ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
iSee: Teaching Visual Learning in an Organic Virtual Learning Environment
Author: Han, Hsiao-Cheng
Date: 2017-11-21
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Visual Learning,Virtual Classrooms,Experiential Learning,Graduate Students,Student Attitudes,Theory Practice Relationship,Art Education,Instructional Effectiveness,Theories,Computer Simulation,Participatory Research,Action Research,Grounded Theory,Foreign Countries

This paper presents a three-year participatory action research project focusing on the graduate level course entitled Visual Learning in 3D Animated Virtual Worlds. The purpose of this research was to understand &quot;How the virtual world processes of observing and creating can best help students learn visual theories&quot;. The first cycle of this research revealed that hands-on virtual world experiences do help students perceive the real world environment and learn visual theories. The second cycle of the research showed that a teacher-free learning environment was well perceived by students. The third cycle of the research showed that the intensive course did not allow students to have time to reflect or form the deeper understanding necessary for making connections between theory and practice. Therefore, this research suggests that the best way to help students learn visual theories is through creating a teacher-free visual learning environment within the span of a regular course.
Interwoven Story: A Narrative Study of Textiles as Educators
Author: Tremblay-Dion, Catherine-Laura
Date: 2017-11-21
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Handicrafts,Personal Narratives,Art Education

Drawing from both narrative research and Joe Kincheloe's work of research bricolage this study inquired into how textiles have served as educator throughout my life. Weaving, as the earliest and most integral of textile fabrications, is particularly featured in this narrative inquiry. A loom, in its most basic form, consists of three components; a rigid weaving structure (the frame), cording to weave onto (the warp), and materials to weave with (the weft). This three-part weaving structure also acted as the metaphorical and physical writing structure throughout my work. Structurally, my work views narrative methods, supported by bricolage, as its research frame. This acts as the main frame for the analytic weaving of the study. The warp of my work were the textiles themselves, serving as the material educator I returned to as anchors for my woven stories. By understanding our own history of clothing, we might unclothe our relationship to textiles. This &quot;unclothing&quot; can act as a basis for grounding curriculum that is largely ignored in schools today.
Virtual Worlds and Gamification to Increase Integration of International Students in Higher Education: An Inclusive Design Approach
Author: Zhang, Bo
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Computer Simulation,Educational Games,Foreign Students,College Students,Design,Student Participation,Foreign Countries,Questionnaires,Empathy,Student Attitudes,Teaching Methods,Cooperative Learning,Interpersonal Relationship,English Language Learners,Cooperative Planning

In response to the growing trend of internationalisation in education, it is important to consider approaches to help international students integrate in their new settings. One possible approach involves the use of e-Learning tools, such as virtual worlds and gamification. To maximise the potential effectiveness of such tools, it may be beneficial to involve international students in a technological codesign process. This paper develops an inclusive design process based on the definitions of Inclusive Design outlined by the SMARTlab and IDRC teams, as part of a co-design specification in practice, gathering specific information about the needs of Chinese students in Ireland at University College Dublin (UCD) through a questionnaire and an empathy-driven design approach. From the responses of questionnaire, we found that students would find beneficial many features that virtual environments can provide (e.g., 3D campus tours and virtual lectures). We also found that collaborative, social activities were a more popular way to potentially increase language and cultural understanding than structured courses. Finally, we learned that the incorporation of game-like elements in virtual environments requires careful planning: while this may be effective in increasing user engagement with information, users do not want to have to be successful in games in order to gain access to essential resources or information. Based on these specific needs provided by these Chinese students themselves, a virtual campus (VC) which was created in a unique virtual platform called Terf® has been constructed.
Engaging Students to Learn through the Affective Domain: A New Framework for Teaching in the Geosciences
Author: van der Hoeven Kraft, Katrien J.
Date: 2011-05-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Undergraduate Students,Geology,Earth Science,Introductory Courses,Learner Engagement,Learning Motivation,Educational Psychology,Psychological Patterns,Environmental Education,Interdisciplinary Approach,Student Needs,Student Interests,Attitude Measures,Models,Learning Theories,Best Practices,Cooperative Learning,Learning Strategies,Experiential Learning,Place Based Education,Student Evaluation,Questionnaires,Self Concept Measures,Self Efficacy

