As a teacher, my experiences revealed that although most Iranian new immigrant high school students had an excellent mathematical background, they faced difficulties in learning math after relocating to a school in Vancouver, BC. There are several reasons for this, and this article focuses on one of those. I conducted two series of interviews with seven Iranian new immigrant high school students to collect data. They studied in a Canadian school and had also learned math in an Iranian high school. Participants pointed to different math teachers' methods as a reason why learning math in Canada differs from Iran. Canadian math teachers give students the authority to decide on how and when to finish their math work. These students are not familiar with this authority, and they do not know how to plan for their math education. They need support as they learn how to make decisions and be more autonomous.
{"title":"Evaluating the Influence of Instructional Approaches on the Mathematical Achievement of Immigrant Students","authors":"Malihe Manzouri","doi":"10.31756/jrsmte.319si","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31756/jrsmte.319si","url":null,"abstract":"As a teacher, my experiences revealed that although most Iranian new immigrant high school students had an excellent mathematical background, they faced difficulties in learning math after relocating to a school in Vancouver, BC. There are several reasons for this, and this article focuses on one of those. I conducted two series of interviews with seven Iranian new immigrant high school students to collect data. They studied in a Canadian school and had also learned math in an Iranian high school. Participants pointed to different math teachers' methods as a reason why learning math in Canada differs from Iran. Canadian math teachers give students the authority to decide on how and when to finish their math work. These students are not familiar with this authority, and they do not know how to plan for their math education. They need support as they learn how to make decisions and be more autonomous.","PeriodicalId":513454,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Research in Science, Mathematics and Technology Education","volume":"48 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141342253","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The ways that serving as a teaching assistant (TA) influences the teacher identity development of mathematics graduate students is still a largely undertheorized area of postsecondary mathematics education research. Drawing on sociocultural theories and role identity theories, we qualitatively examined how interactions within the mathematics TA position prompted graduate students to take up a multitude of role identities. We found that different interactions uniquely positioned participants to assume roles, such as instructor, supporter, mentor, and learner. Some role identities were only situated within specific interactions, while others were evident across multiple interactions. Teacher identity is a complex, multidimensional construct, and we found that serving as a TA supported the teacher identity development of mathematics graduate students through opportunities to take up a myriad of role identities. Understanding the nuances and complexities of the identities and experiences of mathematics graduate students can equip mathematics departments and higher education institutions to better support their transition to the mathematics professoriate.
{"title":"Mathematics Graduate Students’ Teacher Identity Development: Examining Roles Within the Teaching Assistant Position","authors":"T. R. Olarte, Micah Swartz, Sarah A. Roberts","doi":"10.31756/jrsmte.316si","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31756/jrsmte.316si","url":null,"abstract":"The ways that serving as a teaching assistant (TA) influences the teacher identity development of mathematics graduate students is still a largely undertheorized area of postsecondary mathematics education research. Drawing on sociocultural theories and role identity theories, we qualitatively examined how interactions within the mathematics TA position prompted graduate students to take up a multitude of role identities. We found that different interactions uniquely positioned participants to assume roles, such as instructor, supporter, mentor, and learner. Some role identities were only situated within specific interactions, while others were evident across multiple interactions. Teacher identity is a complex, multidimensional construct, and we found that serving as a TA supported the teacher identity development of mathematics graduate students through opportunities to take up a myriad of role identities. Understanding the nuances and complexities of the identities and experiences of mathematics graduate students can equip mathematics departments and higher education institutions to better support their transition to the mathematics professoriate.","PeriodicalId":513454,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Research in Science, Mathematics and Technology Education","volume":"49 12","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141349569","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Spatial reasoning is critical for mathematics learning and achievement, and its comprising skills are necessary in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics careers. To support young children in learning to reason spatially, clear definitions of the construct and supports for early childhood educators to teach the skills are needed. This study defines spatial reasoning as a comprehensive, comprehensible framework of skills. Using problem-driven content analysis, 835 text units from 103 sources, plus definitions from two reputable dictionary sources, were used to adopt, adapt, and infer the definitions for 40 terms that collectively represent spatial reasoning. Findings provide both the definitions and evidence of the extent to which various spatial reasoning skills have been investigated empirically. Directions for future research are discussed, including the need to refine the framework to ensure its utility for teachers and researchers.
