ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
The Analysis of High School Students' Conceptions of Learning in Different Domains
Author: Sadi, Özlem
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: High School Students,Student Attitudes,Educational Attitudes,Scientific Attitudes,Physics,Chemistry,Biology,Questionnaires,Attitude Measures,Factor Structure,Factor Analysis,Statistical Analysis,Preferences,Learning Processes,Scores,Foreign Countries

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether or not conceptions of learning diverge in different science domains by identifying high school students' conceptions of learning in physics, chemistry and biology. The Conceptions of Learning Science (COLS) questionnaire was adapted for physics (Conceptions of Learning Physics, COLP), chemistry (Conceptions of Learning Chemistry, COLC) and biology (Conceptions of Learning Biology, COLB) firstly and they were separately administered to 361 high school students at the same time. The factor structures of each questionnaire were also analyzed by exploratory factor analysis. The differences between students' conceptions of learning in each questionnaire factors of all three domains were analyzed with paired-samples t-test. The results indicated differences in high school students' conceptions of learning physics, chemistry and biology which were identified for all seven factors except application. In general sense, it was found that students preferred higher-level conceptions of learning biology more when compared with physics and chemistry domains. Possible implications about how students prefer to view learning from a higher-level perspective rather than a lower-level perspective, especially the ones with a high mean score in physics and chemistry (such as memorizing, preparing for exam and calculating and practicing) are discussed.
Seeking Information, Seeking Connections, Seeking Meaning: Genealogists and Family Historians
Author: Yakel, Elizabeth
Date: 2004-10-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Genealogy,Information Seeking,Qualitative Research,Semi Structured Interviews,Observation,Information Management

Genealogy and family history are examples of everyday life information seeking and provide a unique example of intensive and extensive use of libraries and archives over time. In spite of the ongoing nature of this activity, genealogists and family historians have rarely been the subject of study in the information seeking literature and therefore the nature of their information problems have not been explored. This article discusses findings from a qualitative study based on twenty-nine in-depth, semi-structured interviews with genealogists and family historians and observations of their personal information management practices. Results indicated that the search for factual information often led to one for orienting information. Finding ancestors in the past was also a means of finding one's own identity in the present. Family history is also an activity without a clear end goal; after the ancestry chart is filled in the search continues for more information about the lives of one's forebears. Thus, family history should be viewed as an ongoing process of seeking meaning. The ultimate need is not a fact or date, but to create a larger narrative, connect with others in the past and in the present, and to find coherence in one's own life.
Calculus Students&apos; Understanding of Area and Volume Units
Author: Dorko, Allison
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Undergraduate Students,College Mathematics,Calculus,Geometric Concepts,Error Patterns,Error of Measurement,Computation,Misconceptions,Data Analysis,Grounded Theory,Task Analysis,Interviews,Student Surveys,Mathematics Tests,Coding

Units of measure are critical in many scientific fields. While instructors often note that students struggle with units, little research has been conducted about the nature and extent of these difficulties or why they exist. We investigated calculus students' unit use in area and volume computations. Seventy-three percent of students gave incorrect units for at least one task. The most common error was the misappropriation of length units in area and volume computations. Analyses of interview data indicate that some students think that the unit of the computation should be the same as the unit specified in the task statement. Findings also suggest that some students have difficulties correctly indicating the units for computations that involve the quantity &quot;p.&quot; We discuss students' correct and incorrect use of unit in relation to their understanding of area and volume as arrays, as well as in terms of Sherin's Symbolic Forms.
Lacking a Formal Concept of Limit: Advanced Non-Mathematics Students&apos; Personal Concept Definitions
Author: Beynon, Kenneth A.
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Undergraduate Students,Engineering Education,Community Colleges,Mixed Methods Research,Concept Formation,Comprehension,Equations (Mathematics),Introductory Courses,Mathematical Concepts,Interviews,Definitions,Problem Solving,Nonmajors

