Catherine Skokan, Ph.D. Barbara Moskal, Ed.D. Jennifer Tafoya, M. Sc.

Que Nguyen, M. Sc.Colorado School of Mines

Laura Kosbar, Ph. D.IBM

Judith DuffieldUniversity of Colorado at

Denver

Physical Science and Mathematics in the Middle School Classroom:

An Integrated Approach

No Child Left Behind

• Approved by US Congress – 12/01

• Holds schools accountable for academic achievement

• Close gap in academic achievement between groups

• Develop and implement assessment

• Requires Highly Qualified Teachers

To provide participating teachers:

• A review of mathematics and science content

• A repertoire of teaching strategies, activities and lesson plans

• A sustained experience that aids in continuous improvement and innovation

• A materials for standards-based instruction to students

Collaborators• Dr. Catherine Skokan, Project Director,

Engineering, CSM

• Dr. Barbara M. Moskal, Mathematical and Computer Sciences, CSM

• Dr. Laura Kosbar, IBM Research

• Dr. Ronald Miller, Chemical Engineering, CSM

• Dr. Judy Duffield/ University of Colorado at Denver and Dr. Heidi Barker/ Regis University

Participants

• Faculty in Mathematics, Chemistry and Engineering at CSM

• IBM Researcher

• 17 Middle School Mathematics and 9 Science Teachers (CDE I, year 1)

• 5 Middle School Mathematics and 7 Science Teachers (CDE I, year 2)

• 7 Middle School Mathematics and 9 Science Teachers (CDE II)

• An Engineering and Mathematics graduate student

Project Design

• Summer Workshops– Morning: Content Review– Afternoon: Hands-on Activities– 14 Hands-on Activities

• Weekly Classroom Visits

• E-mail Support

Example Activities

• Polymers

• Acids and Bases

• Voltage Divider

• Simple Machines and a Bicycle

Electronic Circuit

• Mathematics (CO Standards: 1 and 2):– Ratios– Algebraic functions

• Science (CO Standards: 1,2, and 5)– Written plan– Appropriate tools for measurements– Interpretation and evaluation of data– Energy transfer– Prediction of outcome– Use of technology to solve problems

The Voltage Divider – An Example Activity

• Jorge purchased an alarm and 9 volt battery

• Jorge needs only 3 volts

• Jorge must design a voltage divider using his mathematics and science skills to solve this problem

Vout

= Vin (R

2/(R

1 + R

2))

• Jorge used the Engineering Design Method

The Voltage Divider Circuit

Teachers at Work on Electricity

Graduate Students in the Classroom

• Help Advanced Students

• Help Struggling Students

• Run Hands-On Experiments

• Research Classroom Activities

• Score papers

• Help Teacher as Content Resource

• Develop Modules

A Graduate Student Working With Teachers

Assessment

• Pre/Post content assessment– Average Pre: 16 out of 30– Average Post: 20 out of 30– Paired t-test, p=0.009

• Self-report survey, focus groups, classroom observation supported project goal attainment

Project Feedback

• Valuable activities:– Hands-on – Connections

• General comments from the participating teachers:– “Nice job”– “A great experience”– “What a great course! The best I’ve had since

undergrad science courses.”– “I overall loved this. This has been very helpful

to increase my content knowledge in areas that I’m not comfortable in as well as offer activities that I could use in my classroom.”

Future Directions

• Second-year workshop

• Evaluation of efficiency of follow-up

• Extension to rural western portion of state (CCHE)

• GK12 project extension proposal

• Next Steps Institute