Beyond the Spoken Word: Examining the Nature of Teacher Gesturing in the Context of an Elementary Engineering Curriculum for English-Learner Students

Our research team performed an exploratory analysis of teacher gesturing via a case study of an elementary teacher. We focused on gesturing, a practice found to support both bilingual English learner students’ linguistic development and mathematics achievement, during the teacher’s engineering and science lessons. The research team systematically analyzed teacher video data using McNeill’s gestural dimensions framework and found variation of gesturing types and rates when comparing engineering and baseline science lessons. Additionally, specific types of teacher-gestures appear to be associated with either behavioral or classroom management practices, procedural instructions, and discussion facilitation. We suggest that teacher-gestures such as these have the potential to facilitate bilingual English learners’ language acquisition, while also developing their STEM literacy in general and engineering capacity in particular. Further exploration of teacher-gestures in elementary engineering curricula could lead to an integrated STEM pedagogy that incorporates gesturing as a fundamental teaching strategy, bridging STEM instruction with linguistically responsive instructional practices.Educatio

Project-based service-learning as logo-pedagogy : teaching for existential purpose in pre-college engineering education

The imperative for bolstering engineering education at the precollege level is usually framed within the context of improving U.S. global competitiveness but this potentially cheapens the inherent value of an engineering education and obfuscates the potentially socially purposeful aspects of engineering. Drawing from design-based research, this case study examines how a project-based service-learning (PBSL) engineering design unit contributed to students’ sense of purpose in life and perceptions of engineering. It takes an ecological approach in that it considers the perspectives of students, the teacher, professional engineering mentors to understand and outline guiding principles for PBSL engineering experiences at the pre-college level. Student perspectives on the PBSL unit centered around six themes: impact of the unit; affect; meaningfulness; learning; teamwork/collaboration; and, agency. Three themes characterized student reflections on purpose in life: notions of purpose in life; student purposefulness; career aspirations. Students also discussed engineering along two broader themes of their: engineering notions and engineering interests. The educators’ (teacher and mentors) perspectives on teaching priorities and strategies for the unit aligned along seven themes: exposure; messages about engineering; hands-on/physical experience; encouraging student ideas; room for mistakes and failure; teamwork; and involving expert engineers. They identified at least six positive aspects of the unit: exposure; engineering design process and habits-of-mind; authenticity; motivation and purposefulness; student ideas; and student accomplishment. Conversely, they also discussed at least four primary areas of improvement: facilitating teamwork; adhering to design specifications and constraints; involving expert engineers throughout the process; and timing. Overall, the findings suggest that student participation in PBSL engineering units can contribute to their purpose development by facilitating opportunities for socially purposeful engagement within a STEM context. Furthermore, PBSL engineering units concretize the socially purposeful aspects of engineering, subverting wider public perceptions of engineering as a socially-unconcerned profession. Future PBSL engineering units at the pre-college level should emphasize: student input, ideas, and hands-on engagement; process over outcome, especially the engineering design process; involving the community; and, reflection.Curriculum and Instructio

Strategies to mitigate student resistance to active learning

Abstract Background Research has shown that active learning promotes student learning and increases retention rates of STEM undergraduates. Yet, instructors are reluctant to change their teaching approaches for several reasons, including a fear of student resistance to active learning. This paper addresses this issue by building on our prior work which demonstrates that certain instructor strategies can positively influence student responses to active learning. We present an analysis of interview data from 17 engineering professors across the USA about the ways they use strategies to reduce student resistance to active learning in their undergraduate engineering courses. Results Our data reveal that instructor strategies for reducing student resistance generally fall within two broad types: explanation and facilitation strategies. Explanation strategies consist of the following: (a) explain the purpose, (b) explain course expectations, and (c) explain activity expectations. Facilitation strategies include the following: (a) approach non-participants, (b) assume an encouraging demeanor, (c) grade on participation, (d) walk around the room, (e) invite questions, (f) develop a routine, (g) design activities for participation, and (h) use incremental steps. Four of the strategies emerged from our analysis and were previously unstudied in the context of student resistance. Conclusions The findings of this study have practical implications for instructors wishing to implement active learning. There is a variety of strategies to reduce student resistance to active learning, and there are multiple successful ways to implement the strategies. Importantly, effective use of strategies requires some degree of intentional course planning. These strategies should be considered as a starting point for instructors seeking to better incorporate the use of active learning strategies into their undergraduate engineering classrooms.https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/142791/1/40594_2018_Article_102.pd

