Enhancing Dental Students' Understanding of Poverty Through Simulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Lampiris, Lewis N; White, Alex; Sams, Lattice D; White, Tiffany; Weintraub, Jane A

2017-09-01

Dental students should develop an understanding of the barriers to and frustrations with accessing dental care and maintaining optimal oral health experienced by persons with limited resources rather than blaming the patient or caregiver. Developing this understanding may be aided by helping students learn about the lives of underserved and vulnerable patients they will encounter not only in extramural rotations, but throughout their careers. The aim of this study was to determine if dental students' understanding of daily challenges faced by families with low income changed as a result of a poverty simulation. In 2015 and 2016, an experiential poverty simulation was used to prepare third-year dental students at one U.S. dental school for their upcoming required community-based rotations. In 2015, United Way staff conducted the simulation using the Missouri Community Action Poverty Simulation (CAPS); in 2016, faculty members trained in CAPS conducted the simulation using a modified version of the tool. In the simulation, students were assigned to family units experiencing various types of hardship and were given specific identities for role-playing. A retrospective pretest and a posttest were used to assess change in levels of student understanding after the simulation. Students assessed their level of understanding in five domains: financial pressures, difficult choices, difficulties in improving one's situation, emotional stressors, and impact of community resources for those living in poverty. The survey response rates in 2015 and 2016 were 86% and 74%, respectively. For each of the five domains, students' understanding increased from 58% to 74% per domain. The majority reported that the exercise was very valuable or somewhat valuable (74% in 2015, 88% in 2016). This study found that a poverty simulation was effective in raising dental students' understanding of the challenges faced by low-income families. It also discovered that framing the issues in the

The Language of Information Literacy: Do Students Understand?

Science.gov (United States)

Schaub, Gayle; Cadena, Cara; Bravender, Patricia; Kierkus, Christopher

2017-01-01

To effectively access and use the resources of the academic library and to become information-literate, students must understand the language of information literacy. This study analyzes undergraduate students' understanding of fourteen commonly used information-literacy terms. It was found that some of the terms least understood by students are…

Strengthening Communication and Scientific Reasoning Skills of Graduate Students Through the INSPIRE Program

Science.gov (United States)

Pierce, Donna M.; McNeal, K. S.; Radencic, S. P.; Schmitz, D. W.; Cartwright, J.; Hare, D.; Bruce, L. M.

2012-10-01

Initiating New Science Partnerships in Rural Education (INSPIRE) is a five-year partnership between Mississippi State University and three nearby school districts. The primary goal of the program is to strengthen the communication and scientific reasoning skills of graduate students in geosciences, physics, chemistry, and engineering by placing them in area middle school and high school science and mathematics classrooms for ten hours a week for an entire academic year as they continue to conduct their thesis or dissertation research. Additional impacts include increased content knowledge for our partner teachers and improvement in the quality of classroom instruction using hands-on inquiry-based activities that incorporate ideas used in the research conducted by the graduate students. Current technologies, such as Google Earth, GIS, Celestia, benchtop SEM and GCMS, are incorporated into many of the lessons. Now in the third year of our program, we will present the results of our program to date, including an overview of documented graduate student, teacher, and secondary student achievements, the kinds of activities the graduate students and participating teachers have developed for classroom instruction, and the accomplishments resulting from our four international partnerships. INSPIRE is funded by the Graduate K-12 (GK-12) STEM Fellowship Program (Award No. DGE-0947419), which is part of the Division for Graduate Education of the National Science Foundation.

Interactive Taste Tests Enhance Student Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Soh, Michael; Roth-Johnson, Elizabeth A.; Levis-Fitzgerald, Marc; Rowat, Amy

2015-01-01

If we could effectively engage students in general science curricula and lead them to recognize the everyday relevance of scientific concepts, we would significantly strengthen the understanding of science among our nation's future workforce. This article shows that increased levels of student cognition can be achieved through interactive taste…

Understanding Mathematics Classroom Instruction Through Students and Teachers

OpenAIRE

Schenke, Katerina

2015-01-01

High quality instruction is necessary for students of all ages to develop a deep understanding of mathematics. Value-added models, a common approach used to describe teachers and classroom practices, are defined by the student standardized achievement gains teachers elicit. They may, however, fail to account for the complexity of mathematics instruction as it actually occurs in the classroom. To truly understand both a teacher’s impact on his/her students and how best to improve student learn...

Industrial Student Apprenticeship: Understanding Health and Safety

Science.gov (United States)

Simanjuntak, M. V.; Abdullah, A. G.; Puspita, R. H.; Mahdan, D.; Kamaludin, M.

2018-02-01

The level of accident in industry is very high caused by lack of knowledge and awareness of workers toward the health and safety. Health and Safety are efforts to create a comfortable and productive atmosphere to accomplish a purpose or goal as maximum risk in the workplace. Vocational Education students must conduct training on business and industry, prior to that they should have a clear understanding on occupational health and safety. The purpose of this research is to analyze the understanding, preparation, and implementation of work health and safety of the students. Method used is descriptive method and data are collected using instrument, observation and interview. The result of study is conclusion of understanding occupational health and safety of vocational education students.

Understanding Durban University of Technology Students ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

African university students' perceptions and understandings of biodiversity. This paper seeks to describe the knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of students at Durban University of ..... Doctoral dissertation, New York State School of Industrial and Labor ... Journal of Counseling and Development, 85(2), 189–195.

Food insecurity among students living with HIV: Strengthening safety nets at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Steenkamp, L; Goosen, A; Venter, D; Beeforth, M

2016-12-01

The HIV prevalence in South Africa among students at higher education institutions (HEIs) in 2008 was reported to be 3.4%, with the highest HIV prevalence found in the Eastern Cape Province. Students at these facilities are also increasingly affected by socio-economic constraints that may impact on food security. Little is known about the impact of food insecurity on HIV-infected students in HEIs in South Africa. The purpose of this paper is to describe food insecurity and the nutritional status among HIV-infected students on the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University campuses in South Africa, as well as current initiatives to strengthen the safety nets for food-insecure students. This descriptive, cross-sectional survey was conducted among a convenience sample of known HIV-infected, registered students (n = 63), older than 18 years of age and managed as part of the Campus Health Service antiretroviral therapy (ART) programme. Ethical approval for the study was obtained from the Research Ethics Committee (NMMU) and participants were included in the sample after providing written, informed consent. Findings indicate that food insecurity was common with more than 60% of the sample reporting food insecurity at the household level during the previous month. Of the sample, 51% were classified as being either overweight or obese. Although food insecurity did not contribute to weight loss in our sample, food-insecure students were more likely to consume inadequate amounts of vitamins and minerals, especially antioxidants that are important in supporting the immune system. Food insecurity has been identified as affecting the majority of HIV-infected students in this study, especially regarding their difficulty in accessing nutritious foods. As overweight and obesity also seem to threaten the health and future well-being of the students, appropriate management of the overweight individuals and those with obesity should be instituted in order to prevent the development

Fostering Spatial Skill Acquisition by General Chemistry Students

Science.gov (United States)

Carlisle, Deborah; Tyson, Julian; Nieswandt, Martina

2015-01-01

The study of chemistry requires the understanding and use of spatial relationships, which can be challenging for many students. Prior research has shown that there is a need to develop students' spatial reasoning skills. To that end, this study implemented guided activities designed to strengthen students' spatial skills, with the aim of improving…

Improving Students' Understanding of Electricity and Magnetism

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jing

2012-01-01

Electricity and magnetism are important topics in physics. Research shows that students have many common difficulties in understanding concepts related to electricity and magnetism. However, research to improve students' understanding of electricity and magnetism is limited compared to introductory mechanics. This thesis explores issues…

Understanding engineering mathematics

CERN Document Server

Cox, Bill

2001-01-01

* Unique interactive style enables students to diagnose their strengths and weaknesses and focus their efforts where needed* Ideal for self-study and tutorial work, building from an initially supportive approach to the development of independent learning skills * Free website includes solutions to all exercises, additional topics and applications, guide to learning mathematics, and practice materialStudents today enter engineering courses with a wide range of mathematical skills, due to the many different pre-university qualifications studied. Bill Cox''s aim is for students to gain a thorough understanding of the maths they are studying, by first strengthening their background in the essentials of each topic. His approach allows a unique self-paced study style, in which students Review their strengths and weaknesses through self-administered diagnostic tests, then focus on Revision where they need it, to finally Reinforce the skills required.The book is structured around a highly successful ''transition'' ma...

Diagnosing Students' Understanding of the Nature of Models

Science.gov (United States)

Gogolin, Sarah; Krüger, Dirk

2017-10-01

Students' understanding of models in science has been subject to a number of investigations. The instruments the researchers used are suitable for educational research but, due to their complexity, cannot be employed directly by teachers. This article presents forced choice (FC) tasks, which, assembled as a diagnostic instrument, are supposed to measure students' understanding of the nature of models efficiently, while being sensitive enough to detect differences between individuals. In order to evaluate if the diagnostic instrument is suitable for its intended use, we propose an approach that complies with the demand to integrate students' responses to the tasks into the validation process. Evidence for validity was gathered based on relations to other variables and on students' response processes. Students' understanding of the nature of models was assessed using three methods: FC tasks, open-ended tasks and interviews ( N = 448). Furthermore, concurrent think-aloud protocols ( N = 30) were performed. The results suggest that the method and the age of the students have an effect on their understanding of the nature of models. A good understanding of the FC tasks as well as a convergence in the findings across the three methods was documented for grades eleven and twelve. This indicates that teachers can use the diagnostic instrument for an efficient and, at the same time, valid diagnosis for this group. Finally, the findings of this article may provide a possible explanation for alternative findings from previous studies as a result of specific methods that were used.

Peeling the Onion: Student Teacher's Conceptions of Literary Understanding.

Science.gov (United States)

Carlsson, Maj Asplund; Fulop, Marta; Marton, Ference

2001-01-01

Studied the theories student teachers held about literary understanding through interviews with 25 Hungarian and 8 Swedish student teachers. Categories of theories captured a substantial portion of the variation in how literary understanding can be seen. Three central aspects of human understanding, variation, discernment, and simultaneity, could…

Antenatal Care Strengthening in Jimma, Ethiopia: A Mixed-Method Needs Assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarah Fredsted Villadsen

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Objective. We assessed how health system priorities matched user expectations and what the needs for antenatal care (ANC strengthening were for improved maternal health in Jimma, Ethiopia. Methods. A questionnaire survey among all recent mothers in the study area was conducted to study the content of ANC and to identify the predictors of low ANC satisfaction. Further, a qualitative approach was applied to understand perceptions, practices, and policies of ANC. Results. There were no national guidelines for ANC in Ethiopia. Within the health system, the teaching of health professional students was given high priority, and that contributed to a lack of continuity and privacy. To the women, poor user-provider interaction was a serious concern hindering the trust in the health care providers. Further, the care provision was compromised by the inadequate laboratory facilities, unstructured health education, and lack of training of health professionals. Conclusions. Health system trials are needed to study the feasibility of ANC strengthening in the study area. Nationally and internationally, the leadership needs to be strengthened with supportive supervision geared towards building trust and mutual respect to protect maternal and infant health.

Student Teachers' Levels of Understanding and Model of Understanding about Newton's Laws of Motion

Science.gov (United States)

Saglam-Arslan, Aysegul; Devecioglu, Yasemin

2010-01-01

This study was conducted to determine the level of student teachers' understandings of Newton's laws of motion and relating these levels to identify student teachers' models of understanding. An achievement test composed of two parts comprising 12 open ended questions was constructed and given to 45 pre-service classroom teachers. The first part…

Investigating student understanding of simple harmonic motion

Science.gov (United States)

Somroob, S.; Wattanakasiwich, P.

2017-09-01

This study aimed to investigate students’ understanding and develop instructional material on a topic of simple harmonic motion. Participants were 60 students taking a course on vibrations and wave and 46 students taking a course on Physics 2 and 28 students taking a course on Fundamental Physics 2 on the 2nd semester of an academic year 2016. A 16-question conceptual test and tutorial activities had been developed from previous research findings and evaluated by three physics experts in teaching mechanics before using in a real classroom. Data collection included both qualitative and quantitative methods. Item analysis and whole-test analysis were determined from student responses in the conceptual test. As results, most students had misconceptions about restoring force and they had problems connecting mathematical solutions to real motions, especially phase angle. Moreover, they had problems with interpreting mechanical energy from graphs and diagrams of the motion. These results were used to develop effective instructional materials to enhance student abilities in understanding simple harmonic motion in term of multiple representations.

Improving Students' Understanding of Quantum Measurement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu Guangtian; Singh, Chandralekha

2010-01-01

We describe the difficulties advanced undergraduate and graduate students have with quantum measurement. To reduce these difficulties, we have developed research-based learning tools such as the Quantum Interactive Learning Tutorial (QuILT) and peer instruction tools. A preliminary evaluation shows that these learning tools are effective in improving students' understanding of concepts related to quantum measurement.

Students' Understanding of Stern Gerlach Experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu Guangtian; Singh, Chandralekha

2009-01-01

The Stern Gerlach experiment has played a central role in the discovery of spin angular momentum and it has also played a pivotal role in elucidating foundational issues in quantum mechanics. Here, we discuss investigation of students' difficulties related to the Stern Gerlach experiment by giving written tests and interviewing advanced undergraduate and graduate students in quantum mechanics. We also discuss preliminary data that suggest that the Quantum Interactive Learning Tutorial (QuILT) related to the Stern Gerlach experiment is helpful in improving students' understanding of these concepts.

The GLOBE Program's Student Climate Research Campaign: Empowering Students to Measure, Investigate, and Understand Climate

Science.gov (United States)

Mackaro, J.; Andersen, T.; Malmberg, J.; Randolph, J. G.; Wegner, K.; Tessendorf, S. A.

2012-12-01

The GLOBE Program's Student Climate Research Campaign (SCRC) is a two-year campaign focused on empowering students to measure, investigate, and understand the climate system in their local community and around the world. Schools can participate in the campaign via three mechanisms: climate foundations, intensive observing periods (IOPs), and research investigations. Participation in the first year of the SCRC focused on increasing student understanding and awareness of climate. Students in 49 countries participated by joining a quarterly webinar, completing the online climate learning activity, collecting and entering data during IOPs, or completing an online join survey. The year also included a video competition with the theme of Earth Day 2012, as well as a virtual student conference in conjunction with The GLOBE Program's From Learning to Research Project. As the SCRC continues into its second year, the goal is for students to increase their understanding of and ability to conduct scientific research focused on climate. Furthermore, year two of the SCRC seeks to improve students' global awareness by encouraging collaborations among students, teachers and scientists focused on understanding the Earth as a system. In addition to the continuation of activities from year one, year two will have even more webinars offered, two competitions, the introduction of two new IOPs, and a culminating virtual student conference. It is anticipated that this virtual conference will showcase research by students who are enthusiastic and dedicated to understanding climate and mitigating impacts of climate change in their communities. This presentation will highlight examples of how the SCRC is engaging students all over the world in hands-on and locally relevant climate research.

Students' Understanding of Theory in Undergraduate Education

Science.gov (United States)

Liff, Roy; Rovio-Johansson, Airi

2014-01-01

This paper investigates undergraduate students' application of theory in their analysis of problems presented in authentic leadership cases. Taking a phenomenographic research approach, the paper identifies two levels at which students understand "theory": Level 1-Theory as knowledge acquired from books; Level 2-Theory as support for…

Undergraduate Mathematics Students' Understanding of the Concept of Function

Science.gov (United States)

Bardini, Caroline; Pierce, Robyn; Vincent, Jill; King, Deborah

2014-01-01

Concern has been expressed that many commencing undergraduate mathematics students have mastered skills without conceptual understanding. A pilot study carried out at a leading Australian university indicates that a significant number of students, with high tertiary entrance ranks, have very limited understanding of the concept of function,…

Students' Understanding of Exponential and Logarithmic Functions.

Science.gov (United States)

Weber, Keith

Exponential, and logarithmic functions are pivotal mathematical concepts that play central roles in advanced mathematics. Unfortunately, these are also concepts that give students serious difficulty. This report describe a theory of how students acquire an understanding of these functions by prescribing a set of mental constructions that a student…

Veterinary students' understanding of a career in practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Tomlin, J L; Brodbelt, D C; May, S A

2010-06-19

Lack of a clear perception of the realities of a career in veterinary medicine could adversely affect young graduates' satisfaction with the profession and their long-term commitment to it. Veterinary students' understanding of a career in practice were explored. Traditional-entry first-year and final-year students, as well as entry-level 'Gateway' (widening participation) students, were invited to complete a questionnaire exploring their pre-university experiences and their understandings of a career in general practice. Broadly speaking, the undergraduate students taking part in the survey (the majority of whom were entry-level students) had a realistic view of average weekly working hours, out-of-hours duties and the development of their remuneration packages over the course of their careers. The main attractions of the profession were working with animals and the perception of a rewarding job. The main concerns were making mistakes and balancing work and home life. The vast majority of students wanted to pursue a career in general practice, and other career opportunities did not appear to be well understood, particularly by entry-level students.

Assessing Learning in a Sociology Department: What Do Students Say That They Learn?

Science.gov (United States)

Bandini, Julia; Shostak, Sara; Cunningham, David; Cadge, Wendy

2016-01-01

Assessment plays a central role in evaluating and strengthening student learning in higher education, and sociology departments, in particular, have increasingly become interested in engaging in assessment activities to better understand students' learning. This qualitative study builds on previous research on assessment by asking what students in…

First-Year University Science and Engineering Students' Understanding of Plagiarism

Science.gov (United States)

Yeo, Shelley

2007-01-01

This paper is a case study of first-year science and engineering students' understandings of plagiarism. Students were surveyed for their views on scenarios illustrating instances of plagiarism in the context of the academic work and assessment of science and engineering students. The aim was to explore their understandings of plagiarism and their…

Students' Energy Understanding Across Biology, Chemistry, and Physics Contexts

Science.gov (United States)

Opitz, S. T.; Neumann, K.; Bernholt, S.; Harms, U.

2017-07-01

Energy is considered both as a disciplinary core idea and as a concept cutting across science disciplines. Most previous approaches studied progressing energy understanding in specific disciplinary contexts, while disregarding the relation of understanding across them. Hence, this study provides a systematic analysis of cross-disciplinary energy learning. On the basis of a cross-sectional study with n = 742 students from grades 6, 8, and 10, we analyze students' progression in understanding energy across biology, chemistry, and physics contexts. The study is guided by three hypothetical scenarios that describe how the connection between energy understanding in the three disciplinary contexts changes across grade levels. These scenarios are compared using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The results suggest that, from grade 6 to grade 10, energy understanding in the three disciplinary contexts is highly interrelated, thus indicating a parallel progression of energy understanding in the three disciplinary contexts. In our study, students from grade 6 onwards appeared to have few problems to apply one energy understanding across the three disciplinary contexts. These findings were unexpected, as previous research concluded that students likely face difficulties in connecting energy learning across disciplinary boundaries. Potential reasons for these results and the characteristics of the observed cross-disciplinary energy understanding are discussed in the light of earlier findings and implications for future research, and the teaching of energy as a core idea and a crosscutting concept are addressed.

Ninth Grade Students' Understanding of The Nature of Scientific Knowledge

Science.gov (United States)

Kilic, Kerem; Sungur, Semra; Cakiroglu, Jale; Tekkaya, Ceren

2005-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the 9th-grade students' understandings of the nature of scientific knowledge. The study also aimed to investigate the differences in students' understanding of the nature of scientific knowledge by gender, and school types. A total of 575 ninth grade students from four different school types (General…

Understanding the Atheist College Student: A Qualitative Examination

Science.gov (United States)

Mueller, John A.

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine and understand atheist college students' views on faith and how they experience the college campus as a result. I conducted interviews with 16 undergraduate and graduate self-identified atheist college students. Students discussed losing faith and transitioning to atheism; making meaning of life, death, and…

Students' Understandings and Misconceptions of Algebraic Inequalities

Science.gov (United States)

Rowntree, Rebecca V.

2009-01-01

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics [NCTM] requires students in grades nine through 12 to be able to explain inequalities using mathematical relational symbols and be able to understand the meaning of inequalities and their solutions (NCTM, 2000). Studies have shown that not only middle and high school students have difficulties with…

Upper High School Students' Understanding of Electromagnetism

Science.gov (United States)

Saglam, Murat; Millar, Robin

2006-01-01

Although electromagnetism is an important component of upper secondary school physics syllabuses in many countries, there has been relatively little research on students' understanding of the topic. A written test consisting of 16 diagnostic questions was developed and used to survey the understanding of electromagnetism of upper secondary school…

Evaluation of Students' Conceptual Understanding of Malaria

Science.gov (United States)

Cheong, Irene Poh-Ai; Treagust, David; Kyeleve, Iorhemen J.; Oh, Peck-Yoke

2010-01-01

In this study, a two-tier diagnostic test for understanding malaria was developed and administered to 314 Bruneian students in Year 12 and in a nursing diploma course. The validity, reliability, difficulty level, discriminant indices, and reading ability of the test were examined and found to be acceptable in terms of measuring students'…

Determining Students' Conceptual Understanding Level of Thermodynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Saricayir, Hakan; Ay, Selahattin; Comek, Arif; Cansiz, Gokhan; Uce, Musa

2016-01-01

Science students find heat, temperature, enthalpy and energy in chemical reactions to be some of the most difficult subjects. It is crucial to define their conceptual understanding level in these subjects so that educators can build upon this knowledge and introduce new thermodynamics concepts. This paper reports conceptual understanding levels of…

How Listening to Student Voices Informs and Strengthens Social Justice Research and Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Mansfield, Katherine Cumings

2014-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this research article is to illustrate the value of including students' voices in educational leadership and research practices, to more fully understand what students are actually experiencing in transformative learning spaces, and to determine what we might learn from them in terms of how to improve both leadership…

Mechanisms influencing student understanding on an outdoor guided field trip

Science.gov (United States)

Caskey, Nourah Al-Rashid

Field trips are a basic and important, yet often overlooked part of the student experience. They provide the opportunity to integrate real world knowledge with classroom learning and student previous personal experiences. Outdoor guided field trips leave students with an increased understanding, awareness and interest and in science. However, the benefits of this experience are ambiguous at best (Falk and Balling, 1982; Falk and Dierking, 1992; Kisiel, 2006.) Students on an outdoor guided field trip to a local nature park experienced a significant increase in their understanding of the rock cycle. The changes in the pre-field trip test and the post-field trip test as well as their answers in interviews showed a profound change in the students' understanding and in their interest in the subject matter. The use of the "student's voice" (Bamberger and Tal, 2008) was the motivation for data analysis. By using the students' voice, I was able to determine the mechanisms that might influence their understanding of a subject. The central concepts emerging from the data were: the outdoor setting; the students' interest; the social interaction. From these central concepts, a conceptual model was developed. The outdoor setting allows for the freedom to explore, touch, smell and movement. This, in turn, leads to an increased interest in subject matter. As the students are exploring, they are enjoying themselves and become more open to learning. Interest leads to a desire to learn (Dewey, 1975). In addition to allowing the freedom to explore and move, the outdoor setting creates the condition for social interaction. The students talk to each other as they walk; they have in-depth discourse regarding the subject matter---with the teachers, each other and with the guides. The guides have an extremely important role in the students' learning. The more successful guides not only act as experts, but also adjust to the students' needs and act or speak accordingly. The

Understanding the Impact of an Apprenticeship-Based Scientific Research Program on High School Students' Understanding of Scientific Inquiry

Science.gov (United States)

Aydeniz, Mehmet; Baksa, Kristen; Skinner, Jane

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to understand the impact of an apprenticeship program on high school students' understanding of the nature of scientific inquiry. Data related to seventeen students' understanding of science and scientific inquiry were collected through open-ended questionnaires. Findings suggest that although engagement in authentic…

Polycrystalline strengthening

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Niels

1985-01-01

for the understanding of polycrystalline strengthening is obtained mainly from surface relief patterns and from bulk structures observed by transmission electron microscopy of thin foils. The results obtained by these methods are discussed and correlations are proposed. A number of features characterizing the deformed...... structure are summarized and the behavior of a number of metals and alloys is reviewed with emphasis on the structural changes in the interior of the grains and in the vicinity of the grain boundaries. The models for strain accommodation during deformation are discussed on the basis of the microstructures...

Supporting students with disabilities--promoting understanding amongst mentors in practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Tee, Stephen; Cowen, Michelle

2012-01-01

Good practice demands a clinical practice culture positively disposed to students with disabilities. Equality legislation seeks to protect those with a disability from either direct or indirect discrimination. The balance between providing "reasonable adjustments" for the student, whilst ensuring "Fitness to Practice", and ultimate employability, requires a close partnership between higher education and practice mentors. This paper reports on the development and evaluation of a range of interactive resources, used in the preparation of mentors to help them address the specific learning needs of disabled students. The evaluation revealed the benefit of student 'stories' in helping mentors to understand the support needs of disabled students and ensure reasonable adjustments are implemented in compliance with disability legislation. The interactive resources have been helpful in promoting positive action towards disabled students' learning, empathic understanding of mental health issues and knowledge and skills acquisition in support of dyslexic students. Implementing reasonable adjustments in practice requires a close working partnership between HEI's and mentors who appreciate support in understanding the development and application of coping strategies to overcome disabilities. Effective preparation of mentors is essential to ensure that opportunities for disabled students to succeed are maximised. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Probing Student Understanding of Scientific Thinking in the Context of Introductory Astrophysics

Science.gov (United States)

Steinberg, Richard N.; Cormier, Sebastien; Fernandez, Adiel

2009-01-01

Common forms of testing of student understanding of science content can be misleading about their understanding of the nature of scientific thinking. Observational astronomy integrated with related ideas of force and motion is a rich context to explore the correlation between student content knowledge and student understanding of the scientific…

Development of Object-understanding Among Students in the Humanities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lindholm, Morten

This paper describes a on-going empirical study, inspired by phenomenography, aiming at understanding how students from the humanities learn the concepts of objects and object-orientation during a programming course.  ......This paper describes a on-going empirical study, inspired by phenomenography, aiming at understanding how students from the humanities learn the concepts of objects and object-orientation during a programming course.  ...

Understanding Learning Style Variations among Undergraduate Students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. Jayakumar

2017-09-01

Full Text Available A study was conducted in Vellore district of Tamil Nadu state to understand the learning styles of students. The term learning style refers to the way or method or approach by which a student learns. The study explored the possible learning style variations among agricultural, horticultural, engineering and arts & science students and their association with academic achievement. One hundred and twelve students were randomly selected from the four streams and their learning styles were analyzed. In the agricultural and horticultural streams, a majority of the students were auditory learners. They were also found to be predominantly unimodal learners. Overall, it was found that majority of the students were visual learners followed by auditory and kinesthetic style. The highest percentage of kinesthetic learners was found among engineering students. Trimodal learners scored the highest mean percentage of marks. The influence of learning styles on the academic achievements of the students did not show a significant relationship.

A Framework for Understanding Physics Students' Computational Modeling Practices

Science.gov (United States)

Lunk, Brandon Robert

With the growing push to include computational modeling in the physics classroom, we are faced with the need to better understand students' computational modeling practices. While existing research on programming comprehension explores how novices and experts generate programming algorithms, little of this discusses how domain content knowledge, and physics knowledge in particular, can influence students' programming practices. In an effort to better understand this issue, I have developed a framework for modeling these practices based on a resource stance towards student knowledge. A resource framework models knowledge as the activation of vast networks of elements called "resources." Much like neurons in the brain, resources that become active can trigger cascading events of activation throughout the broader network. This model emphasizes the connectivity between knowledge elements and provides a description of students' knowledge base. Together with resources resources, the concepts of "epistemic games" and "frames" provide a means for addressing the interaction between content knowledge and practices. Although this framework has generally been limited to describing conceptual and mathematical understanding, it also provides a means for addressing students' programming practices. In this dissertation, I will demonstrate this facet of a resource framework as well as fill in an important missing piece: a set of epistemic games that can describe students' computational modeling strategies. The development of this theoretical framework emerged from the analysis of video data of students generating computational models during the laboratory component of a Matter & Interactions: Modern Mechanics course. Student participants across two semesters were recorded as they worked in groups to fix pre-written computational models that were initially missing key lines of code. Analysis of this video data showed that the students' programming practices were highly influenced by

Students' autonomy and teacher's interpersonal style in self-determination theory

OpenAIRE

Lalić-Vučetić Nataša; Đerić Ivana; Đević Rajka

2009-01-01

Starting from psychological needs that are considered basic within self-determination theory (autonomy, competence and relatedness), the importance of encouraging students' autonomy in school context is particularly emphasised. Appreciation of students' autonomy has a stimulating effect on school achievement, conceptual understanding, creativity development, strengthening of self-esteem, and students adapt better to school system and demonstrate a larger degree of internalisation of school ru...

Does Conceptual Understanding of Limit Partially Lead Students to Misconceptions?

Science.gov (United States)

Mulyono, B.; Hapizah

2017-09-01

This article talks about the result of preliminary research of my dissertation, which will investigate student’s retention of conceptual understanding. In my preliminary research, I surveyed 73 students of mathematics education program by giving some questions to test their retention of conceptual understanding of limits. Based on the results of analyzing of students’ answers I conclude that most of the students have problems with their retention of conceptual understanding and they also have misconception of limits. The first misconception I identified is that students always used the substitution method to determine a limit of a function at a point, but they did not check whether the function is continue or not at the point. It means that they only use the substitution theorem partially, because they do not consider that the substitution theorem \\mathop{{lim}}\\limits\\text{x\\to \\text{c}}f(x)=f(c) works only if f(x) is defined at χ = c. The other misconception identified is that some students always think there must be available of variables χ in a function to determine the limit of the function. I conjecture that conceptual understanding of limit partially leads students to misconceptions.

High School Students' Representations and Understandings of Electric Fields

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Ying; Brizuela, Bárbara M.

2016-01-01

This study investigates the representations and understandings of electric fields expressed by Chinese high school students 15 to 16 years old who have not received high school level physics instruction. The physics education research literature has reported students' conceptions of electric fields post-instruction as indicated by students'…

Chemical Reactions: What Understanding Do Students with Blindness Develop?

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, Amy L. Micklos; Bodner, George M.

2013-01-01

This study examined the understanding of chemical equations developed by three students with blindness who were enrolled in the same secondary-school chemistry class. The students were interviewed while interpreting and balancing chemical equations. During the course of these interviews, the students produced diagrams using Braille symbols that…

Effect of a Diagram on Primary Students' Understanding About Electric Circuits

Science.gov (United States)

Preston, Christine Margaret

2017-09-01

This article reports on the effect of using a diagram to develop primary students' conceptual understanding about electric circuits. Diagrammatic representations of electric circuits are used for teaching and assessment despite the absence of research on their pedagogical effectiveness with young learners. Individual interviews were used to closely analyse Years 3 and 5 (8-11-year-old) students' explanations about electric circuits. Data was collected from 20 students in the same school providing pre-, post- and delayed post-test dialogue. Students' thinking about electric circuits and changes in their explanations provide insights into the role of diagrams in understanding science concepts. Findings indicate that diagram interaction positively enhanced understanding, challenged non-scientific views and promoted scientific models of electric circuits. Differences in students' understanding about electric circuits were influenced by prior knowledge, meta-conceptual awareness and diagram conventions including a stylistic feature of the diagram used. A significant finding that students' conceptual models of electric circuits were energy rather than current based has implications for electricity instruction at the primary level.

Understanding Sleep Disorders in a College Student Population.

Science.gov (United States)

Jensen, Dallas R.

2003-01-01

College students' sleep habits are changing dramatically, and related sleep problems are increasing. Reviews the current literature on sleep problems, focusing on the college student population. The unique challenges of college settings are discussed as they apply to understanding sleep problems, and suggestions are made for professionals who work…

Grade six students' understanding of the nature of science

Science.gov (United States)

Cochrane, Donald Brian

The goal of scientific literacy requires that students develop an understanding of the nature of science to assist them in the reasoned acquisition of science concepts and in their future role as citizens in a participatory democracy. The purpose of this study was to investigate and describe the range of positions that grade six students hold with respect to the nature of science and to investigate whether gender or prior science education was related to students' views of the nature of science. Two grade six classes participated in this study. One class was from a school involved in a long-term elementary science curriculum project. The science curriculum at this school involved constructivist epistemology and pedagogy and a realist ontology. The curriculum stressed hands-on, open-ended activities and the development of science process skills. Students were frequently involved in creating and testing explanations for physical phenomena. The second class was from a matched school that had a traditional science program. Results of the study indicated that students hold a wider range of views of the nature of science than previously documented. Student positions ranged from having almost no understanding of the nature of science to those expressing positions regarding the nature of science that were more developed than previous studies had documented. Despite the range of views documented, all subjects held realist views of scientific knowledge. Contrary to the literature, some students were able to evaluate a scientific theory in light of empirical evidence that they had generated. Results also indicated that students from the project school displayed more advanced views of the nature of science than their matched peers. However, not all students benefited equally from their experiences. No gender differences were found with respect to students' understanding of the nature of science.

Standing in the Hallway Improves Students' Understanding of Conformity

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Lawson, Timothy J.; Haubner, Richard R.; Bodle, James H.

2013-01-01

To help beginning psychology students understand how they are influenced by social pressures to conform, we developed a demonstration designed to elicit their conformity to a small group of students standing in the hallway before class. Results showed the demonstration increased students' recognition of their own tendency to conform, knowledge of…

Student teachers' understanding and acceptance of evolution and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The focus of this study was student teachers at a South African university enrolled in a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) programme and a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE), respectively. The purpose of this study was to explore students' understanding and acceptance of evolution and beliefs about the nature of ...

Investigation of the relationship between students' problem solving and conceptual understanding of electricity

Science.gov (United States)

Cobanoglu Aktan, Derya

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between students' qualitative problem solving and conceptual understanding of electricity. For the analysis data were collected from observations of group problem solving, from their homework artifacts, and from semi-structured interviews. The data for six undergraduate students were analyzed by qualitative research methods. The students in the study were found to use tools (such as computer simulations and formulas) differently from one another, and they made different levels of interpretations for the electricity representations. Consequently each student had different problem solving strategies. The students exhibited a wide range of levels of understanding of the electricity concepts. It was found that students' conceptual understandings and their problem solving strategies were closely linked with one another. The students who tended to use multiple tools to make high level interpretations for representations to arrive at a single solution exhibited a higher level of understanding than the students who tended to use tools to make low level interpretations to reach a solution. This study demonstrates a relationship between conceptual understanding and problem solving strategies. Similar to the results of the existing research on students' quantitative problem solving, it was found that students were able to give correct answers to some problems without fully understanding the concepts behind the problem. However, some problems required a conceptual understanding in order for a student to arrive at a correct answer. An implication of this study is that careful selection of qualitative questions is necessary for capturing high levels of conceptual understanding. Additionally, conceptual understanding among some types of problem solvers can be improved by activities or tasks that can help them reflect on their problem solving strategies and the tools they use.

Pedagogy as influencing nursing students' essentialized understanding of culture.

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Gregory, David; Harrowing, Jean; Lee, Bonnie; Doolittle, Lisa; O'Sullivan, Patrick S

2010-01-01

In this qualitative study, we explored how students understood "culture." Participants defined culture and wrote narratives regarding specific cultural encounters. The sample comprised both nursing (n=14) and non-nursing (n=8) students to allow for comparison groups. Content analysis of the narratives revealed two broad paradigms of cultural understanding: essentialist and constructivist. Essentialist narratives comprised four themes: determinism (culture defied individual resistance); relativism (the possibility of making value judgments disappeared); Othering (culture was equated to exotica, and emphasized difference); and, reductionism (personhood was eclipsed by culture). In contrast, the constructivist narratives were characterized by influence (non-determinism), dynamism (culture was dynamic and evolutionary); and, relationship-building. The unintended negative consequences of essentialist notions of culture were revealed in the nursing students' narratives. Pedagogy is implicated in nursing students' essentialized understanding of culture.

Native American Students' Understanding of Geologic Time Scale: 4th-8th Grade Ojibwe Students' Understanding of Earth's Geologic History

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Nam, Younkyeong; Karahan, Engin; Roehrig, Gillian

2016-01-01

Geologic time scale is a very important concept for understanding long-term earth system events such as climate change. This study examines forty-three 4th-8th grade Native American--particularly Ojibwe tribe--students' understanding of relative ordering and absolute time of Earth's significant geological and biological events. This study also…

The Co-Creation of Caring Student-Teacher Relationships: Does Teacher Understanding Matter?

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Cooper, Kristy S.; Miness, Andrew

2014-01-01

This study explores the role of high school students' perceptions of teacher understanding in the development of caring student-teacher relationships. Whereas past research has embedded understanding as a facet of care, this research distinguishes between care and understanding to examine whether and how understanding is necessary for care.…

Student Understanding of Time Dependence in Quantum Mechanics

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Emigh, Paul J.; Passante, Gina; Shaffer, Peter S.

2015-01-01

The time evolution of quantum states is arguably one of the more difficult ideas in quantum mechanics. In this article, we report on results from an investigation of student understanding of this topic after lecture instruction. We demonstrate specific problems that students have in applying time dependence to quantum systems and in recognizing…

The understanding of the students about the nature of light in recursive curriculum

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Geide Rosa Coelho

2010-01-01

Full Text Available We report an inquiry on the development of students' understanding about the nature of light. The study happened in a learning environment with a recursive and spiral Physics syllabus. We investigated the change in students' understanding about the nature of light during their 3rd year in High School, and the level of understanding about this subject achieved by students at the end of this year. To assess the students' understanding, we developed an open questionnaire form and a set of hierarchical categories, consisting of five different models about the nature of light. The questionnaire was used to access the students´ understanding at the beginning and at the end of the third level of the recursive curriculum. The results showed that students have a high level of prior knowledge, and also that the Physics learning they experienced had enhanced their understanding, despite the effects are not verified in all the Physics classes. By the end of the third year, most of the students explain the nature of light using or a corpuscular electromagnetic model or a dual electromagnetic model, but some students use these models with inconsistencies in their explanations.

Teaching the Essential Understanding of Creative Writing

OpenAIRE

Kallionpää, Outi

2010-01-01

In my Master´s thesis I have researched teaching of creative writing for high school students. I have also created the concept called the Essential Understanding of Creative Writing, which I think is the base and the starting point of teaching creative writing. The term is hypothesis and it roughly means the subjectively understood essence of creative work and writing process, as well as the strengthening the inner motivation and author identity by writer. Collaboration seems to support the E...

Strengthening Social and Emotional Intelligences through Writing

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Burth, Jeanne Hager; McConnell, Michelle

2017-01-01

Using writing to allow children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to express how they are feeling or to stimulate thinking about a social situation will allow the students the opportunity to strengthen social and emotional intelligences. By giving prompts about different social and emotional situations or ideas to children, the teacher allows…

Students' Understanding of Conditional Probability on Entering University

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Reaburn, Robyn

2013-01-01

An understanding of conditional probability is essential for students of inferential statistics as it is used in Null Hypothesis Tests. Conditional probability is also used in Bayes' theorem, in the interpretation of medical screening tests and in quality control procedures. This study examines the understanding of conditional probability of…

Creating meaningful learning experiences: Understanding students' perspectives of engineering design

Science.gov (United States)

Aleong, Richard James Chung Mun

There is a societal need for design education to prepare holistic engineers with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to innovate and compete globally. Design skills are paramount to the espoused values of higher education, as institutions of higher learning strive to develop in students the cognitive abilities of critical thinking, problem solving, and creativity. To meet these interests from industry and academia, it is important to advance the teaching and learning of engineering design. This research aims to understand how engineering students learn and think about design, as a way for engineering educators to optimize instructional practice and curriculum development. Qualitative research methodology was used to investigate the meaning that engineering students' ascribe to engineering design. The recruitment of participants and corresponding collection of data occurred in two phases using two different data collection techniques. The first phase involved the distribution of a one-time online questionnaire to all first year, third year, and fourth year undergraduate engineering students at three Canadian Universities. After the questionnaire, students were asked if they would be willing to participate in the second phase of data collection consisting of a personal interview. A total of ten students participated in interviews. Qualitative data analysis procedures were conducted on students' responses from the questionnaire and interviews. The data analysis process consisted of two phases: a descriptive phase to code and categorize the data, followed by an interpretative phase to generate further meaning and relationships. The research findings present a conceptual understanding of students' descriptions about engineering design, structured within two educational orientations: a learning studies orientation and a curriculum studies orientation. The learning studies orientation captured three themes of students' understanding of engineering design: awareness

Reusing Recycling Material as Teaching Strategy to Strengthen Environmental Values

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Yudit Zaida del Carmen Alarcón de Palma

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The study was centered interest implement recycling reuse the material as a teaching strategy to strengthen environmental students “Adolfo Moreno” National Basic School Barinitas parish, municipality Bolivar, Barinas state values. School Year 2014 - 2015. The study was based on the paradigm of qualitative research and research in action type. From this point of view, the study focuses on participatory action this mode, it is limited in so-called field layouts. The study its characteristics was fulfilled in the following phases: diagnosis, planning, implementation, evaluation and systematization. Finally, it can be noted that the implementation of teaching strategies reuse recycle material for strengthening environmental students "Adolfo Moreno" National Basic School values; They will be incorporating parents and guardians as well as various educational actors to implement the activities involved in the proposal which seeks to change attitudes to improve through practical actions management standards and conservation practices to achieve an environmental change in institution through technical, theoretical and practical knowledge to strengthen the benefit of recyclables properly handle procedures.