To motivate student learning, the affective domain--emotion, attitude, and motivation--must be engaged. We propose a model that is specific to the geosciences with theoretical components of motivation and emotion from the field of educational psychology, and a term we are proposing, &quot;connections with Earth&quot; based on research in the fields of environmental education and art education. When all three of these components (motivation, emotion, and connections with Earth) are combined in the classroom, students may experience greater interest in and connection to the content. This interest and connection may lead to greater motivation to learn and value the content. We use our model to evaluate three practices in geoscience education and show that their demonstrated success in achieving student learning lies in the attention to students' affective needs as well as to delivery of content. We propose a future research agenda using currently developed, validated instruments that can measure these motivational and attitudinal shifts to determine what practices work best for our students from both cognitive and affective perspectives. Although this was conducted in both Europe and the United States, the implications of this research may extend across cultures and nationalities. Additional research needs to be conducted to understand these implications.
Relations between Accountability and School Improvement Strategies in New York City&apos;s Children First Networks
Author: McMahon, Kelly A.
Date: 2017-12-11
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Urban Schools,Accountability,Educational Improvement,Educational Quality,Educational Change,Partnerships in Education,Networks,Administrators,Principals,Elementary Secondary Education,Program Effectiveness,Semi Structured Interviews

Federal school accountability policies like No Child Left Behind were based on a logic that measuring school performance and making the results public through tools like school report cards would incentivize educators to create strategies for improving school quality. Yet, most schools needed more than incentives to be able to design improvement strategies that would lead to all students becoming proficient in standard subjects like math and ELA. As a result, states and school districts implemented an infrastructure of supports. To date, there is little research that considers how support providers use accountability tools to diagnose problems and design targeted improvement strategies. Without better knowledge of how schools and providers commit to particular improvement strategies, it is difficult to determine whether we need better school report cards or strategies, or both to improve school quality. This study aims to address this gap by examining how four Children First Networks in New York City used accountability metrics to develop targeted improvement strategies, which led to distinctly different improvement strategies. The article closes with implications for policy.
Designing Inclusive Learning for Twice Exceptional Students in Minecraft
Author: O'Sullivan, Muireann
Date: 2017-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Inclusion,Student Interests,Relevance (Education),Educational Environment,Student Needs,Video Games,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Academically Gifted,Learning Disabilities,Puzzles,Thinking Skills,Teaching Methods

Twice exceptional learners are intellectually or creatively gifted yet also experience one or more learning difficulties. These students face a unique set of challenges in educational settings. Recommended strategies for accommodating twice exceptional learners focus on--among other things--(1) providing freedom and variety, so that students can engage with learning in a way that interests them, plays to their strengths, and compensates for their learning difficulties; (2) allowing students to engage with simulated and real-world problems; and (3) providing an adaptable environment that is pleasing to students, and sensitive to any specific needs they may have as a result of learning difficulties. In this article, we show how the video game Minecraft can facilitate learning environments that embody these recommendations. We describe in detail a variety of specific techniques for implementing such environments, including contextualised learning artefacts and puzzle rooms. We then demonstrate examples of learning environments that we have previously implemented using these techniques. These environments are currently being used in an empirical evaluation, as part of a larger project investigating the effectiveness of Minecraft as an educational resource for twice exceptional students.
Developing Transferrable Geospatial Skills in a Liberal Arts Context
Author: Colaianne, Blake A.
Date: 2011-05-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Undergraduate Students,Spatial Ability,Gender Differences,Grade Point Average,Visualization,Geology,Liberal Arts,Fine Arts,Intellectual Disciplines,Social Sciences,Humanities,Statistical Analysis

Geology education usually takes place within the context of a broader curriculum, but specific synergies between disciplines have rarely been explored or exploited. Here, we have assessed the spatial visualization skills of undergraduate students in a variety of disciplines to determine which are most compatible with a geology curriculum. Spatial abilities are considered one of the most important cognitive skills in the geosciences but there has been little comparative work among disciplines (and particularly non-Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics disciplines). Our results demonstrate that geology students had the highest average spatial test scores (a mean of 16.4 out of a possible 20) among the 11 disciplines assessed, and this remained true even after correcting for the effects of gender and grade point average. Both physics and fine arts students also performed well on this assessment. A major implication of our study is that geology students can deliberately enhance their spatial abilities by taking courses in other fields, such as the fine arts, which are known to build those same abilities. In this way, geology curricula may be developed to maximize the benefits of a broad education and thus, ultimately, produce higher-performing geologists.
Introductory Geological Mapwork--An Active Learning Classroom
Author: Drennan, Gillian R.
Date: 2011-05-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,College Freshmen,Introductory Courses,Geology,Maps,Map Skills,Visualization,Hands on Science,Student Developed Materials,Scientific Concepts,Pretests Posttests,Intervention,Correlation,Statistical Analysis

