ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Leading Reform in Mathematics Education: Solving a Complex Equation
Author: Eacott, Scott
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: National Curriculum,Mathematics Education,Numbers,Educational Change,Instructional Leadership,Equations (Mathematics),Foreign Countries,Secondary Education

In recent times considerable attention has been devoted to the performance of schools and in particular, of students in literacy and numeracy. As part of a national agenda addressing what is portrayed as a crisis in numeracy, and hence mathematics education, governments have introduced a wide range of reform initiatives to improve performance. Examples include, national testing, a national curriculum and the &quot;Education Revolution&quot; just to name a few. Comparative international tests such as TIMSS and PISA contribute to the performative nature of this policy environment which has significantly impacted on the leadership and management of mathematics education reform. The most significant influence has been the reduction of teaching and learning to what can be measured and the numerous, often uncritical, uses of comparative data on school and student performance. In this paper we examine the complexity of mathematics education reform by bringing together the discourses of mathematics education and educational leadership. In doing so, we develop and argue against a prescriptive &quot;how to&quot; lead mathematics education reform, in favour of a more sophisticated framework of leadership for mathematics education which embraces both global and local developments in the field. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)
Youth Resource Mapping: Partnering with Service Providers and Youth to Understand the Supply and Demand for Youth Services in a Local Context
Author: Castrechini, Sebastian
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Community Leaders,Supply and Demand,After School Programs,Risk,Case Studies,Surveys

Past research has shown that out-of-school time (OST) programs can have substantial benefits for youth, but connecting youth to programs can be challenging for a variety of reasons. To address these challenges, community leaders working with youth in one Silicon Valley community approached the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities (JGC) at Stanford University wanting to better understand the availability and use of youth OST opportunities. This community has a high number of youth facing multiple risk factors as well as a deep tradition of community service, resulting in a dense network of youth-serving organizations in a relatively small community. Partners wondered why many youth were disconnected from services when there were so many available. In response, the JGC collaborated with this group of partners to design and implement a local, community participatory case study. Combining detailed information about program availability, survey data collected by youth on their peers' OST activities, and crime and transit location data, we used a combination of GIS and quantitative data analyses to examine the supply and demand of youth programming and barriers to accessing those programs. This paper describes the process, methods, and initial findings of this project. (Contains 1 endnote and 2 figures.)
Community Based Mathematics Project: Conceptualizing Access through Locally Relevant Mathematics Curricula
Author: Ebby, Caroline
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Mathematics Education,Criticism,Relevance (Education),Disadvantaged,Access to Education,Equal Education,Critical Thinking,Urban Education,Curriculum Design,Middle School Teachers,Mathematics Instruction

In this article, the authors describe a conceptual framework for using locally relevant mathematics curricula to increase access to mathematics for marginalized youth. Drawing on different strands of research on equity in mathematics education, the authors propose that there are three kinds of access that are afforded by the use of contexts that have local and personal meaning: (1) access to mathematics that matters; (2) access to institutions; and (3) access to critical ways of thinking. This framework was developed in a grounded manner; it evolved through the authors' work with middle school students and their teachers and through their critical analysis of the mid- and macro-level contexts (Irvine, 1990) in which their schooling is situated. In order to illustrate this process, the authors present this framework as it has emerged. After a brief introduction to the project, they review the research that informs their work and then explicate the three different forms of access that are embedded in their curriculum design. (Contains 4 endnotes.)
Using Critical Reflection to Improve Urban Teacher Preparation: A Collaborative Inquiry of Three Teacher Educators
Author: Berghoff, Beth
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Preservice Teacher Education,Preservice Teachers,Urban Schools,Teacher Education Programs,College School Cooperation,Teacher Educators,Teaching Methods,Case Studies,Educational Change

This collaborative inquiry examines the ways new teachers are being prepared as critical reflective practitioners in three urban teacher education programs. Researching individually and collectively, the research team analyzes and compares pedagogical methods and program features for preparing new teachers for urban schools. Their findings detail how each teaching method impacted preservice teachers' capacity to do critical reflection. The researchers recommend working with dilemmas, following structured protocols, and practicing collaborative inquiry as means to teaching critical reflection. They also recognize the need to continually develop their own explicit frameworks for critical reflection.
&quot;I Do but I Don't&quot;: The Search for Identity in Urban African American Adolescents
Author: Gullan, Rebecca Lakin
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: African American Students,African American Culture,Adolescents,Teaching Methods,Minority Group Students,Youth,Qualitative Research,Statistical Analysis,Socioeconomic Status,Poverty,Neighborhoods,Cultural Context,Urban Areas,Academic Achievement,Ethnicity,Identification (Psychology),Focus Groups,At Risk Students,Surveys,Likert Scales,Citizenship Responsibility

