What If You Gave an Online Party and Everyone Logged In? Or, How I Stopped Worrying and Learned To Love Intranets.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Solomon, Marc

1997-01-01

Information professionals have a role to play in building Intranets. Discusses competencies required of information professionals: competitive intelligence, information searching, sound information practices, teaching search strategies, cost containment, content procurement, content management, knowledge management, and timely decision making.…

Preparing Teachers as Allies in Indigenous Education: Benefits of an American Indian Content and Pedagogy Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McInnes, Brian D.

2017-01-01

The study explores relationship building and improvements in knowledge, skills, and dispositions of pre-service teachers enrolled in an Indigenous education content and pedagogy methods course. The Teaching American Indian Students in the Elementary Classroom course stands alone from other diversity education offerings at the University of…

Ten Important Words Plus: A Strategy for Building Word Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yopp, Ruth Helen; Yopp, Hallie Kay

2007-01-01

In this strategy, students individually select and record 10 important words on self-adhesive notes as they read a text. Then students build a group bar graph displaying their choices, write a sentence that summarizes the content, and then respond to prompts that ask them to think about words in powerful ways. Several prompts are suggested, each…

A Lovely Building for Difficult Knowledge: The Architecture of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wodtke, Larissa

2015-01-01

One only needs to look at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) logo, with its abstract outline of the CMHR building, to see the way in which the museum's architecture has come to stand for the CMHR's immaterial meanings and content. The CMHR's architecture becomes a material intersection of discourses of cosmopolitanism, human rights, and…

Japan: Land of the Rising Sun. A Twelve Day Unit of Study for Fourth Grade Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Craycraft, Kenneth; Winters, Norm

This unit of study on Japan contains the following content areas: Unit Focus/Motivation; Islands of Japan; Living on an Island; Buildings; Economics; Transportation; and Culminating Activities. The objectives of the unit include knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Suggested activities for each of the content areas are offered and explained to assist…

The Integration of technology in teaching mathematics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muhtadi, D.; Wahyudin; Kartasasmita, B. G.; Prahmana, R. C. I.

2017-12-01

This paper presents the Transformation of Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) of three pre-service math teacher. They participate in technology-based learning modules aligned with teaching practice taught school and became characteristic of teaching method by using the mathematical software. ICT-based learning environment has been the demands in practice learning to build a more effective approach to the learning process of students. Also, this paper presents the results of research on learning mathematics in middle school that shows the influence of design teaching on knowledge of math content specifically.

Innovation and design of a web-based pain education interprofessional resource.

PubMed

Lax, Leila; Watt-Watson, Judy; Lui, Michelle; Dubrowski, Adam; McGillion, Michael; Hunter, Judith; Maclennan, Cameron; Knickle, Kerry; Robb, Anja; Lapeyre, Jaime

2011-01-01

The present article describes educational innovation processes and design of a web-based pain interprofessional resource for prelicensure health science students in universities across Canada. Operationalization of educational theory in design coupled with formative evaluation of design are discussed, along with strategies that support collaborative innovation. Educational design was driven by content, theory and evaluation. Pain misbeliefs and teaching points along the continuum from acute to persistent pain were identified. Knowledge-building theory, situated learning, reflection and novel designs for cognitive scaffolding were then employed. Design research principles were incorporated to inform iterative and ongoing design. An authentic patient case was constructed, situated in interprofessional complex care to highlight learning objectives related to pre-operative, postoperative and treatment up to one year, for a surgical cancer patient. Pain mechanisms, assessment and management framed content creation. Knowledge building scaffolds were used, which included video simulations, embedded resources, concurrent feedback, practice-based reflective exercises and commentaries. Scaffolds were refined to specifically support knowledge translation. Illustrative commentaries were designed to explicate pain misbeliefs and best practices. Architecture of the resource was mapped; a multimedia, interactive prototype was created. This pain education resource was developed primarily for individual use, with extensions for interprofessional collective discourse. Translation of curricular content scripts into representation maps supported the collaborative design process by establishing a common visual language. The web-based prototype will be formatively and summatively evaluated to assess pedagogic design, knowledge-translation scaffolds, pain knowledge gains, relevance, feasibility and fidelity of this educational innovation.

The Contribution of Vocabulary Knowledge and Semantic Orthographic Fluency to Text Quality through Elementary School in Catalan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Castillo, Cristina; Tolchinsky, Liliana

2018-01-01

Building a text is a multidimensional endeavor. Writers must work simultaneously on the content of the text, its discursive organization, the structure of the sentences, and the individual words themselves. Knowledge of vocabulary is central to this endeavor. This study intends (1) to trace the development of writer's vocabulary depth, their…

Revisiting Professional Learning Communities to Increase College Readiness: The Importance of Pedagogical Content Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bausmith, Jennifer Merriman; Barry, Carol

2011-01-01

For over a decade, professional learning communities (PLCs) have been touted as an effective way to build upon the knowledge and skills of experienced teachers, yet much of the evidence base is derived from self-reports by practitioners. Although several generations of school reform (the standards movement, No Child Left Behind, and now the Common…

Morphology Instruction in the Science Classroom for Students Who Are Deaf: A Multiple Probe Across Content Analysis.

PubMed

Trussell, Jessica W; Nordhaus, Jason; Brusehaber, Alison; Amari, Brittany

2018-04-17

Deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) students have exhibited a morphological knowledge delay that begins in preschool and persists through college. Morphological knowledge is critical to vocabulary understanding and text comprehension in the science classroom. We investigated the effects of morphological instruction, commonly referred to as Word Detectives, on the morphological knowledge of college-age DHH students in a science course. We implemented a multiple probe across behaviors single-case experimental design study with nine student participants. The student participants attended the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. A functional relation was found between the morphological instruction and the student participants' improvement of morphological knowledge regarding the morphemes taught during instruction. These findings indicate that DHH students benefit from morphological instruction to build their vocabulary knowledge in content-area classrooms, such as science courses.

Implementation of a Text-Based Content Intervention in Secondary Social Studies Classes.

PubMed

Wanzek, Jeanne; Vaughn, Sharon

2016-12-01

We describe teacher fidelity (adherence to the components of the treatment as specified by the research team) based on a series of studies of a multicomponent intervention, Promoting Acceleration of Comprehension and Content Through Text (PACT), with middle and high school social studies teachers and their students. Findings reveal that even with highly specified materials and implementing practices that are aligned with effective reading comprehension and content instruction, teachers' fidelity was consistently low for some components and high for others. Teachers demonstrated consistently high implementation fidelity and quality for the instructional components of building background knowledge (comprehension canopy) and teaching key content vocabulary (essential words), whereas we recorded consistently lower fidelity and quality of implementation for the instructional components of critical reading and knowledge application. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Innovation and design of a web-based pain education interprofessional resource

PubMed Central

Lax, Leila; Watt-Watson, Judy; Lui, Michelle; Dubrowski, Adam; McGillion, Michael; Hunter, Judith; MacLennan, Cameron; Knickle, Kerry; Robb, Anja; Lapeyre, Jaime

2011-01-01

INTRODUCTION: The present article describes educational innovation processes and design of a web-based pain interprofessional resource for prelicensure health science students in universities across Canada. Operationalization of educational theory in design coupled with formative evaluation of design are discussed, along with strategies that support collaborative innovation. METHODS: Educational design was driven by content, theory and evaluation. Pain misbeliefs and teaching points along the continuum from acute to persistent pain were identified. Knowledge-building theory, situated learning, reflection and novel designs for cognitive scaffolding were then employed. Design research principles were incorporated to inform iterative and ongoing design. RESULTS: An authentic patient case was constructed, situated in inter-professional complex care to highlight learning objectives related to pre-operative, postoperative and treatment up to one year, for a surgical cancer patient. Pain mechanisms, assessment and management framed content creation. Knowledge building scaffolds were used, which included video simulations, embedded resources, concurrent feedback, practice-based reflective exercises and commentaries. Scaffolds were refined to specifically support knowledge translation. Illustrative commentaries were designed to explicate pain misbeliefs and best practices. Architecture of the resource was mapped; a multimedia, interactive prototype was created. This pain education resource was developed primarily for individual use, with extensions for interprofessional collective discourse. DISCUSSION: Translation of curricular content scripts into representation maps supported the collaborative design process by establishing a common visual language. The web-based prototype will be formatively and summatively evaluated to assess pedagogic design, knowledge-translation scaffolds, pain knowledge gains, relevance, feasibility and fidelity of this educational innovation. PMID:22184552

A Meeting of Minds around Pedagogical Content Knowledge: Designing an International PCK Summit for Professional, Community, and Field Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Helms, Jenifer; Stokes, Laura

2013-01-01

A "conference" is a familiar mode of work for academics. Conferences provide opportunities to bring professionals working in a field together to share and build knowledge. As common as conferences are, however, they are quite challenging to design in ways that truly succeed in galvanizing the attention of an academic community on a…

Mental Health Literacy Content for Children of Parents with a Mental Illness: Thematic Analysis of a Literature Review

PubMed Central

Riebschleger, Joanne; Grové, Christine; Cavanaugh, Daniel

2017-01-01

Millions of children have a parent with a mental illness (COPMI). These children are at higher risk of acquiring behavioural, developmental and emotional difficulties. Most children, including COPMI, have low levels of mental health literacy (MHL), meaning they do not have accurate, non-stigmatized information. There is limited knowledge about what kind of MHL content should be delivered to children. The aim of this exploratory study is to identify the knowledge content needed for general population children and COPMI to increase their MHL. A second aim is to explore content for emerging children’s MHL scales. Researchers created and analyzed a literature review database. Thematic analysis yielded five main mental health knowledge themes for children: (1) attaining an overview of mental illness and recovery; (2) reducing mental health stigma; (3) building developmental resiliencies; (4) increasing help-seeking capacities; and (5) identifying risk factors for mental illness. COPMI appeared to need the same kind of MHL knowledge content, but with extra family-contextual content such as dealing with stigma experiences, managing stress, and communicating about parental mental illness. There is a need for MHL programs, validated scales, and research on what works for prevention and early intervention with COPMI children. PMID:29072587

WIRM: An Open Source Toolkit for Building Biomedical Web Applications

PubMed Central

Jakobovits, Rex M.; Rosse, Cornelius; Brinkley, James F.

2002-01-01

This article describes an innovative software toolkit that allows the creation of web applications that facilitate the acquisition, integration, and dissemination of multimedia biomedical data over the web, thereby reducing the cost of knowledge sharing. There is a lack of high-level web application development tools suitable for use by researchers, clinicians, and educators who are not skilled programmers. Our Web Interfacing Repository Manager (WIRM) is a software toolkit that reduces the complexity of building custom biomedical web applications. WIRM’s visual modeling tools enable domain experts to describe the structure of their knowledge, from which WIRM automatically generates full-featured, customizable content management systems. PMID:12386108

Can we build a more efficient airplane? Using applied questions to teach physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhatia, Aatish

2014-03-01

For students and for the science-interested public, applied questions can serve as a hook to learn introductory physics. Can we radically improve the energy efficiency of modern day aircraft? Are solar planes like the Solar Impulse the future of travel? How do migratory birds like the alpine swift fly nonstop for nearly seven months? Using examples from aeronautical engineering and biology, I'll discuss how undergraduate physics can shed light on these questions about transport, and place fundamental constraints on the flight properties of flying machines, whether birds or planes. Education research has shown that learners are likely to forget vast content knowledge unless they get to apply this knowledge to novel and unfamiliar situations. By applying physics to real-life problems, students can learn to build and apply quantitative models, making use of skills such as order of magnitude estimates, dimensional analysis, and reasoning about uncertainty. This applied skillset allows students to transfer their knowledge outside the classroom, and helps build connections between traditionally distinct content areas. I'll also describe the results of an education experiment at Rutgers University where my colleagues and I redesigned a 100+ student introductory physics course for social science and humanities majors to address applied questions such as evaluating the energy cost of transport, and asking whether the United States could obtain all its energy from renewable sources.

Embedding Literacy Strategies in Social Studies for Eighth-Grade Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gaston, Alishia; Martinez, James; Martin, Ellice P.

2016-01-01

This action research study evaluated the effects of literacy strategies on academic achievement, motivation, and engagement of eighth-grade social studies students. Incorporating literacy strategies included teaching students to construct meaning, think critically, and build content knowledge, while stimulating their interests, using multiple…

Analyzing CMC Content for What?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Naidu, Som; Jarvela, Sanna

2006-01-01

Computer mediated communication (CMC) refers to communication between individuals and among groups via networked computers. Such forms of communication can be "asynchronous" or "synchronous" and serve a wide variety of useful functions ranging from administration to building understanding and knowledge. As such there are many reasons for interest…

Education in Biomedical and Health Informatics in the Web 3.0 Era: Standards for data, curricula, and activities. Contribution of the IMIA Working Group on Health and Medical Informatics Education.

PubMed

Otero, P; Hersh, W

2011-01-01

Web 3.0 is transforming the World Wide Web by allowing knowledge and reasoning to be gleaned from its content. Describe a new scenario in education and training known as "Education 3.0" that can help in the promotion of learning in health informatics in a collaborative way. Review of the current standards available for curricula and learning activities in in Biomedical and Health Informatics (BMHI) for a Web 3.0 scenario. A new scenario known as "Education 3.0" can provide open educational resources created and reused throughout different institutions and improved by means of an international collaborative knowledge powered by the use of E-learning. Currently there are standards that could be used in identifying and deliver content in education in BMHI in the semantic web era such as Resource Description Format (RDF), Web Ontology Language (OWL) and Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM). In addition, there are other standards to support healthcare education and training. There are few experiences in the use of standards in e-learning in BMHI published in the literature. Web 3.0 can propose new approaches to building the BMHI workforce so there is a need to build tools as knowledge infrastructure to leverage it. The usefulness of standards in the content and competencies of training programs in BMHI needs more experience and research so as to promote the interoperability and sharing of resources in this growing discipline.

Learning Essentials

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Manzo, Kathleen Kennedy

2008-01-01

Like teachers in many urban school districts with large numbers of disadvantaged children, the faculty at New Holland Core Knowledge Academy strives to build the foundational skills necessary for later academic success. At New Holland, however, content is king. While many schools have narrowed the curriculum since Congress passed the No Child Left…

Acquiring Science and Social Studies Knowledge in Kindergarten Through Fourth Grade: Conceptualization, Design, Implementation, and Efficacy Testing of Content-Area Literacy Instruction (CALI).

PubMed

Dombek, Jennifer; Crowe, Elizabeth C; Spencer, Mercedes; Tighe, Elizabeth L; Coffinger, Sean; Zargar, Elham; Wood, Taffeta; Petscher, Yaacov

2017-04-01

With national focus on reading and math achievement, science and social studies have received less instructional time. Yet, accumulating evidence suggests that content knowledge is an important predictor of proficient reading. Starting with a design study, we developed Content Area Literacy Instruction (CALI), as an individualized (or personalized) instructional program for kindergarteners through fourth graders to build science and social studies knowledge. We developed CALI to be implemented in general education classrooms, over multiple iterations (n=230 students), using principles of design-based implementation research. The aims were to develop CALI as a usable and feasible instructional program that would, potentially, improve science and social studies knowledge, and could be implemented during the literacy block without negatively affecting students' reading gains (i.e., no opportunity cost). We then evaluated the efficacy of CALI in a randomized controlled field trial with 418 students in kindergarten through fourth grade. Results reveal that CALI demonstrates promise as a useable and feasible instructional individualized general education program, and is efficacious in improving social studies ( d =2.2) and science ( d =2.1) knowledge, with some evidence of improving oral and reading comprehension skills ( d =.125).

Integrating Scientific Content with Context to Connect Educators with the Complexities and Consequences of Climate Change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Low, R.; Gosselin, D. C.; Oglesby, R. J.; Larson-Miller, C.; Thomas, J.; Mawalagedara, R.

2011-12-01

Over the past three years the Nebraska Earth Systems Education Network has designed professional development opportunities for K-12 and extension educators that integrates scientific content into the context of helping educators connect society with the complexities and consequences of climate change. Our professional development approach uses learner-, knowledge-, assessment-, and community-centered strategies to achieve our long-term goal: collaboration of scientists, educators and learners to foster civic literacy about climate change. Two NASA-funded projects, Global Climate Change Literacy for Educators (GCCE, 2009-2012), and the Educators Climatologists Learning Community (ECLC, 2011-2013), have provided the mechanism to provide teachers with scientifically sound and pedagogically relevant educational materials to improve climate and Earth systems literacy among educators. The primary product of the GCCE program is a 16-week, online, distance-delivered, asynchronous course entitled, Laboratory Earth: Human Dimensions of Climate Change. This course consists of four, four-week modules that integrate climate literacy, Earth Systems concepts, and pedagogy focused on active learning processes, building community, action research, and students' sense of place to promote action at the local level to address the challenges of climate change. Overall, the Community of Inquiry Survey (COI) indicated the course was effective in teaching content, developing a community of learners, and engaging students in experiences designed to develop content knowledge. A pre- and post- course Wilcoxan Signed Ranks Test indicated there was a statistically significant increase in participant's beliefs about their personal science teaching efficacy. Qualitative data from concept maps and content mastery assignments support a positive impact on teachers' content knowledge and classroom practice. Service Learning units seemed tohelp teachers connect course learning to their classroom teaching. In addition, qualitative data indicate that teachers' students found service learning to be highly motivational components to learning. The ECLC project, to be initiated in the fall 2011, will build on our GCCE experiences to create a sustainable virtual learning community of educators and scientists. Climate-change issues will serve as a context in which collaborative scientist-educator-teams will develop discrete, locally oriented research projects to facilitate development of confident, knowledgeable citizen-scientists within their classrooms.

New frontiers for intelligent content-based retrieval

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benitez, Ana B.; Smith, John R.

2001-01-01

In this paper, we examine emerging frontiers in the evolution of content-based retrieval systems that rely on an intelligent infrastructure. Here, we refer to intelligence as the capabilities of the systems to build and maintain situational or world models, utilize dynamic knowledge representation, exploit context, and leverage advanced reasoning and learning capabilities. We argue that these elements are essential to producing effective systems for retrieving audio-visual content at semantic levels matching those of human perception and cognition. In this paper, we review relevant research on the understanding of human intelligence and construction of intelligent system in the fields of cognitive psychology, artificial intelligence, semiotics, and computer vision. We also discus how some of the principal ideas form these fields lead to new opportunities and capabilities for content-based retrieval systems. Finally, we describe some of our efforts in these directions. In particular, we present MediaNet, a multimedia knowledge presentation framework, and some MPEG-7 description tools that facilitate and enable intelligent content-based retrieval.

New frontiers for intelligent content-based retrieval

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benitez, Ana B.; Smith, John R.

2000-12-01

In this paper, we examine emerging frontiers in the evolution of content-based retrieval systems that rely on an intelligent infrastructure. Here, we refer to intelligence as the capabilities of the systems to build and maintain situational or world models, utilize dynamic knowledge representation, exploit context, and leverage advanced reasoning and learning capabilities. We argue that these elements are essential to producing effective systems for retrieving audio-visual content at semantic levels matching those of human perception and cognition. In this paper, we review relevant research on the understanding of human intelligence and construction of intelligent system in the fields of cognitive psychology, artificial intelligence, semiotics, and computer vision. We also discus how some of the principal ideas form these fields lead to new opportunities and capabilities for content-based retrieval systems. Finally, we describe some of our efforts in these directions. In particular, we present MediaNet, a multimedia knowledge presentation framework, and some MPEG-7 description tools that facilitate and enable intelligent content-based retrieval.

Evaluation of a Multicomponent Online Communication Professional Development Program for Early Interventionists

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Jennifer A.; Woods, Juliann J.

2012-01-01

Collaborative early intervention (EI) service delivery is enhanced by professional development focused on knowledge and skills in the content and process of delivering services. This article describes a multicomponent online professional development course designed to build infant toddler specialists' capacity to support children with…

Choosing the Right Tool

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boote, Stacy K.

2016-01-01

Students' success with fourth-grade content standards builds on mathematical knowledge learned in third grade and creates a conceptual foundation for division standards in subsequent grades that focus on the division algorithm. The division standards in fourth and fifth grade are similar; but in fourth grade, division problem divisors are only one…

Modeling Preservice Teachers' TPACK Competencies Based on ICT Usage

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yurdakul, I. Kabakci; Coklar, A. N.

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to build a model that predicts the relationships between the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) competencies and information and communication technology (ICT) usages. Research data were collected from 3105 Turkish preservice teachers. The TPACK-Deep Scale, ICT usage phase survey and the ICT usage…

Design Sketching: A Lost Skill

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelley, Todd R.

2017-01-01

As national STEM initiatives focus on engineering design as a STEM integrator, a more important concern for K-12 educators should be teaching design fundamentals and using these experiences to help students obtain STEM content knowledge. There appears however, to be little instruction and emphasis on building students' design-sketching skills in…

Professional Vision: Elementary School Principals' Perceptions of Mathematics Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schoen, Robert C.

2010-01-01

This study explored 78 elementary school principals' perceptions of classroom mathematics instruction in an effort to build understanding of the professional vision (Goodwin, 1994) of elementary school principals as it relates to mathematics instruction. This study also tested the theory of Leadership Content Knowledge (Stein & Nelson, 2003)…

A Formative Study: Inquiry and Informational Text with Fifth-Grade Bilinguals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moses, Lindsey

2014-01-01

This article includes the findings from a formative experiment implementing inquiry with informational texts in a fifth-grade bilingual classroom after the completion of state assessments. The pedagogical goals were focused on facilitating engaged reading and writing for native Spanish-speakers and building content knowledge and related academic…

Building TPACK in Preservice Teachers through Explicit Course Design

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harvey, Douglas M.; Caro, Ronald

2017-01-01

The authors of this study utilized the TPACK (Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge) framework in developing and assessing these skills within an advanced technology integration course for preservice teachers. The research contributes to the use of TPACK as a metric for measuring technology integration of pre-service teachers. Two…

Teaching Scientific Metaphors through Informational Text Read-Alouds

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barnes, Erica M.; Oliveira, Alandeom W.

2018-01-01

Elementary students are expected to use various features of informational texts to build knowledge in the content areas. In science informational texts, scientific metaphors are commonly used to make sense of complex and invisible processes. Although elementary students may be familiar with literary metaphors as used in narratives, they may be…

Partnerships for Change: Maximizing Consultative Services

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reinhardt, Patricia

2011-01-01

Consultation offers a cost-effective option that can develop into a satisfying, collaborative relationship that is highly productive, given the right ingredients: content and process knowledge on the part of the consultant, a systemic approach to change, and a foundation of professional and ethical standards on which to build a trustworthy…

Developing Critical Thinking through Science. Book Two.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eggen, Paul; Main, June

This book is based on the premise that students apply thinking skills to learning science concepts by doing through firsthand experiences in an interactive, open atmosphere; constructing by building knowledge through guided inquiry; and connecting by relating learning to the world around them. The contents of this book have been designed to…

Backyard Botany: Using GPS Technology in the Science Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

March, Kathryn A.

2012-01-01

Global Positioning System (GPS) technology can be used to connect students to the natural world and improve their skills in observation, identification, and classification. Using GPS devices in the classroom increases student interest in science, encourages team-building skills, and improves biology content knowledge. Additionally, it helps…

ESSEA K-4 Online Course: Polar Connections

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blaney, L.; Myers, R. J.; Schwerin, T.

2007-12-01

The Earth System Science Education Alliance (ESSEA) is a National Science Foundation-supported program implemented by the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) to improve the quality of geoscience instruction for pre-service, middle, and high school teachers. ESSEA increases teachers' access to quality materials, standards-based instructional methods and content knowledge. Started in 2000 and based on a trio of online courses (for elementary, middle, and high school teachers), the courses have been used by 40 faculty at 20 institutions educating over 1,700 teachers in Earth system science. Program evaluation of original course participants indicated that the courses had significant impact on teachers Earth system content knowledge and beliefs about teaching and learning. Seventeen of the original participating institutions have continued to use the courses and many have developed new programs that incorporate the courses in Earth science education opportunities for teachers. Today the ESSEA program lists nearly 40 colleges and universities as participants. The original K-4 course and modules have been revised to include topics and resources focusing on the International Polar Year. The new K-4 Land, Living Things, Water and Air modules contain inquiry-based investigations exploring our polar regions. Each module lists a set of essential questions that guide teachers and their students as they build content knowledge. The course structure requires teachers to work individually and in teams to build content knowledge and pedagogical understanding of how their students learn. This group investigation approach and a "Teacher as Researcher" theme promote reflection and collaboration to develop criteria for effective concept building. By exploring the characteristics of polar landscapes, atmosphere, and polar life, teachers and their students will develop new understandings about the interactions and dependencies of the Earth spheres and our polar regions. Changes in climate, air, water, and land quality and animal and plant populations make the news everyday. The K-4 course will help teachers inform rather than frighten their students as they learn more about the characteristics and importance of our polar regions. One goal of IPY 2007-2008 is to increase the awareness, understanding and interest of school-age children in polar conditions and research. The inclusion of polar topics in the K-4 course contributes to the achievement of that goal.

Integrating Science Communication, Outreach and Awareness into the R&D Investment Framework of SKA in order to drive a knowledge economy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raynard, Lorenzo; Garnier, William

2015-08-01

The emergence of the "knowledge society" has reshaped the context and content of public communication of science and technology. The construction and design of SKA and associated science research are increasingly characterised by the formation of large, multidisciplinary and multi-institute research teams. The integration of science communication into the scientific endeavour is key to building the foundations of a thriving knowledge-based economy identified by new technology investments, high-technology industries and highly skilled labour. Knowledge Economy Indicators profile, among others, the efficient and effective Management of Knowledge Assets. This presentation will explore the strategic trade and positioning of Knowledge Assets in order to drive and stimulate innovation.

Building Background Knowledge through Reading: Rethinking Text Sets

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lupo, Sarah M.; Strong, John Z.; Lewis, William; Walpole, Sharon; McKenna, Michael C.

2018-01-01

To increase reading volume and help students access challenging texts, the authors propose a four-dimensional framework for text sets. The quad text set framework is designed around a target text: a challenging content area text, such as a canonical literary work, research article, or historical primary source document. The three remaining…

Arguing Collaboratively: Argumentative Discourse Types and Their Potential for Knowledge Building

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Felton, Mark; Garcia-Mila, Merce; Villarroel, Constanza; Gilabert, Sandra

2015-01-01

Background: There is growing interest in using argumentative discourse in educational settings. However, in a previous study, we found that discourse goals (persuasion vs. consensus) while arguing can affect student outcomes in both content learning and reasoning. Aims: In this study, we look at argumentative discourse data from a previous study…

Knowledge Building Expertise: Nanomodellers' Education as an Example

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tala, Suvi

2013-01-01

The content of the expertise which young natural scientists try to gain by doing science in research groups is a relatively little-explored subject. What makes learning in such settings challenging is that a central part of the expertise is tacit. This study employs empirical methods together with a contextualized approach and interdisciplinary…

How Social Network Position Relates to Knowledge Building in Online Learning Communities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Lu

2010-01-01

Social Network Analysis, Statistical Analysis, Content Analysis and other research methods were used to research online learning communities at Capital Normal University, Beijing. Analysis of the two online courses resulted in the following conclusions: (1) Social networks of the two online courses form typical core-periphery structures; (2)…

Balancing Instructional Techniques and Delivery Formats in Capstone Business Strategy Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alstete, Jeffrey W.; Beutell, Nicholas J.

2016-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to contend that collegiate programs should carefully plan their capstone courses in light of the educational mission, pedagogical content knowledge, instructional techniques and delivery formats. Design/methodology/approach: This is a concept paper with elements of theory building from the case of business…

More Content and More Depth: Coping with New GCSEs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Douglas, Euan

2017-01-01

SOLO taxonomy models the levels of understanding within a topic; its hierarchal nature can support progression and challenge. Flipped learning is a strategy that uses homework to build background knowledge, thereby maximising the impact of lesson time. Both flipped learning and SOLO taxonomy can be used to support student learning, either combined…

Building Context with Tumor Growth Modeling Projects in Differential Equations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beier, Julie C.; Gevertz, Jana L.; Howard, Keith E.

2015-01-01

The use of modeling projects serves to integrate, reinforce, and extend student knowledge. Here we present two projects related to tumor growth appropriate for a first course in differential equations. They illustrate the use of problem-based learning to reinforce and extend course content via a writing or research experience. Here we discuss…

Supporting Children's Reading of Expository Text in the Geography Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gregg, Madeleine; Sekeres, Diane Carver

2006-01-01

If children are to read to learn, they must acquire skill in processing and comprehending expository texts. However, teaching children to read and comprehend informational texts takes time, because there are so many complex skills associated with this reading. Building children's knowledge of the content to be studied and introducing new…

Proportional Reasoning of Preservice Elementary Education Majors: An Epistemic Model of the Proportional Reasoning Construct.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fleener, M. Jayne

Current research and learning theory suggest that a hierarchy of proportional reasoning exists that can be tested. Using G. Vergnaud's four complexity variables (structure, content, numerical characteristics, and presentation) and T. E. Kieren's model of rational number knowledge building, an epistemic model of proportional reasoning was…

Acquiring Science and Social Studies Knowledge in Kindergarten Through Fourth Grade: Conceptualization, Design, Implementation, and Efficacy Testing of Content-Area Literacy Instruction (CALI)

PubMed Central

Dombek, Jennifer; Crowe, Elizabeth C.; Spencer, Mercedes; Tighe, Elizabeth L.; Coffinger, Sean; Zargar, Elham; Wood, Taffeta; Petscher, Yaacov

2016-01-01

With national focus on reading and math achievement, science and social studies have received less instructional time. Yet, accumulating evidence suggests that content knowledge is an important predictor of proficient reading. Starting with a design study, we developed Content Area Literacy Instruction (CALI), as an individualized (or personalized) instructional program for kindergarteners through fourth graders to build science and social studies knowledge. We developed CALI to be implemented in general education classrooms, over multiple iterations (n=230 students), using principles of design-based implementation research. The aims were to develop CALI as a usable and feasible instructional program that would, potentially, improve science and social studies knowledge, and could be implemented during the literacy block without negatively affecting students' reading gains (i.e., no opportunity cost). We then evaluated the efficacy of CALI in a randomized controlled field trial with 418 students in kindergarten through fourth grade. Results reveal that CALI demonstrates promise as a useable and feasible instructional individualized general education program, and is efficacious in improving social studies (d=2.2) and science (d=2.1) knowledge, with some evidence of improving oral and reading comprehension skills (d=.125). PMID:28479610

Nursing students' knowledge and beliefs about care of older adults in a shifting context of nursing education.

PubMed

Baumbusch, Jennifer; Dahlke, Sherry; Phinney, Alison

2012-11-01

  To a report a study of improvements in students' knowledge and beliefs about nursing care of older adults following completion of an introductory course with integrated adult/older adult content. Background.  Nursing schools are under pressure to provide accelerated programmes to meet growing workforce demands and provide students with the knowledge they require to care for an ageing population. Thus, stand-alone courses in gerontological nursing are being eliminated and integrated with general adult content. The effect of this approach remains poorly understood.   A one-group pretest-post-test design was used.   Data were collected between September-December 2010. Students completed the Palmore Facts on Aging Quiz, the Perceptions of Caring for Older People Scale, and open-ended questions about their experiences before and after completing a course with integrated adult/older content.   Students' knowledge and beliefs about nursing care of older adults demonstrated an important improvement following completion of the course. Qualitative findings reflected three themes: relating to older people; neglect by the system; having time to learn.   Findings from this study suggest that even when integrated with general adult content, students' knowledge and beliefs about older adult care can be positively influenced. Furthermore research is needed to examine long-term integration of students' learning about older adult care. Nursing faculty with expertise in nursing care of older adults must develop resources and supports for their colleagues to build capacity among nurse educators and integrate older adult content throughout nursing programmes to enhance nursing practice with an ageing population. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Impacts of Permafrost on Infrastructure and Ecosystem Services

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trochim, E.; Schuur, E.; Schaedel, C.; Kelly, B. P.

2017-12-01

The Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH) program developed knowledge pyramids as a tool for advancing scientific understanding and making this information accessible for decision makers. Knowledge pyramids are being used to synthesize, curate and disseminate knowledge of changing land ice, sea ice, and permafrost in the Arctic. Each pyramid consists of a one-two page summary brief in broadly accessible language and literature organized by levels of detail including synthesizes and scientific building blocks. Three knowledge pyramids have been produced related to permafrost on carbon, infrastructure, and ecosystem services. Each brief answers key questions with high societal relevance framed in policy-relevant terms. The knowledge pyramids concerning infrastructure and ecosystem services were developed in collaboration with researchers specializing in the specific topic areas in order to identify the most pertinent issues and accurately communicate information for integration into policy and planning. For infrastructure, the main issue was the need to build consensus in the engineering and science communities for developing improved methods for incorporating data applicable to building infrastructure on permafrost. In ecosystem services, permafrost provides critical landscape properties which affect basic human needs including fuel and drinking water availability, access to hunting and harvest, and fish and wildlife habitat. Translating these broad and complex topics necessitated a systematic and iterative approach to identifying key issues and relating them succinctly to the best state of the art research. The development of the knowledge pyramids provoked collaboration and synthesis across distinct research and engineering communities. The knowledge pyramids also provide a solid basis for policy development and the format allows the content to be regularly updated as the research community advances.

Build Engagement and Knowledge One Block at a Time with Minecraft

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tromba, Peter

2013-01-01

The core of instruction is the interaction between the student, the content, and the teacher. Good instructional design accounts for the students' needs and interests by personalizing the core to each student. Video games and simulations are one way to meet student needs and leverage their interests for increased student learning. In the 2011-12…

Fitting It All In: How Sea Stars Taught Me To Integrate the Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McDonough, Nancy H.

2003-01-01

Explains an integrated curriculum in which science content is at the core of teaching. Contends that study in an integrated curriculum invites students to build their world knowledge by offering them the time and continuous focus to know a subject well. Details an integrated unit called "Oceans" which included: observation; whole group…

Spontaneous Representations of Small Numbers of Objects by Rhesus Macaques: Examinations of Content and Format

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hauser, Marc D.; Carey, Susan

2003-01-01

The project of comparative cognition benefits from common measures across species. We report here on five experiments using the violation of expectancy looking time measure with free-ranging rhesus macaques ("Macaca mulatta"), each designed to build on current knowledge concerning spontaneous representations of number. Each subject, tested in only…

Does "Flipping" Promote Engagement?: A Comparison of a Traditional, Online, and Flipped Class

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burke, Alison S.; Fedorek, Brian

2017-01-01

"Flipped" or inverted classrooms are designed to utilize class time for application and knowledge building, while course content is delivered through the use of online lectures and watched at home on the students' time. It is believed that flipped classrooms promote student engagement and a deeper understanding of the class material. The…

Riding the Wave of Social Networking in the Context of Preservice Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Highfield, Kate; Papic, Marina

2015-01-01

This study examined the use of one online social networking tool, NING™, in teacher education, highlighting preservice teachers' engagement and perceptions of the tool. Data obtained from 91 preservice teachers suggest that they found the multimodal platform useful as a tool to build pedagogic and content knowledge. Responses to surveys and online…

Improving Access to Elementary School Social Studies Instruction: Strategies to Support Students with Learning Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ciullo, Stephen

2015-01-01

Social studies instruction in upper elementary school (Grades 3-5) is important for building foundational content knowledge to equip students for the secondary school curriculum. Due to numerous school initiatives and demands on the time of teachers, social studies instruction can play second fiddle to reading and mathematics instruction, which…

Teaching through Mnemonics in Elementary School Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Waite-McGough, Arianne

2012-01-01

Mnemonics and songs are used to help students excel and build are their knowledge in all content areas. This method of teaching and reinforcement of information helps students to commit new information to memory and continue to use this material throughout their lives. Using mnemonics is a lessons way to teach and make the classroom a unique…

A Balancing Act in the Third Space: Graduate-Level Earth Science in an Urban Teacher-Residency Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zirakparvar, N. Alex

2015-01-01

This article describes a museum-based urban teacher-residency (UTR) program's approach to building subject-specific content knowledge and research experience in Earth Science teacher candidates. In the museum-based program, graduate-level science courses and research experiences are designed and implemented specifically for the UTR by active Earth…

Writing "Voiced" Arguments about Science Topics: Answering the CCSS Call for Integrated Literacy Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Monahan, Mary Beth

2013-01-01

This teacher-research study responds to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) call for an integrated model of literacy that simultaneously builds deep content knowledge and develops students' proficiency in writing arguments in science. The author notes that while argument is a cornerstone of the CCSS writing standards, little attention is…

Modeling the Relationship between Pre-Service Teachers' TPACK and Digital Nativity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kabakci Yurdakul, Isil

2018-01-01

The purpose of this study is to build a structural equation model that predicts the relationship between Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) competencies and digital nativity. The data was collected from 1493 Turkish pre-service teachers. Two instruments were used in the data collection; a TPACK-deep scale and a Turkish adaptation…

Moving Forward: State Engagement with the Next Generation Science Standards. Special re:VISION Insert. Issue 5

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hunt Institute, 2014

2014-01-01

A rigorous K-12 science education builds student knowledge in core scientific content and equips students to analyze problems, use evidence, and investigate solutions. The education requirements of careers across the economy are increasing and all students--regardless of whether they pursue science as a career--need greater proficiency in the…

Unpacking Teachers' Moves in the Classroom: Navigating Micro- and Macro-Levels of Mathematical Complexity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wasserman, Nicholas H.

2015-01-01

The work that mathematics teachers do is frequently mathematical in nature and different from other professions. Understanding and describing common ways that teachers draw upon their content knowledge in the practice of teaching is important. Building on the descriptions by McCrory et al. ("Journal for Research in Mathematics Education"…

Berkeley Lab's Cool Your School Program

ScienceCinema

Brady, Susan; Gilbert, Haley; McCarthy, Robert

2018-02-02

Cool Your School is a series of 6th-grade, classroom-based, science activities rooted in Berkeley Lab's cool-surface and cool materials research and aligned with California science content standards. The activities are designed to build knowledge, stimulate curiosity, and carry the conversation about human-induced climate change, and what can be done about it, into the community.

Writing Practices for Mainstream Teachers of Middle School English Learners: Building on What We Know Works Effectively

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haas, Eric; Goldman, Julie; Faltis, Christian

2018-01-01

Improving the writing of middle-school English learners can improve their academic thinking, literacy, and content knowledge. The Writing Reform and Innovation for Teaching Excellence (WRITE) program uses six high-leverage writing practices and develops teacher capacity through professional learning activities anchored in the group grading of…

Teaching Practice in the 21st Century: Emerging Trends, Challenges and Opportunities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jansen, Cecelia; van der Merwe, Petro

2015-01-01

Digital technology for teaching practice students means the ability of student teachers to use digital artefacts as integral part of their pedagogical content knowledge. Student teachers need to be also aware of what implications this has for teaching and learning strategies plus the building aspects in the lesson presentation. A new approach to…

Thoughts About Health Policy Content in Baccalaureate Nursing Programs.

PubMed

Waddell, Ashley; Adams, Jeffrey M; Fawcett, Jacqueline

2016-10-01

We describe a framework used to analyze health policy content in baccalaureate nursing program courses that combines the conceptual model for nursing and health policy and the Adams influence model to account for knowledge and skills needed for health policy work. Our analysis of health policy content in courses in one baccalaureate nursing program focused on what policies were emphasized and how educational content supported the development of personal influence. The analysis revealed course content focused on public sources of health policies and lack of overt course content about policies from organizational and professional sources. Additionally, we identified little course content about the development of personal influence skills except for communication and message articulation components. As the nursing profession continues to build influence in the policy arena, educators must continue to prepare future nurses for such work. © The Author(s) 2016.

Dialogic and integrated approach to promote soils at different school levels: a Brazilian experience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muggler, Cristine Carole

2017-04-01

From ancient civilizations to present technological societies, soil is the material and immaterial ground of our existence. Soil is essential to life as are water, air and sun light. Nevertheless, it is overlooked and has its functions and importance not known and recognized by people. In formal education and in most school curricula, soil contents are not approached in the same way and intensity other environmental components are. In its essence, soils are an interdisciplinary subject, crossing over different disciplines. It has a great potential as unifying theme that links and synthesizes different contents and areas of knowledge, especially hard sciences as physics, chemistry and biology. Furthermore, soils are familiar and tangible to everyone, making them a meaningful subject that helps to build an efficient learning process. The challenge remains on how to bring such teaching-learning possibilities to formal education at all levels. Soil education deals with the significance of soil to people. What makes soil meaningful? What are the bases for effective learning about soil? The answers are very much related with subjective perceptions and life experiences carried by each individual. Those dimensions have been considered by the pedagogical approach based on Paulo Freire's socio constructivism which considers social inclusion, knowledge building, horizontal learning and collective action. This approach has been applied within the soil (science) education spaces of the Federal University of Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil, both with university students and basic education pupils. At the university an average of 200 students per semester follow a 60 hours Soil Genesis course. With primary and secondary schools the activities are developed through the Soil Education Programme (PES) of the Earth Sciences Museum. In the classes and activities, materials, methods and learning strategies are developed to stimulate involvement, dialogues and exchange of experiences and knowledge between students themselves and between students and teachers in order to build and re-build their understanding of soils. Those strategies include hands-on activities, field visits, landscape observations, collective productions and artistic works among other strategies. They are done in a dialogic and horizontal way where each ones' perceptions and experiences is valued and considered for the building of knowledge on soils. Good achievements have been obtained when university students are involved in outreach activities aimed to basic education schools and to general public, in a "teach to learn" approach.

Knowledge Representation and Management. From Ontology to Annotation. Findings from the Yearbook 2015 Section on Knowledge Representation and Management.

PubMed

Charlet, J; Darmoni, S J

2015-08-13

To summarize the best papers in the field of Knowledge Representation and Management (KRM). A comprehensive review of medical informatics literature was performed to select some of the most interesting papers of KRM published in 2014. Four articles were selected, two focused on annotation and information retrieval using an ontology. The two others focused mainly on ontologies, one dealing with the usage of a temporal ontology in order to analyze the content of narrative document, one describing a methodology for building multilingual ontologies. Semantic models began to show their efficiency, coupled with annotation tools.

Domain-independent information extraction in unstructured text

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Irwin, N.H.

Extracting information from unstructured text has become an important research area in recent years due to the large amount of text now electronically available. This status report describes the findings and work done during the second year of a two-year Laboratory Directed Research and Development Project. Building on the first-year`s work of identifying important entities, this report details techniques used to group words into semantic categories and to output templates containing selective document content. Using word profiles and category clustering derived during a training run, the time-consuming knowledge-building task can be avoided. Though the output still lacks in completeness whenmore » compared to systems with domain-specific knowledge bases, the results do look promising. The two approaches are compatible and could complement each other within the same system. Domain-independent approaches retain appeal as a system that adapts and learns will soon outpace a system with any amount of a priori knowledge.« less

Deeper Learning: Improving Student Outcomes for College, Career, and Civic Life. Policy Brief

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bitter, Catherine; Loney, Emily

2015-01-01

The Issue: To prepare for the demands of postsecondary education and the workforce, students need to master content and build skills that allow them to collaborate with others, and then apply that knowledge to new situations. Students will be able to access a wider range of opportunities in college, career, and civic life if they possess the…

Pre-Service Physics Teachers' Content Knowledge of Electric and Magnetic Field Concepts: Conceptual Facets and Their Balance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nousiainen, Maija; Koponen, Ismo T.

2017-01-01

The concepts of electricity and magnetism in physics are complex and demanding to learn because their meaning builds through several different phenomenological areas. Each of the phenomenological areas adds a certain facet of the meaning of the concept. All standard physics textbooks discuss at least 1) force, 2) energy and work, and 3) electric…

Online Education: Analysis of Interaction and Knowledge Building Patterns among Foreign Language Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Celentin, Paola

2007-01-01

In this article we discuss findings from a case-study related to the distance education of teachers of Italian as a second/foreign language. This case-study has examined interactions among teachers during their discussions in a web-forum exploiting the model of content analysis proposed in the "Practical Inquiry Model" by Garrison, Anderson, and…

How to practice creative thinking skills through scaffolding on biotech content?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Natadiwijaya, I. F.; Rahmat, A.; Redjeki, S.; Anggraeni, S.

2018-05-01

Biotechnology content is a more applicative field of science, so learners should be able to have creative thinking skills in applying concepts to problem solving. In this research, Scaffolding learning has been conducted, which is student form of concept development based on constructivism learning paradigm and students build creative thinking skill through the creation of biotechnology product ideas. The research design was R & D method. The subject of this research is a semester V biology education student at Wiralodra University. The instruments used are biotechnology creative thinking tests and program implementation observations. The data of creative thinking test was analyzed using inferential statistic, while the observation sheet used descriptive analysis. The result of this research is the result of students’ creative thinking skill as well as description of the recommended shape and characteristics of the program, with the following results. The scaffolding learning program has a significant influence on students’ creative thinking skill, and the program that trains creative thinking skill is built through two phases, namely phase 1 in concept building where students build their own knowledge, and phase 2 where students build thinking skills creatively through the creation of biotechnology product ideas.

Read, retrieve, connect and use: An intervention strategy for science and scientific literacy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Monahan, Kerryane T.

American students underachieve on local, state, national, and international assessments of science. Student performance on standardized assessments has driven numerous educational reforms including No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top with a resulting increased focus on student achievement. Local districts and schools struggle with how to improve student achievement in order to meet the requirements of state and federal legislation. International and national government officials extoll the value of science in driving the economic prosperity of a nation adding increased pressure to improve science scores in the United States. Moreover, to be effective decision-makers personally and within a democracy, citizens must be scientifically literate. Read, Retrieve, Connect and Use (RRCU) is an instructional strategy that combined state biology content standards, with the new Common Core Standards for Literacy in Science through evidenced-based literacy strategies recommended by the National Reading Panel. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of an intervention, RRCU to improve science content knowledge and literacy skills in Biology and Language Arts. The findings identified reading skill, as measured by FCAT Reading as predictive of Biology test scores indicating a close relationship between reading comprehension and the ability to learn and be assessed on science content knowledge. The data did not indicate RRCU was an effective means of improving student science content knowledge or literacy skills. However, teachers responded positively to the strategy as a means to reinforce content knowledge and support literacy skills. Future recommendations include improving the study design and expanding the use of the strategy to middle school to build a foundation of effective literacy skills students can use to cope with the depth and complexity of science content at the high school level.

The extent to which Latina/o preservice teachers demonstrate culturally responsive teaching practices during science and mathematics instruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hernandez, Cecilia M.

2011-12-01

Complex social, racial, economic, and political issues involved in the practice of teaching today require beginning teachers to be informed, skilled, and culturally responsive when entering the classroom. Teacher educators must educate future teachers in ways that will help them teach all children regardless of language, cultural background, or prior knowledge. The purpose of this study was to explore the extent to which culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) novice teachers described and demonstrated culturally responsive teaching strategies using their students' cultural and academic profiles to inform practice in science and mathematics instruction. This qualitative exploratory case study considered the culturally responsive teaching practices of 12, non-traditional, Latina/o students as they progressed through a distance-based collaborative teacher education program. Qualitative techniques used throughout this exploratory case study investigated cultural responsiveness of these student teachers as they demonstrated their abilities to: a) integrate content and facilitate knowledge construction; b) illustrate social justice and prejudice reduction; and c) develop students academically. In conclusion, student teachers participating in this study demonstrated their ability to integrate content by: (1) including content from other cultures, (2) building positive teacher-student relationships, and (3) holding high expectations for all students. They also demonstrated their ability to facilitate knowledge construction by building on what students knew. Since there is not sufficient data to support the student teachers' abilities to assist students in learning to be critical, independent thinkers who are open to other ways of knowing, no conclusions regarding this subcategory could be drawn. Student teachers in this study illustrated prejudice reduction by: (1) using native language support to assist students in learning and understanding science and math content, (2) fostering positive student-student interactions, and (3) creating a safe learning environment. Results also indicated that these student teachers demonstrated their ability to develop students academically by creating opportunities for learning in the classroom through their knowledge of students and by the use of research-based instructional strategies. However, based on the data collected as part of this study, the student teachers' abilities to illustrate or model social justice during science and math instruction were not demonstrated.

