UMD Theses and Dissertations
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Item COMPUTATIONAL THINKING IN EARLY GRADE CLASSROOMS: HOW YOUNG LEARNERS INTERACT WITH PHYSICAL DEVICES TO GROUND THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF COMPUTATIONAL THINKING(2024) Bih epse Fofang, Janet Shufor; Weintrop, David; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Computational thinking (CT) has been supported as an important skill every young person should possess for the 21st century, with possible implications for problem-solving, self-expression, and creativity. Numerous initiatives, both within and outside classroom settings, have been developed in response to policy mandates aiming at broadening participation for all K-12 learners to acquire CT skills. Consequently, there has been a proliferation of computational toys and tools specifically designed for young learners, including codable robots introduced into classrooms and educational environments. With the growing prevalence of computational devices in educational settings, educators, curriculum designers, and researchers must cultivate diverse teaching approaches and deepen their understanding of how young learners engage with these devices to acquire CT skills effectively within classroom contexts. In this dissertation, I present findings of how elementary-grade learners develop CT skills when they program Sphero robots in mathematics classroom activities. I specifically focused on the kinds of representations students developed, considering their perspectives (understanding) of the environment, and the practices they engaged in to accomplish given tasks.To understand how young learners acquired CT skills, I observed fourth-grade learners as they interacted with activities on the Sphero.Math curriculum to program the Sphero robot in mathematics classrooms. The Sphero.Math curriculum was developed through a collaborative effort between researchers and DCPS partners. Findings from this work revealed that representations play an important role in supporting young learners to engage in CT practices such as Pattern recognition, algorithm design, problem decomposition, and abstraction (PRADA). Findings showed that representations such as (1) concrete manipulatives, (2) language, (3) graphic, (4) symbolic and (5) embodied representations provide scaffolds for learners to gain (PRADA), CT skills through iterating, testing, debugging, abstracting, modularizing, and reusing code. Additionally, the design features of the Sphero robot and its programming environment support CT knowledge acquisition. Features such as (1) programmable LEDs provided opportunities for learners to break down tasks and create opportunities to organize and structure components to get visual feedback that helped them recognize patterns. (2) Taillight (“aim”) LED provided visual cues, that facilitated the involvement of geocentric orientation and embodied practices that empowered students to establish sensorimotor references. (3) Sphero’s virtual protractor supported students through the CT component of abstraction to address the geocentric aspects of the Sphero robot. (4) block-based environment/language, that involves the use of shapes and colors as effective visual aids and abstraction tools, to support the learners’ construct to algorithms. This research can serve as a resource for researchers, curriculum designers, educators, and designers to answer questions about design, choice of computational tools, and their respective programming environments that can afford meaningful CT experiences. Familiarizing learners with representations within CT robotics learning environments serves as a gentle initiation into emerging topics in education such as AI, ML, and data science, given the pivotal role representations play within these fields.Item ASSESSING THE VALUE OF THIRD SPACE FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN DOCTORAL STUDENTS IN STEM DEGREE PROGRAMS(2023) Aparakakankanange, Erika; Elby, Andrew; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The study examined how the NSF-funded, Maryland PROMISE AGEP program, theSummer Success Institute, functions as what is known as a third space. Ten African American doctoral students in STEM disciplines shared their perceptions of the benefits of being in a third space. The study hypothesized that SSI operates as a third space, promotes persistence, and combats social isolation in graduate school. The study expands on current work exploring the need for a program like the Maryland PROMISE AGEP’s Summer Success Institute to provide critical mass and its intended outcomes of producing diverse doctoral graduates who pursue faculty positions. This paper includes the works of Oldenburg, Bhabha, Yosso, and Lovitts’ research to frame the role of SSI as a third space. These approaches provide administrators, faculty, students, and institutions with theories that can be applied to efforts highlighting the positive aspects of graduate education and supporting African American graduate student persistence.Item Rethinking analogical reasoning: The power of stimuli and task framework in understanding biomedical science, technological advancements, and social interactions(2021) Catanzarite, Nicole Crystal; Bolger, Donald J; Dunbar, Kevin N; Neuroscience and Cognitive Science; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Analogical reasoning is a critical learning process, as it is thought to form the basis of the construction of knowledge and problem solving in novel contexts. To better understand how to leverage this strategy, knowledge of the cognitive mechanisms that underlie reasoning, as well as factors that modulate reasoning, is needed. Such knowledge can springboard the development of communication, presentation, and testing strategies that facilitate accurate comprehension of information. While the benefits of analogical reasoning are clear, researchers continue to debate whether humans are predisposed to reason on a surface level or on a deeper, analogical level. Since analogy can be employed in a variety of contexts, we sought to determine whether the successful engagement of analogy is context-dependent. To understand reasoning in social interactions, we investigated the types of relations individuals identified in situations