Responsible research and innovation in science education: insights from evaluating the impact of using digital media and arts-based methods on RRI values

The European Commission policy approach of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) is gaining momentum in European research planning and development as a strategy to align scientific and technological progress with socially desirable and acceptable ends. One of the RRI agendas is science education, aiming to foster future generations' acquisition of skills and values needed to engage in society responsibly. To this end, it is argued that RRI-based science education can benefit from more interdisciplinary methods such as those based on arts and digital technologies. However, the evidence existing on the impact of science education activities using digital media and arts-based methods on RRI values remains underexplored. This article comparatively reviews previous evidence on the evaluation of these activities, from primary to higher education, to examine whether and how RRI-related learning outcomes are evaluated and how these activities impact on students' learning. Forty academic publications were selected and its content analysed according to five RRI values: creative and critical thinking, engagement, inclusiveness, gender equality and integration of ethical issues. When evaluating the impact of digital and arts-based methods in science education activities, creative and critical thinking, engagement and partly inclusiveness are the RRI values mainly addressed. In contrast, gender equality and ethics integration are neglected. Digital-based methods seem to be more focused on students' questioning and inquiry skills, whereas those using arts often examine imagination, curiosity and autonomy. Differences in the evaluation focus between studies on digital media and those on arts partly explain differences in their impact on RRI values, but also result in non-documented outcomes and undermine their potential. Further developments in interdisciplinary approaches to science education following the RRI policy agenda should reinforce the design of the activities as well as procedural aspects of the evaluation research

Integrating Data Mining and Social Network Techniques into the Development of a Web-based Adaptive Play-based Assessment tool for School Readiness.

A major challenge that faces most families is effectively anticipating how ready to start school a given child is. Traditional tests are not very effective as they depend on the skills of the expert conducting the test. It is argued that automated tools are more attractive especially when they are extended with games capabilities that would be the most attractive for the children to be seriously involved in the test. The first part of this thesis reviews the school readiness approaches applied in various countries. This motivated the development of the sophisticated system described in the thesis. Extensive research was conducted to enrich the system with features that consider machine learning and social network aspects. A modified genetic algorithm was integrated into a web-based stealth assessment tool for school readiness. The research goal is to create a web-based stealth assessment tool that can learn the user's skills and adjust the assessment tests accordingly. The user plays various sessions from various games, while the Genetic Algorithm (GA) selects the upcoming session or group of sessions to be presented to the user according to his/her skills and status. The modified GA and the learning procedure were described. A penalizing system and a fitness heuristic for best choice selection were integrated into the GA. Two methods for learning were presented, namely a memory system and a no-memory system. Several methods were presented for the improvement of the speed of learning. In addition, learning mechanisms were introduced in the social network aspect to address further usage of stealth assessment automation. The effect of the relatives and friends on the readiness of the child was studied by investigating the social communities to which the child belongs and how the trend in these communities will reflect on to the child under investigation. The plan is to develop this framework further by incorporating more information related to social network construction and analysis. Also, it is planned to turn the framework into a self adaptive one by utilizing the feedback from the usage patterns to learn and adjust the evaluation process accordingly

The utilization of chess to enhance children's academic performance: an integrative review

Anecdotal evidence affirms the educational benefits of playing chess. I present an integrative review based on the framework of Whittemore and Knafl (2005), which analyzes the literature on chess and strategic gaming. This review indicates that primary and secondary educational researchers who use chess and strategic gaming in classrooms have published critical evaluations of learning and teaching theory based on their studies. While the use of chess in education is commonplace in some educational jurisdictions, the majority of Western school systems have not integrated this practice into their curricula. Conflicting evidence has been reported on the benefits of strategic gaming, in particular chess. This structured methodology for reviewing literature takes into account all stakeholders and assesses the usefulness of chess for meeting the needs of a 21st century educational system. --Leaf ii.The original print copy of this thesis may be available here: http://wizard.unbc.ca/record=b194998

Science Hunters: Teaching science concepts in schools using Minecraft

Background Science Hunters is an outreach project based at Lancaster University, UK. It uses the computer game Minecraft, alongside interactive discussion and hands-on demonstrations, to engage children with scientific research topics and science learning.Material and methodsAs part of ongoing evaluation, the efficacy of this approach as an educational intervention was tested via pre- and post-activity questionnaires for two session topics,with 492 children participating through schools in 2017 and 2018.ResultsStatistically significant mprovement in subject knowledge was seen in post-intervention scores for both topics. There was some variation in both absolute and improvement score results between boys and girls, and primary and secondary school students.ConclusionsParticipation leads to improved subject knowledge and understanding, regardless of prior existing knowledge

Mastery Motivation and Executive Functions as School Readiness Factors: Enhancement of School Readiness in Kenya

The overall goal of this study is to enhance school readiness assessment in Kenya by developing an easy-to-use tablet-based android app that can support teachers and learners during the assessment of Pre-academic skills, Mastery Motivation (MM) and Executive Functions (EF) in the Kenyan context. We operationalised MM and EF as components of Approaches to Learning (ATL): one of the poorly assessed domains of school readiness. This research was based on the theory of ATL and followed a non-experimental longitudinal research design. One study was a Scoping Review that identified the gap in the literature in the assessment of School Readiness domains using game-like apps. This study formed the basis for developing Finding Out Children's Unique Strengths (FOCUS) app for Kenya following Education Design Research Approach. Two studies tested and evaluated the psychometric properties of the FOCUS app in the Kenyan context. Another two empirical studies focused on adapting the Preschool Dimension of Mastery Questionnaire 18 (DMQ 18) and the Childhood Executive Functioning (CHEXI) to complement the assessment of MM and EF, respectively. In addition, one study addressed the role played by MM and EF on school academic performance. A total of 40 teachers, 497 preschool and 535 grade 1 children were involved in this study. Both parametric and non-parametric statistical analyses were used to analyse the generated data. The FOCUS app, CHEXI and DMQ 18 fit well with the data and exhibited strong psychometric properties, thus being suitable for the Kenyan context. Furthermore, both MM and EF were directly and indirectly, involved in grade one children's academic performance. FOCUS app tasks, pre-academic skills, and number and letter search tasks at preprimary II strongly predicted preschool and grade one academic performance. MM assessed using the FOCUS app as a better predictor of academic performance than the DMQ 18. Interventions to improve MM and EF promise to enhance School Readiness in the Kenyan context. The FOCUS app can greatly complement Kenya School Readiness Test to give teachers and parents a broader spectrum to make correct decisions concerning the child

Annual Report Of Research and Creative Productions, January to December, 2010

2010 Annual Report of Research and Creative Productions, Morehead State University, Division of Academic Affairs, Research and Creative Productions Committee