{"title":"Defining Spatial Reasoning: A Content Analysis to Explicate Spatial Reasoning Skills for Early Childhood Educators’ Use","authors":"Robyn K Pinilla","doi":"10.31756/jrsmte.317si","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31756/jrsmte.317si","url":null,"abstract":"Spatial reasoning is critical for mathematics learning and achievement, and its comprising skills are necessary in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics careers. To support young children in learning to reason spatially, clear definitions of the construct and supports for early childhood educators to teach the skills are needed. This study defines spatial reasoning as a comprehensive, comprehensible framework of skills. Using problem-driven content analysis, 835 text units from 103 sources, plus definitions from two reputable dictionary sources, were used to adopt, adapt, and infer the definitions for 40 terms that collectively represent spatial reasoning. Findings provide both the definitions and evidence of the extent to which various spatial reasoning skills have been investigated empirically. Directions for future research are discussed, including the need to refine the framework to ensure its utility for teachers and researchers.","PeriodicalId":513454,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Research in Science, Mathematics and Technology Education","volume":"41 21","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141345357","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Calculus has long been known for its "gatekeeping" role in postsecondary students' pursuit of STEM careers. In addressing this pressing issue, researchers at Montclair State University developed a model of peer-led complementary instruction to engage Calculus I students in small-group, collaborative problem solving on inquiry-oriented, groupworthy tasks. This work comes from a multiple-case study that sought to address the question, “How do undergraduate students experience and navigate their calculus learning in the parallel spaces of coursework and inquiry-oriented complementary instruction?” The analytic representations that were constructed to represent the findings of that study are presented here. Those findings include characterizations of the different forms of Calculus I students’ agentive participation and the figured worlds of class and complementary instruction. The analytic representations depict those findings in the form of word clouds and Venn diagrams. The analytical representations of “Victor’s” participation are presented and discussed here, and an argument is made for their particular representational power and efficiency. As such, this work seeks to make a methodological contribution to education research that seeks to characterize the nature of participation by the actors in figured worlds.
长期以来，微积分一直因其在中学后学生从事 STEM 职业方面的 "把关 "作用而闻名。为了解决这个紧迫的问题，蒙特克莱尔州立大学的研究人员开发了一种同伴互补教学模式，让微积分 I 的学生以小组合作的方式参与到以探究为导向、适合小组合作的任务中，共同解决问题。这项工作来自于一项多案例研究，该研究试图解决这样一个问题："本科生如何在课程作业和探究导向的补充教学的平行空间中体验和驾驭微积分学习？本文介绍了为体现该研究结果而构建的分析表征。这些发现包括微积分 I 学生不同形式的代理参与以及课堂和补充教学的图解世界的特征。分析表述以词云和维恩图的形式描述了这些发现。本文对 "维克多 "参与的分析表述进行了介绍和讨论，并对其特殊的表述能力和效率进行了论证。因此，这项工作旨在为教育研究做出方法论上的贡献，以描述图示世界中行动者参与的性质。
{"title":"Novel Representations of the Experiences of Calculus I Students’ Participation in the Parallel Spaces of Coursework and Complementary Instruction","authors":"Karmen Tracy Yu, Steven Greenstein","doi":"10.31756/jrsmte.318si","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31756/jrsmte.318si","url":null,"abstract":"Calculus has long been known for its \"gatekeeping\" role in postsecondary students' pursuit of STEM careers. In addressing this pressing issue, researchers at Montclair State University developed a model of peer-led complementary instruction to engage Calculus I students in small-group, collaborative problem solving on inquiry-oriented, groupworthy tasks. This work comes from a multiple-case study that sought to address the question, “How do undergraduate students experience and navigate their calculus learning in the parallel spaces of coursework and inquiry-oriented complementary instruction?” The analytic representations that were constructed to represent the findings of that study are presented here. Those findings include characterizations of the different forms of Calculus I students’ agentive participation and the figured worlds of class and complementary instruction. The analytic representations depict those findings in the form of word clouds and Venn diagrams. The analytical representations of “Victor’s” participation are presented and discussed here, and an argument is made for their particular representational power and efficiency. As such, this work seeks to make a methodological contribution to education research that seeks to characterize the nature of participation by the actors in figured worlds.","PeriodicalId":513454,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Research