Influence of Family Processes,Motivation, and Beliefs About Intelligence on Creative Problem Solving of Scientifically Talented Individuals

Predictive relationships among perceived family processes, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, incremental beliefs about intelligence, confidence in intelligence, and creative problem-solving practices in mathematics and science were examined. Participants were 733 scientifically talented Korean students in fourth through twelfth grades as well as 71 individuals in fifth grade, tenth grade, and former Korean Science Olympians. Across all students, perceived positive family processes directly predicted creative problem-solving practices in mathematics and science and were indirectly predicted through enhancing confidence in intelligence and intrinsic motivation, which, in turn, predicted students' creative problem solving in mathematics and science. Confidence in intelligence was the best predictor of creative problem solving for scientifically talented fifth- and tenth-grade students but not for Olympians. Alternative interpretations, the importance of confidence in intelligence for creative problem solving in mathematics and science, and educational implications are discussed.     

Growing up in Taiwan: The impact of environmental influences on the math olympians

Thirty-six Math Olympians (34 males and 2 females) served as the subjects in a study that asked two questions: (1) What family and school factors contribute to the development of the math talent of the Olympians? (2) What impact did the Olympiad program have on these mathematically talented students? The data were collected by means of questionnaire surveys and in-depth interviews. The major findings were as follows: (1) the Olympians were mostly the first-born child in small families and were “discovered” at an early age; (2) most Olympians ranked high in their class; (3) the SES of the Olympians' families were varied, though the majority were high; (4) the Olympians' family support and learning environment were strong and positive; (5) the Olympiad experiences were, in general, positive for the subjects, especially in learning, forming positive attitudes toward math and science, self-esteem, autonomous learning, and creative problem solving; (6) there were almost no special programs designed for the Olympians during their college years; (7) the degree of computer literacy was varied according to the subject's personal interest and the accessibility to the computer; and (8) most Olympians had not shown special achievement other than math.     

“Adventures in science”: casting scientifically talented youth as national resources on American radio, 1942–1958

From 1942 to 1958, a national weekly programme on CBS radio and presented by Science Service, Inc. devoted 37 of its broadcasts to profiling American high school students’ achievements in science talent searches, clubs and fairs. These “Adventures in Science” radio programmes cast scientifically talented youth as potential contributors to national goals in the hopes of eliciting greater public appreciation of science and science education. This characterisation reflected meritocratic and democratic justifications for American science education. First, the host of this series and director of Science Service, Watson Davis, argued that these students could someday become elite scientists to help compensate for the perceived scientific manpower shortages during World War Two and the postwar era. As a result, listeners of these programmes should value these talented boys and girls, because the potential military applications of their research could safeguard the nation from external threats. Second, journalistic intermediaries such as Davis and announcers at local broadcast sites presented the importance of students’ scientific work in practical terms: as commercial and domestic products to be evaluated and consumed by democratic citizens. Listeners should therefore appreciate the contributions of science and science education to their everyday lives, material comforts and a vibrant consumer economy – especially in the postwar era. This article concludes that these popular radio programmes demonstrate that the enlistment of science education for national political and economic agendas both during and after the Second World War well preceded the US government’s curricular response to the launching of Sputnik with the National Defense Education Act of 1958.     

Gender differences in high-school learning experiences,motivation, self-efficacy,and career aspirations among Taiwanese STEM college students

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to answer the following two questions: (1) Do significant differences exist in high-school learning experience, interests, self-efficacy, and career aspirations between male and female science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students? (2) Can high-school learning experiences, interests, and self-efficacy significantly predict career aspirations, and do differences exist between male and female STEM students? This study highlighted the gender gap between male and female university students who had already chosen STEM majors with similar academic ability. A total of 407 first-year students were surveyed at a 4-year research university in Taiwan. For the data analysis, a t-test and multiple regression analysis were used, and the findings indicated that male STEM students had greater family support than their female counterparts. The variable of task value could significantly predict STEM career aspirations for both male and female students, whereas the variable of STEM course self-efficacy could only significantly predict that of male students. In conclusion, the findings highlighted that the motivation of task value was a vital factor for predicting STEM career aspirations, whereas the factor of family support was the main gap between male and female STEM students in terms of their high-school learning experiences.     