involving negotiation, conflict, and resolution. These types of situations, described by short, fable-like stories, are a hallmark of classical analogical reasoning research paradigms. To expose applications of reasoning in science and technology (S&T), we explored how different strategies can be used to identify relations between the mechanisms of drug delivery and the defense capabilities of military-operated unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). We found that numerous factors can selectively modulate reasoning and that reasoning strategy is situation-dependent. We also found that the way that individuals are probed or tested with targeted questions drives the way in which analogical reasoning is deployed. Consequently, analogical reasoning can be used to facilitate comprehension of technical concepts if asked to retrieve at a deeper conceptual level. Based on these findings, we argue that reasoning is a flexible and strategic process, rather than a fixed ability. As such, this suggests that analogical reasoning can be used to more effectively communicate and present scientific and technical information. Further, the strategic use of analogical reasoning has assessment, training, and strategic messaging applications in countless contexts, such as those within education, vocational training, healthcare, media, and even legal settings.Item Examining How Undergraduate STEM Degree Production is Influenced by State Higher Education STEM Policies Across States: A Panel Data Analysis(2019) Knepler, Erin Denise; Titus, Marvin A.; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The United States is not producing enough college graduates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields (Kuenzi, Matthews, & Mangan, 2006; Chen & Weko, 2009). By 2025, there will be over three million STEM jobs to be filled in the United States and more than two million may remain unoccupied (Giffi et al., 2018). This study explores how undergraduate STEM degree production is influenced by state higher education STEM policies, and uses a microeconomic conceptual model rooted in two theories derived from economics and political science: principal agent theory and production function theory. Panel data over a 17-year time period from all 50 states were analyzed to address two questions: 1) How is undergraduate STEM degree production within a state related to state economic and higher education finance variables? 2) Controlling for state economic and higher education finance variables, how are states’ undergraduate STEM degree production influenced by state higher education STEM policies? The study found that state undergraduate enrollment per full-time equivalent (FTE) and state expenditures for need-based aid per undergraduate FTE influence state STEM degree production. Different time lag models were used to analyze the effect of state STEM policies. Two variables representing state STEM policies, incentives for STEM and articulation agreements in STEM influence STEM bachelor’s degree production in a state when no time lag is applied. Three variables representing state STEM policies (i.e., incentives, articulation agreements, and scholarships), however, influence STEM degree production in a state when lagged by five years. Results from this study contribute to both literature and policy. The conceptual model combines two theories to higher education literature providing a useful framework for analyzing the effects of various state actions on STEM degree production. Potential policy implications also emerged: 1) policy-focused research can inform stakeholders and the public of what are the influencers of STEM degree production and the impact of policy on STEM degree production; 2) data can be used to drive policy development focused on meeting state completion objectives and economic goals; and 3) understanding what drives policy adoption is useful context for states looking to affect STEM policy development.Item Uncovering the Relations Among College Students’ Expectancies, Task Values, Engagement, and STEM Course Outcomes(2020) Gladstone, Jessica R.; Wigfield, Allan; Human Development; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)In the last thirty years, student engagement has received much attention as an important contributor to students’ school success. One major limitation of the research on student engagement is that there is not a widely accepted theory regarding what constitutes it and how it relates to motivation. In the present study I examined relations of college students’ motivational beliefs and task values (as defined in Eccles and colleagues’ expectancy-value theory, EVT) to proposed dimensions of their engagement: behavioral, cognitive, social, agentic, and behavioral and emotional disaffection. In particular, I examined: (1) empirical overlap among certain dimensions of engagement and task value constructs; (2) which EVT constructs are associated with which dimensions of engagement; (3) how motivational beliefs, values, and engagement dimensions relate over time; and (4) whether engagement dimensions mediate the relationship between motivational beliefs, values, and math and science grades. Students (Ntime1 = 486, Ntime2 = 516) were recruited from a large public university and then completed surveys about their motivation and engagement in their introductory math or science course twice, at the beginning of the semester and again after mid-terms examinations. Findings indicated that although there were strong associations among certain engagement dimensions and task value constructs, structural equation model fit indices indicated that these should be treated as separate constructs. Regression analyses showed that in general, students’ competence beliefs and values were associated with behavioral, cognitive, and emotional engagement and behavioral and emotional disaffection dimensions. However, the relations between the motivational variables and social and agentic engagement were weak or non-significant. Cross-lagged panel analyses indicated that some relations among task values and engagement dimensions were reciprocal over time, but more often motivation predicted engagement rather than the reverse. Students’ behavioral and cognitive engagement were strong mediators of the relations between their