Using STEM Education to Promote 21st Century Math Skills
A Capstone Project
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
of Master of Arts in Teaching: Mathematics
Shawna Egli
Department of Mathematics andComputer Science
College of Arts and Sciences
Graduate School
Minot State University
Minot, North Dakota
Spring2012
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This capstone project was submitted by
Shawna Egli
Graduate Committee:
Dr. Laurie Geller, Chairperson
Dr.Narayan Thapa
Dr.John Webster
Dean of Graduate School
Dr. Linda Cresap
Date of defense: April 4, 2012
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine how teachers who attended a six-day STEM Institute, during the summer of 2010, applied the information they learned to their 2010-2011 classrooms along with the successes and struggles they had while applying the information. This study also determined any new technologies or ideas teachers incorporated into their lessons to promote 21st century skills, and how they encouraged students’ interests in STEM fields. I used the teachers’ responses from the focus groups and a personal interview andfound that most teachers successfullyactively engaged students in a multidisciplinary learning environment and gave studentsopportunities to explore their own questions and ideas. Teachers struggled with the amount of time needed to prepare and implement STEM activities, along with fitting the activities into current school schedules. This study found that computers, laptops, flip cameras, and iPads were some of the new electronic technology teachers used in their classrooms, but some teachers had concerns that new technology might be hindering student learning.Lastly, teachers accomplished the goal of encouraging students’ interest in STEM fields through guest speakers, field trips, discussions, and STEM activities.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the members of my committee, especially Dr. Laurie Geller whose constructive assistance, guidance, and encouragement kept me on track to finish the paper. I am grateful to the teachers who participated in the study, without them this paper would not exist. An honorable mention goes out to all of the teachers and administrators who are trying to train students to use 21st century skills in a 20th century system; thankyou for your efforts.
I would like to dedicate this study to all of the students who are trying to learn in today’s education system and especially to my son, Isaac Egli.
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Table of Contents
Page
Abstract...... iii
Acknowledgements...... iv
List of Tables...... viii
List of Figures...... ix
Chapter One: Introduction...... 1
Motivation for the Project...... 2
Background on the Problem...... 5
Statement of the Problem...... 6
Statement of Purpose...... 7
Research Questions...... 7
Chapter Two: Review of Literature...... 9
United States Cultural Views on Mathematics...... 9
21st Century Skills and the United States Education System...... 10
STEM Education...... 13
Teacher Training...... 17
Imagine for a Moment...... 19
Summary...... 21
Chapter Three: Research Design and Method...... 22
Setting...... 22
Intervention/Innovation...... 23
Description of Methods...... 25
Timeline for the Study...... 27
Expected Results...... 27
Summary...... 28
Chapter Four: Results...... 29
Teacher Participants...... 29
Analysis and Interpretation of Results by Question...... 31
Success stories of integrating STEM education...... 31
Lessons learned from integrating STEM education...... 34
Teachers using new technologies, ideas, practices,
and content that promoted 21st century skills...... 38
Teachers working with others to plan STEM activities...... 43
Teachers not working with others to plan STEM activities.....45
Encouraging student interest in STEM fields...... 45
STEM activity Table...... 47
Wrapping it all up...... 51
Interpretation of Data by Themes...... 51
Successes applying STEM education...... 52
Struggles applying STEM education...... 54
Promoting 21st century skills...... 55
Viewing new technology as a learning tool...... 56
Viewing new technology as hindering learning...... 57
Encouraging student interest in STEM fields...... 60
Chapter Five: Conclusions, Recommendations, and Action Plan...... 63
Conclusions...... 63
Recommendations for Teachers...... 65
Recommendations for School Districts and Administrators...... 69
Action Plan...... 70
Summary...... 72
References...... 74
Appendices...... 79
Appendix A: Bungee Jumping Worksheets for 5thGrade Students...80
Appendix B:Overview of STEM Institute Schedule...... 83
Appendix C:STEM Institute Handouts...... 98
Appendix D: STEM Lesson Plan Rubric...... 101
Appendix E: Research Participant Invitation Letter...... 105
Appendix F: Research Participant Consent Letter...... 106
Appendix G: Focus Group Protocol...... 108
Appendix H: Personal Interview Discussion Protocol...... 116
Appendix I: Participants’ Responses to STEM Activity Table...... 124
List of Tables
TablePage
1. Participant Pseudonyms and Grade Levels...... 30
List of Figures
FigurePage
1. STEM Activity Table results...... 48
2. Summary of STEM Activity Table analysis...... 53
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Chapter One
Introduction
I am currently a fulltime math and computer science professor at a four-year university in North Dakota.During the summer of 2010, I had the opportunity to create and conduct aSTEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Institute for 17kindergarten througheighthgrade teachers.During this six-day institute,teachers had the opportunity to explore the world of STEMeducation and learn to create learning environments that encourage students to be problem-solvers, innovators, and inventors.Teachers learned how to create a classroom culture of creativity, questioning, and exploring the unknown.They took field trips to STEM hot spots (local businesses that use STEM fields), and participated in a number of STEM activities that weredirectly related to the North Dakota science and math standards.They were also encouragedto experiment with some of the newest technology available in education.
