Supporting Autonomous Learning Skills in Developmental Mathematics Courses With Asynchronous Online Resources

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (7) ◽  
pp. 1012-1030
Author(s):  
Lisa Elliot ◽  
Austin Gehret ◽  
Miriam Santana Valadez ◽  
Rebecca Carpenter ◽  
Linda Bryant

Researchers have characterized the challenges many deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students face in postsecondary science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs to three domains: preparation, socialization, and access. Additionally, some research has found that learners who are DHH have poor autonomous learning skills. The Deaf STEM Community Alliance, a project supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF HRD-1127955), created a model virtual (online) academic community called the DHH Virtual Academic Community to directly address preparation, socialization, and access challenges with the logic that online resources provide innovative and flexible means to adapt to complex student needs and schedules. This article describes a mixed-method study regarding one instructor’s effort to supplement developmental math education with online videos for students who are DHH, addressing issues relating to the challenges of preparation and access. Data analysis used both quantitative and qualitative methods to interpret student responses ( n = 89) about viewing behaviors and perceived benefits of the videos. Analysis of viewing behaviors also incorporated aggregated user analytics generated by YouTube. An unexpected finding of the study relates to the opportunity to develop autonomous learning skills by using the videos. While previous research with this student population has frequently found that students are teacher dependent, this study suggested that providing review videos allowed students to practice and master content on their own, strengthening their autonomous study skills.

2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 645-656
Author(s):  
Scott Bellman ◽  
Sheryl Burgstahler ◽  
Eric H. Chudler

This article describes successful practices for including individuals with disabilities (e.g., leaders, students, faculty researchers, advisory board members) in the Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering (CSNE), an Engineering Research Center funded by the National Science Foundation. The methods, tools, and materials presented in this article can be used by others seeking to increase the inclusion of individuals with disabilities in postsecondary science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs. Methods are employed to ensure that the CSNE is welcoming and accessible to individuals with a wide range of abilities and to recruit individuals with disabilities into significant roles that support the Center’s mission. These efforts have resulted in the engagement of individuals with disabilities in the Center’s operations, activities, and research at a higher rate when compared with all Engineering Research Centers.


Author(s):  
Olga Sergeevna Kvashnina ◽  
Ekaterina Andreevna Martynko

Despite the buzz around the flipped or inverted classroom as a new trend in educational practice and research, there is a limited number of studies on its effectiveness in English as a Second Language (ESL) teaching. This paper aims at contributing to the field of flipped classroom research by examining and analyzing the outcomes of the experiment conducted at the Tomsk Polytechnic University within the course of English for Engineering. Outlining several challenges, the authors conclude on the significant benefits of the flipped classroom model in ESL teaching including an increase in students’ overall performance on the course, enhancement of students’ motivation and improvement of their autonomous learning skills.


Author(s):  
Ellen Hamilton-Ford ◽  
Jeffrey D. Herron

The objective of this chapter is to provide an overview of research in the convergence of environmental education and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (E-STEM) education models through a values-based framework for nature. An argument for the interconnectedness of environmental education and STEM programs is presented. A further argument presented that nature-based learning environments engage children in E-STEM. Lastly, an exploration of research suggests how various pedagogical practices incorporate and facilitate the E-STEM paradigm to prepare young children for 21st century workforce that can solve large, complex problems in an information and service-based economy.


Author(s):  
Lynae Warren ◽  
Kay Wohlhuter

This workshop will engage participants in statistical problem solving with reallife data, using technology. Participants will work in a Community of Inquiry, (CoI, Garrison, 2016) with other participants to formulate questions that will be answered in their community. The participants will engage in problem solving using 2018 data about world populations, to determine how best to answer their questions and how their answers may become part of a larger exploration. The facilitators will share examples from their work with developmental mathematics students and mathematics teacher candidates regarding how they use the CoI model to merge theory and practice in the areas of: teaching & learning, educational technology, curriculum development, teachers’ preparation and development, and issues of equity. Participants will need access to a computer or tablet with web access and spreadsheet software.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-94
Author(s):  
Betsy Tretola ◽  
Eloise Coupey ◽  
Laurie Meamber

Purpose Middle school participants in the USA attending an on-campus university informal science program indicate an increase in interest toward careers and disciplines in STEM or STEAM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics and the arts). Parents or guardians confirm the change. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach Participants attended “inquiry-based” lectures by scientists and “hands-on” activities conducted by volunteers on campus at a public university over four months, four Saturdays. Participants completed surveys before each lecture and guardians completed surveys afterwards. Findings Interest increased significantly according to paired samples t-tests for each STEM discipline for students who reported low interest on the initial pre-lecture survey. There was a significant linear improvement in interests in engineering using a repeated measures general linear model. Guardians or parents reported that they observed a higher interest in STEM disciplines resulting in more technical-related interaction among peers and within the family. Social implications Findings support STEM with arts “out-of-school” programs sponsored by museums, corporations, government, higher education and others. Inclusion of the “hands-on” activities, some with arts content, to the science and technical learning appears to spark enthusiasm. Originality/value The value is multidisciplinary. The theory of reasoned action from social psychology, sociology, along with related research in science education and the arts are synthesized. Informal extracurricular experiences sustained and improved interests in the disciplines and careers on which the formal educational career pipeline can build.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (5) ◽  
pp. 29-37
Author(s):  
Muhammad Alif Mohammad Latif ◽  
Mohd Ezad Hafidz Hafidzuddin ◽  
Marina Mohd Top@Mohd Tah ◽  
Norihan Md Arifin

The main challenge in the development of scientific education in Malaysia is the lack of interest in science among students. One of the reasons for this discrepancy lies in the fact that these fields often require laboratory exercises to provide effective skill acquisition and hands-on experience. Physical experiments increase the costs due to their required equipment, space, and maintenance staff. A virtual laboratory can provide a cost-efficient way to organize high-quality laboratory work for many students. It is a damage resistance laboratory, thus opening the possibility to learn from mistakes. In Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education, virtual laboratories can offer effective scientific exploration at a low cost. The objective of this research is to develop a platform for open-source virtual laboratories for STEM education inside and outside of Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). The virtual laboratory initiative is known as “AsperLabs”. This web-based interface offers several open-source virtual experiments for three subjects including physics, chemistry, and biology. Asperlabs have been utilized at Foundation level in UPM and STEM programs at local secondary schools. It has received positive feedback from students on both levels and will be included in the course materials for Foundation Program at UPM in the near future.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
John H. Falk ◽  
David D. Meier

For generations educators have been supporting children and youth’s science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning through informal education programming. Such programming includes a wide variety of outdoor education programs, camp programs, and increasingly targeted STEM programs run afterschool, on weekends, and over the summer months. However, despite the positive impacts these programs have, few would argue that these programs could not be improved or be designed to better meet the needs of a broader and more diverse population of learners. Arguably, one major flaw in how most educators have approached the design and improvement of these programs—a flaw that permeates almost all informal STEM education efforts–is that either explicitly or implicitly, the focus of educators has been exclusively on what happens during the program itself. Superficially this seems reasonable. After all, the time children/youth are within the temporal and physical boundaries of the program, class, or museum is the time when educators have maximal control over events. However, given what is known about how people learn (National Academies of Sciences, 2018), we argue that this long-standing approach needs to be reconsidered.


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