Pondell, C.; van Doorn, A.; MacAvoy, S. E.
2017-12-01
Urban environments offer students interesting opportunities to explore and examine how human modified landscapes influence biodiversity, nutrient cycling, and water quality. Students demanding applied field experiences from their undergraduate environmental science (ENVS) programs can be well served in urban settings. Here, we present strategies for integrating urban areas into the undergraduate field experience. Urban locations provide an opportunity for a different type of local "field-work" than would otherwise be available. In the intro level undergraduate ENVS class, we use our campus, the surrounding neighborhood and city as well as a nearby National Park for field exercises. Here we share lesson plans for field activities that can be completed with incoming undergraduate students, and show how these activities help students gain quantitative and investigative competency.
MacAvoy, S. E.; van Doorn, A.; Pondell, C.
2016-12-01
Urban environments offer students interesting opportunities to explore and examine how human modified landscapes influence biodiversity, nutrient cycling, and water quality. Students demanding applied field experiences from their undergraduate environmental science (ENVS) programs can be well served in urban settings. Here, we present strategies for integrating urban areas into the undergraduate field experience. Urban locations provide an opportunity for a different type of local "field-work" than would otherwise be available. In the intro level undergraduate ENVS class, we use our campus, the surrounding neighborhood and city as well as a nearby National Park for field exercises. Activities include: assessing water quality from multiple sites, observing species composition and ecological succession using fallen logs, assessing biodiversity using biocubes and camera traps, investigating conservation strategies through the local zoo, and walking one mile transects through local urban ecosystems to observe and collect data on the animals, buildings, roads, litter and/or light sources in the surrounding area. These labs provide inspiration and hands on skills that students apply to their own self-selected projects at the end of the semester. In the second level majors class, we make use of our urban location to contrast water quality in parks and highly channelized urban streams, monitor populations of urban wildlife, and investigate the application of urban greening methods to reduce environmental impacts. Students spend labs immersed in streams and wetlands heavily impacted by the urban runoff their city generates to better understand the extent of human impact in an urban environment. Here we share lesson plans for field activities that can be completed with incoming undergraduate students, and show how these activities help students gain quantitative and investigative competency.
Matusov, Eugene
2018-06-01
This opportunistic case-study highlights striking differences in 6 urban children's and 12 preservice suburban middle-class teachers' perception of science and discuss consequences of science education and beyond. I found that all of the interviewed urban children demonstrated scientific inquiries and interests outside of the school science education that can be characterized by diverse simultaneous discourses from diverse practices, i.e., "heterodiscoursia" (Matusov in Culture & Psychology, 17(1), 99-119, 2011b), despite their diverse, positive and negative, attitudes toward school science. In contrast to the urban children's mixed attitudes to science, the preservice teachers view science negatively. They could not see science inquiries in the videotaped interviews of the urban children. There seemed to be many reasons for that. One of the possible reasons for that was that the preservice teachers tried to purify the science practice. Another reason was that they did not see a necessity to be interested and engaged in the curriculum that they are going to teach in future. The pedagogical consequences and remedies are discussed.
Teaching Writing and Critical Thinking in Large Political Science Classes
Franklin, Daniel; Weinberg, Joseph; Reifler, Jason
2014-01-01
In the interest of developing a combination of teaching techniques designed to maximize efficiency "and" quality of instruction, we have experimentally tested three separate and relatively common teaching techniques in three large introductory political science classes at a large urban public university. Our results indicate that the…
Ethno beauty: practices of beautification among urban muslim middle-class women in Surabaya
Listyani, RH; Sadewo, FX S.; Legowo, M.
2018-01-01
This research examines practices of beautification by urban middle-class Muslim women using an ethnomethodology approach. Several theories are employed in this research including the theory of consumption (leisure class), sociology of body, middle-class theory and the concept of modern Islam. Results indicate that the beautiful concept according to Muslim middle-class urban women is white skin without stains, face without wrinkles, nose sharp, eyelashes and thick eyebrows and red lips. To be said to be beautiful, they took various efforts through beauty treatment, diet, fashion and dress up. In this study also revealed that their goal to self-care is pride and recognition in front of other fellow female friends and to happy partner (husband). This shows that the consumption through the body (fashions, diets, make up) and consumption around the body (beauty treatments) represent symbolic and material ways of positioning themselves within contemporary society - thus becoming ‘visible’. The implications of this research are this study is expected to contribute information and enrich the repertoire of social science especially sociology also for the development of research on body and beauty.
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Indu Mohan
Full Text Available Urbanization is an important determinant of cardiovascular disease (CVD risk. To determine location-based differences in CVD risk factors in India we performed studies among women in rural, urban-poor and urban middle-class locations.Population-based cross-sectional studies in rural, urban-poor, and urban-middle class women (35-70 y were performed at multiple sites. We evaluated 6853 women (rural 2616, 5 sites; urban-poor 2008, 4 sites; urban middle-class 2229, 11 sites for socioeconomic, lifestyle, anthropometric and biochemical risk factors. Descriptive statistics are reported.Mean levels of body mass index (BMI, waist circumference, waist-hip ratio (WHR, systolic BP, fasting glucose and cholesterol in rural, urban-poor and urban-middle class women showed significantly increasing trends (ANOVAtrend, p 80 cm (28.3, 63.4, 61.9%, waist >90 cm (8.4, 31.4, 38.2%, waist hip ratio (WHR >0.8 (60.4, 90.7, 88.5, WHR>0.9 (13.0, 44.3, 56.1%, hypertension (31.6, 48.2, 59.0% and hypercholesterolemia (13.5, 27.7, 37.4% (Mantel Haenszel X2 ptrend <0.01. Inverse trend was observed for tobacco use (41.6, 19.6, 9.4%. There was significant association of hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and diabetes with overweight and obesity (adjusted R2 0.89-0.99.There are significant location based differences in cardiometabolic risk factors in India. The urban-middle class women have the highest risk compared to urban-poor and rural.
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Peleg Kremer
2018-02-01
Full Text Available Understanding the relationship between urban structure and ecological function—or environmental performance—is important for the planning of sustainable cities, and requires examination of how components in urban systems are organized. In this paper, we develop a Structure of Urban Landscape (STURLA classification, identifying common compositions of urban components using Berlin, Germany as a case study. We compute the surface temperature corresponding to each classification grid cell, and perform within-cell and neighborhood analysis for the most common composite classes in Berlin. We found that with-class composition and neighborhood composition as well as the interaction between them drive surface temperature. Our findings suggest that the spatial organization of urban components is important in determining the surface temperature and that specific combinations, such as low-rise buildings surrounded by neighborhood trees, or mid-rise buildings surrounded by high-rise buildings, compound to create a cooling effect. These findings are important for developing an understanding of how urban planning can harness structure-function relationships and improve urban sustainability.
The ethics of smart cities and urban science.
Kitchin, Rob
2016-12-28
Software-enabled technologies and urban big data have become essential to the functioning of cities. Consequently, urban operational governance and city services are becoming highly responsive to a form of data-driven urbanism that is the key mode of production for smart cities. At the heart of data-driven urbanism is a computational understanding of city systems that reduces urban life to logic and calculative rules and procedures, which is underpinned by an instrumental rationality and realist epistemology. This rationality and epistemology are informed by and sustains urban science and urban informatics, which seek to make cities more knowable and controllable. This paper examines the forms, practices and ethics of smart cities and urban science, paying particular attention to: instrumental rationality and realist epistemology; privacy, datafication, dataveillance and geosurveillance; and data uses, such as social sorting and anticipatory governance. It argues that smart city initiatives and urban science need to be re-cast in three ways: a re-orientation in how cities are conceived; a reconfiguring of the underlying epistemology to openly recognize the contingent and relational nature of urban systems, processes and science; and the adoption of ethical principles designed to realize benefits of smart cities and urban science while reducing pernicious effects.This article is part of the themed issue 'The ethical impact of data science'. © 2016 The Author(s).
Brkich, Katie Lynn
2014-03-01
Earth science education, as it is traditionally taught, involves presenting concepts such as weathering, erosion, and deposition using relatively well-known examples—the Grand Canyon, beach erosion, and others. However, these examples—which resonate well with middle- and upper-class students—ill-serve students of poverty attending urban schools who may have never traveled farther from home than the corner store. In this paper, I explore the use of a place-based educational framework in teaching earth science concepts to urban fifth graders and explore the connections they make between formal earth science content and their lived experiences using participant-driven photo elicitation techniques. I argue that students are able to gain a sounder understanding of earth science concepts when they are able to make direct observations between the content and their lived experiences and that when such direct observations are impossible they make analogies of appearance, structure, and response to make sense of the content. I discuss additionally the importance of expanding earth science instruction to include man-made materials, as these materials are excluded traditionally from the curriculum yet are most immediately available to urban students for examination.
An Ecological Examination of an Urban Sixth Grade Physical Education Class
James, Alisa R.; Collier, Douglas
2011-01-01
Background: There are several factors that influence teaching urban physical education. Violence, poverty and irrelevant curricula influence the teaching-learning environment in urban physical education. One approach to urban physical education is to look carefully at the ecology that exists within an urban physical education class. This ecology…
Ivestigating Earth Science in Urban Schoolyards
Endreny, Anna; Siegel, Donald I.
2009-01-01
The Urban Schoolyards project is a two year partnership with a university Earth Science Department and the surrounding urban elementary schools. The goal of the project was to develop the capacity of elementary teachers to teach earth science lessons using their schoolyards and local parks as field sites. The university personnel developed lessons…
Converging social classes through humanized urban edges
Abuan, M. V.; Galingan, Z. D.
2017-10-01
Urban open spaces are created to be used by people. It is a place of convergence and social activity. However, these places have transformed into places of divergence. When spaces become dehumanized, it separates social classes. As a result, underused spaces contribute to urban decay. Particularly an urban edge, the JP Rizal Makati Waterfront Area is the center of this paper. The JP Rizal Makati Waterfront Area is a waterfront development situated along the banks of one of Metro Manila’s major water thoroughfare --- Pasig River. The park and its physical form, urban design and landscape tend to deteriorate over time --- creating a further division of social convergence. Social hostility, crime, negligent maintenance and poor urban design are contributing factors to this sprawling decay in what used to be spaces of bringing people together. Amidst attempts to beautify and renew this portion of Makati City’s edge, the urban area still remains misspent.This paper attempts to re-humanize the waterfront development. It uses the responsive environment design principles to be able to achieve this goal.
The correlation of urban heat island in tropical middle-class housing
Wazir, Zuber Angkasa
2017-11-01
A very limited number of green and sustainable construction studies have explored factors related to Urban Heat Island (UHI) in tropical middle-class housing. This paper aimed to investigate the correlation of Urban Heat Island in tropical middle-class housing in three urban housing for middle-class residents of Palembang, which were Taman Sari Kenten, TOP Jakabaring, and Talang Kelapa. Samples consisted of 125 Taman Sari Kenten housing, 27 Talang Kelapa housing, and 12 TOP Jakabaring housing. Independent variables were the resident density, socioeconomic status, house location, roof type, green area ratio, weather, time, air conditioner, pro-environment institution, and NEP scale. The Analytic method included correlation and regression. We identified that all housing had different UHI profiles where Taman Sari Kenten had the highest UHI (4.17 K), followed by Talang Kelapa (2.66 K) and TOP Jakabaring (0.66 K) against temperature in measuring station nearby, owned by BMKG (National Meteorological Station). UHI correlated with the resident density, roof type, green area ratio, weather, time, and air conditioner. The results should add to the design of ideal housing in the tropical climate for middle-class residents, focusing on its ability to mitigate Urban Heat Island.
Tan, Edna; Barton, Angela Calabrese
2008-01-01
Identity formation is a critical dimension of how and why students engage in science to varying degrees. In this paper, we use the lens of identity formation, and in particular identities in practice, to make sense of how and why Melanie, over the course of sixth grade, transformed from a marginalized member of the science class with a failing…
Brkich, Katie Lynn
2014-01-01
Earth science education, as it is traditionally taught, involves presenting concepts such as weathering, erosion, and deposition using relatively well-known examples--the Grand Canyon, beach erosion, and others. However, these examples--which resonate well with middle- and upper-class students--ill-serve students of poverty attending urban schools…
Bondima, Michelle Harris
This ethnographic in nature study explores how two middle school science teachers who have classes populated by urban African Americans teach their students and how their students perceive their teaching. Since urban African American students continue to perform lower than desired on measures of science achievement, there is an urgent need to understand what pedagogical methodologies assist and hinder urban African American students in achieving higher levels of success in science. A pedagogical methodology that theorists posit assists subordinated school populations is culturally responsive pedagogy. Culturally responsive pedagogy is defined as a teaching methodology concerned with preparing students to question inequality, racism, and injustice. Teachers who use culturally responsive pedagogy respect the culture students bring to the class, and require that the teachers willingly do whatever is necessary to educate students (Nieto, 2000). The teacher participants were two female African Americans who were identified by their school supervisors as being highly effective with urban African American students. The researcher presented the teachers in separate case studies conducted over a data collection period of nine months. Data were collected by participant observation, interviews, and artifact collection. Data were analyzed by application of grounded theory techniques. Findings of the teachers' (and the students') beliefs about pedagogy that both assisted and hindered the students' performance in science were reported in a rich and nuanced storytelling manner based on multiple perspectives (teachers', students', and the researcher's). Pedagogical methodologies that the teachers used that assisted their students were the use of cultural metaphors and images in science and applications of motivational techniques that encouraged a nurturing relationship between the teacher and her students. Pedagogical methodologies that hindered students varied by teacher
Mapping US Urban Extents from MODIS Data Using One-Class Classification Method
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Bo Wan
2015-08-01
Full Text Available Urban areas are one of the most important components of human society. Their extents have been continuously growing during the last few decades. Accurate and timely measurements of the extents of urban areas can help in analyzing population densities and urban sprawls and in studying environmental issues related to urbanization. Urban extents detected from remotely sensed data are usually a by-product of land use classification results, and their interpretation requires a full understanding of land cover types. In this study, for the first time, we mapped urban extents in the continental United States using a novel one-class classification method, i.e., positive and unlabeled learning (PUL, with multi-temporal Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS data for the year 2010. The Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Operational Linescan System (DMSP-OLS night stable light data were used to calibrate the urban extents obtained from the one-class classification scheme. Our results demonstrated the effectiveness of the use of the PUL algorithm in mapping large-scale urban areas from coarse remote-sensing images, for the first time. The total accuracy of mapped urban areas was 92.9% and the kappa coefficient was 0.85. The use of DMSP-OLS night stable light data can significantly reduce false detection rates from bare land and cropland far from cities. Compared with traditional supervised classification methods, the one-class classification scheme can greatly reduce the effort involved in collecting training datasets, without losing predictive accuracy.
Miranda, Rommel Joseph
By employing qualitative methods, this study sought to determine the perceptions that urban stakeholders hold about what characteristics should distinguish a high school science teacher whom they would consider to demonstrate high quality in science teaching. A maximum variation sample of six science teachers, three school administrators, six parents and six students from a large urban public school district were interviewed using semi-structured, in-depth interview techniques. From these data, a list of observable characteristics which urban stakeholders hold as evidence of high quality in science teaching was generated. Observational techniques were utilized to determine the extent to which six urban high school science teachers, who meet the NCLB Act criteria for being "highly qualified", actually possessed the characteristics which these stakeholders hold as evidence of high quality in science teaching. Constant comparative analysis was used to analyze the data set. The findings suggest that urban stakeholders perceive that a high school science teacher who demonstrates high quality in science teaching should be knowledgeable about their subject matter, their student population, and should be resourceful; should possess an academic background in science and professional experience in science teaching; should exhibit professionalism, a passion for science and teaching, and a dedication to teaching and student learning; should be skillful in planning and preparing science lessons and in organizing the classroom, in presenting the subject matter to students, in conducting a variety of hands-on activities, and in managing a classroom; and should assess whether students complete class goals and objectives, and provide feedback about grades for students promptly. The findings further reveal that some of the urban high school science teachers who were deemed to be "highly qualified", as defined by the NCLB Act, engaged in practices that threatened quality in science
Changes in Urban Youths' Attitude Towards Science and Perception of a Mobile Science Lab Experience
Fox, Jared
This dissertation examined changes in urban youth's attitude towards science as well as their perception of the informal science education setting and third space opportunity provided by the BioBus, a mobile science lab. Science education researchers have often suggested that informal science education settings provide one possible way to positively influence student attitude towards science and engage marginalized urban youth within the traditional science classroom (Banks et al., 2007; Hofstein & Rosenfeld, 1996; National Research Council, 2009; Schwarz & Stolow, 2006; Stocklmayer, Rennie, & Gilbert, 2010). However, until now, this possibility has not been explored within the setting of a mobile science lab nor examined using a theoretical framework intent on analyzing how affective outcomes may occur. The merits of this analytical stance were evaluated via observation, attitudinal survey, open-response questionnaire, and interview data collected before and after a mobile science lab experience from a combination of 239 students in Grades 6, 8, 9, 11, and 12 from four different schools within a major Northeastern metropolitan area. Findings from this study suggested that urban youth's attitude towards science changed both positively and negatively in statistically significant ways after a BioBus visit and that the experience itself was highly enjoyable. Furthermore, implications for how to construct a third space within the urban science classroom and the merits of utilizing the theoretical framework developed to analyze cultural tensions between urban youth and school science are discussed. Key Words: Attitude towards science, third space, mobile science lab, urban science education.
Bonnefond, Céline; Clément, Matthieu
2014-07-01
While a plethoric empirical literature addresses the relationship between socio-economic status and body weight, little is known about the influence of social class on nutritional outcomes, particularly in developing countries. The purpose of this article is to contribute to the analysis of the social determinants of adult body weight in urban China by taking into account the influence of social class. More specifically, we propose to analyse the position of the Chinese urban middle class in terms of being overweight or obese. The empirical investigations conducted as part of this research are based on a sample of 1320 households and 2841 adults from the China Health and Nutrition Survey for 2009. For the first step, we combine an economic approach and a sociological approach to identify social classes at household level. First, households with an annual per capita income between 10,000 Yuan and the 95th income percentile are considered as members of the middle class. Second, we strengthen the characterization of the middle class using information on education and employment. By applying clustering methods, we identify four groups: the elderly and inactive middle class, the old middle class, the lower middle class and the new middle class. For the second step, we implement an econometric analysis to assess the influence of social class on adult body mass index and on the probability of being overweight or obese. We use multinomial treatment regressions to deal with the endogeneity of the social class variable. Our results show that among the four subgroups of the urban middle class, the new middle class is the only one to be relatively well-protected against obesity. We suggest that this group plays a special role in adopting healthier food consumption habits and seems to be at a more advanced stage of the nutrition transition. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Urban science education: examining current issues through a historical lens
McLaughlin, Cheryl A.
2014-12-01
This paper reviews and synthesizes urban science education studies published between 2000 and 2013 with a view to identifying current challenges faced by both teachers and students in urban classrooms. Additionally, this paper considers the historical events that have shaped the conditions, bureaucracies, and interactions of urban institutions. When the findings from these urban science education studies were consolidated with the historical overview provided, it was revealed that the basic design and regulatory policies of urban schools have not substantively changed since their establishment in the nineteenth century. Teachers in urban science classrooms continue to face issues of inequality, poverty, and social injustice as they struggle to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse student population. Furthermore, persistent concerns of conflicting Discourses, cultural dissonance, and oppression create formidable barriers to science learning. Despite the many modifications in structure and organization, urban students are still subjugated and marginalized in systems that emphasize control and order over high-quality science education.
Moving Towards a New Urban Systems Science
Peter M. Groffman; Mary L. Cadenasso; Jeannine Cavender-Bares; Daniel L. Childers; Nancy B. Grimm; Morgan Grove; Sarah E. Hobbie; Lucy R. Hutyra; G. Darrel Jenerette; Timon McPhearson; Diane E. Pataki; Steward T. A. Pickett; Richard V. Pouyat; Emma Rosi-Marshall; Benjamin L. Ruddell
2016-01-01
Research on urban ecosystems rapidly expanded in the 1990s and is now a central topic in ecosystem science. In this paper, we argue that there are two critical challenges for ecosystem science that are rooted in urban ecosystems: (1) predicting or explaining the assembly and function of novel communities and ecosystems under altered environmental conditions and (2)...
Urban Morphometrics: Towards a Science of Urban Evolution
Dibble, Jacob; Prelorendjos, Alexios; Romice, Ombretta; Zanella, Mattia; Strano, Emanuele; Pagel, Mark; Porta, Sergio
2015-01-01
Urban theorists, social reformists and philosophers have considered the city as a living organism since Plato. However, despite extraordinary advancements in evolutionary biology, now being used to explain social and cultural phenomena, a proper science of evolution in cities has never been established since Geddes' work at the dawn of the Town Planning discipline. Commencing in the tradition of Urban Morphology, this research develops and validates a statistically reliable and universally ap...
THE REPRESENTATION OF URBAN UPPER MIDDLE CLASS AMERICAN WOMEN'S COMMUNITY IN SEX AND THE CITY
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Yola Damayanti Gani
2005-01-01
Full Text Available The portrayal of urban upper middle class American women's community in Sex and the City-SATC-is built upon constructed symbols related to the position of urban upper middle class American Women's community and how cosmopolitan the women are. The symbol's construction is characterized by singleness, upper middle class social status, well-established career, alienation, consumptiveness, independence, gender consciousness, and open mindedness in their sexual knowledge. Television has helped to fracture traditional conventions about how women should place themselves in the midst of their society and constructed urban upper middle class American women's image and identity.
Rurality/Urbanism and Extended Familism Among Working- and Lower-Class Blacks.
Dietrich, Katheryn Thomas
A comprehensive look is taken at the rural-urban variation in extended familism among a segment of the population for which extended familism purportedly is especially salient: lower and working class black Americans. The study is guided by the general hypothesis that rurality/urbanism affects extended familism when nonecological variables are…
Race, Class, and Cultural Reproduction: Critical Theories in Urban Education
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Elaine M. Walker
2003-11-01
Full Text Available In spite of decades of reform attempts urban education remains an intractable policy issue for educators. National and state level data continue to show disparities in educational achievement and attainment between students from affluent and poor urban communities. If past policies have not proven to be effective in substantially improving urban educational systems the question is why? In this paper the argument is raised that urban educational policies lack sound epistemological grounding. Policies are divorced from an understanding of the “urban problematic”. Functionalist in orientation these policies have for the most part sought to “fix” urban schools by focusing on micro-ecological issues. In this paper three theoretical perspectives are explored for their potential contribution to inform research and policy on urban educational issues. The three perspectives are: 1 class theories 2 critical race theory and 3 cultural reproduction theories.
Singh, Renu
In order to maintain its global position, the United States needs to increase the number of students opting for science careers. Science teachers face a formidable challenge. Students are not choosing science because they do not think coursework is interesting or applies to their lives. These problems often compound for adolescents in urban areas. This action research investigated an innovation aimed at engaging a group of adolescents in the science learning process through cognitive processes and conceptual understanding. It was hoped that this combination would increase students' engagement in the classroom and proficiency in science. The study was conducted with 28 juniors and sophomores in an Environmental Science class in an urban high school with a student body of 97% minority students and 86% students receiving free and reduced lunch. The study used a mixed-methods design. Instruments included a pre- and post-test, Thinking Maps, transcripts of student discourse, and a two-part Engagement Observation Instrument. Data analysis included basic descriptives and a grounded theory approach. Findings show students became engaged in activities when cognitive processes were taught prior to content. Furthermore it was discovered that Thinking Maps were perceived to be an easy tool to use to organize students' thinking and processing. Finally there was a significant increase in student achievement. From these findings implications for future practice and research are offered.
Urban High School Teachers' Beliefs Concerning Essential Science Teaching Dispositions
Miranda, Rommel
2012-01-01
This qualitative study addresses the link between urban high school science teachers' beliefs about essential teaching dispositions and student learning outcomes. The findings suggest that in order to help students to do well in science in urban school settings, science teachers should possess essential teaching dispositions which include…
Middle School Students' Attitudes toward Science, Scientists, Science Teachers and Classes
Kapici, Hasan Özgür; Akçay, Hakan
2016-01-01
It is an indispensable fact that having a positive attitude towards science is one of the important factors that promotes students for studying in science. The study is a kind of national study that aims to investigate middle school students', from different regions of Turkey, attitudes toward science, scientists and science classes. The study was…
Caste, Class, and Urbanization: The Shaping of Religious Community in Contemporary India
Stroope, Samuel
2012-01-01
Building on the implications of qualitative work from India and urbanism theories, I aim to understand whether religious bonding social capital in contemporary India increases with greater urbanization and whether such increases are moderated by caste or social class position. Results from multinomial logistic regression on 1,417 Hindu respondents…
Learning to teach science in urban schools
Tobin, Kenneth; Roth, Wolff-Michael; Zimmermann, Andrea
2001-10-01
Teaching in urban schools, with their problems of violence, lack of resources, and inadequate funding, is difficult. It is even more difficult to learn to teach in urban schools. Yet learning in those locations where one will subsequently be working has been shown to be the best preparation for teaching. In this article we propose coteaching as a viable model for teacher preparation and the professional development of urban science teachers. Coteaching - working at the elbow of someone else - allows new teachers to experience appropriate and timely action by providing them with shared experiences that become the topic of their professional conversations with other coteachers (including peers, the cooperating teacher, university supervisors, and high school students). This article also includes an ethnography describing the experiences of a new teacher who had been assigned to an urban high school as field experience, during which she enacted a curriculum that was culturally relevant to her African American students, acknowledged their minority status with respect to science, and enabled them to pursue the school district standards. Even though coteaching enables learning to teach and curricula reform, we raise doubts about whether our approaches to teacher education and enacting science curricula are hegemonic and oppressive to the students we seek to emancipate through education.
Single-gender mathematics and science classes and the effects on urban middle school boys and girls
Sudler, Dawn M.
This study compared the differences in the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) mathematics and science achievement scores of boys and girls in Grade 7 at two urban middle schools. The data allowed the researcher to determine to what degree boys and girls in Grade 7 differ in their mathematics and science achievements within a single-gender environment versus a coeducational learning environment. The study compared any differences between boys and girls in Grade 7 within a single-gender environment in the subjects of mathematics and science, as measured by the CRCT assessments. The study also compared differences between boys and girls in Grade 7 within a coeducational environment in the subjects of mathematics and science, as measured by the CRCT assessments. Two middle schools were used within the study. One middle school was identified as a single-gender school (Middle School A); the other was identified as a coeducational school (Middle School B). This quantitative study applied the use of a descriptive research design. In addition, CRCT scores for the subjects of mathematics and science were taken during the spring of 2008 from both middle schools. Data were measured using descriptive statistics and independent t test calculations. The frequency statistics proceeded to compare each sample performance levels. The data were described in means, standard deviations, standard error means, frequency, and percentages. This method provided an excellent description of a sample scored on the spring 2008 CRCT mathematics and science assessments.
Kuwahara, Jennifer L. H.
2013-01-01
This study investigates how students' participation in a place-based science curriculum may influence their place attachment (dependence and identity). Participants attend an urban high school in Hawai'i and are members of different cultural institutions within the school. Students are either enrolled in an environmental science class within the…
Utilizing Urban Environments for Effective Field Experiences
MacAvoy, S. E.; Knee, K.
2014-12-01
Research surveys suggest that students are demanding more applied field experiences from their undergraduate environmental science programs. For geoscience educators at liberal arts colleges without field camps, university vehicles, or even geology departments, getting students into the field is especially rewarding - and especially challenging. Here, we present strategies that we have used in courses ranging from introductory environmental science for non-majors, to upper level environmental methods and geology classes. Urban locations provide an opportunity for a different type of local "field-work" than would otherwise be available. In the upper-level undergraduate Environmental Methods class, we relied on a National Park area located a 10-minute walk from campus for most field exercises. Activities included soil analysis, measuring stream flow and water quality parameters, dendrochronology, and aquatic microbe metabolism. In the non-majors class, we make use of our urban location to contrast water quality in parks and highly channelized urban streams. Here we share detailed lesson plans and budgets for field activities that can be completed during a class period of 2.5 hours with a $75 course fee, show how these activities help students gain quantitative competency, and provide student feedback about the classes and activities.
Smith, Debra Messenger
2010-01-01
In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in single gender education. Emerging science has proven that boys and girls learn differently. This study compared fifth grade single-gender classes to fifth grade traditional, coeducational classes in the same urban middle school. The following were compared: students' academic achievement;…
Citizen Science and the Urban Ecology of Birds and Butterflies - A Systematic Review.
Wang Wei, James; Lee, Benjamin P Y-H; Bing Wen, Low
2016-01-01
Citizen science has gained widespread currency as a tool for ecological research over the past decade. However, in the discipline of urban ecology, the existing contributions and future potential of citizen science engagement, specifically in terms of knowledge gain, have not yet been comprehensively explored. Here, we present a systematic review of published work on the urban ecology of birds and butterflies in relation to their use of citizen science data between 2005 and 2014. We compared the number of studies that used citizen science data to the number of studies that could potentially have employed data derived from citizen science. The take-up rates of citizen science data were 21% and 26% for birds and butterflies respectively. Most studies that employed citizen science used volunteer-derived data as primary data, and adopted Collegial, Collaborative and Contributional engagement modes to the exclusion of Contractual and Co-created arrangements. There was no evidence that citizen science studies investigated a different organismal scale (community vs. species) compared to the urban ecology literature. For both taxa, citizen science contributions were lower than expected compared to their representation in the urban ecology literature for studies on species-environment relationships at landscape and micro-environment scales, as well as behavioural ecology in general. Other research topics that could benefit from further citizen science involvement include breeding studies and guild analyses for birds, and multi-taxa studies for butterflies. Promising models of citizen science engagement for urban ecology are highlighted in relation to their thematic foci and methodological detail, and a number of research questions that could be productively addressed using citizen science are identified. The dynamics of contemporary engagement between citizen science and urban ecology described by this review could inform the design and refinement of urban ecology
Hands-on science methods class for pre-service elementary teachers
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Manner, B.M. [Univ. of Pittsburgh, PA (United States)
1994-12-31
If elementary teachers are to be comfortable teaching science, they must have positive pre-service experiences. A science methods class that is activity-based and student-centered, rather than lecture-based and teacher-centered, peaks their interest in science and alleviates their fears. Activities conducted by the students illustrate science concepts or integrate science with children`s literature books such as The Grouchy Ladybug. These activities are conducted by each student with the rest of the class and the professor acting as an elementary class. Each activity is then evaluated as to the science concept, what was done well, and how it could be improved. The students also relate how the activity would be integrated with other subjects such as social studies, art, math, and language arts. Student feedback indicates this method is enjoyable, educational, and valuable in preparing them to teach science. The {open_quotes}oohs{close_quotes} and {open_quotes}I didn`t know that!{close_quotes} during activities are positives, but students have also learned some science, lost most of their science anxiety, and will teach science with the confidence and enthusiasm that was lacking at the beginning of the course.
Fleshman, Robin Earle
science readiness. Data from the transcripts of two graduating classes were analyzed and the interview transcripts were coded and analyzed as well. Analysis of qualitative data revealed key findings: (1) the school's Habits of Mind, authentic scientific inquiry, self-regulated learning triggers and strategies, and teacher feedback practices driven by an ethic of care supported students' science learning and portfolio assessment; and (2) the cyclical and extensive portfolio processes of writing, revision, and submission well prepared alumni for college science laboratory work and coursework, to a certain extent, but not for the traditional assessments administered in college science courses. Analysis of quantitative data revealed that, if based solely on the City University of New York's Regents score criteria for college readiness, the majority of students from these two graduating classes studied would not have been considered college ready even though all participants, including interviewed alumni, believed the school prepared them for college. The majority of these students, however, were transitioning to college readiness based on their Regents-level science and mathematics coursework. Findings of this study have implications for science assessment, professional development in science, education policy reform, and high school partnerships with CBOs and postsecondary institutions as they pertain to college and college science readiness for students of color in urban portfolio community high schools.
Skar, Mette; Villumsen, Anne Berg; Christensen, Dirk Lund; Petersen, Joergen Holm; Deepa, Mohan; Anjana, Ranjit Mohan; Pradeepa, Rajendra; Mohan, Viswanathan
2013-11-01
The aim of this study is to determine the factors responsible for differences in the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) in subjects of different social class in an urban South Indian population. Analyses were based on the cross-sectional data from the Chennai Urban Rural Epidemiology Study of 1989 individuals, aged ≥20 years. Entered in the analyses were information obtained by self-report on (1) household income; (2) family history of diabetes; (3) physical activity; (4) smoking status; (5) alcohol consumption. Biochemical, clinical and anthropometrical measurements were performed and included in the analyses. Social class was classified based on income as low (Rs. social class, respectively (P social class (Intermediate class: Odds ratio [OR], 1.7 [confidence interval [CI], 1.2-2.3]; High class: OR, 2.0 [CI-1.4-2.9]). The multivariable adjusted logistic regression analysis revealed that the effect of social class on the risk of diabetes remained significant (P = 0.016) when age, family history of diabetes and blood pressure were included. However, with the inclusion of abdominal obesity in the model, the significant effect of social class disappeared (P = 0.087). An increased prevalence of DM was found in the higher social class in this urban South Indian population, which is explained by obesity.
Science in the city: Urban trees, forests, and people
Kathleen L. Wolf
2016-01-01
The article, intended for professional and manager audiences, is an overview of current research in urban forestry. Topics include tree science, forest risks, forest management and assessment, ecosystem services, and urban socio-ecological systems (including governance and stewardship).
Developing Research Base Learning in Urban Sociology Class
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Lumban Arofah
2015-03-01
Full Text Available This article aims to describe an introduction research base learning in the urban sociology class. The idea came after evaluating answer sheet from previous year students. Although the student had an ability to demonstrate their understanding on the subject, but they could not be able to relate and describe the subject into the local urban case. The lecture developed the lesson plan that enable student to do a small research and will be presented in the class. The research report and participation of presentation will be counted in for final score. The project divided into 5 steps; preparation - research – presentation – discussion – summarizing. Reflecting the lesson process, there are several important points as a lesson learned; student have an ability to reflect the theories and perspective in urban sociology, understand the differences of formal migrant and informal migrant, describe the behavior of inhabitant in public sphere, analyzing survival mechanism of informal trader, and understand how urban sub culture maintain their culture and develop their group as a place of fellowships for other sub culture members.Tulisan ini bertujuan untuk menjelaskan digunakannya metode pembelajaran berbasis riset pada mata kuliah Sosiologi Perkotaan. Hal tersebut merupakan hasil dari evaluasi lembar jawaban Mahasiswa pada tes final semester pada tahun sebelumnya. Hasil tes final menunjukkan bahwa Mahasiswa mampu menjelaskan materi yang diajarkan dalam pembelajaran namun kesulitan ketika harus mengkaitkannya terhadap permasalahan lokal perkotaan. Pengajar kemudian membuat rencana pembelajaran yang memungkinkan siswa melakukan penelitian sederhana yang nantinya dipresentasikan di depan kelas. Laporan penelitian dan partisipasi dalam pembelajaran diperhitungkan sebagai komponen penilaian dalam skor akhir. Proyek tersebut dibagi kedalam lima tahapan; persiapan – penelitian lapangan – presentasi – diskusi – simpulan. Berpijak dari pembelajaran
Citizen Science and the Urban Ecology of Birds and Butterflies — A Systematic Review
Wang Wei, James; Lee, Benjamin P. Y-H.; Bing Wen, Low
2016-01-01
Citizen science has gained widespread currency as a tool for ecological research over the past decade. However, in the discipline of urban ecology, the existing contributions and future potential of citizen science engagement, specifically in terms of knowledge gain, have not yet been comprehensively explored. Here, we present a systematic review of published work on the urban ecology of birds and butterflies in relation to their use of citizen science data between 2005 and 2014. We compared the number of studies that used citizen science data to the number of studies that could potentially have employed data derived from citizen science. The take-up rates of citizen science data were 21% and 26% for birds and butterflies respectively. Most studies that employed citizen science used volunteer-derived data as primary data, and adopted Collegial, Collaborative and Contributional engagement modes to the exclusion of Contractual and Co-created arrangements. There was no evidence that citizen science studies investigated a different organismal scale (community vs. species) compared to the urban ecology literature. For both taxa, citizen science contributions were lower than expected compared to their representation in the urban ecology literature for studies on species-environment relationships at landscape and micro-environment scales, as well as behavioural ecology in general. Other research topics that could benefit from further citizen science involvement include breeding studies and guild analyses for birds, and multi-taxa studies for butterflies. Promising models of citizen science engagement for urban ecology are highlighted in relation to their thematic foci and methodological detail, and a number of research questions that could be productively addressed using citizen science are identified. The dynamics of contemporary engagement between citizen science and urban ecology described by this review could inform the design and refinement of urban ecology
Urban Science Education: Examining Current Issues through a Historical Lens
McLaughlin, Cheryl A.
2014-01-01
This paper reviews and synthesizes urban science education studies published between 2000 and 2013 with a view to identifying current challenges faced by both teachers and students in urban classrooms. Additionally, this paper considers the historical events that have shaped the conditions, bureaucracies, and interactions of urban institutions.…
Chittum, Jessica R.; Jones, Brett D.
2017-01-01
One purpose of this study was to determine whether patterns existed in pre-high school students' motivation-related perceptions of their science classes. Another purpose was to examine the extent to which these patterns were related to their science identification, gender, grade level, class effort, and intentions to persist in science. We…
Class imbalance in unsupervised change detection - A diagnostic analysis from urban remote sensing
Leichtle, Tobias; Geiß, Christian; Lakes, Tobia; Taubenböck, Hannes
2017-08-01
Automatic monitoring of changes on the Earth's surface is an intrinsic capability and simultaneously a persistent methodological challenge in remote sensing, especially regarding imagery with very-high spatial resolution (VHR) and complex urban environments. In order to enable a high level of automatization, the change detection problem is solved in an unsupervised way to alleviate efforts associated with collection of properly encoded prior knowledge. In this context, this paper systematically investigates the nature and effects of class distribution and class imbalance in an unsupervised binary change detection application based on VHR imagery over urban areas. For this purpose, a diagnostic framework for sensitivity analysis of a large range of possible degrees of class imbalance is presented, which is of particular importance with respect to unsupervised approaches where the content of images and thus the occurrence and the distribution of classes are generally unknown a priori. Furthermore, this framework can serve as a general technique to evaluate model transferability in any two-class classification problem. The applied change detection approach is based on object-based difference features calculated from VHR imagery and subsequent unsupervised two-class clustering using k-means, genetic k-means and self-organizing map (SOM) clustering. The results from two test sites with different structural characteristics of the built environment demonstrated that classification performance is generally worse in imbalanced class distribution settings while best results were reached in balanced or close to balanced situations. Regarding suitable accuracy measures for evaluating model performance in imbalanced settings, this study revealed that the Kappa statistics show significant response to class distribution while the true skill statistic was widely insensitive to imbalanced classes. In general, the genetic k-means clustering algorithm achieved the most robust results
Johnson, Sonya L.
The purpose of this study was to determine how and to what extent single gender science classes affect motivation to learn scientific concepts, interest in science, and college major intent among high school and middle school girls. This study was designed to determine whether students' motivation to learn science changes when they are placed in a single gender science class. The study also measured whether the students' level of interest in science and desire to major in science changes based on their enrollment in a single gender class. Finally, the study investigated the career and college major intentions of the sample population used in the study. Girls in single gender groupings engage in more academic risk taking and participate more than girls in coeducational classes. This benefit alone responds to reform efforts and supports the abolition of gender-based obstacles. Single gender grouping could help encourage more girls to take interest in majoring in science, a field that is considered to be masculine. By increasing students' interest in science while enrolled in single gender classes, students may become more motivated to learn science. This study was conducted using seven, eighth, ninth and tenth grade girls from single sex and coeducational science classes. The students participated in 2 surveys, the Science Motivational Survey and the Test of Science Related Attitudes, at the beginning of the semester and at the end of the semester. In respect to girls in high school single gender science classes, results were contrary to recent studies that state that girls who received science education in a single gender setting have an increase in motivation and attitude towards science. The results did show that middle school girls in single gender science classes did show an increase in motivation.
Teaching Citizenship in Science Classes at the University of Arizona
Thompson, R. M.; Mangin, K.
2008-12-01
Science classes for non-science majors present unique opportunities to create lifelong science aficionados and teach citizenship skills. Because no specific content is needed for future courses, subject matter can be selected to maximize interest and assignments can be focused on life skills such as science literacy instead of discipline-specific content mastery. Dinosaurs! is a very successful non-major science class with a minimum enrollment of 150 that is intended for sophomores. One of the goals of this class is to increase students' awareness of social issues, the political process, and opportunities for keeping up with science later in life. The main theme of this class is evolution. The bird-dinosaur link is the perfect vehicle for illustrating the process of science because the lines of evidence are many, convincing, and based on discoveries made throughout the last half-century and continuing to the present day. The course is also about evolution the social issue. The second writing assignment is an in-class affective writing based on a newspaper article about the Dover, PA court case. The primary purpose of this assignment is to create a comfort zone for those students with strong ideological biases against evolution by allowing them to express their views without being judged, and to instill tolerance and understanding in students at the other end of the spectrum. Another homework uses thomas.loc.gov, the government's public website providing information about all legislation introduced since the 93rd Congress and much more. The assignment highlights the difficulty of passing legislation and the factors that contribute to a given bill's legislative success or failure using the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act, S320. Details of these assignments and others designed to achieve the goals stated above will be presented. A very different undergraduate program, Marine Discovery, offers science majors the opportunity to earn upper division science
Borges, Sheila Ivelisse
Statistics indicate that students who reside in forgotten places do not engage in science-related careers. This is problematic because we are not tapping into diverse talent that could very well make scientific strides and because there is a moral obligation for equity as discussed in Science for all (AAAS, 1989). Research suggests that one of the reasons for this disparity is that students feel alienated from science early on in their K--12 education due to their inability to connect culturally with their teachers (Tobin, 2001). Urban students share an urban culture, a way of knowing and being that is separate from that of the majority of the teacher workforce whom have not experienced the nuances of urban culture. These teachers have challenges when teaching in urban classrooms and have a myriad of difficulties such as classroom management, limited access to experienced science colleagues and limited resources to teach effectively. This leads them to leaving the teaching profession affecting already high teacher attrition rates in urban areas (Ingersol, 2001). In order to address these issues a culturally relevant pedagogy, called reality pedagogy (Emdin, 2011), was implemented in an urban science classroom using a bricolage (Denzin & Lincoln, 2005) of different theories such as social capital (Bourdieu, 1986) and critical race theory (Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995), along with reality pedagogy to construct a qualitative sociocultural lens. Reality pedagogy has five tools, which are cogenerative dialogues, coteaching, cosmopolitanism, context, and content. In this longitudinal critical ethnography a science teacher in an alternative teaching certification program was supported for two years as she implemented the tools of reality pedagogy with her urban students. Findings revealed that the science teacher enacted four racial microaggressions against her students, which negatively affected the teacher-student relationship and science teaching and learning. As the
Cultivation of science identity through authentic science in an urban high school classroom
Chapman, Angela; Feldman, Allan
2017-06-01
This study examined how a contextually based authentic science experience affected the science identities of urban high school students who have been marginalized during their K-12 science education. We examined students' perceptions of the intervention as an authentic science experience, how the experience influenced their science identity, as well as their perceptions about who can do science. We found that the students believed the experience to be one of authentic science, that their science identity was positively influenced by participation in the experience, and that they demonstrated a shift in perceptions from stereotypical to more diverse views of scientists. Implications for science education are discussed.
Sciencey Girls: Discourses Supporting Working-Class Girls’ to Identify with Science
Spela Godec
2018-01-01
Women from working class and some ethnic minority backgrounds continue to be underrepresented in science, particularly in areas such as physical sciences and engineering. Many find it difficult to see science as something that is “for them”, which then has implications for their learning and participation in science. In this paper, I discuss findings from a U.K.-based qualitative study with 15 working-class girls, aged 11 to 13, from diverse ethnic backgrounds. Data were collected over the co...
Science education in a bilingual class: problematising a translational practice
Ünsal, Zeynep; Jakobson, Britt; Molander, Bengt-Olov; Wickman, Per-Olof
2016-10-01
In this article we examine how bilingual students construe relations between everyday language and the language of science. Studies concerning bilingual students language use in science class have mainly been conducted in settings where both the teacher and the students speak the same minority language. In this study data was collected in a class consisting of students aged 13-14. All students had Turkish as their minority language, whereas the teacher's minority language was Bosnian. The class was observed when they were working with acids and bases. In addition, the students were interviewed in groups. They were asked about how they use their languages during science lessons and then asked to describe and explain scientific phenomena and processes that had been a part of the observed lessons. For the analysis, practical epistemology analysis and the theory of translanguaging were used. The results show how the students' everyday language repertoire may limit their possibilities to make meaning of science. In particular, the teacher's practice of facilitating and supporting students' understanding of science content by relating it to concrete examples took another direction since the everyday words he used were not a part of the students' language repertoire. The study also shows how the students used their minority language as a resource to translate words from Swedish to Turkish in order to proceed with the science activities. However, translating scientific concepts was problematic and led to the students' descriptions of the concepts not being in line with how they are viewed in science. Finally, the study also demonstrates how monolingual exams may limit bilingual students' achievements in science. The study contributes by presenting and discussing circumstances that need to be taken into consideration when planning and conducting science lessons in classes where the teacher and the student do not share the same minority language.
Sciencey Girls: Discourses Supporting Working-Class Girls’ to Identify with Science
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Spela Godec
2018-01-01
Full Text Available Women from working class and some ethnic minority backgrounds continue to be underrepresented in science, particularly in areas such as physical sciences and engineering. Many find it difficult to see science as something that is “for them”, which then has implications for their learning and participation in science. In this paper, I discuss findings from a U.K.-based qualitative study with 15 working-class girls, aged 11 to 13, from diverse ethnic backgrounds. Data were collected over the course of one academic year, through interviews and discussion groups with the girls and interviews with their science teachers, and analysed through a post-structural gender lens. The paper foregrounds five science-identifying girls, who negotiated their identification and engagement with science through the following discursive strategies: (i rendering gender invisible, (ii drawing attention to the presence of women in science, (iii reframing “science people” as caring and nurturing, and (iv cultural discourses of desirability of science. The findings contribute to the understanding of how working class girls—who are often “othered” and constructed as “unintelligible” within the dominant discursive regime of prototypical science—find identification with science possible. The paper discusses the affordances and challenges of each discursive strategy.
Upadhyay, Bhaskar; Maruyama, Geoffrey; Albrecht, Nancy
2017-12-01
In this interpretive case study, we draw from sociocultural theory of learning and culturally relevant pedagogy to understand how urban students from nondominant groups leverage their sociocultural experiences. These experiences allow them to gain an empowering voice in influencing science content and activities and to work towards self-determining the sciences that are personally meaningful. Furthermore, tying sociocultural experiences with science learning helps generate sociopolitical awareness among students. We collected interview and observation data in an urban elementary classroom over one academic year to understand the value of urban students' sociocultural experiences in learning science and choosing science activities.
Teacher interpersonal behaviour and student attitudes in Brunei primary science classes classes
Scott, R.; Brok, den P.J.; Fisher, D.; Staver, J.; Zandvliet, D.; Tillotson, J.; Anderson, C. W.; Crawley, F.
2004-01-01
This study investigated relationships between students’ perceptions of their teachers’ interpersonal behaviour and their subject-related attitude in primary science classes in Brunei. Teacher-student interpersonal behaviour was mapped with the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI) and reported
Supporting Struggling Readers in Secondary School Science Classes
Roberts, Kelly D.; Takahashi, Kiriko; Park, Hye-Jin; Stodden, Robert A.
2012-01-01
Many secondary school students struggle to read complex expository text such as science textbooks. This article provides step-by-step guidance on how to foster expository reading for struggling readers in secondary school science classes. Two strategies are introduced: Text-to-Speech (TTS) Software as a reading compensatory strategy and the…
Skells, Kristin Marie
Extant data was used to consider the association between science anxiety, social cognitive factors and STEM career aspirations of high school freshmen in general science classes. An adapted model based on social cognitive career theory (SCCT) was used to consider these relationships, with science anxiety functioning as a barrier in the model. The study assessed the following research questions: (1) Do social cognitive variables relate in the expected way to STEM career aspirations based on SCCT for ninth graders taking general science classes? (2) Is there an association between science anxiety and outcomes and processes identified in the SCCT model for ninth graders taking general science classes? (3) Does gender moderate these relationships? Results indicated that support was found for many of the central tenants of the SCCT model. Science anxiety was associated with prior achievement, self-efficacy, and science interest, although it did not relate directly to STEM career goals. Gender was found to moderate only the relationship between prior achievement and science self-efficacy.
Class 1 integrons in environments with different degrees of urbanization.
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Maximiliano Nardelli
Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Class 1 integrons are one of the most successful elements in the acquisition, expression and spread of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARG among clinical isolates. Little is known about the gene flow of the components of the genetic platforms of class 1 integrons within and between bacterial communities. Thus it is important to better understand the interactions among "environmental" intI1, its genetic platforms and its distribution with human activities. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: An evaluation of two types of genetic determinants, ARG (sul1 and qacE1/qacEΔ1 genes and lateral genetic elements (LGE (intI1, ISCR1 and tniC genes in a model of a culture-based method without antibiotic selection was conducted in a gradient of anthropogenic disturbances in a Patagonian island recognized as being one of the last regions containing wild areas. The intI1, ISCR1 genes and intI1 pseudogenes that were found widespread throughout natural communities were not associated with urbanization (p>0.05. Each ARG that is embedded in the most common genetic platform of clinical class 1 integrons, showed different ecological and molecular behaviours in environmental samples. While the sul1 gene frequency was associated with urbanization, the qacE1/qacEΔ1 gene showed an adaptive role to several habitats. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The high frequency of intI1 pseudogenes suggests that, although intI1 has a deleterious impact within several genomes, it can easily be disseminated among natural bacterial communities. The widespread occurrence of ISCR1 and intI1 throughout Patagonian sites with different degree of urbanization, and within different taxa, could be one of the causes of the increasing frequency of multidrug-resistant isolates that have characterized Argentina for decades. The flow of ARG and LGE between natural and clinical communities cannot be explained with a single general process but is a direct consequence of the interaction of multiple
Cahill, Kevin
2018-01-01
This paper draws on a three-year critical ethnography which interrogated intersections of social class, school and identity in an urban Irish community. The focus here is on the psycho-spatial disidentifications, inscriptions and class fractioning enacted throughout the school and community of Portown by a cohort of succeeding students from this…
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Mette Skar
2013-01-01
Full Text Available Aim: The aim of this study is to determine the factors responsible for differences in the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM in subjects of different social class in an urban South Indian population. Materials and Methods: Analyses were based on the cross-sectional data from the Chennai Urban Rural Epidemiology Study of 1989 individuals, aged ≥20 years. Entered in the analyses were information obtained by self-report on (1 household income; (2 family history of diabetes; (3 physical activity; (4 smoking status; (5 alcohol consumption. Biochemical, clinical and anthropometrical measurements were performed and included in the analyses. Social class was classified based on income as low (Rs. <2000 intermediate (Rs. 2000-5000` and high (Rs. 5000-20000. Results: The prevalence rates of DM were 12.0%, 18.4% and 21.7% in low, intermediate and high social class, respectively (P < 0.001. A significant increase in the risk of diabetes was found with ascending social class (Intermediate class: Odds ratio [OR], 1.7 [confidence interval [CI], 1.2-2.3]; High class: OR, 2.0 [CI-1.4-2.9]. The multivariable adjusted logistic regression analysis revealed that the effect of social class on the risk of diabetes remained significant (P = 0.016 when age, family history of diabetes and blood pressure were included. However, with the inclusion of abdominal obesity in the model, the significant effect of social class disappeared (P = 0.087. Conclusion: An increased prevalence of DM was found in the higher social class in this urban South Indian population, which is explained by obesity.
Lee, Valerie E.; Robinson, Shanta R.; Sebastian, James
2012-01-01
Is the quality of instruction systematically better in one subject than another? Teachers and students in the same Chicago high schools reported on one core-curriculum class (English, mathematics, science, or social studies) in 2007 surveys. Teachers commented on instructional demands and student participation. Students described engagement,…
Dimensions of Communication in Urban Science Education: Interactions and Transactions
Emdin, Christopher
2011-01-01
This paper is birthed from my lifelong experiences as student, teacher, administrator, and researcher in urban science classrooms. This includes my years as a minority student in biology, chemistry, and physics classrooms, 10 tears as science teacher and high school science department chair, 5-years conducting research on youth experiences in…
Saquib, Juliann; Saquib, Nazmus; Stefanick, Marcia L; Khanam, Masuma Akter; Anand, Shuchi; Rahman, Mahbubur; Chertow, Glenn M; Barry, Michele; Ahmed, Tahmeed; Cullen, Mark R
2016-07-01
The sustained economic growth in Bangladesh during the previous decade has created a substantial middle-class population, who have adequate income to spend on food, clothing, and lifestyle management. Along with the improvements in living standards, has also come negative impact on health for the middle class. The study objective was to assess sex differences in obesity prevalence, diet, and physical activity among urban middle-class Bangladeshi. In this cross-sectional study, conducted in 2012, we randomly selected 402 adults from Mohammedpur, Dhaka. The sampling technique was multi-stage random sampling. We used standardized questionnaires for data collection and measured height, weight, and waist circumference. Mean age (standard deviation) was 49.4 (12.7) years. The prevalence of both generalized (79% vs. 53%) and central obesity (85% vs. 42%) were significantly higher in women than men. Women reported spending more time watching TV and spending less time walking than men (pmiddle-class Bangladeshis than previous urban estimates, and the burden of obesity disproportionately affects women. Future research and public health efforts are needed to address this severe obesity problem and to promote active lifestyles.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Skar, Mette; Villumsen, Anne Berg; Christensen, Dirk Lund
2013-01-01
Rural Epidemiology Study of 1989 individuals, aged ≥20 years. Entered in the analyses were information obtained by self-report on (1) household income; (2) family history of diabetes; (3) physical activity; (4) smoking status; (5) alcohol consumption. Biochemical, clinical and anthropometrical.......001). A significant increase in the risk of diabetes was found with ascending social class (Intermediate class: Odds ratio [OR], 1.7 [confidence interval [CI], 1.2-2.3]; High class: OR, 2.0 [CI-1.4-2.9]). The multivariable adjusted logistic regression analysis revealed that the effect of social class on the risk......AIM: The aim of this study is to determine the factors responsible for differences in the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) in subjects of different social class in an urban South Indian population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Analyses were based on the cross-sectional data from the Chennai Urban...
