4,295 research outputs found
Adjustment and Developmental Outcomes of Students Engaged in Service Learning
In an effort to better understand the psychosocial and adjustment processes experienced by college students engaged in service learning, 22 randomly selected reflection journals were content-analyzed from a class of 44 child development students who had been engaged in service learning in a variety settings. Three of the themes that emerged in the journals involved students: feeling awkward during the first visits; feeling uncertain about redirecting children\u27s misbehavior; and having ambivalent feelings when bringing their service learning experiences to an end. The coping mechanisms and resources upon which students draw to successfully grow beyond these initial challenges are discussed, as well as practical suggestions for facilitators of the service learning experience
Are hemispherical caps of boron-nitride nanotubes possible?
We report all-electron, density-functional calculations with large Gaussian
polarization basis set of the recently synthesized octahedral B24N24 cage that
is perfectly round by symmetry, and boron-nitride (BN) clusters that its
existence might suggest. We consider whether it is energetically possible that
the two halves of this round cage could cap the BN nanotubes, modeled by B28N28
and B32N32. The energetics show that BN nanotubes with such round caps, are
only slightly less favorable than the BN clusters containing six squares as the
only defects in the otherwise perfect hexagonal lattice. A larger B96N96
octahedral cage formed from B24N24 by adding sufficient hexagons to isolate all
squares is not very favorable energetically. The squares protrude noticeably
from its otherwise round surface.Comment: Uses elsart.cls (Elsevier Science), (Better pictures can be obtained
from authors); Manuscript to appear in Chemical Physics Letter
Rich environments for active learning: a definition
Rich Environments for Active Learning, or REALs, are comprehensive instructional systems that evolve from and are consistent with constructivist philosophies and theories. To embody a constructivist view of learning, REALs: promote study and investigation within authentic contexts; encourage the growth of student responsibility, initiative, decision making, and intentional learning; cultivate collaboration among students and teachers; utilize dynamic, interdisciplinary, generative learning activities that promote higher-order thinking processes to help students develop rich and complex knowledge structures; and assess student progress in content and learning-to-learn within authentic contexts using realistic tasks and performances. REALs provide learning activities that engage students in a continuous collaborative process of building and reshaping understanding as a natural consequence of their experiences and interactions within learning environments that authentically reflect the world around them. In this way, REALs are a response to educational practices that promote the development of inert knowledge, such as conventional teacher-to-student knowledge-transfer activities. In this article, we describe and organize the shared elements of REALs, including the theoretical foundations and instructional strategies to provide a common ground for discussion. We compare existing assumptions underlying education with new assumptions that promote problem-solving and higher-level thinking. Next, we examine the theoretical foundation that supports these new assumptions. Finally, we describe how REALs promote these new assumptions within a constructivist framework, defining each REAL attribute and providing supporting examples of REAL strategies in action
The limitations of Slater's element-dependent exchange functional from analytic density functional theory
Our recent formulation of the analytic and variational Slater-Roothaan (SR)
method, which uses Gaussian basis sets to variationally express the molecular
orbitals, electron density and the one body effective potential of density
functional theory, is reviewed. Variational fitting can be extended to the
resolution of identity method,where variationality then refers to the error in
each two electron integral and not to the total energy. It is proposed that the
appropriate fitting functions be charge neutral and that all ab initio energies
be evaluated using two-center fits of the two-electron integrals. The SR method
has its root in the Slater's Xalpha method and permits an arbitrary scaling of
the Slater-Gaspar-Kohn-Sham exchange-correlation potential around each atom in
the system. Of several ways of choosing the scaling factors (Slater's exchange
parameters), two most obvious are the Hartree-Fock (HF), alpha_HF, values and
the exact atomic, alpha_EA, values. The performance of this simple analytic
model with both sets for atomization energies of G2 set of 148 molecules is
better than the local density approximation or the HF theory, although the
errors in atomization energy are larger than the target chemical accuracy.
To improve peformance for atomization energies, the SR method is
reparametrized to give atomization energies of 148 molecules to be comparbale
to those obtained by one of the most widely used generalized gradient
approximations. The mean absolute error in ionization potentials of 49 atoms
and molecules is about 0.5 eV and that in bond distances of 27 molecules is
about 0.02 Angstrom. The overall good performance of the computationally
efficient SR method using any reasonable set of alpha values makes it a
promising method for study of large systems.Comment: 33 pages, Uses RevTex, to appear in The Journal of Chemical Physic
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