Education Commons^™

Developing Scientific Talent In Students With Special Needs: An Alternative Model For Identification, Curriculum, And Assessment, Carolyn R. Cooper, Susan M. Baum, Terry W. Neu

Education Faculty Publications

Can students with learning and attention difficulties in school actually be talented scientists in disguise? This article presents a model that was highly successful in identifying and developing scientific talent in these special students. The factors that contributed to the success of the model were the following: The emphasis was on helping students become creative producers. The model also featured a strong mentoring component that included role-modeling and problem solving within specific scientific domains and provided students with authentic, discovery-based, experiential, advanced level subject matter of the domain. Finally, the alternate means of assessing student achievement focused on a student’s …

Rui Barbosa And The Argument For Teaching The Natural Sciences In The Brazilian Primary School Of The Xix Century, Karl M. Lorenz

Education Faculty Publications

The paper discusses the ideas of Rui Barbosa on the importance of teaching science in the primary schools of nineteenth-century Brazil. Barbosa was one of the great parliamentarians of his time and one of Brazil’s most vocal advocates of educational reform in the nineteenth century. In 1882, Barbosa was directed to provide a written assessment of the1878 educational reform of Minister Leonçio de Carvalho. In the document that resulted, Barbosa states his rationale for why and how the natural sciences should be taught in the primary school. This paper relates Barbosa’s ideas on science teaching and argues that he was …

Os Livros Didáticos De Matemática Na Escola Secundaria Brasileira No Século Xix [Mathematics Textbooks And Brazilian Secondary Education In The Xix Century], Karl M. Lorenz, Ariclê Vechia

Education Faculty Publications

O estudo identifica os livros didáticos de matemática utilizados no Colégio de Pedro II do Rio de Janeiro no século XIX, considerado "padrão" para seus congêneres. A partir de informações contidas nos programas de ensino adotados no Colégio de 1838 a 1900 e com auxílio da literatura especializada, foi possível identificar a autoria e o título de trinta e dois livros-texto, sendo a maioria deles escrita por autores brasileiros e um número menor escrito por autores franceses. Infere-se que houve equivalência entre os estudos de matemática do Colégio Pedro II e dos demais colégios do Rio de Janeiro e das …

Robotics Technologies For K-8 Educators: A Semiotic Approach For Instructional Design, Antoinette P. Bruciati

Education Faculty Publications

Robotics engineering courses have provided undergraduate computer science students with opportunities for designing and programming simulations of robotic tasks. In contrast, many teacher preparation programs have lacked courses in this area. Educators who have not gained a conceptual understanding of computer programming may not possess the skills that would have enabled them to successfully integrate robotics technologies into their K-8 curriculum.

Recent technological advances have provided a viable means of approaching this problem. Several icon-orientated robotics technologies have been identified that allow educators to master computer programming concepts through a simplified graphical user interface (GUI) design.

This investigation addressed the …

Building Successful On-Line Learning Communities Across International Boundaries: A Case Study, Pat Jefferies, Frances Grodzinsky, Joe Griffin

School of Computer Science & Engineering Faculty Publications

The development of on-line learning communities across international boundaries is now a viable proposition using available asynchronous technologies. As has been reported in previous papers (Grodzinsky, Griffin & Jefferies, 2002; Griffin, Grodzinsky & Jefferies, 2002) such use has proved to be extremely valuable for supporting the teaching of computing and ethics. For example, not only does asynchronous computer conferencing offer new opportunities for students to gain valuable first-hand experience in using such technology to communicate with peers in other countries but it also facilitates them gaining a more direct appreciation of the cultural, legal and ethical differences that abound. However, …