Citizen Science as a Tool for Augmenting Museum Collection Data from Urban Areas
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Dakota M. Spear
2017-07-01
Full Text Available Museum collections are critical to contemporary biological research, but museum acquisitions have declined in recent decades, hampering researchers' ability to use collections to assess species responses to habitat modification, urbanization, and global climate change. Citizen science may be a key method to bolster museum collections data, particularly from urban regions, where ongoing data collection is critical to our understanding of ecosystem dynamics in a highly modified and variable landscape. In this study, we compare data collected as part of the citizen-science project Reptiles and Amphibians of Southern California (RASCals, hosted on the platform iNaturalist (www.inaturalist.org, to data in the VertNet database (www.vertnet.org, which houses millions of museum collection records from over 250 natural-history collections, for four focal species, including a native lizard of conservation concern that has declined with urbanization, a native lizard that is widespread in urban areas, and two invasive aquatic species. We compared numbers of VertNet records over time to modern RASCals records, and the number of records collected from urban, suburban, and protected areas from both databases. For all species, citizen-science records were generated much more rapidly than museum records. For three of our four focal species, RASCals participants over 27 months documented from 70 to 750% more records than were added to the VertNet database after 1990. For the urban-tolerant southern alligator lizard, RASCals participants collected nearly 45 times more modern urban records than are contained in the VertNet database. For all other species, the majority of RASCals records were collected within suburban or other highly modified landscapes, demonstrating the value of citizen science for collecting data within urban and suburban ecosystems. As new museum acquisitions decline, citizen-science projects like RASCals may become critical to the maintenance
Mayfield, K. K.
2017-12-01
BackgroundTo minority adolescents in urban centers science inquiry seems like an engagement completed by others with specialized skills (Alkon & Agyeman, 2012). When scientists teach science classes those spaces and pedagogy are underwritten by the science teachers' beliefs about how science happens (Southerland, Gess-Newsome & Johnston, 2002). Further, scientific inquiry is often presented as the realm of upperclass whiteness (Alkon & Agyeman, 2012; Mayfield, 2014). When science educators talk about the achievement gaps between raced and classed learners, accompanying that gap is also a gap in science experience. My high school students in a postindustrial school district: attend a school under state takeover (the lowest 5/5 rating (MA Executive Office of Education, 2017)); have a student body that is 70% Latinx; and 96% of whom receive Free and Reduced Lunch (a Federal marker of a family below the poverty line). Annual Yearly Progress is a goal set by state and federal governments for school populations by race, ability, and language. In 2016, the site has failed to make its goals for special education, black, hispanic, white, and English as a Second Language populations. As a high poverty district there is a paucity of extracurricular science experiences. This lack of science extensions make closing standardized test gaps difficult. Geoscience Skills & FindingsThis after school program does not replicate deficit narratives that keep certain bodies of students away from science inquiry (Mayfield, 2015; Ogbu, 1987). Instead, Science Club uses an array of student-centered science (physics, math, arts, chemistry, biology) projects to help students see themselves as citizen scientists who lead explorations of their world. We meet 1.5 hours a week in a 30 week school year. Science club helps students feel like powerful and capable science inquirers with 80% girls in attendance, and uses science experiments to cultivate essential inquiry skills like: Observation
Trapped between the two cultures: Urban college students' attitudes toward science
Dawson, Roy Edward
Most Americans agree that science plays an important part in maintaining our leadership role in economics, health, and security. Yet when it comes to science and math we appear to be baffled. Only 25% of Americans understand the process of science well enough to make informed judgment about scientific research reported in the media (National Science Foundation, 1998). What is it that turns Americans away from science? Is it our culture, schools, families, or friends? This study investigates urban college students' attitudes toward science to determine what changes might promote increased participation in the questions, ethical implications and culture of science. Volunteers completed a science questionnaire which included multiple-choice and open-answer questions. The questions were divided into the categories of individual characteristics, home/family, peers, and school/teachers. The multiple-choice questions were analyzed with quantitative statistical techniques. The open-answer questions were used to rate each student's attitude toward science and then analyzed with qualitative methods. Thirteen factors were significant in predicting science attitude but none of them, by itself, explained a large amount of variation. A multiple regression model indicated that the significant factors (in order of importance) were watching science television with your family, having a father not employed in science, having friends who like science, and imagining yourself to be a successful student. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that the categories of individual characteristics, family, and peers were all significant contributors to the model's prediction of science attitude. School environment/teachers did not add significant predictive power to the model. The qualitative results indicated that the factors of (1) a student's previous experience in science classes and (2) the curriculum philosophy which his or her science teachers employed appeared to be the
Oey, Esther Ruth
The purpose of this study was to examine if and in what ways white, urban middle school science teachers use experiences of being marginalized or feeling different to connect to students coming from backgrounds unlike their own---especially students who are racially, culturally, linguistically and otherwise different from them, the school culture and the dominant society. Personal biography was used to frame this study. Data consisted of structured and semi-structured interviews and classroom observations of one female and two male science teachers gathered over one academic year. Results indicated that experiences with difference may be used to inform teachers' practices, but personal biography alone was insufficient to enable the teachers to reflect on their experiences with race, class, gender, and difference. Also, attending to emotions appeared to be an important factor in helping students develop cognitive skills in science classrooms.
Urban science classrooms and new possibilities: on intersubjectivity and grammar in the third space
Emdin, Christopher
2009-03-01
In this article I explore research in urban science education inspired by the work of Kris Gutierrez in a paper based on her 2005 Scribner Award. It addresses key points in Gutierrez's work by exploring theoretical frameworks for research and approaches to teaching and research that expand the discourse on the agency of urban youth in corporate school settings. The work serves as an overview of under-discussed approaches and theoretical frameworks to consider in teaching and conducting research with marginalized urban youth in urban science classrooms.
Sciencey Girls: Discourses Supporting Working-Class Girls to Identify with Science
Godec, Spela
2018-01-01
Women from working class and some ethnic minority backgrounds continue to be underrepresented in science, particularly in areas such as physical sciences and engineering. Many find it difficult to see science as something that is "for them", which then has implications for their learning and participation in science. In this paper, I…
Ozturk, Elif; Ucus, Sukran
2015-01-01
Argumentation is highlighted as one of the most important activities of science education by many researchers. The main aim of this research is to examine primary school students' nature of science classes and argumentation skills in terms of their academic success in primary science classes. Thus, the main interest of the study is centered on the…
Ozturk, Elif; Ucus, Sukran
2015-01-01
Argumentation is highlighted as one of the most important activities of science education by many researchers. The main aim of this research is to examine primary school students' nature of science classes and argumentation skills in terms of their academic success in primary science classes. Thus, the main interest of the study is centered on the…
Pitts, Wesley
The research presented in this dissertation uses authentic ethnography, augmented by video and conversational analysis, to investigate the teaching and learning of chemistry across boundaries of difference in an urban high school. A coordinated set of theoretical lenses from cultural sociology and sociology of emotion is used to deploy and analyze these methods. All four students highlighted in this study are Black and/or Latino females from working class income families. They identify as second-generation Americans either of African American of Caribbean heritage or Latina of Latin American or Caribbean heritage. The students achieved mild to moderate success in a tenth-grade level chemistry class. Their chemistry teacher is a first-generation immigrant middle-aged male who would ethnically be considered Filipino-American. The focal fields of this research occur in Regents chemistry laboratory classes in a small secondary inner city high school in the Bronx, New York City, and associated cogenerative dialogues. One of the major premises of this study is that learning is a form of cultural enactment (i.e., production, reproduction, and transformation). Culture (schema and practices) enacted by students and teachers in one field can be enacted successfully in another field because fields are surrounded by porous boundaries. Accordingly, participants use resources to meet their goals (e.g., learn chemistry), in so doing, create interstitial culture that becomes part of the structure of the field and resources for learning. A priority was to examine how learning and teaching of science is enacted when students and their teachers are able to coparticipate in culturally adaptive ways and use their capital successfully. A key implication is the need for teachers and students to be aware of cultural encounters that afford positive emotional energy and solidarity. The important point here is to minimize encounters that create negative emotional energy. What we learned from
Meaney, Alejandra; Ceballos-Reyes, Guillermo; Gutiérrez-Salmean, Gabriela; Samaniego-Méndez, Virginia; Vela-Huerta, Agustín; Alcocer, Luis; Zárate-Chavarría, Elisa; Mendoza-Castelán, Emma; Olivares-Corichi, Ivonne; García-Sánchez, Rubén; Martínez-Marroquín, Yolanda; Ramírez-Sánchez, Israel; Meaney, Eduardo
2013-01-01
The aim of this communication is to describe the cardiovascular risk factors affecting a Mexican urban middle-class population. A convenience sample of 2602 middle class urban subjects composed the cohort of the Lindavista Study, a prospective study aimed to determine if conventional cardiovascular risks factors have the same prognosis impact as in other populations. For the baseline data, several measurements were done: obesity indexes, smoking, blood pressure, fasting serum glucose, total cholesterol, HDL-c, LDL-c and triglycerides. This paper presents the basal values of this population, which represents a sample of the Mexican growing urban middle-class. The mean age in the sample was 50 years; 59% were females. Around 50% of the entire group were overweighed, while around 24% were obese. 32% smoked; 32% were hypertensive with a 20% rate of controlled pressure. 6% had diabetes, and 14% had impaired fasting glucose; 66% had total cholesterol ≥ 200 mg/dL; 62% showed HDL-c levels150 mg/dL, and 34% levels of LDL-c ≥ 160 mg/dL. Half of the population studied had the metabolic syndrome. These data show a population with a high-risk profile, secondary to the agglomeration of several cardiovascular risk factors. Copyright © 2012 Instituto Nacional de Cardiología Ignacio Chávez. Published by Masson Doyma México S.A. All rights reserved.
Class Size and Academic Achievement in Introductory Political Science Courses
Towner, Terri L.
2016-01-01
Research on the influence of class size on student academic achievement is important for university instructors, administrators, and students. The article examines the influence of class size--a small section versus a large section--in introductory political science courses on student grades in two comparable semesters. It is expected that…
Brevik, Eric C.; Vaughan, Karen L.; Parikh, Sanjai J.; Dolliver, Holly; Lindbo, David; Steffan, Joshua J.; Weindorf, David; McDaniel, Paul; Mbila, Monday; Edinger-Marshall, Susan
2017-04-01
Many papers have been written in recent years discussing the interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary aspects of soil science. Therefore, it would make sense that soil science courses would be taken by students in a wide array of academic majors. To investigate this, we collected data from eight different American universities on the declared academic majors of students enrolled in soil science courses over a 10 year time period (2004-2005 to 2013-2014 academic years). Data was collected for seven different classes taught at the undergraduate level: introduction to soil science, soil fertility, soil management, pedology, soil biology/microbiology, soil chemistry, and soil physics. Overall trends and trends for each class were evaluated. Generally, environmental science and crop science/horticulture/agronomy students were enrolled in soil science courses in the greatest numbers. Environmental science and engineering students showed rapid increases in enrollment over the 10 years of the study, while the number of crop science/ horticulture/ agronomy students declined. In the introduction to soil science classes, environmental science and crop science/ horticulture/ agronomy students were enrolled in the greatest numbers, while declared soil science majors only made up 6.6% of the average enrollment. The highest enrollments in soil fertility were crop science/ horticulture/ agronomy students and other agricultural students (all agricultural majors except crop science, horticulture, agronomy, or soil science). In both the soil management and pedology classes, environmental science and other agricultural students were the largest groups enrolled. Other agricultural students and students from other majors (all majors not otherwise expressly investigated) were the largest enrolled groups in soil biology/microbiology courses, and environmental science and soil science students were the largest enrolled groups in soil chemistry classes. Soil physics was the only class
STEM for Non-STEM Majors: Enhancing Science Literacy in Large Classes
Jin, Guang; Bierma, Tom
2013-01-01
This study evaluated a strategy using "clickers," POGIL (process oriented guided inquiry learning), and a focused science literacy orientation in an applied science course for non-STEM undergraduates taught in large classes. The effectiveness of these interventions in improving the science literacy of students was evaluated using a…
Planning for Reform-Based Science: Case Studies of Two Urban Elementary Teachers
Mangiante, Elaine Silva
2018-02-01
The intent of national efforts to frame science education standards is to promote students' development of scientific practices and conceptual understanding for their future role as scientifically literate citizens (NRC 2012). A guiding principle of science education reform is that all students receive equitable opportunities to engage in rigorous science learning. Yet, implementation of science education reform depends on teachers' instructional decisions. In urban schools serving students primarily from poor, diverse communities, teachers typically face obstacles in providing reform-based science due to limited resources and accountability pressures, as well as a culture of teacher-directed pedagogy, and deficit views of students. The purpose of this qualitative research was to study two white, fourth grade teachers from high-poverty urban schools, who were identified as transforming their science teaching and to investigate how their beliefs, knowledge bases, and resources shaped their planning for reform-based science. Using the Shavelson and Stern's decision model for teacher planning to analyze evidence gathered from interviews, documents, planning meetings, and lesson observations, the findings indicated their planning for scientific practices was influenced by the type and extent of professional development each received, each teacher's beliefs about their students and their background, and the mission and learning environment each teacher envisioned for the reform to serve their students. The results provided specific insights into factors that impacted their planning in high-poverty urban schools and indicated considerations for those in similar contexts to promote teachers' planning for equitable science learning opportunities by all students.
Grace, Shamarion Gladys
This is a three-article five chapter doctoral dissertation. The overall purpose of this three-pronged study is to engage a middle school science teacher and students in formal-informal science education within the context of a science standards-based curriculum and Urban Science Center. The goals of the study were: (1) to characterize the conversations of formal and informal science educators as they attempted to implement a standards-based curriculum augmented with science center exhibits; (2) to study the classroom discourse between the teacher and students that foster the development of common knowledge in science and student understanding of the concept of energy before observing science center exhibits on energy; (3) to investigate whether or not a standards-driven, project-based Investigating and Questioning our World through Science and Technology (IQWST) curriculum unit on forms and transformation of energy augmented with science center exhibits had a significant effect on urban African-American seventh grade students' achievement and learning. Overall, the study consisted of a mixed-method approach. Article one consists of a case study featuring semi-structured interviews and field notes. Article two consists of documenting and interpreting teacher-students' classroom discourse. Article three consists of qualitative methods (classroom discussion, focus group interviews, student video creation) and quantitative methods (multiple choice and open-ended questions). Oral discourses in all three studies were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. In article one, the community of educators' conversations were critically analyzed to discern the challenges educators encountered when they attempted to connect school curriculum to energy exhibits at the Urban Science Center. The five challenges that characterize the emergence of a third space were as follows: (a) science terminology for lesson focus, (b) "dumb-down" of science exhibits, (c) exploration distracts
Wang, Tzu-Ling; Berlin, Donna
2010-12-01
The main purpose of this study is to develop a valid and reliable instrument for measuring the attitudes toward science class of fourth- and fifth-grade students in an Asian school culture. Specifically, the development focused on three science attitude constructs-science enjoyment, science confidence, and importance of science as related to science class experiences. A total of 265 elementary school students in Taiwan responded to the instrument developed. Data analysis indicated that the instrument exhibited satisfactory validity and reliability with the Taiwan population used. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.93 for the entire instrument indicating a satisfactory level of internal consistency. However, both principal component analysis and parallel analysis showed that the three attitude scales were not unique and should be combined and used as a general "attitudes toward science class" scale. The analysis also showed that there were no gender or grade-level differences in students' overall attitudes toward science class.
Instructional quality of lower grades natural science classes: the ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
... classes: the case of primary schools linked to Kemise College of Teacher Education. ... the quality of natural science education classroom instruction in lower grade ... on pedagogical and subject matter issue, closer support and supervision.
Data quality in citizen science urban tree inventories
Lara A. Roman; Bryant C. Scharenbroch; Johan P.A. Ostberg; Lee S. Mueller; Jason G. Henning; Andrew K. Koeser; Jessica R. Sanders; Daniel R. Betz; Rebecca C. Jordan
2017-01-01
Citizen science has been gaining popularity in ecological research and resource management in general and in urban forestry specifically. As municipalities and nonprofits engage volunteers in tree data collection, it is critical to understand data quality. We investigated observation error by comparing street tree data collected by experts to data collected by less...
Bodzin, Alec M.
2011-01-01
This study investigated whether a geospatial information technology (GIT)-supported science curriculum helped students in an urban middle school understand land use change (LUC) concepts and enhanced their spatial thinking. Five 8th grade earth and space science classes in an urban middle school consisting of three different ability level tracks…
Living in the city: school friendships, diversity and the middle classes.
Vincent, Carol; Neal, Sarah; Iqbal, Humera
2018-06-01
Much of the literature on the urban middle classes describes processes of both affiliation (often to the localities) and disaffiliation (often from some of the non-middle-class residents). In this paper, we consider this situation from a different position, drawing on research exploring whether and how children and adults living in diverse localities develop friendships with those different to themselves in terms of social class and ethnicity. This paper focuses on the interviews with the ethnically diverse, but predominantly white British, middle-class parent participants, considering their attitudes towards social and cultural difference. We emphasize the importance of highlighting inequalities that arise from social class and its intersection with ethnicity in analyses of complex urban populations. The paper's contribution is, first, to examine processes of clustering amongst the white British middle-class parents, particularly in relation to social class. Second, we contrast this process, and its moments of reflection and unease, with the more deliberate and purposeful efforts of one middle-class, Bangladeshi-origin mother who engages in active labour to facilitate relationships across social and ethnic difference. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2017.
Kilowatt-Class Fission Power Systems for Science and Human Precursor Missions
Mason, Lee S.; Gibson, Marc Andrew; Poston, Dave
2013-01-01
Nuclear power provides an enabling capability for NASA missions that might otherwise be constrained by power availability, mission duration, or operational robustness. NASA and the Department of Energy (DOE) are developing fission power technology to serve a wide range of future space uses. Advantages include lower mass, longer life, and greater mission flexibility than competing power system options. Kilowatt-class fission systems, designated "Kilopower," were conceived to address the need for systems to fill the gap above the current 100-W-class radioisotope power systems being developed for science missions and below the typical 100-k We-class reactor power systems being developed for human exploration missions. This paper reviews the current fission technology project and examines some Kilopower concepts that could be used to support future science missions or human precursors.
Class transformation and work-life balance in urban Britain: the case of Manchester.
Ward, Kevin; Fagan, Colette; McDowell, Linda; Perrons, Diane; Ray, Kathryn
2010-01-01
Recent years have seen an expansion in the work on the attitudes, beliefs and preferences of those middle-class groups that have accompanied the return of capital to many North American and western European city centres and their surrounding urban suburbs. Yet despite this, it is argued that there is little research linking gentrification to wider processes of social transformation, particularly debates over housing market decision-making, the balancing of work and life, and the gender division of labour within the household. It is to examining the interaction of these aspects of everyday life in a gentrifying area that this paper turns, using the example of Chorlton, a southern urban suburb of Manchester.
Girls' and Boys' Academic Self-Concept in Science in Single-Sex and Coeducational Classes
Simpson, Amber; Che, S. Megan; Bridges, William C., Jr.
2016-01-01
Recently, single-sex classes within public coeducational schools have proliferated across the USA; yet, we still know little about whether and how single-sex science classes influence adolescents' attitude and affect toward science. This exploratory study expands upon our current understanding by investigating the extent in which female and male…
Learning to teach science for social justice in urban schools
Vora, Purvi
This study looks at how beginner teachers learn to teach science for social justice in urban schools. The research questions are: (1) what views do beginner teachers hold about teaching science for social justice in urban schools? (2) How do beginner teachers' views about teaching science for social justice develop as part of their learning? In looking at teacher learning, I take a situative perspective that defines learning as increased participation in a community of practice. I use the case study methodology with five teacher participants as the individual units of analysis. In measuring participation, I draw from mathematics education literature that offers three domains of professional practice: Content, pedagogy and professional identity. In addition, I focus on agency as an important component of increased participation from a social justice perspective. My findings reveal two main tensions that arose as teachers considered what it meant to teach science from a social justice perspective: (1) Culturally responsive teaching vs. "real" science and (2) Teaching science as a political act. In negotiating these tensions, teachers drew on a variety of pedagogical and conceptual tools offered in USE that focused on issues of equity, access, place-based pedagogy, student agency, ownership and culture as a toolkit. Further, in looking at how the five participants negotiated these tensions in practice, I describe four variables that either afforded or constrained teacher agency and consequently the development of their own identity and role as socially just educators. These four variables are: (1) Accessing and activating social, human and cultural capital, (2) reconceptualizing culturally responsive pedagogical tools, (3) views of urban youth and (4) context of participation. This study has implications for understanding the dialectical relationship between agency and social justice identity for beginner teachers who are learning how to teach for social justice. Also
Kuwahara, Jennifer Leslie Hoof
Place-based education is a multidisciplinary and experiential approach to learning that utilizes a local environment or community. This study examined the influences of place attachment and cultural affiliation in the school on student experience and learning in a place-based science course, as well as the course's potential influence on environmentally responsible behaviors. The participants attended an urban high school on O'ahu, Hawai'i. By understanding student reaction to experience in both Western- and Hawaiian-centered classes, this study contributes to the literature on place-based education in relation to how differences in cultural affiliation in a school setting can have varying impacts on place attachment, science literacy, and environmental responsibility. A comparative case study was conducted with students enrolled in the Hawaiian Academy and non-academy students. Analysis of a pre- and post-survey and science content assessments, student documents, field notes, and interview transcripts suggested place-based science has both similar and different impacts on students depending on cultural affiliation within the school. Students in the Hawaiian Academy, as a whole, showed stronger science literacy and environmental responsibility than students in the non-Hawaiian Academy class. However, non-Hawaiian Academy students showed increased place attachment in a spiritual sense. Reactions from both groups suggest a need for smaller learning communities that promote a unity of knowledge rather than distinct courses and disciplines.
Wang, Tzu-Ling; Tseng, Yi-Kuan
2015-01-01
The purposes of this study were to explore the effects of thinking styles on science achievement and attitudes toward science class among Taiwanese elementary school students and to explore the differences between male and female students in their modes of thinking. Participants included 756 sixth-grade students from 28 classes in four elementary…
Alboruto, Venus M.
2017-05-01
The study aimed to find out the effectiveness of using Strategic Intervention Materials (SIMs) as an innovative teaching practice in managing large Grade Eight Science classes to raise the performance of the students in terms of science process skills development and mastery of science concepts. Utilizing experimental research design with two groups of participants, which were purposefully chosen, it was obtained that there existed a significant difference in the performance of the experimental and control groups based on actual class observation and written tests on science process skills with a p-value of 0.0360 in favor of the experimental class. Further, results of written pre-test and post-test on science concepts showed that the experimental group with the mean of 24.325 (SD =3.82) performed better than the control group with the mean of 20.58 (SD =4.94), with a registered p-value of 0.00039. Therefore, the use of SIMs significantly contributed to the mastery of science concepts and the development of science process skills. Based on the findings, the following recommendations are offered: 1. that grade eight science teachers should use or adopt the SIMs used in this study to improve their students' performance; 2. training-workshop on developing SIMs must be conducted to help teachers develop SIMs to be used in their classes; 3. school administrators must allocate funds for the development and reproduction of SIMs to be used by the students in their school; and 4. every division should have a repository of SIMs for easy access of the teachers in the entire division.
MacAvoy, S. E.; Knee, K.
2015-12-01
While urban environments may lack the beauty of relatively pristine field sites, they can be used to deliver an effective demonstration of actual environmental damage. Students demanding applied field experiences from their undergraduate environmental science programs can be well served in urban settings. Here, we present strategies for integrating degraded urban systems into the undergraduate field experience. Urban locations provide an opportunity for a different type of local "field-work" than would otherwise be available. In the upper-level undergraduate Environmental Methods class, we relied on a National Park area located a 10-minute walk from campus for most field exercises. Activities included soil analysis, measuring stream flow and water quality parameters, dendrochronology, and aquatic microbe metabolism. In the non-majors class, we make use of our urban location to contrast water quality in parks and highly channelized urban streams. Students spend labs immersed in streams and wetlands heavily impacted by the urban runoff their city generates. Here we share lesson plans and budgets for field activities that can be completed during a class period of 2.5 hours with a $75 course fee, show how these activities help students gain quantitative competency.
Argumentation in Science Class: Its Planning, Practice, and Effect on Student Motivation
Taneja, Anju
Studies have shown an association between argumentative discourse in science class, better understanding of science concepts, and improved academic performance. However, there is lack of research on how argumentation can increase student motivation. This mixed methods concurrent nested study uses Bandura's construct of motivation and concepts of argumentation and formative feedback to understand how teachers orchestrate argumentation in science class and how it affects motivation. Qualitative data was collected through interviews of 4 grade-9 science teachers and through observing teacher-directed classroom discourse. Classroom observations allowed the researcher to record the rhythm of discourse by characterizing teacher and student speech as teacher presentation (TP), teacher guided authoritative discussion (AD), teacher guided dialogic discussion (DD), and student initiation (SI). The Student Motivation Towards Science Learning survey was administered to 67 students before and after a class in which argumentation was used. Analysis of interviews showed teachers collaborated to plan argumentation. Analysis of discourse identified the characteristics of argumentation and provided evidence of students' engagement in argumentation in a range of contexts. Student motivation scores were tested using Wilcoxon signed rank tests and Mann-Whitney U-tests, which showed no significant change. However, one construct of motivation---active learning strategy---significantly increased. Quantitative findings also indicate that teachers' use of multiple methods in teaching science can affect various constructs of students' motivation. This study promotes social change by providing teachers with insight about how to engage all students in argumentation.
Emdin, Christopher
The body of work presented in this dissertation is a response to the reported association between poor outcomes in science achievement and students of color in urban schools. By presenting counterexamples to the cultural motif that urban students of color perform poorly in science, I argue that poor achievement cannot be traced to a group of people but can be linked to institutions promoting subject delivery methods that instill distaste for science and compel students to display an illusion of disinterest in school. There are two major goals of this study. First, I plan to demonstrate how plans of action generated by coteachers and cogenerative dialogue groups can coalesce under the ethos of making science and schooling accessible to populations that are traditionally marginalized from science achievement. My second aim is to develop mechanisms for transforming science learning contexts into cosmopolitan learning communities that develop student success in science. Through a three-year ethnographic study of physics and chemistry classrooms in a high school in New York City, I present explorations of the culture and context of the urban classroom as a chief means to meet my goals. In my research, I find that obstacles to identity development around science can be tied to corporate understandings of teaching and learning that are amenable to local efforts toward change. This change is facilitated through the use of transformative tools like cogenerative dialogues, coteaching, and cosmopolitanism. Through the application of these research tools, I uncover and investigate how various misalignments that present themselves in physics and chemistry classrooms serve as signifiers of macro issues that permeate science classrooms from larger fields. By utilizing cogenerative dialogues as a tool for investigating both micro enactments within classrooms and the macro structures that generate these enactments, I show how students and teachers can work together as co
Multiple-Choice Exams: An Obstacle for Higher-Level Thinking in Introductory Science Classes
Stanger-Hall, Kathrin F.
2012-01-01
Learning science requires higher-level (critical) thinking skills that need to be practiced in science classes. This study tested the effect of exam format on critical-thinking skills. Multiple-choice (MC) testing is common in introductory science courses, and students in these classes tend to associate memorization with MC questions and may not see the need to modify their study strategies for critical thinking, because the MC exam format has not changed. To test the effect of exam format, I used two sections of an introductory biology class. One section was assessed with exams in the traditional MC format, the other section was assessed with both MC and constructed-response (CR) questions. The mixed exam format was correlated with significantly more cognitively active study behaviors and a significantly better performance on the cumulative final exam (after accounting for grade point average and gender). There was also less gender-bias in the CR answers. This suggests that the MC-only exam format indeed hinders critical thinking in introductory science classes. Introducing CR questions encouraged students to learn more and to be better critical thinkers and reduced gender bias. However, student resistance increased as students adjusted their perceptions of their own critical-thinking abilities. PMID:22949426
Politics, Religion and Morals: The Symbolism of Public Schooling for the Urban Middle-Class Identity
Rowe, Emma E.
2016-01-01
Research points to sections of the middle-class repopulating the "ordinary" urban public school and whilst there are key differences in how they are navigating public school choices, from "seeking a critical mass" to resisting traditional methods of choice and going "against-the-grain", or collectively campaigning for…
Hashimoto-Martell, Erin A.; McNeill, Katherine L.; Hoffman, Emily M.
2012-01-01
This study explores the impact of an urban ecology program on participating middle school students' understanding of science and pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors. We gathered pre and post survey data from four classes and found significant gains in scientific knowledge, but no significant changes in student beliefs regarding the…
Strategic Note-Taking for Middle-School Students with Learning Disabilities in Science Classes
Boyle, Joseph R.
2010-01-01
While today's teachers use a variety of teaching methods in middle-school science classes, lectures and note-taking still comprise a major portion of students' class time. To be successful in these classes, middle-school students need effective listening and note-taking skills. Students with learning disabilities (LD) are poor note-takers, which…
Equitable science education in urban middle schools: Do reform efforts make a difference?
Hewson, Peter W.; Butler Kahle, Jane; Scantlebury, Kathryn; Davies, Darleen
2001-12-01
A central commitment of current reforms in science education is that all students, regardless of culture, gender, race, and/ or socioeconomic status, are capable of understanding and doing science. The study Bridging the Gap: Equity in Systemic Reform assessed equity in systemic reform using a nested research design that drew on both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. As part of the study, case studies were conducted in two urban middle schools in large Ohio cities. The purpose of the case studies was to identify factors affecting equity in urban science education reform. Data were analyzed using Kahle's (1998) equity metric. That model allowed us to assess progress toward equity using a range of research-based indicators grouped into three categories critical for equitable education: access to, retention in, and achievement in quality science education. In addition, a fourth category was defined for systemic indicators of equity. Analyses indicated that the culture and climate of the case study schools differentially affected their progress toward equitable reform in science education.
Mothers as informal science class teachers
Katz, Phyllis
education class. Study outcomes include self-reported tendencies toward increased awareness of science teaching techniques and content, as well as pleasure, confidence, and family interactions around science. The survey amplifies these findings among a larger group. Negative cases and difficulties are discussed. This study suggests that the availability of mothers' informal science teaching/learning experience is one way to create a more pervasively supportive environment for science education. There is increased opportunity for women as adult learners, to be positive role models, and to mediate family settings. Recommendations are made for recruiting mothers as teachers and fulfilling their motivations. Informal science education theory is discussed
Valdiviezo, Laura Alicia
2010-06-01
This essay addresses Katherine Richardson Bruna's paper: Mexican Immigrant Transnational Social Capital and Class Transformation: Examining the Role of Peer Mediation in Insurgent Science, through five main points . First, I offer a comparison between the traditional analysis of classism in Latin America and Richardson Bruna's call for a class-first analysis in the North American social sciences where there has been a tendency to obviate the specific examination of class relations and class issues. Secondly, I discuss that a class-first analysis solely cannot suffice to depict the complex dimensions in the relations of schools and society. Thus, I suggest a continuum in the class-first analysis. Third, I argue that social constructions surrounding issues of language, ethnicity, and gender necessarily intersect with issues of class and that, in fact, those other constructions offer compatible epistemologies that aid in representing the complexity of social and institutional practices in the capitalist society. Richardson Bruna's analysis of Augusto's interactions with his teacher and peers in the science class provides a fourth point of discussion in this essay. As a final point in my response I discuss Richardson Bruna's idea of making accessible class-first analysis knowledge to educators and especially to science teachers.
Thawinkarn, Dawruwan
2018-01-01
This research aims to analyze factors of science teacher leadership in the Thailand World-Class Standard Schools. The research instrument was a five scale rating questionnaire with reliability 0.986. The sample group included 500 science teachers from World-Class Standard Schools who had been selected by using the stratified random sampling technique. Factor analysis of science teacher leadership in the Thailand World-Class Standard Schools was conducted by using M plus for Windows. The results are as follows: The results of confirmatory factor analysis on science teacher leadership in the Thailand World-Class Standard Schools revealed that the model significantly correlated with the empirical data. The consistency index value was x2 = 105.655, df = 88, P-Value = 0.086, TLI = 0.997, CFI = 0.999, RMSEA = 0.022, and SRMR = 0.019. The value of factor loading of science teacher leadership was positive, with statistical significance at the level of 0.01. The value of six factors was between 0.880-0.996. The highest factor loading was the professional learning community, followed by child-centered instruction, participation in development, the role model in teaching, transformational leaders, and self-development with factor loading at 0.996, 0.928, 0.911, 0.907, 0.901, and 0.871, respectively. The reliability of each factor was 99.1%, 86.0%, 83.0%, 82.2%, 81.0%, and 75.8%, respectively.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Bølling, Mads; Hartmeyer, Rikke; Bentsen, Peter
2018-01-01
. The data consisted of transcribed interviews with 4 experienced teachers and 11 pupils. The interviews were elicited by films showing group work in science teaching in urban environments: a parking lot, a green public park and a zoo. We conducted individual interviews with science teachers, while......In this study, we explored how teachers can take advantage of a ‘place’ in urban environments outside the school and thereby stimulate pupils’ situational interest in science teaching. Drawing on the Sophos research method, we conducted a single case study including film-elicited interviews...... places; (3) alignment between the environment and task; (4) integrating minimal cultivated places; (5) providing a science perspective on everyday places; (6) disseminating historical or cultural knowledge of places; and (7) surprises. Starting from a discussion drawing on studies that explored triggers...
Rak, Rosemary C.
The turnover of high school science teachers is an especially troubling problem in urban schools with economically disadvantaged students. Because high teacher turnover rates impede effective instruction, the persistence of teacher attrition is a serious concern. Using an online survey and interviews in a sequential mixed-methods approach, this study investigates the perceptions of high school science teachers regarding factors that contribute to their employment decisions. The study also compares first-career and second-career science teachers' perceptions of retention and attrition factors and identifies conditions that urban school leaders can establish to support the retention of their science teachers. A purposeful sample of 138 science teachers from urban area New England public high schools with 50% or more Free and Reduced Price Lunch-eligible students participated in the survey. Twelve survey respondents were subsequently interviewed. In accord with extant research, this study's results suggest that school leadership is essential to fostering teacher retention. The findings also reveal the importance of autonomy, professional community, and adequate resources to support science instruction. Although mentoring and induction programs receive low importance ratings in this study, career-changers view these programs as more important to their retention than do first-career science teachers. Second-career interviewees, in particular, voice the importance of being treated as professionals by school leaders. Future research may examine the characteristics of mentoring and induction programs that make them most responsive to the needs of first-career and second-career science teachers. Future studies may also investigate the aspects of school leadership and professional autonomy that are most effective in promoting science teacher retention. Keywords: career-changers; school leaders; science teachers; second-career teachers; teacher retention; teacher turnover
Cook, G. W.
2012-12-01
At the University of California, San Diego, I teach a quarter-long, introductory Earth Science class titled "Volcanoes," which is, in essence, a functional class in volcanology designed specifically for non-majors. This large-format (enrollment ~ 85), lecture-based class provides students from an assortment of backgrounds an opportunity to acquire much-needed (and sometimes dreaded) area credits in science, while also serving as an introduction to the Earth Science major at UCSD (offered through Scripps Institution of Oceanography). The overall goal of the course is to provide students with a stimulating and exciting general science option that, using an inherently interesting topic, introduces them to the fundamentals of geoscience. A secondary goal is to promote general science and geoscience literacy among the general population of UCSD. Student evaluations of this course unequivocally indicate a high degree of learning and interest in the material. The majority of students in the class (>80%) are non-science majors and very few students (degree-seeking students. In addition, only a handful of students have typically had any form of geology class beyond high school level Earth Science. Consequently, there are challenges associated with teaching the class. Perhaps most significantly, students have very little background—background that is necessary for understanding the processes involved in volcanic eruptions. Second, many non-science students have built-in anxieties with respect to math and science, anxieties that must be considered when designing curriculum and syllabi. It is essential to provide the right balance of technical information while remaining in touch with the audience. My approach to the class involves a dynamic lecture format that incorporates a wide array of multimedia, analogue demonstrations of volcanic processes, and small-group discussions of topics and concepts. In addition to teaching about volcanoes—a fascinating subject in and of
Martin-Dunlop, Catherine; Fraser, Barry J.
2008-01-01
This study assessed the effectiveness of an innovative science course for improving prospective elementary teachers' perceptions of laboratory learning environments and attitudes towards science. The sample consisted of 27 classes with 525 female students in a large urban university. Changing students' ideas about science laboratory teaching and…
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mohammad Abuei Ardakan
2010-04-01
Full Text Available The present paper offers a basic introduction to data clustering and demonstrates the application of clustering methods in drawing maps of science. All approaches towards classification and clustering of information are briefly discussed. Their application to the process of visualization of conceptual information and drawing of science maps are illustrated by reviewing similar researches in this field. By implementing aggregated hierarchical clustering algorithm, which is an algorithm based on complete-link method, the map for urban management science as an emerging, interdisciplinary scientific field is analyzed and reviewed.
Benson, Michaela; Jackson, Emma
2017-06-01
This paper argues that shifts in access to housing - both in relation to rental and ownership - disrupt middle-class reproduction in ways that fundamentally influence class formation. While property ownership has had a long association with middle-class identities, status and distinction, an increasingly competitive rental market alongside inflated property prices has impacted on expectations and anxieties over housing futures. In this paper, we consider two key questions: (1) What happens to middle-class identities under the conditions of this wider structural change? (2) How do the middle classes variously manoeuvre within this? Drawing on empirical research conducted in London, we demonstrate that becoming an owner-occupier may be fractured along lines of class but also along the axes of age, wealth and timing, particularly as this relates to the housing market. It builds on understandings of residential status and place as central to the formation of class, orienting this around the recognition of both people and place as mutable, emphasizing that changing economic and social processes generate new class positionalities and strategies for class reproduction. We argue that these processes are writ large in practices of belonging and claims to place, with wider repercussions within the urban landscape. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2017.
An Applied Mereology of the City: Unifying Science and Philosophy for Urban Planning.
Epting, Shane
2016-10-01
Based on their research showing that growing cities follow basic principles, two theoretical physicists, Luis Bettencourt and Geoffrey West, call for researchers and professionals to contribute to a grand theory of urban sustainability. In their research, they develop a 'science of the city' to help urban planners address problems that arise from population increases. Although they provide valuable insights for understanding urban sustainability issues, they do not give planners a manageable way to approach such problems. I argue that developing an applied mereology to understand the concept of 'city identity' gives planners a theoretical device for addressing urban affairs, including ethical concerns. In turn, I devise a model of city identity to show how a 'philosophy of the city' contributes to a grand theory of urban sustainability.
Affiliation and Alienation: Hip-Hop, Rap, and Urban Science Education
Emdin, Christopher
2010-01-01
The critiques of rap artists and other participants in hip-hop culture provide data for teachers and researchers to investigate the attitudes of US urban youth towards schooling. This study explores the complex relationships between hip-hop and science education by examining how rap lyrics project beliefs about schooling, the relevance of existing…
Noel, Jana
2010-01-01
I am the Coordinator of the Urban Teacher Education Center, a teacher preparation program located at a very low income, culturally diverse elementary school that serves children from two neighborhood public housing projects. As a White, middle-class, Ph.D. educated, female, I must consistently consider how people in the neighborhoods may take a…
Emotional climate of a pre-service science teacher education class in Bhutan
Rinchen, Sonam; Ritchie, Stephen M.; Bellocchi, Alberto
2016-09-01
This study explored pre-service secondary science teachers' perceptions of classroom emotional climate in the context of the Bhutanese macro-social policy of Gross National Happiness. Drawing upon sociological perspectives of human emotions and using Interaction Ritual Theory this study investigated how pre-service science teachers may be supported in their professional development. It was a multi-method study involving video and audio recordings of teaching episodes supported by interviews and the researcher's diary. Students also registered their perceptions of the emotional climate of their classroom at 3-minute intervals using audience response technology. In this way, emotional events were identified for video analysis. The findings of this study highlighted that the activities pre-service teachers engaged in matter to them. Positive emotional climate was identified in activities involving students' presentations using video clips and models, coteaching, and interactive whole class discussions. Decreases in emotional climate were identified during formal lectures and when unprepared presenters led presentations. Emotions such as frustration and disappointment characterized classes with negative emotional climate. The enabling conditions to sustain a positive emotional climate are identified. Implications for sustaining macro-social policy about Gross National Happiness are considered in light of the climate that develops in science teacher education classes.
Adjapong, Edmund S.
This dissertation explores the context of urban science education as it relates to the achievement and engagement of urban youth. This study provides a framework for Hip-Hop Pedagogy, an approach to teaching and learning anchored in the creative elements of Hip-Hop culture, in STEM as an innovative approach to teaching and learning demonstrates the effect that Hip-Hop Pedagogy, as a culturally relevant approach to teaching has on teaching and learning in an urban science classroom. This study establishes practical tools and approaches, which were formed from by theory and research that transcend the traditional monolithic approaches to teaching science. Participants in this study are middle school students who attend an urban school in one of the largest school systems in the country. This research showed that as result of utilizing Hip-Hop pedagogical practices, students reported that they developed a deeper understanding of science content, students were more likely to identify as scientists, and students were provided a space and opportunities to deconstruct traditional classroom spaces and structures.
This is an invited seminar to a class of undergraduate and graduate students at DAAP of the University of Cincinnati. It provides students the concepts and trends in smart growth and sustainable urban development in U.S. and China. The materials are drawn from my research and m...
Effects of Single-Gender Middle School Classes on Science Achievement and Attitude
Brooks, Tanisha
Many girls continue to achieve below their male counterparts and portray negative attitudes towards science classes. Some school districts are using single-gender education as a way to shrink the gender gap in school achievement and science related attitude. The purpose of this study was to compare achievement and science-related attitudes of 7th grade girls in single-gender education to 7th grade girls in mixed-gender education. The theoretical base for this study included knowledge from brain-based learning and assimilation, accommodation and age factors of Piaget's theory of cognitive development. The 12-week study included 48 7th grade girls, 21 in the single-gender classroom and 14 in each mixed-gender classroom. This quantitative randomized posttest only control group design utilized the TerraNova Science Assessment and the Test of Science Related Attitudes. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to determine if significant differences existed in the achievement and attitudes of girls in single and mixed-gender science classes. ANOVA analyses revealed that the girls in the single-gender classroom showed a significantly higher achievement level when compared to girls in the mixed-gender classrooms. Results showed no significant difference in attitude between the two groups. The results of this study contribute to social change by raising awareness about gender issues in science achievement and attitude, addressing a deficiency in the single-gender science education literature, and assisting educational systems in decision making to address achievement gaps while moving toward adequate yearly progress and meeting the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
Tofel-Grehl, Colby; Fields, Deborah; Searle, Kristin; Maahs-Fladung, Cathy; Feldon, David; Gu, Grace; Sun, Chongning
2017-08-01
Most interventions with "maker" technologies take place outside of school or out of core area classrooms. However, intervening in schools holds potential for reaching much larger numbers of students and the opportunity to shift instructional dynamics in classrooms. This paper shares one such intervention where electronic textiles (sewable circuits) were introduced into eighth grade science classes with the intent of exploring possible gains in student learning and motivation, particularly for underrepresented minorities. Using a quasi-experimental design, four classes engaged in a traditional circuitry unit while the other four classes undertook a new e-textile unit. Overall, students in both groups demonstrated significant learning gains on standard test items without significant differences between conditions. Significant differences appeared between groups' attitudes toward science after the units in ways that show increasing interest in science by students in the e-textile unit. In particular, they reported positive identity shifts pertaining to their perceptions of the beliefs of their friends, family, and teacher. Findings and prior research suggest that student-created e-textile designs provide opportunities for connections outside of the classroom with friends and family and may shift students' perceptions of their teacher's beliefs about them more positively.
Using Mobile Devices to Facilitate Student Questioning in a Large Undergraduate Science Class
Crompton, Helen; Burgin, Stephen R.; De Paor, Declan G.; Gregory, Kristen
2018-01-01
Asking scientific questions is the first practice of science and engineering listed in the Next Generation Science Standards. However, getting students to ask unsolicited questions in a large class can be difficult. In this qualitative study, undergraduate students sent SMS text messages to the instructor who received them on his mobile phone and…
Critical Science Education in a Suburban High School Chemistry Class
Ashby, Patrick
To improve students' scientific literacy and their general perceptions of chemistry, I enacted critical chemistry education (CCE) in two "regular level" chemistry classes with a group of 25 students in a suburban, private high school as part of this study. CCE combined the efforts of critical science educators (Fusco & Calabrese Barton, 2001; Gilbert 2013) with the performance expectations of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) (NGSS Lead States, 2013a) to critically transform the traditional chemistry curriculum at this setting. Essentially, CCE engages students in the critical exploration of socially situated chemistry content knowledge and requires them to demonstrate this knowledge through the practices of science. The purpose of this study was to gauge these students development of chemistry content knowledge, chemistry interest, and critical scientific literacy (CSL) as they engaged in CCE. CSL was a construct developed for this study that necessarily combined the National Research Center's (2012) definition of scientific literacy with a critical component. As such, CSL entailed demonstrating content knowledge through the practices of science as well as the ability to critically analyze the intersections between science content and socially relevant issues. A mixed methods, critical ethnographic approach framed the collection of data from open-ended questionnaires, focus group interviews, Likert surveys, pre- and post unit tests, and student artifacts. These data revealed three main findings: (1) students began to develop CSL in specific, significant ways working through the activities of CCE, (2) student participants of CCE developed a comparable level of chemistry content understanding to students who participated in a traditional chemistry curriculum, and (3) CCE developed a group of students' perceptions of interest in chemistry. In addition to being able to teach students discipline specific content knowledge, the implications of this study are
Dosanjh, Navdeep Kaur
2011-12-01
There is great concern over students' poor science achievement in the United States. Due to the lack of science achievement, students are not pursing science related careers resulting in an increase in outsourcing to other countries. Learning strategies such as concept mapping may ameliorate this situation by providing students with tools that encourage meaningful learning. The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to measure the effects of three concept mapping learning strategies (concept identifying, proposition identifying, student generated) on urban middle school students' understanding of the circulatory system. Three intact classes of seventh-grade students were assigned to one of the three concept mapping strategies. The students were given a pretest on the circulatory system then learned and used their respective concept mapping strategies while learning about the circulatory system. At the conclusion of the study, students' science achievement was measured by performance on an achievement test and rubric scores of their respective concept identifying, proposition identifying, and student generated concept maps. The results of the study suggest that all three of the concept mapping strategies are effective in increasing students' science achievement. Additionally, the moderate significant correlations between the posttest and concept map scores of the current study established that concept maps are a useful measure of student knowledge. Lastly, the results of the current study also suggest that the concept identifying mapping strategy may be a useful scaffold in instructing students how to develop student generated concept maps.
Voices of Successful Science Teachers in an Urban Diverse Single Gender Girls' School
Malhan, Jyoti
2016-01-01
This research study was conducted as a qualitative case study of four successful science teachers of female students in a diverse, title 1, urban, public girls' school. The study was designed to hear the 'muted' voices of successful science teachers concerning their beliefs and practices when they effectively provide learning opportunities for…
Kesteloot, Christian; De Maesschalck, Filip
2016-01-01
Class struggle resulted in a anti-urban feeling in Flanders. The industrial revolution first developed in Wallonia and industrialisation came much later in Flanders. The bourgeoisie and the Church could anticipate rising secularisation and socialism in Flanders by keeping the workers away from the cities through specific housing and mobility policies. This explains the traditional Christian political hegemony in Flanders, with socialist and liberal cracks mainly in the cities. In the second p...
Agency Amidst Formidable Structures: How Girls Perform Gender in Science Class
Carlone, Heidi B.; Johnson, Angela; Scott, Catherine M.
2015-01-01
Larger social structures such as race, class, gender, and sexuality and classroom structures like narrowly defined participation practices constrain individuals' agency to engage in untroubled and sustained science identity work. This article explores the central dilemma of attending to structure and agency in settings where inequities are…
Urban blight and urban redesign
Zsilincsar, Walter
2018-01-01
The phenomenon of urban blight dates back to the 19th century when industrialisation starting in Europe and North America initiated an uncontrolled urban growth in combination with strong demand in cheap an quickly constructed housing. Ghettoisation of mainly the working-class population and other “marginal groups” were the consequence together with a constant decay of single buildings, whole blocks and quarters. These general aspects of urban blight with its additional facettes or aspects re...
Ryu, Minjung
2015-01-01
This study examines six Korean transnational girls enrolled in two advanced placement (AP) biology classes to understand their experiences in science classrooms at the intersection of race, language, and gender. Confronting the model minority stereotype for Asian students, which is particularly salient in science, technology, engineering, and…
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Melanie Bedore
2014-05-01
Full Text Available While food deserts create whole sets of tangible consequences for people living within them, the problem has yet to be the subject of much normative, in-depth evaluation as an urban political economy of food access. This paper provides a critical analysis of a specific food desert and its responses, drawing on a case study of the low-income, spatially segregated North End of the small city of Kingston, Ontario, Canada. The main thrust of the paper is that the food desert remains a useful yet underexplored phenomenon through which to reveal the complexities and tensions surrounding the treatment of “choice” in a classed society. Understood as an urban political economy of declining food access, the food desert phenomenon reveals capital’s complex role in the promotion or violation of dignity through the urban geographies of acquiring food for oneself, family, or household. Through the data presented here, the article also argues for a collective pause among critical scholars to radicalize, rather than reject, the role of consumer choice in a more just food system, and for further normative engagement with urban landscapes of retail consolidation.
Rivera Maulucci, Maria S.
2010-09-01
Examining role forces and resources available to new teachers is crucial to understanding how teachers use and expand cultural, social, and symbolic resources and how they engage teaching for social justice and caring in urban science education. This critical narrative inquiry explores three levels of story. First, the narratives explore my role as a district science staff developer and my efforts to leverage district resources to improve students' opportunities to learn science. Second, the narratives explore the ways in which a novice science teacher, Tina, navigated role forces and the aesthetic|authentic caring dialectic in a high poverty, urban school. A third level of narrative draws on sociological theories of human interaction to explore role forces and how they shaped Tina's developmental trajectory. I describe how Tina expanded cultural, social, and symbolic resources to enact her teaching role.
Kane, Justine M.
This is a qualitative study of identities constructed and enacted by four 3rd-grade African American children (two girls and two boys) in an urban classroom that engaged in a year-long, integrated science-literacy project. Juxtaposing narrative and discursive identity lenses, coupled with race and gender perspectives, I examined the ways in which the four children saw and performed themselves as students and as science students in their classroom. Interview data were used for the narrative analysis and classroom Discourse and artifacts were used for the discursive analysis. A constructivist grounded theory framework was adopted for both analyses. The findings highlight the diversity and richness of perspectives and forms of engagement these young children shared and enacted, and help us see African American children as knowers, doers, and talkers of science individually and collectively. In their stories about themselves, all the children identified themselves as smart but they associated with smartness different characteristics and practices depending on their strengths and preferences. Drawing on the children's social, cultural, and ethnolinguistic resources, the dialogic and multimodal learning spaces facilitated by their teacher allowed the children to explore, negotiate, question, and learn science ideas. The children in this study brought their understandings and ways of being into the "lived-in" spaces co-created with classmates and teacher and influenced how these spaces were created. At the same time, each child's ways of being and understandings were shaped by the words, actions, behaviors, and feelings of peers and teacher. Moreover, as these four children engaged with science-literacy activities, they came to see themselves as competent, creative, active participants in science learning. Although their stories of "studenting" seemed dominated by following rules and being well-behaved, their stories of "sciencing" were filled with exploration, ingenuity
Soulard, Christopher E.; Acevedo, William; Stehman, Stephen V.
2018-01-01
Quantifying change in urban land provides important information to create empirical models examining the effects of human land use. Maps of developed land from the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) of the conterminous United States include rural roads in the developed land class and therefore overestimate the amount of urban land. To better map the urban class and understand how urban lands change over time, we removed rural roads and small patches of rural development from the NLCD developed class and created four wall-to-wall maps (1992, 2001, 2006, and 2011) of urban land. Removing rural roads from the NLCD developed class involved a multi-step filtering process, data fusion using geospatial road and developed land data, and manual editing. Reference data classified as urban or not urban from a stratified random sample was used to assess the accuracy of the 2001 and 2006 urban and NLCD maps. The newly created urban maps had higher overall accuracy (98.7 percent) than the NLCD maps (96.2 percent). More importantly, the urban maps resulted in lower commission error of the urban class (23 percent versus 57 percent for the NLCD in 2006) with the trade-off of slightly inflated omission error (20 percent for the urban map, 16 percent for NLCD in 2006). The removal of approximately 230,000 km2 of rural roads from the NLCD developed class resulted in maps that better characterize the urban footprint. These urban maps are more suited to modeling applications and policy decisions that rely on quantitative and spatially explicit information regarding urban lands.
