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An Evolutionary Approach To Crowdsourcing Mathematics Education, Spencer Ward
An Evolutionary Approach To Crowdsourcing Mathematics Education, Spencer Ward
Honors College
By combining ideas from evolutionary biology, epistemology, and philosophy of mind, this thesis attempts to derive a new kind of crowdsourcing that could better leverage people’s collective creativity. Following a theory of knowledge presented by David Deutsch, it is argued that knowledge develops through evolutionary competition that organically emerges from a creative dialogue of trial and error. It is also argued that this model of knowledge satisfies the properties of Douglas Hofstadter’s strange loops, implying that self-reflection is a core feature of knowledge evolution. This mix of theories then is used to analyze several existing strategies of crowdsourcing and knowledge …
Applying Cluster Analysis To Student Responses From Energy Surveys For Identification Of Commonalities In Their Understanding, Arianna Giguere
Applying Cluster Analysis To Student Responses From Energy Surveys For Identification Of Commonalities In Their Understanding, Arianna Giguere
Honors College
Energy is a complicated model that has been developed to describe matter to matter interactions. Since energy can be challenging to define, there are inconsistencies among even teachers and physicists in how they define the concept. It is no wonder that students themselves carry misconceptions and confusions. While it may be difficult to teach, an understanding of energy from a young age is essential for the future of technology, climate change, and scientific discoveries. Middle school students in Maine are required to learn about energy transformation, conservation, and forms, and from 2011-2018, researchers at the University of Maine administered multiple …