Evidence: From Surveys

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline M. Dewar
Keyword(s):  
Student Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Reliability And Validity ◽  
Scholarship Of Teaching ◽  
What Works ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
Course Material ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Knowledge Survey

Chapter 5 describes the use of surveys in scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) studies. Topics include how to design a survey, the reliability and validity of surveys, and response rates and how to improve them. The chapter also includes a detailed discussion of a special type of survey called a knowledge survey that is used to measure students’ confidence in their knowledge of disciplinary content. Multiple uses for knowledge surveys are described: a means to assess changes in student learning, a way to improve course organization and coordination across multiple sections, and as guide through the course material for students. The importance of a survey being a good match for the type of research question—What works? What is? What could be?—is emphasized. Many examples are given of studies of student learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields that employed surveys.

scholarly journals STEAM education: student learning and transferable skills

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-56
Author(s):  
Marja G. Bertrand ◽  
Immaculate K. Namukasa
Keyword(s):  
Student Learning ◽  
Teacher Development ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Education Student ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Transferable Skills ◽  
Area Of Interest ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
Steam Education ◽  
And Mathematics

PurposeGlobally, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary learning in schools has become an increasingly popular and growing area of interest for educational reform. This prompts discussions about Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM), which is shifting educational paradigms toward art integration in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects. Authentic tasks (i.e. real-world problems) address complex or multistep questions and offer opportunities to integrate disciplines across science and arts, such as in STEAM. The main purpose of this study is to better understand the STEAM instructional programs and student learning offered by nonprofit organizations and by publicly funded schools in Ontario, Canada.Design/methodology/approachThis study addresses the following research question: what interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary skills do students learn through different models of STEAM education in nonprofit and in-school contexts? We carried out a qualitative case study in which we conducted interviews, observations and data analysis of curriculum documents. A total of 103 participants (19 adults – director and instructors/teachers – and 84 students) participated in the study. The four STEAM programs comparatively taught both discipline specific and beyond discipline character-building skills. The skills taught included: critical thinking and problem solving; collaboration and communication; and creativity and innovation.FindingsThe main findings on student learning focused on students developing perseverance and adaptability, and them learning transferable skills.Originality/valueIn contrast to other research on STEAM, this study identifies both the enablers and the tensions. Also, we stress ongoing engagement with stakeholders (focus group), which has the potential to impact change in teaching and teacher development, as well as in related policies.

Developing a Researchable Question

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline M. Dewar
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Situational Factors ◽  
Disciplinary Knowledge ◽  
Scholarship Of Teaching ◽  
What Works ◽  
Educational Literature ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
And Mathematics

Chapter 2 describes how to convert a problem or question about teaching or learning into a researchable question. It uses a taxonomy of scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) questions—What works? What is? What could be?—derived from the work of Carnegie scholars to guide the framing of a question. Since initially, most SoTL questions are quite broad, the chapter considers several methods for refining questions. It discusses how to conduct searches of educational literature and why they are valuable when developing a question. It shows how to use disciplinary knowledge and situational factors to refine a question. It describes how identifying underlying assumptions and considering feasibility can help to further refine or perhaps reformulate SoTL research questions. Multiple examples from and references to published SoTL studies of teaching and learning in science engineering and mathematics are provided.

Understanding the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline M. Dewar
Keyword(s):  
Education Research ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Junior Faculty ◽  
Critical Issue ◽  
Undergraduate Teaching ◽  
Scholarship Of Teaching ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
Scholarly Teaching ◽  
And Mathematics

Chapter 1 describes the origins of the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) movement and explores the distinctions among SoTL, good teaching, and scholarly teaching. It also discusses the development of discipline-based education research (DBER) into undergraduate teaching and learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Since this varies by discipline, the chapter provides some details and additional references for the origins of DBER in physics, biology, chemistry, and engineering. It then examines in more depth the distinctions between SoTL and education research in the discipline of mathematics. The chapter discusses the critical issue of how to evaluate SoTL work. It acknowledges the spectrum of possibilities for how the work is valued for tenure and promotion, and closes with a discussion of implications for junior faculty who wish to engage in SoTL.

Designing a Research Study

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline M. Dewar
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Control Groups ◽  
Scholarship Of Teaching ◽  
What Works ◽  
Group A ◽  
And Control

Chapter 3 examines basic considerations of education research design, such as whether or not to have experimental and control groups. Because many scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) questions arise in situations where it is not possible to have a control group, a number of other options are presented. The taxonomy of SoTL questions—What works? What is? What could be?—and frameworks such as “decoding the disciplines” and “threshold concepts” are used to suggest different ways to conduct an investigation. The importance of aligning the evidence with the research question and choosing an appropriate measure of change are also considered. The chapter closes with a discussion of the requirement to obtain human subjects clearance in order to make the results of a SoTL study public.

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Dewar ◽  
Curtis Bennett ◽  
Matthew A. Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
Junior Faculty ◽  
The United States ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Scholarship Of Teaching ◽  
Inquiry Process ◽  
Collegiate Level ◽  
And Mathematics

This book is a guide to the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) for scientists, engineers, and mathematicians teaching at the collegiate level in countries around the world. It shows instructors how to draw on their disciplinary knowledge and teaching experience to investigate questions about student learning. It takes them all the way through the inquiry process beginning with framing a research question and selecting a research design, moving on to gathering and analyzing evidence, and finally to making the results public. Numerous examples are provided at each stage, many from published studies of teaching and learning in science, engineering, or mathematics. At strategic points, short sets of questions prompt readers to pause and reflect, plan, or act. These questions are derived from the authors’ experience leading many SoTL workshops in the United States and Canada. The taxonomy of SoTL questions—What works? What is? What could be?—that emerged from the SoTL studies undertaken by the Carnegie scholars provides a useful framework at many stages of the inquiry process. The book addresses the issue of evaluating and valuing this work, including implications for junior faculty who wish to engage in SoTL. The authors explain why SoTL should be of interest to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) faculty at all types of institutions, including faculty members active in traditional STEM research. They also give their perspective on the benefits of SoTL to faculty, to their institutions, to the academy, and to students.

