Amanda Peel

Amanda Peel
  • Science Education PhD
  • Assistant Professor at New Mexico State University

About

42
Publications
5,306
Reads
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705
Citations
Introduction
I currently research the integration of computational thinking (CT) and science in the K-12 education context. I also research socio-scientific issues (SSI) in K-12 science education, which involves leveraging significant real world issues for meaningful science learning.
Current institution
New Mexico State University
Current position
  • Assistant Professor

Publications

Publications (42)
Article
Antibiotic resistance (ABR) is a significant contemporary socio-scientific issue. To engage in informed reasoning about ABR, students need to understand natural selection. A secondary science unit was designed and implemented, combining an issues-based approach and model-based reasoning, to teach students about natural selection and ABR. This seque...
Article
Full-text available
Computational thinking (CT) is a way of making sense of the natural world and problem solving with computer science concepts and skills. Although CT and science integrations have been called for in the literature, empirical investigations of such integrations are lacking. Prior work in natural selection education indicates students struggle to expl...
Conference Paper
Teachers in K-12 science classrooms play a key role in helping their students engage in computational thinking (CT) activities that reflect authentic science practices. However, we know less about how to support teachers in integrating CT into their classrooms. This paper presents a case of one science teacher over three years as she participated i...
Conference Paper
Computational Thinking (CT) curricula are increasingly being integrated into K-12 education across multiple subject areas. Our approach to this integration is to define Computational Thinking in terms of prevalent practices of professional disciplines. As our understanding of these practices evolve, so too must our operational definition of CT. Her...
Article
Full-text available
Computing has become essential in modern-day problem-solving, making computational literacy necessary for practicing scientists and engineers. However, K–12 science education has not reflected this computational shift. Integrating computational thinking (CT) into core science courses is an avenue that can build computational literacies in all stude...
Article
Computational thinking (CT) is becoming increasingly important for K‐12 science education, thus warranting new integrations of CT and science content. This intervention study integrated CT through unplugged, or handwritten, algorithmic explanations of natural selection. As students investigated natural selection in varying contexts (specific and co...
Article
Full-text available
Evolution is a key biological concept, and natural selection is an important mechanism of evolution, but studies indicate students reason about natural selection differently based on organismal context. This paper investigates students’ explanations of natural selection in varying contexts after a computational thinking (CT)-central unit designed t...
Article
Full-text available
Increasing access to computational ideas and practices is one important reason to integrate computational thinking (CT) in science classrooms. While integrating CT into science classrooms broadens exposure to computing, it may not be enough to ensure equitable participation in the science classroom. Equitable participation is crucial because provid...
Article
Integrating computational thinking (CT) and science is one avenue for building computational literacy for all students in K-12 education. This paper describes a research agenda that has built foundational approaches for integrating CT and science and begun preparing teachers to implement integrated CT and science teaching. Existing findings indicat...
Chapter
The socioscientific issues movement has grown and evolved significantly over the last two decades. During this same time period, science education in the US has experienced substantial policy changes with the advent and implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS; National Research Council, 2013). One of the major contributions of...
Article
Integrating computational thinking (CT) into math and science courses for the K-12 students will enhance technological and computational literacies and prepare the future STEM workforce. Though the positive outcome of CT integration is evident, one issue is teachers struggle to implement CT. This paper discusses how researchers guided teachers to l...
Article
This qualitative study (N=8) reports on high school STEM teachers' perceptions of the contribution of computational thinking (CT) to their classrooms. The participants were part of a four-week professional development program, namely [DETRACTED], in which they—together with educational researchers and computational experts—co-designed curricular un...
Conference Paper
One way to help develop foundational computational literacy skills for K-12 students is to integrate computational thinking (CT) into science and math, but teachers have struggled to implement CT. This work investigates secondary science and math teachers' CT outcomes as they engaged in a four-week summer institute. This study uses conjecture mappi...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Science education communities understand the importance of computational thinking but lack empirically tested learning materials. We report the implementation of a computationally driven natural selection unit in an A.P. high school biology classroom. Epistemic network analyses of student responses indicate that computational tools can facilitate l...
Article
Computational thinking (CT) is a key practice in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Lead States, 2013) that high school inservice teachers struggle to teach alongside disciplinary content in their classrooms. They often require training on how computing intersects with traditional science content and how to use computational tools that fos...
Article
Full-text available
This paper reports on the first iteration of the Computational Thinking Summer Institute, a month‐long programme in which high school teachers co‐designed computationally enhanced mathematics and science curricula with researchers. The co‐design process itself was a constructionist learning experience for teachers resulting in constructionist curri...
