The authors describe the combination of a mixed-reality simulation program and a teacher observat... more The authors describe the combination of a mixed-reality simulation program and a teacher observation software tool to gather and analyze both comments and data in a teacher preparation program. Current research on this simulation experience for teachers to practice their craft, called TLE TeachLivE, is presented, along with the general and specific uses of this mixed-reality simulator. The authors also describe a recently developed teacher observation web-based app called SeeMeTeach that provides a platform for evidence-based teacher observations both within the simulator and in real classroom settings. The authors provide a description of how the pair of tools work in concert to identify strengths and weaknesses of teacher–student discourse, student engagement in lessons, and classroom management. The synergetic use of these tools provides a low-risk opportunity to practice teaching while maximizing data gathering for optimizing feedback and coaching based on evidence. In merging T...
This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. Min... more This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality.
This article presents a detailed guide for high school through graduate level instructors that le... more This article presents a detailed guide for high school through graduate level instructors that leads students to write effective and well-organized scientific papers. Interesting research emerges from the ability to ask questions, define problems, design experiments, analyze and interpret data, and make critical connections. This process is incomplete, unless new results are communicated to others because science fundamentally requires peer review and criticism to validate or discard proposed new knowledge. Thus, a concise and clearly written research paper is a critical step in the scientific process and is important for young researchers as they are mastering how to express scientific concepts and understanding.
International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 2008
Learning and effective teaching are both complicated acts. However, many administrators, teachers... more Learning and effective teaching are both complicated acts. However, many administrators, teachers, parents, and policymakers appear not to recognize those complexities and their significance for practice. Fueling this perception, recommendations from isolated research findings often neglect the complexities in learning and teaching, and when implemented in classrooms often fall well short of the advertised effect. Consequently, education research is generally ignored, and the resulting research-practice gap raises concerns regarding the utility of university-based teacher education, and education research more generally. However, the strength of education research resides in the synergy resulting from its integration into a unifying system that guides, but does not determine, decision-making. Dewey (1929) argued for teacher decision-making guided by education research, but recently several writers have justly criticized education researchers for not providing comprehensible assistance to educators and policymakers . This paper proposes a decision-making framework for teaching to help beginning and experienced teachers make sense of education research, come to understand crucial teacher decisions, and how those decisions interact to affect student learning. The proposed decision-making framework for teaching has significant utility in the design of science methods courses, science teacher education programs, effective student teacher supervision experiences, and professional development workshops.
Teacher Education and Special Education: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children, 2002
ABSTRACT This article reports on a collaborative program at the University of Wisconsin among sec... more ABSTRACT This article reports on a collaborative program at the University of Wisconsin among secondary level science, mathematics, and special educators. The program emphasizes coordinated courses and fieldwork experiences to students across disciplines delivered by an interdisciplinary cohort of instructors. Evaluation of program outcomes finds increased enrollments and graduates' anecdotal data supporting the program. (Contains references.) (DB)
We have developed an experimental module that introduces high school students to guided scientifi... more We have developed an experimental module that introduces high school students to guided scientific inquiry. It is designed to incorporate environmental health and ecological concepts into the basic biology or environmental-science content of the high school curriculum. Using the red worm, a familiar live species that is amenable to classroom experimentation, students learn how environmental agents affect the animal's locomotion by altering sensory neuron–muscle interactions and, as a result, influence its distribution in nature. In turn, the results of these experiments have direct application to human-caused environmental disruptions that cause changes in species distribution and indirectly increase the recognition that environmental chemicals affect human health. Students undertake a series of explorations to identify how red worms sense their environment and then apply that knowledge to understand the effects of chemical exposure on locomotor behavior. The activities are desi...
