mathematics

Laura O'Dwyer

Laura O'Dwyer is a mathematics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Laura O'Dwyer rather than just read about it. In short: Laura Mary O'Dwyer is a professor of Measurement, Evaluation, and Statistics at Boston College known for her work on examining the impact of technology in education, especially science education, and for quantifying outcomes for K-12 student success. Education and career O'Dwyer has a B.Sc.

Key takeaways

Laura O'Dwyer belongs to mathematics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Laura O'Dwyer to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Laura O'Dwyer from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Laura Mary O'Dwyer is a professor of Measurement, Evaluation, and Statistics at Boston College known for her work on examining the impact of technology in education, especially science education, and for quantifying outcomes for K-12 student success.

Education and career O'Dwyer has a B.Sc. (1992) and an M.Sc. (1993) from the National University of Ireland. She earned her Ph.D. from Boston College in 2000, where she worked on modeling data from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study. Following her Ph.D., she worked at University of Massachusetts Lowell until she joined the faculty of Boston College in 2006. O'Dwyer is an associate editor of Irish Educational Studies journal and co-edited a special edition of Journal of Technology, Learning and Assessment on the topic of One-to-one computing. In September 2021, the National Science Foundation announced funding for new Science and Technology Centers and O'Dwyer is participating in the center being led by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Research O'Dwyer is known for her application of statistical tools to qualitative data, particularly with respect to analysis of educational outcomes. Her textbook, Quantitative Research for the Qualitative Researcher, was published in 2014. O'Dwyer's graduate research examined data from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, a study which she has further examined to compare success in math across different nations. O'Dwyer has examined math education in the K-12 setting, especially algebra using on-line classes and the perception and assessment of ability in math. In 2016, O'Dwyer received funding from the National Science Foundation to increase student success in algebra. For high school students, O'Dwyer has examined their understanding of models in the study of biology, physics and chemistry. O'Dwyer has also assessed the use of technology in the classroom, specifically the impact of assigning individual laptops to students and teachers in classrooms. Her research on one-to-one computing includes quantifying how these programs influence teaching in the classroom and she has examined how e-learning benefits teachers in addition to the students. Locally, O'Dwyer applies her research to analysis of elementary education, as she did in her town of Milton, Massachusetts in an examination of foreign language classes in 2012.

Selected publications O'Dwyer has an h-index of 32 at Google Scholar, and as of September 2021 has over 5800 citations to her publications.

O'Dwyer, Laura; Russell, Michael; Bebell, Damian; Tucker-Seeley, Kevon R. (1 January 2005). "Examining the Relationship Between Home and School Computer Use and Students' English/Language Arts Test Scores". The Journal of Technology, Learning and Assessment. 3 (3). ISSN 1540-2525. Russell, Michael; Bebell, Damian; O'Dwyer, Laura; O'Connor, Kathleen (1 September 2003). "Examining Teacher Technology Use: Implications for Preservice and Inservice Teacher Preparation". Journal of Teacher Education. 54 (4): 297–310. doi:10.1177/0022487103255985. ISSN 0022-4871. S2CID 40943904. O'Dwyer, Laura M.; Bernauer, James A. (2014). Quantitative research for the qualitative researcher. Los Angeles. ISBN 978-1412997799.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) Peoples, Shelagh M.; O’Dwyer, Laura M.; Wang, Yang; Brown, Jessica J.; Rosca, Camelia V. (April 2014). "Development and application of the Elementary School Science Classroom Environment Scale (ESSCES): measuring student perceptions of constructivism within the science classroom". Learning Environments Research. 17 (1): 49–73. doi:10.1007/s10984-013-9152-8. S2CID 144163422.

Awards and honors Bruce H. Choppin Award, International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (2002) Teaching with New Media Award, Boston College (2008, 2012) Outstanding Research Award, Division E of the American Education Research Association (AERA, with Paul Poteat and Ethan Mereish; 2014) AERA Learning Environments SIG/Springer Award for best paper, American Education Research Association (with Peoples, Wang, Brown, and Rosca; 2014)

References

External links Laura O'Dwyer publications indexed by Google Scholar

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Laura O'Dwyer

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Laura O'Dwyer claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In mathematics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Laura O'Dwyer before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Laura O'Dwyer ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Laura O'Dwyer

In research: Laura O'Dwyer appears in mathematics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Laura O'Dwyer in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Laura O'Dwyer is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Alumni of the National University of Ireland, Boston College alumni, Boston College faculty, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Laura O'Dwyer outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Laura O'Dwyer in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Laura O'Dwyer means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Laura O'Dwyer out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Laura O'Dwyer in simple terms?

Why does Laura O'Dwyer matter?

Because it connects several mathematics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Laura O'Dwyer?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Laura O'Dwyer.