Best Practices for Teaching and Designing a Pure Online Science Classroom

2010 ◽  
pp. 291-313
Author(s):  
Ricardo Javier Rademacher Mena
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Education Research ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Open Source ◽  
Physics Education ◽  
Science Classroom ◽  
Science Class ◽  
Teaching Online ◽  
Science Courses ◽  
Teaching Physics

With the modification of the 50/50 rule by the Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005, the purely online university has become increasingly popular and thus so has the purely online science class. In this chapter, the author will use over a decade of teaching physics and math at traditional offline and pure online universities to compare the two. In the process, the author will uncover what techniques have successfully carried over from the traditional to the online environment and how physics education research and technology are changing the physics classroom. The main purpose of this chapter is to identify best practices in designing and teaching online science courses and to provide recommendations on improving existing online science classrooms. Throughout the chapter, Moodle™, an open source LMS, will be used to showcase and implement the ideas being presented.

PROFESSIONAL TRAINING OF ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS: APPLYING US EXPERICENCE TO UKRAINAN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

2020 ◽  
pp. 80-85
Author(s):  
Olha Pavlenko
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Education Research ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Cost Reduction ◽  
Professional Training ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Research And Innovation ◽  
Current State

The article discusses the current state of professional training of engineers, in particular, electronics engineers in Ukrainian higher education institutions (HEIs) and explores best practices from US HEIs. The research outlines the features of professional training of electronics engineers and recent changes in Ukrainian HEIs. Such challenges for Ukrainian HEIs as lack of collaboration between higher education and science with industry, R&D cost reduction for HEIs, and downsizing the research and academic staff, the disparity between the available quality of human capital training and the demanded are addressed. The study attempts to identify successful practices of US HEIs professional training of engineers in order to suggest potential improvements in education, research, and innovation for training electronics engineers in Ukraine.

A Framework for Student Engagement

2020 ◽  
pp. 153-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Desiree' Caldwell ◽  
Tiffany J. Cresswell-Yeager ◽  
Jennifer Aucoin ◽  
Danielle Budenz
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Student Engagement ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Discussion Forums ◽  
Learning Materials ◽  
Online Instructors ◽  
Teaching Online ◽  
Know How

When teaching online, many instructors are provided with a master course that contains the learning materials, discussion forums, assignments, and assessments. With more higher education institutions opting to offer master course shells, it can be difficult for instructors to know how to incorporate their personality, experiences, and insights into a pre-designed course. Faculty who teach online may be searching for ideas on how to personalize their master course and increase student engagement. Many faculty express concerns about students who are disconnected. Personalization of master courses increases student engagement while allowing students and instructors to feel more connected during the course. The authors will explore best practices to increase student engagement and provide a framework to implement these strategies that assist online instructors in demonstrating their personalities and expertise in master courses.

scholarly journals Stereotyped: Investigating Gender in Introductory Science Courses

2013 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shanda Lauer ◽  
Jennifer Momsen ◽  
Erika Offerdahl ◽  
Mila Kryjevskaia ◽  
Warren Christensen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Education Research ◽  
Stereotype Threat ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Physics Education ◽  
Achievement Gaps ◽  
Science Courses ◽  
Values Affirmation ◽  
Introductory Science ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Writing Task

Research in science education has documented achievement gaps between men and women in math and physics that may reflect, in part, a response to perceived stereotype threat. Research efforts to reduce achievement gaps by mediating the impact of stereotype threat have found success with a short values-affirmation writing exercise. In biology and biochemistry, however, little attention has been paid to the performance of women in comparison with men or perceptions of stereotype threat, despite documentation of leaky pipelines into professional and academic careers. We used methodologies developed in physics education research and cognitive psychology to 1) investigate and compare the performance of women and men across three introductory science sequences (biology, biochemistry, physics), 2) document endorsement of stereotype threat in these science courses, and 3) investigate the utility of a values-affirmation writing task in reducing achievement gaps. In our study, analysis of final grades and normalized learning gains on content-specific concept inventories reveals no achievement gap in the courses sampled, little stereotype threat endorsement, and no impact of the values-affirmation writing task on student performance. These results underscore the context-dependent nature of achievement gaps and stereotype threat and highlight calls to replicate education research across a range of student populations.

A Framework for Student Engagement

2021 ◽  
pp. 372-390
Author(s):  
Desiree' Caldwell ◽  
Tiffany J. Cresswell-Yeager ◽  
Jennifer Aucoin ◽  
Danielle Budenz
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Student Engagement ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Discussion Forums ◽  
Learning Materials ◽  
Online Instructors ◽  
Teaching Online ◽  
Know How

When teaching online, many instructors are provided with a master course that contains the learning materials, discussion forums, assignments, and assessments. With more higher education institutions opting to offer master course shells, it can be difficult for instructors to know how to incorporate their personality, experiences, and insights into a pre-designed course. Faculty who teach online may be searching for ideas on how to personalize their master course and increase student engagement. Many faculty express concerns about students who are disconnected. Personalization of master courses increases student engagement while allowing students and instructors to feel more connected during the course. The authors will explore best practices to increase student engagement and provide a framework to implement these strategies that assist online instructors in demonstrating their personalities and expertise in master courses.

