scholarly journals Building, Using, and Maximizing the Impact of Concept Inventories in the Biological Sciences: Report on a National Science Foundation–sponsored Conference on the Construction of Concept Inventories in the Biological Sciences

2007 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 277-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathy Garvin-Doxas ◽  
Michael Klymkowsky ◽  
Susan Elrod
Keyword(s):  
Biological Sciences ◽  
National Science Foundation ◽  
Biology Education ◽  
Concept Inventory ◽  
Diagnostic Tools ◽  
Student Misconceptions ◽  
Concept Inventories ◽  
National Science ◽  
Working Together ◽  
The Impact

The meeting “Conceptual Assessment in the Biological Sciences” was held March 3–4, 2007, in Boulder, Colorado. Sponsored by the National Science Foundation and hosted by University of Colorado, Boulder's Biology Concept Inventory Team, the meeting drew together 21 participants from 13 institutions, all of whom had received National Science Foundation funding for biology education. Topics of interest included Introductory Biology, Genetics, Evolution, Ecology, and the Nature of Science. The goal of the meeting was to organize and leverage current efforts to develop concept inventories for each of these topics. These diagnostic tools are inspired by the success of the Force Concept Inventory, developed by the community of physics educators to identify student misconceptions about Newtonian mechanics. By working together, participants hope to lessen the risk that groups might develop competing rather than complementary inventories.

scholarly journals The value of research funding for knowledge creation and dissemination: A study of SNSF Research Grants

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Heyard ◽  
Hanna Hottenrott
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Creation ◽  
National Science Foundation ◽  
Swiss National Science Foundation ◽  
Funding Program ◽  
National Science ◽  
New Research ◽  
Citation Metrics ◽  
Number Of Citations ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Output Indicators

AbstractThis study investigates the effect of competitive project funding on researchers’ publication outputs. Using detailed information on applicants at the Swiss National Science Foundation and their proposal evaluations, we employ a case-control design that accounts for individual heterogeneity of researchers and selection into treatment (e.g. funding). We estimate the impact of the grant award on a set of output indicators measuring the creation of new research results (the number of peer-reviewed articles), its relevance (number of citations and relative citation ratios), as well as its accessibility and dissemination as measured by the publication of preprints and by altmetrics. The results show that the funding program facilitates the publication and dissemination of additional research amounting to about one additional article in each of the three years following the funding. The higher citation metrics and altmetrics by funded researchers suggest that impact goes beyond quantity and that funding fosters dissemination and quality.

The second Conceptual Assessment in the Biological Sciences workshop

2008 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 248-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel Michael ◽  
Jenny McFarland ◽  
Ann Wright
Keyword(s):  
Biological Sciences ◽  
Mental Models ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
National Science Foundation ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Design Approach ◽  
Assessment Instruments ◽  
Research Groups ◽  
Classroom Discussions ◽  
National Science

A second National Science Foundation-sponsored workshop on Conceptual Assessment in Biology was held in January 2008. Reports prepared for the workshop revealed that research groups working in a variety of biological sciences are continuing to develop conceptual assessment instruments for use in the classroom. Discussions at this meeting largely focused on two issues: 1) the utility of the backwards design approach of Wiggins and McTighe ( 11 ), in which identification of learning outcomes (determining what to assess) lies at the beginning of course design; and 2) the utility of defining expected learning outcomes as the building of runable mental models (and designing conceptual assessments that would test the correctness of these mental models). A third meeting is being planned that will focus on the processes involved in writing and validating conceptual assessment instruments.

Conceptual Assessment in the Biological Sciences: a National Science Foundation-sponsored workshop

2007 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 389-391 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel Michael
Keyword(s):  
Biological Sciences ◽  
Conceptual Understanding ◽  
National Science Foundation ◽  
Meaningful Learning ◽  
Biology Teachers ◽  
University Of Colorado ◽  
Education Community ◽  
National Science ◽  
Biological Concepts ◽  
The University

Twenty-one biology teachers from a variety of disciplines (genetics, ecology, physiology, biochemistry, etc.) met at the University of Colorado to begin discussions about approaches to assessing students' conceptual understanding of biology. We considered what is meant by a “concept” in biology, what the important biological concepts might be, and how to go about developing assessment items about these concepts. We also began the task of creating a community of biologists interested in facilitating meaningful learning in biology. Input from the physiology education community is essential in the process of developing conceptual assessments for physiology.

