ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Adoption of ASL Classifiers as Delivered by Head-Mounted Displays in a Planetarium Show
Author: Hintz, Eric G.
Date: 2015-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: American Sign Language,Deafness,Hearing Impairments,Recreational Facilities,Astronomy,Secondary School Students,Visual Aids,Science Education,Secondary School Science,Technology Uses in Education,Educational Technology

Accommodating the planetarium experience to members of the deaf or hard-of-hearing community has often created situations that are either disruptive to the rest of the audience or provide an insufficient accommodation. To address this issue, we examined the use of head-mounted displays to deliver an American Sign Language &quot;sound track&quot; to learners in the planetarium.&quot; Here we present results from a feasibility study to see if an ASL &quot;sound track&quot; delivered through a head-mount display can be understood by deaf junior to senior high aged students who are fluent in ASL. We examined the adoption of ASL classifiers that were used as part of the &quot;sound track&quot; for a full dome planetarium show. We found that about 90% of all students in our sample adopted at least one classifier from the show. In addition, those who viewed the &quot;sound track&quot; in a head-mounted display did at least as well as those who saw the &quot;sound track&quot; projected directly on the dome. These results suggest that ASL transmitted through head-mounted displays is a promising method to help improve learning for those whose primary language is ASL and merits further investigation.
Questioning the Fidelity of the &quot;Next Generation Science Standards&quot; for Astronomy and Space Sciences Education
Author: Slater, Stephanie J.
Date: 2015-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Fidelity,Academic Standards,Science Education,Astronomy,Space Sciences,Comparative Analysis,Content Analysis,Educational Change,Classification,Curriculum Evaluation,Curriculum Implementation,Elementary Secondary Education

Although the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are not federally mandated national standards or performance expectations for K-12 schools in the United States, they stand poised to become a de facto national science and education policy, as state governments, publishers of curriculum materials, and assessment providers across the country consider adopting them. In order to facilitate national buy-in and adoptions, Achieve, Inc., the non-profit corporation awarded the contract for writing the NGSS, has repeatedly asserted the development of the Standards to be a state-driven and transparent process, in which the scientific content is taken &quot;verbatim&quot;, from the 2011 NRC report, Frameworks for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas. This paper reports on an independently conducted fidelity check within the content domain of astronomy and the space sciences, conducted to determine the extent to which the NGSS science content is guided by the Frameworks, and the extent to which any changes have altered the scientific intent of that document. The side-by-side, two-document comparative analysis indicates that the science of the NGSS is significantly different from the Frameworks. Further, the alterations in the science represent a lack of fidelity, in that they have altered the parameters of the science and the instructional exposure (e.g., timing and emphasis). As a result the NGSS are now poised to interfere with widely desired science education reform and improvement. This unexpected finding affords scientists, educators, and professional societies with an opportunity, if not a professional obligation, to engage in positively impacting the quality of science education by conducting independent fidelity checks across other disciplines. This could provide a much needed formal support and guidance to schools, teachers, curriculum developers, and assessment providers.
Impact of Collaborative Groups versus Individuals in Undergraduate Inquiry-Based Astronomy Laboratory Learning Exercises
Author: Sibbernsen, Kendra J.
Date: 2014-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Mixed Methods Research,Quasiexperimental Design,Undergraduate Students,College Science,Astronomy,Inquiry,Cooperative Learning,Independent Study,Comparative Analysis,Pretests Posttests,Science Laboratories,Student Surveys,Questionnaires

A mixed-method quasi-experimental study was designed to determine how 130 undergraduates in an introductory astronomy survey course laboratory changed their understanding of scientific inquiry working as individuals in relative isolation compared to working in small, collaborative learning groups when using specially designed astronomy curricula based on a backwards faded scaffolding approach (Slater, Slater, &amp; Lyons, 2010). The results of this two-group comparison study were determined by examining the change in responses from the pretest to the posttest administration of the Views of Scientific Inquiry (VOSI) survey (Schwartz, Lederman, &amp; Lederman, 2008), the increase in scores on laboratory exercises, and analysis of field notes from the instructor. Analysis suggests that all students increased their understanding of scientific inquiry and astronomy when using the specially designed course materials regardless if the students were working in groups or individually in the learning laboratories. However, qualitative analysis yields further insight that there exists a qualitative difference in the complexity of research questions students working in groups elect to pursue over those students working independently.
A Brief History of Publishing Papers on Astronomy Education Research
Author: Fraknoi, Andrew
Date: 2014-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Astronomy,College Science,Periodicals,Journal Articles,Science Teachers,Educational Research

