EDCI 5595 Course Description (Spring and Fall semesters )

This course comprises a guided graduate research paper experience. Course participants will work together to plan individual action research studies related to diverse, urban schooling. This course is designed to enable practitioners to engage in systematic inquiry on some aspect of their practice in order to find out more about that practice and eventually improve it. Participants in the course are expected to put their assumptions, ideas and practices to the test by gathering, analyzing and drawing conclusions from evidence. 

Student assignment samples:

Research Focus and Rationale original post

Aaron Bond

September 2, 2022

The topic of my study is the use of phenomenon based storyline units in teaching subjects in Secondary education, specifically in science. My research question is, “How does the use of phenomenon based storyline units impact student motivation and interest in the subject matter in a 9th grade advanced studies Biology class?” My hypothesis is that for advanced studies biology students, there will be an increase in student motivation and interest in biology concepts or in biology as a subject. The null hypothesis is that the use of phenomenon based storyline units will have no impact on the motivation of students or their interest in biology concepts or biology as a subject.

     In recent years, the creation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) led to the adoption of the NGSS as science standards both nationally and on a state and local level. In places such as Missouri and in my school district there has been a push to transform the science curriculum to better align with these standards. This has been done to better prepare students for standardized tests, such as the required Biology End of Course (EOC) Assessment, since these tests are written to specifically assess students’ understanding and mastery of the state standards, which are based on the NGSS. Another goal is to better prepare students for the science reasoning portion of the ACT which involves scientific reading and the analysis of scientific data and investigations, all of which are emphasized in the NGSS. The standards in the NGSS, and therefore the Missouri state standards, include not only student knowledge of subject concepts, but student tasks such as modeling, interpreting and analyzing data, and constructing arguments based on evidence. Phenomenon based storyline curriculum, including the curriculum we have implemented in my Biology class, attempts to incorporate these skills into the activities students complete while also introducing and reinforcing scientific concepts. In this type of curriculum, each unit is constructed around a real world phenomenon which presents a question or problem (or questions/problems) that students have to solve by completing lessons that involve making observations, asking questions, making inferences and predictions, generating possible explanations, conducting research, interpreting data, analyzing evidence, and constructing scientific arguments based on the evidence, data and research to explain their reasoning. Since it is a Biology curriculum, the phenomenon also leads them to asking Biological questions and students are introduced to and learn Biology concepts in the course of their research and problem solving. Essentially, students are tasked with researching or solving problems both individually and cooperatively with their peers, and then presenting their findings or arguments in an organized manner.

     Part of the rationale for implementing this type of curriculum is that it is supposed to increase student interest and motivation by introducing students to the real world phenomenon and engaging them in activities that have them act like scientists through conducting investigations, researching and analyzing data, rather than taking notes and listening to lectures. If the goals of the NGSS and phenomenon based storyline curriculum include improved EOC scores, improved preparedness for the ACT, and improved preparedness for the real world via application and problem solving skills, the curriculum needs to actually grab the interest of students and increase student motivation to learn so that they will be engaged in solving the problems and constructing the arguments involved in the curriculum. If the phenomenon does not spark interest, they will be unmotivated and uninterested in not only researching and solving the problems related to the phenomenon but also in the scientific concepts being introduced. This is our 3rd year teaching this type of curriculum in our Biology courses at our school and I want to know how it affects the motivation of students and their interest in Biology. I also teach IB Biology to 11th grade students and enrollment in this course has dropped significantly this year. The 11th graders this year would have been the 1st year to learn via this new curriculum in Biology their 9th grade year and I have heard colleagues speculating that the new curriculum might be responsible for the drop in students interested in Biology. These students would have been in Biology in the 2020-2021 school year, which was the first year we implemented the new phenomenon based curriculum. We experienced technical difficulties implementing it virtually, online, and in hybrid classrooms which made it a difficult time that may have exacerbated any issues we had as we were implementing and revising and adapting the curriculum on the fly. The second year of implementing this phenomenon based storyline curriculum seemed to go much smoother, but it is difficult to know if it is having an impact on student interest or motivation. This is especially true for some of the students in my Advanced Studies Biology class who based on my observations in the classroom can sometimes seem frustrated and bored with our curriculum. I have also heard from highly capable students outside of the classroom that they did not enjoy the curriculum at all and would much rather take a Biology course with a traditional concept based curriculum.

