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1. Development of a Spatial Visualization Assessment Tool for Younger Students Using a Lego™ Assembly Task

   https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--34452  

   Delson, Nathan ; Van Den Einde, Lelli ; Tuazon, Jessica ; Yang, Daniel ( June 2020 , 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access)

   null (Ed.)

   In recent years, it has increasingly been recognized that spatial visualization skills are important in supporting student success in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education and retention of these students in STEM careers. Many first year college engineering programs and high schools with pre-engineering curriculum have incorporated spatial visualization training into their courses. However, there is no reason why spatial visualization training could not occur at a much younger age, like elementary school. Often at the high school and college level, the Purdue Spatial Visualization Test: Rotations (PSVT:R), which is recognized as a gold standard assessment tool, is used to measure students’ spatial skills learning gains. The PSVT:R is a 20 minute timed test consisting of 30 three-dimensional rotations problems. While the PSVT:R test has been well validated, there are benefits to developing alternative methods of assessing spatial visualization skills suitable for elementary school grades. Researchers at XXX developed an assembly pre- and post- test based upon a timed Lego™ exercise. Students are timed to see how long it would take them to build small Lego shapes using only a picture of the final assembly, but no instructions. The test was implemented at the beginning and then at the end of the quarter/semester. The beauty of this assessment is that it lends itself well to K-12 students. The 20 minute, timed PSVT:R test is too challenging for elementary aged children and is not engaging. In order to validate the new instrument, the Lego™ Assembly test was implemented in a pilot study in 2 college freshman engineering courses using students who could do both the PSVT:R and the Lego Assembly™ assessments. At the beginning of the class all students took the PSVT:R test, and half the students performed a Lego™ assembly of one shape and the other half did the assembly test with another shape. During the class the students completed spatial visualization training which taught them how to sketch orthographic and isometric assignments using a mobile sketching app. At the end of the class the PSVT:R test was repeated for all students. The Lego Assembly™ test was also completed, but the students switched which shape they were building. This approach allowed us to normalize the difficulty of the assembly tasks based upon the average time it took to build the shapes in the pre-test. The Lego Assembly™ test was first implemented in winter and spring of 2018. The data showed a correlation of the R-Squared of 0.11 between the assembly times and the PSVT:R scores in pre-test and 0.14 in post-test. However, analysis of the assembly times indicated that the difficulty of the 2 Lego shapes were significantly different, which could skew the normalization of the assembly times. Accordingly, the test was repeated in winter and spring 2019 with Lego shapes of similar difficulty. This paper describes the results of the assembly tess in all 4 classes, and its suitability for a spatial visualization assessment for elementary school age students. 

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2. Teaching little kids big sentences: A randomized controlled trial showing that children with DLD respond to complex syntax intervention embedded within the context of preschool/kindergarten science instruction

   https://doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.12882  

   Owen Van Horne, Amanda J. ; Curran, Maura ; Cook, Susan Wagner ; Cole, Renée ; McGregor, Karla K. ( May 2023 , International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders)

   The language of the science curriculum is complex, even in the early grades. To communicate their scientific observations, children must produce complex syntax, particularly complement clauses (e.g.,I think it will float;We noticed that it vibrates). Complex syntax is often challenging for children with developmental language disorder (DLD), and thus their learning and communication of science may be compromised.

   We asked whether recast therapy delivered in the context of a science curriculum led to gains in complement clause use and scientific content knowledge. To understand the efficacy of recast therapy, we compared changes in science and language knowledge in children who received treatment for complement clauses embedded in a first‐grade science curriculum to two active control conditions (vocabulary + science, phonological awareness + science).

   This 2‐year single‐site three‐arm parallel randomized controlled trial was conducted in Delaware, USA. Children with DLD, not yet in first grade and with low accuracy on complement clauses, were eligible. Thirty‐three 4–7‐year‐old children participated in the summers of 2018 and 2019 (2020 was cancelled due to COVID‐19). We assigned participants to arms using 1:1:1 pseudo‐random allocation (avoiding placing siblings together). The intervention consisted of 39 small‐group sessions of recast therapy, robust vocabulary instruction or phonological awareness intervention during eight science units over 4 weeks, followed by two science units (1 week) taught without language intervention. Pre‐/post‐measures were collected 3 weeks before and after camp by unmasked assessors.