After the participating teachers hadone year to apply this information,I sought to determine how they applied the information they learned at the six-day STEM Institute to their classrooms along with the successes and struggles they had while applying the information.I identifiednew technologies and ideas these teachers incorporated into their lessons to promote 21stcentury skills, which include problem solving and critical thinking, creativity and innovation, communication and collaboration, and flexibility and adaptability(Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2002). Last, I determinedhowteachers encouraged students’ interests in STEM fields.
Motivation for the Project
Two years ago,I volunteered to conduct a “math lesson” for my son’s fourthgrade class.It was close to Christmas, and I thought it would be fun if each student could have a “mathematical present” to take home and play with during Christmas vacation.The lesson consisted of students creating and attempting to solve a wooden brainteaser made from a piece of wood, string, and two washers.An example and the solution to the brainteaser areat Jill Britton’s (2006) homepage.The lesson continued with each student getting a large piece of wrapping paper from which they had to create a box. Next, studentsdecided how many wooden mind teasers would fit in the box.When the time was almost done I remember one student saying, “This is the most fun I have ever had in math,” and another student saying, “Yah, I wish math time was like this every day.”
Last year I created a math lesson based on the Barbie Bungee lesson (Zordak, 2000-2011) found on the IlluminationsWeb site that I offered to all fifthgrade classes in the southwest North Dakotaarea.In this lesson students became amusement park engineers, and their job was to create a new amusement park bungee jump ride.Students used a doll or action figure, which they brought from home, to predict how much bungee cord to useif the ride was to start from the top of a400-feet bridge.They collected real data and used it to create a linear regression equation using a TI-84 graphing calculator.Students used this equation to predict how much bungee cord they would need for a ride that would start froman X-feet bridge.The Action Figure/Barbie Bungee Jump student worksheets are in Appendix A.It was amazing to see how quickly the students picked up the skills of using the graphing calculator.They held them in their hands like game controllers, using the thumbs of both hands to push the buttons.Again, the student excitement and interest was contagious.I remember one student saying, “But everyone is going to get different answers because everyone’s action figure weighs different.”He was amazed it was okayfor every student to get different answers.Some students asked if they could take the rubber bands home so they could do the experiment at home. Some said they were going to ask for graphing calculators for Christmas!
After school at the gas station I met a student who had participated in the bungee jump activity,and I asked her how she liked math class today.Her response was, “Math class?We didn’t have math class, instead you came and visited.” I said, “That was math.”She responded with a voice that clearly indicated she thought I was confused “No it wasn’t, we didn’t sit and work math problems.”It was at that moment that I realizedhow different our views of math were. Her “Math World”revolved around her“math” experiences,which from her response, I imagined, was restricted to afour-walled classroom where she wasconfined to her desk, slouched over a math book that contained 20 problems that she had to have completed by tomorrow.
One day my son came home from sixth grade with the announcement that his entire class was acting out, and the punishment was to complete 100 math problems.I thought: “What is wrong with the way society, including teachers, perceives, values, and teaches mathematics?Why are students encouraged to look at math class as a place where they complete math problems from a book while sitting at a desk, instead of a place where they get to create, learn, and investigate information through numbers?Is it possible that math class could be a learning environment that fostersstudents’ excitement about the field of mathematics instead of a learning environment that views math aspunishment?”
After my experiences teaching in different elementary classrooms, I wanted to visit them all. I wanted to spread my enthusiasm about learning and exploring mathematics to as many children as I could. It soon became clear to me that, as one teacher, I was limited in time, which in effect limited the amount of impact I could have on students. It became apparent that if I could instill the excitement of learning math in elementary teachers, they could then pass that excitement onto their students. I began to look for a program that would support this mission.
While researching, I discovered something called STEM,which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. STEM education encourages innovation by combining two or more STEM subject areas when teaching, instead of the traditional way of teaching math as a silo subject (Council on Competitiveness, 2005). It creates real life learning opportunities for students. It promotes a learning environment for students to not only learn 21st century skills, but also have the opportunity to create new skills (Narum, 2008). I believed training teachers in STEM education practices would help change the way teachers teach math.
Coincidently, shortly after beginning my research on STEM education, the college where I work received a federally funded STEM Career Preparation: Building the Foundation P-16 Grant. I temporarily volunteered to be the STEM coordinator until one was hired. The STEM grant opened up the opportunity to train teachers. Another professor and I created and conducted the STEM Institute to help heighten the awareness and knowledge about STEM education.
Background on the Problem
The United States is not preparing enough students and teachers in the areas of STEM (Kuenzi, MatthewsMangan, 2006).Coble and Michael (2005) agreed, “The current U.S. education system does not have a strong record of producing students who are well prepared for math and science careers” (p. 3).Authors of Rising Above the Gathering Storm agreed that United States students were falling behind in global competiveness and stated, “There is widespread concern about our K-12 science and mathematics education system”(Committee on Prospering in the Global Economy of the 21st Century, 2007, p. 30).In report after report, the findings weresimilar.
