Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Effects Of Gamifying Optional Lessons On Motivation, Aaron Zemach

McKelvey School of Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Adding video-game elements to non-video-game interfaces (“gamification”) has become a common engagement strategy over the past several years in the domain of education. While prior studies have found that adding game elements to mandatory educational materials can increase students’ motivation to complete the materials, there has yet to be a study to investigate if game elements can make users more likely to engage with optional educational materials. In this study, we investigate whether users of a gamified educational interface are more motivated than users of a non-gamified interface to voluntarily complete educational materials. We found users of a gamified interface …

Chasing Polys: Interdisciplinary Affinity And Its Connection To Physics Identity, Tyler Scott

All Dissertations

This research is based on two motivations that merge by means of the frameworks of interdisciplinary affinity and physics identity. First, a goal of education is to develop interdisciplinary abilities in students' thinking and work. But an often ignored factor is students interests and beliefs about being interdisciplinary. Thus, this work develops and uses a framework called interdisciplinary affinity. It encompasses students interests in making connections across disciplines and their beliefs about their abilities to make those connections. The second motivation of this research is to better understand how to engage more students with physics. Physics identity describes how a …

Sign Me Up! Determining Motivation For High School Chemistry Students Enrolling In A Second Year Chemistry Course, Nilda N. Camarena

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

A sample of 108 Pre-AP Chemistry students in Texas participated in a study to determine motivational factors for enrolling in AP Chemistry and University Chemistry. The factors measured were academic attitude, perceptions of chemistry, confidence level in chemistry, and expectations/experiences in the chemistry class. Students completed two questionnaires, one at the beginning of the year and one at the end. Four high school campuses from two school districts in Texas participated. Two campuses were traditional high schools and two were smaller magnet schools. The results from this study are able to confirm that there are definite correlations between academic attitudes, …

On The Role Of Gis Technology In Geospatial Education (Qgis Vs Argis), Shkelqim Kuka, Jozef Bushati

UBT International Conference

In the teaching of modeling concepts and spatial analysis, a major role play technologies and software. Anyhow main aim at the education is the teaching of concept independently on what kind of technologies and software will be used. The latter might be grouped in two categories: the commercial software and Open Source software. In this article emphasises the role of GIS technologies at the process of teaching and it is fulfilled an analysis advantages adn disadvantages between both software: commercial software ArcGis, and so called “Open Source” QuantumGis. Taking in to consideration the financial possibility of the educational institutions and …

Jce Viper: An Inorganic Teaching And Learning Community, Ethan Benatan, Jezmynne Dene, Hilary Eppley, Margret Gesebracht, Elizabeth Jamieson, Adam Johnson, Barbara Reisner, Joanne Stewart, Lori Watson, B. Williams

Hilary J. Eppley

To facilitate the effective sharing of teaching tools among faculty and the development of deep subject knowledge in support of teaching, a group of faculty from predominantly undergraduate institutions has established a virtual community of inorganic chemists, IONiC (Interactive Online Network of Inorganic Chemists). Our mission is to enhance the inorganicChemistry classroom and laboratory experience for students and faculty members through the development of a vibrant, collaborative, and open community. VIPEr, the Virtual Inorganic Pedagogical Electronic Resource, is a Web site that forms the online home for our community. VIPEr is an interactive Web resource that combines a repository of …

The Land Scouts: Guide Book, Katie D. Ries

Faculty Creative and Scholarly Works

The Land Scouts promote modern land stewardship and are open to all. The Guide Book gives an overview of the scouts as well as information on getting started earning badges and hosting a troop.