An empirical investigation of differences between mathematics specialists and non-specialists at the high school level in Cyprus: A Logistic regression Approach

AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION OF DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MATHEMATICS SPECIALISTS AND NON-SPECIALISTS AT THE HIGH-SCHOOL LEVEL in Cyprus – The data obtained from high-school seniors for the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) for the country of Cyprus appear to be contradictory. Although Cypriot students did not perform well in mathematics in elementary school, middle school, and in the non-advanced sectors of high school, students in advanced mathematics courses in high school managed to perform exceptionally well. In seeking to account for this apparent disparity, the present study examines the differences between mathematics specialists and non-specialists at the high-school level and discusses the implications that these have for teaching practice. It shows how students educated in an environment that might not be optimal for producing high-achieving students in mathematics and science in elementary and middle school (according to the TIMSS) might nonetheless manage to excel in these fields at the end of their schooling. In conclusion, the authors address the implications of their study for similar educational systems in other developing countries.     

An empirical investigation of differences between mathematics specialists and non-specialists at the high school level in Cyprus: A Logistic regression Approach

AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION OF DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MATHEMATICS SPECIALISTS AND NON-SPECIALISTS AT THE HIGH-SCHOOL LEVEL in Cyprus – The data obtained from high-school seniors for the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) for the country of Cyprus appear to be contradictory. Although Cypriot students did not perform well in mathematics in elementary school, middle school, and in the non-advanced sectors of high school, students in advanced mathematics courses in high school managed to perform exceptionally well. In seeking to account for this apparent disparity, the present study examines the differences between mathematics specialists and non-specialists at the high-school level and discusses the implications that these have for teaching practice. It shows how students educated in an environment that might not be optimal for producing high-achieving students in mathematics and science in elementary and middle school (according to the TIMSS) might nonetheless manage to excel in these fields at the end of their schooling. In conclusion, the authors address the implications of their study for similar educational systems in other developing countries.     

Examining high-school students’ overconfidence bias in biology exam: a focus on the effects of country and gender

Accurate, rational, and scientific decision making is now considered to be the most important skill in science education. Many studies have found that overconfidence bias is one of the cognitive biases hindering people from achieving such decision making. Gender and country play crucial roles in overconfidence bias. For instance, some particular cultures and genders tend to be more overconfident than others. However, whether or not the two variables interact to influence overconfidence bias also indirectly influences decision making, especially in the context of science education. The purpose of this study is to identify the effects of country and gender on performance, confidence, and overconfidence bias in the samples of Indonesian and Korean high-school students while doing on a biology exam. The twenty-one American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) questions on the topics of genetics and evolution were administered to 297 Indonesian and 235 Korean high-school students, in their first and second years. Every question was featured with a question asking students how confident they are in answering the question correctly. The two-way Analysis of Variances (2-way ANOVA) test was used to answer the research questions. Based on the analyses, we found no significance interactional effects of gender and country in test scores. In contrast, we found a significant interactional effects in both confidence in genetics and evolution. Regarding overconfidence bias, for which that we merged both concepts, we found that country had a higher influence on students’ overconfidence bias than did gender. Additionally, we found the hard-easy effect phenomenon followed overconfidence bias phenomenon. The relationships between country, gender, science education, cognitive bias, and overconfidence bias are discussed. Suggestions for reducing overconfidence bias are also provided.     

