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Fifth Annual Symposium Series on Excellence in Teaching Mathematics and Science: Research and Practice
ABSTRACTS February 7 Plenary Talks Xavier University’s Educational Pathway into the Biomedical Sciences – A Model Program Kenneth Boutte, Associate Dean , College of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Biology, Xavier University of Louisiana Xavier University of Louisiana is both a Catholic and a Historically Black University. In the years 1985 through 1988, Xavier had an average of 28 students per year who gained entry into biological science graduate or medical schools. By 2001, that number had grown to 112, more than triple the number in 1988. Xavier currently boasts an enrollment of more than 1500 students in science and mathematics disciplines, and over 700 pre-pharmacy and pharmacy students. Xavier is number one in the nation in: · placing African Americans into medical school (in the past nine years) · awarding the bachelors degree to African Americans in both the natural and physical sciences · producing African Americans earning the bachelor’s degree in Physics · producing African American pharmacists (over 25% of the practicing African American registered pharmacists in this country) Xavier graduates more students of any ethnic group with the bachelor’s degree in chemistry than any school in the state of Louisiana. In addition, over 90% of the students who enter graduate or professional science schools earn their degrees. These national records are not the result of attracting all bright, well-prepared students to Xavier’s science programs; up to 20% of an entering freshman class may be composed of students with low standardized test scores and low high school grade point averages. Xavier’s success comes from pre-college and campus programs that create an educational pathway for success in science, engineering, and mathematics without compromising standards. In this talk, we shall discuss the policies and practices on which these initiatives are based, and the features of running a successful program to encourage and support the participation of African American students in the sciences.
The Other Lessons: What students keep for life Michael Starbird, Distinguished Teacher Professor of Mathematics, The University of Texas at Austin
"Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten."-B.F. Skinner. The vast majority of our students soon forget the vast majority of the mathematical details they learn in class- (sometimes, in fact, before the final). But mathematical analysis has produced some of the greatest triumphs of human thought and creativity. Let's design our courses and curricula so that what survives in our students, after they forget, clearly improves their lives. Let's make the mathematics course the most important course students take to help them develop their ability to think.
February 7 Break-out Sessions Breakout Session I 2:45 - 3:35 PM
Collaborations in Teaching Math and Science Kenneth Boutte, Xavier University of Louisiana
In this session, participants will discuss and present some model programs and ideas involving collaborations which have proven to be effective in teaching mathematics and science. The following points will be included for discussion:
· Why is collaboration important? · What is the psychology that keeps people locked in noncollaborative professional models? · What does it take to create sustainable and successful collaborations?
This session may also offer the opportunity for establishing new collaborations.
Finding out about area and perimeter in a geometry course for preservice elementary education teachers. Bonnie Saunders, University of Illinois at Chicago In the past few years several documents have appeared that pave the way for developing mathematics courses for teachers that encourage a deeper understanding of elementary mathematics. Two of these are The Mathematical Education of Teachers for the CBMS series Issues in Mathematics Education and LiPing Ma's book, Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics.
This session will explore a series of exercises inspired by these two documents and designed to deepen the students' understanding of geometry. We will discuss the problems with an eye to understanding what geometric concepts a student might bring to solve the problems and what concepts arise in a successful classroom discussion of the solutions.
Breakout Session II 4:00 - 4:50 PM
Presenting mathematical masterpieces and powerful techniques of effective thinking to non-science students Michael Starbird, The University of Texas at Austin
Mathematics contains some of the greatest ideas of humankind and employs powerful methods of analysis that transcend mathematics. Topics such as infinity, the fourth dimension, probability, and chaos spark everyone's imagination. These ideas are comparable to masterpieces of art, literature, or philosophy. Our challenge is to convey the genuine ideas of classical and new mathematics and highlight the important strategies of analysis that can be applied to all of life's issues. In this session we explore ways to meet that challenge.
