Using a task-based approach in evaluating the usability of BoBIs in an e-book environment

This paper reports on a usability evaluation of BoBIs (Back-of-the-book Indexes) as searching and browsing tools in an e-book environment. This study employed a task-based approach and within-subject design. The retrieval performance of a BoBI was compared with a ToC and Full-Text Search tool in terms of their respective effectiveness and efficiency for finding information in e-books. The results demonstrated that a BoBI was significantly more efficient (faster) and useful compared to a ToC or Full-Text Search tool for finding information in an e-book environment

Ebook User Expectations

This document synthesizes existing user research on ebooks, proposes user stories for the Enhanced Networked Monographs (ENM) reader interface, and poses questions for further investigation. Research confirms the desirability of full-text search, annotation, and navigation using internal links within an ebook. Downloading, printing, and copying/pasting are also important. Though navigation via internal links has been studied, expectations about the directionality of links could be further investigated. Relatedly, though users may expect ebooks to have Internet-style hyperlinks in them, conclusions are mixed regarding the appropriateness or value of links to external content, and it is unclear what sort of content users desire from external links. This issue, as well as expectations for navigating not just within a book but also between ebooks, are areas for future study.The Andrew W. Mellon Foundatio

Teaching and learning secondary school biology with diagrams

This thesis comprises a series of inter-related studies that examined: (1) diagrams presented in commonly used biology textbooks in Western Australian schools; (2) teachers’ use of diagrams as part of their normal teaching routines; (3) students’ perceptions of how they learn about diagrams in their lessons; and (4) students’ use of text and diagrams in explaining two phenomena in biology that had not been presented in class.Phase one of the research reports the results of an analysis diagrams presented in biology textbooks used by Western Australian students to examine their distribution pattern. Three types of diagrams (iconic, schematic, and charts & graphs) were investigated in science education based on the work of Novick (2006). Therefore, content analysis in this research entailed a systematic reading and categorizing of these diagrams from a number of secondary school textbooks. The textbook types include lower secondary general science textbooks, upper secondary biology textbooks, and biology workbooks. Descriptive statistics were conducted in order to provide first-hand data on exploring how diagrams are used in biology books. Findings of the study suggest that the three types of diagrams are distributed with unique patterns in the secondary biology textbooks.Phase two reports the investigation of biology teachers’ use of diagrams in their classroom teaching. Biology teachers’ teaching was observed in order to determine instructional methods related to diagrammatic teaching and learning in the natural environment. This study described and analysed how teachers of biology use the three different types of diagrams to introduce, explain and evaluate abstract biology concepts.The third phase of the research reports an analysis of how students think about their teachers’ instructional strategies when teaching with diagrams. An instrument was developed from a previously existing instrument to help students reflect upon their use of diagrams during their teachers’ instruction. The questionnaire data indicated that most participant students recognised teachers’ instructional methods in teaching diagrammatic representations as being explanatory tools, in representing biological concepts, and in help assessing their learning. The three dimensions identified by the questionnaire (Instruction with diagram, Assessment with diagrams and Student diagrammatic competence), demonstrated that students’ perceived experienced biology teachers as being more skillful in having diagrams to engage their learning.Phase four investigated students’ conceptual learning of diagrams alongside other modes of representations. The purpose of this phase was to determine how the students interpreted diagrams together with their counterpart – text – when learning three different biology concepts using an interview protocol. In each interview, students were presented with a biological concept with diagrammatic representation (iconic, schematic diagrams, and charts & graphs) together with textual representation (such as written text and chemical equations). The chapter concludes by showing that diagram and text serve different functional roles in students’ conceptual learning when one or both representations are presented. The results showed that diagram and text may constrain, construct or complementary each other so as to help students understand the complex concept.The final chapter draws together and discusses the findings generated in all of the previous studies in which diagrams were used in various aspects of secondary biological education, such as textbooks, classroom instruction, students’ perceptions, and representational learning with text. The limitations of the research are discussed and suggestions made for future research on the instructional usage of diagrams in biological teaching and learning

