Leslee Francis Pelton

Closing the Science, Mathematics, and Reading Gaps from a Canadian Perspective: Implications for Stem Mainstream and Pipeline Literacy

This chapter describes how diversity and consistency are central features of multiculturalism in Canada and schooling across the 13 jurisdictions of the Canadian federation. Mathematics, reading, and science achievement gaps were explored using performance differences in comparison with other countries (Program of International Student Assessment (PISA)), across provinces and territories (PISA 2009 results, Pan-Canadian Assessment Program (PCAP)), and within a specific province (British Columbia (BC), Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA); grade 10 and 12 provincial examinations and course marks). Reasonably acceptable performance patterns, informative relationships among student traits, school characteristics and achievement, and provincial/territorial, school, gender, and Indigenous status differences were found for science, mathematics, and reading. Secondary analyses of large data sets were central to these explorations. Topics discussed include public advocacy, ongoing cultural issues, social capital, potential curriculum efforts, and pedagogical strategies to capitalize on these performance patterns and then address these gaps that would enhance citizens’ science, technology/engineering, and mathematics (ST/EM) literacies (mainstream issue) and the engagement of underserved and underrepresented groups of students in ST/EM courses, postsecondary studies, and careers (pipeline issue).

Developing Mastery of Time Concepts by Integrating Lessons and Apps

Learning applications (apps) for iPads/tablets are becoming commonplace in the elementary classroom, yet there is very little research evidence to support the adoption and use of such. This chapter details our initial efforts to empirically validate the utility of a researcher-designed iPad app by integrating it into a series of collaboratively created lessons to facilitate learning of clock-reading and time concepts. A lesson study approach was used to design, refine, and improve the intervention, which included teacher-led activities, discussions, and structured use of the iPad app. Data collected included student responses to four parallel curriculum-based assessments, classroom observations, and interviews. We present our results and discuss the implications for learning time concepts, for iPad use in the classroom, for our future research efforts, and for continued app development.

Outreach Workshops, Applications, and Resources

Many elementary and middle school teachers’ confidence and competence with respect to science, mathematics, and technology (SMT) topics and effective information communication technology (ICT) use in support of student learning is limited. This is often an echo of sparse opportunities to experience authentic, meaningful, SMT-related activities and effective technology use in their own educational experiences (K–university). In the Pacific CRYSTAL Project, technology, which emphasizes design to adapt the environment to address or alleviate problems, is taken to include engineering and computer science (see Yore, Chapter 2 this book).