A new mathematics course and text for prospective and in-service high school teachers Tony Peressini, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
This session will present an overview of a new mathematics course and text: Mathematics for High School Teachers (Prentice-Hall, Jan. 2003) developed by Zalman Usiskin, Tony Peressini, Elena Marchisotto and Dick Stanley. This course addresses the core content of high school mathematics: algebra, geometry, trigonometry and pre-calculus, but it treats this content from the advanced perspective of college mathematics.
Mathematics for High School Mathematics Teachers (MFHST0 differs from other college mathematics courses in the following ways:
· MFHST is rooted in high school content and problems and it focuses on those advanced perspectives that help teachers to teach these more effectively. · MFHST includes many examples of extended problem analyses, an instructional approach in which standard high school problems are explored more deeply with the tools of high school mathematics to obtain a better understanding of mathematics and new mathematical insights. · MFHST explores mathematical connections within high school mathematics and between high school and college mathematics. · MFHST includes a number of concept analyses that explore the historical and conceptual evolution of important ideas in high school mathematics.
Specific examples of each of these features of MFHST will be presented for discussion. A print handout including copies of the presentation slides and other information about the course will be distributed.
Reports from the science alumni of the UIC-Community Colleges Collaborative for Excellence on Teacher Preparation Tom Higgins, Harold Washington College, and Stacy Wenzel, University of Illinois at Chicago
Between 1999 and 2002, 44 Chicago-area science faculty members participated in three cohorts of a year-long faculty development Institute focused around teaching and learning conceptions and practices consistent with reform-based, inclusive pedagogy. After participating in a week-long summer workshop on reforming teaching, these faculty worked to bring changes into their own classrooms. In this session, a panel of these faculty talks about their experiences in the Institute and more recently as they continue to work to improve their courses, particularly related to educating future teachers in science. The panel will include Tom Higgins, Robert Olsson, Stacy Wenzel, and others to be announced.
This is an interactive session, come if you want to talk about your own successes and challenges in improving your courses. Other UIC-CC CETP science participants are encouraged to attend. However, you don't have to have been involved with the UIC-CC CETP for this to be a good session in which to consider successes and challenges in improving science courses.
Interactive strategies for the kinesthetic learning style of math and science students Thomas M. Notermann, DeVry University, Tinley Park Campus
In this session, we present background information about the impacts of classroom processes, learning styles, and teaching behavior on student learning. The importance of interactive engagement, structured student-student learning, and active learning involving technology is discussed.
Participants will take a Learning Style survey designed by Fleming. The results from surveying University Math students with varied math preparations are presented. The findings are consistent with Fleming’s general observations that the kinesthetic learning style is dominant among students while the reading learning style is dominant among instructors. In addition, a negative correlation was observed between the extent of kinesthetic learning dominance and the student’s math background.
Technology tools that offer the opportunity for enhanced conceptual understanding and learning enjoyment will be demonstrated. Texas Instruments calculator supplements, the Sonic Motion Detector and the Calculator Based Lab, are convenient tools. Math and Science students also enhance learning by completing projects using MATLAB, EXCEL, or Fathom software. Blackboard delivered quizzes and projects can enhance learning and provide time flexibility.
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March 14 Plenary Talks A solid school mathematics: What it means, why we don't have one, and how we might get one Cathy Kessel, Mathematics Education Consultant, Berkeley, CA and Liping Ma, Senior Scholar, Carnegie Foundation for Advancement of Teaching, Menlo Park, CA It is common in the United States to view mathematics, particularly elementary mathematics, as a collection of rules, "shopkeeper arithmetic," or "basic skills." In contrast, a solid school mathematics (Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics, Liping Ma, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1999, pp. 146, 149) has breadth and depth and provides a foundation for future learning of mathematics. In this talk we discuss what such a school mathematics might look like, what factors have militated against its development in the United States, and how we might foster the development of a solid school mathematics.