Survival of B. horneckiae Spores Under Ground-Simulated

Increasing efforts to find and study habitable conditions and the possibility of life on extraterrestrial cosmic bodies have also deepened the need for planetary protection advancements to prevent possibilities of forward and backward contamination. Despite stringent precautions to ensure spacecraft cleanliness, a number of spore-forming bacteria, including the biofilm forming strain, Bacillus horneckiae have been isolated from spacecraft associated surfaces. B. horneckiae spores have demonstrated unusually high resistance to rigorous sterilization procedures, and extreme conditions, including intense UV radiation. This exceptionally high tolerance of extreme conditions demonstrated by spore-forming bacteria highlighted the need to assess the viability of these microbes in situ (in real) space. Thus, similar to prior EXPOSE projects commissioned by ESA, the BOSS (Biofilm Organisms Surfing Space) project aims to understand the mechanisms by which biofilm forming organisms, such as B. horneckiae, are potentially able to withstand harsh space conditions. The objective of this study was to establish reference data on the survivability rates of B. horneckiae spores after exposure to certain ground-simulated space conditions: UV-space radiation, dark-space (no) UV radiation, simulated Martian UV, and simulated dark-Martian UV radiation. B. horneckiae spores were extracted from metal coupons using polyvinyl alcohol, after which serial dilutions were performed to determine the total number of viable spores in each coupon. The results showed that simulated UV-space exposed spores had a lower survivability rate than simulated dark-space exposed spores. Similarly, simulated Martian UV had a greater reduction effect on spore survivability than simulated dark Martian UV conditions. These results potentially hold strong implications for predicting the survivability of B. horneckiae communities in real space

Survival of B. Horneckiae Spores Under Ground-Simulated Space Conditions

No abstract availabl

Instructor strategies to aid implementation of active learning: a systematic literature review

Abstract Background Despite the evidence supporting the effectiveness of active learning in undergraduate STEM courses, the adoption of active learning has been slow. One barrier to adoption is instructors’ concerns about students’ affective and behavioral responses to active learning, especially student resistance. Numerous education researchers have documented their use of active learning in STEM classrooms. However, there is no research yet that systematically analyzes these studies for strategies to aid implementation of active learning and address students’ affective and behavioral responses. In this paper, we conduct a systematic literature review and identify 29 journal articles and conference papers that researched active learning, affective and behavioral student responses, and recommended at least one strategy for implementing active learning. In this paper, we ask: (1) What are the characteristics of studies that examine affective and behavioral outcomes of active learning and provide instructor strategies? (2) What instructor strategies to aid implementation of active learning do the authors of these studies provide? Results In our review, we noted that most active learning activities involved in-class problem solving within a traditional lecture-based course (N = 21). We found mostly positive affective and behavioral outcomes for students’ self-reports of learning, participation in the activities, and course satisfaction (N = 23). From our analysis of the 29 studies, we identified eight strategies to aid implementation of active learning based on three categories. Explanation strategies included providing students with clarifications and reasons for using active learning. Facilitation strategies entailed working with students and ensuring that the activity functions as intended. Planning strategies involved working outside of the class to improve the active learning experience. Conclusion To increase the adoption of active learning and address students’ responses to active learning, this study provides strategies to support instructors. The eight strategies are listed with evidence from numerous studies within our review on affective and behavioral responses to active learning. Future work should examine instructor strategies and their connection with other affective outcomes, such as identity, interests, and emotions.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/174020/1/40594_2021_Article_270.pd

Гибридные нанокомпозиты хитозан/наноцеллюлоза с включением Aloe vera как потенциальный материал для изготовления съедобных покрытий, применяемых в условиях повышенной влажности

