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Eric.ed.gov – The Centrality of Positive Emotions in the Field of Mathematics

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Mathematics has been perceived as a discipline centered on intellectuality. However, recent studies have found interaction between a variety of emotions and the quality of learning. This qualitative study focused on the characteristics of those who are willing to cope with mathematical challenges and on the emotions evoked by these challenges, and sought to evaluate the potential role of positive emotions in this context. The research was conducted among participants in the Israel International Math Competition for Girls (IIMCG). The participants were 12 of the top finalist competitors in the previous competitions. Research instruments included an in-depth interview and a Math Emotions Measuring Instrument (MEMI), measuring the emotions expressed while coping with the mathematical challenges. Major results indicated the intensity of positive emotions. The positivity ratio was… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Technology Engineering in Science Education: Where Instructional Challenges Interface Nonconforming Productivity to Increase Retention, Enhance Transfer, and Maximize Student Learning

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Technology Engineering is an innovative component of a much larger arena of teaching that effectively uses interactive technology as a method of enhancing learning and the learning environment. Using this method to teach science and math content empowers the teacher and enhances the curriculum as the classroom becomes more efficient and effective. Although the most modern technology–enhanced content is available for classroom deployment, this study suggests that various challenges arise that can delay a fully productive and successful integration of technology in the science classroom. In this study, seven urban school science teachers, incorporated technology-enhanced inquiry-based modules into their lesson plans to determine the overall effectiveness of technology integration in their classrooms. This paper examines how Technology Engineering helps students to understand scientific phenomena, despite hindrances within… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Provoking Mathematical Thinking: Experiences of Doing Realistic Mathematics Tasks with Adult Numeracy Teachers

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This action research project looks at what happened when a small group of adult numeracy teachers with widely different experiences of learning and teaching mathematics explored their own informal numeracy practices and undertook a series of collaborative mathematical tasks. Evidence from qualitative data collected during the enquiry suggests that “realistic” tasks can provoke a range of mathematical thinking and learning responses which allow us to identify ways in which “procedural” and “conceptual” thinking is being used, and to track learning journeys through different stages of problem-solving. Although more experienced numeracy teachers could move between and within their “real worlds” and “maths worlds” with intent and ease, others had less integrated experiences, often valuing perceived mathematical powers over their own intuitive powers, with mixed success. Link til kilde

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Eric.ed.gov – The New Australian Curriculum, Teachers and Change Fatigue

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: A new national curriculum has recently been implemented across Australia. This paper reports on a case study of a regional Western Australia government school as they re-wrote and taught the phase one learning areas: maths, English, science and HASS. Results showed what it is like to work in an environment where continual change is not only expected, but also seen as best practice. Cynical, realistic and even enthusiastic teachers suffer change fatigue after years of rapid and continual curriculum change. The research traces back the reasons why teacher change fatigue might occur using Intuitive Inquiry (Anderson & Braud, 2011) as a hermeneutical process. It captures the reactions of teachers as they struggle to adapt to another top-down curriculum framework, badged as “continual school improvement.” It documents that… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Growing into Inquiry: Stories of High School Teachers Using Inquiry for Themselves and Their Students

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This study examines cases of teacher leaders in a professional development program that employed teacher inquiry to promote student inquiry. Program documents, observations, and interviews were examined to create three cases of high school science and math teachers learning to inquire in tandem. Guided by Cochran-Smith and Lytle’s (2009) “inquiry stance,” the study shows how commitment to student inquiry comes through learning gained through teacher inquiry. While conceptual understandings of teacher and student inquiry reinforced the learning of both, the parallel development of practical skills for both inquiry processes was not observed. Such conceptual growth was neither steady nor linear and characterized by some backward movement followed by significant shifts in thinking. Growth was grounded in increased experience with the process over time that deepened the teachers’… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Affordances of the Cultural Inquiry Process in Building Secondary Mathematics Teachers’ Capacity for Cultural Responsiveness

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Over the last couple of decades, there has been a growing call for teachers to become more responsive to the increasing cultural diversity of students as a means of improving students’ experiences in school and their learning outcomes. Challenges exist in working with secondary mathematics teachers due to the common belief that math is culture-free and the lack of images of culturally responsive teaching in secondary mathematics classrooms. In this research, we explored the affordances of the Cultural Inquiry Process project in building inservice secondary mathematics teachers’ capacity for cultural responsiveness. [For complete proceedings, see ED581294.] Link til kilde

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Eric.ed.gov – The Effect of Conventional Laboratory Practical Manuals on Preservice Teachers’ Integrated Science Process Skills

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This study explored the effect of conventional laboratory practical manuals on pre-service teachers’ integrated science process skills (ISPS). A validated multiple-choice questionnaire with the ISPS components was used to collect data. No significant difference between pre-service subject-specific teachers’ (biology, physics and chemistry) ISPS scores was found. The ISPS scores significantly increased along with proliferation in lab practical works, except for physics. Pre-service math teachers, who had no lab practical works, showed significantly higher ISPS scores than pre-service science teachers. The results indicated that all pre-service teachers’ ISPS scores fell into intermediate level. Further, it was found that they possessed the lowest scores for such ISPS as identifying and controlling variable, stating operational definition and designing experiments. The common format of the conventional laboratory manual adopted from many… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Ecocritically (Re)Considering STEM Integrated Ecological Inquiry in Teacher Education

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The acronym STEM is a ubiquitous term for seemingly anything in–or related to–the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and the current dominant educational STEM discourse in teacher education is often organized around questions of how to integrate math and science into the other content areas or vice versa. The purpose of this article is to pose a different question: “How can an ecological model for subject inquiry become the organizing focus for an integrated ecological inquiry?” In this article, the author provides a glimpse of where educators are currently in their thinking and writing as they put theory to work in teacher education. For the past few years, educators have been working on a number of exciting endeavors in teacher education, ranging from theoretical explorations… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Practitioner Inquiry with Early Program Teacher Candidates

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This meta-analysis reports on the use of practitioner inquiry (PI) with early program teacher candidates in conjunction with elementary science and math methods courses using cognitive load theory as a theoretical framework. The findings suggest that the teacher candidates enhanced their knowledge of practice within practice across 5 dimensions of practice: inclusion, classroom discussion, classroom engagement, understanding student learning and grouping. The sixth outcome provides evidence of the ways that the practitioner inquiry fostered learning about how to learn from practice. Cognitive load theory can be used to explain the difficulty of assimilating theory into practice for emerging teacher candidates. Implications for teacher education are included. Link til kilde

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Eric.ed.gov – A Case Study of Coaching in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Professional Development

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: A professional development experience for science and mathematics teachers that included coaches was provided for ten science and math teachers. This professional development experience had the teachers develop a lesson that utilized the engineering context to teach a science or mathematics concept through guided inquiry as an instructional methodology. Developing a guided inquiry lesson can be a difficult task for teachers. Science teachers have inquiry standards that they must meet and research indicates that teaching through guided inquiry is an effective method of teaching science content. Mathematics teachers are being asked to incorporate more active and cooperative instructional experiences in in their classrooms. Results of the professional development experience indicate that all but one of the teachers were successful in developing and implementing guided inquiry lessons within… Continue Reading