Durkheim Said What?: Creating Talking Textbooks With Augmented Reality and Project-Based Activities

Abstract

This study explored utilizing augmented reality (AR) and project-based learning (PBL) strategies to increase students’ understandings of sociological paradigms and the theorists’ motivations behind their development. Using a posttest-only quasi-experimental control group design with experimental intervention, three groups of students’ scores were compared on a post-unit assessment. The PBL-only group, the PBL-AR group, and a control group were also compared over time on the post-unit assessment, a quiz, and the midterm. PBL-AR students’ scores were higher on all three assessments. The project’s design, implementation, and findings are discussed, along with implications for future curricular redesign using novel tools and technologies.     

Unravelling Quality in Higher Education: What Say the Students?

Abstract

The extant literature on quality assurance in higher education points to a dearth of empirical studies on students’ conceptions of quality in higher education. This interpretivist article reports on a study that explored the conceptions of quality in higher education by final year undergraduate students in six academic disciplines at Makerere University, Uganda. Data for the article was collected from 50 final year students in eight discipline-specific focus group discussions and was analysed using thematic analysis. Four conceptions of quality in higher education were evident from the participants’ responses, namely: quality as transformation (value-added); quality as fitness for purpose; quality as excellence; and quality as consistency/ perfection (zero-errors). Nevertheless, transformation and fitness for purpose featured as the dominant conceptions of quality in higher education and these conceptions of quality did not take place in a vacuum. The students rationalised transformation and fitness for purpose by what they perceived the purpose of higher education to be. The multiple and yet competing purposes of higher education occasioned the two definitions of quality in higher education. Therefore, consensus on the meaning of quality can be hastened by arriving at a common purpose of higher education in a given society rather than engaging with the notions of quality themselves. This thinking presupposes the idea that the purpose of higher education varies across time and space and the definition of quality in higher education should be responsive to the prevailing purpose(s) of higher education in a given society.     

What Do We Mean When We Say “Pass Rate”?

Pass rates are key assessment statistics which are calculated for nearly all high-stakes examinations. In this article, we define the terminal, first attempt, total attempts, and repeat attempts pass rates, and discuss the uses of each statistic. We also explain why in many situations one should expect the terminal pass rate to be the highest, first attempt pass rate to be the second highest, total attempts pass rate to be the third highest, and repeat attempts pass rate to be the lowest when repeat attempts are allowed. Analyses of data from 14 credentialing programs showed that the expected relationship held for 13 out of 14 of the programs. Additional analyses of pass rates for educational programs in radiography in one state showed that the general relationship held at the state level, but only held for 6 out of 34 educational programs. It is suggested that credentialing programs need to clearly state their pass rate definitions and carefully consider how repeat examinees may influence pass rate statistics. It is also suggested that credentialing programs need to think carefully about the meaning and uses of different pass rate statistics when choosing which pass rates to report to stakeholders.     

What to Do With Meaning? A Research Conundrum for the 21st Century

It is difficult to know what to do with meaning. Some kinesiologists, particularly those in the humanities, would argue that it should be given due attention—perhaps even priority attention. Others would argue that meaning is unimportant or simply impossible to study in any objective way. This conundrum can be solved by adopting a new research paradigm, one that places meaning on a level playing field with muscles, cells, genes, and other movement-related phenomena. I argue that we might be in the middle of a Kuhnian paradigm shift. This new way of conceptualizing reality has significant implications, not only for how we do research, but also for how we understand our field. I identify five implications of the new paradigm for kinesiology.     

Do Elementary Science Methods Textbooks Facilitate the Understanding of Magnet Concepts?

The study of magnets is a common physical science topic for elementary students. This study examined elementary science methods textbooks to determine how magnet concepts were presented. Each methods textbook's section relating to magnets was read. Particular attention was paid to the organization, sequence of concepts, potential misconceptions, and types of investigations included. A previously validated magnet concept list was used. A detailed analysis of 11 elementary science methods textbooks found great variation in the magnet concepts presented, general omission of ceramic magnets, frequent misconceptions about poles, and limited investigations that address both attraction and repulsion.     

What Did You Do with the Ship?