in Science, Mathematics and Technology Education","volume":"56 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141346959","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The concept of Global Competency (GC) has a growing presence in many collegiate mission statements in the United States. This interconnected, multidisciplinary approach coincides with that of the concept of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) education. The focus of this study was to identify what extent GC is present in the classrooms and curriculums, as well as the implementation methods higher education instructors observe and / or utilize in their STEAM field programs. The participants in this study were STEAM-field instructors at higher education institutions in the United States in which GC or an equivalent term is located in their mission or strategic plan. Seventy-six instructors from the midwestern United States completed a survey to generate a GC integration score, and 13 of those also participated in an interview. The quantitative analysis identified a statistically significant difference between the integration scores of Arts and Science instructors and Arts and Engineering instructors. Qualitative analysis identified curriculum and instruction-based strategies of successful integration, common barriers to integration, and the sentiment that integration varies greatly from a regional and sometimes institution-wide setting. The findings of this study can help standardize the concept and integration of GC in higher education as well as provide curriculum developers and administrators with a look at how GC is represented in the current climate of higher education.
{"title":"Global Competency Integration in STEAM Fields in Higher Education","authors":"Lori Jean Bushey","doi":"10.31756/jrsmte.315si","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31756/jrsmte.315si","url":null,"abstract":"The concept of Global Competency (GC) has a growing presence in many collegiate mission statements in the United States. This interconnected, multidisciplinary approach coincides with that of the concept of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) education. The focus of this study was to identify what extent GC is present in the classrooms and curriculums, as well as the implementation methods higher education instructors observe and / or utilize in their STEAM field programs. The participants in this study were STEAM-field instructors at higher education institutions in the United States in which GC or an equivalent term is located in their mission or strategic plan. Seventy-six instructors from the midwestern United States completed a survey to generate a GC integration score, and 13 of those also participated in an interview. The quantitative analysis identified a statistically significant difference between the integration scores of Arts and Science instructors and Arts and Engineering instructors. Qualitative analysis identified curriculum and instruction-based strategies of successful integration, common barriers to integration, and the sentiment that integration varies greatly from a regional and sometimes institution-wide setting. The findings of this study can help standardize the concept and integration of GC in higher education as well as provide curriculum developers and administrators with a look at how GC is represented in the current climate of higher education.","PeriodicalId":513454,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Research in Science, Mathematics and Technology Education","volume":"8 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141265693","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This exploratory study investigated the relationships between professors’ enactments of a research-based precalculus curriculum (Pathways) and changes observed in students’ attitudes towards mathematics and perseverance in problem-solving. While much research focuses on improving student achievement in undergraduate STEM courses, it is also important to support students in developing the positive dispositions and practices needed to sustain them through years of mathematics-based STEM coursework. We therefore investigated the way three professors implemented Pathways, assessing via observation their pedagogical choices across three Pathways-aligned dimensions; we also investigated the changes in attitudes and perseverance of students in these professors’ classes. Our results suggest that although the Pathways precalculus curriculum may support the development of positive attitudes toward mathematics and improved perseverance in problem-solving, this potential is influenced by professors’ pedagogical choices. This research helps us better understand the connections between pedagogies enacted in STEM-gateway courses and students’ development of productive ways of engaging with mathematics.