An effective mathematics and science curriculum option for secondary gifted education

Project Ga‐GEMS (Georgia's Project for Gifted Education in Math and Science) viewed the effect that placement in an integrated, hands‐on mathematics and science curriculum had on the achievement of academically talented high school students. For a two‐year period of time, students gifted in the areas of mathematics and science participated in a curriculum which incorporated higher‐level thinking skills and more real life laboratory experiences into mutually reinforcing mathematics and science lessons. After the conclusion of the two‐year program, Ga‐GEMS participants and a control group were given the mathematics and science sections of the ACT as they exited the tenth grade. The Ga‐GEMS students scored significantly higher on the Science Math Total, Pre‐Algebra/Elementary Algebra, Intermediate Algebra/Coordinate Geometry and Plane Geometry/Trigonometry sections of the ACT. To determine if the Ga‐GEMS students retained their higher scores throughout high school the SAT scores of both groups were compared as the students exited high school. Significant differences in the areas of total score and mathematics were noted. This study lends support for the use of a differentiated curriculum for educating gifted students in science and mathematics.     

Attempting to predict success in the qualifying round of the International Chemistry Olympiad

The aim of this study was trying to predict success in the qualifying round for the International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) on the basis of the expectancy-value model of achievement motivation by Eccles et al. The investigation with 52 participants, including 14 females, was conducted during the third of four qualifying rounds of the IChO in Germany. The subjects filled in a questionnaire, took an intelligence test, and participated in two theoretical chemistry exams. Male and female Olympians showed large differences in parental support, motivation, and emotion as well as test performance. Ultimately, only one female participant qualified for the fourth round of the IChO. The model of Eccles et al. was well suited for predicting test performance in the competition. The strongest predictor was found to be the participation in a previous IChO. The implications for reducing gender differences and promoting scientifically talented students are discussed.     

FIRST- AND SECOND-GENERATION IMMIGRANT ADOLESCENTS’ MULTIDIMENSIONAL MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE SELF-CONCEPTS AND THEIR ACHIEVEMENT IN MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE

This study, drawing on data from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study 2007, examined the predictive effects of multiple dimensions of mathematics and science self-concept??positive affect toward mathematics and science and self-perceived competence in mathematics and science??on mathematics and science achievement among 1,752 first- and second-generation immigrant adolescent students in Canada. First- and second-generation immigrant adolescent students?? self-perceived competence in mathematics had positive predictive effects on their mathematics and science achievement. In contrast, first- and second-generation immigrant adolescent students?? positive affect toward mathematics had negative predictive effects on their mathematics and science achievement. While first- and second-generation immigrant adolescent students?? self-perceived competence in science had no significant predictive effect on their mathematics achievement, it had a positive predictive effect on their science achievement. Positive affect toward science had positive predictive effects on second-generation immigrant adolescent students?? mathematics and science achievement, whereas it had no significant predictive effects on first-generation immigrant adolescent students?? mathematics and science achievement. Implications of the findings for policy and practice are discussed.     

高师数学实践教学环节的理论建构

随着全面素质教育的实施,高等师范教育实践教学环节也应进行调整。为此,文章对师范院校实践教学环节的现状进行了分析,并提出了高师数学实践教学环节改革的初步构想。     

Approaches to Study and the Quality of Learning. Some Empirical Evidence from Engineering Education

In the late 1990s failure rates in a first-year introductory calculus course at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology reached peak levels. This paper reports on findings from an action research project that was set up in 2002/2003 to improve the situation. The study confirms that students approach their tasks differently which contributes to qualitatively different learning outcomes. Furthermore, patterns of achievement in mathematics and physics in secondary education keep reoccurring in the calculus course, even though the teaching and learning contexts are different. The paper does not provide any definite answer as to why groups of students get involved in distinctly different learning processes, and it will take further research to decide the nature of commitment to the learning tasks. However, inspired by the notion of ‘practices’ this paper raises a discussion about the role of intentionality in learning processes. When doing mathematics, students are also in a process of being engaged in and developing a practice. It is a major challenge for academic staff to contribute to communities of practice that are conducive to learning.     