An exploration of pre-service elementary teachers' mathematical beliefs

The important role of beliefs in the learning and teaching of mathematics has been largely acknowledged in the literature. Pre-service teachers, in particular, have been shown to possess mathematical beliefs that are often traditional in nature (i.e. viewing teachers as the transmitters of knowledge and students as the passive recipients of that knowledge). These beliefs, which are formed long before the pre-service teachers enter their teacher education programs, often provide the foundation for their future teaching practices. An important role of teacher education programs, then, is to encourage the development (or modification) of beliefs that will support the kind of (reform) mathematics instruction promoted in these programs. In this dissertation I explored the impact of different experiences within teacher education programs, particularly those related to mathematics courses, on the mathematical beliefs of pre-service elementary teachers. This exploration was structured around 3 interrelated strands of work. The first strand drew from the existing literature to illuminate the concept of beliefs and identify ways in which teacher education programs may influence and promote change in the beliefs of pre-service teachers. This review also highlighted the need to further investigate the role and impact of mathematics courses for pre-service teachers.The second strand introduced an analytic framework to examine the different views about mathematics promoted in textbooks used in mathematics courses. The findings demonstrated that the linguistic choices made by textbook authors may promote different views about mathematics and, as a result, create different learning opportunities for pre-service teachers. These findings may have several implications for textbook authors and those in teacher education programs who make decisions about textbook adoption. Finally, the third strand investigated the impact of the curriculum materials and instruction in a research-based mathematics course on the beliefs of 25 pre-service elementary teachers. The findings showed that while beliefs are often highly resistant to change, it is possible to motivate change during a single mathematics course. Specifically, the nature of the curriculum materials and the role of the teacher educator in the course were found to have an important impact on the mathematical beliefs of the pre-service teachers

Third CLIPS Conference Proceedings, volume 1

Expert systems are computed programs which emulate human expertise in well defined problem domains. The potential payoff from expert systems is high: valuable expertise can be captured and preserved, repetitive and/or mundane tasks requiring human expertise can be automated, and uniformity can be applied in decision making processes. The C Language Integrated Production Systems (CLIPS) is an expert system building tool, developed at the Johnson Space Center, which provides a complete environment for the development and delivery of rule and/or object based expert systems. CLIPS was specifically designed to provide a low cost option for developing and deploying expert system applications across a wide range of hardware platforms. The development of CLIPS has helped to improve the ability to deliver expert systems technology throughout the public and private sectors for a wide range of applications and diverse computing environments

Online and Distance Learning during Lockdown Times: COVID-19 Stories (Volume 1)

This book is a reprint of papers in the Special Issue published in Education Sciences under the title "Online and Distance Learning during Lockdown Times: COVID-19 Stories". It includes papers covering K-12 educational sector representing international experience of teaching and learning from the start of the first episode of lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic

Sssessment of social perception and mathematical thinking amongst Jordanian students in higher education

Mathematics is important in the human life. Despite the efforts for the development of mathematics education, it did not reach an acceptable level, because of low level in mathematical thinking and social perception of mathematics. This study aimed to examine the relationship between mathematical thinking and social perception of mathematics in Jordan higher education. This study used a quantitative survey approach. The sample of this study comprised of 338 male and 362 female first year students at Jordan universities. Two instruments were developed: a mathematical thinking test to measure students’ mathematical thinking and social perceptions of mathematics questionnaire to measure the students’ perception of mathematics. The results showed that there were statistically significant differences in whole mathematical thinking test depending on gender in favor of male, residence in favor of rural areas and interaction between gender and residence in favor of females in rural areas. The results showed that the performance of males in urban areas was better than females in urban areas and the performance of females in rural areas was better than males in rural areas. There were no significant differences in social perception towards mathematics due to gender, residence and their interactions. The results showed that the relationship between mathematical thinking and social perception of mathematics was significant and social perception of mathematics has an influence on mathematical thinking. An increase in social perception of mathematics may lead to an increase of mathematical thinking. The two instruments developed can be used as measurement scales for mathematical thinking skills and social perception of mathematics and opening the way for researchers to address issues and weaknesses related to mathematics education