Assessing high school chemistry students’ modeling sub-skills in a computerized molecular modeling learning environment

Much knowledge in chemistry exists at a molecular level, inaccessible to direct perception. Chemistry instruction should therefore include multiple visual representations, such as molecular models and symbols. This study describes the implementation and assessment of a learning unit designed for 12th grade chemistry honors students. The organic chemistry part of the unit was taught in a Computerized Molecular Modeling (CMM) learning environment, where students explored daily life organic molecules through assignments and two CMM software packages. The research objective was to investigate the effect of the CMM learning unit on students’ modeling skill and sub-skills, including (a) drawing and transferring between a molecular formula, a structural formula, and a model, and (b) transferring between symbols/models and microscopic, macroscopic, and process chemistry understanding levels. About 600 12th grade chemistry students who studied the CMM unit responded to a reflection questionnaire, and were assessed for their modeling skill and sub-skills via pre- and post-case-based questionnaires. Students indicated that the CMM environment contributed to their understanding of the four chemistry understanding levels and the links among them. Students significantly improved their scores in the five modeling sub-skills. As the complexity of the modeling assignments increased, the number of students who responded correctly and fully decreased. We present a hierarchy of modeling sub-skills, starting with understanding symbols and molecular structures, and ending with mastering the four chemistry understanding levels. We recommend that chemical educators use case-based tools to assess their students’ modeling skill and validate the initial hierarchy with a different set of questions.     

Mutual alignment comparison facilitates abstraction and transfer of a complex scientific concept

Learning about a scientific concept often occurs in the context of unfamiliar examples. Mutual alignment analogy – a type of analogical comparison in which the analogues are only partially understood – has been shown to facilitate learning from unfamiliar examples . In the present study, we examined the role of mutual alignment analogy in the abstraction and transfer of a complex scientific concept from examples presented in expository texts. Our results provide evidence that (a) promoting comparison between two examples and (b) orienting the learner toward relational commonalities result in greater abstraction and transfer. These findings suggest that mutual alignment analogy is an effective means of promoting abstraction and transfer of complex scientific concepts, and may thus be used in the classroom to promote learning from unfamiliar examples.     

From study to work: methodological challenges of a graduate destination survey in the Western Cape,South Africa

Current literature proposes several strategies for improving response rates to student evaluation surveys. Graduate destination surveys pose the difficulty of tracing graduates years later when their contact details may have changed. This article discusses the methodology of one such a survey to maximise response rates. Compiling a sample frame with reliable contact details was most important, but may require using additional sources of information other than university records. In hindsight, graduates should have been contacted prior to the survey to introduce it and stress its importance, while email and postal reminders appeared to have a limited effect on non-respondents. Due to varying response rates between participating universities, online responses were augmented with a call centre administering the survey telephonically to non-respondents. Although overall differences between online and telephonic responses appeared to be small, certain question items may need to be treated with caution when conducting telephonic surveys.     

Assessment for Learning in the writing classroom: an incomplete realisation

An Observation Guide, designed to help New Zealand teachers identify areas of teaching strength and aspects for development, was developed as part of a wider project. In the second phase of this project, 18 middle school teachers used the Guide to gather and record evidence as they participated in seven rounds of reciprocal peer observation and feedback during writing lessons with Grades 6–8 students. We report here on data from round 6 observations about the assessment for learning (AfL) strategies reported as evident in teachers’ practices, how these strategies were implemented and potential gaps in practice. AfL has at its heart a core of interdependent strategies that collectively contribute to the development of autonomous, self-regulating learners and quality learning. While the middle school teachers shared goals for learning and communicated what counted as successful achievement to students, they appeared to struggle when articulating goals in terms of literacy learning and conveying the substantive aspects and quality expected in students’ writing. In addition, despite AfL's promotion of learner autonomy, few teachers openly afforded students focused opportunities to take a meaningful role in their learning through the appraisal of their own and peers’ writing and the joint construction of feedback. As such, teachers’ AfL practice in the writing classroom failed to realise its full potential. It is argued that the promise of AfL can only be reached when strategies are enacted in ways that reflect its unitary nature, promote quality outcomes and give students a central role in their learning.     

