Peter C Cormas

Pennsylvania Western University · Education

A recent impetus for the transformation of undergraduate science instruction to improve student learning has prompted stakeholders to support professional development (PD) of higher education science faculty (instructors). In turn, stakeholders have created successful PD for instructors on the basis of research in K–12 teacher PD. However, there is...

Background Little research exists which describes how mathematics and science constructivist beliefs are developed in a dual content mathematics/science methods course, and if beliefs within one discipline inform the other. If mathematics and science beliefs inform one another, then this would enrich learning in both disciplines. Purpose The study...

Mathematics and science have similar learning processes (SLPs) and it has been proposed that courses focused on these and other similarities promote transfer across disciplines. However, it is not known how the use of these processes in lessons taught to children change throughout a preservice teacher education course or which are most likely to tr...

Preservice teachers (N=27) in two sections of a sequenced, methodological and process integrated mathematics/science course solved a levers problem with three similar learning processes and a problem-solving approach, and identified a problem-solving approach through one different learning process. Similar learning processes used included: conjectu...

Preservice teachers in six sections (n = 87) of a sequenced, methodological and process-integrated elementary mathematics/science methods course were able to reconcile an issue centered on a similar area of epistemology. Preservice teachers participated in a science inquiry lesson on biological classification and a mathematics problem-solving lesso...

Research has shown that very young children have the ability to solve difficult division problems before formal school-based instruction. This is accomplished by solving sharing-based division word problems by an interesting act known as 'dealing'. The theory set forth in this manuscript is that children's ability to solve sharing-based division pr...

The National Science Foundation's GK-12 program—a professional development program that places science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduates in K-12 classrooms with teachers—was recently canceled, much to the shock and surprise of its stakeholders ([ 1 ][1]). In response, GK

This study investigates the effective research-based characteristics of professional development (ERBCPD) of the National Science Foundation’s GK-12 Program—a program which partners institutions of higher education with local school districts and places science, technology, engineering, and mathematics graduates in the K-12 classroom with teachers....

Not available Science and Mathematics Education Program