This paper describes a university program designed to upgrade the presentation of course content ... more This paper describes a university program designed to upgrade the presentation of course content in the sciences and mathematics to prospective elementary classroom teachers. Presented in the paper are data on efforts to evaluate implementation and perceptions of the science and mathematics faculty (n=5) who played an instructional role in this project. The goals of the revised curriculum were: (1) reduction of teacher's anxiety toward mathematics and science, (2) building a background of understanding of science and mathematics concepts, (3) helping teachers recognize common science misconceptions, and (4) demonstration of appropriate instructional strategies while presenting a conceptually accurate knowledge base in science and mathematics. Results of interviews and
International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 2015
Prior graphing research has demonstrated that clinical interviews and free-response instruments p... more Prior graphing research has demonstrated that clinical interviews and free-response instruments produce very different results than multiple-choice instruments, indicating potential validity problems when using multiple-choice instruments to assess graphing skills (Berg & Smith in Science Education, 78(6), 527–554, 1994). Extending this inquiry, we studied whether empirically derived, participant-generated graphs used as choices on the multiple-choice graphing instrument produced results that corresponded to participants’ responses on free-response instruments. The 5 – 8 choices on the multiple-choice instrument came from graphs drawn by 770 participants from prior research on graphing (Berg, 1989; Berg & Phillips in Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 31(4), 323–344, 1994; Berg & Smith in Science Education, 78(6), 527–554, 1994). Statistical analysis of the 736 7th – 12th grade participants indicate that the empirically derived multiple-choice format still produced significantly more “picture-of-the-event” responses than did the free-response format for all three graphing questions. For two of the questions, participants who drew graphs on the free-response instruments produced significantly more correct responses than those who answered multiple-choice items. In addition, participants having “low classroom performance” were affected more significantly and negatively by the multiple-choice format than participants having “medium” or “high classroom performance.” In some cases, prior research indicating the prevalence of “picture-of-the-event” and graphing treatment effects may be spurious results, a product of the multiple-choice item format and not a valid measure of graphing abilities. We also examined how including a picture of the scenario on the instrument versus only a written description affected responses and whether asking participants to add marker points to their constructed or chosen graph would overcome the short-circuited thinking that multiple-choice items seem to produce.
How to use 2 liter bottles to make critter habitats that students can use in the classroom to stu... more How to use 2 liter bottles to make critter habitats that students can use in the classroom to study small things like crickets, ants, spiders and anoles.
This paper utilizes the characteristics of model science instruction to identify exemplary Intern... more This paper utilizes the characteristics of model science instruction to identify exemplary Internet-based science collaborations. The filter for attaining "exemplary" status was based on state and national standards-generating initiatives and the corresponding implications for appropriate student activity in science classrooms. Twenty examples of online collaboration are identified, described, and used as models that contain the basic components of effective online science collaboration. These models are separated into the following categories: (1) observation and sampling of wildlife (self-collected data); (2) observation and sampling of wildlife (scientist-collected data); (3) observation and sampling of self-characteristics; (4) sampling and analysis of environmental data; (5) resource awareness and consumption; (6) content-related, participant-dependent calculation; and (7) problem solving and engineering. The models also serve to highlight ancillary features that make...
The authors describe the combination of a mixed-reality simulation program and a teacher observat... more The authors describe the combination of a mixed-reality simulation program and a teacher observation software tool to gather and analyze both comments and data in a teacher preparation program. Current research on this simulation experience for teachers to practice their craft, called TLE TeachLivE, is presented, along with the general and specific uses of this mixed-reality simulator. The authors also describe a recently developed teacher observation web-based app called SeeMeTeach that provides a platform for evidence-based teacher observations both within the simulator and in real classroom settings. The authors provide a description of how the pair of tools work in concert to identify strengths and weaknesses of teacher–student discourse, student engagement in lessons, and classroom management. The synergetic use of these tools provides a low-risk opportunity to practice teaching while maximizing data gathering for optimizing feedback and coaching based on evidence. In merging T...
This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. Min... more This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality.
This article presents a detailed guide for high school through graduate level instructors that le... more This article presents a detailed guide for high school through graduate level instructors that leads students to write effective and well-organized scientific papers. Interesting research emerges from the ability to ask questions, define problems, design experiments, analyze and interpret data, and make critical connections. This process is incomplete, unless new results are communicated to others because science fundamentally requires peer review and criticism to validate or discard proposed new knowledge. Thus, a concise and clearly written research paper is a critical step in the scientific process and is important for young researchers as they are mastering how to express scientific concepts and understanding.
International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 2008
Learning and effective teaching are both complicated acts. However, many administrators, teachers... more Learning and effective teaching are both complicated acts. However, many administrators, teachers, parents, and policymakers appear not to recognize those complexities and their significance for practice. Fueling this perception, recommendations from isolated research findings often neglect the complexities in learning and teaching, and when implemented in classrooms often fall well short of the advertised effect. Consequently, education research is generally ignored, and the resulting research-practice gap raises concerns regarding the utility of university-based teacher education, and education research more generally. However, the strength of education research resides in the synergy resulting from its integration into a unifying system that guides, but does not determine, decision-making. Dewey (1929) argued for teacher decision-making guided by education research, but recently several writers have justly criticized education researchers for not providing comprehensible assistance to educators and policymakers . This paper proposes a decision-making framework for teaching to help beginning and experienced teachers make sense of education research, come to understand crucial teacher decisions, and how those decisions interact to affect student learning. The proposed decision-making framework for teaching has significant utility in the design of science methods courses, science teacher education programs, effective student teacher supervision experiences, and professional development workshops.