scholarly journals Harnessing Technology to Improve Formative Assessment of Student Conceptions in STEM: Forging a National Network

2011 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin C. Haudek ◽  
Jennifer J. Kaplan ◽  
Jennifer Knight ◽  
Tammy Long ◽  
John Merrill ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
National Science Foundation ◽  
Student Thinking ◽  
Multiple Choice Questions ◽  
Constructed Response ◽  
National Network ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
Student Misconceptions ◽  
Concept Inventories ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Initial Meeting

Concept inventories, consisting of multiple-choice questions designed around common student misconceptions, are designed to reveal student thinking. However, students often have complex, heterogeneous ideas about scientific concepts. Constructed-response assessments, in which students must create their own answer, may better reveal students’ thinking, but are time- and resource-intensive to evaluate. This report describes the initial meeting of a National Science Foundation–funded cross-institutional collaboration of interdisciplinary science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education researchers interested in exploring the use of automated text analysis to evaluate constructed-response assessments. Participants at the meeting shared existing work on lexical analysis and concept inventories, participated in technology demonstrations and workshops, and discussed research goals. We are seeking interested collaborators to join our research community.

scholarly journals The Grass Isn’t Always Greener: Perceptions of and Performance on Open-Note Exams

2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. ar11
Author(s):  
Brian K. Sato ◽  
Wenliang He ◽  
Mark Warschauer ◽  
Pavan Kadandale
Keyword(s):  
Biological Sciences ◽  
Biology Education ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
Student Preparation ◽  
Laboratory Courses ◽  
Primary Literature ◽  
Test Behavior ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Impact

Undergraduate biology education is often viewed as being focused on memorization rather than development of students’ critical-thinking abilities. We speculated that open-note testing would be an easily implemented change that would emphasize higher-order thinking. As open-note testing is not commonly used in the biological sciences and the literature on its effects in biology education is sparse, we performed a comprehensive analysis of this intervention on a primary literature–based exam across three large-enrollment laboratory courses. Although students believed open-note testing would impact exam scores, we found no effect on performance, either overall or on questions of nearly all Bloom’s levels. Open-note testing also produced no advantage when examined under a variety of parameters, including research experience, grade point average, course grade, prior exposure to primary literature–focused laboratory courses, or gender. Interestingly, we did observe small differences in open- and closed-note exam performance and perception for students who experienced open-note exams for an entire quarter. This implies that student preparation or in-test behavior can be altered by exposure to open-note testing conditions in a single course and that ­increased experience may be necessary to truly understand the impact of this intervention.

scholarly journals Understanding the Last Mile Transportation Concept Impacting Underserved Global Communities to Save Lives During COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erick C. Jones ◽  
Gohar Azeem ◽  
Erick C. Jones ◽  
Felicia Jefferson ◽  
Marcia Henry ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
National Science Foundation ◽  
Underserved Populations ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Government Agencies ◽  
Chain Model ◽  
Last Mile ◽  
Supply Chain Model ◽  
National Science ◽  
The Impact

The underserved population could be at risk during the times of crisis, unless there is strong involvement from government agencies such as local and state Health departments and federal Center for Disease Control (CDC). The COVID-19 pandemic was a crisis of different proportion, creating a different type of burden on government agencies. Vulnerable communities including the elderly populations and communities of color have been especially hard hit by this pandemic. This forced these agencies to change their strategies and supply chains to support all populations receiving therapeutics. The National Science Foundation [National Science Foundation (NSF) Award Abstract # 2028612] funded RAID Labs to help federal agencies with strategies. This paper is based on a NSF funded grant to work on investigating supply chain strategies that would minimize the impact on underserved populations during pandemic. This NSF funded study identified the phenomena of last mile importance. The last mile transportation concept was critical in saving lives during the pandemic for underserved populations. The supply chain model then maximizes social goods by sending drugs or vaccines to the communities that need it the most regardless of ability to pay. The outcome of this study helped us prioritize the communities that need the vaccines the most. This informs our supply chain model to shift resources to these areas showing the value in real time prioritization of the COVID-19 supply chain. This paper provides information can be used in our healthcare supply chain model to ensure timely delivery of vaccines and supplies to COVID-19 patients that are the most vulnerable and hence the overall impact of COVID-19 can be minimized. The use of electrical vehicles for last mile transportation can help in significantly fighting the climate change.

