Working in an interdisciplinary manner is long pursued but a difficult goal of science and mathematics education. The interdisciplinarity of science and mathematics can occur when connections between those disciplines are identified and developed. These connections could be expressed in the educational policies, curriculum, or in the science and mathematics teachers’ educational practices. Sometimes those connections are scarce, but in other moments, full integration is achieved. The Handbook of Research on Interdisciplinarity Between Science and Mathematics in Education presents results of good practices and interdisciplinary educational approaches in science and mathematics. It presents a broad range of approaches for all educational levels, from kindergarten to university. Covering topics such as computer programming, mathematics in environmental issues, and simple machines, this major reference work is an excellent resource for administrators and educators of both K-12 and higher education, government officials, pre-service teachers, teacher educators, librarians, researchers, and academicians.

The Handbook of Research Design in Mathematics and Science Education is based on results from an NSF-supported project (REC 9450510) aimed at clarifying the nature of principles that govern the effective use of emerging new research designs in mathematics and science education. A primary goal is to describe several of the most important types of research designs that: * have been pioneered recently by mathematics and science educators; * have distinctive characteristics when they are used in projects that focus on mathematics and science education; and * have proven to be especially productive for investigating the kinds of complex, interacting, and adapting systems that underlie the development of mathematics or science students and teachers, or for the development, dissemination, and implementation of innovative programs of mathematics or science instruction. The volume emphasizes research designs that are intended to radically increase the relevance of research to practice, often by involving practitioners in the identification and formulation of the problems to be addressed or in other key roles in the research process. Examples of such research designs include teaching experiments, clinical interviews, analyses of videotapes, action research studies, ethnographic observations, software development studies (or curricula development studies, more generally), and computer modeling studies. This book's second goal is to begin discussions about the nature of appropriate and productive criteria for assessing (and increasing) the quality of research proposals, projects, or publications that are based on the preceding kind of research designs. A final objective is to describe such guidelines in forms that will be useful to graduate students and others who are novices to the fields of mathematics or science education research. The NSF-supported project from which this book developed involved a series of mini conferences in which leading researchers in mathematics and science education developed detailed specifications for the book, and planned and revised chapters to be included. Chapters were also field tested and revised during a series of doctoral research seminars that were sponsored by the University of Wisconsin's OERI-supported National Center for Improving Student Learning and Achievement in Mathematics and Science. In these seminars, computer-based videoconferencing and www-based discussion groups were used to create interactions in which authors of potential chapters served as "guest discussion leaders" responding to questions and comments from doctoral students and faculty members representing more than a dozen leading research universities throughout the USA and abroad. A Web site with additional resource materials related to this book can be found at http://www.soe.purdue.edu/smsc/lesh/ This internet site includes directions for enrolling in seminars, participating in ongoing discussion groups, and submitting or downloading resources which range from videotapes and transcripts, to assessment instruments or theory-based software, to publications or data samples related to the research designs being discussed.

"The goal of this book is to provide a compilation of current research and good practices about interdisciplinarity between science and mathematics in education, especially for the professional development of educators who want to explore different levels of connections between science and mathematics"--

This book provides an essential introduction to the state-of the-art in interdisciplinary Mathematics Education. First, it begins with an outline of the field’s relevant historical, conceptual and theoretical backgrounds, what “discipline” means and how inter-, trans-, and meta-disciplinary activities can be understood. Relevant theoretical perspectives from Marx, Foucault and Vygotsky are explained, along with key ideas in theory, e.g. boundaries, discourses, identity, and the division of labour in practice. Second, the book reviews research findings of mainly empirical studies on interdisciplinary work involving mathematics in education, in all stages of education that have become disciplined. For example, it reports that a common theme in studies in middle and high schools is assessing the motivational benefits for the learner of subsuming disciplinary motives and even practices to extra-academic problem-solving activities; this is counter-balanced by the effort needed to overcome the disciplinary boundaries in academic institutions, and in professional identities. These disciplinary boundaries are less obviously limitations in middle and primary schools, and in some vocational courses. Third and finally, it explores selected case studies that illustrate these concepts and findings, both in terms of the motivational benefits for learners and the institutional and other boundaries involved.

The book is based on the recently held Symposium on mathematics and its connections to the arts and sciences, namely the second Mathematics and its Connections to the Arts and Sciences (MACAS2)Symposium in Odense, Denmark (May 29-31, 2007). The chapters are an eclectic collection of interdisciplinary research initiatives undertaken by mathematics educators with implications for practitioners concerned with teaching and learning processes. The papers cover a wide genre of research domains within mathematics education (cognition, modelling, problem solving, teacher education, ethnomathematics, mathematical/statistical literacy, curricular and technological initiatives and research related to science education). The major interdisciplinary themes of the papers in this book are: 1. How can modelling activities be used to foster interdisciplinary projects in the school and university setting? 2. How can the intricate connections between mathematics and physics be used to design and research interdisciplinary activities in schools and the university? 3. How can research within the ethnomathematics domain of mathematics education be linked to critical mathematics education and interdisciplinary projects involving mathematics, art and culture? 4. How can the push for mathematical and statistical literacy be connected to other subjects in the school curricula and emphasized via interdisciplinary activities? 5. What are concrete examples of classroom experiments with empirical data that demonstrate new and unusual connections/relations between mathematics, arts and the sciences with implications for pedagogy? 6. What is the role of technology and new ICT interfaces in linking communities of learners in interdisciplinary activities involving problem solving? The book is an important contribution to the literature on educational initiatives in interdisciplinary education increasing vital for emerging professions of the 21st century.

The Handbook of Research on STEM Education represents a groundbreaking and comprehensive synthesis of research and presentation of policy within the realm of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. What distinguishes this Handbook from others is the nature of integration of the disciplines that is the founding premise for the work – all chapters in this book speak directly to the integration of STEM, rather than discussion of research within the individual content areas. The Handbook of Research on STEM Education explores the most pressing areas of STEM within an international context. Divided into six sections, the authors cover topics including: the nature of STEM, STEM learning, STEM pedagogy, curriculum and assessment, critical issues in STEM, STEM teacher education, and STEM policy and reform. The Handbook utilizes the lens of equity and access by focusing on STEM literacy, early childhood STEM, learners with disabilities, informal STEM, socio-scientific issues, race-related factors, gender equity, cultural-relevancy, and parental involvement. Additionally, discussion of STEM education policy in a variety of countries is included, as well as a focus on engaging business/industry and teachers in advocacy for STEM education. The Handbook’s 37 chapters provide a deep and meaningful landscape of the implementation of STEM over the past two decades. As such, the findings that are presented within provide the reader with clear directions for future research into effective practice and supports for integrated STEM, which are grounded in the literature to date.