Teaching the Introductory College Science Course: Challenges, Issues and Perspectives Marvin Druger, Professor of Biology and Chair of the Science teaching, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY Introductory college science courses serve as the foundation for science majors and also serve as a requirement for non-science majors. These courses usually enroll hundreds of students, and pose unique teaching challenges. What should be the objectives for such courses? How can the objectives be achieved? Who should teach the introductory science courses? Should we have separate courses for potential science majors and non-majors? These and other relevant issues will be discussed in this presentation.
March 14 Break-out Sessions Breakout Session I 2:45 - 3:35 PM Discussion of Knowing and "Teaching Elementary Mathematics" Cathy Kessel, Mathematics Education Consultant, Berkeley CA Liping Ma, Senior Scholar, Carnegie Foundation for Advancement of Teaching, Menlo Park, CA The book Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics is short but includes many ideas that are quite different from the way we often think about elementary mathematics in the United States. As with any new idea, discussion can help everyone understand it better. In this session, Liping and her editor Cathy will take questions about the book. There will be time during the session to write questions, but if possible, write your question (or questions) beforehand in order to encourage your own thinking on this topic.
Incorporating Interactive Simulations into the Chemistry Classroom Mike Stieff, Northwestern University This break-out session aims to introduce a novel learning environment for teaching chemistry, ChemLogo, and to describe its potential for use in the chemistry classroom. ChemLogo comprises several molecular simulations embedded in the NetLogo multi-agent modeling language and is designed to enable instructors to teach chemistry using the perspective of ‘emergent phenomena’. That is, it allows students to see observed macro-level chemical phenomena, like many other scientific phenomena, as resultant from the interactions of many individual agents on a micro-level. This perspective is especially appropriate to the study of chemistry where the interactions between multitudes of molecules on the atomic level give rise to the macro-level concepts that students study. For example, physical processes, such as melting and evaporation, and the concepts of pressure and temperature result from such molecular interactions, which students cannot observe directly. Modeling environments such as ChemLogo provide students with the opportunity to view these interactions in a simulated environment to develop a deeper understanding of chemistry concepts and processes in the classroom and laboratory. In the session, I will introduce the basics of ChemLogo as well as three potential applications: a classroom visualization tool, a student feedback tool, and a laboratory simulator. ChemLogo comprises several molecular simulations embedded in the NetLogo modeling software, a multi-agent modeling language that has been employed in a number of different subject areas, including biology, physics, and environmental science, to help students discover how macro-level concepts emerge from micro-level interactions. ChemLogo supports students’ personal exploration and construction of chemistry concepts by employing a “glass-box” design that provides users with immediate and uncomplicated access to the rules that govern the individual behavior of simulated molecules. Each molecular simulation in ChemLogo not only presents students with the opportunity to visualize and manipulate a particular chemical system, but also allows students to “open” the software’s interface whenever they wish to inspect the specific rules that govern the simulated chemical system so that they can understand how macro-level concepts, such as pressure, chemical equilibrium and kinetics, emerge from the individual interactions between chemical species on the molecular level. Currently, ChemLogo contains models for teaching Brfnsted-Lowry acid-base theory, enzyme kinetics, radical polymerization, buffer chemistry, kinetics, chemical equilibrium and crystallization. Because of ChemLogo’s glass-box design, the potential number of models is practically unlimited. Instructors and students can individually tailor the pre-designed models or generate novel models as they are needed in the context of a particular lesson, classroom or department. For the format of this breakout session, I will first provide an introduction to the underlying principles that motivated the development of ChemLogo, namely the concept of emergent phenomena and glass-box technology. I will then demonstrate the use of two simulations, one from ChemLogo that illustrates the concept of chemical equilibrium and a separate NetLogo physics model that demonstrates an isothermal piston. I will conclude the session by discussing some of the learning benefits that we have found using ChemLogo simulations with university students and suggesting some possible avenues for incorporating these interactive simulations into existing curricula. During the session, I invite the audience to offer their ideas on both the affordances and use of visualization tools for teaching science.