Differences between urban and rural hedges in England revealed by a citizen science project.
Gosling, Laura; Sparks, Tim H; Araya, Yoseph; Harvey, Martin; Ansine, Janice
2016-07-22
Hedges are both ecologically and culturally important and are a distinctive feature of the British landscape. However the overall length of hedges across Great Britain is decreasing. Current challenges in studying hedges relate to the dominance of research on rural, as opposed to urban, hedges, and their variability and geographical breadth. To help address these challenges and to educate the public on the importance of hedge habitats for wildlife, in 2010 the Open Air Laboratories (OPAL) programme coordinated a hedge-focused citizen science survey. Results from 2891 surveys were analysed. Woody plant species differed significantly between urban and rural areas. Beech, Holly, Ivy, Laurel, Privet and Yew were more commonly recorded in urban hedges whereas Blackthorn, Bramble, Dog Rose, Elder and Hawthorn were recorded more often in rural hedges. Urban and rural differences were shown for some groups of invertebrates. Ants, earwigs and shieldbugs were recorded more frequently in urban hedges whereas blowflies, caterpillars, harvestmen, other beetles, spiders and weevils were recorded more frequently in rural hedges. Spiders were the most frequently recorded invertebrate across all surveys. The presence of hard surfaces adjacent to the hedge was influential on hedge structure, number and diversity of plant species, amount of food available for wildlife and invertebrate number and diversity. In urban hedges with one adjacent hard surface, the food available for wildlife was significantly reduced and in rural hedges, one adjacent hard surface affected the diversity of invertebrates. This research highlights that urban hedges may be important habitats for wildlife and that hard surfaces may have an impact on both the number and diversity of plant species and the number and diversity of invertebrates. This study demonstrates that citizen science programmes that focus on hedge surveillance can work and have the added benefit of educating the public on the importance of
Kelley, Sybil Schantz
This mixed-methods study combined pragmatism, sociocultural perspectives, and systems thinking concepts to investigate students' engagement, thinking, and learning in science in an urban, K-8 arts, science, and technology magnet school. A grant-funded school-university partnership supported the implementation of an inquiry-based science curriculum, contextualized in the local environment through field experiences. The researcher worked as co-teacher of 3 sixth-grade science classes and was deeply involved in the daily routines of the school. The purposes of the study were to build a deeper understanding of the complex interactions that take place in an urban science classroom, including challenges related to implementing culturally-relevant instruction; and to offer insight into the role educational systems play in supporting teaching and learning. The central hypothesis was that connecting learning to meaningful experiences in the local environment can provide culturally accessible points of engagement from which to build science learning. Descriptive measures provided an assessment of students' engagement in science activities, as well as their levels of thinking and learning throughout the school year. Combined with analyses of students' work files and focus group responses, these findings provided strong evidence of engagement attributable to the inquiry-based curriculum. In some instances, degree of engagement was found to be affected by student "reluctance" and "resistance," terms defined but needing further examination. A confounding result showed marked increases in thinking levels coupled with stasis or decrease in learning. Congruent with past studies, data indicated the presence of tension between the diverse cultures of students and the mainstream cultures of school and science. Findings were synthesized with existing literature to generate the study's principal product, a grounded theory model representing the complex, interacting factors involved in
Huinker, DeAnn; Pearson, Gretchen
The Urban Systemic Initiatives (USI) program is an effort sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) that targets large urban school systems with the goal of sustainable implementation of high-quality, standards-based teaching for the purpose of attaining system-wide increases in students' learning of challenging mathematics and science.…
Trends in gender diversity American soil science classes: 2004-2005 to 2013-2014 academic years
Lindbo, David L.; Brevik, Eric C.; Vaughan, Karen L.; Parikh, Sanjai J.; Dilliver, Holly; Steffan, Joshua J.; Weindorf, David; McDaniel, Paul; Mbila, Monday; Edinger-Marshall, Susan; Thomas, Pamela
2017-04-01
A diverse workforce has been viewed for a long time as a healthy workforce. Traditionally however Soil Science has been seen as a male dominated field. The total number of female students enrolled showed increasing trends in all classes investigated during this study, but the percentage of female students showed a decline when analyzed by total students enrolled and also declined in four of the seven individual classes investigated. While both total enrollment and female enrollment increased during the study, male enrollment increased more rapidly than female enrollment. Soil biology/microbiology classes had a trend of more than 45% female enrollment throughout the study period, but many classes had less than 40% female enrollment, especially after the 2008-2009 academic year, and some hovered around only 35% female enrollment. The percentage of female soil science students had increased in the USA and Canada from 1992 to 2004 (Baveye et al., 2006) and Miller (2011) reported an increase in the number of female students at Iowa State University in the early 2000s. Therefore, the decrease in percentage of female soil science students found in our study was disappointing, even though absolute numbers of female students increased. It appears there is still a need to find ways to better market soil science coursework to female students. One possible way to accomplish this is to take advantage of the fact that many schools are now focusing efforts on STEM training specifically for females in grades 5-12, whereby science projects, after school programs, and mentorship can substantively influence females to pursue science-based fields in college. Another possibility is to promote the trends in female employment. As an example female employment within the Soil Science Division of the USDA-NRCS has increased over the same period. It should also be noted that the number of females in leadership roles has also increased. As a profession, soil science should look to take
Schinske, Jeffrey N.; Perkins, Heather; Snyder, Amanda; Wyer, Mary
2016-01-01
Research into science identity, stereotype threat, and possible selves suggests a lack of diverse representations of scientists could impede traditionally underserved students from persisting and succeeding in science. We evaluated a series of metacognitive homework assignments (“Scientist Spotlights”) that featured counterstereotypical examples of scientists in an introductory biology class at a diverse community college. Scientist Spotlights additionally served as tools for content coverage, as scientists were selected to match topics covered each week. We analyzed beginning- and end-of-course essays completed by students during each of five courses with Scientist Spotlights and two courses with equivalent homework assignments that lacked connections to the stories of diverse scientists. Students completing Scientist Spotlights shifted toward counterstereotypical descriptions of scientists and conveyed an enhanced ability to personally relate to scientists following the intervention. Longitudinal data suggested these shifts were maintained 6 months after the completion of the course. Analyses further uncovered correlations between these shifts, interest in science, and course grades. As Scientist Spotlights require very little class time and complement existing curricula, they represent a promising tool for enhancing science identity, shifting stereotypes, and connecting content to issues of equity and diversity in a broad range of STEM classrooms. PMID:27587856
Emdin, Christopher
2011-01-01
This paper is based on an exploration of communication and argumentation in urban science classrooms, and provides a description of the role that Hip-hop based education plays in supporting these major components of science education. The paper is intended to both support, and critique conventional uses of hip-hop based education, and provide…
Review: Improving the Impact of Plant Science on Urban Planning and Design
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Peter C. Wootton-Beard
2016-11-01
Full Text Available Urban planning is a vital process in determining the functionality of future cities. It is predicted that at least two thirds of the world’s citizens will reside in towns and cities by the middle of this century, up from one third in the middle of the previous century. Not only is it essential to provide space for work and dwelling, but also for their well-being. Well-being is inextricably linked with the surrounding environment, and natural landscapes have a potent positive effect. For this reason, the inclusion and management of urban green infrastructure has become a topic of increasing scientific interest. Elements of this infrastructure, including green roofs and façades are of growing importance to operators in each stage of the planning, design and construction process in urban areas. Currently, there is a strong recognition that “green is good”. Despite the positive recognition of urban greenery, and the concerted efforts to include more of it in cities, greater scientific attention is needed to better understand its role in the urban environment. For example, many solutions are cleverly engineered without giving sufficient consideration to the biology of the vegetation that is used. This review contends that whilst “green is good” is a positive mantra to promote the inclusion of urban greenery, there is a significant opportunity to increase the contribution of plant science to the process of urban planning through both green infrastructure, and biomimicry.
Investigating Optimal Learning Moments in U.S. and Finnish Science Classes
Schneider, Barbara; Krajcik, Joseph; Lavonen, Jari; Salmela-Aro, Katariina; Broda, Michael; Spicer, Justina; Bruner, Justin; Moeller, Julia; Linnansaari, Janna; Juuti, Kalle; Viljaranta, Jaana
2016-01-01
This study explores how often students are engaged in their science classes and their affective states during these times, using an innovative methodology that records these experiences "in situ". Sampling a subset of high schools in the U.S. and Finland, we collected over 7,000 momentary responses from 344 students over the course of a…
Berisha, Anna-Kaisa; Seppänen, Piia
2017-01-01
The Finnish comprehensive school system is regularly referred to as a uniform and "no-tracking". In this article, we show with novel urban case data in Finland that school performance differed significantly between schools, most strikingly between school classes, and was connected to the school's selectiveness in pupil admission. A…
Arthurs, Leilani A.; Kreager, Bailey Zo
2017-10-01
Engaging students in active learning is linked to positive learning outcomes. This study aims to synthesise the peer-reviewed literature about 'active learning' in college science classroom settings. Using the methodology of an integrative literature review, 337 articles archived in the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) are examined. Four categories of in-class activities emerge: (i) individual non-polling activities, (ii) in-class polling activities, (iii) whole-class discussion or activities, and (iv) in-class group activities. Examining the collection of identified in-class activities through the lens of a theoretical framework informed by constructivism and social interdependence theory, we synthesise the reviewed literature to propose the active learning strategies (ALSs) model and the instructional decisions to enable active learning (IDEAL) theory. The ALS model characterises in-class activities in terms of the degrees to which they are designed to promote (i) peer interaction and (ii) social interdependence. The IDEAL theory includes the ALS model and provides a framework for conceptualising different levels of the general concept 'active learning' and how these levels connect to instructional decision-making about using in-class activities. The proposed ALS model and IDEAL theory can be utilised to inform instructional decision-making and future research about active learning in college science courses.
Using Videoconferencing to Provide Mentorship in Inquiry-Based Urban and Rural Secondary Classrooms
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Qing Li
2010-07-01
Full Text Available The main purpose of this design-based research study is to examine the effects of an inquiry-based learning environment, with the support of videoconferencing, on both rural and urban secondary students’ mathematics and science learning. An important aspect of this learning environment is the use of videoconferencing to connect classes with mathematicians/ scientists (as e-mentors. Specifically, the following two research questions guide this study: (1 In what ways, if any, does the inquiry-based learning environment impact student beliefs and learning outcomes? (2 What challenges emerge in the development of an inquiry-based learning environment with secondary students in both rural and urban schools? Using a mixed methods approach, this study focuses on two grade 9 classes in an urban school and three Grade 8 classes in a rural school. The results suggest positive effects of this learning environment on student learning of math and science. In particular, both urban and rural students showed significant gains in their achievement. In addition, students showed an increased interest and heightened confidence in math and science. As well, the results point to issues arising from the process, suggesting useful guidelines for the development of such environments. Résumé : L’objectif principal de cette étude de recherche axée sur la conception est d’examiner les effets d’un environnement d’apprentissage basé sur le processus d’enquête et utilisant le soutien de la vidéoconférence sur l’apprentissage des mathématiques et des sciences auprès d’élèves du secondaire en milieux ruraux et urbains. L’utilisation de la vidéoconférence pour mettre les classes en lien avec des mathématiciens et des scientifiques (en tant que cybermentors constitue un aspect important de cet environnement d’apprentissage. Plus précisément, les deux questions suivantes orientent la présente étude : (1 De quelle manière, le cas
Djonko-Moore, Cara M.; Leonard, Jacqueline; Holifield, Quintaniay; Bailey, Elsa B.; Almughyirah, Sultan M.
2018-01-01
Background: Children living in urban areas often have limited opportunities to experience informal science environments. As a result, some do not have a deep understanding of the environment, natural resources, ecosystems, and the ways human activities affect nature. Purpose: This article examines how experiential science education supported urban…
Naugah, Jayantee; Watts, Mike
2013-11-01
Background: The population of Mauritius consists of 52% females and scientific literacy is seen to be of vital importance for all young people if they are to be sufficiently equipped to meet the challenges of a fast changing world. Previous research shows, however, that science is not popular among girls. This paper explores one of many reasons why few girls opt for science subjects after compulsory schooling. Purpose: This study investigated the approaches to teaching in four science classrooms in Mauritius, with particular emphases on the preferences of girls as they learn science. Sample: A total of 20 student interviews and 16 teacher interviews were conducted in four schools in Mauritius. The four mixed-faith schools comprised two all-girl schools (one state, one fee-paying), and two mixed-sex schools (one state, one fee-paying), within urban, suburban and rural situations. Design and method: 80 non-participant lessons were observed, of which 60 were science lessons while the remaining 20 non-science lessons were in economics, accounts and commerce. Group interviews with five pupils in each of the four schools were conducted and 16 individual interviews with teachers in the four schools gave an insight into the pedagogic approaches used for the teaching and learning of science. Results: Transmissive approaches to teaching, giving little opportunity for collaborative or activity-based learning, were found to be the most important factors in alienating the girls from science. Conclusions: There need to be radical changes in approaches to teaching to retain young girls' interest in the sciences.
Alberti, M.; Graumlich, L. J.; Frumkin, H.; Friedman, D.
2012-12-01
A sustainable human future requires both healthy ecosystems and communities in which people thrive, with opportunities for health, well-being, happiness, economic prosperity, and equity. To make progress towards this goal, two largely disparate communities of scholars and practitioners must come together: sustainability science needs to be integrated with the sciences of human health and well-being. The opportunity for such integration is particularly ripe for urbanizing regions which not only dominate energy and resource use but also increasingly represent the human habitat. We present a conceptual framework that integrates sustainability science with the sciences of human health and well-being to explicitly articulate testable hypotheses on the relationships between humans and their habitat. We are interested in human behaviors and metrics of health and well-being in relationship to the characteristics of the built environment at various scales from buildings to metro regions. Focusing on the U.S. Pacific Northwest (PNW) as a testbed, we are building on our current empirical studies on urban sprawl and ecosystem function including biodiversity, air quality, hydrological, biogeochemical, and human health to develop formal hypotheses on how alternative urban design and development patterns may influence health outcomes and well-being. The PNW is an ideal setting for this work because of the connected metropolitan areas within a region characterized by a spectacular diversity of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems and deeply held cultural and political aspirations towards sustainability. The framework also highlights opportunities for translation of knowledge to practice in the design and planning of built environments. For example, understanding these associations is critical to assessing tradeoffs in design and planning strategies and exploring potential synergies that optimize both sustainability and human well-being. In complex systems such as cities, managers
Kenar, Ismail; Köse, Mücahit; Demir, Halil Ibrahim
2016-01-01
In this research, determination of motivation of 5th grade students living in rural and urban environments towards science learning and their attitudes towards science-technology course is aimed. This research is conducted based on descriptive survey model. Samples are selected through teleological model in accordance with the aim of this…
Bennett, William Drew
2011-01-01
This study is an investigation into the science literacy of college genetics students who were given a modified curriculum to address specific teaching and learning problems from a previous class. This study arose out of an interest by the professor and researcher to determine how well students in the class Human Genetics in the 21st Century…
Howard, Lori A.; Potts, Elizabeth A.; Linz, Ed
2013-01-01
As the federal government encourages all students to attempt advanced math and science courses, more students with disabilities are enrolling in Advanced Placement (AP) science classes. AP science teachers can better serve these students by understanding the various types of disabilities (whether physical, learning, emotional, or behavioral),…
Ethics Is Not Rocket Science: How to Have Ethical Discussions in Your Science Class
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Kelly C. Smith
2014-10-01
Full Text Available The Rutland Institute for Ethics at Clemson University seeks to encourage discussion on campus, in businesses, and in the community about how ethical decision-making can be the basis of both personal and professional success. In the last 15 years, our fellows have, among other things, served as Co-PI’s on a wide range of grants, produced Responsible Conduct of Research training for science and engineering graduate students and faculty, managed the ethics curriculum at a medical school, and produced video lectures on ethical thinking for undergraduate Biology majors. The crown jewel of our efforts to-date is our Ethics Across the Curriculum program, affectionately known as “ethics boot camp.”Each year, we bring faculty from all corners of the disciplinary spectrum together to show them how to have rich ethical discussions in their own classes with the students from their majors. The program has been extremely successful and over the past 15 years has touched the lives of hundreds of faculty and thousands of students. The purpose of this paper is to provide a very abbreviated version of the Rutland Ethics Across the Curriculum material to a wider audience of science educators. It is our hope that this will motivate more faculty to introduce ethics into their classes as well as provide them the basic tools they will need to make this experience fruitful for all concerned.
Schinske, Jeffrey N; Perkins, Heather; Snyder, Amanda; Wyer, Mary
2016-01-01
Research into science identity, stereotype threat, and possible selves suggests a lack of diverse representations of scientists could impede traditionally underserved students from persisting and succeeding in science. We evaluated a series of metacognitive homework assignments ("Scientist Spotlights") that featured counterstereotypical examples of scientists in an introductory biology class at a diverse community college. Scientist Spotlights additionally served as tools for content coverage, as scientists were selected to match topics covered each week. We analyzed beginning- and end-of-course essays completed by students during each of five courses with Scientist Spotlights and two courses with equivalent homework assignments that lacked connections to the stories of diverse scientists. Students completing Scientist Spotlights shifted toward counterstereotypical descriptions of scientists and conveyed an enhanced ability to personally relate to scientists following the intervention. Longitudinal data suggested these shifts were maintained 6 months after the completion of the course. Analyses further uncovered correlations between these shifts, interest in science, and course grades. As Scientist Spotlights require very little class time and complement existing curricula, they represent a promising tool for enhancing science identity, shifting stereotypes, and connecting content to issues of equity and diversity in a broad range of STEM classrooms. © 2016 J. N. Schinske et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2016 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).
Ridgeway, Monica Lynn
As a critical race ethnography, this dissertation attempts to foreground the richness of Black urban youth culture during and around science classroom instruction. Ironically, during an era of much diversity rhetoric in the United States, the culture of urban Black youth is rarely reflected in mainstream public school culture. I attempt to explicate such a worldview compassionately and authentically for both insiders and outsiders of the lived experiences of Black America. Education in the United States can be damning for Black youth who do not fit the mainstream mold, and several authors have provided detailed critique of mechanisms that shape, direct, and marginalize outliers to the successful academic cultural model. The U.S. through this lens is experiencing an opportunity gap, not an achievement gap--one which equitable educational experience can best be viewed through the richness of critical ethnographic methods. This methodical approach allowed me as a researcher to listen to marginalized voices and to incorporate lived interactions with youth, their parents, and community stakeholders all committed to provide support for the today's youth. As a Black female science educator, I explore the evidence for reform impact as I examine in school experiences and science teaching of culturally relevant pedagogies for urban, working-class and poor families of color in grades six-eight who participated in a Western New York academic enrichment program. Findings suggest that skepticism of reform efforts and new pedagogical approaches existed for all stakeholders aforementioned, but that students were the most amenable and responsive to alternative educational approaches. Specific recommendations for engaging students in inquiry processes are given for teachers, institutions, parents and students on the basis of videotaped lessons, interviews, and instructional artifacts. Implications include the recommendations that educators working with youth of color need to be
The Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS) for Use in Biology
Semsar, Katharine; Knight, Jennifer K.; Birol, Gülnur; Smith, Michelle K.
2011-01-01
This paper describes a newly adapted instrument for measuring novice-to-expert-like perceptions about biology: the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey for Biology (CLASS-Bio). Consisting of 31 Likert-scale statements, CLASS-Bio probes a range of perceptions that vary between experts and novices, including enjoyment of the discipline, propensity to make connections to the real world, recognition of conceptual connections underlying knowledge, and problem-solving strategies. CLASS-Bio has been tested for response validity with both undergraduate students and experts (biology PhDs), allowing student responses to be directly compared with a consensus expert response. Use of CLASS-Bio to date suggests that introductory biology courses have the same challenges as introductory physics and chemistry courses: namely, students shift toward more novice-like perceptions following instruction. However, students in upper-division biology courses do not show the same novice-like shifts. CLASS-Bio can also be paired with other assessments to: 1) examine how student perceptions impact learning and conceptual understanding of biology, and 2) assess and evaluate how pedagogical techniques help students develop both expertise in problem solving and an expert-like appreciation of the nature of biology. PMID:21885823
The Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS) for use in Biology.
Semsar, Katharine; Knight, Jennifer K; Birol, Gülnur; Smith, Michelle K
2011-01-01
This paper describes a newly adapted instrument for measuring novice-to-expert-like perceptions about biology: the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey for Biology (CLASS-Bio). Consisting of 31 Likert-scale statements, CLASS-Bio probes a range of perceptions that vary between experts and novices, including enjoyment of the discipline, propensity to make connections to the real world, recognition of conceptual connections underlying knowledge, and problem-solving strategies. CLASS-Bio has been tested for response validity with both undergraduate students and experts (biology PhDs), allowing student responses to be directly compared with a consensus expert response. Use of CLASS-Bio to date suggests that introductory biology courses have the same challenges as introductory physics and chemistry courses: namely, students shift toward more novice-like perceptions following instruction. However, students in upper-division biology courses do not show the same novice-like shifts. CLASS-Bio can also be paired with other assessments to: 1) examine how student perceptions impact learning and conceptual understanding of biology, and 2) assess and evaluate how pedagogical techniques help students develop both expertise in problem solving and an expert-like appreciation of the nature of biology.
Zirakparvar, N. Alex
2015-01-01
This article describes a museum-based urban teacher-residency (UTR) program's approach to building subject-specific content knowledge and research experience in Earth Science teacher candidates. In the museum-based program, graduate-level science courses and research experiences are designed and implemented specifically for the UTR by active Earth…
Teachers in the 'Hood: Hollywood's Middle-Class Fantasy.
Bulman, Robert C.
2002-01-01
Asserts that the urban-high-school film genre (in which a classroom of socially troubled, low-achieving students is transformed by the singular efforts of an outside middle class teacher or principal) reinforces the "culture of poverty" thesis, representing the fantasies that suburban middle class America has about life in urban high…
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Erica L. Kryst
2015-11-01
Full Text Available Disparities in educational outcomes exist between students in rural areas as compared to students in urban settings. While there is some evidence that these rural disparities are present in eastern Europe, little is known about young peoples’ lives in the rural areas of this region. This paper presents an analysis of science achievement by location (rural v. urban using all available waves of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS. We examined the eighth grade data from five countries: Lithuania, Romania, the Russian Federation, Hungary, and Slovenia. Findings demonstrated that students attending rural schools had significantly lower science scores and that the rural disadvantage grew between 1995 and 2011 in some countries, but became non-significant in others. Overall, family socioeconomic status played an important role in determining the educational outcomes of rural students. The implications of these findings are explored in relation to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO 2015 Education for All goals.
Understanding Climate Variability of Urban Ecosystems Through the Lens of Citizen Science
Ripplinger, J.; Jenerette, D.; Wang, J.; Chandler, M.; Ge, C.; Koutzoukis, S.
2017-12-01
The Los Angeles megacity is vulnerable to climate warming - a process that locally exacerbates the urban heat island effect as it intensifies with size and density of the built-up area. We know that large-scale drivers play a role, but in order to understand local-scale climate variation, more research is needed on the biophysical and sociocultural processes driving the urban climate system. In this study, we work with citizen scientists to deploy a high-density network of microsensors across a climate gradient to characterize geographic variation in neighborhood meso- and micro-climates. This research asks: How do urbanization, global climate, and vegetation interact across multiple scales to affect local-scale experiences of temperature? Additionally, citizen scientist-led efforts generated research questions focused on examining microclimatic differences among yard groundcover types (rock mulch vs. lawn vs. artificial turf) and also on variation in temperature related to tree cover. Combining sensor measurements with Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) spatial models and satellite-based temperature, we estimate spatially-explicit maps of land surface temperature and air temperature to illustrate the substantial difference between surface and air urban heat island intensities and the variable degree of coupling between land surface and air temperature in urban areas. Our results show a strong coupling between air temperature variation and landcover for neighborhoods, with significant detectable signatures from tree cover and impervious surface. Temperature covaried most strongly with urbanization intensity at nighttime during peak summer season, when daily mean air temperature ranged from 12.8C to 30.4C across all groundcover types. The combined effects of neighborhood geography and vegetation determine where and how temperature and tree canopy vary within a city. This citizen science-enabled research shows how large-scale climate drivers and urbanization
Brok, den P.J.; Fisher, D.; Scott, R.
2005-01-01
This study investigated relationships between students' perceptions of their teachers' interpersonal behaviour and their subject-related attitude in primary science classes in Brunei. Teacher-student interpersonal behaviour was mapped with the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI) and reported
Lewis, Andrea D.
2012-01-01
The intent of this study was to explore the perceptions of Black middle and upper class preservice teachers as they relate to teaching and learning in high poverty urban schools. Participants included 11 senior early childhood education preservice teachers at a historically Black college in the southeast region of the United States. The study was…
Adjapong, Edmund S.
2017-01-01
This dissertation explores the context of urban science education as it relates to the achievement and engagement of urban youth. This study provides a framework for Hip-Hop Pedagogy, an approach to teaching and learning anchored in the creative elements of Hip-Hop culture, in STEM as an innovative approach to teaching and learning demonstrates…
Upadhyay, Bhaskar; Maruyama, Geoffrey; Albrecht, Nancy
2017-01-01
In this interpretive case study, we draw from sociocultural theory of learning and culturally relevant pedagogy to understand how urban students from nondominant groups leverage their sociocultural experiences. These experiences allow them to gain an empowering voice in influencing science content and activities and to work towards…
Williams-Ørberg, Elizabeth
2008-01-01
This thesis attempts to understand the ways in which popular film is integrated into the everyday lives of urban middle class youth in India. Approaching the study of film through an audience reception approach, I engaged in participant observation and interviews during a fieldwork period in New Delhi in order to better understand how a young audience might negotiate the fantasy of filmic images into the reality of their own lives. The two movies, Salaam Namaste and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (KA...
The role of trees in urban stormwater management | Science ...
Urban impervious surfaces convert precipitation to stormwater runoff, which causes water quality and quantity problems. While traditional stormwater management has relied on gray infrastructure such as piped conveyances to collect and convey stormwater to wastewater treatment facilities or into surface waters, cities are exploring green infrastructure to manage stormwater at its source. Decentralized green infrastructure leverages the capabilities of soil and vegetation to infiltrate, redistribute, and otherwise store stormwater volume, with the potential to realize ancillary environmental, social, and economic benefits. To date, green infrastructure science and practice have largely focused on infiltration-based technologies that include rain gardens, bioswales, and permeable pavements. However, a narrow focus on infiltration overlooks other losses from the hydrologic cycle, and we propose that arboriculture – the cultivation of trees and other woody plants – deserves additional consideration as a stormwater control measure. Trees interact with the urban hydrologic cycle by intercepting incoming precipitation, removing water from the soil via transpiration, enhancing infiltration, and bolstering the performance of other green infrastructure technologies. However, many of these interactions are inadequately understood, particularly at spatial and temporal scales relevant to stormwater management. As such, the reliable use of trees for stormwater control depe
Reading and Note Taking in Monological and Dialogical Classes in the Social Sciences
Cartolari, Manuela; Carlino, Paula; Colombo, Laura M.
2013-01-01
This qualitative study explores the uses of reading and note-taking in two pre-service teacher training Social Sciences courses. Data analysis of in-depth interviews with professors and students, class observations and course materials suggested two polar teaching styles according to how bibliography was included in the course and the presence or…
Stockmann, Dustin
The purpose of this mixed-methods action research study was to examine to what extent entomological research can promote students' hands-on learning in a high-poverty, urban, secondary setting. In reviewing the literature, the researcher was not able to find a specific study that investigated how entomological research could promote the hands-on learning of students. The researcher did find evidence that research on learning in a secondary setting was important to student growth. It should also be noted that support was established for the implementation of hands-on science inquiry in the classroom setting. The study's purpose was to aid educators in their instruction by combining research-based strategies and hands-on science inquiry. The surveys asked 30 students to rate their understanding of three basic ideas. These core ideas were entomological research, hands-on science inquiry, and urban studies. These core ideas provided the foundation for the study. The questionnaires were based on follow-up ideas from the surveys. Two interview sessions were used to facilitate this one-on-one focus. Because the study included only 30 student participants, its findings may not be totally replicable. Further study investigating the links between entomological research and hands-on science learning in an urban environment is needed.
Gray, P.; Elser, C. F.; Klein, J. L.; Rule, A. C.
2016-01-01
This descriptive case study examined student attitudes, writing skills and content knowledge of urban fourth and fifth graders (6 males, 9 female) during a six-week literacy, thinking skill, and art-integrated environmental science unit. Pre- and post-test questions were used to address knowledge of environmental problems and student environmental…
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Fraser Baker
2018-03-01
Full Text Available Domestic gardens are an important component of cities, contributing significantly to urban green infrastructure (GI and its associated ecosystem services. However, domestic gardens are incredibly heterogeneous which presents challenges for quantifying their GI contribution and associated benefits for sustainable urban development. This study applies an innovative methodology that combines citizen science data with high resolution image analysis to create a garden dataset in the case study city of Manchester, UK. An online Citizen Science Survey (CSS collected estimates of proportional coverage for 10 garden land surface types from 1031 city residents. High resolution image analysis was conducted to validate the CSS estimates, and to classify 7 land surface cover categories for all garden parcels in the city. Validation of the CSS land surface estimations revealed a mean accuracy of 76.63% (s = 15.24%, demonstrating that citizens are able to provide valid estimates of garden surface coverage proportions. An Object Based Image Analysis (OBIA classification achieved an estimated overall accuracy of 82%, with further processing required to classify shadow objects. CSS land surface estimations were then extrapolated across the entire classification through calculation of within image class proportions, to provide the proportional coverage of 10 garden land surface types (buildings, hard impervious surfaces, hard pervious surfaces, bare soil, trees, shrubs, mown grass, rough grass, cultivated land, water within every garden parcel in the city. The final dataset provides a better understanding of the composition of GI in domestic gardens and how this varies across the city. An average garden in Manchester has 50.23% GI, including trees (16.54%, mown grass (14.46%, shrubs (9.19%, cultivated land (7.62%, rough grass (1.97% and water (0.45%. At the city scale, Manchester has 49.0% GI, and around one fifth (20.94% of this GI is contained within domestic
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Wolfgang G. Stock
2015-10-01
Full Text Available Contemporary and future cities are often labeled as "smart cities," "ubiquitous cities," "knowledge cities" and "creative cities." Informational urbanism includes all aspects of information and knowledge with regard to urban regions. "Informational city" is an umbrella term uniting the divergent trends of information-related city research. Informational urbanism is an interdisciplinary endeavor incorporating on the one side computer science and information science and on the other side urbanism, architecture, (city economics, and (city sociology. In our research project on informational cities, we visited more than 40 metropolises and smaller towns all over the world. In this paper, we sketch the theoretical background on a journey from Max Weber to the Internet of Things, introduce our research methods, and describe main results on characteristics of informational cities as prototypical cities of the emerging knowledge society.
Sprawl in European urban areas
Prastacos, Poulicos; Lagarias, Apostolos
2016-08-01
In this paper the 2006 edition of the Urban Atlas database is used to tabulate areas of low development density, usually referred to as "sprawl", for many European cities. The Urban Atlas database contains information on the land use distribution in the 305 largest European cities. Twenty different land use types are recognized, with six of them representing urban fabric. Urban fabric classes are residential areas differentiated by the density of development, which is measured by the sealing degree parameter that ranges from 0% to 100% (non-developed, fully developed). Analysis is performed on the distribution of the middle to low density areas defined as those with sealing degree less than 50%. Seven different country groups in which urban areas have similar sprawl characteristics are identified and some key characteristics of sprawl are discussed. Population of an urban area is another parameter considered in the analysis. Two spatial metrics, average patch size and mean distance to the nearest neighboring patch of the same class, are used to describe proximity/separation characteristics of sprawl in the urban areas of the seven groups.
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Martin J Westgate
Full Text Available Understanding the influence of landscape change on animal populations is critical to inform biodiversity conservation efforts. A particularly important goal is to understand how urban density affects the persistence of animal populations through time, and how these impacts can be mediated by habitat provision; but data on this question are limited for some taxa. Here, we use data from a citizen science monitoring program to investigate the effect of urbanization on patterns of frog species richness and occurrence over 13 years. Sites surrounded by a high proportion of bare ground (a proxy for urbanization had consistently lower frog occurrence, but we found no evidence that declines were restricted to urban areas. Instead, several frog species showed declines in rural wetlands with low-quality habitat. Our analysis shows that urban wetlands had low but stable species richness; but also that population trajectories are strongly influenced by vegetation provision in both the riparian zone and the wider landscape. Future increases in the extent of urban environments in our study area are likely to negatively impact populations of several frog species. However, existing urban areas are unlikely to lose further frog species in the medium term. We recommend that landscape planning and management focus on the conservation and restoration of rural wetlands to arrest current declines, and the revegetation of urban wetlands to facilitate the re-expansion of urban-sensitive species.
Scott, R.; Brok, den P.J.; Fisher, D.; Putnam, R.; Borko, H.
2004-01-01
This study investigated relationships between students’ perceptions of their teachers’ interpersonal behaviour and their subject-related attitude in primary science classes in Brunei. Teacher-student interpersonal behaviour was mapped with the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI) and reported
Cuff, K. E.; Corazza, L.; Liang, J.
2007-12-01
A U.C. Berkeley-based outreach program known as Environmental Science Information Technology Activities has been in operation over the past four years. The primary aim of the program is to provide opportunities for grades 9 and 10 students in diverse East San Francisco Bay Area communities to develop deeper understandings of the nature and conduct of science, which will increase their capacity to enroll and perform successfully in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses in the future. Design of the program has been informed by recent research that indicates a close relationship between educational activities that promote the perception of STEM as being relevant and the ability to foster development of deeper conceptual understandings among teens. Accordingly, ESITA includes an important student-led environmental science research project component, which provides participants with opportunities to engage in research investigations that are directly linked to relevant, real-world environmental problems and issues facing their communities. Analysis of evidence gleaned from questionnaires, interviews with participants and specific assessment/evaluation instruments indicates that ESITA program activities, including after-school meetings, summer and school year research projects, and conference preparations and presentations has provided students with high-quality inquiry science experiences that increased their knowledge of STEM and IT concepts, as well as their understanding of the nature of the scientific enterprise. In addition, the program has achieved a high degree of success in that it has: enhanced participants' intellectual self-confidence with regard to STEM; developed deeper appreciation of how scientific research can contribute to the maintenance of healthy local environments; developed a greater interest in participating in STEM-related courses of study and after school programs; and improved attitudes toward STEM. Overall
Kulo, Violet; Bodzin, Alec
2013-02-01
Geospatial technologies are increasingly being integrated in science classrooms to foster learning. This study examined whether a Web-enhanced science inquiry curriculum supported by geospatial technologies promoted urban middle school students' understanding of energy concepts. The participants included one science teacher and 108 eighth-grade students classified in three ability level tracks. Data were gathered through pre/posttest content knowledge assessments, daily classroom observations, and daily reflective meetings with the teacher. Findings indicated a significant increase in the energy content knowledge for all the students. Effect sizes were large for all three ability level tracks, with the middle and low track classes having larger effect sizes than the upper track class. Learners in all three tracks were highly engaged with the curriculum. Curriculum effectiveness and practical issues involved with using geospatial technologies to support science learning are discussed.
Earth and Space Science Ph.D. Class of 2003 Report released
Keelor, Brad
AGU and the American Geological Institute (AGI) released on 26 July an employment study of 180 Earth and space science Ph.D. recipients who received degrees from U.S. universities in 2003. The AGU/AGI survey asked graduates about their education and employment, efforts to find their first job after graduation, and experiences in graduate school. Key results from the study include: The vast majority (87%) of 2003 graduates found work in the Earth and space sciences, earning salaries commensurate with or slightly higher than 2001 and 2002 salary averages. Most (64%) graduates were employed within academia (including postdoctoral appointments), with the remainder in government (19%), industry (10%), and other (7%) sectors. Most graduates were positive about their employment situation and found that their work was challenging, relevant, and appropriate for someone with a Ph.D. The percentage of Ph.D. recipients accepting postdoctoral positions (58%) increased slightly from 2002. In contrast, the fields of physics and chemistry showed significant increases in postdoctoral appointments for Ph.D.s during the same time period. As in previous years, recipients of Ph.D.s in the Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences (median age of 32.7 years) are slightly older than Ph.D. recipients in most other natural sciences (except computer sciences), which is attributed to time taken off between undergraduate and graduate studies. Women in the Earth, atmospheric,and ocean sciences earned 33% of Ph.D.s in the class of 2003, surpassing the percentage of Ph.D.s earned by women in chemistry (32%) and well ahead of the percentage in computer sciences (20%), physics (19%), and engineering (17%). Participation of other underrepresented groups in the Earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences remained extremely low.
Cogdell, Barbara; Torsney, Ben; Stewart, Katherine; Smith, Robert A.
2012-01-01
In order to promote more active engagement of science undergraduates in histology practical classes some technology-based innovations were introduced. First, an interactive pre-lab tutorial was set up using an electronic handset voting system, where guidance on tissue analysis was given. Second, a web-based resource where students could access…
Miao, Zelang
2017-04-01
Currently, urban dwellers comprise more than half of the world's population and this percentage is still dramatically increasing. The explosive urban growth over the next two decades poses long-term profound impact on people as well as the environment. Accurate and up-to-date delineation of urban settlements plays a fundamental role in defining planning strategies and in supporting sustainable development of urban settlements. In order to provide adequate data about urban extents and land covers, classifying satellite data has become a common practice, usually with accurate enough results. Indeed, a number of supervised learning methods have proven effective in urban area classification, but they usually depend on a large amount of training samples, whose collection is a time and labor expensive task. This issue becomes particularly serious when classifying large areas at the regional/global level. As an alternative to manual ground truth collection, in this work we use geo-referenced social media data. Cities and densely populated areas are an extremely fertile land for the production of individual geo-referenced data (such as GPS and social network data). Training samples derived from geo-referenced social media have several advantages: they are easy to collect, usually they are freely exploitable; and, finally, data from social media are spatially available in many locations, and with no doubt in most urban areas around the world. Despite these advantages, the selection of training samples from social media meets two challenges: 1) there are many duplicated points; 2) method is required to automatically label them as "urban/non-urban". The objective of this research is to validate automatic sample selection from geo-referenced social media and its applicability in one class classification for urban extent mapping from satellite images. The findings in this study shed new light on social media applications in the field of remote sensing.
MacKillop, Fionn
2018-06-01
This paper aims to investigate the links between materiality and society at a conceptual level, using examples from the author's decade of research in several fields relevant to the issue. With current talk of the need for `sustainability' and `resilience' reaching fever pitch in industry, politics and other arenas, there is a regrettable tendency to muddle the meaning of these words. Drawing on original research carried out in the UK, China, Germany, and Australia, and using the conceptual approaches of actor-network theory (ANT) and urban political ecology (UPE), the author invites us to re-engage with the materiality of society and how we, as businesses, consumers and thinkers, can advance sustainability and resilience through this re-engagement. We will ask what sustainability and resilience mean, for whom and in what context. We will also look at how we can shift thinking and reinvigorate these words, by contributing to the dialogue between the social sciences and business and industry. Specific examples will be taken from the UK and Chinese steel industries; climate-sensitive urban design in Manchester and Stuttgart; and housing construction and affordability in Scotland and Australia, thus covering a wide range of issues related to urban sustainability and resilience in relation to materiality.
Perceptions and attitudes of formative assessments in middle-school science classes
Chauncey, Penny Denyse
No Child Left Behind mandates utilizing summative assessment to measure schools' effectiveness. The problem is that summative assessment measures students' knowledge without depth of understanding. The goal of public education, however, is to prepare students to think critically at higher levels. The purpose of this study was to examine any difference between formative assessment incorporated in instruction as opposed to the usual, more summative methods in terms of attitudes and academic achievement of middle-school science students. Maslow's theory emphasizes that individuals must have basic needs met before they can advance to higher levels. Formative assessment enables students to master one level at a time. The research questions focused on whether statistically significant differences existed between classrooms using these two types of assessments on academic tests and an attitude survey. Using a quantitative quasi-experimental control-group design, data were obtained from a sample of 430 middle-school science students in 6 classes. One control and 2 experimental classes were assigned to each teacher. Results of the independent t tests revealed academic achievement was significantly greater for groups that utilized formative assessment. No significant difference in attitudes was noted. Recommendations include incorporating formative assessment results with the summative results. Findings from this study could contribute to positive social change by prompting educational stakeholders to examine local and state policies on curriculum as well as funding based on summative scores alone. Use of formative assessment can lead to improved academic success.
The kids at Hamilton Elementary School: Purposes and practices for co-opting science
Ortiz, Loaiza
The purpose of this study was to explore youth's purposes and motivations for engaging in science through the lens of science practices. The construct of science practices allowed me to see science in youths' lives in a holistic way, shaped by social, political, historical, economic and cultural forces. The framework for understanding urban youths' science practices is grounded in the intersections of critical and feminist theory, sociocultural learning theories, especially as applied in research in urban science education, and recent work in critical literacy studies. As I explored the answers to my research questions---(1) When 5th grade youth, living in predominantly Latino communities struggling with urban poverty, engage in science how and why do they co-opt science in ways that result in changes in participation in science? (2) What are the science practices that facilitate youths' coopting of science? And how are those practices framed by context (school, out-of-school), content (LiFE curriculum), and funds of knowledge? (3) In what ways are science practices expressions of youths' scientific literacy? And (4) In what ways do youth use science practices as tools for expressing identities and agency?---I engaged in feminist ethnography with embedded case studies. Data were collected in 2004 in school and in out of school settings. I recorded numerous informal conversations, interviews, and observations both during after-school and students' regular science and non-science classes. Findings describe how and why students co-opted science for purposes that make sense for their lives. These purposes included gaining and activating resources, building and maintaining social relationships, bridging home and school knowledge, positioning themselves with authority, and constructing science identities. Findings also explored what practices facilitated youth's co-opting of science. I highlighted three practices: making ideas public, storytelling and prioritizing and
Willems, Pierre Dominique
The purpose of this case study was to research how science teachers balance both religion and evolution in the science classroom with as little controversy as possible. In this study I attempted to provide some insight on how teachers are currently teaching evolution in their science classes in light of the religious beliefs of the students as well as their own. The case study was conducted in a school district in Florida where I attempted to answer the following questions: (a) How do science teachers in the Florida School District (FSD) approach the religion--evolution issue in preparing students for a career in a field of science? (b) How do science teachers in the FSD reconcile the subject of evolution with the religious views of their students? (c) How do science teachers in the FSD reconcile their own religious views with the teaching of evolution? (d) How do science teachers in the FSD perceive the relationship between religion and science? The data was collected through interviews with two high school teachers, and one middle school teacher, by observing each participant teach, by collecting site documents and by administering an exploratory survey to student volunteers. Analysis was conducted by open coding which produced four themes from which the research questions were answered and the survey answers were counted to produce the percentages displayed in the tables in chapter four. The teachers avoided discussion on religiously oriented questions or statements by the students and did not reveal their own religious orientation. The topic of microevolution appeared to reduce stress in the classroom environment, as opposed to addressing macroevolution.
Spillane, James P.; Diamond, John B.; Walker, Lisa J.; Halverson, Rich; Jita, Loyiso
2001-10-01
This article explores school leadership for elementary school science teaching in an urban setting. We examine how school leaders bring resources together to enhance science instruction when there appear to be relatively few resources available for it. From our study of 13 Chicago elementary (K-8) schools' efforts to lead instructional change in mathematics, language arts, and science education, we show how resources for leading instruction are unequally distributed across subject areas. We also explore how over time leaders in one school successfully identified and activated resources for leading change in science education. The result has been a steady, although not always certain, development of science as an instructional area in the school. We argue that leading change in science education involves the identification and activation of material resources, the development of teachers' and school leaders' human capital, and the development and use of social capital.
Incorporating Earth Science into Other High School Science Classes
Manning, C. L. B.; Holzer, M.; Colson, M.; Courtier, A. M. B.; Jacobs, B. E.
2016-12-01
As states begin to review their standards, some adopt or adapt the NGSS and others write their own, many basing these on the Framework for K-12 Science Education. Both the NGSS and the Frameworks have an increased emphasis on Earth Science but many high school teachers are being asked to teach these standards in traditional Biology, Chemistry and Physics courses. At the Earth Educators Rendezvous, teachers, scientists, and science education researchers worked together to find the interconnections between the sciences using the NGSS and identified ways to reference the role of Earth Sciences in the other sciences during lectures, activities and laboratory assignments. Weaving Earth and Space sciences into the other curricular areas, the teams developed relevant problems for students to solve by focusing on using current issues, media stories, and community issues. These and other lessons and units of study will be presented along with other resources used by teachers to ensure students are gaining exposure and a deeper understanding of Earth and Space Science concepts.
Urban Landscape Metrics for Climate and Sustainability Assessments
Cochran, F. V.; Brunsell, N. A.
2014-12-01
To test metrics for rapid identification of urban classes and sustainable urban forms, we examine the configuration of urban landscapes using satellite remote sensing data. We adopt principles from landscape ecology and urban planning to evaluate urban heterogeneity and design themes that may constitute more sustainable urban forms, including compactness (connectivity), density, mixed land uses, diversity, and greening. Using 2-D wavelet and multi-resolution analysis, landscape metrics, and satellite-derived indices of vegetation fraction and impervious surface, the spatial variability of Landsat and MODIS data from metropolitan areas of Manaus and São Paulo, Brazil are investigated. Landscape metrics for density, connectivity, and diversity, like the Shannon Diversity Index, are used to assess the diversity of urban buildings, geographic extent, and connectedness. Rapid detection of urban classes for low density, medium density, high density, and tall building district at the 1-km scale are needed for use in climate models. If the complexity of finer-scale urban characteristics can be related to the neighborhood scale both climate and sustainability assessments may be more attainable across urban areas.
Varelas, Maria; Pappas, Christine C.
2006-01-01
The nature and evolution of intertextuality was studied in 2 urban primary-grade classrooms, focusing on read-alouds of an integrated science-literacy unit. The study provides evidence that both debunks deficit theories for urban children by highlighting funds of knowledge that these children bring to the classroom and the sense they make of them…
Field classes: key to involve and attract students to soils
Muggler, Cristine Carole; Cardoso, Irene Maria; da Silva Lopes, Angelica
2015-04-01
Soil genesis is a subject taught to students of Agrarian Sciences and Geography at the Federal University of Viçosa in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Each semester 200 to 250 students inscribe for it. It is organized as the first 60 hours course on soils for 1st and 2nd year's students. The course has a distinct pedagogical approach, which is based on Paulo Freire's education principles, known as socio constructivism. In such approach, learning environments and materials are prepared to stimulate dialogues and exchange of knowledge between students themselves, strengthening that their role is crucial to their own learning. During the course, students have different types of practical classes: indoors, in a class room or at the Earth Sciences museum and outdoors, in the field. In the class room they have the opportunity to handle materials -minerals, rocks, soils and maps-, follow demonstrations and perform small experiments. The classes given in the museum intend a broadening of the subjects approached in theoretical and practical classes. In the field classes the students are organized in small groups with the task to investigate soil formation by observation and description of geology, landscape, land use, soil expositions and some of the soil properties. Attracting students to soils involves looking at meanings and perceptions related to soils they bring with themselves and follow this up to sensitize and create awareness about their importance. With this aim, it is also included, as part of the evaluation, a final voluntary presentation that many of the students do. The presentation can be a song, a poem, a sketch or whatever they propose and create. Many of the presentations bring topics related to the new perception about soils they get during the semester and to ideas or questions raised in the field classes. A survey with the students showed that field classes are by far the preferred classes and they are considered more dynamic. Since students have less and less
Ünsal, Zeynep; Jakobson, Britt; Molander, Bengt-Olov; Wickman, Per-Olof
2017-04-01
In this study, we examine how bilingual students in elementary school use their languages and what this means for their meaning-making in science. The class was multilingual with students bilingual in different minority languages and the teacher monolingual in Swedish. The analysis is based on a pragmatic approach and the theory of translanguaging. The science content was electricity, and the teaching involved class instruction and hands-on activities in small groups. The findings of the study are divided into two categories, students' conversations with the teacher and student's conversations with each other. Since the class was multilingual, the class instruction was carried out in Swedish. Generally, when the conversations were characterised by an initiation, response and evaluation pattern, the students made meaning of the activities without any language limitations. However, when the students, during whole class instruction, were engaged in conversations where they had to argue, discuss and explain their ideas, their language repertoire in Swedish limited their possibilities to express themselves. During hands-on activities, students with the same minority language worked together and used both of their languages as resources. In some situations, the activities proceeded without any visible language limitations. In other situations, students' language repertoire limited their possibilities to make meaning of the activities despite being able to use both their languages. What the results mean for designing and conducting science lessons in a multilingual class is discussed.
Urban informality as a signifier: Performing urban reordering in suburban Rio de Janeiro.
Müller, Frank I
2017-07-01
Urban informality is typically ascribed to the urban poor in cities of the Global South. Drawing on Judith Butler's concept of performativity and taking the case of Rio de Janeiro in the context of the 2016 Olympic Games, this article conceptualizes informality as a signifier and a procedural, relational category. Specifically, it shows how different class actors have employed the signifier informality (1) to legitimize the confinement of marginalized populations; (2) to justify the organized efforts of the upper middle class to protect their 'self-enclosed' gated communities; and (3) to warrant the formation of opposition and alliances between inhabitants, activists, and researchers on the edges of the urban order. This article offers new perspectives to better understand the relationship between informality and confinement by examining the active role that inhabitants of marginalized settlements assume in the Olympic City.
Urban informality as a signifier: Performing urban reordering in suburban Rio de Janeiro
Müller, Frank I
2017-01-01
Urban informality is typically ascribed to the urban poor in cities of the Global South. Drawing on Judith Butler’s concept of performativity and taking the case of Rio de Janeiro in the context of the 2016 Olympic Games, this article conceptualizes informality as a signifier and a procedural, relational category. Specifically, it shows how different class actors have employed the signifier informality (1) to legitimize the confinement of marginalized populations; (2) to justify the organized efforts of the upper middle class to protect their ‘self-enclosed’ gated communities; and (3) to warrant the formation of opposition and alliances between inhabitants, activists, and researchers on the edges of the urban order. This article offers new perspectives to better understand the relationship between informality and confinement by examining the active role that inhabitants of marginalized settlements assume in the Olympic City. PMID:28781405
Smart Mobility Stakeholders - Curating Urban Data & Models
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Sperling, Joshua [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
2017-09-01
This presentation provides an overview of the curation of urban data and models through engaging SMART mobility stakeholders. SMART Mobility Urban Science Efforts are helping to expose key data sets, models, and roles for the U.S. Department of Energy in engaging across stakeholders to ensure useful insights. This will help to support other Urban Science and broader SMART initiatives.
Gender and Violence in Urban Pakistan
International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)
2014-02-02
Feb 2, 2014 ... This report is the final output of the Safe and Inclusive Cities Programme ... urban working class neighborhoods of Karachi and Rawalpindi-‐Islamabad. ...... In Chapter 3, we discuss Pakistan's urban environment policy and ...
Djordjevic, G. S.; Pavlovic-Babic, D.
2010-01-01
The "High school class for students with special abilities in physics" was founded in Nis, Serbia (www.pmf.ni.ac.yu/f_odeljenje) in 2003. The basic aim of this project has been introducing a broadened curriculum of physics, mathematics, computer science, as well as chemistry and biology. Now, six years after establishing of this specialized class, and 3 years after the previous report, we present analyses of the pupils' skills in solving rather problem oriented test, as PISA test, and compare their results with the results of pupils who study under standard curricula. More precisely results are compared to the progress results of the pupils in a standard Grammar School and the corresponding classes of the Mathematical Gymnasiums in Nis. Analysis of achievement data should clarify what are benefits of introducing in school system track for gifted students. Additionally, item analysis helps in understanding and improvement of learning strategies' efficacy. We make some conclusions and remarks that may be useful for the future work that aims to increase pupils' intrinsic and instrumental motivation for physics and sciences, as well as to increase the efficacy of teaching physics and science.
