scholarly journals A Science and Mathematics Teaching Center

1990 ◽  
Vol 105 ◽  
pp. 309-311
Author(s):  
Walter Bisard

It is widely known that a crisis in science and mathematics teaching exists in the United States. This crisis has reached all levels of education, from elementary to secondary to colleges and universities. The problem, which is easy to define but difficult to resolve, is trifold: there are not enough high-quality science and mathematics teachers; present teachers are teaching out-of field or are out-of-date and in need of subject updating; and the average education graduate is only minimally qualified to teach science and math. These factors have caused national and state “alarms” to be published that point out the increasing mediocrity and an overall lack of science education in our nation’s schools.Central Michigan University, long among the nation’s leaders in the training of teachers at all levels, is taking steps to remedy this alarming situation. A Science and Mathematics Teaching Center, designed to confront the problem head-on, has been founded. The Center’s major purpose is to improve the quality of science and math teaching. This goal is being accomplished through a series of workshops, seminars, in-service programs, conferences, and teacher outreach programs.

1950 ◽  
Vol 43 (5) ◽  
pp. 203-206
Author(s):  
J. R. Mayor

In order to take advantage of the opportunity to discuss common problems with science teachers The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics held a one and one-half day meeting in New York at the time of the Christmas meetings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The suggestion for a joint session with the National Science Teaching Societies came originally from the Cooperative Committee on Science and Mathematics Teaching, a committee of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The Cooperative Committee includes representatives of sixteen professional organizations and the United States Office of Education. E. H. C. Hildebrandt was the first representative of The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics on the Committee and the author is the present representative. Raleigh Schorling is the Committee representative of the Mathematical Association of America.


2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 4-6
Author(s):  
Vincentas Lamanauskas

It is obvious, that collaboration plays an increasing role among science and mathematics teachers. It is quite useful if different ideas on science and mathematics teaching are shared among teachers. Teachers have better opportunities to experience collaboration. The collaborative process supports the transdisciplinarity of science and mathematics teaching. Teachers are able to develop an understanding of how mathematics and science concepts can be taught in creative, playful and effective way. The project MaT²SMc is implemented in the frame of EU Lifelong Learning Programme. The main idea of the project is to find a way to increase students' motivation to learn in the key subjects mathematics and science. From one side, mathematics teachers should understand that there is a meaningful and realistic context to use mathematics. From the other side, science teachers should understand that the mathematics competences required for more effective science teaching and learning. In such a context the collaboration of science and mathematics teachers is very relevant. Currently it is obvious that mathematics and natural science teachers‘ collaboration on integration purposes at school is limited by some factors. Collaboration of mathematics and natural science teachers should be expanded, for this purpose, it is necessary to create all necessary conditions and didactic providing (support). It is obvious, that collaboration of mathematics and science teachers is important for improvement of quality of natural science education. Key words: collaboration, quality of natural science education, science and mathematics teaching.


Libri ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mega M. Subramaniam ◽  
Ann Ryu Edwards

AbstractWith the unveiling in the United States of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics that value inquiry, cross-curricular connections, and the use of technology in instruction, school librarians may be best positioned to collaborate with mathematics teachers to instill these practices into mathematics teaching and learning. However, the mathematics curriculum is often perceived as challenging or even impossible for librarians to connect with. Consequently, such collaboration is often not pursued by either party. This paper examines the factors that shape or hinder collaboration between school librarians and mathematics teachers. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with mathematics teachers, school librarians, and school leaders in four middle schools in a highly resourced school district in the mid Atlantic region of the United States. We find several factors that influence the nature and opportunities for collaboration, including: perception; comfort with technology; institutional structures; testing pressure; and knowledge about mathematics teaching and learning. Our analysis reveals pivotal transformations that need to take place in order to strengthen the collaborative relationship between these two domains: (1) changes in the perceptions mathematics teachers and school librarians have of each other, and of various aspects of technology integration in mathematics teaching and learning and collaborative relationships; (2) enhanced structural support at the school district level; and (3) enhanced structural support at the school level to support collaboration. By examining the connections and contexts of these emerging themes from our study, we reveal the impact that school librarians can have in mathematics learning in middle schools.


