Tackling mathematical difficulties in transport theory education: insight from semiotics

Transport theory involves the study of phenomena most relevant to engineering such as fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and diffusion. These phenomena appear in almost every engineering artifact, from drug delivery to the nuclear reactor. In several disciplines, core courses are dedicated to this science. I have studied and taught transport theory in several engineering disciplines: nuclear engineering, materials science, and biomedical engineering. Here, I reflect on this experience and describe a source of difficulty that runs throughout that experience

Algunos problemas de la Psicología y propuestas de solución

La Psicología es una ciencia joven que aún tiene muchos problemas diversos que superar. A lo largo del artículo se analizan cuatro aspectos relacionados con la disciplina que nos pueden ayudar a identificar algunos de estos problemas: la coexistencia de múltiples psicologías y la falta de acuerdo sobre su objeto de estudio, la superfragmentación de la disciplina en áreas cada vez más pequeñas, la falta de diferenciación entre «psicología popular» y «psicología científica» y la confusión que provoca entre estudiantes, profesionales y legos, la dificultad para conocer la formación y pericia de un profesional y la precariedad laboral en el ámbito profesional de la psicología, con casi un 96% de contratos temporales y 12.695 desempleados a finales de 2017. Finalmente, se proponen algunas iniciativas y orientaciones para mejorar la situación, donde tanto las universidades, los docentes, los estudiantes, los investigadores y los clínicos, y los colegios profesionales han de ser agentes activos para que esta situación pueda cambiar hacia un mejor futuro de la Psicología.Psychology is a young science that still has many different problems to overcome. Throughout the article we analyze four aspects related to the discipline that can help us identify some of these problems: the coexistence of multiple psychologies and the lack of agreement on their object of study, the overfragmentation of the discipline in increasingly more small areas, the lack of differentiation between “popular psychology” and “scientific psychology” and the confusion caused among students, professionals and laymen, the difficulty to know the training and expertise of a professional and job precariousness in the professional field of psychology, with almost 96% of temporary contracts and 12,695 unemployed at the end of 2017. Finally, some initiatives and guidelines are proposed to improve the situation, where both universities, teachers, students, researchers and clinicians, and schools professionals must be active agents so that this situation can change towards a better future of Psychology

Characterising Structure-Property Reasoning within a Chemical Design Challenge: Green Bubble Soap

Where design seems to merge easily with physics or technology education, it does not seem to take place much in secondary chemistry education. Design is one of the crosscutting concepts between the different STEM subjects, (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) and is therefore included in curricula and standards in many countries. Structure-function reasoning is an important design skill. In a chemical context it shows similarities with structure-property reasoning (SPR). This SPR is a common practice for expert chemists but difficult to learn for secondary students. Given the similarities, chemical design activities might be a way to enhance students’ SPR. Moreover, stimulating SPR might open a way to expand the role of chemistry in integrated STEM education. We describe an explorative study in which the design of bubble soap is used as a context to promote students’ SPR. Data was collected in the form of audio recordings of student conversations within the design team, student-teacher conversations and design drawings on worksheets. Qualitative analysis, using the perspective for SPR as a framework, revealed that identified SPR was expressed in three ways: as a link between structural features and substances, as a link between the term ‘molecule’ and property and as a link between molecular structures and properties of a substance. Furthermore, analysis showed that SPR was only found during evaluation, discussion and ideation stages of the design process. The results indicate that this chemical design project can be used to stimulate students’ SPR and that SPR can be a way to integrate design practices more in chemistry classrooms

Inclusive Decision Making: Applying Human Factors Methods to Capture the Needs and Voices of Marginalized Populations

In the face of large-scale climate change and growing populations, urban leaders must make strategic decisions about how to adapt their city and its neighborhoods to changing climate conditions. These decisions are particularly critical in low-resource neighborhoods where many residents face marginalization, and are often the most vulnerable to climate events (e.g., extreme heat) (Bolin & Kurtz, 2018). Despite higher vulnerability, individuals in these neighborhoods have historically been the least involved in community-level decision-making (Lasker & Guidry, 2009). Additionally, the unique needs of these residents are often overlooked when preparing information and resources for public dissemination

