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Tenth Annual Symposium Series on
Excellence in Teaching Mathematics and Science:
Research and Practice
ABSTRACTS for PLENARY AND BREAKOUT SESSIONS
March 14 Plenary Talks
Opening plenary session
Changing the Face of Science
James H. Stith, Vice President, Physics Resources Center, American Institute of Physics
click here for Power Point Presentation
A recent American Institute of Physics study revealed that the number of students taking physics at the high school level has reached a record 1.1 million per year. This study also shows that the also half of these students are young women. Additionally, the percentage of students in all racial groups taking physics has seen remarkable increases. For example, the African American numbers rose from 10% in 1990 to 24% in 2005. In spite of this seemingly good new, the number and percentage of women and underrepresented minorities earning bachelor degrees in physics remains unacceptably low. Why is this? This talk will focus on possible reasons and suggest approaches that may be used by practicing teachers and administrators to improve the yield.
Closing plenary session
Funds of Knowledge and Mathematics Education:
Implications for Teacher Preparation and Professional Development
Marta Civil, Professor, Department of Mathematics, The University of Arizona
click here for Power Point Presentation
In this presentation I will draw on several research efforts aimed at connecting school mathematics with “everyday mathematics.” My work takes places primarily in working class Latino communities and involves working with teachers, students, and parents. I will discuss the successes as well as the challenges that we faced as we tried to develop school learning experiences in mathematics that acknowledge and build on the resources and experiences from the community (their funds of knowledge). Some of these challenges have to do with the values and beliefs associated with different forms of knowledge and with what we count as being mathematics. My focus will be on implications of this work for mathematics teacher preparation and professional development efforts.
March 14 Breakout Sessions
Engaging with Latino Parents in Conversations About Mathematic
Marta Civil, Department of Mathematics, The University of Arizona
click here for Power Point Presentation
In this breakout session I will go into more detail about my work with Latino parents in mathematics. I will 1) present some examples of the type of work we do (workshops and courses for parents); 2) give some findings from our research on Latino parents’ perceptions about the teaching and learning of mathematics; and 3) provide some examples of parents-children interactions about mathematics.
Panel: Attracting Women to STEM
Panelists: Lucia Dettori, DePaul University; Terry Steinbach, DePaul University; Ayse Sahin, DePaul University
The phenomenon of the shrinking pipeline of female enrollment in college level STEM areas continues. In 2004, 55% of undergraduates who received bachelor’s degrees in science, technology, or mathematics were women. However, in mathematics, that figure was close to 45% and in computer science, 25%. Several studies have identified that lack of confidence instilled by gender stereotyping and isolation are the main reasons which keep female high school students away from STEM programs, and cause failure and withdrawal of women college students in the introductory stages. This panel, consisting of two computer science and one mathematics faculty member at DePaul University, will share successful efforts with which they have been involved and invite other ideas and comments from the participants.
Panel: Collaborating to promote STEM undergraduate research
Panelists: Tom Higgens, Harold Washington College; Mike Davis, Harold Washington College; Chris Goedde, DePaul University; Lynn Narasimhan, DePaul University
Evidence indicates that actively involving students in STEM research projects is important for attracting and retaining students in these fields. However, such opportunities at non-research universities are frequently limited to a small percentage of upper-class students. This panel will present information about two NSF-funded projects in the Chicago area designed to provide research opportunities to students early in their careers. Both projects, one based at Harold Washington College and one at DePaul University, are also collaborations between two- and four-year institutions. The panelists will invite discussion from the participants on whether and how these opportunities and collaborations might be expanded to more include Chicago-area institutions.
Session II
Teaching for Retention –A Case Study Approach
James H. Stith, Vice President, Physics Resources Center, American Institute of Physics
Every teacher has or will face a situation whereby their response to a situation may motivate the student to do better or it may cause them to withdraw/disengage. How does a given teacher response affect the behavior of the individual student and/or the others in the class? How does a department create an environment whereby discussions about how to promote and create an inclusive climate is commonplace? This workshop will focus on how to use case studies as a tool for facilitating these discussions.