This mixed-methods study examines the conceptual understanding of limit among 22 undergraduate engineering students from two different sections of the same introductory differential equations course. The participants' concepts of limit (concept images and personal concept definitions) were examined using written tasks followed by one-on-one investigative interviews. The findings suggest that, at the end of their mathematics coursework, many engineering students do not consider employing a formal definition of limit to solve limit-based mathematics problems. Furthermore, the findings suggest that most participants' personal concept definitions of limit are both inoperable for solving limit problems and inconsistent with the formal definition of limit.
Secondary School Students' and Their Parents' Knowledge and Interest in Crop Plants: Why Should We Care?
Author: Fritsch, Eva-Maria
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Questionnaires,Student Surveys,Secondary School Students,Parents,Parent Surveys,Gender Differences,Age Differences,Student Interests,Agricultural Production,Knowledge Level,Likert Scales

While there is increasing world-wide discussion of the importance of renewable biological resources and a bio-based economy, science educators around the world have become aware of a declining general interest in plants and agriculture and of little knowledge of plants among the public. Recently, there have been few systematic investigations on the knowledge of crops. To address this observation, we initiated a questionnaire survey with secondary school students based on the assumption that students should acquire a fundamental knowledge of agriculture and crop-plant biology during compulsory education. As home is a source of information, parents were also questioned. On the whole, 926 German secondary school students aged nine to 18 years and 314 parents participated in our questionnaire survey. The data suggest an unsatisfactory level of knowledge about crop plants among students. Girls have greater knowledge and claim to be interested in crops more often than do boys. While knowledge of species was independent of grade and age, knowledge of crop use did increase with increased years of schooling. Parents showed an overall better performance than the students' on items involving plant recognition and their use.
Information Seeking and Students Studying for Professional Careers: The Cases of Engineering and Law Students in Ireland
Author: Kerins, Gillian
Date: 2004-10-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Information Seeking,Law Students,Engineering Education,Search Strategies,Misconceptions,Library Role,Information Literacy,Information Skills,Undergraduate Students

This paper reports the results of two empirical studies which explored the information seeking behaviour of engineering and law students in Ireland. Findings reveal similar patterns in the information seeking behaviour between students studying to become professionals and information seeking patterns of these groups identified in the Leckie et al. model. Students learned their information seeking strategies, including effective and less effective approaches, from educators. Mis-perceptions of the role and value of libraries and information professionals in their studies were common, and as a result, students often adopted information seeking strategies that excluded libraries and library staff. The two studies suggest that engineering and law students in Ireland could benefit from greater information literacy training and awareness, enabling them to acquire the information skills they need to function effectively and efficiently in their future professional work lives.
Cooperative Learning about Nature of Science with a Case from the History of Science
Author: Wolfensberger, Balz
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Qualitative Research,Cooperative Learning,Case Studies,Scientific Principles,Science History,Science Teachers,Biology,Science Instruction,High School Students,Secondary School Teachers,Grade 10,Grade 11,Video Technology,Interviews,Questionnaires,Pretests Posttests,Student Attitudes,Paleontology,Animals,Small Group Instruction,Attitude Change

This paper reports a predominantly qualitative classroom study on cooperative learning about nature of science (NOS) using a case from the history of science. The purpose of the research was to gain insight into how students worked with the historical case study during cooperative group work, how students and teachers assessed the teaching unit, and in what ways students' ideas about selected aspects of NOS changed as a result of the teaching unit. In cooperation with two biology teachers, a four-lesson teaching unit about NOS and the early research on Archaeopteryx was developed, field-tested, modified, and tested again. Altogether, five classes of 10th and 11th grade students from two Swiss schools participated. Data were collected by videotaping group work, interviews with student groups and teachers, questionnaires, and pre- and post-tests about NOS conceptions. Results show that group work was mostly of good quality, both with regard to students' cooperation and understanding of the case study. Second, both the topic and the instructional design of the unit were judged very positively. Third, students showed more informed views on the selected target NOS aspects after the teaching unit. The paper ends with conclusions regarding teaching and learning about NOS, cooperative learning and questions for future research.
Field Differences in the Use and Perceived Usefulness of Scholarly Mailing Lists
Author: Talja, Sanna
Date: 2004-10-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Computer Mediated Communication,Electronic Mail,Qualitative Research,Comparative Analysis,Research Methodology,Environmental Research,Scientists,Nursing,Biology,Historians,Literature,Cultural Education,Semi Structured Interviews,College Faculty

