Michigan's GRACE Project (GIS Resources and Applications for Career Education) helps students use GIS. GRACE uses a coordinated and multi-tiered approach for educators and students alike, and works with communities across the state to identify partners interested in high school student interns with GIS knowledge and skills. Last week, at the Great Lakes Research Center at Michigan Tech, in Houghton, in "copper country" of Michigan's Upper
This book offers math educators strategies and resources for putting that principle into practice.
The ideas in this article resulted from many years of research in engineering, physics, computer, and cognitive sciences, as well as teaching experience in college and secondary schools. While its main purpose is to discuss the universality of modeling and simulation process and its pedagogical use in teaching, there are several conclusions to be drawn.
The construct of computational thinking (CT) was popularized a decade ago as an “attitude and skillset” for everyone. However, since it is equated with thinking by computer scientists, the teaching of these skills poses many challenges at K-12 because of their reliance on the use of electronic computers and programming concepts that are often found too abstract and difficult by young students. This article links CT – i.e., thinking generated and facilitated by a computational device – to our typical fundamental cognitive processes by using a model of mind that is aligned with research in
This observation protocol is used by a trained observer to score an individual’s engagement in a science learning experience.
The Engagement survey was written for use with 10-14 year-old respondents immediately after a science activity, whether in a class or in an informal learning context. Such contextualized and immediate use minimizes memory biases or inferences based on beliefs the learner has about themselves or the learning context. Accordingly, it should be used after a focused science activity rather than as a measure of general engagement over a series of activities. No particular assumptions are made about task structure (e.g., brief or extended, alone or collaborative, adult guided or student guided)
A review of relevant literatures led to the construction of a self-report instrument designed to measure two subtypes of student engagement with school: cognitive and psychological engagement. The psychometric properties of this measure, the Student Engagement Instrument (SEI), were assessed based on responses of an ethnically and economically diverse urban sample of 1931 ninth grade students. Factor structures were obtained using exploratory factor analyses (EFAs) on half of the dataset, with model fit examined using confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) on the other half of the dataset. The
Evaluators are frequently asked to assess the effectiveness of school programs implemented to improve academic achievement. School connectedness has been shown to be directly related to academic achievement and is therefore of interest to evaluators. The construct of school connectedness has been shown to consist of 3 elements: connectedness to adults in schools, connectedness to peers, and connectedness to the school. This paper reports the psychometric properties and factor analyses findings from a School Connectedness Scale (SCS) given to adolescents in 2 very different high schools in the
Newsletter highlighting the activities of the first week of the 2018 BUILDERS Academy.
Teachers from Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts are participating in a year-long program in marine technology and ocean sciences at the University of Rhode Island’s Inner Space Center. The Marine Technology for Teachers and Students Project—funded by a $1.2 million National Science Foundation award—focuses on providing opportunities for teachers and students to explore new technologies in ocean sciences. Teachers are also studying at