Suzanne Franco - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Suzanne Franco
Nonpartisan Education Review, Jun 1, 2007
School Science and Mathematics, 2012
This paper examines professional development workshops focused on Connected Math, a particular cu... more This paper examines professional development workshops focused on Connected Math, a particular curriculum utilized or being considered by the middle-school mathematics teachers involved in the study. The hope was that as teachers better understood the curriculum used in their classrooms, i.e., Connected Math, they would simultaneously deepen their own understanding of the corresponding mathematics content. By focusing on the curriculum materials and the student thought process, teachers would be better able to recognize and examine common student misunderstandings of mathematical content and develop pedagogically sound practices, thus improving their own pedagogical content knowledge. Pre- and post-mathematics content knowledge assessments indicated that engaging middle-school teachers in the curriculum materials using pedagogy that can be used with their middle-school students not only solidified teachers' familiarity with such strategies, but also contributed to their understanding of the mathematics content.
Education and Urban Society, 2012
Value-added approaches for attributing student growth to teachers often use weighted estimates of... more Value-added approaches for attributing student growth to teachers often use weighted estimates of building-level factors based on “typical” schools to represent a range of community, school, and other variables related to teacher and student work that are not easily measured directly. This study examines whether such estimates are likely to be accurate in “outlier” schools where building-level characteristics, such as demographics and faculty qualifications, are at the outer edges of the distribution of schools on which the “typical school” estimates are based. We examined whether building-level factors correlate with grade-level ratings in one of the most widely used approaches to value-added modeling, thus impacting interpretation of value-added ratings of teachers. Urban schools may be particularly affected by findings that reliable interpretation of a model using typical school estimates is affected by aspects of the school, even when using a weighted model. More correlations we...
Journal of Geoscience Education, 2014
This study compared the career skills and interests for students in two STEM schools to national ... more This study compared the career skills and interests for students in two STEM schools to national data. Students completed the KUDER skills assessment and career planning online tools. Results were compared across school, grade level, and sex. The results provided evidence
The backbone of economic growth in the United States relies on engineering innovation. However, e... more The backbone of economic growth in the United States relies on engineering innovation. However, engineering innovation cannot occur without engineers and scientists. Unfortunately however, many K-12 students do not have a good understanding of the engineering design process or the vast field of engineering. As a result, many students lose interest in math and science and do not pursue Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields. This paper will describe a unique partnership among the Teacher Education Program and School of Engineering at the University of Dayton (UD) and the Dayton Regional STEM Center (DRSC). This partnership initiated with the development of the STEM Education Quality Framework (SQF). The SQF resulted in a variety of educational tools, including a STEM curriculum template, that was implemented in the DRSC’s teacher professional development and curriculum development program entitled the STEM Fellow Program. The STEM Fellow program was modeled in a uniq...
Journal of STEM Education: Innovations and Research, 2013
Abstract:This paper will describe a unique partnership among the Department of Teacher Education ... more Abstract:This paper will describe a unique partnership among the Department of Teacher Education and School of Engineering at the University of Dayton (UD) and the Dayton Regional STEM Center (DRSC). This partnership resulted in the development of the STEM Education Quality Framework (SQF), a tool to guide educators in teaching, learning and refining STEM education. The SQF resulted in a variety of educational tools, including a STEM curriculum template, that was implemented in the DRSC's teacher professional development and curriculum development program entitled the STEM Fellow Program. The STEM Fellow program was later modeled in a unique, NSF sponsored six week program for K-12 STEM teachers and pre-service teachers entitled, "Engineering Innovation and Design for STEM Teachers." The objectives of this program were to enhance the knowledge of teachers about engineering innovation and design, to empower them to provide their students inspirational engineering and in...
Culturally Responsive Strategies for Reforming STEM Higher Education, 2019
The backbone of economic growth in the United States relies on engineering innovation. However, m... more The backbone of economic growth in the United States relies on engineering innovation. However, many K-12 teachers and students do not have a good understanding of engineering. As a result, many students lose interest in math and science and do not end up pursuing the field of engineering. This paper describes a unique six week program for K-12 STEM teachers and preservice teachers entitled Engineering Innovation and Design for STEM Teachers. The overall objective of this project was to enhance the knowledge of teachers and pre-service teachers about engineering innovation and design so that they can facilitate inspirational engineering and innovation experiences in their classrooms as well as better inform their students of potential career fields and societal needs. During the pilot year, ten teachers and five pre-service teachers were placed on teams with an engineering student, engineering faculty and an industrial mentor. Each team participated in an introductory engineering in...
There were three Ohio research efforts about Student Growth Measures (SGM) for Teacher and Princi... more There were three Ohio research efforts about Student Growth Measures (SGM) for Teacher and Principal Evaluanons: 1)extended tesnng for previously non-‐tested subjects and grades, 2)relanonship between the teacher and principal evaluanon systems’ implementanon plans, and 3) an empirical study of Local Educanon Agencies’ (LEA) year-‐end evaluanon data from 2013. In 2011-‐2012 Ohio offered a 2 year mini-‐grant to LEAs agreeing to administer extended tesnng for Value-‐Added measures (VAM) in grades and content areas not represented in the Ohio Achievement Assessment (OAA). The mini-‐grant allowed the state to create tesnng pools sufficient to produce teacher-‐level VAMs. American College Tesnng (ACT) End of Course (EOC), Terra Nova, MAPS, and/or Star assessments were administered. The two year study of a sample of 23 funded LEAs has provided findings for the local and nanonal discussions about student growth measures and teacher/principal evaluanons. At the same nme Ohio complete...