McMahon, Kendra
2012-01-01
By developing two case studies of expert teaching in action, this study aimed to develop knowledge of talk in whole-class teaching in UK primary science lessons and understand this in relation to both the teachers' interpretations and sociocultural theoretical frameworks. Lessons were observed and video-recorded and the teachers engaged in…
Jagannathan, Radha; Camasso, Michael J; Delacalle, Maia
2018-02-01
We describe an environmental and natural science program called Nurture thru Nature (NtN) that seeks to improve mathematics and science performance of students in disadvantaged communities, and to increase student interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) careers. The program draws conceptual guidance from the Head-Heart-Hands model that informs the current educational movement to foster environmental understanding and sustainability. Employing an experimental design and data from seven cohorts of students, we find some promising, albeit preliminary, indications that the program can increase students' science knowledge and grades in mathematics, science and language arts. We discuss the special adaptations that environmental and sustainability education programs need to incorporate if they are to be successful in today's resource depleted urban schools. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Arur, Aditi Ashok
This dissertation is an ethnographic case study of a community-based teaching program (CBTP) in public health at a medical college in South India that explored how the CBTP produced particular ways of seeing and understanding rural and urban poor communities. Drawing from critical, feminist, and postcolonial scholars, I suggest that the knowledge produced in the CBTP can be understood as "science/fictions", that is, as cultural texts shaped by transnational development discourses as well as medical teachers' and students' sociospatial imaginations of the rural and urban poor. I explored how these science/fictions mediated medical students' performative actions and interactions with a rural and an urban poor community in the context of the CBTP. At the same time, I also examined how knowledge produced in students' encounters with these communities disrupted their naturalized understandings about these communities, and how it was taken up to renarrativize science/fictions anew. Data collection and analyses procedures were informed by critical ethnographic and critical discourse analysis approaches. Data sources includes field notes constructed from observations of the CBTP, interviews with medical teachers and students, and curricular texts including the standardized national textbook of public health. The findings of this study illustrate how the CBTP staged the government and technology as central actors in the production of healthy bodies, communities, and environments, and implicitly positioned medical teachers and students as productive citizens of a modern nation while rural and urban poor communities were characterized sometimes as empowered, and at other times as not-yet-modern and in need of reform. However, the community also constituted an alternate pedagogical site of engagement in that students' encounters with community members disrupted students' assumptions about these communities to an extent. Nevertheless, institutionalized practices of assessment
Urbanization and Third World stability
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Bienen, H
1984-07-01
This essay reviews images of urbanization that have been held by academics and activists, including revolutionary leaders. It examines the methodology and findings of case studies in Nigeria, Mexico, Peru, Brazil, Kenya, Turkey, Malaysia and other countries with the aim of determining how well suited are the data and theories for assessing the relationship between urbanization and political stability. The review examines the following topics: migration; political participaton and the urban poor; radical parties and urban violence; the over-urbanization thesis; class and ethnicity. It especially evaluates the role of so-called urban marginals in urban political life and concludes that the evidence is overwhelming that there is no widespread culture of poverty or culture of apathy among the urban poor in developing countries. 119 references.
Giansanti, S.
2015-03-01
The project called Adotta scienza e arte nella tua classe ("Adopt Science and Art in your class"), on the interconnection between science and art, has been addressed to the Italian secondary middle and high school involving more than 200 teachers and about 2200 students. The main purpose of this project is to make the young students aware of the strong link between science and art is a unique cultural and interdisciplinary occasion. To reach this goal, the Adotta project asked students to produce an artwork inspired by the interpretation of a quotation among a hundred commented quotes by physicists, mathematicians, scientist, writers, artists, accompanied by an original short sentence written by students themselves. More than 1000 artworks have been produced and collected in two galleries on Facebook. From their analysis emerges the students' feeling about science, which is usually associated to human brain, based on mathematical laws and related to technological progress, but it is also a powerful tool that should be responsibly used. This project also valorizes teachers' role in scientific education through activities that encourage students to recognize science in every aspect of their lives.
Fadigan, Kathleen A.; Hammrich, Penny L.
2004-10-01
The purpose of this longitudinal case study is to describe the educational trajectories of a sample of 152 young women from urban, low-income, single-parent families who participated in the Women in Natural Sciences (WINS) program during high school. Utilizing data drawn from program records, surveys, and interviews, this study also attempts to determine how the program affected the participants' educational and career choices to provide insight into the role informal science education programs play in increasing the participation of women and minorities in science, math, engineering, and technology (SMET)-related fields. Findings revealed 109 participants (93.16%) enrolled in a college program following high school completion. Careers in medical or health-related fields followed by careers in SMET emerged as the highest ranking career paths with 24 students (23.76%) and 21 students (20.79%), respectively, employed in or pursuing careers in these areas. The majority of participants perceived having staff to talk to, the job skills learned, and having the museum as a safe place to go as having influenced their educational and career decisions. These findings reflect the need for continued support of informal science education programs for urban girls and at-risk youth.
Zahur, Rubina; Barton, Angela Calabrese; Upadhyay, Bhaskar Raj
2002-01-01
Discusses the purpose of science education for children of the very poor classes in caste-oriented developing countries such as Pakistan. Presents a case study of one teacher educator whose beliefs and practices sharply deviated from the norm--she believes that science education ought to be about empowering students to make physical and political…
Cavagnetto, Andy R.; Hand, Brian; Norton-Meier, Lori
2011-03-01
The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of two strategies for negotiating the question for exploration during science inquiry on student achievement and teachers' perceptions. The study is set in the context of the Science Writing Heuristic. The first strategy (small group) consisted of each group of four students negotiating a question for inquiry with the teacher while the second strategy (whole class) consisted of the entire class negotiating a single question for inquiry with the teacher. The study utilized a mixed-method approach. A quasi-experimental repeated measures design was used to determine the effect of strategy on student achievement and semi-structured teacher interviews were used to probe the question of teacher perceptions of the two strategies. Teacher observations were conducted using the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP) to check for variation in implementation of the two strategies. Iowa Test of Basic Skills Science (ITBSS) (2005 and 2006) and teacher/researcher developed unit exams (pre and post) were used as student achievement measures. No statistically significant differences were found among students in the two treatment groups on the ITBSS or unit exams. RTOP observations suggest that teacher implementation was consistent across the two treatment strategies. Teachers disclosed personal preferences for the two strategies, indicating the whole class treatment was easier to manage (at least at the beginning of the school year) as students gained experience with science inquiry and the associated increased responsibility. Possible mechanisms linking the two strategies, negotiated questions, and student outcomes are discussed.
Liang, Xiaoping; Smith, Sara W.
2012-01-01
The present research analyzes instructional strategies used to integrate the learning of content and English as a foreign language in a bilingual physics class at a university in Shanghai, China. It examines how the instructor handles meaning and form of new English science vocabulary in concept-focused physics lectures and the strategies he used…
Student control ideology and the science classroom environment in urban secondary schools of sudan
Harty, Harold; Hassan, Hassan A.
An examination was made concerning the relationships between Sudanese secondary science teachers' pupil control ideology and their students' perceptions/observations of the psychosocial environment of their science classrooms. One hundred secondary science teachers were classified as possessing humanistic (N = 20) or custodial (N = 20) control ideologies. A class (N = 40) of students was randomly selected for every teacher in both groups. The findings revealed that no significant relationships existed between the control ideologies of the teachers and their students' perceptions/observations of the classroom environment. Custodialism in control ideology was significantly related to the classroom environment psychosocial aspect of low support. Discussion and implications of the findings have been approached from both Sudanese and American perspectives.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Kardel, F.; Wuyts, K.; Babanezhad, M.; Vitharana, U.W.A.; Wuytack, T.; Potters, G.; Samson, R.
2010-01-01
This study has evaluated urban habitat quality by studying specific leaf area (SLA) and stomatal characteristics of the common herb Plantago lanceolata L. SLA and stomatal density, pore surface and resistance were measured at 169 locations in the city of Gent (Belgium), distributed over four land use classes, i.e., sub-urban green, urban green, urban and industry. SLA and stomatal density significantly increased from sub-urban green towards more urbanised land use classes, while the reverse was observed for stomatal pore surface. Stomatal resistance increased in the urban and industrial land use class in comparison with the (sub-) urban green, but differences between land use classes were less pronounced. Spatial distribution maps for these leaf characteristics showed a high spatial variation, related to differences in habitat quality within the city. Hence, stomatal density and stomatal pore surface are assumed to be potentially good bio-indicators for urban habitat quality. - Stomatal characteristics of Plantago lanceolata can be used for biomonitoring of urban habitat quality.
Latent class analysis of diagnostic science assessment data using Bayesian networks
Steedle, Jeffrey Thomas
2008-10-01
Diagnostic science assessments seek to draw inferences about student understanding by eliciting evidence about the mental models that underlie students' reasoning about physical systems. Measurement techniques for analyzing data from such assessments embody one of two contrasting assessment programs: learning progressions and facet-based assessments. Learning progressions assume that students have coherent theories that they apply systematically across different problem contexts. In contrast, the facet approach makes no such assumption, so students should not be expected to reason systematically across different problem contexts. A systematic comparison of these two approaches is of great practical value to assessment programs such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress as they seek to incorporate small clusters of related items in their tests for the purpose of measuring depth of understanding. This dissertation describes an investigation comparing learning progression and facet models. Data comprised student responses to small clusters of multiple-choice diagnostic science items focusing on narrow aspects of understanding of Newtonian mechanics. Latent class analysis was employed using Bayesian networks in order to model the relationship between students' science understanding and item responses. Separate models reflecting the assumptions of the learning progression and facet approaches were fit to the data. The technical qualities of inferences about student understanding resulting from the two models were compared in order to determine if either modeling approach was more appropriate. Specifically, models were compared on model-data fit, diagnostic reliability, diagnostic certainty, and predictive accuracy. In addition, the effects of test length were evaluated for both models in order to inform the number of items required to obtain adequately reliable latent class diagnoses. Lastly, changes in student understanding over time were studied with a
Kryst, Erica L.; Kotok, Stephen; Bodovski, Katerina
2015-01-01
Disparities in educational outcomes exist between students in rural areas as compared to students in urban settings. While there is some evidence that these rural disparities are present in eastern Europe, little is known about young peoples' lives in the rural areas of this region. This paper presents an analysis of science achievement by…
Akyurek, Erkan; Afacan, Ozlem
2013-01-01
The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of brain-based learning approach on attitudes and motivation levels in 8th grade students' science classes. The main reason for examining attitudes and motivation levels, the effect of the short-term motivation, attitude shows the long-term effect. The pre/post-test control group research model…
Using the Urban Environment to Engage Youths in Urban Ecology Field Studies
Barnett, Michael; Lord, Charles; Strauss, Eric; Rosca, Camelia; Langford, Heather; Chavez, Dawn; Deni, Leah
2006-01-01
Recent science education reform proponents explicitly put forward the idea that all students, regardless of culture, gender, race, or socioeconomic status, are capable of understanding and doing science. To address this need, the authors have developed and implemented a field-based urban ecology science program to engage traditionally…
Sheth, Manali J.
Students of color are routinely asked to participate in science education that is less intellectually rich and self-affirming. Additionally, teachers have trouble embarking on professional growth related to issues of equity and diversity in science. The purpose of this dissertation research is to develop a multi-dimensional framework for equitable science pedagogy (ESP) through analyzing the efforts and struggles of high school science teachers. This study is grounded in a conceptual framework derived from scholarship in science education, multicultural education, critical science studies, and teacher learning. The following questions guide this research: 1) What visions and enactments emerge in teachers' practices towards equitable science pedagogy? 2) How are teachers' practice decisions towards ESP influenced by their personal theories of race/culture, science, and learning and sociocultural contexts? 3) Why are there consistencies and variances across teachers' practices? This study employs a qualitative multiple case study design with ethnographic data collection to explore the practices of three urban high school science teachers who were identified as being committed to nurturing the science learning of students of color. Data include over 120 hours of classroom observation, 60 hours of teacher interviews, and 500 teacher- and student-generated artifacts. Data analysis included coding teachers' practices using theory- and participant generated codes, construction of themes based on emergent patterns, and cross-case analysis. The affordances and limitations of the participants' pedagogical approaches inform the following framework for equitable science pedagogy: 1) Seeing race and culture and sharing responsibility for learning form foundational dimensions. Practices from the other three dimensions--- nurturing students' identities, re-centering students' epistemologies, and critiquing structural inequities---emerge from the foundation. As emergent practices
Environmental challenges threatening the growth of urban agriculture in the United States.
Wortman, Sam E; Lovell, Sarah Taylor
2013-09-01
Urban agriculture, though often difficult to define, is an emerging sector of local food economies in the United States. Although urban and agricultural landscapes are often integrated in countries around the world, the establishment of mid- to large-scale food production in the U.S. urban ecosystem is a relatively new development. Many of the urban agricultural projects in the United States have emerged from social movements and nonprofit organizations focused on urban renewal, education, job training, community development, and sustainability initiatives. Although these social initiatives have traction, critical knowledge gaps exist regarding the science of food production in urban ecosystems. Developing a science-based approach to urban agriculture is essential to the economic and environmental sustainability of the movement. This paper reviews abiotic environmental factors influencing urban cropping systems, including soil contamination and remediation; atmospheric pollutants and altered climatic conditions; and water management, sources, and safety. This review paper seeks to characterize the limited state of the science on urban agricultural systems and identify future research questions most relevant to urban farmers, land-use planners, and environmental consultants. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.
Urban-Rural Problems. Contemporary Social Problems Series.
Taylor, Lee
Various social problems are created by migration of low-income rural people into urban areas. These people are classified "low income" because their material level-of-living is often less than that found in urban areas. The dominant national values for material well-being are based upon urban middle class standards, thus creating a social problem…
Weinstein, Meryle; Whitesell, Emilyn Ruble; Schwartz, Amy Ellen
2014-12-01
Informal science education institutions (ISEIs) are critical partners in public science education, as they support the science efforts of school systems by providing authentic opportunities for scientific inquiry. This study reports findings from an evaluation of urban advantage (UA), a collaboration between the New York City Department of Education and eight ISEIs designed to improve science education in New York City (NYC) middle schools. Now in its 10th year, the program harnesses the resources and expertise of NYC's ISEIs to (a) enhance the science content knowledge of middle school science teachers, (b) develop teachers' skills at using inquiry-based approaches in their classrooms, and (c) improve the science achievement of middle school students. We examine whether the UA program has led to increased student achievement on the eighth-grade New York State standardized science exam for students in participating schools; in supplemental analyses, we examine the effects on longer term (ninth-grade) outcomes. We use a difference-in-differences framework with school fixed effects to estimate the impact of attending a UA school in eighth grade on science achievement. Our key outcome is performance on New York State's eighth-grade intermediate-level science assessment; longer term outcomes include enrollment at specialized science, technology, engineering, and math high schools as well as taking and passing the high school (Regents) science exams. We find that attending a UA school increases student performance on the eighth-grade science exam by approximately 0.05 SD, and there is some evidence of small effects on Regents taking and passing rates. © The Author(s) 2014.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mustafa Ugras
2014-08-01
Full Text Available This study aimed at investigating the challenges class teachers face in the curriculum implementation and whether these challenges differ in relation to teachers’ gender, level of education, department they graduated from and teaching experience. For this purpose; a questionnaire was developed by the researcher. Items of the questionnaire were selected from the related literature and validated by a group of expert in the field. A pilot study was conducted to assess the clarity of the questionnaire items. The internal reliability of the final version of questionnaire was calculated by using Cronbach’s Alpha Formula and found be high (α=0.85. The participants of this research included 342 class teachers who were teaching 4th and 5th class in 57 different elementary schools in 2010-2011 academic years in Bingol and Diayrbakir cities. The results of the survey were considered by using SPSS packet program. In the analyzing of data obtained from this study, frequency, arithmetic average, t-test and variance analysis were used. From the obtained data, it was determined that the 4th and 5th class teachers encounter different problems in science and technology teaching program, especially in performance homework, sourcing and lesson time topics.
Miranda, Susan Jennifer
A mixed methods approach was used to identify factors that influence the underrepresentation of Latinos in the domain of science. The researcher investigated the role of family influences, academic preparation, and personal motivations to determine science-related career choices by Latinos. Binary logistic regression analyses were conducted using information from Latinos gathered from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS: 88) administered by the National Center for Education Statistics. For the present study, data were analyzed using participants' responses as high school seniors, college students, and post-baccalaureates. Students responded to questions on school, work, parental academic influences, personal aspirations, and self-perception. To provide more insight into the experiences of Latinos in science and support the statistical analyses, nine students majoring in science in a private, urban university located in the northeastern part of the country were interviewed. Eleven variables related to parents' academic support and students' perceptions of parental support were taken together as predictors for two separate criteria from the survey. These results identified parents' level of education and the importance of academics to parents in their teen's college choice as significant predictors in determining college major in science. When the criterion was degree in science, the significant predictor was the frequency parents contacted high school as volunteers. Student interviews supported this information, demonstrating the importance of parental support in attaining a degree in science. Academic preparation was also analyzed. Students' reasons for taking science classes in high school was a significant predictor for science major; significant predictors for science degree were the emphasis placed on objectives in math and science classes and number of courses in biology and physics. Student interviews supported this information and
Seiler, Gale A.
Schools and science classrooms within schools continue to contribute to social reproduction and to the disenfranchisement of inner city African American students though attempts have been made to remedy the situation through standards, high-stakes testing, and compensatory programs. Such reforms ignore the sociocultural, political, and economic contexts of the individual students in the schools they are impacting. They do not take into account the uniqueness and diversity of the learners in these settings and have not included the voices of the students. Another possibility was studied here; that of starting with the cultural capital of the learner rather than with external standards. In a non-required science course at a local high school two coteachers endeavored to enact a student-emergent curriculum as a way to foster student agency and to counteract the reproductive nature of schools. The class was examined as a field within multiple other fields. The dialectical relationship between structure and agency in the class was used to frame the analysis and the tension between them was examined at several levels through video and audio analysis. Structural and rational choice views of action were abandoned in favor of an understanding hinged upon strategies of action that actors construct from cultural toolkits in and through practice. In this setting the students and teachers co-constructed a class that can be described and characterized in certain ways yet contained many counter-examples and alternative characterizations. A continuum of successes and failures, agency and subjectivity can be found in the trends and counter-trends in the course. The contradictions were examined to portray the complexity of the interactions and the possibilities for agency within them.
Leadership that promotes teacher empowerment among urban middle school science teachers
Howard-Skipper, Joni
In this study, the focus was on determining leadership strategies that promote teacher empowerment among urban middle school science teachers. The purpose of the paper was to determine if leadership strategies are related to teacher empowerment. The emphasis was on various forms of leadership and the empowerment of teachers in context in restructuring the democratic structure. An effective leadership in science education entails empowering others, especially science teachers. In this regard, no published studies had examined this perspective on empowering teachers and school leadership. Therefore, this study determined if a relationship exists between leadership strategy actions and teacher empowerment. The significance of the study is to determine a relationship between leadership strategies and teacher empowerment as a positive approach toward developing successful schools. Empowerment is essential for implementing serious improvements. Empowering others in schools must form a major component of an effective principal's agenda. It is becoming clearer in research literature that complex changes in education sometimes require active initiation. For this study, a quantitative methodology was used. Primary data enabled the research questions to be answered. The reliability and validity of the research were ensured. The results of this study showed that 40% of the administrators establish program policies with teachers, and 53% of teachers make decisions about new programs in schools. Furthermore, the findings, their implications, and recommendations are discussed.
Lead in Urban Soils: A Real or Perceived Concern for Urban Agriculture?
Brown, Sally L; Chaney, Rufus L; Hettiarachchi, Ganga M
2016-01-01
Urban agriculture is growing in cities across the United States. It has the potential to provide multiple benefits, including increased food security. Concerns about soil contamination in urban areas can be an impediment to urban agriculture. Lead is the most common contaminant in urban areas. In this paper, direct (soil ingestion via outdoor and indoor exposure) and indirect (consumption of food grown in Pb-contaminated soils) exposure pathways are reviewed. It is highly unlikely that urban agriculture will increase incidences of elevated blood Pb for children in urban areas. This is due to the high likelihood that agriculture will improve soils in urban areas, resulting in reduced bioavailability of soil Pb and reduced fugitive dust. Plant uptake of Pb is also typically very low. The exceptions are low-growing leafy crops where soil-splash particle contamination is more likely and expanded hypocotyl root vegetables (e.g., carrot). However, even with higher bioaccumulation factors, it is not clear that the Pb in root vegetables or any other crops will be absorbed after eating. Studies have shown limited absorption of Pb when ingested with food. Best management practices to assure minimal potential for exposure are also common practices in urban gardens. These include the use of residuals-based composts and soil amendments and attention to keeping soil out of homes. This review suggests that benefits associated with urban agriculture far outweigh any risks posed by elevated soil Pb. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.
Revisiting Urban Dynamics through Social Urban Data
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Achilleas Psyllidis
2016-11-01
The contribution of this doctoral thesis is the design and development of a framework of novel methods and tools that enables the fusion of heterogeneous multidimensional data for cities. The framework could foster planners, researchers, and policy makers to capitalize on the new possibilities given by emerging social urban data. Having a deep understanding of the spatiotemporal dynamics of cities and, especially of the activity and movement behavior of people, is expected to play a crucial role in addressing the challenges of rapid urbanization. Overall, the framework proposed by this research has potential to open avenues of quantitative explorations of urban dynamics, contributing to the development of a new science of cities.
Tools for Implementing Science Practice in a Large Introductory Class
Prothero, W. A.
2008-12-01
Scientists must have in-depth background knowledge of their subject area and know where current knowledge can be advanced. They perform experiments that gather data to test new or existing theories, present their findings at meetings, publish their results, critically review the results of others, and respond to the reviews of their own work. In the context of a course, these activities correspond to learning the background material by listening to lectures or reading a text, formulating a problem, exploring data using student friendly data access and plotting software, giving brief talks to classmates in a small class or lab setting, writing a science paper or lab report, reviewing the writing of their peers, and receiving feedback (and grades) from their instructors and/or peers. These activities can be supported using course management software and online resources. The "LearningWithData" software system allows solid Earth (focused on plate tectonics) data exploration and plotting. Ocean data access, display, and plotting are also supported. Background material is delivered using animations and slide show type displays. Students are accountable for their learning through included homework assignments. Lab and small group activities provide support for data exploration and interpretation. Writing is most efficiently implemented using the "Calibrated Peer Review" method. This methodology is available at http://cpr.molsci.ucla.edu/. These methods have been successfully implemented in a large oceanography class at UCSB.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Stéphane Beaud
2006-06-01
Full Text Available Tomando como ponto de partida a rebelião urbana ocorrida na França em outubro-novembro de 2005, os autores chamam a atenção para o que consideram novidade em relação às outras ocorridas na França nas últimas décadas: a participação de jovens "ordinários", por vezes bem situados no sistema de ensino e integrados no mercado de trabalho, porém quase sempre em situações precárias e instáveis, sem chances de evoluir socialmente. Evidência primeira de uma profunda degradação das condições de trabalho nos últimos anos, os autores tecem um quadro social em que se articulam desemprego, trabalho precário e fechamento de horizontes de futuro, situações de fracasso escolar e agravamento da segregação urbana, junto com formas abertas de racismo que atingem diretamente os jovens filhos de famílias imigrantes, em boa parte moradores dos conjuntos habitacionais. A questão proposta pelos autores é a necessidade de inscrever esses acontecimentos no quadro mais amplo da desestruturação das classes populares francesas, ou seja: a questão importante a ser compreendida é a condição operária "após a classe operária". Os autores retomam discussões de seu livro Retour sur la condition ouvrière (1999, com o agravamento da condição operária nos anos mais recentes, da qual os sinais de racismo no meio operário são ao mesmo tempo sintoma e efeito.Taking as a starting point the urban revolts that exploded in France in October-November 2005, the authors call attention to a new aspect distinguishing these events from other forms of civil protest in France during the last few decades: the involvement of 'ordinary' youths, often well placed within the educational system and integrated in the work market, but almost always in precarious and unstable situations, without chances to evolve socially. Providing primary evidence of a profound deterioration in working conditions over recent years, the authors describe a social setting that
The Need for Policy Framework for Urban/Peri-Urban Agriculture in ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Administrator
high-value vegetables and animals as compared to rural-based agriculture. Poultry, fishery .... vegetables than non-urban farmers of the same wealth class, and also more than ... Producers keep an average of three pigs and 26 birds per.
The effectivenes of science domain-based science learning integrated with local potency
Kurniawati, Arifah Putri; Prasetyo, Zuhdan Kun; Wilujeng, Insih; Suryadarma, I. Gusti Putu
2017-08-01
This research aimed to determine the significant effect of science domain-based science learning integrated with local potency toward science process skills. The research method used was a quasi-experimental design with nonequivalent control group design. The population of this research was all students of class VII SMP Negeri 1 Muntilan. The sample of this research was selected through cluster random sampling, namely class VII B as an experiment class (24 students) and class VII C as a control class (24 students). This research used a test instrument that was adapted from Agus Dwianto's research. The aspect of science process skills in this research was observation, classification, interpretation and communication. The analysis of data used the one factor anova at 0,05 significance level and normalized gain score. The significance level result of science process skills with one factor anova is 0,000. It shows that the significance level < alpha (0,05). It means that there was significant effect of science domain-based science learning integrated with local potency toward science learning process skills. The results of analysis show that the normalized gain score are 0,29 (low category) in control class and 0,67 (medium category) in experiment class.
Passow, M. J.; Assumpcao, C. M.; Baggio, F. D.; Hemming, S. R.; Goodwillie, A. M.; Brenner, C.
2014-12-01
Professional development for teachers involved in the implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) will require a multifaceted approach combining curriculum development, understanding the nature of science, applications of engineering and technology, integrating reading and writing, and other pedagogical components. The Earth2Class Workshops (E2C) at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University (LDEO) provides one model for creating effective training to meet the NGSS challenges. E2C has provided more than 135 workshops since 1998 that have brought together LDEO research scientists with classroom teachers and students from the New York metropolitan area and elsewhere. Each session provides teachers with the chance to learn first-hand about the wide range of investigations conducted at LDEO. This approach aligns strongly with the NGSS goals: mastery of the disciplinary core ideas, science and engineering practices, understanding the nature of science, and cross-cutting relationships. During workshops, participating teachers interact with scientists to gain understanding of what stimulated research questions, how scientists put together all the components of investigations, and ways in which results are disseminated. Networking among teachers often leads to developing lesson plans based on the science, as well as support for professional growth not always possible within the school setting. Through the E2C website www.earth2class.org, teachers and students not able to attend the live workshops can access archival versions of the sessions. The website also provides a wide variety of educational resources. These have proved to be valuable on a national basis, as evidenced by an average of more than 300,000 hits per month from thousands of site visitors. Participating researchers have found E2C to be an effective approach to provide broader outreach of their results. During the next couple of years, the E2C program will expand to provide
Votaw, Nikki L.
Studies suggest that students have difficulty connecting science to their own lives (Lee & Fradd, 1998; Aikenhead, 1996). This difficulty results in a decline in students' attitudes toward science, leading to low science achievement. These factors result in fewer students interested in careers related to science, specifically for urban, minority students. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact that a ten day informal learning immersion science camp had on the participants, both urban, low-socioeconomic status middle school students and teacher-leaders. The students were incoming seventh grade students involved in a community-based scholar program designed to recruit and support socioeconomically disadvantaged, academically talented students. The teacher-leaders were professional educators working toward an advanced degree. This ten day camp included seven visits to different sites and complementary classroom-based activities. The purpose of the camp was to immerse the students in informal learning environments that affect their daily lives. Students and teacher-leaders visited facilities that provide public utility services (i.e. power plant, sewage treatment facility, and water company), zoo, large commercial cave system, planetarium, university based electrooptics and nanotechnology center, and forest and arboretum. These site visits were supported by activities that were provided by teacher-leaders. A model used as a framework for studying learning in the context of this ten day camp as Falk and Dierking's (2000) Contextual Model for Learning. This model described three basic intersecting elements that contributed to learning within the given context. The three contexts (personal, sociocultural, and physical) intersect affecting the learning that takes place. A mixed methodology design was employed to determine the impact of the camp on students' content knowledge and attitudes toward science. Qualitative data were collected to determine the impact
Connectivity-oriented urban projects
Philibert Petit, E.
2006-01-01
This thesis is about connections in the built environment, networked connections for the mobility of people at the smallest scale of the urban realm: the pedestrian scale. It deals with applications of the new science of networks as a tool for observation and assessment of connectivity in the urban
Wright, Laura J.
This study examines students' sense making practices in a middle school science class from a discourse analytic perspective. Using Mediated Discourse Analysis (MDA) (Scollon 1998, 2001) and interactional sociolinguistics (Gumperz 1999, 2001, Schiffrin 1994), my research seeks to enrich findings from recent sociocultural studies of science classrooms that focus on doing, talking and writing science (Roth 2005, Kress, et al. 2002, Halliday & Martin 1993, Lemke 1990). Within a middle school science classroom, these fundamental activities form a nexus of practice (Scollon 1998, 2001) basic to science literacy (AAAS 1989) and reflective of the work of practicing scientists. Moreover, students' engagement in these practices provides insight into the cultural production and reproduction of science and scientist. I first examine how the students' curriculum text encourages these three scientific practices and then trace students' uptake; that is, how they subsequently do, talk, and write science throughout the course of the unit. I argue that learning science with this curriculum unit requires students to resemiotize (Iedema 2001, 2003) first hand experience so they can represent their knowledge cohesively and coherently in evaluable forms. Ultimately, students must transform language from the curriculum text and their teacher into action in their laboratory activities and action in their laboratory activities into language. In addition, I show how students are apprenticed to the conventionalized practices and voices (Bakhtin 1986) of science (i.e. the scientific register), and how their figures of personhood (Agha 2005) reflect the development of their scientific identities. Overall, I argue that the microanalytic methods I use illuminate how students draw upon curricular resources to become scientifically literate and develop scientific identities.
Science Olympiad students' nature of science understandings
Philpot, Cindy J.
2007-12-01
Recent reform efforts in science education focus on scientific literacy for all citizens. In order to be scientifically literate, an individual must have informed understandings of nature of science (NOS), scientific inquiry, and science content matter. This study specifically focused on Science Olympiad students' understanding of NOS as one piece of scientific literacy. Research consistently shows that science students do not have informed understandings of NOS (Abd-El-Khalick, 2002; Bell, Blair, Crawford, and Lederman, 2002; Kilcrease and Lucy, 2002; Schwartz, Lederman, and Thompson, 2001). However, McGhee-Brown, Martin, Monsaas and Stombler (2003) found that Science Olympiad students had in-depth understandings of science concepts, principles, processes, and techniques. Science Olympiad teams compete nationally and are found in rural, urban, and suburban schools. In an effort to learn from students who are generally considered high achieving students and who enjoy science, as opposed to the typical science student, the purpose of this study was to investigate Science Olympiad students' understandings of NOS and the experiences that formed their understandings. An interpretive, qualitative, case study method was used to address the research questions. The participants were purposefully and conveniently selected from the Science Olympiad team at a suburban high school. Data collection consisted of the Views of Nature of Science -- High School Questionnaire (VNOS-HS) (Schwartz, Lederman, & Thompson, 2001), semi-structured individual interviews, and a focus group. The main findings of this study were similar to much of the previous research in that the participants had informed understandings of the tentative nature of science and the role of inferences in science, but they did not have informed understandings of the role of human imagination and creativity, the empirical nature of science, or theories and laws. High level science classes and participation in
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Giansanti, S.
2015-01-01
The project called 'Adotta scienza e arte nella tua classe' ('Adopt Science and Art in your class'), on the interconnection between science and art, has been addressed to the Italian secondary middle and high school involving more than 200 teachers and about 2200 students. The main purpose of this project is to make the young students aware of the strong link between science and art is a unique cultural and interdisciplinary occasion. To reach this goal, the Adotta project asked students to produce an artwork inspired by the interpretation of a quotation among a hundred commented quotes by physicists, mathematicians, scientist, writers, artists, accompanied by an original short sentence written by students themselves. More than 1000 artworks have been produced and collected in two galleries on Facebook. From their analysis emerges the students’ feeling about science, which is usually associated to human brain, based on mathematical laws and related to technological progress, but it is also a powerful tool that should be responsibly used. This project also valorizes teachers’ role in scientific education through activities that encourage students to recognize science in every aspect of their lives.
Dancing beyond exercise: young people's experiences in dance classes
Gardner, SM; Komesaroff, P; Fensham, R
2008-01-01
Dance classes in urban settings may have a role in health-promotion programmes seeking to increase physical activity amongst young people. However, little is so far known about the motivations, experiences or health outcomes of those participating in dance classes. This qualitative study of young people attending recreational dance classes addressed motivations, the nature of the class experience, and implications for health and well-being. Data show that young dance participants' experiences...
Health Care and Aboriginal Seniors in Urban Canada: Helping a Neglected Class
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Loleen Berdahl
2011-05-01
Full Text Available Canadian researchers and policymakers have paid limited attention to the health care needs of Aboriginal seniors. This lack of attention is problematic, as the situation of Aboriginal seniors – including both status and non-status First Nations, Métis and Inuit – is particularly bleak. Using Winnipeg, Regina and Saskatoon as examples, this paper analyses the health care challenges facing Aboriginal seniors in urban Canada. We ask, what policy approaches are needed to improve the health and wellbeing of urban Aboriginal seniors so that they can have good quality living reflective of their needs and culture? We suggest that, in thinking throughpresent and future health services for urban Aboriginal seniors, policymakers should consider four key factors: socioeconomic conditions; underutilization of urban health services; jurisdiction; and elder abuse.
Buijsman, M. C.; Church, I.; Haydel, J.; Martin, K. M.; Shiller, A. M.; Wallace, D. J.; Blancher, J.; Foltz, A.; Griffis, A. M.; Kosciuch, T. J.; Kincketootle, A.; Pierce, E.; Young, V. A.
2016-02-01
To better prepare first-year Department of Marine Science MSc students of the University of Southern Mississippi for their science careers, we plan to execute a semester-long Physical Oceanography laboratory class that exposes the enrolled students to all aspects of interdisciplinary research: writing a proposal, planning a cruise, collecting and analyzing data, and presenting their results. Although some of these aspects may be taught in any such class, the incorporation of all these aspects makes this class unique.The fieldwork will be conducted by boat in the Rigolets in Louisiana, a 13-km long tidal strait up to 1 km wide connecting the Mississippi Sound with Lake Pontchartrain. The students have the opportunity to collect ADCP, CTD, multibeam sonar, sediment and water samples.A second novel characteristic of this class is that the instructor partnered with the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, a not for profit environmental advocacy group. The foundation will give an hour-long seminar on the natural history of the study area and its environmental problems. This information provides context for the students' research proposals and allows them to formulate research questions and hypotheses that connect their research objectives to societally relevant issues, such as coastal erosion, salt water intrusion, and water quality. The proposal writing and cruise planning is done in the first month of the 3.5-month long semester. In the second month two surveys are conducted. The remainder of the semester is spent on analysis and reporting. Whenever possible we teach Matlab for the students to use in their data analysis. In this presentation, we will report on the successes and difficulties associated with teaching such a multi-faceted class.
Eliyawati, Sunarya, Yayan; Mudzakir, Ahmad
2017-05-01
This research attempts to enhance students' science literacy in the aspects of students' science content, application context, process, and students' attitude using solar cell learning multimedia containing science and nano technology. The quasi-experimental method with pre-post test design was used to achieve these objectives. Seventy-two students of class XII at a high school were employed as research's subject. Thirty-six students were in control class and another thirty-six were in experiment class. Variance test (t-test) was performed on the average level of 95% to identify the differences of students' science literacy in both classes. As the result, there were significant different of learning outcomes between experiment class and control class. Almost half of students (41.67%) in experiment class are categorized as high. Therefore, the learning using solar cell learning multimedia can improve students' science literacy, especially in the students' science content, application context, and process aspects with n-gain(%) 59.19 (medium), 63.04 (medium), and 52.98 (medium). This study can be used to develop learning multimedia in other science context.
Rivera Maulucci, Maria S.
2011-06-01
One of the central challenges globalization and immigration present to education is how to construct school language policies, procedures, and curricula to support academic success of immigrant youth. This case-study compares and contrasts language experience narratives along Elena's developmental trajectory of becoming an urban science teacher. Elena reflects upon her early language experiences and her more recent experiences as a preservice science teacher in elementary dual language classrooms. The findings from Elena's early schooling experiences provide an analysis of the linkages between Elena's developing English proficiency, her Spanish proficiency, and her autobiographical reasoning. Elena's experiences as a preservice teacher in two elementary dual language classrooms indicates ways in which those experiences helped to reframe her views about the intersections between language learning and science learning. I propose the language experience narrative, as a subset of the life story, as a way to understand how preservice teachers reconstruct past language experiences, connect to the present, and anticipate future language practices.
The backbone of a City Information Model (CIM) : Implementing a spatial data model for urban design
Gil, J.A.; Almeida, J.; Duarte, J.P.
2011-01-01
We have been witnessing an increased interest in a more holistic approach to urban design practice and education. In this paper we present a spatial data model for urban design that proposes the combination of urban environment feature classes with design process feature classes. This data model is
Hip-Hop, the "Obama Effect," and Urban Science Education
Emdin, Christopher; Lee, Okhee
2012-01-01
Background/Context: With the ever increasing diversity of schools, and the persistent need to develop teaching strategies for the students who attend today's urban schools, hip-hop culture has been proposed to be a means through which urban youth can find success in school. As a result, studies of the role of hip-hop in urban education have grown…
Providing Sanitation for the Urban Poor in Uganda
Okot-Okumu, J.; Oosterveer, P.J.M.
2010-01-01
After presenting background information on urbanization in Uganda, the chapter provides an overview of sanitation in the urban centres, where different social classes reside in separate zones. Factors determining sanitation provision and the use of sanitary facilities particularly in the informal
Ecological science and transformation to the sustainable city
S.T.A. Pickett; Christopher G. Boone; Brian P. McGrath; M.L. Cadenasso; Daniel L. Childers; Laura A. Ogden; Melissa McHale; J. Morgan. Grove
2013-01-01
There is growing urgency to enhance the sustainability of existing and emerging cities. The science of ecology, especially as it interacts with disciplines in the social sciences and urban design, has contributions to make to the sustainable transformation of urban systems. Not all possible urban transformations may lead toward sustainability. Ecological science helps...
Ban, Yifang; Gong, Peng; Gamba, Paolo; Taubenbock, Hannes; Du, Peijun
2016-08-01
The overall objective of this research is to investigate multi-temporal, multi-scale, multi-sensor satellite data for analysis of urbanization and environmental/climate impact in China to support sustainable planning. Multi- temporal multi-scale SAR and optical data have been evaluated for urban information extraction using innovative methods and algorithms, including KTH- Pavia Urban Extractor, Pavia UEXT, and an "exclusion- inclusion" framework for urban extent extraction, and KTH-SEG, a novel object-based classification method for detailed urban land cover mapping. Various pixel- based and object-based change detection algorithms were also developed to extract urban changes. Several Chinese cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou are selected as study areas. Spatio-temporal urbanization patterns and environmental impact at regional, metropolitan and city core were evaluated through ecosystem service, landscape metrics, spatial indices, and/or their combinations. The relationship between land surface temperature and land-cover classes was also analyzed.The urban extraction results showed that urban areas and small towns could be well extracted using multitemporal SAR data with the KTH-Pavia Urban Extractor and UEXT. The fusion of SAR data at multiple scales from multiple sensors was proven to improve urban extraction. For urban land cover mapping, the results show that the fusion of multitemporal SAR and optical data could produce detailed land cover maps with improved accuracy than that of SAR or optical data alone. Pixel-based and object-based change detection algorithms developed with the project were effective to extract urban changes. Comparing the urban land cover results from mulitemporal multisensor data, the environmental impact analysis indicates major losses for food supply, noise reduction, runoff mitigation, waste treatment and global climate regulation services through landscape structural changes in terms of decreases in service area, edge
Phelan, Julia; Ing, Marsha; Nylund-Gibson, Karen; Brown, Richard S.
2017-01-01
This study extends current research by organizing information about students' expectancy-value achievement motivation, in a way that helps parents and teachers identify specific entry points to encourage and support students' science aspirations. This study uses latent class analysis to describe underlying differences in ability beliefs, task…
Simulating urban growth in the George town conurbation | Samat ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Journal of Fundamental and Applied Sciences ... Therefore, this paper aims to develop an urban growth simulation model using GIS-based CA-Markov approach, incorporated with driving forces of urban growth in the Malaysian context. ... Keywords: CA-Markov; Geograpghic Information Sciences (GIS); Land use changes;
Modern science in Portugal: the ‘class of the sphere’ in the college of Saint Anthony
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Natália Cristina de Oliveira
2017-05-01
Full Text Available With the arrival of the Society of Jesus to Portugal in 1540, Jesuit schools were created by the Crown. The College of St. Anthony, in Lisbon, was the first Jesuit educational institution, created in 1553. We propose a discussion of the main objectives, characteristics and difficulties of the Jesuit religious order in the Portuguese territory, as well as a presentation of one of the most important classes of this College: the ‘Class of the Sphere’. The priests considered fundamental to teach issues related to mathematics and astronomy, because, through these disciplines, they addressed the theory and practice of items and concepts, such as the telescope, logarithms, equations, geometry and others. The curriculum of this college included, in addition to science and mathematics, subjects such as: Latin, Grammar, Humanities, Rhetoric, and Introduction to Moral Theology, Dogmatic Theology and Philosophy, considered only to teaching in the Portuguese context. Studying the College of St. Anthony helps us to understand how these innovations were considered in teaching, in the Jesuit case, in the temporal context of Portugal in the 16th century. We understand that the College, mainly by innovations, was essential to the development of science.
Swanson, Kara W
2017-03-01
The United States Patent Office of the 1850s offers a rare opportunity to analyze the early gendering of science. In its crowded rooms, would-be scientists shared a workplace with women earning equal pay for equal work. Scientific men worked as patent examiners, claiming this new occupation as scientific in opposition to those seeking to separate science and technology. At the same time, in an unprecedented and ultimately unsuccessful experiment, female clerks were hired to work alongside male clerks. This article examines the controversies surrounding these workers through the lens of manners and deportment. In the unique context of a workplace combining scientific men and working ladies, office behavior revealed the deep assumption that the emerging American scientist was male and middle class.
Teaching science for public understanding: Developing decision-making abilities
Siegel, Marcelle A.
One of the most important challenges educators have is teaching students how to make decisions about complex issues. In this study, methods designed to enhance students' decision-making skills and attitudes were investigated. An issue-oriented science curriculum was partly replaced with activities designed by the experimenter. The first objective of the study was to examine the effects of an instructional method to increase students' use of relevant scientific evidence in their decisions. The second goal of the research was to test whether the instructional activities could promote students' beliefs that science is relevant to them, because attitudes have been shown to affect students' performance and persistence (Schommer, 1994). Third, the study was designed to determine whether the instructional activities would affect students' beliefs that their intelligence is not fixed but can grow; this question is based on Dweck and Leggett's (1988) definition of two orientations toward intelligence---entity theorists and incremental theorists (Dweck & Leggett, 1988; Dweck & Henderson, 1989). Two urban high-school classrooms participated in this study. Tenth graders examined scientific materials about current issues involving technology and society. Instructional materials on decision making were prepared for one class of students to enhance their regular issue-oriented course, Science and Sustainability. A computer program, called Convince Me (Schank, Ranney & Hoadley, 1996), provided scaffolding for making an evidence-based decision. The experimental group's activities also included pen-and-paper lessons on decision making and the effect of experience on the structure of the brain. The control class continued to engage in Science and Sustainability decision-making activities during the time the experimental class completed the treatment. The control group did not show significant improvement on decision-making tasks, and the experimental group showed marginally
Chapter 11: City-Wide Collaborations for Urban Climate Education
Snyder, Steven; Hoffstadt, Rita Mukherjee; Allen, Lauren B.; Crowley, Kevin; Bader, Daniel A.; Horton, Radley M.
2014-01-01
Although cities cover only 2 percent of the Earth's surface, more than 50 percent of the world's people live in urban environments, collectively consuming 75 percent of the Earth's resources. Because of their population densities, reliance on infrastructure, and role as centers of industry, cities will be greatly impacted by, and will play a large role in, the reduction or exacerbation of climate change. However, although urban dwellers are becoming more aware of the need to reduce their carbon usage and to implement adaptation strategies, education efforts on these strategies have not been comprehensive. To meet the needs of an informed and engaged urban population, a more systemic, multiplatform and coordinated approach is necessary. The Climate and Urban Systems Partnership (CUSP) is designed to explore and address this challenge. Spanning four cities-Philadelphia, New York, Pittsburgh, and Washington, DC-the project is a partnership between the Franklin Institute, the Columbia University Center for Climate Systems Research, the University of Pittsburgh Learning Research and Development Center, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, New York Hall of Science, and the Marian Koshland Science Museum of the National Academy of Sciences. The partnership is developing a comprehensive, interdisciplinary network to educate urban residents about climate science and the urban impacts of climate change.
Growing ‘Smart’? Urbanization Processes in the Pune Urban Agglomeration
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Carsten Butsch
2017-12-01
Full Text Available The Indian city of Pune witnessed rapid growth and deep transformation processes in the last three decades. This paper assesses past developments and recent structures and processes against the concept of urban sustainability. Following an overview of the historical development, the dimensions of sustainability are discussed separately, based on empirical findings. Urban growth puts enormous pressure on Pune’s land and water resources, changing the ecology of the area. The increasing water demand of Pune’s growing population competes with growing energy and water demands. An assessment of future climate change impacts indicates that the storage capacity of the reservoirs is more frequently not met during the rainy season. In addition, extreme dry years can aggravate the effects of land use change on water resources in the future. The city’s growth and especially the large in-migration has also changed Pune’s social fabric significantly. Wealth is distributed unevenly in the city and social disparities can be observed along two fault lines, namely along classes and caste groups. The population development and the increasing socioeconomic polarization are linked to the economic development of the city. Pune’s formal economy has a robust base. However, as in many cities of the Global South, the informal economy is the most relevant source of income for large parts of the population. Pune’s development is challenged by informality, poor infrastructure and inadequate planning and governance. Recently new approaches towards urban renewal and smart city development were launched. These new approaches aim at overcoming blockades in the traditional planning. A special challenge for urban planning is the transformation of urban fringe areas of the city, as this process is currently taking place in an unsustainable manner. The paper concludes that urban development has to become holistic, integrative and participative and should abandon the
Urbanization, urban climate and influence of vegetation
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Feyisa, Gudina Legese
and consequent problems. Through these papers, the project contributes to: 1) the science of remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) by introducing methods that improve LULC classification accuracies, and an improved method of spatial thermal climate analyses, 2) better understanding of urban......, contributes to the research gaps by considering examples from two cities in Ethiopia, namely Addis Ababa and Adama. The major sources of data used in this study were remotely sensed multi-temporal digital imagery from Landsat TM and ETM+ sensors, ground surveying of LULC, measurements of air temperature...... and humidity, and questionnaire surveying. Remote sensing and GIS techniques were applied to analyze urbanization-induced dynamics of LULC and associated urban warming in five-year intervals between 1985 and 2010. LULC dynamics were analyzed applying post-classification change analysis using the Landsat...
Jaffe, R.
2014-01-01
How can urban studies research engage fruitfully with hip-hop? This contribution responds to the essays by David Beer and Martin Lamotte on ‘street music’, urban ethnography and ghettoized communities. It discusses how a social science engagement with hip-hop texts might differ from cultural studies
Monteiro, Anna Karina
Research acknowledges that if students are to be successful science, they must learn to navigate and cross cultural borders that exist between their own cultures and the subculture of science. This dissertation utilized a mixed methods approach to explore how inservice science teachers working in urban schools construct their ideas of and apply the concepts about the culture of science and cultural border crossing as relevant to the teaching and learning of science. The study used the lenses of cultural capital, social constructivism, and cultural congruency in the design and analysis of each of the three phases of data collection. Phase I identified the perspectives of six inservice science teachers on science culture, cultural border crossing, and which border crossing methods, if any, they used during science teaching. Phase II took a dialectical approach as the teachers read about science culture and cultural border crossing during three informal professional learning community meetings. This phase explored how teachers constructed their understanding of cultural border crossing and how the concept applied to the teaching and learning of science. Phase III evaluated how teachers' perspectives changed from Phase I. In addition, classroom observations were used to determine whether teachers' practices in their science classrooms changed from Phase I to Phase III. All three phases collected data through qualitative (i.e., interviews, classroom observations, and surveys) and quantitative (Likert items) means. The findings indicated that teachers found great value in learning about the culture of science and cultural border crossing as it pertained to their teaching methods. This was not only evidenced by their interviews and surveys, but also in the methods they used in their classrooms. Final conclusions included how the use of student capital resources (prior experiences, understandings and knowledge, ideas an interests, and personal beliefs), if supported by
Suhaili Mansor, Nur; Zulhaidi Mohd Shafri, Helmi; Mansor, Shattri; Paradhan, Biswajeet
2014-06-01
Specifically, the integration between social sciences and natural science are fundamental in our understanding of the economic, social and technological transformations that have drastically changed the society. This study will be based on the municipality of Sungai Petani, Kedah as it has been most influenced by urbanization and urban development. Urban development in Sungai Petani is closely associated with a tremendous increase in demand for land, which is highly related to population growth, human movement and their social mobility. The qualitative case study taken will rely on the visual interpretation technique that would allow the researcher to develop a map of urban changes detection. The potential application of GIS information to estimate socioeconomic indicators and the modelling of socio-economic activities that are explored in this study is hoped to increase further our understanding of the impacts of development and urbanization on social life.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Mansor, Nur Suhaili; Shafri, Helmi Zulhaidi Mohd; Mansor, Shattri; Paradhan, Biswajeet
2014-01-01
Specifically, the integration between social sciences and natural science are fundamental in our understanding of the economic, social and technological transformations that have drastically changed the society. This study will be based on the municipality of Sungai Petani, Kedah as it has been most influenced by urbanization and urban development. Urban development in Sungai Petani is closely associated with a tremendous increase in demand for land, which is highly related to population growth, human movement and their social mobility. The qualitative case study taken will rely on the visual interpretation technique that would allow the researcher to develop a map of urban changes detection. The potential application of GIS information to estimate socioeconomic indicators and the modelling of socio-economic activities that are explored in this study is hoped to increase further our understanding of the impacts of development and urbanization on social life
Cervato, C.; Jach, J. Y.; Ridky, R.
2003-12-01
Introductory Earth science courses are undergoing pedagogical changes in universities across the country and are focusing more than ever on the non-science majors. Increasing enrollment of non-science majors in these introductory Earth science courses demands a new look at what is being taught and how the content can be objectively chosen. Assessing the content and effectiveness of these courses requires a quantitative investigation of introductory Earth science topics and their relevance to current issues and concerns. Relevance of Earth science topics can be linked to improved students' attitude toward science and a deeper understanding of concepts. We have used the Internet based national news search-engine LexisNexis Academic Universe (http://www.lexisnexis.org/) to select the occurrence of Earth science terms over the last 12 months, five and ten years both regionally and nationally. This database of term occurrences is being used to examine how Earth sciences have evolved in the news through the last 10 years and is also compared with textbook contents and course syllabi from randomly selected introductory earth science courses across the nation. These data constitute the quantitative foundation for this study and are being used to evaluate the relevance of introductory earth science course content. The relevance of introductory course content and current real-world issues to student attitudes is a crucial factor when considering changes in course curricula and pedagogy. We have examined students' conception of the nature of science and attitudes towards science and learning science using a Likert-scale assessment instrument in the fall 2002 Geology 100 classes at Iowa State University. A pre-test and post-test were administered to see if the students' attitudes changed during the semester using as reference a control group comprised of geoscience undergraduate and graduate students, and faculty. The results of the attitude survey have been analyzed in terms
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Karel Schmeidler
2008-01-01
Full Text Available COST Action C20 – Urban Knowledge Arena is research programme supported by European Co-operation in the Field of Scientific and Technical Research. It is co-ordinated by COST Office and European Science Foundation. The main objective of this Action is to explore and develop a European Arena for cross boundary, integrated knowledge and Know-how on complex urban problems, which is termed Urban Knowledge Arena. The COST Domain Transport and Urban Development aims at fostering international research networking activities of scientist and experts dealing with transport systems and infrastructures, spatial planning, urban land use and development, urban design, architecture and design and civil engineering issues. The focus is on multi and interdisciplinary approaches and the aim is to cover both basic and applied research activities and their changeovers that are relevant to policy and decision making processes. A significant concern is devoted to activities exploring new research needs and developments.
Heterogeneity in urban park use of aging visitors: a latent class analysis
Kemperman, A.D.A.M.; Timmermans, H.J.P.
2006-01-01
This study describes and predicts urban parks use patterns for various age groups, with specific attention to the growing group of older adults. Park use intensity of various age groups is described. Subsequently, a multinomial logit model is estimated to describe urban park choice as a function of
Duzgoren-Aydin, N. S.; Freile, D.
2013-12-01
STEM education at New Jersey City University increasingly focuses on experiential, student-centered learning. The Department of Geoscience/Geography plays a significant role in developing and implementing a new Urban Environmental Science Program. The program aims at graduating highly skilled, demographically diverse students (14 % African-American and 18% Hispanic) to be employed in high-growth Earth and Environmental Science career paths, both at a technical (e.g. B.S.) as well as an educational (K-12 grade) (e.g. B.A) level. The core program, including the Earth and Environmental Science curricula is guided by partners (e.g. USDA-NRCS). The program is highly interdisciplinary and 'hands-on', focusing upon the high-tech practical skills and knowledge demanded of science professionals in the 21st century. The focus of the curriculum is on improving environmental quality in northern NJ, centering upon our urban community in Jersey City and Hudson County. Our Department is moving towards a more earth system science approach to learning. Most of our courses (e.g., Earth Surface Processes, Sedimentology/Stratigraphy, Earth Materials, Essential Methods, Historical Geology) have hands-on laboratory and/or field components. Although some of our other courses do not have formal laboratory components, research modules of many such courses (Geochemistry, Urban Environmental Issues and Policy and Environmental Geology) involve strong field or laboratory studies. The department has a wide range of analytical and laboratory capacities including a portable XRF, bench-top XRD and ICP-MS. In spring 2013, Dr. Duzgoren-Aydin was awarded $277K in Higher Education Equipment Leasing Fund monies from the University in order to establish an Environmental Teaching and Research Laboratory. The addition of these funds will make it possible for the department to increase its instrumentation capacity by adding a mercury analyzer, Ion Chromatography and C-N-S analyzer, as well as updating
Discourse as mediator in environmental education in a natural science class: a case study
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Marta Massa
2004-08-01
Full Text Available Discourse is an educational practice through which students and teachers are related by a sequence of meanings that are expressed, interchanged, negociated and constructed in the dynamic of a class. In this article, we analize the discursive practices and the arguments that are stated during a Science class when the teacher and her students discuss about the concepts “drinkable water – pollute water” when they are dealing with Environmental Education contents. A qualitative research within the perspective of a case study, centred on discourse analysis, was performed. We examine the content, the resources and the structural features that are used by the teacher and the students in order to construct the arguments and to establish the ideas. Two different templates were detected: the teacher’s, is based on perceptions and operative concepts, while the student’s one is organized in order to seek a microscopic explanation. Nevertheless, negotiation between these two perspectives fails during the dialogic interaction.
