Learning to learn causal models.

PubMed

Kemp, Charles; Goodman, Noah D; Tenenbaum, Joshua B

2010-09-01

Learning to understand a single causal system can be an achievement, but humans must learn about multiple causal systems over the course of a lifetime. We present a hierarchical Bayesian framework that helps to explain how learning about several causal systems can accelerate learning about systems that are subsequently encountered. Given experience with a set of objects, our framework learns a causal model for each object and a causal schema that captures commonalities among these causal models. The schema organizes the objects into categories and specifies the causal powers and characteristic features of these categories and the characteristic causal interactions between categories. A schema of this kind allows causal models for subsequent objects to be rapidly learned, and we explore this accelerated learning in four experiments. Our results confirm that humans learn rapidly about the causal powers of novel objects, and we show that our framework accounts better for our data than alternative models of causal learning. Copyright © 2010 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Inclusion, Disabilities, and Informal Science Learning. A CAISE Inquiry Group Report. Executive Summary

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education, 2010

2010-01-01

Informal science education (ISE) experiences can provide powerful opportunities for people with disabilities to experience and learn about science. When designed to be inclusive, such experiences can lead people with disabilities to feel competent and empowered as science learners, generate excitement and enthusiasm for science, and be equitable…

Place-Based Learning and Mobile Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

LaBelle, Chris

2011-01-01

When delivered on a mobile device, interpretive tours of a locale afford powerful learning experiences. As mobile devices become more powerful, content for these devices that is individualized and location-specific has become more common. In light of this trend, Oregon State University Extension developed a GPS-enabled iPhone tree tour…

Experiences in the Application of Project-Based Learning in a Switching-Mode Power Supplies Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lamar, D. G.; Miaja, P. F.; Arias, M.; Rodriguez, A.; Rodriguez, M.; Vazquez, A.; Hernando, M. M.; Sebastian, J.

2012-01-01

This paper presents the introduction of problem-based learning (PBL) in a power electronics course at the University of Oviedo, Gijon, Spain, by means of two practical projects: the design and construction of a switching-mode power supply (SMPS) prototype and the static study of a dc-dc converter topology. The goal of this innovation was for…

Sharing Power in the Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richard-Amato, Patricia

2002-01-01

Suggests that be sharing power in the classroom teachers allow the development of participatory classrooms in which all students can thrive. Examines participatory teaching and critical pedagogy, components of the participatory learning experience, manifestations of participatory teaching, an application of the language experience approach,…

Racing with the Sun: Students Learn Physics while Designing a Solar-Powered Vehicle

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marshall, Jeff

2004-01-01

In this article, the author describes his experience conducting an inquiry investigation in his classroom in which high school physics students design, create, and race a solar-powered vehicle. Students learn invaluable science, technology, mathematics, communication, and critical thinking skills. Fueled by their knowledge, creativity, and the…

Power in Methods: Language to Infants in Structured and Naturalistic Contexts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tamis-LeMonda, Catherine S.; Kuchirko, Yana; Luo, Rufan; Escobar, Kelly; Bornstein, Marc H.

2017-01-01

Methods can powerfully affect conclusions about infant experiences and learning. Data from naturalistic observations may paint a very different picture of learning and development from those based on structured tasks, as illustrated in studies of infant walking, object permanence, intention understanding, and so forth. Using language as a model…

Agoras: Towards Collaborative Game-Based Learning Experiences on Surfaces

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Catala, Alejandro; Garcia-Sanjuan, Fernando; Pons, Patricia; Jaen, Javier; Mocholi, Jose A.

2012-01-01

Children nowadays consume and manage lots of interactive digital software. This makes it more interesting and powerful to use digital technologies and videogames supporting learning experiences. However, in general, current digital proposals lack of in-situ social interaction supporting natural exchange and discussion of ideas in the course of…

Star power: an experiential learning exercise to foster ecological perspectives on power, privilege, and oppression.

PubMed

Nnawulezi, Nkiru; Campbell, Christina; Landstra, Kalleigh; Davis, Se'ara; Vandegrift, Cortney; Taylor, Amanda

2013-01-01

The purpose of this article is to describe the utility of Star Power as an experiential learning exercise applied in a community psychology undergraduate course. This exercise simulates systems of power, privilege, and oppression while fostering an ecological perspective that raises students' awareness and knowledge about power differentials within society. The simulation of trading and lawmaking works best with 18 to 35 students and takes approximately 80 minutes to conduct. This article highlights three representative student perspectives concerning their participation and experience with Star Power. Strategies for facilitating class discussion are also reported.

Star Power: An Experiential Learning Exercise to Foster Ecological Perspectives on Power, Privilege, and Oppression

PubMed Central

Nnawulezi, Nkiru; Campbell, Christina; Landstra, Kalleigh; Davis, Se'ara; Vandegrift, Cortney; Taylor, Amanda

2014-01-01

The purpose of this article is to describe the utility of Star Power, as an experiential learning exercise applied in a community psychology undergraduate course. This exercise simulates systems of power, privilege, and oppression while fostering an ecological perspective that raises students’ awareness and knowledge about power differentials within society. The simulation of trading and lawmaking works best with 18 to 35 students and takes approximately 80 minutes to conduct. This paper highlights three representative student perspectives concerning their participation and experience with Star Power. Strategies for facilitating class discussion are also discussed. PMID:23480288

Power Distance in Online Learning: Experience of Chinese Learners in U.S. Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Yi (Leaf)

2013-01-01

The purpose of this research study was to explore the influence of Confucian-heritage culture on Chinese learners' online learning and engagement in online discussion in U.S. higher education. More specifically, this research studied Chinese learners' perceptions of power distance and its impact on their interactions with instructors and peers in…

The Power and Utility of Reflective Learning Portfolios in Honors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Corley, Christopher R.; Zubizarreta, John

2012-01-01

The explosive growth of learning portfolios in higher education as a compelling tool for enhanced student learning, assessment, and career preparation is a sign of the increasing significance of reflective practice and mindful, systematic documentation in promoting deep, meaningful, transformative learning experiences. The advent of sophisticated…

Reclaiming Power and Identity: Marginalized Students' Experiences of Service-Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winans-Solis, Jaime

2014-01-01

This qualitative case study investigates how service-learning may enable self-direction and the development of a critical consciousness for marginalized high school students by exploring the dynamics of service-learning through a theoretical framework of critical theory. Service-learning is theorized to counter the oppressive nature of schooling…

Coming Home: Continuing Intercultural Learning during the Re-Entry Semester Following a Study Abroad Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marx, Helen A.; Moss, David M.

2015-01-01

International experiences through structured study abroad programs are proposed as a powerful way to impact pre-service teachers' intercultural understandings and competence. In recent years attention has been placed on the nature of such study abroad programs, seeking to illuminate design elements that might enhance intercultural learning prior…

Creating Fugitive Knowledge through Disorienting Dilemmas: The Issue of Bottom Identity Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGill, Craig M.; Collins, Joshua C.

2015-01-01

Despite sexuality being a powerful source of emotional and physical experiences and learning, it remains underexplored as an area of interest and investigation in adult education and human resource development (HRD). Most work on sexuality in adult education and HRD has focused on learning, work experiences, discrimination, acceptance, and health…

The Invisible Hand: The Power of Language in Creating Welcoming Postsecondary Learning Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clinton, Lisa C.; Higbee, Jeanne L.

2011-01-01

This manuscript discusses from the joint perspectives of an undergraduate student and a faculty member the often invisible role that language can play in providing postsecondary learning experiences that can either include or exclude students on the basis of social identity. The authors discuss ignorance, uncertainty, and political correctness as…

Active learning for noisy oracle via density power divergence.

PubMed

Sogawa, Yasuhiro; Ueno, Tsuyoshi; Kawahara, Yoshinobu; Washio, Takashi

2013-10-01

The accuracy of active learning is critically influenced by the existence of noisy labels given by a noisy oracle. In this paper, we propose a novel pool-based active learning framework through robust measures based on density power divergence. By minimizing density power divergence, such as β-divergence and γ-divergence, one can estimate the model accurately even under the existence of noisy labels within data. Accordingly, we develop query selecting measures for pool-based active learning using these divergences. In addition, we propose an evaluation scheme for these measures based on asymptotic statistical analyses, which enables us to perform active learning by evaluating an estimation error directly. Experiments with benchmark datasets and real-world image datasets show that our active learning scheme performs better than several baseline methods. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Influencing Transformative Learning for Leaders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davis, Stephen H.

2006-01-01

Superintendents are uniquely positioned to establish workplace condition where on-the-job learning can flourish. Given the myriad duties and responsibilities that consume superintendents' typical workday, it is sometimes difficult for them to devote time and resources necessary to stimulate powerful-on-the-job learning experiences for school…

Professional Learning: Lessons for Supervision from Doctoral Examining

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wisker, Gina; Kiley, Margaret

2014-01-01

Most research into research supervision practice focuses on functional, collegial or problematic power-related experiences. Work developing the supervisory role concentrates on new supervisors, and on taught development and support programmes. Most literature on academics' professional learning concentrates on learning to be a university teacher…

Powered mobility intervention: understanding the position of tool use learning as part of implementing the ALP tool.

PubMed

Nilsson, Lisbeth; Durkin, Josephine

2017-10-01

To explore the knowledge necessary for adoption and implementation of the Assessment of Learning Powered mobility use (ALP) tool in different practice settings for both adults and children. To consult with a diverse population of professionals working with adults and children, in different countries and various settings; who were learning about or using the ALP tool, as part of exploring and implementing research findings. Classical grounded theory with a rigorous comparative analysis of data from informants together with reflections on our own rich experiences of powered mobility practice and comparisons with the literature. A core category learning tool use and a new theory of cognizing tool use, with its interdependent properties: motivation, confidence, permissiveness, attentiveness and co-construction has emerged which explains in greater depth what enables the application of the ALP tool. The scientific knowledge base on tool use learning and the new theory conveys the information necessary for practitioner's cognizing how to apply the learning approach of the ALP tool in order to enable tool use learning through powered mobility practice as a therapeutic intervention in its own right. This opens up the possibility for more children and adults to have access to learning through powered mobility practice. Implications for rehabilitation Tool use learning through powered mobility practice is a therapeutic intervention in its own right. Powered mobility practice can be used as a rehabilitation tool with individuals who may not need to become powered wheelchair users. Motivation, confidence, permissiveness, attentiveness and co-construction are key properties for enabling the application of the learning approach of the ALP tool. Labelling and the use of language, together with honing observational skills through viewing video footage, are key to developing successful learning partnerships.

Predictive power of individual factors and clinical learning experience on academic success: findings from a longitudinal study.

PubMed

Dante, Angelo; Fabris, Stefano; Palese, Alvisa

2015-01-01

Academic failure is the inability of a nursing student to graduate or to complete the nursing degree on time. This longitudinal cohort study, involving 2 Italian universities, documents the effects of selected individual variables and the quality of the clinical learning experience as perceived by students on academic success. Factors related to the clinical learning experience were the quality of the supervisory relationship, pedagogical atmosphere, and commitment of the ward related to the level of personalized nursing care delivered and clarity of nursing documentation.

How Would They Choose? Online Student Preferences for Advance Course Information

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marshall, James; Greenberg, Heather; Machun, Patricia A.

2012-01-01

Nearly 30% of higher education students now take at least one online course in which the instructor and students are physically separated and electronic means are used to facilitate the learning experience. "Anytime, anywhere" is a powerful draw that prompts students to seek online learning experiences. Yet with an attrition rate between 10 and…

Are pictures good for learning new vocabulary in a foreign language? Only if you think they are not.

PubMed

Carpenter, Shana K; Olson, Kellie M

2012-01-01

The current study explored whether new words in a foreign language are learned better from pictures than from native language translations. In both between-subjects and within-subject designs, Swahili words were not learned better from pictures than from English translations (Experiments 1-3). Judgments of learning revealed that participants exhibited greater overconfidence in their ability to recall a Swahili word from a picture than from a translation (Experiments 2-3), and Swahili words were also considered easier to process when paired with pictures rather than translations (Experiment 4). When this overconfidence bias was eliminated through retrieval practice (Experiment 2) and instructions warning participants to not be overconfident (Experiment 3), Swahili words were learned better from pictures than from translations. It appears, therefore, that pictures can facilitate learning of foreign language vocabulary--as long as participants are not too overconfident in the power of a picture to help them learn a new word.

Peer Assessment Enhances Student Learning: The Results of a Matched Randomized Crossover Experiment in a College Statistics Class.

PubMed

Sun, Dennis L; Harris, Naftali; Walther, Guenther; Baiocchi, Michael

2015-01-01

Feedback has a powerful influence on learning, but it is also expensive to provide. In large classes it may even be impossible for instructors to provide individualized feedback. Peer assessment is one way to provide personalized feedback that scales to large classes. Besides these obvious logistical benefits, it has been conjectured that students also learn from the practice of peer assessment. However, this has never been conclusively demonstrated. Using an online educational platform that we developed, we conducted an in-class matched-set, randomized crossover experiment with high power to detect small effects. We establish that peer assessment causes a small but significant gain in student achievement. Our study also demonstrates the potential of web-based platforms to facilitate the design of high-quality experiments to identify small effects that were previously not detectable.

Disrupting Ourselves: The Problem of Learning in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bass, Randy

2012-01-01

A growing appreciation for the porous boundaries between the classroom and life experience, along with the power of social learning, authentic audiences, and integrative contexts, has created not only promising changes in learning but also disruptive moments in teaching. Disruptive moments, the author means "disruption" in the way Clayton…

Learning the Ropes: A SpeyGrian Sailing Tale.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McEwen, Christian

2003-01-01

Fourteen educators went Scottish island-hopping on a 100-year-old sailing boat to learn journal writing and new techniques in outdoor learning, gain confidence for teaching about controversial issues, and experience creative education in general. This narrative of their journey eloquently captures the essence and power of experiential, outdoor…

Overcoming Pedagogical Solitude: The Transformative Power of Discipline-Specific Faculty Learning Communities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tovar, Mariela; Jukier, Rosalie; Ferris, Jennie; Cardoso, Kristen

2015-01-01

This article describes a multiyear Faculty Learning Community (FLC) program as a strategy to overcome pedagogical solitude (Shulman, 1993) in a discipline-specific context. Participant interviews shed light on their FLC experiences and perceived impact on their teaching and students' learning. Grounded within the particularities of the…

Development and examination of the psychometric properties of the Learning Experience Scale in nursing.

PubMed

Takase, Miyuki; Imai, Takiko; Uemura, Chizuru

2016-06-01

This paper examines the psychometric properties of the Learning Experience Scale. A survey method was used to collect data from a total of 502 nurses. Data were analyzed by factor analysis and the known-groups technique to examine the construct validity of the scale. In addition, internal consistency was evaluated by Cronbach's alpha, and stability was examined by test-retest correlation. Factor analysis showed that the Learning Experience Scale consisted of five factors: learning from practice, others, training, feedback, and reflection. The scale also had the power to discriminate between nurses with high and low levels of nursing competence. The internal consistency and the stability of the scale were also acceptable. The Learning Experience Scale is a valid and reliable instrument, and helps organizations to effectively design learning interventions for nurses. © 2015 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Community-Based Service-Learning as a Source of Personal Self-Efficacy: Preparing Preservice Elementary Teachers to Teach Science for Diversity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cone, Neporcha

2009-01-01

Bandura (1997) contends that when compared to other sources of efficacy, mastery experiences, when presented appropriately, have the most powerful influence on self-efficacy. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of community-based service learning (CBSL) experiences on preservice elementary teachers' personal self-efficacy…

A care improvement program acting as a powerful learning environment to support nursing students learning facilitation competencies.

PubMed

Jukema, Jan S; Harps-Timmerman, Annelies; Stoopendaal, Annemiek; Smits, Carolien H M

2015-11-01

Change management is an important area of training in undergraduate nursing education. Successful change management in healthcare aimed at improving practices requires facilitation skills that support teams in attaining the desired change. Developing facilitation skills in nursing students requires formal educational support. A Dutch Regional Care Improvement Program based on a nationwide format of change management in healthcare was designed to act as a Powerful Learning Environment for nursing students developing competencies in facilitating change. This article has two aims: to provide comprehensive insight into the program components and to describe students' learning experiences in developing their facilitation skills. This Dutch Regional Care Improvement Program considers three aspects of a Powerful Learning Environment: self-regulated learning; problem-based learning; and complex, realistic and challenging learning tasks. These three aspects were operationalised in five distinct areas of facilitation: increasing awareness of the need for change; leadership and project management; relationship building and communication; importance of the local context; and ongoing monitoring and evaluation. Over a period of 18 months, 42 nursing students, supported by trained lecturer-coaches, took part in nine improvement teams in our Regional Care Improvement Program, executing activities in all five areas of facilitation. Based on the students' experiences, we propose refinements to various components of this program, aimed at strengthenin the learning environment. There is a need for further detailed empirical research to study the impact this kind of learning environment has on students developing facilitation competencies in healthcare improvement. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Promoting Social and Emotional Learning with Games: "It's Fun and We Learn Things"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hromek, Robyn; Roffey, Sue

2009-01-01

This article has two broad objectives: (a) It reviews the theoretical and practical literature on the use of games to facilitate social and emotional learning (SEL). (b) Based on this review, it argues that games are a powerful way of developing social and emotional learning in young people. In addition, we draw on our collective experience as…

Research Results of Two Personal Learning Environments Experiments in a Higher Education Institution

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marín Juarros, Victoria; Salinas Ibáñez, Jesús; de Benito Crosetti, Bárbara

2014-01-01

This paper focuses on institutionally powered personal learning environments (iPLEs). The concept of the iPLE can be seen as a way universities can incorporate learner-centred approach into the architecture of their technology-enhanced learning environments. The aim of this paper is to pose that there are other ways to learn complementary to…

Use of Uncertainty Reduction and Narrative Paradigm Theories in Management Consulting and Teaching: Lessons Learned

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barker, Randolph T.; Gower, Kim

2009-01-01

Teaching business communication while performing professional business consulting is the perfect learning match. The bizarre but true stories from the consulting world provide excellent analogies for classroom learning, and feedback from students about the consulting experiences reaffirms the power of using stories for teaching. When discussing…

Dialogue Journals and Transformational Learning: Latino Students and Their Professor "Talk-Back" to Each Other

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nieves, Yolanda

2014-01-01

This article explores how dialogue journals can lead to a transformative learning experience. Adult Latino students enrolled in a community college developmental reading class agree to speak truth to power through this critical writing process. Using Mezirow's (2002) transformational learning theory, Brookfield's (2000) concepts on teaching for…

The Lure of Learning in Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liston, Daniel P.

2004-01-01

Teaching entails the creation of connections among teacher, student, and content so that educational experiences can be had. Powerful teaching engages and recalls a lure of learning. To explore this lure, or love of learning, and its place in teaching, I first evoke a bit of what this attraction feels and looks like. Depicting this lure conveys…

Collaborative Approaches to Deepen Student Learning: Information Literacy, Curriculum Design, and Student Learning Workshops

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hurvitz, Tate; Benvau, Roxane; Parry, Megan

2015-01-01

Creating a collaborative environment across student services and instruction is often more challenging than it may first seem. Although effective collaboration is context specific, keeping student learning at the center of the work is a powerful element in successful collaborations. Grossmont College's first year experience program has attempted…

A Power Experience: A Phenomenological Study of Interprofessional Education.

PubMed

Engel, Joyce; Prentice, Dawn; Taplay, Karyn

The purpose of this supplementary analysis of a hermeneutic phenomenological study of the experience of interprofessional collaboration for nursing and medical students was to explore the experience of power that was threaded throughout the original study. Seventeen students participated in guided, face-to-face conversations in the original study (Prentice, Engel, Taplay, & Stobbe, 2014). Through the processes of deductive analysis and inductive reasoning, 2 themes of power emerged from these research conversations: (a) complicated knowledge is power and (b) the power and silence of intimidation. These themes suggest that power and power differentials are significant factors in student interactions in interprofessional learning and have the potential to adversely affect these interactions. Students' perceptions of power need to be taken into account and addressed when planning and implementing interprofessional education events. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Assessing a learning process with functional ANOVA estimators of EEG power spectral densities.

PubMed

Gutiérrez, David; Ramírez-Moreno, Mauricio A

2016-04-01

We propose to assess the process of learning a task using electroencephalographic (EEG) measurements. In particular, we quantify changes in brain activity associated to the progression of the learning experience through the functional analysis-of-variances (FANOVA) estimators of the EEG power spectral density (PSD). Such functional estimators provide a sense of the effect of training in the EEG dynamics. For that purpose, we implemented an experiment to monitor the process of learning to type using the Colemak keyboard layout during a twelve-lessons training. Hence, our aim is to identify statistically significant changes in PSD of various EEG rhythms at different stages and difficulty levels of the learning process. Those changes are taken into account only when a probabilistic measure of the cognitive state ensures the high engagement of the volunteer to the training. Based on this, a series of statistical tests are performed in order to determine the personalized frequencies and sensors at which changes in PSD occur, then the FANOVA estimates are computed and analyzed. Our experimental results showed a significant decrease in the power of [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] rhythms for ten volunteers during the learning process, and such decrease happens regardless of the difficulty of the lesson. These results are in agreement with previous reports of changes in PSD being associated to feature binding and memory encoding.

Perceptions of the Usefulness of Virtual Learning Environments in Accounting Education: A Comparative Evaluation of Undergraduate Accounting Students in Spain and England

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

López Gavira, Rosario; Omoteso, Kamil

2013-01-01

As the power of the virtual world continues to manifest itself in people's quality of life and capabilities (including learning), this paper aims to assess accounting students' perceptions of the usefulness of Virtual Learning Environments (VLE) to their learning experiences. It also considers the factors that may influence students' preferences…

Technology in the teaching of neuroscience: enhanced student learning.

PubMed

Griffin, John D

2003-12-01

The primary motivation for integrating any form of education technology into a particular course or curriculum should always be to enhance student learning. However, it can be difficult to determine which technologies will be the most appropriate and effective teaching tools. Through the alignment of technology-enhanced learning experiences with a clear set of learning objectives, teaching becomes more efficient and effective and learning is truly enhanced. In this article, I describe how I have made extensive use of technology in two neuroscience courses that differ in structure and content. Course websites function as resource centers and provide a forum for student interaction. PowerPoint presentations enhance formal lectures and provide an organized outline of presented material. Some lectures are also supplemented with interactive CD-ROMs, used in the presentation of difficult physiological concepts. In addition, a computer-based physiological recording system is used in laboratory sessions, improving the hands-on experience of group learning while reinforcing the concepts of the research method. Although technology can provide powerful teaching tools, the enhancement of the learning environment is still dependent on the instructor. It is the skill and enthusiasm of the instructor that determines whether technology will be used effectively.

Even More Brain-Powered Science: Teaching and Learning with Discrepant Events. Brain-Powered Science Series

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Brien, Thomas

2011-01-01

How can water and a penny demonstrate the power of mathematics and molecular theory? Do spelling and punctuation really matter to the human brain? The third of Thomas O'Brien's books designed for 5-12 grade science teachers, "Even More Brain-Powered Science" uses the questions above and 11 other inquiry-oriented discrepant events--experiments or…

Perspectives of mobile learning in optics and photonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Curticapean, Dan; Christ, Andreas; Feißt, Markus

2010-08-01

Mobile learning (m-learning) can be considered as a new paradigm of e-learning. The developed solution enables the presentation of animations and 3D virtual reality (VR) on mobile devices and is well suited for mobile learning. Difficult relations in physics as well as intricate experiments in optics can be visualised on mobile devices without need for a personal computer. By outsourcing the computational power to a server, the coverage is worldwide.

Student Organizations as Avenues for Leader Learning and Development.

PubMed

Sessa, Valerie I; Alonso, Nicole; Farago, Pamela; Schettino, Gaynell; Tacchi, Kelcie; Bragger, Jennifer D

2017-09-01

This chapter describes theory and research demonstrating that the experiences students have within student organizations, and the people with whom they interact within those organizations, are powerful triggers for leader learning and development. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company.

Counselor Education Doctoral Students' Experiences with Multiple Roles and Relationships

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dickens, Kristen N.; Ebrahim, Christine H.; Herlihy, Barbara

2016-01-01

Interpretive phenomenological analysis was used to explore 10 counselor education doctoral students' lived experiences with multiple roles and relationships. Four superordinate themes were found: power differential, need for education, transformation, and learning from experiences. Findings revealed that multiple roles and relationships offer…

"Re"storying the Present by "Re"visiting the Past: Unexpected Moments of Discovery and Illumination through Museum Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kawalilak, Colleen; Groen, Janet

2016-01-01

Two adult educators, guided by autoethnography as methodology, share the restorying of their own lifelong learning narratives and unexpected insights gained from having experienced the powerful potential of museum learning and culture. Having previously regarded museum visits as an experience that primarily tapped the intellectual, cognitive…

Unleashing the Power of Science in Early Childhood: A Foundation for High-Quality Interactions and Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greenfield, Daryl B.; Alexander, Alexandra; Frechette, Elizabeth

2017-01-01

When science is integrated into early childhood learning experiences, it becomes a critical area supporting young children's development. Young children are natural scientists, curious about their world, and they engage in scientific practices to learn about and explore their world. This article describes how the K-12 Framework for Science…

Learning Interdependence: A Case Study of the International/Intercultural Education of First-Year College Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bachner, David J.; Malone, Laurence J.; Snider, Mary C.

This volume asserts that international and intercultural experiences are powerful vehicles for first-year college students to learn the perspectives and skills necessary to function interdependently in a rapidly changing and complex world. This thesis is developed through an in-depth case study of efforts to provide such learning opportunities in…

The Impact of Cognitive Assessment on the Identity of People with Learning Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davidson, Terence; Smith, Hilary; Burns, Jan

2014-01-01

Researchers and clinicians have hypothesised that cognitive assessments have the power to influence the self-identity of people with learning disabilities. This research aimed to explore the experience of a sample of people who had been given a cognitive assessment by a psychologist based in a team for people with learning disabilities. Five…

A fuzzy reinforcement learning approach to power control in wireless transmitters.

PubMed

Vengerov, David; Bambos, Nicholas; Berenji, Hamid R

2005-08-01

We address the issue of power-controlled shared channel access in wireless networks supporting packetized data traffic. We formulate this problem using the dynamic programming framework and present a new distributed fuzzy reinforcement learning algorithm (ACFRL-2) capable of adequately solving a class of problems to which the power control problem belongs. Our experimental results show that the algorithm converges almost deterministically to a neighborhood of optimal parameter values, as opposed to a very noisy stochastic convergence of earlier algorithms. The main tradeoff facing a transmitter is to balance its current power level with future backlog in the presence of stochastically changing interference. Simulation experiments demonstrate that the ACFRL-2 algorithm achieves significant performance gains over the standard power control approach used in CDMA2000. Such a large improvement is explained by the fact that ACFRL-2 allows transmitters to learn implicit coordination policies, which back off under stressful channel conditions as opposed to engaging in escalating "power wars."

Developmental song learning as a model to understand neural mechanisms that limit and promote the ability to learn.

PubMed

London, Sarah E

2017-11-20

Songbirds famously learn their vocalizations. Some species can learn continuously, others seasonally, and still others just once. The zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) learns to sing during a single developmental "Critical Period," a restricted phase during which a specific experience has profound and permanent effects on brain function and behavioral patterns. The zebra finch can therefore provide fundamental insight into features that promote and limit the ability to acquire complex learned behaviors. For example, what properties permit the brain to come "on-line" for learning? How does experience become encoded to prevent future learning? What features define the brain in receptive compared to closed learning states? This piece will focus on epigenomic, genomic, and molecular levels of analysis that operate on the timescales of development and complex behavioral learning. Existing data will be discussed as they relate to Critical Period learning, and strategies for future studies to more directly address these questions will be considered. Birdsong learning is a powerful model for advancing knowledge of the biological intersections of maturation and experience. Lessons from its study not only have implications for understanding developmental song learning, but also broader questions of learning potential and the enduring effects of early life experience on neural systems and behavior. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

You're not to dance with the girls: oral history, changing perception and practice.

PubMed

Mee, Steve

2010-03-01

The learning disability nursing course at the University of Cumbria features people with a learning disability presenting an oral history of their past in a long-stay institution. These are powerful stories which frequently portray very negative life experiences. Student feedback suggests that the resulting learning is profound, possibly transformative and offering a different type of learning to a 'traditional' lesson. Students report that they experience different and more positive perceptions of people with a learning disability. They have a new respect for people who have survived these experiences. This change of perception may, in part, be due to observing people with a learning disability in positive roles such as storyteller, teacher and carer. The students reported that in subsequent placements their professional practice changed as a result of these insights. These changes include being more outspoken against bad practice and being able to listen more effectively.

Minimal groups increase young children's motivation and learning on group-relevant tasks.

PubMed

Master, Allison; Walton, Gregory M

2013-01-01

Three experiments (N = 130) used a minimal group manipulation to show that just perceived membership in a social group boosts young children's motivation for and learning from group-relevant tasks. In Experiment 1, 4-year-old children assigned to a minimal "puzzles group" persisted longer on a challenging puzzle than children identified as the "puzzles child" or children in a control condition. Experiment 2 showed that this boost in motivation occurred only when the group was associated with the task. In Experiment 3, children assigned to a minimal group associated with word learning learned more words than children assigned an analogous individual identity. The studies demonstrate that fostering shared motivations may be a powerful means by which to shape young children's academic outcomes. © 2012 The Authors. Child Development © 2012 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Cancer Moonshot Data and Technology Team: Enabling a National Learning Healthcare System for Cancer to Unleash the Power of Data

PubMed Central

Hsu, ER; Klemm, JD; Kerlavage, AR; Kusnezov, D

2017-01-01

The Cancer Moonshot emphasizes the need to learn from the experiences of cancer patients to positively impact their outcomes, experiences, and qualities of life. To realize this vision, there has been a concerted effort to identify the fundamental building blocks required to establish a National Learning Healthcare System for Cancer, such that relevant data on all cancer patients is accessible, shareable, and contributing to the current state of knowledge of cancer care and outcomes. PMID:28139831

Using Persuasion to Plan a Moon Walk.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harris, Muriel

1977-01-01

Describes an exercise in learning about persuasion using a NASA exercise in group decision-making centered on a theoretical crash landing on the moon. Students experience the power of the authoritative voice, the persuasive power of facts, the bandwagon approach, and group manipulation. (TJ)

Exogenous attention facilitates location transfer of perceptual learning.

PubMed

Donovan, Ian; Szpiro, Sarit; Carrasco, Marisa

2015-01-01

Perceptual skills can be improved through practice on a perceptual task, even in adulthood. Visual perceptual learning is known to be mostly specific to the trained retinal location, which is considered as evidence of neural plasticity in retinotopic early visual cortex. Recent findings demonstrate that transfer of learning to untrained locations can occur under some specific training procedures. Here, we evaluated whether exogenous attention facilitates transfer of perceptual learning to untrained locations, both adjacent to the trained locations (Experiment 1) and distant from them (Experiment 2). The results reveal that attention facilitates transfer of perceptual learning to untrained locations in both experiments, and that this transfer occurs both within and across visual hemifields. These findings show that training with exogenous attention is a powerful regime that is able to overcome the major limitation of location specificity.

Exogenous attention facilitates location transfer of perceptual learning

PubMed Central

Donovan, Ian; Szpiro, Sarit; Carrasco, Marisa

2015-01-01

Perceptual skills can be improved through practice on a perceptual task, even in adulthood. Visual perceptual learning is known to be mostly specific to the trained retinal location, which is considered as evidence of neural plasticity in retinotopic early visual cortex. Recent findings demonstrate that transfer of learning to untrained locations can occur under some specific training procedures. Here, we evaluated whether exogenous attention facilitates transfer of perceptual learning to untrained locations, both adjacent to the trained locations (Experiment 1) and distant from them (Experiment 2). The results reveal that attention facilitates transfer of perceptual learning to untrained locations in both experiments, and that this transfer occurs both within and across visual hemifields. These findings show that training with exogenous attention is a powerful regime that is able to overcome the major limitation of location specificity. PMID:26426818

A Community Mentoring Model for STEM Undergraduate Research Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kobulnicky, Henry A.; Dale, Daniel A.

2016-01-01

This article describes a community mentoring model for UREs that avoids some of the common pitfalls of the traditional paradigm while harnessing the power of learning communities to provide young scholars a stimulating collaborative STEM research experience.

Students perception on the usage of PowerPoint in learning calculus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Othman, Zarith Sofiah; Tarmuji, Nor Habibah; Hilmi, Zulkifli Ab Ghani

2017-04-01

Mathematics is a core subject in most of the science and technology courses and in some social sciences programs. However, the low achievement of students in the subject especially in topics such as Differentiation and Integration is always an issue. Many factors contribute to the low performance such as motivation, environment, method of learning, academic background and others. The purpose of this paper is to determine the perception of learning mathematics using PowerPoint on Integration concepts at the undergraduate level with respect to mathematics anxiety, learning enjoyment, mobility and learning satisfaction. The main content of the PowerPoint presentation focused on the integration method with historical elements as an added value. The study was conducted on 48 students randomly selected from students in computer and applied sciences program as experimental group. Questionnaires were distributed to students to explore their learning experiences. Another 51 students who were taught using the traditional chalkboard method were used as the control group. Both groups were given a test on Integration. The statistical methods used were descriptive statistics and independent sample t-test between the experimental and the control group. The finding showed that most students perceived positively to the PowerPoint presentations with respect to mobility and learning satisfaction. The experimental group performed better than the control group.

Powerful Learning Tools for ELLs: Using Native Language, Familiar Examples, and Concept Mapping to Teach English Language Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dong, Yu Ren

2013-01-01

This article highlights how English language learners' (ELLs) prior knowledge can be used to help learn science vocabulary. The article explains that the concept of prior knowledge needs to encompass the ELL student's native language, previous science learning, native literacy skills, and native cultural knowledge and life experiences.…

How the Relational Paradigm Can Transform the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics: Experiment in Quebec

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Polotskaia, Elena

2017-01-01

The main goal of this paper is to show how Vasily Davydov's powerful ideas about the nature of mathematical thinking and learning can transform the teaching and learning of additive word problem solving. The name Vasily Davydov is well known in the field of mathematics education in Russia. However, the transformative value of Davydov's theoretical…

Affinity Spaces: How Young People Live and Learn on Line and out of School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gee, James Paul

2018-01-01

In the digital age, young people's most powerful learning opportunities often occur online, in experiences and environments created by people working outside of the K-12 school system. In a sense, the internet has given new life to an older, less formal approach to education, in which individuals seek out and learn from others who share their…

Narrative Analysis: Exploring Experiences of Observational Drawing and Dyspraxia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Penketh, Claire

2011-01-01

Narrative analysis offers a powerful and accessible means of understanding the ways in which individuals experience learning across a range of educational sites. Drawing on a recent study that explored "dyspraxic" pupils' experiences of drawing from observation, this paper offers an insight into the potential that narrative analysis has…

Power, Jobs and Bodies: The Experiences of Becoming a Gender Scholar in Doctoral Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Danowitz, Mary Ann

2016-01-01

Research suggests that doctoral students' learning and experiences are influenced by their relationships and predominant organizational norms and structures, create gender inequality and discourage or prevent alternative behaviors. However, there is very little empirical information on the nature of doctoral experiences and organizational…

Experiences of Pioneers Facilitating Teacher Networks for Professional Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hanraets, Irene; Hulsebosch, Joitske; de Laat, Maarten

2011-01-01

This study presents an exploration into facilitation practices of teacher professional development networks. Stimulating networked learning amongst teachers is a powerful way of creating an informal practice-based learning space driven by teacher needs. As such, it presents an additional channel (besides more formal traditional professional…

Learning about leadership - A personal account.

PubMed

Cheang, P P

2011-01-01

A personal account of learning about leadership. This article introduces the theory of power and influence, and aimed to report especially the personal reflection, emotional intelligence and learning about oneself that occurred on the way. Reading, group discussion and active reflection. Thoughts, reflections and learning were recorded regularly. The concept of leadership, influence tactics and emotional intelligence all have implications in workplace relationship management and ultimately leadership qualities. The issues discussed serves as food for thought for others. This is a genuine and very personal learning experience.

An Emerging Learning Design for Student-Generated "iVideos"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kearney, Matthew; Jones, Glynis; Roberts, Lynn

2012-01-01

This paper describes an emerging learning design for a popular genre of learner-generated video projects: "Ideas Videos" or "iVideos." These advocacy-style videos are short, two-minute, digital videos designed "to evoke powerful experiences about educative ideas" (Wong, Mishra, Koehler & Siebenthal, 2007, p1). We…

The Context of Thought Experiments in Physics Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reiner, Miriam

2006-01-01

This paper takes a cognitive perspective in an attempt to analyze mental mechanisms involved in contextual learning. In the following, it is suggested that contextualized environments evoke mental mechanisms that support reasoning about "what if", imaginary situations--utilizing a powerful mental mechanism known from the history of physics as…

A New Bloom: Transforming Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cochran, David; Conklin, Jack

2007-01-01

This article discusses a new design for the classic Bloom's Taxonomy developed by Anderson, L. W. & Krathwohl, D. (2001), which can be used to evaluate learners' technology-enhanced experience in more powerful and critical ways. The New Bloom's Taxonomy incorporates contemporary research on learning and human cognition into its model. The…

The Impact of International Internships and Short-Term Immersion Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gates, Lisa

2014-01-01

For students in U.S. higher education institutions, global learning through study abroad has become a powerful force in student cultural competence. This chapter explores the impact of international internships and other short-term immersion experiences in further developing student learning, especially with respect to their understanding of the…

Suggested Guidelines for Writing Reflective Case Narratives: Structure and Indicators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Becker, Karin L.; Renger, Ralph

2017-01-01

Reflective case narratives are a practical mechanism for conveying lessons learned for practice improvement. Their ability to transform experience into knowledge in a colloquial, narrative style positions reflective case narratives as a powerful learning tool with pedagogical benefits for the evaluation community. However, one criticism of…

Video Game-Based Learning: An Emerging Paradigm for Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Squire, Kurt D.

2008-01-01

Interactive digital media, or video games, are a powerful new medium. They offer immersive experiences in which players solve problems. Players learn more than just facts--ways of seeing and understanding problems so that they "become" different kinds of people. "Serious games" coming from business strategy, advergaming, and entertainment gaming…

Making Connections in Elementary and Middle School Social Studies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Andrew P.

2005-01-01

This book revolves around the idea that making personal connections with the material to be learned is what creates powerful learning experiences, demonstrating how personal connections can be incorporated into social studies education while meeting the National Council for the Social Studies' (NCSS) thematic, pedagogical, and disciplinary…

Write from the Start: Writing to Learn Science.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rillero, Peter; And Others

1996-01-01

Describes the Write Now approach that allows teachers to transform the first few minutes of class into a powerful learning experience by helping students reflect on the previous day's lessons and encouraging them to construct their own knowledge of the concepts being studied. Discusses Quasar questions, reviewing responses, constructing…

Video Game-Based Learning: An Emerging Paradigm for Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Squire, Kurt D.

2013-01-01

Interactive digital media, or video games, are a powerful new medium. They offer immersive experiences in which players solve problems. Players learn more than just facts--ways of seeing and understanding problems so that they "become" different kinds of people. "Serious games" coming from business strategy, advergaming, and entertainment gaming…

Videogames and Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Harry J.

2008-01-01

Videogames challenge our notions of identity, creativity, and moral value, and provide a powerful new avenue for teaching and learning. This book is a rich and provocative guide to the role of interactive media in cultural learning. It searches for specific ways to interpret videogames in the context of human experience and in the field of…

Developing Simulations in Multi-User Virtual Environments to Enhance Healthcare Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rogers, Luke

2011-01-01

Computer-based clinical simulations are a powerful teaching and learning tool because of their ability to expand healthcare students' clinical experience by providing practice-based learning. Despite the benefits of traditional computer-based clinical simulations, there are significant issues that arise when incorporating them into a flexible,…

Thermal Pollution by Nuclear Power Plants. A Learning Experience for Coastal and Oceanic Awareness Studies, No. 320. [Project COAST].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Delaware Univ., Newark. Coll. of Education.

This publication includes several activities regarding the use of nuclear power plants and possible effects on the environment. The materials are designed for secondary school students and include reference materials and masters for transparencies. (RH)

Implementing Machine Learning in the PCWG Tool

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

Clifton, Andrew; Ding, Yu; Stuart, Peter

The Power Curve Working Group (www.pcwg.org) is an ad-hoc industry-led group to investigate the performance of wind turbines in real-world conditions. As part of ongoing experience-sharing exercises, machine learning has been proposed as a possible way to predict turbine performance. This presentation provides some background information about machine learning and how it might be implemented in the PCWG exercises.

Influence of gender constancy and social power on sex-linked modeling.

PubMed

Bussey, K; Bandura, A

1984-12-01

Competing predictions derived from cognitive-developmental theory and social learning theory concerning sex-linked modeling were tested. In cognitive-developmental theory, gender constancy is considered a necessary prerequisite for the emulation of same-sex models, whereas according to social learning theory, sex-role development is promoted through a vast system of social influences with modeling serving as a major conveyor of sex role information. In accord with social learning theory, even children at a lower level of gender conception emulated same-sex models in preference to opposite-sex ones. Level of gender constancy was associated with higher emulation of both male and female models rather than operating as a selective determinant of modeling. This finding corroborates modeling as a basic mechanism in the sex-typing process. In a second experiment we explored the limits of same-sex modeling by pitting social power against the force of collective modeling of different patterns of behavior by male and female models. Social power over activities and rewarding resources produced cross-sex modeling in boys, but not in girls. This unexpected pattern of cross-sex modeling is explained by the differential sex-typing pressures that exist for boys and girls and socialization experiences that heighten the attractiveness of social power for boys.

Understanding the patient experience through the power of film: A mixed method qualitative research study.

PubMed

Ogston-Tuck, Sherri; Baume, Kath; Clarke, Chris; Heng, Simon

2016-11-01

For decades film has proved to be a powerful form of communication. Whether produced as entertainment, art or documentary, films have the capacity to inform and move us. Films are a highly attractive teaching instrument and an appropriate teaching method in health education. It is a valuable tool for studying situations most transcendental to human beings such as pain, disease and death. The objectives were to determine how this helps students engage with their role as health care professionals; to determine how they view the personal experience of illness, disease, disability or death; and to determine how this may impact upon their provision of patient care. The project was underpinned by the film selection determined by considerate review, intensive scrutiny, contemplation and discourse by the research team. 7 films were selected, ranging from animation; foreign, documentary, biopic and Hollywood drama. Each film was shown discretely, in an acoustic lecture theatre projected onto a large screen to pre-registration student nurses (adult, child and mental health) across each year of study from different cohorts (n=49). A mixed qualitative method approach consisted of audio-recorded 5-minute reactions post film screening; coded questionnaires; and focus group. Findings were drawn from the impact of the films through thematic analysis of data sets and subjective text condensation categorised as: new insights looking through patient eyes; evoking emotion in student nurses; spiritual care; going to the moves to learn about the patient experience; self discovery through films; using films to link theory to practice. Deeper learning through film as a powerful medium was identified in meeting the objectives of the study. Integration of film into pre registration curriculum, pedagogy, teaching and learning is recommended. The teaching potential of film stems from the visual process linked to human emotion and experience. Its impact has the power to not only help in learning the values that underpin nursing, but also for respecting the patient experience of disease, disability, death and its reality. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

"Her energy kind of went into a different place": a qualitative study examining supervisors' experience of promoting reflexive learning in students.

PubMed

McCandless, Robert; Eatough, Virginia

2012-10-01

For family therapists in training, a key learning outcome is the development of reflexive abilities. This study explores the experience of three experienced training supervisors as they address this learning outcome with students. Transcripts of semi-structured interviews were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. The Supervisory Relationship emerged as a single overarching theme that contained and contextualized three further themes: Promoting Learning, Dimensions of Power, and The Self of the Supervisor. One theme is reported here, Promoting Learning, with an illustrative example of experiential learning in a student that demonstrates the overriding significance of The Supervisory Relationship. The findings are discussed in the context of current literature and research regarding supervision and training. This study adds richness and detail to material published on supervisory experience, and documents supervisory "micro-skills" relevant to the development of reflexive abilities in students. © 2012 American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.

Is spacing really the “friend of induction”?

PubMed Central

Verkoeijen, Peter P. J. L.; Bouwmeester, Samantha

2014-01-01

Inductive learning takes place when people learn a new concept or category by observing a variety of exemplars. Kornell and Bjork (2008) asked participants to learn new painting styles either by presenting different paintings of the same artist consecutively (massed presentation) or by mixing paintings of different artists (spaced presentation). In their second experiment, Kornell and Bjork (2008) showed with a final style recognition test, that spacing resulted in better inductive learning than massing. Also, by using this style recognition test, they ruled out the possibility that spacing merely resulted in a better memory for the labels of the newly learned painting styles. The findings from Kornell and Bjork’s (2008) second experiment are important because they show that the benefit of spaced learning generalizes to complex learning tasks and outcomes, and that it is not confined to rote memory learning. However, the findings from Kornell and Bjork’s (2008) second experiment have never been replicated. In the present study we performed an exact and high-powered replication of Kornell and Bjork’s (2008) second experiment with a Web-based sample. Such a replication contributes to establish the reliability of the original finding and hence to more conclusive evidence of the spacing effect in inductive learning. The findings from the present replication attempt revealed a medium-sized advantage of spacing over massing in inductive learning, which was comparable to the original effect in the experiment by Kornell and Bjork (2008). Also, the 95% confidence intervals (CI) of the effect sizes from both experiments overlapped considerably. Hence, the findings from the present replication experiment and the original experiment clearly reinforce each other. PMID:24744742

Normative and descriptive accounts of the influence of power and contingency on causal judgement.

PubMed

Perales, José C; Shanks, David R

2003-08-01

The power PC theory (Cheng, 1997) is a normative account of causal inference, which predicts that causal judgements are based on the power p of a potential cause, where p is the cause-effect contingency normalized by the base rate of the effect. In three experiments we demonstrate that both cause-effect contingency and effect base-rate independently affect estimates in causal learning tasks. In Experiment 1, causal strength judgements were directly related to power p in a task in which the effect base-rate was manipulated across two positive and two negative contingency conditions. In Experiments 2 and 3 contingency manipulations affected causal estimates in several situations in which power p was held constant, contrary to the power PC theory's predictions. This latter effect cannot be explained by participants' conflation of reliability and causal strength, as Experiment 3 demonstrated independence of causal judgements and confidence. From a descriptive point of view, the data are compatible with Pearce's (1987) model, as well as with several other judgement rules, but not with the Rescorla-Wagner (Rescorla & Wagner, 1972) or power PC models.

