scholarly journals Supporting deep understanding with emerging technologies in a STEM university math class

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Domenico Brunetto ◽  
Clelia Marchionna ◽  
Elisabetta Repossi
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Conceptual Understanding ◽  
Deep Understanding ◽  
First Year ◽  
Significant Shift ◽  
Flipped Learning ◽  
High School Mathematics ◽  
Innovative Learning ◽  
The One ◽  
Math Class

In this work we present an innovative learning environment format, based on student-centred activities, that may support undergraduate students to deep understanding mathematics in the first year of engineering university. In particular, we refer to the difficulties students meet in the transition from the high school mathematics to the one they meet at university, which requires a significant shift to conceptual understanding, especially in Calculus courses. The goal of this presentation is to investigate the case of multivariable functions, a topic at the foundation of many mathematical models and its application. We show the results of the first pilot study which involves 160 undergraduate students. More precisely, we report how a flipped-learning approach based on online activities and working group allows students to deep understand the main properties concerning multivariable functions.

scholarly journals Teaching with emerging technologies in a STEM university math class

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Domenico Brunetto ◽  
Chiara Andrà ◽  
Giulia Bernardi
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
Conceptual Understanding ◽  
Deep Understanding ◽  
First Year ◽  
Significant Shift ◽  
Learning Approach ◽  
Innovative Teaching ◽  
The One ◽  
First Year University ◽  
Math Class

The aim of the research presented in this work is to investigate how innovative teaching formats, based on student-centred activities, may help first year university students to deal with the difficulties in the transition from the mathematics they are used to in high school, to the one they meet at university, which requires a significant shift to conceptual understanding, especially in Calculus courses. As part of this overarching goal, this presentation investigates the case of Taylor series, a topic that is taught in all calculus courses at university. This work shows the efficacy of a blended learning approach, highlighting the main difficulties concerning the deep understanding of functions by students. We discuss possible limitations, and we provide suggestions for best practices in university math classes.

scholarly journals Motivate or Demotivate? Factors Influencing Choice of Media as a Career

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 239
Author(s):  
Kavitha Iyer ◽  
Anupam Siddhartha
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Deep Understanding ◽  
Female Students ◽  
First Year ◽  
Young Generation ◽  
Undergraduate Level ◽  
Career Option ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Undergraduate Programme

The choice of media as a career has conventionally not been a top priority amongst undergraduate students in India. Despite the surging need for responsible media professionals in a developing country like India, this career is not widely accepted or chosen. This research aimed at determining specific motivations among the first-year undergraduate students choosing a career in media. The same were determined through expert interactions followed by an online survey to include over 400 students pursuing an undergraduate programme at various colleges across India. The analysis showed that undergraduate media students are passionate with a deep interest in the concerned field and have an enhanced need to be different from others. They are creative, highly communicative, would like to pursue their interest and passion as well as distinguish themselves from conventional career seekers. Choice of media as a career at the undergraduate level is preferred more by female students compared to their male counterparts. Most interestingly and importantly, media as a career is mostly against the wishes of parents; the influence of parents being negative. This study contributes to a deep understanding of motivational factors and their criticalities in influencing the young generation in India. The factors can aid the educational policymakers, academicians, industry experts, and researchers to develop strategies to encourage students to choose a career in media. This research also serves as a starting point to generate discussions to change the belief and attitudes of parents towards media as a career option for their wards.

Take Time for Action: Moving to Proportional Reasoning

2000 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-60
Author(s):  
Hannah Slovin
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Understanding ◽  
Mathematics Curriculum ◽  
School Mathematics ◽  
First Year ◽  
High School Mathematics ◽  
Elementary School Mathematics ◽  
Ratio And Proportion ◽  
Traditional Algorithm ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Mathematics And Science

Ratio and Proportion are essential topics in the middle-grades mathematics curriculum. The ability to reason proportionally is important in students' transition from elementary school mathematics to high school mathematics and science. The study of ratio and proportion lays a foundation for first-year algebra, and subsequent mathematics and science study assumes that students can reason proportionally. Many textbooks, however, limit the problems involving proportions to those that emphasize procedural competence rather than conceptual understanding. These problems usually require students to use ratios and set up equations. Students may solve such problems “correctly” using the traditional algorithm of cross-multiplying and dividing, but their solutions do not necessarily give us much information about their understanding of the multiplicative relationships involved in proportions.

scholarly journals Understanding the Learning Challenges of English-Medium Instruction Learners and Ways to Facilitate Their Learning: A Case Study of Taiwan Psychology Students’ Perspectives

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 321-340
Author(s):  
Tzu-Ling Hua
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Global Education ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
English Language ◽  
First Year ◽  
Pedagogical Practice ◽  
English Medium Instruction ◽  
The One ◽  
Psychology Course

English-medium instruction (EMI) has become a global education phenomenon in recent decades, especially in higher education. However, its implementation is still facing criticism. On the one hand, learners are welcoming the envisaged benefits of preparing them with professional content knowledge and English language proficiency to compete in the new global economy; on the other hand, they are reluctant to take the courses because of the challenges and difficulties EMI creates. Meanwhile, EMI lecturers are concerned about students’ inability to survive, or better still thrive through EMI learning. EMI lecturers are experts in their professional domain but are not trained or prepared to teach EMI courses yet. This qualitative study examines the perception of first-year undergraduate students taking the EMI foundation psychology course in Taiwan, focusing on their perspectives of factors facilitating or hindering their EMI learning, and their suggestions for improving the situation. The results not only point out what kinds of teaching practices contribute to challenges for EMI learners in their learning process but also the underlying reasons and the pedagogy practice that students suggest can be used to improve the situation. Insights provided by this study can be used to assist EMI lecturers in examining their pedagogical practice and expand their knowledgeability about pedagogy. They can also be used as a way forward for assisting in the development of EMI teacher training and professional development, and the implementation of EMI.

