OpenSciEd design specifications

Many considerations must be taken into account in designing instructional materials to create a product that lives up to the expectations of students, teachers, schools, and districts. There are the obvious and necessary elements that must be addressed, such as standards, scope and sequence, instructional model, and pacing. OpenSciEd instructional materials are thoughtfully constructed with all of these considerations and constraints in mind. Yet, these elements are not enough. Instructional materials must have a classroom vision, an image of how students will engage with the content, what type of discourse students will engage in, and a sense of what a teacher needs to make standards come alive. OpenSciEd’s beliefs about a science learning and vision of the classroom are embodied in our design specifications. These fourteen specifications describe what we want science learning to look like for every student, and therefore guide our materials development process and implementation support. The topics addressed range from equitable science instruction and the centrality of asking questions, to meeting practical needs and constraints of a classroom. These specifications are based on A Framework for K-12 Science Education and the resulting Next Generation Science Standards, including the emphasis on three-dimensional learning.Published versio

Collaborative design methodologies and social dynamics: a portuguese social and public health case study

This research project addresses the understanding of collaborative action among disciplines from distinct branches of science with particular focus on social action. It also aims to evaluate the impact of this collaborative action on responding to the needs of different highly vulnerable communities and on other participants of these same processes. The integration of design in the social sector is a growing tendency, albeit to a certain extent characterised by novelty and resistance. Hence, and within this framework, the present thesis seeks to respond to the hypothesis “Collaborative design methodologies improve the effectiveness of social services’ practice”, and is organized into six phases, namely: the theoretical framework and the main research question, the construction of the model structure of the research and identification of the hypothesis, a review of the collaborative models and Social Design framework through case studies, the application of an in-depth case, the collection, processing and analysis of data and conclusions. The aim of this research is to ascertain the influence of Design on collaborative action, namely in the generation of more effective results and in obtaining information, and its impact on other sectors (intervention, assistance, solidarity, community action and social development). Moreover, it has served to highlight the potential for future alliances with prospective partners who, in light of the developed process, have manifested an interest in establishing co-partnerships of this nature. This study sheds light upon the potential of integrating Design and Designers in organizations in general, and in particular in those that aim to respond to the needs of communities who are most exposed to social impacts. By increasing the capacity to respond to their vulnerabilities, the risk of social exclusion and isolation will be significantly reduced. Additionally, awareness on the part of social partners, of the added value of Design and its contribution to the maturity and sustainability of social processes will be enhanced

Improving construction site management practices through knowledge management

There are several challenging engineering and management problems that occur on construction sites. Failure in managing construction site problems results in a high proportion of rework, defects, delays, disputes and cost overruns on construction projects. In site management, knowledge is often embedded not only in documents and repositories but also in organisational routines, processes, practices and norms. However, site management teams still do not have a systematic approach to managing knowledge. Knowledge management (KM) processes can effectively be used to enable construction site managers deal with on-site problems and risks in a systematic and efficient way. With regard to these problems, the aim of this research was to investigate the improvement of construction site management practices through the integration of knowledge management processes. The research methodology adopted consisted of several methods. A literature review on site management practices and knowledge management as first undertaken . This was followed by case studies involving five construction sites which sought to investigate the key problems of site management practices and to examine existing knowledge management practices on the construction site. They also explored how KM processes could improve current site management practices. The cases tudy findings underpinned by literature results were used to develop a conceptual framework to managing construction knowledge that is entrenched in site management processes. The integrated K&4 framework (incorporating both proactive and reactive approaches) was intended to enable site managers to adopt a knowledge management approach to addressing site management problems. The framework was encapsulated in a computer-based prototype system (developed using Microsoft Visual Basic) to simplify the use of the integrated KM framework and provide construction organisations with a practical tool. Evaluation of the prototype system was carried out by industry practitioners and construction researchers to assess its appropriateness and functionality. It was established that the prototype system was highly effective in enabling site managers to address site management problems from a knowledge management perspective. Several benefits of the system were also identified. It is concluded that construction site management practices can be improved if the knowledge dimensions of the problems are well understood and appropriately managed. This research has developed an integrated KM framework that provides a structured approach to achieving this. The framework is simple to use, requires a relatively short time to implement, is scalable to any type of project and can easily be deployed on any construction site. Knowledge gains economic value when it is used to solve problems, explore opportunities and make decisions. The developed prototype system is expected to increase the ability of the site manager to learn from previous experience and to better address any site management problems that may occur. It also enables the site manager to be proactive in minimising the number of problems that occur on the construction site and to reduce the impact of those that do occur

