Enhancing Student Learning in Food Engineering Using Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulations

Abstract: The current generation of students coming into food science and engineering programs is very visually oriented from their early experiences. To increase their interest in learning, new and visually appealing teaching materials need to be developed. Two diverse groups of students may be identified based on their math skills. Food science students tend to find it difficult to use mathematics as a problem‐solving tool for food engineering problems. Food engineering students, on the other hand, should be challenged to use emerging mathematical tools to develop their problem‐solving skills. Therefore, the approach of this project involved the development of a curriculum to train undergraduate food engineers in the effective use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software to solve food engineering problems by engaging them in the creation of food engineering teaching tools. These CFD outputs were then used as innovative teaching tools for the food science students. In this paper, this concept will be illustrated by unsteady‐state heat transfer and fluid flow problems. To evaluate the efficiency of the teaching materials developed, a student focus group was asked to answer the same quiz following a conventional and CFD output aided teaching session. The assessment result showed an improved understanding of the subject after the CFD teaching session. These visual aids were excellent tools to illustrate the validity of the formulas presented in class. In addition, the new visual materials enabled a better understanding of the relationships among different process parameters. In general, this helped the food science students better appreciate the food engineering concepts that govern food processing operations.     

A comparative study of classroom teaching in Korea and Japan: a case study on reforming schools into learning communities

Some schools and teachers in Korea and Japan have begun practicing classroom-based reform according to similar visions of a learning community. The purpose of this study was to investigate reform efforts made by teachers in Korea and Japan toward turning classrooms into learning communities. Two elementary schools, School K in Korea and School T in Japan, were selected as major school sites. Research data was collected from two classrooms in each school through teacher interview and classroom observation. The results of our study showed that efforts made by teachers from the two countries, though aimed at similar goals to create learning communities and change classroom practices, produced different results. Teachers from both countries displayed differences in their views or attitudes toward the learning materials and the ways in which they build relationships with their students. These differences seemed to be derived from the different social and cultural contexts of the teachers in the two countries.     

‘Baby teachers’: how pre‐service early childhood students transform their conceptions of teaching and learning through an infant practicum

This qualitative study explores how working with infants changed pre‐service early childhood students’ thinking about important aspects of early childhood education. Through a qualitative analysis of four pre‐service early childhood students’ weekly dialogue journals during a required, one‐semester infant practicum, the authors discovered how the course provided a context for challenging students’ previously held notions about early childhood teaching and learning. Their findings showed that infants’ ways of being were a powerful influence on pre‐service early childhood students’ sense of themselves as teachers and emphasized the value of hands‐on experiences with infants as an important component of early childhood professional preparation.     

Resourcefulness: a protective factor buffer against the academic stress of school‐aged children

The objectives of this study were twofold: to examine the interaction of academic stress and student resourcefulness on subject grades and to identify the factors of parental support that contribute to student resourcefulness. The participants of this cross‐sectional study were 695 fifth and sixth graders from four major districts in Shanghai. Student resourcefulness was observed to moderate academic stress and subject grades. Moreover, perceived paternal emotional support and maternal informational support contributed significantly to student resourcefulness. The implications of this study for parent education are discussed.     

Use of NSE/PS2m-transgenic mice in the study of the protective effect of exercise on Alzheimer's disease

In its late stage, Alzheimer's disease results in progressive muscle weakness in the arms and legs. The aim of this study was to determine whether mice expressing the skeletal muscle-specific mutant PS2 gene (a model of Alzheimer's disease) are a useful experimental system to study the protective effect of exercise on Aβ-42 reduction, improvement of behavioural function and changes in metabolic parameters. With this aim in mind, the transgenic mice were subjected to treadmill exercise for 3 months. The results showed that in transgenic mice, but not in normal mice, treadmill exercise resulted in a reduction of Aβ-42 deposits and an improvement in behavioural function, thereby restoring normal concentrations of total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglyceride. Thus, exercise may represent a practical therapeutic strategy for use with human patients with Alzheimer's disease.     

A comparison of the Rescorla-Wagner and Pearce models in a negative patterning and a summation problem

In two experiments, we examined two related conditioning problems previously investigated by Red-head and Pearce (1995a) and Pearce, Aydin, and Redhead (1997). Experiment 1 involved an A+, B+, C+, AB+, AC+, BC+, ABC2 discrimination. The Rescorla-Wagner model predicts that response to AB, AC, and BC will be greater than that to A, B, and C at asymptote, whereas the Pearce model makes the opposite prediction. In Experiment 2, we investigated the responding to a novel ABC compound in groups trained with either A+, B+, C+ or AB+, AC+, BC+. The Rescorla-Wagner model predicts greater response to ABC in the group trained with A+, B+, C+ than in the group trained with AB+, AC+, BC+, whereas the Pearce model makes the opposite prediction. In contrast to the findings of Redhead and Pearce (1995a) and Pearce et al. (1997) in pigeon autoshaping, our findings in rabbit eyelid conditioning support the Rescorla-Wagner model.     

The impact of fostering relationships through music within a special school classroom for students with autism spectrum disorder: an action research study

Music therapists have been working in special education contexts for many decades, utilising research and case studies to inform practice. Growing interest in the link between the creative arts and well-being has led music therapists to consider what aspects of their knowledge others could feasibly appropriate in the school system. An action research approach was utilised to explore this question, grounded in partnerships between university-based music therapy researchers and staff at a school for learners on the autistic spectrum. Five cycles of planning, action, observation and reflection framed the collaborative partnership, with a music therapist acting as consultant to explore how music could be used across the school day. The greatest shift evidenced through qualitative and quantitative analysis was in the area of relationship building. Rather than seeing music as a tool that supports the acquisition of specific skills, the professionals and students in the school came to understand that music could be a meaningful part of their encounter with one another. This is congruent with music therapy research findings that also emphasise the ways music can be used to motivate, evoke and elicit meaningful responses from young people. Some limitations were identified in the sustainability of music practices in the school, particularly when other parts of the school culture were changing.     

Does Online Comprehension Monitoring Make a Unique Contribution to Reading Comprehension in Beginning Readers? Evidence from eye movements

The goal of this study was to investigate the nature of online comprehension monitoring, its predictors, and its relation to reading comprehension. Questions were concerned with (a) beginning readers’ sensitivity to inconsistencies, (b) predictors of online comprehension monitoring, and (c) the relation of online comprehension monitoring to reading comprehension over and above word reading and listening comprehension. Using eye tracking technology, online comprehension monitoring was measured as the amount of time spent rereading target implausible words and looking back at surrounding contexts. Results from 319 second graders revealed that children spent greater time fixating on inconsistent than consistent words and engaged in more frequent lookbacks. Comprehension monitoring was explained by both word reading and listening comprehension. However, comprehension monitoring did not uniquely predict reading comprehension after accounting for word reading and listening comprehension. These results provide insight into the nature of comprehension monitoring and its role in reading comprehension for beginning readers.