The effect of mission duration on LISA science objectives

The science objectives of the LISA mission have been defined under the implicit assumption of a 4-years continuous data stream. Based on the performance of LISA Pathfinder, it is now expected that LISA will have a duty cycle of $$\approx 0.75$$ ≈ 0.75 , which would reduce the effective span of usable data to 3 years. This paper reports the results of a study by the LISA Science Group, which was charged with assessing the additional science return of increasing the mission lifetime. We explore various observational scenarios to assess the impact of mission duration on the main science objectives of the mission. We find that the science investigations most affected by mission duration concern the search for seed black holes at cosmic dawn, as well as the study of stellar-origin black holes and of their formation channels via multi-band and multi-messenger observations. We conclude that an extension to 6 years of mission operations is recommended.

A STUDY ON TEACHING COMPETENCE OF PRIMARY STUDENT TEACHERS WITH INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARD TECHNOLOGY

The main objective of this study is to find out the significant difference of primary student teachers (Diploma in Elementary Education) in teaching competence towards the interactive whiteboard (i.e., Smart Board) concerning the locality.The survey method was used in the present study.The teaching competence scale developed and validated by the researcher has been used for collecting the data.The findings of the study were a significant difference between the rural and urban primary student teachers in their teaching competence whereas there is no difference between arts and science group student students.

University Students' Acceptance of Evolution: Basis for STEM-based Instructional Design

This study was conducted to explore the overall acceptance of evolution among undergraduate students in a State University as basis for developing a STEM-based instructional design to address the misconceptions about evolution. The research was conducted using the 20-item questionnaires of the Measurement of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (MATE) instrument assessing undergraduate students' acceptance of evolution in relations to; the process of evolution, the scientific validity of the evolutionary theory, the evolution of humans, evidence of evolution, scientific community's view of evolution and age of the Earth. The study is within a quantitative and qualitative framework using descriptive and inferential analysis. The findings revealed that all the colleges in the science group acquired a moderate level of acceptance except for the CED non-science group who received a low degree of acceptance of the theory of evolution. Although among the six concepts in the study, they generally agree on the statements and only in the idea on the age of the earth where the students were undecided. This research confirms that the level of acceptance is not positively related to the students' specialization. Based on the result of this study there is a need to develop a STEM based instructional design and this should be emphasized in the science curriculum. The teaching design will fill in the gaps in understanding concepts of evolution and its significance to the lives of many organisms and for the teachers to look evolution from very broad flexible and interdisciplinary perspectives.

Editorial

La docencia universitaria se ejerce muchas veces desde la reflexión. Es decir, pensarnos desde los debates científicos acerca de la enseñanza en la educación superior y de esa manera promover la investigación. En la Revista de Investigación en Docencia Universitaria (RIDU) buscamos compartir los estudios de nuestros colaboradores e incentivar la producción del conocimiento científico en nuestros lectores. En ese sentido, y de acuerdo al ranking JCR (Jorunal Citation Reports) de Web of Science Group (WoS) 2020, nos ubicamos en el primer lugar en Perú en la categoría de Educación y en la ubicación 156 en el mundo (Revista Científica de Comunicación y Educación Comunicar, 2021). Este reconocimiento nos compromete a seguir trabajando y a explorar en los múltiples caminos de la docencia universitaria.

INVESTIGATING SECONDARY STUDENTS’ CRITICAL THINKING: A CASE OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Purpose of the Study: The purpose of this research study was to measure and compare critical thinking among secondary school students in a district of Gilgit-Baltistan. Methodology: Quantitative research approach was applied to study critical thinking. A sample of 400 students was selected through a convenient sampling technique to collect the data. Critical thinking was measured by applying an adapted tool (Sarigoz, 2012). Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. Main Findings: Findings of the study revealed that female students, rural school students, and science group students showed slightly higher critical thinking than male, urban, and arts group students. The results were consistent with earlier studies having higher critical thinking among female and science group students. However, the results were inconsistent with the earlier research studies having slightly higher critical thinking among rural school students than urban school students. The study revealed that there is a discrepancy in aligning critical thinking with teaching and learning activities in secondary school classrooms. Application of this study: The findings of the study help understand the level of male and female students' critical thinking at the secondary level. It will surely assist the teachers in designing their classroom activities and modifications in teaching methodologies for gender perspective. Novelty/Originality of this study: The study is original as not a single research study investigated the critical thinking of secondary school students in the region of district Ghizar in Gilgit-Baltistan.

