach. We found a significant relationship between undergraduates’ decision to pursue a career in teaching and the number of undergraduate education courses they completed. We also found that undergraduates who decided to pursue a career in teaching reported various ways that CalTeach influenced their decision. Undergraduates reported that participating in CalTeach reinforced or strengthened their decision to pursue teaching and that the classroom-based field experiences were especially helpful in shaping their decision. Indeed, the field experience component of CalTeach provided participants with opportunities to gain experience w...
ABSTRACT We investigated six preservice secondary science teachers’ implementation of reform-base... more ABSTRACT We investigated six preservice secondary science teachers’ implementation of reform-based science, in particular, their teaching of the Next Generation Science Standards’ (NGSS) science and engineering practice of using mathematics and computational thinking. A modified version of the Task Analysis Guide in Science served as our conceptual framework: It assesses both the integration of practices and content (i.e., the kind of thinking required), and the cognitive demand of tasks (i.e., the level of thinking required) in teachers’ lessons. We used this framework to qualitatively analyze our preservice teacher participants’ edTPA (teacher performance assessment) lessons—including their written commentaries, video-recorded lesson excerpts, and student work samples—for their implementation of the NGSS using mathematics and computational thinking practice. We examined (1) the integration of the mathematical content and practices outlined in the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics within the target NGSS practice, and (2) the cognitive demand of the mathematics in relation to science and mathematical practices. We found that four of our six preservice teachers implemented lessons that were integrated and cognitively demanding: These participants used the mathematics to move students’ understanding of the science phenomena forward. However, the other two participants implemented lessons that integrated mathematical content and practices but were low in cognitive demand. We conclude with implications for how teacher education programs can better support preservice teachers’ implementation of lessons that are both integrated and cognitively demanding so as to promote students’ mathematical reasoning and scientific sensemaking.
This paper investigates the perceptions of scientists and their awareness of issues, goals, and b... more This paper investigates the perceptions of scientists and their awareness of issues, goals, and beliefs related to gender and ethnicity in science and questions the curriculum, classroom management, and teaching strategies of instructors. The study examined 18 science faculty members' perceptions in a professional development seminar series and focused on these issues: (1) perceptions of students; (2) use of inclusive curriculum and instruction; and (3) views of the nature of science. Results indicate that family, cultural, and social expectations have effects on the academic achievement of students at the elementary and secondary education levels. Using scientists' experience-based ideas on equity issues to provide more equitable science education for all is recommended. (Contains 76 references.) (YDS)
The idea that students should investigate practical matters of importance to the local community ... more The idea that students should investigate practical matters of importance to the local community is hardly new. Neither is the belief that disciplines should be linked and taught in an integrated fashion. In the 1930s, science textbooks had titles like Everyday Problems in Science. Students learned about soil erosion and conservation methods; about infectious disease, vaccination, and inoculation. In mathematics, they learned about consumer discounts, compound interest, and balancing checkbooks. More than three decades earlier, John Dewey pioneered an educational philosophy of focusing school work on neighborhood problems and drawing from the many disciplines as students engaged in such activities. He pointed out that real-world problems are not readily confined within disciplinary boundaries, and neither should schooling be so confined.
This chapter provides an overview of a knowledge-in-pieces perspective on learning: the idea that... more This chapter provides an overview of a knowledge-in-pieces perspective on learning: the idea that knowledge consists of small cognitive units rather than large concepts. In the 1990s, diSessa (1993) introduced knowledge-in-pieces as an alternative learning theory to conceptual change and termed these small cognitive elements phenomenological primitives (p-prims). Unlike concepts, p-prims are ideas that are not formally learned; that are neither correct nor incorrect themselves, but can be appropriately or inappropriately applied in a given context; and that are activated in concert with other elements. Over time, other researchers then built on diSessa’s work. For example, Hammer (2004) referred to these small cognitive elements as resources and identified resources both for learning physics and for epistemology. Understanding learning as small cognitive pieces that must work together to make sense of phenomena helps to describe the tenaciousness of alternative conceptions in science. It also resonates with the descriptions of learning and teaching put forth in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Lead States, 2013) used in the United States. As such, after outlining the development of knowledge-in-pieces perspectives on learning, we examine the implications that these have for how instruction is designed.