Exploring Learning Progressions of New Science Teachers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krise, Kelsy Marie

First-, second- and third-year teachers can be considered novice teachers with a solid foundation. The beginning years of teaching are intense times for learning, in which teachers can build upon their foundational knowledge. However, traditional mentoring programs often focus on technical advice and emotional support to help teachers survive the first years. This study set out to understand new science teachers' pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in order to identify how their learning progresses. Understanding teachers' ideas will allow one to think about the development of educative mentoring practices that promote the advancement of teachers' knowledge. To investigate teachers' learning progressions, the following research questions guided this study: What is the nature of pedagogical content knowledge of first-, second- and third-year science teachers at various points across the school year? To which aspects of pedagogical content knowledge do first-, second- and third-year teachers pay attention at various points across the school year? Which aspects of pedagogical content knowledge are challenging for first-, second- and third-year teachers at various points across the school year? First-, second- and third-year teachers were interviewed, observed, and their teaching artifacts were collected across the school year. Data were examined to uncover learning progressions, when ideas became more sophisticated across first-, second-, and third-year teachers. The findings of this study contribute to an understanding of how teachers' learning progresses and allows for a trajectory of learning to be described. The trajectory can be used to inform the design of university-based mentoring programs for new teachers. The descriptions of the nature of teachers' PCK and the aspects of PCK to which teachers pay attention and find challenging shed light on the support necessary to promote continued teacher learning.

Adolescent literacy: learning and understanding content.

PubMed

Goldman, Susan R

2012-01-01

Learning to read--amazing as it is to small children and their parents--is one thing. Reading to learn, explains Susan Goldman of the University of Illinois at Chicago, is quite another. Are today's students able to use reading and writing to acquire knowledge, solve problems, and make decisions in academic, personal, and professional arenas? Do they have the literacy skills necessary to meet the demands of the twenty-first century? To answer these questions, Goldman describes the increasingly complex comprehension, reasoning skills, and knowledge that students need as they progress through school and surveys what researchers and educators know about how to teach those skills. Successfully reading to learn requires the ability to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information from multiple sources, Goldman writes. Effective readers must be able to apply different knowledge, reading, and reasoning processes to different types of content, from fiction to history and science, to news accounts and user manuals. They must assess sources of information for relevance, reliability, impartiality, and completeness. And they must connect information across multiple sources. In short, successful readers must not only use general reading skills but also pay close attention to discipline-specific processes. Goldman reviews the evidence on three different instructional approaches to reading to learn: general comprehension strategies, classroom discussion, and disciplinary content instruction. She argues that building the literacy skills necessary for U.S. students to read comprehensively and critically and to learn content in a variety of disciplines should be a primary responsibility for all of the nation's teachers. But outside of English, few subject-area teachers are aware of the need to teach subject-area reading comprehension skills, nor have they had opportunities to learn them themselves. Building the capacity of all teachers to meet the literacy needs of today's students requires long-term investment and commitment from the education community as well as society as a whole.

Construction of knowledge about teaching practice and educating students from diverse cultures in an online induction program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bice, Lawrence Raymond

2005-11-01

Beginning teachers in both urban areas and geographically isolated rural areas often do not have access to a mentor teacher of the same content area or grade level in their school or district. This project is a study of learning in the on-line e-Mentoring for Student Success (eMSS) program, which provides induction for science and mathematics teachers in Montana and California. The study centered on a particular segment of eMSS called the Diversity Module. Two examinations were conducted: (1) Analysis of discourse by all participants in the Diversity Module, and (2) case study of five beginning teachers with diverse student populations. Analysis of learning by cases was conducted by examining discourse in the Diversity Module, private on-line discussions with their assigned mentors during a two-year period, and pre and post Diversity Module interviews and interviews of their mentors. Three frameworks were developed to aid understanding of findings: (1) discourse analysis, (2) competencies of multicultural teachers, and, (3) competencies of pedagogical and pedagogical content knowledge. Cases developed their knowledge of teaching along a continuum of needs over two years of participation in the eMSS program. Initial needs expressed by mentees were in areas such as classroom management and general methods of instruction. Cases increased their knowledge in virtually all aspects of pedagogical knowledge, changing their expressed needs to pedagogical content knowledge concerns such as adapting and differentiating instruction for particular content and individual students, and building their repertoire of instructional representations. Through on-line discussion, teachers developed or advanced awareness of student culture and learning characteristics, and adapted their practice to foster a climate of student respect. Findings provided little evidence of adapting instruction for diverse student learning. Teachers who had a strong awareness of their own and their students' cultures advanced their understanding of multicultural teaching competencies further than those who did not. Interview results indicated that learning sometimes takes place in a non-visible manner. Growth in multicultural teaching knowledge, as well as several aspects of pedagogical and pedagogical content knowledge, was clearly evident for participants who posted few messages, but read and actively reflected on thoughts of others.

Bridging Individual Experiences to Organizational Knowledge: The Remodeling of a National Learning Resources Center.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jih, Huecyhing Janice; Lin, Yenjen; Wu, Szuchien Sofia

The K-12 Gas Station is a national World Wide Web site in Taiwan that serves as the educational portal that provides teachers, parents, pupils, and public communities with rich content for all subject matters in grades K-12. The K-12 Gas Station plays a critical role in the efforts to build up a technology-based learning environment to help…

Building BRIDGES: A Design Experiment to Improve Reading and United States History Knowledge of Poor Readers in Eighth Grade

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Connor, Rollanda E.; Beach, Kristen D.; Sanchez, Victoria M.; Bocian, Kathleen M.; Flynn, Lindsay J.

2015-01-01

We tested the effects of teaching reading skills through U.S. history content for 38 eighth-grade poor readers whose reading ability ranged from second-to fourth-grade levels. Half of the students received special education services, and half of the students were English language learners. Students were taught to decode multisyllabic words, learn…

Students' Conceptions of and Approaches to Knowledge Building and Its Relationship to Learning Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsai, Pei-Shan; Chai, Ching Sing; Hong, Huang-Yao; Koh, Joyce Hwee Ling

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships among students' conceptions of knowledge building, approaches to knowledge building, knowledge-building behaviors and learning outcomes. A total of 48 primary school students (from grades 3 and 4) who had experienced knowledge-building activities participated in the present study. After…

Teaching Thinking Skills in Context-Based Learning: Teachers' Challenges and Assessment Knowledge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Avargil, Shirly; Herscovitz, Orit; Dori, Yehudit Judy

2012-04-01

For an educational reform to succeed, teachers need to adjust their perceptions to the reform's new curricula and strategies and cope with new content, as well as new teaching and assessment strategies. Developing students' scientific literacy through context-based chemistry and higher order thinking skills was the framework for establishing a new chemistry curriculum for Israeli high school students. As part of this endeavor, we developed the Taste of Chemistry module, which focuses on context-based chemistry, chemical understanding, and higher order thinking skills. Our research objectives were (a) to identify the challenges and difficulties chemistry teachers faced, as well as the advantages they found, while teaching and assessing the Taste of Chemistry module; and (b) to investigate how they coped with teaching and assessing thinking skills that include analyzing data from graphs and tables, transferring between multiple representations and, transferring between chemistry understanding levels. Research participants included eight teachers who taught the module. Research tools included interviews, classroom observations, teachers-designed students' assignments, and developers-designed students' assignments. We documented different challenges teachers had faced while teaching the module and found that the teachers developed different ways of coping with these challenges. Developing teachers' assessment knowledge (AK) was found to be the highest stage in teachers' professional growth, building on teachers' content knowledge (CK), pedagogy knowledge (PK), and pedagogical-content knowledge (PCK). We propose the use of assignments designed by teachers as an instrument for determining their professional growth.

Bodybuilding supplementation and tooth decay.

PubMed

Ali, M S; Batley, H; Ahmed, F

2015-07-10

Supplementation is a key component in bodybuilding and is increasingly being used by amateur weight lifters and enthusiasts to build their ideal bodies. Bodybuilding supplements are advertised to provide nutrients needed to help optimise muscle building but they can contain high amounts of sugar. Supplement users are consuming these products, while not being aware of their high sugar content, putting them at a higher risk of developing dental caries. It is important for dental professionals to recognise the increased risk for supplement users and to raise awareness, provide appropriate preventative advice and be knowledgeable of alternative products to help bodybuilders reach their goals, without increasing the risk of dental caries.

Limits and possibilities of an online game for building adolescents' knowledge of sexuality.

PubMed

Oliveira, Rebeca Nunes Guedes de; Gessner, Rafaela; Souza, Vânia de; Fonseca, Rosa Maria Godoy Serpa da

2016-08-01

This study looks at the limits and possibilities of an online game designed to build knowledge and awareness in adolescents in the field of affections, sexuality and reproduction. It evaluates the experience of a group of teenagers with a game called Papo Reto ('Straight Talk'), over a period of three months. A total of 23 teenagers aged 15 to 18 took part in the study. The data were collected in two workshops held at a secondary school in the city of São Paulo (São Paulo State), Brazil. The dialogs were recorded and transcribed, and their content analyzed. The results showed a variety of possibilities of the Straight Talk online game for reconstruction of knowledge in the field of sexuality, and for helping the subject perceive and analyze the complexity of reality from a gender point of view. The subjects covered in the game were assessed, as motivating factors for the game and for the interaction. Adjustments were suggested for inclusion of elements to create a more ludic quality, more interaction, in the game.

There Is Still Nothing Better than Quality Play Experiences for Young Children's Learning and Development: Building the Foundation for Inquiry in Our Educational Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pistorova, Stacey; Slutsky, Ruslan

2018-01-01

Teachers face a growing call for implementing inquiry-based teaching and learning in a current pedagogical environment that contradicts this through educational practices that silo content, disseminate knowledge, and produce classrooms of passive learners. We address a hot topic in the United States on how a push for more "academics" is…

Building BRIDGES: A Design Experiment to Improve Reading and United States History Knowledge of Poor Readers in 8th Grade

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Connor, Rollanda E.; Beach, Kristen D.; Sanchez, Victoria; Bocian, Kathleen M.; Flynn, Lindsay

2015-01-01

We tested the effects of teaching reading skills through U.S. History content for 38 eighth-grade poor readers whose reading ability ranged from 2nd to 4th grade levels. Half of the students received special education services and half of the students were English Language Learners. Students were taught to decode multisyllabic words, learn…

Evaluating student learning outcomes in oral health knowledge and skills.

PubMed

Lewis, Adrienne; Edwards, Suzanne; Whiting, Glenda; Donnelly, Frank

2018-06-01

To evaluate whether a set of oral health resources designed for workforce training was relevant for students undertaking an entry-level nursing or aged care qualification. Oral health is one of the most neglected aspects of nursing care experienced by older people. Despite efforts to improve aged care worker oral health knowledge and skills, one-off training and rapid staff turnover have hindered the success of workplace programmes. Inadequate oral health content in entry-level nursing and aged care qualifications has perpetuated this. Kirkpatrick's training and evaluation model was used to evaluate the resources developed by a project called Building Better Oral Health Communities. Students used them as prescribed study materials and completed pre- and postintervention questionnaires. Educators were interviewed to obtain their feedback. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Qualitative data were collated according to relevance to learning, presentation style and interest. Evaluation showed high levels of student and educator satisfaction. Student learning outcomes demonstrated consistently positive attitudes and significant self-reported improvements in oral health knowledge and skills. Irrespective of course type, students gained similar levels of oral health knowledge and skills following use of the resources. Nurses and care workers must be able to provide consistent standards of oral health care as a fundamental part of caring for patients. Validated as an effective learning and teaching package, it is recommended that these resources be used to strengthen the oral health content of entry-level nursing and aged care qualifications. Building the oral health capacity of nurses and care workers is one way of reversing oral health neglect and improving the quality of care provided to older people. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Validity evidence based on test content.

PubMed

Sireci, Stephen; Faulkner-Bond, Molly

2014-01-01

Validity evidence based on test content is one of the five forms of validity evidence stipulated in the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing developed by the American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, and National Council on Measurement in Education. In this paper, we describe the logic and theory underlying such evidence and describe traditional and modern methods for gathering and analyzing content validity data. A comprehensive review of the literature and of the aforementioned Standards is presented. For educational tests and other assessments targeting knowledge and skill possessed by examinees, validity evidence based on test content is necessary for building a validity argument to support the use of a test for a particular purpose. By following the methods described in this article, practitioners have a wide arsenal of tools available for determining how well the content of an assessment is congruent with and appropriate for the specific testing purposes.

Influence of Participation, Facilitator Styles, and Metacognitive Reflection on Knowledge Building in Online University Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cacciamani, Stefano; Cesareni, Donatella; Martini, Francesca; Ferrini, Tiziana; Fujita, Nobuko

2012-01-01

Understanding how to foster knowledge building in online and blended learning environments is a key for computer-supported collaborative learning research. Knowledge building is a deeply constructivist pedagogy and kind of inquiry learning focused on theory building. A strong indicator of engagement in knowledge building activity is the…

The KnowRISK project - Know your city, Reduce seISmic risK through non-structural elements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sousa Oliveria, Carlos; Amaral Ferreira, Mónica; Lopez, Mário; Sousa Silva, Delta; Musacchio, Gemma; Rupakhety, Rajesh; Falsaperla, Susanna; Meroni, Fabrizio; Langer, Horst

2016-04-01

Historically, there is a tendency to focus on seismic structural performance of buildings, neglecting the potential for damage of non-structural elements. In particular, non-structural elements of buildings are their architectural parts (i.e. partitions, ceilings, cladding), electrical and mechanical components (i.e., distribution panels, piping, plumbing), and contents (e.g., furniture, bookcases, computers and desktop equipment). Damage of these elements often contributes significantly to earthquake impacts. In the 1999 Izmit Earthquake, Turkey, 50% of the injuries and 3% of human losses were caused by non-structural failures. In the 2010-2011 Christchurch Earthquakes (New Zealand), 40% of building damage was induced by non-structural malfunctions. Around 70%-85% of construction cost goes into these elements, and their damage can strongly influence the ability of communities to cope with and recover from earthquakes. The project Know your city, Reduce seISmic risK through non-structural elements (KnowRISK) aims at facilitating local communities' access to expert knowledge on non-structural seismic protection solutions. The project will study seismic scenarios critical for non-structural damage, produce a portfolio of non-structural protection measures and investigate the level of awareness in specific communities. We will implement risk communication strategies that will take into account the social and cultural background and a participatory approach to raise awareness in local communities. The paradox between the progress of scientific knowledge and the ongoing increase of losses from natural disasters worldwide is a well-identified gap in the UN Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015, in which one of the main priorities is the investment on "knowledge use, innovation and education to build a culture of safety and resilience". The KnowRISK is well aligned with these priorities and will contribute to participatory action aimed at: i) transferring expert knowledge on seismic risk and non-structural protective solutions into practical knowledge and ii) communication tools designed to engage communities in disaster risk reduction

Does prior domain-specific content knowledge influence students' recall of arguments surrounding interdisciplinary topics?

PubMed

Schmidt, Hiemke K; Rothgangel, Martin; Grube, Dietmar

2017-12-01

Awareness of various arguments can help interactants present opinions, stress points, and build counterarguments during discussions. At school, some topics are taught in a way that students learn to accumulate knowledge and gather arguments, and later employ them during debates. Prior knowledge may facilitate recalling information on well structured, fact-based topics, but does it facilitate recalling arguments during discussions on complex, interdisciplinary topics? We assessed the prior knowledge in domains related to a bioethical topic of 277 students from Germany (approximately 15 years old), their interest in the topic, and their general knowledge. The students read a text with arguments for and against prenatal diagnostics and tried to recall the arguments one week later and again six weeks later. Prior knowledge in various domains related to the topic individually and separately helped students recall the arguments. These relationships were independent of students' interest in the topic and their general knowledge. Copyright © 2017 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

School of Ice: An Advanced Professional Development Program for Geoscience Faculty at Minority-Serving Institutions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huffman, L. T.

2017-12-01

The School of Ice (SOI) program from the US Ice Drilling Program Office (IDPO) is designed for college faculty who teach at minority-serving institutions or historically black colleges and universities, but lessons learned transfer easily to any science course based on current research. The institute builds participants' background knowledge about ice core science and climate change while also providing experiences with activities and labs for transferring information to their students. After three years of highly successful workshops, our model has provided valuable lessons for creating powerful experiences for participants. This presentation will identify some of the key ideas including pairing researchers and educators as presenters; creating leadership teams capitalizing on partner strengths; building a science community willing to participate in education and outreach; and building participants' science content background knowledge and confidence while providing them with teaching models for transferring the knowledge to their students. Another important element is to demand teacher buy-in to ensure replication and dissemination. Also, IDPO's drilling technologies make it an ideal platform for intertwining engineering concepts and practices with science research to meet new science standards. In this session, we will share results of the institute evaluations including the impact on the educators as well as longitudinal analysis of data from interviews with past participants concerning continued impacts on their teaching, their courses and their students. Faculty who have attended this institute in the last three years have reported increases in their understanding of the content and how to teach it. They also report increased confidence in their ability to teach ice core science and climate change concepts. Elements of these successful workshops can inform both the development of college professional development and student courses, as well as the creation of successful education and outreach programs for science research teams wanting to increase broader impacts of their research results.

Students Assessing Their Own Collaborative Knowledge Building

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Eddy Y. C.; Chan, Carol K. K.; van Aalst, Jan

2006-01-01

We describe the design of a knowledge-building environment and examine the role of knowledge-building portfolios in characterizing and scaffolding collaborative inquiry. Our goal is to examine collaborative knowledge building in the context of exploring the alignment of learning, collaboration, and assessment in computer forums. The key design…

Overview of Building Information Modelling (BIM) adoption factors for construction organisations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohammad, W. N. S. Wan; Abdullah, M. R.; Ismail, S.; Takim, R.

2018-04-01

Improvement and innovation in building visualization, project coordination and communication are the major benefits generated by Building Information Modelling (BIM) for construction organisations. Thus, as many firms across the world would adopt BIM, however they do not know the clear direction in which path they are moving as there is no specific reference available for them to refer to. Hence, the paper seeks to identify the factors of BIM adoption from previous research. The methodology used in this paper is based on literature review from various sources such as conference articles and journals. Then, the findings were analysed using content analysis. The findings show that there are 24 factors found from literature that influence the adoption of BIM and four (4) factors such as vendor, organisational vision, knowledge, and implementation plan are among the least factors mentioned by previous researchers.

The Sydney West Knowledge Portal: Evaluating the Growth of a Knowledge Portal to Support Translational Research.

PubMed

Janssen, Anna; Robinson, Tracy Elizabeth; Provan, Pamela; Shaw, Tim

2016-06-29

The Sydney West Translational Cancer Research Centre is an organization funded to build capacity for translational research in cancer. Translational research is essential for ensuring the integration of best available evidence into practice and for improving patient outcomes. However, there is a low level of awareness regarding what it is and how to conduct it optimally. One solution to addressing this gap is the design and deployment of web-based knowledge portals to disseminate new knowledge and engage with and connect dispersed networks of researchers. A knowledge portal is an web-based platform for increasing knowledge dissemination and management in a specialized area. To measure the design and growth of an web-based knowledge portal for increasing individual awareness of translational research and to build organizational capacity for the delivery of translational research projects in cancer. An adaptive methodology was used to capture the design and growth of an web-based knowledge portal in cancer. This involved stakeholder consultations to inform initial design of the portal. Once the portal was live, site analytics were reviewed to evaluate member usage of the portal and to measure growth in membership. Knowledge portal membership grew consistently for the first 18 months after deployment, before leveling out. Analysis of site metrics revealed members were most likely to visit portal pages with community-generated content, particularly pages with a focus on translational research. This was closely followed by pages that disseminated educational material about translational research. Preliminary data from this study suggest that knowledge portals may be beneficial tools for translating new evidence and fostering an environment of communication and collaboration.

The Sydney West Knowledge Portal: Evaluating the Growth of a Knowledge Portal to Support Translational Research

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Background The Sydney West Translational Cancer Research Centre is an organization funded to build capacity for translational research in cancer. Translational research is essential for ensuring the integration of best available evidence into practice and for improving patient outcomes. However, there is a low level of awareness regarding what it is and how to conduct it optimally. One solution to addressing this gap is the design and deployment of web-based knowledge portals to disseminate new knowledge and engage with and connect dispersed networks of researchers. A knowledge portal is an web-based platform for increasing knowledge dissemination and management in a specialized area. Objective To measure the design and growth of an web-based knowledge portal for increasing individual awareness of translational research and to build organizational capacity for the delivery of translational research projects in cancer. Methods An adaptive methodology was used to capture the design and growth of an web-based knowledge portal in cancer. This involved stakeholder consultations to inform initial design of the portal. Once the portal was live, site analytics were reviewed to evaluate member usage of the portal and to measure growth in membership. Results Knowledge portal membership grew consistently for the first 18 months after deployment, before leveling out. Analysis of site metrics revealed members were most likely to visit portal pages with community-generated content, particularly pages with a focus on translational research. This was closely followed by pages that disseminated educational material about translational research. Conclusions Preliminary data from this study suggest that knowledge portals may be beneficial tools for translating new evidence and fostering an environment of communication and collaboration. PMID:27357641

Building a developmental toxicity ontology.

PubMed

Baker, Nancy; Boobis, Alan; Burgoon, Lyle; Carney, Edward; Currie, Richard; Fritsche, Ellen; Knudsen, Thomas; Laffont, Madeleine; Piersma, Aldert H; Poole, Alan; Schneider, Steffen; Daston, George

2018-04-03

As more information is generated about modes of action for developmental toxicity and more data are generated using high-throughput and high-content technologies, it is becoming necessary to organize that information. This report discussed the need for a systematic representation of knowledge about developmental toxicity (i.e., an ontology) and proposes a method to build one based on knowledge of developmental biology and mode of action/ adverse outcome pathways in developmental toxicity. This report is the result of a consensus working group developing a plan to create an ontology for developmental toxicity that spans multiple levels of biological organization. This report provide a description of some of the challenges in building a developmental toxicity ontology and outlines a proposed methodology to meet those challenges. As the ontology is built on currently available web-based resources, a review of these resources is provided. Case studies on one of the most well-understood morphogens and developmental toxicants, retinoic acid, are presented as examples of how such an ontology might be developed. This report outlines an approach to construct a developmental toxicity ontology. Such an ontology will facilitate computer-based prediction of substances likely to induce human developmental toxicity. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Content-Related Knowledge of Biology Teachers from Secondary Schools: Structure and learning opportunities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Großschedl, Jörg; Mahler, Daniela; Kleickmann, Thilo; Harms, Ute

2014-09-01

Teachers' content-related knowledge is a key factor influencing the learning progress of students. Different models of content-related knowledge have been proposed by educational researchers; most of them take into account three categories: content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and curricular knowledge. As there is no consensus about the empirical separability (i.e. empirical structure) of content-related knowledge yet, a total of 134 biology teachers from secondary schools completed three tests which were to capture each of the three categories of content-related knowledge. The empirical structure of content-related knowledge was analyzed by Rasch analysis, which suggests content-related knowledge to be composed of (1) content knowledge, (2) pedagogical content knowledge, and (3) curricular knowledge. Pedagogical content knowledge and curricular knowledge are highly related (rlatent = .70). The latent correlations between content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge (rlatent = .48)-and curricular knowledge, respectively (rlatent = .35)-are moderate to low (all ps < .001). Beyond the empirical structure of content-related knowledge, different learning opportunities for teachers were investigated with regard to their relationship to content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and curricular knowledge acquisition. Our results show that an in-depth training in teacher education, professional development, and teacher self-study are positively related to particular categories of content-related knowledge. Furthermore, our results indicate that teaching experience is negatively related to curricular knowledge, compared to no significant relationship with content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge.

Role of particle size and composition in metal adsorption by solids deposited on urban road surfaces.

PubMed

Gunawardana, Chandima; Egodawatta, Prasanna; Goonetilleke, Ashantha

2014-01-01

Despite common knowledge that the metal content adsorbed by fine particles is relatively higher compared to coarser particles, the reasons for this phenomenon have gained little research attention. The research study discussed in the paper investigated the variations in metal content for different particle sizes of solids associated with pollutant build-up on urban road surfaces. Data analysis confirmed that parameters favourable for metal adsorption to solids such as specific surface area, organic carbon content, effective cation exchange capacity and clay forming minerals content decrease with the increase in particle size. Furthermore, the mineralogical composition of solids was found to be the governing factor influencing the specific surface area and effective cation exchange capacity. There is high quartz content in particles >150 μm compared to particles <150 μm. As particle size reduces below 150 μm, the clay forming minerals content increases, providing favourable physical and chemical properties that influence adsorption. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Maternal nutrition knowledge and child nutritional outcomes in urban Kenya.

PubMed

Debela, Bethelhem Legesse; Demmler, Kathrin M; Rischke, Ramona; Qaim, Matin

2017-09-01

We examine the link between maternal nutrition knowledge and nutritional outcomes of children and adolescents (5-18 years) measured in terms of height-for-age Z-scores (HAZ). One particular focus is on the role of different types of nutrition knowledge. The analysis builds on household-level and individual-level data collected in urban Kenya in 2012 and 2015. Various regression models are developed and estimated. Results show that maternal nutrition knowledge - measured through an aggregate knowledge score - is positively associated with child HAZ, even after controlling for other influencing factors such as household living standard and general maternal education. However, disaggregation by type of knowledge reveals important differences. Maternal knowledge about food ingredients only has a weak positive association with child HAZ. For maternal knowledge about specific dietary recommendations, no significant association is detected. The strongest positive association with child HAZ is found for maternal knowledge about the health consequences of not following recommended dietary practices. These findings have direct relevance for nutrition and health policies, especially for designing the contents of educational campaigns and training programs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

CAPACITY BUILDING PROCESS IN ENVIRONMENTAL AND HEALTH IMPACT ASSESSMENT FOR A THAI COMMUNITY.

PubMed

Chaithui, Suthat; Sithisarankul, Pornchai; Hengpraprom, Sarunya

2017-03-01

This research aimed at exploring the development of the capacitybuilding process in environmental and health impact assessment, including the consideration of subsequent, capacity-building achievements. Data were gathered through questionnaires, participatory observations, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and capacity building checklist forms. These data were analyzed using content analysis, descriptive statistics, and inferential statistics. Our study used the components of the final draft for capacity-building processes consisting of ten steps that were formulated by synthesis from each respective process. Additionally, the evaluation of capacity building levels was performed using 10-item evaluation criteria for nine communities. The results indicated that the communities performed well under these criteria. Finally, exploration of the factors influencing capacity building in environmental and health impact assessment indicated that the learning of community members by knowledge exchange via activities and study visits were the most influential factors of the capacity building processes in environmental and health impact assessment. The final revised version of capacitybuilding process in environmental and health impact assessment could serve as a basis for the consideration of interventions in similar areas, so that they increased capacity in environmental and health impact assessments.

Fun Science: The Use of Variable Manipulation to Avoid Content Instruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peters-Burton, Erin E.; Hiller, Suzanne E.

2013-02-01

This study examined the beliefs and rationale pre-service elementary teachers used to choose activities for upper-elementary students in a 1-week intensive science camp. Six undergraduate elementary pre-service teachers were observed as they took a semester-long science methods class that culminated in a 1-week science camp. This qualitative, phenomenological study found that counselors chose activities with the possibility of fun being a priority rather than teaching content, even after they were confronted with campers who demanded more content. Additionally, all six of the counselors agreed that activities involving variable manipulation were the most successful, even though content knowledge was not required to complete the activities. The counselors felt the variable manipulation activities were successful because students were constructing products and therefore getting to the end of the activity. Implications include building an awareness of the complexity of self-efficacy of science teaching and outcome expectancy to improve teacher education programs.

Semantic Web meets Integrative Biology: a survey.

PubMed

Chen, Huajun; Yu, Tong; Chen, Jake Y

2013-01-01

Integrative Biology (IB) uses experimental or computational quantitative technologies to characterize biological systems at the molecular, cellular, tissue and population levels. IB typically involves the integration of the data, knowledge and capabilities across disciplinary boundaries in order to solve complex problems. We identify a series of bioinformatics problems posed by interdisciplinary integration: (i) data integration that interconnects structured data across related biomedical domains; (ii) ontology integration that brings jargons, terminologies and taxonomies from various disciplines into a unified network of ontologies; (iii) knowledge integration that integrates disparate knowledge elements from multiple sources; (iv) service integration that build applications out of services provided by different vendors. We argue that IB can benefit significantly from the integration solutions enabled by Semantic Web (SW) technologies. The SW enables scientists to share content beyond the boundaries of applications and websites, resulting into a web of data that is meaningful and understandable to any computers. In this review, we provide insight into how SW technologies can be used to build open, standardized and interoperable solutions for interdisciplinary integration on a global basis. We present a rich set of case studies in system biology, integrative neuroscience, bio-pharmaceutics and translational medicine, to highlight the technical features and benefits of SW applications in IB.

Proceedings of the Annual Military Librarians’ Workshop (28th): Cost of Library Operations 1984 and Beyond Held at Panama City Beach, Florida on 17-19 October 1984

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-10-01

Aviation Tech Lib Ft. Rucker, AL Dave Hlanna Naval Underwater Sys Ctr New London, CT Barbara Witt Defence Res Est, Pac Victoria, BC CONTENTS PAGE...solved problems, and is the key to eventually build- -,r s’s-• -"a• gch can reasoti across knowledge areas; and common sense reason- an•jn v:- nabe the

Ontology patterns for tabular representations of biomedical knowledge on neglected tropical diseases

PubMed Central

Santana, Filipe; Schober, Daniel; Medeiros, Zulma; Freitas, Fred; Schulz, Stefan

2011-01-01

Motivation: Ontology-like domain knowledge is frequently published in a tabular format embedded in scientific publications. We explore the re-use of such tabular content in the process of building NTDO, an ontology of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), where the representation of the interdependencies between hosts, pathogens and vectors plays a crucial role. Results: As a proof of concept we analyzed a tabular compilation of knowledge about pathogens, vectors and geographic locations involved in the transmission of NTDs. After a thorough ontological analysis of the domain of interest, we formulated a comprehensive design pattern, rooted in the biomedical domain upper level ontology BioTop. This pattern was implemented in a VBA script which takes cell contents of an Excel spreadsheet and transforms them into OWL-DL. After minor manual post-processing, the correctness and completeness of the ontology was tested using pre-formulated competence questions as description logics (DL) queries. The expected results could be reproduced by the ontology. The proposed approach is recommended for optimizing the acquisition of ontological domain knowledge from tabular representations. Availability and implementation: Domain examples, source code and ontology are freely available on the web at http://www.cin.ufpe.br/~ntdo. Contact: fss3@cin.ufpe.br PMID:21685092

The Case for Information Brokering During Major Change: The Experience of the Transition Support Office of the McGill University Health Centre.

PubMed

Klag, Malvina; Richer, Marie-Claire

2016-01-01

This paper describes the emergence of an "information brokerage" in the project management office of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) in Montreal. This process evolved during unprecedented transformation linked to a redevelopment project. Information brokering became a core function in the MUHC's context of major change. To develop an information brokering model, the paper draws upon the literature on knowledge brokering, applies Daft and Lengel's (1986) seminal framework on information processing in organizations, and builds on the MUHC experience. The paper proposes that knowledge brokering and information brokering are related, yet distinct in content, purpose and structure.

A Brief History of Knowledge Building

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scardamalia, Marlene; Bereiter, Carl

2010-01-01

Knowledge Building as a theoretical, pedagogical, and technological innovation focuses on the 21st century need to work creatively with knowledge. The team now advancing Knowledge Building spans multiple disciplines, sectors, and cultural contexts. Several teacher-researcher-government partnerships have formed to bring about the systemic changes…

Kees: a Practical Ict Solution for Rural Areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dai, Xiaoye; Tabirca, Sabin; Lenihan, Eamon

This paper introduces a practical e-learning system, identified as Knowledge Exchange E-learning System (abbr. KEES), for knowledge distribution in rural areas. Particularly, this paper is about providing a virtual teaching and learning environment for small holders in agriculture in those rural areas. E-learning is increasingly influencing the agricultural education (information and knowledge learning) in all forms and the current e-learning in agricultural education appears in informal and formal methods in many developed countries and some developing areas such as Asian Pacific regions. KEES is a solution to provide education services including other services of information distribution and knowledge sharing to local farmers, local institutes or local collection of farmers. The design of KEES is made to meet the needs of knowledge capacity building, experience sharing, skill upgrading, and information exchanging in agriculture for different conditions in rural areas. The system allows the online lecture/training materials to be distributed simultaneously with all multimedia resources through different file formats across different platforms. The teaching/training content can be contextless and broad, allowing for greater participation by more small holders, commercial farmers, extension workers, agriculturists, educators, and other agriculture-related experts. The relative inconsistency in content gives farmers more localised and useful knowledge. The framework of KEES has been designed to be a three-tier architecture logic workflow, which can configure the progressive approach for KEES to pass on and respond to different requests/communications between the client side and the server.

Biochar composts and composites.

PubMed

Ekebafe, Marian Osazoduwa; Ekebafe, Lawrence Olu; Ugbesia, Stella Omozee

2015-01-01

Research has shown that the carbon content of wastes decreases during composting with an increase in the nitrogen content. This indicates that the increased microbial activity in the process results in an increased mineralisation rate of organic nitrogen. A formula containing biochar in the form of terra preta, biochar bokashi, biochar glomalin, biochar hydrogel and biochar mokusaku-eki could further enhance the stability of the system and its effectiveness as a soil ameliorant. It could increase the cation exchange capacity, reuse crop residue, reduce runoff, reduce watering, reduce the quantity of fertiliser increase crop yield, build and multiply soil biodiversity, strengthen and rebuild our soil food web, sequester atmospheric carbon in a carbon negative process, increase soil pH, restructure poor soils, and reduce carbon dioxide/methane/ nitrous oxide/ammonia emissions from gardens and fields. This paper considers these claims and also the wider environmental implications of the adoption of these processes. The intention of this overview is not just to summarise current knowledge of the subject, but also to identify gaps in knowledge that require further research.

Towards Automatic Classification of Wikipedia Content

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Szymański, Julian

Wikipedia - the Free Encyclopedia encounters the problem of proper classification of new articles everyday. The process of assignment of articles to categories is performed manually and it is a time consuming task. It requires knowledge about Wikipedia structure, which is beyond typical editor competence, which leads to human-caused mistakes - omitting or wrong assignments of articles to categories. The article presents application of SVM classifier for automatic classification of documents from The Free Encyclopedia. The classifier application has been tested while using two text representations: inter-documents connections (hyperlinks) and word content. The results of the performed experiments evaluated on hand crafted data show that the Wikipedia classification process can be partially automated. The proposed approach can be used for building a decision support system which suggests editors the best categories that fit new content entered to Wikipedia.

Advancing Knowledge-Building Discourse through Judgments of Promising Ideas

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Bodong; Scardamalia, Marlene; Bereiter, Carl

2015-01-01

Evaluating promisingness of ideas is an important but underdeveloped aspect of knowledge building. The goal of this research was to examine the extent to which Grade 3 students could make promisingness judgments to facilitate knowledge-building discourse. A Promising Ideas Tool was added to Knowledge Forum software to better support…

Schools as Knowledge-Building Organizations: Thirty Years of Design Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Bodong; Hong, Huang-Yao

2016-01-01

In this article we review the Knowledge-Building literature, unpacking its conceptual framework, principle-based pedagogy, distinctive features, and issues regarding scalability and sustainability. The Knowledge-Building goal is to reframe education as a knowledge-creating enterprise, engaging students from the earliest years of schooling. Despite…

A New Framework and Practice Center for Adapting, Translating, and Scaling Evidence-Based Health/Wellness Programs for People With Disabilities.

PubMed

Rimmer, James H; Vanderbom, Kerri A; Graham, Ian D

2016-04-01

Supporting the transition of people with newly acquired and existing disability from rehabilitation into community-based health/wellness programs, services, and venues requires rehabilitation professionals to build evidence by capturing successful strategies at the local level, finding innovative ways to translate successful practices to other communities, and ultimately to upgrade and maintain their applicability and currency for future scale-up. This article describes a knowledge-to-practice framework housed in a national resource and practice center that will support therapists and other rehabilitation professionals in building and maintaining a database of successful health/wellness guidelines, recommendations, and adaptations to promote community health inclusion for people with disabilities. A framework was developed in the National Center on Health, Physical Activity and Disability (NCHPAD) to systematically build and advance the evidence base of health/wellness programs, practices, and services applicable to people with disabilities. N-KATS (NCHPAD Knowledge Adaptation, Translation, and Scale-up) has 4 sequencing strategies: strategy 1-new evidence- and practice-based knowledge is collected and adapted for the local context (ie, community); strategy 2-customized resources are effectively disseminated to key stakeholders including rehabilitation professionals with appropriate training tools; strategy 3-NCHPAD staff serve as facilitators assisting key stakeholders in implementing recommendations; strategy 4-successful elements of practice (eg, guideline, recommendation, adaptation) are archived and scaled to other rehabilitation providers. The N-KATS framework supports the role of rehabilitation professionals as knowledge brokers, facilitators, and users in a collaborative, dynamic structure that will grow and be sustained over time through the NCHPAD.Video abstract available for additional insights from the authors (see Video, Supplemental Digital Content 1, http://links.lww.com/JNPT/A130).

Designing high-quality interactive multimedia learning modules.

PubMed

Huang, Camillan

2005-01-01

Modern research has broadened scientific knowledge and revealed the interdisciplinary nature of the sciences. For today's students, this advance translates to learning a more diverse range of concepts, usually in less time, and without supporting resources. Students can benefit from technology-enhanced learning supplements that unify concepts and are delivered on-demand over the Internet. Such supplements, like imaging informatics databases, serve as innovative references for biomedical information, but could improve their interaction interfaces to support learning. With information from these digital datasets, multimedia learning tools can be designed to transform learning into an active process where students can visualize relationships over time, interact with dynamic content, and immediately test their knowledge. This approach bridges knowledge gaps, fosters conceptual understanding, and builds problem-solving and critical thinking skills-all essential components to informatics training for science and medicine. Additional benefits include cost-free access and ease of dissemination over the Internet or CD-ROM. However, current methods for the design of multimedia learning modules are not standardized and lack strong instructional design. Pressure from administrators at the top and students from the bottom are pushing faculty to use modern technology to address the learning needs and expectations of contemporary students. Yet, faculty lack adequate support and training to adopt this new approach. So how can faculty learn to create educational multimedia materials for their students? This paper provides guidelines on best practices in educational multimedia design, derived from the Virtual Labs Project at Stanford University. The development of a multimedia module consists of five phases: (1) understand the learning problem and the users needs; (2) design the content to harness the enabling technologies; (3) build multimedia materials with web style standards and human factors principles; (4) user testing; (5) evaluate and improve design.

JPRS Report China

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-03-29

131079 JPRS-CAR-88-016 29 MARCH 1988 !■■■■■ ■«■■■I FOREIGN BROADCAST INFORMATION SERVICE -/P/? S Report— China \\0$^ P L «2 ptSTKBimÖN...SPRINGFIELD, VA 22161 imc*»u"I1𔄂PECB5D6 -f/ S JPRS-CAR-88-016 CONTENTS 29 MARCH 1988 POLITICAL CYL First Secretary Discusses CYL Structural...building socialism with distinctive Chinese characteristics into a new generation of people who have ideals, morality, cultural knowledge , and a good

HIV prevention through drugs and sex education in junior high schools in Bandung West Java: the teachers' perspective.

PubMed

Hinduan, Zahrotur R; Riyanti, Eka; Tasya, Irma A; Pohan, Mawar N; Sumintardja, Elmira N; Astuti, Sri R; Jabar, Bambang A; Pinxten, Lucas Wj; Hospers, Harm J

2009-07-01

to explore the teacher perspective on needs (in terms of knowledge, skills and curriculum content), attitudes, beliefs and self-efficacy related to teaching and implementation of a reproductive health (RH)/drug education (DE) program at their own junior high school. one hundred and thirty-three teachers participated in a survey, from February to April 2009, measuring: socio demographic, behavioral intention, perceived behavior control, content knowledge, school climate, reproductive health knowledge and school drug education. all teachers had a high intention to teach RH and DE, especially the younger RH teachers had a high intention to teach about teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. DE teachers had a high intention facts/effects of drugs, first-time drug use dealing with peer pressure. Perceived beliefs of teachers, parents, school management and perceived self-efficacy were strong predictors for the intention of RH teaching and DE. the high intention of the RH and DE teacher offers a great opportunity to build and implement a DE and RH curriculum in junior high school. Before a curriculum is developed and implemented there is a need to assess and strengthen the teacher's skills and effectiveness in teaching RH and DE.

Sustaining Knowledge Building as a Principle-Based Innovation at an Elementary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Jianwei; Hong, Huang-Yao; Scardamalia, Marlene; Teo, Chew Lee; Morley, Elizabeth A.

2011-01-01

This study explores Knowledge Building as a principle-based innovation at an elementary school and makes a case for a principle- versus procedure-based approach to educational innovation, supported by new knowledge media. Thirty-nine Knowledge Building initiatives, each focused on a curriculum theme and facilitated by nine teachers over eight…

Exploring mentorship as a strategy to build capacity for knowledge translation research and practice: protocol for a qualitative study

PubMed Central

Gagliardi, Anna R; Perrier, Laure; Webster, Fiona; Leslie, Karen; Bell, Mary; Levinson, Wendy; Rotstein, Ori; Tourangeau, Ann; Morrison, Laurie; Silver, Ivan L; Straus, Sharon E

2009-01-01

Background Research funders, educators, investigators and decision makers worldwide have identified the need to improve the quality of health care by building capacity for knowledge translation (KT) research and practice. Peer-based mentorship represents a vehicle to foster KT capacity. The purpose of this exploratory study is to identify mentoring models that could be used to build KT capacity, consult with putative mentee stakeholders to understand their KT mentorship needs and preferences, and generate recommendations for the content and format of KT mentorship strategies or programs, and how they could be tested through future research. Methods A conceptual framework was derived based on mentoring goals, processes and outcomes identified in the management and social sciences literature, and our research on barriers and facilitators of academic mentorship. These concepts will inform data collection and analysis. To identify useful models by which to design, implement and evaluate KT mentorship, we will review the social sciences, management, and nursing literature from 1990 to current, browse tables of contents of relevant journals, and scan the references of all eligible studies. Eligibility screening and data extraction will be performed independently by two investigators. Semi-structured interviews will be used to collect information about KT needs, views on mentorship as a knowledge sharing strategy, preferred KT mentoring program elements, and perceived barriers from clinician health services researchers representing different disciplines. Qualitative analysis of transcripts will be performed independently by two investigators, who will meet to compare findings and resolve differences through discussion. Data will be shared and discussed with the research team, and their feedback incorporated into final reports. Discussion These findings could be used by universities, research institutes, funding agencies, and professional organizations in Canada and elsewhere to develop, implement, and evaluate mentorship for KT research and practice. This research will establish a theoretical basis upon which we and others can compare the cost-effectiveness of interventions that enhance KT mentorship. If successful, this program of research may increase knowledge about, confidence in, and greater utilization of KT processes, and the quality and quantity of KT research, perhaps ultimately leading to better implementation and adoption of recommended health care services. PMID:19691833

The Emerging Phenomenon of Knowledge Management.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Broadbent, Marianne

1997-01-01

Clarifies the meaning of knowledge management and gives examples of organizations that overtly practice it. Outlines four steps in knowledge management: (1) making knowledge visible; (2) building knowledge intensity; (3) building knowledge infrastructure; and (4) developing a knowledge culture. Discusses managing people as assets, librarians as…

Topic-Specific Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TSPCK) in Redox and Electrochemistry of Experienced Teachers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Brien, Stephanie

Topic specific pedagogical content knowledge (TSPCK) is the basis by which knowledge of subject matter of a particular topic is conveyed to students. This includes students' prior knowledge, curricular saliency, what makes a topic easy or difficult to teach, representations, and teaching strategies. The goal of this study is to assess the pedagogical content knowledge of chemistry teachers in a professional learning community in the areas of redox and electrochemistry, as this has been regarded in previous literature as conceptually challenging for students to learn. By acquiring information regarding the PCK development of experienced chemistry teachers, the education and practice of all science teachers can be advanced. This study builds upon previous research that developed validated instruments to evaluate TSPCK. The research questions sought to determine which components of TSPCK were evidenced by the instructional design decisions teachers made, what shared patterns and trends were evident, and how TSPCK related to student learning outcomes. To answer the research questions subjects completed a background questionnaire, a TSPCK assessment, and interview tasks to elicit information about pedagogical decision making and processes that influenced student learning in their classrooms. The TSPCK exam and interview responses were coded to align with thematic constructs. To determine the effect of TSPCK on student learning gains, pre/post-assessment data on redox and electrochemistry were compared to teachers' TSPCK. The chemistry teachers displayed varying levels of TSPCK in redox and electrochemistry, as evidenced by their knowledge of student learning obstacles, curricular saliency, and teaching methodologies. There was evidence of experienced teachers lacking in certain areas of TSPCK, such as the ability to identify student misconceptions, suggesting the need for programmatic improvements in pre-service and in-service training to address the needs of current and future chemistry teachers. While the current educational system requires teachers to complete separate exams in pedagogy and content, this research provides a rationale for changing the means by which teachers are evaluated through the completion of TSPCK assessments. In-service teacher TSPCK training is limited yet desired by the teachers. To facilitate TSPCK development, new methods need to be explored to connect chemistry education research to practice.

Collaborative Knowledge Building with Wikis: The Impact of Redundancy and Polarity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moskaliuk, Johannes; Kimmerle, Joachim; Cress, Ulrike

2012-01-01

Wikis as shared digital artifacts may enable users to participate in processes of knowledge building. To what extent and with which quality knowledge building can take place is assumed to depend on the interrelation between people's prior knowledge and the information available in a wiki. In two experimental studies we examined the impact on…

A New Coherent Science Content Storyline Astronomy Course for Pre-Service Teachers at Penn State

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Palma, Christopher; Plummer, Julia; Earth and Space Science Partnership

2016-01-01

The Earth and Space Science Partnership (ESSP) is a collaboration among Penn State scientists, science educators and seven school districts across Pennsylvania. One of the ESSP goals has been to provide pre-service teachers with new or improved science course offerings at Penn State in the Earth and Space Science domains. In particular, we aim to provide students with opportunities to learn astronomy content knowledge through teaching methods that engage them in investigations where they experience the practices used by astronomers. We have designed a new course that builds on our research into students' ideas about Solar System astronomy (Plummer et al. 2015) and the curriculum our team created for a professional development workshop for in-service teachers (Palma et al. 2013) with this same theme. The course was offered for the first time in the spring 2015 semester. We designed the course using a coherent science content storyline approach (see, e.g., Palma et al. 2014), which requires all of the student investigations to build towards a big idea in science; in this case, we chose the model for formation of our Solar System. The course led pre-service teachers through a series of investigations that model the type of instruction we hope they will adopt in their own classrooms. They were presented with a series of research questions that all tie in to the big idea of Solar System formation, and they were responsible for collecting and interpreting their own data to draw evidence-based conclusions about one aspect of this model. Students in the course were assessed on their astronomy content knowledge, but also on their ability to construct arguments using scientific reasoning to answer astronomy questions. In this poster, we will present descriptions of the investigations, the assessments used, and our preliminary results about how the course led this group of pre-service teachers to improved understanding of astronomy content and the practices astronomers use in their investigations of the Solar System.We gratefully acknowledge support from the NSF MSP program award DUE#0962792.

A Bayesian Machine Learning Model for Estimating Building Occupancy from Open Source Data

DOE PAGES

Stewart, Robert N.; Urban, Marie L.; Duchscherer, Samantha E.; ...

