Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Social Change Through Social Gatherings, Joseph M. Murphy, John E. Hofferberth

Joseph M. Murphy

Strongly And Weakly Directed Approaches To Teaching Multiple Representation Use In Physics, Patrick B. Kohl, David Rosengrant, Noah D. Finkelstein

David Rosengrant

Good use of multiple representations is considered key to learning physics, and so there is considerable motivation both to learn how students use multiple representations when solving problems and to learn how best to teach problem solving using multiple representations. In this study of two large-lecture algebra-based physics courses at the University of Colorado (CU) and Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, we address both issues. Students in each of the two courses solved five common electrostatics problems of varying difficulty, and we examine their solutions to clarify the relationship between multiple representation use and performance on problems involving …

Integrating Games To Teach A First Programming Course, Soumia Ichoua

Soumia Ichoua

In the past few years, there has been an increased interest in game-based learning as a powerful tool to stimulate students’ interest and promote their engagement in the learning process. In this paper, we discuss our experience in integrating gaming to teach a first programming course. The course is restructured and redesigned to allow teaching the basics of programming through games. Students actively use fundamental programming concepts learned to modify and create two dimension games using C# and XNA with .Net framework. This is an on-going work. Surveys and worksheets are developed to be used in assessing the effectiveness of …

La Diversidad De Los Analisis De Diversidad [The Diversity Of Diversity Analyses], Victor D. Carmona

Victor D. Carmona-Galindo

There is a lack of consistency with respect to the use of the terms like species richness, diversity and biodiversity, which extends to the analysis of diversity indices and the merit of using diversity indices in the evaluation (comparison and contrast) of biological communities. The purpose of this article is to provide working definitions for these terms and cite examples from the primary literature that demonstrate the utility of estimating richness, evaluating proportional abundance patterns, as well as comparing indices of diversity and similarity to study patterns of biological organization at different ecological scales. Additionally, we provide a manual in …

Addressing Misconceptions About Heat Transfer In Undergraduate Chemical Engineering Instruction, Katharyn E. K. Nottis, Michael J. Prince, Margot A. Vigeant

Michael J. Prince

Understanding heat, energy and temperature can be difficult. Misconceptions about heat transfer have been found to persist, even after instruction. New instructional methods are needed to address them. This pilot study examined whether researcher-developed, inquiry-based activities could increase conceptual understanding of heat transfer. Twenty-two undergraduate chemical engineering students were assessed before and after instruction with inquiry-based activities. Participants had significantly higher scores on the post-test. An examination of assessment questions revealed substantial improvement on questions closely related to activities. However, participants had difficulty applying concepts in new and related contexts. Educational implications and suggestions for future research will be discussed.

Addressing Misconceptions About Heat Transfer In Undergraduate Chemical Engineering Instruction, Katharyn E. K. Nottis, Michael J. Prince, Margot A. Vigeant

Margot Vigeant

Understanding heat, energy and temperature can be difficult. Misconceptions about heat transfer have been found to persist, even after instruction. New instructional methods are needed to address them. This pilot study examined whether researcher-developed, inquiry-based activities could increase conceptual understanding of heat transfer. Twenty-two undergraduate chemical engineering students were assessed before and after instruction with inquiry-based activities. Participants had significantly higher scores on the post-test. An examination of assessment questions revealed substantial improvement on questions closely related to activities. However, participants had difficulty applying concepts in new and related contexts. Educational implications and suggestions for future research will be discussed.

Codes Declassified: The Stories, Kalvin Whittles

Kalvin Whittles Dr.

One of the recommendations of the doctoral study, Cryptology: A didactical transposition into a grade 10 school mathematics classroom is to place the topic of cryptology in the public domain. The book Codes declassified: The stories aims to do so through stories to introduce readers to some of the codes in cryptology.

This Is An Independently Managed Website. The Views Expressed In The Pages Are Those Of The Contributors And Not Necessarily Those Of The Cape Peninsula University Of Technology

Kalvin Whittles Dr.

No abstract provided.

Isbn, Kalvin Whittles

Kalvin Whittles Dr.

Using the context of the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) the author reflects on students' development of lesson plans for teaching of the topic to school mathematics learners

Number Theory, Kalvin Whittles

Kalvin Whittles Dr.

Using the context of number theory conceptual links are developed with topics within school mathematics

Introducing New Content Into A School Mathematics Curriculum: The Case Of Cryptology, Kalvin Whittles, Ole-Einar Torkildsen, Cyril Julie, Trygve Breiteig

Kalvin Whittles Dr.

Developing learning resources forms an important part of a school mathematics curriculum implementation. This chapter argues for a change in the way we do analysis for developing learning resources. An argument is forwarded for an undertstanding of the main concepts within the topic as well as a historical and didactical analysis thereof in order to make statements with respect to the teaching and learning of the topic. For this analysis, the topic of cryptology is used as an example. The chapter concludes with recommendations to curriculum designers to revisit the accepted practice to adept already historicalle en didactically analysed materials, …

Cryptology: A Didactical Transposition Into A Grade 10 School Mathematics Classroom, Kalvin Whittles

Kalvin Whittles Dr.

This study is an extension of a Master’s study, entitled Realistic Mathematics Education and the strategies grade 8 learners develop for the solution of two simultaneous linear equations. The current study investigates how new content could be introduced into a school mathematics curriculum. The new content under discussion for this study is the topic of cryptology. Two design research cycles were carried out. For the first design research cycle there were three teaching experiments with teachers, grade 10 learners and students as participants. Seven activities were developed for the second design research cycles which were worked through with grade 10 …

Thesis Presentation, Kalvin Whittles Dr.

Kalvin Whittles Dr.

No abstract provided.

Xavier University's Discovering Life Science Program Evaluation Final Report, Steven R. Rogg

Steven R Rogg

This document is the final report of the external evaluation of the project entitled: Implementing Inquiry and Technology in a Biology Lab for Pre–service Teachers and Non-majors embodied in Xavier University’s laboratory course Biol-125: Discovering Life Science and funded under the National Science Foundation (NSF), Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE) of the Directorate for Education and Human Resources (HER.) award no. DUE#99-50373. The period of NSF funding for this two-year project of the NSF/HER/DUE Course, Curriculum and Laboratory Improvement Program was June 1, 1999 through May 31, 2001. There are several accomplishments that the University and the principal investigators can …