While some research had been done on K-12 and planetarium astronomy teaching from the 1930's to the 1980's, the growth of research on college physics education offered astronomy education researchers a model for examining techniques for teaching introductory college astronomy survey &quot;Astronomy 101&quot; courses as well. This early research was published in widely scattered journals and rarely reached the practitioners of astronomy education. The need to inform and unite the community of astronomy educators led to the birth of the journal &quot;Astronomy Education Review,&quot; whose history and sudden death is analyzed. This paper provides a short history of publishing astronomy education research results and provides context for the advent of the new &quot;Journal of Astronomy &amp; Earth Sciences Education&quot; (JAESE).
Exploring How Research Experiences for Teachers Changes Their Understandings of the Nature of Science and Scientific Inquiry
Author: Buxner, Sanlyn R.
Date: 2014-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Scientific Principles,Inquiry,Science Education,Qualitative Research,Surveys,Knowledge Level,Concept Formation,Teacher Researchers,Teacher Surveys,Pretests Posttests,Semi Structured Interviews,Focus Groups,Observation,Program Effectiveness,Faculty Development,Elementary Secondary Education,Summer Programs,Coding,Scientific Methodology,Misconceptions

The nature of science is a prevalent theme across United States national science education standards and frameworks as well as other documents that guide formal and informal science education reform. To support teachers in engaging their students in authentic scientific practices and reformed teaching strategies, research experiences for teachers offered in national laboratories, university research centers, and national field-sites promise opportunities to help teachers update their current understanding of STEM fields and experience firsthand how scientific research is conducted with the end goal of supporting more inquiry-based teaching approaches in their classrooms. This qualitative interpretive study used an adapted Views of Nature of Science and Views on Scientific Inquiry surveys and protocols to investigate changes in 43 practicing teachers' understandings about the nature of science and scientific inquiry as a result of participation in one of three summer science research programs. Each program provided participants with research experiences alongside professional researchers as well as activities intended to increase participants' abilities to provide inquiry-based science learning activities for their students. Data were collected using open-ended surveys pre-program, post-program and long-term follow-up surveys, semi-structured interviews, focus groups, along with researcher's observations and field-notes. Participation in these programs led to small, measurable enhancements in teachers' understandings of scientific inquiry and the nature of science. Teachers' prior experience with research was found to have the strongest relationship to their knowledge of the nature of science and scientific inquiry. The data in this study provides evidence that research experiences can provide valuable experiences to support teachers' improved knowledge of how science is conducted.
A Study of Undergraduate Students' Alternative Conceptions of Earth's Interior Using Drawing Tasks
Author: McAllister, Meredith L.
Date: 2014-12-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Undergraduate Students,Science Instruction,Earth Science,Scientific Concepts,Freehand Drawing,Semi Structured Interviews,Misconceptions,Geology,Phenomenology,Protocol Analysis

Learning fundamental geoscience topics such as plate tectonics, earthquakes, and volcanoes requires students to develop a deep understanding of the conceptual models geologists use when describing the structure and dynamics of Earth's interior. Despite the importance of these mental models underlying much of the undergraduate geoscience curriculum, surprisingly little research related to this complex idea exists in the discipline-based science education research literature. To better understand non-science-majoring undergraduates' conceptual models of Earth's interior, student-generated drawings and interviews were used to probe student understanding of the Earth. Ninety-two semi-structured interviews were conducted with non-science-major college students at the beginning of an entry-level geology course at a large Midwestern university. Students were asked to draw a picture of Earth's interior and provide think-aloud explanations of their drawings. The results reveal that students hold a wide range of alternative conceptions about Earth, with only a small fraction having scientifically accurate ideas. Students' understandings ranged from conceptualizing Earth's interior as consisting of horizontal layers of rock and dirt, to more sophisticated views with Earth's interior being composed of concentric layers with unique physical and chemical characteristics. Processes occurring within Earth, such as &quot;convection,&quot; were rarely mentioned or explained. These results provide a first-steps basis from which to further explore college students' thinking and contribute to the growing body of knowledge on earth science teaching and geoscience education research.
Assessing Two Theoretical Frameworks of Civic Engagement
Author: García-Cabrero, Benilde
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Citizen Participation,Models,Social Capital,Adolescents,Knowledge Level,Activism,Elections,Regression (Statistics),Foreign Countries

