Science and Technology Studies Commons^™

Translating Expertise Into Effective Instruction: The Impacts Of Cognitive Task Analysis (Cta) On Lab Report Quality And Student Retention In The Biological Sciences, David F. Feldon, Briana Crotwell Timmerman, Krik A. Stowe, Richard Showman

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Poor instruction has been cited as a primary cause of attrition from STEM majors and a major obstacle to learning for those who stay [Seymour and Hewitt [1997]. Talking about leaving: Why undergraduates leave the sciences. Boulder, CO: Westview]. Using a double-blind design, this study tests the hypothesis that the lack of explicit instructions in scientific inquiry skills is a major factor in both low STEM retention and academic underperformance. This project delivered supplemental instruction to students in a laboratory-based undergraduate biology course (n = 314) that was derived either from cognitive task analyses (CTAs) conducted with expert biologists (treatment) …

Does Socio/Economic Status Affect Environmental Awarness In Elementary School Children Interacting With School Gardens?, Grady C. Erickson

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

This is a case study involving three elementary schools in the greater Lincoln, Nebraska area. These schools were chosen to provide insight to three different economic backgrounds. Saratoga and Randolph from Lincoln Public Schools, and Norris Elementary part of Norris Public Schools 160 was the third school involved in the study. This case study focused on seeing whether socio/economic background had any effect on environmental awareness. To do so, surveys were handed out to each school to help measure environmental awareness. These surveys also helped determine where the environmental literacy standards were in the elementary schools of Lincoln, Nebraska. The …

Faculty Success: Developing A Research And Publication Agenda, Kathleen P. King

Kathleen P King

Anyone associated with higher education will acknowledge that tenure track faculty have to perform a fantastic balancing act. Compared to an administrative or line role in an organization, higher education faculty have tremendous autonomy and freedom. However, they face competing demands of many different (and good) opportunities, and for them the stakes are always high. Help is here! This article introduces a powerful strategy for staying on track in the research strand of this competitive journey.

Faculty Success: Developing A Research And Publication Agenda, Kathleen P. King

Leadership, Counseling, Adult, Career and Higher Education Faculty Publications

Anyone associated with higher education will acknowledge that tenure track faculty have to perform a fantastic balancing act. Compared to an administrative or line role in an organization, higher education faculty have tremendous autonomy and freedom. However, they face competing demands of many different (and good) opportunities, and for them the stakes are always high. Help is here! This article introduces a powerful strategy for staying on track in the research strand of this competitive journey.

A Call For Performance-Based Data In The Study Of Stem Ph.D. Education, David F. Feldon, Michelle A. Maher, Briana E. Timmerman

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Understanding the scholarly development of Ph.D. students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is vital to the preparation of the scientific workforce. During doctoral study, students learn to be professional scientists and acquire the competencies to succeed in those roles. However, this complex process is not well studied. Research to date suffers from overreliance on a narrow range of methods that cannot provide data appropriate for addressing questions of causality or effectiveness of specific practices in doctoral education. We advocate a shift in focus from student and instructor self-report toward the use of actual performance data as a remedy …

Do Psychology Researchers Tell It Like It Is? A Microgenetic Analysis Of Research Strategies And Self-Report Accuracy, David F. Feldon

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Acquiring research skills is considered to be a highly challenging aspect of developing expertise in the social sciences. Because instruction and mentoring in these skills are typically grounded in the self-report of researchers, difficulties in learning the material may be due to the content and accuracy of these explanations. Using a mixed-method, microgenetic design, this study examines the explanations of problem-solving processes by researchers along a continuum of expertise during simulated experiment design and subsequent data analysis. Findings indicate that participants’ self-explanations are largely inaccurate. Further, frequency of inaccurate statements is positively associated with the frequency of abstract cognitive processes, …

Supply Issues For Science Academics In Australia: Now And In The Future, Daniel Edwards, Fred Smith

Dr Daniel Edwards

Australia, like the rest of the developed world, is in the midst of dealing with notable issues related to the age structure of its academic workforce. These issues are widespread and have been articulated in the Australian context most comprehensively by Hugo (2008). This paper investigates issues with demographic change and other key

factors related to the desirability of a science or mathematics academic career within

Australian universities. It draws on the findings of a research project undertaken in 2008

for the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. The findings show that while demographic issues are not as dire …

Mother Earth "Speaks": Change Yourself, Change The World, Use The Archetypal Energy "Harmony" As A Guide, Carroy U. Ferguson

Carroy U "Cuf" Ferguson, Ph.D.

In relation to the Cosmos, we all, as human beings, live on this tiny planet we call Earth, a planet that supports and sustains life, as we know it. There are many different kinds of people, plants, and animals functioning in harmony with soil, air, and water--all linked to one another in a complex web of life to form one Earth community. Unfortunately, we often take this miracle and ecosystem of life for granted. When, however, we take the ecosystem of life too much for granted, Mother Earth "speaks," reflecting imbalances and dis-harmonies. When Mother Earth "speaks," her message is …

The Role Of Public Libraries And Their Future, Uma Devi Doraiswamy

DLTS Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

How Technology Has Affected The English Language Learning Classroom, Natalie Bursztynsky

Technology Essay Contest Winners

English language learners are a growing percentage of students in today’s classrooms. These students’ educational needs will continue to grow, but so will technology. Multiple technologies today can be incorporated into the classroom, and teachers can be comforted in the fact that there will always be something to keep them one step ahead in the English language learning classroom.

