ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Using Digital Globes to Explore the Deep Sea and Advance Public Literacy in Earth System Science
Author: Beaulieu, Stace E.
Date: 2015-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Earth Science,Scientific Literacy,Films,Science Education,Instructional Effectiveness,Oceanography,Adult Students,Adults,Student Surveys,Lifelong Learning,Student Evaluation,Teacher Evaluation,Comparative Analysis,Technology Uses in Education,High School Students

Digital globes are new technologies increasingly used in informal and formal education to display global datasets and show connections among Earth systems. But how effective are digital globes in advancing public literacy in Earth system science? We addressed this question by developing new content for digital globes with the intent to educate and excite the public about biological and geophysical processes and exploration in the deep ocean. We developed the content in tight collaboration with scientists, educators, and graphic artists. We used global datasets, including a new dataset for locations of deep-sea vents, and imagery from deep-diving vehicles to create two narratives, Life Without Sunlight and Smoke and Fire Underwater, each targeting a set of Earth Science and ocean literacy principles. Here, we evaluate perceived learning outcomes for the narratives delivered as movies and as live, docent-led presentations with the room-sized Science On a Sphere®. Both narratives led to median responses of ''Some'' to ''Quite a bit'' of perceived learning per literacy principle. Perceived learning outcomes were greatest for adult lifelong learners, followed closely by students (under age 18); adult educators generally reported less learning. We found no significant differences in the effectiveness of our movies compared to docent-led presentations for any of the literacy principles, and all presentations led to ''Quite a bit'' of excitement for all viewers. Our evaluation provides an initial indication that digital globes can be effective in teaching the scientific literacy principles, and we make recommendations for additional assessment of digital globes as educational platforms.
Collaborative Learning in Problem Solving: A Case Study in Metacognitive Learning
Author: Wismath, Shelly L.
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Cooperative Learning,Problem Solving,Case Studies,Metacognition,College Students,Cognitive Style,Thinking Skills,Preferences,Pretests Posttests,Scores,Puzzles,Participant Observation,Qualitative Research,Statistical Analysis,Likert Scales

Problem solving and collaborative communication are among the key 21st century skills educators want students to develop. This paper presents results from a study of the collaborative work patterns of 133 participants from a university level course designed to develop transferable problem-solving skills. Most of the class time in this course was spent on actually solving puzzles, with minimal direct instruction; students were allowed to work either independently or in small groups of two or more, as they preferred, and to move back and forth between these two modalities as they wished. A distinctive student-driven pattern blending collaborative and independent endeavour was observed, consistently over four course offerings in four years. We discuss a number of factors which appear to be related to this variable pattern of independent and collaborative enterprise, including the thinking and learning styles of the individuals, the preference of the individuals, the types of problems being worked on, and the stage in a given problem at which students were working. We also consider implications of these factors for the teaching of problem solving, arguing that the development of collaborative problem solving abilities is an important metacognitive skill.
Teaching for Diversity in Teacher Education: Transformative Frameworks
Author: Ragoonaden, Karen O.
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Teacher Education,Transformative Learning,Cultural Pluralism,Teaching Experience,Reflection,Curriculum Development,Disproportionate Representation,Preservice Teachers,Culturally Relevant Education,Educational Practices,Scholarship,Instruction,Qualitative Research,Urban Schools,Rural Schools

This paper examines the practice and professional development of teacher educators engaged in diversity pedagogy in Canadian teacher education programs. Using a reflective inquiry combined with a self-study of teacher and teacher education practices (S-STEP), three educators discuss the complexity of their research and teaching experiences through the lens of Egbo's (2009) seminal text, &quot;Teaching for Diversity in Canadian Schools&quot;. These critical reflections provide the basis to contextualize praxis-oriented teacher education practices in rural and in urban contexts. Specifically, the discussions focus on how diversity pedagogy informed curriculum development and promoted trans-disciplinary educational praxis. These transformative frameworks provided the teacher educators with the necessary knowledge base and knowledge mobilization to introduce marginalization, oppression, and alienation of underrepresented populations to preservice and service teachers.
Surveying Assessment in Experiential Learning: A Single Campus Study
Author: Yates, Thomas
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Experiential Learning,Foreign Countries,Educational Assessment,Best Practices,Service Learning,Problem Based Learning,Active Learning,Inquiry,Case Studies,Case Method (Teaching Technique),College Faculty,Teaching Methods,Teacher Surveys,Online Surveys,Student Evaluation,Statistical Analysis