Feedback on Individual Academic Presentations: Exploring Finnish University Students' Experiences and Preferences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Károly, Adrienn

2015-01-01

With an increasing emphasis on measuring the outcomes of learning in higher education, assessment is gaining an ever more prominent role in curriculum design and development as well as in instructional practices. In formative assessment, feedback is regarded as a powerful pedagogical tool driving student engagement and deep learning. The efficacy…

Academic Language, Power and the Impact of Western Knowledge Production on Indigenous Student Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Brien, Karen

2008-01-01

This paper explores the prescriptive, distancing and separating qualities that exist in Western systems of knowledge production. It examines scientific language and how discrimination takes place in the university setting and explores the ways in which academic knowledge production affects the learning experiences, participation and completion…

A Framework To Explore Lifelong Learning: The Case of the Civic Education of Civics Teachers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schugurensky, Daniel; Myers, John P.

2003-01-01

Fifteen Ontario social studies teachers who taught a revised civics course reflected on their own civics learning experiences. Most had some elementary-secondary exposure; teacher training emphasized methods over content. The most powerful influence was family socialization; political participation also contributed to development of knowledge and…

A Nonverbal Language for Imagining and Learning: Dance Education in K-12 Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hanna, Judith Lynne

2008-01-01

Curriculum theorists have provided a knowledge base concerning aesthetics, agency, creativity, lived experience, transcendence, learning through the body, and the power of the arts to engender visions of alternative possibilities in culture, politics, and the environment. However, these theoretical threads do not reveal the potential of K-12 dance…

Learning through Real-World Problem Solving: The Power of Integrative Teaching.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nagel, Nancy G.

This book is based on the idea that curriculum development projects focused on integrated or interdisciplinary teaching within the context of real-world problem solving creates dynamics and meaningful learning experiences for students. The real-world, problem-solving units presented in this book were created by four intern teachers, their mentor…

Working the Dialectic: Teaching and Learning Teacher Research in Social Studies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martell, Christopher C.; Sequenzia, Maria R.

2016-01-01

This article presents two narratives of teaching and learning teacher research in social studies. Organized around the concept of working the dialectic, two social studies educators discuss their experiences as teachers and learners of teacher research. This article highlights the power of practitioner research to transform teaching and teacher…

Playful Invention and Exploration. Final Evaluation Report: Executive Summary

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

St. John; Mark; Carroll, Becky; Helms, Jen; Smith, Anita

2008-01-01

PIE (Playful Invention and Exploration) is a unique approach to learning that centers on the use of technology and design challenges to create powerful learning experiences in informal education settings. The Playful Invention and Exploration (PIE) Institute project was funded in 2005 by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Overall, 150…

The Transforming Power of Narrative in Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chan, Esther Yim-mei

2012-01-01

The focus of this study is to examine pre-service teachers' experiences of learning through narrative inquiry that gives insight into how teachers' development and knowledge construction can be improved. The article begins by inquiring into the learning culture in the Hong Kong context and explaining how the examination system affects knowledge…

Pre-Service Teacher Training at the Museum School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stetson, Ranae; Stroud, Nicole Devlin

2014-01-01

This article describes the powerful and long-term partnership between a museum preschool and a local university teacher preparation program. The authors describe the unique and rich learning environment of the Museum School and its dramatic and positive impact on pre-service teacher training. The hands-on learning experiences taught at the Museum…

Earth Science Learning in SMALLab: A Design Experiment for Mixed Reality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Birchfield, David; Megowan-Romanowicz, Colleen

2009-01-01

Conversational technologies such as email, chat rooms, and blogs have made the transition from novel communication technologies to powerful tools for learning. Currently virtual worlds are undergoing the same transition. We argue that the next wave of innovation is at the level of the computer interface, and that mixed-reality environments offer…

Beyond Polls: Using Science and Student Data to Stimulate Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Loepp, Eric D.

2018-01-01

In an effort to promote learning in classrooms, political science instructors are increasingly turning to interactive teaching strategies--experiments, simulations, etc.--that supplement traditional lecture formats. In this article, I advocate the use of student-generated data as a powerful teaching tool that can be used in a variety of ways to…

Drive Control Scheme of Electric Power Assisted Wheelchair Based on Neural Network Learning of Human Wheelchair Operation Characteristics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanohata, Naoki; Seki, Hirokazu

This paper describes a novel drive control scheme of electric power assisted wheelchairs based on neural network learning of human wheelchair operation characteristics. “Electric power assisted wheelchair” which enhances the drive force of the operator by employing electric motors is expected to be widely used as a mobility support system for elderly and disabled people. However, some handicapped people with paralysis of the muscles of one side of the body cannot maneuver the wheelchair as desired because of the difference in the right and left input force. Therefore, this study proposes a neural network learning system of such human wheelchair operation characteristics and a drive control scheme with variable distribution and assistance ratios. Some driving experiments will be performed to confirm the effectiveness of the proposed control system.

Explaining technological change of wind power in China and the United States: Roles of energy policies, technological learning, and collaboration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Tian

The following dissertation explains how technological change of wind power, in terms of cost reduction and performance improvement, is achieved in China and the US through energy policies, technological learning, and collaboration. The objective of this dissertation is to understand how energy policies affect key actors in the power sector to promote renewable energy and achieve cost reductions for climate change mitigation in different institutional arrangements. The dissertation consists of three essays. The first essay examines the learning processes and technological change of wind power in China. I integrate collaboration and technological learning theories to model how wind technologies are acquired and diffused among various wind project participants in China through the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)--an international carbon trade program, and empirically test whether different learning channels lead to cost reduction of wind power. Using pooled cross-sectional data of Chinese CDM wind projects and spatial econometric models, I find that a wind project developer's previous experience (learning-by-doing) and industrywide wind project experience (spillover effect) significantly reduce the costs of wind power. The spillover effect provides justification for subsidizing users of wind technologies so as to offset wind farm investors' incentive to free-ride on knowledge spillovers from other wind energy investors. The CDM has played such a role in China. Most importantly, this essay provides the first empirical evidence of "learning-by-interacting": CDM also drives wind power cost reduction and performance improvement by facilitating technology transfer through collaboration between foreign turbine manufacturers and local wind farm developers. The second essay extends this learning framework to the US wind power sector, where I examine how state energy policies, restructuring of the electricity market, and learning among actors in wind industry lead to performance improvement of wind farms. Unlike China, the restructuring of the US electricity market created heterogeneity in transmission network governance across regions. Thus, I add transmission network governance to my learning framework to test the impacts of different transmission network governance models. Using panel data of existing utility-scale wind farms in US during 2001-2012 and spatial models, I find that the performance of a wind project is improved through more collaboration among project participants (learning-by-interacting), and this improvement is even greater if the wind project is interconnected to a regional transmission network coordinated by an independent system operator or a regional transmission organization (ISO/RTO). In the third essay, I further explore how different transmission network governance models affect wind power integration through a comparative case study. I compare two regional transmission networks, which represent two major transmission network governance models in the US: the ISO/RTO-governance model and the non-RTO model. Using archival data and interviews with key network participants, I find that a centralized transmission network coordinated through an ISO/RTO is more effective in integrating wind power because it allows resource pooling and optimal allocating of the resources by the central network administrative agency (NAO). The case study also suggests an alternative path to improved network effectiveness for a less cohesive network, which is through more frequent resource exchange among subgroups within a large network. On top of that, this essay contributes to the network governance literature by providing empirical evidence on the coexistence of hierarchy, market, and collaboration in complex service delivery networks. These coordinating mechanisms complement each other to provide system flexibility and stability, particularly when the network operates in a turbulent environment with changes and uncertainties.

Skill acquisition while operating in-vehicle information systems: interface design determines the level of safety-relevant distractions.

PubMed

Jahn, Georg; Krems, Josef F; Gelau, Christhard

2009-04-01

This study tested whether the ease of learning to use human-machine interfaces of in-vehicle information systems (IVIS) can be assessed at standstill. Assessing the attentional demand of IVIS should include an evaluation of ease of learning, because the use of IVIS at low skill levels may create safety-relevant distractions. Skill acquisition in operating IVIS was quantified by fitting the power law of practice to training data sets collected in a driving study and at standstill. Participants practiced manual destination entry with two route guidance systems differing in cognitive demand. In Experiment 1, a sample of middle-aged participants was trained while steering routes of varying driving demands. In Experiment 2, another sample of middle-aged participants was trained at standstill. In Experiment 1, display glance times were less affected by driving demands than by total task times and decreased at slightly higher speed-up rates (0.02 higher on average) than task times collected at standstill in Experiment 2. The system interface that minimized cognitive demand was operated more quickly and was easier to learn. Its system delays increased static task times, which still predicted 58% of variance in display glance times compared with even 76% for the second system. The ease of learning to use an IVIS interface and the decrease in attentional demand with training can be assessed at standstill. Fitting the power law of practice to static task times yields parameters that predict display glance times while driving, which makes it possible to compare interfaces with regard to ease of learning.

Learning To Lead: How Winston Churchill And George Marshall Harvested Their WWI Experience

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-04-01

Borton’s developmental model. Rolfe and Borton references are provided in Bibliography. 4 Kolb , and Kolb . “ Experiential Learning Theory ,” 39. 5...electronically at http://www2.glos.ac.uk/ gdn/gibbs/index.htm Kolb , Alice Y. and David A. Kolb . “ Experiential Learning Theory : A Dynamic, Holistic...1 EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING THEORY ………………………………………………………..2 THE POWER OF SIX—WINSTON

How Students Make Meaning of Their Intentional Out-of-Class Educational Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Isett, Kerry Lynn

2011-01-01

Many students spend a significant portion of their college life outside of the classroom, yet very little is known about the learning they experience as a result of their interactions outside of the classroom. Intentional out-of-class educational experiences offer educators a powerful window into not only understanding the college student…

‘My Virtual Dream’: Collective Neurofeedback in an Immersive Art Environment

PubMed Central

Kovacevic, Natasha; Ritter, Petra; Tays, William; Moreno, Sylvain; McIntosh, Anthony Randal

2015-01-01

While human brains are specialized for complex and variable real world tasks, most neuroscience studies reduce environmental complexity, which limits the range of behaviours that can be explored. Motivated to overcome this limitation, we conducted a large-scale experiment with electroencephalography (EEG) based brain-computer interface (BCI) technology as part of an immersive multi-media science-art installation. Data from 523 participants were collected in a single night. The exploratory experiment was designed as a collective computer game where players manipulated mental states of relaxation and concentration with neurofeedback targeting modulation of relative spectral power in alpha and beta frequency ranges. Besides validating robust time-of-night effects, gender differences and distinct spectral power patterns for the two mental states, our results also show differences in neurofeedback learning outcome. The unusually large sample size allowed us to detect unprecedented speed of learning changes in the power spectrum (~ 1 min). Moreover, we found that participants' baseline brain activity predicted subsequent neurofeedback beta training, indicating state-dependent learning. Besides revealing these training effects, which are relevant for BCI applications, our results validate a novel platform engaging art and science and fostering the understanding of brains under natural conditions. PMID:26154513

What's Shaking?!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson, Janice L.; Smith, Diane; Corbat, Josh; Minshew, Lana; Madlangbayan, Melissa

2016-01-01

Direct experience is a powerful learning and teaching tool. However, when trying to teach students about natural hazards such as earthquakes, direct experience is not the best idea. Depending on location, it might be difficult to help young students understand the impact of natural hazards on their lives. Students will naturally find it…

High School Students Compete in Solar-Powered Bike Race

Science.gov Websites

bicycle race designed to give students hands-on learning experiences with renewable energy technologies . What: The Colorado Solar BikeRayce is a competition for high school students to race solar-powered ) sponsors the competition. Who: High school students from Bollman Occupational Center (Thornton) and Pomona

Sexual Abuse and the Grooming Process in Sport: Learning from Bella's Story

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Owton, Helen; Sparkes, Andrew C.

2017-01-01

Through a process of collaborative autoethnography, we explore the experiences of one female athlete named Bella who was groomed and then sexually abused by her male coach. Bella's story signals how the structural conditions and power relationships embedded in competitive sporting environments, specifically the power invested in the coach, provide…

Status and Power Do Not Modulate Automatic Imitation of Intransitive Hand Movements

PubMed Central

Farmer, Harry; Carr, Evan W.; Svartdal, Marita; Winkielman, Piotr; Hamilton, Antonia F. de C.

2016-01-01

The tendency to mimic the behaviour of others is affected by a variety of social factors, and it has been argued that such “mirroring” is often unconsciously deployed as a means of increasing affiliation during interpersonal interactions. However, the relationship between automatic motor imitation and status/power is currently unclear. This paper reports five experiments that investigated whether social status (Experiments 1, 2, and 3) or power (Experiments 4 and 5) had a moderating effect on automatic imitation (AI) in finger-movement tasks, using a series of different manipulations. Experiments 1 and 2 manipulated the social status of the observed person using an associative learning task. Experiment 3 manipulated social status via perceived competence at a simple computer game. Experiment 4 manipulated participants’ power (relative to the actors) in a card-choosing task. Finally, Experiment 5 primed participants using a writing task, to induce the sense of being powerful or powerless. No significant interactions were found between congruency and social status/power in any of the studies. Additionally, Bayesian hypothesis testing indicated that the null hypothesis should be favoured over the experimental hypothesis in all five studies. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for AI tasks, social effects on mimicry, and the hypothesis of mimicry as a strategic mechanism to promote affiliation. PMID:27096167

The power of storytelling.

PubMed

Lindesmith, K A; McWeeny, M

1994-01-01

Storytelling is an intrinsic part of most cultures. For nurses, the telling of stories is a way of sharing nursing's history, tacit knowledge, critical thinking, and creativity. It provides the opportunity to learn from each other and to dialogue about the deeper issues surrounding professional practice. Using storytelling as a formal activity in education programs sanctions the sharing of stories as a meaningful experience that can be replicated in day-to-day practice. The value of connecting and sharing expertise through storytelling with colleagues becomes a powerful experience for nursing staff.

Prototype residential photovoltaic system: Evaluation results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nichols, B. E.; Russell, M. C.

1982-09-01

Residential size photovoltaic power systems were discussed. Lessons learned from this experience, and performance summaries for the five prototype systems at the Northeast Residential Experiment Station and the system at the all electric Carlisle PV house are given. Results of evaluating five utility interactive residential size inverters also are reported.

Searching for the Authentic: The True North and the True Composer.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fisher, Alfred J.

1988-01-01

Explains how the author's experiences with Native people's ways and music had a powerful linkage to his own musical composition in that these cultural experiences acted as a catalyst to action and subsequent self-knowledge. Compares this learning process to that found in higher education. (SV)

Oburoni outside the Whale: Reflections on an Experience in Ghana.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, Angene H.

1998-01-01

Reflects on a social studies teacher's experiences during a Fulbright professorship in Ghana. Relates how, as an outsider from the United States, she learned about Ghanian perspectives of history, economics, women's issues, and culture, and was reminded of the dominating power of Western cultural and economic imperialism. (DSK)

What Examining Teaching Metaphors Tells Us about Pre-Service Teachers' Developing Beliefs about Teaching and Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tannehill, Deborah; MacPhail, Ann

2014-01-01

Background: Pre-service teachers (PSTs) typically do not change their beliefs about teaching and learning during teacher education unless they are confronted with, and challenged about, their held beliefs through powerful and meaningful experiences that cause them to recognise and value the change process and its consequences for themselves and…

Attending to Student Voice: The Impact of Descriptive Feedback on Learning and Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rodgers, Carol R.

2006-01-01

This article explores the central role that description of experience, on the part of both teacher and students, plays in reflective practice. In particular, it highlights the power of students' description of their own learning as revealed to teachers in dialogue, a process I call "descriptive feedback." Descriptive feedback is neither…

Managing Transformation: How Do Undergraduate Students Experience the Process of Reentry after International Service Learning?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hetzell, Leah B.

2017-01-01

As calls for institutions of higher education to educate globally competent citizens have intensified over the last two decades, the field of international service learning (ISL) has responded resoundingly. ISL programs have been implemented at many institutions and there have been countless studies that demonstrate the great power for student…

How I Learned to Design and Conduct Semi-Structured Interviews: An Ongoing and Continuous Journey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rabionet, Silvia E.

2011-01-01

Qualitative interviewing is a flexible and powerful tool to capture the voices and the ways people make meaning of their experience Learning to conduct semi-structure interviews requires the following six stages: (a) selecting the type of interview; (b) establishing ethical guidelines, (c) crafting the interview protocol; (d) conducting and…

Instrument-Making as Music-Making: An Ethnographic Study of "Shakuhachi" Students' Learning Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matsunobu, Koji

2013-01-01

Instrument-making is a powerful way to teach and learn music, especially world music. This case study looks at adult music learners whose engagement in music involves instrument-making and the long lasting practice of music. A case in point is Japanese and North American practitioners of Japanese bamboo flutes, especially the end-blown…

English as a Second Language and World War II: Possibilities for Language and Historical Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stewart, Mary Amanda; Walker, Katie

2017-01-01

Although, traditionally, the purpose of the social studies class in secondary schools is to teach content knowledge, this article argues that historical learning can be a powerful vehicle for English language development for late-arrival English learners (ELs) in middle and high schools. ELs bring a wealth of life experiences, diverse…

Feedback Both Helps and Hinders Learning: The Causal Role of Prior Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fyfe, Emily R.; Rittle-Johnson, Bethany

2016-01-01

Feedback can be a powerful learning tool, but its effects vary widely. Research has suggested that learners' prior knowledge may moderate the effects of feedback; however, no causal link has been established. In Experiment 1, we randomly assigned elementary school children (N = 108) to a condition based on a crossing of 2 factors: induced strategy…

Incidental Learning of Trust: Examining the Role of Emotion and Visuomotor Fluency

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Strachan, James W. A.; Kirkham, Alexander J.; Manssuer, Luis R.; Tipper, Steven P.

2016-01-01

Eye gaze is a powerful directional cue that automatically evokes joint attention states. Even when faces are ignored, there is incidental learning of the reliability of the gaze cueing of another person, such that people who look away from targets are judged less trustworthy. In a series of experiments, we demonstrated further properties of the…

Games and Machine Learning: A Powerful Combination in an Artificial Intelligence Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wallace, Scott A.; McCartney, Robert; Russell, Ingrid

2010-01-01

Project MLeXAI [Machine Learning eXperiences in Artificial Intelligence (AI)] seeks to build a set of reusable course curriculum and hands on laboratory projects for the artificial intelligence classroom. In this article, we describe two game-based projects from the second phase of project MLeXAI: Robot Defense--a simple real-time strategy game…

Sustainable energy at the 100 W level for scientific sites on the Antarctic Plateau: Lessons learned from the Polar Experiment Network for Geospace Upper atmosphere Investigations-Automatic Geophysical Observatory project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Melville, R.; Stillinger, A.; Gerrard, A.; Weatherwax, A.

2014-04-01

The need to provide power to unmanned instrumentation over the course of an entire year on the Antarctic plateau presents a large number of engineering and logistical challenges. Designs formulated in ideal laboratory environments often fail in the Antarctic due to the harsh operating conditions, and field experience is necessary to achieve year-round operation in the 100 W power range. In this paper we present our current power design for the Automatic Geophysical Observatories; a design based on over two decades of experience on the ice and allows for relatively continuous operation at the aforementioned power level. We also discuss our various implementation methods, both failures and successes, in an effort assist other unmanned deployments on the ice.

Sustainable energy at the 100 W level for scientific sites on the Antarctic Plateau: lessons learned from the Polar Experiment Network for Geospace Upper atmosphere Investigations-Automatic Geophysical Observatory project.

PubMed

Melville, R; Stillinger, A; Gerrard, A; Weatherwax, A

2014-04-01

The need to provide power to unmanned instrumentation over the course of an entire year on the Antarctic plateau presents a large number of engineering and logistical challenges. Designs formulated in ideal laboratory environments often fail in the Antarctic due to the harsh operating conditions, and field experience is necessary to achieve year-round operation in the 100 W power range. In this paper we present our current power design for the Automatic Geophysical Observatories; a design based on over two decades of experience on the ice and allows for relatively continuous operation at the aforementioned power level. We also discuss our various implementation methods, both failures and successes, in an effort assist other unmanned deployments on the ice.

Large Scale Wind and Solar Integration in Germany

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

Ernst, Bernhard; Schreirer, Uwe; Berster, Frank

2010-02-28

This report provides key information concerning the German experience with integrating of 25 gigawatts of wind and 7 gigawatts of solar power capacity and mitigating its impacts on the electric power system. The report has been prepared based on information provided by the Amprion GmbH and 50Hertz Transmission GmbH managers and engineers to the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory representatives during their visit to Germany in October 2009. The trip and this report have been sponsored by the BPA Technology Innovation office. Learning from the German experience could help the Bonneville Power Administration engineers to comparemore » and evaluate potential new solutions for managing higher penetrations of wind energy resources in their control area. A broader dissemination of this experience will benefit wind and solar resource integration efforts in the United States.« less

Lessons Learned in Engineering. Supplement

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blair, James C.; Ryan, Robert S.; Schultzenhofer, Luke A.

2011-01-01

This Contractor Report (CR) is a compilation of Lessons Learned in approximately 55 years of engineering experience by each James C. Blair, Robert S. Ryan, and Luke A. Schutzenhofer. The lessons are the basis of a course on Lessons Learned that has been taught at Marshall Space Flight Center. The lessons are drawn from NASA space projects and are characterized in terms of generic lessons learned from the project experience, which are further distilled into overarching principles that can be applied to future projects. Included are discussions of the overarching principles followed by a listing of the lessons associated with that principle. The lesson with sub-lessons are stated along with a listing of the project problems the lesson is drawn from, then each problem is illustrated and discussed, with conclusions drawn in terms of Lessons Learned. The purpose of this CR is to provide principles learned from past aerospace experience to help achieve greater success in future programs, and identify application of these principles to space systems design. The problems experienced provide insight into the engineering process and are examples of the subtleties one experiences performing engineering design, manufacturing, and operations. The supplemental CD contains accompanying PowerPoint presentations.

Increased interestingness of extraneous details in a multimedia science presentation leads to decreased learning.

PubMed

Mayer, Richard E; Griffith, Emily; Jurkowitz, Ilana T N; Rothman, Daniel

2008-12-01

In Experiment 1, students received an illustrated booklet, PowerPoint presentation, or narrated animation that explained 6 steps in how a cold virus infects the human body. The material included 6 high-interest details mainly about the role of viruses in sex or death (high group) or 6 low-interest details consisting of facts and health tips about viruses (low group). The low group outperformed the high group across all 3 media on a subsequent test of problem-solving transfer (d = .80) but not retention (d = .05). In Experiment 2, students who studied a PowerPoint lesson explaining the steps in how digestion works performed better on a problem-solving transfer test if the lesson contained 7 low-interest details rather than 7 high-interest details (d = .86), but the groups did not differ on retention (d = .26). In both experiments, as the interestingness of details was increased, student understanding decreased (as measured by transfer). Results are consistent with a cognitive theory of multimedia learning, in which highly interesting details sap processing capacity away from deeper cognitive processing of the core material during learning. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved.

Experience, trajectories, and reifications: an emerging framework of practice-based learning in healthcare workplaces.

PubMed

Teunissen, Pim W

2015-10-01

Learning by working is omnipresent in healthcare education. It enables people to learn how to perform, think, and interact in ways that work for their specific context. In this paper, I review my approach to studying this process. It centers on the question why healthcare professionals do what they do and how their actions and learning are intertwined. The aim of this paper is to illustrate what I have learned from the research I have been involved in, in such a way that it enables other researchers, educators, and clinicians to understand and study practice-based learning in healthcare workplaces. Therefore, I build on a programmatic line of research to present a framework of practice-based learning consisting of three inextricably linked levels of analysis. The first level focuses on how situations lead to personal experiences, the second level looks at strings of experiences that lead to multiple trajectories, and the third level deals with reifications arising from recurrent activities. This framework, and its interrelations and inherent tensions, helps to understand why healthcare workplaces can be both a powerful learning environment and a frustratingly hard place to change.

Qualitative assessment of a blended learning intervention in an undergraduate nursing course.

PubMed

Hsu, Li-Ling

2012-12-01

Nurses are experiencing new ethical issues because of global developments and changes in the healthcare environment. Blended learning is one of the various methods used to deliver meaningful learning experiences. Well-designed, properly administered nursing ethics education is essential for nursing students to visualize the role of professional nurses. However, a literature review shows that only a few existing studies have touched on the subject of nursing student experiences with blended learning in a nursing ethics course. This study examines how undergraduate nursing students respond to a blended learning approach in a nursing ethics course and how blended learning affects the learning process. We used a qualitative research design with in-depth interviews. Participants included 28 female undergraduate nursing students who had completed the nursing ethics course. Each interview lasted 50-100 minutes. The researcher conducted all interviews in 2009. The researcher identified six major themes and 13 subthemes from the data. The six themes included (a) enhancing thinking ability, (b) improving problem-solving skills, (c) reflecting in and on practice, (d) perceiving added workload, (e) encouraging active learning, and (f) identifying the value of nursing. Participants felt that the blended learning experience was a generally positive experience. Most participants appreciated the opportunity to take a more active role in the learning process, think about issues profoundly and critically, and exercise metacognitive powers in the thinking and decision-making process. Study findings may suggest productive ideas for fine-tuning blended learning models.

Students transcribing tasks: Noticing Fluency, Accuracy, and Complexity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stillwell, Christopher; Curabba, Brad; Alexander, Kamsin; Kidd, Andrew; Kim, Euna; Stone, Paul; Wyle, Christopher

2010-01-01

Student self-transcription can greatly enhance the power of tasks to promote language learning, for it allows students to re-examine their experience freed from the pressure of performing the task itself, so they can notice and reflect on the language used and encountered. This is a powerful step in language development because it allows for…

Effectiveness of simulation-based learning on student nurses' self-efficacy and performance while learning fundamental nursing skills.

PubMed

Lin, Hsin-Hsin

2015-01-01

It was noted worldwide while learning fundamental skills and facing skills assessments, nursing students seemed to experience low confidence and high anxiety levels. Could simulation-based learning help to enhance students' self-efficacy and performance? Its effectiveness is mostly unidentified. This study was conducted to provide a shared experience to give nurse educators confidence and an insight into how simulation-based teaching can fit into nursing skills learning. A pilot study was completed with 50 second-year undergraduate nursing students, and the main study included 98 students where a pretest-posttest design was adopted. Data were gathered through four questionnaires and a performance assessment under scrutinized controls such as previous experiences, lecturers' teaching skills, duration of teaching, procedure of skills performance assessment and the inter-rater reliability. The results showed that simulation-based learning significantly improved students' self-efficacy regarding skills learning and the skills performance that nurse educators wish students to acquire. However, technology anxiety, examiners' critical attitudes towards students' performance and their unpredicted verbal and non-verbal expressions, have been found as possible confounding factors. The simulation-based learning proved to have a powerful positive effect on students' achievement outcomes. Nursing skills learning is one area that can benefit greatly from this kind of teaching and learning method.

Creating and Sustaining Professional Learning Communities: Q&A with Stephanie Hirsh, Ph.D. 2016 Educator Effectiveness Webinar Series

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Regional Educational Laboratory Mid-Atlantic, 2016

2016-01-01

In this webinar, Dr. Stephanie Hirsh, Executive Director of Learning Forward, presented the research on effective PLCs and shared her experiences in creating, assessing, and leading PLCs. This Q&A addressed questions participants had for Dr. Hirsh following the webinar. The webinar recording and PowerPoint presentation are also available.

"That's when It Hit Home": Creating Interactive, Collective, and Transformative Learning Experiences through the Traveling Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gengler, Amanda Marie

2010-01-01

Travel is a powerful pedagogical tool for critical and feminist teachers, as it leads to learning that is uniquely interactive, collective, and transformative. It places students in immersive contact with real-world realities, which the teachers strive to help them see, come to terms with, and connect to the positionality of their own lived…

Listening to Students' Voices: Educational Materials Written by and for LEP Adult Literacy Learners. NCLE Digest.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peyton, Joy Kreeft

Students at all levels of literacy learning can express their ideas in print. Teachers working with student writers have found that the attempt to express, organize, and understand personal experience is also a powerful language learning device. When students publish their writings, they can see their own thoughts and concerns, and those of others…

The Reconceptualisation of Outdoor Education in the Primary School Classroom in Aotearoa New Zealand: How Might "We" Do It?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cosgriff, Marg

2016-01-01

The powerful learning that occurs outdoors has been well documented in this journal, as has an array of barriers teachers typically face in providing outdoor learning experiences. This paper draws on findings from a collaborative, practice-based research project examining the reconceptualisation of outdoor education in two Year 4 classes in a…

From Innovation Clusters to Datapalooza: Accelerating Innovation in Educational Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Culatta, Richard

2012-01-01

Education in the United States is entering a very exciting moment. For the first time, all of the digital stars are aligning n such a way that the technology is available to design truly transformational learning experiences. The ubiquity of inexpensive and powerful mobile devices is creating the potential for all students to learn at any time and…

Success for All: Eroding the Culture of Power in the One-to-One Teaching and Learning Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rakena, Te Oti; Airini,; Brown, Deidre

2016-01-01

This study applied a cultural lens to the "expert-novice dyad" (Kennell, 2002, p. 243) and explored the learning experiences of indigenous minorities studying in this context. The purpose of this study was to gather narratives that reflected the nature of teaching practices in the one-to-one studio context. The resulting data presented…

MSG Instant Messenger: Social Presence and Location for the "'Ad Hoc' Learning Experience"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Little, Alex; Denham, Chris; Eisenstadt, Marc

2008-01-01

"Elearning2.0" promises to harness the power of three of today's most disruptive technologies: social software, elearning, and Web2.0. Our own work in this disruptive space takes as a starting premise that social networking is critical for learning: finding the right person can be more important than "scouring the web for an answer" particularly…

Subjective Estimates of Job Performance after Job Preview: Determinants of Anticipated Learning Curves

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ackerman, Phillip L.; Shapiro, Stacey; Beier, Margaret E.

2011-01-01

When people choose a particular occupation, they presumably make an implicit judgment that they will perform well on a job at some point in the future, typically after extensive education and/or on-the-job experience. Research on learning and skill acquisition has pointed to a power law of practice, where large gains in performance come early in…

The Challenge of a Community Park: Engaging Young Children in Powerful Lessons In Democracy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cole, Bronwyn; McGuire, Margit

2011-01-01

For young children to engage and learn in school, they need to feel safe in the classroom and on the playground right from the first day. They also need learning experiences that are active and meaningful--that engage them cognitively, affectively, and operatively. Feeling safe requires knowledge about places, rules, codes of behavior, and the…

Transforming Pedagogies: Encouraging Pre-Service Teachers to Engage the Power of the Arts in Their Approach to Teaching and Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McLaren, Mary-Rose; Arnold, Julie

2016-01-01

This paper describes and analyses, through the use of case studies, two experiences of transformative learning in an undergraduate arts education unit. Pre-service teachers designed and engaged with arts-based curriculum activities, created their own artwork, participated in a modified production of The Tempest and kept a reflective journal. These…

Developing Mathematical Thinking and Self-Regulated Learning: A Teaching Experiment in a Seventh-Grade Mathematics Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pape, S. J.; Bell, C. V.; Yetkin, IE.

2003-01-01

Mathematics educators have found sociocultural models of teaching and learning to be powerful in their ability to describe and support the pursuit of instruction based on recent standards documents (e.g., National Council of Teachers of Mathematics [NCTM], 1989, 2000). These models of instruction, however, have been criticized for their lack of…

Cloud Technology May Widen Genomic Bottleneck - TCGA

Cancer.gov

Computational biologist Dr. Ilya Shmulevich suggests that renting cloud computing power might widen the bottleneck for analyzing genomic data. Learn more about his experience with the Cloud in this TCGA in Action Case Study.

Immersion, Immigration, Immutability: Regimes of Learning and Politics of Labeling in Study Abroad

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doerr, Neriko Musha; Suarez, Richard

2018-01-01

This article investigates how the use of the term "immersion" to describe one's experience abroad performatively interpellates individuals and reproduces power relations. A collaboration between an anthropologist (Doerr) and a study-abroad student (Suarez), it analyzes the student's interpretation of three types of experience he had in…

The Influence of Retrieval Practice on Memory and Comprehension of Science Texts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hinze, Scott R.

2010-01-01

The testing effect, where retrieval practice aids performance on later tests, may be a powerful tool for improving learning and retention. Three experiments test the potentials and limitations of retrieval practice for retention and comprehension of the content of science texts. Experiment 1 demonstrated that cued recall of paragraphs, but not…

Revising the Redundancy Principle in Multimedia Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mayer, Richard E.; Johnson, Cheryl I.

2008-01-01

College students viewed a short multimedia PowerPoint presentation consisting of 16 narrated slides explaining lightning formation (Experiment 1) or 8 narrated slides explaining how a car's braking system works (Experiment 2). Each slide appeared for approximately 8-10 s and contained a diagram along with 1-2 sentences of narration spoken in a…

The Writing Experiences and Beliefs of Secondary Teacher Candidates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Daisey, Peggy

2009-01-01

Writing affords students an opportunity to clarify their thinking. Through the process of writing, students recognize what they know and what they still need to learn. Teachers need to provide positive writing experiences that promote student enjoyment, as well as help students to express themselves with clarity and power. The ability of a teacher…

Theoretical foundations of learning through simulation.

PubMed

Zigmont, Jason J; Kappus, Liana J; Sudikoff, Stephanie N

2011-04-01

Health care simulation is a powerful educational tool to help facilitate learning for clinicians and change their practice to improve patient outcomes and safety. To promote effective life-long learning through simulation, the educator needs to consider individuals, their experiences, and their environments. Effective education of adults through simulation requires a sound understanding of both adult learning theory and experiential learning. This review article provides a framework for developing and facilitating simulation courses, founded upon empiric and theoretic research in adult and experiential learning. Specifically, this article provides a theoretic foundation for using simulation to change practice to improve patient outcomes and safety. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Power in methods: language to infants in structured and naturalistic contexts.

PubMed

Tamis-LeMonda, Catherine S; Kuchirko, Yana; Luo, Rufan; Escobar, Kelly; Bornstein, Marc H

2017-11-01

Methods can powerfully affect conclusions about infant experiences and learning. Data from naturalistic observations may paint a very different picture of learning and development from those based on structured tasks, as illustrated in studies of infant walking, object permanence, intention understanding, and so forth. Using language as a model system, we compared the speech of 40 mothers to their 13-month-old infants during structured play and naturalistic home routines. The contrasting methods yielded unique portrayals of infant language experiences, while simultaneously underscoring cross-situational correspondence at an individual level. Infants experienced substantially more total words and different words per minute during structured play than they did during naturalistic routines. Language input during structured play was consistently dense from minute to minute, whereas language during naturalistic routines showed striking fluctuations interspersed with silence. Despite these differences, infants' language experiences during structured play mirrored the peak language interactions infants experienced during naturalistic routines, and correlations between language inputs in the two conditions were strong. The implications of developmental methods for documenting the nature of experiences and individual differences are discussed. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Examining the durability of incidentally learned trust from gaze cues.

PubMed

Strachan, James W A; Tipper, Steven P

2017-10-01

In everyday interactions we find our attention follows the eye gaze of faces around us. As this cueing is so powerful and difficult to inhibit, gaze can therefore be used to facilitate or disrupt visual processing of the environment, and when we experience this we infer information about the trustworthiness of the cueing face. However, to date no studies have investigated how long these impressions last. To explore this we used a gaze-cueing paradigm where faces consistently demonstrated either valid or invalid cueing behaviours. Previous experiments show that valid faces are subsequently rated as more trustworthy than invalid faces. We replicate this effect (Experiment 1) and then include a brief interference task in Experiment 2 between gaze cueing and trustworthiness rating, which weakens but does not completely eliminate the effect. In Experiment 3, we explore whether greater familiarity with the faces improves the durability of trust learning and find that the effect is more resilient with familiar faces. Finally, in Experiment 4, we push this further and show that evidence of trust learning can be seen up to an hour after cueing has ended. Taken together, our results suggest that incidentally learned trust can be durable, especially for faces that deceive.

Nursing Clinical Instructor Experiences of Empowerment in Rwanda: Applying Kanter's and Spreitzer's Theories.

PubMed

Thuss, Mary; Babenko-Mould, Yolanda; Andrusyszyn, Mary-Anne; Laschinger, Heather K S

2016-10-15

The purpose of this study was to explore Rwandan nursing clinical instructors' (CIs) experiences of structural and psychological empowerment. CIs play a vital role in students' development by facilitating learning in health care practice environments. Quality nursing education hinges on the CI's ability to enact a professional role. A descriptive qualitative method was used to obtain an understanding of CIs empowerment experiences in practice settings. Kanter's Theory of Structural Power in Organizations and Spreitzer's Psychological Empowerment Theory were used as theoretical frameworks to interpret experiences. Interview data from 21 CIs were used to complete a secondary analysis. Most participants perceived the structural components of informal power, resources, and support while formal power and opportunity were limited, diminishing their sense of structural empowerment. Psychological empowerment for CIs stemmed from a sense of competence, meaning, impact and self-determination they had for their teaching roles and responsibilities in the practice setting.

Experiences Integrating Transmission and Distribution Simulations for DERs with the Integrated Grid Modeling System (IGMS)

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

Palmintier, Bryan; Hale, Elaine; Hodge, Bri-Mathias

2016-08-11

This paper discusses the development of, approaches for, experiences with, and some results from a large-scale, high-performance-computer-based (HPC-based) co-simulation of electric power transmission and distribution systems using the Integrated Grid Modeling System (IGMS). IGMS was developed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) as a novel Independent System Operator (ISO)-to-appliance scale electric power system modeling platform that combines off-the-shelf tools to simultaneously model 100s to 1000s of distribution systems in co-simulation with detailed ISO markets, transmission power flows, and AGC-level reserve deployment. Lessons learned from the co-simulation architecture development are shared, along with a case study that explores the reactivemore » power impacts of PV inverter voltage support on the bulk power system.« less

Critical Thinking Training for Army Officers Volume One: Overview of Research Program

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-06-01

Interview respondents favored a particular model of curriculum for adult learners, the Experiential Learning Model (ELM) ( Kolb , 1984) which has been...Psychologist, 58, 697-720. Klein, G. (1999). Sources of power. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Kolb , D.A. (1984). Experiential learning : Experience as... theory based, comprehensive, and widely available program of training is needed. Moreover, the scientific literature on critical thinking is highly

The Power of Doing: A Learning Exercise That Brings the Central Limit Theorem to Life

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Price, Barbara A.; Zhang, Xiaolong

2007-01-01

This article demonstrates an active learning technique for teaching the Central Limit Theorem (CLT) in an introductory undergraduate business statistics class. Groups of students carry out one of two experiments in the lab, tossing a die in sets of 5 rolls or tossing a die in sets of 10 rolls. They are asked to calculate the sample average of each…

Retrieval practice makes procedure from remembering: An automatization account of the testing effect.

PubMed

Racsmány, Mihály; Szőllősi, Ágnes; Bencze, Dorottya

2018-01-01

The "testing effect" refers to the striking phenomenon that repeated retrieval practice is one of the most effective learning strategies, and certainly more advantageous for long-term learning, than additional restudying of the same information. How retrieval can boost the retention of memories is still without unanimous explanation. In 3 experiments, focusing on the reaction time (RT) of retrieval, we showed that RT of retrieval during retrieval practice followed a power function speed up that typically characterizes automaticity and skill learning. More important, it was found that the measure of goodness of fit to this power function was associated with long-term recall success. Here we suggest that the automatization of retrieval is an explanatory component of the testing effect. As a consequence, retrieval-based learning has the properties characteristic of skill learning: diminishing involvement of attentional processes, faster processing, resistance to interference effects, and lower forgetting rate. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Students as Co-Designers: Peer and Instructional Resources for Novice Users of Eportfolio

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gordon, Leslie

2017-01-01

Several decades of ePortfolio research confirm the power of the tool for helping students make meaning of varied curricular and personal experiences. For first-time users, however, the learning curve may be steep, and the gap between institutional or instructor goals and student experiences may be wide. Some studies suggest that students…

The Effect of Modality Shifts on Practive Interference in Long-Term Memory.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dean, Raymond S.; And Others

1983-01-01

In experiment one, subjects learned a word list in blocked or random forms of auditory/visual change. In experiment two, high- and low-conceptual rigid subjects read passages in shift conditions or nonshift, exclusively in auditory or visual modes. A shift in modality provided a powerful release from proactive interference. (Author/CM)

Viva la Diferencia!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henderson, Karla; Bialeschki, Debbie

1987-01-01

Examines how male/female differences in time perception, power, thought, relationships, responsibility, process vs. product, conservation and exploitation, and leadership contribute to positive growth in outdoor learning. Suggests concepts of feminism, androgyny, and personality theory have implications for understanding camping experiences for…

Teacher learning from girls' informal science experiences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Birmingham, Daniel J.

School science continues to fail to engage youth from non-dominant communities (Carlone, Huan-Frank & Webb, 2011). However, recent research demonstrates that informal science learning settings support both knowledge gains and increased participation in science among youth from non-dominant communities (Dierking, 2007; Falk et al., 2007; HFRP, 2010). Despite the success, little is known about how teachers can learn from informal science practices to support student engagement in science. In this study, I examine the impact informal science experiences has for the teaching and learning of science in school contexts. This study is focused on eliciting girls' stories of informal science learning experiences and sharing these stories with science teachers to examine what they notice and make meaning of in connection with their classroom practices (van Es & Sherin, 2002). I co-constructed cases of informal science experiences with middle school females who participate in an after school science program in an urban area. These cases consisted of the girls' written stories, their explicit messages to science teachers, examples of actions taken when investigating community based science issues and transcripts of conversations between the girls and researchers. These cases were shared with local science teachers in order to investigate what they "notice" (van Es & Sherin, 2002) regarding girls' participation in informal science learning, how they make meaning of youths' stories and whether the stories influence their classroom practices. I found that the girls' use their cases to share experiences of how, where and why science matters, to express hope for school science and to critique stereotypical views that young, female, students of color from lower SES backgrounds are not interested or capable of making contributions to scientific investigations. Additionally, I found that teachers noticed powerful messages within and across the girls' cases. The messages include; 1) students' desire to be active participants in science investigations, 2) the need to provide spaces for students to leverage their strengths when learning and doing science, 3) the importance of building connections between science and community, and 4) expanding the outcomes of scientific investigations beyond traditional school measures. However, their individual meaning making was influenced by tensions between what they found powerful in the cases, the institutional narratives that often guide practice in schools and the societal and personal narratives connected to participation of girls from non dominant communities in science. Thus, each of the three teachers took different pathways as they implemented new science learning experiences based upon what each found most salient in the girls' stories as well as the influence of institutional, societal and personal narratives, resulting in varied learning experiences for their students.

Expanding nursing education through e-learning: A case study in Malaysia.

PubMed

Syed-Mohamad, Sharifah-Mastura; Pardi, Kasmah-Wati; Zainal, Nor-Azmi; Ismail, Zalina

2006-01-01

The School of Health Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia (SHS) is planning to expand its contribution to produce more graduate nurses by offering a nursing degree through e-learning. After three years of using e-learning by four lecturers in seven nursing courses, we conducted a study to get the lecturers feedback and to compare the students' preference and their actual experiences in e-learning. Lecturers' feedback were collected based on six open-ended questions. Feedback from all the 36 final year nursing students were collected using Constructivist On-line Learning Environment Survey (COLLES)--the Student Experience/Preferred Form. Results show that lecturers and students have positive perception on e-learning. They perceive e-learning as a powerful and effective tool for expanding nursing education to meet the demand for a labour force that is knowledgeable, highly skilled and equipped with positive values. We believe blended learning is the most suitable approach to implement e-learning and social constructivism theory provides the dynamic view of learning. To increase success in e-learning implementation for the nursing programme, lecturers should be educated regarding proper instructional design so that their content delivery blends well with the technology and pedagogy.

Inferences about unobserved causes in human contingency learning.

PubMed

Hagmayer, York; Waldmann, Michael R

2007-03-01

Estimates of the causal efficacy of an event need to take into account the possible presence and influence of other unobserved causes that might have contributed to the occurrence of the effect. Current theoretical approaches deal differently with this problem. Associative theories assume that at least one unobserved cause is always present. In contrast, causal Bayes net theories (including Power PC theory) hypothesize that unobserved causes may be present or absent. These theories generally assume independence of different causes of the same event, which greatly simplifies modelling learning and inference. In two experiments participants were requested to learn about the causal relation between a single cause and an effect by observing their co-occurrence (Experiment 1) or by actively intervening in the cause (Experiment 2). Participants' assumptions about the presence of an unobserved cause were assessed either after each learning trial or at the end of the learning phase. The results show an interesting dissociation. Whereas there was a tendency to assume interdependence of the causes in the online judgements during learning, the final judgements tended to be more in the direction of an independence assumption. Possible explanations and implications of these findings are discussed.

Who is that masked educator? Deconstructing the teaching and learning processes of an innovative humanistic simulation technique.

PubMed

McAllister, Margaret; Searl, Kerry Reid; Davis, Susan

2013-12-01

Simulation learning in nursing has long made use of mannequins, standardized actors and role play to allow students opportunity to practice technical body-care skills and interventions. Even though numerous strategies have been developed to mimic or amplify clinical situations, a common problem that is difficult to overcome in even the most well-executed simulation experiences, is that students may realize the setting is artificial and fail to fully engage, remember or apply the learning. Another problem is that students may learn technical competence but remain uncertain about communicating with the person. Since communication capabilities are imperative in human service work, simulation learning that only achieves technical competence in students is not fully effective for the needs of nursing education. Furthermore, while simulation learning is a burgeoning space for innovative practices, it has been criticized for the absence of a basis in theory. It is within this context that an innovative simulation learning experience named "Mask-Ed (KRS simulation)", has been deconstructed and the active learning components examined. Establishing a theoretical basis for creative teaching and learning practices provides an understanding of how, why and when simulation learning has been effective and it may help to distinguish aspects of the experience that could be improved. Three conceptual theoretical fields help explain the power of this simulation technique: Vygotskian sociocultural learning theory, applied theatre and embodiment. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Josh's Operational Conjectures: Abductions of a Splitting Operation and the Construction of New Fractional Schemes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Norton, Anderson

2008-01-01

This article reports on students' learning through conjecturing, by drawing on a semester-long teaching experiment with 6 sixth-grade students. It focuses on 1 of the students, Josh, who developed especially powerful ways of operating over the course of the teaching experiment. Through a fine-grained analysis of Josh's actions, this article…

A case study for retaining nuclear power experience

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

Beckjord, E.S.

1996-12-31

Nuclear engineering departments at U.S. universities are rethinking curricula to focus on essentials. Prospective engineers must know nuclear engineering disciplines, but knowing how their engineering forebears solved important problems will empower them even more by learning some history along with engineering. I suggest a way to retain experience, giving an example: the emergency core cooling system (ECCS) controversy and resolution.

The Power of Relationship Building in International Short-Term Field Study Experiences at the Graduate Level

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davis, Brittany; Coryell, Joellen E.

