Using protocol analysis to explore the creative requirements engineering process

Protocol analysis is an empirical method applied by researchers in cognitive psychology and behavioural analysis. Protocol analysis can be used to collect, document and analyse thought processes by an individual problem solver. In general, research subjects are asked to think aloud when performing a given task. Their verbal reports are transcribed and represent a sequence of their thoughts and cognitive activities. These verbal reports are analysed to identify relevant segments of cognitive behaviours by the research subjects. The analysis results may be cross-examined (or validated through retrospective interviews with the research subjects). This paper offers a critical analysis of this research method, its approaches to data collection and analysis, strengths and limitations, and discusses its use in information systems research. The aim is to explore the use of protocol analysis in studying the creative requirements engineering process.<br /

Promoting transfer and an integrated understanding for pre-service teachers of technology education

The ability of pre-service teachers (PSTs) to transfer learning between subjects and contexts when problem solving is critical for developing their capability as technologists and teachers of technology. However, a growing body of literature suggests this ability is often assumed or over-estimated, and rarely developed explicitly within courses or degree programmes. The nature of the problems tackled within technology are such that solutions draw upon knowledge from a wide range of contexts and subjects, however, the internal organization and structure of institutions and schools tends to compartmentalize rather integrate these. Providing a knowledge base and strategies to enhance PSTs’ awareness of and skills in transferring knowledge may allow for a more integrated understanding to develop. The importance of developing this ability to transfer knowledge is heightened as PSTs will, in turn, be responsible for developing the similar capabilities of their future students. This paper begins by considering problem solving in technology education and some of the issues associated with learning transfer. Thereafter, a framework and strategy for better integrating learning between courses is described and forms the basis for developments in an initial teacher education degree programme for technology education. Provisional data from evaluations and PSTs’ work indicated a positive effect in enhancing their thinking and additional data collected in the form of questionnaires, interviews and course work further illuminate this finding. It is argued that the development framework and approach enhances PSTs’ mental models of teaching technology and offers a significant step forward in promoting skills in the transfer of future learning between subjects; something increasingly critical for 21st century STEM Education

Seeing the Forest for the Trees: An Exploration of Student Problem Solving and Reasoning with 1H NMR Spectral Features

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is vital to synthesis and provides rich problem-solving opportunities for organic chemistry students. However, little is known about 1H NMR spectroscopy instruction or how students use spectral features in solving. The goal of this dissertation research was to examine how students learn about and solve 1H NMR spectroscopy problems. Organic chemistry textbooks were analyzed for the ways in which spectral features were introduced and incorporated into worked examples and practice problems. Spectral features like the number of signals and chemical shift were covered by problems more frequently, while integration was covered least. Think-aloud interviews were completed to identify the operators students utilized in their problem-solving processes, and extra credit problem sets were designed and administered to students at three different universities to examine whether students could correctly perform each individual type of operator. While students could perform operators, it was unclear if students knew how and when to use the operators. To fill this knowledge gap, multiple choice assessment questions were developed and administered to students at three different large universities. Coding schemes were developed to identify and describe students? use of task features and inferences, and regression analyses were completed to discern which areas of reasoning led to success in solving. A majority of students did not identify using any critical spectral features in written explanations. Regression analyses revealed that the inferences students made, and not the task features they paid attention to, were most significantly associated with success in structural predictions; a majority of students made solely correct inferences in their reasoning explanations. When a mixture of correct and incorrect inferences were made, a majority of those students were unable to answer the questions correctly. These findings suggest that students may know enough to solve simple 1H NMR spectroscopy problems, but may lack knowledge about specific spectral features which could impact overall solving success. Students may require considerable support in deciphering the critical features in 1H NMR spectroscopy problems and developing robust, correct inferences across all spectral features

Teaching in the Middle Grades Today: Examining Teachers’ Beliefs About Middle Grades Teaching

Since the beginning of the middle school movement in the mid-1960s, middle level advocates have called for a school experience for young adolescents grounded in adolescent development that engages students in meaningful learning (Eichhorn, 1966; Alexander & Williams, 1965). The aim of this exploratory multi-case study was to understand middle level teachers’ beliefs about middle level instruction in the current educational environment. To gain this understanding, researchers asked ten current middle grades teachers with varying levels of experience to discuss their beliefs regarding their primary purpose as a middle grades teacher, the current status of middle level teaching, their best and worst instructional lessons, and their perceived barriers to teaching at the middle level. The teachers described the role of teaching in the middle grades as challenging and stressful, but of great importance. In general, they described instruction that included discovery, student engagement, and relevance in an effort to address students’ academic development. There was minimal mention of the non-academic aspects of adolescent development. Finally, teachers viewed curriculum restrictions, students’ attitudes toward learning, difficulty with differentiation, and lack of technology as significant barriers to their success in the classroom

A multiphysics and multiscale software environment for modeling astrophysical systems

