Get Scientific Inquiry in Mathematics Theory and Practice Andrzej Sokolowski Free All Chapters

Full download test bank at ebook textbookfull.
com
Scientific Inquiry in Mathematics

Theory and Practice Andrzej
CLICK LINK TO DOWLOAD
https://textbookfull.com/product/scientific-
inquiry-in-mathematics-theory-and-practice-
andrzej-sokolowski/
textbookfull
More products digital (pdf, epub, mobi) instant
download maybe you interests ...
Confident Speaking : Theory, Practice and Teacher

Inquiry 1st Edition Goh
https://textbookfull.com/product/confident-speaking-theory-
practice-and-teacher-inquiry-1st-edition-goh/
Phase Transformation in Metals Mathematics Theory and

Practice Nestor Perez
https://textbookfull.com/product/phase-transformation-in-metals-
mathematics-theory-and-practice-nestor-perez/
Inquiry-Based Teaching and Learning across Disciplines:

Comparative Theory and Practice in Schools 1st Edition
Gillian Kidman
https://textbookfull.com/product/inquiry-based-teaching-and-
learning-across-disciplines-comparative-theory-and-practice-in-
schools-1st-edition-gillian-kidman/
Exploring Resilience A Scientific Journey from Practice

to Theory Siri Wiig
https://textbookfull.com/product/exploring-resilience-a-
scientific-journey-from-practice-to-theory-siri-wiig/
Foundations of the Theory of Parthood 1st Edition
Andrzej Pietruszczak
https://textbookfull.com/product/foundations-of-the-theory-of-
parthood-1st-edition-andrzej-pietruszczak/
Molecular Spectroscopy—Experiment and Theory: From

Molecules to Functional Materials Andrzej Kole■y■ski
https://textbookfull.com/product/molecular-spectroscopy-
experiment-and-theory-from-molecules-to-functional-materials-
andrzej-kolezynski/
The Reflexivity of Language and Linguistic Inquiry

Integrational Linguistics in Practice Dorthe Duncker
https://textbookfull.com/product/the-reflexivity-of-language-and-
linguistic-inquiry-integrational-linguistics-in-practice-dorthe-
duncker/
New York Scientific: A Culture of Inquiry, Knowledge,

and Learning 1st Edition Istvan Hargittai
https://textbookfull.com/product/new-york-scientific-a-culture-
of-inquiry-knowledge-and-learning-1st-edition-istvan-hargittai/
Open Access In Theory And Practice: The Theory-Practice

Relationship And Openness Stephen Pinfield
https://textbookfull.com/product/open-access-in-theory-and-
practice-the-theory-practice-relationship-and-openness-stephen-
pinfield/
Andrzej Sokolowski
Scientific Inquiry
in Mathematics
- Theory and
Practice
A STEM Perspective
Scientific Inquiry in Mathematics - Theory
and Practice
Andrzej Sokolowski
Scientific Inquiry
in Mathematics - Theory
and Practice
A STEM Perspective
Andrzej Sokolowski
Division of Mathematics and Science
Lone Star College
Tomball, TX, USA
ISBN 978-3-319-89523-9 ISBN 978-3-319-89524-6 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89524-6
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018938186
© Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018

This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the
material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation,
broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information
storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology
now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication
does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant
protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this
book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or
the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any
errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional
claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Printed on acid-free paper
This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer International Publishing AG part of
Springer Nature.
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
Preface
Albert Einstein wondered, “How can it be that mathematics,

being after all a product of human thought which is indepen-
dent of experience, is so admirably appropriate to the objects
of reality?”1
January 27, 1921, address to the Prussian Academy of Science,
Berlin.
Objective of the Book
A gap between problem-solving in mathematics and scientific inquiry in science is

beyond controversy. Attempts to elevate the gap are made and this book aspires to be
one of such attempts. The book is to promote transdisciplinary STEM learning
experiences that support the thesis that exploring mathematics concepts using
scientific methods can help to merge the two methodologies. Furthermore, it is
hoped that such learning settings are to develop students’ mathematical reasoning
skills and serve as a means to improve students’ STEM readiness.
The objective of this book is to propose a theoretical framework and
multidisciplinary modeling activities of what STEM learning in the twenty-first
century classroom might look like.
This book draws on a diverse literature from international STEM education
community as well as from engineering, science, and mathematics education com-
munities. It synthesizes the research findings that lead to formulating a theoretical
framework on how to develop students’ mathematical reasoning while simulta-
neously exercise scientific inquiry. Several case studies were designed to test the
framework and their findings were summarized. These case studies include detailed
instructional supports that were to guide students through the process of merging
1
Einstein, A. (1914). Principles of theoretical physics, inaugural address before the Prussian
Academy of Sciences, 1914. Reprinted in Einstein, A. (1973). Ideas and opinions (pp. 221–223).
London: Souvenir Press.
v
vi Preface
mathematical and scientific reasonings in a coherent STEM inquiry. The book can be
considered as a resource for STEM education students, researchers, and practitioners
seeking to develop transdisciplinary learning experiences.
Structure of the Book
The book consists of two main parts. Part 1 contains six chapters and discusses
underpinnings of STEM experiences that lead to a formulation of an integrated
theoretical framework. Part 2 comprises four chapters with four STEM projects
designated for precalculus and calculus students during which the theoretical frame-
work was put in practice and the outputs discussed.
In Chap. 1, general foundations of integrated learning are discussed, and an
argument that STEM students’ readiness can be initiated from developing their
mathematical reasoning skills using scientific contexts before engaging in engineer-
ing designs is posited. Chapter 2 delves more in depth into the current findings on
integrated science and mathematics learning and establishes this learning setting as a
viable foundation for developing students’ STEM competency. STEM learning is
strongly supported by representations. Chapter 3 is dedicated to discussing learning
effects of using representations in school practice and their effects on STEM practice.
While there are various ways of designing and performing STEM activities when
representations are enabled, modeling is being used in all of the STEM component
disciplines. Chapter 4 zooms into the underlying principles of modeling in biology,
physics, chemistry, mathematics, and engineering. It also discusses ways of integrat-
ing technology in STEM learning environment. Chapter 5 focuses on synthesizing
research findings on using scientific methods in STEM practice. The ultimate goal of
this chapter is to seek ways of bridging problem-solving in mathematics with
scientific methods. A culminating phase of Part 1 of the book is Chap. 6 that suggests
a theoretical framework for merging mathematical reasoning with scientific methods.
Intertwining of these methodologies along with applying it in practice is discussed.
Part 2 of the book opens up with Chap. 7 that contains a case study about
constructing an exponential model for a bouncing ball and using it to model the
law of conservation of energy. Extracting properties of an exponential behavior from
that context revealed new knowledge about interpretation of the base of exponential
decay that does not parallel with its traditional view. Chapter 8 is about using the
idea of function continuity to support constructing a piecewise position function of
the simulated motion of a walking man. The fact that position function must be
continuous and differentiable is not emphasized in calculus nor physics textbooks.
Applying the principle of continuity in real life highlighted the importance of
studying the principles and revealed interpretations that do not surface in traditional
context-free textbook problems. The concept of function transformations used as a
tool to produce new functions based on parent function was explored in Chap. 9. By
being situated in a simulated environment of projectile motion, this activity revealed
that parent function does not necessarily have to be expressed in its traditional
Preface vii
standard form. The simulation also disclosed certain limitations of applying func-
tions transformation in real contexts that do not surface in typical textbook questions.
Investigating function rate of change and using it to optimizing area enclosed by a
perimeter of a fixed length was the primary objective of the activity included in
Chap. 10. While traditional textbook problems ask for unique values that optimize
the quantity of interest, this activity offered students the opportunity of constructing
functions, exploring their properties and then optimizing the quantity while
reflecting on the conducted lab. General conclusions and suggestions for further
research conclude each chapter.
Tomball, TX Andrzej Sokolowski

Contents
Part I Scientific and Mathematics Reasoning in STEM:

Conceptual Framework
1 STEM Education: A Platform for Multidisciplinary
Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.1 STEM Learning Designs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2 Learning Outcomes Achieved Using STEM
Learning Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.3 Suggested Pathway to Develop Students’ STEM
Readiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.4 Enhancing Scientific Route in STEM Learning
Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2 Integrating Mathematics and Science Within STEM
Paradigm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.1 Mathematical Reasoning and Scientific Inquiry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.2 Mathematics as a Tool for Quantifying Scientific
Phenomena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.3 Merging Mathematical Reasoning with Scientific
Contexts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.4 Scientific Methods and Inquiry in STEM Learning
Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3 Teaching and Learning Representations in STEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
3.1 Representations as a Means of Supporting Learning . . . . . . . . . . 21
3.2 Representations in Mathematics and Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
3.3 Active Learning and Representations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
3.4 Dual Channel of Knowledge Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
3.5 Human Memory and Its Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
ix
x Contents
3.6 The Effects of Internal Representations on

Knowledge Acquisition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
4 Modeling in STEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
4.1 Modeling and Construction of New Knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
4.2 Research and Modeling in Biology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
4.3 Modeling in Chemistry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
4.4 Modeling in Physics Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
4.5 Modeling in Mathematics Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
4.6 Modeling in Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
4.7 Technology in STEM Modeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
4.8 Synthesis of Modeling Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
5 Survey of the Field of Empirical Research on Scientific
Methods in STEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
5.1 Formulating Criteria for Literature Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
5.2 Synthesis of General Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
5.2.1 Findings of How Students Formulate
Hypothesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
5.2.2 Inquiry Types Used During STEM Projects . . . . . . . . . . 46
5.2.3 Concerns About Extracting Variables and
Model Formulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
5.2.4 Concerns About the Validation Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
5.2.5 Interface of Problem-Solving and Modeling
in STEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
6 Formulating Conceptual Framework for Multidisciplinary
STEM Modeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
6.1 Framework for Multidisciplinary STEM Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
6.1.1 Inquiry Type and Students’ Reasoning
Skills Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
6.1.2 Criteria for Contexts Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
6.1.3 Challenges with Problem Statement
and Hypothesis Formulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
6.1.4 Analysis, Generalization, and Algebraic
Model Eliciting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
6.2 Teacher’s Guidance During Multidisciplinary
STEM Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
6.3 Sequencing STEM Modeling Activities Within
Mathematics and Science Curricula . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
6.4 General Description of the Proposed STEM Activities . . . . . . . . . 61
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Contents xi
Part II Scientific and Mathematics Reasoning in