2016-01-01

This paper derives from a case study of a 10-day cross-cultural field study experience held in Italy in which graduate students from master and doctoral levels in adult education participated. During group reflections, several students who participated in the course expressed the value of learning through personal connections made with students as…

Ugly Ducklings or Beautiful Swans? Exploring the Truths of Hard of Hearing Students' Foreign Language Learning Experiences in the Postsecondary Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liao, Yi-hung

2010-01-01

This study examines how specific experiences of disability (i.e. hearing loss) come into being and how they are articulated within foreign language educational practices. It particularly explores issues of social justice and equity regarding the discursive embracement of power relations and situated contextualization of hard-of-hearing students'…

Active learning methods for interactive image retrieval.

PubMed

Gosselin, Philippe Henri; Cord, Matthieu

2008-07-01

Active learning methods have been considered with increased interest in the statistical learning community. Initially developed within a classification framework, a lot of extensions are now being proposed to handle multimedia applications. This paper provides algorithms within a statistical framework to extend active learning for online content-based image retrieval (CBIR). The classification framework is presented with experiments to compare several powerful classification techniques in this information retrieval context. Focusing on interactive methods, active learning strategy is then described. The limitations of this approach for CBIR are emphasized before presenting our new active selection process RETIN. First, as any active method is sensitive to the boundary estimation between classes, the RETIN strategy carries out a boundary correction to make the retrieval process more robust. Second, the criterion of generalization error to optimize the active learning selection is modified to better represent the CBIR objective of database ranking. Third, a batch processing of images is proposed. Our strategy leads to a fast and efficient active learning scheme to retrieve sets of online images (query concept). Experiments on large databases show that the RETIN method performs well in comparison to several other active strategies.

Empowerment of nursing students in the United Kingdom and Japan: a cross-cultural study.

PubMed

Bradbury-Jones, Caroline; Irvine, Fiona; Sambrook, Sally

2007-08-01

This paper is a report of a study to explore the phenomenon of empowerment cross-culturally by comparing the situations in which nursing students from the United Kingdom and Japan experienced empowerment and disempowerment in clinical practice. Empowerment has been the focus of many studies, but most focus on the experience of Registered Nurses and few have explored the phenomenon cross-culturally. This was a cross-cultural, comparative study using the critical incident technique. Anonymous written data were collected from nursing students in Japan and United Kingdom between November 2005 and January 2006. Japanese data were translated and back-translated. Analysis of the transcripts revealed three themes: Learning in Practice, Team Membership, Power. Nursing students in these countries are exposed to different educational and clinical environments, but their experiences of empowerment and disempowerment are similar. For both, learning in practice, team membership and power are associated with either empowerment or disempowerment; depending on the context. United Kingdom students are aware of the importance of acting as patient advocates, although they cannot always find the voice to perform this. Japanese students however, appear to be unaware of the concept of advocacy. Student nurse empowerment may transcend cultural differences, and learning in practice, team membership and power may be important for the empowerment of nursing students globally. Further cross-cultural exploration is required into the association between advocacy and empowerment.

Multi-unit Operations in Non-Nuclear Systems: Lessons Learned for Small Modular Reactors

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

OHara J. M.; Higgins, J.; DAgostino, A.

2012-01-17

The nuclear-power community has reached the stage of proposing advanced reactor designs to support power generation for decades to come. Small modular reactors (SMRs) are one approach to meet these energy needs. While the power output of individual reactor modules is relatively small, they can be grouped to produce reactor sites with different outputs. Also, they can be designed to generate hydrogen, or to process heat. Many characteristics of SMRs are quite different from those of current plants and may be operated quite differently. One difference is that multiple units may be operated by a single crew (or a singlemore » operator) from one control room. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is examining the human factors engineering (HFE) aspects of SMRs to support licensing reviews. While we reviewed information on SMR designs to obtain information, the designs are not completed and all of the design and operational information is not yet available. Nor is there information on multi-unit operations as envisioned for SMRs available in operating experience. Thus, to gain a better understanding of multi-unit operations we sought the lesson learned from non-nuclear systems that have experience in multi-unit operations, specifically refineries, unmanned aerial vehicles and tele-intensive care units. In this paper we report the lessons learned from these systems and the implications for SMRs.« less

A Novel Harmony Search Algorithm Based on Teaching-Learning Strategies for 0-1 Knapsack Problems

PubMed Central

Tuo, Shouheng; Yong, Longquan; Deng, Fang'an

2014-01-01

To enhance the performance of harmony search (HS) algorithm on solving the discrete optimization problems, this paper proposes a novel harmony search algorithm based on teaching-learning (HSTL) strategies to solve 0-1 knapsack problems. In the HSTL algorithm, firstly, a method is presented to adjust dimension dynamically for selected harmony vector in optimization procedure. In addition, four strategies (harmony memory consideration, teaching-learning strategy, local pitch adjusting, and random mutation) are employed to improve the performance of HS algorithm. Another improvement in HSTL method is that the dynamic strategies are adopted to change the parameters, which maintains the proper balance effectively between global exploration power and local exploitation power. Finally, simulation experiments with 13 knapsack problems show that the HSTL algorithm can be an efficient alternative for solving 0-1 knapsack problems. PMID:24574905

A novel harmony search algorithm based on teaching-learning strategies for 0-1 knapsack problems.

PubMed

Tuo, Shouheng; Yong, Longquan; Deng, Fang'an

2014-01-01

To enhance the performance of harmony search (HS) algorithm on solving the discrete optimization problems, this paper proposes a novel harmony search algorithm based on teaching-learning (HSTL) strategies to solve 0-1 knapsack problems. In the HSTL algorithm, firstly, a method is presented to adjust dimension dynamically for selected harmony vector in optimization procedure. In addition, four strategies (harmony memory consideration, teaching-learning strategy, local pitch adjusting, and random mutation) are employed to improve the performance of HS algorithm. Another improvement in HSTL method is that the dynamic strategies are adopted to change the parameters, which maintains the proper balance effectively between global exploration power and local exploitation power. Finally, simulation experiments with 13 knapsack problems show that the HSTL algorithm can be an efficient alternative for solving 0-1 knapsack problems.

Intelligence in the brain: a theory of how it works and how to build it.

PubMed

Werbos, Paul J

2009-04-01

This paper presents a theory of how general-purpose learning-based intelligence is achieved in the mammal brain, and how we can replicate it. It reviews four generations of ever more powerful general-purpose learning designs in Adaptive, Approximate Dynamic Programming (ADP), which includes reinforcement learning as a special case. It reviews empirical results which fit the theory, and suggests important new directions for research, within the scope of NSF's recent initiative on Cognitive Optimization and Prediction. The appendices suggest possible connections to the realms of human subjective experience, comparative cognitive neuroscience, and new challenges in electric power. The major challenge before us today in mathematical neural networks is to replicate the "mouse level", but the paper does contain a few thoughts about building, understanding and nourishing levels of general intelligence beyond the mouse.

Aging reduces experience-induced sensorimotor plasticity. A magnetoencephalographic study.

PubMed

Mary, Alison; Bourguignon, Mathieu; Wens, Vincent; Op de Beeck, Marc; Leproult, Rachel; De Tiège, Xavier; Peigneux, Philippe

2015-01-01

Modulation of the mu-alpha and mu-beta spontaneous rhythms reflects plastic neural changes within the primary sensorimotor cortex (SM1). Using magnetoencephalography (MEG), we investigated how aging modifies experience-induced plasticity after learning a motor sequence, looking at post- vs. pre-learning changes in the modulation of mu rhythms during the execution of simple hand movements. Fifteen young (18-30 years) and fourteen older (65-75 years) right-handed healthy participants performed auditory-cued key presses using all four left fingers simultaneously (Simple Movement task - SMT) during two separate sessions. Following both SMT sessions, they repeatedly practiced a 5-elements sequential finger-tapping task (FTT). Mu power calculated during SMT was averaged across 18 gradiometers covering the right sensorimotor region and compared before vs. after sequence learning in the alpha (9/10/11Hz) and the beta (18/20/22Hz) bands separately. Source power maps in the mu-alpha and mu-beta bands were localized using Dynamic Statistical Parametric Mapping (dSPM). The FTT sequence was performed faster at retest than at the end of the learning session, indicating an offline boost in performance. Analyses conducted on SMT sessions revealed enhanced rebound after learning in the right SM1, 3000-3500ms after the initiation of movement, in young as compared to older participants. Source reconstruction indicated that mu-beta is located in the precentral gyrus (motor processes) and mu-alpha is located in the postcentral gyrus (somatosensory processes) in both groups. The enhanced post-movement rebound in young subjects potentially reflects post-training plastic changes in SM1. Age-related decreases in post-training modulatory effects suggest reduced experience-dependent plasticity in the aging brain. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

So, Here's the Story

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Columba, Lynn

2013-01-01

Mathematics is about reasoning, patterns, and making sense of things. Children's literature provides a powerful opportunity to foster unique experiences in mathematics learning. Storybooks, thinking strategies, and manipulatives offer a winning combination for mastering multiplication facts based on conceptual ideas and relationships. The most…

Statistical Learning in a Natural Language by 8-Month-Old Infants

PubMed Central

Pelucchi, Bruna; Hay, Jessica F.; Saffran, Jenny R.

2013-01-01

Numerous studies over the past decade support the claim that infants are equipped with powerful statistical language learning mechanisms. The primary evidence for statistical language learning in word segmentation comes from studies using artificial languages, continuous streams of synthesized syllables that are highly simplified relative to real speech. To what extent can these conclusions be scaled up to natural language learning? In the current experiments, English-learning 8-month-old infants’ ability to track transitional probabilities in fluent infant-directed Italian speech was tested (N = 72). The results suggest that infants are sensitive to transitional probability cues in unfamiliar natural language stimuli, and support the claim that statistical learning is sufficiently robust to support aspects of real-world language acquisition. PMID:19489896

A National Study Assessing the Teaching and Learning of Introductory Astronomy Part II: Analysis of Student Demographics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rudolph, Alexander; Prather, E. E.; Brissenden, G.; Consiglio, D.; Gonzaga, V.

2010-01-01

This is the second in a series of reports on a national study of the teaching and learning of astronomy in general education, non-science major, introductory college astronomy courses (Astro 101). The results show dramatic improvement in student learning with increased use of interactive learning strategies even after controlling for individual student characteristics. In addition, we find that the positive effects of interactive learning strategies apply equally to men and women, across ethnicities, for students with all levels of prior mathematical preparation and physical science course experience, independent of GPA, and regardless of primary language. These results powerfully illustrate that all categories of students can benefit from the effective implementation of interactive learning strategies.

Statistical learning in a natural language by 8-month-old infants.

PubMed

Pelucchi, Bruna; Hay, Jessica F; Saffran, Jenny R

2009-01-01

Numerous studies over the past decade support the claim that infants are equipped with powerful statistical language learning mechanisms. The primary evidence for statistical language learning in word segmentation comes from studies using artificial languages, continuous streams of synthesized syllables that are highly simplified relative to real speech. To what extent can these conclusions be scaled up to natural language learning? In the current experiments, English-learning 8-month-old infants' ability to track transitional probabilities in fluent infant-directed Italian speech was tested (N = 72). The results suggest that infants are sensitive to transitional probability cues in unfamiliar natural language stimuli, and support the claim that statistical learning is sufficiently robust to support aspects of real-world language acquisition.

2.5-year-olds use cross-situational consistency to learn verbs under referential uncertainty.

PubMed

Scott, Rose M; Fisher, Cynthia

2012-02-01

Recent evidence shows that children can use cross-situational statistics to learn new object labels under referential ambiguity (e.g., Smith & Yu, 2008). Such evidence has been interpreted as support for proposals that statistical information about word-referent co-occurrence plays a powerful role in word learning. But object labels represent only a fraction of the vocabulary children acquire, and arguably represent the simplest case of word learning based on observations of world scenes. Here we extended the study of cross-situational word learning to a new segment of the vocabulary, action verbs, to permit a stronger test of the role of statistical information in word learning. In two experiments, on each trial 2.5-year-olds encountered two novel intransitive (e.g., "She's pimming!"; Experiment 1) or transitive verbs (e.g., "She's pimming her toy!"; Experiment 2) while viewing two action events. The consistency with which each verb accompanied each action provided the only source of information about the intended referent of each verb. The 2.5-year-olds used cross-situational consistency in verb learning, but also showed significant limits on their ability to do so as the sentences and scenes became slightly more complex. These findings help to define the role of cross-situational observation in word learning. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

2.5-year-olds use cross-situational consistency to learn verbs under referential uncertainty

PubMed Central

Scott, Rose M.; Fisher, Cynthia

2011-01-01

Recent evidence shows that children can use cross-situational statistics to learn new object labels under referential ambiguity (e.g., Smith & Yu, 2008). Such evidence has been interpreted as support for proposals that statistical information about word-referent co-occurrence plays a powerful role in word learning. But object labels represent only a fraction of the vocabulary children acquire, and arguably represent the simplest case of word learning based on observations of world scenes. Here we extended the study of cross-situational word learning to a new segment of the vocabulary, action verbs, to permit a stronger test of the role of statistical information in word learning. In two experiments, on each trial 2.5-year-olds encountered two novel intransitive (e.g., “She’s pimming!”; Experiment 1) or transitive verbs (e.g., “She’s pimming her toy!”; Experiment 2) while viewing two action events. The consistency with which each verb accompanied each action provided the only source of information about the intended referent of each verb. The 2.5-year-olds used cross-situational consistency in verb learning, but also showed significant limits on their ability to do so as the sentences and scenes became slightly more complex. These findings help to define the role of cross-situational observation in word learning. PMID:22104489

Education Through Exploration: Evaluating the Unknown

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anbar, A. D.

2015-12-01

Mastery of the peculiar and powerful practices of science is increasingly important for the average citizen. With the rise of the Internet, most of human knowledge is at our fingertips. As content becomes a commodity, success and survival aren't about who knows the most, but who is better able to explore the unknown, actively applying and extending knowledge through critical thinking and hypothesis-driven problem-solving. This applies to the economic livelihoods of individuals and to society at large as we grapple with climate change and other science-infused challenges. Unfortunately, science is too often taught as an encyclopedic collection of settled facts to be mastered rather than as a process of exploration that embraces curiosity, inquiry, testing, and communication to reduce uncertainty about the unknown. This problem is exacerbated by the continued prevalence of teacher-centric pedagogy, which promotes learning-from-authority and passive learning. The initial wave of massively open online courses (MOOCs) generally mimic this teaching style in virtual form. It is hypothesized that emerging digital teaching technologies can help address this challenge at Internet scale in "next generation" MOOCs and flipped classroom experiences. Interactive simulations, immersive virtual field trips, gamified elements, rapid adaptive feedback, intelligent tutoring systems, and personalized pathways, should motivate and enhance learning. Through lab-like projects and tutorials, students should be able to construct knowledge from interactive experiences, modeling the authentic practice of science while mastering complex concepts. Freed from lecturing, teaching staff should be available for direct and intense student-teacher interactions. These claims are difficult to evaluate with traditional assessment instruments, but digital technologies provide powerful new ways to evaluate student learning and learn from student behaviors. We will describe ongoing experiences with such technologies, and future plans, drawing from the experiences of > 2500 students who have taken the Habitable Worlds fully online general education class at ASU, and as part of the new Inspark Science Teaching Network.

The role of first impression in operant learning.

PubMed

Shteingart, Hanan; Neiman, Tal; Loewenstein, Yonatan

2013-05-01

We quantified the effect of first experience on behavior in operant learning and studied its underlying computational principles. To that goal, we analyzed more than 200,000 choices in a repeated-choice experiment. We found that the outcome of the first experience has a substantial and lasting effect on participants' subsequent behavior, which we term outcome primacy. We found that this outcome primacy can account for much of the underweighting of rare events, where participants apparently underestimate small probabilities. We modeled behavior in this task using a standard, model-free reinforcement learning algorithm. In this model, the values of the different actions are learned over time and are used to determine the next action according to a predefined action-selection rule. We used a novel nonparametric method to characterize this action-selection rule and showed that the substantial effect of first experience on behavior is consistent with the reinforcement learning model if we assume that the outcome of first experience resets the values of the experienced actions, but not if we assume arbitrary initial conditions. Moreover, the predictive power of our resetting model outperforms previously published models regarding the aggregate choice behavior. These findings suggest that first experience has a disproportionately large effect on subsequent actions, similar to primacy effects in other fields of cognitive psychology. The mechanism of resetting of the initial conditions that underlies outcome primacy may thus also account for other forms of primacy. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Preparation for workplace adversity: Student narratives as a stimulus for learning.

PubMed

Hanson, Julie; McAllister, Margaret

2017-07-01

Nursing students are not always well prepared for the kind of adverse events they may experience in the workplace and yet it seems apparent that future students could benefit from learning about such experiences so that they can be avoided, or their impact minimised. This research aimed to identify nursing students' experiences of adversity, collaborate with students to discern important lessons for future students in their experiences, and make recommendations for other educators on how to use these adversity stories as lessons. Seven Australian nursing students were interviewed using critical incident technique consisting of 7 questions. This paper focuses on the responses to the questions: "Does this story's message have a place in the curriculum?" and "How would you teach this lesson?" Data were analysed using critical discourse analysis. Four recurring discourses emerged including: power relationships are a two-way street; learn from mistakes to prevent mistakes; begin cultural consciousness-raising in first year, first semester; and become critically self-aware. Narratives derived from original stories of adversity may be a valuable source of learning about the realities of the workplace but to benefit fully, educators need to assist students to notice and analyse embedded messages. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of Curriculum of Learning through Photograph

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suzuki, Keiko; Aoki, Naokazu; Kobayashi, Hiroyuki

A curriculum of an integrated learning using power of photography in the junior highschool was constructed, and was experimented in the class "Seminar for Photographic Expression" of the integrated learning at a junior high school. The center of the curriculum is viewing photographs and self-expression using photography. By comparing the results of questionnaires investigation between before and after the class it is suggested that the curriculum brings about increase in self-esteem, empathy, and motivation for learning. This educational effect is really to foster ability to live self-sufficient lives. On the basis of these results curriculums which can be conducted by anyone at every junior highschool were proposed.

Finding faults: analogical comparison supports spatial concept learning in geoscience.

PubMed

Jee, Benjamin D; Uttal, David H; Gentner, Dedre; Manduca, Cathy; Shipley, Thomas F; Sageman, Bradley

2013-05-01

A central issue in education is how to support the spatial thinking involved in learning science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). We investigated whether and how the cognitive process of analogical comparison supports learning of a basic spatial concept in geoscience, fault. Because of the high variability in the appearance of faults, it may be difficult for students to learn the category-relevant spatial structure. There is abundant evidence that comparing analogous examples can help students gain insight into important category-defining features (Gentner in Cogn Sci 34(5):752-775, 2010). Further, comparing high-similarity pairs can be especially effective at revealing key differences (Sagi et al. 2012). Across three experiments, we tested whether comparison of visually similar contrasting examples would help students learn the fault concept. Our main findings were that participants performed better at identifying faults when they (1) compared contrasting (fault/no fault) cases versus viewing each case separately (Experiment 1), (2) compared similar as opposed to dissimilar contrasting cases early in learning (Experiment 2), and (3) viewed a contrasting pair of schematic block diagrams as opposed to a single block diagram of a fault as part of an instructional text (Experiment 3). These results suggest that comparison of visually similar contrasting cases helped distinguish category-relevant from category-irrelevant features for participants. When such comparisons occurred early in learning, participants were more likely to form an accurate conceptual representation. Thus, analogical comparison of images may provide one powerful way to enhance spatial learning in geoscience and other STEM disciplines.

Digital Technologies and Pedagogies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weis, Tracey M.; Benmayor, Rina; O'Leary, Cecilia; Eynon, Bret

2002-01-01

Shares four college professors' experiences using new media to change approaches to teaching and learning. In their classes, students conduct archival research on African American history in Web-based sites, then construct collaborative interpretations in PowerPoint; incorporate digital storytelling (within a Latina Life Stories class); construct…

Transforming American Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Horn, Michael B.; Mackey, Katherine

2011-01-01

In this article the authors accept as a given the National Education Technology Plan's vision of a transformed education system powered by technology such that learners receive personalized and engaging learning experiences, and where assessment, teaching, infrastructure, and productivity are redefined. The article analyzes this vision of a…

The STEAM-Powered Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harper, Charlie

2017-01-01

An instructional coach argues that STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) programming combined with problem-based learning can offer rich academic experiences--and not just in science classrooms. He outlines relevant problem-based lesson ideas, and discusses ways school leaders can better support instructional practices…

A Brief Nap Is Beneficial for Human Route-Learning: The Role of Navigation Experience and EEG Spectral Power

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wamsley, Erin J.; Tucker, Matthew A.; Payne, Jessica D.; Stickgold, Robert

2010-01-01

Here, we examined the effect of a daytime nap on changes in virtual maze performance across a single day. Participants either took a short nap or remained awake following training on a virtual maze task. Post-training sleep provided a clear performance benefit at later retest, but only for those participants with prior experience navigating in a…

GAS 450: A space payload for the People Central Coast Student Experimenters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ray, Glen

1988-01-01

The Get Away Special 450 is described. This discussion includes the peoples efforts, the experiments, lessons learned, and a few powerful positive steps toward community involvement. The following is a list of experiment titles: Guppies in Space; Electrophoresis of Enzymes in Microgravity; Diffusion of Ions in Solution; Space Cement; Bubbles in Space; Small Particle Studies; and Liquid Separation in Microgravity.

Metacomprehension judgements reflect the belief that diagrams improve learning from text.

PubMed

Serra, Michael J; Dunlosky, John

2010-10-01

In two experiments we systematically explored whether people consider the format of text materials when judging their text learning, and whether doing so might inappropriately bias their judgements. Participants studied either text with diagrams (multimedia) or text alone and made both per-paragraph judgements and global judgements of their text learning. In Experiment 1 they judged their learning to be better for text with diagrams than for text alone. In that study, however, test performance was greater for multimedia, so the judgements may reflect either a belief in the power of multimedia or on-line processing. Experiment 2 replicated this finding and also included a third group that read texts with pictures that did not improve text performance. Judgements made by this group were just as high as those made by participants who received the effective multimedia format. These results confirm the hypothesis that people's metacomprehension judgements can be influenced by their beliefs about text format. Over-reliance on this multimedia heuristic, however, might reduce judgement accuracy in situations where it is invalid.

Physics Learning Strategies with Multi-touch Technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Potter, Mark; Ilie, C.; Schofield, D.

2011-03-01

Advancements in technology have opened doorways to build new teaching and learning methods. Through conjunctive use of these technologies and methods, a classroom can be enriched to stimulate and improve student learning. The purpose of our research is to ascertain whether or not multi-touch technology enhances students' abilities to better comprehend and retain the knowledge taught in physics. At their basis, students learn via visual, aural, reading/writing, and kinesthetic styles. Labs provide for all but the aural style, while lectures lack kinesthetic learning. Pedagogical research indicates that kinesthetic learning is a fundamental, powerful, and ubiquitous learning style. By using multi-touch technology in lecture, not only can we accommodate kinesthetic learners, but we can also enrich the experiences of visual learners. Ushering to this wider array of students will hopefully lead to an increase in meaningful learning.

Analytical reasoning task reveals limits of social learning in networks.

PubMed

Rahwan, Iyad; Krasnoshtan, Dmytro; Shariff, Azim; Bonnefon, Jean-François

2014-04-06

Social learning-by observing and copying others-is a highly successful cultural mechanism for adaptation, outperforming individual information acquisition and experience. Here, we investigate social learning in the context of the uniquely human capacity for reflective, analytical reasoning. A hallmark of the human mind is its ability to engage analytical reasoning, and suppress false associative intuitions. Through a set of laboratory-based network experiments, we find that social learning fails to propagate this cognitive strategy. When people make false intuitive conclusions and are exposed to the analytic output of their peers, they recognize and adopt this correct output. But they fail to engage analytical reasoning in similar subsequent tasks. Thus, humans exhibit an 'unreflective copying bias', which limits their social learning to the output, rather than the process, of their peers' reasoning-even when doing so requires minimal effort and no technical skill. In contrast to much recent work on observation-based social learning, which emphasizes the propagation of successful behaviour through copying, our findings identify a limit on the power of social networks in situations that require analytical reasoning.

Is that really my movement? - Students' experiences of a video-supported interactive learning model for movement awareness.

PubMed

Backåberg, Sofia; Gummesson, Christina; Brunt, David; Rask, Mikael

2015-01-01

Healthcare staff and students have a great risk of developing musculoskeletal symptoms. One cause of this is heavy load related work activities such as manual handling, in which the quality of individual work technique may play a major role. Preventive interventions and well-defined educational strategies to support movement awareness and long-lasting movement changes need to be developed. The aim of the present study was to explore nursing students' experiences of a newly developed interactive learning model for movement awareness. The learning model, which is based on a life-world perspective with focus on interpersonal interaction, has been used with 11 undergraduate students from the second and final year. Each student participated in three individual video sessions with a facilitator. Two individual interviews were carried out with each student during the learning process and one interview 12-18 months after the last session. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim, and a phenomenological hermeneutic method inspired by Paul Ricoeur and described by Lindseth and Norberg was used to interpret the interviews and diary notes. The interpretation resulted in three key themes and nine subthemes. The key themes were; "Obtaining better preconditions for bodily awareness," "Experiencing changes in one's own movement," and "Experiencing challenges in the learning process." The interactive learning model entails a powerful and challenging experience that develops movement awareness. The experience of meaningfulness and usefulness emerges increasingly and alternates with a feeling of discomfort. The learning model may contribute to the body of knowledge of well-defined educational strategies in movement awareness and learning in, for example, preventive interventions and ergonomic education. It may also be valuable in other practical learning situations where movement awareness is required.

Assessing Understanding through Reading and Writing in Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adu-Gyamfi, Kwaku; Bosse, Michael J.; Faulconer, Johna

2010-01-01

The mathematics education community recognizes the integrality of reading and writing in learning and communicating mathematics knowledge. Unfortunately, many students have yet to significantly experience this integrality in their mathematics classrooms despite the power these tools offer teachers for assessing student knowledge. This paper…

Moving Museum Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weisberg, Shelley Kruger

2011-01-01

As Howard Gardner persuasively argued, movement, or kinesthetics, can be a powerful educational tool and one to which some learners are particularly attuned. Museums, however, are typically places that discourage movement (don't run, don't jump, watch out for the artifacts). This makes incorporating kinesthetic learning challenging. This article…

Addressing Achievement Gaps with Psychological Interventions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yeager, David; Walton, Gregory; Cohen, Geoffrey L.

2013-01-01

Student psychology--how the classroom looks and feels from the perspective of the student--can powerfully affect motivation and learning, and experiments are increasingly showing that even brief interventions to change psychology can boost achievement over months or years. When paired with other structural reforms, social-psychological…

The Mountaineer-Malaysia Connection.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Young, Jeff

1997-01-01

A 26-day summer field course of West Virginia University's (WVU) Recreation and Parks Department took students to Malaysia's mountains and rainforests to observe how Malaysians are managing national parks, problem elephants, and population pressures on parks. The adventure provided powerful learning experiences. Further exchanges between WVU and…

Attention during memory retrieval enhances future remembering.

PubMed

Dudukovic, Nicole M; Dubrow, Sarah; Wagner, Anthony D

2009-10-01

Memory retrieval is a powerful learning event that influences whether an experience will be remembered in the future. Although retrieval can succeed in the presence of distraction, dividing attention during retrieval may reduce the power of remembering as an encoding event. In the present experiments, participants studied pictures of objects under full attention and then engaged in item recognition and source memory retrieval under full or divided attention. Two days later, a second recognition and source recollection test assessed the impact of attention during initial retrieval on long-term retention. On this latter test, performance was superior for items that had been tested initially under full versus divided attention. More importantly, even when items were correctly recognized on the first test, divided attention reduced the likelihood of subsequent recognition on the second test. The same held true for source recollection. Additionally, foils presented during the first test were also less likely to be later recognized if they had been encountered initially under divided attention. These findings demonstrate that attentive retrieval is critical for learning through remembering.

Mission Possible: BioMedical Experiments on the Space Shuttle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bopp, E.; Kreutzberg, K.

2011-01-01

Biomedical research, both applied and basic, was conducted on every Shuttle mission from 1981 to 2011. The Space Shuttle Program enabled NASA investigators and researchers from around the world to address fundamental issues concerning living and working effectively in space. Operationally focused occupational health investigations and tests were given priority by the Shuttle crew and Shuttle Program management for the resolution of acute health issues caused by the rigors of spaceflight. The challenges of research on the Shuttle included: limited up and return mass, limited power, limited crew time, and requirements for containment of hazards. The sheer capacity of the Shuttle for crew and equipment was unsurpassed by any other launch and entry vehicle and the Shuttle Program provided more opportunity for human research than any program before or since. To take advantage of this opportunity, life sciences research programs learned how to: streamline the complicated process of integrating experiments aboard the Shuttle, design experiments and hardware within operational constraints, and integrate requirements between different experiments and with operational countermeasures. We learned how to take advantage of commercial-off-the-shelf hardware and developed a hardware certification process with the flexibility to allow for design changes between flights. We learned the importance of end-to-end testing for experiment hardware with humans-in-the-loop. Most importantly, we learned that the Shuttle Program provided an excellent platform for conducting human research and for developing the systems that are now used to optimize research on the International Space Station. This presentation will include a review of the types of experiments and medical tests flown on the Shuttle and the processes that were used to manifest and conduct the experiments. Learning Objective: This paper provides a description of the challenges related to launching and implementing biomedical experiments aboard the Space Shuttle.

Interest Matters: The Importance of Promoting Interest in Education.

PubMed

Harackiewicz, Judith M; Smith, Jessi L; Priniski, Stacy J

2016-10-01

Interest is a powerful motivational process that energizes learning, guides academic and career trajectories, and is essential to academic success. Interest is both a psychological state of attention and affect toward a particular object or topic, and an enduring predisposition to reengage over time. Integrating these two definitions, the four-phase model of interest development guides interventions that promote interest and capitalize on existing interests. Four interest-enhancing interventions seem useful: attention-getting settings, contexts evoking prior individual interest, problem-based learning, and enhancing utility value. Promoting interest can contribute to a more engaged, motivated, learning experience for students.

Teaching and Learning in the Mixed-Reality Science Classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tolentino, Lisa; Birchfield, David; Megowan-Romanowicz, Colleen; Johnson-Glenberg, Mina C.; Kelliher, Aisling; Martinez, Christopher

2009-12-01

As emerging technologies become increasingly inexpensive and robust, there is an exciting opportunity to move beyond general purpose computing platforms to realize a new generation of K-12 technology-based learning environments. Mixed-reality technologies integrate real world components with interactive digital media to offer new potential to combine best practices in traditional science learning with the powerful affordances of audio/visual simulations. This paper introduces the realization of a learning environment called SMALLab, the Situated Multimedia Arts Learning Laboratory. We present a recent teaching experiment for high school chemistry students. A mix of qualitative and quantitative research documents the efficacy of this approach for students and teachers. We conclude that mixed-reality learning is viable in mainstream high school classrooms and that students can achieve significant learning gains when this technology is co-designed with educators.

The Improvement and Individualization of Computer-Assisted Instruction

DTIC Science & Technology

1975-09-15

Spanish experiments had studied at least one Romance language and con- sequently were able to learn some of +he Spanish wordo by using cognates...Involved the acquisition of foreign- language vocabulary Items. The first (using Geraan vocabulary) concerned Itself with optimizing the selection of...method. Experiments with Spanish and Russian items showed that the method could be a powerful aid in building and retaining a large vocabulary of

Utility-Marketing Partnerships: An Effective Strategy for Marketing Green Power?

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

Bird, L. A.; Brown, E. S.

This paper explores whether partnerships between utilities and independent marketers are an effective strategy for marketing green power. We present case studies of voluntary and mandatory partnerships covering green power program design and implementation in both regulated and restructured electricity markets. We also include perspectives (based on interviews) from utilities, marketers, and regulators involved in developing and implementing these partnerships. From these case studies and interviews, we describe lessons learned about developing effective partnerships, including such issues as respective roles in marketing and administration, product branding, and contract and incentive structures. Based on experience to date, strategic partnerships between utilitiesmore » and marketers can be an effective approach to marketing green power. Partnerships leverage the sales and resource procurement experience of marketers and the utility?s reputation and access to customers. Further, partnerships can create greater incentives for success because marketers have a vested financial interest in maximizing customer participation and green power sales.« less

Utility-Marketer Partnerships. An Effective Strategy for Marketing Green Power?

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

Bird, L. A.; Brown, E. S.

This paper explores whether partnerships between utilities and independent marketers are an effective strategy for marketing green power. We present case studies of voluntary and mandatory partnerships covering green power program design and implementation in both regulated and restructured electricity markets. We also include perspectives (based on interviews) from utilities, marketers, and regulators involved in developing and implementing these partnerships. From these case studies and interviews, we describe lessons learned about developing effective partnerships, including such issues as respective roles in marketing and administration, product branding, and contract and incentive structures. Based on experience to date, strategic partnerships between utilitiesmore » and marketers can be an effective approach to marketing green power. Partnerships leverage the sales and resource procurement experience of marketers and the utility’s reputation and access to customers. Further, partnerships can create greater incentives for success because marketers have a vested financial interest in maximizing customer participation and green power sales.« less

Experience and Explanation: Using Videogames to Prepare Students for Formal Instruction in Statistics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arena, Dylan A.; Schwartz, Daniel L.

2014-08-01

Well-designed digital games can deliver powerful experiences that are difficult to provide through traditional instruction, while traditional instruction can deliver formal explanations that are not a natural fit for gameplay. Combined, they can accomplish more than either can alone. An experiment tested this claim using the topic of statistics, where people's everyday experiences often conflict with normative statistical theories and a videogame might provide an alternate set of experiences for students to draw upon. The research used a game called Stats Invaders!, a variant of the classic videogame Space Invaders. In Stats Invaders!, the locations of descending alien invaders follow probability distributions, and players need to infer the shape of the distributions to play well. The experiment tested whether the game developed participants' intuitions about the structure of random events and thereby prepared them for future learning from a subsequent written passage on probability distributions. Community-college students who played the game and then read the passage learned more than participants who only read the passage.

Currency Exchanges: Negotiating Professional and Personal Power

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, John A.

2007-01-01

Students, including advanced students, often lack the knowledge, confidence, and experience to participate effectively in competitive, bartering, or conflict situations. The concept that influencing skills are not limited to those in authority and can be learned comprises the framework for this teaching activity. The credible and adaptable…

Creativity and power: a qualitative, exploratory study of student learning acquired in a community nursing setting that is applied in future settings.

PubMed

Merritt, Alan; Boogaerts, Marina

2014-01-01

Nursing students undertake clinical placements in a wide range of clinical areas as part of their preparation for professional practice, offering students the opportunity to learn about the clinical context and the work that nurses do. This descriptive study explores the implicit learnings that occur for students in a community nursing placement and whether they transfer the knowledge they gain in the community setting into practice in other settings. Participants in this research study described implicit learning from a community nursing context which they were able to utilise in their current practice. Three major themes emerged. Firstly, participants recognised that power relationships manifest differently in a community based setting. This manifest in a recognition of patient autonomy and a creative approach to enhancing the patient's power. The second, related theme involved the enabling of self-determination through collaborative decision making between nurse and the person receiving care. The third theme was the development of an understanding of self-management which manifest in appropriate referrals and what the participants considered high quality discharge planning. This recognition of practice beyond technical, rationalist manifestations suggests that students grasped the unarticulated, implicit dimensions of the community nurse role through their experiences in a community nursing placement.

Representability of algebraic topology for biomolecules in machine learning based scoring and virtual screening

PubMed Central

Mu, Lin

2018-01-01

This work introduces a number of algebraic topology approaches, including multi-component persistent homology, multi-level persistent homology, and electrostatic persistence for the representation, characterization, and description of small molecules and biomolecular complexes. In contrast to the conventional persistent homology, multi-component persistent homology retains critical chemical and biological information during the topological simplification of biomolecular geometric complexity. Multi-level persistent homology enables a tailored topological description of inter- and/or intra-molecular interactions of interest. Electrostatic persistence incorporates partial charge information into topological invariants. These topological methods are paired with Wasserstein distance to characterize similarities between molecules and are further integrated with a variety of machine learning algorithms, including k-nearest neighbors, ensemble of trees, and deep convolutional neural networks, to manifest their descriptive and predictive powers for protein-ligand binding analysis and virtual screening of small molecules. Extensive numerical experiments involving 4,414 protein-ligand complexes from the PDBBind database and 128,374 ligand-target and decoy-target pairs in the DUD database are performed to test respectively the scoring power and the discriminatory power of the proposed topological learning strategies. It is demonstrated that the present topological learning outperforms other existing methods in protein-ligand binding affinity prediction and ligand-decoy discrimination. PMID:29309403

A new supervised learning algorithm for spiking neurons.

PubMed

Xu, Yan; Zeng, Xiaoqin; Zhong, Shuiming

2013-06-01

The purpose of supervised learning with temporal encoding for spiking neurons is to make the neurons emit a specific spike train encoded by the precise firing times of spikes. If only running time is considered, the supervised learning for a spiking neuron is equivalent to distinguishing the times of desired output spikes and the other time during the running process of the neuron through adjusting synaptic weights, which can be regarded as a classification problem. Based on this idea, this letter proposes a new supervised learning method for spiking neurons with temporal encoding; it first transforms the supervised learning into a classification problem and then solves the problem by using the perceptron learning rule. The experiment results show that the proposed method has higher learning accuracy and efficiency over the existing learning methods, so it is more powerful for solving complex and real-time problems.

Towards AI-powered personalization in MOOC learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Han; Miao, Chunyan; Leung, Cyril; White, Timothy John

2017-12-01

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) represent a form of large-scale learning that is changing the landscape of higher education. In this paper, we offer a perspective on how advances in artificial intelligence (AI) may enhance learning and research on MOOCs. We focus on emerging AI techniques including how knowledge representation tools can enable students to adjust the sequence of learning to fit their own needs; how optimization techniques can efficiently match community teaching assistants to MOOC mediation tasks to offer personal attention to learners; and how virtual learning companions with human traits such as curiosity and emotions can enhance learning experience on a large scale. These new capabilities will also bring opportunities for educational researchers to analyse students' learning skills and uncover points along learning paths where students with different backgrounds may require different help. Ethical considerations related to the application of AI in MOOC education research are also discussed.

Autonomous Adaptive Low-Power Instrument Platform (AAL-PIP) for remote high latitude geospace data collection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clauer, C. R.; Kim, H.; Deshpande, K.; Xu, Z.; Weimer, D.; Musko, S.; Crowley, G.; Fish, C.; Nealy, R.; Humphreys, T. E.; Bhatti, J. A.; Ridley, A. J.

2014-06-01

We present the development considerations and design for ground based instrumentation that is being deployed on the East Antarctic Plateau along a 40° magnetic meridian chain to investigate interhemispheric magnetically conjugate geomagnetic coupling and other space weather related phenomena. The stations are magnetically conjugate to geomagnetic stations along the west coast of Greenland. The autonomous adaptive low-power instrument platforms being deployed in the Antarctic are designed to operate unattended in remote locations for at least 5 years. They utilize solar power and AGM storage batteries for power, two-way Iridium satellite communication for data acquisition and program/operation modification, support fluxgate and induction magnetometers as well as dual-frequency gps receiver and an HF radio experiment. Size and weight considerations are considered to enable deployment by a small team using small aircraft. Considerable experience has been gained in the development and deployment of remote polar instrumentation that is reflected in the present generation of instrumentation discussed here. We conclude with the lessons learned from our experience in the design, deployment and operation of remote polar instrumentation.

An autonomous adaptive low-power instrument platform (AAL-PIP) for remote high-latitude geospace data collection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clauer, C. R.; Kim, H.; Deshpande, K.; Xu, Z.; Weimer, D.; Musko, S.; Crowley, G.; Fish, C.; Nealy, R.; Humphreys, T. E.; Bhatti, J. A.; Ridley, A. J.

2014-10-01

We present the development considerations and design for ground-based instrumentation that is being deployed on the East Antarctic Plateau along a 40° magnetic meridian chain to investigate interhemispheric magnetically conjugate geomagnetic coupling and other space-weather-related phenomena. The stations are magnetically conjugate to geomagnetic stations along the west coast of Greenland. The autonomous adaptive low-power instrument platforms being deployed in the Antarctic are designed to operate unattended in remote locations for at least 5 years. They utilize solar power and AGM storage batteries for power, two-way Iridium satellite communication for data acquisition and program/operation modification, support fluxgate and induction magnetometers as well as a dual-frequency GPS receiver and a high-frequency (HF) radio experiment. Size and weight considerations are considered to enable deployment by a small team using small aircraft. Considerable experience has been gained in the development and deployment of remote polar instrumentation that is reflected in the present generation of instrumentation discussed here. We conclude with the lessons learned from our experience in the design, deployment and operation of remote polar instrumentation.

Use of indocyanine green angiography in microsurgical subinguinal varicocelectomy - lessons learned from our initial experience.

PubMed

Cho, Chak-Lam; Ho, Kwan-Lun; Chan, Wayne Kwun-Wai; Chu, Ringo Wing-Hong; Law, In-Chak

2017-01-01

Microsurgical subinguinal varicocelectomy (MSV) is generally considered the gold standard nowadays in view of the lower risk of complications and recurrence. To achieve complete ligation of veins while preserving testicular artery (TA) during the procedure remains challenging despite the application of high power optical magnification and micro-Doppler ultrasonography. The use of intraoperative indocyanine green angiography (ICGA) with infrared fluorescence operative micro-scope in MSV potentially lowers the incidence of TA injury and shortens the learning curve of nov-ice surgeons. We present our initial experience in the application of the technique in nine patients and explore the potential of the new adjunct. Copyright® by the International Brazilian Journal of Urology.

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Modulates Neuronal Activity and Learning in Pilot Training

PubMed Central

Choe, Jaehoon; Coffman, Brian A.; Bergstedt, Dylan T.; Ziegler, Matthias D.; Phillips, Matthew E.

2016-01-01

Skill acquisition requires distributed learning both within (online) and across (offline) days to consolidate experiences into newly learned abilities. In particular, piloting an aircraft requires skills developed from extensive training and practice. Here, we tested the hypothesis that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can modulate neuronal function to improve skill learning and performance during flight simulator training of aircraft landing procedures. Thirty-two right-handed participants consented to participate in four consecutive daily sessions of flight simulation training and received sham or anodal high-definition-tDCS to the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) or left motor cortex (M1) in a randomized, double-blind experiment. Continuous electroencephalography (EEG) and functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) were collected during flight simulation, n-back working memory, and resting-state assessments. tDCS of the right DLPFC increased midline-frontal theta-band activity in flight and n-back working memory training, confirming tDCS-related modulation of brain processes involved in executive function. This modulation corresponded to a significantly different online and offline learning rates for working memory accuracy and decreased inter-subject behavioral variability in flight and n-back tasks in the DLPFC stimulation group. Additionally, tDCS of left M1 increased parietal alpha power during flight tasks and tDCS to the right DLPFC increased midline frontal theta-band power during n-back and flight tasks. These results demonstrate a modulation of group variance in skill acquisition through an increasing in learned skill consistency in cognitive and real-world tasks with tDCS. Further, tDCS performance improvements corresponded to changes in electrophysiological and blood-oxygenation activity of the DLPFC and motor cortices, providing a stronger link between modulated neuronal function and behavior. PMID:26903841

Applying Organizational Learning Research to Accountable Care Organizations.

PubMed

Nembhard, Ingrid M; Tucker, Anita L

2016-12-01

To accomplish the goal of improving quality of care while simultaneously reducing cost, Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) need to find new and better ways of providing health care to populations of patients. This requires implementing best practices and improving collaboration across the multiple entities involved in care delivery, including patients. In this article, we discuss seven lessons from the organizational learning literature that can help ACOs overcome the inherent challenges of learning how to work together in radically new ways. The lessons involve setting expectations, creating a supportive culture, and structuring the improvement efforts. For example, with regard to setting expectations, framing the changes as learning experiences rather than as implementation projects encourages the teams to utilize helpful activities, such as dry runs and pilot tests. It is also important to create an organizational culture where employees feel safe pointing out improvement opportunities and experimenting with new ways of working. With regard to structure, stable, cross-functional teams provide a powerful building block for effective improvement efforts. The article concludes by outlining opportunities for future research on organizational learning in ACOs. © The Author(s) 2016.

Model-Based and Model-Free Pavlovian Reward Learning: Revaluation, Revision and Revelation

PubMed Central

Dayan, Peter; Berridge, Kent C.

2014-01-01

Evidence supports at least two methods for learning about reward and punishment and making predictions for guiding actions. One method, called model-free, progressively acquires cached estimates of the long-run values of circumstances and actions from retrospective experience. The other method, called model-based, uses representations of the environment, expectations and prospective calculations to make cognitive predictions of future value. Extensive attention has been paid to both methods in computational analyses of instrumental learning. By contrast, although a full computational analysis has been lacking, Pavlovian learning and prediction has typically been presumed to be solely model-free. Here, we revise that presumption and review compelling evidence from Pavlovian revaluation experiments showing that Pavlovian predictions can involve their own form of model-based evaluation. In model-based Pavlovian evaluation, prevailing states of the body and brain influence value computations, and thereby produce powerful incentive motivations that can sometimes be quite new. We consider the consequences of this revised Pavlovian view for the computational landscape of prediction, response and choice. We also revisit differences between Pavlovian and instrumental learning in the control of incentive motivation. PMID:24647659

Analytical reasoning task reveals limits of social learning in networks

PubMed Central

Rahwan, Iyad; Krasnoshtan, Dmytro; Shariff, Azim; Bonnefon, Jean-François

2014-01-01

Social learning—by observing and copying others—is a highly successful cultural mechanism for adaptation, outperforming individual information acquisition and experience. Here, we investigate social learning in the context of the uniquely human capacity for reflective, analytical reasoning. A hallmark of the human mind is its ability to engage analytical reasoning, and suppress false associative intuitions. Through a set of laboratory-based network experiments, we find that social learning fails to propagate this cognitive strategy. When people make false intuitive conclusions and are exposed to the analytic output of their peers, they recognize and adopt this correct output. But they fail to engage analytical reasoning in similar subsequent tasks. Thus, humans exhibit an ‘unreflective copying bias’, which limits their social learning to the output, rather than the process, of their peers’ reasoning—even when doing so requires minimal effort and no technical skill. In contrast to much recent work on observation-based social learning, which emphasizes the propagation of successful behaviour through copying, our findings identify a limit on the power of social networks in situations that require analytical reasoning. PMID:24501275

Model-based and model-free Pavlovian reward learning: revaluation, revision, and revelation.