{"title":"Investigating Pedagogies in Undergraduate Precalculus and their Relationships to Students’ Attitudes Towards Mathematics and Perseverance in Problem-Solving","authors":"Amy Daniel, Joseph DiNapoli","doi":"10.31756/jrsmte.314si","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31756/jrsmte.314si","url":null,"abstract":"This exploratory study investigated the relationships between professors’ enactments of a research-based precalculus curriculum (Pathways) and changes observed in students’ attitudes towards mathematics and perseverance in problem-solving. While much research focuses on improving student achievement in undergraduate STEM courses, it is also important to support students in developing the positive dispositions and practices needed to sustain them through years of mathematics-based STEM coursework. We therefore investigated the way three professors implemented Pathways, assessing via observation their pedagogical choices across three Pathways-aligned dimensions; we also investigated the changes in attitudes and perseverance of students in these professors’ classes. Our results suggest that although the Pathways precalculus curriculum may support the development of positive attitudes toward mathematics and improved perseverance in problem-solving, this potential is influenced by professors’ pedagogical choices. This research helps us better understand the connections between pedagogies enacted in STEM-gateway courses and students’ development of productive ways of engaging with mathematics.","PeriodicalId":513454,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Research in Science, Mathematics and Technology Education","volume":"26 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141274472","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Classroom observations are commonly employed to assess quality of instruction in research and practice in mathematics education. However, there is more to be learned about how sensitive classroom observation protocols are to exemplars of strong mathematics instruction, and continuous refinements to observation protocols or rating processes that may be warranted. In this study, we use the public-released mathematics videos from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) to examine how classroom observers, using two contemporary classroom observation instruments, rate a set of lessons whose instructional quality is in theory expected to differ, also referred to as contrasted groups. We find that descriptively, the pattern of findings is distinct from prior studies’ conclusions about the relative instructional quality reflected in the TIMSS video pool. We provide qualitative examples to illustrate the findings, and discuss implications for future research. We point to the potential value of exploring classroom observation rubrics’ performance using ‘contrasted groups’ of lesson videos, as a tool to broaden our understanding of how observation instruments are functioning.
{"title":"Seeing Through the Eyes of Classroom Observers: The Case of Rating Contrasted Groups of Lessons With Classroom Observation Measures","authors":"Kathleen Lynch","doi":"10.31756/jrsmte.723","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31756/jrsmte.723","url":null,"abstract":"Classroom observations are commonly employed to assess quality of instruction in research and practice in mathematics education. However, there is more to be learned about how sensitive classroom observation protocols are to exemplars of strong mathematics instruction, and continuous refinements to observation protocols or rating processes that may be warranted. In this study, we use the public-released mathematics videos from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) to examine how classroom observers, using two contemporary classroom observation instruments, rate a set of lessons whose instructional quality is in theory expected to differ, also referred to as contrasted groups. We find that descriptively, the pattern of findings is distinct from prior studies’ conclusions about the relative instructional quality reflected in the TIMSS video pool. We provide qualitative examples to illustrate the findings, and discuss implications for future research. We point to the potential value of exploring classroom observation rubrics’ performance using ‘contrasted groups’ of lesson videos, as a tool to broaden our understanding of how observation instruments are functioning.","PeriodicalId":513454,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Research in Science, Mathematics and Technology Education","volume":" 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140996137","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Gökçe Akçayir, Janelle McFeetors, Mijung Kim, Kerry Rose, Marnie V. Jamieson, Kristian Basaraba, Q. Jin, Duncan Buchanan
Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) significantly contribute to the learning and experiences of undergraduate students. Thus, supporting and enhancing GTA pedagogical knowledge and competencies can improve the learning experiences of undergraduates. Towards this goal, a discipline-specific pedagogical professional development program was created for GTAs in the Faculty of Engineering at a Canadian university. This case study explores the perspectives of participating GTAs, including how they engaged in learning about teaching, what they learned, their emerging educator identity formation, and the challenges they faced during the program. Situated learning theory informed the analysis of participant interviews and focus groups. Findings indicate that GTAs appreciated the situated and embedded nature of the program, reporting limited prior familiarity with pedagogical tools and practices and their application. Results also highlight the need to align GTA roles and responsibilities, providing opportunities to put their learning into practice with the pedagogical knowledge they developed in the program.
