IDEAS Conference

Permanent URI for this collection

https://prism.ucalgary.ca/handle/1880/100019
The mandate of the conference is to improve on IDEAS through research, evidence-informed decisions across teaching, learning and leadership. The conference brings together Innovators, Designers, Educators, Academics and Students (IDEAS) from K-12, post-secondary and government to rise to the challenge of designing for today’s new learning landscape.

Browse

Recent Submissions

Now showing 1 - 5 of 86
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    It's Not About Ideas, It's About Concepts: Teachers' Experiences Desiging Robotics Tasks
    (University of Calgary, 2017-05) Alonso-Yanez, Gabriela; Duong, Kaitlin; Edge, Caytlin; MacLellan, Andrew; Polakovic, Dominika; Werklund School of Education
    Research reports that use of robotics construction kits allow children to improve planning, reasoning, and problem-solving skills while also providing opportunities to engage in collaboration and teamwork. Incorporating robotics tasks in the classroom also provides a playful way for teachers to integrate engineering content, while also providing concrete applications of science and mathematics content. In this paper, two robotics tasks are described in detail and implications for STEM learning in the elementary classroom are discussed.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    Attending and Responding to What Matters: A Protocol to Enhance Mathematics Pedagogy
    (University of Calgary, 2017-05) Metz, Martina; Preciado Babb, Paulino; Sabbaghan, Soroush; Davis, Brent; Ashebir, Alemu; Werklund School of Education
    For four years we have invested in improving mathematics teaching at the elementary level. By drawing from diverse research emphases in mathematics education and by considering the impact of lessons in terms of student engagement and performance, we have identified four key elements impacting learning in mathematics. Here, we describe the protocol currently used to structure feedback for teachers in the Math Minds Initiative. The key elements that comprise the protocol are: (1) effective variation, (2) continuous assessment, (3) responsive teaching, and (4) engagement.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    Using Variation to Critique and Adapt Mathematical Tasks
    (University of Calgary, 2017-05) Metz, Martina; Preciado Babb, Armando Paulino; Sabbaghan, Soroush; Davis, Brent; Ashebir, Alemu; Werklund School of Education
    We report on four key ideas we have found important in our work with teachers based on almost five years of research with the Math Minds Initiative. These ideas combine the Variation Theory of Learning with a strong focus on continuous assessment to inform the way teachers adapt task sequences offered in the resource used by project teachers. In doing so, we expect that teachers aim to better serve both struggling students and those who need extension as they develop coherent mathematical knowing. We elaborate on each one of these ideas, with examples from the Initiative in this paper.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    Making Meaning of Periodic Functions through Body Movements
    (University of Calgary, 2017-05) Martinez Ortega, Minerva; Preciado Babb, Armando Paulino; Velasco, Hugo Rogelio Mejia; Werklund School of Education
    We report high school students' meaning making process of the sinusoidal function when engaged in a dynamic activity based on body movements. Using a distance sensor connected to graphing software, students were asked to reproduce a sinusoidal function. We explain how technology facilitated students’ understanding of this function and its parameters. We also report students' difficulties in attempting to generate this graph, and the implications for understanding periodic phenomena, commonly studied and applied in science and engineering.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    An Interpretive Exercise in Moving from Research to Assessment in Language Arts
    (University of Calgary, 2017-05) Blackman, Galicia; Werklund School of Education
    Research on dialogic learning practices supports the use of dialogic contexts for language students, but actual teaching practice provides little evidence of corresponding assessments. In order to facilitate a qualitative research project on dialogic practices in language classes, I used audio-journals. This paper reports on an interpretive exercise, which came out of that research. In the interpretive exercise, I considered the strengths and challenges of using audio-journals in research. Furthermore, I contemplated the possibilities of using audio-journals in Language Arts instruction, to close in on the research gap regarding assessment of oral literacy.