2016-01-01

Understanding building occupancy is critical to a wide array of applications including natural hazards loss analysis, green building technologies, and population distribution modeling. Due to the expense of directly monitoring buildings, scientists rely in addition on a wide and disparate array of ancillary and open source information including subject matter expertise, survey data, and remote sensing information. These data are fused using data harmonization methods which refer to a loose collection of formal and informal techniques for fusing data together to create viable content for building occupancy estimation. In this paper, we add to the current state of the artmore » by introducing the Population Data Tables (PDT), a Bayesian based informatics system for systematically arranging data and harmonization techniques into a consistent, transparent, knowledge learning framework that retains in the final estimation uncertainty emerging from data, expert judgment, and model parameterization. PDT probabilistically estimates ambient occupancy in units of people/1000ft2 for over 50 building types at the national and sub-national level with the goal of providing global coverage. The challenge of global coverage led to the development of an interdisciplinary geospatial informatics system tool that provides the framework for capturing, storing, and managing open source data, handling subject matter expertise, carrying out Bayesian analytics as well as visualizing and exporting occupancy estimation results. We present the PDT project, situate the work within the larger community, and report on the progress of this multi-year project.Understanding building occupancy is critical to a wide array of applications including natural hazards loss analysis, green building technologies, and population distribution modeling. Due to the expense of directly monitoring buildings, scientists rely in addition on a wide and disparate array of ancillary and open source information including subject matter expertise, survey data, and remote sensing information. These data are fused using data harmonization methods which refer to a loose collection of formal and informal techniques for fusing data together to create viable content for building occupancy estimation. In this paper, we add to the current state of the art by introducing the Population Data Tables (PDT), a Bayesian model and informatics system for systematically arranging data and harmonization techniques into a consistent, transparent, knowledge learning framework that retains in the final estimation uncertainty emerging from data, expert judgment, and model parameterization. PDT probabilistically estimates ambient occupancy in units of people/1000 ft 2 for over 50 building types at the national and sub-national level with the goal of providing global coverage. The challenge of global coverage led to the development of an interdisciplinary geospatial informatics system tool that provides the framework for capturing, storing, and managing open source data, handling subject matter expertise, carrying out Bayesian analytics as well as visualizing and exporting occupancy estimation results. We present the PDT project, situate the work within the larger community, and report on the progress of this multi-year project.« less

Building the body: active learning laboratories that emphasize practical aspects of anatomy and integration with radiology.

PubMed

Zumwalt, Ann C; Lufler, Rebecca S; Monteiro, Joseph; Shaffer, Kitt

2010-01-01

Active learning exercises were developed to allow advanced medical students to revisit and review anatomy in a clinically meaningful context. In our curriculum, students learn anatomy two to three years before they participate in the radiology clerkship. These educational exercises are designed to review anatomy content while highlighting its relevance to the study of radiology. Laboratory exercises were developed using inexpensive materials in the form of hands-on stations designed for use by students working together in small groups. Station exercises include model building, exploring relevant radiological imaging, and practicing clinical techniques. Students are encouraged to move from abstract conceptualization of the anatomy using models to applying knowledge to living tissues by using a portable ultrasound to explore superficial anatomy on each other. Stations are designed to integrate knowledge and reemphasize concepts in different contexts, so that upon completion students have a reinforced understanding of the three-dimensional anatomy of the region in question, the appearance of the anatomy on radiological images, and an appreciation of the relevance of the anatomy to radiological procedures. (c) 2010 American Association of Anatomists.

The Building Bridges project: Linking disconnected service networks in acquired brain injury and criminal justice.

PubMed

Kelly, Glenn; Brown, Suzanne; Simpson, Grahame K

2018-06-08

People with acquired brain injury (ABI) are overrepresented in prison populations across many countries. An effective service response to reduce this trend requires collaboration between the ABI and criminal justice (CJ) sectors. The Building Bridges project piloted a novel professional development model designed to increase cross-sectoral knowledge and collaboration between the ABI and CJ sectors. A total of 178 service providers from Victoria, Australia, participated in six professional development forums that included content about ABI, policing, disability and legal supports, and correctional/post-release services. Participants came from the disability, criminal justice, and health and community service sectors. Using a pre-test-post-test design with 6-month follow-up, data were obtained via a project-specific questionnaire evaluating knowledge and behaviour change among participants. Statistically significant gains in knowledge were shown at post-test and maintained at follow-up. Work-related behaviours addressing ABI/CJ issues had increased significantly within both sectors at follow-up compared to the 6 months prior to the forum. Carefully constructed professional forums improved cross-silo collaboration in the ABI/CJ sectors. This pilot project illustrates effective use of existing service resources, and highlights training as an important part of a raft of initiatives needed to address the overrepresentation of people with ABI in the CJ system.

Selective traditions in group discussions: teachers' views about good science and the possible obstacles when encountering a new topic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lundqvist, Eva; Sund, Per

2016-11-01

There is an ongoing discussion about what content that should be taught in science education and there are different views among teachers about what represent good science content. However, teachers are not isolated individuals making their own interpretations, but are part of institutionalised systems building on patterns in the selection of teaching goals and content. Earlier research shows that teachers teach in alignment with different selective traditions, which can be understood as well-developed teaching habits. Individual teachers seem to develop their personal habits on the basis of the contextual situations created by earlier generations of teachers. In order to find out which content teachers find representative for science education, we asked nine teachers to take part in group interviews to talk about what they value as "good" science content. The participants were grouped according to their selective traditions expressed in earlier studies. The method was used to dynamically explore, challenge and highlight teachers' views. The starting point for the group discussions is national tests in science. In Sweden, national tests in biology, physics and chemistry were introduced in secondary school science (year 9) in 2009. One overarching aim of these tests is to support the implementation of the science curricula and to include for example knowledge about socio-scientific issues (SSI). The content of the tests can consequently be seen as important for teachers to consider. The findings show that `resistance' to including SSI is not just an issue for individual teachers. As individuals teachers can create many kinds of obstacles, but still be interested in integrating SSI in their science teaching. However, in group discussions the teachers tend to collectively adopt the scientific rational discourse. This discourse is what joins them and creates their common identity as science teachers. In turn, they seek to free scientific knowledge from social knowledge and thereby make assessment easier.

Building capacity for knowledge translation in occupational therapy: learning through participatory action research.

PubMed

Bennett, Sally; Whitehead, Mary; Eames, Sally; Fleming, Jennifer; Low, Shanling; Caldwell, Elizabeth

2016-10-01

There has been widespread acknowledgement of the need to build capacity in knowledge translation however much of the existing work focuses on building capacity amongst researchers rather than with clinicians directly. This paper's aim is to describe a research project for developing a knowledge translation capacity building program for occupational therapy clinicians. Participatory action research methods were used to both develop and evaluate the knowledge translation capacity-building program. Participants were occupational therapists from a large metropolitan hospital in Australia. Researchers and clinicians worked together to use the action cycle of the Knowledge to Action Framework to increase use of knowledge translation itself within the department in general, within their clinical teams, and to facilitate knowledge translation becoming part of the department's culture. Barriers and enablers to using knowledge translation were identified through a survey based on the Theoretical Domains Framework and through focus groups. Multiple interventions were used to develop a knowledge translation capacity-building program. Fifty-two occupational therapists participated initially, but only 20 across the first 18 months of the project. Barriers and enablers were identified across all domains of the Theoretical Domains Framework. Interventions selected to address these barriers or facilitate enablers were categorised into ten different categories: educational outreach; teams working on clinical knowledge translation case studies; identifying time blocks for knowledge translation; mentoring; leadership strategies; communication strategies; documentation and resources to support knowledge translation; funding a knowledge translation champion one day per week; setting goals for knowledge translation; and knowledge translation reporting strategies. Use of these strategies was, and continues to be monitored. Participants continue to be actively involved in learning and shaping the knowledge translation program across the department and within their specific clinical areas. To build capacity for knowledge translation, it is important to involve clinicians. The action cycle of the Knowledge to Action framework is a useful guide to introduce the knowledge translation process to clinicians. It may be used to engage the department as a whole, and facilitate the learning and application of knowledge translation within specific clinical areas. Research evaluating this knowledge translation program is being conducted.

Seismic performance of non-structural components and contents in buildings: an overview of NZ research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dhakal, Rajesh P.; Pourali, Atefeh; Tasligedik, Ali Sahin; Yeow, Trevor; Baird, Andrew; MacRae, Gregory; Pampanin, Stefano; Palermo, Alessandro

2016-03-01

This paper summarizes the research on non-structural elements and building contents being conducted at University of Canterbury in New Zealand. Since the 2010-2011 series of Canterbury earthquakes, in which damage to non-structural components and contents contributed heavily to downtime and overall financial loss, attention to seismic performance and design of non-structural components and contents in buildings has increased exponentially in NZ. This has resulted in an increased allocation of resources to research leading to development of more resilient non-structural systems in buildings that would incur substantially less damage and cause little downtime during earthquakes. In the last few years, NZ researchers have made important developments in understanding and improving the seismic performance of secondary building elements such as partitions, facades, ceilings and contents.

An Analysis of Social Studies Teachers' Perception Levels Regarding Web Pedagogical Content Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yesiltas, Erkan

2016-01-01

Web pedagogical content knowledge generally takes pedagogical knowledge, content knowledge, and Web knowledge as basis. It is a structure emerging through the interaction of these three components. Content knowledge refers to knowledge of subjects to be taught. Pedagogical knowledge involves knowledge of process, implementation, learning methods,…

Using Wikis for Learning and Knowledge Building: Results of an Experimental Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kimmerle, Joachim; Moskaliuk, Johannes; Cress, Ulrike

2011-01-01

Computer-supported learning and knowledge building play an increasing role in online collaboration. This paper outlines some theories concerning the interplay between individual processes of learning and collaborative processes of knowledge building. In particular, it describes the co-evolution model that attempts to examine processes of learning…

The Professional Identity of Three Innovative Teachers Engaging in Sustained Knowledge Building Using Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vokatis, Barbara; Zhang, Jianwei

2016-01-01

Diffusing inquiry-based pedagogy in schools for deep and lasting change requires teacher transformation and capacity building. This study characterizes the professional identity of three elementary school teachers who have productively engaged in inquiry-based classroom practice using knowledge building pedagogy and Knowledge Forum, a…

Communication Technologies and Knowledge Building in Agriculture

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Segrave, Robin

2004-01-01

The concept of knowledge building communities has not traditionally been associated with agricultural extension, but is one which has the potential to increase the rate of adoption of best management practices by the industry. A potentially important mechanism to facilitate knowledge building is information and communication technology (ICT);…

Early Experience in Implementation of a Learning Assessment Toolkit in the AOTrauma Geriatric Fracture Course

PubMed Central

O’Malley, Natasha T.; Cunningham, Michael; Leung, Frankie; Blauth, Michael; Kates, Stephen L.

2011-01-01

Background: Surgical education is continually expanding to encompass new techniques and technologies. It is vital that educational activity is directed at gaps in knowledge and ability to improve the quality of learning. Aim: The aim of this study is to describe a published learning assessment toolkit when applied to participants attending AOTrauma Orthogeriatric Fracture courses. Methods: Precourse, participants received a questionnaire covering 10 competencies to assess knowledge gaps and a 20-question clinical knowledge test. The knowledge gap between perceived and desired knowledge was correlated with clinical knowledge test results to help course faculty focus the course curriculum to meet identified educational needs. A commitment to change survey was also administered. Results: Over 3 courses, 48% of registered attendees responded to the precourse survey, 44.5% responded postcourse. The precourse gap scores were generally highest for 2 competencies (“address secondary prevention,” “build a system of care”) indicating a higher level of motivation to learn in these topics and lowest for a variety of competencies (eg. “restore function early,” “co-manage patient care in the US surgeons group”) indicating lower motivation to learn in these competencies. These precourse gap scores guided adaptations in the course structure. Postcourse gaps were reduced in the 4 cohorts. Large improvements were seen in “Address secondary prevention” and “Build a system of care” in many of the cohorts. Competencies with the lowest precourse knowledge test scores were noted in each cohort. Where low pretest scores were noted, it highlighted the need for faculty to put appropriate emphasis on these topics in the delivery of the course content. Conclusion: The technique of evaluating and identifying gaps in knowledge and ability allows course designers to focus on areas of deficits. Measurable success was shown with a subjectively decreased gap score and objectively improved clinical knowledge, as demonstrated by improved test results after course completion. PMID:23569686

Content-Related Knowledge of Biology Teachers from Secondary Schools: Structure and Learning Opportunities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Großschedl, Jörg; Mahler, Daniela; Kleickmann, Thilo; Harms, Ute

2014-01-01

Teachers' content-related knowledge is a key factor influencing the learning progress of students. Different models of content-related knowledge have been proposed by educational researchers; most of them take into account three categories: content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and curricular knowledge. As there is no consensus about…

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stewart, Robert N.; Urban, Marie L.; Duchscherer, Samantha E.

Understanding building occupancy is critical to a wide array of applications including natural hazards loss analysis, green building technologies, and population distribution modeling. Due to the expense of directly monitoring buildings, scientists rely in addition on a wide and disparate array of ancillary and open source information including subject matter expertise, survey data, and remote sensing information. These data are fused using data harmonization methods which refer to a loose collection of formal and informal techniques for fusing data together to create viable content for building occupancy estimation. In this paper, we add to the current state of the artmore » by introducing the Population Data Tables (PDT), a Bayesian based informatics system for systematically arranging data and harmonization techniques into a consistent, transparent, knowledge learning framework that retains in the final estimation uncertainty emerging from data, expert judgment, and model parameterization. PDT probabilistically estimates ambient occupancy in units of people/1000ft2 for over 50 building types at the national and sub-national level with the goal of providing global coverage. The challenge of global coverage led to the development of an interdisciplinary geospatial informatics system tool that provides the framework for capturing, storing, and managing open source data, handling subject matter expertise, carrying out Bayesian analytics as well as visualizing and exporting occupancy estimation results. We present the PDT project, situate the work within the larger community, and report on the progress of this multi-year project.Understanding building occupancy is critical to a wide array of applications including natural hazards loss analysis, green building technologies, and population distribution modeling. Due to the expense of directly monitoring buildings, scientists rely in addition on a wide and disparate array of ancillary and open source information including subject matter expertise, survey data, and remote sensing information. These data are fused using data harmonization methods which refer to a loose collection of formal and informal techniques for fusing data together to create viable content for building occupancy estimation. In this paper, we add to the current state of the art by introducing the Population Data Tables (PDT), a Bayesian model and informatics system for systematically arranging data and harmonization techniques into a consistent, transparent, knowledge learning framework that retains in the final estimation uncertainty emerging from data, expert judgment, and model parameterization. PDT probabilistically estimates ambient occupancy in units of people/1000 ft 2 for over 50 building types at the national and sub-national level with the goal of providing global coverage. The challenge of global coverage led to the development of an interdisciplinary geospatial informatics system tool that provides the framework for capturing, storing, and managing open source data, handling subject matter expertise, carrying out Bayesian analytics as well as visualizing and exporting occupancy estimation results. We present the PDT project, situate the work within the larger community, and report on the progress of this multi-year project.« less

A plea for the use of drawing in human anatomy teaching.

PubMed

Clavert, Philippe; Bouchaïb, J; Duparc, F; Kahn, J L

2012-10-01

Descriptive human anatomy constitutes one of the main parts of the educational program of the first part of the medical studies. Professors of anatomy have to take into account the exponential evolution of the techniques of morphological and functional exploration of the patients, and the trend to open more and more the contents of the lectures of anatomy to clinical considerations. Basically, teaching requires a series of descriptive and educational media to set up, in front of the student, the studied structures and so to build the human body. More generally, lectures in morphological sciences try to develop three types of knowledge: declarative, procedural, and conditional. Traditionally in France "basic or first" anatomy is taught in amphitheater and in big groups by building each structure or region on a blackboard with colored chalk that allows a relief stake of certain structures and builds in two dimensions a three-dimensional organization. Actually, the blackboard is and stays for us an excellent media of non-verbal expression.

Tell Me Why! Content Knowledge Predicts Process-Orientation of Math Researchers' and Math Teachers' Explanations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lachner, Andreas; Nückles, Matthias

2016-01-01

In two studies, we investigated the impact of instructors' different knowledge bases on the quality of their instructional explanations. In Study 1, we asked 20 mathematics teachers (with high pedagogical content knowledge, but lower content knowledge) and 15 mathematicians (with lower pedagogical content knowledge, but high content knowledge) to…

Using a statewide survey methodology to prioritize pediatric cardiology core content.

PubMed

Neal, Ashley E; Lehto, Elizabeth; Miller, Karen Hughes; Ziegler, Craig; Davis, Erin

2018-01-01

Although pediatrician-reported relevance of Canadian cardiology-specific objectives has been studied, similar data are not available for the 2016 American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) cardiology-specific objectives. This study asked Kentucky trainees, pediatricians, and pediatric cardiologists to identify "most important" content within these objectives. This cross-sectional study used an original, online survey instrument based on the 2016 ABP cardiology-specific objectives. We collected quantitative data (numerical indications of importance) and qualitative data (open-ended replies regarding missing content and difficulty in teaching and learning). Respondents indicated the top two choices of most important items within eight content areas. Descriptive statistics (frequencies and percentages) and chi-square analysis were calculated. Content within categories was organized using naturally occurring "clusters" and "gaps" in scores. Common themes among open-ended qualitative responses were identified using Pandit's version of Glaser and Strauss Grounded theory (constant comparison). Of the 136 respondents, 23 (17%) were residents, 15 (11%) fellows, 85 (62%) pediatricians, and 13 (10%) pediatric cardiologists. Of attendings, 80% reported faculty/gratis faculty status. Naturally occurring clusters in respondent-designated importance resulted in ≤3 "most selected" objectives per content area. Objectives in "most selected" content pertained to initial diagnosis (recognition of abnormality/disease) (n = 16), possible emergent/urgent intervention required (n = 14), building a differential (n = 8), and planning a workup (n = 4). Conversely, themes for "least selected" content included comanagement with subspecialist (n = 15), knowledge useful in patient-family communication (n = 9), knowledge that can be referenced (as needed) (n = 7), and longitudinal/follow-up concerns (n = 5). This study demonstrated the utility of an online survey methodology to identify pediatric cardiology content perceived most important. Learners and faculty generally provided concordant responses regarding most important content within the cardiology-specific ABP objectives. Medical educators could apply this methodology to inform curriculum revision. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

76 FR 58411 - Changes in Flood Elevation Determinations

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-21

... rates for new buildings and their contents. DATES: The effective dates for these modified BFEs are... buildings built after these elevations are made final, and for the contents in those buildings. The changes...

Two Tales of Time: Uncovering the Significance of Sequential Patterns among Contribution Types in Knowledge-Building Discourse

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Bodong; Resendes, Monica; Chai, Ching Sing; Hong, Huang-Yao

2017-01-01

As collaborative learning is actualized through evolving dialogues, temporality inevitably matters for the analysis of collaborative learning. This study attempts to uncover sequential patterns that distinguish "productive" threads of knowledge-building discourse. A database of Grade 1-6 knowledge-building discourse was first coded for…

An International Knowledge Building Network for Sustainable Curriculum and Pedagogical Innovation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laferrière, Thérèse; Law, Nancy; Montané, Mireia

2012-01-01

This paper presents the results of the first phase (2007-2009) of a design experiment, the Knowledge Building International Project (KBIP), in which K-12 teachers from several countries collaborate as a loosely coupled network of networks with a common goal--to implement technology-supported knowledge building jointly across their classrooms.…

Building organizational supports for knowledge sharing in county human service organizations: a cross-case analysis of works-in-progress.

PubMed

Lee, Chris; Austin, Michael J

2012-01-01

Building on the literature related to evidence-based practice, knowledge management, and learning organizations, this cross-case analysis presents twelve works-in-progress in ten local public human service organizations seeking to develop their own knowledge sharing systems. The data for this cross-case analysis can be found in the various contributions to this Special Issue. The findings feature the developmental aspects of building a learning organization that include knowledge sharing systems featuring transparency, self-assessment, and dissemination and utilization. Implications for practice focus on the structure and processes involved in building knowledge sharing teams inside public human service organizations. Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

76 FR 23528 - Proposed Flood Elevation Determinations

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-04-27

... flood insurance premium rates for new buildings and the contents in those buildings. DATES: Comments are... premium rates for new buildings built after these elevations are made final, and for the contents in those buildings. Comments on any aspect of the Flood Insurance Study and FIRM, other than the proposed BFEs, will...

Self-Monitoring and Knowledge-Building in Learning by Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roscoe, Rod D.

2014-01-01

Prior research has established that learning by teaching depends upon peer tutors' engagement in knowledge-building, in which tutors integrate their knowledge and generate new knowledge through reasoning. However, many tutors adopt a "knowledge-telling bias" defined by shallow summarizing of source materials and didactic lectures.…

Cumulative and Segmented Learning: Exploring the Role of Curriculum Structures in Knowledge-Building

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maton, Karl

2009-01-01

The present article extends Basil Bernstein's theorisation of "discourses" and "knowledge structures" to explore the potential of educational knowledge structures to enable or constrain cumulative learning, where students can transfer knowledge across contexts and build knowledge over time. It offers a means of overcoming…

Description of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and content knowledge on Muhammadiyah Semarang University's preservice teacher

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Astuti, Andari Puji; Wijayatiningsih, Testiana Deni; Azis, Abdul; Sumarti, Sri Susilogati; Barati, Dwi Anggani Linggar

2017-12-01

One of the competencies of teachers to be mastered under the constitution is pedagogic competence. This study aims to provide an overview of the pedagogic competence of Preservice teachers through the mastery of Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) and Content knowledge (CK). The research method used is descriptive qualitative, with data retrieval technique through essay tests, questionnaire and interview. The results showed that of the five PCK indicators, only knowledge of learning strategies to teach chemistry already in high category. For Content Knowledge of preservice teachers are in the middle category for indicators of knowledge of disciplinary content, whereas knowledge that alternative frameworks for thinking about the content exist and the knowledge of the relationship between big ideas and the supporting ideas in a content area is in the fair category.

Accessorizing Building Science – A Web Platform to Support Multiple Market Transformation Programs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Madison, Michael C.; Antonopoulos, Chrissi A.; Dowson, Scott T.

As demand for improved energy efficiency in homes increases, builders need information on the latest findings in building science, rapidly ramping-up energy codes, and technical requirements for labeling programs. The Building America Solution Center is a Department of Energy (DOE) website containing hundreds of expert guides designed to help residential builders install efficiency measures in new and existing homes. Builders can package measures with other media for customized content. Website content provides technical support to market transformation programs such as ENERGY STAR and has been cloned and adapted to provide content for the Better Buildings Residential Program. The Solution Centermore » uses the Drupal open source content management platform to combine a variety of media in an interactive manner to make information easily accessible. Developers designed a unique taxonomy to organize and manage content. That taxonomy was translated into web-based modules that allow users to rapidly traverse structured content with related topics, and media. We will present information on the current design of the Solution Center and the underlying technology used to manage the content. The paper will explore development of features, such as “Field Kits” that allow users to bundle and save content for quick access, along with the ability to export PDF versions of content. Finally, we will discuss development of an Android based mobile application, and a visualization tool for interacting with Building Science Publications that allows the user to dynamically search the entire Building America Library.« less

Promoting elementary students' epistemology of science through computer-supported knowledge-building discourse and epistemic reflection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Feng; Chan, Carol K. K.

2018-04-01

This study examined the role of computer-supported knowledge-building discourse and epistemic reflection in promoting elementary-school students' scientific epistemology and science learning. The participants were 39 Grade 5 students who were collectively pursuing ideas and inquiry for knowledge advance using Knowledge Forum (KF) while studying a unit on electricity; they also reflected on the epistemic nature of their discourse. A comparison class of 22 students, taught by the same teacher, studied the same unit using the school's established scientific investigation method. We hypothesised that engaging students in idea-driven and theory-building discourse, as well as scaffolding them to reflect on the epistemic nature of their discourse, would help them understand their own scientific collaborative discourse as a theory-building process, and therefore understand scientific inquiry as an idea-driven and theory-building process. As hypothesised, we found that students engaged in knowledge-building discourse and reflection outperformed comparison students in scientific epistemology and science learning, and that students' understanding of collaborative discourse predicted their post-test scientific epistemology and science learning. To further understand the epistemic change process among knowledge-building students, we analysed their KF discourse to understand whether and how their epistemic practice had changed after epistemic reflection. The implications on ways of promoting epistemic change are discussed.

Validation of the Learning Progression-based Assessment of Modern Genetics in a college context

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Todd, Amber; Romine, William L.

2016-07-01

Building upon a methodologically diverse research foundation, we adapted and validated the Learning Progression-based Assessment of Modern Genetics (LPA-MG) for college students' knowledge of the domain. Toward collecting valid learning progression-based measures in a college majors context, we redeveloped and content validated a majority of a previous version of the LPA-MG which was developed for high school students. Using a Rasch model calibrated on 316 students from 2 sections of majors introductory biology, we demonstrate the validity of this version and describe how college students' ideas of modern genetics are likely to change as the students progress from low to high understanding. We then utilize these findings to build theory around the connections college students at different levels of understanding make within and across the many ideas within the domain.

Putting evaluation capacity building in context: Reflections on the Ontario Brain Institute's Evaluation Support Program.

PubMed

King, Jean A

2017-05-13

This article, in three parts, reflects on the content of the six articles included in the forum. It begins with a description of the Evaluation Support Program, emphasizing its key attributes. Next, it raises two points regarding ECB theory: (1) the need to become clearer about the concepts and terms used to describe and study this phenomenon, and (2) the potential value of social science theory to understand ECB and improve its practice. The article concludes with practical ideas for improving ECB: (1) framing it as an educative act, which assigns the evaluator the critical role of evaluation teacher/coach; and (2) the importance of never assuming that an ECB effort begins in unchartered territory, but rather that it builds on people's knowledge, skills, attitudes, and previous experiences. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Knowledge Building: Reinventing Education for the Knowledge Age

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Philip, Donald N.

2011-01-01

This paper examines the Knowledge Age and how economic factors are causing educators to rethink and reinvent education. Two key factors in education in the Knowledge Age will be education for an economy of innovation, and the increasing virtualization of education. We present knowledge building pedagogy as a model for education in the Knowledge…

RU SciTech: Weaving Astronomy and Physics into a University-sponsored Summer Camp for Middle School Students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hart, Quyen N.

2015-01-01

We present a successful model for organizing a small University-sponsored summer camp that integrates astronomy and physics content with other science disciplines and computer programming content. The aim of our science and technology camp is to engage middle school students in a wide array of critical thinking tasks and hands-on activities centered on science and technology. Additionally, our program seeks to increase and maintain STEM interest among children, particularly in under-represented populations (e.g., Hispanic, African-American, women, and lower socioeconomic individuals) with hopes of decreasing disparities in diversity across many STEM fields.During this four-day camp, organized and facilitated by faculty volunteers, activities rotated through many STEM modules, including optics, telescopes, circuit building, computer hardware, and programming. Specifically, we scaffold camp activities to build upon similar ideas and content if possible. Using knowledge and skills gained through the AAS Astronomy Ambassadors program, we were able to integrate several astronomy activities into the camp, leading students through engaging activities, and conduct educational research. We present best practices on piloting a similar program in a university environment, our efforts to connect the learning outcomes common across all the modules, specifically in astronomy and physics, outline future camp activities, and the survey results on the impact of camp activities on attitudes toward science, technology, and science careers.

A Study of the Experience of Female African-American Seventh Graders in a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Afterschool Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hinds, Beverley Fiona

The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine what inspires or leads seventh-grade African-American girls toward an interest in STEM, to characterize and describe the context of an out-of-school STEM learning environment, explore the impact on the seventh- grade African-American girls who participated in the program as it relates to individual STEM identity, and identify personal and academic experiences of seventh-grade African- American girls that contribute to the discouragement or pursuit of science and math-related academic pathways and careers. Notable findings in this study included the following: 1. Participants were interested in STEM and able to identify both external and internal influences that supported their involvement and interest in STEM activities. External influences expanded and elevated exposure to STEM experiences. 2. The MJS program provided an opportunity for participants to overcome challenges related to science and math knowledge and skills in school. 3. The MJS program increased levels of interest in STEM for the participants. 4. All participants increased their capacity to demonstrate increased knowledge in STEM content as a result of the learning experiences within the MJS program, and participants transferred this knowledge to experiences outside of the program including school. 5. The STEM learning environment provided multiple opportunities for participants to meet high expectation and access to engaging activities within a supportive, well-managed setting. 6. The MJS program participants demonstrated behaviors related to building a STEM identity through the components described by Carlone and Johnson (2007), including recognition-internal and external acknowledgement of being a STEM person; competence-demonstrating an understanding of STEM content; and performance-publically exhibiting STEM knowledge and skills. The findings in this study suggested that African-American seventh-grade girls interested in STEM are inspired and encouraged to participate in STEM by both internal and external factors. Highly effective afterschool STEM programs increase interest, knowledge and skills in STEM. The capacity for building a STEM identity was expanded as explored/measured by the components of recognition, competence, and performance (Carlone & Johnson, 2007). The learning environment conditions and support for building a STEM identity enhance the pursuit of STEM-related fields for African-American middle school girls. Application of these factors add to the potential for a decrease in the gap of representation of African-American women engaged in STEM. Future studies may explore how African-American middle schools girls interested in STEM construct identity as it relates to STEM, racial, and gender identity development and how the mentoring experience in afterschool STEM programs impacts the career choices of pre-teaching students.

Re-examining authoritative knowledge in the design and content of a TBA training in India.

PubMed

Saravanan, Sheela; Turrell, Gavin; Johnson, Helen; Fraser, Jennifer; Patterson, Carla Maree

2012-02-01

Since the 1990s, the TBA training strategy in developing countries has been increasingly seen as ineffective and hence its funding was subsequently reallocated to providing skilled attendants during delivery. The ineffectiveness of training programmes is blamed on TBAs lower literacy, their inability to adapt knowledge from training and certain practices that may cause maternal and infant health problems. However most training impact assessments evaluate post-training TBA practices and do not assess the training strategy. There are serious deficiencies noted in information on TBA training strategy in developing countries. The design and content of the training is vital to the effectiveness of TBA training programmes. We draw on Jordan's concept of 'authoritative knowledge' to assess the extent to which there is a synthesis of both biomedical and locally practiced knowledge in the content and community involvement in the design of TBA a training programme in India. The implementation of the TBA training programme at the local level overlooks the significance of and need for a baseline study and needs assessment at the local community level from which to build a training programme that is apposite to the local mother's needs and that fits within their 'comfort zone' during an act that, for most, requires a forum in which issues of modesty can be addressed. There was also little scope for the training to be a two way process of learning between the health professionals and the TBAs with hands-on experience and knowledge. The evidence from this study shows that there is an overall 'authority' of biomedical over traditional knowledge in the planning and implementation process of the TBA training programme. Certain vital information was not covered in the training content including advice to delay bathing babies for at least six hours after birth, to refrain from applying oil on the infant, and to wash hands again before directly handling mother or infant. Information on complication management and hypothermia was not adequately covered in the local TBA training programme. The suggested improvements include the need to include a baseline study, appropriate selection criteria, improve information in the training manual to increase clarity of meaning, and to encourage beneficial traditional practices through training. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Threshold Concepts and Student Engagement: Revisiting Pedagogical Content Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zepke, Nick

2013-01-01

This article revisits the notion that to facilitate quality learning requires teachers in higher education to have pedagogical content knowledge. It constructs pedagogical content knowledge as a teaching and learning space that brings content and pedagogy together. On the content knowledge side, it suggests that threshold concepts, akin to a…

Pre-Service Teachers' Pedagogical Content Knowledge: Implications for Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marshman, Margaret; Porter, Glorianne

2013-01-01

Effective teachers have good pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). Pedagogical content knowledge is the intersection of discipline specific content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge. How effectively are pre-service teachers helped to develop good PCK? In this project we asked our pre-service teachers how they would respond to a particular student…

The Role of Learning Goals in Building a Knowledge Base for Elementary Mathematics Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jansen, Amanda; Bartell, Tonya; Berk, Dawn

2009-01-01

In this article, we describe features of learning goals that enable indexing knowledge for teacher education. Learning goals are the key enabler for building a knowledge base for teacher education; they define what counts as essential knowledge for prospective teachers. We argue that 2 characteristics of learning goals support knowledge-building…

Supporting and structuring "contributing student pedagogy" in Computer Science curricula

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Falkner, Katrina; Falkner, Nickolas J. G.

2012-12-01

Contributing student pedagogy (CSP) builds upon social constructivist and community-based learning principles to create engaging and productive learning experiences. What makes CSP different from other, related, learning approaches is that it involves students both learning from and also explicitly valuing the contributions of other students. The creation of such a learning community builds upon established educational psychology that encourages deep learning, reflection and engagement. Our school has recently completed a review and update of its curriculum, incorporating student content-creation and collaboration into the design of key courses across the curriculum. Our experiences, based on several years of experimentation and development, support CSP-based curriculum design to reinforce the value of the student perspective, the clear description of their own transformative pathway to knowledge and the importance of establishing student-to-student networks in which students are active and willing participants. In this paper, we discuss the tools and approaches that we have employed to guide, support and structure student collaboration across a range of courses and year levels. By providing an account of our intentions, our approaches and tools, we hope to provide useful and transferrable knowledge that can be readily used by other academics who are considering this approach.

Building Capacity in Understanding Foundational Biology Concepts: A K-12 Learning Progression in Genetics Informed by Research on Children's Thinking and Learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elmesky, Rowhea

2013-06-01

This article describes the substance, structure, and rationale of a learning progression in genetics spanning kindergarten through twelfth grade (K-12). The learning progression is designed to build a foundation towards understanding protein structure and activity and should be viewed as one possible pathway to understanding concepts of genetics and ultimately protein expression, based on the existing research. The kindergarten through fifth grade segment reflects findings that show children have a rich knowledge base and sophisticated cognitive abilities, and therefore, is designed so that elementary-aged children can learn content in deep and abstract manners, as well as apply scientific explanations appropriate to their knowledge level. The article also details the LP segment facilitating secondary students' understanding by outlining the overlapping conceptual frames which guide student learning from cell structures and functions to cell splitting (both cell division and gamete formation) to genetics as trait transmission, culminating in genetics as protein expression. The learning progression product avoids the use of technical language, which has been identified as a prominent source of student misconceptions in learning cellular biology, and explicit connections between cellular and macroscopic phenomena are encouraged.

RAMPART (TM): Risk Assessment Method-Property Analysis and Ranking Tool v.4.0

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Carson, Susan D.; Hunter, Regina L.; Link, Madison D.

RAMPART{trademark}, Risk Assessment Method-property Analysis and Ranking Tool, is a new type of computer software package for the assessment of risk to buildings. RAMPART{trademark} has been developed by Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) for the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). RAMPART {trademark} has been designed and developed to be a risk-based decision support tool that requires no risk analysis expertise on the part of the user. The RAMPART{trademark} user interface elicits information from the user about the building. The RAMPART{trademark} expert system is a set of rules that embodies GSA corporate knowledge and SNL's risk assessment experience. The RAMPART{trademark} database containsmore » both data entered by the user during a building analysis session and large sets of natural hazard and crime data. RAMPART{trademark} algorithms use these data to assess the risk associated with a given building in the face of certain hazards. Risks arising from five natural hazards (earthquake, hurricane, winter storm, tornado and flood); crime (inside and outside the building); fire and terrorism are calculated. These hazards may cause losses of various kinds. RAMPART{trademark} considers death, injury, loss of mission, loss of property, loss of contents, loss of building use, and first-responder loss. The results of each analysis are presented graphically on the screen and in a written report.« less

Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge of Prospective Mathematics Teacher in Three Dimensional Material Based on Sex Differences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aqib, M. A.; Budiarto, M. T.; Wijayanti, P.

2018-01-01

The effectiveness of learning in this era can be seen from 3 factors such as: technology, content, and pedagogy that covered in Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK). This research was a qualitative research which aimed to describe each domain from TPCK include Content Knowledge, Pedagogical Knowledge, Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Technological Knowledge, Technological Content Knowledge, Technological Pedagogical Knowledge and Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge. The subjects of this research were male and female mathematics college students at least 5th semester who has almost the same ability for some course like innovative learning, innovative learning II, school mathematics I, school mathematics II, computer applications and instructional media. Research began by spreading the questionnaire of subject then continued with the assignment and interview. The obtained data was validated by time triangulation.This research has result that male and female prospective teacher was relatively same for Content Knowledge and Pedagogical Knowledge domain. While it was difference in the Technological Knowledge domain. The difference in this domain certainly has an impact on other domains that has technology components on it. Although it can be minimized by familiarizing the technology.

Teacher-Education Students' Views about Knowledge Building Theory and Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hong, Huang-Yao; Chen, Fei-Ching; Chai, Ching Sing; Chan, Wen-Ching

2011-01-01

This study investigated the effects of engaging students to collectively learn and work with knowledge in a computer-supported collaborative learning environment called Knowledge Forum on their views about knowledge building theory and practice. Participants were 24 teacher-education students who took a required course titled "Integrating Theory…

Exploring Preschool Children’s Science Content Knowledge

PubMed Central

Guo, Ying; Piasta, Shayne B.; Bowles, Ryan P.

2014-01-01

Research Findings The purpose of this study was to describe children’s science content knowledge and examine the early predictors of science content knowledge in a sample of 194 typically developing preschool children. Children’s science content knowledge was assessed in the fall (Time 1) and spring (Time 2) of the preschool year. Results showed that children exhibited significant gains in science content knowledge over the course of the preschool year. Hierarchical linear modeling results indicated that the level of maternal education (i.e., holding at least a bachelor’s degree) significantly predicted children’s Time 1 science content knowledge. Children’s cognitive, math, and language skills at Time 1 were all significant concurrent predictors of Time 1 science content knowledge. However, only Time 1 math skills significantly predicted residualized gains in science content knowledge (i.e., Time 2 scores with Time 1 scores as covariates). Practice or Policy Factors related to individual differences in young children’s science content knowledge may be important for early childhood educators to consider in their efforts to provide more support to children who may need help with science learning. PMID:25541574

Scaffolding knowledge building in a Web-based communication and cultural competence program for international medical graduates.

PubMed

Lax, Leila R; Russell, M Lynn; Nelles, Laura J; Smith, Cathy M

2009-10-01

Professional behaviors, tacitly understood by Canadian-trained physicians, are difficult to teach and often create practice barriers for IMGs. The purpose of this design research study was to develop a Web-based program simulating Canadian medical literacy and culture, and to evaluate strategies of scaffolding individual knowledge building. Study 1 (N = 20) examined usability and pedagogic design. Studies 2 (N = 39) and 3 (N = 33) examined case participation patterns. Model design was validated in Study 1. Studies 2 and 3 demonstrated high levels of participation, on unprompted third tries, on knowledge tests. Recursive patterns were strongest on Reflective Exercises. Five strategies scaffolded knowledge building: (1) video simulations, (2) contextualized resources, (3) concurrent feedback, (4) Reflective Exercises, and (5) commentaries prompting "reflection on reflection." Scaffolded design supports complex knowledge building. These findings are concurrent with educational research on the importance of recursion and revision of knowledge for improvable and relational understanding.

Growing and navigating the small world Web by local content

PubMed Central

Menczer, Filippo

2002-01-01

Can we model the scale-free distribution of Web hypertext degree under realistic assumptions about the behavior of page authors? Can a Web crawler efficiently locate an unknown relevant page? These questions are receiving much attention due to their potential impact for understanding the structure of the Web and for building better search engines. Here I investigate the connection between the linkage and content topology of Web pages. The relationship between a text-induced distance metric and a link-based neighborhood probability distribution displays a phase transition between a region where linkage is not determined by content and one where linkage decays according to a power law. This relationship is used to propose a Web growth model that is shown to accurately predict the distribution of Web page degree, based on textual content and assuming only local knowledge of degree for existing pages. A qualitatively similar phase transition is found between linkage and semantic distance, with an exponential decay tail. Both relationships suggest that efficient paths can be discovered by decentralized Web navigation algorithms based on textual and/or categorical cues. PMID:12381792

Growing and navigating the small world Web by local content

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Menczer, Filippo

2002-10-01

Can we model the scale-free distribution of Web hypertext degree under realistic assumptions about the behavior of page authors? Can a Web crawler efficiently locate an unknown relevant page? These questions are receiving much attention due to their potential impact for understanding the structure of the Web and for building better search engines. Here I investigate the connection between the linkage and content topology of Web pages. The relationship between a text-induced distance metric and a link-based neighborhood probability distribution displays a phase transition between a region where linkage is not determined by content and one where linkage decays according to a power law. This relationship is used to propose a Web growth model that is shown to accurately predict the distribution of Web page degree, based on textual content and assuming only local knowledge of degree for existing pages. A qualitatively similar phase transition is found between linkage and semantic distance, with an exponential decay tail. Both relationships suggest that efficient paths can be discovered by decentralized Web navigation algorithms based on textual and/or categorical cues.

Growing and navigating the small world Web by local content.

PubMed

Menczer, Filippo

2002-10-29

Can we model the scale-free distribution of Web hypertext degree under realistic assumptions about the behavior of page authors? Can a Web crawler efficiently locate an unknown relevant page? These questions are receiving much attention due to their potential impact for understanding the structure of the Web and for building better search engines. Here I investigate the connection between the linkage and content topology of Web pages. The relationship between a text-induced distance metric and a link-based neighborhood probability distribution displays a phase transition between a region where linkage is not determined by content and one where linkage decays according to a power law. This relationship is used to propose a Web growth model that is shown to accurately predict the distribution of Web page degree, based on textual content and assuming only local knowledge of degree for existing pages. A qualitatively similar phase transition is found between linkage and semantic distance, with an exponential decay tail. Both relationships suggest that efficient paths can be discovered by decentralized Web navigation algorithms based on textual and/or categorical cues.

Knowledge base about earthquakes as a tool to minimize strong events consequences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frolova, Nina; Bonnin, Jean; Larionov, Valery; Ugarov, Alexander; Kijko, Andrzej

2017-04-01

The paper describes the structure and content of the knowledge base on physical and socio-economical consequences of damaging earthquakes, which may be used for calibration of near real-time loss assessment systems based on simulation models for shaking intensity, damage to buildings and casualties estimates. Such calibration allows to compensate some factors which influence on reliability of expected damage and loss assessment in "emergency" mode. The knowledge base contains the description of past earthquakes' consequences for the area under study. It also includes the current distribution of built environment and population at the time of event occurrence. Computer simulation of the recorded in knowledge base events allow to determine the sets of regional calibration coefficients, including rating of seismological surveys, peculiarities of shaking intensity attenuation and changes in building stock and population distribution, in order to provide minimum error of damaging earthquakes loss estimations in "emergency" mode. References 1. Larionov, V., Frolova, N: Peculiarities of seismic vulnerability estimations. In: Natural Hazards in Russia, volume 6: Natural Risks Assessment and Management, Publishing House "Kruk", Moscow, 120-131, 2003. 2. Frolova, N., Larionov, V., Bonnin, J.: Data Bases Used In Worlwide Systems For Earthquake Loss Estimation In Emergency Mode: Wenchuan Earthquake. In Proc. TIEMS2010 Conference, Beijing, China, 2010. 3. Frolova N. I., Larionov V. I., Bonnin J., Sushchev S. P., Ugarov A. N., Kozlov M. A. Loss Caused by Earthquakes: Rapid Estimates. Natural Hazards Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol.84, ISSN 0921-030, Nat Hazards DOI 10.1007/s11069-016-2653

Sharing What We Know about Living a Good Life: Indigenous Approaches to Knowledge Translation

PubMed Central

Smylie, Janet; Olding, Michelle; Ziegler, Carolyn

2015-01-01

Knowledge Translation (KT), a core priority in Canadian health research, policy, and practice for the past decade, has a long and rich tradition within Indigenous communities. In Indigenous knowledge systems the processes of “knowing” and “doing” are often intertwined and indistinguishable. However, dominant KT models in health science do not typically recognize Indigenous knowledge conceptualizations, sharing systems, or protocols and will likely fall short in Indigenous contexts. There is a need to move towards KT theory and practice that embraces diverse understandings of knowledge and that recognizes, respects, and builds on pre-existing knowledge systems. This will not only result in better processes and outcomes for Indigenous communities, it will also provide rich learning for mainstream KT scholarship and practice. As professionals deeply engaged in KT work, health librarians are uniquely positioned to support the development and implementation of Indigenous KT. This article provides information that will enhance the ability of readers from diverse backgrounds to promote and support Indigenous KT efforts, including an introduction to Indigenous knowledge conceptualizations and knowledge systems; key contextual issues to consider in planning, implementing, or evaluating KT in Indigenous settings; and contemporary examples of Indigenous KT in action. The authors pose critical reflection questions throughout the article that encourage readers to connect the content with their own practices and underlying knowledge assumptions. PMID:26793244

Towards Methodologies for Building Knowledge-Based Instructional Systems.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duchastel, Philippe

1992-01-01

Examines the processes involved in building instructional systems that are based on artificial intelligence and hypermedia technologies. Traditional instructional systems design methodology is discussed; design issues including system architecture and learning strategies are addressed; and a new methodology for building knowledge-based…

Effects of Improved Content Knowledge on Pedagogical Content Knowledge and Student Performance in Physical Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Iserbyt, Peter; Ward, Phillip; Li, Weidong

2017-01-01

Background: Pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) is an interaction of several knowledge bases upon which the teacher makes decisions about what and how to teach. To date, there are no studies in physical education directly documenting relationships between specialized content knowledge (SCK) and PCK. Such relationships have not been empirically…

Does Knowing More Advanced Mathematics Ensure Effectiveness of Working towards Demonstrating Specialised Mathematical Content Knowledge of Second-Year Pre-Service Teachers?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Livy, Sharyn

2012-01-01

The theoretical understanding that underpins a teacher's foundation knowledge draws on their common content knowledge (CCK) and influences their mathematics' teaching (Rowland, Turner, Thwaites, & Huckstep, 2009). Teachers who have specialised content knowledge (SCK) demonstrate a unique kind of content knowledge which is more than knowing the…

Understanding Malaysian Pre-Service Teachers Mathematical Content Knowledge and Pedagogical Content Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leong, Kwan Eu; Meng, Chew Cheng; Rahim, Suzieleez Syrene Abdul

2015-01-01

This article seeks to present findings from the analysis of the TEDS-M reports on the mathematical content knowledge (MCK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of the pre-service teachers in Malaysia. The main objective of this study was to investigate the level of teaching knowledge attained by the Malaysian pre-service primary and secondary…

Parental Knowledge of Adolescents' Online Content and Contact Risks.

PubMed

Symons, Katrien; Ponnet, Koen; Emmery, Kathleen; Walrave, Michel; Heirman, Wannes

2017-02-01

Parental knowledge about adolescents' activities is an identified protective factor in terms of adolescent adjustment. While research on parental knowledge has focused on adolescents' offline behavior, there is little empirical understanding of parental knowledge about adolescents' online behavior. This study investigates parental knowledge about adolescents' online activities and experiences with online risks, as well as the correlates of such knowledge. Building on former research, open communication and knowledge-generating monitoring practices are investigated as potential correlates of parental knowledge. Use is made of triadic data, relying on reports from children aged 13 to 18, mothers and fathers within the same family (N = 357 families; 54.9 % female adolescents). The results showed that parents have little knowledge about the occurrence of online risks and their children's online activities. While mothers did not have more accurate knowledge compared to fathers, they did perceive themselves to be more knowledgeable than fathers. Associations between parental knowledge and hypothesized correlates were tested by means of one-way ANOVA tests and stepwise logistic regression models. Limited evidence was found for associations with parents' accurate knowledge about the occurrence of online risks. Engagement in knowledge-generating monitoring practices was linked to mothers and fathers' self-perceived knowledge about their children's online activities. For mothers, open communication with the child was linked to self-perceived knowledge. The findings suggest that parents need to be more aware of the possibility that online risks might occur and that more research needs to be done in order to understand what parents can do to improve their accurate knowledge.

Rapid Measurement Of Asbestos Content Of Building Materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weiss, James R.; Grove, Cindy I.; Hoover, Gordon L.; Stephens, James B.