     My research will evaluate student interests in Biology concepts we have covered in our curriculum, student motivation to learn and their desire to learn more. My plan is to give students surveys as measurement devices which will gauge their interest in the concepts we are about to teach, then give them the same survey following our unit that covers the topic. I will compare their level of interest before and after the concepts were taught. I will also give students a pre-test of concept understanding and a post-test to see if there is a relationship between their knowledge and their interest level. I will also measure student motivation using surveys before and after teaching the unit. I plan to investigate possible interest and motivation measurement tools in my literature review.

Action Research Literature Review

Student name: AEM

September 30, 2022

STEM, STEAM, AND STREAM 

The STEM movement continues to gain more popularity and acceptance in the education sector, especially given how jobs in the twenty-first century increasingly require a set of unique skills that are acquired in STEM subjects. According to Li, Wang, Xiao, and Froyd (2020), STEM education has proven to enable learners to gain a competitive advantage in the job market and, by equipping them with critical knowledge, prepares them to tackle the problems of today and the future. Similarly, STEAM and STREAM both seek to add Art and Art and Reading, respectively, to the subjects that play a crucial role in the management of modern and future world affairs. White and Delaney (2021) indicate that to adequately incorporate Art into STEM, it is important to implement real-world project-based or problem-based learning pedagogy whereby the education enjoys the support of the community and relevant industries. Thus, one could conclude that the components of STEM, STEAM, or STREAM cannot be equally important in having a positive influence on the world.

         The fact that the United States has always been a leader in technology and innovations made many people fail to recognize the reality that the education system was designed in a manner that hindered the success of students pursuing technical courses. As Catterall (2017) indicates, the conversation about STEM started as an affirmative measure to improve the educational outcomes for learners undertaking technical courses. Progressively, changes in the world have made it increasingly necessary to embrace STEM education. The second half of the twentieth century, as well as the twenty-first century, have been largely defined by big data, engineering, technology, and other scientific innovations. Those fields continue to be critical to global progress, and they will even be more important in the future, especially as the world shifts focus toward sustainability. Thus, the need for the education system to also be more innovative and productive is increasing so that it produces individuals that are adequately capable of addressing modern challenges.

         As the understanding of STEM has continued to evolve, it has also become more necessary to incorporate other aspects of life not included in its initial definition. A study by Park and Cho (2021) on Korean-based STEAM curricula highlighted the importance of incorporating a historical context into STEM education. The study found that students have a better response to History, especially when national issues are being taught. The integration of subjects such as History in the STEM/STEAM/STREAM education allows the application of activities that enable the exhibition of learners’ historical understanding in an effective way (Park & Cho, 2021). Thus, the goals of learning history can interact with the aims of STEM education, which creates a further opening for future research and practice. The ability to integrate History and other subjects into STEM education is proof of the continuous evolution of the understanding and application of STEM. While various challenges exist in the integration of other subjects in STEM learning, some research studies have indicated that a balance can be sought and create a system that increasingly appreciates the role of all fields and students in solving world problems.

         Even as policymakers strive to improve the efficiency of STEM education, it is important to appreciate the progress it has made since its inception. A study by Yasar Kazu and Yalcin (2021) to determine the impact of STEM education on academic performance indicated that it had a significant statistical improvement in students' academic success. The researchers view STEM education as one that eradicates boundaries between disciplines by making it possible for students to view and comprehend the world as a whole rather than as parts. A similar study by Wohono, Lin, and Chang (2020) shows that STEM enactments were significantly effective in improving students’ learning outcomes. Thus, STEM learning leads to more effective and qualified learning that generates not only new knowledge but also puts existing knowledge into daily use. According to Wohono et al. (2020), STEM education is a universally crucial tool that is effective in preparing students of different diversities as they seek to attain better learning outcomes. Given that the different studies indicating the effectiveness of STEM education are from different continents, they prove that the system of education is universally profitable to students and to society.

         As researchers seek to improve the effectiveness and productivity of STEM education even further, they have conducted many studies focusing on different aspects. Tomperi et al. (2022), for instance, conducted a study to investigate the career aspirations of students pursuing STEM subjects while still in secondary school. The researchers concluded that it is necessary to enhance informal learning opportunities in and out of school to ensure that students have adequate exposure and knowledge regarding the STEM career choices they make. Currently, gender disparities still continue to be witnessed, with female students predominantly choosing biology while male students go for technology and engineering (Tempori et al., 2022). The disparities are attributable to STEM stereotypes among students that result from low exposure to STEM professions at school (Sakellariou & Fang, 2021). Therefore, while the education system is structured to differentiate between STEM and other subjects, students do not have enough accurate information about the subjects. Consequently, they end up making major career decisions based on misinformation and stereotypes. Thus, there’s a need to intensify information on STEM subjects and careers not only for college-level students but also from a young age so that they make informed choices.

