Detailed Information for Margaret Hammer

Applied Research

2008   Why U.S. Students Fail to "Measure Up" in Science: A Look  into Elementary Classrooms -

My research question seeks to answer who’s to bless and who’s to blame? Is it the elementary

experience, the secondary experience, the college/university experience, or school district experience

that is key in this failure scenario? I have collected two years (four semesters) of data from university

methods students who have figuratively put on their "science eyes" to see if science is going on in their

assigned field placement school.

2007 - 08  Top Ten Issues Facing America's Teachers: National Winners Speak Out! - Margaret

Hammer, Ph.D., Barbara Polnick, Ed.D., Diane Reed, Ph.D., Sylvia Taube, Ph.D. & Andrea Foster,

Ph.D. My team and I are presently working on research regarding the perceptions of award winning

teachers (Wal-Mart and Phi Delta Kappa Teacher of the Year finalists) as to what the major issues are

in education today. It is a qualitative/quantitative piece covering four years (2003-2006). My colleagues

and I are in the data analysis stage.

2006  Tales from the Field - Andrea Foster, Ph.D. & Margaret Hammer, Ph.D. This research deals   

with teachers’ perceptions professional development experience and its impact on their  science

teaching practices. The teachers participated in an intensive two-week earth science  summer

institute and a semester-long follow up experience supported by a Teacher Quality  

enhancement grant. The study also examined the teachers’ classroom implementation level  of the

knowledge and skills gleaned from the professional development experience.

1991- 2001TOPEX/Poseidon Educational Program - Robert (Bob) Stewart,
Ph.D., Robert (Bob) James, Ph.D., Margaret Hammer, M Ed., Rohr, S. B.S., & Porter, B. B.S. The

purposes of this grant-supported Research & Development endeavor were:
o To make new insights into global oceanic processes available to a wider community and at a level

useful for teachers, students, and research scientists not skilled in the use of satellite altimetry,
o Mission To Planet Earth - MTPE
o TOPEX/Poseidon
o World Ocean Circulation Experiment WOCE
o To develop teaching materials for middle school and high school earth/environmental classes,
o To develop texts and electronic teaching material for
o undergraduate and graduate courses in physical oceanography,
o To assess the effectiveness of various methods for distributing teaching material to teachers and

students,
o To distribute material via the World-wide Web, and
o To make selected TOPEX/Poseidon data sets available to students, teachers, and scientists.

1999- 2000 Identification of Factors and Conditions for Effective Use of Technology by Teachers in

Science Instruction - Margaret Hammer, M.Ed., Robert (Bob) Stewart, Ph.D., & Robert (Bob) James,

Ph.D. We conducted a survey, with the help of the Texas A&M University Public Policy Research

Institute which has extensive experience in the design and implementation of surveys. We randomly

selected 277 Earth science teachers to survey and were able to reach 186. The results were published

in The Texas Science Teacher October 2000. It was also presented at various conferences.

      Publications

Williams, P.A., Taube, S. R., & Hammer, M. A. (2009) Essential components of a novice teacher

induction program. In G. Zimmerman, P. Guinee, L.M. Fulmore, E. Murray (Eds.),

Empowering the mentor of the beginning mathematics teacher (pp. 57-58). Reston, VA:

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Inc.

 

Williams, P.A., Taube, S. R., & Hammer, M. A. (2009) Essential components of a novice teacher

induction program. In G. Zimmerman, P. Guinee, L.M. Fulmore, E. Murray (Eds.),

Empowering the mentor of the preservice mathematics teacher (pp. 48-49). Reston, VA:

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Inc.

 

Hammer, M. A., Robles-Piña, R. A., Williams, P. A., & Sullivan, S. L. (Winter Special Edition

2007/08). Dealing with discipline: Factors causing novice and experienced teachers

stress. SRATE Journal. 16(1),

 

Williams, P., Hammer, M. A., & Casey, N. (2007, June). Energizing University Classes and

Professional Development Seminars: Activities for General Education Faculty. Global

Challenges in Special Needs Education: Past, Present, and Future. Proceedings of the

Tenth Biennial Conference of the International Association of Special Education, Hong

Kong, June 2007. (pp. 150-151).

 

Williams, P., Hammer, M. A., McCauley, J. K., & Sullivan, S. (Summer 2007) Waking up the back

row: Using effective communicating-to-learn strategies in education courses. Action in Teacher Education. 29(3).

 

Williams, P., Hammer, M. A., & Pierczynski-Ward, M., & Henson, K. (2007, Spring). Straight from

the editors’ pens. The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, 73(3), 13-20.

 

Hammer, M.A. (Dec/Jan. 2006-2007). The Floyd story: A gifted child in disguise. Tempo, 27(1),

14-15.

 

Hammer, M. A., Polnick, B. (December 2006-January 2007) Preparing tomorrow’s science

teachers. Educational Leadership, 64(4), 80-83.

 

Hammer, M. D. & Williams, P. (2005). Rejuvenating retirees: Mentoring first-year teachers. The

Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, 71(4), 20-25.

 

Stewart, R., Hammer, M. A., & James, R. (2002, January). Oceanworld: Bringing the

ocean to the classroom. Paper presented at the 11th Symposium on Education of the American Meteorological Society, Orlando, FL (March). Proceedings of the American Meteorological Society, paper 2.11, pages 113-115 or it can be retrieved electronically at: http://ams.confex.com/arms/annual2002/techprogram/programexpanded_86.htm.