task values and domain-specific grades in math and science. I conclude from these results that (at least for college-aged students) certain engagement constructs should be integrated more fully into the well-established expectancy-value model; however, future research is needed to ensure that these relations hold across different domains.Item WHAT'S CULTURE GOT TO DO WITH IT? AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE INDIVIDUAL AND INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS THAT SUPPORT UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITY AND FIRST-GENERATION WOMEN GRADUATE STUDENTS' SUCCESS IN STEM FIELDS(2018) DeCrosta, Lauren Ashley; Stromquist, Nelly; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This qualitative research study applies feminist standpoint theory and community cultural wealth to investigate the individual and institutional factors that underrepresented minority and first-generation women graduate students report as having contributed to their gaining access to and navigating through their graduate STEM degree programs. Through the presentation of five women graduate students’ testimonios, this study offers the women participants an opportunity to provide a counternarrative in their own voices to the prevailing deficit lens with which education literature views them. This study highlights the ways in which the assets from the women’s community cultural wealth, although overlooked by their graduate institution, are instrumental to their success. In addition, this study asks the women participants to share their perceptions of the institutional resources and services available to them and evaluate their utility in supporting them. The women’s narratives are testimonios to their experiences as underrepresented minority and first-generation women graduate students in STEM fields. The findings both provide a counternarrative to the deficit literature on underrepresented minority and first-generation women students in STEM fields and add to the literature that uses Yosso’s (2005) community cultural wealth as a conceptual framework by expanding its application to other underrepresented populations in the United States and to advanced, highly technical STEM fields. Additionally, the findings have implications for educational practice and further research: they suggest that universities need to better understand the multiple aspects of students’ individual cultures and reconfigure their campus and STEM classroom cultures in ways that are structured by and reflective of students’ community cultural wealthItem EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES THAT ENGAGE THE AFRICAN AMERICAN MALE IN MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE(2018) Elam-Respass, Treesa; Fabian, Ellen; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Culturally-relevant instruction in middle school science engages and inspires the African American male to consider careers in science, technology, engineering, and/or mathematics (STEM). With the exponential value and growth of STEM career options, African American males benefit from the integration of and exposure to cultural language and customs within their science learning. The purpose of the study was to explore the instructional strategies teachers use in middle science classes to engage students, particularly African American males. The study pursued teachers’ perspectives about best instructional practices facilitated in middle school that primarily address culturally-relevant science content. Data for this study was collected and analyzed via responses from an online survey using Qualtrics. The results of the study confirm that the values and needs of African American males are marginally considered during middle school science instructional planning. The teachers report weekly student-teacher discussion techniques as the most commonly implemented practice for student engagement. Whereas, the survey participants also reported that the reading strategy was more infrequently implemented. With respect to the culturally relevant instruction, the survey participants postulate that the introduction of cultural elements proffer more interesting, valuable, and relatable lessons in middle school science. However, the teacher responses demonstrate minimal to no inclusion of culturally relevant instruction Lastly, teachers can benefit from learning about culturally relevant practices and the multicultural framework.Item THE ‘NEXT GENERATION’ OF CONSTRUCTIVIST REFORM IN SCIENCE AND STEM: CASE STUDY EXPLORATIONS OF THE PRACTICES OF STUDENTS AND THE PERSPECTIVES OF TEACHERS(2017) Green, Amy Elizabeth; Elby, Andrew; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation provides insights into the potential for the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and a complementary instructional model, transdisciplinary STEM, to advance constructivist approaches to high-quality education by providing a framework and pedagogical model that authentically communicate these principles for practitioners. Through two research projects, I explore some of the dilemmas facing educators implementing these reform initiatives. First, I present a study of the relationship between discursive epistemic agency and scientific authenticity in school. I argue that epistemological misalignment between perspectives underpinning traditional approaches to school science and those of professional science contribute to tensions regarding the amount of control that students should be given over the discourse of science. Using NGSS as representative of authenticity, I explore and respond to a dilemma faced by many science educators of whether students must relinquish discursive agency for their participation in science to be considered authentic. Analyses of contrasting types of ‘talk’ in a first-grade classroom support the theoretical argument that increased discursive agency directly contributes to engagement in authentic science practices (as defined by NGSS). The second report represents a case study analysis of the perspectives of participants in a degree program focused on interdisciplinary approaches to learning. I ask, how do teachers’ epistemological beliefs affect their perceptions of the locus of perceived barriers and the extent to which those