Abrupt Shift or Caught Off Guard: A Systematic Review of K-12 Engineering and STEM Education’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

In the past hundred years, there have been a number of pandemics that have affected the entire world, including the 1918 H1N1 influenza pandemic, the 1957 H2N2 influenza pandemic, and the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic. While responses to the most recent H1N1 influenza pandemic remained local, the COVID-19 pandemic, on the other hand, resulted in long-term school closures all around the world, prompting a sudden shift to distant education by compelling K-12 educators and students to do so. The purpose of this study is to find out how K-12 education studies reacted to the sudden shift in supporting engineering and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education during the COVID-19 pandemic. To accomplish this goal, we conducted two separate searches in different databases and reviewed 25 articles. These articles were classified into four categories: (1) adaptation to online learning and the effects of a sudden shift, (2) implementing new strategies and tools, (3) STEM education in informal learning environments, and (4) teacher professional development. Our analysis indicated that engineering and STEM education research primarily focused on higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic. The limited number of studies examining K-12 engineering and STEM first investigated the adaptation to online learning by utilizing various resources that elementary and secondary teachers could easily access. Blended learning, flipped learning, and maker pedagogy were encouraged in K-12 engineering and STEM studies. Movies were the most commonly used tool in K-12 engineering and STEM studies. It is encouraging that studies also examined informal learning contexts (outreach initiatives, museums) and inequities in STEM and engineering education. However, the small number of studies in each category reminds us that there is still a lot of work to be done in terms of the future of K-12 engineering education, especially considering that distant education may become a permanent part of K-12 education

Students’ Models of Magnetic Interactions: A Comparative Analysis of Accurate and Inaccurate Models over a Ten-Year Interval

This research investigates the Models of eighth-grade students in Turkey pertaining to magnets and magnetic interactions, while also examining the consistency of these models within themselves. Additionally, a comparative assessment is conducted by comparing the current data with data collected from eighth-grade students a decade earlier. The study comprises 59 students in the first phase and 45 students in the second phase, all of whom briefly received formal instruction on magnetism during fourth grade. The focus of the analysis centers on identifying the students’ Models and evaluating their coherence across diverse contexts in both phases. Surprisingly, despite the passage of ten years, the mental model patterns exhibited by the students in both studies remain remarkably similar. Three primary categories emerged from the students’ Models of magnets, including attraction and repulsion, magnetic poles, and the composition and functionality of magnets. However, noticeable distinctions between the two studies are evident. In the earlier study, the students’ responses to survey questions displayed a greater variety and detail in comparison to the responses from the later study. Moreover, the second study revealed fewer instances of inconsistent Models concerning the magnetic interaction between magnets and nails, but more instances of inaccurate Models compared to the first study. The findings of this investigation offer valuable insights to educators, guiding them in designing effective lessons and activities aimed at helping students overcome their inaccurate and inconsistent Models

Anti-Inflammatory and Antinociceptive Effects of Salbutamol on Acute and Chronic Models of Inflammation in Rats: Involvement of an Antioxidant Mechanism

The possible role of β-2 adrenergic receptors in modulation of inflammatory and nociceptive conditions suggests that the β-2 adrenergic receptor agonist, salbutamol, may have beneficial anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects. Therefore, in this study, we induced inflammatory and nociceptive responses with carrageenan-induced paw edema or cotton-pellet-induced granuloma models, both of which result in oxidative stress. We hypothesized that salbutamol would prevent inflammatory and nociceptive responses by stimulating β-2 adrenergic receptors and the prevention of generation of ROS during the acute inflammation process in rats. Both doses of salbutamol used in the study (1 and 2 mg/kg) effectively blocked the acute inflammation and inflammatory nociception induced by carrageenan. In the cotton-pellet-induced granuloma test, both doses of salbutamol also significantly decreased the weight of granuloma tissue on the cotton pellets when compared to the control. Anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of salbutamol were found to be comparable with those of indomethacin. Salbutamol decreased myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity and lipid peroxidation (LPO) level and increased the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and level of glutathione (GSH) during the acute phase of inflammation. In conclusion, salbutamol can decrease acute and chronic inflammation, possibly through the stimulation of β-2 adrenergic receptors. This anti-inflammatory effect may be of significance in asthma treatment, where inflammation also takes part in the etiopathology. This study reveals that salbutamol has significant antioxidative effects, which at least partially explain its anti-inflammatory capabilities. These findings presented here may also shed light on the roles of β-2 adrenergic receptors in inflammatory and hyperalgesic conditions

