ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Using PISA to Stimulate STEM Teacher Professional Learning in the United States: The Case of Mathematics
Author: Silver, Edward A.
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: STEM Education,Mathematics Achievement,Student Evaluation,Low Achievement,Teacher Education,Faculty Development,Task Analysis,Mathematics Instruction,Algebra,Scoring Rubrics

Contemporary interest in STEM education is fueled, in part, by the poor performance of U.S. students on national and international assessments. According to a recent National Research Council (2011) report on STEM education in the United States, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) indicates that approximately 75% of U.S. 8th graders are not proficient in mathematics when they complete 8th grade, and, despite some progress over time, significant achievement gaps between racial and socioeconomic status subgroups persist in NAEP performance. Performance data also typically indicate lower levels of average performance in mathematics and science for U.S. students than for their counterparts in other countries with whom the United States competes in the global marketplace of commerce and information. The central premise of this article is that at least one international assessment of mathematics and science, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), is valuable for reasons that go well beyond its use as a source of data; it sounds the alarm about low U.S. student achievement and, thus, motivates greater attention to STEM education. If used appropriately, PISA can help promote the professional learning of U.S. teachers, thereby improving STEM teaching and learning in this country. PISA's focus on literacy--the ability to use and apply knowledge and skills to real-world situations encountered in adult life--in mathematics and science is aligned with STEM literacy and thus appears to be exactly the right emphasis to achieve the &quot;STEM for All&quot; goal. In this article, the authors focus primarily on the STEM discipline of mathematics, but they contend that their proposal that PISA can be a valuable tool to support this endeavor also could be applied to the science and engineering domains of STEM, and they invite interested readers to consider that possibility.
The Next Generation Science Standards, Common Core State Standards, and English Learners: Using the SSTELLA Framework to Prepare Secondary Science Teachers
Author: Tolbert, Sara
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: STEM Education,Academic Standards,Secondary School Teachers,Beginning Teachers,Teacher Effectiveness,Science Instruction,Language Minorities,Minority Group Students,Disproportionate Representation,State Standards,English (Second Language),Secondary School Science,Secondary School Students,Science Achievement,Teacher Education Programs,Methods Courses,Practicums

This article focuses on a critical issue in STEM education: preparing novice secondary school teachers to provide effective science instruction to the rapidly growing population of students from language minority groups who traditionally have been underserved in STEM education and who are underrepresented in STEM degrees and careers (National Academy of Sciences [NAS], 2010; Oakes, Joseph, &amp; Muir, 2004). This issue is both salient and timely. With the coincidence of the implementation of the Common Core State Standards [CCSS] (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2010) in English language arts and mathematics, and the recently released Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS; Achieve, 2013), science teachers and teacher educators alike are faced with new challenges in regard to the integration of authentic scientific and literacy practices in science classrooms. The authors present an instructional framework (Secondary Science Teaching with English Language and Literacy Acquisition [SSTELLA]) that reflects the reciprocal and synergistic relationships among science, language, and literacy. The authors argue that this integrated model can be infused into secondary teacher preparation in ways that lead to improved teacher practice in terms of teaching English learners (ELs) and improved student achievement in science.
Piloting a Co-Teaching Model for Mathematics Teacher Preparation: Learning to Teach Together
Author: Yopp, Ruth Helen
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Team Teaching,Models,Pilot Projects,Mathematics Teachers,Teacher Education Programs,Cooperating Teachers,Teacher Surveys,Teacher Attitudes,Educational Strategies,Methods Courses,Interviews,Secondary School Teachers

This study offers insights from an initial pilot of a co-teaching model for mathematics teacher preparation developed both to support experienced teachers in shifting their practice toward the vision set forth by NCTM and the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (National Governors Association, 2010; NCTM, 2000, 2009) and to provide opportunities for preservice teachers of mathematics to gain experience with teaching practices better aligned with the new standards. Co-teaching is emerging as an alternative to the traditional student teaching experience, in which teacher candidates gradually assume full responsibility for instruction, assessment, and management in their field placement settings, a model that has not changed significantly in more than 50 years (Bullough et al., 2003). Based on effective practices in special education (Cook &amp; Friend, 1995), co-teaching involves two teachers sharing the planning, teaching, and assessment of groups of students in the same physical space. In the context of special education, the two teachers are a general educator and special educator. Much has been written about these co-teaching partnerships and the benefits for students with special needs who are served in general education classrooms, and it is not uncommon to see a special educator working alongside a general educator in elementary and secondary classrooms, including mathematics classrooms. In the context of teacher preparation, the co-teachers are a teacher candidate and the cooperating teacher. In this model, the teacher candidate is involved in teaching from the first day in the classroom, and the cooperating teacher maintains a high level of involvement throughout the experience. In this article, the authors report on the use of a co-teaching model developed and implemented specifically in foundational level mathematics courses in high-need schools.
It Changes How Teachers Teach: How Testing Is Corrupting Our Classrooms and Student Learning
Author: Erskine, Janet L.
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: High Stakes Tests,Testing Accommodations,Educational Legislation,Accountability,Educational Change,Achievement Gap,Low Achievement,School Closing,Summative Evaluation,Formative Evaluation,Resources

