Children Using Robotics for Engineering,Science, Technology,and Math (CREST-M): The Development and Evaluation of an Engaging Math Curriculum

Children using robotics for engineering, science, technology, and mathematics (CREST-M) is an ongoing curriculum creation and evaluation project developing math-focused science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) curriculum units that incorporate storytelling with math and are designed to be engaging for students from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields and to be appropriate for all ability levels including the gifted. This mixed-methods study evaluated one CREST-M unit, The Tale of the Monarchs, aligned to the Common Core State Standards: Mathematics (CCSS-M) for fourth- and fifth-grade fractions while incorporating all aspects of STEM. The unit includes an engineering design loop to help students create and program robots using LEGO WeDo 2.0. Students also use the scientific method in a problem-based learning (PBL) investigation in which they design and conduct experiments. The unit features a comprehensive storyline in which diverse characters solve real-world problems using STEM skills. The curriculum was evaluated through a CCSS-M aligned pre- and post-assessment of students’ understanding of fractions, the Cognitive Abilities Test Screening Form 7 (CogAT 7), and the Draw-a-Scientist pre- and post-assessment. The curriculum led to significant and meaningful gains in math achievement (Cohen’s d = 0.72) consistent for students at multiple ability levels (including high ability) and children from groups traditionally represented in STEM fields as well as those traditionally underrepresented (across gender, race, and socioeconomic status). In addition, the mental models of the career of a scientist that students articulated before the program were markedly more complex and less stereotypical following the program, indicating increased understanding of the career of a scientist.     

Conceptualizing Student Affect for Science and Technology at the Middle School Level: Development and Implementation of a Measure of Affect in Science and Technology (MAST)

We describe the development of the Measure of Affect in Science and Technology (MAST), and study its usefulness for measuring science affect in middle school students via both classical and Rasch measurement perspectives. We then proceed to utilize the measurement structure of the MAST to understand how middle school students at varying levels of affect express their interest and attitudes toward science and technology and gender differences in how students express their affect. We found that affect in science and technology comprises a main dimension, science interest, and four peripheral dimensions: interest in careers in science and technology, attitudes toward science, and interest in attending science class. Of these, careers in science and technology carry the highest affective demand. While males showed higher levels of personal and situational interest in science, a greater interest in careers in science and technology was the biggest contributor to males’ higher affect toward science and technology. We argue that whether the MAST is used as a measure of a single construct or multiple subconstructs depends upon specific research or evaluation goals; however, both uses of the MAST yield measures which produce valid inferences for student affect.     

新课程下保山中小学数学教育现状研究

保山市基础教育课程改革已有一段时间的研究和探索,方方面面的反馈情况表明:课程改革实验区正发生着深刻的变化,"校长、教师在学习和领会新课程理念的过程中不断深化了对教育本质的认识,逐步形成了具有新时代特征的教师角色定位.教师的教学表现得更加民主、灵活,学生的学习开始趋向于主动、合作、探索和创新,生动活泼的课堂面貌正在形成,"作为师范院校教师,我们结合保山的实际提出自己的意见和建议.     

试论澳大利亚学校科学、技术、数学创新计划

为了提高全民的整体素质,尤其是在科学、技术和数学方面的创新能力,澳大利亚继推出“加强澳大利亚人的能力”计划之后又提出了一个为时7年的“澳大利亚学校科学、技术、数学创新计划”。本文着力于对整个计划的形成和运行模式的分析,并通过对这一计划的剖析反思科技创新能力的培养问题。     

Latin@s in Science,Technology, Engineering,and Mathematics (STEM) at the Intersections

As the United States population approaches a minority majority, the need to address educational inequities is intensified, especially for Latin@ students who are among the fastest growing ethnic minority group across the United States and at four-year colleges and universities. Concerns for educational equity also demand broadening participation of domestic under-represented groups in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Informed by student-level data from six large, public, doctoral-granting, research-intensive universities located in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions, we examine differences in STEM degree attainment among Latin@s at the intersections of race/ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status. The results support the need to target STEM intervention efforts to Latin@s by gender.     

A Room of Our Own: Rodinsky,Street Haunting and the Creative Mind

Drawing on Virginia Woolf's 'Street Haunting', Rachel Lichtenstein and Iain Sinclair's Rodinsky's Room and on autobiography, this essay explores place, memory and artistic vision. Just as a room of her own provided Woolf with the solitude necessary to write, rambling through the streets of London fed her imagination. In Rodinsky's Room , Rachel Lichtenstein and Iain Sinclair explore both these creative spaces. Their book gives testimony to the creative mind and to the role that memory, history and place play in creating story, mythology and identity. The author also discusses her personal and family history in relation to place.     

Science,Technology, Engineering and Math Readiness: Ethno-linguistic and gender differences in high-school course selection patterns

The study examines science-related course choices of high-school students in the culturally diverse schools of the province of British Columbia, Canada. The analysis employs K-12 provincial data and includes over 44,000 students born in 1990 who graduated from high school by 2009. The research sample reflects the presence of about 27% of students for whom English is not a first language. We construct an empirical model that examines ethno-linguistic and gender differences in Grade 12 course choices while accounting for personal and situational differences among students. The study employs a course selection typology that emphasizes readiness for science, technology, engineering and math fields of study. Findings indicate that math- and science-related course selection patterns are strongly associated with ethnicity, qualified not only by gender and prior math and science achievement but also by the individual's grade level at entry to the system and enrollment in English as a Second Language program. Students who are more likely to engage in math and science courses belong to Asian ethno-linguistic groups and entered the provincial school system during the senior high-school years. We suggest that ethnic diversity and broader academic exposure may play a crucial role in changing the gender composition of science classrooms, university fields of study and science-related occupations.     