The purpose of this study was to determine the methods of experiential assessment in use at a Canadian university and the extent to which they are used. Exploring experiential assessment will allow identification of commonly used methods and facilitate the development of best practices of assessment in the context of experiential learning (EL) at an institutional level. The origins of EL are found in the work of Dewey (1938), later modified by Kolb and Fry (1975). Experiential methods include: experiential education, service learning problem-based learning and others such as action learning, enquiry-based learning, and case studies. Faculty currently involved in EL at the participating university were invited to complete an online survey about their teaching and assessment methods. This paper will share the results and analysis of the EL inventory survey.
Piloting and Evaluating a Workshop to Teach Georgia Teachers about Weather Science and Safety
Author: Stewart, Alan E.
Date: 2015-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Pilot Projects,Program Evaluation,Workshops,Teacher Education,Weather,Meteorology,Emergency Programs,Natural Disasters,Safety Education,Curriculum,Qualitative Research,Statistical Significance,Science Instruction,Self Efficacy,Instructional Effectiveness,Knowledge Level,Alignment (Education),Academic Standards,Professional Development,Public School Teachers,Science Teachers,Statistical Analysis,Elementary School Students,Middle School Students

A survey of 691 Georgia teachers suggested that their students generally were not prepared for severe weather. Teachers also were somewhat dissatisfied with the quality of the teaching resources on weather and weather safety. Only 46 (7%) of the teachers were aware of the American Red Cross Masters of Disaster (MoD) weather science and safety curriculum. We conducted a week-long weather science and safety workshop for 49 Georgia teachers in the summers of 2008-2010 to introduce the MoD curriculum so that they could teach it to their students and share it with colleagues. Qualitative analyses of the teachers' and the authors' workshop goals revealed that teachers became more knowledgeable about weather science and safety and learned how to teach the MoD curriculum. Quantitative analyses of the teachers' pre- and post-workshop responses to the project measures revealed statistically significant increases at the workshop's conclusion in science teaching self-efficacy and in self-efficacy to teach weather science and safety. Teachers also evidenced statistically significant gains in their knowledge of weather science and safety concepts. A follow-up with teachers from the 2008 workshop revealed that they had shared the MoD curriculum with 77 teachers and had taught the curriculum to 724 students. We discussed the potential of the MoD curriculum to increase students' knowledge and preparation for weather hazards. In the supplemental materials, we provided a sample MoD lesson and alignments of the MoD curriculum with the Next Generation Science Standards.
The Oceanography Concept Inventory: A Semicustomizable Assessment for Measuring Student Understanding of Oceanography
Author: Arthurs, Leilani
Date: 2015-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Oceanography,Mixed Methods Research,Academic Achievement,Introductory Courses,Validity,Reliability,Generalizability Theory,Student Evaluation,Item Response Theory,Test Theory,Pretests Posttests,College Students,College Faculty

We developed and evaluated an Oceanography Concept Inventory (OCI), which used a mixed-methods approach to test student achievement of 11 learning goals for an introductory-level oceanography course. The OCI was designed with expert input, grounded in research on student (mis)conceptions, written with minimal jargon, tested on 464 students, and evaluated for validity, reliability, and generalizability. The result was a valid and reliable, semicustomizable instrument, with longer 23-item and shorter 16-item versions, as well as flexible grading using either classical one-point-per-item scoring or item-difficulty-weighted scoring. This article is of utility to potential end users of the OCI (e.g., practitioners and researchers) and test developers considering constructing a concept inventory.
Conceptions of Tornado Wind Speed and Land Surface Interactions among Undergraduate Students in Nebraska
Author: Van Den Broeke, Matthew S.
Date: 2015-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Undergraduate Students,Concept Formation,Introductory Courses,Science Instruction,Weather,Student Surveys,Student Attitudes,Scientific Concepts,Misconceptions,Natural Disasters

To ascertain novice conceptions of tornado wind speed and the influence of surface characteristics on tornado occurrence, 613 undergraduate students enrolled in introductory science courses at a large state university in Nebraska were surveyed. Our findings show that students lack understanding of the fundamental concepts that (1) tornadoes are primarily atmospheric phenomena, and (2) they are only weakly influenced by the underlying land surface. A common alternate conception was that land surface features offer protection from tornadoes. For example, many students thought that (1) tornadoes generally cannot occur over snow cover or in mountainous terrain, (2) locally lower areas and hills provide protection from tornadoes, and (3) cities are not as susceptible to tornadoes as surrounding areas. Students also lacked an accurate conception of the wind speed in strong tornadoes.
&quot;Living with Volcanoes&quot;: Cross-Curricular Teaching in the High School Classroom
Author: Jolley, Alison
Date: 2015-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Interdisciplinary Approach,High School Students,Geology,Science Instruction,Learner Engagement,Archaeology,Interviews,Secondary School Teachers,Physical Geography,Feedback (Response),Case Studies,Curriculum Design