After two decades teaching elementary aged children, Janet Erskine states that she has grown increasingly concerned with the use of high-stakes tests to determine how well students, teachers, and schools are performing. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) mandates took effect in 2002, requiring the results on some standardized assessments be used to determine whether or not schools remain open. This was an attempt by policy makers to reform educational practices through teacher accountability with the use of one-time, high-stakes tests (Ravitch, 2010). The vision was to ensure that children considered at risk of not performing as well as their more socioeconomically advantaged peers would have better access to instructional interventions. Low scoring schools must demonstrate improvement. If scores remain low, school doors are closed and teachers can be fired. Many schools are now trying ways to find relief from NCLB mandates in exchange for efforts to close the achievement gap (ESEA Possibilities, 2013). Most public schools are not, however, finding ways to stop high-stakes tests from dictating curriculum. Erskine argues that this testing culture harms most the very students it purports to help (Au, 2007; Neill, 2009; Ravitch, 2010). She writes that high-stakes testing impacts the most vulnerable youth--especially minorities and children from poverty--by limiting choices and narrowing curricula to only tested items in order to pass tests (Au, 2007; Ravitch 2010). Erskine writes that she also believes that it changes how teachers teach.
Developing Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching Teachers: A Model for the Professional Development of Teacher Educators
Author: Superfine, Alison Castro
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Faculty Development,Teacher Educators,Teacher Educator Education,Mathematics Education,Pedagogical Content Knowledge,Mathematics Teachers,Models,Workshops

What is needed to prepare teachers to effectively teach mathematics has been the subject of considerable debate for at least two decades, with the focus shifting back and forth between the number of mathematics courses that teachers need to the mathematics content that teachers need to know. Building upon previous work related to teacher knowledge, some researchers have reconceptualized mathematics content knowledge and have argued that teachers need to know not only the ways that mathematics is used in applied contexts and other professions, e.g., using percentages to compute amounts of discounts, but also the ways required exclusively for teaching, e.g., evaluating the validity of the mathematics in solution methods. Nevertheless, little is known about what mathematics teacher educators, the individuals who are primarily responsible for the mathematical preparation of teachers, should know. Building on their work as part of a two-year professional development project for mathematics teacher educators, and drawing from research on features of high-quality professional development programs, the authors propose a model for the professional development of teacher educators who teach mathematics content courses as part of elementary teacher preparation programs. They illustrate this professional development model by drawing on their ongoing work as part of the Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching Teachers (MKTT) Project, which is a National Science Foundation funded professional development project designed to provide opportunities for mathematics teacher educators to develop their own understandings of mathematical knowledge as it influences their work with preservice teachers in mathematics content courses. While the proposed professional development model has been used only in the context of the project, their aim is to provide insight into the nature of professional development activities designed specifically for teacher educators so that they can develop ways to support teacher educator learning in broader contexts.
From &quot;Urban&quot; to Urban: Engaging Schools and Communities in Teacher Education
Author: McCullough, Ruanda Garth
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Teacher Education Programs,Urban Schools,Program Effectiveness,Social Justice,Professional Identity,Educational Practices,Teacher Role,Change Agents,Teacher Student Relationship,Social Capital,School Community Relationship,Field Experience Programs,Qualitative Research,Reflection,Formative Evaluation,Student Journals,Essays