Nonpartisan Education Review, Jun 1, 2007
School Science and Mathematics, 2012
This paper examines professional development workshops focused on Connected Math, a particular cu... more This paper examines professional development workshops focused on Connected Math, a particular curriculum utilized or being considered by the middle-school mathematics teachers involved in the study. The hope was that as teachers better understood the curriculum used in their classrooms, i.e., Connected Math, they would simultaneously deepen their own understanding of the corresponding mathematics content. By focusing on the curriculum materials and the student thought process, teachers would be better able to recognize and examine common student misunderstandings of mathematical content and develop pedagogically sound practices, thus improving their own pedagogical content knowledge. Pre- and post-mathematics content knowledge assessments indicated that engaging middle-school teachers in the curriculum materials using pedagogy that can be used with their middle-school students not only solidified teachers' familiarity with such strategies, but also contributed to their understanding of the mathematics content.
Education and Urban Society, 2012
Value-added approaches for attributing student growth to teachers often use weighted estimates of... more Value-added approaches for attributing student growth to teachers often use weighted estimates of building-level factors based on “typical” schools to represent a range of community, school, and other variables related to teacher and student work that are not easily measured directly. This study examines whether such estimates are likely to be accurate in “outlier” schools where building-level characteristics, such as demographics and faculty qualifications, are at the outer edges of the distribution of schools on which the “typical school” estimates are based. We examined whether building-level factors correlate with grade-level ratings in one of the most widely used approaches to value-added modeling, thus impacting interpretation of value-added ratings of teachers. Urban schools may be particularly affected by findings that reliable interpretation of a model using typical school estimates is affected by aspects of the school, even when using a weighted model. More correlations we...
Journal of Geoscience Education, 2014
This study compared the career skills and interests for students in two STEM schools to national ... more This study compared the career skills and interests for students in two STEM schools to national data. Students completed the KUDER skills assessment and career planning online tools. Results were compared across school, grade level, and sex. The results provided evidence
The backbone of economic growth in the United States relies on engineering innovation. However, e... more The backbone of economic growth in the United States relies on engineering innovation. However, engineering innovation cannot occur without engineers and scientists. Unfortunately however, many K-12 students do not have a good understanding of the engineering design process or the vast field of engineering. As a result, many students lose interest in math and science and do not pursue Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields. This paper will describe a unique partnership among the Teacher Education Program and School of Engineering at the University of Dayton (UD) and the Dayton Regional STEM Center (DRSC). This partnership initiated with the development of the STEM Education Quality Framework (SQF). The SQF resulted in a variety of educational tools, including a STEM curriculum template, that was implemented in the DRSC’s teacher professional development and curriculum development program entitled the STEM Fellow Program. The STEM Fellow program was modeled in a uniq...
Journal of STEM Education: Innovations and Research, 2013
Abstract:This paper will describe a unique partnership among the Department of Teacher Education ... more Abstract:This paper will describe a unique partnership among the Department of Teacher Education and School of Engineering at the University of Dayton (UD) and the Dayton Regional STEM Center (DRSC). This partnership resulted in the development of the STEM Education Quality Framework (SQF), a tool to guide educators in teaching, learning and refining STEM education. The SQF resulted in a variety of educational tools, including a STEM curriculum template, that was implemented in the DRSC's teacher professional development and curriculum development program entitled the STEM Fellow Program. The STEM Fellow program was later modeled in a unique, NSF sponsored six week program for K-12 STEM teachers and pre-service teachers entitled, "Engineering Innovation and Design for STEM Teachers." The objectives of this program were to enhance the knowledge of teachers about engineering innovation and design, to empower them to provide their students inspirational engineering and in...
Culturally Responsive Strategies for Reforming STEM Higher Education, 2019
The backbone of economic growth in the United States relies on engineering innovation. However, m... more The backbone of economic growth in the United States relies on engineering innovation. However, many K-12 teachers and students do not have a good understanding of engineering. As a result, many students lose interest in math and science and do not end up pursuing the field of engineering. This paper describes a unique six week program for K-12 STEM teachers and preservice teachers entitled Engineering Innovation and Design for STEM Teachers. The overall objective of this project was to enhance the knowledge of teachers and pre-service teachers about engineering innovation and design so that they can facilitate inspirational engineering and innovation experiences in their classrooms as well as better inform their students of potential career fields and societal needs. During the pilot year, ten teachers and five pre-service teachers were placed on teams with an engineering student, engineering faculty and an industrial mentor. Each team participated in an introductory engineering in...
There were three Ohio research efforts about Student Growth Measures (SGM) for Teacher and Princi... more There were three Ohio research efforts about Student Growth Measures (SGM) for Teacher and Principal Evaluanons: 1)extended tesnng for previously non-‐tested subjects and grades, 2)relanonship between the teacher and principal evaluanon systems’ implementanon plans, and 3) an empirical study of Local Educanon Agencies’ (LEA) year-‐end evaluanon data from 2013. In 2011-‐2012 Ohio offered a 2 year mini-‐grant to LEAs agreeing to administer extended tesnng for Value-‐Added measures (VAM) in grades and content areas not represented in the Ohio Achievement Assessment (OAA). The mini-‐grant allowed the state to create tesnng pools sufficient to produce teacher-‐level VAMs. American College Tesnng (ACT) End of Course (EOC), Terra Nova, MAPS, and/or Star assessments were administered. The two year study of a sample of 23 funded LEAs has provided findings for the local and nanonal discussions about student growth measures and teacher/principal evaluanons. At the same nme Ohio complete...