Regeneration Through Hidden Historical Landscape of Lecco. Urban Course Design Process
Colucci, Angela; Kolmogorova, Anna; Kraja, Benida; Ziyaee, Maryam
2017-01-01
The article focus on the role of Historical Urban Heritage in Urban Design through the presentation of the integrated learning path developed for Urban Design and Urban Design Studio classes of Lecco Campus of Politecnico of Milan (school of Architecture Urban Planning Construction Engineering, master degree in Building and Architectural Engineering - BAE and Architectural-Engineering– EDA). The first part of paper presents the general learning process characterizing Urban Design course a...
Contestation and possibilities: Experiences in the 'other' urban classrooms
Grimes, Nicole K.
The research presented in this dissertation is a response to the general lack of research conducted in independent urban schools. In my work, I present varied vignettes that aim to provide a glimpse into the lifeworlds of students within such schools and how they too struggle to learn science. There are two major goals of this study. First, I encourage readers to rethink current conceptions of urban schooling and redefine what it means to be an urban learner. Secondly, I intend to demonstrate how the cogenerated action plans of coteachers and cogenerative dialogue groups can serve to make science accessible to students whom are diagnosed and placed in mainstreamed educational settings. The idea is to show that by transforming science learning contexts into cosmopolitan learning communities, students can become successful in science. Through a three-year ethnographic study of middle science classrooms in an independent school in New York City, I present explorations of the culture and context of the independent urban classroom as a chief means to meet my stated goals. By utilizing cogenerative dialogues and coteaching, I show how students and teachers can work together as co-researchers and coteachers that engage in a dual process of creating structures that support science success.
Syed Hubbe
2013-01-01
ABSTRACT: CONTEXT : Absenteeism is a perennial problem in Industry. The organization should be concerned over the abnormal increase in a bsence rate, as it is an indicator of discipline in the organization as well as reflection in the supervisory effectiveness. AIMS : To depict the epidemiological and social factors respons ible for Absenteeism in class IV employees. SETTINGS AND DESIGN : Urban area in Shimoga District of Karnataka, Cros s sectional stud...
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Blok, Anders
2016-01-01
model of climate resilience, within unequal local–global assemblages of urban planning and power. This work of resilience-building is shown to revolve around Surat-based economic and political elites, who deploy mobile consultancy knowledges to render particular urban ‘riskscapes’ (in)visible, in ways...... knowledge practices, I suggest, link into and enable different visions and commitments to competing ‘scales of change’ for the city. By thus allowing us to grasp the situated tools, practices and knowledges through which ‘large-scale’ processes of urban change—development, climate resilience, justice...... conducive to specific forms of middle-class development. In turn, the article shows how this ‘official’ work of resilience-building is challenged and contested by fragmented civic–professional publics, mobilizing their own versions of counter-expertise towards alternative riskscapes. These heterogeneous...
Urbanization, housing and environmental quality indicators ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Urbanization, housing and environmental quality indicators. ... Journal of Agriculture, Forestry and the Social Sciences ... Urbanization ideally should also imply an enhancement of housing quality and other components of human settlements such as power supply, portable water, good roads, proper refuse and sewage ...
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Pløger, John
2010-01-01
Iconic architecture plays a crucial role in cities' interurban competition. This is also the case with Copenhagen which has used iconic architecture as part of its boosterism to gain investment, to increase tourism and to attract the creative class. This battle over the symbolic representation of...... intertwined through symbolic, visual and virtual representations of the wrongs of current urban planning...
Integration of Place-Based Education Into Science Classes From Prekindergarten Through Grade 5
Wade-Lyles, Terri A.
In a large urban district in Ohio, 29.2% of Grade 5, 28.7% of Grade 8, and 45.7% of Grade 10 students passed the state test in science. School district administrators formed a community partnership with local science institutions in order to provide students with hands-on place-based learning experiences intended to improve science academic achievement in PK-Grade 5. The purpose of this qualitative program evaluation was to determine the level of implementation of that place-based program by examining the efficacy of the teachers' embedded professional development and their experiences with the training components. Bruner's theory of cognitive development was used to examine teachers' needs in facilitating the program. A stratified random sample of 659 PK-Grade 5 teachers from 73 district elementary schools was selected, and 57 teachers responded to an anonymous online survey of 5 open-ended questions. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis to identity factors that enhanced or impeded the implementation of place-based education programming based on their professional development. The key findings indicated that over half of the participants viewed resources as lacking, training as limited, and planning that is too time consuming, and complicated. Participants expressed the need for clarity regarding resources and more training on how to plan for and integrate the placed-based approach. The resulting project was an executive summary and interactive workshop for program stakeholders, such as administrators, teachers, and ultimately students, who would benefit from this project by improving the place-based program.
Alarcon, Maricela H.
are positioned to lay the foundation for science needed for ELLs to continue their educational career with the tools needed to succeed in future science classes and in turn college, answering the call to effectively improve science within the educational system.
Urban metabolism in Syracuse, NY – introduction
David J. Nowak
2016-01-01
This special issue of Urban Ecosystems contains a series of papers related to assessing urban metabolism in Syracuse, NY. These papers were developed under the Urban Long-Term Research Area Exploratory Awards Program funded by the National Science Foundation. Objectives of this two-year project (2009â2011) in Syracuse, NY were to investigate: a)...
Balk, D.; Leyk, S.; Jones, B.; Clark, A.; Montgomery, M.
2017-12-01
Geographers and demographers have contributed much to understanding urban population and urban place. Yet, we nevertheless remain ill-prepared to fully understand past urban processes and our urban future, and importantly, connect that knowledge to pressing concerns such as climate and environmental change. This is largely due to well-known data limitations and inherent inconsistencies in the urban definition across countries and over time and spatial scales, and because urban models and definitions arise out of disciplinary silos. This paper provides a new framework for urban inquiry in that it combines urban definitions used by the U.S. Census Bureau from 1990-2010 with newly available satellite-based (mostly Landsat) data on built-up area from the Global Human Settlement Layer (GHSL). We identify areas of agreement and disagreement, as well as the population distribution underlying various GHSL derived built-up land thresholds. Our analysis allows for a systematic means of discerning peri-urban areas from other types of urban development, as well as examines differences in these patterns at the national and Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)-level. While we find overwhelming areas of agreement - about 70% of the census-designated urban population can be characterized as living on land that is at least 50% built-up - we also learn much of the significant heterogeneity in levels and patterns of growth between different MSAs. We further compare the US results with those for India and Mexico. This research unlocks the potential of such alternative measures for creating globally and temporally consistent proxies of urban land and may guide further research on consistent modeling of spatial demographic urban change, highly urgent for future work to distinguish between fine-scale levels of urban development and to forecast urban expansion.
Student questions in urban middle school science communities of practice
Groome, Meghan
This dissertation examines student questions within three Communities of Practice (CoP), all urban middle school science environments. The study analyzed student questions from a sociocultural perspective and used ethnographic research techniques to detail how the CoP's shaped questions in the classroom. In the first study, two case study girls attempted to navigate questioning events that required them to negotiation participation. Their access to participation was blocked by participation frameworks that elevated some students as "gatekeepers" while suppressing the participation of others. The next two studies detail the introduction of written questioning opportunities, one into a public middle school classroom and the other into an informal classroom. In both studies, students responded to the interventions differently, most notable the adoption of the opportunity by female students who do not participate orally. Dissertation-wide findings indicate all students were able to ask questions, but varied in level of cognitive complexity, and the diagnostic interventions were able to identify students who were not known to be "target students", students who asked a high number of questions and were considered "interested in science". Some students' roles were as "gatekeepers" to participation of their peers. Two out of three teachers in the studies reported major shifts in their teaching practice due to the focus on questions and the methods used here have been found to be effective in producing educational research as well as supporting high-need classrooms in prior research. In conclusion, these studies indicate that social factors, including participation frameworks, gender dynamics, and the availability of alternative participation methods, play an important role in how students ask science-related questions. It is recommended that researchers continue to examine social factors that reduce student questions and modify their teaching strategies to facilitate
Everyday science & science every day: Science-related talk & activities across settings
Zimmerman, Heather
To understand the development of science-related thinking, acting, and learning in middle childhood, I studied youth in schools, homes, and other neighborhood settings over a three-year period. The research goal was to analyze how multiple everyday experiences influence children's participation in science-related practices and their thinking about science and scientists. Ethnographic and interaction analysis methodologies were to study the cognition and social interactions of the children as they participated in activities with peers, family, and teachers (n=128). Interviews and participant self-documentation protocols elucidated the participants' understandings of science. An Everyday Expertise (Bell et al., 2006) theoretical framework was employed to study the development of science understandings on three analytical planes: individual learner, social groups, and societal/community resources. Findings came from a cross-case analysis of urban science learners and from two within-case analyses of girls' science-related practices as they transitioned from elementary to middle school. Results included: (1) children participated actively in science across settings---including in their homes as well as in schools, (2) children's interests in science were not always aligned to the school science content, pedagogy, or school structures for participation, yet children found ways to engage with science despite these differences through crafting multiple pathways into science, (3) urban parents were active supporters of STEM-related learning environments through brokering access to social and material resources, (4) the youth often found science in their daily activities that formal education did not make use of, and (5) children's involvement with science-related practices can be developed into design principles to reach youth in culturally relevant ways.
Souchal, Carine; Toczek, Marie-Christine; Darnon, Céline; Smeding, Annique; Butera, Fabrizio; Martinot, Delphine
2014-03-01
Is it possible to reach performance equality between boys and girls in a science class? Given the stereotypes targeting their groups in scientific domains, diagnostic contexts generally lower girls' performance and non-diagnostic contexts may harm boys' performance. The present study tested the effectiveness of a mastery-oriented assessment, allowing both boys and girls to perform at an optimal level in a science class. Participants were 120 boys and 72 girls (all high-school students). Participants attended a science lesson while expecting a performance-oriented assessment (i.e., an assessment designed to compare and select students), a mastery-oriented assessment (i.e., an assessment designed to help students in their learning), or no assessment of this lesson. In the mastery-oriented assessment condition, both boys and girls performed at a similarly high level, whereas the performance-oriented assessment condition reduced girls' performance and the no-assessment condition reduced boys' performance. One way to increase girls' performance on a science test without harming boys' performance is to present assessment as a tool for improving mastery rather than as a tool for comparing performances. © 2013 The British Psychological Society.
Voices of successful science teachers in an urban diverse single gender girls' school
Malhan, Jyoti
This research study was conducted as a qualitative case study of four successful science teachers of female students in a diverse, title 1, urban, public girls' school. The study was designed to hear the 'muted' voices of successful science teachers concerning their beliefs and practices when they effectively provide learning opportunities for female students of color in their classrooms. Ethic of Care, equity pedagogy and culturally responsive pedagogy, created the theoretical framework for interpretation of the powerful narratives and storytelling that influenced this group of successful teachers. Data were collected by conducting in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Constant comparative method and narrative analysis were used to code and categorize the data. Analysis was conducted after each interview to discover emergent themes. Teachers conducted member checks throughout the process. The findings from the study yielded the following: (1) teachers had a passion for science and incorporated ongoing scientific developments and real-life examples and applications in their teaching, (2) teachers adopted a caring, concerned, and student-centered approach to teaching, (3) teachers acknowledged certain benefits to a single-sex girls education which included fewer distractions, increased confidence and comfort level of students, (5) teachers built relationships with students that encouraged students to engage with rigorous course content and meet higher expectations for performance. Themes that emerged included: care, culturally responsive pedagogy and culturally relevant curriculum.
Modeling urban expansion in Yangon, Myanmar using Landsat time-series and stereo GeoEye Images
Sritarapipat, Tanakorn; Takeuchi, Wataru
2016-06-01
This research proposed a methodology to model the urban expansion based dynamic statistical model using Landsat and GeoEye Images. Landsat Time-Series from 1978 to 2010 have been applied to extract land covers from the past to the present. Stereo GeoEye Images have been employed to obtain the height of the building. The class translation was obtained by observing land cover from the past to the present. The height of the building can be used to detect the center of the urban area (mainly commercial area). It was assumed that the class translation and the distance of multi-centers of the urban area also the distance of the roads affect the urban growth. The urban expansion model based on the dynamic statistical model was defined to refer to three factors; (1) the class translation, (2) the distance of the multicenters of the urban areas, and (3) the distance from the roads. Estimation and prediction of urban expansion by using our model were formulated and expressed in this research. The experimental area was set up in Yangon, Myanmar. Since it is the major of country's economic with more than five million population and the urban areas have rapidly increased. The experimental results indicated that our model of urban expansion estimated urban growth in both estimation and prediction steps in efficiency.
Urban Density Indices Using Mean Shift-Based Upsampled Elevetion Data
Charou, E.; Gyftakis, S.; Bratsolis, E.; Tsenoglou, T.; Papadopoulou, Th.; Vassilas, N.
2015-01-01
Urban density is an important factor for several fields, e.g. urban design, planning and land management. Modern remote sensors deliver ample information for the estimation of specific urban land classification classes (2D indicators), and the height of urban land classification objects (3D indicators) within an Area of Interest (AOI). In this research, two of these indicators, Building Coverage Ratio (BCR) and Floor Area Ratio (FAR) are numerically and automatically derived from hig...
Smart City: thinking About Urban Intelligence
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Romano Fistola
2013-04-01
Full Text Available Anticipating future urban settings where technologies enable actions and interactions among individuals unimaginable only a few years ago, has always been one of the research topics most interesting of the urban sciences although probably not sufficiently considered in the town planning field, in the last twenty years.The acceleration towards these issues, which can be generally identified with the name Smart City, has been strong also because of the recent calls of the European Community and the Italian Ministry of Education and Research. In this important change, supported by a number of technology companies, devices and media, it seems experience a discontinuity in the theoretical definition of the processes involved in structuring and management of the Smart City. Numerous investigations on this topic seem to be developed away from urban sciences and away from the main subject area of interest: the urban planning. In this paper we attempt to bring back the dynamics of development of the Smart Cities in their natural site of theoretical development, by recovering operational approaches and methodological references related to the study of the relationship between new technologies and changes inside the urban system, never really considered in order to envisage a new process of urban and regional planning.
Ramos Arellano, Marcela
2017-01-01
This paper sought to shed light on the beliefs, aspirations and values in relation to education that shape parental ways of involvement among Chilean urban lower-middle-class parents. Using the capability approach as the main theoretical framework and a critical epistemology, the discussion focuses on the way in which the pre-eminence of…
Hidden linkages between urbanization and food systems.
Seto, Karen C; Ramankutty, Navin
2016-05-20
Global societies are becoming increasingly urban. This shift toward urban living is changing our relationship with food, including how we shop and what we buy, as well as ideas about sanitation and freshness. Achieving food security in an era of rapid urbanization will require considerably more understanding about how urban and food systems are intertwined. Here we discuss some potential understudied linkages that are ripe for further examination. Copyright © 2016, American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Young women's scientific identity formation in an urban context
Brickhouse, Nancy W.; Potter, Jennifer T.
2001-10-01
In this article we examine the scientific identity formation of two young women of color who attend an urban vocational high school. One young woman lives in an urban setting, while the other lives in a suburban setting. We describe how these young women's identities influence and respond to experiences in school science. In particular, we describe how the experience of marginalization can make membership in a school science community impossible or undesirable. We also describe the advantages that accrue to students who fit well with the ideal identities of an urban school. Finally, we describe some of the difficulties students face who aspire to scientific or technological competence yet do not desire to take on aspects of the identities associated with membership in school science communities.
Bae, Min-Jung
2009-10-01
Science teachers often have difficulty helping students participate in scientific practices and understand scientific ideas. In addition, they do not frequently help students value their science learning. As one way to address these problems, I designed and examined the effects of professional development using a motivation-based instructional model with teachers and students. This motivation-based inquiry and application instructional model (MIAIM) consists of four steps of activities and identifies instructional and motivational functions that teachers can use to engage their students in scientific inquiry and application and to help them value their science learning. In order to conduct this study, I worked with three teachers (4 th, 8th, and 8th) in both suburban and urban environments. This study consisted of three parts-an initial observation of teachers' classrooms, professional development with MIAIM, and an observation of teachers' classrooms after the professional development. Data analysis of class observations, interviews, and class artifacts shows that there was a moderate change in teachers' teaching approach after the intervention. The three teachers designed and enacted some inquiry and application lessons that fit the intent of MIAIM. They also used some instructional and motivational practices more frequently after the intervention than they did before the intervention. In particular, they more frequently established central questions for investigations, helped students find patterns in data by themselves, provided opportunities for application, related science to students' everyday lives, and created students' interests in scientific investigation by using interesting stories. However, there was no substantial change in teachers' use of some practices such as providing explanations, supporting students' autonomy, and using knowledge about students in designing and enacting science lessons. In addition, data analysis of students' surveys, class
Colak, H. E.; Memisoglu, T.
2017-11-01
Achieving high efficiency by taking advantage of agricultural land at a high level allows the continued vitality of the soil and also contributes to the country's economy. The land with the most fertilizer from agricultural land is generally the first class agricultural land (I.) followed by second (II.) and third class (III.) agricultural lands. It is accepted that all these lands are considered to be protected and various restrictions have been introduced to these lands. Soil conservation, use and development of balanced is possible to be defined in detail by exploiting the developing science and technology possibilities, determination well-defined properties and the implementation of policies by making the necessary plans. For this reason, Trabzon province is selected as the pilot region land use capability of agricultural land classes (especially urban-rural area and plateau) ongoing changes in the past years until today are examined depending on the land use first, second and third class. In this context, satellite images for 2002, 2005, 2009 and 2017 and land use data including the non-agricultural use of the province of Trabzon has been discussed and the temporal changes of agricultural areas depending on land use capability have been examined using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). In all the productive areas of Trabzon Province, the increase in urban-rural development has been examined in detail because of especially the creation of planned areas and the occurrence of construction needs. This study is a small-scale case study and the results are examined and analyzed using GIS.
Edwards, Leslie D.
How do teenage girls develop an interest in science? What kinds of opportunities can science teachers present to female students that support their engagement with learning science? I studied one aspect of this issue by focusing on ways students could use science to enhance or gain identities that they (probably) already valued. To do that I created technology-rich activities and experiences for an after school class in science and technology for middle school girls who lived in a low socio-economic urban neighborhood. These activities and experiences were designed to create a virtual community of practice whose members used science in diverse ways. Student interest was made evident in their responses to the activities. Four conclusions emerged. (1) Opportunities to learn about the lives and work of admired African American business women interested students in learning by linking it to their middle-class aspirations and their interest in things that money and status can buy. (2) Opportunities to learn about the lives and work of African American women experts in science in a classroom context where students then practiced similar kinds of actual scientific tasks engaged students in relations of legitimate peripheral participation in a virtual and diverse community of practice focused on science which was created in the after-school classes. (3) Opportunities where students used science to show off for family, friends, and supporters of the after-school program, identities they valued, interested them enough that they engaged in long-term science and technology projects that required lots of revisions. (4) In response to the opportunities presented, new and enhanced identities developed around becoming a better student or becoming some kind of scientist.
Science–policy challenges for biodiversity, public health and urbanization: examples from Belgium
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Keune, H; De Blust, G; Van den Berge, K; Brosens, D; Van Herzele, A; Simoens, I; Kretsch, C; Gilbert, M; Linard, C; Flandroy, L; Versteirt, V; Hartig, T; De Keersmaecker, L; Eggermont, H; Dessein, J; Vanwambeke, S; Prieur-Richard, A H; Wittmer, H; Martens, P; Mathijs, E
2013-01-01
Internationally, the importance of a coordinated effort to protect both biodiversity and public health is more and more recognized. These issues are often concentrated or particularly challenging in urban areas, and therefore on-going urbanization worldwide raises particular issues both for the conservation of living natural resources and for population health strategies. These challenges include significant difficulties associated with sustainable management of urban ecosystems, urban development planning, social cohesion and public health. An important element of the challenge is the need to interface between different forms of knowledge and different actors from science and policy. We illustrate this with examples from Belgium, showcasing concrete cases of human–nature interaction. To better tackle these challenges, since 2011, actors in science, policy and the broader Belgian society have launched a number of initiatives to deal in a more integrated manner with combined biodiversity and public health challenges in the face of ongoing urbanization. This emerging community of practice in Belgium exemplifies the importance of interfacing at different levels. (1) Bridges must be built between science and the complex biodiversity/ecosystem–human/public health–urbanization phenomena. (2) Bridges between different professional communities and disciplines are urgently needed. (3) Closer collaboration between science and policy, and between science and societal practice is needed. Moreover, within each of these communities closer collaboration between specialized sections is needed. (letter)
Safety of gardening on lead- and arsenic-contaminated urban brownfields.
Defoe, Phillip P; Hettiarachchi, Ganga M; Benedict, Christopher; Martin, Sabine
2014-11-01
Elevated levels of lead (Pb) and arsenic (As) are not uncommon for urban soils. Test plots were established at urban gardens in Tacoma and Seattle, WA. The Tacoma site was contaminated with Pb (51-312 mg kg) and As (39-146 mg kg), and the Seattle site had high Pb soil concentrations ranging from 506 to 2022 mg kg and As concentrations of Food-chain transfer of Pb and As were evaluated by measuring plant Pb and As concentrations after kitchen-style washing, a laboratory cleaning procedure, or peeling. The experimental design was a randomized complete block with a split-plot arrangement. Tacoma site treatments included a Class A biosolids mix (TAGRO) with dolomite, and soil at the Seattle site was amended with Cedar-Grove compost (CGC) plus dolomite. TAGRO amendment diluted soil Pb by 10 to 23% and As by 12 to 25% at the Tacoma site, and CGC + dolomite resulted in 20 to 50% dilution in soil Pb at the Seattle site. Both amendments reduced Pb concentrations in vegetables by 50 to 71%, and As reductions ranged from 46 to 80%. At the Tacoma site, Pb concentrations (dry weight basis) in carrots, lettuce, and tomatoes ranged from 8.89 to 25.0, from 0.37 to 3.83, and from 0.54 to 1.24 mg kg, respectively. Plant As concentrations were below 703 μg kg (dry weight) for the vegetables and followed the order lettuce > carrot > tomato. Food-chain transfer of Pb and As in vegetables grown in contaminated urban soils were reduced by laboratory cleaning. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.
Current and historical land use influence soil-based ecosystem services in an urban landscape.
Ziter, Carly; Turner, Monica G
2018-04-01
Urban landscapes are increasingly recognized as providing important ecosystem services (ES) to their occupants. Yet, urban ES assessments often ignore the complex spatial heterogeneity and land-use history of cities. Soil-based services may be particularly susceptible to land-use legacy effects. We studied indicators of three soil-based ES, carbon storage, water quality regulation, and runoff regulation, in a historically agricultural urban landscape and asked (1) How do ES indicators vary with contemporary land cover and time since development? (2) Do ES indicators vary primarily among land-cover classes, within land-cover classes, or within sites? (3) What is the relative contribution of urban land-cover classes to potential citywide ES provision? We measured biophysical indicators (soil carbon [C], available phosphorus [P], and saturated hydraulic conductivity [K s ]) in 100 sites across five land-cover classes, spanning an ~125-year gradient of time since development within each land-cover class. Potential for ES provision was substantial in urban green spaces, including developed land. Runoff regulation services (high K s ) were highest in forests; water quality regulation (low P) was highest in open spaces and grasslands; and open spaces and developed land (e.g., residential yards) had the highest C storage. In developed land covers, both C and P increased with time since development, indicating effects of historical land-use on contemporary ES and trade-offs between two important ES. Among-site differences accounted for a high proportion of variance in soil properties in forests, grasslands, and open space, while residential areas had high within-site variability, underscoring the leverage city residents have to improve urban ES provision. Developed land covers contributed most ES supply at the citywide scale, even after accounting for potential impacts of impervious surfaces. Considering the full mosaic of urban green space and its history is needed to
Journal of Earth System Science | Indian Academy of Sciences
Indian Academy of Sciences (India)
... Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Lanzhou 730000, China. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China. Geography and Environment College of Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070, China. School of Urban Economics and Tourism Culture, Lanzhou City University, Lanzhou 730070, ...
Seyhan, Hatice Güngör
2016-01-01
This study aimed at determining the self-regulatory strategies and the chemistry self-efficacies of a total of one hundred and eighty-nine prospective science teachers in a state university in Turkey while studying the chemistry lesson according to the class level and gender factors. An additional goal was to examine the relationship level between…
S. T. A. Pickett; M. L. Cadenasso; E. J. Rosi-Marshall; Ken Belt; P. M. Groffman; Morgan Grove; E. G. Irwin; S. S. Kaushal; S. L. LaDeau; C. H. Nilon; C. M. Swan; P. S. Warren
2016-01-01
Urban areas are understood to be extraordinarily spatially heterogeneous. Spatial heterogeneity, and its causes, consequences, and changes, are central to ecological science. The social sciences and urban design and planning professions also include spatial heterogeneity as a key concern. However, urban ecology, as a pursuit that integrates across these disciplines,...
Improving Science Teacher Preparation through the APS PhysTEC and NSF Noyce Programs
Williams, Tasha; Tyler, Micheal; van Duzor, Andrea; Sabella, Mel
2013-03-01
Central to the recruitment of students into science teaching at a school like CSU, is a focus on the professional nature of teaching. The purpose of this focus is twofold: it serves to change student perceptions about teaching and it prepares students to become teachers who value continued professional development and value the science education research literature. The Noyce and PhysTEC programs at CSU place the professional nature of teaching front and center by involving students in education research projects, paid internships, attendance at conferences, and participation in a new Teacher Immersion Institute and a Science Education Journal Reading Class. This poster will focus on specific components of our teacher preparation program that were developed through these two programs. In addition we will describe how these new components provide students with diverse experiences in the teaching of science to students in the urban school district. Supported by the NSF Noyce Program (0833251) and the APS PhysTEC Program.
Research on application of intelligent computation based LUCC model in urbanization process
Chen, Zemin
2007-06-01
Global change study is an interdisciplinary and comprehensive research activity with international cooperation, arising in 1980s, with the largest scopes. The interaction between land use and cover change, as a research field with the crossing of natural science and social science, has become one of core subjects of global change study as well as the front edge and hot point of it. It is necessary to develop research on land use and cover change in urbanization process and build an analog model of urbanization to carry out description, simulation and analysis on dynamic behaviors in urban development change as well as to understand basic characteristics and rules of urbanization process. This has positive practical and theoretical significance for formulating urban and regional sustainable development strategy. The effect of urbanization on land use and cover change is mainly embodied in the change of quantity structure and space structure of urban space, and LUCC model in urbanization process has been an important research subject of urban geography and urban planning. In this paper, based upon previous research achievements, the writer systematically analyzes the research on land use/cover change in urbanization process with the theories of complexity science research and intelligent computation; builds a model for simulating and forecasting dynamic evolution of urban land use and cover change, on the basis of cellular automation model of complexity science research method and multi-agent theory; expands Markov model, traditional CA model and Agent model, introduces complexity science research theory and intelligent computation theory into LUCC research model to build intelligent computation-based LUCC model for analog research on land use and cover change in urbanization research, and performs case research. The concrete contents are as follows: 1. Complexity of LUCC research in urbanization process. Analyze urbanization process in combination with the contents
Measuring the Complexity of Urban Form and Design
Boeing, Geoff
2017-01-01
Complex systems have become a popular lens for conceptualizing cities, and complexity has substantial implications for urban performance and resilience. This paper develops a typology of methods and measures for assessing the complexity of the built form at the scale of urban design. It extends quantitative methods from urban planning, network science, ecosystems studies, fractal geometry, and information theory to the physical urban form and the analysis of qualitative human experience. Metr...
Sukariasih, Luh
2017-05-01
This study aims to produce teaching materials integrated natural science (IPA) webbed type of handout types are eligible for use in integrated science teaching. This type of research IS a kind of research and development / Research and Development (R & D) with reference to the 4D development model that is (define, design, develop, and disseminate). Data analysis techniques used to process data from the results of the assessment by the validator expert, and the results of the assessment by teachers and learners while testing is limited (12 students of class VIII SMPN 10 Kendari) using quantitative descriptive data analysis techniques disclosed in the distribution of scores on the scale of five categories grading scale that has been determined. The results of due diligence material gain votes validator material in the category of “very good” and “good”, of the data generated in the feasibility test presentation obtained the category of “good” and “excellent”, from the data generated in the feasibility of graphic test obtained the category of “very good “and” good “, as well as of the data generated in the test the feasibility of using words and language obtained the category of“very good “and” good “, so with qualifications gained the teaching materials IPA integrated type webbed by applying discourse analysis on the theme of energy and food for Junior High School (SMP) grade VIII suitable as teaching materials. In limited testing, data generated in response to a science teacher at SMPN 10 Kendari to product instructional materials as “excellent”, and from the data generated while testing is limited by the 12 students of class VIII SMPN 10 Kendari are more students who score indicates category “very good”, so that the qualification obtained by the natural science (IPA) teaching material integrated type webbed by applying discourse analysis on the theme of energy and food for SMP / class VIII fit for use as teaching material.
Science Specialists or Classroom Teachers: Who Should Teach Elementary Science?
Levy, Abigail Jurist; Jia, Yueming; Marco-Bujosa, Lisa; Gess-Newsome, Julie; Pasquale, Marian
2016-01-01
This study examined science programs, instruction, and student outcomes at 30 elementary schools in a large, urban district in the northeast United States in an effort to understand whether there were meaningful differences in the quality, quantity and cost of science education when provided by a science specialist or a classroom teacher. Student…
Decentralized Urban Solid Waste Management in Indonesia | CRDI ...
International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)
Urban areas of Indonesia generate about 55 000 tonnes of solid waste per day, ... four models of decentralized solid waste management in low-income urban ... En partenariat avec l'Organization for Women in Science for the Developing ...
Soils in urban and industrial environments
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Burghardt, W.
1994-01-01
Urban areas are expanding rapidly. Therefore the interest in soil science activities on urban and industrial sites grows. The paper gives an overview of the research and mapping activities in Germany. A model of soils in urban ecosystems shows the relationships of development of soils and soil quality to land use. The water regime of soils is influenced by the characteristics of urban landscape and sealing. Of special interest are the typical substrates. Some properties of soils which develop on tipped substrates of natural material are discussed. Of importance are technological substrates as rubble, ash, slag, waste material and sludges in urban environments. Proposals of classification of urban and industrial soils are presented. For proper use by the municipal authorities availability and application of information on urban soils must be a part of research. (orig.) [de
Managing the Monster: Urban Waste and Governance in Africa ...
International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)
Managing the Monster critically examines urban governance in Africa, with ... in African studies and urban planning; donor organizations worldwide working on ... IDRC congratulates first cohort of Women in Climate Change Science Fellows.
Crannell, Carol Jo
2002-01-01
Students United with NASA Becoming Enthusiastic About Math and Science (SUNBEAMS) is a Partnership between NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS). It empowers teachers and inspires students with the process and excitement of science and technology. SUNBEAMS is being developed as a model urban intervention program for sixth grade teachers and their students. The teachers come to Goddard for five weeks during the summer. They partner with Goddard mentors and work much the same way that summer students do. In addition, the teachers are responsible for developing lesson plans that they pilot at their schools and post on the SUNBEAMS web site. During the school year, each teacher brings one class to Goddard for a full week of total immersion in math and science.
Urban Water and Riverine Quality: Participatory Science in Singapore
Higgitt, D. L.
2011-12-01
Singapore is a highly urbanised environment experiencing tropical monsoon hydrological regimes. A heavily engineered fluvial system has been developed over time to provide efficient drainage and reduce the area subject to flood risk. However, recent interest in ecosystem-based approaches to river management and the enhancement of the aesthetic and ecological 'quality' of riverine landscape, coupled with concerns about climate change, has challenged the prevailing engineering view. This is reflected in the Public Utility Board (PUB) ABC Waters Programme, which also seeks to develop community interest in riverine environments and engagement with water-related concerns. As part of a programme developing participatory GIS (PGIS) with school and university students, we have undertaken applications involving participant observation, reporting and analysis of water quality data and habitat quality based on a simplified version of the UK Environment Agency's River Habitat Survey. From an educational perspective, there is evidence that these PGIS initiatives raise environmental awareness and enhance geospatial thinking, particularly in relation to catchment management concepts. The extent to which participant-derived data can contribute to a citizen science of urban water quality and hence deliver some aspects of the community engagement sought after by the authorities, is a topic of debate.
Henderson, Jean Foster
The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of classroom restructuring involving computer laboratories on student achievement and student attitudes toward computers and computer courses. The effects of the targeted student attributes of gender, previous programming experience, math background, and learning style were also examined. The open lab-based class structure consisted of a traditional lecture class with a separate, unscheduled lab component in which lab assignments were completed outside of class; the closed lab-based class structure integrated a lab component within the lecture class so that half the class was reserved for lecture and half the class was reserved for students to complete lab assignments by working cooperatively with each other and under the supervision and guidance of the instructor. The sample consisted of 71 students enrolled in four intact classes of Computer Science I during the fall and spring semesters of the 2006--2007 school year at two southern universities: two classes were held in the fall (one at each university) and two classes were held in the spring (one at each university). A counterbalanced repeated measures design was used in which all students experienced both class structures for half of each semester. The order of control and treatment was rotated among the four classes. All students received the same amount of class and instructor time. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) via a multiple regression strategy was used to test the study's hypotheses. Although the overall MANOVA model was statistically significant, independent follow-up univariate analyses relative to each dependent measure found that the only significant research factor was math background: Students whose mathematics background was at the level of Calculus I or higher had significantly higher student achievement than students whose mathematics background was less than Calculus I. The results suggest that classroom structures that
McMahon, Kendra
2012-07-01
By developing two case studies of expert teaching in action, this study aimed to develop knowledge of talk in whole-class teaching in UK primary science lessons and understand this in relation to both the teachers' interpretations and sociocultural theoretical frameworks. Lessons were observed and video-recorded and the teachers engaged in video-stimulated-reflective dialogue to capture participants' reflections upon their own pedagogic purposes and interactions in the classroom. The analytic framework was developed at three levels: sequence of lessons, lesson, and episode. For each episode, the 'communicative approach' and teaching purposes were recorded. Transcripts were developed for fine grain analysis of selected episodes and a quantitative analysis was undertaken of the use of communicative approaches. Findings exemplify how different communicative approaches were used by the case-study teachers for different pedagogical purposes at different points in the sequence of lessons, contributing to primary teachers' repertoire for planning and practice. The initial elicitation of children's ideas can be understood as pooling them to enhance multivoicedness and develop a shared resource for future dialogues. Whole-class talk can support univocality by rehearsing procedural knowledge and exploring the meanings of scientific terminology. Identifying salient features of phenomena in the context of the whole-class marks them as significant as shared knowledge but valuing other observations extends the multivoicedness of the discourse.
Local Integration Ontological Model of Creative Class Migrants for Creative Cities
Sangkakorn, Korawan; Chakpitak, Nopasit; Yodmongkol, Pitipong
2015-01-01
An innovative creative class drives creative cities, urban areas in which diverse cultures are integrated into social and economic functions. The creative city of Chiang Mai, Thailand is renowned for its vibrant Lan Na culture and traditions, and draws new migrants from other areas in Thailand seeking to become part of the creative class. This…
Cities as Novel Biomes;Recognizing Urban Ecosystem Services as Anthropogenic
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Stephanie ePincetl
2015-12-01
Full Text Available Urban Ecosystem Science is now an established science, arising along side the historic shift of humans to becoming in majority urban dwellers. In this Perspective I suggest there is a need to develop a new framework for UES as embedded in distinct urban biomes that can be classified by city-type and typologized. UES are largely the artifact of human decision making from what to plant where, to determining the urban infrastructure type in which UES will be placed. Developing urban typologies by climate zone, level of development, size and history will better enable the understanding of UES. I attempt to show the rise of the importance of nature, and of urban nature following the development of industrial city, and the importance of human intent in creating these urban ecosystems over time. If humans choose to manage cities through increasing UES, this will require coupled shifts, the shift in rules and regulations, goals and processes and shifts in urban form, infrastructure and function – socio-technical-ecological changes – driven by human decision-making. Such efforts will vary widely by city -- by urban biome.
The urbanization of wildlife management:Social science, conflict, and decision making
Michael E. Patterson; Jessica M. Montag; Daniel R. Williams
2003-01-01
Increasing urbanization of rural landscapes has created new challenges for wildlife management. In addition to changes in the physical landscape, urbanization has also produced changes in the socio-cultural landscape. The greater distancing from direct interaction with wildlife in urbanized societies has led to the emergence of a culture whose meanings for wildlife are...
The PAD Class: a new paradigm for university classroom teaching
Zhang, Xuexin
2017-08-01
The PAD Class (Presentation-Assimilation-Discussion) is a new paradigm for classroom teaching combining strengths of lecture and discussion. With half class time allocated for teacher's presentation and the other half for students' discussion, an assimilation stage was inserted between presentation and discussion for independent and individualized learning. Since its first success in 2014, the PAD method has gained national popularity in China and been successfully put into practice by thousands of college teachers in nearly all subjects, e.g., science, engineering, medical sciences, social sciences, humanities and arts. This paper analyzed the psychological and pedagogical rationales underlying the PAD Class to explicate its effectiveness in enhancing active learning.
Living Sexualities: Negotiating Heteronormativity in Middle Class Bangladesh
S. Karim (Shuchi)
2012-01-01
textabstract‘Living Sexualities’ is a study of erotic desires, practices and identities, lived within the heteronormative and marriage-normative socio-sexual structures of the urban middle class in contemporary Bangladesh. The study is based on two years fieldwork during which data was
Slumdog cities: rethinking subaltern urbanism.
Roy, Ananya
2011-01-01
This article is an intervention in the epistemologies and methodologies of urban studies. It seeks to understand and transform the ways in which the cities of the global South are studied and represented in urban research, and to some extent in popular discourse. As such, the article is primarily concerned with a formation of ideas - "subaltern urbanism" - which undertakes the theorization of the megacity and its subaltern spaces and subaltern classes. Of these, the ubiquitous ‘slum’ is the most prominent. Writing against apocalyptic and dystopian narratives of the slum, subaltern urbanism provides accounts of the slum as a terrain of habitation, livelihood, self-organization and politics. This is a vital and even radical challenge to dominant narratives of the megacity. However, this article is concerned with the limits of and alternatives to subaltern urbanism. It thus highlights emergent analytical strategies, utilizing theoretical categories that transcend the familiar metonyms of underdevelopment such as the megacity, the slum, mass politics and the habitus of the dispossessed. Instead, four categories are discussed — peripheries, urban informality, zones of exception and gray spaces. Informed by the urbanism of the global South, these categories break with ontological and topological understandings of subaltern subjects and subaltern spaces.
Class categories and the subjective dimension of class: the case of Denmark.
Harrits, Gitte Sommer; Pedersen, Helene Helboe
2018-03-01
Class relations have been proven to affect various aspects of social life, even in modern individualized societies. However, following claims on individualization and the so-called 'death of class' thesis, studying the subjective dimension of class - that is, the way individuals perceive of class relations and their own position within them - has gone out of style. We argue that even in equalized societies, subjective class perceptions may still influence attitudes and behaviour as they evolve to fit modern class relations. To explore the existence as well as structure and content of perceived social classes, this article investigates how people describe society and social groups in focus group discussions. We find that groups in different positions in terms of education and economy all tend to apply hierarchical class categories to describe Danish society, which is normally seen as one of the most equal societies and political systems in the world. In addition, we find that economic resources serve as a baseline for the hierarchical ordering, often supplemented with notions of education, lifestyle and/or occupational profile. Even though people are somewhat uncomfortable with the notion of class, their descriptions of Danish society and classes are surprisingly similar within and across groups. We conclude that not only do class relations matter; people are also highly aware of the existing classes and able to position themselves and others according to their notion of classes. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2017.
Urbanization and the Carbon Cycle: Synthesis of Ongoing Research
Gurney, K. R.; Duren, R. M.; Hutyra, L.; Ehleringer, J. R.; Patarasuk, R.; Song, Y.; Huang, J.; Davis, K.; Kort, E. A.; Shepson, P. B.; Turnbull, J. C.; Lauvaux, T.; Rao, P.; Eldering, A.; Miller, C. E.; Wofsy, S.; McKain, K.; Mendoza, D. L.; Lin, J. C.; Sweeney, C.; Miles, N. L.; Richardson, S.; Cambaliza, M. O. L.
2015-12-01
Given the explosive growth in urbanization and its dominant role in current and future global greenhouse gas emissions, urban areas have received increasing research attention from the carbon cycle science community. The emerging focus is driven by the increasingly dense atmospheric observing capabilities - ground and space-based - in addition to the rising profile of cities within international climate change policymaking. Dominated by anthropogenic emissions, urban carbon cycle research requires a cross-disciplinary perspective with contributions from disciplines such as engineering, economics, social theory, and atmospheric science. We review the recent results from a sample of the active urban carbon research efforts including the INFLUX experiment (Indianapolis), the Megacity carbon project (Los Angeles), Salt Lake City, and Boston. Each of these efforts represent unique approaches in pursuit of different scientific and policy questions and assist in setting priorities for future research. From top-down atmospheric measurement systems to bottom-up estimation, these research efforts offer a view of the challenges and opportunities in urban carbon cycle research.
Research on same-gender grouping in eighth-grade science classrooms
Friend, Jennifer Ingrid
This study examined two hypotheses related to same-gender grouping of eighth-grade science classes in a public middle-school setting in suburban Kansas City. The first hypothesis, male and female students enrolled in same-gender eighth-grade science classes demonstrate more positive science academic achievement than their male and female peers enrolled in mixed-gender science classes. The second hypothesis, same-gender grouping of students in eighth-grade science has a positive effect on classroom climate. The participants in this study were randomly assigned to class sections of eighth-grade science. The first experimental group was an eighth-grade science class of all-male students (n = 20) taught by a male science teacher. The control group used for comparison to the male same-gender class consisted of the male students (n = 42) in the coeducational eighth-grade science classes taught by the same male teacher. The second experimental group was an eighth-grade science class of all-female students (n = 23) taught by a female science teacher. The control group for the female same-gender class consisted of female students (n = 61) in the coeducational eighth-grade science classes taught by the same female teacher. The male teacher and the female teacher did not vary instruction for the same-gender and mixed-gender classes. Science academic achievement was measured for both groups through a quantitative analysis using grades on science classroom assessment and overall science course grades. Classroom climate was measured through qualitative observations and through qualitative and quantitative analysis of a twenty-question student survey administered at the end of each trimester grading period. The results of this study did not indicate support for either hypothesis. Data led to the conclusions that same-gender grouping did not produce significant differences in student science academic achievement, and that same-gender classes did not create a more positive
Richter, Dale A.; Higdon, N. S.; Ponsardin, Patrick L.; Sanchez, David; Chyba, Thomas H.; Temple, Doyle A.; Gong, Wei; Battle, Russell; Edmondson, Mika; Futrell, Anne; Harper, David; Haughton, Lincoln; Johnson, Demetra; Lewis, Kyle; Payne-Baggott, Renee S.
2002-01-01
ITTs Advanced Engineering and Sciences Division and the Hampton University Center for Lidar and Atmospheric Sciences Students (CLASS) team have worked closely to design, fabricate and test an eye-safe, scanning aerosol-lidar system that can be safely deployed and used by students form a variety of disciplines. CLASS is a 5-year undergraduate- research training program funded by NASA to provide hands-on atmospheric-science and lidar-technology education. The system is based on a 1.5 micron, 125 mJ, 20 Hz eye-safe optical parametric oscillator (OPO) and will be used by the HU researchers and students to evaluate the biological impact of aerosols, clouds, and pollution a variety of systems issues. The system design tasks we addressed include the development of software to calculate eye-safety levels and to model lidar performance, implementation of eye-safety features in the lidar transmitter, optimization of the receiver using optical ray tracing software, evaluation of detectors and amplifiers in the near RI, test of OPO and receiver technology, development of hardware and software for laser and scanner control and video display of the scan region.
Fried, B.; Levy, M.; Reyes, C.; Austin, S.
2003-05-01
A unique and innovative partnership has recently developed between NASA and John Dewey High School, infusing Space Science into the curriculum. This partnership builds on an existing relationship with MUSPIN/NASA and their regional center at the City University of New York based at Medgar Evers College. As an outgrowth of the success and popularity of our Remote Sensing Research Program, sponsored by the New York State Committee for the Advancement of Technology Education (NYSCATE), and the National Science Foundation and stimulated by MUSPIN-based faculty development workshops, our science department has branched out in a new direction - the establishment of a Space Science Academy. John Dewey High School, located in Brooklyn, New York, is an innovative inner city public school with students of a diverse multi-ethnic population and a variety of economic backgrounds. Students were recruited from this broad spectrum, which covers the range of learning styles and academic achievement. This collaboration includes students of high, average, and below average academic levels, emphasizing participation of students with learning disabilities. In this classroom without walls, students apply the strategies and methodologies of problem-based learning in solving complicated tasks. The cooperative learning approach simulates the NASA method of problem solving, as students work in teams, share research and results. Students learn to recognize the complexity of certain tasks as they apply Earth Science, Mathematics, Physics, Technology and Engineering to design solutions. Their path very much follows the NASA model as they design and build various devices. Our Space Science curriculum presently consists of a one-year sequence of elective classes taken in conjunction with Regents-level science classes. This sequence consists of Remote Sensing, Planetology, Mission to Mars (NASA sponsored research program), and Microbiology, where future projects will be astronomy related. This
Class and ideological orientations revisited: an exploration of class-based mechanisms.
Bengtsson, Mattias; Berglund, Tomas; Oskarson, Maria
2013-12-01
Studies of the relationship between class position and political outlooks still only have a limited understanding of the class-related mechanisms that matter for ideological orientations. This article presents a comprehensive analysis of the mechanisms that link class position and left/right and authoritarian/libertarian orientations. Besides main factors such as income, career prospects, job security, education, class origin and class identification, the significance of work-related factors such as work autonomy, working in a team, a physically demanding job and a mentally demanding job is studied. The findings are based on a survey specifically designed for this purpose and collected in Sweden in 2008/2009. A great deal of the association between class position and left/right orientations is explained by socio-economic conditions; different classes sympathize with policies that will benefit them economically. Another important factor is class identification. Work-related factors also have relevance, but the effect of class position on left/right orientations works mainly through the remuneration system. Class position is also related to authoritarian/libertarian orientations. However, this relationship is less explained by socio-economic position per se, but is rather an effect of the educational system and its allocation of the workforce into different class positions. It also turns out that work-related factors do not explain the class effects; however, a physically demanding job shows a unique effect. Overall, our findings suggest that besides factors such as class position, income, education and class identification, we need to consider work-related aspects to derive a more complete understanding of the distribution of ideological orientations in Western societies. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2013.
Grimes, Nicole K.
2013-06-01
A growing body of teacher identity-based research has begun to embrace that the development of self-understanding about being a teacher is critical to learning how to teach. Construction of a professional teacher identity requires much more beyond mere content, skills and a foundational pedagogy. It also includes an intersection of the personal and professional self, which gives way to the emergence of multiple identities in the classroom. An educator's gender, nationality, language and interests among other tenets all permeate the classroom field and coexist alongside the professional role identity. This paper aims to use narrative as a way to discuss how science educators can mediate holding several identities in the classroom in order to create an environment characterized by successful teaching and learning. Drawing from an array of sociocultural theoretical perspectives, complementary constructs of identity by Jonathan Turner (Face to face: toward a sociological theory of interpersonal behavior. Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA, 2002) and Amartya Sen (Identity and violence: the illusion of destiny. W. W. Norton, New York, 2006), George Lakoff's (Metaphors we live by. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1980) work on metonymy, and David Bloome's (2005) theorization of the power of caring relationships, I explore the ways in which my Black female Caribbean identity has transformed the science classroom field and created positive resonance for some of my privileged White students who have Caribbean caretakers at home. To begin, I unpack how Afro-Caribbean immigration to urban centers in the United States continues to produce childcare occupational opportunities in places like New York City. Being a first generation Trinidadian immigrant, my many identities have structured my science teaching praxis and consequently transformed the way my students learn science. A significant part of this paper is a reflexive account of experiences (primarily dialogue
Yang, Yi; Vance, Marina; Tou, Feiyun; Tiwari, Andrea; Liu, Min; Hochella, Michael F.
2016-01-01
Nanoparticles (NPs) resulting from urban road dust resuspension are an understudied class of pollutants in urban environments with strong potential for health hazards. The objective of this study was to investigate the heavy metal and nanoparticle content of PM2.5 generated in the laboratory using novel aerosolization of 66 road dust samples collected throughout the mega-city of Shanghai (China). The samples were characterized using an array of techniques including inductively-coupled plasma ...
Toward an integrated theory of spatial morphology and resilient urban systems
Lars Marcus; Johan Colding
2014-01-01
We take the first step in the development of a new field of research with the aim of merging spatial morphology and resilience science. This involves a revisiting and reunderstanding of the meaning of sustainable urban form. We briefly describe the fields of resilience science and spatial morphology. Drawing on a selected set of propositions in both fields, we put urban form in the context of the adaptive renewal cycle, a dynamic framework model used in resilience science to capture the dynam...
Burmester, David
1985-01-01
Reviews science fiction films used in a science fiction class. Discusses feature films, short science fiction films, short story adaptations, original science fiction pieces and factual science films that enrich literature. (EL)
Pitts, Wesley
2011-03-01
The major focus of this ethnographic study is devoted to exploring the confluence of global and local referents of science education in the context of an urban chemistry laboratory classroom taught by a first-generation Filipino-American male teacher. This study investigates encounters between the teacher and four second-generation immigrant female students of color, as well as encounters among the four students. The pervasive spread of neoliberal ideology of accountability and sanctions both globally and locally, particularly in public high schools in the Bronx, New York City fuel situations for teaching and learning science that are encoded with the referents of top-down control. In the face of theses challenges, classroom participants must become aware of productive ways to build solidarity and interstitial culture across salient social boundaries, such as age, gender, ethnicity and role, to create and sustain successful teaching and learning of chemistry. Empirical evidence for solidarity was guided by physical and verbal displays of synchrony, mutual focus, entrainment, and emotional energy, body gestures, and prosody markers. This study shows that classroom participants used a combination of prosody markers to appropriate resources to decrease breaches in face-to-face encounters and, at the same time, create and sustain participation and solidarity to successfully complete an acid-base experiment.
Science Illiteracy: Breaking the Cycle
Lebofsky, L. A.; Lebofsky, N. R.
2003-12-01
At the University of Arizona, as at many state universities and colleges, the introductory science classes for non-science majors may be the only science classes that future K--8 teachers will take. The design of the UA's General Education program requires all future non-science certified teachers to take the General Education science classes. These classes are therefore an ideal venue for the training of the state's future teachers. Many students, often including future teachers, are ill-prepared for college, i.e., they lack basic science content knowledge, basic mathematics skills, and reading and writing skills. They also lack basic critical thinking skills and study skills. It is within this context that our future teachers are trained. How do we break the cycle of science illiteracy? There is no simple solution, and certainly not a one-size-fits-all panacea that complements every professor's style of instruction. However, there are several programs at the University of Arizona, and also principles that I apply in my own classes, that may be adaptable in other classrooms. Assessment of K--12 students' learning supports the use of inquiry-based science instruction. This approach can be incorporated in college classes. Modeling proven and productive teaching methods for the future teachers provides far more than ``just the facts,'' and all students gain from the inquiry approach. Providing authentic research opportunities employs an inquiry-based approach. Reading (outside the textbook) and writing provide feedback to students with poor writing and critical thinking skills. Using peer tutors and an instant messaging hot line gives experience to the tutors and offers "comfortable" assistance to students.
"But I Grew Up Here!" Science Inquiry, Pedagogy and Technology Through a Sociocultural Lens
Meyer, Brian R.