Timelessness In Sustainable Product Design, Alex Lobos

Presentations and other scholarship

Shorter product lifespan driven by reduced durability and planned obsolescence is causing severe environmental issues and diminishing user experience. Sustainable Design is addressing this problem with strategies that improve a product’s lifecycle and address important areas of impact in manufacturing, use, and end of life. This article explores how the concept of ‘timelessness’ can be used as an effective strategy for creating products that are cherished and enjoyed by their users, last longer, are easier to repair and have better options for end-of-life. A series of case studies found in commercial products as well as in student projects illustrate how …

Impact Of A Visual Programming Experience On The Attitude Toward Programming Of Introductory Undergraduate Students, Saurabh Godbole

Open Access Theses

Traditionally, textual tools have been utilized to teach basic programming languages and paradigms. Research has shown that students tend to be visual learners. Using flowcharts, students can quickly understand the logic of their programs and visualize the flow of commands in the algorithm. Moreover, applying programming to physical systems through the use of a microcontroller to facilitate this type of learning can spark an interest in students to advance their programming knowledge to create novel applications. This study examined if freshmen college students' attitudes towards programming changed after completing a graphical programming lesson. Various attributes about students' attitudes were examined …

Evaluating Optimum Levels Of Detail For 3d Interactive Aviation Maintenance Instructions, Nicholas Rohe

Open Access Theses

With the aviation industry shifting from paper based maintenance instructions to digital maintenance instructions, there needs to be a standard for what goes into creating the digital instructions. This study was done to determine what the optimum level of detail for 3D interactive aviation maintenance instructions. The definition of optimum for this study was: lowest amount of geometrical data with lowest rendering needed for comprehension and ease of use.

Online Simulations For Conceptual Understanding Of Thermoelectric Devices, Maria De Rosario Uribe

Open Access Theses

Computer simulations have been extensively used with educational purposes. However, the successful implementation in order to improve learning has been a matter of debate in research in education. The purpose of this case study is to analyze how a set of computer simulations can improve student understanding of thermoelectric devices. The study was developed in a learning context characterized by the advanced degree of difficulty of the topics treated, the high academic level of education of the students, and the online nature of the learning environment. As part of the course, students were provided with instructional materials that guided the …

The Indiana Cybersecurity Services Center (Incsc): A Cost-Benefit Analysis For K-12 Schools, Hans Christian Vargas Silva

Open Access Theses

The aim of this thesis is to determine if there are greater benefits than costs associated in the participation of public K-12 school corporations in the Indiana Cybersecurity Services Center (INCSC). This thesis is an ex-antecost-benefit analysis policy assessment of the INCSC. The study consisted of a sample of 6 school corporations from which 5 were classified as small and 1 was large. Three methods were considered for data collection; however conducting interviews was the most effective method due to the interaction with IT personnel from each organization in order to analyze current costs related to 4 areas of …

Annotated Bibliography: Environmental Education (1998-2013), Erich Yahner

Erich Yahner

No abstract provided.

Annotated Bibliography: Environmental Education (1998-2013), Erich Yahner

BIBLIOGRAPHIES

No abstract provided.

Helping Children With Autism Learn With Mathematics Software, Michelle Hansen

CCE Theses and Dissertations

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are conditions where a person may exhibit developmental disabilities, significant social, communication and behavioral challenges, and process information differently than people without ASD. The Federal Government guidelines mandate inclusion of all students into the public school facilities. All school age children in the United States are afforded the same opportunities for public education.

The goal of this investigation was to evaluate the effectiveness of Computer-Aided Instruction (CAI) as a treatment for teaching mathematics to a group of autistic pupils in an elementary school environment. The public later elementary school is located in Kalamazoo, Michigan and had …

Project Prairie And Tallgrass Education On The Rice Lake Plains: A Journey From 1870 To Today And Beyond, Todd Farrell, Mark Rupke, Mark Stabb

The Prairie Naturalist

Project Prairie began in 2011 as a curriculum-linked integrated environmental studies program to showcase the Rice Lake Plains (RLP), a tallgrass prairie landscape of sandy rolling hills located at the eastern extent of the Oak Ridges Moraine in southern Ontario. Project Prairie provides educators both indoor and outdoor activities that support their curriculum and share the story of the RLP. Project Prairie provides teacher and student resources that focus on the RLP from the mid-nineteenth century to present day. Learning objectives of Project Prairie are developed from the subjects of science, social science, language arts, geography, history, and Aboriginal culture. …

