Department Publications 2007

This publication is a list of staff papers, extension publications, Center for International Food and Agricultural Policy papers, The Food Industry Center working papers, Economic Development Center papers, Center for Farm Financial Management papers, Minnesota Council on Economic Education publications, International Science & Technology Practice and Policy publications, journal articles, books, chapters, monographs, speeches, web pages, computer software and theses authored by members of the University of Minnesota Department of Applied Economics in 2007.Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Student Teaching and Research Laboratory Focusing on Brain-computer Interface Paradigms - A Creative Environment for Computer Science Students -

This paper presents an applied concept of a brain-computer interface (BCI) student research laboratory (BCI-LAB) at the Life Science Center of TARA, University of Tsukuba, Japan. Several successful case studies of the student projects are reviewed together with the BCI Research Award 2014 winner case. The BCI-LAB design and project-based teaching philosophy is also explained. Future teaching and research directions summarize the review.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, accepted for EMBC 2015, IEEE copyrigh

Department Publications 2010

This publication is a list of books, chapters, journal articles, staff papers, The Food Industry Center publications, International Science & Technology Practice & Policy Center papers, miscellaneous monographs, Center for Farm Financial Management papers, miscellaneous Extension publications, popular press articles, op-ed articles, speeches and unpublished papers, computer software, web pages, abstracts and book reviews and theses authored by members of the University of Minnesota Department of Applied Economics in 2009.Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Virginia Earth Science Collaborative Astronomy Course for Teachers

We describe the development and implementation of a professional development course for teachers of grades 4-12 designed to increase their content knowledge in astronomy, space science, and the nature of science using interactive presentations, and hands-on and inquiry-based lessons. The course, Space Science for Teachers, encompasses the astronomy and nature of science components of the Virginia Standards of Learning for grades 4-12 [1]. In addition to increasing their content knowledge, teachers gain experience using innovative teaching technologies, such as an inflatable planetarium, planetarium computer software, and computer controlled telescopes. The courses included evening laboratory sessions where teachers learned the constellations, how to find specific celestial objects, and how to use a variety of small telescopes. Participants received three graduate credit hours in science after completing the course requirements. Space Science for Teachers was taught at the University of Virginia in Summer 2005 and 2006, at George Mason University in Summer 2006 and 2007, at the University of Virginia Southwest Center in Abingdon, Virginia in Fall 2006, and at the MathScience Innovation Center in Richmond during Summer 2005 and 2007. A total of 135 teachers participated in the courses

Department Publications 2009

This publication is a list of books, chapters, journal articles, staff papers, The Food Industry Center publications, International Science & Technology Practice & Policy Center papers, miscellaneous monographs, Center for Farm Financial Management papers, Minnesota Council on Economic Education publications, miscellaneous Extension publications, popular press articles, op-ed articles, speeches and unpublished papers, computer software, web pages, abstracts and book reviews and theses authored by members of the University of Minnesota Department of Applied Economics in 2009.Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Work at the Boundary: A Research-Practice Partnership to Integrate Computer Science into Middle School Science

The Maine Center for Research in STEM Education (RiSE Center) is currently developing a partnership between university education researchers, computer science faculty, and middle school science teachers throughout the state. The goal of this partnership is to develop a set of lessons that integrate computer science concepts and practices into existing science curricular materials. This STEM+C partnership brings together individuals who have a wide range of experience and comfort with computer science and teaching middle school. This study focuses on the partnership’s early stages through its initial summer collaborations. We designed and administered interviews prior to the module design process to gather information about participants’ initial impressions of collaboration, computer science, the overall project, and their role in the partnership. Using grounded theory techniques (Charmaz, 2006), we categorized these preliminary responses and used information about the respondents to predict where boundaries might arise during collaboration of the larger partnership. Preliminary analysis of interview transcripts revealed differences in how individuals in the partnership spoke about aspects of the project including science teaching and computer science. We examined these potential misalignments in communication among members of different subgroups in the partnership. Such misalignments constituted group boundaries (Akkerman and Bakker, 2011), where communication may be difficult or misconstrued by either party and where strategies may be needed to facilitate communication. Based on prior research, we predicted boundaries between university researchers and K-12 practitioners (Robinson and Darling-Hammond, 1994). In addition, we anticipated that participants who were computer science novices might have conflicting definitions of computer science, as suggested by Winitzky, Stoddart, and O’Keefe (1992) and Barr and Stephenson (2011). We anticipated that school district affiliates who served on planning committees for the project may act as boundary spanners who ease communication across the researcher-practitioner boundary, because they work more closely with university affiliates than the participants not involved in the planning process. Differences in interview responses, as well as changes in computer science definitions, revealed that a boundary may exist between participants who were involved in planning the collaboration, regardless of affiliation, and those who were not. The difference may be based on access to information about the project as a whole as well as details of the planning team’s efforts to define computer science for themselves before bringing the concept to the summer collaboration process. These findings suggest the need for clear communication protocols throughout the formation process of any such partnership, as well as explicit role definition for those designated to communicate information across a boundary

Review of Gender Differences in Learning Styles: Suggestions for Information Technology Education