How do college teachers use pretest/posttest and group activities in the teaching of mathematics? The practitioners’ perspectives Kyungsoon Jeon, University of Illinois at Chicago, and Sheila McNicholas, Truman College This breakout session invites participants who are interested in knowing how other teachers of college algebra used pretest/posttest and group activities in their practice and in reflecting on their own practice. Focusing on better teaching of function concepts, in particular, and better assessing of student knowledge growth, three college teachers cooperated on devising a pretest and posttest and also developed a set of group activities for their teaching of the function unit. The teachers used the pretest and posttest as a measure of student understanding about functions and graphing at the beginning and the end of the courses and also used the group activities as a significant vehicle that would help their students in the learning of functions and graphing. During the session, first, we will present what the teachers did and learned after doing the pretest and posttest: (1) the teachers’ diagnosis of student learning at the entry and exit level, (2) implications to the teaching of the course, and (3) learning from the use of pretest and posttest in mathematics teaching. Second, we will discuss what the teachers could achieve via their use of group activities and various challenges that they faced in the implementation process. Third, more importantly, we shall discuss with the participants how understanding the differences and the similarities of these teachers’ use of these methods will be able to support our own practice. One of the teachers in this analysis will discuss her experience of using the new methods.
Class-Room Demos can Optimize Student Learning in Physics Antonio Pagnamenta, University of Illinois at Chicago Learning Physics presents very specific difficulties for students. Fear of Physics, lack of math preparation are proverbial. More often we find students are totally unable inability to visualize even simple Physics situations. Most students take Physics only because it is required. Very few students have ever been shown how closely Physics interacts with their life. We instructors have to make Physics attractive, relevant, and even very interesting to them. We have to make Physics stick! While there are routine methods, from collaborative learning, Labs, and even homework, I found the proper use of in-class demos a most effective approach. Demos have to be much more than a show. Such demos have to be in the most direct way related to the physics principle under discussion. They have to demonstrate the principle: they have to raise questions, they have to show the need for the principle. I found that demos, which appear to show that a specific law is violated, are the most intriguing and instructive ones. They require the entire class to pay attention and to cooperate to find an explanation. Anything less is a mere waste of time. On the “well known” example of Newton’s first law, I will show an entire series of simple demos that teach the law, show its limitations, its applications and some that can even be used to test whether the students did comprehend the principle. Have You [the student] really understood Newton’s first Law? Participants are asked to: 1. Suggest new demos that show a relevant physics principle. 2. Suggest new ways of presenting demos. 3. Give sources for new demos and demo-ideas: Books, Physics clubs, Web pages. Physics teaching and learning is fun!
Breakout Session II 4:00 - 4:50 PM
Assessment and Grading Practices and Policies Marvin Druger, Syracuse University Faculty members are always in the position of assessing students' work and providing a grade. Practices and policies vary greatly in this regard. This session will provide an opportunity to exchange experiences and ideas concerning assessment and grading issues. Please bring innovative and effective techniques to the session, and we will discuss philosophy, rationale and effectiveness of these approaches.
Japanese Lesson Study: An effective way to improve mathematics teaching and learning Akihiko Takahashi, DePaul University Many U.S. educators have recently become interested in lesson study as a promising source of ideas for improving education (Stigler & Hiebert, 1999), and some schools and school districts have attempted to use lesson study to refine their practice and impact student learning (Council for Basic Education, 2000; Germain-McCarthy, 2001; Lewis, 2002; Research for Better Schools, 2000; Stepanek, 2001; Weeks, 2001). Lesson Study, widely viewed in Japan as a primary form of professional development (Fernandez, et al., 2001; Lewis, 2000; Lewis and Tsuchida, 1998; Shimahara, 1999; Stigler and Hiebert, 1999; Yoshida, 1999), has been the critical systemic feature that enabled Japanese elementary teachers to improve classroom instruction (Lewis & Tsuchida, 1998; Takahashi, 2000; Stigler & Hiebert, 1999; Yoshida, 1999). In lesson study, teachers work collaboratively to: 1) formulate long-term goals for student learning and development, 2) plan, conduct, and observe a ‘research lesson’ designed to bring these long-term goals to life as well as to teach a particular academic content, 3) carefully observe student learning, engagement, and behavior during the lesson, and 4) discuss and revise the lesson and the approach to instruction based on these observations (Lewis, 2002). The research lesson is taught in a regular classroom with students, and participants observe as the lesson unfolds in the actual teaching-learning context. Debriefing following the lesson is developed around the student learning data collected during the observation. Through the process, teachers are given opportunities to reflect on their teaching and student learning (Murata & Takahashi, 2002). This session will provide an overview of the Lesson Study cycle and describe how teachers develop lesson plans, how to examine the lesson plan by observing student thinking during the lesson, and how to redesign the lesson plans based on the Lesson Study experience.