PubMed

Dayan, Peter; Berridge, Kent C

2014-06-01

Evidence supports at least two methods for learning about reward and punishment and making predictions for guiding actions. One method, called model-free, progressively acquires cached estimates of the long-run values of circumstances and actions from retrospective experience. The other method, called model-based, uses representations of the environment, expectations, and prospective calculations to make cognitive predictions of future value. Extensive attention has been paid to both methods in computational analyses of instrumental learning. By contrast, although a full computational analysis has been lacking, Pavlovian learning and prediction has typically been presumed to be solely model-free. Here, we revise that presumption and review compelling evidence from Pavlovian revaluation experiments showing that Pavlovian predictions can involve their own form of model-based evaluation. In model-based Pavlovian evaluation, prevailing states of the body and brain influence value computations, and thereby produce powerful incentive motivations that can sometimes be quite new. We consider the consequences of this revised Pavlovian view for the computational landscape of prediction, response, and choice. We also revisit differences between Pavlovian and instrumental learning in the control of incentive motivation.

An Experimental Introduction to Acoustics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Black, Andy Nicholas; Magruder, Robert H.

2017-01-01

Learning and understanding physics requires more than studying physics texts. It requires doing physics. Doing research is a key opportunity for students to connect physical principles with their everyday experience. A powerful way to introduce students to research and technique is through subjects in which they might find interest. Presented is…

Students Should Seek Professional Internships to Learn the Power of Collaboration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tamalavage, Anne

2014-04-01

After graduation, many undergraduates feel pressure to jump immediately into graduate school or to land a job. That path keeps students from pursuing an internship or temporary position in something that might provide authentic and useful professional experience that would help establish a desirable career.

Specimen Days: The Teaching Diaries of Miranda Field.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Field, Miranda

2002-01-01

Describes the author's experiences teaching Girl Scouts writing and poetry. Concludes that she learned many crucial lessons from her students including lessons on power relations in the classroom, on communication across cultural and even generational divides, and on the varieties of poetry that can be made by the varieties of imaginative…

"We're Empowering Learners Who Feel Disempowered"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stanistreet, Paul

2010-01-01

This article discusses three innovative projects with a focus on education for sustainable development which were kick-started by the previous government's Transformation Fund for informal adult learning. The projects each illustrate how powerful and transformational sustainability education can be when it uses people's lived experience as a basis…

Sensory Cues, Visualization and Physics Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reiner, Miriam

2009-01-01

Bodily manipulations, such as juggling, suggest a well-synchronized physical interaction as if the person were a physics expert. The juggler uses "knowledge" that is rooted in bodily experience, to interact with the environment. Such enacted bodily knowledge is powerful, efficient, predictive, and relates to sensory perception of the dynamics of…

In Search of Effective Methodology for Organizational Learning: A Japanese Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsuchiya, Shigehisa

2011-01-01

The author's personal journey regarding simulation and gaming started about 25 years ago when he happened to realize how powerful computerized simulation could be for organizational change. The metaphors created by computerized simulation enabled him to transform a stagnant university into a high-performance organization. Through extensive…

Disturbances and Dislocations: Understanding Teaching and Learning Experiences in Australian Aboriginal Music.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mackinlay, Elizabeth

2001-01-01

A White Australian professor of a class on Indigenous women's dance has her Aboriginal sister-in-law conduct workshops on Indigenous dance. The classroom dynamics resulting from the complex power relationships (teacher as White woman, Aboriginal family member, and students) disturbs Western paradigms. The responsibility of "safely…

The Power of the Immigrant Narrative

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Exposito, Sara

2012-01-01

For teachers to effectively teach students who enter the U.S. educational system from other countries, they must first learn about the complexity of the immigrant experience, taking into account themes such as race, generational immigration, class, formal education, and language. When these themes are taught through the immigrant narrative, they…

Knowledge Inertia and Organizational Learning as the Explanation of Organizational Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aküzüm, Cemal

2014-01-01

Knowledge is an important concept for individuals and organizations both as a power and source. Thus, knowledge management has become important subject for researchers. However, when people encounter problems, they usually try to produce solutions by utilizing their previous knowledge and experience. Such problem solving strategies are called…

Injecting Inquiry into Photosynthesis Investigations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Salter, Irene; Smith, Rebecca; Nielsen, Katherine

2008-01-01

This is the story of how a typical middle school lab was transformed into an open-ended inquiry experience through a few small, but very powerful, changes. By allowing students to follow their own questions, the classroom filled with enthusiasm and students learned much more about photosynthesis, respiration, and the scientific processes. The…

Gender Encounters: Becoming Teachers of Physical Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wrench, Alison; Garrett, Robyne

2017-01-01

Pre-service teachers of physical education (PE) bring understandings about gender and bodies to their university studies. These understandings are partially informed by biographies and experiences and bear potential to mediate learning and processes of becoming teachers. In this paper we explore technologies of power/knowledge and technologies of…

Hands-On Nuclear Physics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whittaker, Jeff

2013-01-01

Nuclear science is an important topic in terms of its application to power generation, medical diagnostics and treatment, and national defense. Unfortunately, the subatomic domain is far removed from daily experience, and few learning aids are available to teachers. What follows describes a low-tech, hands-on method to teach important concepts in…

Learning the Language of Difference: The Dictionary in the High School.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Willinsky, John

1987-01-01

Reports on dictionaries' power to misrepresent gender. Examines the definitions of three terms (clitoris, penis, and vagina) in eight leading high school dictionaries. Concludes that the absence of certain female gender-related terms represents another instance of institutionalized silence about the experience of women. (MM)

The Undergraduate Case Research Study Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vega, Gina

2010-01-01

Student-written cases are powerful pedagogical tools that can lead to improved understanding of business situations, more informed analysis, emphasis on reflection, and clearer expository writing, all of which are critical skills for business students. Cases provide an opportunity for students to enjoy an active learning experience and derive the…

The Meaning Makes It Fun: Game-Based Learning for Museums

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schaller, David T.

2011-01-01

Museum games can be a powerful meaning-making experience for players, but only if we understand that what makes games fun is also what makes them meaningful. Renowned game designer Sid Meier ("Civilization", "Railroad Tycoon", "Pirates") famously defined a good game as "a series of interesting choices." What…

Eportfolios in Business Communication Courses as Tools for Employment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Okoro, Ephraim A.; Washington, Melvin C.; Cardon, Peter W.

2011-01-01

Eportfolios are a powerful tool for business students to gain self-awareness and take control of their learning experiences. Ideally, they can be used as online profiles in the job application process, allowing more authenticity, personalization, and completeness than traditional resumes. In our colleges, eportfolios help students reflect on their…

The Value of Video

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompson, Douglas E.

2011-01-01

Video connects sight and sound, creating a composite experience greater than either alone. More than any other single technology, video is the most powerful way to communicate with others--and an ideal medium for sharing with others the vital learning occurring in music classrooms. In this article, the author leads readers through the process of…

The negotiation of meaning and exercise of power in professional learning communities: An investigation of middle school science teachers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mclaughlin, Cheryl Althea

A professional learning community (PLC) typically consists of practitioners who systematically examine and problematize their practice with the intention of development and improvement. The collaborative practices inherent in PLCs mirror the way scientists work together to develop new theories, and are particularly valuable for science teachers who could draw from these experiences to improve the quality of student learning. Gaps in the science education literature support the need for research to determine how interactions within PLCs support science teacher development. Additionally, issues of power that may constrain or encourage meaningful interactions are largely overlooked in PLC studies. This qualitative study examines, from a Foucauldian perspective, interactions within a PLC comprising middle school science teachers preparing to implement reform curriculum. Specifically, the study analyzes interactions within the PLC to determine opportunities created for professional learning and development. Audiotaped transcripts of teacher interactions were analyzed using discourse analysis building tasks designed to identify opportunities for learning and to examine the exercise of power within the PLCs. The discourse analytical tools integrated theories of Gee (2011) and Foucault (1972), and were used to deconstruct and interrogate the data. The events were subsequently reconstructed through the lens of social constructivism and Foucault theories on power. The findings identified several processes emerging from the interactions that contributed to the negotiation of an understanding of the reform curriculum. These include reflection on practice, reorganization of cognitive structures, reinvention of practice, and refinement of instructional strategies. The findings also indicated that the exercise of power by entities both external to, and within the PLCs influenced the process of meaning negotiation among the science teachers. The consensus achieved by the teachers reflected knowledge constructed by science education discourses external to the PLC, which regulated understandings emerging from the interactions. Additionally, some teachers, through their actions, exercised power in ways that hindered rather than enhanced constructive dialogue in PLCs. The exercise of power by external institutions was nevertheless necessary to set the stage for the series of actions, the outcome of which facilitated constructive dialogue among science teachers who were implementing the reform curriculum.

Children's environmental knowing: A case study of children's experiences during an environmental education programme

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scott, Sandra Anne

This study explores children's experiences during WaterWorlds (pseudonym) a field-based environmental education programme at a marine science centre. The study objectives were to investigate how children understand and interpret their experiences, and how these experiences foster their environmental knowing. To address these objectives, I carried out a case study at a marine science centre in British Columbia. I examined children's WaterWorlds experiences and explored their environmental understandings and commitment to environmental action. I analysed the experiences of children in four separate classes and carried out an in-depth examination of four individual children. Data were collected using informal semi-structured interviews, observations, conversations, researcher journal logs, and student documents including their writing and illustrations. My findings indicate that the WaterWorlds programme experience fosters children's environmental knowing. Participation in WaterWorlds activities led to connection, caring, and concern for other species and in some cases, for the marine environment as a whole. During the programme, children chose the ways they interpreted and expressed their environmental knowledge, ethic of care, advocacy, and commitment to action. This development of each child's self-expression resulted in motivational and powerful learning experiences that inspired and nurtured their connections to the earth. This research provides evidence and examples of how educators can foster children's environmental knowing through multi-disciplinary environmental education experiences. It illustrates that activities such as observing and documenting the lives of other animal species, collecting data and conducting research on those species, and working and learning alongside experts in the field of environmental education are powerful experiences that motivate concern and care for the earth among children.

The implications of renewable energy research and development: Policy scenario analysis with experience and learning effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kobos, Peter Holmes

This dissertation analyzes the current and potential future costs of renewable energy technology from an institutional perspective. The central hypothesis is that reliable technology cost forecasting can be achieved through standard and modified experience curves implemented in a dynamic simulation model. Additionally, drawing upon region-specific institutional lessons highlights the role of market, social, and political institutions throughout an economy. Socio-political influences and government policy pathways drive resource allocation decisions that may be predominately influenced by factors other than those considered in a traditional market-driven, mechanistic approach. Learning in economic systems as a research topic is an attractive complement to the notion of institutional pathways. The economic implications of learning by doing, as first outlined by Arrow (1962), highlight decreasing production costs as individuals, or more generally the firm, become more familiar with a production process. The standard approach in the literature has been to employ a common experience curve where cumulative production is the only independent variable affecting costs. This dissertation develops a two factor experience curve, adding research, development and demonstration (RD&D) expenditures as a second variable. To illustrate the concept in the context of energy planning, two factor experience curves are developed for wind energy technology and solar photovoltaic (PV) modules under different assumptions on learning rates for cumulative capacity and the knowledge stock (a function of past RD&D efforts). Additionally, a one factor experience curve and cost trajectory scenarios are developed for concentrated solar power and geothermal energy technology, respectively. Cost forecasts are then developed for all four of these technologies in a dynamic simulation model. Combining the theoretical framework of learning by doing with the fields of organizational learning and institutional economics, this dissertation argues that the current state of renewable energy technology costs is largely due to the past production efforts (learning by doing) and RD&D efforts (learning by searching) in these global industries. This cost pathway, however, may be altered through several policy process feedback mechanisms including targeted RD&D expenditures, maintenance of RD&D to promote learning effects, and financial incentive programs that support energy production from renewable energy technologies.

Kinematic and kinetic improvements associated with action observation facilitated learning of the power clean in Australian footballers.

PubMed

Sakadjian, Alex; Panchuk, Derek; Pearce, Alan J

2014-06-01

This study investigated the effectiveness of action observation (AO) on facilitating learning of the power clean technique (kinematics) compared with traditional strength coaching methods and whether improvements in performance (kinetics) were associated with an improvement in lifting technique. Fifteen subjects (age, 20.9 ± 2.3 years) with no experience in performing the power clean exercise attended 12 training and testing sessions over a 4-week period. Subjects were assigned to 2 matched groups, based on preintervention power clean performance and performed 3 sets of 5 repetitions of the power clean exercise at each training session. Subjects in the traditional coaching group (TC; n = 7) received the standard coaching feedback (verbal cues and physical practice), whereas subjects in the AO group (n = 8) received similar verbal coaching cues and physical practice but also observed a video of a skilled model before performing each set. Kinematic data were collected from video recordings of subjects who were fitted with joint center markings during testing, whereas kinetic data were collected from a weightlifting analyzer attached to the barbell. Subjects were tested before intervention, at the end of weeks 2 and 3, and at after intervention at the end of week 4. Faster improvements (3%) were observed in power clean technique with AO-facilitated learning in the first week and performance improvements (mean peak power of the subject's 15 repetitions) over time were significant (p < 0.001). In addition, performance improvement was significantly associated (R = 0.215) with technique improvements. In conclusion, AO combined with verbal coaching and physical practice of the power clean exercise resulted in significantly faster technique improvements and improvement in performance compared with traditional coaching methods.

Managing Dynamics of Power and Learning in Community Development: A Case Study of Iowan Farmers in Uganda

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stephen, Lauer; Owusu, Francis Y.

2015-01-01

Extension professionals facilitate community development through the strategic manipulation of learning and power in peer-to-peer learning partnerships. We discuss the relationship between empowerment and power, highlight relevant literature on the difficulties power presents to learning and the efficacy of service learning tools to facilitate…

Power dynamics in the student-teacher relationship in clinical settings.

PubMed

Chan, Zenobia Cy; Tong, Chien Wai; Henderson, Saras

2017-02-01

Among many factors that influence clinical learning, the teacher-student relationship has been found to be crucial. The imbalance of power in that relationship tends to be regarded as negative, but how students actually perceive the power within the relationship is unknown. This study explored nurse students' perceptions of the power dynamics in the teacher-student relationship during their clinical placement. A descriptive qualitative study. A total of 51 students were recruited from a nursing school in Hong Kong. Seven focus group interviews consisted of three groups of Year 3 students (n=26) and four groups of final year students (n=25). A semi-structured interview guideline was designed. Content analysis was employed to analyse the research data. The three core themes that emerged from the qualitative data were: (1) meanings of power - avoiding doing harm to patients; (2) the desired power dynamics - master vs apprentice; and (3) enhancing the clinical learning experience. The dominant theme in the participants' discourse was that teachers should possess more power than students in order to prevent students from causing harm to patients. The consensus was that the teacher's power in supervising students' clinical practice is accepted and necessary for the benefit of patient safety. The cultural relevance of the power dynamics in the teacher-student relationship should be embraced in order to understand the student's perspective. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The experience of learning to speak up: a narrative inquiry on newly graduated registered nurses.

PubMed

Law, Bernice Yee-Shui; Chan, Engle Angela

2015-07-01

To explore the process of learning to speak up in practice among newly graduated registered nurses. Speaking up is an important aspect of communication to ensure patient safety within a healthcare team. However, nurses have reported being hesitant about speaking up or being unable to be heard, despite adopting various safety tools. A power differential could be a factor in their hesitation to speak up. While a large number of new graduates are employed in the lower rungs of the hospital hierarchy to resolve local and global nursing shortages, the process of their learning to speak up remains under-explored. The narrative concept of experience is addressed through the three-dimensional space of a narrative inquiry. Eighteen new graduates were recruited. Stories of experiences of speaking up emerged naturally during repeated unstructured interviews and ongoing email conversations with three participants. The complex process of learning to speak up is schematically represented. Three interrelated narrative threads were identified: (1) learning to speak up requires more than one-off training and safety tools, (2) mentoring speaking up in the midst of educative and miseducative experiences and (3) making public spaces safe for telling secret stories. Speaking up requires ongoing mentoring to see new possibilities for sustaining professional identities in the midst of miseducative experiences under the potential shaping of the Chinese culture and generational differences. Appreciative inquiry might be a new approach that can be used to promote positive cultural changes to encourage newly graduated registered nurses to learn to speak up to ensure patient safety. Cultivating a safe and open culture of communication and mentoring new graduates to speak up will benefit patient safety now and in the future by helping to retain committed patient advocates who could mentor future generations. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Recent operating experiences with steam generators in Japanese NPPs

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

Yashima, Seiji

1997-02-01

In 1994, the Genkai-3 of Kyushu Electric Power Co., Inc. and the Ikata-3 of Shikoku Electric Power Co., Inc. started commercial operation, and now 22 PWR plants are being operated in Japan. Since the first PWR plant now 22 PWR plants are being operated in was started to operate, Japanese PWR plants have had an operating experience of approx. 280 reactor-years. During that period, many tube degradations have been experienced in steam generators (SGs). And, in 1991, the steam generator tube rupture (SGTR) occurred in the Mihama-2 of Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc. However, the occurrence of tube degradation ofmore » SGs has been decreased by the instructions of the MITI as regulatory authorities, efforts of Electric Utilities, and technical support from the SG manufacturers. Here the author describes the recent SGs in Japan about the following points. (1) Recent Operating Experiences (2) Lessons learned from Mihama-2 SGTR (3) SG replacement (4) Safety Regulations on SG (5) Research and development on SG.« less

Using theories of learning in workplaces to enhance physiotherapy clinical education.

PubMed

Patton, Narelle; Higgs, Joy; Smith, Megan

2013-10-01

Clinical education has long been accepted as integral to the education of physiotherapy students and their preparation for professional practice. The clinical environment, through practice immersion, situates students in a powerful learning context and plays a critical role in students' construction of professional knowledge. Despite this acknowledged centrality of practice and clinical environments to the students' experiential construction of professional knowledge, there has been limited exploration of learning theories underpinning clinical education in the literature. In this paper, we explore a selection of learning theories underpinning physiotherapy clinical education with a view to providing clinical educators with a firm foundation on which to base wise educational practices and potentially enhance physiotherapy students' clinical learning experiences. This exploration has drawn from leading thinkers in the field of education over the past century.

Instructional Storytelling: Application of the Clinical Judgment Model in Nursing.

PubMed

Timbrell, Jessica

2017-05-01

Little is known about the teaching and learning implications of instructional storytelling (IST) in nursing education or its potential connection to nursing theory. The literature establishes storytelling as a powerful teaching-learning method in the educational, business, humanities, and health sectors, but little exploration exists that is specific to nursing. An example of a story demonstrating application of the domains of Tanner's clinical judgment model links storytelling with learning outcomes appropriate for the novice nursing student. Application of Tanner's clinical judgment model offers consistency of learning experience while preserving the creativity inherent in IST. Further research into student learning outcomes achievement using IST is warranted as a step toward establishing best practices with IST in nursing education. [J Nurs Educ. 2017;56(5):305-308.]. Copyright 2017, SLACK Incorporated.

Using virtual reality environment to facilitate training with advanced upper-limb prosthesis.

PubMed

Resnik, Linda; Etter, Katherine; Klinger, Shana Lieberman; Kambe, Charles

2011-01-01

Technological advances in upper-limb prosthetic design offer dramatically increased possibilities for powered movement. The DEKA Arm system allows users 10 powered degrees of movement. Learning to control these movements by utilizing a set of motions that, in most instances, differ from those used to obtain the desired action prior to amputation is a challenge for users. In the Department of Veterans Affairs "Study to Optimize the DEKA Arm," we attempted to facilitate motor learning by using a virtual reality environment (VRE) program. This VRE program allows users to practice controlling an avatar using the controls designed to operate the DEKA Arm in the real world. In this article, we provide highlights from our experiences implementing VRE in training amputees to use the full DEKA Arm. This article discusses the use of VRE in amputee rehabilitation, describes the VRE system used with the DEKA Arm, describes VRE training, provides qualitative data from a case study of a subject, and provides recommendations for future research and implementation of VRE in amputee rehabilitation. Our experience has led us to believe that training with VRE is particularly valuable for upper-limb amputees who must master a large number of controls and for those amputees who need a structured learning environment because of cognitive deficits.

Queer Phenomenology, Sexual Orientation, and Health Care Spaces: Learning From the Narratives of Queer Women and Nurses in Primary Health Care.

PubMed

Heyes, Cressida; Dean, Megan; Goldberg, Lisa

2016-01-01

Queer phenomenology as an interpretive framework can advance health research by illuminating why primary health care providers (HCPs) must move beyond definitions of sexuality as a set of reified identity formations indexed to normative gender, gender of partner, and sexual and reproductive practices. Our interviews with queer women participants and primary care nurses offer an implicit critique of heteronormative health care space, temporality, and power relations, as they form the lived experiences of our participants. We conclude by pointing to the limits of our methodology in exposing the larger relations of power that dictate experiences of heteronormative health care.

Learning relative values in the striatum induces violations of normative decision making

PubMed Central

Klein, Tilmann A.; Ullsperger, Markus; Jocham, Gerhard

2017-01-01

To decide optimally between available options, organisms need to learn the values associated with these options. Reinforcement learning models offer a powerful explanation of how these values are learnt from experience. However, human choices often violate normative principles. We suggest that seemingly counterintuitive decisions may arise as a natural consequence of the learning mechanisms deployed by humans. Here, using fMRI and a novel behavioural task, we show that, when suddenly switched to novel choice contexts, participants’ choices are incongruent with values learnt by standard learning algorithms. Instead, behaviour is compatible with the decisions of an agent learning how good an option is relative to an option with which it had previously been paired. Striatal activity exhibits the characteristics of a prediction error used to update such relative option values. Our data suggest that choices can be biased by a tendency to learn option values with reference to the available alternatives. PMID:28631734

Communities of clinical practice: the social organization of clinical learning.

PubMed

Egan, Tony; Jaye, Chrystal

2009-01-01

The social organization of clinical learning is under-theorized in the sociological literature on the social organization of health care. Professional scopes of practice and jurisdictions are formally defined by professional principles and standards and reflected in legislation; however, these are mediated through the day-to-day clinical activities of social groupings of clinical teams. The activities of health service providers typically occur within communities of clinical practice. These are also major sites for clinical curriculum delivery, where clinical students learn not only clinical skills but also how to be health professionals. In this article, we apply Wenger's model of social learning within organizations to curriculum delivery within a health service setting. Here, social participation is the basis of learning. We suggest that it offers a powerful framework for recognizing and explaining paradox and incongruence in clinical teaching and learning, and also for recognizing opportunities, and devising means, to add value to students' learning experiences.

Experimental studies illuminate the cultural transmission of percussive technologies in Homo and Pan

PubMed Central

Whiten, Andrew

2015-01-01

The complexity of Stone Age tool-making is assumed to have relied upon cultural transmission, but direct evidence is lacking. This paper reviews evidence bearing on this question provided through five related empirical perspectives. Controlled experimental studies offer special power in identifying and dissecting social learning into its diverse component forms, such as imitation and emulation. The first approach focuses on experimental studies that have discriminated social learning processes in nut-cracking by chimpanzees. Second come experiments that have identified and dissected the processes of cultural transmission involved in a variety of other force-based forms of chimpanzee tool use. A third perspective is provided by field studies that have revealed a range of forms of forceful, targeted tool use by chimpanzees, that set percussion in its broader cognitive context. Fourth are experimental studies of the development of flint knapping to make functional sharp flakes by bonobos, implicating and defining the social learning and innovation involved. Finally, new and substantial experiments compare what different social learning processes, from observational learning to teaching, afford good quality human flake and biface manufacture. Together these complementary approaches begin to delineate the social learning processes necessary to percussive technologies within the Pan–Homo clade. PMID:26483537

Simple Activities for Powerful Impact

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

LaConte, K.; Shupla, C. B.; Dusenbery, P.; Harold, J. B.; Holland, A.

2016-12-01

STEM education is having a transformational impact on libraries across the country. The STAR Library Education Network (STAR_Net) provides free Science-Technology Activities & Resources that are helping libraries to engage their communities in STEM learning experiences. Hear the results of a national 2015 survey of library and STEM professionals and learn what STEM programming is currently in place in public libraries and how libraries approach and implement STEM programs. Experience hands-on space science activities that are being used in library programs with multiple age groups. Through these hands-on activities, learners explore the nature of science and employ science and engineering practices, including developing and using models, planning and carrying out investigations, and engaging in argument from evidence (NGSS Lead States, 2013). Learn how STAR_Net can help you print (free!) mini-exhibits and educator guides. Join STAR_Net's online community and access STEM resources and webinars to work with libraries in your local community.

Confronting Power: Success Isn't Everything--but It's Not Nothing Either. A Response to "Beyond the Catch-22 of School-Based Social Action Programs: Toward a More Pragmatic Approach for Dealing with Power"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Westheimer, Joel

2011-01-01

Fehrman and Schutz contend that the fine balance between having students experience real-world obstacles to social change and having them learn how to navigate around those obstacles can be achieved by having adults both pre-select community action projects that are both possible and meaningful to ensure a modicum of success, and jump in and…

Tensions in learning professional identities - nursing students' narratives and participation in practical skills during their clinical practice: an ethnographic study.

PubMed

Ewertsson, Mona; Bagga-Gupta, Sangeeta; Allvin, Renée; Blomberg, Karin

2017-01-01

Clinical practice is a pivotal part of nursing education. It provides students with the opportunity to put the knowledge and skills they have acquired from lectures into practice with real patients, under the guidance of registered nurses. Clinical experience is also essential for shaping the nursing students' identity as future professional nurses. There is a lack of knowledge and understanding of the ways in which students learn practical skills and apply knowledge within and across different contexts, i.e. how they apply clinical skills, learnt in the laboratory in university settings, in the clinical setting. The aim of this study was therefore to explore how nursing students describe, and use, their prior experiences related to practical skills during their clinical practice. An ethnographic case study design was used. Fieldwork included participant observations (82 h), informal conversations, and interviews ( n  = 7) that were conducted during nursing students' ( n  = 17) clinical practice at an emergency department at a university hospital in Sweden. The overarching theme identified was "Learning about professional identities with respect to situated power". This encompasses tensions in students' learning when they are socialized into practical skills in the nursing profession. This overarching theme consists of three sub-themes: "Embodied knowledge", "Divergent ways of assessing and evaluating knowledge" and "Balancing approaches". Nursing students do not automatically possess the ability to transfer knowledge from one setting to another; rather, their development is shaped by their experiences and interactions with others when they meet real patients. The study revealed different ways in which students navigated tensions related to power differentials. Reflecting on actions is a prerequisite for developing and learning practical skills and professional identities. This highlights the importance of both educators' and the preceptors' roles for socializing students in this process.

A Historical and Engineering View of Power Transmission Systems in Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ito, Shunichi; Akiyama, Tetsuo

During our work in operations related to power transmission technology, we have encountered various natural calamities and man-made disasters. Over the years, we learned many valuable lessons from these bitter experiences, and we now have more reliable, cost-effective and flexible electric power systems. This paper describes the new technologies we have introduced in the facilities making up the power systems and how we operate these systems and facilities. It also takes up the Southern Hyogo Earthquake and loss of Ohi nuclear power generation due to galloping phenomena as typical examples showing how a set of measures as mentioned above substantially improved the reliability of the electric power systems to such an extent that the Japanese electric power systems have attained the world's highest level of reliability. These facts prove that steady and continuous efforts are a prerequisite to success for all power engineers.

A learning tool for optical and microwave satellite image processing and analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dashondhi, Gaurav K.; Mohanty, Jyotirmoy; Eeti, Laxmi N.; Bhattacharya, Avik; De, Shaunak; Buddhiraju, Krishna M.

2016-04-01

This paper presents a self-learning tool, which contains a number of virtual experiments for processing and analysis of Optical/Infrared and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images. The tool is named Virtual Satellite Image Processing and Analysis Lab (v-SIPLAB) Experiments that are included in Learning Tool are related to: Optical/Infrared - Image and Edge enhancement, smoothing, PCT, vegetation indices, Mathematical Morphology, Accuracy Assessment, Supervised/Unsupervised classification etc.; Basic SAR - Parameter extraction and range spectrum estimation, Range compression, Doppler centroid estimation, Azimuth reference function generation and compression, Multilooking, image enhancement, texture analysis, edge and detection. etc.; SAR Interferometry - BaseLine Calculation, Extraction of single look SAR images, Registration, Resampling, and Interferogram generation; SAR Polarimetry - Conversion of AirSAR or Radarsat data to S2/C3/T3 matrix, Speckle Filtering, Power/Intensity image generation, Decomposition of S2/C3/T3, Classification of S2/C3/T3 using Wishart Classifier [3]. A professional quality polarimetric SAR software can be found at [8], a part of whose functionality can be found in our system. The learning tool also contains other modules, besides executable software experiments, such as aim, theory, procedure, interpretation, quizzes, link to additional reading material and user feedback. Students can have understanding of Optical and SAR remotely sensed images through discussion of basic principles and supported by structured procedure for running and interpreting the experiments. Quizzes for self-assessment and a provision for online feedback are also being provided to make this Learning tool self-contained. One can download results after performing experiments.

Workplace learning from a socio-cultural perspective: creating developmental space during the general practice clerkship.

PubMed

van der Zwet, J; Zwietering, P J; Teunissen, P W; van der Vleuten, C P M; Scherpbier, A J J A

2011-08-01

Workplace learning in undergraduate medical education has predominantly been studied from a cognitive perspective, despite its complex contextual characteristics, which influence medical students' learning experiences in such a way that explanation in terms of knowledge, skills, attitudes and single determinants of instructiveness is unlikely to suffice. There is also a paucity of research which, from a perspective other than the cognitive or descriptive one, investigates student learning in general practice settings, which are often characterised as powerful learning environments. In this study we took a socio-cultural perspective to clarify how students learn during a general practice clerkship and to construct a conceptual framework that captures this type of learning. Our analysis of group interviews with 44 fifth-year undergraduate medical students about their learning experiences in general practice showed that students needed developmental space to be able to learn and develop their professional identity. This space results from the intertwinement of workplace context, personal and professional interactions and emotions such as feeling respected and self-confident. These forces framed students' participation in patient consultations, conversations with supervisors about consultations and students' observation of supervisors, thereby determining the opportunities afforded to students to mind their learning. These findings resonate with other conceptual frameworks and learning theories. In order to refine our interpretation, we recommend that further research from a socio-cultural perspective should also explore other aspects of workplace learning in medical education.

Empowering students with the hidden curriculum.

PubMed

Neve, Hilary; Collett, Tracey

2017-11-27

The hidden curriculum (HC) refers to unscripted, ad hoc learning that occurs outside the formal, taught curriculum and can have a powerful influence on the professional development of students. While this learning may be positive, it may conflict with that taught in the formal curriculum. Medical schools take a range of steps to address these negative effects; however, the existence and nature of the concept tends to be hidden from students. Since 2007, our medical school has incorporated into its small group programme an educational activity exploring the concept of the hidden curriculum. We undertook a qualitative evaluation of our intervention, conducting a thematic analysis of students' wiki reflections about the HC. We also analysed students' responses to a short questionnaire about the educational approach used. The majority of students felt that the HC session was important and relevant. Most appeared able to identify positive and negative HC experiences and consider how these might influence their learning and development, although a few students found the concept of the HC hard to grasp. Revealing and naming the hidden curriculum can make students aware of its existence and understand its potential impact. The hidden curriculum may also be a useful tool for triggering debate about issues such as power, patient centredness, personal resilience and career stereotypes in medicine. Supporting students to think critically about HC experiences may empower them to make active choices about which messages to take on board. The hidden curriculum can have a powerful influence on the professional development of students. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd and The Association for the Study of Medical Education.

"The fish becomes aware of the water in which it swims": revealing the power of culture in shaping teaching identity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahmawati, Yuli; Taylor, Peter Charles

2017-08-01

"The fish becomes aware of the water in which it swims" is a metaphor that represents Yuli's revelatory journey about the hidden power of culture in her personal identity and professional teaching practice. While engaging in a critical auto/ethnographic inquiry into her lived experience as a science teacher in Indonesian and Australian schools, she came to understand the powerful role of culture in shaping her teaching identity. Yuli realised that she is a product of cultural hybridity resulting from interactions of very different cultures—Javanese, Bimanese, Indonesian and Australian. Traditionally, Javanese and Indonesian cultures do not permit direct criticism of others. This influenced strongly the way she had learned to interact with students and caused her to be very sensitive to others. During this inquiry she learned the value of engaging students in open discourse and overt caring, and came to realise that teachers bringing their own cultures to the classroom can be both a source of power and a problem. In this journey, Yuli came to understand the hegemonic power of culture in her teaching identity, and envisioned how to empower herself as a good teacher educator of pre-service science teachers.

Lessons learned from hybrid wind/PV village power system installations in Mexico

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

Bergey, M.

1995-09-01

In the last three years eight decentralized village power systems utilizing small wind turbines as the primary energy source have been installed in rural Mexico. Hybrid wind/PV systems have been installed in five States and by three vendors. Seven out of the eight systems, which range i size from 9.3--71.2kW in combined wind and PV capacity, utilize one or more 10 kW wind turbines. All of these installations have battery banks and use static inverters to provide AC power for distribution to homes, businesses, and community facilities. On all but one of the systems a diesel generator is used tomore » provide back-up power. This paper attempts to summarize the range of costs and economics, performance, and operational experiences for all eight installations. Several of the systems are monitored for performance, including one that is extensively monitored under a cooperative program between the Instituto de Investigaciones Electricas and Sandia National Laboratory. Lessons learned from these systems provide insights that may allow future village power systems of this architecture to be installed at lower costs, to be operated more effectively and efficiently, and to be better able to satisfy customer requirements.« less

Flight Experience from Space Photovoltaic Concentrator Arrays and its Implication on Terrestrial Concentrator Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Piszczor, Michael F., Jr.

2003-01-01

Nearly all photovoltaic solar arrays flown in space have used a planar (non- concentrating) design. However, there have been a few notable exceptions where photovoltaic concentrators have been tested and used as the mission s primary power source. Among these are the success experienced by the SCARLET (Solar Concentrator Array with Refractive Linear Element Technology) concept used to power NASA's Deep Space 1 mission and the problems encountered by the original Boeing 702 reflective trough concentrator design. This presentation will give a brief overview of past photovoltaic concentrator systems that have flown in space, specifically addressing the valuable lessons learned from flight experience, and other viable concentrator concepts that are being proposed for the future. The general trends of this flight experience will be noted and discussed with regard to its implications on terrestrial photovoltaic concentrator designs.

From Students to Scholars: The Transformative Power of Communities of Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kriner, Bridget A.; Coffman, Karie A.; Adkisson, Anthony C.; Putman, Paul G.; Monaghan, Catherine H.

2015-01-01

Participating in a doctoral program can be a transformative experience that shapes the identity of the learner. What learning spaces might best facilitate that identity development? This article presents the findings of a study examining doctoral student perspectives of participating in a Community of Practice (COP) intentionally used to foster…

Pedagogies of Resistance: Free Universities and the Radical Re-Imagination of Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompsett, Fern

2017-01-01

Free universities are diverse but loosely networked projects that resist repressive capitalist and state configurations of power by re-imagining teaching, learning and research on their own terms, often through radical and ongoing experimentation. Drawing from my own experiences as a co-founder and organiser of the Brisbane Free University, along…

Teaching and Learning about Epistemic Insight

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Billingsley, Berry

2017-01-01

Epistemic Insight is a research and education initiative that is seeking to establish effective ways to help school students to appreciate the power and limitations of science. In particular, the idea is that experiences and explanations devised by a teacher who is focused on what happens inside the science classroom might not be interpreted as…

Activating the Imagination inside the World Language Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mitchell, Claire

2015-01-01

Imagination, creation, and innovation are three powerful words that present many possibilities in the world language classroom. When learners can see themselves as language users, they take ownership of their learning experience and become more invested in and engaged with the topic being studied. This heightened sense of investment in turn leads…

The Problem-Solving Power of Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sacks, Ariel

2013-01-01

Risk takers of all kinds have joined the effort to find new and better ways to structure nearly every aspect of teaching and learning. But as teacher leader and blogger Ariel Sacks notes, "Sadly, most of the experiments in education reform come from the imaginations of people who don't actually teach children." Top-down experiments…

The Power of Protocols: An Educator's Guide to Better Practice. The Series on School Reform.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McDonald, Joseph P.; Mohr, Nancy; Dichter, Alan; McDonald, Elizabeth C.

This book describes nearly 30 protocols or "scripts" for conducting meetings, conversations, and other learning experiences among educators. Chapter 1, "The Basic Ideas," explains the basic ideas underlying the rest of the book, discussing why educators should educate themselves and making the case for exploring student work as…

Mountain Plains Learning Experience Guide: Radio and T.V. Repair. Course: A.C. Circuits.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoggatt, P.; And Others

One of four individualized courses included in a radio and television repair curriculum, this course focuses on alternating current relationships and computations, transformers, power supplies, series and parallel resistive-reactive circuits, and series and parallel resonance. The course is comprised of eight units: (1) Introduction to Alternating…

Critical Pedagogy, Cultural Politics, and the Discourse of Experience.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Giroux, Henry A.

1985-01-01

Analyzes how traditional and liberal discourses treat the intersection of culture, power, and knowledge in fashioning a view of teaching and learning. Argues that both traditions fail as modes of critical pedagogy and that it is necessary to develop a critical discourse that embraces pedagogy as a form of cultural politics. (Author/GC)

Humanistic Psychology, Learning and Teaching The "Whole Person"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sinnott, Jan D.

2008-01-01

Humanistic Psychology emphasizes five key principles: (1) belief in the wholeness of human nature and experience; (2) focus on free will and the individual power to create; (3) realization that the human person lives "nested" in biology, culture and history; (4) conscious intention is important to human development and action; and (5)…

In Defense of Play: Beginning the Dialog about the Power of Play

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Myck-Wayne, Janice

2010-01-01

This article provides early childhood practitioners a way to develop a common understanding of the importance of play in the early learning experience of young children. Meaningful discussion among teachers, parents, administrators, and teacher candidates regarding play in early childhood education programs is critical to ensure the growth and…

Mary and Her Teachers: A Grebo-Speaking Child's Place in the Mainstream Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Platt, Elizabeth; Troudi, Salah

1997-01-01

Views the experiences of a limited-English-speaking Liberian child of limited educational background in relation to her teacher's beliefs about language, acculturation, natural cognitive processes, and cooperative learning. Argues that in the case of linguistic minority children in mainstream classrooms, powerful ideas viewed from a sociocultural…

The Power of Family Literacy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Center for Family Literacy, Louisville, KY.

This report presents the early findings from the analysis of a family literacy demonstration project under the direction of the National Center for Family Literacy. The data in this report are based upon the experiences of over 300 families who participated in the Toyota Families for Learning Program during the 1992-1993 school year. The first…

The Role of Foundations and Philanthropy in Supporting School Libraries.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DeVita, M. Christine

2002-01-01

Addresses the Wallace-Reader's Digest Funds' experiences working with school libraries and the lessons learned from the Library Power initiative, including: how school libraries can support national education goals, particularly in meeting the challenges outlined in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001; current threats to library reform; and how…

Mountain Plains Learning Experience Guide: Automotive Repair. Course: Suspension Systems.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schramm, C.; Osland, Walt

One of twelve individualized courses included in an automotive repair curriculum, this course covers the theory, maintenance, and repair of front-end suspension and steering mechanisms. The course is comprised of five units: (1) Tire Balancing, (2) Manual Steering Gears, (3) Power Steering, (4) Fundamentals of Suspension, and (5) Front-End…

Remember the days in the old school yard: from lectures to online learning.

PubMed

Reynolds, P A; Mason, R; Eaton, K A

2008-04-26

Claims have been made that the traditional classroom/lecture-room mode of teaching is under threat with the future being purely online-based. There is no doubt that the impact of ICT systems and services have and will continue to transform teaching practice. From PowerPoint slides introduced to enliven lectures to virtual reality models accessed remotely, technology is bringing about new educational paradigms. The result is the emergence of new forms of distance learning with terms such as flexible learning, blended learning and full online instruction. All are making major contributions to the student experience, allowing access to more information and greater resources as well as opportunities for learning in a manner and timescale that is more attuned to their aims, abilities and lifestyles. In dental education the transition is providing undergraduates, postgraduates and CPD students with a greater variety of courses, access to more expertise and the opportunity for lifetime learning.

A National Study Assessing the Teaching and Learning of Introductory Astronomy Part II: Analysis of Student Demographics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prather, Edward; Rudolph, A. L.; Brissenden, G.; Consiglio, D.; Gonzaga, V.; CATS

2010-01-01

This is the second in a series of reports on a national study of the teaching and learning of astronomy in general education, non-science major, introductory college astronomy courses (Astro 101). The results show dramatic improvement in student learning with increased use of interactive learning strategies even after controlling for individual student characteristics. In addition, we find that the positive effects of interactive learning strategies apply equally to men and women, across ethnicities, for students with all levels of prior mathematical preparation and physical science course experience, independent of GPA, and regardless of primary language. These results powerfully illustrate that all categories of students can benefit from the effective implementation of interactive learning strategies. We acknowledge the NSF for funding under Award No. 0715517, a CCLI Phase III Grant for the Collaboration of Astronomy Teaching Scholars (CATS) Program and Award No. AST-0847170, a PAARE Grant.

Fundamental concepts of problem-based learning for the new facilitator.

PubMed Central

Kanter, S L

1998-01-01

Problem-based learning (PBL) is a powerful small group learning tool that should be part of the armamentarium of every serious educator. Classic PBL uses ill-structured problems to simulate the conditions that occur in the real environment. Students play an active role and use an iterative process of seeking new information based on identified learning issues, restructuring the information in light of the new knowledge, gathering additional information, and so forth. Faculty play a facilitatory role, not a traditional instructional role, by posing metacognitive questions to students. These questions serve to assist in organizing, generalizing, and evaluating knowledge; to probe for supporting evidence; to explore faulty reasoning; to stimulate discussion of attitudes; and to develop self-directed learning and self-assessment skills. Professional librarians play significant roles in the PBL environment extending from traditional service provider to resource person to educator. Students and faculty usually find the learning experience productive and enjoyable. PMID:9681175

Grounding theories of W(e)Learn: a framework for online interprofessional education.

PubMed

Casimiro, Lynn; MacDonald, Colla J; Thompson, Terrie Lynn; Stodel, Emma J

2009-07-01

Interprofessional care (IPC) is a prerequisite for enhanced communication between healthcare team members, improved quality of care, and better outcomes for patients. A move to an IPC model requires changing the learning experiences of healthcare providers during and after their qualification program. With the rapid growth of online and blended approaches to learning, an educational framework that explains how to construct quality learning events to provide IPC is pressing. Such a framework would offer a quality standard to help educators design, develop, deliver, and evaluate online interprofessional education (IPE) programs. IPE is an extremely delicate process due to issues related to knowledge, status, power, accountability, personality traits, and culture that surround IPC. In this paper, a review of the pertinent literature that would inform the development of such a framework is presented. The review covers IPC, IPE, learning theories, and eLearning in healthcare.

[Death education for medical personnel utilizing cinema].

PubMed

Jung, Hyun Chae

2012-09-25

Death and dying is an ultimate process that every human being must experience. However, in these days we do not like to think or discuss about death and dying. Actually, hatred and denial is the usual feeling when we encounter death and dying. Dying is more than a biological occurrence. It is a human, social, and spiritual event, but the spiritual dimension of patients is too often neglected. Whether death is viewed as a "wall" or as a "door" can have significantly important consequences for how we live our lives. Near death experience is one of the excellent evidences to prove that there should be spiritual component being separated from the human physical body when we experience death. People have called it soul, spirit, or nonlocal consciousness. Caregivers need to recognize and acknowledge the spiritual component of patient care. Learning about death and dying helps us encounter death in ways that are meaningful for our own lives. Among the several learning tools, utilizing cinema with its audio and visual components can be one of the most powerful learning tools in death education.

Effect size and statistical power in the rodent fear conditioning literature - A systematic review.

PubMed

Carneiro, Clarissa F D; Moulin, Thiago C; Macleod, Malcolm R; Amaral, Olavo B

2018-01-01

Proposals to increase research reproducibility frequently call for focusing on effect sizes instead of p values, as well as for increasing the statistical power of experiments. However, it is unclear to what extent these two concepts are indeed taken into account in basic biomedical science. To study this in a real-case scenario, we performed a systematic review of effect sizes and statistical power in studies on learning of rodent fear conditioning, a widely used behavioral task to evaluate memory. Our search criteria yielded 410 experiments comparing control and treated groups in 122 articles. Interventions had a mean effect size of 29.5%, and amnesia caused by memory-impairing interventions was nearly always partial. Mean statistical power to detect the average effect size observed in well-powered experiments with significant differences (37.2%) was 65%, and was lower among studies with non-significant results. Only one article reported a sample size calculation, and our estimated sample size to achieve 80% power considering typical effect sizes and variances (15 animals per group) was reached in only 12.2% of experiments. Actual effect sizes correlated with effect size inferences made by readers on the basis of textual descriptions of results only when findings were non-significant, and neither effect size nor power correlated with study quality indicators, number of citations or impact factor of the publishing journal. In summary, effect sizes and statistical power have a wide distribution in the rodent fear conditioning literature, but do not seem to have a large influence on how results are described or cited. Failure to take these concepts into consideration might limit attempts to improve reproducibility in this field of science.

Effect size and statistical power in the rodent fear conditioning literature – A systematic review

PubMed Central

Macleod, Malcolm R.

2018-01-01

Proposals to increase research reproducibility frequently call for focusing on effect sizes instead of p values, as well as for increasing the statistical power of experiments. However, it is unclear to what extent these two concepts are indeed taken into account in basic biomedical science. To study this in a real-case scenario, we performed a systematic review of effect sizes and statistical power in studies on learning of rodent fear conditioning, a widely used behavioral task to evaluate memory. Our search criteria yielded 410 experiments comparing control and treated groups in 122 articles. Interventions had a mean effect size of 29.5%, and amnesia caused by memory-impairing interventions was nearly always partial. Mean statistical power to detect the average effect size observed in well-powered experiments with significant differences (37.2%) was 65%, and was lower among studies with non-significant results. Only one article reported a sample size calculation, and our estimated sample size to achieve 80% power considering typical effect sizes and variances (15 animals per group) was reached in only 12.2% of experiments. Actual effect sizes correlated with effect size inferences made by readers on the basis of textual descriptions of results only when findings were non-significant, and neither effect size nor power correlated with study quality indicators, number of citations or impact factor of the publishing journal. In summary, effect sizes and statistical power have a wide distribution in the rodent fear conditioning literature, but do not seem to have a large influence on how results are described or cited. Failure to take these concepts into consideration might limit attempts to improve reproducibility in this field of science. PMID:29698451

Relating design and environmental variables to reliability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kolarik, William J.; Landers, Thomas L.