Innovative post-harvest technologies are in demand to meet the requirements of farmers and agricultural industries to ensure global food security and to avoid food wastage. Edible coatings that can prevent food spoilage and/or enhance shelf life have taken on increasing importance. This work involves the development of edible coatings based on easily available bio resources, chitosan and nanocellulose, and utilizing their unique properties as an effective coating material. Aloe vera, known for its antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, has been proposed as an active ingredient that can be incorporated into the biodegradable film. Varying volumes of Aloe vera (0.25 ml, 0.35 ml, 0.5 ml, and 2.5 ml) were added to fabricate nanocomposite films by solvent casting. Transparent films were obtained, and their morphology was analysed using scanning electron microscope (SEM). The incorporation of Aloe vera was confirmed in various spectroscopic studies, which clearly show reduction in light transmittance for the nanocomposite films containing Aloe vera. The contact angle study showed an increase in hydrophobicity initially. Maximum tensile strength was obtained with 0.25 ml of Aloe vera. The potential use of nanocomposite solution as edible films was demonstrated in green chillies, which showed lower weight loss after 3 days when compared with uncoated chillies. In the first phase of this study, chitosan/nanocellulose nanocomposites enriched with Aloe vera have been proposed as a potential edible food coating materialИнновационные технологии переработки и хранения сельскохозяйственной продукции широко востребованы в сельскохозяйственной отрасли и нацелены на обеспечение глобальной продовольственной безопасности и снижение потерь продуктов питания. Все большую значимость приобретает разработка съедобных пищевых покрытий, которые могут предотвратить порчу пищевых продуктов и / или продлить срок их хранения. Это исследование посвящено созданию эффективного материала для изготовления съедобных покрытий на основе легкодоступных биоресурсов с уникальными свойствами – хитозана и наноцеллюлозы. Aloe vera, известный своими антиоксидантными и антимикробными свойствами, предложен в качестве активного ингредиента, который может быть включен в биоразлагаемую пленку. Различные объемы экстракта Aloe vera (0,25 мл, 0,35 мл, 0,5 мл и 2,5 мл) добавляли при изготовлении нанокомпозитных пленок методом литья из раствора. Морфология полученных прозрачных пленок изучена с помощью сканирующей электронной микроскопии. Включение Aloe vera в композит подтверждено различными спектроскопическими исследованиями, которые показали снижение светопропускания пленок нанокомпозитов, содержащих Aloe vera. Исследования краевого угла выявили увеличение гидрофобности композита. Максимальное значение прочности на разрыв получено при включении в состав композита 0,25 мл Aloe vera. Возможность использования полученного нанокомпозита в качестве съедобной пленки оценена в эксперименте с зеленым перцем чили. Покрытые пленкой образцы перца показали более низкую потерю веса через 3 дня по сравнению с образцами без покрытия. Исследование продемонстрировало потенциал разработанного нанокомпозита хитозан/наноцеллюлоза, обогащенного добавками экстракта Aloe vera, в качестве материала для изготовления съедобных пищевых покрыти

Microbial Community and Biochemical Dynamics of Biological Soil Crusts across a Gradient of Surface Coverage in the Central Mojave Desert

In this study, we expand upon the biogeography of biological soil crusts (BSCs) and provide molecular insights into the microbial community and biochemical dynamics along the vertical BSC column structure, and across a transect of increasing BSC surface coverage in the central Mojave Desert, CA, United States. Next generation sequencing reveals a bacterial community profile that is distinct among BSCs in the southwestern United States. Distribution of major phyla in the BSC topsoils included Cyanobacteria (33 ± 8%), Proteobacteria (26 ± 6%), and Chloroflexi (12 ± 4%), with Phormidium being the numerically dominant genus. Furthermore, BSC subsurfaces contained Proteobacteria (23 ± 5%), Actinobacteria (20 ± 5%), and Chloroflexi (18 ± 3%), with an unidentified genus from Chloroflexi (AKIW781, order) being numerically dominant. Across the transect, changes in distribution at the phylum (p < 0.0439) and genus (p < 0.006) levels, including multiple biochemical and geochemical trends (p < 0.05), positively correlated with increasing BSC surface coverage. This included increases in (a) Chloroflexi abundance, (b) abundance and diversity of Cyanobacteria, (b) OTU-level diversity in the topsoil, (c) OTU-level differentiation between the topsoil and subsurface, (d) intracellular ATP abundances and catalase activities, and (e) enrichments in clay, silt, and varying elements, including S, Mn, Co, As, and Pb, in the BSC topsoils. In sum, these studies suggest that BSCs from regions of differing surface coverage represent early successional stages, which exhibit increasing bacterial diversity, metabolic activities, and capacity to restructure the soil. Further, these trends suggest that BSC successional maturation and colonization across the transect are inhibited by metals/metalloids such as B, Ca, Ti, Mn, Co, Ni, Mo, and Pb