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Item Concepts for future missions to search for technosignatures(Elsevier, 2021) Socas-Navarro, Hector; Haqq-Misra, Jacob; Wright, Jason T.; Kopparapu, Ravi; Benford, James; Davis, Ross; School of EducationNew and unique opportunities now exist to look for technosignatures (TS) beyond traditional SETI radio searches, motivated by tremendous advances in exoplanet science and observing capabilities in recent years. Space agencies, both public and private, may be particularly interested in learning about the community's views as to the optimal methods for future TS searches with current or forthcoming technology. This report is an effort in that direction. We put forward a set of possible mission concepts designed to search for TS, although the data supplied by such missions would also benefit other areas of astrophysics. We introduce a novel framework to analyze a broad diversity of TS in a quantitative manner. This framework is based on the concept of ichnoscale, which is a new parameter related to the scale of a TS cosmic footprint, together with the number of potential targets where such TS can be searched for, and whether or not it is continuous in time.Item African Americans and Mathematics Outcomes on National Assessment of Educational Progress: Parental and Individual Influences(Springer, 2013-01) Noble, Richard, III; Hill Morton, CrystalThis study investigated within group differences between African American female and male students who participated in the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress mathematics assessment. Using results from participating states, we compare average scale scores of African American students based on home regulatory environment and interest in mathematics. Results indicated that African American male students who discussed studies 2–3 times a week scored higher than African American female students who discussed studies every day. In three states (Connecticut, Florida, and New Jersey), African American males who never or hardly ever discussed studies at home scored higher than African American males who never or hardly ever discussed studies at home in the state of Arkansas. In two states (Florida and New Jersey), African American males who discussed studies every few weeks scored higher than African American males who discussed studies every few weeks in Arkansas. In four states (Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, and New Jersey), the overall scale scores of African American males was higher than those of African American males in Arkansas. As a result of the findings, we present practical implications for parents of African American students.Item Challenging minds: Enhancing the mathematical learning of African American students through games(Information Age Publishing, 2012) Morton, Crystal; Yow, Jan A.; Cook, Daniela AnnMinority Access to Revolutionary Instructional Extensions (MATRIX) is a two-part pilot project that couples parent engagement and supplemental mathematics instruction. The MATRIX supplemental mathematics curriculum is built around six games designed to foster the mathematical development of elementary students. This article describes the MATRIX mathematics curriculum and provides findings related to the project’s impact on African American students’ number sense and attitudes towards mathematics.Item Black Girls and Mathematics Learning(Oxford, 2020) Morton, Crystal; Tate McMillan, Danielle; Harrison-Jones, WinterbourneThough the formal and informal mathematics learning experiences of Black girls are gaining more visibility in the literature, there is still a paucity of research around Black girls’ mathematics learning experiences. Black girls face unique challenges as learners in K–12 educational spaces because of their marginalized racial and gender identities. The interplay of race and racism unfolds in complex ways in Black girls’ learning experiences. This interplay hinders their development as mathematics learners and limits their access to transformative learning. As early as elementary school, Black girls are labeled as having limited mathematics knowledge and are often disproportionately placed in “lower level classrooms” devoid of any rigorous and transformative learning experiences. Teachers spend more time socially correcting Black girls rather than building on their brilliance. Even though Black girls value mathematics more and have higher confidence in mathematics than their White counterparts, they are still held to lower expectations by their teachers and are less likely to complete an advanced mathematics course. Nationally and globally, mathematics serves as an academic gatekeeper into every avenue of the labor market and higher education opportunities. Thus, the lack of opportunities Black girls have to engage in rigorous and transformative mathematics potentially locks them out of higher education opportunities and STEM-based careers. The mathematics learning experiences of Black girls move beyond challenges in K–12 spaces to limiting life choices and individual and community progress. To improve the formal and informal mathematics learning experiences of Black girls, we must understand their unique learning experiences more fully.Item Making “it” matter: developing African-American girls and young women’s mathematics and science identities through informal STEM learning(Springer, 2022-03) Morton, Crystal; Smith-Mutegi, Demetrice; School of EducationThis article describes a summer enrichment science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) camp for African-American girls and young women aimed at addressing mathematical and science self-efficacy and reinforcing the importance and usefulness of mathematics and science with a socially transformative curriculum. The research questions guiding this study are (1) How