Joshua Ellis

Driven by Beliefs: Understanding Challenges Physical Science Teachers Face When Integrating Engineering and Physics.

It is difficult to ignore the increased use of technological innovations in today’s world, which has led to various calls for the integration of engineering into K-12 science standards. The need to understand how engineering is currently being brought to science classrooms is apparent and necessary in order to address these calls for integration. This multiphase, mixed-methods study investigated the classroom practices and beliefs of high school physical science teachers following an intensive professional development on physics and engineering integration. Classroom observations showed that teachers new to incorporating engineering into their physical science classrooms often struggled to maintain focus on physics concepts, focusing instead on the development of the ‘‘soft skills’’ needed by engineers, such as teamwork or communication. Interviews and surveys further revealed the beliefs of these teachers when considering integrating engineering into physics lessons. Teachers placed student engagement and enjoyment high on their priority list when considering integrating engineering into their classroom. In addition to this somewhat driving force, three main components were identified as important when considering engineering in physical science classrooms: providing hands-on experiences for students, allowing students to apply physics concepts, and developing general problem solving skills that students can take to the ‘‘real-world.’’ While teachers identified both physics and engineering goals for their students, they realized that their students learned more about how to be an engineer. Results from this study provide insight on obstacles current science teachers face as they begin to add engineering to their classrooms. Overall, teachers are motivated to bring engineering to their classrooms as a result of student enjoyment of engineering activities. This may drive the creation of teacher goals for students and determine how emphasis is placed on different goals during these engineering design challenges. Implications for this study include ascertaining knowledge about teacher beliefs prior to professional development, fostering discussions about what integration looks like in the classroom, and modeling the creation of instructional goals that include both physics and engineering content.

A simple technique to measure the magnetic susceptibility of liquids

A novel technique for measuring the magnetic susceptibility of liquids with modest applied magnetic fields (order of 0.25 T) is presented. The deformation of the liquid surface by a magnetic field is determined by a laser bounce or optical lever technique. The energy balance between the magnetic energy and the gravitational potential of the diamagnetic or paramagnetic liquid interaction is used to determine the susceptibility. The energy due to the surface tension energy is about 10% of the gravitational energy and can be neglected for fast measurements.

Understanding Science Teachers' Implementations of Integrated STEM Curricular Units through a Phenomenological Multiple Case Study.

BackgroundCurrent reforms in K-12 STEM education call for integration between science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Such integration of STEM disciplines at the K-12 level offers students an opportunity to experience learning in real-world, multidisciplinary contexts; however, there is little reported research about teachers’ experiences in engaging in integrated STEM instruction. The purpose of this phenomenological multiple case study is to understand nine science teachers’ first-time experiences in implementing integrated STEM curricular units in their middle school physical science classrooms. This study draws upon both classroom implementation data and teacher reflective interviews to illustrate different degrees of integrated STEM instruction and to understand teachers’ challenges and successes with these varying approaches.ResultsOur results indicate three distinct cases of integration within our sample that represent low, medium, and high degrees of STEM integration throughout curriculum implementations. Interviews with teachers from each case revealed three themes that varied across teachers’ experiences: the nature of integration, choosing between science and engineering, and student engagement and motivation. Teachers in all three cases were challenged to make explicit connections between science, engineering, and mathematics while simultaneously maintaining a motivating and engaging context for their students throughout their instruction. Further, it appears that the degree of STEM integration that occurs in instruction may be related to teachers’ ability to make explicit connections between the disciplines.ConclusionsThe work presented here informs educational researchers, policy makers, and K-12 STEM educators that there are several challenges when it comes to implementing new STEM initiatives in K-12 education. Although this work is limited to middle school physical science teachers’ experiences with first-time STEM instruction, many of the identified themes are not content-specific; therefore, this work may shed light on general struggles that are common to educators who are integrating across content disciplines for the first time.