   Primary outcome measures were accuracy on a 20‐item probe of complement clause production and performance on ten 10‐item unit tests (eight science + language, two science only). Complete data were available for 31 children (10 grammar, 21 active control); two others were lost to follow‐up. Both groups made similar gains on science unit tests for science + language content (pre versus post,d= 2.9,p< 0.0001; group,p= 0.24). The grammar group performed significantly better at post‐test than the active control group (d= 2.5,p= 0.049) on complement clause probes and marginally better on science‐only unit tests (d= 2.5,p= 0.051).

   Children with DLD can benefit from language intervention embedded in curricular content and learn both language and science targets taught simultaneously. Tentative findings suggest that treatment for grammar targets may improve academic outcomes.

   We know that recast therapy focused on morphology is effective but very time consuming. Treatment for complex syntax in young children has preliminary efficacy data available. Prior research provides mixed evidence as to children’s ability to learn language targets in conjunction with other information.

   This study provides additional data supporting the efficacy of intensive complex syntax recast therapy for children ages 4–7 with Developmental Language Disorder. It also provides data that children can learn language targets and science curricular content simultaneously.

   As SLPs, we have to talk about something to deliver language therapy; we should consider talking about curricular content. Recast therapy focused on syntactic frames is effective with young children.

    

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3. Long-Term Outcomes of RET Programs on Female and Minority Student High School Graduation Rates and Undergraduate STEM Major Rates (Fundamental)

   Nichol, C. ; Crawford, C. A. ; Barr, C. ; Cerda, I. ( January 2021 , ASEE Annual Conference proceedings)

   null (Ed.)

   Research Experience for Teachers (RET) programs are National Science Foundation (NSF) funded programs designed to provide K- 12 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) teachers with immersive, hands-on research experiences at Universities around the country. The NSF RET in nanotechnology encourages teachers to translate cutting-edge research into culturally relevant Project-Based Learning (PjBL) and engineering curriculum. Traditionally, the evaluation of RET programs focuses on the growth and development of teacher self-efficacy, engineering content knowledge gains, or classroom implementation of developed curriculum materials. However, reported methods for evaluating the impact of RETs on their female, minority student populations' high school graduation and undergraduate STEM major rates are limited. This study's objective was to compare RET high school student graduation rates and undergraduate STEM major rates across gender, race, and ethnicity to a comparison sample to determine the RET program's long-term impact on students' likelihood of pursuing STEM careers. The approach of collecting and analyzing the Texas Education Research Center Database (EdRC) data is a novel methodology for assessing RET programs' effectiveness on students. The EdRC is a repository of K-12 student data from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and Higher Education data from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB). This joint database contains demographic, course registration, graduation, standardized testing, and college major, among others, for all students that attended a K-12 public school in Texas and any college in Texas, public or private. The RET program participants at Rice University (2010 – 2018) taught numerous students, a sample size of 11,240 students. A propensity score matching generated the student comparison group within the database. Students' school campus, gender, race/ethnic status, and English proficiency status were applied to produce a graduation comparison sample size of 11,240 students of Non-RET participants. Linking the TEA database to the THECB database resulted in college STEM participants and comparison sample sizes of 4,029 students. The project team conducted a logistic regression using RET status to predict high school graduation rates as a whole and by individual variables: gender, Asian American, Black, Caucasian, and Latinx students. All models were significant at p less than 0.05, with models in favor of students RET teachers. The project team conducted a logistic regression using RET status to predict student STEM undergraduate major rates as a whole and by individual variables: Gender, Asian American, Black, Caucasian, and Latinx students. African American and Caucasian models were significant at p less than 0.05; Gender, Asian American, and Latinx models were marginally significant (0.05 less than p greater than 0.1), where RET students had higher STEM major rates than matched controls. The findings demonstrate that RET programs have a long-term positive impact on the students' high school graduation rates and undergraduate STEM major rates. As teachers who participate in the RET programs are more likely to conduct courses using PjBL strategies and incorporate real-world engineering practices, female and minority students are more likely to benefit from these practices and seek careers utilizing these skills. 

