The Use of Mobile Learning in Science: A Systematic Review

The use of mobile learning in education is growing at an exponential rate. To best understand how mobile learning is being used, it is crucial to gain a collective understanding of the research that has taken place. This systematic review reveals the trends in mobile learning in science with a comprehensive analysis and synthesis of studies from the year 2000 onward. Major findings include that most of the studies focused on designing systems for mobile learning, followed by a combination of evaluating the effects of mobile learning and investigating the affective domain during mobile learning. The majority of the studies were conducted in the area of life sciences in informal, elementary (5–11 years) settings. Mobile devices were used in this strand of science easily within informal environments with real-world connections. A variety of research methods were employed, providing a rich research perspective. As the use of mobile learning continues to grow, further research regarding the use of mobile technologies in all areas and levels of science learning will help science educators to expand their ability to embrace these technologies.     

Taking Stock and Moving Forward: Lessons From Two Plus Decades of Research on the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program

In this article we review the substantial literature on the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP), the U.S.’s oldest and largest urban school voucher program, and use the review to propose an agenda for second generation school voucher research. We review research on student-level impacts, public school response, parental decision-making, fiscal impacts, organizational churn, and the larger public policy issues resulting from Milwaukee’s voucher policy. We conclude that the balance of literature on the MPCP shows limited positive effects for voucher users, positive fiscal impacts for taxpayers, substantial numbers of school closures, and various externalities that need to be better understood given the program’s size and prominence. Given this, we suggest a future research agenda focused on the question of how to make voucher policies as successful as possible.     

How Swedish pupils,aged 12‐15 years,understand light and its properties‡

The reasoning patterns used by a sample of Western Australian secondary school students aged 13‐16 were investigated with regard to the following reasoning modes: proportional reasoning, controlling variables, probabilistic reasoning, correlational reasoning, and combinatorial reasoning.

There was a wide range in students’ reasoning abilities at all year levels. Large percentages of students did not use formal operational reasoning patterns when they attempted to solve problems assessing their ability to use each of the five reasoning modes. Commonly used, but incorrect reasoning patterns were identified for each reasoning mode.

The students’ ability to use formal reasoning patterns was found to be an important factor in determining student achievement in lower secondary science, in their selection of year 11 science subjects, and their achievement in these subjects.

The results of the study indicate that it is important for teachers to be aware of the reasoning patterns of their students and the cognitive demands of course content, so that they can optimally match the content and their teaching strategies with the abilities of their students. Further research is needed to establish the nature of instruction which might best facilitate cognitive growth.     

Inclusion in practice: a matter of school culture

The main aim of this study was to find out how reading and writing education can work successfully in practice without being exclusive. The teachers preferred heterogenous groups and emphasised the importance of various teaching methods and approaches so as to be able to deal with student diversity. They had a good theoretical foundation and the ability to link-up their theoretical knowledge with what they learned from experience to create action-oriented knowledge. The importance of each student being challenged in the next development zone was stressed. The teachers’ positive belief in their students’ ability and their commitment to the pedagogical process were other central factors. The successful results of the teachers’ work showed the importance of mentorship, co-operation with colleagues and continuous pedagogical discussions, led by a researching teacher, so as to promote the teachers’ own reflective ability. This created an inclusive school culture in which all the students felt they were competent, valued and never excluded.     

Generalized Linear Factor Score Regression: A Comparison of Four Methods

Factor score regression has recently received growing interest as an alternative for structural equation modeling. However, many applications are left without guidance because of the focus on normally distributed outcomes in the literature. We perform a simulation study to examine how a selection of factor scoring methods compare when estimating regression coefficients in generalized linear factor score regression. The current study evaluates the regression method and the correlation-preserving method as well as two sum score methods in ordinary, logistic, and Poisson factor score regression. Our results show that scoring method performance can differ notably across the considered regression models. In addition, the results indicate that the choice of scoring method can substantially influence research conclusions. The regression method generally performs the best in terms of coefficient and standard error bias, accuracy, and empirical Type I error rates. Moreover, the regression method and the correlation-preserving method mostly outperform the sum score methods.     