Características ontológicas de la inducción electromagnética

Se analizan los resultados de la aplicación de una propuesta didáctica para la enseñanza de la inducción electromagnética, a nivel universitario. Esta propuesta resalta el carácter relativista del concepto y su ontología de tipo proceso. Los participantes resolvieron una situación problemática diseñada con el fin de detectar qué características ontológicas logran identificar los alumnos al aprender a partir de la propuesta diseñada. La metodología utilizada correspondió a un estudio de caso. Los resulta-dos muestran que la mayoría de los alumnos reconocen las componentes ontológicas del concepto de inducción, pero no identifi-can las interacciones entre ellas. Además, todos los alumnos utilizan en sus explicaciones el concepto de campo y sus transfor-maciones, pero no logran analizar situaciones desde distintos sistemas de referencia

Using Schema Training to Facilitate Students\u27 Understanding of Challenging Engineering Concepts in Heat Transfer and Thermodynamics

Background: Chi and colleagues have argued that some of the most challenging engineering concepts exhibit properties of emergent systems. However, students often lack a mental framework, or schema, for understanding emergence. Slotta and Chi posited that helping students develop a schema for emergent systems, referred to as schema training, would increase the understanding of challenging concepts exhibiting emergent properties. Purpose: We tested the effectiveness of schema training and explored the nature of challenging concepts from thermodynamics and heat transfer. We investigated if schema training could (a) repair misconceptions in advanced engineering students and (b) prevent them in beginning engineering students. Method: We adapted Slotta and Chi\u27s schema training modules and tested their impact in two studies that employed an experimental design. Items from the Thermal and Transport Concept Inventory and expert-developed multiple-choice questions were used to evaluate conceptual understanding of the participants. The language used by students in their open-ended explanations of multiple-choice questions was also coded. Results: In both studies, students in the experimental groups showed larger gains in their understanding of some concepts—specifically in dye diffusion and microfluidics in Study One, and in the final test for thermodynamics in Study Two. But in neither study did students exhibit any gain in conceptual questions about heat transfer. Conclusion: Our studies suggest the importance of examining the nature of the phenomena underlying the concepts being taught because the language used in instruction has implications for how students understand them. Therefore, we suggest that instructors reflect on their own understanding of the concepts

Conceptual change challenges in medicine during professional development

This study investigates professional development during medical studies from a conceptual change perspective. Medical students’ conceptual understanding and clinical reasoning concerning the central cardiovascular system were investigated during the first three years of study. Professional development was inspected from the perspectives of biomedical knowledge, clinical knowledge and skills needed to solve a patient case. Biomedical misconceptions regarding false beliefs and mental models were detected. Students with misconceptions were more likely to give lower level answers in clinical application tasks and to make inaccurate diagnoses compared to those students who had accurate conceptual understanding. Based on the results, pedagogical suggestions are discussed.This study investigates professional development during medical studies from a conceptual change perspective. Medical students’ conceptual understanding and clinical reasoning concerning the central cardiovascular system were investigated during the first three years of study. Professional development was inspected from the perspectives of biomedical knowledge, clinical knowledge and skills needed to solve a patient case. Biomedical misconceptions regarding false beliefs and mental models were detected. Students with misconceptions were more likely to give lower level answers in clinical application tasks and to make inaccurate diagnoses compared to those students who had accurate conceptual understanding. Based on the results, pedagogical suggestions are discussed.Peer reviewe

Serious Game Facilitates Conceptual Change About Molecular Emergence Through Productive Negativity (RCT)

Throughout their undergraduate careers, biology students struggle to reconcile how randomness at the molecular level governs cellular systems, often misconceiving these emergent systems as mechanistic in nature. A serious game has potential to facilitate conceptual change by enabling instances of productive negativity—a player may attempt a challenge and fail under their current misconception, and then must reevaluate their understanding in order to succeed. We designed a serious game, MolWorlds, under this premise and tested its efficiency against an interactive simulation that used the same graphics and simulation system as the game but lacked gaming elements such as score, sequential levelling structure, resource management, and a 3rd-person character immersed in the environment. We tested first-, second-, and third-year biology students’ misconceptions at the beginning and end of the semester (n=526), a subset of whom played either the game (n=20) or control (n=20) for 30 minutes prior to the post-test. We performed a 3x3 repeated measures linear mixed model to determine how educational level (first-, second-, or third-year biology) and intervention type (no intervention, simulation, or game) affected students’ molecular misconceptions from pre-test to post-test. While educational level did not have an effect on misconceptions, the intervention type did (p<.001). A priori pairwise comparisons revealed that participants who were not exposed to any intervention retained significantly more misconceptions in comparison to those exposed to the interactive simulation (p=.007) as well as those exposed to the game (p<.001), while adjusting for educational level. A trending difference was found between the simulation group and the gaming group (p=.084), with gamers resolving more misconceptions. Analysis of gameplay data revealed that gamers experienced significantly more instances of productive negativity than control-users (p<.001) and that a trending relationship exists between the quality of productively negative events and lower post-test misconceptions (p=.066)