Designing Successful Online Courses - Part 2, Kathleen P. King

Kathleen P King

Once again, our major goal is to provide faculty with consistent guidance through the many instructional decisions and design steps they need to pursue in this process. This process is a fantastic opportunity to craft a virtual learning space in which people can engaging in learning beyond the constraints of time and space.

Designing Successful Online Courses - Part 2, Kathleen P. King

Leadership, Counseling, Adult, Career and Higher Education Faculty Publications

Once again, our major goal is to provide faculty with consistent guidance through the many instructional decisions and design steps they need to pursue in this process. This process is a fantastic opportunity to craft a virtual learning space in which people can engaging in learning beyond the constraints of time and space.

Five Strategies For Successful Writing Of Reports And Essays, Kathleen P. King

Kathleen P King

Many people cannot get started with their literary projects because they do not know where to start. In this brief article, I share insight from years of teaching students and professionals of all ages how to prepare professional work.

Five Strategies For Successful Writing Of Reports And Essays, Kathleen P. King

Leadership, Counseling, Adult, Career and Higher Education Faculty Publications

Many people cannot get started with their literary projects because they do not know where to start. In this brief article, I share insight from years of teaching students and professionals of all ages how to prepare professional work.

Stem Talent: Moving Beyond Traditional Boundaries, Stephanie Pace Marshall

Publications & Research

The future well-being, prosperity and sustainability of our nation, the global community and our planet resides in igniting and nurturing decidedly different STEM minds that can advance both the new STEM frontier and the human future.

What About The Children? Benjamin And Arendt: On Education, Work, And The Political, Jules Simon

Jules Simon

This article is a rough draft of an article that I contributed to an edited volume of articles dealing with progressive education theory. I reflect on articles that Hannah Arendt and Walter Benjamin wrote that deal with educational reform and innovation, both political in nature.

Revelations Of Adaptive Technology Hiding In Your Operating System, Kathleen P. King

Kathleen P King

Pre-publication version of a chapter about the assistive technology tools and resources available for free in Windows OS and Mac OS. Introducing higher education faculty to free resources, features and programs which they can recommend to their students or perhaps use for themselves (for instance for fading eyesight or hearing). In addition, the chapter briefly shares strategies and examples of how they might be used. The book will have an entire chapter dedicated to assistive technology as well. This is a popularized assistive technology chapter for generalist, NON special education, faculty to become acquainted with readily available and free resources. …

Investigating The “Why” In Whypox: Explorations Of A Virtual Epidemic, Yasmin B. Kafai, Maria Quintero, David F. Feldon

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Learning scientists have created and used virtual worlds to support players’ historical, scientific, and ecological inquiries. Much less explored has been the impact of community events on players’ investigations in virtual worlds. The authors present here the case of a community event Whypox, a virtual epidemic whose annual outbreak in Whyville affects players’ communication and appearance. The authors analyze the different levels of participation ranging from casual to systematic in which players searched out more information about the Whypox, participated in online discussions about its causes and investigated different scenarios with simulations. The discussion examines ethical concerns, the contributions of …

Revelations Of Adaptive Technology Hiding In Your Operating System, Kathleen P. King

Leadership, Counseling, Adult, Career and Higher Education Faculty Publications

Pre-publication version of a chapter about the assistive technology tools and resources available for free in Windows OS and Mac OS. Introducing higher education faculty to free resources, features and programs which they can recommend to their students or perhaps use for themselves (for instance for fading eyesight or hearing). In addition, the chapter briefly shares strategies and examples of how they might be used.

The book will have an entire chapter dedicated to assistive technology as well. This is a popularized assistive technology chapter for generalist, NON special education, faculty to become acquainted with readily available and free resources. …

Beyond Creativity: Copyright As Knowledge Law, Michael J. Madison

Articles

The Supreme Court’s copyright jurisprudence of the last 100 years has embraced the creativity trope. Spurred in part by themes associated with the story of “romantic authorship” in the 19th and 20th centuries, copyright critiques likewise ask, “Who is creative?” “How should creativity be protected (or not) and encouraged (or not)?” and “ Why protect creativity?” Policy debates and scholarship in recent years have focused on the concept of creativity in framing copyright disputes, transactions, and institutions, reinforcing the notion that these are the central copyright questions. I suggest that this focus on the creativity trope is unhelpful. I argue …

Strategies For The Scientific Progress Of The Developing Countries In The New Millennium: The Case Of Serbia In Comparison With Slovenia And South Korea, Vuk Uskoković, Milica Ševkušić, Dragan P. Uskoković

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

The underlying premise of this essay is the hypothesis that quality and significance of scientific research in any given society could be used as mirrors reflecting its true prosperity. By comparing the two cases of comparatively prosperous scientific management of South Korea and Slovenia, with the example of Serbia, illustrating the poor scientific and industrial productivity typically faced by the developing countries, a few general guidelines for the evolution of a society towards higher scientific and social prominence are outlined. It is argued that the most favourable pattern of growth should be based on the parallel progress in control of …