The need for sophisticated and highly skilled educators in urban schools is painfully obvious, even to the most casual observer. National and local test data demonstrate that students in urban schools are generally not achieving at the same levels as are their suburban and more affluent peers. Teacher educators in urban areas struggle with how to best prepare and encourage their students in teacher preparation programs to enter city schools to assist in changing this bleak picture. In this article, the authors focus on the impact of a new core course that anchors teachers to, and broadens how we prepare teachers to engage in, urban communities: Teaching and Learning in Urban Communities. The examination of this new course focused on the following question: To what extent and in what ways does Teaching and Learning in Urban Communities have an impact on teacher candidates in terms of their understanding of: (a) social justice, (b) the relationship between their identity and their pedagogical practices, and (c) urban communities as educational resources? In this article, the authors offer a view of the program that they developed with these principles in mind by focusing on the impact of one of the new core courses.
Increasing Interest of Young Women in Engineering
Author: Hinterlong, Diane
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Females,Engineering,STEM Education,High School Students,College Preparation,Residential Programs,Grade 12,Science Instruction,Physics,Gender Differences,Enrollment Trends,Student Recruitment,Literature Reviews,Statistical Analysis,Racial Differences,Ethnic Groups,Grades (Scholastic),Focus Groups,Qualitative Research,Course Selection (Students),Elective Courses,Student Projects

The internationally recognized Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA) develops creative, ethical leaders in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. As a teaching and learning laboratory created by the State of Illinois, IMSA enrolls academically talented Illinois students in grades 10 through 12 in its advanced, residential college preparatory program. Each year, IMSA enrolls approximately 225 students composed of nearly equal numbers of male and female students. Students are required to complete a core science program consisting of four courses in chemistry, physics, biology and scientific research during their sophomore year. Juniors and seniors must complete a minimum of four electives in science over the next two years. Students may elect to fulfill their elective requirements by completing any courses offered in the science program. In the fall of 2004, engineering was first offered as a physics elective to upperclassmen. When the course was first offered, female and male student enrollment was approximately equal. Over the first few years that the course was offered, however, the percentage of female students enrolled in the course dropped significantly. Active recruitment of female students by IMSA instructors was the only factor preventing the course from becoming an all male course. The growing disparity in enrollment of females and males in IMSA's engineering course prompted further inquiry, beginning with a review of relevant literature exploring trends in physics/engineering enrollment patterns. Presented in this article, following the literature review, a quantitative analysis was initiated to examine the assumption that the same trend of disparity in enrollment between females and males existed in other physics courses. Based on this data, information to provide insight into the reasons for the disparity was elicited through focus groups and surveys among IMSA students. Finally, action steps to proactively address the disparity were identified and implemented.
Growth Mindset of Gifted Seventh Grade Students in Science
Author: Esparza, Julie
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Secondary School Science,Middle School Students,Grade 7,Student Attitudes,Gifted,Cognitive Processes,Cognitive Style,Intelligence,Student Surveys,Comparative Analysis,Statistical Analysis,Intervention,Brain,Student Development,Theory of Mind,Teacher Influence,Quasiexperimental Design

Through secondary analysis of data collected in middle school science classrooms, this study (a) compared gifted and regular students&apos; beliefs about the malleability of intelligence in science; (b) investigated whether teaching gifted and talented middle-school students about malleability of the brain and study skills helped them to develop a growth mindset (Dweck, 2000), and (c) examined whether there were teacher effects in the impact of the intervention. Compared to the general student population, gifted and talented students were more likely to endorse the idea that intelligence is malleable, but there was considerable variability among gifted students&apos; mindset beliefs. Results of a mixed between-within subjects ANOVA showed a large effect size in the impact of the six week mindset intervention (Brainology) among the gifted and talented students. While strong teacher effects on growth mindset were found among students in the general population who participated in the intervention, similar teacher effects were not found among the gifted and talented students. A growth mindset is particularly important for gifted students because they are at risk for both under-achievement and perfectionism, which may hinder them from reaching their potential.
Transforming Multicultural Classrooms through Creative Place-Based Learning
Author: Sloan, Connor
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Student Diversity,Multicultural Education,Culturally Relevant Education,Environmental Influences,Learning Activities,Minority Group Students,Cultural Influences,Educational Environment,Environmental Education,Gardening,Teaching Methods,Natural Resources,Transformative Learning,Child Health,Resilience (Psychology),Sustainability,Imagination,Place Based Education

