Articles

Strategies to mitigate student resistance to active learning

Research has shown that active learning promotes student learning and increases retention rates of STEM undergraduates. Yet, instructors are reluctant to change their teaching approaches for several reasons, i...

Authors: Sneha Tharayil, Maura Borrego, Michael Prince, Kevin A. Nguyen, Prateek Shekhar, Cynthia J. Finelli and Cynthia Waters

Learning from the parallel pathways of Makers to broaden pathways to engineering

Makers are a growing community of STEM-minded people who bridge technical and non-technical backgrounds to imagine, build and fabricate engineering systems. Some have engineering training, some do not. This pa...

Authors: Christina Foster, Aubrey Wigner, Micah Lande and Shawn S. Jordan

Development of Two-Dimensional Classroom Discourse Analysis Tool (CDAT): scientific reasoning and dialog patterns in the secondary science classes

In a science classroom, students do not simply learn scientific ways of doing, knowing, and reasoning unless they find ways of appropriating scientific discourse. In the Next Generation Science Standards, majo...

Authors: Soon C. Lee and Karen E. Irving

Understanding science teachers’ implementations of integrated STEM curricular units through a phenomenological multiple case study

Current reforms in K-12 STEM education call for integration between science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Such integration of STEM disciplines at the K-12 level offers students an opportuni...

Authors: Emily A. Dare, Joshua A. Ellis and Gillian H. Roehrig

Four frames for systemic change in STEM departments

This paper adapts the four-frame model of organizational change to the context of higher education. We offer the model as a tool for researchers and change agents who wish to study and enact systemic change wi...

Authors: Daniel L. Reinholz and Naneh Apkarian

Changing the face of STEM with stormwater research

The University of Maine Stormwater Management and Research Team (SMART) program began in 2014 with the goal of creating a diverse science-technology-engineering-math (STEM) pathway with community water researc...

Authors: Mohamad Musavi, Wilhelm A. Friess, Cary James and Jennifer C. Isherwood

Development of pedagogical knowledge among learning assistants

Successful outcomes of the Learning Assistant (LA) model include increased learning outcomes in STEM gateway courses and increased persistence to graduation among LAs and the students they serve. While there a...

Authors: Laken M. Top, Sarah A. Schoonraad and Valerie K. Otero

Instructional strategies and course design for teaching statistics online: perspectives from online students

Teaching online is a different experience from that of teaching in a face-to-face setting. Knowledge and skills developed for teaching face-to-face classes are not adequate preparation for teaching online. It ...

Authors: Dazhi Yang

Student learning outcomes from a pilot medical innovations course with nursing, engineering, and biology undergraduate students

Preparing today’s undergraduate students from science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and related health professions to solve wide-sweeping healthcare challenges is critical. Moreover, it is imperati...

Authors: Patrice M. Ludwig, Jacquelyn K. Nagel and Erica J. Lewis

Bringing facilitation into view

The articles in this volume reflect the continued popularity of video in professional development and raise important questions about how to situate video productively in varied contexts. Together, they highli...

Authors: Elizabeth A. van Es and Miriam Gamoran Sherin

Design principles for effective video-based professional development

Most studies of teacher professional development (PD) do not rigorously test impact on teaching practice and student learning. This makes it difficult to define what is truly “effective.” The Science Teachers Lea...

Authors: Kathleen J. Roth, Jody Bintz, Nicole I. Z. Wickler, Connie Hvidsten, Joseph Taylor, Paul M. Beardsley, Arlo Caine and Christopher D. Wilson

Preparing facilitators to use and adapt mathematics professional development materials productively

Determining whether a professional development program can be enacted with integrity in different settings and by different facilitators is critical to understanding efficacy. In this paper, we describe the tw...

Authors: Jennifer Jacobs, Nanette Seago and Karen Koellner

The role of video-based discussion in model for preparing professional development leaders

This paper describes the Problem-Solving Cycle model of professional development and the Mathematics Leadership Preparation model of PD leader preparation. These models form the backbone of our current researc...