Recent developments in Transitional Mathematics Learning at UIC: The Math 075 Story
Florencio Diaz, Lon Kaufman and Dibyen Majumdar, University of Illinois at Chicago
In most state universities across the US a large proportion of entering freshmen are under-prepared for college-level math courses. At UIC a combination of ACT math sub-scores and the UIC math placement exam places over 50% of the students in this category. A follow-up study has shown that only 3% percent of these students successfully complete Calculus. Traditionally, the success rate at UIC for mathematics courses that are aimed to rectify the math deficiencies and prepare the students for college math courses, such as precalculus, calculus for Business, and so forth, has been 50% or less. This has been a major cause of frustration for students who want to be in science related majors and is a leading factor for diminished retention rates for the university as a whole. The situation is particularly worrisome for so-called “students at risk” including underrepresented minorities, students wherein neither parent has attended college and students with strong financial need. In this presentation we will describe recent transitional math initiatives at UIC, including academic year courses and Summer Mathematics Enrichment Workshops based on instruction that blends traditional and online learning. The flagship course for this new initiative is Math 075 (Beginning Algebra) which replaced Math 070 at UIC. This course covers the same material in half the time with traditional lectures replaced by facilitated learning. Other features include a self-paced design for homework assignments and quizzes and use of the software MyMathLab (Pearson). The final exam for the course remains a traditional in-class, closed-book exam. The success rate for Math 075 now exceeds 80% and the attendance rate exceeds 90%. The value of this option for transitional mathematics and its potential benefits to the students placed in this level will be discussed.
Two Presentations from the UIC CEMELA Project
Eugenia Vomvoridi-Ivanovich, Craig Willey and Carlos Lopez Leiva, CEMELA fellows, University of Illinois at Chicago
CEMELA, a Center for Learning and Teaching funded by the National Science Foundation, is an interdisciplinary, multi-university consortium focused on the research and practice of the teaching and learning of Mathematics with Latino students in the United States. CEMELA's research agenda seeks to expand the research base on Latinos and mathematics education by conducting studies in interdisciplinary teams that include Center Faculty and Fellows; and to increase understanding of the broader mathematics education community by disseminating research findings, providing innovative models and new course materials developed through CEMELA.
In this breakout session we will present two of the CEMELA research projects, Pre-service Teachers’ Experiences in an After-School Math Club and Parents and Children Connecting Mathematics to Community Through Digital Stories. We will end with discussion with participants about their own experiences in the mathematics education of Latinas/os and linguistically diverse students in general.
May 2 Plenary Talks
Opening plenary session
The Goal of Student Inquiry
David Hammer, Department of Physics and Department of Curriculum & Instruction
University of Maryland, College Park
click here for Slides of the Presentation (pdf)
The word “inquiry” has become pervasive in science education, but it’s not always clear exactly what it means. People speak of “guided inquiry” and “inquiry-based science instruction,” where the guidance or instruction is toward some ideas in the canon, and inquiry is the instructional approach toward the goal of students understanding those ideas. The question that comes up is whether inquiry-based approaches are more or less effective than other options at getting students to understand those ideas.
I’m going to argue that inquiry is better understood as the central substance of what we should be teaching; inquiry is scientific sense-making. In other words, science is inquiry (and the products of inquiry), and so we shouldn’t see inquiry as tied to instructional method; we should see it as inherent in what we are teaching students to do. That makes for different questions: What does inquiry look like, when students are doing it? What constitutes “better” inquiry, and what will help them do it better?
This presentation will focus on instructional diagnoses and decisions with respect to student inquiry. I’ll discuss examples from elementary school and college, to talk about the beginnings of scientific inquiry in children and what becomes of them later.
Closing plenary session
Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching Algebra:
Current Research, Recommendations, and Programs
Sharon Senk, Division of Science and Mathematics Education and Department of Mathematics
Michigan State University
Algebra is the foundation for much of the secondary school mathematics and science curriculum. Unfortunately, lack of understanding of algebra prevents many students from pursuing careers that use mathematics and science. Thus, it is important to examine what kinds of knowledge might enable more effective teaching of algebra. This session will present recent recommendations and research about mathematical knowledge for teaching algebra, and describe programs and materials that are addressing development of knowledge for teaching algebra.
May 2 Breakout Sessions
Scheduling of the breakout sessions is subject to change.
Session I
Knowledge For Teaching Mathematics In Elementary School: How Well Are We Preparing Our Pre-Service Teachers?
Sharon Senk, Michigan State University
For the past three years, faculty at Michigan State University have been conducting an investigation of what pre-service elementary teachers at MSU learn about number and geometry, and students’ thinking about these topics. In this session, participants will have an opportunity to examine test items we’ve administered, analyze students’ work, reflect on the results obtained, and discuss how self-studies might improve the quality of instruction in teacher preparation programs.
Learning Goals for the Biological Sciences: What Should Students Know?