The combination of space application and nuclear power source demands high reliability hardware. The possibilities of failure, either an inability to provide power or a catastrophic accident, must be minimized. Nuclear power experiences on the ground have led to highly sophisticated probabilistic risk assessment procedures, most of which require quantitative information to adequately assess such risks. In the area of hardware risk analysis, reliability information plays a key role. One of the lessons learned from the Three Mile Island experience is that thorough analyses of critical components are essential. Nuclear grade equipment shows some reliability advantages over commercial. However, no statistically significant difference has been found. A recent study pertaining to spacecraft electronics reliability, examined some 2500 malfunctions on more than 300 aircraft. The study classified the equipment failures into seven general categories. Design deficiencies and lack of environmental protection accounted for about half of all failures. Within each class, limited reliability modeling was performed using a Weibull failure model.

Integrating Emotion and Cognition in Successful Service Learning: A Complex System Approach (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raia, F.

2010-12-01

Service-learning (S-L) has evolved as valuable pedagogic concept during the last two decades, based on the hypothesis that learning can best be accomplished when placed in the context of real-life social settings, e.g. schools, production, research, healthcare etc. What students learn in the academic course/context must be elaborated in the context of the S-L experience. In return for the authentic learning experience, the learner provides the service-provider with a "free" service. This reciprocality makes service-learning an appealing concept. Because of its attractive "win-win" design, the field of service-learning is continuously expanding. At a major public university CCNY with a very diverse student population, we were interested in developing and participating in S-L experience in the field of Earth System Science. We designed an upper level undergraduate course - Environmental Soil Science for Urban Sustainability - specifically targeted to students of Earth Science, Engineering, Economics and, Political Sciences to support environmental entrepreneurship. Specifically, we integrated S-L activities in the exploration of soil studies and urban agriculture. Students worked together in small groups both in class and for their S-L experience (30 hours) with urban garden and agriculture organizations. Students were required to apply the content learned in the academic course providing soil testing and soil evaluation to the partners, generate reports through a series of homework assignments and journal entries connecting three major components: Community Service, Personal Experience and Course Content. Our experience with this course shows the following results: S-L must be considered a complex system characterized by the continually changing interactions among the above mentioned three major components and three social and academic diverse groups of people involved: Students, Service-Providers and Academic Instructors. Because experience alone does not produce learning, this system requires participants to elaborate and connect the three major components and continually update, modify and build on the learning experience and personal growth. Critical reflection activities are considered to be a powerful tool to bridge community service activities and the educational content. Reflection activities gauge students’ expectations, thoughts and understanding and, by making these evident to the students, can reveal less obvious aspects of the experience and support different interpretations of an event. However, in the form of critical reflection, they tend to exclude the role emotion may play throughout the learning process specifically for one of the three components -Personal Growth. Moreover, in the last decade neuroscience and psychology research shows that emotion is indispensable for conceiving rational thoughts, understanding and memory development and that a purely cognitive view on learning is not working. In our course we strove to design reflections that involve emotion and cognition and their interdependence in connecting the three components of S-L. A complex system approach is fundamental when challenges of integrating emotion and cognition in Service Learning need to be addressed.

MR PROSTATE SEGMENTATION VIA DISTRIBUTED DISCRIMINATIVE DICTIONARY (DDD) LEARNING.

PubMed

Guo, Yanrong; Zhan, Yiqiang; Gao, Yaozong; Jiang, Jianguo; Shen, Dinggang

2013-01-01

Segmenting prostate from MR images is important yet challenging. Due to non-Gaussian distribution of prostate appearances in MR images, the popular active appearance model (AAM) has its limited performance. Although the newly developed sparse dictionary learning method[1, 2] can model the image appearance in a non-parametric fashion, the learned dictionaries still lack the discriminative power between prostate and non-prostate tissues, which is critical for accurate prostate segmentation. In this paper, we propose to integrate deformable model with a novel learning scheme, namely the Distributed Discriminative Dictionary ( DDD ) learning, which can capture image appearance in a non-parametric and discriminative fashion. In particular, three strategies are designed to boost the tissue discriminative power of DDD. First , minimum Redundancy Maximum Relevance (mRMR) feature selection is performed to constrain the dictionary learning in a discriminative feature space. Second , linear discriminant analysis (LDA) is employed to assemble residuals from different dictionaries for optimal separation between prostate and non-prostate tissues. Third , instead of learning the global dictionaries, we learn a set of local dictionaries for the local regions (each with small appearance variations) along prostate boundary, thus achieving better tissue differentiation locally. In the application stage, DDDs will provide the appearance cues to robustly drive the deformable model onto the prostate boundary. Experiments on 50 MR prostate images show that our method can yield a Dice Ratio of 88% compared to the manual segmentations, and have 7% improvement over the conventional AAM.

Predictive information processing is a fundamental learning mechanism present in early development: evidence from infants.

PubMed

Trainor, Laurel J

2012-02-01

Evidence is presented that predictive coding is fundamental to brain function and present in early infancy. Indeed, mismatch responses to unexpected auditory stimuli are among the earliest robust cortical event-related potential responses, and have been measured in young infants in response to many types of deviation, including in pitch, timing, and melodic pattern. Furthermore, mismatch responses change quickly with specific experience, suggesting that predictive coding reflects a powerful, early-developing learning mechanism. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Parsing learning in networks using brain-machine interfaces.

PubMed

Orsborn, Amy L; Pesaran, Bijan

2017-10-01

Brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) define new ways to interact with our environment and hold great promise for clinical therapies. Motor BMIs, for instance, re-route neural activity to control movements of a new effector and could restore movement to people with paralysis. Increasing experience shows that interfacing with the brain inevitably changes the brain. BMIs engage and depend on a wide array of innate learning mechanisms to produce meaningful behavior. BMIs precisely define the information streams into and out of the brain, but engage wide-spread learning. We take a network perspective and review existing observations of learning in motor BMIs to show that BMIs engage multiple learning mechanisms distributed across neural networks. Recent studies demonstrate the advantages of BMI for parsing this learning and its underlying neural mechanisms. BMIs therefore provide a powerful tool for studying the neural mechanisms of learning that highlights the critical role of learning in engineered neural therapies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Characterizing Student Experiences in Physics Competitions: The Power of Emotions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moll, Rachel F.; Nashon, S.; Anderson, D.

2006-12-01

Low enrolment and motivation are key issues in physics education and recently the affective dimension of learning is being studied for evidence of its influence on student attitudes towards physics. Physics Olympics competitions are a novel context for stimulating intense emotional experiences. In this study, one team of students and their teacher were interviewed and observed prior to and during the event to characterize their emotions and determine the connections between their experiences and learning and attitudes/motivation towards physics. Results showed that certain types of events stimulated strong emotions of frustration and ownership, and that students’ attitudes were that physics is fun, diverse and relevant. Analysis of these themes indicated that the nature of emotions generated was connected to their attitudes towards physics. This finding points to the potential and value of informal and novel contexts in creating strong positive emotions, which have a strong influence on student attitudes towards physics.

A critical exploration of how English language learners experience nursing education.

PubMed

Mulready-Shick, N

2013-01-01

With nursing education reform calling for greater numbers of graduates from diverse backgrounds, this study explored the experiences of students who identified as English language learners (ELs). Educators may view students from underrepresented groups at the margins of nursing education. Minimal research on the experiences of students identifying as ELs exists. Interpretive phenomenological and critical methodologies were used to explore students' lived experiences in the nursing classroom. Academic progress involved additional time and effort dedicated to learning English and the languages of health care and nursing. Traditional and monocultural pedagogical practices, representing acts of power and dominance, thwarted learning. Yet students made progress despite less effective pedagogical practices and socioeconomic realities. This inquiry began with one notion of identity, "English-learners," but evolved to students' perceptions of "being-in-the-world," wholeness, and future endeavors. This study counters the dominant view that students without a greater command of English are not ready for the rigors of nursing education.

Open inquiry-based learning experiences: a case study in the context of energy exchange by thermal radiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pizzolato, Nicola; Fazio, Claudio; Rosario Battaglia, Onofrio

2014-01-01

An open inquiry (OI)-based teaching/learning experience, regarding a scientific investigation of the process of energy exchange by thermal radiation, is presented. A sample of upper secondary school physics teachers carried out this experience at the University of Palermo, Italy, in the framework of ESTABLISH, a FP7 European Project aimed at promoting and developing inquiry-based science education. The teachers had the opportunity to personally experience an OI-based learning activity, with the aim of exploring the pedagogical potentialities of this teaching approach to promote both the understanding of difficult concepts and a deeper view of scientific practices. The teachers were firstly engaged in discussions concerning real-life problematic situations, and then stimulated to design and carry out their own laboratory activities, aimed at investigating the process of energy exchange by thermal radiation. A scientific study on the energy exchange between a powered resistor and its surrounding environment, during the heating and cooling processes, was designed and performed. Here we report the phases of this experiment by following the teachers' perspective. A structured interview conducted both before and after the OI experience allowed us to analyze and point out the teachers' feedback from a pedagogical point of view. The advantages and limits of an OI-based approach to promote the development of more student-centred inquiry-oriented teaching strategies are finally discussed.

Using a NIATx based local learning collaborative for performance improvement

PubMed Central

Roosa, Mathew; Scripa, Joseph S.; Zastowny, Thomas R.; Ford, James H.

2012-01-01

Local governments play an important role in improving substance abuse and mental health services. The structure of the local learning collaborative requires careful attention to old relationships and challenges local governmental leaders to help move participants from a competitive to collaborative environment. This study describes one county’s experience applying the NIATx process improvement model via a local learning collaborative. Local substance abuse and mental health agencies participated in two local learning collaboratives designed to improve client retention in substance abuse treatment and client access to mental health services. Results of changes implemented at the provider level on access and retention are outlined. The process of implementing evidence-based practices by using the Plan-Do-Study-Act rapid-cycle change is a powerful combination for change at the local level. Key lessons include: creating a clear plan and shared vision, recognizing that one size does not fit all, using data can help fuel participant engagement, a long collaborative may benefit from breaking it into smaller segments, and paying providers to offset costs of participation enhances their engagement. The experience gained in Onondaga County, New York, offers insights that serve as a foundation for using the local learning collaborative in other community-based organizations. PMID:21371751

Primary prevention: educational approaches to enhance social and emotional learning.

PubMed

Elias, M J; Weissberg, R P

2000-05-01

The 1995 publication of Goleman's Emotional Intelligence triggered a revolution in mental health promotion. Goleman's examination of Gardner's work on multiple intelligences and current brain research, and review of successful programs that promoted emotional health, revealed a common objective among those working to prevent specific problem behaviors: producing knowledgeable, responsible, nonviolent, and caring individuals. Advances in research and field experiences confirm that school-based programs that promote social and emotional learning (SEL) in children can be powerful in accomplishing these goals. This article reviews the work of the Collaborative to Advance Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL), its guidelines for promoting mental health in children and youth based on SEL, key principles, and examples of exemplary programs.

Application of case teaching in genetics courses to students majoring in forestry.

PubMed

Wang, Qin-Mei; Cui, Jian-Guo; Yu, Chang-Zhi; Zhang, Zhi; Wu, Yue-Liang; Zhang, Li-Jie; Lin, Mei

2017-10-20

Undergraduate students majoring in forestry generally reflect that genetics is one of the most difficult compul-sory courses, because the traditional teaching method is difficult to satisfy their needs. According to the theoretical charac-teristics of forestry and actual demands of the students, in the light of teaching and research experience in recent years, we adopted a series of typical genetic cases such as 'opening coffin to identify relatives', stem-throne of Lycium ruthenicum Murr, and magic powers in Harry Potter. Our practices revealed that the case teaching in genetics could train good personality traits, learning abilities and creativity of the students, stimulate their interests and initiatives in learning, and increase systematic learning.

Intelligent power management in a vehicular system with multiple power sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murphey, Yi L.; Chen, ZhiHang; Kiliaris, Leonidas; Masrur, M. Abul

This paper presents an optimal online power management strategy applied to a vehicular power system that contains multiple power sources and deals with largely fluctuated load requests. The optimal online power management strategy is developed using machine learning and fuzzy logic. A machine learning algorithm has been developed to learn the knowledge about minimizing power loss in a Multiple Power Sources and Loads (M_PS&LD) system. The algorithm exploits the fact that different power sources used to deliver a load request have different power losses under different vehicle states. The machine learning algorithm is developed to train an intelligent power controller, an online fuzzy power controller, FPC_MPS, that has the capability of finding combinations of power sources that minimize power losses while satisfying a given set of system and component constraints during a drive cycle. The FPC_MPS was implemented in two simulated systems, a power system of four power sources, and a vehicle system of three power sources. Experimental results show that the proposed machine learning approach combined with fuzzy control is a promising technology for intelligent vehicle power management in a M_PS&LD power system.

A proof-of-principle simulation for closed-loop control based on preexisting experimental thalamic DBS-enhanced instrumental learning.

PubMed

Wang, Ching-Fu; Yang, Shih-Hung; Lin, Sheng-Huang; Chen, Po-Chuan; Lo, Yu-Chun; Pan, Han-Chi; Lai, Hsin-Yi; Liao, Lun-De; Lin, Hui-Ching; Chen, Hsu-Yan; Huang, Wei-Chen; Huang, Wun-Jhu; Chen, You-Yin

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been applied as an effective therapy for treating Parkinson's disease or essential tremor. Several open-loop DBS control strategies have been developed for clinical experiments, but they are limited by short battery life and inefficient therapy. Therefore, many closed-loop DBS control systems have been designed to tackle these problems by automatically adjusting the stimulation parameters via feedback from neural signals, which has been reported to reduce the power consumption. However, when the association between the biomarkers of the model and stimulation is unclear, it is difficult to develop an optimal control scheme for other DBS applications, i.e., DBS-enhanced instrumental learning. Furthermore, few studies have investigated the effect of closed-loop DBS control for cognition function, such as instrumental skill learning, and have been implemented in simulation environments. In this paper, we proposed a proof-of-principle design for a closed-loop DBS system, cognitive-enhancing DBS (ceDBS), which enhanced skill learning based on in vivo experimental data. The ceDBS acquired local field potential (LFP) signal from the thalamic central lateral (CL) nuclei of animals through a neural signal processing system. A strong coupling of the theta oscillation (4-7 Hz) and the learning period was found in the water reward-related lever-pressing learning task. Therefore, the theta-band power ratio, which was the averaged theta band to averaged total band (1-55 Hz) power ratio, could be used as a physiological marker for enhancement of instrumental skill learning. The on-line extraction of the theta-band power ratio was implemented on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). An autoregressive with exogenous inputs (ARX)-based predictor was designed to construct a CL-thalamic DBS model and forecast the future physiological marker according to the past physiological marker and applied DBS. The prediction could further assist the design of a closed-loop DBS controller. A DBS controller based on a fuzzy expert system was devised to automatically control DBS according to the predicted physiological marker via a set of rules. The simulated experimental results demonstrate that the ceDBS based on the closed-loop control architecture not only reduced power consumption using the predictive physiological marker, but also achieved a desired level of physiological marker through the DBS controller. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Instant transformation of learned repulsion into motivational "wanting".

PubMed

Robinson, Mike J F; Berridge, Kent C

2013-02-18

Learned cues for pleasant reward often elicit desire, which, in addicts, may become compulsive. According to the dominant view in addiction neuroscience and reinforcement modeling, such desires are the simple products of learning, coming from a past association with reward outcome. We demonstrate that cravings are more than merely the products of accumulated pleasure memories-even a repulsive learned cue for unpleasantness can become suddenly desired via the activation of mesocorticolimbic circuitry. Rats learned repulsion toward a Pavlovian cue (a briefly-inserted metal lever) that always predicted an unpleasant Dead Sea saltiness sensation. Yet, upon first reencounter in a novel sodium-depletion state to promote mesocorticolimbic reactivity (reflected by elevated Fos activation in ventral tegmentum, nucleus accumbens, ventral pallidum, and the orbitofrontal prefrontal cortex), the learned cue was instantly transformed into an attractive and powerful motivational magnet. Rats jumped and gnawed on the suddenly attractive Pavlovian lever cue, despite never having tasted intense saltiness as anything other than disgusting. Instant desire transformation of a learned cue contradicts views that Pavlovian desires are essentially based on previously learned values (e.g., prediction error or temporal difference models). Instead desire is recomputed at reencounter by integrating Pavlovian information with the current brain/physiological state. This powerful brain transformation reverses strong learned revulsion into avid attraction. When applied to addiction, related mesocorticolimbic transformations (e.g., drugs or neural sensitization) of cues for already-pleasant drug experiences could create even more intense cravings. This cue/state transformation helps define what it means to say that addiction hijacks brain limbic circuits of natural reward. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Meeting the Challenge: Creating Engaging and Powerful Contexts for Literacy Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilhelm, Jeffrey D.

2007-01-01

This article explores the conditions of "flow" experience from two studies into the literate lives of young men (Smith and Wilhelm 2002; 2006) that were explanatory, when present, of motivation and engagement in various activities including literacy, and when absent, of a lack of motivation and engagement in various activities including literacy.…

Closed Classrooms, High Mountains and Strange Lands: An Inquiry into Culture and Caring.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kraft, Richard J.

1992-01-01

The current closed classroom system of education is not sufficient in preparing students for real world life. Proposes that the wilderness, cross-cultural, and international settings are a very powerful learning environment in which life-changing experiences can and do occur. Presents the Outward Bound process and Adler's stage theory of…

My World Is a Metaphor: An Investigation into Reflective Practices Specifically Utilizing Metaphors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Lacey Ann

2013-01-01

This dissertation suggests that metaphors are a powerful learning tool in education and a way to develop as a professional educator. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to gain a deeper understanding of how teachers utilize metaphors during reflection. I addressed their experience with metaphors, how they use metaphors, how metaphors…

David, Mr Bear and Bernstein: Searching for an Equitable Pedagogy through Guided Group Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boyle, Bill; Charles, Marie

2012-01-01

The authors' experiences of observing teaching and learning in schools have led them to become concerned at the dominant paradigm of a "pedagogy of poverty" at the expense of a "pedagogy of plenty". Bernstein's theory of power and control of education knowledge is overtly practised in classrooms globally. This is evidenced in…

New Frontiers: Exploring the Power and Possibilities of the Unconference as a Transformative Approach to Faculty Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hale, Enoch; Bessette, Lee Skallerup

2016-01-01

In the spirit of exploration, this paper discusses the what, why and how of unconferencing and explores its implications as a transformative approach to faculty development in higher education. The authors define an unconference faculty development experience as: a less-structured opportunity for participants to learn and grow by sharing…

Using Television in Distance Education. Papers on Information Technology No. 245.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bates, A. W.

The presentational power of television gives it unique teaching characteristics and it is a source of a wide variety of learning material that would be unavailable to learners in any other way. For instance, it can be used to: (1) demonstrate experiments or experimental situations; (2) explain principles involving movement over space and/or time;…

Learning (Not) to become a Teacher: A Qualitative Analysis of the Job Entrance Issue

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rots, Isabel; Kelchtermans, Geert; Aelterman, Antonia

2012-01-01

Reporting on 12 case studies of student teachers, this paper examines how experiences during teacher education affect graduates' decision on job entrance. Interpretative data-analysis reveals that powerful sources of the shift in motivation to enter teaching concern interactions in which the person of the teacher is at stake. These mainly involve…

The Simultaneity of Experience: Cultural Identity, Magical Realism and the Artefactual in Digital Storytelling

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Honeyford, Michelle A.

2013-01-01

This paper explores how students, as multimodal storytellers, can weave powerful narratives blending modes, genres, artefacts and literary conventions to represent the real and imagined in their lives. Part of a larger ethnographic case study of student writing in a middle years class for immigrant students learning English as an additional…

Mountain Plains Learning Experience Guide: Automotive Repair. Course: Brake Systems.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schramm, C.; Osland, Walt

One of twelve individualized courses included in an automotive repair curriculum, this course covers theory, operation, and repair of drum brakes, disc brakes, and brake system components. The course is comprised of six units: (1) Fundamentals of Brake Systems, (2) Master Cylinder, (3) Drum Brakes, (4) Disc Brakes, (5) Power Brakes, and (6)…

The Birth of Academic Subalterns: How Do Foreign Students Embody the Global Hegemony of American Universities?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Jongyoung

2012-01-01

This study analyzes the learning and cultural experiences of Korean graduate students in the United States. Based on 50 qualitative interviews, the study focuses on how global knowledge and the power relations of language determine their education in a transnational system. At a theoretical level, the study criticizes both the functionalist…

Social Justice, Learning Centredness and a First Year Experience Peer Mentoring Program: How Might They Connect?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rawlinson, Catherine; Willimot, Michael

2016-01-01

Peer mentoring is a powerful strategy to support students in their first year of tertiary education utilised by a large number of tertiary institutions. While social justice principles such as rights, access, and equity as outlined by Creagh, Nelson, & Clarke (2013) highlight the importance of "student centredness," Taylor (2013)…

Using Data Mining for Predicting Relationships between Online Question Theme and Final Grade

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abdous, M'hammed; He, Wu; Yen, Cherng-Jyh

2012-01-01

As higher education diversifies its delivery modes, our ability to use the predictive and analytical power of educational data mining (EDM) to understand students' learning experiences is a critical step forward. The adoption of EDM by higher education as an analytical and decision making tool is offering new opportunities to exploit the untapped…

Application of Kalman filters to robot calibration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Whitney, D. E.; Junkel, E. F.

1983-01-01

This report explores new uses of Kalman filter theory in manufacturing systems (robots in particular). The Kalman filter allows the robot to read its sensors plus external sensors and learn from its experience. In effect, the robot is given primitive intelligence. The study, which is applicable to any type of powered kinematic linkage, focuses on the calibration of a manipulator.

I Like the Way This Feels: Using Classroom Response System Technology to Enhance Tactile Learners' Introductory American Government Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ulbig, Stacy G.

2016-01-01

Do individual-level student learning styles affect appreciation for and benefit from the use of classroom response system technology? This research investigates the benefit of in-class electronic classroom response systems ("classroom clickers"). With these systems, students answer questions posed to them in a PowerPoint presentation…

The Impact of a Comparison Curriculum in Algebra I: A Randomized Experiment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Star, Jon R.; Rittle-Johnson, Bethany; Durkin, Kelley; Newton, Kristie; Pollack, Courtney; Lynch, Kathleen; Gogolen, Claire

2013-01-01

Comparison is a powerful tool that has been shown to improve learning in a variety of domains. In both laboratory studies and small-scale classroom studies, having learners compare and contrast worked examples has been shown to reliably lead to gains in students' knowledge. Comparison is also integral to "best practices" in mathematics…

Positive Time-Out: And Over 50 Ways To Avoid Power Struggles in the Home and the Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nelsen, Jane

Noting that current use of the disciplinary technique of timeout is often punitive, counterproductive, and damaging to children, this book presents suggestions to parents and teachers for making timeout a positive, motivating experience. Timeout, when used in combination with other techniques, can empower children to learn self control and self…

Driving a Car in Saudi: An Illustration of the Power of Norms and Values Using Multicultural Data

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tiemann, Kathleen A.; Badahdah, Abdallah M.; Pedersen, Daphne E.

2009-01-01

The sociological literature on teaching and learning includes a number of discussions devoted to the importance of multicultural education. Much of this literature encourages educators to revise the curriculum and shows how the experience of multicultural education can stimulate student's sociological imaginations. To this end, some scholars have…

Adaptive Modeling of the International Space Station Electrical Power System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thomas, Justin Ray

2007-01-01

Software simulations provide NASA engineers the ability to experiment with spacecraft systems in a computer-imitated environment. Engineers currently develop software models that encapsulate spacecraft system behavior. These models can be inaccurate due to invalid assumptions, erroneous operation, or system evolution. Increasing accuracy requires manual calibration and domain-specific knowledge. This thesis presents a method for automatically learning system models without any assumptions regarding system behavior. Data stream mining techniques are applied to learn models for critical portions of the International Space Station (ISS) Electrical Power System (EPS). We also explore a knowledge fusion approach that uses traditional engineered EPS models to supplement the learned models. We observed that these engineered EPS models provide useful background knowledge to reduce predictive error spikes when confronted with making predictions in situations that are quite different from the training scenarios used when learning the model. Evaluations using ISS sensor data and existing EPS models demonstrate the success of the adaptive approach. Our experimental results show that adaptive modeling provides reductions in model error anywhere from 80% to 96% over these existing models. Final discussions include impending use of adaptive modeling technology for ISS mission operations and the need for adaptive modeling in future NASA lunar and Martian exploration.

Sci-Fri AM: Quality, Safety, and Professional Issues 04: Predicting waiting times in Radiation Oncology using machine learning

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

Joseph, Ackeem; Herrera, David; Hijal, Tarek

We describe a method for predicting waiting times in radiation oncology. Machine learning is a powerful predictive modelling tool that benefits from large, potentially complex, datasets. The essence of machine learning is to predict future outcomes by learning from previous experience. The patient waiting experience remains one of the most vexing challenges facing healthcare. Waiting time uncertainty can cause patients, who are already sick and in pain, to worry about when they will receive the care they need. In radiation oncology, patients typically experience three types of waiting: Waiting at home for their treatment plan to be prepared Waiting inmore » the waiting room for daily radiotherapy Waiting in the waiting room to see a physician in consultation or follow-up These waiting periods are difficult for staff to predict and only rough estimates are typically provided, based on personal experience. In the present era of electronic health records, waiting times need not be so uncertain. At our centre, we have incorporated the electronic treatment records of all previously-treated patients into our machine learning model. We found that the Random Forest Regression model provides the best predictions for daily radiotherapy treatment waiting times (type 2). Using this model, we achieved a median residual (actual minus predicted value) of 0.25 minutes and a standard deviation residual of 6.5 minutes. The main features that generated the best fit model (from most to least significant) are: Allocated time, median past duration, fraction number and the number of treatment fields.« less

The heirs of Aradia, daughters of Diana: community in the second and third wave.

PubMed

Dickie, Jane R; Cook, Anna; Gazda, Rachel; Martin, Bethany; Sturrus, Elizabeth

2005-01-01

What happens when young third wave feminists learn from second wave feminists what living in community means? This article gives an account of engagement between generations of second and third wave feminists as the younger women began documenting the herstory of Aradia, a radical, separatist and mostly lesbian community and non-profit organization in conservative West Michigan in the 1970s and 1980s. The younger women learned the importance of non-hierarchical political organizing to counter differences of experience and power. They learned that divisions of work and play prevent the development of community and that "high play" is critically important for creative energy and insight. And they learned that mythmaking is more than fantasy; it creates reality. The older women learned that for the third wave identity and sexuality are more fluid. They learned that the younger feminists recognized and valued their contributions, and sought to carry feminist goals forward. Both generations were empowered by the encounter and learned the radical effects of women speaking across generations.

Who's in Control? Teachers from Five Countries Share Perspectives on Power Dynamics in the Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lovorn, Michael; Sunal, Cynthia Szymanski; Christensen, Lois McFadyen; Sunal, Dennis W.; Shwery, Craig

2012-01-01

This article explores perspectives and strands of thought among teachers from five countries about power dynamics in learning environments, perspectives on power of dominant cultures and impacts of power on concepts of citizenship and social justice. Discourses revealed teachers have some understanding of how power impacts teaching and learning,…

Multiple-choice tests stabilize access to marginal knowledge.

PubMed

Cantor, Allison D; Eslick, Andrea N; Marsh, Elizabeth J; Bjork, Robert A; Bjork, Elizabeth Ligon

2015-02-01

Marginal knowledge refers to knowledge that is stored in memory, but is not accessible at a given moment. For example, one might struggle to remember who wrote The Call of the Wild, even if that knowledge is stored in memory. Knowing how best to stabilize access to marginal knowledge is important, given that new learning often requires accessing and building on prior knowledge. While even a single opportunity to restudy marginal knowledge boosts its later accessibility (Berger, Hall, & Bahrick, 1999), in many situations explicit relearning opportunities are not available. Our question is whether multiple-choice tests (which by definition expose the learner to the correct answers) can also serve this function and, if so, how testing compares to restudying given that tests can be particularly powerful learning devices (Roediger & Karpicke, 2006). In four experiments, we found that multiple-choice testing had the power to stabilize access to marginal knowledge, and to do so for at least up to a week. Importantly, such tests did not need to be paired with feedback, although testing was no more powerful than studying. Overall, the results support the idea that one's knowledge base is unstable, with individual pieces of information coming in and out of reach. The present findings have implications for a key educational challenge: ensuring that students have continuing access to information they have learned.

Animal social learning: associations and adaptations.

PubMed

Reader, Simon M

2016-01-01

Social learning, learning from others, is a powerful process known to impact the success and survival of humans and non-human animals alike. Yet we understand little about the neurocognitive and other processes that underpin social learning. Social learning has often been assumed to involve specialized, derived cognitive processes that evolve and develop independently from other processes. However, this assumption is increasingly questioned, and evidence from a variety of organisms demonstrates that current, recent, and early life experience all predict the reliance on social information and thus can potentially explain variation in social learning as a result of experiential effects rather than evolved differences. General associative learning processes, rather than adaptive specializations, may underpin much social learning, as well as social learning strategies. Uncovering these distinctions is important to a variety of fields, for example by widening current views of the possible breadth and adaptive flexibility of social learning. Nonetheless, just like adaptationist evolutionary explanations, associationist explanations for social learning cannot be assumed, and empirical work is required to uncover the mechanisms involved and their impact on the efficacy of social learning. This work is being done, but more is needed. Current evidence suggests that much social learning may be based on 'ordinary' processes but with extraordinary consequences.

Efficient Modeling and Active Learning Discovery of Biological Responses

PubMed Central

Naik, Armaghan W.; Kangas, Joshua D.; Langmead, Christopher J.; Murphy, Robert F.

2013-01-01

High throughput and high content screening involve determination of the effect of many compounds on a given target. As currently practiced, screening for each new target typically makes little use of information from screens of prior targets. Further, choices of compounds to advance to drug development are made without significant screening against off-target effects. The overall drug development process could be made more effective, as well as less expensive and time consuming, if potential effects of all compounds on all possible targets could be considered, yet the cost of such full experimentation would be prohibitive. In this paper, we describe a potential solution: probabilistic models that can be used to predict results for unmeasured combinations, and active learning algorithms for efficiently selecting which experiments to perform in order to build those models and determining when to stop. Using simulated and experimental data, we show that our approaches can produce powerful predictive models without exhaustive experimentation and can learn them much faster than by selecting experiments at random. PMID:24358322

Safety in the c-suite: How chief executive officers influence organizational safety climate and employee injuries.

PubMed

Tucker, Sean; Ogunfowora, Babatunde; Ehr, Dayle

2016-09-01

According to social learning theory, powerful and high status individuals can significantly influence the behaviors of others. In this paper, we propose that chief executive officers (CEOs) indirectly impact frontline injuries through the collective social learning experiences and effort of different groups of organizational actors-including members of the top management team (TMT), organizational supervisors, and frontline employees. We found support for our collective social learning model using data from 2,714 frontline employees, 1,398 supervisors, and 229 members of TMTs in 54 organizations. TMT members' experiences within a CEO-driven TMT safety climate was positively related to organizational supervisors' reports of the broader organizational safety climate and their subsequent collective support for safety (reported by frontline employees). In turn, supervisory support for safety was associated with fewer employee injuries at the individual level. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings for workplace safety research and practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

How do beliefs and other factors such as prior experience influence the decision-making of new teachers during their first year teaching experience?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Short, Barbara J.

2003-06-01

The qualitative research project explored the perceptions of three new secondary education physics teachers. The content question stated: How do beliefs and other factors such as prior experience influence the decision-making of new teachers during their first year teaching experience? Specific questions includes: (1) What do first year teachers identify as their beliefs about teaching and learning? (2) How do first year teachers arrive at decisions about their instruction, materials, lessons, assessment, and student achievement? (3) How does decision-making occur in the learning environment from their perspective? (4) How do first year teachers solve problems? (5) To what extent do first year teachers actively think about what they do? The participants and their university professor were interviewed. Data was collected, transcribed, and coded using grounded theory techniques to conclude: (1) Belief systems take time to develop using filters. (2) Beliefs and perceptions help to fill gaps between knowledge. Gestalts change beliefs. (3) Modeling is a powerful technique influencing decision-making and beliefs over time. (4) Nurturing and preparation build confidence fostered at the university and public school. (5) New teachers' personalities, dispositions, and self-understandings effect filtering of perceptions, influencing behaviors in the learning environment. (6) Knowledge gained through experience, instruction, and reflection by the teacher enhances student learning. (7) Problem solving is learned and personality-based, helping to determine success. (8) Too many constraints to a novice cause limitations in his/her ability to be an effective teacher. (9) Early acceptance into a new environment helps to increase a sense of belonging leading to performance. (10) Positive attitudes towards students affect relationships with students in the classroom. (11) Backgrounds, personalities, and environments affect beliefs and decision-making. (12) New teachers focus more on their actions than on their students' learning. Implications are made for university pre-service instruction and public schools new teacher support systems.

Producing Gestures Facilitates Route Learning

PubMed Central

So, Wing Chee; Ching, Terence Han-Wei; Lim, Phoebe Elizabeth; Cheng, Xiaoqin; Ip, Kit Yee

2014-01-01

The present study investigates whether producing gestures would facilitate route learning in a navigation task and whether its facilitation effect is comparable to that of hand movements that leave physical visible traces. In two experiments, we focused on gestures produced without accompanying speech, i.e., co-thought gestures (e.g., an index finger traces the spatial sequence of a route in the air). Adult participants were asked to study routes shown in four diagrams, one at a time. Participants reproduced the routes (verbally in Experiment 1 and non-verbally in Experiment 2) without rehearsal or after rehearsal by mentally simulating the route, by drawing it, or by gesturing (either in the air or on paper). Participants who moved their hands (either in the form of gestures or drawing) recalled better than those who mentally simulated the routes and those who did not rehearse, suggesting that hand movements produced during rehearsal facilitate route learning. Interestingly, participants who gestured the routes in the air or on paper recalled better than those who drew them on paper in both experiments, suggesting that the facilitation effect of co-thought gesture holds for both verbal and nonverbal recall modalities. It is possibly because, co-thought gesture, as a kind of representational action, consolidates spatial sequence better than drawing and thus exerting more powerful influence on spatial representation. PMID:25426624

Conceptualisation of knowledge construction in community service-learning programmes in nursing education.

PubMed

Mthembu, Sindi Z; Mtshali, Fikile G

2013-01-01

Practices in higher education have been criticised for not developing and preparing students for the expertise required in real environments. Literature reports that educational programmes tend to favour knowledge conformation rather than knowledge construction; however, community service learning (CSL) is a powerful pedagogical strategy that encourages students to make meaningful connections between the content in the classroom and real-life experiences as manifested by the communities. Through CSL, learning is achieved by the active construction of knowledge supported by multiple perspectives within meaningful real contexts, and the social interactions amongst students are seen to play a critical role in the processes of learning and cognition. This article reflects facilitators’ perspective of the knowledge construction process as used with students doing community service learning in basic nursing programmes. The aim of this article was to conceptualise the phenomenon of knowledge construction and thereby provide educators with a shared meaning and common understanding, and to analyse the interaction strategies utilised by nurse educators in the process of knowledge construction in community service-learning programmes in basic nursing education. A qualitative research approach based on a grounded theory research design was used in this article. Two nursing education institutions were purposively selected. Structured interviews were conducted with 16 participants. The results revealed that the knowledge construction in community service-learning programmes is conceptualised as having specific determinants, including the use of authentic health-related problems, academic coaching through scaffolding, academic discourse-dialogue, interactive learning in communities of learners, active learning, continuous reflection as well as collaborative and inquiry-based learning. Upon completion of an experience, students create and test generated knowledge in different contextual health settings. It was concluded that knowledge is constructed by students as a result of their interaction with the communities in their socio-cultural context and is mediated by their prior concrete experiences. The implication of this is that students construct knowledge that can be applied in their future work places.

Microvascular Anastomosis: Proposition of a Learning Curve.

PubMed

Mokhtari, Pooneh; Tayebi Meybodi, Ali; Benet, Arnau; Lawton, Michael T

2018-04-14

Learning to perform a microvascular anastomosis is one of the most difficult tasks in cerebrovascular surgery. Previous studies offer little regarding the optimal protocols to maximize learning efficiency. This failure stems mainly from lack of knowledge about the learning curve of this task. To delineate this learning curve and provide information about its various features including acquisition, improvement, consistency, stability, and recall. Five neurosurgeons with an average surgical experience history of 5 yr and without any experience in bypass surgery performed microscopic anastomosis on progressively smaller-caliber silastic tubes (Biomet, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida) during 24 consecutive sessions. After a 1-, 2-, and 8-wk retention interval, they performed recall test on 0.7-mm silastic tubes. The anastomoses were rated based on anastomosis patency and presence of any leaks. Improvement rate was faster during initial sessions compared to the final practice sessions. Performance decline was observed in the first session of working on a smaller-caliber tube. However, this rapidly improved during the following sessions of practice. Temporary plateaus were seen in certain segments of the curve. The retention interval between the acquisition and recall phase did not cause a regression to the prepractice performance level. Learning the fine motor task of microvascular anastomosis adapts to the basic rules of learning such as the "power law of practice." Our results also support the improvement of performance during consecutive sessions of practice. The objective evidence provided may help in developing optimized learning protocols for microvascular anastomosis.

The power of nursing: An innovative course in values clarification and self-discovery.

PubMed

Day, Lisa; Ziehm, Scott R; Jessup, Martha A; Amedro, Pattie; Dawson-Rose, Carol; Derouin, Anne; Kennedy, Betsy Babb; Manahan, Sally; Parish, Abby Luck; Remen, Rachel Naomi

Teaching for a practice is more than the dissemination of knowledge and information to the learner. Professional nursing education requires teachers to facilitate students' self-reflection and awareness and assimilation of core professional and personal values in order for the new nurse to anchor and internalize these values as part of a professional identity. To achieve this, nursing educators recognize the importance of learning opportunities centered in the affective domain and the importance of teaching for professional formation that supports nursing students' commitment to the values of their chosen community of practice. This paper describes the development, implementation and evaluation of a learning innovation for pre-RN students. The Power of Nursing: Embracing the Healer's Art, a five-session, 15-hour discovery model course that uses guided reflection and personal sharing is described, as are course outcomes for 68 students from four nursing schools in the U.S. Overall students' reports were strongly favorable and the learning experience was valued and identified as unique within the nursing curriculum. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Consequences and countermeasures in a nuclear power accident: Chernobyl experience.

PubMed

Kirichenko, Vladimir A; Kirichenko, Alexander V; Werts, Day E

2012-09-01

Despite the tragic accidents in Fukushima and Chernobyl, the nuclear power industry will continue to contribute to the production of electric energy worldwide until there are efficient and sustainable alternative sources of energy. The Chernobyl nuclear accident, which occurred 26 years ago in the former Soviet Union, released an immense amount of radioactivity over vast territories of Belarus, Ukraine, and the Russian Federation, extending into northern Europe, and became the most severe accident in the history of the nuclear industry. This disaster was a result of numerous factors including inadequate nuclear power plant design, human errors, and violation of safety measures. The lessons learned from nuclear accidents will continue to strengthen the safety design of new reactor installations, but with more than 400 active nuclear power stations worldwide and 104 reactors in the Unites States, it is essential to reassess fundamental issues related to the Chernobyl experience as it continues to evolve. This article summarizes early and late events of the incident, the impact on thyroid health, and attempts to reduce agricultural radioactive contamination.

Creative Ways to Teach the Mysteries of History, Volume 2

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pahl, Ron H.

2007-01-01

The purpose of this book is to make the teaching and learning of history a powerful and enjoyable experience in the classroom, changing the often-cited boring image of history for students and offering teachers an opportunity to go beyond the regular textbook. The book focuses on: (1) Varied active teaching ideas; (2) Ideas on how to get students…

Exploring the Process of Conceptual Change of Pre-Service Teachers in a Physical Education Teacher Preparation Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hushman, Glenn; Napper-Owen, Gloria; Hushman, Carolyn

2013-01-01

By educating pre-service teachers about new pedagogical strategies and techniques, the intention is to address and change ineffective practices in physical education so that children learn to love movement and engage\tin regular\tphysical activity for their health and wellness. However, as Lortie (1975) suggests, experience is more powerful than…

Teaching and Learning Color Consciousness in Black Families: Exploring Family Processes and Women's Experiences with Colorism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilder, JeffriAnne; Cain, Colleen

2011-01-01

Family is regarded as a powerful force in the lives of Black Americans. Often-times, families function as an agent of socialization that counters racism. At the same time, however, Black families can perpetuate skin tone consciousness and bias, or "colorism." Although there is an extensive body of revisionist literature on Black families and a…

Learning Da Kine: A Filmmaker Tackles Local Culture and Pidgin

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Booth, Marlene

2008-01-01

In this essay, the author discusses her experiences in creating her film about Hawai'i Creole. She shares how she chronicles the essence of local life in the film through Pidgin. She also discusses how she came to understand the power of Pidgin, its centrality in people's lives, and its place in defining the uniqueness of Hawai'i. As the author…

Spirit-Aware Teacher and Learner: Relational Connectedness in Teaching and Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gibbs, Colin

2005-01-01

The power of education is in its potential transformative effects on individuals. Many writers suggest that the prime task of the teachers is to awaken joy and wonderment through creative expression and in the quest for understanding. If education is to be a liberating experience then its central concern must be on the holistic nature of teachers…

Creative Ways to Teach the Mysteries of History, Volume 1

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pahl, Ronald Hans

2005-01-01

This book is developed to make the teaching and learning of history a powerful and enjoyable experience in the classroom through the study of historical mysteries. What better place to snoop around and dig through mysterious graves than in history class? This book takes ten mysterious events in history from ancient Egypt to the 21st century for…

An Introduction to Drug Discovery by Probing Protein-Substrate Interactions Using Saturation Transfer Difference-Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (STD-NMR)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guegan, Jean-Paul; Daniellou, Richard

2012-01-01

NMR spectroscopy is a powerful tool for characterizing and identifying molecules and nowadays is even used to characterize complex systems in biology. In the experiment presented here, students learned how to apply this modern technique to probe interactions between small molecules and proteins. With the use of simple organic synthesis, students…

Students' Experiences of the Implementation of an Interactive Learning System in Their Eighth Grade Mathematics Classes: An Exploratory Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

FitzPatrick, Sarah B.

During the last decade, United States K-12 schools have approximately tripled their spending on increasingly powerful computers, and have expanded network access and novel computer applications. The number of questions being asked by educators, policymakers, and the general public about the extent to which students are using these educational…

Effective Ways to Promote Word Power with Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Harry B.

2012-01-01

Most of us recall with pain the unpleasant experiences associated with the teacher's announcement that we would once again initiate a unit of learning designed to both widen and deepen our knowledge of the words of our language. This was said to establish the foundation for all of our future academic pursuits. A strong vocabulary was said to be a…

Spirit-ness at Work: Connections between Workplace Spirituality, Transformative Learning, and Social Justice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tolliver, Derise E.

2016-01-01

The workplace is a place where we show up as human beings, subject to human experience. People are no longer willing to leave their spirit-ness at the door. In reality, spirit-ness shows up "without permission" as a revolutionary, powerful, and transformative way of being in a world that too often supports status quo activities that are…

Using Multi-Robot Systems for Engineering Education: Teaching and Outreach with Large Numbers of an Advanced, Low-Cost Robot

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McLurkin, J.; Rykowski, J.; John, M.; Kaseman, Q.; Lynch, A. J.

2013-01-01

This paper describes the experiences of using an advanced, low-cost robot in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. It presents three innovations: It is a powerful, cheap, robust, and small advanced personal robot; it forms the foundation of a problem-based learning curriculum; and it enables a novel multi-robot…

Central Park East and Its Graduates: "Learning by Heart." The Series on School Reform.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bensman, David

This book describes New York City's Central Park East (CPE) Elementary School, which provides inner city children with the highest quality educators and pedagogy and is considered one of the most academically enriching U.S. schools. The book gives voice to young adults who emerged from poverty as a result of powerful experiences within CPE.…

Being on the web of unions: an interview with D'Arcy Martin, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

PubMed

Martin, D'Arcy

2012-01-01

D'Arcy Martin is a labor educator in Toronto. He started his career in adult education and made the transition to labor educator. He has been the Canadian education director for Steelworkers, Communications Workers, and the merged Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union. He is also coordinator of the Centre for the Study of Education and Work at the University of Toronto, which brings together academics and unionists to research the informal learning of workers. In the following interview, D'Arcy talked about his experiences as a Canadian labor educator, how being an internationalist has influenced his views, and how the dynamics of power influence not only workers and their unions, but educators, too. D'Arcy described his work as "being on the web … to go sideways, that is, to draw connections, including international ones, amongst people of like mind and to build collective power by inviting people to learn together."

An Integrative Account of Constraints on Cross-Situational Learning

PubMed Central

Yurovsky, Daniel; Frank, Michael C.

2015-01-01

Word-object co-occurrence statistics are a powerful information source for vocabulary learning, but there is considerable debate about how learners actually use them. While some theories hold that learners accumulate graded, statistical evidence about multiple referents for each word, others suggest that they track only a single candidate referent. In two large-scale experiments, we show that neither account is sufficient: Cross-situational learning involves elements of both. Further, the empirical data are captured by a computational model that formalizes how memory and attention interact with co-occurrence tracking. Together, the data and model unify opposing positions in a complex debate and underscore the value of understanding the interaction between computational and algorithmic levels of explanation. PMID:26302052

'The Real Classroom Is Outside—Get into It!' Teaching through Field Experiences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Passow, M. J.

2015-12-01

Field-based experiences can be powerful influences on students of any age, from pre-college through grad school, as well as on the general public. Every place-based learning experience will be different because the combination of location, participant background, available resources, and other factors will be unique. But certain shared goals, necessities, and similarities can be recognized. Intended outcomes should be identified in advance to inform planning. Preparation for field experiences should involve the students along with other participants. More-experienced students can become role models for new-comers. Field experiences involve active learning, as participants are fully immersed in the sampling site and have all senses stimulated. Constantly-changing variables highlight interconnectedness of Earth processes and fosters Systems Thinking. Decisions about the most effective ways to communicate data and results will differ from what might be based on classroom or laboratory venues. Three examples of field-based learning will be provided. One involves collaboration between educational specialists at a scientific research institution, the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, with high school students enrolled in their school's Authentic Science Research program. The second describes orientation for beginning graduate students to the geology, geography, and history of their new home region through a tourist boat ride, the well-known Circle Ride around Manhattan. The third illustrates use of 'eco-hikes' to enhance environmental understanding for Open House and other visitors. These can serve as models for designing experience-based programs in other situations.

An Experimental Introduction to Acoustics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Black, Andy Nicholas; Magruder, Robert H.

2017-11-01

Learning and understanding physics requires more than studying physics texts. It requires doing physics. Doing research is a key opportunity for students to connect physical principles with their everyday experience. A powerful way to introduce students to research and technique is through subjects in which they might find interest. Presented is an experiment that serves to introduce an advanced undergraduate or high school student to conducting research in acoustics via an experiment involving a standard dreadnought acoustic guitar, recording industry-related equipment, and relevant industrial analysis software. This experimental process is applicable to a wide range of acoustical topics including both acoustic and electric instruments. Also, the student has a hands-on experience with relevant audio engineering technology to study physical principles.