do African-American girl participants describe their experiences in Girls STEM Institute (GSI)? and (2) How does the STEM program experience affect their mathematics and science self-efficacy and valuing of mathematics and science? The data, which included journal entries and interviews, were collected and analyzed from four participants and indicated that participating in the Girls STEM Institute led to improved mathematics and science self-efficacy and increased perceptions of the value of science and math knowledge.Item Girls Stem Institute: Transforming and Empowering Black Girls in Mathematics Through Stem(National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2018) Morton, Crystal; Smith-Mutegi, Demetrice; School of EducationWith the growing interest in STEM at both the national and international level, as well as the persistence in racial disparities in educational achievement, it is crucial that educators provide learning experiences that foster the positive development of Black females’ mathematics and science identities. This chapter will describe Girls STEM Institute (GSI), a program designed to support the positive development of Black females as learners and doers of mathematics and science. GSI provides learners who identify as Black and female an opportunity to develop an understanding of mathematics and other STEM concepts in a meaningful and culturally grounded out-of-school context. Within GSI’s rich, rigorous, relevant, and supportive environment, young ladies have the freedom to grow interpersonally and intellectually and are empowered to use STEM as a tool for personal and social change.Item Testimonios of teaching from four latina first-year teachers(Taylor & Francis, 2022-12-06) Sosa, Teresa; School of EducationIn 2020, first year teachers entered a school system that continued to emphasize policies, measures, and curriculum that support racism and social injustice. But first year teachers also entered at a time when there was renewed interest in openly pushing issues of race, oppression and violence into the forefront. I write about the lived experiences of four Latina teachers that were co-constructed as testimonios through dialogue and conversation. This work centers their voices as their tellings are fundamental to our understanding of the challenges in schools. For these teachers, blaring inconsistencies between their social justice endeavors and what they experienced were made clear and their classrooms became sites of contestation towards realizing teaching as it should be. Their work is situated in schools as focal places that reflect inequitable macro spaces and, at the same time, serve as places to resist subjugation and generate openings of alternate possibilities.Item Testimonios of (In)Justice and Communal Spaces: Four Latinas in Their First Year Teaching(IUPUI Office of Community Engagement, 2022-06-22) Sosa, Teresa; School of EducationIn August 2020, four Latinas began their first year teaching and entered a school system that continues to emphasize policies, measures, and curriculum that supports racism and social injustice. Their first-hand experiences included a pandemic that largely challenged modes of delivery in schools and the lack of access for students of marginalized communities that made existing disparities even more obvious. But they also entered teaching at a time when there was renewed interest in openly pushing issues of race, oppression, and violence to the forefront. This article details how these four Latina teachers connected their testimonios to the current sociopolitical realities and to their commitment to social change through monthly zoom chats. Their chats became spaces of Convivencia, a way to engage, reflect, and support each other that is centered within a Latina womanist epistemology. Cultural Intuition was used to analyze their experiences and to point out key aspects of their testimonios that reflect their ways of knowing and agency. This piece concludes by making a case for how these types of communal spaces are necessary across various institutions and spaces for Latinas.Item Effects of Language on Children’s Understanding of Mathematics(ICRSME, 2022) Wilkerson, Trena L.; Mistretta, Regina M.; Adcock, Justin; Borgioli Yoder, Gina; Johnston, Elisabeth; Bu, Lingguo; Nugent, Patricia M.; Booher, Loi; School of EducationTeacher educators have a moral and civic obligation to examine ways in which language and mathematics are connected and supported in teaching and learning mathematics. It is essential to examine the roles and influence of family, parents, community, teachers, administration, and teacher educators as they collaborate to support learners. Their role should be considered in preparing and supporting teachers to develop curriculum, plan instruction, and implement strategies that support students’ development of language in the mathematics classroom. An examination of the literature regarding the effects of language on children’s understanding of mathematics was conducted around six areas: 1) impact of language on understanding and meaning making; 2) symbols, expressions and language connections; 3) effects of teachers’ listening orientation; 4) language development, play and family influences; 5) implications for multilingual learners; and 6) technology and digital media. Implications for teacher education and future research are presented. We offer readers a potential framework to consider for guiding teacher educators’ practices and future research efforts. In so doing, we display various connections and interplays between language and children’s mathematical meaning making and understanding.Item Effectiveness of Teaching Key Concepts of the Nature of Science in an Online Introductory Forensic Science Course: An Action Research Study(ISTES Organization, 2021) Londino-Smolar, Gina; School of Education