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Full-Text Articles in Education

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 Dec 2010

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) …


The Best Test Of Ph.D. Studentsuccess: Response, David F. Feldon, Briana Crotwell Timmerman, Michelle Maher Oct 2010

The Best Test Of Ph.D. Studentsuccess: Response, David F. Feldon, Briana Crotwell Timmerman, Michelle Maher

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Newquist suggests that students' publications are important predictors of post-degree research effectiveness, due in part to the importance of collaboration in innovative research. We agree that publication record is important and helpful, but the collaborative aspects of writing render publications a noisy metric by which to assess individual growth on specific skills (1). The variable time lags between the execution of an experiment, analysis of its data, and publication of findings [e.g., (2)] further limit the ability to identify direct relationships between experiences in a doctoral program and scholarly growth. Doctoral education's overarching goal is to develop competent researchers capable …


A Call For Performance-Based Data In The Study Of Stem Ph.D. Education, David F. Feldon, Michelle A. Maher, Briana E. Timmerman Jul 2010

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 …


Why Magic Bullets Don't Work, David F. Feldon Jul 2010

Why Magic Bullets Don't Work, David F. Feldon

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

We always tell our students that there are no shortcuts, that important ideas are nuanced, and that recognizing subtle distinctions is an essential critical-thinking skill. Mastery of a discipline, we know, requires careful study and necessarily slow, evolutionary changes in perspective. Then we look around for the latest promising trend in teaching and jump in with both feet, expecting it to transform our students, our courses, and our outcomes. Alternatively, we sniff disdainfully at the current educational fad and proudly stand by the instructional traditions of our disciplines or institutions, secure in our knowledge that the “tried and true” has …


Do Psychology Researchers Tell It Like It Is? A Microgenetic Analysis Of Research Strategies And Self-Report Accuracy, David F. Feldon Jul 2010

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, …


Nsf Advance Mar 2010

Nsf Advance

ADVANCE Library Collection

No abstract provided.


Advancing The Careers Of Women In Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics Mar 2010

Advancing The Careers Of Women In Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics

ADVANCE Library Collection

No abstract provided.


Advance Institutional Transformation Award Mar 2010

Advance Institutional Transformation Award

ADVANCE Library Collection

No abstract provided.


Investigating The “Why” In Whypox: Explorations Of A Virtual Epidemic, Yasmin B. Kafai, Maria Quintero, David F. Feldon Jan 2010

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 …


Weedsin The Flower Garden: An Exploration Of Plagiarism In Graduate Students' Research Proposalsand Its Connection To Enculturation, Esl, And Contextual Factors, Joanna Gilmore, Denise Strickland, Briana Timmerman, Michelle Maher, David F. Feldon Jan 2010

Weedsin The Flower Garden: An Exploration Of Plagiarism In Graduate Students' Research Proposalsand Its Connection To Enculturation, Esl, And Contextual Factors, Joanna Gilmore, Denise Strickland, Briana Timmerman, Michelle Maher, David F. Feldon

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Existing literature provides insight into the nature and extent of plagiarism amongst undergraduate students (e.g., Ellery, 2008; Parameswaran & Devi, 2006; Selwyn, 2008). Plagiarism amongst graduate students is relatively unstudied, however, and the existing data are largely based on self-reports. This study investigated the rates and potential causes of plagiarism amongst graduate students in master’s and doctoral programmes in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and science or mathematics education by examining actual research proposals written by graduate students. Results indicate that plagiarism is a prevalent issue at each of the three university sites sampled and across all of the investigated disciplines. …