Paradigms for Creating Activities that Integrate Mathematics and Science Topics

Authors

Janet Bowers, San Diego State UniversityFollow
Kathy Williams, San Diego State UniversityFollow
Antoni Luque, San Diego State UniversityFollow
Devon Quick, Oregon State UniversityFollow
Mary Beisiegel, Oregon State UniversityFollow
Jody Sorensen, Augsburg UniversityFollow
Joan Kunz, Augsburg UniversityFollow
Diane Smith, San Diego State UniversityFollow
Lori Kayes, Oregon State UniversityFollow

Publication Date

2020

Abstract

Research has shown that undergraduate students benefit from seeing examples of mathematics applied to real-world situations. This article describes three different paradigms for how math and discipline partner faculty worked together to create mathematical activities that illustrate applications of the topics being studied in precalculus and calculus. All three examples are discussed within the framework of PDSA cycles to describe the process by which the teams collaborated to plan, enact, study, and refine their lessons. Findings discuss both the difficulties of creating integrated activities (differences in terms and definitions between math and science faculty, different foregrounding of math versus science among faculty), and the value of the resultant lessons, such as increased level of student engagement, higher cognitive demand, and the role that relevant applications can play in piquing student interest in STEM.

Volume

16

Issue

1

DOI

https://doi.org/10.25891/14f6-by82

Recommended Citation

Bowers, Janet; Williams, Kathy; Luque, Antoni; Quick, Devon; Beisiegel, Mary; Sorensen, Jody; Kunz, Joan; Smith, Diane; and Kayes, Lori (2020) "Paradigms for Creating Activities that Integrate Mathematics and Science Topics," Journal of Mathematics and Science: Collaborative Explorations: Vol. 16: No. 1, Article 6.
Available at: https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/jmsce_vamsc/vol16/iss1/6