8,001 research outputs found
NEXUS/Physics: An interdisciplinary repurposing of physics for biologists
In response to increasing calls for the reform of the undergraduate science
curriculum for life science majors and pre-medical students (Bio2010,
Scientific Foundations for Future Physicians, Vision & Change), an
interdisciplinary team has created NEXUS/Physics: a repurposing of an
introductory physics curriculum for the life sciences. The curriculum interacts
strongly and supportively with introductory biology and chemistry courses taken
by life sciences students, with the goal of helping students build general,
multi-discipline scientific competencies. In order to do this, our two-semester
NEXUS/Physics course sequence is positioned as a second year course so students
will have had some exposure to basic concepts in biology and chemistry.
NEXUS/Physics stresses interdisciplinary examples and the content differs
markedly from traditional introductory physics to facilitate this. It extends
the discussion of energy to include interatomic potentials and chemical
reactions, the discussion of thermodynamics to include enthalpy and Gibbs free
energy, and includes a serious discussion of random vs. coherent motion
including diffusion. The development of instructional materials is coordinated
with careful education research. Both the new content and the results of the
research are described in a series of papers for which this paper serves as an
overview and context.Comment: 12 page
Teaching Discrete Structures: A systematic review of the literature
This survey paper reviews a large sample of publications on the teaching of discrete structures and discrete mathematics in computer science curricula. The approach is systematic, in that a structured search of electronic resources has been conducted, and the results are presented and quantitatively analysed. A number of broad themes in discrete structures education are identified relating to course content, teaching strategies and the means of evaluating the success of a course
Teaching Discrete Structures: A systematic review of the literature
This survey paper reviews a large sample of publications on the teaching of discrete structures and discrete mathematics in computer science curricula. The approach is systematic, in that a structured search of electronic resources has been conducted, and the results are presented and quantitatively analysed. A number of broad themes in discrete structures education are identified relating to course content, teaching strategies and the means of evaluating the success of a course
On Money as a Means of Coordination between Network Packets
In this work, we apply a common economic tool, namely money, to coordinate
network packets. In particular, we present a network economy, called
PacketEconomy, where each flow is modeled as a population of rational network
packets, and these packets can self-regulate their access to network resources
by mutually trading their positions in router queues. Every packet of the
economy has its price, and this price determines if and when the packet will
agree to buy or sell a better position. We consider a corresponding Markov
model of trade and show that there are Nash equilibria (NE) where queue
positions and money are exchanged directly between the network packets. This
simple approach, interestingly, delivers improvements even when fiat money is
used. We present theoretical arguments and experimental results to support our
claims
Evidence and Ideology in Macroeconomics: The Case of Investment Cycles
The paper reports the principal findings of a long term research project on the description and explanation of business cycles. The research strongly confirmed the older view that business cycles have large systematic components that take the form of investment cycles. These quasi-periodic movements can be represented as low order, stochastic, dynamic processes with complex eigenvalues. Specifically, there is a fixed investment cycle of about 8 years and an inventory cycle of about 4 years. Maximum entropy spectral analysis was employed for the description of the cycles and continuous time econometrics for the explanatory models. The central explanatory mechanism is the second order accelerator, which incorporates adjustment costs both in relation to the capital stock and the rate of investment. By means of parametric resonance it was possible to show, both theoretically and empirically how cycles aggregate from the micro to the macro level. The same mathematical tool was also used to explain the international convergence of cycles. I argue that the theory of investment cycles was abandoned for ideological, not for evidential reasons. Methodological issues are also discussed
Task-related models for teaching and assessing iteration learning in high school
A number of studies report about students’ difficulties with basic flow-control constructs,
and specifically with iteration. Although such issues are less explored in the
context of pre-tertiary education, this seems to be especially the case for high-school
programming learning, where the difficulties concern both the “mechanical” features
of the notional machine as well as the logical aspects connected with the constructs,
ranging from the implications of loop conditions to a more abstract grasp of the
underlying algorithms.