We present MUSE, a software framework for combining existing computational tools for different astrophysical domains into a single multiphysics, multiscale application. MUSE facilitates the coupling of existing codes written in different languages by providing inter-language tools and by specifying an interface between each module and the framework that represents a balance between generality and computational efficiency. This approach allows scientists to use combinations of codes to solve highly-coupled problems without the need to write new codes for other domains or significantly alter their existing codes. MUSE currently incorporates the domains of stellar dynamics, stellar evolution and stellar hydrodynamics for studying generalized stellar systems. We have now reached a "Noah's Ark" milestone, with (at least) two available numerical solvers for each domain. MUSE can treat multi-scale and multi-physics systems in which the time- and size-scales are well separated, like simulating the evolution of planetary systems, small stellar associations, dense stellar clusters, galaxies and galactic nuclei. In this paper we describe three examples calculated using MUSE: the merger of two galaxies, the merger of two evolving stars, and a hybrid N-body simulation. In addition, we demonstrate an implementation of MUSE on a distributed computer which may also include special-purpose hardware, such as GRAPEs or GPUs, to accelerate computations. The current MUSE code base is publicly available as open source at http://muse.liComment: 24 pages, To appear in New Astronomy Source code available at http://muse.l

Engineering Design: A Cognitive Process Approach

The intent of this dissertation was to identify the cognitive processes used by advanced pre-engineering students to solve complex engineering design problems. Students in technology and engineering education classrooms are often taught to use an ideal engineering design process that has been generated mostly by educators and curriculum developers. However, the review of literature showed that it is unclear as to how advanced pre-engineering students cognitively navigate solving a complex and multifaceted problem from beginning to end. Additionally, it was unclear how a student thinks and acts throughout their design process and how this affects the viability of their solution. Therefore, Research Objective 1 was to identify the fundamental cognitive processes students use to design, construct, and evaluate operational solutions to engineering design problems. Research Objective 2 was to determine identifiers within student cognitive processes for monitoring aptitude to successfully design, construct, and evaluate technological solutions. Lastly, Research Objective 3 was to create a conceptual technological and engineering problem-solving model integrating student cognitive processes for the improved development of problem-solving abilities. The methodology of this study included multiple forms of data collection. The participants were first given a survey to determine their prior experience with engineering and to provide a description of the subjects being studied. The participants were then presented an engineering design challenge to solve individually. While they completed the challenge, the participants verbalized their thoughts using an established think aloud method. These verbalizations were captured along with participant observational recordings using point-of-view camera technology. Additionally, the participant design journals, design artifacts, solution effectiveness data, and teacher evaluations were collected for analysis to help achieve the research objectives of this study. Two independent coders then coded the video/audio recordings and the additional design data using Halfin\u27s (1973) 17 mental processes for technological problem-solving. The results of this study indicated that the participants employed a wide array of mental processes when solving engineering design challenges. However, the findings provide a general analysis of the number of times participants employed each mental process, as well as the amount of time consumed employing the various mental processes through the different stages of the engineering design process. The results indicated many similarities between the students solving the problem, which may highlight voids in current technology and engineering education curricula. Additionally, the findings showed differences between the processes employed by participants that created the most successful solutions and the participants who developed the least effective solutions. Upon comparing and contrasting these processes, recommendations for instructional strategies to enhance a student\u27s capability for solving engineering design problems were developed. The results also indicated that students, when left without teacher intervention, use a simplified and more natural process to solve design challenges than the 12-step engineering design process reported in much of the literature. Lastly, these data indicated that students followed two different approaches to solving the design problem. Some students employed a sequential and logical approach, while others employed a nebulous, solution centered trial-and-error approach to solving the problem. In this study the participants who were more sequential had better performing solutions. Examining these two approaches and the student cognition data enabled the researcher to generate a conceptual engineering design model for the improved teaching and development of engineering design problem solving

Equity in mathematics: Algebra for everyone

Research over the past twenty years supports the teacher as the critical factor in the implementation of educational programs. The primary purpose of this mixed design study was to determine teachers\u27 perceptions in implementing the required Algebra I program that was mandated by the state of Virginia in 1995. The research was examined through the lens of the recommendations of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM): communicating mathematically, making mathematical connections, becoming mathematical problem solvers, and reasoning mathematically. This study was limited to ninth grade Algebra I teachers in a school division in Virginia. Two Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM) instruments were used in this research. The Stages of Concern (SoC) Questionnaire determined the teachers\u27 concerns regarding implementation of the required Algebra I program. The Levels of Use (LoU) focused interview data supported the teachers\u27 areas of concern. In addition, the grounded theory method was used to analyze the observation and interview data. Results were presented as narrative descriptions from which major categories of concerns emerged. Findings revealed that the NCTM recommendations of communicating mathematically, making mathematical connections, becoming mathematical problem solvers, and reasoning mathematically were not implemented in the required Algebra I program. Teachers were unaware that the required Algebra I program was designed to meet the needs of a changing population. This study supports the need for comprehensive and ongoing training for teachers if the needs of a more diverse population are to be realized in a required Algebra I program