This report is based on several evaluations of NSF-funded geoscience projects at Stony Brook University on Long Island, NY. The report reviews the status of K-12 geoscience education, identifying challenges posed by the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), the experiences of university faculty engaged in teacher preparation, state…

The purpose of this action research proposal is to create a Modification of Instruments and Tools in Science (MITS) program to address the need for providing Students With Disabilities (SWDs) appropriate access to scientific tools and techniques of scientific inquiry. This proposal contains a review of literature on SWDs, differentiating…

This report describes the origin and development of CESAME (The Center for Science and Mathematics Education) at Stony Brook University. The analysis identifies key ingredients in areas of personnel, funding, organizational structures, educational priorities, collaboration, and institutionalization. After a discussion of relevant issues in…

We have designed and implemented a novel microbiology elective course "Microbiology of Urban Spaces" to provide students with a transformative education in microbial ecology and genomics. It champions the values of general education while making sure students are well equipped for their future careers. Infusing my personal research into…

The present study examined the associations between self-regulated learning and science achievement and whether the academic self-regulation variables described, such as self-efficacy, delay of gratification, and help seeking, predict science achievement in courses deemed necessary for a major in science. It was hypothesized that students who do…

This paper is designed to accompany an appearance by the author as a panelist during a session on science fiction and teaching methods at the I-CON 28 Science Fiction Convention held April 3-5, 2009, on Long Island (near New York City). The author describes how he employs social science fiction in an honors course at the university level to…

Each year, the U.S. invites thousands of foreign-born and foreign-educated professionals as immigrants and on temporary visas, including academicians. In some academic programs such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics, these foreign-born professionals represent an imposing mass, while in others, they are relatively invisible. This…

There, undoubtedly, will be a flurry of research activity in the "Superstorm" Sandy impact area on a myriad of disaster-related topics, across academic disciplines. The purpose of this study was to review the disaster research related specifically to hurricanes in the educational and social sciences that would best serve as a compendium…

Educators in the U.S. and Japan have developed an international program to promote creative thinking in science. Their program includes a science fair component. This paper (which has been presented in both the U.S. and Japan) discusses creativity and describes a science fair activity, that the authors recently carried out in Japan. The special…

This study investigates the social studies teaching practices of sixty-seven elementary teachers who are part of an alternative master's degree program in New York City. The respondents' program emphasizes constructivist and inquiry based teaching practices in its social studies methods courses. The findings are from an exit survey that was…

Descriptive vocabulary is needed for communication and mental processing of science observations. Elementary preservice teachers in a science methods class at a mid-sized public college in central New York State increased their descriptive vocabularies through a course assignment of making a descriptive adjective object box. This teaching material…

Challenged by our 7th U.S. Secretary of Education, Rod Paige, when he said "Dream how technology can not only improve education but also transform what we think of as education," we made this dream a reality in an elementary classroom in the Bronx. The dream of improving and transforming education through technology became possible as a…

This report is the based on a 10-year study of the activities developed under a National Science Foundation (NSF) Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) grant to a collaborative of institutions from the State University of New York. The goals of LSAMP are to recruit and retain under-represented minority students in the STEM…

This project used a constructivist teaching method, "white boarding", in a high school biology classroom. This study was conducted to measure the effectiveness of white boarding activities. White boarding is a term used to describe the student use of a 3' x 2' sheet of tile board to record group work. After the teacher presents a…