Romano, along with other educators from Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut, are participating in the program at URI’s Inner Space Center. The project, funded by a $1.2 million National Science Foundation award, will allow opportunities for students and educators to explore new technology in ocean sciences.
My colleagues and I at UC Davis have been conducting extensive research for more than 10 years on how to use computing – solving a problem by designing and writing a computer program – to engage students and help them learn science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) subjects. Teaching math with computer programming – either as part of a standard math course or as an elective – can give mathematical concepts context and relevance while still
Field experiences provide an important opportunity for preservice teachers to observe and practice science instruction. Too often, insufficient time is allotted for elementary science instruction in the formal classroom. This paper outlines the opportunities and lessons learned from an after school field experience where preservice elementary teachers worked in two-person teams with a classroom mentor teacher at local elementary schools and community centers to deliver two science lessons per week during an elementary science methods course. Multiple evidences of success are presented at the
Desktop manufacturing systems such as 3D printers and computer-controlled die cutters have recently become affordable in schools. Because this technology is evolving rapidly, considerable experimentation is occurring as teachers explore opportunities to enhance learning across a range of content areas. Central coordination and planning can facilitate effective use of digital manufacturing technologies in schools. Factors that should be considered include acquisition of technology, placement, and support of the technology, safety, alignment with educational standards and learning objectives
This entry describes technologies that support engineering education, such as 3D printing, computer-assisted design, electromechanical systems and instrumentation, and control systems. Engineering education is one of four disciplines within STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education. While science and mathematics are commonly regarded as core subjects in schools, engineering has had a less prominent role in K–12 education. However, engineering is increasingly used to teach science in context. This can increase students’ depth of understanding, allowing them to apply
This paper describes the design and evaluation of a one-week App Inventor summer camp for middle school students with an explicit focus on addressing local community needs. The community focus of the camp was designed to appeal to a broad range of students. We conducted an in-depth interview study to examine its impact on students' attitudes and perceptions, and supplemented this with results from project evaluation. Our results indicate that students had positive experiences in learning and creating real apps for solving community problems. Focusing on local community needs can also help to
Background: Teacher self-efficacy has received attention because of its direct relationship with teachers’ classroom behaviors. Since engineering has been increasingly introduced in K-12 (precollege) education, development of an instrument to measure teachers’ self-efficacy in the context of teaching engineering has been needed. Purpose (Hypothesis): This study reports the development and validation of the Teaching Engineering Self-Efficacy Scale (TESS) for K-12 teachers. Design/Method: The items for the TESS were constructed through a comprehensive review of the literature regarding K-12
Each of the five Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Elementary Teacher Efficacy and Attitudes toward STEM Surveys (T-STEM) contains six scales (sets of surveys items that most confidently describe a single characteristic of the survey-taker when the responses to these items are calculated as a single result). The first scale is called the Personal STEM Teaching Efficacy Belief Scale (PSTEBS) and consists of Likert-scale questions which ask the respondent about their confidence in their teaching skills. The second scale is called the STEM Teaching Outcome Expectancy Scale (STOES
This article and my career as an educational researcher are grounded in two fundamental assumptions: (a) that research and practice can and should live in productive synergy, with each enhancing the other, and (b) that research focused on teaching and learning in a particular discipline can, if carefully framed, yield insights that have implications across a broad spectrum of disciplines. This article begins by describing in brief two bodies of work that exemplify these two fundamental assumptions. I then elaborate on a third example, the development of a new set of tools for understanding and
In this article, we describe a framework and instrument for measuring the mathematical quality of mathematics instruction. In describing this framework, we argue for the separation of the mathematical quality of instruction (MQI), such as the absence of mathematical errors and the presence of sound mathematical reasoning, from pedagogical method. We argue that conceptualizing this key aspect of mathematics classrooms will enable more clarity in mathematics educators’ research questions and will facilitate study of the mechanisms by which teacher knowledge shapes instruction and subsequent