Figure Facts: Encouraging Undergraduates to Take a Data-Centered Approach to Reading Primary Literature     

Jennifer E. Round  A. Malcolm Campbell 《CBE life sciences education》2013,12(1):39-46

The ability to interpret experimental data is essential to understanding and participating in the process of scientific discovery. Reading primary research articles can be a frustrating experience for undergraduate biology students because they have very little experience interpreting data. To enhance their data interpretation skills, students used a template called “Figure Facts” to assist them with primary literature–based reading assignments in an advanced cellular neuroscience course. The Figure Facts template encourages students to adopt a data-centric approach, rather than a text-based approach, to understand research articles. Specifically, Figure Facts requires students to focus on the experimental data presented in each figure and identify specific conclusions that may be drawn from those results. Students who used Figure Facts for one semester increased the amount of time they spent examining figures in a primary research article, and regular exposure to primary literature was associated with improved student performance on a data interpretation skills test. Students reported decreased frustration associated with interpreting data figures, and their opinions of the Figure Facts template were overwhelmingly positive. In this paper, we present Figure Facts for others to adopt and adapt, with reflection on its implementation and effectiveness in improving undergraduate science education.  相似文献   

Misconceptions Are “So Yesterday!”     

April Cordero Maskiewicz  Jennifer Evarts Lineback 《CBE life sciences education》2013,12(3):352-356

At the close of the Society for the Advancement of Biology Education Research conference in July 2012, one of the organizers made the comment: “Misconceptions are so yesterday.” Within the community of learning sciences, misconceptions are yesterday''s news, because the term has been aligned with eradication and/or replacement of conceptions, and our knowledge about how people learn has progressed past this idea. This essay provides an overview of the discussion within the learning sciences community surrounding the term “misconceptions” and how the education community''s thinking has evolved with respect to students’ conceptions. Using examples of students’ incorrect ideas about evolution and ecology, we show that students’ naïve ideas can provide the resources from which to build scientific understanding. We conclude by advocating that biology education researchers use one or more appropriate alternatives in place of the term misconception whenever possible.  相似文献   

Talking about Homelessness: A teaching and research initiative in East London     

Jennifer Harding 《Teaching in Higher Education》2013,18(1):81-95

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Viewing student behavior through the lenses of culture and globalization: two narratives from a US college writing class     

Jennifer A. Mott-Smith 《Teaching in Higher Education》2013,18(3):249-259

Globalization is bringing about profound changes in the university writing class in Western English-speaking universities, notably due to the influx of international students. This article narrates the experiences of a US writing teacher working with Chinese international students. It presents two incidents in which misunderstandings occurred, one involving textual re-use and the other, writing tests. The narratives demonstrate that, in order to understand student behavior, it is important for teachers to understand both the global context within which international students operate and their cultures of learning. The argument rests on the premise that, through personal engagement with students, teachers can engage in transformative internationalization, a type of internationalization that involves synergistic changes in both teachers and students.  相似文献   

Students with chronic health conditions,the law and education: a salutary lesson from Australia     

Julie White 《International Journal of Inclusive Education》2013,17(12):1294-1306

Australia's legal and policy frameworks serve to exclude from education those children and young people who live with challenging and chronic health conditions. The Australian experience is detailed here because it offers insight for education systems of other nations into the consequences of systemic oversight and complicated legal requirements resulting in educational exclusion. Education systems in Australia have been left increasingly vulnerable to litigation by a failure to adequately address the education of these students. However, no specific exclusionary barriers or practices have been enacted – it is more a matter of neglect and oversight. This investigation also serves as a salutary warning for other nations about the significance of this expanding yet barely visible educational cohort. A recently completed study was designed to establish an empirical base about these students and their education because so little is known. The database project closely examined the international literature from a range of fields and a national database established by a philanthropic organisation that works closely with Australian paediatric hospitals. The purpose of this essay is to connect this recent investigation with the legal framework and policy silences to depict how education is not yet meeting the educational entitlements of this cohort of students.  相似文献   

Editor’s overview: outcomes and benefits of mentoring     

Shinhee Jeong  Jennifer Boswell  Elisabeth Pugliese 《Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning》2013,21(4):355-357

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Editor’s overview: exploring mentoring relationships of various populations     

Shinhee Jeong  Beverly J. Irby  Elisabeth Pugliese  Jennifer Boswell  Kimberly Kappler Hewitt 《Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning》2013,21(5):477-481

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Editorial Overview: Supplying the Demand for Professional Development     

Jennifer Boswell  Beverly J. Irby 《Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning》2013,21(4):269-272

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Critical Thinking in Preservice Teachers: A Rubric for Evaluating Argumentation and Statistical Reasoning     

Helena P. Osana  Jennifer R. Seymour 《Educational Research and Evaluation》2013,19(4-6):473-498

The authors implemented a cognitive apprenticeship learning community (Collins, Brown, & Newman, 1989) in a class of preservice teachers at the University of Missouri - Columbia to enhance their argumentation and critical thinking skills about complex, educational problems. A detailed rubric based on the literature in argumentation and scientific reasoning was developed to evaluate the students' performance before and after the intervention. The rubric was designed to measure students' (a) conceptions and use of evidence, (b) notions about research and its applicability in evaluating complex social problems, and (c) ability to consider alternative perspectives. This article describes the intervention, the theoretical underpinnings of the rubric, and the use of the rubric in measuring the development of critical thinking in a group of preservice teachers. Strengths and weaknesses of the rubric are outlined and avenues for future research are discussed.  相似文献   

Trajectories of math achievement and perceived math competence over high school and postsecondary education: effects of an all-girl curriculum in high school     

Jennifer D. Shapka 《Educational Research and Evaluation》2013,19(6):527-541

This study investigated the benefits of all-girls' classroom instruction in math and/or science during Grades 9 and/or 10, within the context of a public co-educational high school. There were 118 participants in this longitudinal investigation: 26 girls in the all-girl classes, as well as 42 girls and 50 boys in the regular co-educational program. A range of pre-existing achievement, background, and psychological characteristics were included as covariates to ensure comparability of the groups. Individual growth curve modeling was used to examine how math achievement and perceived math competence changed over the course of high school and postsecondary education. Change was found to be nonlinear for both constructs (with math achievement starting high, dipping, and then recovering; and with perceived competence doing the opposite). The all-girl intervention appeared to act as a protective mechanism against the temporary decline in math achievement experienced by both co-ed boys and co-ed girls.  相似文献