SYMBIOSIS: Development,Implementation, and Assessment of a Model Curriculum across Biology and Mathematics at the Introductory Level

“It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.”Alan Cohen (Used by permission. All rights reserved. For more information on Alan Cohen''s books and programs, see (www.alancohen.com.)

With the support of the East Tennessee State University (ETSU) administration and a grant from Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the departments of Biological Sciences, Mathematics and Statistics, and Curriculum and Instruction have developed a biology–math integrated curriculum. An interdisciplinary faculty team, charged with teaching the 18 curriculum modules, designed this three-semester curriculum, known as SYMBIOSIS. This curriculum was piloted to two student cohorts during the developmental stage. The positive feedback and assessment results of this project have given us the foundation to implement the SYMBIOSIS curriculum as a replacement for the standard biology majors curriculum at the introductory level. This article addresses the history and development of the curriculum, previous assessment results and current assessment protocol, and the future of ETSU''s approach to implementing the SYMBIOSIS curriculum.     

Kinematic analysis of proximal-to-distal and simultaneous motion sequencing of straight punches

Consecutive proximal-to-distal sequencing of motion is considered to be integral for generating high velocity of distal segments in many sports. Simultaneous usage of proximal and distal segments as seen in martial arts is by far less well investigated. Therefore, the aim of the study was to characterise and differentiate the concepts of consecutive (CSM) and simultaneous (SSM) sequence of motion in straight reverse punches as practised in Practical Wing Chun. Four experienced martial artists succeeded an eligibility test for technical proficiency in both concepts and performed a total number of 20 straight punches per concept. Eight MX13 Vicon cameras (250 fps) and Visual3D were used for motion capture and analyses. Both motion concepts showed proximal-to-distal sequencing of maximal joint velocities but, in SSM, this was coupled with simultaneous initiation. Key characteristics were: high pelvis momentum and backswing of shoulder and elbow (CSM); and importance of shoulder involvement (SSM). Different ranges of motion, timing aspects and achieved maximal angular velocities distinguished both concepts, which led to differences (p < 0.05) in fist velocity at contact, execution time, distance and horizontal shift of the centre of mass. Proper application of both concepts depends on the environmental setting, situational requirements and individual fighting style.     

Reproducibility of the maximum accumulated oxygen deficit and run time to exhaustion during short-distance running

The aim of this study was to determine the reproducibility of the maximal accumulated oxygen deficit and the associated exercise time to exhaustion during short-distance running. Fifteen well-trained males (mean - s : VO 2max = 58.0 - 4.6 ml.kg -1 .min -1 ) performed the maximum accumulated oxygen deficit test at an exercise intensity equivalent to 125% VO 2max . The test was repeated at the same time of day on three occasions within 3 weeks. There was no significant systematic bias between trials for either maximum accumulated oxygen deficit (mean - s : trial 1 = 69.0 - 13.1; trial 2 = 71.4 - 12.5; trial 3 = 70.4 - 15.0 ml O 2 Eq.kg -1 ; ANOVA, F = 0.70, P = 0.51) or exercise time to exhaustion (trial 1 = 194 - 31.1; trial 2 = 198 - 33.2; trial 3 = 201 - 36.8 s; F = 1.49, P = 0.24). In addition, other traditional measures of reliability were also favourable. These included intraclass correlation coefficients of 0.91 and 0.87, and sample coefficients of variation of 6.8% and 5.0%, for maximum accumulated oxygen deficit and exercise time to exhaustion respectively. However, the '95% limits of agreement' were 0 - 15.1 ml O 2 Eq (1.01 2 / 1 1.26 as a ratio) and 0 - 33.5 s (1.0 2 / 1 1.18 as a ratio) for maximum accumulated oxygen deficit and exercise time to exhaustion respectively. We estimate that the sample sizes required to detect a 10% change in exercise time to exhaustion and maximum accumulated oxygen deficit after a repeated measures experiment are 10 and 20 respectively. Unlike the results of previous maximum accumulated oxygen deficit studies, we conclude that it is not a reliable measure.     

Predicting course performance in freshman and sophomore physics courses: Women are more predictable than men

This study investigated the extent to which thinking skills and mathematical competency would predict the course performance of freshman and sophomore science majors enrolled in physics courses. Multiple-regression equations revealed that algebra and critical thinking skills were the best overall predictors across several physics courses. Although arithmetic skills, math anxiety, and primary mental abilities scores also correlated with performance, they were redundant with the algebra and critical thinking. The most surprising finding of the study was the differential validity by sex; predictor variables were successful in predicting course performance for women but not for men.     

The twofold character of comparative education: Cross-cultural comparison and externalization to world situations

Member of the Executive Committee of the Comparative Education Society in Europe. His research work focuses on the comparative social history of education. His publications include two books on France, Die französischen Universitäten 1945–1968 (1972) Schulreform und Bildungspolitik in Frankreich (1974), Geschichte der Pädagogik und systematische Erziehungswissenschaft(co-editor) (1976), and Theories and Methods in Comparative Education(1988). He has published numerous articles in scholarly reviews, especially in Zeitschrift für Pädagogik.     

Alternative models of entrance exams and access to higher education: the case of the Czech Republic

The study compares the potential effects of a university admission exam model based on program-specific knowledge and an alternative model relying on general study aptitude (GSA) in the context of a strongly stratified educational system with considerable excess of demand over supply of university education. Using results of the Sonda Maturant 1998 survey, we show that in the specific context of the Czech Republic, displaying the above characteristics in the given period, an admission exam model based on general study aptitude tests may improve the access of talented individuals with lower socioeconomic status to university education. Our simulations show that with the GSA model (provided the model assumptions are met), the relative chances of an applicant with a university-educated father would be only by one-fourth higher than the relative chances of a student with a less educated father, as compared to the more than a one-third difference in case of the model emphasizing program-specific knowledge. The odds ratio for the GSA model is by 28% points lower for mother’s education.     

Generative Processes: Thick Drawing

This article presents techniques and theories of generative drawing as a means for developing complex content in architecture design studios. Appending the word ‘generative’ to drawing adds specificity to the most common representation tool and clarifies that such drawings are not singularly about communication or documentation but are also productive instruments for architectural inquiry. A particular aspect of generative drawings is their potential to directly activate conceptualisation processes. Such advancement is demonstrated through evidence of continued design thinking development rather than isolation of schemes at a particular point in a process. Generative drawings offer the means of advancing multiple paths of inquiry rather than singular research channels typified in introductory pedagogies. The relevance of drawings as polemical instruments or tools of critique and history is well established, but the intellectual and physical techniques of generative drawing that advance multiple modes of architectural research are less explicit. The use of drawings as discursive instruments is a critical step towards the alignment of authorship as but one category of priority alongside the rich and complex field of forces beyond individual intuition. The recognition of design research as a category of inquiry commensurate with scientific or historical disciplines requires that our instruments have explicitly defined purpose. By discussing specific techniques and the reasons for communicating such intuitive or inexplicit architectural conditions, this article seeks to disperse the mysterious haze that obscures the legibility of architectural drawing from the uninitiated.