The purpose of this study was to empirically test two major theoretical models: a modified version of the social capital model (Pattie, Seyd and Whiteley, 2003), and the Informed Social Engagement Model (Barr and Selman, 2014; Selman and Kwok, 2010), to explain civic participation and civic knowledge of adolescents from Chile, Colombia and Mexico, using data from the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study 2009 (Schulz, et al., 2010). The models were used to identify factors associated with different levels of knowledge and civic participation: expected participation in legal and illegal protests, and electoral participation. Data were analyzed using regression analysis. Results show that the Informed Social Engagement approach (ISEM), explains better the observed differences in civic knowledge and civic participation, than the Social Capital Model (SCM). That is, the expected values associated with the variables included in the ISEM are closer to the observed values, than those predicted by the SCM. This is true for the three outcomes (expected participation in legal protests, illegal protests, and electoral participation) and in the three countries analyzed (Chile, Colombia and Mexico).
Producing and Consuming the Controversial--A Social Media Perspective on Political Conversations in the Social Science Classroom
Author: Andersson, Erik
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Controversial Issues (Course Content),Social Media,Political Attitudes,Interpersonal Communication,Classroom Communication,Discussion (Teaching Technique),Social Studies,Discourse Analysis,Current Events,Educational Strategies,Educational Practices,Ideology,Role of Education,Socialization,Student Educational Objectives,Student Development,Blended Learning,Social Action,Communication Strategies

Teachers find it difficult to conduct political controversial conversations in the social science classroom and due to an increased use of social media in educational settings new challenges and possibilities are raised. The use of social media causes fundamental changes to the role of the learner who becomes a producer and consumer--a prosumer--of educational content. With a social media perspective and a didactical focus on learning in democracy and political action the article discusses didactical conditions and possibilities of political controversial conversations in social science education and derives a set of didactic strategies. When approaching the classroom as a diverse ideological public space, recognising the students as political agents and using a social media perspective it is possible to balance the function of education--socialisation, qualification and subjectification--and at the same time stimulate societal engagement and political action.
An Avenue for Challenging Sexism: Examining the High School Sociology Classroom
Author: Stevens, Kaylene Mae
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: High School Students,Secondary School Teachers,High Schools,Gender Differences,Gender Bias,Feminism,Interviews,Observation,Teacher Attitudes,Sociology,Sex Fairness,Social Justice,Social Stratification,Qualitative Research

In this interpretative qualitative study, the researchers investigated the beliefs and practices of six high school sociology teachers in relation to the teaching of gender. Using a feminist lens, this study employed mixed methods, analyzing teacher interviews, observations, and classroom artifacts. The results showed that the teachers viewed sociology as different from other social studies courses, because it serves as a more intentional way to reduce sexism and gender stratification. As such, the teachers saw the sociology classroom as a place for students to grapple with issues of gender stratification and inequity. Teachers' beliefs related to gender and sexism strongly influenced what they saw as the purpose of sociology class, and it influenced the instructional practices that they used. Recommendations are made related to professional development around issues of gender equity.
A Qualitative Study on Learning and Teaching with Learning Paths in a Learning Management System
Author: De Smet, Cindy
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Qualitative Research,Integrated Learning Systems,Technology Integration,Secondary School Teachers,Science Teachers,Biology,Semi Structured Interviews,Learning Processes,Information Technology,Professional Development,Barriers,Coding,Teacher Attitudes,Satisfaction,Outcomes of Education,Student Characteristics,Social Sciences

This article presents the findings of a qualitative study (carried out between 2011 and 2013) about the adoption and implementation of learning paths within a Learning Management System (LMS). Sixteen secondary school biology teachers of the GO! Network in Flanders (an urbanized region in Belgium) were involved in the study and questioned via semi-structured interviews. Two research questions are addressed: (1) what are the perceived conditions at school and at teacher level affecting the use of learning paths? (2) how are these conditions related to the expected outcomes? Research results show teachers are satisfied with learning paths as an educational tool, but reflect mixed feelings as to the impact on student learning outcomes. Clear barriers are identified at the school and teacher level, thwarting the implementation of learning paths in secondary education. The availability of a reliable and accessible ICT infrastructure, the quality of technical and pedagogical support, teacher professional development and the mastery of teacher Information and Communication Technology competencies, among others, were found to be essential.
Towards an Understanding of Interdisciplinarity: The Case of a British University
Author: Razzaq, Jamila
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Interdisciplinary Approach,Mixed Methods Research,Case Studies,Semi Structured Interviews,School Restructuring,Research Methodology,College Faculty,Teacher Attitudes,Institutional Mission,Incentives,Teacher Surveys,Research Universities,Definitions,Problem Solving,Foreign Countries