As the demand to challenge and attend to multilingual learners has increased, teachers have not r... more As the demand to challenge and attend to multilingual learners has increased, teachers have not received adequate professional development to combat biases and perceptions implicitly engrained throughout the education system, especially in mathematics classrooms. This study implemented a studio day professional development cycle with inservice teachers who worked with multilingual students in Math 1 classrooms. This study examined teachers’ initial perceptions of multilingual learners and their understanding how to prepare for, challenge, and support multilingual learners. Teachers reported that, while their previous learning experiences around multilingual learners and mathematics were limited, this professional development opportunity allowed them to extend beyond simply attending to vocabulary to consider how to access text in rich ways to engage their students in more meaningful learning.
We investigated 10 secondary science teachers’ facilitation of classroom discussions to examine h... more We investigated 10 secondary science teachers’ facilitation of classroom discussions to examine how they went beyond eliciting student ideas to working with student ideas to support sensemaking. We qualitatively analysed video records of instruction and focussed our analysis on discussions stemming from formative assessments embedded in learning progression-based curricular units. We found that discussions could be placed on a quality continuum from recitation, to emergent, to transitional, to productive based on the degree to which teachers went beyond eliciting student ideas. We also found that discussion quality reflected the type and distribution of discourse moves teachers employed. In the highest quality (or productive) discussions, teachers used a concerted array of discourse moves to elicit, mark, and build on student ideas, including pressing students for reasoning, highlighting similarities and differences among the ideas and reasonings presented, and connecting student id...
Science Teacher Preparation in Content-Based Second Language Acquisition
We developed a capstone science methods course to better support preservice teachers in learning ... more We developed a capstone science methods course to better support preservice teachers in learning how both to teach science in ways attentive to English Language Learners (ELLs) and to develop an adaptive disposition to engage in reflection on their teaching of ELLs. Our course embodies three principles: (1) building from students’ funds of knowledge; (2) implementing cognitively demanding tasks; and (3) providing opportunities for rich language and literacy exposure and practice. Our methods and analysis were guided by three research questions: How did preservice science teacher participants understand the three principles of our capstone course? What successes and struggles did they identify when attempting to use these three principles to inform their classroom practice? What suggestions did they have for ways to improve the course? From our qualitative analysis of interviews with preservice science teachers, we found they were better at describing and identifying language rich opportunities for their students than at identifying ways they used their students’ funds of knowledge to inform their instruction. We also found that they felt they would benefit from knowing how to identify the needs of ELLs and how to better differentiate instruction for students. These findings make clear that we can certainly improve this capstone course. Still, our goal remains to foster the development of an adaptive disposition so that preservice science teachers can effectively work with their unique and diverse group of ELLs, not only as student teachers in a temporary placement but also as beginning teachers in their own science classrooms.
Proceedings of the 7th Annual Conference on Creativity and Fabrication in Education
We describe the benefits of a collaborative and creative mentorsupported engineering program cond... more We describe the benefits of a collaborative and creative mentorsupported engineering program conducted between a group of fifth- and sixth-grade students and engineering undergraduate students. The elementary students and undergraduates collaborated in small teams to design and build robots that would dance together. The program was augmented with mentors from the Society of Women Engineers who helped run weekly after school sessions at the elementary school. This program engaged elementary students in engineering design with a collaborative gender-neutral project. Moreover, this program exposed a group of elementary students with a predominantly masculine perception of engineering to female engineer mentors for the first time. By the end of the program, students developed a more comprehensive understanding of engineering and everyone considered engineering as a possible career.
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