New strategies to strengthen the soil science knowledge of student during field activities

Science.gov (United States)

Benito, Marta; Hontoria, Chiquinquirá; Masaguer, Alberto; Diéguez, Carmen; Almorox, Javier; Pérez, Juana; Santano, Jesús; Mariscal, Ignacio; Gutiérrez, Jesús; Moliner, Ana

2013-04-01

Soil Science can be considered a discipline that serves as a fundamental base for other disciplines such as ecology, agronomy, plant production, etc. In order to demonstrate the relevance and connection to real world it is important to develop field and practical activities. Field activities help student to comprehend soil as part of the landscape and the natural ecosystems. These activities also help them to realize the importance of historical soil use on the quality of todaýs soil and landscapes. It is well known that fieldwork practices are essential to strengthen the soil science knowledge of students and their learning process. These fieldwork practices involve doing a physical activity rather than passively attending lectures or watching demonstrations. The simple visual and tactile observations in the field could be used to predict soil behavior and these direct observations are best made in the field. Students who learned in the field using an active work are more motivated, have more positive attitudes, and place more value in their work than those that learn passively. Therefore, when scheduling the coursework an important time is assigned to field work, which sometimes is not sufficiently profited from the standpoint of student learning taking into consideration the economic effort involved. We are aware that part of the students are simple spectators in the field so we encourage their participation by making them responsible for obtaining part of the information about the place and the types of soils that will be visited. On the other hand, we will invite the students to do some game based exercises, which are fun and force them to work in groups and to pay attention to explanations. Our objective is to present the information in a more attractive way, making the learning of soil profile description and easier task. The exercises that we propose are both field and problem-based learning to make sure that the knowledge is more memorable (non

Strengthening and expanding the capacity of health worker education in Zambia.

Science.gov (United States)

Michelo, Charles; Zulu, Joseph Mumba; Simuyemba, Moses; Andrews, Benjamin; Katubulushi, Max; Chi, Benjamin; Njelesani, Evariste; Vwalika, Bellington; Bowa, Kasonde; Maimbolwa, Margaret; Chipeta, James; Goma, Fastone; Nzala, Selestine; Banda, Sekelani; Mudenda, John; Ahmed, Yusuf; Hachambwa, Lotti; Wilson, Craig; Vermund, Sten; Mulla, Yakub

2017-01-01

Zambia is facing a chronic shortage of health care workers. The paper aimed at understanding how the Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI) program facilitated strengthening and expanding of the national capacity and quality of medical education as well as processes for retaining faculty in Zambia. Data generated through documentary review, key informant interviews and observations were analyzed using a thematic approach. The MEPI program triggered the development of new postgraduate programs thereby increasing student enrollment. This was achieved by leveraging of existing and new partnerships with other universities and differentiating the old Master in Public Health into specialized curriculum. Furthermore, the MEPI program improved the capacity and quality of training by facilitating installation and integration of new technology such as the eGranary digital library, E-learning methods and clinical skills laboratory into the Schools. This technology enabled easy access to relevant data or information, quicker turn around of experiments and enhanced data recording, display and analysis features for experiments. The program also facilitated transforming of the academic environment into a more conducive work place through strengthening the Staff Development program and support towards research activities. These activities stimulated work motivation and interest in research by faculty. Meanwhile, these processes were inhibited by the inability to upload all courses on to Moodle as well as inadequate operating procedures and feedback mechanisms for the Moodle. Expansion and improvement in training processes for health care workers requires targeted investment within medical institutions and strengthening local and international partnerships.

Development of european consciousness in Erasmus students

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Sevda Mutlu

2011-12-01

Full Text Available This research is the content analysis of 502 Erasmus students’ experiences published in the website www.20erasmus.eu. One of the main purposes of the Erasmus Student Exchange Program is to maintain a cross-cultural dialogue through student activity, to remove prejudices and thus to strengthen interaction and join EU citizens under such concepts as “European Consciousness” and “Being European”. The purpose of this study is to determine how successful the Erasmus Student Exchange Program is through the shared Erasmus experiences of the participating students. In conclusion, in this research, it is observed that the students talked highly positively about the Erasmus experience. The students described this process as enjoyable and productive. It could be argued that the Erasmus experience contributed to students’ “individual development” rather than “academic development”. It could also be maintained that one of the key purposes of the Erasmus exchange program is to remove prejudices by maintaining student mobility and cross-cultural dialogue and to unite societies under the European Consciousness and European People understanding via strengthening interactions between EU member citizens. Data collected in this research present evidence that the Erasmus programme has reached this aim

Introductory Psychology: How Student Experiences Relate to Their Understanding of Psychological Science

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Toomey, Thomas; Richardson, Deborah; Hammock, Georgina

2017-01-01

Many students who declare a psychology major are unaware that they are studying a scientific discipline, precipitating a need for exercises and experiences that help students understand the scientific nature of the discipline. The present study explores aspects of an introductory psychology class that may contribute to students' understanding of…

Analysis of senior high school student understanding on gas kinetic theory material

Science.gov (United States)

Anri, Y.; Maknun, J.; Chandra, D. T.

2018-05-01

The purpose of this research conducted to find out student understanding profile about gas kinetic theory. Particularly, on ideal gas law material, ideal gas equations and kinetic energy of ideal gas. This research was conducted on student of class XII in one of the schools in Bandung. This research is a descriptive research. The data of this research collected by using test instrument which was the essay that has been developed by the researcher based on Bloom’s Taxonomy revised. Based on the analysis result to student answer, this research discovered that whole student has low understanding in the material of gas kinetic theory. This low understanding caused of the misconception of the student, student attitude on physic subjects, and teacher teaching method who are less helpful in obtaining clear pictures in material being taught.

University Students' Understanding of Chemical Thermodynamics

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Sreenivasulu, Bellam; Subramaniam, R.

2013-01-01

This study explored undergraduate students' understanding of the chemistry topic of thermodynamics using a 4-tier diagnostic instrument, comprising 30 questions, and follow-up interviews. An additional objective of the study was to assess the utility of the 4-tier instrument for use in studies on alternative conceptions (ACs) as there has been no…

An Investigation into Post-Secondary Students' Understanding of Combinatorial Questions

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Bulone, Vincent William

2017-01-01

The purpose of this dissertation was to study aspects of how post-secondary students understand combinatorial problems. Within this dissertation, I considered understanding through two different lenses: i) student connections to previous problems; and ii) common combinatorial distinctions such as ordered versus unordered and repetitive versus…

The Interplay between Students' Understandings of Proportional and Functional Relationships

Science.gov (United States)

Stephens, Ana; Strachota, Susanne; Knuth, Eric; Blanton, Maria; Isler, Isil; Gardiner, Angela

2017-01-01

This research explores the interplay between students' understandings of proportional and functional relationships. Approximately 90 students participated in an early algebra intervention in Grades 3- 5. Before the intervention and after each year of the intervention, we evaluated their understandings of proportional and functional relationships.…

More Decent Jobs in Peru: Strengthening Research and ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

More Decent Jobs in Peru: Strengthening Research and Policymaking Capacities. Despite ... In turn, such understanding requires appropriate data. Currently ... Call for new OWSD Fellowships for Early Career Women Scientists now open.

Playing "Sherlock Holmes": Enhancing Students' Understanding of Prejudice and Stereotyping.

Science.gov (United States)

Junn, Ellen N.; Grier, Leslie K.; Behrens, Debra P.

2001-01-01

Describes an experiential classroom exercise that was designed to help students understand stereotyping and prejudice. The instructor read behavioral and psychological descriptions, asked students to imagine they were Sherlock Holmes, and identify classmates to whom the descriptions might apply. States that students of color reported more benefits…

Intercultural Understanding through Intergroup Dialogue between Japanese and Chinese University Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Sakakibara, Tomomi

2017-09-01

This study had two purposes: (1) to develop university classes in which students can participate in intercultural dialogue by exchanging letters focusing on a topic about everyday norms implicit in each culture, and (2) to examine how students develop their intercultural understanding through participating in these classes. Twenty-two Japanese and six Chinese university students (each group in their own country) participated in three class sessions. At the beginning of the first class, students were given a dialogue theme that focused on cultural differences. The selected theme was mobile phone use while riding on public transportation, as this practice is prohibited in Tokyo but not in Beijing. Students discussed their opinions in small groups, wrote questions to their counterparts in the other country, and then reflected on and discussed the answers received. Analysis of the Japanese students' written reflections showed that their understanding of different cultural values and beliefs changed from one based only on a Japanese cultural perspective to one that respected the relativity of cultural norms. The results suggested that the arousal of negative emotions when students are exposed to the perspectives of other cultures is closely related to their understanding of cultural relativity.

The Impact of Science Fiction Film on Student Understanding of Science

Science.gov (United States)

Barnett, Michael; Wagner, Heather; Gatling, Anne; Anderson, Janice; Houle, Meredith; Kafka, Alan

2006-04-01

Researchers who have investigated the public understanding of science have argued that fictional cinema and television has proven to be particularly effective at blurring the distinction between fact and fiction. The rationale for this study lies in the notion that to teach science effectively, educators need to understand how popular culture influences their students' perception and understanding of science. Using naturalistic research methods in a diverse middle school we found that students who watched a popular science fiction film, The Core, had a number of misunderstandings of earth science concepts when compared to students who did not watch the movie. We found that a single viewing of a science fiction film can negatively impact student ideas regarding scientific phenomena. Specifically, we found that the film leveraged the scientific authority of the main character, coupled with scientifically correct explanations of some basic earth science, to create a series of plausible, albeit unscientific, ideas that made sense to students.

Understanding Neurophobia: Reasons behind Impaired Understanding and Learning of Neuroanatomy in Cross-Disciplinary Healthcare Students

Science.gov (United States)

Javaid, Muhammad Asim; Chakraborty, Shelly; Cryan, John F.; Schellekens, Harriët; Toulouse, André

2018-01-01

Recent studies have highlighted a fear or difficulty with the study and understanding of neuroanatomy among medical and healthcare students. This has been linked with a diminished confidence of clinical practitioners and students to manage patients with neurological conditions. The underlying reasons for this difficulty have been queried among a…

Electron-microscopic investigations of dispersion-strengthened superalloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schroeder, J.H.; Arzt, E.

1988-01-01

Oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) superalloys possess a high creep strength up to temperatures above 1000 0 C. This is due to a fine dispersion of incoherent Y 2 O 3 particles in connection with a highly elongated grain structure. To investigate the production and properties of ODS alloys, the grain structure was studied and the shape and distribution of dispersoids were characterized after each of the various production steps. Because the interactions between lattice dislocations and dispersoids control the deformation behaviour at high temperatures, the dislocation-dispersoid configurations in crept specimens have been studied by a TEM stereo technique and under weak-beam conditions. It was possible to detect strain fields around the dispersoids using TEM. The results lead to an improved understanding of dispersion strengthening at high temperatures and provide guidelines for the optimum use of this strengthening mechanism. (orig.) [de

Invisible Misconceptions: Student Understanding of Ultraviolet and Infrared Radiation

Science.gov (United States)

Libarkin, Julie C.; Asghar, Anila; Crockett, C.; Sadler, Philip

2011-01-01

The importance of nonvisible wavelengths for the study of astronomy suggests that student understanding of nonvisible light is an important consideration in astronomy classrooms. Questionnaires, interviews, and panel discussions were used to investigate 6-12 student and teacher conceptions of ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR). Alternative…

Chinese Grade Eight Students' Understanding about the Concept of Global Warming

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Jing

2017-01-01

China is one of the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitters. Chinese students' awareness and understanding about global warming have a significant impact on the future of mankind. This study, as an initial research of this kind in Mainland China, uses clinical interviews to survey 37 grade eight students on their understanding about global…

Strengthening Equity through Applied Research Capacity Building ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

There exists limited understanding of how e-Health solutions are perceived, designed, implemented and used. ... The Strengthening Equity through Applied Research Capacity Building in e-Health (SEARCH) program will cultivate local research capacity to examine e-health and ... Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.

Students' Understanding and Perceptions of Assigned Team Roles in a Classroom Laboratory Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Ott, Laura E.; Kephart, Kerrie; Stolle-McAllister, Kathleen; LaCourse, William R.

2018-01-01

Using a cooperative learning framework in a quantitative reasoning laboratory course, students were assigned to static teams of four in which they adopted roles that rotated regularly. The roles included: team leader, protocol manager, data recorder, and researcher. Using a mixed-methods approach, we investigated students' perceptions of the team roles and specifically addressed students' understanding of the roles, students' beliefs in their ability to enact the roles, and whether working with assigned team roles supported the teams to work effectively and cohesively. Although students expressed confidence in their understanding of the team roles, their understanding differed from the initial descriptions. This suggests that students' understanding of team roles may be influenced by a variety of factors, including their experiences within their teams. Students also reported that some roles appeared to lack a purpose, implying that for roles to be successful, they must have a clear purpose. Finally, the fact that many students reported ignoring the team roles suggests that students do not perceive roles as a requirement for team productivity and cohesion. On the basis of these findings, we provide recommendations for instructors wishing to establish a classroom group laboratory environment. PMID:29681667

Visualizing Volume to Help Students Understand the Disk Method on Calculus Integral Course

Science.gov (United States)

Tasman, F.; Ahmad, D.

2018-04-01

Many research shown that students have difficulty in understanding the concepts of integral calculus. Therefore this research is interested in designing a classroom activity integrated with design research method to assist students in understanding the integrals concept especially in calculating the volume of rotary objects using disc method. In order to support student development in understanding integral concepts, this research tries to use realistic mathematical approach by integrating geogebra software. First year university student who takes a calculus course (approximately 30 people) was chosen to implement the classroom activity that has been designed. The results of retrospective analysis show that visualizing volume of rotary objects using geogebra software can assist the student in understanding the disc method as one way of calculating the volume of a rotary object.

Do medical students really understand plagiarism? - Case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Badea, Oana

2017-01-01

In the last decade, more and more medicine students are involved in research, either in the form of a research project within specialized courses or as a scientific article to be presented at student international conferences or published in prestigious medical journals. The present study included 250 2nd year medical students, currently studying within the University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, Romania. There were collected 239 responses, with a response rate of 95.6%. In our study, the results showed that foreign students within the University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova did have some issues understanding plagiarism with fewer foreign students (34%) than Romanian students (66%) recognizing that simply changing words does not avoid plagiarism. In our opinion, there should be put more emphasis upon plagiarism implications and its aspects, as well, with a permanent order to try to prevent future attempts of plagiarizing among medical students as future researchers within the medical science field.

Probing student understanding of scientific thinking in the context of introductory astrophysics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Richard N. Steinberg

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Common forms of testing of student understanding of science content can be misleading about their understanding of the nature of scientific thinking. Observational astronomy integrated with related ideas of force and motion is a rich context to explore the correlation between student content knowledge and student understanding of the scientific thinking about that content. In this paper, we describe this correlation in detail with a focus on a question about the relative motion of the Sun and the Earth. We find that high achieving high school students throughout New York City struggle with what constitutes scientific justification and thought processes, but can improve these skills tremendously in an inquiry-oriented summer astronomy-physics program.

How Students with Autism Spectrum Conditions Understand Traditional Bullying and Cyberbullying

Science.gov (United States)

Hwang, Yoon-Suk; Dillon-Wallace, Julie; Campbell, Marilyn; Ashburner, Jill; Saggers, Beth; Carrington, Suzanne; Hand, Kirstine

2018-01-01

Students with ASC are at heightened risk for bullying and their understanding of bullying is known to protect them from involvement in it (Humphrey and Hebron 2015). However, only a handful of studies have examined how students with ASC understand traditional bullying and none of them focused on cyberbullying. To fill this gap, we investigated how…

Student learning and understanding of sequence stratigraphic principles

Science.gov (United States)

Herrera, Juan Sebastian

Research in geoscience education addressing students' conceptions of geological subjects has concentrated in topics such as geological time, plate tectonics, and problem solving in the field, mostly in K-12 and entry level college scenarios. Science education research addressing learning of sedimentary systems in advance undergraduates is rather limited. Therefore, this dissertation contributed to filling that research gap and explored students' narratives when explaining geological processes associated with the interaction between sediment deposition and sea level fluctuations. The purpose of the present study was to identify the common conceptions and alternative conceptions held by students when learning the basics of the sub discipline known as sequence stratigraphy - which concepts students were familiar and easily identified, and which ones they had more difficulty with. In addition, we mapped the cognitive models that underlie those conceptions by analyzing students' gestures and conceptual metaphors used in their explanations. This research also investigated the interaction between geoscientific visual displays and student gesturing in a specific learning context. In this research, an in-depth assessment of 27 students' ideas of the basic principles of sequence stratigraphy was completed. Participants were enrolled in advanced undergraduate stratigraphy courses at three research-intensive universities in Midwest U.S. Data collection methods included semi-structured interviews, spatial visualization tests, and lab assignments. Results indicated that students poorly integrated temporal and spatial scales in their sequence stratigraphic models, and that many alternative conceptions were more deeply rooted than others, especially those related to eustasy and base level. In order to better understand the depth of these conceptions, we aligned the analysis of gesture with the theory of conceptual metaphor to recognize the use of mental models known as image

Student Understanding of Liquid-Vapor Phase Equilibrium

Science.gov (United States)

Boudreaux, Andrew; Campbell, Craig

2012-01-01

Student understanding of the equilibrium coexistence of a liquid and its vapor was the subject of an extended investigation. Written assessment questions were administered to undergraduates enrolled in introductory physics and chemistry courses. Responses have been analyzed to document conceptual and reasoning difficulties in sufficient detail to…

Thai student existing understanding about the solar system model and the motion of the stars

Science.gov (United States)

Anantasook, Sakanan; Yuenyong, Chokchai

2018-01-01

The paper examined Thai student existing understanding about the solar system model and the motion of the stars. The participants included 141 Grade 9 students in four different schools of the Surin province, Thailand. Methodology regarded interpretive paradigm. The tool of interpretation included the Student Celestial Motion Conception Questionnaire (SCMCQ) and informal interview. Given understandings in the SCMCQ were read through and categorized according to students' understandings. Then, students were further probed as informal interview. Students' understandings in each category were counted and percentages computed. Finally, students' understandings across four different schools were compared and contrasted using the percentage of student responses in each category. The findings revealed that most students understand about Sun-Moon-Earth (SME) system and solar system model as well, they can use scientific explanations to explain the celestial objects in solar system and how they orbiting. Unfortunately, most of students (more than 70%) never know about the Polaris, the North Star, and 90.1% of them never know about the ecliptic, and probably also the 12 zodiac constellations. These existing understanding suggested some ideas of teaching and learning about solar system model and the motion of the stars. The paper, then, discussed some learning activities to enhance students to further construct meaning about solar system model and the motion of the stars.

University students' understanding level about words related to nuclear power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oiso, Shinichi; Watabe, Motoki

2012-01-01

The authors conducted a survey of university students' understanding level about words related to nuclear power before and after Fukushima Daiichi Power Plant accident, and analyzed the difference between before and after the accident. The results show that university students' understanding level improved after the accident, especially in the case of reported words by mass media. Understanding level of some nuclear power security words which were not reported so much by mass media also improved. That may be caused by rising of people's concern about nuclear power generation after the accident, and there is a possibility that the accident motivated people to access such words via internet, journals, etc. (author)

Assessing Students' Understanding of Macroevolution: Concerns regarding the validity of the MUM

Science.gov (United States)

Novick, Laura R.; Catley, Kefyn M.

2012-11-01

In a recent article, Nadelson and Southerland (2010. Development and preliminary evaluation of the Measure of Understanding of Macroevolution: Introducing the MUM. The Journal of Experimental Education, 78, 151-190) reported on their development of a multiple-choice concept inventory intended to assess college students' understanding of macroevolutionary concepts, the Measure of Understanding Macroevolution (MUM). Given that the only existing evolution inventories assess understanding of natural selection, a microevolutionary concept, a valid assessment of students' understanding of macroevolution would be a welcome and necessary addition to the field of science education. Although the conceptual framework underlying Nadelson and Southerland's test is promising, we believe the test has serious shortcomings with respect to validity evidence for the construct being tested. We argue and provide evidence that these problems are serious enough that the MUM should not be used in its current form to measure students' understanding of macroevolution.

Scaffolding software: How does it influence student conceptual understanding and motivation?

Science.gov (United States)

Butler, Kyle A.

The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of scaffolding software on student conceptual understanding and motivation. This study also provides insight on how students use the scaffolding features found in Artemis and the extent to which features show a relationship to student conceptual understanding and motivation. A Randomized Solomon Four Group Design was used in this study. As students worked through a project based unit over photosynthesis, the students performed information seeking activities that were based on their own inquiry. For this purpose, the students in the experimental group used an example of scaffolding software called Artemis, while the students in the control group used a search engine of their choice. To measure conceptual understanding, the researcher analyzed student generated concept maps on photosynthesis using three different methods (quantitative, qualitative, hierarchical). To measure motivation, the researcher used a survey that measured motivation on five different indicators: intrinsic goal orientation, extrinsic goal orientation, task value, control of learning beliefs, self-efficacy for learning and performance. Finally, the researcher looked at the relationship and influence of the scaffolding features on two student performance scores at the end of the unit. This created a total of ten dependent variables in relationship to the treatment. Overall, the students used the collaborative features 25% of the time, the maintenance features 0.84% of the time, the organizational features 16% of the time, the saving/viewing features 7% of the time and the searching features 51% of the time. There were significant correlations between the saving/viewing features hits and the students' task value (r = .499, p motivation.

Strengthening Culture of Recycling and Reusing from Environmental Axiology

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Elizabeth Del Valle Nadales Díaz

2017-02-01

Full Text Available This research aims to strengthen the culture of recycling and reuse from the environmental axiology in the students and teachers of the José Francisco Jiménez School, in the parish of Bolivia City of Pedraza state Barinas, under the action research method competitor. Consequently, it was developed in five phases described as: diagnosis, planning, execution, evaluation and systematization. The informants were two (2 classroom teachers, one (1 parents and representatives and two (02 students, belonging to the 6th grade of the aforementioned institution. The technique used for the collection of information was observation and interview, the instrument will be the observation guide for students and an interview guide for parents, representatives and teachers, the validity and reliability of the same was determined through of triangulation. Subsequently, the obtained results allowed to know the weaknesses in relation to the current situation of the garbage in the institution and the community in general. Based on the derivations that were generated, a set of actions aimed at students was developed in order to strengthen the entire content of environmental care in accordance with the new educational policies. In developing and evaluating the study, it was concluded that the actions carried out will be an alternative for students to process information related to the interactions of environmental systems, taking individual and collective actions in the protection and defense of the environment for sustainable development.

The First Year of College: Understanding Student Persistence in Engineering

OpenAIRE

Hayden, Marina Calvet

2017-01-01

This research study aimed to expand our understanding of the factors that influence student persistence in engineering. The unique experiences of engineering students were examined as they transitioned into and navigated their first year of college at a public research university in California. Most students provided similar responses with respect to the way they experienced the transition to college and social life. There was, however, wide student response variation regarding their experien...

How student teachers’ understanding of the greenhouse effect develops during a teacher education programme

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Margareta Ekborg

2012-10-01

Full Text Available This paper reports on a longitudinal study on how student teachers’ understanding of the greenhouse effect developed through a teacher education programme in mathematics and science for pupils aged 7-13. All student teachers, who were accepted to the programme one year, were followed trough 2.5 years of the programme. The student teachers took science courses in which they were taught about the greenhouse effect.Data was collected by questionnaires three times. The results show that a majority of the student teachers developed an adequate understanding of the greenhouse effect during the teaching programme. Several of the students developed further in the second science course. However a rather big group of students with poor understanding did not develop any further in the second science course and no one demonstrated full understanding. Different ways of collecting data and categorising responses affected how the students’ understanding was interpreted.

Understanding Students' Use and Value of Technology for Learning

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Beckman, Karley; Bennett, Sue; Lockyer, Lori

2014-01-01

Despite significant research in the field of educational technology, there is still much we do not fully understand about students' experiences with technology. This article proposes that research in the field of educational technology would benefit from a sociological framing that pays attention to the understandings and lives of learners. Within…

Student Use of Scaffolding Software: Relationships with Motivation and Conceptual Understanding

Science.gov (United States)

Butler, Kyle A.; Lumpe, Andrew

2008-10-01

This study was designed to theoretically articulate and empirically assess the role of computer scaffolds. In this project, several examples of educational software were developed to scaffold the learning of students performing high level cognitive activities. The software used in this study, Artemis, focused on scaffolding the learning of students as they performed information seeking activities. As 5th grade students traveled through a project-based science unit on photosynthesis, researchers used a pre-post design to test for both student motivation and student conceptual understanding of photosynthesis. To measure both variables, a motivation survey and three methods of concept map analysis were used. The student use of the scaffolding features was determined using a database that tracked students' movement between scaffolding tools. The gain scores of each dependent variable was then correlated to the students' feature use (time and hits) embedded in the Artemis Interface. This provided the researchers with significant relationships between the scaffolding features represented in the software and student motivation and conceptual understanding of photosynthesis. There were a total of three significant correlations in comparing the scaffolding use by hits (clicked on) with the dependent variables and only one significant correlation when comparing the scaffold use in time. The first significant correlation ( r = .499, p students' task value. This correlation supports the assumption that there is a positive relationship between the student use of the saving/viewing features and the students' perception of how interesting, how important, and how useful the task is. The second significant correlation ( r = 0.553, p students' self-efficacy for learning and performance. This correlation supports the assumption that there is a positive relationship between the student use of the searching features and the students' perception of their ability to accomplish a task as

Understanding the Greenhouse Effect by Embodiment - Analysing and Using Students' and Scientists' Conceptual Resources

Science.gov (United States)

Niebert, Kai; Gropengießer, Harald

2014-01-01

Over the last 20 years, science education studies have reported that there are very different understandings among students of science regarding the key aspects of climate change. We used the cognitive linguistic framework of experientialism to shed new light on this valuable pool of studies to identify the conceptual resources of understanding climate change. In our study, we interviewed 35 secondary school students on their understanding of the greenhouse effect and analysed the conceptions of climate scientists as drawn from textbooks and research reports. We analysed all data by metaphor analysis and qualitative content analysis to gain insight into students' and scientists' resources for understanding. In our analysis, we found that students and scientists refer to the same schemata to understand the greenhouse effect. We categorised their conceptions into three different principles the conceptions are based on: warming by more input, warming by less output, and warming by a new equilibrium. By interrelating students' and scientists' conceptions, we identified the students' learning demand: First, our students were afforded with experiences regarding the interactions of electromagnetic radiation and CO2. Second, our students reflected about the experience-based schemata they use as source domains for metaphorical understanding of the greenhouse effect. By uncovering the-mostly unconscious-deployed schemata, we gave students access to their source domains. We implemented these teaching guidelines in interventions and evaluated them in teaching experiments to develop evidence-based and theory-guided learning activities on the greenhouse effect.

Students' Meaningful Learning Orientation and Their Meaningful Understandings of Meiosis and Genetics.

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Cavallo, Ann Liberatore

This 1-week study explored the extent to which high school students (n=140) acquired meaningful understanding of selected biological topics (meiosis and the Punnett square method) and the relationship between these topics. This study: (1) examined "mental modeling" as a technique for measuring students' meaningful understanding of the…

Western Australian High School Students' Understandings about the Socioscientific Issue of Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

Dawson, Vaille

2015-05-01

Climate change is one of the most significant science issues facing humanity; yet, teaching students about climate change is challenging: not only is it multidisciplinary, but also it is contentious and debated in political, social and media forums. Students need to be equipped with an understanding of climate change science to be able to participate in this discourse. The purpose of this study was to examine Western Australian high school students' understanding of climate change and the greenhouse effect, in order to identify their alternative conceptions about climate change science and provide a baseline for more effective teaching. A questionnaire designed to elicit students' understanding and alternative conceptions was completed by 438 Year 10 students (14-15 years old). A further 20 students were interviewed. Results showed that students know different features of both climate change and the greenhouse effect, however not necessarily all of them and the relationships between. Five categories of alternative conceptions were identified. The categories were (1) the greenhouse effect and the ozone layer; (2) types of greenhouse gases; (3) types of radiation; (4) weather and climate and (5) air pollution. These findings provide science educators a basis upon which to develop strategies and curriculum resources to improve their students' understanding and decision-making skills about the socioscientific issue, climate change.

How Do Students Acquire an Understanding of Logarithmic Concepts?

Science.gov (United States)

Mulqueeny, Ellen

2012-01-01

The use of logarithms, an important tool for calculus and beyond, has been reduced to symbol manipulation without understanding in most entry-level college algebra courses. The primary aim of this research, therefore, was to investigate college students' understanding of logarithmic concepts through the use of a series of instructional tasks…

Learning difficulties of senior high school students based on probability understanding levels

Science.gov (United States)

Anggara, B.; Priatna, N.; Juandi, D.

2018-05-01

Identifying students' difficulties in learning concept of probability is important for teachers to prepare the appropriate learning processes and can overcome obstacles that may arise in the next learning processes. This study revealed the level of students' understanding of the concept of probability and identified their difficulties as a part of the epistemological obstacles identification of the concept of probability. This study employed a qualitative approach that tends to be the character of descriptive research involving 55 students of class XII. In this case, the writer used the diagnostic test of probability concept learning difficulty, observation, and interview as the techniques to collect the data needed. The data was used to determine levels of understanding and the learning difficulties experienced by the students. From the result of students' test result and learning observation, it was found that the mean cognitive level was at level 2. The findings indicated that students had appropriate quantitative information of probability concept but it might be incomplete or incorrectly used. The difficulties found are the ones in arranging sample space, events, and mathematical models related to probability problems. Besides, students had difficulties in understanding the principles of events and prerequisite concept.

Primary Student-Teachers' Conceptual Understanding of the Greenhouse Effect: A mixed method study

Science.gov (United States)

Ratinen, Ilkka Johannes

2013-04-01

The greenhouse effect is a reasonably complex scientific phenomenon which can be used as a model to examine students' conceptual understanding in science. Primary student-teachers' understanding of global environmental problems, such as climate change and ozone depletion, indicates that they have many misconceptions. The present mixed method study examines Finnish primary student-teachers' understanding of the greenhouse effect based on the results obtained via open-ended and closed-form questionnaires. The open-ended questionnaire considers primary student-teachers' spontaneous ideas about the greenhouse effect depicted by concept maps. The present study also uses statistical analysis to reveal respondents' conceptualization of the greenhouse effect. The concept maps and statistical analysis reveal that the primary student-teachers' factual knowledge and their conceptual understanding of the greenhouse effect are incomplete and even misleading. In the light of the results of the present study, proposals for modifying the instruction of climate change in science, especially in geography, are presented.

Developing Deaf Students Fraction Skills Requires Understanding Magnitude and Whole Number Division

Science.gov (United States)

Mousley, Keith; Kelly, Ronald R.

2018-01-01

Research has shown that fraction magnitude and whole number division are important precursors to learning and understanding fractions. Deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) students are consistently challenged with learning fractions from K-12 through college. Sixty DHH college students were tested for both their understanding of magnitude between two…

Exploring Students' Understanding of Ordinary Differential Equations Using Computer Algebraic System (CAS)

Science.gov (United States)

Maat, Siti Mistima; Zakaria, Effandi

2011-01-01

Ordinary differential equations (ODEs) are one of the important topics in engineering mathematics that lead to the understanding of technical concepts among students. This study was conducted to explore the students' understanding of ODEs when they solve ODE questions using a traditional method as well as a computer algebraic system, particularly…

Markov Processes: Exploring the Use of Dynamic Visualizations to Enhance Student Understanding

Science.gov (United States)

Pfannkuch, Maxine; Budgett, Stephanie

2016-01-01

Finding ways to enhance introductory students' understanding of probability ideas and theory is a goal of many first-year probability courses. In this article, we explore the potential of a prototype tool for Markov processes using dynamic visualizations to develop in students a deeper understanding of the equilibrium and hitting times…

Students' understanding of teamwork and professional roles after interprofessional simulation-a qualitative analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Oxelmark, Lena; Nordahl Amorøe, Torben; Carlzon, Liisa; Rystedt, Hans

2017-01-01

This study explores how interprofessional simulation-based education (IPSE) can contribute to a change in students' understanding of teamwork and professional roles. A series of 1-day training sessions was arranged involving undergraduate nursing and medical students. Scenarios were designed for practicing teamwork principles and interprofessional communication skills by endorsing active participation by all team members. Four focus groups occurred 2-4 weeks after the training. Thematic analysis of the transcribed focus groups was applied, guided by questions on what changes in students' understanding of teamwork and professional roles were identified and how such changes had been achieved. The first question, aiming to identify changes in students' understanding of teamwork, resulted in three categories: realizing and embracing teamwork fundamentals, reconsidering professional roles, and achieving increased confidence. The second question, regarding how participation in IPSE could support the transformation of students' understanding of teamwork and of professional roles, embraced another three categories: feeling confident in the learning environment, embodying experiences, and obtaining an outside perspective. This study showed the potential of IPSE to transform students' understanding of others' professional roles and responsibilities. Students displayed extensive knowledge on fundamental teamwork principles and what these meant in the midst of participating in the scenarios. A critical prerequisite for the development of these new insights was to feel confident in the learning environment. The significance of how the environment was set up calls for further research on the design of IPSE in influencing role understanding and communicative skills in significant ways.

Understanding Student Travel Behaviour in Semarang City

Science.gov (United States)

Manullang, O. R.; Tyas, W. P.; Anas, N.; Aji, F. N.

2018-02-01

The highest movement in Semarang City is dominated by motorcycles, which reached 79% of the number of vehicles. Highest percentage movement use motorcycle caused the highest percentage accident by motorcycle users, which reached 66% and 9% involving high school students. This happens because of the dependence of motorcycles usage in fulfilling the needs of movement in the city of Semarang. Understanding student travel behavior based on their activities is used to know travel needs and the cause of dependence on motorcycle usage. Analysis method in this study use network analysis to compare the potential accessibility and actual accessibility to known why motorcycle chosen by students as the main mode. In addition, phenomenology analysis is used to explain the intent and reasons the data produced by network analysis. The analysis result indicates that the high use of motorcycles by high school students in the Semarang city due to the absence of other effective and efficient modes in fulfilling the movement needs. Even, the student which can potentially use public transport preferred to use a motorcycle. This mode is more effective and efficient because of its flexibility and lower costs.

Applied information system-based in enhancing students' understanding towards higher order thinking (HOTS)

Science.gov (United States)

Hua, Ang Kean; Ping, Owi Wei

2017-05-01

The application of information and communications technology (ICT) had become more important in our daily life, especially in educational field. Teachers are encouraged to use information system-based in teaching Mathematical courses. Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) approach is unable to explain using chalk and talk methods. It needs students to analyze, evaluate, and create by their own natural abilities. The aim of this research study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the application information system-based in enhance the students understanding about HOTS question. Mixed-methods or quantitative and qualitative approach was applied in collecting data, which involve only the standard five students and the teachers in Sabak Bernam, Selangor. Pra-postests was held before and after using information system-based in teaching to evaluate the students' understanding. The result from post-test indicates significant improvement which proves that the use of information system based able to enhance students' understanding about HOTS question and solve it. There were several factor influenced the students such as students' attitude, teachers attraction, school facilities, and computer approach. Teachers play an important role in attracting students to learn. Therefore, the school should provide a conducive learning environment and good facilities for students to learn so that they are able to access more information and always exposed to new knowledge. As conclusion, information system-based are able to enhance students understanding the need of HOTS questions and solve it.

Understanding students' concepts through guided inquiry learning and free modified inquiry on static fluid material

OpenAIRE

Sularso Sularso; Widha Sunarno; Sarwanto Sarwanto

2017-01-01

This study provides information on understanding students' concepts in guided inquiry learning groups and in free modified inquiry learning groups. Understanding of student concept is reviewed on the concept of static fluid case. The number of samples tested were 67 students. The sample is divided into 2 groups of students: the group is given guided inquiry learning and the group given the modified free inquiry learning. Understanding the concept of students is measured through 23 tests of it...

Secondary Students' Understanding of Basic Ideas of Special Relativity

Science.gov (United States)

Dimitriadi, Kyriaki; Halkia, Krystallia

2012-01-01

A major topic that has marked "modern physics" is the theory of special relativity (TSR). The present work focuses on the possibility of teaching the basic ideas of the TSR to students at the upper secondary level in such a way that they are able to understand and learn the ideas. Its aim is to investigate students' learning processes towards the…

Using Pre-Assessment and In-Class Questions to Change Student Understanding of Molecular Movements

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Jia Shi

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Understanding how different types of molecules move through cell membranes is a fundamental part of cell biology. To identify and address student misconceptions surrounding molecular movement through cell membranes, we surveyed student understanding on this topic using pre-class questions, in-class clicker questions, and subsequent exam questions in a large introductory biology course. Common misconceptions identified in student responses to the pre-class assessment questions were used to generate distractors for clicker questions. Two-tier diagnostic clicker questions were used to probe incoming common student misconceptions (first tier and their reasoning (second tier. Two subsequent lectures with assessment clicker questions were used to help students construct a new framework to understand molecular movement through cell membranes. Comparison of pre-assessment and post-assessment (exam performance showed dramatic improvement in students’ understanding of molecular movement: student answers to exam questions were 74.6% correct with correct reasoning while only 1.3% of the student answers were correct with correct reasoning on the pre-class assessment. Our results show that students’ conceptual understanding of molecular movement through cell membranes progressively increases through discussions of a series of clicker questions and suggest that this clicker-based teaching strategy was highly effective in correcting common student misconceptions on this topic.

Understanding Female Students' Physics Identity Development

Science.gov (United States)

Hazari, Zahra

2017-01-01

While the gender gap in physics participation is a known problem, practical strategies that may improve the situation are not well understood. As physics education researchers, we draw on evidence to help inform us of what may or may not be working. To this end, physics identity has proven to be a useful framework for understanding and predicting participation in physics. Drawing on data from national surveys of college students, case studies in physics classes, and surveys of undergraduate women in physics, we identify strategies that are predictive of female students' physics identity development from their high school and undergraduate physics experiences. These findings will be discussed as well as future directions for using this research to increase the recruitment of women to physics-related careers. NSF Grant # 1431846.

How student teachers understand African philosophy

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Matsephe M. Letseka

2012-10-01

Full Text Available The question ‘What constitutes African philosophy?’ was first raised with the publication of Placide Tempels’s seminal work Bantu philosophy in 1959. Tempels’s book inevitably elicited considerable critical response from African philosophers, which culminated in a wide range of publications such as Wiredu’s (1980 Philosophy and an African culture, Hountondji’s (1983 African philosophy: Myth and reality, Oruka’s (1990 Sage philosophy: Indigenous thinkers and modern debate on African philosophy, Shutte’s (1993 Philosophy for Africa, Masolo’s (1994 African philosophy in search of identity and Gyekye’s (1995 An essay of African philosophical thought: The Akan conceptual scheme. It has been over 60 years since the publication of Temples’s book and there continues to be serious debate about African philosophy. This article sought to contribute to the debate on the various conceptions of African philosophy, but with a focus on the challenges of teaching African philosophy to Philosophy of Education students at an open distance learning institution in South Africa. This article discussed the tendency amongst undergraduate Philosophy of Education students to conflate and reduce African philosophy to African cultures and traditions, and to the notion of ubuntu, and sought to understand the reasons for students’ inclination to treat African philosophy in this way. It examined students’ background knowledge of African philosophy, their critical thinking skills and whether their official study materials are selected and packaged in a manner that, in fact, adds to the challenges they face. Finally, the article explored the ways in which Philosophy of Education lecturers can adapt their pedagogy to provide students with a better understanding of African philosophy.