The Chicago Mathematics and Science Initiative: Promoting Partnerships between Universities and the Chicago Public Schools Marty Gartzman, Chicago Public Schools The Chicago Public Schools (CPS) recently announced the Chicago Mathematics and Science Initiative (CMSI), a comprehensive plan for improving K-12 mathematics and science instruction in Chicago schools. CMSI provides new avenues and opportunities for partnerships between universities and CPS. The presentation will provide an overview of the CMSI and include an open discussion about potential university-CPS partnerships that will be supported under the new Initiative.
Fraction Ruler Diane Profita Schiller, Loyola University Chicago As a junior high school math teacher, I knew that my sixth grade students understood fractions. Research on the Fraction Ruler began when those students entered 7th grade math and could show little evidence of their previous proficiency. We have used Fraction Ruler with students from 4th through 8th grade for initial instruction and review. Pre/post testing of 5th to 7th grade students using Fraction Ruler in a Saturday program showed significant achievement gains. (Olson, 2002) The Fraction Ruler is a set of manipulatives and an instructional packet that allows students to “see” that fractions really work. Students can use the rulers to learn about fractions, compare fractions, and compute. Through a new professional development web site, http://countdown.luc.edu, participants will have the opportunity to review the material presented as well as hear Chicago students' interact with the rulers when they return to their own institution.
April 25 Plenary Talks Reform in K-12 Science Education and the Implications for Undergraduate Science Teaching Ramon E. Lopez, C. Sharp Distinguished Professor of Physics, University of Texas at El Paso and Codirector for Education, Center for Integrated Space Weather Modeling
For the past decade or more there have been substantial efforts to significantly improve precollege science education in the US. Concurrently, numerous reports have pointed to the need to improve science education at the undergraduate level. Yet discussions among university faculty about undergraduate science education often occur without any significant consideration of the K-12 reform movement. In this presentation I will outline some salient features of reform in K-12 science education, and their historical background. Many of these features have clear implications for undergraduate science education, as I will point out. As college and university departments begin to change the way that they educate undergraduates, understanding what worked and did not work in K-12 reform can provide valuable information.
Assessment: The Villain or the Accomplice to Excellence in Science and Mathematics Education Audrey Champagne, Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Educational Theory and Practice, University of Albany SUNY
At the federal and state levels, data from tests of student achievement are being used as measures of institutional and individual accountability. While the public favors monitoring accountability of its educational institutions, teachers, and professors, the fear that federal and state mandated test data will have an unfavorable influence on student learning is pervasive.
What happens to the quality of learning when K-12 teachers and higher-education professors teach to the test? Critics of externally mandated tests basing their criticisms on the tests being used, see only lowering of learning quality. Others argue that well designed tests improve instructional quality and consequently student achievement.