barriers may be overcome? My results indicate that accessing teacher beliefs is productive for understanding the relative alignment between their personal epistemologies and those of the reform. Furthermore, epistemological beliefs may be intimately entangled with, rather than function discretely from, these teachers’ perceptions of constraints to implementation of reform. The conclusions of these two research projects indicate that epistemological perspectives pervade the discourse of science, the text of curricular resources, and the language teachers use to talk about the implementation of pedagogical models. Furthermore, authentic enactments of science and meaningful learning are at least partially dependent upon a consistent alignment between the epistemologies underpinning reform efforts, those reflected in the language of school, and the personal epistemologies of educators.Item More useful, or not so bad? Evaluating the effects of interventions to reduce perceived cost and increase utility value with college physics students(2017) Rosenzweig, Emily Quinn; Wigfield, Allan; Ramani, Geetha; Human Development; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)In the present study I developed and evaluated the effects of two interventions designed to target students’ motivation to learn in an introductory college physics course. One intervention was designed to improve students’ perceptions of utility value and the other was designed to reduce students’ perceptions of cost. Utility value and cost both are central constructs from Eccles and colleagues’ expectancy-value theory of motivation (Eccles-Parsons et al., 1983). Students (N = 148) were randomly assigned to receive the cost intervention, the utility value intervention, or one of two control conditions. Compared to a survey control condition, neither intervention impacted overall students’ motivation, measured at 3 time points over the semester, or their course outcomes. In moderation analyses, neither intervention impacted any students’ perceptions of utility value. However, both interventions impacted some students’ perceptions of cost, competence-related beliefs, and course outcomes positively while impacting these variables for other students negatively. The cost intervention benefitted consistently and in different ways students who had low baseline competence-related beliefs, low prior achievement, strong malleable beliefs about intelligence, or who were female. However, the intervention showed consistent undermining effects on motivation and/or achievement for students with strong fixed beliefs about intelligence. The utility value intervention benefitted consistently the course outcomes of students who had low baseline competence-related beliefs, low prior achievement, or who were female. The intervention showed less consistent undermining effects on motivation for students with strong fixed beliefs about intelligence, high baseline competence-related beliefs, or high prior achievement. Prior researchers have shown that utility value interventions improve course outcomes for some students who are at risk for underachievement. The present study extends prior work by showing that utility value interventions benefit similar students in college physics courses. It also demonstrates that a cost intervention is a viable way to impact at-risk students’ physics course outcomes. Future researchers should consider carefully moderating variables and how to mitigate potential undermining effects for some students when implementing future expectancy-value-theory-based interventions in college physics courses.Item Exploring an Integrative Graduate Education Research Traineeship (IGERT): Using Organizational Culture to Understand How Programs Work(2016) Robinson, Tykeia Nicole; Fries Britt, Sharon; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Legislators & policy makers recognize the significance of STEM graduate education to issues of national security, innovation and economic competitiveness amongst global peers (Gonzalez & Kuenzi, 2012; Kuenzi, 2008). Federal policy allocates funding to faculty and institutions and establishes programs that ensure equitable opportunity for training, education, and employment in the STEM fields. Many of these efforts aim to address existing race/gender-based disparities in doctoral degree attainment amongst women and certain populations of color (Carney, Chawla, Wiley, & Young, 2006; Nerad & Cerny, 2000). There is minimal critique of existing programs in extant literature. Studies focus mainly on understanding program outputs and outcomes with no investigation of program culture or program processes or functions. A nested conceptual model was created that employs the theoretical tools of Tierney’s Organizational Culture theory and Gopaul’s conceptualizations of existing graduate student socialization theory to guide a single site case study of an Integrative Graduate Education Research Traineeship (IGERT) Project. Data was collected through analyses of existing program documents, a survey of current and former IGERT student participants and 60-90 minute interviews with IGERT faculty, administration, and current & former students. Through data analysis the organizational structure and culture of the case site IGERT program was defined. Data also revealed the specialized training IGERT students received and the specific ways that the program influenced their socialization and professional development. Program experiences of students of URM populations were also described and discussed in relation to how the program promoted and sustained racial/ethnic diversity and intentionally supported URM students. Findings contribute to the complexity of understanding a STEM education program and how it functions within its surrounding environment. Existing limitations and organizational challenges of the program were also illuminated and explored. This research supplements and enhances existing scholarship on the IGERT and other programs designed to train doctoral students of and beyond populations underrepresented in STEM fields. This work will also be useful for developing new and sustaining existing programs that are designed to support STEM doctoral students to eradicate the problem of a lack of diversity in STEM graduate education & labor markets.