Achievement of a coherent and strong sense of self is critical to positive academic outcomes for urban minority youth. The present study utilized a mixed-methods approach to explore key aspects of identity development for African American adolescents living in a high-poverty, urban neighborhood. Results suggest that efforts to develop a sense of oneself as an individual and in relation to the world are impeded by mixed messages on African American culture and achievement. Findings are discussed in the context of teaching and working with urban African American adolescents in a way that promotes positive identity development. (Contains 3 tables.)
Learning to Read in the Wake of Reform: Young Children's Experiences with Scientifically Based Reading Curriculum
Author: Spencer, Tamara
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Public Schools,Literacy Education,Reading,Ethnography,Young Children,Emergent Literacy,Reading Instruction,Case Studies,Grade 1,Academic Achievement,Educational Change,Early Childhood Education

In recent years, researchers have called into question the efficacy of prescribed commercial curricula in early childhood classrooms (Genishi &amp; Dyson, 2009). Despite these concerns, federally funded initiatives and such findings as those presented in the Report of the National Early Literacy Panel continue to promote scientifically based reading curricula and exclude the voices of those most affected by these policies, yet least likely to influence the policy agenda--young children. Using the qualitative data gathered in a year-long ethnographic study, the author analyzes three first-grade children's literacy practices over the course of an academic year in a New York City public school that had been mandated to use a scientifically based reading curriculum for children identified as struggling readers from kindergarten through the third grade. During the course of that year, the city launched a &quot;coherent, system-wide curriculum for teaching reading and writing...to raise student performance across the board&quot; (Bloomberg, 2003). From the vantage point of one school that experienced this sweeping reform, Public School (P.S.) 999, the author explores how young children both made sense of and negotiated the mandated curriculum and developed an understanding of what it meant to be users of language and literacy within a politicized curricular context.
No Teacher Left Unqualified: How Teachers and Principals Respond to the Highly Qualified Mandate
Author: Karelitz, Tzur M.
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Science Teachers,Teacher Competencies,Principals,Teacher Education,School Districts,Urban Areas,Pedagogical Content Knowledge,Interviews,Case Studies,Science Education,Public Schools,Middle Schools,High Schools

In this paper, we examine the NCLB definition of a &quot;highly qualified&quot; teacher, the combined nature of federal and state highly qualified mandates, and how science teachers and their principals in one large, urban district have responded. In particular, we report on the kinds of licenses that teachers of science hold; the relationship between science teachers' qualifications and teaching assignments, both within and outside of their licensure; and the extent to which these trends vary across different student populations, subject disciplines, and over time. In addition, we present principal- and teacher-interview data from eight case-study schools and district-wide teacher-survey data to shed light on our findings and show how the NCLB definition of highly qualified is understood and regarded by teachers themselves. The data show that progress has been made in assigning teachers with demonstrated content knowledge in the specific science subjects they are assigned to teach, however the rate of change is slower for some students populations and science disciplines. Moreover, both teachers and principals adapt to these mandates in a variety of ways, some of which reflect the intended and unintended consequences of these policies. (Contains 1 table, 2 figures, and 7 notes.)
Tracking Perceived and Observed Growth of Inquiry Practice: A Formative Plan to Improve Professional Development Experiences
Author: Marshall, Jeff C.
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Formative Evaluation,Science Teachers,Professional Development,Reflective Teaching,Teaching Methods,Middle Schools,Secondary School Teachers,Mathematics Instruction,Inquiry,Observation,Evaluation Methods

The authors worked with 22 middle school math and science teachers for one year with the goal of improving the quantity and quality of inquiry-based instruction implemented in the classroom. The professional development experience was framed by the 4E x 2 Instruction Model, which combines key components of inquiry instruction (Engage, Explore, Explain, Extend) with formative assessment and reflective practice integrated into each of the inquiry components. Using the Electronic Quality of Inquiry Protocol (EQUIP), we conducted 102 classroom observations, assessing the teachers on 19 indicators associated with inquiry over 4 constructs: Instruction, Curriculum, Discourse, and Assessment. Combining these results with the teachers' own reports of areas of greatest growth and greatest challenge, we found that teachers improved the most on factors relating to specific instructional techniques. We also found that teachers struggled the most with factors associated with assessment; not only was their growth less in this area, but they fell significantly short of our target of Proficient. As we work to improve instructional practice, we must pay attention not only to the delivery and guidance of material, but also to how assessment can provide the tools that teachers need to modify and enhance their instruction in significant ways. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)
The Impact of a Summer Institute on Inservice Early Childhood Teachers' Knowledge of Earth and Space Science Concepts
Author: Sackes, Mesut
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Space Sciences,Earth Science,Astronomy,Test Construction,Professional Development,Institutes (Training Programs),Summer Programs,Grade 2,Pretests Posttests,Scientific Concepts,Kindergarten,Grade 1,Science Instruction,Observation,Early Childhood Education