For these reasons, the aim of this work is to: i) identifying methodological tools
to enhance a comprehensive understanding of the iteration constructs, ii) suggest
strategies to teach iterations.
We interviewed 20 experienced upper secondary teachers of introductory programming
in different kinds of schools. The interviews were mainly aimed at ascertaining
teachers’ beliefs about major sources of issues for basic programming
concepts and their approach to the teaching and learning of iteration constructs.
Once teachers’ perception of students’ difficulties have been identified, we have
submitted, to a sample of 164 students, a survey which included both questions on
their subjective perception of difficulty and simple tasks probing their understanding
of iteration. Data collected from teachers and students confirm that iteration is a
central programming concept and indicate that the treatment of conditions and
nested constructs are major sources of students’ difficulties with iteration.
The interviews allowed us to identify a list of problems that are typically presented
by teachers to explain the iterations. Hence, a catalogue of significant program
examples has been built to support students’ learning, tasks with characteristics
different from those typically presented in class.
Based on the outcome of previous steps, a survey to collect related information
and good practices from a larger sample of teachers has been designed. Data
collected have been analysed distinguishing an orientation towards more conceptual
objectives, and one towards more practical objectives. Furthermore, regarding
evaluation, a orientation focused on process-based assessment and another on
product-based assessment.
Finally, based on the outcome of previous students’ survey and drawing from
the proposed examples catalogue, we have designed and submitted a new students’
survey, composed of a set of small tasks, or tasklets, to investigate in more depth
on high-school students’ understanding of iteration in terms of code reading abilities.
The chosen tasklets covered the different topics: technical program feature,
correlation between tracing effort and abstraction, the role of flow-charts, students’
perception of self-confidence concerning high-level thinking skills.A number of studies report about students’ difficulties with basic flow-control constructs,
and specifically with iteration. Although such issues are less explored in the
context of pre-tertiary education, this seems to be especially the case for high-school
programming learning, where the difficulties concern both the “mechanical” features
of the notional machine as well as the logical aspects connected with the constructs,
ranging from the implications of loop conditions to a more abstract grasp of the
underlying algorithms.
For these reasons, the aim of this work is to: i) identifying methodological tools
to enhance a comprehensive understanding of the iteration constructs, ii) suggest
strategies to teach iterations.
We interviewed 20 experienced upper secondary teachers of introductory programming
in different kinds of schools. The interviews were mainly aimed at ascertaining
teachers’ beliefs about major sources of issues for basic programming
concepts and their approach to the teaching and learning of iteration constructs.
Once teachers’ perception of students’ difficulties have been identified, we have
submitted, to a sample of 164 students, a survey which included both questions on
their subjective perception of difficulty and simple tasks probing their understanding
of iteration. Data collected from teachers and students confirm that iteration is a
central programming concept and indicate that the treatment of conditions and
nested constructs are major sources of students’ difficulties with iteration.
The interviews allowed us to identify a list of problems that are typically presented
by teachers to explain the iterations. Hence, a catalogue of significant program
examples has been built to support students’ learning, tasks with characteristics
different from those typically presented in class.
Based on the outcome of previous steps, a survey to collect related information
and good practices from a larger sample of teachers has been designed. Data
collected have been analysed distinguishing an orientation towards more conceptual
objectives, and one towards more practical objectives. Furthermore, regarding
evaluation, a orientation focused on process-based assessment and another on
product-based assessment.
Finally, based on the outcome of previous students’ survey and drawing from
the proposed examples catalogue, we have designed and submitted a new students’
survey, composed of a set of small tasks, or tasklets, to investigate in more depth
on high-school students’ understanding of iteration in terms of code reading abilities.
The chosen tasklets covered the different topics: technical program feature,
correlation between tracing effort and abstraction, the role of flow-charts, students’
perception of self-confidence concerning high-level thinking skills
Comprehensive Student Assessment Program: 2002-2003
Comprehensive Student Assessment Program: 2002-200
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