scholarly journals BioMaPS: A Roadmap for Success

2010 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 175-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maeve L. McCarthy ◽  
K. Renee Fister
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
National Science Foundation ◽  
State University ◽  
Interdisciplinary Training ◽  
Interdisciplinary Program ◽  
National Science ◽  
Mathematical Sciences ◽  
The Impact

The manuscript outlines the impact that our National Science Foundation Interdisciplinary Training for Undergraduates in Biological and Mathematical Sciences program, BioMaPS, has had on the students and faculty at Murray State University. This interdisciplinary program teams mathematics and biology undergraduate students with mathematics and biology faculty and has produced research insights and curriculum developments at the intersection of these two disciplines. The goals, structure, achievements, and curriculum initiatives are described in relation to the effects they have had to enhance the study of biomathematics.

Network-Mediated Knowledge Spillovers in ICT/Information Security

2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil Gandal ◽  
Nadav Kunievsky ◽  
Lee Branstetter
Keyword(s):  
Information Security ◽  
National Science Foundation ◽  
Knowledge Spillovers ◽  
Economic Research ◽  
Collaboration Networks ◽  
Excellent Research ◽  
National Science ◽  
Hebrew University ◽  
The Impact

AbstractA large literature has used patent data to measure knowledge spillovers across inventions but few papers have explicitly measured the impact of the collaboration networks formed by inventors on the quality of invention. This paper develops a method to measure the impact of collaboration networks of inventors on invention quality. We apply this methodology to the information and communication technology (ICT) and information security sectors in Israel and find that the quality of Israeli inventions are systematically linked to the structure of the collaborative network in these sectors. We are very grateful to the editor Lukasz Grzybowski and an anonymous referee for very helpful comments and suggestions that significantly improved the paper. We thank the Maurice Falk Institute for Economic Research in Israel, Start-Up Nation Central, the U. S. National Science Foundation (SciSIP grants 1360165 and 1360170), and Portugal’s Foundation for Science and Technology for financial support of this research. Lee Branstetter’s work on this project was supported by the National Science Foundation and we thank Britta Glennon for excellent research assistance. We are also grateful to Tim Bresnahan, Eugene Kandel, Imke Reimers, and seminar/conference participants at the 19th CEPR IO conference, the 10th Paris conference on Digital Economics, Collegio Carlo Alberto, Hebrew University, Stanford University, Tel Aviv University, ad UC-Berkeley and for helpful comments and suggestions. © 2020 by Neil Gandal, Nadav Kunievsky, and Lee Branstetter. All rights reserved. Short sections of text, not to exceed two paragraphs, may be quoted without explicit permission provided that full credit, including the © notice, is given to the source.

Critique of a Critique: Do Zoos and Aquariums Promote Attitude Change in Visitors?

2010 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 415-419 ◽  
Author(s):  
John H. Falk ◽  
Joe E. Heimlich ◽  
Cynthia L. Vernon ◽  
Kerry Bronnenkant
Keyword(s):  
Nature Conservation ◽  
Attitude Change ◽  
National Science Foundation ◽  
Research Council ◽  
National Research Council ◽  
Research Practice ◽  
Growing Body ◽  
National Science ◽  
Value Of Nature ◽  
The Impact

AbstractMarino et al. (2010) recently published a critique of a three-year National Science Foundation—funded investigation of the impact of zoo and aquarium visits on the public’s understanding of animals and their attitudes toward conservation (Falk, Heimlich, & Bronnenkant, 2008; Falk, Reinhard, Vernon, Bronnenkant, Deans, & Heimlich, 2007; Heimlich, Bronnenkant, Witgert, & Falk, 2004). This critique of that critique will show that Marino et al. seriously misrepresent both the intent of the research and the methods used. The methods used by Falk and his colleagues were consistent with current, accepted research practice and their conclusions regarding impact were congruent with a growing body of scientific research (National Research Council, 2009; Ballantyne et al., 2007) showing that visits to zoos and aquariums almost always result in enhanced scientific understanding and strengthened beliefs in the value of nature conservation.

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