Support Of Teaching And Research In Hydroinformatics With R, Milan Cisty

International Conference on Hydroinformatics

R is a free software programming language and environment for statistical computing and graphics. Polls and surveys show that R's popularity has increased substantially in recent years. The objective of this paper is to review features that make R a powerful environment for pre-processing and analyzing data from hydrology and water resources management, and for various other tasks such as hydrological processes modeling, time series analysis, trend analysis, GIS analysis of the watershed, geostatistics, extreme value analysis and various other tasks. This review paper will deal with the possibilities of applying the R programming language in water resources and hydrologic …

A Serious Gaming Approach For Serious Stakeholder Participation, Chengzi Chew, Anna Zabel, Gareth James Lloyd, Indika Gunawardana, Bertram Monninkhoff

International Conference on Hydroinformatics

Serious games are a category of games which are designed for a specific purpose other than for pure entertainment. It is not a new concept but serious games using real data, coupled with real time modelling and combining model results with social and economic factors opens up a new paradigm for active stakeholder participation. DHI and UNEP-DHI Centre initiated a project called Aqua Republica where a virtual world is developed which allows participants to develop a river basin and visualise the consequences of their decisions. The aim of this project is to raise awareness of the interconnectivity of water and …

A Virtual Lab Environment For Improving Students’ Understanding Of Infiltration And Runoff Processes, Tom Vanwalleghem, Cristina Aguilar, Miriam Carpintero, Antonio Espejo-Pérez, Juan Vicente Giráldez, María José Polo

International Conference on Hydroinformatics

Infiltration of water in the soil is a key process in the hydrological cycle and its understanding is paramount for students of any course related to Hydrology. Different equations exist, which, in function of boundary conditions and the level of detail required in any particular case can become complex to solve in an analytical way. Water movement in the soil can be described by the Richards equation, but its solution requires numerical methods. Therefore, amongst the most used ways of calculating water infiltration are the Green and Ampt method, Horton’s equation, Philip’s equation and the Curve Number method. In all …

Interactive Web-Based Flood Simulation System As An Education Platform For Hydrological Concepts, Ibrahim Demir

International Conference on Hydroinformatics

Recent developments in web technologies make it easy to manage and visualize large data sets with general public. Novel visualization techniques and dynamic user interfaces allow users to create realistic environments, and interact with data to gain insight from simulations and environmental observations. The floodplain simulation system is a web-based 3D interactive flood simulation environment to create real world flooding scenarios. The simulation systems provides a visually striking platform with realistic terrain information, and water simulation. Students can create and modify predefined scenarios, control environmental parameters, and evaluate flood mitigation techniques. The web-based simulation system provides an environment for students …

Tournament-Based Teaching, Shannon Christopher Boesch, Sandra Boesch

Chris BOESCH

Over the past two years we have collaborated to develop a process and set of online games to enable additional feedback to both students and instructors in a classroom setting. We have named the resulting process Tournament-based Teaching due to the extensive use of tournament-based feedback for groups and individuals throughout course delivery. Tournament-based Teaching enables individualized and peer-based learning in a classroom setting and provides additional motivation for students to prepare for classroom sessions. It also provides feedback to instructors, which can be leveraged to provide better schedule classroom sessions.

Adaptive Gameplay For Programming Practice, Chris Boesch, Sandra Boesch

Chris BOESCH

Over the past four years, we have collaborated to develop a set of online games to enable users to practice software languages in a self-directed manner and as part of a class. Recently we introduced a new adaptive difficulty feature that enables players to self-regulate the difficulty of the games they are playing to practice. These new features also provide additional information to further adapt the problem content to better meet the needs of the users.

Case Study On Using A Programming Practice Tool For Evaluating University Applicants, Shannon Christopher Boesch, Kevin Steppe

Chris BOESCH

We used a programming practice tool to test basic programming skills of prospective students. A live competition was used to test those skills. Students who did well were asked for further interviews. Most students had no prior background and reported learning the basics of two programming languages within two weeks of self-study.

The Open Source Dynamics In Geospatial Research And Education, Olivier Ertz, Sergio J. Rey, Stéphane Joost

Journal of Spatial Information Science

No abstract provided.