Authors: Hilda Borko, Janet Carlson, Charmaine Mangram, Robin Anderson, Alissa Fong, Susan Million, Suki Mozenter and Anthony Muro Villa

A framework for planning and facilitating video-based professional development

Recent transformative changes in science education require new learning opportunities for teachers—opportunities that include rich images of classroom enactment of the reform vision. One fruitful way for doing...

Authors: Miray Tekkumru-Kisa and Mary Kay Stein

Designing, facilitating, and scaling-up video-based professional development: supporting complex forms of teaching in science and mathematics

This special issue brings together four effective video-based professional development programs—two in mathematics and two in science—that use classroom videos as the centerpiece of their efforts and have “sca...

Authors: Miray Tekkumru-Kisa and Mary Kay Stein

Co-Measure: developing an assessment for student collaboration in STEAM activities

The shortage of skilled workers choosing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) careers in the USA and worldwide has fueled a movement towards STEAM, in which the “A” addresses the arts and humaniti...

Authors: Danielle Herro, Cassie Quigley, Jessica Andrews and Girlie Delacruz

Assessing the STEM landscape: the current instructional climate survey and the evidence-based instructional practices adoption scale

The efficacy of active learning within STEM education is clear, and many institutions are working to help faculty adopt evidence-based instructional practices (EBIPs) which can promote active learning. In orde...

Authors: R. Eric Landrum, Karen Viskupic, Susan E. Shadle and Doug Bullock

A structural equation model looking at student’s participatory behavior and their success in Calculus I

Government projections in the USA indicate that the country will need a million more science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduates above and beyond those already projected by the year 2022...

Authors: Rachel Elizabeth Keller, Estrella Johnson and Steven DeShong

Using written work to investigate stages in sixth-grade students’ construction and coordination of units

Students’ ability to construct and coordinate units has been found to have far-reaching implications for their ability to develop sophisticated understandings of key middle-grade mathematical topics such as fr...

Authors: Catherine Ulrich and Jesse L. M. Wilkins

How personal, behavioral, and environmental factors predict working in STEMM vs non-STEMM middle-skill careers

Much of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medical (STEMM) education policy and research centers around developing the upper levels of the STEMM workforce sector. However, there are many positi...

Authors: Matthew A. Cannady, Debra Moore, Elizabeth Votruba-Drzal, Eric Greenwald, Regie Stites and Christian D. Schunn

Exploring teacher design team endeavors while creating an elementary-focused STEM-integrated curriculum

This study presents two teacher design teams (TDTs) during a professional development experience centered on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-integrated curriculum development. The main...

Authors: Justin R. McFadden and Gillian H. Roehrig

Understanding the delivery of a Canadian-based after-school STEM program: a case study

Due to the rising demands for a Canadian workforce with science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)-related education, there is a need to increase youth engagement in STEM education and programming. Rese...

Authors: Eugenia Duodu, Jessica Noble, Yusuf Yusuf, Camilo Garay and Corliss Bean

Required peer-cooperative learning improves retention of STEM majors

Peer-cooperative learning has been shown in the literature to improve student success in gateway science and mathematics courses. Such studies typically demonstrate the impact of students’ attending peer-led l...

Authors: Matthew Salomone and Thomas Kling

The test of basic Mechanics Conceptual Understanding (bMCU): using Rasch analysis to develop and evaluate an efficient multiple choice test on Newton’s mechanics

Valid assessment of the understanding of Newton’s mechanics is highly relevant to both physics classrooms and research. Several tests have been developed. What remains missing, however, is an efficient and fai...

Authors: Sarah I. Hofer, Ralph Schumacher and Herbert Rubin

The Young Innovators Program at the Eshelman Institute for Innovation: a case study examining the role of a professional pharmacy school in enhancing STEM pursuits among secondary school students

Professional schools, such as schools of pharmacy, are rarely involved with promoting STEM interests among secondary school students. To address this shortcoming, the Young Innovators Program (YIP) was create...