Developmental Advising for Marginalized Community College Students: An Action Research Study

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Jones, Terrica S.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this action research study was to understand, evaluate, and improve the developmental advising practices used at a Washington State community college. This action research study endeavored to strengthen the developmental advising model originally designed to support the college's marginalized students. Guiding questions for the…

Middle school students' understanding of time: Implications for the National Science Education Standards

Science.gov (United States)

Reinemann, Deborah Jean

2000-10-01

Measures of time are essential to human life, especially in the Western world. Human understanding of time develops from the preschool stages of using "before" and "after" to an adult understanding and appreciation of time. Previous researchers (for example, Piaget, Friedman) have investigated and described stages of time development. Time, as it was investigated here, can be classified as conventional, logical or experiential. Conventional time is the ordered representation of time; the days of the week, the months of the year, or clock time: seconds and hours. Logical time is the deduction of duration based on regular events; for example, calculating the passage of time based on two separate events. Experiential time involves the duration of events and estimating intervals. With the recent production of the National Science Education Standards (NSES), many schools are aligning their science curriculum with the NSES. Time appears both implicitly and explicitly in the NSES. Do Middle School students possess the understanding of time necessary to meet the recommendations of the NSES? An interview protocol of four sessions was developed to investigate middle school students understanding of time. The four sessions included: building and testing water clocks; an interview about water clocks and time intervals; a laserdisc presentation about relative time spans; and a mind mapping session. Students were also given the GALT test of Logical Thinking. The subjects of the study were interviewed; eleven eighth grade students and thirteen sixth grade students. The data was transcribed and coded, and a rubric was developed to evaluate students based on their responses to the four sessions. The Time Analysis Rubric is a grid of the types of time: conventional, logical and experiential time versus the degree of understanding of time. Student results were assigned to levels of understanding based on the Time Analysis Rubric. There was a relationship (although not significant

Student Understanding of Time in Special Relativity: Simultaneity and Reference Frames.

Science.gov (United States)

Scherr, Rachel E.; Shaffer, Peter S.; Vokos, Stamatis

2001-01-01

Reports on an investigation of students' understanding of the concept of time in special relativity. Discusses a series of research tasks to illustrate how student reasoning of fundamental concepts of relativity was probed. Indicates that after standard instruction, students have serious difficulties with the relativity of simultaneity and the…

High School Students' Understanding of Chromosome/Gene Behavior during Meiosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Stewart, Jim; Dale, Michael

1989-01-01

Investigates high school students' understanding of the physical relationship of chromosomes and genes as expressed in their conceptual models and in their ability to manipulate the models to explain solutions to dihybrid cross problems. Describes three typical models and three students' reasoning processes. Discusses four implications. (YP)

Sixth-Grade Students' Progress in Understanding the Mechanisms of Global Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

Visintainer, Tammie; Linn, Marcia

2015-04-01

Developing solutions for complex issues such as global climate change requires an understanding of the mechanisms involved. This study reports on the impact of a technology-enhanced unit designed to improve understanding of global climate change, its mechanisms, and their relationship to everyday energy use. Global Climate Change, implemented in the Web-based Inquiry Science Environment (WISE), engages sixth-grade students in conducting virtual investigations using NetLogo models to foster an understanding of core mechanisms including the greenhouse effect. Students then test how the greenhouse effect is enhanced by everyday energy use. This study draws on three data sources: (1) pre- and post-unit interviews, (2) analysis of embedded assessments following virtual investigations, and (3) contrasting cases of two students (normative vs. non-normative understanding of the greenhouse effect). Results show the value of using virtual investigations for teaching the mechanisms associated with global climate change. Interviews document that students hold a wide range of ideas about the mechanisms driving global climate change. Investigations with models help students use evidence-based reasoning to distinguish their ideas. Results show that understanding the greenhouse effect offers a foundation for building connections between everyday energy use and increases in global temperature. An impediment to establishing coherent understanding was the persistence of an alternative conception about ozone as an explanation for climate change. These findings illustrate the need for regular revision of curriculum based on classroom trials. We discuss key design features of models and instructional revisions that can transform the teaching and learning of global climate change.

Understanding of Words and Symbols by Chemistry University Students in Croatia

Science.gov (United States)

Vladušic, Roko; Bucat, Robert; Ožic, Mia

2016-01-01

This article reports on a study conducted in Croatia on students' understanding of scientific words and representations, as well as everyday words used in chemistry teaching. A total of 82 undergraduate chemistry students and 36 pre-service chemistry teachers from the Faculty of Science, University of Split, were involved. Students' understanding…

Strengthening of Shear Walls

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Christian Skodborg

The theory for concrete structures strengthened with fiber reinforced polymer materials has been developing for approximately two decades, and there are at the present time numerous guidelines covering strengthening of many commonly encountered structural building elements. Strengthening of in...... that describes a unit width strip of a strengthened disk. The unit width strip is named a strengthened concrete tension member and contains a single tensile crack and four debonding cracks. Analysis of the member results in closed form expressions for the load-crack opening relationship. Further analysis...... of the response, results in the ability to determine and characterize the two-way crack propagation, i.e. the relationship between tensile cracking in the concrete and interface debonding between strengthening and concrete. Using the load-crack opening relationship from the strengthened concrete tension member...

A mixed-methods study exploring student nurses’ understanding of futile CPR

OpenAIRE

Batty, Emma

2014-01-01

Abstract Background: Futile CPR has the potential to inflict significant, avoidable harms on dying patients. Futile CPR is widely debated in the literature, but there is little research into futile CPR in the context of nursing. There are no published studies exploring student nurses’ understanding of futile CPR. Aim: To explore student nurses’ understanding of futile CPR Methods: A mixed methods study, using questionnaires to establish background data and identify prominent issues. ...

Promoting Conceptual Change in First Year Students' Understanding of Evaporation

Science.gov (United States)

Costu, Bayram; Ayas, Alipasa; Niaz, Mansoor

2010-01-01

We constructed the PDEODE (Predict-Discuss-Explain-Observe-Discuss-Explain) teaching strategy, a variant of the classical POE (Predict-Observe-Explain) activity, to promote conceptual change, and investigated its effectiveness on student understanding of the evaporation concept. The sample consisted of 52 first year students in a primary science…

The Role of Computer Modeling in Enhancing Students' Conceptual Understanding of Physics

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F. Ornek

2012-04-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to investigate how the use of the computer simulations program VPython facilitated students’ conceptual understanding of fundamental physical principles and in constructing new knowledge of physics. We focused on students in a calculus-based introductory physics course, based on the Matter and Interactions curriculum of Chabay & Sherwood (2002 at a large state engineering and science university in the USA. A major emphasis of this course was on computer modeling by using VPython to write pro¬grams simulating physical systems. We conducted multiple student interviews, as well as an open-ended exit survey, to find out student views on how creating their own simulations to enhanced-conceptual understanding of physics and in constructing new knowledge of phys¬ics. The results varied in relation to the phases when the interviews were conducted. At the beginning of the course, students viewed the simulation program as a burden. However, dur¬ing the course, students stated that it promoted their knowledge and better conceptual understanding of physical phenomena. We deduce that VPython computer simulations can improve students’ conceptual understanding of fundamental physical concepts and promote construction of new knowledge in physics, once they overcome the initial learning curve associated with the VPython software package.

Students concept understanding of fluid static based on the types of teaching

Science.gov (United States)

Rahmawati, I. D.; Suparmi; Sunarno, W.

2018-03-01

This research aims to know the concept understanding of student are taught by guided inquiry based learning and conventional based learning. Subjects in this study are high school students as much as 2 classes and each class consists of 32 students, both classes are homogen. The data was collected by conceptual test in the multiple choice form with the students argumentation of the answer. The data analysis used is qualitative descriptive method. The results of the study showed that the average of class that was using guided inquiry based learning is 78.44 while the class with use conventional based learning is 65.16. Based on these data, the guided inquiry model is an effective learning model used to improve students concept understanding.

Using Patient Case Video Vignettes to Improve Students' Understanding of Cross-cultural Communication.

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Arif, Sally; Cryder, Brian; Mazan, Jennifer; Quiñones-Boex, Ana; Cyganska, Angelika

2017-04-01

Objective. To develop, implement, and assess whether simulated patient case videos improve students' understanding of and attitudes toward cross-cultural communication in health care. Design. Third-year pharmacy students (N=159) in a health care communications course participated in a one-hour lecture and two-hour workshop on the topic of cross-cultural communication. Three simulated pharmacist-patient case vignettes highlighting cross-cultural communication barriers, the role of active listening, appropriate use of medical interpreters, and useful models to overcome communication barriers were viewed and discussed in groups of 20 students during the workshop. Assessment. A pre-lecture and post-workshop assessed the effect on students' understanding of and attitudes toward cross-cultural communication. Understanding of cross-cultural communication concepts increased significantly, as did comfort level with providing cross-cultural care. Conclusion. Use of simulated patient case videos in conjunction with an interactive workshop improved pharmacy students' understanding of and comfort level with cross-cultural communication skills and can be useful tools for cultural competency training in the curriculum.

Medical Students' Understanding of Directed Questioning by Their Clinical Preceptors.

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Lo, Lawrence; Regehr, Glenn

2017-01-01

Phenomenon: Throughout clerkship, preceptors ask medical students questions for both assessment and teaching purposes. However, the cognitive and strategic aspects of students' approaches to managing this situation have not been explored. Without an understanding of how students approach the question and answer activity, medical educators are unable to appreciate how effectively this activity fulfills their purposes of assessment or determine the activity's associated educational effects. A convenience sample of nine 4th-year medical students participated in semistructured one-on-one interviews exploring their approaches to managing situations in which they have been challenged with questions from preceptors to which they do not know the answer. Through an iterative and recursive analytic reading of the interview transcripts, data were coded and organized to identify themes relevant to the students' considerations in answering such questions. Students articulated deliberate strategies for managing the directed questioning activity, which at times focused on the optimization of their learning but always included considerations of image management. Managing image involved projecting not only being knowledgeable but also being teachable. The students indicated that their considerations in selecting an appropriate strategy in a given situation involved their perceptions of their preceptors' intentions and preferences as well as several contextual factors. Insights: The medical students we interviewed were quite sophisticated in their understanding of the social nuances of the directed questioning process and described a variety of contextually invoked strategies to manage the situation and maintain a positive image.

Development of a Student-Centered Instrument to Assess Middle School Students' Conceptual Understanding of Sound

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Eshach, Haim

2014-01-01

This article describes the development and field test of the Sound Concept Inventory Instrument (SCII), designed to measure middle school students' concepts of sound. The instrument was designed based on known students' difficulties in understanding sound and the history of science related to sound and focuses on two main aspects of sound: sound…

Students' Performance in Investigative Activity and Their Understanding of Activity Aims

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Gomes, Alessandro Damasio Trani; Borges, A. Tarciso; Justi, Rosaria

2008-01-01

This study investigates the relationship between the students' understanding of the aims of an investigative activity and their performance when conducting it. One hundred and eighty-one year nine students from a public middle school in Brazil took part in the study. Students working in pairs were asked to investigate two problems using a…

Understanding Student Learning in Context: Relationships between University Students' Social Identity, Approaches to Learning, and Academic Performance

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Bliuc, Ana-Maria; Ellis, Robert A.; Goodyear, Peter; Hendres, Daniela Muntele

2011-01-01

This research focuses on understanding how socio-psychological dimensions such as student social identity and student perceptions of their learning community affect learning at university. To do this, it integrates ideas from phenomenographic research into student learning with ideas from research on social identity. In two studies (N = 110, and N…

Middle School Students' Understandings About Anthropogenic Climate Change

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Golden, B. W.

2013-12-01

they discussed the validation of their beliefs. That is, we argue that the unit, and the emphases contained within the unit, resulted in the "epistemic scaffolding" of their ideas, to the extent that they shifted from arguing from anecdotes to arguing based on other types of data, especially from line graphs. Additionally, we found that students' understandings of climate change were tied to their ontological constructions of the subject matter, i.e., many perceived climate change as just another environmentally sensitive issue such as littering and pollution, and were therefore limited in their ability to understand anthropogenic climate change in the vast and robust sense meant by current scientific consensus. Given these known difficulties, it is critical to explore further research of this sort in order to better understand what students are actually thinking, and how that thinking is prone to change, modification, or not. Subsequently, K-12 strategies might be better designed, if that is indeed a priority of US/Western society.

Investigating and Improving Student Understanding of Key Ideas in Quantum Mechanics throughout Instruction

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Emigh, Paul Jeffrey

This dissertation describes research on student understanding of quantum mechanics across multiple levels of instruction. The primary focus has been to identify patterns in student reasoning related to key concepts in quantum mechanics. The specific topics include quantum measurements, time dependence, vector spaces, and angular momentum. The research has spanned a variety of different quantum courses intended for introductory physics students, upper-division physics majors, and graduate students in physics. The results of this research have been used to develop a set of curriculum, Tutorials in Physics: Quantum Mechanics, for addressing the most persistent student difficulties. We document both the development of this curriculum and how it has impacted and improved student understanding of quantum mechanics.

A conceptual framework to understand academic student volunteerism

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Cunha, Jorge; Mensing, Rainer; Benneworth, Paul Stephen

2018-01-01

This paper develops a conceptual framework to understand the value of an increasing number of university study programmes that send students to the global south by learning through volunteering. We ask the research question what determines the benefit that these activities bring to the host

Can an egg-dropping race enhance students' conceptual understanding of air resistance?

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Lee, Yeung Chung; Kwok, Ping Wai

2009-03-01

Children are familiar with situations in which air resistance plays an important role, such as parachuting. However, it is not known whether they have any understanding about the concept of air resistance, how air resistance affects falling objects, and the differential effect it has on different objects. The literature reveals that there are misconceptions even among undergraduate physics students about how air resistance is affected by the mass and size of falling objects. A study was carried out in Hong Kong to explore Grade 6 students' (aged 11-12) conceptions of air resistance with respect to falling objects of different size and mass, and whether the subjects showed any change in their conceptual understanding after participating in an egg-dropping race. The findings show that students had a wide range of conceptions, which could be characterized into different levels. Their conceptions seem rather robust, and more structured interventions are required to bring about changes in students' conceptual understanding of air resistance.

Assessing student understanding of measurement and uncertainty

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Jirungnimitsakul, S.; Wattanakasiwich, P.

2017-09-01

The objectives of this study were to develop and assess student understanding of measurement and uncertainty. A test has been adapted and translated from the Laboratory Data Analysis Instrument (LDAI) test, consists of 25 questions focused on three topics including measures of central tendency, experimental errors and uncertainties, and fitting regression lines. The test was evaluated its content validity by three physics experts in teaching physics laboratory. In the pilot study, Thai LDAI was administered to 93 freshmen enrolled in a fundamental physics laboratory course. The final draft of the test was administered to three groups—45 freshmen taking fundamental physics laboratory, 16 sophomores taking intermediated physics laboratory and 21 juniors taking advanced physics laboratory at Chiang Mai University. As results, we found that the freshmen had difficulties in experimental errors and uncertainties. Most students had problems with fitting regression lines. These results will be used to improve teaching and learning physics laboratory for physics students in the department.

Understanding How Domestic Violence Affects Behavior in High School Students

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Frank, Malika

2011-01-01

This paper will provide the reader with an understanding of how domestic violence affects the behavior of high school students. The presentation is designed to provide the reader with a working definition of domestic violence, the rate of occurrence and its effects on high school students. Additionally the paper will summarize the negative effects…

Secondary School Students' Understanding of Science and Their Socioscientific Reasoning

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Karahan, Engin; Roehrig, Gillian

2017-08-01

Research in socioscientific issue (SSI)-based interventions is relatively new (Sadler in Journal of Research in Science Teaching 41:513-536, 2004; Zeidler et al. in Journal of Research in Science Teaching 46:74-101, 2009), and there is a need for understanding more about the effects of SSI-based learning environments (Sadler in Journal of Research in Science Teaching 41:513-536, 2004). Lee and Witz (International Journal of Science Education 31:931-960, 2009) highlighted the need for detailed case studies that would focus on how students respond to teachers' practices of teaching SSI. This study presents case studies that investigated the development of secondary school students' science understanding and their socioscientific reasoning within SSI-based learning environments. A multiple case study with embedded units of analysis was implemented for this research because of the contextual differences for each case. The findings of the study revealed that students' understanding of science, including scientific method, social and cultural influences on science, and scientific bias, was strongly influenced by their experiences in SSI-based learning environments. Furthermore, multidimensional SSI-based science classes resulted in students having multiple reasoning modes, such as ethical and economic reasoning, compared to data-driven SSI-based science classes. In addition to portraying how participants presented complexity, perspectives, inquiry, and skepticism as aspects of socioscientific reasoning (Sadler et al. in Research in Science Education 37:371-391, 2007), this study proposes the inclusion of three additional aspects for the socioscientific reasoning theoretical construct: (1) identification of social domains affecting the SSI, (2) using cost and benefit analysis for evaluation of claims, and (3) understanding that SSIs and scientific studies around them are context-bound.

Understanding the information and resource needs of UK health and social care placement students.

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Callaghan, Lynne; Doherty, Alan; Lea, Susan J; Webster, Daniel

2008-12-01

Students on health and social care degree programmes spend 50% of their time on practice placements. Because of the diversity of settings and the need to evidence their work, it is vital to understand the information and resource needs of placement students. The aim of this investigation was to understand the needs of placement students in terms of accessing resources whilst they are in the field in order to inform a guide to meet these needs. Focus groups were conducted with students on midwifery, social work and post-registration health professions degree programmes on three different sites across the region. Data were analysed using Thematic Content Analysis. Three themes emerged from the data: inequality, user education needs and students' solutions and strategies. It is essential to speak to placement students in order to understand their needs in terms of accessing and using library resources. The timing and content of information skills training is key to meeting student needs while on placement.

Manipulating 3D-Printed and Paper Models Enhances Student Understanding of Viral Replication

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Couper, Lisa; Johannes, Kristen; Powers, Jackie; Silberglitt, Matt; Davenport, Jodi

2016-01-01

Understanding key concepts in molecular biology requires reasoning about molecular processes that are not directly observable and, as such, presents a challenge to students and teachers. We ask whether novel interactive physical models and activities can help students understand key processes in viral replication. Our 3D tangible models are…

The Influence of Toy Design Activities on Middle School Students' Understanding of the Engineering Design Processes

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Zhou, Ninger; Pereira, Nielsen L.; George, Tarun Thomas; Alperovich, Jeffrey; Booth, Joran; Chandrasegaran, Senthil; Tew, Jeffrey David; Kulkarni, Devadatta M.; Ramani, Karthik

2017-10-01

The societal demand for inspiring and engaging science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students and preparing our workforce for the emerging creative economy has necessitated developing students' self-efficacy and understanding of engineering design processes from as early as elementary school levels. Hands-on engineering design activities have shown the potential to promote middle school students' self-efficacy and understanding of engineering design processes. However, traditional classrooms often lack hands-on engineering design experiences, leaving students unprepared to solve real-world design problems. In this study, we introduce the framework of a toy design workshop and investigate the influence of the workshop activities on students' understanding of and self-efficacy beliefs in engineering design. Using a mixed method approach, we conducted quantitative analyses to show changes in students' engineering design self-efficacy and qualitative analyses to identify students' understanding of the engineering design processes. Findings show that among the 24 participants, there is a significant increase in students' self-efficacy beliefs after attending the workshop. We also identified major themes such as design goals and prototyping in students' understanding of engineering design processes. This research provides insights into the key elements of middle school students' engineering design learning and the benefits of engaging middle school students in hands-on toy design workshops.

Student Understanding of Gravity in Introductory College Astronomy

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Williamson, Kathryn E.; Willoughby, Shannon

2012-01-01

Twenty-four free-response questions were developed to explore introductory college astronomy students' understanding of gravity in a variety of contexts, including in and around Earth, throughout the solar system, and in hypothetical situations. Questions were separated into three questionnaires, each of which was given to a section of…

Student understanding of time dependence in quantum mechanics

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Paul J. Emigh

2015-09-01

Full Text Available [This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Upper Division Physics Courses.] The time evolution of quantum states is arguably one of the more difficult ideas in quantum mechanics. In this article, we report on results from an investigation of student understanding of this topic after lecture instruction. We demonstrate specific problems that students have in applying time dependence to quantum systems and in recognizing the key role of the energy eigenbasis in determining the time dependence of wave functions. Through analysis of student responses to a set of four interrelated tasks, we categorize some of the difficulties that underlie common errors. The conceptual and reasoning difficulties that have been identified are illustrated through student responses to four sets of questions administered at different points in a junior-level course on quantum mechanics. Evidence is also given that the problems persist throughout undergraduate instruction and into the graduate level.

Improving Students' Understanding of Waves by Plotting a Displacement-Time Graph in Class

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Wei, Yajun

2012-04-01

The topic of waves is one that many high school physics students find difficult to understand. This is especially true when using some A-level textbooks1,2used in the U.K., where the concept of waves is introduced prior to the concept of simple harmonic oscillations. One of the challenges my students encounter is understanding the difference between displacement-time graphs and displacement-position graphs. Many students wonder why these two graphs have the same sinusoidal shape. Having the students use multimedia simulations allows them to see, in a hands-on fashion, the relationship between the two graphs.

Strengthening the academic usage of social media: An exploratory study

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Murad Ali

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Technology strengthens learning and dominates over the conventional methods in too many aspects. Technologies are advancing learning procedure by their multiple formats, variety of resources, numerous delivery channels and not restricted to time space and place. Social media is a new form of communication that transformed the entire landscape of information access and dissemination online. This platform consists of a range of communication channels, considerably popular among students and assists them in various types of communication and collaborative learning. However, the platform of social media can also be considered as a source of distractions and divert student’s attention from learning and academic achievements. The principal objective of the current study is to understand the recent trends of social media use, the phenomenon of distractions and factors out convincing students for the academic use of social media. Interviews administered to enquire the phenomenon and analyzed with the help of ATLAS-Ti-7 and MS Excel. It is concluded from the results that individual psychological characteristics, social influences, information quality and system usefulness are the leading factors. Furthermore, the survey established the importance of this platform for academic purposes and perception concerning the phenomenon of distraction. In addition, future research directions and study limitations are discussed.

Do They "Really" Get It? Evaluating Evidence of Student Understanding of Power Series

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Kung, David; Speer, Natasha

2013-01-01

Most teachers agree that if a student understands a particular mathematical topic well, he/she will probably be able to do problems correctly. The converse, however, frequently fails: students who do problems correctly sometimes do not actually have robust understandings of the topic in question. In this paper we explore this phenomenon in the…

The understanding of art students toward characteristic of Negeri Sembilan Minangkabau Traditional House

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Taharuddin Nurul Shima

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In Negeri Sembilan, they are still practicing Minangkabau culture and custom. Element of uniqueness in Negeri. Sembilan has been shown on its architectural where the houses have dramatic curved roof structures with multitier. The art and architecture features a unique regional style. This house fills with cultural values, customs and reflects the people’s understanding about designing art and architecture that is in harmony with nature. The house serves as a residence, a hall for family meetings, and for ceremonial activities. This research, studies the understanding of art students towards the characteristic that are found in the Negeri Sembilan Minangkabau Traditional House (NSMTH in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. The objectives are to identify the element of characteristic that shows the identity of Negeri Sembilan Minangkabau Traditional House and to determine the level of understanding on characteristic of a Minangkabau house by art students. Scope of this research is on understanding of Faculty Art & Design student that has syllabus on Malay art. The research methodology that been use in this research is quantitative where surveys are made among the art students

Developing Intercultural Understanding for Study Abroad: Students' and Teachers' Perspectives on Pre-Departure Intercultural Learning

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Holmes, P.; Bavieri, L.; Ganassin, S.

2015-01-01

This study reports on students' and teachers' perspectives on a programme designed to develop Erasmus students' intercultural understanding prior to going abroad. We aimed to understand how students and their teachers perceived pre-departure materials in promoting their awareness of key concepts related to interculturality (e.g., essentialism,…

How Earth Educators Can Help Students Develop a Holistic Understanding of Sustainability

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Curren, R. R.; Metzger, E. P.

2017-12-01

With their expert understanding of planetary systems, Earth educators play a pivotal role in helping students understand the scientific dimensions of solution-resistant ("wicked") challenges to sustainability that arise from complex interactions between intertwined and co-evolving natural and human systems. However, teaching the science of sustainability in isolation from consideration of human values and social dynamics leaves students with a fragmented understanding and obscures the underlying drivers of unsustainability. Geoscience instructors who wish to address sustainability in their courses may feel ill-equipped to engage students in investigation of the fundamental nature of sustainability and its social and ethical facets. This presentation will blend disciplinary perspectives from Earth system science, philosophy, psychology, and anthropology to: 1) outline a way to conceptualize sustainability that synthesizes scientific, social, and ethical perspectives and 2) provide an overview of resources and teaching strategies designed to help students connect science content to the socio-political dimensions of sustainability through activities and assignments that promote active learning, systems thinking, reflection, and collaborative problem-solving.

Understanding Difference through Dialogue: A First-Year Experience for College Students

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Thakral, Charu; Vasquez, Philip L.; Bottoms, Bette L.; Matthews, Alicia K.; Hudson, Kimberly M.; Whitley, Steven K.

2016-01-01

Research (Gurin, Nagda, & Zúñiga, 2009) on intergroup dialogue (IGD) has primarily focused on student outcomes in traditional semester-long, 3-credit courses, documenting the positive impact IGD has on college students' (a) intergroup understanding, (b) intergroup relationships, (c) intergroup collaboration and action, and (d) perceived…

Evolution in students' understanding of thermal physics with increasing complexity

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Langbeheim, Elon; Safran, Samuel A.; Livne, Shelly; Yerushalmi, Edit

2013-12-01

We analyze the development in students’ understanding of fundamental principles in the context of learning a current interdisciplinary research topic—soft matter—that was adapted to the level of high school students. The topic was introduced in a program for interested 11th grade high school students majoring in chemistry and/or physics, in an off-school setting. Soft matter was presented in a gradual increase in the degree of complexity of the phenomena as well as in the level of the quantitative analysis. We describe the evolution in students’ use of fundamental thermodynamics principles to reason about phase separation—a phenomenon that is ubiquitous in soft matter. In particular, we examine the impact of the use of free energy analysis, a common approach in soft matter, on the understanding of the fundamental principles of thermodynamics. The study used diagnostic questions and classroom observations to gauge the student’s learning. In order to gain insight on the aspects that shape the understanding of the basic principles, we focus on the responses and explanations of two case-study students who represent two trends of evolution in conceptual understanding in the group. We analyze changes in the two case studies’ management of conceptual resources used in their analysis of phase separation, and suggest how their prior knowledge and epistemological framing (a combination of their personal tendencies and their prior exposure to different learning styles) affect their conceptual evolution. Finally, we propose strategies to improve the instruction of these concepts.

Representational Classroom Practices that Contribute to Students' Conceptual and Representational Understanding of Chemical Bonding

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Hilton, Annette; Nichols, Kim

2011-11-01

Understanding bonding is fundamental to success in chemistry. A number of alternative conceptions related to chemical bonding have been reported in the literature. Research suggests that many alternative conceptions held by chemistry students result from previous teaching; if teachers are explicit in the use of representations and explain their content-specific forms and functions, this might be avoided. The development of an understanding of and ability to use multiple representations is crucial to students' understanding of chemical bonding. This paper draws on data from a larger study involving two Year 11 chemistry classes (n = 27, n = 22). It explores the contribution of explicit instruction about multiple representations to students' understanding and representation of chemical bonding. The instructional strategies were documented using audio-recordings and the teacher-researcher's reflection journal. Pre-test-post-test comparisons showed an improvement in conceptual understanding and representational competence. Analysis of the students' texts provided further evidence of the students' ability to use multiple representations to explain macroscopic phenomena on the molecular level. The findings suggest that explicit instruction about representational form and function contributes to the enhancement of representational competence and conceptual understanding of bonding in chemistry. However, the scaffolding strategies employed by the teacher play an important role in the learning process. This research has implications for professional development enhancing teachers' approaches to these aspects of instruction around chemical bonding.

Examining the Conceptual Understandings of Geoscience Concepts of Students with Visual Impairments: Implications of 3-D Printing

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Koehler, Karen E.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the use of 3-D printed models as an instructional tool in a middle school science classroom for students with visual impairments and compare their use to traditional tactile graphics for aiding conceptual understanding of geoscience concepts. Specifically, this study examined if the students' conceptual understanding of plate tectonics was different when 3-D printed objects were used versus traditional tactile graphics and explored the misconceptions held by students with visual impairments related to plate tectonics and associated geoscience concepts. Interview data was collected one week prior to instruction and one week after instruction and throughout the 3-week instructional period and additional ata sources included student journals, other student documents and audio taped instructional sessions. All students in the middle school classroom received instruction on plate tectonics using the same inquiry-based curriculum but during different time periods of the day. One group of students, the 3D group, had access to 3-D printed models illustrating specific geoscience concepts and the group of students, the TG group, had access to tactile graphics illustrating the same geoscience concepts. The videotaped pre and post interviews were transcribed, analyzed and coded for conceptual understanding using constant comparative analysis and to uncover student misconceptions. All student responses to the interview questions were categorized in terms of conceptual understanding. Analysis of student journals and classroom talk served to uncover student mental models and misconceptions about plate tectonics and associated geoscience concepts to measure conceptual understanding. A slight majority of the conceptual understanding before instruction was categorized as no understanding or alternative understanding and after instruction the larger majority of conceptual understanding was categorized as scientific or scientific

Framework for Understanding the Patterns of Student Difficulties in Quantum Mechanics

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Marshman, Emily; Singh, Chandralekha

2015-01-01

Compared with introductory physics, relatively little is known about the development of expertise in advanced physics courses, especially in the case of quantum mechanics. Here, we describe a framework for understanding the patterns of student reasoning difficulties and how students develop expertise in quantum mechanics. The framework posits that…

Students' Understanding of Boiling Points and Intermolecular Forces

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Schmidt, Hans-Jurgen; Kaufmann, Birgit; Treagust, David F.

2009-01-01

In introductory chemistry courses students are presented with the model that matter is composed of particles, and that weak forces of attraction exist between them. This model is used to interpret phenomena such as solubility and melting points, and aids in understanding the changes in states of matter as opposed to chemical reactions. We…

Understanding Patterns of Library Use Among Undergraduate Students from Different Disciplines

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Ellen Collins

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Objective – To test whether routinely-generated library usage data could be linked with information about students to understand patterns of library use among students from different disciplines at the University of Huddersfield. This information is important for librarians seeking to demonstrate the value of the library, and to ensure that they are providing services which meet user needs. The study seeks to join two strands of library user research which until now have been kept rather separate – an interest in disciplinary differences in usage, and a methodology which involves large-scale routinely-generated data. Methods – The study uses anonymized data about individual students derived from two sources: routinely-generated data on various dimensions of physical and electronic library resource usage, and information from the student registry on the course studied by each student. Courses were aggregated at a subject and then disciplinary level. Kruskal-Wallis and Mann Whitney tests were used to identify statistically significant differences between the high-level disciplinary groups, and within each disciplinary group at the subject level. Results – The study identifies a number of statistically significant differences on various dimensions of usage between both high-level disciplinary groupings and lower subject-level groupings. In some cases, differences are not the same as those observed in earlier studies, reflecting distinctive usage patterns and differences in the way that disciplines or subjects are defined and organised. While music students at Huddersfield are heavy library users within the arts subject-level grouping arts students use library resources less than those in social science disciplines, contradicting findings from studies at other institutions, Computing and engineering students were relatively similar, although computing students were more likely to download PDFs, and engineering students were more likely to

Relation of Student Social Position to Consumer Attitudes and Understanding

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Litro, Robert Frank

1970-01-01

A study of Connecticut high school students from different social positions found differences in consumer attitudes and understandings of money management, credit, insurance, and savings and investments. (CH)

Effect of Conceptual Change Approach on Students' Understanding of Reaction Rate Concepts

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Kingir, Sevgi; Geban, Omer

2012-01-01

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of conceptual change text oriented instruction compared to traditional instruction on 10th grade students' understanding of reaction rate concepts. 45 students from two classes of the same teacher in a public high school participated in this study. Students in the experimental group…

Analyzing educational university students' conceptions through smartphone-based PDEODE*E tasks on magnetic field in several mediums

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Zulfikar, Aldi; Girsang, Denni Yulius; Saepuzaman, Duden; Samsudin, Achmad

2017-05-01

Conceptual understanding is one of the most important aspects in the study of Physics because of it useful to understand principles behind certain phenomenon which happened. An innovative method was needed to strengthen and enhance student's conceptual understanding, especially regarding the abstract subject such as magnetic field. For this reason, worksheet and exploration sheet based on PDEODE*E (Predict, Discuss, Explain, Observe, Discuss, Explore, and Explain) that uses Gauss Meter application as the smartphone technology has been designed to answer the problem. The magnetic field strength in different mediums is the physics subject which covered in this research. The research was conducted with the aim to know how effective smartphone technology-based PDEODE*E could be implemented as a physics learning strategy. The result of this research shows that students could show improvements in conceptual understanding that shown by the conclusion that was constructed during the learning process. Based on this result, PDEODE*E could become a solution to strengthen students' conceptual understanding regarding physics subject, especially those that requires abstract thinking. This result also has shown that the application ofsmartphone technology could be used to support physics learning processes in the classroom, such as Gauss Meter in this research which used to measure the magnetic field, Light Meter which could be used in the concept of light, and Harmonicity Meter for the context of the sound wave.

Profile of Metacognition of Mathematics and Mathematics Education Students in Understanding the Concept of Integral Calculus

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Misu, La; Ketut Budayasa, I.; Lukito, Agung

2018-03-01

This study describes the metacognition profile of mathematics and mathematics education students in understanding the concept of integral calculus. The metacognition profile is a natural and intact description of a person’s cognition that involves his own thinking in terms of using his knowledge, planning and monitoring his thinking process, and evaluating his thinking results when understanding a concept. The purpose of this study was to produce the metacognition profile of mathematics and mathematics education students in understanding the concept of integral calculus. This research method is explorative method with the qualitative approach. The subjects of this study are mathematics and mathematics education students who have studied integral calculus. The results of this study are as follows: (1) the summarizing category, the mathematics and mathematics education students can use metacognition knowledge and metacognition skills in understanding the concept of indefinite integrals. While the definite integrals, only mathematics education students use metacognition skills; and (2) the explaining category, mathematics students can use knowledge and metacognition skills in understanding the concept of indefinite integrals, while the definite integrals only use metacognition skills. In addition, mathematics education students can use knowledge and metacognition skills in understanding the concept of both indefinite and definite integrals.

Nursing students' understanding and enactment of resilience: a grounded theory study.

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Reyes, Andrew Thomas; Andrusyszyn, Mary-Anne; Iwasiw, Carroll; Forchuk, Cheryl; Babenko-Mould, Yolanda

2015-11-01

The aim of this study was to explore nursing students' understanding and enactment of resilience. Stress is considered to be a major factor affecting the health, well-being and academic performance of nursing students. Resilience has been extensively researched as a process that allows individuals to successfully adapt to adversity and develop positive outcomes as a result. However, relatively little is known about the resilience of nursing students. A constructivist, grounded theory qualitative design was used for this study. In-depth individual interviews were conducted with 38 nursing students enrolled in a four-year, integrated baccalaureate nursing degree programme at a university in Ontario, Canada. Face-to-face interviews were conducted from January to April 2012 using a semi-structured interview guide. The basic social process of 'pushing through' emerged as nursing students' understanding and enactment of resilience. Participants employed this process to withstand challenges in their academic lives. This process was comprised of three main phases: 'stepping into', 'staying the course' and 'acknowledging'. 'Pushing through' also included a transient 'disengaging' process where students were temporarily unable to push through their adversities. The process of 'pushing through' was based on a progressive trajectory, which implied that nursing students enacted the process to make progress in their academic lives and to attain goals. Study findings provide important evidence for understanding the phenomenon of resilience as a dynamic, contextual process that can be learnt and developed, rather than a static trait or personality characteristic. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Effectiveness of Using GeoGebra on Students' Understanding in Learning Circles

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Shadaan, Praveen; Leong, Kwan Eu

2013-01-01

The use of technology in the pedagogical process is growing at a phenomenal rate due to the vast availability of gadgets. As a result, educationists see the urgent need for integrating technology in students' mathematical activities. Therefore, the purpose of this quasi experimental study was to investigate students' understanding in learning…

Incidence of a didactic sequence, based on multiple representations, for the strengthening of argumentative competence in high school students

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Gustavo Bonilla

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The present article; seeks to identify the way in which a didactic sequence, based on the implementation of multiple representations, can have an impact on the strengthening of the argumentative competence in basic secondary school students. The methodological foundation on which is based the research, taking into account the mixed approach as a perspective that properly oriented, the exercise of research in the field of education. In view of the above, it performs a process of pedagogical intervention related to the general law of ideal gases, through the implementation of the elements presented in the didactic cycle with a research approach and with the application of a pretest and posttest. The techniques to be used for the process of intervention are the participant observation, the discussion group and the survey. Specifically, as instruments for the collection of information; the interview focused, semi-structured interview and the questions guide. The unit of work corresponds to 36 students --240, six students per each group of 9°-- the basic secondary educational institutions belonging to the Citadel New West, located in the Commune 60 and The Heart, located in the commune 13; both in the city of Medellín.

Scientific Models Help Students Understand the Water Cycle

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Forbes, Cory; Vo, Tina; Zangori, Laura; Schwarz, Christina

2015-01-01

The water cycle is a large, complex system that encompasses ideas across the K-12 science curriculum. By the time students leave fifth grade, they should understand "that a system is a group of related parts that make up a whole and can carry out functions its individual parts cannot" and be able to describe both components and processes…

Improving Elementary School Students' Understanding of Historical Time: Effects of Teaching with "Timewise"

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de Groot-Reuvekamp, Marjan; Ros, Anje; van Boxtel, Carla

2018-01-01

The teaching of historical time is an important aspect in elementary school curricula. This study focuses on the effects of a curriculum intervention with "Timewise," a teaching approach developed to improve students' understanding of historical time using timelines as a basis with which students can develop their understanding of…

Concept Mapping as a Tool to Develop and Measure Students' Understanding in Science

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Tan, Sema; Erdimez, Omer; Zimmerman, Robert

2017-01-01

Concept maps measured a student's understanding of the complexity of concepts, and interrelationships. Novak and Gowin (1984) claimed that the continuous use of concept maps increased the complexity and interconnectedness of students' understanding of relationships between concepts in a particular science domain. This study has two purposes; the…

Nursing students' understanding of factors influencing ethical sensitivity: A qualitative study.

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Borhani, Fariba; Abbaszadeh, Abbas; Mohsenpour, Mohaddeseh

2013-07-01

Ethical sensitivity is considered as a component of professional competency of nurses. Its effects on improvement of nurses' ethical performance and the therapeutic relationship between nurses and patients have been reported. However, very limited studies have evaluated ethical sensitivity. Since no previous Iranian research has been conducted in this regard, the present study aimed to review nursing students' understanding of effective factors on ethical sensitivity. This qualitative study was performed in Kerman, Iran, during 2009. It used semi-structured individual interviews with eight MSc nursing students to assess their viewpoints. It also included two focus groups. Purposive sampling was continued until data saturation. Data were analyzed using manifest content analysis. The students' understanding of factors influencing ethical sensitivity were summarized in five main themes including individual and spiritual characteristics, education, mutual understanding, internal and external controls, and experience of an immoral act. The findings of this study create a unique framework for sensitization of nurses in professional performance. The application of these factors in human resource management is reinforcement of positive aspects and decrease in negative aspects, in education can use for educational objectives setting, and in research can designing studies based on this framework and making related tools. It is noteworthy that presented classification was influenced by students themselves and mentioned to a kind of learning activity by them.

Laptop Use, Interactive Science Software, and Science Learning Among At-Risk Students

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Zheng, Binbin; Warschauer, Mark; Hwang, Jin Kyoung; Collins, Penelope

2014-08-01

This year-long, quasi-experimental study investigated the impact of the use of netbook computers and interactive science software on fifth-grade students' science learning processes, academic achievement, and interest in further science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) study within a linguistically diverse school district in California. Analysis of students' state standardized science test scores indicated that the program helped close gaps in scientific achievement between at-risk learners (i.e., English learners, Hispanics, and free/reduced-lunch recipients) and their counterparts. Teacher and student interviews and classroom observations suggested that computer-supported visual representations and interactions supported diverse learners' scientific understanding and inquiry and enabled more individualized and differentiated instruction. Finally, interviews revealed that the program had a positive impact on students' motivation in science and on their interest in pursuing science-related careers. This study suggests that technology-facilitated science instruction is beneficial for improving at-risk students' science achievement, scaffolding students' scientific understanding, and strengthening students' motivation to pursue STEM-related careers.

