IMPACT: The Journal of the Center for Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning. Volume 10, Issue 2, Summer 2021

Impact: The Journal of the Center for Interdisciplinary Teaching & Learning is a peer-reviewed, biannual online journal that publishes scholarly and creative non-fiction essays about the theory, practice, and assessment of interdisciplinary education. Impact is produced by the Center for Interdisciplinary Teaching & Learning at Boston University College of General Studies. Impact accepts submissions throughout the year and publishes issues in February and July. Please submit your essays for consideration at https:// citl.submittable.com/submit. Impact provides free and open access to all of its research publications. There is no charge to authors for publication, and the journal abides by a CC-BY license. Authors published in Impact retain copyright on their articles, except for any third-party images and other materials added by Impact, which are subject to copyright of their respective owners. Authors are therefore free to disseminate and re-publish their articles, subject to any requirements of third-party copyright owners and subject to the original publication being fully cited. Visitors may download and forward articles subject to the citation requirements; all copyright notices must be displayed. If readers want to search by journal subject they might use these words: education, graduate, undergraduate, interdisciplinary, disciplines, curriculum, higher education.The theme of this issue is interdisciplinary approaches to, or including, the sciences. STEM disciplines like chemistry, biology, physics, computer science, and math are often taught as separate and distinct from the humanities. The concept of STEAM (STEM + Arts) has attempted to make STEM subjects more interdisciplinary, allowing students to interact with the material from different perspectives. The essays in this issue explore unique ways to design and implement interdisciplinary curricula that combine sciences and humanities/arts

Methods of negotiation in online collaborative mathematics problem-solving

The Virtual Math Teams (VMT) project is an NSF-funded research program through which researchers at the College of Information Science and Technology (IST) and the Math Forum investigate the innovative use of online collaborative environments to support effective K-12 mathematics learning. Negotiation is an indispensable element in collaboration, especially in the resolution of situations whose complexity is such that understanding them is enhanced by multiple perspectives made possible through collaboration. Some mathematics problems which are described as ‘ill-structured’ because they admit of several possible interpretations and multiple solutions, are candidates for collaborative problem-solving. Negotiation is necessary to make this collaborative approach possible, inasmuch as sense- and meaning-making associated with this particular approach to problem-solving has for its distinctive characteristic, the dynamics of a group rather than the jig-saw style of cooperating individuals. A research methodology based on conversation analysis is used to identify how negotiation is conducted in online mathematics problem-solving by locating its methods as negotiation is initiated, processed and concluded. Initial findings show: - how changes in the tempo of turn-taking indicate shifts in the conduct of problem-solving, - how repetition and ‘forced conclusions’ are used to negotiate a choice among several problems at hand, - how intervals and transitions are used by participants to indicate preferred responses and responders, - how referencing tools impact negotiation. Findings from this research can assist in the design of CSCL environments, especially in the transformation of generic communication applications to collaborative technology

Virtual math teams (VMT): Continuity and sustainability of collaborative knowledge building

How can we support online groups to better sustain their collaborative learning activity over time? In this poster, we present a qualitative case study of group creativity online in the domain of mathematics. We define collaborative learning work broadly, ranging from the micro-level co-construction of novel resources for collective problem solving to the innovative reuse and expansion of ideas across multiple virtual teams. Based on our analysis of the collaborative interactions of five virtual math teams we characterize the relationship between "synchronic" aspects of collaborative knowledge building (i.e. single episode interactions) and their "diachronic" evolution across time and across collectivities. Our analysis indicates that the synergy between these two types of interactions and the resulting creative engagement of the teams relies on three fundamental processes: (1) referencing and the “configuration of indexicals”, (2) collective remembering, and (3) bridging across discontinuities. In addition we also reflect on the aspects of the online environment used by these virtual teams which promote, support or hinder diachronic and synchronic interactions leading to successful knowledge building

US-triggered Microbubble Destruction for Augmenting Hepatocellular Carcinoma Response to Transarterial Radioembolization: A Randomized Pilot Clinical Trial.