THE DISCUSSION AS A METHOD TO TEACH PHYSICS AT THE UNIVERSITY

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louis Trudel ◽  
◽  
Abdeljalil Métioui ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Science Teachers ◽  
Physics Education ◽  
Traditional Teaching ◽  
Constructivist Approach ◽  
Physics Teaching ◽  
Science Courses ◽  
The University ◽  
Teaching Physics ◽  
Education Courses ◽  
Future Learning

Physics teaching strategies used in university-based science courses are mainly focused on the so-called traditional teaching, composed of lectures and laboratory exercises. This way of teaching physics does not allow students to acquire understanding of basic notions of physics so that some enduring misconceptions may hinder future learning. Thus, our research aims to identify the conditions of implementation of the discussion method in a physics education course for pre-service teachers. Our results point out three conditions that must be satisfied to implement successfully the discussion method in physics education courses. We conclude by stating advantages and limits of our research. Key words: pre-service science teachers, physics education, socio-constructivist approach.

scholarly journals FEATURES OF FORMATION OF ENGINEERING STEM COMPONENT IN TEACHING PHYSICS AND TECHNICAL DISCIPLINES IN INNOVATIVE EDUCATIONAL AND SCIENTIFIC ENVIRONMENT

2020 ◽  
pp. 48-58
Author(s):  
O. S. Kuzmenko ◽  
I. M. Savchenko ◽  
V. B. Demianenko
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Stem Education ◽  
Physics Education ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
Search Activity ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
Effective System ◽  
Physics Experiment ◽  
Teaching Physics

The article considers the current problems of implementation of STEM-technologies and the separation of engineering STEM-component, which is important for the formation of STEM-competencies in subjects of study. Teaching physics to students of non-physics specialties in technical institutions of higher education in the context of reforming physics education is carried out, as a rule, in the I–II courses. The content of the discipline “Physics” needs to be modernized in accordance with modern achievements of physics science and didactic principles of construction of the course of physics, considering the fundamentals, scientific, continuity and interdisciplinary connections. Therefore, the modernization of higher education in Ukraine requires taking into account the general trends in the development of higher education systems in the context of globalization and European integration processes, namely the trends in the development of STEM-education. It is established that the change in the field of higher education, in particular technics, taking into account the development of STEM-education involves revising the concept of training in each field, so modernizing the content of education requires updating the educational base (goals, content, methods, forms and means), through which in the future the implementation of modern innovative STEM-approaches will be carried out. Taking into account current trends and the main directions of improving the educational process, the method of teaching physics to effectively acquaint students with the basics of physics, which is required for further study of professionally oriented disciplines, should be aimed not only at qualitative, scientifically and methodologically sound teaching, provided by the educational activities of the teacher, and mainly to intensify the independent educational and research activities of students. Such a technique should develop and stimulate interest in knowledge and understanding of physics, their application in explaining the phenomena and processes of the microworld and the world as a whole and give students an effective system of knowledge, skills and form a natural worldview. The article outlines the peculiarities of the formation of the engineering STEM-component and gives an example of consideration of the work of the physics workshop with programming elements. It is determined that the physics experiment is an important factor in the development of STEM-education in higher education institutions of technical profile and methods of teaching physics. The use of STEM-technologies activates the independent cognitive-search activity of students before studying physics and technical disciplines.

Thriving in Academia: Understanding and Managing the Complexities of Faculty Work

2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 77-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ketevan Mamiseishvili
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Education Research ◽  
Community Engagement ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Work Setting ◽  
Higher Education Research ◽  
Faculty Work ◽  
College And University ◽  
Teaching Research ◽  
University Settings

In this paper, I will illustrate the changing nature and complexity of faculty employment in college and university settings. I will use existing higher education research to describe changes in faculty demographics, the escalating demands placed on faculty in the work setting, and challenges that confront professors seeking tenure or administrative advancement. Boyer’s (1990) framework for bringing traditionally marginalized and neglected functions of teaching, service, and community engagement into scholarship is examined as a model for balancing not only teaching, research, and service, but also work with everyday life.

MODELING USING PHET SIMULATIONS IN TEACHING PHYSICS AT SECONDARY SCHOOL

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 199-203
Author(s):  
Hristina Petrova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Group Work ◽  
Physics Education ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Education Technology ◽  
Cognitive Activity ◽  
Student Group ◽  
Knowledge And Skills ◽  
Demonstration Experiment ◽  
Teaching Physics

A particularly important aspect of learning physics is using models of physical objects, processes and phenomena. Modeling is an important component of learning and cognitive activity. This determines its importance for the formation and development of students’ knowledge and skills. The Physics Education Technology (PhET) project creates useful simulations for teaching and learning physics and makes them freely available on the PhET web site: http://phet.colorado.edu The simulations are interactive, animated and visual. Some ideas for their using in physics education are presented. They can be used in various of ways, including demonstration experiment as part of lecture, student group work or individual worksheets, homework assignments or labs. The possibility for using simulations in remote education is considered. Students are given interactive assignments. They include interactive problems in the form of computer simulation and questions related to it. The students work with data which they analyze and present tabular and graphically. This approach suggest activities based on enquiry. In result their motivation and interest in physics increases.

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