The world needs young people who are skillful in and enthusiastic about science and who view science as their future career field. Ensuring that we will have such young people requires initiatives ...that engage students in interesting and motivating science experiences. Today, students can investigate scientific phenomena using the tools, data collection techniques, models, and theories of science in physical laboratories that support interactions with the material world or in virtual laboratories that take advantage of simulations. Here, we review a selection of the literature to contrast the value of physical and virtual investigations and to offer recommendations for combining the two to strengthen science learning.
We describe the development and validation of a new instrument, the Classroom Discourse Observation Protocol (CDOP), which quantifies teacher discourse moves (TDMs) from observational data in ...undergraduate STEM classrooms. TDMs can be conceptualized as epistemic tools that can mediate classroom discussions. Through an inductive-deductive coding process, we identified commonly occurring TDMs among a group of biology instructors (n = 13, 37 class session) teaching in Active Learning Environments. We describe the CDOP coding scheme and its associated matrix that allows observers to reliably characterize TDMs in 2-min time intervals over the course of a class period. We present the protocol, discuss how it differs from existing classroom observation protocols, and describe the process by which it was developed and validated. Also, we show how this protocol is able to discriminate the discursive practices of instructors teaching in undergraduate STEM learning environments with sample qualitative and quantitative results that illustrate its utility for assessing and improving STEM instructional practices.
Technological development is ever-evolving in all areas of life, its impact on the education field has emerged, and science is part of learning that teachers struggle with in their teaching methods. ...This study aimed to explore the effects of using a 3D virtual environment in learning science at the basic education stage and students’ attitudes towards their use. A quasi-experimental design was used in this study. A total of 99 students participated in the study, divided into two groups: an experimental group (n=50) and a control group (n=49). In this study, an achievement test and questionnaire were used as study tools after validating their validity and reliability. The data were analyzed using SPSS. Results showed that in the experimental groups that were taught science topics in 3D virtual environments, there were statistically significant differences compared to the control groups. In addition, students in the experimental group who were learning the topics in science textbooks in a 3D virtual environment showed positive attitudes toward it. The study recommends the use of 3D virtual environments in science education.
While the inquiry approach to science teaching has been widely recommended as an epistemic mechanism to promote deep content understanding, there is also increased expectation that process and other ...transferable skills should be integral part of science pedagogy. To test the hypothesis that coupling process skills to content teaching impacts academic success measures, we meta-analyzed twenty-one studies (n = 21) involving 7876 students that compared Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL), a pedagogy that provides opportunities for improving process skills during content learning through guided-inquiry activities, to standard lecture conditions. Based on conventional measures of class performance, POGIL had a small effect on achievement outcomes (effect size = 0.29, 95% CI = 0.15-0.43) but substantially improved the odds of passing a class (odds ratio = 2.02, 95% CI: 1.45-2.83). That is, participants in the POGIL pedagogy had higher odds of passing a course and roughly performed 0.3 standard deviations higher on achievement measures than participants in standard lectures. In relative risk terms, POGIL reduced the risk of failing a course by 38%. These findings suggest providing opportunities to improve process skills during class instruction does not inhibit content learning but enhances conventional success measures. We compare these findings with those of recent large meta-analysis that examined the effects of global active learning methods on achievement outcomes and course failure rates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.
This paper presents the latest advances and research in Computer Graphics education in a nutshell. It is concerned with topics that were presented at the Education Track of the Eurographics ...Conference held in Lisbon in 2016. We describe works corresponding to approaches to Computer Graphics education that are unconventional in some way and attempt to tackle unsolved problems and challenges regarding the role of arts in computer graphics education, the role of research‐oriented activities in undergraduate education and the interaction among different areas of Computer Graphics, as well as their application to courses or extra‐curricular activities. We present related works addressing these topics and report experiences, successes and issues in implementing the approaches.
This paper presents the latest advances and research in Computer Graphics education in a nutshell. It is concerned with topics that were presented at the Education Track of the Eurographics Conference held in Lisbon in 2016. We describe works corresponding to approaches to Computer Graphics education that are unconventional in some way and attempt to tackle unsolved problems and challenges regarding the role of arts in computer graphics education, the role of research‐oriented activities in undergraduate education and the interaction among different areas of Computer Graphics, as well as their application to courses or extra‐curricular activities.
Despite international advancements in gender equality across a variety of societal domains, the underrepresentation of girls and women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) ...related fields persists. In this study, we explored the possibility that the sex difference in mathematics anxiety contributes to this disparity. More specifically, we tested a number of predictions from the prominent gender stratification model, which is the leading psychological theory of cross-national patterns of sex differences in mathematics anxiety and performance. To this end, we analyzed data from 761,655 15-year old students across 68 nations who participated in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Most importantly and contra predictions, we showed that economically developed and more gender equal countries have a lower overall level of mathematics anxiety, and yet a larger national sex difference in mathematics anxiety relative to less developed countries. Further, although relatively more mothers work in STEM fields in more developed countries, these parents valued, on average, mathematical competence more in their sons than their daughters. The proportion of mothers working in STEM was unrelated to sex differences in mathematics anxiety or performance. We propose that the gender stratification model fails to account for these national patterns and that an alternative model is needed. In the discussion, we suggest how an interaction between socio-cultural values and sex-specific psychological traits can better explain these patterns. We also discuss implications for policies aiming to increase girls' STEM participation.
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