{"title":"A Pilot Study of Supporting GTA Professional Development and Educator Identity in Engineering","authors":"Gökçe Akçayir, Janelle McFeetors, Mijung Kim, Kerry Rose, Marnie V. Jamieson, Kristian Basaraba, Q. Jin, Duncan Buchanan","doi":"10.31756/jrsmte.722","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31756/jrsmte.722","url":null,"abstract":"Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) significantly contribute to the learning and experiences of undergraduate students. Thus, supporting and enhancing GTA pedagogical knowledge and competencies can improve the learning experiences of undergraduates. Towards this goal, a discipline-specific pedagogical professional development program was created for GTAs in the Faculty of Engineering at a Canadian university. This case study explores the perspectives of participating GTAs, including how they engaged in learning about teaching, what they learned, their emerging educator identity formation, and the challenges they faced during the program. Situated learning theory informed the analysis of participant interviews and focus groups. Findings indicate that GTAs appreciated the situated and embedded nature of the program, reporting limited prior familiarity with pedagogical tools and practices and their application. Results also highlight the need to align GTA roles and responsibilities, providing opportunities to put their learning into practice with the pedagogical knowledge they developed in the program.","PeriodicalId":513454,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Research in Science, Mathematics and Technology Education","volume":"77 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140708029","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Influencing the difficulty of performance tasks is of great interest in science education as in several other subjects. In the context of the VAMPS project, difficulty-generating features with respect to the cognitive demand of text-based physics tasks were systematically varied at three levels. Based on preliminary work and two pilot studies presented here briefly, a model was developed by which cognitive requirement was varied according to three features. The viability of this model was empirically tested with a sample of n = 414 secondary school students. The feature cognitive activity proved to be a significant factor influencing the empirically measured difficulty of tasks. With the help of the feature number of information obtained from task stem and number of subject-specific mental procedures, no systematic influence on task difficulty could be shown. The influence of the test persons’ individual prior knowledge on the actual task difficulty is generally assumed to be a confounding factor. Overall, the present study contributes to a better understanding of construct representation in assessments of subject-specific proficiency and empirically confirms that a systematic variation of the task feature cognitive activity on three levels affects task difficulty
在科学教育中，影响成绩任务的难度和其他一些学科一样，是一个非常重要的问题。在 VAMPS 项目的背景下，对基于文本的物理任务的认知要求的难度产生特征进行了三个层次的系统变化。在初步工作和本文简要介绍的两项试点研究的基础上，建立了一个根据三个特征改变认知要求的模型。该模型的可行性通过 n = 414 名中学生样本进行了实证检验。事实证明，认知活动特征是影响实证测量任务难度的一个重要因素。在从任务题干中获取的信息特征数量和特定主题心理过程数量的帮助下，无法显示出对任务难度的系统性影响。一般认为，受测者的个体先验知识对实际任务难度的影响是一个混杂因素。总之，本研究有助于更好地理解特定学科能力评估中的建构表征，并从经验上证实了任务特征认知活动在三个层面上的系统性变化会影响任务难度
{"title":"Difficulty-Generating Features of Text-based Physics Tasks","authors":"Knut Schwippert, Kendra Zilz, Dietmar Hoettecke","doi":"10.31756/jrsmte.721","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31756/jrsmte.721","url":null,"abstract":"Influencing the difficulty of performance tasks is of great interest in science education as in several other subjects. In the context of the VAMPS project, difficulty-generating features with respect to the cognitive demand of text-based physics tasks were systematically varied at three levels. Based on preliminary work and two pilot studies presented here briefly, a model was developed by which cognitive requirement was varied according to three features. The viability of this model was empirically tested with a sample of n = 414 secondary school students. The feature cognitive activity proved to be a significant factor influencing the empirically measured difficulty of tasks. With the help of the feature number of information obtained from task stem and number of subject-specific mental procedures, no systematic influence on task difficulty could be shown. The influence of the test persons’ individual prior knowledge on the actual task difficulty is generally assumed to be a confounding factor. Overall, the present study contributes to a better understanding of construct representation in assessments of