How Meat Science Academic Programming Can Facilitate Undergraduate and Graduate Student International Exposure

As the world population increases and the trajectory of meat trade continues to expand across the borders of sovereign nations, it is important for university educators to increase the opportunities that undergraduate and graduate students have for engaging with other cultures.  In the future, it is unlikely that students can be successful in a meat-based career without knowledge of the global markets.  The Meat Science Group at CSU have tried to offer such opportunities to students by engaging them in research, by providing the forums for exchange, internships, and capacity building, by participating in international scientific meetings, and by offering courses that assist students in their understanding of the global marketplace.  As the world becomes a smaller place, all such student international activities are incumbent upon the Land Grant Mission to accommodate.

Students Think Science Literacy Is Important and Improves with Lifelong Learning

A Review of: Holden, I. I. (2010) Science literacy and lifelong learning in the classroom: A measure of attitudes among university students. Journal of Library Administration, 50:3, 265-282. https://doi.org/10.1080/01930821003635002 Abstract Objective – Investigate student attitudes to science literacy and lifelong learning as outlined in Standard Five of the Information Literacy Standards for Science and Engineering/Technology (ILSTE): The information literate student understands that information literacy is an ongoing process and an important component of lifelong learning and recognizes the need to keep current regarding new developments in his or her field (2006). Design – Survey. Setting – A large public American R1 university. Subjects – Undergraduate students in two classes: Information Literacy in the Sciences (Science group) and Information Literacy (Non-Science group). Methods – A 13 question survey was administered to students by a colleague of the author. Three categories of questions were asked: students' perceptions of the important of science literacy, students' assessment of their own science literacy skills and students' perceptions of lifelong learning in relation to Standard Five. Main Results – Survey participation included 13 students from the Science group and 18 students from the Non-Science group. Students agreed that science literacy is an important part of civic literacy and responsibility, and should be taught to undergraduates in the United States. Students from the Science group frequently had more positive responses to statements than the students in the Non-Science group. For example, 81% of Science students either agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, “Every responsible citizen should be aware of the latest scientific discoveries” compared to 61% of Non-science students. Students felt that their science literacy skills had improved since high school. Most students were confident in their research skills including using emerging communication technologies. Students believed that life-long learning and staying current contribute to good information literacy and science literacy. Conclusion – Students think science literacy is an important part of being a responsible citizen. They also believe being a lifelong learner improves science literacy.

The melliferous flora of Veracruz, Mexico

Objective: To contribute to the knowledge of the situation of the melliferous flora in Veracruz for pollinators and to communicate it for the benefit of beekeepers and stingless beekeepers, as well as to develop comprehensive strategies with these activities. Design/Methodology/Approach: The information was obtained through a bibliographic review in reference databases such as Scopus, Web of Science Group, Academic Google, Elsevier and Springer Link, using the following keywords: flora, bees, pollinators, honey, pollen. Results: 63 families were recorded, with 176 genera and 216 species of melliferous flora, finding that the largest number of species are found in the Fabaceae family (20%) and Asteraceae (16.55%). There were also 44 crops with 22 families. Study Limitations/Implications: There were no limitations in conducting this study. Findings/Conclusions: The greatest diversity of melliferous flora species is seen in wild plants, and strategies need to be implemented for their protection and multiplication. For these actions, various actors must be involved at different levels of government, educational and private institutions, civil society, farmers, beekeepers, and stingless beekeeping. Conservation actions include the use of melliferous plants in gardens and their protection in crops, sites surrounding crops and on edges. It is necessary to preserve natural landscapes and restore damaged ones, as well as to lead favorable practices in pollinator-dependent crops.