Nonmajors' Shifts in Attitudes & Perceptions of Biology & Biologists Following an Active-Learning Course:

2016 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grant E. Gardner ◽  
Jeff Bonner ◽  
Jennifer Landin ◽  
Miriam Ferzli ◽  
Damian Shea
Keyword(s):  
Active Learning ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Scientific Field ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Attitudes And Perceptions ◽  
Biology Courses ◽  
Science Instructors ◽  
K 12

This exploratory study examined the impacts of a student-centered, active-learning course on nonmajors' attitudes and perceptions of biology and biologists. Results revealed changes along various measured attitude variables. Most notably, participants saw significant positive shifts in their perceptions of biology as a scientific field that contrasted with their relatively stable perceptions of biologists as scientists. Implications are discussed in the context of the impacts of nonmajors biology courses on future K–12 science instructors and potential influxes of students into the science pipeline.

scholarly journals Negotiating (dis-)engagement in K-12 blended learning

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Bergdahl ◽  
Melissa Bond
Keyword(s):  
Active Learning ◽  
Blended Learning ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Socially Disadvantaged ◽  
Leadership Engagement ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Engagement And Disengagement

AbstractIt is well-recognised that engagement is critical for learning and school success. Engagement (and disengagement) are, however, also influenced by context. Thus, as digital technologies add complexity to the educational context, they influence classroom leadership, lesson designs and related practices, and thereby engagement. Despite being critical, engagement and disengagement are not well explored concerning these influences, with a lack of research undertaken within socially disadvantaged schools. In this qualitative study, 14 classroom observations were conducted, during five months, in twelve classes in an upper secondary school in Sweden, along with dialogues with teachers (n=12) and students (n=32). The data were analysed using thematic analysis and descriptive statistics. Identified themes include digital context, teacher leadership, engagement and disengagement. A network of relations between the (dis-)engagement compound and themes is presented. The results identified processes in which engagement shifted into disengagement and vice versa; in particular, that the intention of active learning does not automatically translate to active learning for all students, although teachers employed a higher work pace than did their students. Teacher self-efficacy and awareness of how to manage digital technologies in and outside the classroom was found to play a vital role in facilitating engagement. Understanding the (dis-)engagement compound in blended learning environments is key to inform active and visible learning for future research and supportive organisational structures.

scholarly journals Conceptions of Learning and Teaching for Faculty Who Teach Basic Science

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helena Carvalho ◽  
Francis C. Dane ◽  
Shari A. Whicker
Keyword(s):  
Active Learning ◽  
Teaching Methods ◽  
Basic Science ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
Approaches To Teaching ◽  
Conceptions Of Learning ◽  
Learner Engagement ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Teacher Centered

Abstract Introduction Conceptions of learning and teaching refer to what faculty think about teaching effectiveness. Approaches to teaching refer to the methods they use to teach. Both conceptions and approaches range from student-centered/learning-focused (active learner engagement) to teaching-centered/content-focused (passive learner engagement). This study explored how faculty teaching experience influenced faculty conceptions and their approaches to teaching. The authors hypothesized that more experienced educators appreciate and apply active learning approaches. Methods The authors used a cross-sectional survey to collect anonymous data from the Basic Science faculty at Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine (VTCSOM). The survey included the Conceptions of Learning and Teaching scale (COLT; Jacobs et al. 2012) and demographic information. They assessed instrument reliability with Cronbach’s alpha and examined relationships between variables with correlation and chi-square and group differences with ANOVA. Results Thirty-eight percent (50/130) of faculty responded to the survey. COLT scores for student-centered (4.06 ± 0.41) were significantly higher (p < 0.001) than teacher-centered (3.12 ± 0.6). Teacher-centered scores were lower (p < 0.05) for younger (30–39, 2.65 ± 0.48) than older faculty (50–59, 3.57 ± 0.71) and were negatively correlated with using multiple teaching methods (p = 0.022). However, 83% (39/50) reported using both traditional lectures and active approaches. Discussion Faculty conceptions about teaching showed appreciation for active learning, but a tendency to use traditional teaching methods interspersed with student-centered ones. Teaching experience was not related to faculty conceptions but was related to their teaching approaches. The amount of time dedicated to teaching was related to the appreciation of active learning, and young teachers were more student-oriented.

