scholarly journals Using Mobile Devices to Facilitate Student Questioning in a Large Undergraduate Science Class

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Crompton ◽  
Stephen R. Burgin ◽  
Declan G. De Paor ◽  
Kristen Gregory
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Text Messages ◽  
Science Standards ◽  
Google Glass ◽  
Science And Engineering ◽  
Student Questioning ◽  
Undergraduate Science ◽  
Scientific Questions ◽  
Practice Of Science ◽  
Answering Questions

Asking scientific questions is the first practice of science and engineering listed in the Next Generation Science Standards. However, getting students to ask unsolicited questions in a large class can be difficult. In this qualitative study, undergraduate students sent SMS text messages to the instructor who received them on his mobile phone and via Google Glass. Using observations, coding of texts, and interviews, the researchers investigated the types and level of questions students asked and the perceptions of the instructor and TAs on how the messages were received. From the findings of this study, it is evident that students asked a wide variety of question types and levels. It would appear that important distinctions between voice and text questions are that: (a) a shy or insecure questioner can remain anonymous; (b) questions can be asked in an interactive, but not interruptive manner; (c) there is no time limit to answering questions; and (d) the record of questions on the instructor's phone can be used to guide revision of lecture notes for future semesters.

scholarly journals Using Mobile Devices to Facilitate Student Questioning in a Large Undergraduate Science Class

2020 ◽  
pp. 560-575
Author(s):  
Helen Crompton ◽  
Stephen R. Burgin ◽  
Declan G. De Paor ◽  
Kristen Gregory
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Text Messages ◽  
Science Standards ◽  
Google Glass ◽  
Science And Engineering ◽  
Student Questioning ◽  
Undergraduate Science ◽  
Scientific Questions ◽  
Practice Of Science ◽  
Answering Questions

Asking scientific questions is the first practice of science and engineering listed in the Next Generation Science Standards. However, getting students to ask unsolicited questions in a large class can be difficult. In this qualitative study, undergraduate students sent SMS text messages to the instructor who received them on his mobile phone and via Google Glass. Using observations, coding of texts, and interviews, the researchers investigated the types and level of questions students asked and the perceptions of the instructor and TAs on how the messages were received. From the findings of this study, it is evident that students asked a wide variety of question types and levels. It would appear that important distinctions between voice and text questions are that: (a) a shy or insecure questioner can remain anonymous; (b) questions can be asked in an interactive, but not interruptive manner; (c) there is no time limit to answering questions; and (d) the record of questions on the instructor's phone can be used to guide revision of lecture notes for future semesters.

scholarly journals FUTURE SKILL DEVELOPMENT IN UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS THROUGH WORK IN STEM OUTREACH

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Romkey ◽  
Tracy Ross ◽  
Daniel Munro
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Work Experience ◽  
Skill Development ◽  
Science And Engineering ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Youth Program ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Instructor Experience ◽  
Undergraduate Science ◽  
The Impact

This paper represents the experience and self-reported skill development of undergraduate Science and Engineering outreach instructors, who were working primarily online during the global pandemic in 2020. This work is part of a larger multi-year project designed to articulate the learning and employability skills gained by a pan-Canadian group of undergraduates, by way of theirtraining and work experience as youth program Instructors delivering STEM outreach activities for youth. The development of these skills was measured using a post-program survey, in which undergraduate instructors were asked a number of questions about their skill development. Instructors noted development most significantly in (1) teamwork and collaboration; (2) adaptability and flexibility: (3) communication, (4) leadership, (5) innovation and creativity, and (6)initiative. A significant theme noted was the learning that took place from the sudden shift to teaching remotely and working through a pandemic. Although the focus of STEM Outreach research & evaluation is often on the impact of the program on its participants, this work demonstrates the value of the instructor experience, and how this work can leverage other post-secondary initiatives designed to prepare undergraduates for their careers.

scholarly journals Crossing Boundaries: Steps Toward Measuring Undergraduates’ Interdisciplinary Science Understanding

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. ar8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brie Tripp ◽  
Sophia A. Voronoff ◽  
Erin E. Shortlidge
Keyword(s):  
Education Reform ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Science Students ◽  
Interdisciplinary Science ◽  
Writing Assignments ◽  
Assessment Development ◽  
New Instrument ◽  
Science Understanding ◽  
Interdisciplinary Framework ◽  
Undergraduate Science

A desired outcome of education reform efforts is for undergraduates to effectively integrate knowledge across disciplines in order to evaluate and address real-world issues. Yet there are few assessments designed to measure if and how students think interdisciplinarily. Here, a sample of science faculty were surveyed to understand how they currently assess students’ interdisciplinary science understanding. Results indicate that individual writing-intensive activities are the most frequently used assessment type (69%). To understand how writing assignments can accurately assess students’ ability to think interdisciplinarily, we used a preexisting rubric, designed to measure social science students’ interdisciplinary understanding, to assess writing assignments from 71 undergraduate science students. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 25 of those students to explore similarities and differences between assignment scores and verbal understanding of interdisciplinary science. Results suggest that certain constructs of the instrument did not fully capture this competency for our population, but instead, an interdisciplinary framework may be a better model to guide assessment development of interdisciplinary science. These data suggest that a new instrument designed through the lens of this model could more accurately characterize interdisciplinary science understanding for undergraduate students.