Conceptual change in learning science. A study of the processes involved in learning about light and vision

En este trabajo se estudia qué, cómo y cuándo aprenden los alumnos de educación secundaria acerca de los modelos que la ciencia propone para explicar la visión, cuando se implementa en el aula una propuesta didáctica especialmente diseñada para favorecer un cambio conceptual, ontológico y epistemológico. Trabajando con alumnos de edades comprendidas entre los 15 y 16 años, se implementa un diseño cuasi-experimental de tipo pretest?intervención-postest. Se halla que los alumnos habrían experimentado un cambio radical en su modo de conocer que le permitió pasar de concebir y explicar los fenómenos en términos de estados, hechos o datos, realismo ingenuo y razonamiento monoconceptual a explicarlos en términos de procesos, y muchas veces interacciones, activando modos de razonar plurivariados. Se halla que dicho proceso fue lento y paulatino y que en todo momento, aún luego de la enseñanza, "compiten" en la mente de los alumnos ideas intuitivas con ideas de la ciencia; lo que da cuenta de la dificultad que implica aprender a gestionar y usar consistente y coherentemente las nuevas ideas.In this paper we study what and how students learn in secondary education, science models proposed to explain the vision, when implemented in the classroom, a teaching model designed in this research. It works with high school students 15 to 16 years old. It implements a quasi-experimental design type pretest-intervention-posttest. Students has experienced a radical change in their way of knowing. The process was slow and gradual. At all times competing in the minds of students intuitive ideas with the ideas of science. Students had difficulty using consistent and coherent new ideas.Fil: Bravo, Bettina Mariel. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ingeniería Olavarría; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Pesa de Danon, Marta Azucena. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Tecnología; Argentin

Implicancias do ensino sobre o saber dos alunos: A aprendizagem de fenómenos ópticos. Segunda parte.

En este trabajo se estudia qué y cómo aprenden los alumnos de educación secundaria, los modelos que la ciencia propone para explicar la formación y visión de las imágenes ópticas, cuando se implementa en el aula una propuesta didáctica diseñada en esta investigación. Se trabaja con curso completo de 10 alumnos de educación secundaria de edades comprendidas entre los 15 y 16 años. Se implementa un diseño cuasi-experimental (sin grupo de control) de tipo pretest - intervención postest. Se halla que los alumnos habrían experimentado un cambio radical en su modo de conocer que le permitió dejar de concebir y explicar los fenómenos en términos de estados, hechos o datos, realismo ingenuo y razonamiento monoconceptual a explicarlos en términos de procesos, y muchas veces interacciones, activando modos de razonar plurivariados. Se discute el impacto de la enseñanza y se advierte sobre los núcleos conceptuales cuyo aprendizaje presenta más complejidad para los alumnos.Dans cet article, nous étudions quoi et comment les élèves appreènnent dans l'enseignement secondaire, les modèles scientifiques proposées pour expliquer la formation et la vision des images optiques, lorsqu'il est implémenté dans la salle de classe, un modèle d'enseignement conçus dans cette recherche. Il fonctionne avec 10 lycéens de 15 à 16 ans. Il met en œuvre un modèle quasiexpérimental (pas de groupe témoin) Type de prétest - post-test-intervention. Étudiants a connu un changement radical dans leur manière de savoir. Nous discutons l'impact de l'enseignement et mettons en garde contre le noyau conceptuel qui representel'apprentissage plus complexe pour les étudiants.Neste trabalho estuda-se que e como aprendem os alunos de educação secundária, os modelos que a ciência propõe para explicar a formação e visão das imagens ópticas, quando se implementa no aula uma proposta didáctica desenhada nesta investigação. Trabalha-se com curso completo de 10 alunos de educação secundária de idades compreendidas entre os 15 e 16 anos. Implementa-se um desenho cuasi-experimental (sem grupo de controle) de tipo pretest – intervenção- postest. Discutese o impacto do ensino e adverte-se sobre os núcleos conceptuais cuja aprendizagem apresenta mais complejidad para os alunos.Fil: Bravo, Bettina Mariel. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ingenieria Olavarria; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil; ArgentinaFil: Pesa de Danon, Marta Azucena. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Tecnologia; ArgentinaFil: Rocha, Adriana Leticia. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ingenieria Olavarria; Argentin