The increasing interest in early and elementary STEM education comes with a need to increase training and support for teachers of children in the early grades. Early and elementary pre-service teacher preparation in science, math, and integrated STEM can play a critical role in enhancing teachers’ self-efficacy and pedagogical content knowledge in these areas. However, few quantitative research studies have been published on this topic, especially involving early childhood and elementary programs. Because few STEM courses are typically offered in these programs, we need courses and experiences that can be transformational. This study evaluates the short- and long-term impacts on pre-service teachers who participated in our STEM Collaboration approach (n=164), which was created to meet this goal through an innovative early childhood and elementary collaboration. Analyses of mixed methods data collected from surveys, tests, open-ended feedback, and a focus group revealed immediate, long-term, and positive impacts on science, math, and integrated STEM self-efficacy and pedagogical content knowledge. Participation in STEM education experiences in pre-service programs that include innovations such as collaboration across colleges and professionalization opportunities made a difference, and one that persisted.
In this Research Commentary, we describe 3 journal metrics–the Web of Science's Impact Factor, Scopus's SCImago Journal Rank, and Google Scholar Metrics' h5-index—and compile the rankings (if they exist) for 69 mathematics education journals. We then discuss 2 paths that the mathematics education community should consider with regard to these citation-based metrics of journal quality: either working within the system to enhance our positioning or resisting or modifying the system itself.
The purpose of this chapter is to report on partnerships between local school agents, business partners, institutes of higher education, and nonprofit organizations that promote science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) activities that enhance career opportunities for students. The authors share the importance of these partnerships as well as the benefits that result for all members. In addition to describing the benefits of the partnerships, the authors lay out techniques used to manage and develop partnerships. Most importantly, the authors share the outcomes of these partnerships, including professional development projects rooted in the work between the member partners. The chapter provides data about the impact of these partnerships on students' academic achievement and concludes with recommendations and suggestions to develop and sustain partnerships.
The focus in this article is on integrating instruction in reading fluency with mathematical concept development in the primary grades. Procedures are described herein for having students engage in hands-on mathematics while reading children’s literature. In addition, students produce an audio compact disk and engage in performance reading in a readers’ theater format with stick puppets. The strategies presented can be adapted in a variety of leaning environments.
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