The majority of students in the urban setting are considered underrepresented. These students frequently perform below their proficiency level on standardized tests locally and nationally. If we treat education as the ticket out of the culture of poverty that underrepresented students find themselves, it is incumbent upon us to find pedagogical, content, and cultural methods that allow for these students to achieve at a high level. The purpose behind this case study was to determine the pedagogical, content and cultural knowledge of two urban junior high school science teachers with the specific intention of drawing on the mitigating factors in the use, or non-use, of technology by these respective classroom teachers. Participants in this case study included two teachers both of whom teach 7th and 8th grade science in the urban setting. Their students are deemed to be underachieving by local and state measures of assessment, and the schools in which they teach are both considered low on measures of socioeconomic status. Data were collected over an academic year and included: teacher and student interviews, classroom video recordings, student work, teacher plans, and researcher field notes. These data were analyzed using an inductive approach and a constant-comparative method. The teachers shared their beliefs about the schools and district in which they teach, about the students they teach, and about their own upbringing. These female teachers had many demographics in common, including the duration of their teaching careers, their age, their content area, their time teaching in the district, and their professed caring for their students and their students' success. Where they contrasted, however, was in their own educational background at the grade school level - one teacher grew up in a middle class suburban home while the other was raised in the urban setting. Another difference was in their early choice of career, as the suburban teacher knew she wanted to teach
Cavagnetto, Andy Roy
This study was conducted to determine the effects of two different student-centered approaches to setting the question for inquiry. The first approach (whole class) consisted of students setting a single question for inquiry after which students worked in small groups during an investigation phase of the activity with all groups exploring the same question. The second approach (small group) consisted of each group of students setting a question resulting in numerous questions being explored per class. A mixed method quasi-experimental design was utilized. Two grade five teachers from a small rural school district in the Midwestern United States participated, each teaching two sections of science (approximately 25 students per section). Results indicate three major findings. Instructional approach (whole class vs. small group) did not effect student achievement in science or language arts. Observational data indicated the actions and skills teachers utilized to implement the approaches were similar. Specifically, the pedagogical skills of dialogical interaction (which was found to be influenced by teacher level of control of learning and teacher content knowledge) and effective rather than efficient use of time were identified as key factors in teachers' progression toward a student-centered, teacher-managed instructional approach. Unit exams along with qualitative and quantitative teacher observation data indicated that these factors do have an impact on student achievement. Specifically increased dialogical interaction in the forms of greater student voice, and increased cognitive demands placed on students by embedding and emphasizing science argument within the student inquiry corresponded to positive gains in student achievement. Additionally, teacher's perception of student abilities was also found to influence professional growth. Finally, allowing students to set the questions for inquiry and design the experiments impact the classroom environment as teacher
McNeill, Katherine L.; Pimentel, Diane Silva; Strauss, Eric G.
2013-01-01
Inquiry-based curricula are an essential tool for reforming science education yet the role of the teacher is often overlooked in terms of the impact of the curriculum on student achievement. Our research focuses on 22 teachers' use of a year-long high school urban ecology curriculum and how teachers' self-efficacy, instructional practices,…
Extracting Urban Morphology for Atmospheric Modeling from Multispectral and SAR Satellite Imagery
Wittke, S.; Karila, K.; Puttonen, E.; Hellsten, A.; Auvinen, M.; Karjalainen, M.
2017-05-01
This paper presents an approach designed to derive an urban morphology map from satellite data while aiming to minimize the cost of data and user interference. The approach will help to provide updates to the current morphological databases around the world. The proposed urban morphology maps consist of two layers: 1) Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and 2) land cover map. Sentinel-2 data was used to create a land cover map, which was realized through image classification using optical range indices calculated from image data. For the purpose of atmospheric modeling, the most important classes are water and vegetation areas. The rest of the area includes bare soil and built-up areas among others, and they were merged into one class in the end. The classification result was validated with ground truth data collected both from field measurements and aerial imagery. The overall classification accuracy for the three classes is 91 %. TanDEM-X data was processed into two DEMs with different grid sizes using interferometric SAR processing. The resulting DEM has a RMSE of 3.2 meters compared to a high resolution DEM, which was estimated through 20 control points in flat areas. Comparing the derived DEM with the ground truth DEM from airborne LIDAR data, it can be seen that the street canyons, that are of high importance for urban atmospheric modeling are not detectable in the TanDEM-X DEM. However, the derived DEM is suitable for a class of urban atmospheric models. Based on the numerical modeling needs for regional atmospheric pollutant dispersion studies, the generated files enable the extraction of relevant parametrizations, such as Urban Canopy Parameters (UCP).
EXTRACTING URBAN MORPHOLOGY FOR ATMOSPHERIC MODELING FROM MULTISPECTRAL AND SAR SATELLITE IMAGERY
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
S. Wittke
2017-05-01
Full Text Available This paper presents an approach designed to derive an urban morphology map from satellite data while aiming to minimize the cost of data and user interference. The approach will help to provide updates to the current morphological databases around the world. The proposed urban morphology maps consist of two layers: 1 Digital Elevation Model (DEM and 2 land cover map. Sentinel-2 data was used to create a land cover map, which was realized through image classification using optical range indices calculated from image data. For the purpose of atmospheric modeling, the most important classes are water and vegetation areas. The rest of the area includes bare soil and built-up areas among others, and they were merged into one class in the end. The classification result was validated with ground truth data collected both from field measurements and aerial imagery. The overall classification accuracy for the three classes is 91 %. TanDEM-X data was processed into two DEMs with different grid sizes using interferometric SAR processing. The resulting DEM has a RMSE of 3.2 meters compared to a high resolution DEM, which was estimated through 20 control points in flat areas. Comparing the derived DEM with the ground truth DEM from airborne LIDAR data, it can be seen that the street canyons, that are of high importance for urban atmospheric modeling are not detectable in the TanDEM-X DEM. However, the derived DEM is suitable for a class of urban atmospheric models. Based on the numerical modeling needs for regional atmospheric pollutant dispersion studies, the generated files enable the extraction of relevant parametrizations, such as Urban Canopy Parameters (UCP.
COPING WITH CONTAMINATED SEDIMENTS AND SOILS IN THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT.
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
JONES,K.W.; VAN DER LELIE,D.; MCGUIGAN,M.; ET AL.
2004-05-25
Soils and sediments contaminated with toxic organic and inorganic compounds harmful to the environment and to human health are common in the urban environment. We report here on aspects of a program being carried out in the New York/New Jersey Port region to develop methods for processing dredged material from the Port to make products that are safe for introduction to commercial markets. We discuss some of the results of the program in Computational Environmental Science, Laboratory Environmental Science, and Applied Environmental Science and indicate some possible directions for future work. Overall, the program elements integrate the scientific and engineering aspects with regulatory, commercial, urban planning, local governments, and community group interests. Well-developed connections between these components are critical to the ultimate success of efforts to cope with the problems caused by contaminated urban soils and sediments.
Nature as a nuisance? Ecosystem services and disservices to urban lifestyle
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Lyytimäki, Jari; Petersen, Lars Kjerulf; Normander, Bo
2008-01-01
- such as safety issues in dark parks or pollen causing health problems - have gained only sporadic attention in environmental studies focused on urban ecosystems. We review and discuss different urban ecosystem disservices from a Northern European perspective. We conclude by addressing the key limitations...... The lifestyle of people living in urban areas has profound direct and indirect impacts on biodiversity. However, the role of urban lifestyle as a driving force of biodiversity change is not very well understood. This is partly because there is a gap between a social science approach focusing...... on lifestyle and a natural science approach focusing on biodiversity. We propose that the concept of ecological services and disservices is useful in connecting these approaches. Ecosystem services produced by urban green areas are the focus of a wide range of environmental studies, but disservices...
Features of the Researches that Studying the Use of ICTs in Science Class
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Andrea Miranda
2010-11-01
Full Text Available In recent years an increasing interest in the study of technological mediation in the educational processes at all levels of education. In this paper we communicate the characteristics found in current research on learning environments which integrate Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs into a science class. Analysis of the research uses Gowin’s heuristic technique V as a metacognitive strategy that allows the identification of the the relevant aspects of the research process. Reviewed and described were the different works selected to determine current trends in the study of teaching and learning processes using technology. It was possible to determine that the majority of the works analyzed study the aspects associated with the didactic efficacy of the use of ICTs, and only a few make reference to the interactive processes that emerge from learning activities.
Girls' Attitudes Towards Science in Kenya
Chetcuti, Deborah A.; Kioko, Beriter
2012-07-01
This study investigated girls' attitudes towards science in Kenya. It was carried out with 120 girls from four secondary schools in the Eastern province of Kenya. These were an urban single-sex (SS) and co-educational (Co-Ed) school and a rural SS and Co-Ed school. Different schools were chosen in order to explore whether there are any differences in attitudes in SS and Co-Ed schools and in schools in rural and urban areas. The methodology included the use of both questionnaires and focus group interviews. The main aim was to gain insight into the extent and depth of students' attitudes towards science. The findings of the study showed that the majority of Kenyan girls who participated in the study have a favourable attitude towards science. Girls in SS schools were found to have a more favourable attitude than those in Co-Ed schools, while girls in rural area schools were found to find science more relevant than those in urban schools. It emerged from this study that the attitudes of Kenyan girls are influenced by their perceptions of the relevance of science, enjoyment of studying science, perceptions of the suitability of science for a career, and their perceptions of subject difficulty.
Rural Gentrification and the Processes of Class Colonisation.
Phillips, Martin
1993-01-01
A survey of 109 households in 4 villages in Gower, South Wales, examined social-class changes associated with rural gentrification, the contention that gentrifiers are embodiments of capital, child-rearing concerns as a motive for gentrification, the influence of gender inequalities, and comparisons with urban examples of gentrification. Contains…
Toward an integrated theory of spatial morphology and resilient urban systems
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Lars Marcus
2014-12-01
Full Text Available We take the first step in the development of a new field of research with the aim of merging spatial morphology and resilience science. This involves a revisiting and reunderstanding of the meaning of sustainable urban form. We briefly describe the fields of resilience science and spatial morphology. Drawing on a selected set of propositions in both fields, we put urban form in the context of the adaptive renewal cycle, a dynamic framework model used in resilience science to capture the dynamics of complex adaptive systems, of which urban systems are prime examples. We discuss the insights generated in this endeavor, dealing with some key morphological aspects in relation to four key attributes of resilience, i.e., "change," "diversity," "self-organization," and "learning." We discuss and relate these to urban form and other social variables, with special attention paid to the "backloop phase" of the adaptive renewal cycle. We conclude by postulating ways in which resilience thinking could contribute to the development of a new research frontier for addressing designs for resilient urban social-ecological systems, and end by proposing three strategic areas of research in such a field.
Incorporating digital technologies into science classes
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Hilton, Annette; Hilton, Geoff
2013-01-01
in science. The first case study involved primary school students (12 years old) using digital video production to record and represent their learning in science. This study extended writing-to-learn approaches to include video production to learn. The second case study involved Year 11 chemistry students...... learning. There is a need for research that examines the ways in which digital technologies impact on teaching practices and learning outcomes. This paper describes case studies from two larger studies that examined ways in which digital technologies could be used to promote students’ understanding...... for students, including increased conceptual understanding, enhanced motivation and engagement, and increased representational competence. This paper reports on the classroom strategies and teaching resources used in each case, and describes the learning outcomes for the students involved and some...
Jewett, Elizabeth; Kuhn, Deanna
2016-03-01
Engagement in purposeful problem solving involving social science content was sufficient to develop a key set of inquiry skills in low-performing middle school students from an academically and economically disadvantaged urban public school population, with this skill transferring to a more traditional written scientific thinking assessment instrument 3weeks later. Students only observing their peers' activity or not participating at all failed to show these gains. Implications are addressed with regard to the mastery of scientific thinking skills among academically disadvantaged students. Also addressed are the efficacy of problem-based learning and the limits of observational learning. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Application of template matching for improving classification of urban railroad point clouds
Arastounia, M.; Oude Elberink, S.J.
2016-01-01
This study develops an integrated data-driven and model-driven approach (template matching) that clusters the urban railroad point clouds into three classes of rail track, contact cable, and catenary cable. The employed dataset covers 630 m of the Dutch urban railroad corridors in which there are
Urban tree diversity - Taking stock and looking ahead
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Morgenroth, J.; Östberg, Johan; Bosch, C. Konijnendijk van den
2016-01-01
The first International Conference on Urban Tree Diversity hosted in June 2014 by the Swedish University of Agricultural Science in Alnarp, Sweden highlighted the need for a better understanding of the current state of urban tree diversity. Here we present and discuss a selection of urban tree...... diversity themes with the intention of developing and sharing knowledge in a research area that is gaining momentum. We begin by discussing the specific role of species diversity in ecosystem service provision and ecosystem stability. This is followed by exploring the urban conditions that affect species...... richness. Having determined that many ecosystem services depend on urban tree species diversity and that urban environments are capable of supporting high species diversity, we conclude by addressing how to govern for urban tree diversity....
Negotiating Middle-class Respectable Femininity: Bangladeshi Women and their Families
Hussein, Nazia
2017-01-01
Using qualitative data, this article explains how affluent urban and new middle-class women in Bangladesh reconstruct the notion of respectable femininity within the family. The normative conception of middle-class women’s respectability is measured against women prioritizing family above work by performing their domestic, care, and socializing roles and by maintaining moral propriety. Using Bourdieu’s theory of capitals and Lamont’s formulation of boundary work, I demonstrate that by reinsta...
Johnson, Joseph A.
2011-12-01
This study involved an intervention in which I explored how the multimodal, inquiry-based teaching strategies from a professional development model could be used to meet the educational needs of a group of middle school students, who were refugees, newly arrived in the United States, now residing in a large urban school district in the northeastern United States, and learning English as a second language. This group remains unmentioned throughout the research literature despite the fact that English Language Learners (ELLs) represent the fastest growing group of K-12 students in the United States. The specific needs of this particular group were explored as I attempted daily to confront a variety of obstacles to their science achievement and help to facilitate the development of a scientific discourse. This research was done in an effort to better address the needs of ELLs in general and to inform best practices for teachers to apply across a variety of different cultural and linguistic subgroups. This study is an autoethnographic case study analysis of the practices of the researcher, working in a science classroom, teaching the described group of students.
A zone-based approach to identifying urban land uses using nationally-available data
Falcone, James A.
Accurate identification of urban land use is essential for many applications in environmental study, ecological assessment, and urban planning, among other fields. However, because physical surfaces of land cover types are not necessarily related to their use and economic function, differentiating among thematically-detailed urban land uses (single-family residential, multi-family residential, commercial, industrial, etc.) using remotely-sensed imagery is a challenging task, particularly over large areas. Because the process requires an interpretation of tone/color, size, shape, pattern, and neighborhood association elements within a scene, it has traditionally been accomplished via manual interpretation of aerial photography or high-resolution satellite imagery. Although success has been achieved for localized areas using various automated techniques based on high-spatial or high-spectral resolution data, few detailed (Anderson Level II equivalent or greater) urban land use mapping products have successfully been created via automated means for broad (multi-county or larger) areas, and no such product exists today for the United States. In this study I argue that by employing a zone-based approach it is feasible to map thematically-detailed urban land use classes over large areas using appropriate combinations of non-image based predictor data which are nationally and publicly available. The approach presented here uses U.S. Census block groups as the basic unit of geography, and predicts the percent of each of ten land use types---nine of them urban---for each block group based on a number of data sources, to include census data, nationally-available point locations of features from the USGS Geographic Names Information System, historical land cover, and metrics which characterize spatial pattern, context (e.g. distance to city centers or other features), and measures of spatial autocorrelation. The method was demonstrated over a four-county area surrounding the
Cleveland-Solomon, Tanya E.
What beliefs and cultural models do youth who are underrepresented in science have about the domain of science and about themselves as science learners? What do they imagine is possible for them in relation to science both now and in the future? In other words, what constitutes their figured world of science? This dissertation study, using a mixed methods design, offers new perspectives on the ways that underrepresented youth's unexamined assumptions or cultural models and resources may shape their identities and motivation to learn science. Through analyses of survey and interview data, I found that urban African American youths' social context, gender, racial identity, and perceptions of the science they had in school influenced their motivation to learn science. Analyses of short-term classroom observations and interviews suggested that students had competing cultural models that they used in their constructions of identities as science learners, which they espoused and adopted in relation to how well they leveraged the science-related cultural resources available to them. Results from this study suggested that these 7th graders would benefit from access to more expansive cultural models through access to individuals with scientific capital as a way to allow them to create fruitful identities as science learners. If we want to ensure that students from groups that are underrepresented in science not only have better outcomes, but aspire to and enter the science career pipeline, we must also begin to support them in their negotiations of competing cultural models that limit their ability to adopt science-learner identities in their classrooms. This study endeavored to understand the particular cultural models and motivational beliefs that drive students to act, and what types of individuals they imagine scientists and science workers to be. This study also examined how cultural models and resources influence identity negotiation, specifically the roles youths
Conference on Transportation and Urban Life
Wenzel, H
1976-01-01
All the papers in this volume were presented at a conference on Transportation and Urban Life, held in Munich during the third week of September, 1975. The conference was sponsored by the Special Programme Panels on Systems Science and Human Factors of the Science Committee of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. The distinguishing characteristic of the conference and of this volume lies in the combination of systems science and human factors contributions in the field of urban transportation. The initiative for attempting such a synthesis came from the sponsors. It is increasingly realised that the complexity of contemporary problems which applied scientists are being asked to solve is such that the coordinated efforts of several disciplines are needed to solve them. The brief which we formulated for the conference and distribu ted in our international call for papers was as follows: "The conference is intended to highlight significant psycho logical, SOCiological and economic aspects of transportatio...
Tobin, Kenneth
2012-03-01
I have been involved in research on collaborative activities for improving the quality of teaching and learning high school science. Initially the collaborative activities we researched involved the uses of coteaching and cogenerative dialogue in urban middle and high schools in Philadelphia and New York (currently I have active research sites in New York and Brisbane, Australia). The research not only transformed practices but also produced theories that informed the development of additional collaborative activities and served as interventions for research and creation of heuristics for professional development programs and teacher certification courses. The presentation describes a collage of collaborative approaches to teaching and learning science, including coteaching, cogenerative dialogue, radical listening, critical reflection, and mindful action. For each activity in the collage I provide theoretical frameworks and empirical support, ongoing research, and priorities for the road ahead. I also address methodologies used in the research, illustrating how teachers and students collaborated as researchers in multilevel investigations of teaching and learning and learning to teach that included ethnography, video analysis, and sophisticated analyses of the voice, facial expression of emotion, eye gaze, and movement of the body during classroom interactions. I trace the evolution of studies of face-to-face interactions in science classes to the current focus on emotions and physiological aspects of teaching and learning (e.g., pulse rate, pulse strength, breathing patterns) that relate to science participation and achievement.
Ihm, Jungjoon; Choi, Hyoseon; Roh, Sangho
2017-06-01
This study explores how to design a flipped classroom for a predental science course and evaluate its course through student self-assessment in order to provide practical implications for flipped learning in an undergraduate level. Second- and third-year predental students in the Seoul National University School of Dentistry enrolled in Biodiversity and Global Environment, a 15-week, three-credit course based on a flipped learning model. At the end of the course, the students were asked to rate their self-directed learning, attitude toward social media, discussion skills, learning readiness, and class satisfaction. Out of the 82 predental students, 61 (74.3%) answered the survey. Pearson correlation and multivariate regression analyses were employed to examine the relationship between the self-rated measurements and the performance scores. The majority of the students felt somewhat more prepared than the medium level before the class (mean score of 3.17 out of 5.00), whereas they expressed relatively low preference concerning social media use and attitude (mean score of 2.49). Thus, it was found that learning readiness was significantly associated with both discussion skills and class satisfaction. In particular, multivariate regression analysis confirmed that learning readiness had a significant influence on learning outcomes. This study offered insights into how to design a flipped learning course in terms of predental students' preference and their learning readiness. Although learning success in a flipped classroom depends on the students' self-perceived level of preparedness, much still remains to be achieved in order to apply social media benefits in a flipped learning context.
Assessment on Peri-Urban Dairy Production System and Evaluation ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Assessment on Peri-Urban Dairy Production System and Evaluation of Quality of Cows' Raw Milk: A Case of Shambu, Fincha and Kombolcha Towns of Horro Guduru Wollega Zone, Ethiopia. ... Science, Technology and Arts Research Journal ... Keywords: Bacterial load Ethiopia Horro Guduru Peri-Urban Dairying Raw milk ...
Livesley, S J; McPherson, G M; Calfapietra, C
2016-01-01
Many environmental challenges are exacerbated within the urban landscape, such as stormwater runoff and flood risk, chemical and particulate pollution of urban air, soil and water, the urban heat island, and summer heat waves. Urban trees, and the urban forest as a whole, can be managed to have an impact on the urban water, heat, carbon and pollution cycles. However, there is an increasing need for empirical evidence as to the magnitude of the impacts, both beneficial and adverse, that urban trees can provide and the role that climatic region and built landscape circumstance play in modifying those impacts. This special section presents new research that advances our knowledge of the ecological and environmental services provided by the urban forest. The 14 studies included provide a global perspective on the role of trees in towns and cities from five continents. Some studies provide evidence for the cooling benefit of the local microclimate in urban green space with and without trees. Other studies focus solely on the cooling benefit of urban tree transpiration at a mesoscale or on cooling from canopy shade at a street and pedestrian scale. Other studies are concerned with tree species differences in canopy interception of rainfall, water uptake from biofilter systems, and water quality improvements through nutrient uptake from stormwater runoff. Research reported here also considers both the positive and the negative impacts of trees on air quality, through the role of trees in removing air pollutants such as ozone as well as in releasing potentially harmful volatile organic compounds and allergenic particulates. A transdisciplinary framework to support future urban forest research is proposed to better understand and communicate the role of urban trees in urban biogeochemical cycles that are highly disturbed, highly managed, and of paramount importance to human health and well-being. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of
Neighbourhood-scale urban forest ecosystem classification.
Steenberg, James W N; Millward, Andrew A; Duinker, Peter N; Nowak, David J; Robinson, Pamela J
2015-11-01
Urban forests are now recognized as essential components of sustainable cities, but there remains uncertainty concerning how to stratify and classify urban landscapes into units of ecological significance at spatial scales appropriate for management. Ecosystem classification is an approach that entails quantifying the social and ecological processes that shape ecosystem conditions into logical and relatively homogeneous management units, making the potential for ecosystem-based decision support available to urban planners. The purpose of this study is to develop and propose a framework for urban forest ecosystem classification (UFEC). The multifactor framework integrates 12 ecosystem components that characterize the biophysical landscape, built environment, and human population. This framework is then applied at the neighbourhood scale in Toronto, Canada, using hierarchical cluster analysis. The analysis used 27 spatially-explicit variables to quantify the ecosystem components in Toronto. Twelve ecosystem classes were identified in this UFEC application. Across the ecosystem classes, tree canopy cover was positively related to economic wealth, especially income. However, education levels and homeownership were occasionally inconsistent with the expected positive relationship with canopy cover. Open green space and stocking had variable relationships with economic wealth and were more closely related to population density, building intensity, and land use. The UFEC can provide ecosystem-based information for greening initiatives, tree planting, and the maintenance of the existing canopy. Moreover, its use has the potential to inform the prioritization of limited municipal resources according to ecological conditions and to concerns of social equity in the access to nature and distribution of ecosystem service supply. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Undergraduate Research in Earth Science Classes: Engaging Students in the First Two Years
Mogk, D. W.; Wysession, M. E.; Beauregard, A.; Reinen, L. A.; Surpless, K.; O'Connell, K.; McDaris, J. R.
2014-12-01
The recent PCAST report (2012), Engage to Excel, calls for a major shift in instructional modes in introductory (geo)science courses by "replacing standard laboratory courses with discovery-based research courses". An increased emphasis is recommended to engage students in experiments with the possibility of true discovery and expanded use of scientific research courses in the first two years. To address this challenge, the On the Cutting Edge program convened a workshop of geoscience faculty to explore the many ways that true research experiences can be built into introductory geoscience courses. The workshop goals included: consideration of the opportunities, strategies and methods used to provide research experiences for students in lower division geoscience courses; examination of ways to develop students' "geoscience habits of mind" through participation in authentic research activities; exploration of ways that student research projects can be designed to contribute to public science literacy with applications to a range of issues facing humanity; and development of strategies to obtain funding for these research projects, to make these programs sustainable in departments and institutions, and to scale-up these programs so that all students may participate. Access to Earth data, information technology, lab and field-based instrumentation, and field experiences provide unprecedented opportunities for students to engage in authentic research at early stages in their careers. Early exposure to research experiences has proven to be effective in the recruitment of students to the geoscience disciplines, improved retention and persistence in degree programs, motivation for students to learn and increase self-efficacy, improved attitudes and values about science, and overall increased student success. Workshop outcomes include an online collection of tested research projects currently being used in geoscience classes, resources related to effective design
Geographical constraints are stronger than invasion patterns for European urban floras.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Carlo Ricotta
Full Text Available Understanding the mechanisms that affect invasion success of alien species is an important prerequisite for the effective management of present and future aliens. To gain insight into this matter we asked the following questions: Are the geographical patterns of species distributions in urban floras different for native compared with alien plant species? Does the introduction of alien species contribute to the homogenization of urban floras? We used a Mantel test on Jaccard dissimilarity matrices of 30 urban floras across the British Isles, Italy and central Europe to compare the spatial distribution of native species with four classes of alien species: archaeophytes, all neophytes, non-invasive neophytes, and invasive neophytes. Archaeophytes and neophytes are species that were introduced into Europe before and after 1500 AD, respectively. To analyze the homogenizing effect of alien species on the native urban floras, we tested for differences in the average dissimilarity of individual cities from their group centroid in ordination space. Our results show that the compositional patterns of native and alien species seem to respond to the same environmental drivers, such that all four classes of alien species were significantly related to native species across urban floras. In this framework, alien species may have an impact on biogeographic patterns of urban floras in ways that reflect their history of introduction and expansion: archaeophytes and invasive neophytes tended to homogenize, while non-invasive neophytes tended to differentiate urban floras.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Audrey Marco
2010-06-01
Full Text Available Biodiversity research in urban settings constitutes an interdisciplinary field combining both the natural and human sciences. A full understanding of the patterns and processes underlying the dynamic of biodiversity in urban ecosystems needs to include humans in models of ecological functioning. We focus on the planting practices of gardeners to identify the bottom-up and top-down human influences on the floral diversity of the Mediterranean gardens in an urbanizing rural zone. An initial ecological study of cultivated flora in 120 private gardens showing floristic pattern variations along an urbanization gradient was combined with a sociological survey. This survey aimed at collecting reasons for planting in gardens in connection with cultivated species. These reasons were classified into categories and analyzed according to the frequency of cultivated species within the entire gradient. Floristic heterogeneity in gardens, represented by the richness of uncommon species, is predominantly caused by social factors, particularly related to the practices and social networks of gardeners who tend to diversify the range of species that are planted. Floristic uniformity, defined by a high frequency of occurrence of plant species, results not only from social factors but also from natural factors that exert high pressure in the Mediterranean region. This "floristic norm" is also influenced by the urban context, which can modify the expression of natural and social factors and lead to differences in plant species compositions between housing density zones. More generally, these results stress the importance of considering both individual choices and city-level influences through an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the underlying processes that establish urban biodiversity patterns at a small scale.
Understanding urban inequality: a model based on existing theories and an empirical illustration.
Musterd, S.; Burgers, J.
2002-01-01
In the debate on urban inequality, Sassen's theory on social polarization and Wilson's theory on spatial mismatch have received much attention. Where Sassen highlights the decline of the middle classes, Wilson focuses on the upgrading of urban labour markets. In this article we argue that both
Trabalho e classes sociais Work and social classes
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Fernando Haddad
1997-10-01
Full Text Available Exposição, discussão e refutação das principais tentativas de atualizar a teoria marxista de classes e posterior reavaliação dessa teoria à luz da transformação da ciência em fator de produção e da possível perda de centralidade do trabalho no processo produtivo, tendo por base as interpretações lógicas da obra de Marx feitas por Ruy Fausto.Exposition, discussion and refutation of the main attempts of actualizing marxist class theory and a posterior reevaluation of this theory taking into account the transformation of Science into a factor of production and of the possible centrality-loss of work in the productive process, based on the logic interpretations of Marx's work made by Ruy Fausto.
Journal of Chemical Sciences | Indian Academy of Sciences
Indian Academy of Sciences (India)
Home; Journals; Journal of Chemical Sciences; Volume 125; Issue 3 ... F/cm2 for the high-frequency semicircle, while for the second semicircle the interface ... School of Urban Rail Transportation, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, China ...
Roshita, Airin; Schubert, Elizabeth; Whittaker, Maxine
2013-01-01
This study aims to explore the feeding practices in families of working and nonworking mothers with children (aged 12-36 months) of different nutritional status and types of domestic caregiver in Indonesian urban middle class families. It was designed as a qualitative multiple case study. Mothers and caregivers from 26 families were interviewed in depth, and caregivers were categorized as family and domestic-paid caregivers. The result suggested that offering formula milk to young children was a common practice, and there was a high recognition and familiarity toward a range of formula milk brands. Mothers reported challenges in encouraging their children to eat, and in some cases they appeared to lack knowledge on overcoming their child's feeding problem. The findings suggested the need to address the child feeding problems experienced by mothers in order to overcome the double burden of child nutrition in Indonesia.
The structural dynamics of social class.
Kraus, Michael W; Park, Jun Won
2017-12-01
Individual agency accounts of social class persist in society and even in psychological science despite clear evidence for the role of social structures. This article argues that social class is defined by the structural dynamics of society. Specifically, access to powerful networks, groups, and institutions, and inequalities in wealth and other economic resources shape proximal social environments that influence how individuals express their internal states and motivations. An account of social class that highlights the means by which structures shape and are shaped by individuals guides our understanding of how people move up or down in the social class hierarchy, and provides a framework for interpreting neuroscience studies, experimental paradigms, and approaches that attempt to intervene on social class disparities. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Parker, Lesley H.; Rennie, Léonie J.
2002-09-01
Debate continues over the benefits, or otherwise, of single-sex classes in science and mathematics, particularly for the performance of girls. Previous research and analyses of the circumstances surrounding the implementation of single-sex classes warn that the success of the strategy requires due consideration of the nature of the instructional environment for both boys and girls, together with appropriate support for the teachers involved. This article reports the circumstances under which teachers were able to implement gender-inclusive strategies in single-sex science classes in coeducational high schools and documents some of the difficulties faced. The study was part of the Single-Sex Education Pilot Project (SSEPP) in ten high schools in rural and urban Western Australia. Qualitative and quantitative data were gathered during the project from teachers, students and classroom observations. Overall, it was apparent that single-sex grouping created environments in which teachers could implement gender-inclusive science instructional strategies more readily and effectively than in mixed-sex settings. Teachers were able to address some of the apparent shortcomings of the students' previous education (specifically, the poor written and oral communication of boys and the limited experience of girls with 'hands-on' activities and open-ended problem solving). Further, in same-sex classrooms, sexual harassment which inhibited girls' learning was eliminated. The extent to which teachers were successful in implementing gender-inclusive instructional strategies, however, depended upon their prior commitment to the SSEPP as a whole, and upon the support or obstacles encountered from a variety of sources, including parents, the community, students, and non-SSEPP teachers.
Urban hydrogeology in Indonesia: A highlight from Jakarta
Lubis, R. F.
2018-02-01
In many cities in the developing countries, groundwater is an important source of public water supply. The interaction between groundwater systems and urban environments has become an urgent challenge for many developing cities in the world, Indonesia included. Contributing factors are, but not limited to, the continuous horizontal and vertical expansion of cities, population growth, climate change, water scarcity and groundwater quality degradation. Jakarta as the capital city of Indonesia becomes a good example to study and implement urban hydrogeology. Urban hydrogeology is a science for investigating groundwater at the hydrological cycle and its change, water regime and quality within the urbanized landscape and zones of its impact. The present paper provides a review of urban groundwater studies in Jakarta in the context of urban water management, advances in hydrogeological investigation, monitoring and modelling since the city was established. The whole study emphasizes the necessity of an integrated urban groundwater management and development supporting hydrogeological techniques for urban areas.
Urban heat island research from 1991 to 2015: a bibliometric analysis
Huang, Qunfang; Lu, Yuqi
2018-02-01
A bibliometric analysis based on the Science Citation Index-Expanded (SCI-Expanded) database from the Web of Science was performed to review urban heat island (UHI) research from 1991 to 2015 and statistically assess its developments, trends, and directions. In total, 1822 papers published in 352 journals over the past 25 years were analyzed for scientific output; citations; subject categories; major journals; outstanding keywords; and leading countries, institutions, authors, and research collaborations. The number of UHI-related publications has continuously increased since 1991. Meteorology atmospheric sciences, environmental sciences, and construction building technology were the three most frequent subject categories. Building and Environment, International Journal of Climatology, and Theoretical and Applied Climatology were the three most popular publishing journals. The USA and China were the two leading countries in UHI research, contributing 49.56% of the total articles. Chinese Academy of Science, Arizona State University, and China Meteorological Administration published the most UHI articles. Weng QH and Santamouris M were the two most prolific authors. Author keywords were classified into four major groups: (1) research methods and indicators, e.g., remote sensing, field measurement, and models; (2) generation factors, e.g., impervious urban surfaces, urban geometry, waste heat, vegetation, and pollutants; (3) environmental effects, e.g., urban climate, heat wave, ecology, and pollution; and (4) mitigation and adaption strategies, e.g., roof technology cooling, reflective cooling, vegetation cooling, and urban geometry cooling. A comparative analysis of popular issues revealed that UHI determination (intensity, heat source, supporting techniques) remains the central topic, whereas UHI impacts and mitigation strategies are becoming the popular issues that will receive increasing scientific attention in the future. Modeling will continue to be the
Urban factor in chronic bronchitis
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Holland, W W; Reid, D D
1965-01-01
A questionnaire and lung function survey were conducted of groups of van drivers employed either in central London or in 3 rural English towns. Consistent with similar studies, urban/rural respiratory morbidity gap was prominent, even after accounting for smoking, socio-economic class, physique, and occupation. Other major variable was air pollution. Smoking exacerbated symptoms. Londoners had lower peak flow rate, lower FEV/sub 1/ /sub 0/, greater incidence of symptoms of chronic bronchitis, greater proportion of purulent sputum, and greater incidence of cough. Differences accentuated in men aged 50 and older. Differences in some variables between urban and rural areas (e.g., cough) show little effect of air pollution on non-smokers.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jungjoon Ihm
2017-06-01
Full Text Available Purpose This study explores how to design a flipped classroom for a predental science course and evaluate its course through student self-assessment in order to provide practical implications for flipped learning in an undergraduate level. Methods Second- and third-year predental students in the Seoul National University School of Dentistry enrolled in Biodiversity and Global Environment, a 15-week, three-credit course based on a flipped learning model. At the end of the course, the students were asked to rate their self-directed learning, attitude toward social media, discussion skills, learning readiness, and class satisfaction. Out of the 82 predental students, 61 (74.3% answered the survey. Pearson correlation and multivariate regression analyses were employed to examine the relationship between the self-rated measurements and the performance scores. Results The majority of the students felt somewhat more prepared than the medium level before the class (mean score of 3.17 out of 5.00, whereas they expressed relatively low preference concerning social media use and attitude (mean score of 2.49. Thus, it was found that learning readiness was significantly associated with both discussion skills and class satisfaction. In particular, multivariate regression analysis confirmed that learning readiness had a significant influence on learning outcomes. Conclusion This study offered insights into how to design a flipped learning course in terms of predental students’ preference and their learning readiness. Although learning success in a flipped classroom depends on the students’ self-perceived level of preparedness, much still remains to be achieved in order to apply social media benefits in a flipped learning context.
Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Districts - MDC_TargetUrbanAreaCorridor
NSGIC Local Govt | GIS Inventory — A polygon feature class of Miami-Dade County, Targeted Urban Area Corridors. This coverage was created for the Office of Community & Economic Development (OCED)...
Preferences, benefits, and park visits: a latent class segmentation analysis
Kemperman, A.D.A.M.; Timmermans, H.J.P.
2006-01-01
This study describes and predicts segments of urban park visitors to support park planning and policy making. A latent class analysis is used to identify segments of park users who differ regarding their preferences for park characteristics, benefits sought in park visits, and sociodemographics.
Oktarina, K.; Lufri, L.; Chatri, M.
2018-04-01
Referring to primary data collected through observation and interview to natural science teachers and some students, it is found that there is no natural science teaching materials in the form of learning modules that can make learners learn independently, build their own knowledge, and construct good character in themselves. In order to address this problem, then it is developed natural science learning module oriented to constructivism with the contain of character education. The purpose of this study is to reconstruct valid module of natural science learning materials. This type of research is a development research using the Plomp model. The development phase of the Plomp model consists of 3 stages, namely 1) preliminary research phase, 2) development or prototyping phase, and 3) assessment phase. The result of the study shows that natural science learning module oriented to constructivism with the contain of character education for students class VIII of Yunior High School 11 Sungai Penuh is valid. In future work, practicality and effectiveness will be investigated.
McGee, Steven; Nutakki, Nivedita
2017-01-01
Urban school districts face a dilemma in providing professional development support for teachers in transition to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Districts need to maximize the quality and amount of professional development within practical funding constraints. In this paper, we discuss preliminary results from a…
Understanding the experiences of a group of Yemeni students in an ESL science class
Fradi, Gihan
American classrooms are experiencing an influx of diverse language speaking students while for science educators the study of EBL students' learning in science classrooms is a relatively new field (Lee & Buxton, 2010). At the same time there is a growing emphasis on the importance of science practices (NGSS). This poses significant challenges for science educators who are enacting science curriculum that supports all students' learning. Supporting EBL students' academic achievement is significant because literacy is important for students' access to economic and social benefits that come with science literacy (Atwater, 1996). The purpose of this study was to examine the socio-linguistic challenges that a specific group of EBL students (Yemeni) faced and the extent to which such challenges affected their academic performance in science. These challenges are related to linguistic and cultural interactions, which can lead to conflicts between student and school, thereby interfering with the effectiveness of their education. This study also examined these students' and their science teacher's perspectives on strategies that can be used to facilitate their language acquisition during science class and help them become active participants in the school and classroom communities. The study used a qualitative interpretive research methodology and involved four Arab-American EBL students (two males and two females) from Yemen, who had been in the US for different periods of time. The amount of time these students had been in the US was important to examine differences in their acculturation and challenges they faced. Similarly, the use of female and male student participants was important to understand the impact of gender in the lived experiences of these students. The results of the study indicated that all the participants struggled with linguistic, social, and cultural aspects of their life in an American high school. These in turn led to a sense of being different
Towards Science for Democratic Sustainable Development
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Mortensen, Jonas Egmose
residents, sustainability resear- chers and practitioners in deliberating on how future research can meet societal challenges of urban sustainability. Based on the research project Citizen Science for Sustainability (SuScit) I analyse how orientations towards sustainability can be understood and challenged...... of urban everyday life, confronting academic concepts of sustainability. This process not at least calls for reflexivity among researchers facing the challenge how science can further sustainability through community engagement. To conceptualise this dynamic I propose the concept of creation and doubling...
Reading Urban Environment by Photo: A Critical Tool for Socio ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Reading Urban Environment by Photo: A Critical Tool for Socio-Cultural Analyzing. ... Science, Technology and Arts Research Journal ... In the last decades usage of photos in landscape and urban design grow noticeably; yet applying it in architectural research or education for discovering social determinations needs more ...
Urban Elementary Single-Sex Math Classrooms: Mitigating Stereotype Threat for African American Girls
Bowe, Anica G.; Desjardins, Christopher D.; Covington Clarkson, Lesa M.; Lawrenz, Frances
2017-01-01
This study utilized a mixed-methods approach to holistically examine single-sex and coeducational urban elementary mathematics classes through situated cognitive theory. Participants came from two urban low-income Midwestern elementary schools with a high representation of minority students (n = 77 sixth graders, n = 4 teachers, n = 2 principals).…
Asian Urban Environment and Climate Change: Preface.
Hunt, Julian; Wu, Jianping
2017-09-01
The Asian Network on Climate Science and Technology (www.ancst.org), in collaboration with Tsinghua University, held a conference on environmental and climate science, air pollution, urban planning and transportation in July 2015, with over 40 Asian experts participating and presentation. This was followed by a meeting with local government and community experts on the practical conclusions of the conference. Of the papers presented at the conference a selection are included in this special issue of Journal of Environmental Science, which also reflects the conclusions of the Paris Climate meeting in Dec 2015, when the major nations of the world agreed about the compelling need to reduce the upward trend of adverse impacts associated with global climate change. Now is the time for urban areas to work out the serious consequences for their populations, but also how they should work together to take action to reduce global warming to benefit their own communities and also the whole planet! Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Integrating science into governance and management of coastal areas at urban scale
CSIR Research Space (South Africa)
Celliers, Louis
2012-10-01
Full Text Available and development planning (CSDP) is no longer an option but a necessity. Current legislation devolves many fine scale planning and management functions within coastal urban centres to local authorities, including land-use and urban and economic development... into governance and management of coastal areas at urban scale L CELLIERS, S TALJAARD AND R VAN BALLEGOOYEN CSIR, PO Box 395, Pretoria, South Africa, 0001 Email: lcelliers@csir.co.za ? www.csir.co.za BACKGROUND With burgeoning demand for coastal space...
Journal of Earth System Science | Indian Academy of Sciences
Indian Academy of Sciences (India)
Home; Journals; Journal of Earth System Science; Volume 122; Issue 4 ... in urban rivers using multivariate analysis: Implications for river management ... in the post-monsoon and pre-monsoon seasons during the time period 2008–2010.
Journal of Earth System Science | Indian Academy of Sciences
Indian Academy of Sciences (India)
Home; Journals; Journal of Earth System Science; Volume 125; Issue 5 ... ozone concentrations in the east of Croatia using nonparametric Neural Network Models ... to develop, for the first time, accurate ozone prediction models, onefor urban ...
Chung, Duk Ho; Park, Kyeong-Jin; Cho, Kyu Seong
2016-04-01
We investigated the cognitive frame of high school students and inservice high school science teachers about effective teaching method, and we also explored how they understood about the teaching methods suggested by the 2009 revised Science Curriculum. Data were collected from 275 high school science teachers and 275 high school students. We analyzed data in terms of the words and the cognitive frame using the Semantic Network Analysis. The results were as follows. First, the teachers perceived that an activity oriented class was the effective science class that helped improve students'' problem-solving abilities and their inquiry skills. The students had the cognitive frame that their teacher had to present relevant and enough teaching materials to students, and that they should also receive assistance from teachers in science class to better prepare for college entrance exam. Second, both students and teachers retained the cognitive frame about the efficient science class that was not reflected 2009 revised Science Curriculum exactly. Especially, neither groups connected the elements of ''convergence'' as well as ''integration'' embedded across science subject areas to their cognitive frame nor cognized the fact that many science learning contents were closed related to one another. Therefore, various professional development opportunities should be offered so that teachers succinctly comprehend the essential features and the intents of the 2009 revised Science Curriculum and thereby implement it in their science lessons effectively. Keywords : semantic network analysis, cognitive frame, teaching method, science lesson
Mullinnix, Debra Lynn
An assessment of the science education programs of the last thirty years reveals traditional science courses are producing student who have negative attitudes toward science, do not compete successfully in international science and mathematics competitions, are not scientifically literate, and are not interested in pursuing higher-level science courses. When the number of intellectually-capable females that fall into this group is considered, the picture is very disturbing. Berryman (1983) and Kahle (1985) have suggested the importance of attitude both, in terms of achievement in science and intention to pursue high-level science courses. Studies of attitudes toward science reveal that the decline in attitudes during grades four through eight was much more dramatic for females than for males. There exists a need, therefore, to explore alternative methods of teaching science, particularly in the middle school, that would increase scientific literacy, improve attitudes toward science, and encourage participation in higher-level science courses of female students. Yager (1996) has suggested that science-technology-society (STS) issue instruction does make significant changes in students' attitudes toward science, stimulates growth in science process skills, and increases concept mastery. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect STS issue instruction had on the attitudes of female middle school students toward science in comparison to female middle school students who experience traditional science instruction. Another purpose was to examine the effect science-technology-society issue instruction had on the attitudes of female middle school students in comparison to male middle school students. The pretests and the posttests were analyzed to examine differences in ten domains: enjoyment of science class; usefulness of information learned in science class; usefulness of science skills; feelings about science class in general; attitudes about what took place
Zahur, Rubina; Calabrese Barton, Angela; Upadhyay, Bhaskar Raj
2002-09-01
In this manuscript we focus on the question, 'What should be the purpose of science education for children of the very poor class in caste-oriented developing countries such as Pakistan?' In other words, in a country where the literacy rate hovers around 10 per cent for the poorest segment of society and where there is no expectation that children will complete primary school, of what importance is primary science education and to what end should it be offered in schools? We begin a conversation around this question by presenting, in this manuscript, a case study of one teacher educator whose beliefs and practices sharply deviate from the norm - she believes science education ought to be about empowering students to make physical and political changes in their community. In particular, using the rich, contextual interview and observational data generated through case study, we show how Haleema's (pseudonym) orientation to science teacher education are buttressed by three fundamental beliefs: that low levels of literacy and school achievement among poor children have as much to do with poor families' lack of power/influence on the purposes and processes of schooling as it has to do with opportunities and resources; that school science can begin to address inequalities in power by fostering a kind of scientific literacy among children that leads to individual and community empowerment around health and environmental issues, the very science-related issues that divide quality of life and opportunity for poor families; and that teacher education programmes can play a role in transforming a society's views about how science and scientific practices might play a role in bringing communities together to effect change for the better.
Urban Typologies: Towards an ORNL Urban Information System (UrbIS)
KC, B.; King, A. W.; Sorokine, A.; Crow, M. C.; Devarakonda, R.; Hilbert, N. L.; Karthik, R.; Patlolla, D.; Surendran Nair, S.
2016-12-01
Urban environments differ in a large number of key attributes; these include infrastructure, morphology, demography, and economic and social variables, among others. These attributes determine many urban properties such as energy and water consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, air quality, public health, sustainability, and vulnerability and resilience to climate change. Characterization of urban environments by a single property such as population size does not sufficiently capture this complexity. In addressing this multivariate complexity one typically faces such problems as disparate and scattered data, challenges of big data management, spatial searching, insufficient computational capacity for data-driven analysis and modelling, and the lack of tools to quickly visualize the data and compare the analytical results across different cities and regions. We have begun the development of an Urban Information System (UrbIS) to address these issues, one that embraces the multivariate "big data" of urban areas and their environments across the United States utilizing the Big Data as a Service (BDaaS) concept. With technological roots in High-performance Computing (HPC), BDaaS is based on the idea of outsourcing computations to different computing paradigms, scalable to super-computers. UrbIS aims to incorporate federated metadata search, integrated modeling and analysis, and geovisualization into a single seamless workflow. The system includes web-based 2D/3D visualization with an iGlobe interface, fast cloud-based and server-side data processing and analysis, and a metadata search engine based on the Mercury data search system developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Results of analyses will be made available through web services. We are implementing UrbIS in ORNL's Compute and Data Environment for Science (CADES) and are leveraging ORNL experience in complex data and geospatial projects. The development of UrbIS is being guided by an investigation of
Regional urban area extraction using DMSP-OLS data and MODIS data
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Zhang, X Y; Cai, C; Li, P J
2014-01-01
Stable night lights data from Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Operational Line-scan System (OLS) provide a unique proxy for anthropogenic development. This paper proposed two new methods of extracting regional urban extents using DMSP-OLS data, MODIS NDVI data and Land Surface Temperature (LST) data. MODIS NDVI data were used to reduce the over-glow effect, since urban areas generally have lower vegetation index values than the surrounding areas (e.g. agricultural and forest areas). On the other hand, urban areas generally show higher surface temperatures than the surrounding areas. Since urban area is the only class of interest, a one-class classifier, the One-Class Support Vector Machine (OCSVM), was selected as the classifier. The first method is classification of different data combinations for mapping: (1) OLS data and NDVI data, (2) OLS data and LST data, and (3) OLS data, NDVI data and LST data combined. The second one is a morphological reconstruction based method which combines classification results from OLS plus NDVI data and from OLS plus LST data. In the morphological reconstruction based method, the classification result using OLS and NDVI data was used as a mask image, while the classification result using OLS and LST data was used as a marker image. The north China area covering 14 provinces was selected as study area. Classification results from Landsat TM/ETM+ data from selected areas with different development levels were used as reference data to validate the proposed methods. The results show that the proposed methods effectively reduced the over-glow effect caused by DSMP-OLS data and achieved better results compared to the results from the traditional thresholding technique. The combination of all three datasets produces more accurate results than those of using any two datasets. The proposed morphological reconstruction based method achieves the best result in urban extent mapping
Henry, Kesha Atasha
This study explored the preparation of students for higher education and careers in agriculturally-related fields at an urban charter high school. The data were collected through interviews, observations, and field notes. The data were analyzed by qualitative methodology with phenomenology as the theoretical framework. Findings indicated that administrators thought it was important to incorporate agricultural science courses into urban school curricula. They stated that agricultural science courses gave urban students a different way of looking at science and helped to enhance the science and technology focus of the school. Further, agricultural science courses helped to break urban students' stereotypes about agriculture and helped to bring in more state funding for educational programs. However they thought that it was more challenging to teach agricultural science in urban versus rural schools and they focused more on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) related careers. The students had mixed views about higher education and careers in agriculture. This was based on their limited knowledge and stereotypes about agricultural majors and career options. The students highlighted several key reasons why they chose to enroll in agricultural science courses. This included the benefits of dual science credits and the ability to earn an associate degree upon successful completion of their program. Students also loved science and appreciated the science intensive nature of the agricultural courses. Additionally, they thought that the agricultural science courses were better than the other optional courses. The results also showed that electronic media such as radio and TV had a negative impact on students' perceptions about higher education and careers in agriculturally-related fields. Conclusions and recommendations are presented.
Exploration and practice in-class practice teaching mode
Zang, Xue-Ping; Wu, Wei-Feng
2017-08-01
According to the opto-electronic information science and engineering professional course characteristics and cultivate students' learning initiative, raised the teaching of photoelectric professional course introduce In-class practice teaching mode. By designing different In-class practice teaching content, the students' learning interest and learning initiative are improved, deepen students' understanding of course content and enhanced students' team cooperation ability. In-class practice teaching mode in the course of the opto-electronic professional teaching practice, the teaching effect is remarkable.
Sloan, H.; Drantch, K.; Steenhuis, J.
2006-12-01
We present an NSF-funded collaborative formal-informal partnership for urban Earth science teacher preparation and professional development. This model brings together The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) and Brooklyn and Lehman College of the City University of New York (CUNY) to address science-impoverished classrooms that lack highly qualified teachers by focusing on Earth science teacher certification. Project design was based on identified needs in the local communities and schools, careful analysis of content knowledge mastery required for Earth science teacher certification, and existing impediments to certification. The problem-based approach required partners to push policy envelopes and to invent new ways of articulating content and pedagogy at both intra- and inter-institutional levels. One key element of the project is involvement of the local board of education, teachers, and administrators in initial design and ongoing assessment. Project components include formal Earth systems science courses, a summer institute primarily led and delivered by AMNH scientists through an informal series of lectures coupled to workshops led by AMNH educators, a mechanism for assigning course credit for informal experiences, development of new teaching approaches that include teacher action plans and an external program of evaluation. The principal research strand of this project focuses on the resulting model for formal-informal teacher education partnership, the project's impact on participating teachers, policy issues surrounding the model and the changes required for its development and implementation, and its potential for Earth science education reform. As the grant funded portion of the project draws to a close we begin to analyze data collected over the past 3 years. Third-year findings of the project's external evaluation indicate that the problem-based approach has been highly successful, particularly its impact on participating teachers. In addition
Active Learning in Large Classes
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Gørtz, Inge Li
2011-01-01
teaching large classes (more than 50 students), and describe how we successfully have in a second semester course in the Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) and Bachelor of Science Engineering (BSc Eng) program at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). Approximately 200 students is attending...
cloudland, stronzoland, brisbane: urban development and ethnic ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
User
'overgrown country town', is less publicised and less romanticised and thus less familiar to the ..... society) but he cannot prevent its slow disintegration through class mobility and ... fast-paced world of sleeping during the day and partying through the night, of an urban .... Nedlands: The University of Western. Australia: 71-84.
When Science Studies Religion: Six Philosophy Lessons for Science Classes
Pigliucci, Massimo
2013-01-01
It is an unfortunate fact of academic life that there is a sharp divide between science and philosophy, with scientists often being openly dismissive of philosophy, and philosophers being equally contemptuous of the naivete of scientists when it comes to the philosophical underpinnings of their own discipline. In this paper I explore the…
Wilson, Kimi Leemar
experiences impact mathematics-science identity development. The goal of the study seeks to inform educational, psychological and sociological theory about how urban adolescent African American males understand, develop and make use of their mathematics and science knowledge. Finally, this work seeks to inform mathematics and science educational research to include identity theory, beyond a personal or individual identity perspective, but also to include relational, collective, and material identity components to understand how the culture of mathematics and science within and outside of K-12 public schooling impacts African American males in an endeavor to become learners of mathematics and science.
An Exploratory Analysis of Student-Community Interactions in Urban Agriculture
Grossman, Julie; Sherard, Maximilian; Prohn, Seb M.; Bradley, Lucy; Goodell, L. Suzanne; Andrew, Katherine
2012-01-01
Urban agriculture initiatives are on the rise, providing healthy food while teaching a land ethic to youth. In parallel, increasing numbers of university graduates are obtaining Extension work requiring the effective communication of science in a diverse, urban, low-income setting. This study evaluates a pilot service-learning program, the…
[Applicability of traditional landscape metrics in evaluating urban heat island effect].