First year Geology students at the University of the Witwatersrand experience problems with both three-dimensional and &quot;four-dimensional&quot; (or time) visualization when attempting to interpret geological maps. These difficulties have been addressed by the introduction of hands-on modeling exercises, which allow students to construct three-dimensional geological structures and examine their projection on maps and cross-sections. The modeling exercises also enable students to understand the interaction between geological processes such as faulting, folding, tilting, erosion and deposition, and the resultant landforms that these processes create. Pre- and post-tests were conducted to determine the success of the intervention, which revealed an improvement in the students' abilities to understand geological concepts and to solve geological problems relating to map interpretation.
Influence over School Discipline Policy: Variation across Levels of Governance, School Contexts, and Time
Author: Curran, F. Chris
Date: 2017-12-04
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: School Policy,Discipline Policy,Governance,Charter Schools,Equal Education,Outcomes of Education,Regression (Statistics),Institutional Characteristics,Principals,Administrator Attitudes,Minority Group Students,Teacher Role,Administrator Role,Policy Formation,Elementary Secondary Education,National Surveys

Little research explores the relative influence of various stakeholders on school discipline policy. Using data from the SASS and ordered logistic regression, this study explores such influence while assessing variation across schools types and changes over time. Principals consistently rate themselves and teachers as the most influential stakeholders over setting school discipline policy. The proportion of racial minorities in a school predicts greater influence from higher levels of governance while charter schools report less. Increases in influence of principals and teachers over time are documented. The results may inform both policymakers and practitioners as they work to improve equitable disciplinary outcomes for students.
Technology-Enabled Curriculum for Transnational Education in Art History and Theory
Author: Clarke, Angela
Date: 2017-11-21
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Art History,Technology Uses in Education,Case Studies,Undergraduate Study,College Curriculum,Foreign Countries,Art Education,Blended Learning,Curriculum Development,Cultural Differences,Global Approach

The landscape of tertiary education has significantly changed in recent years with increasing pressure on universities to &quot;globalize&quot; and expand their reach internationally. In this context, there are a range of pedagogical and cultural issues to consider when designing curriculum to address the needs of students taking courses in different geographical locations. In addition to ensuring equivalence and quality, developing context-specific learning resources is a critical part of international delivery. Providing flexibility and autonomy to meet specific geocultural teaching and learning needs is vital. Programs and courses benefit from collaboration and connectivity between students and staff in all locations to ensure meaningful global learning environments. This paper focuses on a case study from an Australian University and examines how curriculum and delivery modes can be adapted to address the changing needs of transnational education a global context. The case study involves the renewal of a core undergraduate art history and theory subject that is offered in art and design programs across three different locations (Melbourne, Hong Kong and Vietnam). A series of learning materials and assessment tasks were designed to maximize a blended learning environment comprising face-to-face workshops, lectures, and online components. The result is a technology-enabled, common curriculum framework designed to allow for content to be adapted for local delivery.
Improving Decision Making Skill Using an Online Volcanic Crisis Simulation: Impact of Data Presentation Format
Author: Barclay, Elizabeth J.
Date: 2011-05-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Decision Making Skills,Skill Development,Computer Simulation,Geology,Physical Geography,Visualization,Instructional Effectiveness,Outcomes of Education,Thinking Skills,Earth Science,Computer Assisted Instruction,Undergraduate Students,Questionnaires,Statistical Analysis

Creating effective computer-based learning exercises requires an understanding of optimal user interface designs for improving higher order cognitive skills. Using an online volcanic crisis simulation previously shown to improve decision making skill, we find that a user interface using a graphical presentation of the volcano monitoring data reduces the effectiveness of the exercise compared to an informationally equivalent text-based data presentation format. Results are consistent with earlier work demonstrating that the over-automation of quantitative analyses in computer-based learning reduces their effectiveness in improving higher order skills. Additional research is critically needed to clarify the conditions under which user interfaces can be optimized for ease of use while not sacrificing the exercises' effectiveness in improving higher order cognitive skills.
Improving Introductory Astronomy Education in American Colleges and Universities: A Review of Recent Progress
Author: Waller, William H.
Date: 2011-11-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Introductory Courses,Astronomy,Science Instruction,Teaching Methods,Undergraduate Students,Educational Improvement,Professional Associations,Earth Science,Space Sciences,Educational Finance,Educational Resources,Faculty Development,Textbooks