Combined US-triggered microbubble destruction and hepatocellular carcinoma radioembolization showed improved treatment response compared with radioembolization alone and no changes in vital signs or liver function. Background US contrast agents are gas-filled microbubbles (MBs) that can be locally destroyed by using external US. Among other bioeffects, US-triggered MB destruction, also known as UTMD, has been shown to sensitize solid tumors to radiation in preclinical models through localized insult to the vascular endothelial cells. Purpose: To evaluate the safety and preliminary efficacy of combining US-triggered MB destruction and transarterial radioembolization (TARE) in participants with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Materials and Methods: In this pilot clinical trial, participants with HCC scheduled for sublobar TARE were randomized to undergo either TARE or TARE with US-triggered MB destruction 1–4 hours and approximately 1 and 2 weeks after TARE. Enrollment took place between July 2017 and February 2020. Safety of US-triggered MB destruction was evaluated by physiologic monitoring, changes in liver function tests, adverse events, and radiopharmaceutical distribution. Treatment efficacy was evaluated by using modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (mRECIST) on cross-sectional images, time to required next treatment, transplant rates, and overall survival. Differences across mRECIST reads were compared by using a Mann-Whitney U test, and the difference in prevalence of tumor response was evaluated by Fisher exact test, whereas differences in time to required next treatment and overall survival curves were compared by using a log-rank (Mantel-Cox) test. Results: Safety results from 28 participants (mean age, 70 years ± 10 [standard deviation]; 17 men) demonstrated no significant changes in temperature (P = .31), heart rate (P = .92), diastolic pressure (P = .31), or systolic pressure (P = .06) before and after US-triggered MB destruction. No changes in liver function tests between treatment arms were observed 1 month after TARE (P \u3e .15). Preliminary efficacy results showed a greater prevalence of tumor response (14 of 15 [93%; 95% CI: 68, 100] vs five of 10 [50%; 95% CI: 19, 81]; P = .02) in participants who underwent both US-triggered MB destruction and TARE (P = .02). Conclusion: The combination of US-triggered microbubble destruction and transarterial radioembolization is feasible with an excellent safety profile in this patient population and appears to result in improved hepatocellular carcinoma treatment response

Virtual math teams: understanding and supporting collaborative problem solving over time

The Virtual Math Teams (VMT) project is an NSF-funded research program through which researchers at the College of Information Science and Technology (IST) and the Math Forum investigate the innovative use of online collaborative environments to support effective K-12 mathematics learning. A key research issue in this program is to understand how mathematical team problem-solving evolves over time and how sustained engagement in problem solving can be supported effectively. This pilot study reports on findings from data collected from five small teams of K-12 students distributed across the U.S. who worked on an open-ended mathematical task during a series of four online sessions. Transcripts of the online interactions and records of their artifacts created are analyzed to identify the local and longitudinal dynamics of their "joint problem space". Preliminary findings point to a range of “bridging” methods through which team members, mentors, and other participants construct mathematical knowledge over time, evolve their sense of team and online community, and interlink the online environment with other interaction spaces, offline (e.g. school, classroom) and online. These findings contribute to our knowledge of how to design system supports and activities for the longitudinal development of teams and online communities

Virtual math teams: Investigating information behavior of online small groups

The Virtual Math Teams (VMT) project is an NSF-funded research program in which researchers at the College of Information Science and Technology (IST) and the Math Forum investigate the innovative use of online collaborative environments to support effective K-12 mathematics discourse. As part of the VMT project, this study aims to investigate the occurrence and nature of students’ information behavior when they collaborate in small groups to solve mathematical problems within synchronous Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) environments. Learners in CSCL environments exhibit distinctive patterns in their information needs, information seeking, and information use. Their information behavior is shaped by the ways in which learning is achieved through the co-construction of knowledge in computer-mediated collaboration. To capture and understand students’ information behavior, we analyze transcripts of student interactions during collaboration sessions. Preliminary findings are reported that include: 1) Analysis of processes of student information behavior; 2) Description of the resources students employ to seek information; 3) A compilation of categories of student information needs; 4) A study of how successfully information needs in different categories are met. By studying student information behavior in VMT, implications can be drawn for improving the design of learning environments, such as designing scaffolding and digital resources to facilitate collaborative learning

Virtual math teams: How small groups create and use mathematical objects to do joint problem solving in chat

The Virtual Math Teams (VMT) project is an NSF-funded research program through which researchers at the College of Information Science and Technology (IST) and the Math Forum investigate the innovative use of online collaborative environments to support effective K-12 mathematics learning. One of the main concerns of the VMT project is to study how small groups are engaged in math problem solving through synchronous communication tools (e.g. chat, shared whiteboard). During our experimental sessions we observed that groups bring various mathematical objects (e.g. shared representations of relevant math concepts and concerns) into discussion via available interactive tools to address their common task. This study will focus on how these math objects are organized and related to each other by the participants through their actions on the interface as they are co-constructing a solution to their problem. In particular this study will focus on: How math objects mentioned in the problem statement are brought into discussion. How new math objects are offered and made relevant to the objects suggested by the problem definition. How proposed objects are taken up and assessed by other members. How math objects are organized and linked together to co-construct solution accounts. The main goal of the study is to get insights about different ways math activities are coordinated and conducted by the participants in the VMT-Chat environment. Based on this exploratory structural analysis, portraits of student interaction will be documented. Finally, requirements for further software support for small groups will be investigated