         The integration of Art and Reading to form STEAM or STREAM are also alternative proposed ways of closing the gender gap. It is important to note that while elementary and secondary level interventions can help close the gender gap, boys have also proven to be more naturally interested and talented in STEM subjects, while girls have to first develop confidence in math abilities (Sakellariou & Fang, 2021). Additionally, there are other unobserved attributes that play a critical role in the gender gaps observed. Therefore, closing the gender gap in STEM education encompasses many different factors, some of which are not clearly known to researchers. The missing informational gaps in STEM education also explain the reason for the increasing number of studies and publications, including journals, books, and conference proceedings regarding STEM education. Still, the STEM approach to education has continued to gain popularity not only in the United States but also in the rest of the world.

         Currently, the perceived trends in STEM/STEAM/STREAM education revolve around the gender issue as well as the status and trends in STEM learning. Originally, STEM education was seen as meant to teach and learn within the specific disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (Mejias et al., 2021). However, with time, it has increasingly evolved into a multidisciplinary approach to education that puts stronger emphasis, not on the interaction of those four disciplines. The current study intends to go further by exploring the possibilities that exist of integrating other subjects and fields into the STEM approach. As noted, for example, History has proven to enrich the experience of STEM by helping students to have a better context of the historical understanding of their nations and societies. Similarly, other Arts subjects could also enhance the STEM experience. However, it remains unclear whether other subjects can improve the productivity of STEM education or make it more complicated and confusing. Even in the case that different subjects enrich the STEM experience, it would also be unclear the extent to which each of them helps to improve education.

         STEM education highlights the necessity of maximizing the talents and strengths of individual students. The next focus of STEM should be to grow well-rounded students and human beings who are more prepared to face and overcome modern and future problems. Holistic education is crucial to the development of the overall well-being of students and also in identifying and maximizing their talents (Marín-Marín, Moreno-Guerrero, Dúo-Terrón, & López-Belmonte, 2021). Given the increasing level of problem complexity and unpredictability, it is more important than ever before to have well-rounded students. Thus, modern children and other learners will benefit a lot from interdisciplinary knowledge and skills. STEM education has played a major role in the progress that has occurred in the twenty-first century. However, it may become necessary to explore other avenues for making STEM education more resourceful in finding solutions to modern and future problems. Such solutions could involve the integration of humanities and literacy, which could provide an appropriate foundation for students to thrive.

References (can't use hanging style on google site, sorry!)

Catterall, L. (2017). A brief history of STEM and STEAM from an inadvertent insider. STEAM, 3(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.5642/steam.20170301.05

Li, Y., Wang, K., Xiao, Y., & Froyd, J. (2020). Research and trends in STEM education: A systematic review of journal publications. International Journal of STEM Education, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-020-00207-6

Marín-Marín, J., Moreno-Guerrero, A., Dúo-Terrón, P., & López-Belmonte, J. (2021). STEAM in education: A bibliometric analysis of performance and co-words in Web of Science. International Journal of STEM Education, 8(1), 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-021-00296-x

Mejias, S., Thompson, N., Sedas, R., Rosin, M., Soep, E., & Peppler, K. et al. (2021). The trouble with STEAM and why we use it anyway. Science Education, 105(2), 209-231. https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.21605

Park, W., & Cho, H. (2022). The interaction of history and STEM learning goals in teacher-developed curriculum materials: Opportunities and challenges for STEAM education. Asia Pacific Education Review, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-022-09741-0

Sakellariou, C., & Fang, Z. (2021). Self-efficacy and interest in STEM subjects as predictors of the STEM gender gap in the US: The role of unobserved heterogeneity. International Journal of Educational Research, 109, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2021.101821

Tomperi, P., Kvivesen, M., Manshadi, S., Uteng, S., Shestova, Y., & Lyash, O. et al. (2022). Investigation of STEM subject and career aspirations of lower secondary school students in the North Calotte region of Finland, Norway, and Russia. Education Sciences, 12(3), 192-205. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12030192

Wahono, B., Lin, P., & Chang, C. (2020). Evidence of STEM enactment effectiveness in Asian student learning outcomes. International Journal of STEM Education, 7(1), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-020-00236-1

White, D., & Delaney, S. (2021). Full STEAM ahead, but who has the map? – A PRISMA systematic review on the incorporation of interdisciplinary learning into schools. LUMAT: International Journal on Math, Science and Technology Education, 9(2), 1-32. https://doi.org/10.31129/lumat.9.2.1387

Yaşar Kazu, I., & Yalcin, C. (2021). The effect of stem education on academic performance: A meta-analysis study. The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, 20(4), 101-116.