scholarly journals Identifying students’ difficulty in the basic of thermodynamics

2021 ◽  
Vol 2126 (1) ◽  
pp. 012010
Author(s):  
M C Sutarja ◽  
A Y R Wulandari
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Conceptual Understanding ◽  
Scientific Explanation ◽  
Ideal Gas ◽  
Survey Study ◽  
First Year ◽  
Basic Physics ◽  
Learning Instruction ◽  
Conceptual Problems ◽  
Test Result

Abstract Conceptual understanding is one of the main topics in physics educational research. It is important as the basic of other ability in education, such as argumentation, making scientific explanation and problem solving. This survey study aims to identify students’ difficulty to understand the basic of thermodynamics. There are 128 first year undergraduate students as the participants of the study. The data collection method is test. Result of the study shows that isobaric process of ideal gas and mechanical equilibrium state concepts are the most difficult concepts. Some difficulties are found in understanding the basic of thermodynamics: (1) because of the presence of higher cognitive load while solving conceptual problems, (2) when the question demands other ability, especially mathematical ability, to solve the conceptual problem, (3) because of students’ disability to integrate the knowledge. This study could be used to develop learning instruction or media in basic physics or introduction of thermodynamics course.

scholarly journals Improving students’ learning environment by DREEM: an educational experiment in an Iranian medical sciences university (2011–2016)

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamid Bakhshialiabad ◽  
Golnaz Bakhshi ◽  
Zahra Hashemi ◽  
Amirhosein Bakhshi ◽  
Faroukh Abazari
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environment ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Educational Environment ◽  
Male Students ◽  
First Year ◽  
Medical Sciences ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The One ◽  
Two Stages ◽  
Academic Year

Abstract Background Students’ perception of the educational setting is an important source for improving and applying changes to the educational environment. In this study, we reassessed undergraduate students’ perception of the educational environment at two colleges of RUMS-Iran in the academic years of 2011 and 2016. Methods In the present prospective study, the DREEM inventory consisted of seven courses for undergraduate paramedical and nursing-midwifery students (n = 982). After the first stage, educational seminars and workshops were set up for academic members and faculty staff on deficiencies and the ideal climate for optimizing the educational environment. The results of students’ responses in 2011 were compared with those assessed in 2016. For the data analysis, the independent t-test and the one-way ANOVA were utilized. Results In the academic year of 2010–2011, the DREEM inventory scored 115.33/200 (57.66%); it also scored 123.47/200 (60.7%) in the academic year of 2015–2016 (p ≤ 0.01). There was an interesting feeling about the first-year education, and female students felt a more positively perceived learning environment during all courses than male students at both stages of the study. There were significant positive differences (2 to 7%) in all domains of the components of DREEM in all courses between the academic year of 2010–2011 and the academic year of 2015–2016, showing that the DREEM score had changed and increased (p < 0.05), in the latter case. Conclusions Positive differences were observed in DREEM scores between the two stages of the study. DREEM helped reduce the areas of deficiencies in students’ perception of many aspects of the educational environment. It also helped identify problematic areas in the improvement. In addition, DREEM could be used to optimize and make modifications to the educational environment.

scholarly journals Analyzing Student Problem-Solving With MAtCH

2022 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Chiu ◽  
Christopher Randles ◽  
Stefan Irby
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Conceptual Understanding ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
First Year ◽  
Physics Classes ◽  
Match Model ◽  
Car Travel ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Student Problem

Problem-solving has been recognized as a critical skill that students lack in the current education system, due to the use of algorithmic questions in tests that can be simply memorized and solved without conceptual understanding. Research on student problem-solving is needed to gain deeper insight into how students are approaching problems and where they lack proficiency so that instruction can help students gain a conceptual understanding of chemistry. The MAtCH (methods, analogies, theory, context, how) model was recently developed from analyzing expert explanations of their research and could be a valuable model to identify key components of student problem-solving. Using phenomenography, this project will address the current gap in the literature of applying the MAtCH model to student responses. Twenty-two undergraduate students from first-year general chemistry and general physics classes were recorded using a think-aloud protocol as they worked through the following open-ended problems: 1) How many toilets do you need at a music festival? 2) How far does a car travel before one atom layer is worn off the tires? 3)What is the mass of the Earth’s atmosphere? The original definitions of MAtCH were adapted to better fit student problem-solving, and then the newly defined model was used as an analytical framework to code the student transcripts. Applying the MAtCH model within student problem-solving has revealed a reliance on the method component, namely, using formulas and performing simple plug-and-chug calculations, over deeper analysis of the question or evaluation of their work. More important than the order of the components, the biggest differences in promoted versus impeded problem-solving are how students incorporate multiple components of MAtCH and apply them as they work through the problems. The results of this study will further discuss in detail the revisions made to apply MAtCH definitions to student transcripts and give insight into the elements that promote and impede student problem-solving under the MAtCH model.

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