The purpose of this 3-phase transformative mixed-methods study was to use intersectionality theoretical framework to explore the science identities and relevant science learning experiences of male students of color (MSOCs) in STEM and their decisions to pursue science professions after college. Phase 1 utilized a researcher-developed survey to analyze differences in science identity scores (SIS), science relevancy scores (SRS), and decisions to pursue science professions of 702 diverse college students enrolled in STEM-related courses at a state college in Southeast United States. While there were no statistically significant differences in SIS and SRS scores regarding race/ethnicity or socioeconomic factors, statistical differences in SRS were present regarding gender. Female students had higher SRS than male students. When considering gender and socioeconomic level, a statistically significant interaction occurred across racial/ethnicity groups in SIS and SRS. Black and Hispanic males had higher SIS and SRS when at least one parent had a bachelor's degree. Phase 2 and 3 utilized interviews of five (MSOCs) from which these themes surfaced as largely shaping their decisions to pursue STEM fields: a) future-focus mindsets, b) connectedness to technology, engineering, and math, and c) science experiences and ideas. Students described the teacher's personality, the classroom environment, and the foundational characteristics of science as being critical components of relevant formal science learning experiences. Implications regarding what social justice looks like in the science classroom include1) the need to confirm SIS and SRS construct reliability from this survey instrument with a different population of diverse college students, 2) the important role science teachers and other educational stakeholders play in developing purposeful interactive instruction that adequately connects and prepares male learners for science professions, and 3) the intentional integration of real-world technology, engineering, and mathematics processes and resources in science curriculum and professional development for teachers of science.

This study investigated the extent to which elementary education mathematics methods courses exposed preservice teachers to research-based pedagogical practices grounded in cognitive science as well as best practices for mathematics instruction. A line-by-line content analysis of textbooks and course syllabi from ten teacher education programs within the State University System SUS) of Florida was completed. Evidence of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' (NCTM) eight high leverage Mathematics Teaching Practices (MTPs) was documented on the © Scoring Rubric for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' Mathematics Teaching Practices (MTPs), and Mayer's (2009) Science of Instruction Principles (SOIPs) were documented on © Scoring Rubric for Mayer's Science of Instruction Principles (SOIPs). Coding techniques were utilized to document the presence of additional theories of learning, instruction, and motivation. The results were reported using descriptive and inferential statistics, as well as relative and absolute color comparisons. Data analysis indicated that the Mathematics Teaching Practices were documented significantly more than the Science of Instruction Principles. The findings from this investigation may be used to inform textbook authors and teacher education faculty members as they develop future content for mathematics methods courses.

The purpose of this multiple comparative case study was to examine how professional development sessions based on the IQA Mathematics Toolkit rubrics influenced teachers' ambitious teaching practices, including approaches to selecting, adapting, and implementing high-cognitive demand tasks during small-group instruction in mathematics. Guided by the Instructional Quality Assessment (IQA) and the Mathematical Task Framework (MTF), this qualitative inquiry gathered data through informal interviews; participant portfolios of tasks, rubric scores, and student work samples; observation tools; and transcripts during weekly professional development sessions from two in-service elementary school teachers at a K-8 charter school in Florida. Two research questions drove this study: (a) What factors influence the selection, adaptation, and implementation of high-quality mathematical tasks for small-group instruction; and (b) In what ways are teachers' approaches to planning and implementing instruction impacted by using the IQA rubrics? Qualitative analysis of the data revealed five themes pertaining to the experiences of participants: (a) pressures from pandemic concerns; (b) perceptions of students' ability and motivation; (c) understanding of state standards and school prescriptions; (d) teachers' level of interest and exposure to outside distractions; and (e) level of experience. Teachers' approaches to high-quality tasks when mixed with heterogeneous grouping were found to best support opportunities for teacher change and provide students with opportunities to make sense of mathematics. Results show reflection of practice using the IQA rubrics can influence teachers' approaches to planning, adaptation, and implementation of tasks and support changes in classroom practice. Discussion of the findings in relation to the relevant literature, their implications, and recommendations for further research are provided. These findings add to the research in the field of mathematics education in equitable grouping strategies for small-group instruction, approaches to high-quality tasks to promote sense making in small groups and assessing ambitious teaching practices in mathematics.