Both sides of this controversy will be examined with an emphasis on the attributes of well designed assessments of science and mathematics and how the design of such assessments and analysis of data from them can have a positive influence on student achievement. April 25 Break-out Sessions Breakout Session I 2:45 - 3:35 PM Physics Education Reform Ramon E. Lopez, University of Texas at El Paso Physics departments around the country are moving to make significant changes in their undergraduate physics programs. Fortunately physics is blessed with a substantial literature, developed by physicists, that deals with issues of teaching, learning, and cognition. Moreover, this research base has been applied to the development of instructional materials and pedagogical practices, providing the material base for reform. In this presentation I will begin by discussing the need for change in physics education. I will then provide a brief overview of the state of physics education research, and its application to classroom practice. I will conclude with examples of true systemic reform in physics education and discuss current efforts to disseminate information and support physics education reform in the community at large.
“It’s a more effective answer than I've seen in 20 years:” The Gateway Science Workshop Program at Northwestern University Bernhard T. Streitwieser and Su Swarat, Searle Center for Teaching Excellence, Northwestern University The Gateway Science Workshop (GSW) Program at Northwestern University is a voluntary program provided for students in core freshman and sophomore courses in Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. It consists of weekly advanced conceptual workshops during which “peer facilitators” guide students through challenging, conceptually-based problems that are aimed at helping them develop a richer understanding of, and appreciation for, key concepts in their discipline. Participation in the program currently includes approximately 500 undergraduates, 75 facilitators and 30 faculty. Managed and evaluated by the Searle Center for Teaching Excellence, over the last few years the program has developed strong administrative and faculty support for peer-facilitated learning, enhanced student learning experience, and shown promising improvement in grades and retention rates for majority and minority students alike. This presentation will review Northwestern’s program as a “work in progress,” share some of its recent quantitative and qualitative findings in the participating disciplines, and raise discussion questions currently being debated in the higher education literature.
Science Demonstrations: Augmentation of Traditional Teaching Styles Michael Davis, Harold Washington College Science demonstrations have been useful in a ‘show and tell’ approach to instruction. It is very easy to talk about the luminescent properties of unstable organic molecules, but it is considerably more impressive to show a blue glowing solution and discuss the subtleties of Cyalume glow sticks. While visual science demonstrations have been known to capture the imagination and attention of students, they have also been used in ways that are detrimental to the desired learning. They are frequently reduced to ‘tricks’ or rewards. In this breakout session, a number of science demonstrations from the physical sciences will be presented and discussed. Procedures and safety precautions for the demonstrations will be passed out to all those in attendance. Successful methods for the integration of impressive and inexpensive demonstrations will be discussed. Similarly, a number of hands on activities will also be presented, allowing attendants a chance to participate. I am currently working with several of the Chicago Public Schools, providing CPDU and CEU training to existing teachers. Work in this area has been most successful in fostering a greater respect for science fairs. Pre-service teachers, on the other hand, have been more open to learning about ways in which to include student centered teaching methods, including demonstrations.
The ConcepTest Method for Interactive Learning Richard Treptow, Chicago State University Since the days of Socrates, we teachers have known the value of posing questions to our students. But how can we best derive the benefits of this approach in the classrooms of today? A growing number of college teachers in recent years have begun using a remarkably simple yet effective technique for promoting interactive learning in their lectures. It is commonly known as the ConcepTest method. The lecturer begins this method by posing a conceptual question to the class and offering several possible answers. The students vote on the answer they prefer by a show of hands. If the vote reveals that most of them have a good understanding of the question the lecture moves on. However, if most students do not choose the correct answer, they are given time to discuss the matter among themselves, and a second vote is taken. The process continues until good understanding is achieved. This break-out session will explore the ConcepTest method through the use of examples and by viewing a videotape showing its implementation. We will discuss the advantages and pitfalls of the method. After learning about the ConcepTest method, participants will have the opportunity to share their opinions of its merits. Handouts of ConcepTest method flow-chart and suggested resources will be provided.
Breakout Session II 4:00 - 4:50 PM
Using Assessment Data for Just-in-Time Teaching Audrey Champagne, University of Albany, SUNY This break out session will focus on the uses of data collected before and during class time to assess how well students are progressing in their understanding of the instructional activities in which they are engaged. Examples of the use of the information to make on-the-spot modifications in the activities will be presented for discussion. Examples will be drawn from biology and physics.