Sarah Bernhardt's first “farewell” tour, 1905‐06: Little rock,arkansas welcomes Camille

Between 1800 and 1918, Sarah Bernhardt toured America nine times. Although she received critical praise and large profits from extended runs in cities, she often performed in smaller towns between cities to help defray the expenses of touring. Bernhardt's performance of Camille in Little Rock, Arkansas on March 6, 1906 was hailed as “the greatest dramatic event in the history of Little Rock.” This study details the events of Bernhardt's visit, discussing its impact on the social and cultural life of the city.     

The function of mundane ritualizing in adult friendship and marriage

Rituals serve important functions in both friendships and married relationships. This study served, to investigate the categorical structures of rituals in both of these relationship types. In married relationships, seven categories of ritual functions emerged including: Relational Masonry, Relational Maintenance, Life Management, Fun/Enjoyment, Togetherness, Talk‐Time, and Anti‐Ritual. In friendships, seven categories of ritual functions also emerged including: Personal & Relational Stimulation, Personal Improvement, Relational‐Affirmation, Support, Self‐Affirmation, Escape, and Anti‐Ritual.     

Data Rules: How Mapping Technology Drives Better Customer Service

Is your library market-driven, product-driven or customer-driven? New internet-based data and tools are now available for public libraries that enable you to be customer-driven—for your own unique service area. This article shows how three library systems are using these tools—focused on market segmentation data and geographic information system (GIS) technology—to deliver more relevant customer services. Each solution described in the article was developed in close collaboration between CIVICTechnologies and the library, involving research to understand the library's objectives and desired outcomes, and using the data needed to meet each library's unique challenge.     

Mastering cognitive development theory in computer science education

To design an effective computer science curriculum, educators require a systematic method of classifying the difficulty level of learning activities and assessment tasks. This is important for curriculum design and implementation and for communication between educators. Different educators must be able to use the method consistently, so that classified activities and assessments are comparable across the subjects of a degree, and, ideally, comparable across institutions. One widespread approach to supporting this is to write learning objects in terms of Bloom’s Taxonomy. This, or other such classifications, is likely to be more effective if educators can use them consistently, in the way experts would use them. To this end, we present the design and evaluation of our online interactive web-based tutorial system, which can be configured and used to offer training in different classification schemes. We report on results from three evaluations. First, 17 computer science educators complete a tutorial on using Bloom’s Taxonomy to classify programming examination questions. Second, 20 computer science educators complete a Neo-Piagetian tutorial. Third evaluation was a comparison of inter-rater reliability scores of computer science educators classifying programming questions using Bloom’s Taxonomy, before and after taking our tutorial. Based on the results from these evaluations, we discuss the effectiveness of our tutorial system design for teaching computer science educators how to systematically and consistently classify programming examination questions. We also discuss the suitability of Bloom’s Taxonomy and Neo-Piagetian theory for achieving this goal. The Bloom’s and Neo-Piagetian tutorials are made available as a community resource. The contributions of this paper are the following: the tutorial system for learning classification schemes for the purpose of coding the difficulty of computing learning materials; its evaluation; new insights into the consistency that computing educators can achieve using Bloom; and first insights into the use of Neo-Piagetian theory by a group of classifiers.     

Teachers engaging in action research: challenging some assumptions

A number of recent professional development projects in Australia have expected teachers to engage in action research as a process for professional learning and educational reform. This study investigated the experiences of ten teachers from one school who spent a year undertaking action research projects as part of the Innovative Links Project. The author was a participant observer in the study in her role as the school's ‘academic associate’ for the project. In this article, the project's expectations of the teachers are examined to reveal the extent to which they were based on realistic assumptions about the conditions within which the teachers worked as they tried to achieve them.