This study explores what academics in one major university in Great Britain (The Great Western University) perceive interdisciplinary research (IDR) to be, and in doing so, differentiates it from associated concepts, such as multidisciplinary research and transdisciplinary research, found in the research literature. This study is important because the university in which the study is set has undertaken a complete restructuring of colleges and departments to support interdisciplinary research. The inquiry utilized a two-phased, mixed methods, descriptive case study to examine perceptions of the nature, significance, and benefits of multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research. The methods of data collection were semi-structured interview (25 participants), survey (127 participants), and analysis of archival documents. The findings indicate that the restructuring of The Great Western University to support interdisciplinary research began on less than firm footing. While scholars seem to have clarified in the definitions of interdisciplinary approaches, in practice there is still a lack of clarity in sectors which are less familiar with interdisciplinary approaches to solving major problems facing society. We identified issues of clarity of terminology and mission, flexibility of implementation, and alignment of faculty incentives as involving necessary but unmet conditions for fostering and promoting interdisciplinarity throughout the university.
Interdisciplinarity and Research on Local Issues in Schools: Policies and Experiences from Colombia
Author: Rodríguez, José Gregorio
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Interdisciplinary Approach,Local Issues,Educational Policy,Educational Research,Integrated Curriculum,Elementary Secondary Education,Educational Practices,College School Cooperation,Curriculum Development,Research Projects,Educational Change,Change Strategies

This article examines education policy on curricular integration and interdisciplinary practices in primary and secondary education (K-11) in Colombia. It presents an overview of institutional and teachers' discourses and practices concerning this subject, based on empirical work that was done in Bogotá. Finally, it presents a cooperative research project undertaken by 16 schools and a university that aimed to transform the curriculum with interdisciplinary projects focused on local issues. The conclusion reached is that, despite the complexity inherent in these kinds of projects, it is possible to mobilize people and use knowledge to transform the school, giving it new meaning and enriching its ties to its surroundings and the world.
Following the Yellow Brick Road: Interdisciplinary Practices in the Land of Oz
Author: Long, Janette
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Interdisciplinary Approach,Educational Development,Educational History,Educational Practices,National Curriculum,Teaching Methods,Integrated Curriculum,Governance,Administrative Organization,Course Organization,Performance Factors,Academic Standards,Instructional Innovation,Definitions,Case Studies,Educational Policy

This article explores the history and development of interdisciplinarity within the Australian context. Conditions and circumstances for the emergence of interdisciplinary approaches are explored with discussion identifying how these approaches impact and shape national curriculum, teachers' practice and pedagogy. Policies, proposals, and debate are continuing to call for interdisciplinary practices that make the curricula relevant, significant and focused on the needs of all Australians for the present and in the future. Examples of interdisciplinary practices provide an overview of how interdisciplinarity is embedded within school structures and education discourse across Australia.
Interdisciplinary Practices in Ontario: Past, Present, and Future
Author: Clausen, Kurt W.
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Interdisciplinary Approach,Educational Practices,Educational Change,Educational History,Educational Development,Educational Trends,Integrated Curriculum,Alignment (Education),Accountability,Relevance (Education),Social Influences,Change Strategies,Educational Policy

In Canada, the province of Ontario has had a rather turbulent relationship with interdisciplinarity as it has tried to implement this practice into the public school system. Specifically, the provincial government has repeatedly attempted to introduce such reforms as integrated units, harmonized objectives, and open-concept, student-centered pods, only to reverse course due to economic setbacks or popular backlashes. This paper examines the fluctuating status of interdisciplinary practices within the province since a Department of Education was first created in the mid-1800s. It also discusses the present state of interdisciplinarity in Ontario and ends with some tentative predictions of what the future may hold for this innovation.
In Search of Interdisciplinarity in Schools in France: From Curriculum to Practice
Author: Baillat, Gilles
Date: 2010-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Interdisciplinary Approach,Educational Practices,Educational Policy,Barriers,Curriculum Implementation,Teaching Methods,Learning Strategies,Educational Change,Learning Activities,Elementary Secondary Education,Educational Development,Behavioral Objectives,Fidelity

Interdisciplinary processes are being developed for a better present and future in primary and secondary education teaching in France. Over the past few years, the education authorities have increased incentives to open the subjects for one another and created new teaching-learning programs for interdisciplinary purposes. In spite of the obvious determination from the Ministère, the results of research on daily practices, as well as most of the official reports, show that the teachers of primary and secondary schools experience real challenges in implementing truly interdisciplinary teaching-learning activities.