Supporting community engagement through teaching, student projects and research

The Education Acts statutory obligations for ITPs are not supported by the Crown funding model. Part of the statutory role of an ITP is “... promotes community learning and by research, particularly applied and technological research ...” [The education act 1989]. In relation to this a 2017 TEC report highlighted impaired business models and an excessive administrative burden as restrictive and impeding success. Further restrictions are seen when considering ITPs attract < 3 % of the available TEC funding for research, and ~ 20 % available TEC funding for teaching, despite having overall student efts of ~ 26 % nationally. An attempt to improve performance and engage through collaboration (community, industry, tertiary) at our institution is proving successful. The cross-disciplinary approach provides students high level experience and the technical stretch needed to be successful engineers, technologists and technicians. This study presents one of the methods we use to collaborate externally through teaching, student projects and research

Culturally Responsive Literacy Instruction and Social–Emotional Teaching Practices for Linguistically Diverse Learners in the United States

This dissertation includes two previous research studies with a central theme to sustain and advance culturally and linguistically responsive practices in literacy instruction, which are essential for promoting diversity and equity. This work highlights the need for a more holistic approach to English language teaching that integrates culturally responsive teaching and social–emotional learning. Culturally responsive teaching recognizes the importance of cultural and linguistic diversity in the classroom. Social–emotional learning focuses on developing students’ emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills, which are critical for academic success and overall well-being. Both studies call for a greater diversity of language teacher preparation curricula and teaching practices that incorporates cultural and social–emotional competencies into coursework to empower teachers to effectively engage students from diverse backgrounds and make literacy learning experiences relevant to their communities and meaningful to their cultural identities. The findings of these studies reveal implications for teacher education and literacy instruction for diverse learners. There are several potential research directions highlighted in the final chapter

Enhancing Next Destination Prediction: A Novel LSTM Approach Using Real-World Airline Data

In the modern transportation industry, accurate prediction of travelers' next destinations brings multiple benefits to companies, such as customer satisfaction and targeted marketing. This study focuses on developing a precise model that captures the sequential patterns and dependencies in travel data, enabling accurate predictions of individual travelers' future destinations. To achieve this, a novel model architecture with a sliding window approach based on Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) is proposed for destination prediction in the transportation industry. The experimental results highlight satisfactory performance and high scores achieved by the proposed model across different data sizes and performance metrics. This research contributes to advancing destination prediction methods, empowering companies to deliver personalized recommendations and optimize customer experiences in the dynamic travel landscape

Advances in Teaching & Learning Day Abstracts 2004

Proceedings of the Advances in Teaching & Learning Day Regional Conference held at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston in 2004

Pedagogic approaches to using technology for learning: literature review

This literature review is intended to address and support teaching qualifications and CPD through identifying new and emerging pedagogies; "determining what constitutes effective use of technology in teaching and learning; looking at new developments in teacher training qualifications to ensure that they are at the cutting edge of learning theory and classroom practice and making suggestions as to how teachers can continually update their skills." - Page 4

Improving Hybrid Brainstorming Outcomes with Scripting and Group Awareness Support

Previous research has shown that hybrid brainstorming, which combines individual and group methods, generates more ideas than either approach alone. However, the quality of these ideas remains similar across different methods. This study, guided by the dual-pathway to creativity model, tested two computer-supported scaffolds – scripting and group awareness support – for enhancing idea quality in hybrid brainstorming. 94 higher education students,grouped into triads, were tasked with generating ideas in three conditions. The Control condition used standard hybrid brainstorming without extra support. In the Experimental 1 condition, students received scripting support during individual brainstorming, and students in the Experimental 2 condition were provided with group awareness support during the group phase in addition. While the quantity of ideas was similar across all conditions, the Experimental 2 condition produced ideas of higher quality, and the Experimental 1 condition also showed improved idea quality in the individual phase compared to the Control condition