scholarly journals Development of Student-centered Modules to Support Active Learning in Hydrology

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emad Habib ◽  
David Tarboton ◽  
Matthew Deshotel ◽  
David Farnham
Keyword(s):  
Active Learning ◽  
Student Centered

scholarly journals Beyond the Museum Walls: Developing Inexpensive Discovery Trunks for k-12

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. e25925
Author(s):  
Julia Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Inquiry Learning ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Analytical Skills ◽  
New Knowledge ◽  
State Educational ◽  
Problem Solvers ◽  
K 12

Discovery Trunks - specimen-based educational kits - use museum collections and standardized curricula to catalyze critical thinking skills through inquiry learning. Inquiry learning facilitates the development of new knowledge by examining a novel situation in light of past experience - a crucial skill for a child in today’s unpredictable world. Inquiry learning empowers students by making them stronger and more confident in their discovery and synthesis of information. Discovery Trunks enhance learning opportunities for students, promote the parent institutions, and develop new audiences by taking the institutional mission beyond classroom walls. Such Trunks contain authentic, real world objects and inquiry lessons that align with state educational standards. Discovery Trunks encourage contemplative analytical skills, thoughtful communication, thorough exploration of a topic, and cultivate a citizenry of open-minded problem solvers. Through inquiry-based learning, we see key components of this personal investigation exemplified through student-centered, student-driven activities that connect new knowledge and prior knowledge. This presentation will deconstruct these multidisciplinary kits and their contents to guide museum professionals to explore effective, high value, low cost materials and methods to produce and advertise educational kits to the community. Offered as an essential outreach component, these educational kits cultivate tomorrow’s thinkers, movers, and laborers in an ever-changing society.

Teachers and Technology

2011 ◽  
pp. 452-468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Cadiero-Kaplan
Keyword(s):  
Media Literacy ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Literacy Development ◽  
Technology Development ◽  
Technological Literacy ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Use Of Technology ◽  
Portfolio Development ◽  
Literacy Identity ◽  
K 12

This chapter focuses on the pedagogy necessary in critically considering technology development for K-12 teachers and their students’. Three key questions frame this analysis: First, what literacies are necessary in the learning and use of technology? Second, what methods or processes are most effective in developing and implementing such technological literacy? Third, how do teachers best develop skills in using computers which ultimately ensure the development of skills and knowledge for students in classrooms? The chapter will illustrate, through the author’s work in professional development settings, pedagogical techniques and strategies that have been implemented successfully in building capacity among new and experienced teachers in using technology for lesson planning, teaching enhancement, and portfolio development. Finally, Pailliotet and Mosenthal’s (2000) four “I’s” of media literacy—identity, intermediality, issues, and innovations—are utilized to analyze the case studies and provide a framework for implementing student-centered processes for technology use and literacy development.

Information Systems Education for the 21st Century

2005 ◽  
pp. 171-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glenn Lowry ◽  
Rodney Turner
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
Active Learning ◽  
Curriculum Reform ◽  
Soft Skills ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Student Centered Learning ◽  
Business Skills ◽  
New Graduates ◽  
Vested Interests ◽  
Research Findings