Classrooms are spaces where diverse cultures have the potential to share lived experiences and gain insight from each other's &quot;spatial, geographical, and contextual dimensions of existence&quot; (Gruenewald, 2008, p. 310). Teachers facilitate multicultural perspectives being integrated into curriculum by analyzing data at school sites and discussing the cultural influences and norms that occur in and around their school. Through pointing out, discussing, and inquiring about language found within classrooms and campuses, growing a school garden, collecting daily litmus tests on drinking water, experimenting with life labs in the classroom, taking and analyzing inventory of flora and fauna found on a campus, collecting nutritional data, and documenting supplies and waste management of school lunches, classroom learning communities transform daily routines into effective practices and integrate school cultural norms into everyday learning opportunities. These learning opportunities are all examples of place-based learning activities that guide the learning experience towards understanding how school, classroom, and personal cultural identities and norms leave local ecological footprints within and around school campuses. Place-based learning is a pedagogical approach that promotes students interacting with their environment and surroundings to gain a historical, cultural, and ecological perspective, while advocating for active stewardship and community participation (Capra, 2007). Through the connection to place, learners begin to transform the world around them through an emerging ecological understanding (Sobel, 2005).
Situating Systems Thinking between Past &amp; Future: Hannah Arendt's Discourse on the Multicultural &quot;World&quot;
Author: Thoeun, Chanthou
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Environmental Education,Ecology,World Problems,Multicultural Education,Teacher Education Programs,Social Justice,Global Approach,Teacher Attitudes

In this article, the author contends that there is by now a devastating catalogue of evidence revealing the depth and breadth of corporate-sponsored, government-sanctioned acts of violence against the environment across the globe. British Petroleum's (BP) oil spill, for instance, is a testament to large-scale catastrophic ecological damages resulting from corporate over-expansion and systemic ecological ignorance (Martusewicz, Edmundsun, &amp;Lupinacci, 2011). What can be no longer hidden from public consciousness, she states, is that the earth's natural resources cannot sustain the excessive consumption habits, persistent exploitation of human labor, and willful degradation and depletion of resources, particularly in underdeveloped nations: the world is collapsing. That the ecological crisis continues to be rendered inconsequential at the structural level depicts a disturbing image of our society; we are a society stuck in the midst of an ecological crisis that tests our values, ideology, politics, and education. Chanthou Thoeun maintains that, through education, we can begin to address the local and global ecological crises systematically through multicultural educational pedagogies. In particular, the manner in which teachers are trained to become knowledgeable and informed scholars can initiate a series of actions that resist social injustices, particularly environmental exploitation (Nieto, 2000). Embracing multicultural education as a system of networks connecting professors, teachers, students, and parents with community and environment, Thoeun argues that inculcating teacher education programs with theoretical knowledge relative to ecological intelligence plays a critical role in addressing the culturally rooted environmental crisis. Scholars of multicultural education assert that multicultural education arms students with skills and knowledge to engage in their local and global community, while remaining cognizant of social justice issues endemic to globalization (Banks, 2007; Banks &amp; Banks, 2009; Nieto, 2000). To this end, Thoeun utilizes a theoretical lens to juxtapose and ultimately link systems thinking and critical theory through Hannah Arendt's conception of &quot;wordlessness&quot; to prevent the world from further collapse.
Myths and Motives behind STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Education and the STEM-Worker Shortage Narrartive
Author: Stevenson, Heidi J.
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: STEM Education,Misconceptions,Supply and Demand,Career Choice,Labor Market,Labor Supply,Educational History,United States History,Salaries,Higher Education,Elementary Secondary Education

The Business Roundtable (2013) website presents a common narrative in regard to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education, &quot;American students are falling behind in math and science. Fewer and fewer students are pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and American students are performing at levels far below students in competitor nations on international standardized tests in these subjects.&quot; (para.3) This message is echoed in numerous federal reports (e.g., NAP, 2005; 2010; PCAST, 2010:2012) and statements concerning STEM education from the United States' (U.S.) President Barack Obama. The narrative posed by the Business Roundtable of a failing U.S. education system and STEM-worker shortage seems to be confirmed by businesses, nonprofits and the Obama administration, as they show their monetary and organizational support to remedy this purported STEM crisis. In this article, the author first puts the STEM-worker shortage narrative into context by exploring its development. Next, she critically analyzes the answers to the following questions: (1) What if instead of a U.S. STEM-worker shortage, there is a STEM-worker surplus? (2) What are the advantages of stating there is a STEM-worker shortage if there is none? and (3) Who benefits from perpetuating a manufactured STEM-worker shortage?