Joel Michael, Rush Medical College
The knowledge explosion is alive and well in the biological sciences. Students can not learn everything that is known. What should we expect students to know after they take a biology course? Participants will work together to generate a list of BIG IDEAS in the biological sciences that students should understand. This question has recently been explored at two workshops sponsored by NSF, but answers from the widest possible community are needed if changes to biology education are to be successfully instituted.
A model for instructional reform in the urban physics classroom
Samuel Bowen, Kim Coble, Mel Sabella, Chicago State University
As a result of funding from the NSF Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Program and in collaboration with several other universities, the Physics Program at Chicago State University is creating a learning environment in which students move back and forth between problem solving, discussions, lecture and laboratory. An interactive physics workbook that contains student lecture notes, research-based laboratory materials, discussion and problem solving questions, and “Clicker” question sequences guides the structure of the course.
In this breakout, participants will receive a brief description of our reform efforts and be given a portion of the interactive workbook, currently in the pilot-testing phase. Participants will be placed in the role of the student and participate in the interactive lecture, a clicker question sequence activity, and a short portion of a laboratory to see how the different elements of the course fit together in a coherent unit.
Supported in part by NSF-CCLI grants, #0410068, #0632563, #0618128
Engaging Students in Climbing the Learning Spiral
Ovid K. Wong, Benedictine University
The learning cycle is an education strategy consistent with a number of contemporary learning theories to underscore the importance of experiential learning. There are four major teaching issues stemming from the learning cycle. The issues are (1) the obscurity of student’s prior knowledge with reference to students’ misconception, (2) the less than strategic placement of learning evaluation, (3) the cyclic nature of the phases, and (4) the two dimensionality of the cycle. In view of the four issues of the learning cycle discussed, a suggestion is made to the creation of a revised learning cycle called a learning spiral.
Participants of this break out session will experience the scaffolding nature of the spiral as they gather momentum in climbing up the learning spiral. The application of the learning spiral in the light of the mandated science assessment per NCLB will also be discussed.
This presentation proposal is based on the modification of a paper in press (May, 2008) for the Spectrum of the Illinois Science Teachers Association.
Session II
Attending and Responding to Student Thinking
David Hammer, University of Maryland, College Park
What does inquiry look like, when students are doing it? For this breakout session, we'll look at a particular example from a middle school class. Participants will focus on what there is to see and hear in the students' reasoning, interpret the substance of their ideas, diagnose what they're doing well and what they could be doing better, and finally to consider possibilities for how the teacher might respond.
The Keystone Method of Instruction in Basic Mathematics: Theory, Practice, Results, and Future.
M. Vali Siadat, Euguenia Peterson, Sonia Ramirez, Cyrill Oseledets, Pierrick Hanlet, and Ming-Jer Wang, Richard J. Daley College
The Keystone method is a synergistic system of assessing students’ learning and adjusting of teaching practices. It provides a medium for dialogue between the teacher and the students. This medium is represented by carefully designed quizzes which are frequent, cumulative, time restricted, and homework based. The instructors are able to modify their teaching strategies according to extensive analysis of the students’ performance on the quizzes.
The Keystone project has been implemented at Daley College and other peer institutions for the last ten years. At Daley College, the classes under study encompassed elementary, intermediate and college algebra classes. The results, based on a large sample, have shown dramatic improvements in student performance and retention in these classes.
We will provide handouts and copies of some of the quizzes so that the participants may have a chance to reflect on them and engage in a constructive discussion. We hope to pave the way for future collaborative efforts with other institutions, especially those with a diverse student population such as ours.
Modernizing undergraduate science laboratories to meet the demands of the 21st century workplace.
Robert Richter, Kristy Mardis, William Lawrence, Chicago State University
The transformation of undergraduate laboratories from cookbook style verification experiments to inquiry and/or research style experiences has been a topic of great interest in the past several years. At Chicago State University, we have chosen a phased introduction to research. We have designed a series of experiments for the physical science courses (for non-science majors), the first year chemistry sequence and are in the process of re-designing the physical and analytical chemistry laboratory experiments.
In order to better prepare students, we want to provide them with hands-on experience with modern research tools. To do this, we purchased compact modular spectroscopy stations from Ocean Optics. These systems were cheap enough to allow us to purchase 15 sets which allow students hands-on experience with modern research tools and robust enough to be usable in general chemistry and non-major courses.
In this break-out session we will demonstrate the versatility of these systems. For each of several experiments, we will provide faculty and student hand-outs, equipment needs, and cost information for the necessary spectrometry pieces. In addition to the provided laboratories, the presenters will lead discussion on ideas for additional labs building on the skills, background, and interests of the participants.
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