STEM Practice
7 Modeling with Exponential Decay Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
7.1 Prior Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
7.2 Analysis of Pretest Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
7.3 Introducing Exponential Model Using STEM Contexts . . . . . . . . 68
7.3.1 The Difference Between Rates and Ratios . . . . . . . . . . . 69
7.3.2 Building Contextual Background to Elicit
an Exponential Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
7.3.3 Logistics of the Lab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
7.4 Lab Outline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
7.4.1 Lab Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
7.4.2 Data Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
7.4.3 Model Verifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
7.4.4 Integrating a Physics Component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
7.5 Lab Reflections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
7.6 Posttest Analysis and General Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
8 Exploring Function Continuity in Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
8.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
8.2 Prior Research Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
8.3 Formulating a Contextual Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
8.3.1 Review of Conditions for Continuity Using
Function Symbolic Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
8.3.2 Using the Conditions for Continuity to Formulate
Piecewise Position Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
8.4 Organizing the Lab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
8.4.1 Getting Familiar with the Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
8.4.2 Logistics of the Lab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
8.5 Lab Outline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
8.6 Posttest Analysis and General Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
9 Applying Function Transformations to Model
Dynamic Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
9.1 Prior Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
9.2 The Lab Objectives and Pedagogical Background . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
9.3 Merging Mathematical Underpinnings and the
Scientific Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
9.3.1 Discussing and Formulating the Parent
Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
9.3.2 Formulating Algebraic Expressions for
Transformed Trajectories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
9.3.3 Lab Logistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
xii Contents
9.4 Lab Outline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

9.4.1 Finding Equation of the Parent Function . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
9.4.2 Applying Transformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
9.5 Posttest Analysis and General Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
9.5.1 Analysis of Case A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
9.5.2 Analysis of Case B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
9.5.3 Analysis of Case C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
10 Investigating Function Extreme Value: Case of
Optimization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
10.1 Prior Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
10.2 Theoretical Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
10.3 Context Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
10.4 Setup, Materials, and Lab Logistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
10.5 Lab Outline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
10.5.1 Lab Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
10.5.2 Data Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
10.5.3 Model Verification Using Graphing Technology . . . . . . 127
10.5.4 Merging the Lab Outputs with Techniques for
Optimization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
10.6 General Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
10.6.1 Formulas Versus Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
10.6.2 Sketching and Interpreting Rate of Change . . . . . . . . . 129
10.6.3 Transitioning to Textbook Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
10.6.4 General Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Part I
Scientific and Mathematics Reasoning in
STEM: Conceptual Framework
Chapter 1
STEM Education: A Platform
for Multidisciplinary Learning
Abstract This chapter summarizes general purposes, the learning settings, and
the outcomes of using the STEM as a platform for multidisciplinary learning.
By encompassing several disciplines, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology,
technology, and engineering, exercising STEM activities posit specific challenges.
These challenges are especially visible in high school where students learn contents
of STEM subjects in uncorrelated manners. While exercising multidisciplinary
STEM activities during extra designed instructional units would be the most effi-
cient, this approach might be problematic to put in practice. Therefore, alternative
routes of exercising STEM learning experiences are sought. In this chapter, a
framework for an alternative route is suggested and its general theoretical underpin-
nings discussed. Attention is given to research findings on ways of exercising
scientific inquiry and mathematical reasoning in STEM practice. These ideas will
also be further discussed in the next chapters.
1.1 STEM Learning Designs
Due to a broad range of aims in educational research and practice, the acronym
STEM has multiple definitions. Moore et al. (2014) described STEM as an effort to
link some or all the four disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics into one unit that is based on connections between these and real-
word problems. McComas (2014) defined STEM as an interdisciplinary approach to
learning that integrates academic concepts with real-world situations. Sanders
(2009) described integrated STEM education as proposals that explore teaching
and learning between or among any two or more of the STEM subject areas.
National Science Foundation defined STEM as the integration of subjects, which
include not only the standard disciplines of mathematics, natural sciences, engineer-
ing, computer, and information sciences, but also social and behavioral sciences,
economics, sociology, and political science (Green 2007).
A large range of STEM interpretations is followed by a high diversity of
organizing and delivering these integrated learning experiences to students. These
settings vary and one of them, called multidisciplinary, is about applying knowledge
© Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018 3

A. Sokolowski, Scientific Inquiry in Mathematics - Theory and Practice,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89524-6_1
4 1 STEM Education: A Platform for Multidisciplinary Learning
and skills learned from two or more disciplines to help enhance the learning
experience (Vasquez et al. 2013). For example, the idea of periodic functions,
from trigonometry, might be integrated with periodical processes studied in biology
or physics where students would use real data to construct such functions and learn
more about the system behavior. Similarly, the fundamental theorem of calculus
might be applied to kinematics to support the idea that accumulation under the graph
represents the change of object’s position. Such integrated projects can be conducted
in math or science classes depending on the content emphasis. In addition to
enhancing the learning of the involved subjects, they can provide opportunities for
creating new knowledge.
STEM activities can also be classified depending on the form of the final product.
For instance; they can lead to formulating a mathematical model of a phenomenon,
or be of a form of a theoretical design, or a lead to constructing of an artifact.
The nature of the final product depends on the objective of the activity, the time
devoted to its completion, and available resources. The form of the final product
will support the contents of the involved subjects and amplify the methods of
learning. If the final product is an algebraic representation, the effort will evolve
around primarily using the attributes of algebraic functions and map them into
the observed behavior of the system under investigation. If the final product is
an artifact, technical skills will be promoted with applications of algebraic
algorithms.
While STEM epistemological framework is rooted in the various disciplines,
students’ learning can also take different routes; the learning can be teacher- or
student centered. STEM activities can be assigned as team projects defined as a
process of working collectively to achieve a common objective or as individual
projects. Research shows that teamwork produces higher learning effects when
compared to individual work because: (a) most engineering designs is done coop-
eratively, not individually, and technical skills are sometimes equally important as
interpersonal skills (Felder et al. 2000); (b) scientists work mostly in groups and less
often as isolated investigators, thus similarly, students should gain experience
sharing responsibility for learning with each other; (c) cooperative and team learning
appears to be the most thoroughly researched instructional methods in all structures
of education, (see, e.g., Alters and Nelson 2002). Springer et al. (1999) meta-
analyzed STEM learning outcomes and found out that STEM-related cooperative
learning promotes greater academic achievement and more favorable attitudes
toward learning than traditional students-centered teaching. Thus, communication
and teamwork should be prioritized during STEM projects. In such learning, stu-
dents communicate and discuss thus learn how to convey their arguments to their
peers using the language of science, mathematics, or engineering. Team members
tend to share knowledge and complement each other’s skills which can produce a
higher quality of the final projects.
1.3 Suggested Pathway to Develop Students’ STEM Readiness 5
1.2 Learning Outcomes Achieved Using STEM Learning

Settings
There are several educational objectives that can be achieved using a multi-
disciplinary learning environment: (a) promoting awareness of the roles of science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics in modern society; (b) enhancing famil-
iarity with at least some of the fundamental concepts from each area; (c) allowing for
integrating different teaching methods; (d) promoting active learning (Felder et al.
2000); (e) fostering students’ mathematical and scientific reasoning. Among these,
using the STEM to promoting active learning is one of the main educational
objectives because research shows (Cabrera and Cabrera 2005) that people acquire
and retain knowledge and skills more efficiently through practice. While a straight
lecturing may succeed at promoting short-term factual recall, active learning pro-
motes long-term retention of information, comprehension, motivation to learn, and
subsequent interest in the subject. STEM education also provides multiple opportu-
nities to link scientific inquiry by formulating hypotheses that are proved or
disproved through investigations before students engage in the engineering designs
to solve problems (Kennedy and Odell 2014). Findings from preliminary studies
(Honey et al. 2014) suggested that integration can lead to improved conceptual
learning in the disciplines and that the effects differ depending on: (a) the nature of
the integration, (b) the outcomes measured, and (c) the students’ prior knowledge
and experience. Another view by Koedinger et al. (2012) posited that integrated
approaches benefit those individuals who already possess some knowledge pertinent
to the integrated concepts, as compared to individuals with limited knowledge or less
adept at building connections among conceptual structures.
Along with an increasing role of technology, a new STEM learning platform can
elicit perspectives on multidisciplinary learning and open the opportunities to extend
areas not typically found in subject-specific textbooks.
1.3 Suggested Pathway to Develop Students’ STEM