Teacher Education and Special Education: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children, 2002
ABSTRACT This article reports on a collaborative program at the University of Wisconsin among sec... more ABSTRACT This article reports on a collaborative program at the University of Wisconsin among secondary level science, mathematics, and special educators. The program emphasizes coordinated courses and fieldwork experiences to students across disciplines delivered by an interdisciplinary cohort of instructors. Evaluation of program outcomes finds increased enrollments and graduates' anecdotal data supporting the program. (Contains references.) (DB)
We have developed an experimental module that introduces high school students to guided scientifi... more We have developed an experimental module that introduces high school students to guided scientific inquiry. It is designed to incorporate environmental health and ecological concepts into the basic biology or environmental-science content of the high school curriculum. Using the red worm, a familiar live species that is amenable to classroom experimentation, students learn how environmental agents affect the animal's locomotion by altering sensory neuron–muscle interactions and, as a result, influence its distribution in nature. In turn, the results of these experiments have direct application to human-caused environmental disruptions that cause changes in species distribution and indirectly increase the recognition that environmental chemicals affect human health. Students undertake a series of explorations to identify how red worms sense their environment and then apply that knowledge to understand the effects of chemical exposure on locomotor behavior. The activities are desi...
This paper describes a university program designed to upgrade the presentation of course content ... more This paper describes a university program designed to upgrade the presentation of course content in the sciences and mathematics to prospective elementary classroom teachers. Presented in the paper are data on efforts to evaluate implementation and perceptions of the science and mathematics faculty (n=5) who played an instructional role in this project. The goals of the revised curriculum were: (1) reduction of teacher's anxiety toward mathematics and science, (2) building a background of understanding of science and mathematics concepts, (3) helping teachers recognize common science misconceptions, and (4) demonstration of appropriate instructional strategies while presenting a conceptually accurate knowledge base in science and mathematics. Results of interviews and
International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 2015
Prior graphing research has demonstrated that clinical interviews and free-response instruments p... more Prior graphing research has demonstrated that clinical interviews and free-response instruments produce very different results than multiple-choice instruments, indicating potential validity problems when using multiple-choice instruments to assess graphing skills (Berg & Smith in Science Education, 78(6), 527–554, 1994). Extending this inquiry, we studied whether empirically derived, participant-generated graphs used as choices on the multiple-choice graphing instrument produced results that corresponded to participants’ responses on free-response instruments. The 5 – 8 choices on the multiple-choice instrument came from graphs drawn by 770 participants from prior research on graphing (Berg, 1989; Berg & Phillips in Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 31(4), 323–344, 1994; Berg & Smith in Science Education, 78(6), 527–554, 1994). Statistical analysis of the 736 7th – 12th grade participants indicate that the empirically derived multiple-choice format still produced significantly more “picture-of-the-event” responses than did the free-response format for all three graphing questions. For two of the questions, participants who drew graphs on the free-response instruments produced significantly more correct responses than those who answered multiple-choice items. In addition, participants having “low classroom performance” were affected more significantly and negatively by the multiple-choice format than participants having “medium” or “high classroom performance.” In some cases, prior research indicating the prevalence of “picture-of-the-event” and graphing treatment effects may be spurious results, a product of the multiple-choice item format and not a valid measure of graphing abilities. We also examined how including a picture of the scenario on the instrument versus only a written description affected responses and whether asking participants to add marker points to their constructed or chosen graph would overcome the short-circuited thinking that multiple-choice items seem to produce.
How to use 2 liter bottles to make critter habitats that students can use in the classroom to stu... more How to use 2 liter bottles to make critter habitats that students can use in the classroom to study small things like crickets, ants, spiders and anoles.
This paper utilizes the characteristics of model science instruction to identify exemplary Intern... more This paper utilizes the characteristics of model science instruction to identify exemplary Internet-based science collaborations. The filter for attaining "exemplary" status was based on state and national standards-generating initiatives and the corresponding implications for appropriate student activity in science classrooms. Twenty examples of online collaboration are identified, described, and used as models that contain the basic components of effective online science collaboration. These models are separated into the following categories: (1) observation and sampling of wildlife (self-collected data); (2) observation and sampling of wildlife (scientist-collected data); (3) observation and sampling of self-characteristics; (4) sampling and analysis of environmental data; (5) resource awareness and consumption; (6) content-related, participant-dependent calculation; and (7) problem solving and engineering. The models also serve to highlight ancillary features that make...
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