Annotated Bibliography 3

National Research Council. (2011). Successful K-12 STEM Education: Identifying Effective

Approaches in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Committee on Highly Successful Science Programs for K-12 Science Education. Board on Science Education and Board on Testing and Assessment, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

The article “Succesful K-12 STEM Education” explores research that identifies successes and drawbacks in different approaches to STEM curriculum and education practices. It overviews a variety of case studies and teachers to exemplify a variety of approaches to engineering education. It suggests a hands on approach to improve student feedback and engagement. Some potential quotes include: “School programs are designed to develop sound character, creativity, ethical judgment, concerned attitudes, and the ability to live productively and harmoniously in a global workforce.” and “the most useful way of identifying criteria for success relates to educational practices: what practices should be used to identify effective STEM schools? Focusing on practices instead of outcomes provides schools with concrete guidance for improving the quality of STEM instruction and, presumably, of STEM learning.” The article lists all its informational sources at the beginning. It is a “.org” source which typically suggests a degree of credibility as well. It is very well documented and provides a lot of unbiased and sourced information that I plan to use in my own research. It relates directly to my research topic and provides valuable resources for reference in my studies. 

Week of 2/06/17

I am currently working on multiple aspects of my mentorship capstone project. One of the main aspects of the project is “real-inquiry.” I plan to utilize not only interviews with my mentor, but feedback from the students I am working with for this part of the project. In order to answer the essential question of my project, I am currently researching scholarly articles regarding similar classroom case studies. In addition, I am working on research of my own regarding student engagement in the classroom as well as the effects of competition robotics. As far as the visual aspect of my project, I will prepare powerpoints overviewing my project as well as observations. I will include pictures from my mentorship in addition to presentation of information. The end of competition robotics season is approaching and the information for my project is all starting to come together. From here I just need to collect a bit more information and turn it into a coherent study that is presentable to an outside audience. 

Annotated Bibliography

Mizell, S., & Brown, S. (2016). The Current Status of STEM Education Research 2013-2015. Journal Of

STEM Education: Innovations & Research, 17(4), 52-56.

The information presented in the article conveys the data and observations regarding current research of American STEM proficiency in students of grades kindergarten through 12^th. The article addresses data recovered from ten case studies over the past 20 years, and illustrates trends regarding demographics, schooling, and student involvement. It overviews involvement nationwide, and it gives a wide overview of many different case studies and projects. The data portrays continued development of STEM research based on a call to action by the American government for an all hands on effort to increase proficiency nationwide. It overviews not only methods of education, but methods of progress tracking through the case studies. It describes the processes of data collection, and analyzes the data. The data is used to draw conclusions about the viability of STEM research, and profiles trends in student ability. The advancement of STEM proficiency is increasing according to the data. It goes on to contend that; “This is encouraging since proficiency in STEM fields is critical to remaining a leader in the 21st century global workforce.” (Mizell, 54)

Potential quotes from the article include statements reflecting the data such as, “The current analysis has demonstrated that the research base for STEM education has expanded” (Mizell, 54) or “As the two studies are compared, it is apparent that there are areas in which a shift has taken place.” I could also include quotes regarding data reflection such as, “In the original article, Brown suggested that more rigorous methods could strengthen the field of STEM education research.” (Mizell, 54)

The source is credible, as it is a scholarly article regarding a collection of data. It is rather unbiased and draws valid conclusions based on the data. It is not politicized; it is just a reflection of data that leaves room for interpretation. The information presented within the article is completely cited and the source itself was procured from the Galileo search engine. The source is up to date as well, having been published October first of 2016.

The article fits well into my research as it demonstrates the current state of American STEM proficiency. I will use it to illustrate trends, and make connections to my experience with the robotics students. The data will be a valuable reference in my research, and it will help me to draw conclusions of my own. It suggests trends that directly reflect the students I am working with in my research.