Readiness
While STEM is broadly promoted and recognized in education, research does not
offer explicit suggestions on what STEM format or what organizational setting
maximizes the learning effects (see Barrett et al. 2014). Explicit elaboration on the
integrated epistemic goals in STEM education is also rarely found and literature and
mostly it refers to either recognizing and applying concepts that have different
meanings across disciplines and merging them in one coherent concept or combining
practices from two or more STEM disciplines (e.g., scientific experimentation with
developing methods of quantifications or scientific experimentation with an engi-
neering design). It is common in STEM practices that one subject takes a dominant
role in the learning objectives. As the integration of disciplines is a standard umbrella
for exercising STEM practices, the methodology of the integration is still being
debated. In their newly developed theoretical framework for STEM education,
Kelley and Knowles (2016) suggested applying situated learning to integrate engi-
neering design, scientific inquiry, technological literacy, and mathematical thinking,
whereas Vasquez et al. (2013) proposed a continuum of integration through trans-
disciplinary approaches supported by interconnection and interdependence among
the disciplines. Because inquiry-based instruction engages students to think and act
like scientists, which is a signature pedagogy in science (Crippen and Archambault
2012) scientific inquiry-based instruction appears as a hallmark of integrated STEM
education. Pinar (2004, p. 25) claimed that multidisciplinary curriculum fosters
intellectual development and students’ capacities for critical thinking. He also
contended (p. 25) that “well-designed curriculum should enable students to connect
their experiences with academic knowledge.” Integration should not only be
discipline-wise but also move beyond these boundaries, include students’ prior
experiences, and provide them with opportunities to construct new knowledge.
Mentzer et al. (2014) suggested that teachers should seek opportunities to demon-
strate the value of mathematical modeling and encourage students to think about
relationships and functions as ways of understanding the world around us. While
research on the impact of integrated STEM experiences on students’ achievement,
subject–domain knowledge, problem-solving ability, and the ability to make con-
nections between disciplines is not extensive, concerns related to both the design of
studies and the reporting of results hamper a need to make explicit claims about what
areas of students’ learning is affected the most.
While all types of discipline or methods of integration generate learning, the most
potent are these that include scientific methods (Davison et al. 1995). Therefore, this
area will be further discussed and explored in this book. How to integrate abstract
math structures with hypotheses formulation that are typical for scientific investiga-
tion? Alternatively, how to design the process of the derived model verification that
will reflect on both scientific phenomena embedded in the investigation and the
algebraic structure? While it is apparent that through modeling processes, students
will have the opportunities to improve their mathematics and scientific reasoning
skills, the underlying question is how to integrate inductively organized learning
experiences in sciences with a traditionally structured mathematics learning. Is there
a common area for such integration? Alternatively, how to organize activities that
would enhance a pathway suggested in Fig. 1.1?
To develop a more concise theoretical framework for multidisciplinary learning,
currently used modeling in all STEM component disciplines will be analyzed (see
Chap. 4). Following this analysis, a survey of research on using scientific contexts in
mathematics classes will also be discussed, and it will be summarized in Chap. 5.
English (2016, p.1) claimed that “We still need more studies on how student’s
learning outcomes arise not only from different forms of STEM integration but
also from the particular disciplines that are being integrated.” The book can be
considered a response to this call.
1.4 Enhancing Scientific Route in STEM Learning Settings 7
Multidiciplinary
mathematics and science •Merging mathematics and scientific reasoning
modeling
Active learning •New knowledge
Improved problem •Applications

solving techniques
Fig. 1.1 Proposed epistemology of multidisciplinary STEM modeling
Integrated explorations STEM readines Engineering designs
Fig. 1.2 Pathway to develop students’ STEM readiness
1.4 Enhancing Scientific Route in STEM Learning Settings
Students’ successes in science and engineering significantly depend on their skills of

mathematical modeling where mathematics with its tools is the language to derive
quantitative solutions (Dym 2004). This relationship suggests that emphasizing
modeling in high school mathematics classes might benefit potential engineering
students and assure their college readiness. A broad range of disciplines and learning
methods included in STEM activities that extend from learning scientific principles
and their techniques of quantification to designing artifacts makes it challenging to
organize. This challenge perhaps accounts for the earlier discussed difficulties that
are faced by the STEM education community regarding organizing STEM activities
and evaluating the learning effects. In the light of that, it is prudent to try to develop
integrated learning experiences that will encompass a smaller range of objectives,
but that will simultaneously get students ready to immerse in more complex engi-
neering designs at college levels. A proposed pathway to accomplish that goal is
illustrated in Fig. 1.2.
The primary objectives of integrated explorations designed this way are devel-
oping students’ mathematical reasoning using scientific contexts and developing
students’ ability to learn about scientific phenomena using algebraic structures. For
the purpose of the book, merging both this reasoning will be called STEM reasoning.
The main goal of such sequencing is to provide experiences to develop students’
subject knowledge and STEM reasoning prior building artifacts. In such conducts,
performing experiments will inform the learners about the function and performance
of potential design solutions before a prototype involving such investigations is
constructed. Initiating STEM engagement from merging science and mathematics

was also advocated by Kennedy and Odell (2014) who postulated that STEM
education must provide opportunities to have students experience scientific inquiry
before they engage in the engineering designs to solve problems. These recommen-
dations suggest that STEM designs can be exercised in two internally cohesive
stages: the first that is to have students experience merging quantifying methods of
mathematics with scientific inquiry and the second that will take these skills to the
next level and have students apply this reasoning in engineering designs. In the next
five chapters, research findings supporting such pathway within STEM learning will
be presented and discussed.
References
Alters, B. J., & Nelson, C. E. (2002). Perspective: Teaching evolution in higher education.
Evolution, 56(10), 1891–1901.
Barrett, B. S., Moran, A. L., & Woods, J. E. (2014). Meteorology meets engineering: An interdis-
ciplinary STEM module for middle and early secondary school students. International Journal
of STEM Education, 1(1), 1.
Cabrera, E. F., & Cabrera, A. (2005). Fostering knowledge sharing through people management
practices. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 16(5), 720–735.
Crippen, K. J., & Archambault, L. (2012). Scaffolded inquiry-based instruction with technology:
A signature pedagogy for STEM education. Computers in the Schools, 29(1-2), 157–173.
Davison, D. M., Miller, K. W., & Metheny, D. L. (1995). What does the integration of science and
mathematics really mean? School Science and Mathematics, 95(5), 226–230.
Dym, C. (2004). Principles of mathematical modeling. Washington, DC: National Academies
Press.
English, L. D. (2016). STEM education K-12: Perspectives on integration. International Journal of
STEM Education, 3(1), 1.
Felder, R. M., Woods, D. R., Stice, J. E., & Rugarcia, A. (2000). The future of engineering
education II. Teaching methods that work. Chemical Engineering Education, 34(1), 26–39.
Green, M. (2007). Science and engineering degrees: 1966-2004. (NSF 07–307). Arlington, VA:
National Science Foundation.
Honey, M., Pearson, G., & Schweingruber, H. (2014). STEM integration in K-12 education: Status,
prospects, and an agenda for research. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
Kelley, T. R., & Knowles, J. G. (2016). A conceptual framework for integrated STEM education.
International Journal of STEM Education, 3(1), 1–11.
Kennedy, T., & Odell, M. (2014). Engaging students in STEM education. Science Education
International, 25(3), 246–258.
Koedinger, K. R., Corbett, A. T., & Perfetti, C. (2012). The knowledge‐learning‐instruction
framework: Bridging the science‐practice chasm to enhance robust student learning. Cognitive
Science, 36(5), 757–798.
McComas, W. F. (2014). STEM: Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. In The
language of science education (pp. 102–103). Boston, MA: Sense Publishers.
Mentzer, N., Huffman, T., & Thayer, H. (2014). High school student modeling in the engineering
design process. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 24(3), 293–316.
Moore, T. J., Glancy, A. W., Tank, K. M., Kersten, J. A., Smith, K. A., & Stohlmann, M. S. (2014).
A framework for quality K-12 engineering education: Research and development. Journal of
Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER), 4(1), 2.
References 9
Sanders, M. (2009). STEM, STEM education, STEMmania. Technology Teacher, 68(4), 20–26.
Springer, L., Stanne, M. E., & Donovan, S. S. (1999). Effects of small-group learning on under-
graduates in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology: A meta-analysis. Review of
Educational Research, 69(1), 21–51.
Vasquez, J. A., Sneider, C. I., & Comer, M. W. (2013). STEM lesson essentials, grades 3-8:
Integrating science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. New York: Heinemann.
Chapter 2
Integrating Mathematics and Science
Within STEM Paradigm
Abstract This chapter discusses research findings on integrating mathematics and

science within STEM platform. It summarizes the premises that benefit the learners
as seen from the perspective of mathematics and science content knowledge and
highlights the areas that need more attention. In the traditional curriculum, science
provides the contexts and mathematics and offers the tools to quantify the contexts.
While students do use the tools of mathematics to solve problems in science and use
scientific contexts in mathematics, research shows that the methods applied are often
disconnected. STEM activities can be seen as offering opportunities to create a new,
unique knowledge rooted in merging these two disciplines into an integrated inquiry.
In the attempt to merge these two learning disciplines in such a way, this chapter also
provides an analysis of the primary phases of scientific investigation and its possible
fit to STEM mathematics activities. A draft of the general theoretical framework on
merging scientific inquiry with mathematical reasoning and its relation to STEM
competencies is also brought to the reader’s attention in this chapter.
2.1 Mathematical Reasoning and Scientific Inquiry
The most frequently researched STEM education pairing is that of mathematics and
science (Marginson et al. 2013). Mathematics provides a computational system and
helps conveniently encode a rule (Bing and Redish 2008). As a teaching and learning
real-world application problems is difficult in mathematics classes (Berry and
Nyman 2002), developing students’ mathematical reasoning skills by formulating
mathematical constructs using STEM contexts appears as a strong opportunity that is
not fully explored. An aspect that is not often being undertaken in mathematics
classes is coupling algebraic representations with natural phenomena to provide
opportunities for enhancing mathematical reasoning. For example, if students find
how the speed of a cart behaves over a definite, measurable distance, they can find an
algebraic function that models the cart’s position and use it to compute the position
of the cart at any time beyond the one utilized in the lab.
A high range of mathematical apparatus studied by students allows for describing
phenomenon from multiple angles. For example, it allows for: (a) quantifying the

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89524-6_2
12 2 Integrating Mathematics and Science Within STEM Paradigm
outputs of a deductive inquiry, e.g., to find unique solutions to problems;

(b) formulating general mathematical representations as a result of applying induc-
tive inquiry; (c) representing the data in various representations, graphs, table of
values, symbolic; (d) predicting system behavior based on the properties of a
corresponding algebraic representation. STEM environments that allow the objec-
tives to put in practice might not only extend students’ views of applications of
mathematics but also serve as catalysts to spark their interest in mathematical
modeling that is essential in engineering courses (Sacks and Barak 2009). While
the methods of teaching science can be introduced along with the development of the
skills of mathematical modeling, some of the earlier developed integrated method-
ologies suggested that concepts of mathematics can be contextualized using
constructivist theory and science discovery (Davison et al. 1995). These methods
assumed that the learner is provided with opportunities to build upon prior knowl-
edge, respond to the new learning environment, and construct knowledge based on
these experiences. DiSessa and Sherin (2000) posited that new forms of mathemat-
ical expressions supported by modern technology, for instance, by computational
media and simulations can generate new ways of helping with applying construc-
tivist theory and scientific discovery. Modern technology in forms of simulated
scientific experiments can also make the process of merging mathematics and
science reasoning accessible in mathematics classes and make it available to broader
populations of students.
2.2 Mathematics as a Tool for Quantifying Scientific