Research Methods original post

Aaron Bond

October 21, 2022

The methodology chosen for this study is based on studies on student interest and utilizes an interest survey modified from the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI) which was originally developed by Ryan (1982). The format of the questionnaire will be modified to fit the class and lessons being taught. The Motivation Inventory will be given to students prior to the lessons taught in order to gauge their prior interest and motivation regarding the specific subject being taught and the subject of Biology in general. Students will be observed during the implementation of the modified IMI and during the lessons taught for the level of engagement and perceived motivation. Following the lessons, which will be based on the phenomenon of elephants, students will be asked to complete the same modified IMI as before, and the results will be compared to see if their interest in elephants and biology changed, and if their motivation to learn more about elephants or biology changed. Additional questions specific to the topic and subject will be included in addition to the modified IMI in both instances of implementation in order to gauge student attitudes and interests about more specific things involved in the lessons.

     The lessons will be taught over the course of about 3 weeks, with some breaks in 2 of those weeks. The lessons will be taught over this long of a period due to parent-teacher conferences and scheduled professional development days interrupting. Participants will be selected from the Advanced Studies Biology courses at Lee’s Summit West High School and will be recruited by asking the students and their parents to complete a consent form acknowledging that they will be participating in this study. No student names or demographic information will be utilized in the study, and all participants will be kept anonymous. 

     The Advanced Studies students are being selected to participate in this study because these courses have implemented the curriculum based on phenomena and because Advanced Studies courses move at a faster pace and are supposed to be for students who are intrinsically motivated and want to learn. Since the original purpose of this study is to see the effect of these phenomena on advanced students’ interest and motivation, it makes sense to focus the study on students in these courses.

     Data will be collected from several sections of courses taught by 3 different instructors. Data will be organized according to teacher and section. The students will be numbered and names will not be collected. Data will be analyzed by comparing the post-survey responses to the pre-survey responses. Mean, median, mode, standard deviation, and variance will be calculated for the quantitative data from the interest inventory. Grades on a test given during the instructional period of the study will also be collected and analyzed statistically as well.

     Correlation tests will be used to determine the relationship, or if any relationship exists, between test scores and interest/motivation, or between gender and interest/motivation. Course grades or GPAs can also be used. Percent change will be calculated for the change in pre vs. post modified IMI scores, and a paired t-test will be conducted to determine the statistical significance of the difference.

     A review of the literature revealed that it is acceptable to modify the IMI to suit a particular lesson or activity, so that will be done here. The IMI includes statements related to students’ interest/enjoyment, perceived competence, effort/importance, pressure/tension, perceived choice, value/usefulness, and relatedness. The statements are rated by participants to indicate how true the statement is for them on a scale from 1 to 7. With 1 being “not at all true,” 4 being “somewhat true,” and 7 being “very true.” Some examples of statements include “I did not feel at all nervous about doing the task,” “I think this is an important activity,” and “I would be willing to do this activity again because it has some value for me.” These survey items will be modified to suit the particular study and the lessons and activities being taught. For example, one lesson being taught is about the value of biodiversity, so survey items could be, “I think the value of biodiversity is an important topic to learn,” or “I think biodiversity of elephants is an important topic.” If a survey item contains a negative, then the score for that item will be reversed before contributing to a subject’s score for that area of assessment. 

     Detailed notes will be taken regarding the qualitative observations of student attitudes, behaviors, and perceived motivation by the teacher. These observations will be compared to the observations of the other instructors. The lessons will be taught over the course of multiple days so as to give plenty of prolonged participation in the field for observers to deliberately make observations and take notes. Of course, the study is being conducted by the instructor of the students, who will have a degree of familiarity with the typical level of motivation and engagement the students tend to display.

     Ethics is of the highest importance when conducting research involving minors. All students participating will give written consent to participate and will be informed of their right to refuse, as well as the use of the data collected. The lessons being taught will be exactly the same as the lessons taught if the study was not being conducted and do not represent any deviation from normal instruction. The digital signature of a parent/guardian will be obtained in order for them to give consent for their student to participate in the study and for their students’ data to be used. All students’ names will be left out of all data gathered in this study.

Copyright © Dr. Michael Wei