1994-01-01

Portable instrument measures asbestos content of construction materials in place. Helps building renovators determine, quickly and accurately, whether asbestos is present. Concept readily adapted to special-purpose, battery-powered instrument. Contractor using such instrument could obtain reliable information on asbestos content in minutes.

Building and Sharing Knowledge Key Practice: What Do You Know, What Don't You Know, What Did You Learn? Research Report. ETS RR-15-24

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Reilly, Tenaha; Deane, Paul; Sabatini, John

2015-01-01

In this paper we provide the rationale and foundation for the building and sharing knowledge key practice for the "CBAL"™ English language arts competency model. Building and sharing knowledge is a foundational literacy activity that enables students to learn and communicate what they read in texts. It is a strategic process that…

Building and Activating Students' Background Knowledge: It's What They Already Know That Counts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fisher, Douglas; Frey, Nancy; Lapp, Diane

2012-01-01

Students enter the middle grades with varying amounts of background knowledge. Teachers must assess student background knowledge for gaps or misconceptions and then provide instruction to build on that base. This article discusses effective strategies for assessing and developing students' background knowledge so they can become independent…

Nudging toward Inquiry: Awakening and Building upon Prior Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fontichiaro, Kristin, Comp.

2010-01-01

"Prior knowledge" (sometimes called schema or background knowledge) is information one already knows that helps him/her make sense of new information. New learning builds on existing prior knowledge. In traditional reporting-style research projects, students bypass this crucial step and plow right into answer-finding. It's no wonder that many…

Disciplinary Literacy and Pedagogical Content Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carney, Michelle; Indrisano, Roselmina

2013-01-01

This review reports selected literature on theory, research, and practice in disciplinary literacy, primarily reading. The authors consider the ways this literature can be viewed through the lens of Lee S. Shulman's theory of Pedagogical Content Knowledge, which includes: subject matter content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and…

The Effect of Teachers’ Memory-Relevant Language on Children’s Strategy Use and Knowledge

PubMed Central

Grammer, Jennie; Coffman, Jennifer L.; Ornstein, Peter

2014-01-01

Building on longitudinal findings of linkages between aspects of teachers’ language during instruction and children’s use of mnemonic strategies, this investigation was designed to examine experimentally the impact of instruction on memory development. First and second graders (N=54, mean age=7 years) were randomly assigned to a science unit that varied only in teachers’ use of memory-relevant language. Pretest, posttest, and 1-month follow-up assessments revealed that although all participating children learned new information as a result of instruction, those exposed to memory-rich teaching exhibited greater levels of strategic knowledge and engaged in more sophisticated strategy use in a memory task involving instructional content than did students exposed to low-memory instruction. The findings provide support for a causal linkage between teachers’ language and children’s strategic efforts. PMID:23574097

Identifying content knowledge for teaching energy: Examples from high school physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robertson, Amy D.; Scherr, Rachel E.; Goodhew, Lisa M.; Daane, Abigail R.; Gray, Kara E.; Aker, Leanna B.

2017-06-01

"Content knowledge for teaching" is the specialized content knowledge that teachers use in practice—the content knowledge that serves them for tasks of teaching such as revoicing students' ideas, choosing an instructional activity to address a student misunderstanding, and evaluating student statements. We describe a methodology for selecting and analyzing classroom episodes showing content knowledge for teaching about energy (CKT-E), and illustrate this methodology with examples from high school physics instruction. Our work has implications for research on teacher knowledge and for professional development that enhances teacher CKT-E.

Changes in Medical Student and Doctor Attitudes Toward Older Adults After an Intervention: A Systematic Review

PubMed Central

Samra, Rajvinder; Griffiths, Amanda; Cox, Tom; Conroy, Simon; Knight, Alec

2013-01-01

Research investigating the effects of attitude-focused interventions on doctors’ and medical students’ attitudes toward older adults has produced mixed results. The objective of this systematic review was to determine whether factors pertaining to study design and quality might provide some explanation of this inconclusive picture. Articles were judged of interest if they reported doctors’ or medicals students’ attitude scores before and after a geriatric-focused intervention. Articles that did not report the measure used, mean scores, or inferential statistics were excluded. Twenty-seven databases, including Medline, PsychInfo, and Embase, were searched through April 2011 using a systematic search strategy. After assessment and extraction, 27 studies met the eligibility criteria for this review. These studies demonstrated inconsistent results; 14 appeared successful in effecting positive attitude change toward older adults after an intervention, and 13 appeared unsuccessful. Attitude change results differed in line with the content of the intervention. Of the 27 studies, 11 interventions contained solely knowledge-building content. Three of these studies demonstrated positive changes in doctors’ or medical students’ attitudes toward older adults after the intervention. The remaining 16 interventions incorporated an empathy-building component, such as an aging simulation exercise or contact with a healthy older adult. Of these, 11 successfully demonstrated positive attitude change after the intervention. The inclusion of an empathy-building task in an intervention appears to be associated with positive attitude change in medical students’ and doctors’ attitudes toward older adults. PMID:23750821

Project TEACH: A Capacity-Building Training Program for Community-Based Organizations and Public Health Agencies.

PubMed

Sauaia, Angela; Tuitt, Nicole R; Kaufman, Carol E; Hunt, Cerise; Ledezma-Amorosi, Mariana; Byers, Tim

2016-01-01

Project TEACH (Teaching Equity to Advance Community Health) is a capacity-building training program to empower community-based organizations and regional public health agencies to develop data-driven, evidence-based, outcomes-focused public health interventions. TEACH delivers training modules on topics such as logic models, health data, social determinants of health, evidence-based interventions, and program evaluation. Cohorts of 7 to 12 community-based organizations and regional public health agencies in each of the 6 Colorado Area Health Education Centers service areas participate in a 2-day training program tailored to their specific needs. From July 2008 to December 2011, TEACH trained 94 organizations and agencies across Colorado. Training modules were well received and resulted in significant improvement in knowledge in core content areas, as well as accomplishment of self-proposed organizational goals, grant applications/awards, and several community-academic partnerships.

Performance-based seismic design of nonstructural building components: The next frontier of earthquake engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Filiatrault, Andre; Sullivan, Timothy

2014-08-01

With the development and implementation of performance-based earthquake engineering, harmonization of performance levels between structural and nonstructural components becomes vital. Even if the structural components of a building achieve a continuous or immediate occupancy performance level after a seismic event, failure of architectural, mechanical or electrical components can lower the performance level of the entire building system. This reduction in performance caused by the vulnerability of nonstructural components has been observed during recent earthquakes worldwide. Moreover, nonstructural damage has limited the functionality of critical facilities, such as hospitals, following major seismic events. The investment in nonstructural components and building contents is far greater than that of structural components and framing. Therefore, it is not surprising that in many past earthquakes, losses from damage to nonstructural components have exceeded losses from structural damage. Furthermore, the failure of nonstructural components can become a safety hazard or can hamper the safe movement of occupants evacuating buildings, or of rescue workers entering buildings. In comparison to structural components and systems, there is relatively limited information on the seismic design of nonstructural components. Basic research work in this area has been sparse, and the available codes and guidelines are usually, for the most part, based on past experiences, engineering judgment and intuition, rather than on objective experimental and analytical results. Often, design engineers are forced to start almost from square one after each earthquake event: to observe what went wrong and to try to prevent repetitions. This is a consequence of the empirical nature of current seismic regulations and guidelines for nonstructural components. This review paper summarizes current knowledge on the seismic design and analysis of nonstructural building components, identifying major knowledge gaps that will need to be filled by future research. Furthermore, considering recent trends in earthquake engineering, the paper explores how performance-based seismic design might be conceived for nonstructural components, drawing on recent developments made in the field of seismic design and hinting at the specific considerations required for nonstructural components.

Social Work Intervention Research With Adult Cancer Patients: A Literature Review and Reflection on Knowledge-Building for Practice.

PubMed

Pockett, Rosalie; Dzidowska, Monika; Hobbs, Kim

2015-01-01

The results of a literature review of social work intervention research with adult cancer patients found only a small number of studies conducted by social work researchers. The findings of the review are presented followed by a reflective discussion on the nature of knowledge-building and research knowledge for practice. Knowledge building is considered as a continuous, negotiated process within communities of practice focused on psychosocial perspectives that draw on a range of knowledge sources. Epistemology, worldviews and research orientations are considered along with the values and stance of social work, all of which create the domain of the practice-researcher.

Understanding How Students Perceive the Role of Ideas for Their Knowledge Work in a Knowledge-Building Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hong, Huang-Yao; Chiu, Chieh-Hsin

2016-01-01

This study explored how students viewed the role of ideas for knowledge work and how such a view was related to their inquiry activities. Data mainly came from students' online interaction logs, group discussion and inquiry, and a survey concerning the role of ideas for knowledge work. The findings suggest that knowledge building was conducive to…

Examination of Mathematics Teachers' Pedagogical Content Knowledge of Probability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Danisman, Sahin; Tanisli, Dilek

2017-01-01

The aim of this study is to explore the probability-related pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of secondary school mathematics teachers in terms of content knowledge, curriculum knowledge, student knowledge, and knowledge of teaching methods and strategies. Case study design, a qualitative research model, was used in the study, and the…

Influence of Content Knowledge on Pedagogical Content Knowledge: The Case of Teaching Photosynthesis and Plant Growth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kapyla, Markku; Heikkinen, Jussi-Pekka; Asunta, Tuula

2009-01-01

The aim of the research was to investigate the effect of the amount and quality of content knowledge on pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). The biological content photosynthesis and plant growth was used as an example. The research sample consisted of 10 primary and 10 secondary (biology) teacher students. Questionnaires, lesson preparation task…

Identifying Content Knowledge for Teaching Energy: Examples from High School Physics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robertson, Amy D.; Scherr, Rachel E.; Goodhew, Lisa M.; Daane, Abigail R.; Gray, Kara E.; Aker, Leanna B.

2017-01-01

"Content knowledge for teaching" is the specialized content knowledge that teachers use in practice the content knowledge that serves them for tasks of teaching such as revoicing students' ideas, choosing an instructional activity to address a student misunderstanding, and evaluating student statements. We describe a methodology for…

Foundation Content Knowledge: What Do Pre-Service Teachers Need to Know?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Linsell, Chris; Anakin, Megan

2013-01-01

The mathematics content knowledge of pre-service teachers is a growing area of inquiry. This topic requires further theoretical development due to the limited applicability of current cognitive and practice-oriented frameworks of mathematics content knowledge to beginning pre-service teachers. Foundation content knowledge is an integrated,…

Exploring Preschool Children's Science Content Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guo, Ying; Piasta, Shayne B.; Bowles, Ryan P.

2015-01-01

Research Findings: The purpose of this study was to describe children's science content knowledge and examine the early predictors of science content knowledge in a sample of 194 typically developing preschool children. Children's science content knowledge was assessed in the fall (Time 1) and spring (Time 2) of the preschool year. Results showed…

Pre-Service Science Teachers in Xinjiang "Scientific Inquiry" - Pedagogical Content Knowledge Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Yufeng; Xiong, Jianwen

2012-01-01

Scientific inquiry is one of the science curriculum content, "Scientific inquiry" - Pedagogical Content Knowledge is the face of scientific inquiry and teachers - of course pedagogical content knowledge and scientific inquiry a teaching practice with more direct expertise. Pre-service teacher training phase of acquisition of knowledge is…

An Analysis of Content Knowledge and Cognitive Abilities as Factors That Are Associated with Algebra Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McLean, Tamika Ann

2017-01-01

The current study investigated college students' content knowledge and cognitive abilities as factors associated with their algebra performance, and examined how combinations of content knowledge and cognitive abilities related to their algebra performance. Specifically, the investigation examined the content knowledge factors of computational…

Designing Tasks to Examine Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching Statistics for Primary Teachers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siswono, T. Y. E.; Kohar, A. W.; Hartono, S.

2018-01-01

Mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT) is viewed as fuel resources for conducting an orchestra in a teaching and learning process. By understanding MKT, especially for primary teachers, it can predict the success of a goal of an instruction and analyze the weaknesses and improvements of it. To explore what teachers think about subject matters, pedagogical terms, and appropriate curriculum, it needs a task which can be identified the teachers’ MKT including the subject matter knowledge (SMK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). This study aims to design an appropriate task for exploring primary teachers’ MKT for statistics in primary school. We designed six tasks to examine 40 primary teachers’ MKT, of which each respectively represents the categories of SMK (common content knowledge (CCK) and specialised content knowledge (SCK)) and PCK (knowledge of content and students (KCS), knowledge of content and teaching (KCT), and knowledge of content and curriculum (KCC)). While MKT has much attention of numbers of scholars, we consider knowledge of content and culture (KCCl) to be hypothesized in the domains of MKT. Thus, we added one more task examining how the primary teachers used their knowledge of content (KC) regarding to MKT in statistics. Some examples of the teachers’ responses on the tasks are discussed and some refinements of MKT task in statistics for primary teachers are suggested.

Promoting Elementary Students' Epistemology of Science through Computer-Supported Knowledge-Building Discourse and Epistemic Reflection

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lin, Feng; Chan, Carol K. K.

2018-01-01

This study examined the role of computer-supported knowledge-building discourse and epistemic reflection in promoting elementary-school students' scientific epistemology and science learning. The participants were 39 Grade 5 students who were collectively pursuing ideas and inquiry for knowledge advance using Knowledge Forum (KF) while studying a…

Exploring Biology Teachers' Pedagogical Content Knowledge in the Teaching of Genetics in Swaziland Science Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mthethwa-Kunene, Eunice; Onwu, Gilbert Oke; de Villiers, Rian

2015-01-01

This study explored the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and its development of four experienced biology teachers in the context of teaching school genetics. PCK was defined in terms of teacher content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and knowledge of students' preconceptions and learning difficulties. Data sources of teacher knowledge base…

Rethinking capacity building for knowledge mobilisation: developing multilevel capabilities in healthcare organisations.

PubMed

Kislov, Roman; Waterman, Heather; Harvey, Gill; Boaden, Ruth

2014-11-15

Knowledge mobilisation in healthcare organisations is often carried out through relatively short-term projects dependent on limited funding, which raises concerns about the long-term sustainability of implementation and improvement. It is becoming increasingly recognised that the translation of research evidence into practice has to be supported by developing the internal capacity of healthcare organisations to engage with and apply research. This process can be supported by external knowledge mobilisation initiatives represented, for instance, by professional associations, collaborative research partnerships and implementation networks. This conceptual paper uses empirical and theoretical literature on organisational learning and dynamic capabilities to enhance our understanding of intentional capacity building for knowledge mobilisation in healthcare organisations. The discussion is structured around the following three themes: (1) defining and classifying capacity building for knowledge mobilisation; (2) mechanisms of capability development in organisational context; and (3) individual, group and organisational levels of capability development. Capacity building is presented as a practice-based process of developing multiple skills, or capabilities, belonging to different knowledge domains and levels of complexity. It requires an integration of acquisitive learning, through which healthcare organisations acquire knowledge and skills from knowledge mobilisation experts, and experience-based learning, through which healthcare organisations adapt, absorb and modify their knowledge and capabilities through repeated practice. Although the starting point for capability development may be individual-, team- or organisation-centred, facilitation of the transitions between individual, group and organisational levels of learning within healthcare organisations will be needed. Any initiative designed to build capacity for knowledge mobilisation should consider the subsequent trajectory of newly developed knowledge and skills within the recipient healthcare organisations. The analysis leads to four principles underpinning a practice-based approach to developing multilevel knowledge mobilisation capabilities: (1) moving from 'building' capacity from scratch towards 'developing' capacity of healthcare organisations; (2) moving from passive involvement in formal education and training towards active, continuous participation in knowledge mobilisation practices; (3) moving from lower-order, project-specific capabilities towards higher-order, generic capabilities allowing healthcare organisations to adapt to change, absorb new knowledge and innovate; and (4) moving from single-level to multilevel capability development involving transitions between individual, group and organisational learning.

Making Semantic Waves: A Key to Cumulative Knowledge-Building

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maton, Karl

2013-01-01

The paper begins by arguing that knowledge-blindness in educational research represents a serious obstacle to understanding knowledge-building. It then offers sociological concepts from Legitimation Code Theory--"semantic gravity" and "semantic density"--that systematically conceptualize one set of organizing principles underlying knowledge…

A Comparison of Experienced and Preservice Elementary School Teachers' Content Knowledge and Pedagogical Content Knowledge about Electric Circuits

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lin, Jing-Wen

2017-01-01

This study investigated the differences between Taiwanese experienced and preservice elementary school science teachers' content knowledge (CK) about electric circuits and their ability to predict students' preconceptions about electric circuits as an indicator of their pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). An innovative web-based recruitment and…

Linking Research, Education and Public Engagement in Geoscience: Leadership and Strategic Partnerships.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moosavi, S. C.

2017-12-01

By their very nature, the geosciences address societal challenges requiring a complex interplay between the research community, geoscience educators and public engagement with the general population to build their knowledge base and convince them to act appropriately to implement policies guided by scientific understanding. The most effective responses to geoscience challenges arise when strong collaborative structures connecting research, education and the public are in place to afford rapid communication and trust at all stages of the investigative and policy implementation processes. Educational programs that involve students and scientists via service learning exploring high profile issues of community interest and outreach to teachers through professional development build the network of relationships with geoscientists to respond rapidly to solve societal problems. These pre-existing personal connections simultaneously hold wider credibility with the public than unfamiliar scientific experts less accustomed to speaking to general audiences. The Geological Society of America is leveraging the research and educational experience of its members to build a self-sustaining state/regional network of K-12 professional development workshops designed to link the academic, research, governmental and industrial communities. The goal is not only to improve the content knowledge and pedagogical skills which teachers bring to their students, but also to build a diverse community of trust capable of responding to geoscience challenges in a fashion relevant to local communities. Dr. Moosavi is building this program by drawing on his background as a biogeochemistry researcher with 20 years experience focused on use of place-based approaches in general education and pre- and in-service teacher preparation in Research 1 and comprehensive universities, liberal arts and community colleges and high school. Experience with K-12 professional development working with the Minnesota Mineral Education Workshop and an undergraduate service learning research program related to beach erosion and the BP Oil Spill on Grand Isle, Louisiana are of particular value to this effort.

Use of the Rasch Measurement Model to Explore the Relationship between Content Knowledge and Topic-Specific Pedagogical Content Knowledge for Organic Chemistry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davidowitz, Bette; Potgieter, Marietjie

2016-01-01

Research has shown that a high level of content knowledge (CK) is necessary but not sufficient to develop the special knowledge base of expert teachers known as pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). This study contributes towards research to quantify the relationship between CK and PCK in science. In order to determine the proportion of the…

Group-Level Formative Feedback and Metadiscourse

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Resendes, Monica; Scardamalia, Marlene; Bereiter, Carl; Chen, Bodong; Halewood, Cindy

2015-01-01

This research explores the ability of grade 2 students to engage in productive discussion about the state of their knowledge building using group-level feedback tools to support their metadiscourse. Two aspects of knowledge work were common to the comparison and experimental classes: "Knowledge Building talk" (KB talk) involving…

College Students Constructing Collective Knowledge of Natural Science History in a Collaborative Knowledge Building Community

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hong, Huang-Yao; Chai, Ching Sing; Tsai, Chin-Chung

2015-01-01

This study investigates whether engaging college students (n = 42) in a knowledge building environment would help them work as a community to construct their collective knowledge of history of science and, accordingly, develop a more informed scientific view. The study adopted mixed-method analyses and data mainly came from surveys and student…

Arguing collaboratively: Argumentative discourse types and their potential for knowledge building.

PubMed

Felton, Mark; Garcia-Mila, Merce; Villarroel, Constanza; Gilabert, Sandra

2015-09-01

There is growing interest in using argumentative discourse in educational settings. However, in a previous study, we found that discourse goals (persuasion vs. consensus) while arguing can affect student outcomes in both content learning and reasoning. In this study, we look at argumentative discourse data from a previous study to ask how differences in discourse might account for the differences we observed in learning and reasoning outcomes. One hundred and five dialogues (57 disputative, 48 consensus) between 7th grade science students attending a public high school near Tarragona, Spain. Participants were randomly assigned to conditions and paired with peers who disagreed with them on three topics related to renewable energy sources. After instruction on each topic, they were asked to either 'argue to convince' (persuasion condition) or 'argue to reach consensus' (consensus condition) on that topic. Conversations were audio-recorded and transcribed for analysis. Students in the persuasion condition engaged in shorter conversational exchanges around argumentative claims and were more likely to use moves that foreclosed discussion, whereas students in the consensus condition were more likely to use moves that elicited, elaborated on, and integrated their partners' ideas. When arguing to reach - rather than defend - a conclusion, students are more likely to coconstruct knowledge by exchanging and integrating arguments. These findings are consistent with predictions about the potential of argumentation for knowledge building and suggest that teachers must attend to discourse goals when using argumentation to support learning and reasoning. © 2015 The British Psychological Society.

The impact of using student-dictated oral review stories on science vocabulary, content knowledge, and non-fiction writing skills of first grade students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bishoff, Sandra Wells

The purpose of this study was to determine if using an intervention called Student Dictated Oral Review Stories (SDORS) had an effect on science vocabulary usage and content knowledge for ninety-three students in six first grade classrooms and the subgroup of economically disadvantaged students in a mid-sized north Texas school district. The five science units involved in the study were written incorporating the strand of physical science. Data from pre- and posttests from each unit and an end-of-study assessment were compiled and analyzed. This study also looked at integration of science with literacy through analysis of students' science journal writings. Journal writings were analyzed for vocabulary usage and non-fiction writing skills of capitalization and punctuation. Average sentence length was also analyzed for Units 1--5 of the treatment group. It was anticipated that the outcomes of this study would allow school districts and curriculum writers to determine how to best integrate key concepts and important vocabulary with literacy particularly in the area of science. Results from the study showed significant differences in the end-of-study assessment, vocabulary usage as evidenced in journal writings, and average sentence length. Although there was gain over time for every student in the study in vocabulary and content knowledge, these gains could not be attributed to the intervention. This study also hoped to establish whether students were using science vocabulary routinely in their discussions and their writings and were building and continually assessing their own schemas about scientific concepts through using Student Dictated Oral Review Stories.

The Diabetes Evaluation Framework for Innovative National Evaluations (DEFINE): Construct and Content Validation Using a Modified Delphi Method.

PubMed

Paquette-Warren, Jann; Tyler, Marie; Fournie, Meghan; Harris, Stewart B

2017-06-01

In order to scale-up successful innovations, more evidence is needed to evaluate programs that attempt to address the rising prevalence of diabetes and the associated burdens on patients and the healthcare system. This study aimed to assess the construct and content validity of the Diabetes Evaluation Framework for Innovative National Evaluations (DEFINE), a tool developed to guide the evaluation, design and implementation with built-in knowledge translation principles. A modified Delphi method, including 3 individual rounds (questionnaire with 7-point agreement/importance Likert scales and/or open-ended questions) and 1 group round (open discussion) were conducted. Twelve experts in diabetes, research, knowledge translation, evaluation and policy from Canada (Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia) and Australia participated. Quantitative consensus criteria were an interquartile range of ≤1. Qualitative data were analyzed thematically and confirmed by participants. An importance scale was used to determine a priority multi-level indicator set. Items rated very or extremely important by 80% or more of the experts were reviewed in the final group round to build the final set. Participants reached consensus on the content and construct validity of DEFINE, including its title, overall goal, 5-step evaluation approach, medical and nonmedical determinants of health schematics, full list of indicators and associated measurement tools, priority multi-level indicator set and next steps in DEFINE's development. Validated by experts, DEFINE has the right theoretic components to evaluate comprehensively diabetes prevention and management programs and to support acquisition of evidence that could influence the knowledge translation of innovations to reduce the burden of diabetes. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An Investigation of the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge of Pre-Service Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Horzum, Mehmet Baris

2013-01-01

This study investigates whether pre-service teachers' learning approach and gender are related to their technological knowledge, their technological content knowledge, their technological pedagogical knowledge and their technological pedagogical content knowledge. The sample of the study consisted of 239 pre-service teachers. It was found that an…

A Portal of Educational Resources: Providing Evidence for Matching Pedagogy with Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Di Blas, Nicoletta; Fiore, Alessandro; Mainetti, Luca; Vergallo, Roberto; Paolini, Paolo

2014-01-01

The TPACK (Technology, Pedagogy and Content Knowledge) model presents the three types of knowledge that are necessary to implement a successful technology-based educational activity. It highlights how the intersections between TPK (Technological Pedagogical Knowledge), PCK (Pedagogical Content Knowledge) and TCK (Technological Content Knowledge)…

Global standards and local knowledge building: Upgrading small producers in developing countries

PubMed Central

Perez-Aleman, Paola

2012-01-01

Local knowledge building is a crucial factor for upgrading small producers and improving their market competitiveness and livelihoods. The rise of global standards affecting food safety and environmental sustainability in agriculture sparks debates on the impact on smallholders in developing countries. This article presents a perspective on the links of international standards to knowledge and institution building for developing the capabilities of small producers. Interacting with global practices, indigenous private and public actors create local institutions to develop capabilities for product and process innovations that contribute to economic development and enhance food security. Local innovation depends on collective strategic efforts through increasing networks among small producers and other organizations, including firms, nongovernmental organizations, and government, that foster knowledge circulation and bring diverse resources and support to build local capabilities. PMID:21670309

Global standards and local knowledge building: upgrading small producers in developing countries.

PubMed

Perez-Aleman, Paola

2012-07-31

Local knowledge building is a crucial factor for upgrading small producers and improving their market competitiveness and livelihoods. The rise of global standards affecting food safety and environmental sustainability in agriculture sparks debates on the impact on smallholders in developing countries. This article presents a perspective on the links of international standards to knowledge and institution building for developing the capabilities of small producers. Interacting with global practices, indigenous private and public actors create local institutions to develop capabilities for product and process innovations that contribute to economic development and enhance food security. Local innovation depends on collective strategic efforts through increasing networks among small producers and other organizations, including firms, nongovernmental organizations, and government, that foster knowledge circulation and bring diverse resources and support to build local capabilities.

Personal Reflection: Pedagogical Content Knowledge and the Affective Domain of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garritz, Andoni

2010-01-01

The question of these reflections is if among those content-dependent instructional conditions necessary to attain conceptual understanding, those belonging to the affective domain of teaching and learning must be included in Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK), the special amalgam of content knowledge and knowledge of general pedagogy that a…

The impact of a dedicated Science-Technology-Society (STS) course on student knowledge of STS content

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barron, Paul E.

In the last half century, public awareness of issues such as population growth, environmental pollution and the threat of nuclear war has pressured science education to reform to increase student social responsibility. The emerging Science-Technology-Society (STS) movement addressed these concerns by developing numerous strategies and curricula. Considerable diagnostic research has been conducted on student knowledge of the nature of science, but not on the wider scope of STS content (e.g., the nature of science and technology and their interactions with society). However, researchers have not widely studied the impact of comprehensive STS curricula on students' knowledge of STS content nor the nature of STS teaching practice that influenced this knowledge gain. This study examined student success and teacher performance in a special STS course in Ontario, Canada. Research questions focused on the STS content knowledge gain by students completing this course and the impact of the STS teachers' teaching practices on this knowledge gain. Student data were collected using pre-course and post-course assessments of students' STS content knowledge. Teacher data were obtained using semi-structured interviews, classroom observations and videotapes. Statistical analysis indicated that, after completing the STS course, students significantly increased their STS content knowledge as measured by the Views on Science Technology Society instrument. Gender and academic achievement had no significant impact on this knowledge gain, implying that this course, as taught by these teachers, could appeal to a wide range of students as a general education course. The second part of the study indicated that detailed research is needed on the relationship between STS teaching practice and student STS content knowledge gain. The small sample size prevents generalizations but initial indications show that factors such constructivist teaching practices and strong teacher STS content knowledge may generate greater student knowledge gains than didactic teaching and weak teacher STS content knowledge. In this limited sample, it was found that constructivist teaching practice can overcome weak teacher STS content knowledge in increasing student STS content knowledge. In addition, other factors such as problem-solving and decision-making skills need to be studied as part of an overall framework for STS teaching.

Social multiplier effects: academics' and practitioners' perspective on the benefits of a tuberculosis operational research capacity-building program in Indonesia.

PubMed

Probandari, Ari; Mahendradhata, Yodi; Widjanarko, Bagoes; Alisjahbana, Bachti

2017-01-01

The Tuberculosis Operational Research Group (TORG) implemented a capacity-building model involving academics and practitioners (i.e. clinicians or program staff) in an operational research (OR) team in Indonesia. This study explored academics' and practitioners' perspectives regarding the benefits of participating in a tuberculosis (TB) OR capacity-building program in Indonesia. We conducted a qualitative study involving in-depth interviews with 36 academics and 23 practitioners undertaking the TORG capacity-building program. We asked open-ended questions about their experience of the program. Data were analyzed via content analysis. The findings demonstrated the social multiplier effects of the OR capacity-building program. Both academics and practitioners reported perceived improvements in research knowledge, skills, and experience, and described additional individual- and institutional-level benefits. The individual-level benefits level included improvements in understanding of the TB program, motivation for research and self-satisfaction, the development/enhancement of individual networking, receipt of recognition, and new opportunities. The additional benefits reported at an institutional level included improvement in research curricula, in-house training, and program management and the development/enhancement of institutional partnerships. The program improved not only individuals' capacity for conducting OR but also the quality of the TB program management and public health education. OR should be included in research methodology curricula for postgraduate public health/disease control programs. The capacity-building model, in which academics and program staff collaborated within an OR team, should be promoted.

Designs for Collective Cognitive Responsibility in Knowledge-Building Communities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Jianwei; Scardamalia, Marlene; Reeve, Richard; Messina, Richard

2009-01-01

This article reports a design experiment conducted over three successive school years, with the teacher's goal of having his Grade 4 students assume increasing levels of collective responsibility for advancing their knowledge of optics. Classroom practices conducive to sustained knowledge building were co-constructed by the teacher and students,…

Empowering Knowledge-Building Pedagogy in Online Environments: Creating Digital Moments to Transform Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barber, Wendy; Taylor, Stacey; Buchanan, Sylvia

2014-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to examine a specific online pedagogical tool, "Digital Moments" that can be an effective strategy for building online communities in a knowledge building environment. While the paper will examine the specific techniques and teaching methodologies that enabled the authors to create authentic online learning…

Putting more ‘modern’ in modern physics education: a Knowledge Building approach using student questions and ideas about the universe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wagner, Glenn

2017-03-01

Student-generated questions and ideas about our universe are the start of a rich and highly motivating learning environment. Using their curiosity-driven questions and ideas, students form Knowledge Building groups or ‘communities’ where they plan, set goals, design questions for research, and assess the progress of their work, tasks that were once under the control of the teacher. With the understanding that all knowledge and ideas are treated as improvable, students work collaboratively at their level of competency to share their knowledge, ideas and understandings gained from authoritative sources and laboratory activities. Over time, students work collectively to improve the knowledge and ideas of others that result in advances in understanding that benefit not only the individual but the community as a whole. Learning outcomes reported in this paper demonstrate that a Knowledge Building environment applied to introductory cosmology produced similar gains in knowledge and understanding surrounding foundational concepts compared to teacher-centred learning environments. Aside from new knowledge and understanding, students develop important skills and competencies such as question-asking, idea development, communication, collaboration that are becoming ever more important for 21st century living and working. Finally, the process of planning and initiating a Knowledge Building environment that produced the results reported in this paper is outlined.

Building and Contents Insurance.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Freese, William C.

Insurance coverage of school buildings and contents is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain, and increases of 50 percent or more in the premium are not uncommon. Methods of reducing premium increases are outlined in this speech. (MLF)

DataStreme Earth's Climate System: Building a Climate Literate Society through Effective Partnerships

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brey, J. A.; Geer, I. W.; Weinbeck, R. S.; Mills, E. W.; Nugnes, K. A.; Stimach, A. E.

2015-12-01

Effective partnerships are key to increasing climate and overall environmental literacy. Financial support from NSF, NASA, and NOAA has allowed the American Meteorological Society (AMS) to offer DataStreme courses for almost 20 years. DataStreme Atmosphere, Ocean, and Earth's Climate System (ECS) are offered each fall and spring semester by Local Implementation Teams (LITs) across the country in coordination with AMS Education Program scientists and educators who develop instructional materials, provide logistical support to the LITs, and administer the project. A long-standing partnership with State University of New York's The College at Brockport gives teachers the opportunity to receive 3 tuition-free graduate credits upon successful completion of each DataStreme course and construction of a Plan of Action for educational peer-training. DataStreme ECS investigates the fundamental science of Earth's climate system, explores humans' impact on it, and identifies actions needed in response to climate change. The course provides participants with the knowledge to make informed climate decisions. In fact, according to a recent three-year study conducted by AMS, 98% of DataStreme ECS participants reported an increase in environmental literacy as a result of the course. DataStreme Atmosphere, Ocean, and ECS content has been improved because of AMS partnerships with NOAA and NASA. Specifically, hundreds of NASA and NOAA scientists and faculty from numerous institutions both domestic and abroad have contributed and reviewed DataStreme ECS content. Additional collaborations with Consortium for Ocean Leadership and the U.S. Ice Drilling Program greatly improved the course's paleoclimate content. Looking ahead, the Climate Resilience Toolkit from NOAA's Climate Program Office will further bolster the course this fall. These partnerships have resulted in a powerful, content-rich climate science course for K-12 teachers, building the foundation to a climate literate society.

Examining Prospective Mathematics Teachers' Pedagogical Content Knowledge on Fractions in Terms of Students' Mistakes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sahin, Ömer; Gökkurt, Burçin; Soylu, Yasin

2016-01-01

The aim of the study is to examine prospective mathematics teachers' pedagogical content knowledge in terms of knowledge of understanding students and knowledge of instructional strategies which are the subcomponents of pedagogical content knowledge. The participants of this research consist of 98 prospective teachers who are studying in two…

Measuring Teachers' Pedagogical Content Knowledge in Primary Technology Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rohaan, Ellen J.; Taconis, Ruurd; Jochems, Wim M. G.

2009-01-01

Pedagogical content knowledge is found to be a crucial part of the knowledge base for teaching. Studies in the field of primary technology education showed that this domain of teacher knowledge is related to pupils' increased learning, motivation, and interest. The common methods to investigate teachers' pedagogical content knowledge are often…

Refining process of nursing skill movie manual by peer comments of social network system.

PubMed

Majima, Yukie; Maekawa, Yasuko; Shimada, Satoshi; Izumi, Takako

2014-01-01

The nursing practical knowledge represented by nursing skill is highly tacit and is therefore difficult to verbalize. The purpose of this study is to build a new learning community for nursing education (nursing social e-learning model) that is refined and developed autonomously and continuously. We used the social network system (SNS) that can be participated in a variety of stakeholder of medical personnel in order to hear comments for the content of learning to practice nursing skill. We had the nurses make the nursing skill movie manual. Through this process to get the opinions about the movie contents from others, we inspected what kind of opinions and feelings occurred to the nurses. As a result, the nurses were able to see objectively the own nursing skills, to do self-reflection. They had the awareness to improve the nursing skills.

Case Studies of Ecological Integrative Information Systems: The Luquillo and Sevilleta Information Management Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

San Gil, Inigo; White, Marshall; Melendez, Eda; Vanderbilt, Kristin

The thirty-year-old United States Long Term Ecological Research Network has developed extensive metadata to document their scientific data. Standard and interoperable metadata is a core component of the data-driven analytical solutions developed by this research network Content management systems offer an affordable solution for rapid deployment of metadata centered information management systems. We developed a customized integrative metadata management system based on the Drupal content management system technology. Building on knowledge and experience with the Sevilleta and Luquillo Long Term Ecological Research sites, we successfully deployed the first two medium-scale customized prototypes. In this paper, we describe the vision behind our Drupal based information management instances, and list the features offered through these Drupal based systems. We also outline the plans to expand the information services offered through these metadata centered management systems. We will conclude with the growing list of participants deploying similar instances.

Management of Knowledge Representation Standards Activities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Patil, Ramesh S.

1993-01-01

Ever since the mid-seventies, researchers have recognized that capturing knowledge is the key to building large and powerful AI systems. In the years since, we have also found that representing knowledge is difficult and time consuming. In spite of the tools developed to help with knowledge acquisition, knowledge base construction remains one of the major costs in building an Al system: For almost every system we build, a new knowledge base must be constructed from scratch. As a result, most systems remain small to medium in size. Even if we build several systems within a general area, such as medicine or electronics diagnosis, significant portions of the domain must be represented for every system we create. The cost of this duplication of effort has been high and will become prohibitive as we attempt to build larger and larger systems. To overcome this barrier we must find ways of preserving existing knowledge bases and of sharing, re-using, and building on them. This report describes the efforts undertaken over the last two years to identify the issues underlying the current difficulties in sharing and reuse, and a community wide initiative to overcome them. First, we discuss four bottlenecks to sharing and reuse, present a vision of a future in which these bottlenecks have been ameliorated, and describe the efforts of the initiative's four working groups to address these bottlenecks. We then address the supporting technology and infrastructure that is critical to enabling the vision of the future. Finally, we consider topics of longer-range interest by reviewing some of the research issues raised by our vision.

Reading Content Knowledge: What Do Teachers Need to Know and How Can We Assess Their Knowledge?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lilienthal, Linda K.

2008-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate preservice teachers' reading content knowledge, to develop a definition of reading, and to develop an informal test of teachers' reading content knowledge. A content analysis of two contemporary reading textbooks used in university reading courses was the source of a six-tier, hierarchical definition of…

Exploring Connections between Content Knowledge, Pedagogical Content Knowledge, and the Opportunities to Learn Mathematics: Findings from the TEDS-M Dataset

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murray, Eileen; Durkin, Kelley; Chao, Theodore; Star, Jon R.; Vig, Rozy

2018-01-01

Past work on mathematics teachers' content knowledge (CK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) has resulted in mixed findings about the strength of the relationship between and development of these constructs. The current study uses data from the Teacher Education and Development Study in Mathematics (TEDS-M) to examine the relationship between…

A protocol for generating a high-quality genome-scale metabolic reconstruction.

PubMed

Thiele, Ines; Palsson, Bernhard Ø

2010-01-01

Network reconstructions are a common denominator in systems biology. Bottom-up metabolic network reconstructions have been developed over the last 10 years. These reconstructions represent structured knowledge bases that abstract pertinent information on the biochemical transformations taking place within specific target organisms. The conversion of a reconstruction into a mathematical format facilitates a myriad of computational biological studies, including evaluation of network content, hypothesis testing and generation, analysis of phenotypic characteristics and metabolic engineering. To date, genome-scale metabolic reconstructions for more than 30 organisms have been published and this number is expected to increase rapidly. However, these reconstructions differ in quality and coverage that may minimize their predictive potential and use as knowledge bases. Here we present a comprehensive protocol describing each step necessary to build a high-quality genome-scale metabolic reconstruction, as well as the common trials and tribulations. Therefore, this protocol provides a helpful manual for all stages of the reconstruction process.

A protocol for generating a high-quality genome-scale metabolic reconstruction

PubMed Central

Thiele, Ines; Palsson, Bernhard Ø.

2011-01-01

Network reconstructions are a common denominator in systems biology. Bottom-up metabolic network reconstructions have developed over the past 10 years. These reconstructions represent structured knowledge-bases that abstract pertinent information on the biochemical transformations taking place within specific target organisms. The conversion of a reconstruction into a mathematical format facilitates myriad computational biological studies including evaluation of network content, hypothesis testing and generation, analysis of phenotypic characteristics, and metabolic engineering. To date, genome-scale metabolic reconstructions for more than 30 organisms have been published and this number is expected to increase rapidly. However, these reconstructions differ in quality and coverage that may minimize their predictive potential and use as knowledge-bases. Here, we present a comprehensive protocol describing each step necessary to build a high-quality genome-scale metabolic reconstruction as well as common trials and tribulations. Therefore, this protocol provides a helpful manual for all stages of the reconstruction process. PMID:20057383

Mammographic mass classification based on possibility theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hmida, Marwa; Hamrouni, Kamel; Solaiman, Basel; Boussetta, Sana

2017-03-01

Shape and margin features are very important for differentiating between benign and malignant masses in mammographic images. In fact, benign masses are usually round and oval and have smooth contours. However, malignant tumors have generally irregular shape and appear lobulated or speculated in margins. This knowledge suffers from imprecision and ambiguity. Therefore, this paper deals with the problem of mass classification by using shape and margin features while taking into account the uncertainty linked to the degree of truth of the available information and the imprecision related to its content. Thus, in this work, we proposed a novel mass classification approach which provides a possibility based representation of the extracted shape features and builds a possibility knowledge basis in order to evaluate the possibility degree of malignancy and benignity for each mass. For experimentation, the MIAS database was used and the classification results show the great performance of our approach in spite of using simple features.

Some Thoughts on the Future of Libraries, Journals, Impact Factors, and Replicability.

PubMed

Elwood, Thomas W

2016-01-01

A report on the "The Future of Libraries" is the outcome of a year's worth of discussions among faculty members, staff, and students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. While its findings and recommendations still are preliminary, the report presents a vision of the library as an "open global platform" that provides access to information to help solve global challenges. Digital access already has changed the face of research, making it more efficient for individual library users. Instead of going to a library building today to find and read books and journal articles, students and faculty access, organize, and read scholarly content on their own electronic devices. This transformation-from libraries where knowledge is accessed individually through analog and digital means into ones where creation and access to knowledge are dynamically networked-will affect all aspects of the research library.

Mathematics teaching experiences of elementary preservice teachers with high and low mathematics anxiety during student teaching: A multiple case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nisbet, Leslie Deanna

This study investigated the teaching experiences of six elementary preservice teachers (EPTs), three with high mathematics anxiety and three with low mathematics anxiety, during their student teaching semester. The EPTs were selected from an initial pool of 121 EPTs who took the Abbreviated Mathematics Anxiety Scale. The cases were compared in a cross case analysis to highlight mathematics teaching experiences among EPTs. Data sources included EPT and researcher journal entries, interview transcripts, pre-lesson surveys, field notes, lesson plans, and artifacts of observed lessons. Data were coded using Shulman's content knowledge, Graeber's mathematics pedagogical content knowledge, and mathematics anxiety characteristics. Findings revealed both similarities and differences across EPTs as related to four major categories: (a) planning and resources used, (b) role of the cooperating teacher, (c) content knowledge, and (d) pedagogical content knowledge. All EPTs used mostly direct instruction and relied on the course textbook and their respective cooperating teacher as their primary resources for planning. Additionally, across participants, the cooperating teacher influenced EPTs' perceptions of students and teaching. Also, EPTs with high mathematics anxiety were weaker with respect to content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge. Findings suggest a need to re-design methods courses to address improving the pedagogical content knowledge of EPTs with mathematics anxiety. Findings also suggest a need to develop content specific mathematics courses for EPTs to improve their content knowledge. Future studies could include a longitudinal study to follow highly anxious EPTs who take content specific elementary mathematics courses to observe their content knowledge and mathematics anxiety.

Research Networks, Mentorship and Sustainability Knowledge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kafle, A.; Mukhopadhyay, P.; Nepal, M.; Shyamsundar, P.

2015-12-01

In South Asia, a majority of institutions are ill-equipped to undertake research on multi-disciplinary environmental problems, though these problems are increasing at a fast rate and connected to the region's poverty and growth objectives. In this context, the South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics (SANDEE) tries to fill a research, training and knowledge gap by building skills in the area of Environment and Development Economics. In this paper, the authors argue that research networks contribute to the growth of sustainability knowledge through (a) knowledge creation, (b) knowledge transfer and (c) knowledge deepening. The paper tries to show the relationship between capacity building, mentorship and research scholarship. It demonstrates that researchers, by associating with the network and its multiple training and mentoring processes, are able to build skills, change curricula and deliver useful knowledge products. The paper discusses the need for interdisciplinary research and the challenges of bridging the gap between research outputs and policy reforms.

Designing for health in school buildings: between research and practice.

PubMed

Kirkeby, Inge Mette; Jensen, Bjarne Bruun; Larsen, Kristian; Kural, René

2015-05-01

To investigate the kinds of knowledge practitioners use when planning and designing for health in school buildings. Twelve semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with architects, teachers and officials to investigate use of knowledge in the making of school buildings. Practitioners drew on many kinds and sources of knowledge, but in particular they made use of concepts, examples or pictures or thought-provoking knowledge. However, the interviews indicate a number of hurdles for efficient knowledge sharing between research and practice: (1) a considerable discrepancy between kinds of knowledge used by practice and knowledge traditionally produced by research; (2) research-knowledge and practice-knowledge form two circuits and the flow from one circuit to the other is weak; (3) practitioners' knowledge was often based on experience and therefore person-dependent. It makes the knowledge vulnerable. Special attention has to be paid by research to concepts and principles to guide the decision-making in practice. Further is recommended to consider new kinds of collaboration between researchers and practitioners. © 2015 the Nordic Societies of Public Health.

Biological inquiry: a new course and assessment plan in response to the call to transform undergraduate biology.

PubMed

Goldey, Ellen S; Abercrombie, Clarence L; Ivy, Tracie M; Kusher, Dave I; Moeller, John F; Rayner, Doug A; Smith, Charles F; Spivey, Natalie W

2012-01-01

We transformed our first-year curriculum in biology with a new course, Biological Inquiry, in which >50% of all incoming, first-year students enroll. The course replaced a traditional, content-driven course that relied on outdated approaches to teaching and learning. We diversified pedagogical practices by adopting guided inquiry in class and in labs, which are devoted to building authentic research skills through open-ended experiments. Students develop core biological knowledge, from the ecosystem to molecular level, and core skills through regular practice in hypothesis testing, reading primary literature, analyzing data, interpreting results, writing in disciplinary style, and working in teams. Assignments and exams require higher-order cognitive processes, and students build new knowledge and skills through investigation of real-world problems (e.g., malaria), which engages students' interest. Evidence from direct and indirect assessment has guided continuous course revision and has revealed that compared with the course it replaced, Biological Inquiry produces significant learning gains in all targeted areas. It also retains 94% of students (both BA and BS track) compared with 79% in the majors-only course it replaced. The project has had broad impact across the entire college and reflects the input of numerous constituencies and close collaboration among biology professors and students.

Safety in numbers 3: Authenticity, Building knowledge & skills and Competency development & assessment: the ABC of safe medication dosage calculation problem-solving pedagogy.

PubMed

Weeks, Keith W; Meriel Hutton, B; Coben, Diana; Clochesy, John M; Pontin, David

2013-03-01

When designing learning and assessment environments it is essential to articulate the underpinning education philosophy, theory, model and learning style support mechanisms that inform their structure and content. We elaborate on original PhD research that articulates the design rationale of authentic medication dosage calculation problem-solving (MDC-PS) learning and diagnostic assessment environments. These environments embody the principles of authenticity, building knowledge and skills and competency assessment and are designed to support development of competence and bridging of the theory-practice gap. Authentic learning and diagnostic assessment environments capture the features and expert practices that are located in real world practice cultures and recreate them in authentic virtual clinical environments. We explore how this provides students with a safe virtual authentic environment to actively experience, practice and undertake MDC-PS learning and assessment activities. We argue that this is integral to the construction and diagnostic assessment of schemata validity (mental constructions and frameworks that are an individual's internal representation of their world), bridging of the theory-practice gap and cognitive and functional competence development. We illustrate these principles through the underpinning pedagogical design of two online virtual authentic learning and diagnostic assessment environments (safeMedicate and eDose™). Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Biological Inquiry: A New Course and Assessment Plan in Response to the Call to Transform Undergraduate Biology

PubMed Central

Goldey, Ellen S.; Abercrombie, Clarence L.; Ivy, Tracie M.; Kusher, Dave I.; Moeller, John F.; Rayner, Doug A.; Smith, Charles F.; Spivey, Natalie W.