 

Hammer, M. A., Rohr, S. M., & Porter, B. (1997 & revised 2000 [peer-reviewed/award-winning

Web site]). Ocean World –an educational Web site (http://oceanworld.tamu.edu). Texas

A&M University. Work on this project was funded and supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Association (NASA) & Jet Propulsion Laboratories (JPL)

 

Hammer, M. A., Stewart, R. H., & James, R. K. (2000). Reaching out to teachers—What

      works? Texas Science Teacher, 29(2), 40-43.

     

 

 

Unpublished Documents

 

Hammer, M., Contant, T., & Plishker, M. (2002). Program review: Secondary science education.

Unpublished document prepared for National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), Sam Houston State University at Huntsville, TX.

 

Hammer, M. A. (2001). Bringing ocean science to the classroom through technology: A case

study of the TOPEX/Poseidon educational program project. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX.

 

 Professional Presentations

 

 Hammer, M. & Blacklock, P. J. (2010, November). Messing Around with Density. Conference for the Advancement of Science Teaching (CAST). Houston, TX, 

  Gore, M. & Hammer, M. (2010, July). The Evolution of Elvenhood in Modern Fantasy: From Lord Dunsany to J. K. Rowling. Conference: Infinitus 2010: A Harry Potter Symposium. Orlando, FL, July 15—18, 2010. COPLAC fulfillment.

  Hammer, M. & Blacklock, P. J. (2009, November). Messing Around with Density. Conference for the Advancement of Science Teaching (CAST). Galveston, TX, November 5, 6, & 7, 2009.

 

     Hammer, M. (2008, November). Why US Students Fail to Measure Up: A Look into Elementary Classrooms. Southwest Regional Conference of the Association for Science Teacher Education. Irving, TX, November 14-15, 2008.

 

      Williams, P., Hammer, M. A., & Casey, N. (2007, June). Energizing University Classes and Professional Development Seminars: Activities for General Education Faculty. Global Challenges in Special Needs Education: Past, Present, and Future. The Tenth Biennial Conference of the International Association of Special Education, Hong Kong, June 2007.

 

      Williams, P., Hammer, M., Sullivan, S., & Robles-Pina, R. (2007, February).  What are the Real Discipline Problems?: Two Decades of Research 1987—2006. Session presented at the ATE Conference in San Diego, CA. 2007.

     

      Williams, P., Hammer, M., Sullivan, S., & Robles-Pina, R. (2006, November).  Dealing with Discipline: Factors that Cause Teachers Stress. Session presented at the Southeastern Regional Association of Teacher Educators (SRATE) Conference in Baltimore, MD November 3, 2006.

     

      Williams, P., Hammer, M., & Sullivan, S. (2006, September) Classroom Discipline: Two Decades of Research. Session presented at CREATE 2006 Research Conference on Teacher Education in San Antonio, TX September 11, 2006.

     

      Williams, P. & Hammer, M. (2006, February). The Mentor’s Perspective: Perks and Pitfalls to Mentoring. Session presented at Association of Teacher Educators (ATE) Conference in Atlanta, GA.

     

      Jasper, W. & Hammer, M. A. (2005, November).Improving Science and Mathematics Teaching in Rural Middle and Elementary Schools. Workshop presented at the School Science and Mathematics Association Convention (SSMA) 2005

 

Presented Papers

 

   Hammer, M.  A. (2004, April). Technology Lab Stations. NSTA (National Science Teachers Association) National Convention. Atlanta, GA.

 

    Hammer, M. A. (2004, March) National Science Education Leadership Association (NSELA) Conference – Atlanta, GA March 30-31, 2004.

 

      Hammer, M. A. (2003, January). Using Technology-Lab Stations in the Science Classroom. Paper presented at the Association for the Education of Teachers of Science (AETS) 2003 International Conference, St. Louis, MO (January/February).

     

      Hammer, M. A. & Contant, T. L. (2002, summer). Teaching Environmental Science at SHSU- A Cooperative Graduate Course for Teachers. Paper presented at the Association for the Education of Teachers of Science (AETS) 2003 International Conference, St. Louis, MO (January/February). Interactive Panel Discussion/Paper

 

      Contant, T. L. & Hammer, M. A. (2002). SHSU Elementary Science Methods: A Syllabus for Covering the Standards. Presented at the Association for the Education of Teachers of Science (AETS) 2003 International Conference, St. Louis, MO (January/February).

 

      Stewart, R., Hammer, M. A., & James, R. (2002, January). Oceanworld: Bringing the ocean to the classroom. Paper presented at the 11th Symposium on Education of the American Meteorological Society, Orlando, FL (March).

 

Hammer, M.  A. (2000). Using Technology Lab Stations in the Science

Classroom (GTE Technology Implementation Project, Texas A&M University)

 

      Hammer, M. A. (2000). Great Lesson Plans on Ocean Science using Technology Lab Stations (National Science Teachers Association-NSTA). Orlando, FL

 

      Hammer, M. A. (2005, October). Project Learning Tree. (Manned informational booth at The Science Teachers Association of Texas Conference for the Advancement of Science Teaching-CAST). Houston, TX.

      

      Stewart, R. & Hammer, M. A. (2000). Volvo Ocean Adventure: Around the World Yacht Race (13th Annual Science, Technology & YOUth Symposium at Texas A&M University).