Gathering Evidence: The Basics

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline M. Dewar
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Numerical Data ◽  
Scholarship Of Teaching ◽  
What Works ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Gathering Data

Chapter 4 provides an introduction to gathering data for scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) investigations, including the importance of triangulation, that is, collecting several different types of evidence. Examples are given of typical kinds of quantitative (numerical) and qualitative (non-numerical) data that might be used in a SoTL study. That quantitative and qualitative data are more closely related than it might seem at first is discussed. The taxonomy of SoTL questions—What works? What is? What could be?—provides a starting point for considering what type of data to collect. Suggestions are offered for ways to design assignments so that the coursework students produce can also serve as evidence, something that benefits both students and their instructor.

scholarly journals Problematizing teaching and learning mathematics as “given” in STEM education

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yeping Li ◽  
Alan H. Schoenfeld
Keyword(s):  
Mathematics Education ◽  
Stem Education ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
Teaching And Learning Mathematics ◽  
Learning Mathematics ◽  
Alternative Approach ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Scientific Engineering

AbstractMathematics is fundamental for many professions, especially science, technology, and engineering. Yet, mathematics is often perceived as difficult and many students leave disciplines in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) as a result, closing doors to scientific, engineering, and technological careers. In this editorial, we argue that how mathematics is traditionally viewed as “given” or “fixed” for students’ expected acquisition alienates many students and needs to be problematized. We propose an alternative approach to changes in mathematics education and show how the alternative also applies to STEM education.

scholarly journals Breaking Boundaries: Pressing Issues in Equity, Computing, and Problem-Solving in STEM Undergraduate Education

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-12
Author(s):  
Anna Bargagliotti ◽  
Dorothea Herreiner ◽  
Jefrey A. Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Undergraduate Education ◽  
National Science Foundation ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
The Common ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Education Conference

The April 2017 National Science Foundation-funded Breaking the Boundaries in STEM Education conference brought together Southern California science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) faculty to explore equity, problem-solving, and computing in an interdisciplinary manner. Two main research questions guided the overall scope of the conference: (1) What are the common threads across disciplines to approach the teaching and learning of skills that are relevant in STEM? (2) What are the challenges and barriers that need to be overcome in order to foster collaboration across disciplines to impact the teaching and learning of skills relevant in STEM? We describe the background of the conference and provide an overview of the questions addressed.

scholarly journals Transforming African Education Systems in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Using ICTs: Challenges and Opportunities

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alcardo Alex Barakabitze ◽  
Anangisye William-Andey Lazaro ◽  
Neterindwa Ainea ◽  
Michael Hamza Mkwizu ◽  
Hellen Maziku ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Skills Training ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Education Systems ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Living Labs ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
And Mathematics

This paper presents the role of ICTs in transforming Africa’s Education Systems (AES) in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects/courses. The paper highlights on a positive shift across Africa in using ICT to improve the quality of teaching and learning through activities such as intensive ICT skills training to teachers, increase in ICT equipments and applications in schools, and emergence of living labs (LLs) and innovation spaces/centres (InnoSpace). We first provide some of the challenges of integrating ICTs in education followed by a description of key past and current ICT initiatives supporting the adoption of ICTs in schools using a number of case studies in sub-Saharan Africa. We further present various ICT-based models for education, as a transformational approach towards integrating ICTs in AES. Moreover, we provide various ICT platforms deployed for education service delivery in disadvantaged African society (e.g., rural areas) including LLs and InnoSpace across the continent. Finally, we highlight our main findings and observations in terms of opportunities and future ICT for education research directions in Africa. Our aim is to provide some guidelines and ensure that Africa uniformly meet the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goal number 4, which is to ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning, particularly using ICTs.

scholarly journals Scientific Performance and Mapping of the Term STEM in Education on the Web of Science

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 2279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco-Javier Hinojo-Lucena ◽  
Pablo Dúo-Terrón ◽  
Magdalena Ramos Navas-Parejo ◽  
Carmen Rodríguez-Jiménez ◽  
Antonio-José Moreno-Guerrero
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Web Of Science ◽  
Research Papers ◽  
Scientific Performance ◽  
New Era ◽  
Word Analysis ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
Women And Science ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Educational Field

Technological progress is causing terms such as “STEM”, an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, to burst into the educational arena, marking a new era in the application of innovative and motivating teaching and learning processes. The objective of this research is to analyze the trajectory and the transcendence of the “STEM” concept in the educational field, having as reference the reported literature of Web of Science. The methodology applied in this research is based on bibliometrics, analyzing both the performance and the structural and dynamic development of the concept through a co-word analysis. The total number of documents analyzed is 4390. The results show that the scientific community mainly uses English and research papers to present their results. From 2015 onwards, the main lines of research are beginning to be established, which focus on “women” and “science”. It can be concluded that the term “STEM” in education is beginning to have a greater incidence and impact on the processes of teaching and learning, especially in the field of science, although there are currently discrepancies between men and women in its use.

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