2012-01-01

We transformed our first-year curriculum in biology with a new course, Biological Inquiry, in which >50% of all incoming, first-year students enroll. The course replaced a traditional, content-driven course that relied on outdated approaches to teaching and learning. We diversified pedagogical practices by adopting guided inquiry in class and in labs, which are devoted to building authentic research skills through open-ended experiments. Students develop core biological knowledge, from the ecosystem to molecular level, and core skills through regular practice in hypothesis testing, reading primary literature, analyzing data, interpreting results, writing in disciplinary style, and working in teams. Assignments and exams require higher-order cognitive processes, and students build new knowledge and skills through investigation of real-world problems (e.g., malaria), which engages students’ interest. Evidence from direct and indirect assessment has guided continuous course revision and has revealed that compared with the course it replaced, Biological Inquiry produces significant learning gains in all targeted areas. It also retains 94% of students (both BA and BS track) compared with 79% in the majors-only course it replaced. The project has had broad impact across the entire college and reflects the input of numerous constituencies and close collaboration among biology professors and students. PMID:23222831

Socioscientific Argumentation: The effects of content knowledge and morality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sadler, Troy D.; Donnelly, Lisa A.

2006-10-01

Broad support exists within the science education community for the incorporation of socioscientific issues (SSI) and argumentation in the science curriculum. This study investigates how content knowledge and morality contribute to the quality of SSI argumentation among high school students. We employed a mixed-methods approach: 56 participants completed tests of content knowledge and moral reasoning as well as interviews, related to SSI topics, which were scored based on a rubric for argumentation quality. Multiple regression analyses revealed no statistically significant relationships among content knowledge, moral reasoning, and argumentation quality. Qualitative analyses of the interview transcripts supported the quantitative results in that participants very infrequently revealed patterns of content knowledge application. However, most of the participants did perceive the SSI as moral problems. We propose a “Threshold Model of Knowledge Transfer” to account for the relationship between content knowledge and argumentation quality. Implications for science education are discussed.

Influence of Knowledge of Content and Students on Beginning Agriculture Teachers' Approaches to Teaching Content

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rice, Amber H.; Kitchel, Tracy

2016-01-01

This study explored experiences of beginning agriculture teachers' approaches to teaching content. The research question guiding the study was: how does agriculture teachers' knowledge of content and students influence their process of breaking down content knowledge for teaching? The researchers employed a grounded theory approach in which five…

Beyond Learning Management Systems: Designing for Interprofessional Knowledge Building in the Health Sciences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lax, Leila; Scardamalia, Marlene; Watt-Watson, Judy; Hunter, Judith; Bereiter, Carl

2010-01-01

This paper examines theoretical, pedagogical, and technological differences between two technologies that have been used in undergraduate interprofessional health sciences at the University of Toronto. One, a learning management system, WebCT 2.0, supports online coursework. The other, a Knowledge Building environment, Knowledge Forum 2.0,…

The Effect of Centralization and Cohesion on the Social Construction of Knowledge in Discussion Forums

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tirado, Ramón; Hernando, Ángel; Aguaded, José Ignacio

2015-01-01

Interactive relationships in online learning communities can influence the process and quality of knowledge building. The aim of this study is to empirically investigate the relationships between network structures and social knowledge building in an asynchronous writing environment through discussion forums in a learning management system. The…

The Effect of Centralization and Cohesion on the Social Construction of Knowledge in Discussion Forums

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tirado, Ramon; Hernando, Angel; Aguaded, Jose Ignacio

2012-01-01

Interactive relationships in online learning communities can influence the process and quality of knowledge building. The aim of this study is to empirically investigate the relationships between network structures and social knowledge building in an asynchronous writing environment through discussion forums in a learning management system. The…

Implementing a Technology-Supported Model for Cross-Organisational Learning and Knowledge Building for Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tammets, Kairit; Pata, Kai; Laanpere, Mart

2012-01-01

This study proposed using the elaborated learning and knowledge building model (LKB model) derived from Nonaka and Takeuchi's knowledge management model for supporting cross-organisational teacher development in the temporarily extended organisations composed of universities and schools. It investigated the main LKB model components in the context…

Knowledge Building and Mathematics: Shifting the Responsibility for Knowledge Advancement and Engagement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moss, Joan; Beatty, Ruth

2010-01-01

Three classrooms of Grade 4 students from different schools and diverse backgrounds collaborated in early algebra research to solve a series of linear and quadratic generalizing problems. Results revealed that high- and low-achieving students were able to solve problems of recognized difficulty. We discuss Knowledge Building principles and…

Promoting Teachers' Learning and Knowledge Building in a Socio-Technical System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tammets, Kairit; Pata, Kai; Laanpere, Mart

2013-01-01

The study proposes a way in which the learning and knowledge building (LKB) framework, which is consistent with the knowledge conversion phases proposed by Nonaka and Takeuchi, supports teachers' informal and self-directed workplace learning. An LKB framework in a socio-technical system was developed to support professional development in an…

Reflective Assessment in Knowledge Building by Students with Low Academic Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yang, Yuqin; van Aalst, Jan; Chan, Carol K. K.; Tian, Wen

2016-01-01

This study investigated whether and how students with low prior achievement can carry out and benefit from reflective assessment supported by the Knowledge Connections Analyzer (KCA) to collaboratively improve their knowledge-building discourse. Participants were a class of 20 Grade 11 students with low achievement taking visual art from an…

A neotropical Miocene pollen database employing image-based search and semantic modeling.

PubMed

Han, Jing Ginger; Cao, Hongfei; Barb, Adrian; Punyasena, Surangi W; Jaramillo, Carlos; Shyu, Chi-Ren

2014-08-01

Digital microscopic pollen images are being generated with increasing speed and volume, producing opportunities to develop new computational methods that increase the consistency and efficiency of pollen analysis and provide the palynological community a computational framework for information sharing and knowledge transfer. • Mathematical methods were used to assign trait semantics (abstract morphological representations) of the images of neotropical Miocene pollen and spores. Advanced database-indexing structures were built to compare and retrieve similar images based on their visual content. A Web-based system was developed to provide novel tools for automatic trait semantic annotation and image retrieval by trait semantics and visual content. • Mathematical models that map visual features to trait semantics can be used to annotate images with morphology semantics and to search image databases with improved reliability and productivity. Images can also be searched by visual content, providing users with customized emphases on traits such as color, shape, and texture. • Content- and semantic-based image searches provide a powerful computational platform for pollen and spore identification. The infrastructure outlined provides a framework for building a community-wide palynological resource, streamlining the process of manual identification, analysis, and species discovery.

Literature search strategies for conducting knowledge-building and theory-generating qualitative systematic reviews.

PubMed

Finfgeld-Connett, Deborah; Johnson, E Diane

2013-01-01

To report literature search strategies for the purpose of conducting knowledge-building and theory-generating qualitative systematic reviews. Qualitative systematic reviews lie on a continuum from knowledge-building and theory-generating to aggregating and summarizing. Different types of literature searches are needed to optimally support these dissimilar reviews. Articles published between 1989-Autumn 2011. These documents were identified using a hermeneutic approach and multiple literature search strategies. Redundancy is not the sole measure of validity when conducting knowledge-building and theory-generating systematic reviews. When conducting these types of reviews, literature searches should be consistent with the goal of fully explicating concepts and the interrelationships among them. To accomplish this objective, a 'berry picking' approach is recommended along with strategies for overcoming barriers to finding qualitative research reports. To enhance integrity of knowledge-building and theory-generating systematic reviews, reviewers are urged to make literature search processes as transparent as possible, despite their complexity. This includes fully explaining and rationalizing what databases were used and how they were searched. It also means describing how literature tracking was conducted and grey literature was searched. In the end, the decision to cease searching also needs to be fully explained and rationalized. Predetermined linear search strategies are unlikely to generate search results that are adequate for purposes of conducting knowledge-building and theory-generating qualitative systematic reviews. Instead, it is recommended that iterative search strategies take shape as reviews evolve. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

A Theory of the Measurement of Knowledge Content, Access, and Learning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pirolli, Peter; Wilson, Mark

1998-01-01

An approach to the measurement of knowledge content, knowledge access, and knowledge learning is developed. First a theoretical view of cognition is described, and then a class of measurement models, based on Rasch modeling, is presented. Knowledge access and content are viewed as determining the observable actions selected by an agent to achieve…

Space technology, sustainable development and community applications: Internet as a facilitator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peter, Nicolas; Afrin, Nadia; Goh, Gérardine; Chester, Ed

2006-07-01

Among other approaches, space technologies are currently being deployed for disaster management, environmental monitoring, urban planning, health applications, communications, etc. Although space-based applications have tremendous potential for socioeconomic development, they are primarily technology driven and the requirements from the end-users (i.e. the development community) are rarely taken into consideration during the initial development stages. This communication gap between the "space" and "development" communities can be bridged with the help of the web-based knowledge sharing portal focused on space applications for development. This online community uses the development gateway foundation's sophisticated content management system. It is modeled after the development gateway's knowledge sharing portals ( http://topics.developmentgateway.org) and draws from their expertise in knowledge management, partnership building and marketing. These types of portal are known to facilitate broad-based partnerships across sectors, regions and the various stakeholders but also to facilitate North-South and South-South cooperation. This paper describes the initiative "Space for Development" ( http://topics.developmentgateway.org/space) started in 2004 which aims to demonstrate how such a web-based portal can be structured to facilitate knowledge sharing in order to bridge the gap between the "space" and "development" communities in an innovative and global manner.

Effective nursing leadership of older persons in the community - a systematic review.

PubMed

Holm, Anne Lise; Severinsson, Elisabeth

2014-03-01

The aim of this systematic review was to increase the knowledge of developing effective nursing leadership and management in order to improve the outcomes of older persons in the community. There is a need for increased knowledge of nursing leadership and management in order to improve the outcomes of older persons in the community. A review of the literature published in different databases between January 2000 and May 2012 was conducted. Eleven articles met the inclusion criteria and were evaluated by means of thematic content analysis. Six themes were identified: Ability to change the attitudes towards older persons; Building trust; Ensuring efficacy in management decisions; Lack of knowledge about how to overcome relational challenges; Health system collaboration to achieve goals and visions; and Staff members' experiences of the meaning of and possibility to influence their work, all of which are of importance for effective nursing leadership and management in the care of older persons. Advanced nursing knowledge is necessary in order to improve the work and vision involved in nursing leadership and management. Findings indicate that relational and organisational abilities are necessary components of effective nursing leadership and management. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Looking at practice: revealing the knowledge demands of teaching data handling in the primary classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leavy, Aisling

2015-09-01

In the evolving field of mathematics education, there is the need to maintain the relationship between what is presented in college level preparation courses and the skills required to teach mathematics in classrooms. This research examines the knowledge demands placed on 73 pre-service primary teachers as they use lesson study to plan and teach data handling in primary classrooms. Pre-service teachers are observed as they plan, teach and re-teach data lessons in classrooms. Problems of practice are identified and categorized using the Ball, Thames and Phelps (2008) subdomains of common content knowledge (CCK), specialized content knowledge (SCK), knowledge of content and students (KCS) and knowledge of content and teaching (KCT). The results provide insights into the specific knowledge demands placed on early career teachers when teaching data and statistics and identifies foci area that can be addressed in teacher preparation programs. The results illustrate that development of understandings in one knowledge subdomain can motivate and impact learning in another subdomain. These interrelationships were found to exist both within and between the domains of content and pedagogical content knowledge.

Development of Pre-Service Chemistry Teachers' Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cetin-Dindar, Ayla; Boz, Yezdan; Sonmez, Demet Yildiran; Celep, Nilgun Demirci

2018-01-01

In this study, a mixed-method design was employed to investigate pre-service chemistry teachers' Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) development. For effective technology integration in instruction, knowledge about technology is not enough; teachers should have different knowledge types which are content, pedagogical, and…

Understanding Human Perception of Building Categories in Virtual 3d Cities - a User Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tutzauer, P.; Becker, S.; Niese, T.; Deussen, O.; Fritsch, D.

2016-06-01

Virtual 3D cities are becoming increasingly important as a means of visually communicating diverse urban-related information. To get a deeper understanding of a human's cognitive experience of virtual 3D cities, this paper presents a user study on the human ability to perceive building categories (e.g. residential home, office building, building with shops etc.) from geometric 3D building representations. The study reveals various dependencies between geometric properties of the 3D representations and the perceptibility of the building categories. Knowledge about which geometries are relevant, helpful or obstructive for perceiving a specific building category is derived. The importance and usability of such knowledge is demonstrated based on a perception-guided 3D building abstraction process.

Using a Field Experience to Build Understanding of Planetary Geology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Higbie, M.; Treiman, A.; Kiefer, W.; Shipp, S.

2004-12-01

In the summer of 2004, the Lunar and Planetary Institute hosted 25 middle- and high-school teachers on a week-long field experience in Idaho and Montana. This workshop mixed field work with classroom experiences and provided educators and scientists the opportunity to interact. The educators investigated deposits associated with Glacial Lake Missoula floods and lava flows in the Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve. The participants applied what they learned about Earth-based processes to develop understanding of processes operating on Mars and the most recent results from NASA's missions to Mars. This was the most recent of five field-based experiences that used Earth-planet comparisons as a basis for experiential learning. These field experiences all are designed to strengthen content knowledge of geologic processes and planetary sciences. Learning geology through fieldwork enables participants to take ownership of the content through real-life experience; in essence, the teacher becomes the student. Establishing deeper knowledge of the content increases their confidence in facilitating inquiry-based science in their own classrooms. In addition to content, the educators are immersed in the process of science. Participants make observations, compile notes and illustrations, debate interpretations, draw conclusions, and communicate findings. Care was taken to separate observations and interpretations to help build an understanding of scientific reasoning. Discussions often involved questions without solutions, or with multiple solutions. While some participants expressed discomfort with these aspects of the nature of science, most were more comfortable with open-ended, inquiry based exploration by the close of the workshop. The field work is coupled with discussion and activities in the classroom. Participants reflected on the field sites and placed them in the context of the geologic history of the region. Observations and interpretations at individual field stops were related to planetary observations. The educators worked in small groups to develop a virtual tour of the different field stops, intended for use by their students. Development of the virtual tour allowed participants to solidify knowledge and enabled instructors to verify comprehension. The Web site became an educational tool, prompting further discussion and investigation. Field work was complemented by hands-on, inquiry based, standards-based classroom activities. Because the activities related directly to processes observed in the field, the participants were able to make detailed observations and were better able to make connections with the content. They were more confident in identifying where the activities served as strong models and where the activities failed to model the real world. The participants were more comfortable asking questions and experimenting with variables. In the next several months, the participants will be surveyed in an effort to track how the experience is incorporated into the classroom and leveraged across the educational community. We are grateful for support from NASA's Office of Space Science and Sandia National Laboratories.

An atom is known by the company it keeps: Content, representation and pedagogy within the epistemic revolution of the complexity sciences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blikstein, Paulo

The goal of this dissertation is to explore relations between content, representation, and pedagogy, so as to understand the impact of the nascent field of complexity sciences on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) learning. Wilensky & Papert coined the term "structurations" to express the relationship between knowledge and its representational infrastructure. A change from one representational infrastructure to another they call a "restructuration." The complexity sciences have introduced a novel and powerful structuration: agent-based modeling. In contradistinction to traditional mathematical modeling, which relies on equational descriptions of macroscopic properties of systems, agent-based modeling focuses on a few archetypical micro-behaviors of "agents" to explain emergent macro-behaviors of the agent collective. Specifically, this dissertation is about a series of studies of undergraduate students' learning of materials science, in which two structurations are compared (equational and agent-based), consisting of both design research and empirical evaluation. I have designed MaterialSim, a constructionist suite of computer models, supporting materials and learning activities designed within the approach of agent-based modeling, and over four years conducted an empirical inves3 tigation of an undergraduate materials science course. The dissertation is comprised of three studies: Study 1 - diagnosis . I investigate current representational and pedagogical practices in engineering classrooms. Study 2 - laboratory studies. I investigate the cognition of students engaging in scientific inquiry through programming their own scientific models. Study 3 - classroom implementation. I investigate the characteristics, advantages, and trajectories of scientific content knowledge that is articulated in epistemic forms and representational infrastructures unique to complexity sciences, as well as the feasibility of the integration of constructionist, agent-based learning environments in engineering classrooms. Data sources include classroom observations, interviews, videotaped sessions of model-building, questionnaires, analysis of computer-generated logfiles, and quantitative and qualitative analysis of artifacts. Results shows that (1) current representational and pedagogical practices in engineering classrooms were not up to the challenge of the complex content being taught, (2) by building their own scientific models, students developed a deeper understanding of core scientific concepts, and learned how to better identify unifying principles and behaviors in materials science, and (3) programming computer models was feasible within a regular engineering classroom.

Self-Directed Learning to Improve Science Content Knowledge for Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van Garderen, Delinda; Hanuscin, Deborah; Thomas, Cathy Newman; Stormont, Melissa; Lee, Eun J.

2017-01-01

Students with disabilities often struggle in science and underperform in this important content area when compared to their typical peers. Unfortunately, many special educators have had little preparation to develop science content knowledge or skills in methods for teaching science. Despite their lack of content knowledge, special educators are…

A Review of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chai, Ching Sing; Koh, Joyce Hwee Ling; Tsai, Chin-Chung

2013-01-01

This paper reviews 74 journal papers that investigate ICT integration from the framework of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). The TPACK framework is an extension of the pedagogical content knowledge (Shulman, 1986). TPACK is the type of integrative and transformative knowledge teachers need for effective use of ICT in…

Using CoRes to Develop the Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) of Early Career Science and Technology Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, John; Lockley, John

2012-01-01

Research has shown that one of the factors that enable effective teachers is their rich "Pedagogical Content Knowledge" (PCK), a special blend of content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge that is built up over time and experience. This form of professional knowledge, first theorized by Shulman (1987), is topic-specific, unique to each…

Developing a Scale to Measure Content Knowledge and Pedagogy Content Knowledge of In-Service Elementary Teachers on Fractions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kazemi, Farhad; Rafiepour, Abolfazl

2018-01-01

The main purpose of this study was to develop a scale for measuring content knowledge (CK) and pedagogy content knowledge (PCK) of in-service elementary teachers on mathematical fractions. Another aim of this study was to consider whether CK and PCK are separate from each other, or are in a single body. Therefore, a scale containing 22 items about…

An evaluation of a science professional development model: Examining participants' learning and use of new knowledge and skills, organizational support and change, and student learning outcomes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zender, Georgi Anne

The problem of this study was to determine in what ways science professional development would support kindergarten through sixth grade teachers in their implementation of a revised curriculum. The problem centered on evaluating the relationship between professional development involvement and teachers' learning and use of new knowledge and skills, organizational support and change, and student learning outcomes. Using data derived from survey responses and other sources (e.g., test scores, financial records, etc.), this study examined use of a science course of study, use of activities/experiments from workshops, use and adequacy of materials adoptions, administrative support, and achievement scores. This research was completed using an Ex Post Facto research design. Using the General Linear Model and causal-comparative analyses, thus study significantly concluded that teachers with a higher level of involvement in science professional development were more likely to use the revised course of study for lesson planning and to perceive materials adoptions as being adequate, and that districts that had participated in science professional development to revise curriculum showed more gains in student learning outcomes. Data on teachers' learning and use of new knowledge and skills implied that districts needed to continue to design teacher leadership situations that implement long-term professional development, build capacity for shared decision making, create a supportive environment for leaders, and incorporate assessments. Teacher leaders needed to actively engage in action research as a professional development strategy to promote reflection on their teaching and student learning. Data on organizational support and change implied that without logistical and financial support for teaching and learning in terms of hands-on materials, teachers would be unable to support future curriculum improvement efforts. Building principals needed to play a more active role in the implementation of curriculum. Data on student learning outcomes implied that both content knowledge and inquiry skills were critical bases for curriculum in terms of teacher efficacy and student achievement. Teachers needed to examine student work as a professional development strategy to also promote reflection on teaching and learning. Further research and professional development in the area of science assessment, in terms of scientific content and processes, was suggested.

Building Word Knowledge: Opportunities for Direct Vocabulary Instruction in General Education for Students with Reading Difficulties

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wanzek, Jeanne

2014-01-01

Direct vocabulary instruction is 1 critical component of reading instruction. Although most students in the elementary grades need to continue building their vocabulary knowledge, students with reading difficulties are at the greatest risk of falling further behind each year in vocabulary and concept knowledge without effective instruction. This…

EDUsummIT: A Global Knowledge Building Community for Educational Researchers, Practitioners, and Policy Makers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lai, Kwok-Wing; Voogt, Joke; Knezek, Gerald; Gibson, David

2016-01-01

The International Summit on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Education (EDUsummIT) is a global knowledge building community of researchers, educational practitioners, and policy makers aiming to create and disseminate ideas and knowledge to promote the integration of ICT in education. Four EDUsummITs have been convened in The…

Developing Secondary Students' Epistemic Agency in a Knowledge-Building Community

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lai, Kwok-Wing; Campbell, Madeline

2018-01-01

A key educational objective for the twenty-first century is developing students' epistemic agency. Epistemic agency is the active process of choosing when, what, where one learns and how one knows, as well as the capacity to create knowledge in a community. The knowledge-building communities model developed by Scardamalia and Bereiter was used in…

The Building Blocks of Digital Media Literacy: Socio-Material Participation and the Production of Media Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dezuanni, Michael

2015-01-01

This article outlines the knowledge and skills students develop when they engage in digital media production and analysis in school settings. The metaphor of "digital building blocks" is used to describe the material practices, conceptual understandings and production of knowledge that lead to the development of digital media literacy.…

A Learning Framework for Knowledge Building and Collective Wisdom Advancement in Virtual Learning Communities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gan, Yongcheng; Zhu, Zhiting

2007-01-01

This study represents an effort to construct a learning framework for knowledge building and collective wisdom advancement in a virtual learning community (VLC) from the perspectives of system wholeness, intelligence wholeness and dynamics, learning models, and knowledge management. It also tries to construct the zone of proximal development (ZPD)…

Finding ways to grow skills, knowledge, and voice in the next generation of interdisciplinary sustainability scientists

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roy, S. G.; de Souza, S. P.; McGreavy, B.; Gardner, K.; Hart, D.; Druschke, C. G.

2017-12-01

The need to train early-career interdisciplinary, solutions-driven sustainability researchers has never been more apparent than today. To meet this challenge, educators at the Universities of Maine, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island have collaborated with their students to design and assess an interdisciplinary, multi-university course meant to develop the skills, content knowledge, and voice that are seen as critical for training the next generation of interdisciplinary sustainability researchers. We developed a rubric and conducted a mixed methods analysis of sustainability science learning outcomes identified as central to successful sustainability research. We used these targeted outcomes as a guide to design and implement several activities that build these skills and competencies and advance the identified outcomes. These course learning outcomes focus on three major sustainability science competencies: (1) systems thinking, which focuses on improving students' abilities to build a deep understanding of dynamic social-ecological systems; (2) problem definition, which focuses on the skills necessary to identify and communicate sustainability problems by combining systems knowledge with multiple stakeholder perspectives; and (3) decision making, which focuses on the abilities required to create and communicate adaptable decisions to mitigate sustainability problems. Students were frequently asked to help co-create class meetings based on their own educational experiences and objectives.Based on a quantitative assessment of survey results taken before and after the course, several students tended to initially overestimate their capacity for undertaking interdisciplinary sustainability research, possibly because of a previously narrow exposure to these concepts from the perspective of a single discipline. Qualitative results indicate that students gained substantial experience and confidence in communication, and especially in collaboration, stakeholder engagement, and conflict. Based on our empirical approach we recommend focusing on three key factors when training future interdisciplinary sustainability scientists: diverse and nested communication, building voice by co-creating the course, and early engagement with stakeholders.

Building policy capacities: an interactive approach for linking knowledge to action in health promotion.

PubMed

Rütten, Alfred; Gelius, Peter

2014-09-01

This article outlines a theoretical framework for an interactive, research-driven approach to building policy capacities in health promotion. First, it illustrates how two important issues in the recent public health debate, capacity building and linking scientific knowledge to policy action, are connected to each other theoretically. It then introduces an international study on an interactive approach to capacity building in health promotion policy. The approach combines the ADEPT model of policy capacities with a co-operative planning process to foster the exchange of knowledge between policy-makers and researchers, thus improving intra- and inter-organizational capacities. A regional-level physical activity promotion project involving governmental and public-law institutions, NGOs and university researchers serves as a case study to illustrate the potential of the approach for capacity building. Analysis and comparison with a similar local-level project indicate that the approach provides an effective means of linking scientific knowledge to policy action and to planning concrete measures for capacity building in health promotion, but that it requires sufficiently long timelines and adequate resources to achieve adequate implementation and sustainability. © The Author (2013). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Middle School Teacher Misconceptions and Anxieties Concerning Space Science Disciplinary Core Ideas in NGSS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Larsen, Kristine

2017-01-01

The Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCI) of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are grouped into the broad disciplinary areas of Physical Sciences, Life Sciences, Earth and Space Sciences, and Engineering, Technology and Application of Science, and feature learning progressions based on endpoint targets for each grade band. Since the Middle School DCIs build on the expected learning achievements to be reached by the end of Fifth Grade, and High School DCI similarly build on the expected learning achievements expected for the end of Eighth Grade, the Middle School grade band is of particular importance as the bridge between the Elementary and High School curriculum. In states where there is not a special Middle School Certification many of these science classes are taught by teachers prepared to teach at the Elementary level (and who may have limited content background). As a result, some pre-service and in-service teachers have expressed reduced self-confidence in both their own science content knowledge and their ability to apply it in the NGSS-based classroom, while decades of research has demonstrated the pervasiveness of science misconceptions among teachers. Thus the adoption of NGSS has the potential to drive talented teachers out of the profession who feel that they are ill-prepared for this sweeping transition. The key is providing rigorous education in both content and pedagogy for pre-service teachers and quality targeted professional development for in-service teachers. This report focuses on the Middle School Space Sciences grade band DCIs and presents research on specific difficulties, misconceptions and uncertainties with the material demonstrated by pre-service education students over the past four years in a required university science content course, as well as two year-long granted workshop series for current Middle School teachers. This information is relevant to the development of both new content courses aligned with NGSS for pre-service teachers and professional development for in-service teachers.

Enlarging the `knowledge toolbox': helping students prepare for an innovation-driven world

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nilsen, Elizabeth

2015-03-01

Physics students graduate from their course of studies to enter the ``world of work.'' While for many years that transition meant joining a large corporation for a life-long career, this is no longer the case. Today's graduates will find their career with a series of organizations - often start-ups and small to mid-sized organizations - whose future depends on the ability to rapidly leverage technical knowledge into useful products and services. This session will discuss the value of preparing physics students to be innovators and entrepreneurs, both as a strategy to prepare them for future careers, as well as an opportunity to fully engage students in seeing the relevance of physics to ``real world'' challenges. The session will feature three case studies: 1) embedding core knowledge and skills within a technical content course; 2) building learning experiences around a team-based start-up exploration; 3) engaging an entire department in considering how to comprehensively include innovation & entrepreneurship themes in the curriculum. The session will conclude with information about how faculty members and institutions can access resources for adopting this approach to their course offerings.

Knowledge ecologies, "supple" objects, and different priorities across women's and gender studies programs and departments in the United States, 1970-2010.

PubMed

Wood, Christine Virginia

2015-01-01

This article examines the evolving connections between local conditions and knowledge processes in women's and gender studies, a research field in the social sciences and humanities. Data are historical records from five early-adopting women's and gender studies units in the United States and interviews with affiliated professors. In their formative years, these programs were consistent in their intellectual content. Scholars across sites defined the purpose of women's studies similarly: to address the lack of research on women and social problems of sex inequality. Gradually, scholars incorporated a range of analytic categories into women's studies' agenda, including gender identities and masculinities, leading to diverse understandings and redefinitions of the central objects of analysis. Analytic shifts are reflected in differences in the institutional and intellectual composition of programs and departments. To explain how local departmental conditions affect the conception of core objects of study in gender research, the author builds on the literature on knowledge ecologies and introduces the concept of the "supple object." © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Using Topdown Conceptual Analysis To Accelerate The Learning Of New Domains For Knowledge Engineers & Domain Experts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xuan, Albert L.; Shinghal, Rajjan

1989-03-01

As the need for knowledge-based systems increases, an increasing number of domain experts are becoming interested in taking more active part in the building of knowledge-based systems. However, such a domain expert often must deal with a large number of unfamiliar terms concepts, facts, procedures and principles based on different approaches and schools of thought. He (for brevity, we shall use masculine pronouns for both genders) may need the help of a knowledge engineer (KE) in building the knowledge-based system but may encounter a number of problems. For instance, much of the early interaction between him and the knowl edge engineer may be spent in educating each other about their seperate kinds of expertise. Since the knowledge engineer will usually be ignorant of the knowledge domain while the domain expert (DE) will have little knowledge about knowledge-based systems, a great deal of time will be wasted on these issues ad the DE and the KE train each other to the point where a fruitful interaction can occur. In some situations, it may not even be possible for the DE to find a suitable KE to work with because he has no time to train the latter in his domain. This will engender the need for the DE to be more knowledgeable about knowledge-based systems and for the KE to find methods and techniques which will allow them to learn new domains as fast as they can. In any event, it is likely that the process of building knowledge-based systems will be smooth, er and more efficient if the domain expert is knowledgeable about the methods and techniques of knowledge-based systems building.

Online CLIL Scaffolding at University Level: Building Learners' Academic Language and Content-Specific Vocabulary across Disciplines through Online Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carloni, Giovanna

2012-01-01

Over the last two years, the University of Urbino, Italy, has been implementing Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) courses in English across all disciplines. This study focuses on the online self-study CLIL scaffolding designed to help students involve in an Internationalization Project to build academic language and content-specific…

Language-Building Activities and Interaction Variations with Mixed-Ability ESL University Learners in a Content-Based Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Serna Dimas, Héctor Manuel; Ruíz Castellanos, Erika

2014-01-01

The preparation of both language-building activities and a variety of teacher/student interaction patterns increase both oral language participation and content learning in a course of manual therapy with mixed-language ability students. In this article, the researchers describe their collaboration in a content-based course in English with English…

TiO2-SiO2 Coatings with a Low Content of AuNPs for Producing Self-Cleaning Building Materials

PubMed Central

Gil, M. L. Almoraima; Mosquera, María J.

2018-01-01

The high pollution levels in our cities are producing a significant increase of dust on buildings. An application of photoactive coatings on building materials can produce buildings with self-cleaning surfaces. In this study, we have developed a simple sol-gel route for producing Au-TiO2/SiO2 photocatalysts with application on buildings. The gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) improved the TiO2 photoactivity under solar radiation because they promoted absorption in the visible range. We varied the content of AuNPs in the sols under study, in order to investigate their effect on self-cleaning properties. The sols obtained were sprayed on a common building stone, producing coatings which adhere firmly to the stone and preserve their aesthetic qualities. We studied the decolourization efficiency of the photocatalysts under study against methylene blue and against soot (a real staining agent for buildings). Finally, we established that the coating with an intermediate Au content presented the best self-cleaning performance, due to the role played by its structure and texture on its photoactivity. PMID:29558437

Construction of teacher knowledge in context: Preparing elementary teachers to teach mathematics and science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lowery, Maye Norene Vail

1998-12-01

The purposes of this study were to further the understanding of how preservice teacher construct teacher knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge of elementary mathematics and science and to determine the extent of that knowledge in a school-based setting. Preservice teachers, university instructors, inservice teachers, and other school personnel were involved in this context-specific study. Evidence of the preservice teachers' knowledge construction (its acquisition, its dimensions, and the social context) was collected through the use of a qualitative methodology. Collected data included individual and group interviews, course documents, artifacts, and preservice teaching portfolios. Innovative aspects of this integrated mathematics and science elementary methods course included standards-based instruction with immediate access to field experiences. Grade-level teams of preservice and inservice teachers planned and implemented lessons in mathematics and science for elementary students. An on-site, portable classroom building served as a mathematics and science teaching and learning laboratory. A four-stage analysis was performed, revealing significant patterns of learning. An ecosystem of learning within a constructivist learning environment was identified to contain three systems: the university system; the school system; and the cohort of learners system. A mega system for the construction of teacher knowledge was revealed in the final analysis. Learning venues were discovered to be the conduits of learning in a situated learning context. Analysis and synthesis of data revealed an extensive acquisition of teacher knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge through identified learning components. Patience, flexibility, and communication were identified as necessities for successful teaching. Learning components included: collaboration with inservice teachers; implementation of discovery learning and hands-on/minds-on learning; small groupwork; lesson planning; classroom management; and application of standards-based instruction. Prolonged, extensive classroom involvement provided familiarity with the ability levels of elementary students. Gains in positive attitudes and confidence in teaching mathematics and science were identified as direct results of this experience. This may be attributed to the immersion in the school-based setting (hands-on) and the standards-based approach (minds-on) methods course. The results are written in case study form using thick description with an emphasis on preservice teachers.

Developing Content Knowledge in Students through Explicit Teaching of the Nature of Science: Influences of Goal Setting and Self-Monitoring

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peters, Erin E.

2012-01-01

Knowledge about the nature of science has been advocated as an important component of science because it provides a framework on which the students can incorporate content knowledge. However, little empirical evidence has been provided that links nature of science knowledge with content knowledge. The purpose of this mixed method study was to…

Contribution of Content Knowledge and Learning Ability to the Learning of Facts.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kuhara-Kojima, Keiko; Hatano, Giyoo

1991-01-01

In 3 experiments, 1,598 Japanese college students were examined concerning the learning of facts in 2 content domains, baseball and music. Content knowledge facilitated fact learning only in the relevant domain; learning ability facilitated fact learning in both domains. Effects of content knowledge and learning ability were additive. (SLD)

Chinese Secondary Physical Education Teachers' Depth of Specialized Content Knowledge in Soccer

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ward, Phillip; He, Yaohui; Wang, Xiaozan; Li, Weidong

2018-01-01

Purpose: Accurately measuring the content knowledge of teachers is critical to designing professional development to support their teaching. We examined the depth of specialized content knowledge (SCK), defined in terms of instructional tasks reported by teachers and factors that could affect their SCK. Method: Content maps were used to evaluate…

Secondary Pre-Service Teachers' Content Knowledge for State Assessments: Implications for Mathematics Education Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilburne, Jane M.; Long, Michael

2010-01-01

Seventy secondary mathematics pre-service teachers from two universities were assessed on their content knowledge, vocabulary knowledge, and their perceived confidence in teaching the content addressed on the eleventh grade state assessment. The results indicate the pre-service teachers had significant content weakness in data analysis, algebra,…

Mapping Changes in Science Teachers' Content Knowledge: Concept Maps and Authentic Professional Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greene, Barbara A.; Lubin, Ian A.; Slater, Janis L.; Walden, Susan E.

2013-01-01

Two studies were conducted to examine content knowledge changes following 2 weeks of professional development that included scientific research with university scientists. Engaging teachers in scientific research is considered to be an effective way of encouraging knowledge of both inquiry pedagogy and content knowledge. We used concept maps with…

Examination of Lower Secondary Mathematics Teachers' Content Knowledge and Its Connection to Students' Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tchoshanov, Mourat; Cruz, Maria D.; Huereca, Karla; Shakirova, Kadriya; Shakirova, Liliana; Ibragimova, Elena N.

2017-01-01

This mixed methods study examined an association between cognitive types of teachers' mathematical content knowledge and students' performance in lower secondary schools (grades 5 through 9). Teachers (N = 90) completed the Teacher Content Knowledge Survey (TCKS), which consisted of items measuring different cognitive types of teacher knowledge.…

Learning the 'grammar of science': The influence of a physical science content course on teachers' understanding of the nature of science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hanuscin, Deborah L.

This research examined the development of practicing K--8 teachers' views of the nature of science (NOS) within a physical science content course. Reforms in science education have called for the teaching of science as inquiry. In order to achieve the vision of the reforms, teachers must understand science, both a body of knowledge and as a process, but also the very nature of science itself-or the values and assumptions inherent in the construction of scientific knowledge. NOS has been deemed a critical component of scientific literacy, with implications for making informed decisions about scientific claims. Research has indicated that despite the emphasis of reforms, teachers generally do not possess accurate views of NOS. Recent work in science education has led to the recommendation that efforts undertaken within teacher education programs to improve teachers' understanding of NOS can be enhanced through relevant coursework in other academic areas, including the sciences. The purpose of this dissertation was to provide an empirical basis for this recommendation, by examining the development of teachers' views of NOS within a physical science content course. To this end, the researcher employed qualitative methodology including participant observation, interview, document analysis, and questionnaire to assess teacher participants' views of the nature of science and the impact of their experience in the content course on these views. As a result of this research, implications for both the course design and science teacher education have been described. In addition, various aspects of the community of practice that characterizes the classroom that inhibit the development of understandings about the nature of science are identified. It is argued that instruction in NOS should be approached from the perspective that builds bridges between the communities of practice of learners and of scientists.

Toward a Computational Model of Tutoring.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woolf, Beverly Park

1992-01-01

Discusses the integration of instructional science and computer science. Topics addressed include motivation for building knowledge-based systems; instructional design issues, including cognitive models, representing student intentions, and student models and error diagnosis; representing tutoring knowledge; building a tutoring system, including…

Knowledge-intensive software design systems: Can too much knowledge be a burden?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Keller, Richard M.

1992-01-01

While acknowledging the considerable benefits of domain-specific, knowledge-intensive approaches to automated software engineering, it is prudent to carefully examine the costs of such approaches, as well. In adding domain knowledge to a system, a developer makes a commitment to understanding, representing, maintaining, and communicating that knowledge. This substantial overhead is not generally associated with domain-independent approaches. In this paper, I examine the downside of incorporating additional knowledge, and illustrate with examples based on our experience in building the SIGMA system. I also offer some guidelines for developers building domain-specific systems.

Knowledge-intensive software design systems: Can too much knowledge be a burden?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Keller, Richard M.

1992-01-01

While acknowledging the considerable benefits of domain-specific, knowledge-intensive approaches to automated software engineering, it is prudent to carefully examine the costs of such approaches, as well. In adding domain knowledge to a system, a developer makes a commitment to understanding, representing, maintaining, and communicating that knowledge. This substantial overhead is not generally associated with domain-independent approaches. In this paper, I examine the downside of incorporating additional knowledge, and illustrate with examples based on our experiences building the SIGMA system. I also offer some guidelines for developers building domain-specific systems.

The Analysis of Sustainable Development Content in the Syllabus of Environmental Knowledge and Plants Ecology Lecture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Putra, A.; Rahmat, A.; Redjeki, S.

2017-09-01

This research aims to find out how much the content of sustainable development exist in the content of environmental knowledge and plant ecology courses. The focus indicators of sustainable development indicators is the environment. This research is a qualitative research type with qualitative descriptive approach. The analyzed variables are only 2 courses, which are environmental knowledge and plants ecology. The results showed that the syllabus contents analysis of environmental knowledge and plants ecology courses in private Lembaga Pendidikan Tenaga Kependidikan (LPTK) in the province of Nusa Tenggara Barat is already good enough and the sustainable development contents is very large, almost all syllabus contents has already prioritize the sustainable development load of both the subject of environmental knowledge and plants ecology, although there are still some syllabus contents that was not includes sustainable development load, but the percentage is quite small, especially in the course of Plant Ecology.

Development of an interdisciplinary pre-matriculation program designed to promote medical students’ self efficacy

PubMed Central

Kosobuski, Anna Wirta; Whitney, Abigail; Skildum, Andrew; Prunuske, Amy

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT Background and objectives: A four-week interdisciplinary pre-matriculation program for Native American and rural medical students was created and its impact on students’ transition to medical school was assessed. The program extends the goals of many pre-matriculation programs by aiming to increase not only students’ understanding of basic science knowledge, but also to build student self-efficacy through practice with medical school curricular elements while developing their academic support networks. Design: A mixed method evaluation was used to determine whether the goals of the program were achieved (n = 22). Student knowledge gains and retention of the microbiology content were assessed using a microbiology concept inventory. Students participated in focus groups to identify the benefits of participating in the program as well as the key components of the program that benefitted the students. Results: Program participants showed retention of microbiology content and increased confidence about the overall medical school experience after participating in the summer program. Conclusions: By nurturing self-efficacy, participation in a pre-matriculation program supported medical students from Native American and rural backgrounds during their transition to medical school. Abbreviations: CAIMH: Center of American Indian and Minority Health; MCAT: Medical College Admission Test; PBL: Problem based learning; UM MSD: University of Minnesota Medical School Duluth PMID:28178916

Building Information Management as a Tool for Managing Knowledge throughout whole Building Life Cycle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nývlt, Vladimír; Prušková, Kristýna

2017-10-01

BIM today is much more than drafting in 3D only, and project participants are further challenging, what is the topic of both this paper, and further research. Knowledge of objects, their behaviour, and other characteristics has high impact on whole building life cycle. Other structured and unstructured knowledge is rightfully added (e.g. historically based experience, needs and requirements of users, investors, needs for project and objects revisions) Grasping of all attributes into system for collection, managing and time control of knowledge. Further important findings lie in the necessity of understanding how to manage knowledge needs with diverse and variable ways, when BIM maturity levels are advanced, as defined by Bew and Richards (2008). All decisions made would always rely on good, timely, and correct data. Usage of BIM models in terms of Building Information Management can support all decisions through data gathering, sharing, and using across all disciplines and all Life Cycle steps. It particularly significantly improves possibilities and level of life cycle costing. Experience and knowledge stored in data models of BIM, describing user requirements, best practices derived from other projects and/or research outputs will help to understand sustainability in its complexity and wholeness.

Faculty-Resident "Co-learning": A Longitudinal Exploration of an Innovative Model for Faculty Development in Quality Improvement.

PubMed

Wong, Brian M; Goldman, Joanne; Goguen, Jeannette M; Base, Christian; Rotteau, Leahora; Van Melle, Elaine; Kuper, Ayelet; Shojania, Kaveh G

2017-08-01

To examine the effectiveness of co-learning, wherein faculty and trainees learn together, as a novel approach for building quality improvement (QI) faculty capacity. From July 2012 through September 2015, the authors conducted 30 semistructured interviews with 23 faculty participants from the Co-Learning QI Curriculum of the Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, and collected descriptive data on faculty participation and resident evaluations of teaching effectiveness. Interviewees were from 13 subspecialty residency programs at their institution. Of the 56 faculty participants, the Co-Learning QI Curriculum trained 29 faculty mentors, 14 of whom taught formally. Faculty leads with an academic QI role, many of whom had prior QI training, reinforced their QI knowledge while also developing QI mentorship and teaching skills. Co-learning elements that contributed to QI teaching skills development included seeing first how the QI content is taught, learning through project mentorship, building experience longitudinally over time, a graded transition toward independent teaching, and a supportive program lead. Faculty with limited QI experience reported improved QI knowledge, skills, and project facilitation but were ambivalent about assuming a teacher role. Unplanned outcomes for both groups included QI teaching outside of the curriculum, applying QI principles to other work, networking, and strengthening one's QI professional role. The Co-Learning QI Curriculum was effective in improving faculty QI knowledge and skills and increased faculty capacity to teach and mentor QI. Findings suggest that a combination of curriculum and contextual factors were critical to realizing the curriculum's full potential.

Can Cases Carry Pedagogical Content Knowledge? Yes, But We've Got Signs of a "Matthew Effect."

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kleinfeld, Judith

Teacher educators have come to appreciate that the teaching of difficult subjects combines knowledge of content and knowledge of generic teaching methods. A study was conducted, therefore, to explore the potential of cases to carry pedagogical content knowledge. A case was developed describing how an expert teacher goes about teaching…

Grammar-Supported 3d Indoor Reconstruction from Point Clouds for As-Built Bim

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Becker, S.; Peter, M.; Fritsch, D.

2015-03-01

The paper presents a grammar-based approach for the robust automatic reconstruction of 3D interiors from raw point clouds. The core of the approach is a 3D indoor grammar which is an extension of our previously published grammar concept for the modeling of 2D floor plans. The grammar allows for the modeling of buildings whose horizontal, continuous floors are traversed by hallways providing access to the rooms as it is the case for most office buildings or public buildings like schools, hospitals or hotels. The grammar is designed in such way that it can be embedded in an iterative automatic learning process providing a seamless transition from LOD3 to LOD4 building models. Starting from an initial low-level grammar, automatically derived from the window representations of an available LOD3 building model, hypotheses about indoor geometries can be generated. The hypothesized indoor geometries are checked against observation data - here 3D point clouds - collected in the interior of the building. The verified and accepted geometries form the basis for an automatic update of the initial grammar. By this, the knowledge content of the initial grammar is enriched, leading to a grammar with increased quality. This higher-level grammar can then be applied to predict realistic geometries to building parts where only sparse observation data are available. Thus, our approach allows for the robust generation of complete 3D indoor models whose quality can be improved continuously as soon as new observation data are fed into the grammar-based reconstruction process. The feasibility of our approach is demonstrated based on a real-world example.

Laboratory Earth Under the Lens: Diachronic Evaluation of an Integrated Graduate-Level On-Line Earth System Science Course Series for K-12 Educators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Low, R.; Gosselin, D. C.; Haney, C.; Larson-Miller, C.; Bonnstetter, R.; Mandryk, C.

2012-12-01

Educational research strives to identify the pedagogies that promote student learning. However, the body of research identifying the characteristics of effective teacher preparation is "least strong for science," and is largely based on studies of the effectiveness of individual courses or workshops (NRC 2010). The National Research Council's "Preparing Teachers: Building Evidence for Strong Policy," (2010) provides a mandate for teacher education providers to conduct research on program-scale effectiveness. The high priority research agenda identified by the NRC is expected to elicit understanding of the aspects of teacher preparation that critically impact classroom student learning outcomes. The Laboratory Lens project is designed to identify effective practices in a teacher education program, with specific reference to the content domain of Earth science. Now in its fifth year, the Masters of Applied Science (MAS) program at UNL offers a variety of science courses, ranging from entomology to food science. The six-course Lab Earth series serves as the backbone of the Specialization for Science Educators within the MAS program, and provides comprehensive content coverage of all Earth science topics identified in the AAAS Benchmarks. "How People Learn," (NRC 2009) emphasizes that expert knowledge includes not only factual knowledge, but also the well-developed conceptual framework critical to the ability to, "remember, reason, and solve problems." A focus of our research is to document the process by which the transition from novice to expert takes place in Lab Earth's on-line teacher participants. A feature of our research design is the standardization of evaluation instruments across the six courses. We have used data derived from implementation of the Community of Inquiry Survey (COI) in pilot offerings to ensure that the course sequence is effective in developing a community of learners, while developing their content knowledge. A pre- and post- course Wilcoxan Signed Ranks Test is included in the battery of assessments to ensure that the courses achieve a statistically significant increase in participants' beliefs about their personal science teaching efficacy. The research design also includes the analysis of concept maps and content mastery assignments to assist in documentation of a teacher's transition from mastery of novice to expert knowledge. Content-based, course-specific pre and post knowledge surveys are included in the battery of assessments. In the analysis of on-line discussions, the project employs a textual analysis technique outlined in "The Rhetoric of Social Intervention," (RSI) (Opt and Gring 2009). RSI provides a promising analytical framework, especially when examining the development of understanding of scientific topics with societal implications, such as sustainability and climate change. The session provides a description of the integrated research design and data collection and analysis in the first year of this project.

Providing English foreign language teachers with content knowledge to facilitate decoding and spelling acquisition: a longitudinal perspective.

PubMed

Kahn-Horwitz, Janina

2016-04-01

This quasi-experimental study adds to the small existing literature on orthographic-related teacher knowledge in an English as a foreign language (EFL) context. The study examined the impact of a course on English orthography on predominantly non-native-speaking EFL preservice and inservice teachers' orthographic content knowledge, and the extent to which these teachers retained orthographic-related content knowledge four months after participating in a semester course on the topic. In addition, the study examined the relationship between participants' acquired orthographic-related content knowledge and EFL spelling. Both groups of teachers that studied in the course improved on overall orthographic-related content knowledge, both immediately following the course and longitudinally. Preservice and inservice participants showed similar levels of orthographic knowledge prior to course participation and both showed significant improvements compared to controls following course participation. Participants also retained knowledge four months after course completion. Overall, the inservice teachers scored higher on orthographic-related knowledge, possibly as a result of the immediate application of their newly acquired knowledge. An unexpected finding was a lack of interaction between acquired orthographic-related content knowledge and pseudo word spelling scores. Possible methodological limitations, such as number of participants as well as the length and scope of the course, may explain this outcome. This paper also discusses practical implications of this study for EFL decoding and spelling instruction.

