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Eric.ed.gov – The Role of Advanced High School Coursework in Increasing STEM Career Interest

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Several avenues are open to students who wish to study advanced science or mathematics in high school, which include Advanced Placement courses and teacher-designed courses unaffiliated with organized programs. We employ a retrospective cohort study of 4,691 nationally representative college students at 34 randomly selected, colleges and universities to examine the relationship between taking advanced high school courses and students’ interest in pursuing a STEM career, while controlling for prior interests and experiences. We are able to distinguish between those students choosing to take an additional year in a science or math subject from those taking Advanced Placement (AP), which is most commonly taken as a second year course, but is increasingly taken as a first year course. We find that the number of years of a… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Algebra for All: The Effect of Algebra Coursework and Classroom Peer Academic Composition on Low-Achieving Students

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Algebra is often considered as a gateway for later achievement. A recent report by the Mathematics Advisory Panel (2008) underscores the importance of improving algebra learning in secondary school. Today, a growing number of states and districts require algebra for all students in ninth grade or earlier. Chicago is at the forefront of this movement. Many low-achieving students took remedial math before 1997 and the algebra-for-all policy immersed these students in academic coursework for the first time. Moreover, these low-achieving students experienced a rise in the ability levels of their classroom peers. However, this study suggests that simply requiring algebra is insufficient to improve their outcomes, even though students may benefit from having higher achieving peers in their classrooms. Overall, taking Algebra, instead of remedial math, would… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Developing Self-Efficacy: Exploring Preservice Coursework, Student Teaching, and Professional Development Experiences

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: To extend current understanding of school-based agriculture teacher development, this study explored the relationship between teacher development experiences and the self-efficacy of early career agriculture teachers. Three teacher development experiences were of interest: (a) preservice coursework, (b) student teaching, and (c) professional development. Teacher development experiences were analyzed in relation to classroom management self-efficacy, instructional strategies self-efficacy, leadership self-efficacy, science teaching self-efficacy, and math teaching self-efficacy. The relationships between development experiences and self-efficacy were analyzed through five linear regressions with teacher development experiences as independent variables and the five areas of self-efficacy as separate dependent variables. Only statistically insignificant relationships were identified for classroom management self-efficacy and instructional strategies self-efficacy. Student teaching and professional development were statistically significant, positive predictors of leadership self-efficacy. Professional development was also… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Effects of Teacher Credentials, Coursework, and Certification on Student Achievement in Math and Reading in Kindergarten: An ECLS-K Study

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: In light of the strong correlation between Kindergarten performance and later cognitive and achievement outcomes, this paper investigates the link between student achievement and the educational background characteristics of Kindergarten teachers. This study will utilize the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K), a nationally representative dataset, in order to address the following questions: (1) Does a teacher having a master’s degree or higher have a positive effect on student achievement gains in reading and math in kindergarten compared to teachers with only a bachelor’s degree?; (2) Are there effects of teacher coursework in reading, math, and child development on student achievement gains in kindergarten? If so, do impacts of coursework on reading and math scores vary by number of courses taken?; and (3) Do regular and… Continue Reading