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Eric.ed.gov – Threshold Concepts: From Personal Practice to Communities of Practice. Proceedings of the National Academy’s Sixth Annual Conference and the Fourth Biennial Threshold Concepts Conference [E-publication] (Dublin, Ireland, June 27-29, 2012)

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The 6th Annual Conference of the National Academy for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (NAIRTL) and the 4th Biennial Threshold Concepts Conference was held at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, on June 27-29, 2012. The NAIRTL is a collaborative initiative between University College Cork, Cork Institute of Technology, National University of Ireland Galway, Trinity College Dublin, and Waterford Institute of Technology. It is supported by the Higher Education Authority under the Strategic Innovation Fund. The proceedings from the 2012 NAIRTL conference bring together “key insights” on the topic of Threshold Concepts. This publication includes a selection of papers from the conference. The papers provide insights into how to apply the Threshold Concepts idea to gain a deeper understanding of how students learn, and also how to… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – East School: Movement and Growth. A Case Study for the Vermont Institute of Science, Math and Technology.

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This case study of East School, a central Vermont K-2 school with 125 students, describes the early stages of changing instruction and learning in a school with established district-wide standards. Changes in teaching at the local level were led by example, modeled by a dynamic principal as she encouraged the teachers to move towards a more integrated teaching framework. The case study also describes the contributions and struggles of a dedicated volunteer who felt a deep ownership of the project and yet was not allowed to truly work with the team, which brings forth questions around the inner-workings of the team, the role of outside facilitators, and team understanding of project goals and objectives. The findings of this case study lead to the conclusion that the principal’s… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Active Learning Institute: Energizing Science and Math Education. A Compilation of Lesson Plans.

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The middle school and high school lessons featured in this collection were crafted by science and math teachers who participated in a week-long seminar sponsored by the Eisenhower Professional Development Program administered by the Ohio Board of Regents. The lessons showcase a variety of active learning strategies from using hands-on, low-tech approaches to integrating high-tech, cutting-edge resources. Lesson topics include: (1) Investigating Energy Sources; (2) Probing the World of Energy and Its Conservation; (3) Fish Out of Water–Man Out of Land; (4) Are You Listening? (Noise Pollution); (5) Countdown to Population Explosion; (6) Hazardous Chemicals in Your Home!; (7) Water, Water Everywhere–How Much Is There to Drink?; (8) Water, Water Everywhere–But Not a Drop to Drink; (9) A Multi-Level Water Study; (10) Futuristic Fuel from Water; and… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Teaching Math and Science in the Real World.

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This issue offers a collection of timely topics focused on mathematics and science education. It uncovers the past, present, and future of the national standards movement in mathematics and science education with two articles entitled “Setting Standards for Excellence” and “On the Road to REAL Progress.” A close-up look at students doing real-life water ecology research is provided. This issue also features articles on “Math Wars,” teacher shortages, and curriculum research centers. (ASK) Link til kilde

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Eric.ed.gov – Environmental Systems Simulations for Carbon, Energy, Nitrogen, Water, and Watersheds: Design Principles and Pilot Testing

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Guided by the Next Generation Science Standards and elements of problem-based learning, four human-environment systems simulations are described in brief–carbon, energy, water, and watershed–and a fifth simulation on nitrogen is described in more depth. These science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education simulations illustrate design principles that make them engaging to students, such as dynamic visual environments that are controlled by the user and immediate visual feedback to user actions taken. The simulations are contextualized in real-world natural resources management challenges involving biogeochemical cycles, such as Gulf of Mexico hypoxia, which provide an opportunity to “win the game,” while the introduction of complexity in steps provides scaffolding. Pretest versus posttest results indicate a substantial and statistically significant improvement in learning outcomes resulting from using the nitrogen simulation,… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – General Math 9-12, Environmental Education Guide.

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This general mathematics guide, for use in grades 9-12, is one of a series of guides, K-12, that were developed by teachers to help introduce environmental education into the total curriculum. Since the nature of mathematics is abstract, students do not learn mathematics from ecology, nor ecology from mathematics. But, by observation and manipulation of environmental data, the student may inductively discover a principle in mathematics which can be reached deductively. The purpose of this booklet is to make an attempt to bridge mathematics and ecology. The guide is a supplementary handbook of ecologically-oriented mathematics exercises, designed to be self-contained and complete with answers. The exercises are built around 12 major environmental concepts that form a framework for each grade or subject area, as well as for… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – An Investigation for the Future Educators’ Attitudes towards the Environmental Issues in the Context of Ecocentrism and Anthropocentrism

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: In this study, it was revealed that the factors influencing the future educators’ attitudes towards the environment. The survey was conducted between 2013-2014, on the freshman and the senior students studying in two different education faculties providing training within the boundaries of Turkish Cypriot. As a result, it has been found that persons who take any course related to environment, become a member of any environmental organizations, join any environmental activities, and follow any publication related to the environment by throughout education life contribute the formation of environmental protection awareness for them. The majority of the participants had an ecocentric attitude. To be increased of the environmental awareness for teacher candidates studying in math and social sciences, the necessity and importance of a number of environmental activities… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – “Growing Up WILD”: Teaching Environmental Education in Early Childhood

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: A growing body of research, both nationally and internationally, indicates that children in the early childhood years (birth to age 8) learn primarily through their senses and from direct experience. They develop an understanding about the world through play, exploration, and creative activities as well as by watching and imitating adults and other children. “Growing Up WILD” (2010) is a large format book that promotes teacher efficacy with 27 developmentally appropriate activities, yet gives educators the flexibility to modify activities to meet the needs of children at different age levels and learning stages. The authors describe the contents of the resource as it presents a wide range of options for a variety of classroom strategies: small group, whole group, centers, pair and individual work, plus teachable moments… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Montessori Special Education and Nature’s Playground

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Nimal Vaz takes us to the essentials of Montessori as an aid to life for all children, particularly children with special needs. She challenges teachers to truly provide experiences in nature: observing anthills, identifying bird nests, or taking an olfactory walk with a legally blind classmate. Finally, she demonstrates how a child’s interest in practical life, math, language, sensorial, biology, botany, geology, and geography originates with direct experience in nature. [Reprinted from “The NAMTA Journal,” 34, 2 (2009, Spring): 141-157. This talk was delivered at the NAMTA conference titled “Montessori Special Education II: A Contemporary Assessment,” Atlanta, Georgia, January 22-25, 2009.] Link til kilde

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Eric.ed.gov – Analysis of the Problems Posed by Pre-Service Primary School Teachers with the Context of Environment

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The current study is an inter-disciplinary study in which the problems posed by pre-service primary school teachers were analyzed within the context of both environment and mathematical processes. A total of 75 pre-service primary school teachers participated in the current study designed according to the case study design, one of the qualitative research methods. The data were collected through the math problems posed by the pre-service teachers with the context of the environment. The environmental contexts were analyzed by using the content analysis method while the problem posing processes were analyzed through the descriptive analysis approach. The results of the analyses have revealed that the pre-service teachers generally preferred to include more than one environmental context in the problems they posed and from among these contexts, the… Continue Reading