Using a NIATx based local learning collaborative for performance improvement.

PubMed

Roosa, Mathew; Scripa, Joseph S; Zastowny, Thomas R; Ford, James H

2011-11-01

Local governments play an important role in improving substance abuse and mental health services. The structure of the local learning collaborative requires careful attention to old relationships and challenges local governmental leaders to help move participants from a competitive to collaborative environment. This study describes one county's experience applying the NIATx process improvement model via a local learning collaborative. Local substance abuse and mental health agencies participated in two local learning collaboratives designed to improve client retention in substance abuse treatment and client access to mental health services. Results of changes implemented at the provider level on access and retention are outlined. The process of implementing evidence-based practices by using the Plan-Do-Study-Act rapid-cycle change is a powerful combination for change at the local level. Key lessons include: creating a clear plan and shared vision, recognizing that one size does not fit all, using data can help fuel participant engagement, a long collaborative may benefit from breaking it into smaller segments, and paying providers to offset costs of participation enhances their engagement. The experience gained in Onondaga County, New York, offers insights that serve as a foundation for using the local learning collaborative in other community-based organizations. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Infants' statistical learning: 2- and 5-month-olds' segmentation of continuous visual sequences.

PubMed

Slone, Lauren Krogh; Johnson, Scott P

2015-05-01

Past research suggests that infants have powerful statistical learning abilities; however, studies of infants' visual statistical learning offer differing accounts of the developmental trajectory of and constraints on this learning. To elucidate this issue, the current study tested the hypothesis that young infants' segmentation of visual sequences depends on redundant statistical cues to segmentation. A sample of 20 2-month-olds and 20 5-month-olds observed a continuous sequence of looming shapes in which unit boundaries were defined by both transitional probability and co-occurrence frequency. Following habituation, only 5-month-olds showed evidence of statistically segmenting the sequence, looking longer to a statistically improbable shape pair than to a probable pair. These results reaffirm the power of statistical learning in infants as young as 5 months but also suggest considerable development of statistical segmentation ability between 2 and 5 months of age. Moreover, the results do not support the idea that infants' ability to segment visual sequences based on transitional probabilities and/or co-occurrence frequencies is functional at the onset of visual experience, as has been suggested previously. Rather, this type of statistical segmentation appears to be constrained by the developmental state of the learner. Factors contributing to the development of statistical segmentation ability during early infancy, including memory and attention, are discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Virtual Reality: Bringing the Awe of Our Science into The Classroom with VR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bell, R. E.; Turrin, M.; Frearson, N.; Boghosian, A.; Ferrini, V. L.; Simpson, F.

2016-12-01

The geosciences are rich in imagery, making them compelling material for immersive teaching experiences. We often work in remote locations, places where few others are able to travel. Flat 2 D images from the field have served explorers and scientists well from the lantern slides brought back from Antarctica to the images scientists and educators now use in powerpoint presentations. These images provide a backdrop to introduce the experience for formal classes and informal presentations. Our stories from the field bring the setting alive for the participants. The travelers presented and the audience passively listened. Immersive learning opportunities are much more powerful than lecturing. We have enlisted both VR and drone imagery to bring learners fully into the experience of science. A 360 VR image brings the viewer into the moment of discovery. Both have been shown to create an active learning setting fully under the learner's control; they explore at their own pace and following their own interest. This learning `sticks', becoming part of the participant's own unique experience in the space. We are building VR images of field experiences and VR data immersion experiences that will transport people into new locations, building a field experience that they can not only see but fully explore. Through VR we introduce new experiences that showcase our science, our careers and our collaborations. Users can spin the view up to see the helicopter landing in a remote field location by the ice. Spin to the right and see a colleague collecting a reading from instruments that have been pulled from the LC130 aircraft. Turn the view to the left and see the harsh windswept environment along the edge of an ice shelf. Look down and note that you feet are encased in snow boots to keep them warm and stable on the ice. The viewer is in the field as part of the science team. Learning in the classroom and through social media is now fully 360 and fully immersive.

KSC01pd1881

NASA Image and Video Library

2001-12-19

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- STS-107 Commander Rick Husband and Mission Specialist Laurel Clark learn to work with mission-related equipment at SPACEHAB, Cape Canaveral, Fla. STS-107 is a research mission. The primary payload is the first flight of the SHI Research Double Module (SHI/RDM). The experiments range from material sciences to life sciences (many rats). Also part of the payload is the Fast Reaction Experiments Enabling Science, Technology, Applications and Research (FREESTAR) that incorporates eight high priority secondary attached shuttle experiments: Mediterranean Israeli Dust Experiment (MEIDEX), Shuttle Ozone Limb Sounding Experiment (SOLSE-2), Student Tracked Atmospheric Research Satellite for Heuristic International Networking Experiment (STARSHINE), Critical Viscosity of Xenon-2 (CVX-2), Solar Constant Experiment-3 (SOLOCON-3), Prototype Synchrotron Radiation Detector (PSRD), Low Power Transceiver (LPT), and Collisions Into Dust Experiment -2 (COLLIDE-2). STS-107 is scheduled to launch in July 2002

Cool Science: Using Children's Art to Communicate Climate Change (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lustick, D. S.; Lohmeier, J.; Chen, R. F.

2013-12-01

Cool Science is a K-12 Climate Change Science Art Competition. Working with teachers, parents, and students, the project aims to identify outstanding works of art by students about climate change and display the art throughout public mass transit. Cool Science has three distinct goals: 1) provide a convenient means for art and science teachers to incorporate climate change into their curriculum, 2) support teacher/student learning about climate change science, and 3) foster informal learning about climate change among people riding mass transit. By efficiently connecting formal and informal learning with one project, Cool Science is an innovative project that expands the way we engage and evaluate students. Using children's artwork to communicate complex scientific issues such as climate change is a powerful learning experience for the artist, teacher, and audience. Last year, Cool Science received nearly 600 entries from students representing 36 teachers from 32 school districts. Six winning entries went on public display with one highlighted each month from January through June. In addition, there were 6 Runner Ups and 12 Honorable Mentions. For the winning students, it is an unforgettable experience to see a nine-foot version of their artwork traveling around the streets on the side of a bus!

Reducing Mental Health Disparities Through Transformative Learning: A Social Change Model With Refugees and Students

PubMed Central

Hess, Julia M.; Isakson, Brian; Githinji, Ann; Roche, Natalie; Vadnais, Kathryn; Parker, Danielle P.; Goodkind, Jessica R.

2014-01-01

Distribution of power and resources greatly impacts the mental health of individuals and communities. Thus, in order to reduce mental health disparities, it is imperative to address these social determinants of mental health through social change. Engaging in social change efforts requires people to critically engage with present conditions on personal, local, national and global levels and to develop knowledge, capacity, and experience with envisioning and creating more equitable conditions. This critical engagement can be fostered through a process of transformative learning. In this article, we examine the Refugee Well-being Project (RWP), a program that aims to improve the mental health of refugees in the United States. From 2007 to 2009, participants in the RWP in New Mexico were refugees from the Great Lakes region of Africa. The RWP paired undergraduate students with refugees to engage in mutual learning and advocacy. Data from in-depth qualitative interviews with 72 refugees and 53 undergraduate students suggest that participation in the RWP constituted a transformative learning experience through which refugees and students came to new understandings of the relationship between social inequities and well-being. For many, this provided an impetus to work towards change at multiple levels. PMID:24417257

In harmony: inquiry based learning in a blended physics and music class

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hechter, Richard P.; Bergman, Daniel

2016-11-01

The power of music to resonate within us transcends conventional boundaries established in cultural, geographic, and political contexts. In our world, as physics educators, so does the resonating of physics phenomena. Secondary level physics is a perfect place to blend these two genres. While advocating for STEM-based education is at the forefront of pedagogical reform, seldom do we use this cross-boundary vision as the foundation to teach and learn in true collaboration of science and arts classrooms. As music enthusiasts, and physics educators, we developed new resources for a blended music and physics class through inquiry-based learning activities. Punctuated with modern technology, we aimed our activities for an engaging learning experience towards developing conceptual understandings of sound and harmonics at the grade 11 level. The umbrella activity shared here was designed to engage a wide range of students through the universal language of music, and provide them a hands-on and minds-on experience to explore harmonics through both music and physics lenses. It is our intention to provide readers with an overview of the activity, a description of exemplar student-designed inquiry-based investigations, and helpful suggestions for potential for use in reader’s classrooms.

When Are Powerful Learning Environments Effective? The Role of Learner Activities and of Students' Conceptions of Educational Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gerjets, Peter H.; Hesse, Friedrich W.

2004-01-01

The goal of this chapter is to outline a theoretical and empirical perspective on how learners' conceptions of educational technology might influence their learning activities and thereby determine the power of computer-based learning environments. Starting with an introduction to the concept of powerful learning environments we outline how recent…

(Un)Intended Outcomes of the Common Core English Language Arts Standards: A Narrative Inquiry into the Learning Experiences of English Learners' Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mooney, Angela Jean

2015-01-01

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are a key piece of current reform efforts to reshape the U.S. educational system. Critics contend that the related Revised Publishers' Criteria (RPC), coupled with the authoritative power of the CCSS, will de-professionalize teachers, directing their practice from a distance. The purpose of this qualitative…

Intentional Implementation: A Self-Study Examining and Evaluating Instructional Implementation of Digital Tools to Foster Academic Writing in the English Secondary Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alcoser, Michelle Elaine

2017-01-01

This self-study examines the planning, practices, policies, and procedures present in a blended learning classroom environment to develop academic writing with tenth and eleventh grade public high school students. Digital technology is a prevalent and powerful force intertwined with most aspects of the human experience in the twenty-first century.…

Tarnished Brand Could Use Polish: A More Vocal Advocacy on Several Fronts Can Restore Professional Learning's Image

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mizell, Hayes

2009-01-01

Staff development's brand is tarnished. Many of its consumers are not satisfied. Some are angry. Others are resigned to accepting professional development as it is because they lack the will or power or knowledge to change it. Educators respond in these ways because their staff development experiences are often shallow and do little to help them…

(Un)knowing Diversity: Researching Narratives of Neocolonial Classrooms through Youth's Testimonios. Critical Qualitative Research. Volume 5

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gallagher-Geurtsen, Tricia

2012-01-01

"(Un)knowing Diversity" tells the powerful stories of five minoritized American youths' school experiences. In their own words, we learn what it is like to go to school, what helps, what does not, and who these students are becoming. The author outlines the practice of testimonio work, then interprets each narrative, identifying the fixed, fluid,…

Meditations on Pleasure: John Ruskin and the Value of Art in the Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scully, Sean

2017-01-01

Life is multiplex; information is ubiquitous. We do our best to learn, but we struggle not to forget. The demand to "know" is powerful; the experience of living can often feel overwhelming. We desire a better way of looking at the world around us. John Ruskin reminds us that it is a good thing to start small. He asks us to…

Increased Interestingness of Extraneous Details in a Multimedia Science Presentation Leads to Decreased Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mayer, Richard E.; Griffith, Emily; Jurkowitz, Ilana T. N.; Rothman, Daniel

2008-01-01

In Experiment 1, students received an illustrated booklet, PowerPoint presentation, or narrated animation that explained 6 steps in how a cold virus infects the human body. The material included 6 high-interest details mainly about the role of viruses in sex or death (high group) or 6 low-interest details consisting of facts and health tips about…

Long-Term Impacts of Professional Development on Teachers Using a Math-Enhanced Curriculum in Agricultural Power and Technology: A 10-Year Retrospect

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mukembo, Stephen C.; Edwards, M. Craig

2015-01-01

Professional development (PD) on approaches to curriculum integration (CI) continues to be essential for teachers to stay abreast of developments to improve student performance in their courses while also supporting learning and achievement in core subjects. We aimed to explore and derive meaning from the shared experiences of six agriculture…

Digital Stories as a Method for Evidence-Based Practice and Knowledge Co-Creation in Technology-Enhanced Learning for Children with Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parsons, Sarah; Guldberg, Karen; Porayska-Pomsta, Kaska; Lee, Rachael

2015-01-01

Storytelling is a powerful means of expression especially for voices that may be difficult to hear or represent in typical ways. This paper reports and reflects on our experiences of co-creating digital stories with school practitioners in a project focusing on embedding innovative technologies for children on the autism spectrum in classroom…

An Autoethnographical Study of Culture, Power, Identity and Art Education in Post-Colonial South Korea

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jeong, Ok-Hee

2017-01-01

This article reflects my experiences of learning art in the 1970s and 1980s and my teaching career in school art education in twenty-first century South Korea. This autobiographical reflection shows how I have struggled with my identity as an art teacher in the post-colonial context of Western influences on Korean society since World War II. There…

From machine learning to deep learning: progress in machine intelligence for rational drug discovery.

PubMed

Zhang, Lu; Tan, Jianjun; Han, Dan; Zhu, Hao

2017-11-01

Machine intelligence, which is normally presented as artificial intelligence, refers to the intelligence exhibited by computers. In the history of rational drug discovery, various machine intelligence approaches have been applied to guide traditional experiments, which are expensive and time-consuming. Over the past several decades, machine-learning tools, such as quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) modeling, were developed that can identify potential biological active molecules from millions of candidate compounds quickly and cheaply. However, when drug discovery moved into the era of 'big' data, machine learning approaches evolved into deep learning approaches, which are a more powerful and efficient way to deal with the massive amounts of data generated from modern drug discovery approaches. Here, we summarize the history of machine learning and provide insight into recently developed deep learning approaches and their applications in rational drug discovery. We suggest that this evolution of machine intelligence now provides a guide for early-stage drug design and discovery in the current big data era. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Overview of deep learning in medical imaging.

PubMed

Suzuki, Kenji

2017-09-01

The use of machine learning (ML) has been increasing rapidly in the medical imaging field, including computer-aided diagnosis (CAD), radiomics, and medical image analysis. Recently, an ML area called deep learning emerged in the computer vision field and became very popular in many fields. It started from an event in late 2012, when a deep-learning approach based on a convolutional neural network (CNN) won an overwhelming victory in the best-known worldwide computer vision competition, ImageNet Classification. Since then, researchers in virtually all fields, including medical imaging, have started actively participating in the explosively growing field of deep learning. In this paper, the area of deep learning in medical imaging is overviewed, including (1) what was changed in machine learning before and after the introduction of deep learning, (2) what is the source of the power of deep learning, (3) two major deep-learning models: a massive-training artificial neural network (MTANN) and a convolutional neural network (CNN), (4) similarities and differences between the two models, and (5) their applications to medical imaging. This review shows that ML with feature input (or feature-based ML) was dominant before the introduction of deep learning, and that the major and essential difference between ML before and after deep learning is the learning of image data directly without object segmentation or feature extraction; thus, it is the source of the power of deep learning, although the depth of the model is an important attribute. The class of ML with image input (or image-based ML) including deep learning has a long history, but recently gained popularity due to the use of the new terminology, deep learning. There are two major models in this class of ML in medical imaging, MTANN and CNN, which have similarities as well as several differences. In our experience, MTANNs were substantially more efficient in their development, had a higher performance, and required a lesser number of training cases than did CNNs. "Deep learning", or ML with image input, in medical imaging is an explosively growing, promising field. It is expected that ML with image input will be the mainstream area in the field of medical imaging in the next few decades.

Interpretable Deep Models for ICU Outcome Prediction

PubMed Central

Che, Zhengping; Purushotham, Sanjay; Khemani, Robinder; Liu, Yan

2016-01-01

Exponential surge in health care data, such as longitudinal data from electronic health records (EHR), sensor data from intensive care unit (ICU), etc., is providing new opportunities to discover meaningful data-driven characteristics and patterns ofdiseases. Recently, deep learning models have been employedfor many computational phenotyping and healthcare prediction tasks to achieve state-of-the-art performance. However, deep models lack interpretability which is crucial for wide adoption in medical research and clinical decision-making. In this paper, we introduce a simple yet powerful knowledge-distillation approach called interpretable mimic learning, which uses gradient boosting trees to learn interpretable models and at the same time achieves strong prediction performance as deep learning models. Experiment results on Pediatric ICU dataset for acute lung injury (ALI) show that our proposed method not only outperforms state-of-the-art approaches for morality and ventilator free days prediction tasks but can also provide interpretable models to clinicians. PMID:28269832

Information technology in health professional education: why IT matters.

PubMed

Haigh, Jackie

2004-10-01

This paper analyses the potential of information technology (IT) to transform the process of learning in higher education, particularly health professional education. It is argued that IT, although very much part of the infrastructure of the modern university has yet to make its full impact on teaching and learning processes. The expectations of students and demands for improved flexibility and access make it inevitable that IT will become an integral part of teaching and learning despite inherent resistance to change. The potential benefits of IT are identified as: transmission of high quality content, support of life-long learning, flexibility of access and enhanced opportunities for communication. These concepts are explored in the context of health professional education. It is argued that universities cannot survive without harnessing the power of IT to improve the educational experience of students but lecturers should ensure that this is underpinned by sound educational theory.

Neural plasticity of development and learning.

PubMed

Galván, Adriana

2010-06-01

Development and learning are powerful agents of change across the lifespan that induce robust structural and functional plasticity in neural systems. An unresolved question in developmental cognitive neuroscience is whether development and learning share the same neural mechanisms associated with experience-related neural plasticity. In this article, I outline the conceptual and practical challenges of this question, review insights gleaned from adult studies, and describe recent strides toward examining this topic across development using neuroimaging methods. I suggest that development and learning are not two completely separate constructs and instead, that they exist on a continuum. While progressive and regressive changes are central to both, the behavioral consequences associated with these changes are closely tied to the existing neural architecture of maturity of the system. Eventually, a deeper, more mechanistic understanding of neural plasticity will shed light on behavioral changes across development and, more broadly, about the underlying neural basis of cognition. (c) 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Neuromodulated Synaptic Plasticity on the SpiNNaker Neuromorphic System

PubMed Central

Mikaitis, Mantas; Pineda García, Garibaldi; Knight, James C.; Furber, Steve B.

2018-01-01

SpiNNaker is a digital neuromorphic architecture, designed specifically for the low power simulation of large-scale spiking neural networks at speeds close to biological real-time. Unlike other neuromorphic systems, SpiNNaker allows users to develop their own neuron and synapse models as well as specify arbitrary connectivity. As a result SpiNNaker has proved to be a powerful tool for studying different neuron models as well as synaptic plasticity—believed to be one of the main mechanisms behind learning and memory in the brain. A number of Spike-Timing-Dependent-Plasticity(STDP) rules have already been implemented on SpiNNaker and have been shown to be capable of solving various learning tasks in real-time. However, while STDP is an important biological theory of learning, it is a form of Hebbian or unsupervised learning and therefore does not explain behaviors that depend on feedback from the environment. Instead, learning rules based on neuromodulated STDP (three-factor learning rules) have been shown to be capable of solving reinforcement learning tasks in a biologically plausible manner. In this paper we demonstrate for the first time how a model of three-factor STDP, with the third-factor representing spikes from dopaminergic neurons, can be implemented on the SpiNNaker neuromorphic system. Using this learning rule we first show how reward and punishment signals can be delivered to a single synapse before going on to demonstrate it in a larger network which solves the credit assignment problem in a Pavlovian conditioning experiment. Because of its extra complexity, we find that our three-factor learning rule requires approximately 2× as much processing time as the existing SpiNNaker STDP learning rules. However, we show that it is still possible to run our Pavlovian conditioning model with up to 1 × 104 neurons in real-time, opening up new research opportunities for modeling behavioral learning on SpiNNaker. PMID:29535600

Explorations in Statistics: Power

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Curran-Everett, Douglas

2010-01-01

Learning about statistics is a lot like learning about science: the learning is more meaningful if you can actively explore. This fifth installment of "Explorations in Statistics" revisits power, a concept fundamental to the test of a null hypothesis. Power is the probability that we reject the null hypothesis when it is false. Four…

Emergence of β-Band Oscillations in the Aged Rat Amygdala during Discrimination Learning and Decision Making Tasks

PubMed Central

Samson, Rachel D.; Duarte, Leroy; Venkatesh, Anu

2017-01-01

Abstract Older adults tend to use strategies that differ from those used by young adults to solve decision-making tasks. MRI experiments suggest that altered strategy use during aging can be accompanied by a change in extent of activation of a given brain region, inter-hemispheric bilateralization or added brain structures. It has been suggested that these changes reflect compensation for less effective networks to enable optimal performance. One way that communication can be influenced within and between brain networks is through oscillatory events that help structure and synchronize incoming and outgoing information. It is unknown how aging impacts local oscillatory activity within the basolateral complex of the amygdala (BLA). The present study recorded local field potentials (LFPs) and single units in old and young rats during the performance of tasks that involve discrimination learning and probabilistic decision making. We found task- and age-specific increases in power selectively within the β range (15–30 Hz). The increased β power occurred after lever presses, as old animals reached the goal location. Periods of high-power β developed over training days in the aged rats, and was greatest in early trials of a session. β Power was also greater after pressing for the large reward option. These data suggest that aging of BLA networks results in strengthened synchrony of β oscillations when older animals are learning or deciding between rewards of different size. Whether this increased synchrony reflects the neural basis of a compensatory strategy change of old animals in reward-based decision-making tasks, remains to be verified. PMID:29034315

VLSI implementation of a bio-inspired olfactory spiking neural network.

PubMed

Hsieh, Hung-Yi; Tang, Kea-Tiong

2012-07-01

This paper presents a low-power, neuromorphic spiking neural network (SNN) chip that can be integrated in an electronic nose system to classify odor. The proposed SNN takes advantage of sub-threshold oscillation and onset-latency representation to reduce power consumption and chip area, providing a more distinct output for each odor input. The synaptic weights between the mitral and cortical cells are modified according to an spike-timing-dependent plasticity learning rule. During the experiment, the odor data are sampled by a commercial electronic nose (Cyranose 320) and are normalized before training and testing to ensure that the classification result is only caused by learning. Measurement results show that the circuit only consumed an average power of approximately 3.6 μW with a 1-V power supply to discriminate odor data. The SNN has either a high or low output response for a given input odor, making it easy to determine whether the circuit has made the correct decision. The measurement result of the SNN chip and some well-known algorithms (support vector machine and the K-nearest neighbor program) is compared to demonstrate the classification performance of the proposed SNN chip.The mean testing accuracy is 87.59% for the data used in this paper.

Nursing Students' and Faculty Members' Experiences of Comfort during Transition to Context-Based Learning.

PubMed

Puplampu, Vivian

2017-07-28

There is evidence supporting student-centered learning (SCL) as an effective pedagogy to prepare professionals to work in the evolving health care system of the twenty-first century. SCL has many benefits, among them that it helps students to learn to work in teams and develop problem-solving, critical thinking and communication skills. The focus on the student means that the teacher's power is decreased. This, along with openness of the approach, can make the transition to SCL a challenge. This study used an exploratory descriptive qualitative design to explore how comfortable nursing students and faculty members were in a context-based learning (CBL) program, a version of SCL. Nursing students and faculty discussed common challenges of trusting the CBL process. They also discussed the emphasis on self-directed learning and how it could mean that tutors are not as involved with students. To enhance a smooth transition, recommendations have been made, including clarifying the CBL philosophy at orientation, and mentoring and reassuring students.

The power of print reading: comics in the classroom.

PubMed

Gabaron, Sabine

2017-09-01

Evidence from neuroscience and psychological studies supporting benefits of print reading over digital reading has recently been discussed in these columns (Perbal 2017 J. Cell Commun. Signal. 11:1-4). In the present commentary, I would like to add my perspective as a Humanities educator, and build upon the idea that print reading results in better comprehension, learning and communication. The argumentation that is presented herein is based on a study performed in a French Comics language class aimed at broadening students' knowledge and experience of graphic novels, and providing them with a cultural representation in the foreign language. The results that are discussed in this commentary indicate that upon reading printed books students created connections for a more meaningful learning experience, leading to personal growth and linguistic development. The impact these graphic novels had on students' learning capacity and relationship to reading was tremendous. The kinesthetic relationship with printed text was deeply enriching and gratifying. The stimulatory effects on their imagination allowed for a more creative reading, and a deeper comprehension, resulting in meaningful communication.

Role playing games for scientific citizenship

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gaydos, Matthew J.; Squire, Kurt D.

2012-12-01

Research has shown that video games can be good for learning, particularly for STEM topics. However, in order for games to be scalable and sustainable, associated research must move beyond considerations of efficacy towards theories that account for classroom ecologies of students and teachers. This study asks how a digital game called Citizen Science, built using tropes and conventions from modern games, might help learners develop identities as citizen scientists within the domain of lake ecology. We conducted an expert-novice study, revealing that games literacy was a mediating variable for content understanding. In a follow-up classroom implementation, games literacy also operated as a variable, although students drove the activity, which mediated this concern. The teacher devised a number of novel pedagogies, such as a field trip, in response to the unit. We found evidence for the most powerful learning occurring through these activities that were reinforced via the curriculum. Students were most engaged by Citizen Science's most "gamelike" features, and learners took up the core ideas of the game. Users also reported the experience was short of commercial gaming experiences, suggesting a tension between game cultures for learning and schools.

Interactive E-learning module in pharmacology: a pilot project at a rural medical college in India.

PubMed

Gaikwad, Nitin; Tankhiwale, Suresh

2014-01-01

Many medical educators are experimenting with innovative ways of E-learning. E-learning provides opportunities to students for self-directed learning in addition to other advantages. In this study, we designed and evaluated an interactive E-learning module in pharmacology for effectiveness, acceptability and feasibility, with the aim of promoting active learning in this fact-filled subject. A quasi-experimental single-group pre-test/post-test study was conducted with fourth-semester students of the second professionals course (II MBBS), selected using non-probability convenience sampling method. An E-learning module in endocrine pharmacology was designed to comprise three units of interactive PowerPoint presentations. The pre-validated presentations were uploaded on the website according to a predefined schedule and the 42 registered students were encouraged to self-learning using these interactive presentations. Cognitive gain was assessed using an online pre- and post-test for each unit. Students' perceptions were recorded using an online feedback questionnaire on a 5-point Likert scale. Finally, focused group discussion was conducted to further explore students' views on E-learning activity. Significant attrition was observed during the E-learning activity. Of the 42 registered students, only 16 students completed the entire E-learning module. The summed average score of all three units (entire module) was increased significantly from 38.42 % (summed average pre-test score: 11.56/30 ± 2.90) to 66.46 % (summed average post-test score: 19.94/30 ± 6.13). The class-average normalized gain for the entire module was 0.4542 (45.42). The students accepted this E-learning activity well as they perceived it to be innovative, convenient, flexible and useful. The average rating was between 4 (agree) and 5 (strongly agree). The interactive E-learning module in pharmacology was moderately effective and well perceived by the students. The simple, cost-effective and readily available Microsoft PowerPoint tool appealed to medical educators to use this kind of simple E-learning technology blended with traditional teaching to encourage active learning among students especially in a rural setup is attractive.

Students' Preferred Characteristics of Learning Environments in Vocational Secondary Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Placklé, Ingeborg; Könings, Karen D.; Jacquet, Wolfgang; Struyven, Katrien; Libotton, Arno; van Merriënboer, Jeroen J. G.; Engels, Nadine

2014-01-01

If teachers and teacher educators are willing to support the learning of students, it is important for them to learn what motivates students to engage in learning. Students have their own preferences on design characteristics of powerful learning environments in vocational education. We developed an instrument--the Inventory Powerful Learning…

Students' Preferred Characteristics of Learning Environments in Vocational Secondary Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Placklé, Ingeborg; Könings, Karen D.; Jacquet, Wolfgang; Struyven, Katrien; Libotton, Arno; van Merriënboer, Jeroen J. G.; Engels, Nadine

2014-01-01

If teachers and teacher educators are willing to support the learning of students, it is important for them to learn what motivates students to engage in learning. Students have their own preferences on design characteristics of powerful learning environments in vocational education. We developed an instrument - the Inventory Powerful Learning…

SU-F-P-20: Predicting Waiting Times in Radiation Oncology Using Machine Learning

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

Joseph, A; Herrera, D; Hijal, T

Purpose: Waiting times remain one of the most vexing patient satisfaction challenges facing healthcare. Waiting time uncertainty can cause patients, who are already sick or in pain, to worry about when they will receive the care they need. These waiting periods are often difficult for staff to predict and only rough estimates are typically provided based on personal experience. This level of uncertainty leaves most patients unable to plan their calendar, making the waiting experience uncomfortable, even painful. In the present era of electronic health records (EHRs), waiting times need not be so uncertain. Extensive EHRs provide unprecedented amounts ofmore » data that can statistically cluster towards representative values when appropriate patient cohorts are selected. Predictive modelling, such as machine learning, is a powerful approach that benefits from large, potentially complex, datasets. The essence of machine learning is to predict future outcomes by learning from previous experience. The application of a machine learning algorithm to waiting time data has the potential to produce personalized waiting time predictions such that the uncertainty may be removed from the patient’s waiting experience. Methods: In radiation oncology, patients typically experience several types of waiting (eg waiting at home for treatment planning, waiting in the waiting room for oncologist appointments and daily waiting in the waiting room for radiotherapy treatments). A daily treatment wait time model is discussed in this report. To develop a prediction model using our large dataset (with more than 100k sample points) a variety of machine learning algorithms from the Python package sklearn were tested. Results: We found that the Random Forest Regressor model provides the best predictions for daily radiotherapy treatment waiting times. Using this model, we achieved a median residual (actual value minus predicted value) of 0.25 minutes and a standard deviation residual of 6.5 minutes. This means that the majority of our estimates are within 6.5 minutes of the actual wait time. Conclusion: The goal of this project was to define an appropriate machine learning algorithm to estimate waiting times based on the collective knowledge and experience learned from previous patients. Our results offer an opportunity to improve the information that is provided to patients and family members regarding the amount of time they can expect to wait for radiotherapy treatment at our centre. AJ acknowledges support by the CREATE Medical Physics Research Training Network grant of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (Grant number: 432290) and from the 2014 Q+ Initiative of the McGill University Health Centre.« less

Journey of Struggling Writers: Students with Learning Disabilities Make Progress in a Fourth Grade Inclusion Model Class

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jacobs, Patricia

2012-01-01

The ability to write well is more important today than ever to prepare students for success in school and later in the 21st century global workplace. When children are able to express their knowledge and their beliefs in writing they experience the joy and power of making an impact on the world and reaching to their full potential. Children with…

TASC: Thinking Actively in a Social Context. A Universal Problem-Solving Process--A Powerful Tool to Promote Differentiated Learning Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wallace, Belle; Bernardelli, Alessio; Molyneux, Clare; Farrell, Clare

2012-01-01

All children are born with the gifts of curiosity and creativity--and an insatiable appetite for asking questions to find out about the world in which they live. Fostering these questions and developing inquisitive and investigating minds is one of the essential roles of parent and teacher, and the processes of enquiry are the necessary routes for…

Teaching introductory undergraduate physics using commercial video games

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohanty, Soumya D.; Cantu, Sergio

2011-09-01

Commercial video games are increasingly using sophisticated physics simulations to create a more immersive experience for players. This also makes them a powerful tool for engaging students in learning physics. We provide some examples to show how commercial off-the-shelf games can be used to teach specific topics in introductory undergraduate physics. The examples are selected from a course taught predominantly through the medium of commercial video games.

"I like the Americans...but I Certainly Don't Aim for an American Accent": Language Attitudes, Vitality and Foreign Language Learning in Denmark

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ladegaard, Hans J.; Sachdev, Itesh

2006-01-01

The power and status of America in the world today are undeniable. This paper presents some empirical data about the attitudes and perceptions Danish learners of EFL have about British and American English. Ninety-six EFL learners participated in a verbal-guise experiment that involved rating different accents of English: American, Australian,…

Satellite Power System (SPS) student participation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ladwig, A.; David, L.

1978-01-01

A assessment of methods which are appropriate to initiate student participation in the discussion of a satellite power system (SPS) is presented. Methods which are incorporated into the campus environment and the on-going learning experience are reported. The discussion of individual methods for student participation includes a description of the technique, followed by comments on its enhancing and limiting factors, references to situations where the method has been demonstrated, and a brief consideration of cost factors. The two categories of recommendations presented are: an outline of fourteen recommendations addressing specific activities related to student participation in the discussion of SPS, and three recommendations pertaining to student participation activities in general.

Voices from the heart: the use of digital story telling in education.

PubMed

Matthews, Jackie

2014-01-01

Digital storytelling has emerged as a powerful teaching and learning tool, which presents personal narratives, images and music to create a unique and sometimes emotional snapshot into another person's experience. By offering a platform for sharing and understanding such narratives, professionals may gain insight into a perceived experience and construct their role accordingly. Used effectively, they can engage the listener and offer opportunity to reflect and consider the impact of their professional role on the storyteller. This article looks at how digital storytelling can enhance professional practice and enable vulnerable voices to be heard.

Associative memory advantage in grapheme-color synesthetes compared to older, but not young adults

PubMed Central

Pfeifer, Gaby; Rothen, Nicolas; Ward, Jamie; Chan, Dennis; Sigala, Natasha

2014-01-01

People with grapheme-color synesthesia perceive enriched experiences of colors in response to graphemes (letters, digits). In this study, we examined whether these synesthetes show a generic associative memory advantage for stimuli that do not elicit a synesthetic color. We used a novel between group design (14 young synesthetes, 14 young, and 14 older adults) with a self-paced visual associative learning paradigm and subsequent retrieval (immediate and delayed). Non-synesthesia inducing, achromatic fractal pair-associates were manipulated in visual similarity (high and low) and corresponded to high and low memory load conditions. The main finding was a learning and retrieval advantage of synesthetes relative to older, but not to younger, adults. Furthermore, the significance testing was supported with effect size measures and power calculations. Differences between synesthetes and older adults were found during dissimilar pair (high memory load) learning and retrieval at immediate and delayed stages. Moreover, we found a medium size difference between synesthetes and young adults for similar pair (low memory load) learning. Differences between young and older adults were also observed during associative learning and retrieval, but were of medium effect size coupled with low power. The results show a subtle associative memory advantage in synesthetes for non-synesthesia inducing stimuli, which can be detected against older adults. They also indicate that perceptual mechanisms (enhanced in synesthesia, declining as part of the aging process) can translate into a generic associative memory advantage, and may contribute to associative deficits accompanying healthy aging. PMID:25071664

Young children's emotional practices while engaged in long-term science investigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zembylas, Michalinos

2004-09-01

In this article, the role of young children's emotional practices in science learning is described and analyzed. From the standpoint of performativity theory and social-constructionist theory of emotion, it is argued that emotion is performative and the expression of emotion in the classroom has its basis in social relationships. Arising from these relationships is the emotional culture of the classroom that plays a key role in the development of classroom emotional rules as well as the legitimation of science knowledge. These relationships are reflected in two levels of classroom dialogue: talking about and doing science, and expressing emotions about science and its learning. The dynamics of the negotiations of classroom emotional rules and science knowledge legitimation may dispose students to act positively or negatively toward science learning. This analysis is illustrated in the experiences of a teacher and her students during a 3-year ethnographic study of emotions in science teaching and learning. This research suggests the importance of the interrelationship between emotions and science learning and the notion that emotional practices can be powerful in nurturing effective and exciting science learning environments.

Is testing a more effective learning strategy than note-taking?

PubMed

Rummer, Ralf; Schweppe, Judith; Gerst, Kathleen; Wagner, Simon

2017-09-01

The testing effect is both robust and generalizable. However, most of the underlying studies compare testing to a rather ineffective control condition: massed repeated reading. This article therefore compares testing with note-taking, which has been shown to be more effective than repeated reading. Experiment 1 is based on a 3 × 3 between-participants design with the factors learning condition (repeated reading vs. repeated testing vs. repeated note-taking) and final test delay (5 min vs. 1 week vs. 2 weeks). It shows that in the immediate condition, learning performance is best after note-taking. After 1 week, both the note-taking and the testing groups outperform the rereading group, and after 2 weeks, testing is superior to both note-taking and rereading. Since repeated notetaking may not be the most effective (and common) operationalization of note-taking, Experiment 2 contrasts repeated testing with 2 other note-taking conditions: note-taking plus note-reading and note-taking plus testing (with only a 2-week final test delay). Both conditions that include a testing phase result in better long-term learning than note-taking plus note-reading. In summary, our findings indicate that-in the long run-testing is a powerful learning tool both in isolation and in combination with note-taking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Our Practice, Their Readiness: Teacher Educators Collaborate to Explore and Improve Preservice Teacher Readiness for Science and Math Instruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Steele, Astrid; Brew, Christine; Rees, Carol; Ibrahim-Khan, Sheliza

2013-02-01

Since many preservice teachers (PTs) display anxiety over teaching math and science, four PT educators collaborated to better understand the PTs' background experiences and attitudes toward those subjects. The research project provided two avenues for professional learning: the data collected from the PTs and the opportunity for collaborative action research. The mixed method study focused on: the relationship between gender and undergraduate major (science versus non-science) with respect to previous and current engagement in science and math, understanding the processes of inquiry, and learning outside the classroom. A field trip to a science center provided the setting for the data collection. From a sample of 132 PTs, a multivariate analysis showed that the science major of PTs explained most of the gender differences with respect to the PTs' attitudes toward science and mathematics. The process of inquiry is generally poorly interpreted by PTs, and non-science majors prefer a more social approach in their learning to teach science and math. The four educators/collaborators reflect on the impacts of the research on their individual practices, for example, the need to: include place-based learning, attend to the different learning strategies taken by non-science majors, emphasize social and environmental contexts for learning science and math, be more explicit regarding the processes of science inquiry, and provide out-of-classroom experiences for PTs. They conclude that the collaboration, though difficult at times, provided powerful opportunities for examining individual praxis.

The roots of physics students' motivations: Fear and integrity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Van Dusen, Ben

Too often, physics students are beset by feelings of failure and isolation rather than experiencing the creative joys of discovery that physics has to offer. This dissertation research was founded on the desire of a teacher to make physics class exciting and motivating to his students. This work explores how various aspects of learning environments interact with student motivation. This work uses qualitative and quantitative methods to explore how students are motivated to engage in physics and how they feel about themselves while engaging in physics. The collection of four studies in this dissertation culminates in a sociocultural perspective on motivation and identity. This perspective uses two extremes of how students experience physics as a lens for understanding motivation: fear and self-preservation versus integrity and self-expression. Rather than viewing motivation as a property of the student, or viewing students as inherently interested or disinterested in physics, the theoretical perspective on motivation and identity helps examine features of the learning environments that determine how students' experience themselves through physics class. This perspective highlights the importance of feeling a sense of belonging in the context of physics and the power that teachers have in shaping students' motivation through the construction of their classroom learning environments. Findings demonstrate how different ways that students experience themselves in physics class impact their performance and interest in physics. This dissertation concludes with a set of design principles that can foster integration and integrity among students in physics learning environments.

STEM the Boredom: Engage Students in the Australian Curriculum Using ICT with Problem-Based Learning and Assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Newhouse, Christopher Paul

2017-02-01

The well-being of modern economies and societies is increasingly requiring citizens to possess capabilities in integrating knowledge and skills in science, technology, engineering and science to solve problems. However, by the end of schooling, the majority of Australian students show little interest in these discipline areas and have no plans to continue study or work in them; many refer to these disciplines as boring. Further, they typically have little experience in integrating knowledge and skills from these disciplines and/or in applying this to solve relevant problems. Therefore, there is a need to engage students with such learning experiences to develop their interest and capabilities, particularly during the early years of secondary schooling. This is not easy for teachers to respond to, but with the support of modern digital technologies and the new Australian curriculum, the potential is expanded and the challenge is more readily achievable. However, appropriate pedagogies need to be supported that include more authentic approaches to assessment. Learning activities need to support students to integrate knowledge and skills across discipline areas in tackling real problems, and this also needs to be reflected in how students are assessed. In this paper, I will draw on personal experience as a teacher, a review of recent literature, components of the Australian Curriculum, and findings from research projects associated with my University research centre, to argue for, and illustrate how, teachers can orchestrate powerful learning activities to promote an interdisciplinary approach to STEM.

Using Hawkeye from the Avengers to communicate on the eye.

PubMed

Fitzgerald, Barry W

2018-03-01

Superheroes, such as Iron Man, Captain America, Wonder Woman, Batman, and Hawkeye, have appeared in numerous films, displaying their range of incredible superpowers and abilities. Therefore, it is unsurprising that many people would not only wish to attain these powers, but also to learn about scientific accessibility to these powers. Popular culture characters such as superheroes can provide a unique platform for the communication of difficult scientific concepts. In the classroom, these characters can be used to communicate learning objectives to students in an interesting, fun, and accessible manner by taking advantage of student familiarity with the characters. Hawkeye, a member of the Avengers, is one such superhero who can be utilized by educators. His powers can be attributed in part to his advanced eyesight, which has physiological aspects in common with many birds of prey. Hence, Hawkeye can instigate discussion on the physiology of the human eye, while also allowing for comparison with other species, such as birds of prey, and reflection on advancements related to genetic engineering and wearable technologies. In addition, in my experience, Hawkeye has proven to be a highly suitable popular culture character for use in scientific communication and outreach.

Grim fairy tale of government regulation

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

Koch, L.J.

1985-01-24

Efforts to guarantee public safety may actually thwart the use of benefits afforded us by technology. Some of the lessons to be learned from the regulatory experience of the nuclear power industry can apply to the aircraft and other industries if Congress passes the enabling legislation. What they show is that increased regulation can destroy the aircraft industry as fast as it has the nuclear industry by establishing unrealistic safety, emergency, licensing, and other requirements that threaten its viability. The US will feel the impact of rejecting nuclear power when it can no longer compete with the countries which electedmore » to use nuclear power because they could not afford to do otherwise. The author outlines steps the Congress and American Public must take to revive the nuclear industry.« less

Leveraging the Power of Place: A New Commitment to Personalizing Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liebtag, Emily

2018-01-01

Personalized learning offers instruction that matches students' learning preferences and specific interests. Taking innovative approaches to engaging with students' individual contexts and interests through place-based education can be particularly meaningful. Place-based education (PBE) is anytime, anywhere learning that leverages the power of…

Intersections of Critical Systems Thinking and Community Based Participatory Research: A Learning Organization Example with the Autistic Community

PubMed Central

Raymaker, Dora M

2016-01-01

Critical systems thinking (CST) and community based participatory research (CBPR) are distinct approaches to inquiry which share a primary commitment to holism and human emancipation, as well as common grounding in critical theory and emancipatory and pragmatic philosophy. This paper explores their intersections and complements on a historical, philosophical, and theoretical level, and then proposes a hybrid approach achieved by applying CBPR's principles and considerations for operationalizing emancipatory practice to traditional systems thinking frameworks and practices. This hybrid approach is illustrated in practice with examples drawn from of the implementation of the learning organization model in an action research setting with the Autistic community. Our experience of being able to actively attend to, and continuously equalize, power relations within an organizational framework that otherwise has great potential for reinforcing power inequity suggests CBPR's principles and considerations for operationalizing emancipatory practice could be useful in CST settings, and CST's vocabulary, methods, and clarity around systems thinking concepts could be valuable to CBPR practioners. PMID:27833398

Theodore E. Woodward Award: Spare Me the Powerpoint and Bring Back the Medical Textbook

PubMed Central

Southwick, Frederick S.

2007-01-01

A tutorial for 4th year medical students revealed absent long-term retention of microbiology and infectious disease facts taught during the 2nd year. Students were suffering from the Ziegarnik effect, the loss of memory after completion of a task. PowerPoint lectures and PowerPoint notes combined with multiple-choice questions may have encouraged this outcome; this teaching format was also associated with minimal use of the course textbook. During the subsequent year, active learning techniques, Just-in-Time Teaching (JiTT) and Peer Instruction (PI) were used, and instructors specifically taught from the textbook. Essays and short answer questions were combined with multiple-choice questions to encourage understanding and recall. Performance on the National Board Shelf exam improved from the 59th percentile (2002–2004) to the 83rd percentile (2005), and textbook use increased from 1.6% to 79%. This experience demonstrates that strategies incorporating active learning and textbook use correlate with striking improvement in medical student performance. PMID:18528495

Intersections of Critical Systems Thinking and Community Based Participatory Research: A Learning Organization Example with the Autistic Community.

PubMed

Raymaker, Dora M

2016-10-01

Critical systems thinking (CST) and community based participatory research (CBPR) are distinct approaches to inquiry which share a primary commitment to holism and human emancipation, as well as common grounding in critical theory and emancipatory and pragmatic philosophy. This paper explores their intersections and complements on a historical, philosophical, and theoretical level, and then proposes a hybrid approach achieved by applying CBPR's principles and considerations for operationalizing emancipatory practice to traditional systems thinking frameworks and practices. This hybrid approach is illustrated in practice with examples drawn from of the implementation of the learning organization model in an action research setting with the Autistic community. Our experience of being able to actively attend to, and continuously equalize, power relations within an organizational framework that otherwise has great potential for reinforcing power inequity suggests CBPR's principles and considerations for operationalizing emancipatory practice could be useful in CST settings, and CST's vocabulary, methods, and clarity around systems thinking concepts could be valuable to CBPR practioners.

Data Mining Student Answers with Moodle to Investigate Learning Pathways in an Introductory Geohazards Course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sit, S. M.; Brudzinski, M. R.; Colella, H. V.

2012-12-01

The recent growth of online learning in higher education is primarily motivated by a desire to (a) increase the availability of learning experiences for learners who cannot, or choose not, to attend traditional face-to-face offerings, (b) assemble and disseminate instructional content more cost-efficiently, or (c) enable instructors to handle more students while maintaining a learning outcome quality that is equivalent to that of comparable face-to-face instruction. However, a less recognized incentive is that online learning also provides an opportunity for data mining, or efficient discovery of non-obvious valuable patterns from a large collection of data, that can be used to investigate learning pathways as opposed to focusing solely on assessing student outcomes. Course management systems that enable online courses provide a means to collect a vast amount of information to analyze students' behavior and the learning process in general. One of the most commonly used is Moodle (modular object-oriented developmental learning environment), a free learning management system that enables creation of powerful, flexible, and engaging online courses and experiences. In order to examine student learning pathways, the online learning modules we are constructing take advantage of Moodle capabilities to provide immediate formative feedback, verifying answers as correct or incorrect and elaborating on knowledge components to guide students towards the correct answer. By permitting multiple attempts in which credit is diminished for each incorrect answer, we provide opportunities to use data mining strategies to assess thousands of students' actions for evidence of problem solving strategies and mastery of concepts. We will show preliminary results from application of this approach to a ~90 student introductory geohazard course that is migrating toward online instruction. We hope more continuous assessment of students' performances will help generate cognitive models that can inform instructional redesign, improve overall efficiency of student learning, and, potentially, be used to create an intelligent tutoring system.

Children show heightened knew-it-all-along errors when learning new facts about kinds: Evidence for the power of kind representations in children's thinking.