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4. Predicting student science achievement using post‐unit assessment performances in a coherent high school chemistry project‐based learning system

   https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21815  

   He, Peng ; Chen, I‐Chien ; Touitou, Israel ; Bartz, Kayla ; Schneider, Barbara ; Krajcik, Joseph ( September 2022 , Journal of Research in Science Teaching)

   Student science proficiency development demands sustainable and coherent learning environment support. Scholars argue that project‐based learning (PBL) is an efficient approach to promoting student science learning, compared to conventional instructions. Yet, few studies have delved into the learning process to explore how a coherent PBL system consisting of curriculum, instruction, assessment, and professional learning promotes student learning. To address the gap, this study investigated whether students' science proficiency on the three post‐unit assessments predicted their achievement on a third‐party‐designed end‐of‐year summative science test in a coherent high school chemistry PBL system aligned with the recent US science standards. The study employed a cluster randomized experimental design to test an intervention using our PBL system and only used data from the treatment group. The sample consisted of 1344 treatment students who participated in our PBL intervention and underwent the pretest and end‐of‐year summative test. Students' responses to the three post‐unit assessments were selected and rated to indicate their science proficiency. Two‐level hierarchical linear models were employed to explore the effects of students' performances of three post‐unit assessments on their end‐of‐year summative achievement, considering and controlling for student prior knowledge (i.e., pretest and prior post‐unit assessments). This study suggests two main findings. First, students' science proficiency in the three units could cumulatively and individually predict their summative science achievement. Second, students' performances on the two types of tasks (i.e., developing and using models) in the three post‐unit assessments could also be used to predict their summative science achievement. This research contributes to the field by showing that a coherent standards‐aligned PBL system can significantly and sustainably impact student science proficiency development.

    

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5. Hands-On Statics to Improve Conceptual Understanding and Representational Competence

   Davishahl, E. ; Singleton, L. ; Haskell, T. ; Rupe, K. ( June 2022 , Proceedings ASEE annual conference)

   Mechanics instructors frequently employ hands-on learning with goals such as demonstrating physical phenomena, aiding visualization, addressing misconceptions, exposing students to “real-world” problems, and promoting an engaging classroom environment. This paper presents results from a study exploring the importance of the “hands-on” aspect of a hands-on modeling curriculum we have been developing that spans several topics in statics. The curriculum integrates deep conceptual exploration with analysis procedure tutorials and aims to scaffold students’ development of representational competence, the ability to use multiple representations of a concept as appropriate for learning, problem solving, and communication. We conducted this study over two subsequent terms in an online statics course taught in the context of remote learning amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The intervention section used a take-home adaptation of the original classroom curriculum. This adaptation consisted of eight activity worksheets with a supplied kit of manipulatives and model-building supplies students could use to construct and explore concrete representations of figures and diagrams used in the worksheets. In contrast, the control section used activity worksheets nearly identical to those used in the hands-on curriculum, but without the associated modeling parts kit. We only made minor revisions to the worksheets to remove reference to the models. The control and intervention sections were otherwise identical in how they were taught by the same instructor. We compare learning outcomes between the two sections as measured via pre-post administration of a test of 3D vector concepts and representations called the Test of Representational Competence with Vectors (TRCV). We also compare end of course scores on the Concept Assessment Test in Statics (CATS) and final exam scores. In addition, we analyze student responses on two “multiple choice plus explain” concept questions paired with each of five activities covering the topics of 3D moments, 3D particle equilibrium, rigid body equilibrium (2D and 3D), and frame analysis (2D). The mean pre/post gain across all ten questions was higher for the intervention section, with the largest differences observed on questions relating to 3D rigid body equilibrium. Students in the intervention section also made larger gains on the TRCV and scored better on the final exam compared to the control section, but these results are not statistically significant perhaps due to the small study population. There were no appreciable differences in end-of-course CATS scores. We also present student feedback on the activity worksheets that was slightly more positive for the versions with the models. 

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