Whileworkingonacruiseship熏amagicianperformedthesametrickseachweeksincehealwayshadanewaudience.一个魔术师在一艘观光船上工作,因为每周有不同的观众,他总是表演着同样的魔术。Problemwas熏thecaptainhadaparrotwhosaweachshowandhadfiguredouthowthemagiciandidhistricks.问题是船长有一只鹦鹉,它看了每一场表演,也看明白了魔术师是怎么表演魔术的。Theyfloatedfordayswithoututteringaworduntilfinallytheparrotturnedtothemagician.“Okay.Igiveup.”Itsaid.“Whatdidyoudowiththeship芽”他们一起漂流了好几天都没说一句话,最…     

Adult Jewish Learning: What Do We Know? What Do We Need to Know?

This article describes the emergence of the field of adult Jewish learning and the need for research in this burgeoning aspect of contemporary Jewish life. The authors describe the context in which the upsurge of adult Jewish learning has occurred, drawing attention to the absence of systematic data collection about programs, funding structures, or long-term impacts. They review existing research about adult Jewish learners, learning experiences, and teachers, and identify three categories (and numerous questions) for future research: (1) the purposes of adult Jewish learning; (2) adult Jewish learning settings, subject matter, and methods of instruction; and (3) underrepresented groups in adult Jewish learning programs.     

What Do Learning Scientists Do? A Survey of the ISLS Membership

This study responds to a question that people working in the field of learning sciences get asked regularly: What do learning scientists do? Earlier attempts to answer this question came from a need to define a new field of educational research. Now that the International Society of the Learning Sciences (ISLS) has grown into a robust and productive society, it is time to gain a more nuanced understanding of learning sciences research and practices—including where it takes place, for whom, and in what form—as defined by members of the learning sciences community. Here we report on the responses of 253 ISLS members to a survey conducted in 2014. We discuss implications of the findings in terms of the type of impact learning scientists have. We also discuss how these results might be used to advise prospective students and to create a vision for our future.     

Development of Adjustment Problems in Girls: What Syndromes Emerge?

The development of a broad spectrum of adjustment problems in girls was studied longitudinally from late childhood to early adulthood. A specific interest concerned how well the externalizing-internalizing distinction could explain the data. The sample consisted of about 500 Swedish girls, reasonably representative of the general population. Variable-oriented methods were complemented with person-oriented methods to study syndrome formation at the level of the individual. The results suggested a rather diversified pattern of multi-problem syndromes in late childhood, whereas the syndrome structure in early adolescence was organized around a differentiation between girls with externalizing adjustment problems and girls with peer problems. An externalizing syndrome was found to be stable between late childhood and early adolescence, increasing the risk of severe maladjustment in adulthood. Internalizing problems showed no clear-cut continuity with adult maladjustment. Results are discussed in relation to the externalizing-internalizing distinction, which to some extent is called in question.     

The Oil Drop Experiment: Do Physical Chemistry Textbooks Refer to its Controversial Nature?

Most general chemistry textbooks consider the oil drop experiment as a classic experiment, characterized by its simplicity and precise results. A review of the history and philosophy of science literature shows that the experiment is difficult to perform (even today!) and generated a considerable amount of controversy. Acceptance of the quantization of the elementary electrical charge was preceded by a bitter dispute between R.A. Millikan and F. Ehrenhaft, that lasted for many years (1910–1925). The objective of this study was to investigate whether physical chemistry textbooks refer to the controversial nature of the experiment. Based on six criteria developed previously, 28 physical chemistry textbooks were evaluated. Analysis of the texts using six identified criteria demonstrated that the textbooks neither referred to the controversial nature of the experiment nor recognized the difficulty of the experimental procedure. Only a few texts even attempted to include any discussion of the history or philosophy of the experiment. The instructor of a physical chemistry course could include aspects of the Millikan–Ehrenhaft controversy to motivate classroom discussion and help facilitate an understanding of the role that controversy has in scientific progress.     

Posing Problems for Open Investigations: What questions do pupils ask?

The purpose of this study was to (a) find out the types of questions that pupils ask for open-ended science investigations, and (b) discuss how teachers can help pupils to identify problems and pose questions that are feasible for investigations. The study was conducted in a class of 39 primary 6 pupils of mixed ability. The pupils wrote down questions for two investigations that they would like to work on. The questions for the first investigation were generated individually, but those for the second investigation were posed in groups after the pupils were shown some examples of investigable questions. Among the questions that were posed individually, only 11.7% could be answered by performing hands-on investigations. Most of the questions asked were based on general knowledge and covered a wide range of topics. However, when questions were generated in groups after examples were shown, there was a significant increase in the number of questions that were amenable to science investigations (71.4%) but they related to fewer topics. A typology of investigable and non-investigable questions is proposed. Suggestions on how teachers can help pupils to pose problems and questions that are feasible for investigations are given.