3D and 4D Simulations for Landscape Reconstruction and Damage Scenarios. GIS Pilot Applications

The project 3D and 4D Simulations for Landscape Reconstruction and Damage Scenarios: GIS Pilot Applications has been devised with the intention to deal with the demand for research, innovation and applicative methodology on the part of the international programme, requiring concrete results to increase the capacity to know, anticipate and respond to a natural disaster. This project therefore sets out to develop an experimental methodology, a wide geodatabase, a connected performant GIS platform and multifunctional scenarios able to profitably relate the added values deriving from different geotechnologies, aimed at a series of crucial steps regarding landscape reconstruction, event simulation, damage evaluation, emergency management, multi-temporal analysis. The Vesuvius area has been chosen for the pilot application owing to such an impressive number of people and buildings subject to volcanic risk that one could speak in terms of a possible national disaster. The steps of the project move around the following core elements: creation of models that reproduce the territorial and anthropic structure of the past periods, and reconstruction of the urbanized area, with temporal distinctions; three-dimensional representation of the Vesuvius area in terms of infrastructuralresidential aspects; GIS simulation of the expected event; first examination of the healthcareepidemiological consequences; educational proposals. This paper represents a proactive contribution which describes the aims of the project, the steps which constitute a set of specific procedures for the methodology which we are experimenting, and some thoughts regarding the geodatabase useful to “package” illustrative elaborations. Since the involvement of the population and adequate hazard preparedness are very important aspects, some educational and communicational considerations are presented in connection with the use of geotechnologies to promote the knowledge of risk

CHEMISTRY LEARNING WITH APPLICATION OF THE ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT AND USE OF CONCEPTUAL MAPS IN THE CHEMISTRY LAB

Indexación: Scopus; Scielo.The present study focuses on the deficient learning of health science students in the General Chemistry course in the first level higher education, specifically regarding the topic of aqueous dissolutions in terms of the meaning of pH and how to determine it. The causes of this problem are: i) the difficulty relating the theory to the practice, ii) the lack of strategies that help and motivate learning, iii) the inability to underst and and resolve problems or exercises, and iv) a deficiencyon basic mathematical aptitudes for application in resolving problems and exercises, among others. The research considered the academic results obtained bystudents of various careers in the area of health sciences students in the past, to subsequently determine the research group, resulting it the career of nursingstudents. To achieve this type of learning, the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) was applied, together with the metacognitive strategy of Conceptual Maps (CM) and feedback & self-correction in practical laboratory activities. This study was carried out at a university and involved nursing students because they havemany difficulties learning experimental sciences, especially chemistry, because the students of other careers do not have many weaknesses in this science, beingevidenced in the results at end of the semester-The sample experimental group consisted of 336 nursing students and the control group 420 students of nutrition and dietetics and dentistry taking the unit "General Chemistry", who provided all the information for this study.http://www.scielo.cl/pdf/jcchems/v61n1/art02.pd

A Collaborative Lecture in Information Retrieval for Students at Universities in Germany and Switzerland

K3, work in progress, is an acronym for Kollaboration (collaboration), Kommunikation (communication), and Kompetenz (competence). K3 provides a platform in the context of knowledge management to support collaborative knowledge production in learning environments. The underlying hypothesis states that collaborative discourse conciliates information as well as communication competence in learning contexts. The collaborative, communicative paradigm of K3 is implemented by asynchronous communication tools as a means of constructivist learning methodology. In this paper we will describe a K3 course. The lecture was organized and carried out at two places in two different countries (Germany and Switzerland) with students from different universities in the context of Library and Information Science. The paper informs about the management of the lecture and about the problems we had to run the lecture at two places. The circumstances in coordinating the presentations, the exercises, the examinations and evaluation, and the time schedule are presented. The conclusions of the lecturers and the results of a questionnaire for the students are explained in detail

Achieving Evaluation Influence Through Elaboration Likelihood Model-informed Evaluation Product Designs

The ultimate purpose of evaluation is social betterment, which is achieved through evaluation influence. Progress has been made in defining the mechanisms of evaluation influence (Mark & Henry, 2004); however, little research has explored how the design of evaluation products trigger these mechanisms. Sister fields such as persuasion psychology can provide guidance to fill this gap. The Elaboration Likelihood Model, a dual-processing model of persuasion, provides insights into how persuasive information is processed and how this processing impacts attitude formation and behavioral intention (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986). By translating the principles of the Elaboration Likelihood Model, this research explores how various data presentation conventions -- minimalist, embellished, and interactive -- impact evaluation influence. In the first phase of this research, minimalist and embellished data visualization conventions did not result in differences in participant experience of the visualization nor different interpretation or attitudinal outcomes; however, motivation to elaborate significantly impacted both participant experiences and outcomes. Additionally, engagement with the data visualization played a role in how participants processed the evaluation findings, with highly engaged individuals basing their evaluand-specific attitudes on the strength of the evaluation findings. The second phase of this research demonstrated no significant differences in attitude strength and donation behaviors between minimalist and embellished data visualization. Instead, donation behaviors were driven by attitudes formed after reading the evaluation findings and motivation to elaborate. The final experiment found that interactive data presentations promoted elaboration and the formation of attitudes based on the strength of the evaluation findings. Additionally, significant differences in attitude persistence and behavioral intent were found based on the strength of evaluation findings; behavioral intent was additionally impacted by motivation to elaborate and engagement with the data presentation. Finally, donation behaviors were driven by motivation to elaborate, engagement with the data presentation, and evaluand-specific attitudes formed after reading the evaluation findings. The results of this research demonstrate that the design of evaluation products and audience characteristics such as motivation to elaborate can be factors impacting evaluation influence. Based on these findings, evaluation practitioners can promote evaluation influence by seeking out opportunities to design products that increase audience involvement to support elaboration processes. The current research also identifies both risks to and opportunities for increased evaluation influence based on the audiences\u27 level of motivation to elaborate, which provide guidance to evaluation practitioners seeking to maximize their evaluation\u27s impact. More broadly, this research advances new directions for research on evaluation influence by providing empirical evidence for influence pathways, for data visualization research by demonstrating the importance of motivation to elaborate to visualization experience and outcomes, and for research on the application of Elaboration Likelihood Model principles within the context of evaluation