Software-engineering challenges of building and deploying reusable problem solvers.

PubMed

O'Connor, Martin J; Nyulas, Csongor; Tu, Samson; Buckeridge, David L; Okhmatovskaia, Anna; Musen, Mark A

2009-11-01

Problem solving methods (PSMs) are software components that represent and encode reusable algorithms. They can be combined with representations of domain knowledge to produce intelligent application systems. A goal of research on PSMs is to provide principled methods and tools for composing and reusing algorithms in knowledge-based systems. The ultimate objective is to produce libraries of methods that can be easily adapted for use in these systems. Despite the intuitive appeal of PSMs as conceptual building blocks, in practice, these goals are largely unmet. There are no widely available tools for building applications using PSMs and no public libraries of PSMs available for reuse. This paper analyzes some of the reasons for the lack of widespread adoptions of PSM techniques and illustrate our analysis by describing our experiences developing a complex, high-throughput software system based on PSM principles. We conclude that many fundamental principles in PSM research are useful for building knowledge-based systems. In particular, the task-method decomposition process, which provides a means for structuring knowledge-based tasks, is a powerful abstraction for building systems of analytic methods. However, despite the power of PSMs in the conceptual modeling of knowledge-based systems, software engineering challenges have been seriously underestimated. The complexity of integrating control knowledge modeled by developers using PSMs with the domain knowledge that they model using ontologies creates a barrier to widespread use of PSM-based systems. Nevertheless, the surge of recent interest in ontologies has led to the production of comprehensive domain ontologies and of robust ontology-authoring tools. These developments present new opportunities to leverage the PSM approach.

Software-engineering challenges of building and deploying reusable problem solvers

PubMed Central

O’CONNOR, MARTIN J.; NYULAS, CSONGOR; TU, SAMSON; BUCKERIDGE, DAVID L.; OKHMATOVSKAIA, ANNA; MUSEN, MARK A.

2012-01-01

Problem solving methods (PSMs) are software components that represent and encode reusable algorithms. They can be combined with representations of domain knowledge to produce intelligent application systems. A goal of research on PSMs is to provide principled methods and tools for composing and reusing algorithms in knowledge-based systems. The ultimate objective is to produce libraries of methods that can be easily adapted for use in these systems. Despite the intuitive appeal of PSMs as conceptual building blocks, in practice, these goals are largely unmet. There are no widely available tools for building applications using PSMs and no public libraries of PSMs available for reuse. This paper analyzes some of the reasons for the lack of widespread adoptions of PSM techniques and illustrate our analysis by describing our experiences developing a complex, high-throughput software system based on PSM principles. We conclude that many fundamental principles in PSM research are useful for building knowledge-based systems. In particular, the task–method decomposition process, which provides a means for structuring knowledge-based tasks, is a powerful abstraction for building systems of analytic methods. However, despite the power of PSMs in the conceptual modeling of knowledge-based systems, software engineering challenges have been seriously underestimated. The complexity of integrating control knowledge modeled by developers using PSMs with the domain knowledge that they model using ontologies creates a barrier to widespread use of PSM-based systems. Nevertheless, the surge of recent interest in ontologies has led to the production of comprehensive domain ontologies and of robust ontology-authoring tools. These developments present new opportunities to leverage the PSM approach. PMID:23565031

Improving Flood Risk Maps as a Capacity Building Activity: Fostering Public Participation and Raising Flood Risk Awareness in the German Mulde Region (project RISK MAP)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luther, J.; Meyer, V.; Kuhlicke, C.; Scheuer, S.; Unnerstall, H.

2012-04-01

The EU Floods Directive requires the establishment of flood risk maps for high risk areas in all EU Member States by 2013. However, if existing at all, the current practice of risk mapping still shows some deficits: Risk maps are often seen as an information tool rather than a communication tool. This means that e.g. important local knowledge is not incorporated and forms a contrast to the understanding of capacity building which calls for engaging individuals in the process of learning and adapting to change and for the establishment of a more interactive public administration that learns equally from its actions and from the feedback it receives. Furthermore, the contents of risk maps often do not match the requirements of the end users, so that risk maps are often designed and visualised in a way which cannot be easily understood by laypersons and/or which is not suitable for the respective needs of public authorities in risk and flood event management. The project RISK MAP aimed at improving flood risk maps as a means to foster public participation and raising flood risk awareness. For achieving this aim, RISK MAP (1) developed rules for appropriate stakeholder participation enabling the incorporation of local knowledge and preferences; (2) improved the content of risk maps by considering different risk criteria through the use of a deliberative multicriteria risk mapping tool; and (3) improved the visualisation of risk maps in order to produce user-friendly risk maps by applying the experimental graphic semiology (EGS) method that uses the eye tracking approach. The research was carried out in five European case studies where the status quo of risk mapping and the legal framework was analysed, several stakeholder interviews and workshops were conducted, the visual perception of risk maps was tested and - based on this empirical work - exemplary improved risk maps were produced. The presentation and paper will outline the main findings of the project which ended in September 2011, focussing on the participatory aspects in one of the German case studies (the Mulde River in Saxony). In short, different map users such as strategic planners, emergency managers or the (affected) public require different maps, with varying information density and complexity. The purpose of participation may therefore have a substantive rationale (i.e. improving the content, including local knowledge) or a more instrumental rationale (i.e. building trust, raising awareness, increasing legitimacy). The degree to which both rationales are accommodated depends on the project objectives and determines the participants and process type. In the Mulde case study, both the process of collaborating with each other and considering the (local) knowledge and different experiences as well as the results were highly appreciated. Hazard and risk maps are thus not an end-product that could be complemented e.g. by emergency management information on existing or planned defences, evacuation routes, assembly points, but they should be embedded into a participatory maintenance/updating framework. Map visualisation could be enhanced by using more common and/or self-explanatory symbols, text and a limited number of colour grades for hazard and risk information. Keywords: Flood mapping, hazard and risk maps, participation, risk communication, flood risk awareness, emergency management

Beginning History Teachers' Enactment of Pedagogical Content Knowledge through Content Decision-Making

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ellsworth, Tina M.

2017-01-01

Pedagogical Content Knowledge exists in some capacity in every teacher. It is more well-developed as the wisdom in practice informs it. In their capacity as curriculum gatekeepers, teachers enact their PCK as they decide which content to teach. But what knowledge is of most worth? How do teachers employ the structures unique to their disciplines…

Knowledge Growth in Teaching Mathematics/Science with Spreadsheets: Moving PCK to TPACK through Online Professional Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Niess, Margaret L.; van Zee, Emily H.; Gillow-Wiles, Henry

2011-01-01

Inservice teachers need ways to gain an integrated knowledge of content, pedagogy, and technologies that reflects new ways of teaching and learning in the 21st century. This interpretive study examined inservice K-8 teachers' growth in their pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) toward technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge (TPACK) in an online…

Science, Technology and Innovation as Social Goods for Development: Rethinking Research Capacity Building from Sen's Capabilities Approach.

PubMed

Mormina, Maru

2018-03-01

Science and technology are key to economic and social development, yet the capacity for scientific innovation remains globally unequally distributed. Although a priority for development cooperation, building or developing research capacity is often reduced in practice to promoting knowledge transfers, for example through North-South partnerships. Research capacity building/development tends to focus on developing scientists' technical competencies through training, without parallel investments to develop and sustain the socioeconomic and political structures that facilitate knowledge creation. This, the paper argues, significantly contributes to the scientific divide between developed and developing countries more than any skills shortage. Using Charles Taylor's concept of irreducibly social goods, the paper extends Sen's Capabilities Approach beyond its traditional focus on individual entitlements to present a view of scientific knowledge as a social good and the capability to produce it as a social capability. Expanding this capability requires going beyond current fragmented approaches to research capacity building to holistically strengthen the different social, political and economic structures that make up a nation's innovation system. This has implications for the interpretation of human rights instruments beyond their current focus on access to knowledge and for focusing science policy and global research partnerships to design approaches to capacity building/development beyond individual training/skills building.

Content Validity and Psychometric Characteristics of the "Knowledge about Older Patients Quiz" for Nurses Using Item Response Theory.

PubMed

Dikken, Jeroen; Hoogerduijn, Jita G; Kruitwagen, Cas; Schuurmans, Marieke J

2016-11-01

To assess the content validity and psychometric characteristics of the Knowledge about Older Patients Quiz (KOP-Q), which measures nurses' knowledge regarding older hospitalized adults and their certainty regarding this knowledge. Cross-sectional. Content validity: general hospitals. Psychometric characteristics: nursing school and general hospitals in the Netherlands. Content validity: 12 nurse specialists in geriatrics. Psychometric characteristics: 107 first-year and 78 final-year bachelor of nursing students, 148 registered nurses, and 20 nurse specialists in geriatrics. Content validity: The nurse specialists rated each item of the initial KOP-Q (52 items) on relevance. Ratings were used to calculate Item-Content Validity Index and average Scale-Content Validity Index (S-CVI/ave) scores. Items with insufficient content validity were removed. Psychometric characteristics: Ratings of students, nurses, and nurse specialists were used to test for different item functioning (DIF) and unidimensionality before item characteristics (discrimination and difficulty) were examined using Item Response Theory. Finally, norm references were calculated and nomological validity was assessed. Content validity: Forty-three items remained after assessing content validity (S-CVI/ave = 0.90). Psychometric characteristics: Of the 43 items, two demonstrating ceiling effects and 11 distorting ability estimates (DIF) were subsequently excluded. Item characteristics were assessed for the remaining 30 items, all of which demonstrated good discrimination and difficulty parameters. Knowledge was positively correlated with certainty about this knowledge. The final 30-item KOP-Q is a valid, psychometrically sound, comprehensive instrument that can be used to assess the knowledge of nursing students, hospital nurses, and nurse specialists in geriatrics regarding older hospitalized adults. It can identify knowledge and certainty deficits for research purposes or serve as a tool in educational or quality improvement programs. © 2016, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2016, The American Geriatrics Society.

Trabasa - Traditional Architecture Recorded by Means of Building Archaeology in Saudi Arabia: Workshop in Jeddah

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herbig, U.; Jäger-Klein, C.; Mayer, I.; Mortada, H.; Styhler-Aydın, G.

2013-07-01

Saudi Arabia has a rich architectural heritage that can be found in all regions of the vast country. Except for a small number of publications the recording and documentation of the traditional built environment was not content of detailed scientific investigations so far. But with the increasing decay of the architectural heritage the interest for this kind of research is rising. A mirror of this efforts is the National Built Heritage Forum, annual conference, launched in 2010 by his excellency Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA). In that frame Saudi universities are intensifying research and educational programs for the research of traditional architecture. In 2008 the Department of Architecture of the College of Environmental Design at the King Abdulaziz University established a cooperation with the Department of History of Architecture and Building Archaeology of the Vienna University of Technology with the aim to start an exchange of knowledge and experience in building archaeology and building survey. An important part of this cooperation was a workshop for staff and students in the historic centre of Jeddah. The aim was to train methods and techniques on typical examples in the old town of Jeddah, Al Balad. This paper is describing the layout of the workshop, the process of the work and examples of the results.

Blogs for neurosurgeons

PubMed Central

Pereira, Júlio Leonardo Barbosa; Kubben, Pieter L.; de Albuquerque, Lucas Alverne Freitas; de Carvalho, Gervásio Teles C.; de Sousa, Atos Alves

2012-01-01

Blogs are useful tools to research and to disseminate information. As they allow people who do not have specific knowledge on the building of sites to post content on the internet, they turned out to be very popular. In the past years, there has been a rapid expansion of blogs on several subjects and nowadays there are over 156 million blogs online. Neurosurgery was not out of this wave, and several blogs related to it can be found on the internet. The objective of this paper is to describe, in general, the functions of a blog and to provide initial guidance for the creation and the adequate use of neurosurgical blogs. Some interesting blogs and their features are also listed as examples. PMID:22754727

What Does the Future Hold for Scientific Journals? Visual Abstracts and Other Tools for Communicating Research.

PubMed

Nikolian, Vahagn C; Ibrahim, Andrew M

2017-09-01

Journals fill several important roles within academic medicine, including building knowledge, validating quality of methods, and communicating research. This section provides an overview of these roles and highlights innovative approaches journals have taken to enhance dissemination of research. As journals move away from print formats and embrace web-based content, design-centered thinking will allow for engagement of a larger audience. Examples of recent efforts in this realm are provided, as well as simplified strategies for developing visual abstracts to improve dissemination via social media. Finally, we hone in on principles of learning and education which have driven these advances in multimedia-based communication in scientific research.

A comparison of online versus on-site training in health research methodology: a randomized study.

PubMed

Aggarwal, Rakesh; Gupte, Nikhil; Kass, Nancy; Taylor, Holly; Ali, Joseph; Bhan, Anant; Aggarwal, Amita; Sisson, Stephen D; Kanchanaraksa, Sukon; McKenzie-White, Jane; McGready, John; Miotti, Paolo; Bollinger, Robert C

2011-06-17

Distance learning may be useful for building health research capacity. However, evidence that it can improve knowledge and skills in health research, particularly in resource-poor settings, is limited. We compared the impact and acceptability of teaching two distinct content areas, Biostatistics and Research Ethics, through either on-line distance learning format or traditional on-site training, in a randomized study in India. Our objective was to determine whether on-line courses in Biostatistics and Research Ethics could achieve similar improvements in knowledge, as traditional on-site, classroom-based courses. Volunteer Indian scientists were randomly assigned to one of two arms. Students in Arm 1 attended a 3.5-day on-site course in Biostatistics and completed a 3.5-week on-line course in Research Ethics. Students in Arm 2 attended a 3.5-week on-line course in Biostatistics and 3.5-day on-site course in Research Ethics. For the two course formats, learning objectives, course contents and knowledge tests were identical. Improvement in knowledge immediately and 3-months after course completion, compared to baseline. Baseline characteristics were similar in both arms (n = 29 each). Median knowledge score for Biostatistics increased from a baseline of 49% to 64% (p < 0.001) 3 months after the on-site course, and from 48% to 63% (p = 0.009) after the on-line course. For the on-site Research Ethics course, median score increased from 69% to 83% (p = 0.005), and for the on-line Research Ethics course from 62% to 80% (p < 0.001). Three months after the course, median gains in knowledge scores remained similar for the on-site and on-line platforms for both Biostatistics (16% vs. 12%; p = 0.59) and Research Ethics (17% vs. 13%; p = 0.14). On-line and on-site training formats led to marked and similar improvements of knowledge in Biostatistics and Research Ethics. This, combined with logistical and cost advantages of on-line training, may make on-line courses particularly useful for expanding health research capacity in resource-limited settings.

Developing effective web-based regional anesthesia education: a randomized study evaluating case-based versus non-case-based module design.

PubMed

Kopp, Sandra L; Smith, Hugh M

2011-01-01

Little is known about the use of Web-based education in regional anesthesia training. Benefits of Web-based education include the ability to standardize learning material quality and content, build appropriate learning progressions, use interactive multimedia technologies, and individualize delivery of course materials. The goals of this investigation were (1) to determine whether module design influences regional anesthesia knowledge acquisition, (2) to characterize learner preference patterns among anesthesia residents, and (3) to determine whether learner preferences play a role in knowledge acquisition. Direct comparison of knowledge assessments, learning styles, and learner preferences will be made between an interactive case-based and a traditional textbook-style module design. Forty-three Mayo Clinic anesthesiology residents completed 2 online modules, a knowledge pretest, posttest, an Index of Learning Styles assessment, and a participant satisfaction survey. Interscalene and lumbar plexus regional techniques were selected as the learning content for 4 Web modules constructed using the Blackboard Vista coursework application. One traditional textbook-style module and 1 interactive case-based module were designed for each of the interscalene and lumbar plexus techniques. Participants scored higher on the postmodule knowledge assessment for both of the interscalene and lumbar plexus modules. Postmodule knowledge performance scores were independent of both module design (interactive case-based versus traditional textbook style) and learning style preferences. However, nearly all participants reported a preference for Web-based learning and believe that it should be used in anesthesia resident education. Participants did not feel that Web-base learning should replace the current lecture-based curriculum. All residents scored higher on the postmodule knowledge assessment, but this improvement was independent of the module design and individual learning styles. Although residents believe that online learning should be used in anesthesia training, the results of this study do not demonstrate improved learning or justify the time and expense of developing complex case-based training modules. While there may be practical benefits of Web-based education, educators in regional anesthesia should be cautious about developing curricula based on learner preference data.

Event-related potentials in response to violations of content and temporal event knowledge.

PubMed

Drummer, Janna; van der Meer, Elke; Schaadt, Gesa

2016-01-08

Scripts that store knowledge of everyday events are fundamentally important for managing daily routines. Content event knowledge (i.e., knowledge about which events belong to a script) and temporal event knowledge (i.e., knowledge about the chronological order of events in a script) constitute qualitatively different forms of knowledge. However, there is limited information about each distinct process and the time course involved in accessing content and temporal event knowledge. Therefore, we analyzed event-related potentials (ERPs) in response to either correctly presented event sequences or event sequences that contained a content or temporal error. We found an N400, which was followed by a posteriorly distributed P600 in response to content errors in event sequences. By contrast, we did not find an N400 but an anteriorly distributed P600 in response to temporal errors in event sequences. Thus, the N400 seems to be elicited as a response to a general mismatch between an event and the established event model. We assume that the expectancy violation of content event knowledge, as indicated by the N400, induces the collapse of the established event model, a process indicated by the posterior P600. The expectancy violation of temporal event knowledge is assumed to induce an attempt to reorganize the event model in working memory, a process indicated by the frontal P600. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Implementing Elementary School Next Generation Science Standards

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kennedy, Katheryn B.

Implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards requires developing elementary teacher content and pedagogical content knowledge of science and engineering concepts. Teacher preparation for this undertaking appears inadequate with little known about how in-service Mid-Atlantic urban elementary science teachers approach this task. The purpose of this basic qualitative interview study was to explore the research questions related to perceived learning needs of 8 elementary science teachers and 5 of their administrators serving as instructional leaders. Strategies needed for professional growth to support learning and barriers that hamper it at both building and district levels were included. These questions were considered through the lens of Schon's reflective learning and Weick's sensemaking theories. Analysis with provisional and open coding strategies identified informal and formal supports and barriers to teachers' learning. Results indicated that informal supports, primarily internet usage, emerged as most valuable to the teachers' learning. Formal structures, including professional learning communities and grade level meetings, arose as both supportive and restrictive at the building and district levels. Existing formal supports emerged as the least useful because of the dominance of other priorities competing for time and resources. Addressing weaknesses within formal supports through more effective planning in professional development can promote positive change. Improvement to professional development approaches using the internet and increased hands on activities can be integrated into formal supports. Explicit attention to these strategies can strengthen teacher effectiveness bringing positive social change.

One-dimensional scanning of moisture in heated porous building materials with NMR.

PubMed

van der Heijden, G H A; Huinink, H P; Pel, L; Kopinga, K

2011-02-01

In this paper we present a new dedicated NMR setup which is capable of measuring one-dimensional moisture profiles in heated porous materials. The setup, which is placed in the bore of a 1.5 T whole-body scanner, is capable of reaching temperatures up to 500 °C. Moisture and temperature profiles can be measured quasi simultaneously with a typical time resolution of 2-5 min. A methodology is introduced for correcting temperature effects on NMR measurements at these elevated temperatures. The corrections are based on the Curie law for paramagnetism and the observed temperature dependence of the relaxation mechanisms occurring in porous materials. Both these corrections are used to obtain a moisture content profile from the raw NMR signal profile. To illustrate the methodology, a one-sided heating experiment of concrete with a moisture content in equilibrium with 97% RH is presented. This kind of heating experiment is of particular interest in the research on fire spalling of concrete, since it directly reveals the moisture and heat transport occurring inside the concrete. The obtained moisture profiles reveal a moisture peak building up behind the boiling front, resulting in a saturated layer. To our knowledge the direct proof of the formation of a moisture peak and subsequent moisture clogging has not been reported before. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Threshold Model of Content Knowledge Transfer for Socioscientific Argumentation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sadler, Troy D.; Fowler, Samantha R.

2006-01-01

This study explores how individuals make use of scientific content knowledge for socioscientific argumentation. More specifically, this mixed-methods study investigates how learners apply genetics content knowledge as they justify claims relative to genetic engineering. Interviews are conducted with 45 participants, representing three distinct…

Analysis of Relationships between Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge and Educational Internet Use

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sahin, Ismail; Celik, Ismail; Akturk, Ahmet Oguz; Aydin, Mustafa

2013-01-01

This study analyzes the relationships between preservice teachers' technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) and their self-efficacy beliefs in educational Internet use. Findings show statistically significant relationships among the knowledge domains in technology, pedagogy, content, and their intersections. Also, results from the…

Adapting Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Framework to Teach Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Getenet, Seyum Tekeher

2017-01-01

The technological pedagogical content knowledge framework is increasingly in use by educational technology researcher as a generic description of the knowledge requirements for teachers using technology in all subjects. This study describes the development of a mathematics specific variety of the technological pedagogical content knowledge…

Machine learning research 1989-90

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Porter, Bruce W.; Souther, Arthur

1990-01-01

Multifunctional knowledge bases offer a significant advance in artificial intelligence because they can support numerous expert tasks within a domain. As a result they amortize the costs of building a knowledge base over multiple expert systems and they reduce the brittleness of each system. Due to the inevitable size and complexity of multifunctional knowledge bases, their construction and maintenance require knowledge engineering and acquisition tools that can automatically identify interactions between new and existing knowledge. Furthermore, their use requires software for accessing those portions of the knowledge base that coherently answer questions. Considerable progress was made in developing software for building and accessing multifunctional knowledge bases. A language was developed for representing knowledge, along with software tools for editing and displaying knowledge, a machine learning program for integrating new information into existing knowledge, and a question answering system for accessing the knowledge base.

Knowledge Gateways: The Building Blocks.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hawkins, Donald T.; And Others

1988-01-01

Discusses the need for knowledge gateway systems to provide access to scattered information and the use of technologies in gateway building, including artificial intelligence and expert systems, networking, online retrieval systems, optical storage, and natural language processing. The status of four existing gateways is described. (20 references)…

Building Capacity of Occupational Therapy Practitioners to Address the Mental Health Needs of Children and Youth: A Mixed-Methods Study of Knowledge Translation.

PubMed

Bazyk, Susan; Demirjian, Louise; LaGuardia, Teri; Thompson-Repas, Karen; Conway, Carol; Michaud, Paula

2015-01-01

We explored the meaning and outcomes of a 6-mo building capacity process designed to promote knowledge translation of a public health approach to mental health among pediatric occupational therapy practitioners participating in a Community of Practice. A one-group (N = 117) mixed-methods design using a pretest-posttest survey and qualitative analysis of written reflections was used to explore the meaning and outcomes of the building capacity process. Statistically significant improvements (p < .02) in pretest-posttest scores of knowledge, beliefs, and actions related to a public health approach to mental health were found. Qualitative findings suggest that participation resulted in a renewed commitment to addressing children's mental health. The building capacity process expanded practitioner knowledge, renewed energy, and promoted confidence, resulting in change leaders empowered to articulate, advocate for, and implement practice changes reflecting occupational therapy's role in addressing children's mental health. Copyright © 2015 by the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.

Building Capacity of Occupational Therapy Practitioners to Address the Mental Health Needs of Children and Youth: A Mixed-Methods Study of Knowledge Translation

PubMed Central

Demirjian, Louise; LaGuardia, Teri; Thompson-Repas, Karen; Conway, Carol; Michaud, Paula

2015-01-01

PURPOSE. We explored the meaning and outcomes of a 6-mo building capacity process designed to promote knowledge translation of a public health approach to mental health among pediatric occupational therapy practitioners participating in a Community of Practice. METHOD. A one-group (N = 117) mixed-methods design using a pretest–posttest survey and qualitative analysis of written reflections was used to explore the meaning and outcomes of the building capacity process. RESULTS. Statistically significant improvements (p < .02) in pretest–posttest scores of knowledge, beliefs, and actions related to a public health approach to mental health were found. Qualitative findings suggest that participation resulted in a renewed commitment to addressing children’s mental health. CONCLUSION. The building capacity process expanded practitioner knowledge, renewed energy, and promoted confidence, resulting in change leaders empowered to articulate, advocate for, and implement practice changes reflecting occupational therapy’s role in addressing children’s mental health. PMID:26565099

Teacher Subject Matter Knowledge of Number Sense

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Briand-Newman, Hannah; Wong, Monica; Evans, David

2012-01-01

Pedagogical content knowledge has been widely acknowledged by researchers and practitioners as a significant factor for improving student knowledge, understanding and achievement. Recently, the knowledge teachers need for teaching has expanded to include teacher horizon content knowledge, "an awareness of how mathematical topics are related…

The Interaction of Knowledge and Text Structure on the Ability to Identify Main Ideas in Texts. Content Knowledge and Reading Comprehension.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Day, Jeanne D.; Engelhardt, Jean

Two studies examined how the factors of content-relevant knowledge and text organization influence students' abilities to study and to remember text information. The first experiment examined the effect of prior content knowledge on students' ability to identify important information in the text. Forty 7th- and forty 11th-grade students, experts…

Effectiveness of a Curricular and Professional Development Intervention at Improving Elementary Teachers' Science Content Knowledge and Student Achievement Outcomes: Year 1 Results

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Diamond, Brandon S.; Maerten-Rivera, Jaime; Rohrer, Rose Elizabeth; Lee, Okhee

2014-01-01

Teacher knowledge of science content is an important but under-studied construct. A curricular and professional development intervention consisting of a fifth grade science curriculum, teacher workshops, and school site support was studied to determine its effect on teachers' science content knowledge as measured by a science knowledge test,…

Prompted Journal Writing Supports Preservice History Teachers in Drawing on Multiple Knowledge Domains for Designing Learning Tasks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wäschle, Kristin; Lehmann, Thomas; Brauch, Nicola; Nückles, Matthias

2015-01-01

Becoming a history teacher requires the integration of pedagogical knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and content knowledge. Because the integration of knowledge from different disciplines is a complex task, we investigated prompted learning journals as a method to support teacher students' knowledge integration. Fifty-two preservice…

An Educational Multimedia Presentation on the Introduction to Spacecraft Charging

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lin, E.; dePayrebrune, M.

2004-01-01

Over the last few decades, significant knowledge has been gained in how to protect spacecraft from charging; however, the continuing technical advancement in the design and build of satellites requires on-going effort in the study of spacecraft charging. A situation that we have encountered is that not all satellite designers and builders are familiar with the problem of spacecraft charging. The design of a satellite involves many talented people with diverse backgrounds, ranging from manufacturing and assembly to engineering and program management. The complex design and build of a satellite system requires people with highly specialized skills such that cross-specialization is often not achievable. As a result, designers and builders of satellites are not usually familiar with the problems outside their specialization. This is also true for spacecraft charging. Not everyone is familiar with the definition of spacecraft charging and the damage that spacecraft charging can cause. Understanding the problem is an important first step in getting everyone involved in addressing the appropriate spacecraft charging issues during the satellite design and build phases. To address this important first step, an educational multimedia presentation has been created to inform the general engineering community about the basics of spacecraft charging. The content of this educational presentation is based on relevant published technical papers. The presentation was developed using Macromedia Flash. This software produces a more dynamic learning environment than a typical slide show , resulting in a more effective learning experience. The end result is that the viewer will have learned about the basics of spacecraft charging. This presentation is available to the public through our website, www.dplscience.com, free of charge. Viewers are encouraged to pass this presentation to colleagues within their own work environment. This paper describes the content of the multimedia presentation.

Building on prior knowledge without building it in.

PubMed

Hansen, Steven S; Lampinen, Andrew K; Suri, Gaurav; McClelland, James L

2017-01-01

Lake et al. propose that people rely on "start-up software," "causal models," and "intuitive theories" built using compositional representations to learn new tasks more efficiently than some deep neural network models. We highlight the many drawbacks of a commitment to compositional representations and describe our continuing effort to explore how the ability to build on prior knowledge and to learn new tasks efficiently could arise through learning in deep neural networks.

Effect of Moisture Content on Thermal Properties of Porous Building Materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kočí, Václav; Vejmelková, Eva; Čáchová, Monika; Koňáková, Dana; Keppert, Martin; Maděra, Jiří; Černý, Robert

2017-02-01

The thermal conductivity and specific heat capacity of characteristic types of porous building materials are determined in the whole range of moisture content from dry to fully water-saturated state. A transient pulse technique is used in the experiments, in order to avoid the influence of moisture transport on measured data. The investigated specimens include cement composites, ceramics, plasters, and thermal insulation boards. The effect of moisture-induced changes in thermal conductivity and specific heat capacity on the energy performance of selected building envelopes containing the studied materials is then analyzed using computational modeling of coupled heat and moisture transport. The results show an increased moisture content as a substantial negative factor affecting both thermal properties of materials and energy balance of envelopes, which underlines the necessity to use moisture-dependent thermal parameters of building materials in energy-related calculations.

Who is who in litter decomposition? Metaproteomics reveals major microbial players and their biogeochemical functions

PubMed Central

Schneider, Thomas; Keiblinger, Katharina M; Schmid, Emanuel; Sterflinger-Gleixner, Katja; Ellersdorfer, Günther; Roschitzki, Bernd; Richter, Andreas; Eberl, Leo; Zechmeister-Boltenstern, Sophie; Riedel, Kathrin

2012-01-01

Leaf-litter decomposition is a central process in carbon cycling; however, our knowledge about the microbial regulation of this process is still scarce. Metaproteomics allows us to link the abundance and activity of enzymes during nutrient cycling to their phylogenetic origin based on proteins, the ‘active building blocks' in the system. Moreover, we employed metaproteomics to investigate the influence of environmental factors and nutrients on the decomposer structure and function during beech litter decomposition. Litter was collected at forest sites in Austria with different litter nutrient content. Proteins were analyzed by 1-D-SDS-PAGE followed by liquid-chromatography and tandem mass-spectrometry. Mass spectra were assigned to phylogenetic and functional groups by a newly developed bioinformatics workflow, assignments being validated by complementary approaches. We provide evidence that the litter nutrient content and the stoichiometry of C:N:P affect the decomposer community structure and activity. Fungi were found to be the main producers of extracellular hydrolytic enzymes, with no bacterial hydrolases being detected by our metaproteomics approach. Detailed investigation of microbial succession suggests that it is influenced by litter nutrient content. Microbial activity was stimulated at higher litter nutrient contents via a higher abundance and activity of extracellular enzymes. PMID:22402400

New approach for cognitive analysis and understanding of medical patterns and visualizations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ogiela, Marek R.; Tadeusiewicz, Ryszard

2003-11-01

This paper presents new opportunities for applying linguistic description of the picture merit content and AI methods to undertake tasks of the automatic understanding of images semantics in intelligent medical information systems. A successful obtaining of the crucial semantic content of the medical image may contribute considerably to the creation of new intelligent multimedia cognitive medical systems. Thanks to the new idea of cognitive resonance between stream of the data extracted from the image using linguistic methods and expectations taken from the representaion of the medical knowledge, it is possible to understand the merit content of the image even if teh form of the image is very different from any known pattern. This article proves that structural techniques of artificial intelligence may be applied in the case of tasks related to automatic classification and machine perception based on semantic pattern content in order to determine the semantic meaning of the patterns. In the paper are described some examples presenting ways of applying such techniques in the creation of cognitive vision systems for selected classes of medical images. On the base of scientific research described in the paper we try to build some new systems for collecting, storing, retrieving and intelligent interpreting selected medical images especially obtained in radiological and MRI examinations.

A neotropical Miocene pollen database employing image-based search and semantic modeling1

PubMed Central

Han, Jing Ginger; Cao, Hongfei; Barb, Adrian; Punyasena, Surangi W.; Jaramillo, Carlos; Shyu, Chi-Ren

2014-01-01

• Premise of the study: Digital microscopic pollen images are being generated with increasing speed and volume, producing opportunities to develop new computational methods that increase the consistency and efficiency of pollen analysis and provide the palynological community a computational framework for information sharing and knowledge transfer. • Methods: Mathematical methods were used to assign trait semantics (abstract morphological representations) of the images of neotropical Miocene pollen and spores. Advanced database-indexing structures were built to compare and retrieve similar images based on their visual content. A Web-based system was developed to provide novel tools for automatic trait semantic annotation and image retrieval by trait semantics and visual content. • Results: Mathematical models that map visual features to trait semantics can be used to annotate images with morphology semantics and to search image databases with improved reliability and productivity. Images can also be searched by visual content, providing users with customized emphases on traits such as color, shape, and texture. • Discussion: Content- and semantic-based image searches provide a powerful computational platform for pollen and spore identification. The infrastructure outlined provides a framework for building a community-wide palynological resource, streamlining the process of manual identification, analysis, and species discovery. PMID:25202648

Preservice Agricultural Education Teachers' Experiences in and Anticipation of Content Knowledge Preparation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rice, Amber H.; Kitchel, Tracy

2015-01-01

This study explored the experiences of preservice agriculture teachers in content knowledge preparation for pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) development. The researchers employed a phenomenological approach in which six preservice teachers were interviewed the semester prior to student teaching. The researchers found there was general…

Deconstructing Content Knowledge: Coping Strategies and Their Underlying Influencers for Beginning Agriculture Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rice, Amber H.; Kitchel, Tracy

2016-01-01

The purpose of this grounded theory qualitative study was to explore how beginning agriculture teachers break down content knowledge for student understanding. The overarching theme that emerged during data collection and analysis was beginning teachers' self-perceived content knowledge deficiency in various subjects within agriculture. This…

Pre-Service Teachers' Perceptions and Beliefs of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge on Algebra

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lin, Cheng-Yao; Kuo, Yu-Chun; Ko, Yi-Yin

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate elementary pre-service teachers' content knowledge in algebra (Linear Equation, Quadratic Equation, Functions, System Equations and Polynomials) as well as their technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) in teaching algebra. Participants were 79 undergraduate pre-service teachers who were…

Determination of Technopedagogical Content Knowledge Competencies of Preservice Physical Education Teachers: A Turkish Sample

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arslan, Yunus

2015-01-01

This study examined preservice physical education teachers' (PPETs') technopedagogical content knowledge (TPCK) competencies. The participants were 1028 PPETs from 26 major universities representing all seven geographical regions of Turkey. The Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Deep-Scale developed by Kabakci Yurdakul et al. (2012) was…

Preservice Elementary Teachers' Mathematics Content Knowledge and Teacher Efficacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Newton, Kristie Jones; Leonard, Jacqueline; Evans, Brian R.; Eastburn, Julie A.

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between mathematics content knowledge and teacher efficacy during an elementary mathematics methods course. A positive moderate relationship between content knowledge and personal teaching efficacy was found, and this relationship was stable during the course. No relationship was found…

Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge -- A Review of the Literature

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Voogt, J.; Fisser, P.; Roblin, N. Pareja; Tondeur, J.; van Braak, J.

2013-01-01

Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) has been introduced as a conceptual framework for the knowledge base teachers need to effectively teach with technology. The framework stems from the notion that technology integration in a specific educational context benefits from a careful alignment of content, pedagogy and the potential of…

Crawling The Web for Libre: Selecting, Integrating, Extending and Releasing Open Source Software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Truslove, I.; Duerr, R. E.; Wilcox, H.; Savoie, M.; Lopez, L.; Brandt, M.

2012-12-01

Libre is a project developed by the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). Libre is devoted to liberating science data from its traditional constraints of publication, location, and findability. Libre embraces and builds on the notion of making knowledge freely available, and both Creative Commons licensed content and Open Source Software are crucial building blocks for, as well as required deliverable outcomes of the project. One important aspect of the Libre project is to discover cryospheric data published on the internet without prior knowledge of the location or even existence of that data. Inspired by well-known search engines and their underlying web crawling technologies, Libre has explored tools and technologies required to build a search engine tailored to allow users to easily discover geospatial data related to the polar regions. After careful consideration, the Libre team decided to base its web crawling work on the Apache Nutch project (http://nutch.apache.org). Nutch is "an open source web-search software project" written in Java, with good documentation, a significant user base, and an active development community. Nutch was installed and configured to search for the types of data of interest, and the team created plugins to customize the default Nutch behavior to better find and categorize these data feeds. This presentation recounts the Libre team's experiences selecting, using, and extending Nutch, and working with the Nutch user and developer community. We will outline the technical and organizational challenges faced in order to release the project's software as Open Source, and detail the steps actually taken. We distill these experiences into a set of heuristics and recommendations for using, contributing to, and releasing Open Source Software.

Preservice Teachers' Professional Knowledge and Its Relation to Academic Self-Concept

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paulick, Isabell; Großschedl, Jörg; Harms, Ute; Möller, Jens

2016-01-01

We investigated the factorial structure of preservice teachers' academic self-concept with regard to three domains of professional knowledge (content knowledge [CK], pedagogical content knowledge [PCK], and pedagogical/psychological knowledge [PPK]). We also analyzed the relation between preservice teachers' academic self-concept and their…

A Practical Guide for Building a Digital Library: User-Focused Collection

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhu, Qin; Guevara, Sophia

2009-01-01

With changing user expectations, many libraries are moving toward digital content. Accessible from anywhere at any time, digital content provides users with efficient, on-demand information experiences. Accordingly, librarians are presented with challenges and opportunities to build, manage, and implement outreach strategies that promote their…

Knowledge Building in Asynchronous Discussion Groups: Going Beyond Quantitative Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schrire, Sarah

2006-01-01

This contribution examines the methodological challenges involved in defining the collaborative knowledge-building processes occurring in asynchronous discussion and proposes an approach that could advance understanding of these processes. The written protocols that are available to the analyst provide an exact record of the instructional…

GO FASTER: Building Morpheme Fluency

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fishley, Katelyn M.; Konrad, Moira; Hessler, Terri

2017-01-01

Vocabulary knowledge is an important foundation skill for reading across all subject areas. Because students with disabilities lag behind their peers in reading skills, there is a need for efficient and effective vocabulary interventions. Focusing on morpheme knowledge is one efficient approach to building vocabulary. This article describes an…

Science education reform in an elementary school: An investigation of collaboration and inquiry in a school with an emphasis on language arts and fine arts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martini, Mariana

This investigation was framed within the science education reform, which proposes to change the way science is taught and promotes the implementation of inquiry-based teaching approaches. The implementation of inquiry science teaching represents a move away from traditional didactic teaching styles, a transition that requires change in the assumptions underlying the philosophy of traditional science instruction. Another theme in the reform literature is the establishment of collaboration between teachers and researchers or scientists as a way to implement reform practices. Situated within this reform climate, this research aimed to investigate science education at an elementary school with a history of implementing reform ideas in the areas of language arts and fine arts. I employed an ethnographic methodology to examine the nature of a teacher-researcher relationship in the context of the school's culture and teachers' practices. The findings indicate that change was not pervasive. Reform ideas were implemented only in the areas of language arts and fine arts. Situated within a district that promoted an accountability climate, the school disregarded science education and opposed the use of constructivist-based pedagogies, and did not have a strong science program. Since science was not tested, teachers spent little (if any) time teaching science. All participants firmly perceived the existence of several barriers to the implementation of inquiry: (a) lack of time: teachers spent excessive time to prepare students for tests, (b) nature of science teaching: materials and set preparation, (c) lack of content knowledge, (d) lack of pedagogical content knowledge, and (e) lack of opportunities to develop professional knowledge. In spite of the barriers, the school had two assets: an outdoor facility and two enthusiastic teachers who were lead science teachers, in spite of the their lack of content and pedagogical science knowledge. Collaboration between the researcher and each teacher was developmental. Defining who we are and how we approach the work ahead played an important part in the relationship. It took time to build trust and change the modus operandi from a cooperation to a collaboration project. Despite the constraints faced, collaboration had a positive effect on us.

Document Exploration and Automatic Knowledge Extraction for Unstructured Biomedical Text

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chu, S.; Totaro, G.; Doshi, N.; Thapar, S.; Mattmann, C. A.; Ramirez, P.

2015-12-01

We describe our work on building a web-browser based document reader with built-in exploration tool and automatic concept extraction of medical entities for biomedical text. Vast amounts of biomedical information are offered in unstructured text form through scientific publications and R&D reports. Utilizing text mining can help us to mine information and extract relevant knowledge from a plethora of biomedical text. The ability to employ such technologies to aid researchers in coping with information overload is greatly desirable. In recent years, there has been an increased interest in automatic biomedical concept extraction [1, 2] and intelligent PDF reader tools with the ability to search on content and find related articles [3]. Such reader tools are typically desktop applications and are limited to specific platforms. Our goal is to provide researchers with a simple tool to aid them in finding, reading, and exploring documents. Thus, we propose a web-based document explorer, which we called Shangri-Docs, which combines a document reader with automatic concept extraction and highlighting of relevant terms. Shangri-Docsalso provides the ability to evaluate a wide variety of document formats (e.g. PDF, Words, PPT, text, etc.) and to exploit the linked nature of the Web and personal content by performing searches on content from public sites (e.g. Wikipedia, PubMed) and private cataloged databases simultaneously. Shangri-Docsutilizes Apache cTAKES (clinical Text Analysis and Knowledge Extraction System) [4] and Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) to automatically identify and highlight terms and concepts, such as specific symptoms, diseases, drugs, and anatomical sites, mentioned in the text. cTAKES was originally designed specially to extract information from clinical medical records. Our investigation leads us to extend the automatic knowledge extraction process of cTAKES for biomedical research domain by improving the ontology guided information extraction process. We will describe our experience and implementation of our system and share lessons learned from our development. We will also discuss ways in which this could be adapted to other science fields. [1] Funk et al., 2014. [2] Kang et al., 2014. [3] Utopia Documents, http://utopiadocs.com [4] Apache cTAKES, http://ctakes.apache.org

A theory-based model of translation practices in public health participatory research.

PubMed

Clavier, Carole; Sénéchal, Yan; Vibert, Stéphane; Potvin, Louise

2012-06-01

This article explores the innovative practices of actors specifically mandated to support interactions between academic researchers and their partners from the community during public health participatory research. Drawing on the concept of translation as developed in actor-network theory and found in the literature on knowledge transfer and the sociology of intermediate actors, we build a theory-based model of the translation practices developed by these actors at the interface between community and university. We refine this model by using it to analyse material from two focus groups comprising participants purposively selected because they work at the nexus between research and practice. Our model of translation practices includes cognitive (dealing with the contents of the research), strategic (geared to facilitating the research process and balancing power relationships among the partners) and logistic practices (the hands-on tasks of coordination). Combined, these three types of translation practices demonstrate that actors working at the interface in participatory research contribute to multidirectional exchanges and the co-construction of knowledge among research partners. Beyond the case of participatory research, theorising translation practices helps understand how knowledge is produced at the interface between academic and experiential (or lay) knowledge. © 2011 The Authors. Sociology of Health & Illness © 2011 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness/Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Developing Domain Ontologies for Course Content

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boyce, Sinead; Pahl, Claus

2007-01-01

Ontologies have the potential to play an important role in instructional design and the development of course content. They can be used to represent knowledge about content, supporting instructors in creating content or learners in accessing content in a knowledge-guided way. While ontologies exist for many subject domains, their quality and…

Teacher leadership in mathematics and science: Subject content knowledge and the improvement of instruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manno, Christopher M.

This study explores the role of teacher leader subject content knowledge in the promotion of professional development and instructional reform. Consistent with a distributed leadership perspective, many have asserted that the promotion of school effectiveness can be enhanced through the application of teacher leadership (Frost & Durrant, 2003; Harris, 2002a; Sherrill, 1999; Silva, Gimbert, & Nolan, 2000; York-Barr & Duke, 2004). There has been much discussion in the research about the significance of teachers' subject content knowledge in teaching and learning which has generally asserted a positive relationship with instructional practice and student achievement (Darling-Hammond, 2000; Newton & Newton, 2001; Parker & Heywood, 2000). The role of content knowledge in teacher leader work has been less researched. This study focused on deepening understanding of perceptions regarding teacher leaders' roles in improving instructional practice. Based on a framework of common teacher leader tasks, qualitative methods were used to investigate the relationship between teacher leader subject content knowledge and perceptions of effectiveness in promoting professional development and instructional reform. The study indicates that content experts behave differently than their non-expert counterparts. Content experts recognize deficiencies in colleagues' content knowledge as a primary problem in the implementation of math or science reform. Content experts view their work as advocacy for improved curriculum and instruction for all children, and work within a small set of task categories to promote discussions about teaching, learning, and content. Content experts develop trust and rapport with colleagues by demonstrating expertise, and are respected for their deep knowledge and efforts to help teachers learn the content. They also differ from non-content experts in the professional growth experiences in which they engage. The consideration of content expertise as an influence to teacher leader work helps to refine our conception of teacher leadership. A task-focused model of content expert teacher leadership is presented, and provides guidance for recruitment, selection, and development of future teacher leaders. Content expertise is presented as a form of human capital that promotes task-focused distributed leadership. Practical recommendations for future teacher leadership initiatives and suggestions for future research are presented.

The Power of Online Community and Citizen Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cook, J.; Nuccitelli, D. A.; Winkler, B.; Cowtan, K.; Brimelow, J.

2012-12-01

The Internet offers innovative and creative means of disseminating content. But where the Internet comes into its own is in the non-linear power of community. Not only can communicators interact directly with their audience, more importantly, the audience can network with each other. This enables publishers to build communities rallied around common topics of interest. Online communities lead to exciting opportunities such as citizen science where communities crowd-source the collection or analysis of data. Skeptical Science is a case study in the development of a volunteer community that produces regular content developed within an internal review system that ensures a high level of accuracy and quality. The community also engages with the peer-reviewed literature, submitting responses to peer-reviewed papers, collecting meta-data used in other scientific research and conducting the largest ever survey of climate papers. Thus this online community both contributes to the outreach effort of climate communication and also seeks to add to the body of scientific knowledge.

Contextual Teaching and Learning Approach of Mathematics in Primary Schools

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Selvianiresa, D.; Prabawanto, S.

2017-09-01

The Contextual Teaching and Learning (CTL) approach is an approach involving active students in the learning process to discover the concepts learned through to knowledge and experience of the students. Similar to Piaget’s opinion that learning gives students an actives trying to do new things by relating their experiences and building their own minds. When students to connecting mathematics with real life, then students can looking between a conceptual to be learned with a concept that has been studied. So that, students can developing of mathematical connection ability. This research is quasi experiment with a primary school in the city of Kuningan. The result showed that CTL learning can be successful, when learning used a collaborative interaction with students, a high level of activity in the lesson, a connection to real-world contexts, and an integration of science content with other content and skill areas. Therefore, CTL learning can be applied by techer to mathematics learning in primary schools.

Amino Acid compositions of 27 food fishes and their importance in clinical nutrition.

PubMed

Mohanty, Bimal; Mahanty, Arabinda; Ganguly, Satabdi; Sankar, T V; Chakraborty, Kajal; Rangasamy, Anandan; Paul, Baidyanath; Sarma, Debajit; Mathew, Suseela; Asha, Kurukkan Kunnath; Behera, Bijay; Aftabuddin, Md; Debnath, Dipesh; Vijayagopal, P; Sridhar, N; Akhtar, M S; Sahi, Neetu; Mitra, Tandrima; Banerjee, Sudeshna; Paria, Prasenjit; Das, Debajeet; Das, Pushpita; Vijayan, K K; Laxmanan, P T; Sharma, A P

2014-01-01

Proteins and amino acids are important biomolecules which regulate key metabolic pathways and serve as precursors for synthesis of biologically important substances; moreover, amino acids are building blocks of proteins. Fish is an important dietary source of quality animal proteins and amino acids and play important role in human nutrition. In the present investigation, crude protein content and amino acid compositions of important food fishes from different habitats have been studied. Crude protein content was determined by Kjeldahl method and amino acid composition was analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography and information on 27 food fishes was generated. The analysis showed that the cold water species are rich in lysine and aspartic acid, marine fishes in leucine, small indigenous fishes in histidine, and the carps and catfishes in glutamic acid and glycine. The enriched nutrition knowledge base would enhance the utility of fish as a source of quality animal proteins and amino acids and aid in their inclusion in dietary counseling and patient guidance for specific nutritional needs.