Phenomena
Poincare stated that “all laws are derived from experience, and to report them, a
special language [. . .] of mathematics is needed” Murzi (2005, p. 67). Mathematics
provides scientists with the tools to formulate the laws of nature into a concise and
symbolic language. According to Ernest (2010, p. 4). “The concepts of mathematics
are derived from direct experience of the physical world, from the generalization and
reflective abstraction of previously constructed concepts, by negotiating meanings
with others during the discourse, or by some combination of these means.” Science
provides mathematics with contexts to investigate and to model. However, physical
phenomena cannot be completely understood only by mathematical formulas and
equations, and in parallel mathematical representations standing alone do not guar-
antee that integrated learning will be nurtured.
Research shows that STEM activities can be productive if they involve students
in generating or refining mathematical representations of the systems given either in
static or dynamic forms. Honey et al. (2014) suggested that there needs to be an
explicit focus on the mathematics’ concepts and processes that arise during the
investigations. Without a focus on mathematical methods, the promotion of
problem-based STEM tasks might run the risk of sidelining mathematical reasoning
2.2 Mathematics as a Tool for Quantifying Scientific Phenomena 13
Fig. 2.1 Merging the

methods of science and •Law
mathematics •Principle
Science
•Quantification
•Mathematical representations
Mathematics
•Formulating new algebraic relationships

•Predicting sytem behaviour in new circumstances
New •Using the idea in problem solving
knowledge
into minor roles, e.g., routine algorithmic procedures and graphs sketching.
According to National Research Council (2013, p. 5), connecting ideas across
disciplines is challenging when students have little or no understanding of the
relevant thoughts. The challenge appears to be higher considering that students do
not always naturally use their disciplinary knowledge in integrated contexts.
Although presenting students a STEM problem without guiding them through the
stages of merging different disciplines to solve the problem might result in finding
the solution, this approach most likely will not improve the quality of their reasoning
skills. Thus, more careful planning is needed. A diagrammatic representation of a
sequence of methods that are set up to nurture the development of integrated
reasoning skills is suggested in Fig. 2.1.
Integrated mathematics—science learning experiences are initiated from observ-
ing a phenomenon. The next step in the process is identifying variables and classi-
fying them as independent and dependent. Taking data, deciding about algebraic
representation and then using the representation to reflect back on the system
behavior usually concludes the process. By formulating an algebraic representation
of the phenomenon, students are given opportunities to contextualize function’s
attributes such as monotonicity, concavity, the rate of change, domain, range,
maximum or minimum values, asymptotes, limits, and so forth. They have a chance
to develop the understanding of nature through a concise language of mathematics.
By interpreting system behaviors using this language, they will realize the impor-
tance of learning tools of mathematics and create or discover new knowledge from
the multidisciplinary STEM experience. Kelly (1989, p. 31) claimed that “to acquire
knowledge is to have students experience, observe, and form hypothesis.” It is
anticipated that such created STEM environments will help students not only with
appreciating mathematics but also with an understanding of science, where applying
the process of inquiry is the primary method of knowledge acquisition. Integrating
scientific inquiry with mathematical representations might be a bridge to solidifying
the process of creating mathematical models, solving and using the models to
exercise mathematical reasoning. Studies (Honey et al. 2014) suggested that the
integration of mathematics and science can also be supported by engaging students
in the invention and revision of mathematical representations of natural systems
because concepts make sense not as isolated facts but as elements of integrated
structures of knowledge. Guiding the learners through identifying the pieces of
information that are crucial in the process of knowledge integration and yet leaving
a room for their judgments and inputs requires a careful analysis of the project’ goals
and contents of the involved disciplines. A survey of the field of empirical research
on using scientific methods in the STEM that will shed more light into current
research is synthesized in Chap. 5.
2.3 Merging Mathematical Reasoning with Scientific

Contexts
Although educational bodies support STEM, the nature of how to integrate all the
disciplines is still being debated. Many have voiced concern that mathematics is
underrepresented in the STEM paradigm (e.g., English and King 2015). While no
one questions the dominant role of scientific methods in the STEM, Hämäläinen
et al. (2014) posited that the role of abstract mathematical concepts could increase if
those concepts are considered as a process of giving mathematical structure to
theoretical knowledge and empirical observations. This idea is supported by the
notion that mathematics can be perceived as a human conceptual construction of
embodied concepts (Lakoff and Núñez 2000). It is believed that by inducing
mathematical concepts to scientific explorations, such learning settings can also
serve as a means of promoting social construction of knowledge as defined by
Buendía and Cordero (2005). While in mathematics, the notion of a generic com-
petency often relates to problem-solving, the justification for the current position of
mathematics in the curriculum is still around procedural competency (Marginson
et al. 2013). In such settings, the role of students is reduced to plugging in values and
evaluating expressions, often with the help of a calculator. The limited use of the
tools of mathematics to support scientific practice is reflected in low students’
competencies in problem-solving. Research (Bonotto 2013) showed that even
when the problems and methods encountered in class are similar to the real-world
situations, students have difficulties in associating their analytical thinking with their
problem-solving techniques. This difficulty might illustrate a gap between how
students perceive the concepts of mathematics and the applicability of these concepts
to solve real-world problems. There can be many reasons for this gap of skills and
pinpointing some based on the gathered literature might be premature. It is hypoth-
esized that this deficiency is attributed to a limited students’ exposure to actual
experiences because students learn and retain knowledge better by being actively
2.4 Scientific Methods and Inquiry in STEM Learning Settings 15
involved in the processes of linking scientific explorations with applications of

algebraic functions.
Competency in problem-solving is also one of the central concerns of physics
education. For instance, Redish (2017) and Sokolowski (2017) argued that the role
of mathematics in constructing quantitative descriptions of scientific phenomena in
science school practice is not highlighted enough. Several findings from physics
research community describe students’ problem-solving strategies as manipulation
of formulas by rote. Such use of the tools of mathematics has little to do with
applying mathematical reasoning because the reasoning does not make students
connect the attributes of algebraic functions with what they observe. It is seen that
STEM has a great potential for providing students with opportunities to improve
these skills and for rebalancing the minimized role of mathematics in science. STEM
can also be used to show students that mathematics should no longer be seen as a
discipline studied and applied for mathematics’ sake only, but because it helps make
sense out of some part of the world that they study in other academic courses.
Through the integration process, science and mathematics exchange points of view
outside of the paradigm of the scientific or logical-analytical mathematical methods.
Before scientific facts can be integrated, they need to be organized into general
concepts according to their specific attributes. Thus, learning science enables the
skills of classification and categorization of data that translates to applying specific
algebraic tools to express the data symbolically. Learning mathematics, on the other
hand, should entail using scientific contexts to exercise mathematical reasoning in
new more sophisticated dimensions. Integrating scientific inquiry with mathematical
reasoning can serve as a bridge to enhancing the process of eliciting mathematical
models and to advancing the use of mathematics in other courses.
2.4 Scientific Methods and Inquiry in STEM Learning

Settings
Science is the investigation of natural phenomena using scientific methods

(Windschitl et al. 2008). Scientific methods include several interconnected phases
that are: the careful observation of natural phenomena, the hypothesis formulation,
the conducting of one or more congruent experiments to test the hypothesis, and the
drawing of a conclusion that confirms, modifies, or refutes the hypothesis. General
phases of the scientific process along with the direction of their progression are
illustrated in Fig. 2.2.
The cycle is initiated by defying natural phenomena of interest. The investigator
immerses then in its stages following the details of the lab-specific procedures. In
completing the cycle, the investigator converts the natural phenomena to a different,
more sophisticated representation, often expressed in a concise language of mathe-
matics. To have the learners succeed in these processes, not only the skills of
applying scientific methods are required, but also adequate mathematical skills and
Fig. 2.2 General phases of

scientific methods Natural
phenomenon
Analysis and Observation

confirmation
Experiment
Hypothesis
conduct
students’ ability to convert the lab prompts into semiotics that can be used to express
the lab process in a different representation. In this regard, scientific reasoning is
related to cognitive abilities such as critical thinking. Scientific reasoning can be
developed through training and can have a long-term impact on student academic
achievement. The STEM community considers that these skills are as crucial for
students to learn as the STEM content knowledge (Honey et al. 2014).
Scientific methods should be distinguished from the aim of products of science,
such as knowledge, prediction, or control. Methods can be perceived as how the goal
of the undertaking is achieved. Methods can include specific laboratory techniques,
such as taking specific measurements using more sophisticated devices such as
probes, or photogates and mathematical apparatus including the use of technology
(e.g., the techniques of computing the coefficient of determination or standard
deviation) or other specialized software or programs.
An inquiry approach to instruction requires teachers to encourage and model the
skills of scientific inquiry, as well as the curiosity, openness to new ideas, and
skepticism that characterizes science (National Research Council 2013). Scientific
inquiry trains students to ask questions, hypothesize, carry out investigations, and
formulate inferences. It guides students to think and act like real scientists. “To engage
in authentic and productive inquiry, students must come to understand inquiry not as
the accumulation of objective facts but as an enterprise that advances through the
coordination of evidence with evolving theories constructed by human knowers”
(Kuhn and Pease 2008, p. 513).
There are three main types of reasoning used to formulate new knowledge:
inductive, deductive, and abductive. In science, mathematics, and engineering,
inductive and deductive reasoning are mainly used (Prince and Felder 2006). The
inductive reasoning could occur in three progressively different avenues: structured
inquiry, guided inquiry, and open inquiry (Staver and Bay 1987). Most common
inductive inquiry in school practice is a structured inquiry where students are given a
problem or equipment and some auxiliary information that guides them through the
solution process.
While a deductive inquiry is a process of reasoning from specific observations to
reaching a general conclusion (see Fig. 2.3), an inductive inquiry denotes the process
2.4 Scientific Methods and Inquiry in STEM Learning Settings 17
Fig. 2.3 Process of an

inductive reasoning
Unique solution
General premises
Problem
Fig. 2.4 Process of a

deductive reasoning
General
representation
Analysis
Observation
of reasoning from a set of general premises to achieving a logically valid conclusion

