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Browsing by Author "Birmingham, Daniel, advisor"

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    Advancing equity in middle school science: the role of classroom cultures and curricular structures
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Singleton, Corinne, author; Birmingham, Daniel, advisor; Jennings, Louise, committee member; Koslovsky, Matthew, committee member; Most, David, committee member; Penuel, William R., committee member
    This dissertation explores the role of classroom culture in shaping equitable student experiences and outcomes in science education, and examines how curricular structures might further reinforce equity. Here, equity in science education means supporting student identification, belonging, and learning in science, with particular attention to disrupting historical patterns of inequity that have created barriers to participation for students from historically marginalized populations. Classroom culture is a critical component of equity because it shapes student experiences and opportunities within science and determines whose voices, experiences, epistemologies, and cultural connections have credence within science learning. For their part, curricula shape how students interact with science content and serve to expand or constrain the breadth, depth, and rigor of the content that students experience. The outcomes of study are student interest and belonging, both critical for broadening participation in science because they are associated not only with improved learning, but also with meaningful participation in classroom science communities, course-taking patterns, and career decisions. The first two papers in this dissertation draw on large-scale survey data from 847 middle-school students in more than 30 OpenSciEd classrooms across the country. We use hierarchical linear modeling with students nested within classrooms to examine the extent of classroom-level variation in classroom culture, and how key features of equitable science classroom cultures relate to student interest and belonging in science. In both cases, we find significant classroom-level variation in culture, suggesting that classroom culture can be an important lever for equitable transformation. The first paper explores the relationship between classrooms reflecting collective enterprise and care with student interest in science. We find a strong and consistent relationship between collective enterprise and care, respectively, with student interest. We propose that these attributes of classroom culture may bolster student interest in science by supporting relationships and by connecting with the cognitive, emotional, and values-related components of interest. The second paper examines how classroom epistemologies of science relate to students' sense of belonging in science. Again we find a strong and consistent relationship between classrooms reflecting broader and more flexible epistemologies of science, with belonging in science. We consider the tensions between the science-as-practice vision of science education and the pervasive cultures of school science to contextualize the observed variation in classroom epistemologies of science. We argue that a concerted "epistemic boost" in science education may be necessary to fully realize the science-as-practice vision of science education. Finally, the third paper uses data from 38 teacher interviews to understand aspects of the science curriculum that teachers found supported their efforts to build equitable science classrooms. While many curricula address equity through increased representation of minority scientists or through guidance for teachers around equitable instruction, I argue that the design of curricular structures has been underappreciated as a potential venue for bolstering equitable science participation opportunities for students. I propose that curricular structures designed to support deep and authentic content learning can serve double duty by structuring student learning tasks and participation in ways that reinforce equitable classroom cultures. Collectively, these three papers contribute to the goal of expanding opportunities for students to connect with and succeed in science. They focus on valuable potential levers for equity, namely classroom culture and curricular structures. They help us to understand how relational and epistemic aspects of the classroom culture, and intentionally designed curricular structures, have the potential to expand how students understand science as a discipline, its value and relevance for their lives, and their own place within the world of science.
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    Engineering brightness: hundrED top 100 global educational innovations 2018
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2018) Howe, John, author; Winey, Tracey, author; Birmingham, Daniel, advisor
    Engineering Brightness: Building A Global Network of Social Entrepreneurs builds on a successful local initiative that has the dual foci of designing, building and distributing personal lights for those without and impacting light poverty. Students in K12 have been collaborating to design and build and solar charged lanterns which have been distributed to several countries. Engineering Brightness now has relationships with schools in Guatemala. The hoped-for outcome is an active network which will become a learning laboratory, facilitating collaboration and replication. UNESCO estimates that 1.3 billion people live without safe, reliable light after dark. (International Day of Light, 2018).