Amino Acid Compositions of 27 Food Fishes and Their Importance in Clinical Nutrition

PubMed Central

Mahanty, Arabinda; Sankar, T. V.; Chakraborty, Kajal; Rangasamy, Anandan; Paul, Baidyanath; Sarma, Debajit; Mathew, Suseela; Asha, Kurukkan Kunnath; Behera, Bijay; Aftabuddin, Md.; Debnath, Dipesh; Vijayagopal, P.; Sridhar, N.; Akhtar, M. S.; Sahi, Neetu; Mitra, Tandrima; Banerjee, Sudeshna; Das, Debajeet; Das, Pushpita; Vijayan, K. K.; Laxmanan, P. T.; Sharma, A. P.

2014-01-01

Proteins and amino acids are important biomolecules which regulate key metabolic pathways and serve as precursors for synthesis of biologically important substances; moreover, amino acids are building blocks of proteins. Fish is an important dietary source of quality animal proteins and amino acids and play important role in human nutrition. In the present investigation, crude protein content and amino acid compositions of important food fishes from different habitats have been studied. Crude protein content was determined by Kjeldahl method and amino acid composition was analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography and information on 27 food fishes was generated. The analysis showed that the cold water species are rich in lysine and aspartic acid, marine fishes in leucine, small indigenous fishes in histidine, and the carps and catfishes in glutamic acid and glycine. The enriched nutrition knowledge base would enhance the utility of fish as a source of quality animal proteins and amino acids and aid in their inclusion in dietary counseling and patient guidance for specific nutritional needs. PMID:25379285

What Do Students Gain by Engaging in Socioscientific Inquiry?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sadler, Troy D.; Barab, Sasha A.; Scott, Brianna

2007-10-01

The question of what students gain by engaging in socioscientific inquiry is addressed in two ways. First, relevant literature is surveyed to build the case that socioscientific issues (SSI) can serve as useful contexts for teaching and learning science content. Studies are reviewed which document student gains in discipline specific content knowledge as well as understandings of the nature of science. SSI are also positioned as vehicles for addressing citizenship education within science classrooms. Although the promotion of citizenship goals seems widely advocated, the specifics of how this may be accomplished remain underdeveloped. To address this issue, we introduce socioscientific reasoning as a construct which captures a suite of practices fundamental to the negotiation of SSI. In the second phase of the project, interviews with 24 middle school students from classes engaged in socioscientific inquiry serve as the basis for the development of an emergent rubric for socioscientific reasoning. Variation in practices demonstrated by this sample are explored and implications drawn for advancing socioscientific reasoning as an educationally meaningful and assessable construct.

Mapping out the Integration of the Components of Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK): Examples from High School Biology Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Park, Soonhye; Chen, Ying-Chih

2012-01-01

This study explored the nature of the integration of the five components of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK): (a) Orientations toward Teaching Science, (b) Knowledge of Student Understanding, (c) Knowledge of Instructional Strategies and Representations, (d) Knowledge of Science Curriculum, and (e) Knowledge of Assessment of Science Learning.…

Using Doubly Latent Multilevel Analysis to Elucidate Relationships between Science Teachers' Professional Knowledge and Students' Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mahler, Daniela; Großschedl, Jörg; Harms, Ute

2017-01-01

Teachers make a difference for the outcome of their students in science classrooms. One focus in this context lies on teachers' professional knowledge. We describe this knowledge according to three domains, namely (1) content knowledge (CK), (2) pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), and (3) curricular knowledge (CuK). We hypothesise a positive…

An Overview of Research and Evaluation Designs for Dissemination and Implementation

PubMed Central

Brown, C. Hendricks; Curran, Geoffrey; Palinkas, Lawrence A.; Aarons, Gregory A.; Wells, Kenneth B.; Jones, Loretta; Collins, Linda M.; Duan, Naihua; Mittman, Brian S.; Wallace, Andrea; Tabak, Rachel G.; Ducharme, Lori; Chambers, David; Neta, Gila; Wiley, Tisha; Landsverk, John; Cheung, Ken; Cruden, Gracelyn

2016-01-01

Background The wide variety of dissemination and implementation designs now being used to evaluate and improve health systems and outcomes warrants review of the scope, features, and limitations of these designs. Methods This paper is one product of a design workgroup formed in 2013 by the National Institutes of Health to address dissemination and implementation research, and whose members represented diverse methodologic backgrounds, content focus areas, and health sectors. These experts integrated their collective knowledge on dissemination and implementation designs with searches of published evaluations strategies. Results This paper emphasizes randomized and non-randomized designs for the traditional translational research continuum or pipeline, which builds on existing efficacy and effectiveness trials to examine how one or more evidence-based clinical/prevention interventions are adopted, scaled up, and sustained in community or service delivery systems. We also mention other designs, including hybrid designs that combine effectiveness and implementation research, quality improvement designs for local knowledge, and designs that use simulation modeling. PMID:28384085

Creating of structure of facts for the knowledge base of an expert system for wind power plant's equipment diagnosis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duer, Stanisław; Wrzesień, Paweł; Duer, Radosław

2017-10-01

This article describes rules and conditions for making a structure (a set) of facts for an expert knowledge base of the intelligent system to diagnose Wind Power Plants' equipment. Considering particular operational conditions of a technical object, that is a set of Wind Power Plant's equipment, this is a significant issue. A structural model of Wind Power Plant's equipment is developed. Based on that, a functional - diagnostic model of Wind Power Plant's equipment is elaborated. That model is a basis for determining primary elements of the object structure, as well as for interpreting a set of diagnostic signals and their reference signals. The key content of this paper is a description of rules for building of facts on the basis of developed analytical dependence. According to facts, their dependence is described by rules for transferring of a set of pieces of diagnostic information into a specific set of facts. The article consists of four chapters that concern particular issues on the subject.

Building HVAC control knowledge data schema – Towards a unified representation of control system knowledge

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chen, Yan; Treado, Stephen J.; Messner, John I.

Building control systems for Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) play a key role in realizing the functionality and operation of building systems and components. Building Control Knowledge (BCK) is the logic and algorithms embedded throughout building control system. There are different methods to represent the BCK. These methods differ in the selection of BCK representing elements and the format of those elements. There is a lack of standard data schema, for storing, retrieving, and reusing structured BCK. In this study, a modular data schema is created for BCK representation. The data schema contains eleven representing elements, i.e., control modulemore » name, operation mode, system schematic, control flow diagram, data point, alarm, parameter, control sequence, function, and programming code. Each element is defined with specific attributes. This data schema is evaluated through a case study demonstration. The demonstration shows a new way to represent the BCK with standard formats.« less

Role Taking and Knowledge Building in a Blended University Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cesareni, Donatella; Cacciamani, Stefano; Fujita, Nobuko

2016-01-01

Role taking is an established approach for promoting social cognition. Playing a specific role within a group could lead students to exercise collective cognitive responsibility for collaborative knowledge building. Two studies explored the relationship of role taking to participation in a blended university course. Students participated in the…

Building Research Collaboration Networks--An Interpersonal Perspective for Research Capacity Building

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huang, Jun Song

2014-01-01

While collaboration is increasingly recognized to be important for research, researchers' collaboration networks are still not adequately recognized as a form of research capacity in the literature. Research is a knowledge creation activity and interpersonal research collaboration networks are important for knowledge cross-fertilization and…

Service-Learning Enriches Advertising Knowledge, Builds Students' Portfolios, and Promotes Community Engagement after Graduation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tucciarone, Krista

2012-01-01

This study investigated the influence of a service-learning component in an advertising course, specifically examining its ability to enrich advertising knowledge, build students' portfolios, and influence students' community engagement after graduation. The research revealed that service-learning positively affects students' understanding of…

Developing Reflective Dispositions through Collaborative Knowledge-Building during Small Group Bible Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Toh, Tze Keong; Koh, Joyce Hwee Ling; Chai, Ching Sing

2017-01-01

This article explores the use of a constructivist pedagogical approach to cultivate reflective dispositions during small group Bible study. Conducted in a local church Bible class setting (n = 12), the instructional design emulated the reflective thinking process, while adopting collaborative knowledge-building as its pedagogical framework.…

Generating Synergy between Conceptual Change and Knowledge Building

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Chwee Beng

2010-01-01

This paper is an initial effort to review the reciprocity between the theoretical traditions of "conceptual change" and "knowledge building" by discussing the underlying epistemological assumptions, objectives, conceptions of concepts and ideas, and mechanisms that bring forth the respective goals of these two traditions. The basis for generating…

Designing Knowledge Building Communities in Secondary Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lai, Kwok-Wing

2014-01-01

In 2012-2013, sixteen senior secondary classes participated in this study, with eight of them being distance classes. Approximately 220 Year 11-13 students and 8 teachers took part in this study. This project aimed at designing and evaluating a computer-supported knowledge building community in senior secondary classes. Researchers sought to…

Creating an Organic Knowledge-Building Environment within an Asynchronous Distributed Learning Context.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moller, Leslie; Prestera, Gustavo E.; Harvey, Douglas; Downs-Keller, Margaret; McCausland, Jo-Ann

2002-01-01

Discusses organic architecture and suggests that learning environments should be designed and constructed using an organic approach, so that learning is not viewed as a distinct human activity but incorporated into everyday performance. Highlights include an organic knowledge-building model; information objects; scaffolding; discourse action…

European Teachers' Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK) and Educational Use of Web Technologies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baris, Mehmet Fatih

2015-01-01

Several studies have been conducted on technological, pedagogical content knowledge and web-based education. In this study, the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge and Educational Use of Web Technologies (TPCK-W) were analyzed in addition to the self-efficacy and attitudes of 33 teachers from eight different branches carrying out their…

On the Content-Dependence of Prospective Teachers' Knowledge: A Case of Exemplifying Definitions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leikin, Roza; Zazkis, Rina

2010-01-01

In this article, we demonstrate that prospective teachers' content knowledge related to defining mathematical concepts is dependent on content area. We use the example of generation (a research tool we developed in a previous study) to investigate prospective teachers' knowledge. We asked prospective secondary mathematics teachers to provide…

Developing a Questionnaire to Assess the Probability Content Knowledge of Prospective Primary School Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gómez-Torres, Emilse; Batanero, Carmen; Díaz, Carmen; Contreras, José Miguel

2016-01-01

In this paper we describe the development of a questionnaire designed to assess the probability content knowledge of prospective primary school teachers. Three components of mathematical knowledge for teaching and three different meanings of probability (classical, frequentist and subjective) are considered. The questionnaire content is based on…

Correlation between Teacher's PCK (Pedagogical Content Knowledge) and Student's Motivation in Primary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maryani, Ika; Martaningsih, Sri Tutur

2015-01-01

Various learning problems occur due to the teachers' inability in managing the learning process. Teacher's learning skill is influenced by their understanding in the curriculum components which are including pedagogical knowledge and content knowledge. The aims of this research were to determine: 1) the condition of Pedagogical Content Knowledge…

The Hidden Strand of Mathematical Proficiency: Defining and Assessing for Productive Disposition in Elementary School Teachers' Mathematical Content Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Siegfried, John Zig Michael

2012-01-01

Teachers' mathematical content knowledge is one of the most important constructs considered by researchers studying elementary mathematics education (Fennema & Franke, 1992). One component of mathematical content knowledge that is complicated, ill-defined, and oft-ignored is "productive disposition," defined as the…

Improving Instructional Leadership through the Development of Leadership Content Knowledge: The Case of Principal Learning in Algebra

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steele, Michael D.; Johnson, Kate R.; Otten, Samuel; Herbel-Eisenmann, Beth A.; Carver, Cynthia L.

2015-01-01

Instructional leadership is integral to improving mathematics teaching in secondary schools. However, administrators often lack sufficient content knowledge in mathematics to be effective in this role. This study examined the impact of professional development focused on developing leadership content knowledge in algebra. Data included written…

Improving reading in the primary grades.

PubMed

Duke, Nell K; Block, Meghan K

2012-01-01

Almost fifteen years have passed since the publication of the National Research Council's seminal report Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children, which provided research-based recommendations on what could be done to better position students in prekindergarten through third grade for success in grade four and above. This article by Nell Duke and Meghan Block first examines whether specific key recommendations from the report have been implemented in U.S. classrooms. They find that recommendations regarding increased access to kindergarten and greater attention to and improvement of students' word-reading skills have been widely adopted. Others have not. Vocabulary and comprehension, long neglected in the primary grades, still appear to be neglected. Contrary to the report's recommendations, attention to building conceptual and content knowledge in science and social studies has actually decreased in the past fifteen years. In other words, the easier-to-master skills are being attended to, but the broader domains of accomplishment that constitute preparation for comprehension and learning in the later grades--vocabulary knowledge, comprehension strategy use, and conceptual and content knowledge--are being neglected. Near stagnation in fourth-grade students' comprehension achievement is thus unsurprising. The authors then turn to research and reviews of research on improving primary-grade reading published since 1998, when Preventing Reading Difficulties was issued. They discuss several instructional approaches identified as effective in improving word-reading skill, vocabulary and conceptual knowledge, comprehension strategies, and reading outside of school; they discuss advances in interventions for struggling readers, and in whole-school literacy reform. Duke and Block then identify three key obstacles that have prevented widespread adoption of these best practices in teaching reading. The first obstacle is a short-term orientation toward instruction and instructional reform that perpetuates a focus on the easier-to-learn reading skills at the expense of vocabulary, conceptual and content knowledge, and reading comprehension strategies. The second is a lack of expertise among many educators in how to effectively teach these harder-to-master reading skills, and the third is the limited time available in the school day and year to meet unprecedented expectations for children's learning. Policy makers, the education community, and parents must attend to these three challenges if they wish to see meaningful improvements in the reading skills of American children.

Engaging Undergraduate Education Majors in the Practice of Astronomy through a Coherent Science Content Storyline Course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Plummer, Julia; Palma, Christopher

2015-08-01

For the next generation of students to learn astronomy as both a body of knowledge and a process of continually extending, refining, and revising that knowledge, teachers at all levels must learn how to engage their students in the practices of astronomy. This begins by designing science coursework for undergraduate education majors in ways that reflect how we hope they will teach their own future students. We have designed an undergraduate astronomy course for elementary education majors around a coherent science content storyline (CSCS) framework in order to investigate methods that support education majors’ uptake of astronomy practices. CSCS instruction purposefully sequences lessons in ways that make explicit the connections between science ideas in order to move students towards increasingly sophisticated explanations for a single big idea in science. We used this framework to organize our course around a series of astronomical investigations that build towards a big idea in astronomy: how the formation model explains current patterns observed in the Solar System. Each investigation helps students begin to explain observations of the Solar System from a coherent, systems-based perspective as they make choices on how to design their own data collection and analysis strategies. Through these investigations, future teachers begin to view astronomy as a process of answering scientific questions using evidence-based explanations and model-based reasoning. The course design builds on our prior research into students’ ideas about Solar System phenomena and its formation as well as students’ ideas about how astronomers carry out investigations. Preliminary results, based on analysis of student conversations during in-class investigations, science notebook entries, and scientific reports, suggest that the course helps students learn to construct evidence-based explanations while also increasing the accuracy of the explanations for astronomical phenomena. We will discuss implications for undergraduate astronomy education towards increasing future teachers’ proficiency in doing astronomy in ways that move them towards understanding how astronomers investigate the universe.

Impact of health research on advances in knowledge, research capacity-building and evidence-informed policies: a case study on maternal mortality and morbidity in Brazil.

PubMed

Angulo-Tuesta, Antonia; Santos, Leonor Maria Pacheco; Natalizi, Daniel Alves

2016-04-01

National health research systems aim to generate high-quality knowledge so as to maintain and promote the population's health. This study aimed to analyze the impact of maternal mortality/morbidity research funded by the Brazilian Ministry of Health and institutional partners, on the dimensions: advancing in knowledge, research capacity-building and informing decision-making, within the framework of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. Descriptive study based on secondary data, conducted at a public university. The advancing in knowledge dimension was estimated from the principal investigators' publication counts and h-index. Data on research capacity-building were obtained from the Ministry of Health's information system. The informing decision-making dimension was analyzed from citations in Stork Network (Rede Cegonha) documents. Between 2002 and 2010, R$ 21.6 million were invested in 128 maternal mortality/morbidity projects. Over this period, the principal investigators published 174 articles, resulting in an h-index of 35, thus showing progress in the advancing in knowledge dimension. Within the research capacity-building dimension, training of 71 students (undergraduate/postgraduate) was observed. Progress in the informing decision-making dimension was modest: 73.5% of the 117 citations in the Stork Network documents were institutional documents and norms. One of the projects funded, the 2006/7 National Demography and Health Survey, was cited in program documents. Impacts were shown in the advancing in knowledge and research capacity-building dimensions. The health research system needs to incorporate research for evidence-informed policies.

Infusing Financial Capability and Asset Building Content into a Community Organizing Class

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doran, Joanna K.; Bagdasaryan, Sofya

2018-01-01

As social work's fight for social and economic justice returns to its historical attention to finances, faculty are called to infuse financial capability and asset building (FCAB) content into their classes. Given few published models, this study contributes a redesign that infuses FCAB in a community organization course, with additional attention…

Characteristics and effects of suicide prevention programs: comparison between workplace and other settings.

PubMed

Takada, Misato; Shima, Satoru

2010-01-01

The present study reviews the literature on suicide prevention programs conducted in the workplace and other settings, namely school, the community, medical facilities, jail, and the army, by conducting an electronic literature search of all articles published between 1967 and November 2007. From a total of 256 articles identified, various contents of suicide prevention programs were determined, and in 34 studies, the effect of programs was evaluated. A review of the literature reveals that the common contents of suicide prevention programs in the workplace and other settings are education and training of individuals, development of a support network, cooperation from internal and external resources, as well as education and training of managers and staff. Although the characteristic contents of suicide prevention programs at the workplace aimed at improving personnel management and health care, screening and care for high-risk individuals, as well as improvement of building structures, were not described. Although a reduction in undesirable attitudes and an increase in mental health knowledge and coping skills in the workplace are in agreement with findings in other settings, suicide rate, suicide-associated behavior, and depression, which were assessed in other settings, were not evaluated in the three studies targeting the workplace.

Development and Nature of Preservice Chemistry Teachers' Pedagogical Content Knowledge for Nature of Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Demirdögen, Betül; Hanuscin, Deborah L.; Uzuntiryaki-Kondakci, Esen; Köseoglu, Fitnat

2016-01-01

The purpose of this case study is to delve into the complexities of the early development of preservice chemistry teachers' science teaching orientations, knowledge of learners, knowledge of instructional strategies, and knowledge of assessment during a two-semester intervention designed to enhance their pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for…

Pedagogical Content Knowledge and Preparation of High School Physics Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Etkina, Eugenia

2010-01-01

This paper contains a scholarly description of pedagogical practices of the Rutgers Physics/Physical Science Teacher Preparation program. The program focuses on three aspects of teacher preparation: knowledge of physics, knowledge of pedagogy, and knowledge of how to teach physics (pedagogical content knowledge--PCK). The program has been in place…

Teachers' Professional Knowledge for Teaching English as a Foreign Language: Assessing the Outcomes of Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

König, Johannes; Lammerding, Sandra; Nold, Günter; Rohde, Andreas; Strauß, Sarah; Tachtsoglou, Sarantis

2016-01-01

Despite an increasing research interest in subject-specific teacher knowledge, the scientific understanding regarding teachers' professional knowledge for teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) is very limited. This study therefore applies standardized tests to directly assess content knowledge (CK), pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), and…

Theorising about Mathematics Teachers' Professional Knowledge: The Content, Form, Nature, and Course of Teachers' Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scheiner, Thorsten

2015-01-01

The guiding philosophy of this theoretical work lays in the argument that mathematics teachers' professional knowledge is the integration of various knowledge facets derived from different sources including teaching experience and research. This paper goes beyond past trends identifying what the teachers' knowledge is about (content) by providing…

Virtual Knowledge Brokering: Describing the Roles and Strategies Used by Knowledge Brokers in a Pediatric Physiotherapy Virtual Community of Practice.

PubMed

Hurtubise, Karen; Rivard, Lisa; Héguy, Léa; Berbari, Jade; Camden, Chantal

2016-01-01

Knowledge transfer in pediatric rehabilitation is challenging and requires active, multifaceted strategies. The use of knowledge brokers (KBs) is one such strategy noted to promote clinician behavior change. The success of using KBs to transfer knowledge relies on their ability to adapt to ever-changing clinical contexts. In addition, with the rapid growth of online platforms as knowledge transfer forums, KBs must become effective in virtual environments. Although the role of KBs has been studied in various clinical contexts, their emerging role in specific online environments designed to support evidence-based behavior change has not yet been described. Our objective is to describe the roles of, and strategies used by, four KBs involved in a virtual community of practice to guide and inform future online KB interventions. A descriptive design guided this study and a thematic content analysis process was used to analyze online KB postings. The Promoting Action on Research in Health Sciences knowledge transfer framework and online andragogical learning theories assisted in the coding. A thematic map was created illustrating the links between KBs' strategies and emerging roles in the virtual environment. We analyzed 95 posts and identified three roles: 1) context architect: promoting a respectful learning environment, 2) knowledge sharing promoter: building capacity, and 3) linkage creator: connecting research-to-practice. Strategies used by KBs reflected invitational, constructivism, and connectivism approaches, with roles and strategies changing over time. This study increases our understanding of the actions of KBs in virtual contexts to foster uptake of research evidence in pediatric physiotherapy. Our results provide valuable information about the knowledge and skills required by individuals to fulfill this role in virtual environments.

The multi-sensory approach as a geoeducational strategy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Musacchio, Gemma; Piangiamore, Giovanna Lucia; Pino, Nicola Alessandro

2014-05-01

Geoscience knowledge has a strong impact in modern society as it relates to natural hazards, sustainability and environmental issues. The general public has a demanding attitude towards the understanding of crucial geo-scientific topics that is only partly satisfied by science communication strategies and/or by outreach or school programs. A proper knowledge of the phenomena might help trigger crucial inquiries when approaching mitigation of geo-hazards and geo-resources, while providing the right tool for the understanding of news and ideas floating from the web or other media, and, in other words, help communication to be more efficient. Nonetheless available educational resources seem to be inadequate in meeting the goal, while research institutions are facing the challenge to experience new communication strategies and non-conventional way of learning capable to allow the understanding of crucial scientific contents. We suggest the use of multi-sensory approach as a successful non-conventional way of learning for children and as a different perspective of learning for older students and adults. Sense organs stimulation are perceived and processed to build the knowledge of the surrounding, including all sorts of hazards. Powerfully relying in the sense of sight, Humans have somehow lost most of their ability for a deep perception of the environment enriched by all the other senses. Since hazards involve emotions we argue that new ways to approach the learning might go exactly through emotions that one might stress with a tactile experience, a hearing or smell stimulation. To test and support our idea we are building a package of learning activities and exhibits based on a multi-sensory experience where the sight is not allowed.

Adaptive Semantic and Social Web-based learning and assessment environment for the STEM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Babaie, Hassan; Atchison, Chris; Sunderraman, Rajshekhar

2014-05-01

We are building a cloud- and Semantic Web-based personalized, adaptive learning environment for the STEM fields that integrates and leverages Social Web technologies to allow instructors and authors of learning material to collaborate in semi-automatic development and update of their common domain and task ontologies and building their learning resources. The semi-automatic ontology learning and development minimize issues related to the design and maintenance of domain ontologies by knowledge engineers who do not have any knowledge of the domain. The social web component of the personal adaptive system will allow individual and group learners to interact with each other and discuss their own learning experience and understanding of course material, and resolve issues related to their class assignments. The adaptive system will be capable of representing key knowledge concepts in different ways and difficulty levels based on learners' differences, and lead to different understanding of the same STEM content by different learners. It will adapt specific pedagogical strategies to individual learners based on their characteristics, cognition, and preferences, allow authors to assemble remotely accessed learning material into courses, and provide facilities for instructors to assess (in real time) the perception of students of course material, monitor their progress in the learning process, and generate timely feedback based on their understanding or misconceptions. The system applies a set of ontologies that structure the learning process, with multiple user friendly Web interfaces. These include the learning ontology (models learning objects, educational resources, and learning goal); context ontology (supports adaptive strategy by detecting student situation), domain ontology (structures concepts and context), learner ontology (models student profile, preferences, and behavior), task ontologies, technological ontology (defines devices and places that surround the student), pedagogy ontology, and learner ontology (defines time constraint, comment, profile).

Training and experience of nurses in responding to alcohol misuse in rural communities.

PubMed

Kennedy, Alison J; Mellor, David; McCabe, Marita P; Ricciardelli, Lina A; Brumby, Susan A; Head, Alexandra; Mercer-Grant, Catherine

2013-07-01

Alcohol misuse by farmers continues to challenge rural nurses. This article reports on the experiences of Australian nurses participating in the Alcohol Intervention Training Program (AITP). Qualitative interviews of 15 rural and remote nurses. Semi-structured phone interviews were utilized to assess the response to and implementation of the AITP-an intervention designed to build nurses' knowledge, confidence and skills when responding to alcohol misuse. It comprises practical and theoretical components and was designed for rural and remote settings where nurses encounter alcohol misuse. Nurses found the training provided new-or built on existing-knowledge of alcohol misuse and offered practical hands-on "real life" skills. A range of workplace and personal situations where the content of the training was now being utilized were identified, and future use anticipated. Barriers to using the new knowledge and skills included both rural and generic issues. Constructive feedback to increasingly target the training to rural settings was recommended. The AITP is an effective training program. It can be further tailored to meet common needs of rural and remote nurses working with farmers who misuse alcohol, while recognizing diversity in rural practice. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Converging approaches to understanding early onset familial Alzheimer disease: A First Nation study

PubMed Central

Cabrera, Laura Y; Beattie, B Lynn; Dwosh, Emily; Illes, Judy

2015-01-01

Objectives: In 2007, a novel pathogenic genetic mutation associated with early onset familial Alzheimer disease was identified in a large First Nation family living in communities across British Columbia, Canada. Building on a community-based participatory study with members of the Nation, we sought to explore the impact and interplay of medicalization with the Nation’s knowledge and approaches to wellness in relation to early onset familial Alzheimer disease. Methods: We performed a secondary content analysis of focus group discussions and interviews with 48 members of the Nation between 2012 and 2013. The analysis focused specifically on geneticization, medicalization, and traditional knowledge of early onset familial Alzheimer disease, as these themes were prominent in the primary analysis. Results: We found that while biomedical explanations of disease permeate the knowledge and understanding of early onset familial Alzheimer disease, traditional concepts about wellness are upheld simultaneously. Conclusion: The analysis brings the theoretical framework of “two-eyed seeing” to the case of early onset familial Alzheimer disease for which the contributions of different ways of knowing are embraced, and in which traditional and western ways complement each other on the path of maintaining wellness in the face of progressive neurologic disease. PMID:27092264

Evaluating the Impact of a Multistrategy Inference Intervention for Middle-Grade Struggling Readers

PubMed Central

Elleman, Amy

2017-01-01

Purpose We examined the effectiveness of a multistrategy inference intervention designed to increase inference making and reading comprehension for middle-grade struggling readers. Method A total of 66 middle-grade struggling readers were randomized to treatment (n = 33) and comparison (n = 33) conditions. Students in the treatment group received explicit instruction in 4 inference strategies (i.e., clarification using text clues; activating and using prior knowledge; understanding character perspectives and author's purpose; answering inferential questions). In addition, narrative and informational texts were carefully chosen and sequenced to build requisite background knowledge to form inferences. Intervention was delivered in small groups of 3 students for 10 days of instruction. Results One-way analysis of covariance models on outcome measures with the respective pretest scores as a covariate revealed significant gains on a proximal measure of Egyptian-content knowledge (g = 1.37) and on a standardized measure of reading comprehension—i.e., Wechsler Individual Achievement Test–Third Edition Reading Comprehension (g = 0.46). Conclusion The moderate effect on a standardized measure of reading comprehension provides preliminary evidence for the effectiveness of this multistrategy inference intervention in improving reading comprehension of middle-grade struggling readers. PMID:27776201

Writing for Science Literacy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chamberlin, Shannon Marie

Scientific literacy is the foundation on which both California's currently adopted science standards and the recommended new standards for science are based (CDE, 2000; NRC, 2011). The Writing for Science Literacy (WSL) curriculum focuses on a series of writing and discussion tasks aimed at increasing students' scientific literacy. These tasks are based on three teaching and learning constructs: thought and language, scaffolding, and meta-cognition. To this end, WSL is focused on incorporating several strategies from the Rhetorical Approach to Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking to engage students in activities designed to increase their scientific literacy; their ability to both identify an author's claim and evidence and to develop their own arguments based on a claim and evidence. Students participated in scaffolded activities designed to strengthen their written and oral discourse, hone their rhetorical skills and improve their meta-cognition. These activities required students to participate in both writing and discussion tasks to create meaning and build their science content knowledge. Students who participated in the WSL curriculum increased their written and oral fluency and were able to accurately write an evidence-based conclusion all while increasing their conceptual knowledge. This finding implies that a discourse rich curriculum can lead to an increase in scientific knowledge.

Dynamic replanning of 3D automated reconstruction using situation graph trees and illumination adjustment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kohler, Sophie; Far, Aïcha Beya; Hirsch, Ernest

2007-01-01

This paper presents an original approach for the optimal 3D reconstruction of manufactured workpieces based on a priori planification of the task, enhanced on-line through dynamic adjustment of the lighting conditions, and built around a cognitive intelligent sensory system using so-called Situation Graph Trees. The system takes explicitely structural knowledge related to image acquisition conditions, type of illumination sources, contents of the scene (e. g., CAD models and tolerance information), etc. into account. The principle of the approach relies on two steps. First, a socalled initialization phase, leading to the a priori task plan, collects this structural knowledge. This knowledge is conveniently encoded, as a sub-part, in the Situation Graph Tree building the backbone of the planning system specifying exhaustively the behavior of the application. Second, the image is iteratively evaluated under the control of this Situation Graph Tree. The information describing the quality of the piece to analyze is thus extracted and further exploited for, e. g., inspection tasks. Lastly, the approach enables dynamic adjustment of the Situation Graph Tree, enabling the system to adjust itself to the actual application run-time conditions, thus providing the system with a self-learning capability.

Exploring Changes to a Teacher's Teaching Practices and Student Learning through a Volleyball Content Knowledge Workshop

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Insook

2016-01-01

This paper describes how improving a teacher's content knowledge changes his teaching practices and its subsequent effects on student learning during a middle school volleyball instructional unit. The study was designed to challenge teacher educators' thinking about the importance of in-depth content knowledge for effective teaching by…

Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK): The Development and Validation of an Assessment Instrument for Preservice Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schmidt, Denise A.; Baran, Evrim; Thompson, Ann D.; Mishra, Punya; Koehler, Matthew J.; Shin, Tae S.

2009-01-01

Based in Shulman's idea of Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) has emerged as a useful frame for describing and understanding the goals for technology use in preservice teacher education. This paper addresses the need for a survey instrument designed to assess TPACK for preservice teachers. The paper…

Preservice Teachers' Level of Web Pedagogical Content Knowledge: Assessment by Individual Innovativeness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gökçearslan, Sahin; Karademir, Tugra; Korucu, Agah Tugrul

2017-01-01

Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge, one of the frameworks proposed in order to popularize the use of technology in a classroom environment, has been customized and has taken the form of Web Pedagogical Content Knowledge. The Relational Screening Model was used in this study. It aims to determine whether a profile of preservice teachers…

Multi-Level Assessment of Scientific Content Knowledge Gains Associated with Socioscientific Issues-Based Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klosterman, Michelle L.; Sadler, Troy D.

2010-01-01

This study explored the impact of using a socioscientific issue (SSI) based curriculum on developing science content knowledge. Using a multi-level assessment design, student content knowledge gains were measured before and after implementation of a three-week unit on global warming (a prominent SSI) that explored both the relevant science content…

Surveying In-Service Teachers' Beliefs about Game-Based Learning and Perceptions of Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge of Games

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hsu, Chung-Yuan; Tsai, Meng-Jung; Chang, Yu-Hsuan; Liang, Jyh-Chong

2017-01-01

Using the Game-based-learning Teaching Belief Scale (GTBS) and the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge--Games questionnaire (TPACK-G), this study investigated 316 Taiwanese in-service teachers' teaching beliefs about game-based learning and their perceptions of game-based pedagogical content knowledge (GPCK). Both t-tests and ANOVA…

The Effect of Teacher Pedagogical Content Knowledge and the Instruction of Middle School Geometry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lenhart, Sara Talley

2010-01-01

This study investigated the relationship between middle school math teacher pedagogical content knowledge as gathered from a teacher assessment and student Standards of Learning scores. Nine middle-school math teachers at two rural schools were assessed for their pedagogical content knowledge in geometry and measurement in the specific area of…

Integrating the Epistemic and Ontological Aspects of Content Knowledge in Science Teaching and Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Papadouris, Nicos; Constantinou, Constantinos P.

2017-01-01

Promoting facility with content knowledge is one of the most important objectives of science teaching. Conventionally, the focus for this objective is placed on the substantive side of content knowledge (e.g. science concepts/laws), whereas its epistemic or ontological aspects (e.g. why do we construct concepts?) rarely receive explicit attention.…

Exploring the Role of Content Knowledge in Responsive Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goodhew, Lisa M.; Robertson, Amy D.

2017-01-01

In this paper, we begin to explore the role of content knowledge in responsive teaching (RT), using "in situ" data to draw out and speak to a latent disagreement within the literature. We claim that one role that content knowledge plays in RT is to support teachers in eliciting, seeing, and then pursuing disciplinary connections within…

The Importance and Use of Targeted Content Knowledge with Scaffolding Aid in Educational Simulation Games

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsai, Fu-Hsing; Kinzer, Charles; Hung, Kuo-Hsun; Chen, Cheng-Ling Alice; Hsu, I-Ying

2013-01-01

While most current educational simulation games provide learners with gameplay experience to motivate learning, there is often a lack of focus on ensuring that the desired content knowledge is actually learned. Students may focus on completing game activities without learning the targeted content knowledge, thus negating the desired learning…

Central Component Descriptors for Levels of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Niess, Margaret L.

2013-01-01

Technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) proposes a theoretical framework that incorporates four central components: an overarching conception of what it means to teach with technology, knowledge of students' thinking and understandings of specific topics with technologies, knowledge of curricular materials that incorporate…

Do Subject Matter Knowledge, and Pedagogical Content Knowledge Constitute the Ideal Gas Law of Science Teaching?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lederman, Norman G.; Gess-Newsome, Julie

1992-01-01

Describes Pedagogical Content Knowledge and focuses on the empirical research directly concerned with the relationship between science teachers' subject matter knowledge or structures and actual classroom practice. Concludes there is little evidence that a relationship exists. (PR)

Experimental study on water content detection of traditional masonry based on infrared thermal image

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Baoqing; Lei, Zukang

2017-10-01

Based on infrared thermal imaging technology for seepage test of two kinds of brick masonry, find out the relationship between the distribution of one-dimensional two brick surface temperature distribution and one-dimensional surface moisture content were determined after seepage brick masonry minimum temperature zone and water content determination method of the highest point of the regression equation, the relationship between temperature and moisture content of the brick masonry reflected the quantitative and establish the initial wet masonry building disease analysis method, then the infrared technology is applied to the protection of historic buildings in.

Science on a Shoestring: Building Nursing Knowledge With Limited Funding.

PubMed

Conn, Vicki S; Topp, Robert; Dunn, Susan L; Hopp, Lisa; Jadack, Rosemary; Jansen, Debra A; Jefferson, Urmeka T; Moch, Susan Diemert

2015-10-01

Building the science for nursing practice has never been more important. However, shrunken federal and state research budgets mean that investigators must find alternative sources of financial support and develop projects that are less costly to carry out. New investigators often build beginning programs of research with limited funding. This article provides an overview of some cost-effective research approaches and gives suggestions for finding other sources of funding. Examples of more cost-effective research approaches include adding complementary questions to existing funded research projects; conducting primary analysis of electronic patient records and social media content; conducting secondary analysis of data from completed studies; reviewing and synthesizing previously completed research; implementing community-based participatory research; participating in collaborative research efforts such as inter-campus team research, practice-based research networks (PBRNs), and involving undergraduate and doctoral students in research efforts. Instead of relying on funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other government agencies, nurse researchers may be able to find support for research from local sources such as businesses, organizations, or clinical agencies. Investigators will increasingly have to rely on these and other creative approaches to fund and implement their research programs if granting agency budgets do not significantly expand. © The Author(s) 2015.

Energy Content Estimation by Collegians for Portion Standardized Foods Frequently Consumed in Korea

PubMed Central

Kim, Jin; Lee, Hee Jung; Lee, Hyun Jung; Lee, Sun Ha; Yun, Jee-Young; Choi, Mi-Kyeong

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study is to estimate Korean collegians' knowledge of energy content in the standard portion size of foods frequently consumed in Korea and to investigate the differences in knowledge between gender groups. A total of 600 collegians participated in this study. Participants' knowledge was assessed based on their estimation on the energy content of 30 selected food items with their actual-size photo images. Standard portion size of food was based on 2010 Korean Dietary Reference Intakes, and the percentage of participants who accurately estimated (that is, within 20% of the true value) the energy content of the standard portion size was calculated for each food item. The food for which the most participants provided the accurate estimation was ramyun (instant noodles) (67.7%), followed by cooked rice (57.8%). The proportion of students who overestimated the energy content was highest for vegetables (68.8%) and beverages (68.1%). The proportion of students who underestimated the energy content was highest for grains and starches (42.0%) and fruits (37.1%). Female students were more likely to check energy content of foods that they consumed than male students. From these results, it was concluded that the knowledge on food energy content was poor among collegians, with some gender difference. Therefore, in the future, nutrition education programs should give greater attention to improving knowledge on calorie content and to helping them apply this knowledge in order to develop effective dietary plans. PMID:24527417

Energy content estimation by collegians for portion standardized foods frequently consumed in Korea.

PubMed

Kim, Jin; Lee, Hee Jung; Lee, Hyun Jung; Lee, Sun Ha; Yun, Jee-Young; Choi, Mi-Kyeong; Kim, Mi-Hyun

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study is to estimate Korean collegians' knowledge of energy content in the standard portion size of foods frequently consumed in Korea and to investigate the differences in knowledge between gender groups. A total of 600 collegians participated in this study. Participants' knowledge was assessed based on their estimation on the energy content of 30 selected food items with their actual-size photo images. Standard portion size of food was based on 2010 Korean Dietary Reference Intakes, and the percentage of participants who accurately estimated (that is, within 20% of the true value) the energy content of the standard portion size was calculated for each food item. The food for which the most participants provided the accurate estimation was ramyun (instant noodles) (67.7%), followed by cooked rice (57.8%). The proportion of students who overestimated the energy content was highest for vegetables (68.8%) and beverages (68.1%). The proportion of students who underestimated the energy content was highest for grains and starches (42.0%) and fruits (37.1%). Female students were more likely to check energy content of foods that they consumed than male students. From these results, it was concluded that the knowledge on food energy content was poor among collegians, with some gender difference. Therefore, in the future, nutrition education programs should give greater attention to improving knowledge on calorie content and to helping them apply this knowledge in order to develop effective dietary plans.

A threshold model of content knowledge transfer for socioscientific argumentation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sadler, Troy D.; Fowler, Samantha R.

2006-11-01

This study explores how individuals make use of scientific content knowledge for socioscientific argumentation. More specifically, this mixed-methods study investigates how learners apply genetics content knowledge as they justify claims relative to genetic engineering. Interviews are conducted with 45 participants, representing three distinct groups: high school students with variable genetics knowledge, college nonscience majors with little genetics knowledge, and college science majors with advanced genetics knowledge. During the interviews, participants advance positions concerning three scenarios dealing with gene therapy and cloning. Arguments are assessed in terms of the number of justifications offered as well as justification quality, based on a five-point rubric. Multivariate analysis of variance results indicate that college science majors outperformed the other groups in terms of justification quality and frequency. Argumentation does not differ among nonscience majors or high school students. Follow-up qualitative analyses of interview responses suggest that all three groups tend to focus on similar, sociomoral themes as they negotiate socially complex, genetic engineering issues, but that the science majors frequently reference specific science content knowledge in the justification of their claims. Results support the Threshold Model of Content Knowledge Transfer, which proposes two knowledge thresholds around which argumentation quality can reasonably be expected to increase. Research and educational implications of these findings are discussed.

Investigating the Measurement of Grammatical Knowledge and Civics Content Knowledge in the Context of an English-for Specific-Purposes Program Designed for Adult Learners with Low English Proficiency

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dakin, Jee Wha

2010-01-01

In the context of adult learners with low English proficiency enrolled in an organization offering instruction in both language and civics content, the purpose of the study was to determine. (1) the nature of grammatical knowledge in the context in the learners' second language (L2) and the nature of civics content knowledge in the learners' first…

Knowledge-Building Activity Structures in Japanese Elementary Science Pedagogy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oshima, Jun; Oshima, Ritsuko; Murayama, Isao; Inagaki, Shigenori; Takenaka, Makiko; Yamamoto, Tomokazu; Yamaguchi, Etsuji; Nakayama, Hayashi

2006-01-01

The purpose of this study is to refine Japanese elementary science activity structures by using a CSCL approach to transform the classroom into a knowledge-building community. We report design studies on two science lessons in two consecutive years and describe the progressive refinement of the activity structures. Through comparisons of student…

What Do I Say Next? Using The Third Turn to Build Productive Instructional Discussions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ford-Connors, Evelyn; Robertson, Dana A.

2017-01-01

Research has strongly supported the role of classroom talk as a valuable teaching and learning tool. Carefully crafted teacher-student discussions that encourage broad student participation and knowledge building correlate with increased knowledge generation and higher academic achievement. To better understand classroom talk as an instructional…

Generative Insights from the Eleanor Chelimsky Forum on Evaluation Theory and Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leviton, Laura C.

2014-01-01

Both speakers at the Eleanor Chelimsky Forum on Theory and Practice in Evaluation pointed out the complexity and messiness of evaluation practice, and thus potential limits on theory and generalizable knowledge. The concept of reflective practice offers one way forward to build evaluation theory. Building generalizable knowledge about practice…

Networked eLlearning and Collaborative Knowledge Building: Design and Facilitation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sorensen, Elsebeth Korsgaard

2005-01-01

This paper addresses the core goals for educators to stimulate participation across diversity (including life trajectories and culture) and motivate learners to engage in negotiation of meaning and knowledge building dialogue in the processes of networked learning. The paper reports on a Danish masters online course on networked learning for…

The Building of Pre-Service Primary Teachers' Knowledge of Mathematics Teaching: Interaction and Online Video Case Studies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Llinares, Salvador; Valls, Julia

2009-01-01

This study explores how preservice primary teachers became engaged in meaning-making mathematics teaching when participating in online discussions within learning environments integrating video-clips of mathematics teaching. We identified different modes of participation in the online discussions and different levels of knowledge-building. The…

Effect of the science teaching advancement through modeling physical science professional development workshop on teachers' attitudes, beliefs and content knowledge and students' content knowledge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dietz, Laura

The Science Teaching Advancement through Modeling Physical Science (STAMPS) professional development workshop was evaluated for effectiveness in improving teachers' and students' content knowledge. Previous research has shown modeling to be an effective method of instruction for improving student and teacher content knowledge, evidenced by assessment scores. Data includes teacher scores on the Force Concept Inventory (FCI; Hestenes, Wells, & Swackhamer, 1992) and the Chemistry Concept Inventory (CCI; Jenkins, Birk, Bauer, Krause, & Pavelich, 2004), as well as student scores on a physics and chemistry assessment. Quantitative data is supported by teacher responses to a post workshop survey and classroom observations. Evaluation of the data shows that the STAMPS professional development workshop was successful in improving both student and teacher content knowledge. Conclusions and suggestions for future study are also included.

Building knowledge development and exchange capacity in Canada: lessons from Youth Excel.

PubMed

Riley, B; Wong, K; Manske, S

2014-07-01

Youth Excel was a 3-year pan-Canadian initiative to advance youth health through improving knowledge development and exchange (KDE) capacity. KDE capacity refers to an improvement cycle linking evidence and action. Capacities include local surveillance of youth behaviours; knowledge exchange; skills, resources and a supportive environment to use knowledge; and evaluation. Interviews were conducted with Youth Excel members, including 7 provincial teams and 2 national organizations. Interviews explored participant experiences with building KDE capacity. Local surveillance systems were considered the backbone to KDE capacity, strengthened by co-ordinating surveys within and across jurisdictions and using common indicators and measures. The most effective knowledge exchange included tailored products and opportunities for dialogue and action planning. Evaluation is the least developed KDE component. Building KDE capacity requires frequent dialogue, mutually beneficial partnerships and trust. It also requires attention to language, vision, strategic leadership and funding. Youth Excel reinforces the need for a KDE system to improve youth health that will require new perspectives and sustained commitment from individual champions and relevant organizations.

Learning About Semi Conductors for Teaching—the Role Played by Content Knowledge in Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rollnick, Marissa

2017-08-01

This study focuses on how teachers learn to teach a new topic and the role played by their developing content knowledge as they teach. The paper is based on seven high school science teachers' studies on the teaching of semiconductors, at the time a new topic in the curriculum. Analysis of artefacts such as teacher concept maps, video recordings of lessons, journals and other classroom-based evidence shows how the extent and type of teachers' content knowledge informed their choice of teaching approaches and how their learning of content took place alongside the development of teaching strategies. The development of content knowledge was combined with increased understanding of how to teach the topic in almost all cases. Evidence of development of teachers' PCK was found in their increased ability to design teaching strategies, and their use of representations and suitable assessment tasks for their lessons. Some specific common teaching strategies were identified across the teachers. These strategies could add to the canon of teachers' topic - specific professional knowledge for semiconductors. The study provides increased understanding of how teachers simultaneously master content and its teaching and how mediated self-reflection is a fruitful approach for assisting teachers to learn to teach a new topic.

Primary School Teachers' Interviews Regarding Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) and General Pedagogical Knowledge (GPK)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sothayapetch, Pavinee; Lavonen, Jari; Juuti, Kalle

2013-01-01

Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) and General Pedagogical Knowledge (GPK) are fundamental types of knowledge for a teacher that he or she must use in order to plan, teach in the classroom, and assess students' learning outcomes. This paper investigates experienced primary school teachers' PCK and GPK while teaching science in Finland and in…

Interplay between Content Knowledge and Scientific Argumentation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hakyolu, Hanife; Ogan-Bekiroglu, Feral

2016-01-01

This research study aimed to analyze the relationship between content knowledge and argumentation by examining students' prior subject matter knowledge and their production of arguments as well as by comparing students' arguments with their knowledge-in-use during scientific argumentation sessions. A correlational research design was carried out…

Development and Evaluation of a Train-the-Trainer Workshop for Hong Kong Community Social Service Agency Staff.