This study investigated inservice PreK to Grade two teachers' knowledge of some earth and space science concepts before and after a short-term teacher institute. A one-group pre-test-post-test design was used in the current study. Earth science concepts targeted during the professional development included properties of rocks and soils, and the space science concepts included moon shapes and sequences and the cause of moon phases. After the instruction, participants better understood properties of rocks and soil and targeted lunar concepts. They also were able to draw observable moon phases and pattern of changes in phases. The results of the current study indicate that even a short-term professional development enhanced inservice teachers' knowledge of targeted concepts. (Contains 3 tables and 4 figures.)
Making Space for the Act of Making: Creativity in the Engineering Design Classroom
Author: Lasky, Dorothea
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Creativity,Science Programs,Engineering,Engineering Education,After School Programs,Hands on Science,Educational Environment,Beliefs,Models,Science Instruction,Science Curriculum,Science Teachers

Creativity continues to be an important goal for 21st century learning. However, teachers often have difficulties fostering creativity in their classrooms. Current creativity research suggests that the act of making can enhance the teaching of creativity. Hands-on engineering design lessons are ideal contexts for studying this effect. Through examining an after school science program in engineering design, this study reveals teacher assumptions about students' creativity and how classroom environments can nurture creativity. Teachers' beliefs emerge on continua of three distinct themes: making space for creativity in their classrooms, recognizing creativity in their students, and understanding the connection between hands-on activities and creativity in the context of engineering design. Suggestions for future research are discussed. (Contains 3 figures and 1 footnote.)
Gaming as a Platform for the Development of Innovative Problem-Based Learning Opportunities
Author: Echeverri, J. Felipe
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Educational Strategies,Problem Based Learning,National Competency Tests,Biotechnology,Memorization,Educational Opportunities,Science Education,Teaching Methods,Games,Computer Uses in Education,Elementary Secondary Education

The state of education in the United States, particularly in the areas of science, mathematics and technology, has been a consistent source of concern since at least the early 1980s when student performance on the 1986 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) revealed that science proficiency was lower than comparable measures from the 1970's (Alvarado, 1994). For many students, science education continues to be presented primarily through didactic lectures and rote memorization of information. These outdated modes of teaching create un-motivating learning contexts that can significantly impede learner development of deep conceptual understandings (Barab, Sadler, Heiselt, Hickey &amp; Zuiker, 2007). Researchers, teachers and parents are looking for strategies and technologies that create opportunities for students to not just learn the basic principles of science but understand the relationships that govern these principles and their applications. Science is based on inquisitive, collaborative and disciplined investigation in which individuals, and the groups they form, critically analyze the nature of how and why things work. Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is an instructional strategy that supports this perspective on science education. PBL facilitates learner development of collaborative, problem solving skills and promotes scientific reasoning (Barrows, 1996). In this article, we extend the links between science education and PBL to consider computer-based gaming. We examine the use of gaming as a delivery method for PBL opportunities and suggest biotechnology applications as one area of content for game-based PBL. In the final section we introduce Mission Biotech, a game that we have recently developed, as an example of using gaming as a context for PBL.
Increasing the Number of Homegrown STEM Majors: What Works and What Doesn't
Author: Heidel, Jack
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: College Students,Graduates,Adult Students,STEM Education,Majors (Students),Colleges,Community Colleges,Program Effectiveness,Cooperative Planning,Tutoring,Student Research,Scholarships,Adult Learning,Institutional Cooperation