Investigating The Proposed Affordances And Limitations Of The Substance Metaphor For Energy, Lisa Goodhew

Honors Projects

This study explores the instructional advantages and disadvantages of representing energy as a material substance; this is done in the context of a computer simulation that illustrates processes of energy transfer and transformation. These affordances and limitations have been proposed in science education literature as extensions of the substance metaphor itself, but there is little empirical evidence to support them. This study is intended to provide preliminary empirical evidence for these affordances and limitations. We examine data from eight interviews conducted with students from Seattle Pacific University’s introductory physics classes as they used the simulation. We explore the hypotheses that …

Apparatus For Studying Wave Motion And Sound At The University Of Nebraska– Lincoln's “Historical Scientific Instrument Gallery”, Lily M. Wang, M. Eugene Rudd

Lily M Wang

The University of Nebraska–Lincoln's “Historical Scientific Instrument Gallery,'' compiled by the second author in 1998, contains approximately 700 inventoried items and may be visited on-line at http://physics.unl.edu/outreach/histinstr/. Amidst the collection are several acoustical instruments that were used in the early 1900s. These include equipment that demonstrate wave motion (traveling wave machine, mercury ripple dish, vibration microscope), wave interference (interference machine), resonance conditions (Helmholtz resonators, vibrating rods, singing flames, sonometer), and sound generation (Galton's whistles, high-frequency tuning forks, large tuning forks, organ pipes, siren saw). A review of the equipment and the history of their use at the University of Nebraska …

Constructive Visualization, Samuel Huron, Sheelagh Carpendale, Alice Thudt, Anthony Tang, Michael Mauerer

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

If visualization is to be democratized, we need to provide means for non-experts to create visualizations that allow them to engage directly with datasets. We present constructive visualization a new paradigm for the simple creation of flexible, dynamic visualizations. Constructive visualization is simple—in that the skills required to build and manipulate the visualizations are akin to kindergarten play; it is expressive— in that one can build within the constraints of the chosen environment, and it also supports dynamics — in that these constructed visualizations can be rebuilt and adjusted. We describe the conceptual components and processes underlying constructive visualization, and …

Calculator Usage In Secondary Level Classrooms: The Ongoing Debate, Nicole Plummer

Honors College Theses

With technology becoming more prevalent every day, it is imperative that students gain enough experience with different technological tools in order to be successful in the “real-world”. This thesis will discuss the debate and overall support for an increased usage of calculators as tools in the secondary level classroom. When the idea of calculators in the classroom first came to life, many educators were very apprehensive and quite hesitant of this change. Unfortunately, more than 40 years later, there is still hesitation for their usage; and rightfully so. While there are plenty of advantages of calculator use in the classroom, …

The Nucleus 2013-2014, Rosalie A. Richards

Science Education Center

No abstract provided.

Classroom Polling Software For Use With Mobile And Web-Based Devices, Nick Renford, Jeremy Straub, Scott Kerlin

Jeremy Straub

The goal of this project is to create an interface for Android, iOS, and Win-dows Phone smartphones, as well as a web interface that will act as a “clicker”. The instructors will be able to send out questions, and the students will be able to answer the questions, and get feedback if the instructor wants them to have it. The teacher can decide whether the feedback is instant or manually initiated, and what format the response will be, whether it includes the correct answer, and what type of chart, if any, indicating the most com-monly selected answer(s). There will be …

Emotion Capture: Emotion Mimicry Using Facial Motion Capture, Thomas Emmauel Haley-Hermiz

Open Access Theses

This study explored the application of facial motion capture to Autism Spectrum Disorder therapy. The FaceShift technology was utilized in a behavior change intervention for children with ASD. The intervention focused on using facial expressions to display emotions.

The results of the study exhibit that all students involved achieved a higher percent in both facial expressions attempted and successfully demonstrated in intervention over baseline. However, this increase was not maintained in generalization. Without a successful generalization the intervention would not be recommended in its current framework. Recommendations for further research are provided.