According to the National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT), only 21% of information and computer science degrees were awarded to women in 2006 (NCWIT, 2007). In the past decade, higher education has experienced a rapid decline in the number of women involved in the information sciences, particularly computer science (Bank, 2007). A number of social and educational factors have been considered barriers to women entering science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields and this area has been well studied in the literature. However, research examining the relationship between gender differences and learning styles in the context of these technical fields is limited. According to Kolb (1976), people decide on a major based on how well the norms of the major fit with their individual learning styles. This paper presents gender differences in learning styles and recommends teaching methodologies most preferred for female learners in information science and technology courses

Proceedings of the Ninth Annual Indiana STEM Education Conference: Resourcing STEM Education

The Proceedings of the Ninth Annual Indiana STEM Education Conference are edited by the Center for Advancing the Teaching and Learning of STEM (CATALYST, https://www.education.purdue.edu/catalyst/) at Purdue University. The theme for the 2024 conference is Resourcing STEM Education. This year’s Indiana STEM Education Conference provides opportunities to learn about effective STEM education strategies, curriculum, and resources to engage students in integrated STEM learning opportunities and address the recently updated Indiana Academic Standards for Science and Computer Science, Indiana Academic Standards for Mathematics, and Indiana Academic Standards for Integrated STEM (https://www.in.gov/doe/students/indiana-academic-standards/)

Model of the methodical center of open education in computer science for the teaching of gifted students

В статті визначено та обґрунтовано переваги запровадження змішаної форми навчання інформатиці обдарованих учнів. Для реалізації змішаного навчання учнів пропонується модель методичного центру відкритої освіти з інформатики в школі. Модель методичного центру відкритої освіти пропонує об’єднати зусилля вчителів інформатики різних навчальних закладів для створення відкритих електронних освітніх ресурсів для обдарованих учнів та організації їх навчання у міжшкільних групах. Досвід запровадження змішаного навчання інформатиці обдарованих учнів в моделі методичного центру відкритої освіти розглянуто на прикладі регіонального експерименту, в якому взяли участь 6 навчальних закладів та методичний центр. У моделі методичного центру відкритої освіти з інформатики для обдарованих учнів знайшли відображення мета і основні задачі, методи і форми та діяльність вчителів і учнів у відкритому інформаційно-освітньому середовищі. Основою відкритої освіти за запропонованою моделлю є цілеспрямована, контрольована, інтенсивна самостійна робота учнів, які можуть навчитись за індивідуальним розкладом в зручному для себе місці, маючи доступ до електронних освітніх ресурсів й погоджену можливість контакту з викладачем з використанням: електронною пошти, чату, вебінару, відеоконференції а також особистого контакту. Результати анкетування учнів і їх батьків ілюструють їх зацікавленість в отриманні ІТ-освіти та готовності до участі у навчанні інформатики за змішаною формою навчання. Розвиток інформаційно-освітнього середовища відкритої освіти забезпечується хмарними сервісами для збереження і виконання завдань, он-лайн консультаціями вчителів, постійним оновленням відеоуроків з html - програмування, комп’ютерної графіки та алгоритмізації. Більшість учнів вказують на важливість співпраці з вчителем, але на рівні взаємодії і консультацій а не контролю. Результати навчання учнів в методичному центрі відкритої освіти підтверджуються збільшенням кількості призерів олімпіад з інформатики та задоволеності учнів від он-лайн навчання.The article defines and substantiates the advantages of introducing a mixed form of computer science education for gifted students. For the implementation of mixed student learning, a model of a methodological center for open education in computer science at school is offered. The model of the methodical center of open education offers to combine the efforts of teachers of informatics of various educational institutions to create open electronic educational resources for gifted students and to organize their training in inter-school groups. The experience of introducing mixed learning in the field of computer science of gifted students in the model of the methodical center of open education is considered on the example of a regional experiment, which was attended by 6 educational institutions and methodological center. In the model of the methodical center of open education in computer science for gifted students, the purpose and the main tasks, methods and forms of activity of teachers and students in the open informational and educational environment were reflected. The basis of open education in the proposed model is the purposeful, controlled, intensive independent work of students who can study according to an individual schedule in a convenient place, having access to electronic educational resources and an agreed opportunity of contact with the teacher using: e-mail, chat, webinar, video conferencing as well as personal contact. The results of the survey of students and their parents illustrate their interest in obtaining IT education and readiness to participate in teaching computer science in a mixed form of study. The development of the informational and educational environment of open education is provided by cloud services for the preservation and execution of tasks, online teacher consultations, constant updating of video tutorials on html-programming, computer graphics and algorithmization. Most students point out the importance of working with a teacher, but at the level of interaction and consultation, and not control. Results of studying students in the methodical center of open education are confirmed by an increase in the number of prizewinners of computer science competitions and students' satisfaction from online learnin

Susan Anderson-Freed

Dr. Susan Anderson-Freed began teaching in the Sociology Department at Illinois Wesleyan University in 1977. A few years later she was reappointed to a position in the Computer Science program where she remained until her departure in 2008. Anderson-Freed left teaching due to the effects of cancer treatments she was receiving and died on November 4, 2012. A long-time knitting enthusiast, she used the time of her treatments to design patterns and published two books on the subjects. Proceeds from these volumes, which have already been translated into several languages, are designated for the Community Cancer Center, Normal, Illinois. Her husband John Freed reviewed and emended the attached transcript