Surely You Must Be Joking, Mr. Twain!: Reengaging Science Students through Visual Aesthetics

Leonardo ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 311-315
Author(s):  
Katherine Goodman ◽  
Jean Hertzberg ◽  
Noah Finkelstein
Keyword(s):  
Student Perception ◽  
Higher Learning ◽  
Personal Meaning ◽  
Science Students ◽  
Science And Engineering ◽  
Content Mastery ◽  
Visual Aesthetics ◽  
Institutions Of Higher Learning ◽  
Undergraduate Science ◽  
Improved Methods

Researchers have established improved methods for undergraduate science and engineering education, yet these efforts often overlook the personal meaning students find in their work. Institutions of higher learning should support the creation of personal meaning along with content mastery, aspects that are both included in arts education. The authors argue that STEM educators must work to overcome student perception that content mastery and personal meaning sit at odds. The authors provide an example of a technical course that achieves these goals as well as evidence that it is possible to foster connection while developing content mastery.

scholarly journals Science Fair Was One of the Highlights of My Middle School Life: Using Science Fair to Develop NGSS Practices

2020 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-48
Author(s):  
Cynthia Welsh ◽  
Mary Hedenstrom ◽  
Michele Hollingsworth Koomen
Keyword(s):  
Nature Of Science ◽  
Science Fair ◽  
Science Standards ◽  
School Life ◽  
Science And Engineering ◽  
Science And Engineering Practices ◽  
Student Interests ◽  
Science Fair Project ◽  
Engineering Practices ◽  
Support Students

This article illustrates how a seventh-grade life science unit connects to the Science and Engineering Practices and Nature of Science in the Next Generation Science Standards and used science fair projects as a context for students to solve problems and understand how authentic science is done. We outline how student interests drive the development and presentation of science fair projects and discuss each component of a science fair project to reflect the practices and nature of science and how we support students along the way. The article includes images of students and of their work for science fair projects.

scholarly journals Efeitos de sentido sobre transgênicos produzidos a partir da transformação nas condições de produção de leitura

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 176-193
Author(s):  
Alberto Lopo Montalvão Neto ◽  
Elisabeth Barolli
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Reading And Writing ◽  
Scientific Controversies ◽  
The Face ◽  
Writing In Science ◽  
Socially Relevant ◽  
Undergraduate Science ◽  
Production Conditions

Resumo: Reflexões relativas à Ciência e à Tecnologia têm se pautado no entorno de questões socialmente relevantes. Assim, além de colocar como fundamental um olhar para as relações entre tais eixos e a Sociedade, no presente trabalho, demonstramos como uma atividade baseada na leitura e na escrita no Ensino de Ciências, que visa autonomia e tomada de decisões, pode gerar outras compreensões por licenciandos em Ciências Biológicas. Analisamos os efeitos de sentido produzidos após ocorrer mudanças nas condições de produção de leitura, por meio do contato desses sujeitos com tipos textuais diversos. Nosso intuito foi compreender como se dão os seus posicionamentos frente as controvérsias científicas, mais especificamente no que se refere aos alimentos transgênicos. Para tal finalidade, analisamos produções textuais dissertativas, e observamos a ocorrência de mudanças nas condições de produção influenciaram a produção de sentidos dos licenciandos de/sobre transgenia, bem como em relação às controvérsias e questões sociopolíticas concernentes.Palavras-chave: CTS; Controvérsias Científicas; Análise de Discurso; Transgênicos. Meaning effects on transgenics produced from transformation in reading production conditions Abstract: Reflections on Science and Technology have been based on socially relevant issues. In addition to placing as crucial a look at the relationships between those axes and the Society, in the present work, we demonstrate how an activity based on reading and writing in Science Teaching, which aims at autonomy and decision making, can generate other understandings by undergraduate science Biological students. We analyze the meaning effects produced after changes in the conditions of reading production, through the contact of these subjects with different textual types. Our aim was to understand how their positions take place in the face of scientific controversies, more specifically with regard to transgenic foods. Analyzing textual dissertation productions, we observed that changes in production conditions influenced the production of senses of the undergraduate students on/about transgenics, as well as in relation to the controversies and socio-political issues involved.Keywords: STS; Scientific Controversies; Discourse Analysis; Transgenics.  

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