Based on a qualitative comparative study across four domains, this paper explores how the use and perceived usefulness of scholarly mailing lists is related to primary search methods, collaboration patterns, loci of critical information, physical proximity of like-minded colleagues, field size, the desirability of sharing information in public or semi-public discussion fora, relevance criteria, the degree of scatter within a field, and book versus article orientation. The findings show the differential role of formal and informal computer-mediated communication across fields. Environmental biologists and nursing scientists saw little value in mailing lists for research purposes. They relied on their local collaborators as sources of support and advice. Historians and literature and cultural studies scholars experienced mailing lists as helpful in monitoring literature and progress of the field.
Enthusiastic, Realistic and Critical: Discourses of Internet Use in the Context of Everyday Life Information Seeking
Author: Savolainen, Reijo
Date: 2004-10-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Internet,Information Seeking,Information Sources,Preferences,Foreign Countries,Attitude Measures,Personality Traits,Cost Effectiveness,Networks,Semi Structured Interviews

Based on the interviews of eighteen participants, the ways in which people talk about their source preferences with regard to the Internet in everyday life information seeking were investigated by using discourse analysis. Three major interpretative repertoires were identified: Enthusiastic, Realistic and Critical. The Enthusiastic repertoire emphasizes the strengths of the Internet, conceiving it as a great enabler or as a technology of freedom. In this repertoire, positive expressions such as fast, easy and interactive are favoured. In the Realistic repertoire, the source preferences are constructed as situation-bound choices. The Internet is given no absolute priority but its value is seen to depend on the relative advantages in specific situations. No sources or channels are superior by themselves but their value is contingent on the use situation and its specific requirements. Finally, the Critical repertoire is characterized by a reserved standpoint to the advantages brought by the Internet. Central to this repertoire is the critical view on the low amount of relevant information available in the Internet and the poor organization of networked information, rendering effective information seeking difficult. Due to their ideal-typical nature, the above repertoires are rather independent. However, in the everyday discursive practices, the repertoires are used alternately, and the same speaker may shift from one repertoire to another within the same account.
Discourse Patterns at Laboratory Practices and the Co-Construction of Knowledge by Applying SDIS-GSEQ
Author: Carrillo, Edgardo Ruiz
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Biology,Undergraduate Students,Science Laboratories,Discourse Analysis,College Science,Computer Software,Teacher Student Relationship,Learning,Observation,College Faculty,Classroom Communication

The purpose of this study is to analyze the discourse through IRE (Intervention-Response-Evaluation) in the co-construction of knowledge of Biology students during laboratory practices by applying the SDIS-GSEQ software to assess IRE discourse patterns developed during the same. The study group consisted of second semester students of the Bachelor's Degree in Biology from the Facultad de Estudios Superiores Iztacala, UNAM. This process included audiovisual records of the practice, the creation of an instrument where a categories system and verbal sub-systems are put together with sub-categories to be defined based on the discourse and IRE structure; then this audiovisual records and the obtained category pattern were used to apply the SDIS-GSEQ software which was in charge of establishing the category sequences created in the interaction between teachers and students during the practice. The obtained results show IRE discourse patterns demonstrating that students prefer to use reproducible and dependent practice manual structures, instead of thoughtful and non-cognitive structures where their knowledge about the practice content is involved; the study also demonstrates that the SDIS-GSEQ software is a useful tool for the research of these patterns. Therefore, we propose to modify the IRE structure in order to create better conditions in the construction of knowledge between students and teachers by using a IRF (Initiation-Response-Feedback) pattern leading to feedback, negotiation and co-construction of knowledge so as to improve the Teaching-Learning process during laboratory practices.
Relationship between Academic Optimism and Classroom Management Styles of Teachers--Case Study: Elementary School Teachers in Isfahan
Author: Moghtadaie, L.
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Classroom Techniques,Teaching Styles,Intervention,Interaction,Public Schools,Elementary School Teachers,Questionnaires,Correlation,Psychological Patterns,Self Efficacy,Trust (Psychology),Behavior,Surveys,Documentation,Statistical Analysis,Hypothesis Testing