Independent learning modules enhance student performance and understanding of anatomy.

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Serrat, Maria A; Dom, Aaron M; Buchanan, James T; Williams, Alison R; Efaw, Morgan L; Richardson, Laura L

2014-01-01

Didactic lessons are only one part of the multimodal teaching strategies used in gross anatomy courses today. Increased emphasis is placed on providing more opportunities for students to develop lifelong learning and critical thinking skills during medical training. In a pilot program designed to promote more engaged and independent learning in anatomy, self-study modules were introduced to supplement human gross anatomy instruction at Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine at Marshall University. Modules use three-dimensional constructs to help students understand complex anatomical regions. Resources are self-contained in portable bins and are accessible at any time. Students use modules individually or in groups in a structured self-study format that augments material presented in lecture and laboratory. Pilot outcome data, measured by feedback surveys and examination performance statistics, suggest that the activity may be improving learning in gross anatomy. Positive feedback on both pre- and post-examination surveys showed that students felt the activity helped to increase their understanding of the topic. In concordance with student perception, average examination scores on module-related laboratory and lecture questions were higher in the two years of the pilot program compared with the year before its initiation. Modules can be fabricated on a modest budget using minimal resources, making implementation practical for smaller institutions. Upper level medical students assist in module design and upkeep, enabling continuous opportunities for vertical integration across the curriculum. This resource offers a feasible mechanism for enhancing independent and lifelong learning competencies, which could be a valuable complement to any gross anatomy curriculum. © 2014 American Association of Anatomists.

Strategy for Strengthening Farmer Groups by Institutional Strengthening

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Purbayu Budi Santoso

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Agriculture sector becomes a spotlight because this sector will be full of potential but the welfare of farmers who become the leading actor is not guaranteed and has a poor tendency. The purpose of this study is to formulate strategies to strengthen farmers' groups in order to create the marketing of the agricultural sector that benefit farmers. The method used to achieve this goal is to use a qualitative approach and Analytical Network Process. In addition to the secondary data obtained from several agencies, this study also uses primary data obtained by in-depth interviews and observations. This research results a priority of aspects of the institutional strengthening of farmer groups as well as priority issues and priorities of the solution of each aspect. In addition, the priority of alternative strategies resulted based on the problems and solutions that have been analyzed in order to solve the problems in the institutional strengthening of farmer groups in Demak.

Investigating High School Students' Understanding of Chemical Equilibrium Concepts

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Karpudewan, Mageswary; Treagust, David F.; Mocerino, Mauro; Won, Mihye; Chandrasegaran, A. L.

2015-01-01

This study investigated the year 12 students' (N = 56) understanding of chemical equilibrium concepts after instruction using two conceptual tests, the "Chemical Equilibrium Conceptual Test 1" ("CECT-1") consisting of nine two-tier multiple-choice items and the "Chemical Equilibrium Conceptual Test 2"…

Impact of Math Snacks Games on Students' Conceptual Understanding

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Winburg, Karin; Chamberlain, Barbara; Valdez, Alfred; Trujillo, Karen; Stanford, Theodore B.

2016-01-01

This "Math Snacks" intervention measured 741 fifth grade students' gains in conceptual understanding of core math concepts after game-based learning activities. Teachers integrated four "Math Snacks" games and related activities into instruction on ratios, coordinate plane, number systems, fractions and decimals. Using a…

Promoting Pre-Service Elementary Students' Understanding of Chemical Equilibrium through Discussions in Small Groups

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Bilgin, Ibrahim

2006-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of small group discussion on students' conceptual understanding of chemical equilibrium. Students' understanding of chemical equilibrium concepts was measured using the Misconception Identification Test. The test consisted of 30 items and administered as pre-posttests to a total of 81…

The writing process: A powerful approach for the language-disabled student.

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Moulton, J R; Bader, M S

1985-01-01

Our understanding of the writing process can be a powerful tool for teaching language-disabled students the "how" of writing. Direct, explicit instruction in writing process helps these students learn to explore their ideas and to manage the multiple demands of writing. A case study of one student, Jeff, demonstrates how we structure the stages of writing: prewriting, planning, drafting, revising, and proofreading. When these stages are clearly defined and involve specific skills, language-disabled students can reach beyond their limitations and strengthen their expression. The case study of Jeff reveals the development of his sense of control and his regard for himself as a writer.

Design e-learning with flipped learning model to improve layout understanding the concepts basic of the loop control structure

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Handayani, D. P.; Sutarno, H.; Wihardi, Y.

2018-05-01

This study aimed in design and build e-learning with classroom flipped model to improve the concept of understanding of SMK students on the basic programming subject. Research and development obtained research data from survey questionnaire given to students of SMK class X RPL in SMK Negeri 2 Bandung and interviews to RPL productive teacher. Data also obtained from questionnaire of expert validation and students' assessment from e-learning with flipped classroom models. Data also obtained from multiple-choice test to measure improvements in conceptual understanding. The results of this research are: 1) Developed e- learning with flipped classroom model considered good and worthy of use by the average value of the percentage of 86,3% by media experts, and 85,5% by subjects matter experts, then students gave judgment is very good on e-learning either flipped classroom model with a percentage of 79,15% votes. 2) e-learning with classroom flipped models show an increase in the average value of pre-test before using e-learning 26.67 compared to the average value post-test after using e- learning at 63.37 and strengthened by the calculation of the index gains seen Increased understanding of students 'concepts by 50% with moderate criteria indicating that students' understanding is improving.

How College Students Understand Their Self-Control Development: A Qualitative Analysis

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Cliburn Allen, Cara; Glanzer, Perry

2017-01-01

Recent research has shown the importance of the positive benefits of high-levels of self-control for both individuals and society. Yet, we know only a limited amount about how college students understand and apply self-control. This qualitative study examined how a national sample of 75 students defined self-control, whether or not they believed…

Analogy-Integrated e-Learning Module: Facilitating Students' Conceptual Understanding

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Florida, Jennifer

2012-01-01

The study deals with the development of an analogy-integrated e-learning module on Cellular Respiration, which is intended to facilitate conceptual understanding of students with different brain hemisphere dominance and learning styles. The module includes eight analogies originally conceptualized following the specific steps used to prepare…

Developing Critical Understanding in HRM Students: Using Innovative Teaching Methods to Encourage Deep Approaches to Study

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Butler, Michael J. R.; Reddy, Peter

2010-01-01

Purpose: This paper aims to focus on developing critical understanding in human resource management (HRM) students in Aston Business School, UK. The paper reveals that innovative teaching methods encourage deep approaches to study, an indicator of students reaching their own understanding of material and ideas. This improves student employability…

Undergraduate Nursing Students' Understandings of Mental Health: A Review of the Literature.

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Barry, Sinead; Ward, Louise

2017-02-01

The purpose of this literature review was to identify research and current literature surrounding nursing students' understandings of mental health. The aim is to share findings from an extensive international and national literature review exploring undergraduate nurse education specific to mental health content. Data were collected utilising a comprehensive search of electronic databases including CINAHL (EBSCO), MEDLINE, and PsycINFO 1987-(Ovid) from 2008 to 2016. The initial search terms were altered to include undergraduate, mental health, nursing, education, experience, and knowledge. Three content themes emerged which included: 1. Undergraduate nursing students' knowledge has been considered compromised due to concerns relating to the variation and inconsistencies within the comprehensive nursing curriculums representation of mental health, 2. Undergraduate nursing students knowledge of mental health is thought to be compromised due to the quality of mental health theoretical and experiential learning opportunities, and 3. Research indicates that nursing students' knowledge of mental health was influenced by their experience of undertaking mental health content. Based on these findings greater consideration of students' understandings of mental health is required.

Assessing Students' Understandings of Biological Models and Their Use in Science to Evaluate a Theoretical Framework

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Grünkorn, Juliane; Upmeier zu Belzen, Annette; Krüger, Dirk

2014-01-01

Research in the field of students' understandings of models and their use in science describes different frameworks concerning these understandings. Currently, there is no conjoint framework that combines these structures and so far, no investigation has focused on whether it reflects students' understandings sufficiently (empirical evaluation).…

The Voluntariat: A Frieirean framework to understand the nature of undergraduate international (medical) experiences.

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Qaiser, Seemi; Dimaras, Helen; Hamel, Paul

2016-12-01

Despite literature documenting limited and asymmetrical benefits along with ethical issues, short-term international volunteering is increasingly popular among North American university students as a perceived advantage when applying to professional healthcare schools or the job market. Academic institutions are also encouraging students to pursue international experiences in order to cultivate values as global citizens. These experiences are most typically limited to economically privileged students. Furthermore, international activities in developing countries often lack a pedagogy of social justice and may confirm a simplistic understanding of development. Brazilian educator Paulo Freire's "liberation pedagogy" provides a framework for understanding the limitations of international volunteering, whereby the presence of privileged volunteers implementing Western models of development may hinder aspects of local movements. Regardless, university students face intense competition in accessing opportunities, such as medical school, and pay large sums to participate in volunteering to strengthen their academic credentials. We propose that these students form "the voluntariat." They simultaneously play two roles by, first, contributing to the conditions that oppress the very communities in which they volunteer and, second, by playing a role as objects of oppression by the liberal institutions of learning and employment to which they are attempting to gain access.

Using Oral Examination as a Technique to Assess Student Understanding and Teaching Effectiveness

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Roecker, Lee

2007-01-01

This paper discusses the use of oral examinations to assess student understanding in a general chemistry course and in an advanced inorganic chemistry course. Examination design, administration, and grading are explored, as well as the benefits to both instructors and students. Students react positively to the oral examination format and generally…

The Effect of Modeling and Visualization Resources on Student Understanding of Physical Hydrology

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Marshall, Jilll A.; Castillo, Adam J.; Cardenas, M. Bayani

2015-01-01

We investigated the effect of modeling and visualization resources on upper-division, undergraduate and graduate students' performance on an open-ended assessment of their understanding of physical hydrology. The students were enrolled in one of five sections of a physical hydrology course. In two of the sections, students completed homework…

Student understanding development in chemistry concepts through constructivist-informed laboratory and science camp process in secondary school

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Pathommapas, Nookorn

2018-01-01

Science Camp for Chemistry Concepts was the project which designed to provide local students with opportunities to apply chemistry concepts and thereby developing their 21st century skills. The three study purposes were 1) to construct and develop chemistry stations for encouraging students' understandings in chemistry concepts based on constructivist-informed laboratory, 2) to compare students' understandings in chemistry concepts before and after using chemistry learning stations, and 3) to study students' satisfactions of using their 21st century skills in science camp activities. The research samples were 67 students who attended the 1-day science camp. They were levels 10 to 11 students in SumsaoPittayakarn School, UdonThani Province, Thailand. Four constructivist-informed laboratory stations of chemistry concepts were designed for each group. Each station consisted of a chemistry scenario, a question, answers in tier 1 and supporting reasons in tier 2, and 4 sets of experimental instruments. Four to five-member subgroups of four student groups parallel participated in laboratory station for an hour in each station. Student activities in each station concluded of individual pretest, group prediction, experimental design, testing out and collection data, interpreting the results, group conclusion, and individual post-test. Data collection was done by station mentors using two-tier multiple choice questions, students' written work and interviews. Data triangulation was used for interpreting and confirming students' understandings of chemistry concepts which divided into five levels, Sound Understanding (SU), Partial Understanding (PU), Specific Misconception (SM), No Understanding (NU) and No Response (NR), before and after collaborating at each station. The study results found the following: 1) four constructivist-laboratory stations were successfully designed and used to investigate student' understandings in chemistry concepts via collaborative workshop of

Can Dynamic Visualizations Improve Middle School Students' Understanding of Energy in Photosynthesis?

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Ryoo, Kihyun; Linn, Marcia C.

2012-01-01

Dynamic visualizations have the potential to make abstract scientific phenomena more accessible and visible to students, but they can also be confusing and difficult to comprehend. This research investigates how dynamic visualizations, compared to static illustrations, can support middle school students in developing an integrated understanding of…

STUDENT-CENTERED LEARNING AND CROSS CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING IN LEARNING INTODUCTION TO LITERATURE TO IMPROVE THE STUDENTS MORALITY AND MULTICULTURAL VALUES

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Siminto Siminto

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Previously the paradigm change was done from the teacher centered to the student centered in teaching learning process. It was expected to be able to encourage the students to be involved in building their knowledge, attitude, and character. Besides that, English learners did not understand about the native culture and morality values to the language that they are learning. Cross cultural understanding knowledge is very useful to improve the students‘ ability in recognizing the dissimilarity culture and live together in the middle of the dissimilarity culture. This research was based on the qualitative research principle. The research type used was qualitative study by using action research design. Subject of this research was the fourth semester students who have programmed Introduction to Literature in English Study Program at Palangkaraya State Islamic Institute in academic year 2014/2015, consisted of two learning group. Based on the research findings, by implementing of student-centered learning and cross cultural understanding, it showed that they can increase: (1 the students‘ readiness, being active, seriousness in analyzing English literature text; (2 the students‘ performance in doing of tasks given to each students to be able to share their understanding about English literature text to the other students; (3 the students‘ learning quality, academic achievement, interest, response in learning of Introduction to Literature related to literature text analysis concept mastering; (4 the students‘ morality and multicultural values. It could be seen from the students‘ study result, literature text analysis result, and the students‘ character.

Strengthening Parents and Families during the Early Childhood Years.

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Swick, Kevin J.

This book provides early childhood educators with perspectives and tools that will enable them to strengthen parents and families during the child's earliest year of development. The 25 chapters are divided into 6 parts or themes. Part one focuses on understanding families as learners from an ecological and empathetic perspective, with the premise…

Understanding, perceptions and self-use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) among Malaysian pharmacy students

OpenAIRE

Baig Mirza R; Hameed Abdul; Naing Cho M; Babar Muneer G; Yong Chew S; Hasan Syed S; Iqbal Shahid M; Kairuz Therese

2011-01-01

Abstract Background In recent times the basic understanding, perceptions and CAM use among undergraduate health sciences students have become a topic of interest. This study was aimed to investigate the understanding, perceptions and self-use of CAM among pharmacy students in Malaysia. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted on 500 systematically sampled pharmacy students from two private and one public university. A validated, self-administered questionnaire comprised of seven secti...

Defining Success for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Social Academic Behavior in Secondary General Education Settings

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McKenney, Elizabeth L. W.; Stachniak, Catherine; Albright, Jordan; Jewell, Jeremy D.; Dorencz, Julie M.

2016-01-01

An exploratory, observation-based study sought to strengthen understanding of the development of social communication skills that facilitate academic success, particularly within general education settings. Sixteen middle and high school students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), all of whom participated in at least one period per day of core…

Cross-Grade Comparison of Students' Conceptual Understanding with Lenses in Geometric Optics

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Tural, G.

2015-01-01

Students commonly find the field of physics difficult. Therefore, they generally have learning problems. One of the subjects with which they have difficulties is optics within a physics discipline. This study aims to determine students' conceptual understanding levels at different education levels relating to lenses in geometric optics. A…

Students' Understanding of Conservation of Matter, Stoichiometry and Balancing Equations in Indonesia

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Agung, Salamah; Schwartz, Marc S.

2007-01-01

This study examines Indonesian students' understanding of conservation of matter, balancing of equations and stoichiometry. Eight hundred and sixty-seven Grade 12 students from 22 schools across four different cities in two developed provinces in Indonesia participated in the study. Nineteen teachers also participated in order to validate the…

Understanding Medical Students' Experience with Stress and Its Related Constructs: A Focus Group Study from Singapore.

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Farquhar, Julia; Lie, Desiree; Chan, Angelique; Ow, Mandy; Vidyarthi, Arpana

2018-02-01

In order to protect medical students from burnout and its untoward psychiatric effects, it is imperative to understand their stress, burnout, coping, and resilience experiences. This study aimed to derive collective definitions from the medical student perspective, to identify common themes of students' experiences, and to distinguish pre-clinical and clinical year students' experiences relating to these four constructs. The authors conducted focus groups of medical students in Singapore across 4 years using a semi-structured question guide. Participants shared their understanding, experiences, and the relationships between stress, burnout, coping, and resilience. Coders independently evaluated construct definitions and derived common themes through an iterative process, and compared transcripts of pre-clinical and clinical year students to determine differences in experience over time. Nine focus groups (54 students, 28 females, mean age 24.3) were conducted. Students identified common definitions for each construct. Nine themes emerged within three domains: (1) relating constructs to personal experience, (2) interrelating stress, burnout, coping, and resilience, and (3) understanding the necessity of stress. Compared to clinical students, pre-clinical students reported theory-based rather than reality-based experiences and exam-induced stress, defined constructs using present rather than future situations, and described constructs as independent rather than interrelated. This sample of medical students in Singapore shares a common understanding of stress, burnout, coping, and resilience, but experiences these uniquely. They perceive a positive role for stress. These findings build upon prior literature, suggesting an interrelationship between stress and its related constructs and adding the novel perspective of students from an Asian country.

What's in a Domain: Understanding How Students Approach Questioning in History and Science

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Portnoy, Lindsay Blau; Rabinowitz, Mitchell

2014-01-01

How students ask questions as they learn has implications for understanding, retention, and problem solving. The current research investigates the influence of domain, age, and previous experience with content on the ways students approach questioning across history and science texts. In 3 experiments, 3rd-, 8th-, and 10th-grade students in large…

The First Year of College: Understanding Student Persistence in Engineering

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Hayden, Marina Calvet

This research study aimed to expand our understanding of the factors that influence student persistence in engineering. The unique experiences of engineering students were examined as they transitioned into and navigated their first year of college at a public research university in California. Most students provided similar responses with respect to the way they experienced the transition to college and social life. There was, however, wide student response variation regarding their experience of academic life and academic policies, as well as in their level of pre-college academic preparation and financial circumstances. One key finding was that students' experiences during the first year of college varied widely based on the extent to which they had acquired organizational and learning skills prior to college. The study used a mixed methods approach. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through an online survey and one-on-one interviews conducted with freshman students near the end of their first year of college. The theoretical foundations of this study included Astin's Theory of Student Involvement and Tinto's Theory of Student Departure. The design of the study was guided by these theories which emphasize the critical importance of student involvement with the academic and social aspects of college during the first year of college.

Strengthening Self-efficacy through Supportive Mentoring

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Haacker, R.

2015-12-01

The geosciences have had a chronic problem of underrepresentation of students from diverse ethnic, cultural, gender and socio-economic backgrounds. As a community we need to strengthen our support of young scientists from all backgrounds to sustain their enthusiasm and ensure their success in our field. Investing in mentoring programs that empower students and young professionals is one of the best ways to do so. The Significant Opportunities in Atmospheric Research and Science (SOARS) program, now entering its 20th year, has successfully developed and tested several mentoring models. The personalized, caring and consistent support is one of the key elements of the program's success; since its inception, 90% of SOARS participants have entered graduate school, research or science related careers after graduation. Many of our alumni who are now faculty apply the same mentoring strategies to build self-esteem and perseverance in their students. This presentation will cover the design and implementation of our four mentoring strategies, and provide insights on potential challenges, training aspects and impact assessment. The mentoring strategies include: 1) Multi-faceted, long-term mentoring of undergraduate and graduate students from diverse backgrounds. 2) Empowering advanced students to serve as peer mentors and role models. 3) Training faculty and professional scientists from all backgrounds to become mentors who are aware of diversity issues. 4) Providing mentor training for partner programs and laboratories. All four strategies have contributed to the creation of a mentoring culture in the geosciences.

Digital Advocacy Stories: A Pedagogical Tool for Communicating and Strengthening Library Values

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Moreillon, Judi; Hall, Ruth Nicole

2014-01-01

"Digital Advocacy Stories: A Pedagogical Tool for Communicating and Strengthening Library Values" is a case study conducted in LS5633: The Art of Storytelling. The purpose of this study was to investigate graduate student candidates' development of library values through the use of digital tools to create and disseminate advocacy…

Understanding the Graphical Challenges Faced by Vision-Impaired Students in Australian Universities

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Butler, Matthew; Holloway, Leona; Marriott, Kim; Goncu, Cagatay

2017-01-01

Information graphics such as plots, maps, plans, charts, tables and diagrams form an integral part of the student learning experience in many disciplines. However, for a vision impaired student accessing such graphical materials can be problematic. This research seeks to understand the current state of accessible graphics provision in Australian…

A Cross-Age Study of Student Understanding of the Concept of Homeostasis.

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Westbrook, Susan L.; Marek, Edmund A.

1992-01-01

The conceptual views of homeostasis held by students (n=300) in seventh grade life science, tenth grade biology, and college zoology were examined. A biographical questionnaire, the results from two Piagetian-like developmental tasks, and a concept evaluation statement of homeostasis were collected from each student. Understanding of the concept…

Digital Journeys: A Perspective on Understanding the Digital Experiences of International Students

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Chang, Shanton; Gomes, Catherine

2017-01-01

The authors in this conceptual paper draw on the literature on information seeking behavior, social media use, and international student experiences to propose Digital Journeys as a framework which helps us understand the online behavior of international students. Here we theorize that the Digital Journey is the transition that individuals make…

Improving Students' Conceptual Understanding of the Greenhouse Effect Using Theory-Based Learning Materials that Promote Deep Learning

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Reinfried, Sibylle; Aeschbacher, Urs; Rottermann, Benno

2012-01-01

Students' everyday ideas of the greenhouse effect are difficult to change. Environmental education faces the challenge of developing instructional settings that foster students' conceptual understanding concept of the greenhouse effect in order to understand global warming. To facilitate students' conceptual development with regard to the…

Effectivity Of Agroedutourism To Strengthen Healthy Agro-Ecosystem Awareness Of Students In Some Elementary Schools In Malang Raya, East Java

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Hanin Niswatul Fauziah

2013-07-01

Full Text Available This research aimed to study the effectivity of agroedutourism to strengthen students’ environmental awareness, especially concerning on importance of rice organic farming system. Eighty three students were invited joining the program. They were the 5th grade of three elementary schools (SDN Ketawanggede 2, SDI Surya Buana and SDN Sumberngepoh 02. It was provided three agroedutourism programs, i.e. two outdoors programs (Farmers’ friends and enemies, Plants for biopesticide and natural attractant, as well as the indoor session called Healthy agroecosystem. Including the programs were joining ecoeco-games and tasting some food (steamed rice-bran brownies, organic red rice milk and zalacca fruits. Effectivity of the programs was evaluated using questionnaire. Data were analyzed by SPSS program using Wilcoxon test (α=0,05. Results showed overall that the agroedutourism increased significantly students cognitive, affective and even their appreciation to agricultural environment. Students of SDN Sumberngepoh 02 showed a highest agro-environmental awareness. While, the highest cognitive improvement was gained by students of SDI Surya Buana (76%, followed by SDN Ketawanggede 2 (62% and SDN Sumberngepoh 02 (47%. The most interesting program was an outdoor namely Farmers’ friends and enemies, while they preferred a steamed rice-bran brownies than the other one. They were exciting joining some eco-games especially predator and prey as well as guest animal name and its role. It seemed that the outdoor programs were more appreciated rather than the indoor one. Keywords: Agroedutourism, awareness, effectivity, healthy agro-ecosystem

Strengthening capacity to apply health research evidence in policy making: experience from four countries

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Hawkes, Sarah; K Aulakh, Bhupinder; Jadeja, Nidhee; Jimenez, Michelle; Buse, Kent; Anwar, Iqbal; Barge, Sandhya; Odubanjo, M Oladoyin; Shukla, Abhay; Ghaffar, Abdul; Whitworth, Jimmy

2016-01-01

Increasing the use of evidence in policy making means strengthening capacity on both the supply and demand sides of evidence production. However, little experience of strengthening the capacity of policy makers in low- and middle- income countries has been published to date. We describe the experiences of five projects (in Bangladesh, Gambia, India and Nigeria), where collaborative teams of researchers and policy makers/policy influencers worked to strengthen policy maker capacity to increase the use of evidence in policy. Activities were focused on three (interlinked) levels of capacity building: individual, organizational and, occasionally, institutional. Interventions included increasing access to research/data, promoting frequent interactions between researchers and members of the policy communities, and increasing the receptivity towards research/data in policy making or policy-implementing organizations. Teams were successful in building the capacity of individuals to access, understand and use evidence/data. Strengthening organizational capacity generally involved support to infrastructure (e.g. through information technology resources) and was also deemed to be successful. There was less appetite to address the need to strengthen institutional capacity—although this was acknowledged to be fundamental to promoting sustainable use of evidence, it was also recognized as requiring resources, legitimacy and regulatory support from policy makers. Evaluation across the three spheres of capacity building was made more challenging by the lack of agreed upon evaluation frameworks. In this article, we propose a new framework for assessing the impact of capacity strengthening activities to promote the use of evidence/data in policy making. Our evaluation concluded that strengthening the capacity of individuals and organizations is an important but likely insufficient step in ensuring the use of evidence/data in policy-cycles. Sustainability of evidence

Mathematical Understanding and Proving Abilities: Experiment With Undergraduate Student By Using Modified Moore Learning Approach

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Rippi Maya

2011-07-01

Full Text Available This paper reports findings of  a  post test experimental control group design conducted to investigate the role of modified Moore learning approach  on improving students’ mathematical understanding and proving abilities. Subject of study were 56 undergradute students of one state university in Bandung, who took advanced abstract algebra course. Instrument of study were a set test of mathematical understanding ability, a set test of mathematical proving ability, and a set of students’ opinion scale on modified Moore learning approach. Data were analyzed by using two path ANOVA. The study found that proof construction process was more difficult than mathematical understanding  task  for all students, and students still posed some difficulties on constructing mathematical proof task.  The study also found there were not differences  between students’  abilities on mathematical understanding and on proving abilities of  the both classes, and both abilities were classified as mediocre. However, in modified Moore learning approach class there were more students who got above average grades on mathematical understanding than those of conventional class. Moreover, students performed positive  opinion toward  modified Moore learning approach. They  were  active in questioning and solving problems, and in explaining their works in front of class as well, while students of conventional teaching prefered to listen to lecturer’s explanation. The study also found that there was no interaction between learning approach and students’ prior mathematics ability on mathematical understanding and proving abilities,  but  there were  quite strong  association between students’ mathematical understanding and proving abilities.Keywords:  modified Moore learning approach, mathematical understanding ability, mathematical proving ability. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22342/jme.2.2.751.231-250

The Effects of Case-Based Instruction on Undergraduate Biology Students' Understanding of the Nature of Science

Science.gov (United States)

Burniston, Amy Lucinda

Undergraduate science education is currently seeing a dramatic pedagogical push towards teaching the philosophies underpinning science as well as an increase in strategies that employ active learning. Many active learning strategies stem from constructivist ideals and have been shown to affect a student's understanding of how science operates and its impact on society- commonly referred to as the nature of science (NOS). One particular constructivist teaching strategy, case-based instruction (CBI), has been recommended by researchers and science education reformists as an effective instructional strategy for teaching NOS. Furthermore, when coupled with explicit-reflective instruction, CBI has been found to significantly increasing understanding of NOS in elementary and secondary students. However, few studies aimed their research on CBI and NOS towards higher education. Thus, this study uses a quasi-experimental, nonequivalent group design to study the effects of CBI on undergraduate science students understandings of NOS. Undergraduate biology student's understanding of NOS were assessed using the Views of Science Education (VOSE) instrument pre and post CBI intervention in Cellular and Molecular Biology and Human Anatomy and Physiology II. Data analysis indicated statistically significant differences between students NOS scores in experimental versus control sections for both courses, with experimental groups obtaining higher posttest scores. The results of this study indicate that undergraduate male and female students have similarly poor understandings of NOS and the use of historical case based instruction can be used as a means to increase undergraduate understanding of NOS.

To Break Away or Strengthen Ties to Home: A Complex Issue for African American College Students Attending a Predominantly White Institution

Science.gov (United States)

Guiffrida, Douglas

2005-01-01

African American students and former students from a predominantly white institution (PWI) were interviewed to understand their perceptions regarding the impact of their families on their academic achievement and persistence. The characteristics of families that students perceived to support and hinder their academic success at college are…

Promoting students' conceptual understanding using STEM-based e-book

Science.gov (United States)

Komarudin, U.; Rustaman, N. Y.; Hasanah, L.

2017-05-01

This study aims to examine the effect of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) based e-book in promoting students'conceptual understanding on lever system in human body. The E-book used was the e-book published by National Ministry of Science Education. The research was conducted by a quasi experimental with pretest and posttest design. The subjects consist of two classes of 8th grade junior high school in Pangkalpinang, Indonesia, which were devided into experimental group (n=34) and control group (n=32). The students in experimental group was taught by STEM-based e-book, while the control group learned by non STEM-based e-book. The data was collected by an instrument pretest and postest. Pretest and posttest scored, thenanalyzed using descriptive statistics and independent t-test. The result of independent sample t-test shows that no significant differenceson students' pretest score between control and experimental group. However, there were significant differences on students posttest score and N-gain score between control and experimental group with sig = 0.000(pscience.

Taking part in Nordic collaboration; nursing students' experiences and perceptions from a learning perspective: A qualitative study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Elrond*, Malene; Westerbotn, Margareta; Kneck, Åsa

2015-01-01

. Objective To gain an understanding of what nurse students experienced and learned during an intensive course in diabetes together with students and nurse educators from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and the Faroe Islands. Methods In 2012, an intensive course within the Nordic network, Nordkvist......, was conducted in Faroe Islands with the theme “Nursing — to live a good life with diabetes”. To answer the objective of the study, 26 students conducted written reflections based on two questions. The data was analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Results Through meetings with nurse students...... and educators from the Nordic countries the intensive course strengthened the students' identification with the nursing profession. The students gained new perspectives on diabetes, such as how complex it can be to live with a chronic illness. Because of the difficulties in understanding one another and because...

"Everything Is in Parables": An Exploration of Students' Difficulties in Understanding Christian Beliefs Concerning Jesus

Science.gov (United States)

Freathy, Rob; Aylward, Karen

2010-01-01

This article reports the findings of interviews conducted with students (aged 11-13) in four English secondary schools, examining reasons why young people find it difficult to understand Christian beliefs regarding Jesus' miracles, resurrection, and status as the Son of God. For the students in this sample, understanding and belief are closely…

The effect of directive tutor guidance on students' conceptual understanding of statistics in problem-based learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Budé, Luc; van de Wiel, Margaretha W J; Imbos, Tjaart; Berger, Martijn P F

2011-06-01

Education is aimed at students reaching conceptual understanding of the subject matter, because this leads to better performance and application of knowledge. Conceptual understanding depends on coherent and error-free knowledge structures. The construction of such knowledge structures can only be accomplished through active learning and when new knowledge can be integrated into prior knowledge. The intervention in this study was directed at both the activation of students as well as the integration of knowledge. Undergraduate university students from an introductory statistics course, in an authentic problem-based learning (PBL) environment, were randomly assigned to conditions and measurement time points. In the PBL tutorial meetings, half of the tutors guided the discussions of the students in a traditional way. The other half guided the discussions more actively by asking directive and activating questions. To gauge conceptual understanding, the students answered open-ended questions asking them to explain and relate important statistical concepts. Results of the quantitative analysis show that providing directive tutor guidance improved understanding. Qualitative data of students' misconceptions seem to support this finding. Long-term retention of the subject matter seemed to be inadequate. ©2010 The British Psychological Society.

Improving Student Understanding of Magmatic Differentiation Using an M&M Magma Chamber

Science.gov (United States)

Wirth, K. R.

2003-12-01

Many students, especially those in introductory geology courses, have difficulty developing a deep understanding of the processes of magmatic differentiation. In particular, students often struggle to understand Bowen's reaction series and fractional crystallization. The process of fractional crystallization by gravity settling can be illustrated using a model magma chamber consisting of M&M's. In this model, each major cation (e.g., Si, Ti, Al, Fe, Mg, Ca, Na, K) is represented by a different color M&M; other kinds of differently colored or shaped pieces could also be used. Appropriate numbers of each color M&M are combined to approximate the cation proportions of a basaltic magma. Students then fractionate the magma by moving M&M's to the bottom of the magma chamber forming a series of cumulus layers; the M&M's are removed in the stoichiometric proportions of cations in the crystallizing minerals (e.g., olivine, pyroxene, feldspars, quartz, magnetite, ilmenite). Students observe the changing cation composition (proportions of colors of M&M's) in the cumulus layers and in the magma chamber and graph the results using spreadsheet software. More advanced students (e.g., petrology course) can classify the cumulates and resulting liquid after each crystallization step, and they can compare the model system with natural magmatic systems (e.g., absence of important fractionating phases, volatiles). Students who have completed this exercise generally indicate a positive experience and demonstrate increased understanding of Bowen's reaction series and fractionation processes. They also exhibit greater familiarity with mineral stoichiometry, classification, solid-solution in minerals, element behavior (e.g., incompatibility), and chemical variation diagrams. Other models (e.g., paths of equilibrium and fractional crystallization on phase diagrams) can also be used to illustrate differentiation processes in upper level courses (e.g., mineralogy and petrology).

Strengthening cancer biology research, prevention, and control while reducing cancer disparities: student perceptions of a collaborative master's degree program in cancer biology, preventions, and control.

Science.gov (United States)

Jillson, I A; Cousin, C E; Blancato, J K

2013-09-01

This article provides the findings of a survey of previous and current students in the UDC/GU-LCCC master's degree program. This master's degree program, Cancer Biology, Prevention, and Control is administered and taught jointly by faculty of a Minority Serving Institution, the University of the District of Columbia, and the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center to incorporate the strengths of a community-based school with a research intensive medical center. The program was initiated in 2008 through agreements with both University administrations and funding from the National Cancer Institute. The master's degree program is 36 credits with a focus on coursework in biostatistics, epidemiology, tumor biology, cancer prevention, medical ethics, and cancer outreach program design. For two semesters during the second year, students work full-time with a faculty person on a laboratory or outreach project that is a requirement for graduation. Students are supported and encouraged to transition to a doctoral degree after they obtain the master's and many of them are currently in doctorate programs. Since the inception of the program, 45 students have initiated the course of study, 28 have completed the program, and 13 are currently enrolled in the program. The survey was designed to track the students in their current activities, as well as determine which courses, program enhancements, and research experiences were the least and most useful, and to discern students' perceptions of knowledge acquired on various aspects of Cancer Biology Prevention, and Control Master's Program. Thirty of the 35 individuals to whom email requests were sent responded to the survey, for a response rate of 85.7%. The results of this study will inform the strengthening of the Cancer Biology program by the Education Advisory Committee. They can also be used in the development of comparable collaborative master's degree programs designed to address the significant disparities in prevalence of

"I Got Your Back": Friends' Understandings regarding College Student Spring Break Behavior

Science.gov (United States)

Patrick, Megan E.; Morgan, Nicole; Maggs, Jennifer L.; Lefkowitz, Eva S.

2011-01-01

Behaviors that pose threats to safety and health, including binge drinking and unprotected sex, increase during a week-long break from university. Understandings with peers regarding these behaviors may be important for predicting behavior and related harms. College students (N = 651; 48% men) reported having understandings with their friends…

Effects of student choice on engagement and understanding in a junior high science class

Science.gov (United States)

Foreback, Laura Elizabeth

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of increasing individual student choice in assignments on student engagement and understanding of content. It was predicted that if students are empowered to choose learning activities based on individual readiness, learning style, and interests, they would be more engaged in the curriculum and consequently would develop deeper understanding of the material. During the 2009--2010 school year, I implemented differentiated instructional strategies that allowed for an increased degree of student choice in five sections of eighth grade science at DeWitt Junior High School. These strategies, including tiered lessons and student-led, project-based learning, were incorporated into the "Earth History and Geologic Time Scale" unit of instruction. The results of this study show that while offering students choices can be used as an effective motivational strategy, their academic performance was not increased compared to their performance during an instructional unit that did not offer choice.

Strengthening rural health placements for medical students ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

school students to apply for health professional training, supporting them during their undergraduate degrees, providing post- graduate and continuing education oppor- tunities, and developing appropriate recruit ment and retention strategies for.

General Chemistry Students' Understanding of Climate Change and the Chemistry Related to Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

Versprille, Ashley N.; Towns, Marcy H.

2015-01-01

While much is known about secondary students' perspectives of climate change, rather less is known about undergraduate students' perspectives. The purpose of this study is to investigate general chemistry students' understanding of the chemistry underlying climate change. Findings that emerged from the analysis of the 24 interviews indicate that…

Understanding Undergraduate Student Perceptions of Mental Health, Mental Well-Being and Help-Seeking Behaviour

Science.gov (United States)

Laidlaw, Anita; McLellan, Julie; Ozakinci, Gozde

2016-01-01

Despite relatively high levels of psychological distress, many students in higher education do not seek help for difficulties. This study explored undergraduate student understanding of the concepts of mental health and mental well-being and where undergraduate students would seek help for mental well-being difficulties. Semi-structured interviews…

Effect of 5E Teaching Model on Student Teachers' Understanding of Weightlessness

Science.gov (United States)

Tural, Guner; Akdeniz, Ali Riza; Alev, Nedim

2010-01-01

Weight is one of the basic concepts of physics. Its gravitational definition accommodates difficulties for students to understand the state of weightlessness. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of materials based on 5E teaching model and related to weightlessness on science student teachers' learning. The sample of the study was 9…

Conceptualising Plagiarism: Using Lego to Construct Students' Understanding of Authorship and Citation

Science.gov (United States)

Buckley, Carina

2015-01-01

The transition from further to higher education is marked by a series of challenges for the new student, not least the requirement to learn the discourse of academic practice, and referencing as a part of that. By perceiving what it means to reference, students should also come to understand what it means to write, including the problematic areas…

Building Students' Understanding of Quadratic Equation Concept Using Naïve Geometry

Science.gov (United States)

Fachrudin, Achmad Dhany; Putri, Ratu Ilma Indra; Darmawijoyo

2014-01-01

The purpose of this research is to know how Naïve Geometry method can support students' understanding about the concept of solving quadratic equations. In this article we will discuss one activities of the four activities we developed. This activity focused on how students linking the Naïve Geometry method with the solving of the quadratic…

Helping medical students to acquire a deeper understanding of truth-telling.

Science.gov (United States)

Hurst, Samia A; Baroffio, Anne; Ummel, Marinette; Burn, Carine Layat

2015-01-01

Truth-telling is an important component of respect for patients' self-determination, but in the context of breaking bad news, it is also a distressing and difficult task. We investigated the long-term influence of a simulated patient-based teaching intervention, integrating learning objectives in communication skills and ethics into students' attitudes and concerns regarding truth-telling. We followed two cohorts of medical students from the preclinical third year to their clinical rotations (fifth year). Open-ended responses were analysed to explore medical students' reported difficulties in breaking bad news. This intervention was implemented during the last preclinical year of a problem-based medical curriculum, in collaboration between the doctor-patient communication and ethics programs. Over time, concerns such as empathy and truthfulness shifted from a personal to a relational focus. Whereas 'truthfulness' was a concern for the content of the message, 'truth-telling' included concerns on how information was communicated and how realistically it was received. Truth-telling required empathy, adaptation to the patient, and appropriate management of emotions, both for the patient's welfare and for a realistic understanding of the situation. Our study confirms that an intervention confronting students with a realistic situation succeeds in making them more aware of the real issues of truth-telling. Medical students deepened their reflection over time, acquiring a deeper understanding of the relational dimension of values such as truth-telling, and honing their view of empathy.

Mechanical behavior and strengthening mechanisms in ultrafine grain precipitation-strengthened aluminum alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma, Kaka; Wen, Haiming; Hu, Tao; Topping, Troy D.; Isheim, Dieter; Seidman, David N.; Lavernia, Enrique J.; Schoenung, Julie M.

