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Eric.ed.gov – Pathways to STEM Initiative (PSI): Evaluation Report for an Investing in Innovation (I3) Development Grant

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of the Pathways to STEM Initiative (PSI) on students and science teachers and to describe the level of PSI implementation. One group of middle schools participated in PSI, which included project-based science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) coursework; extra-curricular STEM opportunities for students; and teacher professional development. A multivariate matching algorithm was used to identify a comparison group of schools that received the participating district’s standard science curriculum. The students in the study schools were 62% Hispanic/Latino, 17% Black/African American, and 12% White. Additionally, 23% of the students were English language learners. The study compared students’ science achievement and teachers’ beliefs about science and attitudes toward STEM across the treatment and comparison schools and assessed the fidelity… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Professional Development Integrating Technology: Does Delivery Format Matter?

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The goal of the two Power of Data (POD) projects was to increase science, technology and math skills through the implementation of project-based learning modules that teach students how to solve problems through data collection and analysis utilizing geospatial technologies. Professional development institutes in two formats were offered to encourage teachers to implement the modules. We compared teacher learning, teacher implementation, and student learning from the two different professional development formats to examine how each format supported teachers to implement the modules, and, ultimately, improve student understanding. Teacher surveys, content and technology assessments, classroom observations, student assessments, and student work samples were analyzed for comparison between a two-week summer institute and monthly meetings held throughout the academic year. Teachers and students from both formats showed improvement in… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – A Case Study: Teaching Engineering Concepts in Science. Research in Engineering and Technology Education

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This study was conducted to describe a teacher developed high school engineering course, to identify teaching strategies used in the process of delivering math and science literacy through this course, to identify challenges and constraints that occurred during its development and delivery, and to describe the strategies that were used to overcome those obstacles. A case study was conducted using semi-structured interviews with the engineering instructor at Benilde-St. Margaret’s in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. In addition, the researcher conducted classroom observations and reviewed instructional materials, teacher lesson plans, and teacher journals. Themes that developed regarding the strategies used to deliver this particular course identified that concepts created its platform for delivery, curricular trial and error was at work, science and engineering competitions were leveraged as a basis… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Free-Operant Field Experiences: Differentially Reinforcing Successive Approximations to Behavior Analysis through a ShaperSpace

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Over the past few years an increasing number of schools and community organizations have developed transformative learning spaces referred to as “MakerSpaces” for research and training purposes. MakerSpaces are organizations in which members sharing similar interests in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) gather to work on self-selected projects. Proponents of MakerSpaces highlight the implicit benefits arising from participants’ increased engagement with complex technical content in a voluntary, authentic context. We extend the MakerSpace concept to applications of training special education teachers to address the needs of students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Applied behavior analysis (ABA) has vast empirical support for treating ASD. We believe the MakerSpace model provides a platform for developing a new generation of special education teachers. However, rather than making novel products,… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – The New NGSS Classroom: A Curriculum Framework for Project-Based Science Learning

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: As schools work to implement the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), a team at Stanford University found that project-based learning is an effective framework for engaging students. The team used project-based learning, group activities, and performance-based assessments to design an effective, engaging curriculum. Over a three-year period, the team conducted research which showed that the curriculum led to gains in both student engagement and learning outcomes (as measured by the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium’s math and English language arts tests, the California English Language Development Test, and a science pre- and post-assessment). The team contends that these gains were supported by a curriculum and professional development package that led to changes in teachers’ instructional practices. It highlights five things to look for when evaluating NGSS instructional materials… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Engaging High School Girls in Interdisciplinary STEAM

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Research into Australian students’ science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) engagement has highlighted that there are comparably fewer women enrolling in STEM programs and working in STEM industries. In Australia, males make up 84% of the total population with STEM qualifications, for example, a report in 2015 found only 13% of all engineers in Australia were women. Science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM), an approach to STEM education that encourages interdisciplinarity, creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship, is a strategy that has the potential to increase girls’ engagement with STEM. This research investigated the impact of the STEAMpunk Girls Program, funded by the Australian Government, on high school girls’ learning and their teachers’ teaching experiences. The program uses project-learning and design thinking strategies to enable the girls to… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Exploring the Use of Class Blog for PBL in K-12 STEM Subject

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: As students in elementary schools through Secondary Schools (K-12) have difficulty Learning Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) discipline, their numbers enrolling in these disciplines in higher education are also decreasing. So Researchers are looking for news styles in education including the use of Internet and Communication tools (ICT) to motivate students and enhance learning. Blogs are one of the ICT tools that could be used along with the use of Project Based Learning (PBL) in STEM discipline for that matter. But there are certain aspects that need to be explored for a successful blending of class blogs along with PBL in a STEM discipline in order to give students more engagement and motivation. Link til kilde

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Eric.ed.gov – Teaching Mathematics in a Project-Based Learning Context: Initial Teacher Knowledge and Perceived Needs

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This paper reports on initial data from teachers at an Australian Year 9-12 secondary school which is attempting to implement a project-based learning model across the entire curriculum. The eight teachers had diverse prior teaching experiences, including work in primary schools, special education, Year 7-10 secondary schools, and technical and further education. None had studied mathematics at tertiary level and just one listed maths as a main teaching area. Results of an initial survey indicate that most had reasonable levels of personal mathematics competence, and could identify relevant mathematical concepts among the affordances of a particular scenario, but that they struggled to articulate how they would work with students to pursue any of the relevant mathematics in depth. [This project was funded by University of Tasmania Research… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Teacher Incentive Fund STEM Grant in Houston ISD: A Descriptive Overview. Research Educational Program Report

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Since established by an Appropriations Act in 2006, the Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) competitive grant program in the U.S. Department of Education has supported human capital strategies “to ensure that students attending high-poverty schools have better access to effective teachers and principals, especially in hard-to-staff subject areas” such as science and math. Responding to the national agenda to improve STEM education, in 2012, the fourth cohort of the Teacher Incentive Fund federal grant competition (TIF4) included special consideration for projects designed to improve STEM education by identifying, developing, and utilizing master teachers as leaders of broader improvements (OESE, 2012a). Houston Independent School District’s (HISD) approach to STEM education — described in this report — is an innovative policy response to the national challenges of preparing students for… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – The Impact of STEM Project Writing Education on Candidate Female Teachers’ Attitudes, Their Semantic Perceptions and Project Writing Skills towards Stem Education

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This research investigated the impact of Scientix STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) on female candidate teachers’ attitudes towards STEM education, their semantic perceptions of STEM discipline scopes, specifying their needs in writing STEM projects, their learning outcomes from education, and the difficulties they face in the process of project writing. Prior to the education process, the participants were given a STEM educational attitude scale, a STEM semantic contrast scale, and a questionnaire with open-ended questions to make them understand the semantic background. At the end of the training, they were given a STEM education evaluation questionnaire with open-ended questions and the same scales were used. The contents of the projects they wrote were evaluated. In the end, a meaningful difference was observed in the attitudes of… Continue Reading