SEOCEMS Granting Teachers the Opportunity for Research in Math and Science |
Dedication to improving math and science education in area public high schools brought a group of educators to Ohio University's campus on August 4th for SEOCEMS' annual CSI conference. |
The CSI Grant
This year, seven Collaborative Study Investigation (CSI) teams shared their findings on research projects dealing with advanced technology in classrooms, increasing the length of math and science classes and taking lessons outside to apply learning to the real world.
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Teachers shared the outcomes of their experiments at the annual conference. |
The Southeast Center for Excellence in Mathematics and Science (SEOCEMS) brings math and science teachers together every year to share their plans and results of research projects, funded by the center. Grants are given to groups of teachers partnered with higher education faculty who come together to form CSI teams. They are expected to use their grant money on a research project lasting two years.
Real World Application Leads to Real World Recognition
Beaver High School
Math and science teachers at Beaver High School successfully found a way to engage both science and math students in a collaborative project.
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Seven teams of teachers experimented with technology, time and nature in their math and science classes. |
The teachers worked as a team in a modified lesson study format. Science students worked with Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) workers to assess a local stream’s quality by collecting macro invertebrates found in the stream. Math students worked together to develop surveys and analyze the science students’ attitudes towards and comprehension of their field research.
“We hope to engage students as active learners instead of passive listeners retaining information,” Jodi Haylett, a Beaver high school science teacher said.
The research project was so successful that the student’s findings were included in ODNR’s annual stream quality report. They have also been invited to present their project and findings at this year’s National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) Conference to be held in Cincinnati.
“The students really enjoyed doing scientific research and getting their results published. They were very proud of themselves and now understand the things they are learning in the classroom are valid and very usable,” Haylett said.
Dedicating A Little More Time to Math and Science
Tri-County Career Center
The CSI team made up of math teachers at Tri-County Career Center and Alexander Middle School presented their completed research project at the conference. Their team researched the effect of spending additional time in mathematics classes or on specific mathematics concepts.
The Tri-County team focused on increasing students’ data analysis skills after scores on the OGT rendered a 62 percent deficiency rate in that area.
The team tested students on different aspects of data analysis to decipher which types of graphs, tables and charts students were having trouble with and where teachers needed to focus their lessons.
They found that if the students developed better skills in analyzing and interpreting graphs, charts and tables within the math curriculum, it did flow over into the students’ other academics because those concepts are found across the curriculum.
Alexander Middle School
The Alexander team used the funding to implement an 88-minute math block, increasing the length of regular math class for students in seventh and eighth grades. They worked together to develop new lesson plans that focused on real-life mathematics, for instance determining how many bales of hay could fit into a barn – taking into account the dimensions of the building. The team noted that when students were given a real-world problem, they became more engaged and had marked improvements in their grades.
“In the two classes that had 88-minute blocked time, scores went up [on Ohio Achievement Tests] while in the classes that still had the traditional 45-minute class time, scores went down,” Kathy Keiter, an Alexander math teacher said.
Is Technology the Answer?
Sheridan
The CSI team composed of math teachers from Sheridan Middle School was one of three teams to study the effects of incorporating technology into the classroom. The team has completed their research project, which studied the effect of SMART Boards - interactive white boards that allow teachers to use virtual graphing calculators, software and internet applications simultaneously. With the help of the CSI grant, three out of seven math and science classes are now using SMART Boards.
“The use of technology definitely increased student engagement and participation,” team member Cecelia Smith said.
The team agreed that an added benefit of conducting their research was the administration’s increased awareness and encouragement.
“Before our involvement in the CSI grant, we never asked for things. But now, we have begun to ask our administration what kinds of technology are already available to us and how to use it,” team member Ann Lindsay said.
Adams County
Science teachers from the Adams County/Ohio Valley Local School District have completed one year of their research on the effect of including technology in science classrooms. Their goal is to capture students’ attention better, leading to improved scores on the OGT test.
The team used their funding to purchase different forms of technology for science classrooms, including internet applications and projectors, while studying the effect the equipment had on their students’ learning. Their first-year goal was to make sure all teachers involved had the same new technology available in their classrooms.
“Technology is a great learning tool in the science classroom, for we can’t have one without the other. Yet the use is limited without the supplies and funding,” the team said.
In their second year of research, the team plans to purchase hand-held computer notebooks for use in the classroom while continuing to research how test scores are impacted.
Marietta
Science teachers from Marietta Middle School along with professors from Marietta College presented their plan to research the effect of incorporating technology into science classrooms. The team hopes to investigate how the use of SMARTBoards, iPods, graphing calculators, and other new technologies can improve student learning.
“Today’s students are utilizing a large variety of technologies outside of school and these technologies are engaging them,” the team reported. “We want to bring these technologies into the classroom and use them to interpret data, conduct scientific investigations, and reach conclusions.”
The CSI team believes an added benefit to their research will be the school’s implementation of Professional Learning Communities, or combined planning periods for teachers. They will allow for added collaboration between all teachers and a time for the CSI team to meet and discuss their research project.
“We will address four main questions: what do we want our students to know, how will we teach them, what happens when they learn it, and what will we do when they do not learn it?” team member Kim Depue, a science teacher from Marietta Middle School, said.
Making Differentiated Instruction Possible
Meigs
Math and science teachers from Meigs Middle and High Schools along with a professor from the University of Rio Grande presented their findings from the first of their two year research project.
The team focused on the impact of differentiated instruction, or altering teaching approaches for each child so that their needs are being met. They studied this type of instruction through holding workshops, panel discussions, and collecting data from student test scores.
“Effective teachers have been differentiating instruction for as long as teaching has been a profession,” the team reported. “It has to do with being sensitive to the needs of your students and finding ways to help students make the necessary connections for learning to occur in the best possible way.”
SEOCEMS
SEOCEMS was established in 2003 in order to meet the diverse needs of southeast Ohio’s mathematics and science educators and their students. The group is partners with the University of Rio Grande and Rio Grande Community College, Shawnee State University and the Coalition of Rural and Appalachian Schools. Core funding comes from the Ohio Board of Regents (OBR).
SEOCEMS is not yet an official Ohio University center but hopes to become one in the future. It is led by a Leadership Team of faculty from Ohio University’s The Gladys W. and David H. Patton College of Education and College of Arts and Sciences, as well as partnership universities and three Local Advisory Boards (LABs) consisting of STEM faculty, administrators, business leaders, community leaders, medical professionals and school educators.
Support at the conference came from the partnering schools’ administrations, Dean Renée A. Middleton and Provost Barbara Hatfield from the University of Rio Grande who all spoke at the conference.
“The fact that you’re here indicates that you recognize the importance of professional development,” Dean Middleton said, “I’m delighted these kinds of conferences are taking place in Southeast Ohio.”
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