(see Fig. 2.4).
In sum, deductive thinking draws out conclusions, whereas inductive thinking
adds information (Klauer 1989). Abductive reasoning, also called abduction, is an
inference representing the best possible explanation (Thagard and Shelley 1997). It
is a type of inference often expressed in a freely defined form that can be found in
everyday events and scientific reasoning. Since the exact form, as well as the
normative status of abduction, is still a matter of controversy, this type of reasoning
is not considered to support the reasoning behind the proposed STEM activities.
The mathematics education community has taken the position that observation,
experiment, discovery, and conjecture are as much a part of the practice of teaching
and learning mathematics as of any natural science (National Research Council
[NRC] 2013). STEM activities that offer explorations and learning contexts during
which students apply theorems to create new knowledge through experimentation
present an excellent platform for following this recommendation. It is believed that
using scientific methods in mathematical activities will help students perceive
mathematical concepts as tools to learn the laws of nature and to construct, test,
and validate engineering designs. A far-reaching goal of this enterprise is to produce
Mathematical
Scientific inquiry Stem competency
reasoning
Fig. 2.5 Pathway to develop competency in STEM education
competent STEM modelers that will be ready to take the risk to develop new
technological devices. A pictorial summary of this thesis is illustrated in Fig. 2.5.
The theme of the book is to support the notion that STEM activities have the
potential to serve as a means of fostering students’ mathematical reasoning and
consequently improving their scientific modeling skills. The next chapter provides
more detailed background about why real contexts of STEM activities help with
knowledge accumulation and retention.
References
Berry, J., & Nyman, M. A. (2002). Small-group assessment methods in mathematics. International
Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 33(5), 641–649.
Bing, T. J., & Redish, E. F. (2008). Symbolic manipulators affect mathematical mindsets. American
Journal of Physics, 76(4), 418–424.
Bonotto, C. (2013). Artifacts as sources for problem-posing activities. Educational Studies in
Mathematics, 83(1), 37–55.
Buendía, G., & Cordero, F. (2005). Prediction and the periodical aspect as generators of knowledge
in a social practice framework. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 58(3), 299–333.
Davison, D. M., Miller, K. W., & Metheny, D. L. (1995). What does the integration of science and
mathematics really mean? School Science and Mathematics, 95(5), 226–230.
Disessa, A. A., & Sherin, B. L. (2000). Meta-representation: An introduction. The Journal of
Mathematical Behavior, 19(4), 385–398.
English, L. D., & King, D. T. (2015). STEM learning through engineering design: fourth-grade
students’ investigations in aerospace. International Journal of STEM Education, 2(1), 1.
Ernest, P. (2010). Why teach mathematics. Professional Educator, 9(2), 44–47.
Hämäläinen, R. P., Luoma, J., & Saarinen, E. (2014). Mathematical modeling is more than fitting
equations. American Psychologist, 69(6), 633–634.
Honey, M., Pearson, G., Schweingruber, H., & National Academy of Engineering and National
Research Council. (2014). STEM integration in K-12 education: Status, prospects, and an
agenda for research. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
Kelly, A. V. (1989). The curriculum: Theory and practice. London: PCP Publishing.
Klauer, K. J. (1989). Teaching for analogical transfer as a means of improving problem-solving,
thinking and learning. Instructional Science, 18(3), 179–192.
Kuhn, D., & Pease, M. (2008). What needs to develop in the development of inquiry skills?
Cognition and Instruction, 26(4), 512–559.
Lakoff, G., & Núñez, R. E. (2000). Where mathematics comes from how the embodied mind brings
mathematics into being. New York, NY: Basic Books.
References 19
Marginson, S., Tytler, R., Freeman, B., & Roberts, K. (2013). STEM: country comparisons:
International comparisons of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) edu-
cation. Final report. Melbourne: Australian Council of Learned Academies.
Murzi, M. (2005). Jules Henri Poincare. Retrieved from http://www.iep.utm.edu/poincare/.
National Research Council. (2013). Next generation science standards: For states by states.
Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
Prince, M. J., & Felder, R. M. (2006). Inductive teaching and learning methods: Definitions,
comparison, and research bases. Journal of Engineering Education, 95(2), 123–138.
Redish, E. F. (2017). Analysing the competency of mathematical modelling in physics. In Key
competences in physics teaching and learning (pp. 25–40). Cham: Springer International.
Sacks, R., & Barak, R. (2009). Teaching building information modeling as an integral part of
freshman year civil engineering education. Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering
Education and Practice, 136(1), 30–38.
Sokolowski, A. (2017). Graphs in kinematics—a need for adherence to principles of algebraic
functions. Physics Education, 52(6), 065017.
Staver, J. R., & Bay, M. (1987). Analysis of the project synthesis goal cluster orientation and
inquiry emphasis of elementary science textbooks. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 24
(7), 629–643.
Thagard, P., & Shelley, C. (1997). Abductive reasoning: Logic, visual thinking, and coherence. In
Logic and scientific methods (pp. 413–427). Dordrecht: Springer.
Windschitl, M., Thompson, J., & Braaten, M. (2008). Beyond the scientific method: Model‐based
inquiry as a new paradigm of preference for school science investigations. Science Education,
92(5), 941–967.
Chapter 3
Teaching and Learning Representations
in STEM
Abstract Context in the STEM is a critical factor in learning. Context can be

delivered in various ways depending on the form of the final product. Research
shows that representations are very effective in conveying knowledge because they
help learners visualize abstract ideas and diversify the forms of information. This
chapter discusses the effects of representations on learning and attempts to answer a
question why representations support knowledge acquisition and retention. Repre-
sentations can function in two primary capacities: as provided by the instructor or
produced by the learners. Being able to gain understanding using representations and
constructing representations is one of the most critical factors in supporting knowl-
edge retention. What are the features of well-designed representations and how they
affect knowledge processing are other questions that this chapter also attempts to
answer.
3.1 Representations as a Means of Supporting Learning
When applied to STEM, representations can function in various capacities and be

derived in a number of ways. Representations can be dynamic and interactive; they
can serve as resources for reasoning, predicting, hypothesizing, visualizing, testing,
and confirming students’ prior experiences. According to National Research Council
(2007), representations can also encompass clarification of problems, deduction of
consequences, and development of appropriate tools. In learning mathematics and
science, developed models also called the products of representations, have a high
impact on students’ further engagement and success in these subjects. Exploring
these capacities during STEM activities can benefit not only STEM disposition but
also their success in other subjects outside of the STEM domain.
STEM learning environments in which the students observe real experiments
formulate their graphical and symbolic representations or build artifacts provide
excellent learning opportunities for developing knowledge based on a concise
language of representations. In this pipeline, representations encompass physically
embodied, observable configurations—such as pictures, concrete materials, tables,
equations, diagrams, along with various forms of schemata and drawings of one-,