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between classroom management styles of the teachers and their academic optimism. In this study, three types of classroom management styles (interventionist style, interactionist style, and non-interventionist style) have been considered. Research community is all public primary school teachers in the Isfahan province in academic year 2014-2015. The sample size was calculated using the formula of Cochran 384. It is a multi-stage cluster sampling method. Classroom management style has been calculated using standard questionnaires of classroom management style of Wolfgang and Glickman (1986). The academic optimism variable was evaluated using academic optimism questionnaire of A. Hoy, Tarter, and W. Hoy (2006) in a sample of 384 teachers. The results showed that there is a significant relation between classroom management style of the teachers and their academic optimism and the correlation coefficient equal to 39% was obtained and the correlation coefficient of 47% was obtained between the academic optimism and non-interventionist classroom management, and the correlation coefficient of 43% was obtained between the academic optimism and interactionist classroom management, and the correlation coefficient of 24% was obtained between the academic optimism and interventionist classroom management that is significant. According to the results, the classroom management style is a variable that has relation with academic optimism and at academic opportunities it must be emphasized.
Involvement of Higher Education in Building Human Resources Character in the Era of Globalization
Author: Ishomuddin
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Higher Education,Global Approach,Human Resources,College Role,Qualitative Research,Observation,Interviews,Private Colleges,College Students,College Faculty,Labor Force Development,College Curriculum,Curriculum Development

In general, the objectives of this study were to explain the role played by universities in improving its human resources are office holders, lecturers, and students, explain the program what is being done related to the improvement of human resources, and explains the non-academic program to support the implementation of a program that has been prepared so as to ensure the creation of academic atmosphere and moral. This research is using a qualitative approach. Data collection method is observation, in-depth interviews, and documentation. After determining the selected object, it is then determined subjects and informants who serve as a source of information, other than information derived from observation and documents. The data obtained were analyzed using qualitative descriptive. From these results it can be concluded that in the current era of globalization sensitize the managers of private universities to constantly make changes both in management of students, lecturers, and academic. Of the top ten universities in East Java, which is the object of research has done on average conditionally adjustment and in accordance with their respective capabilities to actualize development programs as outlined in the master plan and development plan strategy as a guide.
Evaluation of a Brazilian Postgraduate Dental Program by the Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure
Author: do Vale Placa, Rebeca
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Dentistry,Dental Schools,Graduate Study,Educational Environment,Questionnaires,Graduate Students,Student Attitudes,Self Concept,School Location,Age Differences

The evaluation of education environment is essential to provide to the professors a better understanding of the teaching process. One valuable tool for this assessment is the Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM). This questionnaire has 50 questions and is divided in five dimensions: D1--Perceptions of teaching, D2--Perceptions of teacher, D3--Academic self-perceptions, D4--Perception of atmosphere, D5--Social self-perception. Although it was first elaborated to undergraduate medical students, it has been used to other health areas. The aim of this study was to evaluate learning environment of a dental postgraduate course in a Brazilian University. Twenty-one students of master degree and PhD program in Periodontics were invited to answer the DREEM questionnaire. The mean age of the students was 27.4 years old. The total DREEM mean was 146.8, presenting a positive learning environment. Possible correlations were analyzed by Spearman's correlation test (P&lt;0.05). There was a positive correlation between total DREEM and all 5 dimensions (p&lt;0.05). The highest correlation was total DREEM with academic self-perceptions (r = 0.938). There was no correlation between age and distance from parents home (p&gt;0.05). In conclusion, the postgraduate learning environment is positive and students are satisfied. This questionnaire was very efficient and provided important information to maintain or improve our learning environment.
Between Preschool and Primary Education--Reading and Writing from the Perspective of Preschool and Primary Teachers
Author: Santos, Ana Isabel
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Preschool Teachers,Elementary School Teachers,Writing Teachers,Reading Teachers,Teacher Attitudes,Interviews,Transitional Programs,Articulation (Education),Alignment (Education),Early Childhood Education,Written Language,School Readiness,Foreign Countries

The transition between educational levels is a process characterized by the complexity and repercussions that it represents to the future of children's education. Studies conducted in this field acknowledge the relevance of the approximation and continuity between the practices of preschool and primary teachers for children's development and learning. However, they are also unanimous in stating that an optimized transition process is far from completion. There is a lack of studies that investigate the issue of continuity between educational levels in Portugal, especially in reading and writing. To address this problem, the objective of this study is to understand the way in which preschool and primary teachers work toward a coordinated and fluid transition, particularly in the field of written language. Interviews were conducted with preschool and primary teachers, and the results reveal the different positions among preschool and primary teachers in the manner in which they conceive the transition process between these two education levels.