PubMed

Sutherland, Shelbie L; Cimpian, Andrei

2015-08-01

Several proposals in the literature on conceptual development converge on the claim that information about kinds of things in the world has a privileged status in children's cognition, insofar as it is acquired, manipulated, and stored with surprising ease. Our goal in the present studies (N = 440) was to test a prediction of this claim. Specifically, if the early cognitive system privileges kind (or generic) information in the proposed ways, then learning new facts about kinds should be so seamless that it is often accompanied by an impression that these facts were known all along. To test this prediction, we presented 4- to 7-year-old children with novel kind-wide and individual-specific facts, and we then asked children whether they had prior knowledge of these facts. As predicted, children were under the impression that they had known the kind-wide facts more often than the individual-specific facts, even though in reality they had just learned both (Experiments 1, 2, 3, and 5). Importantly, learning facts about (nongeneric) plural sets of individuals was not similarly accompanied by heightened knew-it-all-along errors (Experiment 4), highlighting the privileged status of kind information per se. Finally, we found that young children were able to correctly recognize their previous ignorance of newly learned generic facts when this ignorance was made salient before the learning event (Experiment 6), suggesting that children's frequent knew-it-all-along impressions about such facts truly stem from metacognitive difficulties rather than being a methodological artifact. In sum, these 6 studies indicate that learning information about kinds is accompanied by heightened knew-it-all-along errors. More broadly, this evidence supports the view that early cognition privileges kind representations. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Modeling cascading diffusion of new energy technologies: case study of residential solid oxide fuel cells in the US and internationally.

PubMed

Herron, Seth; Williams, Eric

2013-08-06

Subsidy programs for new energy technologies are motivated by the experience curve: increased adoption of a technology leads to learning and economies of scale that lower costs. Geographic differences in fuel prices and climate lead to large variability in the economic performance of energy technologies. The notion of cascading diffusion is that regions with favorable economic conditions serve as the basis to build scale and reduce costs so that the technology becomes attractive in new regions. We develop a model of cascading diffusion and implement via a case study of residential solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) for combined heating and power. We consider diffusion paths within the U.S. and internationally. We construct market willingness-to-pay curves and estimate future manufacturing costs via an experience curve. Combining market and cost results, we find that for rapid cost reductions (learning rate = 25%), a modest public subsidy can make SOFC investment profitable for 20-160 million households. If cost reductions are slow however (learning rate = 15%), residential SOFCs may not become economically competitive. Due to higher energy prices in some countries, international diffusion is more favorable than domestic, mitigating much of the uncertainty in the learning rate.

Empowering Underachieving Adolescents: An Emancipatory Learning Perspective on Underachievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ren, Kai; Deakin Crick, Ruth

2013-01-01

The article reports on an empirical study into underachievement of 14-year-old students in four English schools by drawing upon learning power theory and practice. The study examined the characteristic learning power profiles of underachieving and overachieving adolescents, and then used student learning profiles diagnostically to support the…

The Role of Formal Experiment Design in Hypersonic Flight System Technology Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McClinton, Charles R.; Ferlemann, Shelly M.; Rock, Ken E.; Ferlemann, Paul G.

2002-01-01

Hypersonic airbreathing engine (scramjet) powered vehicles are being considered to replace conventional rocket-powered launch systems. Effective utilization of scramjet engines requires careful integration with the air vehicle. This integration synergistically combines aerodynamic forces with propulsive cycle functions of the engine. Due to the highly integrated nature of the hypersonic vehicle design problem, the large flight envelope, and the large number of design variables, the use of a statistical design approach in design is effective. Modern Design-of-Experiments (MDOE) has been used throughout the Hyper-X program, for both systems analysis and experimental testing. Application of MDOE fall into four categories: (1) experimental testing; (2) studies of unit phenomena; (3) refining engine design; and (4) full vehicle system optimization. The MDOE process also provides analytical models, which are also used to document lessons learned, supplement low-level design tools, and accelerate future studies. This paper will discuss the design considerations for scramjet-powered vehicles, specifics of MDOE utilized for Hyper-X, and present highlights from the use of these MDOE methods within the Hyper-X Program.

Achieving across-laboratory replicability in psychophysical scaling

PubMed Central

Ward, Lawrence M.; Baumann, Michael; Moffat, Graeme; Roberts, Larry E.; Mori, Shuji; Rutledge-Taylor, Matthew; West, Robert L.

2015-01-01

It is well known that, although psychophysical scaling produces good qualitative agreement between experiments, precise quantitative agreement between experimental results, such as that routinely achieved in physics or biology, is rarely or never attained. A particularly galling example of this is the fact that power function exponents for the same psychological continuum, measured in different laboratories but ostensibly using the same scaling method, magnitude estimation, can vary by a factor of three. Constrained scaling (CS), in which observers first learn a standardized meaning for a set of numerical responses relative to a standard sensory continuum and then make magnitude judgments of other sensations using the learned response scale, has produced excellent quantitative agreement between individual observers’ psychophysical functions. Theoretically it could do the same for across-laboratory comparisons, although this needs to be tested directly. We compared nine different experiments from four different laboratories as an example of the level of across experiment and across-laboratory agreement achievable using CS. In general, we found across experiment and across-laboratory agreement using CS to be significantly superior to that typically obtained with conventional magnitude estimation techniques, although some of its potential remains to be realized. PMID:26191019

How do early emotional experiences in the operating theatre influence medical student learning in this environment?

PubMed

Bowrey, David J; Kidd, Jane M

2014-01-01

The emotions experienced by medical students on first exposure to the operating theatre are unknown. It is also unclear what influence these emotions have on the learning process. To understand the emotions experienced by students when in the operating theatre for the first time and the impact of these emotions on learning. Nine 3rd-year medical students participated in semistructured interviews to explore these themes. A qualitative approach was used; interviews were transcribed and coded thematically. All participants reported initial negative emotions (apprehension, anxiety, fear, shame, overwhelmed), with excitement being reported by 3. Six participants considered that their anxiety was so overwhelming that it was detrimental to their learning. Participants described a period of familiarization to the environment, after which learning was facilitated. Early learning experiences centered around adjustment to the physical environment of the operating theatre. Factors driving initial negative feelings were loss of familiarity, organizational issues, concerns about violating protocol, and a fear of syncope. Participants considered that it took a median of 1 week (range = 1 day-3 weeks) or 5 visits to the operating theatre (range = 1-10) before feeling comfortable in the new setting. Emotions experienced on subsequent visits to the operating theatre were predominantly positive (enjoyment, happiness, confident, involved, pride). Two participants reported negative feelings related to social exclusion. Being included in the team was a powerful determinant of enjoyment. These findings indicate that for learning in the operating theatre to be effective, addressing the negative emotions of the students might be beneficial. This could be achieved by a formal orientation program for both learners and tutors in advance of attendance in the operating theatre. For learning to be optimized, students must feel a sense of inclusion in the theatre community of practice.

Photovoltaic balance-of-system designs and costs at PVUSA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reyes, A. B.; Jennings, C.

1995-05-01

This report is one in a series of 1994-1995 PVUSA reports that document PVUSA lessons learned at demonstration sites in California and Texas. During the last 7 years (1988 to 1994), 16 PV systems ranging from 20 kW to 500 kW have been installed. Six 20-kW emerging module technology (EMT) arrays and three turnkey (i.e., vendor designed and integrated) utility-scale systems were procured and installed at PVUSA's main test site in Davis, California. PVUSA host utilities have installed a total of seven EMT arrays and utility-scale systems in their service areas. Additional systems at Davis and host utility sites are planned. One of PVUSA's key objectives is to evaluate the performance, reliability, and cost of PV balance-of-system (BOS). In the procurement stage PVUSA encouraged innovative design to improve upon present practice by reducing maintenance, improving reliability, or lowering manufacturing or construction costs. The project team worked closely with suppliers during the design stage not only to ensure designs met functional and safety specifications, but to provide suggestions for improvement. This report, intended for the photovoltaic (PV) industry and for utility project managers and engineers considering PV plant construction and ownership, documents PVUSA utility-scale system design and cost lessons learned. Complementary PVUSA topical reports document: construction and safety experience; five-year assessment of EMTs; validation of the Kerman 500-kW grid-support PV plant benefits; PVUSA instrumentation and data analysis techniques; procurement, acceptance, and rating practices for PV power plants; experience with power conditioning units and power quality.

Privilege, power, and public health programs: a student perspective on deconstructing institutional racism in community service learning.

PubMed

Taboada, Arianna

2011-01-01

The Association of Schools of Public Health has identified "diversity and culture" as 1 of 7 crosscutting competencies that public health students are expected to achieve. This competency is traditionally incorporated into the curriculum through a community service-learning (CSL) component that aims to expose students to racial/ethnic health disparities. However, this model of CSL is problematic because although students are directly engaging with community members, it does not ensure long-term sustainable changes or benefits for the host community. Moreover, academic institutions have developed significant critiques of traditional CSL models where white middle-class students engage with low-income clients and communities of color, potentially reinforcing Eurocentric power and privilege. As such, public health programs require a shift in both pedagogy and curricula that more directly addresses underlying institutional racism in health disparities. Consistent with the principles of public health, a social justice framework is imperative in teaching cultural competency and should facilitate discussion of racial injustice and privilege in the students' own lives. This brief presents an autobiographical personal narrative of my experiences with CSL as a racial/ethnic minority student in a California graduate school of public health. Although autoethnography is inherently limited, this brief highlights my observations of the limitations of the service-learning model to adequately educate students on the intersection of racism and health outcomes. In addition, the brief includes suggestions for creating inclusive curricula that critically examine issues of privilege, oppression, and power dynamics related to race/ethnicity.

Advanced Electron Microscopy and Micro analytical technique development and application for Irradiated TRISO Coated Particles from the AGR-1 Experiment

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

Van Rooyen, Isabella Johanna; Lillo, Thomas Martin; Wen, Haiming

2017-01-01

A series of up to seven irradiation experiments are planned for the Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR) Fuel Development and Quantification Program, with irradiation completed at the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) for the first experiment (i.e., AGR-1) in November 2009 for an effective 620 full power days. The objective of the AGR-1 experiment was primarily to provide lessons learned on the multi-capsule test train design and to provide early data on fuel performance for use in fuel fabrication process development and post-irradiation safety testing data at high temperatures. This report describes the advanced microscopy and micro-analysismore » results on selected AGR-1 coated particles.« less

Experiment-o-mania

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drndarski, Marina

2015-04-01

Every 21st century student is expected to develop science literacy skills. As this is not part of Serbian national curriculum yet, we decided to introduce it with this project. Experiment-o-mania provides students to experience science in different and exciting way. It makes opportunity for personalized learning offering space and time to ask (why, where, how, what if) and to try. Therefore, we empower young people with skills of experimenting, and they love science back. They ask questions, make hypothesis, make problems and solve them, make mistakes, discuss about the results. Subsequently this raises the students' interest for school curriculum. This vision of science teaching is associated with inquiry-based learning. Experiment-o-mania is the unique and recognizable teaching methodology for the elementary school Drinka Pavlović, Belgrade, Serbia. Experiment-o-mania implies activities throughout the school year. They are held on extra class sessions, through science experiments, science projects or preparations for School's Days of science. Students learn to ask questions, make observations, classify data, communicate ideas, conduct experiments, analyse results and make conclusions. All science teachers participate in designing activities and experiments for students in Experiment-o-mania teaching method. But they are not alone. Teacher of fine arts, English teachers and others also take part. Students have their representatives in this team, too. This is a good way to blend knowledge among different school subject and popularize science in general. All the experiments are age appropriate and related to real life situations, local community, society and the world. We explore Fibonacci's arrays, saving energy, solar power, climate change, environmental problems, pollution, daily life situations in the country or worldwide. We introduce great scientists as Nikola Tesla, Milutin Milanković and sir Isaac Newton. We celebrate all relevant international days, weeks, months or years (this year, 2015. the students will prepare opera science for celebrate the International Year of Light and International Year of Soils). Experiment-o-mania makes science teaching and learning exciting for teachers as well as for students. The acquisition of this kind of teaching method (and its frequency) empowers students and become self-regulated learners, independent, to creatively solve problems, to innovate, to truly understand and appreciate science and to better understand themselves and the world around them.

[Recontextualization of nursing clinical simulation based on Basil Bernstein: semiology of pedagogical practice].

PubMed

dos Santos, Mateus Casanova; Leite, Maria Cecília Lorea; Heck, Rita Maria

2010-12-01

This is an investigative case study with descriptive and participative character, based on an educational experience with the Simulation in Nursing learning trigger. It was carried out during the second semester of the first cycle of Faculdade de Enfermagem (FEN), Universidade Federal de Pelotas (UFPel). The aim is to study the recontextualization of pedagogic practice of simulation-based theories developed by Basil Bernstein, an education sociologist, and to contribute with the improvement process of education planning, and especially the evaluation of learning trigger. The research shows that Bernstein's theory is a powerful tool semiotic pedagogical of practices which contributes to the planning and analysis of curricular educational device.

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.

Technical Basis and Implementation Guidelines for a Technique for Human Event Analysis (ATHEANA)

DTIC Science & Technology

2000-05-01

posted at NRC’s Web site address www.nrc.gov/NRC/NUREGS/indexnum.html are updated regularly and may differ from the last printed version. Non-NRC...distinctly different in that it provides structured search schemes for finding such EFCs, by using and integrating knowledge and experience in...Learned from Serious Accidents The record of significant incidents in nuclear power plant NPP operations shows a substantially different picture of

The power of competition: Effects of social motivation on attention, sustained physical effort, and learning.

PubMed

DiMenichi, Brynne C; Tricomi, Elizabeth

2015-01-01

Competition has often been implicated as a means to improve effort-based learning and attention. Two experiments examined the effects of competition on effort and memory. In Experiment 1, participants completed a physical effort task in which they were rewarded for winning an overall percentage, or for winning a competition they believed was against another player. In Experiment 2, participants completed a memory task in which they were rewarded for remembering an overall percentage of shapes, or more shapes than a "competitor." We found that, in the physical effort task, participants demonstrated faster reaction times (RTs)-a previous indicator of increased attention-in the competitive environment. Moreover, individual differences predicted the salience of competition's effect. Furthermore, male participants showed faster RTs and greater sustained effort as a result of a competitive environment, suggesting that males may be more affected by competition in physical effort tasks. However, in Experiment 2, participants remembered fewer shapes when competing, and later recalled less of these shapes during a post-test, suggesting that competition was harmful in our memory task. The different results from these two experiments suggest that competition can improve attention in a physical effort task, yet caution the use of competition in memory tasks.

The power of competition: Effects of social motivation on attention, sustained physical effort, and learning

PubMed Central

DiMenichi, Brynne C.; Tricomi, Elizabeth

2015-01-01

Competition has often been implicated as a means to improve effort-based learning and attention. Two experiments examined the effects of competition on effort and memory. In Experiment 1, participants completed a physical effort task in which they were rewarded for winning an overall percentage, or for winning a competition they believed was against another player. In Experiment 2, participants completed a memory task in which they were rewarded for remembering an overall percentage of shapes, or more shapes than a “competitor.” We found that, in the physical effort task, participants demonstrated faster reaction times (RTs)—a previous indicator of increased attention—in the competitive environment. Moreover, individual differences predicted the salience of competition’s effect. Furthermore, male participants showed faster RTs and greater sustained effort as a result of a competitive environment, suggesting that males may be more affected by competition in physical effort tasks. However, in Experiment 2, participants remembered fewer shapes when competing, and later recalled less of these shapes during a post-test, suggesting that competition was harmful in our memory task. The different results from these two experiments suggest that competition can improve attention in a physical effort task, yet caution the use of competition in memory tasks. PMID:26388801

Patients and families as teachers: a mixed methods assessment of a collaborative learning model for medical error disclosure and prevention.

PubMed

Langer, Thorsten; Martinez, William; Browning, David M; Varrin, Pamela; Sarnoff Lee, Barbara; Bell, Sigall K

2016-08-01

Despite growing interest in engaging patients and families (P/F) in patient safety education, little is known about how P/F can best contribute. We assessed the feasibility and acceptability of a patient-teacher medical error disclosure and prevention training model. We developed an educational intervention bringing together interprofessional clinicians with P/F from hospital advisory councils to discuss error disclosure and prevention. Patient focus groups and orientation sessions informed curriculum and assessment design. A pre-post survey with qualitative and quantitative questions was used to assess P/F and clinician experiences and attitudes about collaborative safety education including participant hopes, fears, perceived value of learning experience and challenges. Responses to open-ended questions were coded according to principles of content analysis. P/F and clinicians hoped to learn about each other's perspectives, communication skills and patient empowerment strategies. Before the intervention, both groups worried about power dynamics dampening effective interaction. Clinicians worried that P/F would learn about their fallibility, while P/F were concerned about clinicians' jargon and defensive posturing. Following workshops, clinicians valued patients' direct feedback, communication strategies for error disclosure and a 'real' learning experience. P/F appreciated clinicians' accountability, and insights into how medical errors affect clinicians. Half of participants found nothing challenging, the remainder clinicians cited emotions and enormity of 'culture change', while P/F commented on medical jargon and desire for more time. Patients and clinicians found the experience valuable. Recommendations about how to develop a patient-teacher programme in patient safety are provided. An educational paradigm that includes patients as teachers and collaborative learners with clinicians in patient safety is feasible, valued by clinicians and P/F and promising for P/F-centred medical error disclosure and prevention training. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Scheduled power tracking control of the wind-storage hybrid system based on the reinforcement learning theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Ze

2017-09-01

In allusion to the intermittency and uncertainty of the wind electricity, energy storage and wind generator are combined into a hybrid system to improve the controllability of the output power. A scheduled power tracking control method is proposed based on the reinforcement learning theory and Q-learning algorithm. In this method, the state space of the environment is formed with two key factors, i.e. the state of charge of the energy storage and the difference value between the actual wind power and scheduled power, the feasible action is the output power of the energy storage, and the corresponding immediate rewarding function is designed to reflect the rationality of the control action. By interacting with the environment and learning from the immediate reward, the optimal control strategy is gradually formed. After that, it could be applied to the scheduled power tracking control of the hybrid system. Finally, the rationality and validity of the method are verified through simulation examples.

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Analysis: Lessons Learned from Stationary Power Generation Final Report

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

Scott E. Grasman; John W. Sheffield; Fatih Dogan

2010-04-30

This study considered opportunities for hydrogen in stationary applications in order to make recommendations related to RD&D strategies that incorporate lessons learned and best practices from relevant national and international stationary power efforts, as well as cost and environmental modeling of pathways. The study analyzed the different strategies utilized in power generation systems and identified the different challenges and opportunities for producing and using hydrogen as an energy carrier. Specific objectives included both a synopsis/critical analysis of lessons learned from previous stationary power programs and recommendations for a strategy for hydrogen infrastructure deployment. This strategy incorporates all hydrogen pathways andmore » a combination of distributed power generating stations, and provides an overview of stationary power markets, benefits of hydrogen-based stationary power systems, and competitive and technological challenges. The motivation for this project was to identify the lessons learned from prior stationary power programs, including the most significant obstacles, how these obstacles have been approached, outcomes of the programs, and how this information can be used by the Hydrogen, Fuel Cells & Infrastructure Technologies Program to meet program objectives primarily related to hydrogen pathway technologies (production, storage, and delivery) and implementation of fuel cell technologies for distributed stationary power. In addition, the lessons learned address environmental and safety concerns, including codes and standards, and education of key stakeholders.« less

The convergence of psychology and neurobiology in flavor-nutrient learning.

PubMed

Myers, Kevin P

2018-03-01

Flavor evaluation is influenced by learning from experience with foods. One main influence is flavor-nutrient learning (FNL), a Pavlovian process whereby a flavor acts as a conditioned stimulus (CS) that becomes associated with the postingestive effects of ingested nutrients (the US). As a result that flavor becomes preferred and intake typically increases. This learning powerfully influences food choice and meal patterning. This paper summarizes how research elucidating the physiological and neural substrates of FNL has progressed in parallel with work characterizing how FNL affects perception, motivation, and behavior. The picture that emerges from this work is of a robust system of appetition (a term coined by Sclafani in contrast to the better-understood satiation signals) whereby ingested nutrients sensed in the gut evoke positive motivational responses. Appetition signals act within a meal to promote continued intake in immediate response to gut feedback, and act in the longer term to steer preference towards sensory cues that predict nutritional consequences. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Effect of Animations within PowerPoint Presentations on Learning Introductory Astronomy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Scott T.; James, C. Renee

2011-01-01

We present results of a two-semester study to determine whether the inclusion of basic animation techniques in PowerPoint presentations provides an additional learning aid, inhibits learning, or has no effect on student learning for students in an introductory astronomy course. We found that (1) students perceive that animated slides are…

The Contradictions of Impact: Action Learning and Power in Organizations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vince, Russ

2012-01-01

In this polemical essay, Professor Russ Vince argues that it is important to understand the contradictions that can be generated by action learning. This method is a powerful and effective approach to managers' learning that can underpin transformations of management practice. However, any method for learning, no matter how convinced we are of its…

Towards More Powerful Learning Environments through Combining the Perspectives of Designers, Teachers, and Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Konings, Karen D; Brand-Gruwel, Saskia; van Merrienboer, Jeroen J. G.

2005-01-01

In order to reach the main aims of modern education, powerful learning environments are designed. The characteristics of the design of PLEs are expected to have positive effects on student learning. Additionally, teachers' conceptions of learning and teaching do influence the implementation of a PLE. Moreover, students' perceptions of a learning…

A Physicist's Journey In The Nuclear Power World

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Starr, Chauncey

2000-03-01

As a participant in the development of civilian nuclear power plants for the past half century, the author presents some of his insights to its history that may be of interest to today's applied physicists. Nuclear power development has involved a mixture of creative vision, science, engineering, and unusual technical, economic, and social obstacles. Nuclear power programs were initiated during the euphoric era of public support for new science immediately following World War II -- a support that lasted almost two decades. Subsequently, nuclear power has had to face a complex mix of public concerns and criticism. The author's involvment in some of these circumstances will be anecdotally described. Although the physics of fission and its byproducts remains at the heart of all nuclear reactor designs, its embodiment in practical energy sources has been shaped by the limitations of engineering primarily and economics secondarily. Very influential has been the continuing interplay with the military's weapons and propulsion programs, and the government's political policies. In this respect, nuclear power's history provides a learning experience that may be applicable to some of the large scale demonstration projects that physicists pursue today.

Personal experience with the AEP Faculty Internship Program. [Conference paper

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

Thorp, J.S.

1980-01-01

The American Electric Power (AEP) Faculty Intern Program allows a continuing association with the industry that has been beneficial to the power program at Cornell. The first necessary condition for a successful internship is than the intern be interested in power and willing to make a commitment to learning. A selection of a problem area that allows the intern to make significant contributions to the project is very important. A single assignment that spans a number of areas rather than a number of narrow assignments seems desirable. Supplemental training through course work and travel and working with excellent people inmore » an ideal environment enriches the internship. The continued consulting after the internship is more valuable even than the internship itself. Continued contact with current problems keeps the academic program relevant and maintains faculty enthusiasm.« less

The Computer as a Tool for Learning

PubMed Central

Starkweather, John A.

1986-01-01

Experimenters from the beginning recognized the advantages computers might offer in medical education. Several medical schools have gained experience in such programs in automated instruction. Television images and graphic display combined with computer control and user interaction are effective for teaching problem solving. The National Board of Medical Examiners has developed patient-case simulation for examining clinical skills, and the National Library of Medicine has experimented with combining media. Advances from the field of artificial intelligence and the availability of increasingly powerful microcomputers at lower cost will aid further development. Computers will likely affect existing educational methods, adding new capabilities to laboratory exercises, to self-assessment and to continuing education. PMID:3544511

A useful demonstration of calculus in a physics high school laboratory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alvarez, Gustavo; Schulte, Jurgen; Stockton, Geoffrey; Wheeler, David

2018-01-01

The real power of calculus is revealed when it is applied to actual physical problems. In this paper, we present a calculus inspired physics experiment suitable for high school and undergraduate programs. A model for the theory of the terminal velocity of a falling body subject to a resistive force is developed and its validity tested in an experiment of a falling magnet in a column of self-induced eddy currents. The presented method combines multiple physics concepts such as 1D kinematics, classical mechanics, electromagnetism and non-trivial mathematics. It offers the opportunity for lateral as well as project-based learning.

Results From PAPER/HERA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pober, Jonathan C.

2018-05-01

The Precision Array for Probing the Epoch of Reionization (PAPER) was a first-generation 21 cm cosmology experiment with the specific goal of detecting the power spectrum of the 21 cm emission from the Epoch of Reionization. Analysis of PAPER data is still ongoing, but lessons learned from PAPER to date have played a critical role in designing the next-generation Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array (HERA) experiment. This article reviews five key design choices made by PAPER: use of a non-imaging configuration, redundancy, short baselines, small antenna elements, and a large instantaneous bandwidth. We describe the impact of these choices and the role they played in designing HERA.

A dream birth? Try hypnobirthing!

PubMed

Graves, Katharine

2013-09-01

Hypnobirthing is often regarded as a method of pain relief without drugs. This is to miss the point, as it presupposes that pain is there in the first place. When a woman learns to release the preconceptions, fears and worries about birth that are endemic in our society, her experience of giving birth to her baby can be the most wonderful and empowering experience of her life. Mind and body working together can be a powerful and efficient combination. This is how birth is designed to be, as midwives and hospitals are beginning to discover. Thus hypnobirthing can provide a service that women want as well as save scarce NHS funds.

Electroencephalographic identifiers of motor adaptation learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Özdenizci, Ozan; Yalçın, Mustafa; Erdoğan, Ahmetcan; Patoğlu, Volkan; Grosse-Wentrup, Moritz; Çetin, Müjdat

2017-08-01

Objective. Recent brain-computer interface (BCI) assisted stroke rehabilitation protocols tend to focus on sensorimotor activity of the brain. Relying on evidence claiming that a variety of brain rhythms beyond sensorimotor areas are related to the extent of motor deficits, we propose to identify neural correlates of motor learning beyond sensorimotor areas spatially and spectrally for further use in novel BCI-assisted neurorehabilitation settings. Approach. Electroencephalographic (EEG) data were recorded from healthy subjects participating in a physical force-field adaptation task involving reaching movements through a robotic handle. EEG activity recorded during rest prior to the experiment and during pre-trial movement preparation was used as features to predict motor adaptation learning performance across subjects. Main results. Subjects learned to perform straight movements under the force-field at different adaptation rates. Both resting-state and pre-trial EEG features were predictive of individual adaptation rates with relevance of a broad network of beta activity. Beyond sensorimotor regions, a parieto-occipital cortical component observed across subjects was involved strongly in predictions and a fronto-parietal cortical component showed significant decrease in pre-trial beta-powers for users with higher adaptation rates and increase in pre-trial beta-powers for users with lower adaptation rates. Significance. Including sensorimotor areas, a large-scale network of beta activity is presented as predictive of motor learning. Strength of resting-state parieto-occipital beta activity or pre-trial fronto-parietal beta activity can be considered in BCI-assisted stroke rehabilitation protocols with neurofeedback training or volitional control of neural activity for brain-robot interfaces to induce plasticity.

Best not to bet on the horserace: A comment on Forrin and MacLeod (2017) and a relevant stimulus-response compatibility view of colour-word contingency learning asymmetries.

PubMed

Schmidt, James R

2018-02-01

One powerfully robust method for the study of human contingency learning is the colour-word contingency learning paradigm. In this task, participants respond to the print colour of neutral words, each of which is presented most often in one colour. The contingencies between words and colours are learned, as indicated by faster and more accurate responses when words are presented in their expected colour relative to an unexpected colour. In a recent report, Forrin and MacLeod (2017b, Memory & Cognition) asked to what extent this performance (i.e., response time) measure of learning might depend on the relative speed of processing of the word and the colour. With keypress responses, learning effects were comparable when responding to the word and to the colour (contrary to predictions). However, an asymmetry appeared in a second experiment with vocal responses, with a contingency effect only present for colour identification. In a third experiment, the colour was preexposed, and contingency effects were again roughly symmetrical. In their report, they suggested that a simple speed-of-processing (or "horserace") model might explain when contingency effects are observed in colour and word identification. In the present report, an alternative view is presented. In particular, it is argued that the results are best explained by appealing to the notion of relevant stimulus-response compatibility, which also resolves discrepancies between horserace model predictions and participant results. The article presents simulations with the Parallel Episodic Processing model to demonstrate this case.

Rapid language-related plasticity: microstructural changes in the cortex after a short session of new word learning.

PubMed

Hofstetter, Shir; Friedmann, Naama; Assaf, Yaniv

2017-04-01

Human brain imaging revealed that the brain can undergo structural plasticity following new learning experiences. Most magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) uncovered morphometric alternation in cortical density after the long-term training of weeks to months. A recent diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) study has found changes in diffusion indices after 2 h of training, primarily in the hippocampus. However, whether a short learning experience can induce microstructural changes in the neocortex is still unclear. Here, we used diffusion MRI, a method sensitive to tissue microstructure, to study cortical plasticity. To attain cortical involvement, we used a short language task (under 1 h) of introducing new lexical items (flower names) to the lexicon. We have found significant changes in diffusivity in cortical regions involved in language and reading (inferior frontal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, and inferior parietal lobule). In addition, the difference in the values of diffusivity correlated with the lexical learning rate in the task. Moreover, significant changes were found in white matter tracts near the cortex, and the extent of change correlated with behavioral measures of lexical learning rate. These findings provide first evidence of short-term cortical plasticity in the human brain after a short language learning task. It seems that short training of less than an hour of high cognitive demand can induce microstructural changes in the cortex, suggesting a rapid time scale of neuroplasticity and providing additional evidence of the power of MRI to investigate the temporal and spatial progressions of this process.

Field Learning as a powerful tool of Education for geoscience, environment and disaster prevention.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matsumoto, I.; LI, W.

2015-12-01

Field learning in through elementary school to University is very important for cultivation of science, environment and disaster prevention literacy. In Japan, we have various natural disasters such as earthquakes and volcanoes based on its geological settings ( Island-arc with subduction zone settings). And, it is a challenge environmental problem such as global warming prevention and energy problem to be solved by a human. For the above problem solving, it said that science education plays very important role. Especially learning with direct experience in the field is not only to get the only knowledge, we believe that greater development of science literacy, environmental literacy and disaster prevention literacy. In this presentation, we propose the new teaching method of field learning not only provided by school but also provided by outside school. We show following four studies that are (1) function of running water and origin of the land (science education and disaster prevention), (2) environmental consciousness of student (environmental education), (3) radiation education (scientific technology and its utilization) and (4) astronomical observation (acquisition of time and space concept). We were led to the preliminary conclusion of above four categories in practice research in and out of school. That is, the teacher is teaching the essence and phenomena of science to focus on science learning of school, in addition to environmental awareness, disaster prevention awareness, use of scientific technology are also important to teach at the same time. To do this, it is to make effective use of field learning. It can be said that the field study is a perfect and power place to perform learning such simultaneity. Because, natural field is originally the place can learn along with the feeling through the five senses of human. It is important especially for the growth stage of the student.

Machine learning patterns for neuroimaging-genetic studies in the cloud.

PubMed

Da Mota, Benoit; Tudoran, Radu; Costan, Alexandru; Varoquaux, Gaël; Brasche, Goetz; Conrod, Patricia; Lemaitre, Herve; Paus, Tomas; Rietschel, Marcella; Frouin, Vincent; Poline, Jean-Baptiste; Antoniu, Gabriel; Thirion, Bertrand

2014-01-01

Brain imaging is a natural intermediate phenotype to understand the link between genetic information and behavior or brain pathologies risk factors. Massive efforts have been made in the last few years to acquire high-dimensional neuroimaging and genetic data on large cohorts of subjects. The statistical analysis of such data is carried out with increasingly sophisticated techniques and represents a great computational challenge. Fortunately, increasing computational power in distributed architectures can be harnessed, if new neuroinformatics infrastructures are designed and training to use these new tools is provided. Combining a MapReduce framework (TomusBLOB) with machine learning algorithms (Scikit-learn library), we design a scalable analysis tool that can deal with non-parametric statistics on high-dimensional data. End-users describe the statistical procedure to perform and can then test the model on their own computers before running the very same code in the cloud at a larger scale. We illustrate the potential of our approach on real data with an experiment showing how the functional signal in subcortical brain regions can be significantly fit with genome-wide genotypes. This experiment demonstrates the scalability and the reliability of our framework in the cloud with a 2 weeks deployment on hundreds of virtual machines.

Mobile Technology in E-Learning for Undergraduate Medical Education on Emergent Otorhinolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Disorders: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

PubMed Central

Lee, Li-Ang; Wang, Shu-Ling; Chao, Yi-Ping; Tsai, Ming-Shao; Hsin, Li-Jen; Kang, Chung-Jan; Fu, Chia-Hsiang; Chao, Wei-Chieh; Huang, Chung-Guei; Li, Hsueh-Yu

2018-01-01

Background The use of mobile technology in e-learning (M-TEL) can add new levels of experience and significantly increase the attractiveness of e-learning in medical education. Whether an innovative interactive e-learning multimedia (IM) module or a conventional PowerPoint show (PPS) module using M-TEL to teach emergent otorhinolaryngology–head and neck surgery (ORL-HNS) disorders is feasible and efficient in undergraduate medical students is unknown. Objective The aim of this study was to compare the impact of a novel IM module with a conventional PPS module using M-TEL for emergent ORL-HNS disorders with regard to learning outcomes, satisfaction, and learning experience. Methods This pilot study was conducted at an academic teaching hospital and included 24 undergraduate medical students who were novices in ORL-HNS. The cognitive style was determined using the Group Embedded Figures Test. The participants were randomly allocated (1:1) to one of the two groups matched by age, sex, and cognitive style: the IM group and the PPS group. During the 100-min learning period, the participants were unblinded to use the IM or PPS courseware on a 7-inch tablet. Pretests and posttests using multiple-choice questions to evaluate knowledge and multimedia situational tests to evaluate competence were administered. Participants evaluated their satisfaction and learning experience by the AttrakDiff2 questionnaire, and provided feedback about the modules. Results Overall, the participants had significant gains in knowledge (median of percentage change 71, 95% CI 1-100, P<.001) and competence (median of percentage change 25, 95% CI 0-33, P=.007) after 100 min of learning. Although there was no significant difference in knowledge gain between the two groups (median of difference of percentage change 24, 95% CI −75 to 36; P=.55), competence gain was significantly lower in the IM group compared with the PPS group (median of difference of percentage change −41, 95% CI −67 to −20; P=.008). However, the IM group had significantly higher scores of satisfaction (difference 2, 95% CI 2-4; P=.01), pragmatic quality (difference 1.7, 95% CI 0.1-2.7; P=.03), and hedonic stimulation (difference 1.9, 95% CI 0.3-3.1; P=.01) compared with the PPS group. Qualitative feedback indicated that the various games in the IM module attracted the participants’ attention but that the nonlinearly arranged materials affected their learning. Conclusions Using M-TEL for undergraduate medical education on emergent ORL-HNS disorders, an IM module seems to be useful for gaining knowledge, but competency may need to occur elsewhere. While the small sample size reduces the statistical power of our results, its design seems to be appropriate to determine the effects of M-TEL using a larger group. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02971735; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02971735 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6waoOpCEV) PMID:29519776

To Twitter to Woo: Harnessing the power of social media (SoMe) in nurse education to enhance the student's experience.

PubMed

Sinclair, Wendy; McLoughlin, Moira; Warne, Tony

2015-11-01

This paper explores some of the difficulties, challenges and rewards for student nurses and nurse academics when harnessing social media (SoMe) as part of the overall learning experience. The paper draws upon data in the form of student voices, captured through an online planned Twitter chat. This data analysis provides the basis of a case study on the student experience in practice placements. A planned 1 h Twitter chat took place in June 2013, specifically aimed at student nurses. What transpired was an illuminating debate, eliciting responses from around the globe about learning in practice, mentors, and student support that lasted over 3 h. More importantly, the Twitter chat also included qualified nurses and mentors, listening and responding in real time, offering thoughts and solutions to how support and mentoring could be improved. This was in contrast to how students, locally, currently use a paper based questionnaire to give feedback in isolation. The authenticity of this feedback is often compromised by university link lecturers' who often provide a more sanitised version of this feedback to clinical placement. This paper explores whether it is possible to facilitate a realignment and capture the zeitgeist in order to provide the opportunity for enhancing learning in practice. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Placement education pedagogy as social participation: what are students really learning?

PubMed

Kell, Clare

2014-03-01

This paper draws on empirical fieldwork data of naturally occurring UK physiotherapy placement education to make visible how education is actually carried out and suggest what students may be learning through their placement interactions. The data challenge everyone involved in placement education design and practice to consider the values and practices students are learning to perpetuate through placement education experiences. The researcher undertook an ethnomethodologically informed ethnographic observation of naturally occurring physiotherapy placement education in two UK NHS placement sites. This study adopted a social perspective of learning to focus on the minutiae of placement educator, student and patient interaction practices during student-present therapeutic activities. Two days of placement for each of six senior students were densely recorded in real-time focussing specifically on the verbal, kinesics and proxemics-based elements of the participants' interaction practices. Repeated cycles of data analysis suggested consistent practices irrespective of the placement, educators, students or patients. The data suggest that placement education is a powerful situated learning environment in which students see, experience and learn to reproduce the physiotherapy practices valued by the local placement. Consistently, placement educators and students co-produced patient-facing activities as spectacles of physiotherapy-as-science. In each setting, patients were used as person-absent audiovisual teaching aids from which students learnt to make a case for physiotherapy intervention. The paper challenges physiotherapists and other professions using work-placement education to look behind the rhetoric of their placement documentation and explore the reality of students' learning in the field. The UK-based physiotherapy profession may wish to consider further the possible implications of its self-definition as a 'science-based healthcare profession' on its in-the-presence-of-students interactions with patients. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Integrating Training Simulations and e-Learning Systems: The SimSCORM Platform (Integratie van Training Simulaties en e-Learning Systemen: Het SimSCORM Platform)

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-07-01

SimSCORM Opdrachtnummer Trainingsconcepten voor Defensie Datum Programmanummer Projectnummer juli 2008 V406 032.13224 Auteur (s) ir H.L.H. de Penning...simulators can provide learners with powerful and realistic learning environments: whereas e-learning systems provide them with interactive, mostly theory ...practice and theory , in both learning and evaluation, is becoming increasingly important. From a learner’s point of view, a powerful learning environment

Research participation improves student's exam performance.

PubMed

Gil-Gómez de Liaño, Beatriz; León, Orfelio G; Pascual-Ezama, David

2012-07-01

Although there have been several attempts to explore for beneficial effects of research participation in social sciences, most of them have mainly explored satisfaction and students learning perceptions (e.g., Bowman & Waite, 2003). Very few works have studied learning by measuring exam performance. Moreover, participation has been usually conceptualized as a mixture of active and passive participation, including in the same measure different practices such as filling up questionnaires, running experiments or reading and answering questions about a journal article or a scientific conference. The present work tries to determine if there is an advantage due to research participation comparing exam performance, satisfaction and perceived learning of the matter Research Methods in Psychology, in three different groups (non-participating, passive and active participating). As we can see in the results, the mere participation benefits exam performance. Results are discussed in terms of the use of research participation as a new powerful active method in education.

Exploring Art and Science Integration in an Afterschool Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bolotta, Alanna

Science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) education integrates science with art, presenting a unique and interesting opportunity to increase accessibility in science for learners. This case study examines an afterschool program grounded in art and science integration. Specifically, I studied the goals of the program, it's implementation and the student experience (thinking, feeling and doing) as they participated in the program. My findings suggest that these programs can be powerful methods to nurture scientific literacy, creativity and emotional development in learners. To do so, this program made connections between disciplines and beyond, integrated holistic teaching and learning practices, and continually adapted programming while also responding to challenges. The program is therefore specially suited to engage the heads, hands and hearts of learners, and can make an important contribution to their learning and development. To conclude, I provide some recommendations for STEAM implementation in both formal and informal learning settings.

Experiencing community psychology through community-based learning class projects: reflections from an American University in the Middle East.

PubMed

Amer, Mona M; Mohamed, Salma N; Ganzon, Vincent

2013-01-01

Many introductory community psychology courses do not incorporate community-based learning (CBL), and when they do, it is most often in the form of individualized volunteer hours. We present an alternative model for CBL in which the entire class collaborates on an experiential project that promotes community action. We believe that such an approach better embodies the values and methods of the discipline and has a more powerful impact on the students and stakeholders. It may be especially effective in developing countries that do not have an established network of service infrastructures; in such nations the onus is on the teachers and learners of community psychology to contribute to transformative change. In this article practical guidelines are provided by the instructor regarding how to structure and implement this CBL model. Additionally, two students describe how the CBL experience solidified their learning of course concepts and significantly impacted them personally.

Black swans, cognition, and the power of learning from failure.

PubMed

Catalano, Allison S; Redford, Kent; Margoluis, Richard; Knight, Andrew T

2018-06-01

Failure carries undeniable stigma and is difficult to confront for individuals, teams, and organizations. Disciplines such as commercial and military aviation, medicine, and business have long histories of grappling with it, beginning with the recognition that failure is inevitable in every human endeavor. Although conservation may arguably be more complex, conservation professionals can draw on the research and experience of these other disciplines to institutionalize activities and attitudes that foster learning from failure, whether they are minor setbacks or major disasters. Understanding the role of individual cognitive biases, team psychological safety, and organizational willingness to support critical self-examination all contribute to creating a cultural shift in conservation to one that is open to the learning opportunity that failure provides. This new approach to managing failure is a necessary next step in the evolution of conservation effectiveness. © 2017 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society for Conservation Biology.

Adaptive neuro-fuzzy and expert systems for power quality analysis and prediction of abnormal operation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ibrahim, Wael Refaat Anis

The present research involves the development of several fuzzy expert systems for power quality analysis and diagnosis. Intelligent systems for the prediction of abnormal system operation were also developed. The performance of all intelligent modules developed was either enhanced or completely produced through adaptive fuzzy learning techniques. Neuro-fuzzy learning is the main adaptive technique utilized. The work presents a novel approach to the interpretation of power quality from the perspective of the continuous operation of a single system. The research includes an extensive literature review pertaining to the applications of intelligent systems to power quality analysis. Basic definitions and signature events related to power quality are introduced. In addition, detailed discussions of various artificial intelligence paradigms as well as wavelet theory are included. A fuzzy-based intelligent system capable of identifying normal from abnormal operation for a given system was developed. Adaptive neuro-fuzzy learning was applied to enhance its performance. A group of fuzzy expert systems that could perform full operational diagnosis were also developed successfully. The developed systems were applied to the operational diagnosis of 3-phase induction motors and rectifier bridges. A novel approach for learning power quality waveforms and trends was developed. The technique, which is adaptive neuro fuzzy-based, learned, compressed, and stored the waveform data. The new technique was successfully tested using a wide variety of power quality signature waveforms, and using real site data. The trend-learning technique was incorporated into a fuzzy expert system that was designed to predict abnormal operation of a monitored system. The intelligent system learns and stores, in compressed format, trends leading to abnormal operation. The system then compares incoming data to the retained trends continuously. If the incoming data matches any of the learned trends, an alarm is instigated predicting the advent of system abnormal operation. The incoming data could be compared to previous trends as well as matched to trends developed through computer simulations and stored using fuzzy learning.

Neurocomputational mechanisms of prosocial learning and links to empathy.

PubMed

Lockwood, Patricia L; Apps, Matthew A J; Valton, Vincent; Viding, Essi; Roiser, Jonathan P

2016-08-30

Reinforcement learning theory powerfully characterizes how we learn to benefit ourselves. In this theory, prediction errors-the difference between a predicted and actual outcome of a choice-drive learning. However, we do not operate in a social vacuum. To behave prosocially we must learn the consequences of our actions for other people. Empathy, the ability to vicariously experience and understand the affect of others, is hypothesized to be a critical facilitator of prosocial behaviors, but the link between empathy and prosocial behavior is still unclear. During functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) participants chose between different stimuli that were probabilistically associated with rewards for themselves (self), another person (prosocial), or no one (control). Using computational modeling, we show that people can learn to obtain rewards for others but do so more slowly than when learning to obtain rewards for themselves. fMRI revealed that activity in a posterior portion of the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex/basal forebrain (sgACC) drives learning only when we are acting in a prosocial context and signals a prosocial prediction error conforming to classical principles of reinforcement learning theory. However, there is also substantial variability in the neural and behavioral efficiency of prosocial learning, which is predicted by trait empathy. More empathic people learn more quickly when benefitting others, and their sgACC response is the most selective for prosocial learning. We thus reveal a computational mechanism driving prosocial learning in humans. This framework could provide insights into atypical prosocial behavior in those with disorders of social cognition.

Memory traces of long-range coordinated oscillations in the sleeping human brain.

PubMed

Piantoni, Giovanni; Van Der Werf, Ysbrand D; Jensen, Ole; Van Someren, Eus J W

2015-01-01

Cognition involves coordinated activity across distributed neuronal networks. Neuronal activity during learning triggers cortical plasticity that allows for reorganization of the neuronal network and integration of new information. Animal studies have shown post-learning reactivation of learning-elicited neuronal network activity during subsequent sleep, supporting consolidation of the reorganization. However, no previous studies, to our knowledge, have demonstrated reactivation of specific learning-elicited long-range functional connectivity during sleep in humans. We here show reactivation of learning-induced long-range synchronization of magnetoencephalography power fluctuations in human sleep. Visuomotor learning elicited a specific profile of long-range cortico-cortical synchronization of slow (0.1 Hz) fluctuations in beta band (12-30 Hz) power. The parieto-occipital part of this synchronization profile reappeared in delta band (1-3.5 Hz) power fluctuations during subsequent sleep, but not during the intervening wakefulness period. Individual differences in the reactivated synchronization predicted postsleep performance improvement. The presleep resting-state synchronization profile was not reactivated during sleep. The findings demonstrate reactivation of long-range coordination of neuronal activity in humans, more specifically of reactivation of coupling of infra-slow fluctuations in oscillatory power. The spatiotemporal profile of delta power fluctuations during sleep may subserve memory consolidation by echoing coordinated activation elicited by prior learning. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Humor, laughter, learning, and health! A brief review.

PubMed

Savage, Brandon M; Lujan, Heidi L; Thipparthi, Raghavendar R; DiCarlo, Stephen E

2017-09-01

Human emotions, such as anxiety, depression, fear, joy, and laughter, profoundly affect psychological and physiological processes. These emotions form a set of basic, evolved functions that are shared by all humans. Laughter is part of a universal language of basic emotions that all humans recognize. Health care providers and educators may utilize the power of laughter to improve health and enhance teaching and learning. This is an important consideration because teaching is not just about content: it is also about forming relationships and strengthening human connections. In this context, when used effectively, humor is documented to build relationships and enhance performance. Specifically, humor improves student performance by attracting and sustaining attention, reducing anxiety, enhancing participation, and increasing motivation. Moreover, humor stimulates multiple physiological systems that decrease levels of stress hormones, such as cortisol and epinephrine, and increase the activation of the mesolimbic dopaminergic reward system. To achieve these benefits, it is important to use humor that is relevant to the course content and not disparaging toward others. Self-effacing humor illustrates to students that the teacher is comfortable making mistakes and sharing these experiences with the classroom. In this brief review, we discuss the history and relationship between humor, laughing, learning, and health with an emphasis on the powerful, universal language of laughter. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

Simulated settings; powerful arenas for learning patient safety practices and facilitating transference to clinical practice. A mixed method study.