A Look at Korean Mathematics Curriculum, Grades 1-6 Susan Beal, Saint Xavier University and Jan Grow, Truman University, Kirksville, Missouri What is different about the Korean Mathematics curriculum? Korean Mathematics is concise, coherent and focused on the conceptualization of a few important constructs. It makes explicit connections to fundamental mathematical principles like inverse relationships and the base ten system. The presenters will discuss some of the highlights of the curriculum, how it has been used with in-service teachers in Missouri and pre-service teachers in Illinois, and where they plan to go from there.
Mathematics in the Integrated Science Program at Northwestern Mark Pinsky, Northwestern University In the early 1970's a group of math and science faculty at Northwestern University set out to create an integrated science program, partly to accentuate the many fruitful links between mathematics and the various physical sciences. The effort was spearheaded by a group of faculty in the geological sciences, where it is well recognized that a multidisciplinary approach is most effective, especially at the undergraduate level. For the Mathematics Department this presented an opportunity to teach calculus and differential equations to a small group of students who had the physical science background to better understand the applications and implications of calculus. In some sense we had the opportunity to "close the circle" which was broken by many decades of overspecialized and under-motivated instruction in calculus While other faculty dealt with the first year ISP course, my assignment came with the sophomore-level course, beginning with Fourier series and boundary-value problems. Fourier, who was never fully accepted as a mathematician by the French Academy during his lifetime, made contributions to mathematical physics which have eclipsed his own life span by several lifetimes, a perfect model for an "integrated science program". Our course contains the traditional solution methods for the heat equation, first solved by separation-of-variables and subsequently transformed to an explicit representation. In particular, the student learns to appreciate the notion of a function, both through 1) several possible representations of the same function and 2) the possible necessity of different formulas in different regions of space/time. Of course Fourier analysis also revolutionized mathematical analysis in the 19th century, leading to the Riemann and Lebesgue theories of integration, but this is not covered in our course. Fourier analysis of the heat equation also leads to interesting questions of asymptotic behavior for large time, both for the series and integral representation of solutions. Finally, our course includes Fourier's geophysical model for heat flow in the earth, which is still used by geologists to measure thermal conductivity of the earth, as well as to design a wine cellar. In our presentation we will also discuss some of the broader educational issues of the program, its continued vitality over 25+ years of existence and its relation to the "standard curriculum" of the various departments which participate, to invite reactions from participants in the session.
Birds, Butterflies, and Particle Physics: Lessons Learned From Pre-Service Teachers in Scientific Research Internships Priscilla Meldrim, Public Information, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and Roger House, Institute for Math and Science Education, University of Illinois at Chicago Former Pre-Service Teacher Fellowship Recipients (TBA) Fermi National Acceleratory Laboratory hosts undergraduate pre-service teachers for ten-week summer research internships. These students conduct ecology research in Fermilab’s restored prairie or physics research as part of an experiment on Fermilab’s world-class accelerator complex. As part of the program, students must write and orally present an original research paper on their work as well as develop a standards-based module of education suitable for their future classrooms. To date, six UIC students have completed internships at Fermilab. The session will include presentations from Fermilab and University of Illinois at Chicago staff involved with the program, as well as from past participants in the program. We will begin with an overview of the projects and resources at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, focusing on those resources offered by the Leon M. Lederman Science Education Center and its programs and professional development geared towards in-service teachers. We will provide attendees with resources that will be useful to their own professional development. We will then discuss in greater detail the Pre-Service Teacher undergraduate internship, a joint venture of the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy to improve K-12 science teaching. We will discuss aspects of the program such as the application process, program requirements, and duties of the students engaged in the research. We will also describe the research we are conducting at UIC on the experience of the students. Finally, previous participants will discuss their research projects, experiences, and successes and challenges faced during their ten-week appointments.
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