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    Exploring the efficacy of a social-emotional focused equine-assisted learning program for youth in a school-based partnership
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Matlock, Sarah K., author; Birmingham, Daniel, advisor; Peters, Caiti, committee member; Black, Jerry, committee member; Folkestad, James, committee member
    The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the efficacy of a social-emotional learning (SEL) focused equine-assisted learning (EAL) program for youth who are not responding to school-wide efforts in SEL. The mental health crisis in youth is a leading cause for concern in public school systems across the nation and schools are uniquely positioned to provide additional support through community-based partnerships. We conducted a randomized controlled trial to determine the efficacy of an 8-week SEL-focused EAL program in improving social-emotional competencies, symptoms of depression and anxiety, and perceptions of self-efficacy in youth from the local school district. Based on parent DESSA reports, we found that youth who participated in the program (n = 15) showed statistically significant improvements in social-emotional competencies (p = .01), compared to the waitlist-control group (n = 14), with a large effect size (d = .995). Teachers also completed the DESSA reports, and although we did not find statistically significant differences (p = .616), we did find slightly greater improvements in SEL scores for the experimental group compared to the waitlist-control group, from pre-test to post-test. Students completed pre- and post-tests for the PHQ-9 (symptoms of depression), the GAD-7 (symptoms of anxiety) and the GSES (perceptions of self-efficacy. We did not find statistically significant differences between groups in these areas. However, we saw improvements in approximately half of the participants within the experimental group in all three categories. We also found that some students experienced setbacks in all three of these areas post-programming. In the future, it is important to explore the phenomenon of why certain students see improvements in anxiety and depression, while others have increased symptoms post-programming. We are happy to report that an 8-week SEL-focused EAL program is effective in improving SEL competencies for students who are not responding to SEL efforts within the classroom.
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    Strategic factors for implementing a multiple career path construction doctoral program: a mixed methods study
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Tummalapudi, Manideep, author; Birmingham, Daniel, advisor; Harper, Christofer M., advisor; Gupta, Kalpana, committee member; Killingsworth, John, committee member
    According to the recent literature, a notable percentage of STEM doctoral graduates prefer employment in non-academic career paths such as industry due to diminishing opportunities in academia. However, the doctoral education in the U.S. is designed to prepare graduates to become researchers and teachers for careers in academia. There is limited training available to Ph.D. students related to their training for non-academic career paths. Construction Ph.D. programs are designated as STEM programs and are no exception to this changing career preferences of Ph.D. graduates. Given the changing career landscape of doctoral graduates, it is important for construction Ph.D. programs to prepare doctoral students for success in diverse career paths (academia and industry). A large share of the current research in doctoral education primarily focusses on engineering disciplines, and very limited knowledge is available related to preparation of construction focused Ph.D. graduates effectively for multiple career paths. The broad research objective of this study is to develop strategic factors for construction Ph.D. programs to prepare students for diverse career paths. To achieve the research objective, the study explored the factors that influence construction Ph.D. students career choices through social cognitive career theory theoretical lens, competencies required by construction Ph.D. students for careers in academia and industry, various ways construction Ph.D. programs can prepare students for diverse career paths, and benefits of preparing construction Ph.D. students for various career paths. The study adopted a mixed methods approach, where 38 qualitative interviews were conducted and a quantitative survey was developed and administered (329 responses) with construction Ph.D. students, construction Ph.D. graduates working in the industry, construction faculty, and construction industry professionals. Results indicate that construction-focused Ph.D. students are equally interested in industry-related career choices alongside academia. Factors such as interest in teaching and research, passion for student mentoring and engagement, flexibility in working hours, support from an advisor, unawareness about non-academic opportunities, and satisfaction obtained from teaching influence construction Ph.D. students towards academic careers. Factors such as better salaries, ability to make a difference and advance construction industry, disinterest in academic culture, lack of enough academic jobs, no support from an advisor, and competitive academic funding climate influence construction Ph.D. students towards non-academic (industry) careers. Written and oral communication, problem solving skills, and critical independent thinking competencies are critical to employability success of construction Ph.D. students in both academic and industry career paths. Opportunities to complete industry internships, performing research relevant to construction industry's challenges by balancing both theory and practice, support from advisor related to either of the career choices, networking with both academic and industry professionals are important strategies to prepare construction Ph.D. student for diverse career paths. Preparing construction Ph.D. students for diverse career paths not only improves employability of Ph.D. students but also enhances university-industry research collaborations and improves the ability of construction industry to constantly innovate, adopt technology, and gain access to university research relevant to their needs.