University of Nebraska-Omaha (UNO) and Metropolitan Community College (MCC) have recently completed a five-year NSF STEP project to increase the number of homegrown STEM graduates. The overall project has been quite successful, and the numbers of degrees granted has increased. However, some strategies have worked much better than others. Among the successful strategies are close collaboration between the two institutions, support for walk-in tutoring, early undergraduate research, bridge scholarships, and adult learner scholarships. Conversely, targeting incoming freshmen as recipients of scholarships is not only expensive, but also found to be relatively ineffective at increasing the number of STEM graduates. (Contains 5 tables.)
Challenges to Inquiry Teaching and Suggestions for How to Meet Them
Author: Quigley, Cassie
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Scientific Concepts,Science Education,Inquiry,Science Instruction,Science Process Skills,Science Teachers,Scientific Methodology,Scientific Attitudes,Professional Development,Feedback (Response),Evaluation,Student Reaction,Scientific Principles

Inquiry has been cited as an essential goal of science education for decades. While terminology has evolved over time, the notion that students need to apply various analytic and thought related skills in order to better learn underlying scientific concepts and processes, remains central to science education. This article looks at four major challenges facing teachers as they implement inquiry based teaching--including measuring the quality of inquiry, using discourse to improve inquiry, pursuing the goal of teaching content through inquiry methods, and learning how to effectively manage an inquiry classroom. An analysis of each of these issues, along with implementation strategies, is provided.
Ethical Considerations in Conducting Research with Non-Native Speakers of English
Author: Koulouriotis, Joanna
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Critical Theory,Qualitative Research,Data Analysis,Ethics,Researchers,Native Speakers,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Educational Research

The ethical considerations of three education researchers working with non-native English-speaking participants were examined from a critical theory stand-point in the light of the literature on research ethics in various disciplines. Qualitative inquiry and data analysis were used to identify key themes, which centered around honor and respect for participants' voices and the researchers' perceived limitations of university research ethics boards (REBs) to address adequately their concerns when working with non-native English speakers.
Translating Interviews, Translating Lives: Ethical Considerations in Cross-Language Narrative Inquiry
Author: Li, Yi
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Qualitative Research,Research Methodology,Multilingualism,Ethics,Translation,Interviews,Personal Narratives,Language Usage,Immigrants,Chinese,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Language Teachers,Second Language Instruction,College Faculty,Teacher Attitudes

Through two narrative inquiries, in this article I explore the challenges for qualitative researchers in working with multiple languages in capturing, translating, analyzing, and representing narratives. I discuss the effect on research when we engage in these processes considering what was happening as we translated both texts and experience from one language into another. Woven into this discussion is attention to the effect that choosing one language or another might have on our research: the participants, the processes, and the findings. I consider how to remain awake to the ethical and relational issues regarding language choices that we make at every step of the research process.
Ethical Issues in Addressing Inequity in/through ESL Research
Author: Lee, Ena
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Confidentiality,Minority Group Teachers,Ethics,Researchers,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Case Studies,Foreign Countries,Second Language Instruction,Trust (Psychology),Self Concept,Racial Bias,Power Structure,Equal Education,Validity,Intervention

This article outlines a researcher's struggles with conducting &quot;ethical&quot; research when her case study reveals racializations faced by a minority teacher in a Canadian ESL program. How might becoming privy to research participants' experiences of inequity in ESL education complicate the notion of research ethics when &quot;doing the right thing&quot; runs counter to a researcher's ethical duties of ensuring trust, commitment, and confidentiality? The article speaks to the complexities of research ethics in the light of issues of negotiating researcher/researched identities, conducting anti-racist research, and addressing larger issues of power and inequity in ESL education.
&quot;But My Students All Speak English&quot;: Ethical Research Issues of Aboriginal English
Author: Wiltse, Lynne
Date: 2011-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Standard Spoken Usage,Language Skill Attrition,Dialects,Indigenous Populations,Ethics,English,Language Maintenance,Language Research,Researchers,Teaching Methods,Foreign Countries,Canada Natives,American Indians

In this article I explore ethical issues in relation to the topic of Aboriginal students who speak a dialect of English. Taking the form of a retrospective inquiry, I draw on data from an earlier study that examined Aboriginal English in the broader context of Aboriginal language loss and revival. Three interrelated ethical issues are discussed: the relationship between the dialect spoken by Aboriginal students and the ancestral language they no longer speak; the educational implications of Aboriginal English-speakers in the classroom; and insider-outsider issues of a non-Aboriginal English-speaking researcher working in the areas of Aboriginal education and language. I also review the recent literature in the field of Aboriginal English and outline changes that have occurred in classroom practice. Whereas in the past the common aim was to eliminate the home dialect, the goal of current programs is to add Standard English as an additional dialect to students' repertoires of linguistic varieties. Suggestions are offered for educators interested in using a bi-dialectal approach in the classroom.