Faculty Publication Roundup, August, 2024

The research papers and publications listed below are a sampling of recent contributions by faculty representing Arizona State University’s Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College. Please see links below for full authorship credits.
 

23 Myths About the History of American Schools: What the Truth Can Tell Us, and Why It Matters. Teachers College Press
Teachers College Press, publisher
Sherman Dorn, professor

Dorn is co-editor, with education professor David Gamson of Pennsylvania State University, of this collection of short, readable chapters in which some of the foremost historians of education confront commonly held myths about American schooling, explaining the real history and how it helped shape education today. The contributors debunk the agrarian origins of summer vacation, stories of declining student behavior and academic performance, persistent claims that some people are born to be teachers, idealistic notions that the 1954 Brown decision ended segregation in American schools and more. Accessible to readers from undergraduates to career educators, “23 Myths” provides important stories that can help guide discussion about the future of education.

Preservice teachers’ errors in the creation and extension of sequences using color tiles: An exploratory study
School Science and Mathematics
Terri Kurz, associate professor; Mi Yeon Lee, associate professor

Because pattern-based instruction is frequently used to support the understanding of algebraic functions and variables, Kurz and Lee investigated the question, “What algebraic errors do preservice teachers demonstrate in constructing, explaining and analyzing their own linear, geometric and quadratic patterns using color tiles?” Analysis of their results found that participants failed to connect their algebraic images in a coherent manner, there was confusion in articulating their algebraic thought processes, and algebraic terminology was improperly used. The authors also describe the implications of these results for teaching and further research.

Cultivating a higher level of student agency in collective discussion: teacher strategies to navigate student scientific uncertainty to develop a trajectory of sensemaking
International Journal of Science Education
Ying-Chih Chen, associate professor

In a traditional lecturing environment, students possess limited agency in accepting or rejecting information provided by teachers, identifying uncertainties and collaborating with peers to deepen understanding within the classroom community. Teachers play a crucial role in guiding students through sensemaking by addressing uncertainties and assisting in solution development. Chen’s study analyzed 28 whole-class discussions in which science teachers employed eight strategies leveraging student scientific uncertainty as pedagogical resources. Chen finds that embracing uncertainty allows students to become agents of sensemaking, contributing to a collaborative learning environment.

The summaries listed here are reprinted from paper and publisher abstracts. They are a sampling of the many published projects by MLFTC faculty.