2014-01-01

To provide insight into the relationships between precipitation phenomena, grain size and mechanical behavior in a complex precipitation-strengthened alloy system, Al 7075 alloy, a commonly used aluminum alloy, was selected as a model system in the present study. Ultrafine-grained (UFG) bulk materials were fabricated through cryomilling, degassing, hot isostatic pressing and extrusion, followed by a subsequent heat treatment. The mechanical behavior and microstructure of the materials were analyzed and compared directly to the coarse-grained (CG) counterpart. Three-dimensional atom-probe tomography was utilized to investigate the intermetallic precipitates and oxide dispersoids formed in the as-extruded UFG material. UFG 7075 exhibits higher strength than the CG 7075 alloy for each equivalent condition. After a T6 temper, the yield strength (YS) and ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of UFG 7075 achieved 734 and 774 MPa, respectively, which are ∼120 MPa higher than those of the CG equivalent. The strength of as-extruded UFG 7075 (YS: 583 MPa, UTS: 631 MPa) is even higher than that of commercial 7075-T6. More importantly, the strengthening mechanisms in each material were established quantitatively for the first time for this complex precipitation-strengthened system, accounting for grain-boundary, dislocation, solid-solution, precipitation and oxide dispersoid strengthening contributions. Grain-boundary strengthening was the predominant mechanism in as-extruded UFG 7075, contributing a strength increment estimated to be 242 MPa, whereas Orowan precipitation strengthening was predominant in the as-extruded CG 7075 (∼102 MPa) and in the T6-tempered materials, and was estimated to contribute 472 and 414 MPa for CG-T6 and UFG-T6, respectively

Understanding Problem-Solving Errors by Students with Learning Disabilities in Standards-Based and Traditional Curricula

Science.gov (United States)

Bouck, Emily C.; Bouck, Mary K.; Joshi, Gauri S.; Johnson, Linley

2016-01-01

Students with learning disabilities struggle with word problems in mathematics classes. Understanding the type of errors students make when working through such mathematical problems can further describe student performance and highlight student difficulties. Through the use of error codes, researchers analyzed the type of errors made by 14 sixth…

Enhancing Preservice Teachers' Understanding of Students' Misconceptions in Learning Chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Naah, Basil Mugaga

2015-01-01

Preservice teachers enrolled in a modified introductory chemistry course used an instructional rubric to improve and evaluate their understanding of students' misconceptions in learning various chemistry concepts. A sample of 79 preservice teachers first explored the state science standards to identify chemistry misconceptions associated with the…

The Voluntariat: A Freirean framework to understand the nature of undergraduate international (medical experiences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seemi Qaiser

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Despite literature documenting limited and asymmetrical benefits along with ethical issues, short-term international volunteering is increasingly popular among North American university students as a perceived advantage when applying to professional healthcare schools or the job market. Academic institutions are also encouraging students to pursue international experiences in order to cultivate values as global citizens. These experiences are most typically limited to economically privileged students. Furthermore, international activities in developing countries often lack a pedagogy of social justice and may confirm a simplistic understanding of development. Brazilian educator Paulo Freire’s “liberation pedagogy” provides a framework for understanding the limitations of international volunteering, whereby the presence of privileged volunteers implementing Western models of development may hinder aspects of local movements. Regardless, university students face intense competition in accessing opportunities, such as medical school, and pay large sums to participate in volunteering to strengthen their academic credentials. We propose that these students form “the voluntariat.” They simultaneously play two roles by, first, contributing to the conditions that oppress the very communities in which they volunteer and, second, by playing a role as objects of oppression by the liberal institutions of learning and employment to which they are attempting to gain access.

Strategies Applied by Teachers as Classroom Managers to Strengthen Learning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Franco Javier Jáuregui Contreras

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The present research was executed within the quantitative paradigm, under the feasible project modality, with the objective of designing strategies aimed at teachers to strengthen learning in the students of the Arnoldo Gabaldon educational unit, located in Delicias, Rafael Urdaneta municipality State Táchira. The methodology used responds to the characteristics of field descriptive research, not experimental. The study population consisted of 72 teachers. To obtain the information, a 20-item contentive instrument was applied, which measured the factors that influence the application of managerial strategies to strengthen student learning. This instrument was validated and a reliability index of 0.81 was obtained. In the analysis of results, the single and absolute frequencies of each reagent were determined. This resulted in a series of constantly occurring situations that led to the following conclusions: managerial strategies are employed by teachers on average, as well as in organization and planning, there is no commitment in relation to it, although there It was possible to detect that teachers comply with the planned activities on a regular basis. In addition, in the case of management and control, it is denoted how forcefully both processes are fulfilled, even in the majority, and both are assumed as managerial strategies. Therefore, the implementation of strategies is recommended.

RC beams shear-strengthened with fabric-reinforced-cementitious-matrix (FRCM) composite

Science.gov (United States)

Loreto, Giovanni; Babaeidarabad, Saman; Leardini, Lorenzo; Nanni, Antonio

2015-12-01

The interest in retrofit/rehabilitation of existing concrete structures has increased due to degradation and/or introduction of more stringent design requirements. Among the externally-bonded strengthening systems fiber-reinforced polymers is the most widely known technology. Despite its effectiveness as a material system, the presence of an organic binder has some drawbacks that could be addressed by using in its place a cementitious binder as in fabric-reinforced cementitious matrix (FRCM) systems. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) beams strengthened in shear with U-wraps made of FRCM. An extensive experimental program was undertaken in order to understand and characterize this composite when used as a strengthening system. The laboratory results demonstrate the technical viability of FRCM for shear strengthening of RC beams. Based on the experimental and analytical results, FRCM increases shear strength but not proportionally to the number of fabric plies installed. On the other hand, FRCM failure modes are related with a high consistency to the amount of external reinforcement applied. Design considerations based on the algorithms proposed by ACI guidelines are also provided.

Radiography – How do students understand the concept of radiography?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lundgren, S.M.; Lundén, M.; Andersson, B.T.

2015-01-01

Background: Radiography as a concept has mainly been associated with the functional role of the radiographer. The concept has been studied from a theoretical point of view. However, there is a lack of a theoretical foundation and research on the actual substance of the term radiography used in education. It is therefore important to undertake an investigation in order to determine how students after three years education understand the subject of radiography. Aim: The aim of this study was to analyse how students in the Swedish radiographers' degree program understand the concept of radiography. Method: A concept analysis was made according to the hybrid model, which combines theoretical, fieldwork and analytical phases. A summative content analysis was used to identify the number and content of statements. The empirical data were collected from questionnaires answered by radiography students at four universities in Sweden. Findings: All radiography students' exemplified radiography with statements related to the practical level although some of them also identified radiography at an abstract level, as a subject within a discipline. The attribute ‘An interdisciplinary area of knowledge’ emerged, which is an attribute on the abstract level. The practical level was described by four attributes: Mastering Medical Imaging’, ‘To accomplish images for diagnosis and interventions’, ‘Creating a caring environment’ and ‘Enabling fruitful encounters’. Conclusion: The hybrid model used was a versatile model of concept development. The results of this study have increased the understanding of what characterizes the concept of radiography in a Swedish context. - Highlights: • This concept analysis of radiography was undertaken according to a hybrid model. • In radiography humanistic aspects are emphasized, a shift from the technological perspective. • The attributes demonstrate the essence and interdisciplinary nature of radiography. • This

Assessing student understanding of sound waves and trigonometric reasoning in a technology-rich, project-enhanced environment

Science.gov (United States)

Wilhelm, Jennifer Anne

This case study examined what student content understanding could occur in an inner city Industrial Electronics classroom located at Tree High School where project-based instruction, enhanced with technology, was implemented for the first time. Students participated in a project implementation unit involving sound waves and trigonometric reasoning. The unit was designed to foster common content learning (via benchmark lessons) by all students in the class, and to help students gain a deeper conceptual understanding of a sub-set of the larger content unit (via group project research). The objective goal of the implementation design unit was to have students gain conceptual understanding of sound waves, such as what actually waves in a wave, how waves interfere with one another, and what affects the speed of a wave. This design unit also intended for students to develop trigonometric reasoning associated with sinusoidal curves and superposition of sinusoidal waves. Project criteria within this design included implementation features, such as the need for the student to have a driving research question and focus, the need for benchmark lessons to help foster and scaffold content knowledge and understanding, and the need for project milestones to complete throughout the implementation unit to allow students the time for feedback and revision. The Industrial Electronics class at Tree High School consisted of nine students who met daily during double class periods giving 100 minutes of class time per day. The class teacher had been teaching for 18 years (mathematics, physics, and computer science). He had a background in engineering and experience teaching at the college level. Benchmark activities during implementation were used to scaffold fundamental ideas and terminology needed to investigate characteristics of sound and waves. Students participating in benchmark activities analyzed motion and musical waveforms using probeware, and explored wave phenomena using waves

A Novel Technology to Investigate Students' Understandings of Enzyme Representations

Science.gov (United States)

Linenberger, Kimberly J.; Bretz, Stacey Lowery

2012-01-01

Digital pen-and-paper technology, although marketed commercially as a bridge between old and new note-taking capabilities, synchronizes the collection of both written and audio data. This manuscript describes how this technology was used to improve data collection in research regarding students' learning, specifically their understanding of…

Evaluation of Students' Understanding of Thermal Concepts in Everyday Contexts

Science.gov (United States)

Chu, Hye-Eun; Treagust, David F.; Yeo, Shelley; Zadnik, Marjan

2012-01-01

The aims of this study were to determine the underlying conceptual structure of the thermal concept evaluation (TCE) questionnaire, a pencil-and-paper instrument about everyday contexts of heat, temperature, and heat transfer, to investigate students' conceptual understanding of thermal concepts in everyday contexts across several school years and…

Learning about a Level Physics Students' Understandings of Particle Physics Using Concept Mapping

Science.gov (United States)

Gourlay, H.

2017-01-01

This paper describes a small-scale piece of research using concept mapping to elicit A level students' understandings of particle physics. Fifty-nine year 12 (16- and 17 year-old) students from two London schools participated. The exercise took place during school physics lessons. Students were instructed how to make a concept map and were…

Students' Understanding of Genetics Concepts: The Effect of Reasoning Ability and Learning Approaches

Science.gov (United States)

Kiliç, Didem; Saglam, Necdet

2014-01-01

Students tend to learn genetics by rote and may not realise the interrelationships in daily life. Because reasoning abilities are necessary to construct relationships between concepts and rote learning impedes the students' sound understanding, it was predicted that having high level of formal reasoning and adopting meaningful learning orientation…

Using Open Educational Resources to Help Students Understand the Sub-Prime Lending Crisis

Science.gov (United States)

McDowell, Evelyn A.

2010-01-01

In this paper, I describe an assignment designed to give students an intermediate level of understanding of the causes of the crisis using online educational resources widely available on the internet. I implemented the assignment in an undergraduate intermediate accounting course. Feedback from students indicate the assignment enhanced their…

An Exponential Growth Learning Trajectory: Students' Emerging Understanding of Exponential Growth through Covariation

Science.gov (United States)

Ellis, Amy B.; Ozgur, Zekiye; Kulow, Torrey; Dogan, Muhammed F.; Amidon, Joel

2016-01-01

This article presents an Exponential Growth Learning Trajectory (EGLT), a trajectory identifying and characterizing middle grade students' initial and developing understanding of exponential growth as a result of an instructional emphasis on covariation. The EGLT explicates students' thinking and learning over time in relation to a set of tasks…

Understanding and Predicting Student Self-Regulated Learning Strategies in Game-Based Learning Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Sabourin, Jennifer L.; Shores, Lucy R.; Mott, Bradford W.; Lester, James C.

2013-01-01

Self-regulated learning behaviors such as goal setting and monitoring have been found to be crucial to students' success in computer-based learning environments. Consequently, understanding students' self-regulated learning behavior has been the subject of increasing attention. Unfortunately, monitoring these behaviors in real-time has…

Understanding undergraduate student perceptions of mental health, mental well-being and help-seeking behaviour

OpenAIRE

Laidlaw, Anita Helen; McLellan, Julie; Ozakinci, Gozde

2016-01-01

Funding: Medical School, University of St Andrews Despite relatively high levels of psychological distress, many students in higher education do not seek help for difficulties. This study explored undergraduate student understanding of the concepts of mental health and mental well-being and where undergraduate students would seek help for mental well-being difficulties. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 20 undergraduate students from 5 different subject areas. Interviews wer...

Students' Perceived Understanding Mediates the Effects of Teacher Clarity and Nonverbal Immediacy on Learner Empowerment

Science.gov (United States)

Finn, Amber N.; Schrodt, Paul

2012-01-01

This study examined students' perceived understanding as a mediator of the relationship between student perceptions of teacher clarity, nonverbal immediacy cues, and learner empowerment (i.e., meaningfulness, competence, and impact). Participants included 261 undergraduate students who completed survey instruments. Results of structural equation…

Understanding Student Cognition about Complex Earth System Processes Related to Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

McNeal, K. S.; Libarkin, J.; Ledley, T. S.; Dutta, S.; Templeton, M. C.; Geroux, J.; Blakeney, G. A.

2011-12-01

The Earth's climate system includes complex behavior and interconnections with other Earth spheres that present challenges to student learning. To better understand these unique challenges, we have conducted experiments with high-school and introductory level college students to determine how information pertaining to the connections between the Earth's atmospheric system and the other Earth spheres (e.g., hydrosphere and cryosphere) are processed. Specifically, we include psychomotor tests (e.g., eye-tracking) and open-ended questionnaires in this research study, where participants were provided scientific images of the Earth (e.g., global precipitation and ocean and atmospheric currents), eye-tracked, and asked to provide causal or relational explanations about the viewed images. In addition, the students engaged in on-line modules (http://serc.carleton.edu/eslabs/climate/index.html) focused on Earth system science as training activities to address potential cognitive barriers. The developed modules included interactive media, hands-on lessons, links to outside resources, and formative assessment questions to promote a supportive and data-rich learning environment. Student eye movements were tracked during engagement with the materials to determine the role of perception and attention on understanding. Students also completed a conceptual questionnaire pre-post to determine if these on-line curriculum materials assisted in their development of connections between Earth's atmospheric system and the other Earth systems. The pre-post results of students' thinking about climate change concepts, as well as eye-tracking results, will be presented.

E-learning support for student's understanding of electronics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

May, Michael; Sendrup, Linda; Sparsø, Jens

2008-01-01

To enhance active learning and understanding of analogue and digital electronics the use of e-learning techniques will be investigated. In a redesigned course combining introductory analogue and digital electronics, students will be motivated to prepare for lectures and exercises by providing...... access to interactive simulations. Some exercises will furthermore be carried out first as simulations of electrical circuits and then with physical components, i.e. as design-build exercises. A number of didactic problems in learning electricity and electronics are discussed....

Using digital technologies to enhance chemistry students' understanding and representational skills

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hilton, Annette

Abstract Chemistry students need to understand chemistry on molecular, symbolic and macroscopic levels. Students find it difficult to use representations on these three levels to interpret and explain data. One approach is to encourage students to use writing-to-learn strategies in inquiry settings...... to present and interpret their laboratory results. This paper describes findings from a study on the effects on students’ learning outcomes of creating multimodal texts to report on laboratory inquiries. The study involved two senior secondary school chemistry classes (n = 22, n = 27). Both classes completed...... representations to make explanations on the molecular level. Student interviews and classroom video-recordings suggested that using digital resources to create multimodal texts promoted knowledge transformation and hence deeper reflection on the meaning of data and representations. The study has implications...

ACTIVE LEARNING STRATEGIES IN TEACHING CROSS CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING FOR ENGLISH EDUCATION STUDENTS

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Ikke Dewi Pratama

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Cross Cultural Understanding (CCU is one of required courses in English Language Teaching which aims at connecting language and culture so that language learners can use foreign language appropriately, i.e. appropriate forms of language for appropriate context of situation. However, some obstacles usually occur during the course, for examples: students’ lack of understanding that lead to opinions stating that this is a boring and useless course, and large number of students within a class where lecturer must teach more than 40 students in one class. Considering the importance of CCU course as well as the needs to overcome the problems during this course, this paper proposes some particular teaching strategies to help students in apprehending CCU materials through students’ active participations. Active learning strategies are preferred by means of raising students’ participation and critical thinking so that the class would run more effectively. Other consideration in composing the strategies is to prepare English Education students to be future English language teachers by training their ability in teaching performance as well as connecting language and culture in English Language Teaching (ELT.   Keywords: language, culture, strategies, media, ELT

Preloading Effect on Strengthening Efficiency of RC Beams Strengthened with Non- and Pretensioned NSM Strips

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Renata Kotynia

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The near surface mounted (NSM technique has been shown to be one of the most promising methods for upgrading reinforced concrete (RC structures. Many tests carried out on RC members strengthened in flexure with NSM fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP systems have demonstrated greater strengthening efficiency than the use of externally-bonded (EB FRP laminates. Strengthening with simultaneous pretensioning of the FRP results in improvements in the serviceability limit state (SLS conditions, including the increased cracking moment and decreased deflections. The objective of the reported experimental program, which consisted of two series of RC beams strengthened in flexure with NSM CFRP strips, was to investigate the influence of a number of parameters on the strengthening efficiency. The test program focused on an analysis of the effects of preloading on the strengthening efficiency which has been investigated very rarely despite being one of the most important parameters to be taken into account in strengthening design. Two preloading levels were considered: the beam self-weight only, which corresponded to stresses on the internal longitudinal reinforcement of 25% and 14% of the yield stress (depending on a steel reinforcement ratio, and the self-weight with the additional superimposed load, corresponding to 60% of the yield strength of the unstrengthened beam and a deflection equal to the allowable deflection at the SLS. The influence of the longitudinal steel reinforcement ratio was also considered in this study. To reflect the variability seen in existing structures, test specimens were varied by using different steel bar diameters. Finally, the impact of the composite reinforcement ratio and the number of pretensioned FRP strips was considered. Specimens were divided into two series based on their strengthening configuration: series “A” were strengthened with one pretensioned and two non-pretensioned carbon FRP (CFRP strips, while series �

The Effect of Constructivist Learning Using Scientific Approach on Mathematical Power and Conceptual Understanding of Students Grade IV

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Kusmaryono, Imam; Suyitno, Hardi

2016-02-01

This study used a model of Concurrent Embedded with the aim of: (1) determine the difference between the conceptual understanding and mathematical power of students grade fourth who take the constructivist learning using scientific approach and direct learning, (2) determine the interaction between learning approaches and initial competence on the mathematical power and conceptual of understanding, and (3) describe the mathematical power of students grade fourth. This research was conducted in the fourth grade elementary school early 2015. Data initial competence and mathematical power obtained through tests, and analyzed using statistical tests multivariate and univariate. Statistical analysis of the results showed that: (1) There are differences in the concept of understanding and mathematical power among the students who follow the scientifically-based constructivist learning than students who take the Direct Learning in terms of students initial competency (F = 5.550; p = 0.007 problem solving and contributes tremendous increase students' math skills. Researcher suggested that the learning of mathematics in schools using scientifically- based constructivist approach to improve the mathematical power of students and conceptual understanding.

Context dependence of students' views about the role of equations in understanding biology.

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Watkins, Jessica; Elby, Andrew

2013-06-01

Students' epistemological views about biology--their ideas about what "counts" as learning and understanding biology--play a role in how they approach their courses and respond to reforms. As introductory biology courses incorporate more physics and quantitative reasoning, student attitudes about the role of equations in biology become especially relevant. However, as documented in research in physics education, students' epistemologies are not always stable and fixed entities; they can be dynamic and context-dependent. In this paper, we examine an interview with an introductory student in which she discusses the use of equations in her reformed biology course. In one part of the interview, she expresses what sounds like an entrenched negative stance toward the role equations can play in understanding biology. However, later in the interview, when discussing a different biology topic, she takes a more positive stance toward the value of equations. These results highlight how a given student can have diverse ways of thinking about the value of bringing physics and math into biology. By highlighting how attitudes can shift in response to different tasks, instructional environments, and contextual cues, we emphasize the need to attend to these factors, rather than treating students' beliefs as fixed and stable.

A New Conceptual Model for Understanding International Students' College Needs

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Alfattal, Eyad

2016-01-01

This study concerns the theory and practice of international marketing in higher education with the purpose of exploring a conceptual model for understanding international students' needs in the context of a four-year college in the United States. A transcendental phenomenological design was employed to investigate the essence of international…

Understanding College Students' Civic Identity Development: A Grounded Theory

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Johnson, Matthew R.

2017-01-01

This article presents the results of a study designed to understand the development of college students' civic identity--that is, an identity encompassing their knowledge, attitudes, values, and actions regarding civic engagement. Grounded theory was used to examine the experiences and attitudes of 19 college seniors who manifested strong civic…

How to Strengthen the Connection between Research and Teaching in Undergraduate University Education

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Elsen, Mariken (G.MF.); Visser-Wijnveen, Gerda J.; Van Der Rijst, Roeland M.; Van Driel, Jan H.

2009-01-01

This paper explores how to strengthen the research-teaching nexus in university education, in particular, how to improve the relation between policy and practice. The focus is on courses and curricula for undergraduate students. From a review of policy documents and research literature, it appeared that the research-teaching nexus can be shaped…

Characterising the development of the understanding of human body systems in high-school biology students - a longitudinal study

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Snapir, Zohar; Eberbach, Catherine; Ben-Zvi-Assaraf, Orit; Hmelo-Silver, Cindy; Tripto, Jaklin

2017-10-01

Science education today has become increasingly focused on research into complex natural, social and technological systems. In this study, we examined the development of high-school biology students' systems understanding of the human body, in a three-year longitudinal study. The development of the students' system understanding was evaluated using the Components Mechanisms Phenomena (CMP) framework for conceptual representation. We coded and analysed the repertory grid personal constructs of 67 high-school biology students at 4 points throughout the study. Our data analysis builds on the assumption that systems understanding entails a perception of all the system categories, including structures within the system (its Components), specific processes and interactions at the macro and micro levels (Mechanisms), and the Phenomena that present the macro scale of processes and patterns within a system. Our findings suggest that as the learning process progressed, the systems understanding of our students became more advanced, moving forward within each of the major CMP categories. Moreover, there was an increase in the mechanism complexity presented by the students, manifested by more students describing mechanisms at the molecular level. Thus, the 'mechanism' category and the micro level are critical components that enable students to understand system-level phenomena such as homeostasis.

How does undergraduate college biology students' level of understanding, in regard to the role of the seed plant root system, relate to their level of understanding of photosynthesis?

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Njeng'ere, James Gicheha

This research study investigated how undergraduate college biology students' level of understanding of the role of the seed plant root system relates to their level of understanding of photosynthesis. This research was conducted with 65 undergraduate non-majors biology who had completed 1 year of biology at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond. A root probe instrument was developed from some scientifically acceptable propositional statements about the root system, the process of photosynthesis, as well as the holistic nature of the tree. These were derived from research reviews of the science education and the arboriculture literature. This was administered to 65 students selected randomly from class lists of the two institutions. Most of the root probe's items were based on the Live Oak tree. An in-depth, clinical interview-based analysis was conducted with 12 of those tested students. A team of root experts participated by designing, validating and answering the same questions that the students were asked. A "systems" lens as defined by a team of college instructors, root experts (Shigo, 1991), and this researcher was used to interpret the results. A correlational coefficient determining students' level of understanding of the root system and their level of understanding of the process of photosynthesis was established by means of Pearson's r correlation (r = 0.328) using the SAS statistical analysis (SAS, 1987). From this a coefficient of determination (r2 = 0.104) was determined. Students' level of understanding of the Live Oak root system (mean score 5.94) was not statistically different from their level of understanding of the process of photosynthesis (mean score 5.54) as assessed by the root probe, t (129) = 0.137, p > 0.05 one tailed-test. This suggests that, to some degree, level of the root system limits level of understanding of photosynthesis and vice versa. Analysis of quantitative and qualitative

The effect of technology-enabled active learning on undergraduate students understanding of electromagnetism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dori, Y.J.

2005-01-01

Full Text:The Technology-Enabled Active Learning Project at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) involves media-rich software for simulation and visualization in freshman physics carried out in a specially redesigned classroom to facilitate group interaction. These technology-based learning materials are especially useful in electromagnetism to help students conceptualize phenomena and processes. This study analyzes the effects of the unique learning environment of the Technology-Enabled Active Learning Project project on students cognitive and affective outcomes. The assessment of the project included examining students conceptual understanding before and after studying electromagnetism in a media-rich environment. We also investigated the effect of this environment on students preferences regarding the various teaching methods. As part of the project, we developed pre- and post-tests consisting of conceptual questions from standardized tests, as well as questions designed to assess the effect of visualizations and experiments. The research population consisted of 811 undergraduate students. It consisted of a small- and a large-scale experimental groups and a control group. Technology-Enabled Active Learning Project students improved their conceptual understanding concepts of the subject matter to a significantly higher extent than their control group peers. A majority of the students in the small-scale experiment noted that they would recommend the Technology-Enabled Active Learning Project course to fellow students, indicating the benefits of inter activity, visualization, and hands-on experiments, which the technology helped enable. In the large-scale implementation students expressed both positive and negative attitudes in the course survey

Model-Based Knowing: How Do Students Ground Their Understanding About Climate Systems in Agent-Based Computer Models?

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Markauskaite, Lina; Kelly, Nick; Jacobson, Michael J.

2017-12-01

This paper gives a grounded cognition account of model-based learning of complex scientific knowledge related to socio-scientific issues, such as climate change. It draws on the results from a study of high school students learning about the carbon cycle through computational agent-based models and investigates two questions: First, how do students ground their understanding about the phenomenon when they learn and solve problems with computer models? Second, what are common sources of mistakes in students' reasoning with computer models? Results show that students ground their understanding in computer models in five ways: direct observation, straight abstraction, generalisation, conceptualisation, and extension. Students also incorporate into their reasoning their knowledge and experiences that extend beyond phenomena represented in the models, such as attitudes about unsustainable carbon emission rates, human agency, external events, and the nature of computational models. The most common difficulties of the students relate to seeing the modelled scientific phenomenon and connecting results from the observations with other experiences and understandings about the phenomenon in the outside world. An important contribution of this study is the constructed coding scheme for establishing different ways of grounding, which helps to understand some challenges that students encounter when they learn about complex phenomena with agent-based computer models.

Evaluation of the understanding of antibiotic resistance among Malaysian pharmacy students at public universities: An exploratory study

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Kingston Rajiah

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Summary: Background: Infectious diseases are a great threat to humankind, and antibiotics are a viable proposition to numerous pathologies. However, antibiotic resistance is a global concern. Therefore, the aims of this survey were to explore the understanding and attitudes of pharmacy students regarding antibiotic use and resistance. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted on final-year undergraduate pharmacy students from 5 public universities. A validated, self-administered questionnaire written in English was used to collect data. It was made up of six domains and forty-five questions. Raosoft software was used to determine the minimum required sample size. Descriptive and inferential data analyses were carried out using SPSS version 20 software. Results: Out of 346 students, only 59.5% showed a strong understanding of antibiotic usage, while 84.4% of students demonstrated a good level of understanding regarding the issue of antibiotic resistance. However, only 34.1% of students demonstrated a positive attitude toward this issue. Conclusion: This survey reveals that final-year pharmacy students at Malaysian public universities have a relatively good understanding of antibiotic resistance. However, their attitudes did not strongly correlate to their knowledge. Keywords: Antibiotic resistance, Pharmacy students, Malaysian public universities

Learning algebra on screen and on paper: The effect of using a digital tool on students' understanding

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Jupri, Al; Drijvers, Paul; van den Heuvel-Panhuizen, Marja

2016-02-01

The use of digital tools in algebra education is expected to not only contribute to master skill, but also to acquire conceptual understanding. The question is how digital tools affect students" thinking and understanding. This paper presents an analysis of data of one group of three grade seventh students (12-13 year-old) on the use of a digital tool for algebra, the Cover-up applet for solving equations in particular. This case study was part of a larger teaching experiment on initial algebra enriched with digital technology which aimed to improve students" conceptual understanding and skills in solving equations in one variable. The qualitative analysis of a video observation, digital and written work showed that the use of the applet affects student thinking in terms of strategies used by students while dealing with the equations. We conclude that the effects of the use of the digital tool can be traced from student problem solving strategies on paper-and-pencil environment which are similar to strategies while working with the digital tool. In future research, we recommend to use specific theoretical lenses, such as the theory of instrumental genesis and the onto-semiotic approach, to reveal more explicit relationships between students" conceptual understanding and the use of a digital tool.

Improving students' understanding by using on-going education research to refine active learning activities in a first-year electronics course

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Peter Mazzolini, Alexander; Arthur Daniel, Scott

2016-05-01

Interactive Lecture Demonstrations (ILDs) have been used across introductory university physics as a successful active learning (AL) strategy to improve students' conceptual understanding. We have developed ILDs for more complex topics in our first-year electronics course. In 2006 we began developing ILDs to improve students' conceptual understanding of Operational Amplifiers (OAs) and negative feedback in amplification circuits. The ILDs were used after traditional lecture instruction to help students consolidate their understanding. We developed a diagnostic test, to be administered to students both before and after the ILDs, as a measure of how effective the ILDs were in improving students' understanding.

Helping Students Understand Intersectionality: Reflections from a Dialogue Project in Residential Life

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Claros, Sharon Chia; Garcia, Gina A.; Johnston-Guerrero, Marc P.; Mata, Christine

2017-01-01

In this chapter, the authors share insights from a dialogue project focused on intersectionality within a residential life setting and discuss additional strategies for helping students understand intersectionality.

High School 9th Grade Students' Understanding Level and Misconceptions about Temperature and Factors Affecting It

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Akbas, Yavuz

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study is to explore students' understanding levels and misconceptions about temperature and factors affecting it. The concept of the study was chosen from Geography National Curriculum. In this study, a questionnaire was developed after a pilot study with an aim to ascertain the students' understanding levels of temperature and…

The Effect of Computer Models as Formative Assessment on Student Understanding of the Nature of Models

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Park, Mihwa; Liu, Xiufeng; Smith, Erica; Waight, Noemi

2017-01-01

This study reports the effect of computer models as formative assessment on high school students' understanding of the nature of models. Nine high school teachers integrated computer models and associated formative assessments into their yearlong high school chemistry course. A pre-test and post-test of students' understanding of the nature of…

Using Two-Tier Test to Identify Primary Students' Conceptual Understanding and Alternative Conceptions in Acid Base

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Bayrak, Beyza Karadeniz

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to identify primary students' conceptual understanding and alternative conceptions in acid-base. For this reason, a 15 items two-tier multiple choice test administered 56 eighth grade students in spring semester 2009-2010. Data for this study were collected using a conceptual understanding scale prepared to include…

A Mixed Methods Analysis of Students' Understanding of Slope and Derivative Concepts and Students' Mathematical Dispositions

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Patel, Rita Manubhai

2013-01-01

This dissertation examined understanding of slope and derivative concepts and mathematical dispositions of first-semester college calculus students, who are recent high school graduates, transitioning to university mathematics. The present investigation extends existing research in the following ways. First, based on this investigation, the…

STRENGTHENING STUDENTS’ LITERACY THROUGH REFLECTIVE ESSAY WRITING: AN IMPLEMENTATION OF WRITING TO READ PROGRAM IN HIGHER EDUCATION

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Arina Shofiya

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Literacy is a condition where a person has capability to read for knowledge, write to share knowledge, and think critically. Students’ literacy is a never-end issue in the field of English Language Teaching. Studies have been carried out to investigate literacy practices in various level of education including higher education. Among the problems of students’ literacy in higher education are the amount of their reading and writing practices and their motivation to read and write. The current paper is intended to share an experience in strengthening students’ literacy at the English Department of State Islamic Institute (Institut Agama Islam Negeri/IAIN Tulungagung, East Java. The preliminary investigation of the present study revealed that many students have low motivation to read. In addition, their comprehension was relatively low as represented in their paper works. Under a Classroom Action Research Design, the present study was conducted to propose writing to read program to strengthen the students’ literacy. In such program, the students were required to write a reflective essay based on the selected topics that they had to read prior to classes. The findings showed that writing reflective essay helped students strengthen their literacy as well as improve their motivation to read and to write because the reading and writing activities were done in a more relax and supportive environment that was at home.

Multiple intelligences and alternative teaching strategies: The effects on student academic achievement, conceptual understanding, and attitude

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Baragona, Michelle

The purpose of this study was to investigate the interactions between multiple intelligence strengths and alternative teaching methods on student academic achievement, conceptual understanding and attitudes. The design was a quasi-experimental study, in which students enrolled in Principles of Anatomy and Physiology, a developmental biology course, received lecture only, problem-based learning with lecture, or peer teaching with lecture. These students completed the Multiple Intelligence Inventory to determine their intelligence strengths, the Students' Motivation Toward Science Learning questionnaire to determine student attitudes towards learning in science, multiple choice tests to determine academic achievement, and open-ended questions to determine conceptual understanding. Effects of intelligence types and teaching methods on academic achievement and conceptual understanding were determined statistically by repeated measures ANOVAs. No significance occurred in academic achievement scores due to lab group or due to teaching method used; however, significant interactions between group and teaching method did occur in students with strengths in logical-mathematical, interpersonal, kinesthetic, and intrapersonal intelligences. Post-hoc analysis using Tukey HSD tests revealed students with strengths in logical-mathematical intelligence and enrolled in Group Three scored significantly higher when taught by problem-based learning (PBL) as compared to peer teaching (PT). No significance occurred in conceptual understanding scores due to lab group or due to teaching method used; however, significant interactions between group and teaching method did occur in students with strengths in musical, kinesthetic, intrapersonal, and spatial intelligences. Post-hoc analysis using Tukey HSD tests revealed students with strengths in logical-mathematical intelligence and enrolled in Group Three scored significantly higher when taught by lecture as compared to PBL. Students with

Modification of a School Programme in the Deutsches Museum to Enhance Students' Attitudes and Understanding

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Stavrova, Olga; Urhahne, Detlef

2010-11-01

The study examines the nature, conditions, and outcomes of student learning from an organised guided tour in the Deutsches Museum in Munich. The instructional methods that best support students' cognitive and affective learning as well as how students' motivational and emotional states influence their achievement were investigated. A sample of 96 secondary school students took part in two different versions of a guided tour on an energy topic. The tours varied in the degree of support of students' active involvement, group work, and the variety of general activities offered during the tour. The data collected indicate that both tour versions led to an increase in student understanding of the visit topic to nearly the same extent. However, the version stimulating students' active participation, group work, and including a larger variety of activities aroused more positive attitudes. Students of the modified school programme showed higher interest and intrinsic motivation, felt more competent, and were less bored after the guided tour. In addition, the results suggest that students' visit-related emotional states predict the degree of their post-visit topic understanding, even when demographics and prior knowledge are taken into consideration.

Borderless STEM education: A study of both American students and foreign students

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Komura, Kiriko

This study explores the current status of borderless education in STEM through surveys of two populations of STEM students: American students who studied abroad and foreign students who were studying in the U.S. It was undertaken in response to the U.S. government's desires to strengthen STEM education and to develop American students' global competencies. The purpose was to understand how international experiences can be enhanced in order to increase American STEM students' interest in study abroad programs and in earning advanced STEM degrees and to understand how to attract more foreign STEM students to study in the United States. Issues of particular focus were: the impacts of gender, race/ethnicity, and nationality on STEM students' motivation to participate in, and responses to study abroad programs, and the value of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in borderless STEM education. Several different forms of multivariate analyses were performed on data from surveys at seven public and private colleges and universities in the Southern California area. The results indicated that among American students, greater value was placed on social and cultural experiences gained through studying abroad. In contrast, among foreign students greater value was placed on enhancement of their academic and professional development opportunities. American students whose study abroad included research experiences had a greater interest in international research and teaching in the future. Foreign graduate students majoring in computer science, engineering and biology are the most likely to seek opportunities to study and work in the US. Finally, ICTs were valued by American students as platforms for social interactions and by foreign students for facilitating professional networks. The analyses lead to several recommendations, including: STEM faculty should be made aware of the critical importance of their advising and mentoring in motivating students to choose to

An Exploration of High School (12 17 Year Old) Students' Understandings of, and Attitudes Towards Biotechnology Processes

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Dawson, Vaille

2007-03-01

The products of modern biotechnology processes such as genetic engineering, DNA testing and cloning will increasingly impact on society. It is essential that young people have a well-developed scientific understanding of biotechnology and associated processes so that they are able to contribute to public debate and make informed personal decisions. The aim of this study was to examine the development of understandings and attitudes about biotechnology processes as students progress through high school. In a cross-sectional case study, data was obtained from student interviews and written surveys of students aged 12 to 17 years. The results indicate that students' ability to provide a generally accepted definition and examples of biotechnology, cloning and genetically modified foods was relatively poor amongst 12 13 year old students but improved in older students. Most students approved of the use of biotechnology processes involving micro-organisms, plants and humans and disapproved of the use of animals. Overall, 12 13 year old students' attitudes were less favourable than older students regardless of the context. An awareness of the development and range of students' understandings and attitudes may lead to a more appropriate use of biotechnology curriculum materials and thus improved biotechnology education in schools.

Characteristics of reading and understanding of hearing impaired students in classes VI-VIII

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Mustaf Morina

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Good reading has a very important role in the development of children with hearing impaired; also reading in explicit way is one of the crucial factors which affect the oral language development of children with hearing impaired. The best form and possibility of improvement, development of oral language, development of communicating, receipt of information, knowledge, and ideas over the world, is reading. When the auditory perception is damaged reading is poor. Hearing impairment causes a lot of problems in the development of personality of children with hearing impairment in these fields: poor development of vocabulary, poor quality of lexica, poor quality of sentences, and disorder in articulation. The purpose of this research is to verify the following: 1-Speed of reading of hearing impaired children, 2-The number of errors, 3-The kind of errors, 4-To understand the text in the context of the degree of hearing impairment, age (class, success in school and gender. This theoretical-experimental study was made with students from two schools; special school “Mother Teresa” in Prizren and Primary School “Elena Gjika” in Prishtina (class attached. The research included a total of 32 students (respondent 27 students (respondent from special schools “Mother Teresa” in Prizren and 5 elementary school students “Elena Gjika” Prishtina, all these students are with hearing impairment. From 32 students involved in the research, 23 were male and 9 female. The research was done by applying a text fables “The fox and the raven” watched and analyzed in terms of three dimensions. The research results have shown that students with hearing impairments have considerable problems in many aspects; in terms of speed of reading, students with hearing impairment have stagnated compared with their peers in the ratio 8/1. In terms of reading errors have stagnated considered being incomparable. In terms of understanding the text students with hearing

Understanding Why Students Participate in Multiple Surveys: Who are the Hard-Core Responders?

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Porter, Stephen R.; Whitcomb, Michael E.

2004-01-01

What causes a student to participate in a survey? This paper looks at survey response across multiple surveys to understand who the hard-core survey responders and non-responders are. Students at a selective liberal arts college were administered four different surveys throughout the 2002-2003 academic year, and we use the number of surveys…

Western Australian High School Students' Understandings about the Socioscientific Issue of Climate Change

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Dawson, Vaille

2015-01-01

Climate change is one of the most significant science issues facing humanity; yet, teaching students about climate change is challenging: not only is it multidisciplinary, but also it is contentious and debated in political, social and media forums. Students need to be equipped with an understanding of climate change science to be able to…

What's in a Domain: Understanding How Students Approach Questioning in History and Science

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Portnoy, Lindsay Blau

2013-01-01

During their education, students are presented with information across a variety of academic domains. How students ask questions as they learn has implications for understanding, retention, and problem solving. The current research investigates the influence of age and prior knowledge on the ways students approach questioning across history and…

The relationship between nature of science understandings and science self-efficacy beliefs of sixth grade students

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Parker, Elisabeth Allyn

Bandura (1986) posited that self-efficacy beliefs help determine what individuals do with the knowledge and skills they have and are critical determinants of how well skill and knowledge are acquired. Research has correlated self-efficacy beliefs with academic success and subject interest (Pajares, Britner, & Valiante, 2000). Similar studies report a decreasing interest by students in school science beginning in middle school claiming that they don't enjoy science because the classes are boring and irrelevant to their lives (Basu & Barton, 2007). The hypothesis put forth by researchers is that students need to observe models of how science is done, the nature of science (NOS), so that they connect with the human enterprise of science and thereby raise their self-efficacy (Britner, 2008). This study examined NOS understandings and science self-efficacy of students enrolled in a sixth grade earth science class taught with explicit NOS instruction. The research questions that guided this study were (a) how do students' self-efficacy beliefs change as compared with changes in their nature of science understandings?; and (b) how do changes in students' science self-efficacy beliefs vary with gender and ethnicity segregation? A mixed method design was employed following an embedded experimental model (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2007). As the treatment, five NOS aspects were first taught by the teachers using nonintegrated activities followed by integrated instructional approach (Khishfe, 2008). Students' views of NOS using the Views on Nature of Science (VNOS) (Lederman, Abd-El-Khalick, & Schwartz, 2002) along with their self-efficacy beliefs using three Likert-type science self-efficacy scales (Britner, 2002) were gathered. Changes in NOS understandings were determined by categorizing student responses and then comparing pre- and post-instructional understandings. To determine changes in participants' self-efficacy beliefs as measured by the three subscales, a multivariate

An Experiment of Student Understanding of Accruals versus Cash Flows

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Miranda-Lopez, Jose Eduardo; Nichols, Linda M.