1988 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 233-245
Author(s):  
James S. Cangelosi

Formative validation methods were used with over 90 mathematics teachers in Utah to design an assessment of the mathematical and mathematics teaching cognitive competencies of underprepared middle and secondary school mathematics teachers. The resulting written-response test produces a score for each of 12 subtests: mathematics teaching methods, number theory, algebra, geometry, analysis, trigonometry, statistics, sets, knowledge of algorithms, comprehension of communications, conceptualization, and application. A summative validation study using 47 subjects indicated that the test is valid and reliable. The test has been adopted by the Utah State Office of Education for use in making recommendations for granting mathematics teaching endorsements and for planning in-service programs.


2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. es12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Thompson ◽  
Joseph Sanchez ◽  
Michael Smith ◽  
Judy Costello ◽  
Amrita Madabushi ◽  
...  

The BioHealth Capital Region (Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC; BHCR) is flush with colleges and universities training students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines and has one of the most highly educated workforces in the United States. However, current educational approaches and business recruitment tactics are not drawing sufficient talent to sustain the bioscience workforce pipeline. Surveys conducted by the Mid-Atlantic Biology Research and Career Network identified a disconnect between stakeholders who are key to educating, training, and hiring college and university graduates, resulting in several impediments to workforce development in the BHCR: 1) students are underinformed or unaware of bioscience opportunities before entering college and remain so at graduation; 2) students are not job ready at the time of graduation; 3) students are mentored to pursue education beyond what is needed and are therefore overqualified (by degree) for most of the available jobs in the region; 4) undergraduate programs generally lack any focus on workforce development; and 5) few industry–academic partnerships with undergraduate institutions exist in the region. The reality is that these issues are neither surprising nor restricted to the BHCR. Recommendations are presented to facilitate improvement in the preparation of graduates for today’s bioscience industries throughout the United States.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 1283-1297
Author(s):  
Mike Thelwall ◽  
Pardeep Sud

Ongoing problems attracting women into many Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects have many potential explanations. This article investigates whether the possible undercitation of women associates with lower proportions of, or increases in, women in a subject. It uses six million articles published in 1996–2012 across up to 331 fields in six mainly English-speaking countries: Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. The proportion of female first- and last-authored articles in each year was calculated and 4,968 regressions were run to detect first-author gender advantages in field normalized article citations. The proportion of female first authors in each field correlated highly between countries and the female first-author citation advantages derived from the regressions correlated moderately to strongly between countries, so both are relatively field specific. There was a weak tendency in the United States and New Zealand for female citation advantages to be stronger in fields with fewer women, after excluding small fields, but there was no other association evidence. There was no evidence of female citation advantages or disadvantages to be a cause or effect of changes in the proportions of women in a field for any country. Inappropriate uses of career-level citations are a likelier source of gender inequities.


2020 ◽  
pp. 089124242097375
Author(s):  
Brandon Ofem ◽  
Samuel J. Polizzi ◽  
Gregory T. Rushton ◽  
Michael Beeth ◽  
Brock Couch ◽  
...  

There is currently a severe shortage of teachers in the U.S. workforce. The problem is especially acute among science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers and exacerbated by high turnover among new teachers—those with less than 5 years of teaching experience. In this article, the authors investigate one piece of the puzzle. The authors model a social cognitive approach to understanding self-efficacy, a key precursor to job performance and retention. Their interactionist approach accounts for both demographic (i.e., gender and age) and relational variables (i.e., social networks). The authors test their ideas on a sample of 159 STEM teachers across five geographic regions in the United States. Their analysis reveals patterned differences in self-efficacy across gender that are contingent on the communities of practice in which the teachers are embedded. Together, their theory and findings highlight the value of taking a holistic, interactionist view in explaining STEM teacher self-efficacy.


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