Chen, Ai-Lian; Sun, Ran-Hao; Chen, Li-Ding
2012-08-01
By using 24 landscape metrics, this paper evaluated the urban heat island effect in parts of Beijing downtown area. QuickBird (QB) images were used to extract the landscape type information, and the thermal bands from Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) images were used to extract the land surface temperature (LST) in four seasons of the same year. The 24 landscape pattern metrics were calculated at landscape and class levels in a fixed window with 120 mx 120 m in size, with the applicability of these traditional landscape metrics in evaluating the urban heat island effect examined. Among the 24 landscape metrics, only the percentage composition of landscape (PLAND), patch density (PD), largest patch index (LPI), coefficient of Euclidean nearest-neighbor distance variance (ENN_CV), and landscape division index (DIVISION) at landscape level were significantly correlated with the LST in March, May, and November, and the PLAND, LPI, DIVISION, percentage of like adjacencies, and interspersion and juxtaposition index at class level showed significant correlations with the LST in March, May, July, and December, especially in July. Some metrics such as PD, edge density, clumpiness index, patch cohesion index, effective mesh size, splitting index, aggregation index, and normalized landscape shape index showed varying correlations with the LST at different class levels. The traditional landscape metrics could not be appropriate in evaluating the effects of river on LST, while some of the metrics could be useful in characterizing urban LST and analyzing the urban heat island effect, but screening and examining should be made on the metrics.
Urbanization and traffic related exposures as risk factors for Schizophrenia
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Pedersen, Carsten Bøcker; Mortensen, Preben Bo
2006-01-01
to nearest major road had no significant effect. CONCLUSIONS: The cause(s) or exposure(s) responsible for the urban-rural differences in schizophrenia risk were closer related to the degree of urbanization than to the geographical distance to nearest major road. Traffic related exposures might thus be less......BACKGROUND: Urban birth or upbringing increase schizophrenia risk. Though unknown, the causes of these urban-rural differences have been hypothesized to include, e.g., infections, diet, toxic exposures, social class, or an artefact due to selective migration. METHODS: We investigated the hypothesis...... that traffic related exposures affect schizophrenia risk and that this potential effect is responsible for the urban-rural differences. The geographical distance from place of residence to nearest major road was used as a proxy variable for traffic related exposures. We used a large population-based sample...
Using Science Fiction Movie Scenes to Support Critical Analysis of Science
Barnett, Michael; Kafka, Alan
2007-01-01
This paper discusses pedagogical advantages and challenges of using science-fiction movies and television shows in an introductory science class for elementary teachers. The authors describe two instructional episodes in which scenes from the movies "Red Planet" and "The Core" were used to engage students in critiquing science as presented in…
He, Lihuang; Dong, Guihua; Wang, Wei-Min; Yang, Lijun; Liang, Hong
2013-10-01
China, the most populous country on Earth, has experienced rapid urbanization which is one of the main causes of many environmental and ecological problems. Therefore, the monitoring of rapid urbanization regions and the environment is of critical importance for their sustainable development. In this study, the object-based classification is employed to detect the change of land cover in Shenzhen, which is located in South China and has been urbanized rapidly in recent three decades. First, four Landsat TM images, which were acquired on 1990, 2000 and 2010, respectively, are selected from the image database. Atmospheric corrections are conducted on these images with improved dark-object subtraction technique and surface meteorological observations. Geometric correction is processed with ground control points derived from topographic maps. Second, a region growing multi-resolution segmentation and a soft nearest neighbour classifier are used to finish object-based classification. After analyzing the fraction of difference classes over time series, we conclude that the comparison of derived land cover classes with socio-economic statistics demonstrates the strong positive correlation between built-up classes and urban population as well as gross GDP and GDPs in second and tertiary industries. Two different mechanisms of urbanization, namely new land development and redevelopment, are revealed. Consequently, we found that, the districts of Shenzhen were urbanized through different mechanisms.
Upadhyay, Bhaskar; DeFranco, Cristina
2008-01-01
This study compares 3rd-grade elementary students' gain and retention of science vocabulary over time in two different classes--"connected science instruction" versus "direct instruction." Data analysis yielded that students who received connected science instruction showed less gain in science knowledge in the short term compared to students who…
How Information Literate Are Junior and Senior Class Biology Students?
Schiffl, Iris
2018-03-01
Information literacy—i.e. obtaining, evaluating and using information—is a key element of scientific literacy. However, students are frequently equipped with poor information literacy skills—even at university level—as information literacy is often not explicitly taught in schools. Little is known about students' information skills in science at junior and senior class level, and about teachers' competences in dealing with information literacy in science class. This study examines the information literacy of Austrian 8th, 10th and 12th grade students. Information literacy is important for science education in Austria, because it is listed as a basic competence in Austria's science standards. Two different aspects of information literacy are examined: obtaining information and extracting information from texts. An additional research focus of this study is teachers' competences in diagnosing information skills. The results reveal that students mostly rely on online sources for obtaining information. However, they also use books and consult with people they trust. The younger the students, the more they rely on personal sources. Students' abilities to evaluate sources are poor, especially among younger students. Although teachers claim to use information research in class, their ability to assess their students' information competences is limited.
Krebs, Justin M.; Bell, Susan S.; McIvor, Carole C.
2014-01-01
To assess the potential influence of coastal development on habitat quality for estuarine nekton, we characterized body condition and reproduction for common nekton from tidal tributaries classified as undeveloped, industrial, urban or man-made (i.e., mosquito-control ditches). We then evaluated these metrics of nekton performance, along with several abundance-based metrics and community structure from a companion paper (Krebs et al. 2013) to determine which metrics best reflected variation in land-use and in-stream habitat among tributaries. Body condition was not significantly different among undeveloped, industrial, and man-made tidal tributaries for six of nine taxa; however, three of those taxa were in significantly better condition in urban compared to undeveloped tributaries. Palaemonetes shrimp were the only taxon in significantly poorer condition in urban tributaries. For Poecilia latipinna, there was no difference in body condition (length–weight) between undeveloped and urban tributaries, but energetic condition was significantly better in urban tributaries. Reproductive output was reduced for both P. latipinna (i.e., fecundity) and grass shrimp (i.e., very low densities, few ovigerous females) in urban tributaries; however a tradeoff between fecundity and offspring size confounded meaningful interpretation of reproduction among land-use classes for P. latipinna. Reproductive allotment by P. latipinna did not differ significantly among land-use classes. Canonical correspondence analysis differentiated urban and non-urban tributaries based on greater impervious surface, less natural mangrove shoreline, higher frequency of hypoxia and lower, more variable salinities in urban tributaries. These characteristics explained 36 % of the variation in nekton performance, including high densities of poeciliid fishes, greater energetic condition of sailfin mollies, and low densities of several common nekton and economically important taxa from urban tributaries
Inventory and change detection of urban land cover in Illinois using Landsat Thematic Mapper data
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Cook, E.A.; Iverson, L.R.
1991-01-01
In order to provide information about urban forests and other vegetative land cover in Illinois cities, Landsat TM data from June 17, 1988, were classified for the Chicago metropolitan region and five urban areas of central Illinois. Ten land cover classes were identified, including three types of forestland, cropland, two grassland categories, two urban classes, water, and miscellaneous vegetation. The cities inventoried have a significantly higher proportion of forests and forested residential areas than the surrounding rural areas because of preservation measures and accruement of tree cover from landscaping. Short-term change in land cover for the Chicago region was also assessed by postclassification comparison of the 1988 data with similarly derived data from a June 3, 1985, TM scene. The largest single category of change in the six-county area was cropland to urban land use. A majority of cover loss was conversion of forested tracts to residential areas, and forest cover increase was negligible. 16 refs
Karakuyu, Yunus
2011-01-01
The purpose of this study is to determine the thoughts of primary science and technology teachers, primary class teachers, pre-service primary class teachers and pre-service primary science and technology teachers' about concept maps. This scale applied the use of basic and random method on the chosen 125 4th and 5th grade primary class teachers…
Computing Pathways for Urban Decarbonization.
Cremades, R.; Sommer, P.
2016-12-01
Urban areas emit roughly three quarters of global carbon emissions. Cities are crucial elements for a decarbonized society. Urban expansion and related transportation needs lead to increased energy use, and to carbon-intensive lock-ins that create barriers for climate change mitigation globally. The authors present the Integrated Urban Complexity (IUC) model, based on self-organizing Cellular Automata (CA), and use it to produce a new kind of spatially explicit Transformation Pathways for Urban Decarbonization (TPUD). IUC is based on statistical evidence relating the energy needed for transportation with the spatial distribution of population, specifically IUC incorporates variables from complexity science related to urban form, like the slope of the rank-size rule or spatial entropy, which brings IUC a step beyond existing models. The CA starts its evolution with real-world urban land use and population distribution data from the Global Human Settlement Layer. Thus, the IUC model runs over existing urban settlements, transforming the spatial distribution of population so the energy consumption for transportation is minimized. The statistical evidence that governs the evolution of the CA departs from the database of the International Association of Public Transport. A selected case is presented using Stuttgart (Germany) as an example. The results show how IUC varies urban density in those places where it improves the performance of crucial parameters related to urban form, producing a TPUD that shows where the spatial distribution of population should be modified with a degree of detail of 250 meters of cell size. The TPUD shows how the urban complex system evolves over time to minimize energy consumption for transportation. The resulting dynamics or urban decarbonization show decreased energy per capita, although total energy increases for increasing population. The results provide innovative insights: by checking current urban planning against a TPUD, urban
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Federico Tomasello
2016-12-01
Full Text Available The essay explores some of the processes through which the ‘working class’ emerged both as a collective subjectivity and as a field of social science inquiry and public policies in 19th century France. Starting from the 1831 Canuts revolt, widely recognized as the stepping stone of the European workers’ movement, the first part retraces the process of the ‘making’ of a social and political subjectivity by stressing the relevance of its linguistic and discursive dimension. The second part examines the emergence of the empiric method of the modern social sciences through new strategies of inquiry on urban misery, which progressively focuses on the ‘working class’ and on labour conditions as a field of knowledge, rights, and governmental practices.
Extraction of urban vegetation with Pleiades multiangular images
Lefebvre, Antoine; Nabucet, Jean; Corpetti, Thomas; Courty, Nicolas; Hubert-Moy, Laurence
2016-10-01
Vegetation is essential in urban environments since it provides significant services in terms of health, heat, property value, ecology ... As part of the European Union Biodiversity Strategy Plan for 2020, the protection and development of green-infrastructures is strengthened in urban areas. In order to evaluate and monitor the quality of the green infra-structures, this article investigates contributions of Pléiades multi-angular images to extract and characterize low and high urban vegetation. From such images one can extract both spectral and elevation information from optical images. Our method is composed of 3 main steps : (1) the computation of a normalized Digital Surface Model from the multi-angular images ; (2) Extraction of spectral and contextual features ; (3) a classification of vegetation classes (tree and grass) performed with a random forest classifier. Results performed in the city of Rennes in France show the ability of multi-angular images to extract DEM in urban area despite building height. It also highlights its importance and its complementarity with contextual information to extract urban vegetation.
Proceedings – Mathematical Sciences | Indian Academy of Sciences
Indian Academy of Sciences (India)
Home; Journals; Proceedings – Mathematical Sciences. A R Aithal. Articles written in Proceedings – Mathematical Sciences. Volume 115 Issue 1 February 2005 pp 93-102. On Two Functionals Connected to the Laplacian in a Class of Doubly Connected Domains in Space-Forms · M H C Anisa A R Aithal · More Details ...
Making Philosophy of Science Education Practical for Science Teachers
Janssen, F. J. J. M.; van Berkel, B.
2015-04-01
Philosophy of science education can play a vital role in the preparation and professional development of science teachers. In order to fulfill this role a philosophy of science education should be made practical for teachers. First, multiple and inherently incomplete philosophies on the teacher and teaching on what, how and why should be integrated. In this paper we describe our philosophy of science education (ASSET approach) which is composed of bounded rationalism as a guideline for understanding teachers' practical reasoning, liberal education underlying the why of teaching, scientific perspectivism as guideline for the what and educational social constructivism as guiding choices about the how of science education. Integration of multiple philosophies into a coherent philosophy of science education is necessary but not sufficient to make it practical for teachers. Philosophies are still formulated at a too abstract level to guide teachers' practical reasoning. For this purpose, a heuristic model must be developed on an intermediate level of abstraction that will provide teachers with a bridge between these abstract ideas and their specific teaching situation. We have developed and validated such a heuristic model, the CLASS model in order to complement our ASSET approach. We illustrate how science teachers use the ASSET approach and the CLASS model to make choices about the what, the how and the why of science teaching.
A citizen science based survey method for estimating the density of urban carnivores
Baker, Rowenna; Charman, Naomi; Karlsson, Heidi; Yarnell, Richard W.; Mill, Aileen C.; Smith, Graham C.; Tolhurst, Bryony A.
2018-01-01
Globally there are many examples of synanthropic carnivores exploiting growth in urbanisation. As carnivores can come into conflict with humans and are potential vectors of zoonotic disease, assessing densities in suburban areas and identifying factors that influence them are necessary to aid management and mitigation. However, fragmented, privately owned land restricts the use of conventional carnivore surveying techniques in these areas, requiring development of novel methods. We present a method that combines questionnaire distribution to residents with field surveys and GIS, to determine relative density of two urban carnivores in England, Great Britain. We determined the density of: red fox (Vulpes vulpes) social groups in 14, approximately 1km2 suburban areas in 8 different towns and cities; and Eurasian badger (Meles meles) social groups in three suburban areas of one city. Average relative fox group density (FGD) was 3.72 km-2, which was double the estimates for cities with resident foxes in the 1980’s. Density was comparable to an alternative estimate derived from trapping and GPS-tracking, indicating the validity of the method. However, FGD did not correlate with a national dataset based on fox sightings, indicating unreliability of the national data to determine actual densities or to extrapolate a national population estimate. Using species-specific clustering units that reflect social organisation, the method was additionally applied to suburban badgers to derive relative badger group density (BGD) for one city (Brighton, 2.41 km-2). We demonstrate that citizen science approaches can effectively obtain data to assess suburban carnivore density, however publicly derived national data sets need to be locally validated before extrapolations can be undertaken. The method we present for assessing densities of foxes and badgers in British towns and cities is also adaptable to other urban carnivores elsewhere. However this transferability is contingent on
1992-05-01
Urban centers are growing due to natural increase and the movement of people from rural areas. Urban areas are the traditional centers of trade, science, and culture, but growth over a threshold results in crime, congestion, and pollution. Sustainability is threatened in modern towns that are dependent on other sources for food, fuel, or water. Housing, water, food supplies, and sanitation, communication, and transportation services are threatened in rapidly growing cities. In 1990 45/100 people lived in towns or cities. Hyper-cities have grown in number to 20, of which 14 are in developing countries. 83% of world population increase is expected to occur in cities. In 48 countries with faster population growth cities had growth rates averaging about 6.1% per year, and the urban share of total population averaged 2.8%. In 49 countries with slower population growth, urban growth rates averaged only 3.6% per year, and the urban share of total population averaged about 1.8%. Squatter settlements are endemic to urban areas that are congested and without basic services, limited housing particularly for the poor, and few job opportunities. The number of street children in urban areas has risen. This child population is subjected to low wages, overwork, auto accidents, poor health, and lack of social services. Malnutrition is a more serious issue in urban areas. In the Philippines malnutrition is 3% nationally and 9% in Metro Manila. Rural land reform in the Philippines is no longer a viable solution. In Metro Manila squatters are expected to increase in number to 4 million people by the year 2000, which would be almost 50% of total population. The squatter areas are areas of neglect, decay, and poverty. Cities are viewed as development's "blind alleys."
ANALYTICAL AND SIMULATION PLANNING MODEL OF URBAN PASSENGER TRANSPORT
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Andrey Borisovich Nikolaev
2017-09-01
Full Text Available The article described the structure of the analytical and simulation models to make informed decisions in the planning of urban passenger transport. Designed UML diagram that describes the relationship of classes of the proposed model. A description of the main agents of the model developed in the simulation AnyLogic. Designed user interface integration with GIS map. Also provides simulation results that allow concluding about her health and the possibility of its use in solving planning problems of urban passenger transport.
Music Education and the Earth Sciences
Beauregard, J. L.
2011-12-01
Capturing the interest of non-science majors in science classes can be very difficult, no matter what type of science course it is. At Berklee College of Music, this challenge is especially daunting, as all students are majoring in some type of music program. To engage the Berklee students, I am trying to link the material in Earth science courses to music. The connection between Earth science and music is made in several different ways within the curriculum of each class, with the main connection via a final project. For their projects, students can use any creative outlet (or a standard presentation) to illustrate a point related to the course. Many students have chosen to compose original music and perform it for the class. Some examples of their work will be presented. These original compositions allow students to relate course material to their own lives. Additionally, since many of these students will enter professional careers in the performance and recording industries, the potential exists for them to expose large audiences to the issues of Earth sciences through music.
High resolution mapping of urban areas using SPOT-5 images and ancillary data
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Elif Sertel
2015-08-01
Full Text Available This research aims to propose new rule sets to be used for object based classification of SPOT-5 images to accurately create detailed urban land cover/use maps. In addition to SPOT-5 satellite images, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI and Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI maps, cadastral maps, Openstreet maps, road maps and Land Cover maps, were also integrated into classification to increase the accuracy of resulting maps. Gaziantep city, one of the highly populated cities of Turkey with different landscape patterns was selected as the study area. Different rule sets involving spectral, spatial and geometric characteristics were developed to be used for object based classification of 2.5 m resolution Spot-5 satellite images to automatically create urban map of the region. Twenty different land cover/use classes obtained from European Urban Atlas project were applied and an automatic classification approach was suggested for high resolution urban map creation and updating. Integration of different types of data into the classification decision tree increased the performance and accuracy of the suggested approach. The accuracy assessment results illustrated that with the usage of newly proposed rule set algorithms in object-based classification, urban areas represented with seventeen different sub-classes could be mapped with 94 % or higher overall accuracy.
De Carvalho, Roussel
2016-06-01
Steven Vertovec (2006, 2007) has recently offered a re-interpretation of population diversity in large urban centres due to a considerable increase in immigration patterns in the UK. This complex scenario called superdiversity has been conceptualised to help illuminate significant interactions of variables such as religion, language, gender, age, nationality, labour market and population distribution on a larger scale. The interrelationships of these themes have fundamental implications in a variety of community environments, but especially within our schools. Today, London schools have over 300 languages being spoken by students, all of whom have diverse backgrounds, bringing with them a wealth of experience and, most critically, their own set of religious beliefs. At the same time, Science is a compulsory subject in England's national curriculum, where it requires teachers to deal with important scientific frameworks about the world; teaching about the origins of the universe, life on Earth, human evolution and other topics, which are often in conflict with students' religious views. In order to cope with this dynamic and thought-provoking environment, science initial teacher education (SITE)—especially those catering large urban centres—must evolve to equip science teachers with a meaningful understanding of how to handle a superdiverse science classroom, taking the discourse of inclusion beyond its formal boundaries. Thus, this original position paper addresses how the role of SITE may be re-conceptualised and re-framed in light of the immense challenges of superdiversity as well as how science teachers, as enactors of the science curriculum, must adapt to cater to these changes. This is also the first in a series of papers emerging from an empirical research project trying to capture science teacher educators' own views on religio-scientific issues and their positions on the place of these issues within science teacher education and the science classroom.
Barnett, Michael; Vaughn, Meredith Houle; Strauss, Eric; Cotter, Lindsey
2011-01-01
In this paper, we describe the outcomes of the first year of an intensive, urban ecology focused, summer program for urban high school youth. Students in our program conduct scientific investigations of their urban ecosystems while exploring potential career options in science and technology fields. In conducting their investigations, the students…
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Zhonghao Zhang
2016-08-01
Full Text Available Quantifying the landscape pattern change can effectively demonstrate the ecological progresses and the consequences of urbanization. Based on remotely sensed land cover data in 1994, 2000, 2006 and a gradient analysis with landscape metrics at landscape- and class- level, we attempted to characterize the individual and entire landscape patterns of Shanghai metropolitan during the rapid urbanization. We highlighted that a roadscape transect approach that combined the buffer zone method and the transect-based approach was introduced to describe the urban-rural patterns of agricultural, residential, green, industrial, and public facilities land along the railway route. Our results of landscape metrics showed significant spatiotemporal patterns and gradient variations along the transect. The urban growth pattern in two time spans conform to the hypothesis for diffusion–coalescence processes, implying that the railway is adaptive as a gradient element to analyze the landscape patterns with urbanization. As the natural landscape was replaced by urban landscape gradually, the desakota region expanded its extent widely. Suburb areas witnessed the continual transformation from the predominantly rural landscape to peri-urban landscape. Furthermore, the gap between urban and rural areas remained large especially in public service. More reasonable urban plans and land use policies should push to make more efforts to transition from the urban-rural separation to coordinated urban-rural development. This study is a meaningful trial in demonstrating a new form of urban–rural transects to study the landscape change of large cities. By combining gradient analysis with landscape metrics, we addressed the process of urbanization both spatially and temporally, and provided a more quantitative approach to urban studies.
Montoya, Bonnie
This quantitative study is an examination of personal and professional factors that contribute to science teachers continuing to teach science in an urban area in South Texas despite the growing demands of the profession. This study examines why teachers in general leave the profession but focuses on what factors influenced these teachers to stay. Personal retention factors measured included being an effective teacher and positive rapport with students. Professional retention factors included administrative support and adequate time to meet professional obligations. There are 149 secondary science teachers in this large urban school district. Data was gathered from 109 of these educators to analyze factors personal and professional factors in regards to why these teachers remain in the field. For the purposes of this study a secondary science teacher will be any teacher who teaches science in grades 6-12, which is considered middle (6 through 8) and high school (9 through 12) in this area. The data for this quantitative study was collected by a paper survey (N=109) that was distributed at a professional learning session at the beginning of the school year. A Principal Component Analysis was run followed by three multiple regression analyses of the pertinent components to determine if there is any relationship between the demographics of the participants and personal and professional factors that cause these teachers to remain in the field. The results of this study will contribute to the literature regarding teacher education and theory that examines teacher practice affecting change. The results showed that professional factors like the amount of resources and the quality of those resources to assist teachers with job efficacy mattered as much as the personal factors such as positive teaching experience and an intrinsic sense of being an effective educator. Further implications of this study include an exploration of Generalist certifications at the middle grades
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Kamil Śmiechowski
2014-01-01
Full Text Available The main argument of this paper states that the Revolution of 1905, which established the era of modern politics in Central and Eastern Europe, was also an important landmark for the cities in the Kingdom of Poland. The rapid urbanisation and industrialisation of the Kingdom of Poland after the January Uprising brought irreversible change to the country’s social structure. New agents like the proletariat and the intelligentsia appeared in the urban space. As a result, urban contexts during the Revolution of 1905 were much more important in Russian Poland than in the Interior of the Russian Empire. A conflict arose between groups supporting different visions for the cities: traditional, moderately progressive and radical. Actually, the urban discourse of 1905 was a dispute about the scope of urban democracy. With reference to manifestos or projects for legal acts, as well as articles or reports from Warsaw’s national journals and the local press from Lodz, I examine changes in the Kingdom’s urban discourse—from criticism of the existing administration (the so-called Magistrats to demands for introducing the modern system of self-governance. Urban discourse tells us a lot about the Polish middle-class and its ideological attitudes. During the Revolution, the initial democratic enthusiasm was soon replaced by the logic of exclusion. Established by the bourgeoisie as a consequence of the revolutionary exposure of class antagonism, it took measures to limit the influence of the working class and its political position in the future urban self-governance.
THE LOW BACKSCATTERING TARGETS CLASSIFICATION IN URBAN AREAS
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L. Shi
2012-07-01
Full Text Available The Polarimetric and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (POLINSAR is widely used in urban area nowadays. Because of the physical and geometric sensitivity, the POLINSAR is suitable for the city classification, power-lines detection, building extraction, etc. As the new X-band POLINSAR radar, the china prototype airborne system, XSAR works with high spatial resolution in azimuth (0.1 m and slant range (0.4 m. In land applications, SAR image classification is a useful tool to distinguish the interesting area and obtain the target information. The bare soil, the cement road, the water and the building shadow are common scenes in the urban area. As it always exists low backscattering sign objects (LBO with the similar scattering mechanism (all odd bounce except for shadow in the XSAR images, classes are usually confused in Wishart-H-Alpha and Freeman-Durden methods. It is very hard to distinguish those targets only using the general information. To overcome the shortage, this paper explores an improved algorithm for LBO refined classification based on the Pre-Classification in urban areas. Firstly, the Pre-Classification is applied in the polarimetric datum and the mixture class is marked which contains LBO. Then, the polarimetric covariance matrix C3 is re-estimated on the Pre-Classification results to get more reliable results. Finally, the occurrence space which combining the entropy and the phase-diff standard deviation between HH and VV channel is used to refine the Pre-Classification results. The XSAR airborne experiments show the improved method is potential to distinguish the mixture classes in the low backscattering objects.
Enzymatic Browning: a practical class
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Maria Teresa Pedrosa Silva Clerici
2014-10-01
Full Text Available This paper presents a practical class about the enzymes polyphenol oxidases, which have been shown to be responsible for the enzymatic browning of fruits and vegetables. Vegetables samples were submitted to enzymatic inactivation process with chemical reagents, as well as by bleaching methods of applying heat by conventional oven and microwave oven. Process efficiency was assessed qualitatively by both observing the guaiacol peroxidase activity and after the storage period under refrigeration or freezing. The practical results obtained in this class allow exploring multidisciplinary knowledge in food science, with practical applications in everyday life.
ORD’s Urban Watershed Management Branch
This is a poster for the Edison Science Day, tentatively scheduled for June 10, 2009. This poster presentation summarizes key elements of the EPA Office of Research and Development’s (ORD) Urban Watershed Management Branch (UWMB). An overview of the national problems posed by w...
Surface Biophysical Parameters Derived From Remote Sensing Data For Urban Changes Assessment
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Zoran, M.; Pavelescu, G.; Nicolae, D.N.; Talianu, C.
2007-01-01
Remote sensing is a key application in global-change science, being very useful for urban climatology and land use-Landcover dynamics analysis.Multi-spectral and multi-temporal satellite imagery (LANDSAT TM, ETM ;SAR ) over 1984 - 2004 period for Bucharest urban area provide the most reliable technique of monitoring of different urban structures regarding the net radiation and heat fluxes associated with urbanization at the regional scale. This study attempts to provide environmental awareness to urban planners in future urban development. The land cover information, properly classified, can provide a spatially and temporally explicit view of societal and environmental attributes and can be an important complement to in-situ measurements
Networks Within Cities and Among Cities: A Paradigm for Urban Development and Governance
Pompili, Tomaso
2006-01-01
Networks and networking have become fashionable concepts and terms in regional science, and in particular in regional and urban geography in the last decade: we speak about network firms, network society, network economy but also network cities, city-networks, reti urbane, reseaux de villes. Only catch-words for somebody; a true new scientific paradigm according to others. Our opinion is that in fact we are confronted with a new paradigm in spatial sciences, under some precise conditions: - t...
The role of urban forest to reduce rain acid in urban industrial areas
Slamet, B.; Agustiarni, Y.; Hidayati; Basyuni, M.
2018-03-01
Urban forest has many functions mainly on improving the quality of the urban environment. One of the functions is to increase pH and reduce dangerous chemical content. The aim of the research is to find out the role of vegetation density of urban forest around the industrial area in reducing the acid rain. The condition of land cover was classified into four classes which are dense, medium, sparse and open area. The water of the throughfall and stemflow was taken from each type of land cover except in the open area. Parameters measured in this study are water acidity (pH), anion content (SO4 2- and NO3 -), cation content (Ca2+, Mg2+, and NH4 +) and electrical conductivity (EC). The results indicated that urban forest vegetation was able to increase the pH of rain water from 5.42 which is in an open area without vegetation to be 7.13 and 7.32 in dense and moderate vegetation cover by throughfall mechanism, respectively. Rain water acidity also decreased through stemflow mechanism with a pH ranged from 5.92 - 6.43. Urban forest vegetation decreased sulfate content (SO42-) from 528.67 mg/l in open area to 44 - 118 mg/l by throughfall mechanism and ranged from 90 to 366.67 mg/l through stemflow mechanism. Urban forest vegetation significantly decreased the rainwater nitrate content from 27 mg/l to 0.03 - 0.70 mg/l through the mechanism of throughfall and between 1.53 - 8.82 mg/l through the stemflow mechanism. Urban forest vegetation also increased the concentration of cations (NH4+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+) compared with open areas. Urban forest vegetation showed increased the electrical conductivity (EC) from 208.12 μmhos/cm to 344.67 - 902.17 μmhos/cm through the through fall mechanism and 937.67 - 1058.70 μmhos/cm through the stemflow mechanism. The study suggested that urban forests play a significant role in reducing rainwater acidity and improving the quality of rainwater that reached the soil surface.
Urban air quality management. V. 1
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
1997-01-01
This is the first in a series of reports commissioned by the International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association (IPIECA) to represent members' views on the management of urban air quality in the growing cities in developing countries. In this report, a general, science based framework is provided as a basis for understanding the nature of the problem in any specific urban area, the range of solutions that might be available, and the potential impact of each solution and its least cost privatisation. The topics covered are: a process for urban air quality management; setting air quality targets; a structured approach to the assessment of current and future air quality modelling methodologies; identification and collation of air quality model input data; development of socio-economic scenarios -long-term trend forecasting; cost effectiveness studies; the IPIECA approach to urban air quality management - development of partnerships; encouraging commitment to implementation of programme recommendations. (7 figures; 2 tables; 18 references). (UK)
Stuart, A. L.
2012-12-01
Enrollments in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) curricula currently lag workforce needs. Participation of women and minorities in STEM careers also remains low despite efforts to improve their representation in these fields. We discuss the development and evaluation of a science museum exhibit aimed at stimulating interest of middle school children (particularly girls) in STEM careers. The exhibit was designed to teach science, while addressing two factors identified as limiting the interest of girls in STEM fields — perceived lack of social relevance and lack of female role models. Further, it was designed to apply best practices in science education, including inquiry-based learning and interdisciplinary content. The exhibit was developed through collaboration between students and faculty researchers at the University of South Florida and science education and evaluation specialists at the Museum of Science and Industry of Tampa. A few stages of formative and summative assessment, including focus group discussions, visitor observation, and surveys were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the exhibit to educational project goals. The installed exhibit is focused on teaching content related to interactions between air pollution, urban design, and human health. The approximately 25 square foot exhibit space involves four different types of components. A three-dimensional model of a city, with underlying dynamic computer simulations, allows visitors to interactively explore relationships between city design, air pollution and exposures. A computer game, with quiz questions requiring user decisions on personal to community behavior, provides visual feedback regarding impacts on air pollution. Traditional panels with graphics and text, including results of current research, display integrative scientific content with open-ended questions to stimulate discussion. Finally, personal profiles highlight the diverse family, work, and social lives
Path-breaking books in regional science
Waldorf, BS
This article presents a collection of regional science books that long-standing members of the Regional Science Association International (RSAI) identified as path-breaking books. The most frequently nominated books include the "classics" by Isard, the seminal books in urban economics by Alonso,
Prospecții teoretice asupra efectelor negative ale procesului de segregare urbană
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Viorel MIONEL
2011-06-01
Full Text Available Inquiries made on the effects of segregation bring to the attention of readers and, implicitly, to the authorities and urban management, the most important results of the manifestation of segregation in urban environment. This second side of urban segregation, and also the first functional and aesthetic importance for the cities in general, is based on: quality housing and neighborhoods (the optimal housing stock and housing as a mechanism for reproducing social disadvantages and shortcomings, social opportunities (educational and employment, emergence and strengthening of social class, delinquent behavior and ghettoization of urban culture, manipulation of electoral behavior etc. Of utmost importance for the present study are the connections between segregation, waste occurrence and concentration in some urban areas, and also the health of people in urban areas neglected by the authorities.
Simple webs of natural environment theme as a result of sharing in science teacher training
Tapilouw, M. C.; Firman, H.; Redjeki, S.; Chandra, D. T.
2018-03-01
Thematic learning is one type of integrated science (Biology, Physics, Chemistry and Earth Science) in Science Education. This study is concerning about simple webs of natural environment theme in science learning, as one of training material in science teacher training program. Making simple web is a goal of first step in teacher training program. Every group explain their web illustration to other group. Twenty Junior High School science teacher above one education foundation participate in science teacher training program. In order to gather simple webs, sharing method was used in this first step of science teacher training. The result of this study is five different simple web of natural environment themes. These webs represent science learning in class VII/Semester I, class VII/Semester II, Class VIII, Class IX/Semester I, Class IX/Semester II based on basic competency in National Curriculum 2013. Each group discussed web of natural environment theme based on their learning experience in real class which basic competency and subject matters are linked with natural environment theme. As a conclusion, simple webs are potential to develop in the next step of science teacher training program and to be implemented in real class.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Alec Foster
2017-09-01
Full Text Available Volunteered geographic information (VGI has been heralded as a promising new data source for urban planning and policymaking. However, there are also concerns surrounding uneven levels of participation and spatial coverage, despite the promotion of VGI as a means to increase access to geographic knowledge production. To begin addressing these concerns, this research examines the spatial distribution and data richness of urban forest VGI in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and San Francisco, California. Using ordinary least squares (OLS, general linear models (GLM, and spatial autoregressive models, our findings reveal that sociodemographic and environmental indicators are strong predictors of both densities of attributed trees and data richness. Although recent digital urban tree inventory applications present significant opportunities for collaborative data gathering, innovative research, and improved policymaking, asymmetries in the quantity and quality of the data may undermine their effectiveness. If these incomplete and uneven datasets are used in policymaking, environmental justice issues may arise.
Journal of Earth System Science | Indian Academy of Sciences
Indian Academy of Sciences (India)
Home; Journals; Journal of Earth System Science; Volume 122; Issue 4. Volume ... Tidal variations in the Sundarbans Estuarine System, India ... The tidal asymmetry and stand have implications for human activity in the Sundarbans. ..... zonation in urban rivers using multivariate analysis: Implications for river management.
Hip-hop as a resource for understanding the urban context
Brown, Bryan
2010-06-01
This review explores Edmin's "Science education for the hip-hop generation" by documenting how he frames hip-hop as a means to access urban student culture. He argues that hip-hop is more than a mere music genre, but rather a culture that provides young people with ways of connecting to the world. Two primary ideas emerged as central to his work. First, he contends that students develop communal relationships and collective identities based on the common experiences expressed in hip-hop. Second, he identifies how the conscious recognition of institutional oppression serves a central feature in urban schools. Emdin's rich, and personal call for a greater understanding of hip-hop culture provides the text with an unmatched strength. He skillfully uses personal narratives from his own experience as well as quotes and references from hip-hop songs to make the nuances of hip hop transparent to science educators. Conversely, the limitation of this text is found in its unfulfilled promise to provide pragmatic examples of how to engage in a hip-hop based science education. Emdin's work is ultimately valuable as it extends our current knowledge about urban students and hip-hop in meaningful ways.
Analysis of Urban Growth in Edwardsville Illinois Using Remote Sensing and Population Change
Onuoha, Hilda U.
Rapid urbanization is one of the many critical, global issues. This very significant social and economic phenomenon has brought about much debate in the past twenty years and has become a very important policy issue. Understanding its dynamics and patterns is important to develop appropriate policies and make more informed planning decisions. Many dimensions to the urban land growth have been identified in related literature including drivers, relationship with other factors like population, impacts, and methods of measurement. In this study, urban growth in the Edwardsville area (composed of Edwardsville and Glen Carbon, Illinois) is analyzed spatio-temporally using remote sensing and population change from 1990 to 2015. The objectives of this study are (a) identifying the major land use changes in the Edwardsville area from 1990 to 2015, (b) analyzing the rate of urban growth and its relationship to population change in the area from 1990 to 2015, (c) identifying the general pattern and direction of urban growth in the study area. Using multi-temporal satellite images to classify and derive changes in land cover classes during the study period, results showed that the land cover classes with major changes are the urban/built-up land and agricultural/grassland, with a steady increase in the former and steady decrease in the later. Results also show the highest rate of increase in urban land was between 2000 and 2010. In comparison to population, the both show increase over the study years but urban land shows a higher rate of increase indicating dispersion. To analyze urban growth pattern in the area, the study area was divided into three zones: NE, SE, and W. The SE zone showed the highest amount of the growth and from the results, the infill type of growth was inferred.
"Does Hope Change? Testing a Project-Based Health Intervention among Urban Students of Color"
Zusevics, Kaija L.; Johnson, Sheri
2014-01-01
Hope is positively correlated with educational attainment and health. Interventions based on project-based learning (PBL) may increase youth hope. This study examined how a PBL intervention affected hope among urban students of color. Students in health classes were invited to participate. A PBL health class was implemented in four classrooms. The…
The Unwritten Rules of Engagement: Social Class Differences in Undergraduates' Academic Strategies
Yee, April
2016-01-01
Research has shown social class differences in undergraduate engagement, yet we know little about the reasons for these differences. Drawing on interviews and participant observation with undergraduates at an urban, public comprehensive university, this ethnographic study investigates the academic engagement strategies of students from different…
Educating for biodiversity conservation in urban parks
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Guerra, M. C.
2014-01-01
Full Text Available This article is intended to propose a procedure for learning about biodiversity in urban parks, as a contribution for educating conservation of natural resources. The procedure was named “Diagnosis of biodiversity conservation status in urban parks”. It comprises for stages describing the physic, geographic, socio-historic, and cultural study of the park as well as a taxonomic inventory of species, its distribution, presence in Cuba, and menaces they are subjected to. This facilitates to carry out educative activities. The introduction of the procedure is thought of from an ethno-biological and interdisciplinary perspective for training students in biological, geographical, historical, cultural and ethnological procedures, seeking a holistic approach to environment. The effectiveness of the proposal was appraised by accounting the experience of a class at “Casino Campestre” park in Camagüey City. Key words: biodiversity, urban parks, procedures, conservation training
The Class Initiatives of Intelligence Rhetoric: Implications of Racism for Scientific Inquiry.
Hall, Ronald E.
2002-01-01
Asserts that in a society that is not totalitarian, class disparities are enabled institutionally by science. A capital driven nation that associates intelligence with class and race can determine overall quality of life. Thus, perception of intelligence is an extremely powerful tool for reinforcing class. Suggests that in order to be better…
Creating a Successful Academic Climate for Urban Students
Slaughter, Terri
2009-01-01
Teaching students in the inner city has been likened to hugging a porcupine--teachers nudge them toward success while getting pricked along the way. Many urban students perform below proficiency level and are difficult to manage. Their apathy toward completing class assignments, let alone homework, compounds the problem. As a whole, educators do…
A decision-support tool for the control of urban noise pollution.
Suriano, Marcia Thais; de Souza, Léa Cristina Lucas; da Silva, Antonio Nelson Rodrigues
2015-07-01
Improving the quality of life is increasingly seen as an important urban planning goal. In order to reach it, various tools are being developed to mitigate the negative impacts of human activities on society. This paper develops a methodology for quantifying the population's exposure to noise, by proposing a classification of urban blocks. Taking into account the vehicular flow and traffic composition of the surroundings of urban blocks, we generated a noise map by applying a computational simulation. The urban blocks were classified according to their noise range and then the population was estimated for each urban block, by a process which was based on the census tract and the constructed area of the blocks. The acoustical classes of urban blocks and the number of inhabitants per block were compared, so that the population exposed to noise levels above 65 dB(A) could be estimated, which is the highest limit established by legislation. As a result, we developed a map of the study area, so that urban blocks that should be priority targets for noise mitigation actions can be quickly identified.
Transformative Multicultural Science curriculum: A case study of middle school robotics
Grimes, Mary Katheryn
Multicultural Science has been a topic of research and discourse over the past several years. However, most of the literature concerning this topic (or paradigm) has centered on programs in tribal or Indigenous schools. Under the framework of instructional congruence, this case study explored how elementary and middle school students in a culturally diverse charter school responded to a Multicultural Science program. Furthermore, this research sought to better understand the dynamics of teaching and learning strategies used within the paradigm of Multicultural Science. The school's Robotics class, a class typically stereotyped as fitting within the misconceptions associated with the Western Modern Science paradigm, was the center of this case study. A triangulation of data consisted of class observations throughout two semesters; pre and post student science attitude surveys; and interviews with individual students, Robotic student teams, the Robotics class instructor, and school administration. Three themes emerged from the data that conceptualized the influence of a Multicultural Science curriculum with ethnically diverse students in a charter school's Robotics class. Results included the students' perceptions of a connection between science (i.e., Robotics) and their personal lives, a positive growth in the students' attitude toward science (and engineering), and a sense of personal empowerment toward being successful in science. However, also evident in the findings were the students' stereotypical attitudes toward science (and scientists) and their lack of understanding of the Nature of Science. Implications from this study include suggestions toward the development of Multicultural Science curricula in public schools. Modifications in university science methods courses to include the Multicultural Science paradigm are also suggested.
Generation of a U.S. national urban land use product
Falcone, James A.; Homer, Collin G.
2012-01-01
Characterization of urban land uses is essential for many applications. However, differentiating among thematically-detailed urban land uses (residential, commercial, industrial, institutional, recreational, etc.) over broad areas is challenging, in part because image-based solutions are not ideal for establishing the contextual basis for identifying economic function and use. At present no current United States national-scale mapping exists for urban land uses similar to the classical Anderson Level II classification. This paper describes a product that maps urban land uses, and is linked to and corresponds with the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) 2006. In this product, NLCD urban pixels, in addition to their current imperviousness intensity classification, are assigned one of nine urban use classes based on information drawn from multiple data sources. These sources include detailed infrastructure information, population characteristics, and historical land use. The result is a method for creating a 30 m national-scale grid providing thematically-detailed urban land use information which complements the NLCD. Initial results for 10 major metropolitan areas are provided as an on-line link. Accuracy assessment of initial products yielded an overall accuracy of 81.6 percent.
Urbanization and traffic related exposures as risk factors for Schizophrenia
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Pedersen, Carsten Bøcker; Mortensen, Preben Bo
2006-01-01
: The geographical distance from place of residence to nearest major road had a significant effect. The highest risk was found in children living 500-1000 metres from nearest major road (RR=1.30 (95% Confidence Interval: 1.17-1.44). However, when we accounted for the degree of urbanization, the geographical distance...... that traffic related exposures affect schizophrenia risk and that this potential effect is responsible for the urban-rural differences. The geographical distance from place of residence to nearest major road was used as a proxy variable for traffic related exposures. We used a large population-based sample......BACKGROUND: Urban birth or upbringing increase schizophrenia risk. Though unknown, the causes of these urban-rural differences have been hypothesized to include, e.g., infections, diet, toxic exposures, social class, or an artefact due to selective migration. METHODS: We investigated the hypothesis...
2006-01-01
Remember those humdrum lectures in science class? Static textbook lessons have not done much to ignite excitement and interest in young children. Now the tables are turned and it is the teachers who are learning, but this time it is all about how to make science classes fun and spark the imaginations of the next generation. Xplora conference participants observing a working cloud experiment. The Xplora Conference, held at CERN from 15 to 18 June, was attended by more than 80 teachers and educators from across Europe ready to share and acquire some creative ways of teaching science. Xplora is an online reference project providing inventive techniques for teaching science in the classroom and beyond. Xplora is part of the Permanent European Resource Centre for Informal Learning (PENCIL) sponsored by the European Commission. PENCIL is comprised of 13 science centres, museums and aquariums, is partners with the University of Naples, Italy and King's College London, UK and is involved with 14 pilot projects thro...
Flexible Expectations of Learning Outcomes in Science
Binstead, Ayla; Campbell, Kirsty; Guasch, Susana Fraile; Sullivan, Claire; Williams, Lydia
2014-01-01
In this article five trainee teachers specialising in science at the University of Winchester describe their experience teaching science for three consecutive Fridays within a 2 year class (ages 6-7). They were given the task of teaching food and nutrition through the class topic of "turrets and tiaras," a medieval history focus. Their…
Hoffman, J. S.; Maurakis, E. G.; Shandas, V.
2017-12-01
The local impacts of global climate change are generally underestimated or misunderstood by the public and policymakers as far-off, future problems. However, differential and regional surface warming trends are exacerbated in urban areas due to the radiative properties of impervious surfaces like buildings and roads relative to natural landscapes. Decades of research illustrate that this unnatural radiative imbalance in the built environment gives rise to the well-studied urban heat island effect, whereby air temperatures in urban areas are several degrees warmer than in surrounding non-urbanized areas. In this way, the urban heat island effect presents a unique opportunity to highlight the human influence on Earth systems and at the same time mobilize local community-scale action to mitigate and become resilient to climate change impacts on tangible, experiential time scales. However, public stakeholders, city planners, and policymakers may view the urban heat island effect and its mitigation strategies through varying degrees of climatological, public health, and urban development knowledge and interest. This variation in stakeholder engagement highlights the need for individualized science communication strategies for each audience in order to maximize understanding of the scientific outcomes and tactics for mitigating the urban heat island effect. The City of Richmond, Virginia is currently developing a climate action plan as part of their greenhouse gas emission reduction initiative, RVAgreen 2050, and its recently announced "Richmond 300," a 20-year city development master plan. These initiatives provide the policy backdrop for a public and stakeholder education campaign centered on communicating urban heat island effects and resilience strategies. As such, the Science Museum of Virginia led the city's first urban heat island assessment using citizen science and leveraging a network of local university, non-profit, and city government stakeholders. Here, we
Zhang, Z.; Xiao, R.; Li, X.
2015-12-01
Peri-urban area is a new type region under the impacts of both rural Industrialization and the radiation of metropolitan during rapid urbanization. Due to its complex natural and social characteristics and unique development patterns, many problems such as environmental pollution and land use waste emerged, which became an urgent issue to be addressed. Study area in this paper covers three typical peri-urban districts (Pudong, Fengxian and Jinshan), which around the Shanghai inner city. By coupling cellular automata and multi-agent system model as the basic tools, this research focus on modelling the urban land expansion and driving mechanism in peri-urban area. The big data is aslo combined with the Bayesian maximum entropy method (BME) for spatiotemporal prediction of multi-source data, which expand the dataset of urban expansion models. Data assimilation method is used to optimize the parameters of the coupling model and minimize the uncertainty of observations, improving the precision of future simulation in peri-urban area. By setting quantitative parameters, the coupling model can effectively improve the simulation of the process of urban land expansion under different policies and management schemes, in order to provide scientificimplications for new urbanization strategy. In this research, we precise the urban land expansion simulation and prediction for peri-urban area, expand the scopes and selections of data acquisition measurements and methods, develop the new applications of the data assimilation method in geographical science, provide a new idea for understanding the inherent rules of urban land expansion, and give theoretical and practical support for the peri-urban area in urban planning and decision making.
Brown, Bryan
2010-01-01
This review explores Edmin's "Science education for the hip-hop generation" by documenting how he frames hip-hop as a means to access urban student culture. He argues that hip-hop is more than a mere music genre, but rather a culture that provides young people with ways of connecting to the world. Two primary ideas emerged as central to…
: Urban design, urban project, urban art, urban composition ... a question of vocabulary?
Pinson , Daniel
2014-01-01
Actes à paraître; International audience; The term "urbanism" of Pierre Clerget (1910) put the mess in the practice and the formations in France. Urban planning is thus, on the academic level, a coexistence of disciplinary approaches, which does not help to a multidisciplinary urban training. Thinking about "urban design", after beautifull city, urban composition, or alongside the urban project and other territorial approaches can help to see more clearly in town planning.; Le terme « urbanis...
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Bruno Belhoste
2012-02-01
Full Text Available This paper deals with the relationship between science and education in historiography, questioning the separation between the two activities, and highlighting the role of education to scientific activity. First, it distinguishes the largely accepted needs of historical contextualization from the epistemological problem, related to the place of history education in the history of science. It defends that the history of science education is not foreign to the history of science. It criticizes Chevallard’s notion of didactic transposition for reinforcing the gap between scientific knowledge and teaching knowledge. Finally, it argues that the sciences are in permanent reconstruction and that scientific knowledge is not tied to socio-cultural contexts from which it emerged.
Urban Tech on the Rise: Machine Learning Disrupts the Real Estate Industry
Chaillou, Stanislas; Fink, Daniel; Gonçalves, Pamella
2018-01-01
The practice of AI-powered Urban Analytics is taking off within the real estate industry. Data science and algorithmic logic are close to the forefront of new urban development practices. How close? is the question — experts predict that digitization will go far beyond intelligent building management systems. New analytical tools with predictive capabilities will dramatically affect the future of urban development, reshaping the real estate industry in the process.
Fellowship | Indian Academy of Sciences
Indian Academy of Sciences (India)
Address: Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, ..... Bag, Dr Amulya Kumar ..... Specialization: Atmospheric Sciences, Global Change & Atmospheric Environment, Urban Air Pollution & Chemical-Climate Change, ...
Mahura, Alexander; Nuterman, Roman; Mazeikis, Adomas; Gonzalez-Aparicio, Iratxe; Ivanov, Sergey; Palamarchuk, Julia
2014-05-01
To attract more perspective young scientists (and especially, MSc and PhD students) for advanced research and development of complex and modern modelling systems, a specific approach is required. It should allow within a short period of time to evaluate personal background levels, skills, capabilities, etc. To learn more about new potential science-oriented developers of the models, it is often not enough to look into the personal resume. Thus, a special event such as Young Scientist Summer School (YSSS) can be organized, where young researchers could have an opportunity to attend not only relevant lectures, but also participate in practical exercises allowing to solidify lecture materials. Here, the practical exercises are presented as independent small-scale (having duration of up to a week) research projects or studies oriented on specific topics of YSSS. Developed approach was tested and realized during 2008 and 2011 YSSS events held and organized in Zelenogorsk, Russia (by NetFAM et al.; http://netfam.fmi.fi/YSSS08) and Odessa, Ukraine (by MUSCATEN et al.; http://atmos.physic.ut.ee/~muscaten/YSSS/1info.html), respectively. It has been refined for the new YSSS (Jul 2014) to be organized by the COST Action EuMetChem. The main focus of all these YSSSs was/is on the integrated modelling of meteorological and chemical transport processes and impact of chemical weather on numerical weather prediction and climate modelling. During previous YSSSs some of such projects - "URBAN: The Influence of Metropolitan Areas on Meteorology", "AEROSOL: The Impact of Aerosols Effects on Meteorology", and "COASTAL: The Coastal & Cities Effects on Meteorology" - were focused on evaluation of influence of metropolitan areas on formation of meteorological and chemical fields above urban areas (such as Paris, France; Copenhagen, Denmark, and Bilbao, Spain) and surroundings. The Environment - HIgh Resolution Limited Area Model (Enviro-HIRLAM) was used and modifications were made taking
City and Urbanity in the Social Discourse
Dymnicka, Małgorzata; Badach, Joanna
2017-10-01
as its new deconstructed forms (e.g. the pop-up city, neo-bohemia, the creative class, neighbour communities, urban guerrilla gardening, experimental urban farms, etc.).
[A new urban typology applicable to Black Africa: the case of towns in the Ivory Coast].
Saint-vil, J
1981-12-01
A new typology of African urban areas is presented using the example of the Ivory Coast. The impact of demographic factors on education in the towns is considered, with attention to the number of inhabitants per secondary school class, the median age of urban residents, the percentage aged 10 to 20 and 15 to 20, and the sex ratio of the school-age population. The importance of education-related migration to urban centers is noted.
Ozsoy, Gokhan; Aksoy, Ertugrul
2015-07-01
This paper integrates the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) with a GIS model to investigate the spatial distribution of annual soil loss and identify areas of soil erosion risk in the Uluabat sub-watershed, an important agricultural site in Bursa Province, Turkey. The total soil loss from water erosion was 473,274 Mg year(-1). Accordingly, 60.3% of the surveyed area was classified into a very low erosion risk class while 25.7% was found to be in high and severe erosion risk classes. Soil loss had a close relationship with land use and topography. The most severe erosion risk typically occurs on ridges and steep slopes where agriculture, degraded forest, and shrubs are the main land uses and cover types. Another goal of this study was to use GIS to reveal the multi-year urbanization status caused by rapid urbanization that constitutes another soil erosion risk in this area. Urbanization has increased by 57.7% and the most areal change was determined in class I lands at a rate of 80% over 25 years. Urbanization was identified as one of the causes of excessive soil loss in the study area.
Patterns of Carbon Storage and Greenhouse Gas Losses in Urban Residential Lawns
Contosta, A.; Varner, R.; Xiao, J.
2017-12-01
Population density and housing age are two factors believed to impact carbon (C) storage and greenhouse gas emissions in one of the most extensively managed landscapes in the U.S.: the urban lawn. Previous research focusing on either above- or below-ground C dynamics has also not explicitly considered how they interact to affect the net carbon balance in urban residential areas. We addressed this knowledge gap by quantifying both soil and vegetative C stocks and greenhouse gas fluxes across an urban gradient in Manchester, NH, USA that included 34 lawns comprising three population density categories, five housing age classes, and the interaction between them. Using a combination of both weekly, manual measurements and continuous, automated estimates, we also sampled emissions of CH4, CO2, and N2O within a subset of these lawns that represented a range of citywide population density and housing age characteristics and management practices. We found that neither above- nor below-ground C storage varied with population density, but both differed among housing age classes. Soil C storage increased with housing age and was highest in the oldest lawns sampled. By contrast, C stocks in aboveground, woody biomass was highest at intermediate ages and lowest in older and new parcels. Unlike C stocks, soil greenhouse gas emissions did not change among population density categories, housing age classes, or with irrigation and fertilization management, but instead followed temporal trends in soil moisture and temperature. Overall, our results suggest that drivers of C storage and greenhouse gas losses in urban residential areas may not be uniform and their accurate representation in Earth system models may require a variety of approaches.
Amao, S. R.; Gbadamosi, J.