Perceptions of school and future adjustment to life: A longitudinal study between the ages of 18 and 25

A group of senior high school students, 18 years old, answered a questionnaire about their perceptions of their school situation. Around one-third of the group seemed to like school very much and another third seemed to hate or dislike school very much. This group was followed up until they were 25 years old. Of the original sample 82%, 462 persons, answered a new questionnaire about how they had succeeded in life, what kind of further education they had got, what kind of job they had, how they looked upon their future job and life careers, etc. They were also asked about their memories and feelings about their former school experiences. In the analyses we relate the students' school perceptions at age 18 to their memories of school when 25. A substantial number of the respondents remembered school in the same way as they perceived school when in school. Those who hated school seemed to be more vulnerable when they were adult. We also discuss what could be done to change school so that it does not loose one-third of its students. We introduce the concept of the 'learning centre', the aim of which is to teach the joy of learning and stimulate the students' thirst for knowledge.     

Microfluidic device for generating a stepwise concentration gradient on a microwell slide for cell analysis

Understanding biomolecular gradients and their role in biological processes is essential for fully comprehending the underlying mechanisms of cells in living tissue. Conventional in vitro gradient-generating methods are unpredictable and difficult to characterize, owing to temporal and spatial fluctuations. The field of microfluidics enables complex user-defined gradients to be generated based on a detailed understanding of fluidic behavior at the μm-scale. By using microfluidic gradients created by flow, it is possible to develop rapid and dynamic stepwise concentration gradients. However, cells exposed to stepwise gradients can be perturbed by signals from neighboring cells exposed to another concentration. Hence, there is a need for a device that generates a stepwise gradient at discrete and isolated locations. Here, we present a microfluidic device for generating a stepwise concentration gradient, which utilizes a microwell slide''s pre-defined compartmentalized structure to physically separate different reagent concentrations. The gradient was generated due to flow resistance in the microchannel configuration of the device, which was designed using hydraulic analogy and theoretically verified by computational fluidic dynamics simulations. The device had two reagent channels and two dilutant channels, leading to eight chambers, each containing 4 microwells. A dose-dependency assay was performed using bovine aortic endothelial cells treated with saponin. High reproducibility between experiments was confirmed by evaluating the number of living cells in a live-dead assay. Our device generates a fully mixed fluid profile using a simple microchannel configuration and could be used in various gradient studies, e.g., screening for cytostatics or antibiotics.     

Pacing in lane-based head-to-head competitions: A systematic review on swimming

ABSTRACT

Athletes’ energy distribution over a race (e.g. pacing behaviour) varies across different sports. Swimming is a head-to-head sport with unique characteristics, such as propulsion through water, a multitude of swimming stroke types and lane-based racing. The aim of this paper was to review the existing literature on pacing behaviour in swimming. According to PRISMA guidelines, 279 articles were extracted using the PubMed and Web of Science databases. After the exclusion process was conducted, 16 studies remained. The findings of these studies indicate that pacing behaviour is influenced by the race distance and stroke type. Pacing behaviours in swimming and time-trial sports share numerous common characteristics. This commonality can most likely be attributed to the lane-based racing set-up. The low efficiency of swimming resulting from propulsion through the water induces a rapid accumulation of blood lactate, prompting a change in swimmers’ biomechanical characteristics, with the goal of minimising changes in velocity throughout the race. Although the literature on youth swimmers is scarce, youth swimmers demonstrate more variable pacing profiles and have more difficulty in selecting the most beneficial energy distribution.     

The economic microgeography of diversity and specialization externalities – firm-level evidence from Swedish cities

We employ finely geo-coded firm-level panel data to assess the long-standing question whether agglomeration economies derive from specialization (within-industry), diversity (between-industry) or overall density. Rather than treating the city as a single unit, we focus our analysis on how the inner industry structures of cities influence firm-level productivity. Our results illustrate the co-existence of several externalities that differ in their spatial distribution and attenuation within cities. First, we find robust positive effects of neighborhood-level specialization on TFP as well as a small effect of diversity at the same fine spatial level. These effects are highly localized and dissipate beyond the immediate within-city neighborhood level. Second, we also find that firms benefit from the overall density of the wider city. The results emphasize the relevance of “opening up” cities to study the workings of their inner organization and support the idea that location in a within-city industry cluster in a diversified and dense city boosts productivity.