skip to main content

Attention:

The NSF Public Access Repository (NSF-PAR) system and access will be unavailable from 11:00 PM ET on Friday, November 15 until 2:00 AM ET on Saturday, November 16 due to maintenance. We apologize for the inconvenience.


Search for: All records

Creators/Authors contains: "Otto, S"

Note: When clicking on a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) number, you will be taken to an external site maintained by the publisher. Some full text articles may not yet be available without a charge during the embargo (administrative interval).
What is a DOI Number?

Some links on this page may take you to non-federal websites. Their policies may differ from this site.

  1. This middle school STEM unit called Energy in Your Environment (EYE) was co-created by middle school science teachers, architectural studies, and science education faculty with the goal of improving students’ energy literacy and energy conservation knowledge. The unit fosters place-based education by using the school building to enhance systems thinking about energy consumption and flow between the building and surrounding environment. Within the unit, students explore the role of electrical, thermal, and light energy in their school building and consider how building features (such as windows, lighting, and insulation) impact energy flow and conservation. Students use their energy systems knowledge to design and build a desk-top one-room energy efficient building using simple materials to explain how and why their design impacts energy flow. Five teachers implemented the unit with over 200 students. The growth from pre- to post-measurements was statistically significant for students energy flow knowledge and tracing the path of energy (F(1, 209) = 3118.3, p = 0.001). In our presentation, we will provide an overview of the unit, our student learning data, and result summary. 
    more » « less
  2. Development of innovative curriculum materials is a mainstay strategy in research-driven classroom interventions and teacher professional development. Yet even when curricular materials are co-developed by teachers planning to implement the materials, they still must navigate the unique needs and constraints of their classrooms. This study explores differentiated enactment of a co-developed place-based middle school energy literacy unit. The unit uses the school building as a place-based resource to increase student awareness and understanding of fundamental energy concepts, impacts and interactions of natural and human-made energy systems, and considerations for energy efficient building features through engineering design. This multiple-case explores how five teachers across four middle schools in the same school district enacted the unit. Each teacher’s enactment was characterized using Coburn’s (2004) five levels, which are: rejection (materials not enacted), symbolic (materials implemented superficially), parallel structures (materials are implemented with existing practices), assimilation (adopts the materials but transforms materials to fit internal and external factors), and accommodation (enacts the materials with minor changes). We observed symbolic, assimilation, accommodation, and rejection across the teachers, with enactment modes varying across different phases of unit implementation. We analyzed interview and observational data for internal and external factors that shaped their implementation. Internal factors included opportunities for novel teaching and making connections to existing curriculum, activities, and/or practical knowledge. External factors included the presence, or absence, of building supports, inadequate class time, non-core class status, and COVID-19 policies. Internal factors generally supported teachers’ enactment of the materials, whereas external factors that could not be negotiated caused barriers to enactment. Our implications for this work include the importance of teacher support for new curriculum implementation. 
    more » « less
  3. A widespread adaptive change in antiherbivore response is seen in a common plant species in urban environments across 160 cities. 
    more » « less