2007-01-01

The concepts of both accrual accounting and cash basis accounting need to be thoroughly understood by accounting graduates as they enter the workplace. In making decisions, both managers and investors often may need to make adjustments from one basis to the other. But do students really understand these concepts? This study uses an experimental…

Mapping What Young Students Understand and Value Regarding Sustainable Development

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Manni, Annika; Sporre, Karin; Ottander, Christina

2013-01-01

This paper presents the results of a study carried out to investigate how 10-12 year old Swedish students understand and value the issue of sustainable development. The responses from open-ended questions in a questionnaire have been analyzed through a content analysis based on a phenomenographic approach. The results show that there are…

Investigating and improving student understanding of the expectation values of observables in quantum mechanics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marshman, Emily; Singh, Chandralekha

2017-01-01

The expectation value of an observable is an important concept in quantum mechanics since measurement outcomes are, in general, probabilistic and we only have information about the probability distribution of measurement outcomes in a given quantum state of a system. However, we find that upper-level undergraduate and PhD students in physics have both conceptual and procedural difficulties when determining the expectation value of a physical observable in a given quantum state in terms of the eigenstates and eigenvalues of the corresponding operator, especially when using Dirac notation. Here we first describe the difficulties that these students have with determining the expectation value of an observable in Dirac notation. We then discuss how the difficulties found via student responses to written surveys and individual interviews were used as a guide in the development of a quantum interactive learning tutorial (QuILT) to help students develop a good grasp of the expectation value. The QuILT strives to help students integrate conceptual understanding and procedural skills to develop a coherent understanding of the expectation value. We discuss the effectiveness of the QuILT in helping students learn this concept from in-class evaluations. (paper)

The influence of teachers' conceptions on their students' learning: children's understanding of sheet music.

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López-Íñiguez, Guadalupe; Pozo, Juan Ignacio

2014-06-01

Despite increasing interest in teachers' and students' conceptions of learning and teaching, and how they influence their practice, there are few studies testing the influence of teachers' conceptions on their students' learning. This study tests how teaching conception (TC; with a distinction between direct and constructive) influences students' representations regarding sheet music. Sixty students (8-12 years old) from music conservatories: 30 of them took lessons with teachers with a constructive TC and another 30 with teachers shown to have a direct TC. Children were given a musical comprehension task in which they were asked to select and rank the contents they needed to learn. These contents had different levels of processing and complexity: symbolic, analytical, and referential. Three factorial ANOVAs, two-one-way ANOVAs, and four 2 × 3 repeated-measures ANOVAs were used to analyse the effects of and the interaction between the independent variables TC and class, both for/on total cards selected, their ranking, and each sub-category (the three processing levels). ANOVAs on the selection and ranking of these contents showed that teachers' conceptions seem to mediate significantly in the way the students understand the music. Students from constructive teachers have more complex and deep understanding of music. They select more elements for learning scores than those from traditional teachers. Teaching conception also influences the way in which children rank those elements. No difference exists between the way 8- and 12-year-olds learn scores. Children's understanding of the scores is more complex than assumed in other studies. © 2013 The British Psychological Society.

Personal Development Planning as a means to strengthen supervisory relationships in doctoral education

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kobayashi, Sofie; Grout, Brian William Wilson; Rump, Camilla Østerberg

of ‘closeness’ building a robust and trustful relationship has been the topic of research in only a few studies. While personal development planning is used extensively in higher education in the UK to strengthen the learning process of students, this study documents another potent use of the tool....... In an introduction course for new PhD students at the University of Copenhagen participants are required to share their personal development plan with their supervisor, and our analysis of reflective notes reveal how this can contribute to a better working relationship....

Multiple Problem-Solving Strategies Provide Insight into Students' Understanding of Open-Ended Linear Programming Problems

Science.gov (United States)

Sole, Marla A.

2016-01-01

Open-ended questions that can be solved using different strategies help students learn and integrate content, and provide teachers with greater insights into students' unique capabilities and levels of understanding. This article provides a problem that was modified to allow for multiple approaches. Students tended to employ high-powered, complex,…

General Chemistry Students' Conceptual Understanding and Language Fluency: Acid-Base Neutralization and Conductometry

Science.gov (United States)

Nyachwaya, James M.

2016-01-01

The objective of this study was to examine college general chemistry students' conceptual understanding and language fluency in the context of the topic of acids and bases. 115 students worked in groups of 2-4 to complete an activity on conductometry, where they were given a scenario in which a titration of sodium hydroxide solution and dilute…

The implementation of case study with module-assisted to improve students' understanding on phytochemistry course

Science.gov (United States)

Julianto, Tatang Shabur; Fitriastuti, Dhina; Diniaty, Artina; Fauzi'ah, Lina; Arlianty, Widinda Normalia; Febriana, Beta Wulan; Muhaimin

2017-12-01

Phytochemistry is one of the course in Chemistry Department's curriculum which discusses about biosynthetic path of secondary metabolite compound in a plant, classification of secondary metabolite compound, isolation technique, and identification analysis. This course is expected to be able to bridge the generations of a nation that has expertise in managing the natural resources of Indonesian plants. In this research, it was evaluated the implementation of case study learning method towards students' understanding on phytochemistry course. The learning processes were conducted in 2 cycles i.e. before and after midterm. The first seven themes of materials before midterm were learned with case study method and the next seven themes of materials were studied with the same method with the module-assisted. The results showed that there was enhancement of students' understanding in class D that were obtained from comparison of midterm and final test. Contrarily, the students of class C have no significant enhancement. In addition, it was predicted that understanding enhancement was strongly influenced by the life skills and the motivation of students especially the academic skills aspect.

Understanding student use of differentials in physics integration problems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dehui Hu

2013-07-01

Full Text Available This study focuses on students’ use of the mathematical concept of differentials in physics problem solving. For instance, in electrostatics, students need to set up an integral to find the electric field due to a charged bar, an activity that involves the application of mathematical differentials (e.g., dr, dq. In this paper we aim to explore students’ reasoning about the differential concept in physics problems. We conducted group teaching or learning interviews with 13 engineering students enrolled in a second-semester calculus-based physics course. We amalgamated two frameworks—the resources framework and the conceptual metaphor framework—to analyze students’ reasoning about differential concept. Categorizing the mathematical resources involved in students’ mathematical thinking in physics provides us deeper insights into how students use mathematics in physics. Identifying the conceptual metaphors in students’ discourse illustrates the role of concrete experiential notions in students’ construction of mathematical reasoning. These two frameworks serve different purposes, and we illustrate how they can be pieced together to provide a better understanding of students’ mathematical thinking in physics.

Effect of Collaborative Learning in Interactive Lecture Demonstrations (ILD on Student Conceptual Understanding of Motion Graphs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Erees Queen B. Macabebe

2017-04-01

Full Text Available To assess effectively the influence of peer discussion in understandingconcepts, and to evaluate if the conceptual understanding through Interactive Lecture Demonstrations (ILD and collaborative learning can be translated to actual situations, ten (10 questions on human and carts in motion were presented to 151 university students comprising mostly of science majors but of different year levels. Individual and group predictions were conducted to assess the students’ pre-conceptual understanding of motion graphs. During the ILD, real-time motion graphs were obtained and analysed after each demonstration and an assessment that integrates the ten situations into two scenarios was given to evaluate the conceptual understanding of the students. Collaborative learning produced a positive effect on the prediction scores of the students and the ILD with real-time measurement allowed the students to validate their prediction. However, when the given situations were incorporated to create a scenario, it posted a challenge to the students. The results of this activity identified the area where additional instruction and emphasis is necessary.

Ideas Para Fortalecer Las Destrezas en Matematicas. Ideas for Strengthening Mathematics Skills. Spanish Edition.

Science.gov (United States)

New York State Education Dept., Albany. Bureau of Bilingual Education.

Presented is an overview of some specific schemes that have been used successfully by teachers throughout New York State to strengthen basic mathematics skills. Components offer ideas that have been successful with primary, intermediate, and secondary students. The contents of this Spanish language edition are identical to the English language and…

Idee Per Consolidare Le Abilita In Matematica. Ideas for Strengthening Mathematics Skills. Italian Edition.

Science.gov (United States)

New York State Education Dept., Albany. Bureau of Bilingual Education.

Presented is an overview of some specific schemes that have been used successfully by teachers throughout New York State to strengthen basic mathematics skills. Components offer ideas that have been successful with primary, intermediate, and secondary students. The contents of this Italian language edition are identical to the English language and…

Diagnostic Appraisal of Grade 12 Students' Understanding of Reaction Kinetics

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Yaw Kai; Subramaniam, R.

2016-01-01

The study explored grade 12 students' understanding of reaction kinetics, a topic which has not been extensively explored in the chemistry education literature at this level. A 3-tier diagnostic instrument with 11 questions was developed--this format is of very recent origin and has been the subject of only a handful of studies. The findings…

Information-seeking strategies and science content understandings of sixth-grade students using on-line learning environments

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffman, Joseph Loris

1999-11-01

This study examined the information-seeking strategies and science content understandings learners developed as a result of using on-line resources in the University of Michigan Digital Library and on the World Wide Web. Eight pairs of sixth grade students from two teachers' classrooms were observed during inquiries for astronomy, ecology, geology, and weather, and a final transfer task assessed learners' capabilities at the end of the school year. Data included video recordings of students' screen activity and conversations, journals and completed activity sheets, final artifacts, and semi-structured interviews. Learners' information-seeking strategies included activities related to asking, planning, tool usage, searching, assessing, synthesizing, writing, and creating. Analysis of data found a majority of learners posed meaningful, openended questions, used technological tools appropriately, developed pertinent search topics, were thoughtful in queries to the digital library, browsed sites purposefully to locate information, and constructed artifacts with novel formats. Students faced challenges when planning activities, assessing resources, and synthesizing information. Possible explanations were posed linking pedagogical practices with learners' growth and use of inquiry strategies. Data from classroom-lab video and teacher interviews showed varying degrees of student scaffolding: development and critique of initial questions, utilization of search tools, use of journals for reflection on activities, and requirements for final artifacts. Science content understandings included recalling information, offering explanations, articulating relationships, and extending explanations. A majority of learners constructed partial understandings limited to information recall and simple explanations, and these occasionally contained inaccurate conceptualizations. Web site design features had some influence on the construction of learners' content understandings. Analysis of

Scaffolded Instruction Improves Student Understanding of the Scientific Method & Experimental Design

Science.gov (United States)

D'Costa, Allison R.; Schlueter, Mark A.

2013-01-01

Implementation of a guided-inquiry lab in introductory biology classes, along with scaffolded instruction, improved students' understanding of the scientific method, their ability to design an experiment, and their identification of experimental variables. Pre- and postassessments from experimental versus control sections over three semesters…

Assessing Students' Disciplinary and Interdisciplinary Understanding of Global Carbon Cycling

Science.gov (United States)

You, Hye Sun; Marshall, Jill A.; Delgado, Cesar

2018-01-01

Global carbon cycling describes the movement of carbon through atmosphere, biosphere, geosphere, and hydrosphere; it lies at the heart of climate change and sustainability. To understand the global carbon cycle, students will require "interdisciplinary knowledge." While standards documents in science education have long promoted…

Students' Perceived Understanding: An Alternative Measure and Its Associations with Perceived Teacher Confirmation, Verbal Aggressiveness, and Credibility

Science.gov (United States)

Schrodt, Paul; Finn, Amber N.

2011-01-01

Given recent questions regarding the construct validity of Cahn and Shulman's Feelings of Understanding/Misunderstanding scale, two studies were conducted to develop a low-inference, behavioral measure of students' perceived understanding in the college classroom. In Study One (N = 265), a pilot inventory was developed to measure students'…

Oxide dispersion strengthened ferritic steels: a basic research joint program in France

Science.gov (United States)

Boutard, J.-L.; Badjeck, V.; Barguet, L.; Barouh, C.; Bhattacharya, A.; Colignon, Y.; Hatzoglou, C.; Loyer-Prost, M.; Rouffié, A. L.; Sallez, N.; Salmon-Legagneur, H.; Schuler, T.

2014-12-01

AREVA, CEA, CNRS, EDF and Mécachrome are funding a joint program of basic research on Oxide Dispersion Strengthened Steels (ODISSEE), in support to the development of oxide dispersion strengthened 9-14% Cr ferritic-martensitic steels for the fuel element cladding of future Sodium-cooled fast neutron reactors. The selected objectives and the results obtained so far will be presented concerning (i) physical-chemical characterisation of the nano-clusters as a function of ball-milling process, metallurgical conditions and irradiation, (ii) meso-scale understanding of failure mechanisms under dynamic loading and creep, and, (iii) kinetic modelling of nano-clusters nucleation and α/α‧ unmixing.

Oxide dispersion strengthened ferritic steels: a basic research joint program in France

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boutard, J.-L., E-mail: jean-louis.boutard@cea.fr [Cabinet du Haut-Commissaire, CEA/Saclay, 91191 Gif sur Yvette Cedex (France); Badjeck, V. [LPS, UMR CNRS 8502, Building 510, Université Paris-Sud 11, 91405 Orsay Cedex (France); Barguet, L. [LAUM, UMR CNRS 6613, Building IAM – UFR Sciences, Avenue O. Messiaen, 72085 Le Mans Cedex 9 (France); Barouh, C. [DMN/SRMP, CEA/Saclay, Building 520, 91191 Gif sur Yvette Cedex (France); Bhattacharya, A. [DMN/SRMP, CEA/Saclay, Building 520, 91191 Gif sur Yvette Cedex (France); CSNSM, UMR CNRS 8609, Université Paris-Sud 11, Buildings 104 and 108, 91405 Orsay Campus (France); Colignon, Y. [IM2NP, UMR CNRS 7334, Case 142, Faculté des Sciences, Campus de Saint Jérôme, Aix Marseille Université, 13397 Marseille Cedex 20 (France); Hatzoglou, C. [GPM, UMR CNRS 6634, Technopôle du Madrillet, Avenue de l’Université, BP12, 76801 Saint Etienne du Rouvray Cedex (France); Loyer-Prost, M. [DMN/SRMP, CEA/Saclay, Building 520, 91191 Gif sur Yvette Cedex (France); Rouffié, A.L. [DMN/SRMA, CEA/Saclay, Building 455, 91191 Gif sur Yvette Cedex (France); Sallez, N. [SIMAP, UMR CNRS 5266, INPG, Domaine Universitaire, 1130 rue de la Piscine, BP75, 38402 Saint Martin d’Hères Cedex (France); Salmon-Legagneur, H. [DMN/SRMA, CEA/Saclay, Building 455, 91191 Gif sur Yvette Cedex (France); Schuler, T. [DMN/SRMP, CEA/Saclay, Building 520, 91191 Gif sur Yvette Cedex (France)

2014-12-15

AREVA, CEA, CNRS, EDF and Mécachrome are funding a joint program of basic research on Oxide Dispersion Strengthened Steels (ODISSEE), in support to the development of oxide dispersion strengthened 9–14% Cr ferritic–martensitic steels for the fuel element cladding of future Sodium-cooled fast neutron reactors. The selected objectives and the results obtained so far will be presented concerning (i) physical–chemical characterisation of the nano-clusters as a function of ball-milling process, metallurgical conditions and irradiation, (ii) meso-scale understanding of failure mechanisms under dynamic loading and creep, and, (iii) kinetic modelling of nano-clusters nucleation and α/α′ unmixing.

Oxide dispersion strengthened ferritic steels: a basic research joint program in France

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boutard, J.-L.; Badjeck, V.; Barguet, L.; Barouh, C.; Bhattacharya, A.; Colignon, Y.; Hatzoglou, C.; Loyer-Prost, M.; Rouffié, A.L.; Sallez, N.; Salmon-Legagneur, H.; Schuler, T.

2014-01-01

AREVA, CEA, CNRS, EDF and Mécachrome are funding a joint program of basic research on Oxide Dispersion Strengthened Steels (ODISSEE), in support to the development of oxide dispersion strengthened 9–14% Cr ferritic–martensitic steels for the fuel element cladding of future Sodium-cooled fast neutron reactors. The selected objectives and the results obtained so far will be presented concerning (i) physical–chemical characterisation of the nano-clusters as a function of ball-milling process, metallurgical conditions and irradiation, (ii) meso-scale understanding of failure mechanisms under dynamic loading and creep, and, (iii) kinetic modelling of nano-clusters nucleation and α/α′ unmixing

Using a Virtual Tablet Machine to Improve Student Understanding of the Complex Processes Involved in Tablet Manufacturing.

Science.gov (United States)

Mattsson, Sofia; Sjöström, Hans-Erik; Englund, Claire

2016-06-25

Objective. To develop and implement a virtual tablet machine simulation to aid distance students' understanding of the processes involved in tablet production. Design. A tablet simulation was created enabling students to study the effects different parameters have on the properties of the tablet. Once results were generated, students interpreted and explained them on the basis of current theory. Assessment. The simulation was evaluated using written questionnaires and focus group interviews. Students appreciated the exercise and considered it to be motivational. Students commented that they found the simulation, together with the online seminar and the writing of the report, was beneficial for their learning process. Conclusion. According to students' perceptions, the use of the tablet simulation contributed to their understanding of the compaction process.

The Effects of Swedish Knife Model on Students' Understanding of the Digestive System

Science.gov (United States)

Cerrah Ozsevgec, Lale; Artun, Huseyin; Unal, Melike

2012-01-01

This study was designed to examine the effect of Swedish Knife Model on students' understanding of digestive system. A simple experimental design (pretest-treatment-posttest) was used in the study and internal comparison of the results of the one group was made. The sample consisted of 40 7th grade Turkish students whose ages range from 13 to 15.…

Effect of Process-Oriented Guided-Inquiry Learning on Non-majors Biology Students' Understanding of Biological Classification

Science.gov (United States)

Wozniak, Breann M.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of process-oriented guided-inquiry learning (POGIL) on non-majors college biology students' understanding of biological classification. This study addressed an area of science instruction, POGIL in the non-majors college biology laboratory, which has yet to be qualitatively and quantitatively researched. A concurrent triangulation mixed methods approach was used. Students' understanding of biological classification was measured in two areas: scores on pre and posttests (consisting of 11 multiple choice questions), and conceptions of classification as elicited in pre and post interviews and instructor reflections. Participants were Minnesota State University, Mankato students enrolled in BIOL 100 Summer Session. One section was taught with the traditional curriculum (n = 6) and the other section in the POGIL curriculum (n = 10) developed by the researcher. Three students from each section were selected to take part in pre and post interviews. There were no significant differences within each teaching method (p familiar animal categories and aquatic habitats, unfamiliar organisms, combining and subdividing initial groupings, and the hierarchical nature of classification. The POGIL students were the only group to surpass these challenges after the teaching intervention. This study shows that POGIL is an effective technique at eliciting students' misconceptions, and addressing these misconceptions, leading to an increase in student understanding of biological classification.

The effect of restructuring student writing in the general chemistry laboratory on student understanding of chemistry and on students' approach to the laboratory course

Science.gov (United States)

Rudd, James Andrew, II

Many students encounter difficulties engaging with laboratory-based instruction, and reviews of research have indicated that the value of such instruction is not clearly evident. Traditional forms of writing associated with laboratory activities are commonly in a style used by professional scientists to communicate developed explanations. Students probably lack the interpretative skills of a professional, and writing in this style may not support students in learning how to develop scientific explanations. The Science Writing Heuristic (SWH) is an inquiry-based approach to laboratory instruction designed in part to promote student ability in developing such explanations. However, there is not a convincing body of evidence for the superiority of inquiry-based laboratory instruction in chemistry. In a series of studies, the performance of students using the SWH student template in place of the standard laboratory report format was compared to the performance of students using the standard format. The standard reports had Title, Purpose, Procedure, Data & Observations, Calculations & Graphs, and Discussion sections. The SWH reports had Beginning Questions & Ideas, Tests & Procedures, Observations, Claims, Evidence, and Reflection sections. The pilot study produced evidence that using the SWH improved the quality of laboratory reports, improved student performance on a laboratory exam, and improved student approach to laboratory work. A main study found that SWH students statistically exhibited a better understanding of physical equilibrium when written explanations and equations were analyzed on a lecture exam and performed descriptively better on a physical equilibrium practical exam task. In another main study, the activities covering the general equilibrium concept were restructured as an additional change, and it was found that SWH students exhibited a better understanding of chemical equilibrium as shown by statistically greater success in overcoming the common

The Flipped Classroom and College Physics Students' Motivation and Understanding of Kinematics Graphs

Science.gov (United States)

Cagande, Jeffrey Lloyd L.; Jugar, Richard R.

2018-01-01

Reversing the traditional classroom activities, in the flipped classroom model students view lectures at home and perform activities during class period inside the classroom. This study investigated the effect of a flipped classroom implementation on college physics students' motivation and understanding of kinematics graphs. A Solomon four-group…

Strengthening the Feeling of Identity and Self-esteem Through Group Music and Imagery

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Inge Nygaard

than 4 in the years 2008-2010. I will present two case studies concerning two of the participants taking part in these group experiences. Focus will be on developments in the self-reported problem area of `strengthening the feeling of identity and self-esteem", which both clients shose among different...... understanding). I will present selected excerpts of the client´s processes such as the music they listen to, mandalas, narratives and their closing self reported outcome of the treatment. I will relate this to the theory model and show how strengthening of the feeling of identity and self-esteem through Group...

How can we strengthen students' social relations in order to reduce school dropout? An intervention development study within four Danish vocational schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Ingholt, Liselotte; Sørensen, Betina Bang; Andersen, Susan; Zinckernagel, Line; Friis-Holmberg, Teresa; Frank, Vibeke Asmussen; Stock, Christiane; Tjørnhøj-Thomsen, Tine; Rod, Morten Hulvej

2015-05-22

This article describes the rationale and contents of an intervention program aimed at strengthening students' social relations in order to reduce dropout from vocational schools in Denmark. Taking its theoretical cue from the concept of 'social participation', a qualitative study was performed to investigate the specific relationships between the social environment within the schools and the institutional structures in order to analyse reasons for school dropout and their relation to well-being, cigarette smoking and substance use. The development study was based on ethnographic methods, including 22 qualitative interviews with students 17-19 years old and fieldwork with participant observations at four vocational schools over 40 days, including informal interviews and discussion meetings with managers, teachers, counselors and students. As part of the fieldwork, four additional qualitative interviews and four group interviews were conducted with students 16-25 years old. The qualitative data collection resulted in seven major themes to be addressed in the intervention: social relations, sole focus on professional skills, institutionalized individualization, importance of the introduction period, physical surroundings and schedules, tobacco and cannabis use and communication about drug use. The program addressing these themes incorporates suggestions that are meant to improve how teachers welcome new students, to enable greater integration of social and educational activities and to enhance the capacity of teachers and counselors to deal with drug use problems among students. The development of new intervention programs might benefit from adopting a theoretical and methodological perspective that enables a closer exploration of the everyday social practices in which interventions are embedded. Thus, we aimed to create a comprehensive intervention that worked through organizational changes in everyday school practices. Intervention programs must be planned in

Analysis of the effect of specific vocabulary instruction on high school chemistry students' knowledge and understanding

Science.gov (United States)

Labrosse, Peggy

The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of specific vocabulary instruction on high school chemistry students' knowledge and understanding. Students might be able to formally recite a definition for a term without actually having understood the meaning of the term and its connection to other terms or to related concepts. Researchers (Cassels & Johnstone, 1983; Gabel, 1999; Johnstone, 1991) have been studying the difficulty students have in learning science, particularly chemistry. Gabel (1999) suggests that, "while research into misconceptions (also known as alternative conceptions) and problem-solving has dominated the field for the past 25 years, we are no closer to a solution that would improve the teaching and learning of chemistry" (P. 549). Gabel (1999) relates the difficulty in learning chemistry to use of language. She refers to student difficulty both with words that have more than one meaning in English and with words that are used to mean one idea in chemistry and another idea in every day language. The Frayer Model, a research-based teaching strategy, is a graphic organizer which students use to create meaningful definitions for terms in context (Frayer, Frederick, & Klausmeier, 1969). It was used as the treatment---the specific vocabulary instruction---in this research study. The researcher collected and analyzed data to answer three research questions that focused on the effect of using the Frayer model (a graphic organizer) on high school students' knowledge and understanding of academic language used in chemistry. The research took place in a New England high school. Four intact chemistry classes provided the student participants; two classes were assigned to the treatment group (TG) and two classes were assigned to the control group (CG). The TG received vocabulary instruction on 14 chosen terms using the Frayer Model. The CG received traditional vocabulary instruction with no special attention to the 14 terms selected for this study

Taking part in Nordic collaboration; nursing students' experiences and perceptions from a learning perspective: A qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Westerbotn, Margareta; Kneck, Åsa; Hovland, Olav Johannes; Elrond, Malene; Pedersen, Ingrid; Lejonqvist, Gun-Britt; Dulavik, Johild; Ecklon, Tove; Nilsson, Inga-Lill; Sigurdardottir, Árún K

2015-05-01

Nordic networking of different kinds has a long tradition aiming to increase collaboration and understanding between citizens in different countries. Cultural competence in relation to health care and nursing is important for clinical nurses and is a central issue in nurse education. To gain an understanding of what nurse students experienced and learned during an intensive course in diabetes together with students and nurse educators from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and the Faroe Islands. In 2012, an intensive course within the Nordic network, Nordkvist, was conducted in Faroe Islands with the theme "Nursing - to live a good life with diabetes". To answer the objective of the study, 26 students conducted written reflections based on two questions. The data was analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Through meetings with nurse students and educators from the Nordic countries the intensive course strengthened the students' identification with the nursing profession. The students gained new perspectives on diabetes, such as how complex it can be to live with a chronic illness. Because of the difficulties in understanding one another and because of different mother tongues, the students gained a better understanding of patients' vulnerability in relation to hospital jargon and how it felt to be in an unfamiliar place. The intensive course increased the students' personal and professional growth, cross-cultural competence, and their identification with nursing. Students' understanding of health care in the Nordic countries improved as similarities and differences were recognized. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Understanding the meaning of leadership to the undergraduate nursing student: a phenomenological approach].

Science.gov (United States)

Guerra, Karina Juliana; Spiri, Wilza Carla

2013-01-01

This study aimed at understanding the meaning of leadership to undergraduate nursing students and the expectation related to their professional practice. Phenomenology was used as theoretical framework. Fifteen undergraduate nursing students were recruited as subjects and answered the following question: "What do you understand by leadership, and how can it be applied in your professional practice?" The topics which were revealed and analyzed, Leadership Styles and Leadership Exercise, enabled us to understand that the meaning attributed to leadership is unveiled as a dynamic process, and the style adopted is the form to lead a team; therefore, an ideal leadership style does not exist. In teaching, the leadership style began to be discussed when the participant forms of personnel management were approached. In leadership practice, the dissociation between leadership theory and practice is emphasized, pointing out that integration with practice is relevant for leadership learning.

Principles of economics crucial to pharmacy students' understanding of the prescription drug market.

Science.gov (United States)

Rattinger, Gail B; Jain, Rahul; Ju, Jing; Mullins, C Daniel

2008-06-15

Many pharmacy schools have increased the amount of economics coursework to which pharmacy students are exposed in their prepharmacy and pharmacy curriculums. Students obtain competencies aimed at understanding the basic concepts of microeconomic theory, such as supply and demand. However, pharmacy students often have trouble applying these principles to real world pharmaceuticals or healthcare markets. Our objective is to make economics more relevant for pharmacy students. Specifically, we detail and provide pharmacy-relevant examples of the effects of monopoly power, barriers to marketplace entry, regulatory environment, third party insurance, information asymmetry and unanticipated changes in the marketplace on the supply and demand for pharmaceuticals and healthcare services.

Principles of Economics Crucial to Pharmacy Students' Understanding of the Prescription Drug Market

Science.gov (United States)

Jain, Rahul; Ju, Jing; Mullins, C. Daniel

2008-01-01

Many pharmacy schools have increased the amount of economics coursework to which pharmacy students are exposed in their prepharmacy and pharmacy curriculums. Students obtain competencies aimed at understanding the basic concepts of microeconomic theory, such as supply and demand. However, pharmacy students often have trouble applying these principles to real world pharmaceuticals or healthcare markets. Our objective is to make economics more relevant for pharmacy students. Specifically, we detail and provide pharmacy-relevant examples of the effects of monopoly power, barriers to marketplace entry, regulatory environment, third party insurance, information asymmetry and unanticipated changes in the marketplace on the supply and demand for pharmaceuticals and healthcare services. PMID:18698403

Measuring University students' understanding of the greenhouse effect - a comparison of multiple-choice, short answer and concept sketch assessment tools with respect to students' mental models

Science.gov (United States)

Gold, A. U.; Harris, S. E.

2013-12-01

The greenhouse effect comes up in most discussions about climate and is a key concept related to climate change. Existing studies have shown that students and adults alike lack a detailed understanding of this important concept or might hold misconceptions. We studied the effectiveness of different interventions on University-level students' understanding of the greenhouse effect. Introductory level science students were tested for their pre-knowledge of the greenhouse effect using validated multiple-choice questions, short answers and concept sketches. All students participated in a common lesson about the greenhouse effect and were then randomly assigned to one of two lab groups. One group explored an existing simulation about the greenhouse effect (PhET-lesson) and the other group worked with absorption spectra of different greenhouse gases (Data-lesson) to deepen the understanding of the greenhouse effect. All students completed the same assessment including multiple choice, short answers and concept sketches after participation in their lab lesson. 164 students completed all the assessments, 76 completed the PhET lesson and 77 completed the data lesson. 11 students missed the contrasting lesson. In this presentation we show the comparison between the multiple-choice questions, short answer questions and the concept sketches of students. We explore how well each of these assessment types represents student's knowledge. We also identify items that are indicators of the level of understanding of the greenhouse effect as measured in correspondence of student answers to an expert mental model and expert responses. Preliminary data analysis shows that student who produce concept sketch drawings that come close to expert drawings also choose correct multiple-choice answers. However, correct multiple-choice answers are not necessarily an indicator that a student produces an expert-like correlating concept sketch items. Multiple-choice questions that require detailed

Life on the Number Line: Routes to Understanding Fraction Magnitude for Students With Difficulties Learning Mathematics.

Science.gov (United States)

Gersten, Russell; Schumacher, Robin F; Jordan, Nancy C

Magnitude understanding is critical for students to develop a deep understanding of fractions and more advanced mathematics curriculum. The research reports in this special issue underscore magnitude understanding for fractions and emphasize number lines as both an assessment and an instructional tool. In this commentary, we discuss how number lines broaden the concept of fractions for students who are tied to the more general part-whole representations of area models. We also discuss how number lines, compared to other representations, are a superior and more mathematically correct way to explain fraction concepts.

Active Learning Session Based on Didactical Engineering Framework for Conceptual Change in Students' Equilibrium and Stability Understanding

Science.gov (United States)

Canu, Michael; Duque, Mauricio; de Hosson, Cécile

2017-01-01

Engineering students on control courses lack a deep understanding of equilibrium and stability that are crucial concepts in this discipline. Several studies have shown that students find it difficult to understand simple familiar or academic static equilibrium cases as well as dynamic ones from mechanics even if they know the discipline's criteria…

An international comparison of grade 6 students' understanding of the equal sign.

Science.gov (United States)

Capraro, Robert M; Capraro, Mary Margaret; Yetkiner, Z Ebrar; Ozel, Serkan; Kim, Hae Gyu; Küçük, Ali Riza

2010-02-01

This study extends the scope of international comparisons examining students' conceptions of the equal sign. Specifically, Korean (n = 193) and Turkish (n = 334) Grade 6 students were examined to assess whether their conceptions and responses were similar to prior findings published for Chinese and U.S. students and to hypothesize relationships about problem types and conceptual understanding of the equal sign. About 59.6% of the Korean participants correctly answered all items providing conceptually accurate solutions, as compared to 28.4% of the Turkish sample. Comparison with previous studies in China and the USA indicated that the Chinese sample outperformed those from other nations, followed by Korea, Turkey, and the USA. In large-scale international studies such as Trends in International Mathematics and Science (TIMSS) and the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), students from China and Korea have been among the high achievers.

Using Interactive Technology to Support Students' Understanding of the Greenhouse Effect and Global Warming

Science.gov (United States)

Varma, Keisha; Linn, Marcia C.

2012-01-01

In this work, we examine middle school students' understanding of the greenhouse effect and global warming. We designed and refined a technology-enhanced curriculum module called "Global Warming: Virtual Earth". In the module activities, students conduct virtual experiments with a visualization of the greenhouse effect. They analyze data and draw…

An Australian study of possible selves perceived by undergraduate engineering students

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Bennett, Dawn; Male, Sally A.

2017-11-01

In this study, we worked with second-year engineering students at an Australian university to examine previously identified threshold concepts within the theoretical framework of Possible Selves. Using workshops as the context for intensive work with students, students were encouraged to consider their future lives and work, including their engineering fears, expectations, and aspirations. The findings revealed many students to have a poor understanding of the realities of engineering work. Moreover, perceived gaps between self-efficacy and the requirements of engineering work appeared to be motivating if students deemed it possible to reduce the gap, but demotivating if they identified a characteristic over which there was perceived to be no control. The study suggests that these engineering students needed more opportunities to explore both the roles of engineers and their own possible selves. Overall, the findings indicate that higher education students may need encouragement and support to explore potential future roles, and they strengthen calls for further research in this area.

Speech-language pathology students' self-reports on voice training: easier to understand or to do?

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Lindhe, Christina; Hartelius, Lena

2009-01-01

The aim of the study was to describe the subjective ratings of the course 'Training of the student's own voice and speech', from a student-centred perspective. A questionnaire was completed after each of the six individual sessions. Six speech and language pathology (SLP) students rated how they perceived the practical exercises in terms of doing and understanding. The results showed that five of the six participants rated the exercises as significantly easier to understand than to do. The exercises were also rated as easier to do over time. Results are interpreted within in a theoretical framework of approaches to learning. The findings support the importance of both the physical and reflective aspects of the voice training process.

Attempts for a Better Understanding of Entropy by the Students in CMU

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Feiza Memet

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Regarding thermodynamics, the perception of students is that unlike the first law, the second law has not simple statements. Despite of this, the first two laws are related to each other and their combination shows the influence of entropy on energy. The understanding of the second law is the path to student knowledge related to the increase in entropy and the decrease of the capacity of energy to do useful work or energy. This paper describes an experiment carried out in Constanta Maritime University (CMU, with students enrolled in Electromechanics Faculty, in the second year of study, which reveals the need to enrich the traditional course of Thermodynamics, in order to increase the ability of students to deal with the second law and the concept of entropy.

Race cars and the hellbox:Understanding the development of proficiency among digital art students

OpenAIRE

Paquette, Andrew; Reedy, Gabriel; Hatzipanagos, Stylianos

2016-01-01

Educating students in the discipline of digital art to a professional standard has generally proven difficult. In an effort to understand the problem, a first-year undergraduate modelling course cohort was observed. Some students in this course progressed from being novices to acquiring proficiency during the nine-week term of the course. Computer Graphics (CG) modelling professionals evaluated student work to confirm their progress. Traditional models of proficiency development expect that p...

Strengthening public health education in population and reproductive health through an innovative academic partnership in Africa: the Gates partners experience.

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Oni, Gbolahan; Fatusi, Adesegun; Tsui, Amy; Enquselassie, Fikre; Ojengbede, Oladosu; Agbenyega, Tsiri; Ojofeitimi, Ebenezer; Taulo, Frank; Quakyi, Isabella

2011-01-01

Poor reproductive health constitutes one of the leading public health problems in the world, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We report here an academic partnership that commenced in 2003 between a US institution and six universities in SSA. The partnership addresses the human resources development challenge in Africa by strengthening public health education and research capacity to improve population and reproductive health (PRH) outcomes in low-resource settings. The partnership's core activities focused on increasing access to quality education, strengthening health research capacity and translating scholarship and science into policy and practices. Partnership programmes focused on the educational dimension of the human resources equation provide students with improved learning facilities and enhanced work environments and also provide faculty with opportunities for professional development and an enhanced capacity for curriculum delivery. By 2007, 48 faculty members from the six universities in SSA attended PRH courses at Johns Hopkins University, 93 PRH courses were offered across the six universities, 625 of their master's students elected PRH concentrations and 158 had graduated. With the graduation of these and future student cohorts, the universities in SSA will systematically be expanding the number of public health practitioners and strengthening programme effectiveness to resolve reproductive health needs. Some challenges facing the partnership are described in this article.

Strengthening Internal Quality Assurance Processes: Facilitating Student Evaluation Committees to Contribute

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Stalmeijer, Renée; Whittingham, Jill; de Grave, Willem; Dolmans, Diana

2016-01-01

Student evaluation committees play a crucial role in internal quality assurance processes as representatives of the student body. However, the students on these committees sometimes experience difficulty in providing constructive and structured feedback to faculty in an environment characterised by a strong power differential between student and…

The Effect of a Conceptual Change Approach on Understanding of Students' Chemical Equilibrium Concepts

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Atasoy, Basri; Akkus, Huseyin; Kadayifci, Hakki

2009-01-01

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of a conceptual change approach over traditional instruction on tenth-grade students' conceptual achievement in understanding chemical equilibrium. The study was conducted in two classes of the same teacher with participation of a total of 44 tenth-grade students. In this study, a…

The Effect of Various Media Scaffolding on Increasing Understanding of Students' Geometry Concepts

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Sutiarso, Sugeng; Coesamin, M.; Nurhanurawati

2018-01-01

This study is a quasi-experimental research with pretest-posttest control group design, which aims to determine (1) the tendency of students in using various media scaffolding based on gender, and (2) effect of media scaffolding on increasing understanding of students' geometry concepts. Media scaffolding used this study is chart, props, and…

Developing Conceptual Understanding of Fractions with Year Five and Six Students

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Mills, Judith

2016-01-01

This paper presents findings from classroom observations of one teacher (Beth). It focusses on the development of conceptual understanding of fractions with her students, articulated in Kieren's sub-constructs (Kieren, 1980,1988), and Hansen's progressions (Hansen, 2005). The study covers three lessons within a six week unit. Findings from this…

An Interactive Modeling Lesson Increases Students' Understanding of Ploidy during Meiosis

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Wright, L. Kate; Newman, Dina L.

2011-01-01

Chromosome structure is confusing to students at all levels, and chromosome behavior during meiosis is a notoriously difficult topic. Undergraduate biology majors are exposed to the process of meiosis numerous times during their presecondary and postsecondary education, yet understanding of key concepts, such as the point at which haploidy is…

Do Students Really Understand Topology in the Lesson? A Case Study

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Narli, Serkan

2010-01-01

This study aims to specify to what extent students understand topology during the lesson and to determine possible misconceptions. 14 teacher trainees registered at Secondary School Mathematics education department were observed in the topology lessons throughout a semester and data collected at the first topology lesson is presented here.…

Students' Understanding of Equilibrium and Stability: The Case of Dynamic Systems

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Canu, Michaël; de Hosson, Cécile; Duque, Mauricio

2016-01-01

Engineering students in control courses have been observed to lack an understanding of equilibrium and stability, both of which are crucial concepts in this discipline. The introduction of these concepts is generally based on the study of classical examples from Newtonian mechanics supplemented with a control system. Equilibrium and stability are…

Assessing Freshman Engineering Students' Understanding of Ethical Behavior.

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Henslee, Amber M; Murray, Susan L; Olbricht, Gayla R; Ludlow, Douglas K; Hays, Malcolm E; Nelson, Hannah M

2017-02-01

Academic dishonesty, including cheating and plagiarism, is on the rise in colleges, particularly among engineering students. While students decide to engage in these behaviors for many different reasons, academic integrity training can help improve their understanding of ethical decision making. The two studies outlined in this paper assess the effectiveness of an online module in increasing academic integrity among first semester engineering students. Study 1 tested the effectiveness of an academic honesty tutorial by using a between groups design with a Time 1- and Time 2-test. An academic honesty quiz assessed participants' knowledge at both time points. Study 2, which incorporated an improved version of the module and quiz, utilized a between groups design with three assessment time points. The additional Time 3-test allowed researchers to test for retention of information. Results were analyzed using ANCOVA and t tests. In Study 1, the experimental group exhibited significant improvement on the plagiarism items, but not the total score. However, at Time 2 there was no significant difference between groups after controlling for Time 1 scores. In Study 2, between- and within-group analyses suggest there was a significant improvement in total scores, but not plagiarism scores, after exposure to the tutorial. Overall, the academic integrity module impacted participants as evidenced by changes in total score and on specific plagiarism items. Although future implementation of the tutorial and quiz would benefit from modifications to reduce ceiling effects and improve assessment of knowledge, the results suggest such tutorial may be one valuable element in a systems approach to improving the academic integrity of engineering students.