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89524-6_3
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
In point of fact Mame did happen to catch the eye of one little girl
remarkably like herself of a few short months ago, who with her
satchel containing heaven knew what secret ambitions, was on her
way back to her work. She was a resolute and plucky bit of a thing,
withal a little peaked and pale, a little tired and a little bored; and
there was more than mere admiration in the glance which envisaged
Mame, her clothes, and her escort. There was a wistful envy.
Yes, honey, thought Mame complacently, you do well to envy me.
Just now I am the happiest girl in London. It all seems too good to be
true. I feel sure there must be a catch in it somewhere. But the glow
of feeling continued as far as the Park gates, where they turned in,
and the day being wonderfully bright and mild, as it often is in
England towards the middle of September, they sat on garden chairs
for two solid hours at a point equi-distant between the Achilles
Statue and Knightsbridge Barracks where the Pinks were now in
residence.
Those two hours of prattling to Bill and of Bill prattling to her Mame
never forgot. Her sense of everything seemed to grow richer and
deeper. Wasn’t it Hamlet or some other wise guy who had put it over
in the office calendar that heaven and earth held more things than he
dreamed of? That was exactly how Mame felt now. She could hardly
believe that she herself was she. Was this the little hick who a year
ago had hardly been ten miles away from Cowbarn, Iowa, in all her
young life? Was this the little mucker New York had laughed at? She
was far too practical to believe in fairies, but she could not deny the
feeling that a spell was at work.
Bill was charming to sit by and talk to. He made not the slightest
pretence of being a highbrow. Out of doors was his special hobby;
an easy-going sportsman was what he looked and that sure was
what he was. They discussed the immediate future; wondered when
and how and where they should tie the knot and so on. “I’ll nip along
to the Button Club presently—the box with the windows we passed
just now—and write a line to my mother. You haven’t met her yet,
have you? She’s a great dear, she really is, even if she does live all
the year round in Shropshire. I’ll tell her we want to get married as
soon as we can. And as we are both quiet, homely sort of birds we
sha’n’t want much in the way of a wedding.”
Mame was all in favour. No doubt some of the folks would want to be
there. But the quieter the better. She was never one for display. And
when Bill declared he would not mind how soon they were “spliced,”
with this also she was in cordial agreement.
These were moments of real happiness. And yet, and yet, there was
just one moment of swords. After they had sat a full two hours on the
garden chairs, absorbed in the contemplation of each other and their
future plans, they got up and made a move in the direction of tea. It
could be purchased and consumed in an open-air enclosure
thoughtfully provided by the London County Council. They were in
the act of crossing the park’s central artery when Mame’s eye was
caught by a gently gliding limousine. It was a wonderful dingus, the
latest word, with chauffeur and footman whose liveries matched the
peerless machine. Two ladies were seated inside. Both, however,
appeared to be gazing ostentatiously in another direction.
“Say, look, honey. Gwendolen Childwick. Is that her Mommer?”
Bill’s answer was a rather amused but quite indifferent yes.
“Mommer carries a bit of sail, I always think. Some of these Fifth
Avenue queens do, they say.”
“Very rich, I suppose.” Mame had an odd fluttering of the nerves for
which she couldn’t quite account.
“I forget how many millions of dollars. But something pretty tall.”
“Well, they needn’t treat us as if we were just dirt.”
“Didn’t see us.” Bill took an obvious and common-sense view of a
quite trivial incident.
“No, they just didn’t,” Mame showed venom. “But I guess they’d have
seen you soon enough if I hadn’t been with you.”
In the particular circumstances it was not a very judicious thing to
have said. But even Mdlle. L’Espinasse may nod on occasion. Not,
of course, that it really mattered. Bill seemed absolutely indifferent. If
one happens to be an old-established British marquis one is apt to
take things as they come. Not his to reason why Gwendolen and her
mamma looked pointedly in an opposite direction.
Bill calmly brushed the incident aside. But Mame lacked something
of his detachment. Her gaiety grew suddenly less. That glimpse of
Gwendolen seemed to cast a shadow over the rosy prospect. Why it
should do so Mame did not know. What was Miss Three Ply
Flannelette and all her millions of dollars to either of them now?
Still there was no denying that the cup of tea did not taste so good
as Mame had expected. Perhaps it was that a faint cloud had
crossed the sun of her great happiness, although so far as the
September blue was concerned, hardly a puff was visible. Yet, in
spite of the glory of the day, a touch of autumn began to steal upon
the air.
They didn’t sit long over their tea. Mame felt in duty bound to return
to the day’s rather neglected work. Bill, moreover, had a very
important letter to write to his mother. But they continued to enjoy
each other’s company all the way back along Rotten Row and up by
Hamilton Place, where Bill, after duly making an appointment at the
same highly convenient spot for the morrow, entered the Button Club
to do the deed.
Mame walked slowly along to Half Moon Street. For some reason
she was feeling more anxious, more excited than she cared about
when she entered the flat. She shed her gloves and took off her hat.
And then she went into the small room in which most of their work
was done and resolutely confronted the typewriter.
Violet had not yet come in. This was fortunate. Mame felt in need of
a respite in which to collect her thoughts. For the hour was at hand
when the dramatic announcement must be made. Violet would have
to know. And she had better know now.
There was really no reason, Mame argued with her somewhat
fluttered self, why she should worry. It was not as if she had been
guilty of anything dishonourable. Violet was not going to like it, of
course. Beyond a doubt she had set her heart on Bill marrying
Gwendolen Childwick. Still that was merely a question of
Gwendolen’s dollars. Bill obviously did not want to marry mere
dollars. So from that point of view it was doing him a simple kindness
to save him from that fate. Dollars are not everything. Besides, as
one of the johns in the office calendar had explicitly stated, In love
and war all is fair. Even if Bill’s sister took it amiss, Mame felt she
need not reproach herself.
Clucking away at the typewriter, she hardened her heart. The time
was now. It was her duty to break the news before the world was a
day older.
While she nursed this growing resolution she heard the front door
open. And then came Violet’s light but decided step in the hall. A
minute later when she came into the room she lacked nothing of that
genial insouciance which Mame so much admired. But as Mame
glanced up she was a little chilled by her eyes. The absence of real
friendliness, which once had verged on affection, was now complete.
“Where have you been to, my pretty maid?” The question was
humorously put. Had Violet been dying it would still have been a
point of honour with her to put things humorously.
“Getting engaged to be mar-ri-ed, please m’m, she said.” The retort
was quick. It was also bold. Mame was wise enough to appreciate
that this particular bull would have to be taken by the horns.
Violet was startled. It was not a bit of use dissembling: she was
really startled. Mame, besides, once she had begun upon the cold
drawn truth was no believer in half measures. She lifted her left hand
from the typewriter and flashed its new brilliancy before the
astonished eyes of her questioner.
“How beautiful!” There was nothing in the gay voice to betray
anxiety; all the same a slight change of colour rather gave Bill’s
sister away. “My dear, you have told me nothing of this.” Mame could
not help admiring her friend’s fortitude. “Tell me, who is the happy
man?”
“Mean to say you can’t guess?” Each syllable expressed incredulity.
“How should one?”
Violet kept up the game pretty well, but the note of innocence was
pitched just a shade high. Evidently she felt it necessary to play for
time.
“Aw, shucks, honey. Cut it out.” In the stress of pure emotion Mame
had a sudden relapse to the primitive manner of her fathers. “Who
do you think it can be? The Prince of Wales?”
Violet’s heart was sinking, sinking, but she contrived to keep up the
farce. “Not a ghost of an idea.”
“Take three guesses.”
But Violet only took one. “You don’t mean to say, you....”
All pretence was at an end. Bill’s sister spoke with a slow
reproachfulness that caused Mame to feel decidedly uncomfortable.
But she determined to put the best face she could on the matter.
“Why not?” she laughed. “Do you blame me?”
“Blame you!” The note in the disciplined voice sounded odd. Violet’s
face and tone hardened in a way that Mame found rather alarming.
“What you really deserve is a thorough good beating.”
For one vital moment it looked as if this really was going to be a case
of teeth and claws. But of a sudden Violet took herself strongly in
hand.
Never in her life had it been so difficult for Violet to wear the mask of
indifference. She would have liked to have killed this marauder. But
in her heart she knew that she herself was almost wholly responsible
for a tragic situation. She had been properly punished for the levity of
her approach to certain conventions. How could she have been paid
out better for playing the fool?
However, this was not a moment for self-castigation. She must act.
The matter was so horribly serious that it hardly bore thinking about.
All the tact, all the diplomacy she could muster had now to be
brought into play.
A trying pause threatened to intensify the awkwardness of things.
And then said Violet in a tone that would keep hardening in spite of
herself: “Before you mention this to anyone, I hope you will see my
mother. Will you promise that?”
Mame did not answer at once. Her instinct was to ask Bill. Perhaps
Violet may have guessed as much. For she was not to be put off.
She made her demand again and with an urgency quite new in
Mame’s experience of her. This was a new Violet altogether.
“Please, you must promise.” The gay voice had grown coldly
resolute. “Something is due to us, you know.”
There was cause to regret those words as soon as they were
uttered. For their effect was to stiffen Mame’s feathers.
“We’ll leave that to him, I guess.” There was resentment in the
answer.
Considerable strength of will was needed for Violet to withhold the
remark that Bill was a perfect fool. But she was able to fight down
the raging tempest. “I am going to telegraph for my mother to come
up at once. And in the name of our friendship I ask you to keep the
engagement a close secret until—until you have seen her.”
Mame was inclined to resent the tone. But lurking somewhere in her
crude yet complex mind was that rather unfeminine sense, fair play.
She could not quite forget, after all, how much she owed to Violet. In
the circumstances she had a right to demand this of her.
“Well, honey, I’ll do what you say,” drawled Mame with light drollery.
“But I can’t answer for that l’i’l bird.”
Lady Violet’s eyes sparkled rather grimly, but she managed to keep
her voice under control. “No, you can’t, of course.” By a mighty effort
she got back on to the plane she was determined to occupy. “But if
you can persuade him to hold his tongue for a day or two you’ll be
helping everybody—yourself not least of all.”
The depth of the argument was a point beyond Mame. She could not
pretend to be versed in the ways of the hothouse world she was
about to enter. But evidently her friend had powerful reasons. Even if
she was cutting up pretty rough there would be no harm in
humouring her. Nay, it would be wise. Besides, as Mame’s
conscience was careful to insist, it was right to make this
concession. No need to stand too much on dignity, particularly as
she had a real regard for Violet and so must do nothing to embitter
their relations.
“I’ll do all I can anyway to keep it a secret until I’ve seen your
Mommer,” said Mame generously.
XLIII
THE next day, about six o’clock in the evening, Lady Violet was
sitting alone with some very hard and rueful thoughts when Davis,
with a face of doom, portentously announced the Marchioness of
Kidderminster.
She had come up post haste from Shropshire. On the top of Violet’s
urgent but cryptic telegram had arrived an amazing letter from Bill.
Their mother, on the spur of the moment, had made up her mind to
catch the 11:15 at Millfield, which in turn would pick up the express
at Shrewsbury; and as she succeeded as a rule in doing the things
upon which she set her mind, why here she was.
The greetings of mother and daughter were affectionate, but they
were sorry. Both felt that a catastrophe had occurred; and it was of
such magnitude that they were quite stunned by its force.
“A little American, you say, without any money?”
Lady Kidderminster quite correctly had the sense of what her
daughter had said. Those, indeed, were her words. “It’s terrible,” said
Lady Kidderminster piteously. From her point of view it was.
Both ladies were much inclined to blame themselves; and also to
blame each other. Lady Kidderminster could not help reproaching
Violet for turning loose such a dangerous creature upon a simple
unprotected society. In future, perhaps, she would be more careful in
her choice of friends. Violet retaliated by saying that her mother
ought never to have let the summer go by without simply making Bill
marry Gwendolen Childwick. Wretched boy, it was the only marriage
he could make if he was to keep his head above water!
However, it was no use repining. There was no time for that. Mother
and daughter were both people of resolution. And they had great
common sense. Something would have to be done to stop this
ruinous affair. But, they asked themselves, what? Already it had
gone much too far. It would be impossible for Bill to back out now.
“Our only chance, my dear,” said Violet slowly and forcefully, “and I
own it’s a very slender one, is to see what can be done with this Miss
Du Rance.”
“But if she’s as horrid and as pushful as you say, she will be the last
person in the world to give him up.”
“Horrid she is not.” Mame’s friend spoke judicially. “Quite a nice little
thing in her way. Personally I like her very much, but as a wife for Bill
she is unthinkable; particularly as she has to earn her own living.”
“All the less likely to give him up.” Lady Kidderminster was doleful
indeed.
Still the only hope they had was to act as if that possibility still
remained.
“It’s so slender that it seems pretty hopeless.” That was Lady Violet’s
candid opinion. But they must try something. The thing was so tragic
they could not possibly take it lying down.
They were discussing the catastrophe in all its painful bearings when
Mame blundered into the hornets’ nest. She had been walking with
Bill in the park; she was still feeling very happy if just a little anxious;
and when she abruptly opened the door and came into the drawing
room, her thoughts being elsewhere, it did not occur to her that she
would find Lady Kidderminster seated in it.
Mame knew at a glance who she was. Bill was remarkably like his
mother. This dame was quite handsome, even if her face was a bit
worn. She was also stately; but as Mame immediately discovered,
she was accessible, kindly, human.
She got up as soon as Mame entered. Before Mame had time to
display embarrassment or shyness the good lady offered her hand.
And then, as Mame was in the act of taking it, Bill’s mother gave her
one quick but covert glance, which had not a trace of hostility.
Somewhere amid Mame’s infinite complexity was a longing for
affection. But already she had steeled herself for a display of
cattishness. However, there was nothing unkind about Bill’s mother,
sharp though Mame’s instinct was to detect it. There was nothing
unkind in Lady Violet either. Instinctively Mame knew that both these
women must be hating her like poison and it was almost miraculous
how they managed to cover up their feelings.
For five minutes or so Bill’s mother and sister talked about him,
pleasantly and brightly and entertainingly. He was such a dear, dear
fellow, his mother said. But he was quite irresponsible. Agreeably
and rather wittily, she gave anecdotes of Bill’s childhood. She had
quite a fund of these; and they were told so well, with such point and
humour that Mame was really amused. The prospective daughter-in-
law could not help admiring Lady Kidderminster. Her talk had much
of Lady Violet’s charm, with a Victorian polish and correctness in the
place of the modern slang whose abundance in the daughter old-
fashioned people were apt to deplore. What the mother lacked in
mordancy she made up for in kindliness and those manners of the
heart which at all times are sure of their appeal.
Mame was quick to respond. She was grateful for the way in which
