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STEM Students Present in New Zealand; Nominations for the
2013-2014 Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award;
Integrative STEM Education Doctoral Students Present in New Zealand
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Michael Grubbs and Tyler Love represented VT and the U.S. at the 27th Pupil's Attitude Toward
Technology (PATT)Conference
March 14, 2014 – December 2-6, Michael Grubbs and Tyler Love, doctoral students in the Integrative
STEM Education graduate program, presented at the 27th annual PATT conference in Christchurch,
New Zealand. PATT is an international organization based in the Netherlands that promotes research in
STEM education and hosts conferences around the globe. Grubbs and Love were two of only six U.S.
STEM education doctoral students selected last November to deliver research presentations at this
conference. Support for these doctoral students to attend the conference was provided by the Technical
Foundation of America (TFA), a philanthropic society that advocates for STEM education. Dr. Gene
Martin of Texas State University and Dr. John Ritz of Old Dominion University mentored all students in
preparing for the conference and facilitated their participation while attending.
The PATT 27 conference featured 80 presenters from 12 countries, such as Canada, England, France,
Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and Sweden. A variety of presentation topics (technological literacy,
ecological engineering, textiles technology, art and design, problem solving, food technology, curriculum,
assessment, pedagogy, content, and pedagogical content knowledge) were covered at the conference
reflecting the different classifications and definitions for STEM education among countries. Grubbs and
Love delivered presentations on baseline research integral to their current preliminary dissertation work.
Michael presented a paper titled Bridging Design Research and Theory with Teaching and
Learning which examined recent research on design and student learning within STEM education to
better prepare teachers to implement design based learning approaches in their classrooms and
enhance student learning. Specifically, Grubbs suggested using the Function, Behavior, Structure
ontology developed by Dr. John Gero as the framework for researching and mapping students' cognitive
processes during design activities. This also coincides with a similar research project that Grubbs and
Love are currently working on with Dr. John Wells.
Tyler presented a paper titled Theoretical Underpinnings toward Assessing Science Pedagogical
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Content Knowledge (PCK) of Technology Educators, which was based on the recent release of the Next
Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in the U.S. The NGSS calls for the teaching of engineering
content and practices as part of science education. In this context Love spoke to the current status of
integrating science content and practices in technology education classrooms around the world, and
specifically to results from previous studies examining the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK)
required of such teachers to teach STEM subjects. He proposed a mixed methods approach to examine
the science PCK of technology educators and make recommendations to better prepare inservice and
preservice technology educators to teach the science embedded in their curricula.
Both Love and Grubbs received feedback on their paper presentations from some of the top STEM
education researchers in the world such as Mark deVries, David Barlex, Vicki Compton, Alister Jones,
Judy Moreland, and John Williams. A dinner sponsored by the TFA on December 3rd provided each
U.S. doctoral student the opportunity to dine with a researcher of their choice and discuss further his or
her research. Grubbs had dinner with Eric Tortochot of France, whose research has focused primarily on
improving teachers' design PCK and student learning outcomes resulting from design education. Love
dined with John Williams who is recognized as one of the leading researchers examining the PCK of
technology educators. This dinner proved to be one of the most impactful events of the trip in providing
students the opportunity to receive individual feedback on their dissertation topics directly from leading
researchers from around the world. In addition Dr. John Williams provided graduate students the
opportunity to meet with him at Waikato University to discuss and observe the structure and culture of a
New Zealand higher education institution. In so doing he exposed them to issues in higher education
from other countries and broadened their global perspective on STEM education.
For more information regarding this experience, please contact Michael Grubbs grubbs@vt.edu, or Tyler
Love at tslove@vt.edu.
PATT 27 website: http://www.education.canterbury.ac.nz/patt27/
PATT conference proceedings:
http://www.iteaconnect.org/Conference/PATT/PATT27/PATT27proceedingsNZDec2013.pdf.
CIDER is Accepting Nominations for the 2013-2014 Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award
The Center for Instructional Development and Educational Research (CIDER) is currently accepting
nominations for the 2014 Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award. This award is designed to
recognize those faculty members from any discipline who have dedicated themselves to the pursuit of
scholarship addressing the realm of higher education teaching and learning. The Scholarship of
Teaching and Learning Award is given to a maximum of two recipients per year. Award winners receive
a $500 prize and a plaque.
All Virginia Tech instructional and research faculty (full and part-time) and graduate students are eligible
for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award. Individuals, groups, and teams are welcome to
apply. Self-nominations are encouraged.
Nomination materials are due at 5:00pm on Friday, April 25, 2014.
For nomination instructions and a list of previous winners, visit
http://www.cider.vt.edu/awards/awardSOTL.html.
For more information, contact Tiffany Shoop (tshoop@vt.edu).
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More Student Achievements, Awards and Publications- Way to Go!!!
History and Social Science Education PhD student (first year) Lisa Pennington presented at both the
State and National social studies conferences in collaboration with Amanda Williams, education
coordinator, at the MacArthur Memorial in Norfolk, Virginia. The focus for both presentations was the
forthcoming World War One centennial. Lisa and Amanda presented World War I classroom resources
during their "Thinking Critically about World War One" session at the Virginia Council for the Social
Studies in Roanoke, Virginia. This was followed by a presentation entitled "Primary Sources, Critical
Thinking, and the World War One Centennial" at the National Council for the Social Studies conference
in St. Louis, Missouri. Lisa also presented a session entitled "Hands-on History" at the American Battle
Monuments Commission Teacher Summit in Washington DC as part of a "The Transatlantic Teacher
Scholars Program: Change Over Time and Place in the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and
Memorial" collaboration between the American Battle Monuments Commission, Learn NC at UNC
Chapel Hill, and the School of Education at VT.
History and Social Science Education PhD student (second year) Aaron Johnson, presented his
research "Critically Moving the Conversation Forward: Theory and Research in Social Education and 40
Years of Citizenship and Citizenship Education" at the annual conference of the College and University
Faculty Assembly of National Council for the Social Studies in St. Louis, Missouri. In addition he served
as a panel member on a symposium with researchers from institutions in Virginia and North Carolina
entitled "Is the Concept of Historical Significance 'Significant' in the Preparation of History Teachers?"
Prior to St. Louis, Aaron presented "Creating Authentic Historical Inquiry by way of Civil War Online
Archive Valley of the Shadow" at the VCSS annual conference in Roanoke.
He has also just had a manuscript titled "Effective methods for 21st century learning: A teacher action
research" project published in Meridian.
Johnson, A. (2013). Effective methods for 21st century learning: A teacher action research
project. Meridian Journal of K-16 School Computer Technologies, 16(2). Retrieved from
http://www.ced.ncsu.edu/meridian/index.php/meridian/article/view/61/pdf
History and Social Science Education MA student Corinne Tsapatsaris (AKA Tsap) received the Virginia
Association of Colleges of Teacher Education Scholarship for 2013-14. This scholarship is awarded to
students in a teacher preparation program in the state of Virginia who have demonstrated academic
excellence in coursework and have distinguished themselves in the K-12 classroom.
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