CILT2000: Community Tools

Community tools are technologies designed to foster social processes of learning through active inquiry, project-based learning, and related collaborative pedagogical approaches. Current research and development in this field are moving from generic tool design towards the development of sociotechnical systems that address learning in relation to specific domains of knowledge or activity and social issues such as equitable access to learning opportunities.     

Fostering an Interest in Science in a Typically Underrepresented Population

ABSTRACT:  This "case study" details how food science was introduced into the classrooms of a typically underrepresented population. James Sarakatsannis, an 8th grade physical science teacher, was planning a unit that would use fast food to teach science to his classes, when he came across the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) website and a wealth of information available to teachers. Along with the valuable materials James found on the website to teach food science, he also found the "Find a Food Scientist" tool and invited 3 local food scientists into his classroom at John Philip Sousa Middle School in the inner city of Washington, D.C., where many of his students represent a typically underrepresented population in the field of food science. Food was a common medium that all of his students were familiar with and had an interest in, and it turned out to be a great tool to discuss various physical science topics in the classroom. The local food scientist visits were an excellent supplement to the topics he was already covering with the students in class. Many students developed a greater interest in science in general after the unit on food science. The unit also may have planted the seed for an education or career in food science somewhere down the line for the 70 13- to 16-year-old students in James's 2 8th grade physical science classes.     

A Murray Cod assemblage: Re/considering riverScape pedagogy

ABSTRACT

This article enacts Deleuze and Guattari's (1987 Deleuze, G., & Guattari, F. (1987). A thousand plateaus: Capitalism and schizophrenia (B. Massumi, Trans.). Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. (Original work published in 1980) [Google Scholar]) concept assemblage to craft a riverScape pedagogy that is informed by, and responsive to, the Murray Cod, the river, and its circumstances. The Murray Cod, the largest fish species in Australia's Murray-Darling Basin, has diverse cultural meanings. Cod are at once a creation being of Indigenous people, a migratory predator that breeds in response to warm floodwaters, and a fish suffering significant ecological decline as a result of changes to land and water use in its habitat. Murray Cod assemblage weaves these elements together to re/create a bioegalitarian pedagogy, part thought experiment and part teaching strategy.     

The design and development of the dragoon intelligent tutoring system for model construction: lessons learned

This paper describes Dragoon, a simple intelligent tutoring system which teaches the construction of models of dynamic systems. Modelling is one of seven practices dictated in two new sets of educational standards in the U.S.A., and Dragoon is one of the first systems for teaching model construction for dynamic systems. Dragoon can be classified as a step-based tutoring system that uses example-tracing, an explicit pedagogical policy and an open learner model. Dragoon can also be used for computer-supported collaborative learning, and provides tools for classroom orchestration. This paper describes the features, user interfaces, and architecture of Dragoon; compares and contrasts Dragoon with other intelligent tutoring systems; and presents a brief overview of formative and summative evaluations of Dragoon in both high school and college classes. Of four summative evaluations, three found that students who used Dragoon learned more about the target system than students who did equivalent work without Dragoon.     

Understanding the role of learning and teaching support materials in enabling learning for all

There are many assumptions about the ways in which textbooks and other learning and teaching support materials (LTSM) can contribute to improved learning outcomes in many international contexts. These can focus on ways that they can implement the school curriculum, often in lieu of good pedagogical practice. Drawing on case studies from Rwanda and South Africa, the complexity of the role of LTSM as part of classroom enactment is shown. The discussion suggests that there are enabling factors to this including support for teachers’ use of LTSM and the availability of materials to all learners. A framework is presented in which LTSM, teachers and learners can become equal partners in teaching and learning, but only when adequate language and other pedagogical support structures are provided. Conclusions consider the potential impact for LTSM use when it is elevated to a medium that is accessible and useful to both teachers and learners.     

Consultation with Parents of Handicapped Children

One of the most important responsibilities facing professionals in the educational setting is consultation with parents; few areas are as sensitive as consultation with parents of handicapped children. Various stages of adjustment tend to be experienced by these parents, and these need to be taken into consideration when consulting with them. Professionals should become more cognizant of the emotional factors which may be present in the lives of parents of handicapped youngsters.     

Several factors influencing web-spinning activity in the common house spiderAchaearanea tepidariorum Koch

Web-spinning activity ofAchaearanea tepidarortum (Koch) was observed in relation to amount of prior feeding, hours of food deprivation, and the number of flies (Drosophila melanogaster) available in the animal’s environment. Web spinning was positively related to the number of flies consumed in a 24-h period prior to testing, but did not vary significantly between 24 and 72 h of food deprivation. The amount of available food in the environment was positively related to web-spinning activity during a 48-h test period.