this lady, with the most beguiling voice she had ever listened to,
exercised these gifts for her benefit. This meeting might have been
so awkward. Nay, it might have been downright unpleasant. But Bill’s
mother carried things off in a style which Mame considered to be
perfection.
For one thing Lady K. did not force the note. There was no
welcoming her into the nest among her chickens. Mame was
shrewdly waiting for that, because that was where this nice, good,
clever dame would rather have fallen over the mat. But she was too
genuine. There was a certain reserve, a certain dignity behind all
that she said to Mame. Even if there was nothing constrained, still
less was there anything effusive. It was the golden mean. Miss Du
Rance was frankly accepted as Bill’s affianced, even if she was very
far from being the particular girl his mother had chosen for him.
“But please, you will promise, will you not, to refrain from speaking of
this matter to anyone until—until I have had an opportunity of
discussing it fully with my son.” The careful phrases were so urgent
that Mame, who did not want to give any such promise, felt the best
she could do was to make it.
Lady K. thanked her gravely. “And I wonder, my dear”—it was the
first time the stately dame had addressed Mame as “my dear”—“if
you feel inclined to come down to Shropshire for a few days. It might
interest you to see the sort of life we lead.”
Politely Mame was sure that it would.
“When can you come?”
Mame winged a glance to her partner in the newspaper world. The
acceptance of the invitation chiefly depended upon the attitude of
Celimene.
“No time like the present, is there?” was that attitude promptly and
concisely expressed.
“But”—Mame’s quaint honesty raised a smile in both ladies—“’tisn’t
fair, honey, to leave you here alone to do all the digging.”
“I can plough a lonely furrow for a week at any rate. And if I find I
can’t I’ll get Gerty Smith to give me a hand. You must go back to
Shropshire with my mother. We both so want to know what you think
of the Towers.”
Mame was puzzled by this cordiality. But she was very keen to see
Warlington Towers, that stately English home which for the future
would be hers. There was nothing in the manner of mother and
daughter to suggest that she would not be an immensely welcome
guest.
Reassured, almost in spite of herself, by all this seeming
friendliness, Mame asked when Lady Kidderminster proposed to
return to her home.
“To-morrow, my dear, by the first train. I’m such a country mouse;
and even one day in London makes a hole in one’s purse.”
“Well, I don’t think I can go to-morrow.”
“But of course you can.” Lady Violet was definite. “And you must. No
scrimshanking. You must go down with my mother to-morrow
morning by the 9:50 from Paddington, the best train of the day.”
Mame was still inclined to resist having her mind made up for her in
this way, but Celimene was resolute. “My mother will be quite hurt if
you back out now. Besides”—with a laugh—“it’ll be so much better to
go and get it over.”
“But—” protested Mame.
However, it was not a bit of use. Lady Violet had such a powerful
habit of making people’s minds up for them.
XLIV
IT happened, therefore, that the very next morning Mame found
herself travelling down to Shropshire in the company of Lady
Kidderminster. Odd and unexpected as the journey was, she was a
little inclined to be annoyed with herself for having allowed Mommer
and Lady Violet to hustle her so peremptorily into undertaking it.
There was weakness in such yielding. And to a practical go-getter
who knew the value of the will, this was not a good sign. The first
thing she would have to study as the wife of Bill must be the art of
standing up to her in-laws.
These were clever women, not a doubt about it. Evidently they were
versed in the most important of all problems, how to get your own
way. They had force and they had skill had Mommer and Lady Violet;
they didn’t let you see their hands, but just set quietly to work and
made you do the things they wanted. She was a little simp to let
them put one over on her like that.
Still, why worry? There was no reason why she should not be seated
opposite Mommer in the darned old Great Western Pullman. She
was real nice was Mommer. As easy as pie. All the same her
daughter-in-law-to-be shrewdly guessed that she was not just the
simple old shoe that she looked. Even before they had reached the
first stop, which was Reading, Mame had made a private vow that as
far as Mommer was concerned she would keep her eyes skinned
and watch out.
The journey was quite pleasant. All the way from Paddington to
Shrewsbury, where they left the express and took a local train to
Millfield, the nearest station to Warlington Towers, the lady in whose
charge Mame found herself persisted steadily in being charming.
Mame could not help liking her. Seen as it were from a distance,
Mommer’s stateliness was a little alarming; but at close range, in
friendly and intimate talk all fear of it seemed to go.
There were no surprises. Everything went agreeably and well. It was
when they got off the train finally at Millfield that the surprises began.
There was a five-mile drive to the Towers, as Mame had been told;
and she had rather confidently expected it to be performed in an
elegant motor, with two servants. But nothing of the kind. In the
Millfield station yard a one-horse brougham awaited them. It was
decidedly well kept, but it looked out of date; and although the
coachman wore a smart cockade and had the face of an ancestral
portrait, no brisk footman shared the seat by his side.
An obsequious porter and a rural station master, who was even more
obsequious, ushered them into the brougham’s rather stuffy interior.
It was plain from the manner of these officials that even if Mommer
did cling to the old modes of travel she was a power in this corner of
the land. Still Mame continued to be a bit surprised by the one-horse
brougham. Yet this was no more than a prelude to the far bigger
surprise that was in store.
After the elderly horse had clip-clopped along the dusty by-roads for
some little time, Mame caught a sudden glimpse of a noble set of
towers “bosomed high in tufted trees” as a poetic john had
expressed it in the office calendar. There was also a fine park full of
deer with high stone walls around it.
“Warlington Towers, I guess.” There was a thrill in Mame’s voice as
she pointed enthusiastically through the carriage window.
Lady Kidderminster said “yes.” The note in her voice sounded the
reverse of enthusiastic.
At that moment they came upon some beautiful wrought iron gates
with an ancient coat of arms in the middle, flanked by a pair of stone
pillars, each with a fabulous winged monster upon the top. Beyond
the gates was a porter’s lodge and then a vista of glorious trees in
the form of a long avenue which led straight to the doors of the
famous mansion.
“It’s just too lovely.” Mame clapped her hands.
She quite expected the one-horse brougham to stop at those
magnificent gates, all picked out in black and gold, and turn into that
wonderful avenue. But it did nothing of the kind. It went on and on by
the side of the high stone walls which shut out the view of the Towers
completely.
“Don’t you live there?” Mame was a little puzzled and perhaps a
shade anxious.
Lady Kidderminster sighed gently. “We don’t live there now, my
dear.”
“Oh,” breathed Mame. Somehow she felt rather let down.
The old horse clip-clopped along by the grassy marge of the
interminable and forbidding stone walls until they reached a tiny
village. In the middle was a neat public house, with a roof of straw
thatch, and its ancient sign the Treherne Arms much stained by the
weather. Past this the brougham went, a couple of hundred yards or
so, and then turned in on the left, through a swing gate and along a
carriage drive.
At the end of the drive was a house built of stone. It was a good,
honest-looking place and by its style was old. But compared with the
pomp and glory of the Towers it was quite small. Nay, as Mame was
forced to view it, this house was a trifle poor. Here the brougham
stopped. It was the end of their journey.
The place which Lady Kidderminster had occupied for the last five
years was called the Dower House. It was comfortable enough and
everything in it was in such perfect taste that it was only Mame’s
lively anticipation of the Towers and their magnificence which lent it
an aura of inferiority. Really the Dower House was charming. It had
the loveliest things. There was a view of distant hills from its
bedroom windows; and at the back of the house was an old-world
garden, a rare pleasaunce of plants and shrubs and very ancient
trees. If the Towers had not caught Mame’s imagination she would
have considered the Dower House just elegant.
At dinner, which was at eight o’clock, and to Mame’s robust appetite
was a meal at once meagre and inadequate, there was only one
other besides the hostess. This was a Miss Carruthers, a young-old
body, tall and faded and thin, who spoke in a slow, rather peeved
voice which sounded frightfully aristocratic. She seemed kindly and
well meaning, but she was dull, terribly dull. Even Lady
Kidderminster seemed inclined to yield to the atmosphere of Miss
Carruthers. Anyhow, by dinner time, a good deal of her metropolitan
sparkle had fled.
Mame hoped, as she swallowed the thin soup and the minute
portions of fish and chicken the regular old john of a butler, with
wonderful manners and side whiskers, handed to her at carefully
regulated intervals, that the absence of sparkle was only going to be
temporary. But there was nothing on the table stronger than
lemonade to excite it. And zip of some kind was certainly needed.
However, it was not forthcoming at the table or in the drawing room
afterwards, where no fire was in the rather cavernous grate, although
mid-September evenings in Shropshire are apt to be chill.
There was neither electricity nor gas throughout the house, and
when Mame, following the example of the other ladies, chose a
candle from among a number laid out on a table in the hall, and
ascended solemnly to her bed, she felt desolate. Somehow things
were not as she had expected to find them. Just what those
expectations had been she was unable to say. But they had certainly
included the Towers.
All the same she slept. She was young and healthy and the pulse of
life beat high. And she had a forward-looking mind. But in the
present case the habitual hope of a morrow more alluring came to
nought. The Dower House did not seem to improve on acquaintance.
It was dull. No use mincing it—it was dull. Lady Kidderminster
continued to be kindness itself; Miss Carruthers was also kind; but
they seemed only to converse on formal subjects and in a rather
perfunctory way. Then the food! It was beautifully cooked and
served, and what there was of it was of the best quality, yet in Miss
Du Rance it left a void.
A factor in their dulness, no doubt, was the absence of Lady
Kidderminster’s family. Violet, of course, was in London; and of the
two young ones, Doris was in her first year at Cambridge and
Marjorie at school at Worthing. “When those two pickles come here
for the holidays we are much more lively, aren’t we, Mildred?”
Mildred, Miss Carruthers, who agreed with Lady Kidderminster in
most things, agreed in this.
After a rather dispiriting breakfast in which Mame had to be content
with a boiled egg, some poor coffee, some thin toast and an elegant
spoonful of jam, she took the air of the domain with Miss Carruthers.
Like everything else about the place, the air of the domain was good
in quality, yet it did not seem to be exhilarating. Mame felt inclined to
fix some of the responsibility upon Miss Carruthers. She was as
good as gold, but she wanted pep.
In the course of this ordeal in the garden, Mame’s great
disappointment once more recurred. She could not forget the
Towers; their absence filled her with a sense of grievance.
“Why don’t Lady K. live at the big house?” She put the question
frankly. “Some place that. I guess I’d want to live there if I owned it.”
Miss Carruthers hesitated a moment and then said in that plaintive
voice which already was beginning to get on Mame’s nerves.
“Cousin Lucy can’t afford to do that. She’s been so hit by the War.
The Towers eats money. One has to be rich to keep up a place of
that kind.”
“She isn’t rich, then?”
“Dear, no.”
“What’ll she do with that old place?” There was keen disappointment
in Mame’s tone.
“Cousin Lucy, I believe, has not decided yet. At present the Towers is
let to some rich Americans.”
“Any I know?” asked Mame. From her manner it might have been a
hobby of hers to specialise in rich Americans. It would do this dame
no harm to think so anyway.
The slow, plaintive answer of Miss Carruthers was unexpected and it
was startling. “You may know them. I believe they go about in
London a good deal. Some people called Childwick.”
“Childwick.” Mame gave a slight gasp. “Have they a girl named
Gwendolen?” Yet there was no need to ask. She knew.
So plaintive grew the voice of Miss Carruthers that Mame longed to
shake her. “Gwendolen is their only child. A great heiress.”
Mame felt something turn inside her heart. She bit her lip; and then
she gave a little snort of defiance. Miss Carruthers sighed long and
grievously.
XLV
THE knowledge which came in its fulness to Mame in an after-
luncheon talk with Lady Kidderminster, that the Towers was let to the
Childwicks on a lease of seven years with an option of purchase, did
nothing to stem the growing tide of her gloom. She might have
guessed. But the recognised fact hit her hard. The Childwicks of all
people! That supercilious queen to get away with the whole bag of
tricks.
Lady K. was quite candid. She had the same openness in discussing
high finance as in less intimate affairs of life. Since the War they had
simply been hanging on by their eyelids as it were. The Scotch
property had gone; so had the property in Lancashire; the town
house was let, also to the Childwicks, those providential folk, who
had lately decided to make England their home. Everybody thought it
so fortunate to have such good tenants for the Towers; people who
could not only afford to keep up the place in the old way, but who
were likely to take a permanent interest in it.
Miss Du Rance was constrained to think so too. As she peered into
the eyes of Bill’s mother she could not help admiring her fortitude.
How this dame must loathe her, little interloper! What plans she had
wrecked! Yet there was nothing about this woman, and there never
had been, to give the least inkling of what her real feelings were
towards her.
Not once, it was true, since Mame’s arrival at the Dower House, had
Lady Kidderminster mentioned Bill. The other queer old pet, that
Miss Carruthers, had also refrained from mentioning him. Otherwise
all was ease and charm and friendliness, although it sure had a trick
of fizzling into the dead alive.
This quality of not being quite on the earth, so to speak, was not
confined to the inmates of the Dower House. It was shared by the
friends and neighbours. Screams of all kinds seemed to make a
point of turning up about teatime. Almost invariably they were of
Mame’s own sex. And such clothes as they wore! And such comic
one-horse shays as for the most part they came in! Frightfully well-
bred they were with real Court manners, full of ceremonial. Had good
Lady K. been England’s queen these dear old buzzards could not
have treated her with more deference.
It was the air these callers had of being half alive that most
impressed Mame. Her mind went back to the tabbies of Fotheringay
House, at whose hands she had endured long weeks of boredom.
These friends of the family were a different breed of tabby; they were
politer, gentler, less inclined to scratch, but their faces were just as
pinched and bloodless and their style of dressing quite as odd. Such
drolls as they were with their long tailor-mades and stiff boned net
collars, and their queer hats and trinkets and stout boots with very
flat heels.
They looked depressing. And they were depressing. Their talk in the
main was of bulbs. Mame was not in the least interested in bulbs.
She could raise no enthusiasm over what these funniments were
going to put in in the spring. These gardeners, inoffensive and well
meaning though they were, bored Mame to tears. If this was the
social life of an English county, she opined she was the sort of
mouse that would stay in the town.
Three days of the Dower House began to tell on Miss Du Rance. It
may have been the food, the people, a peculiarity of the air, but she
began to feel as lacking in zip as the friends and neighbours. At the
mere sight of them she had an inclination to weep; and strange to
say at the sight of her one or two of these old things, who evidently
were pretty deep in the family confidence, seemed inclined to do the
same. One old pet, indeed, with just a shade more kick than the rest
—Miss Carruthers said she had been a Bedchamber-woman to
Queen Victoria—managed to convey a hint to Miss Du Rance that
the friends and neighbours could only regard her in the light of a
national calamity.
All this was discouraging. Even had there been no thoughts of
Gwendolen Childwick to disturb Mame o’nights, this visit to Bill’s