Authors: Adam D. Friedman, Carlos R. Melendez, Antonio A. Bush, Samuel K. Lai and Jacqueline E. McLaughlin

Polytechnic engineering mathematics: assessing its relevance to the productivity of industries in Uganda

The main objective of the study was to examine the relevance of engineering mathematics to the emerging industries. The level of abstraction, the standard of rigor, and the depth of theoretical treatment are n...

Authors: Peter J. Jehopio and Ronald Wesonga

Adolescents as agents of healthful change through scientific literacy development: A school-university partnership program in New Zealand

Scientific literacy development is widely emphasized as the overarching goal of science education. It encompasses development of understanding of the nature of science as well as knowledge, attitudes, and valu...

Authors: Jacquie L. Bay, Mark H. Vickers, Helen A. Mora, Deborah M. Sloboda and Susan M. Morton

Towards the STEM DBER Alliance: why we need a discipline-based STEM education research community

Authors: Charles Henderson, Mark Connolly, Erin L. Dolan, Noah Finkelstein, Scott Franklin, Shirley Malcom, Chris Rasmussen, Kacy Redd and Kristen St. John

Assessing teacher education and professional development needs for the implementation of integrated approaches to STEM education

Given the growing interest in, and relevance of, integrated approaches to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education, there is an urgent desire to understand the challenges and obstacle...

Authors: David J. Shernoff, Suparna Sinha, Denise M. Bressler and Lynda Ginsburg

Factors contributing to students and instructors experiencing a lack of time in college calculus

Calculus is a foundational course for STEM-intending students yet has been shown to dissuade students from pursuing STEM degrees. In this report, we examine factors related to students and instructors reportin...

Authors: Jessica Ellis Hagman, Estrella Johnson and Bailey K. Fosdick

The effects of an afterschool STEM program on students’ motivation and engagement

One significant factor in facilitating students’ career intentions and persistence in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields is targeting their interests and motivation before eighth g...

Authors: Jessica R. Chittum, Brett D. Jones, Sehmuz Akalin and Ásta B. Schram

Integrating STEM in elementary classrooms using model-eliciting activities: responsive professional development for mathematics coaches and teachers

This research highlights a school-university collaboration to pilot a professional development framework for integrating STEM in K-6 mathematics classrooms in a mid-Atlantic suburban school division. Because m...

Authors: Courtney K. Baker and Terrie M. Galanti

Trends in Texas high school student enrollment in mathematics, science, and CTE-STEM courses

In the context of Texas of the USA, House Bill 5 signifies a major policy shift requiring entering high school students starting in fall 2014 to choose an endorsement, like science, technology, engineering, an...

Authors: So Yoon Yoon and Johannes Strobel

Faculty drivers and barriers: laying the groundwork for undergraduate STEM education reform in academic departments

Calls to improve student learning and increase the number of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) college and university graduates assert the need for widespread adoption of evidence-based instruc...

Authors: Susan E. Shadle, Anthony Marker and Brittnee Earl

A model for understanding teachers’ intentions to remain in STEM education

This study examined the relationships of various teacher retention factors with the intentions of math and science teachers to remain in the profession. With data collected from the 2007–08 Schools and Staffin...

Authors: John R. McConnell III

Women’s interest development and motivations to persist as college students in STEM: a mixed methods analysis of views and voices from a Hispanic-Serving Institution

The constructs of interest and motivation are often identified as factors that contribute to the persistence of undergraduate college women in physics, mathematics, engineering, engineering technology, and com...

Authors: Kimberly Grau Talley and Araceli Martinez Ortiz

Supporting integrated STEM in the elementary classroom: a professional development approach centered on an engineering design challenge

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education is becoming more prevalent at the elementary level, and there has been a push to focus on the integration between the STEM disciplines. Resear...

Authors: Anne T. Estapa and Kristina M. Tank

Female senior secondary physics students’ engagement in science: a qualitative study of constructive influences

Prompted by fewer females compared to males enrolling in physics and advanced mathematics at both secondary and university levels, our research investigated the views and experiences of female students current...