In this chapter, we consider how information systems educators might revise curriculum content and adopt student-centered/active learning pedagogical approaches to achieve a better fit between the workplace and the university ‘studyplace’. In considering What to Study, numerous research findings suggest a repertoire of ‘soft’ skills that are seen as essential to success for new IS professionals. The research findings discussed in this chapter present evidence that traditional business subjects such as Marketing, Economics, or Finance do not equate to the ‘other’ or soft business skills that employers of IS graduates are seeking in new hires. Soft skills are cultivated elements of professionalism that derive from example, reflection, imitation, and refinement of attitudes, personal capabilities, work habits, and interpersonal skills. Soft skills are seldom taught in dedicated subjects in tertiary information systems curricula. Somehow, the soft areas such as teamwork, communication skills, ability to accept direction, and others are expected to be picked up along the way through an unspecified, osmotic process. Turning to How to Study, a critical and contentious issue is determining the appropriate learning environment to best help new graduates develop soft skills and higher order thinking. Course delivery paradigms may be characterized as traditional, passive ‘teacher-centered learning’ and active ‘student-centered learning’. We argue that student-centered/active learning approaches may be more effective in helping students to cultivate and refine soft skills than those currently in use. The chapter concludes with a discussion of IS curriculum reform issues and strategies for reducing confusion, overcoming tradition and inertia, finding resources, and neutralizing vested interests, to meet the educational needs of students.

A Professional Development Framework for the Flipped Classroom Model

2016 ◽  
pp. 232-261
Author(s):  
Anne Katz ◽  
Tricia Muldoon Brown ◽  
Jackie Hee Young Kim
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Flipped Classroom ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Development Project ◽  
Critical Thinking Skills ◽  
Read Aloud ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Development Framework ◽  
Elementary Grade ◽  
K 12

A major goal of K-12 education is to create a student-centered classroom where educators are teaching to increase critical thinking skills, promote problem-based learning, and differentiate instruction. However, the reality is that many educators are challenged by the difficult task of creating such a learning environment in their classrooms. In this chapter, the authors will introduce a Flipped Classroom Professional Development project, a Title II Part A Higher Education Improving Teacher Quality State Grant initiative. This project centered on two goals. First, the authors sought to teach the flipped classroom model through an integrated literacy and math approach while “mathematizing” read-aloud instruction for primary and elementary grade educators. Secondly, the chapter describes efforts to expand teachers' repertoire of effective instructional, blended technology tools for teaching math and literacy. The authors will conclude with the potential of the Flipped Classroom model in K-5 settings based upon this professional development framework.

Implementing Collaborative Problem-Based Learning with Web 2.0

2009 ◽  
pp. 372-388
Author(s):  
Steven C. Mills
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Web 2.0 ◽  
Learning Experiences ◽  
Web 2.0 Technologies ◽  
Communication Tools ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Student Centered Learning ◽  
Instructional Methodologies ◽  
Collaborative Problem ◽  
K 12

Educators face the challenge of keeping classroom learning relevant for a generation of students who have never known life without computers, cell phones, and email. With Web 2.0 technologies educators can easily mediate student-centered learning experiences that engage students collaboratively in problem-solving and critical thinking. This chapter describes how Web 2.0 technologies can supply communication tools and information resources that facilitate the application of a robust set of instructional methodologies in the K-12 classroom. When the pedagogical features of Web 2.0 technologies are used with problem-solving methodologies, teachers can create powerful student-centered learning experiences for educating students for the 21st century.

Artificial Intelligence in Education

2021 ◽  
pp. 256-277
Author(s):  
Rashmi Khazanchi ◽  
Pankaj Khazanchi
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Intelligent Tutoring Systems ◽  
Intelligent Tutoring ◽  
Pedagogical Practices ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Tutoring Systems ◽  
Artificial Intelligence In Education ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Insight Into

Current educational developments in theories and practices advocate a more personalized, student-centered approach to teach 21st-century skills. However, the existing pedagogical practices cannot provide optimal student engagement as they follow a ‘one size fits all' approach. How can we provide high-quality adaptive instructions at a personalized level? Intelligent tutoring systems with embedded artificial intelligence can assist both students and teachers in providing personalized support. This chapter highlights the role of artificial intelligence in the development of intelligent tutoring systems and how these are providing personalized instructions to students with and without disabilities. This chapter gives insight into the challenges and barriers posed by the integration of intelligent tutoring systems in K-12 classrooms.

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