Get Scientific Inquiry in Mathematics Theory and Practice Andrzej Sokolowski Free All Chapters

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Get Scientific Inquiry in Mathematics Theory and Practice Andrzej Sokolowski Free All Chapters

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Get Scientific Inquiry in Mathematics Theory and Practice Andrzej Sokolowski Free All Chapters

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Full download test bank at ebook textbookfull.

Scientific Inquiry in Mathematics

CLICK LINK TO DOWLOAD

Confident Speaking : Theory, Practice and Teacher

Phase Transformation in Metals Mathematics Theory and

Inquiry-Based Teaching and Learning across Disciplines:

Exploring Resilience A Scientific Journey from Practice

Molecular Spectroscopy—Experiment and Theory: From

The Reflexivity of Language and Linguistic Inquiry

New York Scientific: A Culture of Inquiry, Knowledge,

Open Access In Theory And Practice: The Theory-Practice

ISBN 978-3-319-89523-9 ISBN 978-3-319-89524-6 (eBook)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018938186

© Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018

Printed on acid-free paper

Albert Einstein wondered, “How can it be that mathematics,

Objective of the Book

A gap between problem-solving in mathematics and scientiﬁc inquiry in science is

Structure of the Book

Tomball, TX Andrzej Sokolowski

Part I Scientiﬁc and Mathematics Reasoning in STEM:

3.6 The Effects of Internal Representations on

Part II Scientiﬁc and Mathematics Reasoning in

9.4 Lab Outline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

1.1 STEM Learning Designs

© Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018 3

1.2 Learning Outcomes Achieved Using STEM Learning

1.3 Suggested Pathway to Develop Students’ STEM

Active learning •New knowledge

Improved problem •Applications

Fig. 1.1 Proposed epistemology of multidisciplinary STEM modeling

Integrated explorations STEM readines Engineering designs

Fig. 1.2 Pathway to develop students’ STEM readiness

1.4 Enhancing Scientiﬁc Route in STEM Learning Settings

Students’ successes in science and engineering signiﬁcantly depend on their skills of

constructed. Initiating STEM engagement from merging science and mathematics

Abstract This chapter discusses research ﬁndings on integrating mathematics and

2.1 Mathematical Reasoning and Scientiﬁc Inquiry

© Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018 11

outputs of a deductive inquiry, e.g., to ﬁnd unique solutions to problems;

2.2 Mathematics as a Tool for Quantifying Scientiﬁc

Fig. 2.1 Merging the

•Formulating new algebraic relationships

2.3 Merging Mathematical Reasoning with Scientiﬁc

involved in the processes of linking scientiﬁc explorations with applications of

2.4 Scientiﬁc Methods and Inquiry in STEM Learning

Science is the investigation of natural phenomena using scientiﬁc methods

Fig. 2.2 General phases of

Analysis and Observation

Fig. 2.3 Process of an

Fig. 2.4 Process of a

of reasoning from a set of general premises to achieving a logically valid conclusion

Fig. 2.5 Pathway to develop competency in STEM education

Abstract Context in the STEM is a critical factor in learning. Context can be

3.1 Representations as a Means of Supporting Learning

When applied to STEM, representations can function in various capacities and be

© Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018 21

You might also like