PubMed

Zhou, Qianling; Stewart, Sunita M; Wan, Alice; Leung, Charles Sai-Cheong; Lai, Agnes Y; Lam, Tai Hing; Chan, Sophia Siu-Chee

2017-01-01

Capacity building approaches are useful in large-scale community-based health promotion interventions. However, models to guide and evaluate capacity building among social service agency staff in community settings are rare in the literature. This paper describes the development and evaluation of a 1-day (7 h) train-the-trainer (TTT) workshop for the "Enhancing Family Well-Being Project". The workshop aimed at equipping staff from different community agencies with the knowledge and skills to design, implement, and evaluate positive psychology-based interventions for their clients in Sham Shui Po, an over-crowded and low-income district in Hong Kong. The current TTT extended and improved on our previous successful model by adding research and evaluation methods (including the Logic Model, process evaluation, and randomized controlled trial), which are important to plan and evaluate the community interventions. Evaluation of the TTT was guided by the Integrated Model of Training Evaluation and Effectiveness (IMTEE), with quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitative data were collected from pretraining (T1), post-training (T2), and 6-month (T3) and 12-month (T4) follow-up surveys. Qualitative data were collected from four focus groups of agency staff after the intervention. Ninety-three staff from 30 community agencies attended the training, and 90 completed the baseline survey. Eighty-eight, 63, and 57 staff performed the evaluations at T2, T3, and T4, respectively. Agency staff were satisfied with the TTT. Immediate enhancement of knowledge, self-efficacy, and positive attitudes toward the training content was found at T2 (Cohen's d ranged from 0.24 to 1.22, all p  < 0.05). Enhancement of knowledge of all training contents persisted at T3 and T4 (Cohen's d ranged from 0.34 to 0.63, all p  < 0.05). Enhancement of self-efficacy in the use of positive psychology in intervention design persisted at T3 (Cohen's d  = 0.22, p  = 0.04). The skills learned were utilized to plan and develop subsequent interventions. Twenty-nine interventions were successfully designed and implemented by the agency staff, and delivered to 1,586 participants. The agency staff indicated their intention to utilize the skills they had learned for other interventions (score ≥4 out of 6) and to share these skills with their colleagues. Qualitative feedbacks from 23 agency staff supported the quantitative results. Our brief TTT was effectively delivered to a large number of agency staff and showed effects that persisted up to 12 months. Our training and evaluation models may offer a template for capacity building among social service agency staff for community brief, universal family health promotion interventions in diverse settings.

Build Up Your Bones! | NIH MedlinePlus the Magazine

MedlinePlus

... turn Javascript on. Feature: Osteoporosis Build Up Your Bones! Past Issues / Winter 2011 Table of Contents Exercise ... who have been diagnosed with osteoporosis. The Best Bone-Building Exercise The best exercise for your bones ...

Methodology to build medical ontology from textual resources.

PubMed

Baneyx, Audrey; Charlet, Jean; Jaulent, Marie-Christine

2006-01-01

In the medical field, it is now established that the maintenance of unambiguous thesauri goes through ontologies. Our research task is to help pneumologists code acts and diagnoses with a software that represents medical knowledge through a domain ontology. In this paper, we describe our general methodology aimed at knowledge engineers in order to build various types of medical ontologies based on terminology extraction from texts. The hypothesis is to apply natural language processing tools to textual patient discharge summaries to develop the resources needed to build an ontology in pneumology. Results indicate that the joint use of distributional analysis and lexico-syntactic patterns performed satisfactorily for building such ontologies.

Secular trends on traditional ecological knowledge: An analysis of different domains of knowledge among Tsimane' men.

PubMed

Reyes-García, Victoria; Luz, Ana C; Gueze, Maximilien; Paneque-Gálvez, Jaime; Macía, Manuel J; Orta-Martínez, Martí; Pino, Joan

2013-10-01

Empirical research provides contradictory evidence of the loss of traditional ecological knowledge across societies. Researchers have argued that culture, methodological differences, and site-specific conditions are responsible for such contradictory evidences. We advance and test a third explanation: the adaptive nature of traditional ecological knowledge systems. Specifically, we test whether different domains of traditional ecological knowledge experience different secular changes and analyze trends in the context of other changes in livelihoods. We use data collected among 651 Tsimane' men (Bolivian Amazon). Our findings indicate that different domains of knowledge follow different secular trends. Among the domains of knowledge analyzed, medicinal and wild edible knowledge appear as the most vulnerable; canoe building and firewood knowledge seem to remain constant across generations; whereas house building knowledge seems to experience a slight secular increase. Our analysis reflects on the adaptive nature of traditional ecological knowledge, highlighting how changes in this knowledge system respond to the particular needs of a society in a given point of time.

School of Ice: US Ice Drilling Program Made Accessible to Faculty at Minority-Serving Institutions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davis, H. B.; Hoffman, L. T.

2017-12-01

The School of Ice program is designed for college faculty who teach at minority-serving institutions or historically black colleges and universities to help build their background knowledge about ice core science and climate change and gain activities and labs for transferring information to their students. In this session, you will learn about the information and activities shared with faculty and the effect of the Institute on faculty. This session will provide an overview of activities that faculty can use to engage students in ice drilling processes and results. Faculty who have attended this institute in the last four years have reported increases in their understanding of the content and how to teach it.

Developing Multimedia Enhanced Content to Upgrade Subject Content Knowledge of Secondary School Teachers in Tanzania

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mtebe, Joel S.; Kibga, Elia Y.; Mwambela, Alfred A.; Kissaka, Mussa M.

2015-01-01

The failure rates and lack of interest amongst students in science and mathematics in secondary schools in Tanzania is a serious problem. The Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MoEVT) implemented a project to enhance and upgrade the pedagogical knowledge and subject content knowledge of teachers in selected difficult topics in science…

Teacher- or Learner-Centred? Science Teacher Beliefs Related to Topic Specific Pedagogical Content Knowledge: A South African Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mavhunga, Elizabeth; Rollnick, Marissa

2016-01-01

In science education, learner-centred classroom practices are widely accepted as desirable and are associated with responsive and reformed kinds of teacher beliefs. They are further associated with high-quality Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK). Topic-Specific Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TSPCK), a version of PCK defined at topic level, is…

Promoting Student Teachers' Content Related Knowledge in Teaching Systems Thinking: Measuring Effects of an Intervention through Evaluating a Videotaped Lesson

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosenkränzer, Frank; Kramer, Tim; Hörsch, Christian; Schuler, Stephan; Rieß, Werner

2016-01-01

The understanding of complex, dynamic and animate systems has a special standing in education for sustainable development and biology. Thus one important role of science teacher education is to promote student teachers' Content Related Knowledge (CRK) for teaching systems thinking, consisting of extensive Content Knowledge (CK) and well formed…

The Language Used to Articulate Content as an Aspect of Pedagogical Content Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chick, Helen

2015-01-01

Mathematical knowledge in classrooms is mediated through the use of both technical and informal language. This paper is a report of a study of the language use of teachers as they examine students' work and discuss teaching for the topic of fraction operations. This provides a window on their pedagogical content knowledge and also on the way in…

Curricular Space Allocated for Dance Content in Physical Education Teacher Education Programs: A Literature Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marquis, Jenée Marie; Metzler, Mike

2017-01-01

This literature review examines curricular space allocated to activity based/movement content courses in Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) pre-service programs, specifically focusing on how dance content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge are addressed within those programs. This review includes original empirical research…

Infusing Mathematics Content into a Methods Course: Impacting Content Knowledge for Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burton, Megan; Daane, C. J.; Giesen, Judy

2008-01-01

This study compared content knowledge for teaching mathematics differences between elementary pre-service teachers in a traditional versus an experimental mathematics methods course. The experimental course replaced 20 minutes of traditional methods, each class, with an intervention of elementary mathematics content. The difference between groups…

Beyond knowledge capture: creating useful work-centric systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cooper, L. P.; Majchrzak, A.

2001-01-01

Once you have successfully captured knowledge, the challenge then becomes one of creating an affective way to use that knowledge. Two high knowledge content systems developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory are presented as examples of work-centric systems, where the primary value to the user is in the content.

Effects of Biology Teachers' Professional Knowledge and Cognitive Activation on Students' Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Förtsch, Christian; Werner, Sonja; von Kotzebue, Lena; Neuhaus, Birgit J.

2016-01-01

This study examined the effects of teachers' biology-specific dimensions of professional knowledge--pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and content knowledge (CK)--and cognitively activating biology instruction, as a feature of instructional quality, on students' learning. The sample comprised 39 German secondary school teachers whose lessons on…

Spanning Knowledge Barriers in E-Learning Content Design

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chu, Tsai-Hsin; Lee, Yi; Lee, Yen-Hsien

2013-01-01

E-learning content development can be regarded as an example of knowledge delivery process because the developers have to receive knowledge transferred from subject-matter experts (SMEs), to translate the received knowledge with appropriate instructional design, and to transform the project outcomes to fulfill learner's learning needs. As…

Mathematics University Teachers' Perception of Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Khakbaz, Azimehsadat

2016-01-01

Teaching mathematics in university levels is one of the most important fields of research in the area of mathematics education. Nevertheless, there is little information about teaching knowledge of mathematics university teachers. Pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) provides a suitable framework to study knowledge of teachers. The purpose of this…

Survey, Hbim and Conservation Plan of a Monumental Building Damaged by Earthquake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oreni, D.; Brumana, R.; Della Torre, S.; Banfi, F.

2017-05-01

Surveying a monumental building damaged by the earthquake means to analyse its geometries, the structural elements, the connection still exist between the different parts, in order to define its state of conservation, to make structural analysis and to plan a proper project of restoration, consolidation, seismic improvement or addition of new elements. The survey of structural geometry represents the first necessary moment of building' knowledge investigation, to be performed after the securing of the building by the Firefighters or Civil Protection. How and by which instruments the geometric analysis are conducted depends on many factors, not always exclusively on the will of the experts involved in the restoration project, but more often dictated by political, technical, social or economic needs. The accurate geometrical survey is referred as fundamental operation even by national Directive for evaluation and earthquake risk reduction of cultural heritage (GU n. 24 - 29/01/2008 and 2011 updates), which defines guidelines for preventive interventions on built heritage in order to make the structures less vulnerable in case of earthquake. Nowadays, the wide use of tools and accurate surveying techniques makes it possible to achieve an adequate level of accuracy of information related to the buildings, overcoming the difficulties due to accessibility of the damaged structures. The geometrical survey of the Basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio in L'Aquila, was made by Politecnico di Milano starting from 2013, within the project "Ripartire da Collemaggio" (http://www.ungiornoacollemaggio.it/content/2027), financed by Eniservizi. The basilica, an important symbol for the community of L'Aquila, was gravely damaged by the earthquake of 6th April 2009. The objective of Eni was to turn the restoration of the building in a re-birth moment for all the community. The knowledge step was aimed to plan a restoration project able of returning the basilica to a safe and full use. In the two years knowledge investigation steps (geometric survey, historical and stratigraphic analysis, materials investigation, structures and soils examination, in situ tests and numerical elaborations) was involved an interdisciplinary group of researchers from various Italian universities, Politecnico di Milano, Università La Sapienza in Rome and the University of L'Aquila, called to provide a scientific advice to the Soprintendenza ai Beni Architettonici e Paesaggistici per l'Abruzzo, project manager of the restoration step. In early 2016 the yard of restoration was opened and it is still on-going. The geometrical survey of the basilica was aim to investigate, measure and represent the exact geometry of the damaged structures and their three-dimensional complexity; the survey was planned choosing the tools and methods most appropriate in relation with the accessibility and safety of the structures, the operating ranges of acquisition and the level of detail required by the analysis and the project. This meant to integrate global and local surveying techniques, in order to cross relate data derived by different tools and to make the graphical restitution of the entire monumental complex: topography, laser scanning, photogrammetry, but also hands on instruments, at a scale of representation from 1 : 1 to 1 : 50. The laser scanner survey, registered in the accurate geomatics network, responded to the need to punctually investigate and interpret the geometrical configuration of different spaces of the Basilica, as well as its structural articulation, enabling a series of horizontal and vertical profiles, as requested by various experts involved in the diagnostic steps. HBIM model (Historical Building Information Modeling) of the entire basilica was primarily intended as a tool for stereotomic description of the building and its parts, following the constructive logic of each structural element; then it was used as a support tool for the restoration simulation, project, management and yard. To perform the division of the building in its constructive elements, sometimes it has been used stratigraphic methodologies and instruments of analysis. The entirety of the geometric and structural complexity of the basilica, was guarantee using sophisticated 3D software and drawing complex entities, integrated and stored in the parametric BIM logic. This process has allowed to accurately and timely represent the geometry of the structural elements, of the areas characterized by crushing, empties, variations of the masonry sections and out of plumbs. It is on the pillars of the nave that was focused the attention of survey: the will to preserve as much as possible the existing structures, in their material authenticity, required a careful analysis of each individual stone element of each pillar, investigated in its geometry, texture and state of conservation. The aim of the project was to ward a complete replacement of the pillars, preferring instead a removing and replacing intervention of only of the stone ashlars completely deteriorated and no longer recoverable, considering the question of structural safety as fundamental. The HBIM of the basilica had the primary function of connecting into one virtual space all the available data; that model has also been made as a tool for managing the restoration yard, supporting the computation of stone to buy, quarry and grossly slot, saving time on site. Different and complementary skills were used in every knowledge and restoration steps; the accurate analysis of the structures made it possible to plan a consolidation and restoration project as close as possible to the structural conception of the existing building, adding only the new structural elements necessary to increase the resistance and to guarantee the safety of the structures, also in case of new earthquake. The Italian Codice dei Beni culturali e del paesaggio (DL n.42/2004), at paragraph 4 of art. 29, states that the restoration includes structural improvements. For the restoration of Collemaggio the solutions chosen were the ones able to be more effective and, at the same time, less invasive, more respectful as possible of the sacredness of the architecture, its highest historical significance, the authenticity of the material and its cultural significance. The main principles and criteria of restoration were: maximum correspondence of conservation doctrine, with a focus on improving the structural characteristics compared to the seismic risk; exemplarity of the management practices of the restoration process; exemplarity of innovative techniques; transparency of all processes and accurate communication of cultural and scientific content. Despite of some inevitable compromises, the detailed knowledge of the building allowed to design punctual interventions, inserting new structures where the oldest were collapsed and consolidating damaged elements, in order to improve the global safety of the building but without modifying substantially the structural conception of the stratified basilica.

Rapid Risk Evaluation (ER2) Using MS Excel Spreadsheet: a Case Study of Fredericton (new Brunswick, Canada)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McGrath, H.; Stefanakis, E.; Nastev, M.

2016-06-01

Conventional knowledge of the flood hazard alone (extent and frequency) is not sufficient for informed decision-making. The public safety community needs tools and guidance to adequately undertake flood hazard risk assessment in order to estimate respective damages and social and economic losses. While many complex computer models have been developed for flood risk assessment, they require highly trained personnel to prepare the necessary input (hazard, inventory of the built environment, and vulnerabilities) and analyze model outputs. As such, tools which utilize open-source software or are built within popular desktop software programs are appealing alternatives. The recently developed Rapid Risk Evaluation (ER2) application runs scenario based loss assessment analyses in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. User input is limited to a handful of intuitive drop-down menus utilized to describe the building type, age, occupancy and the expected water level. In anticipation of local depth damage curves and other needed vulnerability parameters, those from the U.S. FEMA's Hazus-Flood software have been imported and temporarily accessed in conjunction with user input to display exposure and estimated economic losses related to the structure and the content of the building. Building types and occupancies representative of those most exposed to flooding in Fredericton (New Brunswick) were introduced and test flood scenarios were run. The algorithm was successfully validated against results from the Hazus-Flood model for the same building types and flood depths.

The Relation between Middle School Science Teachers' Science Content Preparation, Professional Development, and Pedagogical Content Knowledge and Their Attitudes and Beliefs towards Inquiry-Based Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cwik, Lawrence C.

2012-01-01

This study is a quantitative investigation of the relation of middle school science teachers' attitudes and beliefs about inquiry-based instruction to their accumulated amounts of science content preparation, content and pedagogical professional development, and their pedagogical content knowledge. Numerous researchers have found that even though…

Multilingual Content Extraction Extended with Background Knowledge for Military Intelligence

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-06-01

extended with background knowledge (WordNet [Fel98], YAGO [SKW08]) so that new conclusions (logical inferences) can be drawn. For this purpose theorem...such formalized content is extended with background knowledge (WordNet, YAGO ) so that new conclusions (logical inferences) can be drawn. Our aim is to...External Knowledge Formulas Transformation FOLE MRS to FOLE WordNet OpenCyc ... YAGO Logical Calculation Knowledge Background Knowledge Axioms Background

Emotional Ecology: The Intersection of Emotional Knowledge and Pedagogical Content Knowledge in Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zembylas, Michalinos

2007-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to offer some theoretical as well as empirical examples that describe the interrelations between pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and emotional knowledge in teaching and learning. The argument put forward is that there is a need to expand current conceptions of PCK and acknowledge the role of emotional knowledge. It…

Pedagogical Content Knowledge of Experts and Novices--What Knowledge Do They Activate When Analyzing Science Lessons?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krepf, Matthias; Plöger, Wilfried; Scholl, Daniel; Seifert, Andreas

2018-01-01

In the current debate on pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), the term is used to refer to the context-specific knowledge that teachers activate when reflecting on practice. Against the background of this debate, we conducted an empirical study and sought to answer the question of which knowledge experts and novices activated in assessing a…

A "Knowledge Quartet" Used to Identify a Second-Year Pre-Service Teacher's Primary Mathematical Content Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Livy, Sharyn

2010-01-01

This paper draws on observation of a primary mathematics lesson prepared and taught by a second-year pre-service teacher who lacked mathematical content knowledge. A "knowledge quartet" (Rowland, Turner, Thwaites, & Huckstep, 2009) was used to investigate when and how a pre-service teacher drew on their knowledge of mathematics during primary…

Is Practical Subject Matter Knowledge Still Important? Examining the Siedentopian Perspective on the Role of Content Knowledge in Physical Education Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Herold, Frank; Waring, Michael

2017-01-01

Background: The role that content knowledge, an important component of practical subject matter knowledge, plays for pre-service teachers (PSTs) in physical education teacher education (PETE) remains contested and unclear. Whilst some researchers emphasise the facilitative nature of such knowledge, others criticise that too much focus on content…

78 FR 14565 - Changes in Flood Hazard Determinations

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-03-06

..., Building and team.com/lomrs.htm. County (12-03- Chairman at Development 1200P). Large, Loudoun Department... D. Public Works, team.com/lomrs.htm. 2078P). Sessoms, Jr., Municipal Center, Mayor, City of Building... flood insurance premium rates for new buildings and the contents of those buildings. For rating purposes...

77 FR 59953 - Changes in Flood Hazard Determinations

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-01

... areas of Terry L. Baker, Administration team.com/lomrs.htm. Washington County President, Building, 100... Jackson Township http://www.rampp- November 26, 2012.... 421805 (12-03-0843P). O. Moyer, Building, 60 team... flood insurance premium rates for new buildings and the contents of those buildings. For rating purposes...

78 FR 48885 - Changes in Flood Hazard Determinations

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-08-12

...- August 12, 2013...... 420713 Whitpain (12-03- Joseph J. Palmer, Building, 960 team.com/lomrs.htm. 1849P... team.com/lomrs.htm. City of Sachse, Department, 5560 3815 Sachse Road, Highway 78, Building B, Sachse... flood insurance premium rates for new buildings and the contents of those buildings. For rating purposes...

Fire Hazards of Windowless Buildings.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Juillerat, Ernest E.

1964-01-01

In response to the fast growing prominence of windowless buildings due to potential or possible aesthetic, psychological, and economic advantages, this article was written to discuss--(1) effects of windowless construction on the life safety of building occupants, (2) the possible extents of fire damage to the building and its contents, and (3)…

Sparse array of RF sensors for sensing through the wall

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Innocenti, Roberto

2007-04-01

In support of the U.S. Army's need for intelligence on the configuration, content, and human presence inside enclosed areas (buildings), the Army Research Laboratory is currently engaged in an effort to evaluate RF sensors for the "Sensing Through The Wall" initiative (STTW).Detection and location of the presence of enemy combatants in urban settings poses significant technical and operational challenges. This paper shows the potential of hand held RF sensors, with the possible assistance of additional sources like Unattended Aerial Vehicles (UAV), Unattended Ground Sensors (UGS), etc, to fulfill this role. In this study we examine both monostatic and multistatic combination of sensors, especially in configurations that allow the capture of images from different angles, and we demonstrate their capability to provide comprehensive information on a variety of buildings. Finally, we explore the limitations of this type of sensor arrangement vis-a-vis the required precision in the knowledge of the position and timing of the RF sensors. Simulation results are provided to show the potential of this type of sensor arrangement in such a difficult environment.

Developing an in silico minimum inhibitory concentration panel test for Klebsiella pneumoniae

DOE PAGES

Nguyen, Marcus; Brettin, Thomas; Long, S. Wesley; ...

2018-01-11

Here, antimicrobial resistant infections are a serious public health threat worldwide. Whole genome sequencing approaches to rapidly identify pathogens and predict antibiotic resistance phenotypes are becoming more feasible and may offer a way to reduce clinical test turnaround times compared to conventional culture-based methods, and in turn, improve patient outcomes. In this study, we use whole genome sequence data from 1668 clinical isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae to develop a XGBoost-based machine learning model that accurately predicts minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for 20 antibiotics. The overall accuracy of the model, within ± 1 two-fold dilution factor, is 92%. Individual accuracies aremore » >= 90% for 15/20 antibiotics. We show that the MICs predicted by the model correlate with known antimicrobial resistance genes. Importantly, the genome-wide approach described in this study offers a way to predict MICs for isolates without knowledge of the underlying gene content. This study shows that machine learning can be used to build a complete in silico MIC prediction panel for K. pneumoniae and provides a framework for building MIC prediction models for other pathogenic bacteria.« less

Developing an in silico minimum inhibitory concentration panel test for Klebsiella pneumoniae

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nguyen, Marcus; Brettin, Thomas; Long, S. Wesley

Here, antimicrobial resistant infections are a serious public health threat worldwide. Whole genome sequencing approaches to rapidly identify pathogens and predict antibiotic resistance phenotypes are becoming more feasible and may offer a way to reduce clinical test turnaround times compared to conventional culture-based methods, and in turn, improve patient outcomes. In this study, we use whole genome sequence data from 1668 clinical isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae to develop a XGBoost-based machine learning model that accurately predicts minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for 20 antibiotics. The overall accuracy of the model, within ± 1 two-fold dilution factor, is 92%. Individual accuracies aremore » >= 90% for 15/20 antibiotics. We show that the MICs predicted by the model correlate with known antimicrobial resistance genes. Importantly, the genome-wide approach described in this study offers a way to predict MICs for isolates without knowledge of the underlying gene content. This study shows that machine learning can be used to build a complete in silico MIC prediction panel for K. pneumoniae and provides a framework for building MIC prediction models for other pathogenic bacteria.« less

Building Better Bridges into STEM: A Synthesis of 25 Years of Literature on STEM Summer Bridge Programs

PubMed Central

Ashley, Michael; Cooper, Katelyn M.; Cala, Jacqueline M.; Brownell, Sara E.

2017-01-01

Summer bridge programs are designed to help transition students into the college learning environment. Increasingly, bridge programs are being developed in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines because of the rigorous content and lower student persistence in college STEM compared with other disciplines. However, to our knowledge, a comprehensive review of STEM summer bridge programs does not exist. To provide a resource for bridge program developers, we conducted a systematic review of the literature on STEM summer bridge programs. We identified 46 published reports on 30 unique STEM bridge programs that have been published over the past 25 years. In this review, we report the goals of each bridge program and whether the program was successful in meeting these goals. We identify 14 distinct bridge program goals that can be organized into three categories: academic success goals, psychosocial goals, and department-level goals. Building on the findings of published bridge reports, we present a set of recommendations for STEM bridge programs in hopes of developing better bridges into college. PMID:29146667

The Knowledge Building Paradigm: A Model of Learning for Net Generation Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Philip, Donald

2005-01-01

In this article Donald Philip describes Knowledge Building, a pedagogy based on the way research organizations function. The global economy, Philip argues, is driving a shift from older, industrial models to the model of the business as a learning organization. The cognitive patterns of today's Net Generation students, formed by lifetime exposure…

Planning and Teaching Report-Writing. PEN.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hayes, Julie

Although an Australian educator had taught isolated aspects of functional grammar for a number of years, she felt that she had not put enough energy into building field (topic) knowledge. With the unit featured in this PEN Digest she aims to focus on building a quite extensive knowledge of the topic--snakes. According to the Digest, the educator…

Socio-Cognitive Dynamics of Knowledge Building in the Work of 9- and 10-Year-Olds

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Jianwei; Scardamalia, Marlene; Lamon, Mary; Messina, Richard; Reeve, Richard

2007-01-01

This study examines four months of online discourse of 22 Grade 4 students engaged in efforts to advance their understanding of optics. Their work is part of a school-wide knowledge building initiative, the essence of which is giving students collective responsibility for idea improvement. This goal is supported by software--Knowledge…

Investigating Teacher Questions within the Framework of Knowledge Building Pedagogy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kiss, Tamas; Wang, Alex

2017-01-01

This study is designed to investigate the impact of teacher experience and cognition on teacher questioning in the framework of Knowledge Building (KB) pedagogy. We already know that teachers ask the most questions in a classroom and that the majority of their questions have little impact on learning since they focus on classroom management…

Preservice Science Teachers' Collaborative Knowledge Building through Argumentation on Healthy Eating in a Computer Supported Collaborative Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Namdar, Bahadir

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate preservice science teachers' collaborative knowledge building through socioscientific argumentation on healthy eating in a multiple representation-rich computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environment. This study was conducted with a group of preservice science teachers (n = 18) enrolled in…

Knowledge-Building Quality in Online Communities of Practice: Focusing on Learning Dialogue

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sorensen, Elsebeth K.; Takle, Eugene S.; Moser, Heather M.

2006-01-01

This paper reports on a case study on the implementation of "language games" as a pedagogical tool for analyzing, assessing and promoting the quality and the level of collaborative knowledge building in online learning dialogues. Part of the overall objective is to explore the use, strength, weaknesses, and limitations of using the…

The Collaboratory Notebook: A Networked Knowledge-Building Environment for Project Learning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Neill, D. Kevin; Gomez, Louis M.

The Collaboratory Notebook, developed as part of the Learning Through Collaborative Visualization Project (CoVis), is a networked, multimedia knowledge-building environment which has been designed to help students, teachers and scientists share inquiry over the boundaries of time and space. CoVis is an attempt to change the way that science is…

Tracing the Knowledge Building Process through Discussions Mediated by a CSCL Environment: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adanir, Gülgün Afacan

2017-01-01

This case study demonstrates the use of interaction analysis techniques to explore students' knowledge building process evidenced in time-stamped logs of a CSCL environment that consists of chat, shared whiteboard, and wiki features. The study was performed in a graduate level course, which covers online assignments that expect students to…

Two Viewpoints on the Challenges of ICT in Education: Knowledge-Building Theory vs. a Pragmatist Conception of Learning in Social Action

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kivinen, Osmo; Piiroinen, Tero; Saikkonen, Loretta

2016-01-01

The paper contrasts two different approaches to the educational challenges of the ubiquitous, rapidly developing information and communication technologies (ICT). The first is the constructivist "knowledge building" theory spearheaded by Carl Bereiter and Marlene Scardamalia and recently further developed by Kai Hakkarainen and Sami…

The Development of Logico-Mathematical Knowledge in a Block-Building Activity at Ages 1-4

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kamii, Constance; Miyakawa, Yoko; Kato, Yasuhiko

2004-01-01

To study the developmental interrelationships among various aspects of logico-mathematical knowledge, 80 one- to 4-year-olds were individually asked to build "something tall" with 20 blocks. Percentages of new and significant behaviors increased with age and were analyzed in terms of the development of logico-mathematical relationships. It was…

Balancing the Pros and Cons of GMOs: Socio-Scientific Argumentation in Pre-Service Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cinici, Ayhan

2016-01-01

This study investigates the role of the discursive process in the act of scientific knowledge building. Specifically, it links scientific knowledge building to risk perception of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). To this end, this study designed and implemented a three-stage argumentation programme giving pre-service teachers (PSTs) the…

Using Queer Knowledges To Build Inclusionary Pedagogy in Adult Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grace, Andre P.; Hill, Robert J.

Adult educators can use historical, cultural, and theoretical queer knowledges to build an alternative pedagogy focused on three themes. The first is engaging queer history and queer studies to transgress adult educational space. They can be used to construct and affirm a transgressive notion of queer as normal that counters a historical notion of…

Knowledge Exchange: Capacity Building in a Small University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davis, Sally Fowler

2009-01-01

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to examine an early articulation of some of the key factors in building capacity and the potential for knowledge exchange (KE) within a small, learning and teaching-oriented organization. Design/methodology/approach: An action research study is planned as a practical enquiry. In common with other action research,…

Mathematics Learning Difficulties in Primary Education: Teachers' Professional Knowledge and the Use of Commercially Available Learning Packages

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Steenbrugge, H.; Valcke, M.; Desoete, A.

2010-01-01

The present study builds on teachers' professional knowledge about mathematics learning difficulties. Based on the input of 918 primary school teachers, an attempt is made to develop an overview of difficult curriculum topics in primary school mathematics. The research approach builds on new conceptions about the professional identity of teachers…

Reading for Deep Understanding: Knowledge Building and Conceptual Artifacts in Secondary English

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nachowitz, Marc

2012-01-01

The purpose of this design-based experiment is two-fold: to see if classroom pedagogies can be developed to improve student achievement in English literature as well as prepare them for 21st Century literacies. Applying Bereiter and Scardamalia's theory of Knowledge Building to English curricula, this experiment tracked the progress of a…

Gaps in Science Content Knowledge Encountered during Teaching Practice: A Study of Early-Career Middle-School Science Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kinghorn, Brian Edward

2013-01-01

Subject-specific content knowledge is crucial for effective science teaching, yet many teachers are entering the field not fully equipped with all the science content knowledge they need to effectively teach the subject. Learning from practice is one approach to bridging the gap between what practicing teachers know and what they need to know.…

Effects of Improving Teachers' Content Knowledge on Teaching and Student Learning in Physical Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ward, Phillip; Kim, Insook; Ko, Bomna; Li, Weidong

2015-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of a content knowledge (CK) workshop on the enacted pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of teachers and in turn the effects on student learning. Method: A quasiexperimental design was used to examine 4 questions: (a) How does student learning differ as a function of PCK? (b) How does…

The Effects of a Content Knowledge Workshop on Teachers' Pedagogical Content Knowledge and Student Learning in a Soccer Unit in Middle School Physical Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Yun Soo

2011-01-01

There is an assumption that pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) is observable and measurable. Yet, in many studies referencing PCK, the construct of PCK remains both undefined operationally and poorly described. In physical education, although one study has measured teachers' PCK using teachers' weak and strong units of instruction (Ayvazo, 2007),…

The Acquisition of Mathematics Pedagogical Content Knowledge in University Mathematics Education Courses: Results of a Mixed Methods Study on the Effectiveness of Teacher Education in Germany

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buchholtz, Nils Frederik

2017-01-01

This paper reports on a longitudinal mixed methods evaluation study on the acquisition and development of mathematical pedagogical content knowledge (MPCK) of future teachers at several German universities. The study is a German supplementary study to the international comparative TEDS-M 2008 study. Besides the pedagogical content knowledge that…

A Comparison of Pre-Service, In-Service and Formation Program for Teachers' Perceptions of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) in English Language Teaching (ELT)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Turgut, Yildiz

2017-01-01

In view of the rapid advancement of technology, technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) has been extensively studied. However, research on technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) in teaching English appear to be scarce and addressed either pre-service or in-service teachers, but not their comparison. Additionally, although…

Informal reasoning regarding socioscientific issues: The influence of morality and content knowledge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sadler, Troy Dow

This study focused on informal reasoning regarding socioscientific issues. It explored how morality and content knowledge influenced the negotiation and resolution of contentious and complex scenarios based on genetic engineering. Two hundred and sixty-nine undergraduate students completed a quantitative test of genetics concepts. A sub-set of the students (n = 30) who completed this instrument and represented divergent levels of content knowledge participated in two individual interviews, during which they discussed their ideas, reactions, and solutions to three gene therapy scenarios and three cloning scenarios. A mixed-methods approach was used to examine patterns of informal reasoning and the influence of morality, the effects of content knowledge on the use of informal reasoning patterns, and the effects of content knowledge on the quality of informal reasoning. Students demonstrated evidence of rationalistic, emotive, and intuitive forms of informal reasoning. Rationalistic informal reasoning described reason-based considerations; emotive informal reasoning described care-based considerations; and intuitive reasoning described considerations based on immediate reactions to the context of a scenario. Participants frequently relied on combinations of these reasoning patterns as they worked to resolve individual socioscientific scenarios. Most of the participants appreciated at least some of the moral implications of their decisions, and these considerations were typically interwoven within an overall pattern of informal reasoning. Although differences in content knowledge were not found to be related to modes of informal reasoning (rationalistic, emotive, and informal), data did indicate that differences in content knowledge were related to variations in informal reasoning quality. Participants, with more advanced understandings of genetics, demonstrated fewer instances of reasoning flaws, as defined by a priori criteria (intra-scenario coherence, inter-scenario non-contradiction, counter position construction, and rebuttal construction) and were more likely to incorporate content knowledge in their reasoning patterns than participants with more naive understandings of genetics. These results highlight the need to ensure that science classrooms are environments in which intuition and emotion in addition to reason are valued. In addition, the findings underscore the need for teachers to consider students' content knowledge when determining the appropriateness of socioscientific curricula. Implications and recommendations for future research are discussed.

The Evolution of Inquiry Activities in the Akamai Observatory Short Course, 2004-2009

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rice, E. L.; McElwain, M.; Sonnett, S.; Rafelski, M.

2010-12-01

The Akamai Observatory Short Course (AOSC) is a five-day course of activities designed to prepare college students majoring in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields for internships at observatories on the Big Island of Hawai'i. The design and implementation of inquiry-based activities in the AOSC have evolved considerably over the six years of the course. The content goals have always focused on the basic understanding of light and optics necessary to understand telescopes, but the scientific process goals gradually evolved to reflect the increasingly recognized importance of engineering design skills for successful observatory internships. In 2004 the inquiry-based activities were limited to one well-established Color, Light, and Spectra activity. In subsequent years more activities were customized and expanded upon to reflect the learners' diverse academic backgrounds, the developing goals of the short course, and feedback from internship hosts. The most recent inquiry, the Design and Build a Telescope activity, engaged students in designing and building a simple telescope, emphasizing science and engineering process skills in addition to science content. This activity was influenced by the Mission Design activity, added in 2006, that incorporated the application of inquiry-based learning to the engineering design process and allowed students to draw upon their diverse prior knowledge and experience. In this paper we describe the inquiry-based activities in the AOSC in the context of its year-to-year evolution, including the conceptual and pragmatic changes to the short course that influenced the evolution.

The importance of pedagogical content knowledge in curriculum development for illumination engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pompea, Stephen M.; Walker, Constance E.

2017-08-01

An understanding of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and educative materials has been critical to our teaching programs in illumination engineering. We will discuss the PCK basis of a number of innovative curriculum efforts at the National Optical Astronomy and how we develop "educative materials" that improve educator content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and contextual knowledge. We also describe the process and team approach required to create these "educative materials." The foundation of our work at NOAO were two previous projects at the NASA Classroom of the Future. These projects created educative curricular materials with sophisticated science content integrated with a deep, authentic understanding of science process. Additional curricula with these attributes were developed at NOAO for the NSF-sponsored Hands-On Optics project (SPIE, OSA, and NOAO), for the citizen science project Globe at Night (NOAO), and for the Quality Lighting Teaching Kits (NOAO, International Astronomical Union, OSA Foundation, SPIE, CIE, and the International Dark Sky Association). These projects all strove to create educative instructional materials that can enhance the pedagogical content knowledge of educators.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Website Content Features Using Retrospective Pretest Methodology: An Experimental Test.

PubMed

Mueller, Christoph Emanuel

2015-06-01

In order to assess website content effectiveness (WCE), investigations have to be made into whether the reception of website contents leads to a change in the characteristics of website visitors or not. Because randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are not always the method of choice, researchers may have to follow other strategies such as using retrospective pretest methodology (RPM), a straightforward and easy-to-implement tool for estimating intervention effects. This article aims to introduce RPM in the context of website evaluation and test its viability under experimental conditions. Building on the idea that RCTs deliver unbiased estimates of the true causal effects of website content reception, I compared the performance of RPM with that of an RCT within the same study. Hence, if RPM provides effect estimates similar to those of the RCT, it can be considered a viable tool for assessing the effectiveness of the website content features under study. RPM was capable of delivering comparatively resilient estimates of the effects of a YouTube video and a text feature on knowledge and attitudes. With regard to all of the outcome variables considered, the differences between the sizes of the effects estimated by the RCT and RPM were not significant. Additionally, RPM delivered relatively accurate effect size estimates in most of the cases. Therefore, I conclude that RPM could be a viable alternative for assessing WCE in cases where RCTs are not the preferred method. © The Author(s) 2015.

Making Learning Visible: Developing Preservice Teachers' Pedagogical Content Knowledge and Teaching Efficacy Beliefs in Environmental Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richardson, Greer M.; Byrne, Laurel L.; Liang, Ling L.

2018-01-01

Recognizing that teaching efficacy beliefs influence pedagogical content knowledge, this study assesses the impact of a general methods course on preservice teachers' efficacy beliefs and instructional planning of environmental education content. The course used explicit and visible strategies to support pedagogical and content knowledge…

A Case Study of Two Groups of Elementary Prospective Teachers' Experiences in Distinct Mathematics Content Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Auslander, Susan Swars; Smith, Stephanie Z.; Smith, Marvin E.; Hart, Lynn C.; Carothers, Jody

2016-01-01

This multiple case study examined two groups of elementary prospective teachers (n=12) completing distinct mathematics content courses. Data were collected via two belief surveys, one content knowledge assessment, and individual interviews. The findings revealed differences in specialized content knowledge and mathematical beliefs between the two…

Setting up the criteria and credit-awarding scheme for building interior material selection to achieve better indoor air quality.

PubMed

Niu, J L; Burnett, J

2001-06-01

Methods, standards, and regulations that are aimed to reduce indoor air pollution from building materials are critically reviewed. These are classified as content control and emission control. Methods and standards can be found in both of these two classes. In the regulation domain, only content control is enforced in some countries and some regions, and asbestos is the only building material that is banned for building use. The controlled pollutants include heavy metals, radon, formaldehyde, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Emission rate control based upon environment chamber testing is very much in the nature of voluntary product labeling and ranking, and this mainly targets formaldehyde and VOC emissions. It is suggested that radon emission from building materials should be subject to similar emission rate control. A comprehensive set criteria and credit-awarding scheme that encourages the use of low-emission building material is synthesized, and how this scheme can be practiced in building design is proposed and discussed.

The Effects of a Systematically Designed Online Learning Environment on Preservice Teachers' Professional Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Evens, Marie; Larmuseau, Charlotte; Dewaele, Katrien; Van Craesbeek, Leen; Elen, Jan; Depaepe, Fien

2017-01-01

This study examines the effects of an online learning environment on preservice teachers' pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), content knowledge (CK) (related to French in primary teacher education), and pedagogical knowledge (PK) in a quasi-experimental design. More specifically, the following research question is addressed: Is a systematically…

Preservice Biology Teachers' Professional Knowledge: Structure and Learning Opportunities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Großschedl, Jörg; Harms, Ute; Kleickmann, Thilo; Glowinski, Ingrid

2015-01-01

What learning opportunities in higher education promote the development of content knowledge (CK), pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), and pedagogical knowledge (PK)? In order to investigate this question, a cross-sectional study with a total of 274 German preservice biology teachers (21.5% male, average age 22.8 years) was conducted in German…

Definitions of Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching: Using These Constructs in Research on Secondary and College Mathematics Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Speer, Natasha M.; King, Karen D.; Howell, Heather

2015-01-01

The construct "mathematical knowledge for teaching" (MKT) has received considerable attention in the mathematics education community in recent years. The development and refinement of the MKT construct, including the components of common content knowledge (CCK) and specialized content knowledge (SCK), came from research into elementary…

Conceptualizations of Representation Forms and Knowledge Organization of High School Teachers in Finland: "Magnetostatics"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Majidi, Sharareh; Emden, Markus

2013-01-01

One of the main components of teachers' pedagogical content knowledge refers to their use of representation forms. In a similar vein, organizing concepts logically and meaningfully is an essential element of teachers' subject matter knowledge. Since subject matter and pedagogical content knowledge of teachers are tightly connected as categories…

Knowledge Structures of Entering Computer Networking Students and Their Instructors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DiCerbo, Kristen E.

2007-01-01

Students bring prior knowledge to their learning experiences. This prior knowledge is known to affect how students encode and later retrieve new information learned. Teachers and content developers can use information about students' prior knowledge to create more effective lessons and materials. In many content areas, particularly the sciences,…

Exploring ESL/EFL Teachers' Pedagogical Content Knowledge on Reading Strategy Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Xu, Wei

2015-01-01

Any instructional practice must be derived from a teacher's knowledge base for teaching, which can be acquired by training, study, or practice. While much attention has been paid to teachers' practical content knowledge in real educational settings, comprehensive syntheses of expert knowledge on a particular teaching task for a specific group of…

Transformation of Topic-Specific Professional Knowledge into Personal Pedagogical Content Knowledge through Lesson Planning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stender, Anita; Brückmann, Maja; Neumann, Knut

2017-01-01

This study investigates the relationship between two different types of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK): the topic-specific professional knowledge (TSPK) and practical routines, so-called teaching scripts. Based on the Transformation Model of Lesson Planning, we assume that teaching scripts originate from a transformation of TSPK during lesson…

High School Biology Students' Knowledge and Certainty about Diffusion and Osmosis Concepts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Odom, Arthur L.; Barrow, Lloyd H.

2007-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate students' understanding about scientifically acceptable content knowledge by exploring the relationship between knowledge of diffusion and osmosis and the students' certainty in their content knowledge. Data was collected from a high school biology class with the Diffusion and Osmosis Diagnostic Test…

Comparing Primary Student Teachers' Attitudes, Subject Knowledge and Pedagogical Content Knowledge Needs in a Physics Activity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnston, Jane; Ahtee, Maija

2006-01-01

This research explores and compares primary student teachers' attitudes, subject knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in physics in two institutions in England and Finland, using a practical physics activity and questionnaire. Teaching of physics activities was rated unpopular both in Finland and England, although English students…

Enhancing Research Capacity for Global Health: Evaluation of a Distance-Based Program for International Study Coordinators

PubMed Central

Wilson, Lynda Law; Rice, Marti; Jones, Carolynn T.; Joiner, Cynthia; LaBorde, Jennifer; McCall, Kimberly; Jester, Penelope M; Carter, Sheree C.; Boone, Chrissy; Onwuzuligbo, Uzoma; Koneru, Alaya

2013-01-01

Introduction Due to the increasing number of clinical trials conducted globally, there is a need for quality continuing education for health professionals in clinical research manager (CRM) roles. This paper describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of a distance-based continuing education program for CRMs working outside the United States. Methods A total of 692 applications were received from CRMs in 50 countries. Of these, 166 were admitted to the program in two cohorts. The program, taught online and in English, included four required and one optional course. Course materials were also provided as hard copies and on CDs. A pretest/posttest design was used to evaluate the outcome of the program in terms of changes in knowledge, participants’ capacity-building activities at their research sites; and participant and supervisor perceptions of program impact. Results Participants demonstrated significant improvements in knowledge about clinical research, rated course content and teaching strategies positively, and identified the opportunity for interactions with international peers as a major program strength. Challenges for participants were limited time to complete assignments and erratic internet access. Participants offered capacity building programs to 5061 individuals at their research sites. Supervisors indicated that they would recommend the program and perceived the program improved CRM effectiveness and site research capacity. Findings Results suggest that this type of continuing education program addresses a growing need for education of CRMs working in countries that have previously had limited involvement with global clinical trials. PMID:23512562

Knowledge Construction and Knowledge Representation in High School Students' Design of Hypermedia Documents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Pearl; McGrath, Diane

2003-01-01

This study documented the processes of knowledge construction and knowledge representation in high school students' hypermedia design projects. Analysis of knowledge construction in linking and structural building yielded distinct types and subtypes of hypermedia documents, which were characterized by four features of knowledge representation: (a)…

SRA Real Math Building Blocks PreK. What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

What Works Clearinghouse, 2007

2007-01-01

"SRA Real Math Building Blocks PreK" (also referred to as "Building Blocks for Math") is a supplemental mathematics curriculum designed to develop preschool children's early mathematical knowledge through various individual and small- and large-group activities. It uses "Building Blocks for Math PreK" software,…

iNACOL Research Agenda

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

International Association for K-12 Online Learning, 2013

2013-01-01

The International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) publishes a research agenda on an ongoing basis to continue its work in field-building, capacity-building and knowledge-building. Based on a 2013 survey of the field to identify research needs, iNACOL developed a research approach, including the following: (1) Build a collaborative…

Measurement of Moisture in Wood for Application in the Restoration of Old Buildings.

PubMed

Moron, Carlos; Garcia-Fuentevilla, Luisa; Garcia, Alfonso; Moron, Alberto

2016-05-14

There are many historic buildings whose construction is based on timber frame walls. Most buildings built during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were based on timber frame walls with vertical support elements. These timber frame elements are affected by their moisture content and by the passage of time. If the interaction of the timber frame walls with hygrothermal fluctuations were known, the maintenance of these buildings could be improved significantly. To determine the moisture content of wood there are two types of meters on the market: on the one hand, capacitance meters which consist of two side ends and where the moisture content is measured locally between two peaks. On the other hand, there are meters based on the variation of electromagnetic transmittance of timber, which depends on the moisture of timber. The second ones are very expensive and difficult to handle. This work presents a new non-intrusive capacitive sensor that measures the global moisture content in a section of the timber frame walls and therefore its accuracy is similar to the accuracy that can be obtained with electromagnetic transmittance meters. Additionally, as it is a capacitive sensor, it is low cost and easy to operate.

Measurement of Moisture in Wood for Application in the Restoration of Old Buildings

PubMed Central

Moron, Carlos; Garcia-Fuentevilla, Luisa; Garcia, Alfonso; Moron, Alberto

2016-01-01

There are many historic buildings whose construction is based on timber frame walls. Most buildings built during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were based on timber frame walls with vertical support elements. These timber frame elements are affected by their moisture content and by the passage of time. If the interaction of the timber frame walls with hygrothermal fluctuations were known, the maintenance of these buildings could be improved significantly. To determine the moisture content of wood there are two types of meters on the market: on the one hand, capacitance meters which consist of two side ends and where the moisture content is measured locally between two peaks. On the other hand, there are meters based on the variation of electromagnetic transmittance of timber, which depends on the moisture of timber. The second ones are very expensive and difficult to handle. This work presents a new non-intrusive capacitive sensor that measures the global moisture content in a section of the timber frame walls and therefore its accuracy is similar to the accuracy that can be obtained with electromagnetic transmittance meters. Additionally, as it is a capacitive sensor, it is low cost and easy to operate. PMID:27187410

Exploring Biology Teachers' Pedagogical Content Knowledge in the Teaching of Genetics in Swaziland Science Classrooms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mthethwa-Kunene, Eunice; Oke Onwu, Gilbert; de Villiers, Rian

2015-05-01

This study explored the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and its development of four experienced biology teachers in the context of teaching school genetics. PCK was defined in terms of teacher content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and knowledge of students' preconceptions and learning difficulties. Data sources of teacher knowledge base included teacher-constructed concept maps, pre- and post-lesson teacher interviews, video-recorded genetics lessons, post-lesson teacher questionnaire and document analysis of teacher's reflective journals and students' work samples. The results showed that the teachers' individual PCK profiles consisted predominantly of declarative and procedural content knowledge in teaching basic genetics concepts. Conditional knowledge, which is a type of meta-knowledge for blending together declarative and procedural knowledge, was also demonstrated by some teachers. Furthermore, the teachers used topic-specific instructional strategies such as context-based teaching, illustrations, peer teaching, and analogies in diverse forms but failed to use physical models and individual or group student experimental activities to assist students' internalization of the concepts. The finding that all four teachers lacked knowledge of students' genetics-related preconceptions was equally significant. Formal university education, school context, journal reflection and professional development programmes were considered as contributing to the teachers' continuing PCK development. Implications of the findings for biology teacher education are briefly discussed.