Learning by self-explaining causal diagrams in high-school biology

Understanding scientific phenomena requires comprehension and application of the underlying causal relationships that describe those phenomena (Carey 2002). The current study examined the roles of self-explanation and meta-level feedback for understanding causal relationships described in a causal diagram. In this study, 63 Korean high-school students were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: instructional explanation, self-explanation, and meta-level feedback. Results showed that self-explaining a causal diagram was as effective as studying instructional explanations. Furthermore, the effectiveness of self-explaining a causal diagram was enhanced by meta-level feedback that prompted students to reflect on their own explanations by comparing them with instructional explanations. We identified three main difficulties that high-school students experienced when explaining a causal diagram to themselves: one-sided explanation, erroneous explanation, and the lack of inference. Implications of the study were discussed in regard to the improvement of self-explanation and the design of causal diagrams in science education.     

高职学院的数学美育

高职的大力发展,使很多数学基础较差的学生升入高职学院。这给数学教学带来了困难,提出了新的课题。笔者在教学中尝试利用数学教学中美的因素,对学生进行数学美的熏陶,以此作为教学的切入点。这有利于激发学生学习数学的积极性,提高学习数学的兴趣,培养数学审美情操,促进学生素质全面和谐地发展。     

The ��M�� in SMEC: a short history of the mathematics education presence

In this paper I examine the history of the integration of mathematics education into the Science Education Centre, which had been established by physicist, John de Laeter, within the School of Science and Engineering at Curtin University in Perth, Australia. De Laeter’s vision for science education was that teachers should have access to professional education that allowed them to extend their discipline and pedagogical knowledge using strategies that brought together theory and practice in ways that were meaningful for teachers. This model was expanded when mathematics education was also included, paving the way also for technology education. I present the history of this integration laying out the themes that are important for the continued educational effectiveness of the Science and Mathematics Education Centre (SMEC) and the role that mathematics education has played in this process. As the title suggests, this article focuses on the activities of the group of mathematics educators who have worked within the Science and Mathematics Education Centre of Curtin University since it was established 30 or so years ago and who have contributed to its reputation. The two streams operated then and now more-or-less independently in matters of student thesis topic choice but offered students opportunities for interaction that might not have been available if the “M” had not been incorporated into the Science Education Centre (SEC). This article’s focus is on the mathematics educators who contributed to the Centre’s success and reputation, highlighting the synergistic relationship between mathematics and science that helped to make SMEC a leading center for mathematics and science education.     

CONNECTING MATHEMATICS IN PRIMARY SCIENCE INQUIRY PROJECTS

Science as inquiry and mathematics as problem solving are conjoined fraternal twins attached by their similarities but with distinct differences. Inquiry and problem solving are promoted in contemporary science and mathematics education reforms as a critical attribute of the nature of disciplines, teaching methods, and learning outcomes involving understandings, attitudes, and processes. The investigative and quantitative processes involved in scientific inquiry include seeking problems, identifying researchable questions, proposing hypotheses, designing fair tests, collecting and interpreting data as evidence for claims, constructing evidence-based arguments, and communicating knowledge claims. Within this empirical context, science and mathematics come together to solve problems with evidence, construct knowledge claims, communicate claims, and persuade others that the claims are valid and useful. This study examined the intersection of inquiry and problem solving and the use of mathematics in 26 extracurricular open science inquiries. The category and the appropriateness of the mathematical procedures revealed these students used measurement, numeracy skills of counting and calculation, and tables and graphs in their science inquiries. It was found that most measurements in the science inquiries were used appropriately, but there is room for improvement with other mathematical procedures that involve higher-level thinking skills, such as analyzing and calculating numerical data and interpreting graphs and tables. The findings imply that mathematics and science are connected in inquiry and should be extended to solve real-life problems and that instruction should emphasize comprehending and interpreting data.     