The understanding of core pharmacological concepts among health care students in their final semester.

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Aronsson, Patrik; Booth, Shirley; Hägg, Staffan; Kjellgren, Karin; Zetterqvist, Ann; Tobin, Gunnar; Reis, Margareta

2015-12-29

The overall aim of the study was to explore health care students´ understanding of core concepts in pharmacology. An interview study was conducted among twelve students in their final semester of the medical program (n = 4), the nursing program (n = 4), and the specialist nursing program in primary health care (n = 4) from two Swedish universities. The participants were individually presented with two pharmacological clinically relevant written patient cases, which they were to analyze and propose a solution to. Participants were allowed to use the Swedish national drug formulary. Immediately thereafter the students were interviewed about their assessments. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. A thematic analysis was used to identify units of meaning in each interview. The units were organized into three clusters: pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, and drug interactions. Subsequent procedure consisted of scoring the quality of students´ understanding of core concepts. Non-parametric statistics were employed. The study participants were in general able to define pharmacological concepts, but showed less ability to discuss the meaning of the concepts in depth and to implement these in a clinical context. The participants found it easier to grasp concepts related to pharmacodynamics than pharmacokinetics and drug interactions. These results indicate that education aiming to prepare future health care professionals for understanding of more complex pharmacological reasoning and decision-making needs to be more focused and effective.

Programs and Practices: Students' Historical Understandings in International Baccalaureate, Advanced Placement and Regular World History Courses

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Ryter, Di

2015-01-01

World history has become increasingly important and has often been a required course for high school students in the United States. This multi-case study provides examples and descriptions of students' demonstration of historical understandings. It also includes multiple perspectives and experiences of world history students and teachers, and…

History as narrative: the nature and quality of historical understanding for students with LD.

Science.gov (United States)

Espin, Christine A; Cevasco, Jazmin; van den Broek, Paul; Baker, Scott; Gersten, Russell

2007-01-01

In this study, we examine the nature and quality of students' comprehension of history. Specifically, we explore whether cognitive-psychological theories developed to capture the comprehension of narrative text can be used to capture the comprehension of history. Participants were 36 students with learning disabilities who had taken part in an earlier study designed to investigate the effects of an interactive instructional intervention in history. The results of the original study supported the effectiveness of the intervention in terms of amount recalled. The results of the present study reveal that historical understanding can be characterized as the construction of meaning through the creation of a causal network of events. The study of history within a causal network framework has implications for understanding the nature and quality of students' learning of history, and for potentially identifying sources of failure in learning.

Students about politics and national identification in sports

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Bazić Jovan R.

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper discusses the results of the research on politics and national identification in the sports, which was conducted among the students of the Faculty of Sports and Physical Education at the University of Kosovska Mitrovica, Niš and Banja Luka. This study included a total of 464 students, and it was conducted in April and May 2013 in Leposavić, Niš and Banja Luka. The main goal of this research is to determine to which extent the students recognize the influence of politics in the sports at the level of everyday practice, and how they view the process of consolidation and expression of national identity in sports. This paper also points to the relevant theoretical and methodological approaches to understanding politics, sports and national identity, as well as their mutual relations. The results of the survey show that students recognize not only the impact of politics in sports but also the expression of national identification in sports competitions, as well as in the events relating to them, in which an exceptional role is played by the media of mass communication. In their responses to the questions, the students indicated that the politics has a major impact on the sports, and that sports have a significant impact on politics, noting that the success of the top sportsmen, especially in international competitions, encourage the awakening of national feelings, strengthen national identification and contribute to the strengthening of patriotism. This effect is particularly reinforced by the behavior and statements of top athletes in the media, after major sporting results, as well as the statements of the highest state officials on these occasions. That is why these achievements are of great significance for the promotion of the state and the nation, but they are, on the other hand, also very useful for personal promotion of politicians and political parties in power. The students also observed the importance of the role of the

Influence of Strengthening Mathematics and Science in Secondary Education (SMASSE) in Service Education and Training(INSET) on the Attitude of Students towards Mathematics Perfomance in Public Secondary Schools of Rangwe Division, Homa-Bay Sub County-Kenya

Science.gov (United States)

Wafubwa, Ruth Nanjekho

2015-01-01

The general performance in mathematics in Kenya has been declining over the past years. This prompted the researchers to investigate the influence of Strengthening Mathematics and Science in Secondary Education (SMASSE) In Service Education and Training (INSET) on students' attitudes towards mathematics performance in public secondary schools of…

Artificial Intelligence-Based Student Learning Evaluation: A Concept Map-Based Approach for Analyzing a Student's Understanding of a Topic

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Jain, G. Panka; Gurupur, Varadraj P.; Schroeder, Jennifer L.; Faulkenberry, Eileen D.

2014-01-01

In this paper, we describe a tool coined as artificial intelligence-based student learning evaluation tool (AISLE). The main purpose of this tool is to improve the use of artificial intelligence techniques in evaluating a student's understanding of a particular topic of study using concept maps. Here, we calculate the probability distribution of…

Why should I care? Engaging students in conceptual understanding using global context to develop social attitudes.

Science.gov (United States)

Forder, S. E.; Welstead, C.; Pritchard, M.

2014-12-01

A glance through the Harvard Business Review reveals many suggestions and research pieces reviewing sales and marketing techniques. Most educators will be familiar with the notion that making accurate first impressions and being responsive, whilst maintaining pace is critical to engaging an audience. There are lessons to be learnt from industry that can significantly impact upon our teaching. Eisenkraft, in his address to the NSTA, proposed four essential questions. This presentation explores one of those questions: 'Why should I care?', and discusses why this question is crucial for engaging students by giving a clear purpose for developing their scientific understanding. Additionally, this presentation explores how The ISF Academy has adapted the NGSS, using the 14 Grand Engineering Challenges and the IB MYP, to provide current, authentic global contexts, in order to give credibility to the concepts, understandings and skills being learnt. The provision of global contexts across units and within lessons supports a platform for students to have the freedom to explore their own sense of social responsibility. The Science Department believes that planning lessons with tasks that elaborate on the student's new conceptualisations, has helped to transfer the student's new understanding into social behavior beyond the classroom. Furthermore, extension tasks have been used to transfer conceptual understanding between different global contexts.

Understanding by Design (UbD) in EFL Teaching: Teachers' Professional Development and Students' Achievement

Science.gov (United States)

Yurtseven, Nihal; Altun, Sertel

2017-01-01

Concepts such as teachers' professional development and students' achievement act as the driving force for the development of each in a causal relationship in EFL teaching, as in many other disciplines. The purpose of this study is to investigate the change Understanding by Design (UbD) made on teachers' professional development and students'…

Problematizing a general physics class: Understanding student engagement

Science.gov (United States)

Spaid, Mark Randall

This research paper describes the problems in democratizing a high school physics course and the disparate engagement students during class activities that promote scientific inquiry. Results from the Learning Orientation Questionnaire (Martinez, 2000) guide the participant observations and semi-formal interviews. Approximately 60% of the participants self-report a "resistant" or "conforming" approach to learning science; they expect to receive science knowledge from the teacher, and their engagement is influenced by affective and conative factors. These surface learners exhibit second order thinking (Kegan, 1994), do not understand abstract science concepts, and learn best from structured inquiry. To sustain engagement, conforming learners require motivational and instructional discourse from their teacher and peers. Resisting learners do not value learning and do not engage in most science class activities. The "performing" learners are able to deal with abstractions and can see relationships between lessons and activities, but they do not usually self-reflect or think critically (they are between Kegan's second order and third order thinking). They may select a deeper learning strategy if they value the knowledge for a future goal; however, they are oriented toward assessment and rely on the science teacher as an authority. They are influenced by affective and conative factors during structured and guided inquiry-based teaching, and benefit from motivational discourse and sustain engagement if they are interested in the topic. The transforming learners are more independent, self-assessing and self-directed. These students are third order thinkers (Kegan, 1994) who hold a sophisticated epistemology that includes critical thinking and reflection. These students select deep learning strategies without regard to affective and conative factors. They value instructional discourse from the teacher, but prefer less structured inquiry activities. Although specific

The InVEST Volcanic Concept Survey: Exploring Student Understanding about Volcanoes

Science.gov (United States)

Parham, Thomas L., Jr.; Cervato, Cinzia; Gallus, William A., Jr.; Larsen, Michael; Hobbs, Jon; Stelling, Pete; Greenbowe, Thomas; Gupta, Tanya; Knox, John A.; Gill, Thomas E.

2010-01-01

Results from the Volcanic Concept Survey (VCS) indicated that many undergraduates do not fully understand volcanic systems and plate tectonics. During the 2006 academic year, a ten-item conceptual survey was distributed to undergraduate students enrolled in Earth science courses at five U.S. colleges and universities. A trained team of graders…

How can we strengthen students’ social relations in order to reduce school dropout?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ingholt, Liselotte; Sørensen, Betina Bang; Andersen, Susan

2015-01-01

on ethnographic methods, including 22 qualitative interviews with students 17-19 years old and fieldwork with participant observations at four vocational schools over 40 days, including informal interviews and discussion meetings with managers, teachers, counselors and students. As part of the fieldwork, four......BACKGROUND: This article describes the rationale and contents of an intervention program aimed at strengthening students' social relations in order to reduce dropout from vocational schools in Denmark. Taking its theoretical cue from the concept of 'social participation', a qualitative study...... was performed to investigate the specific relationships between the social environment within the schools and the institutional structures in order to analyse reasons for school dropout and their relation to well-being, cigarette smoking and substance use. METHODS: The development study was based...

Using Content-Aligned Assessments to Identify Weaknesses in Students' Understanding of Fundamental Weather and Climate Ideas

Science.gov (United States)

Wertheim, J.; Willard, S.

2011-12-01

There is growing interest in ensuring that citizens understand weather and climate sufficiently to make informed decisions, and these topics are gaining increased attention in K-12 education. The National Research Council recently released A Framework for K-12 Science Education with the expectation that U.S. 12th graders must have a sophisticated knowledge of climate change, including the role of deep time, variability, and computer modeling in the prediction of climate impacts on the planet and human activity. This requirement demands that students extend their understanding of climate change to the past and future, but it is important to recognize that many students know little about prerequisite ideas, such as daily and annual weather and climate processes, and this problem must be addressed prior to introducing the complexities of the climate system. In order to diagnose weaknesses in students' foundational understanding of the complex climate system, we primarily assessed a middle school (MS)-level understanding of the core elements of the system, in addition to a high school (HS)-level understanding of seasons. We described grade appropriate, coherent, functioning conceptual models for each targeted idea, and decomposed them into explicit learning goals. We then applied Project 2061's rigorous item development procedure to produce 235 high-quality, misconception-based multiple choice test items. These items were tested with a national sample of approximately 20,000 students, grades 6-12, in two phases (Spring 2010 & 2011). Here we report results from the second phase, including items targeting knowledge about convection, daily and annual air temperature patterns, factors that influence air temperature, and seasons. Overall, HS students outperformed MS students on these items by an average of only 3% (MS:31% correct; HS:34% correct). These data show a few strong misconceptions (e.g., 47% of students think that the North Pole is always angled toward the Sun

Geoscience Academic Provenance: A Theoretical Framework for Understanding Geoscience Students' Pathways

Science.gov (United States)

Houlton, H.; Keane, C.

2012-04-01

The demand and employment opportunities for geoscientists in the United States are projected to increase 23% from 2008 to 2018 (Gonzales, 2011). Despite this trend, there is a disconnect between undergraduate geoscience students and their desire to pursue geoscience careers. A theoretical framework was developed to understand the reasons why students decide to major in the geosciences and map those decisions to their career aspirations (Houlton, 2010). A modified critical incident study was conducted to develop the pathway model from 17, one-hour long semi-structured interviews of undergraduate geoscience majors from two Midwest Research Institutions (Houlton, 2010). Geoscience Academic Provenance maps geoscience students' initial interests, entry points into the major, critical incidents and future career goals as a pathway, which elucidates the relationships between each of these components. Analyses identified three geoscience student population groups that followed distinct pathways: Natives, Immigrants and Refugees. A follow up study was conducted in 2011 to ascertain whether these students continued on their predicted pathways, and if not, reasons for attrition. Geoscientists can use this framework as a guide to inform future recruitment and retention initiatives and target these geoscience population groups for specific employment sectors.

Applying principles of health system strengthening to eye care

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Karl Blanchet

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Understanding Health systems have now become the priority focus of researchers and policy makers, who have progressively moved away from a project-centred perspectives. The new tendency is to facilitate a convergence between health system developers and disease-specific programme managers in terms of both thinking and action, and to reconcile both approaches: one focusing on integrated health systems and improving the health status of the population and the other aiming at improving access to health care. Eye care interventions particularly in developing countries have generally been vertically implemented (e.g. trachoma, cataract surgeries often with parallel organizational structures or specialised disease specific services. With the emergence of health system strengthening in health strategies and in the service delivery of interventions there is a need to clarify and examine inputs in terms governance, financing and management. This present paper aims to clarify key concepts in health system strengthening and describe the various components of the framework as applied in eye care interventions.

Characterising the Development of the Understanding of Human Body Systems in High-School Biology Students--A Longitudinal Study

Science.gov (United States)

Snapir, Zohar; Eberbach, Catherine; Ben-Zvi-Assaraf, Orit; Hmelo-Silver, Cindy; Tripto, Jaklin

2017-01-01

Science education today has become increasingly focused on research into complex natural, social and technological systems. In this study, we examined the development of high-school biology students' systems understanding of the human body, in a three-year longitudinal study. The development of the students' system understanding was evaluated…

Instructional Design as Resource for the Strengthening of the Regional Identity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carol del Carmen Terán González

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The present investigation takes as a fundamental goal, the elaboration of an instructional digital design that contributes to the strengthening of the regional identity of the students. The study is based on the theoretical postulates of: UNESCO (2004, CBN (1997, Ausubel (1983, Vygotsky, Rodríguez (2001, Careaga (2001, Galvis (1992, Pastorini, (2000, Salazar (2008, Rosario (2005, Bernice McCarthy (1987, among others. The same one, adopted the type of descriptive investigation, with a field design placed in the modality of viable project. The population is constituted by 12 teachers, and 40 students of the sixth degree. For the diagnostic phase a questionnaire will be applied with 14 items for teachers and students, the validation will be of content across the experts' judgment. In conclusion, there exists weakness for the constitutive elements of the historical memory as part of the regional identity.

Strengthening and elongation mechanism of Lanthanum-doped Titanium-Zirconium-Molybdenum alloy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hu, Ping, E-mail: huping1985@126.com [School of Metallurgy Engineering, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an 710055 (China); Jinduicheng Molybdenum Co., Ltd., Xi’an 710068 (China); Hu, Bo-liang; Wang, Kuai-she; Song, Rui; Yang, Fan [School of Metallurgy Engineering, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an 710055 (China); Yu, Zhi-tao [Ruifulai Tungsten & Molybdenum Co., Ltd., Xi’an 721914 (China); Tan, Jiang-fei [School of Metallurgy Engineering, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an 710055 (China); Cao, Wei-cheng; Liu, Dong-xin; An, Geng [Jinduicheng Molybdenum Co., Ltd., Xi’an 710068 (China); Guo, Lei [Ruifulai Tungsten & Molybdenum Co., Ltd., Xi’an 721914 (China); Yu, Hai-liang [School of Mechanical, Materials and Mechatronics Engineering, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522 (Australia)

2016-12-15

The microstructural contributes to understand the strengthening and elongation mechanism in Lanthanum-doped Titanium-Zirconium-Molybdenum alloy. Lanthanum oxide particles not only act as heterogeneous nucleation core, but also act as the second phase to hinder the grain growth during sintering crystallization. The molybdenum substrate formed sub-grain under the effect of second phase when the alloy rolled to plate.

Improving student understanding in web programming material through multimedia adventure games

Science.gov (United States)

Fitriasari, N. S.; Ashiddiqi, M. F.; Nurdin, E. A.

2018-05-01

This study aims to make multimedia adventure games and find out the improvement of learners’ understanding after being given treatment of using multimedia adventure game in learning Web Programming. Participants of this study are students of class X (ten) in one of the Vocational Schools (SMK) in Indonesia. The material of web programming is a material that difficult enough to be understood by the participant therefore needed tools to facilitate the participants to understand the material. Solutions offered in this study is by using multimedia adventures game. Multimedia has been created using Construct2 and measured understood with method Non-equivalent Control Group Design. Pre-test and post-test has given to learners who received treatment using the multimedia adventure showed increase in understanding web programming material.

Strengthening Student Thinking and Writing about World History

Science.gov (United States)

Balantic, Jeannette; Fregosi, Erica

2012-01-01

According to the authors, five years ago their school district embraced Understanding by Design as the organizing framework for curriculum. The emphasis on enduring understandings and essential questions led the sixth grade social studies teachers to reevaluate what they were teaching in their World History Curriculum. Together the authors worked…

Seafloor Eruptions Offer a Teachable Moment to Help SEAS Students Understand Important Geological and Ecological Processes

Science.gov (United States)

Goehring, L.; Williams, C. S.

2006-12-01

In education parlance, a teachable moment is an opportunity that arises when students are engaged and primed to learn, typically in response to some memorable event. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, even natural disasters, if meaningful to the student, often serve to catalyze intense learning. Recent eruptions at the East Pacific Rise offer a potential teachable moment for students and teachers involved with SEAS, a Ridge 2000 education outreach program. SEAS uses a combination of web-facilitated and teacher-directed activities to make the remote deep-sea environment and the process of science relevant and meaningful. SEAS is a web-based, inquiry-oriented education program for middle and high school students. It features the science associated with Ridge 2000 research. Since 2003, SEAS has focused on the integrated study site at the East Pacific Rise (EPR) to help students understand geological and ecological processes at mid-ocean ridges and hydrothermal vents. SEAS students study EPR bathymetry maps, images of lava formations, photomosaics of diffuse flow communities, succession in the Bio-Geo Transect, as well as current research conducted during spring cruises. In the Classroom to Sea Lab, students make direct comparisons between shallow-water mussels and vent mussels (from the EPR) to understand differences in feeding strategies. The recent eruptions and loss of seafloor fauna at this site offer the Ridge 2000 program the opportunity to help students better understand the ephemeral and episodic nature of ridge environments, as well as the realities and processes of science (particularly field science). In January 2007, the SEAS program will again sail with a Ridge 2000 research team, and will work with scientists to report findings through the SEAS website. The eruptions at the EPR covered much of the study site, and scientists' instruments and experiments, in fresh lava. We intend to highlight the recency and effect of the eruptions, using the students

Using Self-Efficacy Beliefs to Understand How Students in a General Chemistry Course Approach the Exam Process

Science.gov (United States)

Willson-Conrad, Angela; Kowalske, Megan Grunert

2018-01-01

Retention of students who major in STEM continues to be a major concern for universities. Many students cite poor teaching and disappointing grades as reasons for dropping out of STEM courses. Current college chemistry courses often assess what a student has learned through summative exams. To understand students' experiences of the exam process,…

Proportional Reasoning and Related Concepts: Analysis of Gaps and Understandings of Middle Grade Students

Science.gov (United States)

Ojose, Bobby

2015-01-01

This study investigated proportional reasoning and the related concepts of decimal, percent, and ratio. In particular, the research focused on analyzing the gaps and understandings that grades 6, 7, and 8 students have and advanced factors for such gaps and understandings. The study employed a mixed method approach in which quantitative data was…

Implementation of Scientific Community Laboratories and Their Effect on Student Conceptual Learning, Attitudes, and Understanding of Uncertainty

Science.gov (United States)

Lark, Adam

Scientific Community Laboratories, developed by The University of Maryland, have shown initial promise as laboratories meant to emulate the practice of doing physics. These laboratories have been re-created by incorporating their design elements with the University of Toledo course structure and resources. The laboratories have been titled the Scientific Learning Community (SLC) Laboratories. A comparative study between these SLC laboratories and the University of Toledo physics department's traditional laboratories was executed during the fall 2012 semester on first semester calculus-based physics students. Three tests were executed as pre-test and post-tests to capture the change in students' concept knowledge, attitudes, and understanding of uncertainty. The Force Concept Inventory (FCI) was used to evaluate students' conceptual changes through the semester and average normalized gains were compared between both traditional and SLC laboratories. The Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey for Experimental Physics (E-CLASS) was conducted to elucidate students' change in attitudes through the course of each laboratory. Finally, interviews regarding data analysis and uncertainty were transcribed and coded to track changes in the way students understand uncertainty and data analysis in experimental physics after their participation in both laboratory type. Students in the SLC laboratories showed a notable an increase conceptual knowledge and attitudes when compared to traditional laboratories. SLC students' understanding of uncertainty showed most improvement, diverging completely from students in the traditional laboratories, who declined throughout the semester.

Quiet Ego, Self-Regulatory Skills, and Perceived Stress in College Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Wayment, Heidi A; Cavolo, Keragan

2018-04-13

Examine the unique contributions of self-control and grit subscales (perseverance, interest consistency) as potential mediators of the relationship between quiet ego characteristics and less perceived stress in college students. Data from 1117 college students were collected between October, 2015 and May, 2016. The sample was split randomly into exploratory and confirmatory samples. Multiple mediator models were tested with PROCESS module (SPSS v. 24) in both samples. Hypotheses were largely confirmed with self-control fully mediating the link between quiet ego and perceived stress in both samples. Although many self-regulatory constructs may argue for their positive impact on college student outcomes, interventions that strengthen self-control, and not grit, may be most promising to reduce perceived stress. Further, interventions to strengthen quiet ego characteristics may be beneficial for strengthening self-control in college students.

The Meta Language of Accounting: What's the Level of Students' Understanding?

Science.gov (United States)

Elson, Raymond J.; O'Callaghan, Susanne; Walker, John P.; Williams, Robert

2013-01-01

Students rely on rote knowledge to learn accounting concepts. However, this approach does not allow them to understanding the meta language of accounting. Meta language is simply the concepts and terms that are used in a profession and are easily understood by its users. Terms such as equity, assets, and balance sheet are part of the accounting…

Deepening Understanding of Prior Knowledge: What Diverse First-Generation College Students in the U.S. Can Teach Us

Science.gov (United States)

Castillo-Montoya, Milagros

2017-01-01

Educational research indicates that teachers revealing and utilizing students' prior knowledge supports students' academic learning. Yet, the variation in students' prior knowledge is not fully known. To better understand students' prior knowledge, I drew on sociocultural learning theories to examine racially and ethnically diverse college…

Evaluating role of interactive visualization tool in improving students' conceptual understanding of chemical equilibrium

Science.gov (United States)

Sampath Kumar, Bharath

The purpose of this study is to examine the role of partnering visualization tool such as simulation towards development of student's concrete conceptual understanding of chemical equilibrium. Students find chemistry concepts abstract, especially at the microscopic level. Chemical equilibrium is one such topic. While research studies have explored effectiveness of low tech instructional strategies such as analogies, jigsaw, cooperative learning, and using modeling blocks, fewer studies have explored the use of visualization tool such as simulations in the context of dynamic chemical equilibrium. Research studies have identified key reasons behind misconceptions such as lack of systematic understanding of foundational chemistry concepts, failure to recognize the system is dynamic, solving numerical problems on chemical equilibrium in an algorithmic fashion, erroneous application Le Chatelier's principle (LCP) etc. Kress et al. (2001) suggested that external representation in the form of visualization is more than a tool for learning, because it enables learners to make meanings or express their ideas which cannot be readily done so through a verbal representation alone. Mixed method study design was used towards data collection. The qualitative portion of the study is aimed towards understanding the change in student's mental model before and after the intervention. A quantitative instrument was developed based on common areas of misconceptions identified by research studies. A pilot study was conducted prior to the actual study to obtain feedback from students on the quantitative instrument and the simulation. Participants for the pilot study were sampled from a single general chemistry class. Following the pilot study, the research study was conducted with a total of 27 students (N=15 in experimental group and N=12 in control group). Prior to participating in the study, students have completed their midterm test on the topic of chemical equilibrium. Qualitative

Understanding Immigrant College Students: Applying a Developmental Ecology Framework to the Practice of Academic Advising

Science.gov (United States)

Stebleton, Michael J.

2011-01-01

Immigrant college student populations continue to grow, but the complexity of their unique needs and issues remain relatively unknown. To gain a better understanding of the multiple contextual factors impacting immigrant students from a systems-based approach, I applied Bronfenbrenner's (1977) human ecology framework to the study. Students…

Understanding the relationship between student attitudes and student learning

Science.gov (United States)

Cahill, Michael J.; McDaniel, Mark A.; Frey, Regina F.; Hynes, K. Mairin; Repice, Michelle; Zhao, Jiuqing; Trousil, Rebecca

2018-02-01

Student attitudes, defined as the extent to which one holds expertlike beliefs about and approaches to physics, are a major research topic in physics education research. An implicit but rarely tested assumption underlying much of this research is that student attitudes play a significant part in student learning and performance. The current study directly tested this attitude-learning link by measuring the association between incoming attitudes (Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey) and student learning during the semester after statistically controlling for the effects of prior knowledge [early-semester Force Concept Inventory (FCI) or Brief Electricity and Magnetism Assessment (BEMA)]. This study spanned four different courses and included two complementary measures of student knowledge: late-semester concept inventory scores (FCI or BEMA) and exam averages. In three of the four courses, after controlling for prior knowledge, attitudes significantly predicted both late-semester concept inventory scores and exam averages, but in all cases these attitudes explained only a small amount of variance in concept-inventory and exam scores. Results indicate that after accounting for students' incoming knowledge, attitudes may uniquely but modestly relate to how much students learn and how well they perform in the course.

Carbon fiber epoxy composites for both strengthening and health monitoring of structures.

Science.gov (United States)

Salvado, Rita; Lopes, Catarina; Szojda, Leszek; Araújo, Pedro; Gorski, Marcin; Velez, Fernando José; Castro-Gomes, João; Krzywon, Rafal

2015-05-06

This paper presents a study of the electrical and mechanical behavior of several continuous carbon fibers epoxy composites for both strengthening and monitoring of structures. In these composites, the arrangement of fibers was deliberately diversified to test and understand the ability of the composites for self-sensing low strains. Composites with different arrangements of fibers and textile weaves, mainly unidirectional continuous carbon reinforced composites, were tested at the dynamometer. A two-probe method was considered to measure the relative electrical resistance of these composites during loading. The measured relative electrical resistance includes volume and contact electrical resistances. For all tested specimens, it increases with an increase in tensile strain, at low strain values. This is explained by the improved alignment of fibers and resulting reduction of the number of possible contacts between fibers during loading, increasing as a consequence the contact electrical resistance of the composite. Laboratory tests on strengthening of structural elements were also performed, making hand-made composites by the "wet process", which is commonly used in civil engineering for the strengthening of all types of structures in-situ. Results show that the woven epoxy composite, used for strengthening of concrete elements is also able to sense low deformations, below 1%. Moreover, results clearly show that this textile sensor also improves the mechanical work of the strengthened structural elements, increasing their bearing capacity. Finally, the set of obtained results supports the concept of a textile fabric capable of both structural upgrade and self-monitoring of structures, especially large structures of difficult access and needing constant, sometimes very expensive, health monitoring.

Enhancing the blended learning experience of Calculus I students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Al-Ghassani

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Blended Learning showed in the last two decades to be one of the effective ways in education and training. We illustrate our initiative experience with blended learning in the course Calculus I. The main goals we want to achieve are improving students understanding of the course concepts, increasing the level of uniformity in this multi-sections course and enhancing students blended learning experience online and offline. Consequently, this affects positively students' academic performance. We describe and discuss the results that we achieved and the challenges we encountered in view of the initiative aims and goals. The blended learning delivery methods were through Learning Management System (LMS as the online medium and through new offline activities inside and outside the classroom. The LMS we used is Moodle. We designed the resources and activities to cater for the learners different needs. The offline activities were chosen and designed to strengthen the weakness in students study skills based in our experience.

The Effect of Cooperative Learning with DSLM on Conceptual Understanding and Scientific Reasoning among Form Four Physics Students with Different Motivation Levels

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M.S. Hamzah

2010-11-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of Cooperative Learning with a Dual Situated Learning Model (CLDSLM and a Dual Situated Learning Model (DSLM on (a conceptual understanding (CU and (b scientific reasoning (SR among Form Four students. The study further investigated the effect of the CLDSLM and DSLM methods on performance in conceptual understanding and scientific reasoning among students with different motivation levels. A quasi-experimental method with the 3 x 2 Factorial Design was applied in the study. The sample consisted of 240 stu¬dents in six (form four classes selected from three different schools, i.e. two classes from each school, with students randomly selected and assigned to the treatment groups. The results showed that students in the CLDSLM group outperformed their counterparts in the DSLM group—who, in turn, significantly outperformed other students in the traditional instructional method (T group in scientific reasoning and conceptual understanding. Also, high-motivation (HM students in the CLDSLM group significantly outperformed their counterparts in the T groups in conceptual understanding and scientific reasoning. Furthermore, HM students in the CLDSLM group significantly outperformed their counterparts in the DSLM group in scientific reasoning but did not significantly outperform their counterparts on conceptual understanding. Also, the DSLM instructional method has significant positive effects on highly motivated students’ (a conceptual understanding and (b scientific reason¬ing. The results also showed that LM students in the CLDSLM group significantly outperformed their counterparts in the DSLM group and (T method group in scientific reasoning and conceptual understanding. However, the low-motivation students taught via the DSLM instructional method significantly performed higher than the low-motivation students taught via the T method in scientific reasoning. Nevertheless, they did not

Educational value of pocket-sized ultrasound devices to improve understanding of ultrasound examination principles and sonographic anatomy for medical student.

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Eun Young Kim

Full Text Available Medical students must understand the principles of ultrasonography (US, because US examinations are an important component of patient care in clinical practice. Pocket-sized ultrasound devices have the benefits of accessibility and ease of use. The primary objective of the present study was to evaluate the educational value of these devices in terms of improving medical student interest and understanding of US and sonographic anatomy.We added a US training program comprised of a self-study learning module and a hands-on training session to a two-week block curriculum of medical imaging for first year medical students (n = 40. Multiple pocket-sized US devices were used on a small-group basis during a single afternoon. Students were asked to complete a questionnaire before and after the US training session; these two questionnaires contained 6 and 10 questions, respectively, which were rated by students using a five-point Likert scale. In addition, understanding of sonographic anatomy was tested before and after the training program.Forty students completed the two questionnaires and the anatomy-related tests. Students found the program educationally valuable (4.37 ± 0.54 of 5 and reported that US practice was useful for improving their understanding of the principles of US examinations (4.23 ± 0.66 of 5 and sonographic anatomy (4.40 ± 0.55 of 5. Overall confidence at performing US examinations and understanding of sonographic anatomy were significantly increased after US training (increased overall confidence score, 1.87 ± 0.91 and improvement in sonographic anatomy score, 6.55 ± 1.55, p values < 0.001.US training using pocket-sized ultrasound devices was found to be educationally valuable for medical students in terms of improving understanding of US principles and familiarizing students with sonographic anatomy.

Seismic strengthening of the ILL High Flux Reactor building

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Germane, Lionel; Plewinski, Francois; Thiry, Jean-Michel

2006-01-01

The Institut Max von Laue - Paul Langevin is an international research organisation and world leader in neutron science and technology. Since 1971 it has been operating the ILL HFR (High-Flux Reactor), the most intense continuous neutron source in the world. The ILL is governed by an international cooperation agreement between France, Germany and the United Kingdom; the fourth ten-year extension to the agreement was signed at the end of 2002, thus ensuring that the Institute will continue to operate until at least the end of 2013. In 2002 the facility underwent a general safety review, including an assessment of the impact of a safe shutdown earthquake. A broader programme for upgrading the installations and improving safety levels is now under way. As this has been treated in another paper, we will focus here on the seismic study carried out on the reactor building. The paper has the following contents: 1. Context; 1.1. Presentation of the ILL; 1.2. Description of the installations; 1.3. Safety objectives in the event of an earthquake; 1.4. Safety functions to be guaranteed in the event of an earthquake; 1.5. Safety functions required of the building; 2. Description of the building; 3. Organisation of the project; 3.1. Background; 3.2. Organisation; 4. General Methodology of the studies; 5. Progress of the studies; 5.1. Definition of the strengthening measures; 5.2. Validation of the strengthening option; 6. Seismic strengthening of the building; 6.1. Description of the strengthening measures; 6.2. Implementation of the strengthening measures; 6.2.1. Pilot operation; 6.2.2. Main operation; 7. Conclusion. To summarize, the presence of specialists in the ILL team, and the fact that the initial studies were performed by the project team itself, improved our general understanding of the issues and facilitated dialogue and exchange between all those involved (operators, technicians, outside experts, technical contractors and the French safety authorities). Everyone was

Strengthening Regulatory Competence through Techno-managerial Knowledge Integration: Indian Experience

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuchibhotla, S.

2016-01-01

Competence development is the process of identifying the competencies required to perform a given job, role or set of tasks successfully at workplace. Strengthening regulatory competence, for the nuclear regulator, is essential to ensure skilled and competent human resources for performing the functions of the Regulatory Body. The strengthening of existing competence level for the Indian nuclear regulator, takes into account the understanding of the elements such as legal basis and regulatory processes governing operations of regulatory body, technological competences for performing regulatory functions, competences pertinent to regulatory practices, and competences related to personal and interpersonal effectiveness within the organization. Competency data from AERB divisions was compiled to identify gaps at various positions with recommendations for making specialized training modules and modifications to basic and refresher training modules. The exercise is aimed at providing continual improvement in skills and knowledge of human resources at AERB in a phased manner. (author)

Understanding Student Motivation

Science.gov (United States)

Seifert, Timothy

2004-01-01

Contemporary theories of academic motivation seek to explain students' behaviours in academic settings. While each theory seems to possess its own constructs and unique explanations, these theories are actually closely tied together. In this theoretical study of motivation, several theories of motivation were described and an underlying theme of…

Self-determination theory and understanding of student motivation in physical education instruction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Đorđić Višnja

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Physical education is considered to be a favorable context for accomplishment of important educational outcomes and promotion of physical activity in children and youth. The real scope of physical education instruction largely depends on student motivation. Self-determination theory, as a specific macrotheory of motivation, offers a rewarding framework for understanding student motivation in physical education instruction. The paper presents the basic tenets of self-determination theory, the most important studies in the domain of physical education and didactic and methodical implications. Two mini-theories within the self-determination theory are analyzed in more detail, the cognitive evaluation theory and the organismic integration theory. Empirical verification of the theoretical tenets indicates the existence of typical motivational profiles of students in physical education instruction, the basic psychological needs as mediators of influence of social and interpersonal factors on student motivation, followed by the importance of motivational climate, students' goal orientations and teaching style for self-determination of students' behavior in physical education instruction. Didactic and methodical implications refer to the need for developing a more flexible curriculum of physical education, encouraging a motivational climate, task-focused goal orientations, and, especially, encouraging the perceived moving competence of the student.

Student Engagement In Inclusive Classrooms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rangvid, Beatrice Schindler

There is general agreement that to thrive and learn at their best, students must be engaged. However, schools face a particular challenge to provide a suitable and engaging learning environment for SEN (special educational needs) students who are educated in general education classes. Using data......-students as for other students. This highlights the need for better inclusion initiatives aimed at strengthening engagement of SEN-students in regular classrooms....

Foot muscles strengthener

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Boris T. Glavač

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Previous experience in the correction of flat feet consisted of the use of insoles for shoes and exercises with toys, balls, rollers, inclined planes, etc. A device for strengthening foot muscles is designed for the correction of flat feet in children and, as its name suggests, for strengthening foot muscles in adults. The device is made of wood and metal, with a mechanism and technical solutions, enabling the implementation of specific exercises to activate muscles responsible for the formation of the foot arch. It is suitable for home use with controlled load quantities since it has calibrated springs. The device is patented with the Intellectual Property Office, Republic of Serbia, as a petty patent.

Implementing Mathematics Teaching That Promotes Students' Understanding through Theory-Driven Lesson Study

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Rongjin; Gong, Zikun; Han, Xue

2016-01-01

Lesson study (LS) has been practiced in China as an effective way to advance teachers' professional development for decades. This study explores how LS improves teaching that promotes students' understanding. A LS group including didacticians (practice-based teaching research specialist and University-based mathematics educators) and mathematics…

From Knowing to Understanding Student Empowerment: A Narrative Approach to Research in a Middle School

Science.gov (United States)

Horn, Brian R.

2015-01-01

This paper examines how, as a teacher researcher, I employed a narrative approach to research to better understand my 8th grade Language Arts students' empowerment in school. Drawing on sociocultural theory, critical pedagogy and a narrative approach to teacher research, students' voices were privileged and compared to the systemic assumptions…

The Effect of Guided Note Taking during Lectures on Thai University Students' Understanding of Electromagnetism

Science.gov (United States)

Narjaikaew, Pattawan; Emarat, Narumon; Cowie, Bronwen

2009-01-01

This paper reports on the implementation of a guided note taking strategy to promote Thai students' understanding of electromagnetism during a lecture course. The aim of the study was to enhance student learning of electromagnetism concepts. The developed guided notes contain quotations, diagrams, pictures, problems, and blank spaces to encourage…

University Students' Understanding of Chemistry Processes and the Quality of Evidence in Their Written Arguments

Science.gov (United States)

Seung, Eulsun; Choi, Aeran; Pestel, Beverly

2016-01-01

We have developed a process-oriented chemistry laboratory curriculum for non-science majors. The purpose of this study is both to explore university students' understanding of chemistry processes and to evaluate the quality of evidence students use to support their claims regarding chemistry processes in a process-oriented chemistry laboratory…

Helping medical students to acquire a deeper understanding of truth-telling

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Samia A. Hurst

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Problem: Truth-telling is an important component of respect for patients’ self-determination, but in the context of breaking bad news, it is also a distressing and difficult task. Intervention: We investigated the long-term influence of a simulated patient-based teaching intervention, integrating learning objectives in communication skills and ethics into students’ attitudes and concerns regarding truth-telling. We followed two cohorts of medical students from the preclinical third year to their clinical rotations (fifth year. Open-ended responses were analysed to explore medical students’ reported difficulties in breaking bad news. Context: This intervention was implemented during the last preclinical year of a problem-based medical curriculum, in collaboration between the doctor–patient communication and ethics programs. Outcome: Over time, concerns such as empathy and truthfulness shifted from a personal to a relational focus. Whereas ‘truthfulness’ was a concern for the content of the message, ‘truth-telling’ included concerns on how information was communicated and how realistically it was received. Truth-telling required empathy, adaptation to the patient, and appropriate management of emotions, both for the patient's welfare and for a realistic understanding of the situation. Lessons learned: Our study confirms that an intervention confronting students with a realistic situation succeeds in making them more aware of the real issues of truth-telling. Medical students deepened their reflection over time, acquiring a deeper understanding of the relational dimension of values such as truth-telling, and honing their view of empathy.

Understanding the Relationship between Student Attitudes and Student Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Cahill, Michael J.; McDaniel, Mark A.; Frey, Regina F.; Hynes, K. Mairin; Repice, Michelle; Zhao, Jiuqing; Trousil, Rebecca

2018-01-01

Student attitudes, defined as the extent to which one holds expertlike beliefs about and approaches to physics, are a major research topic in physics education research. An implicit but rarely tested assumption underlying much of this research is that student attitudes play a significant part in student learning and performance. The current study…

Understanding decisions Latino students make regarding persistence in the science and math pipeline

Science.gov (United States)

Munro, Janet Lynn

This qualitative study focused on the knowledge and perceptions of Latino high school students, as well those of their parents and school personnel, at a southwestern, suburban high school regarding persistence in the math/science pipeline. In the context of the unique school and community setting these students experience, the decision-making process was examined with particular focus on characterizing the relationships that influence the process. While the theoretical framework that informs this study was that of social capital, its primary purpose was to inform the school's processes and policy in support of increased Latino participation in the math and science pipeline. Since course selection may be the most powerful factor affecting school achievement and college-preparedness, and since course selection is influenced by school policy, school personnel, students, parents, and teachers alike, it is important to understand the beliefs and perceptions that characterize the relationships among them. The qualitative research design involved a phenomenological study of nine Latino students, their parents, their teachers and counselors, and certain support personnel from the high school. The school's and community's environment in support of academic intensity served as context for the portrait that developed. Given rapidly changing demographics that bring more and more Latino students to suburban high schools, the persistent achievement gap experienced by Latino students, and the growing dependence of the world economy on a citizenry versed in the math- and science-related fields, a deeper understanding of the decision-making processes Latino 12 students experience can inform school policy as educators struggle to influence those decisions. This study revealed a striking lack of knowledge concerning the college-entrance ramifications of continued course work in math and science beyond that required for graduation, relationships among peers, parents, and school

AN APPRAISAL OF INSTRUCTIONAL UNITS TO ENHANCE STUDENT UNDERSTANDING OF PROFIT-MAXIMIZING PRINCIPLES. APPENDIX TO FINAL REPORT.

