Conservation of indigenous medicinal botanicals in Ekiti State, Nigeria

INTRODUCTION Ekiti State (about 7000 km2, Inland area) is situ- ated between 7°25′ and 8°20′ North and 5°00′ and 6°00′ East in the rainforest belt of southwestern Ni- geria (EKSG, 1997; Kayode, 1999; 2000). The state which was previously rich in botanicals is now being confronted with massive deforestation due to increase in population, urbanization, uncontrolled logging, lumber being used as fuel and developmental activi- ties since the state was created in 1996. Although stud…     

Designing With Multiple Interactives: Five Common Pitfalls

Abstract Interactive museum exhibits are ubiquitous in science centers, and are becoming increasingly popular in art, history and cultural museums. At an interactive exhibit, visitors can act on the exhibit and the exhibit reacts. While there is much theoretical and empirical support for the idea that interactive features promote science learning, we believe that serious design problems can arise if an uncritical “more is better” approach is taken to interactivity. This article describes five common pitfalls of designing exhibits with high levels of interactivity or multiple interactive features: 1) multiple options with equal salience, 2) features allowing multiple users to interfere with one another, 3) options that encourage users to disrupt the phenomenon being displayed, 4) features that make the critical phenomenon difficult to find, and 5) secondary features that obscure the primary feature. Examples of each of the five problems are presented, and possible design solutions are offered.     

“Acquired” Equals Addition? Associating Verbs with Arithmetic Operations Impacts Word Problem Performance

Successful word problem performance often requires understanding the linguistic relations between characters and objects. However, the keyword method promotes associating specific words with mathematical operations while neglecting the situational context. Research has thoroughly investigated the detrimental effects of individuals associating relational terminology (e.g., “more”) with mathematical operations (e.g., “addition”). The current study expands upon this line of research by examining whether undergraduate students associate verbs with mathematical operations and if verbal associations affect word problem performance. Similar to relational terminology, the participants associated verbs with operations, which significantly impacted performance. The educational implications are discussed.     

Making Sense of Uncertainty in the Science Classroom

Science & Education - Uncertainty is ubiquitous in science, but scientific knowledge is often represented to the public and in educational contexts as certain and immutable. This contrast can...