Anthony J. Petrosino

Expert Blind Spot Among Preservice Teachers

This study (N = 48) examined the relationship between preservice secondary teachers’ subject-matter expertise in mathematics and their judgments of students’ algebra problem-solving difficulty. As predicted by the “expert blind spot” hypothesis, participants with more advanced mathematics education, regardless of their program affiliation or teaching plans, were more likely to view symbolic reasoning and mastery of equations as a necessary prerequisite for word equations and story problem solving. This view is in contrast with students’ actual performance patterns. An examination across several subject areas, including mathematics, science, and language arts, suggests a common pattern. This article considers how teachers’ developmental views may influence classroom practice and professional development, and calls into question policies that seek to streamline the licensure process of new teachers on the basis of their subject-matter expertise.

Multimedia Environments for Enhancing Science Instruction

The Scientists-in-Action series is a multimedia environment for anchoring science instruction in meaningful contexts. Video anchors are designed according to research-based design principles and used in classroom contexts with adolescents. In two experiments, students who worked with an episode about a chemical spill showed gains in content knowledge and more positive attitudes toward science and scientists than did students who did not see the episode.

An analysis of horizontal and vertical device design for school-related teaching and learning

This paper reviews and analyzes 12 horizontal and vertical design attributes of devices for school-related use. Horizontal design is the familiar all-things-to-all-people, ‘just-in-case’ design associated with desk-top, laptop, and mainframe computing. Less familiar is the ‘vertical’ or ‘just-enough’ dimension of computational design, where device functionality is tightly coupled with specific needs in identifiable speciality markets. We believe that equitable access to key forms of learning functionality for all students and issues of total cost of ownership will provide the impetus for K–12 schooling to integrate horizontal and vertical technologies. We use two physically similar but functionally distinct portable handheld devices to illustrate the 12 design attributes. Representing horizontal design are Palm™ operating system-based handhelds and representing vertical design are graphing calculators.

Evolution Education: Seeing the Forest for the Trees and Focusing Our Efforts on the Teaching of Evolution

Evolution is the underlying framework upon which all biology is based; however, when it comes to learning evolutionary concepts, many students encounter obstacles. There are many reasons as to why these obstacles occur. These reasons deal with evolution being treated as a discrete topic among many within a biology curriculum, misunderstanding the nature of science, and personal difficulties with understanding due to evolution’s seemingly abstract nature. In this article, we propose a different way of thinking about and teaching evolution in grades K-12, and it surrounds four core areas essential to the understanding of evolution: variation, selection, inheritance, and deep time. Possibilities for how these areas can affect learning are described and implications for assessment are also discussed.

Meeting the ISTE Challenge in the Field: An Overview of the First Six Distinguished Achievement Award Winning Programs

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The Mars Mission Challenge: A Generative, Problem-Solving School Science Environment

The Mars Mission Challenge is an extension of the anchored instruction approach (Cognition & Technology Group at Vanderbilt, 1990; in press) that is designed to motivate and prime students to think about and attempt to solve the scientific problems associated with sending women and men to Mars. The theoretical background of the project and some initial empirical data on the project are reported.

Decentralized thinking and understanding of evolution in K-12 evolution education

BackgroundPrevious work found four areas critical to understanding evolution: variation, selection, inheritance, and deep time.MethodsAn exploratory qualitative approach was taken with a variety of data sources from a larger data corpus. Data were analyzed for emphasis of either decentralized or centralized thinking. Data were analyzed and discussed exploring how a group of high school biology teachers from the same department taught evolutionary concepts.ResultsThe paper presents evidence that demonstrates a common lack of thinking from this perspective or incorrectly thinking that evolutionary processes are “driven” by some centralized force.ConclusionsWe now identify a critical fifth component: decentralized mindset or thinking of evolution as a complex system. Possibilities of how this new area can affect learning about evolution are discussed and implications for assessment are also discussed.

The Challenges of Understanding Fluid in Fluid Density

Teachers’ understanding of science concepts must be deeper than just factual knowledge. They need to understand how the facts are connected and relate to the natural world. Weather, ocean currents, and tectonic movement are all phenomena listed in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Although understanding density of fluids within fluids is not directly mentioned in the NGSS, students need to understand fluid density in order to explain these common yet complex phenomena. We extended a familiar science activity of making a density column in order to help teachers understand the expectations of NGSS. Understanding the causes of the phenomena is critical for teachers. We found when students do not understand, they are more likely to substitute concrete or active causal factors, such as weight or force. We issued to our teachers the following challenge: “Make a density column with these 4 mystery liquids.” As our students were in the process of determining the correct order to add the liquids, we noticed they confused mass and viscosity with density. In light of the expectations of the NGSS, we need to change the way teachers are prepared. They need time and space to practice connecting the concepts in practice. Therefore, teachers need help to connect the concepts to past experiences as well as time to reflect and revise. Teachers need to develop a mindset as a lifelong learner powered by their reflections and drive to help students understand science.

Work in progress - UTeachEngineering: Innovative program to train qualified K-12 engineering teachers

The University of Texas at Austins Cockrell School of Engineering, College of Education, UTeach Natural Sciences program and the Austin Independent School District are collaborating to develop and deliver UTeachEngineering, an innovative, design-based curriculum for preparing secondary teachers to meet the growing need for engineering teachers in Texas.

The mission to mars Webliographer: a principled approach to the design of a CSCL tool

The Mission to Mars Webliographer is a tool which allows children and adults to collaborate and synthesize Internet resources for research in context rich, sustained learning environments. In communicating the process of software development and analysis that went into the Mission to Mars Webliographer, we use a framework first proposed by Koschmann et al. (1996). This framework is a four step model which articulates the desired instructional features of the tool, analyzes current practice in light of design goals, develops a specialization for the tool based on both the instructional requirements of the setting and the known capabilities of the technology, and produces an implementation that allows for adaptation to instructional practice. Preliminary findings indicate that the Mission to Mars Webliographer is an effective tool for time management issues concerning student research in project-based classrooms utilizing the Internet. In addition, teacher interviews and classroom observations indicate that students Internet use is more focused and on-task when utilizing the Mission to Mars Webliographer as opposed to more traditional Internet in research activities.