A teaching–learning sequence on a socio-scientific issue: analysis and evaluation of its implementation in the classroom*

This study examines the effectiveness of a teaching–learning sequence (TLS) to improve the understanding of the influences and interactions between a technology (mining) and society. The aim of the study is also to show the possibility of both teaching and assessing the most innovative issues and aspects of scientific competence and their impact on the understanding of the nature of science. The methodology used a quasi-experimental, pre–post-test design with a control group, with pre–post-test differences as the empirical indicators of improved understanding. Improvements were modest, as the empirical differences (pre–post and experimental–control group) were not large, but the experimental group scored more highly than the control group. The areas that showed improvement were identified. The paper includes the TLS itself and the standardized assessment tools that are functional and transferable to other researchers and teachers.     

Imagining: Creating Spaces for Indigenous Ontologies

For at least half a century, catalogers have struggled with how to catalog and classify Native American and Indigenous peoples materials in library, archive, and museum collections. Understanding how colonialism works can help those in the field of knowledge organization appreciate the power dynamics embedded in the marginalization of Native American and Indigenous peoples materials through standardization, misnaming, and other practices. The decolonizing methodology of imagining provides one way that knowledge organization practitioners and theorists can acknowledge and discern the possibilities of Indigenous community-based approaches to the development of alternative information structures.     

Story of a conference: Distance education students' experiences in a departmental conference

This case study examines the impact of a program-wide event on the sense of community in a distance education program. The departmental conference examined in this study is intended to help students gain experience in sharing their ideas and plays a large role in building a sense of community among residential students and faculty. This study examines an effort to extend this community-building role to students enrolled in the department's fully online Distance Masters and Certificate programs. The study explores whether these students felt a need for such community-building experiences, what they gained from this experience, and what can be learned from what went well and what could be improved in the organization of the conference. Findings indicate that active participants felt an increased sense of community, but that not all students were interested in this type of community-building activity.