Article
Full-text available
Computational thinking (CT) is a thought process composed of computer science ideas and skills that can be applied to solve problems and better understand the world around us. With the increase in technology and computing, STEM disciplines are becoming interwoven with computing. In order to better prepare students for STEM careers, computational li...
Conference Paper
To support student learning of Computational Thinking (CT) in disciplinary contexts, it is important that teachers have agency and ownership in the design process of creating curricula. We conducted a 4-week-long summer institute for teachers to co-design CT-integrated high school science units. Our approach to CT integration into Science and Mathe...
Conference Paper
One approach to expanding computational thinking (CT) in K-12 education is for mathematics and science teachers to integrate CT into their curriculum. However, teachers must first engage with computational practices themselves and gain confidence in their ability to teach CT to their students. To this end, we developed a four-week professional deve...
Article
Full-text available
Socio-scientific issues (SSI) are real-world issues with clear ties to science ideas and societal concerns, such climate change, resource management, and antibiotic resistance (Sadler, 2004). Using an SSI approach to teaching science can result in increased student learning in science content, nature of science ideas, and understanding of science p...
Conference Paper
This work aims to help high school STEM teachers integrate computational thinking (CT) into their classrooms by engaging teachers as curriculum co-designers. K-12 teachers who are not trained in computer science may not see the value of CT in STEM classrooms and how to engage their students in computational practices that reflect the practices of S...
Article
Full-text available
Using socio-scientific issues (SSI) in the science learning environment can promote student motivation to learn and make learning experiences more meaningful. Embedding model-based reasoning opportunities in science lessons can promote substantial science learning. However, how these both work together to promote science learning is a little studie...
Conference Paper
This study explored how scientific modeling supports 3rd-grade students’ considera-tion of causal interaction patterns in the context of a socio-scientific issue. Four 3rd-grade teach-ers enacted a new unit on ecosystem interactions using an approach we call model-oriented issue-based learning. We varied the order of the modeling and issue lesson s...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
In the decades since Papert published Mindstorms (1980), computation has transformed nearly every branch of scientific practice. Accordingly, there is increasing recognition that computation and computational thinking (CT) must be a core part of STEM education in a broad range of subjects. Previous work has demonstrated the efficacy of incorporatin...
Article
Full-text available
Alfalfa, like other legumes, establishes a symbiotic relationship with the soil bacteria, Sinorhizobium meliloti, which results in the formation of the root nodules. Nodules contain the bacteria enclosed in a membrane‐bound vesicle, the symbiosome where it fixes atmospheric N2 and converts it into ammonia using the bacterial enzyme, nitrogenase. Th...
Article
Socio-scientific issues (SSI) are complex problems with unclear solutions that have ties to science concepts and societal ideas. These complexities make SSI ideal contexts for meaningful science teaching and learning. Although the student benefits of SSI in the classroom have been established, there is a literature gap pertaining to teacher prepara...
Article
Engaging learners in modeling practices can promote substantial science learning, and anchoring science teaching in societal issues can promote student motivation to learn and make learning experiences more meaningful. However, elementary teachers have had few prior experiences with either modeling or socioscientific issues (SSI) and so are unfamil...
Article
One of the eight Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) scientific practices is using mathematics and computational thinking (CT). CT is not merely a data analysis tool, but also a problem-solving tool. By utilizing computing concepts, people can sequentially and logically solve complex science and engineering problems. In this article, we share...
Article
Carbon cycling is a key natural system that requires robust science literacy to understand how and why climate change is occurring. Studies show that students tend to compartmentalize carbon movement within plants and animals and are challenged to make sense of how carbon cycles on a global scale. Studies also show that students hold faulty models...
Conference Paper
This paper analyzes the efforts of DISSECT (DIScover SciEnce through Computational Thinking) to introduce computer science theories into K-12 Curricula. This is accomplished by teaching computational thinking (CT) problem solving techniques in existing STEM+C courses in select middle and high school classrooms in Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA. Data c...
Conference Paper
Computational Thinking (CT) introduces computing concepts and demonstrates their usefulness in many other disciplines. CT principles such as algorithmic problem solving, abstraction, modeling and simulation, are integrated into existing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) curricula by DISSECT (DIScover SciEnce through Computational...
Article
Main conclusion The outcome of simultaneously increasing SPS and GS activities in transgenic tobacco, suggests that sucrose is the major determinant of growth and development, and is not affected by changes in N assimilation. Abstract Carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) are the major components required for plant growth and the metabolic pathways for C...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Blackmargined aphid (BMA, Monellia caryella) is the primary arthropod pest in western pecan production. Imidacloprid, a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) agonist, has been the primary insecticide used to control BMA. During the past several years, reduced BMA control following foliar and soil applications of imidacloprid has been documented....

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