A new, interdisciplinary high school geoarchaeology curriculum unit, titled &quot;Living with Volcanoes,&quot; was created and tested in two pilot lessons with 30 high school students total studying geography and classical civilization in northern England. Students were highly engaged during the curriculum unit and showed positive learning gains and favorable shifts in perceptions as measured immediately before and after its implementation. Geoarchaeology combines disciplinary knowledge from geoscience and archaeology to construct novel approaches to past human inhabitation and environmental interaction. The curriculum unit was designed to introduce this field to high school students, following guidelines from interdisciplinary studies, and it was modified iteratively, based on interviews with four high school teachers of relevant classes. It combines short lectures and group work in a 90 min, interactive format to address a variety of questions surrounding the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius and its impact on the town of Pompeii and other nearby areas. Pilot survey and observational data, combined with feedback from students and teachers, were used to modify the curriculum unit. Restructured case study questions now provide better scaffolding for students, and teachers are provided with an answer key to better support facilitation. &quot;Living with Volcanoes&quot; has the potential to be utilized in cross-disciplinary recruitment for both geoscience and archaeology, at the high school and introductory postsecondary level. This broader, interdisciplinary approach to curriculum development may be applied to other fields of geoscience that transcend common disciplinary boundaries.
Undergraduate Students' Perspectives on the Value of Peer-Led Discussions
Author: McGlynn-Stewart, Monica E.
Date: 2015-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Undergraduate Students,Student Attitudes,Educational Benefits,Small Group Instruction,Peer Teaching,Cooperative Learning,Seminars,Early Childhood Education,Group Discussion,Discussion (Teaching Technique),Facilitators (Individuals),Postsecondary Education,Instructional Effectiveness,Foreign Countries,Learning Strategies

With a view to improving the quality of class discussions of assigned articles, I implemented a new way of organizing small group seminars in an undergraduate early childhood education course. The seminars were led by student facilitators and had a balance of accountability and autonomy. Mid-way through the course, the students reflected anonymously on the experience of the seminars. They identified a variety of cognitive and social benefits of the seminars as well as key components that could be applied in a variety of post-secondary settings.
Who Cares? How Teachers Can Scaffold Children's Ability to Care: A Case for Picture Books
Author: McNamee, Abigail
Date: 2007-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Caring,Scaffolding (Teaching Technique),Picture Books,Young Children,Reading Material Selection,Selection Criteria,Educational Environment,Child Development,Bibliographies

Academic inquiry has focused recently on how to create caring classrooms and school communities--that is, classrooms and school communities that encourage children to continue to develop caring feelings, thoughts, and behaviors, or to feel, think, and practice them anew. After reviewing research on caring and attachment, this article discusses how to structure a caring classroom and suggests that parents and teachers consider picture books as a means of helping young children learn to care for themselves, animals, and others. The article concludes with a discussion of criteria for assessing picture books and suggests some appropriate titles based on these criteria.
&quot;The Learning Never Stops&quot;: Lessons from Military Child Development Centers for Teacher Professional Development Policy
Author: Ackerman, Debra J.
Date: 2007-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Early Childhood Education,Inservice Teacher Education,Professional Development,Educational Quality,Child Development Centers,Models,Armed Forces,Semi Structured Interviews,Caregiver Training,Student Educational Objectives,Learning Modules,Educational Policy,Governance,Fiscal Capacity

High­-quality early care and education (ECE) relies on teacher training. However, state policies require that the ECE workforce attain only minimal preservice credentials, and the field needs more information about inservice professional development models that might effectively train teachers, no matter what their prior experience or education level. With the aim of addressing this policy context, this paper reports on the professional development provided to caregivers in the U.S. military's child development centers. The military model utilizes both a &quot;one-­size-­fits-­all&quot; and constructivist approach and comprises four distinct phases. Each phase is provided or coordinated by an on­site Training and Curriculum Specialist and takes place within a broader context of support. By describing the components contributing to the military model, this paper highlights the many interrelated inputs that may be essential aspects of an ECE teacher professional development system, thus also offering lessons for policy makers who wish to upgrade professional development policies as a means for improving ECE program quality.
Evidence on Effective Early Childhood Interventions from the United Kingdom: An Evaluation of the Peers Early Education Partnership (PEEP)
Author: Evangelou, Maria
Date: 2007-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Early Childhood Education,Program Evaluation,Disadvantaged Youth,Parent Education,Caregiver Training,Child Development,Longitudinal Studies,Quasiexperimental Design,Pretests Posttests,Comparative Analysis,Social Development,Emotional Development,Standardized Tests,Early Intervention,Program Effectiveness,Parent Participation,Achievement Gains,Vocabulary Development,Listening Comprehension,Reading Comprehension,Number Concepts,Self Esteem,Cognitive Development,Rating Scales,Phonological Awareness,Questionnaires,Preschool Children,Statistical Analysis,Scores