PubMed

Reime, Marit Hegg; Johnsgaard, Tone; Kvam, Fred Ivan; Aarflot, Morten; Breivik, Marit; Engeberg, Janecke Merethe; Brattebø, Guttorm

2016-11-01

Poor teamwork is an important factor in the occurrence of critical incidents because of a lack of non-technical skills. Team training can be a key to prevent these incidents. The purpose of this study was to explore the experience of nursing and medical students after a simulation-based interprofessional team training (SBITT) course and its impact on professional and patient safety practices, using a concurrent mixed-method design. The participants (n = 262) were organized into 44 interprofessional teams. The results showed that two training sequences the same day improved overall team performance. Making mistakes during SBITT appeared to improve the quality of patient care once the students returned to clinical practice as it made the students more vigilant. Furthermore, the video-assisted oral debriefing provided an opportunity to strengthen interprofessional teamwork and share situational awareness. SBITT gave the students an opportunity to practice clinical reasoning skills and to share professional knowledge. The students conveyed the importance of learning to speak up to ensure safe patient practices. Simulated settings seem to be powerful arenas for learning patient safety practices and facilitating transference of this awareness to clinical practice. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Poverty, health and policy: a historical look at the South African experience.

PubMed

Pick, William; Rispel, Laetitia; Naidoo, Shan

2008-07-01

The resurgence of interest in links between health and development raises interesting questions about the process of research, policy-making, and implementation in the field of health and poverty. To learn about the process in South Africa, we examined three commissions of inquiry relating poverty and health -- in 1929, 1942, and the early 1980s. Power relations of the players were a decisive factor and determined the type and nature of the research conducted.

Creating visual explanations improves learning.

PubMed

Bobek, Eliza; Tversky, Barbara

2016-01-01

Many topics in science are notoriously difficult for students to learn. Mechanisms and processes outside student experience present particular challenges. While instruction typically involves visualizations, students usually explain in words. Because visual explanations can show parts and processes of complex systems directly, creating them should have benefits beyond creating verbal explanations. We compared learning from creating visual or verbal explanations for two STEM domains, a mechanical system (bicycle pump) and a chemical system (bonding). Both kinds of explanations were analyzed for content and learning assess by a post-test. For the mechanical system, creating a visual explanation increased understanding particularly for participants of low spatial ability. For the chemical system, creating both visual and verbal explanations improved learning without new teaching. Creating a visual explanation was superior and benefitted participants of both high and low spatial ability. Visual explanations often included crucial yet invisible features. The greater effectiveness of visual explanations appears attributable to the checks they provide for completeness and coherence as well as to their roles as platforms for inference. The benefits should generalize to other domains like the social sciences, history, and archeology where important information can be visualized. Together, the findings provide support for the use of learner-generated visual explanations as a powerful learning tool.

The Predictive Power of Fifth Graders' Learning Styles on Their Mathematical Reasoning and Spatial Ability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Danisman, Sahin; Erginer, Ergin

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine fifth graders' mathematical reasoning and spatial ability, to identify a correlation with their learning styles, and to determine the predictive power of their learning styles on their mathematical learning profiles. This causal study was conducted with 97 fifth graders (60 females, 61.9% and 37 males,…

Collaboration Strategies in Nontraditional Community-Based Participatory Research Partnerships: Lessons From an Academic–Community Partnership With Autistic Self-Advocates

PubMed Central

Nicolaidis, Christina; Raymaker, Dora; McDonald, Katherine; Dern, Sebastian; Ashkenazy, Elesia; Boisclair, Cody; Robertson, Scott; Baggs, Amanda

2012-01-01

Background Most community-based participatory research (CBPR) projects involve local communities defined by race, ethnicity, geography, or occupation. Autistic self-advocates, a geographically dispersed community defined by disability, experience issues in research similar to those expressed by more traditional minorities. Objectives We sought to build an academic–community partnership that uses CBPR to improve the lives of people on the autistic spectrum. Methods The Academic Autistic Spectrum Partnership in Research and Education (AASPIRE) includes representatives from academic, self-advocate, family, and professional communities. We are currently conducting several studies about the health care experiences and well-being of autistic adults. Lessons Learned We have learned a number of strategies that integrate technology and process to successfully equalize power and accommodate diverse communication and collaboration needs. Conclusions CBPR can be conducted successfully with autistic self-advocates. Our strategies may be useful to other CBPR partnerships, especially ones that cannot meet in person or that include people with diverse communication needs. PMID:21623016

Glooveth: healthy living, fun and serious gaming.

PubMed

Macías, Enric; García, Oscar; Moreno, Pau; Presno, Maria Montserrat; Forrest, Tallulah

2012-01-01

Serious Games and Gamification deliver powerful and truthful experiences by providing the user with goals, challenges, problem solving and rules, besides a clear internal value and an interactive experience. In fact, Serious Games can be considered memorable experiences that deliver intense moments with the support of different platforms and social networks while ensuring high degrees of motivation, efficiency and performance. Here, we describe Glooveth, an educational game for children ages 6 to 12 years, which was the winner of the Silver Award in the Global eHealth Challenge 2010. Glooveth is a platform computer game that teaches healthy living. We developed a game to be used by three different peripherals: a mouse and two special gloves. These peripherals provide the user with a more intense gameplaying and learning experience. The paper explains the project, from concept to application to usability testing.

Assessment of learning powered mobility use--applying grounded theory to occupational performance.

PubMed

Nilsson, Lisbeth; Durkin, Josephine

2014-01-01

Collaboration by two grounded theory researchers, who each had developed a learning continuum instrument, led to the emergence of a new tool for assessment of learning powered mobility use. We undertook a rigorous process of comparative reanalysis that included merging, modifying, and expanding our previous research findings. A new instrument together with its facilitating strategies emerged in the course of revisits to our existing rich account of data taken from real environment powered mobility practice over an extensive time period. Instrument descriptors, categories, phases, and stages allow a facilitator to assess actual phase and plot actual occupational performance and provide a learner with the just right challenge through the learning process. Facilitating strategies are described for each of the phases and provide directions for involvement during learner performance. The learning approach is led by a belief system that the intervention is user-led, working in partnership and empowering the learner. The new assessment tool is inclusive of every potential powered mobility user because it focuses on the whole continuum of the learning process of powered mobility use from novice to expert. The new tool was appraised by clinicians and has been used successfully in clinical practice in the United Kingdom and Sweden.

Direct heuristic dynamic programming for damping oscillations in a large power system.

PubMed

Lu, Chao; Si, Jennie; Xie, Xiaorong

2008-08-01

This paper applies a neural-network-based approximate dynamic programming method, namely, the direct heuristic dynamic programming (direct HDP), to a large power system stability control problem. The direct HDP is a learning- and approximation-based approach to addressing nonlinear coordinated control under uncertainty. One of the major design parameters, the controller learning objective function, is formulated to directly account for network-wide low-frequency oscillation with the presence of nonlinearity, uncertainty, and coupling effect among system components. Results include a novel learning control structure based on the direct HDP with applications to two power system problems. The first case involves static var compensator supplementary damping control, which is used to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the learning control performance. The second case aims at addressing a difficult complex system challenge by providing a new solution to a large interconnected power network oscillation damping control problem that frequently occurs in the China Southern Power Grid.

Realistic and affordable lo-fidelity model for learning bronchoscopic transbronchial needle aspiration.

PubMed

Goldberg, Robert; Colt, Henri G; Davoudi, Mohsen; Cherrison, Larry

2009-09-01

Transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) is used to sample mediastinal abnormalities and lymph node stations for diagnostic purposes and lung cancer staging. The procedure is underused, operator dependent, and reputed to have a steep learning curve. Other difficulties arise from a bronchoscopist's failure to insert the needle satisfactorily into the target node. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the realism and helpfulness of a lo-fidelity, easily constructed hybrid model used for learning and practicing TBNA. The model is constructed by attaching a porcine tracheobronchial tree to a Laerdal Airway Model mounted on polyvinyl chloride (PVC) piping. Twelve individuals with various levels of bronchoscopy training and experience were given a 15-min introductory PowerPoint presentation on TBNA strategy and planning, execution, and response to complications. Participants then practiced TBNA alone and with guidance, aided by an assistant, as many times as individually necessary to feel comfortable with the procedure. A five-point Likert scale 8-item questionnaire was then completed. Participants were unanimously positive about their experience (mean scores 4.25-4.91). The model was realistic, provided increased comfort with TBNA techniques, and allowed practice of communication skills. This realistic, affordable, and easily constructed hybrid lo-fidelity airway model allows beginner and experienced bronchoscopists opportunities to learn and practice basic TBNA techniques and team communication skills without placing patients at risk.

Exploring Aesthetic Experiences in the Undergraduate General Education Science Classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Biscotte, Stephen Michael

Citizens must have a minimal level of STEM-literacy to work alongside scientists to tackle both current and future global challenges. How can general education, the one piece of the undergraduate experience every student completes, contribute to this development? And science learning is dependent on having transformative aesthetic experiences in the science classroom. These memorable experiences involve powerful connection between students and the world around them. If these types of experiences are necessary for science learning and growth, are students in introductory science courses having them? If so, what relationship might they have with students' desires to pursue further science study? This dissertation explores these questions through two manuscripts. The first, a theoretical piece published in the Journal of General Education in 2015, argues that non-STEM students must have transformative aesthetic experiences in their undergraduate general education science course to develop the level of understanding needed to engage with challenging scientific issues in the future. This claim is substantiated by bringing together the work of Dewey and Deweyan scholars on the nature and impact of aesthetic experiences in science and science education with the general education reform efforts and desired outcomes for an informed and engaged citizenry. The second manuscript, an empirical piece, explores the lived experience of non-STEM students in an introductory geosciences course. A phenomenological research methodology is deployed to capture the 'essence' of the lived experience of a STEM-philic student in general education science. In addition, Uhrmacher's CRISPA framework is used to analyze the participants' most memorable course moments for the presence or absence of aesthetic experiences. In explication of the data, it shows that students are in fact having aesthetic experiences (or connecting to prior aesthetic experiences) and these experiences are related to their desires to pursue further STEM study.

Cortical oscillatory activity and the induction of plasticity in the human motor cortex.

PubMed

McAllister, Suzanne M; Rothwell, John C; Ridding, Michael C

2011-05-01

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation paradigms such as continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS) induce long-term potentiation- and long-term depression-like plasticity in the human motor cortex. However, responses to cTBS are highly variable and may depend on the activity of the cortex at the time of stimulation. We investigated whether power in different electroencephalogram (EEG) frequency bands predicted the response to subsequent cTBS, and conversely whether cTBS had after-effects on the EEG. cTBS may utilize similar mechanisms of plasticity to motor learning; thus, we conducted a parallel set of experiments to test whether ongoing electroencephalography could predict performance of a visuomotor training task, and whether training itself had effects on the EEG. Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) provided an index of cortical excitability pre- and post-intervention. The EEG was recorded over the motor cortex pre- and post-intervention, and power spectra were computed. cTBS reduced MEP amplitudes; however, baseline power in the delta, theta, alpha or beta frequencies did not predict responses to cTBS or learning of the visuomotor training task. cTBS had no effect on delta, theta, alpha or beta power. In contrast, there was an increase in alpha power following visuomotor training that was positively correlated with changes in MEP amplitude post-training. The results suggest that the EEG is not a useful state-marker for predicting responses to plasticity-inducing paradigms. The correlation between alpha power and changes in corticospinal excitability following visuomotor training requires further investigation, but may be related to disengagement of the somatosensory system important for motor memory consolidation. © 2011 The Authors. European Journal of Neuroscience © 2011 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Games and machine learning: a powerful combination in an artificial intelligence course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wallace, Scott A.; McCartney, Robert; Russell, Ingrid

2010-03-01

Project MLeXAI (Machine Learning eXperiences in Artificial Intelligence (AI)) seeks to build a set of reusable course curriculum and hands on laboratory projects for the artificial intelligence classroom. In this article, we describe two game-based projects from the second phase of project MLeXAI: Robot Defense - a simple real-time strategy game and Checkers - a classic turn-based board game. From the instructors' prospective, we examine aspects of design and implementation as well as the challenges and rewards of using the curricula. We explore students' responses to the projects via the results of a common survey. Finally, we compare the student perceptions from the game-based projects to non-game based projects from the first phase of Project MLeXAI.

Targeted Prostate Biopsy: Lessons Learned Midst the Evolution of a Disruptive Technology.

PubMed

Nassiri, Nima; Natarajan, Shyam; Margolis, Daniel J; Marks, Leonard S

2015-09-01

Lessons learned during a 6-year experience with more than 1200 patients undergoing targeted prostate biopsy via MRI/ultrasound fusion are reported: (1) the procedure is safe and efficient, requiring some 15-20 minutes in an office setting; (2) MRI is best performed by a radiologist with specialized training, using a transabdominal multiparametric approach and preferably a 3T magnet; (3) grade of MRI suspicion is the most powerful predictor of biopsy results, eg, Grade 5 usually represents cancer; (4) some potentially important cancers (15%-30%) are MRI-invisible; (5) Targeted biopsies provide >80% concordance with whole-organ pathology. Early enthusiasm notwithstanding, cost-effectiveness is yet to be resolved, and the technologies remain in evolution. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Harnessing Disordered-Ensemble Quantum Dynamics for Machine Learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fujii, Keisuke; Nakajima, Kohei

2017-08-01

The quantum computer has an amazing potential of fast information processing. However, the realization of a digital quantum computer is still a challenging problem requiring highly accurate controls and key application strategies. Here we propose a platform, quantum reservoir computing, to solve these issues successfully by exploiting the natural quantum dynamics of ensemble systems, which are ubiquitous in laboratories nowadays, for machine learning. This framework enables ensemble quantum systems to universally emulate nonlinear dynamical systems including classical chaos. A number of numerical experiments show that quantum systems consisting of 5-7 qubits possess computational capabilities comparable to conventional recurrent neural networks of 100-500 nodes. This discovery opens up a paradigm for information processing with artificial intelligence powered by quantum physics.

TARGETED PROSTATE BIOPSY: LESSONS LEARNED MIDST THE EVOLUTION OF A DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGY

PubMed Central

Nassiri, Nima; Natarajan, Shyam; Margolis, Daniel J.; Marks, Leonard S.

2015-01-01

Lessons learned during a 6-year experience with more than 1200 patients undergoing targeted prostate biopsy via MRI/US fusion are reported: (1) The procedure is safe and efficient, requiring some 15–20 minutes in an office setting; (2) MRI is best performed by a radiologist with specialized training, employing a trans-abdominal multi-parametric approach and preferably a 3T magnet; (3) Grade of MRI suspicion is the most powerful predictor of biopsy results, e.g., Grade 5 usually represents cancer; (4) Some potentially-important cancers (15%–30%) are MRI-invisible; (5) Targeted biopsies provide >80% concordance with whole-organ pathology. Early enthusiasm notwithstanding, cost-effectiveness is yet to be resolved, and the technologies remain in evolution. PMID:26166671

The experiences of last-year student midwives with High-Fidelity Perinatal Simulation training: A qualitative descriptive study.

PubMed

Vermeulen, Joeri; Beeckman, Katrien; Turcksin, Rivka; Van Winkel, Lies; Gucciardo, Léonardo; Laubach, Monika; Peersman, Wim; Swinnen, Eva

2017-06-01

Simulation training is a powerful and evidence-based teaching method in healthcare. It allows students to develop essential competences that are often difficult to achieve during internships. High-Fidelity Perinatal Simulation exposes them to real-life scenarios in a safe environment. Although student midwives' experiences need to be considered to make the simulation training work, these have been overlooked so far. To explore the experiences of last-year student midwives with High-Fidelity Perinatal Simulation training. A qualitative descriptive study, using three focus group conversations with last-year student midwives (n=24). Audio tapes were transcribed and a thematic content analysis was performed. The entire data set was coded according to recurrent or common themes. To achieve investigator triangulation and confirm themes, discussions among the researchers was incorporated in the analysis. Students found High-Fidelity Perinatal Simulation training to be a positive learning method that increased both their competence and confidence. Their experiences varied over the different phases of the High-Fidelity Perinatal Simulation training. Although uncertainty, tension, confusion and disappointment were experienced throughout the simulation trajectory, they reported that this did not affect their learning and confidence-building. As High-Fidelity Perinatal Simulation training constitutes a helpful learning experience in midwifery education, it could have a positive influence on maternal and neonatal outcomes. In the long term, it could therefore enhance the midwifery profession in several ways. The present study is an important first step in opening up the debate about the pedagogical use of High-Fidelity Perinatal Simulation training within midwifery education. Copyright © 2017 Australian College of Midwives. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Virtual Reality as a Story Telling Platform for Geoscience Communication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lazar, K.; Moysey, S. M.

2017-12-01

Capturing the attention of students and the public is a critical step for increasing societal interest and literacy in earth science issues. Virtual reality (VR) provides a means for geoscience engagement that is well suited to place-based learning through exciting and immersive experiences. One approach is to create fully-immersive virtual gaming environments where players interact with physical objects, such as rock samples and outcrops, to pursue geoscience learning goals. Developing an experience like this, however, can require substantial programming expertise and resources. At the other end of the development spectrum, it is possible for anyone to create immersive virtual experiences with 360-degree imagery, which can be made interactive using easy to use VR editing software to embed videos, audio, images, and other content within the 360-degree image. Accessible editing tools like these make the creation of VR experiences something that anyone can tackle. Using the VR editor ThingLink and imagery from Google Maps, for example, we were able to create an interactive tour of the Grand Canyon, complete with embedded assessments, in a matter of hours. The true power of such platforms, however, comes from the potential to engage students as content authors to create and share stories of place that explore geoscience issues from their personal perspective. For example, we have used combinations of 360-degree images with interactive mapping and web platforms to enable students with no programming experience to create complex web apps as highly engaging story telling platforms. We highlight here examples of how we have implemented such story telling approaches with students to assess learning in courses, to share geoscience research outcomes, and to communicate issues of societal importance.

The World Climate Exercise: Is (Simulated) Experience Our Best Teacher?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rath, K.; Rooney-varga, J. N.; Jones, A.; Johnston, E.; Sterman, J.

2015-12-01

Meeting the challenge of climate change will clearly require 'deep learning' - learning that motivates a search for underlying meaning, a willingness to exert the sustained effort needed to understand complex problems, and innovative problem-solving. This type of learning is dependent on the level of the learner's engagement with the material, their intrinsic motivation to learn, intention to understand, and relevance of the material to the learner. Here, we present evidence for deep learning about climate change through a simulation-based role-playing exercise, World Climate. The exercise puts participants into the roles of delegates to the United Nations climate negotiations and asks them to create an international climate deal. They find out the implications of their decisions, according to the best available science, through the same decision-support computer simulation used to provide feedback for the real-world negotiations, C-ROADS. World Climate provides an opportunity for participants have an immersive, social experience in which they learn first-hand about both the social dynamics of climate change decision-making, through role-play, and the dynamics of the climate system, through an interactive computer simulation. Evaluation results so far have shown that the exercise is highly engaging and memorable and that it motivates large majorities of participants (>70%) to take action on climate change. In addition, we have found that it leads to substantial gains in understanding key systems thinking concepts (e.g., the stock-flow behavior of atmospheric CO2), as well as improvements in understanding of climate change causes and impacts. While research is still needed to better understand the impacts of simulation-based role-playing exercises like World Climate on behavior change, long-term understanding, transfer of systems thinking skills across topics, and the importance of social learning during the exercise, our results to date indicate that it is a powerful, active learning tool that has strong potential to foster deep learning about climate change.

The Belem Framework for Action: Harnessing the Power and Potential of Adult Learning and Education for a Viable Future

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adult Learning, 2012

2012-01-01

This article presents the Belem Framework for Action. This framework focuses on harnessing the power and potential of adult learning and education for a viable future. This framework begins with a preamble on adult education and towards lifelong learning.

Inclusive Adult Learning Environments. ERIC Digest No. 162.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Imel, Susan

Adult educators are recognizing that factors in the learning environment related to psychological, social, and cultural conditions exert a powerful influence on learners' growth and development. Current discussions on learning environments have broadened to include the need to confront issues of sexism and racism, interlocking systems of power and…

Power within Blended Language Learning Programs in Japan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hinkelman, Don; Gruba, Paul

2012-01-01

As blended language learning environments evolve within tertiary foreign language institutions, issues of power with regards to the privileging of electronic technologies come to the fore. Blended learning, or the principled mix of online and classroom-based activities, challenges the practices of traditional CALL and face-to-face teaching within…

Honeybees in a virtual reality environment learn unique combinations of colour and shape.

PubMed

Rusch, Claire; Roth, Eatai; Vinauger, Clément; Riffell, Jeffrey A

2017-10-01

Honeybees are well-known models for the study of visual learning and memory. Whereas most of our knowledge of learned responses comes from experiments using free-flying bees, a tethered preparation would allow fine-scale control of the visual stimuli as well as accurate characterization of the learned responses. Unfortunately, conditioning procedures using visual stimuli in tethered bees have been limited in their efficacy. In this study, using a novel virtual reality environment and a differential training protocol in tethered walking bees, we show that the majority of honeybees learn visual stimuli, and need only six paired training trials to learn the stimulus. We found that bees readily learn visual stimuli that differ in both shape and colour. However, bees learn certain components over others (colour versus shape), and visual stimuli are learned in a non-additive manner with the interaction of specific colour and shape combinations being crucial for learned responses. To better understand which components of the visual stimuli the bees learned, the shape-colour association of the stimuli was reversed either during or after training. Results showed that maintaining the visual stimuli in training and testing phases was necessary to elicit visual learning, suggesting that bees learn multiple components of the visual stimuli. Together, our results demonstrate a protocol for visual learning in restrained bees that provides a powerful tool for understanding how components of a visual stimulus elicit learned responses as well as elucidating how visual information is processed in the honeybee brain. © 2017. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

A novel approach to locomotion learning: Actor-Critic architecture using central pattern generators and dynamic motor primitives.

PubMed

Li, Cai; Lowe, Robert; Ziemke, Tom

2014-01-01

In this article, we propose an architecture of a bio-inspired controller that addresses the problem of learning different locomotion gaits for different robot morphologies. The modeling objective is split into two: baseline motion modeling and dynamics adaptation. Baseline motion modeling aims to achieve fundamental functions of a certain type of locomotion and dynamics adaptation provides a "reshaping" function for adapting the baseline motion to desired motion. Based on this assumption, a three-layer architecture is developed using central pattern generators (CPGs, a bio-inspired locomotor center for the baseline motion) and dynamic motor primitives (DMPs, a model with universal "reshaping" functions). In this article, we use this architecture with the actor-critic algorithms for finding a good "reshaping" function. In order to demonstrate the learning power of the actor-critic based architecture, we tested it on two experiments: (1) learning to crawl on a humanoid and, (2) learning to gallop on a puppy robot. Two types of actor-critic algorithms (policy search and policy gradient) are compared in order to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of different actor-critic based learning algorithms for different morphologies. Finally, based on the analysis of the experimental results, a generic view/architecture for locomotion learning is discussed in the conclusion.

A novel approach to locomotion learning: Actor-Critic architecture using central pattern generators and dynamic motor primitives

PubMed Central

Li, Cai; Lowe, Robert; Ziemke, Tom

2014-01-01

In this article, we propose an architecture of a bio-inspired controller that addresses the problem of learning different locomotion gaits for different robot morphologies. The modeling objective is split into two: baseline motion modeling and dynamics adaptation. Baseline motion modeling aims to achieve fundamental functions of a certain type of locomotion and dynamics adaptation provides a “reshaping” function for adapting the baseline motion to desired motion. Based on this assumption, a three-layer architecture is developed using central pattern generators (CPGs, a bio-inspired locomotor center for the baseline motion) and dynamic motor primitives (DMPs, a model with universal “reshaping” functions). In this article, we use this architecture with the actor-critic algorithms for finding a good “reshaping” function. In order to demonstrate the learning power of the actor-critic based architecture, we tested it on two experiments: (1) learning to crawl on a humanoid and, (2) learning to gallop on a puppy robot. Two types of actor-critic algorithms (policy search and policy gradient) are compared in order to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of different actor-critic based learning algorithms for different morphologies. Finally, based on the analysis of the experimental results, a generic view/architecture for locomotion learning is discussed in the conclusion. PMID:25324773

On the Safety of Machine Learning: Cyber-Physical Systems, Decision Sciences, and Data Products.

PubMed

Varshney, Kush R; Alemzadeh, Homa

2017-09-01

Machine learning algorithms increasingly influence our decisions and interact with us in all parts of our daily lives. Therefore, just as we consider the safety of power plants, highways, and a variety of other engineered socio-technical systems, we must also take into account the safety of systems involving machine learning. Heretofore, the definition of safety has not been formalized in a machine learning context. In this article, we do so by defining machine learning safety in terms of risk, epistemic uncertainty, and the harm incurred by unwanted outcomes. We then use this definition to examine safety in all sorts of applications in cyber-physical systems, decision sciences, and data products. We find that the foundational principle of modern statistical machine learning, empirical risk minimization, is not always a sufficient objective. We discuss how four different categories of strategies for achieving safety in engineering, including inherently safe design, safety reserves, safe fail, and procedural safeguards can be mapped to a machine learning context. We then discuss example techniques that can be adopted in each category, such as considering interpretability and causality of predictive models, objective functions beyond expected prediction accuracy, human involvement for labeling difficult or rare examples, and user experience design of software and open data.

Learning to recognize rat social behavior: Novel dataset and cross-dataset application.

PubMed

Lorbach, Malte; Kyriakou, Elisavet I; Poppe, Ronald; van Dam, Elsbeth A; Noldus, Lucas P J J; Veltkamp, Remco C

2018-04-15

Social behavior is an important aspect of rodent models. Automated measuring tools that make use of video analysis and machine learning are an increasingly attractive alternative to manual annotation. Because machine learning-based methods need to be trained, it is important that they are validated using data from different experiment settings. To develop and validate automated measuring tools, there is a need for annotated rodent interaction datasets. Currently, the availability of such datasets is limited to two mouse datasets. We introduce the first, publicly available rat social interaction dataset, RatSI. We demonstrate the practical value of the novel dataset by using it as the training set for a rat interaction recognition method. We show that behavior variations induced by the experiment setting can lead to reduced performance, which illustrates the importance of cross-dataset validation. Consequently, we add a simple adaptation step to our method and improve the recognition performance. Most existing methods are trained and evaluated in one experimental setting, which limits the predictive power of the evaluation to that particular setting. We demonstrate that cross-dataset experiments provide more insight in the performance of classifiers. With our novel, public dataset we encourage the development and validation of automated recognition methods. We are convinced that cross-dataset validation enhances our understanding of rodent interactions and facilitates the development of more sophisticated recognition methods. Combining them with adaptation techniques may enable us to apply automated recognition methods to a variety of animals and experiment settings. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

CET exSim: mineral exploration experience via simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wong, Jason C.; Holden, Eun-Jung; Kovesi, Peter; McCuaig, T. Campbell; Hronsky, Jon

2013-08-01

Undercover mineral exploration is a challenging task as it requires understanding of subsurface geology by relying heavily on remotely sensed (i.e. geophysical) data. Cost-effective exploration is essential in order to increase the chance of success using finite budgets. This requires effective decision-making in both the process of selecting the optimum data collection methods and in the process of achieving accuracy during subsequent interpretation. Traditionally, developing the skills, behaviour and practices of exploration decision-making requires many years of experience through working on exploration projects under various geological settings, commodities and levels of available resources. This implies long periods of sub-optimal exploration decision-making, before the necessary experience has been successfully obtained. To address this critical industry issue, our ongoing research focuses on the development of the unique and novel e-learning environment, exSim, which simulates exploration scenarios where users can test their strategies and learn the consequences of their choices. This simulator provides an engaging platform for self-learning and experimentation in exploration decision strategies, providing a means to build experience more effectively. The exSim environment also provides a unique platform on which numerous scenarios and situations (e.g. deposit styles) can be simulated, potentially allowing the user to become virtually familiarised with a broader scope of exploration practices. Harnessing the power of computer simulation, visualisation and an intuitive graphical user interface, the simulator provides a way to assess the user's exploration decisions and subsequent interpretations. In this paper, we present the prototype functionalities in exSim including: simulation of geophysical surveys, follow-up drill testing and interpretation assistive tools.

Connecting Teachers and Students with Science Experts: NASA's Expedition Earth and Beyond Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Graff, P. V.; Stefanov, W. L.; Willis, K. J.; Runco, S.; McCollum, T.; Baker, M.; Mailhot, M.; Lindgren, C. F.

2010-12-01

Classroom teachers are challenged with engaging and preparing today’s students for the future. Activities are driven by state required skills, education standards, and high stakes testing. How can educators teach required standards and motivate students to not only learn essential skills, but also acquire a sense of intrigue to want to learn more? One way is to allow students to take charge of their learning and conduct student-driven research. NASA’s Expedition Earth and Beyond program, based at the NASA Johnson Space Center, is designed to do just that. The program, developed by both educators and scientists, promotes inquiry-based investigations in classrooms (grades 5-14) by using current NASA data. By combining the expertise of teachers, who understand the everyday challenges of working with students, and scientists, who work with the process of science as they conduct their own research, the result is a realistic and useable means in which to promote authentic research in classrooms. NASA’s Expedition Earth and Beyond Program was created with the understanding that there are three important aspects that enable teachers to implement authentic research experiences in the classroom. These aspects are: 1) Standards-aligned, inquiry based curricular resources and an implementation structure to support student-driven research; 2) Professional development opportunities to learn techniques and strategies to ensure seamless implementation of resources; and 3) Ongoing support. Expedition Earth and Beyond provides all three of these aspects and adds two additional and inspiring motivators. One is the opportunity for student research teams to request new data. Data requested and approved would be acquired by astronauts orbiting Earth on the International Space Station. This aspect is part of the process of science structure and provides a powerful way to excite students. The second, and perhaps more significant motivator, is the creation of connections between science experts and classrooms. Scientists are able to connect with participating classrooms on a variety of different levels, including being a mentor. These powerful connections provide extraordinary opportunities for students to develop the rigor and relevance of their research, along with encouraging them to have a sense of pride in the work they are doing in school. Providing teachers with skills and the confidence to promote authentic research investigations in the classroom will equip them to create science literate students, and by extension, improve the public understanding of science. The opportunity to connect classrooms with science experts creates personal experiences that are engaging, motivating and impactful. These impactful experiences will help prepare today’s students to become the next generation of scientists or perhaps science educators who can help continue these powerful connections for generations to come.

The Art of Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vaidya, Ashwin; Munakata, Mika

2014-03-01

The Art of Science project at Montclair State University strives to communicate the creativity inherent in the sciences to students and the general public alike. The project uses connections between the arts and sciences to show the underlying unity and interdependence of the two. The project is planned as one big `performance' bringing together the two disciplines around the theme of sustainability. In the first phase, physics students learned about and built human-powered generators including hand cranks and bicycle units. In the second phase, using the generators to power video cameras, art students worked with a visiting artist to make short films on the subject of sustainability, science, and art. The generators and films were showcased at an annual university Physics and Art exhibition which was open to the university and local community. In the final phase, to be conducted, K12 teachers will learn about the project through a professional development workshop and will be encouraged to adapt the experiment for their own classrooms. The last phase will also combine the university and K12 projects for an exhibition to be displayed on Earth Day, 2014. Project funded by the APS Outreach Grant.

Information Power Goes Online: Teaching Information Literacy to Distance Learners.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parise, Pierina

1998-01-01

Describes how a course, "Information Power," at Marylhurst University (Oregon) was developed into an online version. Presents an overview of Web access in distance learning. Discusses instructional delivery through the WebCT software program; specific components of the online Information Power class; measuring learning outcomes; and pros and cons…

RadTown USA Neighborhoods | US EPA

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

2016-09-08

Learn about radiation sources and uses in the interactive, virtual community of RadTown USA! Explore radiation sources and uses in homes and schools, medical buildings and laboratories and outdoors. You will also find information about coal-fired power plants and nuclear power plants, power lines and learn about responding to radiation emergencies.

Student Agency for Powerful Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wiliams, Philip

2017-01-01

School libraries play a powerful role in enabling, informing, and sustaining student agency, and nothing engages and motivates students more deeply than enabling them to become the active agents in the process of learning. Students with agency are powerful learners who are prepared to engage with the world with sustained, courageous curiosity.…

Experimenting with Educational Games using the Xbox, PC, and iPad

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rohrlick, D.; Kilb, D. L.; Peach, C. L.; Simms, E.; Yang, A.; Layman, C.; Deutscher, R.

2012-12-01

Daniel Rohrlick, Alan Yang, Eric Simms, Debi Kilb, Cheryl Peach, Charina Layman, Rebecca Deutscher 1. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA, USA 2. Harvard University Center for the Environment, Cambridge, MA, USA 3. Birch Aquarium at Scripps, La Jolla, CA, USA 4. The Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA As videogames continue to grow in popularity, especially with today's youth, it is becoming clear that gaming can be a potent learning tool. But what is the best way to engage a player in learning from a videogame? Based on our five years of developing and testing our own educational games, we experimented with various forms of gaming techniques and player interaction. Our first game, "Deep-sea Extreme Environment Pilot (DEEP)", is an Xbox 360 game where players learn about deep-sea environments while controlling a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV). DEEP is a "traditional" videogame where players interact with a controller and a TV screen. The second game we developed for the PC is called the "Quake Catcher Network (QCN)" game. With the gameplay focused on earth sciences, players must quickly deploy seismic sensors to record aftershocks from a large earthquake. Instead of using a game controller to play the QCN game, we instead incorporate the Microsoft Kinect motion sensor for the game input. Finally, the "Glider Game" is our third and most recent game designed for use on the mobile device platform such as iPods and iPads. In this game players control ocean gliders and must complete missions while battling ocean currents, power consumption, and other unanticipated problems. Here, the gameplay is aimed toward the casual gamer using touch-screen based controls in the hope that players can easily pick up and play this game with little gaming experience. After testing our games numerous times in museums, informal science learning centers, and classrooms we have been able to track qualitatively which educational gaming techniques work and which do not. We have discovered how simple concepts such as audio queues and voice-overs play a powerful role in obtaining and holding a player's attention. We have also found having the learning goals built into the gameplay is often more effective than directly quizzing the player's knowledge. By adding surprises to the gameplay, a game does a better job keeping the player's attention. Also, presenting non-traditional physical interactions with the game through motion controls or touch-screens help spur the player's interest. The duration of the game is another important factor. Depending on how much interactivity there is available to the player, the game's duration can either lead to overwhelming frustration if too short, or repetitive boredom if the game is too long. Overall, we find one of the most important parts of the learning gaming experience is making sure players are having fun while learning. After creating our games on various formats and software suites, we are working toward understanding the efficacy of our gaming approaches in not only holding players interest, but also in achieving specific learning goals related to the science behind the gameplay. We hope to encourage educators to view educational games as a useful addition to the range of approaches they use to engage students in science. Perhaps this can even motivate some educators to create their own games.

Textbooks vs. techbooks: Effectiveness of digital textbooks on elementary student motivation for learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oman, Auna

This action research project investigated fourth grade students¡¦ motivation to learn science using a digital science techbook. Participants in the study included 29 fourth grade students in two different classrooms. One classroom of 16 students used a digital science techbook to learn science while the other classroom of 13 students used a traditional paper science textbook to learn science. Students in both classrooms answered five sets of questions regarding their experience using a digital science techbook and a paper science techbook to understand science, find science information, solve science problems, learn science, and assess learning science was fun. Results were compiled and coded based on positive and negative responses to conditions. A chi-square was used to analyze the ordinal data. Overall differences between techbooks vs. textbook were significant, X2 (1, N = 29) = 23.84, p = .000, justifying further examination of individual survey items. Three items had statistically significant difference for finding science information, solving science problems, and learning science. A gender difference was also found in one item. Females preferred to use paper science textbooks to understand science, while males preferred digital techbooks to learn science. The fourth graders in this study indicated that digital techbooks were a powerful learning tool for increasing interest, excitement and learning science. Even though students reported paper science textbooks as easy to use, they found using digital science techbooks a far more appealing way to learn science.

Navy applications experience with small wind power systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pal, D.

1985-05-01

This report describes the experience gained and lesson learned from the ongoing field evaluations of seven small, 2-to 20-kW wind energy conversion systems (WECS) at Navy installations located in the Southern California desert, on San Nicolas Island, in California, and in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. The field tests show that the WECS's bearings and yaw slip-rings are prone to failure. The failures were attributed to the corrosive environment and poor design practices. Based upon the field tests, it is concluded that a reliable WECS must use a permanent magnet alternator without a gearbox and yaw slip-rings that are driven by a fixed pitch wind turbine rotor. The present state-of-the-art in small WECS technology, including environmental concerns, is reviewed. Also presented is how the technology is advancing to improve reliability and availability for effectively using wind power at Navy bases. The field evaluations are continuing on the small WECS in order to develop operation, maintenance, and reliability data.

Medial prefrontal cortex circuit function during retrieval and extinction of associative learning under anesthesia.

PubMed

Fenton, G E; Halliday, D M; Mason, R; Stevenson, C W

2014-04-18

Associative learning is encoded under anesthesia and involves the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Neuronal activity in mPFC increases in response to a conditioned stimulus (CS+) previously paired with an unconditioned stimulus (US) but not during presentation of an unpaired stimulus (CS-) in anesthetized animals. Studies in conscious animals have shown dissociable roles for different mPFC subregions in mediating various memory processes, with the prelimbic (PL) and infralimbic (IL) cortex involved in the retrieval and extinction of conditioned responding, respectively. Therefore PL and IL may also play different roles in mediating the retrieval and extinction of discrimination learning under anesthesia. Here we used in vivo electrophysiology to examine unit and local field potential (LFP) activity in PL and IL before and after auditory discrimination learning and during later retrieval and extinction testing in anesthetized rats. Animals received repeated presentations of two distinct sounds, one of which was paired with footshock (US). In separate control experiments animals received footshocks without sounds. After discrimination learning the paired (CS+) and unpaired (CS-) sounds were repeatedly presented alone. We found increased unit firing and LFP power in PL and, to a lesser extent, IL after discrimination learning but not after footshocks alone. After discrimination learning, unit firing and LFP power increased in PL and IL in response to presentation of the first CS+, compared to the first CS-. However, PL and IL activity increased during the last CS- presentation, such that activity during presentation of the last CS+ and CS- did not differ. These results confirm previous findings and extend them by showing that increased PL and IL activity result from encoding of the CS+/US association rather than US presentation. They also suggest that extinction may occur under anesthesia and might be represented at the neural level in PL and IL. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Using rock art as an alternative science pedagogy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allen, Casey D.

College-level and seventh-grade science students were studied to understand the power of a field index, the Rock Art Stability Index (RASI), for student learning about complex biophysical environmental processes. In order to determine if the studied population was representative, 584 college and seventh-grade students undertook a concept mapping exercise after they had learned basic weathering science via in-class lecture. Of this large group, a subset of 322 college students and 13 seventh-grade students also learned RASI through a field experience involving the analysis of rock weathering associated with petroglyphs. After learning weathering through RASI, students completed another concept map. This was a college population where roughly 46% had never taken a "lab science" course and nearly 22% were from minority (non-white) populations. Analysis of student learning through the lens of actor-network theory revealed that when landscape is viewed as process (i.e. many practices), science education embodies both an alternative science philosophy and an alternative materialistic worldview. When RASI components were analyzed after only lecture, student understanding of weathering displayed little connection between weathering form and weathering process. After using RASI in the field however, nearly all students made illustrative concept maps rich in connections between weathering form and weathering process for all subcomponents of RASI. When taken as an aggregate, and measured by an average concept map score, learning increased by almost 14%, Among college minority students, the average score increase approached 23%. Among female students, the average score increase was 16%. For seventh-grade students, scores increased by nearly 36%. After testing for normalcy with Kolmogorov-Smirnov, t-tests reveal that all of these increases were highly statistically significant at p<0.001. The growth in learning weathering science by minority students, as compared to non-minority students, was also statistically significant at p<0.01. These findings reveal the power of field work through RASI to strengthen cognitive linkages between complex biophysical processes and the corresponding rock weathering forms.

Approach to Learning of Sub-Degree Students in Hong Kong

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chan, Yiu Man; Chan, Christine Mei Sheung

2010-01-01

The learning approaches and learning experiences of 404 sub-degree students were assessed by using a Study Process Questionnaire and a Learning Experience Questionnaire. While the learning approaches in this study meant whether students used a deep learning or surface learning approach, the learning experiences referred to students' perceptions…

Does language help regularity learning? The influence of verbalizations on implicit sequential regularity learning and the emergence of explicit knowledge in children, younger and older adults.

PubMed

Ferdinand, Nicola K; Kray, Jutta

2017-03-01

This study aimed at investigating the ability to learn regularities across the life span and examine whether this learning process can be supported or hampered by verbalizations. For this purpose, children (aged 8-10 years) and younger (aged 19-30 years) and older (aged 70-80 years) adults took part in a sequence learning experiment. We found that verbalizing sequence-congruent information during learning is a powerful tool to generate explicit knowledge and it is especially helpful for younger adults. Although recent research suggests that implicit learning can be influenced by directing the participants' attention to relevant aspects of the task, verbalizations had a much weaker influence on implicit than explicit learning. Our results show that verbalizing during learning slows down reaction times (RTs) but does not influence the amount of implicit learning. Especially older adults were not able to overcome the cost of the dual-task situation. Younger adults, in contrast, show an initial dual-tasking cost that, in the case of a helpful verbalization, is overcome with practice and turns into a RT and learning benefit. However, when the verbalization is omitted this benefit is lost, that is, better implicit learning seems to be confined to situations in which the supporting verbalization is maintained. Additionally, we did not find reliable age differences in implicit learning in the no verbalization groups, which speaks in favor of age-invariant models of implicit learning across the life span. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Reionization Models Classifier using 21cm Map Deep Learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hassan, Sultan; Liu, Adrian; Kohn, Saul; Aguirre, James E.; La Plante, Paul; Lidz, Adam

2018-05-01

Next-generation 21cm observations will enable imaging of reionization on very large scales. These images will contain more astrophysical and cosmological information than the power spectrum, and hence providing an alternative way to constrain the contribution of different reionizing sources populations to cosmic reionization. Using Convolutional Neural Networks, we present a simple network architecture that is sufficient to discriminate between Galaxy-dominated versus AGN-dominated models, even in the presence of simulated noise from different experiments such as the HERA and SKA.

Landsat 7 Solar Array Testing Experiences

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Helfrich, Daniel

2000-01-01

This paper covers the extensive Landsat 7 solar array flight qualification testing effort. Details of the mechanical design of the solar array and its retention/release system are presented. A testing chronology is provided beginning with the onset of problems encountered at the subsystem level and carrying through the third and final powered-spacecraft ground deployment test. Design fixes and other changes are explained in the same order as they became necessary to flight-qualify the array. Some interesting lessons learned are included along with key references.

Creating a Systems Engineering Distance Learning Experience

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-12-01

4077th? Comment on two other students’ responses. Dear Mom, Last month, Major Burns and Lt were complaining about the powered eggs and powdered...area homes. I ordered 500 yds. of copper wire and traded it to Cho. He is now delivering eggs and vegetable to the mess nearly every day. None of the...and a full support staff. He called this meatball surgery. Yet he sacrificed the man’s leg, and he saved two others from death. He told Hawkeye that

An appreciation of Richard Threlkeld Cox

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tribus, Myron

2002-05-01

Richard T. Cox's contributions to the foundations of probability theory and inductive logic are not generally appreciated or understood. This paper reviews his life and accomplishments, especially those in his book The Algebra of Probable Inference and his final publication Inference and Inquiry which, in this author's opinion, has the potential to influence in a significant way the design and analysis of self organizing systems which learn from experience. A simple application to the simulation of a neuron is presented as an example of the power of Cox's contribution.

An Evaluation of the Generalized Intelligent Framework for Tutoring (GIFT) from a Learner’s Perspective

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-12-01

on the topic that included questions more in-depth than the pretest . The results from this experiment suggested that students learned significantly...information on the slide is important and what is not important. To alleviate this, the design of the slides makes use of PowerPoint bullets or numbers to...2003;41(1):77–86. Bloom BS. The 2 sigma problem: the search for methods of group instruction as effective as one - to- one tutoring. Educational

A common sense approach to nursing research.

PubMed

Styles, M M

1990-01-01

Two events conspired to force me to develop and then articulate a political or power perspective on nursing research. During my term as president of the American Nurses' Association (ANA) experience taught me that knowledge is the currency of politics--politics defined broadly as governance by the institution, by the profession, by the industry or by the Congress. Data describe. Data explain. Data persuade. And, where the mind is made up, data justify. The second event was the June 1988 meeting in Jerusalem of the Workshop of European Nurse Researchers (WERN) where I was invited to speak on The Power of Knowledge: The Knowledge of Power. This was the challenge to put into words what I had learned on this subject throughout a career as academician topped with a tour in professional politics. The result is a common sense approach to nursing research that I would like to present to the nursing community for further debate.

Decrease in gamma-band activity tracks sequence learning

PubMed Central

Madhavan, Radhika; Millman, Daniel; Tang, Hanlin; Crone, Nathan E.; Lenz, Fredrick A.; Tierney, Travis S.; Madsen, Joseph R.; Kreiman, Gabriel; Anderson, William S.

2015-01-01

Learning novel sequences constitutes an example of declarative memory formation, involving conscious recall of temporal events. Performance in sequence learning tasks improves with repetition and involves forming temporal associations over scales of seconds to minutes. To further understand the neural circuits underlying declarative sequence learning over trials, we tracked changes in intracranial field potentials (IFPs) recorded from 1142 electrodes implanted throughout temporal and frontal cortical areas in 14 human subjects, while they learned the temporal-order of multiple sequences of images over trials through repeated recall. We observed an increase in power in the gamma frequency band (30–100 Hz) in the recall phase, particularly in areas within the temporal lobe including the parahippocampal gyrus. The degree of this gamma power enhancement decreased over trials with improved sequence recall. Modulation of gamma power was directly correlated with the improvement in recall performance. When presenting new sequences, gamma power was reset to high values and decreased again after learning. These observations suggest that signals in the gamma frequency band may play a more prominent role during the early steps of the learning process rather than during the maintenance of memory traces. PMID:25653598