Math and Science Scholars (MASS) Program: A Model Program for the Recruitment and Retention of Preservice Mathematics and Science Teachers

The shortage of certified teachers in mathematics and science in Texas classrooms is a major concern and mirrors national tends. Dramatic increases in shortages of teachers have stimulated the design of new certification programs that recruit and place teachers in classrooms as quickly as possible (Texas Center for Educational Research, 1999). While maintaining several of the characteristics of traditional certification programs, the Math and Science Scholars (MASS) Program streamlines the certification process, supports preservice students through tuition remission and scholarships, and provides quality mentoring and early fiend experiences in K–12 classrooms with well-qualified teachers. The strategies in this model program are dramatically increasing the numbers of undergraduate majors in mathematics and science considering high school teaching as a career.     

北京科技大学材料科学与工程学院实验教学示范中心

<正>简介材料科学与工程学院实验中心是材料相关学科实验教学的基地及创新研究的实验平台,主体前身为1952年成立的金相实验室。1996年在柯俊院士主持指导下,实施相关综合改革与实践,于2001年荣获"国家级教学成果一等奖"。同年学校将金属材料实验室、电镜实验室、村料学实验室、材料制备与加工实验室、无机非金属材料实验室、     

汽车里的物理:中学物理科技活动课程的案例

开展活动课程是实施素质教育的一个有效途径,而中学物理科技活动课程在其中占有重要的地位。设计并实施"汽车里的物理"这样一节课,收到良好的效果。通过整理设计思路与教学反思,以期给物理教育工作者提供一定参考。     

Technology Use in Science Instruction (TUSI): Aligning the Integration of Technology in Science Instruction in Ways Supportive of Science Education Reform

This study describes the development of an instrument to investigate the extent to which technology is integrated in science instruction in ways aligned to science reform outlined in standards documents. The instrument was developed by: (a) creating items consistent with the five dimensions identified in science education literature, (b) establishing content validity with both national and international content experts, (c) refining the item pool based on content expert feedback, (d) piloting testing of the instrument, (e) checking statistical reliability and item analysis, and (f) subsequently refining and finalization of the instrument. The TUSI was administered in a field test across eleven classrooms by three observers, with a total of 33 TUSI ratings completed. The finalized instrument was found to have acceptable inter-rater intraclass correlation reliability estimates. After the final stage of development, the TUSI instrument consisted of 26-items separated into the original five categories, which aligned with the exploratory factor analysis clustering of the items. Additionally, concurrent validity of the TUSI was established with the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol. Finally, a subsequent set of 17 different classrooms were observed during the spring of 2011, and for the 9 classrooms where technology integration was observed, an overall Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient of 0.913 was found. Based on the analyses completed, the TUSI appears to be a useful instrument for measuring how technology is integrated into science classrooms and is seen as one mechanism for measuring the intersection of technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge in science classrooms.     

Bioinformatics Education in High School: Implications for Promoting Science,Technology, Engineering,and Mathematics Careers

We investigated the effects of our Bio-ITEST teacher professional development model and bioinformatics curricula on cognitive traits (awareness, engagement, self-efficacy, and relevance) in high school teachers and students that are known to accompany a developing interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers. The program included best practices in adult education and diverse resources to empower teachers to integrate STEM career information into their classrooms. The introductory unit, Using Bioinformatics: Genetic Testing, uses bioinformatics to teach basic concepts in genetics and molecular biology, and the advanced unit, Using Bioinformatics: Genetic Research, utilizes bioinformatics to study evolution and support student research with DNA barcoding. Pre–post surveys demonstrated significant growth (n = 24) among teachers in their preparation to teach the curricula and infuse career awareness into their classes, and these gains were sustained through the end of the academic year. Introductory unit students (n = 289) showed significant gains in awareness, relevance, and self-efficacy. While these students did not show significant gains in engagement, advanced unit students (n = 41) showed gains in all four cognitive areas. Lessons learned during Bio-ITEST are explored in the context of recommendations for other programs that wish to increase student interest in STEM careers.     

Holocaust education in Austria: A (hi)story of complexity and ambivalence

In Austria, activities for teaching about and remembering the Holocaust have concentrated mainly on National Socialism and its atrocities. Austria’s history of political anti-Semitism goes back to the 19th century, however, and has been widely and publicly acknowledged. It has always been linked to nationalistic tendencies that are still present today and rarely reflected upon, including the anti-Slavic and anti-Turkish attitudes that right-wing parties use to gain supporters. Vienna’s special place of remembrance, the Heldenplatz, with its monuments and history, is a useful place to begin examining Austrian identities and the course of collective Austrian ways of thinking. Based on that examination, we then consider Austria’s daily politics and treatment of the past. We next turn to Holocaust education after the war, which has had an impressive impact after a late start, and mention some of its drawbacks and problems. We next discuss the lack of serious research about memorials in Austria, as compared with Germany, and present initial results from a project that started in spring 2009 to examine knowledge gains and attitude changes among students after they visit the Mauthausen concentration camp.     

西方科幻影片中的科学技术形象(上)

中国观众在很长时期内,都习惯于在文艺作品中看到对科学技术及科学家"崇高形象"的塑造,这种状态可能在大部分公众中至今仍是如此.但在当代以好莱坞为主的西方科幻影片中,则大异于是--更多见的是对科学技术的质疑,以及对科学技术飞速发展的忧虑.在这个问题上,"反乌托邦"似乎仍然是西方科幻影片中最有活力的思想纲领.     

西方科幻影片中的科学技术形象(下)

对于另一种我们已经司空见惯、大部分人已经一天也离不开的技术--电视,科幻影片中也不乏有一定深度的反思.影片<西蒙妮>(Simone,2002)是一个例子.假想了电视能够欺骗公众到什么样地步.