Science laboratory classroom environments in Korean high schools

In order to investigate the learning environment of senior high school science laboratory classrooms in Korea, the Science Laboratory Environment Inventory (SLEI) was translated into Korean and administered to 439 students (99 science-independent stream students, 195 science-oriented stream students and 145 humanities stream students). Data analyses attested to the sound factorial validity and internal consistency reliability of the SLEI, as well as its ability to differentiate between the perceptions of students in different classrooms. Students in the science-independent stream generally perceived their science laboratory classroom environment more favourably than did students in either the humanities or science-oriented stream. Associations were found between various measures of students’ attitudes to science and their perceptions on SLEI scales; in particular, as in past research in other countries, integration between theory and practical classes was a statistically significant predictor of all attitude criteria when the other SLEI scales were mutually controlled.     

If We Teach Them, They Can Learn: Young Students Views of Nature of Science Aspects to Early Elementary Students During an Informal Science Education Program

There have been substantial reform efforts in science education to improve students’ understandings of science and its processes and provide continual support for students becoming scientifically literate (American Association for the Advancement of Science in Benchmarks for science literacy, Oxford University Press, New York, 1993; National Research Council in Mathematics and science education around the world, National Academy Press, Washington DC, 1996; National Science Teachers Association in NSTA position statement 2000). Despite previous research, it is still unclear whether young children are actually developmentally ready to conceptualize the ideas that are recommended in the reforms (Akerson V, Volrich M (2006) Journal of Research and Science Teaching, 43, 377–394). The purpose of this study was to explore how explicit-reflective instruction could improve young students’ understanding of NOS. During an informal education setting, the authors taught NOS aspects using explicit-reflective instruction. Overall the students participating in the program improved their understanding of the target aspects of NOS through use of explicit reflective instruction. However, the levels of improvement varied across different aspects. Students improved the most in their understanding of the tentative nature of science and the roles of observation in scientific work, although there was still some confusion regarding the distinction between observation and inference. More work needs to be done exploring these specific topics and the role explicit reflective practice can play in identifying the particular problems students have in distinguishing these constructs.     

Relationship between affect and achievement in science and mathematics in Malaysia and Singapore

Background : The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) assesses the quality of the teaching and learning of science and mathematics among Grades 4 and 8 students across participating countries.

Purpose : This study explored the relationship between positive affect towards science and mathematics and achievement in science and mathematics among Malaysian and Singaporean Grade 8 students.

Sample : In total, 4466 Malaysia students and 4599 Singaporean students from Grade 8 who participated in TIMSS 2007 were involved in this study.

Design and method : Students’ achievement scores on eight items in the survey instrument that were reported in TIMSS 2007 were used as the dependent variable in the analysis. Students’ scores on four items in the TIMSS 2007 survey instrument pertaining to students’ affect towards science and mathematics together with students’ gender, language spoken at home and parental education were used as the independent variables.

Results : Positive affect towards science and mathematics indicated statistically significant predictive effects on achievement in the two subjects for both Malaysian and Singaporean Grade 8 students. There were statistically significant predictive effects on mathematics achievement for the students’ gender, language spoken at home and parental education for both Malaysian and Singaporean students, with R ² = 0.18 and 0.21, respectively. However, only parental education showed statistically significant predictive effects on science achievement for both countries. For Singapore, language spoken at home also demonstrated statistically significant predictive effects on science achievement, whereas gender did not. For Malaysia, neither gender nor language spoken at home had statistically significant predictive effects on science achievement.

Conclusions : It is important for educators to consider implementing self-concept enhancement intervention programmes by incorporating ‘affect’ components of academic self-concept in order to develop students’ talents and promote academic excellence in science and mathematics.     

Becoming a Learning Organization: New Directions in Science Education Research at the National Science Foundation

The Education and Human Resources (EHR) Directorate at the National Science Foundation has been examining its role in supporting the development of new approaches to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. This article explores what it means to be scientifically literate, what it takes to become a learning organization, how the EHR Directorate is working towards becoming such an organization through rigorous self-study, and how EHR can best manage its large portfolio of awards that support investigations in STEM education to enhance their collective value to researchers, policymakers and educators. Several elements of the self-study process are described, and the implications for the Directorate as well as for the field of researchers in science education are explored.The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the National Science Foundation.