Authors: Mary C. Oliver, Amanda Woods-McConney, Dorit Maor and Andrew McConney

How do undergraduate STEM mentors reflect upon their mentoring experiences in an outreach program engaging K-8 youth?

Many university students are becoming involved in mentoring programs, yet few studies describe the impact of mentoring on the mentor. Additionally, many studies report that students graduating from college are...

Authors: Kari Nelson, Jaime Sabel, Cory Forbes, Neal Grandgenett, William Tapprich and Christine Cutucache

Characteristics of well-propagated teaching innovations in undergraduate STEM

The undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education community has developed a large number of innovative teaching strategies and materials, but the majority of these go unused ...

Authors: Raina Khatri, Charles Henderson, Renee Cole, Jeffrey E. Froyd, Debra Friedrichsen and Courtney Stanford

Examining study habits in undergraduate STEM courses from a situative perspective

A growing body of research in cognitive psychology and education research is illuminating which study strategies are effective for optimal learning, but little descriptive research focuses on how undergraduate...

Authors: Matthew T. Hora and Amanda K. Oleson

The eight essential elements of inclusive STEM high schools

Inclusive STEM (traditionally known to stand for “Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math”) high schools are emerging across the country as a mechanism for improving STEM education and getting more and dive...

Authors: Melanie LaForce, Elizabeth Noble, Heather King, Jeanne Century, Courtney Blackwell, Sandra Holt, Ahmed Ibrahim and Stephanie Loo

Astrophotography, a portal for engaging non-STEM majors in science

We report the results of an undergraduate course in astrophotography designed to engage non-STEM majors in the natural sciences to train future amateur astronomers and citizen scientists. Over 200,000 students...

Authors: Mario A. De Leo–Winkler, Gabriela Canalizo and Gillian Wilson

Teachers’ use of classroom assessment techniques in primary mathematics education—an explorative study with six Chinese teachers

This paper reports on the use of classroom assessment techniques (CATs) by primary school mathematics teachers in China. CATs are short, focused assessment activities that can reveal students’ understanding of...

Authors: Xiaoyan Zhao, Marja Van den Heuvel-Panhuizen and Michiel Veldhuis

Gender, interest, and prior experience shape opportunities to learn programming in robotics competitions

Robotics competitions are increasingly popular and potentially provide an on-ramp to computer science, which is currently highly gender imbalanced. However, within competitive robotics teams, student participa...

Authors: Eben B. Witherspoon, Christian D. Schunn, Ross M. Higashi and Emily C. Baehr

Beyond “group work”: an integrated approach to support collaboration in engineering education

Working effectively in a collaborative team is not only an outcome required by ABET but also one that scholars and practitioners recognize as necessary for being a successful professional engineer. Technology-...

Authors: Rose M. Marra, Linsey Steege, Chia-Lin Tsai and Nai-En Tang

Elementary content specialization: models, affordances, and constraints

This study investigates the models of elementary content specialization (ECS) in elementary mathematics and science and the affordances and constraints related to ECS—both generally and in relation to specific...

Authors: Kimberly A. Markworth, Joseph Brobst, Chris Ohana and Ruth Parker

Promoting the asking of research questions in a high-school biotechnology inquiry-oriented program

Asking questions is an important scientific practice, and students around the world are expected to learn how to ask their own research questions while performing inquiry. In contrast to authentic scientific i...

Authors: Tom Bielik and Anat Yarden

Increasing STEM success: a near-peer mentoring program in the physical sciences

Mentoring supports professional success in a myriad of fields; in the physical sciences, mentoring increases the retention of diverse groups of students. While physics education has made progress in classifyin...

Authors: Anna M. Zaniewski and Daniel Reinholz

A framework for understanding the characteristics of complexity in biology

Understanding the functioning of natural systems is not easy, although there is general agreement that understanding complex systems is an important goal for science education. Defining what makes a natural sy...

Authors: Joseph Dauer and Jenny Dauer