All of the above statements weredue to a number of factors: 1) aculture that does not recognize the importance of education especially in math and science (President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology [PCAST], 2010);2) inadequate funding to support the continuous training 21st century teachers need to stay current in their fields and the latest educational innovations (Members of the 2005 “Rising Above the Gathering Storm” Committee, 2010); and 3)the lack of qualified teacherswho know how to teach STEM content and inspire students inSTEM fields (PCAST, 2010).
Statement of the Problem
Today’s education system isbehindin preparingstudents for the new, emerging world of the 21stcentury.“By 12thgrade, U.S. students are scoring near the bottom of all industrialized nations;” furthermore, the U.S. has one of “the highest high school dropout rates" (Gates, 2005, p. 3).
According to the 2010 ACT Average State Math Scores (ACT, 2010), North Dakota’s ranking was 29 out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. North Dakota had an average ACT math score of 21.4. This scorewas below the 22.0 score that ACT statedwas the minimumscore students needed to be ready for college mathematics. North Dakota’s score indicated that a majority of North Dakota students were ill-equipped, not only to go to college, but to succeed in today’s world (ACT, 2010). According to ACT, the main reason for unprepared students was the low academic level of achievement those students attained by the eighth grade, which emphasized the important role elementary and middle schools had in preparing students for life after high school (ACT, 2008).
Statement of Purpose
The purpose of this study was to determine how teachers who attended the six-day STEM Institute applied the information they learned in their classrooms along with the successes and struggles they had while applying the information, any new technologies or ideas they incorporated into their lessons to promote 21st century skills, and how they encouraged students’ interests in STEM fields. I conducted a focus groupwith the teachers who participated in the STEM Institute Summer of 2010.Those teachers who could not attend the focus group participated in a personal interview. I used the teachers’responses from the focus group and personal interviewstodetermine which STEM concepts the teachers used in their classrooms,which STEM concepts were more challenging to incorporate into their classrooms and which were easier, any new technologies or ideas they used, and what they did to encourage students’ interests in STEM fields.
Research Questions
The overarching question I hadwas the following:After participating in a six-day STEM Institute workshop, what successes and struggles did teachers have while applying STEM content and pedagogy,particularly in math, when they taught?I also have the following questions: What new technologies or ideasdidteachers incorporate into their lessons to promote problem solving and critical thinking, creativity and innovation, communication and collaboration, and flexibility and adaptability (i.e., 21stcentury skills)(Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2002)?Last, what didthese teachers do to encourage students’ interests in STEM fields?
In conclusion the United States needs to make a commitment to improve its education system so that it prepares students to succeed in the 21st century. According to The Partnership for 21stCentury Skills (2002), today’s students live in a technology-driven and media-driven world giving them the ability to access an abundance of instantaneous information, to constantly communicate and collaborate with friends, and to know more about the current world than their teachers do. “A simple question to ask is, ‘How has the world of a child changed in the last 150 years?’ And the answer is, ‘It’s hard to imagine any way in which it hasn’t changed’”(The Partnership for 21stCentury Skills,2002, p. 6). “[Children are] immersed in a media environment of all kinds of stuff that was unheard of 150 years ago, and yet if you look at school today versus 100 years ago, they are more similar than dissimilar”(The Partnership for 21stCentury Skills, 2002. p. 6). It is time to bring education in the United States into the 21st century.
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Chapter Two
Review of Literature
In order to guarantee a society of 21stcentury skilled students, the United States needs to changethe way it perceives and values mathematics, and the wayit perceives, values, and structures education. STEM education is one solution to help foster the changes needed. Training America’s teachers in STEM pedagogy to teach core subjects like science, technology, engineering, and mathematics can help prepare students with the skills they need for tomorrow’s workforce. The purpose of this study wasto determine how teachers who attended the six-day STEM Institute applied the information they learned in their classrooms along with the successes and struggles they had while applying the information, any new technologies or ideas theyincorporated into their lessons to promote 21st century skills, and how they encouraged students’ interests in STEM fields. In this chapter,I took a closer look at mathematics and the United States, 21stcentury skills and the United States education system, STEM education, teacher training, and last,how education could be different in America.
United States Cultural Views on Mathematics
The United States is falling behind in mathematics and somepeople seem to beokay with that. U.S. society seems to take pride in “never understanding” or “never liking” mathematics (Committee on Prospering in the Global Economy of the 21st Century, 2007, p. 95).The U.S. has created a culture in whichsome youth are not inspired to learn mathematics and science;society oftenfails toemphasize the importance of education and learning (PCAST, 2010). Each year 1.3 million American students drop out of high school and do not get a diploma. The average American schoolchild watches four hours of television a day, during which they view 54 commercials whosecontent isdirected by companies encouraging the youth of America to buy some type of toy, food, or current pop culture gizmo (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2006). This emphasis, in turn,has created a society of consumers.