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This study examined learning environments in middle school mathematics classes through the perspectives of high and low achieving students. The goal of the study was to determine which classroom learning environment factors are experienced differently by high achievers than they are by lower achieving students. The "What is Happening in Class" questionnaire and results of a standards-based mathematics assessment were used to identify participants with high mathematics achievement and relatively favorable perceptions of their classroom learning environment and students with low mathematics achievement and relatively unfavorable perceptions of their mathematics classroom learning environment. Participants were interviewed in focus groups and selected participants were also interviewed individually. Results revealed that four aspects of the mathematics classroom learning may impact achievement because they can be experienced differently by students who are high and low achievers. These aspects of the learning environment are teacher support, equity, student cohesiveness and task orientation. Teacher support was linked to perceived affiliation with the teacher. Both low and high achievers indicated that teachers seem to be more affiliated with students who are high achievers that answer questions correctly and with students who comply with classroom rules. The equity issues identified by students were related to the amount and type of support that learners get to meet their learning needs. Lower achieving students perceived that it was harder for them to get attention and support for learning needs than did higher achieving students because they perceive that much of classroom attention is directed at praising students for what they already know how to do rather than for new learning. Students described strong preferences for working in self-selected groups. High achieving students were more likely to be able to name and describe classroom processes, tasks, and expectations than were lower achieving students. This study affirms the need for teachers of middle school mathematics to be attentive to pedagogical choices, classroom norms, and the nature of classroom opportunities. The study identifies status issues that arise from certain types of mathematics pedagogy and calls for transparency in classroom norms and strategic grouping practices to improve learning opportunities for lower achieving students.

The focus of this research was to expand on existing literature by providing information on elementary school pre-service teachers' ability to contextualize fraction expressions and decontextualize fraction word problems. The elementary school pre-service teachers who participated in this study were enrolled in a mathematics for elementary school teachers content course in a college of education at a large university during the Spring 2016 semester. In this mixed-method study, the participants were given the Contextualization and Decontextualization of Fractions Instrument (CDFI) which assessed elementary school pre-service teachers' ability to solve fraction word problems and identify decontextualized fraction word problems into expressions and contextualized fraction expressions into word problems. The elementary school pre-service teachers were given the CDFI before and after they completed a unit on fractions. Of the 52 participants who completed both the pre- and post- CDFI, 11 were selected to participant in think aloud interviews in which they decontextualized fraction expressions from word problems and solved and contextualized fraction word problems from expressions. Quantitative results showed an overall statistically significant difference in the elementary school pre-service teachers' pre- and post- test scores. With the exception of two questions, all questions on the CDFI showed a statistically significant difference between the pre- and the post- test scores. No statistical significance was found in the responses to the question that required the elementary school pre-service teachers to identify the expression that matched the given fraction subtraction word problem. A large number of participants correctly identified the correct subtraction expression on the pre-test, and only slightly more of them were able to identify the correct subtraction expression on the post-test. No statistical significance was found in the responses to the question that required the elementary school pre-service teachers to explain their selection of a contextualized fraction multiplication expression. Though there was an increase in the elementary school pre-service teachers' ability to explain their selection of the contextualized fraction multiplication expression, it was not statistically significant. The qualitative analysis of the think aloud interview data showed that some of the elementary school pre-service teachers struggled with contextualizing fraction expressions. Most of the elementary school pre-service teachers did not struggle with solving the fraction word problems, but did struggle with decontextualizing fraction multiplication word problems.