The Effect of Visual Mnemonic Support Practice on the Reading Comprehension of Psychology Texts

Iranian psychology students often face difficulties in understanding psychology texts in English. This can have an adverse effect on their opportunities of academic success. To help them overcome those difficulties, the current study investigated the effect of visual mnemonic support practice on students' reading comprehension. The participants of the present study were 55 Iranian psychology seniors chosen out of 71 students based on their PET language proficiency test scores. They were divided into two homogenous groups of experimental and control. The experimental group benefited from visual mnemonic techniques, including pictures and visualization. Open-ended questioning was used as a measure of reading comprehension. Results of Independent Samples T-test revealed that the experimental group outperformed the control group. Pedagogical implications of visual mnemonic aids are also discussed

The Effect of Visual Mnemonic Support Practice on the Reading Comprehension of Psychology Texts

Iranian psychology students often face difficulties in understanding psychology texts in English. This can have an adverse effect on their opportunities of academic success. To help them overcome those difficulties, the current study investigated the effect of visual mnemonic support practice on students' reading comprehension. The participants of the present study were 55 Iranian psychology seniors chosen out of 71 students based on their PET language proficiency test scores. They were divided into two homogenous groups of experimental and control. The experimental group benefited from visual mnemonic techniques, including pictures and visualization. Open-ended questioning was used as a measure of reading comprehension. Results of Independent Samples T-test revealed that the experimental group outperformed the control group. Pedagogical implications of visual mnemonic aids are also discussed

The Effect of Varied Gender Groupings on Argumentation Skills among Middle School Students in Different Cultures

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to explore the effect of varied gender groupings on argumentation skills among middle school students in Taiwan and the United States in a project-based learning environment that incorporated a graph-oriented computer-assisted application (GOCAA). A total of 43 students comprised the treatment condition and were engaged in the collaborative argumentation process in same-gender groupings. Of these 43 students, 20 were located in the U.S. and 23 were located in Taiwan. A total of 40 students comprised the control condition and were engaged in the collaborative argumentation process in mixed-gender groupings. Of these 40 students, 19 were in the U.S. and 21 were in Taiwan. In each country, verbal collaborative argumentation was recorded and the students’ post essays were collected. Among females in Taiwan, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated that statistically a significant gender-grouping effect was evident on the total argumentation skills outcome, while MANOVA indicated no significant gender-grouping effect on the combined set of skill outcomes. Among females in the U.S., MANOVA indicated statistically significant gender-grouping effect on the combined set of argumentation skills outcomes Specifically, U.S. female students in mixed-gender groupings (the control condition) significantly outperformed female students in single-gender groupings (the treatment condition) in the counterargument and rebuttal skills. No significant group differences were observed among males. A qualitative analysis was conducted to examine how the graph-oriented computer-assisted application supported students’ development of argumentation skills in different gender groupings in both countries. In each country, all teams in both conditions demonstrated a similar pattern of collaborative argumentation with the exception of three female teams in the U.S. Female teams, male teams, (the treatment condition) and mixed-gender teams (the control condition) demonstrated metacognition regulation skills in different degrees and with different scaffolding

Online discussion compensates for suboptimal timing of supportive information presentation in a digitally supported learning environment

This study used a sequential set-up to investigate the consecutive effects of timing of supportive information presentation (information before vs. information during the learning task clusters) in interactive digital learning materials (IDLMs) and type of collaboration (personal discussion vs. online discussion) in computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) on student knowledge construction. Students (N = 87) were first randomly assigned to the two information presentation conditions to work individually on a case-based assignment in IDLM. Students who received information during learning task clusters tended to show better results on knowledge construction than those who received information only before each cluster. The students within the two separate information presentation conditions were then randomly assigned to pairs to discuss the outcomes of their assignments under either the personal discussion or online discussion condition in CSCL. When supportive information had been presented before each learning task cluster, online discussion led to better results than personal discussion. When supportive information had been presented during the learning task clusters, however, the online and personal discussion conditions had no differential effect on knowledge construction. Online discussion in CSCL appeared to compensate for suboptimal timing of presentation of supportive information before the learning task clusters in IDLM

Evaluating the efficacy of a teacher-guided comprehension-oriented learning strategy intervention among students in Grade 4

This study examined the effects of a teacher-led learning-strategy intervention program on fourth-grade students' reported use and perceived effectiveness of rehearsal and comprehension-oriented learning strategies. During 18 program units, teachers taught about learning and various learning strategies, including visualisation, elaboration and categorisation. Strategies were practised in math, language and science classes. Participants were comprised of 82 fourth-grade students in the intervention group and 387 fourth-grade students in the control group. Students' reported use and perceived effectiveness of learning strategies were assessed before and at least 4 months after intervention using a web-based word-memorisation task and associated reflection questions. The intervention group tended to use more comprehension-oriented learning strategies in post-tests, and the intervention group also showed an increase in perceived effectiveness of comprehension-oriented learning strategies. Still, rehearsal was evaluated as the most effective strategy in both the control group and the intervention group. Explanations for these findings and possible future directions are discussed.Peer reviewe