Turkish eighth grade students\u27 mental model representations about the nature of magnets and magnetic interactions

Eighth grade Turkish students\u27 mental models about the nature of magnets and magnetic interactions were examined in this research study. Using an interpretive qualitative design, I conducted this study in a middle school with thirty-one Turkish students who have not had any formal magnetism instruction prior to the study. The participants were asked to respond to a series of survey questions about both the structure of magnets and interactions between magnets and an iron object (nail). The survey questions were developed in order to reveal students\u27 reasoning and general cognitive process. Students\u27 responses were analyzed to determine: (a) the common mental models about the structure and functionality of magnets, and (b) the consistency of students\u27 knowledge of magnetic interactions across two different contexts. The findings produced by the Students\u27 Mental Models about a Magnet section of the study indicate that students have uncertain mental models about both the structure of magnets and magnetic interactions. Students were aware of the attractive and repulsive feature of magnets, but they were unable to explain the underlying reason of these magnetic features. The analysis concerning Students\u27 Mental Model of Interaction between a Magnet and a Non-magnetic Object showed that almost half of the participants (41.9%) had correct answers, but a lower sophistication level of explanation. Furthermore, while 35.5% of students showed partial understanding and consistency in their mental models of magnetic interaction, 22.6% of students\u27 mental models reflected a non-accurate understanding of magnetic behaviors. In addition to the findings about students\u27 mental model of magnetic properties, some of the terminology that students used to explain magnetic phenomena indicated that they preferred to use the words that sounds scientific even they did not know what these words meant. The results of this study facilitate to understand students\u27 mental models about a physics topic which has an abstract nature. Furthermore, the findings will demonstrate how these students construct their mental models and how they externalize them

Exploring continuity equation via a modeling activity: in the context of crowd science

YUKSEL, TUGBA/0000-0001-7818-7547WOS: 000558346000001Using problems from real life contexts which is related to learners'environment or their culture plays an important role in their learning that concept. in this regard, science educators especially physics educators search for real-life domain of theoretical concepts for effective science teaching and they consider analogical and physical models as an opportunity in their instruction. in the presented activity, we worked with 66 senior pre-service science teachers from our science teaching methods course. We used crowd movements as a real-life domain of our analogical models to scientifically explain a stampede case, then utilized physical model to explore continuity equation. Real life problem based scenarios could be used while taking advantage of the 3 D modeling in teaching of scientific principle. As a result, we found that pre-service teachers were able to make scientific explanation for causes of stampedes by using modeling activity. High school teachers and upper-level instructors could benefit from including the modeling activity introduced in this study to help their students understand the concepts related to continuity equation by designing a physical model based on an analogical model. Via the physical model, students are able to make predictions, observations, interpretations and explanations of a complex and abstract scientific phenomenon

An Application of Multicriteria Group Decision Making by Soft Covering Based Rough Sets

WOS: 000355844100024In this work we define soft covering based rough set and present its related properties. Also we present an example in medicine which aims to find the patients with high prostate cancer risk. Our datas are 56 patients from Selcuk University Meram Medicin

Undergraduate students’ models of single- and multi-electron atoms

Quantum physics forms the basis for exciting new technologies, including quantum computers, quantum encryption, and quantum entanglement. The advancement of science and technology highlights the importance of mastering quantum physics and its applications, not only at the college level but also as early as high school. In this multiple case study, we investigated first- and second-year undergraduate college students’ models of single and multi-electron atoms after completing a modern mechanics course, which addressed basic QM topics. The students’ models were categorised into four primary categories: the discrete entity (particle) model, hybrid model, quantum-like model, and quantum model, and subcategories for atom structure and electron attribution and motion. Despite being introduced to quantum concepts in high school and first-year undergraduate calculus-based physics classes, many students constructed incomplete, inaccurate, or incoherent models. Seven of eight students’ atomic structure models and six of eight students’ electron attribution and motion models were classified as discrete entity and hybrid models. The findings of this study reveal students’ conceptual challenges in explaining the structure of single and multiple-electron atoms and shed light on the factors contributing to the persistent difficulties in their understanding of atomic structure in the realm of quantum mechanics.</p