2015-01-01
To contribute to the realization of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) by the United Nations on the promotion of gender equity, the researchers sought to empirically verify the existence or otherwise of gender inequality in the agricultural and science achievement of urban and rural, male and female students in Ogbomoso North Local Government…
Structured prediction for urban scene semantic segmentation with geographic contex
Volpi Michele; Ferrari Vittorio
2015-01-01
In this work we address the problem of semantic segmentation of urban remote sensing images into land cover maps. We propose to tackle this task by learning the geographic context of classes and use it to favor or discourage certain spatial configuration of label assignments. For this reason, we learn from training data two spatial priors enforcing different key aspects of the geographical space: local co-occurrence and relative location of land cover classes. We propose to embed these geogra...
A Mathematics and Science Trail
Smith, Kathy Horak; Fuentes, Sarah Quebec
2012-01-01
In an attempt to engage primary-school students in a hands-on, real-world problem-solving context, a large urban district, a mathematics and science institute housed in a college of education, and a corporate sponsor in the southwest United States, joined forces to create a mathematics and science trail for fourth- and fifth-grade students. A…
Exploiting Earth observation data pools for urban analysis: the TEP URBAN project
Heldens, W.; Esch, T.; Asamer, H.; Boettcher, M.; Brito, F.; Hirner, A.; Marconcini, M.; Mathot, E.; Metz, A.; Permana, H.; Zeidler, J.; Balhar, J.; Soukop, T.; Stankek, F.
2017-10-01
Large amounts of Earth observation (EO) data have been collected to date, to increase even more rapidly with the upcoming Sentinel data. All this data contains unprecedented information, yet it is hard to retrieve, especially for nonremote sensing specialists. As we live in an urban era, with more than 50% of the world population living in cities, urban studies can especially benefit from the EO data. Information is needed for sustainable development of cities, for the understanding of urban growth patterns or for studying the threats of natural hazards or climate change. Bridging this gap between the technology-driven EO sector and the information needs of environmental science, planning, and policy is the driver behind the TEP-Urban project. Modern information technology functionalities and services are tested and implemented in the Urban Thematic Exploitation Platform (U-TEP). The platform enables interested users to easily exploit and generate thematic information on the status and development of the environment based on EO data and technologies. The beta version of the web platform contains value added basic earth observation data, global thematic data sets, and tools to derive user specific indicators and metrics. The code is open source and the architecture of the platform allows adding of new data sets and tools. These functionalities and concepts support the four basic use scenarios of the U-TEP platform: explore existing thematic content; task individual on-demand analyses; develop, deploy and offer your own content or application; and, learn more about innovative data sets and methods.
Urban Climate Risk Communities
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Blok, Anders
2016-01-01
of Beck’s forward-looking agenda for a post-Euro-centric social science, outlines the contours of such an urban-cosmopolitan ‘realpolitik’ of climate risks, as this is presently unfolding across East Asian world cities. Much more than a theory-building endeavour, the essay suggests, Beck’s sociology......Ulrich Beck’s cosmopolitan sociology affords a much-needed rethinking of the transnational politics of climate change, not least in pointing to an emerging inter-urban geography of world cities as a potential new source of community, change and solidarity. This short essay, written in honour...... provides a standing invitation for further transnational dialogue and collaborative empirical work, in East Asia and beyond, on what are, arguably, the defining challenges for the 21st century world of global risks....
Disaster civilian defense in urban management by preparation of ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Journal of Fundamental and Applied Sciences ... To achieve a suitable environment in urban disaster management infrastructure should be anything before the intellectual and practical infrastructure management and above all it is made.
Grcevich, Jana; Pagnotta, Ashley; Mac Low, Mordecai-Mark; Shara, Michael; Flores, Kennet; Nadeau, Patricia A.; Sessa, Jocelyn; Ustunisik, Gokce; Zirakparvar, Nasser; Ebel, Denton; Harlow, George; Webster, James D.; Kinzler, Rosamond; MacDonald, Maritza B.; Contino, Julie; Cooke-Nieves, Natasha; Howes, Elaine; Zachowski, Marion
2015-01-01
The Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) Program at the American Museum of Natural History is a innovative program designed to prepare participants to be world-class Earth Science teachers. New York State is experiencing a lack of qualified Earth Science teachers, leading in the short term to a reduction in students who successfully complete the Earth Science Regents examination, and in the long term potential reductions in the number of students who go on to pursue college degrees in Earth Science related disciplines. The MAT program addresses this problem via a collaboration between practicing research scientists and education faculty. The faculty consists of curators and postdoctoral researchers from the Departments of Astrophysics, Earth and Planetary Sciences, and the Division of Paleontology, as well as doctoral-level education experts. During the 15-month, full-time program, students participate in a residency program at local urban classrooms as well as taking courses and completing field work in astrophysics, geology, earth science, and paleontology. The program targets high-needs schools with diverse populations. We seek to encourage, stimulate interest, and inform the students impacted by our program, most of whom are from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds, about the rich possibilities for careers in Earth Science related disciplines and the intrinsic value of the subject. We report on the experience of the first and second cohorts, all of whom are now employed in full time teaching positions, and the majority in high needs schools in New York State.
Where Young People See Science: Everyday Activities Connected to Science
Zimmerman, Heather Toomey; Bell, Philip
2014-01-01
This project analyses the prevalence and social construction of science in the everyday activities of multicultural, multilingual children in one urban community. Using cross-setting ethnographic fieldwork (i.e. home, museum, school, community), we developed an ecologically grounded interview protocol and analytical scheme for gauging students'…
Urban adaptation planning: the use and limits of climate science
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Dodman, David; Carmin, Joann
2011-11-15
Cities face a mounting challenge from climate change. In developed and developing countries alike, rising temperatures, changing rainfall patterns, higher sea levels, and more frequent and severe extreme events such as droughts and floods threaten to overwhelm urban infrastructure, services and management systems. City officials recognise the need to adapt to climate change, and use scientific evidence to support their plans for doing so. But the precise details of these changes and the local impacts they will have cannot be predicted. Decision makers must learn to draw on scientific data while simultaneously managing the uncertainty inherent in future projections. Across the world, forward-looking city officials are proving themselves to be 'urban adaptation leaders' — mobilising political and public support for and devising flexible approaches to adaptation.
Scenarios for a urban energy transition. Actors, regulations, technologies
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Debizet, Gilles; Blanco, Sylvie; Buclet, Nicolas; Forest, Fabrice; Gauthier, Caroline; La Branche, Stephane; Menanteau, Philippe; Schneuwly, Patrice; Tabourdeau, Antoine
2016-01-01
Cities concentrate populations, consumptions, levers of actions, and are places of various experiments for energy transition. This book aims at giving an overview of possible scenarios of development of renewable energies in urban context. It is based on interviews of actors of the energy, building and urban planning sectors by researchers in town planning, management, technology, political and economic sciences. The authors examine what would occur if large companies would manage entire quarters, if local authorities would supervise production and supply, if the State would take control of all fields of action again, or if consumer cooperatives would exchange energy and pool productions. In its different chapters, the book presents four scenarios of energy coordination in urban context by 2040, discuss energy transition in urban spaces, discuss the perspectives of evolution towards more autonomous cities and quarters from an energetic point of view, and discuss business models and urban energetic innovations
Work-life balance/imbalance: the dominance of the middle class and the neglect of the working class.
Warren, Tracey
2015-12-01
The paper was stimulated by the relative absence of the working class from work-life debates. The common conclusion from work-life studies is that work-life imbalance is largely a middle-class problem. It is argued here that this classed assertion is a direct outcome of a particular and narrow interpretation of work-life imbalance in which time is seen to be the major cause of difficulty. Labour market time, and too much of it, dominates the conceptualization of work-life and its measurement too. This heavy focus on too much labour market time has rendered largely invisible from dominant work-life discourses the types of imbalance that are more likely to impact the working class. The paper's analysis of large UK data-sets demonstrates a reduction in hours worked by working-class men, more part-time employment in working-class occupations, and a substantial growth in levels of reported financial insecurity amongst the working classes after the 2008-9 recession. It shows too that economic-based work-life imbalance is associated with lower levels of life satisfaction than is temporal imbalance. The paper concludes that the dominant conceptualization of work-life disregards the major work-life challenge experienced by the working class: economic precarity. The work-life balance debate needs to more fully incorporate economic-based work-life imbalance if it is to better represent class inequalities. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2015.
Underwood, Harold; Kilheffer, Chellby R.; Francis, Robert A.; Millington, James D. A.; Chadwick, Michael A.
2016-01-01
Expanding ungulate populations are causing concerns for wildlife professionals and residents in many urban areas worldwide. Nowhere is the phenomenon more apparent than in the eastern US, where urban white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) populations are increasing. Most habitat suitability models for deer have been developed in rural areas and across large (>1000 km2) spatial extents. Only recently have we begun to understand the factors that contribute to space use by deer over much smaller spatial extents. In this study, we explore the concepts, terminology, methodology and state-of-the-science in wildlife abundance modeling as applied to overabundant deer populations across heterogeneous urban landscapes. We used classified, high-resolution digital orthoimagery to extract landscape characteristics in several urban areas of upstate New York. In addition, we assessed deer abundance and distribution in 1-km2 blocks across each study area from either aerial surveys or ground-based distance sampling. We recorded the number of detections in each block and used binomial mixture models to explore important relationships between abundance and key landscape features. Finally, we cross-validated statistical models of abundance and compared covariate relationships across study sites. Study areas were characterized along a gradient of urbanization based on the proportions of impervious surfaces and natural vegetation which, based on the best-supported models, also distinguished blocks potentially occupied by deer. Models performed better at identifying occurrence of deer and worse at predicting abundance in cross-validation comparisons. We attribute poor predictive performance to differences in deer population trajectories over time. The proportion of impervious surfaces often yielded better predictions of abundance and occurrence than did the proportion of natural vegetation, which we attribute to a lack of certain land cover classes during cold and snowy winters
Pierre-Louis, Fred
The purpose of this study was to describe Markdale High School's change from separate college preparatory and general level classes to heterogeneously-grouped classes in English, mathematics, science, and social studies, with particular emphasis on the principal's leadership style, change process, and teacher concerns (Hall & Hord, 2006) experienced during this effort. The researcher used Hall and Hord's (2006) Concern-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) as a conceptual framework. Specifically, the researcher applied three elements of the CBAM model: (a) the Twelve Principles of Change, (b) the Change Facilitator Styles, and (c) the Stages of Concerns. Hall and Hord's framework served as a lens through which the researcher analyzed all data. The researcher used a mixed-method (qualitative and quantitative) approach to answer the four research questions. The participants completed three instruments: (a) the Stages of Concern Questionnaire (SoCQ), (b) the Principles of Change Survey, and (c) the Facilitator Style Survey. All three instruments were self-report, paper-pencil surveys. The sample included 72 faculty members who experienced the change over the past three years. Findings from the three data sources and the school principal's comments during debriefing are indicated for each research question and reported by unit of analysis. Respective to the research questions, the researcher concluded that: (1) Markdale High School accomplished the change by implementing both structural and instructional changes supporting to the change to heterogeneous grouping; (2) even though teachers had divergent opinions on the school principal's facilitation style, the principal thought of himself as an incrementalist and a practitioner of differentiated facilitation styles; (3) while half of the faculty felt that they received formal training on heterogeneous grouping, (4) half felt that they did not have a choice in the decision-making process as it occurred with college preparatory and
Broad, W J
2003-01-01
"...there are new troubles in the peculiar form of paradise that science has created, as well as new questions about whether it has the popular support to meet the future challenges of disease, pollution, security, energy, education, food, water and urban sprawl" (1 page).
A data model for simulation models relying on spatio-temporal urban data
Langlois , G ,; Tourre , Vincent; Servières , Myriam; Gervais , G ,; Gesquière , Gilles
2016-01-01
International audience; To understand the complexity of modern cities and anticipate their expansion, experts from various fields conceive simulation models that can be very different. Those simulation models work with a variety of data with their own organization. Furthermore, because the urban objects are studied in the context of the evolution of a city or urban area, they carry temporal and spatial information. In this paper, we present the base classes of a common data model robust and f...
Photographs and Classroom Response Systems in Middle School Astronomy Classes
Lee, Hyunju; Feldman, Allan
2015-01-01
In spite of being readily available, photographs have played a minor and passive role in science classes. In our study, we present an active way of using photographs in classroom discussions with the use of a classroom response system (CRS) in middle school astronomy classes to teach the concepts of day-night and seasonal change. In this new…
Blazing a New Path: Collaborating towards Best Practice in Urban Teacher Education
Smiley, Azure Dee; Drake, Jennifer; Sheehy, Colleen
2010-01-01
This study utilized qualitative means to gain a better understanding of the experiences of faculty members from a school of education, college of arts and sciences, and K-12 urban educators as they worked across academic disciplines to create and implement a collaborative secondary urban teacher fellowship program. This study is meant to inform…
Factors influencing exemplary science teachers' levels of computer use
Hakverdi, Meral
This study examines exemplary science teachers' use of technology in science instruction, factors influencing their level of computer use, their level of knowledge/skills in using specific computer applications for science instruction, their use of computer-related applications/tools during their instruction, and their students' use of computer applications/tools in or for their science class. After a relevant review of the literature certain variables were selected for analysis. These variables included personal self-efficacy in teaching with computers, outcome expectancy, pupil-control ideology, level of computer use, age, gender, teaching experience, personal computer use, professional computer use and science teachers' level of knowledge/skills in using specific computer applications for science instruction. The sample for this study includes middle and high school science teachers who received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching Award (sponsored by the White House and the National Science Foundation) between the years 1997 and 2003 from all 50 states and U.S. territories. Award-winning science teachers were contacted about the survey via e-mail or letter with an enclosed return envelope. Of the 334 award-winning science teachers, usable responses were received from 92 science teachers, which made a response rate of 27.5%. Analysis of the survey responses indicated that exemplary science teachers have a variety of knowledge/skills in using computer related applications/tools. The most commonly used computer applications/tools are information retrieval via the Internet, presentation tools, online communication, digital cameras, and data collection probes. Results of the study revealed that students' use of technology in their science classroom is highly correlated with the frequency of their science teachers' use of computer applications/tools. The results of the multiple regression analysis revealed that personal self-efficacy related to
Tigges, Jan; Lakes, Tobia
2017-10-04
Urban forests reduce greenhouse gas emissions by storing and sequestering considerable amounts of carbon. However, few studies have considered the local scale of urban forests to effectively evaluate their potential long-term carbon offset. The lack of precise, consistent and up-to-date forest details is challenging for long-term prognoses. Therefore, this review aims to identify uncertainties in urban forest carbon offset assessment and discuss the extent to which such uncertainties can be reduced by recent progress in high resolution remote sensing. We do this by performing an extensive literature review and a case study combining remote sensing and life cycle assessment of urban forest carbon offset in Berlin, Germany. Recent progress in high resolution remote sensing and methods is adequate for delivering more precise details on the urban tree canopy, individual tree metrics, species, and age structures compared to conventional land use/cover class approaches. These area-wide consistent details can update life cycle inventories for more precise future prognoses. Additional improvements in classification accuracy can be achieved by a higher number of features derived from remote sensing data of increasing resolution, but first studies on this subject indicated that a smart selection of features already provides sufficient data that avoids redundancies and enables more efficient data processing. Our case study from Berlin could use remotely sensed individual tree species as consistent inventory of a life cycle assessment. However, a lack of growth, mortality and planting data forced us to make assumptions, therefore creating uncertainty in the long-term prognoses. Regarding temporal changes and reliable long-term estimates, more attention is required to detect changes of gradual growth, pruning and abrupt changes in tree planting and mortality. As such, precise long-term urban ecological monitoring using high resolution remote sensing should be intensified
City-integrated renewable energy for urban sustainability.
Kammen, Daniel M; Sunter, Deborah A
2016-05-20
To prepare for an urban influx of 2.5 billion people by 2050, it is critical to create cities that are low-carbon, resilient, and livable. Cities not only contribute to global climate change by emitting the majority of anthropogenic greenhouse gases but also are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change and extreme weather. We explore options for establishing sustainable energy systems by reducing energy consumption, particularly in the buildings and transportation sectors, and providing robust, decentralized, and renewable energy sources. Through technical advancements in power density, city-integrated renewable energy will be better suited to satisfy the high-energy demands of growing urban areas. Several economic, technical, behavioral, and political challenges need to be overcome for innovation to improve urban sustainability. Copyright © 2016, American Association for the Advancement of Science.
What are the effects of self-assessment preparation in a middle school science classroom?
Severance, Sara E.
2012-02-01
This research was conducted by an urban middle school science teacher who sought to investigate the effects of self-assessment on student performance. A group of students were asked to give themselves a score on each learning target assessed in class and to provide evidence for their decision. Student self-assessment scores were compared to scores given by the teacher to see if students who accurately assessed their own learning scored higher on final assessments than students who did not. Assessment scores between groups of students who completed the self-assessment preparation and students who did not were also analyzed. The data indicates no correlation between the ability to self-assess and achievement. However, further implications on self-assessment at the secondary level are discussed.
Modeling The Urban Impact On Semiarid Surface Climate: A Case Study In Marrakesh, Morocco
Lachir, Asia; Bounoua, Lahouari; Zhang, Ping; Thome, Kurtis; Messouli, Mohamed
2016-01-01
We combine Landsat and MODIS data in the Simple Biosphere Model to assess the impact of urbanization on surface climate in a semiarid city in North Africa. The model simulates highest temperatures in urban class, with spring average maximum temperature differences to other land cover classes ranging between 1.6 C and 6.0 C. During summer, these maximum temperature differences are smallest (0.5 C) with barelands and highest (8.3 C) with irrigated lawns. This excess heating is simulated above and beyond a seasonal temperature average of about 30 C during spring and 44 C during summer. On annual mean, a full urbanization scenario decreases the carbon fixation by 0.13 MtC and increases the daytime mean surface temperature by 1.3 C. This may boost the city energy consumption by 5.72%. Under a 'smart growth' scenario, whereby the city expands on barelands to cover 50% of the study region and all remaining barelands converted to orchards, the carbon fixation is enhanced by 0.04 MtC with a small daytime temperature increase of 0.2 C. Our results indicate that vegetation can mitigate the urban heating. The hydrological cycle indicates that highest ratio of surface runoff to precipitation (43.8%) occurs in urban areas, versus only 16.7 % for all cover types combined.
Modeling the Urban Impact on Semiarid Surface Climate: A Case Study in Marrakech, Morocco
Lachir, Asia; Bounoua, Lahouari; Zhang, Ping; Thome, Kurtis; Moussouli, Mohamed
2016-01-01
We combine Landsat and MODIS data in the Simple Biosphere Model to assess the impact of urbanization on surface climate in a semiarid city in North Africa. The model simulates highest temperatures in urban class, with spring average maximum temperature differences to other land cover classes ranging between 1.6 C and 6.0 C. During summer, these maximum temperature differences are smallest (0.5 C) with barelands and highest (8.3 C) with irrigated lawns. This excess heating is simulated above and beyond a seasonal temperature average of about 30 C during spring and 44 C during summer. On annual mean, a full urbanization scenario decreases the carbon fixation by 0.13 MtC and increases the daytime mean surface temperature by 1.3 C. This may boost the city energy consumption by 5.72%. Under a 'smart growth' scenario, whereby the city expands on barelands to cover 50% of the study region and all remaining barelands converted to orchards, the carbon fixation is enhanced by 0.04 MtC with a small daytime temperature increase of 0.2 C. Our results indicate that vegetation can mitigate the urban heating. The hydrological cycle indicates that highest ratio of surface runoff to precipitation (43.8%) occurs in urban areas, versus only 16.7 % for all cover types combined.
Larry, Triaka A.
The need for more diversity in STEM-related careers and college majors is urgent. Self-efficacy and student-teacher relationships are factors that have been linked to influencing students’ pursuit of subject-specific careers and academic achievement. The impact of self-efficacy and student perceptions of teacher interpersonal behaviors on student achievement have been extensively researched in the areas of Mathematics and English, however, most studies using science achievement, as a criterion variable, were conducted using non-diverse, White upper middle class to affluent participants. In order to determine the strength of relationships between perceived science self-efficacy, and student perceptions of teacher interpersonal behaviors as factors that influence science achievement (science GPA), the Science Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (SSEQ) and Questionnaire on Teacher Interactions (QTI) were administered to twelfth grade students enrolled at a highly diverse urban Title I high school, while controlling for demographics, defined as gender, ethnicity, and minority status. Using a hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis, results demonstrated that the predictor variables (i.e., gender, ethnicity, minority status, science self-efficacy, and teacher interpersonal behaviors) accounted for 20.8% of the variance in science GPAs. Science self-efficacy made the strongest unique contribution to explaining science GPA, while minority status and gender were found to be statistically significant contributors to the full model as well. Ethnicity and teacher interpersonal behaviors did not make a statistically significant contribution to the variance in science GPA, and accounted for ≤ 1% of the variance. Implications and recommendations for future research are subsequently given.
Problems in the acquisition of Noun Class 11 among Xhosa children ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
While there has been research on the partial or complete merger of Noun Classes 5 and 11 in a number of Bantu languages, no study has focused specifically on the acquisition of Cl. 11 by Xhosa-speaking children. In this paper we test our hypothesis that Xhosa-speaking children in both urban and rural areas no longer, ...
An urban area minority outreach program for K-6 children in space science
Morris, P.; Garza, O.; Lindstrom, M.; Allen, J.; Wooten, J.; Sumners, C.; Obot, V.
The Houston area has minority populations with significant school dropout rates. This is similar to other major cities in the United States and elsewhere in the world where there are significant minority populations from rural areas. The student dropout rates are associated in many instances with the absence of educational support opportuni- ties either from the school and/or from the family. This is exacerbated if the student has poor English language skills. To address this issue, a NASA minority university initiative enabled us to develop a broad-based outreach program that includes younger children and their parents at a primarily Hispanic inner city charter school. The pro- gram at the charter school was initiated by teaching computer skills to the older chil- dren, who in turn taught parents. The older children were subsequently asked to help teach a computer literacy class for mothers with 4-5 year old children. The computers initially intimidated the mothers as most had limited educational backgrounds and En- glish language skills. To practice their newly acquired computer skills and learn about space science, the mothers and their children were asked to pick a space project and investigate it using their computer skills. The mothers and their children decided to learn about black holes. The project included designing space suits for their children so that they could travel through space and observe black holes from a closer proxim- ity. The children and their mothers learned about computers and how to use them for educational purposes. In addition, they learned about black holes and the importance of space suits in protecting astronauts as they investigated space. The parents are proud of their children and their achievements. By including the parents in the program, they have a greater understanding of the importance of their children staying in school and the opportunities for careers in space science and technology. For more information on our overall
Are soils in urban ecosystems compacted? A citywide analysis.
Edmondson, Jill L; Davies, Zoe G; McCormack, Sarah A; Gaston, Kevin J; Leake, Jonathan R
2011-10-23
Soil compaction adversely influences most terrestrial ecosystem services on which humans depend. This global problem, affecting over 68 million ha of agricultural land alone, is a major driver of soil erosion, increases flood frequency and reduces groundwater recharge. Agricultural soil compaction has been intensively studied, but there are no systematic studies investigating the extent of compaction in urban ecosystems, despite the repercussions for ecosystem function. Urban areas are the fastest growing land-use type globally, and are often assumed to have highly compacted soils with compromised functionality. Here, we use bulk density (BD) measurements, taken to 14 cm depth at a citywide scale, to compare the extent of surface soil compaction between different urban greenspace classes and agricultural soils. Urban soils had a wider BD range than agricultural soils, but were significantly less compacted, with 12 per cent lower mean BD to 7 cm depth. Urban soil BD was lowest under trees and shrubs and highest under herbaceous vegetation (e.g. lawns). BD values were similar to many semi-natural habitats, particularly those underlying woody vegetation. These results establish that, across a typical UK city, urban soils were in better physical condition than agricultural soils and can contribute to ecosystem service provision.
Deri, Melissa A.; Mills, Pamela; McGregor, Donna
2018-01-01
A flipped classroom is one where students are first introduced to content outside of the classroom. This frees up class time for more active learning strategies and has been shown to enhance student learning in high school and college classrooms. However, many studies in General Chemistry, a college gateway science course, were conducted in small…
Wilson, Kenesha; Copeland-Solas, Eddia; Guthrie-Dixon, Natalie
2016-01-01
Mind mapping was introduced as a culturally relevant pedagogy aimed at enhancing the teaching and learning experience in a general education, Environmental Science class for mostly Emirati English Language Learners (ELL). Anecdotal evidence suggests that the students are very artistic and visual and enjoy group-based activities. It was decided to…
Students' perceptions of motivation in high school biology class: Informing current theories
McManic, Janet A.
The purpose of this study was to investigate students' perceptions of motivation to achieve while participating in general level high school biology classes. In a national poll of teacher's attitudes, student's motivation was a top concern of teachers (Elam, 1989). The student's perceptions of motivation are important to understand if improvements and advancements in motivation are to be implemented in the science classroom. This qualitative study was conducted in an urban high school that is located in a major metropolitan area in the southeast of the United States. The student body of 1100 is composed of Caucasian, African-American, Hispanic, and Asian students. The focus question of the study was: What are students' perceptions of their motivation in biology class? From general level biology classes, purposeful sampling narrowed the participants to fifteen students. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the participants having varying measurements of motivation on the Scale of Intrinsic versus Extrinsic Orientation in the Classroom (Harter, 1980). The interviews were recorded and transcribed. After transcription, the interviews were coded by the constant comparative method (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). The coded data of students' responses were analyzed and compared to current theories of motivation. The current theories are the social-cognitive model (Bandura, 1977), attribution theory (Weiner, 1979), basic needs theory (Maslow, 1954) and choice theory (Glasser, 1986). The results of this study support the social cognitive model of motivation (Bandura, 1977) through the description of family structure and its relationship to motivation (Gonzalez, 2002). The study upheld previous research in that extrinsic orientation was shown to be prevalent in older students (Harter, 1981; Anderman & Maehr, 1994). In addition, the students' responses disclosed the difficulties encountered in studying biology. Students expressed the opinion that biology terms are
The Promise of Single-Sex Classes
Stotsky, Sandra
2012-01-01
Despite the enthusiasm and the absence of definitive research on the pros and cons of single-sex classes, a 2011 article in Science, titled "The Pseudoscience of Single-Sex Schooling," by a new organization called American Council for CoEducational Schooling (ACCES) came out with the astonishing conclusion that single-sex education is…
Design and implementation of an e-class about continuous dynamical systems
Heck, A.; Houwing, H.; Val, J.; Ekimova, L.; Papageorgiou, G.
2009-01-01
In 2008, a small team of university and secondary school teachers in the Netherlands jointly developed an e-class for students in their final pre-university year (age: 17-18 yrs) about continuous dynamical systems. The e-class is an innovative way of teaching and learning mathematics and science by
"I Was the Special Ed. Girl": Urban Working-Class Young Women of Colour
Ferri, Beth A.; Connor, David J.
2010-01-01
Recent criticism of the over-representation of minority students in special education do not adequately account for gender, despite the fact that urban special education classrooms in the USA are largely populated by young men of colour. In fact, we know very little about how being female shapes the experiences and understandings of young women of…
The Office of Science Data-Management Challenge
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Mount, Richard P.; /SLAC
2005-10-10
Science--like business, national security, and even everyday life--is becoming more and more data intensive. In some sciences the data-management challenge already exceeds the compute-power challenge in its needed resources. Leadership in applying computing to science will necessarily require both world-class computing and world-class data management. The Office of Science program needs a leadership-class capability in scientific data management. Currently two-thirds of Office of Science research and development in data management is left to the individual scientific programs. About $18M/year is spent by the programs on data-management research and development targeted at their most urgent needs. This is to be compared with the $9M/year spent on data management by DOE computer science. This highly mission-directed approach has been effective, but only in meeting just the highest-priority needs of individual programs. A coherent, leadership-class, program of data management is clearly warranted by the scale and nature of the Office of Science programs. More directly, much of the Office of Science portfolio is in desperate need of such a program; without it, data management could easily become the primary bottleneck to scientific progress within the next five years. When grouped into simulation-intensive science, experiment/observation-intensive science, and information-intensive science, the Office of Science programs show striking commonalities in their data-management needs. Not just research and development but also packaging and hardening as well as maintenance and support are required. Meeting these needs is a medium- to long-term effort requiring a well-planned program of evolving investment. We propose an Office of Science Data-Management Program at an initial scale of $32M/year of new funding. The program should be managed by a Director charged with creating and maintaining a forward-looking approach to multiscience data-management challenges. The program
Understanding Engagement: Science Demonstrations and Emotional Energy
Milne, Catherine; Otieno, Tracey
2007-01-01
Although beloved of some chemists and physicists, science demonstrations have been criticized for stifling inquiry and assisting teachers to maintain a power differential between themselves and students in the classroom. This interpretive study reports the unexpected positive learning outcomes for urban science students in two chemistry classes…
A comparative gradient approach as a tool for understanding and managing urban ecosystems
Christopher G. Boone; Elizabeth Cook; Sharon J. Hall; Marcia L. Nation; Nancy B. Grimm; Carol B. Raish; Deborah M. Finch; Abigail M. York
2012-01-01
To meet the grand challenges of the urban century - such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and persistent poverty - urban and ecological theory must contribute to integrated frameworks that treat social and ecological dynamics as interdependent. A socioecological framework that encapsulates theory from the social and ecological sciences will improve understanding...
"Are We Doing Damage?" Choosing an Urban Public School in an Era of Parental Anxiety
Cucchiara, Maia
2013-01-01
There is an ample scholarly and popular literature describing the rise in "anxiety" among middle-class parents. This paper draws from a study of urban middle-class parents who were considering sending their children to public school. Focusing on one neighborhood and its school, it describes the impact of anxiety on the choice process. It further…
Local Climate Zones Classification to Urban Planning in the Mega City of São Paulo - SP, Brazil
Gonçalves Santos, Rafael; Saraiva Lopes, António Manuel; Prata-Shimomura, Alessandra
2017-04-01
Local Climate Zones Classification to Urban Planning in the Mega city of São Paulo - SP, Brazil Tropical megacities have presented a strong trend in growing urban. Urban management in megacities has as one of the biggest challenges is the lack of integration of urban climate and urban planning to promote ecologically smart cities. Local Climatic Zones (LCZs) are considered as important and recognized tool for urban climate management. Classes are local in scale, climatic in nature, and zonal in representation. They can be understood as regions of uniform surface cover, structure, material and human activity that have to a unique climate response. As an initial tool to promote urban climate planning, LCZs represent a simple composition of different land coverages (buildings, vegetation, soils, rock, roads and water). LCZs are divided in 17 classes, they are based on surface cover (built fraction, soil moisture, albedo), surface structure (sky view factor, roughness height) and cultural activity (anthropogenic heat flux). The aim of this study is the application of the LCZs classification system in the megacity of São Paulo, Brazil. Located at a latitude of 23° 21' and longitude 46° 44' near to the Tropic of Capricorn, presenting humid subtropical climate (Cfa) with diversified topographies. The megacity of São Paulo currently concentrates 11.890.000 inhabitants is characterized by large urban conglomerates with impermeable surfaces and high verticalization, having as result high urban heat island intensity. The result indicates predominance in urban zones of Compact low-rise, Compact Mid-rise, Compact High-rise and Open Low-rise. Non-urban regions are mainly covered by dense vegetation and water. The LCZs classification system promotes significant advantages for climate sensitive urban planning in the megacity of São Paulo. They offers new perspectives to the management of temperature and urban ventilation and allows the formulation of urban planning
Interdisciplinary Pathways for Urban Metabolism Research
Newell, J. P.
2011-12-01
With its rapid rise as a metaphor to express coupled natural-human systems in cities, the concept of urban metabolism is evolving into a series of relatively distinct research frameworks amongst various disciplines, with varying definitions, theories, models, and emphases. In industrial ecology, housed primarily within the disciplinary domain of engineering, urban metabolism research has focused on quantifying material and energy flows into, within, and out of cities, using methodologies such as material flow analysis and life cycle assessment. In the field of urban ecology, which is strongly influenced by ecology and urban planning, research focus has been placed on understanding and modeling the complex patterns and processes of human-ecological systems within urban areas. Finally, in political ecology, closely aligned with human geography and anthropology, scholars theorize about the interwoven knots of social and natural processes, material flows, and spatial structures that form the urban metabolism. This paper offers three potential interdisciplinary urban metabolism research tracks that might integrate elements of these three "ecologies," thereby bridging engineering and the social and physical sciences. First, it presents the idea of infrastructure ecology, which explores the complex, emergent interdependencies between gray (water and wastewater, transportation, etc) and green (e.g. parks, greenways) infrastructure systems, as nested within a broader socio-economic context. For cities to be sustainable and resilient over time-space, the theory follows, these is a need to understand and redesign these infrastructure linkages. Second, there is the concept of an urban-scale carbon metabolism model which integrates consumption-based material flow analysis (including goods, water, and materials), with the carbon sink and source dynamics of the built environment (e.g. buildings, etc) and urban ecosystems. Finally, there is the political ecology of the material
Using cogenerative dialogue to afford the teaching and learning of biology in an urban high school
Otulaja, Femi Segun
The body of research work presented in this dissertation integrates critical ethnography with video and conversation analyses in order to provide ways to articulate and understand the complexities associated with social life enactment as it unfolds during cogenerative dialogues and in the science classroom as the teacher and her students engage in science teaching and learning. The primary goal is to improve the teaching and learning of science in an urban science classroom at a public high school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In order to understand what is going on in the classroom and why, I worked with a female science teacher who identify as an African-American and her culturally diversified students in a biology class to examine teacher's and students' conscious and unconscious patterned actions, (i.e., classroom practices, that structure teaching and learning in the classroom. It is my belief that to improve science teaching and learning in the classroom, it is salient to improve science teacher's practices as a precursor to transforming students' practices. In order to ameliorate breaches in the fluency of encounters in the classroom, the teacher and her students need to establish and sustain critical, collaborative and collective conversations through cogen. I employ theoretical lenses of cultural sociology that I triangulate with sociology of emotions and critical pedagogy. I focus on culture as schemas and associated practices layered with the triple dialectics of agency, passivity and structure as new or hybridized/interstitial cultures that are produced get enacted in the science classroom to transform teacher's and her students' encounters with each other. The salient implication is that since encounters are imbued with emotions, teacher and her students learn to generate positive emotional energy during cogen that gets reproduced and transformed in the science classroom. Positive emotional energy creates resources that help to initiate and sustain
African Journals Online (AJOL)
OLUWOLE
Agro-Science Journal of Tropical Agriculture, Food, Environment and Extension ... investigates the impact of climate change on agricultural resource utilization and .... to increasing rural-urban migration. ..... The Impact of Global Warming on.
Baron, Alex; Chen, Hsiao-Lan Sharon
2012-03-01
Worldwide proliferation of pedagogical innovations creates expanding potential in the field of science education. While some teachers effectively improve students' scientific learning, others struggle to achieve desirable student outcomes. This study explores a Taiwanese science teacher's ability to effectively enhance her students' science learning. The authors visited a Taipei city primary school class taught by an experienced science teacher during a 4-week unit on astronomy, with a total of eight, 90-minute periods. Research methods employed in this study included video capture of each class as well as reflective interviews with the instructor, eliciting the teacher's reflection upon both her pedagogical choices and the perceived results of these choices. We report that the teacher successfully teaches science by creatively diverging from culturally generated educational expectations. Although the pedagogical techniques and ideas enumerated in the study are relevant specifically to Taiwan, creative cultural divergence might be replicated to improve science teaching worldwide.
Science Education in a Secular Age
Long, David E.
2013-01-01
A college science education instructor tells his students he rejects evolution. What should we think? The scene unfolds in one of the largest urban centers in the world. If we are surprised, why? Expanding on Federica Raia's (2012) first-hand experience with this scenario, I broaden her discussion by considering the complexity of science education…
Mudanças na estrutura de posições e segmentos de classe no Brasil
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Santos José Alcides Figueiredo
2001-01-01
Full Text Available The article reports on an empirical investigation into changes in the structural configuration of class positions and segments in Brazilian society from 1981 to 1996, applying a typology derived originally from Erik Olin Wright's neo-marxist class scheme. The investigation focuses on structural shifts and rates of changes in class positions and segments using the shift-share approach with the purpose of shedding light on the direction, scope, and determinant factors of change. The main structural transformations were the heavy reduction in agricultural strata and the (dualistic urban expansion of the petite bourgeoisie and precarious self-employment.
Urban lifestyle and urban biodiversity
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Petersen, L. K.; Lyytimäki, J.; Normander, B.
2007-01-01
This report is concerned with the relations between lifestyles of urban populations on one hand and protection of biodiversity in urban areas on the other. Urban areas are of importance for the general protection of biodiversity. In the surroundings of cities and within urban sprawls there can...... biodiversity, recreational, educational and other needs. However, uncovered and unsealed space is constantly under pressure for building and infrastructure development in the urban landscape, and the design and usages of urban green structure is a matter of differing interests and expectations. Integrating...... the green needs of urban lifestyle in the planning process does not come by itself. Nor does finding the synergies between urban lifestyle and urban biodiversity. Careful planning including stakeholder involvement is required. In this process various mapping techniques and use of indicators can be most...
Kıran, Dekant; Şen, Mehmet
2014-01-01
The purpose of this study is to portrayin-class implementations of in-service science teachers from the eyes of thepre-service science teachers. Specifically, this study examines various scienceteaching components such as overcoming misconceptions, assessment of sciencelearning, integrating nature of science aspects, using different scienceteaching methods etc. that science teachers use during instruction.Additionally, classroom management strategies of science teachers are alsoincluded. The ...
Protection for the U.S. Automobile Industry: A Joint Class Simulation in Trade Policy.
Hess, Peter N.; Ortmayer, Louis M.
A description of a joint class simulation in trade policy undertaken by an international economics class and a political science class at Davidson College (Pennsylvania) is presented in three sections. Section I describes the structure of the simulation. Students were divided into groups of United States auto manufacturers, the United Auto…
Emerging Scholars: The Class of 2008
Forde, Dana; Lum, Lydia; Nealy, Michelle J.; Pluviose, David; Roach, Ronald; Rogers, Ibram; Rolo, Mark Anthony; Seymour, Add, Jr., Valdata, Patricia; Watson, Jamal
2008-01-01
This year's crop of "Emerging Scholars"--The Class of 2008--includes a math biologist who was only the second woman to receive the Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship in math; a geneticist who recently became one of 20 winners of the National Science Foundation's Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers; and an extensively published…
Identifying urban infrastructure multi-hazard risk in developing country contexts
Taylor, Faith; Malamud, Bruce; Millington, James
2017-04-01
This work presents a method to coarsely zone urban areas into different infrastructure typologies, from which physical vulnerability to a range of natural hazards and multi-hazard interactions can be estimated, particularly for developing country contexts where access to data can be a challenge. This work builds upon techniques developed for urban micrometeorology for classifying 12 urban typologies (Stewart and Oke, 2011) using Landsat 8 30 m × 30 m remote sensing imagery (Betchel et al., 2015). For each of these 12 urban typologies, we develop general rules about the presence, type and level of service of 10 broad categories of infrastructure (including buildings, roads, electricity and water), which we refer to as 'urban textures'. We have developed and applied this technique to five urban areas varying in size and structure across Africa: Nairobi (Kenya); Karonga (Malawi); Mzuzu (Malawi); Ibadan (Nigeria) and Cape Town (South Africa). For each urban area, a training dataset of 10 samples of each of the 12 urban texture classes is digitised using Google Earth imagery. A random forest classification is performed using SAGA GIS, resulting in a map of different urban typologies for each city. Based on >1200 georeferenced field photographs and expert interviews for Karonga (Malawi) and Nairobi (Kenya), generally applicable rules about the presence, type and level of service of 12 infrastructure types (the 'urban texture') are developed for each urban typology. For each urban texture, we are broadly reviewing how each infrastructure might be physically impacted by 21 different natural hazards and hazard interactions. This can aid local stakeholders such as emergency responders and urban planners to systematically identify how the infrastructure in different parts of an urban area might be affected differently during a natural disaster event.
Urbanization disrupts latitude-size rule in 17-year cicadas.
Beasley, DeAnna E; Penick, Clint A; Boateng, Nana S; Menninger, Holly L; Dunn, Robert R
2018-03-01
Many ectotherms show a decrease in body size with increasing latitude due to changes in climate, a pattern termed converse Bergmann's rule. Urban conditions-particularly warmer temperatures and fragmented landscapes-may impose stresses on development that could disrupt these body size patterns. To test the impact of urbanization on development and latitudinal trends in body size, we launched a citizen science project to collect periodical cicadas ( Magicicada septendecim ) from across their latitudinal range during the 2013 emergence of Brood II. Periodical cicadas are long-lived insects whose distribution spans a broad latitudinal range covering both urban and rural habitats. We used a geometric morphometric approach to assess body size and developmental stress based on fluctuating asymmetry in wing shape. Body size of rural cicadas followed converse Bergmann's rule, but this pattern was disrupted in urban habitats. In the north, urban cicadas were larger than their rural counterparts, while southern populations showed little variation in body size between habitats. We detected no evidence of differences in developmental stress due to urbanization. To our knowledge, this is the first evidence that urbanization disrupts biogeographical trends in body size, and this pattern highlights how the effects of urbanization may differ over a species' range.
Trends in BMI of urban Australian adults, 1980-2000
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Walls, Helen L; Wolfe, Rory; Haby, Michelle M
2010-01-01
of 7.4 kg/m2 at the higher end for women aged 55-64 years. While the prevalence of obesity (BMI >or= 30 kg/m2) doubled, the prevalence of obesity class III (BMI >or= 40 kg/m2) increased fourfold. CONCLUSIONS: BMI in urban Australian adults has increased and its distribution has become increasingly...... right-skewed. This has resulted in a large increase in the prevalence of obesity, particularly the more severe levels of obesity. It will be important to monitor changes in the different classes of obesity and the extent to which obesity interventions both shift the BMI distribution leftwards...
The urban informal economy in Ethiopia: theory and empirical ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Eastern Africa Social Science Research Review ... data to explore the roles and characteristics of the informal sector in urban centers of Ethiopia, ... informal sources, 4) the level of income per person varied sharply among the various sectors.
Young Women's Scientific Identity Formation in an Urban Context.
Brickhouse, Nancy W.; Potter, Jennifer T.
2001-01-01
Examines the scientific identity formation of two young women of color who attended an urban vocational high school. Describes how the experience of marginalization can make membership in a science school community impossible or undesirable. (Author/MM)
Carlone, Heidi B.; Webb, Angela W.; Archer, Louise; Taylor, Mandy
2015-01-01
The close association between science and masculinity has been widely discussed, yet few studies have focused on boys' negotiation with, and participation in, school science. This paper seeks to trouble monolithic notions of the link between science and masculinity, arguing that the "ideal science student" is a classed, racialized, and…
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Dimitrios Stamovlasis
2018-04-01
Full Text Available This paper illustrates two psychometric methods, latent class analysis (LCA and taxometric analysis (TA using empirical data from research probing children's mental representation in science learning. LCA is used to obtain a typology based on observed variables and to further investigate how the encountered classes might be related to external variables, where the effectiveness of classification process and the unbiased estimations of parameters become the main concern. In the step-wise LCA, the class membership is assigned and subsequently its relationship with covariates is established. This leading-edge modeling approach suffers from severe downward-biased estimations. The illustration of LCA is focused on alternative bias correction approaches and demonstrates the effect of modal and proportional class-membership assignment along with BCH and ML correction procedures. The illustration of LCA is presented with three covariates, which are psychometric variables operationalizing formal reasoning, divergent thinking and field dependence-independence, respectively. Moreover, taxometric analysis, a method designed to detect the type of the latent structural model, categorical or dimensional, is introduced, along with the relevant basic concepts and tools. TA was applied complementarily in the same data sets to answer the fundamental hypothesis about children's naïve knowledge on the matters under study and it comprises an additional asset in building theory which is fundamental for educational practices. Taxometric analysis provided results that were ambiguous as far as the type of the latent structure. This finding initiates further discussion and sets a problematization within this framework rethinking fundamental assumptions and epistemological issues.
Stamovlasis, Dimitrios; Papageorgiou, George; Tsitsipis, Georgios; Tsikalas, Themistoklis; Vaiopoulou, Julie
2018-01-01
This paper illustrates two psychometric methods, latent class analysis (LCA) and taxometric analysis (TA) using empirical data from research probing children's mental representation in science learning. LCA is used to obtain a typology based on observed variables and to further investigate how the encountered classes might be related to external variables, where the effectiveness of classification process and the unbiased estimations of parameters become the main concern. In the step-wise LCA, the class membership is assigned and subsequently its relationship with covariates is established. This leading-edge modeling approach suffers from severe downward-biased estimations. The illustration of LCA is focused on alternative bias correction approaches and demonstrates the effect of modal and proportional class-membership assignment along with BCH and ML correction procedures. The illustration of LCA is presented with three covariates, which are psychometric variables operationalizing formal reasoning, divergent thinking and field dependence-independence, respectively. Moreover, taxometric analysis, a method designed to detect the type of the latent structural model, categorical or dimensional, is introduced, along with the relevant basic concepts and tools. TA was applied complementarily in the same data sets to answer the fundamental hypothesis about children's naïve knowledge on the matters under study and it comprises an additional asset in building theory which is fundamental for educational practices. Taxometric analysis provided results that were ambiguous as far as the type of the latent structure. This finding initiates further discussion and sets a problematization within this framework rethinking fundamental assumptions and epistemological issues.
An Ethnography of Children's Friendships in a Fifth-Grade Culturally Diverse Class.
Deegan, James G.
The purpose of this ethnographic study was to examine friendships of early adolescents in a culturally diverse fifth grade class in an urban elementary school in the southeastern United States. The study described and interpreted the experiences of being a friend and having a friend in a culturally diverse classroom. The approach was grounded in…
Sriyati, S.; Amelia, D. N.; Soniyana, G. T.
2018-05-01
Student’s science communication ability can be assessed by the Expert-Notice Dialogue (END) method which focusing on verbal explanations using graphs or images as a tool. This study aims to apply the END method to assess students’ science communication ability. The study was conducted in two high schools with each sample of one class at each school (A and B). The number of experts in class A is 8 students and 7 in class B, the number of notice in class A 24 students and 30 in class B. The material chosen for explanation by expert is Ecosystem in class A and plant classification in class B. Research instruments are rubric of science communication ability, observation rubric, notice concept test and notice questionnaire. The implementation recorded with a video camera and then transcribed based on rubric science communication ability. The results showed that the average of science communication ability in class A and B was 60% and 61.8%, respectively, in enough categories. Mastery of the notice concept is in good category with 79.10 averages in class A and 94.64 in class B. Through the questionnaire notice it is known that the END method generally helps notice in understanding the concept.
Results of the round table "Impact of natural and man-made hazards on urban areas"
Bostenaru-Dan, Maria; Olga Gociman, Cristina; Hostiuc, Constantin; Mihaila, Marina; Gheorghe (Popovici), Diana Alexandra; Anghelache, Mirela Adriana; Dutu, Andreea; Tascu-Stavre, Miroslav
2015-04-01
On Thursday the 6th of November a round table was organised at the Centre of Architectural and Urban Studies of the "Ion Mincu" University of Architecture and Urban Planning on the topic of this session. It included a review of the previous editions, and an outlook to the edition this year. We shared publications, and a publication is in work from the round table itself. The series of round tables at the Centre of Architectural and Urban Studies is an innitiative of Constantin Hostiuc, the secretary general of the centre. This round table was organised by Maria Bostenaru Dan, and moderated by Cristina Olga Gociman, who currently runs a project on a related topic. From the various ways to approach the effects of hazards, up to the disatrous ones, on urban areas, we consider the most suitable the approach to the impact. From the point of view of natural sciences and of the engineering ones this was approached a number of times, and newly social sciences are included as well. The role of planning and design for a better prevention, and even post-disaster intervention is ignored many times though. The goal of the round table was to bring together multidisciplinary approaches (architecture, urban planning, seismology, geography, structural engineering, ecology, communication sciences, art history) on a problem set from this point of view. Discussed topics were: 1. Assessment and mapping methods of the impact of natural hazards on urban areas (preventive, postdisaster) 2. Visualisation and communication techniques of the assessed impact, including GIS, internet, 3D 3. Strategies for the reduction of the impact of natural hazards on urban areas 4. Suitable methods of urban design for the mitigation of the effects of disasters in multihazard case 5. Partnership models among the involved actors in the decision process for disaster mitigaton 6. Urban planning instruments for risc management strategies (ex. master plan) 7. Lessons learned from the relationship between hazard
Roman, M. O.; Wang, Z.; Kalb, V.; Cole, T.; Oda, T.; Stokes, E.; Molthan, A.
2016-12-01
A new generation of satellite instruments, represented by the Suomi National Polar-Orbiting Partnership (Suomi-NPP) Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), offer global measurements of nocturnal visible and near-infrared light suitable for urban science research. While many promising urban-focused applications have been developed using nighttime satellite imagery in the past 25 years, most studies to-date have been limited by the quality of the captured imagery and the retrieval methods used in heritage (DMSP/OLS) products. Instead, science-quality products that are temporally consistent, global in extent, and local in resolution were needed to monitor human settlements worldwide —particularly for studies within dense urban areas. Since the first-light images from the VIIRS were received in January 2012, the NASA Land Science Investigator-led Processing System (Land SIPS) team has worked on maximizing the capabilities of these low-light measurements to generate a wealth of new information useful for understanding urbanization processes, urban functions, and the vulnerability of urban areas to climate hazards. In a recent case study, our team demonstrated that tracking daily dynamic VIIRS nighttime measurements can provide valuable information about the character of the human activities and behaviors that shape energy consumption and vulnerability (Roman and Stokes, 2015). Moving beyond mapping the physical qualities of urban areas (e.g. land cover and impervious area), VIIRS measurements provide insight into the social, economic, and cultural activities that shape energy and infrastructure use. Furthermore, as this time series expands and is merged with other sources of optical remote sensing data (e.g., Landsat-8 and Sentinel 2), VIIRS has the potential to increase our understanding of changes in urban form, structure, and infrastructure—factors that may also influence urban resilience—and how the increasing frequency and severity of climate
Knowledge-based Design : Developing Urban & Regional Design into a Science
Klaasen, I.T.
2003-01-01
An implemented design of an urban area imposes long-term conditions on societal processes, such as the opportunities people have to organize their lives in temporospatial respects in a healthy and safe living environment, and the way social, cultural and economic institutions and organisations can
Fermilab Education Office: Science Adventures
Search The Education Office: Science Adventures Adventure Catalog Search for Adventures Calendar Class Facebook Group. Contact: Science Adventures Registrar, Education Office Fermilab, MS 777, P.O. Box 500 it again." Opportunities for Instructors The Education Office has openings for instructors who
Reframing the role of knowledge parks and science cities in knowledge-based urban development
Benneworth, Paul Stephen; Ratinho, Tiago
2014-01-01
Knowledge-based urban developments (KBUDs) are an increasingly common element of urban planning and strategy making: policy makers and developers set out to stimulate economic prosperity by promoting the integration and concentration of research, technology, and human capital. But KBUD is, by its
[Ozone concentration distribution of urban].
Yin, Yong-quan; Li, Chang-mei; Ma, Gui-xia; Cui, Zhao-jie
2004-11-01
The increase of ozone concentration in urban is one of the most important research topics on environmental science. With the increase of nitrogen oxides and hydrogen-carbon compounds which are exhausted from cars, the ozone concentration in urban is obviously increased on sunlight, and threat of photochemistry smog will be possible. Therefore, it is very important to monitor and study the ozone concentration distribution in urban. The frequency-distribution, diurnal variation and monthly variation of ozone concentration were studied on the campus of Shandong University during six months monitoring. The influence of solar radiation and weather conditions on ozone concentration were discussed. The frequency of ozone concentration less than 200 microg/m3 is 96.88%. The ozone concentration has an obvious diurnal variation. The ozone concentration in the afternoon is higher than in the morning and in the evening. The maximum appears in June, when it is the strong solar radiation and high air-temperature. The weather conditions also influence the ozone concentration. The ozone concentration in clear day is higher than in rainy and cloudy day.
People, places and infrastructure: Countering urban violence and ...
International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)
This concept will allow researchers to investigate how state policies and market forces affect ... in changing urban environments are further heightened by inequality, insecurity, poverty, and violence. ... Brazil, India, South Africa, United Kingdom ... IDRC congratulates first cohort of Women in Climate Change Science Fellows.
A Retrospective Evaluation of the Class of Malocclusion amongst ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
A Retrospective Evaluation of the Class of Malocclusion amongst Orthodontic Patients at the University Of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu, Nigeria. ... Annals of Medical and Health Sciences Research. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS ...
Urban lighting, light pollution and society
Meier, Josiane; Krause, Katharina; Pottharst, Merle
2014-01-01
After decades "in the shadows", urban lighting is re-emerging as a matter of public debate. Long-standing truths are increasingly questioned as a confluence of developments affects lighting itself and the way it is viewed. Light has become an integral element of place-making and energy-saving initiatives alike. Rapidly evolving lighting technologies are opening up new possibilities, but also posing new challenges to planners, and awareness is growing that artificial illumination is not purely benign but can actually constitute a form of pollution. As a result, public policy frameworks, incentives and initiatives are undergoing a phase of innovation and change that will affect how cities are lit for years to come. The first comprehensive compilation of current scientific discussions on urban lighting and light pollution from a social science and humanities perspective, Urban Lighting, Light Pollution and Society contributes to an evolving international debate on an increasingly controversial topic. The contrib...