Science.gov (United States)

BARKER, RICHARD L.

TWENTY-TWO OHIO HIGH SCHOOLS OFFERING VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURE TO 262 JUNIOR AND SENIOR STUDENTS PARTICIPATED IN A STUDY TO MEASURE THE RELATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF FARM MANAGEMENT INSTRUCTIONAL UNITS DESIGNED TO ENHANCE STUDENT UNDERSTANDING OF BASIC PROFIT-MAXIMIZING PRINCIPLES WHEN USED IN TEACHING VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURE STUDENTS IN THE SCHOOL…

Context and clinical reasoning : Understanding the medical student perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

McBee, Elexis; Ratcliffe, Temple; Schuwirth, Lambert; O'Neill, Daniel; Meyer, Holly; Madden, Shelby J; Durning, Steven J

2018-04-27

Studies have shown that a physician's clinical reasoning performance can be influenced by contextual factors. We explored how the clinical reasoning performance of medical students was impacted by contextual factors in order to expand upon previous findings in resident and board certified physicians. Using situated cognition as the theoretical framework, our aim was to evaluate the verbalized clinical reasoning processes of medical students in order to describe what impact the presence of contextual factors has on their reasoning performance. Seventeen medical student participants viewed three video recordings of clinical encounters portraying straightforward diagnostic cases in internal medicine with explicit contextual factors inserted. Participants completed a computerized post-encounter form as well as a think-aloud protocol. Three authors analyzed verbatim transcripts from the think-aloud protocols using a constant comparative approach. After iterative coding, utterances were analyzed and grouped into categories and themes. Six categories and ten associated themes emerged, which demonstrated overlap with findings from previous studies in resident and attending physicians. Four overlapping categories included emotional disturbances, behavioural inferences about the patient, doctor-patient relationship, and difficulty with closure. Two new categories emerged to include anchoring and misinterpretation of data. The presence of contextual factors appeared to impact clinical reasoning performance in medical students. The data suggest that a contextual factor can be innate to the clinical scenario, consistent with situated cognition theory. These findings build upon our understanding of clinical reasoning performance from both a theoretical and practical perspective.

Student understanding of the application of Newton's second law to rotating rigid bodies

Science.gov (United States)

Close, Hunter G.; Gomez, Luanna S.; Heron, Paula R. L.

2013-06-01

We report on an investigation of student understanding of rigid body dynamics in which we asked students in introductory calculus-based physics to compare the translational motions of identical rigid bodies subject to forces that differed only in the point of contact at which they were applied. There was a widespread tendency to claim that forces that cause rotational motion have a diminished effect on translational motion. A series of related problems was developed to examine whether similar errors would be made in other contexts, and interviews were conducted to probe student thinking in greater depth. In this paper, we describe the results of our investigation and also describe a series of different interventions that culminated in the development of a tutorial that improves student ability to apply Newton's second law to rotating rigid bodies.

Developing Students' Understanding of Industrially Relevant Economic and Life Cycle Assessments

Science.gov (United States)

Bode, Claudia J.; Chapman, Clint; Pennybaker, Atherly; Subramaniam, Bala

2017-01-01

Training future leaders to understand life cycle assessment data is critical for effective research, business, and sociopolitical decision-making. However, the technical nature of these life cycle reports often makes them challenging for students and other nonexperts to comprehend. Therefore, we outline here the key takeaways from recent economic…

Strengthening sense of coherence: opportunities for theory building in health promotion.

Science.gov (United States)

Super, S; Wagemakers, M A E; Picavet, H S J; Verkooijen, K T; Koelen, M A

2016-12-01

Sense of coherence (SOC) reflects a coping capacity of people to deal with everyday life stressors and consists of three elements: comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness. SOC is often considered to be a stable entity that is developed in young adulthood and stabilizes around the age of 30. Recent studies have questioned this stability of SOC and some studies report on interventions that have been successful in strengthening SOC in adult populations. Currently, however, there is no clear understanding of the mechanisms underlying SOC. As a consequence, it is a challenge to determine what is needed in health promotion activities to strengthen SOC. This article aims to explore the mechanisms underlying SOC as these insights may underpin future health promotion efforts. An exploration of the salutogenic model suggests two important mechanisms: the behavioural and the perceptual. The behavioural mechanism highlights the possibility to empower people to use their resources in stressful situations. The perceptual mechanism suggests that, in order for people to deal with life stressors, it is essential that they are able to reflect on their understanding of the stressful situation and the resources that are available. Based on these mechanisms, we suggest that both empowerment and reflection processes, which are interdependent, may be relevant for health promotion activities that aim to strengthen SOC. The successful application of resources to deal with stressors is not only likely to have a positive influence on health, but also creates consistent and meaningful life experiences that can positively reinforce SOC levels. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Framework for understanding the patterns of student difficulties in quantum mechanics

Science.gov (United States)

Marshman, Emily; Singh, Chandralekha

2015-12-01

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Upper Division Physics Courses.] Compared with introductory physics, relatively little is known about the development of expertise in advanced physics courses, especially in the case of quantum mechanics. Here, we describe a framework for understanding the patterns of student reasoning difficulties and how students develop expertise in quantum mechanics. The framework posits that the challenges many students face in developing expertise in quantum mechanics are analogous to the challenges introductory students face in developing expertise in introductory classical mechanics. This framework incorporates both the effects of diversity in upper-level students' prior preparation, goals, and motivation in general (i.e., the facts that even in upper-level courses, students may be inadequately prepared, have unclear goals, and have insufficient motivation to excel) as well as the "paradigm shift" from classical mechanics to quantum mechanics. The framework is based on empirical investigations demonstrating that the patterns of reasoning, problem-solving, and self-monitoring difficulties in quantum mechanics bear a striking resemblance to those found in introductory classical mechanics. Examples from research in quantum mechanics and introductory classical mechanics are discussed to illustrate how the patterns of difficulties are analogous as students learn to unpack the respective principles and grasp the formalism in each knowledge domain during the development of expertise. Embracing such a framework and contemplating the parallels between the difficulties in these two knowledge domains can enable researchers to leverage the extensive literature for introductory physics education research to guide the design of teaching and learning tools for helping students develop expertise in quantum mechanics.

Oxide dispersion-strengthened ferritic alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Asbroeck, P. van.

1976-10-01

The publication gives the available data on the DTO2 dispersion-strengthened ferritic alloy developed at C.E.N./S.C.K. Mol, Belgium. DTO2 is a Fe-Cr-Mo ferritic alloy, strengthened by addition of titanium oxide and of titanium leading to the formation of Chi phase. It was developed for use as canning material for fast breeder reactors. (author)

IAEA and EC to Strengthen Cooperation in Nuclear Safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2013-01-01

Full text: The International Atomic Energy Agency and the European Commission today signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Nuclear Safety, establishing a framework for cooperation to help improve nuclear safety in Europe. The Memorandum, signed by IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano and the European Commissioner for Energy, Guenther Oettinger, is the first concrete result of an enhanced dialogue between the IAEA and the EU, launched in January 2013 at their first Senior Officials Meeting in Brussels. Cooperation has been rapidly growing in recent years between the IAEA and the EU, which, together with its Member States, is one of the biggest donors to the IAEA, both in financial terms and in provision of technical expertise. Cooperation in the field of nuclear safeguards is already well-established and formalised, but in other areas it is less structured. ''The EU is one of our most important partners, providing practical and financial assistance, as well as expertise, in many areas of our work,'' Mr. Amano said. ''This Memorandum of Understanding is further evidence that EU countries take very seriously the need to strengthen nuclear safety in the aftermath of the Fukushima Daiichi accident.'' Mr. Oettinger highlighted that such intensified cooperation is important to ensure that nuclear energy is produced safely all over the world. He added that the EU nuclear stress tests set a global benchmark and contribute to the IAEA's Action Plan on Nuclear Safety , which was endorsed unanimously by the IAEA's Member States in September 2011. ''Under the new Memorandum, all this experience will be made available to the international community. I hope that the European safety approach leads to a global initiative,'' said the Commissioner. The Memorandum creates an enhanced framework for planning and reviewing various forms of cooperation in nuclear safety, such as expert peer reviews and strengthening emergency preparedness and response capabilities. It will allow both

Sleep Strengthens but does Not Reorganize Memory Traces in a Verbal Creativity Task.

Science.gov (United States)

Landmann, Nina; Kuhn, Marion; Maier, Jonathan-Gabriel; Feige, Bernd; Spiegelhalder, Kai; Riemann, Dieter; Nissen, Christoph

2016-03-01

Sleep after learning promotes the quantitative strengthening of new memories. Less is known about the impact of sleep on the qualitative reorganization of memory content. This study tested the hypothesis that sleep facilitates both memory strengthening and reorganization as indexed by a verbal creativity task. Sixty healthy university students (30 female, 30 male, 20-30 years) were investigated in a randomized, controlled parallel-group study with three experimental groups (sleep, sleep deprivation, daytime wakefulness). At baseline, 60 items of the Compound Remote Associate (CRA) task were presented. At retest after the experimental conditions, the same items were presented again together with 20 new control items to disentangle off-line incubation from online performance effects. Sleep significantly strengthened formerly encoded memories in comparison to both wake conditions (improvement in speed of correctly resolved items). Offline reorganization was not enhanced following sleep, but was enhanced following sleep-deprivation in comparison to sleep and daytime wakefulness (solution time of previously incubated, newly solved items). Online performance did not differ between the groups (solution time of new control items). The results support the notion that sleep promotes the strengthening, but not the reorganization, of newly encoded memory traces in a verbal creativity task. Future studies are needed to further determine the impact of sleep on different types of memory reorganization, such as associative thinking, creativity and emotional memory processing, and potential clinical translations, such as the augmentation of psychotherapy through sleep interventions. © 2016 Associated Professional Sleep Societies, LLC.

Comparing Students' and Experts' Understanding of the Content of a Lecture

Science.gov (United States)

Hrepic, Zdeslav; Zollman, Dean A.; Sanjay Rebello, N.

2007-06-01

In spite of advances in physics pedagogy, the lecture is by far the most widely used format of instruction. We investigated students' understanding and perceptions of the content delivered during a physics lecture. A group of experts (physics instructors) also participated in the study as a reference for the comparison. During the study, all participants responded to a written conceptual survey on sound propagation. Next, they looked for answers to the survey questions in a videotaped lecture by a nationally known teacher. As they viewed the lecture, they indicated instances, if any, in which the survey questions were answered during the lecture. They also wrote down (and if needed, later explained) the answer, which they perceived was given by the instructor in the video lecture. Students who participated in the study were enrolled in a conceptual physics course and had already covered the topic in class before the study. We discuss and compare students' and experts' responses to the survey questions before and after the lecture.

Students' autonomy and teacher's interpersonal style in self-determination theory

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Lalić-Vučetić Nataša

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Starting from psychological needs that are considered basic within self-determination theory (autonomy, competence and relatedness, the importance of encouraging students' autonomy in school context is particularly emphasised. Appreciation of students' autonomy has a stimulating effect on school achievement, conceptual understanding, creativity development, strengthening of self-esteem, and students adapt better to school system and demonstrate a larger degree of internalisation of school rules and intrinsic motivation. Teachers' behavioural style largely determines the degree of students' autonomy in school life and work. Self-determination theory implies the necessity of agreement between the developmental need for autonomy in children and the level of adult control and distinguishes between two styles of interpersonal behavior of teachers: (a those who offer support to students' autonomy by their behavior and (b those that are predominantly inclined to control students' behavior. This paper also points out to different strategies that can be applied by teachers in working with students in school, which also contribute to the development of students' autonomy. What is especially encouraging is the fact that it is possible to learn and to develop 'appreciation of students' autonomy' as teacher's interpersonal style.

Promoting Intercultural Understanding among School Students through an English Language Based Reading Programme

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Manjet Kaur Mehar Singh

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Malaysian intercultural society is typified by three major ethnic groups mainly Malays, Chinese and Indians.  Although education system is the best tool for these three major ethnic groups to work together, contemporary research reveals that there is still lack of intercultural embedding education context and national schools are seen as breeding grounds of racial polarisation.  In Malaysian context, there is a gap in research that focuses on the design of a proper intercultural reading framework for national integration and such initiatives are viable through schools.  The main objective of this conceptual paper is to introduce the English Language Intercultural Reading Programme (ELIRP in secondary schools to promote intercultural understanding among secondary school students.  The proposed framework will facilitate the acquisition of intercultural inputs without being constrained by ideological, political, or psychological demands.  This article will focus on elucidating how ELIRP could affect cognitive (knowledge and behavioural transformations to intercultural perceptions harboured by selected Form 4 students of 20 national schools in Malaysia. Keywords: behavior, knowledge, intercultural reading framework, intercultural understanding, English Language Intercultural Reading Programme, secondary school students

Middle school students' understanding of the natural history of the Earth and life on Earth as a function of deep time

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Pulling, Azalie Cecile

The purpose of this study was to use deep time, that is geologic time as a mechanism to explore middle school students' understanding of the natural history of the earth and the evolution of life on earth. Geologic time is a logical precursor to middle school students' understanding of biological evolution. This exploratory, mixed model study used qualitative and quantitative methods in each stage of the research to explore sixth grade students, understanding of geologic time, their worldviews (e.g., conceptual ecology), and conceptual change. The study included fifty-nine students in the large group study and four case studies. The primary data collection instrument was the Geologic Timeline Survey. Additional data collection instruments and methods (e.g., concept evaluation statement, journal entries, word associations, interviews, and formal tests) were used to triangulate the study findings. These data were used to create narrative modal profiles of the categories of student thinking that emerged from the large group analysis: Middle School (MS) Scientists (correct science), MS Protoscientists (approaching correct science), MS Prescientists (dinosaur understanding), and MS Pseudoscientists (fundamental religious understanding). Case studies were used to provide a thick description of each category. This study discovered a pattern of student thinking about geologic time that moved along a knowledge continuum from pseudoscience (fundamental creationist understanding) to prescience (everyday-science understanding) to science (correct or approaching correct science). The researcher described the deep-seated misconceptions produced by the prescience thinking level, e.g., dinosaur misconceptions, and cautioned the science education community about using dinosaurs as a glamour-science topic. The most limiting conceptual frameworks found in this study were prescience (a dinosaur focus) and pseudoscience (a fundamental religious focus). An understanding of geologic time

Towards a probabilistic definition of entropy: An investigation of the effects of a new curriculum on students' understanding of thermodynamics

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Colon-Garcia, Evy B.

Thermodynamics is a vital tool in understanding why reactions happen; nevertheless, it is often considered a difficult topic. Prior studies have shown that students struggle with fundamental thermodynamic concepts such as entropy, enthalpy and Gibbs energy even in upper level physical chemistry courses. Thermodynamics, as a general chemistry topic, can be more math-intensive than other topics such as bonding or intermolecular forces. As a result, it is possible for students to get lost in the algorithms and overlook the important underlying theoretical concepts. Students' difficulties in understanding thermodynamics may be contributing to their inability to explain phenomena such as phase changes and manipulations of equilibrium systems. Current chemistry curricula split the thermodynamic chapters over a span of two semesters as well as splitting it over different units. This division fails to make explicit the connection between Enthalpy, Entropy and Gibbs Energy and how they affect how and why every reaction or process happens. The reason for this division of topics is not based on any educational research rather than opinions as to what will not overwhelm the students. Additionally, students who take only one semester of General Chemistry will leave without being instructed in what is considered to be one of the most fundamental concepts in Chemistry, Thermodynamics. Chemistry, Life, the Universe and Everything (CLUE) is a general chemistry course developed with the explicit goal of addressing the major obstacles that inhibit students from acquiring an appreciation and mastery of the chemical principles upon which other sciences depend. Using a control and treatment group, the effectiveness of this new curriculum was evaluated for two main aspects: 1. What is students' understanding of entropy?, 2. Can an alternative instructional approach to teaching Thermodynamics (Chemistry, Life, the Universe and Everything - CLUE) improve students' understanding of Entropy

The Identification of Variation in Students' Understandings of Disciplinary Concepts: The Application of the SOLO Taxonomy within Introductory Accounting

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Lucas, Ursula; Mladenovic, Rosina

2009-01-01

Insights into students' understandings of disciplinary concepts are fundamental to effective curriculum development. This paper argues that a rounded picture of students' understandings is required to support such development. It is argued that one element of this picture may be provided through the use of the Structure of Observed Learning…

Carbon Fiber Epoxy Composites for Both Strengthening and Health Monitoring of Structures

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Rita Salvado

2015-05-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a study of the electrical and mechanical behavior of several continuous carbon fibers epoxy composites for both strengthening and monitoring of structures. In these composites, the arrangement of fibers was deliberately diversified to test and understand the ability of the composites for self-sensing low strains. Composites with different arrangements of fibers and textile weaves, mainly unidirectional continuous carbon reinforced composites, were tested at the dynamometer. A two-probe method was considered to measure the relative electrical resistance of these composites during loading. The measured relative electrical resistance includes volume and contact electrical resistances. For all tested specimens, it increases with an increase in tensile strain, at low strain values. This is explained by the improved alignment of fibers and resulting reduction of the number of possible contacts between fibers during loading, increasing as a consequence the contact electrical resistance of the composite. Laboratory tests on strengthening of structural elements were also performed, making hand-made composites by the “wet process”, which is commonly used in civil engineering for the strengthening of all types of structures in-situ. Results show that the woven epoxy composite, used for strengthening of concrete elements is also able to sense low deformations, below 1%. Moreover, results clearly show that this textile sensor also improves the mechanical work of the strengthened structural elements, increasing their bearing capacity. Finally, the set of obtained results supports the concept of a textile fabric capable of both structural upgrade and self-monitoring of structures, especially large structures of difficult access and needing constant, sometimes very expensive, health monitoring.

Understanding Disabilities & Online Student Success

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Betts, Kristen; Welsh, Bill; Pruitt, Cheryl; Hermann, Kelly; Dietrich, Gaeir; Trevino, Jorge G.; Watson, Terry L.; Brooks, Michael L.; Cohen, Alex H.; Coombs, Norman

2013-01-01

Online learning has been growing at an exponential rate over the past decade, providing new opportunities for students seeking quality courses and programs offered through flexible formats. However, as higher education continues to expand online offerings, services must be expanded simultaneously to support all students. This article focuses on…

Understanding, perceptions and self-use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) among Malaysian pharmacy students.

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Hasan, Syed S; Yong, Chew S; Babar, Muneer G; Naing, Cho M; Hameed, Abdul; Baig, Mirza R; Iqbal, Shahid M; Kairuz, Therese

2011-10-13

In recent times the basic understanding, perceptions and CAM use among undergraduate health sciences students have become a topic of interest. This study was aimed to investigate the understanding, perceptions and self-use of CAM among pharmacy students in Malaysia. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 500 systematically sampled pharmacy students from two private and one public university. A validated, self-administered questionnaire comprised of seven sections was used to gather the data. A systematic sampling was applied to recruit the students. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were applied using SPSS® version 18. Overall, the students tend to disagree that complementary therapies (CM) are a threat to public health (mean score = 3.6) and agreed that CMs include ideas and methods from which conventional medicine could benefit (mean score = 4.7). More than half (57.8%) of the participants were currently using CAM while 77.6% had used it previously. Among the current CAM modalities used by the students, CM (21.9%) was found to be the most frequently used CAM followed by Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) (21%). Most of the students (74.8%) believed that lack of scientific evidence is one of the most important barriers obstructing them to use CAM. More than half of the students perceived TCM (62.8%) and music therapy (53.8%) to be effective. Majority of them (69.3%) asserted that CAM knowledge is necessary to be a well-rounded professional. This study reveals a high-percentage of pharmacy students who were using or had previously used at least one type of CAM. Students of higher professional years tend to agree that CMs include ideas and methods from which conventional medicine could benefit.

Understanding, perceptions and self-use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM among Malaysian pharmacy students

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Baig Mirza R

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In recent times the basic understanding, perceptions and CAM use among undergraduate health sciences students have become a topic of interest. This study was aimed to investigate the understanding, perceptions and self-use of CAM among pharmacy students in Malaysia. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted on 500 systematically sampled pharmacy students from two private and one public university. A validated, self-administered questionnaire comprised of seven sections was used to gather the data. A systematic sampling was applied to recruit the students. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were applied using SPSS® version 18. Results Overall, the students tend to disagree that complementary therapies (CM are a threat to public health (mean score = 3.6 and agreed that CMs include ideas and methods from which conventional medicine could benefit (mean score = 4.7. More than half (57.8% of the participants were currently using CAM while 77.6% had used it previously. Among the current CAM modalities used by the students, CM (21.9% was found to be the most frequently used CAM followed by Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM (21%. Most of the students (74.8% believed that lack of scientific evidence is one of the most important barriers obstructing them to use CAM. More than half of the students perceived TCM (62.8% and music therapy (53.8% to be effective. Majority of them (69.3% asserted that CAM knowledge is necessary to be a well-rounded professional. Conclusions This study reveals a high-percentage of pharmacy students who were using or had previously used at least one type of CAM. Students of higher professional years tend to agree that CMs include ideas and methods from which conventional medicine could benefit.

HIV communication capacity strengthening: a critical review.

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Lettenmaier, Cheryl; Kraft, Joan Marie; Raisanen, Keris; Serlemitsos, Elizabeth

2014-08-15

HIV communication is most effective and sustainable when it is designed and implemented locally and tailored to the local context. This requires capacity strengthening at national, subnational, and community levels. Through a review of the published and selected "grey" literature, we examine HIV communication capacity strengthening: definitions, measurements, implementation, and effects. We found limited documentation of HIV communication capacity needs or systematic approaches to address them. Most HIV communication capacity strengthening to date has focused on building individual competencies to design and manage social and behavior change communication programs through training courses, often coupled with networking opportunities for participants, post-training mentoring, and technical assistance. A few of these efforts have been evaluated through pre- and post-training tests and qualitative interviews with participants and have shown potential for improvement in individual skills and knowledge. Health communication capacity assessment tools that measure individual and organizational competencies exist, but they have most often been used to identify capacity building needs, not for evaluating capacity strengthening efforts. A new definition of capacity strengthening, grown out of recent efforts to improve effectiveness of international health and development programs, focuses on improving organizational and societal systems that support performance and individual competencies. We propose a holistic model for HIV communication capacity strengthening and call for rigorous documentation and evaluation to determine and scale-up optimal capacity building interventions for strengthening social and behavior change communication for HIV prevention, care, and treatment in developing countries.

Strengthen the Bond: Relationships between Academic Advising Quality and Undergraduate Student Loyalty

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Vianden, Jörg; Barlow, Patrick J.

2015-01-01

Extant research suggests that student loyalty, a strong bond between the student and university, positively affects important student outcomes, most notably retention. In this article, we advance the notion that academic advisors should become managers of the student-university relationship. We examine the correlation between respondents'…

Novel Nano-Size Oxide Dispersion Strengthened Steels Development through Computational and Experimental Study

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Yang, Shizhong [Southern Univ. and A& M College, Baton Rouge, LA (United States)

2016-05-30

This report summarizes our recent works of theoretical modeling, simulation and experimental validation of the simulation results on the ferritic oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) alloy research. The simulation of the stability and thermal dynamics simulation on potential thermal stable candidates were performed and related ODS samples were synthesized and characterized. The simulation methods and experimental texture validation techniques development, achievements already reached, course work development, students and postdoc training, and future improvement are briefly introduced.

Correlation of understanding of physics and psychological symptoms among high-school students in Greece

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Aggeliki, Anagnostopoulou; Miltiades, Kyprianou; Antigoni-Elisavet, Rota; Evangelia, Pavlatou; Loizos, Zaphiris

2017-09-01

Depression may essentially influence cognitive function contributing to poor school performance. The present study undertakes to determine the existence and strength of correlation between depressive symptomatology and other mental conditions with the acquired level of understanding of Newtonian physics taught in schools. The current study recruited 490 students (262 girls, 228 boys) attending the first semester of the Greek Second Grade of General Lyceum School. Force Concept Inventory (FCI) tested the depth of the students’ understanding of Newtonian Physics. Symptom Checklist-90-R assessed general mental status. The tests took place in the classroom during a 1 h session. Low FCI scores significantly correlated with mental conditions, with depression ranking first. Girls had higher scores in all nine symptoms scales of SCL-90 and lower FCI scores. Stepwise regression models proved that the gender effect on FCI could be effectively explained through the significant effect of depression. An understanding of Newtonian physics among high school students may be restricted by common problematic mental conditions, with depression being the greatest among all. Further research, using a more systematic approach to measure depression among adolescents with poor understanding of physics, would help to elucidate the nature of the effect.

Influence of student-designed experiments with fast plants on their understanding of plants and of scientific inquiry

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Akey, Ann Kosek

2000-10-01

This dissertation investigates the influence of student designed experiments with Fast Plants in an undergraduate agroecology course on the students' conceptual understanding of plant life cycles and on their procedural understanding of scientific experimentation. It also considers students' perspectives on the value of these experiences. Data sources included semi-structured interviews with students and the instructor, a written task, course evaluations, and observations of class meetings. Students came into the course having strong practical experience with plants from their agricultural backgrounds. Students did not always connect aspects of plant biology that they studied in class, particularly respiration and photosynthesis, to plant growth requirements. The instructor was able to bridge the gap between some practical knowledge and textbook knowledge with experiences other than the Fast Plant project. Most students held an incomplete picture of plant reproduction that was complicated by differences between agricultural and scientific vocabulary. There is need for teaching approaches that help students tie together their knowledge of plants into a cohesive framework. Experiences that help students draw on their background knowledge related to plants, and which give students the opportunity to examine and discuss their ideas, may help students make more meaningful connections. The Fast Plant project, a positive experience for most students, was seen by these undergraduate students as being more helpful in learning about scientific experimentation than about plants. The process of designing and carrying out their own experiments gave students insight into experimentation, provoked their curiosity, and resulted in a sense of ownership and accomplishment.

Framework for understanding the patterns of student difficulties in quantum mechanics

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Emily Marshman

2015-09-01

Full Text Available [This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Upper Division Physics Courses.] Compared with introductory physics, relatively little is known about the development of expertise in advanced physics courses, especially in the case of quantum mechanics. Here, we describe a framework for understanding the patterns of student reasoning difficulties and how students develop expertise in quantum mechanics. The framework posits that the challenges many students face in developing expertise in quantum mechanics are analogous to the challenges introductory students face in developing expertise in introductory classical mechanics. This framework incorporates both the effects of diversity in upper-level students’ prior preparation, goals, and motivation in general (i.e., the facts that even in upper-level courses, students may be inadequately prepared, have unclear goals, and have insufficient motivation to excel as well as the “paradigm shift” from classical mechanics to quantum mechanics. The framework is based on empirical investigations demonstrating that the patterns of reasoning, problem-solving, and self-monitoring difficulties in quantum mechanics bear a striking resemblance to those found in introductory classical mechanics. Examples from research in quantum mechanics and introductory classical mechanics are discussed to illustrate how the patterns of difficulties are analogous as students learn to unpack the respective principles and grasp the formalism in each knowledge domain during the development of expertise. Embracing such a framework and contemplating the parallels between the difficulties in these two knowledge domains can enable researchers to leverage the extensive literature for introductory physics education research to guide the design of teaching and learning tools for helping students develop expertise in quantum mechanics.

Research and Teaching: An Investigation of the Evolution of High School and Undergraduate Student Researchers' Understanding of Key Science Ethics Concepts

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Mabrouk, Patricia Ann

2013-01-01

High school and undergraduate research students were surveyed over the 10-week period of their summer research programs to investigate their understanding of key concepts in science ethics and whether their understanding changed over the course of their summer research experiences. Most of the students appeared to understand the issues relevant to…

Supporting Students' Understanding of Linear Equations with One Variable Using Algebra Tiles

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Saraswati, Sari; Putri, Ratu Ilma Indra; Somakim

2016-01-01

This research aimed to describe how algebra tiles can support students' understanding of linear equations with one variable. This article is a part of a larger research on learning design of linear equations with one variable using algebra tiles combined with balancing method. Therefore, it will merely discuss one activity focused on how students…

At-Risk and Bilingual Fifth-Grade Students' On-Task Behavior and Conceptual Understanding in Earth Science-Related Topics during Inquiry-, Technology-, and Game-Based Activities

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McNeal, K.; Vasquez, Y.; Avandano, C.; Moreno, K.; Besinaiz, J.

2007-12-01

The Graduate K-12 (GK12) program has been developed by NSF to support the national effort to advance scientific knowledge through educational partnerships. This paper highlights research conducted during the 2006-2007 school year with the Texas A&M University GK12 project. Two elementary schools with very high numbers of at risk students - those who are poor, speak English as their second language, and have a history of failing state-mandated tests were identified to be the field site for the GK12 project. In these two, high-minority (97% and 40% African American and Hispanic) schools, 80% and 56% of the children have been identified by the state as at risk; 94% and 52% are classified as economically disadvantaged; and 46% and 2% are limited English proficient, respectively. In the past year, 30% and 73% of fifth grade students in these schools passed the science portion of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) test. Data collected during a three- week period where GK12 fellows taught the fifth graders Earth science-related topics is presented. During the implementation, students were engaged in technology-, inquiry-, and game-based activities. Students were divided into low-, medium-, and high-abilities in one school, and regular and bilingual groups in the other. Pre- post open-ended multiple choice tests indicated that all but the low performing students' conceptual understanding (CU) significantly (p significantly improved during the inquiry activity, and the high and bilingual students' CU significantly improved for the game activities. Classroom observation assessments showed that there was a significant (p Significant differences between student groups' CU and on-task behavior indicated that technology-based activities showed greatest differences between the low- ability learners and the other students, whereas, inquiry-based activities tended not to show such extremes. In the case of the bilingual and regular students however, technology

The Translation of Teachers' Understanding of Gifted Students Into Instructional Strategies for Teaching Science

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Park, Soonhye; Steve Oliver, J.

2009-08-01

This study examined how instructional challenges presented by gifted students shaped teachers’ instructional strategies. This study is a qualitative research grounded in a social constructivist framework. The participants were three high school science teachers who were teaching identified gifted students in both heterogeneously- and homogeneously-grouped classrooms. Major data sources are classroom observations and interviews. Data analysis indicated that these science teachers developed content-specific teaching strategies based on their understanding of gifted students, including: (a) instructional differentiation, e.g., thematic units, (b) variety in instructional mode and/or students’ products, (c) student grouping strategies and peer tutoring, (d) individualized support, (e) strategies to manage challenging questions, (f) strategies to deal with the perfectionism, and (g) psychologically safe classroom environments.

Strengthening CRTD-A's Organizational and Program Capacity ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Strengthening CRTD-A's Organizational and Program Capacity (Lebanon) ... Women's Rights and Citizenship framework; to strengthen and rationalize its institutional ... IDRC “unpacks women's empowerment” at McGill University Conference.

Student Teacher Understanding of the Greenhouse Effect, Ozone Layer Depletion, and Acid Rain.

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Dove, Jane

1996-01-01

Describes the results of a survey designed to ascertain details of student teachers' knowledge and misconceptions about the greenhouse effect, acid rain, and ozone layer depletion. Results indicate familiarity with the issues but little understanding of the concepts involved and many commonly held misconceptions. (JRH)

Ethics or Morals: Understanding Students' Values Related to Genetic Tests on Humans

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Lindahl, Mats Gunnar

2009-10-01

To make meaning of scientific knowledge in such a way that concepts and values of the life-world are not threatened is difficult for students and laymen. Ethics and morals pertaining to the use of genetic tests for hereditary diseases have been investigated and discussed by educators, anthropologists, medical doctors and philosophers giving, at least in part, diverging results. This study investigates how students explain and understand their argumentation about dilemmas concerning gene testing for the purpose to reduce hereditary diseases. Thirteen students were interviewed about their views on this issue. Qualitative analysis was done primarily by relating students’ argumentation to their movements between ethics and morals as opposing poles. Students used either objective or subjective knowledge but had difficulties to integrate them. They tried to negotiate ethic arguments using utilitarian motives and medical knowledge with sympathy or irrational and personal arguments. They discussed the embryo’s moral status to decide if it was replaceable in a social group or not. The educational implications of the students’ use of knowledge in personal arguments are discussed.

Understanding Analysis Macroscopic, microscopic, and Acid-Base Titration Symbolic Student Class XI Science High School and Improvement Efforts Microscopy Approach

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Putu Indrayani

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Analisis Pemahaman Makroskopik, Mikroskopik, dan Simbolik Titrasi Asam-Basa Siswa Kelas XI IPA SMA serta Upaya Perbaikannya dengan Pendekatan Mikroskopik Abstract: This study aims to determine: (1 the level of understanding of the macroscopic, microscopic and symbolic students; (2 the error understanding of macroscopic, microscopic and symbolic students; (3 the effectiveness of the microscopic approach in an effort to improve students' ability to solve the problems macroscopic, symbolic and microscopic material acid-base titration. This research uses descriptive research design and quasi-experimental research design. Data research is the understanding of macroscopic, symbolic and microscopic students on the material acid-base titration. Student comprehension test measured with instruments that include: (1 macroscopic comprehension tests, (2 test the understanding of symbolic, and (3 understanding of the microscopic tests. Content validity was tested by a team of experts and the reliability of test questions macroscopic and microscopic calculated using the Spearman-Brown while reliability symbolic test item was calculated using Cronbach's Alpha. Data were analyzed using descriptive analysis and statistical tests using Anacova. Results of the study are as follows. (1 The level of understanding of the macroscopic students is high, while the symbolic and microscopic levels of understanding of students is very low. (2 Errors identified macroscopic understanding is that students do not understand that the color shown by indicators related to the nature of the solution. Symbolic understanding of the identified errors are: (i the student can not write ionization reaction; and (ii students can not choose the formula used to calculate the pH of the solution. Errors identified microscopic understanding is that students can not provide a microscopic picture of a solution of a strong acid, strong base, weak acid, weak base, and salt solutions because they do

Understanding Australian Aboriginal Tertiary Student Needs

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Oliver, Rhonda; Rochecouste, Judith; Bennell, Debra; Anderson, Roz; Cooper, Inala; Forrest, Simon; Exell, Mike

2013-01-01

Drawing from a study of the experiences of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander university students, this paper presents an overview of the specific needs of these students as they enter and progress through their tertiary education. Extracts from a set of case studies developed from both staff and student interviews and an online…

A Framework for Understanding the Patterns of Student Difficulties in Quantum Mechanics

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Chandralekha

2015-04-01

Compared with introductory physics, relatively little is known about the development of expertise in advanced physics courses, especially in the case of quantum mechanics. We describe a theoretical framework for understanding the patterns of student reasoning difficulties and how students develop expertise in quantum mechanics. The framework posits that the challenges many students face in developing expertise in quantum mechanics are analogous to the challenges introductory students face in developing expertise in introductory classical mechanics. This framework incorporates the effects of diversity in students' prior preparation, goals and motivation for taking upper-level physics courses in general as well as the ``paradigm shift'' from classical mechanics to quantum mechanics. The framework is based on empirical investigations demonstrating that the patterns of reasoning, problem-solving, and self-monitoring difficulties in quantum mechanics bear a striking resemblance to those found in introductory classical mechanics. Examples from research in quantum mechanics and introductory classical mechanics will be discussed to illustrate how the patterns of difficulties are analogous as students learn to unpack the respective principles and grasp the formalism in each knowledge domain during the development of expertise. Embracing such a theoretical framework and contemplating the parallels between the difficulties in these two knowledge domains can enable researchers to leverage the extensive literature for introductory physics education research to guide the design of teaching and learning tools for helping students develop expertise in quantum mechanics. Support from the National Science Foundation is gratefully acknowledged.

Reflective writing as a tool for assessing teamwork in bioscience: insights into student performance and understanding of teamwork.

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Mayne, Lynne

2012-07-01

To ensure a modern bioscience curriculum that responds to the current needs of stakeholders, there is a need to embed a range of generic capabilities that enables graduates to succeed in and contribute to a rapidly changing world, as well as building strong bioscience skills and knowledge. The curriculum must also prepare students for a rapidly evolving competitive work place and align with the needs of industry. This creates a challenge, how do we develop generic capabilities without losing discipline content. This report analyses teamwork projects embedded in an undergraduate Biotechnology degree designed to promote teamwork skills along with a deeper understanding of the underpinning biochemistry. Student reflective writing was used to capture students' understanding and experience of teamwork as well as provide insight into their metacognition. The analysis demonstrates that 73% of Year 3 and 93% of Year 4 students were capable of learning about teamwork through reflective writing. While the importance of frequent high quality communication was a common theme, evidence suggests that many students were unsophisticated in their use of communication software. The analysis also highlighted the depth of metacognition that underpins successful team function and the significant weaknesses in self-insight some students possess. These findings challenge assumptions regarding student capacity for leadership and the ability of some students to contribute to successful team outcomes. It is essential for the design of teamwork experiences to fully understand the competencies that underlie teamwork, the metacognitive processes required, and ensure that assessments are fair and measure individual academic performance. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Understanding How College Students Describe Art: An Analysis on Art Education in China

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Hong Wang

2015-05-01

Full Text Available This study aims to explore how Chinese college students appreciate art as reflected in their descriptions of an artwork. Students’ descriptions were defined by a content analysis with respect to opinions and facts, art elements and principles. A questionnaire was also used to investigate students’ attitudes toward art education. 85 students who were divided into four groups participated in the study. The results showed: (1 participants were more familiar with art appreciation than art elements and principles; (2 there was a slight but no significant difference between students’ describing facts and opinions; (3 participants had significantly higher scores on describing art elements than describing art principles; (4 among all participants with regard to all elements and principles, there was a significant difference of describing space between students of art education and students of music education, and also, there was a significant difference of describing value between Chinese language students and other students. The results suggested that participants, including those of art education, had poor knowledge and strategies of understanding art, implying art education in China may have ended up with failure.

Strengthening of RC bridge slabs using CFRP sheets

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Fahmy A. Fathelbab

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Many old structures became structurally insufficient to carry the new loading conditions requirements. Moreover, they suffer from structural degradation, reinforcement steel bars corrosion, bad weather conditions…etc. Many official authorities in several countries had recognized many old bridges and buildings as structurally deficient by today’s standards. Due to these reasons, structural strengthening became an essential requirement and different strengthening techniques appeared in market. Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP strengthening techniques established a good position among all other techniques, giving excellent structural results, low time required and moderate cost compared with the other techniques. The main purpose of this research is to study analytically the strengthening of a reinforced concrete bridge slabs due to excessive loads, using externally bonded FRP sheets technique. A commercial finite element program ANSYS was used to perform a structural linear and non-linear analysis for strengthened slab models using several schemes of FRP sheets. A parametric study was performed to evaluate analytically the effect of changing both FRP stiffness and FRP schemes in strengthening RC slabs. Comparing the results with control slab (reinforced concrete slab without strengthening it is obvious that attaching FRP sheets to the RC slab increases its capacity and enhances the ductility/toughness.

Case based learning: a method for better understanding of biochemistry in medical students.

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Nair, Sandhya Pillai; Shah, Trushna; Seth, Shruti; Pandit, Niraj; Shah, G V

2013-08-01

Health professionals need to develop analytic and diagnostic thinking skills and not just a mere accumulation of large amount of facts. Hence, Case Based Learning (CBL) has been used in the medical curriculum for this reason, so that the students are exposed to the real medical problems, which helps them in develop analysing abilities. This also helps them in interpreting and solving the problems and in the course of doing this, they develop interest. In addition to didactic lectures, CBL was used as a learning method. This study was conducted in the Department of Biochemistry, S.B.K.S.M.I and R.C, Sumandeep Vidyapeeth ,Piparia, Gujarat, India. A group of 100 students were selected and they were divided into two groups as the control group and the study group. A total of 50 students were introduced to case based learning, which formed the study group and 50 students who attended didactic lectures formed the control group. A very significant improvement (pmedical curriculum for a better understanding of Biochemistry among the medical students.