The undergraduate microbiology lab serves an important role in establishing a foundation of best practices in aseptic technique and infection control for pre-medical, pre-nursing, pre-pharmacy, or pre-allied health students. The high incidence of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) in the US and evidence in the literature of less effective implementation of proper aseptic technique among apprentice doctors and nursing students suggests that more effective transfer of learning could improve implementation of these procedures in the clinical setting. The research described in this study aimed to assess learning transfer as it applied to aseptic techniques and infection control skills learned in the undergraduate microbiology lab from pre- and post-lab formative assessments to midterm and lab practical summative assessments. Assisting students in building connections between the aseptic techniques learned in general microbiology and their application in the clinical setting through pre-lab formative assessments and reflective practices may lead to improvements in use of aseptic techniques and infection control measures as they progress into clinical careers and may ultimately reduce infection rates and mortality rates due to HAIs. The first major aim of this study was to explore the experiences of students with respect to learning transfer through qualitative analysis of student responses to post-lab free-response questions regarding difficulties faced in the lab and the relevance of microbiology to students' future careers. The second major aim of this study was to determine if the implementation of an in-class pre-lab formative assessment facilitates learning transfer as evidenced by significant improvements on summative lab midterm and final lab practical exam scores. Qualitative analysis of student responses to open-ended reflection questions indicated evidence of predominantly low-road transfer with respect to transfer of automaticity. Additionally, qualitative analysis of student responses indicated evidence of lateral transfer regarding transfer of complexity. Finally, there was evidence of an evolution from near to far transfer of context indicating that students were able to perceive the application of the knowledge gained in the microbiology lab in contexts similar to the lab as well as contexts outside of the lab. Evidence from student responses suggested that primarily students intending to pursue careers in healthcare fields were able to perceive specific applications of the microbiology lab to their future careers. Further, evidence from student responses suggested that students predominantly had difficulties with procedures, interpretation of results, manual dexterity with microbiological equipment and materials, and expressed the need to practice these procedures and techniques. Statistical analyses provided quantifiable evidence that the implementation of pre-lab quizzes had both a statistically significantly positive impact and a practically positive impact on lab practical final scores in both of the semesters studied as compared to historical control groups with a large effect size. The statistically and practically significant impact of the pre-lab quizzes on lab practical final exams is an important finding and will add to the current literature on the importance of formative assessment in undergraduate microbiology education.

The goal of this research study was to explore the nature of the relationship between engagement in model-eliciting activities (MEAs) and pre-service secondary mathematics teachers' (PSMTs') mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT) algebra. The data collection took place in an undergraduate mathematics education content course for secondary mathematics education majors. In this multiple case study, PSMTs were given a Learning Mathematics for Teaching (LMT) pre-assessment designed to measure their MKT algebra, and based on those results, three participants were selected with varying levels of knowledge. This was done to ensure varied cases were represented in order to be able to examine and describe multiple perspectives. The three examined cases were Oriana, a PSMT with high MKT, Bianca, a PSMT with medium MKT, and Helaine, a PSMT with low MKT. Over the course of five weeks, the three PSMTs were recorded exploring three MEAs, participated in two interviews, and submitted written reflections. The extensive amount of data collected in this study allowed the researcher to deeply explore the PSMTs' MKT algebra in relation to the given MEAs, with a focus on three specific constructs—bridging, trimming, and decompressing— based on the Knowledge of Algebra for Teaching (KAT) framework. The results of this study suggest that engaging in MEAs could elicit PSMTs' MKT algebra, and in some cases such tasks were beneficial to their trimming, bridging, and decompressing abilities. Exploring MEAs immersed the PSMTs in generating descriptions, explanations, and constructions, that helped reveal how they interpreted mathematical situations that they encountered. The tasks served as useful tools for PSMTs to have deep discussions and productive discourse on various algebra topics, and make many different mathematical connections in the process.

Girls and women face several forms of gender-based biases and discrimination in the science community. These issues create difficult circumstances for them to develop positive science identities. Since these difficult circumstances exist, science education and sociology researchers have used a deficit model to learn about their experiences, achievements, and attitudes. Understanding the experiences of successful women in science offers insight into how women can navigate the challenges presented by the science community and how science educators can support them. However, research studies that explore the experiences of successful women in science are scant. Therefore, the objective of this study was to learn about the experiences of successful women who are professionals in science fields. Twelve participants engaged in three semi-structured interviews. Findings showed that participants had access to and support in authentic science experiences. They developed a passion for science that was supported by a self-selected support system. Advancement in workplaces that were often dominated by males required a sophisticated understanding of organizational norms. This advancement required strategic agency in how they spent their time and the relationships that they built. Two differences in experiences were found that were based on race. The first difference based on race was that Black and Hispanic participants experienced racial and ethnic discrimination. The second difference was that Black and Hispanic participants discussed the centrality of their faith to their work in every interview. These findings provide insight for the science community. Science methods instructors could educate pre-service teachers about how participants navigated gender-based challenges in science communities. Furthermore, the stories of these women could structure lessons that cover inclusion and equity. For industry, all employees should adhere to professional standards and mentors should be relatable to their mentees.