subject-specific proficiency and empirically confirms that a systematic variation of the task feature cognitive activity on three levels affects task difficulty","PeriodicalId":513454,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Research in Science, Mathematics and Technology Education","volume":"46 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140717446","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Interest in promoting data literacy among K-12 students has grown, driven by the need to cultivate skills in using data effectively across various fields of study. Integrating discipline-specific curricula, like bioinformatics, which merges biology and informatics, can broaden student engagement in STEM. While earlier efforts focused on technical data skills, recent research emphasizes a sociocultural approach to encourage critical data literacy, aligning with culturally relevant teaching (CRT). This study investigates a teacher's instructional practices for CRT in prompting critical data literacy. We used a resource activation framework that aims to explore the ways in which a teacher utilized material resources (tangible objects and tools), cultural resources (knowledge and skills), social resources (interactions and relationships), and symbolic resources (recognition and prestige). We worked with a science teacher, Tracy, who activated resources to adapt and teach a bioinformatics problem-based learning curriculum rooted in real-world problem-solving in STEM, connecting students with community issues, such as asthma and air quality. We deductively analyzed classroom observation notes, interviews, and recordings of the professional development workshop sessions. We found that during the curriculum implementation, Tracy activated cultural and social resources to enable access to other resources that were not readily available. Our findings suggest that the activation of cultural and social resources concurrently allowed the teacher to address diverse student needs, foster relevance and engagement, collaborate with colleagues, and continuously enhance their teaching practices. Ultimately, activating all four resources empowers teachers to provide high-quality instruction, leading to improved overall STEM education.
{"title":"Improving STEM Education through Resource Activation: A Study of Culturally Relevant Teaching for Critical Data Literacy in a High School Science Classroom","authors":"Jooeun Shim, Susan Yoon","doi":"10.31756/jrsmte.311si","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31756/jrsmte.311si","url":null,"abstract":"Interest in promoting data literacy among K-12 students has grown, driven by the need to cultivate skills in using data effectively across various fields of study. Integrating discipline-specific curricula, like bioinformatics, which merges biology and informatics, can broaden student engagement in STEM. While earlier efforts focused on technical data skills, recent research emphasizes a sociocultural approach to encourage critical data literacy, aligning with culturally relevant teaching (CRT). This study investigates a teacher's instructional practices for CRT in prompting critical data literacy. We used a resource activation framework that aims to explore the ways in which a teacher utilized material resources (tangible objects and tools), cultural resources (knowledge and skills), social resources (interactions and relationships), and symbolic resources (recognition and prestige). We worked with a science teacher, Tracy, who activated resources to adapt and teach a bioinformatics problem-based learning curriculum rooted in real-world problem-solving in STEM, connecting students with community issues, such as asthma and air quality. We deductively analyzed classroom observation notes, interviews, and recordings of the professional development workshop sessions. We found that during the curriculum implementation, Tracy activated cultural and social resources to enable access to other resources that were not readily available. Our findings suggest that the activation of cultural and social resources concurrently allowed the teacher to address diverse student needs, foster relevance and engagement, collaborate with colleagues, and continuously enhance their teaching practices. Ultimately, activating all four resources empowers teachers to provide high-quality instruction, leading to improved overall STEM education.","PeriodicalId":513454,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Research in Science, Mathematics and Technology Education","volume":"79 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140245647","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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