Efforts to improve the educational achievement of children, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, are at the heart of current government policies in the United Kingdom. The Peers Early Education Partnership (PEEP) is an intervention that, since 1995, has worked directly with parents and caregivers of children from infancy to 5 years of age in a deprived area of Oxford and, recently, in other areas. This paper explores the effects of the PEEP parental education program on children's development. A longitudinal quasi­-experimental design, including pretest and post-test measures, was used to compare a group of children whose parents had access to PEEP with a group of children with similar demographic characteristics whose parents did not have such access. In order to assess the effects of PEEP on children's cognitive, language, and social-­emotional development, standardized tests and educational tasks were administered to the children upon entry to the intervention (at age 3) and after one and two years (at ages 4 and 5). This paper discusses the effects of two years of parental participation in PEEP on children (at age 5). Gains were found in vocabulary, verbal comprehension, understanding about books and print, number concepts, and self-­esteem related to both cognitive and physical competence. Thus, working directly through groups of parents was found to be an effective way of enhancing children's cognitive and social­-emotional development.
&quot;Quarters Are What You Put into the Bubble Gum Machine&quot;: Numeracy Interactions during Parentchild Play
Author: Vandermaas­-Peeler, Maureen
Date: 2007-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Teaching Methods,Numeracy,Parent Child Relationship,Young Children,Mothers,Toys,Mathematical Concepts,Parents as Teachers,Mathematics Skills,Preschool Education,Family School Relationship,Surveys,Interviews,Video Technology,Observation,Coding

Literacy has been studied extensively in the context of children's play, but few studies exist of numeracy development through play. The purpose of this study was to investigate the frequency and type of numeracy exchanges that occurred spontaneously during parent-child play. Twenty-six 4-year-olds and their mothers played with a variety of toys, including a cash register and play money, for 15 minutes. Three types of numeracy interactions were examined, including cultural, procedural, and mathematical exchanges. Results indicated that approximately one-half of the numeracy interactions related to mathematical concepts, one-third to cultural exchanges, and one-sixth to procedural information. The majority of parents provided conceptual information through implicit teaching rather than direct, didactic teaching of number skills during play. Parents initiated significantly more numeracy interactions than children, but the 4-year-olds initiated about one-fifth of the exchanges. The present study has implications for preschool and kindergarten programs, parent education, and home-school partnerships. Connections between the home and literacy development are often studied, but numeracy connections and home environments have been ignored. Teachers can capitalize on the opportunity to reinforce numeracy concepts being taught more formally at school by including informal, home-based play activities as well as structured number activities with parental involvement. Parents and children in this study demonstrated that numeracy-related interactions occur naturally in discourse during play, and that play is an important social context for guidance of numeracy development.
The Hospital Project
Author: Sánchez, Xiomara
Date: 2007-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Young Children,Preschool Education,Hispanic American Students,African American Students,Spanish Speaking,Bilingualism,English Language Learners,Hospitals,Student Projects,Public Schools,Program Development,Field Trips,Health Education,Play,Laboratories,Experiential Learning,Language Skills

This article describes an investigation of medical facilities undertaken by 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old children in a dual-language prekindergarten program in Chicago, Illinois. The article describes the phases of the project and documents the children's involvement in the project through anecdotal reports, photographs, and samples of the children's work. The article also indicates the Illinois Early Learning Standards and Benchmarks for 3- to 4-year-olds that were addressed through project work. Teacher's reflections conclude the article.
The Effects of Project Work in a First-Grade Classroom: A Little Goes a Long Way
Author: Dresden, Janna
Date: 2007-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Student Projects,Active Learning,Elementary School Students,Grade 1,Public Schools,Economically Disadvantaged,Minority Group Students,One Parent Family,Elementary School Science,Science Instruction,Animals,Units of Study,State Standards,Teaching Methods,Comparative Analysis,Educational Opportunities,Early Childhood Education,Instructional Effectiveness,Nonparametric Statistics

This article discusses how a brief project-based unit promoted the learning of children in a first-grade classroom. The children attended a public elementary school located in a southeastern university town in the United States. Approximately 94% of the students in the school were from economically disadvantaged families. No children in this classroom were Caucasian, and most of them came from single-parent households. We compared the children's learning and performance in a teacher-directed science unit on animals versus a project-based unit on chicks. Results revealed that more state-mandated objectives were covered during the project-based unit than during the teacher-directed unit and that children had &quot;more to say&quot; by using more words and expressing more specific and accurate ideas after the project-based instruction. The project also provided more enriched learning opportunities than the traditional teacher-directed unit. Implications for early childhood teacher education are included.