Over the past 15 years, professional astronomers, their societies, and associated funding agencies have collaborated to improve astronomy teaching and learning at the introductory undergraduate level. Many nonscience majors and preservice teachers enroll in these introductory astronomy courses, thus meriting the focused attention. In this review of recent developments, issues, approaches, and resources, we describe and document key instructional assets that have been made available to college and university faculty who wish to enhance their teaching of introductory astronomy. We find that although faculty support has progressed intermittently, there exist numerous programs and resources that faculty can access to increase student engagement and learning in astronomy. As funding support for these various instructional assets have waxed and waned, the professional societies have served as vital anchors and agents for advancing the profession of astronomy education at the introductory undergraduate level. Our findings, though focused on astronomy education, can be applied to the practice of introductory undergraduate education throughout the Earth and space sciences.
Enhancing Geoscience Education within a Minority-Serving Preservice Teacher Population
Author: Ellins, Katherine K.
Date: 2012-02-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Earth Science,Preservice Teachers,Minority Group Students,Pretests Posttests,Program Effectiveness,Achievement Gains,Knowledge Level,Preservice Teacher Education,Science Teachers,Black Colleges,Elementary Secondary Education,Student Projects,Teamwork,Science Achievement,Student Surveys,Focus Groups,Pedagogical Content Knowledge

The University of Texas Institute for Geophysics and Huston-Tillotson University collaborated on a proof of concept project to offer a geoscience course to undergraduate students and preservice teachers in order to expand the scope of geoscience education within the local minority student and teacher population. Students were exposed to rigorous Earth science materials, geoscientists conducting cutting-edge research, headliner topics, and pedagogical approaches to teaching. An evaluation of the data reveal that the course received mixed, but overall positive reviews and that student performance was mixed. Pre- and posttest results indicate that students made only modest gains. Half of the students performed at levels that matched our expectations and will be able to apply the geoscience knowledge and skills that they learned in an elementary school setting. The course contributed to the preparation of minority teachers to teach Earth science in Texas, filling a critical need. The authors, in collaboration with a minority-serving institution and as part of the preparation for a preservice teacher program, benefited from the experience; they subsequently applied the lessons learned to a program of professional development for minority-serving science teachers, the TeXas Earth and Space Science (TXESS) Revolution.
Using Google Earth and Satellite Imagery to Foster Place-Based Teaching in an Introductory Physical Geology Course
Author: Monet, Julie
Date: 2012-02-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Geology,Earth Science,Science Instruction,Satellites (Aerospace),Internet,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,Introductory Courses,Undergraduate Students,College Science,Student Projects,Cooperative Learning,Place Based Education,Maps,Pretests Posttests,Scoring Rubrics

Students in an introductory physical geology course often have difficulty making connections between basic course topics and assembling key concepts (beyond textbook examples) to interpret how geologic processes shape the characteristics of the local and regional natural environment. As an approach to address these issues, we designed and implemented a semester-long place-based group project, which used satellite imagery and Google Earth as a means to improve both students' conceptual knowledge of geological concepts and their understanding of geological processes. The project provided the underlying framework for both lecture and laboratory activities and was designed to reiterate and strengthen the connections across topics. Findings suggest that when given the opportunity and tools to develop a sense of place in the local and regional environment, students improve their conceptual knowledge and ability to apply critical thinking skills. Consequently, student learning becomes more meaningful and relevant to their everyday experiences.
Toward a New Conceptual Framework for Teaching about Flood Risk in Introductory Geoscience Courses
Author: Lutz, Tim
Date: 2011-02-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Earth Science,Science Instruction,Natural Disasters,Introductory Courses,Problem Solving,Educational Games,Spreadsheets,Water,Textbook Content,Probability,Risk Assessment,Educational Technology,Technology Uses in Education,College Science

An analysis of physical geology textbooks used in introductory courses shows that there is a systematic lack of clarity regarding flood risk. Some problems originate from confusion relating to statistical terms such as &quot;100-year flood&quot; and &quot;100-year floodplain.&quot; However, the main problem is conceptual: statistics such as return periods and annual probabilities do not portray the variability inherent in flood recurrence and lead to misconceptions. An alternative conception of risk is proposed based on the analogy between playing a game of chance and living in a hazardous situation. This concept leads to the introduction of statistical ensembles as a means to characterize risk as a function of the duration of exposure to a hazardous situation. Presenting risk in relation to exposure time places floods in the framework of planning and problem-solving: how does the risk that arises from where we build relate to how long we want to be there? Methods and materials in the paper show how game play and ensembles can be introduced in the classroom. A supplemental Excel spreadsheet provides the means to generate ensemble diagrams from commonly available stream data and gives instructors the potential to customize their course materials by using data from local streams.